Chapter Text
Yuji made his way down the mountain, following a small stream where wildflowers grew and small trout wriggled by. Yuji was hungry yet not at the same time. He plucked berries along the way. They stained his palm red by the time he reached the base of the mountain. A swift breeze cut towards him, sending his long hair wiping around him and his kimono snapping. He stood on a dirt road with rice paddy fields directly across from him. There were farmers out there, working away on this pleasantly cool sunny day.
There was a loud braying of an animal and a cry of a human. Yuji looked to his left where an ox cart had come to an abrupt stop. The driver looked wide-eyed at him. “Where’d ya come from, boy?” the man asked, disgruntled, but curious. He ran a look over the stranger, taking in his finely made burnt red kimono with maple leaves embroidered on it, golden skin, and whispering cherry blossom hair that was tied up in a crimson ribbon and white wildflowers. He looked much too fancy to be from the man’s village. Then the man looked down at the young man’s feet. He was barefoot, his feet and bottom of his kimono lightly stained with dirt. More than all of that was the katana attached to the young man’s hip. Now who the hell is this boy?,he thought. “Are you some lost noble or somethin’?”
The young man didn’t react, his golden eyes just staring at the man in a disconcerting way.
“W-Well, if yer not gonna--”
“I’m sorry,” the young man said, voice quiet. He seemed dazed now that the ox-driver was actually looking at his face. “Can you help me?”
A few minutes later, the pair were making their way down the bumpy dirt road. The ox-driver had put the young man at the back of his hay cart, but couldn’t help glancing back at him every now and then as if to confirm if he was real. There had been strange sightings in this region. He wondered if he hadn’t picked up a ghost. A shiver ran down his spine.
Yuji, on the other hand, wasn’t paying the ox-driver any mind. He sat with his legs crossed, katana laid out on his lap, as he stared out into the farmland. They were headed towards the nearby village. Yuji didn’t know what he would do once he was there, but his feet were sore and he couldn’t seem to keep his mind on one thought for long. He felt sleepy, yet not. He felt confused, yet not. He didn’t understand, yet a part of him knew.
The village was modest but lively. When people caught sight of Yuji, they stopped and stared. Yuji assumed it had to do with his appearance. One thing he did know was that he was dressed rather lavishly for someone who had woken up in the woods an hour ago. The only thing that didn’t match was his lack of shoes and his plain sword. He gripped the sword tightly, but didn’t know why he did.
When the ox-driver finally stopped, Yuji unfolded his numb legs and disembarked. He came around the cart to bow to the driver. “Thank you for your help, ojisan.” With that, he turned then stood there, unsure of what to do next.
“Kid.” It was the driver. “You lost?”
Yuji paused, then nodded. “I can’t seem to remember much.”
The driver paused, then said, “Would you like to come home with me for the night? My wife should have dinner on the stove by now.”
Yuji nodded, hesitant, and followed the man to his small house further out of the village. Yuji looked around as they walked. The smell of animal shit, hay, and fresh air faded a bit as they walked. He wasn’t bothered by the looks or whispers.
The driver’s wife was indeed cooking, the scent of stew heavy in the air even from outside. “Wait out here for a moment. I gotta talk to her.” A minute or two later a woman’s voice erupted.
“You and your soft head! We hardly have space to sleep and feed ourselves here. Why did you--Ugh, I’ll go talk to him myself!”
“Aye, Mizuki!” The couple rushed out, the woman pushing her sleeves back like she was about to enter a fight. Her steps slowed though as she saw Yuji.
Mizuki’s heart immediately melted. Not only was the young man quite pretty, he also had a soft air about him, almost coming off as innocent and pure. She immediately folded. “What is your name, young man?” she asked, all sweet and warm while her husband gaped at her sudden mood change.
“Yuji,” he said.
The lady, Mizuki, absolutely burst with endearment towards the young man--he was hardly older than a boy. Perhaps eighteen or nineteen. “What a beautiful name!” His appearance and voice were quite gentle. The name suited him. “Come in, come in!”
