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[rakkiko]

"He eats people, huh..."

For what seemed like an age, she was silent, contemplating the other girl's words. It was very jarring. The first real youkai she'd encountered was a dangerous one, after all. But Hana called the mouth 'Yuusha' and even referred to it as a separate being. So as long as she wasn't neat the mouth, she'd be safe, right?

Moreover, Hana herself seemed nice. She ordered pizza for them, after all. She didn't attack her, and she wasn't going to let Yuusha eat her. So perhaps it would be ok to trust her. She was still somewhat frightened, but she took a deep breath and calmed herself. It wasn't fair to act like this, if there was nothing Hana could do about it.

"... Then, I trust you," She murmured, finally looking into the other's eyes. "It's... A little scary for me, but... I trust you won't let him eat me. I'm sorry for being rude..."

The question had momentarily lulled Hana back into her own mind, a silence ensuing save for the drum of her fingers against her thigh. She remembered darkness and how weak her limbs were, a rusty aroma and searing heat over taking her entire body. And then, ultimately, madness; hasty scribbles carved into the floors of a home, inane babbles and dry sobs as a pale mirror image of herself curls into a ball. Hana wasn’t a cannibal: the answer to a different question entirely. She wasn’t a cannibal but floating in this vague memory told her that at some point in her grim existence, perhaps she was. 

Disgusting.

"He does." She sighed deeply, "He used to. And he wants to. I don’t let him though, it’s very obscene." Her eyes flickered up at the girl’s face, ignoring the fear wafting around her small frame. "This all must be very jarring. I apologize. However, I find no shame in what I am. I reckon that I did once…but now it’s all just become natural for me. And Yuusha isn’t so bad I suppose. He’s a bit foul-mouthed and rude. I can’t go on dates all that often. Bummer."

[rakkiko]

"..."

For a moment, Mamoru was silent, examining the girl before her. This was... Tomie Michishige-senpai, or something? She had vague knowledge of the people in her year and the year above, just in case something like this ever happened, but... No matter how she looked at her. she appeared human. Every aspect was perfectly human, there was nothing out of the ordinary. Part of her doubted herself, that this girl before her could truly be a youkai. But the supernatural energy was definitely coming from her. So that meant that despite her appearance, she was not what she seemed to be.

"You..." She trailed off, shoving her hand into her pocket to clasp onto her charms. Holding them made her feel calmer; though she was careful to keep her outward expression as neutral as she could, she was truthfully nervous about facing another youkai by herself.

"... You... Are a youkai, aren't you?"

A blunt question, but she didn't have time to waste.

Ah, the silence of the empty room in which she was standing in. As if the brightness of the blue yet slightly cloudy sky gave in an extra light source through the windows, Tomie was standing there, embracing the calming atmosphere that always seemed to make her feel tranquil. No one but her was in this room for musical practice, making it a perfect time for practicing. After all, she truly wished to have a career in the music industry when she’s on her own.

Well, at least it could have been a good idea if someone hadn’t suddenly slammed the door open just as she had prepared to sing the first string of words belonging to a song she adored.

Turning around to face the one who was responsible for the sudden interruption, Tomie did her best to not sound irritated. It was another student, probably around her age.

"Ah? Excuse me, but do you need something?" she asked, to this unfamiliar girl.

[rakkiko]

"It's my job. Please step out the way..."

She drew out a sealing charm from her pocket, holding it out in front of her to display it to the youkai girl before her.

"I'm an onmyoji. I won't cause trouble but... I need to investigate this place... Just in case."

Two Entered the Mountain

She nodded. “That’s right.” Something about her…she didn’t like it. Suddenly the girl moved forward without warning. Ran started to move as the girl walked into the village.

"H-Hey! What do you think you’re doing?!" She ran in front of her to stop her. "You can’t just come in here!"

[rakkiko]

[rakkiko]

Chocolate & Salted Caramel Macarons

[rakkiko]

"The cheap man...?"

She'd heard this story once, long ago. Her father's bedtime stories had never been fairytales that young girls would want to hear; they were also stories of monsters and youkai, stories that gave her nightmares when she was young, and she'd wake up crying along with the ghost in their well. She vaguely recalled being wrapped in warm blankets, whilst her father knelt next to her bed, whispering the story to her so as not to wake up her younger brother in the room next door.

