The Familiar Taste of Poison

“Good morning, my lady! Are you ready to go to Earth?” Chiharu said, finally joining me in the middle of a field a few miles away from my house. That was the best place to open a gate to the human world since it was open space and I wouldn’t have to worry about anything unnecessary getting sucked in along with us such as trees or unwanted children.
Opening a gate to the human world or any other world is complicated. I first have to take my souls out of my body basically. Then, my souls travel through a very small gate and into the human world. This is where things get dangerous. I have about ten seconds to expand that portal and walk through it, which is sort of hard when you’re turning into a husk with no soul. It made me very tired and I could only do it about once every two days.
Chiharu, I could admit, looked very nice that particular morning. He was wearing a dark purple yukata with a grey sash low on his hips. I can always respect a person that dresses nice even though I hated Chiharu more than anything in the world. His messy hair seemed to fall in all the right places and it shown in the bright morning sun like golden rays of warmth.His eye that I had punched was still swollen and black, but the rest of his face was fine.
Chiharu was a demon. I could admit that he was beautiful because all strong and intelligent demons were meant to be. It was one of the reasons humans wanted to breed with us a long time ago. They desired beautiful and strong children. His lips were a soft pink. His red and blue eye sang of curiosity at all times. They made me wonder what was going on in his head. The scar running down the right side of his face.. I wanted to touch it. I wanted to know what it felt like, if it hurt him, if it was sensitive, everything. The skin was a dark pink and red mixture and it was raised above everything else slightly. Chiharu was to say in the least perfect looking. I caught myself staring and shook my head quickly to snap out of it.
“You’re late, Chiharu.” I said and turned my back to him, pretending to visualize where I wanted the portal to be. Chiharu chuckled and I heard the swishing sound of a bag being opened. He pulled out a wooden box and didn’t open it, but held it to where I could see.
“Forgive me, I just got too caught up packing a medicine box in case--” He stopped himself before he finished his sentence. I knew what he was going to say, and whipped my head around to study the expression he had on his face. It was a look of regret and a look of fear.
“In case, what?” I asked, itching to hear what he was going to change his ending to. I knew he was going to say in case I got hurt, but last time he said something like that, he earned himself the shiner he was wearing at that moment.
“In case… you eat some bad meat and get food poisoning!” He said quickly. His eyes stared hard at the ground. Chiharu was trying his best to not upset me, but his best just wasn’t enough. His presence alone made all my nerves freak out and tell me to get away as soon as possible.
I stared at him for a few moments before he looked up at me to see if I was still glaring at him. I jerked my body towards him really fast to see if he would jump backwards in fear, but it didn’t work. Chiharu just stood there and developed a look of worry instead of a look of terror which isn’t what I wanted. I thought it would’ve scared him for sure, but I got nothing.
“Are you okay, Lady Karin? You seem a bit twitchy” Chiharu asked, looking concerned. He took a step towards me and I growled for him to stay away. Now I was embarrassed because I didn’t get a rise out of him. I just turned my back to him once more.
“You’re stupid..” I grumbled and lowered my head. “Anyway, We’re going to Japan.” I explained and lifted my arms. “Are you ready?”
“Yes, Lady Karin.” Chiharu said eagerly and took a step forward to stand next to me again. I huffed in discontent, but focused on opening to portal.
I hadn’t done that part a lot, so I was still sort of shaky. My body began to glow and my arms grew heavier. I continued to hold them up as a big orb of light appeared in front of me. Each second that passed it grew bigger and bigger until it was about seven feet tall and five feet wide. I put my arms down and took a few deep breaths since I was slightly tired from opening it.
“Let’s go.” I ordered and stepped through the portal. I stepped out into a forest with a bright beam of moonlight shining in through the giant trees above me. It was sort of chilly outside and I could faintly see my breath each time I exhaled. I mumbled a bunch of curse words under my breath. I hated the cold, and I didn’t know it was Winter in Japan at the time. I had only packed lightweight yukata and one Kimono. I didn’t want to have to wear a heavy kimono the whole time I was there.
Kimono were heavy and somewhat hard to move in. They would make me look flashy and pretty, but I didn’t want to have to rely on one for warmth.
Chiharu stepped out soon after me. He looked around with curious eyes. His breathing was much faster than mine, but I think that was only because he was excited. He turns to me and smiles.
