Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Muma Oni - The Succubus Demon ❯ Two? ( Chapter 15 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: Levante01 
Miscellaneous: Original Stories Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Drama / Comedy / Action | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 12.30.2009 | Pages: 3 | Words: 2.4K | Visits: 179 | Status: Completed
Miscellaneous: Original Stories Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Drama / Comedy / Action | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 12.30.2009 | Pages: 3 | Words: 2.4K | Visits: 179 | Status: Completed
“Cherry blossoms are so beautiful,” Ina said.
It was the four of them: Sato, Ina, Kanate, and Otta. They were walking up the path to the shrine. Sato wanted to check it out to find any kind of clues to possibly calming the phantom demon. Muma remained in bed, having come down with a cold from saving Sato the night before.
Cherry blossom petals littered the steps that led to the shrine. Ina gazed at them in their glorious beauty as the petals flittered on the winds.
“You guys are so lucky,” Ina continued. “We won’t see any cherry blossoms in Tokyo for another month or so.”
“We’re not that lucky,” Otta said. “They become a nuisance when it’s my turn to clean the shrine.”
“I know what you mean,” Sato said. He remembered last year when the cherries blossomed. It took him a month to sweep up the first fallen ones, and by that time even more had fallen.
Otta looked to his sister. “What’s wrong, Kanate?” he asked. “You’ve barely spoken since our guests arrived.”
Kanate shook her head and replied gently, “It’s nothing. Don’t worry, Otta.”
The shrine was larger than the Kannin shrine. Sato was surprised by its vastness. Otta led them straight inside. The hall was long. At the end was an altar half as tall as any of them, only reaching their waists. Otta turned to Ina and Sato.
“This is where we pray for the shrine’s wellbeing,” Otta explained, “and for other things we deem necessary to pray for. Before the phantom appeared, we’d pray here every night. Now, though, it’s too dangerous to come up at night.”
“Why’s that?” Sato asked.
“The night after Kanate’s incident,” said Otta, “we came up here to find a horrible surprise. The groundskeeper was pinned to a tree, a ghostly sword stabbed straight through his heart. And spirits surrounded the body as well, keeping us from getting too close to it. We couldn’t get him down until morning.”
“That’s awful,” said Ina.
Otta nodded. “Since we took the groundskeeper down we’ve barely been up here. Sato, you and your grandpa are our only hope. We’ve tried many things to calm the spirits; we’ve tried charms, talismans, incantations, prayers, the lot. We’re out of options.”
Sato nodded. “I understand. A friend of ours in Tokyo is a demon hunter. Maybe I’ll give her a call and get advice.”
Ina sighed. “Go figure we should’ve brought her with us.”
“Someone has to watch the house,” said Sato as he headed back to the door of the shrine. He stopped at the door and turned back to the others. “I say we have a stakeout tonight. Kanate, I know this deal still frightens you, so you don’t have to if you don’t want. But the rest of us, we should come out tonight and watch for anything suspicious. Maybe showing the phantom we’re not scared will make it think twice.”
“That sounds like a good plan,” Otta said. “I have some walkie-talkies we could use to contact each other if anything weird happens.”
“Great,” Sato said.
“Um,” Ina interrupted, “I think I’m going to stay inside with Kanate. I saw that thing, and it gave me the creeps.”
Sato nodded. “Looks like it’s just you and me, Otta.”
“Right,” Otta said. “Let’s start preparing.”
***
Sato sat in front of the shrine that night, drinking a cup of tea. Ina made a thermos for him. She claimed it would help keep him focused, and keep him warm. Sato smiled as he drank, glad that Ina always thought about his wellbeing.
Ina wasn’t the only one either. Before they left the house, Otta and Sato got into it about where they would watch over.
“I’m going to the pier,” Otta had said angrily. “Last time you were there you almost drowned. I’ve lived here my whole life. I’m better suited for it. Go to the shrine and keep watch there.”
Ina had agreed with him. That was the last straw that forced Sato to take watch at the shrine. Sato sipped his tea. It was boring watching the shrine. At least he knew he might see something at the lake. Even though there had been spirits at the shrine once before didn’t mean they’d be there again.
The sun set completely now. The moon was barely over the horizon, looking a tad fuller than it did the night before. A small chill had swept up into the air.
Sato lit a candle and set it beside him. He kept the walkie-talkie beside him as well. He was anxious to see the spirits. He didn’t know if he wanted to actually hang around when they showed.