The inside of the house was warm and brightly lit. He understood what the woman had meant about not having enough space. There was one cot in the corner, a low-rise table for eating, a kitchen and a cabinet with a funeral plaque on top. Yuji’s eyes caught on that, but he didn’t ask.
“Dinner will be ready in a minute, please sit down.”
Yuji followed the ox driver to the table and sat down. “I’m sorry, ojisan, but I did not get your name.”
The ox driver chuckled. “Tadashi,” he said.
“Thank you, Tadashi-san. I truly am grateful.”
“Of course I had to help,” the man said. “There’s been odd happenings in this valley. I couldn’t let you go wandering around all by yourself.” Tadashi ran a look over Yuji once more. Though he carried a sword, it was hard to imagine someone like him knew how to use it.
“Odd happenings?” It was the first time the young man’s expression changed from disassociated to attentive.
Tadashi chuckled though there really wasn’t anything funny. The man just tended to laugh when he was nervous. “We’ve just had some,uh, disappearances in this area though that’s not a recent development. Not just our village, but specifically along a certain road that connects three villages together.”
“Do you know why?”
“We can’t say for certain, but word around is a cursed spirit.”
Yuji narrowed his gaze, not at the man, but simply in thought. “Would you be able to show me it?”
“Tomorrow. In the morning.”
“You are going down the road?” Mizuki said, approaching with a bubbling pot. “You’re scared stiff at the mere mention of it. Now go grab the utensils.” As her husband got up, Mizuki sat down. “Why would you like to go down there, Yuji-kun?”
Yuji gripped his sword that he laid across his lap. “Maybe I can help.”
Mizuki wasn’t sure what to make of the boy. “Well, as long as you two go in the morning.”
For the first time since Yuji woke, he smiled. Mizuki’s heart softened further. His smile reminds me so much of my little boy, she thought sadly.
That night, the couple tried to craft a new cot for him, but he told them it was alright, that he could just sleep outside on the hay. “I want to see the stars,” he said. So, they let him be. The night air was pleasant and comfortable. Yuji laid down on the hay in the cart. He lay with his arms tucked under his head, knee bent with his other ankle resting on it. As he stared at the stars, his mind grew clearer and clearer. Maybe it had been the beef stew finally giving him enough energy to think, but he felt awake finally. He forgot to blink causing tears to begin to brim at the corner of his eyes.
“Why lay me to rest?” he whispered into the night, chest tight. There was no answer. He frowned then rolled onto his side.
**
The next morning, Yuji and Tadashi headed out early. Tadashi told him he would drop him off and come back for him before sunset since he had fieldwork to do. “Will you be alright in the meantime?” Tadashi asked, brow furrowed.
Yuji smiled. “Yes, thank you.”
As they rode through the village this time, Yuji sat up front with Tadashi. He was also a lot more aware of the glances, though he didn’t react to them. He had contemplated cutting his hair as it reached almost to his hips, but decided against it, at least for now. He supposed it was a part of his past just like his sword and kimono, but he knew he would have to eventually abandon the kimono though. He had taken it off so Mizuki could wash it and was instead wearing an old gray kimono that Yuji suspected belonged to the boy on the plaque.
“Remember, I’ll come back right here thirty minutes before sundown,” Tadashi reminded him as he dropped Yuji off at the fork in the road. Yuji nodded, and Tadashi went off. Behind Yuji and to his left were flatlands and to his right was a densely packed forest that whispered to him, no light making it past the road. He walked straight towards it, hand on the hilt of his sword. There was no path, and his kimono often got stuck on branches and brambles, but he wasn’t deterred or frustrated. Sunlight broke through here and there, but those patches were far and few between. His only companions were birds and small rodents. Every thirty minutes or so, he paused and listened and felt for cursed energy. He didn’t find anything. Then an hour in, he heard it.
A soft whisper that rode the wind but was not a part of it.
