http%3a%2f%2fi.imgur.com%2fOFyH5Q3.png [http://i.imgur.com/OFyH5Q3.png] 'll go visit Komeiji Satori right away," I stated, even though I held a slight apprehension against walking through a village full of Yôkai all on my own, especially with such an exhausting journey behind me. If one attacked me, I would still be able to run away, depending on how fast it was. However, if it was the whole village, there would be nowhere for me to escape to in this underground cavern. Suika had mentioned that she would have Riguru accompany me whenever I went outside, so I looked in the latter's direction, only to see something like denial in her otherwise deadpan expression. It seemed that even during the little time she has spent with us she had picked up on Suika and my habitual sarcasm and cynicism towards each other.
"You'll accompany me, right?" I asked cautiously, only to receive an answer from Riguru's eyes, staring at me like I was out of my mind. "Ok, alright, I get it." Even though Suika could have been able to force her, she only grinned as if she understood the firefly's motivation. I would not make her do something she seemed to be so adamant about not doing, so I decided to leave and find Chireiden on my own. "I'll be back later." Since this was the underground, I could not even fathom what time it was, especially with my internal clock being disrupted from passing out in the tunnel earlier.
However, there was still one problem, for which I knew no solution to at the moment. The only clothes I had left were rags, and my shoes were missing the major parts of their soles, so my appearance was that of a vagabond who had been living outside of society for a long time, putting it nicely. In a sense, that was actually the plain truth, but the biggest problem lay in the fact that I had not made any money during my stay in the human village, even though Yukari had advised me to use my stories from the outside world to make a living. Suika had provided most of the food during our training together, and she would have been able to make some clothes from me with her powers, but I did not feel like asking her for help in that regard.
The only choice was for me to go and find a shop that would be willing to trade clothes for some of the things I had brought from the outside world that were not either broken or useless by now, such as the flashlight that had run out of batteries a while ago. After all, I was going to meet a person respectable enough to own a mansion, and feared by everyone else in the underground.
Wearing the clothes that were the least ragged, I set out onto the streets in my disintegrating shoes, even though at this point there was practically no difference between wearing shoes and going barefoot. With my bag over a shoulder, my goal was to find a vendor or a shop that would be so kind to trade with a miserable human such as I. Instantly noticing the stares from the various supernatural inhabitants of the village, which had completely changed from when I was with Suika and Riguru, I felt several presences beginning to follow me right from the moment I set out from the inn.
Even then, my stride was confident, as I wandered the village to finally locate what I assumed to be a tailor two streets further. Entering, half motivated by the wish to avoid the dagger-like stares in my back, I called out for the owner. It did not take long until the clacking of geta announced the storekeeper coming out of the back of the building. It was a woman in what I would have guessed to be her late twenties, wearing a beautiful dark but colorful kimono. Her incredibly long hair were in numerous braids, each featuring differently colored hair. They almost reached the floor, and I was sure that if she opened the braids, her hair would drag behind her like an extremely long dress. The multiple colors appeared to be natural; there was no hint of a different color growing out at the roots. She had the expression of an artisan, rather than that of a trader, possessing an inherent serenity in her presence.
"Uhm, I'd like to buy some clothes," I said tentatively, half expecting her to shoo me away after laying her eyes on my miserable state of clothing.
"Please follow me into the next room. I'll take your measurements," Her response came with a delay of a few seconds, as she was gauging me with her attentive eyes, which appeared to be shining in the rainbow colors as well. I did as requested and left my sorry excuses for footwear behind on the doorstep, adjusting the bag on my shoulder as I entered.
As expected, the interior was filled with clothes in the making, and there was even a weaving loom in the back. The woman told me to stand in front of a silver mirror and take off my top, as she took out a string to use as a measuring band. With the movements of a master of the craft, she quickly took my size and turned around to a shelf full of differently colored pieces of cloth.