The wind picked up suddenly. Sato’s candle went out. He found himself in complete darkness without another match to light it. He held the walkie-talkie in one hand and the thermos in the other. He saw a glow appear in the center of the courtyard. Some kind of apparition had appeared. It was in the shape of a small ball. Suddenly it stretched out and formed a normal sized being.
Sato got to his feet instantly and raced toward the bushes at the side of the shrine. There he watched the specter move closer to the shrine. He was too afraid to use the walkie-talkie to tell Otta what was happening.
The ghost got closer. Sato realized then that it was the phantom he had seen the night before.
The walkie-talkie beeped suddenly. “Sato, I see it. The phantom’s here,” Otta said.
“What?” Sato said to himself. How could the phantom be at the lake when it was clearly right there before him?
The phantom stopped suddenly and looked in Sato’s direction. It had heard the walkie-talkie.
“Hold it right there!” a voice called out.
The phantom turned to stare directly at Muma. Sato cursed to himself, wondering why Muma showed.
“Kaiban, I know that’s you!” Muma said. “You’ll pay for what you did. You’ll regret ever trying to kill Sati!”
Muma raced toward the phantom. In an instant she had been put on her back, the phantom holding a hand to her throat. “I’m not Kaiban,” it said. It was a female’s voice. “I’m the one who will release Kaiban Zenochi.”
“No!” Muma cried. “I won’t let you!”
She clawed fiercely at the phantom. The phantom picked her up and chucked her hard across the courtyard and she slammed into a tree.
Sato held the walkie-talkie to his mouth and said quickly, “Otta, I have a situation at the shrine. Hurry!”
He threw the walkie-talkie down and sprang out of the bushes, racing to Muma. He knelt beside her, holding up her head. “Muma, are you all right?” he asked.
Muma looked up at Sato and smiled weakly. “Sati,” she said before closing her eyes.
“Hang in there, Muma,” Sato said.
He pulled off his jacket and placed it under Muma’s head for a pillow. Then he stood and looked back at the phantom that still waited. “I’m not sure who you are,” Sato said, “or what your interest with the shrine is. All I know is that you need to be stopped.”
“You’ll not stop me,” the phantom said, her eyes glowing a bright red.
“We’ll see about that!” Sato cried, racing for the phantom.
A wall of spirits appeared before the phantom, separating her from Sato. They launched at him, forcing him to cover himself. Several of them shot straight through him. He felt his energy being sapped from his body and dropped to one knee. Another shot through him, and he let out a loud cry of pain as he placed both his hands on the ground.
“Stay out of my way,” the phantom said. She stopped as she saw Otta coming up the steps. She commanded the spirits with a wave of her hand to attack him.
Sato looked back and watched as Otta let out a loud shriek of terror and toppled backwards down the stairs before the ghosts even reached him.
“Now,” the phantom said, “Kaiban can be awakened.”
The phantom turned, surprised to see Grandpa waiting at the shrine, Teshi’s sword in his hands. She growled at him, “Go away!” and sent a horde of spirits in his direction.
“Yah!” Grandpa cried as he unsheathed the sword. A tremendous power released from the sword, causing the spirits to disappear.
The phantom scowled. “You’ll not stop me!” She rushed at Grandpa at full speed. Grandpa dodged to the side. The phantom came for him again, sending a shockwave of energy straight for him. He blocked with the sword and slid across the ground, stopping a few feet in front of Sato.
“Grandpa, stop,” said Sato. “She’s powerful. You won’t win.”
Grandpa paid him no attention. He rushed at the phantom. She whipped up a storm of spirits and commanded them to attack. Grandpa once again fended them off, but found himself face to face with the phantom too soon. With a swift blow Grandpa was thrown to the ground next to Sato.
“Grandpa, no,” Sato said, feeling too weak to move. “This can’t be happening.”
He looked up and saw the phantom turn and head for the shrine, entering through the doors without having to open it. Sato placed a foot firm on the ground and used all his might to bring himself upright. It was now or never to stop this thing. He took the sword from Grandpa’s hands and headed for the shrine.
***
The phantom approached the altar. “Finally the day has come,” she said. “Brother should have recovered the gem by now. Where is he?”
“Here I am, dear sister.” Another phantom appeared in the room, holding a moss covered gem in his hand. “Let us get this done.”
