鬼遊戯 - Demon Games-

Dragged into the abyss, I am nothing more than a plaything for the oni

My head feels like its spinning after the hours of discussion and explanations, in a way, it's no different to the meetings with the Choshu or Tosa. Slowly sipping tea, I examine the assortment of sweets laid out neatly on the table and glance at Sen who turns away sharply. Well, guess she's the sort of girl who'd hold a grudge for a simple misunderstanding. Setsura is in the middle of whispering something to Chikage-dono and Chizuru-san is somewhere with Ankou. Something about unsealing her memories, I think she said.

In short, the yokai world and the human world coexist with each other, though since the connection has weakened over time; the only way to enter the yokai world was through the use of the tori gates and fulfilling certain conditions. There were few exceptions to this such as various oni and yokai clans who chose to live among humans, eventually intermingling with them as their bloodline thinned out. *sigh* resting my back against the wall, the door opens slightly as Chizuru-san tip toes in followed by Ankou who floats in. Must be nice being able to fly.

"Hag. I don't have time for your petty requests." Chikage-dono straightens his back and prepares to walk out the door. He stops a little away from Chizuru-san and looks straight at, almost as though he is browsing in a store."...You should be prepared to come with me next time." Chizuru-san shakes her head violently as Sen glares at him silently.

"My my. A mere oni like yourself dares to defy a daitengu like me?" Ankou's bored sounding voice seems to have some presence as Chikage-dono stops and remains staring at the door, though his jaw is set is a firm line and his eyes are glowing like red hot coals. "As the guardian of Kyoto, I have far more authority than an arrogant oni outsider like you. Get back here." She clicks her finger at him as if she's calling a puppy to her side and snickers as he grits his teeth.

"How dare you..." Chikage-dono's voice crawls to a harsh whisper as an ominious wind blows gently through the room. 4 long white horns emerge on his now silvery white hair as his eyes glow a deeper shade of red "I'm a pureblood from the Kazama oni clan of the west. I'll teach you to look down on m-"

"Silence, brat." without batting an eyelid, Ankou points her pipe in his direction and grins as Chikage-dono appears to be held tightly by invisible chains or something. "...ghhh...fuck you.." Chikage-dono grits his teeth in anger and tries to break free, but fails. "..Huh, looks like you're learning. Now sit quietly like a good boy. In fact, you should try be more like Akihisa..."

"...don't mention that fucking name in front of me." Chikage-dono snaps viciously as Ankou raises an eyebrow with amusement and snickers "I'll say it as many times as I'd like. The Kazama clan would fall into ruin if an ingrate like you were to become clan leader. Your younger brother is a far better choice."

"Oi. Setsura, care to enlighten me?" I nudge Setsura as she looks almost sadly at Chikage-dono and smiles sleepily as she repositions herself to a more comfortable position. "Well, the Kazama clan is currently in a... schism of sorts. The two sides either support Kage-kun as the heir or Akihisa-kun, his younger brother. Kage-kun has the support of the current clan head and his father; Narihira-sama and many of the younger clansmen while Akihisa, has the support of their mother, Okichi-no-miya who holds great influence among the oni...and other affiliated yokai such as Ankou Gozen."

She absentmindedly draws circles on her knees with her finger and steals a glance at Chikage-dono "Right now he's focused on doing whatever it takes to persuade everyone he'll be the better choice. Doing things like assisting the Ishin Shishi, the Rasetsu and a suitable mate to produce a powerful heir... namely a pureblood oni like Tsuru-chan"

"mate? What about you?" I raise an eyebrow at her as she looks shyly away and runs her finger along the table "...I'm a pureblood descendant of Shuten Doji, making me a different species. True, I am far more powerful than Kage-kun is, and my standing is much higher, but there are...reasons why...aww Beni-chan!" she slaps me playfully and giggles "You're making me sound silly now! teehee!" Tch. Fine, dodge the question Setsura. I shrug and watch as Setsura covers her face delicately as she laughs and waves to Sen who smiles back and nods in greeting. "So, you guys mentioned 'Benigawa Oborodzuki'. What's the deal?"

