30 December 2022
This whole segment of Hanako’s story has been interesting to write. I hope Isshin’s thoughts and intentions when he said what he did are clear. I think so, but I’m also a bit too close to the story to have a clear picture. There’s one more short-ish section to go tomorrow, and the Ashina village arc will be done for the time being. I plan on shelving Hanako for most of January, actually, to focus on other things, like the Majesty storyline.
Hanako almost attacked him but she managed to restrain that impulse at the last moment. “Who are you?”
The tengu raised an eyebrow, and behind Hanako, the tanuki started trembling. He hissed, “That’s Ashina Isshin, lord of this village!”
Hanako’s face flushed and she dropped to one knee. “I, I’m sorry! I’m new in town, and didn’t know who you are, and–”
“It’s quite alright.” He waved it away, then stared at the tanuki. “And what is happening here?”
“Er, well, this girl seems to think this sword belongs to her, when it’s been in my family for years.”
Once more the tengu raised an eyebrow and looked at Hanako. “And what do you say?”
She took a deep breath. “Yesterday, when I checked in, that sword wasn’t there. Sometime last night, even though I’d locked the door, my sword was stolen from me. When I got downstairs, I saw it there.”
The tengu nodded. “Was this sword important to you?”
“Well, yeah. It was my master’s. He passed it to me when he died.”
“And who was your master?”
Hanako had to think for a moment. “Kojima. His name was Kojima.”
“I see.” He extended a hand to the tanuki. “May I see the sword?”
The tanuki handed it over, and Lord Isshin inspected every inch of the blade. “Did you know I had a student once, who wanted to learn the sword?”
Hanako cocked her head. Where had that come form? The tanuki meanwhile just shook his head.
“He was a young man. A human, actually, of all things. He had a purity I’d never seen before or since; he was devoted to the sword, but he used it only to protect what was important to him. He had no love for the shedding of blood.” He looked first at Hanako, and then the tanuki. “His name was Kojima.”
Hanako’s eyes widened, and the tanuki’s face turned white as a sheet. With the barest hint of a smile at the corner of his mouth, Lord Isshin asked, “Do you still wish to claim this sword belongs to your family?”
The tanuki shook his head, and Isshin handed Hanako the sword. Hanako bowed deeply. “Thank you very much!”
Once again, Isshin just waved it off. “There is no need for that. Besides, I did it more for his sake than yours.”
The tanuki looked confused. “Mine?”
“Indeed. She is an oni, after all; she doesn’t need a sword to wreck destruction. Based on the power I felt, were I only a few seconds later, you would no longer have an inn, assuming you’d even survived.”
With wide eyes, the tanuki looked from Isshin to Hanako and back again. Then, after a moment, he fainted and fell back to the floor.
Hanako hugged the sord tight to her chest. “Once again, thank you, sir.”
“Think nothing of it.” Isshin turned to leave, then paused. “You are certainly welcome to stay in this village as long as you like. However… I doubt you will find a home here.”
After the relief from getting her sword back, it felt like someone had driven a spike into Hanako’s heart. By the time she’d recovered enough to ask what he meant, though, Lord Isshin had already left.
The next few weeks were rough. The tanuki refused to let Hanako pay for anything, and did everything he could to make her stay comfortable. In some ways, that was a lifesaver; Hanako didn’t have a lot of money, and she struggled to find work in the village. But it left a bad taste in her mouth; it reminded her too much of the fear the one merchant had, when during a guard job she’d been outed as an oni and he’d thrown her a whole sack of gold, in the hopes she’d leave them alone.
As for the rest of the village… A few had heard about the incident at the Lucky Tanuki, and avoided her out of fear. Most, however, seemed indifferent. They rarely ever explicitly excluded her, but none of them did anything to include her, either. And no one seemed willing to give a job to a swordswoman who smelled human. After all, the town was peaceful, and didn’t need warriors. And there were plenty of other oni around for physical labor.
The clincher, though, came one day while she was wandering the streets. A group of children, including a small nure-onna, a rokurokubi, and maybe 3-4 oni, started jeering at her. This wasn’t the first time, and they were just kids, so hanako fully intended to ignore them like usual.
This time, though, one of them grew brave and threw a water balloon at her. On instinct alone, she spun around and caught it, without letting it burst.
The kids all stared at her, mouths open, and Hanako couldn’t help but grin.
Current Draft of Hanako’s story (including unposted content)