The Way of the Fox (5 page)

After a long, long walk, it was wonderful to indulge in the simple pleasures of the camp.
Sura flaked in the grass for a while, enjoying the peace and quiet. But soon she stirred herself, drew out a pot, and wandered off into the woods to forage. She came back sometime later looking quite pleased with herself. She set a pot full of water over the fire and busied herself shaking in salt and spices.

The
fox cut up what seemed to be a number of unwashed vegetables and mushrooms. She threw the entire collection into the pot – along with a handful of grass. Kuno finally took notice. He sniffed the air. The scent of Sura’s cooking was decidedly odd.

Tonbo came back from his explorations, carrying a bundle of firewood. He saw Sura at the cooking pot, and flicked a glance to Kuno.

“You let her cook?”

Sura too
k great exception to the remark. She brandished the wooden spoon she had been using to stir the stew. “There’s no need to complain! I can cook!”

“And when did this miracle occur?”

Sura stood with one fist upon her hip. “I can cook anything with legs!” She gave a wave of her spoon. “When the legs stop moving, it’s done.”

It had been a long time since the midday meal. Kuno finished wiping clean his sword and looked over to Sura.

“Sura san – how long until dinner is ready?”

Sura thoughtfully plunged her spoon into the pot. She came up with what looked like several large beetles, all of which madly wriggled their legs.

“Aaaah – it might take a while.”

Kuno decidedly lost his appetite.

“I believe I will just have the rice.”

A fly came buzzing through the evening light. Sura’s spear had been stuck into the ground, point uppermost, with the sheath carelessly left on the ground beside it. The fly blundered into the blade, and simply fell in two – both halves dropping into the rice pot. Kuno put a hand over his stomach.

“Then again – perhaps a salad might do…”

Tonbo glowered at Sura, and nudged at her spear sheath with his foot.

“I have told you before – keep the sheath on your weapon.”

“Hey – I love my little
hoko yari!
My little
‘Leaf Cutter’
.” Sura picked up the weapon and cherished it. It seemed to almost sparkle in her hand. “She loves me, too!”

Kuno gave a frown. The
hoko yari
was a very, very ancient form of weapon. This one was a decidedly lethal variant on the design. Used to hook, trip, hamstring, cut armour lacings and disarm, it was – well, a decidedly foxy weapon. Kuno looked the weapon over, cast an eye at Sura’s priestly robes, and gave a scowl.

“
It is certainly impressive. But I am uncertain that a priestess should be carrying such a weapon in public.”

“I’m a girl with a deadly weapon! What’s not to love?”
Sura struck a pose. “This is a holy artefact! No exorcist priestess should be without one!” She saw the question forming in Kuno’s eyes, and forestalled him entirely. “I did not steal it. I
repurposed
it. We were meant for each other!”

“Indeed.”

Kuno straightened his shoulders. Sincerity was a core pillar of the Way of the Warrior. He bowed to Sura in respect.

“
I have not yet complimented you upon your skill in battle, Sura san. Please forgive me. Your handling of the monster yesterday – it was most impressive.”

Sura sat herself down on a log, bringing over a pot of tea.

“You are most welcome, Kuno san. You are a pleasure to work with.” She poured out tea for one and all. “Excellent sword work! A hag’s nothing to sneeze at!”

Kuno
leaned forward and tried to understand. “So… that was a
hag?
A ghost? A spirit…?“

“
Ooooh – definitely physical. A creature from the realm of slaughter.” The fox woman scratched herself. “Think of it as sort of a hungry tourist.”

The
samurai stroked at his moustache.

“
You are a
reibai
? An exorcist?” Kuno could see prayer papers hidden in Sura’s sleeve. “So your spell… You destroyed the creature?”

“Well – banished it.
Gave it a sucking chest wound, then sent it packing back to where it came from.” She seemed wonderfully satisfied. “Damaged like that? It’s own relatives would have had it for lunch thirty seconds after it landed back home.”

“Home?”

“Home!” Sura put her empty teacup into Kuno’s hand and stood up. “Here.”

She shifted form, once again
becoming a humanoid fox. Stepping forward on her black-furred feet, Sura swept a section of leaves aside with her feet and her tail. She saw Kuno staring at her, and looked at him in puzzlement.

“What?”

“Oh! Nothing.” Kuno cleared his throat. “I have just… rarely ever seen…”

“Shape changing?” Sura urged Kuno over to her side. “You’ll get
used to it! Anyway – here here here! Here we go…!”

He looked at her in puzzlement. “
Why have you just changed form?”

“I’m telling a story! I’m revealing facts. Foxes are naturally cuddly and set their audience at ease.”

Tonbo was in the middle of cleaning out the pots. “I do not feel particularly at ease.”

Sura flicked a glare in Tonbo’s direction. “Shhh! I’m an artist at work!”

Using the butt end of her spear, Sura drew a large diagram in the dirt. She made a central circle, then surrounded it with seven other circles – all interlinking. With the skill of long practice, she sketched characters into each circle, giving them their names.

“So
– we have eight worlds. At the centre is the mortal world. And surrounding us – seven more. Each separated from one another – and all of them border the mortal realm. We are the centre – the conduit.” She tapped at the circles one by one. “Mortal world.
Then we have the shadow realm, the realm of the restful dead, the realm of the celestial heavens...
Then here we have the realm of dreams, the realm of hungry ghosts and the realm of slaughter.
And finally – the realm of oni – the demons. Once a creature has been identified, the
torijutsu
practitioner then opens a gateway to the home realm and banishes the creature back to where it came from – with its arse whipped so thoroughly that it can never bother us again!” Sura struck a pose. “So there you have it! Kitsune Sura. Not just a medium – not just an exorcist – but an opener of the very gateways between worlds!”

Kuno
was cautiously amazed.

