Crystalline Sanguine Saga
Chapter 1
"Obaasan!" Emiko came to Shizu on the day of her eighteenth birthday. "I want to try something new with my hair, will you help me to pull it off?" She already had two, smallish braids made out of her long, lilac hair adorned with red beads at the ends.
"And what kind of new style would that be?" Shizu smiled, carefully placing some herbs up to hang dry. Her own hair, once raven black, had turned gray with age.
"I would like some looped braids!" Emiko announced to her grandmother, preparing to sit on the wooden floor of their home so that Shizu could access her hair. Before she could, the older woman stopped her.
"Let's go outside where there's better lighting." Shizu told her.
The two relatives sat on a dried out hunk of driftwood not far from their home on the outskirts of the village. "You're finally a woman." Shizu told her granddaughter as she finished making a looped braid on either side of the young adult's head.
"Thank you, Obaasan." Emiko thanked her grandmother, and moved to get up.
Shizu stopped her once more. "You're not ready just yet." The older woman reached into her sleeve, pulling out what appeared to be a small scallop shell. Upon opening it, one could see that it contained several dallops of red lipstick.
Shizu carefully took some of the lipstick onto the pad of her index finger, applying it to her granddaughter's bare lips. After a moment, she pulled away and smiled. "There." She opened up Emiko's hand and placed the scallop shell inside. "This is for you to keep." She closed Emiko's fingers over it, causing the shell itself to close, as well.
Emiko smiled up at her grandmother with her ruby painted lips. "Thank you, Obaasan.. For everything."
The moment was ruined when Emiko's pointed ears perked up at the sound of someone approaching hastily from behind. Shizu peered around her granddaughter to see one of the men from the village running towards them in a hurry.
"Get Shiori!" The man cried out as he neared the women. "We need her help!"
Shizu stood up from the driftwood, putting her hands on her hips angrily. "And why should I beckon her for you? The villagers have never treated my daughter that well, you especially!"
"Please, Shizu!" The villager got down on his knees, begging the two women. "..A yokai's attacking the village! Shiori is the closest source of power that could possibly fend it off!"
"Hmmph!" Emiko rose to her feet, putting her hands on her hips just like her grandmother. "..So you come running to us as soon as those of us with yokai blood prove useful, huh? Well, my mother is away right now gathering food, so you'll just have to beg me for my help, instead!" The girl gazed down at the human villager with a smirk, pointing a thumb at herself.
"Emiko!" Shizu exclaimed.
"Please, I'll do whatever you want!" The man begged, groveling at the hanpa's feet. "Just save the village, I'm begging you!"
Emiko scoffed smugly, sprouting black and purple bat wings from in between her shoulder blades. "Obaasan, please stay here with this pathetic man. I need to teach this yokai a lesson.." The hanpa crouched down a bit before pushing off from the powdery sand of the beach, taking flight towards the village.
"Emiko!" Shizu called out after her granddaughter before lowering her head and whispering, "Please be careful.."
As Emiko soared closer to the village, she could see a gigantic, black worm yokai diving head first into the wooden shack homes of the villagers, destroying them with ease.
"Pretty ugly thing, isn't it?" The young woman said to no one in particular before taking in a deep breath in preparation to use a sonic blast attack.
Emiko let her breath go, a sonic blast firing from her mouth that manifested visually as a single file line of rings being projected down towards the worm yokai.
A plume of dust billowed up from the ground as the sonic blast made impact, causing nearby villagers to cry out and flee the scene. As the dust cloud parted, Emiko could see that a large crater was left in the ground with the corpse of the worm yokai at the bottom.
Emiko lowered herself to the ground, wiping her hands off on each other despite the fact that she hadn't even gotten them dirty. As she did so, angry villagers arose from their hiding places.
"Great, the worm yokai is dead, but the hanpa has destroyed half the village in the process!" Someone cried out.
"We would have been better off fighting the yokai ourselves!" Someone else cried out.
"Get out of here, you barely-human monster!" A rock was thrown at Emiko, which bounced off of the scarlet sliver of armor strapped to her torso. The young woman frowned.
"Morons!" Emiko shouted, angrily clenching her fists. "Would you rather I let the worm destroy you all? Probably, because humans are foolish like that.." She turned away and took flight once more as the villagers picked up more stones to throw at her.
"I.." Emiko whispered bitterly as she flew back towards home. "..I hate humans! All of them except for Obaasan!" She screamed into the sky as a tear of frustration dripped down her caramel cheek. "Humans are evil and selfish.. They're more barbaric than yokai! How can someone as kind and loving as Obaasan possibly be of the same species?" Emiko wiped her eyes on the sleeve of her short, white kimono to hide her tears from Shizu before landing in front of the woman outside of their home.
As Emiko approached the kneeling Shizu, she realized that the gray-haired woman was trembling.
Emiko's violet eyes widened. "Obaasan.. What's wrong?"
Shizu lifted her head to reveal that her chocolate eyes had become cascades for tears. "Emiko.. I'm so sorry.. I couldn't stop her.."
"What are you talking about? Obaasan, what happened?" Emiko asked in concern before she happened to glance up at their home. She gasped when she saw that the roof of their home had been destroyed.
"The young woman that came.. I couldn't fight her off. She overpowered me. She was desperate to get our half of the Blood Coral Crystal.." Shizu lowered her head, clenching her hands into fists on the powdery, white sand. "Oh, if only your mother or father had been here..!"
"Obaasan.. Don't be so hard on yourself." Emiko smiled softly, kneeling before her grandmother. "..I don't understand why you and Mama kept that half of the crystal all this time, anyways.. It's a useless rock, Obaasan."
