19 September 2022
I hate the internet here. Just saying.
Anyway, I'm only entering one day’s entry, partially because of crappy internet that's making me work on my phone, and partially because the next two days go well together.
This entry I was really proud of, especially the first half. This is also the storyline I've worked on the most since, and am the most invested in.
Hanako slowly drew her katana, breathing in deeply through her nose. The rage lurked there in her chest, roaring to be set free, but Hanako focused on her master’s words. “Anger can be a powerful weapon, it is true. But if it wields you instead, you become the very monster others fear you to be, rather than the swordswoman you have become.”
She flipped her fiery red ponytail back, glaring at the mob of bandits across from her. They all cowered away from her, glancing between the single horn growing out of her forehead and the sword in her hands.
The monster in Hanako’s chest delighted in their fear and urged her to release it in a whirlwind of blood and steel. Instead, however, she let the barest hint of it creep into her voice as she growled, “Drop your weapons and the loot, and I’ll let you live.”
The bandits rushed to comply, almost tripping over themselves as they rushed back into the woods.
With a sigh, Hanako sheathed her sword and suffocated her anger. By the time she turned to the caravan master, she had her typical carefree smile plastered back onto her face. “Well, I think that went pretty smoothly, don’t you?”
She froze, however, when she saw the expressions on everyone else’s faces. The caravan master was sweating even harder than he had when the bandits first ambushed them, and several of the other guards now pointed their weapons at her.
Hanako looked at Lyra, the only guard she’d gotten close to, and found fear in her eyes as well, even if she didn’t seem hostile for the moment. The beast flared back awake, arguing that if they expected a monster, she should give them one, but Hanako only whispered, “No.”
She mustered up another smile, this one a lot more forced, and told the caravan master, “It looks like I won’t be able to go the rest of the way with you, sorry. Any chance I could still get paid for the part of the trip I did work?”
The caravan master wordlessly tossed her a sack of coins. Before she’d even picked it up, Hanako could tell it held far more than even the initially agreed-upon price. Her smile vanished completely, and even if they didn’t fall, tears formed at the corners of her eyes. She took out enough coin to cover half the wage she’d been promised, then set the bag back down. As she walked back the way they came, she turned and flashed Lyra one last sad smile. “I wish you all the best of luck on the rest of your journey.” Then she turned, pulled her hood back over her head, and walked away.
What kind of man finds a young monster and sees only a little girl? Or perhaps the question should be flipped; what kind of people look at a small orphan girl and see only a monster?
Whichever the case, Hanako thought she had probably been both when her master found her in the burned out ruins of herr parents’ home. Apparently, he’d been part of the auxiliary army sent to help the shogun’s main force end the “monster scourge” once and for all. After the things he saw, however, especially in Hanako’s village, he refused to lend them his sword any more, and took Hanako with him to his own village.
There, he taught Hanako everything he knew of sword fighting. Every time she became frustrated and let her rage overtake her, he would keep her from causing any true damage; after all, even if she could crush rocks bare-handed as a child, that didn’t matter if she couldn’t even touch him, much less grab him, to begin with.
She rarely left the swordsman’s home, which suited the rest of the village just fine. While none of the villagers were openly hostile, they still watched Hanako with a nervous distrust, like she was a bomb with a lit fuse. Hanako didn’t let it bother her, though; she had her master, and that was enough.
However, one day their village was attacked. One squadron of the shogun’s men were out of food, and had heard the town housed a deserter, so they considered it fair game. Hanako’s master held them off, killing many of them, until the captain stabbed him in the chest.
Hanako roared with grief, the sound shaking the very ground beneath their feet and rattling trees the next mountain over. Consumed by her fury, her skin turned red while the whites of her eyes turned black. She flailed about with her sword in one hand and a make-shift club in the other, completely forgetting all the training her master had put her through.
Weakly, her master braced himself up and said, “Don’t give in to your anger, Hanako… Use it. You are more than some mere monster!”
Even through her rage, Hanako heard him, and stilled herself. She breathed in deep, then locked all the fury in her heart, holding it tight. She faced the captain again, using both hands to hold her sword at the ready.
He smiled cruelly and moved to attack. Hanako stepped in underneath his sword, and right as she began her counterattack, she took all the rage she was holding and packed it into her swing.
Hanako barely noticed the surprised look on the captain’s face as his body lay there, cut in two, before she rushed to her master’s side, her rage flowing away like wind.
Her master struggled to lift his hand, and Hanko clasped it in both of hers, tears flowing freely. He gasped, “I am, proud of you. I hope… you find others… who accept you for yourself.”
Hanako shook her head. “No… no. You need to stay here with me! There’s, there’s so much I have to…” She choked up, unable to finish her words.
Her master smiled softly. “Live strong, Hanako. My daughter…” And with that, he closed his eyes, rattled out one last breath, and stilled.
Throughout the whole rest of the night, Hanako’s wails echoed through the entire village.
Current Draft of Hanako’s story (including unposted content)