~X~X~X~

"Benigawa Oborodzuki is a title granted to the heir of the Yonaga oni clan, the descendants of Rashomon. The role of Benigawa is an enforcer, ensuring the laws of yokai are adhered to and punishing those who break the rules. Additionally, as oni, Benigawa acts as a neutral party and assists with making decisions such as deciding the next clan head. So, how is it that you have the title?" Sen looks at me with genuine curiosity in her eyes as everyone else stares expectantly at me. Guh, I don't like all this attention, especially when it comes to a topic which is related to something which I prefer to keep closed away.

"...Before Benigawa Oborodzuki the famed hitokiri existed, I was known as 'Benigaka' or the 'red painter'. Sometime after that, I formed an alliance with 2 others who would be able to create the illusion of a legendary assassin. The name was coined by one of the other members. " Chizuru-san gapes and points a finger "so then...that means..."

"Yes." I nod as Ankou raises an eyebrow and Sen covers her mouth with surprise "The true identity of Benigawa Oborodzuki the hitokiri was 3 people. Myself, a member of the Choshu Kiheitai; Mimegumi Kazunari and a ronin, Kasamori Oboro. That was how Benigawa was able to kill so quickly and efficiently. I handled the killings, Kazunari and Oboro handled everything else. That's all...I guess"

Almost everyone bar Chizuru-san is staring at me with surprise on their faces. *clunk* Ankou's pipe drops from her hands as she remains frozen in place with her mouth open slightly. "Oh man, you guys. It's not that shocking is it?"

Chikage-dono is the first to speak, his eyes narrowed in that signature position "...Kasamori Oboro. Perhaps this is more than a coincidence. The last Benigawa Oborodzuki was a half oni half tengu named Yonaga Oboro."

Sen picks up from where Chikage-dono stops and glances at Kimi who gives her a nod " He disappeared 9 years ago, shortly after the Yukimura clan massacre. Which brings me to ask you this..."Sen pulls a mirror from within her obi, it glows gently and soon a blurred image appears on it, slowly focusing to a silvery-white haired man with messy shoulder length hair, dressed in a black monk's kimono; his hand stroking his chin as he grins cheerfully towards us. "Is this man the same Kasamori Oboro you know?"

"...well, it's certainly a face I can't forget anytime soon." I grin bitterly and look away from the mirror "That's definitely him. Though the bastard's been dead for 2 years now."

Ankou relights her pipe and blows smoke all over the already stuffy room " That damn ingrate. Hmph, dying before I could box his ungrateful ears. " She rolls over suddenly and turns her winged back towards us so her face is hidden " Yonaga had reported to me regarding Yukimura Kodo's theft of Shuten Doji's legendary wine to manufacture the Ochimizu, as well as his massacre of countless lesser oni. The idiot chose to act upon instinct and ended up being wrongly accused of orchestrating the Yukimura massacre. Oi. Human." she raises her pipe towards my direction and flicks the ash gently away "You eliminate Yukimura Kodo. The brats here can clean up the rasetsu."

"Why should I involve myself in the matters of the oni world?" I shake my head and stand up to leave, stretching my cramped leg and glaring at the daitengu's back.

"Simple. You're the closest thing we have to a neutral party. The Yonaga clan is no more, and you're capable of assisting with clean up. " Great. I'm a 'thing' now eh? I grunt in reply and cross my arms " Don't involve me in your petty demon games. This is all related to the Kazama family feud isn't it? Leave me out of this. I'm not a tool "

Ankou chews the end of her pipe, from the looks of it, I hit the mark. "This isn't a request, but an order." Ankou sits up slowly and points her finger at me. A sudden unseen force roots me to the ground and I feel like my lungs are going to be crushed. "...fuck...no.." I manage to gasp out an answer as she presses her lips together and raises another finger, pointing them downwards as the pressure increases. "..ghcckk...ugh." I feel blood trickling out of my eardrums and tiny bright lights flicker everywhere. "...*cough*..."
"U-um! Stop it ! please!" Chizuru-san rushes up and stands in front of me, her arms outstretched as she faces Ankou. "She's right! A human shouldn't be involved in our world...we're...probably monsters to humans anyway..."

