Yokai and Spirits aren't the same thing. That is something Susanoo made sure I understood early on.
Yokai, are like People, made of flesh and blood, they sleep and they eat, they have hopes and fears.
Spirits are different. They do not have Flesh or Blood, at least not in the same way Humans and Yokai do. They are creatures born of Magical Energy, Lingering emotions, Or even pure feelings.
Despair, Anger, Joy, All these emotions, when pushed to the absolute extreme, can magically alter a creature, turning it monstrous.
"Have you ever heard of Shuten-Douji? Of how he came to be?" It was during my second meeting with Susanoo-No-Mikoto, after we already discovered who my Inherited Spirit was, that he asked me that question.
We were sitting in the Shin-Corp gardens, where we always held our meetings. Me sitting cross-legged in what I hoped was a meditative position, while the God of the Seas leaned his back on the grass as he held the back of his head in his arms, not bothering to sit.
"Shuten-Douji was the Leader of the Oni in Mount Oe, the one defeated by Minamoto no Yorimitsu and his four retainers, which included my Inherited Spirit," I said, my eyes closed as I struggled to keep the Moth Tattoo on my chest glowing without turning it off.
"That's true, but that's not what I meant," Susanoo said as he looked at me from the corner of his eyes, his Bamboo hat still on his head.
"Shuten-Douji wasn't always an Oni, Many powerful Yokai weren't born as Yokai," He started to elaborate.
"While nowadays, most Yokai are born to Yokai parents, that wasn't always the case. It used to be that Creatures, or sometimes objects, that lived long enough could awaken a magical connection to Nature, to the world around them, and turn into a Yokai." He said, "From Foxes gaining the intelligence of Humans to Teapots gaining sentience, Yokai come in many different shapes and forms."
I hummed to signal I understood, sweat pooling over my brow as my chest ached from the Magical Pressure I was putting on my Sacred Gear to keep it active.
"Shuten-Douji was one such case, A man so vile and selfish, greedy and lustful, that he somehow managed to connect to the magic of nature and transform into an Oni. The act of a Human turning into a Yokai is one we call Spiritualization, Such beings are not true Yokai, but a mixture of Yokai and Spirits. Still following?" I nodded my head.
"Good, because now we get to the important distinction here. Yokai are considered Spirits, but Spirits are not considered Yokai, let me explain," The God of storms tapped a finger on the soft grass he was laying upon, the dirt stood up and turned into a chair for him to sit on as he looked down at me on the ground.
"Spirits, are beings connected to Nature, as long as their main source of magic is the world around them, they are Spirits. Yokai, use the Youjutsu to do their magic, a connection to Spirituality and Nature is required for Youjutsu to happen. In other words, if you are a Spirit, you can do Youjutsu, on the other hand of the nature magic, we have Senjutsu, now Senjutsu is different from Youjutsu, still listening?"
"Yes," I groaned out as the Light from the Moth on my chest flickered, "I'm still listening," My breath hitched for a moment before I managed to stabilize the light and return it to a steady glow.
"Good. Senjutsu, is Spirit Magic that comes from the Inside, from the Ki and Chakra of the caster, While Youjutsu is Spirit Magic that comes from the outside, from the natural world that surrounds them. That's a simplified explanation, So let's go back to Spirits and Yokai for a moment-" Susanoo tapped his fingers on his dirt chair, the grass he was leaning against bending and twisting into a net that extended before him, a pair of clouds appearing to grab hold of the net as Susanoo stepped off his chair as it crumbled back into the soil before sitting on the net, the improvised grass hammock he created.
"Real Spirits, not Yokai, but Spirits Spirits, come in several major forms. Nature Spirits, are your most common type of Spirit, from a Fire Spirit that lives inside a volcano to a Water spirit that lives in the bottom of a lake, Nature Spirits are Elements of Nature given life.
Next, we have Spirits of the Damned, These aren't dead people, only the lingering emotions they leave behind before they die, These take the form of ghosts and other such creatures.
And Lastly, Just like with Shuten-Douji, Physical Spirits, those who managed to gain hold of physical bodies, either by transformation or similar techniques, The Animals and Objects that become Yokai count as these Physical Spirits, and they are the most dangerous."
I nodded my head slowly before twitching as my Sacred Gear turned off, the moth stopping the light coming out of it.
"Let's change the subject for now, We'll come back to this topic later," Susanoo said before smirking and clapping his hands together, "I'm Hungry, Let's grab some Pizza~"
...........
