Kana From Hell: Part Nineteen

 

Without the aid of her companions, Kana couldn't easily navigate out of the forest.

Frustrated at her lack of progress, she fell to her knees, close to sobbing but refrained. She had to be strong for the journey she was determined to make.

Michi was gone, then her mother. Hiroto was not her father and worse, a tyrannical emperor was.

She had heard of Emperor Akhihito and how vile and cruel he was to the people. She thought herself fortunate to never have met him, but now she was eager to see him and exact vengeance for how he treated her mother.

Kana felt a dull throb in her left arm, which quickly turned into agony. She grasped her arm and almost screamed when her fingers dug into her flesh and felt heat.

In the next second, Kana was in the depths of hell. A large man towered over her. He had a stern expression and a long dark beard. His hands had long, sharp nails that he used to scratch her left arm.

Kana screamed as she saw her scar lengthen.

"You escaped me once," he bellowed. "You will not again."

His thunderous voice boomed around the underworld. Behind him, she saw Gozu and Mezu, holding sharp spears.

The large man turned to them. "Get her! Now!"

The man retreated as Gozu and Mezu approached her, their spears pointed at her.

As they charged towards her, Kana elicited a loud screech that pushed her out of that realm and back into the world.

She lay exhausted on the ground and blinked. Had it been a dream? But then why did the ground feel hot?

She got to her feet and walked two steps when she heard the sound of a tree falling.

The sound came from somewhere close by. Frantically, she searched all around her, expecting to see the fallen tree that may be blocking her path.

She couldn't see anything, but from a distance, she heard a deep rumbling sound, as if rocks were rolling down a steep hill.

Curious, she walked towards the sounds even though she knew that the sensible thing to do would be to walk away from dangerous sounds.

The sounds grew louder, and she assumed she was closer, but once again, she couldn't see anything amiss.

Perplexed, she headed back down the path that she was certain would lead to the river.

A rustling of leaves alerted her, and she scanned her environment. There was movement above her. More rustling of leaves.

And that's when she felt a tug on her left arm.

Kana looked down and let out a horrified cry.

Standing at almost three feet was something that looked like a cross between a small boy and a monkey.

It was hairy, had long limbs, and a bald spot on top of its head.

The creature giggled when Kana tried to free herself from his grasp.

"Kana," it chattered. "I found you! Enma Daio will be so pleased with me."

The creature knew her name, which meant that he was yet another yokai.

Kana closed her eyes and clasped her hands. She felt the power surge through her arm and all the way to her palm. She was getting ready to pull away when she suddenly found herself being lifted and then slammed hard against the ground.

The breath left her, and the world spun around her. Her eyes flickered open, and she saw the yokai grinning at her.

His lanky arms did not look muscular, and Kana realized she had underestimated the creature. She started to get up, but the creature grabbed her arm and flung her on her back again.

Kana felt her head reeling from the constant strikes.

The yokai made a grab for her again, but Kana managed to roll away just in time.

She stood and flexed her left arm, feeling a surge of power. But in the next instant, she found herself pushed forward. She fell face down. Frustrated, she pounded her fists on the ground, then stood again.

This time, she was ready. Just as the creature lunged at her, she grabbed its arm and launched a kick at its stomach.

The creature went flying backwards. Kana didn't give him time to recover. She straddled him and pounded his face with her fists.

She felt not only power but anger burning through her. The creature screeched in pain, but she would not relent.

She thought about the betrayal she had faced, the loss of the people she loved, and her condemnation to hell.

Exhausted, she got off him and fell to her knees, holding back sobs. Wiping away some of the tears that escaped, she suddenly stiffened when she heard giggling.

She turned around to see the creature standing behind her, looking snarky and pleased with himself for tricking her.

Kana turned back to where the creature had fallen. It was no longer there. In its place was a tree branch that had broken into pieces.

Kana looked down at her hands and saw scratches on her hands. There was a splinter sticking out of her right hand.

She pulled it out and gritted her teeth. She growled and charged at the creature who stuck out his arm. In the next instant, Kana was flying through the air and fell into the river.

The creature jumped after her, and she saw it coming for her.

Kana flailed her arms and tried to push herself to the surface, but the  creature grabbed her and pushed one clawed hand to her stomach. She felt it pierce through her skin. Intense stabbing pain erupted through her, and she saw threads of her blood floating in the water.

Panic grew inside her when she could no longer breathe. The creature reached its claw inside the wound, and Kana could feel him touch her entrails. She slapped his hand away and tried to swim up, but the creature tugged at her leg.

