[No data] Read online

  Her arms were behind her back, held together by the vines. They were being pulled straight up, forcing Chiyo to lean forward. A vine was wrapped around her legs as well, and just when Taiko was wondering why Chiyo hadn't called for help she raised her head, and Taiko saw the thick vine that was between her teeth.

  Another was coiled a few times around her neck, and more were around her chest, crisscrossing between her breasts to pinch them in between.

  Taiko was horrified. It looked incredibly uncomfortable. Downright painful, more likely, and the desperate look in Chiyo's eyes said she was right. The vines slithered and squeezed in a way that seemed purposeful, like it enjoyed hurting her for some twisted reason. She tried to fight it, but was no match for its strength, and it pulled her arms higher as if to punish her. Taiko heard her cry of pain even through the vine in her mouth.

  Yumi was already in action. She had her bow in her hands and an arrow nocked. She let it fly, and scored a hit against one of the vines holding Chiyo's arms up in that awful pose. The vine snapped, but another took its place. The tsurujin grew visibly angry, free limbs now whipping through the air. One of them twisted itself into Chiyo's hair and pulled her head back.

  Taiko wasn't going to let this happen. She rushed toward the monster, closing into range where she could use her magic. Three more arrows flew past as she ran, but to no effect as the vines swatted them out of the air.

  Taiko stopped and took her stance, moving her arms in the gestures that would channel her spirit into the spell.

  "Ushimuttsu's brawn!" she shouted, and with a flick of her wrist let it fly to Chiyo. A curving trail of green light burned toward her, striking her in the chest. Immediately Chiyo's struggles were infused with great vigor, but she was still unable to free herself.

  Yumi was rushing past Taiko now as well, bringing her spear to try what her arrows had failed to do. She swung it like a glaive, trying to cut the vines, but she was immediately pushed back, unable to catch them in their violent arcs through the air. They reached out for her, and even Yumi's quick reflexes were barely enough to keep from being caught.

  Taiko wanted to join her, but there was little chance of her going into melee with those vines and not being instantly captured. With the fuumog's nose spell still active she wouldn't be able to cast any others on herself, and with the ushimuttsu's brawn spell on Chiyo she couldn't cast anything on Yumi. With only one type of magic left to throw into the fight she concentrated on the environment, looking for something she could use.

  Yumi dove in again to try to free Chiyo, but once more she was forced to flee as a dozen attacks came at her from a dozen different angles.

  "Yumi! Jump!"

  Taiko shouted the order a moment too late. A vine that had crept low, beneath Yumi's guard, whipped around and struck her in the back of her knees. Yumi fell onto her back, and in an instant the vine was wrapped around her ankles.

  "Dammit! Get off me!" she yelled, trying to get her spear spun around to cut them loose. Now that she couldn't dodge it was only seconds before her arms were seized. The tsurujin pulled her into the air, dangling her by her feet while the vines entwined around her wrists, pulling them hard to the ground. She was stretched as straight as a board, and her angry curses were cut short as the green tendrils sought to invade her mouth like they had Chiyo's.

  "Taiko! Do something!" cried Miyoshi.

  Taiko felt the wind picking up, taking with it seedpods that had been shaken loose from the tampopo trees by the tsurujin. Taiko saw her opportunity. Her arms danced as she brought forward her magic. The tampopo trees wanted to blow away. It was in their nature, even if their trunks were now too thick and too heavily rooted. Taiko reached into them and brought out that desire.

  "Scatter, tampopo trees!"

  The next gust of wind didn't just take the seedpods. The trees themselves- at least the ones that Taiko had enchanted- tore from the ground and went with them. The tsurujin was pulled in ten different directions at once, and was forced to let go of its supports lest it be torn to shreds. The mass of vines dropped to the ground, and without the trees to anchor itself to it could no longer hold Chiyo and Yumi in their suspended positions.

  Yumi only got to her knees before the tsurujin made up for it by wrapping dozens of more vines around her. Chiyo, her strength enhanced by Taiko's spell, fared much better. In the moment of the tsurujin's confusion she tore herself from the vines and scrambled away. More pursued her, but the few that found her limbs were ripped in two.

