Yōkai (Abandoned)

[Merchant of Venice]

You mean Emperor Meiji Cullen? Wait until act 5 when he has to fight a pack of werewolves led by Saigo Takamori

Oooooh I can't wait!

[Hitai de Bodemloze]

By Moonlight
Matsusaka-cho, Tsu-han, September 1864

There was only one bed. Nishina’s heart skipped a beat as she entered their hotel room. They would be forced to share a bed, how wonderful! Wonderful? No, awkward. Definitely an awkward situation. How should she proceed? Taking off her clothes might be a good start…what? Nishina rubbed her temples as her eyebrows furrowed. No, she was here with her captive – a serial murderer none the less! Maybe she was just tired.

Shinji had shuffled into the room with her and he perched on the foot of the solitary bed, still cloaked and bound. Nishina sidled over to remove the rice hat from atop his head and coat from across his shoulders. The boy didn’t even look at her as he was revealed, instead staring out of the only window in the room, which remained open despite the late hour. She sighed as she glanced at the features she hadn’t known she’d been missing all along that day…missing? Perhaps just… had she really missed looking at him that much? No! Not at all! Turning away with a snort, she followed Shinji’s gaze to the bright moon overhead.

“No funny business tonight,” she told Shinji as she walked over the window, trying to distract herself from his rosy chee…the awkward sleeping arrangements. “Just rest and we’ll leave at dawn tomorrow.

“It must be strange to travel with me,” she continued absently, losing track of her thoughts as she continued to gaze up at the moon. “Never talking, never doing anything at all. Although perhaps maybe you would be the same way even if your hands weren’t bound and your mouth not gagged. Then again, last time you were in control of yourself you slaughtered the better half of an entire village.

“It seems dehumanizing though, as if you’re a pet or a slave, rather than a man. Did you know that the Good Book condones slavery? We’ve had servants for centuries, I know that much, but who would have thought the Lord would provide his blessings unto such an act? Were it not for my meeting you, such a thought might never have crossed my mind. Yet seeing you reduced to this silent beast without a will…it stirs something in me. I’ve never doubted the Lord before, but…no , I do not doubt Him now. It’s just strange to think such strange thoughts. I’m sure you don’t understand. Maybe it’s this town. Such an absence of life and noise, I feel as if I need to compensate.”

She turned back to glance at Shinji. The boy was reclined on the bed, still awake, but staring simply at the ceiling, chewing a little at the corners of his gag. Immediately she felt guilty for not having procured food for the two of them that day. Yet there had been no vendor to buy from and the food across the market stalls seemed in no fine condition to eat.

“I hope you don’t hate me,” she spoke softly, moving to sit beside Shinji on the bed. Her feet dangled off the edge and she didn’t dare look at him; fearful all of a sudden of the uncontrollable change in her voice. “I know it must be difficult to lose your freedom in such a way. Yet I promise you it’s for your own good. If I leave you here, you’ll face certain suffering. In Rome however, you’ll be free of whatever curse has been placed upon you – whatever darkness that resides within your heart will be exorcised. Even should you die, you’ll be granted safe passage into the Lord’s Realm. So please, don’t hate me.”

Finally she turned to look at him again. The boy was still staring at the ceiling, oblivious as always. Her cold heart grew ever softer as she leaned in closer. “I hope we can find happiness together…Shinji.”

At the mention of his name, Shinji finally returned her gaze, to find the nun just inches away from his own face. Nishina’s hands crept slowly upwards to remove the cloth gag from his mouth. Yet just before her trembling fingers could finally free his tongue, the door to their room burst open with a splintering crash.

[Hitai de Bodemloze]

A special bumper weekend, to apologize for the lack of updates last month

[Merchant of Venice]

I'm loving this internal conflict inside of our protagonist, it shows a sort of vulnerability, as if she is just a girl and despite kind of wanting him she knows she can't have him. Great stuff.

