28 September 2022
While I was mulling over the problems I had with the previous day’s short on Hanako, one of the ones that kept coming back to mind was how can Hanako freely enter towns if everyone fears and hates oni and other yokai like her? Then I decided to give her a charm that lets her appear human… so long as she isn’t channeling her strength or using any of her more supernatural abilities. I might play with that more later; we’ll see.
The old merchant is loosely based off the titular character from The Seven Faces of Dr. Lau, a really old movie about a Chinese circus man. The merchant himself may or may not be human. :)
Hanako hummed to herself as she strolled down the road. No one else was around, so she kept her hood down, and let the breeze rustle her hair. Overall, it was just a pleasant day.
Her daydream ended, however, when she heard shouts from just up the road. “Didn’t you hear me, old man? I said everything in the cart is now the property of the shogun’s army!”
Hanako hurried ahead, and found three of the shogun’s soldiers surrounding an old man on a cart. One of them was up in the old man’s face, hand on his sword.
As for the old man, he had a long, pointed white beard and wore a straw hat. Somehow, he looked utterly unperturbed. “But I can’t do that, young man. If you take everything, what can I sell to make my living as a merchant?”
The soldier snarled and grabbed the old man by the lapel. “The shogun’s armies are all that stand between citizens like you and the youkai army. As such, it is your duty–”
“Hey, hey.” Hanako cut into the man’s rant.
All three soldiers turned to look at her. The two on the ground immediately reached for their swords once they saw her horn.
Hanako ignored them and instead focused on the leader, tilting her head to the side quizzically. “You said you’re supposed to protect people from youkai and bandits and things, right? So why are you the ones robbing an old man?”
The leader’s face turned a curious shade of purple. “Get her!”
The two men rushed at her, but she didn’t even feel like she needed to harness her rage to avoid them. “Hey. Weren’t the shogun’s soldiers supposed to be good with swords?”
The men roared and started flailing at her. Hanako remembered the lesson her master had taught her, how untempered rage made you weak and left you open.
“I think I get it now, master,” she muttered to herself. She wove between their swords and chopped the two on the back of their necks, knocking them unconscious.
The leader growled and shoved the old man back. He drew his own sword and settled into his own stance, sword overhead. He watched Hanako carefully, gauging her movements.
“Oh!” Hanako exclaimed. She hadn’t had a chance to test her skill against a real swordsman since she’d left her home. With a fearless grin, she threw off her coat and drew her sword. They circled around each other for a while, and then with a shout, the leader attacked.
Hanako danced just outside the blade’s tip, then pivoted in and drove her hilt into the man’s jaw. His eyes rolled to the back of his head, and he slumped to the ground.
Hanako looked first at her sword, then the unconscious man, and finally the old man she’d just rescued. “Hey, hey, oji-san. Do you think all the shogun’s army are this weak?”
The old man roared with laughter. “You’re a fun one, young lady. I’m sure there’s bound to be a few of them that would give you a run for your money.” He glanced down to the scabbard at her belt. “That’s quite the sword you have, there.”
“Oh? Yeah.” Hanako smiled shyly. “It belonged to my master, before… Well.” She shrugged. “I do my best to be worthy of it.”
“Is that so?” The old man nodded to himself, but didn’t elaborate.
Hanako looked around at the unconscious soldiers. “What should we do with them?”
The old man shrugged. “Eh. tie them up and leave them by the road. Their comrades will be along soon enough to look for them, I’m sure.” Then he got a glint in his eye. “Oh, but let me have their armor! I’m sure I can sell it for a pretty penny.”
“Alright.” Hanako helped the old man load all the armor into his cart. “Which way are you going, by the way?”
The old man gestured back the way she’d come from, and her expression dropped. “Ah, okay. Have a safe trip, then, and watch out for more soldiers!”
She turned to leave, but the old man called out to her. “Wait just a second, young lady!” He rummaged through the things in his cart as he said, “It wouldn’t do to let you going without repaying your kindness, now would it? Ah, here it is.” He pulled out a gold filigree necklace, with a small pearl at the center.
Hanako’s eyes grew wide. “That, that’s too much! Besides, it’s so pretty; it wouldn’t really suit someone like me.”
“Nonsense!” The old man shoved the necklace onto her. “Besides, it’ll do you good. That pearl’s enchanted; as long as you don’t use your powers, it’ll make you look just like a human.”
Hanako’s breath caught in her throat, and she stared at the necklace for a moment befoe she gingerly tried it on. “D-do you have a mirror or something?”
“Right here.” The old man held out a hand mirror, and Hanako looked herself over. She still thought the necklace looked out of place, but it worked; she couldn’t see her horn at all. She beamed and hugged the old man, catching him by surprise.
“Thank you! Thank you thank you!” Hanako let the old man go and wiped her eyes. “You don’t know how much this means to me!”
“Ha ha.” The old man patted her on the shoulder. “You’re welcome, young lady.”
She bounced a couple time, gave him one more quick hug, and then raced off. “This is the best day ever!”
The old man watched her go, a wry smile on his lips. Once she was out of sight, he whispered to himself, “Your daughter seems to be growing quite well, old friend.” And with that, he turned his cart and headed off.
<-Hanako Previous Canonical (also the first Hanako chapter)
Current Draft of Hanako’s story (including unposted content)