#Airisu: The Crow and the Witch

Okiku Omen (Sumika POV): Post 31
#Wss366 Kindle

As soon as I found Airisu a place to roost and went to bed myself, I fell into a sleep as deep as a well.

Once again, I found myself in a stranger’s body. This time, the sky was nothing but a circle above. Stone walls encircled me. But I paid no attention to that; my focus was on a set of plates that hovered in the air.

“One plate…”

“Two…”

I was cold, so cold. Water lapped around my waist, numbing the bruises from a beating. The weight of my waterlogged kimono threatened to drag me into the dark depths.

“Three…”

“Four…”

“Five…”

The moon hung above in an ice-black sky.

“Six…”

It was a sphere, not unlike the white china plates that passed through my hands.

“Seven…”

“Eight…”

Smooth, flawless plates, beautiful like a woman’s skin with fine blue lines like veins.

“Nine…”

“Caw, caw!” I looked up, my counting interrupted. On the rim of the well perched a crow. The moon #kindled a violet fire around its silhouette. “Caw, caw! Wait! She is coming,” it said, then croaked out three lines of verse:

Muddy lotus
The water purify
Fragrant dawn sun

Then it departed as the water swallowed me once again.

#TootFic #MicroFiction #NMFic #Crows #Otherkin #Fantasy #UrbanFantasy #SlowBurn #Yuri #Yokai #serial

#Airisu: The Crow and the Witch

Mikaeri Zaka/Look Back Ridge (Sumika POV) Post 27
#Wss366 Crow

“A ghost!” Mori-san’s voice shook.

“Shhh,” Sis hissed.

“Shine! Just die! Wither up and die. Shine, shine, shine!” the spirit raved, the leaves crunching as it approached.

For a moment, I thought the wraith was addressing us, and I froze. I felt its unseen eyes on me.

Instead of advancing toward our encampment, the specter floated into the grove, stopping in front of one of the ginkgo trees. As terrified as I was, I couldn’t help but notice it blocked our retreat down the trail. Escape would mean plunging into the dark forest surrounding us.

Silence fell, and I held my breath. Mori-san was trembling next to me, and I heard Sis breathing heavily.

The ghost hovered close to the ground and continued to mutter. Suddenly, a flicker of light appeared, growing until it surrounded the figure. The glow revealed an apparition wearing a white kimono. Thankfully, its back was turned, obscuring its face. I imagined a bloated, black visage with paralyzing eyes.

I dropped my gaze in case the spirit spun around, and I saw feet in incongruous sneakers. Relief flooded my body for a moment. It was a woman, not a yuurei! Then the feeling fled. How was a crazed human any better!?

Finally, three lights appeared, floating up until a crown of candles settled on her head.

“Ushi no koku mairi,” Sis whispered. “Who’s she cursing?”

Suddenly, Mori-san was in motion. “I’m getting out of here,” she said, bolting out of our camp.

“Iyada!” Sis grabbed my arm, pulling me to my feet, and followed her friend.“Idiot!”

The white-clad woman loomed before us, blocking the way. She turned, so the candles illuminated the face of a college-aged female with round features, tangled short hair, and deeply slanted eyes. She held a mallet in one hand and a straw doll in the other. On her breast was a mirror. The scene was straight out of a horror movie.

Mori-san tried to dodge past her, but the woman dropped the hammer and grabbed her instead. The instrument fell to the ground, sparks flying as it struck a rock. The two of them spun around. I was so close to them I could see spittle fly as she shouted, “Vermin! Spies! Die!”

My shoulders crashed through the brush alongside the trail. Branches whipped at my face as Sis and I tried running past. Blinded, I tripped when my foot hit a root, causing my sister’s hand to slip from mine.

The next thing I knew, Mori-san had seized my shirt, pushing me into the woman. “Take her!”

We all stumbled, and our captor lost hold of the Sis’s friend. She dropped the doll and grabbed me by the hair. “Blood for blood! I’ll give you to him!” she #crowed.

#TootFic #MicroFiction #NMFic #Crows #Otherkin #Fantasy #UrbanFantasy #SlowBurn #Yuri #Yokai #serial

#Airisu: The Crow and the Witch

Mikaeri Zaka/Look Back Ridge (Sumika POV) Post 26
#Wss366 Murder

Dusk soon rolled around, blanketing us in twilight shadows. My sister and her friend talked while I watched violet fireflies flit over the spring. Somewhere in the distance, an owl hooted, which was supposed to be a good omen, something about its call being related to the triple jewels of Buddhism.

When the last of the light departed, we began exchanging scary stories. I told a tale about the ghost in our school bathroom. “If you knock three times on the third stall at 3:00, she’ll appear and ask you to play,” I said.

“Yes, yes,” Mori-san interrupted. “And if you agree, she’ll drag you down the toilet and off to hell.”

“No, she cuts off your head and plays ball with it,” I responded. “And if you’re going to be like that, I won’t tell any more stories.”

“Big loss,” she said.

Sis finally stepped in. “Leave her alone. She’s only in the sixth grade. Besides, that’s how the story went at our school.”

After that, I wouldn’t speak and eventually dozed off while the other two girls talked.

My sister roused me later, saying, “Wake up! It’s the hour of the ox. If anything’s going to happen, it’ll be now.”

I was sleepy and cold, but sat up anyway. The cicadas had fallen quiet, and the fireflies had disappeared. When I peered out from where we’d hidden, the ginkgo trees were barely visible, like silent monks waiting for something. Even the wind seemed afraid to disturb the stillness.

Yawning, I muttered, “I want to sleep.”

I was about to close my eyes when Mori-san spoke. “Hush! Someone’s coming!”

That woke me up. Who could it be at this hour? Was it an oni or the lady with her head on backwards?

Soon, we heard a female voice ranting: “Shine (die), shine, shine! I’ll #murder you, cunt. I’ll kill you!” A peal of laughter followed.

The railing grew louder and louder until an apparition appeared, floating up the trail. I shivered; it was an onryo, the most terrifying type of ghost, bent on revenge, coming to get us.

#TootFic #MicroFiction #NMFic #Crows #Otherkin #Fantasy #UrbanFantasy #SlowBurn #Yuri #Yokai