Mermay Madness

Matagi.

Only the most fearsome hunters of the village were allowed to be hunters and go up into the mountains and bring back big game of elk and bear. It's always been this way generation after generation to not displease the gods. And honestly whoever heard of a woman matagi anyways? It was unheard of. A woman's place was at home tending to children and keeping up the housework.

At least that's what you've always been told.

By both your parents.

Since you were little, you had no interest in becoming a typical housewife. Staying home all day and night, doing laundry, scrubbing floors, and being at the beck and call of whatever man was 'gracious' enough to take you as a wife. No. No you weren't going to do that. You wanted to go hunt and earn your living the same way your father did before you before he passed away from a bear attack when you were very little.

Unfortunately both your parents agreed that it wasn't an option for you. Your father was more gentle about it always refusing to teach you how to use a bow and arrow but he did show you how to make traps for game capture. Meanwhile your mother was so much stricter. If she so much as saw you holding a mere rope or just even looking longingly at the weapons your father would use, she yell, scream, and drag you forcibly by the back of your kimono and 'set you straight'. Which meant she'd make you scrub floors until your hands and knees were numb, practice embroidery until you couldn't feel your fingers, or other things 'a proper woman is supposed to be doing.'

You came to resent her after that, because after your father's death her insistence became overwhelming. You couldn't even go outside without her checking you for weapons. Not even the other matagi hunters thought you were a good enough hunter. One even offered to marry you because-

"If you can't be one you might as well marry one to continue your father's legacy."

Your mother agreed but you refused. But jokes on them! You hid everything you needed in the woods near your home. All you had to do was go out and set up the traps just like your father taught you! And not just any traps! Bear traps! If you brought back something as big as a elk, moose, or especially a bear then everyone have to take you seriously as a matagi hunter! So the very last night when your mother was asleep, you had snuck out into the snowy night and gathered up the ropes from under the rock you hid them under, and ventured up into the mountain to set up your trap. There was a small pond up in the mountains that they say is the home to an ancient dragon-

However no one believed it.

If asked by the matagi hunters then they'd laugh at you and say that some old superstitious ancestors who thought everything revolved around spirits and spooks. You've been up to the pond several times yourself out of curiosity and to see if the water would attract wildlife but you never saw anything either. But do you know what you DID see last time you went there? TRACKS!! They were all misshapen by the new falling snow and the fact whatever it was had been dragging something, but they were big enough to be a bear's! The trail ended just at the Water's edge which was strange but it was snowing so the trail must've been already gone.

But there was definitely some big game going through there!!

But first things first! You needed to have all the advantages you could get! So along with the rope, you brought a long some homemade ohagi and some yen. Even if there was no dragon, an offering might at least bring you good luck. Plus it never hurts to be on the safe side.

The snow crunched under your feet, and your breath turned to fog around your head as you huffed and puffed through the night. Trying to be quiet to not disturb the wildlife in case a good buck was roaming about. Step after step you took until you got passed some bushes. And-

AH! THERE IT WAS!

The moonlight sparkled off the snow and shine on the water like little stars floating on the surface. It was peaceful without any life in sight. Human or animal and no sounds except for the breeze coldly rustling through the branches and your steps as you walked forward and stopped at the Water's edge. Smiling down at the pretty reflection before giving a breath, getting on your knees, and bowing.

"Please, Oh Great Wise Dragon. Allow me to capture something  to show for my actions. I humbly offer you this offering as appeasement."

Snow crunched softly as you gently placed the food and money, wrapped up in a cloth right by the Water's edge before standing back up and dusting yourself off and turning around starting to lift the strings of heavy ropes off your shoulders. Ok! Time to get to work. You'd set up a really big trap here for the bear and then add a lot of little traps around the area! The more traps the better chance you'd have to actually catch something.

You didn't notice the soft hand gently reaching out of the pool to wrap itself around your gift before disappearing back down into the water without so much as a sound.

You made sure to set up one big trap hidden in some snow a little bit away from the pond before going around to set five smaller traps in various places near the biggest one making sure to study and remember where each one was before quickly leaving the area. You needed to get back home before your mother woke up and found you gone muttering to yourself.

"I'll come back tomorrow night and see if I caught anything."

And then you promptly left. Back home with just enough time to skip inside and hang up your winter coat before your mother got up to start working again. You had to wait all day and then a little bit into the night for your mother to sleep again before you could slip out by night and run up to the place where you set up the traps. Giddily looking at each one until you stopped by the smallest one furthest away from the pond. Your eyes widened at what you saw-

Oh my. It was.. beautiful!

