The Serpent's Tale
Chapter 1: Into Dodoji
OC's note: This is a disclaimer. ReinaBlaka does not own Warriors Orochi or any of its characters. She only owns me.
The Hidaka was a small river flowing from north to south, rolling through the hills and mountains of the Wu Kingdom until emptying into the great Yangtze.
Of course, it wasn't a tributary to the mighty bloodline of China long ago. Before the demon Orochi had caused the Great Merging, it had peacefully made its way among the mountainous lands of Japan, the domain of the Samurai. After that far eastern, future world had fused with China and its Three Kingdoms, it had come to make its new path within the borders of Wu, feeding its waters to the Yangtze as if it were paying its respect to the great river.
With a few small villages dotted along its banks and the occasional fishing boat sailing its currents, the Hidaka is a relatively tranquil place. It has never seen any violence or war, and its inhabitants have always led peaceful lives. Even with the raging of the Orochi War going on outside, it has kept its tranquility. Yet, beneath its waters, the Hidaka hides a mysterious secret. One that was discovered many times, but was never told.
This is the story of this secret, found unexpectedly by a young Wu warrior. Read it while you can, for the keeper of this secret does not wish you to know of it…
The Hidaka River is the setting of this tale, and the young Wu warrior mentioned above is our hero. Do you see him? His name is Lu Xun, and he is the young man dressed in red that you see riding on that small vessel.
Hands behind his back, with his Eagle sabers stuck in his belt, he is standing at the very front of his ferry. The cool breeze ruffles his short, brown hair, and his dark eyes gaze forward blankly as thoughts swirl in his mind.
He is thinking about all that has happened to him since he returned to his home kingdom, after fighting for a month in the Orochi War.
First, entering the palace grounds of the Wu capitol, Jian Ye, and finding everything to be grey and depressed.
Second, rushing into the palace's western wing, the residence of Wu's best minds, and finding his mentor, the Wu strategist Zhou Yu, along with Lady Da Qiao, in a horrible state.
Third, discovering that Lady Xiao Qiao, sister of Da Qiao and wife to Zhou Yu, had gone missing.
And finally, swearing to Zhou Yu to find her and bring her back to him, and coming down all the way to the Hidaka.
At this point, Lu Xun sighed. He knew that he needed to do something for his heartbroken teacher, but he wasn't sure if he could complete the quest in due time. Zhou Yu had only managed to tell him that his Lady went to a river south of Jian Ye all by herself, and had not returned since then.
Now, Lu Xun knew that the only river south of his kingdom's capitol city was the Hidaka. So he had ridden here on his white stallion, travelling day and night, until he sighted one of its little villages. Entering it, he immediately began to question the villagers about what they knew about Lady Xiao Qiao's whereabouts, but all gave a shake of their heads and continued with their business.
Desperate, he had then asked an old man, who was kind enough to tell him about what he knew. But his answer was a confusing one.
"Whisked away by the Serpent of Dodoji!" he had said.
"Serpent of Dodoji?" after politely inquiring him as to what he meant by it, the elder sighed and pulled Lu Xun aside.
"You don't know of her?" he croaked. "Everybody here knows her legend!"
"I don't, but can you please tell me what it's about…?"
"Alright, then. Here, listen carefully…"
And he had then recounted a most peculiar story.
It had said that, long ago, there was a cave in the cliff on the other side of the Hidaka, facing the village. The cave had once been a temple called Dodoji, and it was famous throughout the land for its priests. The holy men would perform aesthetic rituals so beautiful and intoxicating that people would travel from far and wide to come and see it. Priests from other temples also came here to learn the art and skills taken to carry out the rituals in perfect order. But, after many generations and thousands of years, a great flood swamped the cave and destroyed the temple.
But, shortly after the destruction of Dodoji, a series of strange events started to indicate that the ruined temple had a new inhabitant.
The first event happened on a stormy night, when the Hidaka was in rage. A small fishing boat, with two men on board, was struggling in the angry winds and rushing waters, trying in vain to land at the village's dock. They were soon overcome by a large wave that capsized their vessel, but just as they were going to drown, a huge serpentine creature came out of the cave, gathered the two in its coils, and took them back into what seemed to be its new lair.