  Chiyo scooped up her staff from where it had fallen onto the ground. Now armed, she turned around and pointed her weapon at the tsurujin. Taiko knew what was coming next. Chiyo only needed a moment to focus before she shouted and thrust the staff in the tsurujin's direction.

  Energy arced down the staff and fired at the mass of vines. The tsurujin, still trying to rise up, suddenly ripped into a thousand shreds. A few seconds of quiet were followed by a rain of wet green bits all around where the tsurujin once stood.

  Chiyo plopped onto her knees, dropping her staff. Taiko ran up and threw her arms around her.

  "Chiyo! Are you okay?"

  "I… I think so."

  She was trembling, and there was a gash on her arm where her sleeve had been torn. Taiko made a series of prayer symbols with her hands, then touched the wound. It healed, closing before her eyes and leaving no trace of itself.

  "What happened?"

  "I don't know. I followed you guys to the ravine, but then I saw the tsurujin a little ways away and went to go have a look. Then it just… it just attacked me. I don't know what it was trying to do to me. They don't- I mean, they're not supposed to be aggressive. They don't eat animals or anything, they just find good places to sun themselves."

  "Mmph!"

  Taiko turned to see Yumi, still on the ground. The vines holding her were dead now, but they had been wrapped well enough that she still couldn't get loose, and from the way she was jerking about it wasn't from lack of effort.

  "Aww," said Miyoshi, finally catching up. "She actually looks kind of cute like that. Maybe we should leave her for a little while."

  Yumi made her opinion on that clear enough, and Miyoshi giggled at her muffled threats.

  "Miyoshi, could you make that basket for us now?" ask Taiko, kneeling to help Yumi get free. "I've got this odd feeling that we shouldn't wait around here."

  "Yeah..." said Chiyo. "Let's go."

  Akio rolled, dodging just in time to avoid being skewered by the shard of ice that crashed into the ground where he once stood. The ice harpy was already preparing another one, hovering high enough to be out of his reach but close enough to be deadly.

  Several of his men were already down. There were three of the winged creatures, and their frozen skin was hard enough that arrows were doing little more than chipping them before bouncing off. The mountain slope they'd been caught on suited the harpies- there wasn't much cover around, and neither was there much room to maneuver without risking a nasty fall.

  A trio of smaller, faster shards streaked toward him, and it was only within a hair's breath that he deflected them with his blade. Akio wasn't going to wait for what she was going to try next. He risked a perilous sprint across uneven ground to reach one of his spearmen, ripping the weapon from his hands.

  Just as the harpy was ready to lob another icy dagger at his neck he hurled the spear into her chest. The weapon's greater weight drove it into the ice, and with a howling shriek she fell to the ground and shattered.

  Akio, free for a moment at last, scanned the terrain. The water in the air was already condensing in a vortex above him, freezing into another one of the creatures. That meant that the creatures' summoner was nearby. They'd been tracking her for days, and this ambush was her attempt to get rid of her pursuers. Instead it was going to lead him right to her. He focused his senses and picked out the unmistakable shimmer of magic on a cliff above.

  He was scaling the rock face in a flash, pushing his muscles to their limi
t to reach the top before one of the harpies took advantage of his exposed position. He hurled himself over the ledge just as she completed her spell. It didn't matter now. He had her.

  Her name was Kori, and she was one of Queen Tomiko's three Oni- her best and deadliest champions. When he'd heard she was on a mission in the Misuto Mountains he immediately struck out on the chance at capturing or killing one of his enemy's greatest assets. Now he was finally within a few paces of her.

  She had the form of a beautiful woman, dressed in a blue robe with white trim that was cut to show her off. Her breasts were put carefully on display, and it parted beneath her belt to let her leg slip out. Yet she was clearly the Oni her title claimed her to be, with red skin, a horn that stood out from her forehead, and extended canines that he could see from her wicked cackling as she finished her summoning. That expression changed when she noticed him.

