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The Mythical land’s forest stood still. Calm roads, cycle of life starting. Deer hopscotching, cute big eyed squirrels watching them, an occasional Yōsei flying around, playing around the trees of the forest. Their worries were on the next day, as they could easily escape predators like wolves and foxes, unlike those poor deers and squirrels that almost got eaten. It was equanimous.
Land was known for it’s magical creatures and wonders far and wide. It’s magic so vast, you could find anything if you put your mind and spirit into looking for it. Healing, creation, defying the laws of the known world, it was all there, in the land where sunsets colored everything red.
As magic and mysticism have their beauty, that beauty was shared with danger. Vengeful and bitter demons, monsters and Yōkai roamed the lands, serving their twisted justice to humans. Cutting animals and humans up for disrespecting the most trivial of matters or because they thought all life not as strong as them wasn’t worth living. Their cruelty knew no bounds sometimes.
And Humans returned justice. Twisted, but in a different way. Their measures prevented and reduced both good and bad magic. Hunting monsters, banishing spirits regardless of their intentions. Monitoring all other humans with a talent for magic. Despite everything, magic never left, but it was reduced. Magic’s influence on the world waned.
There was war, too. People’s warriors, all proud and steadfast, fought and died for gold, territory, or simple glory. They built cities and villages, and shaped their culture around the values of honor and discipline.
Through the forest, on a small dry dirt road, a warrior rushed through. On his feet, weird shoes with small wooden wheels attached at the soles. He moved swiftly despite the giant backpack on him. He frantically used his spear to balance himself and lose speed when he went too fast. The scabbard on his left thigh was empty.
As the warrior approached the nameless village, the wheels got out of control, and he started swaying madly. He tried slowing down by putting the spear on the ground behind him, but that wasn’t enough so he crashed into a village well. His spear prevented him from falling in, and he stumbled a few steps to gain composure.
And old man, few women and a group of kids looked at him with shock and curiosity. They were all scared to approach him. He was a complete stranger, armor red and angled, with a messy kimono underneath. His mustached face showed his age of 25 years, eyes scared and expression ashamed. He retracted his spear like a telescope, putting it in the backpack, and gestures to others that he’s harmless by waving both his hands.
“Salutations, salutations, good hardworking people, I come with good intentions and a task.”
An elderly villager slowly walks over.
“And what task is that, your clumsiness?”
“I’m here to locate and capture a Werewolf near your village.”
People staring at him burst out laughing.
“This idiot here, to catch the Werewolf.”
“He’ll cut you into ribbons and devour you before you show off that fancy spear of yours.”
“If being a samurai doesn’t work out, you can at least become a Rakugo.”
The samurai sulked, kicking rocks on the rock, looking down. As the laugh died down, and villagers went their way, he walked around. Without the village laughing, the place was really quiet. Not many people were outside and buildings looked poorly maintained.
The village had a few shrines, which Masahiro visited to pray for good luck. They were more run down than the rest of the village, with broken charms and talismans all around it. Saisen had coins all around it, and on closer inspection looked empty.
Masahiro grabbed a coin, tossed it and it bounced off one grate, only to fly through a conveniently coin shaped hole at the back of the shrine, landing into mud.
Flat faced, Masahiro shook the bell rope, making no sound. Next to him was the bell, broken through the floor. He clapped his hands together in a prayer, slightly missing.
After that came the visit through the workshop streets, that were louder than other streets. Many craftsmen’s shouts could be heard, cursing their tools and their wounds.
Afraid not to get hit by any small parts, Masahiro backed off that street. But still curious, he walked around more. The village was in despair. One building had a sign in front of it: “Due to village’s bad luck, the gambling hall is closed.” He scratched his head, confused.
Children played around really carefully, and only games with small toys, not really running around. Masahiro was a bit unsettled by their low energy.
“These kids barely kick this ball, why aren’t they running, wrestling, fighting, climbing? They’re kids, for the sake of the Gods, why are they depressed by this place?”
One boy sneaked up to Masahiro.
“Sir, are you really hunting a Werewolf?”
Little boy startled the warrior.
“Yes, I am, young man. Apologies for not introducing myself, I am Masahiro, and I hunt evil spirits and monsters.”
“Woah, a samurai! So awesome.”
Masahiro smiled smugly.
“I didn’t see any of them properly because the last one that arrived slipped and broke his neck.”
Masahiro was now shocked.
“WAIT WHAT DO YOU MEAN SLIPPED AND DIED?!!!????”
“Yes, just slipped on a small rock and fell down. Maybe it has something to do with a curse of this village?”
“Curse?”
“Yes, sir. We are cursed with very bad luck. Once my friend and I called all numbers on the dice and it landed on the corner.”
