#Airisu: The Crow and the Witch

Mikaeri Zaka/Look Back Ridge (Sumika POV) Post 24
#Wss366 Ghost #MastoPrompt Drama

The year before I moved to the U.S., I was in the sixth grade and didn’t live far from Mount Tenran. That was when I visited the shrine and saw a #ghost for the first time.

But I’m doing it again, showing not telling, so let’s go back.

“Mom, can I spend the night at sis’s friend’s?” I asked.

My mother looked up from packing kitchen stuff. We were selling most of our belongings, but there were still a lot we were shipping to the US. We didn’t know how long Dad would be assigned to the San Francisco office.

“Are your clothes packed? And when have you wanted to spend time with those girls?” came her tired reply. “There’s so much #drama around them.”

“They’re visiting a shrine, and I want to go one last time.” It wasn’t a lie, nor was it the whole truth. It was a test of courage, and the place we were going had long been abandoned. There was a story that if you found the ruins and offered the kami rice, they would grant you a wish. Not cooked rice, raw grain, and lots of it. If you didn’t offer enough, he would cut off your head.

“You can go if all your stuff is packed, and I mean all of it. And we can visit a major shrine this weekend, where you can get a last look at the mikos. They don’t have them in America.”

“Yay!” I loved mikos. As a sixth grader, I dreamed of being one when I grew up. Shrine maiden uniforms were so cute, and they got to speak to the kami.

“Just a moment,” Mom said, leaving the kitchen. When she returned, she handed me some money. “For an offering and to buy yourself a charm.”

“Can I take some rice?”

“Sure, it’ll be done soon.”

She gave me a funny look when I took some uncooked grain and put it in a bag. Then, before she could ask questions, I ran out of the room, shouting over my shoulder, “I’m going to check that all my stuff is packed!”

#TootFic #MicroFiction #NMFic #Fantasy #UrbanFantasy #Crow #SlowBurn #Yuri

#TimeTravelingGhost EP 9: Post 91: 1912 Titanic 2 of 2

#Wss366 Lean #TimeTravelAuthors 04/11. Point

[Continued from previous post]

I put down the first letter, picked up the second, and began reading it.

Today, I visited Dr. Faust to clarify some #points about time-travel.

I’m glad I don’t live in the Middle Ages. It was smelly and uncomfortable-looking. I wouldn’t eat anything there.

The doctor appeared only mildly surprised by my visit and proposed a question exchange, which I agreed to.

• Who or what are the ICE-Nine rabbits? He responded, “I don’t know what ICE-Nine is, but the rabbits are God’s guardians of time.” He seemed serious, though I doubted his answer. It’s more likely that they’re demonic agents. For heaven’s sake, according to that newspaper, they tortured and assassinated me.

• Have you ever tried to change history? He answered, “Unsuccessfully. I’ve tried saving my lover, Marguerite, several times, but to no avail. It takes something big to alter history.”

• Legend has it you sold your soul to Satan. What really happened? He laughed. “The devil, God—are they not the same? I have torn my soul loose from the world, but I have not sold it. I have sworn allegiance to the Illuminated Ones, and they have promised me knowledge beyond my wildest dreams. No matter what history says, I am not wrong. You should do the same before God’s wrath falls upon you.”

I stopped again. “I’m Glad we didn’t visit Faust. It sounds like he’s one of the bad guys.”

Emily waved her hand for me to continue.

There was a knock at the door just then, and my host said, “There they are now. You should leave or be prepared to swear an oath to them. God’s emissaries will show you mercy.”

I did the former. No good could come of dealing with the Illuminated Ones.

“That’s it,” I said, putting the letters down. “I guess we’ll never know how or why they murdered me.”

“Not the details, but I think you got into the soup visiting Faust. Let’s not make the same mistake.”

That was one major option out, so I suggested an alternative. “Given what has worked, I bet it’s possible to visit an opponent of the rabbits.”

“And end up meeting one of those prehistoric monsters we saw in the mural. Bad idea.”

“I wonder if saying ‘meet an ally’ would work better?”

“Might. I #lean in favor of that. But before we decide our next move, let’s get dressed and explore the ship.”

#TootFic #MicroFiction #NMFic #TimeTravel #HistoricalFantasy #UrbanFantasy #Mythpunk #Serial #Slowburn #Yuri

#TimeTravelingGhost EP 9: Post 91: 1912 #Titanic 1 of 2

#Wss366 Lean #TimeTravelAuthors 04/11. Point

Emily nodded in response to my question, so I began reading the first letter.

This was my first trip, so I started conservatively and jumped ahead a week to find the newspaper I needed for Professor Skully. However, time-pressure swept me all the way to April 2026. Things haven’t improved there. According to a student paper, there’s a war in the Middle East. ICE-Nine was running unchecked and was pepper-spraying protesters and killing opposition figures. The newspaper claimed that i9 was behind my murder.

MY MURDER!!!

Why didn’t you guys warn me about that? If I knew more, maybe I could avoid being killed!

I stopped reading to say, “Burned.”

“It wouldn’t have made a difference,” Emily said, shrugging. She then rolled onto her back and said, “Continue.”

I went to visit Professor Skully to learn more about my death. However, I found i9 agents in our building, accompanied by the creepiest rabbits I’d ever seen. At least you warned me about them. Rather than risk being caught, I traveled home right away.

“What do you make of that?” I asked Emily.

“You can travel into the future, but it’s unreliable. You can return to your starting #point. And that you’ve stirred up the Illuminati/Knights Templar/Lapin Cabal. Whatever we’re going to do, they want to stop it.”

“Lapin Cabal, I like that.”

“Did you notice anything else?” she asked.

“Nope, that sums it up. Oh, there was the abbreviation for ICE-Nine.”

#TootFic #MicroFiction #NMFic #TimeTravel #HistoricalFantasy #UrbanFantasy #Mythpunk #Serial #Slowburn #Yuri