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

<-Hanako Previous Canonical (also the first Hanako chapter)

Hanako Next->

Current Draft of Hanako’s story (including unposted content)

27 September 2022

This immediately felt off as soon as I wrote it. It wasn’t until I was in the middle of work the next day that I figured out why, though; I wasn’t staying true to my image of Hanako. This Hanako is all “lone samurai” angst and sorrow and the world is terrible. The Hanako I originally established? She was willing and able to find the positive in almost any situation. Doesn’t mean she doesn’t have angst or angsty moments, but I try to remember to add her cheerful, almost cavalier attitude.

As a result, I actually rewrote the scene here, and expanded it. We’ll get to it once we reach October 6th and 8th entries for this year.

The town made no effort to welcome outsiders, but still, Hanako was able to get a room at the inn with little trouble. After she was certain she was alone, she finally pulled back her hood and heaved a sigh of relief. She ate a simple meal and went to sleep.

The next morning, however, she woke to find a battalion of the shogun’s army had camped nearby during the night. A squadron of them marched straight into the center of town; the commander ordered his men to take food and supplies, along with anything else they fancied, all while spouting some rhetoric about the glorious fight against youkai.

In her travels, Hanako had sometimes run into towns ransacked like this; destitute, heartbroken, and usually starving. The army were like locusts, devouring everything in their path.

Despite that, she knew better than to get involved; she couldn’t take on an entire army, no matter her strength and skill. Especially not one designed to hunt oni like her.

But when the commander moved to grab a young woman, Hanako caught him by the wrist. “You leave her - and the other members of the village - alone.”

The commander yanked his hand back and reached for his sword, sneering at her. “It is their duty, as citizens under the shogun, to serve our needs!! We defend them from the army of monsters, so this is only right!”

“Protect them?” Hanako asked quietly. “Like you protected Naha, where the people are so starved they’re boiling leather? Like you protected Tokushima, where the march of you feet turned their fields into wastelands? Or Gifu? Wakayama? Makuhari?” Hanako spat on the ground. “If you want to hunt monsters, commander, perhaps start with the rapists and thieves in your own army.”

The commander’s face burned red, and he barked an order to the rest of the squad. The five men all drew their swords and circled around Hanako.

The girl she’d saved had fled with the rest of the villagers, thankfully leaving the area clear. Hanako was grateful for that; less chance the soldiers would try to use someone as leverage. Hanako inhaled deeply, and drew her sword out only the first inch. Her rage snarled, eager for the fight.

As in on cue, all five soldiers jumped toward her at the same time, only to swing at empty air. Hanako danced between them, her sword flashing here and there, almost unseen in the dawn light. Only seconds had passed, but Hanako stood with her sword to the commander’s throat, while behind her his men’s armor clattered to the ground.

The sweat beading on the commander’s pale face took the bite out of his glare. “You will regret this!”

Hanako pushed the blade just a little harder against his skin. “Oh? Are you saying it would be better if I killed you and saved myself the trouble?”

The commander’s face turned bone white, and Hanako whispered, “As of this moment, this village is under my protection. If you don’t want to me to bleed you like the animals you are, you will take your men and never return. Am I clear?”

With a nod, the commander backed away, then turned and ran. His men followed after him, struggling to carry all their armor with them.

Hanako sighed, then sank to the ground against a wall. A few of the villagers gingerly stepped out onto the street. One, an elderly man Hanako assumed was the chief, stomped over to her. “What have you done!?”

“I saved a young woman,” Hanako replied tiredly.

“At the cost of the village! When they return, it will be a while battalion, bringing torches! Mark my words, there won’t be a building left standing!”

Of course. What else had she expected? Even without revealing her horn, she got the same reactions. “I’ll protect your village, don’t worry, old man. And you haven’t seen what I’ve seen. Once the army’s gone through… Well, let’s just say I don’t even call that surviving.”

The old man tried to rant at her some more, but Hanako tuned him out. Instead, she stood up, and began heading for her room in the inn.

On the way, the woman she’d saved stopped her. “Thank you.”

Hanako smiled back. “You’re welcome. You okay?”

The woman nodded.

<-Hanako Previous

Hanako Next->

Current Draft of Hanako’s story (including unposted content)

19 September 2022

I hate the internet here. Just saying.

Anyway, I'm only entering one day’s entry, partially because of crappy internet that's making me work on my phone, and partially because the next two days go well together.

This entry I was really proud of, especially the first half. This is also the storyline I've worked on the most since, and am the most invested in.