On the Top Floor of the Yamakabuki Apartment Complex in the city of Yamato Koriyama in the Nara Prefecture of Kansai, Motohama Ken took a deep breath as he stared at the Spirit before him.
See-through skin, almost skeletal in her appearance, this Spirit was the lingering memory of someone who died long ago. And if her face was anything to go by, He already met the girl.
Hikari was a Yurei, A Memory of someone who died, taken moments before her life was snuffed out like a flickering flame on the tip of a candle.
"Spirits of the Damned are considered Evil in the eyes of Magic," He recited quietly, his eyes never leaving the black empty sockets of the Dead Spirit at the end of the corridor. As he took out more and more Talismans from his pouch, applying them onto his blade and clothes, he took a deep breath.
The Path between him and the Spirit was messy, A Sticky Tar-like substance covering the floor in splotches. The Hair of the Yurei was spread out behind her like the web of a spider, holding onto the walls of the corridor as it held her in place, almost looking like it was choking her, refusing to let her move.
With her black hair trapping her in place, and her hands and legs stuck into the tar she herself created, All Motohama had to do was reach her and slap her face with a Talisman, exorcising her. Something that was easier said than done with all the Tar on the floor.
"Connla! Can you hear me?!" He called out, hearing his voice echoing down the stairs behind him, hoping his new Work Partner could hear him.
But alas, he received no reply.
"Okay..." He whispered after a minute of waiting, "Guess I'll have to do this myself..."
With his hands firmly grasping his new Katana, Motohama Ken started slowly approaching the Spirit, Careful to watch where he was going.
And seeing the Human walk closer to her, The Yurei opened her mouth and screeched.
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Whispering to herself as she hid inside a closet, a young girl who died long ago hugged her legs close to her as she cried.
She didn't want to get punished for leaving her room, but she was so hungry.
She didn't want to be Hungry, so she left her room.
And by leaving her room, she was punished.
Hikari was a Yurei, A Memory of someone who died long ago. A Spirit of the Damned.
Hikari was the Memory of a young girl, who stayed in her room so she wouldn't be punished.
Hikari was the Memory of a young girl, who left her room so she could fight her Hunger.
Hikari was scared.
Hikari was Hungry.
Hikari hid in her room, Holding on to a small slip of magical paper as she cried for forgiveness from her Parents who no longer existed.
Hikari spat out Tar, her hair choking her like the hands of people who no longer live, cursing the world around her for starving to death, for punishing her for wanting to eat.
"Connla! Can you hear me?!"
Hikari stopped crying as that voice entered her ears, echoed from the floors above her yet still heard.
The Voice of the first person she met who was nice to her.
Of the Boy who wanted her to go outside.
Hikari glared without eyes at the Boy who stood before her, The Light from his chest was painful to look at, The blade in his hand was a threat.
Hikari growled without a voice as more tar escaped her empty stomach, splashing on the floor in front of her.
Hikari quickly left her room, Flying up the Stairs of the Apartment Complex as tears rolled down her face.
She wanted to help her only friend.
Hikari watched the boy take a step closer to her, so she screamed in anger. Her Hair pulled at her skin like sharp wires as she struggled to crawl towards him, her limbs trapped in her own black bile.
She Hated the look on the boy's face.
Why did he look so...
Happy?
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Hearing the Spirit Scream, Motohama Ken started running, using the light from his Scared Gear to illuminate a path, he jumped over patches of tar as he ran down the corridor.
"HAAAAA!!!" The Yurei screamed. The empty black holes that constituted her eyes widened as more and more tar poured from her open mouth, turning her shrill screech into a muffled gargle.
"STOP SCREAMING!" Motohama Ken yelled as he jumped over another pool of Tar, "I CAN HEAR YOU CLEARLY!"
"HAAAAAA!!!" Motohama Ken widened his eyes as the tar pouring like a leaky faucet from the mouth of the Yurei exploded outwards like the spray from a fire hose, A Line of sticky black liquid flying by his head as he neatly ducked to his left, The squelching sounds of the tar slamming against the window on the other side of the corridor echoing in his ears, before a smirk crossed his face.
"Now that's something I don't want happening..." He whispered to himself before once more kicking off the ground in a dash, holding his Katana at an angle beside him as he ran closer and closer to the Damned Spirit.
Only to stop and widen his eyes in horror as a squelching sound came from below him. His foot was stuck in a puddle of tar.
