THESE DEMON CHILDREN
This story is dedicated to Meriah.
During a war, a demon arrived in Kanto and entangled nine fates. Seven years later, he returns and abducts two children. Can Natsume and Mewtwo get their companions back, or will the shadows from their pasts and the current political conflict be their undoing? Set during the Muromachi Period. An action/adventure fic.
DRAMATIS PERSONAE
Doctor Fuji - Daichi Fuji. The husband of Makoto, the father of Ai, and the guardian of Yuè.
Doctor Fuji's Wife - Makoto Fuji. The wife of Daichi, the mother of Ai, and the guardian of Yuè.
Amber Fuji - Ai Fuji. The only daughter of Daichi and Makoto. The best friend and sister of Yuè.
Mewtwo - Yuè Fuji, later called the "Tsukuyomi no Anei / Shadow of the Moon God." Taken in by the Fuji family at a young age, he became Ai's best friend and brother.
Mew - "Aoi me Akuma / The Blue-Eyed Demon." The creature who abducted Ai and Kazuki.
Sabrina – Natsume. Kazuki's teacher and self-appointed guardian. An old friend of Sakaki and Chuurippu.
Giovanni - Sakaki Maki. The master of Chuurippu and an old friend of Natsume.
Domino - Chuurippu Mori, meaning "Black Tulip." The devoted servant of Sakaki. She refuses to answer to her first name.
Original Character – Kazuki. One of the two children abducted by the Blue-Eyed Demon on his seventh birthday, which falls on the Tanabata. He views Natsume as a teacher and a friend.
CHAPTER 1: GOOD EVENING, DEMON!
"Kuraki yori
Kuraki michi ni zo
Irinu beki
Haruka ni terase
Yama no hi no tsuki."
Translation:
"I go out of the darkness
Onto a road of darkness
Lit only by the far off
Moon on the edge of the mountains."
- Untitled poem by Lady Izumi Shikibu (around 974-1033 C.E.), Japanese poet.
July 7th, 1484 - Year 151 of the Muromachi Period
Yamabuki City of the Kanto Region, Honshu Island, Japan
The Blue-Eyed Demon always fulfilled the prophecies he uttered from his lips, and the one he'd spoken to the girl nearly eight years ago would be no different.
She remembered the night he'd appeared before her, whispering that prophecy into her ears, his silky yet cold voice making her fourteen-year-old body tremble with fear. Within the Shinto shrine, only the oldest of the miko had yet been awake, discussing the situation beyond the outskirts of Yamabuki City in hushed, frantic murmurs. In the fields to the north, armored men had wielded bloodstained katanas against one another, the staccato clashes of steel, the chorus of battle cries, and the undertone of the death rattles of the warriors – men and tamed kami alike - mingling in a horrifying concert. Despite the distance between them, the girl had still been able to feel the anguish of the dead and dying, and heard snatches of their final thoughts within her mind. The Ōnin War had been within its final years, but the brutality between the factions had raged as fiercely as ever on that night. In retrospect, she wondered if their malice hadn't been purposefully intensified by the devils lurking among them. After nine years, in which the land had been ravished and the ranks of the noble class decimated, the kami of old had begun to wander throughout Japan with renewed vigor, thriving on the strife between the humans.
According to the sacred scrolls of her fellow miko, widespread conflict between mortals often had that effect. Even the gods and goddesses themselves, the kami of legendary power, did not remain untouched by war. As the patron deities of numerous clans, they were required to bless and support their people on the battlefront. Yet in answering the mortals' prayers, the entities also found themselves on opposing sides of the struggle, and from there, the skirmishes spread into the heavens. Escalating the situation further was the renewed presence of the lesser preternatural beings - the spirits, the shapeshifters, and the common monsters - who were soon lurking in every shadowy space, anticipating with drooling maws the carnage that would be left behind on the battlefields. Of these malevolent beings, the ofuda – paper talismans applied to the doors, pillars, and ceiling of most man-made dwellings - were usually enough to exorcise those who attempted to follow the wounded home. In the rare instances where these failed, however, then at least the tamed kami should have been able to defend the people against encroaching danger.