"*cough* fuck...*cough*...*ptuh*" I spit out blood onto the wooden floor and pray it stains forever as I stand silently and turn to face Ankou who looks emotionlessly back at me. "...die!" I leap towards her with my naginata spread out, slashing forward as a look of faint surprise flickers across her face as my blade connects. "...My.." Ankou slowly brushes some feathers off her face and stares with boredom at the deep gash I made across her torso. "...how rude. Attacking your host like that. If I wasn't me, I would be dead. Haha. " The blood gets sucked back into her body as the flesh closes up and reforms with clear white skin shining through the tear in her furisode. "...Hmph. Well, I suppose I've forgotten how greedy humans are. Tokichiro was the same. Fine."

She glares at me and spins her pipe leisurely " Yukimura Kodo may have played a role in the death of Yonaga Oboro." I frown and look questioningly at her "...and why are you telling me this?"
The tengu smirks and raises a leg slowly, leaning her head against her knee "there are still things you don't know about him, correct? In exchange for your services, I'll provide information. About Yonaga and whatever else you wish for. Fair?"

"..." In this age, information is key to winning. Ankou is a neutral sort of party, not to mention she's not human which would mean I might gain access to all sorts of information people like Goro-nii normally can't. Now that I think about it, maybe that's why Setsura always had freakishly accurate information. "..Alright. I'll help you." I nod as she bares her teeth in a grin "but, don't think for a second that I'll willingly do as you say."

"Ara, that's a little conflicting." She stares unblinkingly at me with scorn in her voice "You're considered one of the swords of Tosa, the killing machine of Takechi Hanpeita and Sakamoto Ryoma. Who would have thought you'd be capable of making decisions."

~X~X~X~

"*phew* I was sweating like a pig in there." I slowly take off my mask and breathe with relief as part of my sweaty face is exposed to the cool breeze "Ah~ That feels great!" I fan the mask gently over my face and stare sideways at Chizuru-san who jolts in her seat and squirms awkwardly as we make eye contact "...ah...Sorry. " She turns away and stares meekly at her teacup with a faint blush on her face. She's kinda cute, with a tiny face that belongs to a doll and big brown eyes which reminds me a little of Shizu-chan. "I d-didn't mean to stare at you!" She shuts her eyes and bows her head in apology as I lean on my hand and smirk "What? You're curious to see who's actually underneath the mask of Benigawa?" she shakes her head violently and turns red. Looks like I hit the nail on the head. "Haha! You're adorable. "

She turns red and stares at her hands "..um..thanks." She speaks softly and smiles with embarrassment. "...I remember everything. About my real parents, my twin brother , the man I call father 'Yukimura Kodo' and... Yonaga Oboro."

"Yonaga Oboro was like a big brother to me." She looks shyly at me and smiles "He used to play with Kaoru-nii and I when he came to visit my parents. The last time I saw him was...on the day my clan was destroyed. I remember him saving Kaoru-nii and then there was fire. A lot of it."

I pat her hand comfortingly "Sounds like you've been through a lot." She nods and looks confidently at me "but that doesn't mean I have to be all depressed about it! I've got people who care for me and comrades!...like you! um...Benigawa...san?..." I look at her with surprise as she grins back innocently at me. She's so naïve it pisses me off a little. Shouldn't you know better than to cosy up to a hitokiri like me? I remain smiling and shrug "Call me Beni-chan. It's less of a mouthful."

"So...how did you know Oboro nii-chan?"

