The Hell Travelers' Letters I
To my descendants in the years to come,
I do not know how much longer this war will rage, but, as I watch my wife and son sleep, I felt it best to leave behind instruction for my young babe and the children following after him if my time is swift to its end. I believe it has been my duty to protect all life, to teach what wisdom and what ignorance I possess, to encourage the openness to learn, and to love all living creatures unconditionally. It is the way of the Bushido and of our family. Consider them founding principles in this way of life and in this art of living.
I was once a simple baker before my home was attacked by enemy troops. My defensive fighting style introduced me to the martial world and my insightful taisho, and I became a soldier to the first emperor of Niji Saku. I do not know what our humble town will be called in the future, but I want you to know its meaning in my time. Niji, the rainbow, represents a promise to the people. Saku, the bloom, represents life that changes in stages. I believe our family was chosen to protect life in all of its stages through a silent yet noble promise. While training, I met my brother-in-arms and my wife on a rainy afternoon. I taught her to bake and accepted him into my family. My wife was agile, familiar with the sword, and quite charming! My brother could be careless at times, but he was brave and quite clever. Our home, our village, our lives were changing but for the better. Our roads became more structured as they went from dirty and beaten paths to stone. Homes were no longer huts made from clay and tree branches but became more solid with wood and stone. The people were no longer beggars or refugees. We were villagers. We were a system. You could say we were becoming a republic. Seeing these changes made my chest swell often.
I was called away to battle once training had been complete. Five years, I have been at war and my wife busy with work and provisions for the efforts. While at war, I learned of the true prowess of demons when they feasted on soldiers' flesh and defenseless villages. Some had even sided with our enemies and decimated our numbers. The plundering they had done to us, humans, was enough to wash my soul in sadness. I remembered the days when my home in the east had been terrorized by imps. My parents grew tired of rebuilding a burnt home. We, thus, moved westward to escape a siege and wound up in this camp. An inu demon had flown over us once, but he didn't harm us or speak to us. He just watched us like he was waiting for someone... or something. When he found nothing of interest, he went away. I was only a boy then. That was the beginning of my life as a demon expeller.
My taisho was given permission to form a campaign on the southern fronts of enemy territory. It was a bloody battle and filled with destruction. Having to retreat, I noticed that the smoke had a certain smell. A spicy odor even. Demons that normally devoured the fallen were running away from the wildfires. I requested a group of men to investigate the region for a spicy plant while we collected the dead for cremation, but stronger demons had come to prey on us. Ones that were immune to that smell and could take the form of a human. I had to go alone. A Shinto priest from my village heard about my discovery and crafted an incantation that would aid me. He covered my sword in a scroll and wrote the incantations using wax and coal from candles within the temples. That night, when I slept with my wife, I had an astounding dream of a man crying silver tears. The river of tears formed a spear with the very incantation that the priest had written on the scrolls! When I woke, I left home and ran into the forest. A red-skinned and horned demon was waiting for me.
This was the hardest fight I ever had to endure. The beast was powerful, angry, and bloodthirsty. Without it, however, I would not have found the plant that sent weaker demons running from the battlefields. With everything I had, the beast was struck with an attack I do not believe I could have ever produced on my own to this very eve. I barely remember what happened! I saw the priest's incantation lifting off my blade and I barely recall seeing a bolt of lightning coming down from the heavens, but the rest was a blur. The red beast was without limbs and movement. I presumed him dead enough to gather every spicy plant I could get my hands on and returned to my taisho. Incense against the strong was born. A man, who the people chose to be emperor, was introduced to me. He learned of the incense, the incantation, and my sword, and he and my taisho formed a plan to expel the demons from our village. I, and the Shinto priests, formed a barrier around our village.