Yet to the Blue-Eyed Demon, the holy markings were meaningless strokes of ink, and the tamed kami were as fragile as the moths that clung to the lanterns above.
Ultimately, all attempts to repel him from the shrine grounds would prove in vain. Upon his return, he drifted beneath the red torii gate, passing into the purified zone without even feeling the slightest tingle as he slid through the protective, psychical field. With a gesture of his hands, the tamed kami approaching him sank to the ground in sleep, not even given the chance to howl that the invader had arrived. Striding past them, he walked across the stepping stones - embedded in the moss of the oriental garden - and was soon mounting the stairs to the veranda. Reaching the nearest sliding door within moments, he lifted an arm, poising his alabaster fingers centimeters from the paper barrier, which had been beautifully painted with the birth scene of the sky gods and goddess (one of which he sneered at and scorched away). Although he didn't close that distance to touch the door, it rolled back nonetheless, and with a ghost of a grin, he walked into the darkened hallways towards his quarry. As he strode forward, numerous miko emerged from the shadows to halt his progress, chanting spells and wielding an array of light weapons against him. Yet as he did with their kami, he brushed the minds of these women and coaxed them into dreams. Spreading his influence to cover the entire facility, he was delighted to sense that two of the denizens of the shrine remained unaffected by his power. The strengths of their wills enabled them to resist, and as his smile widened, the demon made his way to the chamber they'd secured themselves in.
As he reached the sliding door, the air before him shimmered from a surprisingly dense, psychical barrier, no doubt cast by the woman within the room. It only took him a matter of seconds to fracture the shield, but those moments demonstrated to him just how far she'd progressed since his last visit. She must have trained vigorously in his absence, and he was certain that no other human could hope to match her now. Even in her youth, he'd sensed that potential within her, and it gratified him to have his suspicions confirmed. Perhaps she would, with further time and effort, even refine her raw power into a formidable weapon, capable of slaying demons of his caliber. Yet for now, she remained as frail as a porcelain doll, and would not keep him from gaining what he desired. As he pressed forward, shattering and dispersing her shield completely, he heard her gasp and saw her silhouette stumble back though the screen wall, her slender body framed against the paper by the firelight beyond. Sliding back the door, he stepped into the humble chamber and allowed his gaze to wander.
The room contained a single cot beneath the window, a low table - the surface of which was crowded with a lantern, several scrolls, an inkstone, inkstick, and ink brush - and a wooden chest, which likely held most of the occupant's belongings. Water paintings, depicting scenes from the Yamabuki countryside, hung upon the walls, while an imported silk blanket rested upon the floor panels. Presumably, the fine fabric – dyed with indigo and decorated with sinuous dragons – had been tossed from the mat in alarm. Yet even as he admired the expensive cloth, he rested the bulk of his attention on young woman before him. She'd used his momentarily distraction to regain her bearings, and as he watched, she sank into a crouch, her bare feet spread apart, her arms lifted towards him, poising two kaiken blades at him. Her white kimono and red hakama, he noticed, had been loosened enough to allow her unrestricted movement, and he allowed himself a moment to appreciate the glimpses he received of her snowy white skin….
The woman used that moment to her advantage, and without sparing a glance behind her, she shouted, "Run, Kazuki!" and bolted forward, slashing at the demon with the short blades.
The Blue-Eyed Demon veered back, feeling the tip of one of the blades kiss his chest, and felt his lips curl back over his teeth in a snarl as the boy near the porch door grabbed his pack and sprinted from the building. Lashing out with his empathic senses, he tagged and memorized the child's aural signature - the combination of spiritual codes unique to every being – so he could track the boy down later. For now, he would focus on the woman in front of him, who was exploiting her psychical energies to increase her strength and speed. He found her almost breathtaking as she attacked him, her eyes and body alike radiating a faint blue glow. Her strikes were graceful, her motions agile, her accuracy almost perfect thanks to their close proximity. Yet her inexperience would be her undoing: she was burning through her energy reserves too quickly, and soon it was child's play for him to dodge her slashes and stabs. As she began to tremble with frustration and overexertion, he swept forward and caught her wrists in his hands. Digging his thumbs into her pressure points, he forced her to release the kaiken, and as they began their descent to the floor below, he moved again.
