The Last Yaksha

Chapter 2: The Forest of Spirits

Mizumi follwed behind the other kids heading to where they usually played.

"So, what should we play with the temari?" Mizumi asked

"Lets see who can kick it the farthest." one of the children said

" We played that last time, besides you always win that one, big foot"

"Mizumi, you got an idea?"

"We can have someone hide it and the others try to find it"

"I'll go first"

Mizumi eagerly grabbed the temari and ran to hide it as the other children looked away. She already had a spot in mind, the shrine she and her grandma were sitting at earlier. Inside the offering box would be the last place they'd look, Mizumi thought to herself. She pryed the box open and stuffed the temari inside and then closed it. She ran back to where the others were waiting for signal to begin the search.

"Ok, try to find it if you can"

The children uncovered their eyes and ran in different directions to look. Up trees, in bushes, The children looked everywhere, but not one of them thought to search the shrine. Thirty minutes had passed and the children had not found the temari. They were about to give up but one of the children returned to the others with a startled look.

"Did you find it?" Mizumi asked with a subtle smirk

"Yeah, I found it"; Mizumi sighed in dissapointment, thinking she lost

"Where's the temari then"

"It was bouncing up and down all by itself by the shrine on the forest's side of the village"

Mizumi eyes widened and a smile sprang out as she sprinted to the shrine. All by itself? That means a spirit might have it, and since I'm a yaksha decendant I might be able to see it. She reached the shrine only to find the offering box broken and the temari nowhere to be found. The laugh of a child sounded from the forest beyond the shrine, and Mizumi followed it her curiosity having taken over.

"You were the one who left the temari, right?"

Mizumi turned behind her where she heard the voice.

"Arigato, it's been so long since since I was able to play with one"

A cold chill ran down Mizumi's spine. Fear gripped her as she remembered something her grandma told her about spirits. Figuring out if spirits are good or bad can be tricky if you rely on their demeanor. It's the sensation of warm and cold that is best to figure that out

"This coldness it's emanating, the anxiety it's causing me, it's not a good spirit. It's an evil one."

She heard the sound of breathing right behind her ear.

"It's been a while since I've had a friend too, wanna be friends"

She could see it now. The spirit's face was twisted in a sickening grin, what looked to be black ink leaked from it's eyes like tears. It took the shape of a child and it was bouncing the temari gently. The spirit walked closer to Mizumi and in a voice that made her skin crawl he repeated over and over, Be my friend. She turned around and ran away frantically. In her fear she ran deeper into the forest rather than back to the village. She then bumped into a tall black figure that turned around and snarled. Mizumi gave a quick apology as she continued to run. She eventually came to a pond with a rock in the very middle. Her eyes widened in fear as the spirit with the temari was standing on the rock. He was behind me before, can I not escape?

"It's not nice to run away, I just wanna be friends" he said again in his unnerving voice. Mizumi turned the opposite way only to see a another spirit in the form of a woman wearing a mask.

"Am I beautiful"

With a closer look she recognized who the spirit was, a tiny bit of blood dripped just below her ears. She again ran away with even greater horror welling inside her. The longer she ran within the forest the more spirits began to appear. Most payed little to no attention as she ran past them, trying to find her way home. What is with this forest, why is it so infested? Also what is she doing here, she's real? Mizumi ran faster than before knowing her life to be truly in danger now. Constantly looking behind her to make sure the spirit that terrified her wasn't following she ran blindly through the thick woods. Occasionally she would fumble at the sight of a few of the spirits. Their forms ranging from normal to wickedly twisted. In her blind escape she came to a hollow that was warm unlike the rest of the forest she had ran through. She felt more at ease but that quickly dissapated as another chill went down her spine. It had followed her, standing right in front was the woman spirit wearing a mask

"Am I beautiful" the spirit repeated

"I know who you are, Kuchisake. I will not answer you"

"Is that a no?"

"It's a decide for yourself"

Mizumi prayed that her indifference and this one area of the forest would be able to stop the spirit, knowing very well her fate was most likely death. The spirit of Kuchisake approached her, elegantly dragging her bare feet along the ground. Mizumi turned to run but the hollow was a dead end, boulders blocked every path other than the direction of the approaching Kuchisake. When the spirit removed her mask exposing her bloody smile, Mizumi fell to her knees looking at the ground, tears leaking from her eyes. I wanna go home, I wanna go home. Kuchisake walked ever closer to Mizumi but she stopped dead in her steps. Mizumi looked up to see a shadowy figure in front of her. He was covered in samurai armor and held a sword that gave off an incandescent glimmer in the moonlight. He turned around to her and her eyes widened in surprise as she saw the mask he wore.

The mask was intricately decorated with blue, white, and gray paint. The expression it had was stoic and cold, and at the eyes, blue light crackled with a quiet intensity. Mizumi stood astonished as the very spirit she had wanted to meet since she first heard the yaksha story stood in front of her. The Blue Spirit drew his blade and pointed it towards the spirit of Kuchisake.

"Yaaaaakshaaa" Kuchisake growled

Lightning crackled at the Yaksha's feet and with blinding flash, he charged at the spirit of Kuchisake slicing her faster than the blink of an eye. The spirit of Kuchisake faded, and he turned around towards Mizumi. He began to walk her way but then passed her as if she wasn't there.

"Can you help me get home please"

The Blue Spirit didn't respond, continuing to lumber on in his current direction.

"You heard my cry for help right, please I just wanna go home".

He still didn't respond, walking in the same direction with no sign of purpose in his stride. He really is just a hollow shell now, but why did he help me. If he was hollow he wouldn't have answered my plea for help right? Mizumi pondered how he could have heard her despite being in his current state. Then it hit her. He isn't entirely hollow he answered my plea which means he retained fragments of his past and is drawn to those in need of saving.

Mizumi realized the Blue Spirit was her best chance at surviving in the forest and decided to stick close to him while trying to figure a way out.