He had to admit there was a first time for everything. This temple had somehow created two mononoke in the span of a month, both of which fueled the raging snowstorm and killed most of the elder monks off one by one.
With the swipe of his hand, he forced the door shut, plastering it with as many ofuda as he could. He didn't expect them to hold long with how the outer door was pried open earlier. He didn't have his medicine chest nearby to create anything to repel the mononoke, no concoctions, no extra tools, nothing but what he had on him right here and now.
"Mr. Medicine Seller!" Kayo half-shouted in her still cold state. She attempted to stand up, instead stumbling back down to the ground as she gripped the side of Akinobu's robe.
"I'm fine." The fangs showing while he gritted his teeth said everything otherwise. He grasped his arm, feeling blood start to seep through the layers. Shaking out the arm, he jabbed the taima sword at Yoshimune. "Were there other women?"
"I wish," he replied with a lecherous grin. "That woman in the blue kimono was hardly enough to satisfy us, though she was certainly quite-"
"-enough!" Akimune interrupted. "Enough of this! Haven't you brought enough shame on our sect already?!"
"You'll never understand what you're missing," Yoshimune continued.
"I'll never understand how the monk I looked up to could become such a degenerate!" Akimune scowled.
"Became?" the head monk laughed. "It never wasn't there. You are a blind fool, Akimune!"
"You're the fool!" Akimune shouted. "All this training, all our devotion, even our students. Was it just a joke to you?"
"A man has needs!" Yoshimune insisted. "You are the only one who would deny them!"
The medicine seller glanced back at the doorway, seeing the ofuda light up in brilliant reds as icicles slammed against the door outside. He pointed the sword at Yoshimune. "How many of you were involved?"
"Akimune is the only one who doesn't know how to have fun," the monk replied.
Akimune seethed. "We are here to devote our lives to the divine not pleasure ourselves with errant travelers then abuse them!"
The door rattled, the ofuda threatening to break before suddenly going quiet. The medicine seller glanced around the room. There were several entrances to the inner sanctuary, and without the scales at his disposal, tracking the mononoke would be increasingly difficult. Tucking the taima sword into his obi, he plastered the walls and doors with the ofuda. Each paper remained white at the moment, giving him a moment to rub at his arm again.
Akimune felt himself shaking. He had never wished ill of someone else, but hearing Yoshimune speak, he wanted to bring harm to the other monk. He didn't speak that desire aloud. He wanted to maintain that self control but that lecherous grin was making this hard.
The medicine seller turned, watching Yoshimune for a moment. Perhaps there were no other visitors in the last month. The monk had become liberal with his words, the truth suddenly pouring out from his lips as the snow had threatened to destroy them all.
But even if no other person had visited, there was more than one way to create a mononoke. The other means could be much trickier to discern, and with the threat of this second one outside, the medicine seller didn't exactly have much time.
The ofuda began to flare up in red across the room as the mononoke attacked from the opposite side. The door rattled as the icicles attempted to barge in.
"You've come back for me, haven't you?" Yoshimune babbled.
"What do you mean?" the medicine seller questioned as he plastered more ofuda along the doorframe. Had he misjudged the situation? "Who has returned?"
"The beautiful woman from last winter," he replied.
"Just how many women have you slept with?!" Akimune hissed.
"This one was different!" Yoshimune insisted. "Eyes the color of snow, gentle but cold touch. Much better than the woman in the blue kimono. But then in the spring, she disappeared, left without a word."
No, he hadn't misjudged it. There was only one form this mononoke could have taken. "The form must be-" the medicine seller cut his words short as the door slid open and icicles poured into the room. He leapt off towards the fire where the monks and Kayo sat, brandishing the taima sword defensively.
The icicles careened through the doorway, impaling Yoshimune straight through the heart. The monk wheezed and choked, the lecherous grin fading from his lips as he fell to the floor.
The medicine seller spotted the mononoke, the woman with the ice blue eyes and the inhuman smile. Ice coated her kimono and trailed down onto the floor. Her hair was caked with icicles that dangled on the side of her face. "Your form is that of a tsurara-onna." The taima sword chattered in confirmation.
"An icicle woman?" Akimune questioned, attempting to stay calm though he was still rather rattled. "But they are created by…."
"Yes, by repeated lustful wishes of lonely men," the medicine seller confirmed. "That is the mononoke's truth." The taima sword chattered once again. He walked towards the mononoke with calm steps, the sword outstretched before him. "Your reason is jealousy. You leave in the spring but return in the winter, jealous that those who had wished you into existence had found someone else."
