Ayakashi Monogatari

Chapter Seven: Yuki-Onna's Tears

Chapter Seven: Yuki-Onna's Tears

After the whole rabbit incident, I was feeling a little strange, so I decided to stay at Seimei Shrine for a few days. I spent most of my time training, reading, or practicing my exorcism skills.

Raven was still around, but we kind of stayed away from each other and tried to keep our contact to a minimum. I still hadn't fully forgiven him for what happened back then, even if he didn't mean it. If your best friend tried to cook you, I don't think you'd be too keen on chatting with them for a while either. I had nightmares about being served up to the hungry Satori with a side order of fries.

But in my situation, bad dreams were the least of my worries, because my condition went from bad to worse. Ever since my encounter with the Kunekune, I had not been the same. I had to run to the bathroom and puke blood in the toilet three times just in the past day. I was constantly afflicted by a sharp pain in my stomach from time to time, like the worst period cramps ever. My right eye would sometimes feel as though someone had speared an icepick through it.

Asura's voice kept ringing in my head, taunting me. His reflection would appear in the mirror alongside my own, just to torment me further. Apparently taking my mother away wasn't enough for him. He was simply determined to torture me until I finally perished. I just wanted it to stop.

I sat in the library after my latest vomit session, poring through a field guide on Ayakashi. I came across entries for several familiar creatures, like the Kitsune, Bakeneko, and Satori. My eyes rested at the entry for the Inugami.

INUGAMI- A type of familiar born from the possessed spirit of a dog. These familiars, much like Shikigami, will faithfully obey their masters' orders just like a dog. Inugami are born when Onmyoji practice a dark ritual by chaining a dog and allowing it to starve to the point of death, just out of reach of food. At its greatest point of despair, the dog is beheaded, and its severed head is buried at a crossroads where many people will trample upon it, allowing its soul to become a malicious spirit. The head is then dug up, dressed in ceremonial wrappings, and enshrined in a secret place, after which the Inugami can be commanded by its master and passed down through the master's family for the rest of time.

I cringed at the grisly description. It made me think of Luca. Did he suffer like that? Did my father do that to him? It was a terrible thought, knowing that he was bound to serve my family for all eternity. I decided to move on, only to come across an equally macabre entry- the Shinigami. A watercolor illustration of a pale, deathly being clutching a scythe with long, wild black hair and a cloak as red as blood accompanied it. It looked like Asura. Just looking at that image made my chest hurt. Still, I decided to read further.

SHINIGAMI- A species of Kami that invites humans toward death and is interpreted by many as an incarnation of Death itself. Shinigami are seen as gods of death, determining who will live and die, and where their souls will reside for eternity. The Shinigami revel in killing and violence, possessing weak-hearted humans and Ayakashi to force them to murder others or kill themselves. They are devilish beings well-known for making tempting wagers, and cursing or devouring the souls of those who cannot fulfill their deals.

So this is Asura, I thought. This is the monster I was cursed by. With that kind of description, I was right to call him the Devil, even if he was more of a Grim Reaper. The reason my mother was dead, the reason I was dying, and the reason I got mixed up into all this in the first place...was the same thing I stared at on that page, cackling into the night, surrounded by a sea of blood and bones.

I heard the hollow clunk of wooden sandals as the Timespace Witch Miyu trundled out of the darkness. She took a breath from a thin reed pipe clasped between her fingers and exhaled a plume of sweet-smelling pink smoke. "I see you're looking for a bit of peace and quiet, Lady Minami. I don't blame you. So, how are things with you and your Shikigami? You shouldn't be afraid of him, you know."