I slept for several hours and when I opened up my eyes again, we were making our way down a curvy river in the middle of a jungle, with a late morning sun shining boldly in the sky.
Long ago, it was believed that rivers were connected to the realm of the gods. Apparently, it wasn't a myth after all.
We had left the realm of the god of rain at some point during the time that I was sleeping.
From the realm of the gods, we could access several places of this one, creating shortcuts when traveling long distances. If we had returned to Iwaki Mountain and then traveled from there to find Hiyoribō through normal means, the voyage would have lasted longer.
After we got down of the small boat, I washed my face and we filled our stomachs with food rapidly, before we began to traverse the jungle in order to reach a small village at the other end of it.
When we finally emerged out of the jungle, it was in the afternoon.
The village of Oshiro was quite big, with several shops, restaurants and inns. It wasn't the only village in the region, but it was the only place where we could find a brewery which made sacred saké- something the Amefurikozō told me would be a requirement in our goal.
At the market of the village, I bought white cloth, a bit of string and a golden bell, following the young spirit's instruction to the letter. It was only after that, that we headed to the sakagura.
'I'm sorry, but I cannot sell saké to you. We have a contract with the Shintō shrine close-by. The saké that we make is solely designated for Shintō ceremonies. We're not allowed to sell it to anyone, not even the villagers,' the sakagura's brew-master informed us.
'There are other breweries that makes sacred saké, but they are all situated too far away!' the Amefurikozō told me, anxiously. 'If we make a detour, we won't be able to make it back to Iwaki in time!'
Troubled, I swallowed the lump in my throat.
'Look! Maybe you could go to the shrine and have a talk with one of the Shintō priests there. If you can get a written permission from the kannushi, I'd be able to sell you saké,' the brew-master suggested, kindly.
I glanced at the young spirit accompanying me to see if he had an objection, before I nodded.
We had to give it a try.
The sakagura's brew-master indicated us the way to the shrine.
At the end of the village towards the north was Mount Shirai and that's where the shrine was found. The mountain was covered in deep forest, with a long stone staircase leading up to the shrine off the dirt road.
The shrine was composed of several infrastructures and we stopped under the torii at the entrance.
My eyes traveled along the yard and landed onto a young Shintō priest, who was doing some cleaning; the latter noticing us by the same moment.
'Yes, how can I help you?' he called, running towards us.
He gave the Amefurikozō a puzzled look before he turned his attention on me. His eyes went wide at that moment and he began to retrogress, his expression stupefied.
'You! I know who you are!' he gasped out at me. 'You're the same girl who's massacred all the people of her village!' He blinked in confusion. 'You're supposed to be in prison. How can you-'
He shook his head then and took a threatening posture, watching me with defiance.
'Go away from here, demon! How dare you profane this sacred place with your presence?!' he roared out at me, causing me to flinch.
I took two involuntary steps backward, my heart fluttering in my chest.
'Tomohide, leave her alone!' came a loud masculine voice behind him in an order.
The voice belonged to another Shintō priest, this one a lot older in age, probably in his fifties.
'Master!' exclaimed the younger priest, in astonishment. 'But this girl is-'
A look from the older male and the younger became silent, fading into the background.
'The brew-master has phoned me to warn me about your arrival,' the old priest said, taking a glance at the young spirit by my side.
I didn't dare to look at the latter after what the younger priest had mentioned about me.
'I know Kagami Gushiken. He's an old… acquaintance.'
He knows Master Kagami?! I told the sakagura's brew-master that I'm member of Gushiken Paranormal Organization.
'My name is Shōma Otani. I am the kannushi of this shrine.' He paused. 'You need sacred saké and I am ready to help you obtain it but on one condition.'
I held my breath.
'In this mountain prowls an Oumukade.'
An Oumukade?! It was a giant centipede which diet was composed of human flesh.
'Most of the people who've ventured into the forest have lost their lives. It has attacked the shrine several times and so far, we have barely been able to repel it. Bring me the head of the Oumukade and you'll get your sacred saké.'
The kannushi left no place for negotiation.
The Amefurikozō and I would have to travel during the night, to cover up for the time spent on chasing the Oumukade. In other words, we had to kill the Oumukade during the next few hours or we might not be able to make it back to Iwaki in time.
'Alright. I'll do it,' I relented, a little apprehensive.
