DREAMS of a CLOUD
Peruse the many random ramblings of a writer-in-training as I build stories and develop my craft.
30 September 2023
“Fortunately, you arrived before my shield could shatter, and none of the oni who fled have returned.” She bowed to Hanako. “Thank you. It is because of your actions that Nanmoku is safe.”
21 September 2023
“Come now, little lady, no need to fret. Come on out, and I’ll make it nice and painless.” He sniffed the air, and froze when he couldn’t smell his prey anymore. “What the–!? Where did she go!?”
Mei crept around behind him, then drove her fangs into his neck. He screamed and tried to smash her with his tetsubo, but she danced out of the way, a smile on her bloodied lips. He pushed his free hand to his neck and took a shaky step towards her, but he collapsed before he could do anything else.
20 September 2023
The second ushi-oni turned around, and the last two red oni whirled and began racing Hanako’s direction. Hanako couldn’t afford to spare them more than a glance, though, as the ushi-oni before her tried to squash her flat again and again. It finally stopped and sucked in a deep breath. A purplish fog leaked out the corners of its mouth.
19 September 2023 part 2
That was when the charging ushi-oni arrived and crushed both with its spider legs, each as large as Hanako herself. Hanako narrowly avoided its charge, and swung at a bearded blue oni that appeared beside her. He blocked the attack with his tetsubo and uppercut her with his offhand, jarring her out of her rage.
All at once, all the pain she’d been ignoring crashed down on her at once. Burns stretched down both arms and her sides, and by the pain she felt each time she drew breath, Hanako was fairly certain she’d at least cracked her ribs.
12 August 2023
The black oni by the wagon never had a chance to sense Hanako before his head fell off his shoulders. Five more oni died before the rest even recognized something was wrong. The others tried to surround her and kill her, but none were able to get within an arm's length of her and live.
Then the world turned white, and all she could feel was pain.
3 June 2023
Mei smiled, which unsettled Daiki more. It was very unnatural. Still, when he thought about it, she was quite beautiful, even with the extra eyes.
Right when he turned to ask Hanako if Mei could join them, however, she raised an eyebrow at him. “You do know that most female spiders devour their mates after the deed, right?”
The blood drained from Daiki’s and Fumito’s faces, and they stared at Mei. She shrugged. “Where else would we get the energy to lay all our eggs?”
6 May 2023
Cautiously, Hanako stepped in and immediately wrinkled her nose. The smell of urine and other foul scents permeated the place; had the yokai army saved it as an outhouse? But no; Hanako found manacles, and then began seeing other traces that prisoners had been kept here. This must be where they stuffed everyone they hadn’t eaten during that initial feast.
Not that it stopped some of them from sneaking a snack before they left. In the corner, Hanako found a skeleton, with bones far too small to belong to an adult. Her blood froze, then started to boil. With tears in her eyes, she screamed, with such force it could be heard for miles.
27 April 2023
“I can’t tell you much. Ayami and I fled as soon as the screams started. There were oni–a lot, all different colors–and at least one monster. A massive beast the size of a wagon or bigger, with eight spidery legs and a bull’s head, and teeth as sharp as knives.”
“An ushi-oni,” Hanako whispered.
Mitsuo nodded. “It plowed through our homes like they were made of paper. I’m not sure what even you could do against that thing.”
22 April 2023
The father seemed a bit shaken, himself, but he managed a smile at Hanako. “I’m… really glad you’re on our side.” Then a thought struck him, and he frowned. “The other oni can’t do that, can they? Make themselves look human?”
21 April 2023
A handful of people Hanako passed smiled at her, but the vast majority either scowled or refused to meet her gaze. That was fine. Hanako was fine. She was used to it, after all. Right?
She approached the head chef, who gave her a disapproving look. “What do you want?”
Hanako forced a smile. “I’m looking for someone. A father, just came in yesterday. From Tsurui?”
13 April 2023
Hanako knelt before the shrine and offered a prayer. “Please, let me protect them this time. Help me keep the town safe.”
When she stood, she noticed a miko she’d somehow missed on the way in standing a ways away. She was two to three inches taller than Hanako, and her warm brown hair was tied in a long braid down her back. Their eyes met, and the miko took a step toward Hanako. “Ah, pardon me. Is this your first time here? I don’t think I recognize you.”
“No, I’m new in town,” Hanako replied, with a shake of her head. She offered her hand. “My name’s Hanako.”
The miko clasped Hanako’s hand with both of hers. “Welcome! It’s a pleasure to meet you. You can call me Mikuzume.”
