Anonymous 2011/07/11 (Mon) 23:40 No. 24 "Very well, then! You see, the nue's true form is far simpler than you imagine... It is nothing more than a strange bird."
"...A bird?"
"Yes, a bird." Seeing them stare at me in disbelief, I decide to tell them the whole story.
"In the seventh month of the third year of Genk?, the court changed the name of the era to Kemmu. There was a pestilence in that year, and the numbers of those who sickened and died were exceedingly great. Moreover, from around autumn a strange bird came out above the Shishinden, crying, "Till when? Till when?" with a voice that echoed in the clouds and awoke men from their sleep. All who heard it detested and feared it."
"Is this tale going to take long, Daisuke..."? Mamoru, seemingly with little patience for proper storytelling, closes his eye again, as if drifting off into sleep from my words alone.
"Very well, I'll get straight to the point. Having heard of Yorimasa's feat, the courtiers decided to have someone from among the Genji shoot down the nue. Oki no Jir? Saemon Hiroari was the name of the man they chose. As he lay in ambush to shoot down the bird, above the palace there hung a black cloud, whence unceasingly the bird cried out - so you see, the cloud was not the nue itself, it was hiding within it. When it called, it vomited flames from its mouth, for there were flashes of lightning coming together with the sound of its voice."
"...So, did Hiroari shoot down this strange bird?"
"Oh, yes. It fell from the cloud, crashing to the ground with a sound as if it were a large stone that had fallen. The emperor had the men of the imperial guard hold pine torches on high, that he might gaze upon the bird. And he saw that the head was as the head of a man, and the body as that of a snake. The bill was crooked in front, with saw teeth, and there were long spurs on the legs, as sharp as swords. When the wing tips were stretched out, its length was sixteen feet from end to end."
"...That is quite a strange bird, indeed," mutters Tsuyoshi, clutching onto his teacup so hard it is moments away from shattering. I cannot help but chuckle at the man's fears, although I must respect him as a comrade for not turning tail and fleeing back to the village.
"Well, who knows? Maybe none of us are right. What say you, priest?" I turn to our escortee, who has been silent all this time, and the old man lays down his cup for the first time since having sat down.
"What, pray tell, does our target truly look like? What is the nue's true form?"
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The four mercenaries I had hired all look at me with curiosity, having successfully confused one another to no end about the truth behind the nue and its appearance. Shaking my head, I remove my hood; it had rained before, and there had been water dripping from the leaves overhead, yet the roaring fire we are seated around is making it far too warm for such a thing.
"The nue... knows many forms. Its specialty, indeed, is hiding its true form from humans, and even other youkai. Some say it can take any form it desires, even that of a human, such as a young girl, or a man..."
As expected, the men all look at me with disbelief in their eyes, their minds refusing to accept the very concept of such an ability.
"Hah! You almost had us going there, old man." Daisuke pulls his sword from the ground and, having cleaned it, sheathes it.
"With such an ability, humans would be no match for the beast. Hell, any of us could be the nue in disguise right now, right guys?" The others nod in reluctant agreement, Tsuyoshi in particular shrinking a little, his fingertips trembling. While courage was not the man's strong point, he at least made up for it in heart and willpower.
"As for a true form... Well, some say it has none. I honestly do not know, myself..."
"Heh... Well, we'll see what it looks like once we've put it down, won't we?" Daisuke's line of thought is interrupted when Mamoru, seemingly tired of fireside stories, stands up and yawns softly.
"It would be best to turn in for the night. We'll keep watch in two-hour shifts. Minoru, you take the first shift, I'll go after you."
"Very well."
"Aren't you going to retire for the night, m'lord?" Addressing me with an inappropriately high title and a sarcastic tone of voice, Daisuke begins to head off for some sleep, accompanied by the others.
"I will stay awake for a while longer to meditate on some things, if you do not mind."
They shrug, paying me no further heed and leaving me alone with the fire, Minoru having drawn his spear and headed off a short distance on patrol. I sit for half an hour, an hour, and then-...
Azure tentacles grasp my arms and bind my legs. A crimson blade, like a scythe, appears mere inches from my throat, several others looming in my peripheral vision.
Finally, she is here.
"Did you kill those three?" I ask her, keeping my voice calm.
"...And what if I did?" Her voice itself is formless, a tone your ears cannot accurately pinpoint, speech you can understand but cannot discern the language, words you hear but cannot remember later on.
"That would be a 'no', then. I would like for you to spare the mercenaries' lives. They've done you no harm, and only followed me for the promise of coin."
"Tch. Are you seriously trying to negotiate with a youkai that has you in her grasp?" The blade draws closer, its razor-edge pressing againt my adam' apple, and the tentacles tighten their grip.
"I could end you where you sit, before you finish drawing your next breath."
"As long as it's just me, I don't mind. However, I would still like for you to spare the mercenaries. And to leave this area."
"Making demands! What a curious man you are, indeed..." This time, the grip of the strange appendages loosens, but only slightly.
"...So, you've come to exterminate me, then? Or to simply drive me off, deprive me of my home?"
"The latter would be preferrable, I suppose. Either result would satisfy the villagers, yet I assume you have no interest in being exterminated, yes?"
"You do realize I'm the one holding a blade to your neck, right."
"True enough, true enough..."
There is a long pause, a moment of silence. Eventually, the tentacles uncoil themselves, and the blade is removed. I do not turn around.
"...Tell them Minoru got killed by the nue, and you exterminated it in return. Or something. I'm sure you'll be able to make something up. You humans are even better at that than I am, sometimes..." I can almost sense amusement in her voice, for a moment.
"Ah, so it was that one."
"I suppose I'll have to leave and find another place to live, then... Another village to study, another emperor to pull pranks on, or another band of adventurers to mislead..."
"You certainly enjoy being around humans a lot for a youkai, don't you? And yet, your very nature forces you to be constantly driven off, forces you to keep running and hiding your true form." I turn around, and notice imprints in the grass where two feet stood just a moment ago. Looking up, I spot a little black bird sitting on a treebranch overhead, its wings decorated with streaks of red on one side, blue on the other.
"Always running, alway hiding... always remaining unidentified."
"Till when?" it cries at me in return, before flying off into the blackness of the night.
I sit down, and have another cup of tea.