In a distant, there was light, merry-making and the sound of the beating drums to celebrate the festival of two star-crossed lovers during the seventh day of the seventh month of the year: Tanabata Festival or the Star Festival. Truly, Kyoto could never be brighter than any other months and the warmth of the summer filled the air as the stars shone proudly against the night sky. A raven-haired samurai together with five of his men marched across a small bridge over a stream full of blooming lilies, never taking notice of how beautiful the moon was as it reflected on the calm surface of the water. The young swordsman looked up at the starry sky and sighed, asking himself why, of all places, would his master meet with them in the capital. He hated having to socialize nd seeing how crowded the streets of Kyoto were, it was already a pain if he had to check all inns just to find Minamoto no Yorimitsu – his master - even if his physical appearance was hard to miss even in a crowd.
"Look for the master among all the inns in the capital. He is having a meeting with one of the other clans so keep yourselves at your utmost diligence and politeness." He commanded the other men and as soon as they bowed to him to acknowledge his words, they swiftly left.
Onikiri, a powerful weapon of the Minamoto clan, watched as his men left and decided to stay under one of the sakura trees that perched alone in a nearby hill, away from the commotion and noise of the pedestrians flocking at the festival. He rested his back on its sturdy trunk and closed his eyes, trying to inhale the calm evening breeze. In a few minutes of tranquility, he found himself watching the fireflies circle him, dancing to the beat of the drums from a distant. He tried his best to stay uninterested with the festival until a sea of ebony hair twirled and flew at a center stage of the festival. His back left the surface of the sakura tree as Onikiri, letting his eyes and his feet guide him, found himself absent-mindedly walking towards the town proper. Soon enough, he was a few meters away from the platformed stage and everyone was cheering and clapping for the dancers on-stage, but his eyes remained at the woman who wore a royal blue kimono, adorned with red and golden florals. She was beautiful and delicate, her skin as white as snow and her hair as dark as the night. He has never encountered such grace and beauty before him and she was indeed a gem of the capital. He watched her as she moved seamlessly on the platform and as fate dictated, her blood-red eyes met with yellow ones. The mysterious woman gave him a smile before turning her back on him and opening her umbrella to show beautifully hand painted birds and clouds to end their dance. Everyone clapped once more and threw flowers at the dancers as they bowed and thanked the audience before retreating backstage.
"Yotohime."
A voice of an old man broke Onikiri's daze as he turned his head towards the man beside him.
"Her name is Yotohime. A beautiful lass, ain't she?" he smiled.
"She is." Onikiri whispered under his breath and decided that he should go find his comrades. For the young samurai who had known nothing but receiving tasks and assignments from his master, feelings were too foreign for him, including the growing curiosity and awe to the woman called Yotohime. There was something alluring and bewitching about the scarlet-eyed dancer and it was not a malevolent intuition, yet he deemed her as someone who he should not give too much thought about.
As the people gathered in front of the stage once more for a play, Onikiri surveyed the area looking for his master, slipping into one restaurant and inn after another. With crowd growing denser and denser, he found it really difficult to move further. The samurai decided to wait until the festival ends, besides, his master must still be having a delightful evening in the capital – nothing and no one seems suspicious and the air around them was light. His decision then led him into an okiya, which coincidentally was the nearest establishment to him when he simply pressed forward to enter what he thought was a diner.
"Good evening, master!" several women welcomed him with bright smiles and cheerful voices. It wasn't his first time to be serviced in an okiya but it was his first time going there alone. Onikiri sighed, only to realize that it was too late to go out of the establishment for the door was already blocked by a crowd.
"Just a room for one." He softly stated. An older woman led him towards a corridor of dividers where the partitions are almost full, everyone was joyfully drinking their hearts out to celebrate the festival – both humans and shikigamis alike. In the farthest corner was his room, which was, unlike the others, was separated by a sliding door instead of paper-thin partitions. When Onikiri was seated, his guide told him to wait for the meal to be served.
"Would you like someone to accompany you, master?" she asked.
"I am fine alone. You may simply serve me a bottle of sake. It will be enough."
"As you wish. If you require of any assistance, please ring the bell near the window." The older woman dismissed herself and closed the door. The samurai looked outside at all the mortals and monsters who were parading with colorful paper strips on their lanterns and the smell of the streets proved savory to the senses and if he were a normal person as well, it definitely would make his mouth water. He gazed at the night sky where the full moon was at its prime, and stars – they were very different from the ones he'd see them in the Minamoto household, they were then darker and duller.
"A beautiful sky for a beautiful festival. What brings you to Kyoto, dearest swordsman?"
