Beyond the Werefox Whistle
Written by Uehashi Nahoko
Illustrated by Yumiko Shirai
Part 1: A Seal is Broken
Chapter 5: Nobi and Kinawabou
A young man stood in the shade of the plum trees of surrounding Umegae Estate. He was sixteen or seventeen years old, wearing a simple shirt and pants that were too short for him. He was barefoot. His face was thin and his nose was uncommonly straight. His eyes were older than the rest of him: harsh and uncompromising where the rest of him was young and boyish.
He looked at the storehouse where Dairou and Sayo had gone and frowned deeply.
“Nobi. Are you really so interested in that girl?” a voice asked from above.
A man crouched in the tall branches of a tree looked down at Nobi with a fierce grin. His clothing was tattered and his hair was long and frazzled. His sunburned face was as round as a coin and a bit too large for his frame. His eyes twinkled with mirth.
“Kinawabou…”
Kinawabou smoothly climbed down the tree trunk and sat down on a thick tree root next to Nobi.
“I guess I can understand why you’re here,” Kinawabou said. “This estate is an interesting place. It’s a fortress: a stronghold against evil spirits. And it’s filled with guardian spirits and gods from across the sea.”
Nobi nodded slightly.
Early this morning, Nobi had followed after Sayo for the first time in a long time. He often kept watch over Sayo, at least in a cursory way. He’d been surprised to see a horse outside her door that morning, and even more surprised that the horse was a spirit beast like himself.
Nobi had no idea what was going on, but he was worried that Sayo was in trouble from some sorcery or curse, so he’d followed the horse all the way to Umegae Estate.
The horse carrying Sayo was able to enter the plum grove, but Nobi was not. The trees here had an aura around them that repelled evil spirits. If Nobi wanted to force his way in, he likely could, but the trees were unsettling to him. He knew without knowing how that if he did try to get past the trees, it would cost him more than he was willing to pay.
So Nobi had walked around the plum grove and found this shaded spot to observe as much as he could. The front and back gates were guarded by statues wielding swords containing the spirits of foreign gods. Spiritual energy wasn’t visible to the naked eye, but Nobi was a spirit beast; he could see the spiritual energy glowing blue around the swords of the gate guardians easily.
Further up the mountain slope, Nobi looked down at the estate from above and noticed a wall of spiritual energy that prevented any evil or unfriendly spirit from passing through. A sorcerer would be hard-pressed to invade this place.
“The gate guardians aren’t all you have to worry about,” Kinawabou said. “There are other gods and spirits protecting the estate. It’s almost like they don’t want little spirit foxes like you getting in. No matter how much you wanna see that girl, you should just give up.”
“Who said I wanted to see her?” Nobi asked, aloof.
Kinawabou laughed, baring his teeth.
“You’re just going to watch over her from here, then? You’re a rare fox. The foxes I’ve known are very emotional. The ones who’ve fallen in love with humans transform so they can be with that human. It’s silly.”
Nobi looked away.
Kinawabou peered closely at Nobi’s face, trying to read his expression, which was neither angry nor sad.
“How unfortunate for you to have been made a familiar,” Kinawabou said. He’d been teasing before, but now he sounded serious. “For how many years have you taken on a human form, not for affection or desire, but simply to blend in? I think that you’ve been spending less time in your fox form than in your human form.”
Kinawabou was right. Nobi had spent some years as a human exclusively. At his master’s command, he’d sneaked into Lord Harumochi’s castle as a page and had been living like any ordinary human. He didn’t even keep track of the days since he’d first come to the castle anymore.
Once, Nobi had appeared before the girl in human form. Nobi had been terrified that she would recognize him, but she hadn’t. She’d been horrified by the blood on his hands after he’d dealt with some bandits chasing her. She’d followed him to her home easily enough, though.
On the rare occasions when Nobi had free time, he would turn back into his original spirit fox form and run across the fields and forests to Sayo’s hut in Yona Forest. He would watch her work from afar, which gave him a sense of peace. He was careful enough that she never spotted him.
Nobi wasn’t sure why seeing Sayo gave him peace, but he knew that he wanted to see her as often as he could. She’d saved him when he was being chased by the hounds when she was just a child. He’d gotten to watch her grow up, at least a little.
Most of the time, Nobi was content to watch her. He never thought of touching her or getting too close. She had spiritual powers; she would be able to pierce his disguise and see what he was. That wouldn’t be so bad, maybe, but he never wanted Sayo to look at him with fear.
Nobi owed Sayo his life, and he wasn’t likely to forget it. He remembered the warmth of her arms that night, and the memory kept him warm when nothing else did.
It would have been easier for Nobi if he could forget Sayo, but he couldn’t. Through Sayo, he’d remembered warmth and compassion and having a family. Whenever he saw another living thing suffer, he felt a painful twinge of empathy. Sayo had awakened that in him.
Nobi had never enjoyed killing. He understood killing for food or in self-defense, but he’d never liked killing someone just because his master had ordered it. When his master’s orders reached him, he felt like a tool: like an arrow or a sword, heartless and incapable of emotion.
***
Kinawabou looked at Nobi with a pitying expression. Spirit foxes were as individual as people. It was just Nobi’s bad luck that he’d been enslaved to a sorcerer. Now that he’d spent so long in human form, it was likely that his usual thoughts and beliefs would be affected by human thought patterns. Would Nobi cling to his identity as a spirit fox, or become something else—something neither human nor spirit beast?
Even when a spirit fox transformed into a human, they retained an animal scent. Nobi barely smelled like anything at all. Kinawabou found that strange. Maybe Nobi really wanted to become a human—for real, not just for show.
