In this world, there are many tales, both ancient and new. Those that are spun in the years of the modern times are quint and humble compared to the tales of the past-which have grand extravagance to them. The tale that I weave out for you, young knowledge seeker, is quite possibly the grandest of them all. I do hope you will pay close attention, for this tale holds much excitement and tragedy.
It started long, long ago in a tiny hamlet known as Kamiki, laid nestled in a grove of proud and noble cherry blossoms. Each, and every, tree around the quiet burg was revered as a god. However, this village was not without its dark secrets. For you see, to sedate the ravenous hunger of Orochi, a fearsome cave dwelling beast, a young maiden was offered as a sacrifice, at the annual festival. With a body like a mountain and eight heads mounted on necks; the size of tree trunks, its blood red eyes, alone, were said to curse anyone who gazed upon them. No one dared disobeyed the horrific beast.
Upon the nearing of the night that a sacrifice was meant to be made, a strange figured appeared standing on a cliff top just above the village. It looked to be a woman, a mysterious maiden. The maiden, for the most part, stayed in that one spot; keeping a watchful eye on the village. Unless someone left the village and when she patrolled the streets at night. Those who managed to see the maiden were almost bewitched by her divine, near godly beauty. Her body was well endowed, anyone who laid eyes upon her could confirm. Her eyes were fairly large and round with luscious eye lashes that complemented her reddish orange irises. Her legs were long and slender, as too were her arms, her hands were dainty and each finger looked very long, she had "baby birthing hips" as some called it, bubblegum pink lips, skin as white, fair, and flawless as the snow, a pair of wolf ears with snow white fur, and a well endowed large chest. But, what captivated the villagers the most was her kimono and her hair.
Her hair was long, going down to about the middle of her calf, and looked very wavy. It was as white as snow with darker and and it looked to be silky soft. The style her hair looked to be in was almost like brush heads; with different levels of dark ink-black colorings as it went down, with two brush head-like twirled bangs resting on her small, narrow shoulders and a brush head/ice cream swirl-like; with twin swirls, to the back of her hair. Then her Kimono-which only made the woman more beautiful-that stood out against any kind of background.
It had four colors. A white colored base with orangish red and light reddish pink with light gray colored swirl detail ; on the inside of the kimono. The front of the Kimono had: sleeves; which connected underneath the underarm to reveal the shoulders, that went far past her hands and had a reddish pink lining on the top and bottom with a large reddish orange swirl going down the length of both sleeves and an M-cut; not a fold, with a white meets reddish pink lining at the top. It revealed a very slight amount of her cleavage, but it retained much modesty. Underneath the chest area was a reddish pink ribbon wrapped around into a large bow in the back, this actually made it look like the Kimono was simply two pieces sewn together and were held in place with that ribbon. The Kimono came down to a sort of upside down V cut that, like the M cut, was not a folding and had the same kind of white meets reddish pink lining.
Then, at the back, the Kimono was a bit more plain. It had a much more rounded V cut that came from where the M cut was; this was as well not a fold, and came down to a pinched back flare bottom; twice at the sides and once in the middle. Then, finally, to finish it all off, her legs and feet were covered with thigh high reddish pink silk stockings that opened up at the heel and the start of her toes.
Because of how brilliantly white her skin, hair, and clothing was, the villagers dubbed this woman Shiranui. But, because of her unexplainable beauty, actions, and the wolf-like ears on her head-in place of human ears-they assumed she was a familiar or a witch of Orochi...
There was, however, one villager that took it upon himself to face this beautiful, yet mysterious maiden. This villager, this warrior, was named Nagi, and he had attempted many times to challenge the maiden. But, his attempts were thwarted by the deceptive maiden, for her movements were swift, graceful, elegant, and her deceptive brute strength. A single punch from the woman nearly shattered an enter bone and a single toss could send the enormous warrior flying fifteen feet away. Truly, this maiden was a cunning and tricky adversary that could possibly never be bested.
Before long, the night of the accursed festival had arrived. A white plumed arrow heralded the coming sacrifice. Piercing the sky, the arrow sunk its shaft squarely into the home of Nami, the village's most beautiful maiden. Nagi, harboring a secret love for Nami, was enraged by this sign. Determined to put an end to Orochi once and for all, Nagi traveled to the beast's cave in place of his beloved.