  He didn't give her much time to prepare, closing the distance and hitting her square in the jaw.

  She didn't go down as easily as he'd hoped. In fact, if he had to guess, his hand hurt more than her jaw did. She struck back at him, but while she may have had the strength and toughness of an Oni she wasn't used to using it in hand-to-hand combat. He let her push him back to the cliff edge, feigning retreat while she swung more and more wildly. When he was inches from the ledge he caught her arm, twisted, and hurled her off the cliff. It was about thirty feet down, and landing flat on her back was enough to knock the lights out of her.

  All three harpies screeched before falling to the ground and melting, unable to live without their summoner's concentration.

  "Get the chains!" he yelled, scrambling down the side of the cliff. She was starting to stir, and his men barely moved fast enough to pile on top of her. It took four strong men to roll her over and keep her arms pinned to her back. She grunted in anger as Akio fitted the steel shackles around her wrists.

  Even with those on her she put up a fierce struggle as wrapped her body and limbs in chains. He looped them around her arms and chest, pulling them until her elbows almost touched. Locks were snapped closed through the links to keep them in place while more chain was coiled around her neck and legs.

  When they were finished his men put her on her knees before him. Kori looked up at his face, fury burning in her eyes.

  "You won't get anything out of me," she said. "Kill me now if you're smart, because once I find a way out of these chains I'll rip you apart with my teeth."

  He gripped her jaw to tilt her face up some more so that he could get a good look. There was a viciousness in it, framed by her ebony hair, that thrilled him. She was no less attractive for it, and the way her torn dress now clung to her body promised him delights in the flesh underneath. When he saw her strain against the steel links he couldn't wait to see with how much fury she would squirm and struggle when he put the whip to her.

  "Tell me, is your cunt as tough as the rest of you? It'll be interesting to see how well it holds up after I let every man in my castle dip his cock into it."

  "Gag her," he ordered, "Use the bit, and sink it in nice and deep."

  She was trouble getting down the mountainside, but after she'd eaten dirt enough times she behaved better. She would still need a lot of work to break, but Akio didn't mind that at all. An hour later they were in the valley, and from there would follow it to lead back to the plains.

  A scouting party of three men was waiting for him. Three men and something Akio hadn't seen before.

  "Lord Akio," said Sergeant Norobu, bowing before him. "I must report that we did not locate the Oni's hiding place, or any other sign of enemy operations."

  That Akio was hauling the Oni with him in plain view didn't matter. Reports were to be made promptly and honestly, and Akio was pleased that his sergeant understood that.

  "In addition, we have captured this prisoner. We have not ascertained her allegiance yet."

  The prisoner was a woman, at least as much as the Oni was. She was young, maybe twenty, and very pretty. Long white hair cascaded from her head- not greyed like an old woman's, but milky and full. Poking out was a pair of ears that looked like a cat's, and the tail that swished angrily from side to side behind her matched them. Her eyes were bright green, and they almost glowed. They were the most alluring he'd ever seen.

  Her arms were folded behind her back, and the tight and orderly ropework across her chest suggested that they were tied securely. Under those ropes she wore nothing but a black tunic, cut low enough to show off her round breasts, enhanced by the way her chest was bound. It was tied with a simple belt and came less than halfway down her thighs. The whole thing was lined with white fur, almost matching her hair and tail.

  She was almost chewing on the cloth that was stuffed in her mouth, glaring at him and grunting sharply.

  "Ungag her."

  Norobu obeyed, and it didn't take half an instant before she started speaking.

  "You! Tell these men to untie me!"

  "No. Who are you?"

  "'No'? What do you mean 'no'? They showed up out of nowhere shouting orders at me, and when I refused they attacked me! They even tied me up. This isn't comfortable, you know, and that cloth tasted awful. If you're in charge these goons then you should be punishing them for-"

  Akio slapped her

  "H... hey..." she stammered.

  He hadn't hit her hard, but he'd gotten her attention. She was trying to back away from him, but the scouts were holding her in place. She shrank and her ears went flat. Her tail stopped beating the air and hugged her leg.

