The Bloom of the Rose: The Dark Erotic Spirited Away! Book 1: Till
Part One
Till Third Soil
(Author's Note:Borrowing the Living Tree from the Mortal Kombat franchise created by Ed Boon and John Tobias.)
Chapter Thirteen
I NEARLY TRIPPED and fell down the stairs in my haste to get back to the restaurant where my friends were eating at. But upon entering the place; I stopped in my tracks when I saw the sudden mess that had been made.
Table was turned over, broken plates littered the floor along with bowls, platters and trays of food. The Kitsunes were watching four wolves eating meat, pasta, licking meat gravy and sauces spilt on the floor, and gnawing on bones.
But something felt off; until the wolves looked towards me and I gasped in horror as they came into the light...
One wolf was blond with Gerda's jade green eyes...
The second wolf had Kay's aqua blue eyes and was brunette...
Molly's rare purple eyes stared at me from a red wolf...
The last wolf was sandy blond with Alice's sea green eyes...
My best friends...my soul-sisters...They've been turned into wolves!
Suddenly nets were thrown over them and my friends turned wolves began howling as they struggled within the nets, and try to free them-selves. Four Kitsunes rushed forward and stabbed them in the necks with some kind of syringes, the wolves stopped struggling and laid still; they were still breathing.
"Ningen are so easy to trick;" said the Kitsune lady as she smoked a pipe, "capture them alive or turn them into animals. Four nice she-wolves and it would've been five if one hadn't left so soon!"
She took another puff before turning to me...
"Now what to do with you;" said the Kitsune lady in thought, "you must be very hungry. Why not join your friends as a she-wolf or we could turn you into a different animal?"
One of the male Kitsunes came over and forced a rice-ball into my mouth; I ate the rice-ball and a bowl of rice-balls was pushed into my hands. But when others approached, one carrying the same goblet that my friends drank from and the others carrying goblets with different animal motifs, I ran and took the bowl of rice-balls with me.
Chapter Fourteen
I ran back to the tent of the veiled lady but both were gone and I was being pursued; I ran and hid behind a bush. A group of male Kitsunes appeared and they were looking for me, the bush hid me well and there was a wall that I leaned against.
"Kuso; we better find that On'na or Okāsama will not be pleased;" said one male Kitsune as he and his friends spread out to search for me better.
I held the bowl of rice-balls tightly to my body as I pressed my-self against the wall and hid behind the bush until the Kitsunes were gone; moved on with their search. Soon I moved location and hid in a alley, eating the rice-balls and thinking as I ate in silence.
My friends had been turned into wolves...
I was alone in this Other World...
What's going to happen to me?
What can I do?
My hunger was sated once the bowl was emptied and I left it behind as I walked down the alleyway; it wasn't long until I heard noises up ahead and soon reached the other end. I hid behind a wide stone pillar and saw beings, and creatures from myths, legends, fairy and folk tales as well as stories about the supernatural.
Humanoid beings dressed in period clothes of Japan during the Edo Period; it was some kind of festival and everyone was enjoying them-selves. I stuck out like a sore thumb in modern garb and feared being caught; I didn't want to end up like my friends or worst and I want to restore my friends to normal, and return home.
But how?
I ducked back into the alley and almost ran into a group of children; a Kitsune kit, a Inugami pup, a Nekomata kitten and a Anaguma cub. They were dressed in patched up clothes and were a bit dirty; but they showed no fear when they saw me.
In fact they backed me into a wall, boxed me in and began looking me over like I was something exotic, and I was in a way...
"Wow a Ningen;" exclaimed the young male Inugami as he practically smelled me, "this is the first time we get to see one up close!"
"A female by the body shape;" said the female Nekomata waving her forked tail around her hips, "and her skin is spotted. Never seen a spotted Ningen before!"
"What are you doing here, Ningen?" The male Anaguma asked simply and I answered: "Trying to find the veiled lady; I need her help!"
"Why do you need help from Lady Fate?" The female Kitsune inquired and I replied: "My friends were turned into wolves and I want to save them but I don't know how!"
"You need to blend in somehow;" said the Kitsune girl in thought, "you'll need new clothes and your original clothes will need to be hidden!"
"Are we really helping a Ningen?" The Anaguma boy exclaimed in surprise; "We'll get in big trouble with the authorities and face face Sadisuto kyō, Ichinoshin Nanbara!"
"If we are caught;" said the Nekomata girl simply with a wave of her fork tail, "you, boys, go andborrow some clothes while we girls help this Ningen lady to hide, and don't get caught or be followed!"
