Wolf and Keeper

Chapter 10: The Beast Within

Sen watched Hashi flex his hand as a small grimace came to the yokai's face. The cramps in his arm had been slowly becoming more and more frequent as time went on, and he vaguely found himself wondering if The Rot itself was causing it or if Hashi's body was trying to fight it back the best it could. The yokai caught him staring with a slightly furrowed brow and gave him a reassuring smile as he gave a dismissive wave of his other hand. Sen reluctantly pulled his eyes away at the motion and saw Emi and Hachirou seemingly arguing with Yuzuha and Aoi about what to do next. Sen always found it better to let them hash out their problems than try to get involved. It was just all around easier that way.

"I'm telling you, we should make for Izumo!" Yuzuha snapped at an unflinching Hachirou and Emi.

"We need to make it through Mikawa and Owari before we even consider going for Izumo," Emi shook her head as Hachirou nodded in agreement.

"Mino should be our target. Owari is a mess right now," Aoi argued as he looked between the group.

"Mino has always been a mess and so has Owari!"

"Then what do you recommend, princess?"

"Quit calling me that!"

"Would you two please stop?"

Sen sighed and finally stood up and meandered over to the group, crossing his arms as he leaned against a tree and watched them bicker before he cleared his throat, prompting all four heads to stare at him. "Whatever we decide, we should take it easy. Hashi's hand has been cramping pretty badly and he's been seeming more tired than usual."

Emi paused and frowned before she turned back to their circle and spoke, "Making straight for Izumo would be too hard on Hashi right now. I do think cutting up through Owari and Mino would be the best option, given Hashi's condition."

Yuzuha frowned herself and nodded, "That's true... Fine. We'll go with that. If he looks like he's getting worse, the direct path might be our only option."

Sen turned back and saw Hashi gripping his wrist with another grunt and furrowed his own brow as he walked back over to his friend and rested a hand on his shoulder. Hashi looked down at him apologetically and gestured to his palm and then up his arm. Whole arm hurts.

"I know. Don't worry. We'll be taking an easier route," Sen smiled and patted his arm as he caught sight of everyone gathering their things.

Hashi didn't quite like being doted on. It wasn't in his nature – now or when he had been human. He reached for his pack of things only to see Sen grab it up and heft it onto his shoulders as if it weighed nothing. For someone as short as he was, Hashi gave him credit for being deceptively strong.

"Let me," Sen nodded. "You just take it easy, yeah?"

Hashi hesitated, but finally sighed heavily through his nose and nodded, allowing Sen to shoulder the pack on his own. He wasn't too fond of being viewed as incapable. He had always been the one to do the heavy lifting for Sen. This sudden role reversal made him uneasy at best and made him feel somewhat incompetent at worst. Still, he couldn't fight a measure of pride when he saw Sen fall in beside the group. He hadn't expected the usually reclusive Sen to take to people – a group, nonetheless – and seem to somewhat enjoy it. That gave him a small sense of comfort as he stood up and joined them all with a toothy smile.

"Feeling up to travel, big guy?" Hachirou asked as he beamed up at him and Hashi replied with an exuberant nod and looked down with a smile at Sen, who also turned to smile up at him.

With that, the group set off towards the province of Mikawa.

The trip itself was mostly uneventful if not plagued by storms They passed the time at night with long talks around small roadside fires or holed up in small inns that treated Hashi with everything ranging from friendly hospitality to cool indifference, but every day one thing remained consistent. Hashi's arm was progressively getting worse. He tried his best to keep it hidden and would slink off under the guise of gathering or bathing to clasp at it in pain and watch as the ashy tendrils began to climb higher and higher up his arm. It was winding across his back from where he had been stabbed and had begun to claim more of his arm, beginning to slowly but surely creep up towards his shoulder. The progress the Rot had been making was starting to worry him, and the more it spread, the weaker he found himself feeling some days. For the most part, the group had been patient with him more than he had anticipated, and it was a boon in and of itself.