The Melon Maiden’s Prince part 2

Chapter 11: “The Melon Maiden’s Prince part 2"

―“Again!”

Junpei shouts, tripping the girl up.

**Smash!!**

The sounds of what he had hoped and observed to just be branches could be heard snapping as he watched his daughter fall from the top of an oak tree, bow still in hand. Though the situation made him laugh. He couldn’t help but feel impressed. Even though she failed her initial attempt of performing the stunt, he was proud of her nonetheless.

Seven years have passed since she was born. Three of those years were spent training constantly with her father. Tonight, he had taken her to a clearing on the outskirts of the forest in hopes of seeing what all she was capable of. Due to all the open space, he saw this as the perfect opportunity to teach his daughter how to safely and stealthily jump from tree to tree.

While this wasn’t something required, it’s something that she would need to silently take out her prey; or escape if it came down to it. Another reason being the fact that he just straight enjoyed seeing the effort she put into her training. Weirdly+, this was the best form of bonding the two could have.

Ever since she could first start formulating words, Suika had looked up to her father. She didn’t know much of his past, but she didn’t have any desire to know. She was satisfied just from the bits and pieces he would tell her. Enough to the point that she made it her life goal to be just like him. Dreaming of one day becoming the best ronin that the world had to offer. She was aware that she could have aimed higher. She could have aimed to surpass The Four Heavenly Kings even, but that just wasn’t the type of person Suika is.
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“Alright kiddo.”

Noticing that the sun is in the process of setting, Junpei begins to make his way over to the area where she landed.

“I think it’s about time we wrap this up.”

“You aren’t ready to see what comes out at night yet.”

He begins to speak to her, but he’s halted the moment he finds her. To his surprise, just beyond the underbrush; he finds the girl still suspended in the air. Though she’s a little less than conscious. The whiplash she had from falling that high had knocked her out. Yet despite this, she’s holding tightly onto a vine that looks to be protruding out of the palm of her hand.

Junpei can’t help but smile as he cuts the girl loose.

“So this must be another one of those anomalies huh..?”

He thinks to himself, inspecting her palm. Before his very eyes, he watches as her hand begins to regenerate the wound in a matter of seconds.

“Truly fascinating.”

Picking her up, Junpei begins walking back in the direction of the mansion.

“Come on kid.”

“Let's get ya to bed.”
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Watch your right!

Suika calls out to her father, warning him of the spider-like creature attempting to sneak up on him.

8 years have passed and the two look significantly older. Especially Junpei who has finally begun to physically age. The blue hair that he was most known for beginning to slowly fade to gray, the more the time passed. Despite this, he appears to still be in top physical shape. Able to cut through the spider with ease the moment it chose to pounce on him.

While on a reconnaissance mission, they found themselves trapped in a cavern. It wasn’t the first time they explored the hidden caves that the mountain had to offer, but this was different..

They weren’t here by choice. Well, Suika wasn’t at least. It was her father's idea to go into the cavern after being lured in by what he described to be

“The second most-”

“Third most beautiful woman I've ever laid eyes on!”

Little did he know that that same woman would stand before them both now, ten feet taller, with multiple eyes, and eight legs.

This woman was a Jorogumo, one of many yokai that take up human form in order to lure unsuspecting victims. Jorogumo is essentially giant golden orb weaver spiders, but just by looks alone, it’d be impossible for humans to find one among us.

Suzume didn’t know whether to be upset or just straight-up angry but how perverse her father was openly acting.

Throughout the years, this was how they bonded. Going on missions here and there to rid the world of the menace known as yokai. This was their attempt to reintegrate back into society. Aiming to do what The Four Heavenly Kings would not

At first, it seemed to be going well. They would make constant trips together to and from the villages, seeing who all needed help. A majority of the time though, they were tasked with menial things such as helping with chores or labor.

Their newfound reputation would only begin to come crashing down the moment they learned of Suika’s origin.
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“Kill her!”

One of the village people screamed!”

“She’s an unnatural anomaly! We can’t let her leave her alive!”

Another added in.

