Chương 30: Book 1, Chapter 30: Priesthood

The three walked down to the river, with Yuki in the lead, John in the middle, and Rin in the back. It still made John's spine tingle to have the new addition to the fort behind him, granted, but given how she had been looking at him with stars in her eyes this whole time, he didn't expect any issues. Really, he figured she was more likely to shake him like a vending machine trying to get more sage wisdom out. He would have to think of more things to teach her, wouldn't he?

He supposed he could lean on Yuki for most of it, but then he'd probably be passing on stuff he didn't entirely understand and then couldn't answer her questions without going "Let me think about it" and asking for more notes. No, she'd probably figure it out eventually if that was all he did. John panned his DIY Nameless detector over the woods again, finding nothing once more. They were using this path too much lately. The next time, he'd take a different route to the river.

The basket of fresh produce swung by his side, which he had insisted on bringing, eventually convincing Yuki when he insisted that it was just payment for their future services rather than a definitely offensive apology basket. It still was one, granted, he just wouldn't say that. It was a shame he didn't have any cucumbers; apparently, kappa really enjoyed those. He wouldn't say he got it, but he also last ate one half a decade ago, so maybe they were better than he remembered.

A chocolate bar would probably drive him into a feral frenzy right now, even if it were some bottom-of-the-barrel brand.

"How long have you known this kappa, sensei?" Rin asked, breaking John's concentration. There was something strange about her voice, almost… hopeful? Weird.

"A few years, but I haven't been the best neighbour," he admitted after taking a moment to formulate a good lie.

"For a while, I didn't really say a word to him or anyone else around here. I'd ask you not to bring it up. It is rather embarrassing on my part, and we're still trying to move past it." It was flimsy, but he didn't have to make up the best lie for Rin, he wagered. She hung onto every word to a degree that made him feel a bit guilty for abusing her trust… but then again, she did challenge a stranger in the street to a duel, so he didn't feel too bad.

"I would like to bargain with him for his blood," she quickly added, a smile creeping across her face.

"Am I permitted?" Blinking at the sudden question, he glanced at Yuki, who gave no outward response. He supposed kappa materials, being weird water spirits and reptilian, were reasonably close to the native version of dragons, and thus more than suitable for Rin's storm-related Unbinding. At least, he assumed it was storm-related based on what she had shown and what he had felt; to his memory, he had never actually asked.

Ice, water, and lightning all felt like they were in that rough theme, and he had heard that dragons were generally associated with storms here. It was strange to see them described as long, almost serpentine beings with no wings, rather than his mental image of them as big tanks with wings and a flamethrower built in, although he supposed that dragons were something that were hardly consistent even within Western canon.

He'd be a fool to expect something from another mythology, never mind another mythology in another world, to conform to his expectations.

"Permission granted. The kappa seems like a good sort and has been helpful recently, so don't do anything too rough for either of you or risk damaging our relations, we need him… but don't take him lightly, either." If nothing else, it may be interesting to see what an Unbound dealing with a yokai looked like.

"Thank you, sensei!" Rin stopped and quickly bowed before hurrying to catch up. He had questions for Yuki, but he couldn't voice them without potentially giving the game away in front of Rin, sadly.

"So, Yuki," he began, trailing off momentarily.

"I never had a chance to ask you before… how was the rest of your walk?"

"Decent enough, I suppose," she replied.

"I turned an Okuri-inu into an informant, and met a young man going by a fake name in a bar who was about to do something foolish and attack some of the 'tax collectors.' Thankfully, I stopped that before he got himself killed." Okay, the next time Yuki went out for a walk, he had to remember to ask for more details. That was… a lot to unpack right there. What were Okuri-inu again? … Right, those were those weird dogs that tried to scare the hell out of him and went to tear him apart when he tripped.

They stopped hassling him when he lit one on fire mid-pounce. How the hell did he even respond to that? At least she saved a life, he supposed.

"How's the sentiment back in town looking?" Yuki chuckled.

"If it wasn't for that undead monstrosity they keep leashed and the implications of them being parts of a larger institution, the townsfolk probably would have swarmed them and killed them long ago, albeit at a great cost to life. Even if it wasn't for our presence, they would have been forced to move on soon to let things cool down. It's hard to be the indirect puppet of spider monsters when you get hanged." He couldn't help it and snorted at that, the insanely blunt statement hitting in just the right way.

"Well, if that's all, eh?" The trio finally made their way down to the riverside, but… they weren't alone. John's heart jumped up in his throat, and his muscles tensed. Those thick, white, belted robes… They were familiar. After all, people in that outfit had been trying to kill him for years. John's eyes widened, and he froze. Seven men stood by the river, singing… no, chanting something he couldn't understand.