"Which color would you like?" She asked, as her hand hovered above the section between blue and green. I was unsure of what would fit me, but I certainly wanted to lose the monochrome color scheme, since it made me appear like I was forcing a character. "What would you recommend, madam?"
Looking me over again, she retracted her hand and glanced over the shelf, apparently realizing that the color she wanted was out of stock. She turned to look at the weaving loom to find that the pile of completed cloths next to it also did not have what she was looking for. With a swift movement of her hand, she opened one of her braids, a straw-blond one. As the silky hair started to straighten and fan out, she caught it before it fell to the floor, and took up a silver brush from on top of the table. Watching curiously, I wondered what she was up to, but was astonished to find that with a single stroke of the brush, the hair came out in strands. The process was repeated several times, the strands of hairs falling into a basket at the woman's feet. At this point, an absurd idea popped into my head; this woman was using her own hair as material for the clothes she created. Of course, since this was a Yôkai village, a woman with the ability to grow out hair endlessly was not an incredible stretch of imagination.
"Please sit here and wait for a bit. I will prepare the color best suited for you," She explained, and braided her hair again once she felt like she had gathered enough to begin her work. Only now did I notice that the tips of her hair seemed to have barbed ends, in a silvery shine that suggested some kind of metal. In fact, she carefully clipped off the tips of the hair in the basket, so that the barbs would not be woven into the cloth. The weaponized hair, combined with the image of a beautiful woman in a Kimono, reminded me of the Yôkai known as the Harionago, literally 'the barbed woman'. Supposedly a frightening supernatural being that would slash at young men with her hair, I was no longer astonished to find that once again Gensôkyô had a different take on a Yôkai's personality. Not only was she not hysterical, as described in folklore, but she was exceedingly calm, possessing a grace only a master artisan could develop.
Watching her at work calmed me from the tension I had been exposed to on my way through the village, and I relaxed under the monotonous motion of the loom, as she wove her hair into strings and then into pieces of cloth. I could not tell how much time had passed, but she was working quickly and soon had a piece of cloth big enough to turn into several pieces of clothes.
"What would you like it to be? A separate set of Kimono and Hakama, a single Kimono?" She asked, holding the cloth up for me to behold its color in the light. I would prefer something in which I could move around easily, since I would most likely be wearing it in violent situations. In fact, I felt quite comfortable with the simple T-shirts and short pants I had been wearing before they turned into scraps, so I was inclined to request something similar. However, I was unsure of whether she knew what a T-shirt was or not.
It took some time of explaining, but she soon seemed to have understood my request and began cutting and sewing at an incredible speed, despite not using any machinery. While I had been lulled by her previously monotonous movements, the quick and precise motions of her slender hands now inspired awe. She took some cloth of other colors from the shelf and worked certain parts into my clothes-to-be, turning them into much more than I had requested.
Soon, she was done, and presented me with the result, a very short Yukata that reached just down to my thighs, and a short Hakama with the pleats extending all around the legs. The upper part was held together by a reddish brown sash, much like a Kimono usually was. However, normally a Hakama was made to be worn over the Kimono, or in this case, the Yukata. This one had a fastener, made of a dark brown cloth that resembled a belt, which weaved inside the Hakama, as well as outside of it. With the Yukata and its two deep open partitions at the hip-areas, some of the fastener was visible. The Hakama barely reached down over my knees, much like three quarter pants, but left ample room for moving around, as if its creator had known that I would use it for that purpose. The fabric on my skin felt really smooth, but the outside was slightly rougher, as if it was made to withstand different kinds of weather conditions. Additionally, she presented me with a pair of straw sandals.
"They belonged to my late brother," She remarked, a tranquil smile on her face as if she was recalling fond memories of her past with him.
"I can't possibly... I don't even know how to reimburse you," I responded hastily as she presented me with the well-crafted footwear. I had completely forgotten to tell her before she started working, as I had been drawn in by her artful and charismatic presence. However, unexpectedly she was neither getting angry, nor falling back into the nature of a Yôkai to claim what she wanted by force.
