Katsugami

by Debbie Olive

  KATSUGAMI

  DEBBIE OLIVE

  Copyright 2015 by Debbie Olive

  This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. It may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with someone else, please purchase an additional copy for each reader. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  Chapter 1

  Katsuro no Hiroyuki paced across the room as he waited for his fellow Onmyouji's response. "How long do you think you could keep me waiting?" he asked while trying not to sound disrespectful. "I see you haven't changed since we last saw each other, was it a tenth of a season?" replied an amused Katsumi no Katashi.

  "Whatever it is that you're playing at just count me out of it because I have no interest, tell me this have you agreed to place me on watch duty in the human or yokai world?" as he spoke his eyes fastened on the one who had the power to determine his fate for Katsumi no Katashi wielded so much power even among his kind.

  "What do you think? That I would let my favorite take up such a dangerous task you really must think so poor of me, are you in a hurry to lose your life?" His voice raised in irritation.

  Wanting to diffuse the situation that was rapidly getting out of hand as his brain started to formulate the next plan, hoping it would be enough to gain the favor he sought.

  "Would I beg and say that it was only a joke? What was I thinking that he of all people would grant my request?" with that in mind knowing that the only way to get what he wanted was to plead with the one who held his destiny as he bowed his head to beg for forgiveness.

  "Please Katsumi no Katashi-sama I meant no disrespect by asking for the guard duty this is the only way to prove my worth as an elite onmyouji, if you deem it to be something detrimental to my well being then I Katsuro no Hiroyuki would humbly withdraw my request"

  Wondering what had come over his disciple for him to show such humility in the face of possible rejection, "You're no longer the selfish, ill-mannered, impulsive child it seems time truly brings about a sense of maturity. I will take your request into consideration and allow you just this once to guard the Tori gate located at the sumiyoshi shrine that connects our world and those of the yokai.

  Chapter 2

  The next morning came as Katsuro no Hiroyuki overslept were it not for the voices of the others residing in the compound he would have forgotten the duty entrusted to him, jumping from the futon to head straight for a quick bath afterwards he hurriedly wore his mint green kariginu "clothe" and asagutsu footwear.

  Removing the weapon box from the compartment below the tatami "floor" as, he began selecting the best of the shikigami and spell tags before returning the rest of the weapons to their previous hiding place. Crouching a little he began using his fingers to form the Akiraka ni suru spell to keep a look out for anyone that may be around before leaving his room so as not to be discovered by the others, after making sure the place was safe he then snuck out through the back door heading through the garden leading into the forest path moving as quickly as his legs could carry him

  Releasing the shikigami iguru before mounting on it, as they both took to the air while releasing the spell of invisibility to hide from the very eyes of the humans whom he had sworn to protect. Gradually the journey was coming to an end as they were drawing closer to the tori gate of the Sumiyoshi shrine which was now visible, on getting to the entrance Katsuro no Hiroyuki slowly descended from the back of his eagle style shikigami, flicking his fingers to disperse the shikigami into its lifeless form afterwards he headed straight into the shrine.

  There were few people still praying in front of the offering box located at the center of the shrine, none seem to notice that an onmyouji had just passed by since the spell of invisibility had not been released. Watching the people closely Katsuro no Hiroyuki noticed there was a woman who had it not been for the faint yokai aura that seem to be emanating from her there would have been no way he would have known she wasn’t human.

  “What should I do? There are other humans around, maybe I should lure her outside the shrine?” all these he asked himself before making the decision to quietly approach the young woman as he dispelled the spell that hid his presence.

  Standing among the worshippers was a raven haired beauty with dark eyes dressed in a wine and gold colored yukata which hid feet that were covered in red sock and wooden slippers, her hair was held in a finely crafted kanzashi embedded with pure dark glittering onyx stones. Deep in thought she didn’t notice when her worst enemy was very near until he spoke.

  “Excuse me my name is Katsuro, can we go somewhere private there is something I wish to discuss with you.” Wondering what the strange man wanted she decided to follow him as they begun heading towards the entrance of the shrine. Exiting the shrine completely he gestured with his hand for them to turn left into the forest; while all this was going on the woman didn’t say a word as she obediently followed him.

  Chapter 3

  The deep brown Ginkaku-ji style mansion home to the onikisu noble family to the front was a grown senbonzakura "thousand cherry" tree on the right was a shishi-odoshi "water fountain" at the back was a zen garden made of gravel resembling that of rippling water with small plants growing around.

  Inside one of the rooms in the mansion voices could be heard as a gathering was made to discuss their fate among other noble families, seated at the head of the table was Yuudai-sama the head of the family to the right was his wife Azami-sama, while on the left was Namika and Shinju his children.

