Chapter 4 – Chap 4

Wow guys. It has been a while since Shurui and I updated you all. Well… Maybe it hasn’t, really, but it’s felt that way for us. We’re in Japan. I probably don’t even have to say this, but it’s a lot different here… Especially on the more supernatural side of things. Let me explain.

So the moment our plane landed Shurui started showing me all of her favorite places near the lake where she came from. There’s this cute little ramen shop nearby and oh my God those noodles tasted like heaven. I will never eat cup noodles again, I swear. We also galavanted around the town near the lake checking out stores and all that stuff. I bought a lucky cat statue. But there was a purpose to all this! Shurui needed to find a friend of hers named Kuchisake-onna.

Finding Kuchisake was a lot like finding a needle in a haystack. For those of you who don’t know, she’s a spirit who wanders around looking for people to ask if she’s pretty, only to stab them with a pair of scissors no matter what answer they give her. Seems like a bit of a redundant venture to me, but my girlfriend is a snake woman, so I’m not about to judge. That’s why we were wandering around the town the way we were. Eventually Shurui pulled me off the main street down an alley and a woman in a mask appeared in front of us.

“Sake?”

The woman stopped and stared at us for a moment. Her eyes narrowed, “Rui?”

The next moment was a rather happy reunion between my girlfriend and her friend, and after explaining everything that had happened to Kuchisake she was more than willing to help us. We took her back to our hotel so we could talk strategy. “Jaakuna needs to be stopped before she puts all of us in jeopardy. There’s a reason we’re meant to be urban legends, after all. But… You know how powerful she is, Rui. If you’re even going to trick her into that lake, you know we’ll need some extra help.”

Shurui’s face scrunched up, “From her? But we don’t even know where she is anymore.”

I frowned, “Who is “she?” You know I hate playing the pronoun game.”

Shurui sighed and massaged the bridge of her nose, “Another friend of mine who’s even harder to track down than Sake. Her name is Hachishakusama, but Sake and I have always called her Hachi.” She looked back to Sake and shook her head, “Jaakuna already knows that Will and me are in Japan. We don’t have the time to track down Hachi.”

Sake frowned, “I know that you want to stop her as soon as possible, Rui, but for this to work we’re going to need Hachi. She’s stronger than most of the spirits wandering Japan, even me. Unless you feel like heading up to the mountains to try finding Yuki, then Hachi is our best bet.”

Shurui nodded, “Alright. You’re right. We do need some extra help. Let’s split up. You head down to the spirit world and see if anyone’s seen or heard anything about Hachi. Will and I can search up here in her usual haunts.”

It turns out that Hachi’s usual haunts were always areas with kids. Here’s the deal… I did a little research into yokai on the plane ride to Japan, but I had mostly skimmed the articles and all I could remember while Shurui and I were running around town was that Hachi was supposed to be really, really tall, but other than that I was in the dark on her.

It started getting dark and I was feeling like things were getting hopeless, and then Shurui’s phone went off and as soon as she read some text from Sake she was dragging me about six blocks to some playground where I noticed an outlandishly tall woman in a white dress and wide-brimmed hat sitting on one of the swings. Shurui sighed and glanced at her pocket, “Looks like Sake’s tip was good. She’s here. Hachi!”

“I have no interest in going against Jaakuna, Rui,” Hachi replied, not even bothering to look at us.

Shurui frowned, “She already got to you, didn’t she?”

Hachi rose from her swing, towering above the trees as she turned to face us. “Family disputes are none of my concern. She came asking for my help to stop you, but I refused her as well.” She sighed, “Things have changed since we were children, Rui. Even the spirit world has changed. I can’t get involved in anyone else’s problems anymore. Sake’s already putting herself at risk by helping you. Your father knows you’re in Japan, and he already has his best soldiers looking for you. I recommend you leave as soon as possible. Leave Jaakuna to him.”

Shurui’s grip on my hand suddenly tightened, “No,” she muttered. “He is the last person that I’d hand her over to. She is still my sister, Hachi.”

Hachi shrugged, “Then I have nothing else to say. I’ve given you a fair enough warning. Goodbye, Rui. I wish you the best of luck.”

We came up empty-handed and went back to the hotel feeling pretty hopeless. Sake was now staying with us to offer some protection from Shurui’s father’s soldiers that were after us. It was a mess, to say the least.

But things were only going to get worse from there.

We went to bed deciding it would be best to take turns keeping watch in case anyone tried getting the drop on us, whether that would be Jaakuna or Shurui’s dad. Sake took first watch, leaving Shurui and me to go to sleep. Despite the fact that she had her back to me, I knew Shurui wasn’t sleeping. We’ve been dating long enough for me to know when she is and isn’t asleep. I wrapped my arm around her waist and hugged her.

“Hey,” I muttered. “You okay?”

