I recently finished reading Shaman King, and it was an interesting manga. I particularly enjoyed Hao's origins and his relationship with Matamune. Therefore, I decided I wanted to explore his first life as a monk and his subsequent descent into madness.
The night was overall silent. An earlier rain had caused a fog to form and glide down into the lower valley, clinging thickly near the ground. At the far side of a pathway, two men dressed in priest robes strode into view, an ox-drawn cart following behind them. The clacking of the cart's wheels slowly became the only sound to be heard, which made it seem all the more louder.
As the ensemble continued, they came to a bridge. The first words were spoken once they had begun to cross it.
"It certainly is a lot colder this time of year than it should be," the man on the left announced.
The one on the right nodded. "Yes, it sure is."
The first man continued, turning his nose up in the air and crinkling it in repulsion. "And the smell...it's gotten a lot worse."
Still leading the ox along, the second man replied. "Well, you know how troublesome it is." He looked over the side of the bridge. Littered along the riverbank and occasionally even in the river itself were corpses in various states of decay. Some had completely decomposed to bones while others were rather fresh. He sighed. "The poverty stricken families of the poor who die can't afford a proper burial, so...they bring the bodies here...and dump them. Though my body's used to it, my mind is still surprised that people do this. It's just a sign of the times, I suppose."
The first man nodded in return. "Yeah. The Court can't do anything now. If they had ever even tried to establish any order, it's all fallen apart now. Living in their palaces while everyone else starves...small wonder the bandits run around, killing and stealing who and whatever they want." He scowled. "And I don't understand why these people keep polluting their water supply."
"Because, it's the only place they have left that isn't over crowded," the second replied.
"Well, their only killing themselves quicker, giving themselves diseases this way," the first retorted.
"Maybe they want to die. I'm sure that a time such as this seems like the end of the world to village folk. Who knows...perhaps it is..."
The first man remained silent as the second followed suit.
A rustling noise made them stop in their tracks, eyes widened. Startled, they began looking around, shivering as they became more and more frightened. The rattling continued, becoming steadily louder.
The right man turned, looking behind and all around him. "Oh please...please don't let them appear..."
The other man stared at him, slightly puzzled. "Don't let what appear? What would possibly appear in a place like this?"
The right man regarded him with a slightly shocked expression. "'What would appear?' Why, if anything appeared here it would be one of those oni! They come straight from hell, you know? They'll eat anything and anyone! Men, women, children, it doesn't matter to them!"
The other man's eyes grew to the size of serving saucers.
A large clank resounded and the two men dropped to their knees, covering their heads with their arms. "AHHHHHHH! IT'S HERE!"
With time passing without the feeling of elongated talons and sharp, piercing teeth, ripping them apart as they screamed for their mothers, the two men took a chance and looked up.
Peeking through their eyes, they each noticed a skull on the opposite bank of the river shaking, making the noise that had them so frightened. Although glad to see it wasn't a dreaded oni, a moving skull still didn't help matters.
The skull finally toppled over, revealing the culprit. A small yellow cat bearing black stripes on its head and down its back regarded them coldly. The two parties stared at one another momentarily before the cat turned its head, sticking its nose in the air, and began walking away.
The men hadn't noticed that, in their fright, they had coaxed the cart across the bridge. It was now resting behind them as they looked down the bank at the feline.
"It's...a cat," they blandly stated in unison.
"What the hell?" the man on the right shouted.
"You little bastard, thinking you could scare us!" the left added.
"I'm gonna kill you!" they yelled together, throwing their kariginu back to draw their swords.
As they descended upon the cat, it turned to look at them with blank regard. The feline didn't mind dying. It would be much better than this living hell, anyway.
Just as the blades were about to make contact with flesh, a voice, soft spoken but firm, sounded out.
"Stop."
The men turned to stare at the cart. The man they were escorting had spoken up for the first time since leaving his mansion.
The man in the cart continued. "It doesn't matter how weak or insignificant it is, it is still a living creature. Killing it without a reason would be unforgivable. A sin, even."
"But it's just a mangy cat!" the two men protested.
The man rolled up the blind covering the cart's left window. "Jiro," he said, staring sternly at the man on the left before turning his attention the man on the right, "Taiki... I expected much better from the two of you. I am deeply ashamed."
Jiro and Taiki lowered their eyes, staring at the ground. "Forgive us, Lord Onmyoji. We sincerely apologize."
The man stared at them harshly a few moments longer before smiling. "Haha, no, no, there's no need to turn so apologetic. I'm far too used to scolding you now." He sighed. "I had only hoped that the two of you would have taken my teachings to heart by now."
He turned away from them. "Isn't it extraordinary?" the man inquired, to really no one in particular, stepping out of the cart.
The two men were confused. "Eh?"
The Onmyoji fully emerged from the cart, the night wind blowing his long black hair around him and causing his white kariginu and jo-e of the same color to flow in the breeze. He reached up and straitened his incredibly tall black eboshi perched on his head.
He looked out, regarding the cat, intrigued. "It's all alone in this human capital of destruction, and it escaped the wrath of death."
The cat regarded the man in shock. How could this man know about that?
Taiki and Jiro were slightly unnerved, as well. "Ah...um..."
The Onmyoji continued, his eyes not leaving the feline. "You...you were abandoned by your parents, and have outlived your seven brothers and sisters...yet you also know that you have contracted deadly diseases and are nearing death..."
The cat turned to face him, shock now completely evident on its face. Jiro and Taiki bore a similar look. Still yet, the priest continued on, smiling all the while.
"That brave soul of yours...it's completely absent of the fear of the oni." His smile broadened a little. "How could I possibly leave you alone out here? Plus...I believe you should be able to see..."
The cat watched in silence as two ogre looking creatures materialized on either side of the man while, out from each ogre, smaller ones began to appear, until they had the man and the cat encircled.
The man extended his hands towards the feline. "Come, come to my side," he stated.
Seeing no better option and, in all honesty, overjoyed to have someone understand him, the cat complied. Although wary, he steadfastly marched towards the man until he felt fingers wrapping around his sides. The man lifted the cat up into his arms, cradling the feline.
The Onmyoji smiled. "Good."
Taiki and Jiro stood dumbfounded as the man stepped back into the cart, carrying his furry companion all the while.
"Well? Shall we continue?" the Onmyoji inquired from behind the re-veiled window.
"Um...Ah, yes, yes, of course my lord!" they quickly stammered out as they coaxed the ox into moving the cart forward once again.
In the cart the man looked down at the feline.
"Hm...you certainly are interesting. I believe we'll become very good friends." The cat's twitching ears were his only response.
He smiled. "Well, since I can only see your thoughts, I'm not sure as to what your name is. Or if you even have one, for that matter." The feline looked up at him at this.
"As such, I believe I'll call you...Mata...mune. I hope you don't mind." The cat happily mewed in response, quite glad to have a name and a new existence, which the Onmyoji could sense, making him smile.
The man's dark eyes flashed for a moment. "How foolish of me! Here I am blatantly giving you a name without telling you my own! I'm sure you heard those men refer to me as 'Onmyoji,' but that's actually more of a title given due to my, er...profession. Seeing as how we are friends, you should at least know my name. It is Hao Asakura." Hao reached down, using his right index finger and thumb to lightly grasp the feline's right paw, gently shaking it up and down while smiling. "Pleased to meet you."
The cat happily meowed his own "It's a pleasure" in return.
The ox-led cart continued on, rolling through the night towards its destination.