The next day, after the storm had died out, the two men appeared at the dock without a scratch. The villagers quickly took them into a house, where they said that they had been saved from death by a divinely beautiful snake-demoness. She had nursed them while they were in shock and had told them a story of her past, but had made them keep it a secret.
No matter what they tried, the villagers could not get the two men to tell them the secret story. They bribed them, made them drunk with wine, even whipped them—but nothing worked. The men insisted with keeping the tale a secret. A few days later, they left, taking their secret with them.
After that, the same thing kept on happening. The Serpent of Dodoji—as she came to be known—kept on saving stranded people from the Hidaka's waters and kept on telling them her mysterious story. The event had even happened recently. When Lu Xun asked the old man about who was the victim, the elder told him that it was none other than the girl he was looking for.
Lu Xun had heard many legends and myths in his lifetime—especially when he was little—but he never really believed they were true. Well, not now—for of two reasons. First, because he had met such famed deities like Fu Xi and Nu Wa in person during the Orochi War; Second, he had no other alternative. Since the other villagers knew no different explanation to the location of Xiao Qiao, he had no choice but to follow the old man's legend and try to find the young Lady's supposed rescuer, the Serpent of Dodoji.
And now, here he was, traveling to the location of the Dodoji cave—and reportedly—the lair of a human-rescuing demoness.
Lu Xun closed his eyes as his memories ended. Crazy as it may sound, he had to finish the rest of the story—if he was to ever find Lady Xiao Qiao alive.
"We're here!"
It was the fisherman who had offered to transport him to the cave. Lu Xun reopened his eyes, just in time to see a dark place ahead of him.
It was the Cave of Dodoji.
Half-shrouded in a grey mist, it loomed out of the distance. Pillars of rock from the cliff face created the entrance to a small, rounded cove, and faintly visible at the very back of the cove was a gaping black hole that was, apparently, the cave's mouth.
As he neared his destination, Lu Xun noted—to his surprise—that the place did show signs of being a past temple. A large, wooden Torii gate, with badly faded red paint and a broken-off limb, stood over the cove entrance, signifying that the place was a Shinto shrine. A sign hung shakily on its fragile framework, inscribed with three, barely recognizable characters. Lu Xun squinted as he tried to get a closer look. Do…Do…Ji. The sign read "Dodoji", the name of the legendary temple.
So the first part of the legend is true, Lu Xun thought to himself. I wonder if the rest is just as genuine.
The fishing boat slowly eased its way past the Torii gate and the rock pillars, gliding into the cove. Here, the waters were unusually calm—and, instead of the normal green color of the main river, it was as black as ink. Lu Xun mentally bit his lip. Could this mean a supernatural presence?
Before he knew it, his ferryman had guided his vessel gently onto the side of a giant boulder that served as a doorstep to the cave's entrance.
Lu Xun looked up. The yawning mouth of the cave was closer than ever, pitch black and ominous. He looked back at his ferryman, who was patiently waiting for his next orders.
"Here." The young warrior quickly presented him with a bag of coins. "Thank you for taking me this far, for all your troubles."
The old fisherman shook his head. "I am only a humble man who lives by the net, Sir. I do not accept rewards like this. But if you ever need me to ferry you again, I'll be right there at your service."
"I thank you anyway," said Lu Xun, storing away his money. "Now, I only ask of you to wait here for me while I go in."
"Of course, Sir." The fisherman gave a respectful bow. "And may the Mystics protect you."
Lu Xun turned around to face the boulder. Stepping onto the boat's edge, he hoisted himself onto the great rock. Stone scraped against his light armor as he did so. Brushing himself off, he drew from his belt a torch and took a deep breath. It would now take his warrior spirit to brave the darkness and find his mentor's lost Lady.
He stepped into the cave, letting the shadows swallow him.
Lu Xun felt something cold and wet under his boots. A splash accompanied each step, and he knew he was walking across a large puddle of water. He had long left the light of the cave's exit behind, feeling his way through what seemed to be an extremely long tunnel. It was filled with water left over from the Hidaka's tide, and its air was full of the smell of river weeds.
He had not lit his torch yet. Why? So far, Lu Xun had not found the cave to be a maze. It only looked like a single tunnel, and he would only have to go back the way he came to get out. Of course, there was no use trying to avoid a few bumps and scratches, but now he was getting used to it. Like a blind man, he was finding his path through touch, slowly tracing his steps along the cold, moist walls.
