THE SMOKE OF LIGHTWEIGHT FABRIC ♦ oneshot

A caterwaul rang out in the dead of night, sending a piercing chill through the spine of all who could hear it ringing in their ears. The night was almost pitch black, with slight streaks of navy lacing across the sky, and creating a plaid pattern with the dark clouds which followed the wind, rather than the stripes of hues in the sky. A bright full moon hung overhead, reflecting the light of an invisible sun, whose existence was only proven by the knowledge and memory of daylight. The gray rabbits, or spots, on the moon could be seen quite clearly, as the milky colored rock from space released a faint hazy glow from all around it to illuminate the landscape of the night. The lines of distinct shapes had long faded out ever since twilight, and the mystique of the time of day brought about the prowling creatures of midnight, who dared not to set foot or rest eyes on golden sunlight. Only silver moonlight would do for them, as it was really all that they had ever known.

Another cry disturbed the peace of the forest as it echoed off of the empty air, ricocheting off of the pockets of space, as if it was solid and a great conductor of sound. No stars were overhead to witness what was occurring in that loud scene. Only the moon, alone in its full glory, was able to view the world below and find the answer to the question all of nature was asking, were they in earshot. What was that sound? Such a reverberant and full noise, yet it only issued from one individual from below. The cry tore from her lips as another shot was fired at the figure, who was already attempting to run from angry shouts from behind. Nevertheless, they were far quiet in comparison to her. She ran, and they pursued, and the cycle continued. She had already been shot at by magical bullets from the angry men who gave chase. The child was in tears, unable to fathom the reason behind the actions of those people. Had she done something wrong?

The small girl continued to race through the trees, which were great hardwoods mixed in with some tall, slender pines that rose up to almost completely try to shroud the moon, only to fall short with their thin needles and fail. The child could not focus on the beauty of the night scenery, however, as she tried to keep traction on the ground with her bare feet. The needle like leaves of the pines, when piled together, proved to be extremely slippery. The little girl had managed to slip a few times, thanks to them, which was where an energy-based bullet had found its way to her upper arm as she had attempted to recover. Eventually the pine trees gave way and thinned out, with the hardwood and coniferous trees in the mix being replaced with bright birch trees and aspens. These unique trees almost reflected the silver moonlight with their white bark, only for the column of wood to be disrupted by the dark, horizontal stripes painted in steaks sparsely along the trees. In autumn, the aspens gave way to bright golden leaves that were like light, delicate coins being held to the sky by the trees themselves, as if they were some sort of bright offering to the blue. The birch trees more or less mirrored their cousin aspens in the same regard, only on a slightly less grand scale and with a different shape for their nutrient-creating leaves. When the wind blew through the treetops, a soft musical rattling could be heard, as if the spirits of those great and beautiful trees were whispering amongst themselves, repeating the latest gossip or sighting from the forest floor below.

It was beautiful, night or day, and this was what the girl would have liked to remember. Only, such a thing was impossible. Memories and nostalgia of the place was replaced by rushed adrenaline and desperate cortisol. The elements flowed through her veins, increasing the speed of the blood flow and forcing her mind to think about nothing but the present, what was directly ahead in her footsteps, and her own speed as she ran away from fear itself. Only thought of those in pursuit gave her claws and bare feet traction against the slippery ground.

The wind sent many different scents her way. The smell of pines and their crisp needles was wafting from both above and below, the ground and the canopies, as well as from the wet wood of the morning dew on the birches and aspens and great oaks. Even though there was no sunlight, and it was near midnight, the dew had already been forming in the cold and musty air of autumn. Along with that smell flowed the stench of humans from behind. The sweat that perspired off of them from the exercise of the chase, along with the smell of burnt wood, flames, and smoke from their torches and lanterns sickened the young girl. Their weapons did not scent of steel, iron, or any kind of fine metal, however, being purely made of magical energy. Another volly of bullets was directed towards the girl, making her cry out as one found itself into her shoulder. She somehow managed to mystically dodge and avoid the other bullets, but how much longer would this last? Her pursuers were not tiring, so how long would it be before they finally caught up?

