Saturday arrived quickly, and since they’d decided to go check out Krazat they needed to get to the next town over. Most of the places in the area had forests that Youkai loved to live in, since it was never all that terrible in the winter. Youkai seemed to like a little snow, but not too cold. So this area was perfect for them.

Once they’d arrived, all that was left was to find the place the exorcists had talked about. The forest felt dark, almost like it did when Oku was turning into an evil spirit. Ivy was growing all around, and the absence of most of the leaves on trees made that ivy look even scarier. The forest felt like it was engulfing them until they found a trail. Deep down the trail they heard voices, and were surprised to see that the exorcist from the meeting the other day was there.

“Seph?!”

The tall man was waving his sword around, which sent fireballs towards a large tortoise. That thing must be Krazat. Seph appeared to be in a tough spot though, and the group went out to help him. Or at least Oku did, the rest of them didn’t really have any power to speak of. She transformed back to her large fox form and started scratching at the shell of Krazat, who had retreated into it. Seph knelt down with a small pot and began to chant as Oku scratched and soon clapped his hands together. Krazat, in the middle of the circle, was sucked into the pot and Seph quickly put a cork on it.

“Easy! Hahaha! Who are you guys?”

“What? Easy? You’ve got scuffs all over?”

“Wait aren’t you that mouthy girl from the other day?”

He pointed at Oku, who was walking back towards the group and brushed her hair aside.

“You almost got defeated by a weakened tortoise, that must feel terrible.”

Seph shook.

“Shut up! That was child’s play!”

“I have no idea how you sealed Hachiman.”

“I don’t need to take this! I’m goin back to the exorcists, gotta get that big fuckin reward yeah!”

“Actually let me stop you right there.”

Oku walked up to the pot and held it in her hand, turning it over.

“This is a pretty weak seal. You don’t really expect it to hold someone like Krazat do you?”

“What?!

She put a hand on her hip and let the small round pot roll out of her hand. Immediately after it touched the ground the enormous tortoise was set loose, still in its shell. Oku knocked against it and moved to the front where the head would be.

“Hey girly you’d better not get any closer, he’s dangerous!”

Seph was meanwhile trying to uncork another bottle and move Oku away from the tortoise.

“Dangerous huh… Krazat?”

She put her head inside of the front hole.

“KRAZAT!”

“WHAT! What?”

Suddenly a large head came out, as did legs and a tail at the end.

“What is it!”

“Krazat I think you’ve been asleep for a while…”

“He’s alive?!

“That might explain it…”

Inari and Lawrence were baffled, but Seph was using this as an opening to escape. The tortoise was keeping their attention so… not as easy as he’d expected with a fox nearby. She took him by the collar and bared her fangs.

“Care to explain?”

She kneeled him down in front of the group, including the still groggy Krazat, and he began to explain his story.

“Psht. I shouldn’t have to tell you idiots this but, I sent one of my guys in to announce that Krazat had gone insane, and the job was started. I figured if that idiot stayed asleep it would be easy money but you all had to come along.”

Oku lowered her face closer to his and he shied away a bit.

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“So you really are just a money grubbing coward. I came here half thinking that you might be battling an empowered evil spirit like a hero, but it looks like I was right after all. You’re a fraud.”

“Hey. How easy to do you think it is to rise from a friggin exorcist family whose name has been rubbed in the mud?”

“Probably not all that easy, but that doesn’t mean you can go around ruining the lives of all these Youkai. Hachiman was indeed turned, but Krazat’s probably just been asleep for a hundred years or so. That’s also why the forest is getting unruly. He just didn’t wake up…”

“Ah yes well heh heh?”

“Wait then how did he defeat Hachiman? Isn’t he a god?”

“He indeed is Inari. Would you like to enlighten us?”

“I took him out with my bare fists!”

“So you had someone else do it for you?”

“Wha- No! He was… already down when I got there alright? I just sealed him. Don’t know why, dont care how. Fact of the matter is I’m the most powerful exorcist in the whole world haha! I can seal gods!”

Mark threw a small rock, and with a thunk Seph was knocked out. As they walked away the human trio started talking.

