Hoichi with Ears [Episode 1] One Hundred Arrows (2)

The demon appears—

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◇ Chapter 4: Spider Lilies and the Voice of Shadows

　The voice had certainly resonated from within the wind.

　──"Are you frustrated?"

　Tawarabei looked around once more. Under the starlight, the surface of the rice field was as still as a mirror, with nothing swaying. Only the depths of his own chest felt restless.

　"...Who is it?"

　Tawarabei's voice was swallowed by the darkness like a drop of water falling onto a pond.

　──"A name is unnecessary. I only wish to know your heart."

　The voice was terribly soft, yet possessed a bone-chilling depth. The words flowed directly into the back of his mind, not through his ears. Tawarabei stepped back. But his feet, as if sewn to the ground, would not move to flee.

　"...I am frustrated. That person, Koyuki was..."

　Before he knew it, the true feelings he had kept locked in the depths of his heart had slipped out.

　"Koyuki was my spring. And yet... she was taken. The rice, the field, everything..."

　As if in response to those words, the spider lilies blooming at the edge of the field rustled. Even though the wind had died down, only the flowers swayed.

　──"Then, I shall give you power. The power to settle your grudge."

　In the center of the red flowers, a human figure vaguely appeared. Red copper armor, a scorched face, eyes melted into a sludge. Yet, only the mouth was grinning.

　"Know the anger of us who rotted away at the bottom of the sea at Dan-no-ura..."

　Tawarabei stood frozen, staring at the shadow before him.

　"Who are you..."

　──"A name is unnecessary. There is no meaning in the name of a vengeful spirit. Just... become a demon."

　At that moment, something cold crawled up from Tawarabei's feet. It was not mud. It was not water. It was something stickier, something pitch black—.

　Tawarabei wanted to scream. But no voice came out. With his eyes wide open, he collapsed from his knees.

　The surface of the rice field was as quiet as if nothing had happened.

◇

　The next morning.

　When the tenant farmers went out to the fields, the spider lilies that had been blooming on the ridges were withered to the roots.

◇ Chapter 5: Tasuke's Death and Tawarabei's Anger

　Tasuke's death was all too quiet.

　In the morning, the first thing Tawarabei saw when he entered the shed to prepare for the rice harvest was his father's back lying carelessly. He had fallen onto the straw, still clutching a sickle in his hand, as if sleeping—no, he was in a state where he would not wake from his sleep.

　"Father...?"

　He approached and called out. There was no reply.

　When he touched his fingertips to him, he was terribly cold. Tawarabei knelt on the straw. He did not scream, he did not cry; he simply spoke his father's name again and again.

◇

　Tasuke had never been physically strong, and it was said that he had been going to check on the rice every night recently.

　──But Tawarabei knew.

　His father was called out every night by the laborers on Sakuzo's side and worked to the bone. In particular, Heizo's supervision was strict, and he was ordered to repair ridges and carry loads day and night. If he rested even a little, he was yelled at, and as soon as he finished a job, the next order would come down. For an aged body, it was far too harsh.

　Even so, his father remained silent.

　──"As long as we are alive, the field will return. Koyuki will surely be happy too."

　Those words pierced dull and deep into Tawarabei's chest.

◇

　Tasuke's funeral was simple. The villagers burned incense and quietly cremated his father's body, which had been wrapped in straw. Koyuki stood beside him, quietly pressing her hands together in prayer.

　Tawarabei just watched the flames in silence.

　(The fire is taking Father away so quietly.)

　At that moment, a voice heard from behind tore at Tawarabei's heart.

　"People grow old and die. It cannot be helped."

　It was Heizo.

　Heizo stood with his arms crossed, not even bathing in a single spark, looking on with cold eyes.

　"But rest assured. From now on, I will decide the work in the fields. Since I have taken Koyuki as my bride. This, too, is 'something that cannot be helped.'"

　Tawarabei could say nothing.

　Heizo's words burned his chest more painfully than the fire, hotter than anything else.

　As he watched his father's bones crumble within the rising flames, Tawarabei's lips trembled.

　No tears flowed.

　But that night, in his dream, Tawarabei heard a voice.

　──"Become a demon. Now is the time..."

◇ Chapter 6: The Night of One Hundred Hands, The Release of Souls

　The night of the One Hundred Hands had come.

　It is an ancient ritual in which the men of the village shoot arrows once a year to exorcise evil things. It was said that they would form a barrier with one hundred arrows so that the ghosts who sank at Dan-no-ura would not wander into the sacred grounds of this land.

　On this day only, both the Tagosaku and Sakuzo settlements would gather at the sacred tree, each carrying their arrows.

　──But this year was different.

　Standing before the altar was Heizo.

　"From today, the ritual of the One Hundred Hands will be performed by the Sakuzo settlement. The role that Tagosaku once held is also just a sign of the changing times. You have no complaints, do you?"

　No one could say anything.

　The name Tagosaku was treated like an old, weathered wooden tag.

◇

　Tawarabei was away from the circle.

　In the grass where the night wind blew through, he knelt alone.

　(Father... I... could not protect anything.)

　That was when it happened.

　Somewhere far away, a voice that was quiet enough not to be heard by his ears, yet sharp, reached him.

　──"The arrows are one hundred, the anger is one thousand. You should release them with your own hands."

　The wind stopped. On a night when even the insects did not chirp, the bamboo grove rustled.

　(Who is it...)

　But there was no answer. Only Tawarabei's right hand moved on its own. When he strained his eyes, he saw an arrow half-buried in the ground.

　It had darkened feathers and looked as if it were stained with some kind of blood.

　Before he knew it, ninety-nine arrows were lined up silently around Tawarabei.

　──One hundred arrows.

　Each and every one of them was screaming.

　"Release!" "Release!" "Release!"

　He closed his eyes.

　And then, without nocking an arrow, Tawarabei threw all the arrows he held into the void.

　They disappeared into the night sky as if sucked into the wind.

　At that moment.

　A voice that sounded like the bottom of the earth splitting roared toward the heavens.

　"The Heike shall not perish—I am here!"

　Horns sprouted on Tawarabei's head.

　His skin tore, his bones twisted, and his face collapsed. His vision was dyed in red, and a roar that threatened to burst his eardrums echoed.

　There was no pain. All that existed was anger.

　It was the night a demon was born.

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