“How do we know she’s not just one of them!”

“A filthy yokai just buttering us up so that she can kill us!”

Suika just couldn’t seem to understand what was happening. The people that she had helped save were suddenly turning on her. She didn’t understand the concept of being different from them. Sure, she knew she had abilities that they didn’t; but never for a moment did it don on her that she wasn’t human.

She froze up, not sure how to process the situation. Leaving Junpei to jump to her defense.

“Sure she’s different!”

“But that gives none of you the right to judge my daughter!”

Moving in front of her, he began to block the people trying to get closer to her.

“She has gone out of her way, training her whole entire life in order to protect you people!”

“And this is the thanks you give her?!”

“You should be ashamed.”

“She’s not a god damned yokai!”

“I see now why the Four Heavenly Kings abandoned you all!”

“None of you deserve to be saved!”

“Especially after the display you’ve shown here today.”

Grabbing hold of Suika by the wrist, Junpei begins to push through the crowd.

“To think..”

“I used to think my only salvation would come due to you people..”

“I thought that you people were good!”

“I thought you were all worth saving.”

“But it turns out, you’re all the real monsters!”

As his rage began to build, a strange white aura began to surround Junpei. His eyes soon followed suit, as they started to glow a bright white.

“So tell me..”

“What’s stopping me from killing you all here myself..?”

This was something that Suika had yet to witness. Her father had turned into something else. Something that directly opposed the image she had of him. He never was the type to lash out at people like this. She knew that it was only because he sought to protect her, but the way he was going about it was starting to scare her.

“Dad stop!”

She screams, smacking her father across the face.

There is a brief pause amongst everyone as they watch idly. Junpei can’t help but look confused, at first. The silence however was enough for him to fill in the blanks, this must have been one of the repercussions he was warned about when making his wish.

“This..”

“This will be the last you see of us.”

Releasing Suikas wrist, Junpei snaps.

“So, remember this moment.”

Extending his right arm outward, Junpei aims his palm at the wall. The infrastructure begins to crack wildly as it begins to rip itself open. This reveals a well of television static. A substance that the village people had dubbed, “Eternal Snow.”

“Come on Suika..”

“Let’s go home..”

“I think it’s time we had a talk..”

He spoke softly, stepping into the portal.
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“What do you mean you’re leaving!”

“Are you really just going to let those people walk all over you?!”

Suika was furious. She couldn’t just up and believe what her father was telling her. The shame that Junpei had to carry was unbearable, not even having the strength to look up from his desk while his own daughter spoke to him. Yet, he needed to play things off. He needed to be strong for her so that she wouldn’t attempt to talk him out of his final judgment.

“I’m sorry Suika.”

“You know I wouldn’t do it like this if I had a choice.”

“But I’m a liability. If I stay here with you, you’re only going to be in danger.”

Reaching to his side, Junpei pulled out something that she hadn’t seen before. It was a book, it looked as if it had seen some better days too. The front and back cover had been damaged severely, but the pages seemed to be fine.

“Danger?!”

“Are you forgetting about all the things that we’ve killed in our time hunting!?”

“We are the danger!”

“The actual yokai should fear us!”

“Hell the villagers should fear us for that matter!”

“To hell with them both!”

Cracking the book open, Junpei began to flip through the pages. There was something he wanted to show her but didn’t know what exact page he wrote about it on.

“You are misguided..”

“I want you to answer something for me okay..?”

“If we are to lash out against these people, are we no better than them?

“Or are we in the right?”

Suika hesitates, taking time to remember the actions that transpired earlier in the night. She disliked what the people did to them, but did they really deserve death?

“You’re right..”

She says weakly. Though she knows he isn’t looking at her, she grabs hold of her shoulder in embarrassment. Worried that her father might be ashamed of her answer.

The silence alone is enough however to give Junpei a feel of the situation.

Flipping through until he’d finally reached the 164th page of the manuscript, it had appeared as though Junpei had finally found what he was searching for.

“Ah, about damn time I finally found it..”

