It all started around ten years ago, back when my father and I were still consultants for D.I.C.E; though this would of been my first solo mission. I was sent over to the Kanto region of Japan, as they received reports from a local agent regarding a mysterious and rather sudden blizzard that occurred within the area. Around roughly the same time, reports of men disappearing with no rhyme or reason began to surface. Now, your probably wondering why these two things are connected, but we will get to that later.
After meeting up with my contact Hirano Sakai, we began to search the areas in which the men had disappeared; but we also were looking for a tall woman with long black hair and blue lips, as someone matching this description has been seen with some of the missing men. We arrived at one of the more recent sightings, to discover that a large mound of snow had been left there. Digging through it, we found one of them; his body was limp and lifeless, his eyes were cold to the touch, and from the look of it, it was as though his blood had been drained from him, for his skin was deathly pale.
Now then Garath, if you know your Japanese mythology, and by the looks of it you don't, no offence; then you'll know that these are the signs of a Yuki-Onna, a tall beautiful woman who has control over ice and snow. However, there are some differences regarding their behaviour. Sometimes, she is simply happily see a victim die as they are encased in snow; others say she takes on a more vampire like demeanour, and drains a victims blood or life-force, leaving them as either dead husks of lifeless bodies; some even think that she becomes a succubus like monster, preying on weak willed men to drain and/or freeze them through sex or a kiss. But back to the story.
Over the next several weeks, more and more men went missing, each suffering a similar fate as the last underneath a mound of snow. But then one day, we discovered something different, one of the bodies was still alive, albeit unconscious. Both Hirano and myself were confused by this, why would a Yuki-Onna start killing, then suddenly leave then unconscious? We were to find out that answer soon, as we found some evidence; a lotus flower with a blue center, which also had traces of spiritual energy. Using a special tracer, we had towards a old, abandoned castle on the outskirts of the region,
During the trek to the castle, Hirano told me about the time he lost his wife to a harsh snowstorm several years ago; so in a way he was treating it as a vengeance mission of sorts, but from the look in his eyes, he was still sad and lonely about not having someone to love.
We arrived at the castle two days later, as the path to it was through some difficult terrain, meaning we had to travel on foot for the most part. Atop the battlements, we could see the Yuki-Onna looking down on us with a fearful gaze. She descended whilst we had our weapons drawn, but didn't seem to care, from the looks of it the spirit had been crying recently, frozen tears on her porcelain white skin. Seeing this we lowered our weapons, but still remained cautious in case this was a trick.
After throwing some rather silent glances between myself and Hirano, I decided to ask why the Yuki-Onna had been crying. It was because she was lonely, and wanting a lover; this reminded me that a Yuki-Onna can have a softer side. They have sometimes be known to let men go for some reason.
When asking why she had killed some of the missing men, she discovered that it was because they didn't care for her emotions of her well-being, all they wanted was something to have sex with; in other words they were selfish, and she was teaching them a lesson. It was justice in a rather perverse manner of speaking.
The spirit, who called herself Yuna, felt the loneliness within Hirano, and asked if she could help with healing it. They both discussed for a while, and decided to live with each other, as they both felt better when standing in each other's presence; but the next question arose as to how they could actually be together. Hirano suggested using his deceased wife's body as a vessel.
It took some doing, but eventually we dug up the corpse, and began a binding ritual. After the process was supposedly over, it looked as if the Yuna had wasted the opportunity. But suddenly the eyes opened up, and she became alive. Using her remaining essence as a catalyst, she managed to repair the body after years of decay; it looked good as new. We found a suitable body to act as a replacement, one that wouldn't raise too much suspicion if questions were asked.
After dealing with the bodies of those that were killed, making sure they had a decent burial, we managed to clean up the snow mounds, and file convincing cover stories to various newspapers to ensure the matter was laid to rest.