"We know;" chorused the Inugami and Anaguma boys.
Chapter Fifteen
I was brought to the children's hideout, an abandoned warehouse; the girls were very cautious in guiding me, they even stole food from vendors very skillfully or some money from purses and knew how to hide in the shadows. No one seemed to notice or even cared about the lives of children living on the street; it was as if these children were ghosts.
"Orphans with no families end up living on the streets and manage to form groups in order to survive or in a orphanage if lucky;" explained the Kitsune girl matter of fact, "we make do with what we can scavenge or steal. Yet every seven years; orphans get to enter the lottery and seven groups are chosen to travel toany Realm of Faery for a chance at a better life!"
"Our group has a chance this year to be one of those seven groups;" adds the Nekomata girl excitedly, "we're still trying to decide what Realm to go to!"
"Could you tell me what those Realms are?" I asked curiously, "I am a Ningen and I don't know much about this world!"
"We are in the Obsidian Land named for the Wall that acts as the portal between the Ningen World and Faery;" explained the Kitsune matter of fact, "it's one of five Border Realms that act as resting places between the five main Realms!"
The other four Border Realms were...
The Shimmering Mountains
The Moaning Rain Forest
Enchanted Borderlands
The Fountain of Love
The five main Realms are...
Rainhelm; Realm of Spring
Stormrich; Realm of Summer
Amberhelm; Realm of Autumn
Icecrest; Realm of Winter
The Ethereal Forest; Realm of the Hunter
"Then there's the Four Shoguns and the Horned Lord;" continues the Nekomata and the two girls listed the Rulers of Faery.
Jarylo; Shogun of Spring and Ruler of Rainhelm...
Freyr; Shogun of Summer and Ruler of Stormrich...
Carpo; Shogun of Autumn and Ruler of Amberhelm...
Kheimon; Shogun of Winter and Ruler of Icecrest...
And Cernunnos; the Horned Lord, the Hunter and Ruler of the Ethereal Forest!
Of course the Border Realms were also ruled by Lords who answer to the Four Shoguns and the Horned Lord; five Rakshasa Lords.
Chapter Sixteen
Soon the two boys came with theborrowed clothes and other items that wouldn't be missed. I went to the girls' sleeping room and undressed until I was completely nude; then I had help in dressing in the simple light blue kimono, white belt and white obi.
It was awkward kneeling down but I managed and even rising I stumbled a bit, and yet I wasn't use to sitting on my knees but I had to tolerate it. I tide a scarf over my nose and mouth followed by the removable hood that completed my disguise; then the children and I returned to the festival.
There was music, dancing, acrobatics, games, etc; it was a lot to see, hear and smell as I wondered passed fortunetellers in my search of Lady Fate. That is until a commotion was heard and I followed the crowd until I saw men, human men but something told me they weren't mortal, was escorting a horse and rider.
A woman rode astride, redhead with fair skin, garbed in white and bound in ropes. The woman looked like she had been drugged as she swayed a bit but kept her seat; the onlookers hissed in contempt at the bound lady.
"Kuso Ningen;" cried a Neko man with some venom.
"Ningen no dorei betrayed her Master;" exclaimed a Nezumi woman in contempt, "ran away after trying to burn her Master's house!"
"Didn't get far;" taunted a Kitsune man jeeringly, "the Ōkami otoko caught the Subeta before she could cause more trouble or damage!"
"She's to be sacrificed;" spoke an Inugami woman matter of fact, "in accordance to the laws, the Ningen no dorei will be sacrificed to insure Faery's continued prosperity and stability!"
I followed the procession as everyone else continued enjoying the festival; there were others who also followed and they were eager to see the woman sacrificed. The procession left the town over a bridge and went towards some woods; the trees were black as ebony and the leaves were silver.
The woman was pulled from the horse and practically dragged into the woods; I silently followed as everyone else were kept out by guards. I hid and moved from tree to tree until I reached the clearing where the sacrifice was to take place.
A large sinister-looking tree with groaning moving faces and branches that resemble clawed arms rested on a hill; the tree swayed on its own and made sounds. The woman was strung up next to the tree; a man approached solemnly as others sat in the shadows watching and the woman gazed at him still dazed.
The man drew his katana, handing the sheath to a kneeling cohort and prepared to swing. The woman made no sound as her executioner cut off her head; the gruesome tree caught the head and the rest of the branches tore the headless body apart.
