[FFML][Fanfic][DHY]One Hour Challenge: Onibara

This is where I throw my hat into the One Hour Challenge Ring. It's also just for
interest's sake, my first non-Ranma 1/2 concept. Lastly, there's a reason why I'm
writing on this subject, which you'll read at the end.
So with that, here we go:

Onibara by Rob "Ashita" Barba
Devil Hunter Yohko disclaimer, etc, etc, ad infinitum, ad nauseum.
==================================
I stand there with my whip held high. This black, waxy, yet unnatural fabric
shines with a violet light. Light upon light, nature upon nature. That's the way
that things are, I guess.
I suppose that when you do what you do, no one really takes the time to understand
you. You're either on a pedestal, or the target of a thousand hell-bent demons.
I hate it when that happens. I hate it when creatures think that I am just some
thing to be loathed, to rend and kill at all costs.
I understand that that's part of their nature; part of the way that they look at
things. I understand that those are the reason for which I kill...
For which I hunt...
A Devil Hunter am I.
My name is Mano Ayako, the Devil Hunter of the South; cousin to Mano Yohko, Devil
Hunter of the North. Between us and our assistants, we are responsible for
protecting Japan from the hells that the underworld constantly throw at us.
A snap of my whip at the creature I'm currently facing, and the energy discharge
destroys its form, rendering it amorphous, harmless, and beaten.
I'm not really sure it had a shape to begin with, anyway.
I've defeated it. But I'm not happy.
********************
********************
Hours later, I'm sitting in my room, in my comfy little place in Sasebo. It's a
nice little town, close to the hustle and bustle of Nagasaki, and yet far enough
that we aren't bothered by some the big city problems. About the only thing that
makes this town so wild as it is, is probably the American Navy Base, but that's a
different story. The Americans really don't believe in demons anyway.
Otherwise than that, the town is similar to Yokohama, where Yohko lives.
Yohko....
It's hard to believe that I once hated her. Almost a year has passed now, and
she's probably one of my closest friends. And it's not because we look like twins,
or that we're in the family business, or a million other things...
...it's because she understands. She understands what it's like when you see the
ghost of what was once an innocent child turned into a malicious demon. Or when a
woman that was savagely raped and calls out for revenge becomes an oni, an ogre. Or
when a respected teacher becomes possessed by a creature and becomes a serial killer.
A tap against my leg wakes me from my dark thoughts. It's Hikari, my dog, carrying
the phone. I pet her, then take the phone, taking the time to wipe the drool from
the phone.
"Ayako da," I say. I never was one for phone ettiquette.
"Ayako-san, this is Lt. Masaki." Masaki, a local administrator for the National
Police and my "contact." Since I don't have the access to Chi like Yohko does, I
have to rely on other sources to find the demons that I must eternally wrestle with.
"Masaki-sempai, what is the trouble?"
"Mt. Aso. There's been a report of another Onibara killing. The reason I'm
handing it to you instead of your men is because the extreme case of satanic runes
and occult items found there. That's not linked with the incidents in Kobe."
My stomach roils at the thought. My heart goes out to the children running under
the guillotine in Kobe. I wish I could do more to help them, but my specialty is
occult, not criminology. Maybe after tomorrow I can get in touch with
Yohko-chan and see if we can do something about this mess.
"I'm on the way." With no further ado, I hang up the phone. Lt. Masaki will
understand my brusqueness; he knows I'm not one for phones. I slip into a pair of
jeans and a T-shirt, then grab a jacket; it's midnight, and by motorcycle, it'll take
a shade over seven hours to get to Mt. Aso by road.
Damn, I wish the JR ran past midnight. It would only take about two hours then.
Oh well, no use crying over spilt milk.
********************
********************
I spend the day slogging around the damn mountain looking for clues. The Police ID
that Lt. Masaki got for me gets me through the lines, but for the most part, I find
nothing. Nothing at all.
Nothing, that is, until I get to the peak. Then I find EXACTLY what the hell it is
I'm looking for.
Within a pentacle, there is a blood-red rose. Fragile and beautiful, but a rose by
