Katsugami (2 page)

After seeing that the human was
completely healed, Akihana carried him to where the pouch of the
shrine was and laid him there. Dispelling the aura that concealed
her true form as slowly an ayakashi with sparkling jade piercing
eyes and long flowing white hair emerged from the transformation
smoke.

“
Aki-niisama is back!” said an
excited Shinju as he jumped down from where he was, running towards
his sister.

“
Let’s go” said Akihana as they
began moving towards the Tori gate, at the last moment she turned
to cast a lingering glance at the human who lay asleep.

The force of their aura opened the
gate as they moved through it into the world of the yokai, a world
where duty awaited their return.

Chapter 7

On passing through the Kimon gate
into the yokai world, they moved swiftly heading towards the
Onikisu family home which on getting there discovered the head of
the family waiting at the entrance.

“
Welcome Otosama, I have
successfully brought Aki-niisama as you requested” said Namika
while bowing as the others did the same.

“
So until I called for you, if not
you’ll have stayed in the human world?” asked
Yuudai-sama.

“
Otosama it is not my wish to be
away from the family, I only wanted to seek out something different
even if it meant leaving all I know; but when it comes to
fulfilling my duty I’ll always be here to do so” even as she said
this Akihana knew deep in her heart that they were only words said
to please her father.

“
I expect nothing less from the
one who would one day succeed me in carrying on the tradition of
the family, now that it is settled let us all go in and discuss
what I have in mind as to the structure to be built for the
Naginata family” with that they walked behind their father, placing
so much distance between them.

Sliding the door leading to the
family meeting room aside only to see their mother still seated
where they left her, bowing to greet her before each took their
respective seat at the table.

“
Now that we are all here, let me
make something clear. Akihana’s duty is to create the finest
structure depicting the image of the wife of the Naginata family
and their new born child, the stones to be used must be white in
order to enhance its beauty, this task can only be done by the one
who is the most gifted among us”

Surprisingly the one who decided
to speak was Azami-sama saying “Permit me to say this but Anata
“darling” what you want Aki-chan to do may be beyond her abilities
for now, why not ask her to create something that only she can do.”
In a quiet voice which portrayed her deep respect.

The tension in the room was so
intense such that a lesser yokai would have been obliterated on the
spot, as each waited to hear the response of the family head and
hoping it would not cause the situation to turn out for the
worst.

“
It doesn’t matter whether or not
you think her ability isn’t up to the task at hand, because your
fear of if she can succeed is of no importance compared to the
family honor that is at stake if we were to fail Haruki-sama and
his wife Fuyuko-sama who came to us to create something precious to
symbolize the happiness they received when Minoru-sama was
born.

Our very existence among the noble
family of higher ranks depends on this.” he said with a resolute
look neither of them dared to say anymore after he
spoke.

Standing up from where she sat
with a slight bowing saying “Thank you Otosama for always having
the best interest of everyone in the family, I’ll do my part not to
fail you and if you’ll all excuse me I will like to rest because
I’m exhausted from maintain the human state for too long.
Afterwards the preparation for the Naginata structure would
commence, it should be ready by the next day.” all the time she
spoke there was a bright smile on her face which remained even
after raising her head before turning to exit the room, for it hid
the bitter anger and sadness residing in the deepest part of her
heart.

Watching her daughter leave
brought a lingering sadness to Azami-sama, as one who had lived the
onikisu life, she knew it was a hard path to follow especially for
one so young and talented but her husband’s words were law and
there was nothing she could do about it.

“
Namika, Shinju see to it that she
has all the help necessary to complete the task ahead before the
deadline” he said before taking his leave in the same fashion as
his daughter.

“
Your father has our best interest
although his ways may seem a little extreme at times but it is only
to keep the family legacy alive…” said Azami-sama who was
interrupted by her daughter.

“
Did you mean the family title
because that is all I can see Otosama is fighting for.” Said Namika
as her eyes blazed with the fury she felt within.

Azami-sama wisely chose that
moment to quietly leave the room because in time past she had found
it useless to reason with her youngest daughter whenever she was in
a raging state, the only way out was when no one paid any attention
to her actions.

Akihana chose to lay down on the
multicolor futon in her room, pulling the cover across her body
with eyes closed freeing her mind to recall her encounter with the
young onmyouji; as this brought a true smile on her
face.

“
I wonder if he has already woken
up, this is one of those times that the gift of foresight would
have been useful not that I’ll ask Ayumu-sama for any help, our
standing among other noble family is nothing compared to one born
into the greatest noble house in the entire yokai world.

It is most likely my path and that
of the human were never meant to cross again.”

Slowly shutting her mind from the
memories, that was precious to her but at the same time painful as
she entered into the resting state.

Author’s Note

Hi, my name is Debbie Olive
thanks for reading Katsugami, the full release will be out soon. If
you enjoyed this, check out my newly released book Hikari also
written by me as Lolah Runda.