Warning: This story contains the same dark, twisted tones and human atrocities the anime does. If you could not handle the dark tones of the anime, this story may not be for you. If it is, I invite you to join me for the adventure!

He barely stood out against the colorful gardens lining the outskirts of the large estate. It was spring, the rains pouring down and bouncing off his red paper umbrella. His wooden geta shoes clicked against the stone walkways as he followed the short, panicked woman in a drab brown kimono. He rarely was called out and invited to go some place, usually showing up uninvited when a mononoke began to show signs of manifesting in the human world. This time he'd simply been passing through, unable to sell his wares due to a strangely large population of stray mongrels in the area.

"This way, Mr. Medicine Seller!" the woman beckoned him further inward in the estate, past the flowering gardens and the fragrant cherry trees. "No one else would come here, but the mistress is sick."

"Oh?" He glanced around at the lavishness of the estate. They were rich enough to afford not one but two high-reaching walls with bamboo roofs and two very large gates. Just simple business from here could fund his travels for a year. "I do wonder why that is."

"The mongrels," the woman scoffed. "They've been coming around far too much, foraging everywhere. They're scaring off the traders. I wish they'd leave."

The medicine seller glanced to the side, watching as the mongrels ducked behind the bushes. "I see." He followed the woman inside, leaving his geta at the front door to continue the walk in tabi-socked feet along the wooden floor boards. The boards chirped as he walked along them. Samurai and noble houses often had chirping floor boards to ensure that ninja didn't sneak in unnoticed, but this house was nestled in a rather small town belonging to a small family that no one in town seemed to want to talk about. Perhaps they were afraid of something else trying to sneak in unnoticed.

He glanced out into the courtyard as they traveled along the wooden walkway. It was a serene Japanese garden typical of larger houses. A small pond framed by pine and cherry trees, several small stone lanterns, and a single stone bridge. Koi likely swam in the pond just beneath the surface.

The next walkway offered the view of a rock garden. The sand had been meticulously raked in zen patterns, weaving around stones and rocks. One particular location appeared to be disturbed and dug. It looked like the work of a mongrel digging in the sand around a rock that didn't look like it belonged. The rock looked rather ordinary, but unlike the other rocks, it was tall and skinny and cracked on the side. The setting of stones in a rock garden were very important, so that cracked one just looked out of place.

"This way, Mr. Medicine Seller," the woman beckoned him forward. "The lady of the house is in pretty bad shape."

"So you have said," he commented.

He peered at the back of her drab kimono as she suddenly stopped on the walkway. Her hair was pulled up in various bumps and knots and finished off with hair sticks that didn't seem to match the rest of her attire color-wise. The ornaments on the hair sticks clinked as she stopped, her demeanor indicating nervousness.

"I probably shouldn't have dragged you all the way out here," she apologized.

He watched her carefully, curious about the sudden change. The entire walk from the center of town, through the gardens, and into the house had been nothing short of insistent urgency. Now she showed doubt. "Why so?"

The woman tensed up, her shoulders raised just slightly. "I don't think it's sickness. I think it's a curse."

The medicine seller had picked up some chatter around the town about the household that the family had been the source of the mongrel problem in the town. Some even dared to mention onmyodo. Magic. Often times onmyodo used by most people were just illusions or fancy talk, but there were times when magic truly did permeate the human realm.

Perhaps this visit would be interesting.

"Tsuya! Don't scare away the medicine seller!"

The woman in the drab kimono tensed up as an older woman in a red kimono decorated with brilliant blue flowers shouted at her down the hallway.

"I'm sorry, Miss Fusa," Tsuya apologized, bowing repeatedly.

"You may find it takes more to frighten me than simply mentioning a curse," he admitted. "Perhaps some amulets would help."

Fusa approached, practically pushing the younger Tsuya to the side as she beckoned him forward. Perhaps this one could actually help, unlike the rest of them that just scampered off, frightened by the rumors of onmyodo. "You're an interesting one."

"There is nothing interesting about me," he quickly countered, following the older woman.

As they continued down the hallway, a few servants had peeked out of the various side rooms, all in single-color kimono. He quickly realized he was the only man in the entire house.

Fusa knelt down outside a closed paper shoji door. "Lady Inu, I have brought a medicine seller."

"Come," the meek reply barely passed through the paper door.

Fusa reached to the side, pushing the paper door open gently with her hand.

