DREAMS of a CLOUD
Peruse the many random ramblings of a writer-in-training as I build stories and develop my craft.
3 June 2023
Mei smiled, which unsettled Daiki more. It was very unnatural. Still, when he thought about it, she was quite beautiful, even with the extra eyes.
Right when he turned to ask Hanako if Mei could join them, however, she raised an eyebrow at him. “You do know that most female spiders devour their mates after the deed, right?”
The blood drained from Daiki’s and Fumito’s faces, and they stared at Mei. She shrugged. “Where else would we get the energy to lay all our eggs?”
Mei is fascinating to me. I’m not 100% sure why. I wouldn’t call her “good” per se, but I don’t think she’s evil, either; that may be why. She doesn’t operate of the same framework as most humans. Also, as soon as I made the connection between the jorogumo myths and the way female spiders eat their mates, I couldn’t separate them anymore; the jorogumo may well be 100% sincere about loving and caring for their husband. Doesn’t change how things end up. Puts a curious spin on the whole thing. Still don’t know how her sub-plot plays out; I have ideas for a side story involving her kids a few decades in the future, after Hanako’s story is finished, but I don’t know who the father is, or if something changed to let the father survive. Not gonna worry about it yet.
Daiki wasn’t sure how to react. He looked again from Mei to Hanako, who’d lowered her sword down to her side, even if she hadn’t sheathed it.
Hanako, for her part, barely noticed him. “Were you part of the attack on this village? Are you with the yokai village?”
“Good heavens, no!” Mei looked repulsed at the thought. “No, I simply felt lonely, and assumed a bright young man eager to aid a girl in need would make a decent companion.”
It was too much for Daiki to keep up with. “So… you’re jus… looking for a boyfriend?”
“More or less.” Mei smiled, which unsettled Daiki more. It was very unnatural. Still, when he thought about it, she was quite beautiful, even with the extra eyes.
Right when he turned to ask Hanako if Mei could join them, however, she raised an eyebrow at him. “You do know that most female spiders devour their mates after the deed, right?”
The blood drained from Daiki’s and Fumito’s faces, and they stared at Mei. She shrugged. “Where else would we get the energy to lay all our eggs?”
Fumito went to heave up what little was left in his stomach, while Daiki swayed, on the verge of fainting. For her part, Hanako just studied the spider woman for several long moments. Then she sheathed her sword. “As long as you’re not with them, fine. Try not to make things too much harder for the people around her, alright?”
She moved to leave, but Mei called out. “And what about you, oni girl?”
“Sorry, not interested.”
Mei laughed. “That was not my intent, though I’ll not shy away should you change your mind. No, I mean, what do you hope to accomplish alongside these humans?”
Hanako moved to reply, but found she had nothing to say. The silence hung loud for several moments. Then Mei’s eyes softened. “Perhaps I will ask again, next we meet.” She turned to leave and called back, “If your next destination is Nanmoku, best hurry. I overheard an oni say they planned to begin their attack tomorrow, before i turned him into a snack.”
Hanako’s eyes went wide. She turned to her two companions. “Will you be alright on your own?”
Daiki blinked. “You can’t go after them on your own, can you? It’s still two days to Nanmoku!”
“On horseback, yes.” She turned to Fumito, who’d recovered some of his color. “I’ll let you decide if you are going back or following me, but be careful. Don’t talk to anyone on the roads; stay hidden as much as you can. Will you do that?”
Fumito nodded, and Hanako flashed him a quick smile. Then she took off, far faster than their horses could have gone. There was only the smallest chance it was even possible to make it in time, but she had to try.
6 May 2023
Cautiously, Hanako stepped in and immediately wrinkled her nose. The smell of urine and other foul scents permeated the place; had the yokai army saved it as an outhouse? But no; Hanako found manacles, and then began seeing other traces that prisoners had been kept here. This must be where they stuffed everyone they hadn’t eaten during that initial feast.
Not that it stopped some of them from sneaking a snack before they left. In the corner, Hanako found a skeleton, with bones far too small to belong to an adult. Her blood froze, then started to boil. With tears in her eyes, she screamed, with such force it could be heard for miles.
This feels like the first real introduction to the second major antagonist group; the yokai army. They feel a lot trickier to work with; I want to stay true to original Japanese legends, but also leave room for Hanako’s middle ground. Regardless, I wanted the yokai army to be positively brutal, and I think I achieved that here.