Three stood off to either side, holding bundles of lit in one hand and what looked to be a small wooden club in the other, with simple black hats. The center one, presumably the leader, wore a fancier robe, patterned with silvery flowers and had a cap with two long pieces of semi-rigid fabric trailing off it that reminded him of a rabbit's ears. None of them faced them… but they stood exactly where Yuki had summoned the kappa. Perhaps there was some sort of spiritual resonance they were drawn to?

Now that he was focusing, he could just barely feel some kind of Presence emanating from them, but it was on the edge of his perception. Still, that could be because he was unused to its "style," and hardly able to sense it… or it was weak. He had no context or way to tell. Not for the first time, he wished he had dropped into this world with the same magical powers many locals possessed; it would have made things so much easier. John hurried to Yuki's side on stilled steps, sidling up to her side.

"Perhaps we should leave," he half-whispered, eyes nervously scanning the seven men. Her ears snapped to him, and she looked him up and down, eyes lingering on his chest where his heart was thumping away. She cast a quiet glance back at Rin, a faint hint of a frown gracing her muzzle before vanishing, turning to face John once more.

"Be calm," she murmured.

"I will deal with this promptly, and they will not lay a finger on you." Yuki's next words were louder, intended to be heard by Rin as well as she mused aloud.

"They seem to be just some priests from a nearby shrine, but… no, if they were attending to their duties properly, the Nameless problem would have probably been dealt with long ago when they passed it to their superiors… Assuming resources aren't too tied up by the war."

"Let's just leave. We can contact the kappa anywhere along the river, right?" John quickly responded, although the kitsune was no longer focused on him, she stuck close to his side. No, she looked at the seven almost like they were a puzzle to be solved, and he didn't like the conclusion she seemed to be coming to. The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

"They'll almost certainly sense my Presence this close and come to investigate. You may step to the side, if you wish. You need not deal with them yourself, I will ask them politely to leave and they'll listen," Yuki explained, very plainly leaving the question of what to do if they didn't to the side. Rooted in place, he watched Yuki walk ahead of him, towards the men. Raw terror flooded him. He couldn't just take cover, could he? No, that'd be leaving Yuki and Rin alone with them, with those people.

No, no, they had tried to kill him too many times to count over the last few years! He had to—"Servants of the Kami, return to your shrine. I have business that I need to attend to here," Yuki ordered, Presence pouring off her like a waterfall. It was hard, unyielding, like a great stone bastion. As one, they turned, movements quick as they brandished their wooden clubs. Eyes widening, John readied himself to duck to cover and scramble away… but the men didn't attack. No, why didn't they?

Every time before, they had been hostile. Every time. Was Yuki's Presence that much of a deterrent? He… It wasn't logical, but he assumed they knew only violence towards the different. If anything, they seemed just as startled as he was. Their eyes went to Yuki first, her tails spread wide, but still disguised as only three.

"Positions!" the center man called, and at his command, the rest rallied. They dropped their probably expensive incense on the ground and pulled out paper talismans, brandishing them like weapons.

"You dare?" Yuki asked, taking a step forward. To their credit, the men stayed firm.

"I plan to claim the role of the Guardian Kami of these woods, as the one who possessed that mantle before failed in their duties. You can either work at my direction or stay out of my way." She glared at the lot of them.

"Or are you so blind that you don't even know Nameless are in the area under your charge and will die pointlessly rather than letting me remove them?" The leader stiffened, but said nothing. As he looked around, his eyes met John's and, for a moment, panic bloomed in John's chest before he squashed it down. The man in the center recovered fast.

"Lady Kitsune. Are you not aware you have a foreign beast at your side?" His voice was slick and honeyed in a way that made John shiver. The man sniffed at the air.

"He has learned to hide the scent of his origins, but he is certainly an agent of the invaders to the south. Has he lied to you about the state of this place? We've sent for aid from the Celestial Court, and the Nameless will be dealt with by their hands." Yuki's eyes narrowed.

"Cease," she ordered.

"Has the priesthood fallen so far in my absence that you'd demonize any foreigner for the actions of another nation? He's clearly from an entirely different nation, with a language that sounds nothing like that of the invaders'. I'll ignore the fact you tried to distract me, for now. This is a single extra chance. Do not slip again. You didn't even inform Broadstream's Militia of the true nature of the threat. They thought it was mere banditry that besieged them." The man smiled and bowed.

"Of course, lady kitsune. Pardon my mistake." He didn't even glance at John.

"I meant no offence. It is not their duty, and the town's militia does not have the resources to deal with the Nameless problem. Informing them of it would inevitably lead to the traders passing through finding out, too. The region is struggling, so Head Priest Sada decided it was best to stop everyone from panicking and ensure the people got the goods they needed." John could agree that completely stopping all trade coming into town would be a death sentence, but… that couldn't be the only way, could it?

