《Cursed child》 Cursed child: prologue Youkai, Japanese spirits and monsters there all around us, you just can''t see them. And trust me you wouldn''t want to. Remember when you were young and you heard all the stories of the monsters hiding under your bed, well nothing is scarier when the monsters really there and no night light can ever get rid of it. I was five when I first started to see them, at first they left me alone until they realised I could see them. Some played with me and told me stories but others chased me around claiming I "looked tasty" but no matter who I told no one believed me and I had long since learned to shut up about the monsters and spirits which surrounded me afterall what good would it do to tell anyone anymore? Im twelve now and living in a care home, after an incident when I was six and a monster followed me home and tore up the house I was labeled a "problem child" by my parents and left abandoned in the care home, but it didn''t bother me much they had never felt like much of a family and even before I started seeing the youkai they had called me a cursed child though I never knew why, I never would know now I suppose. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. But life wasn''t all bad and I had grown used to my life in the home, I was avoided by most of the tenants due to the odd paranormal events that happened around me but I enjoyed school and I had long since learned the routes I needed to take to avoid the youkai around town. However everything changed on that one day.... ..................................................................................................................... Hi sorry for the short prologue I''m writing this story because I absolutely love manga with spirits in it like natsume yuujinchou I hope you like it and feel free to give me a comment or opinion on it Cursed child: chapter 1 It was just an ordinary day and I had set off to school half an hour early as usual so as to take the long route and avoid the spirits who tried to eat me on a regular basis. The only downside of this route was it involved going through the richer part of town which happens to be home to one of the idiots in my class Akira. There was a long list of things Akira didn''t like about me and for some reason he felt the need to let the entire class know these reasons on a regular basis. Growing up in a care home not even to mention my unlucky experience with spirits meant that I had experiencend my fair share of bullying as I grew up so none of what he said or did really meant anything to me, which just seemed to make him dislike me more. Walking as fast as I could past him before he had time to say anything to me I picked up my pace, not that it mattered to him, him being several times larger than me and all. Quickly catching up he grabbed my bag pulling me back "who said you were allowed to walk round here you freak? Last thing I want to see is your ugly face in the morning." staying quiet I nodded my head and moved to leave. Before he grabbed me back again "I asked you a question freak, I deserve a proper answer don''t you think?" sighing I was just about to act scared and pretend to agree when all of a sudden my blood went cold. Suddenly spinning around I looked behind a surprised Akira and saw where the source of my discomfort was coming from. About ten meters down the road stood a thin woman dressed in a traditional Japanese kimono her face shrouded by a parosel, she was a spirit and a bad one at that "Akira," I said in a horse voice "run away now!" at first Akira just looked at me in disbelief "Who the hell do you think your ordering around you parentless freak?!?!" I looked at him again in the eyes, I had only had this feeling about a spirit once before and the attack it dealt me left me in hospital for two weeks "please," I said "I''m begging you." Akira suddenly looked at me in surprise and stopped protesting, probably because for all he''d ever done to me I don''t think I''d ever begged him for anything before "tch, this is boring anyway I''ll continue this later at school." looking as Akira walked out of my line of sight I sighed in relief and walked towards the spirit, if she was as bad as the last one running away wouldn''t help me much anyway it would be better to just get it over with. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. "What do you want?" I asked as I approached the spirit "kukuku now this is interesting you actually sent the boy away despite knowing what would happen if he stayed, don''t you want to see him hurt?" I shook my head as I looked at the spirit "he''s an idiot but I don''t want him dead." the spirit laughed again and then lifted her parosel up revealing her face. Despite her slim and elegant body her face was a horrendous mess of scars and teeth "well then I will trade his life for yours, you look tastier anyway, and it''s been a while since I got to eat one who could see us." smiling creeping she started to move closer too me and my blood ran cold once more, mustering all my strength I punched her in the face and ran for it. Dropping to the floor clutching her aching face she started to scream at me "You insolent brat you will pay for what you have done!" running as fast as I could I ran quickly towards the nearest building which happened to be a shrine, crossing into the shrine I saw the enraged spirit on the other side of shrine gate screaming in frustration you may be protected by the barrier for now but I''ll get you eventually!" still muttering curses the spirit walked off hiding once again under her parosel. Slumping down onto the ground I sighed on relief at my near escape, this was unexpected I''d never seen a spirit stop before it must be something to do with the shrine. Unfortunately though the spirit was right I''d have to leave sometime and when I did nothing good would come of it sighing again this time in despair I started to sprint towards the school. If I''d known what would''ve happened next however, I think I would have just stayed at the shrine. Cursed child: chapter 2 Rushing into the classroom just as the bell rung the previous classroom chatter ceased and the class turned silent as they stared at me wearily and with disdain. Quietly slipping into my seat the chatter slowly started up again until the teacher started talking "All right, all right quiet down everyone were going to start today''s lessons now," Waiting a moment for the chatter to die down the teacher continued talking "OK today were starting to learn about algebraic fractions open your maths textbooks to page forty nine and complete all the questions written there." there was a momentary shuffling as everyone got out there textbook when all of a sudden there was a loud screeching noise. Looking around in shock I noticed the mornings previous spirit standing by the blackboard as she dragged her fingers round it. Scared I instantly put my head down praying she wouldn''t recognise me, however another loud screeching brought my attention back to the blackboard where my blood ran cold upon seeing what she was doing. The scratches she was making were not random but rather spelled out a name, my name, Kai. I not sure how she knew it but she did, within five seconds the room had become silent except for the screeches as the class turned to face me fear in their eyes. "it''s not me," I began to whisper "this isn''t my fault." however no one was listening anymore "He''s a freak, Iv always said it. Stay away from me." Akira voice resounded throughout the classroom, and for the first time since I met him one of Akira''s insults actually hurt me. A if his voice was the signal the students all around me slid out of their desks and moved towards the window until I was sitting alone in the centre of the room. Seeing how isolated I was the spirit stopped scratching on the blackboard and smiled as she started to make her way towards me. "stop," I whisperd under my breath "please stop." but my prayers were unanswered looking round at my cowering classmates I made up my mind grabbing my bag I ran towards the door desperate to escape back to the shrine where I would be safe. Shoving every chair, desk and bag I could in the way of the spirit I ran out of the classroom, and out of the school. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. Finally the shrine came into sight the sanctuary that meant save haven for me, but fate is rarely that kind and two meters in front of the shrine I found myself falling as I lay on the ground looking up at the spirit which held my arms to the ground chortle in joy. "kukuku foolish human you actually believed you could escape me, you will pay for your insults against me! Now let me eat you!" suddenly all the scars on her mouth widened to form a mouth. Terrified I looked at the statue of the shrines guardian and prayed "please help me." I yelled out in my mind and quite unexpectedly I heard a reply. "it''s been awhile since anyone found my prison let alone prayed to it, this seems interesting very interesting indeed, child who are you to see into my prison like this?" unable to see anything but the mouth slowly closing in on me I yelled out again, out loud this time. "save me and I''ll tell you anything!" the voice chuckled again "A puny human trying to reason with me the time has indeed changed, very well I will grant your request." All of a sudden the weight of the spirit was lifted off my chest, turning around I saw the creature that answered me. The thing that rescued me was probably best described as a creature that looked like a cross between a fox and a Wolf but had pure white fur, golden eyes and blue markings on its ankles and head, it was also eating the spirit which until twenty seconds ago had been trying to eat me. Although I didn''t get the cold feeling I usually got when a spirit meant me harm I still felt some worry towards the creature that so easily took care of the other spirit, not even the mention the comment about being "puny human" All in all I wondered if asking the creature for help would cause me more harm than good but before I could dwell on it the creature spoke once more "So I ask you again, who are you and how did you find this place?" .................................................................................. Thanks for reading please feel free to comment or rate as I appreciate the feedback Cursed child: chapter 3 Before I replied I quickly stepped into the safety of the shrines boundaries "can I ask you a question first?" I said curiously, after a moments hesitation the creature nodded "why do you seem so surprised to see someone here? Truth be told I only stumbled upon this shrine by accident this morning, then returned again now trying to seek safe haven from that spirit. What is this place and why couldn''t the spirit get to me in here?" The creature looked at me in quiet consideration "your not lying to me are you child? Because if you do have no doubt in your mind it will be the last thing you ever do." still confused I answered his question best I could "I''m not lying but why does that matter?" sighing the creature sat down "sit down child this will be a long story." Sitting down I looked at the creature in anticipation "ah that''s right I haven''t thanked you for saving me yet, thank you for that and nice to meet you, I''m Kai." the creature once again looked at me in surprise and laughed "hahaha interesting child, too interesting not only did you find this place twice your also unafraid of me, this is a first among humans." I smiled somewhat sadly "it''s fine I''m used to it by now." noting my smile the creature nodded sadly and started to speak once more "I cannot tell you my true name as that would give you a power over me even in this weakend state but you may call me my given name, I am called Shin." Nodding I stared at the giant beast to continue "well a long time ago I was considered a powerful youkai with many friends and followers both human and youkai, in this time however exorcists were also prominent and many would enslave spirits by finding their true names and forcing them into a slavery contracts forcing them to hunt other youkai or dying if they went against the contract," At this point Shin stopped and stared of into the distance a sad smile on his face "being quite powerful and friendly with humans I was a desirable target for many exorcist, however after I refused a contract one of the exorcists managed to kidnap a friend of mine in an attempt to force me into giving them my true name, in the end my friend died and I went on a rampage killing every exorcist I could find until they finally managed to seal me here." Shin looked over at me slowly "in truth the shrine was sealed to never allow other youkai in here to prevent the friends I had left from freeing me, only an exorcist or someone else with a high enough spirit energy would be able to get through the barrier which is why I have remained trapped and sealed for so long, which begs the question of how you managed to get in here? Unless your an exorcist, which judging by the trouble you had with the previous spirit and how unafraid of me you are would be highly unlikely. So child what is your story?" This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Looking at Shin quietly I decided it might be nice to finally tell someone the truth for once, even if that someone is actually a youkai capable of swallowing me whole. "I''ve been able to see youkai since I was five years old though I''m not sure why, the youkai also seem to be able to tell I can see them as I''ve been targeted frequently, the spirit from before tried to eat me so I punched her in the face and ran but she tailed me to my school and started making causing trouble so I ran here which is the only place I''d ever been which could stop spirits." Shin nodded "I can tell your not lying, although I''m not sure to why you suddenly awakened the ability to see us I''m glad you did, in the end I believe the exorcists who sealed me never believed there would be a person with a powerful enough spirit force to find the shrine who wasn''t an exorcist." Turning to stare at me Shin paused a moment as if considering something "Kai, would you like to form a contract with me?" I looked at him in shock "What are you saying, didn''t all this happen because you were trying to avoid a contract?!?!" Shin stared at me in a peaceful manner "that is true but what I am proposing is an equals contract not a slave contract, to tell you the truth there is a loophole in the sealing spell," Shin''s golden eyes stared directly into mine "the exorcists claimed that if a made a contract with a human it would release the seal. They did this in case I ever grew desperate enough to submit to them thinking the only humans with a strong enough spirit power to find me would be them. I would never submit to the pigs who killed my family and friends, but I don''t mind you and your probably my best bet of getting out, in return I''ll protect you from other spirits who may attack you in future, do we have a deal?" Staring into Shin''s eyes once more I gave a smile then nodded "yes we have a deal." Cursed child: chapter 4 Shin smiled at me and nodded "earlier I mentioned how knowing someone''s true name will give you power over a spirit and can be used to form a one sided slave contract, however exchanging true names can be used as the basis for an equals contract," Shin looked over at me to check I was still following and then continued "in truth humans do not originally have true names unless one