Yoshino zipped through the dimension, slowing down at a shop in a busy town. How odd, Naru thought, that she would stop at a human village. She really didn’t like humans all that much. He learned she preferred plants and animals above humans. She seemed to think humans always messed her mountain up.
He stroked the little glowing strand wrapped around his wrist. It was a Mushi that had gotten attached to him when he was learning at the Mushi Gardens. The Mushi Gardens were akin to a bamboo forest filled with luminescent little creatures, flitting though the sky, roaming over the ground and vegetation. Yoshino explained they were much like bugs of her world, just passing through life. But they each had a particular tie to the fabric of his world and the next. The one that liked him was pretty harmless, though Yoshino said exposure might have some interesting effects once he got back to his body. Apparently this little critter could travel through time and space as if it were a wave to ride on.
He often thought about naming it, but he knew he was going home eventually, so there was no need to get too attached. Instead he simply called it Tomodachi or Tomo for short, which meant “friend.” The twelve-inch Mushi floated around him like a ribbon of light. It often hung from his neck or coiled around a limb.
Yoshino stared at a blanket of fine silk fans in the market. She held her hand out to him. “Naru, may I borrow Tomo for a moment?”
Naru’s brows lifted. “Of course.” He unwound the little creature from his arm and placed it in her hand. It hovered, twisting and rolling in the air like an eel dancing in water.
Yoshino held her hands over a black fan and dropped the Mushi on it. For a moment it hovered, and then it wrapped itself around the bamboo handle and silk fabric. With a satisfied smile Yoshino held her hand out to retrieve Tomo, but it continued to explore the table, coiling under a white fan next.
Yoshino chuckled. “Naru, you better catch him before he causes anymore trouble.”
“Of course.” He held his hand out and a moment later Tomo floated up to dance around his headq. He settled on his hair like a crown of light. Naru petted the Mushi.
The Mountain Spirit grinned and pointed to the two fans Tomo had touched. “Go ahead and pick those up.”
Naru almost laughed out loud. He was the equivalent of a ghost. He couldn’t pick anything up. However, he had also learned not to doubt the mountain spirit.
He reached out his hand and picked the black fan right off the table. He gasped. “How is this possible?” He picked up the white fan with the other hand.
Yoshino took the fans from him. “That is what Tomo can do when his kind absorbs energy from larger spirits. It’s such a small amount you or I would never notice, but to the Mushi it’s a great deal. The item they touch afterward fazes in and out of time and space. It’s very helpful for a spirit like me when they are in need of something from your world, or the world beyond. Unless it slips through time. Then you’re out of luck.”
Naru nodded to the fans. “Will those slip through time?”
She folded them up and tucked them in her kimono. “Not now that you and I have touched them.” She retrieved a raw chunk of blue jade and rubbed it against Tomo. The creature didn’t move from his spot on Naru’s head. Yoshino waited until the woman who worked the shop turned around. She gently tossed the plumb sized rock at the woman’s foot. It bounced off her ankle and she glanced down.
“Where did that come from?” She grabbed it and hurried out to see who had lost their precious stone. Standing directly next to them she scoured the crowd until she saw the two fans were missing. She looked down at the jade, nodded, and went back inside.
Naru cocked his head. “So the stone became grounded as soon as it touched her?”
Yoshino nodded with a far off look. Naru knew that look. She was concentrating somewhere else. Something of significance was happening on her mountain. “Come. It’s almost time for you to go back to your fiancé.”
If Naru had physical body parts his heart would have sped up. But instead his emotions soared. Aya. He was going home to marry the woman he’d always loved. Times had been tough on her. It only felt like last week she told him her family wanted her to leave. But he knew she waited for him. He couldn’t wait to see her.
CHAPTER TEN
As Naru followed Yoshino up the mountain he could sense pain, fear and bloodshed. Smoke billowed from the direction of his village. What was going on? He couldn’t smell or feel the things in his home land, but he could see them clearly. And what he saw was the Lord of the land running into the shrine. He heard the distant voice in his head before they approached.
“Help us! Please, save us.”