Turning his attention to Suika, he calls her over so that she can look through it with him. Although hesitant, she obeys.

“What is this..?”

She asks, leaning in so that she can have a better look.

“Some sort of yokai encyclopedia or something..?”

“Heh”

“I suppose it does look like that huh?”

Laughs Junpei sarcastically.

“What you’re looking at is actually my journey.”

“Well.. more like the last of it .”

“Every day of my travels, as far back as when I first created the Four Heavenly Kings.”

“I have been steadily updating it so that I can catalog major life events.”

He pauses for a brief second, pointing to a drawing he had sketched of a feminine appearing entity wearing blue robes. Its face however is scratched out. Censored by a flurry of white and black paint.

“What is that thing?”

“I don’t think I have ever come across it.”

“Is it even a yokai..?”

Curiosity was never something she was shy of, always jumping head first into new adventures eager to find out all about what type of creatures this world had to offer.

“That’s what I wanted to talk about actually..”

“You remember how I told you about the time I visited Iriomote Island?”

“I wasn’t entirely truthful when I told you what the visit was about.”

The moment he stepped off of his boat, a much younger version of Junpei found himself in the middle of a strange theater.

“Years ago, I was warned to stay far away from Iriomote”

“Yet, I was young and foolish back then..”

Junpei begins to narrate as he tells the story of how he first encountered the amanojaku to Suika.
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The layout was foreign to him, the architecture made the room look heavenly. Yet he had no time to ogle it. This was the place where he could supposedly have his darkest desires be realized, and he’d be damned if he was going to die before at least seeing the creature behind the phenomena. He made his way toward the stage, eager to finally see it.

“Well, I'm here.”

“Come on then great spirit!”

He boasted sarcastically, believing that if he were to taunt the creature it’d prompt it to attack. Rather, it seemed to have quite the opposite effect.

**Snap**

With the snapping of a finger, all the lights in the auditorium were extinguished for a mere two seconds. The moment the torches were relit, Junpei came face to face with the likes of a creature he had never seen before. It had the form of a woman, yet his gut was telling him it wasn’t anything even remotely close to one. Its skin was so pale that he could have seen straight through it if he focused hard enough. She wore blue robes that flowed freely throughout the air, despite there being no wind.

Just from the theatrics alone, he couldn't help but be impressed.

Crossing his arms, he began to size her up.

“So.”

“You do this for every guy that walks through here?”

“Or did I catch you on a good day?”

Junpei had a reputation for having a silver tongue. It’s part of how he was even able to talk the three strongest swordsmen alive at the time into joining his guild.

“You’d be surprised about how little company I get Saotome..”

His charm seemingly paid off here. Though he wasn’t able to tell, the entity was flattered. For that matter, he was a bit taken aback as to how it already knew his name; but he decided to roll with the punches.

“Ah, I see..”

“If you already know my name, I suspect you know why I seek out your power.”

There is a brief moment of silence as he notices the entity's mood shift into one of disappointment.

“Yes, I am aware.”

“You wish to bring back the child you lost..”

“Would I be correct in this assessment?”

He shakes his head in disagreement.

“If it were as easy as just wishing her back, I don’t think I'd be satisfied.”

“Who’s to say that you won’t just create copies of them?”
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“Ah, so you have done your homework!”

She hums triumphantly, floating ever so closer to him. Enough so that she begins to rub the underside of his chin with her hand. Gripping tightly on his cheeks so that he was forced to look into the blank slate she called a face.

Fear was something foreign to Junpei, having not felt such a feeling since their passing. Yet, a strange cold sensation surged throughout his body the moment she made contact with him.

He couldn’t believe it.
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“I couldn’t believe it..” Current Junpei interjects.

“She knew my weaknesses and exploited them.”

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Right before his eyes, the entity’s skin began to molt at a fast rate. He tried desperately to shake himself free from her grasp, unsure of what exactly she was planning; but stopped dead in his tracks when he saw a sight he never thought he’d see again.

“Junpei..?”

“Is..”

“Is that really you..?”

This voice... No, this face belonged to his late wife.

