#ebisu yokai watch

[theyokaiwatchblogever]

slow day today; what are y'alls favorite "ugly" yo-kai? as in, yo-kai that aren't the stereotypical cute nyan or koma variants, nor the "hot anime guy/girl" ones.

while i personally wouldnt consider this fella "ugly" he's def not in the above categories so i like ebisu :)

fish man. you go dude.

[crunchyorochiru]

Idk where I got this crazy idea from but...

Yokai Watch Roleswap! AU

What if the good guys were the bad guys and the bad guys were the good guys?

Lore:

The yokai world used to be run by the tyrannical Enmas, the ironfist ruling family. However, when Ancient Enma died, the Enmas were finally pushed out. Rinne became the new king, and the yokai world welcomed their new ruler with open arms. He was benevolent, he promised peaceful coexistence with humans, and he would surely lead the yokai world into an era of peace- except, within nearly a decade, the Enmas make a comeback. They start with reclaiming a smaller territory, and it’s only a matter of time before they reclaim the whole yokai world again…

Swaps:

King Enma ⇄ Rinne

Venoct ⇄ Extreme Venoct

Ms. Frost (Frostina) ⇄ Extreme Blizzaria

Mr. Barton (Kyubi) ⇄ Extreme Snartle

Corptain ⇄ Extreme Shogunyan

Mermaidyn ⇄ Extreme Noko

Some people don’t swap and largely keep their role, just with some changes to their story. For example, Mckracken still rules a small territory of the yokai world and has his followers. Nate, Whisper, and Jibanyan are also about the same.

Characters:

*note about names, there's English and Japanese. Some characters don't have an English name, and I couldn't come up with a good one, so their new names remained Japanese. If y'all have suggestions for English names then be my guest.

Rinne lost his childhood friend to the Enmas, and he swore he’d oust them one day. When Ancient Enma died, he took the chance to do just that, and now he rules the yokai world. He’s doing his best to bring the world of humans and yokai coexisting that his friend wanted, but he’s also making sure the Enmas don’t reclaim power.

Stormy Venoct/ Susanoo Orochi (Goku Orochi) used to be a feared assasin, but Rinne redeemed him, so now he’s an elite servant of Rinne. He retains a scary appearance due to being unable to remove the chains Ancient Enma put on him, but he’s still popular nonetheless.

Jizou (King Enma) was meant to be the next king, but he lost the chance when his grandfather died and his family was run out. Now, for the sake of his family, he’s trying to restore their former glory. He’s not necessarily evil, but he’s under a lot of pressure to protect & uplift his family. If he ever succeeds in becoming king, he genuinely wants to do better than his predecessors.

The Serpent (Venoct) earned his name after terrorizing countless human villages, catching the attention of Ancient Enma for his strength and power. Until Ancient Enma’s death, Serpent served him with unquestionable loyalty and meted out every ruthless task asked of him. His final task was to take Lucas and kill him, because Ancient Enma believed Lucas was too weak to survive the chaos that would follow his death. Although Serpent agreed that Lucas is weak, he couldn’t bring himself to follow through because Lucas is what’s left of his master. In the end, Serpent erased Lucas’s memories, made him believe he’s human, and ended up raising him in Springdale. Serpent has very complicated feelings about Lucas, and while he knows he cares about him to some degree, he's not quite sure how to treat him.

Black Icicla/ Kuraokami Fubuki-hime (Goku Fubuki-hime) runs an ice-cream parlor with her (not cursed!) little brother in Springdale. The ice-cream parlor is a front so she and her brother can monitor the watch-holder under Rinne's orders, but they're having too much fun pretending to live a cozy life as humans.

Hachiman Bushinyan (Goku Bushinyan)

Smartle/ Omoikane Namahage (Goku Namahage) is a teacher at Springdale elementary to monitor the watch-holder under Rinne’s orders.

