Esther was seventeen the day the stranger came wandering onto her papa’s farm. The boy looked to be about her age, rugged and seemingly in need of a good bath, with chin-length hair tied back loosely. Little curls stuck to his forehead, freckles dotted his tawny skin, and Esther felt her heart skip a bit when those world-weary brown eyes of his fell on her. The unmistakable ivory handle of a pistol gun rested at his hip.
Well, she’d always been… a romantic.
Her papa was… less impressed. “Wha’d’ya want, son?”
“Work,” said the boy, in a voice softer than Esther would’ve imagined, “If y’all’d be willin’ to have me, sir.”
“For how long?” Papa asked. Esther quietly stepped to her father’s side, hoping to study the boy further.
“Just a few days. My uncle, sir, he’s ill and can’t work, but we got some business in the town a few miles from here. All I ask is some food for myself and a place to sleep for my uncle.”
Esther decided that she liked this boy’s voice.
Papa examined the boy, his eyes narrowing a bit. “What’s your name, son?”
“James,” He said, “James Lynn, sir.”
Esther saw Papa falter.
“Your folks,” He said, “You related to the Lynns up in Blackwood?”
James nodded. “That I am -- was, sir.”
“I’m real damn sorry to hear that.” There was a flash of pity in his eyes. “First, two folks lose their lives in a fire and then their daughter disappears the day of the funeral…”
“They got me to carry on the family name,” James said, with a smile tinged by sorrow. Esther felt her face warm. “But I need work in order to do that, sir. I won’t be in your hair more than two weeks.”
“Seems ‘bout right. You tell your uncle to head on up here, son. I’ll set you two up a place to sleep in the barn and set you to work break of dawn tomorrow.”
“Thank you kindly, sir.”
Papa told Esther to go inside after that, but she didn’t miss the way James smiled at her when she waved.
--
“Papa said I shouldn’t come out here.”
“Your papa is right,” James said, a teasing smile on his face. His calloused hands were set to mending some weak boards in the barn, but Esther couldn’t help but wonder what those hands would feel like on… “Here I am, a wayfaring stranger, takin’ up residence in y’all’s barn. Who knows what evil I might expose you to?”
Esther startled out of her thoughts with a giggle. “My, James, you’re a funny one.”
“Jamie.”
“Hm?”
“My friends call me Jamie, miss.”
Esther smiled a bit, pushing herself up to sit on one of the haybales Papa kept in the barn. “Jamie. I like that.”
Jamie gave no response other than a bright grin and a tint of pink to his cheeks. Esther folded her hands in her lap very lady-like and watched as Jamie worked. After a few moments, she spoke again.
“Does your uncle sleep all day?”
Jamie straightened, stretching his arms and reaching to the heavens. Esther saw a sliver of his stomach as his shirt raised with his arms, and she felt herself turn redder than the summer sun.
“Yes’m. Remember how I said he’s ill?”
“Y-Yessir.”
“He burns up in the sunlight like someone took a match to him.” Jamie explained, jumping up and sitting next to Esther. She was painfully aware of how their thighs pressed together. “Turns redder than your cheeks --” that earned a giggle and a playful swat on the arm, “-- and gets blisters all over. So, he spends the day sleepin’ in the shade and goes about at night.”
“I don’t mean to scare you,” Esther said, very seriously, “But I think your uncle may well be a vampire, Jamie.”
He snorted, a sly smile coming onto his face. “Yep. You caught us. I’m workin’ for your pa to keep my undead, vampire uncle safe.”
Esther dissolved into quiet laughter -- she didn’t want to wake the intimidating-looking man sleeping in the back of the barn, after all -- and shoved Jamie off the haybale. He shot her a wink and got back to work.
--
The taste of Jamie’s lips was quickly becoming Esther’s favorite.
It was a late night, his uncle was out in the town, and Jamie didn’t look as tired as he usually did - “We travel by night, ‘m used to sleepin’ in the day like Uncle Nathan,” he’d said - and Esther was delirious at the sight of his bare arms and she kissed him.
And she kissed him.
And she kissed him.
And he kissed her back.
It was clumsy and messy and they both got bitten and they both laughed and they both hid their faces and giggled, and by gracious Mother Most Holy, Esther was in love.
Jamie rolled to face her. She reached out and ran her fingers through his mousey brown hair, picking out the hay that got all tangled up in it.
“I got something to tell you,” he said. “It’s a big secret. Your pa can’t know.”
“I can keep a secret,” she whispered.
“I - uh,” he rolled onto his back, staring up at the roof he’d patched up. “I ain’t no boy.”
“Oh.” Esther rolled on her back, staring up with Jamie. “Sooooo..., you’re a girl.”
“Yeah.”
She smiled and reached for Jamie’s hand, noting how she avoided Esther’s gaze. “I figured.”
Jamie sputtered, her face turning a bright red. She glanced over to Esther. “How’d you figure?”
“You’re gentle.”
“‘m not,” Jamie said, her voice coming out a bit choked. “You’re only sayin’ that because you don’t know what I do for a livin’. You don’t know what I’ve done.”
