Work Text:
As far back as humanity existed, there existed the rumors of haunted places and restless spirits: humanity always feared what they could not control, and spirits of the restless dead were up there on the uncontrollability scale. In Shinshuu, though, there were methods against hauntings: warding charms, ritual offerings to the dead and, if everything else failed, Onmyoji practitioners that were conscripted to get rid of the spirit.
With all that in mind, it seemed almost impossible, if downright ludicrous, that a spirit or spirits would be haunting Onmyoji users themselves. They were the ones who knew how to deal with such things; why would they allow restless dead in their homes?
And yet, the Mikado household had long since been rumored to have been haunted. No one could prove it, and the Mikado family themselves refused to remark on it, so it only stayed an urban legend. However, generation after generation of visitors to Mikado estate in the capital of Shinshuu claimed they’d seen spirits, perpetuating the rumors.
If you asked Koga Rindou, head of Koga clan and unofficial fosterling of Mikado Ryuumei, the current head of Mikado clan, that was pure and utter nonsense. She’d spent many days in Mikado home, even slept there on occasion, and she’d never seen a whiff of a ghost. Mikado Ryuusui, Ryuumei’s adopted daughter, shared the sentiment: her Distortion, which allowed her to see different layers of reality, had never shown any sights of hauntings of any type.
However, convincing Sakagami Habaki of such appeared to be an exercise in futility.
“C’mon, Rindou,” the guy repeated for who knows which time in the last few hours, and Rindou gritted her teeth. “It’s impossible that everyone was lying!”
“He ain’t precisely wrong,” Kyougetsu Keishirou, the representative of the exiled Kyougetsu clan and Rindou’s future companion for their expedition to the East, shrugged. “You and the pipsqueak ain’t what you’d call objective anyway.”
“Stop calling me a pipsqueak!” Ryuusui’s shriek made everyone in the vicinity bar Madara Yakou, Ryuusui’s fiance, wince and cover their ears.
“Shut the hell up, you damned pipsqueak, I’ll call you however I want!”
“Damn it, Keishirou, you really went and woke up the dragon there,” Kojiro Shiori chuckled uneasily as she casually dragged flailing Ryuusui away from Keishirou, Yakou holding a firm hand on Keishirou’s shoulder.
Rindou winced at the phrasing, but she couldn’t deny the truth of the words. After all, it wasn’t Ryuusui Shiori was referring to.
“Why are you brats so loud?”
Mikado Ryuumei, their host for the night, emerged from her room and was currently giving them all glares of death, promising to burn to the crisp the next person that irritated her. That was not an exaggeration: Rindou has actually seen that happen once.
“Excuse us, Ryuumei-dono ,” Soujirou went ahead to placate Rindou’s mentor, since Yakou was busy holding down Keishirou. “Sagakami went ahead and pissed off eboshi-dono , and then Kyougetsu name-called your daughter.”
“Hmph,” Ryuumei’s face went blank, devoid of her usual half-smile, and a shiver of terror went down Rindou’s spine. “ Eboshi-dono . What, exactly, was the reason behind this nonsense?”
“Sakagami brought up the old rumors again,” Rindou said, bowing her head in shame. She was supposed to lead this bunch of people, and here she was getting heated up and not controlling the situation here, before they even started their journey. “I lost my cool. I have no excuse.”
“Ani-sama had not been very considerate either,” Kyougetsu Sakuya, Keishirou’s little sister and the darling that she was, tried to make an excuse, and Rindou winced. That would only make the situation worse: Ryuumei was not the type of woman who accepted excuses and platitudes. “He very deliberately provoked Ryuusui-sama.”
“Oi, shut up Sakuya! Whose side are you on!”
“Your side, of course, ani-sama.”
“Enough,” Ryuumei’s voice brokered no argument, and the tensions ratcheted as everyone went silent. “The old rumors, huh? I see. Let’s move this to the table.”
Rindou obediently followed the order, Sakagami falling one step behind her and everyone else fanning out as they went from the meeting room to the tea parlor of the Mikado house. There was already a steaming pot of tea waiting for them, and Ryuusui hurried to settle her mother down and serve them the tea as the youngest in the room.
“Here, omotoji-dono .”
“Thank you, Ryuusui. Sit.” Ryuumei took a first sip of the tea to signal to everyone they were allowed to do the same, and then started talking.
“What the brat and Rindou told is true: there’s no spirits in the Mikado household. That doesn’t mean there isn’t anything there at all.”
“But if they’re not spirits, what are they?” Yakou, Ryuumei’s fellow Onmyoji practitioner leaned forward, hand under the chin.
“Images,” was Ryuumei’s short answer.
Rindou raised an eyebrow. Images? How was that any different than your run of a mill spirit?
“Images… hoh. So they’re lesser than full-bodied spirits, but more than simple echoes?” Yakou clarified, and Rindou spotted everyone else leaning back. Apparently she wasn’t the only one to wonder about the difference.