Fortunoko/ Ebisu Tsuchinoko (Goku Tsuchinoko)

Mckracken had ambitions to rule the yokai world, but Rinne did it first. However, Rinne gave Mckracken a small territory to satisfy his ambition and keep him from opposing him. Rinne would still keep him in check, and at first, it pissed him off that he wasn’t the “true” ruler. However, he noticed that, “shockingly”, yokai in his territory praised him when he did things they liked, and they liked him more than Rinne. He realized that with how new and unstable Rinne’s rule is, he could use his territory to abuse cracks in the system and take over as the true ruler. With this in mind, Mckracken ruled his territory as benevolent as possible in order to foster loyalty in his subjects, waiting till’ the day the whole yokai world was his. Ofc, the Enma’s had the same realization as Mckracken, so they took the territory from him.

Yokai Watch (game 1):

Nate/Katie is a regular human kid who suddenly gains the ability to see yokai! Oh joy! Summer just got interesting for them, and they’re having fun until they discover a conspiracy about the yokai world. A false king has taken over the yokai world, and it’s up to them to help restore the rightful ruler, Enma. Who doesn’t want a chance to save the world? So they go to the yokai world, fight off the false king, and everything is fine and dandy! Right? Wrong. They were lied to. The false king was a good ruler, but Nate/Katie just helped restore the yokai world’s imperialistic, ironfist royalty. Now, seeing yokai isn’t so fun anymore. Because of them, their world won’t be safe. To make things right, they join forces with the “false” king to make seals and close the barrier between worlds. Nate/Katie regrets what happened, so for the rest of the summer, they try to forget what happened and act “normal.” When the barrier opens again and their yokai friends go to see them, Nate/Katie wants nothing to do with them. They doomed their world, they don’t deserve to be their friend. Whisper lets them know that they hadn’t doomed the whole yokai world, it was a small territory that Enma took over. All of their yokai friends know Nate/Katie is a child and didn’t know better. It takes a while, but eventually Nate/Katie feels good enough to be with their friends again.

Yokai Watch 2:

Although Rinne knows Nate/Katie is just a child who didn’t know better, their part in giving the Enma’s a foot into ruling the yokai world again is too big to ignore. Rinne enlists Dame Deartime to make it so Nate/Katie never gets the yokai watch, but that ends up useless because Master Nyada gives it back to them. Upon regaining the yokai watch and their memories, Nate/Katie is determined to not let the events of game 1 happen again. However, it’s really hard, because the timeline is trying to correct itself by compelling Nate/Katie to repeat events. Nate/Katie ends up in the past and discovers that their Grandfather made the watch. Although it’s a cool discovery, they consider thwarting the creation of the watch so they can never endanger the yokai world. They don’t do it because they still want to see their friends. The Bony vs Fleshy donut war still happens, but this time the donut premise isn’t as stupid, because if Arachnus and Toadal Dude don’t present something Ancient Enma likes, they will be punished. Dame Deartime’s subordinates infiltrate both sides in an attempt to stop the fighting and convince them to rise up against the tyrant rather than arguing in fear, because Dame Deartime saw that an Enma-free future is possible, but they aren’t listened to. At that point Nate/Katie’s presence is noticed, so they get sent back to their time… but something’s off. Although everything seems normal, things are displaced out of time. Believing it to be related to the past, Nate/Katie goes back in time and fights Dame Deartime, who’s apologetic to them. Dame Deartime reveals that the world won’t be safe until time is set right, so everything that happened in the original timeline has to happen again. She’s sorry that Nate/Katie is saddled with a heavy role as a child, but Nate/Katie promises that they will make the future as good as it can be. They return to their own time, preparing for what they must do.

I haven't finished Yokai Watch 3 and don't know the plot of 4, so I can't include those here.

Enma tournament:

Rinne hosts a Yokai World Martial Arts Tournament, but it’s hijacked by the Jizou, who renames the tournament in his family’s name. Jizou announces that his subordinates will be entering the tournament, and if any of them win, the Serpent will kill Rinne. It’s a great risk, but Rinne isn’t sure if rejecting this offer is also worth the risk, so he accepts. The tournament is very tense, and it seems like the Serpent is about to win, but Nate/Katie joins at the last second to fight for the yokai world. They win.

