54 Night Parade of One Hundred Oni Every Four Days Part 4? (1/2)

Author Note: 3k word babyyyyy!!​

-Evening, In front of my House-​

-My POV-​

I start searching for the position of the sun.

Of course I'm aware that I'm not gonna find it when I'm standing in the middle of the forest, so I look at the sky stead. Currently the sky is orange in color, which means the sun is still setting in the horizon.

”Isn't it a bit too early for a ghost to come out in this time of day?” I asked.

”No, not at all, this time of day is the time that a ghost starts coming out.” Yuyuko replied lightheartedly.

”I see. Then may I know your reason to visit me in this time of day?”

”What are you talking about? I'm just taking a stroll, and we just met on the road. I don't even know the location of your home.”

”Hahaha, is that so?” I smile, not because I'm feeling happy, but because I'm feeling despair.

'Is she really telling the truth? Was she really just strolling around until she arrived to my House? …Whatever, at this point I already pass despair, only acceptance.' I thought.

”Please ease your heart, little black cloud. Are you really that scared of me?” she said with a sad look.

I blink.

My useless brain finally starts working. It put all the pieces together, and my eyes widen in realization as to what I've done to Yuyuko until now.

I immediately bow, no, bowing is too light for my sin, I instead perform my very first dogeza to her.

”I'm sorry for my unsightly behavior until now!” I said my sorry to her.

”…So you really were knew about my past self.” I heard what Yuyuko said.

I keep my head touching the ground, not moving an inch because of how ashamed I was with the mistake that I've done.

My mistake, the grave mistake that I've done to Yuyuko was that, I viewed her as if she's the embodiment of death.

There's actually more story beside ”Yuyuko sacrifice her own soul to seal the Youkai Tree”, and I'm going to tell you more about her back story.

It all started when a girl, Saigyouji Yuyuko born with special ability.

The ability to manipulate death.

When she unknowingly tested her ability, everyone realized as to how horrifying her ability is.

Tree and grass slowly wither, animal and insect suddenly collapses or slowly stop moving.

Seeing this, the servants started feeling afraid.

Her parent's afraid of her ability.

Even, the girl's also afraid of her own ability.

Everyone didn't have the courage to offend her and decided to just obediently do everything what she said.

Time passed, the girl changed into a young adult, beside the change of age, her condition also changed. The change was actually not for the better, but for the worse.

While feeling the pressure for having such dreadful ability and also enduring the way that everyone looks at her, Yuyuko's cheerful and friendly personality disappeared and slowly but surely replaced with something morbid, until finally...

”All I'm doing is too save everyone. …Yes, this is to save everyone. …so I'm sure that...….…this is not counted as suicide.”

Saigyou Ayakashi, Youkai (Tree) of Saigyou.

A Toukai trees that lure its prey by charming them by its beauty before sap them of their life. Originally, it's just a normal cherry blossom tree, but after Yuyuko's father, a widely adored poet, create a poet about dying under a beautiful cherry blossom tree and then he proceed to die beneath it after his time comes, other people/his fans also following his example by dying under that same tree, so because there were many people that died under it, it eventually turn into a Youkai Tree.

…Let's paused for a moment, I want to do a mental face palm after what I just mentally explained.

…People are fucking stupid.

…Okay, let's continue.

So when she heard about Saigyou Ayakashi, she immediately planned to use herself to seal the Youkai Tree.

But why she didn't use her ability to cause the Youkai tree to die?

Honestly, I don't know.

Maybe the tree already too powerful by eating many people that even her ability has no effect on it, or maybe at that time, such thought of using the ability on it, never crossed inside her mind.

People's mind is a fickle thing.

Once you're at the very bottom, it takes a monstrous effort to go back up. Some people could miraculously go back up with others help, very rarely you could go back up with your own strength, but if you stay at the very bottom for too long, suicidal thought can easily appear and immediately performed without second thought by own self.