Naru and Yoshino passed through the roof like the wandering spirits they were. Lord Osamu had ahold of both Naru’s shoulders, shaking his body like a rag doll.
“My daughter swears you are still in there.” The Lord stopped his shaking to drop his head. “If you are, make Yoshino help us!” He resumed his shaking.
Yoshino landed beside the Lord. “The village is being attacked by the neighboring Lord. I’m not pleased he wants you to make me save them, but I will do it for you, Naru.” She pulled out the fans, opened them and laid them against each other in her hand. With a flash of light the two became one. On the front, the black side had two white swirls interlocking in the center. On the back, the opposite, with a white background and black swirls. She passed her hand over the new creation while chanting a few words in a language unkno>
Yoshino spoke as she concentrated on the fan. “Naru, you better get back to your body. Aya is not in my temple.”
Realization slammed home. He slid back into his shaking body. Once he had full connection of his spirit to body his eyes snapped open. His iron hands gripped the Lord’s, and he froze. Naru leaned into the man’s fearful face. “Where. Is. Aya?”
“You came back. Please. Kill them. There’s too many for our Samurai.” His fingers dug into his shoulder. “Save us.”
Naru’s fingers gripped the Lord’s hands harder and ripped them from his body. “Where is my fiancé, Lord Osamu?”
He jerked his hands back. “She’s down there, in the middle of it, trying to save her sister.”
“And you just left them?” Naru roared.
Yoshino appeared before them. The Lord fell back, holding his hand up as if to shield himself from her brilliance.
Naru blinked. The Lord can see her? Perhaps that was Tomo’s doing? She had just held him to retrieve the fans.
“Naru. Balance.” Her steady words helped him remember himself. She held her hand to his head and the fan appeared. Tomo must still be wrapped around his hair.
Yoshino laid the fan at his feet. “Pick it up.” He did so quickly, preventing it from slipping through time or reverting back to spirit form. “I have placed a portion of my spirit in this fan. Turn the black side out to draw shadows from the attacker’s body. Turn the white side out to bring light back to the body. When you are ready, it will guide you in the steps you must take.” Her voice lowered. “You can only use the fan once, unless the human spirit is balanced. Make sure no other person uses this fan. If they do a price will be paid.” Yoshino laid her hand on his shoulder. “Aya is still alive. I can feel her. Remember, be balanced as the light and the shadow.”
He nodded, shot to his feet, and followed the Lord to the town. Smoke billowed thicker than before. Screams rent the air, pushing Naru faster. But he was uncoordinated, and stumbled several times before falling on the rocky path. He hadn’t used his legs in many months. The fan tumbled from his hand and came to a stop at the Lord’s feet.
With wild eyes, Lord Osamu snatched the fan from the dirt and opened it. “You are too weak, Naru. But don’t worry. I heard everything Spirit Yoshino said. I will save the town. I am bread of nobles. Surely I have a balanced spirit.”
Naru pushed himself up on his elbows, blood trickling to the dirt. He ignored the pain from his scraped forearm. “You must give it back, honorable Lord. You must have heard her warni
ng—” Naru struggled to his feet, but the Lord departed.
“I must save my family!” He shouted over his shoulder.
Naru chased the man down, struggling with his own heavy limbs. By the time he caught up to the Lord, he had already turned the fan black side out. Naru dove for it, only to have it swiped from his reach. That simple movement began the draw of shadows.
Naru stepped back, behind the Lord. He watched in awe as Yoshino’s spirit was summoned into the Lord’s body. Her image translucent over his, she grimaced as the fan forced her to submit.
Naru blanched. She didn’t say it would actually summon her spirit to the user’s body. She had trusted him with a weapon equal to a leash tied around a dog’s neck.
The Lord’s feet stepped precisely from one side to the other. His wrist gracefully arced the fan as he danced the shadow summoning dance. His form swayed in elegant grace as the temperature dropped.
Naru watched in horror as the shadows from every crevice lengthened to the Lord. And finally, the carnage of the invading soldiers stilled.
