“Who would want to harm your families Mr. Sato?” asked Captain Kusumo.
“Captain, we are a very old, rich, well established family. We are well respected in the community and employ several hundred thousand people in Japan alone,” said Ichiro.
“So, too many enemies to count,” replied the Captain.
Ichiro looked at Kusumo with a sour face he obviously didn't appreciate the joke.
“Funny, but truer than any power person would like to admit,” said Dominique, “as my Russian family is fond of saying ‘One hangs the thief that steals 3 kopecks, and honors the one that steals 50.”
“You actually bring up a good point, may I have permission to look through Mr. Hayashi’s books? There might be a clue in there as to who would have motivation to harm your families,” said the Captain.
“The books are in the office, but we will be the ones looking at them if you don’t mind,” said Yoshiro, “Momo would you mind checking on the children?”
“Sure, I don’t mind,” said Momo and she turned to leave. Dominique caught her by the arm.
“Be strong Momo,” she whispered and they parted ways.
Momo headed down the long corridor to the room where the servant stood watch over the children. The lights were flickering on and off, and for some reason the hallway felt cold and drafty. Momo rubbed her arms for warmth, and quickened her pace. Just then she thought she heard something. It was a scream, and it sounded like Nana!
“Nana!” called Momo, “is that you, Nana? Are you alright? Where are you?”
Momo walked down the hall that lead to the padlocked door. She heard another scream even louder. This time she knew it was Nana for sure. She ran down the hall. The air got colder, and she could see her breath. All the lights were turned off and only a few streaks of light peaked through the small, square windows, making it hard to see. Despite the poor conditions, Momo still sprinted down the hall as fast as she could. Suddenly Momo slipped in something, and stumbled to the floor. It was wet, and sticky but she couldn’t see what it was. Momo stood up, and felt a pain shoot up her leg. Outside the house she heard crows cawing and children screaming. “Makoto!” she cried, and stumbled to her feet. She took a few steps and tripped again this time over something larger. She came crashing down on her knees and her hand landed in the wet sticky puddle. Momo looked down at what she had tripped on and it was a body! One of the Police officers that had been stationed at the exits to keep people safe. The officer was face down in a pool of blood. Momo reached her trembling hand out and turned the man over. Momo screamed in horror when she saw that his eyes had been pecked out just like Grandmother’s.
“How,” she thought, “there are no birds inside the house,”
She scrambled to her feet and tottered down the hallway toward the door with the chain on it. She knew she heard the children's’ screams come from there and she had to save them! She limped along the hall every step a new agony. From the corner of her eye she thought she saw a person.
“Makoto?!” she said, but there was no reply. “Misha, Nana! Is that you?! Are you hurt? Stop hiding it isn’t a game!”
“If it’s not a game,” whispered a low scratchy voice in Momo’s ear, “why is it so fun?”
Momo quickly turned around.
“Yamada Sensei?” gasped Momo, “what are you doing here? You scared me to nearly death!”
“Only nearly, what a shame,” said Yamada, as she wrapped her cold, long fingers around Momo’s delicate neck and squeezed.
--------------------------
The children quickly scrambled to their feet. They were clearly not out of danger yet. The eyes of hundreds of birds pierced them like daggers. Mishia could hear them calling out to him.
“Give it to us!” the crows demanded, “give us your soul!”
“NOOOOOOO!” yelled Misha
He took Nana’s hand and ran as fast as he could. Nana screamed as the birds left the trees and dived at them. It took Makoto a second to catch up but soon she was running to the shed right along with them. The crows clawed and bit them. They came down in swarms But Misha kept moving ahead. Makoto grabbed on to Nana’s elbow so she wouldn’t lose track of them. She couldn’t tell where she was going and both girls were relying on Misha to guide them to safety. Misha was almost lost in the cloud of claws and feathers that descended on them, but he knew he had to get to the shed somehow. He looked down and saw a flat white stone under his foot. Then he remembered that there was a white stone path that lead right up to the door of the shed. The stones gave him hope that they would make it to their destination, but then he felt Nana slump over.
“I can’t!” she cried, “I can’t I can’t!”
Misha gather his strength and pulled her to his feet. He took off his suit jacket and wrapped it over her head.
“Go on Makoto! Follow the white stones, we'll catch up!” yelled Misha.
Makoto followed the stones and made it to the door of the shed. Luckily it wasn’t locked. She slid the door open, went inside, and watched for Misha and Nana. It was hard to tell where they ended and the swarm of birds began. The birds were so loud that their caws sounded more like screams to Makoto, or was it a scream that she heard? Maybe from Nana? Misha’s determination was inspiring to Makoto. He swatted at birds while holding Nana up and forcing her to keep moving. Nana could barely walk, but no matter how many birds came at them they didn’t stop. Misha dragged Nana into the shed. As soon as they were inside, Makoto quickly closed the door. Misha and Nana fell into a heap on the floor. Every inch of them was scratched and pecked, their clothes were torn to rags, but they made it and they were alive!
