/jp/ - Otaku Culture

The mist spread out across the mountain ahead of them, through the patch of wildflowers, the rocky cliff face, and the edge of the wooded side of the mountain. There was a clearing ahead of her, and while Kasen might have done an excellent job at concealing the path, she hadn't managed to conceal the trace signs of movement through the branches. Spots where the leaves were just slightly bent, in a way that the Autumn goddesses couldn't have done, but a human wandering through could have. And there were no tracks beyond the edge of the clearing, either, so it had to be here. The Suika mist turned a ways back, and then started in earnest, spreading out even wider, each mini-Suika taking a slightly different route to try and find the right one.

One of the mini-Suikas hung back, keeping track of the paths they'd tried so far. She registered that Yuugi was next to her and probably trying to talk, but when she was this small, normal parts of the world started to break down and the sounds didn't seem to be making their way across too well. Even in mist-form, if she was denser, she could hear it, but not now.

Fortunately, it didn't take too long before one of the mini-Suikas stumbled upon the path, and Suika recalled the rest until she was back in her normal form. "Found it!" She cheered, punching the air. "Ooh, she's good!"

"Pretty fast, Suika. Love your work." Yuugi said, elbowing her in the side appreciatively. "We should probably move before the tengu get any more nervous than they are already. Much as I'd love to fight them." Being perfectly honest, Suika wouldn't have minded a fight with them either, but it wasn’t what they were here for and Ibaraki was more important than a bunch of stuck-up birds, wolves and other idiots that Suika didn't even care enough to remember. Shrugging a little, she led Yuugi through the path until they'd reached the clearing. Ducking underneath, they emerged into a brighter world than the one they'd just left.
Already, Suika thought it was just a little too perfect. The perfect temperature, the perfect sun, the perfectly random formation of the mountainous peaks and valleys that she could already see from the clearing that the two of them were stood on. A real oni could appreciate the rough just as well as the good, and she clicked her tongue slightly.

But, there was something else that she could see which was far, far more important. Sat on the edge of the peak that they had emerged into, legs crossed and head down, was Ibaraki-douji. Or...not. For a moment, all of Suika's plans had gone out of her head, but she recovered as she caught the subtle differences. The horns were slightly shorter. There was a shirt with sleeves under her tabard. She wore dark tights the likes of which Ibaraki-douji never had. No, it wasn't Ibaraki-douji who sat there. It was the arm.

She looked at Yuugi, who's jaw had clenched slightly. She looked at Suika, then pushed her forward. Suika looked back, then pointedly dragged Yuugi forward with her. After a very slight bit of squabbling, they both stepped forward as one. "Well, now. Isn't this an interesting sight?" Suika finally said, causing the arm to whip around and launch at her. Even in her diminished form, the arm was strong, and Suika was slammed into the ground hard enough to crack it around her. "Scary, scary." She whispered, grinning at the wild-eyed look of the arm. "Glad to see you greet your old friends just like you always did."

"You..." The arm whispered back. Her other hand came up, slightly shakily, as if she couldn't believe that Suika was there. "I knew you were around, but..." The hand poked Suika in the cheek, and she was suddenly grateful that the hand currently around her neck was the one with the sharp nails. "Never thought I'd see you again. Not the version of me that was sealed." After a moment, she released Suika, who hopped to her feet. "How long has it been? A thousand years?"

dont mess with the oni