((AN: It's the middle of the night and I'm dead tired so heres my fanfic finally...Now I will go to sleep.))
Hundreds of tourist flocked to the old sacred temples of Japan. People going in and out, marveling at the artwork or to document the history. The beautiful archways still standing and baring no sign of ever coming down. The temples still stood proudly as well. Though signs of age were showing.
A tanned skinned woman soon walked up the steps into the old temple, notebook in hand. She looked quite young. Perhaps early twenties, late teens. Her black hair was braided in native American styled fashioned. She seemed to keep to herself, looking at the artwork on the wall, before dotting down something in her notebook. She seemed deep into it.
"Catori? Hey I thought you'd be here." Spoke a pale woman as she came up from behind Catori. Her hair was black and her eyes were a unique hazel. Catori smiled. "Sorry Kitty, I have to get this done. The history is getting to me and I have to write this down."
"By history you mean ghost stories?" She asked, looking amused. Catori gave her a sideways smirk, before turning her dark brown eyes back to the artwork on the wall. "Of course, what else?" She said with a shrug.
"Have you felt anything today?" She asked, the question being rather odd. But it wasn't odd to Catori.
"Besides the nagging old keepers of the temple? Not really." She admitted, scratching her temples before returning to writing. Kitty looked a bit spooked. Since Catori was born, she had the ability to see spirits that nobody else could. And it was strong. "Nagging? Why are they nagging?" She asked nervously.
"They are nagging because too many people come in here everyday and are noisy and very disrespectful, they don't even bother to bow their heads before coming in." She said in a odd tone. Kitty knew she was channeling at this point. Kitty was used to it by now. Kitty was into the paranormal a bit and was always asking Catori to read or scan the area. Catori didn't mind at all.
It was the reason she came to japan after all...
"Do they know we mean no harm?" She asked her, becoming more and more curious. Catori looked up at the wall briefly, her eyes seeming to stare at it but in fact she was somewhere else. She could feel a presence before her, whispering into her ear in Japanese. It was an elderly gentleman. Others were speaking too. "Yeah, they know. But they are still annoyed. They won't hurt anyone though." She said, before writing again.
"Well thats good. I would want to get pelted by objects." Kitty laughed. Catori snickered. "Hey that rarely happens, and when it does they don't ever really hurt anyone. Don't worry so much." She said with a wave of her hand.
Kitty nodded, feeling better by that fact. And in all honestly Catori could protect her. ..
Catori soon pocketed her notebook, before smiling. "Lets check the other temples around here."
"The legend of the Yokai. There was a tale, of a boy who summoned a akuma, a demon spirit. The boy made a contract with the demon. His soul was to be taken away by the demon once their adventures was over. They would visit the Youkai, the fox demon. The youkai would provide information as to where to go next for another adventure. The Youkai has always been a source of good luck, riches and valuable information. Anyone who spots or sees the Youkai, full form or not, will receive good luck until they pass onto the afterlife." Finished the speaker in choppy English.
Catori narrowed her eyes slightly. That was quite the tale. But what was the truth to it? Her dark eyes shifted to a corner of the room, sensing a heavy presence.
In the corner where a statue wearing a kimono stood, a see through shoulder of someone was poking out from behind the statue. Catoria's eyes squinted slightly. Someone was definitely there. But they were choosing to hide. The shoulder soon disappeared from her sights. Catori blinked. Wait, it faded...That made no sense. She was able to see spirits twenty four seven. This wasn't normal. That meant the spirit was different.
She had encountered odd spirits. Fairies for example. They could fade out of sight. Human spirits could not. So this wasn't human. Question was, was it a threat?
The heavy presence was still there. Just keeping to itself.
It didn't concern her too greatly. It was just a bit eerie to find a non human spirit. If it even was a spirit...
Once the speaker was done talking, Catori took her opportunity to approach the main sitting area of the temple. Kitty followed after, able to tell something was up. Catori's eyes were becoming glazed.
