Chapter 14: Meet Nanabi
I am loath to say that I have been to stay, I've been with the devil in the devil's resting place.*
'Brat…'
A deep growl woke Izumi from her sleep. However, after a while, she realized that she was not in the bedroom with her sister, but in a cold, unpleasant and only partially-lit place resembling swamps. She felt a strange and intense dark chakra.
'Who are you? She rubbed her eyes. Over time, frequent sights of the Abyss and demons made her more used to creepy and haunting things of this world. She began to get used to the fact that she would sometimes fall into another dimension in which she could interact with the undesired guests living inside her. This time, instead of the Moth, the girl saw huge insect legs.
'Come closer.' The voice was unlike the familiar Huranaishi's, though it sounded just as ominous.
The girl realized that she was standing on a small island in the middle of a black sea. She had been here often, but she had never seen this monster before. She realized that a narrow path appeared before her, like a dike dividing the water in half, leading to a larger island where the 7-Tails was shackled. He had the form of a huge black moth, glittering eyes in which all the colours of the rainbow shimmered, a thin coating covering pitch-black balls.
The monster smiled, showing long rows of sharp teeth. The first thing that came to the sleepy Izumi's head was the fact that moths don't have teeth, it's a miracle if they have mouths at all... But she shrugged her shoulders - whatever happens in the Abyss hardly ever makes sense and you just have to accept it. Without much thought, she decided to follow the narrow path while the waves of the demonic lake lapped her feet. This time, however, she did not feel any fingers or tentacles trying to pull her under the surface, as they had so often before. She felt a certain powerful aura coming from the monster and concluded that perhaps because of her new visitor, the atmosphere in her personal Abyss had changed drastically. She smiled at that thought.
'Good evening, Chomei. Welcome to my humble… adobe.' Izumi stood straight in front of the demon and bowed low. She acted exactly as Hitomi had instructed her, although twisting the last word, not really remembering its meaning. The monster was taken aback, despite the lack of facial expressions... or rather a mouth, Izumi sensed the changing aura. 'It will be a pleasure to host you.'
'So it was you who Hitomi gave the keys to my shackles to, hm.' Chomei sighed. 'I was expecting someone...'
'Older?' The girl smiled shyly.
CHILD…
A bone-chilling groan echoed through the Abyssal cave. Izumi shivered and the 7-Tails raised its head slightly. The girl did not want to turn around, knowing very well what she would see behind her back.
'How do you like your roommate, Chomei?' Izumi whispered, still standing motionless, staring at the ground. A chilling moment like that can only be saved with jokes, Izumi taught herself throughout the years.
'What an honour, Moth,' replied the monster, addressing the charred skeleton, muscles and sinews slowly forming on its limbs 'or should I say, Huranaishi.'
The name of the goddess resounded for the first time in Izumi's Abyss, gradually breathing more life into the reincarnated body. The little Nanusake turned around. The charred skeleton knelt on its heels, examining the stumps that had once resembled hands. She ran them over her skull, leaving traces of red flesh that slowly began to form on her cheeks. Her jaw dropped open, and if her face had been… normal, Izumi could have sworn she would have been smiling. The girl shuddered at the sight. Even as she grew more accustomed to the cruel images of death, there was still something bleak and perplexing about the Moth that made her shudder.
.
*Laura Marling - Devil's Resting Place