The creature let out a long, throaty growl like an animal in pain. Nagisa nearly jumped out of his skin and he bit hard on his lip so he wouldn’t make a sound.
“Yes, my lord,” came Seiho’s voice.
Shit. Is that how it talks to him?
Nagisa shuddered and waited. He had no visual on them, so he used the noises to figure out what was going on. The creature trudged in the opposite direction, while Seiho’s light footsteps were heading his way.
In what seemed like an eternity later, Seiho rounded the corner and stopped, his lips parting. He looked surprised and rushed to Nagisa, wrapping him in a strong hug. Nagisa rubbed a hand over his back in reassurance, curling his other hand in Seiho’s hair. He pulled Seiho back only enough to kiss him and Seiho tightened his grip, kissing him back as if they hadn’t seen each other in years not hours.
The jikininki snorted in the distance and Seiho let go, gesturing for Nagisa to follow him inside. They entered through one of the broken walls and as soon as they stepped inside the room, the hole in the wall disappeared and Nagisa palmed the wall, alarmed.
“Don’t worry,” Seiho whispered. “I know the way.” He grabbed Nagisa’s hand and walked through the dark hallways fast until they arrived to his room.
Once inside the dimly lit room, Nagisa’s eyes widened at Seiho’s state. His hair was a mess and his eyes were puffy and bloodshot. Avoiding Nagisa’s inquisitive gaze, he kneeled at the low table and hurriedly cleaned up the mess of torn parchments before turning to thefuton—which lay in a crumbled mess in the corner—and set it on the floor properly.
“Seiho… what did the monster do to you? Did it come in here?”
“No, it wasn’t the lord.” He paused and stood up. “I got frustrated. With myself. With all this.” He waved his hand in a circle. “I realized how selfish I was to involve you in this and wished you’d truly make up your mind this time and not come back here. Then the thought of not seeing you made me scared. Thefuton,” he added, pointing to it, “smelled of you. I threw it in the corner and…” he trailed off, staring at the floor.
Nagisa took his hand gently into his own and pressed his mouth on Seiho’s wrist, feeling the pulse thumping underneath his lips. “I’m sorry.”
He had no other words to soothe Seiho’s pain. He couldn’t begin to imagine the agony Seiho went through. Not just for being trapped in this place, but for bearing the guilt of seeing so many people killed by the monster.
“I’ve spoken with theitakoand I devised a plan. Let’s sit, yeah?”
Seiho nodded, and they both sat cross-legged on the floor. Nagisa related everything theitakoshaman told him and Seiho gasped when he got to the final part.
“It never occurred to me to burn it! I’ve never met a jikininki during my serving years at the lord’s court when he was alive, so I tried guiding the creature through the veil and when that didn’t work, I tried forcing it. I guess I can—”
“No,” Nagisa cut him off. “That would mean you dying. I said I devised a plan, didn’t I? I dug a hole in the yard. We lure the monster, throw it in and burn it.”
“Here? Last time I did that, it backfired and nearly destroyed my barricade.”
“I’ll be the one to burn it. All you have to do is lure it where the hole is.”
Seiho shook his head. “This is insane. It’s too risky. You could die.”
“I won’t,” Nagisa said with a certainty he didn’t feel.
There was a high chance he’d end up dead. But after seeing Seiho, he was more determined than ever to go on with the plan. It would work. It needed to. He couldn’t afford failure. With its other victims, the jikininki had the element of surprise on its side. None expected a real monster to eat them. However, Nagisa knew what he was dealing with, and he planned on fighting the jikininki with all he had.
“Let’s go,” Nagisa said and they headed back outside.
Loud growls resonated in the distance along with cracks and some scratches.
“It’s hungry,” Seiho explained in low whispers.
Shit, Nagisa thought,it’s gonna have me for dinner.
He showed Seiho the location of the hole and remained behind as Seiho went to lure the jikininki. Nagisa had no idea what Seiho told the monster, but more growls, snorts followed, then the noise of twigs and leaves rustling beneath its feet turned louder.
The jikininki was approaching.
It jumped from behind a tree straight at Nagisa, who swung the shovel and smacked its head. The monster lost its balance and fell into the hole. With no hesitation, Nagisa poured kerosene over it, then lit a match and threw it in.
Flames burst and the jikininki howled in agony as its body burned. Seiho caught up just in time and gaped at the monster struggling to get out.
Its claws dug into the soft dirt and it crawled upwards, body ablaze and eyes popping out of their orbits. As it reached the opening of the hole, Nagisa swung the shovel again, but the jikininki jumped out and rolled onto the damp ground, extinguishing most of the fire.