Chapter 97: Calm Before The Storm?

Arriving back to Retsu and Eri, I barely set foot inside before being promptly shooed out. "Come back when you've bathed, you smell of blood." Retsu said firmly through the now shut door. From inside Eri's baby giggles echoed, light and carefree. I sighed, rubbing a hand across my face, and pushed aside my hunger.

"How about we all go to Iwai Waterfall?" I called back. "It should still be empty this time of year."

Retsu's soft footsteps moved inside, and moments later, she stepped out, Eri balanced on her hip, a bag slung over her other arm. "Very well." she agreed. "We can also eat while we're out." I nodded but she stayed put, her eyes narrowing. "You still stink. We'll follow at a distance."

Suppressing another sigh, I turned toward the Iwai Waterfall and took off, sensing Retsu and Eri trailing behind. I could tell my speed had increased further, almost reaching the level of my enhanced speed. Testing my limits, I tried to summon cursed magic, only to feel a strange emptiness. 'Odd, I'll have to ask Retsu if I'm still... human.' The thought hung heavy, drawing a frown.

'Do I even have a right to call myself human after all I've done?' Faces flashed through my mind, Youkai and Stray Devils who'd crossed my path, some just trying to live quietly in hiding. My fists clenched as my pace slowed slightly, coming to the halfway point. 'What's done is done.' I reminded myself. 'When the time comes for someone to come for me, whether for revenge or justice, I'll face them.'

With a sigh, I glanced down at Muramasa's scabbard, feeling its weight both familiar and foreign. 'Just wish you were here, Mura.'

It didn't take long to reach the waterfall where I'd first met the fake kappa, nor for Eri to start wriggling eagerly in Retsu's arms. I chuckled as Retsu struggled to keep Eri still long enough to slip her into a floatie. "The water's not going anywhere, Eri." I teased, but she only responded with a string of impatient babbles, her little arms reaching toward the water.

Shaking my head, I stripped down to my boxers and plunged into the cool water. Surfacing, I lay back and floated, letting the water soothe me, until I heard gentle splashing nearby. Turning my head, I felt warmth rush to my face. Retsu was stepping into the water, wearing a white one-piece bathing suit that accentuated her curvy form, her hair swept up in a high bun, exposing the delicate line of her neck. Our eyes met, and for a moment, the world around us faded, leaving only her calm gaze locked with mine.

A sudden splash of water hit my face, breaking the spell. Eri was giggling and splashing with her little hands, fully enjoying her moment in the water. "Looks like someone's already made friends with the water." I said, shifting to keep an eye on her. Retsu smiled softly and swam over to me.

"Let me wash your back, Ryou." she softly spoke, holding a small cloth in her hand. I blinked, caught off guard. "When did you get that?"

She chuckled, gesturing for me to face Eri again. "I brought a bag, remember?"

I hummed, focusing on Eri's joyful splashes, and felt the warm pressure of the cloth as Retsu began to clean my back. "You seem to have more markings than before." she noted quietly. Her fingers brushed over my skin, tracing lines as if she could read the meaning embedded there.

{Pics}

"Yeah, I'm not sure what they all mean." I replied, touching the newer ones on my face.

Her fingertips found their way across my back, tracing a zigzag pattern low on my spine, then two lines with a circle beneath them. I shivered as her hand trail up my back to the wedge like shape slightly lower than my shoulder blades. "They're similar to the markings on your chest." she murmured, her voice curious. "Will you tell me what happened?"

I leaned into her touch, finding a strange comfort in her careful movements. "Just a few small things to get Muramasa back."

She paused, her breath warm on the back of my neck. "Muramasa… Oh, that broken katana?"

I gave a small nod, then splashed a bit of water towards Eri who giggled louder, sending droplets everywhere in response. "Yeah, that one. We're connected, kind of like you are with your Zanpakutō."

Retsu's fingers traced the back of my neck one last time before she drifted beside me, settling into the water with that calm, steady presence of hers that seemed to anchor me in my chaotic life.

~Scene Change~

What did it mean to live?

Was it living the best day of your life, never knowing if it might be the last? Or perhaps it was fearing the present, choosing safety today to make sure there was a tomorrow?

Who deserved to live?

The strongest? The weakest? What did it mean to be strong, and who decided if someone was weak? Was it wrong to be weaker than another?

These questions led only to more questions, a cycle without answers. Curiosity drove wants, wants bred greed, and greed bred arrogance. Arrogance blinded people to the truth, but then what was the truth?

A never ending circle of questions that spiraled deeper with each thought, yet all they left was more emptiness.

~Scene Change|!Warning, read at your own risk!~

I sighed, looking up at the stars stretching above us in the sky. Eri was asleep on my left arm, nestled cosily, and Retsu lay beside her, resting with peaceful breaths. The familiar comfort calmed me, and I felt the faint weight of exhaustion settle in.

'I shouldn't need to visit the Hyakki Yagyō anymore now that the Kodoku has opened the connection completely.' I raised my right arm, opening my hand to summon Muramasa. As the sword materialized in my grip, a pang of discomfort stirred deep within me, a strange sensation like a warning or something telling me that Muramasa didn't belong in my hands anymore.

'Maybe I should go…see if I can meet with the leader of the parade.' Sighing, I dismissed Muramasa and turned to where Honjo Masamune rested against a tree nearby. 'Perhaps I'll hide Honjo Masamune away and leave it for Eri when she's older…or I'll learn to dual-wield.' I thought, my mind flickering between choices that felt heavier than they should. I rubbed my eyes, feeling the pull of fatigue again despite the calming night around me.

