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Authors Note: This is an original story and all characters belong to me. I am sorry for any spelling or grammar errors.
This story contains hints, and later on canon yuri (girl/girl, femslash, lesbian.) relationships. If you do not like this, then I suggest you do not read. Please be nice when reviewing, thank you, and I hope you enjoy.
“My god, how did you get this good at this game?” Makoto, her friend and translator asked. Raine just grinned and shook her head.
“Ah, ah, ah, that’s a secret.” she said with a small toss of her red hair. Raine was a twenty three year old college graduate from the USA, who had come to Japan after inheriting a business and some property there from her great aunt, who had been native to the country.
Raine herself didn’t have a drop of Japanese in her, and if she did it had been covered up well by family secrets and excuses, and she had nothing to show for it on her body. Even so, she didn’t care. She hoped to hurry and settle everything with the Business so she could return to the US and finish her work there, but the way things were going and complications of language slowed things.
Needless to say she was thankful her Aunt left her a house, otherwise she would have been living on the streets in the meantime. Raine had Makoto explain once again how much the equivalent of dollars translated into Japanese currency was, and after drilling in her head once again he sighed. They walked over to the door, and Makoto’s pocket vibrated.
“My, my, I didn’t know you had one of those. And in your pocket, such a dirty boy you are!” Raine teased.
“Shut up I don’t have that!” Makoto blushed and dug into his pocket for his cell phone; once he had retrieved it he flipped it open and put it to his ear. Raine slipped on her coat and boots, and was pulling on her hat when he walked over to her.
“Thomson-San, I have business to take care of before we leave, it’ll just take an hour or so,” Makoto said, and Raine groaned and looked outside. So close to freedom! She thought for a moment and looked back over to Makoto.
“You know, I think I can find my way back to the house alright,” Raine said and she stood up. She didn’t want to wait around here doing nothing. “And I told you not to call me Thomson-San, its Raine.”
“You shouldn’t go out after dark by yourself Th—Raine-san, there are many dangers, not to mention the Yōkai.” Makoto said firmly. When she gave him a confused look he translated, “Ghosts.”
“Ghosts?” Raine looked over towards Makoto with a gleam in her eye, the subject of the supernatural always sparked a curiosity within her, and her mouth curved into a smile. “Do tell! Tell me about the ghosts.”
“I don’t mean go out and make friends with them!” Makoto said desperately after he caught that hint in his friend’s voice. “I’m not sure I want to tell you now!”
“Aww, you’re no fun!” Raine playfully whined. “Tell me!”
“Fine, well, there’s one ghost that has been sighted a lot around here, the Kuchisake-Onna.”
“English, please, you know I don’t do the whole long name thing well.” Raine interrupted and rubbed her temples at the idea of memorizing another long name in the complicated language.
“Well… I guess the ghost’s name would be something like “Slit-mouthed woman” in English.” Makoto said as he rubbed his chin in thought, “But it just doesn’t seem to give it the same feel, I think.”
“Well, what is it?”
“It’s the ghost of a woman.”
“No, really, Mr. Obvious? The term “Woman” in the name just didn’t make that clear enough.” Raine replied sarcastically with a grin.
“Do you want me to tell you or not?! Now, anyway, the woman was young, beautiful and vain. Her husband, a Samurai, thought she was cheating on him, because she put on a painted face each day before going into town. She denied it, and he took his sword and slashed her mouth from ear to ear, and said to her “Who will think you’re beautiful now?””
“Wow, what a small dick bastard.” Raine noted how easily Japanese men became jealous. And Makoto nodded then continued his story.
“So, she of course was scorned for her face and became vengeful. And now, normally by the docks in Japan, the ghost appears, she is still as beautiful and young as she was then, but she wears a mask over her face which goes from her nose to her neck. She waits until someone comes by, and she will ask them “Am I beautiful?” and of course all will say yes, for she is. Then, she will remove the mask, and ask again. If the person screams or runs or says no to the question, she will kill them. Some say she will turn the women she kills into Kuchisake-Onna as well.”
“Damn,” Raine said, frowning. “That must suck, like, seriously suck, having to be stuck at the smelly docks all day and night.”
“Did you not hear a word I just said? You have to be careful! The only way to make her stop bothering you is to throw some candy, or rice away from yourself and she will go after it.”
“Are you serious?” Raine deadpanned, “Rice and candy? My god you make her sound like a child.”
“That may be, but better safe than sorry. Here, just in case.” Makoto gave Raine some candies and a bag of rice, and a gun in case she met any mortal trouble like murderers or rapists. Raine thought it ridiculous but nodded and then headed out before Makoto could try and stop her again.
She walked at an easy, but quick pace. She was no fool and knew that thugs and murderers were no joke, so she kept an ear and eye out, and kept the gun where she could reach it easily. She reached a large street light, and her cell phone vibrated, she pulled it out and rolled her eyes at the TXT message.
Are you alright?
-Makoto
She pushed the buttons to reply.
Yes, I’m fine, Mom.
:-p
-Raine
She grinned at the pout smiley face she got in return and chuckled. Makoto was really a sweet guy, but she just loved to tease him. She looked around at her surroundings, and tried to figure out which turn she should take to get home. She heard something to her left and turned her head.
There, just out of reach from the light was a woman. Actually, more like a girl, maybe in her late teens. She was in a white kimono, and she wore a blue surgical mask over her face. Raine thought it must be a native staring at the foreigner; she had gotten that a lot. But, the girl didn’t seem like she was going to go on her way, she just stood there and stared. Raine tilted her head slightly in confusion and thought, and then turned to look directly at the girl.