She shrugged, “I guess. I’m a little worried about possibly having to face my father. Will, if you thought Jaakuna was bad then you won’t believe how awful he is. If he manages to get ahold of you… He’ll kill you.” She sighed, “Maybe you should just go home and try to forget about me. Maybe if you did you’d be safe.”

I kissed her on top of the head and rubbed her shoulder, “Hey, I’m not going anywhere. Don’t even think that. I don’t care if he tries to tear me limb from limb or forces me to crawl across miles of blades just to get to you. There’s no way I’m ever going to abandon you. I love you.”

She rolled over and faced me, her reptilian eyes gleaming by the light of the moon. “I love you, too, Will. That’s why I’m so worried about what might happen to you. The spirit world is a very dangerous place.”

Sake scoffed from the bed across from ours, and we glanced at her as she switched on the TV, “It’s more than very dangerous these days, Rui. Yokai are getting more and more angered by the progress of humanity. There’s less available food and victims. We’re becoming mainstream because of the internet. Stories are being told about us, spreading awareness against us. Remember Hanako-san? There’s a movie about her. School kids around here hardly ever go to the restroom alone anymore. The spirit world is a lot more difficult to maneuver through now. It was difficult enough for me to go down there just to get info on Hachi’s whereabouts. I hate to say this, but you and your boyfriend are in way over your heads.”

Shurui nodded, “Yes, I know. And I am very grateful that you’re helping us, Sake. I don’t think we could do this without you.”

In the next moment Sake disappeared through the mattress without even having time to shout. Shurui leapt from the bed and immediately went on the defensive, baring her fangs and scooping me up in her arms. It was a little weird that she picked me up like that since just a few weeks ago she asked for help opening a pickle jar, but I chalked it up to not being that big a deal in comparison with the current matter at hand.

Unfortunately Shurui’s defensive maneuvers weren’t enough, and soon we found ourselves being dragged under miles of earth. I was very weirded out by the fact that I wasn’t dying from all of the screaming I was doing. I was also a little embarrassed that I was freaking out so much while Shurui wasn’t even flinching. Next thing I knew we were in some sort of throne room where a woman was sitting, the top half of her body human and the lower a snake tail. The moment her eyes met Shurui’s she seemed to be freaking out. It looked like both of them wanted to say something, but they remained silent.

A sound like thunder echoed through the room, and a few seconds later the most spine-chilling monster entered. He towered over all of us, his eyes a venomous purple shade. Like the woman on the throne, his body was half snake and half human. He regarded me with a look of disgust before turning on Shurui, “Hmm… And here I thought you had disappeared forever. Had you wanted to stay hidden, you should never have returned to Japan, Shurui.”

Shurui bowed, keeping her gaze to the floor, something I’d never seen from my steadfast girlfriend, “Hello, father,” she muttered.

Father. This man was Shurui’s father. He let out a rumbling laugh that shook the room, “How nice that you still show me the proper respect.” His smile immediately dropped as he looked to me, “Yet you also bring this human here. Your sister holds more honor than you in that aspect, my child.”

Shurui suddenly lunged forward, only to be restrained by the guards. “Where is Jaakuna? I swear if you’ve hurt her I’ll–“

“You’ll what?” he demanded. “Do you think you can step foot in this house and attempt to threaten me? No. No, you will behave and present yourself as a respectable member of this family.”

“Why should I?” Shurui snarled, baring her fangs.

Her father glanced at me, and in the next second I was being strangled in his coils. “Otherwise your little human will not live to see the light of tomorrow morning.”

At this, Shurui drew back and shrank, “Alright, I’ll do whatever you say! Just please don’t hurt Will!”

I was relieved to be let out of Shurui’s father’s scaly grip, but not so much to see Shurui look so defeated. Her father had backed her into a corner using not only me but her sister as leverage. It hurt. I was led away from her by the woman on the throne and she muttered, “Don’t worry, she’ll be fine. For now we need to make sure that you stay alive until the both of you can get out.”

She pushed me into a room and started going through a closet, tossing clothes around until she brought out what I thought was a dress. “This should suit you fine.”

“What?” I muttered. “A dress?”

“It is a kimono,” she replied shortly.

“Right… So why are you even helping me? Are you Shurui’s mother or something?” I asked.

She shook her head, “I am her sister. My name is Hana. And I am helping you because I’ve never really agreed with my father’s views. Shurui and Jaakuna deserve their freedom. They deserve to be happy.” She sighed and shook her head, “But there is not enough time for such idle talk. Get dressed and wait here until I come fetch you. I will do my best to convince my father that you can be a respectful house guest. And I apologize for the guards outside the door. They can’t be helped.”

So that’s what’s happened. I’m sitting in this bedroom wearing a kimono and waiting for Shurui’s sister to come back and let me know whether or not I’m going to remain a prisoner in this room. I have no idea if Shurui is okay or where she is. I’m worried about her. I hope that she’s safe. Until I have anything else to update you guys with, this is it. Until next time, I guess… If there will even be a next time.