I stare at the scenery behind Chizuru-san, a group of young tengu are flying around underneath the cherry trees, shrieking with laughter as they try dodging the falling petals. "...he was my fiancé." One of the tengu children turns to look at us and points a finger at me. Well, I guess seeing a human in a tengu village isn't exactly an everyday experience. "but that's all in the past now. So.." I turn to face her and take the kodachi hanging at her side. Just what I needed to move away from this conversation.

"That kodachi yours? Can I have a look?" Chizuru nods meekly and folds her hands in her lap as I examine her kodachi. From the looks of it, it's been made quite well though it's no Masamune or Muramasa blade.

"Catch." I toss her the kodachi and open and close my fists a few times "Since you're masquerading as a boy, that kodachi shouldn't be just a decoration. You do know how to fight, don't you? "

Chizuru shakes her head violently "n-no! I would prefer not to use it at all! E-especially since you might get hur-kyaaa!" I easily lift her into the air by her neck and let her feet dangle over the ground. "I'm more than capable of defending myself empty handed. Now, come at me."

I lower her gently onto the ground and she rubs her neck, coughing briefly before taking a deep breath. "Benigawa-san!...I'm sorry!" Chizuru-san screws her eyes shut for a moment as she readies her stance and raises her kodachi so the kisaki is level with her chin. "yaah!" she dashes forward, her arms moving to strike at me. Hmm, her footwork isn't bad and her stance is decent enough to cover her open points, however, experience is key to winning. "Not bad." I grab onto her wrist and easily pluck the kodachi as it falls from her grip, then hold her in a headlock with her own weapon pressed against her throat.

"...*huff*...ah..." As I let go, Chizuru-san falls to the ground, gasping for breath "Y-you're so strong!" I wink at her and leave her as she picks herself up off the ground. I managed to dodge an awkward conversation, maybe I should find that stupid woman and leave now.

~X~X~X~

"Oi! Setsura! Take me back!" I wander around the area calling for the hitokiri "Oi! You loose woman! –huh?" I shut up and stand back as I spot something I probably shouldn't be seeing.

"- how sad." Setsura is leaning against a cherry blossom tree with Chikage-dono leaning against the other side. she raises a hand and catches some falling petals, closing her fists around them before blowing them away. "You'll go this far just to lead the clan?"

"Someone like you wouldn't understand." Chikage-dono speaks quietly and snickers softly " You've been among humans far too long, you've gotten soft-tsk." Setsura throws a handful of flower petals in his face and pouts " You've changed too, Kage-kun."

Chikage-dono's face softens slightly as he shrugs "Hasn't everyone?...Mi-san or should I call you Yukimi- Miya-sama now? hmph, perhaps you should take your pet back home." They turn to face me as I wave awkwardly. Setsura turns a light shade of pink and purses her lips at me. Ah, seems like she and Chikage-dono have something going on between them.

~ Akai Gasa~

"Phew! That was tough eh? You alright there?" The man standing ahead of me pulls his sword out from the limp corpse, kicking it to the ground and smiles as I scowl back at him. "Cheh. Did I look like I needed help?" I shake the blood off my naginata and sling it over my shoulders "You men are all the same, thinking that all women are weak and always crying for help. I hate people like you the most." He raises his hands in protest and shakes his head quickly "no, no, no. I didn't mean to imply anything like that. Wait..." he smirks at me and rubs his chin before tilting his head to this side " Mmm. yeah, with curves like that you're definitely a woman. Besides, what's so wrong about showing concern for a comrade?"

"Hah. You're just like all the others. Shut up and leave." I leap over the piled corpses and aim a punch at his face. "oof! You're tough!" he catches my fist in his hands and maintains his hold on me as he smiles teasingly "yare,yare. You must have a severe inferiority complex" he lowers my arm, holding it in place as he continues "That wasn't a question directed at you as a woman. I never once mentioned anything about you being weak, or even implied anything of the sort."

"...still, if I was a man, you wouldn't have stepped in like that." I twist his arm back and withdraw my arm, folding it inside my sleeves. "Everyone underestimates me...just because I'm a female..."

