The Winter of the Ubume

An LLS Production


: 時雨

❆Viktor❆

Magic is real. It exists. And it is holding my hand to lead me out of a forest in Hasetsu, Japan.

"How'd you end up at the shrine?"

"Atarime-hiko showed me."

"I thought so."

"Come again?"

"It's nothing," Yuuri spoke slightly louder. The crunch of the forest underfoot and the moonlight lighting our way might have looked romantic, but the thing behind us was quite the turn-off. Yuuri was still wearing that Japonised Lohengrin costume, and the feathers were so particular in their arrangement, I could not help but reach out and lay my hand across the wings on his back, white receding to black tips.

"Are these real feathers?" I whispered as the prickles of its soft barbs pricked me.

Yuuri fidgeted. "Probably... Madam Kyō – the organiser – knows a lot of people, including some tennyō. Er, in English, that's... celestial nymph, I think. They wear feather cloaks to fly to their homes in heaven. Sometimes they descend to earth and take off their Hagoromo – that's the feather cloak."

"Like the swan maidens," I clarified.

"Right!" Yuuri nodded in the gloom of the spring night.

"But..." I frowned, "Mari asked me if I knew what was an Ubume."

"Nee-chan..." Yuuri lapsed into Japanese, probably a mark of the pressure he felt in revealing so many secrets. Well, I don't like secrets, especially if it meant that I had come to a wonderland here and it was deliberately withheld from me.

"An Ubume is a yōkai born from the soul of a woman who died in childbirth," Yuuri started to explain. "It looks like a young woman holding a baby on the roadside. She would ask passers-by to hold the baby, or adopt the baby in exchange for some monetary payment. As these passers-by travel along their way, the baby would grow heavier and heavier, and eventually crush whoever had agreed. If they dropped the baby, the Ubume would kill them. If they left the baby, the Ubume would also kill them. The only way to succeed was to fight the impossible weight and carry it home."

"That sounds like a terrible lady," I started, "but what does this have to do-"

"However," Yuuri continued, "those who managed to continue holding the baby to the end, was said to obtain superhuman strength, at the cost of changing one's connection to the otherworld. That power is called the Ôbō-Jikara. When that strength is used, the illusion of the user's shadow will have four arms. And, that strength passes down from the original holder to all his future descendants."

I froze, recalling how easily Mari had felled that tree with her bare hands. "Mari... is your sister, right?"

"Yes."

"And your parents are Hiroko and Toshiya, right? You're not adopted, right, Yuuri?"

Yuuri stopped walking to look at me. "They're my biological and only parents."

"So..." How do I phrase this... "You have supernatural strength, and you still managed to bomb an athletic competition?"

I could see the stifled wince. "I can't anchor myself too much on the ice."

"There are toe picks," I pointed out.

"I've broken enough toe picks in the ice for Yuuko-chan to fish out," Yuuri shamefully admitted. "And just because I'm strong doesn't mean... that much when I'm not flexible enough."

...alright. I can accept that. The role of body shapes in sports was not a fun topic to talk about. "So... what happened to the Ubume? Your grandfather met an Ubume and saved a kid, right?"

Yuuri winced, squeezing my hand. Somehow, the thought that Yuuri could crush my hand into mincemeat was hardly a deterrent; and neither was the black dog looming in our wake to scare off the nearest few demons and ghosts of the night. "Yeah, that's... right."

I considered the implications for a moment. "So... when Atarime-hiko brought me here... he didn't know about the contest, did he?"

"No."

"Alright, let's leave it at that," I relented. "Does Celestino... know?"

"No..." Yuuri swallowed. "...and why would he guess?"

"You've been a bad boy, Yuuri," I whispered, trying not to jump as another growl echoed. "What else were you hiding from me, mm?"

The black beast, it growled, causing Yuuri's attention to shift away from the little piglet to a ferocious boar. Footsteps echoed behind us – the two of us, the dog's nearly silent padding, and soft thumps.

"After you, Betobeto-san." Yuuri spoke softly, moving the side and pulling me along. The footsteps echoed in front with their invisible maker, the little sounds dying as it went to the distance ahead of us and our loud breathing.

"Viktor. Breathe."

Oh, wait. Those was my ears picking up on my blood rushing through my head.

I screamed as a wet muscly thing brushed my fingers.

"Gav." The black beast, the okuri inu, was still there, patiently tugging towards a fork in the road.

"That's strange," Yuuri murmured. "We don't have any local okuri inu."

"So what do we do?" I asked, petting the doggy and marvelling at the quality of its curly coat. "Huh... feels like Makkachin."

The black beast growled.

"Viktor. Please let go of my head." Yuuri's muffled words echoed around my arms, from where I had clutched him into my embrace. To protect him. Da.

"I guess he doesn't like that name," I trembled, but let go. My arm lingering over Yuuri's hand did not distract my newest protégé from the dog; on the contrary, Yuuri looked at the dog pulling at the hem of my cotton robe.

"He... wants us to follow him?"

"Oh, that's... interesting." I paused. "Should we?"

