Shadows of the Reborn

Chapter Six

Veil of Shadows: Chronicles of the Fallen

For Taizo, the years seemed to fly by as his host grew in maturity and strength. Probably only a few hundred years had passed, and Sashiki had only recently fallen head over heels for a female. Now, whenever they were in the area of the village, Sashiki always had an excuse to go into the small youkai establishment so he could see her.

Taizo rolled his eyes as Sashiki made up an excuse for needing supplies even though his travel pack was at full capacity. ‘Just admit it; you want to see her, ’ he snickered.

Sashiki almost tripped over his feet. ‘Who?’ He said innocently.

‘You know exactly who I’m talking about, ’ Taizo snorted. ‘What was her name again? Reina?’ Smiling, Taizo gave his host an image of the fiery red-haired female that haunted Sashiki’s dreams.

Sashiki sputtered in protest and blushed a brilliant color in response to the image. ‘Taizo!’

‘You should just tell her how you feel.’ The spirit snickered delightfully.

‘I don’t know what you are going on about. How can you assume-’

‘Seriously? I see your dreams and desires, idiot.’ Taizo laughed.

Sashiki flushed an even brighter shade and mumbled under his breath.

‘What was that?’ Taizo said with great delight.

‘Nothing.’ Sashiki, however, didn’t stray from his current course, leading to the village.

Shaking his head knowingly, Taizo glanced at the tree, which was vibrant and thriving. His host had been refreshing after his experience with Hiroji. All he could assume was that it was due to his being in the wrong host to begin with.

Taizo was lucky his host hadn’t been involved in too many conflicts. Most of the time, Sashiki avoided trouble and usually found another solution. His host often took a different path to avoid trouble or talking eloquently, leaving the opposing individual speechless. Sometimes, the one trying to cause trouble was left confused or dumbfounded as Sashiki slipped by.

Shaking his head, Taizo watched as his host slipped through the gates leading to the village, getting greeted in a friendly manner. Most of the youkai knew who his host was and favored his soft-spoken nature. Sashiki was very calm and collected and rarely lost his temper.

However, if you were unfortunate enough to meet his host when he was in a foul mood, it usually ended up being a rather unpleasant encounter for the one who spurred the fight on. Sashiki had learned to merge his talents with those of Taizo’s, not quite mastering most of them, but he could use some of them with his flame abilities. It had been an impressive display of energy when Sashiki faced a rather irritating ooze youkai, and his host called on Taizo’s poison, merging it with his blue-hot flames. Not only did the ooze shrink from the fire, but it had died an unpleasant death of melting from the poison.

After that day, Sashiki worked with Taizo to enhance the two abilities and called it his poison fire. Sashiki had made a name for himself with that particular ability that most youkai avoided confrontation with the young male. He was a lone male, not aligning with any particular group or clan, not that the clans didn’t try recruiting him. Word had spread across the different territories regarding his calm and intelligent nature yet unrelenting fury should he be crossed.

One particular individual, slowly making his name in the territories, had approached Sashiki about a hundred years ago asking for advice. Taizo remembered the two had sat and conversed for several days about strategically using his strength and intelligence to make his own path. The individual carved his own way in the territories and commanded a force that secured many smaller spirits and weaker youkai into his clan.

They crossed paths over the years, but not nearly as often as one would think, seeing as the territories were vast. There were far too many different youkai to count, even though Sashiki had made himself a ledger out of tree bark and studied the different species for years. Taizo was fascinated by this host as he grew through the years.

Not only did Sashiki mark down every youkai he came across, but he also had detailed information on what that specific spirit could do. Height, weight, stature, color, markings, ranking and power, were measured. Somehow, Sashiki had this intriguing ability to rank an opponent’s strength through the energy it released. His ability could weigh it against his own and judge by how much was released, how old the individual was, and how experienced he was in battle.

It even came down to Sashiki ranking them into different groups. Some he labelled as pawns or peasants. Others he marked as soldiers or experienced fighters. Others were higher in rank. Then there were the ones to avoid at all costs. It wasn’t that they were really that dangerous, but they had abilities that could not be measured, and it made his host nervous, rightfully so.

It wasn’t that his host was inexperienced in any way. It was just that Sashiki preferred to avoid confrontation. He would rather sit back in a secluded area and observe rather than engage in a conflict. Youkai, who knew Sashiki personally or knew of him, called him a historian. They would approach him to ask him questions about the different species that roamed the lands.

