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A forewarning, the pairings: Wave x Run, Chelsea x Akame, Sheele x Mine, Tatsumi x Bulat (sort of), and maybe Seryuu x Esdeath.
Tatsumi
The cool spring breeze blew throughout the mountain, slightly stirring the cherry blossoms that rested their somnolent petals on the ground. The full moon hung above like a weary sentinel.
Here is full of yokai* and spirits. They mingle occasionally, but generally keep their distance from one another. It was here, on this mountain that they met; the two spirits who had never dreamed of loving finally met the one they would treasure, and as sparks fly, the humans try to conquer the forest.
We spirits will make them bow down and leave with their heads bowed low. We are the yokai. Welcome to our world.
At least, that is what the boss says. I don't mind. My name is Tatsumi, and I am a Jibakurei*, a spirit that protects a certain place. My place is the entrance to the village at the base of this mountain. I can see people come and go. Sometimes they notice me. Sometimes not.
Once, almost a decade ago, I met a boy who could see me.
The warm summer air stirred the dust on the road, making the men loading a caravan in front of me stop and cough for a second before moving on. This breeze blew through me as I sat next to the stone arch that marks the village entrance.
He was surprisingly grown for a boy, but still a bit short. He had black hair, and blue eyes that still sparkled with the innocence that had not seen blood, had not seen war, and had not been tainted.
I wish he could stay that way.
As he passed me, heading for the gate after getting off of his own caravan, our eyes met for a moment, and I smiled sadly. He held the arm of a man, as children do, presumably his father. I recognized the man as General Liver, someone working with the empire a long ways away.
No, that boy's innocence would not last long at all.
"Father," The boy spoke, pulling on Liver's arm. "Father, who is that man standing by the gate?"
Liver looked right past me. "There is no man by the gate. You must be daydreaming. Snap out of it." Liver pulled him along. As they neared the gate, I whispered;
"… It's been a long time since someone could see me standing here." I said softly. "Don't worry, I won't hurt you. I am only a Jibakurei."
The boy smiled. "I'm Bulat. What's your name? Why do you stand there?"
"My name is Tatsumi. I guard this village."
"Why do you guard it?"
"I lived here, long ago. My friends and family died, so I am the only one left who remembers the days when yokai roamed this village freely."
"Yokai?" He murmured, taking a step closer.
"Yokai." I said in agreement.
A huge cloud of dust blew through, hiding each other from view behind a transparent wall. When it cleared, I was gone, vanished like a whisper in the wind.
"Tatsumi." A voice startles me out of memories.
"Chelsea." I nod to the Obake* girl.
She is much younger than me, with long orange-red hair and eyes, and a mischievous smile, she loves pulling pranks. She also loves transforming into a little girl so that she can steal sweets from the shop in town.
"What's up Tatsumi? Everything fine?" Another voice speaks. Out of an old katana Chelsea holds in her left hand, a swirl of smoke flows out and shapes itself into a girl. She has hip length black hair, red eyes and a blank smile.
"Akame." I smile at the tsukumogami* of the legendary 'One Hit Kill' Murasame blade.
"Yes, everything is fine." I tell her, still thinking of the boy. Suddenly, a powerful gust of wind blows, bringing with it the song of a yosuzume*.
"Chi, chi, chi.*" The song went. "Chi, chi, chi.*"
"The Okuri-inu* is near."
I nod. "Indeed it is, but it will only follow travelers. It will not harm other yokai such as ourselves."
We stand there for a while before the two girls bid me good day. "Bye Tatsumi!" A wave of a transparent hand. "See you later." A swirl of smoke.
I watch them leave, silently.
*ようかい (Yokai) : Japanese Demons.
じばくれい (Jibakurei) : A spirit that protects a certain place.
おばけ (Obake) : A shapeshifting spirit. Also refers to a regular ghost.
つくもがみ (Tsukumogami) : An at least 100 years old inanimate object that has developed its own consciousness.
よすずめ (Yosuzume) : A bird yokai that comes out during the night and evening, it's cry is said to foretell the coming of an Okuri-inu.
"ち、ち、ち。" ("Chi, chi, chi.") : The sound a yosuzume makes.
おっくりーいぬ (Okkuri-inu) : A spirit dog similar to the black dog in English folktales. It follows travelers and attacks them if they trip.
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