Temper: Deliverance: Book Three of the TEMPER Saga, page 9
The younger woman fidgeted under the scrutiny of three pairs of eyes and rubbed her arms; with only paper windows and wooden doors, the shrine was cold, despite the oil heaters and extra clothing.
“He said he has been waiting years to be able to ‘collect his gift’... to marry me and… oh my goodness… to…” Bile rose in her throat and embarrassment made her face burn. “To breed me,” she finished in a whisper.
She shuddered and tried to recover her composure, but it was impossible to meet anyone’s eyes. “For sure, something happened twenty years ago in Italy. There’s the impossible coincidence we discovered, goshujin sama, but also because of the words he used. He called me his ‘gift’. He said… it was fine I wasn’t so young anymore. So, I was offered to him? Or someone bet and lost, and I was the... reward?” Anxiety made her tug her hair and rub her face furiously. “It makes no sense. Even in terms of symbols, I’m not a thing, not property, I didn’t belong to anyone, nobody had a claim on me, or the autho–”
Struck by revelation, her body began to shake violently as pieces snapped together despite the fog shrouding her exhausted mind. Honda’s shocked stare showed he had come to the same conclusion.
Memories of blood and pain flooded her. Panic sent her into hyperventilation. She barely managed to scramble outside and reach the snow before emptying her stomach, on all fours.
Those goddamn monsters! Those fucking pigs! Let me kill them! Anything to see them dead!
“Lana san! Sweetling! Oh love, no, don’t hurt yourself!”
Wracked by sobs, Lana found herself wrapped in the warm blanket of Yuki’s solid embrace. Freezing temperatures made her quickly numb but she couldn’t care less. Blackness covered her sight as sorrow, pain and burning rage blinded her.
“Let’s bring her back inside right away,” Honda urged his wife.
He collected Lana and, for the second time that day, carried her in his arms. Raining punches on his chest, she howled her hate and anger, spitting strings of curses and insults in Italian.
Back inside, he put her back on her feet and grabbed her elbows. “Enough!”
As if someone had turned off a switch, she fell abruptly silent and slouched down at his feet, beaten and subdued.
Honda kneeled in front of her, still holding her, but with a softer grip. “So, it was her?”
“It’s the only thing that makes sense,” Lana croaked, rocking back and forth, decades of trauma flooding emotional barriers already put under extreme stress. “I was still underage, under her parental authority. Of course, she couldn’t legally give me to anyone. But symbols, right? She did it for him!”
“But why? And… how?”
“I don’t know how! But why?” Lana roared, pulling at his lapel until they were nearly nose to nose. “Because of his business! His fucking shipping business with the mafia, that’s why! Those two are amoral, greedy, worthless pieces of shit who –” She gasped, and snapped her jaw shut.
Easy, easy, easy, you’re hurting the baby, the baby, think about him!
Shutting her eyes, she inhaled deeply, her body a pack of tense knots. “Earlier today, Gabriella called me,” she went on in a rough whisper. “According to police in Italy, her husband is in relation with yakuza groups. I never knew about it, but I’m not surprised. It’s a stretch, all right, but I don’t see what else it could be. She had authority over me. He had those connections, and maybe a pressing… need to make a deal. They must have made an agreement with them, with me as the bargaining chip, and that devil was their counterpart. But then I met Paolo and I guess the deal didn’t include me not being a hapless virgin anymore, even less pregnant. And now I know why they were so enraged, why she screamed I ruined everything, why he killed Paolo, and why she… she–”
Carina! Baby!
Unable to finish, hands flying around her belly, Lana crumbled on the floor, shaken by enraged sobs.
“I’ll kill them! I’ll hunt them down! I swear, I –”
“Don’t say those words!” Natsuko interrupted, seizing Lana’s wrist. “Don’t make this kind of vow here! Don’t put yourself in yet other binds that will plague you for the rest of your life, and the next!”
Resentful, Lana pulled hard to free herself from the matriarch’s grip. “Pah! As if it would make any difference! My life… my life has been a living hell because of them. I don’t see how this could get worse, and at least I’d get my revenge.”