My firstborn son had come into the world not long after. The enemy king had visited our humble village, but he sought not war with us. Instead, he wished to meet with me and my family to learn of us. Together, an alliance was formed, and the border of incense was formed around other territory as well. Homes were painted and cleansed to ward off the smaller demons. Though our homes were safe, the roads connecting us were not. We needed something stronger to stop these demons. I prayed nightly for a solution. Some eves, I chose to perform the tsujigiri using my katana on nearby demons, but I reserved my powers for the demons that attacked me. Those that did not, I spared for I had no ill will towards them. Other eves, I would be overwhelmed by dreams. The dreams of the man crying silver tears haunted me until he spoke.
Upon the cliff, a sentry awaits
In your hand, humanity's fate
The ogre's jaws wet with blood
Souls he'll trap, his reign begins
Kaishi Novum restores life again
His words made no sense to me, O, but when has a dream ever been sensible? Nevertheless, I went in search of this cliff with my brother. It had to have been close. My taisho made the journey with us as well, claiming he knew of one cliff surrounded by water. It was some miles away from the docks and, upon our first visit, it was also surrounded by beasts. They were too strong against any weapon or incense we had, so we returned home but those demons reminded me of the inu demon I saw as a boy. The powerlessness I felt when the imp demons destroyed my home over and over again haunted me just like the dreams. I refused to be powerless as a man! I thought for sure that death would be swift when I made the trek alone, but my strength grew when I knew that my wife, my son, my brother, my taisho, and my emperor were going to be in danger of another siege if war continued to kill us. With hope, I pushed on and I fought... until I found the sentry. As the dream foretold, a silver spear had been waiting for me. Something in me had changed. Something that I cannot describe with simple words.
I heard the man's voice again! Coming from the spear! When I took the spear into my hands, a bond had formed, and the king ogre terrorized my home. I was able to defend it for a time, but the beast weakened me and trapped my beloved friend inside of his magic mirror. The only way I could save him was if I found him in hell per the demon's instructions. I knew it was a trap. I knew no human could enter hell without death, but my brother-in-arms did not deserve such a cruel fate. He deserved to be married, with child, to ripen with old age. He deserved life! I rested and trained until I was fully prepared. Before I left my wife and son, I prayed for a way to save my brother. A green pheasant perhaps as large as a takabune came to me with a cloak and a belt made from a vine that smelled of spice. I found myself in a place called the Blood Oath's Circle. The creator of the silver spear stood before me and used my hope and love of humanity to transform them into weapons. My fate... and yours, my child, my children is now tied to the heavens and to hell.
Together, the green pheasant and I went to war with the monster. My brother was freed, but his soul could not return to the living world because he had been taken too deep into hell. I wept for 49 days, begging for his salvation. Hearing my pleas, the man came to me and sentenced the beastly ogre to a life of servitude. My brother's soul was made pure, and he lives happily in the heavens at the man's side.
I leave to you, my sons and daughters, the king ogre's mirror, the sentry with all of my enchanted weapons, and my founding principles. You are going to be misunderstood because of your powers. I cannot change this. Hell is a threshold for demon kind. Death will a human surely meet should they enter the gates of hell, but you are able to travel through such an awful place unscathed as long as you wear the green pheasant's garments. Have no shame in your abilities. You were chosen to fulfill a promise to protect life whether it is through your hope or through your love. For those who do not understand you, forgive them and ensure that they never have to see what we see. You are beautifully and wonderfully made. You are strong. You are gifted. You are perhaps one of very few humans - nay, you are perhaps the only human - who can travel through hell.
Jigoku kara inochi o sukuu. Save a life from hell. Save the lives of the ones you love from their hell.
With eternal love and awaited guidance,
Unmei
_______________________________________________
"Mama Mei-Mei! Mama Mei-Mei! Wake up!"
