3(Takes place between episode 19 and 20, Canon AU.) Warning for gore/horrifying images, non-suicidal self-harm.
The Night Blossom
There was a temple on the hill. Hyakkimaru saw it as he saw every temple — a green aura, positioned amongst fluttering white shapes of birds and bugs, trees surrounding it, the flow of a river plowing through the slope. Hyakkimaru saw the temple, but for some reason he thought it was ablaze with something, despite it being as normal as any other.
Dororo was whistling. She hopped ahead of him, her arms swinging at her sides. Hyakkimaru followed her, hesitating only to glance once more at the temple, which had returned to its normal color.
If only I had my eyes.
"Bro, look!" Dororo said. She pointed in the other direction. "There's a village! Do you think they'll have snacks?"
The truth was that even with the bit of treasure they'd picked up at the secret island, it hadn't been enough to sustain them on some days. Money was not food, and with the hardships of the towns they'd visited, what could be purchased was scarce. Hyakkimaru and Dororo usually could find food just fine, but last night they went to sleep with growling bellies.
They had a few rice buns gifted to them at their last stop (Hyakkimaru did not enjoy thinking of how close he'd gotten to getting married to a stranger and having Dororo leave him), but rice buns could only go so far.
"They have a pig!" Dororo exclaimed loudly.
Hyakkimaru cringed. He turned to see the white haze of a pig's soul marching with a group of people.
Dororo picked up the pace. "Come on! Maybe they'll have something good to eat! Like meat!"
"Wait," Hyakkimaru said. His voice still felt foreign to him, unfamiliar like the rest of his parts.
Dororo halted. She had grown to trust his judgment, no matter how reckless she was. "Why?"
It's dangerous. No, that wasn't quite right. Hyakkimaru saw no signs of demons around, not even the red sparks signaling that some villagers were accustomed to killing. In a war-torn country, that was very strange.
If only I had my eyes.
Hyakkimaru glanced around. He could sense no reason to hold back … and they were hungry. Real food would be nice.
"Bro?"
Hyakkimaru walked past her, approaching the village. He did not feel the need to explain. Dororo must have shrugged it off, as he sensed her following behind him.
The villagers seemed human, each of their auras intact and untainted. Hyakkimaru made sure to check everywhere around them. He was on high alert.
"Isn't she a looker?"
"Yes, the most beautiful in all the land!"
"I'd offer to buy her, but I feel she'd be happier with you."
"Aw! Yuji, don't jest with me. But thank you, I'm sure she appreciates your interest."
Dororo clutched Hyakkimaru's hand. But his initial feeling that she was nervous went away when he heard her laugh. They must have been speaking about the pig. "Cute."
"Of course she is!" the first villager — presumably the owner of the pig — said. "My family treats Blossom like an empress. We have much faith in her to bring prosperity to us. Blossom eats well and sleeps in the house, roams freely, and has many great friends."
"Friends?" Dororo echoed. "Like … other pigs?"
Hyakkimaru turned again to the pig. Normal. Just a pampered, lucky pet? The owner seemed normal too, despite it being weird in the first place to treat an animal so kindly.
Hyakkimaru was a stranger to most social norms but at least he knew that.
"People and pigs! Everyone is Blossom's friend," the owner said. His slender aura bent down and stroked the pig's back. "Wanna pet her?"
Dororo squeezed Hyakkimaru's hand as if asking for permission. Hyakkimaru hesitated, but he felt nothing was wrong, so he nodded. Dororo let go of him and ran over to the pig, who oinked happily at her touch. She whistled. "Not half-bad for a pig, eh, Bro?"
The gathered people crowded around to watch. A few other kids joined Dororo around Blossom. The owner stood proudly over them.
Hyakkimaru's lips twitched.
If only I had my eyes.
"What brings you here?" the man named Yuji asked. He was facing Hyakkimaru.
Hyakkimaru waited for Dororo to pipe in. She always did. We fight monsters, Dororo would say. Big Bro can fight anything.
"Food," Dororo said, standing. "Do you know where we can find food and a place to stay?"
"Of course!" Yuji said. "The market is that way." He gestured somewhere down the street where people were gathering. Normal. Everything was normal.