“Wait, how am I still alive then? I slammed in a well. If I was unlucky than I’d fall and break all my bones in the well.”
“Rumors speak that it could be spirits. You entered too fast for spirits to curse you yet.”
“Well, I better be careful then.”
The kid carefully ran off. Masahiro wondered what spirits villagers angered in order to be this cursed. Is it even a spirit? A spirit would have killed him right then and there. They see better and their reactions aren’t really slow.
But he’ll worry about the curse of bad luck after he catches the Werewolf. Thought of Werewolf itself having bad luck crossed his mind. Or maybe the villagers only have bad luck, thus the Werewolf itself has better luck? Maybe it’s not bad luck at all but crankiness of the village making them sloppy. Many theories crossed Masahiro’s mind.
“But I’m not that lucky outside of the village, let alone inside, so maybe it’s just me.”
And as he said that, he sat on a field until nightfall, relaxing until it was time to use the tools he prepared in his giant backpack. He pulled out a paper and a feather dipped in ink quill that spilled. He activated the small box that simulated moonlight. It had an upper compartment, with a small crystal that captures sensations. This crystal had a sensation of moonlight, and the box had a set of lenses that enhanced it. He treated it with delicacy, because in a way, it was his child.
The little boy from earlier ran to him.
“Woah sir, what’s THAT???”
“Oh, hey! This is a machine I made to lure out a Werewolf. I’m certain he isn’t in this village, with your luck he’d demolish it already. They prefer hiding out in the woods out of guilt and not to hurt anyone.”
“So you’re machine maker sir? I thought samurai were focused on fighting and cool sword moves, and courage. This is something I’ve never seen in stories that I’ve read.”
“Well, young samurai, they fight when it’s humans and odds are even. When it’s monsters, I have full right to use any advantages possible due to the enemy’s magical advantage.”
The Kid smiled at being called young samurai, looking away from Masahiro.
“I’m not yet like samurai...”
“And why is that?”
“Well, you see, hehehe, I lack the courage to ask this girl I like out. How will I fight bravely if I’m afraid to ask a girl out?”
To that Masahiro dropped his character, and decided to help a kid out.
“Samurai are afraid of their enemies too. Every time I plan on taking a monster out I get these thoughts about how it’s gonna be, what’ll go wrong, yadda, yadda. And to be honest, I’m scared of talking with people too. It’s why I use this weird adult speech. But I do it anyway because it needs to be done and fear just delays my desires.”
The boy was surprised and somewhat regained his spirit.
“Thank you, sir. I’ve heard it before, from another man.”
“It’s a common talk for the spirit. Who’s this man though?”
“Another samurai. Very skilled with the sword. He didn’t wear as much things as you. And he had a sword” The boy pointed to Masahiro’s lack of a sword.
“Ok, I’ll let you in on a little secret. I lo-”
Before he had time to finish the sentence, loud howling was heard. Boy jumped from surprise and ran to his home. Masahiro put a small sign pointing towards the direction of the light, and as he read the distance something awful happened to the machine. The crystal in the compartment started shattering and set the machine on fire.
Masahiro, in a panic, grabbed his water gourd and as he was about to pour it, it slipped from his hand, falling straight to the ground. The water inside spilled fully. Then Masahiro jumped on the fire in order to smother it, and he succeeded, but awfully burning himself too. The machine got crushed under his armor completely as well, rendering it into a lump of burnt wood and metal.
In the corner of his eye, a small shadow moved around the corner. It looked like one of the villagers.
“I see what’s my priority now.”, Masahiro mumbled to himself, planning his next move.
Hiding behind a village, in a random farm, Masahiro worked on a project. He bent, moved and shaped two wooden dice, hiding a small magnet and bits of metal, making them weighted. He rolled them, and really, the results were the same.
He rested up a bit and then he went to work.
Half of day, consisting of “Hello, would you consider testing your luck for a free?”, “These dice will help with Werewolf, really. Please help me try them out”. Lots of people turned him down, but got hit by bird’s poo or by the bird itself.
It was going really bad. By the time he got to a new person the plant pot almost fell on him, he almost slipped, a stray ball or wagon almost grazed him. Even the kids didn’t give any meaningful results.
Until he checked the last person of the village. A small, shy girl that hid from him for 10 minutes.
“Hey, I can see you but don’t worry, I’m friendly. It’s just that, I lost my sword and I’m too scared and embarrassed to get a new one because other samurai will judge me.”
The girl peeked, and Masahiro recognized that she had the same shape as the shadow.
“H-h-how will I know you won’t hurt the Werewolf?”
Masahiro proudly pointed his hand at his heart.
“I know some monsters isolate themselves in order to not hurt anyone. I wish to help them remove their curse.”
Girl looked away.