Kinawabou looked at Nobi as his hair blew in the wind. It must be hard to be an incomplete familiar, having your heart in two places.
Kinawabou was a Tengu.1 Actually, he was still in the process of becoming a Tengu, so he called himself half-Tengu. He was a skilled hunter; his favorite prowling grounds were in the mountains. Once, when he’d gone hunting as a young man, he was kidnapped by a Tengu. Fortunately, the kidnapping Tengu wasn’t looking for people to eat that day, but a companion to alleviate his boredom. Kinawabou traveled all over the world, to the east and the west, over mountains and through fields, with the Tengu.
Eventually, the Tengu grew bored of Kinawabou’s company and sent him back to his original hunting grounds. Kinawabou found himself tired of his familiar surroundings now that he’d seen the world. He had no family—his parents had died, and he had no children. He thought that the fact he’d been approached by a Tengu was far from a coincidence.
Kinawabou asked the Tengu for advice on ways to become a Tengu. The one that appealed to him the most was to become the husband of an ivy spirit that could wrap around a tree. In pursuit of this goal, Kinawabou tried to learn a technique of flying through the air with vines while scattering ivy seeds. As he rose and fell, he made a mistake and fell farther than he intended. He got stuck between two boulders with no way out. His power to fly was still immature.
Just as he was about to give up completely, he heard Nobi call out to him.
“Do you want me to help you? Or do you want to stay as you are?”
Kinawabou looked up and saw a fearsome spirit fox standing on top of a rock.
This was Kinawabou’s and Nobi’s first meeting.
Over the years, Kinawabou had acquired a great deal of spiritual power and had the general air of a Tengu. But part of him was still human, and he had no trouble understanding humans and thinking like them. That was why he only ever called himself a half-Tengu. Both of his halves were important.
Nobi’s origins were mysterious to him. He was a spirit fox who smelled human, even after becoming a sorcerer’s familiar. Kinawabou guessed that Nobi’s smell had something to do with his heart. He wasn’t wild, ferocious and arrogantly strong like a wild beast was.
Meeting Nobi always reminded Kinawabou of his first meeting with the Tengu who’d kidnapped him. The Tengu had despised sorcerers. Kinawabou remembered what he’d said: “The people have forgotten to venerate nature and natural spirits, believing themselves to be gods and turning themselves into vile sorcerers. They bind spirit beasts to their will without their consent. Spirit foxes are especially pitiful specimens. They become tainted by the sorcerer’s magic and can never return to their homeland. By binding spirit foxes here, the sorcerers deprive them of much of their spiritual energy and power. They are condemned to live in the space between worlds, never truly belonging anywhere.”
When he heard this, Kinawabou had asked, “Why didn’t the nature spirits punish the sorcerers?”
The Tengu had burst out laughing. “They have been punished! All sorcerers shorten their lifespan in exchange for the power they use. Long ago, when people still worshiped the nature spirits, they might have been granted both power and long life. It’s a shame.”
After that, Kinawabou had married an ivy spirit and became half-Tengu. By communicating with ivy spirits, he was able to learn about other nature spirits and the spiritual health of the forests and the mountains. They were deeply connected to Awai, the world of the spirits.
Kinawabou hadn’t aged a day since becoming half-Tengu. Spirit foxes born in the world of the spirits were long-lived. Spirit fox familiars didn’t live as long naturally and were subject to a great deal of danger. From Kinawabou’s perspective, spirit fox familiars were buried before they were born.
If he had to guess, Kinawabou thought that Nobi’s parents were unlucky. Nobi was born in this world, away from the spirit world, and was immediately captured by a sorcerer. Nobi knew the sorcerer’s spell before he ever knew his spirit fox family. He’d never been anything but a sorcerer’s familiar.
Familiars who disobeyed their masters could be killed by them, easy as breathing. Nobi would never be allowed to befriend the girl, never mind more. Nobi knew that. Nobi watched over her from afar, but he never did anything else. He never would. That was why Kinawabou felt so sorry for him.
“Nobi, the sun is setting.”
Nobi raised his head and shook it a little as if his thoughts had been far away.
Kinawabou pulled out a vine from his pocket. “You’re going back to the castle, aren’t you?” he asked. “Want to hang out with me on the way?” He grinned, waving the vine around.
The ghost of a smile touched the corners of Nobi’s mouth. “Are you fast enough to outfly me, half-Tengu?” His tone was cheerful.
“Wanna find out?” Kinawabou asked.
And they were off.
Kinawabou tossed his vine up high. It twisted and took flight of its own accord. Kinawabou held on for dear life and ran/flew down the mountain path toward the castle.
Nobi somersaulted, vaulting into the air on his back legs as he transformed into his spirit fox form. The light of early sunset gleamed on his fur as he ran. The plum blossoms were in bloom everywhere, filling the air with a sweet scent.
The castle where Nobi and Kinawabou was heading was under a pall of sadness despite the pleasant spring weather. Lord Harumochi’s son, Yasumochi, was dying after a fall from a horse. He had endured the winter, but had reached the last of his strength.
On that beautiful evening, Yasumochi drew his last breath.
Sayo didn’t know it yet, but Yasumochi’s death would change her fate in ways nobody expected.
Translator's Note
1 A Tengu is a supernatural being that is sometimes considered a god, demon, or goblin. Tengu are often depicted with red faces, long noses, glittering eyes, long claws, and beaks like birds. They can also take the form of wandering Buddhist monks with wings and feather fans. Tengu are known for being talented swordsmen. They are also believed to have magical powers that they use for both good and evil. The word Tengu literally means "Heavenly Dog."↩
No comments:
Post a Comment