Blossom's owner was saying something about giving piglets to everyone once they were grown. This caught Yuji's attention, so he left with a wave to join the discussion. Dororo grabbed Hyakkimaru's hand again and then they were walking.
"Do you sense anything here?" Dororo said quietly.
"No." Hyakkimaru hadn't been at ease lately. The empty space where his arms were supposed to be itched as if he could feel them, begging for him to be whole. But worse was the ache for his eyes. A gaping, burning reminder that he was not yet complete.
If only I had my eyes. If only, then he could view the world, see the person he cared about, see the land he so affected, see his own face in his reflection. Would he see a human there? Would he see someone worth being? If only I had my eyes.
"The market should be around the corner!" Dororo said. "Right … there?"
"Such a cute little boy!" a woman called. She was leaning over a food stand of some sort. It smelled like a barn instead of a market. "And a dashing young man! Where are you from?"
Dororo hesitated. "We're travelers. We hunt monsters."
"Monsters!"
"Yes." Hyakkimaru lifted his chin. I will get my body back.
"We're the best there is, the two of us!" Dororo said. "But before we can fight, we need food and a place to stay."
"Fight! Oh no, no, no." The woman shook her head. "We don't have monsters here. Brigands and samurai don't even bother our village. Our land is protected."
Protected? He recalled the words of his family, speaking of a goddess that Hyakkimaru threatened with his very existence. He stiffened. "Protected by what?"
"Why not see for yourself? At night when the stars are at their brightest, at the temple on the hill, people go to make wishes." She shuffled somewhere in the stall, finding two thin strands of … grass. She handed one to each of them.
Hyakkimaru frowned. It was dry. So not grass. Hay?
"What's this for?" Dororo said.
"If you would like your wish to come true, you will need to weave this hay into the statue in the temple," the woman said. "Then you must wait there until the stars light up. You will know then if it worked."
So it was not a food stand that they were stopped at but actually a barn. Hyakkimaru sensed nothing special about the hay. Was it pure superstition?
"Thanks. Where's the market?" Dororo asked.
"This is the market. Everything we have, we have wished for," the woman said. "If you want food or shelter, you must wish for it."
"There's no food here?" Dororo pulled a coin out of her bag and raised it for the woman to see. "We can pay for it!"
"Any food we have comes from our wishes. Yet people do wish for too much," she answered. "Whenever too much is wished for, their things are taken away. This is why those of us who stay only wish for what we deserve."
Dororo stashed the coin away. "What about money? Don't you ever trade? Don't you make things for yourself?"
"Money and effort have no meaning if you can get what you want without them," she said. "Money is just paper and coins, after all. It cannot fill bellies alone."
Dororo got the same idea as Hyakkimaru, as she said goodbye to the woman after thanking her.
They began climbing the stairs that led to the temple. Every now and then, Dororo would mutter something to herself. The bounce in her step was gone.
"I can't believe them! You would think a town with a healthy pig like that would have plenty of food. And don't even get me started on this we don't need money thing," Dororo said. "Something's fishy here. And it's not fish."
Hyakkimaru hummed. He fell into step beside her, alert for spirits to show up. They did not, not even when they arrived at the temple.
"I guess we're going hungry today. It's barely past noon and there's nowhere to get good food!" Dororo stomped her foot and crossed her arms. She was watching him, probably in case he sensed a demon. Her shoulders slumped. "This doesn't make any sense. I think it's a lie, but … Big Bro, do you … do you think maybe the wishes are real?"
"I do not know."
"You really don't see anything?"
"No." Hyakkimaru was telling the truth. The temple was its regular color in his mind. When they approached, the woven statue in the shape of a lotus flower showed no sign of supernatural power. But Hyakkimaru did feel a headache coming on.
"What should we do?"
Hyakkimaru gave his piece of hay to Dororo. He bit down on his wrist and tugged his prosthetic arms off. Instead of having stubs at his elbows, Hyakkimaru wielded swords. Freshly forged swords.
Dororo took the arms from his mouth, holding them carefully.
"Hunting," Hyakkimaru answered. "Birds and fish. We will eat. Then tonight we will make wishes."
For a town where everyone supposedly relied on wishes to support them, the temple was unusually peaceful. No crowds were crowding the entryways, no beggars or haughty passerby hoping to strike some luck. Hyakkimaru was disappointed that it was so empty. He was hoping they could watch someone make a wish first or at least capture the bandits that thought tricking them would be a good idea.