  Clearing his throat he began by saying "You all know the Naginata family are well known for their battle prowess and weapon making skill, recently the head of their family asked me to make a sculpture to commemorate the birth of their heir" pausing to allow what he said to sink into their ears.

  "We heard of his birth, nothing special just another child born into the noble family" said Namika

  "They want it placed at the genkan "hallway" leading to the living room, what worries me is that this is the first time they have ever asked for our help and I want us to create it using highly refined onyx stones, by doing so this would bring their respect and also gain us some favor in the process" said Yuudai-sama

  All the time he spoke his wife didn't say a word sensing there was more he was yet to tell them, what came next surprised everyone.

  “Namika take Shinju with you to the human world and bring Akihana home."

  Chapter 4

  A few feet away stood Katsuro no Hiroyuki as he tried to gauge the strength of the unknown figures across him, the younger ayakashi kept staring at the intruder as neither made a move.

  "Nami-niisan hasn't been able to find Aki-niisama its no use asking her what to do next, hmm...let me see....maybe I should ask the human over there? But there is something about him that makes me uneasy..." thought Shinju

  "What should I do? Why are they even here? When you think you have gotten rid of one then more keep showing up. This is so annoying!" as he muttered to himself.

  "Should I go or not go? No, what if he is as dangerous as I thought? Maybe I shouldn't but Otosama said we can't return without Aki-niisama, what should I do?" Shinju felt so confused. The inner battle within him came to an end as he finally made a choice; the young ayakashi began walking towards the man.

  "What is he doing? Why does he approach me? no time to think...let me make the first move" dipping his hand to pull out one of the spell tags from the side gathering of the kimono, as this was halted when the ayakashi shouted "Stop! I mean you no harm, please we are only here to bring Oneesama home, and we have cause to believe she resides among
the humans"

  Moving swiftly Namika struck her brother hard across the face "Who gave you the permission to speak to the human? Next time I wouldn't be so forgiving" then with a swing of her hand the blood from the blow landed on the ground.

  Chapter 5

  Earlier Akihana had sensed the strange aura of her kind from where she sat in the park after leaving the shrine.

  "This feels familiar, no it can't be, there is no way any of them would come looking for me" she thought as the urge to see if it was true resonated strongly within her. Deciding to give in, moving beyond what the human eye could see as she made her way to the source of the disturbance.

  What she saw shook her to the core as the shrine looked ravaged, seeing her sister holding on to the human who looked as though at any time he would breathe his last, as the front of his clothe was stained by blood with bruises on one of his feet.

  "What is going on here? Why did you have to harm the human? Tell me right now!" she asked in a voice which shook with anger and what resembled pain.

  Namika did not know the moment her sister arrived until she spoke, so focused was she on dealing with the one she held in her hand. Turning to where her elder sister stood as she said "Aki-niisama how did you get here? We have been looking for you" with a slight movement of her hand she flung the human who landed some feet away.

  "Disappear Hebi no Ishi" she commanded as the creature returned into the dark stones where it was summoned from hidden within its mistress kimono.

  Chapter 6

  “I’m asking you, why did you harm the human? Do not let me repeat myself” said Akihana in a voice tightly restraining her anger. Meanwhile Shinju watched from where he was waiting for when it felt safe to do so, seeing his eldest sister was emanating a strong aura to kill.

  “I better keep away until Nami-niisan and Aki-niisama stop fighting.” he thought.

  “What is he to you? When I saw he knew where you were and didn’t say anything then I decided to punish him a little although I got a little carried away along the way.” said Namika with a slight smirk on her face.

  “In case it failed to come to your attention, he didn’t know where I was; after he warned me to leave the shrine we went our separate ways. Tell me this, what did you do to him I’m sure you didn’t just grab his neck?” while she spoke Katsuro no Hiroyuki wondered what they were saying for his mind was barely able to keep up with what was said among them.

  “I hope they don’t get into a fight, thank goodness the barrier I erected earlier is still in place if not some of the people would have walked into our fight and would have been killed in the process.”

  “Aki-niisama I did what was necessary to find you, Otosama told us not to return without you, when the human proved difficult the Hebi no Ishi released its venom into him. Some of his vital organs are liquefying as we speak.” As she spoke with head bowed signifying, no ill will towards the one who stood before her.

  “I will heal him, after which we head back. I’m sure Otosama has great need of me that was why he sent you. Where is Shinju? Tell to get ready we’ll be leaving soon” she began walking straight ahead of her sister to where the dying onmyouji laid on the ground.

  Kneeling by the side of the human, using her sharp claws Akihana slit her wrist as blood flowed from the wound; with the other hand she pried open his mouth to bring her bleeding wrist to his mouth.

  Katsuro no Hiroyuki felt a strange sensation entering his body, slowly opening his eyes as he saw the yokai he spoke with earlier in the shrine, placing her blood soaked wrist into his mouth.

