S
Saint Anne
Guest
Original poster
--Winter in Oshu-Iwate, Japan 2015--
Ayumi sighed as she let her knees give out, using her back to slowly drop to the floor of the cave. She winced, pressing a hand to her side, willing the stitch to go away. She'd run for too long in the winter cold, resulting in the troublesome cramp in her side.
"The foot steps end at the mouth of the cave!" a mans voice called in the distance, echoing through the rocky walls.
"I'm not going in." A woman scoffed. "He'll have to come out sooner or later."
Ayumi frowned, doing her best to keep her heavy breathing quiet as she listened intently.
The mans voice growled. "She'll have to come back down the mountain soon enough... Let's wait by the overpass."
Finally, after a good fifteen minute wait, the blond sighed heavily. "Thank goodness..." She murmured, dragging her bag into her lap. She shuffled through it for a moment before pulling out her phone, using it as a flashlight. The cave was shallow enough, with a small stone shrine built against the carved out wall. "So that must be why they didn't follow me inside." She mused quietly to herself.
Once more she dug through her bag, pulling out a chocolate bar. If the shrine was what kept those demons away, by all means, she would leave an offering. "Sorry I don't have more..." She muttered, placing the gift down. She said a quick prayer and stood up, wincing as she put too much weight on her sprained ankle. Cold mud caked the side of her legs, plastering her nylons to her skin and leaving her shivering in the winter air.
How did she get herself into this sort of mess...?
Ayumi Hatsumi. The name never did seem to suit the strange girl. Her whole life she had people asking her if she was a foreigner, or if her parents were. Still, it wasn't annoying to explain that she was actually born Japanese. It gave her something to talk about at the very least. Something other then the oddities that seemed to always find their way into her life.
Ghosts, sprites, demons-- the works. Ever since she could remember, strange people had haunted her. Shadows that didn't quite look human. Figures with feather, fur or scales that weren't quite animal. Weird, shapeless masses that carried a putrid stench and that walked through walls or fell through ceilings.
Things no one else could see. Things even more seemed unwilling to believe...
".... Aunt Emiko isn't going to be happy..." She frowned, examining her stained uniform. She'd cut her arm and torn the skirt when she fell from her bike, having tried to out run the odd couple chasing her. A man with no hair and a head too large for his body-- and a woman with purple skin and horns. The same odd couple, who thankfully, warned her exactly where they would be waiting for her. "If I avoid the over pass, it'll take me at least an extra hour to get home."
Even if her aunt was cross, it didn't much matter... She was to move again on Monday-- into a cousin's house. He and his wife had agreed to take her in so she could finish her schooling at a prestigious high school. He was the principal and some how Ayumi had managed to pass the entrance exam with flying colors. As far as she was concerned, the move couldn't happen fast enough...
With a slight grunt of effort she managed to swing the overstuffed bag onto her back once more, rubbing her arms to stave off the cold. For now, she would just have to leave the bike in the woods where it fell. She would have to just follow the river home instead of the road.
With that thought in mind, she turned off the flashlight on her phone, stepping towards the caves entrance. If she hurried, she might still make it home in time to get some studying done--
Her train of though came crashing down as she tripped. Letting out a startled cry, she fell, breaking a rope that had been tied low to the ground across the cave. "Ow..." she swore, rubbing her chin as she pushed herself back up, examining the dry-rotted rope. "What's this doing here--?" She frowned, eying the little bits of white paper interwoven into the frayed strand.
Ayumi sighed as she let her knees give out, using her back to slowly drop to the floor of the cave. She winced, pressing a hand to her side, willing the stitch to go away. She'd run for too long in the winter cold, resulting in the troublesome cramp in her side.
"The foot steps end at the mouth of the cave!" a mans voice called in the distance, echoing through the rocky walls.
"I'm not going in." A woman scoffed. "He'll have to come out sooner or later."
Ayumi frowned, doing her best to keep her heavy breathing quiet as she listened intently.
The mans voice growled. "She'll have to come back down the mountain soon enough... Let's wait by the overpass."
Finally, after a good fifteen minute wait, the blond sighed heavily. "Thank goodness..." She murmured, dragging her bag into her lap. She shuffled through it for a moment before pulling out her phone, using it as a flashlight. The cave was shallow enough, with a small stone shrine built against the carved out wall. "So that must be why they didn't follow me inside." She mused quietly to herself.
Once more she dug through her bag, pulling out a chocolate bar. If the shrine was what kept those demons away, by all means, she would leave an offering. "Sorry I don't have more..." She muttered, placing the gift down. She said a quick prayer and stood up, wincing as she put too much weight on her sprained ankle. Cold mud caked the side of her legs, plastering her nylons to her skin and leaving her shivering in the winter air.
How did she get herself into this sort of mess...?
Ayumi Hatsumi. The name never did seem to suit the strange girl. Her whole life she had people asking her if she was a foreigner, or if her parents were. Still, it wasn't annoying to explain that she was actually born Japanese. It gave her something to talk about at the very least. Something other then the oddities that seemed to always find their way into her life.
Ghosts, sprites, demons-- the works. Ever since she could remember, strange people had haunted her. Shadows that didn't quite look human. Figures with feather, fur or scales that weren't quite animal. Weird, shapeless masses that carried a putrid stench and that walked through walls or fell through ceilings.
Things no one else could see. Things even more seemed unwilling to believe...
".... Aunt Emiko isn't going to be happy..." She frowned, examining her stained uniform. She'd cut her arm and torn the skirt when she fell from her bike, having tried to out run the odd couple chasing her. A man with no hair and a head too large for his body-- and a woman with purple skin and horns. The same odd couple, who thankfully, warned her exactly where they would be waiting for her. "If I avoid the over pass, it'll take me at least an extra hour to get home."
Even if her aunt was cross, it didn't much matter... She was to move again on Monday-- into a cousin's house. He and his wife had agreed to take her in so she could finish her schooling at a prestigious high school. He was the principal and some how Ayumi had managed to pass the entrance exam with flying colors. As far as she was concerned, the move couldn't happen fast enough...
With a slight grunt of effort she managed to swing the overstuffed bag onto her back once more, rubbing her arms to stave off the cold. For now, she would just have to leave the bike in the woods where it fell. She would have to just follow the river home instead of the road.
With that thought in mind, she turned off the flashlight on her phone, stepping towards the caves entrance. If she hurried, she might still make it home in time to get some studying done--
Her train of though came crashing down as she tripped. Letting out a startled cry, she fell, breaking a rope that had been tied low to the ground across the cave. "Ow..." she swore, rubbing her chin as she pushed herself back up, examining the dry-rotted rope. "What's this doing here--?" She frowned, eying the little bits of white paper interwoven into the frayed strand.
Ayumi:
Ayumu:
Ayumi Hatsumi is the girl, the current character. Ayumu is her grandfather. ^_^ Sound good?
Ayumu:
Ayumi Hatsumi is the girl, the current character. Ayumu is her grandfather. ^_^ Sound good?
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