"They are a gift. To me, it is the greatest pleasure to see someone wear my work," Was all she said, and I was left speechless by her radiant smile. She was truly glowing, a ray of hope in a dark world, her presence like that of a soothing Bodhisattva. Bowing down low, I thanked her for everything, and returned her expression with a heartfelt smile.
"That smile is payment enough. Please come again," She stated, a peaceful expression on her face. I could not thank her enough, so much that she had to usher me out with bashful laughter. I would remember to visit her again with presents, whenever I would become able to afford to do so.
Once out on the streets, the stares were back, and even though I was wearing something that blended in with my surroundings better than previously, my nature had not miraculously changed. However, the hostility seemed to have increased, as I felt a pair of especially nasty eyes on me. No matter how much I tried to find their owner, it would just not reveal itself, so I had to live with the constant feeling of danger for now.
My destination was the outskirts of the village, and as this underground settlement was much smaller than the human village, it would not take me that long to reach it. I guessed that the population was around two hundred, excluding wandering spirits and wisps. It was sizable enough, considering the fact that Yôkai were banding together and forming a society, much like humans. I had heard of the Tengu and Kappa cities on Yôkai Mountain, but since I did not visit them, there I could not make a valid comparison.
"Man, I'm tempted to call out whoever is watching me and just fight," I murmured, growing tired of the shivers running down my spine occasionally, from what I presumed to be moments when I let down my guard temporarily, at which the owner of the eyes' killing intent leaked out. I was not in a favorable position to go around picking fights though, as whoever might come along the street would more likely stand on my opponent's side rather than on mine. Nonetheless, the pressure was tiring and even annoying; thinking like that lulled me in a dangerously false sense of confidence, as only the strong could be bold enough to feel annoyance at the prickling stares of deadly hostility.
Soon I reached the outskirts of the village, or rather, the end of the settlement, as the road just disappeared into the dirt. Before me, a short distance away, what I assumed to be Chireiden stood somberly, a mansion similar in size to the Hieda estate, judging by its outwards appearance. However, unlike the houses in the village, which were clearly Japanese-style, this particular building had a design I had never seen before. It mixed the Japanese tiled roof with the reddish sandstone, as well as heavy wooden doors that reminded of government buildings and churches from the middle ages, found in many countries in Europe. In fact, the design reminded me of the picture of a church from Eastern Europe I had once seen, so I was wondering just who had constructed it. Once I realized that it could be a mixture of buildings from various religions, the roof began to resemble the Buddhist temple in the human village.
The painfully obvious death-stare on my back had disappeared once I had approached Chireiden, most likely because whoever wanted me dead did not dare to act on that wish within range of Komeiji Satori's influence. Thus, I could walk up to the front door unbothered, and knock at it using the metal doorknocker, producing a heavy metallic noise that echoed audibly into the depths of the mansion. There was no response, and I waited for a while before knocking again, once again a fruitless effort.
"I'm sorry to intrude," I announced myself as I pushed open the heavy wooden door to peek inside. I was greeted by a beautiful red carpet that covered the entire floor, and a foyer brightly lit by two grand chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. The ceiling was much higher than the outside roof suggested, but otherwise it gave me the feeling of a Western building, even though I had never been inside an authentic one myself. However, the foyer did not catch my eye as much as the hallway beyond it did; as if the mansion was made of building blocks and a giant had had his fun with creating absurd combinations, at one point the building changed completely. Where the foyer and the hallway met, the red carpet gave way to giant black and white tiles, which were interrupted in regular intervals of two tiles, by two-times-two tiles wide floor windows made of stained glass. The eerie light coming from below created a beautiful play of lights, but was unable to illuminate the ceiling, which was covered by a deep darkness. While the foyer was bright, the hallway's unfathomable depth was accentuated by the fact that the light of the floor windows were barely visible even in the distance, asserting their presence throughout what I assumed would be the entirety of the hallway.