any other name.
Onibara. Ogre's rose. That's the association that most people would make from it.
I know better. Thanks to Yohko, I'm prepared.
Reiko, The Rose Queen. The Queen of the Damned.
She's back.
"That's absolutely right, Yohko," a voice says behind me.
I turn around, and there she is. Black hair, blue eyes, firm, sexy body; if I were
a bit on the deviant side, I would take her as a bedmate.
But I prefer the male of the species, thank you; plus, I also have a strict rule
about sleeping with Black Widows--I don't do it.
"My name," I grumble, "is Mano Ayako, the Devil Hunter of the South. Yohko's my
cousin."
"Oh," she said, feigning disinterest. "By the way then, Ayako, I like the idea of
men or women. You should try it. I'm certainly willing."
So she can read my mind then, ne? Daijobu. Read this, bitch.
I launch a violet chi fireball at her. She expects this and parries with a blast
of her own. She, however, doesn't expect to see me go airborne and slice down with
my whip.
She leaps free of my strike just in time, then swings at me with a sword that she
didn't have in her hand a second ago--she must have pulled it out of malletspace...
damn, I've been watching too much Urusei Yatsura videos lately.
I hold the whip taut to block, then throw a rushing punch at her. She blocks, but
it gives me enough of a chance to grab her, throw some hard fists into her face, then slice kick her away.
She lands in the pentagram, and immediately begins to glow with a soft pink nimbus.
Oops.
The blast she hits me with nails me to the earth, pinning me down. As I'm
struggling to move, she's merrily chatting along about all the things she's going to
do to me simply because I'm not willing and she's feeling kind of kinky.
Great. I'm about to get killed and violated by Reiko, Queen of the Nympho Succubi.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see the rose glowing. A conversation that Yohko and
I once had comes to mind: sometimes a demon needs a focus to remain in the material
world. Remove the focus, you remove the demon.
One chance....
My whip snakes out, and in one blow, shreds the rose.
The world is filled with a bright yet soft pink as the death screams of the Queen
of the Damned fill my ears. She's going back to whatever hell she came from.
Me? I'm going to Disneyland. But first, a quick stop to Unconsciousness-ville.
********************
********************
I wake up the next day in my bed. I'm hurting all over, even in body parts I'm not
supposed to know are there.
"Don't move, Ayako-chan. You need rest."
I know that voice. "You came?"
"You know it. I came as fast as I could. I got there in time to see you level
Reiko...and half of the peak. Tourists are NOT going to be happy that Mt. Aso's
going to be closed for a while."
"They can go see Mt. Sakurajima. It's not far." I smiled.
"Well, I'll be here for a few days to cover you. My Azusa has things in Yokohama
well in hand."
I look at my cousin Yohko. She's always helped me, even when I hated her. Maybe
that's why I consider her one of my closest friends.
"By the way, Ayako-chan, you'll be glad to know that your friend Masaki-san called.
He thanks you for helping them out with that case. It prevented a widespread panic
over the Onibara case...and it saved the life of a bunch of schoolchildren on a field
trip to Mt. Aso. Reiko woulda killed them if you hadn't intervened."
"The credit is yours, Yohko. Your knowledge saved me."
"No, it's yours," she insisted. "Your heart fought bravely. And you're a hero to
all those kids."
I smile at my cousin, and a joy fills my heart. Tangible proof that fighting this
pervasive evil does protect people.
I've defeated Reiko. And furthermore, for a change...
...I'm happy.

END 56 min. 53 seconds.
==================================
AUTHOR'S NOTES
This was sadly inspired by the Onibara serial murders happening in Kobe as we speak.
According to this morning's edition of the JAPAN TIMES, the Kobe PD has several clues
to the suspect, but nothing firm.
As I write this, my ship will be sailing down to the Kagoshima/Mt. Aso area, so this
was also a subject that I'm fairly familiar with.
I'm not sure why I picked Devil Hunter Yohko as my hour piece, or why I picked Ayako
as the main character; I just sat down and typed away.
Lastly, though I'm not the religious type, I ask that you all say a prayer for those
suffering under the weight of the crimes of Onibara. I hope that soon, justice will
prevail, and peace be restored to the innocents of Kobe.
--Rob