The elder Honda grabbed Lana’s face, and her eyes pierced her through and through. “You know nothing. Of course, it can get worse! Until now, you have been the victim, the object of dark pledges, and maybe there are ways to free you from them. Undertaking one yourself? This is a whole other universe of trouble, and you will never break away from it, especially if you do it here, with them as your witness.” She pointed at the altar. “But who are those people?”
With a grimace, Lana pushed the older woman away and stared down at the ground without a word.
Honda rubbed his eyes. “Her mother and her step-father,” he explained, anger barely in check. “They assaulted Lana san when she was not yet eighteen, hurting her so badly she lost her unborn child and almost died. They also killed its father. We discovered this happened exactly at the same time, down to the hour, as my own… confrontation with the onryo. It is certainly one of the factors that brought us together.”
Natsuko hissed and blinked in shock, while Yuki approached Lana, cheeks wet, and rocked her in a tight embrace with shushing words of love and comfort. Lana let herself be carried away, desperate to push back her anguish and fear.
“Ah, this is… this is one of the worst scenarios,” the elder commented with genuine sorrow and sadness. “Betrayal by a blood relative out of pure greed, your own mother at that... Shedding blood, murder, the criminal extinction of an unborn soul… If this was done because of a pledge made in favor of Nogitsune, then I am not surprised at the wide reach and intensity of its impact. Lana san, be assured that nothing can cleanse such a transgression. They damned themselves and will pay the most terrible price. Do not take matters in your own hands.”
Eyes shut, head resting on Yuki’s shoulder, a tired chuckle passed Lana’s lips. “Amazing advice coming from someone so respectful of traditions. This country’s history is filled with bloody stories of revenge and self-sacrifice in the name of duty. What about my duty to avenge them?”
Honda growled. “I already told you I would take care of them when the time comes.” Lana opened her eyes to stare at him.
“Yes, I remember but… why can’t I? You don’t think I’m strong enough? You believe I would falter and fail?”
“Because you have other obligations now, that you also have to balance,” Yuki interjected firmly. “The number one is what you owe this child, who is already going through terrible stress, maybe even pain. It’s a miracle you haven’t gone into premature labor today, and I want you to go to a hospital as soon as we are back in town. And whatever the heinous horrors that woman inflicted on you, she is still your mother and there’s a special place in Hell for children who kill their parents. Do not go there. Nothing, no pain, no hurt, nobody, is worth this.”
“What a strange night, Daughter, when we come to agree on something,” Natsuko grumbled.
Yuki fell silent for a few heartbeats before cupping Lana’s face and staring her down, eyes bright with angry resolve.
“And don’t you dare confess you asked me to become the mother of your son so you could hunt them down and self-destruct without guilt.”
Lana gasped and pushed her partner back to escape her burning judgement. “What? No! No no no… Before tonight, my goal was to set my past aside, to move on. I… yes, I also wanted to make sure the baby would have a parent, whatever happened, but I didn’t think of this, Yuki sama, please believe me.” She threw a dejected look at Honda. “And you agree with them? Even though you talked about suicide only a few months ago, out of duty, to protect us? How different would it be? Why do you refuse me the same path you would like to follow?”
Natsuko and Yuki shouted in angry surprise and rounded on Honda, who ignored them and snarled at Lana.
“Oh, are we playing this game now? Because if it is time to throw back words at each other, don’t forget you reminded me I was not alone in fighting it anymore. Lana san,” he growled, seizing her forearms to pull her to him, not caring for their audience. “Don’t play the fool. You can see the difference between me removing myself from the equation and her influence, and you turning into a murderer and matricide, effectively adding layers of damnation and rot to an already difficult situation.”
“No, Son, in this case there would be no difference,” Natsuko interrupted. “Both of you are being played by a timeless evil whose goal is to see you self-destruct, to become utterly lost, and to bring your family down with you in an endless path of suffering and rage-fueled madness. Do not offer them what they crave the most! This is your most sacred duty now: fight and resist! Whether it is to free yourself or endure it until the end.”