The only person that came by was a man that Dororo recognized from when she had pet Blossom, but he got to his knees beside the statue, prayed silently, and walked out without a word.
"Hey Bro, it's getting dark," Dororo said. "We should get going."
They were waiting together on top of the hill under the shade of the trees, with a vantage of both the temple and the river beyond. Hyakkimaru could feel the drop in temperature, the whisper of the northern winds promising a frosty winter. He wondered what Dororo was looking at, if the stars were really as beautiful as she'd explained. If only I had my eyes.
"Okay."
Dororo found Hyakkimaru's hand and then they were descending the slope, approaching the building. Still, Hyakkimaru sensed no one around the temple. They would go in alone.
The grass gave way to stone beneath his feet. The whisper of life on life, the hush and solidity of paved ground. No other creatures but some bugs and resting birds. No spirits took form in the world.
Dororo slowed when they came to the open doors. "It's weird here, don't you think?"
Hyakkimaru paused. Maybe the spirits couldn't come out until the stars did. But he had to admit it was strange to feel nothing in a temple. He accepted the piece of hay from Dororo and held it between his palm and thumb. Normal.
He stepped ahead of her. Hyakkimaru focused on the lotus flower statue in the center of the room. On closer inspection, he realized it was a basket of some sort, its center giving off a darker, unreadable aura. Above their heads, an opening let the light of the stars shine through. He felt the draft.
Yes. It was weird.
"This statue is really intricate," Dororo said. She twisted her head at awkward angles to look at it. "And there are all these little holes so we can weave the hay in ourselves. Someone sure put in a lot of effort to make it."
Hyakkimaru squinted on instinct. The dark shape inside of the statue was dormant. He could not figure out what it was.
"Looks to me like this thing could be worth some money."
Hyakkimaru glanced up again. He could sense the cold air settling, shadows misting the vague shapes around them. The stars would be out soon.
"I'm not saying it'll work, but it might be fun to make a wish. If it's true," Dororo said. Before she could put her hay into a hole, Hyakkimaru blocked her. Especially if it was true, he didn't want her to get hurt.
"Me first," Hyakkimaru said. He gestured for her to stand back, then tried to insert the piece of hay into a hole in the statue. If only I had my arms. His prosthetics had a hard time getting it in, but he managed after a second.
Nothing happened.
"Sense anything?"
"Nothing."
"It must be a joke after all. The stars are already out," Dororo said. She sighed and wove her piece in anyway. "I was sorta hoping the wishes would be real … If this is all a trick then you better teach them a lesson, Big Bro."
But for some reason, Hyakkimaru couldn't stand still. He paced around the hay statue, considering the shape of the darkness inside. It wasn't changing, but Hyakkimaru felt a pulsing in his skull — like a headache, but not quite.
Dororo gasped. "There is something?"
Hyakkimaru was silent, circling the floor a few more times before coming to a stop. The shape inside was not moving. Perhaps nothing was there. Perhaps something was.
"Big Bro?"
"I … don't know." Hyakkimaru halted. He dropped to his knees, placed his hands on the stone, and tried to sense energy vibrating through the earth. Dororo's aura gave a trickle of energy beside him. There was a worm digging itself deep below the temple floors. And … the shadow also had an energy, an insistent force, yet Hyakkimaru could not see it. No. He felt it. Hyakkimaru's head snapped up, his ponytail lifting into the air. "It comes from the middle!"
But they could not be sure what they were dealing with was friend or foe. The woman from the market had also mentioned the dangers of wishing for too much. Whatever spirit they were dealing with could take as much as it gives. Hyakkimaru clenched his teeth, attempting to calm down. Keep Dororo safe.
That was right. As long as Dororo was safe, Hyakkimaru could play with wish-granting spirits all he wanted. "Do not wish yet," he warned, turning to see her aura on her knees as well.
Dororo scrambled backwards, breathing heavily. "I — I think I a-accidentally made a wish …"
What?
"A-all I did was think —"
With a whimpering hiss, Dororo spasmed, her form writhing, fingers scraping at the floor. She kicked at nothing, muffling her cries. A black cloud darkened the edges of her white aura.
