Chapter 10: Origin

After I joined the Kuroiwa clan, they shared with me the story of the origin of my powers and the birth of the very first kyūketsuki. It is a story that traces its beginnings back to a time of war and destruction, when a mighty warlord sought to realize his ambition of conquering all of feudal Japan. He was known for the strength of his army. He was known for his brutality and lack of mercy. Above all, he was known for being undefeatable, as he won conquest after conquest and his rule began to spread across Japan.

The name of this warlord had been lost in history, but the kyūketsuki have granted him their own name—Onikokuou. It is a name uttered with respect and with awe. It is the name of the great creator of the kyūketsuki—a name they continue to praise for their damned state.

What the soldiers trampled under the feet of the great Onikokuou never realized was that they faced not a man, but an oni, a demon spirit. The oni had taken on human form to spread its malice and ruin the lives of people of Japan. Many villages fell and many men were slaughtered before Onikokuou would arrive in a small secluded village that would change the course of his plans.

In this village lived a fisherman and his daughter, Nozomi. Nozomi was well known for her beauty, and many had approached her father in hopes of securing her as a wife. Time and again, though, her suitors were spurned, and the young woman remained without a husband, spending her days tending to her father’s home. It seemed that fate continued to intervene, holding out for what was to come.

Every evening, Nozomi would go out to the docks to meet her father and welcome him home. On the days when the sea was generous, she would celebrate her father’s fortune with him as he walked proudly down the path from the boat, singing to her. On the days when the nets were drawn back almost bare of fish, she would console him and tell him that even the greatest fisherman was subject to the whim of the sea. There would always be another day when the sea’s temper was more agreeable, and he would fill his nets once again.

On the evening when Onikokuou entered her village, she stood waiting for her father as usual. The great Onikokuou had traversed much of Japan and had seen many women, yet there was something of this fisherman’s daughter that forced him to pause. She was, perhaps, not the most beautiful woman he had seen, but he sensed something from her, something that caused the rage of the oni spirit to wane and the desires of his human form to surface.

As many men had before him, Onikokuou approached the fisherman and expressed his intentions. Instead of claiming what he wanted, as he had always done before, Onikokuou ingratiated himself to the fisherman, who assented, knowing it was this for which he had waited. Nozomi was dutiful and worried about leaving her father alone, but he demanded that she leave. He was convinced that this was her destiny and she could not refuse it.

Whether it was genuine or a trick of the oni, Nozomi loved Onikokuou. She would adoringly attend to him and sought to make him happy. Her influence on him became increasingly apparent. There were fewer and fewer conquests, and Onikokuou’s legendary brutality became a thing of memory. It seemed the human in Onikokuou grew, and the fiery oni spirit hibernated.

As she had with her father, Nozomi always watched for the return of Onikokuou, waiting patiently to greet him. In spring, she would wait underneath the Kanzan trees, the wind blowing the pink blossoms around her. It was on an evening such as this that an assassin slipped past her guards and found Nozomi seated alone.

Who the assassin was, the kyūketsuki do not know. Onikokuou had made countless enemies, and as most considered him invincible, the assassin struck at the one weakness they discerned. Nozomi was never aware of the assassin as the stroke landed, cutting her open, her blood flooding over the stone path. Her eyes remained trained on the gate ahead, her thoughts on the return of her Onikokuou.

When Onikokuou returned, the palace was empty. His servants, fearful of his wrath at the death of Nozomi, had all fled. Before they left, they had cleaned her body and placed her in her finest clothes. They truly loved Nozomi and the changes she had brought with her. Now they were terrified of the aftermath of her demise. They had seen the wrath of Onikokuou against his enemies and did not want that fury directed at them.

It is said that when Onikokuou found Nozomi, his voice boomed like a great crash of thunder and all who heard it fled their homes in a mindless panic. Wracked by sorrow, Onikokuou tore off his armor and dispelled the illusion of his humanity. In his true oni form, he picked up the body of Nozomi and left, taking her far into the mountains above the palace. When he reached the highest point, he laid her down against the cold stone. Her skin was nearly as white as the dress she wore, her body devoid of blood. Onikokuou stroked her cheek, staring down at her with his monstrous visage. He had experienced what it was to love, and if he could help it, he would not let it go.

Onikokuou placed his thumb on Nozomi’s chin, pressing down, opening her mouth. In his other hand, he held a tanto. His arm hovering above Nozomi, he cut into his forearm, creating a deep gash. Blood began to seep out and stream down to his wrist, finally falling, drop by drop, into Nozomi’s waiting mouth. To replace the blood she had lost, he gave her his own. To replace the life that had been taken from her, he gave her his oni spirit.

After Onikokuou went into the mountains with Nozomi, legends began to arise about the palace he had abandoned. The people claimed that it had been cursed and that anyone daring to venture near would never return. Some even claimed sightings of Nozomi, saying that she now came forth at night, her skin a gleaming white and her eyes the color of blood. They said she would come, beckoning, and regardless of their fear, those who looked into her crimson eyes were lost to her enchantment. She would drain them of their blood, always seeking to replenish that which the assassin had spilled. Always seeking to slake her constant thirst.

Whatever became of Nozomi, none of the kyūketsuki claim to to know. We continue to feel her, though. She is our Eve—the one to whom each of us can trace our origin. She is the first of our kind. The first to feel the curse of the blood thirst. The first to contend with an existence between life and death. The first to live in symbiosis with the oni spirit and the first to learn to harness that spirit’s power.

And with that power, I draw in the hunter further. His will falters and his senses deceive him. I beckon him as Nozomi beckoned the unfortunate travellers who crossed her path. Very soon, he will keep no secrets from me. Very soon, I will be aware of all he knows of Tomo.

Click “Read more” for credits.

Credits:
Oni (human form)
Hair: Diversity Hair Stephanie – Black (heavily modified)
Skin: freebie from unknown source
Eyes: DarkSkye Designs Skye Free Bronze
Outift: Bare Rose Tokyo Samurai of Darkness
Weapon: HW Oriental Bazaar Iron Rod A

Oni (true form)
Avatar: Asian Inspiration Oni: Silver Tongued, Green Skinned Demon (modified shape)
Hair: Diversity Hair Stephanie – Black (heavily modified)
Eyes: DarkSkye Designs Skye Free Bronze
Horns: Bare Rose Tokyo Deamon Horns
Weapon: Controllable Seppuku by FighterNinja Shan

Oni victim
Hair: light_mohawk by DMAT Allen
Skin: Image (JS) Adan Preview
Outift: The House of Yiyuan Arch Kimono

Nozomi (by sea)
Hair: Cake Sleek – Midnight
Skin: Tuli S5 asian – natural 1
Eyes: Celestial Studios Light Green
Outift: Gion Yukata Female

Nozomi (under trees)
Hair: Cake Sleek – Midnight
Skin: Tuli S5 asian – natural 1
Eyes: Celestial Studios Light Green
Outift: Nah! 7

assassin
Skin: La Sylphide Liliana – Almond – Nude
Eyes: Celestial Studios Dark Green Green
Outift: Giorno Brando [Zensyo] Ninja Cloth Set

Nozomi (kyūketsuki form)
Hair: Cake Sleek – Midnight
Skin: Tuli S5 goth – natural 1
Eyes: Curious Kitties Crystal Red
Outfit: Bare Rose Tokyo Hakutsuru

All pictures taken at Angel Dorei, Orchid Dreams, Gion Project, and Hosoi Ichiba.
Thanks to Wolf Hartnell for his assistance in preparing the poseballs for this chapter.