The list of things that could go wrong- in this solution I had opted for to save Ameonna- was getting longer. But I had chosen this path and there was no going back now.
Plus, even if the kannushi was forcing our hands, personally I couldn't ignore what was happening around here.
I turned around and left immediately to accomplish the new mission.
Killing an Oumukade wouldn't be an easy task, due to its rapidity of movement, if not for its impressionable size. The wisest thing to do would to immobilize it first before I activate my Godai Shakujō.
I glanced at the Amefurikozō when the young spirit stopped half-way down the staircase of the shrine. He didn't turn around to face me, keeping his eyes on the ground, lost in deep thought.
I paused down too.
'Did you massacred the people of your village?' he asked, breaking the intense silence between us, and my heart shook. 'I understand better now what your partner was talking about.'
He looked at me over his shoulder, his eyes narrowed.
'Usually, we- spirits- we can easily detect an evil soul. I'm confused.'
He turned completely around, his eyes narrowing further at me, as though, in concentration.
'Your soul is pure. Except for...' He pulled away, screeching, 'What's that? It's so dark! Is that the imprint of a demon?!'
I realized at that moment that he was reading in me. He was looking at my soul. He had probably done it before but he hadn't gone this profoundly.
'A simple contact with a demon is enough for it to leave an imprint on the human soul forever. That imprint on you is so powerful; so dark!' he gasped, even more confused that before.
I turned away from him, hugging myself as tremors run through my body. Another heavy silence fell between us, before I decided to speak finally.
'You know, I'd understand if you don't want to accompany me anymore. But I really want to save Ameonna and without your help I won't be able to make it.'
I gave him a pleading look.
Staring at me, he swallowed hard, then nodded, agreeing to continue.
***
The sun was about to set when we were finally done with the arrangements.
Entrusting Kōmori-san to the young spirit, I parted with them to wound my way higher up onto the mountain until I reached the small source where the attacks seemed to concentrate.
I sat myself onto a large singular rock in the small clearing, waiting for the beast to appear, baited by my presence.
The forest was idle; the silence disturbing.
There was no sound of squirrels scurrying about or birds chirping. All the animals which haven't been devoured by the Oumukade must have fled the mountain. Even the leaves weren't shaking for, there was no wind.
Minutes ticked by and nearly half an hour was gone. The more time slipped by, the more I began to fear unwillingly falling asleep. Now, wasn't the moment for a sleep attack, with a man-eating monster lurking in the woods.
I thought over the way Kōmori-san hadn't wanted to let go of me for it to stay with the Amefurikozō earlier. At first, I thought that maybe it didn't want to be separated from me. And then, I wondered if it could sense the danger in the forest. It had bit my forefinger when I had put into place this tactic.
At the memory, I lifted my forefinger up to have a look at the two small bite marks it had left on me. The wound wasn't bleeding anymore.
Suddenly, the intense quietness became shattered as crawling sounds roused in the surrounding trees, causing me to jerk to my feet, fully alert. The sounds were rapid and they seemed to grow closer and closer until they seemed to concentrate at a specific position.
I stood very still, holding my breath.
That's when, a shadow- as huge as a pagoda- fell over me from behind.
With my heart pounding in my ears, slowly I took a glance over my shoulder and indeed, the creature was there, with its body raised half-way off the ground like a serpent waiting to pounce on its prey.
Instantaneously, I picked a sprint, but I wasn't running blindly. I knew just exactly where to lure it.
The Oumukade was as rapid as I believed it to be and I could barely keep up the distance between us. I could hear its legs digging in the ground behind me and trees getting knocked off on the way as it chased after me, letting out hisses.
My heart was beating so fast that I thought it was going to claw its way out of my chest in excitement.
I managed to avoid the branches and roots on my way, trying my best to keep up the pace.
I wasn't very far anymore, just a few trees away.
As I approached destination, I spurted forward and crossed through the spot with the Oumukade at my heels.
Everything went extremely fast.
Several cannon-like sounds exploded behind me as the Amefurikozō engaged the trap we had set into place. At the same time, my foot slipped and I tumbled down the slope, coming to a stop when I crashed into a tree, the pain in my abdomen flaring.
I struggled to sit up, holding my waist; my vision doubling.
When I could finally focus again, it was to see the Oumukade struggling fiercely with the ropes immobilizing it, breaking them one after another; it was only a matter of seconds before it could move freely again.