is given to them by a supernatural creature like myself so the way to form a contract is first for me to give you a true name and second to tell you my own, do you still wish to proceed?" Gazing at Shin calmly in the eyes I nodded, although I would never admit it I was lonely and would be happy to make a friend, youkai or human "let''s get started." chuckling at my eagerness Shin paused "first of all my real name is Shinya and as for you my new friend I will name you Raikou." As he said it I felt a peculiar sensation of power rush through me, lifting a sharp claw Shinya carefully cut a scar across my hand then proceeded to do the same to his other paw. Dripping his blood in a circle Shinya motioned for me to do the same, as I dripped my blood on the circle the cycle shined red and Shinya began to speak. "I swear on my true name, Shinya to honour the contract I make and to protect the human Raikou to the best of my ability." staring at Shinya I saw the sincerity in his eyes and smiled "I swear on my true name, Raikou to honour the contract I make and to protect the youkai Shinya to the best of my ability." As I finished my part of the contract the circle once again glowed bright red and suddenly the circle disappeared and a golden circle the same colour of Shinya eyes appeared on my hand. Suddenly I looked around and realised Shinya was missing, running outside the shrine I looked around in panic before I heard a voice calling out. "calm down Raikou I''m down here." looking down at my feet I stared down at the small white dog that mysteriously had some similar qualities to that of a fox or a dog and had a blue replicate of the circle on my hand, on its paw "Shinya?" I asked in question, however all doubts were erased as the dog snorted and looked at me with its golden eyes. "Shinya why do you look like that?" Barking out another laugh Shinya gave me a smile filled with razor sharp teeth "well I can''t exactly follow you around in my original form and this way normal humans can see me but think I''m an ordinary dog." "That''s brilliant Shinya, actually I was wondering am I allowed to call you your true name now we have a contract or should I just call you Shin?" This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Shiya paused for a minute considering "now we are in a contract my true name has been sealed and cannot be used by anyone else however I prefer the name Shin if you can I will also call you Rai because although your name is also sealed through the contract it never hurts to be careful." I smiled and nodded again before I remembered what happened in class and sighed in despair. "Shin I don''t suppose you have an ability to wipe memories?" Shin looked at me in surprise "No but I can hit someone really hard till they forget." looking at Shin for the first time today I laughed "no you can''t do that but thanks for the option I''m gonna head back to school now, hiding out here won''t change anything. Shin can you wait for me here?" Shin quietly shook his head "now that the seals broken the remaining exorcists may be able to tell I''m free so the best course of action is leaving now." realising the danger we may be I opened my back pack and allowed for Shin to hop in "Shin would you be OK hiding here for today until we can go home?" Shin looked a bit disgruntled but nodded none the less and jumped into the bag. OK I thought to myself let''s get this over with, and I started running back towards the school. Ten minutes later and I had entered the classroom and once again the room fell into silence. Slipping back into my seat I put down my bag with Shin still in it and waited for the class to continue, however contrary to my expectations the class did not continue but rather the teacher looked at me and sighed "Kai follow me into the corridor, every one else continue the questions on page three." Standing out in the corridor the teacher once again sighed "so I don''t suppose you want to yell me what happened back then?" I thought for a moment about if I had a viable excuse but couldn''t think of anything "I don''t know sir." the teacher looked at me again this time irritabley "don''t play dumb with me, while I may not have any evidence I know you were responsible for what happened back there and as soon as I find proof your going to wish you confessed now go sit back down I don''t want to hear another peak out of you today, am I understood?" Looking down I pretended to feel sorry "yes sir understood." Cursed child: chapter 5 The rest of the school day was quite uneventful, although I was quite unsurprised to see that the rumors about me had already spread to the entire school. However even I had to admit they''d gotten quite a bit out of hand, according to many of the students of my school I was now either possessed by a demon, an actual demon, or secretly a necromancer. How do I know all this you might ask? Well that''s because of Shin''s extraordinary hearing, after hearing all the rumors about me going round the cafeteria he told me what they were saying and had been laughing ever still hidden in my bag ever since. But despite all this the school day drew to a close and finally I was allowed to leave, stopping once I was out of sight of the school I opened my bag to let Shin out. "Thanks for putting up with that all day Shin I''ll take you to my home now and we''ll figure out what we''re doing then." Shin nodded but rather than walking, leaped up agiliy and sat down on my shoulder "OK I''ll sit up here though it makes it easier for me to talk to you without being found out." "thanks Shin." picking up the pace I started to run home, after running for about twenty minutes I finally came to a stop in front of the old care home. "Shin is it possible for you to go into your spirit form so people don''t see you?" Shin nodded and once again turned to his gigantic form "thanks Shin we''re not meant to have pets and it''d be a pain if they found out." I whisperd I didn''t want to look like anymore of a weirdo than I already did by supposedly talking to myself. As I was about to walk into the house the door slammed open and one of the older boys, Hiiro stormed out "watch it freak." he said scowling at me with the same dislike as Akira had had this morning "Who was that boy?" Shin asked as soon as he had left our line of sight "one of the care home kids he''s away a lot of the time now though with a part time job, why''d you ask?" Shin frowned as he gazed at the direction Hiiro had come from "he couldn''t see me but his aura was undoubtedly similar to the exorcists who sealed me." I looked at Shin in surprise "let''s head to my room and talk there." I said realising how odd I must look supposedly alone on the front step talking to myself. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. Nodding in agreement Shin nodded and followed me into the house and up the stairs to the dusty old attic I had claimed as my room. "So what does it mean that Hiiro''s aura was similar to the exorcists who sealed you?" "well it was not the same exactly but very similar if I was to guess I''d say he was a descendant of the exorcists or possibly a disciple of one of them, do you know if he has any family who visits him or who he goes to see?" Thinking for a minute I was reminded about all the strange occurrences around Hiiro growing up that had never quite made sense but had never been seen as significant enough to bother looking into "I''m not sure about family but he did get a part time job last year that no one seems to know what it is. He also goes on trips with his boss and his family sometimes and I think there''s been talk of the boss adopting him." Shin was silent considering it, "Rai is there a temple nearby or a big shrine of any sorts?" I nodded there was one that had been there since ancient times "yes it''s a temple school that''s about ten minutes away from here on the way to school, I try to avoid it though because the place has youkai as it''s watchmen it never made sense to me before but I guess they must have a contract with the exorcists living there." Shin nodded "Rai tomorrow I want to try walking past the temple school to see if any of my friends were enslaved after I was sealed." I looked at Shin in disbelief "Shin isn''t that really dangerous considering they may have been the ones who sealed you, what if they seal you again?" "don''t worry I''ll be in my dog disguise and with you walking next to me we''ll look like a kid taking his dog for a walk I''ll also protect you from the spirits on route." I sighed but nodded nonetheless at least the route was shorter and with Shin''s help I may be able to avoid having to go past Akira''s house again "fine but while I''m in school what are you going to do?" "Look for my friends and see what''s happened to them, I''ll meet you at the school gate when you leave though." "ok," I said "but promise me you''ll be careful." Shin just laughed, I really hope nothing bad happens tomorrow. Cursed Child: chapter 6 The next morning I awoke at my usual time of six, looking around I could see Shin, still in his spirit form curled around my bed protectively. Smiling at the sight of it I quietly tiptoed down the stairs to grab my breakfast, the other members of the house would usually eat at seven but seeing as none of them liked me I found it best just to stay out of their way. Grabbing two pieces of butter toast I silently walked back up the stairs and entered the attic, as I entered Shin lifted his head awoken by the door "Morning Shin." Shin fully lifted his head to look at me "Good morning Raikou, do all you humans get up this early or is it just you?" I thought for a minute "Just me I think, being early makes it easier to avoid people." Upon hearing this Shin grew quiet and just nodded, "anyway," I said "do you have any idea where your former friends may be if there not with the exorcists?" "I don''t know, it''s been a while since I was sealed they may have stayed put or they may have moved on its hard to tell but I''ll do my best to find them wherever they are, I''ve missed them." I looked at Shin smiling, "I''m sure you''ll find them somehow," I was just about to continue talking when Hiiro burst into my room "Where is it?!?!?" I looked at him confused "What are you talking about? Be quiet or you''ll wake the others." Hiiro calmed down slightly before turning to face me "Have you seen anything strange or wierd recently, like in the last two days?" I shook my head but smiled on the inside what could be considered strange by me now. Hiiro sighed irritabley and walked out the room mumbling under his breath "I could have sworn I sensed it......damn if only I could see them..." once he was out the room I turned to face Shin "Shin do you think he was looking for you?" I whisperd, still worried that Hiiro may be able to hear us. "Yes that is probably the case but judging by his attitude I can guess that he doesn''t know who or what he is looking for and nor can he see youkai although he can vaguely sense their presence. Iv been hiding my presence since I got in this house so for him to sense it even if it was vaguely means he must be quite a high disciple he probably only didn''t pick up on me the first time because he was in such a hurry." I looked at Shin worriedly "Is it safe for you to stay here? What if he tells the exorcists that he sensed something and they come looking for you here?" Shin smiled "Don''t worry Raikou I doubt the exorcists even considerd I broke free with the help of a human and probably thought I broke the seal on my own and think I''ll be on the move to avoid capture, I doubt they''d even consider looking in the same place twice, this house is probably the safest place to be right now." Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. Nodding but still feeling uneasy I continued to idly chatter with Shin until finally it was time to leave, as soon as we left the houses view Shin transformed into his physical form of a little white dog "OK I said after five minutes of walking we''re about to pass the temple keep an eye out." Shin barked once not wanting to arouse suspicion by talking. Turging round yet another corner we came to pass the temple, the temple was a huge building with ancient architecture surrounded by high stone walls, and on the corner of each of those walls was a youkai "So how is it Shin see anyone you recognise?" Shin subtly shook his head no and we continued to walk down the street. Suddenly one of the guards on the wall, a tengu, flew down off the walls and stood in front of me blocking my path, feeling nervous I continued to walk straight forward as if I saw nothing. It wasn''t until I was 30cm in front of the tengu that it moved muttering under its breath "That''s odd I thought for sure that kid was a youkai or that he could at least see me." I quickly hurryied off still trying to give no indication I had seen anything, once we were out of the temple guards line of sight I collapsed down onto the ground "well that was nerve wracking Shin did you find any of your friends?" Shin also sat down looking preoccupied and after a moments thoughts he replied "none of my friends seem to be here but I do sense a presence familiar to one of them which may be a family member of theirs of some sort so I''m gonna investigate a bit, I''ll meet you at the school gates after school." "OK bye Shin I''ll see you later promise me you''ll be careful though." Shin nodded and smiled then ran off back in the direction of the temple while I went and walked towards the school. .................................................................................. ???? POV "So there is nothing new to report?" said the man sitting on a chair at the front of a room "not much my lord," replied the tengu kneeling in front of him "however there was something....." "Go on" said the man smiling "well there was a human child who walked past the temple this morning who had an unusually high spirit energy but when I stood in front of him he continued as if he couldn''t see me." "hmmmm," said the man "very interesting I would like to meet this child, if you find him again bring him too me." "yes my lord." Cursed child: chapter 7 I arrived at school early and sat down at my desk still thinking about Shin, I was worried I know he wants to investigate the exorcists but I''m worried he may get into trouble or end up sealed again sighing I looked down at my hands. In reality Shin was probably my only friend and I would miss him if anything happens to him, of course he may just leave himself once he finds all his friends. Telling myself to shut up with the negative thoughts I instead focused on the reactions and expressions of the other kids as they entered the classroom. This had become a game for me over the years observing other people and guessing their thoughts and worries, I had become quite good at it and could now tell what someone was feeling even when they tried to hide it. The teacher clapped his hands together at the front of the class "OK class listen up today we are getting a new transfer student, he may be joining you a day later but I hope you all get along well Moriya would you like to come in here please." The door to the classroom slid open and in walked a tall good looking boy with blond hair and blue eyes, judging from a good many number of the girls expressions a lot of them were interested in the new student. "Moriya would you like to introduce yourself?" Moriya nodded and looked around the room as his eyes landed on me his gaze turned cold and I cold see more than a hint of arrogance