Chapter Text
The weak flicker of oil light can only shine the room so, driving out the dimmed darkness that melts the part of a whole room. It is now past midnight – well, supposedly. Though time warps differently in this realm, so it won’t matter anyway.
In front of him sits a man wearing a vibrant makeup. His hands held a rattan basket filled with flowers; its ingredients were discerned to use for medicinal remedies.
Beside him was a man with a fine long white hair, lengthening all the way down to the mat. His hands are working on compounding the said materials carefully picked off from the man one after another. He will wait enough for herbs fills in the mortar before able to pound those ingredients in another hand.
Whereas another canine-like man is waiting for them to finish a remedy he requests them to make. His tail thumps softly on the mat for every second he waits in patience.
From the end of the vibrant man’s curved pipe, colourful mist trails from its end and drifts the whole room. The man lectures him while he, in turn, listens attentively.
"Form. Truth. Reason; only these three principles are enough for you to seek. There is no need for anything else,”
The other man – Shingi, he addressed – remains a composed face, humming a small noise. The materials have already turned mush and the vibrant man takes no time to insert another batch of flowers, all the while intermixed it with some more drops of essential oils; the way he’s waving his blue kimono sleeves reminds him of when a peacock is about to take a flight.
“Help will not come for you and bring your life at risk. Therefore, your only salvation to get out alive is to bring all these three together.”
He spoken of common practice to unleash the exorcism sword, when the time comes where he’s ready to wield one.
As of now, he’s temporarily residing under Wielder of Ri, whereas his master went away on their travels. Eventually, he will be trained until he finally becomes a full-fledged medicine seller; one of the Eight Bagua if he's skilful so.
The other man’s ears aimlessly wandering, settling itself to every direction of littlest sounds it catches. Though, it commonly happens to those who were in-pledge and aren’t well to their disguises; apprentices will have difficulties to adapt - mostly from the reflex to that of their former selves - on the vessel they inhabited. Alas, it was too late to mourn their lost forms.
He- who resembles the form of a man, but several of his parts a whole was of animal, will remain not until his soul adjust to the current state of his body where he would then be able to reshape it to his own will.
He’s at first, of course, oppose to the choice given, but it is a fruitless attempt as he had difficulties with his words. Though certain of it can be murmured, it will take several decades for his vocal stem to be fully developed, a disadvantage that he finds himself to be irritated with – yet was able to keep him at length from the fact his soul has been moved entirely into a different vessel.
"You're in learning," He nods along the words. “But note that the knowledge will always pour no matter the age; we can still learn something new even if you’re already experienced enough.” He watches carefully as Ri takes on more to his right to rest, lowering himself lazily on the mat. His purple nails tapping continuously on the curved pipe, bringing its ashes onto the ceramic that’s onto his front.
"However, I still have to at least warn you—" The man pauses, the silence was loud that not even the breathing sound of inhaling covering it-well, until he continues once more.
"Do not make the same mistakes… just like the others."
The man nods once more. Time moves slow with only slightest movement from the latter, prospering with the moment of forgiveness towards himself for being blessed with the choice he inadvertently made.
He, as the newly-brought apprentices should be aware to avoid from being spot on by the humans, exposing their presence to the greed and cruel parts of humanity. There’s no such thing as become invincible towards everything– To those who had long been in this profession learns of precautions on being careful to trust the humans that has the link to Mononoke and survived, no matter how helpful nor innocent they were.
As there’s always a risk to those they saved, having some cruel methods to get back at them.
~++.....-+-.....++~
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Decades ago, A Medicine Seller from a certain quarter saved humans in one of his exorcisms; well, a group of humans to which would be a pride in his records.
He didn’t have time to return, as he has more of the travelling path that needs to be finished before his mission was considered to be accomplished.
Later at the same year of era he came down, they encountered once more during his travels, thanking him for purifying the Mononoke that haunts their residence. Soon after they brought him up with several more conversations and food for treats, they lead him somewhere far beyond the human village, stopping him from his journey. They’re never to be seen again and his next assignment eventually carries on to the next Medicine Seller who’s at the same time crossed their paths within his.
By the time they took notice of his late return, and link his Shingi received from their partner after prolonged time has become too null to be presented, it was when other Medicine Sellers- including several of his available apprentices was tasked to find him; but it was considered to be too late.
Months of scouring the last location he was resulted with the discovery of a body, located in-between of the riverside path and near the entrance of the open forest. His face lies below a shallow grave from humans' own making, and his face shatters of despair. Notably, there were signs of struggle, but sadly he didn’t came out victorious.