The tree ate the head and body parts, once satiated, the Living Tree released a inhuman scream as everything shook and I took off running; the scream sent a shock through my body and I fled not caring if I was seen.
Chapter Seventeen
I managed to hide behind a bush next to the bridge that led to the town; I removed the hood and scarf, and tried to resettle my nerves after what I had saw. There were no words spoken when the woman was sacrificed and the Living Tree was certainly alive.
Faery was a strange world...
It's different from the stories I know growing up and later on!
I put scarf and hood back on as I went to continue my search for Lady Fate; I was about to step onto the bridge, when I bumped into someone and almost fell until I was caught. The grip was strong as I regained my balance and locked eyes with a man dressed as an official; his eyes were a cold brown that flashed gold.
I soon remembered that he was present at the sacrifice; he sat in the shadows with others as the woman was killed and eaten by the Living Tree. I tried to move but the man's grip tightened and his eyes became wolf-like; my heart sped up a bit and he seem to enjoy the look of fear in my eyes.
"Nanbara-Kyō;" said a Kitsune man upon approach and bowed, "you do not want to be late for the Mizuage auction!"
"Yoroshī;" said the man letting me go a bit reluctantly and followed the Kitsune away.
Once they were gone; I leaned on the bridge post with a hand on my chest, feeling my heartbeat and regaining my composure. I returned to the festival but I had no luck in finding Lady Fate; until I heard a commotion and saw the Kitsune girl, who had helped me, had been caught by a vendor cooking dumplings.
The vendor was a Eri-maki tokage man and he was beating the girl with a bamboo stick while onlookers watched silently; no one dared to intervene. Something snapped inside me and I ran at the man; I knocked him onto his cooking station, I grabbed the bamboo stick when it was dropped and hit the Eri-maki tokage a few times when he landed on his stomach.
I hit him on his burned back after he landed on the burning grill and left him laying on the ground as I helped the Kitsune up, I tossed the stick away and helped the girl to her friends. Once she was in their care; the group disappeared and I was soon surrounded by the authorities.
Chapter Eighteen
I was taken to jail where my disguise was removed and there was a lot of hoopla about me being human or Ningen; I was dressed in prison garb and shoved into a cell. Luckily I was fed; a tray filled with a plate of rice-balls, a bowl of broth and a cup of water was pushed into my cell...I ate and drank before I laid on the nest of straw.
After everything that has happened to me in that one day; my friends were turned into wolves, trapped in Faery, trying to find Lady Fate, etc. As I laid in that jail cell watching the sunset, my body finally felt tired and I drifted off to sleep.
But I wasn't allowed to stay asleep for long when the jailer woke me up, it was nighttime when I was dragged from the cell and taken outside. I caught a glimpse of Three Moons in the sky as I was led to a barn within the prison compound.
I was passed to two men from earlier who led me into the barn and they weren't gentle as they held my arms in tight grips that will leave bruises. The inside of the barn was a torture chamber or what BDSM practitioners would use; yet the sight of the wheel and water torture.
I was led onto a platform in the middle of the barn and made to kneel; soon Lord Nanbara arrived with a mixture of men, human and other. A Kitsune, Inugami, Kuma and Anaguma dressed as officials; I was made to kowtow as they onto the platform, stools were set up and the officials sat with aides flanking them.
"Another group of Ningens enters Faery through the Obsidian Wall;" I heard an official say matter of fact, "four were turned into wolves but one got away!"
Something was placed under my chin and forced me to look upon those who were deciding my fate.
"Never seen a Ningen with spotted skin before;" spoke the male Kuma in thought as he looked me over, "a pretty little thing. But the law is the law and Faery must thrive no matter what!"
"Lord Nanbara, we leave the girl to your care;" said the Inugami man solemnly, "break her and remold her!"
"Hai;" said the man with a slight bow from where he sat.
Break me and remold me...That doesn't sound good...
(Translation Glossary: Japanese-English
Ningen: Human(s)
Kitsune(s): Fox(es)
Kuso: Shit
On'na: Woman
Okāsama: Mother
Inugami: Dog spirit
Nekomata: Forked Cat
Anaguma: Badger
Sadisuto kyō: Lord Sadist
Kuso Ningen: Damn Human
Neko: Cat
Ningen no dorei: Human slave
Nezumi: Rat
Ōkami otoko: Werewolf/Werewolves
Subeta: Bitch
Kyō: Lord
Mizuage 水揚げ, lit.'hoisting from water'
Yoroshī: Very well
Eri-maki tokage: Lizard
Kuma: Bear
Hai: Yes)