Kana wondered if she could die again. Or if it was already happening.

Her left arm vibrated, and she cried out in intense pain.

To her surprise, she found that not only could she suddenly breathe, but she could talk as well.

There was an explosion of strength within her, and she grabbed the creature’s arms and pulled them off its body.

The creature yelped in surprise. It began to furiously kick, but Kana was too enraged to show mercy. She grabbed both legs and snapped them off its body.

The yokai began to sink, and the water turned murky.

Kana pushed herself upwards. She managed to break the surface and swam towards the shore.

Panting, she collapsed on the ground, looking up at the sun and the gathering clouds.

When she heard a splash, she jolted up and readied herself for another attack.

Instead, she saw Ren swim towards her. He had someone on his arm.

Kana stood and saw that it was the creature.

Ren made it to the surface and reached into his pocket for a vial.

"I need its blood," he told her. "He's already lost most of it."

Kana clenched her hands into fists. She considered confronting him about following her.

Ren collected the blood from the yokai and then let it slip into the water again.

Wiping away droplets of water from his face, he turned to Kana.

"We should talk," he told her.

"I want nothing to do with you," she told him. "You and Toshihiro, my grandfather, have lied to me."

Ren nodded. "But I have not told you the reason I followed you. Or why I require the blood of yokai." He took a deep breath. "It is for Emiko."

He told her about his sister and how she had killed their elder brother to protect them both. She was already dying and no longer wanted to be a burden on him.

"An old woman said that I will require the blood of eight yokai to open a portal through which she can get Emiko out of hell," he explained.

Kana stared at him. "There is a way to get out of hell? And you kept this hidden from me?"

Ren blinked back in surprise. "Yokai are not easy to find. And Emiko needs my help. What she did was for me."

"So I'm the bait?"

Ren was tongue-tied. In his quest to save his sister, he hadn't considered how Kana would react when she found out.

Kana shook her head slowly. "I am angry and disappointed in you. You will stay away from me. Do you understand? If you ever come near me again, I will..."

"Emiko killed Kage because he assaulted the woman I was in love with," Ren blurted.

Kana was aghast. Ren came to her and bowed his head. "I understand that my motives were selfish, but my brother was a monster. He assaulted the woman I loved. Her  name was Sakura. After he was... done, she drowned herself."

Kana gasped. Her fingers trembled as she remembered the young woman who had been assaulted by that awful burly man. She hadn't known his name. She hadn't known he was Ren's brother.

Kana felt herself close to tears. She opened her mouth to tell Ren the truth about what happened to Sakura but couldn't bring herself to.

He stood before her, eyes downcast, ashamed of his actions. He had no idea that what she had done was far worse.

Kana turned away from him, clutching her chest as deep sorrow rose within her.

Their paths had crossed for a reason.

He wanted something from her. But she, too, had wanted something from him.

Forgiveness.

Kana wiped away her tears before turning back to him.

"I stand by my decision," she told him. "You will not accompany me because I do not trust you. However, your sister shouldn't have to suffer because of you. If there is someone who can help her, then I will retrieve the vials for you."

"This journey will be dangerous for you," Ren told her. "You cannot undertake it alone."

Kana raised her left arm. "I can. Besides, I have decided what my next mission will be. And you do not want to be a part of it."

"What is it?"

"I'm going to kill Hiroto. And any other yokai that come my way, I'll defeat them too."

"I can help."

Kana laid out her hand and stared at him silently.

Ren hesitated before giving her the vials.

"I'll return here once I'm done, and then you can save your sister."

"Kana, I'm sorry," Ren said.

She didn't reply. Placing the vials carefully in her pocket, she turned around and walked away.

Ren sighed before heading to a nearby bush.

"She refuses to listen," he told Toshihiro, who was hiding and peeking through the leaves.

"She can be stubborn." Toshihiro came out of his hiding spot. "It is in her blood, I suppose."

"Now, what?"

"We help her kill Hiroto," he told her. "If that is what my granddaughter wants, then I'm going to give her what she wants."

Ren narrowed his eyes. "And if she gets hurt, then it benefits you, doesn't it?"

Toshihiro glared at Ren. "I like it when you don't speak. Now let's follow her… in silence."

The two followed Kana just as the sun began to set for the day.

Back in the forest, the ground ripped open, and a clawed hand holding a spear appeared, followed by a deep grunt that could be heard for miles scaring all the forest creatures away.