His Shingi was left to mourn him the oncoming days of his quarter until he's successfully restrained, putting his line on hold until the next ceremony of newly-assigned wielder comes around.
The place temporarily turns into a gathering of sorrow for those who were close to the man – including that’s of the neighbouring Bagua, but soon after the incident that a new enactment was taken in dutifully as a warning; to being careful towards familiar humans they would encounter to avoid from this situation repeating once more.
In the respond to this new rule, there is a slightest moment where there was separation between the wielders who cares so far too little of them and abide to it, and those who still stands in protecting humanity and believes that this would create a detachment that could increase the risk to find possible ways to Exorcising Mononoke further.
For Kon, he finds the situation hard. It happened so fast that no one had only little time to mourn, and only was able to be prepared the next day as if nothing had happened. Though, it still continues to become a simple remainder, perhaps, that there are some humans who shouldn’t be rescued from their own actions; or perhaps it was just that small jolt of imbalance existing between the Order and Chaos; or maybe perhaps, has become a punishment for the disillusioned humans who proclaimed to be the highest above them all.
He continues to watch over the screen with blatant obscure towards anything that has happened. But every day the inner struggle kept pushing through, tugging within his string of movements.
Soon, it will dig through his skull; the fact that one can easily be replaced if they took a turn more lenient against that of neutrality towards another.
He remembers The Four Symbols spent days and nights tirelessly around Ten Wings, reciting sutras and protection wards to the recovered remains before delivering it to the highest authority to be disposed of somewhere secluded. The exorcism sword the man once bear was sent to be revitalized once more and made anew for the preparation of the next upcoming coronation of Medicine Seller of that Bagua.
It won’t be long until the sword will only catch a glimpse of their former wielder’s shape.
Shaking off the thoughts he turns his view to somewhere else. By the time he’s back at his focus, he’s still at the gate to his front quarter.
He has some time before going back to Ooku.
His eyes examine over them as they come and goes, lining perfectly to the front of Torii Gate leading out to the outbound realm, each within different Eras depending on where they’re assigned to.
Leaning heavily against the red pillar, he observes to some who’s somewhat excited to depart, some with hands over their face praying for a safe return before leaving. Those who notice of his presence lowers their head and waves at him; giving a faint smile he wishes to not see resemble of the wielders before them. He had enough of mental torment weighing more to his restless nights.
He was able to watch those who have return. Every each of the face he sees varies to the same expression he could read it out like a book; Scarred. Speechless. Distress.
On any occasion broken minds left untreated, they will become the creature they sought to purify and kill, and another wielder will be assigned to eradicate them, thus ending their duty completely. And so, they have remained composed and not to be overwhelmed with their emotions.
His lips were tight from his smiling tattoo. How awful everything has become.
Kon could feel a grasp of large hand pressing over to his shoulder. He directs his attention to Shingi who appears from the back of his view, having a strange gloom shadowed his body and a face mix of...discontent? No, more of a concern; It is like something is bothering him.
He tries to understand the reason, attempts to cool it down with a small chuckle. "Do not need to be troubled. I’m alright." He placed his hand above theirs.
His Divine partner remains silent.
Having no reply, Kon gets back to his geta and bid his lover farewell, readying himself off to the mortal realm. Shingi continues to stay nearby the gate, looking over to where his partner went down before letting out a sigh. He couldn’t shake off of something that was bothering him.
Kon Shingi may not fully understand much of human emotions, but it seemed he had known for so long – as if a memory is floating back to him.
Small tuff of fur from the back of his nape were less noticeable but bristles, visible not to a keen eye yet it appears – Shingi knew the state of his wielder’s mind.
He still didn’t get it why it had repeated throughout the whole ordeal, more so of an occurrence - every year on this certain day it feels as if his own wielder is hiding something from him.
His wielder is almost close to losing composure, and he couldn’t do so much of it
~++.....-+-.....++~
Once again, he returns to Ooku for any movements or suspicious activities. He didn't forget to replenish the expired ofudas with new ones – everything has to be prepared in case the wards lose its effectiveness.
The Mononoke he seeks lies still with the faint grasp of its shape, and it was more of a job to constantly return earlier than its supposed time. Most of these brings more rumour to the table of maid’s ears, claiming he is keeping an eye on a certain someone.
Less so they suspected was onto checking the emperor’s concubines, no, they didn’t dare to try poking on a hornet’s nest; much so, he must have been returning for some random maids, and the most outrageous one of all- perhaps, related to The Guards of Nanatsu Gate, the most troubling ones – of course – the one he keeps pestering about.
Still, the maids did a better job to hide these rumours away only in their group circle.