Tears began to well up in his eyes as he brought his hands up to her face. Her skin still shimmered with the same warmness. He was still able to make out that sparkle in her azure eyes that he fell in love with all those years ago.

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“There was no doubt in my mind..”

“I truly believed I was looking at Haru..”
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Trying to stifle his tears, Junpei started to look around the theater.

He was so lost in the delusion of seeing her again, that he believed his new surroundings to be the afterlife.

“I do apologize for the tears..”

“It’s just that..”

“This is a lot to take in.”

“Is this really the afterlife?”

“I... I can’t even remember dying.”

The entity disguised as his wife smiles down at him, pulling its hands away from his face.

“This is neither heaven nor hell.”

“Rather, it’s a place in between.”

It states as it begins to slowly ascend into the massive orb of light atop the ceiling.

“Let me ask this again Junpei..”

“What is it that you wish for?”

Without hesitation, he reaches out for her. Finally giving the entity the answer she desired.

“Give me the ability to have a second chance..”

“I want to be able to make things right!”

Hearing this only seemed to please the creature.

It extended its index finger toward him for him to grab ahold of. The moment she did, a sliver of her power was transferred into him.

“Then it is done!”

She sang, triumphantly.

“What did you do to me..?”

A strange otherworldly white aura begins to envelop Junpei’s form. It’s unlike anything he’d seen up until now. It felt as if tiny electrical shocks were all going off at once.

“Oh, you mean the theatrics?”

“I never really had a name for it until now..”

She stops to think to herself, holding her fist underneath her chin.
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“Aha! I got it!”

“You’re an anomaly!”

“What better way to assert dominance than to use the word those people used against you!”

That word haunted him. It was the same word that the village idiots had used as a derogatory toward his daughter hours prior. Yet, something inside of him compelled him not to say anything against it.”

“There is one thing you should be aware of, however..”

“Every wish is not without consequence, my dear Junpei.

As she begins to fade away into the light, she leaves him with one final chilling warning.

“You shall get your second chance, but as payment..”

“You will be bound to me for life.”

“Eternally a soldier in my coming army."

Hearing this seems to snap Junpei out of his trance, but it’s already too late. The deal had been made the moment his hand met hers.
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“So you know now why I must leave you Suika..?”

The two now refuse to even look at each other for different reasons. Junpei begins to draw a circular shape in the air with his finger, creating another portal full of that same white noise.

She’s silent, but her silence speaks a thousand words. He knew that she must have been feeling that same pain he felt when he lost his daughter. He didn’t believe it to be fair, but it’s what needed to be done to protect her.

“What happened tonight was only a glimpse of things to come..”

He swallowed deeply, turning to face his daughter. He wanted one last good look at her. It was strange, from this angle she looked just like her mother.
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“Hey Suika..?”

She slowly began to look up at him, revealing that her face had flushed a bright red. She was on the verge of tears, yet she tried desperately to fight them off.

Junpei shook his head, pointing over to the manuscripts that he had left on his desk.

“See that over there..?”

“I don’t have much time to train you any further but..”

“I’ve left everything you need to know in the manuscripts..”

“There’s a certain entry I've hidden that will help us find each other again one day.”

Turning around, he begins to slowly make his way toward the portal.

“It’s still a bit foreign to me. After studying the terminology, I've learned that it’s referred to as “World-Jumping.”

“However, this world seems to call it “Isekai..”
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“That was the last time I ever saw my father..”
Recounts Suika as she walks through the camp's forestry. Thinking back to her past always seemed to calm her down. It gave her a reason to focus. A reason to actually push toward her goals, rather than stagnating and stressing over trivial things like feelings.

“Hiro was right..”

She thought to herself about what he had said to her before heading off to look for Suzume.

Romantic feelings were somewhat of a new concept entirely to Suika. A majority of human reactions were. Outside of her missions and spending time with her father, she hadn’t actually had anyone she could really connect to. So Hiro being introduced to her life in that sense awakened something in her. Though she knew the feeling wasn’t mutual, it still hurt her. Knowing that although he brought her to his world that she would always be second best to someone she didn’t even know existed.
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The sun had finally set completely, and the only light illuminating her way was the crescent moon reflecting off of the nearby lake. The camp wasn’t that far different from the place she called home. She was used to exploring at night, believing it to be more peaceful.