Catori pulled out her notepad and began to write feverishly. She was picking up whispers. Little things. Her vision was freaking out. She was seeing flashes of when the temple was in first service. It was beautiful and unlike anything she had ever seen. This was truly a unique moment.
"What are you picking up here?" Kitty asked, looking at the notes. It was random words but she knew she would make sense of it later.
"Lot of shit. Damn. This place is insane." She said, turning her head to keep scanning. It was amazing. She could see more plants, trees, paint. Fresh paint and not the crumbling building and faded colors.
She turned her head again, hearing an increase of whispers. These weren't ghosts she was hearing, but memories. There was an imprint and it was replaying to her. Many battles happened here. Many many battles.
Kitty could tell Catori was picking up on something, something that interested her greatly. Following close behind her, Kitty asked "Hey, what are you seeing?"
"Memories. Very strong. Incredibly strong. Imprints..." She turned her head, seeing the tourist were beginning to leave, which made things easier. It was getting dark after all.
"We could try a little test of things..." She mumbled, pointing to Kitty's bag. "Still got that apple?"
Reaching into her bag, Kitty pulled out a ripe, red apple. "Yep, still got it!" She said, holding up the apple proudly.
"Set it in the bowl. Something interesting might happen. It might take a while though." She said with a grin as she stepped away from the alter and went to marvel the paintings.
"Alright," kitty replied, carefully setting the apple in the bowl. "Huh," she though to herself, "I wonder what Catori's got planned this time."
Catori tilted her head, translating a few of the random words written on the wall. It was only a matter of time...People came and went, tourists eyeing the random apple on the plate on the alter and just passing by, before leaving.
It seemed like forever, until well...
In the corner of the temple, a flick of light and a fox tail appeared briefly, in Kitties line of vision. Catori took no notice. "Hey, what-" Kitty stuttered, seeing a giant, fluffy foxtail disappear behind one of the temple walls. "Hey! Catori! Did di-did you see that?!"
Catori smiled then. She didn't have to see but she could feel it's presence. "Looks like someone is lucky for ten years. I'm surprised you saw him." She said, turning to look at her. "That's-"
Crunch.
Catori's eyes went wide. That was...
The apple.
A soft thud and the apple was rolling and spinning on the floor, one side showing a defined bite mark. Catori said nothing, her eyes wide. She had seen tiny bits taken out of the apples before but never like this.
Kitty watched as the apple rolled across the floor, stopping right in between them. A bite had been taken from it, and by the looks of it, whatever it was had very sharp teeth.
"Say, Catori...those look like...fangs," she said in a quiet voice, her fear getting caught in her throat.
Catori swallowed nervously. No spirit could physically take a bite from a solid object...That was impossible. "...They are..." She admitted, rubbing her chin. So what she was dealing with was actually a entity...Or perhaps something entirely living.
"Hey, you gonna pick that up?" Asked the keeper of the temple. So many tourist left their damned garbage on the ground it was appalling.
Catori quickly picked it up, examining the bite mark. Something definitely had sharp canines. And it went through so smoothly.
Kitty hurried over to Catori to examine the apple closer. "Hey," said kitty, reaching a finger out to touch a shiny substance left on the apple. "Whoever bit this sure left a nasty load of drool!" She said with a laugh.
Catori nodded in amusement, though she wondered if it was honestly ectoplasm. She might as well bag the apple for analyzing. The spirit wouldn't want it anymore since it fell on the floor. "So, we got us some sort of creature in the temple. Perhaps a guardian of sorts. I'll stop by later tonight...Do a solo hunt..."
"A solo hunt?" Kitty asked, "You sure you'll be okay? Whatever lives in here has sharp fangs, remember."
"...As long as I continue to bring such lovely trinkets and offerings. I don't think he would harm me." She looked thoughtful. It was most definitely a male. "You'll find out what he is tomorrow morning I think. I'll show you my notes."
