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Footsteps echoed through the big house: some of them small, some big – completely different in speed or noise they made. In spite of how different they sounded, every one of its owners was trying to reach the same destination: the big entrance hall downstairs.
It took barely five minutes for every one available to gather there and just when I carefully started to look around, the big door to the bailey groaned and regained my attention. The too big wings of the wooden door slowly swung open and revealed a rather small group compared to those waiting on the inside hall. Leading them a tall and beautiful young woman walked in. Her long and bright hair she used to untie when being around the house had been strictly tied up to avoid any unnecessary distraction. As she continued to walk towards our group of people, a big and somewhat threatening lion appeared right next to her. His right eye was closed, covered by a scar. I myself do not know any details but since he is one of the closest companions of our goddess Bishamonten this scar was most likely inflicted on him in a fight some time ago.
“Welcome back, Lady Bishamon. We’re glad to see that all of you returned unharmed.” The voice of an old woman reached everybody’s ears. Just then Ruha stepped in front of us and bowed her head to welcome the group ahead.
“Thank you, Ruha. But we just met some acquaintances and looked around at the shrines in the more rural regions. Nothing you had to worry about.” Bishamon replied an honest smile visible on her face.
“Kura.” Her voice was sharp and firm, yet at the same time there was a lot of kindness within. Our goddess did not have to turn around to witness the powerful lion right beside her to start glowing and as soon as the bright light vanished, a grey haired man with a grey beard and black eyepatch covering his right eye appeared out of nowhere.
“Milady.”
“Take a break – despite it being a rather peaceful day there is no denying it has been a rather long one, too. – Kinu, Aki and Yugi: You should have a rest, too.” Similar to Kuraha just some seconds ago, there was this bright light again and soon after it had disappeared, two men different in height and age, as well as a woman with long and dark hair stood beside our goddess and bowed their heads in acknowledgement.
“You too should get some rest, Milady.” Kuraha noted which caused Bishamonten to snicker.
“Rest assured, I will.” The smile on her face did not falter, when she turned her attention towards the rest of us and she continued: “Thank you for coming, all of you. As soon as Kazuma and the rest will get here, I want everyone to attend to Kazuma’s report. The first half of the year may be over, but with autumn approaching the number of storms will soon start to increase. So we need to readjust the plans for patrols and so on. And since we got a new member in our family, too, this will be perfect to eliminate any ambiguities you might have come across.” She added while scanning her eyes over the many Shinkis that had gathered in the big hall until she found me. The sudden address startled me and with a loss of words I simply bowed my head like the experienced Shinki did before.
Right, it has not been that long since I was saved by Bishamonten. Back then I was completely alone wandering the streets, when suddenly some birdlike Ayakashi started to hunt me. They hurt me and I am pretty sure they would have killed me right away if it were not for Bishamonten and her powerful shinki. The strong goddess did not hesitate any second to defeat the Ayakashi and even though I had been severely wounded and thus I would probably not be of any help for her in the future, she gave me this name. Ever since then my life completely changed – being able to live here with all those nice people is the best that could have happened.
“Is something the matter, Mineha?”
When the goddess spoke up again I raised my head and the sudden realisation hit me that all the other shinki had already left the hall. My heart started to race. Since the day I was brought here, I never exchanged any words with our goddess in private.
“I-… uhm-…”
“No need to be so nervous. You are a part of this family, too, remember?” She smiled reassuringly but all I was able to answer was a nod.
After a short pause the goddess changed the subject: “Oh – so you rearranged all those flowers in the hallway?”
“Eh? Y-… yes. I-… I don’t know that much about flowers than Suzuha did, but… – I mean I can remove them, if you wish?”
Her eyes went wide but without any delay she shook her head. The smile visible on her face was still there but now it seemed distant.
“No. I always loved the flowers he brought. So I’ll be glad if you continued his efforts. I’m sure he’d love to see them.
