This was a short story originally for my English class from this year, Senior Year. Hope you enjoy!
A Dangerous Road to Edo
Once, over three hundred years ago, there lived a young demon of about twenty years named Andromeda. She had long flowing deep sea blue and purple hair that she kept braided or sometimes in a ponytail and stunning cerulean blue eyes. She always wears a chiton, switching from men's to women's. She also wore leather brown sandals, gold armlets and bracelets, as well as a sapphire held by a leather string around her neck. She had a beautiful and simple delicate gold circlet with a sapphire in the middle around her head and a royal blue cloak. The cloak she wore had a hood that she kept on her head, hiding most of her face. Around her hips she had a leather belt that held several sheathed celestial bronze and sapphire daggers and herbs meant for healing and/or poison, depending on the purpose. Andromeda loved to travel to different lands, but her her heart was set on visiting Edo, Japan.
Andromeda was always travelling from place to place, occasionally visiting home in Doulikhion. Normally she carried a few extra clothes, food, a pair of sandals, water, and a few other most treasured possessions sealed in a few scrolls for convenience and they were lighter. She learned the art of sealing and nindo from her father, who visited Edo, the capital of Japan, previously and fell in love with a mortal woman there. When Andromeda turned sixteen, she wanted to travel from realm to realm, so she asked her parents. They allowed it, though they wouldn't see their daughter for a while. Even thought they knew that, they knew that she had the means to defend herself and others.
As Andromeda travelled down a dirt road to a town that she would visit for a few days, a group of bandits stepped in her path.
"A rich little lady all alone, aren't we?" the leader said, looking at her cloak.
"Excuse me, sirs, I must be on my way." Andromeda replied with her head down.
She stepped to move ahead, only to find her path blocked again.
"Where d'you think you're going?" the leader asked, glinting at her.
"I have no need to tell you my business, bandit." she replied.
"Fiesty, aren't we?"
He reached out to touch her face, when a hand stopped him. He looked down to see Andromeda's hand gripping his wrist tightly with an emotionless face. She grabbed his upper arm and flipped him over her shoulder, judo style. He landed on his back while the other four men charged at her with daggers. She dodged them gracefully and pulled out a dagger of her own at the same time. This one was rose shaped with red rubies. She met them all at once with an expression of determined fierce intensity. Her hood fell back, showing her whole face. For a few seconds, the men were stunned by her youthful beauty. In those seconds, Andromeda landed kicks to their abdomens. They fell, knocked out. She turned to the leader on the ground.
"Come and have a go if you think you're hard enough." she said challengingly.
The leader pulled out a dagger and stupidly ran towards her, yelling his battle cry. Again, she dodged and kicked the man's wrist, the dagger flying out of his hand. He was momentarily stunned, but quickly recovered to grab at her. She kicked his gut, hard, and knocked him out. She put her dagger back in its sheath and put the hood back on. She then travelled on to the city.
Whens she had arrived through the silver gates, she took a moment to look at Argyros, the City of Silver. Then, she decided to buy some supplies. First, she went to a tailor to buy few pieces of clothing.
"Hello, miss. How may I help you?" said a voice.
A man emerged from behind the shelves.
"Are you Alexander, the famous tailor who can make clothes out of any material?"
"Indeed, my dear. From the finest Chinese silk to Japanese hemp."
"I see." Andromeda could tell that this man was not bluffing.
"Well, I require a male's chiton embroidered in blue, a woman's chiton embroidered in amethyst purple, and a sea blue cloak, embroidered in gold. Make them out of the finest and most durable material you have available." She replied.
"Quite the bold one, aren't we, miss?" the tailor replied.
"Personal reasons, sir." Andromeda said.
"Of course, but first, I must measure you." He responded.
Andromeda removed her cloak and allowed Alexander to measure her. He measured her height, arm length, waist, and hips.
"Theé mou!" Alexander exclaimed. "Your measurements are small!"
"Well, excuse me for being small." Andromeda muttered.
"No, no. That's not what I meant, my lady! I was surprised."
He wrote down the measurements and turned to Andromeda.
"Your order shall be ready by tomorrow morning, my lady." He said to her.
"That soon? Wow, you're good." Andromeda replied.
"I hardly deserve your praise, miss."
Andromeda turned to leave, and said a thank you to the tailor. The tailor bowed to her as she left. Andromeda then went to a spices and herbs store and got more of the herbs she needed. She then turned in for the night at Artemisia's Inn. She had dinner once she paid for her stay there. For dinner, it was salad with feta cheese, a small steak, asparagus, carrots, and broccoli. Dessert was figs, fruit, and custard pie. After she ate, she walked up the wooden stairs to her room.