“Hold it!” Sato called down the hall.
The phantoms looked to him. The sister removed her mask, showing a beautiful face. “It seems one of our guests hasn’t had enough,” she said.
“I got it,” the brother said, giving the gem to his sister and heading toward Sato.
“I won’t let you release that demon,” Sato said. “I’ll put a complete stop to this now!”
Sato raced down the hall, dragging the sword across the floor. He sprang into the air and came down hard. The brother phantom dodged easily to the side. Sato’s sword smacked the ground and shook from his hand. The brother balled a fist and punched Sato hard in the face, sending him backwards where he sprawled out on the floor.
The brother waved to his sister, indicating that Sato was clearly out. The sister nodded and placed the moss gem on the altar. The entire shrine began to shake. The sister stood back from the altar and watched as it split down the center. Both sides moved away from each other, being dragged by the moving floor, revealing a levitating floor below.
“Brother, let’s go,” the sister said.
The brother nodded and raced for his sister, jumping onto the levitating floor just as it began to lower into the ground.
Sato looked up, feeling the blood from his nose drip down either side of his mouth. “Dammit,” he said. “They’re going to wake him.” He tried to move, but felt his muscles were too weak to bear his weight any longer. He dropped his head back to the floor, wondering what he could do.
***
“Sato, wake up.”
Sato opened his eyes to see Ina looking over him. He slowly sat up and looked around. It was only him and Ina in the room. “What happened?” he asked Ina.
“I’m not sure,” Ina said. “Otta told me you were attacked at the shrine by the phantom. He went up there and fainted at the sight. When he woke up he found all of you passed out and carried each of you here. It took him a while to figure out you were in the shrine.”
“How’s Grandpa? And Muma?”
Ina smiled. “Grandpa is completely fine. He’s a pretty strong old man. Muma is okay too, but has a large bruise. Kanate’s helping her in the bath right now.”
“I’m glad they’re okay,” Sato said. “I saw what was going on. They’re not demons of the shrine. They’re trying to release the demon.”
“They?” said Ina, raising an eyebrow.
Sato nodded. “There’re two of them. There’re two phantoms. They’re brother and sister.”
“We have to tell Mr. Jibushi,” Ina said.
The door to the room slid open. They looked around at Muma who entered. She had only a towel wrapped around her body, and one wrapped around her hair. Her eyes dropped onto Sato. “We need to talk, Sato,” she said. “It’s important and must be dealt with as soon as possible.”
It was the four of them: Sato, Ina, Kanate, and Otta. They were walking up the path to the shrine. Sato wanted to check it out to find any kind of clues to possibly calming the phantom demon. Muma remained in bed, having come down with a cold from saving Sato the night before.
Cherry blossom petals littered the steps that led to the shrine. Ina gazed at them in their glorious beauty as the petals flittered on the winds.
“You guys are so lucky,” Ina continued. “We won’t see any cherry blossoms in Tokyo for another month or so.”
“We’re not that lucky,” Otta said. “They become a nuisance when it’s my turn to clean the shrine.”
“I know what you mean,” Sato said. He remembered last year when the cherries blossomed. It took him a month to sweep up the first fallen ones, and by that time even more had fallen.
Otta looked to his sister. “What’s wrong, Kanate?” he asked. “You’ve barely spoken since our guests arrived.”
Kanate shook her head and replied gently, “It’s nothing. Don’t worry, Otta.”
The shrine was larger than the Kannin shrine. Sato was surprised by its vastness. Otta led them straight inside. The hall was long. At the end was an altar half as tall as any of them, only reaching their waists. Otta turned to Ina and Sato.
“This is where we pray for the shrine’s wellbeing,” Otta explained, “and for other things we deem necessary to pray for. Before the phantom appeared, we’d pray here every night. Now, though, it’s too dangerous to come up at night.”
“Why’s that?” Sato asked.
“The night after Kanate’s incident,” said Otta, “we came up here to find a horrible surprise. The groundskeeper was pinned to a tree, a ghostly sword stabbed straight through his heart. And spirits surrounded the body as well, keeping us from getting too close to it. We couldn’t get him down until morning.”
“That’s awful,” said Ina.
Otta nodded. “Since we took the groundskeeper down we’ve barely been up here. Sato, you and your grandpa are our only hope. We’ve tried many things to calm the spirits; we’ve tried charms, talismans, incantations, prayers, the lot. We’re out of options.”
