Chapter One - 夜の平和な村 (Yoru no Heiwana Mura) - The Peaceful Village of the Night

The night was balmy. The nature in the area was oddly reticent, the only sound able to be heard was water from a nearby stream. Ishiwari Kenji was lounging on the ground, surrounded by grass. His black kimono blatantly contrasted the green grass, even in the dark of the night. ‘What a weird feeling… but this feeling is so nice… true peace and quiet.’ Kenji heard soft footsteps from behind him, he slightly arched his back angling his head even further back to see who was approaching.

Ishiwari Haru was standing there, a lantern barely illuminating the smile on his old and scarred face. “Boy, it is almost midnight. I need you to come back home.” Ishiwari looked rather odd, he had on completely formal attire even though it was the dead of night. Ishiwari moved around to the front of Kenji, offering a shaky hand to his son. Kenji pushed himself off the ground, not wanting the help of his father.

“I will come back soon. I have one more offering for Yoru no Mizumi,” said Kenji. His father calmly nodded.

“Finish soon boy, I don’t want you out here when the spirits begin to roam.”

“As you wish, father.” Kenji bowed his head to his father, showing casual respect.

His father began to move past him and lightly tapped his shoulder while passing to Kenji’s right. “Make sure to finish the offering properly this time, don’t stop midway.”

“I will.”

“Good now go. Fast.”

Kenji’s father fully moved past Kenji and was now heading in the opposite direction towards Yami-mura, the village that the Ishiwari family occupied.

Kenji swiftly walked to the nearby stream, stepping down towards the level of the water via stone. He lifted his left arm, pulling a scroll out from his sleeve. The scroll was tied with a white string and a small piece of paper labeling it as ‘OFFERING SCROLL’. The paper seemed to be aged and dirty, but it would hold.

Kenji bent down, getting close to the cold rushing water. He could feel the soft spray hit his face and hands, its subtle kiss caused some grime on Kenji’s face to become liquid, slowly dripping down into the river below. He placed the scroll on top of the water, and it immediately began to flow with the river to its heart. Kenji closed his eyes softly muttering to himself asking for the river spirit’s blessing.

Suddenly a strong wind hit Kenji from behind, and on the slippery rocks, he would not be able to maintain his footing. Kenji softly yelped, not out of fear for injury, but out fear for angering the river spirit. His feet completely slipped from the rocks and he plummeted into the water.

Splash

Kenji was submerged in the cold water, forced to hold his breath so as not to drown. ‘Shit, the spirit is going to be pissed.’ He opened his eyes only to be greeted by a pitch-black world, he could barely hear something in the distance. Kenji kicked upwards to the surface, or was that downwards? He had lost all sense of direction, and it even seemed that gravity no longer had an effect.

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Kenji saw in the distance two glowing blue eyes, illuminating a small section of the “water”. Kenji kept swimming, trying to go faster. The further he got the harder it became to swim, every movement felt like it was being pushed back at him.

There was a distant roar, and now Kenji could barely begin to see the body of the serpent, barely illuminated. It was heading right for Kenji, In a last-ditch effort he tried to swim the other way, but he was at an impasse, unable to move. His lungs started to ache, and he could feel that he would need to find a way to breathe soon, or else he would die.

Kenji could begin to feel the powerful current made by the serpent, pushing all around him causing his hair to whip in the wind. His body swiftly plummeted in temperature. The serpent opened its huge mouth, an endless abyss lay waiting inside. ‘Son of a-’ Right before the serpent could engulf him he blacked out.

*

When Kenji came back to consciousness he realized he was in a house, completely foreign and unfamiliar. His chest was in an immense amount of pain, it felt like stone resting in his lungs, causing every breath to be labored. He groaned out, his lips cracked and dry felt like sandpaper. He heard glass clink together, followed by footsteps. Kenji grunted and with much effort, was able to sit up.

He looked around, he was in a small room unfurnished except for his futon. There were two doors: one which led outside, and another which presumably led to another room. The floor was covered in dirt and mud, who ever lived here was presumably poor

The door to the other room swung open, a fair lady walked through carrying a small glass vial, the vial contained a vibrant green liquid, probably an herb of some sorts. Kenji looked at the lady, she had long black hair carried back in a loose ponytail. Her eyes were like a forest, brown with hints of green towards the pupil. Her clothes were like rags, battered and extremely dirty.

She kindly knelt down and put the vial in his lap. “Take it. It should help with any pain you are experiencing,” she kindly said. She had a genuine smile on her face, small dimples could be seen on her cheeks.

Kenji looked down at the vial, the dark green liquid inside made his stomach churn a bit. He shakily grabbed the vial with his right hand, and popped off the top. A pungent smell expelled from the concoction, the aroma made Kenji a little sick. He put the vial to his lips and tilted it up, drinking the contents inside.

The liquid slightly stung his throat as it went down, and it had a horribly bitter taste. Even after a few seconds the concoction was still moving down his esophagus, the molasses consistency had made it incredibly slow. Kenji tried his best to not cough it back up, but it was indeed a challenge. Finally, after nearly fifteen seconds, he was able to get it down.

“Thank you, miss…” muttered Kenji. “Where am I?”

“We are south of Sekigahara-chou.”

Kenji let out a sigh of relief, he must not be too far from Yami-mura. “Do you know how far we are from Yami-mura?”

“Not a day’s walk.” The lady walked towards the door leading outside and opened it. “You should have enough time to get there if you leave now.”

Kenji nodded, using his energy to push himself off the ground. His legs were somewhat shaky, but that should just go away in some time. “Thank you miss, may I ask what your name is?”

“Akemi.”

Kenji bowed down in respect. “Thank you Akemi.” Kenji stepped to the door, and looked back briefly at Akemi. She was smiling and waved.

“Stay safe.”

Kenji nodded and stepped out the door into the blinding light, he could hear cicadas chirping, making their buzzing sounds. He was in an extremely rural area, the only house was Akemi’s, and even that seemed to be extremely poor quality. ‘I wonder why she lives by herself out here… She only looks like a young adult.’ He began to lightly sweat on his forehead, the summer heat and humidity was going to be the biggest beast on his trip back.