“T- thank you!” I bowed my head again. I could hear a quiet laugh escaping her lips, before she silently walked away. Only when her footsteps were not audible anymore, I raised my head again and carefully put the last bouquet of flowers I held into the last empty vase next to the biggest window around.
****
“To wrap it up: From now on until the stormy season ends, only the Shinki capable of drawing a border line should leave Takamagahara. With all the prayers and wishes the people are about to send, we will need everybody’s help up here, too.” With those strict words Kazuma ended his report and by scanning the room with his eyes he made sure everybody understood. Only some minutes later all Shinki who were not able to draw said border line were allowed to leave the conference.
Back out in one of those endless corridors connecting the different rooms of the big estate, I took in a deep breath and stretched out my legs again.
“Mineha!” As the voice of a young girl reached my ears, I turned my head around to greet her.
“Fumiha! I was looking for you all day. Where have you been?”
The big smile always visible on her lips turned into a mysterious one. From that moment on I knew she had something in mind she absolutely wanted so tell me – she wanted me to ask her about.
“So?”
“Wee~ll... That’s a secret.”
“A Secret, huh?”
She nodded, folding her hands behind her back and impatiently moved her weight from one foot to the other and back.
“You won’t tell me?”
She closed her eyes and turned around. After she walked on and half a step away from me, she slightly turned her head to face me.
“I can show you. – But you HAVE to keep it a secret, too, okay?”
“It’d better not be something dangerous.”
Both our bodies stiffened in an instant when Kazuma’s voice reached out to us. The meeting all the more experienced Shinki had still attended to seemed to be over.
“Mhmmm ~ mhmmm… It’s something cute and fluffy!” Fumiha shook her head which surprised Kazuma to my bemusement. His stiff posture vanished and his facial features softened when he replied: “Okay, then… Mineha should better not miss out on it, I guess?”
“Absolutely! – Come, Mineha! We have to hurry!”
Not even half way through the sentence she grabbed my wrist and before I had the slightest chance to say goodbye to Kazuma and Kinuha she dragged me away. Only when we entered the big garden that surrounded most of our home, she let go – carefully looking around until I had the impression she found what she had been looking for.
“Just wait – I’ll be right back!”
“Wait? What fo-…?” I let out a sigh when the small kid escaped my vision. But before I could question her action any further nor decide what to do next, she reappeared in front of my eyes. This time she carried a grey blanket and a large box. Said box was, upon closer inspection, stuffed with some food and things that looked like the stuff Kazuma and the others bought from their errands from time to time.
“What do you need this for? And where did you get all of those?”
“Kazuma let me have them.” She smiled proudly when I took the box out of her hands to carry it myself.
‘Why would he?’ Those words lingered on my tongue for quite a while but Fumiha’s impatience beat my hesitation in speed: “We should get going.” I simply nodded and followed her steps.
Takamagahara was the land of the gods. Every god had a rather big or small – depending on their fame and status among the gods – ground with Bishamonten, who was one of the seven gods of fortune and therefore among the best known among the people, owning a rather big plot. This may have been the reason I was not too suspicious about the path Fumiha led us along, until we reached the pathway’s end where she stopped and looked around.
“Did you lose the way?” I laughed but the little girl did not look like she was lost at the slightest.
“We gonna get down from here.”
“Down? … Wait! Do you mean: DOWN?”
“To where all the humans live, yes.”
“But… but Kazuma just told us that only Shinki capable of the border line were allowed to go down during this time of the year, because-“
“Should,” She corrected my prior words and smiled. “We’re not doing something forbidden – just trying to help. Plus Kazuma himself said you can’t miss out on that one, rember? – Come on we gotta go now!”
In an instant she grabbed my hand again and while being coated in bright light I felt the ground under my feet slip away. This feeling only lasted some bare seconds, then the light vanished and when I looked around carefully I indeed found myself down on what I remembered to be the human world. Fumiha still stood right beside me and after I took a glimpse over my shoulder I recognised one of Bishamonten’s shrines – a rather small one compared to those Kazuma had shown me some days ago.