"Dororo!" Hyakkimaru moved to stand, but as he was pushing up on his feet, agonizing pain tore up the inside of his head. He screamed, tearing at his hair. Dororo!
Hyakkimaru wailed, the pain beyond any he'd felt in his lifetime. Losing his limbs hadn't hurt as much. The headache was excruciating as if a hand of thorns had taken hold of his brain, lashing and digging its claws into his tissue. Hyakkimaru collapsed, his open jaw knocking into the rock floor. The taste of blood was a distant sensation. Sweat beaded on his skin, his head blistering.
"D-doro-ro …" Hyakkimaru wheezed. His headache made him disoriented, the familiar white shapes of souls blending in with the green of the objects and the black of everything else.
"I — I'm sorry —"
"Dororo!" With a roar, Hyakkimaru rose from his knees, the darting auras around him dissolving in a great misty light.
So much light.
Hyakkimaru squinted, his hand slapping against his face in frustration — soft, fleshy, and sending another ripple of pain through his head. "Do-roro?" he choked, blinking his eyes against the light of a lantern hanging on the wall.
My eyes. Hyakkimaru's mouth hung open, the taste of blood returning — he had bitten a wound into his tongue when he'd fallen. He peeled his hands away from his face, wiggling the fingers as he did. My arms.
The skin of his arms was pinkish and raw from growing, his blades and prosthetics nowhere to be found. Hyakkimaru saw a lantern, a round and orange shape blazing with a light that stung his eyes if he stared, walls made of some kind of brown wood with engraved designs, the forest beyond dotted with trees and darkness, the hard floor with a gray finish and shadows that danced across it. He saw a red smear on the stone where his face had hit. And further on the ground —
Dororo.
Hyakkimaru's eyes were still adjusting to the dim lighting, but already he could tell something was terribly wrong with her.
If that was Dororo. Hyakkimaru was unsure.
What laid on the temple's floor in a slick wet mess of crimson no longer resembled a human. Her shape was distorted, incomplete even to Hyakkimaru who knew no one by face. The figure's black hair was tied up into a spiky bun, her mangled body covered by a blood-stained vest and shorts. Her legs jutted out awkwardly, toes twitching. The sight struck him as unpleasant, an abomination, and his gut curdled with dread and the metallic stench reeking from her. Dororo. No, please no.
Hyakkimaru staggered forward, his bare foot stepping in the warm puddle of her blood. Dororo had no eyes, her sockets gaping and dark like her open mouth, the cave of her nostrils clenched in pain. Her chest shivered, fighting for breath, labored and tense.
"Dororo." Hyakkimaru's voice was quiet, void of emotion. For a moment, Hyakkimaru was frozen beside her, staring at the emptiness of where her arms were supposed to be, her shoulder bone protruding from her flesh. Her blood was leaking, leaking …
Whenever too much is wished for, their things are taken away.
Hyakkimaru looked at his hands, the hands he'd fought so long to recover … and then he looked down at Dororo, deformed, suffering because of a wish. These are not my arms. Hyakkimaru gagged, fighting the urge to throw up. These are not my eyes.
"I do not want this," he said, tears stinging his vision, spilling across his cheeks. "I did not wish for this!"
"B-bro …" Dororo whimpered, the barest whisper. The sound came from her mouth, her lips trembling, sweat beading on her skin. Blood dribbled from where her eyes were supposed to be. She had turned her head towards him. "N-no more fighting …"
She was going to bleed out and die. Hyakkimaru ripped his scarf off of his neck, ignoring her groans of protest as he wrapped her torso with it. Dororo was warm under his touch, her muscles strong underneath her clothing. Even as she lay dying, Dororo was strong. Resilient. Precious.
"Bro …"
She did not complain, did not scream. Hyakkimaru finished tying the makeshift bandage, but he knew Dororo wouldn't last much longer without treatment. He scooped her into his — her — arms and held her firmly against his chest.
Guilt replaced whatever other emotions were tumbling within him. Was that her wish? Or mine? Hyakkimaru realized he hadn't stopped crying. His breath hitched, a broken sob escaping his throat.
If only I had my eyes. If only I had my arms.
How could he have been so selfish? Dororo … Please stay alive.
You have to live.
Don't die for me.
