Connected | Kusuriuri x Reader

Inunaki-Mura: Prologue

Those dark clouds approached on the wings of wind, by now covering half of the clear azure. Suddenly the air seemed colder in front of the gates, but the shivers could have been caused by that worry and concern, too. Just when those feelings and thoughts seemed to be on the edge of becoming a slight anxiety, they all suddenly vanished, replaced by nothing but confusion for merely a second. Y/N's eyes narrowed as the figure came to disturb her field of view, previously invisible due to the green bushes peeking out and eating away the abandoned road and gates to the village.

That colorful attire, strands of unusually light hair and above everything, those unrealistic blue eyes that held so much mystery and secrecy could never be forgotten by anyone. As if she looked at this man every single day of her life, she could perfectly recall every memory of him engraved in her mind, as if those tragedies that connected them had happened just yesterday. The thought of those events didn't feel right to the fragile human heart of Y/N's, so she pushed the red pictures and blood curdling screams and voices away as soon as they've come back to her. She didn't wish to recall the nightmares.

Instead, the female had taken a good look at the man, whose gaze locked with her own. He stood just before the closed gate, on which there was a sign with messy characters spelling out 'Inunaki Village' - the name Y/N was looking for. The girl noticed that his posture, frame and facade remained perfectly calm - almost too calm - just as she remembered him. Yet, there was a spark of curiosity she managed to notice in those icy blue hues of his for a moment. Opposing to his expression, there must have been a lot of curiosity splattered over Y/N's own features. Taking in a deep breath that barely hitched at one point, Y/N was the first one to ask a question regarding this unexpected reunion,

"Medicine Seller?" Her voice was indeed full of surprise, yet she couldn't understand if the new feeling that had just settled in her chest was the one of excitement or something else - maybe suspect and misgiving. Yet, despite all of that, she pressed further, cracking a small smile of relief,

"I didn't expect to see you here." She spoke, looking down at the man before dismounting the peaceful stallion of hers, her feet finally landing onto the solid ground after a while, as she still held her grip around the reins, her control over the majestic chestnut being still near absolute. Pushed into this conversation, the Medicine Seller responded,

"I do travel a lot." His response gave off the vibe he was merely pointing out the obvious. Those violet colored lips of his still appeared as a smirk, giving his words a certain note similar to the one of sarcasm. Yet, as if to remain professional and polite, he shared one more piece of the information, helping her solve the puzzle that was his presence,

"There is also something I must do here." He added calmly, glancing back, over his shoulder, to the gates and beyond them. Y/N followed his gaze, her own attention trailing and crawling away to the entrance leading into this mysterious and silent village. Even beyond the gates, the road was surrounded by more bushes and shrubs, yet instead of reflecting the sun and shining bright green and golden, it felt as if they were turning monochrome. Cool air approaching from the depths of civilized area felt like hundreds of cold fingertips that just awaited to touch the skin of someone warm. The breeze alone was enough to send shivers down one's spine. The sudden silence was shattered by male voice,

"What about you?" The question stopped Y/N's train of thoughts, causing her to blink and look back at the man, words stuck in her throat and scattered over her tongue, so she couldn't form a sentence - the unexpected distraction and change of atmosphere had surprised her,

"What brings you all the way here?" This question, which was more direct and in a way, suspicious, seemed to help her thoughts settle down and Y/N regained her posture, finally responding with just a small hint of hesitation, as the answer included recalling the bloodshed Medicine Seller himself witnessed.

"After... After everything that happened, I decided to look for my relatives. I found out that they live here." Even if the response reminded of those specific events, the fact that Y/N had someone to go to still meant some relief and it felt calming. On top of that, it was anything but bad to see a familiar face on this unfamiliar road. After all, this journey itself brought enough danger for a lone woman.

"Is that so." It was a silent statement, spoken out by the Medicine Seller in form of an exhale. On the surface, things remained simple, yet deep under, beyond the gates, many strings were awaiting to be unravelled.

モ

ノ

ノ

怪

At first, the atmosphere felt slightly inviting, but with the each step down the hill, it seemed to leave heaviness behind. Other than the monochrome image the clouds above have created, the visual appearance of the village didn't seem that bad just yet. The houses were yet to come into the full field of view, but from the distance it seemed fairly normal so far. It was the acoustic details, sounds and noises that didn't seem so promising. There was rustling of the grass and leaves, yet nothing else could be heard. Cheerful chirping of small, playful birds nor words and conversations between women and men could be heard. Usually, the villages were known for their noisy and welcoming people that brought light and cheery atmosphere into the settlement, yet here that didn't seem to be the case. The scent in the air began to turn sickening with each step further and uneasiness was growing and growing, settling into this space between mountains that were like walls guarding this location.

When the couple curiously approached the civilized area, they were greeted by an unpleasant sight. The earth beneath their feet was barely wet mud, polluted. There were some objects here and there on the ground, making this place seem unclean, dirty. Houses were almost like ruins - they were in use, but barely standing. Finally, the people came into view. Their skin was unusually pale, their bare bodies covered in bruises and wounds as if some disease had spread throughout the land, their eyes were dark, lifeless, surrounded by circles of plum blue that meant sleeplessness. They were almost everything but welcoming and what Y/N had expected.

By this point, it was crystal clear that something was wrong. Something just didn't fit. Clearly, this wasn't normal. Both Medicine Seller and Y/N were caught off their guard, never even expecting something like this. They were the only sane people standing in this village, only ones yet to be infected by the plague roaming around this place and they realized that. The urge to turn back was a normal reaction, yet as soon as they looked over their shoulders, the road which they followed by now was replaced with the thick layers of forest and grass, leaving them trapped in this cursed cage.

— PLEASE READ THE AUTHOR'S NOTE & WARNING

JEEZ, IT'S BEEN TWO MONTHS!!! Alright, I am sorry, I got into so many fandoms and Mononoke just wasn't one of them, okay? But anyway! Hope you liked this chapter! Heads up, I am planning to make this arc very, very sensitive and dark, so yeah, it's probably going to be full of triggering content which some might be uncomfortable reading! But hey, this is a Mononoke fanfic, so what to expect? Hope you are all doing fine and well. Thank you for your feedback and inspirational, kind comments! I really appreciate it! Thank you for reading and stay tuned for the next chapters!!

Pages: 7

Words: 1925 - 2040