Last time he’s here, a different Mononoke appeared, but it wasn't the one he's looking for. Although for now, it is nice to at least make a profit by selling his wares for once in a while. At least it does help distracting him from something else.
There are people who comes by and bought off his medicine, mostly from his ventures to Nanatsu Gate – he made sure to prepare his supplies of items in front of the gate to show the proof of his profession after previous altercation. Having heard advices from the guards regarding his pitch, he decides to show up with delicate amounts of it.
Yet, there’s always something else to complain.
And that might what brought him to a small mishap with a different guard.
"Hey, uh..." the samurai wore in orange clothes carefully approaches, his hands grasping tightly over the stopping stick, "You shouldn't be here," His voice trembles as he let out a sounding remark, "This area is off-limits, even to someone who have approval like you."
He knows this. He understands the issue; It is just that he felt in staying at this spot for the time being. He doesn't feel like shifting his place yet.
"I figured..." He let a small pause in-between of wandering thoughts before he continues, "… I hadn't yet to cause any problems."
"I'm just selling my wares, see?"
He rubs off of the surface of the cloth he lays on. In front of him containing bottles and incense items, along with several small tied papers that he had carefully labelled medicines. Of course, he also presenting ‘miscellaneous items’ he's selling, completely opposed to nor even questionable at this matter of point.
"My reasoning was simple. I merely found this place to be suitable to set my trades here. Most of the others have been taken, sadly."
“Though, I did not find what else that irritates you the most…” He quietly mumbles the thoughts, still loud enough to be heard under his breath.
And although even the samurai understood the intentions, he didn’t budge even given the excuses.
"Yes, it's an empty spot, but you aren’t allowed to stay here." He insists. "The path you’re blocking is one of the entrance maids to enter and exit to- and you’re directly right in front of it! The Head Guard won't like this reasoning when he heard of it- less from yours. Please pack up your things and sell somewhere else …please."
He had it easy, this samurai is quite understanding albeit only following orders.
“Unfortunately, I have to disagree. All the spots available have been occupied; this is the only place where it was empty,”
“Then go do something else then.” The man keeps trying to warn him off. “You can just …continue sitting at that same porch you were the last time.”
“Wouldn’t it be a waste of my own time?”
“You didn’t have any problems with it before!”
“Still, wouldn’t that be in on violation itself?” He chuckles, playfully teases him. “Who would be responsible afterwards? You wouldn’t know what I will do when there are no people watching… “
But the small pokes he had doesn’t last long as another person hastily approaches.
"What is going on here?" A rougher voice revealing another samurai with a scar on his left-face, walking over to the orange-clad samurai. His brows knits as he locked to Medicine Seller’s appearance.
His face fumes in annoyance.
“It’s you again! What are you even doing in here, huh?!”
“As you can see, I’m selling my wares—”
“You aren’t allowed to be here!”
He scoots over from his spot just for the scarred samurai to come and wrap up all his medicines and contraptions messily back into the cloth he had laying down on beforehand. The way he tidies up his things without his own permission annoys him a little, but what was a small behaviour like this would do to him anyway? He simply just let it be, even when the man mumbles under his breath, continues to berate his feelings.
Yet, he couldn’t help keeping his lips sealed shut.
“I’d say you’d done packing my things,” He commented, hiding almost a sneer at the end. “I appreciate your help, but I can pack it up myself thank you very much.”
“Even so, you still won’t do it, even if people are watching,” The scarred-eye samurai responded.
The other samurai finds the situation slightly uncomfortable as he takes a step back. His eyes were hesitant, giving the look as if asking if this even is allowed for them to do.
The samurai continues to turn a blind eye, scrutinizing him further, “Well I’d say you’ve been testing our patience and boundaries one too many times. You should stop coming here, mind you again— this place belongs to The Emperor, and outsiders like you shouldn’t be allowed here!” His hands grasping tightly onto the poorly-wrapped cloth, having no hints to release it; mostly, his items might be confiscated at this point.
He didn’t take lightly on those matters, even if they didn’t understand his purpose for coming back around.
He realized a little too late his pallid hand was placed above the man’s shoulder as time stops in itself.
“Keep your human hands away from these tools…”
The words he blurts out was offensive, even out from his own liking.
"...Human?" The scarred samurai slaps away the contact. Knitting his brows, his body vibrates in anger as he angrily reproaches him, "What are you on about? How dare you speak to us like that! Filthy peddler you are!"
"Ah—Hey, stop!" The orange-clad samurai comes to intervene just as the scarred samurai’s movements becoming frantic.