in them. "My names Moriya I''m half British and I''ve just moved to Japan to spend time with my father who is one of the head priests at the nearby temple." the teacher nodded looking satisfied "OK Moriya go and sit down your seat will be next to Kai over there." realising he meant next to me I groaned in my head nevermind that his arrogant look was irritating it seemed he was involved with the exorcists who may have sealed Shin. Still feeling irritable I looked to Moriya with a fake smile on my face "nice to meet you Moriya, I''m Kai let''s get along well." Moriya just snorted and turned to face me "Shut it freak, Hiiro''s already warned me about you, the care homes freak and it doesn''t seem like your any better liked at school." With a sneer still on his face Moriya turned back to face the board, not all that irritated by his unoriginal comment, I also turned to face the board at least glad I didn''t have to pretend to be cheerful. Staying silent the morning passed by in a flash till suddenly it was break and Moriya was surrounded by boys and girls alike attempting to become friends, annoyed by the noise I got up and left the classroom sitting in the corridor outside. I was still in the corridor when I heard the conversation take a turn towards me "Man your unlucky though you be stuck next to the freak." said a voice I assumed to be Akira "I know right," said Moriya with a loud laugh "Why is everyone so nervous around him though?" the room became quiet and nobody spoke for a minute. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. "Well in truth yesterday when school started we were all in the classroom when the freak burst in late, anyway it was all normal till the first lesson began and then suddenly this loud screeching noise started and scratches started appearing on the blackboard almost like someone was drawing them but there was no one there and then we realised the scratches weren''t random they spelt the name Kai, so after seeing that the freak legal it shoving all the desk out his way and then returns an hour later like nothing happened. Guys a freak I''ll tell you that now." Still sitting on the other side of the corridor listening I realised I couldn''t really blame them for calling me a freak, I guess from the point of view of those who can''t see that''d be exactly what I looked like. Suddenly the bell rung and sighing I slowly stood up and went back into the classroom and put my head on the desk letting the rest of the day pass. After school I practically ran to the school gate hoping to find Shin there waiting for me, but there was no one there. Feeling an ice cold Lance of fear I ran towards the temple hoping to find Shin there, however as I approached I still saw no sign of Shin. Still worrying I looked at my left hand remembering Shin''s words that if one of us died the contract would be broken and the mark of the contract would be erased. Looking down I was relieved to see the golden circle still on my left hand however just as I was about to further look around for Shin I heard wingbeats, looking behind me I turned to see the tengu from this morning fly down beside me, starteld I forgot to pretend he wasn''t there. Seeing me stare the tengu smiled at me "so you can see, looks like I was mistaken to let you leave this morning. Nevermind that the Lord wishes to see you so you will come." Realising it was too late to pretend I didn''t see him I turned my back towards him and ran as fast as I could not bothering to try and reply. I didn''t get far, approximately three metres from where I started running the tengu flew past and picked me up flying me over the walls, straight into the exorcists stronghold. ................................................................................. Thanks to everyone reading I may not be able to release a chapter tomorrow so I tried to release an extra today please feel free to comment or review and thanks for reading :) Cursed child: chapter 8 The tengu finally dropped me into an old abandoned courtyard before turning around to go back to where he came from without saying a single word "Hey wait, come back here! Why did you take me Here?!?" ignoring my voice as if it was nothing the tengu continued to fly away as I sank to the ground in frustration, oh well at least I could use the time to search for Shin. Looking around the Courtyard I found nothing but an adjoining door that lead to an old house, left with nowhere else to go I quietly crept into the house looking through the rooms as I went. The first two rooms I arrived in were empty however soon I came to the third room, cautiously sneaking into the corner of the room I saw the room was well looked after with walls lined with tapestries. However what intrigued me most about the room was the large mahogany chair at the front of the room. Sitting in the chair I could make out the silhouette of a man however I got a bad feeling from him and was just about to leave when he spoke "Don''t waste your time child there''s youkai patrolling every corner of the mansion, you wouldn''t be able to escape." Walking forward several steps I Started to make our the man''s figure, he looked to be no less than twenty had long black hair and dark eyes, eyes which were currently widened in shock "You are human aren''t You?" the man suddenly asked in a much colder voice "Of course." I answered confused, who was this man? And why did he want me here? "Well," said the man "I''m going to be honest with you, you seem to have a very high spiritual energy as well as being able to see youkai as I''ve just been informed by the guard. And so because of that I. would like you to join our temple as an exorcist." he looked at me expectantly "so do you accept?" "No." The man looked at me in shock in if the idea of me saying no was inconceivable "may I ask why?" I shook my head "What does it matter anyway? Can I go home now?" the man still looked shocked but nodded his head nonetheless when he suddenly gasped and grabbed my hand "What is it?" I cried out in alarm "well now this changes everything, so the beast didn''t escape on its own, it made a contract." If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. I looked down in fear and realised he had seen the mark of the contract on my hand my blood ran cold with fear as I tried to run away, however I''d only moved two steps when I was restrained by the tengu guard from earlier. "Contact the rest of the clan heads and tell them we found the beast, if we use the contractor as bate we may be able to seal him again or persuade him to switch contractors." The man looked at me in amusement "I knew you were interesting child but to actually create a contract with a beast that took the heads of six clans to seal it is something even I never imagined." still with an amused look on his face he turned to the guard "throw him in the cell with the over one, we''ll deal with him tomorrow when the clan heads come. Actually judging by his uniform he goes to the same school as my nephew, later ask Moriya to go see if he can identify him and we can use that to make up an excuse to the parents." Unable to resist I stayed silent as they dragged me towards a holding cell which they then chucked me in then locked, looking around the cell I noticed a young woman in the corner of the cell she had dark purple hair, a pretty face and the same golden eyes as Shim so I identified as a youkai "Hello child what did they throw you in here for?" asked the lady "I made a contract with a being they sealed which allowed it to escape. What about you?" the woman looked at my hand surprised for a minute. "I got caught but still refused to make a contract so they decided to keep me here till then, by the way..." The woman looked like she wanted to continue but didn''t know