Ronin's Revenge

A demon entered Koichi Hanamura’s dream. In it, instead of the placid, roaming hills around the village he called home, Koichi imagined hellfire sweeping across the land urged on by the sheer power of his own will. He laughed maniacally as peasants ran in fear. Atop his steed, he raced to them, cleaving them apart with his naginata. Blood sprayed into the nighttime air, disappearing amidst the billowing smoke surrounding them all. The shrieks of terror only served to accentuate his lust for chaos.

“Wow,” the demon’s voice echoed through the clouds, “that’s pretty brutal.” The voice, though making an observation of shock and horror, remained relatively calm in its demeanor. Koichi stopped smiling momentarily and asked, “Who’s there?” He was unaccustomed to stoic responses from those in his dreams. A queer reaction indeed, he thought.

“You needn’t mind my presence.” The demon said. “In just a moment, we will be as one.” Koichi frowned, puzzled by the declaration. “What exactly do you mean?” He asked. The voice seemed to come from all sides, its source obscured by the smoke, or rather, morphed into the smoke itself, which proved to befuddle Koichi further. Regardless, he readied his naginata, ready for a confrontation.

“Indeed,” the demon said, “I intend to fuse into your body, and we shall merge as one being. Do not fear for your life, for I will take command of our actions and will utilize your body to its fullest, keeping you safe and secure. You’ll simply need to take a sidestep while I determine our destiny from here on out. You should be thanking me, really.”

Instead of cowering in fear as the demon suspected, Koichi’s smile returned, and soon thereafter, he began laughing yet again. This time, the demon proved to be the one who became bemused by the shift in mood. “And what reason do you have to laugh?” It asked. Koichi, however, ignored the inquiry and continued cackling wildly.

The demon lost patience with Koichi and said, “Enough of your mirth. It’s time I begin the process of absorbing your very soul!” Koichi finally decided to respond and said, “Oh, I think not.” Without delay, he raised his naginata into the air and began twirling it above his head. Faster and faster, it spun until the very air started swirling in accordance to the flow of the spear.

At first, the demon felt unphased by the commotion, but then, the smoke began following the ebb and flow of the wind Koichi stirred. Before long, the demon was circling around the warrior at blistering speeds. It found it difficult to maintain its composure while fused to the cinder-filled haze. Eventually, its ephemeral grip on the violently whirling cloud loosened so much that its consciousness was separated from the smoke and it reformed into its impish figure, flying away from Koichi and into the flames nearby.

The oni screamed in pain as it danced around the inferno. Its feet were horribly blistered by the time it found its way back out. Unfortunately for the demon, though, it had also found its way back to Koichi. The human looked down on the imp and spat at its face. “Disgusting.” He said. “This is the best you could muster, hiding behind smoggy vapors to try and attack me? And to do so when I slumber is despicable. Fight me in reality, coward!”

Koichi awoke with a gasp and bolted upright, throwing the imp across the room in which he decided to claim as shelter for that evening. He immediately snapped to and looked to his right, noticing his trusty naginata on the floor beside him. He looked back to the imp who was massaging its head with one hand and steadying itself with the other. Koichi didn’t hesitate to grab his weapon and throw it directly between the oni’s amethyst eyes.

Smiling at his conquest over the demon, Koichi suddenly felt very faint. He placed a hand upon his throbbing head, quite aware now of the past night’s encounter. “That’s right,” he said, “it all traces back to that village. I was facing down that samurai with the broken sword. Him and his cohorts, at least. What caused me to black out, though?” He tried to lift himself up, but fell back on his hands. “Damn,” he said, “they must have really done a number on me.”

“I’ll say.” A voice to Koichi’s left said. He turned to look at a corner of the room shrouded in shadow. Within it, a woman stood. “Who are you?” He asked. She said, “A friend, I assure you.” She walked out of the corner, and Koichi noticed she was a shrine maiden, although her clothes weren’t exactly modest. If anything, they stood to accentuate her curvaceous figure. Needless to say, he was immediately impressed.

“A friend, is it?” Koichi asked. “Admittedly, I don’t have many of those. You should know that’s dangerous territory, young lady.” The shrine maiden sashayed toward Koichi, boasting a supernatural sense of swagger, and said, “Oh, I needn’t worry about danger. It’s the demons who have an edge in the realm of danger.” Koichi scoffed at the notion and said, “Oh, I’m sure. Just like that little bastard there.” He pointed to the corpse of the imp and said, “He sure was a threat. Even in my crippled state, I decimated him.”

The shrine maiden looked to the imp, back to Koichi, and said, “But surely, you know there are other types of demons.” Koichi mulled over the statement, his mind still slightly foggy from the blow to his head, and said, “That’s right, I was dealing with a kappa before I was injured!”

The shrine maiden closed her eyes and giggled. “No, silly,” she said, “I was referring to something else.” Koichi looked to her and asked, “And what would that be?” She opened her eyes, though the brown had been replaced by a sparkling purple akin to the eyes of the imp, and said, “I’m talking about succubi.” Koichi sat solemn for a moment, yet that soon subsided for a smile.

“I see.” Koichi said. “How interesting. I’d have assumed you would find your way into some common whore, but a shrine maiden’s untouched body! That’s quite devious of you, demon.” She giggled again, curtsied, and said, “Thank you, brave warrior.” Then, she knelt down and produced a damp washcloth. He looked at her puzzled, so, without prompting, she said, “You still have some dried blood around the wound.”

Koichi felt around his head and winced at the touch of the gash above his eye. It was then that he noticed his armor along with his helmet had been completely removed. Reluctantly, he allowed the succubus to wash away some of the caked blood. “Why help me, anyway?” Koichi asked. The succubus finished wiping off the wound and procured a strip of sarashi to wrap his head in. She said, “I was hoping for an ally.”

Looking toward the dead imp by the door, Koichi asked, “Did you mean to turn me into a possessed puppet same as your shrine maiden?” The succubus nodded and said, “Indeed. I needed a fellow monster to aid me in my journey. You see, I’m completely tapped out of my magical capabilities at the moment. I’ve been deprived of sex for too long and need to be fulfilled in order to gain my power back. You seemed like quite the specimen when I found you, even despite your injury, so I tried to have the imp possess you to gain access to your ‘weapon,’ so to speak.”

Koichi began laughing and asked, “That’s all you needed?! You should’ve just said so! I won’t allow a demon to have my body, but a temptress such as yourself is more than welcome to my seed.” The succubus’ eyes lit up, more so than usual at least, and she asked, “You really mean it?” She moved her hand to his loins, feeling for his second spear, noticing it growing harder.

As she stroked him, Koichi rested a hand on the succubus’ arm and said, “On one condition; I know that a succubus feeds on a man’s essence. You’re more than welcome to split it with me as I’ve plenty to spare, but try and steal more than your share, and I’ll slice into your skull same as that damned oni from before.” The succubus nodded and whispered in Koichi’s ear, “That’s fine by me.”

The succubus continued rubbing Koichi’s member as she asked, “What’s your name, anyway?” Koichi quickly said, “Call me Koichi Hanamura. Or, Koichi the Wild One.” Pulling down Koichi’s trousers, she gasped, smiled, and said, “Koichi the Wild Stallion, more like.” She quickly found herself out of her robes, presenting Sayako’s nude form, and climbed atop Koichi. Guiding him into her, she gasped yet again and asked, “So, why did you accept… Mmm… my proposition anyway?” Koichi grunted in his own right, grinned wickedly, and said, “Simple; I believe you and I are destined to spread chaos.”