Suddenly, there was a slight rustling. I turned to see Retsu stirring, shifting closer to Eri and me. "Everything alright, Ryou?" she murmured softly. I hummed in response, and she placed a slender hand on my chest, her touch grounding me.

"Ryou?" Her voice held a note of hesitation, her eyes searching mine. "Tomorrow…all of us are going out."

Both of my eyebrows rose in question, but before I could reply, she moved closer, her head coming to rest on my shoulder. My heart stopped for a beat. "I've never had an interest in…this sort of thing," she said, her voice quieter now. "but after Eri called me her mother…I want to explore it."

The soft surprise I felt suddenly shifted as Retsu's form began to waver, her face twisting into something that froze the blood in my veins. She melted, her shape contorting, until she transformed into Muzan, his eyes gleaming with a twisted delight. "Ryou-chan~" he purred, a cruel smile splitting his face as his hand traveled from my chest up to my neck, his grip tightening.

I tried to pull away, but I couldn't move. I glanced down to Eri only to find a tiny skeleton resting on my arm, its hollow eyes staring up at me. Muzan's mocking laughter filled the air, echoing through the night.

"Oh, what a shame~" he whispered. "You couldn't protect them."

My mind reeled. 'Them?' My head was forcibly turned, and I faced a horrifying sight, the Occult Research Club, strung up by blood soaked vines. Their dismembered bodies dangled, heads hanging with lifeless eyes fixed on me. The vines shifted, tightening around their forms as they began to whisper, voices tangled in a haunting chorus.

"Why?" "What did we do?" "Sinner!" "Spare me!"

I felt my breath coming faster, my chest heaving as the vines began creeping over my own body, burrowing into my skin like searing fire.

"You…you promised." came a voice to my left. My head was wrenched to the side, and I saw Kunou's disfigured face, one eye missing, replaced by the jade piece I had once given her. Her lips quivered. "Why? You…promised…"

Above me, the stars had vanished, replaced by a blood-red sky. Branches dripped with the bodies of Youkai and Stray Devils, swinging like grisly pendulums as they chanted. I tried to close my eyes to shut it out, but I couldn't.

Muzan leered, his voice a sickly sing song. "Ryou-chan~ Don't forget about her."

He turned my gaze to the barely recognizable form of Retsu, her body torn and mangled. She looked at me with what remained of her face, her voice thick with hatred. "I shouldn't have followed you!"

A scream clawed up my throat, raw and desperate but wouldn't escape as a bloodied vine pierced through my neck and wrapped around my mouth, as tears of blood streaked down my face. The vines pulled tighter, wrenching my limbs, and I felt the tearing agony as they began to separate from their sockets. Muzan's laughter swelled louder, closer.

"Don't worry, Ryou-chan~ We'll be together…for a long time~"

I felt my limbs tear away, agony so raw it forced a groan from my throat, only to make Muzan laugh louder. His sharp fingernails grazed my face, wiping up the bloodied tears. He licked them slowly and purred. "Oh, Ryou-chan~ I missed this so much!"

My body froze in horror as he began removing his clothes, still looming over me, leaving me helpless but to watch. "Don't worry, Ryou-chan~ I'll be gentle~"

My eyes flew open, a burning sensation snapping me back. Honjo Masamune had fallen against my right arm. 'W-what?' My gaze darted around, relief washing over me as I took in the night sky, dotted with stars white and still. Baby Eri lay cradled on my left arm, and beside us, Retsu peaceful and uninjured, her face turned toward me in slumber.

I shifted, feeling the lingering phantom pain, and clutched Honjo Masamune, letting out a soft groan. 'Can't believe I forgot Muramasa does that.' It felt like an eternity since I'd last experienced the hallucinations, the illusions that Muramasa's curse inflicted on its wielder, so much that I'd forgotten and panicked in my sleep.

Running a hand over my sweaty face and through my damp hair, I got up and walked over to where my kimono lay, picking it up and setting it down beside Retsu. Gently, I wrapped Eri in it, securing her warmth then made my way to the water's edge. I sat down, placing Honjo Masamune on my left, tucking my knees up to my chest, and resting my chin on them.

With a sigh, I watched the waterfall cascade into the pool below, the steady flow calming yet unable to silence the unrest in my mind. Summoning Muramasa before me, I frowned at the blade, the very thing that had nearly cost me my humanity. 'It's just a blade, only as dangerous as the one who wields it.' I reminded myself. And it was true, to an extent. Despite its curse and dark reputation, it was still inanimate, powerless on its own. Only when wielded did its danger manifest.

Another sigh escaped me as I turned my gaze to Honjo Masamune. 'The cursed and the blessed.' I thought, considering the irony of possessing both blades, forged by two legendary swordsmiths yet carrying opposite fates. The realization struck me, Honjo Masamune's fall had saved me. Without its timely presence, I might have surrendered to Muramasa's insanity and harmed Retsu and Eri in my frenzy.

'But it didn't happen.' I reminded myself. 'So let it go.' I sighed again, turning back to the waterfall, watching its endless flow before standing and looking up at the night sky. I thought about the Youkai that were no doubt already in Tottori, and I steeled myself. 'I'll need to face them. Let's just hope they aren't too angered over the Strays and Youkai I killed in their territory.'