-Break-
Φ While eating the delicious breakfast they prepared for us in the inn. I look over at Orb, who has bandages on his body. Ever since this morning, he has been mumbling the same thing under his breath “I am going to crush you fox. I am going to crush you fox.” Without stopping.
This is because, at some point, Orb snuck out of the inn last night and was attacked by a group of minus spirits. So Zashiki went to get help, but when she returned to the scene, all the minuses were dead, and Orb was left unconscious in a rather unfaltering position. When he woke up, Orb claimed he fell unconscious, but he later informed me that a person in a fox mask killed all the minuses and knocked him out.
“O-O-O-ORB, why won’t you tell anyone what ac-c-c-tually happened? This fo-o-o-ox masked person might be dangerous.”
“No way in hell, Cyrus; I don’t need anyone getting in the way of my revenge. I can barely look Zashiki in the eye with the state I was left in yesterday. So, I will find that person with the fox mask and STRING THEM UP NAKED OUTSIDE.”
Opening the door to our room Zashiki walks in and says, “You shouldn’t be saying such obscene things this early in the morning,” as Zashiki looks at Orb, she starts laughing to herself. “Sorry, I just remembered last night.”
With his hair blue from embarrassment, Orb says, “FORGET ABOUT THAT IMMEDIATELY! Did you just come here to poke fun at me.”
Letting out a little giggle, Zashiki says, “No, that’s not why I am here, but I still wanted to laugh about it. The reason I am here is to tell you sorry. I take full responsibility for the issue last night. I knew a minus could have been around if we went too far, but I ignored it.”
“No issue, but if you want my forgiveness, never mention the state you saw me in last night.”
“Ok, I promise. But are you guys ok eating in your room?”
“It is better for Cyrus if we eat in here, since he can stretch out his tail as much as possible.”
“Oh, I must be hard travelling as a dragon.”
“Usually, b-u-u-ut Orb has help-p-p-ped me a lot.”
“That’s good to hear,” as Zashiki says this, we hear screams erupt outside. “Looks like it has started.”
“Wha-a-at,” I ask Zashiki.
“One of the special highlights of visiting here. You guys should come and see it. This isn’t something you want to miss. Guests at the inn can get a good view from the top.”
Φ Me, Cyrus and Sparrow follow Zashiki outside to the top of the inn and see lots of residents watching something. Getting closer, I see some of the people who found me yesterday fighting a spirit with black markings, a minus.
“Those people must be from the twinstar corps,” I say.
“Yes, you are correct. They are this country’s military force that protects our citizens from any form of threat, but usually minuses. When ships dock, new minuses tend to manifest, so letting our guests watch the exorcism from the top of our inn is one of the advantages of staying with us.”
The twinstars uniforms are mainly bright red, but are partially pink. They also have white curved comma-shaped bead designs throughout the uniform. They fight the minus, and when they cut one down, it doesn’t regenerate.
“Their us-s-se of spirit energy is ama-a-a-azing,” Cyrus says.
“They’re incredible I don’t think I could ever have such good control of spirit energy myself,” Sparrow says.
“How can you guys tell that?”
Zashiki says, “ Spirit energy of others is very visible to those who can use it. It is light of energy flowing throughout a person’s body.”
Squinting to look closer, I still can’t see a thing. I have much better eyesight than everyone except Cyrus, and I still can’t make out any flowing energy.
While they continue to fight, the last minus seems to be gaining ground on them. “I am going to go help them. If I freeze it, they can finish the job.”
So, as I am about to jump over there, a group of the Gyaku Kitsune hold me down, and Zashiki says to me, “Don’t be so hasty. Those guys you saw are the lowest rank of the twin star corps, the samurai. But it looks like someone higher ranking has appeared. A shaman.”
A woman with a uniform similar to the other appears, but she has more toured comma-shaped beads on her uniform. She also has a yellow bird-looking spirit beside her. As she draws her sword like the other samurai, she says, “Dwell in my sword Jun Washi.” The eagle then turns into her sword, becoming similar to a legacy.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
“Is she a legacy?” I say while still being held down.
“Nothing of the sort. Shamans integrate spirits into their weapons using the same principles as legacies. The idea of sending a strong soul into something to increase its power. We call them spirit weapons. Though since spirits can’t stand up to the power of the legendary beings that comprise legacies, they are much weaker. Nevertheless effective.”
Using the weapon, the woman cuts down the minus is seconds. After she does this, claps emerge through the area and on the rooftop of the inn. After cutting down the minus, the woman looks at me and says, “Hey, you where the man we found-.”
I let out a scream to cut her off. “How do you know about that?”
“Every member of the twin stars in town knows about that,” she says as she and the other member giggle at me.
Falling on my knees in embarrassment, I say to myself, “If this is the last thing I do, I will crush you fox. I swear that on my life.”
-Break-
While getting dressed after we finish eating, I say to Sparrow, “What are you doing? Start getting dressed so we can leave.”
“Yeah, about that. You see, it might be an issue if I walk in the open.”
