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Landing on the surface of the pond, and avoiding the snow-coated branches of the maple tree that were practically tickling it, the mosquito did what it had done the day before and the day before that and half a day before that; it stared at the blurry mosquito shape on the other side of the water.

Funny, it thought, poking its legs at the other mosquito’s body. It has no fear at all. Doesn’t flinch when I prod at its body, doesn’t try to retaliate.

Perhaps it’s a different breed?

A watery cousin?

The mosquito unraveled the idea a little, moving its tiny head this way and that, up and down, before reminding itself that, no, the thing copied its every move, therefore it had to be related to it itself.

Was it a twinned soul?

A shadow born at the same time as myself, released into the water and existing down there as a kind of-

The mosquito stopped thinking abruptly, receiving about one hundredth of a second to process the sight of both the water and the other mosquito – the shadow – rushing forward and absorbing it into oblivion.

‘Gods, don’t just drop in there,’ shouted Akira, falling down on his knees at the side of the pond and sticking out a quite useless hand towards the flailing figure of a pond-bound Daiki. ‘You’re gonna spread all the blood around, make it undrinkable.’

The mage responded in gargles not words, pulling his head back out of the water, flailing a little more, then realising the shallow depth of the pond and coming to rest in a sitting position. Then groaning in pain as the wound to the right of his stomach stretched outwards again.

‘Yeah, it’s gonna hurt even more when you climb out.’

More gargling.

‘Which is a good lesson for you. Never push away the guy carrying your bleeding lump. Cos all you’ll be left with is this useless…fox…demon…eight-tailed liability thing.’

There was a grunt somewhere behind, then the snapping of several twigs as the eight-tailed fox made itself comfortable beside the trunk of the giant maple tree overlooking the pond.

‘You’re not gonna do anything?’ asked Akira, glancing back at his so-called ally.

‘I’m sleepy.’

‘That’s it? You’re sleepy?’

The fox yawned, a little theatrical. ‘I told you on the way down here, several times. My kind…each one of us…can only use our powers in incremental degrees. Deprive us of rest inside our talisman and…’

‘…no glowing light, yeah, you said that already. What I’m talking about is you getting off your fat tail and stopping all our mage friend’s blood leaking out his body…and dying in a fucking pond. Which was all your fault, in case you’ve forgotten.’

‘This is becoming tedious…’

‘Good, then make it more exciting and do something. Fix the wound with your magic light.’

The fox removed a small twig from under its body and threw it at Akira’s head, smiling as it clipped the ashigaru on the ear.

‘You don’t wanna do that, fox.’

‘I do.’

‘I’m warning you…’

‘In fact, if I had more energy, I’d do it again.’

‘Little fucking-…’

Akira shifted into a crouching position, pulling out the knife he’d stolen from the lead bandit. The same knife he’d used to stab the guy too. And the other, sneaky one who’d beaten him up. And the others, to stop them from waking up and pursuing them down the mountain.

‘Can’t stab the money guy,’ said the fox, swishing six of their tails and managing to eke out a small straggle of white light.

‘What money?’

‘The fortune that awaits when you stop bumbling around like an amateur and help me collect some of these bounties.’

‘Bumbling?’ Akira stabbed the knife into the soil, spitting on the new wound. ‘Amateur?’

‘The target was stationary in one place, had no idea we were coming. Then the pair of you decide to go and get yourselves captured by bandits.’

‘You…were the one who told us to go over the mountain. Promised us that it was a shortcut. Said there were no bandits even though I warned you it was exactly the kind of place they would…’

‘Weren’t any when I scanned.’

‘…set up camp. And now Daiki here is gonna bleed out and die while you lie there and do absolutely nothing. Not even offer to help carry him.’ In the pond, Daiki groaned again, swatting away one of the maple tree branches that he himself had drifted over to. ‘Gods, the water’s turning red already.’

‘He’ll be fine.’

‘This is all your fault, fox. Fine? Right, that’s it, no more. I should’ve cut you lose after that green fairy debacle…’

Akira pulled the knife out of the ground, wiped off the excess soil with his thumb.

‘I wasn’t joking,’ said the fox, trying to smile then giving up when they realised how much energy was needed. ‘It really is impossible for you to harm me with that.’

The boast went unanswered as the ashigaru turned and stepped down into the pond, reaching his spare hand out to pull Daiki back in to the side. The mage struggled a bit, mumbling something about the water being restorative, but didn’t have the energy to stop it from happening.

‘What are you doing?’ asked the fox, forcing their neck up.

‘Just what I said,’ replied Akira, holding the blade up to the red and white beads in Daiki’s soaked, matted hair, Weirdly, though perhaps not much of a surprise given all the demon shit that had previously been witnessed, the beads themselves were surprisingly dry.