“So, this is Earth, right? Doesn’t seem to much different from our world!”
“Follow me and see everything before you jump to conclusions.”
I started to walk away and follow the direction the moon was in to get me to the closest village to stay in. I had been to it once before, and I came dressed as a peasant because it was before I was taken in by the Council of Yokai so the villagers didn’t really know that I was a demon. I told them that I had been cursed and that was why my hair was white. They believed me pretty fast, which was sort of astounding. Most humans were quick to assume people lie about not being demons.
Chiharu and I walked for a few minutes until I saw the first small house. It was rugged and worn down. I could tell it was built many years ago. As we approached, a horse started to kick and winnie at the sight of me. I sighed and continued to walk. People started to peek out of their doorways and mumble about me.
“My lady.. Do they know you’re a demon?” Chiharu whispered so softly I could barely hear him. I didn’t look at him, but did manage to say no under my breath without anyone noticing.
People all around were coming outside to look at me and whisper softly to the person next to them. I was embarrassed slightly, but continued to walk until I saw a frail old woman standing in front of me.
“Karin..” She said with a weak voice. “You have returned from a long journey.”
I nodded and crouched down to be more eye level with her. Chiharu was quick to be at my side, looking around, making sure no one was getting too close. “Japan is a very big place to travel around on foot.” I explained quickly in Japanese.
My Japanese was flawless in my opinion. I found the time to practice almost everyday whenever I wanted to say a bunch of mean things to Funatsu, but didn't want to deal with her getting upset. I also spoke it whenever I talked to the old woman that raised me. It was pretty much my first language.
“On foot, huh..” The woman said under her breath. She hobbled a few steps forward to get closer to me. Her head shook slightly and her eyes seemed tired. The hump in her back was massive. The wrinkles on her body seemed so intense it was as if she was born an old person. “You don’t fool me. You didn’t have me convinced the first time you appeared.”
My eyes widened and I took a few steps backwards. Chiharu stood in front of me and growled at the old woman. He didn't know what she had said since he didn't speak Japanese, but he knew I was frightened. She only chuckled and her tired eyes suddenly came alive with amusement. “I don’t mind.” She croaked. “You could kill us anytime you want, and you’ve yet to do so, so how can I make such a harsh judgement so soon?”
That was the first time anyone had ever been so kind to me. Humans were always trying to accuse someone of being dangerous and monster-like, but this woman was nice and easy going. I wanted to be nervous and cautious at her words, but those feelings never seemed to appear. I was greatly confused.
“You will keep this a secret, yes?” I said, trying to sound weary. The old woman laughed and nodded her head.
“Your secret is safe in the mind of this crazy old woman.”
I nodded slightly and looked around. “So,” I began in finally a normal tone of voice. “I heard that there were reports of a demon around here that needed to be taken care of? What details can you give me?”
A few older gentleman approached me and Chiharu was on guard the entire time. He glared at them and stood behind me so no one could sneak up and try to hurt me. They all had very old and rusty katanas on their hips. They would be no match against anything in the state they were in. It was no wonder they couldn’t kill the demon they were having issues with.
“The demon is a giant snake. You see it’s eyes and then you’re dead. It gives you no time to think about fighting it, to run, to hide, anything. You best be careful. We heard you were good, but we’ve had a lot of good people go head to head with the monster.” The tallest man said. He looked sweaty, which was unusual since it was so cold. It seemed as if he had been running.
I didn’t think too much about it because I was too busy being annoyed. The way old men spoke to me… I hated it when people treated me like I was stupid just because I was a small girl. I couldn’t wait to kill the demon and show them that I was much stronger than anyone they could ever hire. I just nodded my head however, and looked back at the woman.
“I’ll try my best” I said in a firm tone to break the condescending vibe in the air. “I’ve killed many demons, so I suggest you don’t look down on me.”
The men looked around at each other and started to chuckle. One of them was very fat and his gross over sized stomach jiggled as he mocked me. I felt my anger growing and clenched my fists that were hidden in my long sleeves on the yukata I was wearing. I was cold, I was around too many people, and I was anxious to kill that demon. I didn’t want to waste my time getting teased by a bunch of weak humans.
“You will all see once I am finished with my target.” I hissed and look around at all of them. “You’ll be kissing my feet before you know it.”
