Kenkou Journey Ch. 01

I'd like to thank the original artists and authors of the Kenkou Kurosu monster girls for inspiration of the characters used in this story series.

Cold. That's all I remember feeling as soon as I felt awake. I was freezing, and the wind swirling around me cut to the bone like a knife. "Pah! Blech... Pff!" I shook the snow from my face after getting it out of the ground, but that did nothing to improve visibility. I was in the middle of a snowstorm, with no memory of how the hell I got here, and was very likely to freeze to death. 'Think, Harabec, think! Snowstorm means get out of snow, but how?' I had only one option I could think of. As wildly as I could, completely ignoring the wind and snow's ability to freeze me rapidly, I shoved as much snow to the sides as I could to both dig a crappy hole and build a crappy wall.

I got a couple inches before my arms and legs felt totally frozen. Jeans and a t-shirt wouldn't save me for long--they were already soaked, and felt frigid against my skin. I needed help. I must have cried aloud for it, because one very strong gust of wind pushed me through the wall I'd built, right before the storm seemed to subside. I could finally make out a little fiery glow, and started rushing madly toward it. "Help, someone! Anyone, if you're over there, help!!"

A door opened, the house as covered with snow as the ground was. I could see a little inside, but my eyes were fixed on one thing. The fire. I tripped over the two steps leading onto the little home's porch but clawed inside quickly, shivering and trying to get close to the flame. The mix of its heat and my body's cold set off a stinging feeling through my body, but I felt safe. "Excuse me, sir?"

I felt a little blush in my cold cheeks, just now remembering that I never thanked my savior for allowing me in. For some reason, I was relieved to hear the voice belonged to a woman as I turned around as slowly as my shivering body allowed. "Th-thank-k you m-m..." The lady wasn't human. She looked it, but her skin was blue. A pale tint of it, almost like ice. "Miss?" Everything about her looked human. Her hair and clothes, white as snow, and her robes' trims the same blue as her skin, but it was just so... off. "Wh-what a-are you?"

I couldn't tell if the stutter was fear or the cold. Probably both. For seeming so cold, however, her smile was warm enough as she swooped to me and started tugging at my clothes as if to remove them. "Even with the fire, these are wet, and you are cold. Come. Let us warm you up properly." Her fingers felt cool on my skin, which was a little worrying with how cold my skin was, but every movement was gentle and careful. Instinct agreed with her that I needed warmth, and a part of my mind trusted she wasn't out to hurt me. So I stripped with her help, and was soon draped in one of the thickest blankets I'd ever felt as she moved to another room, probably to dry my clothes.

"Ahh... Achoo!" I sniffed hard, not wanting to risk anything dirtying the lady's blanket. As weird as the experience was, it was a choice of learn about it, or go back outside. And since she returned and instantly began fueling a fire of an old fashioned stove with some food already set aside in preparation to cook, I would definitely trust her to treat me better. "Ma'am... Um, thank you. F-for saving mahchoo!!"

As soon as the food was placed within the fire or within the water boiling atop the stove, she came back to me and knelt before me, adjusting the blanket to wrap more around my body. "It is my pleasure, so long as you are safe and comfortable." Even after the adjustment was finished, she held the blanket, her eyes locking with mine and looking curious and inquisitive. I didn't dare blink more than I needed to, staring back at her unyielding gaze. "You are... not from this world, are you?"

I wanted to laugh at that statement. A cold-to-touch lady with blue skin asking me if I wasn't from here? But again, my head won out that now was not a joking time. "I'm not sure where "here" is, to be honest. I... can't remember anything before waking up in the middle of the snow outside. I know who I am, and what I've learned from my life so far from... wherever I'm from. But, I don't think I'm from here. You're the first lady with blue skin I've ever seen, if it confirms anything."

But... hold on. I'd heard of something like this. A spirit of a housewife who lives in the snow, with a husband who's not alive anymore. She would wait for him, and invite passerby into her home. She treats them, she gets something in return, and... the story varies in too many ways for me to know exactly what to expect. But I had a sinking suspicion that she was one of those kinds of spirits.