Sato nodded. “I understand. A friend of ours in Tokyo is a demon hunter. Maybe I’ll give her a call and get advice.”
Ina sighed. “Go figure we should’ve brought her with us.”
“Someone has to watch the house,” said Sato as he headed back to the door of the shrine. He stopped at the door and turned back to the others. “I say we have a stakeout tonight. Kanate, I know this deal still frightens you, so you don’t have to if you don’t want. But the rest of us, we should come out tonight and watch for anything suspicious. Maybe showing the phantom we’re not scared will make it think twice.”
“That sounds like a good plan,” Otta said. “I have some walkie-talkies we could use to contact each other if anything weird happens.”
“Great,” Sato said.
“Um,” Ina interrupted, “I think I’m going to stay inside with Kanate. I saw that thing, and it gave me the creeps.”
Sato nodded. “Looks like it’s just you and me, Otta.”
“Right,” Otta said. “Let’s start preparing.”
***
Sato sat in front of the shrine that night, drinking a cup of tea. Ina made a thermos for him. She claimed it would help keep him focused, and keep him warm. Sato smiled as he drank, glad that Ina always thought about his wellbeing.
Ina wasn’t the only one either. Before they left the house, Otta and Sato got into it about where they would watch over.
“I’m going to the pier,” Otta had said angrily. “Last time you were there you almost drowned. I’ve lived here my whole life. I’m better suited for it. Go to the shrine and keep watch there.”
Ina had agreed with him. That was the last straw that forced Sato to take watch at the shrine. Sato sipped his tea. It was boring watching the shrine. At least he knew he might see something at the lake. Even though there had been spirits at the shrine once before didn’t mean they’d be there again.
The sun set completely now. The moon was barely over the horizon, looking a tad fuller than it did the night before. A small chill had swept up into the air.
Sato lit a candle and set it beside him. He kept the walkie-talkie beside him as well. He was anxious to see the spirits. He didn’t know if he wanted to actually hang around when they showed.
The wind picked up suddenly. Sato’s candle went out. He found himself in complete darkness without another match to light it. He held the walkie-talkie in one hand and the thermos in the other. He saw a glow appear in the center of the courtyard. Some kind of apparition had appeared. It was in the shape of a small ball. Suddenly it stretched out and formed a normal sized being.
Sato got to his feet instantly and raced toward the bushes at the side of the shrine. There he watched the specter move closer to the shrine. He was too afraid to use the walkie-talkie to tell Otta what was happening.
The ghost got closer. Sato realized then that it was the phantom he had seen the night before.
The walkie-talkie beeped suddenly. “Sato, I see it. The phantom’s here,” Otta said.
“What?” Sato said to himself. How could the phantom be at the lake when it was clearly right there before him?
The phantom stopped suddenly and looked in Sato’s direction. It had heard the walkie-talkie.
“Hold it right there!” a voice called out.
The phantom turned to stare directly at Muma. Sato cursed to himself, wondering why Muma showed.
“Kaiban, I know that’s you!” Muma said. “You’ll pay for what you did. You’ll regret ever trying to kill Sati!”
Muma raced toward the phantom. In an instant she had been put on her back, the phantom holding a hand to her throat. “I’m not Kaiban,” it said. It was a female’s voice. “I’m the one who will release Kaiban Zenochi.”
“No!” Muma cried. “I won’t let you!”
She clawed fiercely at the phantom. The phantom picked her up and chucked her hard across the courtyard and she slammed into a tree.
Sato held the walkie-talkie to his mouth and said quickly, “Otta, I have a situation at the shrine. Hurry!”
He threw the walkie-talkie down and sprang out of the bushes, racing to Muma. He knelt beside her, holding up her head. “Muma, are you all right?” he asked.
Muma looked up at Sato and smiled weakly. “Sati,” she said before closing her eyes.
“Hang in there, Muma,” Sato said.
He pulled off his jacket and placed it under Muma’s head for a pillow. Then he stood and looked back at the phantom that still waited. “I’m not sure who you are,” Sato said, “or what your interest with the shrine is. All I know is that you need to be stopped.”
“You’ll not stop me,” the phantom said, her eyes glowing a bright red.
“We’ll see about that!” Sato cried, racing for the phantom.