Setting the medicine chest on the ground, he sat politely on his knees as well, minding his manners as a member of the merchant class. He made a note of the lady's name. It meant dog, likely indicating she was born in the year of the dog, but it seemed more like an amusing coincidence with all the mongrels roaming around the town.

A small smirk curled the edge of his lips as he offered a polite bow to the lady within.

Lady Inu was accompanied one woman in particularly formal attire who was gripping Lady Inu's hand with a concerned expression. A relative or other noble, the medicine seller reasoned. The lady herself was laying in the center of the room on a futon, her hand clutched to her chest.

He picked up the chest of medicine, carrying it across the tatami straw mats. The lady's room was decorated with murals of cranes stalking around ponds, surrounded by reeds and small birds in the trees. It seemed like a rather serene scene at the edges of the room despite the worry and panic at its center.

The kneeling lady seemed to watch him intently as he set the chest down on the tatami, kneeling in front of it. He paid her no mind. His intent was to sell his wares and to learn the source of the supernatural sense that was itching at the back of his mind. He hooked a finger around the drawer handle, pulling out a mortar and pestle and placing it on the mat.

"What are you doing there?" the kneeling lady demanded.

The medicine seller glanced towards the door, hearing Tsuyu huff emphatically before returning his attention back to the case of medicines. "Lady Inu is having chest pains, is she not? This is an ancient Chinese remedy that helps loosen tight chest muscles." He glanced at the kneeling lady for a moment. She seemed less than pleased with his presence. Hopefully this one wouldn't try to throw him in jail like the last one. He'd rather avoid that again, even if the last time had lead him to put another mononoke to rest.

"Tori, please," Lady Inu squeezed the kneeling lady's hand. "Everyone else has refused to help us… I need-" She cut herself off with a sudden coughing fit.

The medicine seller glanced at her. That wasn't a normal-sounding cough. It almost sounded like she was barking instead of coughing. Carefully, he pulled a few pinches of herbs from the drawer, dropping them into the mortar as that supernatural sense pulled at him again. Herbs likely wouldn't help with this situation, if his senses were right.

He paused in his work as he heard Tsuya outside shouting at one of the mongrels, "Shoo! Get out of here!" followed by the sounds of growling and a broom being smacked against a wooden railing.

"Fusa!" Tori hissed. "I thought you fixed this mongrel problem!"

"My apologies, Lady Tori," the older woman bowed respectfully. "It seems they've found a way to hop the walls."

She nearly leapt at the sound of something clamoring down the hallway. A mongrel passed the door, followed by Tsuya pulling up her kimono with one hand and brandishing a broom in the other. The medicine seller nearly snickered at the scene but there was definitely something odd about the large mongrel population. Sure they roamed about sometimes in the more rural locations, but this number was a bit too large for a normal pack. They were attracted to something here within the compound so intently that they would jump walls.

Something was here.

Tsuya stumbled back to the door, broom in hand, her kimono and hair a bit of a mess. She straightened out her kimono before offering a bow. "I got the last of them out."

"Don't act so proud," Tori snapped.

"I… I'm sorry, Lady Tori," Tsuya apologized.

"Miss Tsuya, I could use your assistance," the medicine seller interrupted, beckoning the young servant forward. There was something roaming the halls more than just the wild mongrels that kept getting in. It was best to keep everyone centralized while he tried to figure out what could be out there.

"Me?" she questioned. When he nodded, she propped the broom up against the wall, shuffling over to the medicine seller and dropping to her knees next to him. She stared at the mortar as he dropped it in her hands. "What's this?"

"Chest relaxant," he replied. "It requires time to cure." He pulled open another drawer, pushing aside a few herbs.

"More stuff?" Tori scoffed. "What else are you putting in there?"

He didn't bother looking at her this time. She was being very confrontational. "Just a bit of flavoring. The remedy is terribly bitter." He poured some of the liquid into the mortar, letting it mix in with the medicine. He glanced at Lady Inu as she began coughing like a dog barking once again. "This will help relieve the symptoms, but it's not the cure. This sickness isn't curable by medicines."

"It's a curse, isn't it?" Tsuya yelped but quickly clamped a hand over her mouth with her free hand.

"Not a curse, no," he replied. "A mononoke."

...

Author's musings

The start of an adventure! This takes place in the Edo era shortly after Nue story and before the time skip into the Meiji era. I always got the impression that he had a supernatural sense about him and that's what attracted him to certain places.

I do wonder what mononoke the medicine seller will encounter this time!