The purest of white rabbits sat there in the rope trap with its back leg caught up in the string. It's fur so fluffy and white that it rivaled the snow itself. Perfect for making a muff that could sell for a good fifty yen. It's neat could make good soup for at least a week. Pink eyes blinked up at you oddly calmly wide eyes catching the moonlight and sparkling like rubies. Ok! Ok! You can do this! You can do this! Just one slice! Hands fumbled for the dagger tied to your side, shakily reaching it up into the air. Moonlight gleaming off the silver metal-

... Before you lowered it staring at the innocent face blinking up at you..And sighed.

You know what? This rabbit is too small anyways. It's not worth the effort and anyone could catch a rabbit. You decided to cut the rope around it's foot. Immediately it bolted off. Shooting up snow before it stopped just a few yards away looked at you for a few seconds before scattering away disappearing into the snow.

You sighed again picketing the blade. "I'll come back again tomorrow. Maybe something bigger will be here by then."

You did just that. Coming back the next night you found yet another prize even more beautiful than the fluffy rabbit. A absolutely BEAUTIFUL red fox. It's sleek fur shiny and such a beautiful orange like a tiger lily just blooming. It stared at you with beautiful eyes as it dangled from the rope wrapped around it's middle. ..That looked painful for the poor thing as it just stared at you with big eyes-

No. This wouldn't do either. It was...still too small even if it's pelt would've been worth at least a good hundred yen. So you cut it down and watched as it ran off into the darkness and disappeared from sight leaving only a few tracks for your work. You'll come back tomorrow night and see what else you might get.

The next night was possibly the best one.

For there was the most beautiful creature of all.

A doe. Graceful and as beautifully brown as chocolate. Her big body and meat could go for more than the fox and rabbit combined. Her hide could make perfect bags. Her head sold as a trophy to place on the wall and yet-...

She ran away as soon as you cut the rope from her neck. Bounding quickly away through the trees like she was flying almost.  She was...still too small. You needed something like an elk or moose to really show your worth and how well your traps worked!

"I need something really special in my nets," you thought out loud to yourself. Instantly the mental image of your mother nagging you to get married already popped into your mind. Making you huff. "Like a husband. That way my life can be completed."

You chuckled to yourself as you started home. Imagining the funny scenario of one of those rude hunters dangling and yelling from your ropes like a fish on a hook. It made you feel the tiniest bit better about the losses you had when you went home to wait for the fifth night again to go back to the pond.

You took your time just imagining what could be in your next trap. A juicy elk. A big moose. Or maybe a majestic bear! Your traps have been so successful so far so that proves you could be a successful matagi!  When night finally fell and your mother slept you took your coat and exited back where you came. Through the cold and snowy night. Carefully trudging through the snow towards your destination until arriving again to check the remaining three traps you didn't destroy cutting the animals free. The two little ones were empty upsetting you. But you had high hopes for the last one. As you slowly approached the bush. AND perking up as something large moved from inside the bushes. As your hands grabbed your dagger and slowly pulled back the branches ready to strike the bear-

"Oh hello. It's very nice to finally meet you face to face."

You stood there frozen. Your eyes meeting purple orbs with black cat like slits.

Sitting in the snow before you was a man. Or.. what looked like a man. Aman a little bit taller than you say there perfectly content in the snow with beautiful robes draped over his body. Now a man dressed like a wealthy noble sitting in the middle of the woods would've been so weird enough...if he didn't have two white horns poking out from his head, cat like eyes, and a long purple lizard tail poking out from the base of his spine. The tail had white fluffy hair running down it's length ending in a fluffy tuft of hair and a rope was wrapped around it suspended it in the air as he sat.

However despite everything he smiled at you.

You still stared at him wide eyed. Dragger dropping from your hand to land with a thud in the snow. There was silence for another minute before you finally spoke. "I-...W-Who?"

"My apologies." He slightly bowed to you. "My name is Ubuyashiki. I am the Guardian of this mountain region. You'll forgive me for surprising you like this, but I haven't had any visitors for quite some time. "

"I-..V-Visitors?"

"Indeed. You see I used to have many visitors coming to leave me offers but I think sadly I've been reduced to a mere legend until you came by days ago and left me that delicious food. So in return I tried my best to grant you your wish of a good prey."

Wait a minute-

"Wait. So this entire time..it w-was YOU who put those animals in my trap?"

He nodded. "However you never seemed satisfied with what I brought you but then you mentioned wanting to catch a husband within a trap." He slowly stood up making you realize how close you were. "And I have been rather lonely these past ten thousand years." His smile was gentle, kind. Despite having sharp claws they gently scratched your face as he tilted his head up to you with a smile. "It would be so nice to have a companion as kind hearted as you for my partner."

You swallowed the lump in your throat under his gaze. Perhaps your hunting skills were a little too much.