Also, we’re finally going to meet Mei. :) She is a very fascinating character; I’m not 100% sure what all I’m going to do with her yet, but it’s going to be fun.
It took a couple of days for the three of them to reach what was left of Tsurui. The smell of char hit them before they could properly see it, but it wasn’t long before they stood in the midst of the desolated village.
Many of the houses had burned down, and those that hadn’t had been smashed apart, as if a giant child had decided he was done playing and knocked everything over. The worst of it, though, was in the village square. A pile of bones lay smoldering. As soon as they found it, Daiki, the younger of the two workers, immediately turned and hurled onto the street.
Fumito looked a bit green, himself. “They just… burned everyone alive? Why?”
Pushing down her own nausea, Hanako approached the pile. With her sword, she poked among the bones. Many still showed teeth marks; some were even cracked to get at the marrow. She managed to cough out, “They… they weren’t burned alive. This was what the yokai did with the ones they’d finished eating.”
Fumito’s eyes went wide, and soon he was spewing out the contents of his stomach next to Daiki. Hanako closed her eyes and forced herself to breathe, then turned away from the pile to see if there was anything she could learn about the monsters that had done this.
She noticed one house at the edge of the village that seemed somewhat better intact than the rest; instead of being caved in, it was only the windows and the door that had been smashed open. It seemed the ushi-oni had spared this one for whatever reason.
Cautiously, Hanako stepped in and immediately wrinkled her nose. The smell of urine and other foul scents permeated the place; had the yokai army saved it as an outhouse? But no; Hanako found manacles, and then began seeing other traces that prisoners had been kept here. This must be where they stuffed everyone they hadn’t eaten during that initial feast.
Not that it stopped some of them from sneaking a snack before they left. In the corner, Hanako found a skeleton, with bones far too small to belong to an adult. Her blood froze, then started to boil. With tears in her eyes, she screamed, with such force it [could be heard for miles around].
Daiki and Fumito came running over. Hanako gathered her composure. “I’ll be fine. It’ll be fine.” She paused and heaved a breath. “We should go. There’s nothing more we can learn here, and the sooner we catch up to them, the better.”
As they left, however, a woman’s voice called after them, “H-hello? Is someone there?”
Hanako spun on the spot, hand reaching for her sword, only to find an exceptionally beautiful young woman running toward them. Her hair was black and tied back in a braid, and her clothes, while filthy, seemed to have once been of high quality.
27 April 2023
“I can’t tell you much. Ayami and I fled as soon as the screams started. There were oni–a lot, all different colors–and at least one monster. A massive beast the size of a wagon or bigger, with eight spidery legs and a bull’s head, and teeth as sharp as knives.”
“An ushi-oni,” Hanako whispered.
Mitsuo nodded. “It plowed through our homes like they were made of paper. I’m not sure what even you could do against that thing.”
Sorry about the delay. I have been writing off and on, but it’s been hard to get things typed in. Next week will be rough, as well—my brother’s getting married, so I’ll be driving halfway across the country to participate in his wedding. It’ll be awesome! I just don’t know how timing and scheduling are all going to work.
I’m really enjoying Hanako, especially now that I’ve broken through to see roughly how this arc actually plays out. Should be getting into properly new content next time I write, rather than just filling in gaps.
…everyone around. For half a second, he seemed to want to say something, but then changed his mind. He gave Hanako a lopsided smile. “I… never did thank you, did I? For saving our lives. I… Words can’t express how grateful I am.”
For such a little thing, it was incredible how much that lifted Hanako’s spirits. She smiled bashfully and tried to play it off. “Nah, don’t worry about it. What else could I have done?” She offered a hand for a handshake. “I dunno if I ever properly introduced myself. I’m Hanako!”
The father hesitantly took it, reaching past the pot of rice he was tending. “Mitsuo. And my daughter is Ayami.”
Hanako beamed at him, but her smile dropped a moment later. “Actually, I came to ask you a few things. Is there anything you can tell me about the army that attacked Tsurui? If you can’t remember, or don’t want to talk about it, that’s fine.”
Mitsuo grew somber. For a while, he just studied Hanako. “Are you going to try to take them on all by yourself?”