"Anyone here?" I inquired, a little louder than my initial announcement, and was not astonished to hear only my echo, reverberating into the depths of the mansion. Only silence greeted me, once the echo disappeared; an ominous feeling nestled itself into my mind, as I looked around to see statues and well-maintained pot flowers, as well as leather sofa seats and coffee tables that suggested frequent visitors. I guessed there was no way around searching for the inhabitants of this eerie mansion; I had announced my presence, so they had no reason to take me as an intruder.
Walking in the only open direction, the pillared hallway with the stained glass floor windows, I made sure not to step on them while I looked around to see if there was anyone hiding in the shadows, which were abundant due to the architecture. I realized that the walls and pillars were made of marble, belying the initial outwards appearance of sandstone. It really appeared as if the foyer and this hallway had been constructed at different times, and the architect had not cared about the clashing colors and styles.
Suddenly I heard the flapping of wings somewhere above me, but upon looking up, I could not make out its origin in the darkness. For one, I was unsure of whether there was even a ceiling at all, since the walls and pillars seemed to extend upwards endlessly, the same way the hallway looked like it was only repeating itself at certain intervals. There were doors on either side, but they were closed and did not look very inviting, with the shadows surrounding them. Thus, I continued down the endless, floor window-lined hallway, slowly entering an almost meditative state from the repetitiveness of my surroundings.
"Big sis is such a tease!" A voice exclaimed right next to my ear, and my heart felt like it tried to escape out of my mouth. Suddenly I felt the weight of somebody clinging onto my back, giving me a distinct feeling of déjà-vu. Even in my tranquil state, jump-scares were still effective to a certain degree, as I had learned from my time in the forest, around weaker Yôkai who could not instill fear with their presence and only cause a shock by appearing suddenly.
"Koishi-chan, stop scaring me like this!" I reprimanded the Yôkai girl clinging to my back and turned my head to look at her. I felt lips on my cheek and heard a smack, realizing that she had just played the famous game in which a person called another person's attention to one shoulder, causing the first to turn around, only to be greeted by a finger digging into the cheek. Fights had been started because of this game, but this girl's variation was nothing short of cute.
"Ehehe, you finally noticed me," She said and gave me a hug from behind, before letting go and dropping to her feet; due to my height, she had been suspended from the floor. "You decided to come visit my big sis after all. But she seems to be too shy to let people see her. She activated the defense mechanism of the mansion, so that you'll be caught in this illusion of an endless hallway." She rounded me and looked up into my right eye, her look suggesting that I had a way to break this illusion myself. I knew exactly what she was referring to, and raised a hand to touch my closed left eyelid; I had overexerted it not too long ago, but after resting in the hot spring, I felt up to the challenge of opening it again to get out of this situation.
Smiling at the girl, I looked up into the depths of the hallway and forced my left eye to open. Suddenly, as if reality had only been suspended on a rubber band, my surroundings seemed to snap back to their original form, the previously invisible end of the hallway rushing towards me at an incredible speed, before it came to a stop a mere meter before me. Looking back, I realized that even though it had been an illusion, the hallway had indeed been quite long, with the foyer so far away that the chandeliers melted into the shapes of single light bulbs. Turning back around to the large, two-winged wooden door, I closed my eye as a test to see if I would be caught in the illusion again, but that was not the case. Apparently by seeing through it once, the defense mechanism had stopped working.
"You did it! Now, let's go see big sis," Koishi exclaimed and flapped her arms in a comical motion as if she wanted to take off into the air. In the next moment, she turned around to the door and threw it open noisily. "Sis! I brought my future husband!"
I did a spit take, and so did the pink-haired girl sitting at a table and sipping on a cup of tea inside the room.