"…..Alright," Kitty said, wondering if her friend will truly be safe from whatever it was she was now hunting. She hadn't seen Catori get hurt from her hunting and hoped she wouldn't get hurt still.
Catori narrowed her eyes, catching a glimpse of the fated creature slinking away coyly from the temple out into the forest. It was hard to make out, but she could see a few tails swaying in the movements. "Hes an intelligent one."
Kitty looked at Catori, seeing the determination in her eyes. "Yeah," She said, "Not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing...Coming from you."
Catori looked at her, giving a coy smile. "Depends on what he is. Perhaps hes the fated Youkai...But I've never seen one before. I'll be extra careful."
"A Youkai? Oh, that would be amazing! Here-" Kitty said, taking the small notebook from Catori. "This will bring you good luck!" Kitty doodled a small fox holding a scroll in the corner of her notes, and handed it back to Catori. "Or at least, let's pretend it will!"
Catori eyed the doodle, a smile cracking on her face. "Awww...Thank you, that's adorable. We should get back. I'm freezing." It wasn't the weather that was cold, the spirits were making her cold.
"Right," said kitty, "this place is giving me shivers too."
Soon they had returned to their hotel room. Kitty had already passed out into bed. But Catori was ready to get going. She was barely awake though. She rarely slept. The spirits kept her awake, which made her have serious bags under her eyes. But somehow she was able to keep going.
Her eyes briefly looked out the window, seeing a ghost pass by, not paying any mind to her. She blinked sleepily. So many spirits today in Japan...
Her and Kitty moved to Japan to stay for at least two months to relax. Things in America had gotten to their heads and they wanted to get away for a bit. Kitty was a rather close friend. She seemed to understand Catori's abilities and knew she was telling the truth. Kitty wasn't psychic like her, but managed to have timing with the spirits around her. Also Kitty was her rock, her stable friend who grounded her when she became overwhelmed with the spirits.
Catori's eyes turned to look at the clock. It was one o clock A.M...It was time to go.
The drive was long and tedious. It bothered her very much. So many bright lights and random whispers were heard in the car so much she had to pull over a few times, just to get a breather. So many people had been killed on these roads...
Mass genocide, murder, suicide, hysteria, depression, hanging, slicing of the throat. Slicing the arms...Stabbed...shot...Make it stop...make them SHUT UP!
Catori hit her forehead on the horn, making it honk loudly into the night. She could feel herself losing it. She was a lost human, wandering in the sea of ghosts and spirits. They were staring at her. A human who could see them?
They were all talking at once, trying to tell her how they died, telling her to please help them cross over . Telling them to find their families and tell them how much they missed their families.
I CAN'T HELP YOU! PLEASE! GO TO THE LIGHT! YOU WILL FIND YOUR ANSWERS THERE!
Catori ended up screaming into the dark, her voice muffled in the car. When would it end... The voices were killing her.
"FUCK THIS SHIT!"
She turned the keys, quickly taking off and speeding away from the spirits. She couldn't help them, for she was one person. It would take months to help them all. She couldn't waste time. She could feel she was needed At that strange shrine. Where that creature was.
Before she knew it, she had arrived near the temple. She quietly got out of her car, knowing she wasn't supposed to be here.
She pulled out her flashlight, knowing what came next. She began her long walk up the old trail, keeping the flashlight off for now. She brought her recording device, a mini camera, and her wits. She even brought a few trinkets to offer up to the creature.
She wanted a answer to what this being was. She never encountered something such as this...
This would be a full confrontation meeting. A full reading, No doubt she would be drained so much...But would she? The entity was clearly different from what she had encountered before. She wouldn't know the dangers until it happened...Catori finally turned on her flashlight, peering upwards at the old temple. Nobody was here. Thank goodness...
She began to walked up the steps, only to pause.
She kept her eyes fixated on the ground. In the corner of her vision, she saw a fox tail dart behind a temple. Someone was here. The creature was here.
