The Way of the Fox (6 page)

An elderly villager
came forward and bowed nervously to Kuno, Tonbo and Sura, pointing towards the rat girl.

“Sir! Samurai san. The rat spirit is a murderer! We have just discovered her handiwork. She is evil!”

The girl shook her head in fright.

“No!
I swear - I was merely sleeping by the road!”

The villagers surged forward again, all shouting and snarling
– all decrying the rat girl. Sura lost her patience and stepped forwards, trying to call for order.

“
Hey hey hey hey hey! You can’t just go around chasing people! Where’s your evidence? What the hell is wrong with you people?”

A villager saw her fox face and shook an old sword in her face.

“An animal spirit! Get her! She’s just like the other one!”

Sura lunged forward and used her spear to slap the man’s weapon aside. Her blade flickered in, halting an inch from the villager’s throat.
With white fangs bared, she was suddenly no laughing matter.

“No – this one is a
homicidal
animal spirit. Can you spot the difference?”

The villager’s eyes bugged. He gave a panicked no
d.

“Yes – yes! Thank you for pointing out
my error.”

Tonbo came forward – massive
and thoughtful, cradling his tetsubo beneath one arm. He gave the rat spirit a considering look.

“She does not have the look of a murderer.” If anything, the rat looked like a scholar or an artist: shy, intelligent and clearly timid. “What exactly do you think she has done?”

The elderly villager bowed.

“Honoured
samurai! She crept up on Katsura in the lookout tower and slew him in the dark!”

The rat sobbed. Her voice was wonderfully cultured
but full of terror.

“
I would never!” She wrung her hands. “I was only looking for food! Samurai – please believe me!”

Tonbo glowered. “Quiet! We shall investigate this further.” He t
urned to the elderly villager. “Where is the village head-man?”

“Samurai san! Katsura was the village head
-man.”

Tonbo scratched the stubble on his chin, considering the whole affair.

“Kitsune Sura and I are Spirit Hunters. Asodo Kuno holds a deputy’s warrant. We will investigate the facts of this murder to pass on to higher authority.” He motioned to the rat spirit to walk in company with Kuno. “Take us to the murder site.”

Kuno turn
ed to the villagers.

“Why was your village head
-man up in a watchtower at night?”

The villagers looked amongst themselves in confusion. The elderly villager frowned.

“We do not know, samurai. He merely told us he intended to keep watch.”

“
Then let us all find out. Please take us there.”

Sura, Tonbo and Kuno gathered up their camping gear, armour and packs. The
peasants – in no way mollified but no longer boiling with anger, led the way towards their village. There were at least a dozen on them – and all seemed keen now to win over the good opinion of visiting dignitaries. Many clustered about Tonbo, eagerly pointing out the way. Sura and Kuno accompanied the rat spirit, who changed herself into human form.

In human shape, the rat girl
had a gentle, intelligent face. She had a neat, well groomed air. Her long pink tail curled demurely. Her hands were held clasped neatly at her middle. She looked to Sura in tired gratitude.

“
Thank you, lady, for saving me!” She was quite exhausted with emotion. “I swear I did nothing. I am only a poor lonely traveller…”

Tonbo gave a grunt.
“Hmmmph!
You are not saved yet.”

Sura swatted at the man. “Ignore him!” She looked the girl over in interest. “A nezumi! In the countryside?”

“Yes. Yes indeed.” The girl gave a bow. “I am Nezumi Chiri. I am most pleased to make your acquaintance.”

“Chiri! Great name!” Sura indicated her companions. “That’s Tonbo – this is Kuno. So what were you doing to rile the natives?”

“Merely passing through, Sura san.” The rat gave a sad sigh – a sound that was pure music. “I could not afford to stay at the inn, so I was sleeping beside the road. But no one likes a rat…”

Two small
creatures swirled down through the air to settle upon Chiri’s shoulders. One seemed to be a small, rather grumpy rock, and the other was a gorgeous, translucent insect, part dragonfly, part butterfly. The two creatures nuzzled against Chiri’s cheeks.

Sura changed back into human form. She was scowling, her mind already at work. Tonbo saw her shape change and
nodded in approval.

“Ah. Less confrontational?”

“Didn’t want to overwhelm the natives with charisma.” Sura flicked a glance at Chiri. “Rattie girl isn’t raising any alarm flags. I’m not seeing any motivation for murder, there. She doesn’t look as if she fought anyone. She seems fairly reclusive…”

“Stranger things have happened.”

“Yeah – we’ll see.”

Villagers lit the way
through the forest with pale yellow lamps. They walked through a gully that bypassed a great curve of the main road, and came at last to a long, scattered village that straggled along beside the Ayamejo road. Kuno walked beside the distraught, dishevelled rat girl. Sura took the lead, listening with one ear as the elderly villager avidly described to her the village’s constant troubles with pilgrims, rowdy couriers and passing samurai.

They came at last to the centre of the village, where a great, tall, spindly watch tower stood beside the road. A collection of
frightened village women and children stood at the bottom of the tower, all holding lanterns. None of them seemed to have the slightest idea of what to do.