“Yes,” Ryuumei nodded. “They don’t have much agency: at most, they repeat some sets of behaviors, but they’re incapable of interacting with our realm of existence. They’re quite a pain to deal with, actually: since they don’t actively interfere with us, it’s difficult to banish them.”
“So, we’re not gonna get possessed in our sleep if we stay the night?” And there went Sakagami again with his big mouth and cheeky grin. Honestly, the man was such a bother, Rindou really, really wanted to strangle him.
Unfortunately, it would look bad if a warlord strangled their own representative in combat in front of her allies.
“Well, I certainly wouldn’t mind you getting possessed: that way Ryuumei-dono would have the right to kill and rid us of your pervert ways,” Shiori muttered, and Rindou had to hold back from snorting in agreement.
“Me? Pervert? Never! I only look respectfully at what I’m offered, is that so wrong? Yeesh, you’re such a difficult woman...”
Rindou had had enough, so she employed Ryuumei’s favorite punishment method - she slammed her fist over Sakagami’s head, hard enough to make him collapse out of seating position onto the floor.
“Hoo~”
“Fufufufu~”
“Nice work, Koga-san!”
“Thank you, Rindou-sama.”
“Serves him right - nice one, Rindou-san!”
“Owowowowowowow, shit, fuck, damn it, couldn’t you be nicer Rindou? Ay, no, it’s eboshi-dono and whatnot, fucking hell, that hurt, yeowch - ”
Rindou couldn’t pay any attention to the hubbub her action created, though. Her eyes were fixed on Ryuumei - and her strangely fond expression that quickly slid away and turned into abject shock as she looked at Rindou.
No, she was looking right behind Rindou.
Rindou whirled where she sat, not caring how the heavy, ornate fabric of the warlord ceremonial clothes protested at her sudden moves, and came face to face with an apparition - no, an image.
The apparition behind Rindou was a delicate, blonde girl of obvious foreign origin; dressed in tattered white sheet that barely qualified as any sort of cover, she was gazing at everyone in the room with a gentle, sweet smile on her face. That wasn’t the most alarming thing about her: the alarming part was the blood splattered all over her sheet, and a vivid red scar on her neck, not too dissimilar to the one that would be created if one decapitated someone and then tried to reattach the head back to the torso.
“What the hell...” Rindou heard Soujirou murmur behind her.
“She looks so pretty,” Sakuya breathed quietly, and Keishirou grunted.
“That chick looks familiar, but hell if I know from where.”
“Interesting...”
The girl didn’t seem to pay any attention to the shock of everyone in the room: she glided around the table, briefly stopping behind Sakuya and Keishirou, then went on to stand next to Ryuumei.
“Omotoji-dono - ”
“Sit. Down. Don’t. Move.”
The order froze Rindou’s very limbs; had Ryuusui won the competition in front of the Emperor, Ryuumei would’ve been the leader. If this was her way of commanding… Rindou desperately wanted to learn Ryuumei’s tricks.
“Chi, chi, chi,
Chi ga hoshii ~ ”
The girl started singing, the most chilling song Rindou had ever heard, in a sweet, pure voice that matched her delicate looks.
Blood, blood, blood,
It wants blood.
“Girochinu ni
So so no wo,
Nomi mono wo~ ”
Offer the blood to the Girochinu.
Rindou had no idea what was the Girochinu the girl was referring to, but it had to be some type of a murder device. What else would want human blood as an offering?
“Guillochinu no kawaki o iie su to nu
Hoshii ni no wa chi, chi, chi.”
Blood to quench Girochinu’s thirst,
What it wants is blood, blood, blood.
Ryuumei said the last two lines in sync with the girl’s singing, shock still present on her face. The girl smiled brilliantly, as if she hadn’t just sang the most demented song in the world with an innocent smile on her face.
“Don’t beat up my man. I won’t forgive you for that.”
Ryuumei choked on thin air as the girl threatened her.
“Hey, don’t threaten my mother!” Ryuusui stood up, ignoring Ryuumei’s order, and the girl tilted her head towards her.
“I’m not threatening her. I’m reminding her.
