Chương 60: Book 1, Chapter 60: Wrapped

Yuki's talk with the priest was at least productive. While he didn't directly say much of value, what he didn't say had some interesting implications for her to sort through later. It was rather telling that he didn't even think to ask for more specificity when she asked about the local yokai population. He didn't even mention any factional splits! It was like he thought of them not as other people, but as beasts.

She might even have to delay her plan to test the tainted foodstuffs on him by a few days, just in case she needed more information.

"Someone will be by later to show you to your chambers," Yuki said to the now thoroughly bound man, standing up to leave as she took the now completed sheet of ofuda. She could tell immediately that most were incredibly substandard, barely functional even without accounting for the poor materials. In ages past, she wouldn't have trusted them to keep horse feed safe, and she truly hoped that the world at large was not stuck with charms of such substandard quality. Hmm.

Yuki wondered if John's people still used horses or anything similar. The idea of a self-propelled vehicle clearly wasn't foreign to him, and something like his disc would take fractions of the upkeep, nor did he make any particular ruckus about it being self-propelled when he first unveiled it.

"Of course, Lady Kitsune!" the priest whimpered, bowing the best as he could while bound tightly to his chair, hands palm to hand so even if he could manifest a flame it would only end up scorching him. The way he talked was curious, as was his lack of family name, at least for this era. She wondered why that shift occurred during her imprisonment. There had to be some interesting reason commonfolk suddenly began bearing family names, but that was something she could pry into later.

Calmly, she left the room, pondering what to do next. Perhaps she should meditate and try to purge more poison from her system, although she had been doing that plenty while most of the fort slept. She couldn't speak with John, as, judging by the mumbling and occasional giggle from his workshop, he was entranced in his work. Yosuke seemed to be a good conversation partner, if John was to be believed, but he was on guard duty, so it would be best to leave him to his job as well.

Aiki and Haru would be too terrified to provide any interesting conversations, the poor little things. They really should get them back to their homes soon, although Yuki was sad that she didn't have the funds to give more than a small parting gift to keep their bellies full. That left Rin. Well, Yuki had to assess her loyalties anyhow, as John would likely keep accidentally dropping potential weapons into her lap, and there might be scant few opportunities in the future before she had another chance.

Of course, she doubted that Rin knew she could be a danger to them, but that didn't change reality. She perked her ears, listening closely for the sounds of Rin's breathing, which were barely audible over the soft patter of the rain. Eventually, she found them: every one of her breaths was long, muted, and controlled. It certainly wasn't any technique to strengthen the roiling power within her. Perhaps it was a matter of control?

During their brief scuffle, it seemed like Rin was terribly inefficient with her power, despite ample strength for her current state of being. It would do her well to fix it, though at least she seemed cognizant of that flaw. Yuki was glad she didn't have to dig up yet another dusty technique from the depths of her memory to fix it and, once more, get called "old" in a few more reverent words. So much missed time, so many connections left to rot upon the altar of eons…

How many of her friends and allies were still alive, and what vanishing number of those still cared for her? Not that old dragon, that's for sure. When she had the chance, Yuki would turn that brat into a nice set of furniture and let Rin lick up the blood, assuming the Unbound remained loyal to the right people. Sadly, that would have to wait. Yuki was still far too weak with too much venom coursing through her body and spirit, sapping her strength alongside this damned split.

She could hardly even smell fear nowadays; operating primarily off hearing and sight alone grew tiresome. Pinpointing the source of the noise, predictably on the roof of the Unbound's warehouse turned domicile, Yuki strutted over and hopped up onto the edge with a single powerful stride, softly landing upon padded paws. Now that she was so close, she could smell the ozone in the air and feel the faint thrum of power echoing against her soul.

It was a shame that anti-yokai ofuda were so much harder to detect like that, although she could never find a satisfactory answer as to why. Perhaps the lack of intent was the answer, or maybe it was the sheer efficiency. Maybe there was a scholar in the modern era who had a clue. Lightning crawled along the horns of the Unbound like faint threads drifting in the wind, her chest rising and falling like ripples upon a gentle lake.

A subtle wind, disconnected from the greater storm, swirled around her hovering form like a continuous shell, barely visible by the subtle way it made the raindrops shift. The exercise was simple: maintain the shield with the least amount of effort possible. In theory, it was achievable with little more force than it took to breathe. In practice, it was like trying to balance a ten-foot pole upon your head while moving as little as possible.

Truth be told, she was not doing the worst job of it, although Yuki could see her focus wandering, causing her control to slip and the orb to go wild before being forcefully steadied with an iron grasp. Perhaps some meditative chants would help? The kitsune settled across from the woman, legs crossed on the apex of the roof. She didn't bother meditating herself; she simply waited. It would only disrupt Rin, and this was an important opportunity to get her measure from up close while she thought she was alone.