She remembered the ending of the story moments before Hana told her. The woman had a parasitic mouth on the back of her head, transforming her into a monstrosity. Her hair became like limbs for that mouth, supplying it with food. Her stomach churned at the thought, though she tried her best to hide her fear. It wasn't something she'd ever want to live with. She couldn't even begin to imagine what it would be like to have another mouth on your body, nevermind one that wasn't originally yours.

"A futakuchi-onna..." She repeated quietly, mulling the information over. It was kind of the woman to keep the other mouth hidden for her sake, and if she had willingly told her what she was... She couldn't be particularly dangerous, could she? "... Does your other mouth... Eat people, too...?" She'd told her that she wasn't a cannibal, but what of the parasite attached to her?

"What I am…there’s lots of stories, most people like to go with the one about the cheap man," She paused to her rest her chin against her palm. Sitting straight up was tiring, after all, and she liked to be comfy when story-telling.

"He was so poor that he couldn’t feed a wife even if he wanted to. But then he meets a woman, this woman rarely eats, and so being the cheapskate he is, he takes the woman as his wife. The woman ate very little and worked hard which made the man happy…but he was really curious: she can work so hard all day but he never sees her pig out on food. And his stores of rice were rapidly decreasing too. So the man pretends to leave for work, but really he spies on his wife. And to his horror, he sees a mouth - big, yellow teeth, long tongue - open up on the back of her skull. And her unbound hair moving around like tentacles as it grabs the rice stores and shoves it into the mouth at the back of her head."

A pale finger pointed up-right, and lock of her hair moved and curled itself snug around the digit. “She’s called futakuchi-onna, the two-mouthed woman. Which is what I am.” She nodded. “The story is just that, a story; my tale to tell is but a mystery, though I wouldn’t be surprised if it went a little something like that.” 

Next, she pat the back of her head, still covered by her hat. “I kept it on so you wouldn’t have to see him. Ugly mug.”

[rakkiko]

yosuzumeko

"Around here... Maybe?"

Strong supernatural presences had been popping up with disturbing frequency lately. There had always been one at school, but it had never really done anything before... Yet, with the sudden appearance of yet more youkai, Mamoru was beginning to worry. Investigating the presence, instead of continuing to ignore it, was inevitable.

It was lunch hour, and she'd wolfed down her bento and immediately set off, sealing charms in hand, to track down the youkai in her school. There weren't many students down this wing of the school, so it wouldn't be hard to locate her target.

Turning a corner, she arrived at some music practice rooms. She couldn't hear any instruments yet, but the presence was certainly strongest here. Taking a deep breath, she followed it for a few more steps until she arrived at the door where it was strongest.

Without warning, she slammed it open and stepped inside, clutching her charms tightly. This was it.

[rakkiko]

"Tengu territory...?"

She had stumbled upon a village of youkai, of all things. Just her luck. She wasn't sure if she needed to seal any of them away -- after all, there hadn't been any incidents involving them, as far as she knew -- but it was best to check around anyway, right?

"... I'll be coming in then..." Blatantly ignoring the tengu girl's last words, the young onmyoji stepped past her and into the town itself, stopping briefly to glance around, before heading off in a random direction.

Two Entered the Mountain

This girl seems suspicious. Something about her was kinda weird. “This is tengu territory. What is your business here?” She examined the girl carefully.  Was she those people who easily gets lost? No. No one would be able to get into this village, let alone be able to see it. However, by the looks of that girl, she had hoped it’d be a lost traveler. “If you’ve no reason to be here, leave!”

[rakkiko]

Frankly, she had no idea where she was. She had gone out for a walk, maybe seal some troublesome spirits... She hadn't meant to wander as far out as she had, and she'd been rather confused by the sudden hidden village she'd stumbled upon. The supernatural energy this place was radiating, however, was off the charts. So as an onmyoji, it was her duty to investigate.

Just her luck -- here came a resident now. Clutching a sealing charm in her tightly-clenched fist, she put on a brave face and approached the girl.

"... Who are you? What... Kind of village is this...?"

Two Entered the Mountain

youkaispit + rakkiko 

[rakkiko]

"... My family... Have been onmyoji for a long long time, so..." She shrugged slightly, glancing about the room, but not really taking anything in. As far as she knew, her family had had the same occupation for centuries; perhaps an ancestor of hers had ran into this youkai before? Who knew. She wasn't sure if her family was famous, per se, but perhaps in circles of youkai, they'd need to be aware of potential threats.