Makoto lit an old lamp which served as the shed’s only light source. She looked around the shed to see if she could find anything usefull. There were plenty of old dusty books, scrolls and tapestries stacked neatly on shelves, but that wasn’t what Makoto was looking for. She turned around and was startled by a mannequin wearing Grandfather’s old kendo equipment. Makoto remembered that Grandfather showed this to her the last time she came to visit and told her he had started kendo when he was her age. Makoto had just started her lessons a few months ago, and knowing that her Grandfather was also an accomplished swordsman encouraged her a great deal. She searched the area and found what she was looking for. There was a box filled with bandages and ointment. The supplies looked like they hadn’t been used in years, but Makoto figured they were still good. She also found a box with the name Kyo Hayashi on it.
“Uncle Kyo, that’s Misha’s Father!” thought Makoto, and she quickly opened the box. It contained a bunch of his old childhood clothes. She looked around and saw another box with the name Momo Hayashi on it. This too contained old clothes. Makoto grabbed the bandages and old clothes and set to work on tending to her and her cousin’s wounds.
When Misha woke up his whole body hurt. He could hear Makoto and Nana talking softly in the back ground.
“It’s nearly sundown, and he hasn’t woken yet,” said Nana.
“He is still breathing, so I think he’s fine. Let’s give it some time,” replied Makoto.
“I keep hearing screams coming from the house.”
“No those are the birds I think.”
Misha sat up, and the girls rushed toward him. Makoto had found a canteen full of stale water in Grandfather’s old kendo gear and she gave some to Misha. He took a small sip and spit it out.
“It’s gross, but it’s all we’ve got,” said Makoto.
Misha took another swig but swallowed this time. He looked at his arms and saw that they were poorly yet lovingly wrapped in bandages. Makoto and Nana were also wrapped similarly. Misha’s funeral suit which had been torn to pieces by the birds was lying in tatters next to him, instead he was wearing his father’s old school uniform.
“We look like Mummies,” he said.
“That’s what I said too,” laughed Nana.
They all joined in and then winced in pain, but it felt good to laugh for a moment. Nana and Makoto were also dressed in school uniforms. It was one of the only types of clothing that was important enough not to throw away.
“Did you find anything out?” asked Misha.
“Yes, said Makoto, “This scroll tells the history of our families, but it’s hard to tell exactly what’s going on. They are just one long picture but there are no words explaining it.”
She pointed to a scroll she had laid out on a small table in the middle of the shed. The scroll was long and had beautiful watercolor illustrations on it, and long, gold tassels at the ends. With some effort Misha stood and walked over to the table. He looked at the scroll, and suddenly the room faded away. The walls melted and behind them was a beautiful starry sky. Misha felt like he was floating. He looked underneath him and indeed he was. He looked around for Makoto and Nana, but he couldn’t see them either. He was alone floating in the sky, and slowly descending to earth. Below him he could see a forest with a small village cut into it. Misha recognized it as the old part of Kyoto that they had passed on the way to Grandfather’s house. Misha landed near a house with the name Hayashi on the front stone. He went inside the doors were closed but he faded right through the wall. No one was in the house but he could see a light on the back porch so he went to see what it was. When he got there he saw two men with lanterns greet each other and exit through the back gate into the woods. The two men were dressed in rather plain work clothes and wooden shoes. From the house Misha could tell his ancestors lived a rather modest life, which is a far cry from how they were living now.
Misha floated along after them as they walked deep into the forest and up the mountain. They walked up jagged stone steps that looked like they had been cut out of the mountain with a blade. All along the path Misha could see small shrines set up to various gods. They all had offerings and burning incense next to them despite the late hour. Misha figured that some sort of religious ceremony had taken place earlier that night. The smoke rose up from all the burning incense, and created a hazy, sweet smelling atmosphere. To Misha it felt like this was the sort of night in which something magical would happen, and in fact this was the the night in which something magical did happen, but you must remember dear reader that not all things magic are good and not all good things are magic. On nights when the barrier between our world and that of the spirits is thin we can talk to them make pacts and barter for something we want, but it all comes at a price. Hayashi and Sato walked out into the night with this in mind. Misha could see it in their eyes that they were two men tied together by a hidden desire. A desire that they would give up anything to achieve. They reached the top of the stone steps and went into the temple on top of the mountain. Even at night the temple was surrounded by crows chattering away. The two men hurried past them and entered the temple. Once inside they drew out two small pouches filled with items to perform a ritual. The two of them panted a symbol in front of the temple shrine and placed a silver bowl in the middle of it. They put various herbs and incense in the bowl and lit it on fire while they chanted a spell from a book. Finally when the chanting was over they each took a blade and cut off their right thumbs. They cried out in pain and placed them in the silver bowl. All of the crows from outside came rushing into the temple and flew in circles above the two men. The smoke from the extinguished fire rose up and formed the face of a woman. It looked like Yamada Sensei!
“Your blood has been accepted, what would you like in exchange?”
“The power to defeat enemies,” said Sato.