6 April 2023
I realized I was trying to too much at once with this visit to New Chizu (I don’t know what they’re going to call it yet, but it’s all the Chizu refugees). Especially when the focus of this arc is on the attack form the yokai army in the area (still not sure if they attack the new town or the Chizu refugees). So, I tweaked the stuff I wrote in this post to make it a little more directed. I probably need to add back in a reference to the kitsune’s shrine, though, or remove Mikuzume and place her in the new village instead.
4 April 2023
Chiaki’s gaze pierced into Hanako. “You’ll kill them, right? The shogun. His men.”
Hanako’s blood froze. She’d never considered it before. Take on the shogun himself? “I… I don’t know that I can.”
Chiaki blinked, then slowly turned back toward the wall. Before she closed off completely, though, Hanako added, “But I will do everything I can to stop him. These raids… the way he treats people… it’s not okay. ”
Chiaki turned back to face her. Hanako smiled awkwardly. “But… I definitely can’t do that alone. Will you help me?”
2 February 2023
Keiko rubbed her chin, and after a moment a twinkle formed in her eyes. “Still, I have some work for you once you’ve checked in with everyone, if you’re willing.” She nodded her head toward the half-finished homes. “The faster those get finished, the better prepared we’ll be for winter and whatever else is coming.”
“Ah, yeah.” Hanako scratched the back of her head. “Those guys… I’m not sure if that’s the best idea.”
“If they don’t like it, tough. Tell them to take it up with me.”
31 December 2022
She glared at the boy who threw it, an ebony oni bigger than the rest with a single horn. All the kids shrank back, terrified. Out of one of the houses nearby a bookish-looking blue oni rushed out and stood between Hanako and the kids, arms outstretched. “Don’t! They’re only children!”
Hanako’s eyes went wide, and she turned away. What did he think she was going to do? To herself, she muttered, “Even among other yokai, they only see me as a monster.”
30 December 2022
The tanuki handed the swordt over, and Lord Isshin inspected every inch of the blade. “Did you know I had a student once, who wanted to learn the sword?”
Hanako cocked her head. Where had that come form? The tanuki meanwhile just shook his head.
“He was a young man. A human, actually, of all things. He had a purity I’d never seen before or since; he was devoted to the sword, but he used it only to protect what was important to him. He had no love for the shedding of blood.” He looked first at Hanako, and then the tanuki. “His name was Kojima.”
Hanako’s eyes widened, and the tanuki’s face turned white as a sheet. With the barest hint of a smile at the corner of his mouth, Lord Isshin asked, “Do you still wish to claim this sword belongs to your family?”
27 December 2022
Hanako’s rage flared awake, but she kept a lid on it, and even managed to make a convincing smile as she approached the tanuki. “Hey, hey. Owner-san. Where did you get that sword?”
When the tanuki replied, he seemed utterly at ease, as if that wasn’t clearly the sword Hanako had brought in just the evening before. “Oh, that? Old family heirloom. My grandfather used it in battle a hundred years ago.”
26 December 2022
When she arrived, she found a warm, inviting inn with an image of a dancing tanuki hanging from the sign post. Inside, she found a rotund, cheerful tanuki behind the counter, and off to the right a handful of other customers milling around the dining area. Among them was a kappa with graying hair, sitting by himself in the corner, sipping tea.
The tanuki gave her a big wide smile. “Welcome, welcome! What can we do for you today?”
23 December 2022
An easy smile fell to Hanako’s lips as she squared her shoulders and walked into the marketplace. A group of kappa drunkenly belted out enka songs from an outdoor pub, while a nekomata couple fawned over each other as they walked down the street, their four tails intertwining. One yokai that looked like a giant umbrella with a long tongue hopped up and down on its single foot as it argued with a tengu merchant.
And mixed in with all that were dozens and dozens of oni. Red, blue, black, white, yellow; anywhere from a single horn to a crown of five; walking alone or whole families herding kids around for a day out. Part of Hanako wondered if she’d died and gone to heaven.
Or at least, she did until she accidentally bumped into a large, blue-skinned oni with a single horn. Hanako turned to apologize, but the oni only wrinkled his nose. “You reek of human.”
19 December 2022
Before she could finish him off, the yellow one released a burst of pressure. “Do you think a lowly red oni like you could do anything to me?”
Hanako cocked her head. “Ne, oji-san. Was that supposed to be scary? Shouldn’t it be more like this?”
And with that, she released all the pressure, all the anger she felt, both from the threat they posed to the Chizu refugees and for this family who’d lost everything. Red stopped in his tracks and began cowering away from her, and both Yellow and Blue fell back on their butts, horrified.