Ame no Nuhoko

 “Greetings friend! Sorry, but traveling East is foreordained with ill omens today. Best to wait until tomorrow, right?”

The peasant slowed to a stop in the dusty dirt road. Wearing a patchy, worn tunic and a patchy, worn headband, he surveyed the man barring his path. As the bright white robes and tall black kanmuri hat, seeped into recognition, the peasant’s eye widened in panic before he plunged to the ground in a deep bow.

“Th-thank you sir! I am deeply sorry for not showing you the proper respect at once!”

“No, no,” the finely dressed man said, “I’m no samurai, and take no affront. You look deeply tired friend, there is no need to add to your troubles. Please. Rise.”

Weighed down by a heavy pack, topped with a bound bed roll, the peasant struggled to get back to his feet. “Thank you again sir.” he bowed at the waist, arms straight, “However, may I ask why traveling East is forbidden?”

“Not forbidden, just strongly advised against.” The finely dressed man reached into his sleeve and pulled out a green book, filled with pages of rice paper. “I noticed a particularly red sunrise today. And at this time of year, in the year of the Rat, that can only mean one thing, I’m sorry to say.”

The peasant’s eyes widened with wonder and fright. “Onmyodo?” he exclaimed in a breathless whisper.

“Yes. My name is Abe No Seimei, diviner to The Son of Heaven. And my traveling companion here is Rusu Akitoki.”

Thirteen year old Akitoki waived hello as he was regarded with vague interest. He surely looked no less important than an attendant to Seimei, but if that were true, Akitoki would at least be better dressed than the peasant. Back home, Akitoki was a modest fisherman who spent most of his time yearning for adventures like he’d hear in stories and legends. He hadn’t quite anticipated the quest, and the spear, that karma would choose for him.

“I don’t suppose your family is affiliated with the Element of Wood?” Seimei asked, “Otherwise I doubt you would have made it this far. The Ekikyo expressly states this.” he indicated the green book.

“No, my family is-” his eyes widened in terror. “Ajisai-chan! His family is Wood aligned.” the man spun on his heels to face back West, the swinging of his heavy pack nearly pulling him off his feet. “He left after I did because his sandal strap broke! I should have known this was an ill omen. I have to warn him!”

“Don’t over exert yourself.” Seimei gently cautioned. “Akitoki and I will hurry ahead and warn your friend. Come along Aki.”

“Yes, Seimei-domo.” Akitoki sighed. There was at least one thing he had in common with an Onmyoji’s attendant. He was carrying both of their supplies.

While Abe No Seimei took the lead at a brisk jog, Akitoki was soon lagging behind, gasping for breath. Noticing this, Seimei slowed until his companion was beside him.

“Shall I have Hasshaku Sama help take your pack?” he asked.

“No.” Akitoki gasped. She might be strong enough to crush him to death, but he would still feel emasculated for asking a lady to carry something for him.

“Oh?” Seimei’s lips turned up into a mischievous grin. A type of smirk that Akitoki had learned to dread. “Then perhaps I should ask her to carry you instead?”

“N-no, I’m f-”

Before he could finish, Abe No Seimei, the greatest Onmyoji the Imperial court had ever known, reached into his sleeve and produced a long and thin sheet of paper. An Ofuda talisman, inscribed with a five sided star and a particular set of wards and prayers. Chanting one of these prayers while drawing the five sided Seiman star, he called upon the yokai bound within his spells. With the flick of his wrist, Seimei tossed the Ofuda paper onto the road before them.

Instantly, a pair a long, pale, and almost spider-like arms sprouted from the paper, pulling themselves out. The long arms bent to the ground, furthering their insectoid appearance, straining to pull itself forth. First; hair, black as night and bound up and back in the three folds of the Shimada style. Next; the face with dark and deep eyes, each with a glowing ring of yellow, and a mouth of black-dyed teeth. Her neck was thin, her shoulders narrow, and her torso as long as Akitoki was tall. Her legs, long, slender, and protruding from a fine white kimono, at last followed her out of the Ofuda. One of her lengthy arms reached back into the spell to retrieve a wide straw hat that she gently placed atop her head, shielding her ghostly-pale visage from the sun.

“Pon.” Her voice was deep and forceful. One could almost feel it.

“Hasshaku Sama!” Seimei called out, “A pleasure to see you as always.”

The towering woman barely acknowledged the Onmyoji, her eyes boring holes into Akitoki. The boy felt the same mixture of fear and wonder that accompanied every appearance of Hasshaku Sama. She was beauty and dread all at once, and were it not for Abe no Seimei, she would have crushed him to death not even half a week into his quest.

