Chapter 3 – Chap 3

Hey, guys, Will here giving you an update about the goings on of me and my Nure-Onna girlfriend, Shurui. And… Since I figured you guys were more than a little curious about her, I’ve decided to let her take over for this update for a little while. She’ll hand it back to me once she’s said all she wants to say, so… Please be nice to her, yeah?

Hello, Redditors. My name is Shurui, and I am over a thousand years old, which is actually fairly young for a Yokai. I am the youngest of three sisters. There’s Hana, my oldest sister, and then there’s Jaakuna, who you were all introduced to in Will’s last update. We were raised in the spirit world by our parents, both of who were rather strict, but still loving in their own ways.

My father was always a bit more… harsh than my mother. He was constantly taking me and Jaakuna to do battle training, meanwhile Hana stayed at home with my mother learning the ways of a proper lady so that she could one day take over as head of the household. I was naturally gifted when it came to fighting, and while my father would give me stern praise… Jaakuna was often punished each time she couldn’t beat me when we sparred. The worst of it was when father would lock her away in her room with no light, no food, and no water.

From Will’s perspective you only saw what Jaakuna had become, not who she was before. While I don’t condone all she’s done… She was treated so badly when we were children that now all she believes is what father told us. “To be a Yokai is to be ruthless and strong. If you cannot even manage that, then you are no daughters of mine.”

Hana didn’t want to leave the spirit world with us, believing her duties as the eldest child were the most important thing. I did not fault her for this. She did make Jaakuna and I a promise that if we were ever to return home that we would be welcomed back into the family. I only hope this will be true for my sister when we venture back to Japan to seal her away in the spirit world once again.

In this realm we at first hoped to find a place to call home with the humans, but the moment even one of them discovered what we were we’d be chased out of their villages with weapons. This happened so many times that any and all of Jaakuna’s hopes were dashed. We retreated to the lake we’d used to escape in the first place, and the darkness in my sister’s heart soon began to manifest itself. Night after night she would attack passersby and drain their blood. I finally confronted her about it, begging her to only take what she needed and she turned on me. “Would you rather I be locked in my chambers in the darkness again where I could never eat?! You never once lost to me in a fight, so maybe you preferred me half-starved!”

I didn’t speak out against her after that, and for years it was all the same… My standing by and doing nothing because I felt guilty about what I’d done… Until the invention of the car. As it became more and more common there were less and less people for my sister to feed on. She still found a few strolling couples now and then, but… It was nowhere near enough for her insatiable thirst for blood. This past year she’d finally had enough and decided with our shape-shifting powers that we would be able to fit in seamlessly with society. We had a falling out shortly after our flight landed.

It was difficult for me to deal with all of Jaakuna’s habits. We first started getting along much better, as I was under the impression when she went out each night she was feeding on livestock. This went on for the next five years. Finally, one night, I decided I’d surprise her by joining her on her hunting trip. I found her preparing to sink her fangs into a young man’s throat. We fought, and I just barely managed to win, allowing the young man enough time to escape. Jaakuna’s rage had made her stronger than me and I retreated to a local hospital where I just had enough time to transform back into my human body before the staff found me.

When I returned home after a week of bed rest in the hospital I found Jaakuna gone. She’d abandoned me in a strange place I knew very little about. I decided the best course of action would be to seek employment and then further my education. I met Will shortly after enrolling in college and I immediately felt a connection to him. He treated me so sincerely and kindly that I couldn’t help but fall in love with him. But I was afraid. Afraid he wouldn’t love me after he found out about my… secret. Thankfully, this is not what’s happened, and it’s brought us all the closer.

Now that you know a little more about me… I went to the previous parts of this story and read your comments. Many of you were very supportive of Will and I staying together. Thank you. It warms my heart to know you all don’t judge based upon first impressions. And as for those of you who said Will should ask me to have a baby… Reading your comments brought up that conversation, and… We’ve decided that we will have one after we get married. When that will happen, I am not certain. For now I suppose I’ve said enough. Allow me to hand the laptop back to Will now.

So, hey guys, Will back here. Hopefully you guys liked hearing from my wonderful girlfriend. Honestly, after she told me about why she and her sister fought a few days ago… It made me feel pretty bad for Jaakuna. Not so bad that Shurui and I still aren’t going to send her back to the spirit world, but bad-ish. I did go over you guy’s comments on the last update and I think the going to Japan vacation post plan is a good idea. Shurui and I talked it over and she said it would be the easiest way to get her sister to come back to Japan, so we’re gonna go through with it. Thank you person who suggested that.

During this time, Shurui’s kind of been a lot more nervous than she’s been letting on. She thinks the easiest way to get Jaakuna to stay in the spirit world will be to go down there herself and get her oldest sister’s help. One thing’s for sure, though, she’s not going on her own. I’m going to help her, and there’s no way I’m going to let anything bad happen to her.

For now… Japan here we come! Wish us luck. We’re going to need it.