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docalu · 1 year

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Monsters

Prompt: Supernatural

Ship: Nagano Trio

The room he was led into was tidy and bright. Lanterns lit the walls made of silk paper and the cushion of red brocade. Everything looked wealthy and expensive. Even the bamboo mats on the ground felt soft to walk on.

Kneeling down he sat on the ground, putting the sword from his side in front of his knees. Then he waited. Hands resting on his upper legs, he held his head low, as was expected. That was until it started to hurt. He didn't move. He stayed as he was but the wait got longer and finally, he slipped to the side, releasing his bad leg of the pressure.

A quiet rustling made him look up and the boy peeking into the room from behind one of the sliding doors flinched. He couldn't be older than maybe five or six. His hair was short and his eyes big, filled to the brim with fear but also fascination. Scared he vanished behind the door, just to peak in once more at the waiting man.

"What's your name, boy?" The stranger's voice was rough but not unfriendly. It made the child flinch once more and bite his lip.

"... Ryu", he mumbled, after hesitating.

"Ryu-kun, eh? Good name. Means dragon. Right?"

The boy smiled shyly just before he nodded.

"Nice to meet you, Ryu-kun. My name's Kansuke."

"Kansuke-dono."

At the bow from the boy Kansuke laughed quietly.

"No need for that. Come over here, would you?"

Glancing around, the boy hesitated, before he shoved himself into the room. He came closer with a limp, sitting down next to the swordsman with a bit of difficulty. When he was done he shyly smiled up at the stranger and the stranger smiled back.

"Ryu-kun, can I ask you something?"

Curiously the boy tilted his head.

"The village outside. How long does it look this... ragged already?"

"Ragged...?"

"I've seen many houses with broken roofs and missing doors. Everything looks like it's not cared for, but there are people around."

Hungry-looking people in badly repaired clothes. Poor people.

The boy glanced down at the Kansuke's outstretched leg, thinking. Scars were peeking out from under his wide trousers. Pale scars on dark skin.

"I don't know. It always looks like this."

"Hm... so it's been a while."

"How did you get the scars?"

Blinking Kansuke looked down at the boy who pointed at his face with big, curious eyes. The man reached up and touched the cross across his missing eye.

"You see, I once fought with a Tengu and almost lost."

If it was possible the boy's eyes grew even wider.

"RYU!"

The sharp voice made the boy flinch. Hastily he got up and limped away, as fast as he could, vanishing behind the paper walls.

"Useless brat..."

Grumbling under his breath a fat man entered the room. He pulled the silken hems of expensive robes behind himself as he walked up to the cushion and sat down. The woman following him, immediately put a small tray with tea down next to him. She didn't look up, nor did she show any sign that she had noticed the stranger. She just stood there, head lowered and hands crossed in front of her, hiding bandaged fingers in the folds of her yukata.

"So you're the sword to hire?", the lord of the house snared.

"That I am." Shifting a bit Kansuke got back on his knees. "I heard you need help."

"Indeed. A dreaded monster settled in my forest. It eats my peasants and makes working impossible. For months we can't get wood out and losing on our income."

"I see. So you want me to chase that monster away?"

"No. Kill it! Kill it and bring me its pelt! It's living on my property, so it's mine."

Kansuke nodded slowly.

"If you say so. What's my payment?"

"Ten copper."

A think dark eyebrow wandered up.

"I get that much for a half day of weeding someone's garden."

The fat man grumbled. "Didn't you listen? We've no income for months now! We're practically starving!"

Sighing Kansuke got up, leaned on the sheet of his sword. While he did, his glance found the small boy again behind the doorframe and the spotted cat rubbing against his legs. For a moment he thought there were two tails wrapping around the boy's ankle, but maybe it was just a reflection in the lantern light.

"Fine then. If you're starving..."

"Good." A grin spread on the fat man's face and he reached for the steaming teacup in the tray. However, when he took a sip he made a face, throwing the cup in the direction of the woman next to him.

"What's that?! Can't you even cook proper tea, you useless wench?!" The tray followed the teacup, hitting the woman against the shoulder, but she didn't even flinch. Instead, she endured the curses and insults, kneeling down, in the end, in the end to pick up the broken porcelain.

Kansuke watched everything with lips pressed to a thin line but didn't say anything.

"I need someone to show me the way", he said when the lord of the house had calmed down enough.

"Huh? Oh, yes. My wife will lead you there." A grin spread on his face as the woman looked up, fear clear in her eyes. It looked like she wanted to protest, but in the end, she just lowered her gaze again, nodding.

It was half an hour later when the swordsman followed the light from the lantern in the woman's hand. She led him through the dark village and out of it, towards a forest behind a field of softly swaying rice plants.

Chopped trees had been left behind at the edge of that forest, seemingly forgotten in a hurried escape. The woman walked past them and into the darkness underneath the trees.

"Is he following us?" The quiet voice coming from her lips was deep and silky.

"Yeah, he does. Probably making sure I'm not running off with his wife."

"Or", the woman said without looking back at Kansuke. "he wants to blame you for her death. He's plotting an accident for a while now to get his hands on her heritage."

"For a while?" Catching up to her Kansuke glanced at the pale face, cast in shadows and light from the lantern. There was the hint of a mustache on her upperlip just to be gone the next moment. "Say... how long have you played this role now?"

A thin eyebrow wandered upwards, while dark blue eyes found the swordsman.

"I took her form yesterday. What do you want to imply, Kansuke-kun?"