“I’m afraid I’ve worked little Akitoki to the bone.” Seimei said, “Would you mind carrying him for a bit?”

The woman smiled down at him, each one of her black teeth on display. She need not have taken a step towards him, only reaching out with her long arms, taking him under his armpits, and pulling him to her chest.

“Toki-kun. Pon.” This close he could certainly feel her voice.

“Gently now.” Seimei reminded.

The yokai’s embrace was stifling, though not quite crushing. Somewhere between a mother and her child and that child and a favorite doll.

“U-um, I’m fine. R-really.” Akitoki squeaked.

“No need to act tough.” Seimei said, “And besides, we’re in a bit of a hurry. This way, Hasshaku Sama.”

Humming to herself, vibrating her passenger, the tall woman followed. Seimei jogged along, five steps needed to cover one stride from Hasshaku Sama.

At the base of a small hill, they could hear both shouting and splashing. Cresting said hill, they looked down into a valley where a trio of turtle-men creatures were dragging a flailing and soaking peasant into the river.

"Kappa!" Akitoki exclaimed at one.

"And a Suiko." Seimei stared down the fourth and largest of the turtle creatures that surveyed from a distance. Whereas the smaller three had matted black hair around their scaled skulls and turtle beaks, this creature was the visage of a tiger. Long sharp teeth, slitted eyes, and perhaps whiskers, though it was hard to tell at this distance.

"What shall we do-pon?" Haksshaku Sama asked, clutching the boy to her chest.

"Let's see..." Seimei pondered aloud, searching his sleeves as he descended the hill. At last, he produced another Ofuda, "Ah, the Kamatachi. Should do well here."

With a prayer and a Seiman drawing, he tossed the paper into the rive. Wasting no time, the water's surface burst upward in a spiral. When the drops settled, a large weasel stood, glaring at his selected foes. Looking down at the creature, not much taller than children themselves, the Kappa hesitated. Waterlogged and miserable, the peasant wrested free and scrambled to the rocky bank.

"Kama-kun!" Seimei called, "Would you kindly chase these rascals away?"

"BLARFL! WRAGLLE FLERG!" The Kamatachi surged forward, its quick little legs moving so rapidly, they soon held the yokai above the water. Dashing back and forth, slicing and spinning, sometimes too fast for the eyes to see, the sickle-weasel sliced the Kappa. Limbs and scales scattered in every direction while the turtle creatures shrieked. Not from pain, however. The beasts were surprised to see their hands and elbows suddenly go missing, so they quickly snatched them up and scurried back to the water. Two were last seen bickering over a particular hand until one pointed out the other still had its right hand firmly attached.

Its minions scattered, the Suiko now squared off with the weasel. 

"Can Kama-chan win?" Akitochi asked.

"I suspect so," said Seimei, but let's hurry just in case. 

Halfway down the hill, Akitochi saw movement. He cried out, wresting himself free from his carrier, then reached into his pouch and found his stalf. Pulling it free, with intention in his heart, the blade from the Ame no Nuhoko took its true spear form and sliced the Kappa's arm. The creature shrieked, but before it could flee, a pair of long white arms shot into the brush and hoisted it out by its shell.

"You tried to harm my little Tochi-kun, pon?! Now I'll turn you upside down! PON!"

The little turtle man shrieked, tucking its legs and head into its shell, the arms sticking out only to cover up the Kappa’s head where there was an indented bowl of water. With this water splashed onto the ground, the fearsome Kappa was reduced to a dreary, lethargic, shell of its former self.

Paying little mind to this scuffle, Seimei had arrived at the exhausted peasant.

“Are you alright?”

“Once I….” the man panted, “catch my….breath.”

Akitochi managed only a single step down the hill before Haksshaku Sama scooped him up once more, ferrying him the rest of the way, his protest falling on deaf ears.

“Haksshaku Sama, he can’t see you! The only humans who can, are me and the Onmoji.”

As anticipated, the recovering peasant regarded the floating boy with shock and wonder.

“A-are you some kind of wizard?!”

“No.” Akitochi said flatly, more than a little annoyed, “But he is.”

“Abe no Seimei!” the Onmoji vigorously shook the peasant’s hand. “Pleasure to make you acquaintance. Haksshaku Sama, please set Akitochi down.”

“Pon….” the giant woman relented.

“Seimei….Diviner to the Son of Heaven?!” the peasant exclaimed.