how "What is it?" she hesitated again then answered "was the youkai you freed by any chance Shin?" Cursed child: chapter 9 "Eh?!?!" I said looking over at the woman "you know Shin?" the woman smiled at me "not personally but he was friends with my brother, I''d heard he was a very powerful youkai who was sealed years back after fighting toe to toe with six of the exorcist clan heads. Even now my brother is searching for a way to break the seal and I originally came here to look for clues before I got caught." I smiled "I''m glad Shin still has people looking out for him, by the way do you have a name I can call you?" "yes my second name is Aiko, what about yours child? if you have a contract your true name should be sealed but I doubt it''s safe to use your real name in an exorcists keep so what should I call you?" "You can call me Rai, that''s what Shin calls me anyway." I was about to ask another question when I heard loud footsteps and a louder voice approaching. Remembering the man''s earlier words about having Moriya identify me I panicked "Aiko can you disguier my appearance by any chance it doesn''t have to be much." Aiko gave me a mischievous smile "yes but we must be quick imagine someone else''s face in your mind, preferably one with a similar build to you." Closing my eyes I pictured Akira''s face, however seconds later the door opened and I heard Moriya walk in, unaware if my face had changed or not I turned to face him. "Akira," cried out Moriya "What the hell?!? How are you here and how come I can sense you suddenly have spiritual energy?!?!" I almost breathed out a sigh of relief, thank God he couldn''t tell it was me, but the more this charade carried on the more at risk we would be of him finding us out. Luckily for me Aiko had not been inactive and had already sneaked the keys off Moriya''s belt, and had started gesturing for me to move. Imitating Akira to the best of my ability I began to try and distract Moriya "Hmph, stupid human child you never even noticed I was among you, it was almost too easy." Moriya turned pale and clenched his fist upon hearing this. "To think the heir to one of the great exorcist clans was this stupid!" Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. Hanging his head in shame Moriya did not see the incoming fist to his head as Aiko hit him from behind rendering him unconscious "Good job!" Aiko laughed "That was really convincing. Now hold still I''m going to release the glamour I cast on you." holding my face in her hands I saw her stare at me intensely for a moment before she smiled and nodded. "OK your back to normal, now let''s get out of here!" Nodding we both exited the cell leaving Moriya unconscious and ran towards the exit of the house into the courtyard, running towards the gate we were halfway there when we heard a loud roar up ahead and my fave paled "Aiko we need to run over there now!" I said picking up my pace "But why?" she asked "shouldn''t we avoid going in that direction?" "No, we need to get there now, I recognise that voice, it''s Shin''s." noting the gravity of the situation Aiko also picked up her pace. After turning a corner we arrived in a larger courtyard where we were faced with an uninjured Shin in full form, surrounded by slightly more injured exorcists "Where is he?!?" roared out Shin. At this moment the man from earlier who I assumed to be head of the clan walked forwards "if you looking for your contractor he has been detained, we will not alow for one so young and powerful to run free without any affiliation." realising he meant me, I gestured to Aiko to try and sneak as close to Shin as possible. As soon as we got ten metres away I called out "Shin, I''m over here. We need to leave!" noticing me and Aiko Shin had a relieved look on his face and quickly arrived at our location and bent down "Climb onto my back, quickly we don''t have much time." The stunned exorcists had regained their wits and were about to ready another attack when Shin started to run and jumped over the wall and into a nearby forest. Landing safely we collapsed on the floor relieved we were all alright. Cursed child: chapter 10 "So," said Shin turning to face Aiko "Who are you? and are you Ayato''s relative?" Aiko smiled and nodded "Yes it''s nice to meet you Shin, my brother has told me much about you and would be very relieved to know you are safe." Shin grinned widely "So I take it he''s alive and well?" This time it was Aiko''s turn to grin "He''s fine, he''s spent a lot of time researching how to break your seal though. He''ll be really happy to know your finally free again, would you like to come with me to see him?" Shin smiled "I''ll come later, for now though my place is with Rai." Aiko nodded "I thought as much, but for when you do want to see him, he''s currently residing in kitsune forest." Aiko smiled again "Thank you for all you''ve done for me, Shin, Rai, I''m going to go see my brother but I''m sure I''ll return so I''ll see you again." this time both me and Shin grinned as we waved to Aiko "Bye Aiko have a safe trip, we''ll see you later." Seeing Aiko was truly gone Shin shrunk down into his dog sized container and we turned in the direction of the home. After finally arriving home we snuck back into my room where Shin lowered his head to me in apology "I''m sorry Raikou if I wasn''t late none of this would have happened." "It''s fine Shin, besides they had plans to capture me anyway, even before they knew of our contract to try and make me work for them, plus if they didn''t take me then we never would have met Aiko." Shin smiled at this "I suppose it''s true," I nodded "it is." my tone left no room for arguments and Shin just smiled at me "Anyway," said Shin "there''s something I have to give you." running over to where there was a crack in the floorboards Shin pulled out a strip of pure white cloth and then wrapped it round my hand. "Shin what is this?" "It''s a special type of cloth, not only will it hide our contract mark but it also absorbs any excess spirit energy leaking out which will help you hide your huge amounts of spirit energy so the exorcists can''t find you again. The final feature of the cloth is that it is actually a sealing scroll that can contain multiple youkai, in case you need to seal them, both the exorcists or wild youkai trying to eat you." Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. I smiled at gaining some more protection "Shin how do I turn it into a scroll and how do I seal youkai in it?" "to turn it to a scroll you just need to deliberately add your spirit energy into the scroll, and to seal something you need to say one who is not human I imprison you at my will. Then you need to add more spirit energy, however if the youkai is very powerful or your out of spirit energy then, putting your blood on the scroll should help too." I nodded happy with the cloth "By the way Shin why were you late today?" Shin''s expression darkened "that brat you live with, Hiiro, has been going around setting up barriers all over town, so I had to dispose on the. I don''t like that kid he can''t see us but his barriers were considerably skillful which is why they took some time to dismantle." I nodded "look on the brightside it could be worse, Aiko helped me hide my face so the person who came in to identify me got the completely wrong name and face, which should make for an interesting school day tomorrow" Shin laughed "right you are my friend, right you are." .................................................................................. ??? POV "Still no word on the boy then?" said the man on the throne like chair "no, according to Moriya''s description of the boy it''s like we encountered two different people and since we have no identification for the child we met it is