"Anything dangerous would be at the party tonight, so..." Yuuri shrugged.

We set off at a slow walk, the better to make use of our limited vision to guide us. The dog yipped, barked, and basically acted like Makkachin, except that this dog was far more obedient and intelligent than my own. Overhead, a 'chi, chi' call echoed. Five seconds passed before the same sounds echoed back, far later than it should.

"Yosuzume and kodama," Yuuri pointed out. "Er... yosuzume is a bird yōkai, and kodama are tree spirits. Yosuzume usually herald the okuri inu."

I would have said something, but I really did not want to be eaten.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure you get out of Hasetsu safe," Yuuri tacked on, fidgeting. "Because... after tonight, you likely don't want to see me again, or Hasetsu. A- As for the coaching fee-"

"Yuuri, I don't mind that you're... strong," I cut in. "After all, that strength meant nothing in your Grand Prix final. And your friends and family clearly love you enough to... pull me in for a look. Strange or not, human or not, nechist or nezhit, they are your family. Coming to Hasetsu meant that I would have to see them. I am very touched that they care so much for you."

The black dog yipped.

"You love Yuuri too? Yes. Good ghost doggy," I praised. "Besides, I have found a world of wonder with it! What could possibly happen here?"

Yuuri's arm stopped me from planting my face into the side of a small building. I smelt mildew and damp, the signs of zero maintenance since its establishment, basically about the size of one tatami mat.

"Ah, what is this? A... shed? In the middle of the forest?"

The dog started to scratch at the sliding doors, prompting my soothing.

"Inside?" Yuuri reached out to the sliding door. "Sorry for my interruption."

Silence. Yuuri pulled open the door.

I jumped again, grabbing his arm as he screamed and nearly fell down.

"You said not to fall, right, Yuuri! What did you-" I squinted, trying to fight against the pull of Yuuri's weight. The moonlight was weak, but if I squinted a lot...

A moonbeam shifted, almost rivalling the spotlights of a stadium in its intensity as it illuminated matted curly fur, a closed jaw, and torn ears. Wrapped in those straw ropes and folded paper streamers was a jar containing-

"Bozhe moi," I was very thankful I hadn't called Yurio out to search for Yuuri with me. "Is that a poodle's head?! Just the head?!"

My fingers dug into hair and fur – one each, because even the ghost dog needed assurance.

"Gav gav."

Yuuri got up. Something was wrong when he didn't apologise as seemed to be habit, and in fact seemed far more distracted than he should. "V- Vicchan..."

"Eh? Yes?"

"No... not you. My dog." Yuuri's eyes were focused on the dog head turned fetish. "He died before the Grand Prix final. Mum told me. Mum said that he died... but I didn't think... it'll... like this! He was my friend!"

I patted his shoulder, and then reconsidered it to pull him towards me. "It's alright, Yuuri. It's alright to cry."

This was a world of wonder... but also one of terror. The wonder and terror formed two sides of the same kind.

Terror always came on the heels of wonder.


❄Yuri❄

The piggy was listless the next morning, which left me with enough time to bug Viktor...

…who was equally dispirited as he spoke to a policeman in English.

"What the hell happened?" I asked the pig's sister over the bar counter.

"Yuuri and Vicchan found Vicchan's head," she sighed.

"Head? Vicchan?" I jabbed a finger towards Viktor. "He's right there!"

"Oh, I mean Yuuri's dog." She moved some more stuff, and I saw that she was setting out a tray of noodles. "Vicchan – the dog – died on the day of the Grand Prix final. Should have told him afterwards, not before, but it was so sudden... and now someone dug up Vicchan and cut his head off to dry in salt, apparently. Viktor and Yuuri stumbled upon the place where the head was kept in a shrine."

"Eww!" That sounded... morbid. Seriously. This town was messed up. "Why would anyone do that?!"

"That's what I don't understand either," Mari softly murmured. "Yuuri was messed up after Vicchan died, and now this..."

The piggy's not going to be able to skate, was my first thought. That was- underwhelming. Like, terribly underwhelming. For Viktor to have found it... well, it would have ordinarily made a stir in the local news, but this was probably going international. Viktor's reputation would make it international.

"So, where is Yuuri? At the police station?"

"No, he's asleep."

"You've got to be kidding! It's eight! I'm going to wake him up!"

"Well, he got pretty tired after having to identify Vicchan."

I stopped walking. That... "Did Viktor let him sleep in?"

Mari snorted. "Viktor had to take over the digging halfway, and then push Yuuri to bed at four AM."

"...well, it's his dog," I muttered, turning my head to look at the interview. "These things happen at the police station, right? Why here?"

"The press."

"Ah. Noted."

Both men stood up. The policeman bowed and walked off, and Viktor approached the bar and slammed his whole upper body on the counter. "Mari, could I have some shōchū? I'll take vodka if you have any."

"No alcohol this early in the day," I hissed at Viktor. "What did they say?"