The smile that etched on his lips were gone, replaced with one of frown and anger.
He no longer heard the altercation happening in front of him. His view takes turns to awry as a stray memory surfaced, melding itself with the quarrel happens outside.
He hears several disembodied voice berating him,
"Whaaat? A medicine seller?"
"Your business won't do well in here,"
"A medicine seller? Tch!"
"What kind of business will do you good? Go away!"
He tilts his head, feeling a harsh pull from the inner collar of his haori.
"Get out of Ooku right NOW!"
“Kimura, stop it!”
"Someone such as insignificant as you should know your place!"
Three different voices overwhelm his sense of hearing. He couldn’t pinpoint to where everything was at.
“…Shut up,” He gritted his teeth, but unable to do anything.
“Let go, Asanouma! This man directly intrudes this time!”
“There has to be a better way to solve this without fighting—!”
Another third voice chimes in, but it doesn’t help to cool down the heated argument.
He’s unable to do anything.
"Your attitudes are very much inspired, but be careful on trusting humans,"
The voice of Ri Wielder reaches to his ears.
“Kon…”
He doesn’t like it; he begs for it to stop.
"Hey!" The rough voice of the scarred samurai intertwined him to the present as he pushes him away, his body violently shaken by them. Glass and trinkets clatters around with clink of force. Powders of opened medicines littering the ground beneath their feet.
"Lord Kimura, don’t!" The sound of both men struggling continues, “Let him go!”
And Ri’s voice keeps rewinding at the back of his head.
"Don't make the same mistakes," His visions ripples away to make way for a sudden reveal of a body near the riverbed,
He remembers this, "… just like the others." And it hurts.
It hurts just as much.
No matter how hard he tries, he couldn’t avert his eyes from the body. The smell of death lingers around the room. Even in passing, the outline of its mouth gape opens for an air it knows could never reach.
It’s getting harder to breathe.
His chest rattles and his lungs rapidly declining. He couldn’t breathe as someone announced he couldn’t bear to hear anymore.
For they have found their missing person.
And for that body of the lifeless person;
It belonged to
Kon.
~++.....-+-.....++~
Sakashita feels lightweight when he startles awake by a ringing sound of bells. It was his break time, and he didn't manage to sleep well by yesterday – And, today as well.
Although he feels under the weather, he still has to attend to his duty as Nanatsu Gate’s Head Guard.
He decides taking a break somewhere, all the while no signs of any people’s presence in front of the gates nor tries to break in. He leaves the lookout over to Kimura, as the latter is on the current shift as his.
Thank Kami today is not that much of a full crowd, and so far, no one has yet to enter without any pass this time. And that is good.
He lets out a good sneeze onto his hand towel.
Man, having a flu is quite troublesome, he grunts off as he wipes the excessive snot – he doesn’t even know wherever he got it from.
His attention turns back to the green-like contraption balancing near the porch, two small spheres encircled around its balance like a waist and two beady gazes of emptiness into him. The tools usually belonged to Medicine Seller— Ah, that man sure have too much of an excuse to stay here. It had seemed he comes by again to Ooku.
Ah... that pesky peddler. His head aches on thinking any mischiefs he’ll be up to.
Even if he drove away the man from the spot he sat in, he always had a way to return back here. Like a nuisance he is.
Given a Tenbin placed over the fence, it probably treads its way here somehow, and Sakashita might have to find that man to return it soon.
It was then a faint sound of struggle was heard coming from far out of the West Gate, and he figured it might be Medicine Seller with one of the post guards.
So, he is causing trouble… again. His left eye twitched.
He decides to ignore it, huffing under his breath and reposition himself to a more comfortable position. He ensures his colleagues knows enough to handle whatever happened there, as what he had taught them to.
But it takes a second guess when commotion becomes evident, one that is familiar to his ears he becomes aware with his surroundings. The voices of struggle from the guards he recognized, then came out a sudden shrieking noise piercing the air, sending a wave of shrill which sets alarms off in his head.
He almost stumbles from his porch, hands heavily gripping his body from tumbling forward.
Are they under attack?!
The maid whom at his place around the same time startles from it. The basket of clothes she’s holding falls off with clatters. Quickly she bends down and hastily picks up the fallen fabric.
As she sees him, she sluggishly approaches him. Her hands noticeably trembling as she ask, “Lord Sakashita, what was that sound?”
He advised her to continue work before he make haste leaving the current post and sprints towards direction of the source, equipped with the stopping stick and sword on his waist ready to be unsheathe at given time.
That strange noise –
The struggle he hears still hasn’t stop, and in his mind, he hoped he would be able to make it on time.