“Tender, then,” she amended, “I don’t think a boy would ever be as tender with me as you are.”
Esther watched as Jamie’s chest struggled to rise, her heart swelling when she caught her gaze again. “So it doesn’t - it doesn’t change us, then.”
“No,” Esther smiled, reaching up with her free hand to run her thumb over Jamie’s cheek. “If anything, I think I like you more now.”
And Jamie rolled over and kissed her.
--
It was late, as usual. Esther could hear hushed conversation behind the barn doors. She hesitated before pushing them open, and the conversation fell silent.
The man that Esther had so often seen sleeping was leaning against a beam, his mouth pulled into a deep frown. He glanced up, just barely, and his face softened just a tad at Esther’s approach. He looked over to Jamie.
“Friend’s here, kid.”
Jamie didn’t say anything. She was collecting all the belongings she had into a small sack. Esther, quietly, moved to help.
“You’re leaving,” she said.
“I’m sorry,” Jamie’s voice was hoarse. Her eyes were red and watery.
“Don’t be.” Her hand brushed against Jamie’s. They both paused, hesitating, before Esther took hold of Jamie’s hand and intertwined their fingers. “You’ll be safe.”
“Always am.”
“‘t wasn’t a question,” Esther said.
“I know.”
Jamie pulled her hand away, and Esther helped her get everything together. She paused, her eyes landing on a gleam in the hay.
“Silver bullets,” she mumbled. She looked to Jamie.
Jamie fidgeted, glancing to her uncle, who sighed and rubbed his brow.
Figuring he’d be of no help, Jamie floundered for an explanation. “Look, I’m… Uh, you know, I…”
“You’re a monster hunter,” Esther said, a sad smile pulling at her features. “Everyone worth their salt knows that the Lynns are a huntin’ family.”
“Yeah,” Jamie whispered, “yeah.”
“You ran off, after your ma and pa…” Esther trailed off. “You’re the missin’ daughter. The last livin’ Lynn, ‘cept for your uncle, but… He don’t really count, does he?”
Uncle Nathan laughed -- a short, harsh thing that startled Esther half to death.
“Just like Sherlock, you are,” Jamie said.
“Who’s Sherlock?”
“Uh,” Jamie paused. “There’s this new book from England, ‘A Study in Scarlet’, by Arthur Conan Doyle, about, um. I’ll… I’ll buy a copy and post it to you.”
“You’d best do that.”
Jamie gathered the last of her things and slung the sack onto her back. “I will.”
“Be safe, Jamie Lynn.”
“I always am, Miss Esther.”
And Esther watched as the hunters set out into the night.
There are quite a few reasons why I think the Dark Watch is the Kuroi Watch’s version of Whisper.
It’s very long, and I kind of ramble a bit, but if you don’t mind that, here it is!
Also, if you have anything disproving this theory, I’d love to hear! (I’m a sucker for Yokai Watch content, so any that I haven’t seen is a blessing. Even if it destroys my theories.)
(Note: I’m calling the universe ‘Kuroi’ and the character ‘Dark Watch’ to avoid confusion between the two.)
Here’s the commercial with English subtitles done by Tyrest on Youtube, since I’ll be referring to it from time to time, it also has some other things that are good examples for my points:
1. In the commercial first announcing Kuroi Watch (the video above), when the Dark Watch stretches out to eat someone, it looks very similar to Whisper.
2. Though the original design for the Dark Watch when he’s stretching out has changed, he still looks a bit like Whisper, though with a much more menacing look.
3. Whisper and the Dark Watch have the same voice actor. I know sometimes voice actors/actresses voice multiple characters in a show, but Tomokazu Seki didn’t even do a different voice, which I doubt would be hard for him because he certainly has the vocal range to give the Dark Watch a different voice. You can hear it in the commercial, as well as the TV segments.
4. The main characters for Kuroi Watch are Jibanyan, Komasan, Keita/Nate, and the Dark Watch. All of the big main characters (except for Whisper) are named, and given a Kuroi Watch design, as shown in the trailer.
Why wouldn’t Whisper be a part of this AU series? He doesn’t have a canon Kuroi Watch design (I’ve looked), so where else would he be?
5. The Dark Watch is a yokai, and it’s entirely possible that he was a yokai that was sealed inside the watch. And since Whisper is sort of connected to the Yokai Watch, at least by association, it would make sense that if any yokai were to be sealed inside a watch, it would be him.
6. During the second Kuroi Watch event in Puni Puni, Whisper doesn’t appear at the start, instead it’s the Dark Watch, Rinne, and Goku Snartle/Namahage. This usually happens when another version of himself, or someone with a similar role (if Usuda-san isn’t Whisper using a disguise or something), is present.
Another part included with this is that the Dark Watch is the one giving you information about fighting Jet Black Orcanos. Admittedly, it’s in a “This guy’s gonna kick your ass, and this is how he’s gonna do it!” kinda way, but he did pretty much hire him to fight you, so yeah.
That’s it, for now. I might update this post if there’s any more connections I can make between these two, or if any more information comes to light.
If anyone has anything to add, or if you want to prove me absolutely wrong, go right ahead!
#project hail mary
#heated rivalry
