You walk down the forest road, guiding the horse just behind you. You are wearing the robes of an modest aristocrat. The early afternoon sun filters through the trees beating down upon your hat and top-knotted head underneath. You see a priest dressed in black robes resting by the roadside.

 
The Priest's Perspective

 
You walk on. Soon you come to an area which is particularly dense forest. Coming to this area you see a man slumped against a tree, seemingly asleep. You pass him, moving on into the deep woods.

 
Tajomaru's Perspective

 

Suddenly the man you passed is before you. You stop and put your hand on your sword.
 

Tajomaru's Perspective

The Woman's Perspective

 

"What do you want?" you ask.

The stranger calmly goes around the horse, ignoring you.

"What do you want?" you repeat, louder this time.

The stranger squats down in the road in front of you.

"What is it?!" you yell.

The stranger begins to walk back the way he came, then draws his sword. He swipes at you and starts laughing wildly at you.

You partially draw your sword from its sheath and stand ready.

"Isn't this nice?" the stranger says. He holds the sword into the sunlight. "Look! Isn't this nice?" The stranger approaches you. "Here, look at it," the stranger says, holding the hilt of the sword out towards you.

You don't move.

"Over there, I found this tomb with lots of things in it." The stranger points back down the road. "I broke it open. Inside I found swords, daggers, mirrors... I buried them all in the woods. Only I know where they are. If you're interested, I might sell some cheap." He holds out the sword again.

You return your sword fully to its sheath and take the blade. You turn it over a few times in the sunlight, examining it. It is indeed beautiful. You could use this opportunity to move from being a modest aristocrat to more than that. Anything goes these days.

You find a trickling stream for your horse to drink from and where your wife will be safe, then follow the stranger. As you go along through the foliage, the stranger draws his sword.

You step back quickly and prepare to draw your sword.

He laughs then starts hacking a path through the bush. You cautiously follow.

Finally, "It's over there," the stranger says.

"Walk ahead of me," you say. You continue for a time.

"Well, it's over there," the stranger says again, pointing with his sword, then sheathing it.

You walk ahead of the stranger to the place he pointed to.

You are knocked down from behind. Sweaty hands grab you. Instantly, you know who it must be. You struggle against the attack.

 
Tajomaru's Perspective

 
You sit, tied and bound as your attacker runs away, laughing. Your mind races while you sit. You curse yourself a thousand times for being so stupid, greedy. Hundreds of pounding heartbeats later you hear approaching sounds. The stranger appears, running, dragging your wife behind him. She looks at you in surprise. You glare at her in humiliation. Without warning, she draws a knife in the sash about her waist and leaps at the stranger. She hasn't disappointed you, but the stranger jumps and dodges and plays with her. Kill him.

 
Tajomaru's Perspective

 
You watch as the stranger grabs your wife and has her subdued for a moment, but she bites his wrist. Kill him.

He screams and lets her go. He laughs at her, mocking her.

Finally, she collapses, exhausted, crying.

She has failed you, but then again, as a woman, she is weak.

As the stranger moves to grab her, she tries one last time to kill him, but he avoids the knife. After a brief struggle, he kisses her.

She fights and fights against him, but after awhile she stop struggling. The knife falls from her hand and sticks in the ground. She puts her arms around the stranger and return his affection.

You curse her. Whether you live or die, whatever will be will be.

 
A medium shakes a Spirit Rattle in the magistrate's courtyard.

You can hear it faintly from where you are. It is so dark.

She moves around a small altar on the sandy ground, up and down she moves. She spins in a circle two times, then stops and stands like a reed when there is no wind. She drops the rattle limply to the ground. Then she runs forth to the altar, in terror it seems.

Light comes into your eyes. You have eyes. You speak through this woman, this medium.

"I am in darkness now! I am suffering in the darkness! Cursed be those who cast me into this hell of darkness!" you cry from the next world.

She falls to the ground making something of a snarling sound. She crawls about on the ground snarling like an anguished beast. Then...

"After the bandit attacked my wife, he tried to console her. She sat down on the leaves, staring down into nothing. The bandit was cunning. He told her that she could no longer live with her husband. Why didn't she go with him, the bandit, rather than stay behind to be unhappy with her husband? He said he only attacked her because of his love for her. Never, in all our life together, had I seen her more beautiful! And what was my beautiful wife's reply to the bandit in front of her helpless husband?"

"Take me," she says to the bandit. "Take me away with you."

"That's what she said. But that is not all she did, or I wouldn't be here."

"Kill him," she says to the bandit as they are about to leave. "As long as he is alive, I cannot go with you. Kill him!" she cries and points at you.

"'Kill him!' I still hear those words!" The medium spins upon the ground, snarling in her unearthly voice. "They are like a wind, blowing me to the bottom of this pit. Has anyone uttered more pitiless words? Even the bandit was shocked to hear them!"

"Kill him," she says, clutching the bandit's shoulder. "Kill him! Kill him! Kill him!"

The bandit scowls at her, disgusted, and throws her to the ground before you. He stands over her and puts his foot on her back.

The medium howls in laughter.

"What do you want me to do with her?" the bandit asks you, gesturing with his sword. "Kill her? Spare her? Nod if you agree."

"For those words, I almost forgave the bandit."

"What do you want? Kill her? Let her go?" The bandit approaches you, demanding an answer. Relieved the oppressive foot on her back, the woman rises and runs down the path, screaming. The bandit chases after her.

"Hours later, I don't know how many..." you say.

The bandit returns, alone. He whips a branch angrily with a piece of rope.

You stare silently off into space.

The bandit walks over to you and draws his sword and cuts your bonds. "She got away, now I'll have to worry about her talking," the bandit says and walked away.

"It was quiet. Everything was quiet. Then I heard something, someone crying..." You begin to weep. It is all too much: the assault, the betrayal. You rise slowly from where you are sitting for so long and weeping, go over to a tree. You lean against it and weep like a baby. You wander about, when a glint catches your eye. You approach it and find it to be your wife's discarded dagger, resting on a fan of branches. You pick it up and walk back to the clearing. Then, suddenly, you turn and thrust the dagger downwards into your upper chest.

The medium plunges an imaginary dagger downwards into her upper chest. She slowly sinks to the ground.

"Everything was quiet, how quiet it was. It grew dark, a mist seemed to envelope me as I lay quietly in the stillness. Someone was approaching. Softly, gently, who could it have been? Then, a hand grasped the dagger, and drew it out."

The medium face falls slowly to the ground.