Seeing the little Moth get caught in her web, The Yurei once more opened her mouth, The Hairs wrapping around her neck and the walls of the corridor constricted as the puddle of Tar growing in her mouth blew out as a globule of black liquid.
"SHIT!" Motohama yelled as he pivoted to the side, Dodging the orb of tar as it flew past him and landed near the stairs.
"Ah!" A young girl cried from near the stairs, causing both the Yurei and Motohama to stop and look.
Floating there, above where the Orb of Tar landed, was a young girl with pale white see-through skin, Her long black hair floating behind her in an invisible wind as her eyes widened at the sight of the Boy stuck in Tar and the Spirit which looked just like her.
And of course it looked like her, it was her, The Part of her who wanted to eat, to not starve all alone in that closet on the bottom floor, The Part who only wanted something to eat.
"Ken!" Hikari called out to the boy she met just an hour prior, "Let her Eat something!"
"Eat?" Ken repeated the words, Turning to look at the Open mouth of the Yurei, the black tar pooling inside as she readied another attack.
Sheathing his Katana back at his side, Motohama Ken smiled widely as he opened his Anti-Evil Spirit Talisman Pouch and pulled out a crumpled ball of Paper Seals.
Pulling his feet out of his shoes so he could get into position, He held the paper ball in a baseball pitching stance.
With all of his focus on the ball in his hand and on the Yurei's open mouth, Motohama Ken missed the root-like lines that spread from the Moth on his chest over to his right arm, lighting it up in a bright white glow.
"TRY EATING THIS!!!"
And with an almost perfect Pitcher's stance, Motohama Ken threw the ball of crumpled-up Talismans at the Spirit, Not noticing the White moth briefly flashing over his hand as the ball left his palm, surrounded in the white light of his sacred gear as it shot forward like a shooting star burning through the night sky.
Directly into the Yurei's mouth.
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Standing to his feet, Connla took deep breaths as he watched the pair of Deer Yokai he just fought bow down before another Yokai who looked like an Old Man with antlers.
His mind briefly drifted back to his fight with the Deer Man, Noting how he had no way to fight his regeneration.
"No good nonlethal options..." He noted to himself as he looked back to the Yamakabuki Apartment Complex behind him, wondering how long it would take his new Partner to finish up.
Only for a bright flash of light to illuminate the entire top floor of the building, The sounds of windows breaking and doors smashing open could be heard from all the way outside as Connla and all the Yokai who already left the building turned to see what was going on.
Only to see the window on the left side of the top floor corridor blow open in a shower of glass and concrete as a small body wrapped in black hair was flung through the window, Bright white fire burning at her body as she screamed in agony, The confetti of Paper Seals stuck to the inside of her mouth burning her from the inside out as the magic of the Talisman forcefully cleansed her body.
An Exorcism.
Running around to get a better look, Connla watched as the Spirit turned to ash, the Exorcism complete.
"Hey, Connla!" He looked up to see the hole on the fourth-floor corridor, and the Young Japanese Boy standing there.
His shoes were gone, His glasses were cracked, his outfit was covered in paper seals, his cheeks had Talismans stuck to them, and he seemed to be bleeding from his nose. Behind him floated a young girl, her eyes wide with wonder as she looked at the sky of the outside world.
"I think we got everyone outside!" Motohama Ken yelled from the top floor as he stepped off the ledge, plummeting down four stories into the quickly made pool of shadows, courtesy of Night Reflection, before the shadow spit him out onto the grass.
"WHAT ARE YOU THINKING?!" Connla yelled at the thirteen-year-old boy, "WHY WOULD YOU JUMP OFF THE FOURTH FLOOR?!"
"I had Healing and Armor Talismans all around, I would have been fine, But nice catch anyway," Motohama gave Connla a thumbs up as he lay on the grass, ignoring the weird concern the grumpy teenager was giving him.
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Staring at the night sky through the hole that was opened in the wall, The Ghost of the girl named Hikari sat on the floor, crossed her legs, and watched.
"Pretty..." She whispered to herself as she watched the Stars, not noticing her body was fading away.
She left her room, She wasn't punished, She ate food, And she got to watch the night sky.
She had no more regrets, no more reasons to stay in this mortal world.
She could finally pass on.
Her mind briefly went to the boy who opened the door to her room.
"Arigato, Motohama Ken..." She whispered before her body fully turned to mist and flew away.
Finally at peace.