N̵̨̢̢̨̨͍͖̣̱͓̣͎͕̮̻̝̱̝̩͕̥͔̻͖̱̩̝͚͕̺̼̦̪͚͙̻͉̋͐̎͒̌̑̐̎̆̓̂̄̎̆͂̉̒͆͗͐̏͌̈̏͆̑͆̈́͌͑̏͑̀̽̀͛̍͛̽̐̕͘͘͜͝͠͠͠e̶̛̻̺̤̻̣͓̣̹͉̖͍̣̦̤̻̖͙̙̠͉͉͊͐̔́̍͐̽̌̒̏̃͐̄̂͑͂̊̏͑̒̽̅̆̋̓̌͂̇̅̎̏͐͑̐̓̈́̏̾̔͌̓̈́̂͋̾͑̓̇̀̕̕͠͝͝͠͝͝ͅ~̴̨̧̧̢̧̛̛̛̗͙̺̭̮̘͇͚͓̣̩̭̘̣̼̠̱͙̜̜͓͉͓̳̭͙̼̼͉̝̥̯͖̹͖̑͊́̄̍̇̆̈̆͐̃̉̈́̓̈́͛̒̄͂͒̐̈́̂̍̽̃̏̓̆̎̍͐̐̋̌͗̋̾̂̉͑̒̑̅̚̕͠͠͠ͅ,̷̢̧̧̨̧̨̧̠̗̯͇͖͖̺̩̞͚͍͖̭̥̮͎̭͇̟̯̙̞̜͉̙̠̝̗̹̯̹̦̩̥̟̟̠̪͚̩̣̹̼͓͗͜ͅͅ ̷̫̳͚͖̼̮̮̞͎̝͈̝̹̼̥̥̮̯̝̮͙͉̥͌̈͋̓̌̆͒͆̈́̂̒̋͋ͅS̵̟̺̘̤͓̿̆́̆͛̔̇̓̾̿̔̀̒̿̀͛̚͘̕̕͝͝͝͠͠a̷̢͍̯͙̟̻̣̗͈͇̜̝̾̐̍͠m̸̨̡̡̨̧̧̡̧̛̛̛̪̼̺̰̹̙͎͔̮̩̣̳͓̬͙̤̟͎̰̬̭͇̦̹̪͈͙̮̼̭̠̝̣͙͚̤̙̙̣̥̞̺̮͈̮̳͚̘̼̋̾̍̇̌̏͐̋͒̇̄͐̇̍̏̿͛͐͑̏̓̂̾̿̽̊̄̌̈́̓̕͘͘͘̚͜͜͠͠ͅͅį̸̧̡̢̛̞̪̣͕̻͙̭̱͎̰̘̠͉̪͚̹̝͖͕̼̯̝̜͇̟͉͒̋̔̆͝ͅê̶̢̢͍̳̰̤͓̤̖͙̻̱̟̻͚̞͚͓͕̻̘̫̝̩͙̗̳̘̖̗̫͔̝̬͕̩͋͜͜͜l̸͔̳̐? ”
The last words she uttered were so full of static and painful to listen to, Rindou couldn’t distinguish a single syllable as she clutched her head, fighting the pain.
“Stop it!” Ryuumei ordered in a panicked tone. “They can’t handle it!”
“I’m sorry,” the girl looked down, contrite, and the static disappeared. “I just wanted to remind you.”
“I got it, I got it.” Ryuumei took a deep breath. “I swear, I won’t touch him. Whatever he does to himself is another matter.”
“Un,” the girl nodded. “I know. He’s a bit of an idiot.”
“Tell me about it,” Ryuumei sighed, talking familiarly with the girl. “Though in hindsight, you definitely chose the best option.”
How she knew the foreign girl, Rindou couldn’t say, and others were looking suspiciously at the oldest person in the room.
“Don’t beat yourself up over it,” the girl spread her arms, as if to embrace Ryuumei. “You are always going to be welcome, you know. No matter what you do and who you follow, all are welcome in my embrace.”
The words hit Rindou straight in the core. This girl… Had she been like Rindou, so alienated by her compassion in the world full of selfishness? Was that why she ended up like she did?
“Thank you,” Ryuumei said quietly, ignoring the gaping eyes and mouths of those around her. “Do you… can you...”
“Un,” the girl confirmed, smiling. “He was coming here too, you know. Him and Ca - sorry. Him and my predecessor. He’ll be happy to hear from you.”
For the first time in her life, Rindou saw Ryuumei’s eyes fill with unshed tears.
“Tell him that I will do my best to live under his sky. And tell that asshole of your predecessor to stop gloating, because I know he is.”
“Don’t worry, I’ve been hitting my predecessor plenty for gloating,” the girl giggled. “Though, I think he likes that… what a weirdo.”
“Urgh, I did not need to know that asshole’s preferences.” Ryuumei now looked a little sick. “Thank you, for showing yourself. I thought you were gone, permanently.”
“Nuh-uh,” the girl shook her head. “None of us are gone yet. Me, him, my predecessor, his predecessor, all the way back - we’re still here, but nothing more than this. I’ll never be able to speak like this again, though. Only sing my song.”
“That’s more than enough,” Ryuumei stood up. “May I?”
The girl tilted her head, and then nodded, opening her arms for a hug. It should’ve looked silly, a tiny slip of a girl that was intangible trying to hug a tall woman that was Mikado Ryuumei, but Rindou got the sense this was something sacred, something they were privileged to see.
All the blessings to you and your mission, Mikado Ryuumei, ” the girl said in a quiet, solemn voice. “All the blessings of the Twilight, as useless as they are right now, and support of Foreknowledge and War.”
“They’re not useless,” Ryuumei shook her head, releasing the girl from the embrace. “And I’ll need all the support I can get. That man of yours is exceedingly stupid, and those he keeps as company are his close matches.”
The girl only giggled again before vanishing, leaving behind a warm scent of home and seasalt.
“Okay, Ryuumei-san ,” Sakagami was the first one to recover his senses. “I think you owe us an explanation for this.”