Dororo: A Novel
Tsuji Masaki
Part Six
The Tale of Banmon and the Demon Fox
Chapter 2
“Hey, you wannabe samurai.” Dororo drew himself up to his full height in front of the samurai general and spoke as loud as he could. “Hey, you dummy! What the hell do you think you’re doing?! You’re all rabid animals in human skin!”
“Who are you?” the general asked.
"What's wrong with you? I'm Dororo! Haven’t you heard of me?”
"Where did you come from?"
"He came from over there!" one of the soldiers called out.
“This one must be another Asakura spy,” the general said. “Take him.”
Dororo heard the samurai general's command like a warning bell and retreated toward the wall.
“Asakura—? Why do you think that?”
"You idiot! The other side of this wall is Asakura territory--the land of our enemies. Anybody who violates the law is to be captured and killed."
Dororo clung to the samurai general’s right hand like a baby monkey as he pulled out his sword. He managed to scratch the general’s hand with his knife; the general dropped his sword as his hand was gored by the extended blade.
The samurai general screamed. “What are you messing around with, child?!” The samurai general patted his scratched hand and his face, his knees weakening. He seemed much younger all of a sudden: younger and afraid. His soldiers came closer to protect him.
“Since no one else is taking you guys on, I'll do it all by myself!'' Dororo declared. With a force like a fireball, he flew into the middle of the soldiers.
"He’s a criminal! Cut him down!”
“You seem to be having a hard time of it, Lord Makuwa,” a voice called out from behind.
The samurai general--Makuwa--turned around to face the speaker. "Oh. It’s you, lords."
“Yes. We serve under Lord Tahoumaru, as you well know.” The man offered Lord Makuwa an ironic smile. Four men who were trailing behind him also grinned.
“I’ve been assigned to look into your activities, Lord Makuwa,” the leader of the newcomers said.
"As soon as we return to the estate, I will make a full report to Lord Tahoumaru," one of the men accompanying the newcomer said.
Lord Makuwa was turning blue. A child could have stolen his sword and gone on a rampage at that moment. The five men who had just come to the wall were Lord Tahoumaru’s retainers. Lord Tahoumaru was every inch his father’s son, and he was feared just as much if not more than his illustrious parent.
One of the soldiers that Dororo was fighting with grunted in pain. Dororo was still fighting, burning with anger at the injustice that had been done to the innocent farmers.
"You fight quite well, little one,” the leader of the newcomers said.
“Shall we kill him now?” one of the soldiers asked.
"Yes, very well," Lord Makuwa said.
The five newcomers moved to join the soldiers’ fight against Dororo. They weren’t in any hurry. Before they could reach Dororo, Hyakkimaru stepped out from behind the wall and blocked their way.
“I can’t let you kill him,” Hyakkimaru said.
“Well, well, another criminal!”
Five samurai surrounded Hyakkimaru in a semi-circle, keeping an eye on Makuwa, who was barking out orders to his soldiers.
"Are you one of Asakura's spies, too?"
Hyakkimaru looked at the five men. "We don't have anything to do with you or your enemies. But I know that you don’t believe me."
“Why shouldn’t we believe you? If you were really a spy, you wouldn’t have risked exposing your position when that brat darted from cover.”
Some of the other samurai nodded in agreement.
“Still, we can’t let you go,” another samurai said. “Those who cross over Banmon--that wall just there--must be executed. That’s the law.”
“Why?” Hyakkimaru asked.
“The law is the law.” All five samurai drew their swords in the same breath.
“You’re not demons,” Hyakkimaru said. “You’re not possessed by demons, so why do such terrible things? Do you really want to kill me?” Hyakkimaru’s gaze burned with confusion and anger.
“We do,” the five men said with one voice. “Kill him!”
At the same time, Hyakkimaru's left and right prosthetic arms dropped off.
The five samurai were briefly stunned at the sight. Shock slowed their movements for a few seconds. By the time they recovered, Hyakkimaru was no longer standing in front of them.