“Looks like we’ll just leave him here.”

“Should you tell the exorcists?”

“And why would I do that Lawrence?”

“Well he shouldn’t get the money or anything.”

“True but he’s no longer a problem. Krazat I mean. It doesn’t matter.”

“I never had a dream about anyone dying so he’s not going to go rogue any time soon.”

“Oh do you have dreams about stuff like that?”

“Yeah all the time!”

Oku remained there, even as Krazat slowly began to stumble back into the woods, and looked down at the half conscious Seph.

“I’ve got to say, I expected more from a LaVey. You’ve got the magnetism of the others, but not the power. It’s a shame.”

“D-d-damn you!!!”

With that she disappeared into the shadows.

Another two weeks, and the end of winter was fast approaching. Trees were beginning their transition from bare into budding, and many of the bushes around the neighborhood were getting greener every day. Here at the inn, Lawrence found it easier to help Youkai then back on campus, as Mitch and Elaine regularly took Youkai as guests. Many of the rooms were often occupied by guests that the others could not see. It was definitely a little weird.

The books that Oku had… acquired… from the exorcists had turned their research upside down, and led Jeremiah himself to come searching for them, fearing that they’d died somehow and couldn’t come to the library anymore. Once he’d learned of the situation he’d even begun to help out in the search through all the information. Having a bookworm there helped immensely.

“Did you check in page one thirteen of the book on mask degradation?”

“Uhh yes, here it is… Inar can you pass the book about magic circles? I need to cross reference this.”

“Yeah here, oh and I found some good stuff in this one too.”

“Thanks, good job guys.”

Which of course left Oku to lay stretched out on Lawrence’s bed. It wasn’t especially that she wanted to be useless… but reading was so hard… Just sitting there was boring though, so she turned on her fox senses. She liked sniffing Lawrence’s stuff. As animalistic as that was, she just did. He had a smell that was so distinct, and now that she wasn’t apart of him anymore she could actually smell the difference in their scents and it was nice. She really liked his smell…

“Oku? Something up?”

Inari and the rest had their heads turned towards her, where she had been snuggling up with Lawrence’s pillow.

“I- No nothing, I’m gonna go get a drink.”

Trying to look tough, she bounded off the bed and walked briskly to the door. As soon as she left, they started talking again, so she felt safe. Every two years… Yes she was in mating season, and yes that was literally the only downfall of being a beast Youkai. That was the reason she’d been so stupidly emotional lately, not because she actually wanted to tell them everything.

As she sat at the table near the front desk, Inari came down as well and sat by her.

“What’s up?”

“What, does something have to be up for me to want some quiet.”

“Yes actually.”

“...”

“So how long have you liked Lawrence?”

Oku jerked backwards and laid with her back flat on the floor, frozen.

“N-never obviously, I’m a Youkai. He’s a human. You’d be a better match with him honestly.”

“Wh-what? I’m not interested… I- You’re the one I have dreams about!”

“Alright what’s in the dreams…”

“It’s weird because the only consistent thing in them is that you’re just a regular Youkai. Not a fox, you have no power barely at all. You’re sometimes in the middle of a barren field, in a castle, on a river. Literally on top of a river. It’s so strange.”

Those places sounded familiar… Like places from the war.

“Well those places are probably just rand-”

“You’d think, but Lawrence always comes and hugs you. His face changes, but his body doesn’t. I don’t want to sound like I’m trying to pry, but have you been… with a human before?”

“And that is where this conversation is going to end.”

“But-”

“No, that’s where it ends. I’m going back upstairs.”

She stood up, and left Inari dumbfounded at the table. On her way back up she stormed past Inari. How could that girl be so damn infuriating!

Wait.

Inari is back down at the table.

She turned around, but Inari was gone. Oku quickly jumped back down to the table, but she was still sitting there, then laid out on her back and sighed.

“Gramps told me to find the source of the dreams but damn that’s hard when they’re like this…”

She turned back to the stairs and started walking back up them, slower and more cautious than the first time.

Was the hallucinating because of all the hormones or something? Eh, she was probably just mad. Not seeing right. Oh well.