He looked to his right. Far among the trees and bushes, he caught sight of a faint indent of white light. A cursed spirit no doubt, but why hadn’t Yuji sensed it? It was only five hundred yards from him. His unease grew as what he had been suspecting was slowly confirmed. A surge of anger overtook him, and he shot off through the forest. The greenery blurred, and trees swayed in his wake. The spirit was gone by the time he got there. He turned at the last minute and swung. He decapitated the cursed spirit, purple blood squirting up into the air. Within an hour, he swept through the entire mountain and nearby land and killed every single cursed spirit he came across. His rage wouldn’t diminish. He was breathing heavily by midday, but he didn’t stop, heading to the nearby mountains, killing everything in sight.
You did this to me.
You left me here.
You forgot about me.
Why did you do this to me?
He was completely out of breath when he finally descended the mountain. He reappeared from where he had entered hours ago. His kimono, hands, and face were stained with cursed blood. The worst part was that he knew he hadn’t killed the real cause of the disappearances. He needed to stay overnight. He removed his outer layer, using it to wipe his face and hands. When Tadashi finally arrived, his eyes widened at Yuji’s state.
“You’re not hurt, are you?” he asked.
Yuji smiled at his concern. “I’m okay, ojisan. However. . . I was thinking to stay here overnight, but before I do, I need more information on the disappearances.”
Roughly every year a child went missing as they rode the pass at night with their family. It was like the parents just blanked out, never remembering reaching the fork, only to find their child was gone. Even when people stopped riding at night or even taking their children, children still disappeared from either of these three villages. They were always really young too, three or four usually. It had started as once a year a few years back, but now it was becoming more and more frequent.
“The curse is growing stronger,” Yuji said. “When was the last child taken?”
“Uh, roughly about one month ago.”
“And the one before that?”
“Three maybe.”
So it was taking them more frequently.
“And the earliest children, how far apart were they taken? You said roughly a year. How many months exactly?”
“Uh . . . I can’t say really, but I know two of them were Sakura and Haru. Sakura in April and Haru in January.”
Nine months.
Yuji nodded.
“Are you sure you want to stay here?” Tadashi asked.
Yuji nodded, smiling. “You should go. The sun is setting.”
Tadashi glanced, nervously, then nodded. “At least take this.” He handed Yuji a lamp that hung at the front of Tadashi’s seat. Yuji thanked him. As he rode away, he waved back at Yuji. Yuji raised a hand in response. Slowly, he disappeared down the road, and slowly, dusk settled followed by pure night. Yuji lit the lantern and set it on the floor beside him. He along the path, eyes cutting through the night, hand always on his hilt. An hour or so and he settled with his back against a small tree opposite the forest. He was convinced the curse would come from there. Humans had an inherent fear of forests after all.
Yuji had his head tilted back to stare at the stars through the branches, knee upright with his wrist hanging on it. Suddenly, there was a rustle. The wind? It was a dead still night though. He shifted into a crouch, sword grip in one hand, the sheath in the other. Another rustle, but it was behind him. He straightened slowly, taking a few steps forward before turning and facing the flatlands. There, far into the field stood a black figure. A light winked at him. A lantern. He picked up his own lantern, mimicking it. With that, he stepped into the grass.
He walked with steady, unhurried steps, his gaze unwavering. It began as a low hum, but then it slowly clarified and he realized it was the actual hum of a woman. It was a soft recital of a children’s lullaby. Several yards later, and it became clear that he wasn’t getting closer. It was leading him away from the road. Is that what it had done in the past? Lead the children off the road?
Yuji continued on, sword not yet drawn. The closer he got, the more apparent it became that there was a small lake up ahead. The figure stood at its shore. It had finally stopped moving. When was finally able to make its face out clearly, he found it was a woman. Or what used to be a woman. Drenched ragged clothes, head bowed, black hair drooping around her face. Her skin was discolored.
“Darling, darling,” came her distorted voice. “Why did you do this to me?”
Yuji’s eyes widened minutely before he forced himself to focus.
“Why did you leave me? Look what you made me do.”
Yuji finally unsheathed his sword.
“Look what you made me do!” it shrieked and lunged.
