The seagulls called out to each other as I lay on the grass near the cliff side. It was quite a secluded area so I did not have to worry about any one discovering me, or my unique features. Beside me laid a porcelain mask of a fox with intricate designs painted on it. My black robe was chafing against my skin as I reached underneath my shirt and pulled out the magatama that was given to me by my friend so long ago. But despite the passage of time it seemed to me that that day was only yesterday.
(Flashback Start)
"Aka its time" Ryu whispered from the other side of the room divider.
"I'm coming" I replied carefully rising to my feet trying not to disturb the table where the three sacred treasures laid. I always enjoyed learning about the true history of the world and these three relics were items that were created long before the Void Era. Silently I slid the screen door open to meet Ryu outside the shrine.
"Akakakushi-sama" a weathered voice called out. Ryu and I turned to face the elderly speaker.
"Elder Kiseki it is an honor to meet you" I slightly bowed. "Is there something that I can help you with?"
"The Council of Nine is ready to see you, milady"
"Thank you for alerting me I'll arrive shortly. Now come Ryu," I said turning to my childhood friend and confidant. "We mustn't keep the Great Nine waiting any longer."
"Yes milady" Ryu replied leading me to the council cambers deep within the Akuma-yō Jihi Palace.
"Akakakushi, daughter of Kurama step forward"
I silently took a breath before entering the council cambers and come face to face with nine of the most powerful and wisest youkai on Youkai Island. Entering the room I was quickly stifled by the strong youki that these ancient beings were passively releasing.
"Fox child we will not ask again now step forward," growled the shadowy form of a tanuki. Not wanting to anger these beings I hastily moved forward.
"Akakakushi, daughter of Kurama" the shadowy figure of a small badger began.
"It is time that you have had your coming to age ceremony. As you know each Youkai must partake in their coming to age ceremony unless they be stripped of their powers and intellect and left as nothing more than a bloodthirsty beasts. Akakakushi, you who are heir to the Kitsune clan must undergo your coming to age ceremony immediately."
"Due to your lineage" the Weasel's shadow spoke "your coming to age ceremony will be much harder and grueling than any normal youkai's."
The shadow of a great horned shark continued next, "It will be your duty to travel all the oceans of this world and document your journey. The difficult part this journey will be that you cannot reveal your status of yokai to the outside world. Those outside of this island look down on our kind, before we found this island we were hunted down and killed by those who suffered at the hands of our shamed kin."
I recalled my past history lessons on the fall of youkai. If I revealed to the outside world that youkai still existed then nothing would stop the genocide of my people.
"How will I disguise myself from the outsiders Great Lords? I could use my illusions to hide my ears and tail but if this journey is as long as I have perceived it to be then I will quickly tire from holding the illusion and would not have the strength to protect myself from the outsiders."
"Do not worry child," the soft voice of a feline answered. "We will provide you with a cloak and mask to hide your identity"
"I will sew my illusion seals within the cloak and mask so that as long as you wear at least one of them your features that mark you as a kitsune youkai will not be noticed" the gruff voice of a dog supplemented.
"And even if one of those pathetic outsiders do see your defining features I will give you some of my most deadliest poison that you can use against them" crowed the shadow of a rooster.
"Most deadliest poison" hissed the eighth shadow. "Your poison barely even worked against Shukaku during the great wars. Besides why are we even aiding this child with her test? If she cannot complete it on her own then she should just perish. The weak do not deserve to live after all."
"Silence" growled the ninth voice. "You of all beings know of the evil that can possesses mankind's hearts and what such evil can bring upon us if she fails and reveals the location of this island."
"But of course my King, I just did not want to be accused of favoritism after all"
"More like you would hope that the king's legacy would fail her test and disgrace his majesty through her failure" supplied the tanuki.
"Oh Shukaku, if I didn't know better I would say you would like a rematch against me and my summoned spirits." The tanuki softly growled at the evil snake
"Enough" roared a giant fox. The camber became deathly silent at the King's command. "Yamata no Orochi, Shukaku, the wars are over. As according to the oath we took when founding this island none of the nine will attack each other. Put aside your petty differences and let us focus on the matter at hand, understood."
"Yes milord" they both answered.
"Now on to business, Akakakushi your coming of age ceremony will consist of you traveling out into the outsider's world and documenting all you have witnessed. You will sail the seven seas: North, South, East, and West Blue along with the rest of Grandline and its two Calm Belts. My advice for you is to start with the Calm Belts, as they are the hardest to travel through normal means. Also avoid the Marines. They have banned the knowledge of the Void Era from their own kind and if they discover that you know this knowledge they will hunt you down and not only kill you but eradicate the island from which you hail from. Do you understand?"
"Yes milord" I replied.
"Isonade will provide you with transportation through the Calm Belts but afterwards you are on your own" growled the fox. "Now return to the Inari Shrine and prepare for your journey. The moment the sun rises you will begin your journey."