“It’s right over there – come!”
“Wait!”
As she ran off, away from the shrine and in the direction of the biggest tree nearby. I had some trouble to follow her moves, until she suddenly stopped.
“What’s wrong, Fumiha?”
“It-… it’s gone?”
“What do you mean, ‘gone’?”
Without taking any further note of my complaints the blanket Fumiha held fell to the ground and the small girl ran towards the forest ahead of us.
“Don’t run away! – FUMIHA!”
In a hurry I placed the box with all the stuff in it on the ground and ran after her.
It may have been because it was a dense forest but I guess the real reason would be that it started to get dark anyway because of the sinking sun, but the further we got into the woods, the less light reached our eyes, making it difficult to make out the difference between fallen branches and a walkable path.
“Are you sure, we’re on the right track?” I asked, my voice low when I finally closed up with her and caught my breath.
Fumiha had stopped in front of something that gave the impression of a small pond. Its surroundings were covered with mud and moss, on top of where fallen branches fell to the ground.
“Fumiha?” I tried to catch her eyes with mine, but she kept her gaze lowered to the ground. Some moments passed in silence, until a soft sob reached my ears. I kneeled down beside her and covered her left shoulder with my palm.
“Mind to tell me your secret? Maybe we could search together then? – Come on, don’t cry. Let’s stay strong, for Bishamon and the rest of our family, right?”
Another quiet sob, then I felt her head gently nodding.
“Right,” she hastily wiped her tears away, then her face was covered in a bright and energetic smile again, “we have to find her. I don’t think she could have run away in the state she was in. I fear she might be injured.”
“She?”
“Well, you know… I wanted you to meet her. When I last accompanied Kazuma, I found her next to the shrine and-…”
Before she could continue any further, a rustle from behind caught our attention. Right in front our eyes black dust covered the ground. It was not until some seconds later when I realised that some of it had already transformed into a weird looking creature whose eyes scanned its surroundings at first but as soon as it discovered the both of us standing right in front of it, the number of eyes increased to more than I could count with every single one of them gazing at us without the need to blink.
“Fumiha… come behind me,” I whispered and clenched the fabric of my jacket between my right fist.
‘We have to get away – NOW!’ My heart pounded heavily inside my chest, it almost hurt. ‘If only Kazuma or Kinuha were here…’ As soon as this thought crossed my mind, I shook my head. It was no good to cry about it now… Neither of the experienced fighters from our clan was here and neither of them knew where we were. So for the time being, we had to deal with the Ayakashi in front of us by ourselves.
“SMelSS – nICe – …” Its eyes still darting upon us, I tried to shield Fumiha’s body with my own. I did not dare to avert my eyes just the sparest second.
“W- what do we do now?”
I felt her small hands dig into the fabric covering my back. Her small fingers trembled, her whole body paralyzed by fear.
“… NI~cE – …”
I swallowed down the panic raising in my chest and tried to keep my thoughts clean. Neither Fumiha nor I were suited for fighting. But would we be able to outrun the ayakashi? Where should we-…?
“Fumiha,” I kept my voice low, just barely audible for Fumiha to hear, “we have to run. Do you know the way back to the shrine we came from?”
“I’m… not sure.”
“Just run, okay? I will be right behind you.”
“I’m scared…”
“It will be alright okay? Remember last time? That green monster with the mask on? We made it to the holy spring in time, right?”
She nodded shyly.
“Okay, then…,” after making sure she was alright, I glared back at the Ayakashi still in front of us just in time to witness it moving forward, “RUN!”
I heard her sucking in a deep breath, then I heard her small footsteps running swiftly over the ground, but I had no time to admire her smooth movements despite the floor being flooded with fallen wood and moss.