“The strength to protect my friends,” said Hayashi.
“And the wisdom to know the difference,” they said together.
“I will give you what you desire, but in exchange my children and I will take the souls of your family,” said Yamada
“No!” cried Hayashi.
Sato looked at him with an intense stare.
“I mean, we already gave you an offering why should you want more?” asked Hayashi.
“Only desperate men come to see me,” said Yamada, “I have learned that much over the years.”
“I won’t sacrifice my family, no matter how desperate I am,” said Hayashi.
“They are lost regardless,” protested Sato, “should we also be lost?”
“There is a way you and your family can live,” said Yamada, “at least for now.”
“What is it?” asked Sato.
“I will hold off on collecting my souls until I a date of my choosing, I will even wait until you are long dead and this arrangement is just a legend. An old story that no one believes. It will be at that moment I will collect what is owed me, but until then your families will enjoy wealth, respect and prosperity.”
“I agree,” said Sato.
Misha could see that Hayashi was more hesitant, but then he said, “Since it is the only way, I also agree, but you should be limited. I know the price of one soul is worth more than a lifetime of treasures.”
“Fine I will only reap for two nights and one day, now take your thumbs back and keep them in your house. They will be a sign of our arrangement,” said Yamada.
The silver bowl in which the thumbs were placed melted and coated them in a thick layer of silver. The two men picked up the silver thumbs and left the temple. Misha tried to float out the door with them but it was shut before he could leave. He tried phasing through the door, but he couldn’t get out. Then he tried to float up through the ceiling but that didn’t work either.
“Leaving my temple won’t be that easy young Hayashi,” said Yamada
“I’m not in your temple,” said Misha
“There’s always one in every family isn’t there,” sighed Yamada, “Why can’t my pacts ever be simple? I suppose you are going to try and stop me from taking the souls of your family, but you won't be able to.”
“They don’t belong to you!”
Misha felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to look behind him and and he saw Makoto face staring at him with concern. He blinked and looked back to where Yamada was, but she was gone. In fact the whole temple was gone and, he was back in the shed with his cousins.
“Misha, you were staring at the scroll without moving for a long time, are you o.k.?” asked Makoto.
“I’m fine, just a little dizzy. Makoto, I know what happened, I know why Yamada Sensei wants to kill us,” said Misha, “Our ancestors made a deal with her. She’s not a human she’s a demon.”
“What do you mean they made a deal?” asked Nana.
“See right here in the scroll,” said Misha as he pointed at two men walking up a mountain at the very beginning of the picture. “They made a deal for wealth and prosperity but in exchange Yamada gets to take our souls.”
“That’s awful, how could they do this to us?” sobbed Nana.
“Maybe there is something here that will tell us how to break the deal. There must be something we can do!” said Makoto.
“They must have found a way, this shed is protected isn’t it?” said Nana.
“Misha can you read the rest of the scroll maybe there is something there that could give us a clue,” said Makoto.
Misha looked a the scroll. He found the point in the story where the two men had left the temple.
“After the pact they became very rich, and bought houses next to each other. They buried their silver thumbs in a box on the border between their two houses.”
“What?!” said the girls.
“How did they get silver thumbs?” asked Makoto.
“It was part of the deal they made,” answered Misha. The two girls looked at each other with confusion. Misha cleared his throat and went on, ‘As I was saying they buried them and it looks like they were married and had plenty of children. Then it goes on to show more about the lives of the children. I don’t think we will find anything else out from this scroll.”
Misha began to roll the scroll up again.
“Wait, what’s this?” said Makoto as she pointed at a picture of their ancestor giving a book to another one. “They are always passing that book on. From father to son. See every single one of them.”
“That book!” exclaimed Nana, “I’ve seen it before! It is in a case in Grandpa Hayashi’s office.”
“We have to get back there somehow and read it!” said Makoto.
“But how?” asked Nana, “we barely made it in here to begin with, and what if Yamada is waiting for us at the door. We wouldn’t stand a chance.”
“Grandpa’s kendo equipment!” exclaimed Makoto, “It will protect us from the birds and we can go in a different door.”
“Or we could just stay here where it’s safe,” said Nana.
“We can’t, not with Yamada Sensei inside. What about our parents and Yuuki? Should we leave them to die while we hide in here?” said Makoto.
“But we’re just children,” said Nana, “No one expects us to save them.”
“That’s right, no one does. Not even Yamada Sensei,” said Makoto.
The children opened all the boxes marked kendo, and luckily they were able to find three child size uniforms, and three small wooden swords. Makoto had only been taking lessons for a couple of months but she was good enough to teach the others a few moves to defend themselves. The three of them put their face masks on and prepared to leave the shed. Nana’s hands were shaking so hard she could barely hold her wooden sword. Misha put his hand on her shoulder.
“Don’t worry Nana,” he said, “I’ll protect you.”
Nana turned bright red under her Kendo mask and Makoto made a gagging sound, and the three of them laughed. Makoto opened the door and all three of them ran out from under the protection of the shed.