Defeated, Lana whimpered in despair and sorrow, and hid her face in her hands.
How… how can I find the courage to do this. How can I bring a child to this world... I’m too weak… He’ll trap me, tear me to pieces, kill everybody… And she will win!
To her utter shock, she found herself wrapped against Honda’s chest, in a powerful embrace.
“Oh, have no fear, okaa sama, we will fight.” His voice was surprisingly calm and serene. Lana frowned at him, puzzled by behavior light years removed from his usual standards, even more so with an audience. “Duty will provide us with the required resilience, but… other deep bonds will give the three of us the strength to do more than just suffer through it. You were right all along, Lana san.”
Without releasing Lana, Honda faced his mother. “You will maybe disown me and cast me away for this, but I will say it once for all. This is my family and it is as such that we will face this evil.” He cupped Lana’s face softly on her uninjured side. “Lana Martin san, let me ask you again, taking all those visible and invisible here as witness: will you do me the honor to call me ‘husband’? And may I call you ‘wife’?”
“Naruhito, this is–”
“Stop!” Yuki interjected, daring to grab the elder’s hand. “This is as it should be. She is already your son’s solution. We are hers. She is our spouse, and we are hers. I, too, want to have faith that the power of such a symbol will help us overcome them, that with us at her side, his claim can only diminish, and his grasp loosen. This can’t be wrong, not when rooted in emotions so sincere and real.”
And maybe for the first time in her adult life, Honda Natsuko found herself at loss for words, unable or unwilling to find fault in this powerful plea. Yuki’s words brought tears to Lana’s eyes, even though they were glued to Honda’s face.
Whatever happens, whatever we face, this, right now, I want to remember all my life. I want to be forever grateful for their love, and never, ever regret my decision, come what may.
She straightened up to a more dignified position and let out a long breath. There was certainly a proper way to say those things, but she was way past this. She cleared her throat. This wasn’t the time for power and submission dynamics, even if they would most likely resume right away, because this was how they preferred to be. But she wouldn’t step into this on a lesser foot than them.
“Yes… Yes, Honda Naruhito san, I will. It will be my greatest honor to be yours… and Yuki san’s wife.”
Just as her words left her mouth, terrible pain shot throughout her body when all of her scars reignited at once. A torture so awful, it was impossible to breathe, and no sound could pass her lips. She crumbled down, eyes rolling back in her head and nails raking the tatami, a grimace of sheer agony disfiguring her.
9 - Fighting Back
“Lana!” The shocked screams of her companions reached her from far away.
Waves of atrocious pain pierced her body and her vision was reduced to a tunnel blending once again into red and black shades. Something tugged hard at her hair. Suddenly, she found herself back in the clearing, laying on the ground, the evil fox towering over her.
“Stupid little whore! What do you think you’re doing? Escaping me?” The yokai went down on all fours and covered her body, his razor-shaped teeth dangerously close to her throat and tails wrapped around her legs. “You are mine! They have no right over you! They will suffer endlessly for this, they will beg for death, but it will not come!”
His threats against Honda and Yuki shook her mind paralyzed by terror and panic.
Fight!
She grimaced and pushed herself up. “No! Never! You will not touch them! I’m theirs, not yours, I am their wife, not yours, I owe you nothing, I reject you, now and forever! You are weak and pathetic, leave me the fuck alone!” she screamed at the top of lungs.
Suddenly, to her astonishment, one bikkurapon appeared in each of her hands. Acting purely on impulse, she brought the two balls under his muzzle.
“Get lost you freaking animal, go back to your miserable hole in the ground!” And with those words, she rubbed them together.
Roaring in fury, the yokai recoiled, and a tsunami of pain once again washed over her. A powerful grip tugged at her neck and she was sucked back into a tunnel. The next second, her vision cleared, and she was on the floor of the shrine, gasping for breath, in the arms of a frantic Honda and an apoplectic Yuki. The two balls rolled away from her strengthless fingers.