Hanako slowly drew her katana, breathing in deeply through her nose. The rage lurked there in her chest, roaring to be set free, but Hanako focused on her master’s words. “Anger can be a powerful weapon, it is true. But if it wields you instead, you become the very monster others fear you to be, rather than the swordswoman you have become.”

She flipped her fiery red ponytail back, glaring at the mob of bandits across from her. They all cowered away from her, glancing between the single horn growing out of her forehead and the sword in her hands.

The monster in Hanako’s chest delighted in their fear and urged her to release it in a whirlwind of blood and steel. Instead, however, she let the barest hint of it creep into her voice as she growled, “Drop your weapons and the loot, and I’ll let you live.”

The bandits rushed to comply, almost tripping over themselves as they rushed back into the woods.

With a sigh, Hanako sheathed her sword and suffocated her anger. By the time she turned to the caravan master, she had her typical carefree smile plastered back onto her face. “Well, I think that went pretty smoothly, don’t you?”

She froze, however, when she saw the expressions on everyone else’s faces. The caravan master was sweating even harder than he had when the bandits first ambushed them, and several of the other guards now pointed their weapons at her.

Hanako looked at Lyra, the only guard she’d gotten close to, and found fear in her eyes as well, even if she didn’t seem hostile for the moment. The beast flared back awake, arguing that if they expected a monster, she should give them one, but Hanako only whispered, “No.”

She mustered up another smile, this one a lot more forced, and told the caravan master, “It looks like I won’t be able to go the rest of the way with you, sorry. Any chance I could still get paid for the part of the trip I did work?”

The caravan master wordlessly tossed her a sack of coins. Before she’d even picked it up, Hanako could tell it held far more than even the initially agreed-upon price. Her smile vanished completely, and even if they didn’t fall, tears formed at the corners of her eyes. She took out enough coin to cover half the wage she’d been promised, then set the bag back down. As she walked back the way they came, she turned and flashed Lyra one last sad smile. “I wish you all the best of luck on the rest of your journey.” Then she turned, pulled her hood back over her head, and walked away.

What kind of man finds a young monster and sees only a little girl? Or perhaps the question should be flipped; what kind of people look at a small orphan girl and see only a monster?

Whichever the case, Hanako thought she had probably been both when her master found her in the burned out ruins of herr parents’ home. Apparently, he’d been part of the auxiliary army sent to help the shogun’s main force end the “monster scourge” once and for all. After the things he saw, however, especially in Hanako’s village, he refused to lend them his sword any more, and took Hanako with him to his own village.

There, he taught Hanako everything he knew of sword fighting. Every time she became frustrated and let her rage overtake her, he would keep her from causing any true damage; after all, even if she could crush rocks bare-handed as a child, that didn’t matter if she couldn’t even touch him, much less grab him, to begin with.

She rarely left the swordsman’s home, which suited the rest of the village just fine. While none of the villagers were openly hostile, they still watched Hanako with a nervous distrust, like she was a bomb with a lit fuse. Hanako didn’t let it bother her, though; she had her master, and that was enough.

However, one day their village was attacked. One squadron of the shogun’s men were out of food, and had heard the town housed a deserter, so they considered it fair game. Hanako’s master held them off, killing many of them, until the captain stabbed him in the chest.

Hanako roared with grief, the sound shaking the very ground beneath their feet and rattling trees the next mountain over. Consumed by her fury, her skin turned red while the whites of her eyes turned black. She flailed about with her sword in one hand and a make-shift club in the other, completely forgetting all the training her master had put her through.

Weakly, her master braced himself up and said, “Don’t give in to your anger, Hanako… Use it. You are more than some mere monster!”

Even through her rage, Hanako heard him, and stilled herself. She breathed in deep, then locked all the fury in her heart, holding it tight. She faced the captain again, using both hands to hold her sword at the ready.

He smiled cruelly and moved to attack. Hanako stepped in underneath his sword, and right as she began her counterattack, she took all the rage she was holding and packed it into her swing.

Hanako barely noticed the surprised look on the captain’s face as his body lay there, cut in two, before she rushed to her master’s side, her rage flowing away like wind.

Her master struggled to lift his hand, and Hanko clasped it in both of hers, tears flowing freely. He gasped, “I am, proud of you. I hope… you find others… who accept you for yourself.”

Hanako shook her head. “No… no. You need to stay here with me! There’s, there’s so much I have to…” She choked up, unable to finish her words.

Her master smiled softly. “Live strong, Hanako. My daughter…” And with that, he closed his eyes, rattled out one last breath, and stilled.

Throughout the whole rest of the night, Hanako’s wails  echoed through the entire village.

Hanako Next->

Hanako Next Canonical->

Current Draft of Hanako’s story (including unposted content)