"Well... their English is borderline awful, but it was mainly time, place, what was I doing, and so on. Oh, and they asked if I recognised the dog." His hand dropped to Makkachin, digging into the hairball's fur. "It's a poodle, I can tell. No idea if it's Yuuri... dog. Awful thing to happen to any pet and owner."

"So the dog's dead... and why did they behead it?"

"No, Vicchan died last year. The vet gave a death cert and all," Mari clarified. "Some sicko dug him up, beheaded him, and then took the head."

"Eww," I repeated.

"You forgot the preservation in salt and wrapping in enough straw ropes and streamers for a traditional shrine," Viktor sighed. "Poor Yuuri... and with the Hot Springs on Ice so close too."

My hackles arose at the tone Viktor used. I turned around, the better to glare at the bastard who was playing with his giant fur-ball of a mutt. "I'm not going to win, aren't I?"

Viktor, very sternly, gave me a look. "The show must go on... so Yuuri must perform. By the way, Mari, do you have a plate of chicken? We have another dog to feed."

Mari blinked. "Another dog?"


❅Yuuri❅

People ignore things that they don't like.

It's not a bad thing. It is who we are.

The weird stuff does not care about that, though – it keeps on happening. Every family has a ghost story in it – mine has more than most. Everyone has inexplicable experiences.

Nobody talks about it afterwards, though. Those kinds of things... aren't real. If you start saying that they are, you get the weird looks and jackets with extra-long sleeves.

I knew it. I knew it already from the moment I recovered his ashes.

A policeman came around to take our statements, after Viktor called them when we got back to Yū-topia. They had cordoned it off, and taken the... head. I had... I had called it Vicchan.

Would they analyse his DNA, I wonder? Probably not. Dogs are dogs to the police, not entities who stood as the closest friend that I had had.

The door opened. It could have been Dad, Mum, Mari-neechan... even Viktor.

"Yuuri, you have a visitor." Mari-neechan closed the door behind us.

"Katsuki-kun." Elegantly, with the grace of all her millennia of grace, my sister's boss settled on the only chair in the room. She was wearing a business suit, complete with tiny purse. "I bring good news and bad news."

I blankly stared back at her. "What news could you have now?"

"Have you heard of the inugami?"

I stared at her. Then I sat up straighter. "V- Vicchan- was-"

"No. That was the good news, but I need your full attention." A paper binder that could not have fitted in that purse materialised. "These are copies of the photographs taken from the Hasetsu police station."

I winced at the glossy pictures. "I'd rather not. What am I looking at?"

"The head was severed after death, as you well know, and then dried for preservation," she explained. "But the salt."

I stared at her. "Huh?"

She gave a sigh. "Salt is purifying."

Blink. Blink. "You mean... someone chopped off Vicchan's head to... purify it?" My horror and sadness was gone, replaced by confusion.

"I do not think that was the original intention." Kyō Kaigara murmured. "How much do you know about the inugami?"

"Are you supposed to be doing this?" I asked. "We don't have money-"

"I was employed to do some things not even the gods can change," Kyō Kaigara did not deflect from the question. "This is also part of the job."

"Oh..." Atarime-hiko and Unihime could hire her to do this? Was event organiser shorthand for assassin or something?

"Answer me, Katsuki-kun. What do you know about the inugami?"

"Er... they're... a yōkai formed with a dog's head, usually." I fidgeted. "And... they're sacrificed to cast a curse on someone. While they bring prosperity through curses and plundering, most summoners cannot maintain it once its powers had grown, and they eventually perish."

"The method is wrong, but the execution is about right," Kyō Kaigara noted. "Amongst humans, inugami are considered a type of shikigami, servant spirits that are summoned and affixed to physical form by an onmyoji. Folklore holds that its method of creation goes like this: A common pet dog must be buried up to its neck where only the head remains free. Then, food must be placed in front of it, just out of reach. After several days have passed as the dog is about to succumb, its head must be decapitated, and worshipped in a well-prepared shrine. It is that feeling of grudge created by resentment and appetite that grants the power to curse people to death."

I shuddered. "So... someone managed to create an inugami from Vicchan?"

"Why would your old and faithful hound abandon its home to serve another?"

"Eh? But-" I floundered. "I left Vicchan for five years!"

"Victor the dog knew," Kyō Kaigara blinked at me. "Humans are inferior to demons in the comprehension of non-human languages. Furthermore, having covered the sequence of events before and after your Grand Prix final, there was no chance to kidnap your dog from the safety of the Katsuki home."

Her lips twitched in amusement. "What you saw was therefore a botched ritual at inugami creation, never realising that your Vicchan never had a reason to be invoked, nor to rise from the grave. Techniques like these, when they fail, it comes back upon the practitioner a hundredfold. What they awakened was a dog yōkai, but not a chained inugami. They awakened a free yōkai, one which has now been accepted by the chimimoryō as one of their own, and that yōkai is now after them."

Chimimoryō. The demons and monsters of the archipelago, who constitute the Hundred Demons Night Parade.

"Come to think of it," Kyō Kaigara commented, "wasn't it around that time, that the okuri inu appeared?"


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