From her reaction, I gathered that she was Koishi's sister, Komeiji Satori, possibly the namesake of the Satori Yôkai, a being that could read minds. There was something inherently wrong with seeing a mind-reader taken by complete surprise, but I had different matters to worry about. Such as Koishi's mindless words.
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"I understand, Kagami Kyôma. It is just Koishi saying what she wants," The girl commented, wiping away the tea around her mouth with a napkin. She had regained perfect composure and acted as if the geyser from between her lips had never happened. I had to commend her countenance, all the while astonished to see actual-mind reading in action. She knew my name without me telling her.
I took the moment of awkward silence to take a closer look at Satori and the room I found myself in. The girl in question had an outfit that mirrored Koishi's, but her colors were of baby blue and a light pink. Her sleeves were not as long as her sister's, and did not hide her hands when she stretched her arm to put the napkin back onto the table. She had a complexion that was one shade lighter than Koishi's, owing to her staying indoors and underground, while her sister roamed the surface. Instead of a wide-rimmed hat she wore a headband with a heart adorning it. Her eyes held an inherent drowsiness as she seemed weary of the world, as if she had seen the deepest pits of existence; in a sense ironic, considering where we were. While the third eye Koishi had was blue, Satori's was red and open, its piercing gaze fixed on me without ever blinking.
The room I found myself in was in fact more like a hall, with three doors leading out of it, one on each of the other walls. To my right was a bar, including stools and a shelf full of bottles that looked like Western alcohols. To my left were a couch and a couch chair with a wooden coffee table between them. The carved wooden table Satori had been sitting at was perfectly circular and featured seven empty chairs. It stood near the middle of the hall, albeit closer to the door I came through than to the other end. There were two more tables of the same size in the room, each surrounded by a corresponding number of chairs. The walls were rimmed with couches, giving the whole room a cozy feel.
"Even if he denies it, it's going to come true, sis. He just doesn't know it yet," Koishi stated, looking up at me with her usual empty eyes. However, for some reason they held a coerciveness that could not be just my imagination. My thoughts were a mess, and Satori provided a welcome opportunity to force my eye away from the void-like green ones.
"Do not be selfish, Koishi. Can you not see that you are bothering Kagami-san?" Satori stated and stood up to formally introduce herself with a curtsy. "I am sorry to show you such a disgraceful behavior on our first encounter. My name is Komeiji Satori, the mistress of this Chireiden and the overseer of Former Hell. Nice to make your acquaintance."
"Ah, right... uhm, my name is Kagami Kyôma. I just came because I was asked by Koishi-cha-, I mean, by your sister," I returned the introduction, correcting the overly familiar way of addressing Koishi out of habit, since I was in the presence of her sister. One part of me understood that making me speak out loud was a way for Satori to keep the semblance of a proper conversation, but another just wondered why she bothered with it.
"This is unexpected, Kagami-san. I would have thought that as a human, you would be afraid of our kind. Koishi is an exception, since she cannot read minds, but to see you so relaxed in my presence is the first time I have experienced that with anyone but those I grew up with," She said. "And with my pets." She added, just as the flapping of wings announced a bird coming through above me. A raven landed on the table next to Satori, upon which her expression changed to show a warm smile, as she reached out and petted it. "Those who can voice their opinions are the ones most opposed to having their minds read, I learned. I find just as complex thought processes in those without a voice, and they are happy for someone to understand them. But where are my manners? Please, take a seat."
She turned to look at me again and the smile faded into her previous weary expression. Something must have happened in her past that she became the way she was, as hinted at by Mamizô upon mentioning that Koishi sealed her ability to read minds due to a heavy trauma. I could not fathom what experience would drive a Yôkai to a point where it was willing to deny its very nature to escape from it, especially since a Yôkai's nature was more than just an identity; it was what gave them life, and in losing her nature, Koishi had risked disappearing completely. When looking at the empty girl next to me, I could not help but feel a twinge of pity, which was returned with a questioning look. I smiled and dropped a hand on her hat, before taking the offered seat.