"Tsk, tsk, little Nekomata, what kind of trouble have you gotten yourself into?"

That voice would have startled the child, only it failed to break the deep concentration as she ran. Her chocolate-furred ears failed to even pick up on or percieve the sound, as it went unnoticed. Her citrine hued eyes could only focus on what was ahead, to avoid running into a tree or slipping on more pine needles.

"Playing too long, too close to humans, you are. What have you got chasing you?"

The sound could only reverberate in the subconscious of the feline girl as she continued to dash through the woods. If anything, however, it was as if the voice was growing closer.

"Monsters, they are."

"Monsters...?"

That time, the girl could hear the sound of her voice and the new, deep, silky, feminine voice that spoke to her, almost as if it were inside of her thoughts. Yes, the ones chasing her were indeed monsters. Nothing could deny that. They tried to hurt her, because her disguise had broken in her youth. She now possessed what she had before, the chocolate-furred ears, claws protruding from her finger and toe nails, as if she were a beast, and worst of all, two tails coming from her rear instead of just one, each with a white tail tip and nearly identicle in appearance. This alone was an ill omen, and proved that the child was not a Bakeneko, but a Nekomata, as if her youkai nature was simply not enough to get her in trouble.

The child began to feel her steps get heavily as she trodded in bare feet on the thick dried foilage on the forest floor, all of it dead and betraying her location from the crackling noise. Even the whispering and gossipping trees up above could not conceal the noise she made with their chatter. As she ran, her vision became clouded, and her eyes began to itch somewhat, and sting. The atmosphere around was covered in smoke. But how? Surely it could not be like last time, where she had narrowly escaped! Her father had managed to pull her from the thick, choking, suffocating air along with her older half brother. As for her older half sister and full blooded twin, where could they have gone? All but separated, and when the family returned, even their corpses must have been taken in that forest fire. Tsubomi... what could have happened to her?

It mattered not, as the one who saved her became the young Nekomata's world. Mikuni had saved her when she had finally become separated from her half brother and father in that wild fire. From there, the child had become somewhat obsessive over her hero, determined to prove herself to the slightly older feline, who always seemed so calm and peaceful. Despite the outward appearance, however, Mikuni had their quiet plots ceaselessly running through their mind, and while they had been against it at first, the child soon approached a certain someone who her hero was quite familiar with... that was when it all had changed. She soon discovered magical powers all her own, granted by that source, and once more was determined to prove herself to and protect Mikuni. But why... no, how did it turn up like this?

The smoke in the forest had finally brought the Nekomata down, choking her enough to knock her unconscious as she quietly and mindlessly waited for death to deliver her from the scene, and from the fear. The attackers that were humans no longer approached deep into what was not mist or dense fog, but a thick and deadly smoke filling the woods. Even the gossip from the trees had ceased, as there was no wind to blow out the dark spawn from fire. Only, there was no fire, yet the life all around continued to hold their peace and keep the silence. By the time that citrine eyes opened again, the child realized that she was no longer in her humanoid form, but had safely returned to the shape of a small feline. Her fur had sable and sepia patterns, making her chocolate fur ever so slightly darker on the face, ears, paws, and tail, save for the white tail tips and white 'locket' on her chest, marking her fur. It did not take long for the Nekomata to realize that she was not resting on the floor of those haunting woods, but instead found herself on a bright green cushion of sorts, obviously man made, or was it?

"You certainly did sleep a long time, young Nekomata," a voice suddenly sounded, making the feline instantly raise her head in fright and swivel her gaze around, looking for the figure. It was not but heartbeats later that the cat realized that she was resting on a couch of sorts with a bare polished wooden frame, and sitting next to her was a woman. The woman wore bright garments, blood crimson on the base, with patterns of all different sorts of colors depicting misty flowers, designs, and wildlife. Lining each shape of the kimono was metallic gold and silver threads, giving a sharp shine to the overall appearance of the gown. The obi, or belt, was maroon and gold in color, and tied neatly in a ribbon from behind, as far as the young youkai could guess. The woman had extremely long hair, going well beyond her waist, that was pitch black in color, matching the hue of shiny, well polished, obsidian. The person's eyes were red in color, but not bright, instead portraying a rather dull but striking shade as she gazed at the sepia cat, her lips pursed, but smiling subtly. Was this a human? The feline could only stare at the person in shock, feeling her adrenaline beginning to pulse again, forcing her brain to choose between fight or flight.

