Haru, Keiko, and Hisa felt sand beneath their feet as they walked down the beach and towards the ocean. A cool breeze flowed across them, partially offset the sun’s glaring heat. They stopped in their tracks.
Haru said, “There’s no one here.”
“At this time of the year,” Keiko spoke. “The beach should be crowded.”
“Something’s going on. We might be under attack,” he stated.
She nodded and reached into the box, pulling out her kanabo.
A figure walked down the beach towards them. It was a boy wearing layers of black onmyoji robes. He halted in front of the group.
“The beach is vacant because I arranged it,” the boy told them. “I don’t want anyone to try to stop your destruction, bakemono.”
“Hey! I didn’t do anything!” Hisa objected.
“Not you, him,” he pointed at Haru.
“There’s a misunderstanding,” the witch held up his hands. “I’m not a bakemono or yokai.”
“You are the most harmful type of bakemono! And to think, that you have those other two yokai under your mind control,” the boy declared, reaching for his hanafuda paper. “Prepare to face the wrath of my shikigami! Kyu kyu nyo…”
“Dropkick!” a voice broke in.
“…dropkick ritsu, what?”
Hisa jumped into the air, forcefully thrusting her legs at him. They slammed into the boy’s face. He fell backwards into the sand.
“Score one for the kitsune!” she declared.
The boy stood up, brushing himself off, “You’re faster than I thought.”
“How did you withstand that?” Hisa was shocked. “That was hella my most powerful attack!”
“You’re not very strong,” he shrugged.
Haru whispered to Keiko, “Do you know who this guy is?”
“Yes, Kamo Saburo. He’s in our class. I guess he was busy with his own things and didn’t pay attention to you.”
Hisa shouted, “I’m not weak, and I’ll prove it! See that rock over there?”
It was the size of a basketball.
“I see it,” Saburo stated.
“Check this out. I’ll totally lift this rock and kick your ass with it!” the kitsune declared.
She ran over to the rock and tried to pick it up. Her arms strained, and her face scrunched up. It didn’t budge.
“Dammit!” Hisa groaned. “This rock is totally bogus.”
Saburo raised his hanafuda paper, “An opening! My shikigami will destroy that man and free you. Kyu kyu…”
Before he could speak further, Saburo collapsed onto the ground.
“Yes! My attack worked!” Hisa pumped her fist.
Haru walked over to him and examined his head, “It didn’t. He’s covered in sweat. I think he’s suffering from the heat.”
“Of course I am,” Saburo said. “It’s hot out here.”
Nodding, Haru poured some water on his face and gave him a drink of it.
“Why…are you helping me?” the onmyoji was confused.
“Because I’m not what you think I am,” Haru stated. “I’ll explain things, but I have a question for you first.”
“What is that?”
“Why did you think going to a beach where it’s incredibly hot out in the middle of day wearing black robes was a good idea?”
Saburo winced, “I thought it would look cool.”
The group moved into the shade of a nearby tree. Saburo was soaking wet from the buckets of water he had dumped on his head. He pondered their explanation.
Saburo said, “I’m not sure if I trust you just yet, but that sounds like a pretty terrible curse. It explains a lot of my reaction too.”
“So, what’s an onmyoji like you doing out here?” Keiko asked, thinking she knew what the answer would be.
“There’s been a surge in yokai attacks here,” Saburo told them. “I was sent to investigate.”
Hisa grinned, “That’s totally awesome! We’re here to investigate it too.”
“I see. You’re allies of humanity, if you’re telling the truth,” he nodded.
“Allies of humanity?” Haru burst out laughing. “Humanity can go fuck itself for all I care. I’m here as a favor to a friend.”
“Then I can trust you even less,” Saburo glared.
“I don’t give a shit if you trust me or not. You’ll figure things out eventually, so I have no reason to try to kiss your ass.”
“Haru-kun,” Keiko grabbed his shoulder. “Please, there’s no reason to make him angry.”
He took a deep breath, “You’re right, Keiko-chan. Sorry that I blew up like that, Saburo.”
“Don’t worry about that,” the boy replied. “I know where you stand now. You are not my ally, but we might have a common enemy.”
“Well, the onmyoji sent you here, so you must be one of the best,” Hisa smiled.
Saburo’s face reddened, “Umm, I’m not actually one of the best.”
“Ooh,” she nodded. “Then you’re totally one of the second best.”
“No.”
“Then you’re mediocre, right?”
“I’m even below that,” he admitted. “I’m actually still in training.”
Hisa asked, “Then what the hell did they send you and not someone better?”
“All the trained onmyoji were busy, and they thought the yokai activity wouldn’t be hard, so they sent me,” Saburo stated.
Haru said, “I wouldn’t be so sure about that. There are draugr in this area, too.”
“Draugr? I’ve never heard of those.”
“What? Why not?” Keiko wondered.
“Because he’s a yokai specialist,” Haru spoke. “No spellcaster is better against yokai than onmyoji; however, specialists have their downsides too. They may have difficulty outside of their chosen field.”
Saburo sighed, “Could you stop giving her exposition about onmyoji and give me exposition about draugr?”
“They’re a type of undead from Scandinavia,” Keiko explained.
“From Scandinavia? What are they doing in Japan?”
“That’s what we’re trying to find out,” she said.
“This is very troublesome. I was sent here to deal with kappa attacks,” Saburo pulled out his phone. “I’ll call my superiors to get their advice.”
He held the phone to his ear. Saburo was about to speak when a voice blasted out of it.
“YOU SUCK!”
Saburo dropped the phone and grabbed his ear.
He redialed, “Goro! I know that’s you! Don’t make me kick your ass when I get back.”
The sound of a toiled flushing came from the phone before it hung up.
“Who was that?” Hisa asked.
“My dreaded rival, Shang Goro. Well, he thinks he’s my rival, but he’s pretty stupid and just has innate talent as an onmyoji. Without intelligence to continue his training, there’s only so far he can go and I will easily surpass him. I have no clue how he got on the phone line,” Saburo explained. “It’s for emergencies only.”
Haru said, “Well, we’ll leave you to your investigation. You can probably handle yokai better than I can, so we’ll do our own thing.”
“That is for the best,” he nodded. “I still don’t trust you.”
Erik picked up his cell phone.
“Hello?”
Keiko spoke, “Erik…umm, Kenji, right?”
“Yes,” he replied. “That is my cover name.”
“There’s an onmyoji here. Yokai have been attacking people,” she explained.
“Yokai…” Erik pondered. “That adds to the mystery. Do you think he mistook the draugr for yokai?”
“No. They found some kappa here, not any undead.”
The viking vampire said, “An attack of yokai could be very dangerous if they’re connected to the draugr. Get back here at once. I don’t want any of us to be separate.”
“Right, I’ll tell the others.”
As he hung up, Erik looked at the weapons he had gathered: swords, spears, axes, and even armor and shields. If there were yokai and draugr, they may need many of them.
A smile crept across his face, “A true battle may be brewing. It has been too long.”
Ved'ma Story 