Some weaker youkai who didn’t have the ability or strength to change their form often consulted Sashiki on increasing strength. Others were greedy, and one even dared to steal his ledger. His host had tracked down the lesser being and had politely requested his property back. After many attempts, frustration rolled through his host, and he finally took it back forcefully. That particular spirit was never seen again.

Taizo watched his host slip into the familiar straw hut where many youkai would gather for meals and drinks when night approached. Sashiki’s breath caught in his throat, and Taizo grinned from ear to ear. ‘Talk to her.’ He urged.

Sashiki cleared his throat, ignoring Taizo, and sat at a low table. ‘Mind your own business.’

Taizo chuckled. ‘My business is your business.’

Sashiki swallowed as the petite female with flaming red hair walked over with a large clay mug of rice ale. Clearing his throat, Sashiki meekly asked for a plate of food, and Taizo rolled his eyes.

‘For the love of all the Gods, you will never find yourself a wife if you keep avoiding contact with women,’ Taizo snorted. ‘You used to be so adventurous.’

Sashiki grumbled under his breath. ‘Shush.’

‘What if someone else grabs her attention, and she marries them instead of you?’ Taizo pressed.

‘Taizo,’ Sashiki warned.

‘Fine, fine.’ Taizo grunted. He did notice that the female peered at his host a few times while he ate his meal. She was trying to gain her host’s attention, but he was oblivious. ‘Interesting.’

‘What is?’

Taizo blinked and glanced around the pools. There was no way his host should have heard his thoughts. ‘Uh-nothing. Nothing at all.’ He quipped.

He continued to watch the interaction, and the female seemed almost crushed when his host didn’t pay attention to her. From what he could gather, several males were inside the hut vying for her attention. Meanwhile, her focus was entirely on Sashiki. ‘Uh-’ Taizo started.

‘What?’ Sashiki said, slightly irritated.

‘I figured I would alert you to the unruly males near you. They want Reina’s notice but not getting it. Instead, her attention is solely on you.’

‘What?’ Sashiki glanced up and looked at the other occupants of the meal hut. Then he glanced over at Reina, who blushed as soon as his eyes fell on hers. Groaning, Sashiki turned his eyes back to his plate and stuffed his mouth. ‘Fantastic.’

‘You’re irritated, and so are they. You know where that leads.’ Taizo said.

Sashiki groaned again as he slid his gaze in the male’s direction. ‘They’re angry because she is paying attention to me?’

Taizo wiggled his nose. ‘You can’t be that blind. You like her, she likes you, the males like her, yet she is not interested in them. That leads to some rather unfavorable conflicts. They will see you as a threat.’

‘I’m not, though.’ Sashiki sighed.

‘Have you been blind to that too?’ Taizo rolled his eyes. ‘I did say that this would happen. If you continually ignore what is right in front of your face, her attention will roll to another. One who might not be as honorable as you are.’

‘So what do you suggest I do? Fight them off?’ Sashiki snorted. ‘I’d prefer to avoid any conflict.’

Taizo waved his hands around him, frustrated. ‘You already have conflict. They will follow you and try to eliminate you because you are a threat to them and their desires.’

‘I’m not, though. I am not standing in their way.’ Even as those words left Sashiki’s mouth, his heart skipped a beat at the thought of Reina falling in love with someone else. He liked her attention, and when he did have the courage to speak with her, the conversations were usually light and teasing.

‘Keep telling yourself that, idiot. You might believe it someday, even though I never have.’ Taizo growled. ’You either have to let her go and stop thinking about her. Or you approach her and admit how you feel. Either way, they,’ Taizo indicated the males who were growing more angry the longer they sat there. ‘Consider you a threat and will fight you.’

Sashiki pushed his empty plate away and pushed to his feet, his irritation beginning to show in his movements. He gave Reina a quick nod and turned to walk out of the hut. Before he could leave, a hand gripped his arm and stopped him. Glaring down at the offending hand, Sashiki lifted his gaze and released a rather impressive warning growl.

“Don’t come back!” The man hissed quietly.

“Oh? Who will stop me?” Sashiki grinned. “You?”