Reaching into her pocket, she turned on the evp recorder. She needed to record everything. She then turned on her tiny camera that was around her neck. The light flicking on and off told her it was recording.
She then continued up the steps, until she made it inside. It was pitch dark. And a bit spooky. But honestly, Catori had seen scarier things.
With a sigh, she walked to the offering alter, and placed a coin, a orange and a box of pocky on the alter. Something like this was a great offer to spirits such as these. And the pocky was a rather cute offer to them to win their favor.
Keeping to their culture, she took a seat in front of the alter, sitting on her knees and her fingers intertwined in her lap.
"Great Youkai, I come here with only respect for you. I bring you gifts. I humbly ask for you to reveal your presence to me. My name Is Catori Hania Hototo ..." She said calmly and gently in the Japanese language. She had to be respectful in times like these. If only she wore her kimono...
Catori lifted her head, seeing flashes of the creature appearing and disappearing in front of her, as though playing with her or being coy.
Catori gave no response, knowing the creature would choose to appear. To her delight though, she watched as the offerings in front of her moved slightly. A clawed hand appeared. It was gong for the pocky. But to her surprise, it was doing like any normal person would, open the back, pull out the pocky stick...
CRUNCH.
Her eyes slightly widened as half the pocky disappeared into whatever just ate it. A drop of drool plopped onto the floor near her hands, the sound loud and sickening to her ears.
A chill went down her back as she heard a fated laugh.
Hii hii hii~
To her shock and delight he soon appeared. But what he was, was entirely unexpected. He soon appeared into her line of vision. His feet first appearing, and soon his torso. And then his face. But the last to appear was something she had never seen before.
Fox ears and a several fox tails appeared, swaying and twitching behind him. His bore long silver hair that was beautiful and silky. He had a braid on his left side and his fringe was carefully covering his eyes. Catori's eyes widened slightly. She had never seen a spirit such as this. So she did see tails. He was indeed a Youkai. A fox demon.
No, not demon.
He was wearing a original kimono attire, very traditional, very respected. He seem to have a odd air about him. He also has a rather unusual scar across his face, giving clue he must have suffered a fight or sort. It was odd, spirits didn't usually had scars...
He puled out another pocky stick, revealing long fangs, before munching away on the stick, crumbs getting onto his chin."Well now...You can see me...it's not everyday a Native American Shaman wanders into my temple..." Spoke the creature, it's many tails swaying lazily. It bore a rather coy smile. So it was a coy spirit then. Youkai were not intentionally evil but were rather mischief makers when they wanted to be. At least that was the stories told...
"I wouldn't call myself a shaman. But rather someone who walks with the spirits." She replied plainly, not exactly startled to find a rare spirit. The Youkai swayed it's head softly, seeming to be off in it's own world.
"Same thing, my dear. You humans like to separate things into branches when it all falls under the same root." He said, shrugging his shoulders and twitching his ear to the side. He looked rather adorable but Catori could sense the strength under all that coyness. He was not to be taken lightly and she knew this.
"True, you have a point." She was honest, and never would fight with a spirit. Indeed humans were a nuisance. And she never disrespected a spirit. Spirits were wise, strong, and knew more then the living. She knew better.
"Did you come to have a chat with me? You are quite lucky to have found me. A youkai such as me is a rarity, humans expect to find riches or gold when finding me..." He tapped his chin with a clawed hand, as though thinking of past memories. Perhaps she wasn't the first.
Catori's eyes looked to the ground. She wasn't exactly sure what she wanted exactly. But she knew what she didn't want. Riches weren't her thing...She only wanted to seek a youkai. Since they were a rarity and not completely known to the world.
"Riches is not what I want...But rather, company..." She admitted. "I have never met a Youkai and honestly wish to know more about your kind...A documentation if you will." She said with seriousness. She honesty had no clue about these creatures. Only their habits. And she hoped she wasn't coming off as disrespectful or rude.