Hanako shrugged. “They said they’re headed to Nanmoku next, right? I want to protect the people there. Or… at least give them a chance to evacuate.” She looked aside. “Although… Not really sure how much I can do on my own…”
Mitsuo nodded and looked down at the ground. When he looked back up, he said, “I can’t tell you much. Ayami and I fled as soon as the screams started. There were oni–a lot, all different colors–and at least one monster. A massive beast the size of a wagon or bigger, with eight spidery legs and a bull’s head, and teeth as sharp as knives.”
“An ushi-oni,” Hanako whispered.
Mitsuo nodded. “It plowed through our homes like they were made of paper. I’m not sure what even you could do against that thing.”
Hanako wasn’t worried about that; while they were plenty dangerous, she was confident enough in her skills and strengths she thought she could take care of one. But it would require focus; what was the rest of the army going to do in the meantime? Did she have a way to stop that?
After a moment, she shook her head clear. “Thank you.”
Mitsuo shrugged. “It’s the least I could do. Just… Don’t get yourself killed, alright?”
“I’ll do my best.”
From there, she headed to the tents by their makeshift hospital to find Chiaki.
21 April 2023
A handful of people Hanako passed smiled at her, but the vast majority either scowled or refused to meet her gaze. That was fine. Hanako was fine. She was used to it, after all. Right?
She approached the head chef, who gave her a disapproving look. “What do you want?”
Hanako forced a smile. “I’m looking for someone. A father, just came in yesterday. From Tsurui?”
It all came together. I’m thinking that, in order to establish the yokai army as a threat, they’ve already destroyed a town, and are on their way to Nanmoku; Hanko and the construction duo pass through the ruined city on their way. Still figuring out how they beat the army to Nanmoku; maybe they don’t, and Hanako lays into them from the rear. I’d miss some of the Mikuzume/Hanako banter before, but if that’s what’s best…
Anyway, as part of figuring all that out, it gave me more focus for what she’s doing in Chizu. She’s just stopping to get supplies, maybe grab any extra info she can from the dad, and then going to book it for Nanmoku. Not sure if I carried that urgency into this yet; I’ll have to edit it a few times more before I’m satisfied.
Hanako spent the next day or two making sure no other yokai patrols were wandering near the new Chizu. When she arrived back, she ignored…
…speak with the oni. “Good to see you’re still in one piece. Any news?”
“I ran into an oni scouting party about five miles from here. They said they’d come from Tsurui.”
Keiko’s expression turned grim. “We’ve gotten a handful of refugees. It… doesn’t sound good.”
“And I think they’re targeting Nanmoku next,” Hanako said. She bit her lower lip. “I sent a father and daughter the oni had captured this way. Have they…?”
Keiko nodded. “They’re here; arrived yesterday, in fact. I assigned the father to the mess tent, if you wanted to speak with him.”
Hanako nodded. She needed all the information she could get before she headed to Nanmoku. “Thanks.”
She turned to leave but Keiko stopped her. “Wait. Before you head back out, would you drop by and visit Chiaki? Nothing we do seems to be helping.”
Hanako’s heart tightened. “Are you sure she’ll even want to see me?”
Keiko paused. “Honestly, I don’t know. But even if she doesn’t, I’m hoping that will at least snap her out of this.”
After a moment, Hanako nodded. Hopefully she wouldn’t just make things worse.
She started with the mess tent; it wasn’t too far from Keiko’s headquarters. A handful of people she passed smiled at her, but the vast majority either scowled or refused to meet her gaze. That was fine. Hanako was fine. She was used to it, after all. Right?
She approached the head chef, who gave her a disapproving look. “What do you want?”
Hanako forced a smile. “I’m looking for someone. A father, just came in yesterday. From Tsurui?”
The chef stared at her a long moment, then grunted and gestured toward the servers. Hanako found the father minding a pot of rice, ready for the lunch rush that would be starting soon.
As Hanako approached, the father started, then peered closer at her. “Are… Are you that oni girl that rescued us?”
“Ah, yeah.” Hanako reached up and showed him the talisman. “This lets me pass for human, as long as I don’t use my oni abilities. Normally,” and she took it off, “I look like this.”
As her horns reappeared on her head, everyone around her started muttering. Some hissed, others cursed; it caused a lot of panic. Hanako pretended not to notice and put it back on.
Current Draft of Hanako’s story (including unposted content)