A voice so sweet and soft – almost as faint as a whisper caught Onikiri's attention. A woman with ebony hair and red eyes sat in one of the old trees whose branches were so close at the second floor's window. Her face glowed in the moonlight, her eyes glittering from the floating lanterns being released by those in the streets. She was no other than the mysterious woman on stage who managed to captivate the samurai's undivided attention.
Onikiri, letting his curiousity play, opened his window wider. "Come join me for a drink, Yotohime."
She smiled with a curved smirk hinting her reciprocating fascination towards her evening companion. "You've already called me by my first name but you have not given yours."
"Onikiri, I am called Onikiri."
"An ogre cutter by name, yet you seem calm, Onikiri." Yotohime smiled. She stood up from the branch and made her way towards the open window, greeting him more formally as she set foot on the tatami floor. At that time, the attendant of the okiya had already delivered his requested sake and slid the wine inside without having to peer in.
"Let me pour you wine, swordsman. I do not enjoy drinking such but I promise you I am a better company to a lone warrior than any other women in this establishment."
"As you wish."
The minutes flew past the pair as they shared a silent celebration of Tanabata festival. In contrast to the loud outdoors, the two created their own space inside the okiya, none of them asked questions nor told stories but their mutual presence seemed to calm them both. The wide window provided a complete view of Kyoto and all of its majestic offers – flying lanterns, music, dancing, cheering. Yotohime gracefully poured the sake into Onikiri's cup whenever she sees him take it and he, without having to say thanks, would give the woman in front of him a nod of gratitude. An hour have passed and raven-haired shikigami finally broke their unspoken silence;
"You are a peculiar woman." A question without any hint of malice or insult.
"And you are one mysterious swordsman. But for what it's worth, we are one and the same."
"A shikigami?" Onikiri glanced, "Monsters, ghouls-"
"Weapons." Orihime answered, cutting his words and catching him off guard. "I am like you, Onikiri. My purpose is to shed blood and satiate the bloodlust of those who wield me. I can see the blankness in your eyes, we are both made to create terror in the hearts of those who oppose our factions."
Onikiri stayed silent, slowly sipping the wine from his cup. Even without looking at the beautiful woman in front of him, he gave her his full attention.
"You do not resemble a weapon, you are a fine woman and your hands are too small and gentle to wield a sword." He bluntly stated, not minding that his words of compliment made the female shikigami's eyes grow a fraction wide and taint her cheeks with a rose pink blush.
"They say that the strongest swords are those you do not expect of physically." Yotohime answered, flashing him her sharp cat-like eyes.
"But clean and refined swords are those never used in battle."
Yotohime gave a sigh and gave up, she will never convince the man in front of her that her past is just the same as his. She smiled at him and asked him if he wanted more wine to which Onikiri simply nodded. The festival continued and the two shared a night of small chats and glances. Four bottles of wine have been emptied and the drum beats grew louder.
She stood up and gazed outside, sitting on the window sill. "It's almost midnight and the festival will end. Come look at the fireworks, they resemble so much like the lilies under the bridge." She continued to watch as the countdown to midnight had started. As the final beats pounded, series of large fireworks flew and danced across the sky. The dark-haired dancer's eyes lit up with amusement and her mouth curved into a wide smile.
Onikiri did not stand to follow her by the window, instead, her silhouette gave him a sense of calmness and content. He watched as the fireworks' colors illuminated her face, changing from yellow to red to violet hues.
Happiness.
How does one achieve happiness?
Seconds seem to pass slow as he recalled her words. She was a weapon, just like him, but how can she smile at things so petty such as the lights in the sky? How was she able to be more human than a monster as they were called by many? To him, Yotohime was a mystery. "How?" he murmured under his breath.
His sight on the slender woman was a sword stuck on a stone. In a strong flash of a pink light on the sky, Yotohime wanted to call him to see it too but as she turned her head, she was met with a white robe adorned with golden intricate designs. Finding himself just a feet away from her, he had a good sight of her face, porcelain and pure – no scars, no cuts, nothing. She was like a doll encased in glass that no one could touch her. Yotohime's eyes were wide in surprise and his eyes were full of despair, as if they were pleading for help, wanting to be saved from his fate as a weapon of the Minamoto family.
Seeing the gloomed face of the samurai, her face softened and reached out to touch him, her long slim fingers cupping his face – assuring him that she acknowledges him what he wants to convey.
"You will find happiness." Yotohime smiled. "I believe you will."
"Fate had already decided that I would forever be bound by my contract to the Minamoto clan, my life belongs to them and death is the way for me to achieve freedom."
"Then, live your life to what your heart desires. If fate restricts you this time, then maybe the afterlife would be kinder. I pray the heavens will be in your favor."
Her words were so foreign to him, no one has ever wished or prayed for his sake and it was the first time his heart pounded so much that he wanted to rip it off. Her hand on his cheek were like embers on a chilly night.