The fat man frowned and took a step towards me. “Hey watch it, just because you’re a skilled demon hunter doesn’t mean you can talk to us without any respect, girl.” He disgusted me. He could barely close his yukata because he was so fat. It was no wonder his village was poor, he must’ve eaten all the food available and left the scraps for everyone else.
“You’re a big scary man.” I said, looking him directly in the eyes. “Would you like me to keep the snake’s dead body so you can eat it later on? Maybe give everyone else a chance to eat all the food they work to hard to grow each year?”
He raised his hand to slap me, but I caught it before it could reach my face. I twisted it around until I heard a loud snap and a hoarse yell from the sad excuse of a man. “Maybe I should feed you to the demon as a final meal. Keep your hands off of me.”
Chiharu and I walked into the forest after that and left the men to tend to their injured friend. I was certainly ready to kill by that time. Chiharu was so shocked by me, he could barely speak. It was pleasant to finally have him silent. If only it would’ve lasted.
“I didn’t know you spoke a human language, lady Karin!” He said and got extra close to me without realizing it. I just rolled my eyes and continued walking.
“It’s almost as if you and I aren’t friends.. Oh wait.” I said, trying to be rude so he would stop talking.
“The way you broke that guy’s hand without thinking twice about it; it was so cool!” he exclaimed. I guess he was just choosing to ignore me at that point. He just kept talking and talking. It didn’t seem to end.
“Chiharu, I am quickly freezing to death out here. The least you could do is make my death a pleasant one, shut up.”
“But Lady Karin, have you ever fought a snake before?”
“I have, this one will be nothing but a small fry from the sound of it. Humans have a bad habit of making things sound way worse than they really are because they die so easily.”
“So, you’re not scared?”
I stopped dead in my tracks and whipped myself around to glare at Chiharu. He had realized his mistake, but I wasn’t going to let him get away with that one. “Scared?” I began and hissed demonically. “I’m never scared.” My voice was growing louder and starting to echo through the trees. Chiharu nodded quickly and dropped to his knees in a bow.
“Please forgive me, Lady Karin. I was out of line again. I didn’t mean to say that.”
“Well you did!” I yelled even louder. Several birds in the trees were frightened and flew off cawing into the night. “What part of I made the luxurious life I have now all by myself don’t you fucking understand?” I grabbed a handful of Chiharu’s hair and yanked it so he was looking me directly in the eyes. “Say something, worm.”
“My lady--”
“I will never be your lady. Stop calling me that.”
“Please forgive me, it was an accident!”
“I wonder if the Council will believe me if I tell them that’s the reason you died.”
Chiharu’s eyes widened and he managed to shake his head slightly even with his hair tight in my grip. I was enjoying the terrified expression apparent on his face until I realized he wasn’t looking at me. He was looking behind me.
I released his hair and turned around to find the man that spoke down to me earlier; the one that had been out of breath. He had just heard me speaking in demon tongue.
“What are you doing out here?” I asked in Japanese. “If you don’t want to end up like your friend, I suggest you go back to your village.”
The man just stared at me. There was no bewilderment or scared expression or anything of that sort, just a curious one. His eyes studied me with interest and then slowly made their way to Chiharu. After a few silent moments, they joined mine again. This time they were more emotional.
“I found it hard to believe a little girl and some pretty boy bodyguard could take down a demon.”
My body was tensing up. Something was off about this man. The way his eyes moved without worry. The way he had supposedly been hunting a dangerous demon for days but showed no signs of exhaustion or fatigue.
“Go back to the village, now.” I warned and took a step closer to him.
“It makes sense now..” He said, but his voice grew faint. “You’re apart of the family. No true hero could ever speak so harshly to someone only trying to help them.”
He was taunting me. I looked back at Chiharu, who was now on his feet again. He was staring at the man with deep caution. He was ready to strike if the man were to try something.
“How I speak to my bodyguard is none of your concern--” I stopped as a sudden realization had hit me. He understood what I was saying to Chiharu. He knew how to speak the demonic language. He was a demon.
“You bastard.” I said in my native tongue and jumped back a few feet. “Show me what you really look like.” Chiharu ran so he could be by my side, but I growled at him. “You stay back. This is my job.”