Whilst Hana spoke to the pizza joint worker, Mamoru began to quietly take deep, slow breaths. She had to remain calm. She wasn't in much danger yet, was she? This youkai... Seemed reasonable, though she was hesitant to fully believe her just yet. Her father had raised her on cautionary tales about youkai, and while she was certain there were kind ones out there, she couldn't simply decide that this one was one of them simply because she offered food.

Her eyes widened slightly at the amount the girl wanted to order, however. Was she some sort of eating youkai? She had a feeling she'd heard a story about her species... Moving hair, a large appetite... It was familiar, but she couldn't quite place it.

"... I don't know," She confessed, in respone to the question posed by the other girl. "I've never really... Met powerful youkai before... We have some ghosts and a tsukumogami at home, but they're pretty pathetic..." She began to wring her hands in her lap, glancing at Hana's hair briefly before returning to her eyes. "... What kind of youkai are you, exactly...?"

"Saionji Mamoru…your surname sounds kinda familiar." She clicked her tongue and shrugged, passing one plate to her awaiting hair which towel dried and set both of the plates at the table. Another fluffed the pink sitting cushions, and the last had dialed the number to the delivery place, bringing it over to Hana. She turned around, leaning against the seat as she waited for someone to pick up. Studying Mamoru briefly, she picked up on the change in atmosphere; the girl wasn’t nervous now, no, she looked ashen and frightened. Quivering a little. Hana’s frown deepened, but she chose not to say anything. Sometimes it was better to say nothing.

Finally, the other line picked up.

"Me again, I know." She chuckled dryly, "Aaah…three large cheese pizzas." She paused, then nodded and spoke once more, "Make that four. Yeah, yeah, having a party…sure…okay, thanks." And she hung up, tossing her phone over into some other pile of clothes as she sunk down to the floor, planting her bottom on the cushion opposite Mamoru stood.

"So you probably have questions…or are you more of the ‘seal first, ask questions later’ type onmyoji?" 

[rakkiko]

"Miss Hana..."

She repeated softly, briefly wondering why she didn't have a family name, before deciding she probably shouldn't think about it too much. Perhaps, she thought briefly, the youkai girl didn't have a family anymore. It saddened her to think of that, though she knew pity for a being such as that was probably pity wasted.

"... You have a pretty name," She murmured quietly, as she followed her inside, stopping only to remove her shoes by the door, placing them neatly aside. When she stood again, however, and turned to look at Hana once more, it was all she could do to bite back a scream.

Her hair was... Moving? By itself? This woman... Really was a youkai. It was hard not to say anything, truthfully, as the very sight of it -- so alien, so frightening -- made her feel woozy. Her grip on the charm tightened considerably, her fists clenched, her knuckles white. She wouldn't scream. Not only would that be considerably rude, but she was an onmyoji. She would see much worse than this, eventually.

After calming herself, she followed the youkai inside, trying not to reveal her shaking limbs. She couldn't afford to show fear. Didn't youkai feed off fear or something like that? Or was that just a specific kind...? She couldn't remember anymore. She was too nervous.

"Oh... Um, my name..." Should she give her full name? Her surname? Her given name? She wasn't sure what to do, honestly. "... Saionji... Mamoru."

She made no move to take a seat, however, even after she'd spoken; she wasn't quite comfortable enough for that yet.

Hana did feel a bit bad for lying to the teen, a necessary evil that she’d probably shrug off and forget about within the next half hour. But she took note of the young girl’s wish with a nod, not an emotion passing over her face save for the cordial look in her dark shaded eyes. Couldn’t have her dinner guest feeling uncomfortable in her home, that would be just plain rude. 

Bemused at the question, she stared off past her guest as she answered, “Hana…Hanaaa…yeah, just Hana.” Wracking her brain for her surname, she came up empty handed as usual. Mortals liked having surnames to go with their names she had noticed. She probably had one long ago. It was just Hana now. Blinking her big eyes back into reality, she turned on her heel and kicked off her boots. She slung her coat on a rather large pile of other coats that had formed next to the door, all an assortment of styles and colors. However, she kept the hat on, when typically she would hang it up with the rest of them on the coat hangers. Even the hook where she kept the beanie was bare. A routine broken, it was easy to tell.

Almost as if it was the most casual occurence in the word, a tendril of her dark hair snaked its way into her bag and pulled out a cellphone, decorated to the nines with sparkles and other assorted cute doo-dads. And another thick lock of hair urged Hana’s guest inside with a mock “come hither” gesture. All the while, the young woman trudged over to her sink and began washing two plates. 

