Nukekubi

My name is Yuki Kamo, I am 16 years old, and I am a nukekubi. A nukekubi is similar to a vampire in western culture. Unlike them, I can detach my head and it can fly or levitate to find my prey, and this makes me more dangerous than them. However, this led me to develop a red mark around my neck, which is why I wear a scarf all the time, even in the summer. I have to feed once every month. I never asked to be this way. My bloodline was cursed several generations ago. They crossed somebody they shouldn't have and a curse manifested and leeched into their bloodline...my bloodline. It wasn't very clear but I think it has something to do with a wife committing suicide after she caught her husband cheating and her negative cursed energy leeched onto the mistress, which is why it only affects the women.

I hated it. I hate that my life was cursed because of the actions of my ancestor, who was unfaithful to his wife. I hate the constant vampiric thirst for blood that I cannot resist even if I try. When I drain people, I do not just drain their blood, but their soul as well. You see, in order to hide from the world, I have to carefully plan out how to feed on people without getting caught. That's why I chose Yokai Street, because it is known for many gruesome murders like the one from 3 years ago, where the victim was cut in half by the train station. My victim will get lost in the many deaths that happened here, so it increases my chance of getting away with it.

I tried my best to not to think about my victims, and the lives they lived. It worked for a while, but I can never stop thinking about this one person I killed. He was a little boy who goes to a middle school 15 minutes away from Yokai Street. He was an only child whose parents died in a car accident and lived with his grandparents. He was quiet and sweet, but he was a loner. He tried not to draw attention to himself by sitting in the back and not participate much in after school activities. It make sense that he was an easy target, because no one except his grandparents would miss him if he was gone. I stalked him for days, and looked for an opening to strike. He did not do anything wrong, but the hunger gnawing inside me was too overpowering. One night as he was walking home, I detached my head and waited above the trees in the dark alley. I waited and waited and then I saw him, walking closer and closer, with his head submerged in a novel he was reading. I took a bite at his neck and drained him of his blood and soul. I saw his skin turning blue, his mouth hanging open from shock, and his face was filled with horror, knowing that there was nothing he could do to prevent him from dying. There was nothing left but an empty husk after I was done. After that, my mind became clear and I was no longer controlled by bloodlust. His grandparents looked for him for months and still they never give up hope to see their grandson again. It pains me that I have to kill in order to live. My name is Yuki Kamo, I am 16 years old, and I am a nukekubi.

Author's Note: This story is about an onryo called nukekubi. It is a type of curse that affects mostly women and it is similar to vampire in the west. Nukekubi can detach their head and they will fly to find a victim and drain them of their blood. There are many different origin stories but I decided to make it so that the wife created negative cursed energy and it attached to the mistress, therefore cursing her and her bloodline. I added the part where not only they drain their victim of blood, but their soul as well. I still don't understand why vampires can't just drink the victims' blood and let them live so they can make more blood. By adding the part of draining the victim's soul, it gave an explanation on why they have to kill their victim and also why they are dangerous. I made a little connection to the story of Teke-Teke in the second paragraph, which ties all the story together because they happen in Yokai Street, but in different times. This story is in first person point of view of a girl who was cursed of being a nukekubi. It is part of a creative pursuit that I made all the stories different, with my first story as a detective case, second story in third person, and this story in first person point of view.

Image source:

Nukekubi at Yokai.com

Dark Urban Japan at Flickr

Bibliography: Nukekubi at Wikipedia