Without wasting anymore time, I activated my Godai Shakujō and launched an attack on the Oumukade.
Time seemed to go on slow motion at that particular moment.
If ever I missed my target, if the yōkai freed itself and skipped the attack, we were all so dead.
Blood splashed on the ground, the five shakujō impaling the Oumukade through the head. The monster went still for a minute before, its body fell to the ground in a loud thud, lifelessly.
I staggered to my feet, releasing my breath finally.
'Boy! That was so close!' exclaimed the Amefurikozō from where he was hidden in the trees.
***
A while later...
'Whe-When the master asked you to bring him the head of the Oumukade, he didn't mean it in the literal sense of the word!' the young priest Tomohide stated, watching the decapitated head of the yōkai awkwardly.
I glanced over my shoulder at the big Oumukade head lying in the courtyard of the shrine and apologized for that.
The kannushi arrived at that moment and when his eyes fell onto the piece of cadaver, his expression matched that of his disciple.
'It hasn't a piece of cake to get it down from the mountain and carry it up here, especially, with the staircase,' the Amefurikozō muttered at them, peevishly. 'The least you could do is to make another face than this one.'
Very quickly, I clasped my hand over his mouth to keep him from saying anything else while I giggling nervously at the two priests.
'Can we have the approbation letter now?' I asked them, timidly, and the kannushi nodded, leaving us for a minute to fetch it.
'If I were you, I'd incinerate the head,' I suggested to the man, before the young spirit and I set back to Oshiro Village to collect the sacred saké, having the approbation letter in hand.
The atmosphere in the village was livelier at night. All the shops remained open, the alleys were more crowded, with lanterns illuminating the whole place.
Luckily, there was a public bath and after a rapid jump at the brewery, I opted for a good dip, before we would hit the road again. I had been able to change the bandages around my abdomen.
'Tell me something,' I said to the Amefurikozō as we crossed the woods, Mount Shirai a good distance behind us now.
The night was agreeable, with a small breeze blowing, a full moon hanging above head.
'Do you have a name of your own?'
Amefurikozō was only a generic name.
The latter looked at me, slowing down.
'A name of my own? Amefurikozō is the only name I've always known.'
He grew a bit sorrowful, suddenly, and I hit myself mentally for asking him this question.
'I see! Well, then, you could give yourself a name!' I told him, trying to cheer him up. 'Go on, pick any one that you like!'
'Feh! It's humans who do these kinds of things. Not a thing for me! I'm alright with Amefurikozō!' he spat, looking back ahead of him.
Even if his reaction intrigued me, I decided not to push the matter further and simply whispered, 'Okay.'
***
Meanwhile…
Sitting under the small tent he had set up for shelter from the downpour, Ayame Tsuge sipped at his burning hot tea, trying to warm himself up a bit; the feeling of claustrophobia building up slowly.
When the god of rain didn't show up at dawn this morning, he guessed that the red-haired girl had been able to obtain Ameonna a delay.
There hasn't been any change since the redhead had gone with the Amefurikozō, though. Ameonna's tears never stopped falling; the sky never stopped crying.
He wondered what was taking the redhead so long to return.
He hadn't left the mountain much, except to go at the village to evaluate the damage from time to time. The habitants were growing increasingly angry by the situation and it was only a matter of time before they became completely hostile towards the female spirit.
He looked at Ameonna where she sat under the sacred tree, holding her face in her hands.
'I'm sorry,' he called and her head snapped u at him. He hadn't spoken a word to her during the whole day nor the previous night.
He lowered his eyes onto the drink in his hand, mumbling, 'If I'm more of the type to attack first and then talk, it's because of what happened with my dad…'
He still asked himself very often if there had been signs; what he had missed out, eight years ago. Because of the traumatism, he refused to take any risks; once there was a danger, it absolutely needed to be eliminated on the spot. This had become his mode of operating. He never truly realized it until today.
'Even if I hate to say this, I truly hope that Sh-' He gritted his teeth together, hating to say the girl's name out loud. '-the redhead will find a solution for you.'
Grabbing an umbrella, he got to his feet then and strode up to the female spirit to hand the object to her, alongside a cup of tea.
A timid smile appeared on Ameonna's lips and she thanked him for the attention.
Thank you for reading!
Glossary
Sakagura - saké brewery
Kannushi - person responsible for the maintenance of a Shintō shrine; Shintō priest.