I did not dare to look back. I did not have the time to make sure the Ayakashi was not following suit. I did not have the strength to run away for long.
Sparkling stars were the only source of light when we finally broke out of the dense forest’s shadows.
“Don’t stay, run!” I shouted when I saw her small figure standing still and looking around in fear. Just then I could hear the Ayakashi’s roar only a few steps behind.
“Fumiha!”
She tilted her head to where I was running and it was not hard to witness the tears and horror drawn onto her skin.
“I- … this… wrong…!” She stuttered.
“Come!” I took her hand and pulled her with me. We had to hide somewhere!
I had completely lost track how long we had been running away and I did not know how my lungs were even capable of gaining air since my breathing was completely wracked, when I spotted a small and run-down lodge and lead us there. After I made sure Fumiha was unharmed, I hastily put the door shut and we both hid behind something that may have been a carriage for field work, loaded with boxes and tools used to till the fields.
My arms were wrapped about the girl still shivering while I had a hard time comforting her without panicking too hard either.
Some moments passed, no sound was heard from outside.
“Is it… over?”
“Shhh… quiet.” My own voice sounded more strained than I wanted to, nevertheless I loosened my grip when out of nowhere the old door burst open: “… – smELl – …”
Just like the last time I had encountered those beings, I had failed to run away. Would somebody come to save me this time, again? Kazuma? Yugiha? … Bishamonten?
A silent whimper brought me back to my senses. I was not on my own this time.
“I won’t let them hurt you, Fumiha. I promise.”
My body moved on its own, blocking the way between the girl and the Ayakashi that just burst in.
‘Breath in… don’t panick…’ I tried to remember what the experienced Shinki taught us after that horrible incident some time ago… ‘I still have not managed to create a proper border line so far, I-‘
“Mi- Mineha!”
I opened my eyes and raised my hand, every finger shaking from fear.
“B- border!” I shouted, moving the pointed out index- and middle finger on my right hand from left to right – just like Akiha told me to when we were practicing.
My stomach pained, my heart sunk, I could not breath. Nothing had happened. I failed. I failed to protect her. I failed to protect our goddess. I failed to protect our clan. I was absolutely useless. I-…
“Mineha, look! It stopped, you did it!”
“Huh?”
I raised my head and witnessed a shining barrier in front of us. Even though it tried its best, the Ayakashi stood no chance to overcome the border shielding us.
“You’re amazing!” Fuimiha shouted. Before I was able to process what happened, I heard a groan, even more threatening than the one the Ayakashi sent out earlier.
Despite it being a more furious roar than the one before, it put my mind at ease and my knees that had been shaking for what felt like an eternity, finally gave in.
“Are both of you alright?”
I did not have the strength to answer Kazuma's voice, so I softly nodded and heaved a sigh. Only some seconds later a bright light signalled that the Ayakashi had been taken care of and the chaotic noises calmed down.
“Mineha, Fumiha – are you hurt?”
From the corner of my eye I saw Fumiha shaking her head: “Mineha saved us,” she explaned proudly, while I only managed to shake my head.
Bishamonten’s face lightened. “Any more Ayakashi around, Kazuma?”
“All taken care of.” He answered.
“Fine – Kazu,” again a bright light appeared, “please make sure they both are well and then we will head back home.”
“We can’t!!”
“Fumi-“ I wanted to cut her off, but Kazuma’s words already lingered in the air: “Why are you two even here? Didn’t I tell you that it was dangerous? Neither of you knows how to draw a borderline properly. What if we did not make it in time?” His eyes darted from Fumiha to myself and back, strict and firm but caring.
“But we… she needs help!”
“Who needs help? Don’t make things up.”
“Kazuma, calm down a bit, okay,” Bishamon interfered with a calming smile and rested her hand on her guidepost’s shoulder.
“But Veena, they-…”
The goddess smiled but shook her head then she kneeled down in front of the child and slightly tilted her head.