[aura-bug]

Takarabune parody with Yo-Kai Watch's Seven Lucky Gods of Fortune (click for higher quality)

[marine-indie-gal]

Izanami

The Japanese Goddess of Creation and Death, The Wife/Sister of Izanagi. She is also the Mother of Kagutsuchi and Mizuhanome. Her Name means “She-Who-Invites” or “Female-Who-Invites”. The First Japanese Deities (Kunitokotachi and Amenominakanushi) created Izanagi and Izanami, only then did these two Deities create a land of their own, They even had a spear of their own covered in Jewels (Amenonuhoko) which helped them created their lands after when the Couple went to the Bridge between Land and Earth. Onogoroshima was the very first creation of their Land since it was their Home as the Two Primordial Deities created the World such as the Other Lands besides their own Island. They once had Two Children named Hiruko (who would go on to become “Ebisu”, one of the Japanese Seven Gods of Fortune) and Awashima. Both of which were deformed and weren’t really considered to be Deities. They put their first children in a Boat and set them out to Sea which petitioned the Other Gods for an answer of what they did wrong. They were told that a God should’ve been spoken first in greeting during the Marriage Ceremony. So Izanagi and Izanami went around the Pillar again, this time Izanagi was speaking first on how they met which made their Marriage finally successful. After their marriage was redone, they became the Progenitors of Many Gods that represented each aspect of Nature. They bore more islands and more deities. However, what became a huge change towards their marriage was leading into the birth of Kagutsuchi (The Japanese Fire God) as Izanami died during her Last Childbirth. After their Last Child of Fire burned his Mother to Death during pregnancy, Izanami ended up in Yomi (The Japanese Underworld that was filled with Monsters such as the Oni). Izanagi went to Yomi so he could rescue his Wife and bring her Back. When he found her, he walked closer with the Light in his hand and saw his Wife horrifying and dead. She sent out Other Evil Spirits to attack her Brother/Husband but Izanagi escaped as he blocked the Exit of Yomi. Izanami cried as she screamed since her Husband left her, that means she would’ve killed 1,000 people from the land every day. Her Brother was furious because he would’ve given life to 1,500 people. Izanami became the Goddess of the Dead and even the Queen of Yomi, thus, she never went back with her Husband after her Childbirth Death.

SBSP Universe

Lady Izanami is The Japanese Goddess of Death and Creation, the Ex-Wife of Izanagi, the Mother of Susanno, Amaterasu, and Kagutsuchi. She is the Lady of the Japanese Underworld, Yomi. She seems very Vengeful and Temperamental as she’s Heartbroken for the fact that her Husband left her in Yomi. Although Izanagi tried to have her back as she did loved him, she felt like that she was blinded by Anger due to the fact that her former beloved Izanagi didn’t listen to her dying breath after when she died of Childbirth when she gave birth to their Last Child (Kagutsuchi). Unlike Hel, she’s actually very strict in being the Lady of Yomi since she often takes care of the Japanese Evil Spirits including some of the Yokai Creatures (mostly the Oni) and mainly watches over the Dead. Yomi is downright the scariest place of all of the Underworlds as it’s much scarier compared to the Other Lords’ own Underworlds. When she gets really angry as she gets more badly-tempered, she can scream and turn her face into a horrifying skull face as if it was melted and burned horribly with dark tears tripping over while her hair grows long due to her Anger (in this case, she has prehensile hair). She and Izanagi met when they were both Young Adults as Izanagi promised to Izanami that they would make the entire world a better place. They agreed as they created new lands for each of the World and gained an Entire Clan of Gods. Izanami bore Izanagi their own Children (Susanno and Amaterasu). As the years went by, they were very much a loving Family growing up when Susanno and Amaterasu were toddlers but when Izanami got pregnant the Third Time, they were expecting a Third Sibling in their own Children’s lives but she ended up getting sick through pregnancy. When Kagutsuchi came into the World, Izanagi was overjoyed to finally have a Second Son but he didn’t notice that his wife was dying so he went to Yomi to find her. Only then, what he found in his wife was a terrifying Dead Woman with a Melting-Like Skull on her Face as Black Tears dripped down from her Face which terrified the Japanese God as Izanami sent out other Demons to attack her Husband for not realizing his Wife’s dying breathe as Izanagi closed the Underworld with a Bounder to keep the Demons out of it. Soon, the Two were now divorced as Izanagi never went back to her Family where she now had to rule over Yomi as her New Home with the Oni as her New People. Although even if she does miss her Family, her Son (Susanno) would always often visit his Mother since Susanno was a Mama’s Boy who missed Her very much. She doesn’t like Neptune and she completely despises Poseidon because of how much he reminded her of her Ex-Love. Although she does get along with Pluto and Hades, she’s not a fan of Other Non-Death Deities. She’s part of the Five Lords and Two Ladies of the Underworld. She completely despises The Flying Dutchman for how he messes around with Death. She also represents Envy due to how she’s very jealous seeing Couples who are Happy together that reminded Her and Izanagi’s Former Love. She would hate SpongeBob and his Friends but Plankton would be the only Sea Creature that she would like.