[Hitai de Bodemloze]

I'm loving this internal conflict inside of our protagonist, it shows a sort of vulnerability, as if she is just a girl and despite kind of wanting him she knows she can't have him. Great stuff.

I'm glad she's interesting at least! It can be hard being a nun I still feel a bit bad for throwing two new protagonists into the mix so fast - I hope it all doesn't seem too rushed and that they make sense. Well, apart from the fact they're obviously both pretty weird But pacing wise? Is she filling Akashi's shoes okay?

[Junaidi83 de Bodemloze]

You should pursue career as Novelist,Hitai, you have vivid imagination i must say, probably you should increase the gore in this story, to make it more intense for readers,you know add some little blood, missing limb, organ squeeze

I hope you interested developing Horror story, there are many japan traditional ghost folklore as idea, with your vivid imagination i guess you can turn it into something people should not read before sleep on night

I even want to help you reseach it and discuss some plot idea if you want , even i am not writer nor have capability to put the idea into good paragraph by myself.

What make story good or not is how we describe it for reader,transform the word into reality, and i must say you have talent on that part only need to be polished and refocus.

Here some plot you may be interesting to develop if you interested
-urban legend
-folklore

[Merchant of Venice]

I'm glad she's interesting at least! It can be hard being a nun I still feel a bit bad for throwing two new protagonists into the mix so fast - I hope it all doesn't seem too rushed and that they make sense. Well, apart from the fact they're obviously both pretty weird But pacing wise? Is she filling Akashi's shoes okay?

I definitely like the new protagonist and I have no doubt in time she'll evolve into an interesting, multi-dimensial character. Pacing wise, I think her falling in love with her prisoner happened a bit too fast, personally, perhaps you should have delayed it, but it is nothing story breaking or immersion ruining

[Alwyn]

I like the strangeness of the empty town with the foot rotting on market stalls, the ghost woman and the oddness of the characters. This all draws me into the story brilliantly.

She's filling Akashi's shoes very well, for me. I agree with Merchant of Venice - the internal conflict is intriguing. Yes, she's becoming attracted to him quickly (and against her better judgement) - and yet sometimes that happens, so it doesn't seem like a flaw in your writing. (If you turned this into a full-length novel, then you might want to slow that down a bit - I wonder if that is where your feeling that this is rushed is coming from - the thought that, in a novel, this would normally take longer?)

[Hitai de Bodemloze]

You should pursue career as Novelist,Hitai, you have vivid imagination i must say, probably you should increase the gore in this story, to make it more intense for readers,you know add some little blood, missing limb, organ squeeze

I hope you interested developing Horror story, there are many japan traditional ghost folklore as idea, with your vivid imagination i guess you can turn it into something people should not read before sleep on night

I even want to help you reseach it and discuss some plot idea if you want , even i am not writer nor have capability to put the idea into good paragraph by myself.

What make story good or not is how we describe it for reader,transform the word into reality, and i must say you have talent on that part only need to be polished and refocus.

Here some plot you may be interesting to develop if you interested
-urban legend
-folklore

Thanks for your kind words! I've always been scared of even thinking about writing fiction professionally. It just seems too risky. Non-fiction however, that's where I hope to end up And things get gory soon, don't worry! I've deliberately had less action in this AAR, so I can build up tension and develop the spooky/supernatural theme. That's one reason why - I hope - when Akashi shot Yaridama Chiryo everyone was really shocked.

Japanese and Chinese supernatural/horror folktales and fiction are a huge inspiration! I've been reading a lot of Pu Songling and Ryunosuke Akutagawa, as well as watching modern supernatural-esuqe martial arts dramas. The latter in particular have made me drastically reconsider the direction of the story.

Thanks for your kind words and advice, I'll endeavour to continue and improve!