"Oh, nothing. Just making sure that idiot didn't get his hands on my property."

The hand suddenly squeezing the woman's bum made her almost jump.

"Kansuke-kun."

"What?"

"Hands off."

But the other just laughed, pulling her closer to his side.

"Nah. It's rare I get to see you like this. Gotta take the chance while it lasts."

"Kansuke-kun..." The low growl was a warning he ignored with a smile and a kiss on a pale cheek.

"You're pretty when you're angry."

Pushing him away the woman put the lantern down, before she faced him. Eyebrows knitted she glared and a gust of wind made her yukata and hair fly. Dry leaves danced around her form that grew in size within a blink. Hands and feet turned to claws, white fur grew everywhere and the once small mouth turned into the snout of a giant fox.

Kansuke didn't have time to react before the white beast ripped him to the ground, five bushy tails whiping the air, while sharp teeth hovered dangerously above his face.

"A-A monster!" The scream was high-pitched and panicked. Stumbling over undergrowth and dead branches the fat man, who had followed them in a distance, fleed the forest.

"Koumei..." Kansuke huffed annoyed. "Now you scared him away."

"That wasn't my intention, however I'm not tolerating you groping me, Kansuke", the fox gave back. "What has gotten into you, I wonder."

Lying on his back with the fox having him pinned to the ground the swordsman sighed softly. The teasing grin had long vanished and turned into the hint of a smile as he reached up to run his fingers tenderly along the silky snout.

"I just missed you. It's been... what now? Three weeks? Three weeks since I saw you two."

Dark blue eyes above him narrowed before the fox got off him and sat neatly on its hind legs. "That was still uncalled for."

"Heh, sorry." Sitting up Kansuke rubbed his leg, grabbing the slender hand that reached out for him. With the help he got back up on his feet, smiling at who stood before him now. It wasn't the woman anymore and the fox was gone as well. Just the tails, dissolving into thin air the next moment, indicated that this man with the pointy mustache and the neatly combed hair had been anything else than what he was now. And what he was now, was the exact opposite to the rough looking and unshaved swordsman.

"You're forgiven, but I advise you not to greet Yui-kun that way."

"Oh, I'd never", Kansuke laughed. "I know she'd bite my head off, if I called her my property. That's pretty rude after all."

"Excuse me?" The mouth under the other man's mustache twitched dangerously.

"If you're aware of how rude you've been, then why did you say it to me in the first place?"

There was the grin on the swordman's face again and an arm around the other man's waist, pulling him close.

"Because you're pretty when you're angry. I like that~"

Any protest was cut short with a passionate kiss and for a moment the man called Koumei seemed to melt into it, before he put his hand into Kansuke's face and pushed him away at arm's length. Straightening his ruffled mustache with his fingertips he cleared his throat and turned to walk away.

"Hurry, Kansuke-kun. We have things to finish."

"True that."

Side by side they walked out of the forest and over the rice field, along the path through the village, back to the mansion. It was quiet, not just in the village but in the mansion as well.

The guards, which had eyed Kansuke just a while ago as he had entered the house, were sleeping now, leaned against the walls. Both men passed them and a few sleeping servants, making their way back to the lantern lit room with the glamorous walls and the brocade cushion.

As they entered the woman sitting on that very cushion looked up with a smile. On her lap rested the boy named Ryu, sleeping peacefully and with a small smile on his lips. Behind them a sleeping woman had curled up on a blanket.

"There you are. I was a little worried already."

Letting the child very carefully slip from her lap she got up and stretched, two white cat tails with black and red spots curling lazily behind her.

"Kansuke-kun decided to fool around", Koumei explained coolly and walked up to the woman to give her a kiss on the cheek. It made her chuckle. "I should have known."

Tilting her head she waited for Kansuke to come closer just to wrap her arms around his neck and kiss him tenderly.

"I told you not to tease Taka'aki-kun too much. One day he'll bite your head off for sure~"

"He almost did", Kansuke laughed. "You should have seen how he lost his composure, Yui. He must have really missed me."

"We both did", Yui added and caressed his cheek with a smile. "Hm... gone for a few days and you're even more prickly than usual. You need a shave, Kan-chan."

"Could we care about Kansuke-kun's lack of personal hygiene, once we're done here?", Koumei asked.

"Oi!", Kansuke growled but Koumei just looked at him with a straight face, his five tails wiping slowly over the bamboo mats.

"What is it, Kansuke-kun? You're the one who wanted to teach this greedy human a lesson."

"Yes. Let's do this." Putting her hand on Kansuke's arm, Yui nodded. "He's hiding in the shed in the garden. The rest of the village is asleep. I made sure everyone will have nice dreams."

"Except for the landlord." Pulling his sword from its sheet Kansuke smiled grim. "Will his wife manage?"

"She will. Yuriko-dono is a very intelligent and empathic woman", Koumei said, stepping next to him.

"And Ryu-kun is a kind-hearted boy. He will be a good successor to this vile man once he gets older", Yui added, taking the place on Kansuke's other side.

"Good."

Large black wings spread behind him, hovering protective over the five-tailed fox and the two-tailed cat at his sides.

"Then let's free this place of its monster."

=======

Type of Yokai

Tengu - "heavenly dog" / raven

Nekotama - two tailed cat

Kitsune - many tailed fox

#multiamorymarch2023 #dcmk #yamato kansuke #uehara yui #morofushi taka'aki #nagano trio #Alu writes

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