He closes one eye and tilts his head "actually, I would have done the same." He opens both eyes and crosses his arms casually "Men or women, that doesn't concern me. On the battlefield, gender is completely irrelevant. As long as you're fighting on the same side as me, that's all that matters. Besides..." he closes his left eye again and walks closer to me "it's not every day I can fight with a cute girl like you. Whaddya say about a date?"

"People like you infuriate me the most." I step back and point warningly at him "Take one more step and you will pay." He ignores me and continues to walk closer. I pull the hairpin from my hair and stab it into the centre of his palm. "Try anything else and I'll separate your head from your body."...? As I try pull my pin back, it's being held firmly in place by the man. He grips it tightly and shakes his head at me "you're a really rigid person, aren't you? It wouldn't hurt to loosen up once in awhile you know." He winks at me and casually raises his hand to his face, lapping the blood gently as he pulls the hairpin out. Geh, I'm not taking that back anymore. "Tsk. You're annoying. Who are you anyway?"

"...hmm, I'm just a simple ronin. My previous lord has died so I'm searching for a new master." he examines my bent and bloodied hairpin in his injury-free hand "...what about yourself? You aren't an ordinary girl, that's certain. A shinobi perhaps?"

"Think whatever you want."

"Oh? Kyoto beauties sure are colder than Edo ones. " He raises an eyebrow and picks up a red umbrella lying on the ground " The name's Kasamori Oboro. Care to join me?"

I blink back at him as he opens the red umbrella and leans the handle casually against his shoulder "No. What's the point of telling me your name anyway? Weirdo." I shrug and leap onto the roof, retying my tekko around my hand as I turn away from him. "...I'm known as the 'Red Painter' in my line of work." I turn my head back slightly as he twirls his umbrella absentmindedly around "... Kashiwagi Sho. That's my name."

"Ah. Sho-chan then." Geez, since when were we on a first name basis? We've only just met! I whirl around and glare at him "...what. A job request?"

"Not quite." Kasamori-san grins briefly and places his injured hand against his lips "I think this was a fated meeting." he raises my broken hairpin and shakes it lightly, making the chains tinkle gently "I still owe you something for this. Mmmm, I'll think about it next time."

~X~X~X~

"-this is too much! Lower the price!"
"Heehh? I gotta earn a living, woman, my kids will starve if I lower it any more!"
"Ara, well I suppose I'll need to buy from Nakata-san than."

"That'll be 200 ryo."

As my surroundings clear, I hear the sounds of the market, people arguing as usual and bumping into me as I wander slightly dazed. From the looks of it, it's the next morning. Maybe time went by at a different rate back there? Argh, this is all so confusing.

"Kiri-chan! There you are!"

A familiar voice jolts me out of my spacing out and I look up to see a certain brown haired man sloppily dressed in a green kimono.. "Hey! Where'd you go after last night?" Shin-chan grins at me and waves as he heads closer " I heard Takechi sent you off on a job, from the looks of it, you didn't have an easy time catching him huh?"

"Urgh, don't ask. Izo probably handled everything." I wave him away and point to him "So, What about you? It's rare to see you roaming around so early in the morning."

"I just wanted to buy some new strings for my shamisen. hehe. " he holds up his shamisen and chuckles. "You're lying." I jab him playfully in the side and take his shamisen, rocking it back and forth like a pendulum as we walk "I bet you're just using that as an excuse to skip another meeting."

"*sigh* found out huh." Shin-chan looks guiltily away and grins "Aww come on, you try spending all your time cooped up listening to those old farts drone on and on. Ugh, speaking of old fart, Miyabe's back again. I bet that bastard's going to try persuade Yamaguchi-san to do something stupid again."

"How're things going with the Kiheitai?" The Kiheitai was an army of volunteers among the Choshu who served directly under Shin-chan. The SatCho elders hadn't approved of this since it meant Shin-chan held a lot more military power and all the squad members placed absolute trust in him. In a way, I guess they were a little like the Shinsengumi. Of course, the Kiheitai were much better, under a leader like Shin-chan nothing can go wrong.