“
You have truly learned this? You can open a gate to any of the other realms?”

Sura brushed modestly at her clothes. “
Oh – well, once you have the knack…!”

From over at the camp fire, Tonbo fixed her with a level glance.

“Most of it is still theory – not practice.”

“
Well, that would be the problem with practicing a lost art.” Sura waved a black-furred hand. “Some of the realms may be a tad problematic. There might just be a
slight
problem with opening a way into the heavens. It’s a bit of a fox thing…” She made light of the problem.
“
And of course – the demon realm…”

Kuno look
ed at the circle of the realm of the oni.

“
Closed for all eternity. Sealed by the first emperor.”

“
Sealed forever.” The fox waggled a finger towards the other realms. “But the others? From time to time, something slips through the cracks. Creatures break through into the mortal realm. And when that happens, I am perfectly equipped to send the thing right back to where it came from.”

“It sounds extremely difficult.”

“Oh – It’s highly specialised!” The fox ticked points off on her fingers. ‘I have to identify the creature, decide which realm it comes form. Then there’s the shield spells, the gate opening spells – the spell papers…”

Kuno listened, frowning. “But you say that this is a lost art?”

Tonbo nodded. “She is the sole practitioner.”

“Yes – I see.” Kuno cleared his throat. “Please excuse my ignorance – But why bother with gates and realms and… Why do you not simply destroy the creature?”

Sura made an easy gesture. “It’s a Taoist thing. If possible, restore balance!” She traced a symbol in mid air with her spear, and the image somehow lingered, shimmering. “When all eight worlds are in balance – the Tao is flowing undisturbed. I am an agent of cosmic harmony, adrift in the infinite ocean of the Tao. Abiding in a mustard seed, I shall gaze down upon the mountains.”

Tonbo nodded. ”
And so why did you stab the thing before you banished it?”

“Hey, that thing gnawed on travellers and skinned a bride! A little mortal injury was called for!”

The fox sat happily down upon a log.

“
We can make this work! I have gateway magic, spiritualism, priestly spells. We have Tonbo as the mighty monster basher. Plus my amazing foxy talents for investigation…” She tapped a finger against her long pointed muzzle. “But you know – having some sort of
official
right to be nosey would be
so
useful. If only we knew an itinerant deputy…”

Kuno cleared his throat – and then quite suddenly he noticed a speck upon his right arm. He almost leapt clean out of his skin.

“A flea! That was a flea! Is it a flea?”

“Oh it wasn’t a flea! Don’t be such a baby!” Sura glared at the man. “Really
. You are going to have to get a deeper grasp upon the adventuring life!”

The man resentfully
slapped at his sleeve, moving further away from the fox. “Simply because we travel the wilds does not mean that we must be at home with vermin.” Kuno scowled, checking his clothes for insects. “I do wish we had found an inn. I feel like a mendicant.”

“Just enjoy yourself!” Sura helped herself to the last of the tea. “
We have the stars, the scent of earth and leaves. The troubles of civilization are a hundred miles away…” Sura savoured the steam drifting from her teacup. “Relax! The evening is under perfect control. Trust me – I’m a fox!”

An arrow whirred out of the shadows and took the teacup right out of her hand.

Sura dove aside with marvellous agility. Kuno and Tonbo flung themselves flat behind the trees. A second arrow whirred through the twigs high above – another thudded into a nearby tree. Sura stuck her head up to see what was going on, and Tonbo firmly pressed her back down into shelter.

Off in the dark forest, there were shouts and calls – the sound of several angry men running and
crashing through the underbrush.

A white figure glimmered in the
dark, racing in terror away from the noise. The figure ducked as an arrow flickered wildly overhead.

“Stop it! Please – I didn’t do anything!”

The fleeing figure was delicately feminine – small and slight, and shimmering white in the gloom. She ran fleeing through the forest, while a crowd with lanterns came blundering in her wake.

The woman
reeled in bewilderment and fright. An arrow from a hunting bow flashed towards her, but a little glittering blue creature dashed out of the dark to swat the arrow aside. The fugitive girl put her head down and ran.

A swarm of angry peasants were closing in upon her.
A great hairy peasant lunged at the girl, then suddenly fell backwards: a small egg-sized chunk of rock flew out of the dark and hit the man on the forehead. The rock then swerved back and repeatedly bounced up and down upon his skull, making the man swat at the air, screeching in fright. The girl ran on, scrabbling her way into the little campsite dell.

A gigantic villager ran at the girl carrying a massive two-handed mallet. Sura had seen quite enough. She
came forward, spear in hand and put the girl behind herself.

“
Hey! You people stop that!”

More villagers came charging out of the darkness. Kuno moved forward. As more men charged towards the girl, he struck with his sheathed sword, spilling one man o
ff his feet and staggering another two backwards.

The man with the mallet raged forward to swing at Sura. Tonbo stepped in and simply punched the man in the head. The huge villager staggered – his knees buckled – and then he fell.

Two men dragged out their swords. Kuno instantly drew, moving with speed and precision. His sword handling commanded instant respect. Kuno faced down the villagers, who backed carefully away.

“I am Imperial
Deputy Asodo Kuno. The revered priestess has requested that you stop.”

Nursing a bloodied head, the man with the mallet pointed at the terrified girl.

“She killed him! She killed Katsura!”

The girl timidly emerged out from behind Kuno.

She was a
nezumi
– a rat spirit – slim, petite and grave. Startlingly, the girl was pure white. Seen in half-animal form, she had pure white fur and long elegant whiskers. Her long hair was the pure, stark white of new fallen snow. Her eyes - frightened and intelligent – were an astonishing shade of pink. She wore travelling clothes, and carried a pair of
kama
through her belt. The blades of the little rice sickles were covered with plain wooden sheathes.