Her eyes seemed as thoughtful as mine. Did this mean I'm the only human in her world, or that I'm just like an alien? Finally, she stood and walked to a small shelf of books, finally withdrawing one to set before me. "Kenkou Kurosu" was written in faded text across its surface and spine. I looked from it to her before opening. It seemed like an encyclopedia of some kind, but the first page had a... a little girl. Alice. A powerful demon trapped in a child's body, unaware of her demonic powers. "Sir... are you able to read?" I didn't realize I'd been staring at the page for so long. It probably made me seem illiterate, and being the "Alien" and all, I couldn't be offended.

"Yes, just surprised." The next page, a plant that entrapped men into living within it so they could feed on its nectar. A few pages later, a spider that ensnared men in its web for intercourse, fiery-tempered men would be kept as husbands... I kept flipping through with no clear destination. Every one of them was of a lady, who seemed to have one theme. Sex with men. Whether they claimed forever, lived off the fluids or energy of, or just has business with men, there seemed to be ninety-one females, at least, in this world trying to take human men.

Then I found her. "Yukionna..." I probably pronounced it wrong. "Ice spirit in the snowy mountains... Indebts male passerby by sheltering from the cold with a warm meal and entertainment. Claims repayment by the warmth of intercourse, and invites him to return at a later date." I looked up at her, and she seemed entirely unfazed. She was instead extremely focused on setting a plate and spreading about the food she'd prepared, which smelled wonderful to my nose now that I noticed it. I glanced back at the book, and then to her as she glided to me with plate in hand. "At least you're not one of the sadistic ones after a kidnapping."

That at least got her to giggle as she set the utensils upon the plate before taking a seat next to me. "Did any of those creatures look familiar, sir?"

As she asked, I'd set aside the book to avoid dirtying it with crumbs. A little meat, probably chicken, bread, potatoes in some gravy, and tea made this meal look incredibly welcoming. "It's weird. Almost all of them have, but because I learned about them through mythology, history, or games." A twinge of pain in my stomach interrupted the response as I cut through some of the meat, bringing it to my lips immediately. It was delicious, exactly as if it had been every time I felt I'd tasted it before.

Apparently my short answer was enough. "Mythology may be similar to history, but what "games" did you learn these creatures from?"

"Hm..." I swallowed my food and tilted my head. "A few of them are quite generic for video games. Elf, Dwarf, the undead ones, and so on. Roleplaying Games cover a lot of the ones that seemed Greek, Roman, and Norse based, like the Lamia, Ogre, Harpy, Siren, Echidna..." I started to list off a few others in my head as I took another bite of the food.

She tilted her head and swiveled a bit to look at my face. I stared back, feeling a little awkward about being gazed at... It was like she was trying to decide if I was lying or not. "You really are not from here. You feel different, and talk of things I've never heard. But I can't find a single trace of dishonesty."

But I was a human, and a guy as well. Was I really so different from those in whatever world this is? The world didn't seem different from what I felt was my home. The food was the same, the fabric felt similar, the stove... was oddly manually fed instead of electronic, but I doubt a mountaintop cabin gets electricity. Still, I felt I had to ask. "So if I'm not on Earth, or at least still in America... Where am I?"

"I am... not certain. This world is known by regions, but not as an entire entity, due to how rarely travel is done except by merchants. I have found the book you read, but even I do not know firsthand much about this world. Only what wanders through the blizzards." That snapped me back to the reality that I was still in her debt, and I knew what she wanted. The blizzard outside, was her way of keeping me here. "Was the food good, sir?"

I nodded and reached a hand out to touch her cheek with the backs of my fingers. Still cool, but as cool now as it was a while ago. At least she wasn't going to freeze my body. "So the book's mentioning of your repayment..."

Her hands slid between the covers of the blanket around me, grasping my shoulders tenderly as it fell around my lap, exposing my body from the hips up. I didn't try to bother hiding the erection; I knew she wanted it, and I owed it to her. So I pulled the cloth away more, allowing every inch of skin to show.

She gazed at my eyes until I'd removed the cloth, then looked down, eyes seeming to drink my body. Not incredibly tall, only about 5'8", and fairly solidly built with 145 pounds or so. My hair, short all over and somewhere between red and brown, somewhat hiding a shaft of seven inches reaching up to my belly. It twitched as her eyes rested on it--we both wanted it inside her, and she began to untie the sash around her belly to accommodate.