"Ehh, just the usual. We get more and more ronin coming in by the day, but still, it makes me sad to see so much people out of work." Shin-chan sighs and slows his pace "Looks like the age of samurai is truly dying you know?" I nod with understanding. A lot of men in the Tsutomu Tosa ranks were jobless ronin, happy to even do odd jobs to earn some coin. "...my dream is to make a world where samurai don't exist anymore A Japan that can protect itself from the dirty foreigners who try to steal it. People won't need to die needlessly and people like my cute little sister can live easy lives."

"Wouldn't that be nice?" I smile back at him as he skips along happily, balancing his shamisen gently on his shoulder as he walks . Sigh, of course I'm nothing more than Shin-chan's cute little sister. Oh well. "I like your dream...and I'll support you no matter what." He stops skipping and turns to me with glittery eyes "I knew you'd understand! You're welcome to join the Kiheitai anytime Kiri-chan."

Shin-chan smirks as I consider the offer. The Tsutomu Tosa royalists are pretty strong, but thanks to Shin-chan, the Choshu hold a considerable amount of power. Add in the fact that they have Glover-san the foreign merchant and Shin-chan's growing army of loyal men, it's not hard to believe in the possibility of winning. Though most of them are made up of extreme battle hungry men like Miyabe and Yamaguchi who believe violence is the only solution. "I'll think about it. First and foremost, I'm a part of Tosa."

He shrugs with defeat and strums his shamisen idly "Yeah yeah, I know that. But it wouldn't hurt to be more selfish you know?"

I scoff and elbow him "Geez, stop talking like Goro-nii. He said the same thing to me the other day...Shin-chan?" Shin-chan freezes where he is as his eyes are focused on a small figure in the distance. I focus my eyes as the tiny dot appears closer and forms a calmly smiling Katsura Kogoro.. "...Kiri-chan. Cover for me." Shin-chan tosses me his shamisen and begins to flee as Goro-nii sprints quickly "SHINSAKU! Get back! " He easily catches up and grabs Shin-chan by the collar, just as he tries to squirm out of his haori and escape, Goro-nii grabs his arm and holds it in place. "Shame on you Shinsaku. Skipping out on meetings like that. "

"Ugh. Fine fine, I'll come back. Sheesh." Shin-chan groans and rubs his shoulder "Just don't lecture me and I'm good." we both share a smile as Goro-nii sighs and crosses his arms "What am I going to do to make you behave? " His expression becomes serious as he helps Shin-chan up "I've received reports from Kusaka that Choshu will be holding a meeting tonight at Ikedaya. It seems that you and people closely affiliated with you weren't informed of this."

"Hmph. Sounds like someone's jealous of me. That's fine." Shin-chan shrugs arrogantly and flicks his hair " I'll ask Kyo and his pals to give me a heads up. Meetings aren't my thing anyways. Ah, there's a festival today, wanna come with me Kiri-chan?" he snickers and begins walking off as I follow "I'll ask Hirobumi and the others to come too. "
We ignore Goro-nii who stands patiently waiting for an opening."What about Goro-nii? and I want to go with Onii-sama too." Goro-nii taps his foot and sighs.

"Would it kill you to act a little more responsible?" He moves to stands in front of Shin-chan and I, blocking off chances off escape and launches into his long lectures. Knowing him, we'll probably be standing here for hours. Still, it's been awhile since I went to one of the festivals with Onii-sama or Shin-chan-

"Yugiri. Are you listening to me?"

"Nope."

Annd another chapter done XD thank you again to everyone for reading, following this story!

Next time: Hmm let's have Izo do it this time! Izo!

Izo:...*tries to sneak away*...I need to ask Takechi-sensei for permission

Mei: No! You don't need to ask him! I mean! I already got his permission~

Izo:... *blinks*ok... Chisai. (Bloody festival)

Mei:...:D? anything else you want to say? Izo? he's gone!