Long, long ago, there lived a warrior named Iemon Tamiya, who lived with his beautiful wife, Oiwa. They were a happy couple, well liked in the village that was near their home, but were very poor. Despite this, Iemon loved his wife very much, until one unfortunate day when he was speaking with the village magistrate, Kihei Ito. The two were fast friends and got on well, with Kihei almost thinking of Iemon as a son.
"I would he overjoyed and honored to have you as part of my family," Kiheo said to him that day, "It's too bad in this case that you're already married, for my daughter Oume is of age, and very beautiful." Iemon laughed and assured him that while he had no doubts that Oume was beautiful, he was indeed married already, and that Oiwa must have been just as beautiful.
But that small statement, that it was too bad Iemon was already married, was all it took to plant a seed of wonder in the young man's mind. That would have been the end of it had he disregarded the idea, but instead, he cultivated it. Before long, he was looking at his wife not with love, but with disguised disgust. Soon, he could see only faults in her. Even her sneezes, daintly and quiet though they were, may as well have been typhoons to him. "Oume wouldn't sneeze at all, I'd bet," he'd say to himself when no one was around to hear him. With each day that passed, his resentment of Oiwa grew and grew, until finally, he could stand her no longer.
One night while dinner was being prepared, he offered to help Oiwa with the cooking. "You work so hard for this household," he said, "And especially for me, almost useless though I am. Please allow me to ease your burden." Oiwa was surprised, but all too happy for the help. When dinner was served, Oiwa was surprised that Iemon did not start eating right away. "I have something on my mind I'm trying to think through before I start to eat," he told her, "But please don't wait for me. You work so hard, you shouldn't have to wait." Oiwa was perplexed, but did not question her husband's words and began eating. It was not long before Oiwa began choking, eyes wide with shock and fear. Iemon had poisoned the food, planning to blame her death on an accident.
He watched with horrified fascination as her face changed colors and she fell onto the floor, writhing in agony. But not once did she stop breathing, even after Iemon had to stand outside to avoid looking on her. When he was certain she must have been dead, Iemon finally stepped back inside their house, to find in horror that Oiwa, for all her suffering, had not died. The poison had disfigured her terribly, causing part of her face to begin sloughing off. To his shock, she turned ti him and spoke. "Husband," she said, "I feel terrible. What has happened?"
Iemon's resolve broke. "You have fallen ill," he replied, "But you should soon recover." He realized that she could not remember what he had done, and counted himself lucky for it. But he still did not accomplish what he had meant to, and Oiwa was still alive and in his way.
That same night, Iemon proposed they talk a walk to enjoy the night air, and her mind addled as it was, Oiwa happily agreed. It was not to be enjoyed long, however, for Iemon led his wife towards the seaside cliffs just down the road from their house. "The ocean looks exquisite tonight," he said from the cliff's edge, "Come my love, come here and have a better look." And no sooner had Oiwa come to look than Iemon pushed her over the edge to her death. The deed done, he returned home and went to bed to wait until morning. As he drifted off to sleep, he dreamed that he heard a woman giggling, somewhere far away.
The next morning, Iemon rushed into the village, claiming that he could not find his wife. A search was begun, but her body was not found, and the villagers surmised that she must have gone for a walk for a reason only she could know, and had fallen off the cliffs in the dark. Knowing Oiwa could not have survived the fall, Iemon agreed and asked to be alone so he could grieve. Despite this, Oume went to comfort him anyway, and several days later, they were engaged to be married. Each night that passed, Iemon dreamed that he heard a woman giggling, and each night, she sounded closer than she had been the previous night.
Finally, came the evening of the wedding, and it was going to be as perfect as perfect could be. The guests had all arrived and were seated in the village square. The priest was ready to perform the ceremony. Iemon was dressed in his finest robes and Oume in her own robes and beautiful overcoat, a veil covering her face. The ceremony proceeded, although Iemon could hear Oume giggling lightly the entire time. She was not disturbing anybody with it, and so he thought nothing of it. When the time came, he lifted the veil from Oume's face, and gasped in horror as he not his bride, but the disfigured visage of Oiwa. Without a second thought, he drew his sword and cut her head from her shoulders. To his continued horror, the head that fell upon the ground was not Oiwa's, but Oume's. With her blood still on his sword, he fled from the wedding and to his house, hearing Oiwa's giggle in the distance and gradually gaining on him.
