Himeji Okiku

## Personality

When alive, Okiku was kind and well-behaved. She was raised in servitude and taught how to behave, but this never stopped her adventurous tendencies. As she grew older, she became more rebellious and less obedient, although she always made sure to keep up with her duties. As a teenager, she was beautiful and honest, two fatal traits which inevitably led to her demise.

After her death, Okiku became angry. She had been killed and her killer went unpunished. Soon after she perished, Okiku's spirit became bound to the earth by the drive for vengeance. When in the presence of evil, she can be terrifying and ruthless. In the presence of other spirits or harmless entities, Okiku is quiet and unbothered. She spends most of her time alone, seeking solitude and rest. But every once in a while a dark soul with wander close enough to her and she takes it upon herself to serve justice for the innocent.

## Biography

Okiku was born into servitude within the boundaries of Himeji Castle. She was born to a kitchen maid and an unknown father. Serving the imperial family was all she ever knew and therefore she didn't have any real qualms about it. Like most children, she was adventurous and wanted to explore, but her mind never let her wonder about the world outside of the palace walls. She was an obedient child and followed the rules her mother set for her, but it never smothered the flame in her heart.

As she grew older, Okiku's desire to become something more grew larger. She knew it was her fate to serve the royal family until the day she died, but that didn't mean she couldn't become happy. It was common for servants to marry among themselves, and the Emperor allowed it, as long as it did not interfere with their work. While most of the other slave children had two loving parents, Okiku only had her mother. Her mother was a kind and stoic woman. She worked hard to provide and protect her child and it helped Okiku build up a strong personality. She would always protect her mother in return.

The older she grew, the more beautiful Okiku became. Among all the servant girls, she was known to be the most attractive. That wasn't to say there weren't other beauties among the maids, but hers was a special beauty. Innocent and pure of heart, she was the type of daughter every mother wanted for their sons. She was well-behaved and honest, even though she still held onto her adventurous qualities into her teens. And it wasn't only the servants that found her beauty to be enchanting.

The regent of the King also found Okiku to be quite beautiful. The samurai by the name of Aoyama was intrigued by Okiku and took a liking to her at once. His admiration turned to infatuation as she matured and grew close to child-bearing age. In the summer of her sixteenth year, the samurai made his move.

He tried his best to charm the servant girl. He offered her kind words and brought her flowers each time he passed the servant's quarters. By all means, he was desirable. He was handsome and in a good social standing among the imperial army. He was the right hand to the Emperor and Okiku didn't have any reason to dislike him. Or so the fellow maids thought. They would gossip about Okiku and her so-called betrothed by the creek as they watched the royal family's garments, but Okiku wasn't sure about it.

As handsome and well-off as Aoyama was, he was too pompous and proud for her liking. He cared more about himself and his own happiness than others' and she didn't think he would be the right match for her. He wasn't a bad person, she thought, but he wasn't the one for her. Even if it he would be the only man to propose to her, she wouldn't marry a man she didn't love.

But her refusal to his advances didn't stop Aoyama from trying. Well into the autumn season, he tried and tried to convince Okiku to change her mind. He promised her wealth and security. He promised her protection from evil and a life out of servitude, if only she stayed by his side. His attempts were alluring, but Okiku was an honest girl and pure of heart. She would not marry a man she didn't love, and she wouldn't budge.

As time passed and Aoyama made little progress in winning over the girl's heart, he began to grow agitated. Why was he trying so hard to make a mere servant girl fall in love with him? And why did he care so much that she was rejecting him? He was powerful and served the Emperor directly, making him capable of marrying any woman he desired. But the pretty little maid had refused his offers and it made him angry.

As winter crept closer and the festivities in the palace began to take place, Okiku was busier than ever. The kitchen was bustling with servants preparing food for banquets and parties that the King planned to hold inside the palace. While Okiku's mother worked her fingers to the bone, Okiku herself tried her best to ease her mother's work load. Her mother was growing old and working long hours was taking a toll on the woman. Okiku took on her mother's duties and did twice the work of a normal servant. But it didn't matter to her, as long as she was keeping her mother safe.

On the night of a large party in the castle, Okiku's mother was put in charge of cleaning the dishes. The old woman had shaking hands and the risk of her dropping the plates was far too great, so the girl took it upon herself. She took the nine precious dishes of the King to the well and began to wash them. They were fragile and expensive and Okiku took great care in making sure each plate was well washed and preserved. Should anything happen to the dishes, there would most certainly be Hell to pay. It was why she had taken the role of dishwasher from her mother.

As she finished up cleansing and rinsing the nine dishes with the water from the well, the sound of footsteps caught her attention. Okiku glanced over her shoulder to see who it was, but in her quick moment of distraction, she allowed the plate to slip from her hand and tumble down onto the ground. The plate fell against the hard rock surrounding the base of the well and it chipped the porcelain, while also adorning the precious plates with a large crack down the center. She had let her guard down and it would now cost her her life. But when the stranger approached closer, Okiku soon realized that it wasn't a stranger at all. It was Aoyama.