The splashes with his steps seemed to get louder. Was the water he was walking in getting deeper? No. It was just a big puddle. But soon he felt himself wading, and then he realized that he was reaching a downwards slope in the cave floor, where possibly water from the Hidaka's tiding could have collected.
What if he stepped into an abrupt dropping in the slope and plunged into an icy waterhole? Dread and suspicion began to creep over Lu Xun. Instinctively, he held up his torch and felt for a dry part of the wall. Finding it, he struck the wooden stick against it—and it burst into flame.
Warm, comforting light shown upon the surroundings. Lu Xun held his torch high, looking ahead. A watery road lay ahead of him, its waters the same inky black as the cave mouth's cove.
Suddenly, he saw movement. Lu Xun's eyes darted for it, only to see something disappear under the water's surface.
Could it be the demoness? Or were his eyes playing tricks on him?
Warily, Lu Xun continued to wade, guided by the light of his torch. Thankfully, he did not come upon waterholes or any other nasty surprise. The black water slowly climbed his legs with each step, gradually reaching his knees.
Moments later, an ominous sound stopped him dead in his tracks.
A sound that, to his ears, sounded vaguely like…hissing.
Lu Xun tensed, almost about to draw his sabers. What was that? Tentatively, he cupped a hand over his mouth.
"Hello?" he called. "Anybody…?"
Sss… sss…
Lu Xun took one more step forward.
"Hello…?"
"SSS!" A loud, angry hiss pierced the air, echoing eerily off the walls, before our young hero saw a sight that made his hands go cold.
A pair of yellow reptilian eyes, glowing out of the darkness, glaring at him.
"Argh!" Lu Xun held out his torch, wishing to expel the spectacle from his sight. "Be gone!"
Another loud hiss, and the thing's eyes seemed to go red…with rage.
Out from the darkness, a huge, purple tentacle snapped out, tipped with a wickedly curved blade. With lightning speed, it hooked the torch out of Lu Xun's hand, and chucked it into the water.
"UGH!" Anguish and frustration flooded Lu Xun as he was again enveloped in midnight blackness. He blindly reached for his belt, fumbling for his Eagle sabers, but just as he struggled in the dark, the huge, bladed tentacle circled him, coiling around him like some giant snake. He felt the air being crushed out of his lungs as the thing tightened its grip.
Suddenly, he felt a blast of water in his face, and the next thing he knew, he was underwater. Icy cold overtook his body as the tentacle dragged him into the deep, and he lapsed out of consciousness.
Lu Xun gasped and opened his eyes.
At first, all he could make out were dark shapes, but as time passed on and he finally came to his senses, his eyes adjusted to the meager light, and he found himself lying on his back, looking up at some curved ceiling. Something was under his head, something soft, as if someone had laid him down and tried to make him comfortable.
Someone?
Feeling a little dazed, Lu Xun struggled to sit up. After many tries, he finally made it into a sitting position. Blinking, he surveyed his surroundings.
He seemed to be inside a large, cylindrical space made of bronze. The ceiling he had been staring up at earlier had the telltale, ancient green color, stained with blotches of brown and gold, and he had been lying with his head at the base of a curved wall. To his surprise, a blanket lay over him. Whoever that someone was, he or she had wanted him to keep warm and recover from his nasty shock.
Huh…?
He turned his head to the right. It was dark there, and he could barely make out the shape of a human figure.
"So you have awakened," said a seductive female voice.
The figure came out of the shadows…and Lu Xun's jaw dropped in utter surprise.
It was a woman—and the moment he saw her, our hero swore to himself that she was the most beautiful creature he had seen in his entire life.
I, as the narrator, swear that I am absolutely not lying about this either. The lady was really impossibly beautiful. Her body was completely a work of exquisite beauty, slender with the most graceful of curves. Her breasts were bulbous, round and full. Her arms were thin, her hands like lotus flowers…and the best part was her face. It was clear, calm, and of the most stunning prettiness—so amazingly pretty that Lu Xun completely forgot about Diao Chan, Zhen Ji, Lady Noh and all the other beauties of the land. Her hair was long, extremely long, flowing like a midnight-black waterfall from her head all the way to her thighs. To top it all off, the woman that now stood before Lu Xun of Wu could only be described by one word—Divine. (Ok, I apologize to all my already love-sick/drooling male readers for this description.)