"Who are you?" the Nekomata kitten hissed, unsheathing her claws and baring her fangs, preparing herself to leap up and run away. She was not a good fighter, even with her magic, as time proved to her over and over again.

The woman only gazed patiently at the feline, holding a pipe in her hands. She took a long inhale through the black pipe before breathing out a stream of smoke, which hauntingly reminded the kitten of the supposed night before. "It is rude to not introduce yourself first to the one who saved your life, yet I suppose I can excuse a child, who may not know any better. My name is not important right now, however, though I suppose you can call me Kemuira. Now, child, please introduce yourself so we may get pleasantries out of the way."

Forcing herself to sit up with an indignant huff, the cat stared at the red-eyed woman through her own yellow-tinted citrine eyes. "I'm Rekiri," she said in a stubborn manner, with nothing else to add.

"Well it is nice to finally know your name, Miss Rekiri. So it was you who was out contracting with a Daemon that finally brought you to deal with all of this misfortune? Yes, I know of Alyssa, and I can read how you received your powers. You are a Youkai created, not a Youkai born, is that correct?" Kemuira asked the redundant question, waiting for hopefully an honest response from the little feline.

Rekiri glanced away for a few moments, almost as if she were completely unwilling to answer. How did the mysterious lady know so much about her? She was tempted to lie in order to speed the process of getting her out of the situation, but if Kemuira already knew so much, would she be able to tell if she was not telling the truth? Breathing out a defeated sigh, the Nekomata decided to answer honestly, even if it was against her will. "That's right. But I don't care about those details. I just have to find Mikuni, but haven't been able to track down any trace of her. If you know so much about me, don't you know where she is?" Rekiri pleaded, flicking both of her tails in an agitated and anxious manner.

Kemuira took another inhale through her pipe, appearing to think about the question before responding, once she had relieved her lungs of the fierce smoke. "Your friend currently does not exist in this world; there is no use trying to find them. They are neither dead, nor alive," the woman bluntly stated, gazing solidly at the kitten with her red-hued eyes.

The words struck the Nekomata like lightning. Not alive, or dead? What type of sick joke was this supposed to be? That could not be the case! True, it had been many months since she had last seen her hero, her love, but that could not mean they simply had ceased to exist! "Do not allow yourself to despair over this. I am sure they are elsewhere, in another plane or world. Nothing can ever have their existence erased completely, out of existence itself. That is not the flow of things."

"What do I do, then?" Rekiri asked, attempting to force a hiss, but only succeeding in releasing a small, embarrassing, meow. Kemuira only widened her grin ever so slightly, but kept her lips tightly sealed as she watched the young feline. "I can fulfill your wish, and take you to where your friend, Mikuni, is, but nothing comes free of charge. In turn, I will need your full cooperation for the next few years; until you completely stabilize as a Nekomata Youkai, it will be impossible to send you to another dimension anyway. If you ally yourself with me, I can promise you I will grant your wish."

"This... sounds like what that Daemon, 'Alyssa', said back then. What do you want, another contract?" the cat child growled, standing herself completely up on all four paws. She was ready to say no to this, only really half believing the woman in the first place. The lady only chuckled slightly before replying again. "Of course not. I am no Daemon- I just expect payment of time or objects in exchange for my services. Five years will be plenty of time; can you commit to that? You may break this agreement at any time, but if you do, it would take five more years for me to grant your wish of seeing your friend again."

What the mysterious lady said once again sounded very reasonable to the child. Despite her immaturity, she could sense no ill will or loopholes in the woman's words. It was nothing to get too wrapped up in either, as it was said that she could refuse at any time. "What do you expect me to do when 'working' for you?" Rekiri asked, forcing herself to sit back down as she wrapped her two long tails over her chocolate-furred paws. Kemuira quickly responded once more in a formal tone. "A wise and intuitive question for someone of your age. In your time with me, I will teach you how to use your powers, so that you may help protect both me and this palace. You will also be required to do basic chores, to earn your keep if you will be staying here. That is all."