His initial plan had been to ambush her. To scare her and convince her to marry him. He had planned to offer her mother's freedom in return for her hand in marriage, but the universe had offered him an easier way into her heart. Aoyama kept tabs on Okiku at all times and, because of this, he knew that she had been taking on her mother's jobs in order to help. It was why he was originally planning to offer her mother freedom. But now, he had the upper hand.

Okiku did her best to hide the plate and it's broken pieces. Should word of the disaster reach the emperor, she would be imprisoned and most likely executed. But perhaps there was a chance to fix it. If only she had some time, then maybe she could figure out a way to repair the plates before it was found out. But with Aoyama's large frame hovering over her, the chances of such a thing were slim to none. Returning with only eight plates would mean certain doom.

With a maniacal grin, Aoyam offered her a saving grace. He would tell the Emperor that he was the one who broke the plate and spare Okiku's life, if she married him. It was tempting and Okiku contemplated giving in. But her heart was true and she wouldn't betray her morals just to save herself. Again, the girl refused the samuria's proposal and the ire in his heart began to swell. He threatened her with harsh words. He told her that he knew it was her mother's duty to wash the dishes. If she didn't agree to his proposal, he would tell the King that it had been her mother's fault and the punishment would fall upon the elderly woman. Distraught at the thought of her own mistakes being the cause of her mother's death, Okiku fell to her knees and wept. But Aoyama was too far gone to offer any sympathy. He was irate and impatient. He didn't want to deal with a sobbing servant girl. He wanted to win. He wanted her heart and her word.

He gave her one more chance. Save her and her mother's life by marrying him. But Okiku's heart would not waver. She loved her mother and she had no desire to perish so young, but she would not promise her heart to a man she didn't love. Raving mad, Aoyama took Okiku by the shoulders and shook her violently. He wanted to shake some sense into her, but it didn't work. Over and over again, Okiku refused his advances until the samurai could take it no more. With a heavy shove, Aoyama pushed Okiku back until she tumbled down the well.

Aoyama could hear the crackling and popping of her bones as she hit the walls of the well on the way down. The sound of her neck breaking echoed up from the chamber of the well until the loud splash of water made every noise cease to exist. He was in shock at first, but soon the anger left his soul. It served her right, for denying him so many times. A woman who refused such a prestigious man was better off dead. Without a second thought, Aoyama returned to the King's side and never spoke a word of the servant girl again.

As Okiku's body lay floating in the well, her slowly dying body looked up at the stars. She stared at them with tears in her eyes, knowing that she had ultimately failed to save her mother. It didn't take long for her to die. Her broken neck wasn't fatal, but it prevented her from keeping herself afloat. Water penetrated her lungs and before long, the young girl had died. But it wasn't the end of Okiku.

A few days passed and the other servants began to wonder where the young Okiku had gone. Some speculated that she had run off with the samurai, while others spoke of much darker fates. The servants prayed for Okiku's safe return, but it was not long after that Okiku's mother was taken to the dungeons for punishment. She was charged with breaking the Emperor's plate and for allowing her daughter to run off with a foreign man. Her mother could hardly speak and, through her tears, she prayed to the moldy Jizou for forgiveness and mercy. The Jizou statue didn't move and could only offer the mother so much relief before the sorrow became too much.

But Okiku's spirit had not disappeared. Her killer had not been found and justice for her death would never be served. Aoyama had lied to cover up his own sins and made Okiku seem like the one in the wrong. She refused to let her story remain buried. She refused to let the truth down in the waters of the well like she had.

For nine nights-- the same number of plates that there should've been-- Okiku's ghost appeared in Aoyama's room. She wept and screamed and called him a murderer. She threatened him with eternal suffering. She promised that she would haunt him every night until he admitted to his crimes. On the ninth night, Aoyama could no longer take the ghost's demands. Instead of confessing his crimes, he chose a warrior's death and committed seppuku in his bedroom. His body was later found and laid to rest, but Okiku's spirit wasn't satisfied. Her murderer would never be brought to justice. And, even in death, he was revered and praised. But Okiku would never receive that sort of praise. In the eyes of the imperial family, she was a traitor and whorish girl.

After the death of Aoyama, Okiku decided to haunt the Emperor. Again, it only took nine nights before the ruler

began to lose his sanity. Okiku scolded him and screamed until the man finally gave way to madness. After the Emperor's death, Okiku was still not satisfied. Not knowing what else to do, she made her way through each person who had been close to Aoyama. His siblings, his friends, and his mother. All of them perished after only nine days and yet the girl couldn't be pleased.

Centuries later, Okiku's ghost remains bound to the mortal plane, searching for justice where it is to be had. To innocent strangers, she may appear as nothing more than a reflection of her former self. But to those with a darkness in her heart, she shows her death state. With a crooked neck and pale-blue skin, she allows herself to be a nightmare. Her long hair, drenched with the water from the well, hangs past her back and her kimono remains torn and bloodied. She can see how many people a soul had killed and only after she punishes them will the bound souls of their victims be set free.

Okiku doesn't know what it will take for her soul to be content. But after hundreds of years, she had accepted her role as judge and executioner. She will serve justice for those who cannot do it for themselves, and she will rid the world of monsters like Aoyama.

## Inspirations

* Anna (Anna Dressed In Blood)
* Okiku (The Girl from the Well )
* Okiku and the Nine Plates