"I wish for Dororo back!" Hyakkimaru shouted, his voice echoing in the temple's high arches. The lotus flower statue was still there in the center of the room, woven with hay, dry yellow-brown stalks that made Hyakkimaru angry — so angry. "Dororo! Dororo! Give her back to me! I don't want these arms! These eyes! Give her back!"
It was ordinary. It was dead. The temple was silent. The statue didn't care. Nothing came to save Dororo, no monster, no goddess. Hyakkimaru looked upon the statue, flooding with the bluish wash of moonlight.
Dororo is going to die. Because of me, Dororo will die.
Hyakkimaru clutched her to himself, his rage beginning to surface. His nose wrinkled, his anger bubbling in a growl, and he was reminded of the sword strapped to his hip. I will destroy this temple. I will kill everything if Dororo dies.
No one will take her away from me.
Dororo tried to say something, but Hyakkimaru had already started running. He left the blood-spattered stone, rushing out the open doors. Grass tickled at the bandages wrapped around his legs, the expanse of the hill colored dark blue in the dim night. The sky was huge and endless, speckled with stars like glowing spirits.
Hyakkimaru prayed that Dororo would not join them soon. He gasped for breath, hurrying down the stairs, careful not to trip or jostle Dororo too much. From above, he could see the houses huddled together at the bottom, lit by a few torches, a waterwheel turning on the edge of the river. The instant Hyakkimaru's feet touched the dirt road, he sped up, sprinting towards the center of town.
A doctor. A healer. Anyone. Please.
Hyakkimaru reached the town square, but the crowds had already gone home. Nobody was there to greet him. He was sure someone shut their door suddenly, but he didn't see who. I don't know where to go. Somebody, help. Please. Please, don't let her die.
"Just … leave me …" Dororo curled up closer to him, her bangs brushing Hyakkimaru's neck, caked with blood. "I'm sorry."
"No."
"I … wanted you to be happy, Bro …"
"I said no!" Hyakkimaru ran to the nearest house, knocking with his knee on the door. When they didn't answer immediately, he ran to the next, then the next. "I will save you! You will not die!"
Snot dripped from Hyakkimaru's nose, but he sniffed and kept going. It was getting cold, the air chilly without the sun. He could feel Dororo weakening.
Not a soul opened their door. He was blindly running now. He might have gone down the same street twice, yet it was all the same to him. Useless.
Why was I a fool? Why did I not stop her?
Why did I not stop myself?
Hyakkimaru knew it was his fault, even if Dororo had made the wish. It was because Hyakkimaru had been so concerned with winning his body from the demons that Dororo ever considered it. It was because Hyakkimaru's heart was always searching for revenge instead of love, always beating himself up because he was not born whole.
The demons had stolen parts of him. They stole from Hyakkimaru's body, his family, and now the demons were stealing Dororo, the last person he had to live for. They would not take his only friend.
Hyakkimaru would give up anything for her life. "I wish — I wish to save you! Dororo, I will save you!" He butted his knee against the next door so forcefully that one of the hinges snapped, the wood splintering and scratching his leg. "Open the door! I need to help Dororo!"
"St-stop … It's enough …"
"I said to open the door!"
Footsteps sounded from inside the house. Hyakkimaru stepped to the side, the door shaking as someone attempted to shove it open. A man appeared with a wide forehead and a traditional robe made of plain brown fabric, sweat on his agitated brow, his dark eyes surprised. Did Dororo use to look like that? Do I have her eyes now?
Hyakkimaru had been too worried to breathe, but now that he was standing still on the porch of the house, the tang of blood was everywhere.
"Why are you breaking my door?" the man demanded. His voice was identical to the owner of the pig they'd met earlier. His stature matched Hyakkimaru's memory, but he didn't spend a long time thinking about it.
"Dororo —" Hyakkimaru gestured with his head to her, his heartbeat racing in his ears. "Dororo will die if we don't get help! Please help!"
"Stop yelling. You're scaring Blossom."
Hyakkimaru shut his mouth. Please.
"I'm sorry, but I can't help him. You know how it is with wishes," the man said. "He probably wished for too much. This is judgment for greed, but if he wants to atone for it, he'll need to make a different wish."
Hyakkimaru couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Give me medicine!"
"We don't have any for you. Go wish for it."