"Be mine, even just in the afterlife, I will wait." He whispered which made Yotohime blush and try to avert her gaze but the samurai's hands were quicker. He felt a strange sensation overwhelming him, wanting to take her and maker his. Encircling her in his sturdy arms, he pulled the woman closer for a kiss – his doubts being wiped away in the moment and seeing how scarlet the woman's cheeks were tuning, made him realize that she too could have been feeling it as well. But as Yotohime closed her eyes to return the feelings, a loud explosion was heard to mark the ending of the festival. Their eyes jolted open to see a large flower in the sky and with people cheering and eventually walking away from the center of the town.
"It is finally over." Onikiri stated as he was still holding Yotohime in his arms.
"I guess it is." She shyly replied, leaning forward to rest her head on his chest.
"ONIKIRI-SAMA!"
A very familiar voice was heard amidst the crowd below and as they both looked into the direction of the voice, it was one of Onikiri's men looking for him. "Onikiri-sama!" he continued paving his way against the flow of the crowd.
"He's one of my men, he must have found our master."
"It will be cruel having him look for you in this many people, Onikiri." Yotohime teasingly said as she removed her grasp on his kimono. "Go now, samurai."
Onikiri sighed and released Yotohime in his arms. He looked at his men frantically looking for him and gave in to the fact that they will simply shout and scream more if he's not found right away. He backed away from the woman in front of him to straighten his robes and bid her farewell only to stumble studenly as the female shikigami grabbed hold of the hems of Onikiri's kimono and in a swift motion their lips locked.
Onikiri's heart sank and embraced Yotohime, deepening their kiss. If time could only stop, if that moment could only freeze. Feelings all too foreign for him crashed down like an avalanche, an unavoidable storm of confusion, lust, happiness and that of love. That moment, it was a first for this samurai.
"When you think you are lost and confused, always know that I am your home, I will always be waiting." Yotohime bid Onikiri goodbye and watched him go from the second floor of the okiya. As Onikiri looked back at the window above, her figure will forever be etched in his mind. She smiled at him with her scarlet red eyes glistening. She was beautiful and delicate and will forever be.
She was his comrade, his strength, his secret, his mystery – his woman.
A long time had passed, months to years and Onikiri had no longer visited the town for the festival. Yotohime was a vivid memory for him and he was sure their paths will no longer cross, and if they would – she might have already forgotten him. They haven't been together for long, not even a whole day but every second that he had his sight on the female shikigami, it was all too clear and he remembered every second well.
It was the middle of winter and it was freezing cold but his burning heart had kept the samurai going. His once raven black hair had turned to white and his eyes that used to be yellow had now been washed with the color of blood. He was certain, she would not recognize him because he was a monster, a demon, a nobody. Her radiant features was all that he had in his mind, the pain in his chest had been numb but he knew, he had to find her. Every step he took, his life was fading away. Every movement he made was agony as blood spilled on the pure white snow on his feet.
"Just a little bit more." he whispered to himself, clinging to the very little energy he had. He knew he was dying. The wound inflicted by Yorimitsu was fatal but he managed to claw his way out of his master's sight. He wanted to see her, even for the very last time.
His eyes gave him hope even with all the blur as smoke from the houses were seen nearby. The snow was thickening and his was barely surviving but he was decided that he will not end his life living in agony. Even in his strong will to find her, his body started to give up and betray Onikiri and made it difficult to move. He fell on the ground and was starting to lose consciousness, his eyes hazing and his breathing was heavier.
As cold finally bit him and he felt too lightheaded, his struggle became futile and his sight started fading to black. Is this the end? He thought. In his mind, the fireworks were playing and the warmth of the sake he was drinking comforted him. Her red and blue kimono and the way she danced on stage, the scent of the food being cooked on the streets and the fiery lights of the lanterns, these were the memories dearest to him. These were enough for Onikiri who had nothing to cherish during his lifetime, he felt at peace -he was complete. Onikiri was finally free.
In those last seconds, the grey skies turned to bright lights and his head felt the soft velvet silks of a kimono. He found himself laying on the lap of his woman and for the first time, Onikiri gave a sincere smile – different from his cunning ones- as he saw her face looking down on him.
"Took you long to return, dearest samurai."
"My apologies, for you to see me in this state, Yotohime."
She gave him one of her warmest smiles and caressed his face, removing the stray strands of his hair from his face.
"You can rest well now. Take all the time you need."
With that, he closed his eyes and took one last breath.
"Welcome back home, my love."
END.
A/N: This work was written for the Onmyoji Official Discord Server Fanfiction Contest. Please join the server at /onmyoji to enter the contest and read more amazing entries!