An Evening's Lament
I was amidst my northbound travels when a letter from a fan redirected me from Ibaraki to Niigata. The author was a housekeeper for a wealthy entrepreneur in Kamo, who explained to me in detail a series of startling disappearances. Curiously, the victims were comprised of the businessman' rather eccentric collection of exotic pets. Over a period of a week, several of the animal inmates had seemingly vanished, without so much as a trace left in their wake. Some of the dogs and larger beasts would have proven no small feat to subdue, and thus I was inclined to assume the culprit was of a more spectral inclination.
I wasted no time in taking the quickest route into the city, and arrived at a rustic manor situated at the base of Mount Awagatake. I soon met with the nervous housekeeper, who explained to me that their overseer was away on business, and at this time I was the only outside individual privy to this debacle. I was given a brief tour of the grounds, and shown about the back garden which housed the bulk of the owner's furry, scaly, and feather companions. At this time, the only evidence to be found were several sets of horribly maimed iron bars, that appeared, to my dismay, to have been torn apart by hand.
Simultaneously, I inquired into a worn stone path leading up along the mountainside, which my host detailed as the road to an otherwise abandoned shrine. As my suspicions continued to build, I requested to be put up for the night: a demand which was all but readily met. From then on, I made preparations for a most severe stake-out, going so far as to camouflage my person in imitation of the hedges that dominated the back yard. I sat patiently for many hours, entertaining the occasional mosquito or stray lizard that chanced upon my hiding place. Then without warning, the most ungodly, deafening avian cry broke the silence, and I observed a baboon peaking out through the adjacent bush.
Special Features and History
The enigma known as "Nue" draws its name from an older word for a white thrush. Sadly, the only relation this creature has to the bird is the piercing call it lets loose in the light of the moon. Often dubbed as "the Japanese chimera", this mythological creature is otherwise identified as possessing the head of a baboon, the claws and forelegs of a tiger, and the front-end of a snake as a tail. The body and back haunches of the creature have never been conclusively identified, though older experts have alleged the core of the abomination to be of a tiger, or racoon in origin.
The first sightings of this spirit date back to the late Heian era, as samurai serving under the incumbent emperor famously slew such a beast, producing an account within the legendary epic Heike Monogatari. Interestingly, whereas the monstrous equivalent in western mythos is often cited for the deadliness of its animal abilities, the Nue is conversely noted for its ability to blend in with its natural surroundings. One person might view it from any one angle, and only glimpse a fraction of its true self. In this way, the innocuous separation of such visual elements makes tracking and entrapping this yokai particularly difficult.
Closing Remarks and Parting Advice
No sooner had the monkey's visage appeared before it vanished back into the brambles. Slowly and cautiously, I crept out from my stoop, and readied a compact stun baton I had brought along in anticipation of the worst. It was then that my stealthy approach was interrupted by a hiss, and had I not been keenly on-edge I'm certain the unseen serpent's fangs would have found their mark. Bounding clumsily into a fountain, the wild, birdlike howl from before whooped once more, and I found myself bereft of my footing.
Falling back into the dirtied water basin, I shrieked in terror as a pair of silver claws came sailing overhead, viciously, and ironically disemboweling the top half of my adventurer's cap. Shambling out and over the stone wall that surrounded the man-made pond. In a feat of sheer desperation, I sprinted towards the nearest empty cage, and positioned myself in front of the door. It was mere moments after that the beast came to collect on its early target, its wriggling, indiscriminate mass bounding towards me, and bounding a sinister, simian grin.
With superior timing uncharacteristic of me, I swung open the entrance to the vacant cage, and the creature went careening in without a second's reaction. It crowed once more in anger, but this time I was prepared, and electrified the bars with my own humble weapon. More cries followed after, at a much greater volume, before I heard the terrible rending of metal, and observed the Nue burst forth from its confines, and retreat up the beaten path that hugged the side of the distant mountain. Though I was too winded to give chase, a search of the hillside the following morning provided the evidence of a freshly abandoned nest, which was thereafter dismantled.
In the end, though I have long been fascinated with this particular specter, it is a demon infinitely more lethal than most. With the ability to camouflage itself and strike with a numerous of facets and faces, it an intriguing, and deeply unsettling figure of the supernatural world. For fear of any that may blindly seek this particular spirit, I extend to the Nue the title of A-Class Threat: only to be trifled with given excessive resources and proper preparation. Until next time dear readers, may you keep good company with your pets, and remain vigilant to the threats against them that lurk in realms unseen.
Sincerely,
C.V. Hastings
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