If Rin had sensed her, the dragon-blooded woman would need much more composure than most possessed to hide every hint of a reaction, but that clearly wasn't her style. To be honest, if she had maintained a mask so flawlessly that Yuki couldn't sniff it out, the kitsune could hardly be too angry. Besides, an infiltrator of that skill would have likely already pried everything they wanted out of John.

A hundred heartbeats passed before the Unbound slowly lowered out of the air, her athletic form now delicately resting on the apex of the roof as her technique ceased and the magic faded away. Her eyes flickered open, vibrant pink orbs meeting radiant gold. For the briefest moment, all was still as her mind stumbled over the sudden intrusion, almost like a drunken soldier trying to comprehend their sergeant shouting at them before the sun had even risen.

Finally, after several long seconds, Rin launched herself through the air, landing in a wide stance, her pupils shrunk to pinpricks. Not for the first time, Yuki pondered on why dragons were so similar to cats… or perhaps why cats were so similar to dragons? She still didn't know what mark Rin bore before her transformation into a dragon-blooded Unbound, unless she had somehow forgotten it. Perhaps she was a feline at some point. A genuine smile flickered onto the kitsune's face.

"Lady Yuki!" she greeted breathlessly, hidden annoyance clear in her voice to Yuki's sharp hearing. Her legs wobbled as she bowed, presumably still numb from sitting. It was something the kitsune would have to prescribe exercises for, if she were assured of the Unbound's loyalty.

"Do you have need of me?" Rin asked, rising once more.

"Sit down, please," Yuki responded, gesturing back to the roof as she sat down.

"I've been out of touch with the mortal world for quite some time, and even before then, I was not too in touch with its politics. I would like you to clarify some things for me." A show of vulnerability, but a controlled one, and the kitsune, of course, knew more than she was letting on. A lie would tell her as much as a truthful answer. You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

"Of course, Lady Yuki! What do you need to know?" the woman cheerily responded, all hints of earlier annoyance now gone as she settled back down, legs tightly crossed on the apex of the roof. The choice to stay out here rather than heading inside was tactical, too. Rin was prone to fixating on the wrong thing, and staying out here rather than dragging her into an enclosed environment would give her more opportunities to lose focus and say things she might not want to. Yuki truly hoped that Rin would be reliable.

She was easy to read, and the way she jumped whenever someone snuck up on her was amusing every time.

"You are part of a clan, are you not? Surely you were taught about the modern state of the nation. Two Unbound lay dead on our doorstep, and although they were acting as mercenaries, there's no doubt in my mind that they have people who will investigate their deaths. Please, give me your best guess as to who they were." Asking about her clan, obviously, would be far too direct. Rin blinked, biting her lip as she looked toward her lap.

"Are you sure they weren't personally unbound by the nogitsune? She could have very easily made a pair of her own at some point and called them in," Rin guessed after perhaps a minute of thought. Usually, that would be a likely guess. The most common route for someone unaffiliated with a well-connected group to become an Unbound was to serve a yokai directly as a lackey, who could then be compelled to serve as needed by the promise of more materials.

It was a shame that Kiku's blood would be as toxic as Yuki's own and reduce anyone trying to incorporate it into their being into a puddle of melted gore.

"Yes," Yuki confidently answered.

"The timeline doesn't match up. Please feel free to voice your thoughts out loud if it helps. I don't mind." Rin nodded, looking down once more as her brow furrowed, falling into thought once more.

"I don't think they wanted to be here," Rin hesitantly began, uneasily looking up at Yuki, who gestured for her to go on.

"Neither of them announced their names, so I don't think they were part of a major clan. For them, it's important to announce yourself, so everyone knows who you are. I think I heard the man that John fought say something hateful about mercenaries, so I don't think he was one, either. Maybe she borrowed them from another yokai?" An interesting theory. Even more interesting was that it was "for them" or not "for us." She did not think of herself as part of a prominent clan.

The two most likely cases were either that Nagahama Rin did not see herself as part of the clan or that the Nagahama line was a smaller entity within the political landscape. Still, she announced herself rather… dramatically when she first showed up, pointing to her either personally identifying with or being taught to follow that type of decorum. In either case, such would point towards her family introducing her to those ideals at a young age.

Perhaps she was part of a branch family to a main line, striving for greater standing?

"There is a narrow chance," Yuki admitted.

"Yet, I doubt it." Besides, Yuki and her sisters had not been free for overlong, and Unbound were a precious resource to yokai; picking and moulding the exact right mortal who would be effective while still subservient to your whims for decades to come took much effort. What could she have paid to convince someone to give up two like that, even if they were weak?

"Then… maybe the nogitsune was able to get the attention of a clan, and told them to keep it quiet?" The way the Unbound's face twisted into a grimace, like she was sucking on sour grapes, was unmistakable.

