31 December 2022
Happy New Year! Or, so it was when I wrote this.
You may have noticed I actually backtrack a little bit. One of the original ideas I had involved the kids actually being awed by her and wanting to learn from her, only for their parents to come in and take them away, afraid Hanako would “be a bad influence” since she’s too human, and I changed it to fit the new direction I took the scene. I may try that version out at some point, still; I’m not sure which fits the main drive of the story better. The one below draws closer parallels to the way she was treated elsewhere, and show that the people are pretty much the same. The original shows a different take on how she could be left out or shunned, and the contrast between the two might drive that home deeper. I haven’t decided yet.
On instinct alone, she spun around and caught it… only for it to burst in her hand, drenching her face and clothes in water.
She glared at the boy who threw it, an ebony oni bigger than the rest with a single horn. All the kids shrank back, terrified. Out of one of the houses nearby a bookish-looking blue oni rushed out and stood between Hanako and the kids, arms outstretched. “Don’t! They’re only children!”
Hanako’s eyes went wide, and she turned away. What did he think she was going to do? “Even among other yokai, they only see me as a monster, I guess.”
She turned and walked away, not even glancing at their expressions after her comment, and decided to go back to the inn. If anything else happened that day, Hanako wasn’t sure she could take it.
A couple hours later, she was sitting at a table with Nobuhito. He was the only one who didn’t treat her differently from anyone else. She cradled her head in one arm and rested it on the table, while she fiddled with her glass with her free hand.
For a long time, neither of them said anything. Then Hanako muttered, “The humans look at me and only see an oni. The yokai, oni included, look at me and only see a yokai-slaying human. Either way, they only see me as a monster. What’s the point anymore?”
Beside her, the kappa shrugged. “To be fair, most in this village have special reason to fear humans. Many were, themselves, chased out or hunted by them. Even those that weren’t have heard the stories.” He paused, then gestured to Hanako’s kamishimo. “How many of those hunters wore outfits exactly like that?”
Hanako frowned. “But this is…” Her words trailed off as she thought about it more. For her, it was a symbol of honor and respect. But, for these people…
“What else can I not see?” Hanako muttered to herself.
The kappa shrugged again, and quietly sipped at his tea. Hanako stared at him for a while, then asked, “Do you think this is what Lord Isshin meant when he said I wouldn’t find a home here?”
“Most likely.” Nobuhito put his cup down, then looked into Hanako’s eyes. “Whatever else, you were raised by humans, and so to some extent you think like them, act like them. You also carry many of the same implicit biases, even if you are unaware of it. Now I know not all humans hate yokai, but…” He gestured outside. “They do not.”
Hanako chewed on his words for the next hour or so, and then excused herself and retired to bed. No matter what she did, though, sleep wouldn’t come. Her experiences that day, combined with Nobuhito’s words, kept circling in her brain.
The next morning, Hanako packed all her things and headed downstairs. She left her room key at the front desk, and when the tanuki stared up at her in shock, she gave him the biggest, most sincere smile she could. She bowed and said, “thank you for taking such good care of me during my time here. I hope your business keeps running well.”
The tanuki could only nod, and Hanako went outside. She made a point to track down Nobuhito and bid him farewell, and thanked the handful of people who’d tried to help her during her stay. Then she took one last look at Ashina village, squared her shoulders, and headed back out into the world.
Current Draft of Hanako’s story (including unposted content)