"Matches!" A fire. We can burn the wounds closed. Hyakkimaru held her tighter, feeling his own body growing weak.
"Go make a wish."
You are all demons. Since he had real eyes, Hyakkimaru was blind to the nature of their spirits, but he did not need to see their color to know this man was tainted. If Dororo dies, I will kill all of them.
Hyakkimaru glared at the man through his black bangs. "My wish did not help."
"Only simple wishes like wanting daily food, shelter, or clothing are without consequence," the man said. "Otherwise, you have too much greed in your heart."
"Hay," Hyakkimaru said. "Give me some hay."
The man grimaced but disappeared inside his house. While Hyakkimaru waited, all he could hear was Dororo's breathing becoming quieter and quieter. I am greedy. Everyone is greedy. How can a wish not be greedy?
The man returned with a small bundle of hay. There had to be around ten strands in it, but Hyakkimaru did not waste time counting. He took it, holding it tight in the hand he'd stolen from Dororo, careful not to hurt her while he did.
Hyakkimaru did not bother to thank the man. At the moment, Dororo's life was on the line. There was nothing to thank him for. Hyakkimaru ran off, no longer concerned with the broken door or the whispers of people as they watched him fearfully through their windows.
Dororo did not speak the entire trip back to the temple. Hyakkimaru hated it — hated how he was relying on the very thing that had hurt her to help her, but he had no choice. He panted, finally stopping in the center room where the statue was.
Hyakkimaru laid Dororo gently on the stone floor, noticing then that all traces of blood on the floor were gone. It's clean. Hyakkimaru wildly glanced around, but there was no janitor. Nobody he'd seen on the way. Is this a joke?
He approached the statue, which looked the same as when he'd left it. The starlight had the same blue glow, the same shadowy normalness. But Hyakkimaru no longer doubted they were dealing with something supernatural. With deft fingers, Hyakkimaru weaved a piece of hay into a hole in the flower. It seemed to settle perfectly where it was, filling the space like it had always meant to be there.
He was not tall enough to peer inside, but Hyakkimaru jumped onto the platform the statue rested on, gazing into the abyss inside the lotus flower's petals. For it was an abyss. Hyakkimaru could see nothing inside.
It was endless, suffocating darkness.
Cautiously, Hyakkimaru took another piece of hay and dropped it inside. It fell, continued to fall, until it was swallowed up in shadow. A tiny speckle of light appeared in the flower. It was just a pinprick, but Hyakkimaru noticed another light, slowly orbiting the one that appeared.
"I wish for medicine," Hyakkimaru said. He held a hand out. "For Dororo."
The larger light fractured, disappeared with the smaller one, then Hyakkimaru's outstretched hand was filled with a sticky mass of chopped leaves. He recognized the smell from his travels. An herb poultice, a natural remedy for wounds. When they couldn't afford better medication, Dororo would sometimes find herbs for Hyakkimaru to chop up and mix with hot water. They used it for some of Hyakkimaru's worst injuries to prevent inflammation.
Though Hyakkimaru wasn't satisfied. He understood then how dangerous a wish could be. This one was granted because it was a simple request, selfless in that it wasn't at all what Hyakkimaru really wanted. Even as he hopped down to apply it to Dororo, he knew it wouldn't be enough.
Dororo would still die if Hyakkimaru didn't make things right.
Once he treated and rewrapped Dororo the best he could, her protests becoming so quiet he could not hear her, Hyakkimaru turned back to the statue with renewed hatred. Not only at the statue or the temple or the village, but hatred at himself.
Greed is their fallen goddess. Greed is who they pray to.
Greed is who I must defeat.
As Hyakkimaru stepped up to the lotus blossom again, he got the distant sense that he was stepping into the afterlife. I know what I have to do. Hyakkimaru fed another piece of hay into the statue, climbed on top, and dropped in all the rest.
He watched as the bundle of hay dissolved into a universe of stars, bubbling out of the darkness. Like hope. Like a hundred glaring eyes staring back at him.
Hyakkimaru swiftly drew his blade from its sheath. Unlike the swords that once hid underneath his prosthetics, this sword was longer and stronger. Give these arms back to Dororo. Heal her. I do not deserve them.