He drew her against him, and smirked at how she shrieked as he savored the feel of her matured, well-endowed body beneath her kimono. It had been quite some time since he'd last enjoyed a woman, and if he'd had the rest of this night free, he would have disrobed her then and bedded her. However, there was much more that needed to be done in the upcoming hours, so he settled for nibbling at her earlobe and whispering, "Now, now, there is no need to be so impolite. Violence is unbecoming of a girl, and invites the male to treat her in the most unseemly of manners. You wouldn't want me to ruin your body in such a way, would you, especially since you have grown so nicely within it? The lovely frame, the magnolia-white skin, the black ivy hair, those royal blue eyes – they would all look so unsightly if covered in your blood, no matter how prized that blood might be."
She shuddered deliciously under his touch as she listened to his words, and eventually spat, "Fine - do your worst. If you think your threats will make me back down, I'll be happy to prove you wrong. Even if you ravage my flesh, I'll still do everything I can to keep you from achieving your goal. I won't let you take Kazuki!"
He merely grinned down at her, stroking her cheek with a finger. "As admirable as your dedication is, it won't be enough to keep him from me – you know this. Yet even so, you've decided to risk your life trying to do precisely that. Considering his background, I'm both surprised and impressed, although I can understand why you would be willing to sacrifice so much for him. As tempting as your offer to entertain me is, however, the boy – Kazuki, was it? – is far more important to me. Perhaps some other time, Natsume."
Within inhuman speed, he drew back from her and slugged her in the stomach. As she doubled over, gagging, she lifted one hand, desperately flinging a barrier up between them…which was promptly shattered as he spun, slamming a leg through the shield to deliver a vicious blow to her skull. As she crumpled into unconsciousness, he paused only to throw the silk blanket over her before leaving to pursue the child. Exiting the building, he cast his empathic senses outwards to locate the boy, and snarled when he realized what the woman had been planning. She'd directed the child towards Cion Town, a village which could be reached within minutes by the eastern trails. Yet while the outpost was small, populated by less than fifty people, it was hardly insignificant, in part because of who those people were. A majority of the inhabitants were members of an elite group of miko, who resided in the sacred Tower of Cion, an architectural marvel that had been constructed in the area centuries prior. These maidens - sometimes called channelers - worked in tandem with the goddess of death, guiding souls through the gates to the underworld, which were believed to be located in the caverns beneath the village. Due to the importance of this work, the town was guarded by some of the finest warriors in Japan, including several powerful kami who would turn away – or slay, if the trespasser refused to heed their warnings - any malevolent or impure beings who strayed within the holiest of holy sites.
Despite Natsume's status as a reputable Shinto priestess, her past was stained with consecrated blood, and while the residents of the town could sympathize with her, their laws prohibited them from offering her sanctuary. However, they would regard the boy as an innocent being, and thus, if he managed to cross within Cion's borders, he would find himself within the safest haven in Kanto. For just as the guardians protected the channelers, they would protect any child who sought their aid, even invoking the strength of their goddess if the situation required.
And although the Blue-Eyed Demon was powerful, he couldn't hope to vanquish such a deity. As much as he enjoyed his gambles with fate, he was not a fool, and knew his bones would decorate her lair if he dared provoke her - which he would inevitably do if he pursued the boy into her territory.
Cursing under his breath, he reaffirmed the child's location – he was already over halfway to the town, damn it all! – and, in the next moment, teleported onto the eastern trails.
As the space in front of Kazuki blurred and warped, the raven-haired boy leapt back with a startled cry, swinging his bokken (wooden sword) in front of him to defend himself. His teacher, the priestess Natsume, had already taught him the kihon (basic techniques) and a few kata (fighting styles) for the art of kenjutsu, and he intended to use them if the monster came near him. Yet as the Blue-Eyed Demon materialized beneath the moonlight, his white hair aglow like illuminated cirrus clouds, his skin shining like star-kissed alabaster, his eyes reflecting the lunar light, the practice sword slid from the boy's fingers from shock.
