The Twelve Kingdoms: Shadow of the Moon

height of the undergrowth and trees.
    From the midst of the night came a dim glow, maybe two meters from where Youko was sitting, a thin, blue phosphorescence radiating through the undergrowth.
    Gazing at the light Youko gasped, caught her breath. It was a monkey, its fur shining like foxfire. Only its head appeared, parting the tall weeds. He looked at Youko and bared his teeth and laughed, a screeching laugh that grated at her ears.
    "If they had eaten you up, it would have all been over before you knew it!"
    Youko drew the sword out from her jacket. "What . . . are you?"
    The monkey laughed its screechy laugh again. "I am what I am. Silly little girl, running away, are we? If they'd gobbled you down like that, well, there'd be no more of these unpleasant thoughts."
    Youko raised the sword. "Who are you?"
    "But I told you, did I not? I am who I am. Your ally. I thought to tell you some nice things for a change."
    "Nice things . . . ?"
    She didn't buy a word he was saying. Jouyuu exhibited no tension or concern, so she did not think he was an enemy. But his strange appearance convinced her that he couldn't possibly be a normal living thing.
    "There is no going home for you, little girl."
    Youko glared at him hard. "Shut up," she spat back.
    "Oh, no, you can't go home. Absolutely, positively not. Because there's absolutely, positively no way for you to do so, now, is there? Shall I tell you something nice?
    "I don't want to hear it."
    "Oh, I shall tell you anyway. You, little girl, you have been royally taken in." The monkey let loose a shriek of laughter.
    "T-taken in?" It felt like getting doused with cold water.
    "You're such a silly girl, now, aren't you? It was a trap right from the start, don't you know."
    Her breath stopped in her throat. A trap. Whose trap? Keiki's? Keiki's trap? The hand holding the sword began to shake, but she could not find the words to deny what the monkey was saying.
    "You knew it all along, didn't you? He brought you here, and there is no going back there. That's the trap, don't you see?"
    The monkey's piercing laugh stabbed at her ears.
    "Stop it!"
    She swung the sword blindly. The tips of the grass danced with a dull, dry whish. For all her reckless effort, the flailing tip of the sword failed to reach the monkey.
    "Now, now, not listening to the truth won't change things a bit. You go waving that thing like that, well, you're going to hurt yourself."
    "Stop it!"
    "And what a fine piece of work it is, indeed. Why not put it to even better use? Off with her head! A do-it-yourself job!" The monkey threw his head back towards the heavens and shrieked hysterically.
    "Shut up!"
    She lunged, but the monkey was no longer there just beyond the tip of the sword. He was a little further off, still only his disembodied head visible.

    "Now, now, do you really want to kill me? After all, if I wasn't here you wouldn't have anyone at all to talk to."
    The raw truth of the statement struck like a blow.
    "Have I done you wrong? Have I not most politely deigned to converse with you?"
    Youko held her temper, squeezed her eyes shut.
    "Oh, yes, poor, poor pitiful you, being hauled off to such a place as this."
    "What should I do . . . ?"
    "I can't see as there's anything you can do."
    "I don't want to die." The mere thought was still too dreadful to contemplate.
    "Do whatever strikes your fancy, then. I don't wish you to die either, little girl."
    "Where should I go?"
    "Does it really matter? It really can't, not when you're being chased by both people and youma."
    Youko buried her face in her hands. The tears welled up.
    "That's right, little girl. Cry while you can. Before you know it there won't be any tears left."
    The monkey laughed his high, chirpy laugh. The sound of his laughter was farther away. Youko lifted her head. "Wait!"
    She didn't want it to leave her. He might be a complete unknown, but it was better having someone, anyone to talk to than being lost and alone in this place.
    By the time she had raised her head to look he was gone. She heard only the screeches of laughter fading into the distance, echoing in the pitch black darkness.

Chapter 16
    I f it hurts so much, it could be over in an instant.
    The monkey's words rested heavy on her heart. She could not dismiss them from her mind. Neither could she tear her eyes away from the sword resting on her knees. It lay there, cold and hard, glimmering in the barely perceptible light.
    If it hurts . . . .
    She could take the thoughts no