I definitely like the new protagonist and I have no doubt in time she'll evolve into an interesting, multi-dimensial character. Pacing wise, I think her falling in love with her prisoner happened a bit too fast, personally, perhaps you should have delayed it, but it is nothing story breaking or immersion ruining

I see where you're coming from. As I've mentioned, this AAR is being written in a very off the cuff/top of my head kind of way, so the characters are just writing themselves a lot of the time. So Nishina fell for Shinji quickly as I was writing and I'm adapting the future of the story to reflect that. I won't go into the hows or whys of this yet, but I'll just say that this AAR has a lot of unanswered questions (why was Shinji even killing people springs to mind!). I might not know the answer to all of these questions right now, but they'll all get answers eventually, because I'm far too engrossed in this story - I feel more like a reader than a writer sometimes! So I want to know the answers to why these things are happening too. I have ideas now - they might be in chapter 21, they might be in chapter 210! It just depends how the story develops. For example I know what's going to happen in Act 2 and a rough idea for what will happen after, but none of it is concrete. As Nishina and Shinji's adventure continues, we'll discover more and more about them and why they act as they do.

I like the strangeness of the empty town with the foot rotting on market stalls, the ghost woman and the oddness of the characters. This all draws me into the story brilliantly.

She's filling Akashi's shoes very well, for me. I agree with Merchant of Venice - the internal conflict is intriguing. Yes, she's becoming attracted to him quickly (and against her better judgement) - and yet sometimes that happens, so it doesn't seem like a flaw in your writing. (If you turned this into a full-length novel, then you might want to slow that down a bit - I wonder if that is where your feeling that this is rushed is coming from - the thought that, in a novel, this would normally take longer?)

Cheers! Matsusaka was another thing (like most of this story) that just kind of happened out of the blue. I think I just want to keep the mystery theme going, even if our poor detectives have met with their end.

I agree. I tried to write another AAR entitled A Thunder that Shook the Heavens, which I did in the mindset of a novel, with 8,000 words to cover what I'd probably do in 800 in this style. Although I have written and enjoyed writing novels, it's incredibly draining and not as suited to the short, snappy AAR style - atleast the one I'm going for anyway. If I approached this more seriously, it probably would be a lot longer and a lot slower paced. I feel the actual quality of writing with this story has deteriorated as the months has gone by, but conversely, I've enjoyed writing it more and more every week. So I'd rather do what I'm doing and enjoy myself with something maybe sub-par in a literary sense, than make it the best it could be and zap the fun out of it.

[Hitai de Bodemloze]

Karakuri
Matsusaka-cho, Tsu-han, September 1864

“What do you want?” Nishina asked bluntly to the unknown entrant, jumping up from the bed and dusting off her robes. What had just come over her? She coughed and tried to regain her composure, turning to see who had just invaded their room.

Clutching a tanto sword in one hand, the Lady of the Inn shuffled into the room. Her movements were nowhere near as refined as her features. Her legs were stiff and heavy, as if she’d never used them before. Her arms meanwhile swung limply at her sides, as if she had no control over them at all.

“I don’t know what kind of establishment you’re running,” Nishina spoke warily, dragging Shinji up and shielding the boy behind her. “But it’s rude to disturb your guests in the middle of the night.”

The woman didn’t reply, instead lunging forward awkwardly, thrusting her blade forward. Nishina dodged out of the way, pulling Shinji along with her. The proprietress’ movements were erratic and random, as she continued to flail about the room, slashing randomly with her dagger. Nishina unsheathed one of the katana blades from her belt and parried another blow from the crazed innkeeper.

“I don’t know what madness has possessed you,” the nun snarled as she locked blades with the blank-faced intruder, “but I shall smite you down. You have angered God this night.”

The other woman did not respond, nor show any emotion whatsoever, instead hacking at Nishina wildly. Nishina blocked another flurry of blows, using her free hand to keep Shinji shielded behind her. The innkeeper continued her barrage, not relenting whatsoever. However, as the strange woman lifted her sword above her head for another attack, Nishina shoved Shinji aside and on to the bed. The tanto arced down and in the same movement Nishina rolled her body in the other direction, the blade cutting through the air between the now separated couple. Still turning, Nishina brought her blade around in a horizontal arc, splitting the proprietress through her waist.