"Understood milord" I bowed before leaving the chambers. Ryu was waiting for me at the entrance to the Akuma-yō Jihi Palace.
"So what did the old hags and bastards want from you?"
"RYU," I shouted slapping him playfully.
"Oi, watch it will ya. But seriously Aka, what did they want?"
"It was about my coming of age ceremony," I answered.
"Okay, no big deal so what do you have to do? When I did it I had to find and eat some rare crappy flower that blooms on the top of the mountain" Ryu reminisces. "Of course that's dangerous in its self because the mountain is Sokou's domain and you never know what poisons he has up there. I swear he gave me a heart attack. One moment he says that this leaf was the thing I was looking for then he is apologizing saying that it was a tomato leaf. At first I didn't see what was so bad about that. Bad, bad doesn't even describe the horror. Did you know?" He asked turning to me "that tomato leaves have the same properties as nightshade? NIGHTSHADE!" He yelled throwing up his arms. "He basically told me that I ate nightshade! Then I find out later that he was screwing with me and it was only a normal leaf from a flower, the crazy old bird."
I just stood there watching until Ryu until he stopped ranting and his face returned to its normal color. "Are done with your mental breakdown," I asked, hiding my smile behind my hand.
He sighed slumping forward. "Yes Aka, I'm done."
"Alright, my test isn't as terrifying" I giggled at his glare. "But it is long, I could very well be gone for years."
"That long" he asked surprised. "I've heard that sometimes youkai are assigned longer tests, but majority of those who are assigned those types of tests fail. Is your dad trying to make you fail?"
"Not my dad as so much as certain members of the council"
"Yamata no Orochi" he asked.
"Exactly"
"Damn it" he hissed, "Oji-san is being an idiot again."
"His words were, if she cannot complete it on her own then she should just perish. The weak do not deserve to live after all." I answered in my best impression of the eight-tailed snake.
"Bastard" Ryu bit out.
"True, but you shouldn't hate you uncle."
"I know I know but its hard not to. Anyways when are you supposed to leave" Ryu questioned, quickly changing the subject.
"At sunrise, doesn't give me enough time to pack much does it?"
"No it doesn't. I better let you go so you can get packed but before you leave come visit me, I have something to give you okay."
"Alright Ryu, I promise I'll stop by. I'll see you the first thing in the morning, good night." Passing under the torii gates before the Inari Shrine I walk back to my small room and quickly pack the things that will be necessary on my journey before going to bed.
The decedents of Sokou cried out early before the break of dawn. I glanced one more time at my home before hefting my pack across my shoulders and passing under the Inari Shrine tori gates. Silently I walked down the quiet market street, later passing other sacred places such as the Ryoanji Temple, the Kofukuji Temple, and the ever famous Ise Shrine whose forests protects and shelters us from the elements that constantly assault the island and surrounding ocean.
Upon reaching the west coast I looked up at the Saiji, sister to the Toji which guards the east coast while the north and south are protected by the sea cliffs. By the shore a giant Sea King waits to transport me through the Calm Belts.
"Aka" I heard my name cried.
Turning around I spot Ryu haphazardly running down the steep hill before tripping on his own tail and rolling the rest of the way.
"Aka" he cried once more. "Before you leave I have something to give to you" he stated before rummaging through his knapsack. "Ah, here it is" He grinned pulling out the small object.
I was stunned with his offering. At first I thought it was going to be something useless like jewelry or something, instead he pulls out a magatama. It wasn't just any ordinary magatama though, it was the Yasakani no Magatama one of the three sacred treasures.
"W-why are you giving this to me, you know how important this is" I almost screamed at him, almost.
"Well I know how obsessed you are with the sacred treasures," he said cutting off my indignant squawk.
"I couldn't give you the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi because not only do you not know how to wield an epic sword like that, let alone any sword, I doubt that Uncle would be thrilled that you had the sword that was forcefully taken out of his body by Lord Susanoo." I grimaced at the thought of that.
"And there is no way you would be able to carry the Yata no Kagami, that mirror is just way too big despite its usefulness." I had to agree with Ryu despite the fact that the Yata no Kagami reflects the truth of every object and person it sees I doubt I wanted to carry a solid metal mirror that was eight hands wide.
"That only left the Yasakani no Magatama, not only is it easy for you to carry and hide, with its status as the lesser treasure people wont make a big deal out of it missing, besides just replace it with another magatama and no one will notice the difference."
"Not notice the difference," I asked in disbelief. "Ryu" I hissed. "The Yasakani no Magatama is not only one of the few surviving jewels that Lady Tamanoya no Mikoto created. Not only that this particular magatama which is infused with great spiritual powers, was worn by what the ningen and youkai called at the time the Kono Yo no Kyuseishu when he defeated and sealed the Great Jubii."
"Okay, okay so the gem is a little bit important" he waved off.
"A little bit" I hissed.