Yuji leapt up, dodging its sharp claws. Its black hair whirled around it as it madly thrashed around then jumped up after him. He landed on the shore, spinning to slash his sword, only to meet nothing. He gritted his teeth and jerked around, only to find something wet and solid clamped around his ankle. He swung his sword down, managing to cut off the hand, only to get grabbed by the shoulder then shoved from behind. There were long, bloated, discolored limbs crawling out of the lake, grasping for him. There were four in total but the more he cut, the more that appeared. Two hands grabbed arm with his sword then two more got his ankle while another grabbed his face. They were pulling him towards the water. He dug his feet into the pebbled shore, mud and pebbles rising as he resisted. Suddenly, one of the hands grabbed his sword. Yuji twisted his head to break free from its crushing hold then bit down. The arm retracted. His eyes widened.
In that arm’s hand, he saw his red ribbon tangled into the fingers. “No!” he cried then tore out of the other arms with a downward slice of his hand, reinforced with cursed energy. He jumped up to grab the ribbon. So close. Two hands snatched him around the waist and another two around his throat and finally, he was plunged into the cool depths of the water. He kicked down even though there was no moon to show him if he was going the right way. Each time he kicked, the motion reinforced with cursed energy, the more arms that appeared. It was never-ending. Then finally, he managed to break free. He should have shot for the surface. Instead, he pushed down, right towards the hand with his ribbon. It was like a beacon in the dark.
Somehow, this lake was unfathomably deep. His eyes widened. Idiot. I’m in its domain. He was so far down now that he could feel the weight of the water, but he kept on. He was doing just what the spirit wanted so it didn’t grab him again. With one last push, he managed to grab the ribbon. His eyesight was beginning to blot, but he searched for his sword anyway. There! A flash among the limbs and darkness. He kicked further down, the humming returning to his ears as his blood pounded in his head as if to coax him to sleep. He found his eyes growing heavy, the humming growing louder.
Damnit! His mind was still alive, but his body was failing. He couldn’t . . .
A tear escaped his eye, and he twisted, knowing he had to abandon the blade. His mind was fading and his body was fighting him while the water suffocated him and it was all too much and he took his first gulp of water then quickly tried to close his mouth only to lose his breath. He began sinking again. His legs stopped, and he truly began to drop. Up above, the full moon stared down at him, pure and so close, yet too far. His eyelids fluttered then among the splotches over his eyes, it was as if the moon were turning red.
A blood moon? Was that just his fading consciousness playing tricks? Was it . . . ?
A hand slipped into the water, long and pale under the moonlight as Yuji lost consciousness. Sharp violet nails caressed Yuji’s wrist as the hand wrapped around it and pulled. Yuji’s body surged out of the water and fell into the arms of a man wearing a white kimono. He stepped across the water, his footsteps and the water from Yuji’s body sending ripples across the surface though the man’s feet did not dip below the surface. The curse erupted from the lake only to be severed into a million pieces before bursting into blue-violet flames, setting the lake on fire.
Yuji was carefully lowered onto the shore. The man leaned down and breathed life into his lips. As he straightened, he brushed wet strands of hair from Yuji’s face. Yuji twitched then coughed harshly, chest jerking as water was expelled from his lungs. He rolled onto his side, coughing the rest of it out before collapsing onto his back, arms stretched out to the side. His lashes fluttered as he fought off the aftereffects of drowning only for his eyes to fly open. He jolted upright. He was on the shore. He didn’t remember swimming, or breaking the surface. The curse was gone too. He could no longer hear it and its lethargy spell had lifted.
Yuji pushed to his feet, stumbling on the pebbles with how quickly he turned this way and that. There was no one for as far as the eye could see. His heart was pounding, his body trembling so hard, he didn’t think he could keep himself upright. So, he didn’t. He collapsed to his knees, pebbles stabbing into them. He glanced down. He was still clutching the red ribbon. His fist closed around it. He didn’t know if he wanted to pulverize it or protect it. He closed his eyes. “Don’t go.”