Hello!

The super slacker extraordinaire has returned (for now, dun dun dun)!

Seriously, though, I have a new story here for you. I mentioned this one in the intro to the chapter of Storms I just posted up. This one is complete, and, probably, out of all of the stories I have written, is likely my favorite. Why? Because I have a mad (obsessional) love for youkai. Like, seriously.

I also really love the atmosphere of this one.

So since I will be posting Storms at more or less the same time, and those chapters are much shorter (and the readers slightly murderous toward the super slacker extraordinaire kazenoyouni), I have decided to post this one every other week, making Storms my priority.

But this one is weird, no? Isn't today Sunday, and not kazenoyouni's usual Friday?

That is correct (good job). This one is just a prologue (one of three, actually) before we get into the actual story. So I have decided to post these ('cause they are even shorter than the average Storms chapter) once every two days. Chapter One will be on Friday, alongside chapter 88 of Storms.

And this one is finished, so maybe the readers won't be quite so murderous! Yay!

Warnings for overall story: lots of notes (lol), kinda dark and angsty (also lol)

Warnings for Prologue One: short

Right, so here we go!

Ayakashi
- or -
Wandering Spirits

Ayakashi (あやかし) - something strange or suspicious

プロローグ１
First Prologue

In the times of myths and legends, there existed the many who were of the other world, oni(1) and yuurei(2), youkai(3) and kami(4). Ayakashi, the mysterious beings who wandered the earth. Numerous and powerful, they influenced human society from the shadows, some in positive ways, others in the dark and unseemly. To the humans who existed alongside the ayakashi, they could be nuisances, plagues, or great aides.

Among those who traveled in the paths just out of sight of mortals, the kami existed. A plain above the other mysterious beings, they traditionally kept their distance from humans, preferring instead to watch from afar. Some sought to aid the humans they watched over, some content just to be bystanders or spectators. But every now and then, those who enjoyed watching the mortals who lived on the earth would take a journey to interact with them.

One such being, beautiful beyond mortal standards, wise, benevolent and strong, this kami of female naivety, was one who, after some years of sitting in boredom on her throne in the Hall of Kami, would deem to wander the paths of mortals. The fancy struck her every hundred years or so, and she would take on a more human appearance and wander the country.

It was in one of these journeys she came across a certain town. It lay at the base of a mountain range, quiet and small and peaceful, the people an auspicious sort. They went about their business in peace, gave due deference to the kami, and she found the town pleasant as she entered it.

But the people, suspicious of outsiders who entered their little town, were weary of the lone woman who appeared out of nowhere. She was beautiful and graceful and intelligent, and their suspicion only grew. The town, for all its peace and prosperity, didn't care for those who were 'different' from what they perceived as 'normal', and this strange woman was especially so.

The kami wasn't aware of anything strange at first, and when it did strike her as odd, the way they treated her, so used to the usual deference given her she paid it no mind.

She really should have.

The people's suspicions of this woman who wandered among them grew. They knew of kami, but they had never seen one before, and so they saw this strange woman as a threat, not someone to treat with respect. And so suspicious had they become, on a dark night when the moon was full, convinced she must be a demon, they confronted her.

She was resting peacefully when the innkeeper led the other village men to her room, and they stormed in. Being a traveler among mortals, a kami with vast power, it was a rule those like her could not use their power against humans directly, and she could do nothing to stop their assault.

They dragged her out into the dark of night and raged against her, with hands, weapons, whatever they could find. She struggled to fend them off, but could not harm them. Powerful though she was, fond of humans as she had been, she couldn't protect herself, and they continued the assault as she struggled to escape.

They dragged her to the river at the edge of town, her body broken and bloody, and they shoved her in. And kami though she was, she felt herself slipping away, and knew death was approaching her. Her mind wandered in pain and darkness, the water oppressive, her body cold and numb. She felt herself lost.

A pale light assaulted her then, and her honey colored eyes opened to see a full moon above. A woman sat beside her, dripping as wet as the kami was. A feeling of intense hatred, a foreign feeling, assaulted the kami as she looked up to the young red-haired human woman. But she noticed the dripping wet bangs, and the rage subsided. There was still one human of this town that didn't deserve her hatred. This one had saved her. And in such a dangerous position to herself as well, as, kami as she was, she could sense the small life growing in the young woman's belly.

A feeling of relief washed over her, and she knew she couldn't, shouldn't, stay in the mortal realm any longer.

"Thank you," the kami murmured, and she felt the last of her power leave her, the strength to keep her in this world. As a kami, she knew a rebirth was expected, and she would again be back in the other world, again to watch over humans. This time, she would never return. And as she slipped away, the young woman's voice calling out to her, she felt a part of her leave her that would never return.

But that was a concern for later.

(1) 鬼ogre; demon

(2) 幽霊ghost; specter; spectre; apparition; phantom

(3) 妖怪ghost; apparition; phantom; spectre; specter; demon; monster; goblin- are a class of supernatural monsters in Japanese folklore

(4) 神god; deity; divinity; spirit

Note: All definitions taken from jisho