氷室邸
Himuro Tei
'Himuro Mansion'
- Prologue -
Chirping of birds. Sunlight slowly dripping through the gaps between the nests of leaves. Rustling and shifting within the bushes further away, deeper into the woods. Coldness of shadows despite the honey light. An easily felt moisture lingering in the air. And most importantly, footsteps crushing the fallen leaves, tiny branches and young grass strings.
The atmosphere was serene. Pleasant. Lonesome, but not lonely. This kind of isolation seemed to put peace to mind. For a lone man, it could be said that a journey through such surroundings is wise and holy, but for a couple, it might as well be lewd.
Just how many affairs have the trees witnessed? Yet, there walked a man and a woman, side by side. Both walked as if they were alone, and it, indeed, looked like a journey to wisdom, and not an unholy affair.
"Hmm..." a feminine voice lulled out, immediately after a specific ring reached her ears. It was a silent, gentle and light echo of a bell, caused by an equally feather-like movement. "There could be something near, yes?"
She had only received a small, barely noticeable nod from the eccentric male by her side, yet that was more than enough to confirm the tiniest of doubts which began to form and whirl within her head.
That sound was created by the lightest movement of the curious scales within the man's wooden backpack, warning that the air is carrying more than one may think.
And truthfully, the moist in the breeze became chillier, cooler just slightly, just a tiny little bit. If it weren't for the warning, the girl wouldn't even notice it, or at least give it much of her attention.
She knew that this wasn't just a walk to find shelter for the night. They weren't looking for an inn, or a place to hide themselves. They were searching for the unholy, cursed energy that shouldn't even exist in the world as everyone knows it. And they seemed to be on the right track.
It was rather... interesting to be a companion of this man, merely known as the Medicine Seller - for he might as well be nameless, nonexistent. His attitude barely changed and with the impression he had given off the first couple of times they've met before, it was hard to consider him a normal person. It was still hard to do so, hence why Y/N spent good couple of minutes comprehending the scene of him eating a meal, or sleeping soundly and peacefully, even if it was only for a short while. The fox-like male was not impressed by those reactions, but they were slightly amusing, and as such they were responded to with a remark that made Y/N visibly irritated. Such irritation was only surface-levelled, however, as she was actually fond of this companion of hers. She found that this man of exotic appearance and nature was far better company than a steed she'd have to take care of. She'd never yearn to return to the time after her parents' tragic and bloody deaths when she had to travel alone and seek refuge in the homes of her relatives, the ones that'd only see her as an object holding many benefits to them. Other than her worth as a woman, she held no purpose in their eyes. Maybe that was a reason she had found herself before the gates to Inunaki Village in her search of a new place to call 'home'.
Slowly, the outlines of a building came into the view. This building was noticeably old, yet still grounded and standing tall, its base and form strong and stable. They approached it from the woods, yet it appeared that a sandy and unruly road lead to it from the other side, even though the grass was slowly eating away at it. The hazel shade of the wood blended in well with the overall aesthetics of the forest and nature, its surface strangled and embraced by the dark green vines and leaves. No one lived there, that much was obvious.
Despite being showered by sunlight, it radiated energy that was dark, gruesome, but still so very attractive and hypnotising. It was as if something from within called out and lured with an invitation - inaudible, invisible, untouchable invitation.
Another gentle, yet just barely harsher ring of handful of bells echoed from inside of the wooden case. It was at that point that a girl had noticed that the song and chirps of birds have died down. It was silent. Only breathing, only wind. Not even a creek escaped the insides of walls.
Y/N swallowed down the saliva in her mouth, observing the building. It made her feel many emotions. Part of it was absolutely terrific - the strong presence of this building would have made her avoid it at all cost if she were her previous self. She would have noticed it and turned her head away, only to have her feet carry her as far as possible. But then again, the other part of it was strangely alluring. It felt like something ghostly wrapped itself around her and pulled her closer, closer, closer. It felt like something whispered onto her neck, as if it pleaded for help, for assistance.
She gave in and a took a step forward, but she didn't proceed any further and instead glanced over her shoulder to look at the man.