Despite the sudden quiet, the Lord’s body continued to dance. The village was still far off, but he could see the people’s forms. All bodies before them fell to their knees, writhing in agony.
“Stop.” Naru stepped as close as he dared. He didn’t want to disturb the delicate balance and injure Yoshino in return. “You must stop now. The people—”
“The people are not safe yet. The enemy is still alive.” The Lord’s body did not falter in its draw of power.
Naru fell to his knees as the women and children lay in searing pain, slack-jawed. The fan coaxed the very shadows from their mouths, nostrils and ears. Their innards drawn out with the shadows attached to them, spilling onto the streets.
“Aya!” He screamed. “Aya, run!” He turned to Yoshino inside of the Lord. “Please, make him stop. He’s killing her.” But Yoshino couldn’t answer. She was trapped unless the Lord himself abandoned the use of the fan.
The sound of tearing fabric marred the air beside him. A dark length rent space and time. The smell of burning earth filled his nostrils as Aya fell out of the hole in the sky. The gaping rift closed quickly, but not before he saw a flash of a red tinted Mushi.
Naru’s chest heaved as his arms went around her little body. Blood flowed from her eyes, nose and ears. “Aya?” he whispered in her ear. She opened her lids to expose blood filled orbs. She stared straight ahead, as if blinded.
Her hand wandered up his chest to touch his face. “Naru?” She croaked. “I was floating… Have I died?”
“No.” He crushed her to his chest. “I’ve got you. I won’t let go this time.” Her hand dropped to her stomach as she passed out. Naru fought his quivering chin. “I won’t leave you again. I promise.”
He looked out over the village. The roads ran red until all was silent. No life breathed before them.
The Lord finally stopped. The dance complete. His arm dropped and Yoshino’s spirit left him. “Finally, the evil is destroyed. I have saved them.”
Naru gazed down the mountain side, over the village to the banks of the river. “Who have you saved, my Lord? There is not a soul left alive.”
But the Lord did not have time to understand his great error. His eyes rolled into the back of his skull. He fell to the earth, dead.
Naru took the fan from his fingers and knelt before the Lord. “And so your life is the payment for taking the lives of thousands.” He needed to fix this, somehow. He needed to speak directly to his teacher. He welcomed the release of his soul from his body. Yoshino waited in all her glory to teach him.
“The Lord was a fool, but so was I.” He swallowed as he looked down over Aya’s body. “I will ask your forgiveness later. But, for now is there any way to save these innocents? The women and children… Aya.”
“There is a way.” Yoshino touched the white side of the fan. “If you focus your mind on only the villagers, and dance with the white side out, you may revive them.” Yoshino’s fingers rested on his chest, just over his heart. “But, you must calm your spirit, Naru. If your being is not in balance the fan will take you as payment, also.” She walked to Aya’s curled body and knelt beside her. “I’m sorry I wasn’t able to do anything for your fiancé.” She smiled. “Mushi typically have the intelligence of a bug. But Tomo was exposed to your blood when you fell. Somehow, through the absorption of your physical makeup, he knew exactly what you needed. He brought Aya to my world then dropped her back off in yours.”
Tomo. The little Mushi did curls up Naru’s arm until he settled around his shoulder. His new crimson light left Naru wondering what exactly his blood had done to his glowing friend. Either way, he felt indebted to Tomo. As long as I live you may dwell with me in whatever way you please. He bowed to Yoshino while petting Tomo. “Thank you,” he said to both of them. A moment later he was back in his body.
Naru closed his eyes. Breathing slowly, he tried to erase the carnage before him from his mind. In the end it didn’t matter if he had to give his life, as long as Aya lived. He needed focus. He trusted Yoshino. She would do what she could. She needed the humans on her mountain as much as he did. With feet together, he calmed his mind. He needed to be balanced, an impartial judge. He was simply setting a wrong to right.
When he opened his eyes again his feet spread. Turning the fan white side out, his arm arced through the air. He felt her power slide through his body. Just as before, he surrendered himself to her movements. Her warmth and balance filled his limbs. The light coursed through his senses, blinding him. So this was why the Lord could not tell he was killing his own family as well as the enemy? Naru felt his leg tug to the left, and he allowed his foot to be moved. His mind focused on reviving the innocent people in the village and Aya.