The Youkai perked slightly, his ears turning to face her. He seemed rather perplexed at her request. Perhaps nobody ever wanted to learn something from him? Perhaps he never encountered someone who didn't want riches? "You are...rather unusual for a human, my dear." He said softly.
Catori sweatdropped a bit. He wasn't the first to say that. "I get that a lot honestly. But seriously, all I seek is personal knowledge. I document my encounters and put them into books."
The spirit perked again, still surprised. She must have been highly unusual for this spirit. "A spirit Scholar then...How interesting...a Loner...How very rare. Very much like myself." He said with a small smirk.
Catori could feel his energy shifting, as though contemplating something. Was he trying to scan her? Most spirits had the ability to scan a persons entire being, to understand them or to seek their thoughts. However Catori's mind was completely shut. It wasn't her fault however. He could simply ask her what he wanted and she would answer.
"You came into my temple, giving me such lovely trinkets and offerings I have not received in such a long while." He went on to say, his fingers tapping his knee. His tails swayed back and forth rhythmically. Catori could feel the power in those many tails. "You came with respect and honor. Yet carry sass, amusement... You only seek knowledge and nothing of riches or gold. And for that...Your wish is granted." He said with a coy smile. His tails suddenly splayed out, the tips suddenly giving off a blue glow. His hidden eyes were glowing a bright yellow green under his hair as well. He appeared a bit...dark.
Catori said nothing, unsure or whether to honestly speak or not. The blue whips coming off his tails almost concerned her. She could feel the energy reverberate through her and through the temple. He wasn't harming her. He didn't seem he would. But he was coy. She had to be on alert for any tricks. Even if he tricked her, she couldn't get angry. She had to expect to be tricked.
"Come back tomorrow...And bring your books with you. I wish to know of your tales and adventures." He said softly, that wide grin appearing on his face again. Catori looked surprised. Why tomorrow though? She didn't want to anger him. Maybe he was spent. Perhaps he casted a spell and it drained him. She would have to bring him something for that in the afternoon.
"...Arigato..." She said gratefully, bowing her head in respect. The youkai decided to just nod his head in return, seeming to not give into the Japanese culture all that much. Well, the fact he didn't look Japanese...
"And...dear Catori..." Said the specter suddenly, earning a look from her. It honestly made her weary he said her name.
"Speak to me in English next time. Your Japanese is a bit off." He said with a amused smirk, his hidden eyes now showing but they were closed, his tongue sticking out. He was speaking in English now, his voice showing no accent.
Catori irked softly, her eyes wide. She had fucked up her Japanese this entire time?! That son of a bitch, he didn't say anything this whole time? The Youkai then let out a amused giggle, heaving his body forward. He had his fill of entertainment for today.
"O-One last thing...J-just one more...Heehee~" He added, though Catori was still a bit miffed. She tilted her head. "Yes?" She asked.
"My name...which you may refer to me as...Is Undertaker." He said as he faded into the astral.
Catori was confused at this point. Why would he have a English name for himself? That was highly unusual. Perhaps he translated himself for her? Why would he tell her that name? Oddly...he reminded her of something, but she couldn't place it.
She let out a sigh, before gathering her things and beginning her long walk back to society, leaving her psychic abilities behind and coming back to a world which she deemed unusual.
The Youkai watched her go, his many tails swaying lazily. It had been a while since someone appeared to give offerings or even say hello. This was such a treat. He wished to see more of this human, perhaps introduce her to a few...acquaintances...
He gave her his fated name because she was a unusual human, and his name was a rather charm like protection for her. She was intelligent, and possibly would never tell her friends his name. But he wouldn't know until she called his name. He reached out, taking the box of pocky. He nibbled contently on the sticks, finding them tasty and he wished for more. Luckily tourists had them in their pockets so often.
She would come back tomorrow, and have a nice long chat with him. And hopefully bring more delicious treats.
((AN: Be real nice and leave a comment?))