“Mind to tell us who is in need of help?”
“Mudd.”
“Mud?”
“MUDD!” She insisted and even if I wanted to contribute something to the closure of her nonsense, I did not know anything either.
“What are you even-…?”
“Milady? Mind if I interrupted your talk?” A deep but friendly voice reached out to us, when without any further warning a giant lion appeared behind the carriage. He held something beneath his teeth and put the battered basked in our middle.
“When I was checking for any leftover Ayakashi, I came across these.” he added and soon after a soft cheep reached my ears.
“A cat?”
“MUDD!” Kazuma’s question was defeated by Fumiha’s sudden outburst when she encountered a brown small cat inside the basket. “Oh no… I knew I should have come sooner… she must be starving…”
“Hm… I don’t know. She looks healthy to me.” I added upon taking a glimpse over her shoulder.
“She totally does not! Just look at her! She lost so much weight… I don’t think she gets enough to eat,” Fumiha explained, “The first time I found her she was fine and all playful, but when I encountered her again some time later while inspecting the shrine together with Kazuma, she would only slowly walk alongside me and wasn’t willing to play with me like she used to. She must have hurt her leg or something, because she ate the food I bought just fine. That’s why I wanted to bring Mineha. She’s taking care of the flowers since Suzuha is gone and the one time we went to town she was totally famous among the birds we fed. I thought you could help me treating her back to health and then we could play together! But now… the injury seems too bad for her to even hunt or eat properly…”
Fumiha’s voice got lower the longer she talked and her grip around the basked handle tightened.
“If only I could have come sooner…”
“Don’t be sad, Fumiha. I’m sure we are still able to help, okay?”
“Mmhm…”
“If you allow my intrusion again,” Kuraha raised his voice, “I don’t think she has been injured or sick to begin with.”
“What do you mean?” This time it was Bishamonten’s voice asking for an explanation. They both exchanged a meaningful look, then he returned into his human form again and kneeled down besides the basket, too.
“Just see for yourselves, if you may.”
When finishing his words, he stripped a tiny blanket away from a worn out cushion at the bottom of the basket and I had to blink several times to make me believe my own eyes.
“Kittens?”
Kuraha smiled and stood back up again.
“Mudd has… babies? Her babies?” The old man nodded with a gentle smile playing around his lips.
“So cute!!”
I had to remind myself not to laugh out loud but I could not prevent a giggle to escape my throat.
“We can’t keep them, though!” Kazuma interfered, “We can’t bring them to Takamagahara.”
“But-…”
“No.”
A giggle filled the room and it was no other than our goddess herself who’s eyes sparkled in amusement before she shook her head.
“Don’t be so harsh, Kazuma.”
“Veena, we can’t-…”
“I know, we can’t. But I’m sure we will find a save place for her and all the babies.”
“I want to keep them!”
The goddess kneeled down again and stroke the small girl’s had: “I know. But do you know why Suzuha left so frequently?” Fumiha nodded her head. “He took care of a cherry tree and some plants down here. So I see no problem for you taking care of those kittens – just like he did with those plants.”
“Veena-…”
“Just don’t go on your own, okay? Kazuma is right: It’s too dangerous.”
“But-…”
She smiled again but firmly shook her head: “I’m glad we found you in time. Just ask for one of the experienced Shinki to attend you. Okay? – In the meantime…”
Her eyes searched for Kazuma’s and I’m pretty sure I noticed a faint blush arousing on his cheeks. Propably to shake of the feeling of embarrassment, he audibly cleared his throat and continued the sentence: “In the meantime, we will continue our training. Just don’t come late, okay?”
“I won’t!” She smiled brightly and everyone gathered around the basket on the floor, where the brown Mudd and her 3 little Kittenswere curling together. It must have been a very busy evening for them, as well.
A distant smile on my face, I felt all the tension finally leaving my body.
This new family that I found… no: that found me, is the best one I could have ever wished for.