During all that, Satori tactfully declined from speaking and pretended to be playing with the raven, as her third eye watched me intently. However, I was well aware of the fact that she knew every thought I had, and judged me by the way I acted on that knowledge. Even when I understood that nothing could be hidden from her, there was no difference in the way I acted; Gensôkyô had given me a clean slate, and at this point, the reason for everything I did was to experience this different world to its fullest. Of course, I held a certain anxiety for the future, not knowing where things would go, and there was still the issue with the unknown enemy lurking in the shadows. My mind was not all sunshine, but I held no ulterior motives in any of my conduct.
"As you may know already, I don't fear anyone who doesn't have a wish to harm me. I don't see you as a dangerous person, Komeiji-san," I finally said, looking Satori in the eyes. Despite the fact that her third eye was the one reading my mind, the eyes in her head were ultimately those that I wished to reassure with my gaze.
Suddenly, Koishi flopped down on my lap, despite the fact that there were plenty of other chairs available. I was well accustomed to her casual skinship by now, and I welcomed the warmth the petite girl brought, as she leaned back against my chest. If Satori thought anything of it, she did not show it on her face, as she looked in our direction.
"I am well aware of that. Kagami-san, you are the purest adult human I have ever encountered. You are right in thinking that having lost half your soul, the missing half is being filled with the souls of those around you," Satori began to explain. I was astonished to find that this theory of mine, which came to me in passing, was actually the truth. "Have you not noticed how your nature changed to lean slightly in the direction of Oni? Unlike humans like to portray them, they are the most honest people there are." The pink-haired girl closed her eyes and sighed, before opening them again to look at Koishi, who was trying to make me hug her again, while oblivious of my conversation with her sister.
"I am grateful to you, to bring this child so much happiness. When she left my side to roam the world freely, she was but an empty husk," Satori showed an expression I was unable to categorize; it was a mixture of happiness and sadness. "Maybe you do not know, but her expression is much more genuine now, even if you may think that her smile is hollow. Much like you, Kagami-san, she lost a part of her soul. In her case, so little of her consciousness remained that she was a mere puppet to her own subconscious."
Unsure of how to take her words, which sounded like encouragement for staying with Koishi, I simply listened.
"However, I cannot approve of your continued contact with Koishi. You are still a human, the cause for her trauma, and even if she has forgotten, I have not," Her eyes grew cold, a firmness in her overall appearance suggesting that she was making a one-sided demand. "Because in the end, you will hurt her, even if you do not want to. Please do not associate with her anymore, and treat her as everyone else does, like a pebble on the roadside. She is happier this way."
I was completely taken aback by her words and formulated protest in my mind, knowing she was able to read it. The weight of Koishi on my lap felt heavier than I had ever noticed, and I realized that in the end, she was also a living and breathing being, with a heart that had been hurt so badly that she shut it off from the world. Would I be able to carry the weight of her past and keep her from getting hurt again? Without a definite answer to that question I had no right to fight her sister's decision.
"I see you understand, Kagami-san. After today, please forget about Koishi, as you have done whenever she leaves your sight," Satori said, the coldness in her voice slowly fading away. I immediately understood her words; whenever Koishi had left my line of sight for longer than a few seconds, I had always forgotten about her existence. Now that somebody had pointed it out to me directly, I realized that this had been the reason for a nagging feeling of having forgotten something whenever she disappeared. If I could not even remember her when she was not by my side, what right did I have to think that I could bring her happiness?
"Please enjoy your stay for a little longer, my pets will accommodate you," The pink-haired girl said and stood up from her chair. "Koishi, come with me."
"Yes, sis!" Koishi immediately answered. Apparently she had not listened to the conversation, or she did not think anything of it, as she stood up from my lap and followed her sister without looking back to me one more time. I was left alone in the big dining hall, when the two Yôkai sisters disappeared through the door to the left.