  "Who are you?" he asked.

  "I'm not going to tell you anything you... you jerk."

  She sounded pitiful now, her boldness gone. He was confident that he could get her talking very quickly, but with the Oni as his other prisoner he didn't want to divert his attention or stay out in a vulnerable location for long.

  "Put her gag back in. We'll interrogate her back at Ishi-jo."

  Yumi's hands pounded on her drums, keeping the beat for the rest of her friends as they sang. All of the villagers were watching, listening, and cheering while Taiko danced along. She was center stage for the upbeat chorus and charmed the audience with her playful skips and flourishes.

  She was a natural. Yumi didn't have much desire to be in her place, but she was still a little jealous of her raw presence when she was performing. Yumi had more stamina in any athletic sense, but Taiko had an endless energy that she couldn't match, and she moved with a perkiness and bounce that wowed everyone who got to see it.

  The chorus ended and Taiko dropped away to let Miyoshi take over with a haunting solo. Yumi stopped as well while the simple, sweet melody washed over the audience. It struck them silent, and only when it ended did their cheers return to accompany the end of the song as Taiko, Miyoshi, and Chiyo finished in harmony.

  The Umai harvest festival began at twilight and lasted until the moon reached the center of the sky. Bonfires held back the night while the villagers ate, danced, dressed in lively costume, and offered humbled prayers to the earth spirits. Like for every festival, Yumi and her friends were the most cherished performance, looked forward to by everyone. They were singing their most popular set tonight, wrapping it up with Harebottaidesu Asa, a song about playing around in a perfect dream before waking up for a hard day's harvesting.

  The song ended and the curtain closed, drawn shut by Miki, the baking woman. Taiko waved and blew kisses to the audience until the last crack between the hanging cloth disappeared. She turned back around and sighed, worn out by her energetic performance.

  "That was great guys! Just like always!"

  "Not quite like always," said Chiyo, "We were really missing Ikumi's flute. I can't believe she's so late."

  "She's probably still at Jiichan's," said Miyoshi, "His ushimuttsu were sick, and she needed the songshrooms to ease their stomachs. I bet she didn't want to go until they were better. She wouldn't leave them suffering like that, you know."

  "Miyoshi's right,"
said Taiko. "Besides, we did fine without her. We'll give her double duty at next week's tanuki festival to make up for it."

  Miyoshi giggled.

  "Come on," she said, grabbing Yumi and Chiyo by their arms, "Let's go start the feast! We'll save some for Ikumi."

  She dragged them off the stage, exiting in the rear while Haru passed them climbing up.

  "You guys were amazing," he said, "I can't wait to hear you again next week."

  Yumi saw Chiyo blush at him, confusing her. Everyone had complemented them on their singing a thousand times before. What was there to be embarrassed about?

  She didn't have long to think about it. Miyoshi was aggressively herding them to the booths where the fruits of the harvest had been made into a hundred different kinds of treats.

  Umai wasn't a large village, with maybe a hundred people living there. Simple wooden cottages with thatch roofs, usually serving as both people's homes and their shops or places of business, surrounded a large open circle. Tonight it was covered with decorations, many of them made by Miyoshi. Effigies of earth and water spirits hung from poles and colorful paper banners spanned the spaces between houses.

  The most impressive piece stood in the dead center of the circle- a human-sized statue made of layered paper over a delicate wooden frame. Thousands of flowers made up her dress, and her hair was woven together from long grasses. Yumi had no idea how Miyoshi had managed to freeze them in place to make them look like they were blowing in the wind as the spirit ran along.

  "Taiko," ordered Miyoshi, "Go secure that table for us! Yumi, hold these cakes. Chiyo, get me that trey. Hurry! We only have a few hours!"

  Yumi's opinion was offered and rejected in Miyoshi's crusade to get samples from each of her favorite booths, seconds for some, and a generous reserve of picks from her second-favorites. They wound up at the table Miyoshi had demanded with a pile of food that would make them sick if they ate it all, and Yumi knew that Miyoshi would demand they do exactly that.