The next day, she got up, washed, and dressed to go downstairs to eat breakfast. She had a sweet pastry and milk. All the while, as she was minding her own business, two men were staring at her while eating their food. She sensed someone gazing at her, finished her breakfast, and walked out the door. She walked down a road with her hood up and head down. The two men carefully kept their distance from Andromeda. Andromeda took a turn and kept walking. Finally, she reached a meadow blooming with flowers. She stopped in the middle of the meadow before turning towards where she had just come from. The men were well hidden on the tree branches.
"Step out to where I can see you clearly." Andromeda challenged, dagger out and ready in front of her.
'Impossible!'
The two men stepped out into the bright sunlight. Both wore identical outfits: dark blue Japanese trousers with samurai leggings tucked in them, mesh tops underneath kimono tops. Under the sleeves they wore arm and hand guards. One wore a dark blue cloak, the other wore dark red and both had silver clasps.
"Who are you?" She asked them.
The one with the blue cloak stepped forward. "My name is Kimorino Arata. I am the older of us two. This is my younger brother, Haruki. We are ninja serving the Kurosaki Clan of Shirozakura."
Andromeda studied them for a moment. Haruki was wearing a breathable mask over his lower face. She could not detect any bad intentions.
"Tell me why you were following me."
"Our assignment as the Clan's secret shinobi, was to tail you and find out whether the rumours about are true. You were able to detect us in the trees, though we were well hidden and still. Many can't do that. Though I want to see your skills in a battle."
"Well, appreciate the compliment but I don't go looking for trouble. Trouble usually finds me." Andromeda replied.
Arata smiled slightly. "May we tag along?"
"Not like I've a choice, now, do I?"
"Not really."
"Fine, but stay out of my way."
The three set out back to the central part of the city. Andromeda led them to tailor's shop to pick up her order. She took a look at the chitons and cloak and muttered words of praise as she ran her fingers through the cloth. It was as supple as water and light as air.
"It is made of the finest and most durable material in the world, silk from Japan. It is not only durable, it will not tear and it is very light." Alexander explained.
The two ninja were looking around the shop: everything was in neat piles on the shelves. Andromeda thanked Alexander and walked out of the shop. She and the ninja walked to an area with no people. She carefully laid the clothes on the grass and pulled out a scroll. She rolled it open, placed the clothes in a neat pile on top of the scroll, and sealed them in the scroll.
"Wha~?! You know he Art of Sealing?" Haruka exclaimed.
"Yes and nindo, the Way of the Ninja, as well." Andromeda replied, rolling up the scroll and placing it back in her hip pouch on her belt.
"So, you are a ninja, like us." Arata stated.
"Not exactly. Maybe in a way, I suppose. Let's go eat lunch."
"Alright." Arata looked at her with a certain interest as she got up.
The three of them walked to a restaurant called Aphrodisios'. As they ate their food, Arata snuck glances at Andromeda as she observed people walking up and down the roads. She was absentmindedly eating her food, not noticing Arata looking at her. Later, enjoyed a peaceful walk around the bustling city and by the Argos beach. Andromeda let down her hair and let the gentle breeze caress her glimmering locks. Now that her hood and cloak was off, Arata could see her beautiful face and in the chiton that was wrapped around her, he could tell that she had a small frame.
"You two seem to be a little stuffy. Relax!" She said and laughed. It was like hearing silver bells and the sound was lovely. Andromeda kicked at the sparkling blue water and splashed some on them, getting them wet.
"Oy!" Arata and Haruka exclaimed. Andromeda merely laughed.
Arata and Haruka removed their kimono and mesh tops, shoes, and samurai leggings and ran towards the water. So, until sunset, they splashed and chased each other. Then they air dried themselves on the beach before going back to the inn. They had dinner together and went to their own rooms.
"We will be travelling into the mountains tomorrow." Andromeda told the shinobi.
"Okay." They replied.
The next morning, they set out away from the City of Silver to the mountains bordering the Youkai Realm. They travelled all day, not even stopping for lunch. At night, they stopped and found a cave to camp out in and made a medium campfire. They cooked the fish that they speared in a nearby river. Soon the delicious smell of catfish filled the cool air. They ate the fish and had fresh river water. Soon, they were talking about different things.
"Tell me your life story." Andromeda demanded.
"Uh, well, we were both born in Shirozakura, famous for its white cherry blossoms. Our mother died giving birth to Haruka, having only enough strength to name father was murdered by an assassin from the demon family who took the Kurosaki Clan's main capital, Archippos when I was eight and Haruka was six. So, the Kurosaki Clan took us in and raised us as ninja. I think it is fair to say that they are very hospitable and sensitive to other's needs. So it is only fair that we repay them as their personal protectors. We were promised immortality so that we could always serve them and their future generations."
"Oh, I see." Andromeda cocked her head to the side with interest and curiously.