"Okay, okay so a lot. But what good is it gonna do here, hmm. All its gonna do is gather dust sitting on that stupid table. I'd rather it be put to good use. Besides you don't know what you'll encounter out there. I'd feel better if you at least had one sacred item from one of the temples to help you out."
"I understand carrying a item blessed with sacred power would help me while on my journey, but one of the sacred treasures" I whispered.
"Nothing but the best for my Aka" he replied.
"Jerk" I muttered.
"Now you better get going. Jishin, if I remember his name correctly is probably already getting impatient with you."
"Alright, alright already I'm going" I replied hiding the strung magatama beneath my clothes. Jumping onto Jishin's back I turned to Ryu. "Try not to burn down the forest while I'm gone okay."
"Hey that only happened once and it was only several young trees not the whole forest," he shouted while Jishin began to head out.
"I'll see you in several years" I shouted before becoming swallowed by the fierce storms that surrounded the island
(Flashback End)
That was several years ago indeed. I've already sailed both of the Calm Belts as well as West Blue, North Blue, and South Blue. I have currently found myself on a small little island out in the middle of East Blue. I need to find myself a ship that is heading out for not only the Grand line but also the New World, and then I'll finally be able to go home.
Author Notes / Definitions.
Magatama: curved, comma-shaped beads that appear in prehistoric Japan from the final Jomon period through the Kofun period. These beads are often described as jewels and were made of primitive stone and earthen materials in the early period, but by the end of the Kofun period they were made almost exclusively of jade. Originally they served as jewelry but later became ceremonial and religious objects.
The Three Sacred Treasures: Also known as the Imperial Regalia of Japan. Currently the Yasakani no Magatama is stored at the Kashiko-dokoro. The Yata no Kagami is said to be housed in the Ise Shrine, although no one can verify this. And the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi originally named the Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi was lost when the Taira clan threw both the mirror and sword into the Kanmon Straits.
The Council of Nine: My take on the nine Bijuu of the Japanese Bijuu Legends. There is
Shukaku the Tanuki (Ichibi)
Nekomata the Neko (Nibi)
Isonade the Horned Shark (Sanbi)
Sokou the Rooster (Yonbi)
Houkou the Dog (Gobi)
Raijuu the Weasel (Rokubi)
Kaku the Badger (Shichibi)
Yamata no Orochi the snake (Hachibi)
Kyuubi no Yoko or Kurama the Fox (Kyuubi)
Youkai: Supernatural monsters in Japanese folklore. Often these creatures possess animal features. In this story however I am using the term youkai as a replacement for demon.
Youki: The powers of a supernatural being. In this story I am translating it as demonic powers.
Akuma-yō Jihi Palace: Originally called Akuma Tame Jihi, its translation is supposed to mean Mercy for Demon. If this translation is incorrect blame Google translate, not me.
Yes it is true; tomato leaves have the same properties as nightshade.
Oji-san: Translation for Uncle, if incorrect then blame Google translates instead of me.
Torri gates: Traditional Japanese gate most commonly found at the entrance of or within a Shinto shrine, where it symbolically marks the transition from the profane to the sacred.
Inari Shrine: Shrine dedicated to the god of rice, success and prosperity. Kitsune or foxes are said to be the messengers of Inari.
Ryoanji: Peaceful Dragon Temple. In reality it is located in northwest Kyoto, Japan.
Kofukuji: One of the "Four Great Temples" of the Nara period. Is actually located in Nara, Japan.
Ise Shrine: Also known as the Grand Shrine of Ise. The shrine has long been sacred, due to its forests of sacred cypress trees. The actual shrine is located in the city of Ise in southern Honshu, Japan.
Saiji and Toji: Toji means Eastern Temple. It was established by imperial edict in 796 AD and named Kyo-o-gokoku-ji; Toji was built to guard the city it resided in. It is more commonly known as Toji because it once has a partner called Saiji or Western Temple. Toji currently resides in the city center of Kyoto, Japan.
Susanoo: the god of storms and brother to Amaterasu, the goddess of the sun, and Tsukuyomi, the goddess of the moon. Susanoo defeated the Yamata no Orochi through trickery. With the Yamata no Orochi dead Susanoo cut each of his heads and tails. While cutting his tails Susanoo discovered the Ame no Murakumo no Tsurugi in its body. In my story however the eight-tailed bijuu did not die and later escaped from Susanoo before the god could kill him. Yamata no Orochi took the sword later from one of Susanoo's descendants.
Tamanoya no Mikoto: The jewel making deity in Japanese mythology. This deity remains the god of magatama, glasses, and cameras. Is also known as Ame no Futodama no mikoto
Kono Yo no Kyuseishu: Translation - Savior of this World. This is another title that the Sage of Six Paths, or Rikudo Sennin, received in the story of Naruto. Yes this story will have elements of Naruto in it although it shouldn't have many if any of the characters in it.
Akakakushi: Means Hidden Red. I named this character after Shikata Akiko's opening song for the game Akaya Akashiya Ayakashino also known as AkaAka, which is where I got Akakakushi's nickname Aka.