NEFELIBATA

.Kuchisake-onna 1.

...

PEOPLE RUSHED pass him. Others' voices filled his head, it was almost painful. One couldn't hear the cicadas let alone the melodious chirping of the birds. Akio had no idea how he got here. A month had past since the last Mononoke appearance. The teen would've stayed in the village if it weren't for the fact his family had left a while back. Good for them but now he has nowhere to go.

The lively ambience hyped Akio. He could see merchants at every conner. People surrounded him, he had never seen so many humans in one place. His eyes graced upon woman with shiny jewelry, samurai that wore katanas with intricate designs. Overall, it was somewhat overwhelming.

He sighed. The problem with having so many people in one place was he was pushed around; Akio would almost trip time to time.

Numerous colors filled his vision. All of them bright. It was impossible to find a single dark color. He looked down at his yukata and felt out of place. Whilst everyone had vivid clothing and accessories, he only had a dark blue yukata and black hakama.

Thankfully, a samurai with similar clothing walked passes him, helping feel less like an outlier.

Few minutes later he was in an area with significantly less people around. Howbeit, there were still others lingering. This zone had fewer shops and more houses. Or at least what he assumed to be homes.

Deciding he had done enough sight seeing, he opted to go back to the area he had just left. Surely, there would be an inn.

Right as he turned, Akio had realized he was lost. He sighed once more and scrutinized the place, hoping he would find one recognizable thing. After seconds of searching he found nothing. Feeling annoyed, he gently kicked the dirt; Akio didn't want to possibly get dirt on anyone.

Akio felt relieved, it wasn't a hot day making his situation a bit bearible. His green orbs shined as they gazed up into the bright sky. Clouds were sparse, however, some still were able to cover the sun. He tore his eyes from the beautiful sky and began to focus on the task at hand.

Yellow.

He saw a young woman, a girl around his age, was clearly uncomfortable with the guy she was speaking to. At first he opted to look away but he couldn't ignore the situation any longer.

She appeared to be of average height. Her skin was tan-brown. The color of her eyes were dark brown, a similar color to her hair. Akio noticed her lips were on the thicker side. Her hair was styled in a shimada, a few pins adorned her hair as well. A single mole was under her left eye. Her kimono was a bright yellow with light blue floral pattern. She wore a purple obi with the same pattern as her kimono. Overall, she was a pretty girl.

He rushed towards the distressed girl. Her face was clear with disgust. The close Akio came the easier it was to hear their coversation. She was literally calling him a pig and the man wouldn't back off.

Now, Akio wasn't the most confrontational person, so her simply pretend to know her.

"Hey, your dad is looking for you!" He exclaimed, trying his best to seem worried. Both of them stared at him with confusion. Akio simultaneously winked at her and prayed she would catch on.

Her eyes lit up, she had realized what Akio was doing. She stepped away from the creepy man and towards Akio. She glanced at him then back to the man.

"It was fun talking to you, bye!" She ran off causing the redhead to run after her.

After minutes of speeding away tell two stopped for a breath. Both panted, the brunette took rigid short huff of air. The redhead's breaths were the opposite. On was fitter than the other.

Seconds later the two stared at each other. High-pitched giggles came out of the young lady's mouth. Akio saw her bright smile and returned it with a smile of his own.

The teen in the yellow kimono abruptly bowed, startling the other.

"Thank you for your help!" She exclaimed. This caused a few people to look at them. Akio quickly raised the teen, embarrassed at all the attention.

Once she was up he rapidly shook his hands around and told her it was no problem multiple times. By now, no attention was on them.

"Oh! I'm Kayo, pleasure to meet you." Kayo introduced herself happily. She and Akio bowed.

"Akio." He whilst bowing.

"So what are you doing here?" Kaya asked, hoping to get close with the male. Akio's brows furrowed; he could tell the brunette he just stumbled upon this village, could he?

"Uh, I am looking for a job after an incident happened with a certain family..." he didn't want to outright tell her a mononoke attack the Shiruku household. There would be no way she would believe a word he'd say.

Kayo's eyes lit up at the possible gossip.

"What happened?!" She exclaimed as excitement pulsed through her. Akio nervously smiled at her ubruptness. He fumbled over his words as he tried to come up with a plausible excuse. The red-haired teen stuttered out words until he gave up. Kayo was clearly not going to back down. With a sigh Akio began to explain what had happened.

"Would you believe me if a mononoke attacked..." The ambience turned tense.

"Did a medicine seller come and vanquish the mononoke?" Akio's eyes widened as his breath hitched.

"Yeah, how'd you know?" He knew the answer, he just had to hear it for himself. A wobbly smile stretched onto brunette's lips.

"Isn't he kind of handsome!" She happily asked. Blush coated her cheeks, a dreamy look adorned her face. Akio awkwardly smiled.

"Yeah, I guess." He shrugged. The teen did have to admit, Kusuriuri was a good-looking man. A little too go in his preference but what could he do. Go up to the vendor and tell him to get ugly? If he did that he might as well go insult a samurai.

A unexplainable chill traveled down Akio's spine. And for some reason he thought nothing of it.

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