Disclaimer: It's been a pretty busy week for me, hopefully I'll be able to finish this story this month before everything becomes crazy. As usual, all credit goes to Shingo Nanami and フクロウ.
Warning: This is pretty dark. Viewer discretion advised. I'm not kidding, this story is pretty dark.
羽衣天女
Robe of the Celestial Maiden
Kasane x Ikeda
Part One
Returning from his inspections, Ikeda proceeded towards the river found in the depths of the mountain.
It was place devoid of people and animals; a place where no one would frequently visit.
A pure river.
If you were to look down over its surface, you would see numerous fishes swimming under the murmuring surface.
Following alongside the river, he strolled upstream.
Pushing his way through the grass, probably due to the purity of the water, he found many unusual flowers abundantly blooming.
It was a beautiful place untouched by human hand.
It seems that he was the only one who discovered this river, so that felt nice.
No one else knew of this place, so it might be true that he's the first one to discover this spot.
Even it it wasn't so, the thought of being the one to discover this place first made him feel better, therefore Ikeda conveniently thought this way ever since.
Arriving at the upper banks, he could see the beautiful falls cascading down in the distance.
With the peach blossoms blooming around the waterfalls, the scenery was divine to wonder.
The petals of the blossoms fluttered gently over the water's surfaced and began to flow downstream.
And that's when he noticed a presence in the middle of the waterfall.
Noticing a human, he hide himself away, hiding away his presence.
It was a silhouette of a young girl.
She received the mild flows of the falls, cleansing her body.
The unclothed form of a lady.
The short hair behind her head clinged at her nape, the peach blossoms fluttered down around her body.
Her white skin in unity with the blossoming petals undergoed a purification ceremony.
It was a near fantastical view he's ever seen, a masterful scenery.
Just the beauty of her made Ikeda utterly fascinated by the girl.
Who was this girl; why was she bathing in this deserted place.
Various questions appeared then disappeared.
He only wanted to gaze at her.
(ーーThis is)
Turning his attention to the peach tree, he noticed a set of clothes and robe carefully folded onto one of the branches.
(A robe)
The beautiful hue of the robe wavered to and fro even though no wind came in its way.
(So she's a celestial maiden)
He heard about them.
In the tall tales he read in the documents, the ones he believed to be imaginary; the women called celestial maidens.
Stories that they were those who lived in the heavens and served God; kind-hearted goddesses that lead and reasoned with humans.
And stories of them occasionally appearing in this world, deceiving men as they go; devilish enchantresses.
They wore a mysterious robe over their bodies and flew in the sky.
Ikeda once more glanced at the girl.
So that girl will once more wear that and return to the sky?
He wanted to talk to her.
To see her smile.
To stroke that skin.
To touch that skin.
He wanted her to be forever by his side.
Just one look progressed into a boundless desire.
Do celestial maidens also hold the power seduce people?
It's the first time he's felt this way.
He couldn't help but want to capture her.
Will she come back to this spot?
Will he meet her again?
No, this was only just a whim for heavenly beings.
There was no guarantee that she would come back here again, ever.
What can he do.
What could he do to stop that girl from leaving.
He once more glanced at her robe.
Propelled by his own clandestine greed, in the small corner of his heart Ikeda felt ashamed.
TBC
Whew, we're starting off a pretty difficult story here. This is another favorite story of mine, mostly because of the ending. So I hope will enjoy this story as a whole. Although proceed with caution here... the story is dark.
Well then, that's it for now. I'll so you all hopefully next week. So until then I hope everyone has a safe and enjoyable week.