When David finally re-awoke, his head throbbed from both his fall and the incident earlier in the day. Opening his eyes he saw the Matsumotos sitting around the table, waiting for him. Although now in their usual house clothes, the sun was still visible through the northern doors.
“Good, you are awake. I know you are having a hard time,” Masao said. Although he attempted to be comforting, an edge to his voice bespoke his impatience. “Let me ask you a question, and then we will tell you a story that few have heard.”
David sat up, rubbing his sore head. His mind felt clearer, his vision sharp. He easily recognized the five Matsumotos and even smiled. Grandpa was there, and after a month living with him, David trusted him implicitly. Even with the language barriers, he had felt Grandpa’s concern for his well-being. He also knew Masao could not be rushed.
“Have you ever heard of the Kojiki?” Masao asked.
“Is that Japan history book?” David asked in reply frowning at his own imperfect words.
“The Kojiki is one of the first two books ever written in Japan,” Yukiko said. “It was written after the events to help solidify the Emperor’s position. Most historians today consider it more mythology than fact. Masao and Grandpa will tell you what really happened. Do not worry. Your questions will be answered.”
“Our ancestors roamed the land in small nomadic groups,” Grandpa began, using the same voice he had used earlier that morning. Unlike at the shrine, however, David felt his attention pulled to Grandpa’s every word. “There were no villages or farms, and thus Japan was not a unified country. The historians will tell you that this was because the people of the time did not understand how to farm, and that they could only live off gathering or hunting. There is a deeper, darker secret. The true reason the people of Japan could not unify.
“In days long forgotten, evil walked freely through the land. It took many forms, some of which we still know and talk about today, though as a caricature of the real danger they possessed. Of the many spirits and monsters in Japanese legends, the worst were those that did not hunt alone.”
As Grandpa spoke, images filled David’s mind as if in a waking dream. Monsters and animals, unique in their grotesque appearances and horrifying visages slid through his vision like a half remembered nightmare, then as if the nightmare became aware of him, the images slowed. David saw beautiful humans walking amongst a group of Japanese gathering berries. In a blink, those same beautiful people were suddenly savage. One of the monsters seemed to rip the very life out of its prey, while others became giant wolves and devoured the screaming people.
“The ōkami were vicious crosses between spirit, man, and animal that roamed the land stalking the young,” Grandpa continued. “The demons were even worse.”
David saw giant red monsters with flaming weapons attacking travelers on an old dirt road. In another flash, he saw whole towns destroyed. The demons reveled in the destruction and grew in power with every person they destroyed.
“Yes, oni, were especially dangerous. And then there were ghosts, both good and bad that ran amok,” Grandpa whispered, his voice compelling.
A small boy lost and alone in a forest was guided to safety by a translucent apparition that could have been his mother. Another flash and David was outside an ancient hut, people in rudimentary clothing screamed and ran as the building shook.
“Together the ancient monsters made it impossible for our ancestors to stay in any place for long,” Grandpa said. “And there were far worse things than those.”
Takumi and Rie hung on the elder Matsumoto’s every word. David could not understand how Grandpa did it, but the visions became ever more real. The twins shared a look that told David they were surprised Grandpa was sharing the story with him.
“It was in the ancient world of chaos and evil that a man named Ninigi lived,” Masao said, taking over for Grandpa. David detected something similar about their voices. Whatever it was that Grandpa had, Masao had it too, yet in a different way.
Masao’s words transported David. Just as with his vision of the island, David was in another place. He saw a lone hunter walk through a bright young forest. His clothes were rough and simple. He carried a bamboo staff cut to a point on one end. At his side was a rough metal knife. Suddenly the hunter looked up and a light streaked across the sky. The earth shook as a meteor impacted and set a patch of forest ablaze.
The man worked his way towards the dying blaze and found a small crater. Looking in, David saw a fused mass of metal. Clasping the knife at his side, the man smiled triumphantly. David followed along as Ninigi took the metal to a man in a small hut filled with odd tools. Ninigi talked and argued with the man, eventually showing him the metal. David could hear Ninigi ask in ancient words for the ironsmith to create a peerless weapon for him, something to banish evil. Thinking hard the smith finally agreed to the attempt. Together, they took the iron to a shrine and began a ceremony much like the one David had just seen at the Matsumoto Estate.
Grandpa stared intently at David as Masao spoke. To David, briefly seeing through the vision to reality, it felt as if Grandpa was staring through him, into his soul. He was suddenly afraid of what the old man might see.
“It was a summoning ceremony, performed at a small wooden shrine in a clearing before a stand of tall mountains.” Masao gestured past the sliding doors in the back of the room to the garden and torii gate beyond. “The smith hoped to summon forth a god to imbue the metal with the ability to defeat evil. We call our gods Kami. They are the spirits that inhabit and protect objects, animals, and sometimes people. By the time preparations for the ceremony were complete, word of the metal had spread, and another man also desired Ninigi’s prize.”
The Estate disappeared and David emerged into a dark forest. A man dressed all in black slipped through the night. By his furtive glances and secret steps, David knew he was a thief. Silently, he followed the thief as they approached the familiar mountains. When he arrived at the edge of the clearing, the thief crouched, watching the smith in his simple priest’s robe.
Chanting softly, the smith asked a Kami to come forth, imbue, and purify the metal. The thief smiled and withdrew a small stone blade. Caught up in the scene, David tried to warn the smith. As if called, Ninigi rushed forward to stop the thief. The two men met with the clash and ferocity of old rivals.
Spinning away from his opponent, the thief slashed the smith’s robes. Turning on the priest with raised knife, the black robed man smiled his victory.
From behind, and with a mighty heave, Ninigi pulled the thief back just before the knife could connect. Ninigi lost his balance and fell. The shrine exploded under the weight of the two men. The thief’s eyes locked onto the jagged metal sticking out of Ninigi’s lifeless form. Shaking, the hooded figure ignored the smith and backed away until he was lost among the trees.
David’s mind suddenly awoke with fresh memories, visions from within. Images flashed so quickly he had difficulty understanding the torrent before his eyes. The perspectives all seemed wrong somehow. He was next to a giant lake, then running through a forest, on a mountain, then in darkness. The river of images suddenly slowed and he was left looking at Ninigi again. The old mountain clearing warped and he was before the Matsumoto shrine. The morning’s events played in slow motion as if from outside his body. He watched as, missing Grandpa, he crashed into the shrine.
Quietly, David’s hand reached up to where he had been pierced by the metal. His heart burned as if remembering the agony his mind could no longer recall. Then, just as fast as it had come, the pain was gone. David searched himself quickly, expecting to find a jagged chunk of metal sticking out of his chest.
“Do not worry David, you are quite well,” Yukiko said, her tone calming him only slightly.
“What