The man released his arm and tried to shove him out the door, but Sashiki planted his feet firmly and watched, amused, as the male almost lost his footing, failing to move Sashiki from his spot.

“Was that successful for you?” Sashiki taunted. Without another word, Sashiki grabbed the male by the collar of his linen shirt and dragged him out of the hut. “So what do you wish to do? Fight me? You cannot demand that I stop coming to this place, as I have been a frequent visitor for over a hundred years. I like the food and the drink. Not a fan of a lot of company or interference with my business, which you have just done.”

The man tugged at Sashiki’s arm, trying to dislodge his grip. “Let me go!”

“I will if you go about your business and leave me be.” Before Sashiki could release the male, he caught the shadows of a few other males who decided to jump into the fight.

Taizo sighed. ‘Of course, they would want to try and overpower you.’

Sashiki lifted his head and glanced at the three other males who walked over. “I suggest you go about your business and leave.”

“You have our friend by the shirt. Why not let him go?” One crossed his arms while the other two pulled some crude-looking daggers made from chipped stone.

Sashiki lifted a brow and almost rolled his eyes. “Come on now, leave, and your friend shall be released. I would prefer to just go about my day in peace.”

“Then you shouldn’t have come to the village.”

Taizo shook his head.

“I am not looking for trouble.” Sashiki sighed.

“Trouble found you, friend.”

“I am no friend of yours. Be on your way.” Sashiki released the male and shoved him towards his friends.

Taizo touched the tree trunk and syphoned a small portion of Sashiki’s ability through it. They were so in tune with one another that neither had to say anything when needing something from the other. It was refreshing for Taizo compared to his first host. Despite his father mentioning that he wouldn’t remember anything from his time in the corner, he did remember every painstaking detail. Shuddering, Taizo shook his head and focused on the confrontation Sashiki was facing.

‘What do you wish to do?’ Taizo asked before releasing some of his power into the tree to syphon to Sashiki.

‘I would rather just leave.’

‘You know that won’t happen.’ Taizo rolled his eyes. ‘I told you to stop playing around and just pursue Reina. Now, look where it has gotten you. They consider you a threat.’

‘I haven’t even shown interest in her.’ Shashiki grumbled as he stared at the males who anxiously cracked their knuckles.

‘Like hell, you haven’t. I don’t know if you’re dense, but you seem to be the only one who doesn’t see it.’

Sashiki sighed. “Let’s get this over with.”

The males grinned and all charged at him, one swinging his rough dagger at his gut while another one tried to tackle him to the ground.

Sashiki stepped back and used his left arm to push the other male away from him. “Come now, I don’t have all day to mess around with amateurish squabbles. If you want to fight, then fight.”

The man with the crude dagger clenched his teeth and swung at Sashiki again. Sashiki shook his head, stepped to the side, and lifted his hand square on the male’s forehead. He pushed and sent the male flying backwards into a mid-air spin, landing on his back. He didn’t want to fight; he never liked being aggressive. Sometimes, he had no other choice but to engage in conflict.

Sashiki didn’t have to draw a weapon or hurt them too badly, but the commotion drew a lot of attention. Several youkai poked their heads out of their huts, and for a brief moment, Sashiki was distracted when Reina walked out of the food hut.

‘Focus!’ Taizo snarled, seeing a dagger slash catch him in the side.Ccontent © exclusive by Nô/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

Sashiki’s snarl matched Taizo’s, and he swung his arm out, catching the man holding the dagger. Yanking his arm down, the dagger flew out of the male’s hand, which Sashiki kicked away. He shoved the youkai away, dragging his leg across the dirt, and surprised one of the males. The legs were swept out from under the man, and he landed heavily on his back.

Sashiki’s eyes caught Reina’s briefly, and to his surprise, he saw concern in her eyes. Shaking his head, he stepped back and glanced down at the blood seeping through his shirt. “Aw, you have gone ahead and ruined my favorite shirt.” He sighed.

The man looked at him, flabbergasted. “You’re bleeding out and concerned about your shirt?”

Sashiki lifted a brow and lifted his shirt. “You think this is bleeding out? How many fights have you been in?”

“Enough to know that you will die before the night is done.” The man guffawed.

‘He dipped his dagger in poison.’ Taizo snickered.

Sashiki grinned, already knowing from past experiences that he was immune from any poisons he had encountered. “Will I now?”

