Riposte

Chapter 2

Checking that there was no one in the hallway, I made my way out again. This time, I made sure to hide two daggers in sheaths strapped to my ankles. I wore a boot over that to hide the fact I was carrying a weapon in public. One was a Masamune, the other was a Muramasa. These two unnamed tanto had the same properties of their named tachi counterparts, albeit in a more concealable form. The Muramasa was a bloodthirsty blade, one that would not discriminate and cut anything. It was dark and powerful; it could easily harm any being of the dark, but I would harm my friends as well, if they accidentally got close. The Masamune, however, was a better blade; it would not harm the innocent or undeserving.

I stepped out onto the street, watching for any signs of danger. Just as I was nearing the studio, I noticed that someone was watching me. I swivelled around immediately to find Naigubu staring down at me. I hissed; seeing a tengu was never a good sign. Tengu are generally thought to be the harbingers of war, even more so with a daitengu, and I definitely didn’t want one on my hands, especially since I had been running for the last few centuries to avoid a fight.

“Please don’t tell me that Susanoo sent you too.” I did not want to attempt to fight a daitengu. I could not hope to win, and even if I did, I risked the wrath of Sojobou, Lord of the Tengu.

“Susanoo holds no power over the tengu.” He spoke directly into my head. “But I have a similar motive. I would like you to return the sword. If you choose to fight Susanoo, you will bring about a chain of events that will cause the world to burn.”

“I don’t plan on fighting him. Can’t you see that I have spent a majority of my life running from him? He doesn’t even want to fight me anyways, he just keeps sending his minions after me.”

“But you will fight. That is the only future I see if you do not return the sword. I shall try to sway your choice, but there is nothing else I am permitted to do.”

He suddenly swooped towards me and knocked me to the ground. I kicked back up into a standing position and pulled out my Masamune.

“Stay your hand. I was merely trying to prove how I could overpower you. Even more so for Susanoo, he is stronger than me.”

I was stunned and a little offended so I paid him no heed and snatched the tanto from my boot. He immediately pulled his cloak over himself and became invisible. I charged the general area he was in, swiping furiously.

“Do not bother. I am not there anymore. Do heed my counsel and return the sword. It will do you more harm than good.” And then he was gone. This entire encounter pushed my paranoia levels to a new high. Susanoo knew where I was, and even the tengu had found me. And they seemed to know my weakness. The amulet of cold iron could not protect me from direct physical attack. I could be killed by a sword thrust if I was not careful.

I decided to proceed with greater caution from thereon. Yes, I was older than some of the gods in my own religion. No, I should not be killed by them. But the fight seemed to be getting closer and closer, much closer than it had ever come in my life running from Susanoo. I did not want to fight a god, it was a survival strategy that had kept me alive for so long (that and the magic mochi I learnt to make from Uke Mochi, goddess of food).

“You look spooked.” Mami said to me.

“It’s nothing much. I think Susanoo has tracked me down again. It might be time to move.”

“What?! I thought I taught you how to shield yourself from magic using the amulet. It should be effective against all magical scrying.”

“That’s what I thought too. And it’s tested. They must have found me another way.”

“We better start carrying our weapons to prevent an ambush.” Another benefit of living in modern day Japan: we could carry weapons around and people would simply think we’re cosplayers. Much unlike in the past, where carrying a weapon would have been a sign of hostility.

“What’s this about weapons?” Rina asked,overhearing us. Shit. Bad move.

“Um I’ve got these really nice prop weapons that I’m planning to go cosplaying with.”

“Since when did you ever go cosplaying? I’ve never thought of you as an otaku.”

“Um. Well. Last week.” I was pretty sure she wasn’t buying it, but she didn’t say another word.