"Pathetic worms," Rin growled by his side, and John jumped slightly, head pivoting to face her. He had forgotten she was here.

"To risk so many lives because they couldn't think of anything better…" John couldn't help but think there was more to this. Why were they here? In his experience, these "priests" rarely left the road. They had attacked him on sight for years, so he had gotten a pretty good grasp on how they tended to move. Why the riverside? Why this exact spot? Why now? Something smelled rotten. How could they have found this precise spot?

Unless they had some sort of super sense for magic and could sense that Yuki blasted her Presence here a few days back, and decided to investigate, there had to be some reason. Could… there be a Nameless puppet amongst the priests too? While it didn't make sense for them to find this place, the Nameless could have probably figured out from where they approached the nest, and figured something out if they could scent the kappa's sudden addition to the group, followed by them making a beeline there.

Still, the timing was too good on their part. Why now? Were they being spied on? They were acting in a way that was feeding the Nameless, weren't they? John uneasily chewed on the inside of his cheek. It made an uncomfortable amount of sense. They could have been told to come here for some reason, to place them in their way, distract them. Maybe the plan was to have Yuki kill these men, so they could engage with another asset?

"And this… aid from the Celestial Court, when do you expect it to arrive?" Yuki inquired, eyes narrowing once more.

"We've been assured it will be any day now," the man placated, but his words felt hollow, without substance, like someone working a customer service job who had no plans to help you and revelled in it. John had no doubt that it had been "just around the corner" for a few years. But why not care?

"Of course, we welcome you as the new local Guardian Kami… but I'm afraid that properly claiming that title may be difficult, Lady Kitsune. This humble servant has been informed that all the paths into the spirit world for leagues around are closed. The nearest way is a week or two away at a march, and to travel between the two every time you have to manage affairs on either side…" He shook his head. The puzzle pieces started slotting together in John's mind, and his eyes widened. Of course!

Yuki greeted them as "servants of the Kami", didn't they? He had seen Kami referred to as seemingly gods of a sort. If their nominal duties involved moving between the worlds of humans and spirits, and they couldn't here… Well, it'd be no surprise that such a position would go unoccupied, and that would essentially leave these priests with nobody to manage them, wouldn't it? Was that what they were offered? Freedom? Did the Nameless not harass them or the traders bearing things they'd want to keep them compliant?

Ugh. John felt dirty just thinking about that. If he had come to these conclusions, he had no doubt Yuki had figured it out, too, albeit likely in more detail. Moreover, if he was correct… Yuki was likely a threat to them now, wasn't she?

"That can be fixed later," she affirmed.

"The Nameless are a problem that has to be dealt with now, and I think both of us know that aid from the Celestial Court is unlikely to be coming. Now, what are you doing here?"

"Communing with one of the local kappa, Lady Kitsune." He held a… pendant up? Even at this distance, John could see it was vibrating slightly.

"He has been around here recently." Yuki stared at the implement intensely, like she was trying to puzzle something out. Before he could stop himself, John muttered, "Lying trash." Despite the creek burbling next to them, one could hear a pin drop.

"So, you can talk like a civilized person," the priest huffed, glaring.

"Or, close enough to one, at least." John's heart dropped, and he clamped down on his fear, his mind whirring up and preparing him to defend himself or flee, but something yet more visceral was slipping to the surface, making his blood run hot.

"Always could," John reflexively spat, bristling at the implication.

"You just happened to show up at my fishing spot, right?" He never attacked them back. Not once; the closest he got was attacks deliberately aimed to miss as to throw off their pursuit, the few times they elected to chase him. John's conscience couldn't bear the weight of killing or crippling another person—his tools were terribly ill-suited to only stunning—but this? He could do this? Righteous anger boiled up from deep in his guts.

"Are you going to try to light me on fire again? Right here? Right now?" The priest glanced at Yuki and Rin.

"No," he stated.

"I don't think there will be a need for that.

"I believe our business is concluded here. Have a good day, Lady Kitsune." At that, he bowed, and he and his men walked off, hurrying up the riverbank and away from their little group. The second they were away, John slumped, the adrenaline he had hardly noticed prior rushing out of him." Fucking hell," he swore in English, a shiver racing up his spine.

He was lost in his own mind, thinking about all the ways that that could have gone, how he could have been driven back again, how perhaps this time they'd land a few too many blows and—"Sensei?" He spun to the noise, reflexively raising his gauntlet and— Rin stood, eyes wide, stepping back, yet her hand didn't go to her blade. Guilt immediately gnawed at John's heart as his arm roughly fell back to his side.

"I'm sorry," he began, looking away, unable to meet her eyes after such a moment of weakness.

"I'm sure you have many questions. I omitted a few things about my past."