That's why; I'll do what I can to prevent someone from reaching that very bottom.

”Please raise you head. It's okay, don't worry about it, but can I ask you a favor?” asked Yuyuko.

I raised my head to look at her.

”…Can I ask you a favor by telling me about my past?” said Yuyuko with a little bit of sadness mixed in her voice.

”I'm sorry, if she hasn't told you about it, then I also won't tell you about it. ” I courageously said that word to Yuyuko's face, despite me doing a dogeza to her a second ago.

”…” she shows no reaction from my refusal, it's as if she already expected the answer before hands.

Some of you probably wondering, why is your description of Yuyuko just now, different from the Yuyuko in front of me.

She seems act more cheerful, more playful, more alive, it's as if she has been reborn.

That's actually true, it's actually what happened. She did get ”reborn”.

When she was still alive, she befriended someone, that someone is Yakumo Yukari. This is the first time they met with each other.

To explain with the simplest method possible, ”They become Best Friend Forever from that point in time.” Only Yukari understood Yuyuko, and only Yuyuko understood Yukari. They understood each other and thus they become super best friend with one another.

…Is that how you really make friend? It probably is.

With Yukari help, Yuyuko could successfully seal the Youkai Tree, and with Yukari ”help”, she ”resurrected” Yuyuko from her death.

It never specified as to how Yukari resurrect Yuyuko, but people have been theorized how she did it.

Yukari manipulated Yuyuko's border between Life and Death. Yuyuko is alive and death at the same time. A Ghost that's not actually a Ghost.

Like I said some time ago, if you become a ghost, that mean you still have grudge or unsatisfied things that anchor it to the living world, but Yuyuko's doesn't have a grudge or unsatisfied things in the living world. A Ghost is a remained of a living person, but Yuyuko still could use her ability, which is a big part of her. Ghost can't consume anything or doesn't need it in the first place, but Yuyuko's somehow could still do it and savor its taste.

Aside from those positive things, there's also a negative things.

She can't remember the times when she's alive, that's why I said that she has been ”reborn”, in a certain way. Even thought she didn't remember about the times when she's alive, after she knew that she has one, she occasionally trying to find a clue to someone or something that's know about it. That's why Perfect Cherry Blossom incident happen, she wants to know uncover what's inside the Youkai Tree and trying to understand as to why it feels nostalgia to her.

Now as for the reason of her revival, as to why Yukari resurrect Yuyuko, it never been properly explained. In the first place, the game only dropping a hint about someone revived her, so the community immediately took a guess that that ”someone” is actually Yukari.

Why she's doing it? We don't know.

Maybe it's Yukari's selfishness for not wanting her BFF to died, so she wants her to experience as to what life has to offer once again. And there's also the thing with Yukari not telling Yuyuko about her past. Maybe she didn't want to tell her because she's afraid making Yuyuko mad at her for resurrecting her.

We can only draw conclusion with what little information we have, dammit ZUN, release more of your Character Bio Book! Filled up the characters with more back story!!

”…All right, I got it.” suddenly said Yuyuko.

”W-what do you mean?” I asked while having a bad feeling with what's going to happen.

”Since both of you didn't want to explained, then I'll punish both of you appropriately.” she said while slightly pushing her lips forward.

Is-is she pouting?! She pouted?! It's cute though, but, did she just pout?!

”Hm~, looks like she really mad about it.” said a new voice beside me.

”Y-Yukari-san?! You're also here?! Since when?!!” surprised me seeing only upper body of Yukari leaning out from her gap.

”From the start, now then, good luck~” Yukari wave before went inside her gap and disappeared from the scene.

”W-wait! What do you mean by 'good luck'?!”

”Ei!” Yuyuko shoots a pink beam to me.

”Uoh!” I move out of its way by cart wheeling into standing position.

I observe Yuyuko.

Her expression is different from what I've seen until now, she looks determine.

She opened her hand fan and pink butterflies start flying around her.

”It's time for your punishment!”