But what seemed to ruin it all were the more demonic aspects of her appearance. For one thing—and a thing that slightly disgusted Lu Xun—her entire body and face were covered in reptilian, purple scales. They ranged from dark purple to light violet, from large to small, and looked exactly like a snake's. Her chest and belly were all armored up with protective scutes, and, instead of nails, real claws adorned the fingers of her lotus-flower hands. The tips of dangerous fangs poked out of her mouth, and dark-colored horns coiled like a ram's on her head. But what scared Lu Xun the most were her eyes. They were like Orochi's, both human-looking and reptilian, with slit pupils—only that they weren't red and green, but a pure gold. The way they looked at him and shined reminded him horribly of the monster with the bladed tentacle that had tried to kill him.
The lady came further into the light, and Lu Xun's jaw dropped even further, a gasp of awe escaping his mouth.
She had no legs.
Instead, there was a humongous, serpentine tail, covered in more armor-like scales. It was thick and very muscular; an incredibly impressive and scary sight. Small, black scales lay on top of the larger, impenetrable ones, etching a natural design on the back—a design that was more unique than any other pattern that Lu Xun had ever seen. The tail, he guessed, was at least ten or so feet long, and took up most of her body length.
The naga-demoness slithered with grace. She swirled her massive tail into a neat spiral coil and sat before our thunderstruck young warrior, amused in his expression.
"Your face is priceless." Her voice sounded awfully like Noh. She pointed one of her clawed fingers at him, a smile revealing her fangs and forked tongue.
Lu Xun struggled to speak. "W-w-who are you?"
The demoness frowned. "You don't know me?" she said. "Everybody knows my legend."
With a jolt, Lu Xun remembered the Dodoji legend—of the human-rescuing serpent, and her secret story. A realization suddenly dawned on him, and he looked at the female demon before him incredulously.
"You're…real?"
The demoness laughed—a sweet trill of a sound. "Of course I'm real," she giggled. "If you still don't believe it, I can pinch you if you like—just to show you."
"No thanks," muttered Lu Xun, eyeing her sharp claws. He looked back at her face, trying not to focus on her eyes.
"…What's your name?" he asked testily. "Or should I just call you 'Serpent of Dodoji'?"
The female serpent laughed again. "Oh, don't call me that silly name that the humans gave me. My name is Kiyohime, and it means 'Pure Lady'. But I prefer being called 'Kiyo'."
"Well…nice to meet you, Kiyo." Lu Xun couldn't help feeling that the name suited the demoness well. "My name is Lu Xun."
"Lu Xun." Kiyo pondered the name, and then looked up, smiling. "Nice to meet you too."
Lu Xun gave a small smile in return. For a demon, Kiyo was really quite pleasant…and definitely someone worth starting a chat with. But not now, he thought. I have a mission, and I'll have to focus on that first…for starters, though, I need to have some questions answered.
"So, Kiyo," he started. "…I believe you live here, inside this…bronze thing?"
"Bronze bell," Kiyo corrected.
"Bell?" Lu Xun looked around at the weathered, metallic curved walls. "You mean, this is the inside of a bell?"
"Yes. A temple bell, to be exact." Kiyo studied Lu Xun's bewildered expression, and then grinned. "It's jumbo-size, big enough for me to make it my perfect lair. Very out-of-the-ordinary, is it?"
"Very. I'm surprised you don't feel stuffy in here."
"Why would I? This has been my place for centuries." Kiyo patted the bell's inside wall fondly. "To me, it's home sweet home."
"…Cool." Lu Xun straightened himself. "Well, how exactly did I get here?"
"What?"
"I mean, how did I get to your bell here? The last thing I remember is being pulled to my death by some evil tentacled monster."
"Ahahaha…" Kiyo laughed as if he did not understand something obvious.
"Huh?"
Giggling, the female naga made a gesture for him to look at her tail. Confused, Lu Xun watched as something shifted under the massive coils, then pulled itself out.
And he gasped.
It was the end of Kiyo's tail…and it was tipped with a wickedly curved blade. The exact same blade on the purple tentacle that had tried to drown him.
