Echo of the Soul

12 | Surpise! I Got Food Poisoning

I don't remember falling asleep. Or waking up. I do however, remember puking my guts out. So why am I standing in the rain?

Everything is dark save for blurs of greens plus I can't hear anything. But I can feel the cold dampness soaking my clothing. I'm as wet as a drowned rat.

I breathe in deeply and close my eyes to the dark yet colorful world around me. For some reason I feel at peace.

It feels more like a dream when my body moves on its own to chase a red glowing light. Each step takes me farther into the forest. Jarringly and harshly The feet I'm not in control of suddenly stop in my place.

A white humanoid blob holding a long red blob the shape and size of a sword stand before me. The small blob child stands off to the side.

The man shaped blob with the sword rushes forward straight at me. The attack catches me off guard but my body responds like a well tuned instrument. Blocking with swords of my own and running backwards to avoid being sliced to bits.

The attacker is viscous. He fights like a well trained samurai. But uh I don't fight with swords, never had. I use a spear or my claws. So...

I must have been transferred to Hyakkimaru's body while I was sleep. Which means my body is still safely dying in the hollowed out tree.

It seems I just can't go one day without being threatened with death. Today is special because I'm being threatened in two places at the same time. Impressive.

Without much effort at all Hyakkimaru parr's the swordsman until he is on the edge of a cliff. The quick sword cuts up through the air, it leaves a stinging wound on Hyakkimaru's left cheek.

At first the pain from the cut comes as a surprise to me. But I remember that Hyakkimaru recently killed a demon that allowed him to regain his sense of touch. He can feel things like pain now.

If this was a different situation I'd congratulate my unwitting host and be glad, but—nope!

Hyakkimaru stagers on the edge of the cliff. At least it looks like a cliff. There's nothing but inky blackness behind me. One wrong move and both of us will be sent to whatever lies on the bottom of that darkness.

The attacker didn't stop to let me have a heart attack at almost dying. I'm glad Hyakkimaru doesn't seem to know what fear is. He stairs straight on ahead at the white blob man carrying the demonic red sword.

The said blob man trusts the blade straight forward in an attempt to stab Hyakkimaru through his middle. Probably just my imagination, but I swear I can just about make out the sadistic grin on the man's face.

In a swift movement Hyakkimaru blocks the blade with his leg that I just remembered is prosthetic. I nearly had a heat attack. Again. Hyakkimaru you devil.

Caught off guard by the prosthetic leg the man stumbles. Hyakkimaru takes this chance to reverse sides with the sadistic blob and knock him off the cliff.

With our-Hyakkimaru's victory, I heave a heavy sigh. It's not like I didn't trust him to not win it's just that..it worried me. I was scared for his safety.

Me? Worried for someone else? It sounds crazy. The only person I care about is Dororo.

The small white wispy form of a child ran up to Hyakkimaru. The pure white child then ran off, maybe to look for mushrooms. Yeah mushrooms at this time of the year. How am I supposed to know? I can't hear anything!

Hyakkimaru's hand lifts to touch the stinging cut on his face. He presses down on it much harder than necessary. I wince at the pain while his own facial expression twists to the pain too.