Content warnings1
"Young lad."
Tama walked on.
"Young lad in green, there's somethin' important ya hafta hear!"
Tama looked around and noticed a weathered granny sitting in the mouth of the alley he'd just passed, beckoning to him with her wrinkled brown hand. He approached, wooden sandals splashing through the mud. "What's that?"
"Ya got a secret admirer, lad. If ya wait behind the Kannon tonight at the hour of the rat, ya won't regret it!"
Tama's eyebrows rose. "Secret admirer, hmm?"
"Lotsa luck coming your way if ya go," the granny whispered and grinned, showing toothless gums. "Luck an' fortune."
Tama grinned back. He knew very well how fortune tellers worked but was charmed nonetheless and flipped a small coin at her before he went to the theatre. At the stage door he paused. Despite the pastel green kimono bound with a shimmering burgundy obi, despite the stylish hairdo crowned with his prettiest tortoiseshell comb, the fortune teller had seen straight through his facade and correctly identified him as a man.
When he arrived behind the Asakusa Kannon temple that night, the area was eerily quiet. Not a soul in sight but before he could slip away, something white moved under the maple tree across the yard. There stood a figure in a fine cream-colored kimono, so still that his gaze had passed right over them.
They turned into his direction. "Come out," a female voice said.
Tama waited.
"Haven't you come for luck and fortune?" she sneered, steel in her voice.
Slowly, Tama stepped out of the tall grass into the light of the waxing moon. The woman's face remained in shadow under her wide-brimmed reed hat.
"Will you bestow it if I come closer?" He thought of the stories he'd heard since he was a child: of fox fire luring travelers off the road, of demon children who cried pitifully then bit off fingers or worse, of beautiful women turning into soul-sucking monsters behind closed doors.
"I've been watching you. I've come to offer you an opportunity far more valuable than gold and jewels. Hidden knowledge and power beyond your wildest dreams."
What do you know of my dreams, lady?
"Surely there is a price to pay?" Tama asked dryly. This lady seemed too cold, too indifferent to be a kitsune wearing a human mask.
"The price," she began, stepping out from under the tree, "has already been paid. If you accept, your sight will be at our disposal as well."
A trickle of sweat crawled down Tama's spine. "I'd rather keep my eyes, thank you very much."
Now ten feet away, the woman raised her reed hat. Red lips, eyes that shone like fresh lacquer. "Save your breath, boy. That fortune teller… I asked her to send you to me and she obeyed. Ghosts and spirits find me very persuasive, you see."
Ghosts…
Had that granny had a shadow? Had passers-by seen her too or had their gazes passed through her? Had that coin actually hit her? Kannon have mercy. He hadn't checked. Foolish.
Still, he shook his head. "I don't know what you mean."
Blunt force hit Tama without warning in the back. He buckled, tasting grass and dirt.
"Like I said… persuasive."
There was a high-pitched titter. When Tama lifted his head, a white-robed ghost with long black hair and razor-sharp long nails had materialized next to the lady. He tried to let his gaze pass over her, as if he couldn't see. "W-what… was that?"
The lady sighed and that force was back, pushing him into the dust. Another blow landed in his side, hard and fast like a policeman's club. He coughed and stayed down. Not a threat, he thought furiously. I'm not a threat.
"Unfortunately, I can't let you go. Your ability is too rare. Admit it," she snarled as the ghost kept pummeling him.
Tama tasted blood. He'd probably bit his tongue, or his lip. He spat, rolled onto his back. As an actor, a mere human, his strength was no match for a hungry ghost. Already a chill crept into his bones, another sign of their presence.
"Admit it."
He caught a glimpse of the lady's unwavering gaze. It reminded him of the thinly disguised warriors who frequented his pleasure quarter. Like them, she wouldn't hesitate to kill.
"You're right," he rasped. "I can see them." It felt like defeat--even though he was just keeping himself alive. Every single time.
The invisible force disappeared. "Get up," the lady prompted, not unkindly. As he did, grunting and spitting some more blood, he saw that she was smiling.
When he'd straightened and dusted off his kimono, she gave a formal bow. "I am Aika. You have passed the test. I will escort you to my master now… who will be your master as well."
Bewildered, Tama stared at her. He'd worked in the pleasure quarter for years, had known little else all his life, but hadn't he always marveled at the valiant heroes, shrewd demons and beautiful ladies on the kabuki stage? Hadn't he always dreamed of using his sight to do… something? "I still don't know what I'll be learning," he protested even as Aika led him deeper into the trees behind the temple.
"Oh my, didn't I say? You will learn about ghosts, spirits, deities and demons, of course--how to communicate with them, how to control them, how to use them to bend the world to your will. This is what we do. We are Onmyoji, Yin Yang cultivators."
And Tama was silent, still tasting blood, as Aika led him away from the pleasure quarter and the only home he'd ever known.
Blood, mild violence, ghosts