The other woman collapsed into two parts, her legs slumping to the ground and her torso rolling away. Nishina sheathed her sword and let out of a sigh, closing her eyes in relief. Then, she felt something tugging on the hem of her kimono. “Yeah, yeah,” she laughed, “no need to thank me Shinji. I told you I was your guardian angel.”

She opened her eyes, only to see Shinji still lying on the bed where she had thrown him – an odd twinkle in his eyes. Nishina glanced down to see the cold hand of the innkeeper grasping at her ankle. The woman was still alive!? Nishina let out a shrill scream and instinctively stamped her sandaled foot down on the woman’s skull, shattering it completely.

“What in God’s name is going on?” she asked no one in particular. She turned to Shinji once more. “Come on, we should get out of here. This place isn’t safe.”

The boy was staring down at the broken body of the former innkeeper. “She’s dead,” Nishina assured him, slightly annoyed at his lack of urgency. Then she glanced down to see what was so fascinating…

There was no blood whatsoever. Not a single drop of blood had spilled from the eviscerated woman. Nishina made the sign of the Cross upon her breast and knelt down to examine the corpse. Where once veins might have pumped blood or muscles might have twitched, there were only cogs and springs. This woman was…a machine?

Jumping back in disgust, Nishina grabbed Shinji by the arm and escorted him out of the room. “This isn’t good…this isn’t good…” she repeated under her breath, fear coursing through her veins now. “We need to get out of here now.”

The pair of them sped through the dark corridors of the inn, Nishina desperately searching for the exit. “Blasted karakuri puppets,” she seethed to herself. “You try and warn people, but oh no, this is technology – progress! Yet once things start moving on their own, it’s only a matter of time before they try to kill everything. You know there’s a reason God made us this way, don’t you? We’re meant to have flesh and blood, not clockwork and mechanics. Oh, when I meet the heretic responsible for this…”

Shinji was apparently paying no attention to her, as usual. However, she’d left his hat and coat in the room, so he well and truly looked like a prisoner now – the bonds tying his wrists and gagging his mouth obvious for anyone to see. She’d have to find another costume to hide him in when she next got a chance. Now though, she had to find a horse for them – unless they had all been turned into puppets as well…

Finally they found themselves in the lobby of the inn, where they had first met the clockwork innkeeper. “Now, listen to me Shinji,” Nishina commanded the boy, still dragging him quickly along to the exitway. “Stay close to me and make as little sound as possible. We’re going to find a horse and get out of here as quickly as possible. We’ve already encountered one bloodthirsty automaton; let’s try not to meet any others okay?”

Pushing open the doors to the inn and stepping out into the cold night, Nishina felt her heart sink. “Well, so much for that…”

[Hitai de Bodemloze]

There, I've made up for missing the past three weeks Regular updates will resume every Friday from next week.

[Asdrubaal]

Finally finished reading this one (well, I'm lazy, and Tomb Raider has taken a lot of my time lately), this last chapter was like:

*shhh* we killed that crazy toaster, now we are going to be sneaky, let's open the door and walk silently to steal a horse...

Fail

Machines don't think like humans, not to mention that they don't need rest, let's see how those two get out of this one, Japanese clockwork Terminator to the rescue?

Personally I liked the poor policeman, I mean, you get sent to a lost village in the middle of nowhere, you have a shady past, a sort of boy scout good boy dumb assistant, a romantic interest and a killer nobody has been able to see, not a situation I would like, poor guy, I think he would have preferred to be in the battlefield, at least there you can see the bullets coming at you.

One question thought, are you actually playing a campaign along with the story?

