17 December 2022
This is the first time we’ve seen Hanako interact with any other yokai, and I kind of wanted to show that she’s caught between worlds. This isn’t the best scene for it; I plan to add another scene, maybe set before the Chizu village arc, where she actually finds a yokai settlement (maybe predominantly oni, maybe not), and show how wary they are of her. Still, I hope I captured a bit of that feeling here…
When Hanako noticed the tracks leading off the road, she wasn’t sure if it was instinct, caution, or curiosity that compelled her to follow them. Whatever it was, she was grateful.
At the other end of them, she found a trio of large, male oni, each a different color but all around eight feet tall, gathered around a fire. Some creature–it looked to be the remains of a horse–turned on a spit above it.
Off to the side, a father and daughter were trussed up, quivering in fear. The girl couldn’t have been more than ten years old. The ruins of a wagon rested on the other side of the fire, its contents strewn about, either broken or devoured. A bit of bile rose into Hanako’s throat, and she desperately hoped the mother of the family hadn’t been traveling with them.
Hanako took a moment to consider how she wanted to approach this. Then she put away the charm she got from the old merchant and walked out into the clearing. “Hiya! What’s cooking?”
The oni stopped their conversation to look at her. The red one even got up and reached for his kanabo. All of them, including Hanako, ignored the muffled screams of the father and daughter when they saw her.
The blue one glared at her. “And who are you?”
Hanako beamed at him and held out her hand. “Hanako! Nice to meet you.”
After an awkward moment, the blue on sneered and spat off to the side. “You reek of human.”
There it was again. What did that even mean? Hanako had spent so much time around humans she couldn’t tell. “Occupational hazard, I suppose?”
The third–the largest of the three, with a yellowish tint to his skin–studied Hanako carefully. “Y’know, rumor’s goin’ ‘round about the shogun’s pet oni. You hear anythin’ about that?”
“Oh, her. “ Hanako’s face soured. “Yeah, I ran into her once. Big, blue woman. Seemed like bad news.”
The yellow one seemed satisfied with her answer. “Got fresh-cooked horse for now. But if you’re patient, well…” He flashed a cruel smile at the father and daughter. “We’ve got a real delicacy comin’ later.”
Hanako plopped herself down next to Blue, across the fire from where Yellow reclined. “Huh. I thought what’s-his-bucket had strict rules about eating humans.”
Blue looked over at the red one. “Sit down, already!” He smiled at Hanako. “That’s old news. After the shogun started his campaign, Shuten-doji deposed the old man as the Yokai King, and eliminated all those laws. Only for his army, of course. Gotta incentivise people somehow.”
“Oh-ho. So you three are all in the new King’s army, then? What are you doing out here?”
Red spoke up for the first time. “We scout. Shogun’s men near here, burned village.” His smile turned ferocious. “If lucky, we eat survivors.”
The beast inside pushed against Hanako’s ribcage. That was Keiko, Chiaki, and the others he was talking about. But she held it back for the time being and pretended to look thoughtful. “Sounds tempting. How would I join? The main army nearby?”
Yellow snorted. “The big armies are up north; better to avoid that, I say. No, you wanna join, head southeast toward Nanmoku. Our company’s going to hit there next.”
Hanako beamed at him. “Thanks for the info.”
Current Draft of Hanako’s story (including unposted content)