A?N: A shrine high the mountain side. A boy approaches, shadows following him.
Beta; lovely Cstorm86
The Boy Who Heeds No Rumors
He smiled. It was a perfect day for a trip - and a visit to a dear friend. Once he'd had a crush on her, but they weren't of compatible souls. Which wasn't any surprise, if you just looked at their zodiacs - she was a Taurus while he was a Virgo. The truth was plain as the stars.
He looked up. The stars were coming in to view on the eastern side of the sky, despite the west being still aflame from a lovely sunset. 'A pretty sunset,' he thought. 'How fitting, since it's Higurashi Shrine.'
He turned to look back at a pair of old people and offered them a warm smile.
"Thank you for the directions!" he said.
"Are you sure you don't want to stay the night, good man?" the old man asked.
"Oh, it's fine. I will be at the shrine in no time, so don't worry!" the young man in black jeans and purple button up shirt sent them a radiant smile and bowed. "Good night to you and pass my wishes for good health to miss Kaguraya."
Smiling widely, the young man left the house of the locals and walked towards the gate in a tall garden wall to follow the directions to the shrine, The sky above his head was darkening, as was the forest that surrounded him soon after leaving the village, so he switched on his flashlight.
Back at the house the old wife looked at her spouse.
"We should call priest Higurashi," she said and when he nodded, she went to make the phone call. Upstairs, a red-eyed girl sat in the open window, watching the handsome boy disappear in the dark forest, Then she closed the window, deciding that she should go visit the shrine too one day. For some odd reason, despite living here for all her life, she couldn't remember going there.
.
The sun was still well over the horizon when the bus arrived at a bus stop in the center of a small village. A few people exited it before the bus drove away.
Among the newcomers was a young man in black pants and a purple shirt. He ran a hand through his dark hair, breathing in the fresh air, sweet after the stuffy inside of a bus or even the air of the big town near the foot of the mountain. He smiled and looked at the forest that covered the higher part of the mountain, almost to where its top disappeared in the clouds like Mt. Fuji. 'Such a fantastic scenery, so serene and beautiful,' he thought. 'Now, to get some directions...'
He turned to the side where a pair of old people were talking. The man had been on the bus with him, presumably returning home from a trip. An old woman was greeting him, she was for sure his wife. Beside them stood two big luggage bags. The man was about to ask them for directions, but upon seeing the heavy bags he knew he should do more than just that. His backpack looked almost weightless beside those two.
"Hello, may I help you with your luggage?" he offered with innocent, kind smile. The pair looked at him in surprise.
"You're not from around here," the man pointed out, a bit suspicious. The young man nodded.
"Yes, I'm visiting a friend and wanted to ask for directions, but I noticed your heavy luggage and thought I could offer some assistance. My friend lives at the Higurashi Shrine," he added and then introduced himself. "I'm Hojo Keichi."
It took a bit of convincing, but after a few minutes the old couple allowed him to help them. He walked with them towards their home, which was a lovely two story building hidden in a small garden shielded by a tall wall. They had a pleasant conversation, Hojo telling them about his college plans and asking how the life in such a beautiful little village was like.
"You should stay the night in the village," said Mrs. Ito, the wife of a retired bamboo cutter. "It's dangerous in the forest after dark. The shrine is called Sunset Shrine because the sunset is a magical time. As the sunset gates between the apparent and supernatural world open youkai roam the wilderness. There is such a gate on the mountain and Higurashi shrine keeps it safe and fends off the vile youkai."
Juju, her husband, nodded vigorously and held the gate for Hojo.
"Yes, it's dangerous out there. And beside youkai, there are some wild animals roaming the woods too," he said when Hojo walked past him, following his wife towards the small lovely house. "Well, where wild animals usually don't attack people, youkai can."
Hojo smiled at the man walking beside him towards where the woman was opening the house door. He guessed it was no surprise that those people so strongly believed in youkai, after all it was a remote place and they were old. It would be rude to tell them that that was just a superstition. He put the bags beside the opened door of the house.
"Here you go," he said with a smile to the old man.
"Thank you, young Hojo," he said. "Come inside, let's have tea. San and I will tell you the directions to the shrine.
"That'd be great, thank you," Keichi said with a bow and followed the man inside. They removed their shoes and walked to a small, tidy kitchen where Hana was already making tea. A plate of cookies sat on the table.
Keichi sat down and smiled at them, Mr Ito sat next to him and moved the plate closer to him, taking a cookie for himself. His wife went to the interior of the house, leaving them alone for a moment.
"So, what youkai dwell on the mountain?" the boy asked to continue the conversation and humor the superstitious old people. The smile offered to him by Mr. Ito was a sign it was a question he appreciated.
"Oh, many. There are kitsune and tengu, kappa and oni, and a bunch more. And the okuri inu," he added with a sage nod. glancing at Hojo. "You should just spend the night in town and go to visit the shrine tomorrow, when it's safe."