hard to say who he may be or how he convinked the youkai in his cell to help him." The man on the chair smiled "It''s fine well find him eventually, and when we do he will join us or suffer an unfortunate accident." Cursed child: chapter 11 The next morning I awoke next to Shin and went through my usual routine of sneaking downstairs, grabbing some food and sneaking back up. As I entered my bedroom I sat down on the bed and silently gave Shin a slice of toast, once we had both finished eating, I turned to look at him "So Shin what''s the plan for today?" "Well," said Shin "I''ll escorts you too school, obviously not the route past the temple and then once you are safely there I''m going to take a trip to Kitsune forest to see Ayato and hopefully catch up on the whereabouts of some old friends. I''ll still be back in time for the end of school though, just be sure to keep the cloth wrapped tightly around your hand though." I looked down at my hand and nodded "Ok." Shin and I then passed the next few hours talking about various things until finally it was time to go to school. Slipping out early I managed to avoid Hiiro, however a downside of not using the temple route is that I was once again stuck on the route past Akira''s house. Oh joy. After luckily avoiding Akira I made it to school and bid goodbye to Shin, seeing as I was early I settled down into my seat just as Akira walked in "Hey freak, sad to see Moriya hasn''t exorcised you yet." I sat there in silence as Akira''s followers laughed in amusement, however just at that moment Moriya slammed open the door, and he did not look happy. Seeing Akira Moriya stormed over to where we were sitting, noticing Moriya''s face Akira tried to find out what was wrong "Moriya are you...." Akira was barely half way through his sentence when he was awarded a punch in the face from Moriya. The whole of the class stared at Moriya in shock as he punched Akira again. Just at that minute the teacher walked in to see Moriya still punching the living daylights out of Akira "What the hell is going on here?!?" yelled the teacher running up to separate Moriya and Akira "That''s what I want to know?!?" said Akira "The bloody physcopath just started hitting me!!" The teacher looked at Moriya confused "why in hells name did you do that? Nevermind outside in the hall, both if you now. Everyone else open your English books to page ninety-five and start reading in your head." Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Telling class went quiet and strained there ears as they tried to listen to what was going on outside, whereas I just put my head down and tried to hide my grin, obviously no one had bothered to inform Moriya that my appearance in the cell was fake. Still trying to hide my laugh I looked up as the teacher walked back in again and Moriya and Akira stormed back into their places. .................................................................................. Shin''s POV Afew I left Raikou at school I turned to my full size and flew over to Kitsune forest, after a full two hours of flying I finally arrived and touched down to see Aiko and Ayato running towards me "Shin!!!" exclaimed Ayato as he hugged me "I thought you be gone forever, we searched for years and never found anything. And now you have a contract with a human, must be one interesting human for you to make a contract with him even if you were desperate." I smiled widely at Ayato, I had missed him in my years of solitude "It''s good to back I was also starting to be worried about being stuck there forever. And I''ll let you make your own impression about my contractor, he''s coming with me this weekend." Ayato looked at me in surprise "Are you sure that''s a good idea Shin, this weekend is the annual full moon festivals a human with a strong spiritual energy might become the prey of many." I made a dismissive noise "It''s fine, in the first place that child has a presence similar to a youkai, he''s also using the kitsune cloth to absorb any excess spirit energy, so he has means of defending himself." Ayato nodded and looked happy "Ok then glad that''s sorted, now let''s get started we have some catching up to do." I nodded too "Oh, and Rai has one more protection. I will singlehandedly kill anyone who dares to try and harm him." Ayato shivers as I released some killing intent, but soon enough started smiling again as he begun to fill me in on the whereabouts of our friends. Cursed child: chapter 12 That day after school was out I ran to the gate and was relieved to see Shin there in his smaller form. "Welcome back Shin, how was the forest?" Shin grinned at me as we set off walking back "It was good, I have found out the whereabouts of many of my friends and have arranged to meet them at the full moon festival this Saturday." "Sounds cool," I said "What''s the festival like?" Shin gave me another mischievous grin "You''ll find out soon enough, your coming too." huh "What did you just say Shin?" Shin''s grin grew stronger "I said your coming too." "Really?!?! Is that even allowed, I mean despite my contract with you I''m still human." "It''ll be fine, especially if we disguise you so mo one knows your human." I paused and thought about it, it did sound fun and I''d never been able to go to a festival before, for fear of being eaten. "Sounds fun, I''d live to go. So how go you disguise me?" Shin kept grinning "You''ll see on the day." Fealing slightly frustrated with Shin I sighed with exasperation, but secretly I was really excited. Finally after walking for another ten minutes we arrived back at the home trying to avoid Hiiro we snuck inside. However we''d only been in my room fifteen seconds before Hiiro burst in "Hey kid," I looked at Hiiro in surprise, he never called me kid unless he wanted something. "I have a question for you, do you know anyone suspicious in your year who maybe talks to themselves or doesn''t have many friends?" I shook my head confused to why he was asking me this "No, why?" Hiiro looked annoyed and stormed out without saying anything. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. Feeling confused I turned to Shin who was silently laughing on the floor "Shin what''s wrong? Do you know the meaning behind the questions he was asking?" "Yes," said Shin within breaths of laughter "and you should too. It''s obvious they''ve found out that one of your appearances yesterday was a fake, but seeing as you recognised that exorcist kid, they know what yeargroup your in which is why Hiiro was trying to find out who it was by asking you questions." I looked at Shin in shock I guess it was true I acted like I knew Moriya so really it would have to be someone in our year group Shin continued laughing "He is so unwilling to believe that you may be stronger than him so he is ignoring the possibility of you having the contract, and yet the person he wants is right in front of him." I looked at Shin and begun laughing too, he was right it was really ironic when you think about it, the exorcist and the one the exorcists were looking for in the same home and the exorcist didn''t realise. "Oh well," I said when I finally stopped laughing "at least we know he doesn''t suspect me, I''m looking forward to the festival though." Shin smiled at me "You''ll have fun, plus it''ll be your chance to see Aiko again as well as meeting her brother Ayato and a few more old friends." I smiled "I can''t wait." and just like that three more days flew by until the day of the festival finally arrived. Cursed child: chapter 13 I awoke at my usual time of six and tried to immediately tiptoed down to get some food, upon entering my room again I smiled happily and smiled at Shin who was still coiled around my bed in his true form. Moving as quietly as I could I heard Shin''s