My main characters are actually yokai hunters, so I just have to pick out what fits them best from that. I'll even go into what I'd come up with as my own lore for the yokai in the world of my comic lol why not. My main take on them is that they're not all inherently evil, they just exist off their own needs.. Most just happen to be pretty aggressive about it lmao
Haruka would probably be an Enenra. Just by pure association of her using a flaming sword, and the harmless nature of the spirit itself based on what I could find about it. Enenras are basically a personification of smoke. So.. if I were to do something original with it, Enenras would be the spirits of anyone who's perished in a fire or anyone who died from smoke inhalation. These spirits would remain as smoke until the fire source goes out, and they'll be able to pass on to the afterlife. Spirits with strong attachments to people can leave the source, for a few days at most. Those specific ones can go on to disguise themselves as humans and prey on their spirits to survive. They'd most likely hide as people who smoke, keeping a fire source through a cigarette.
I'd go with a more skeletal form like this artist's interpretation as their true form maybe. Smoke's not really a gas so it stands to reason that they could manipulate the particles enough to touch and interact with objects. They could easily possess and kill people through smoke inhalation as well. Definitely won't be able to keep the possession going for extended periods of time though before the body starts getting affected. Most vulnerable outside on a windy day for obvious reasons lol
And Mugen.. I could see as a Samebito. A shark/human hybrid (more shark though), I'm picking that because of his water-based weapon and his kind-hearted spirit. Samebito aren't a common yokai, but the one tale I could find shows it to be a somewhat tragic figure dependent on a human until the two part ways. My take on it? Uhh.. Not gonna have someone be eaten by a shark for this lol this one would be more chance-based if someone were to die at sea, and.. Maybe if sharks were nearby? I'd actually do an adaptation of the tale, and keep this yokai non-violent. Though, it's not hard to just slap a good old "they're sharks, just have em eat people at sea."
Appearance-wise, I quite like this version of the Samebito. Most versions I find feature the Yokai as this muscular figure, based off of sharks' brute strength, I'm sure.. But the tale made him seem weaker and more defenseless, and this was closer to what I had in mind.
