Chapter 1: A Yokai Never Forgets
Thirteen years later:
"Midori-chan! MIDORI-CHAN! Come on, get up!"
Midori groaned as she was shaken awake and tried to swat the hands away. "Go away, Kyoshi-kun."
Kyoshi sigh and grabbed a fist full of Midori's reddish brown hair. "I'll pull if you don't get up."
Her green eyes popped open. "Alright already! I'm up." She yanked her hair out of his grasp. "Jeez, you don't have to resort to torture."
Kyoshi raised an eyebrow and glanced at the waterfall. "Okaa-san and Otoo-san are worried sick thinking that you've been kidnapped by a yokai or something and I find that you merely slipped away to take a nap. If you ask me-"
"Well I'm not asking you so just keep your mouth shut. Just 'cause you're three years older than me doesn't mean that you're all knowing." Midori stood, brushing the grass off herself. "And I didn't mean to fall asleep. I just needed some time alone to think."
Kyoshi shook his head muttering, "And people used to say I was bad."
Midori ignored him as they started walking back to their village. But about halfway back, she felt a chill run up her spine. She paused, trying to figure out what could have caused it. When Kyoshi turned to ask why she had stopped, she asked, "Did you feel that?"
Kyoshi glanced around and turned back to Midori with a concerned look. "Feel what?"
Midori shook her head. "Nothing. Never mind."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. Just forget I said anything." And they continued on.
They reached the village without any more mishaps and walked into their family's hut. Kyoshi told their parents how he found her and Midori was promptly forbidden to go into the forest alone… again. Midori held back a sigh as she listened to her mother's now familiar rant.
"You know very well there are yokais in this area… You could have been kidnapped, killed, or worse… Worried us sick, you did… What if your brother hadn't found you?"
Midori bit back a response of "I probably would have woken up and come back on my own, no harm done." But once outside the hut she did sigh and start muttering to herself.
Kyoshi, who had obviously been waiting outside the door for her, shook his head. "You wouldn't have to listen through all that if you would just take someone with you."
"And who am I supposed to take with me?" Midori glared at Kyoshi for jarring her out of her thoughts. "You're always too busy when it's light enough for Okaa-san to be satisfied and everyone else avoids me." She looked to the forest wistfully. "I think I'd rather be kidnapped by a yokai than have to stick around here and listen to everyone's gossip about me."
Kyoshi sighed and glanced around. "C'mon." He turned and started walking towards the well nearest the village.
"Where are we going?" Midori caught up to him, her curiosity taking over.
"I'll tell you when we get there." Kyoshi's tone was harsher than usual, enough so that Midori refrained from pushing the question.
Once they reached the well, Kyoshi turned to Midori. "Okaa-san would kill me if she knew I was about to tell you this, but I think you really need to know before anything happens. Promise me you won't tell anyone I was the one to tell you."
A mischievous glint appeared in Midori's eyes. "What do you mean 'before anything happens'?"
Kyoshi's eyes narrowed and he growled, "Midori-chan."
Midori looked at Kyoshi, surprise evident in her eyes. She'd heard him use that tone toward boys making rude gestures, but never towards her. "I promise I won't tell anyone." She cocked her head, looking at Kyoshi in concern.
Kyoshi glanced around at the surrounding area before saying anything. "13 years ago, when I was 7, I was as bad as you, running off to the waterfall clearing all the time. I never stayed long because there was supposedly a pack of ookami-yokais nearby. On one day, just before I reached the clearing, I saw a blue light coming from it. When I looked, I found you asleep next to the waterfall. I ran back and told Okaa-san and Otoo-san, who took you home. That's why you don't look like any of us. When you woke up, you didn't remember anything except your age. All you could respond to the questions was that you were four years old. So we took you in and Okaa-san told me never to tell you how I found you." He paused, noticing the tears in Midori's eyes, and added in a softer tone, "But you'll always be my little sister, no matter how different you look."
Midori looked at Kyoshi with the most pathetic looking eyes he'd ever seen. "Does everyone else in the village know?" she asked quietly.
Kyoshi nodded. "I'm sorry I never told you. It just took me until today, finding you asleep by the waterfall again, to realize how much you needed to know. Maybe now that you understand why you feel so drawn to the waterfall clearing, you'll be able to control it better." He sighed and pulled Midori into an embrace.
Midori nodded even though she knew the opposite was true. After listening to Kyoshi, her urge to return was even greater. She might find out who she really was if she went back.
That night, Midori waited until everyone else was asleep, not a hard task. Once she was sure they were all asleep, she slipped out of the hut. She skirted around Kyoshi's hut and ran off into the forest. She didn't pay much attention to where she was going; she'd been to the waterfall clearing too many times to have to think about the way. Once she reached it she slowed and walked over to the water's edge.
The moon reflected off the rippling water, or at least a squiggly circle that Midori assumed to be the moon did. She glanced up at the moon and shivered suddenly. She wasn't cold, but she started to get the feeling she was being watched. Shaking it off, she began to walk closer to the waterfall itself, as if it might hold the key to her past. She paused when the chills running down her spine increased, and was about to turn when she felt a clawed hand lightly grab her wrist.
Midori froze, afraid of what she'd see if she looked. Then the hand slid down and slowly began to pull on the ring she wore on her pinkie. Without a second thought, Midori pulled her hand away and turned. She gasped at what she saw. A silver haired yokai stood watching her. His outfit was white with a red pattern on one shoulder; the other shoulder was covered in something long and fluffy. She couldn't discern much else in the dark, except his amber eyes.
In a moment, those eyes narrowed and, before Midori could react, the yokai had grabbed her by her wrist and was dragging her off to who knows where. She never understood why she didn't scream; maybe it was because she knew in the back of her mind that it wouldn't do anything but annoy her captor. Instead she kept her focus on trying to stay somewhat on her feet, though she wasn't having much success.
After a short while, they reached the end of the forest and the beginning of a field that sloped uphill toward a large castle. When Midori saw the castle, she knew she would probably never see her home again.
They reached the castle in a matter of minutes. The yokai cleared the moat with Midori in tow and slammed through the front doors. As he landed in the front hall the yokai threw Midori in front of him where she skidded on the floor and curled into a tight ball.
"Get up." The yokai growled out the words that let Midori know he was serious. But instead of getting up, Midori just curled up even tighter. Her wrist throbbed as she heard the yokai's approaching footsteps.
Midori tensed, expecting the blow that was sure to come. When nothing happened, she dared a look. What she saw made her freeze. The yokai was kneeling next to her, and when she had looked up, their eyes locked. Green met gold. Fear met hesitation. Than a flash of recognition flickered in the yokai's eyes and he stood, looking down at Midori.
"Get up, Yumiko-chan. I will not tell you again." It was less of a growl than the last one had been, but it was still menacing, never the less.
Midori blinked and surprised herself by standing up. 'Why did he call me Yumiko-chan? And why do I recognize that name?' The yokai turned and started walking down a connecting hallway. "Come." She followed, her mind in a state of disbelief, until the yokai stopped at a door.
"You will not leave this room until you are called." He didn't even turn to look at her but stood still until Midori entered the room with the door shut behind her. Then she heard his footsteps fade away.
Japanese Glossary:
chan : Used for small children, younger females, and anything a female dubs 'cute'.
kun : used for boys and young men
Okaa-san : mother
Otoo-san : father
Yokai : demon
Ookami-yokai : wolf demon