“Lana san! Look at me! Answer me!”
Careful and trembling hands caressed her forehead, pushing back her hair from her perspiring face. Dimly, Lana realized she was shaking and covered with sweat. A low moan escaped her; her fingers grabbed the first warm body she could get a hold on. Yuki.
“Naruhito, give her some space. Her mind was gone for a while. She cannot handle this so easily…”
“The baby, okaa sama, how can he…” Yuki sounded so frightened that Lana’s panic spiked.
“Is he moving, can you feel anything? It can’t go on like this, there’s only so much pain and stress her body can endure. But answer me, Son! What are those two plastic balls? Why did you fetch them from her clothes?”
“Their origin is unclear, but when she grabbed them in her pocket back then, this caused an immediate reaction and hurt nogitsune… but also her in the process. I acted on impulse, not knowing if putting them in her hands could even help!”
“Two plastic balls… two plastic…” Natsuko’s voice trailed off and she stifled a shout of surprise before grabbing Lana’s shoulders. “Lana san, can you hear me? Where did you find them? Who gave them to you? It’s extremely important!”
Lana grunted and tried to open her eyes, but her entire body was made of lead and ached. Her tongue was a foreign object in her mouth, and somebody was using her head as a punching bag. It was a hundred times worse than the most terrible hangover she had ever experienced. Somebody dabbed her lips and face with a wet towel.
She groaned again and worked her jaw; she could only work out a whisper. “Last summer in a train… a strange, scary little girl… no mouth… and then I lost them… but a man… gave them back…”
“No mouth, but a space, like a hole?”
“Hm… split mouth… but… maybe sickness or something?”
“No, but another yokai, most certainly. Interesting. Who would have guessed… Could you have allies, Lana san?”
“Why do you think this, okaa sama? What do you know of those balls?”
“Every kitsune carries their power and life force in a star ball worn around their necks. I wonder… maybe someone managed to steal them from him and split it into these two bikkurapon. And somehow, they became a weapon. The only efficient weapon, the single bargaining chip that could free her,” Natsuko said, wonder in her voice. “But at the same time, danger has never been so high! Because he will do whatever he can to recover them now that he knows she has them.”
“But how do we confront him with enough strength to make him back down? Don’t forget that whenever Lana rubs those balls now, it hurts her again because of her wounds. It would be too high a risk to merely threaten to use them or even destroy them.”
“I know, Son. This is why we need help. And it so happens that tonight, of all nights, is the perfect moment to ask. Look outside.”
Lana’s eyes were still shut but Honda’s shout of surprise jolted her, and she tried to roll on her side to push herself up. Her body and stomach protested.
“What… what do see you see?” Yuki didn’t bother to hide her distress at missing whatever was going on.
“I can’t find the words, it’s… I have never seen something like this. So many… so many of them…” Awe and fear battled in his voice.
Lana almost crawled on all fours to join Honda and Yuki by the window. He grabbed her by the waist to support her. The sight greeting her made her almost throw up out of fear again, and she buried her face against his chest.
The snow storm had stopped, as a strong wind had dispersed the clouds. The full moon shone now over the landscape. Fresh snow glistened as if millions of diamonds were scattered all over the ground. Several dozen large foxes, some silver-white, others almost red, and with various amount of tails, stood by the tree line. All of them carried a bluish flame burning over their heads.
“It’s an army! His army! He’s coming to attack us!” she cried, her body shaking like a leaf.
“No, Lana san,” Natsuko said gently. “These are not with him. They answer to a much more powerful and good force. They are the servants of O-Inari sama and like every year, on New Year’s Eve, just before midnight, they gather to wait for instructions. This forest and the mountain behind it are filled with ancient power. Tonight, more than ever, we may have a chance to pray for support, to try to undo the deep injustice that you are the victim of, to give him back his star ball in exchange for your freedom. But to be honest, I don’t know if we will be successful, or what price we will have to pay.”