“He will know before too long when his side goes numb,” the other male said, rolling his eyes.

“Sorry to disappoint you, but your poison does not affect me.” Sashiki sighed. “Do you not know who I am?”

The men glanced at one another, confused. “You’re the same dog that keeps trying to steal Reina’s attention.”

Sashiki shook his head. They knew enough to know that he was a dog spirit. From his pale skin and hair, it would be fairly obvious that he was from the most North Western territories. Any of the other dog breeds would have dark hair or darker skin, depending on what area they lived in.

He had met a few in his travels. The Southern dog spirits were darker-skinned and more attuned to the nature in which they resided, some even having adopted the names the humans referred to them as, which was elf kind. While the Northern dogs had dark hair and pale skin, they were more confrontational and burley than their southern and western kinsman. Within all the territories, many different kinds of spiritual beings took on appearances ranging from animals to objects. There had been a large explosion of the youkai population within the last fifty years, leading to many conflicts over land.

Because youkai lived for hundreds of years, if they were careful, they could wait out a human’s short existence and swoop in upon the man’s death and take his lands and property. Some youkai even went so far as to take humans as slaves or playthings. He frowned as he thought of one particular cruel youkai who had tortured his human slave so much that she had starved herself to death to escape the endless torment she had suffered at her master’s hand.

“Be gone,” Sashiki said as irritation started to bubble to the surface.

“We aren’t finished with you yet, boy.”

Sashiki growled low in warning. He was now annoyed rather than amused as his thoughts reflected on that particular youkai. Due to his own ignorance, he had not noticed the female’s condition until it was too late. Despite him trying to force-feed her and pouring water down her throat, she succumbed to her fate shortly after he had arrived at the man’s home. Needless to say, the youkai had met his demise after a brief encounter with Sashiki.

“Last warning.” Sashiki snarled. “You will not like the result should you ignore my warning.”

One man laughed and sprinted forward to attack Sashiki. As quickly as the man had come, Sashiki’s hand was faster, catching the male by the throat and flinging him backward after a sickening crunch filled the air. The man landed in a crumpled heap, his eyes wide and sightless.

It took the other two a few minutes to comprehend what had happened, and immediately, they took a more serious stance. Sashiki’s grin turned more sinister, and crouched, preparing for the fight.

Taizo glanced around him in the pools as he felt an electrical surge from his host, and he blinked in surprise. ‘Oie, oie, calm down, Sashiki.’ He jumped back, startled when blue arcs surrounded the tree he was standing before and gasped. ‘Sashiki!’

‘I warned them. I’ve had enough of this childish play.’ He snarled.

‘I understand that, but you need to calm down before you fry your tree of life!’ Taizo snapped.

‘If this is my end, then it is my time.’ Sashiki huffed.

‘You have no heirs, which means if you die, I die also.’

That seemed to calm his host down slightly, but that excitement for the fight remained. ‘I can actually sizzle my tree?’ Sashiki asked humorously.

‘Uh, yes. You have my power along with yours, and mine happens to be electrical in nature.’ Taizo rolled his eyes. He was rather curious as to how his host had been able to tap into that power when he had pretty much kept it a secret. It was a powerful ability that he wasn’t sure his host could handle at the moment.

‘So does that make you like the God Ryujin? Or more like Fujin?’ Sashiki asked as he dodged the male who was trying to slash at him.

The names caused him to shiver in recognition, yet he wasn’t sure why. ‘I think the ability is from the Ryujin, but I don’t know for certain.’

‘Sometimes I think you are vague on purpose.’ Sashiki grunted as he kicked the other male into a nearby tree.

Taizo grinned. ‘Of course. It’s so much fun.’

‘Jackass.’ Sashiki said as he dusted his hands after the fight. Both males were lying unconscious, and he turned to walk away.

“Sashiki?”

Sashiki’s breath caught in his throat. It was Reina calling him. He stopped walking and turned around with a raised brow.

He froze when she barreled into him, throwing her arms around his neck. “Thank you.” She whispered in his ear, which caused shivers to run down his back. “They have been hanging around a lot lately, which was infuriating.”

His mouth went dry as her breath crested over his ear, and he tried to swallow the lump that had formed in his throat. Instead, he just nodded.

Taizo rolled his eyes. ‘Idiot!’