One balanced step after another and he realized he knew some of these moves. They were fighting moves, only softened and graceful. The fan was Yoshino’s sword, and elixir of life.
Once the dance finished, Naru felt the spirit withdraw from his body, out his arm, and back to the fan. He opened his eyes to see Aya stirring. He rushed to her and wrapped his arms around her.
“Now we will see if I die,” he breathed. He buried his face in her dark hair, breathing in her scent of cherry blossoms.
Yoshino came to stand beside him. “You are a good student and an honorable priest. You will not die today.”
Naru bowed over Aya’s body, folded the fan and held it out to Yoshino. But she only smiled at him. “You are worthy of my power. I entrust the fan to your care.” As she touched his shoulder he looked into her eyes.
Bright flashes in Naru’s consciousness revealed scenes of distant lovers. What’s happening to my head? I feel like these things haven’t happened, yet… A human man and a spirit woman clung to each other in the Border Lands. They lived as one in his world, never leaving each other’s side. They loved so deeply. When he regained control of his mind he blinked the images away. “I’ve just seen the future.”
Yoshino nodded. “That would be Tomo’s influence. I’ve seen this happen before. You might have this new gift for the rest of your life.” Naru continued to stare at Yoshino as if she were a stranger. Her brow creased. “What?”
Naru still couldn’t believe what he’d seen, but he knew it was the truth. “You will fall in love with a priest of my lineage.”
Yoshino scoffed. “Me? In love with a human man? I would never be so foolish.”
Naru nodded, blushing. He’d just seen Yoshino in a very vulnerable way. “He will be a child of triplets. His birth will be a miracle, as will your love.”
Surprised by his revelation, Yoshino fell silent. As the noise in the background picked up he turned to take in the village. The people were conscious, and cheering for their lives. Naru couldn’t help but smile at the joy when a warm, delicate hand cradled his face. He gasped as his gaze met the sparkling, healthy brown eyes of Aya.
She blinked tears away. “My husband. You’re back.” He tightened hi
s embrace and nodded against her. “I knew you would come.”
Aya’s hand slipped under his chin, and his lips dipped to meet hers. Lost in her passionate sighs and moans, he ignored the calls to him from the distance.
“Am I invited to the wedding?” Aya broke from the kiss, and Naru looked up to Yoshino’s smiling face drifting very near theirs. Naru chuckled. She always did have a bit of a silly side.
“Who is this?” Aya asked, confusion creasing her forehead.
Naru was never going to get used to others being able to see the Mountain Spirit. “Aya, this is Yoshino, Spirit of the Mountain, and my teacher.”
Aya’s eyes grew wide as she nodded vigorously. “Y-yes. Please come to our wedding. It would be an honor.”
Yoshino leaned back. “And what should I bring as a gift for your union?”
Aya blinked. “Oh, you don’t have to… Um.” She grew quiet. “Actually…” She leaned in and whispered to Naru. Her breath tickled as she asked if he agreed.
Naru smiled down at her. “My bride was wondering if you would be so good as to bring some butterflies to our celebration?”
“Wonderful.” She clasped her hands. “I think that’s a splendid idea for a wedding.” She bowed as her form started to fade.
Naru and Aya got to their feet. “I wondered how long you would be visible to everyone.”
Yoshino looked down the mountain at the ascending villagers. “Tomo’s abilities do not last long. But I’ll still be nearby, in case anything else comes up.”
“Of course.” Naru and Aya bowed deeply as Yoshino disappeared.
Wakana and her husband embraced Naru, welcoming him back. But their joy was short lived as a cry of pain echoed over the mountain side. Aya and Wakana noticed the crowd around their mother, and hurried to her. She clutched Lord Osamu, sobbing.
Aya caught Naru’s hand. She leaned into his chest to cover her face. “Why didn’t my father come back?”
Shadow Fan (The Shadow Fan Series #1) Page 4