“Gah!” Lord Makuwa was screaming in fear and running over the plain. Hyakkimaru paid him no mind. What came next was the sound of swords slashing into his enemies, the slow trickle of blood being sucked into his demon-killing blade, and the sound of the grass being trampled down.
In the time it took for his prosthetic arms to drop from his sides to the ground, all five of the samurai threatening Hyakkimaru were dead.
Hyakkimaru took a deep breath, then directed his attention to Lord Makuwa. He’d successfully run off, along with his soldiers. In the distance, Hyakkimaru saw smoke rising into the sky. He frowned.
"Dororo!"
There was no sign of Dororo. He must have been overwhelmed while he was fighting, and was either dead or captured.
"You idiot, Dororo... Hey, Dororo!" Hyakkimaru sheathed his swords and gave chase.
He ran for hours before he reached a village, and by then, it was almost nightfall. He felt like he was chasing shadows. He finally discovered Dororo sitting still on the other side of a stream.
Dororo, you’re such an idiot, he thought. No matter how quick you are, you're bound to get caught. Why did you jump out at them like that? Daredevil, moron...
There was something about Dororo that Hyakkimaru only realized now. Unlike him, Dororo had rushed out to save the innocent farmers, against all odds. Hyakkimaru had hesitated. He wasn’t as brave as Dororo was.
“Ah!”
Hyakkimaru stopped dead in his tracks. Suddenly, soldiers came out from both sides of the road.
“Shit...” Hyakkimaru turned to run, but he felt murderous eyes on him and froze in place.
“Don’t move.” The voice belonged to a young man. Though he’d issued a command, there was no emotion behind it.
“If you run, my retainers will make short work of you. Hahaha... Right now, though, you’re under my protection. Relax, now. You’re safe.”
Hyakkimaru didn’t move a muscle. The speaker wasn’t a demon, but there was something terrifying about him. He felt like if he turned around, he wouldn’t even get a chance to glimpse his opponent’s face before he was cut down.
“Why am I under your protection?” Hyakkimaru asked. “What are you going to do with me?” He stared straight ahead.
“Right now? I’m still thinking about it,” the young man answered.
“Lord Tahoumaru, you must kill this man!” This voice belonged to Lord Makuwa; Hyakkimaru recognized it from the previous battle. “Anyone who crosses Banmon must die!”
The murderous intent that Hyakkimaru had felt hadn’t come from Lord Makuwa, which meant it must have come from Lord Tahoumaru.
"I know the law,” Lord Tahoumaru said. “But it would be a waste to kill him. He has amazing skills. He killed five of my warriors in seconds.”
“I was attacked first,” Hyakkimaru said. He might not be as brave as Dororo, but he was still damned brave. “All I wanted was to get my friend back.”
“Hahaha! Well, if that’s all you want, I can certainly return your friend to you.”
Hyakkimaru blinked. It was unexpected for Lord Tahoumaru to offer to give Dororo back.
“However... I’ll only give him back to you if you fight me one-on-one and win,” Lord Tahoumaru said.
Hyakkimaru smiled. “If that’s what you want, I suppose I don’t have to worry about being cut down from behind.” Slowly, he turned around to face Lord Tahoumaru. He was standing about two meters away. Lord Makuwa was standing by his side.
“Hm. So you’re Tahoumaru?”
Tahoumaru was younger than Hyakkimaru had thought; his voice sounded older. He appeared to be about the same age as Hyakkimaru, though he could have been a bit younger. His clothes and bearing marked him as a son of a prominent samurai family. His expression was twisted with vague contempt.
“I know you’re not from the Asakura Clan,” Lord Tahoumaru said. “Their side doesn’t have anyone as strong as you.” His tone was friendly, and that caused Lord Makuwa to have a minor fit of nerves. Treating a common vagabond like an equal was preposterous.
