She ran through her living room towards a hallway on her right. Gojyo met her outside the second doorway on the right. The two heard the crackling of fire approaching them. KJ tsked. “I didn’t think it would be able to crawl under the door that fast,” she thought. The two looked towards the living room to see the fire rapidly approaching them. They screamed in fear and began running further down the hallway. They entered the door at the very end of the hallway and quickly shut it behind them.
In contrast to the Western design of the rest of the house, this room was a more traditional Japanese design. Green tatami mats were placed on the floor instead of linoleum tiles. The normal concrete walls had paper walls in front of them. Futons were placed in the center of the room.
KJ and Gojyo ran to the far wall of the room, cowering on the floor while holding each other. They were panting with wide, fear stricken eyes. Gojyo began sobbing. In response, KJ held his head closer to her chest.
“I’m so scared, Mommy,” Gojyo cried.
“Me too, Gojyo,” KJ whispered back. “Just start praying it goes away like last time.” The last time the blue fire attacked, it was in that room that the fire suddenly disappeared. KJ was hoping the same thing would happen this time. She was watching the door, waiting for the fire to inevitably seep its way through the cracks.
When it did, it rushed towards them in a straight line. Still holding her son, KJ leaped to her left to avoid the fire. Not looking where she was going, she collided with a wooden cabinet, sending her head through its glass door. She and Gojyo fell to the ground, along with shards of glass and some of the contents of the cabinet. Cho was a collector of rare and decorative swords, which were kept in the now damaged cabinet. Most of the swords remained in place. Three katanas and their scabbards fell to the ground in front of KJ.
As Gojyo was about to ask if his mother was okay, he turned his head to see the blue fire had formed a wall around them. It remained in that position for some time. KJ lifted her body off the ground to see this as well. A small trickle of blood poured from the top of her head over the bridge of her nose. “What the?” she gasped.
“It’s just like last time,” Gojyo said through heavy breaths. “The swords fell back then, too.”
“But the fire’s not going away this time,” KJ interjected with worry.
The ring of fire slowly began to shrink. Gojyo screamed and clutched his mother again. KJ, eyes even wider than before, scooted back so that her back was touching the cabinet. As she did so, her foot touched the katana furthest to her right. It turned the blade into a portion of the fire wall. On contact, the portion of blue fire disappeared without a trace. The katana’s hilt pushed its red scabbard forward a couple inches. When it made contact with the fire, the fire drew back. KJ’s face morphed from horror to confusion as she forced out a “Huh?”
Gojyo looked at the result, then asked his mother, “What happened?”
“Stay put.” KJ slowly stood up. She nudged the katana with her foot, turning it in the opposite direction. It once again made contact with the blue fire, which once again vanished. Speechless, she slowly reached down and grabbed the sword. As she picked it up, she used the tip of the blade to push the scabbard into the fire once more. The fire drew back just as it did before. She swung the sword close to the ground, into the fire wall. A large portion of it disappeared as the sword sliced through it.
Gojyo looked on in disbelief. “Did...did you do that?”
“I think so,” KJ replied with uncertainty. The remaining portion of fire rose high above KJ and prepared to crash down on top of her. Frightened, she held the katana in front of her face to protect her. The fire fell onto the blade, disappearing into nothing, leaving KJ completely unharmed. She looked at the blade still in amazement, her reflection shining off its clean steel.
A small portion of fire remained in front of the scabbard. It began to rise into the air like before. Gojyo, his face now determined, dove to the scabbard. KJ turned to him in shock. “Gojyo, what are you...” she began as he grabbed the scabbard and held it in front of him. The fire began to rain down on top of him, but before it made contact, it repelled backwards and onto the floor. KJ took the opportunity and slashed at it with the katana. The last patch of blue fire had disappeared.
KJ and Gojyo fell to their knees, letting out large sighs of relief. Gojyo crawled to his mother and hugged her. “Mommy,” he sobbed into her chest.
She rubbed the back of his head. “It’s okay. It’s gone.” She once again looked to the sword in her left hand. “How in the world did this sword do that?” she thought aloud. “Same goes for its sheath. What in the world did you pick up, Cho?”
Footsteps pounded their way towards them. The door flew open, revealing a startled and nervous Daisuke. “Are you guys alright?” His tone changed to confusion as he noticed there was no trace of the blue fire. “Where did the fire go?”
KJ panted, “It disappeared again, Daisuke. And I finally have an answer for you as to how.”
Daisuke ran into the room and kneeled down before the mother and son. “Don’t worry about that now. Look, you’re bleeding. We gotta go patch you up.” KJ nodded in response. Daisuke put her right arm over his shoulder. He looked to Gojyo. “Are you hurt, Gojyo?”
“No,” Gojyo panted. “I’m alright.”
“That’s good news,” Daisuke replied. He then stood up along with KJ. KJ dropped the katana as Daisuke began leading her out of the room. Gojyo dropped the scabbard and began walking with them. He held his mother’s hand. KJ looked down to him and smiled through fatigue.
“That was some fast thinking there, Gojyo.”
“I don’t know how I thought to do it. Before I realized it, my body was acting on its own.”
“I could say the same for myself.”
Inside the cabinet, a small book tumbled onto the floor. It landed open to the eighth page. Written on it was the following:
オオサンショウウオ – ŌSANSHŌUO
Date bought: 17/11/03
Price: ¥111950
Near mint condition
The blade is said to have been forged using the flames of the giant salamander, imbuing it with the ability to nullify wildfires by merely touching them. After spending so much time sheathed, the scabbard itself is said to have inherited a similar property. Instead of eliminating fire, the scabbard is able to repel fire away from its wielder.
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that's the last part. i normally don't ask this, but i would like to hear some feedback for this.
and for those curious, the title loosely means "Lick of the Giant Salamander."
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