Because the boy knew those eyes, having glimpsed them for years within his dreams. Those eyes were the hue of a clear, summer sky….
…And they were the exact same eyes the boy had.
July 7th, 1484 - Year 151 of the Muromachi Period
Guren Island of the Kanto Region, Izu (Sevii) Islands, Japan
The Blue-Eyed Demon always fulfilled the prophecies he uttered from his lips, and the one he'd spoken to the man three years ago would be no different.
They had met on a subtropical, volcanic isle which had been spared the worst of the war. Due to its convenient location off the southern coast of Kanto, amidst the shallows of the Pacific Ocean, it had proven an essential trading post between the main and scattered islands. In mutual agreement over that matter (and that matter alone), the opposing factions had labeled it a neutral ground, making it an ideal haven for refugees. Of the displaced civilians who fled to its shores, a majority hailed from Enju City in the Jhoto region, a once grand capital that would – by the end of the ten-year conflict – lay in smoldering ruins. Once the battles had concluded, some of these citizens would return to rebuild their hometown, while others, having prospered after setting up shop on the isle, would stay to support its increasingly vibrant economy.
Among those who remained was Makoto Fuji's branch of her noble clan, which included her husband, Daichi – the eldest son of a renowned swordsmith - and their only daughter, Ai, who had been born to them in old age. They had spent the first few years in their new household in relative happiness, watching their child and trade alike begin to flourish. A successful medicine woman, many of Makoto's poultices and soothing tea blends were purchased by the soldiers visiting the isle, while warlords demanded the keen blades of her husband with equal fervor. Although both wondered at the morality of profiting from strife, they comforted themselves with the thought that they were aiding their countrymen, and were making more than enough to cushion Ai's dowry. In the end, their joy was tempered only two instances of bad fortune. The first of these were the deaths of Makoto's brothers and their sons, who'd been slain defending their lands from the opposing army. The second instance had only struck closer to their hearts: for Makoto, who'd suffered from a congenital illness for most of her adult life, was finally losing the battle against the sickness.
Before the matron had passed away, however, she'd insisted on bringing another child into their household.
To her credit, the fact that the child was part demon didn't deter her in the slightest.
The boy's name, she and Daichi had agreed, would be Yuè, in honor of his fondness for gazing up at the celestial orb. While not related to the Fuji clan in blood, this child would nonetheless become an obedient student and son to his "father," as well as an honorable brother to Ai. Mingling the knowledge his "parents" entrusted to him, Yuè absorbed everything he could find concerning eastern alchemy and medicine, and often recited the legends of the kami to his "little sister" whenever she struggled to find sleep. In addition, since his mind and body were maturing at an unbelievable rate (at least in comparison to his human sibling), he was soon being instructed by Daichi on how to wield their prized katanas. If the tranquility on the isle was ever disrupted, the part-demon was determined to defend his family against any enemy who strayed upon their black sand shores.
Perhaps this was why the Blue-Eyed Demon, when he came to fetch the girl, did so swiftly and soundlessly, never giving the males of the household any hint of his arrival.
One minute Yuè could sense his sister dreaming soundly within her chambers, and in the next, her aural signature had vanished from the manor entirely. As he raced through the hallways towards her room, the pads of his feet barely brushing the polished wood panels beneath them, he remembered finding his father in their library earlier that evening. Having endured several nights without sleep, the wizened old man had been trembling from fatigue, the flesh beneath his weary, unfocused eyes having gained an alarming purple hue. Desperate to find a solution to his family's dilemma, Daichi had hunched over his desk for countless hours, pouring over his father-in-law's alchemical texts, frantically searching the scrolls for a way to repel a purebred demon. Nearly reduced to tears upon finding nothing that could banish a creature as strong as the Blue-Eyed One, he'd turned to his adopted son with haunted, despairing eyes, his heart palpitating at the thought of losing his seven-year-old daughter. After discussing the impending danger with the man, Yuè had led his guardian to the master bedroom and made him a cup of ocha. He had then vowed - invoking the name of their patron moon god as he did so - that he would sink steel into the demon if he dared approach their precious Ai.