He clenched his teeth, hoping Dororo would forgive him. Hyakkimaru sucked in a breath, braced the arm on the top of the statue, and swung the blade down on his elbow joint. He muffled his scream by forcing his jaws to close, adrenaline pumping painkillers through his veins — but it wasn't enough. The metal dug into his flesh, separating meat from bone, his blood squirting from the wound.
All he'd done was make a deep cut. Hyakkimaru forced himself not to writhe, sweat dripping from his brows, and lifted the sword again to hack at the bone.
Another swing and the forearm detached from the rest of him, the skin severed cleanly by the sharp edge of his blade. Return her arms. Hyakkimaru doubled over, gasping, tears running down his chin. But he watched with a smile as the arm fell into the darkness, catching on some of the lights as it did.
Dororo stirred, whimpering again, but he saw a glow beginning to appear on her side of the room.
Hyakkimaru didn't stop. He put the blade down so he could dig his fingers into his eye socket. Hyakkimaru hissed, continuing to grind his teeth, and yanked the eyeball free. There was a snap as half of his vision went dark. He dropped the eyeball into the statue. Return her eyes.
Hyakkimaru pulled out the other one.
He was blind again, truly blind, and he could not sense the spirits. It was like being dead, only Hyakkimaru felt the wind, the handle of his sword, heard Dororo sputter as something happened across the floor.
Hyakkimaru guided the handle of his blade into his mouth. By now he wasn't certain he had the energy to cut off the last arm. But he could not stop.
I wish for Dororo to return.
Hyakkimaru swung his head in an arch.
The world went white once more.
"Bro! Big Bro!" Dororo's voice echoed in his ears. She placed both her hands on his cheeks, warm and small and comforting. He thought he felt cold tears dripping on his face. "Are you okay? Bro!"
"Y-yes," Hyakkimaru said. He sat up, realizing he had fallen off the statue. He shifted his arms — he could no longer feel sensations in them or move his fingers. His prosthetics were back.
It was only then that Hyakkimaru realized that the temple was glowing green again, but this time many colorful spirits were dancing around the statue. No. There were not many spirits, but one — one collective, rainbow mass of a ghost blooming in the shape of a flower. Not a demon.
Hyakkimaru glanced at Dororo, her aura whole and white.
"We must have passed out last night waiting for wishes. I … think I had a really bad dream where I was you," Dororo said, hugging him. "It was painful … I just remember pain. I'm so sorry."
Hyakkimaru put his arm around her. Was it a dream? He breathed in deeply, the air sweet with morning dew. Is how I felt earlier how Dororo feels now? "I am sorry too."
Dororo sniffed, cuddling into him for a moment longer. Then she bopped him on the head and stood. "Alright! That's it! Today we're going to have some fun!"
Hyakkimaru joined her, following Dororo out the door. His sword was planted firmly in its sheath, his scarf tied around his neck, no longer wet with blood. He saw the town below dotted with life, white shapes dancing about doing their business.
Despite his frustration with them, Hyakkimaru believed it was a healthy town. Healthy in the sense that greed could not survive there.
"Let's keep going along the river, Bro!" Dororo said. "Since those wishes were a bust, I don't feel like sticking around here anyway. These people probably have a secret trading route for goods or something. Maybe that's how the big war cities feed their animals."
"Maybe." Hyakkimaru's shoulders relaxed. The world stretched before him, alive with possibilities, Dororo by his side. He was fine with it being a dream.
I think I can wait a little longer for my arms and eyes.
Walking away from the temple, Hyakkimaru felt happiness blooming in his chest.
Happy New Year's! Well. Happy enough. I had this idea in my head for a while now, but sadly I was unable to post this in 2019 (despite finishing in 2019), so I'm posting on the first of 2020 instead!
Dororo is one of my favorite animes and I wanted to explore the idea of Dororo finally expressing to Hyakkimaru that he doesn't need his body back to be happy ... though in a sense, he didn't actually get it back and therefore act like this was all a plot for some soul's twisted entertainment ... hm. Welp. Either way, I hadn't expected the images here to be so distressing, but I had fun writing it. Shows the trust between these two. Thanks for reading! Not quite sure if I'll make any more Dororo works, but it's a possibility if I get an idea.
Also, if you're curious, the hay and lotus flower thing came from my own head based off of how I've seen Asian fairy-tales work. I took some creative liberties with it.