[Hitai de Bodemloze]

Finally finished reading this one (well, I'm lazy, and Tomb Raider has taken a lot of my time lately), this last chapter was like:

*shhh* we killed that crazy toaster, now we are going to be sneaky, let's open the door and walk silently to steal a horse...

Fail

Machines don't think like humans, not to mention that they don't need rest, let's see how those two get out of this one, Japanese clockwork Terminator to the rescue?

Personally I liked the poor policeman, I mean, you get sent to a lost village in the middle of nowhere, you have a shady past, a sort of boy scout good boy dumb assistant, a romantic interest and a killer nobody has been able to see, not a situation I would like, poor guy, I think he would have preferred to be in the battlefield, at least there you can see the bullets coming at you.

One question thought, are you actually playing a campaign along with the story?

You'll have to wait and see what happens

Some sympathy for the guy who shot old women in the face, beat up his own assistant and tried to kidnap a young boy to launch a holy war? Don't worry, I liked him as well

And nope, I'm not playing a campaign for this one. Most of the images come from custom battles. I've planned and attempted AARs based on campaigns before, but I wanted to do something different this time. If I ever write another AAR after this, it probably would be one more closely based on gameplay. I do feel a lack of authenticity with this 'AAR' and I do miss the gameplay element, but, at the same time, it's very stressful and time-consuming trying to juggle both, so writing this is a lot easier for me.

I think a big turning point in my way of thinking was when I wrote the first chapter of my aforementioned Thunder AAR. I spent 4,000 words describing something not even in the game and another 4,000 describing an auto-resolved battle. Only a fraction of the characters were in the game as well. Had I continued it, although it would have technically still followed my campaign gameplay, I would have been doing more work inventing my own story than actually telling the story of the game. All I really had was a framework were Army A when to Province 1 on this month of that year and killed X amount of people. Plus I wasn't able to take any screenshots due to how buggy the game was. So I resolved to ditch the framework and write without that gameplay element. And with sexy screenshots

Am I still writing an AAR? Who knows? Some people would say yes, others would say no. I'd probably say yes, but it's a problem I still think about a lot. An interesting thing to think about is if I were actually playing a campaign, but writing this very same story. Does an AAR have to be a story (or otherwise) about the actual gameplay or can it simply be a story written in the context or world of the campaign? If the latter, is the campaign even necessary when you can just borrow upon the setting of the game itself without the actual gameplay, as I've done here? Would we maybe feel differently if this weren't a historical game and were instead something with fictive setting exclusive to a game? What about BAARs based around custom battles? Could we construe my story to be one that links together numerous BAARs to create an AAR? I don't feel it's a clear-cut black-and-white issue between categorizing something as an AAR or creative writing (not that this is even the dichotomy we might think it to be, owing to how we differentiate on this forum. AARs have always been a sub-category of creative writing, rather than something diametrically opposite). As AARtistry evolves (and has been evolving for many years now) a significant grey area between the two has grown. I think stories like mine are just pushing the boundaries (if I might be so presumptuous) of that grey area, to see just how far we can go with AARs and what can be done with them. If people disagree, that's something that really interests me aswell, so I'm happy to hear arguments from both sides of the fence. A whole lot to think about and something to keep me occupied over at the CQ for a long time to come I imagine.

Then again, if people start lobbying against me I can always start a campaign. After 21 chapters I think we're only about two turns in, were I to start one! Not difficult to catch up

[Merchant of Venice]

Wonderful chapter, the automaton was an interesting surprise. I was expecting some other-like zombie thing, but the automaton was much cooler. Furthermore, the final screenshot was brilliant taken and used. In this instance, a picture really did tell a thousand words (or at least a hundred!).

I would kinda like you to possibly add some gameplay elements. You don't have to have them become part of the army or anything but maybe they are caught up in a siege, or as they enter a town they hear gossip of the shoguns troops marching towards blah blah. Just some food for thought.

A great chapter nonetheless though.

