Post by clockworkserpent on Jul 6, 2018 14:12:27 GMT
All he remembers is red.
Waves of nausea permeated Hoshiro’s senses. His head felt like it was pounding against his skull. Eyes closed, he moaned in pain.
“Where am I?” he asked himself softly.
Opening his eyes a bit, he noticed he was on a bed, in what looked to be a motel room. As his eyes swept the room, he noticed nothing of importance. He did note however, that every single thing in the motel room was a deep red.
“What..?”
Hoshiro lost consciousness again.
*****************************************************************************************************************************
In Japan, the higanbana is considered the flower of the afterlife. They are said to bloom in hell and guide the dead to their next reincarnation. They are seen mostly close to rivers and cemeteries.
Higanbana were seen on the side of the Kamo river when the city of Kyoto was attacked by a giant oni. Hoshiro was laying prone on the ground, having been attacked by the oni’s minions.
<Hoshiro! Get up! You must get up!> his mother said, frantically attempting to wake the unconscious youth. There were explosions and people running everywhere. Black, bat-like winged beasts darkened the sky, swooping down and slashing at civilians. She needed him to wake up.
A beast noticed them and dived to attack. Hoshiro’s mother reached for a paper amulet from within her robe and threw it at the creature. Hitting it square in the chest, it let out a guttural scream and dissolved into black tar.
She shook Hoshiro harder, and he stirred a bit. <Hoshiro, you must escape! Most of our clan has already perished. This oni is beyond any of us. Quickly, you must run!> she exclaimed in rapid Japanese. Hoshiro’s eyes burst open, and he frowned. He wanted to help; he knew he could. Sensing his determination, his mother clutched him to her chest.
<My son, my only son. You must escape this place. It is too late for us, but not for you. Please listen to me> she pleaded.
Hoshiro was obedient, and he nodded slowly. He wanted to help, but his powers were still developing, and he knew he would be a liability more than an asset in the fight.
Concentrating, he materialized a horse in front of him. In a swift movement, he got on and was about to create another horse when he noticed his mother had not risen from the ground.
<What is wrong, mother? We must go!> he shouted.
His mother only shook her head slowly, and that’s when he noticed that she was bleeding profusely from a wound on her side. <I told you it was too late for us. Now go!> she said.
<Not without you-> Hoshiro started, but a sudden explosion to his right threw him off balance, and his construct dissipated. He fell hard on the ground and rolled a bit before hitting a wall. He gasped as the air was knocked out of his lungs.
<Hoshiro!> his mother screamed. A few people ran past her, but no one stopped to help. Several bat creatures spied her on the ground and rushed in for another attack.
<There is no time> she said. Summoning up the last of her strength, she uttered an incantation before throwing a paper amulet at her son. Hoshiro started to glow bright blue, and he turned in time to see his mother being pulled apart by the bat beasts.
<Mother! No!> He screamed. He couldn’t move, as the spell his mother cast had already started to cause his whole body to fade. He could barely make out her last words to him.
<Hoshiro..live>.
*****************************************************************************************************************************
Her blood spraying the higanbana was his last memory before he blacked out.
He woke up in the motel room again, and his head didn’t hurt as much as last time. He got up from the bed slowly, and tried to get his bearings.
“This room..” he said to himself, before trailing off.
He walked over to a wall, and slowly touched the red wallpaper. “Red like blood. Red like the higanbana’s”, he thought sadly.
He thought of his last memory of Kyoto. There was a huge fight against a large powerful oni. His mother’s sacrifice to help him escape. He remembered she cast a spell on him, and his closest guess is that she had used time magic to get him away from all the chaos.
Rubbing his eyes, he went over to the bathroom, which was also red. He splashed some water on his face from the sink, and looked in the mirror. “I..got older..” he said, as he looked at himself. “This means she really did use time magic” he said.
His reverie was interrupted by a low growl. He realized he was hungry. As he turned to go back to the room, he spied a jar of pickles on a shelf. He took it and opened it while walking. He ate some pickles slowly as he sat on the bed and stared out the window at the sunset.
He didn’t know where he was, or what to do. But at that moment, he felt slightly better.