I couldn't help but stare as her robe slid away smoothly, showing her entire body's smooth skin, all the same cool blue but incredibly inviting. She reached her leg out to wrap around my waist, settling into my lap and joining her first with the second around me. Legs around my belly and arms over my neck, she settled her body fondly against mine.

I had to gasp at the cool, but held her tightly to my front with one arm. The other tilted my shaft skyward, allowing her to lift her hips and lower them, encasing my erection within her body. It was cool inside, too, but quickly warmed to my skin. Her lips met mine in a soft embrace as our bodies squished together, sealing the space between us.

"So warm..." Her whisper was mixed with a moan of delight as my hips rubbed side to side beneath her, grinding my manhood within her body as she began rocking her hips up and down to stroke my skin within her. Every grinding movement was slow and gentle, paired with her hands trailing around my neck and chest as my hands roamed over her back.

She finally started to bounce her hips over mine, her soft hole grasping and sliding from my base to tip with each bouncing thrust down onto me. I started pressing firmly up to meet the thrusts, my legs unfolding to push and bounce her against me easier. The bouncing soon became swift and smooth as her insides grasped firmer with every second within her.

Her hands started stroking wildly over my shoulders, trying to rub any bit of skin possible as she rode over my shaft. With her pleasure, came a steady stream of rising warmth from her body... She almost felt normal now, and amazingly soft around my shaft.

My eyes fluttered up as I gave a throb within her, precum seeping out to meet her. She gave a loud gasp, almost shocked by the feeling as she body bounced over mine rougher. My hips were shoved to the cushion and her breasts flailed across my chest. Without thinking, my hand grasped one from the side, sinking into the soft flesh to grasp as I neared my peak. "I'm gonna--"

"Release into me!" Her eyes were rolled back a bit in pleasure as she bobbed herself down onto me repeatedly, clenching her thighs around my waist and hips to my manhood to grasp it all the tighter. The softness and grip together finally set me off, shaft pulsing rapidly within her as a spray of pleasure began soaking her insides. "Ah! Ah, ahh..."

Her voice went from surprised at the heat to relishing it, resting her hips back over mine as she soaked up my fluids and savored the heat, breathing as heavy as I was from our thrusting together. "You felt, so good." We continued to hold each other, encased in arms and legs as I softened within her slowly. "Why do men avoid you?"

Her head rested on my shoulder, still catching her breath a little as she clung to me, trying to hold onto the warmth as long as could be. "We in the book, no matter how gentle some of us may be, are still "monsters" to men. Many of us do not return the same love, or offer the same children on birth that they seek. So we are a thing to not come into contact with..."

My head pulled back and offered a small kiss to her lips before tilting to gaze at her eyes evenly. "Then I'm glad to be a little different from the men of wherever I'm from, because some of you "monsters" are perfectly nice."

She gave me a very serene smile and cupped her slowly cooling hands to my cheeks. "Were I able to support for more than a visit, I would gladly keep you longer. However..." Her gaze finally broke from my eyes to look back at the book, before turning to me again. "I can at least help you, to prepare you some for this world."

"How so?" I was answered by her sliding carefully from my lap and returning to the book shelf, withdrawing a folded up paper. She placed it to my side, unfolding it carefully. The thing seemed ready to crumble to dust, from the looks of it, but the map that came to my eyes was still clear as day. It also had a fair key of what towns were where, and where to avoid due to monster settlements.

Her finger pointed atop a southern mountain. "We are here. One village near the mountain base has become a Village of Matango, so avoid it to avoid life among mushrooms. The other, if you were to travel over the mountain to the coastline, is unfortunate enough to be plagued heavily by seaside creatures."

Instead, her finger trailed down the mountain a little, and landed on a patch with a fiery color. "Cyclops live here. If they are willing to trade with you, you may at least arm yourself; I have yet to meet a man without at least some weapon hidden." She kept pointing down, toward a forest. "These woods have your largest challenge, I would imagine; many stealthy creatures lie in here. Past the woods, though, there are a few towns to seek out. Hopefully they remain."