In that moment, Daichi had smiled, had rested his wrinkled hand upon his adopted son's shoulder, and had bestowed upon Yuè the treasured heirloom of their family. The elegant katana, its hilt inscribed with hiragana and bound in silver ribbon, was called "Tsuki no Kagi Tsume," and was meant to greet the Blue-Eyed One when he arrived. Watching the younger male secure the sheathed blade to the waistband of his cloak, the man had murmured that the mere sight was enough to relieve him, and within minutes was drifting off into much-needed slumber. Since that hour, the son of the Fuji household had patrolled their home, feeling the weight of the sword at his side, feeling the weight of Daichi's trust upon his shoulders...
Flinging open the door to Ai's bedchamber, he now found that both had been misplaced: for Ai was gone, stolen by the accursed demon he'd sworn to slay. Like the sting of defeat within his spirit, the scents of brine and seaweed burned in his nostrils, carried through the open window by the evening breeze. Within that lazy wind was also faintest fragrance of sunflowers, whose seeds the girl often liked to smuggle into her room for a midnight snack. Seeing that her cot was empty of its owner, Yuè gripped the katana harder, feeling rage as hot as a forge's fire rolling through him. He would find his sister and bring her home, the Blue-Eyed One's schemes be damned - as her older brother, this was his responsibility and his duty.
And he refused to fail his family again...
August 6th, 1484 - Year 151 of the Muromachi Period
Tokiwa Forest of the Kanto Region, Honshu Island, Japan
The Blue-Eyed Demon always fulfilled the prophecies he uttered from his lips, but there were those who sought to defy them.
Nearly a month had passed since Kazuki had been stolen, and his guardian - guided by her divining art - journeyed on foot towards Tokiwa City. While she suspected that her current lead, like so many others had, would end at an impasse, she could at least request aid from two of her oldest friends while she was in the area. Although she'd spent most of her life in Yamabuki City, she nonetheless remembered how to navigate the countryside routes, and knew she would reach the residence of Sakaki Maki and Chuurippu Mori - the current leaders of what would eventually become the bakuto (the gang of itinerant gamblers) of Kanto – within another few hours. At present, they and their subordinates were profiting from the destruction the war had wrought, gathering abandoned resources and tamable kami alike into their fold. With the governmental and military systems still being restructured, this meant that regional law enforcement was limited, leaving most of the remaining civilians to defend themselves. In Natsume's case, she was able to protect herself better than most, given the gifts she possessed. While they might have ostracized her as a child, her psychical abilities were invaluable to her as an adult, for they kept numerous unwed men from touching her, from ravishing her purified form with their lusts.
Unfortunately, most humans couldn't sense the power writhing beneath her skin, and neared her despite her warnings. No different from any of the others, the bandits emerging from the pine trees - whose needles glistened with dew - made the same, foolish mistake as they demanded she identify herself. The hooded traveling cloak she wore, a gift from one of the older miko, kept her features obscure, even leading some to assume that she was an effeminate male. By keeping her hair up in a boyish bun, and strapping her breasts down as flat as she would endure, she tried to support this illusion to the best of her abilities. To be regarded as a pretty village boy, after all, was a far better fate than being revealed as a lone woman (even though some men were just as inclined to enjoy a young boy as others were a girl). The threat of being sexually assault on the road aside, women who walked unaccompanied were usually the first to be targeted by a wild kami, or worse, taken to the brothels or the slave traders, having no brother, father, or husband to defend them from such a fate.
Had she been wandering within a shrine or reputable town, she would have been spared these dangers entirely. However, her search required her to transverse across the land, not merely within human dwelling places…and again, given her gifts, she could afford to take on the risks. Glancing warily at the men creeping onto the path, surrounding her in a wide circle, she slid out her kaiken, preparing to grasp and flourish them with her telekinesis. Yet before she could settle into her personal kata, a shout came from down the road:
"I would advise you to step away from that woman," the man called. "For if you refuse to leave her be, you will soon be greeting your ancestors in the underworld."