“At least the pickles aren’t red…”
Waves of nausea permeated Hoshiro’s senses. His head felt like it was pounding against his skull. Eyes closed, he moaned in pain.
“Where am I?” he asked himself softly.
Opening his eyes a bit, he noticed he was on a bed, in what looked to be a motel room. As his eyes swept the room, he noticed nothing of importance. He did note however, that every single thing in the motel room was a deep red.
“What..?”
Hoshiro lost consciousness again.
*****************************************************************************************************************************
In Japan, the higanbana is considered the flower of the afterlife. They are said to bloom in hell and guide the dead to their next reincarnation. They are seen mostly close to rivers and cemeteries.
Higanbana were seen on the side of the Kamo river when the city of Kyoto was attacked by a giant oni. Hoshiro was laying prone on the ground, having been attacked by the oni’s minions.
<Hoshiro! Get up! You must get up!> his mother said, frantically attempting to wake the unconscious youth. There were explosions and people running everywhere. Black, bat-like winged beasts darkened the sky, swooping down and slashing at civilians. She needed him to wake up.
A beast noticed them and dived to attack. Hoshiro’s mother reached for a paper amulet from within her robe and threw it at the creature. Hitting it square in the chest, it let out a guttural scream and dissolved into black tar.
She shook Hoshiro harder, and he stirred a bit. <Hoshiro, you must escape! Most of our clan has already perished. This oni is beyond any of us. Quickly, you must run!> she exclaimed in rapid Japanese. Hoshiro’s eyes burst open, and he frowned. He wanted to help; he knew he could. Sensing his determination, his mother clutched him to her chest.
<My son, my only son. You must escape this place. It is too late for us, but not for you. Please listen to me> she pleaded.
Hoshiro was obedient, and he nodded slowly. He wanted to help, but his powers were still developing, and he knew he would be a liability more than an asset in the fight.
Concentrating, he materialized a horse in front of him. In a swift movement, he got on and was about to create another horse when he noticed his mother had not risen from the ground.
<What is wrong, mother? We must go!> he shouted.
His mother only shook her head slowly, and that’s when he noticed that she was bleeding profusely from a wound on her side. <I told you it was too late for us. Now go!> she said.
<Not without you-> Hoshiro started, but a sudden explosion to his right threw him off balance, and his construct dissipated. He fell hard on the ground and rolled a bit before hitting a wall. He gasped as the air was knocked out of his lungs.
<Hoshiro!> his mother screamed. A few people ran past her, but no one stopped to help. Several bat creatures spied her on the ground and rushed in for another attack.
<There is no time> she said. Summoning up the last of her strength, she uttered an incantation before throwing a paper amulet at her son. Hoshiro started to glow bright blue, and he turned in time to see his mother being pulled apart by the bat beasts.
<Mother! No!> He screamed. He couldn’t move, as the spell his mother cast had already started to cause his whole body to fade. He could barely make out her last words to him.
<Hoshiro..live>.
*****************************************************************************************************************************
Her blood spraying the higanbana was his last memory before he blacked out.
He woke up in the motel room again, and his head didn’t hurt as much as last time. He got up from the bed slowly, and tried to get his bearings.
“This room..” he said to himself, before trailing off.
He walked over to a wall, and slowly touched the red wallpaper. “Red like blood. Red like the higanbana’s”, he thought sadly.
He thought of his last memory of Kyoto. There was a huge fight against a large powerful oni. His mother’s sacrifice to help him escape. He remembered she cast a spell on him, and his closest guess is that she had used time magic to get him away from all the chaos.
Rubbing his eyes, he went over to the bathroom, which was also red. He splashed some water on his face from the sink, and looked in the mirror. “I..got older..” he said, as he looked at himself. “This means she really did use time magic” he said.
His reverie was interrupted by a low growl. He realized he was hungry. As he turned to go back to the room, he spied a jar of pickles on a shelf. He took it and opened it while walking. He ate some pickles slowly as he sat on the bed and stared out the window at the sunset.
He didn’t know where he was, or what to do. But at that moment, he felt slightly better.
“At least the pickles aren’t red…”