With a look of irritation, I say, “Now, why would that be.”
“Well you see, I used to run a few scams in this country and made off with a ridiculous amount of money. So certain people hate me and would kill me on sight.”
With a look of utter disgust, I say, “Of course you did. I don’t want to be associated with you so staying here is the best option.”
So, after getting dressed and preparing to leave, I say, “Sparrow will be staying here. You can kill him if he tries anything out of the normal.”
“Ok, will do.”
So, with that, Cyrus and I leave the inn. “First things first, I need to go find out where Capti’s friend is.”
“The one in the let-t-t-letter of introduction.”
“Yeah, I believe the family name is Gozen.”
“If you wanted to kn-n-n-now then you could o-o-o-of asked Zashiki.”
Condescendingly waving my finger, I say, “If I did that, I wouldn’t be able to go around asking new people things.” Saying this, I start to run into the main street, where I am hit by something. Knocking me into the floor. Looking up at what hit me, I see a large cart with a giant face and white marks.
Sticking its tongue out at me, it says, “Don’t get in my way.”
As I am about to say something back, someone says, “Oboro cart, I don’t have time for this move forward.” And just like that, the cart with a face moved away from me at incredible speed.
“Orb are you o-o-o-ok?”
“I am fine,” I say. As I get up, I get a good look at the city, and everywhere I look, there are spirits helping people, talking to people or playing with people. There in the buildings and shops, they have all sorts of shapes and colours.
Looking at this, I slap my cheeks and say, “I am getting excited”. After saying this, I walk up to someone selling dumplings and ask, “Would I be able to have some of those?”
With a warm smile, the person says back to me, “I like how pretty your hair is.”
“Thank you. It also happens to be extremely soft.”
“That sort of makes me curious.”
“If you want to feel it, go right ahead,” I say while turning my head in her direction.
Rubbing my head, she says, “It is soft. I imagine this is what a cloud would feel like.”
So, as she gives me the dumplings, I pay for them and say, “Would I be able to ask you a question.”
“Oh, for a person as nice as you ask whatever you want.”
“Do you know where I could find the Gozen family? To my knowledge, they should be located in this town.”
After she hears what I say, the face of the woman who had only been kindly smiling sours immediately, and she says, “Where did you hear of that name? No, whatever, I am sorry, but no one with such a name lives here. Now please go.”
Seeing her sudden want to escape me, I walk back over to Cyrus and say, “The moment I mentioned the name Gozen, not only did her whole aura change, but her heartbeat accelerated like she was about to have a panic attack.”
“From wh-h-h-hat, she said, she know-s-s-s something, s-s-s-should we ask again?”
“No, I don’t know why she would have such a reaction, but maybe it is an uncomfortable topic for her. We should just leave her be and ask someone else.”
“But-,” Cyrus says as I put a dumpling in his mouth.
“How does it taste.”
Eating it, whole Cyrus says, “Delicious.”
“I don’t think we should go out of our way to bother someone who has given us such delicious food,” so next we walk up to a man selling fish, and I talk to him.
But the moment I bring up the name Gozen just like the woman, his face sours, and he starts to panic and says, “I don’t know anything about anyone with the name Gozen. If that fish is all you want, please go.”
The fact that this happened a second time bothered me, so I said to Cyrus, “Let’s go ask a few other people.” So we went up to as many people as we could find and asked them about the Gozen family, but the moment that name is brought up they all start to shut down our conversation saying things such as.
“I don’t know anyone with such a name. Please leave.”
“Where did you even hear such a thing.”
“Don’t know, don’t care.”
“Don’t involve me in such things.”
“Why would you possibly ask that.”
But what the last person said is what alarmed me the most, “It would be best if you don’t ask anyone here that ever again and just enjoy your stay.”
Sitting down on a bench in defeat, I say to Cyrus, “This is making my head hurt. I don’t know why everyone is acting so strangely concerning this one name. It shouldn’t be this complex. At this point, I think we ought to leave this and start searching for the medicine.”
“Orb, I ha-a-ave an idea.”
“What would it be.”
“While you continue to search for the Gozens, I would like to go and get the medicine by m-m-m-myself.”
“Cyrus, isn’t that a lot? You would have to find a seller and work out a deal by yourself. That won’t be easy. It is better if I just come with you and give up on the Gozens for now.”
“Yo-o-ou has been excited to me-e-et the Gozens, so I don-n-n-not want you to give up o-o-o-on meeting Capti’s Fri-i-i-ends. But more importantly, I was-a-a-ant to challe-e-e-enge myself. When I see my sister again I want to chan-n-n-age as Willow said.”
Looking at Cyrus’s face, I can see he does look quite resolute about this. I guess it would be possible for him since the saviour’s song is the primary language here, so Cyrus shouldn’t have any communication issues, and I would like to find the Gozens. “Ok then, let’s do that, but if you run into any problems, please consult me instead of doing anything on your own, ok?”
“Yes, I wo-o-not let you down.” And just like that, both me and Cyrus head our separate ways.