Then he realized it all.
"It was you!" He exclaimed. "You were that thing who tried to kill me, weren't you?"
Kiyo crossed her arms. "Yes. It's me."
"Then why is it so funny to you!"
"Well? Why didn't you notice it earlier?"
"Because—"
Silence.
Her smile suddenly vanishing, Kiyo sighed and tucked her bladed tail-tip back under her coils.
"I am sorry."
His shock slowly fading away, Lu Xun fixed his eyes on the demoness. "What?"
"I am sorry for what I did to you…" Kiyo folded her clawed fingers. "…But I did that for a reason."
"What reason?"
"…My hatred for fire."
Then, all of a sudden, Lu Xun came into understanding.
"My torch." He said. "It was my torch, wasn't it?"
"Yes…"
"And then, when you saw it, it drove you mad and you tried to kill me."
"Exactly." Kiyo looked up, her eyes shining. "You are really smart."
Lu Xun's cheeks flushed. "Yeah…I am."
"I hate fire and intense heat." Kiyo flicked out her forked tongue. "If I even see it, I will go into a boiling rage. A bonfire would be enough to send me into a rampage. I appreciate a little warmth, especially from the sun, but I definitely do not appreciate cooking heat."
"I see."
" I don't blame you or your race for using fire, but…I just don't seem to like it." Kiyo refocused of Lu Xun. "So, what made you come to my cave by your own free will? Are you looking for someone?"
Lu Xun's eyes widened. She had said someone, not something.
"Right." He flipped himself into a more proper sitting position. "I have come here in search of someone. Someone very important."
"And who is that?"
"Lady Xiao Qiao of Wu."
"Ah, her!" Kiyo's eyes lit up—literally, because it actually glowed. "I know her, and she's right here!"
"Really?"
"Yes!" Kiyo suddenly began to uncoil her tail, slithering into the darkness that was the other end of her bell. "Come with me."
Barely able to contain his relief, Lu Xun followed.
The other end of Kiyo's bell wasn't really dark, as compared to what it previously seemed to Lu Xun. In fact, it was a space lit by a dim light, which came from a glowing orb. The weak but heart-warming glow cast its rays on a small, huddled figure in the very corner of the place. Kiyo slithered over to it. "Over here."
Lu Xun joined her as she gently removed the blanket wrapped around the figure…to reveal the very person Lu Xun had come looking for.
"X-Xiao Qiao!" he cried.
"Shhh! You'll wake her." Kiyo put a finger to her lips. "She needs some rest."
The young, brown-haired girl was fast asleep. Her white-and-orange outfit was slightly muddy, and her hair ornament was missing a jewel. Other than that, though, she was unscathed.
Lu Xun watched, awed, as Xiao Qiao stirred in her sleep. She turned to one side, revealing the twin, sky-blue fans she carried with her, neatly folded and leaned against the bronze bell wall. These, too, were unharmed.
"She's alive…safe," Lu Xun said to himself. He turned to Kiyo. "Where did you find her?"
"Stranded on a rock," Kiyo said, "She had apparently climbed up there to play, but then the tide rose rapidly and she became trapped. I rushed to her aid, but when she saw me she got so scared that she fainted."
"I'm so glad she's alright!" Lu Xun bowed his head to Kiyo. "I do not know how to thank you."
"Oh, it's nothing. I was just doing what I was supposed to." Kiyo shrugged the gesture off. "What confused me, though, was the rapid rising of the tide…it shouldn't—"
"What?"
"Nothing." Kiyo swirled her tail into a coil, sitting down. She looked for a long time at Lu Xun.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Lu Xun was starting to feel uncomfortable.
"I don't know. It's just…" Kiyo stopped, then sighed. "It's just that you remind me of a person I knew, long ago…"
"Who?"
"…Lu Xun, I'll have to explain." Kiyo looked up again. This time, her eyes were strangely…sorrowful. "I'll have to tell you my story."
Lu Xun sat, cross-legged, while Kiyo sat before him. She seemed anxious, he thought. Her tail was twitching, as though she was fidgeting in nervousness. Her fingers were folded in her lap. Finally, she took a deep breath, and began.
"Now, Lu Xun…" she said, "This is my story…"