Lord Tahoumaru didn’t seem to care. He invited Hyakkimaru back to his estate, and Hyakkimaru accepted. “Very well. I’ll trust you to keep your end of the bargain and return Dororo quickly,” he said quietly.
Tahoumaru laughed. “Don’t worry about that. Why don’t you come and work for me?”
“For you?”
"That's right. My father defeated Lord Togashi and took over the governance of these lands. I’m his only son. That's why I defend our nation’s laws so fervently."
“What is Banmon--that wall?”
“You don’t know? Or are you playing dumb?” When Hyakkimaru refused to elaborate further, Lord Tahoumaru offered him a wry smile and a brief explanation of the blood-stained wall.
Everyone called the wall Banmon. It had been built about a year ago. Before that, this area had been held by the same lord and was considered part of the same sprawling city. The city was mostly owned by one wealthy family, the Asakura Clan, who lived to the east. Tahoumaru’s family lived in the western part of the city.
The Asakura Clan and Tahoumaru’s family were on bad terms, so the two families built the wall in order to maintain stricter relations. This effectively created a new country border, with the Asakura Clan ruling the east and Tahoumaru’s family ruling the west.
From then on, it was absolutely forbidden to cross Banmon, from either side. If a son lived on the opposite side of the wall to his parents, he would not be permitted to visit them, or vice versa.
For the past five years, the Asakura Clan and Tahoumaru’s family had engaged in fierce battles over territory. Those battles had destroyed pieces of Banmon, and now, the segment that Dororo and Hyakkimaru had seen was the only part that was left.
Banmon wasn't a very visible barrier anymore, but it had the force of law behind it.
Suddenly, Tahoumaru's soldiers came running up. They had news.
"I'll return soon," Tahoumaru said, and turned to leave. Just before he left the room, he fixed Hyakkimaru with a cold smile.
I don't like the way he smiles, Hyakkimaru thought.
Hyakkimaru remained seated in the room, silently contemplating the situation. He hadn't used his telepathy since regrowing one of his ears, but he thought he could still use it. He tried to pick up the whispers of people walking down the hallway.
“What about Lord Tahomaru?” a woman whispered as she passed by.
"He went to Banmon," a man answered.
"Was there another execution?"
"Yes. He told me he was going to kill the little kid he found there."
"I heard about that... Dororo, is it? People are saying he's extremely violent."
Hyakkimaru jumped up, sword in hand. Just like I thought! Tahoumaru's going to keep me here and then kill Dororo! He slid open the room's rice paper door and was immediately confronted with a line of samurai warriors, all armed with swords. It was like a forest of blades.
"Stay where you are, young man." Behind the samurai, a slender man stood up. "Wait for Lord Tahoumaru's return."
Lord Tahoumaru was the one in command here. He seemed to be the master of this estate.
"I have a request."
"Hahaha, I'm sure you do. Don't be stubborn. You'll be cut down before you even draw your sword."
Hyakkimaru let out a quiet laugh. "That might be true... but I have no choice." He let one of his prosthetic arms fall to the ground.
As the arm landed, a cloud of reddish brown smoke arose and spread around the room. The smoke emerged from the false arm.
"Hahaha!" Hyakkimaru's laughter was thick, as if it were moving through liquid.
Samurai warriors cried out in pain; it felt like their throats were being cut.
"Hehehe. How does the smoke feel? Like pepper in your throat? Ha!"
Hyakkimaru stood in the smoke, undaunted. He crossed his arms over his chest, removing the other prosthetic. In the time it took to blink, both sword arms were exposed.
The leader of the samurai gasped in surprise.
Hyakkimaru chuckled. "My arms were stolen by demons... two demons out of forty-eight. I'm missing a lot of pieces, but I'm still better off than you. I'm a better person than all of you!"
The leader of the samurai looked at Hyakkimaru with a dead sort of look in his eyes. He retreated as Hyakkimaru slashed his swords at him.
"My son! My son!" the samurai leader cried out. His name was Daigo Kagemitsu.
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