His voice was of a velvety baritone, and as the familiarity of it struck Natsume, she hissed his name and spun to face him…only to discover that he wasn't the Blue-Eyed Demon, but someone else entirely. As he strode forward, his smooth strides conveying the grace of a feline, the morning breeze swept between the trees and ruffled his ashen hair, caressed his lightly tanned skin, and carried the moonlight into his indigo blue, almost violet eyes. When he flanked the nearest bandit, the sword at his waist whipped upwards, its cutting edge kissing the other man's throat. As he met the stares of the other bandits one by one, the energy radiating from him made each of them flinch back as if they'd been seared. When his gaze met Natsume's, however, it only convened his desire to defend her…and, in minute proportions, his amusement once his empathic senses brushed against her own, detecting the hidden strength lurking within her.
Turning back to the man beside him, he remarked, "Yes, your health would benefit from leaving immediately, if only because that woman is more than capable of depriving you of your head." He would let them decide which head he happened to be referring to; either way, the woman could manage the amputation without moving from her current stance.
As farfetched as his words might seem, the bandits understood that this stranger was more than capable of tearing them apart. With a gesture from their leader, they slid back into the murk, their final man – the sword lifted from his throat - only pausing to spit at the woman's sandaled feet. Glancing sideways at him, she sent a psychical shock after him to bite him in the ass, and then returned her gaze to the newcomer, regarding him with mixed gratefulness and displeasure.
"You should have killed them," she murmured, turning back around and stepping down the road once more. "They'll only hassle the next person to wander by, and that unlucky traveler probably won't be able to scare them away."
"If there were not a thousand more who would take their place, I would surely do so. However, forests like this one are filled with thieves and rapists these days, and at the very least, this particular group can be intimidated. Yet I need not have bothered intervening – you could have defeated them on your own without an issue. Gifts as potent as yours are rare among humans, and even rarer among women, who are usually warned against developing their abilities. After all, it shames a husband when his wife is more powerful than he could ever hope to become. I imagine a 'witch' like you only emerges once a century, if not many more," he mused, and as he caught up with her, inquired, "May I ask your name, woman?"
"And why should I tell you that? You just accused me of being a witch, and as a miko, I resent that lack of courtesy," she snapped, sheathing her kaiken and bristling at his words.
His lifted an eyebrow at that, sheathing his katana as well. "A priestess of the old ways? That would certainly explain why you were neither bound nor executed, since the miko are encouraged to promote the gifts they often possess, given their duties to the kami and the emperor," he said, and then answered her original question, "And as for why you should give me your name, knowing it would be useful if I am to keep in contact with you."
He sensed displeasure seeping into her aura, and heard it in her voice as she snarled, "You're rather presumptuous, half-breed. Why would I even allow such contact, anyhow?"
While his tone had been casual enough before her inquiry, it carbonized immediately afterwards, his mood shifting from thoughtfulness to seriousness within an instant. "You called me 'Aoi me Akuma' when you heard my voice, which, while distressing, implies that you are familiar with the demon. Since you seem to derive no pleasure from the thought of him, but are nonetheless traveling towards his last known whereabouts, this begs the question if you are hunting him as well. If so, then collaborating with you, as it were, could prove beneficial to me."
Shifting her pack across her shoulders, she grunted in thought, and after a few more moments passed, reluctantly said, "…My firescrying led me here, but I doubt that monster will linger long enough to be tracked down…and even if he does, subduing him is probably beyond my capabilities. I know him well enough to admit that much, but even so, I have to keep trying. He stole something very precious to me, and I can't be idle and allow him keep it."
Hearing this, the man's steps faltered, and peering at her with narrowed eyes, he inquired, "…Did he steal a child from you, by any chance?"
She ceased walking entirely at the question, and turning to him, she hesitantly nodded. "How did you…?"
"He targeted my sister, Ai, as well. She only recently turned seven, and I shudder to consider what he might want with her." Indeed, while he seemed to be a rather collected individual, he was visibly uneasy as he thought about the potential nightmares the girl might be enduring….
Clenching her jaw, the woman looked away. "You're right to fear his intentions, but he won't defile her body, if that's what you're worried about. While he may have a taste for younger woman, I daresay she's a bit too young for him to desire. Maybe in a few years time, but for now, I suspect she was taken for the same reason that Kazuki – my pupil – was stolen. Though what that is, I have yet to decipher."