"Did I hear you spout the rubbish about okuri inu again?" Hojo turned to the kitchen door to see Mrs. Ito coming back and prepared an extra cup of tea before she poured the boiling water into their tea. She put the cups on the table and sat down.
"The okuri inu, he's real. I know I saw him escorting priest Higurashi back to the shrine ten years ago," the aged man pouted. Hojo smiled politely, not voicing his opinion that it probably had been a stray dog following a kind man who probably gave him some food. The old lady shook her head.
"It was Higurashi no Inugami, I'll say," she lifted a finger and looked at Hojo. "Be careful, young man, when you are at the shrine. The mountain kami has granted a real inugami to protect their dwelling, the mountain and the Higurashi priests. The inugami might appear before you as a white akita, but don't be fooled, it is a youkai of formidable power. Be polite when you meet it."
"I will," Hojo gave a solemn nod. He wasn't a dog lover, but he didn't mind dogs. And this looked like a rumor told to outsiders to add some mystery to a Higurashi family dog. Actually, Hojo found it lovely how much folklore stories could enhance the atmosphere of a place, giving it a supernatural vibe. It was just another way of making this little village far from everywhere stand out and have its own identity. "I will make sure I won't cross any mononoke. Or make an inugami angry with me while I'm visiting the shrine."
"He doesn't believe a word you say, mother." a soft and lovely voice spoke from the kitchen door. Hojo gasped at that statement and turned yet again to see the person for which the extra tea cup had been prepared.
It was a girl not older than him, with porcelain skin and dark hair pinned up with a kanzashi resembling a fan of feathers. She wore a traditional yukata with grace and elegance. She was easily one of the prettiest girls Hojo had ever seen. He stared at her, forgetting to deny her claims.
"Kaguraya, dear, don't say that!" Mrs Ito wagged her finger at her and looked at the stunned boy. "Our daughter, Kaguraya."
"Oh, nice to meet you, I'm Hojo Keichi," Hojo stood up to greet the girl, blushing when he saw her raise an eyebrow. She had probably noticed him staring. He supposed she was pretty used to it, being so beautiful. A girl like her usually wanted to become a model or an actress, not stay in some lost countryside village.
"Hello to you too," she replied, her voice not quite carrying the politeness of her words. She sounded bored and tired as she moved to the kitchen counter where the extra cup of tea waited for her. "Anyway, don't mind me, I just came to take my tea, that's all. Besides," she looked back at Hojo, her almond eyes locking with his. They were an unusual shade of rusty brown that looked like red in the dim light coming through the window. "I don't like when people try to fool my family."
Hojo blushed hotly at the girl's rather harsh words. For a moment he stared at Kaguraya picking up her cup and heading towards the door.
"Uh, miss, I'm sorry, but..." he started, uncertain what to actually say. She glanced at him with a look of disinterest and indifference, as if she didn't deem him worthy of her annoyance at his behavior. Which, on one side, wasn't wrong, in his opinion. He had been just politely playing along, not seeing any reasons to argue about the existence of supernatural beings with a pair of nice old people.
"I hope that you get a good chase from an ayakashi, if any bothers to show up around you," the beautiful girl said coolly. "Then you will know that it's not polite to mock other people's beliefs. Especially when you're not from here."
"Oh, dear, don't say that!" Mrs Ito gasped. Her daughter smiled at her gently. "It's not polite to treat a boy, who went out of his way to help us today."
"It was nothing, Mrs Ito," Hojo hurriedly assured her. The girl eyed him from where she stood in the doorway.
"Too many people make fun of old people believing youkai exist," she said, it was not a real apology, but it explained why she was so cold at first. "I will retire now, mom, dad, I'm not feeling well."
"Alright, dear, call if you need anything," Mrs Ito said and the young woman went away.
"Don't mind Kaguraya's brash words," Mr Ito spoke from where he sat, causing Hojo to stop staring after the girl. "She is fair like the moon itself, but she's frail and I guess she grew bitter over the years, being stuck with us and no one else to keep her company."
"I'm so sorry to hear that," Hojo said honestly. That poor girl, being unable to pursue her dreams and being stuck in this little village while she had the looks of a top model.
"Anyway, if you want to stay in the village for the night, we can find you a nice accommodation," the aged bamboo cutter suggested.
"Oh, no, I'll be just fine, I promise," Hojo shook his head. He didn't want to impose, besides it was a lovely evening for a walk in a forest. "Just give me the directions and I will be on my way."
"Are you sure? Today is the new moon." Mrs Ito said, but Hojo just assured them he would be fine. After all, what bad could happen to him? If he needed to, he knew some karate moves, had his phone and flashlight - he felt ready to brave the wilderness.
.
Holding his phone to his ear, his hand slippery with sweat, he realized he so wasn't ready to face the wilderness.
"Am I pretty?"
"...Kagome... Kagome, I'm on the shrine road and there's this woman..."