When their eyes met, the girl walked a few steps forward, but still somewhat in the dark. She spoke in Japanese, and Raine couldn’t understand her and became nervous, she didn’t want to seem rude.
“Um… shit, what did it go like? Um, Boku—no wait that’s a guy—uh, watashi wa iie Nippon de wa arimasen.” Raine spoke halting, she was positive by the girl’s brief confused expression she said it wrong, and tried something else. “I don’t speak Japanese, I can’t understand you.” She said, motioning towards herself and shaking her head.
“Am… I…” the girl said slowly, as if trying to get a taste of English and Raine sighed in relief.
“Oh, so you do know a little English.” Raine spoke more to herself then to the girl.
“Am I beautiful?” the girl asked.
Raine’s mind raced for a moment as the sentence was said, and then she tilted her head to the right, as if to get a better view. So, this was the ghost? She didn’t seem like a ghost, she seemed too real to be a ghost.
“Am I beautiful?” the question was asked again.
Raine remembered Makoto’s words, but didn’t feel fear; for she answered all questions truthfully, no matter who or what asked. So she looked over at the girl and noticed she was indeed beautiful, gorgeous even. Of course, that was only on the outside.
“Yes, you are, on the outside.” Raine said. The ghost raised a white hand, and pulled the blue mask from her face and let it fall to the ground.
“Am I beautiful now?”
Dried blood littered her mouth; horror etched into it. With her mouth slit ear to ear, a horrible smile permanently carved into her face.
Raine did not scream, nor did she run, or frown or even feel any remote hint of disgust or horror. Instead, she came closer to the monstrosity, and took out a hankie from her pocket, and spit into it.
“What a mess, hold still.” Raine said, moving the damp cloth tenderly over caked blood, cleaning it off. “Does it hurt?”
The ghost did not answer, too shocked by the kindness shown by this foreign woman. Raine looked into the girl’s eyes, and she felt an odd, very odd change take place, there was something in the eyes of the girl. This “ghost” that she found… admirable, she was fond of, that she… adored.
“Am I beautiful?” the question was repeated.
“What do you think?” Raine answered with a question of her own, and the ghost seemed flustered and confused, she asked again,
“Am I beautiful?”
“Come into the light, you can’t expect me to answer a question if I can’t see what I am answering.” Raine said charmingly, and the girl, for she was more girl then ghost, blushed with nonexistent blood and she shifted from foot to foot. The girl was reluctant, as if with the light she would lose this kindness shown to her. “Don’t be shy, let me see.”
The street lamp flickered for a brief moment, as if even it was frightened of the girl. After a moment the girl stepped into the light fully, and her mouth was all the more terrible, a nauseating and horrifying sight.
It was fleshier, more apparent, and the ends of her jaw could be seen through the slits of her cheeks and the row of teeth that seemed more animal than human. But Raine didn’t even notice that.
The first thing Raine noticed was that she didn’t look Japanese, at least her eyes didn’t, one of the traits that must have made her stand out when she was alive all those years ago.
You see, they were blue, and a beautiful blue at that. Her hair was a lovely black, and when the light hit it, it almost looked a dark purple. But what made her all the more beautiful were those eyes, Raine still saw what she saw a moment ago that she had fallen in love with. But she also saw something else as well, something she never thought a ghost could feel.
She saw fear. Fear of scaring off probably the only one who ever looked at her without fear or disgust after the mask was removed.
“A… am I beautiful?” the girl asked, and she was shivering in fear and self loathing.
“I think, you’re the most beautiful young woman I have ever had the pleasure of seeing in my entire life,” Raine answered with a soft, genuine smile. “And I have seen many, many young women.”
The girl dropped an object, it clanked onto the ground and her eyes mist with unshed tears, and Raine realized that the girl in front of her was no ghost, but just a young woman who was trapped in a never ending loop, and now, finally freed from it. The girl put her hands to her cheeks, the scars were still there.
“What now, what now, I’m supposed to be beautiful again… what now?” the girl whispered brokenly, and Raine wrapped her arms around the girl, like she had known her all her life.
“You are beautiful you silly head.” Raine said and ran her fingers through the girl’s long hair.
“Where do I go?”
“Come with me.” Raine offered, feeling like this was all moving too fast, but at the same time like it was moving at the perfect speed. “After all, I guess I’ve just put you out of a job.” The girl relaxed in Raine’s arms, her head only came to Raine’s shoulder, but her body fit perfectly in the red-haired American woman’s.
“What is your name?” Raine asked.
“My name?” the girl asked, and she seemed like she was surprised at such a question.
“Yes, your name, you must have one.” Raine said with a slight frown, and she stroked the girl’s hair, and waited while the shorter woman thought.
“I don’t know… it’s been so long.” The girl answered after what felt like years of silence. But for now, names weren’t important, and Raine picked up the girl’s mask, and handed it to her, for she noticed the girl always kept her hands on her face whilst not having it on. They left that spot, and the knife shimmered and hissed, and evaporated into the air, thus ending the once ghost’s bondage.
Yōkai is the word for ghosts or spirits, and in some cases demons.
Kuchisake-Onna well... come on do I really need to explain this? If you have any more questions, just go here link
Boku the begining of the term used by boys to indicate "I" or "Me"
Watashi Wa the term used for woman or girls to indicate "I" or "Me"
Watashi wa iie Nippon de wa arimasen from what I understand is "No I am not Japan" which, is kinda confusing.