“I knew you were different from how you entered a village. You strolled in, and called everyone hardworking even when you didn’t know them and you were scared. Like me.”
“You’re scared? How? Are these villagers mistreating you?”
She starts crying “They are mean to me!!!! They always, always say I’m useless and that I can’t do anything. Every time I tried to help someone, I’d just make things worse. They’d either fall off the ladder, or stab themselves with a needle, or their every tool breaks. A-and, and it’s always my fault. I ruin everyone’s life.”
Masahiro tries to comfort her, but as he thinks of something to say, a stray ball hits him in a head.
“See? Something like that happens and I get scolded or worse.”
Masahiro got a theory now. He crouched to the girl’s level.
“It’s not your fault. I can help you fix it.”
“R-Really?”
“Yes, look at these. These are dice that are made to fall on two specific numbers, and I think this time, I’ll get two number sixes, even if it’s impossible. I just need you to think about something nice.”
“Okay.” she responded, teary eyed.
She took a deep breath and smiled. Masahiro threw the die and really, two sixes.
“You didn’t ruin anyone’s life. It’s just that you have powers you didn’t know of. I think that, depending on your mood, the luck of a person you think of changes. You didn’t see me as scary or sad, and my luck got better.”
“So, I have powers?”
“Yes. And we can use it so that the Werewolf gets bad luck, but not so bad he gets hurt, just so he can get tangled in the net I have with me.”
The girl looked at herself and laughed “I have powers! I am useful now!”
As they go, Masahiro turns back to add “It’s really noble of you to help everyone even if they mistreated you.”
She nodded.
As they ventured into the woods, they saw claw marks on the trees. They were close.
“Stay near me, ok?”
Masahiro said it at the worst time as she was nowhere near him. He hears fast movement around him, but isn’t fast enough to catch it. It growled and clawed all around the forest. It’s presence was everywhere. Scared for the little girl, thoughts rush to his head. “Idiot, idiot, idiot, why’d you let a girl go to the dangerous forest with you, especially with a Werewolf. You just had to look for the luck advantage, you lazybones, that irresponsibility lost you the sword and made you lazy to actually learn to fight others.”
A girl’s scream could be heard from a direction. Masahiro, out of despair, closed his eyes and prayed that the girl gave him enough luck to do this. He extended his spear, and started blindly running, charging.
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA”, he screamed, and as girl’s crying stopped, and growling started, Masahiro hit a tree with a spear and fell to the ground.
He opened his eyes and saw a wolf monster, big but nimble, to be on trees, struggling to stay at the top of the tree. He kicked the tree, and the Werewolf fell down. As he hit the ground, Masahiro grabbed his net and caught the Werewolf.
Werewolf struggled in a net as Masahiro dragged it on the ground.
They returned to the village, where villagers started running and panicking and screaming to the sight of the Werewolf. Men of the village surrounded Masahiro with tools and weapons, only to realize that the Werewolf is tangled.
“Why didn’t it rip apart the net yet?” one of the villagers asked.
“From the looks of it, it trapped itself.” another exclaimed
And as none of the tools broke so far, or no one’s purse suddenly ripped open, and that nothing didn’t fall onto the ground, villagers realized what it had meant.
The elder spoke “The curse has been lifted!”
All of a sudden mood of the village shifted from slow and cautious to happy and celebratory. Everyone got out into the streets, jumping and running as if they never ran in their lives. But no one really paid any mind to Masahiro, as they just took the Werewolf.
“You were just lucky to catch it, the curse got lifted!”
“We’ll lock it in a cage and send it to the city. Let the officials there decide its fate. Your work here is done, samurai.”
They dragged the tangled Werewolf, locking it in a cage to be sent to city.
Masahiro felt a bit mad that the villagers just thought it was blind luck that helped them and didn’t even thank him. He knew that first impressions meant a lot, and this isn’t the first time he was just glanced over and forgotten. Even if the entire city saw him defeating a monster they’d forget him for some reason. But then he thought of a girl with an ungratifying mission of holding the entire city’s luck together while they don’t even know that. And he’d think of her nobleness and willing to help just not to have pain around.
Speaking of the little devil, he found her distanced from the commotion. She was sitting on a bench, watching the villagers and being a bit pouty.
“The wolf almost got us, but they don’t seem worried about that. They’re just happy it’s over.”
“Well, they don’t really know what really happened and who actually helped. But we can’t blame them, right? You reminded me I did this to be good, not to get fame and recognition. That can also work in your favor. If the village doesn’t know about your power, they won’t use and manipulate you. So stay with them, and make sure they don’t hurt themselves. I know it’s a thankless task, but in the end seeing someone happy makes it all worth it.”
“All right.... Bye sir!” she waved as he left.
And thus, the swordless warrior walked off into the forest that turned red as the sun set.