Kijiro was pushing Meioshi back and forth with all his little strength, trying to wake the doctor. Meioshi had been up making her shimenawa throughout the night until her task was done. She was lying down on the pond shoreline of her estate, peacefully sleeping as the sun rose up to signal the morning hour. Kijiro, being the excitable one, had already woken up earlier to watch the sun rise from the engawa. He was happy to be able to see the days go by without having to work at the okiyas. A few samurai had taken notice to his blossoming beauty and started inspecting him, but Ohta kept Kijiro away from them as best as he could whenever he was around. Kijiro didn't like the way he was being touched by those men and maybe one or two women. It scared him, especially when Ohta or Meioshi was upset about it. At least, he could enjoy his days at school until they had to return to the okiyas again, which is why he was trying to get Meioshi to get off her butt. Ohta was getting Chiura and Juba ready for breakfast with a quick washup and some idle playtime. Kijiro washed up, made his own tea, grabbed a fruit from the guest barrel, and brushed his hair before anyone woke up. He was a bit of an early bird when he was able to stay with Meioshi and be his natural self. Shaking his target once more, he got the doctor to respond with a soft coo, but she merely shifted a little into a more comfortable position. Kijiro pouted with displeasure before an idea came to mind. He grinned mischievously, took a few steps back, and then ran and flopped onto Meioshi's stomach.
"Oof!" Kijiro shouted, landing on the doctor's toned stomach.
"Eek!" Meioshi shrilled, hands and feet almost meeting as she jumped up. "What on Earth? Little one! What are you doing?"
"It's breakfast time, Mama Mei-Mei. You promised to make us Ogura toast today," the boy reminded with an eager smile. "With the plum pudding. I demand the pudding!"
"I bet you do, my nippy gnat," Meioshi replied, tickling the boy and chuckling at him as he laughed. "Come, come. Let's make it together while your brother and sisters get ready."
"Okay!" Kijiro cheered, climbing off Meioshi to follow her into the kitchen.
With Shinju o Tateru burned to nothing, Meioshi was able to fulfill her promise to Nayoko: to free the children and give them a real home. Each group of children she escorted off the premises were not only attending summer school but also given the option to be adopted or simply live together with an elder brother or sister. Of course, she would be busy visiting them and making sure they were safe on her journeys, but the doctor was happy that she was able to complete her ultimate goal in the okiya village. She wasn't sure what the house mother had chosen to do, but she had hoped that she would perhaps look into the whereabouts of her family someday. She deserved some mercy.
Kijiro was very eager to learn how to make this breakfast dish as he helped make the red bean paste. Meioshi watched the little one make tea and was quite impressed with his skills. He would make an excellent chef and teamaker someday. Perhaps that's why he wanted to help in the kitchen so much. He was developing a passion for cooking at such a young age. Completed with the paste for the time being, Meioshi prepared her oven for baking with her little helper, of course. As they molded the shokupan into five pieces for baking, Ohta and the girls came hopping in to offer some help. Chiura and Juba cooked rice while Ohta picked out a mugicha tea from Meioshi's tea leaf closet. Ohta used to marvel at the doctor's collection of tea when he was younger, especially when he first started going to school in Heiwa. Though still enchanted by the pots and other colorful gourds or containers Meioshi kept her teas in, Ohta had gained a mastery of the tea ceremony with work and was instead simply impressed by Meioshi's process in both making the tea and preparing it for serving. There was a different set of unique steps for each type of tea! And, somehow, she remembered each set of steps! That was why Ohta wanted to become a teacher someday, however. He wanted to train other young girls and boys the way Meioshi was trained.
"Whoa! That smells so good, Kijiro!" Juba complimented, eyes sparkling at the shokupan turning brown.
"Thanks, Juba!" the boy responded, blushing. "Oh, do you want apple pudding instead of the plum pudding? I forgot you're allergic."
"I want the wild berry pudding!" Juba replied, placing her small hands on her cheeks and wiggling a bit.
"I just want the apple pudding," Chiura said, grabbing her small teddy bear that Meioshi stitched for her. It was made of mainly towels and stuffing, but Chiura customized it with capes and haori jackets so she could accessorize it with bracelets or her trinket pins.
Ohta walked in the kitchen quietly before saying, "That sounds like a lot of pudding to make. Who's cleaning up the mess?"
"Can we lick the bowl?" the three little ones asked in unison with stars in their eyes. "It'll be super clean."