[Hitai de Bodemloze]

Wonderful chapter, the automaton was an interesting surprise. I was expecting some other-like zombie thing, but the automaton was much cooler. Furthermore, the final screenshot was brilliant taken and used. In this instance, a picture really did tell a thousand words (or at least a hundred!).

I would kinda like you to possibly add some gameplay elements. You don't have to have them become part of the army or anything but maybe they are caught up in a siege, or as they enter a town they hear gossip of the shoguns troops marching towards blah blah. Just some food for thought.

A great chapter nonetheless though.

Cheers! Yeah I did some messing around with the scripts to get the camera unlocked, so I'm a lot happier with the screenshots now. I might look at same basic modding though, just for single-person units, since trying to engineer screenshots with just one or two people can get super fiddly at times.

Oh there are definitely going to be battles and sieges and loads of fun stuff! It's just the actual war hasn't broken out yet. This is still the 'calm' before the storm We've still got some way to go yet with this story though. The way I see it in my head, the chapter 210 I quoted earlier sounds quite reasonable

[Merchant of Venice]

Cheers! Yeah I did some messing around with the scripts to get the camera unlocked, so I'm a lot happier with the screenshots now. I might look at same basic modding though, just for single-person units, since trying to engineer screenshots with just one or two people can get super fiddly at times.

Oh there are definitely going to be battles and sieges and loads of fun stuff! It's just the actual war hasn't broken out yet. This is still the 'calm' before the storm We've still got some way to go yet with this story though. The way I see it in my head, the chapter 210 I quoted earlier sounds quite reasonable

Yes I just found out about the miracle that is the debug camera. Also, there is a way to reduce all units to a single man (or woman). I'll PM you the method if you're interested.

And only 210 chapters! Thats not enough I want 2100!

[Hitai de Bodemloze]

Yes I just found out about the miracle that is the debug camera. Also, there is a way to reduce all units to a single man (or woman). I'll PM you the method if you're interested.

And only 210 chapters! Thats not enough I want 2100!

Oh please do! That would be incredible

The race is on!

[Scottish King]

I loved the automaton scene. Didnt expect that! Cant wait for the next update!

[Hitai de Bodemloze]

The Clockwork Army
Matsusaka-cho, Tsu-han, September 1864

Outside of the inn, the whole town of Matsusaka had congregated. Hundreds of blank-eyed villagers had assembled outside, each holding a weapon of some sort – from katana blade to yari spear to simple pitchfork. Nishina did not doubt each and every one had the same oil pumping through it as the innkeeper she had just been forced to dismantle. “We might be in trouble here…” she coughed nervously, coming to a halt before the clockwork crowd.

“Welcome!” came a voice. “Welcome dear friends, to Matsusaka!”

Nishina watched as a small, portly fellow pushed his way through the automatons. An aging man, he walked with a slightly crooked back and he nursed a wispy white beard upon his sagging chin. As he came to a halt before the pair of them, he spread his arms wide in greeting. “It’s my pleasure to introduce the townsfolk here. They just can’t wait to meet you!”

“We’re already acquainted,” Nishina bit back, edging in front of Shinji like a lioness protecting its cub. “I take it you’re the puppeteer?”

“Puppeteer, puppeteer…” the old man repeated, scratching his chin and smirking. “Such an amateurish term! As if all I do is pull strings and work curtains! Oh no, I’m…a general!”

Nishina rolled her eyes. “Oh dear…”

“Do you like my army?” he asked them, casting a fond gaze over the mindless townsfolk. “They are no mere puppets. They take commands, act on their own, do whatever I ask of them. No need for strings or shows – just one word from me and they’ll carry out whatever I command.”

“Well, that’s all very well and good,” Nishina spoke graciously, beginning to shuffle away with Shinji in tow. “But we’re very busy people you see and we should be moving on. Best of luck with your schemes though Mr General!”

“Swords!”