Or so I thought, but unbeknownst to me, a number of animals had appeared all around me, including several black cats and ravens. There was even a deer, and I startled when I saw a large wild boar with pointy tusks. I felt two hands plop onto my shoulders, and when I looked up, a black bear's muzzle greeted me with what I imagined to be a threatening smile. Only now did I realize that I had been surrounded by larger and smaller animals of all kinds, most of which I did not expect to be included in the term "pet".
"Well nyow, Satori-sama doesn't like you, it appears," A female voice came from my feet and I looked down to see a black cat with two tails and red eyes staring at me intently. I was confused and looked around to no avail; there was no human or humanoid Yôkai present to have spoken the words. I knew that with two tails, this was not a common cat, but the absence of anyone else suggested that it actually talked, and even though this was a world in which the common sense of the outside world did not always apply, I thought it would at least apply to the fact that the majority of animals did not have the vocal cords to speak the human language.
When I looked down again, I was surprised to see that the feline had been replaced by a woman, crouching down like a cat. The first thing that caught my eye was the fact that she did not have human ears, but in their place were furry protrusions that extended up her head halfway, to end in pointy cat-like ears. I had seen something similar before, when I had entered this world for the first time, and met with a Nekomata, as well as a nine-tailed fox in human shape. This red-haired woman before me must be another Nekomata, although she looked much more mature than the other one I knew and had an evil glint in her crimson eyes. She wore a long, dark green dress, with a triangle cutout slightly above her bottom, from which two black cat tails emerged. They wagged slightly, as her ears twitched when she looked me up and down in a gauging manner while playing with one of her two braided twin-tails.
"She did say we'd accommodate you, but you shouldn't overstay your welcome, human," She purred in a sweet but menacing voice as she slowly stood up. The black bear lifted its large paws off my shoulders, suggesting that I should be standing up and leaving now. I followed the cat girl's example and stood up from my seat, cautious not to startle any of the animals around me.
"Thanks for being so compliant. Nyow, let's go," The girl said and pulled me along by my arm. "I'll accompany you a bit, so you don't feel too lonely." With this, my visit to Chireiden came to an end.
“Accompany me on a shopping trip, human,” The cat-girl clinging to my arm said when we left Chireiden behind us. I was getting used to being called a human in a derogatory manner, and my mind was on a different issue at the moment, which I could not seem to recall, but habit had me rebuking her for it.
“I have a name, and it’s Kagami Kyôma, Nekomata,” I said, calling the cat in the same tone of voice. It earned me an amused chuckle as her lips curled up to resemble a cat’s muzzle doing a human smile.
“I’m not a Nekomata, Kagami Kyôma,” She spat out my name in the same derogative tone as she did the word ‘human’ previously. “I’m a Kasha, Kaenbyô Rin is my name. When you’re about to die, please call upon me, I’ll gladly carry your corpse here. Then again, you would do me a favor if you died somewhere around here, it would make my work easier.” Her sweet smile betrayed the grimness of her words, but I took it simply as the difference in points of views between a human and a Yôkai. She clearly hinted at her wish regarding my untimely demise in the near future in her words, but I would not humor her on this one.
“Sorry to disappoint you, but I don’t plan on dying anytime soon, Kaenbyô Rin,” I returned the smile.
“Just call me Orin, I don’t like long names. So I’ll be calling you Kagamin, too,” Rin said nonchalantly and pulled me along into the depths of the busy underground village. With that kind of name, any semblance of respect was gone. Not that I had earned any from my forceful Yôkai companion anyway.
Even three months of physical training, with an Oni as a teacher no less, did not adequately prepare me for a prolonged shopping trip in the heavy air of the underground, further compounded on by the stares of the many Yôkai around me looking like they wanted to take a bite out of the human that had wandered into their midst. I was unsure whether I should count myself lucky to be in the presence of Orin or not, but she was the only thing standing between me and my very likely fate as a meal. No matter how much I trained my body, it was still in one way or another, human; Yôkai could survive and regenerate from getting torn in pieces and losing limbs and vital organs, but I was sure I could not.