"That's... all?" Rekiri asked, blinking her citrine eyes. It seemed so simple, but then again, five years definitely seemed like a long time in her eyes. Maybe it was a fair exchange after all. "In that case... I accept. If you can bring me back to Mikuni, I'll do anything."

Kemuira smiled and nodded before repeating the motion of her smoking once again. "That is all. Do you have any other questions?" she asked upon finishing her smoky exhale, before she watched the Nekomata unconsciously begin shifting back into the form of a kemono human, with some of her feline features, but overall short, brown hair and a delicate frame.

"Just one," the Nekomata responded, moving to her knees in a somewhat formal sitting position, before she continued curiously. "Just what are you, if you're not a Daemon or a human?"

The raven-haired woman only laughed out loud at the feline's question. It was a graceful, melodious laugh that seemed to be genuine, not mocking, and soft and musical to the ears. "No need to worry. I am just another Youkai, like you."

煙羅

The incident from earlier still had the Bakedanuki shaken up. The fact that she had fallen asleep was absolutely unthinkable, especially while she had been in such a hostile environment. The forest still seemed dead, with its dried trees and barrenness. The river was gone, reduced to absolutely nothing except for a rough bed which was covered in sand that, thanks to the gray and dim air of the forest, appeared to be naught but ash. In the veins of what should have been the heart of the streams and creeks was an oily liquid, foul and revolting, which could have been anything but water. The sky overhead was still a faded shade of gray, with clouds blocking out even the tiniest golden ray of sun, casting a looming shadow over the entire landscape. Izayuki had fallen here, and had woken again less than an hour later. Nothing about her had changed though, and there was no sign or proof that she had been attacked. It still boggled the mind of the tanuki, the idea being too mysterious to really even come close to trying to understand.

Footsteps silently continued to tread through the forest, the youkai slipping between the trees in the manner of a spirit, barely stirring any wind or gaslike matter. Her breathing was light, and had one seen her, they would only have considered the Bakedanuki as a figment of their imagination. All, except for the silhouette in the trees, who focused her citrine gaze on the young raccoon dog below. With barely a sound, the figure launched herself downward, away from the dead tree, and aimed to land on and pin down her quarry, bringing it to a complete halt. The Nekomata was no longer a child, but rather, almost a full fledged ayakashi, and very dangerous. Her attack took the ginger-haired girl down below by utter surprise. Who would have guessed that someone would actually be lurking in that dead forest after stalking through it in complete silence. The essence of the woods betrayed what was really there, but the Nekomata had her reasons for what she did. Upon tackling the Bakedanuki, the Nekomata was quick to muffle her to avoid the canine releasing anything from cries or screams to words. Nothing should disturb the quiet and stillness of that deceased place, least of all them.

"Shush," the feline hissed in the tanuki's silver-furred ear as she had completely pinned her torso and entire front side down to the dried earth. The Nekomata refused to allow Izayuki leeway of too much movement. "If I recall correctly, this place was supposed to remain dead, and here you are trampling its grave. Not a wise thing to do, little Bakedanuki," it said in a silky mew of a tone. Izayuki struggled against the kemono cat's harsh grasp as they kept one powerful clawed hand holding her mouth, not even wincing or making any notion of pain despite the canine biting down, while the other hand was gripped firmly around the front of the Obake's neck. "Don't think about trying to transform or use any magic here. Do such a thing, and we won't hesitate to kill you here and now, if you dare disturb the woods anymore."

The Nekomata suddenly pushed Izayuki's back against the same tree she had originally jumped from in order to capture the youkai. Izayuki noticed that the feline had said 'we'... were there others around? Still in shock, the raccoon dog decided to keep quiet, not fully understanding what was going on, or if this was even a real enemy. The feline looked as if she were about to continue. "This forest's spirit was destroyed a while ago, finally put to rest, and here you are, trespassing on its tomb. But I can't blame you too much, after all, she said I would find you here, and told me to bring you back to her. You can either cooperate with me, or I can kill you right now. The protectors of this forest won't be too happy, and even if you escape from me, they will hunt you down and never stop until you've died. I suggest you take the easy way out," the Nekomata said, a sinister grin on her face. She obviously enjoyed threatening others, based on her expression and her tone, but then again, what youkai did not? "If you agree, follow me quietly; don't speak, or you'll regret it. Or you can run now, but if you do, prepare for the worst."