‘Wait…’ shrieked the fox, more breath than vocals.

‘Time to cut out the infection.’

‘You can’t…’

‘Then drop it somewhere nice and dark… a hole in the dirt…where no one will ever find it.’

Muttering under their breath, the fox rose up like an arthritic dog, staggered over to Akira and hit him with a wispy burst of barely luminous light.

Out of raw reflex, the ashigaru threw up his knife hand in defence, squinted as the heaven glow struck his eyes, then stuttered out a long laugh as the clearing slowly returned to its normal level of illumination.

‘Low on power, huh?’

‘… … … …’ the fox mumbled, collapsing onto a small pile of dead maple leaves next to the pond, their breath audibly ragged.

‘Don’t worry, I won’t take that attack personally. Not when you sound like a dying sumo wrestler.’

Akira straightened out a line of red and white beads, selecting the best part to snip and then placing the edge of the knife against it.

‘No, no…the wound…’ mumbled the fox, holding up a shaking paw.

‘Cutting time.’

‘I can fix it.’

The knife paused, its holder glancing left at the eight-tailed fraud.

‘Not with the light stuff…something else.’

‘What, callous indifference?’

‘There’s a place near here. Or not near, but…not that far. About two kilometres, maybe two and half.’

‘Go on,’ said Akira, relaxing his knife arm a little.

‘It’s affiliated…with the types on my world. Looks like a ryokan, but…functions more like a medical centre. Stay there long enough and any wound will heal.’

‘Medical what?’

‘A hospital. Clinic. Whatever word you call it. A place you go to not die.’

Akira frowned, hearing a noise from the nearby trees and instantly switching to scan mode. He checked every visible branch, every shadow lurking between them. Then slowly lowered his knife.

‘This place isn’t far?’

‘No more than three kilometres.’

‘And it’s definitely real? Not a trick to save your own tail?’

‘Tails. And, yes, to both questions.’

‘Wah…it is a trick?’

‘Don’t be obtuse.’ The fox swatted a mosquito flying near their face, grunting in irritation. ‘I mean, yes, it is real, and, yes, I’m trying to save my own tails. Obviously. Gods, why are you humans always so paranoid?’

‘Para what?’

‘Thinking others are trying to trick you all the time. It’s really, very annoying.’

Akira opened his mouth to reel off the litany of schemes the fox had previously tried to force on them in the last two months, including the madness at Suwa Castle, but cut off the line when he saw Daiki crawling towards the pond again.

‘What, you need more water?’

The mage responded by dipping his head in the water then coming back up, swiping a hand backwards across Akira’s cheek, mumbling something that may have been sorry, and, finally, grabbing hold of the ashigaru’s dōbuku collar.

‘Place go not to die,’ he slurred, half words, half pond water.

‘Yeah, that’s the idea.’

‘Hurts…bad…’

‘See, I’m saving us,’ said the fox, holding up both paws and breathing out ragged as they slowly dissipated into white light. ‘I trust you’re not stupid enough to cut off the beads while I’m recharging?’

‘If you keep calling me stupid…’

‘Won’t…’ answered Daiki, pulling himself about half an inch higher up onto Akira’s chest.

‘Good, cos you’ll never get to the medical centre if you do that.’

Akira pulled at Daiki’s hand, trying to loosen the grip he had on his collar. ‘Where is this place anyway? Which direction?’

The fox’s torso evaporated into pure utopian glow, the head staying back a second to say, ‘follow the spasms from Daiki.’

‘Spasms? What does that mean?’

‘You go the wrong way, he’ll vibrate.’

‘Huh? He’s doing that already, from all the blood loss.’

‘Start on the other side of the pond, a quarter rotation from the path. Then head straight. And stop moaning. Both of you.’

‘Head straight? In what direct-…’

Akira stopped his moan as the rest of the fox faded into photons of light and transferred themselves into the red and white beads.

Almost immediately the mage trembled, his arm jerking up and left towards the other side of the pond.

‘These are directions?’

‘Hurts…’ mumbled Daiki again, eyes already closed as his whole body slumped down onto the ashigaru.

Akira sighed long and annoyed, then did it again just so the fox could hear it too. Then a third time for anyone lurking in the trees.

It was odd, in the old days, in this kind of predicament, he would’ve just left the useless mage to bleed out, or drowned him in the pond. But now…for some irritating reason he couldn’t explain…there was the compulsion to bend down to Daiki’s ear and whisper, ‘it’ll be okay, comrade.’

And that’s what he did, in his head.

While in reality, he looped the mage’s arm over his shoulder, pulled the two of them up onto their feet and said as gruffly as he could make it, ‘try not to bleed on my jacket, okay?’