"Tell us your story." Haruka said.
"Uh, I don't know." Andromeda replied.
"Please?" Arata asked.
Andromeda looked at Arata and his brother, and saw earnest curiousity. She sighed.
"Alright. I was born in the desert city of Doulikhion to a demon woman named Ayumu Hamasaki and a demon male named Athanasius. They brought me up to be strong and independent. Mother taught me martial arts and Father taught me how to use my magic. I have always dreamed of travelling to places. My favorite was Edo, Japan, on Earth. Mother would always tell me what it was like living in Edo. The stories always appealed to me. And I dreamed of going there. Now my dream will become a reality. I am currently travelling to go there and what Mother and Father saw."
When Andromeda finished, she noticed that Arata and Haruka had been sitting still throughout the story and they found it intriguing.
"Wow. So, you are a good demon, and not some human? That is interesting." Haruka said.
"Yes. I don't regret having the parents that I have. They were wonderful." Andromeda replied. "We should probably get some sleep. We'll be walking early in the morning."
They all got into their sleeping bags. Hearing the shinobis' deep rhythmic breathing, Andromeda soon fell into a deep sleep. In the morning, Andromeda got up early to cook breakfast: fish and pastries. After she cooked, she shook the boys awake. They awoke to the delicious smell of breakfast. After they ate, they packed up and continued on to the mountain path. Just before they made it to the other side of the mountain, a seemingly harmless middle aged man came acroos their path. He asked them to come to his house for a rest. When they refused and said that they were on their way to to Edo, they man became angry and brought out a sharp looking sword. He had a sneering expression as he unsheathed his sword.
"You three children shouldn't be so rude to your superiors." He said.
"Us? Rude? I thinnk you've got it twisted, mister." Andromeda shot back and grabbed one of her daggers from its sheath.
The man, though middle aged, was fast as he lunged forward towards the demon. Andromeda was barely able to dodge his sword as she wove between his attacks. Arata and Haruka made no move help her because of their shock. Andromeda ducked again and then parried the man's strike. The man, seeing how the demon trapped him in his own strike, unsheathed a dagger of his own, not as fancy as hers. He slashed at her and cut open a wound on her right side. Andromeda bit her lip from screaming in pain as she realized that it was no ordinary wound. The dagger was dipped in demon poison. Being a demon, it did not kill her but it was toxic enough that it cut down on a bit of her strength. Nevertheless, she stayed strong and held her stance. Her other unoccupied hand flew up to her wound. Blood seeped through her chiton, and she was panting a little.
"Got you, little rich girl. I'll take those daggers of yours, they're rather pretty." The man said, still sneering.
At the thought of her daggers, Andromeda unsheathed another dagger and slashed at the man, making him let go of his sword and dagger. He cried out and staggered back. Andromeda wasted no time and took up the man's sword. She walked towards him, glaring and red eyed.
"You fought well and managed to injure me, which no other person has , still no match for me." She said.
With one swing of the sword at him, she cut open a bigger wound in the man's chest and killed him. She threw it down and turned towards the shinobi.
"Gaea to Haruka and Arata." Andromeda said and waved her hand in front of said boys' faces.
They unfroze and came out of their shock. The first thing they noticed was that Andromeda was bleeding. Then they freaked out.
"Gods of Olympus! You are bleeding!" "We need to get you treated!" They exclaimed over each other.
Andromeda smiled a little weakly as she slid to the ground, her back to the cliffside. She decided not to make a fuss and let them take care of her. They cleaned the wound and bandaged her wound tightly. She then conjured what seemed to be a room in the side of the mountain. The two shinobi looked away as she changed. Andromeda changed into the male's chiton and buckled the thick leather belt that went from the middle of her chest to a little below her waist. Then, she put her leather sandals, arm guards, leg guards on and tightened them. Then she completed the outfit with the deep blue cloak she had gotten from Artemisia. She dispersed the room and stepped out.
"Let's go. We must get to the ships." She said.
At Andromeda's command, the two shinobi fell into step behind her. They walked the rest of the way without trouble. When they arrived to the port, they paid their fare and got on the passenger ship to Japan. Andromeda let down her hood and let her hair loose. It flowed in the wind like deep blue and purple water. She and her comrades rested for the night.
The next day, around noon, the ship arrived at the Japanese port. They got off and got a carriage to take them to Edo. Andromeda looked outside and watched the fields go by swiftly, her body shaking with excitement. They finally arrived to their destination. They stepped out of the carriage and in front of the gates. The carriage drove off after received payment in yen. When they passed through the gates of the great city, Andromeda gasped.
"What is it?" Arata asked, hearing her gasp.
"It is just like my mother's stories." was all Andromeda said.
Hope y'all enjoyed this piece! Please review!