The feline suddenly removed her clawed hand from Izayuki's throat, before taking a few steps back to rest aside and watch what the raccoon dog would do. Izayuki was genuinely perplexed by the entire situation, but upon finding it easier to breathe again, she began to weight the options. Would she really risk the threat of what the Nekomata stated just to escape? It was fight or flight all over again, but with a bit of curiosity about what was spoken of, Izayuki decided to comply with the cat. She was obviously a youkai like the tanuki, so the reasons that the neko had and the person that she spoke of likely were nothing so predictable and as ill intentional as if it were a human who had told her to follow. Breathing out the smallest of sighs and nodding, Izayuki began to follow the Nekomata, keeping her eyes focused on what was directly ahead, and the feline herself, along with the strange two tails she had instead of one, which separated her species from that of a Bakeneko, as she recalled Neyvahn and Habika being.

Eventually, the two ayakashi began to walk into a strange thick smoke that suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Izayuki's guard suddenly went up, but she dared not say anything thanks to the Nekomata's threat. The feline, however, appeared calm as they walked into the smoke, which stung the tanuki's eyes and hurt her lungs, but strangely did not effect the other mononoke. Finally, the Bakedanuki was unable to resist the urge to cough on the rough, hot, gas as it seared her senses and put her emotions on edge. Was this some kind of trap that the Nekomata had set up? If so, why now, and not earlier? Izayuki released a low growl, and reopened her eyes to find the Nekomata staring right at her with a small smirk. "We're here," the feline said, flicking her twin tails proudly, her clawed hands placed snugly on her hips. "My name's Rekiri, by the way. You must be Izayuki Hyoujin Riyoshi, or Riyasu, right?"

"Izayuki Hyoujin, soon to be Izayuki Reiaki," the tanuki corrected with a small growl, still recovering from the smoke. The scenery around them was no longer the dead forest, however, but a brilliant palace with a rather calming and natural theme, as if it was some mesopotamian oasis of sorts. Rekiri only raised an eyebrowl and chuckled slightly, before beginning to walk again, gesturing with her two tails for Izayuki to follow. Begrudgingly, the raccoon dog trailed behind her, already on edge and with her guard up. Rather quickly, the two came upon a large archway with two well polished wooden doors. Rekiri opened one, but stepped aside to allow Izayuki to pass through first. The canine was suspicious, but still curious, and despite her dislike of the entire situation, she still fluffed out her tail proudly and pushed her silver ears forward in a symbol of dominance as she walked through the doors and into the room.

The room was very large, and there was a large opening that led to a balcony, with no doors or windows, only open air. They were obviously up high in a tower of some sort, as she could see the forest as extremely tiny and a sumptuous, orange sunset beyond the horizon. The floor of the room was polished and shiny, and almost reflected the ceiling, the faint light coming in as the sun hid behind the land on the horizon, and Izayuki’s own figure. The walls were rather bare, but still had an intrinsic design of faded, dull, yet somehow vivid colors all mixed in, as if the wall were glass, and not wealthy stone, which it was. There, sitting on a couch with a mound of cushions and large, fancy pillows sat a rather mysterious woman in a very rich, black garment. The kimono was laced with silk, golden and silver designs, and held together and bound by a crimson obi and ribbon. The lady had raven black hair, and dull, red eyes that betrayed almost no emotion. There was, however, a small smile on her face as the raccoon dog dared to walk further into the room. The woman held a lovely wooden pipe for smoking in her hands, and by the time Izayuki stopped a few meters before where the woman sat, she had already taken in an inhale and was exhaling out a white stream of fresh smoke. "Hello there, little Bakedanuki, or should I say, Miss Izayuki Hyoujin? I suppose I should not address somebody by what they are, if it is all a lie, would you not agree?"