"She could have offered them her blood in exchange for men for help." It would go a long way to explain the man's disgust for mercenaries, too, if he were forced to be one. She could see it now: two men, of low standing and value to their family, sent out on an errand as disposable assets in exchange for some valuable kitsune material. Of course, it would be utterly worthless and kill whoever used it in short order, but she had the charisma to ensure a favourable deal, so she didn't have to pay out until the end.

Kitsune in good standing had the reputation of honouring their deals, after all, even if the same could not be said for nogitsune. The wilds of the nation were large, and with plenty of advanced warning, she could have her Nameless burrowed elsewhere before a response could be mounted after the discovery of her treachery, especially if she made a deal with their clan for a few months of service. It'd be short enough to make the lack of serious upfront payment more tempting.

Importantly, it was confirmation that Kiku didn't plan to stick around here… And that she likely had a web of connections sprawling far beyond this place, likely relying on reports from her minions to learn of Yuki's presence, which in turn led her to find out about John. She suspected as such, given she hadn't claimed John in the past, but it was a theory growing stronger by the second. Now, were the Unbound outside the forest part of the same group, or were they some other faction Kiku pulled into this mess?

Part of her doubted it was the former due to their lack of action so far, but she couldn't confirm it just yet.

"Two years, perhaps?" Yuki murmured.

"Lady Yuki?" Rin asked.

"At most, we have two years before their masters figure out something was wrong," Yuki replied, frowning deeply. Of course, if they weren't back by mid-winter, there'd be many alarms raised, but that wasn't the point. Conflict warred in Rin's eyes as she tried her best not to look like she was staring down Yuki.

"I think we have a few months at most, Lady Yuki," she hesitantly corrected, immediately bowing her head.

"I meant no offence, my lady." Interesting. Rin had both the will and knew enough about such deals to correct her.

"None taken. If I make other such silly mistakes, please do let me know…" Yuki purposefully trailed off, swallowing harshly as she continued, faux-wistfulness leaking into her tone.

"My father was right about me, at least in some ways. I always had my head in the clouds when I should have been paying attention to matters of the earth." It wasn't hard to see the way Rin's back straightened when Yuki overenunciated the word father just a hair, nor hear how her heart sped up and her breath caught. Even her eyes took on a great focus as her stance clicked into place. Even her hands were folded in her lap, like a diligent student.

It told her much of what she needed to know, and implied a few unpleasant things about her upbringing that she had only suspected prior.

"Your father?" The question was quiet, almost breathless, as if Rin wasn't sure if it was supposed to stay a thought.

"Oh yes. He was a rather strict kitsune. My father just had to constantly have his way, and always needed a say in what I was doing. Who I was. What I would become," the kitsune said.

"He had his positive traits, too, of course. He had strong convictions, and always tried to do what was right for us, even if he was a bit bullheaded about what that was," Yuki sighed, watching as Rin attentively leaned in, as silent as the grave.

"It was a shame that I had to stop him," she sighed. The way Rin jumped would make you think she took an arrow to the gut, eyes widening as she jolted.

"What?" she blurted, before sheepishly dipping her head. Outwardly, Yuki didn't react. Inside, she winced. Unfortunate. She would have to find a way to blunt such loyalties.

"He was going to do something unforgivable, Rin. Perhaps it would have been the best for our own… but hurting so many people for our personal gain was not something my conscience could withstand. We all have our limits, and I found mine that day," she responded, watching Rin squirm as she spoke, carefully watching how uncomfortable she seemed at the idea of disobedience.

"Lady Yuki, I could never, filial piety demands…" she trailed off as Yuki reached over, a single finger lifting her chin to ensure their eyes met, pink against gold, like the sun reflecting upon a red river.

"It demands that you respect your elders and love them," she gently clarified.

"It demands that you mourn them. It also demands that you dissuade them from acting unrighteously. Some would say that you must obey them anyhow, but what if they're doing something that will tear them apart? What if they insist on condemning their soul for all eternity? What if they're leaving a legacy that generations will spit upon, or will have your family wiped out by angered kami? Are you not obligated to save them from themselves?"

A smile broke onto Yuki's face as Rin squirmed, despite the Unbound's best efforts, but she didn't pull away. With that, the seed was planted.

"Sometimes, you have to save someone from themselves, and despite the best efforts of the old, they don't live in the same world as the young," Yuki said, calmly releasing Rin's chin and standing up, offering the shorter woman her hand. Hesitantly, Rin took it, looking more than a bit embarrassed as her superior pulled her to her feet.

"My thanks, Lady Yuki," she said, but the kitsune waved her off.

"I was about to go check in on John. Would you like to come along?" she asked, and the woman eagerly nodded. The sounds of work had stopped a minute ago. It would be a long process, but a worthwhile one, she wagered. Together, the two of them hopped off the roof.