A wall of spirits appeared before the phantom, separating her from Sato. They launched at him, forcing him to cover himself. Several of them shot straight through him. He felt his energy being sapped from his body and dropped to one knee. Another shot through him, and he let out a loud cry of pain as he placed both his hands on the ground.
“Stay out of my way,” the phantom said. She stopped as she saw Otta coming up the steps. She commanded the spirits with a wave of her hand to attack him.
Sato looked back and watched as Otta let out a loud shriek of terror and toppled backwards down the stairs before the ghosts even reached him.
“Now,” the phantom said, “Kaiban can be awakened.”
The phantom turned, surprised to see Grandpa waiting at the shrine, Teshi’s sword in his hands. She growled at him, “Go away!” and sent a horde of spirits in his direction.
“Yah!” Grandpa cried as he unsheathed the sword. A tremendous power released from the sword, causing the spirits to disappear.
The phantom scowled. “You’ll not stop me!” She rushed at Grandpa at full speed. Grandpa dodged to the side. The phantom came for him again, sending a shockwave of energy straight for him. He blocked with the sword and slid across the ground, stopping a few feet in front of Sato.
“Grandpa, stop,” said Sato. “She’s powerful. You won’t win.”
Grandpa paid him no attention. He rushed at the phantom. She whipped up a storm of spirits and commanded them to attack. Grandpa once again fended them off, but found himself face to face with the phantom too soon. With a swift blow Grandpa was thrown to the ground next to Sato.
“Grandpa, no,” Sato said, feeling too weak to move. “This can’t be happening.”
He looked up and saw the phantom turn and head for the shrine, entering through the doors without having to open it. Sato placed a foot firm on the ground and used all his might to bring himself upright. It was now or never to stop this thing. He took the sword from Grandpa’s hands and headed for the shrine.
***
The phantom approached the altar. “Finally the day has come,” she said. “Brother should have recovered the gem by now. Where is he?”
“Here I am, dear sister.” Another phantom appeared in the room, holding a moss covered gem in his hand. “Let us get this done.”
“Hold it!” Sato called down the hall.
The phantoms looked to him. The sister removed her mask, showing a beautiful face. “It seems one of our guests hasn’t had enough,” she said.
“I got it,” the brother said, giving the gem to his sister and heading toward Sato.
“I won’t let you release that demon,” Sato said. “I’ll put a complete stop to this now!”
Sato raced down the hall, dragging the sword across the floor. He sprang into the air and came down hard. The brother phantom dodged easily to the side. Sato’s sword smacked the ground and shook from his hand. The brother balled a fist and punched Sato hard in the face, sending him backwards where he sprawled out on the floor.
The brother waved to his sister, indicating that Sato was clearly out. The sister nodded and placed the moss gem on the altar. The entire shrine began to shake. The sister stood back from the altar and watched as it split down the center. Both sides moved away from each other, being dragged by the moving floor, revealing a levitating floor below.
“Brother, let’s go,” the sister said.
The brother nodded and raced for his sister, jumping onto the levitating floor just as it began to lower into the ground.
Sato looked up, feeling the blood from his nose drip down either side of his mouth. “Dammit,” he said. “They’re going to wake him.” He tried to move, but felt his muscles were too weak to bear his weight any longer. He dropped his head back to the floor, wondering what he could do.
***
“Sato, wake up.”
Sato opened his eyes to see Ina looking over him. He slowly sat up and looked around. It was only him and Ina in the room. “What happened?” he asked Ina.
“I’m not sure,” Ina said. “Otta told me you were attacked at the shrine by the phantom. He went up there and fainted at the sight. When he woke up he found all of you passed out and carried each of you here. It took him a while to figure out you were in the shrine.”
“How’s Grandpa? And Muma?”
Ina smiled. “Grandpa is completely fine. He’s a pretty strong old man. Muma is okay too, but has a large bruise. Kanate’s helping her in the bath right now.”
“I’m glad they’re okay,” Sato said. “I saw what was going on. They’re not demons of the shrine. They’re trying to release the demon.”
“They?” said Ina, raising an eyebrow.
Sato nodded. “There’re two of them. There’re two phantoms. They’re brother and sister.”
“We have to tell Mr. Jibushi,” Ina said.
The door to the room slid open. They looked around at Muma who entered. She had only a towel wrapped around her body, and one wrapped around her hair. Her eyes dropped onto Sato. “We need to talk, Sato,” she said. “It’s important and must be dealt with as soon as possible.”