After some time, she had finally found her destination. Even with the bad directions from Kazuma, who she could tell was lying about being able to read a map. She had finally reached the camp’s archery grounds.

“I’ve been walking for hours..”

“It’s about time I found this place.”

Closing her eyes, she brings the palms of her hands together. A bright pinkish glow begins to form around them. As she begins to reel her more dominant right hand back, mimicking the drawing of the bow. The weapon begins to transmute in her hands.

“Steady..”

“Steady..”

She says, attempting to slow down her breathing so that the arrow lines up perfectly with the center of her target.

Right as she’s about to fire though, her weapon disperses into nothing but static.

“Damn-it! I almost had it!” She screams out.

Her concentration had been broken by the sound of something slamming into the power generator to the north of her. The lights illuminating the archery grounds instantly shut off, startling her. She has never experienced such a phenomenon so a small amount of fear begins to build up in her.
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“What’s happening with the lights..?”

She attempted to summon forth a small pink flame in the palm of her hand, but even that wasn’t working. Only being able to muster sparks at the moment. Something was preventing her from using the full stint of her abilities here.

“This... isn’t good.” She thought to herself, looking around her surroundings. After the attack she had that previous night, she wasn’t going to take any chances. “I’m probably just paranoid..”

From what she could see through the darkness, the coast seemed clear. So she begins to make her way up north, walking in the direction of the noise she heard...

Little did she know though... Deep in the shadows, a figure was constantly stalking her. Using the underbrush to cover its steps. “Yeah, that’s gotta be it..”

“This world doesn’t even have Yokai so of course, my abilities don’t work here!”

Little did she know, she wasn’t alone in this solo venture. While her newfound friends were away setting up the campfire party, she found herself lost again. Unable to even find so much as a fork in the road.
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“God I need a break..”

“My feet are killing me.”

She thinks, as she takes a seat underneath the shade of a tree. She had been walking for 3 hours straight without rhyme or rhythm.

Her plan was to scope out the camp for everybody before they left after she finished practicing her archery, but it was way too dark to see anything. Coupled with her anomaly suddenly not working, she was pretty much a sitting duck.

“Maybe I can just camp out here until the morning..”

The sudden sound of movement can be heard a mere 10 feet to her right.

“Hello..?”

She called out, but when there was no answer; she assumed it to be a shameful Hiro.

“Hiro is that you..?”

“Look..”

“I was thinking about it and I wanted to apologize...

“But in that same sense, I feel it’s best for us both to.”

She can faintly see the outline of a man peering through the darkness at her.

“It’s not all my fault and it’s not all yours that we ended up like this..”

“I understand that you love Suzume and I’m not going to fight against ya on that.”

“She’s the original and I'm just a “counterfeit.” anyways.”

“Don’t even try to tell me I’m wrong either.”

“You said it yourself.”

The man just stands there, silently waiting for her to be finished ranting. Taking time to listen to what she had to say closely.

“You only brought me to your world because you needed a replacement for her.”

This line however intrigues him, prompting the man to tilt his head.

“Well, now you have her..”

“So if I’m a burden to you..”

“Please..”

“Just get rid of me already”
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She turns to face the direction of the man once more, and her words catch in her throat the second she sees him walking toward her.

He’s not a member of the group, in fact.. He doesn’t seem to be someone that they’d associate with.

He’s muscle-bound and towers over here at 6’4. Underneath his tattered brown jacket appeared to be the same type of counselors uniform she saw Kazuma and Kentaro wearing. The closest thing she could compare him to was that of a scarecrow. The hood of his brown jacket served as a cowl to cover the burlap mask that looked to be infused with his face. She shot up prepared to run, but it was already far too late.

The chapter comes to a close with Suika backed against the tree, locked in the masked man's stare.