The immense man armed with a mallet conferred with the women. He returned leading a nine year
old boy by the hand. He sketched a bow to Sura.

Kuno looked up at the tall tower. It had been made from four long spindly tree trunks, with a solid wooden platform at the top, and an old gong to help sound the alarm in case of bandits or forest fire. It soared forty feet above the village, and would have a clear view during daylight of the road, woods and hills in all directions. Kuno mused upon the platform, stroking at his chin.

“
Not twenty minutes ago, honoured samurai! The culprit was clearly at hand, and so we gave chase!”

Sura
scratched at the root of her tail, looking at the rickety platform high above.

“
So is the body still up there? No one’s messed with it? You’re sure no one’s touched it?” She saw the villagers all nod – all of them wide-eyed as owls. Sura began tying back her sleeves. “All right. Tonbo – let’s go see what we can see. Kuno san – perhaps you can ask our nezumi friend if she saw or heard anything?”

Sura left her spear in Kuno’s care
, then took a lantern in her teeth. She swarmed up the tower with her long tail bobbing behind. Tonbo followed her up the ladder at a steady pace, wooden rungs creaking ominously beneath his weight. Kuno watched for a while, then turned to the rat woman at his side.

The woman was still fright
ened – though far, far less so than before. Her strange companions, the rock and insect, floated in the air beside her. The blue insect fussed with her hair, grooming her briefly, then settled in place as though it were a magnificent hair ornament. For its own part, the rock seemed to regard Kuno carefully. It clearly held some very deep suspicions.

The ne
zumi girl had a grace of carriage and a gentle intelligence that immediately struck the heart. Kuno stared for a moment, quite entranced. He had never seen anything like her in all his live-long days. He bowed to her, suddenly feeling oddly shy.

Kuno felt pleased. The girl’s long hair seemed to drift like moonlight in the soft night breeze.
He felt the floating rock’s considering eye upon him, and made an effort not to stare at the girl.

Nezumi
Chiri gave a rueful nod. “Not so flamboyant or as powerful as the fox clans, I am afraid. We are creatures of the towns.”

“F
rom your speech and demeanour, Chiri san... Clearly you are born to a family of some importance?”

The girl looked
aside – polite, yet clearly embarrassed.

“
Yes, Kuno san. But... circumstances can change.”

It
was clearly a painful subject. Kuno – a creature of quite delicate sensibilities – tactfully moved away from the subject. He turned to inspect the road.

“
So, Chiri San. The villagers found you beside the road?”

“The villagers knew that you were there.” Kuno pondered carefully. “But what made them fix upon you as a suspect for murder
?”

Chiri gave a deep sigh. She moved so that Kuno
need not see the deep shame upon her face.

“
The village head-man had chased me from the village an hour before.” The girl hung her head. “I had begged for food earlier that day. They are not like rats. There is no – no sense of communion in their hearts. He – he drove me away.” She set her shoulders. “But I did not let them see me cry.”

“A samurai will pretend that he has eaten a banquet, even though he has dined upon nothing but grass.” Kuno gave the girl a profound bow. “My deep respects
to you, Nezumi Chiri.”

The floating rock seemed to grudgingly accept Kuno’s presence. Together, Kuno and Chiri looked up at the watchtower overhead, where
the lantern had finally reached the crown. Chiri watched the dim silhouettes of Tonbo and Sura far, far above.

“It must be very interesting, working closely with a fox, Kuno san.”

“It has definitely been interesting so far…”

The watchtower was definitely not a comfortable place to be. During bad weather, it would be exposed to the whims of rain, snow, wind and hail. In high summer, it might, however, catch a cooling breeze or two. Sura made her way up the ladder, eyes wincing from the smoke coming from the lantern held in her teeth. She slowed as she reached the last few rungs, and approached the murder scene with silence, dedication and stealth.

A body lay upon the small wooden platform.
Sura halted, checking the area carefully, then quietly climbed up. She made space for Tonbo, careful to disturb nothing at the scene.

An old peasant lay slumped against the upright posts. The dead man’s eyes bulged – his tongue was swollen – and yet in the light of the lantern, his face seemed pale.
There was a very faint acrid scent in the air.

He had been an old man – grey haired, but still strong and solid. His hands were calloused with work – his robes had been darned and mended neatly many times.
Sura looked upon the old man’s body, and her heart sank into sadness.

“Oh no.”

There were offices to perform before other work could begin. Sura knelt beside the body. She bowed her head, drew in a breath, and then lifted her face and opened out her hands in prayer.

A faint, gentle light sparkled in her hands.

“
Peace. Let no souls grieve.

There is a vessel that has no sides

Infinite, it can never be filled.

Eternal, it may never be emptied.

Fathomless, it is the origin of all things.

Coming from the eternal – returning to the eternal… What is there, then, that can ever be truly lost?

Drift now in the fountain of all being, and be filled with boundless joy.
”

Tonbo waited until she had finished. He nodded his head in approval, then came fully up onto the platform.

They examined the body together, one each side of the corpse, working with immense care and exact attention. Sura held the lantern while Tonbo checked the body carefully for
signs.