Throwing the gate shut behind him, he resolved that it was best he not venture out again until the sun had risen. Suddenly, a loud and violent knocking came from the gate. Iemon could hear Kihei shouting at him from the other side, demanding he come out and answer for what he had done. Frightened, but realizing there was no other way out, Iemon opened the gate. Once again, there was Oiwa, having tricked him by using Kihei's voice. Again, Iemon drew his sword and cut her head from her shoulders, and again, he could only stare in horror as the head that fell to the ground was not Oiwa's, but Kihei's. Again, she had tricked him into committing murder, and again, he fled, Oiwa's mad giggling ringing in his ears as he ran.
He had not the presence of mind to think of where he was running until it was too late, and he found himself standing at the edge of the cliffs he had pushed Oiwa from weeks before. Realizing where he was, he immediately turned around to flee, and looked right into the face of Oiwa. he screamed, and before he could even think of his sword, Oiwa pushed him over the edge to his death, just as he had done to her.
By the time the other villagers arrived, they saw Iemon lying dead at the bottom of the cliffs, and concluded that he must have thrown himself off, unable to suffer his guilt. With nothing else to be done until morning, they turned to go home, some of them certain they could faintly hear a woman giggling.
So is it that Oiwa became the first onryō, the ghost of one wronged who stalks the earth to exact vengeance. So is it that she came to punish the unfaithfulness and selfishness of those still living, appearing to visit torment on them, heralded only by her giggling as it draws ever... closer....
Immediately....
The screen to Winona's house was thrown open with such force it was perhaps a miracle it didn't break. Instantly, the night air was filled with a torrent of screams as the villagers of Taiyō-sen came spilling out onto the ground, tumbling and tripping over one another in a mad dash to escape the ghost of Oiwa, who had suddenly appeared to them from the peony lantern that had served as the focal point of Owlowiscious' story as the images of it played out before them from magic. Those who were farmers didn't even wait to see if anyone else made it out. They simply broke into a full run back towards their homes.
Those who weren't famers, save for the Earthwalker family, did stay for their friends, pulling each other to their feet. Lantier was the only one who stayed behind, spinning about to face the house and drawing his sword. In a fit of surprising courage, Peewee charged and stood near him, stretching out his wings an instant before they burst into raging flames leaping up towards the moon, bathing everyone in light and very tangible heat. But even they watched with fearful eyes; if yōkai came for them now, they could never hope to escape.
"What's wrong?"
Theose fearful eyes immediately turned to angry scowling when they saw that Owlowiscious had stepped outside, looking smugly, and falsely perplexed at the scene before him.
"Was that too much?"
And thusly....
Owlowiscious vainly struggled against the ropes binding his wings to his sides and his feet together. His demands to be released were little more than muffled grunts around the cloth that had been tied around his beak. All around him in Winona's house were the various villagers who did not have the luxury of their own homes being within sight distance- chief among them being Tank, Opal, Angel, Gummy, and of course Peewee, Lantier, Winona herself, and her family- in various states of troubled sleep. The cook fire, even with nothing above it to be cooked, had been stoked as high as they had dared to make it, and every spare lantern that could be found was lit. It may as well have been day inside of the house, with how bright it was. No one had so much as thought to use any of the bedrooms; it was safer if they were all together, after all.
"Nng." Tank stirred awake, and after a few moments, turned his attention towards the owl. Seeing his chance, Owlowiscious tried once again to demand his release. "No can do, friend," Tank replied. "Not until the sun rises, at least. And don't bothering asking me to loosen the gag, either. Everyone here knows you can't be trusted to not open your beak and give us nightmares." The tortoise sounded just a little too cheerful as he recounted exactly how Owlowiscious came to be in his current situation.
And then, he turned to look the other way, where Opal curled up against him just a bit more tightly. Of everyone, she was having the most peaceful time sleeping, with the seeming exception of Tank and Lantier, the latter who had decided to stay more to put everyone else at ease. "Well, I guess it's not all bad," Tank concluded. "Anyways, see you in the morning, Hoots." And he promptly shut his eyes and nodded off again.
For a final time, Owlowiscious tried to voice his objections, before giving up and laying his head down on the floor with a growl.