"Who taught you how to - ?" Ohta questioned, watching Meioshi turn and walk away sneakily. Guilty as charged. She let them lick the dessert bowls. No wonder they kept asking him to do that when he cooked a dessert! This silly woman! He then sighed and replied with a smile, "Yes, my little grapple bears. You can lick the bowls."
After they cheered, the morning continued with them enjoying breakfast in the lounging room. They engaged in more play on the estate until it was time to get their supplies ready for school. While Ohta escorted the little ones into town, Meioshi stayed behind to finish her ritual. She dipped her shimenawa into her pond and watched it sink into the depths. Seeing something disturb the waters made her narrow her eyes. A zipping motion directed her to the left side of the cliff. More zipping disturbances danced across the water until Meioshi moved to follow the direction of the water.
The Forest of Lurking Beasts was now her personal training grounds these days, but it also served as a meeting place for her and Shanwang in the event that she couldn't ride her boat to his mountain palace. The forest was surprisingly peaceful to her. Birds chirped, rabbits foraged, the summer breeze played in the trees. Demons no longer haunted the area since it's purification. Passing over the Gate of Ogre Flame, Meioshi walked barefoot over burning stone and pockets of lava unscathed until she reached a large cave. Rose-colored flames were birthed suddenly and torches into the cavern lit themselves. The king ogre was inside and waiting for her. She proceeded to enter the cave quietly until she was met with the bronze-skinned ogre sitting in his old throne. It was almost laughable at how much the doctor upgraded the look of his prison! No more does he sit on a stone throne trapped in darkness. No more does his head sit three inches away from the ceiling at best. He had elbow room now. The king ogre opened his eyes to look at Meioshi as she stood before him and grinned slowly. The rosy flames gave his perfectly shaped fangs a bloody sheen. He seemed to be a little eager to speak to her. That was actually concerning.
"How's it feel to be at your old stomping grounds, sire?" the doctor asked once she felt she was close enough.
"Like being squished into a small ass hole," the king complained, rolling his eyes and leaning his head on a fist. "That's why anal doesn't appeal to me. I'd rather be home."
"Told you, you needed the space," Meioshi said with a point of her finger before placing the hand down. "You couldn't have wanted to come here without an urgent reason. What, pray tell, is going on?"
"Your challenger awaits you from Ogre Island," Shanwang answered, eyes thinning with excitement. "As predicted, the commanders of my home destroyed my kingdom in my absence and severed the very foundations that held the land and sea together. I leave those onery fucks for a couple of centuries and look at the mess they make! Fools! It seems your Path of Oni requires a bit more... organization than bloodshed."
"You expect a bunch of ogres to obey a human?" Meioshi questioned, raising an eyebrow.
"No, the island has to be rejoined; otherwise, the strongest among them will annihilate and devour all. Ogres aren't picky eaters, least of all the ones I had to rule," Shanwang informed, sighing at the mere thought of having to clean up a mess.
"And how am I supposed to do that?" Meioshi questioned, tilting her head downwards. "You can't stitch an island like fabric!"
"Actually..."
"Shanwang, no, please!" Meioshi whined, plunging her face into her hands and rubbing her forehead with the base of palms and wrists. "There's no way your island was bound by strings! It was an island!"
"Ogre Island is closer in characteristic to a continent, doctor. The commanders ruled what would be considered countries or states. Each one controls one of the eight elements of the living world: water, fire, earth, wind, force, time, metal, and light. The king, of course, is the master of thunder and lightning. This, however, gives you the power to use thunder and lightning for a limited amount of time when you transform into Young Oni form through our blood bond. Who were you fighting when you transformed that time? The black wall demon?" Shanwang asked, forgetting to ask before.
"No, the inu demon I told you about. Did you find anything in your memories about his kind?" Meioshi asked, looking at Shanwang to see if he'd even answer honestly. Sometimes he would claim things to be too trivial. "I completely forgot about that."