The Medicine Seller began to walk towards the entrance, and with that, Y/N confidently followed, each step bringing more and more uncomfortable touch to the space.
モ
ノ
ノ
怪
The door slammed shut, slightly startling the girl and causing her to pay more attention to her surroundings. It felt as if something played with her senses, as if her body was much more sensitive to even the slightest of changes, the slightest of sounds and visions that could possibly come at her.
Long. The hallway before them was long. The walls that embraced it were old, moldy and cold. It was a little bit darker than Y/N had anticipated, but her eyes grew used to the change of brightness and she could perceive details as she usually would after a couple of moments. She looked around, turning her attention back to the door behind her: the entrance and the way out.
She pulled onto it, only to realise that she couldn't open it. The door wouldn't even do as much as budge. Her palms grew sweaty and a shiver ran down her spine as a natural response to such an unsettling realisation.
"It appears many were here before." A calm voice reached her ears and she looked at the blonde man. His fingertips were gently going over the dried walls, feeling the marks and trenches engraved all over them. Y/N approached, looking at the wood. It was covered in deep scars and cuts, the one that were very possibly made with the fingernails, given their shape and anatomy. She turned back towards the door, noticing that the door was polluted with such details as well. Indeed, they weren't the first to be trapped in here.
"I suppose we can only go forward, then?" She questioned. "Yes."
モ
ノ
ノ
怪
Blood. It was dripping out of the walls, running down their unruly surface and forming small crimson pools. Red droplets were falling through the holes in the ceiling, creating a repetition of a cursed, low sound the moment they hit the ground.
This room seemed to be just the beginning, however. The hallway was somewhat decent in comparison to this space sitting deeper into the mansion. There were lovely little objects sitting on the shelves, wooden stands and on ground, some of them shattered or scattered around all over the floor. It used to be a normal room once.
"What happened here..." Y/N let out an exhale, barely managing to form a question. She seemed to have trouble taking in the scene. "Mononoke."
"I figured." She said, the smallest hint of irony present in her voice as she responded to the male. She might have seen many things so far, but one should never get used to the sights of blood and gore. The Medicine Seller was not as fazed, however. Though, he did appear to be in doubt, or at least somewhat irritated, as there was a scowl present on his pale features, brows narrowing in some kind of mellow frustration as he tried to solve the puzzle.
But he was missing so many pieces.
The sound of bells clashing and lulling was a reason enough to stop observing and instead, take action. He slid off his bag swiftly, setting it down on untouched surface of the floor and opening one of its many departments. The scales soon covered the ground, now standing still in the hallway.
"Y/N." he called out, giving her a small box, adorned with tiny artsy details. She looked inside, noticing that it was full of salt. She didn't need instructions, she has heard of salt's specific role in situations that involved the unseen. She quickly, yet carefully and properly, made a ring of salt around the room, ignoring the blood soaking the floor.
And then... silence.
ー AUTHOR'S NOTE
IT'S A NEW RECORD, WOOHO, IT'S BEEN 11 MONTHS.
i'm not proud of myself, let me tell you. i fell out of the fandom real bad and with the fact i had to think of the entire new arc... just no.
but i'm back. winter break is coming soon and i have the basic idea of what i'd like to write, so i hope i will finish this third arc in the next, let's say 3 months. but, i am not promising anything, because we all see how i love to make large gaps.
this chapter it a little bit shorter and maybe a bit off, which i'm not proud of, but i will try my best with further chapters when i add a little bit more action and plot into the story. i do have many ideas for this arc and i might make it longer than just three chapters - still, not promising anything.
i'd also like to thank you all for so many kind and inspiring comments. really, they actually give me motivation to continue this book and story. i am so happy that many people like this and that some even found inspiration here to try their hand at writing something as well.
this book is so far one of the best things i have published and i am extremely proud of it. i look forward to writing more and i hope i will muster enough motivation and strength to do so as soon as possible.
thank you for being with me and reading this, and still supporting it, despite those gaps and despite me not being active as a writer. i appreciate that so, so much.
i hope you all are having a wonderful day and once again, thank you so much.
Pages: 5
Words: 1490