"And what do I call you?" She called over the sound of rushing water. "Ah, and take a seat, if it pleases you!"

[rakkiko]

There was another one...?

Mamoru didn't often feel afraid. She had grown up around ghosts, after all. But right at that moment, she felt very young, very vulnerable. She had thought... That this girl was the only strong youkai around here. She had thought it would be simple to take her out. She hadn't even considered the possibility of others being around.

"... OK. But, I want to keep my charm out," She didn't fully trust this youkai yet, even if she did offer her precious pizza. She felt safer having that small protection close to hand. She wouldn't use it on the youkai (yet, anyway), but still... "I... Feel safer with it..."

Nervously, though she tried to mask it, she made her way up the stairs to stand next to the other girl, taking a deep breath before looking her directly in the eye.

"... What's your name?"

Introductions, those were a good place to start, if she was going to enter this girl's home, right? Despite the fact she was terrified, and still considering exorcism, she didn't... Want to eat her. Yet.

"I’m not a cannibal." She stated. Her eyes flickered down to the sealing charm the child held; onymouji, huh? It had been awhile since she had come to blows with one of those. No wonder Yuusha was literally drooling, no wonder the girl’s energy felt so familiar. But this one was young, likely to blunder and not very threatening. The poor thing even considered her offer of pizza. Truce pizza even!

Kill it, the mouth urged. Hana scoffed at the sub-par attempt at coercion. Weren’t the two passed that by now?

She sighed, shaking her head. “The one you should be worried about is the nasty dude in apartment 12.” Her head cocked toward the end of the hall, lights flickering and the walls dirtied. “Stay out here, you’ll definitely become minced meat. Whereas, with me and my…friend…you can get some food in your belly. Just need to put the charm away, yeah?” Hana finally shrugged and shuffled inside her apartment, poking her head out from inside, “Make a choice, girlie. That nasty dude will do a lot more damage to you than I would.”

[rakkiko]

The suspense was killing her. She felt a chill run through her as she awaited a response from the youkai before her -- because she was sure now, she was a youkai. She herself hadn't denied it. And she was certain she'd almost heard something. It felt like those times when she'd thought her father had called for her, but in reality hadn't said anything. It was a strange, jarring feeling. She didn't like it.

The response she received from the older girl, however, was one she did not expect.

"Pizza...?"

She loved pizza. She loved food. For a moment, she was distracted from her intentions. She wasn't allowed to order pizza at the shrine, after all...! But reality quickly came crashing down on her once more, and she violently shook her head, pulling out a sealing charm from her pocket and holding it between two extended fingers.

"I... Won't fall for that," She murmured in that sleepy voiced of hers, blinking up at the youkai. "You're a youkai, aren't you...? If I go in, you might eat me." That's what her fathered had warned her, after all; strong youkai will gobble you up, Mamoru. Don't fall for their tricks.

A girl,Yuusha breathed into Hana’s ear, the words slurred and purring. Hana would have to keep the reigns tighter than ever; fortunately for them but not so much for the stranger, children where the mouth’s favorite delicacy. Hana closed her eyes and huffed, far too exasperated with this situation and nothing had even happened yet. She just wanted to get inside and order her pizza, that’s all. 

Hana stopped at her door, shoving the key inside and pushing the door open. However, she did not go inside.

The girl ended this game of cat and mouse. It’d be rude if the older girl didn’t oblige. Turning her attention to the fluffy haired school girl, the youkai blinked at her with dark and probing eyes.

"I’m ordering a pizza." She responded. "I mean, you’ve been tailing me all this time, might as well feed you too. It’ll give you a chance to apologize for scaring me out of my wits. Rude, rude child with your silly games."

[rakkiko]

She was halfway home before she decided to take her charms out of her bag, and upon realising that they weren't there anymore, she instantly wheeled round and ran back the way she came, a sense of dread curling in the pit of her stomach.

She had been in town, hadn't she? She had split up from her friends to head home for the day, after visiting their usual cafe, hadn't she? Where could she possibly have left them...?

She searched the ground for what felt like an age to her (though it couldn't have possibly been more than fifteen minutes, really) but there was absolutely no sign of her precious charms. She wished she had a shikigami; perhaps then, losing them wouldn't have been so frightening. But without those charms, she had minimal protection against the supernatural, after all.

"Where could they be...?"