  “Stop, what are you doing?!” he asked while struggling to free himself only to be forcefully held down, as she continued to feed him with the blood from her wrist. Tired of struggling against something he couldn’t control, his body slowly surrendered into an exhausted sleep.

  After seeing that the human was completely healed, Akihana carried him to where the pouch of the shrine was and laid him there. Dispelling the aura that concealed her true form as slowly an ayakashi with sparkling jade piercing eyes and long flowing white hair emerged from the transformation smoke.

  “Aki-niisama is back!” said an excited Shinju as he jumped down from where he was, running towards his sister.

  “Let’s go” said Akihana as they began moving towards the Tori gate, at the last moment she turned to cast a lingering glance at the human who lay asleep.

  The force of their aura opened the gate as they moved through it into the world of the yokai, a world where duty awaited their return.

  Chapter 7

  On passing through the Kimon gate into the yokai world, they moved swiftly heading towards the Onikisu family home which on getting there discovered the head of the family waiting at the entrance.

  “Welcome Otosama, I have successfully brought Aki-niisama as you requested” said Namika while bowing as the others did the same.

  “So until I called for you, if not you’ll have stayed in the human world?” asked Yuudai-sama.

  “Otosama it is not my wish to be away from the family, I only wanted to seek out something different even if it meant leaving all I know; but when it comes to fulfilling my duty I’ll always be here to do so” even as she said this Akihana knew deep in her heart that they were only words said to please her father.

  “I expect nothing less from the one who would one day succeed me in carrying on the tradition of the family, now that it is settled let us all go in and discuss what I have in mind as to the structure to be built for the Naginata family” with that they walked behind their father, placing so much distance between them.

  Sliding the door leading to the family meeting room aside only to see their mother still seated where they left her, bowing to greet her before each took their respective seat at the table.

  “Now that we are all here, let me make something clear. Akihana’s duty is to create the finest structure depicting the image of the wife of the Naginata family and their new born child, the stones to be used must be white in order to enhance its beauty, this task can only be done by the one who is the most gifted among us”

  Surprisingly the one who decided to speak was Azami-sama saying “Permit me to say this but Anata “darling” what you want Aki-chan to do may be beyond her abilities for now, why not ask her to create something that only she can do.” In a quiet voice which portrayed her deep respect.

  The tension in the room was so intense such that a lesser yokai would have been obliterated on the spot, as each waited to hear the response of the family head and hoping it would not cause the situation to turn out for the worst.

  “It doesn’t matter whether or not you think her ability isn’t up to the task at hand, because your fear of if she can succeed is of no importance compared to the family honor that is at stake if we were to fail Haruki-sama and his wife Fuyuko-sama who came to us to create something precious to symbolize the happiness they received when Minoru-sama was born.

  Our very existence among the noble family of higher ranks depends on this.” he said with a resolute look neither of them dared to say anymore after he spoke.

  Standing up from where she sat with a slight bowing saying “Thank you Otosama for always having the best interest of everyone in the family, I’ll do my part not to fail you and if you’ll all excuse me I will like to rest because I’m exhausted from maintain the human state for too long. Afterwards the preparation for the Naginata structure would commence, it should be ready by the next day.” all the time she spoke there was a bright smile on her face which remained even after raising her head before turning to exit the room, for it hid the bitter anger and sadness residing in the deepest part of her heart.

  Watching her daughter leave brought a lingering sadness to Azami-sama, as one who had lived the onikisu life, she knew it was a hard path to follow especially for one so young and talented but her husband’s words were law and there was nothing she could do about it.

  “Namika, Shinju see to it that she has all the help necessar
y to complete the task ahead before the deadline” he said before taking his leave in the same fashion as his daughter.

  “Your father has our best interest although his ways may seem a little extreme at times but it is only to keep the family legacy alive…” said Azami-sama who was interrupted by her daughter.

  “Did you mean the family title because that is all I can see Otosama is fighting for.” Said Namika as her eyes blazed with the fury she felt within.

  Azami-sama wisely chose that moment to quietly leave the room because in time past she had found it useless to reason with her youngest daughter whenever she was in a raging state, the only way out was when no one paid any attention to her actions.

  Akihana chose to lay down on the multicolor futon in her room, pulling the cover across her body with eyes closed freeing her mind to recall her encounter with the young onmyouji; as this brought a true smile on her face.

  “I wonder if he has already woken up, this is one of those times that the gift of foresight would have been useful not that I’ll ask Ayumu-sama for any help, our standing among other noble family is nothing compared to one born into the greatest noble house in the entire yokai world.

  It is most likely my path and that of the human were never meant to cross again.”

  Slowly shutting her mind from the memories, that was precious to her but at the same time painful as she entered into the resting state.

  Author’s Note