(Discontinued )
(Work Dated: May 24 2021)
The streets of Shikagami City have a secret.
To save themselves from paying their severe debts with their soul to a Verdish Goddess of the Underworld, a desperate restaurant mascot has to help a Junhic fox...
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It flutters in the early autumn breeze as you pull it out with your fingers. Its vague scent of cherry hits you nose as you twist and turn it around in your distraught fingers. The rectangular strip of paper brushes against the running timekeeper on the top of your palm by accident. The tattoo turns white from black, and freezes.
The observation gives you hope. You brush the tattoo with the white sheet of paper once more and note the resumption of the time. When you repeat, the tattoo turns white and stops its animation. You leave the tattoo on white and let a small smile of relief make its appearance on your lips. You kiss the white paper and hold it with all the reverence you would've given to a blank cheque from a billionaire. Thanking whatever entity that had slid it onto the dahboard for their help, you decide to save yourself from becoming cat food.
A roar rips your attention off the paper and turns your head to face the forest. The sight of the cougar running towards at full speed, hurtling through the trees like a white blur from far away nearly stills your heart. You flee through the maze of trees immediately, clutching the piece of magic paper like a goodluck charm. You dodge trees and run till your muscles heat up like overworked piston. Before you is a freshly abandoned campfire littered with bottles, cigarette stubs, lighters and logs. Birds screech and flap towards safety all around you.
A sudden whisper in your ear breaks your run.
Stop.
You turn around and look. Screaming for help in such a situation would simply attract unwanted attention. You stop and listen. A group of faint, echoing voices decide to engage your ears.
Listen.
Draw a swirl on the paper.
Burn it.
Listen, stop, don't look around.
Draw a swirl with the charcoal in the campfire.
Burn it with the lighter.
Listen, the beast is close, he is near our siblings in the north east of the campfire.
Draw a swirl on the paper that can summon something that can save you.
Burn it and run, don't die.
"Okay, okay. I will, just tell me who the hell you are, will you?!" you ask with a rising pitch. You stumble around to find the source but you fail to identify it.
Listen, human, please leave.
Draw the swirl.
Burn the paper, live.
"How do I know that you're not toying with me?"
Listen, we aren't.
Draw the swirl.
Burn the paper.
"Fine," you scream. You've had enough creepy occurrences for one day. Picking up a piece of charcoal that you feel would leave a good mark, you draw an irregular swirl on the paper. A clashing of the bits within the lighter lights up the oil and gives you a strong yellow flame. You hold the paper gingerly over the fire and wait for the flames to bathe and eat the paper. The smell drives the ones of tobacco, barbeque sauce and rotting leaves out of the area.
You feel the paper slipping from your strong grasp. The paper begins to turn pure white from its yellowish hue and begins to crack at places. It then absorbs the fire fully, shutting off the lighter, and cracks like a dry leaf into the brillant white petals of cherry blossoms. You watch the autumn wind blow the soft petals down your palm and away, making them dance and twirl across skin, dead leaf, bark and branch alike.
A piece of rice paper has turned into cherry blossom petals within your hands, and you wonder why.
Wouldn't it have made more sense for it to turn into paddy flowers or something, you catch yourself wondering.
The voices don't respond to your name-calling and screaming. Exhausted, you decide to pick a random direction and walk till you reach the highway, while remembering the campfire location to use as a backup.
That is until someone tugs at your jacket and makes you fall back in shock.