Maybe someone had picked them up? Then they'd take them back to the shrine, surely... Wouldn't they? But she hadn't come across anyone on her way back here, and there was only one path to her home.

Left with little choice, the girl began to ask passersby if they had seen paper charms anywhere. She just hoped she could find them soon...

"Excuse me, but you haven't seen a stack of our shrine's charms around anywhere...?"

To be quite honest, he’d gotten lost. The school was on a joint field trip with Mademoiselle Geraldine’s and so they had been allowed to go about as they wished so as long as they returned by curfew.

Originally, he had left the school with his friends from both schools but somehow had drifted apart, thus leaving him by himself. Not that it bothered him, what bothered him more was not being back on time.

His bright blue eyes quickly scanned his surrounding, trying to find something he could recall. It was best to remember certain details until he eventually remembered where he was going so he could return before sundown.

Just as he was about go move, however, an object slid to his feet, hitting his boots lightly, causing him to arch an eyebrow in confusion and look for the owner of… what was it? He didn’t really know, to be honest.

Either way, he knelt down and picked up the item with care, looking around for anyone who seemed to own it so he could return it. It didn’t look expensive, but that usually meant the item was more important. After all, it took a great deal of money to look as if you’d not spent any at all, and Haides had personally achieved that. So he knew this was probably important to whoever owned it, the question was… who?

[rakkiko]

This was both very very good and very very bad.

Mamoru froze momentarily as her target approached and unlocked the door. This was her home, then? It was a decent place for a confrontation, true, but... She couldn't just trespass could she? She was an onmyoji, not a delinquent! But this was... Her duty, wasn't it?

With a heavy sigh, she yanked out a single charm from her pocket, just in case, and bolted towards the door, catching it just in time before it swung shut. As quietly as she could, which was not as completely silent as she would have hoped, she snuck in after the girl and watched for a moment as she headed up the stairs before she realised the grand flaw in her course of action.

There was nowhere to hide.

If that girl turned around, she would be caught. And then what? What could she do? She had some skill in spiritual arts, and of course there were her charms, but would they alone be enough against what could possibly be a dangerous youkai.Would drawing her attention be the safer option? Would it give her an advantage?

She hoped so.

"Hey, miss youkai...!"

If she was wrong about this then it'd be simple to play it off as chuunibyou, right?

The, presumably, teen felt moisture seep down her scalp and neck; Yuusha was far too excited for his own good. Hana made note of this, though did nothing to indicate it, keeping her mind clear and blank. Two mouths, two separate sentient beings, but they shared one mind: there were no secrets between them. He was hungry and the energy their little stalker gave off made his taste buds quiver and Hana’s stomach roll over.

Rounding down the street, Hana’s eyes focused in on the street they had called home for…oh, she couldn’t seem to remember how long it’s been. Apartment complex on top of shops, shops neighboring more complexes; maybe it seemed like a lot of people lived around here, but that was far from the case. Hana knew everyone’s name, where they were at this hour, what building and what apartment number they were and vice versa. To them she was just an enigmatic, pale girl who came home with food stuffed in her cheeks and more food in her hands. And that was fine. It was peaceful. As much as Hana wanted to keep the mouth shut, she also did not want her peace disturbed. 

Reaching into the satchel strung across her chest, she fished out her key as she entered the second building to the left. Only, before she went in, she stopped. Her hand rested against the glass door handle, the other reaching up to adjust her hat as she looked around.

Nothing.

But she still could feel the presence. One last look around, and the lanky young woman continued her way inside and trudged up the stairs.

[rakkiko]

ROBOTS OR DINOSAURS?

"Robots, maybe…?"

[rakkiko]

finissage

Foreigners were exactly that to Saionji Mamoru: foreign. Unknown. Strange in a way that spirits and minor youkai were not. She was curious, admittedly, but her father had always told her not to talk to strangers. That, and there was probably a language barrier, too. Besides, he looked older than her.

Well, whatever, it didn't particularly matter to her. She had to head home soon anyway. He probably wasn't looking for the shrine anyway, so he wasn't really her problem.

"I wonder if that ghost has stopped crying yet..."

Murmuring this to herself, she took one last glance at the foreign man before she swung her schoolbag over her shoulder and began the treck back to the shrine.

What she didn't realise, however, was that her precious sealing charms, usually kept in her pocket, but moved to her bag for today, had gone flying out of her bag as she went. Landing, by strange fortune, at the feet of the foreign gentleman.