As they resumed walking, the tension passed between them, and she told the stranger, "…My name is Natsume, by the way."
"No last name?" he remarked, surprised that she would chose to withhold her familial name. As he considered the possible reasons for her secrecy, he quipped, "That may give some the entirely wrong idea about the kind of woman you are."
"I haven't gone by my last name in several years, and I have no intention of starting now," she said, her tone clipped and caustic. "Just call me Natsume, ask me no personal questions, and I'll tolerate your presence until we reach Tokiwa City."
"Only until Tokiwa City?" he asked, lifting an eyebrow once again. "Our quests are precisely the same, and I daresay we would both benefit from travelling together."
Perhaps she'd encountered too many bandits on the routes, but she interpreted his meaning quite differently than from what he'd intended. "I will remind you that I am a miko, not a whore, and as such would never service you. Furthermore, despite the fact that you're a half-demon, I can still castrate you if you even look at me in any wrong way."
He snorted at that. "If I were interested in having my way with a woman, I would visit a brothel. Even if that would cost me a fair amount of coin, at least I would be ensured a pleasant experience, without the risk of complications. So you need not worry, Natsume - I will respect your virtue. After all, even miko sometimes marry, and I daresay your future husband would prefer your virtue intact."
"…Then I will consider your offer, oh nameless one," she grumbled, and then quickened the pace. "But you're not getting an answer from me until after I consult my friends in the city. They have a way of gauging the corruption beneath one's skin, no matter how you might attempt to conceal the filth. Recruiting such people to their cause is, after all, their specialty."
While associating with criminals didn't particularly appeal to him, he nonetheless agreed to her terms. "That is an acceptable arrangement…and my name is Yuè, little miko."
Glancing up at him with a scowl, she began to respond that she was far from short…but since he was two meters tall, she supposed anyone seemed small in comparison. Allowing that retort to wither away, she instead sniped, "What, no last name? If I didn't know better, I might assume that you were a-."
"If you finish that sentence, I will toss you headfirst into the nearest rice paddy field. I am certain your friends would savor the memory of you appearing to all the world like a drowned rat." To be honest, the thought was enough to amuse him, and make him seriously consider going through with the threat….
Casting him a sour look, she hissed, "Shut up and walk, Yuè. I would like to get there before dawn."
And as they trekked further down the road, the full moon set behind the western mountains, the mists continued to churn around them, the kami lurked amidst the trees - calling out to one another in eerie howls - and the woods melted into a man-made marsh, where the agricultural staple of a nation grew. In the distance, the main gates to the City of Earth loomed, with armored guards and kami alike patrolling the outskirts of the town. Soon enough the miko, later known as the "Witch of the Whirlwind Blades," and the half-demon, later named the "Shadow of the Moon God," would arrive, side by side, at the site where their journey would gain form.
Thus began their legend, which would see them transformed by its end….
August 6th, 1484 - Year 151 of the Muromachi Period
Unknown Area of the Kanto Region, Honshu Island, Japan
The Blue-Eyed Demon always fulfilled the prophecies he uttered from his lips, but not everyone would accept the fates he assigned them.
He was the weaver of red threads, and as he entangled his destiny with those of the children, he dismissed the six others that happened to be dragged along with theirs. Confident that those six beings, one of whose thread had already been severed in twain, would be incapable of hindering his plans, he led the children between the realms of mortals and kami, never once glancing over his shoulder in anxiety. After all, he was the son of two great deities, had lived for eons upon the islands of the rising sun, and thus contained within his sleek, pale frame more power and experience than most other kami could ever hope to boast. Reassured by this thought, he convinced himself that worrying about the psychic woman, and especially about that accursed half-demon, was a waste of his energy, which would be better spent preparing the young ones he'd stolen.
Consequently, when Natsume met Yuè within the Forest of Tokiwa, he dismissed the encounter with an unconcerned shrug – for even with the assistance of their companions, they would have a long way to go before they caught up with him.
This assumption would incidentally be the third mistake he'd made over the last eight years.
Abducting Kazuki and Ai were the other two.