She folded the map back up and set it atop the Kenkou Kurosu encyclopedia, before offering them to me. "I get to keep these... to know what I'm getting into, and where I'm going?" She nodded, and I gave a small bow as I took them. "Thank you." As I started to look through the book for creatures living within the mountains, she left the room and came back with my clothes, well dried and folded. "Heh... Thank you, ma'am."

Her fingers had cooled again by the time I grabbed the clothes, and I felt them only getting back to her normal temperature as she helped slide the clothes carefully over my skin again. "I do not know if your strange origin will help you avoid the charms and effects of the monsters here. But I somehow feel you will be both safe, and in danger--you feel different, and with that, there is some attraction to you beyond what I normally felt."

I nodded, and kind of understood. Everything felt some attraction to what's different and new, and in a world where Monsters seemed to want to have so much to do with Men, it probably put me at some kind of risk. Why, I don't know, but at least now I understood why she wanted me to arm myself. "Then now I just have to find my course? Or, at least what I want to come of being here."

After all, there were quite a few entries that seemed to involve a lifetime of copulation or an eternity of fulfilling a single attraction to a being. While I genuinely did want more, a happy relationship, there was at least a tiny bit of comfort in that failure would most likely just be a "lesser of two evils", in a way.

Still, the Yukionna nodded and cupped her palms to my cheeks. "I can guide you by the wind and stave off the cold until you leave the mountaintop. After that, however, I can not assist you, sir." She stood back and rested her hands at her front, tilting her head a little. "Do you need time to plot your course?"

I nodded, and she motioned back to the cushion I was atop before. "Thank you... really. And, I remember reading you'll want to see me again. I can only promise to seek you out, if I ever somehow wind up back at this mountain again." She nodded back in understanding as I opened the book again.

Page after page, many of the same themes. Charm magic, aphrodisiac components, swarms, kidnappings. Feeds off of or fueled by semen, feeds off souls... the thought of dying to feed a monster by soul instead of body made me shudder. A few omnivores, but many seemed to keep prisoners...

A werewolf, if defeated alone, would at least have a sense of loyalty to a victor. A Red Slime still goes by instinct, but can speak and feel almost complete emotions... Holstaurus would seek to marry, and certainly seemed nonviolent. Weresheep? An eternity of sleep and sex due to her wool would be interesting, at least. Honeybees and Giant Ants both seemed like hard workers with secure and fulfilling lives. If I could learn the language for a Golem, it could be made to be pretty close to human. Unicorn would reject me by now, I've already touched one Monster.

Well, at least there were nonviolent and humanoid solutions for where to end up if I somehow found a human female that hadn't been transformed already. With a glance at the map, it became pretty clear that I was at least headed toward the south of the Forest. There was a bit of a marsh in the way, but with luck, the city at the Grassland's tip would be around to welcome me. If not, east by the coast would be a port town worth trying.

I looked back up, and she was still gazing at me. I was still a little uncomfortable leaving her, regardless. Even with the "warmth" repayment, she did save me. I stood up, and held the map and book both to my chest with one arm, hugging her softly with the other. "Thank you, for your help. There are two towns to view, and I'll head for the plains first."

She nodded and gave me a soft hug before gliding to the door and grasping its handle. "Then, sir, I wish you nothing but success. Thank you, for visiting me." She slowly opened the door, revealing a very white scene outside. No wind, no snowing, just a sheet of white and few rocky outcrops showing. "The last gift I can promise, is to help guide you to the cyclops. Follow the wind."

I gave her an appreciative hug before starting to move back into the snow. Without the blizzard about, it was far more bearable. A wind hit my side, and as ordered, I started to move with it so it was at my back. With it guiding my steps, I was able to ignore the cold's build on my body for a while, having seen the rock that seemed to be straight before me as the wind led me.

As soon as I hit the rock, the wind stopped. Peering over, I saw a very poorly kept, rocky leading down, snow mixed among a few stones but stopping quite abruptly anyway. I reached down and grabbed a long, thin rock in my spare hand. If I was to keep a straight line, I needed to mark it. I looked behind me, drawing a line from my path in the snow to the rock. I started scratching a line across the rock, going out and forward. Thankfully, it made a very visible scratch, so I could see it after moving away to ensure I'm still going generally straight.