“Are you tired already, Kagamin?” The Kasha called out to me from a few steps ahead of me. The various bags of food, clothes and other objects I was carrying were indeed weighting down on me, and the hungry stares painfully boring into my back did not help in the least. “Do you need some rest?” Her voice was dripping with gleefulness, even as she smiled in obviously fake innocence. Even now, I was unable to grasp her character at all; she seemed to be the passive-aggressive sadistic type, but there was something else.
“Or maybe you’re the type who can’t be honest with her feelings and bullies the person she likes?” I spoke, half-jokingly. Rin stopped dead in her tracks, before approaching me with a smile on her face that looked like it was glued on.
“My my, Kagamin, you shouldn’t make such jokes,” She said, her expression the very definition of a sub-zero false smile that could freeze over even a desert at midday. “So, what shall we do next? I know, we still need some potatoes and rice.” The glance she shot in my direction seemed to add ‘a year’s worth of it, and you’ll carry it all’.
Sighing, I submitted to my fate as a pack mule and followed the Kasha around for the rest of the day.
When I returned to the inn we were staying at, several hours later, completely exhausted and drenched in sweat, there was nothing I wanted more than to soak in the hot spring and then drop into my bed to sleep for a couple of days. Entering through the front door, where the crater from the impact of Suika’s head had been visibly fixed, I dragged my tired feet along the hallways to my room to get a fresh set of clothes. Then I remembered that the only thing I owned that could be considered proper clothes were the ones I was wearing, woven from the hair of the nice Harionago shopkeeper. I was also at a loss at how to wash them properly. They were made of hair, so I assumed that they would need as much attention as real hair; on the other side, the hair’s owner was a Yôkai, and to them different laws applied.
“Oh, dear customer, you’re back. I see that you met Yui,” Yûgi greeted me as she walked along the hallway, seemingly enjoying some downtime with a bottle, undoubtedly filled with Suika’s Sake. When I responded with a questioning look, she proceeded to explain who she meant. “You have a new set of clothes on you, and judging by their looks, they were made by Shinjô Yui. The fact that she actually made clothes for you means that she saw something in you. She doesn’t make them for everyone.”
Upon Yûgi’s words I learned to appreciate the clothes even more than I already did, knowing that they were something special, not only because of their fabric, but also because of the feelings put into them during their creation.
“Do you have some clothes made by her, too?” I asked.
“Yes, I do. In fact, you see one of them right before you. This Kimono is made from her hair,” The Oni responded and lifted a sleeve to show it off. “I have a few more outfits, including my... battle clothes.” I did not try to question what she meant by that.
“Oh, then you can surely tell me how to wash them,” I said, glad to have found a person who owned several pieces from the Harionago’s handicraft.
“You don’t wash them. They just never get dirty,” Yûgi replied. At first I thought it was a joke, but seeing the Oni’s expression, I knew it was the truth. “Well, you wouldn’t want to wear the same clothes forever, so do change them sometimes. Yui doesn’t only weave her hair into clothes; she adds her nature as a Yôkai to them. And her nature is that she always has beautiful and perfectly healthy hair. Of course, she cuts off the blades, or only Oni would be able to wear it.” She laughed at the prospect. I could not help but marvel at the mysteries of the supernatural once again. “You can check it for yourself; the sweet fragrance you smell on them will never fade, no matter how badly your body stinks.”
“I guess I really need to take a bath after all,” I said and heaved a sigh at Yûgi’s hidden commentary regarding my body odor after the shopping spree with the Kasha. “I’ll be heading for the hot spring then. Thank you for your advice.”
“You’re welcome. Please take your time,” With these words, the Oni nodded once and headed off to indulge in her liquid payments some more.
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