Bamboo Forest of The Lost
Ack, what happened? I opened my eyes and felt extremely sore everywhere especially my head.
Why am I in a bamboo forest? How did I get here?
I knew I had to check to see if anything was missing in my person. Standing up despite my body saying no.
Glasses? Check. Clothes? Check. Phone? Check. Cleaver? Check.
I checked my inventory, and nothing was ajar. I was more confused about why did show up in my work uniform than anything else. And why did I bring my cursed weapon with me? I was happy that no one touched it or the seals wrapped around the blade. I made sure it was safely in its sheath on my back.
I tried to use my phone to no avail and got no signal.
Hmm, that's weird. Is there some type of interference?
I sighed, pocketed my phone, and chose a random direction. At the same time, the sun bore down on me in my work uniform.
I don't know how long I walked in a straight direction before I felt someone watching me. It watched me for the last ten minutes as I walked through this bamboo forest. Part of me wanted to call out for help, but some more significant part of me decided that wasn't a good idea.
As I kept walking through this forest, it gave me some time to think about how I got here. But nothing was coming together. I remember taking on a job dealing with cursed spirits, and everything felt fuzzy.
"Hmm, this quite the predicament you got yourself into, Jacob."
In the distance, he heard a voice. It sounded childlike and feminine. The more I approached the voice, the more my instincts told me to be on guard. I usually never be this on edge unless I'm fighting cursed spirits.
When I found the source of the voice, my instincts flared.
The person or, better yet, the little girl was humming some song I'd never heard of. Her appearance is that of a young girl; she has red eyes and wears a red ribbon on her blond hair. She wore dark clothing but white sleeves that made her easier to see despite some veil of darkness that shrouded her.
I don't know why I did what I did. My mouth seemed to move on its own. "Hello?"
The girl stopped humming and turned around to face me. Those red eyes were giving off an unnatural glow. Even with my glasses on, those eyes were giving off a glare.
"Oh, a human," how that girl said you human unsettled me. Plus, she spoke Japanese, meaning my greeting went over her head. "And an Outsider to boot today is my lucky day," I didn't like how she licked her lips.
"Yeah, sorry, but it seems something was lost in translation," I spoke her native language. To receive a raised brow. "Can you tell me who you are? And where am I?"
The girl flashed her teeth at me. "Why should I tell soon-to-be food anything?"
My eyebrows widened at that statement, and the feeling of being watched intensified. Whoever is watching me must be a sick bastard or curious.
"I'm sorry? Can you say that again?"
"Why should I have to tell an outsider anything? But if you must know who I am. My name is Rumia, and we are in Gensokyo. And you outsiders are food for us, youkai."
That was a lot to unpack there. At least that destroyed my theory on this place being a domain. I would have more time to ponder on my current situation. However, the Rumia seemed to have other plans.
"Are you going to run?" Rumia asked, dumbfounded that I was still standing where I was.
"Why would I do that?" I shoot back, my tone sounding indifferent.
"Because that's what most outsiders do when they see me. They run away screaming or try to attack me only to become food. It's not like the weapons you bring can hurt us, youkai anyway."
So, these youkai work similarly to cursed spirits. Physical attacks won't work on them, only cursed energy.
I checked my condition, and have about 30 percent of cursed energy. That's not much if I have to use my technique. If worse comes to worse, I'll use my cleaver and remove the seals. I hope this girl doesn't force my hand.
"Hey, what about a deal? We don't have to fight. Maybe we could parley instead? How about it?" I tried to diffuse the situation.
"You are a strange human. You know what? I'll give you a free hit." she boasted, brimming with pride.
If she genuinely means that she'll lose if I use my technique. I pulled off a loose stick from one of the bamboo trees. The youkai seemed surprised that I would fight her with a stick.
If I didn't need her to tell me more information, I would have used my cursed weapon, but I don't do that.
"Are you sure about using a stick? You have a weapon on your back." now the youkai sounded concerned for me.
"Trust me, this is so I don't hurt you too badly. Are you sure you still want to take a hit from me?" I warned her.
Rumia smiled, and that smirk was pride. It was a deadly sin for a reason. That was all the reason for me to engage.
I felt my cursed energy release a familiar feeling that was comforting. Its glowing blue aura surged around me, and I swiftly sliced Rumia's hand. The stick broke in my hand, but I knew my Technique, 'Butcher,' worked. I felt the incision.
Rumia looked around her to see if anything had happened to her before smugly smiling at me. "It looks like that free hit came up short. Like I said, attacks like those don't do anything to a youkai. Too bad I have to kill you now. You are a strange hu- Ack AHH!"
Rumia fell to the floor, a spray of crimson leaping out of her chest. She was on the grass floor, crying in pain. Tears were cascading down her face. Those red eyes that brimmed with confidence now stared at me with fear.
I'm happy I decided to use a stick. She could have been bisected if I used my weapon. But now she looks like a scared little girl compared to before.
"Hey, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to cut that deep," I walked to Rumia, who was trying to get away from me.
"Get away from me!" Rumia tried to take a swing at me, but she ended up flailing, causing her to slip on her blood.
"That was an interesting ability you used there," a silky smooth voice whispered.
I whipped my head around to see who spoke to me. "Are you the person who was watching me?"
"Oh, so you are more perceptive than you seem?" The voice appeared from me beside me again. "Despite showing up out of nowhere in my Gensokyo."
I turned again to see a woman with dark golden eyes and long blond hair, usually carrying a pink parasol. Wearing a pink and purple dress and a pink mob cap. However, what stood out the most was that she came out of a portal with red eyes. Those eyes made me pause momentarily before focusing on the woman.
I can tell she could kill me in an instant if she felt like it. I didn't have to sense curse energy to feel it.
The alluring but dangerous woman looked to Rumia, who at this point had collapsed on the floor from blood loss.
"Oh shit, I didn't think she would pass out. I wasn't trying to kill her." I checked on Rumia. Her breathing was strained, blood pooling, turning the green grass red. "Hey? Do you know where there is a doctor around here?"
"Hmm? You still want to help her even though she tried to kill you. Do you know she's a youkai, right? A man-eater?" the woman asked, now floating from the portal.
That is a good question. Why am I helping her? She tried to attack me first, and I simply retaliated in defense.
"I don't want to kill a naive girl who only knows about eating humans. We humans eat animals who beg not to get slaughtered, but we eat them. Who am I to judge a curse eating humans? I'm not hired to exorcise it. So I won't fight, but that doesn't mean I won't kill if it tries to kill me before you say something about it being good or bad morally. I don't care about morals. It only does so much in this life."
I looked to you, the woman who somehow pulled a hand fan blocking her mouth. "Now, can you tell me who you are? Where am I? And is there a way to help Rumia?"