The sword chattered loudly. "Release!"
The medicine seller flung ofuda behind him, creating a barrier to protect Kayo and the monks as the mononoke fired icicles off at him. As he rolled out of the way of the icicles, his inner self took over and drew the colorful sword. Outstretching his hand, the runes responded to his call, creating a protective barrier and stopping the assault.
"I'll take you out too!" the mononoke hissed, firing off icicles with the flick of her wrist.
He twisted and dodged to the side, drawing the long colorful sword from shoulder to the ground. The mononoke reeled backwards as the blade sliced cleanly through her. She scowled at him, forming a long icicle blade in her hand, reeling it backwards. "You'll never understand!"
He stood silently, the colorful taima blade still drawn to the side as his white hair billowed behind him.
Her form was dissipating, fading fast from the human realm. She stared at him in her last moments, unable to understand why he didn't desire her too. Everyone always did. She was a fleeting beauty, able to stave off the loneliness of winter. But even in winter, perhaps there were those who weren't so lonely. She found herself just a bit jealous of that companionship as she faded away.
…..
"I still can't believe there were two mononoke." Akimune buried his face in his hands. "And how much had been going on and I didn't even know. I'm so sorry you both got involved in this and became injured from it."
The medicine seller waved a dismissive hand. "Hardly a problem." He'd honestly experienced worse, and a few wounds from an icicle would heal. He was a bit more upset about the blood in the kimono, but he'd surrendered it earlier to the younger monks who had insisted on cleaning it for him. He sat in his underlayers near the fire in the inner sanctuary while Kayo yanked on his arm, intent on tending to it. It had finally stopped bleeding but it still hurt quite a bit.
"Hardly a problem," Kayo mocked him. "You're all beat up!"
He frowned some more. "Well it'll be worse if you keep yanking on it."
"Stop being a baby!" she fussed at him, refusing to let go of the arm. He honestly could've yanked it from her hands, but he let her continue wrapping up his arm in bandages. He gritted his teeth a bit, the fang slightly visible in the back.
Akimune laughed. "Well I suppose you're a bit more used to this if you have a taima sword in your possession. Though I still feel bad about the injuries and two mononoke."
"Again, don't worry about it," he waved off the concern.
Kayo finished off the wrap, tucking the tails in and finally surrendering his arm back to him. "So what do you plan on doing after all of this, Master Akimune?"
"I wasn't sure at first," he confessed, "however when I saw the younger monks spring into action to help out, I knew what I had to do. I'm going to lead the temple as it was intended, teach the younger monks the right way to follow our way and so that no more mononoke are created here."
"That sounds like an excellent plan," Kayo said.
"I hope that perhaps you both might consider staying here, at least until the snowstorm has settled outside," Akimune added. "After all, I do still need to pay you for the root and the medicine and saving this monastery."
Kayo glanced at the medicine seller, who looked back at her.
"I was certain you would demand more noodles, Miss Kayo," he commented with a slight grin.
"Don't put this all on me, you jerk!" she fussed at him. "You liked them too!"
"Okay fine fine," he conceded. "We shall stay awhile, then we must be off. Mononoke will not rest on their own."
"Come, let me prepare some tea for you." The monk stood up, beckoning them to follow him towards the kitchen.
Kayo and the medicine seller followed, the latter turning for a brief moment. In the doorway stood the woman in the blue kimono with the paper parasol resting on her shoulder. She bowed deeply at him, smiling before turning and leaving out the door.
He smiled just a bit before turning and following them into the kitchen.
….
Author's notes:
When I first started writing this section, I couldn't decide which cold yokai I wanted to make a mononoke. Yuki-onna is definitely the more recognizable but I liked the tsurara-onna story. So obviously that meant "why not both?"
The tsurara-onna's origins in this story parallels the original legend. The yokai is created by lonely and lustful men wishing for company by staring at icicles on the roof. The yokai appears as a beautiful woman. The man marries her but she suddenly leaves. Come next winter, the yokai returns, only to find that she's been replaced and she becomes vengeful.
I love the idea of mononoke created by emotions and feelings instead of murder so once in awhile, I need to throw one into the mix of course.
Name meanings! All the monks are named after faith
Akimune - bright faith
Tadakata - faithful wisdom / faithful path (depends on kanji)
Masanobu - true faith
Yoshimune - good faith