"Since we're finally alone, I will provide you with details about the mission," Inari spoke lightly, telling Hakai about changing subjects and proceeding with completing the mission.
"Roger."
"These are wishes, from farmers, across Tokyo. Each piece of notecard contains a prayer that wishes me to eradicate last year's bad crops." She handed him a bunch of notecards stacked on each other and tied with a ribbon.
"Last year around June, a mystery began unfolding across farmlands in the city and countryside of Tokyo. The issues became a pressing concern, so I decided to examine them. What I found was a disguising phantom, one that took the shape of the crop."
Inari explained the case to Hakai while he read through the prayers.
"Camouflage phantom," Hakai uttered under his breath, scrolling through the notes before one caught his eyes.
"Your highness, of paradise and earth. I pray for you to bring upon us a great harvest this year. My family is poor, and our only way of receiving blessings is through our land."
"What crop did it disguise itself as when you intercepted it?"
Hakai placed the note cards down, holding down his thighs.
"Let's clear this up. Its form is unknown. But this phantom can conceal its presence with precision. In the rural side of Tokyo, I crossed paths with it disguised as a piece of wheat. I tried to cut it down, but it somehow shrunk into the earth and vanished completely since then."
Inari crossed her arms, scoffing.
"Hmph."
"It's a troublesome spirit, and if by chance is one of these New Types, making sure you destroy the threat is vital."
Inari twisted her words smartly while maidens entered the room and began cleaning around, picking up the deck of notecards. They left silently until a loud knock came from outside the shut door.
Knock!
Knock!
"Enter." Inari permitted.
"Your highness, I attempted to contain her, but she wouldn't oblige and wait out the mission's completion."
A guard spoke aloud, telling his side of the story.
"Are you setting out, Haki-Kun?"
Mai asked the seated Hakai. She couldn't contain it but blush.
"Hmm, I'll be back as quick as possible, promise." He smiled at her.
"Uhh-" She held back what she wanted to say, twirling her index fingers.
"What is it, Mai-San?"
"You see... Can I come with you?" She asked him, flustered, while Inari watched with her hand over her mouth.
"Oh my, what a courageous lady." Inari giggled.
"No." With no hesitation, Hakai rejected the idea. Standing up, he looked at Inari as she tugged and held him by his sleeve. "What?" He asked her, confused.
"Take her. Why not." Inari told him, still hanging on to him.
"Because." Hakai protested.
"Because what, Hakai?"
Inari insisted on an answer.
"Because, what if she gets hurt, then what? I'm not good at protecting and fighting simultaneously, Inari-San. I don't want her to get hurt." Hakai told her the worries in his heart.
"Why not have a guard or the deity you are serving on coming along, protecting Mai and observing the mission's result. Then, based on that, assign a proper reward." Inari proposed the first idea that popped into her head.
"Oh, I see. Still no, though." Hakai said before trying to fight Inari's grip away.
"Damn, let go. What are you, Inari-San? Are you glue?" He said, struggling against her grip. He fell onto his rear, and Inari climbed up his legs. Looking directly at his eyes, he met her bust.
"Please?" She insisted.
Mai blushed and also felt jealous at the same time. However, she couldn't let this chance slip, so she began begging.
"Pretty please?"
"Please?"
"Please."
"Pretty please?"
The two girls annoyed Hakai into obligation.
"Fine, fine!"
"Yay!" Inari danced in his lap. His face had exhaustion written over it as Inari stood off of him.
***
"Ready, Inari, Mai?" Hakai asked the pair on horses, accompanied by a cult of winged armored men behind them.
"Yes, lead the way," Inari told Hakai as he dashed away.
Bam!
The horde of horses followed behind Hakai as he leaped from branch to branch.
"Less than an hour till sunset," Hakai said, worried he might hold Mai back. "Can I do it?" He questioned himself, looking back at Mai sitting in front of Inari on the same horse.
"No, I will do it!" He asserted while leaping into the open sky.
Like never before, his senses fixed on every negative energy pore. Honing his sensory skills to the utmost in the weaker vessel proved worthy as this new vessel seemed more capable of impressive things.
"Cool, I can sense negative energy more clearly than before." He said to himself as he picked on the smallest amount. "There? No, there?" Hakai thought, closing his eyes while leaping from a branch and landing on the ground, running through a field of open grasslands.
"What is Haki-Kun doing?" Mai's interest had piqued, watching Hakai in front of her doing all these things.
"He is looking for the spirit via his sensory ability for signatures and negative energy. Of course, I can sense it too, but since he's concentrated, Hakai might be just a bit ahead of me." She smiled as Mai looked back at her.
"I see. So, can everyone feel this signature and energies?" Mai asked, interested.
"Do you mean humans too? Rephrase that for me, Mai." Inari asked her to restate the question.
"No, I meant, do all gods have this sensory ability?" She finally cleared the question, waiting for Inari to answer as the horse sped up.
"Well, yes, The sensory ability comes with all gods. And, take it this way. We all can correspond and differentiate between each other with our spiritual energy and pressure. The higher the pressure of one's aura and spirit, the more powerful and noticeable they are."
"I see."
"We can sense things, like energies and that spiritual pressure I mentioned. The higher, or at times the more concentrated one energy is at one place, the better we can sense and tell what it is and what tier it lies within. So concealing these signatures is manageable for all gods too. Still, the dark forces are getting the hang of concealing their signatures too."
Inari went on deeper to explain, but her words were slightly twisted. This was to get the most straightforward answer to someone who had trouble understanding the ability.
Zap!
"Finally!" Hakai's finally sensed the droplet of signature.
"Hey! I found it. Follow me now!" Hakai screamed from the top of his lungs, lunging into the sky as the horde of horses behind him followed.