Shizu reached up and gripped her granddaughter's upper arm. "You don't understand, Emiko.. For your entrance into womanhood.. Your mother and I.. We were going to forge for you a mighty weapon with which you could defend yourself and the ones you love! We needed the crystal for that!"
Emiko's violet eyes softened, subsequently brimming with tears. "Obaasan.. You and Mama.. Have been keeping half of the Blood Coral Crystal all this time.. For my sake?"
"Emiko.." Shizu sat up somewhat and took the young woman's hands in hers. "..You must go to the bat yokai cave, and check with your father and Aoi that the other half of the crystal is alright!"
"There is no need for that." Emiko and Shizu looked to the sky to see Aoi, a female bat daiyokai and the leader of the bat yokai clan, soaring towards them.
"Aoi!" Emiko stood up and rushed over to the all-powerful daiyokai as she landed gracefully upon the beach. As she got closer, the young woman could see that Aoi was holding half of the Blood Coral Crystal, which was glowing a reddish pink color.
"The Blood Coral Crystal!" Shizu exclaimed as she rose to her feet, as well. "It's regained some of its power!"
"Yes-" Aoi ran a tan hand through her beautiful, blue tresses. With the other hand, she held out her half of the Blood Coral Crystal towards Emiko and Shizu. "..It began acting strangely not too long ago. Where is your half of the crystal? I wish to see if it is doing the same thing."
Shizu lowered her head in shame. "Aoi.. Forgive me. I could not protect the heirloom of your people.. It was stolen, just now, by someone who overpowered me."
"Stolen?" There was a hint of anger in the daiyokai's voice, but it did not appear to be directed at the human. "No outsider has ever had any business with the Blood Coral Crystal other than that Inuyasha.. Why now?"
"I haven't the slightest idea.." Shizu lifted her head somewhat. "But.. You.. Would you retrieve the other half? Please, Aoi! I know that you're stronger than the woman who stole my half! Emiko needs both halves for her weapon!"
Softly, Aoi spoke her answer to Shizu's request. "I will not."
Shizu gasped quietly in surprise, staring up directly at the beautiful woman.
"..I will not because retrieving the crystal is something that Emiko must do on her own. If she is to have a fine weapon, she must prove herself to be deserving of it first." Aoi continued, then smiled. "..Emiko. I've watched you grow into a fine young woman. I know that you will be able to retrieve Shizu's half of the Blood Coral Crystal. And what's more.." The daiyokai came closer to the hanpa, placing her glowing half of the crystal into Emiko's hands. "..It appears that this half of the crystal wishes to become the base of your weapon, with or without the other half there alongside it."
"You really think so?" Emiko accepted the half of the crystal from Aoi's hands, gazing up at the daiyokai. "..About retrieving the other half of the crystal and about this half right here?"
"I absolutely mean it." Aoi responded. "The power is in your hands now, Emiko." The three women turned to the sound of someone approaching on the beach. It was a woman resembling Emiko with light blue, almost silvery hair done up in a ponytail.
"Aoi? What are you doing here?" Shiori asked as she came closer to the group. She nearly dropped her basket of herbs when she saw the state that her home was in. "The roof..!"
"Mama!" Emiko called out, moving past Aoi and Shizu to greet her mother.
"The roof! Emiko, what happened to the roof?" Shiori asked, then gazed down at the half of the Blood Coral Crystal in her daughter's hands.
"Our half of the Blood Coral Crystal was stolen, Shiori." Shizu sighed. "A powerful woman came, and I wasn't able to stop her. But look at what the other half of the crystal is doing. It's glowing!"
It was true, the half of the crystal in Emiko's hands continue to glow a reddish pink color. Shiori's violet eyes widened a bit.
"As I told Shizu and your daughter already," Aoi began. "Emiko must retrieve the other half of the crystal on her own. Think of it as a rite of passage into womanhood."
"Yes, I understand." Shiori responded, but she didn't sound too happy about it. "But.. This other half of the crystal that has appeared to have regained part of its power.. Surely we can forge for Emiko a weapon with this half and use the other half of the crystal as a power supplement later once it's been recovered?"
"I think that is a fine idea. But where will you find a blacksmith skilled enough to forge such a weapon?" Aoi asked Shiori.
"Inuyasha." Shiori spoke softly.
"You mean the hanyo who participated in the shattering of the Blood Coral Crystal? You expect him to be able to forge a weapon for Emiko?" Aoi didn't sound convinced.
"No, but he has a mighty weapon. The Tessaiga." Shiori informed the daiyokai. "Surely, he could direct Emiko to the blacksmith who crafted it?"
"Then it's settled." Emiko began, drawing her plain katana from the sheath on her waist. "I will set out to find this "Inuyasha" and learn who forged Tessaiga. When I return home, it will be with a much mightier weapon than this." Emiko stared at her katana intensely before sheathing it once more. "I think I'd like a sword."
"You don't plan on to leave now, do you, Emiko?" Shiori asked her daughter. "I still have to cook your dinner to celebrate your coming of age!" The hanyo gazed down at her basket of herbs.
"It was my intention to say goodbye to Otousan first." Emiko responded. "I haven't seen him in days."
"Your father is away right now, Emiko. He will be for a few days more." Aoi told the young woman gently, knowing that the news would be disappointing to her.
The disappointment spread across Emiko's face like ink bleeding into parchment. "Of course Otousan isn't here to celebrate my coming of age.. In that case, I will leave now." She responded, heading past the other women towards the direction that her mother had come from. "Mama, Obaasan, Aoi.. When I come home, I will be a changed woman."
((This chapter is a bit short, but it's just to set the stage. I need YOU and your OCs in future chapters! Please contact me if you're interested in having your OC used in this story! I need characters to serve as friends and foes alike!))