“That’s me.” Seimei bolstered with a pride Akitochi had only ever noticed when the man spoke to the lower caste. He hadn’t yet figured out if the pride was an act, or if the act was the polite humility around samurai and court officials.

“Please sir!” the peasant dove to the ground in a deep bow. “M-my village, though it is only a m-minor town, not worthy of your great esteem, i-it is beset by midnight terrors of late!”

“Oh?” Seimei said, a spark of interest in his eyes, “Terrors of what sort?”

Akitochi sighed for what must have been the fifth time that night. With a torch to light his way, he trudged through a neglected forest path.

After hearing out the pleas of the villagers, Seimei had at once set out to investigate. Not even considering he could have just stayed at the village, Akitochi had followed the man into the dark woods. Before long, they had separated. This had happened often enough that Akitochi was recognizing a pattern. He, a seemingly vulnerable young boy, would venture into the maw of danger. Just before that maw could snap shut, Seimei would spring into action and repel the evil spirit. Akitochi couldn’t help but wonder what would happen if the Onmyoji ever ‘sprung’ a little late.

Though it was a windy night in the forest, Akitochi jumped at every rustle. The villagers had described something slithering through their streets and homes, biting and snapping. First it had been rats and small livestock, but within a few days, the monster had begun to bite children. None had died, mere infections around the wound, but the villagers anticipated that such attacks would only continue to increase until someone did die.

A twig snapped and Akitochi spun on his heels. Though he dreaded her embrace, right now he would greatly have liked to have Haksshaku Sama here. She’d been none too happy to be sealed back in her Ofuda.

Something in the corner of his eye! He ripped his staff free, producing the spear.

Nothing.

The wind must have shifted a branch’s shadow caused by his torch. The boy sucked in a deep breath, letting it out slow. At this rate, he’d kill himself from a panic attack before the yokai ever showed up.

It was then that he saw it. Glaring at him from between the trees, eyes aglow, reflecting the torch’s light. Her visage was hatred and resentment. Death was all she craved. With a yowl, the woman sprang forth. Akitochi scrambled aside, flicking the butt of his spear at the creature’s legs. There were no legs. How? As his mind pieced together that the only thing that had come for him out of the trees was a head and an ever growing neck, the face turned towards him and lunged again.

As the teeth snapped, he lurched to the side. Something hit his foot, taking away his balance and sending him sprawling to the ground. It was the creature’s neck, dragging along the ground. The head above weaved side to side, rejoicing now that it had a clear advantage. The woman’s face smiled, coiling back for the strike.

Akitochi had nearly forgotten his Onmyoji protector. The woman’s face glanced into the forest, attempting to track down a faint chanting. Suddenly, a chain burst from the darkness, ensnaring both the long neck and a nearby tree. Yowling and flailing, the yokai could not break free.

Akitochi scrambled to his feet, grasping the spear in both hands and facing down his attacker. Adrenaline was hot in his ears when Seimei spoke.

“A Rokurokubi. Not a traditional yokai. Born not from an evil spirit, but a curse. By the way, did you catch the name of the local lord?”

Not taking his eyes off the head, Akitochi thought back. “Kuchiba?”

“Yes, cousins to the Yamadera family.”

At this, Akitochi finally lowered his weapon. “The daimyo who stole the Ame no Nuhoko?”

Seimei nodded. “I’m afraid this is Kuchiba Mitsu. Kuchiba by marriage. When the patriarch of the Yamadera’s treason was discovered, his entire family was executed. The males of extended family were offered the chance for sepukku. Such was the case for Mitsu’s husband and sons, the youngest just ten. Mitsu and her daughter have been in exile ever since. Removed from their castle and, I imagine, living in a cottage nearby.”

“How has she turned into….this?” Akitochi watched the writhing head with an increasing sense of pity and, though he new it was misplaced, guilt.

“The Rokurokubi is an unconscious curse. Negative feelings and extreme emotions build up in a woman who will not consciously express them. When she falls asleep, her curse takes hold. This….is the result.”

“Is there anything we can do for her?”

“Not us. Perhaps we could convince the villagers to end her exile, though. They’ll never let a Kuchiba rule in that castle ever again, but perhaps a home on the edge of town. Proper burials for her sons, perhaps. The husband, I’m afraid, may be out of the question, but we can try.”

“All because an uncle, not even by blood, stole this spear.” He glanced down at the Ame no Nuhoko.

“Yes. The price of betrayal is quite deep. The sooner we return that treasure, the sooner we stop that price from increasing. Let us get some sleep, there is much to do tomorrow.”