The library
“Disobedient girl! How dare you bring such dishonor to our family?” A fist lashed out, striking hard across my cheek in a flash of pain. There was a moment after that that I couldn’t hear, couldn’t believe I’d been hit. But then another blow came, sure to leave a particularly nasty bruise on my fair skin—the complexion I’d inherited from my Gaijin mother. The man that was my father grabbed my by the from of my kimono, shaking me hard. “Do you know what you’ve done?!! Because of your little…prank,” He said it like it was a dirty word. “you’ve ruined any chance of a marriage with Motohashi’s son! Now no man will be willing to wed you! Get out of my sight.” And honestly, he didn’t need to ask me twice. I ran, ran for all I was worth, broken sobs escaping regardless of my attempts to hold them back. It wasn’t my fault I had spent most of my life raised as a boy, taught all the things I would need to know as the next head of the Koketsu family. But then, with my mother’s death, came a new wife and a son…a real boy to be his true heir. And where did that leave me? To be wed to some filthy pig of a man! I wouldn’t have it…so I arranged to make a fool of myself before him. Then he wouldn’t have wanted me. And it worked…worked all too well…If only I’d known then what was going to happen because of it…
The distant sound of thunder caught my attention, yanking me out of my memories. I’d been 17 at the time…that had been the day I had found my yori….the day my father sent a man to kill me….the day Arago-sama found me. As you can tell, it was a rather busy one. It was the day I swore to myself that I’d prove myself the equal—no, the better—of any man. And I swore I’d never marry, allow myself to fall under the power of a man. But that was before /he/ came into my life. I don’t know when my fascination with him turned into the love that slowly killed me inside over the course of centuries. Even now, his single blue eye haunts my dreams…I still hear his voice as if I’d talked to him only minutes before. But he’s not here anymore. Youjakai has been gone for some time now and I find myself living a relatively normal life—at least as normal as a 506 year old former-Masho’s life can be. Which, I can tell you, is surprisingly normal sometimes.
The storm was close to beginning when I arrived at my destination, eyes instantly taking in my surroundings with sadness. This had, after all, once been my home. Now, it was nothing but rumble and a the over grown remains of a garden once so lovingly tended. But in the woods behind the ruins, I knew there’d be graves and my family’s shrine. Much as I hated to admit it, it’d been far too long. Sliding off the bike and onto my feet, I began towards the woods, fingers instantly working to undo the carefully constructed braid that made my knee-length hair look much, much shorter. I hated having to put it up like that…but my only other option had been to cut it. And call me vain if you will, I do so love my knee-length lilac-colored curls. They’re another part of my mother’s Gaijin blood—in fact, I have more of her in me then I do of my father. Only my features hint that I’m even part Japanese.
Expression schooled into a calm mask, I kneel at the gravestones, paying my respects once again to my long-dead family as the first drops of rain begin to fall. Maybe I was too focused on cleaning the gravestones….or maybe there was no sound to hear…but I never heard him until he spoke. The voice sent chills down my spine. It was a voice I hadn’t heard since I was last Koketsu, Zetsubou Masho.
“Yuriko, it has been a while…”
In that moment, my blood went cold. It was him…I knew it without having to look. His power flowed over me, making me shiver more then the cold rain or the biting wind.
“……….Arago-sama…”
To be continued…