I heard a rumble and saw the man’s body had become disgustingly deformed. Knots and twists tore his body in random places before his skin fell off completely. A black figure rose from the pile of skin and blood. A giant pair of yellow eyes with pupils that were slanted to such a degree I could barely make them out.
He skulked forward into the moonlight beaming through the trees and he was much bigger than I had originally thought. His scales were dark green and black. His fangs were so long they hung out the sides of his mouth. A long tongue occasionally flicked out of his mouth to take in my scent.
“Well little demon girl. Scared yet?” He hissed and peered down at me.
“I don’t get scared of presumptuous cowards like you. You couldn’t attack that village head on, huh? Had to take a small group of men into the forest with you? You’re the real scared one.” I growled and pulled my hair into a high ponytail. Some remaining hair fell over my right eye. I was ready.
I ran at him and jumped hard off the ground. Soaring into the hair, I went to kick at the snake’s eye, but he dodged and tried to whip me with his tail. I managed to move out of the way and grab it just in time to sink the top row of my sharp teeth into his soft underbelly. He hissed in pain and threw me into the ground. I smiled triumphantly and staggered back to my feet. I looked around for my enemy, but he wasn’t there. Had he run away? Was one little bite enough to drive him away.
He was nowhere to be found, so I climbed out of the little hole my body had dug into the ground when I was thrown and started walking towards Chiharu who was a few yards away.
“That’s how it’s done, Chiharu. Do not ever accuse me of being scared again--”
“Lady Karin, What are you doing?!” Chiharu yelled in a panic. I cocked my head in confusion and suddenly a great force was squeezing me. I looked all around to see my assailant, but still continued to see nothing.
“What the hell?!” I yelled as my very breath was being pushed out of my lungs. It hurt a lot and I heard a loud crack from one of my ribs as the squeezing grew tighter and tighter.
“Foolish girl.” I heard the snake’s voice boom in my head. “Every demon has its secret weapon.”
“What are you doing to me? How is this happening!” I yelled in a strained voice.
“It’s simple, really. My blood has a nice little mixture of compounds that mask me from my enemy’s eyes if consumed. It’s a very rare power to have, but I have been truly blessed.”
I was suffocating and being crushed at the same time. I was so embarrassed that Chiharu got to witness this. I had talked such a big game and now I’m losing on my first try. I was about to pass out until a thought struck me: his blood was already affecting my vision. I could bite him as much as I wanted now.
I managed to thrust my head downward and bite down hard into his side. It wasn’t near as soft his his direct stomach, but as long as I could get my teeth in, It didn’t matter. I violently drew my head back and took a chunk of his flesh back with me. Purple liquid began to ooze from the new opening and I dug my teeth into the same spot that was then much softer without all the protective scales. I managed to rip out a few bones along with me
“Dammit, you bitch!” The snake hissed and I could feel his tight coils around me loosening. I could finally catch my breath and free my arms. I pushed my body upwards and freed myself. I put as much distance between us as possible. I was in some pretty serious pain, so I couldn’t really mess around anymore. I had to get serious.
I reached my arm around to the bow on my obi and pulled it loose. The obi slid off and I shrugged my yukata off my shoulders. Underneath was armor made of fur that was black as night. It covered my arms, shoulders, chest, and everything under my bellybutton. My stomach was exposed, but that’s because only my heart was considered a vital organ. Everything else heals so fast if it gets wounded I don’t really need to protect them. If I was pregnant, I would have to protect my unborn child, but I was only fifteen at the time, so that was certainly not one of my fears. The armor also covered my arms and legs because they were important in a fight, but not near as important as my heart.
I had armor that only covered the important parts because the fur it was made of comes from an extremely rare cat demon. You can only find them above ground one day every three years and they live in a very hidden location. My armor was worth a fortune so when it was made, the Council of Yokai made sure to use as little fur as possible.
I was a little embarrassed to show that much skin at first, but at that point I didn’t care. It protected me and that’s all that mattered.
“Okay.” I said and let my demonic energy swirl around me in black and red waves. “You really want a fight, don’t you?” I smiled and revealed a full mouth of sharp teeth. My eyes glowed and my fingernails grew longer and sharper. I glanced over at Chiharu, who was watching in awe at my sudden change in mood. “Get ready.” I began, looked at my bodyguard and not my enemy. “ You’re gonna finally see what your boss can do, Chiharu Watanabe.”