"I know, right!" Shanwang responded, lifting his head off his fist and shifting to sit upright. He shared the same sentiment of triviality, but proceeded to say, "The inu are strong despite their broken origins, but they are not difficult to beat due to their reliance on yoki energy. They lack strategic and honed martial skills. I noticed your new sword can drain other sword energies. That's the best type of weapon to use when fighting against them. Anything that will stop them from being able to use yoki energy is your best tactic. Years ago, when I fought one of them, I recognized that they harnessed impressive amounts of yoki energy and distributed it among all members of the breed, but a shift in leadership eliminated this equality of power and instead I noticed more inu becoming figures of war and not protection. They used to be highly praised among the humans and were almost always put on a pedestal. Younger demons wanted to be like them if they had to serve humans because of the wealth and honor they often received. That shift in leadership, however, became their downfall. The inu were looked at as monsters once they became guardian symbols to shogunates and people stopped worshipping them once they became war machines and not guardian spirits. Their yoki energies became too individualized so their power now is no longer a threat. I'm not sure if they know that or not, but older demons such as yours truly know that they've changed. It won't be long before their line is no more. They used to be one of few breeds that could mate with humans and still produce a pure breed inu child due to their origin as guardian spirits. These days, I would assume that the offspring of such a mating would produce halflings since they fell so far from grace. Just because their power has been centralized doesn't make them weaker. If anything, they still could pose a challenge. Right now, you wouldn't be able to defeat an inu in his or her true form because you're not at the level of power you want to be yet. With time, you'll learn of their fighting style, if they have one, and be able to locate weaknesses therein. Inu are as strong as their covenant to another, but that's why their line is weakening. They were meant to be the guardians of the living world, but someone among them is keeping them away from their original purpose. Should an inu reform a covenant, they can create the disturbance needed to reset their line. Try to find more information on that inu if you can. He may be of interest."
"Very well. I'll keep that in mind. Now, what of the commander?" Meioshi asked.
"The commander of the waters is your challenger. Numa-o of the marsh."
"Right then," Meioshi replied, sighing. "How am I supposed to find this Numa-o gent? And how does he even know who I am?"
"All Oni know when their kind is born, in trouble, or dead," Shanwang replied, grinning. "We can inhabit the living world and hell quite easily. If an Oni has potential in power, the commanders choose whether or not to train a young Oni in their ways. When you transformed into Young Oni form to fight that inu - whatever the hell his name is - and used Baohu qi Voluptatis simultaneously, your control of the ice caught the attention of the commanders and some Oni of the living world. Numa-o, being a commander of the waters, sensed you first."
"Flipping splendid," Meioshi said, closing her eyes to roll them behind her lids. "So, do they think I'm a baby or in trouble?"
"Looks like neither. You're just new to them. Think of it as Numa-o's just curious," Shanwang answered, using a pair of arms to point at the doctor. "Unfortunately, with my island split in fuck knows how many pieces, you'll have to try to find the waters of the island."
"Isn't the commander of the waters in charge of them?" Meioshi asked, folding her arms. "Why don't I just find him? Or convince him to put the waters back?"
"The commanders are supplementary to each other. In order for one to do his job, you need another to do his and so on and so forth. The most you can do is try to contain the waters until the next guy agrees to do right," Shanwang replied, earning some grunts from the doctor. "Yeah, same. Numa-o is one of the ones who didn't do his job right even when I was in power. He, more than likely, isn't trying to take you under his wing. The only way you can find him is through his riddles. Each commander has at least one."
"Right then, let's hear it," Meioshi said, unfolding her arms and simply complying with her new challenger. This was going to be a long mission.
"I have seas without water, coast without sand, towns without people, mountains without land. I have no feet, no hands, no wings, but I climb to the sky. Apart, we are invisible. Together, we are direction. In your hands, I will never be. Where is the commander?" Shanwang asked, completing the riddle.
"You must be joking," Meioshi replied with a chuckle but not a smile on her face. "All of the commanders have a riddle like that?"
"Yup," the king ogre said, lifting and dropping his brow.