voice ring out "Morning Rai, you excited for the festival?" I looked at Shin with an ill cocealed grin on my face "yes I''m excited, though I still need to come up with an excuse to tell the director." Shin looked at me in confusion "who''s the director? And why haven''t I seen them before now?" "Well the directors technically the one in charge of us, but he''s really busy so he doesn''t come out of his office much but we have to inform him if we''re staying anywhere else overnight." Shin nodded to this "Why don''t you just tell him your staying with a friend?" I smiled sadly "before you came I didn''t really have any friends, to everyone else I was either a freak, a weirdo or a liar." Seeing how sad I was Shin dropped the topic of friends and nodded silently. "Why don''t you pretend your going out there for a work experience interview, there are plenty of temples in the area so it wouldn''t look all that suspicious." I considerd the idea and grinned "perfect, that way I can excuse the lack of phones or email so no one will try to contact me!" Fealing happy with the plan I smiled at Shin "Ok, I''m gonna go talk to the director, you go finish making the preparations." Shin smiled excitedly and nodded. Leaving Shin in my room I quietly walked down to the director''s study and gently knocked on the door. "come in." hearing conformation I walked into the large room and stared at the man behind the large mahogany desk. The man was quite tall though it was hard to tell as he was sitting down, and had pepperd grey hair as well as sharp and relentless eyes. "So what is it you want Kai?" it took me a moment to respond, I was so unused to my name seeing as most just called me freak and Shin called me Rai or Raikou. Getting my thoughts back together I answered "I would like your permission to go away this weekend for two days of work experience at a temple." Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. Afew saying this I fell quiet and focused on the directors expression hoping to see if he''d approved or not, unfortunately his face was void of emotions as he stared back at me. After five minutes of staring in silence slowly the director turned to face me once more "Ok however you must be back by Sunday at noon or I will forbid any future outings, clear?" I nodded feeling slightly relieved "yes director." walking out the room a lot happier than when I walked in I started towards my room again when I ran into Hiiro, Hiiro stared at me smugly "I''ll see you tomorrow freak I''m away today, we''re going hunting." Hearing this my blood ran cold, if Hiiro meant what I think he meant than the full moon festival was being searched for and the exorcists were the searchers. Nodding quickly I darted around Hiiro and ran back up to my room to find Shin. "Shin," I said as soon as the door was closed behind me "it seems like the exorcists are hunting tonight, what do we do?" Shin smiled at my outburst "worry not Raikou, the exorcists always try and search for the festival but they have not found it once in the hundreds of years it has been active." Sighing in relief I sat on the bed "phew, that really had me worried for a second, so when do we leave?" Shin grinned at me "we leave now." I could only stand still in shock as Shin tossed me ontoo his back and opened up the window before launching himself off the house and "Hold on Rai." I looked at the near colliding ground and closed my eyes when all of a sudden Shin pulled up and begun flying over the trees I laughed in joy "this is amazing!" smiling gently at my reaction Shin carried on forwards "We''ll be there soon, so just enjoy the ride for now." smiling at Shin''s words I sat back at relaxed enjoying the scenery looking forward to tonight. Cursed child: chapter 14 An hour later and we had finally arrived in the clearing of a large forest which I assumed to be Kitsune forest. Touching down lightly on the leafy green floor Shin sat down and motioned for me to do the same "Shouldn''t we go and meet them?" I asked Shin wondering why we were sitting there, Shin just laughed. "No they''ll come to us, although you have a contract with me, your strong spiritual energy may make you a target. Luckily that is currently being concealed by the kitsune cloth, but your human clothes will easily give you away so Aiko will be coming with some spares, to make you look more like one of us." Smiling at the motion I calmly enjoyed the scenery for five more minutes nefore I heard the rustling of leaves a few metres away. A grinning Aiko ran into the clearing and gave me a hug "Rai! Nice to see you again, you excited for your first full moon festival?" I smiled at Aiko "I''m really excited, and thanks alot for your help last time. The exorcists still haven''t figured out who I am and one of them punched the person they thought I was in the face." Aiko burst into laughter, "that sounds like a sight to behold." Shin smiled but gave us a warning "Now now you two they''ll be time for catching up later, Aiko do you have the clothes?" Aiko nodded and pulled out a dark blue yukata "here you go Rai, try it on too see if it fits," walking round to hide behind Shin I quickly got changed then emerged. "Wow," said Aiko "you look great Rai" I smiled at the complement then saw Aiko rummaging through a bag I didn''t know she had before she pulled out a mask. The mask was similar to Shin''s face with a different colour scheme matching my yukata. Handing me the mask I quickly put it over my face, seeing this Shin stared at me quietly "Honestly if I didn''t know better I''d say he was one of us." I looked at him in surprise "Really?" Aiko laughed "Really. Anyway now we''re done here let''s go meet my brother and some friends then go enjoy the festival." A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Smiling I followed Shin and Aiko onto a small path that lead out of the clearing, finally after ten minutes of walking on the path we came to an old tree. Walking up to the tree Aiko started to call out "brother we''re here already." for a minute no one answered, however just as she was about to call out again a reply came "Yes, yes it''s fine I can see you, you know?" I looked up, on the topmost branch of the tree layer what looked like a young man with dark purple hair, a red yukata and a face that looked similar to Aiko''s. Jumping down from the tree the man I assumed to be Ayato turned to face me "hmmmm, are you a friend of Shin''s then? I thought he was bringing his contractor?" Shin burst out into laughter "this is my contractor, Ayato meet Rai, Rai meet Ayato." Ayato stared at me with a shocked look on his face "I know you said his presence was similar to ours I never imagined he could be disguised as one of us so well." I smiled at him "nice to meet you I''m Rai." Ayato smiled at me "likewise," "Now," said Ayato "It''s time to meet up with the others so we''re going to the sakura trees in the forest to meet the rest of them, so just follow me." Ayato started to walk through the trees followed by Shin, then me then Aiko. As we walked I laughed inside about how in this particular occasion the youkai had been more welcoming of me than the humans had ever been. Chuckling silently I continued after Ayato until we enter a Grove of sakura trees. .................................................................................. I''m really sorry for the gaps between releases like this as Iv been studying for exams hope you enjoy the story and please give me a comment, rate or review so I know how I''m doing as Iv not written this genre before :) Not a chapter Thanks alot to everyone who has been reading this fiction Iv had loads of fun writing it, unfortunately my exams are starting soon so I will no longer be able to update this fiction till exams are over. Thanks alot.