The Moon Cave, a place as dark as evil itself, served as Orochi's home. As Nagi stood bravely before the entrance, a beast appeared; eyes glowing crimson upon eight thrashing necks. Orochi stood tall before him, anxious for another sacrifice. Nagileapt with incredible grace, swinging his blade valiantly. On and on he sliced, well into the moonless night, but Orochi's hide was like steel-the blade left nary a scratch. At long last, Nagi, his energy spent from the intense battle, dropped to his knees fatigued; gasping for breathe. He knew he was staring death in the face.
It was then that the enchanting maiden appeared, jumping down from some over head drop off of the cave. As if to protectNagi, she stood her ground before Orochi. In the darkness of the cave, her far skin and white hair shone brilliantly. Alas, it wasShiranui, the maiden that dwelled outside the village. The maiden bared her teeth and producing a low growl like a wolf; revealing the several wolf-like teeth she had, she leapt towardsOrochi with clenched fists and murder in her eyes. Orochi reared its terrible heads, readying its fangs for battle. The beast and maiden struggled wildly, thrashing about in the darkness.
Mysterious and terrifying, the spectacle continued. When the monstrous serpent breathed columns of mighty fire, Shiranuicountered by summoning gusts of divine wind with ink soaked fingers and graceful strokes of her fingers and when Orochi closed in on Shiranui, fingers dripping and glistening with darker than dark black ink-a gigantic tree suddenly sprouted forth to shield the maiden. Shiranui fought gallantly to gain the upper hand, however. Orochi; protected by a mystical power, was not easily bested.
Shiranui: skin painted with crimson blood and various gashes and battle wounds, lips cut and bruised, Kimono torn asunder into insignificant scrapes of cloth, majestic hair dyed scarlet red, and weary demeanor, unstably stood exhausted before the mighty Orochi. To see once a maiden with godly beauty reduced to such a sight, it was heart breaking. Orochi saw a chance to strike what would be the finally blow against the bloodied and dying maiden, but Shiranui refused to give in, and, with her last ounce of strength, the majestic and bloodied maiden looked heavenward and unleashed a melodiously elegant melody; which sounded oddly like a wolf's howl. Suddenly, the black clouds overhead dissipated, and the light-from the moon-glinted offNagi's sword as a beacon of hope.
Guided by his sword, Nagi; who had been taking shelter in the shadows, stood proudly to face his adversary. Channeling all his strength into his scarred and battered arms, he leapt ferociously toward Orochi; his sword poised high. The golden sword in his hands danced like a puppet on a string. One by one, Orochi's fearsome heads separated from their owner. Then, finally, with one last slash, the last head fel along with Orochi's broken body into a lake of its own blood and in that instant, the curse that had plagued the villager's for so long had been lifted. As the battle subsided, the sun once again shone in the sky; albeit slightly dimmer than normal.
As Nagi was about to celebrate the triumphant victory, he took note of the state Shiranui was in. The fair maiden; lying on the ground, had succumbed to Orochi's poison and struggled to breathe. Scooping up and covering the maiden in his arms, Nagireturned to Kamiki. When they reached the village, Shiranui was no longer moving. She was placed on the ground in front of a guardian sapling, sprawled out in a snow-angel style. With the villagers all gathered around the maiden, the village elder reached out and took the maiden's right hand; gently stroking the back of it. He uttered countless apologizes to the maiden upon the entire village's behalf, for assuming her Orochi's witch and servant.
Shiranui did not respond with words, for she had little to no energy or breathe to even speak. She replied with her hands, using the last big of ink that soaked her fingers to write the words, "Never did I get angry, peace for this village and world is all I desired" into the air. The words stayed there, for a few seconds, before the maiden's beautiful and elegant eyes closed shut as if drifting off into a deep slumber.
At the cost of the beautiful and godly maiden's life, peace was finally returned to the village. In honor of Shiranui's heroic exploits, the village erected a shrine and placed a statue of the maiden when she was last seen; right before her fight, within it.
Nagi's sword was christened "Tsuykuomi" and palced inside the moon cave. The villagers all looked forward to an age of endless peace...
However... this is not the end to the story, for there is much more to this tale than most people know.