Wolf and Keeper

Chapter 6: The Woman From Izumo

Hashi had taken to carrying Sen's odachi. The sword was already almost too big for the poor man, who stood shorter than most of his peers on a good day. He enjoyed the extra heft and the familiar feeling of the sheath tapping his back every now and again. The time they had spent traveling had given him time to reflect on how much in the world had changed since he had become bound to Ebume so long ago. He had Ebume-no-Kami to thank for the life he had been given, but seeing the world gave him a slight pang of regret that curled up inside his chest. How much had he missed out on being trapped in that village? The thoughts dissolved away when he looked in front of him at Sen, who was regaling Emi and Hachirou with a tale about their misadventures together. There weren't many things in his long life he looked at with no regrets, but helping raise Sen was one of them. If Myugou was right about him, then it was all going to be worth it.

He watched as Sen slowed his pace to fall in step beside him and smiled down at him. He made a quick gesture to him. Something wrong?

Sen shook his head as he looked back at him and smiled, "No. Just wanted to check and see how things were back here. You've been quiet."

Hashi chuffed a chuckle and gestured to him, then to his mouth, and then shook his head. You haven't.

"Haven't I?" Sen asked with a small smile that Hashi knew well. The boy still didn't like to show his emotions any more than necessary, even with him. One corner of his mouth would tug up just a bit to show that he was happy, his laughs were brief and breathy, he would flex his hand and set his jaw, and his anger would show itself in the set of his brow and the ever so slight downturn of his mouth. "I don't know... Something about Emi and Hachirou puts me at ease, I suppose," Sen shrugged and turned his gaze ahead once more as they continued down the path. "They said that we should be arriving at a town soon. I figured with how you were lost alone in your thoughts back here that I better let you know."

Hashi gave him a grateful nod before they lapsed into another easy silence. It had always been that way between them for as long as Hashi could remember. There was always that comfortable quiet that sat between them when there was nothing else that needed saying. He had always liked it. It was the same kind of silence that he had with Myugou. It came as naturally as the conversations most of the time, and he got to simply bask in the presence of someone else's company, for what it was worth.

However, when he took a deep inhale, he froze on the road. Something smelled... off. He grabbed Sen and shook his head, and in turn, Sen raced up and grabbed ahold of a very confused Emi and an equally confused Hachirou.

"What's wrong, Sen?" Hachirou asked as Emi nodded in agreement with his concern.

Sen looked back to Hashi, who in turn gestured up to his horns. Yokai.

"He smells yokai," Sen kept watching him as Hashi continued to offer up gestures.

He made a cut along his arm with his fingers. Blood. He paused for a moment before he gestured to his horns again and then to Sen. Yokai and human.

"There's blood, human and yokai. A lot of it, if he can smell it over here."

Emi turned back to the road, "The town. Tomoemura is close."

"Namikionna?" Sen looked between the two of them as Hashi moved up to stand closer.

"Maybe. Be on guard," Hachirou readied his naginata and handed Emi hers from where it was strapped to his back.

They continued up the road, their little group all standing much closer, and Sen got a distinct feeling that he had seen the path before. The feeling gnawed at his mind and danced around his memory. It was like there was something up ahead calling him there. More than that, something felt wrong. All of his warning bells were chiming in his head, and he glanced back at Hashi. One look from his friend told him that he felt it, too.