As one, the clockwork villagers lifted up their weapons and directed them towards the escaping couple. The old man smirked once more. “I told you,” he gloated as Nishina and Shinji were stopped dead in their tracks. “And, for your information, it’s not Mr General. My name is Kaname Yukemuri. I would tell you to remember it, but unfortunately neither of you are going to be alive much longer.”

“Is that so?” Nishina snarled, moving forward to fully shield Shinji and unsheathing her twin katana swords.

“That’s right!” Kaname laughed. “You’re to join my new army, along with the rest of Matsusaka – and soon the entire country!

“They resisted at first you know,” he continued with a warm smile, as if he were doing them some favour by blathering on. “The townsfolk here. They thought me and my experiments mad. Yet eventually they could not resist. Now they are forever youthful, forever beautiful as my karakuri host.”

“They’re just mindless slaves,” Nishina retorted. “You’ve stripped them of their lives. They have no will or life of their own now. They can no longer speak nor move of their own accord. They cannot love or feel at all. They are not part of God’s plan.”

Yet as she spoke, she thought of Shinji – her captive. How was he any different to the karakuri before them? Come to think of it, how was she… Always driving forward on God’s great mission… Was she really free? Or was she just a puppet as well?

“God’s plan means nothing here!” Kaname spat back, anger flashing across his face for the first time. “God is a poison, distilled by foreigners upon our shores and spread like a plague across our lands. We must fight against this invasion – to restore our Japan to its former glory! That’s why Matsusaka has answered the call.”

Nishina’s head was swimming as she tried to process the man’s words. “You’ve created an army of puppets to fight the West?”

“Perhaps one day we can fight the world,” Kaname spoke with a faraway expression in his eyes. “Yet that time is not now. War is brewing on our isles. We must face our inner demons before we look outward. You must have seen it. It’s here in this very domain! The Toda of Tsu pretend to swear allegiance to the great Shogun, but every day they import Western guns – secretly stylish themselves as ‘Imperial’, yet colouring themselves ever whiter. There will be war between the Shogun and Emperor soon enough. The Shogun will demand we take up arms and he will find one loyal general left in Tsu – one loyal general and his immortal army. Forever loyal, never tiring, never needing food nor water. Shaking off gunshot wounds and katana scars alike – my karakuri are the perfect army. We will win the Shogun this war!

“And this shall be our first battle!” Kaname cried and raised his arm. The stiff joints of the silent townsfolk whirring into life and the karakuri began marching towards Nishina and Shinji.

“Okay, keep calm Nishina, you can do this,” the nun tried to reassure herself, but as the army of automatons approached, her hands began to tremble uncontrollably. In a moment of panic, she turned and sought to retreat back into the inn, but all she found were more puppets spilling out of the building. They were slowly being surrounded.

Nishina sighed. “Perhaps I promised you too much…” she spoke softly to Shinji, not even able to look him in the eye. She promised to be his guardian angel, but in their current predicament, how could she save him? The automatons drew ever closer; devoid of empathy or mercy, just blank eyed machines, readying themselves for the kill. There was no hope now, no escape from the encroaching army of clockwork.

Then she felt a nudge in her side. She turned to see Shinji elbowing her, trying to get her attention. Still gagged and bound, he looked at her pointedly, his eyes meeting hers, then looking down at the cloth binding his wrists.

The karakuri puppets now only mere metres away from them, Nishina relented, not even thinking about what she was doing. In one movement, she swung one of her katanas down to slice the bonds from Shinji’s wrists.

As soon as his bonds came undone, Shinji ran the index finger of his right hand down the steel of Nishina’s still-falling blade, sending blood spilling down his hand. He pulled back the left sleeve of his kimono and used his blood drenched finger to spell out one word in horrific crimson across his bare forearm:

Yokai.

[Hitai de Bodemloze]

I know, photo-editing is not my forte...

I loved the automaton scene. Didnt expect that! Cant wait for the next update!

Thank you