Kali

The Hindu Goddess of Doomsday, Time, and Death. One of the Wives of Shiva. In Hinduism, she is considered and depicted as a ferocious goddess in a form from Durga (The Hindu Goddess of Protection, Strength, and War). She is the First of the Ten Mahavidyas. In one of her Most Earliest Appearances is when she emerged from Shiva (The Hindu God of Destruction) as she was regarded as the ultimate manifestation of Shakti (The Primordial Cosmic Energy) and even the Mother of All Living Beings. She is stated to destroy Evil and even to protect the Innocent. In Hindu Myths, Durga was out on a War with the Matrikas fighting off the Demon (Raktabija) along with his own Minions of Other Demons. When a blood drip from Raktabija, a duplicate of Himself pops up, causing the War to be more difficult. This caused Durga to get even more angered as clones of the Demon would pop up as Durga causes Kali to appear right from her Bindi. Kali killed Raktabija and the rest of his own duplicates in order for Kali to stop the War between Devas and Asuras. The Battle was over thanks to Kali but unfortunately for Her, she couldn’t stop as she waged on a Murderspree of everything that she came across for she danced on the Dead. Shiva had to stop Kali by having himself stepped on her from the Ground of the Dead which made her instantly stop Dancing and realizing that she was dancing on her Husband’s Body who briefly calmed her.

SBSP Universe

Kali is the Hindu Goddess of Doomsday, Time, and Death. She is the Sister of Durga. She is very Insane, Crazy, and Wildly Chaotic as she loves causing Chaos of Death and Doom upon her feet whenever she walks on the Death of her Enemies. She always goes through massive murder sprees of Enemies that she always faces up when she battles through Evil. She’s not entirely evil as most people would think as she’s often over hyperactive but she can be gentle when she remains calm, especially when she’s around small critters that she adores. Kali and Shiva were once in love until she went on a killing spree of killing the sinful ones and even destroying their lands one by one, Shiva knew that Kali would be way too dangerous to have her as his wife so they had to break up only because it was best for them, especially for Kali since she never really understood on how it feels to be somebody’s lover. Much like Bastet and Sekhmet, Kali has a positive relationship with her own Sister (Durga) since Durga represented the Patience and Justice of War while Kali represented the Brutal Side of War with the Cries from each Battle. She even had to help out her Sister during the War between the Asuras and Devas as Kali had beaten up Raktabija and killed all of his Clones. She didn’t fully kill the Hindu Demon, but she had to let him go as Raktabija instantly ran away from her after the War. But after some time when Raktabija took revenge on the Devas again, Kali and Raktabija had an Epic Death-Defying battle as Kali stepped on Raktabija, forcing him to give up as Kali danced on his Body as if she won and danced her own Macabre. Shiva knew that Kali was too crazy and yet strong to fight off a Bad Guy so Shiva swooped in as Kali was accidentally stepping on him. She didn’t realize it was Shiva that she danced on, but Kali and her Sister had to patch things up after they punished Raktabija off to Naraka. She does like Neptune but she often terrifies Poseidon since he’s very afraid of her due to her chaotic nature. Though, she is nothing at all like Discordia and Eris compare to their own Chaotic Natures, Kali is very different from them. She also happens to be Best Friends with Sekhmet as the Two get along for their own War affairs together. She would also get along with Patrick as the Two would bring Chaos together upon the Sea.

[carrotcouple]

In The Land of Higashiizumo (AO3)

Kiun has four jobs. One, working for an organization called ‘Equilibrium’. Two, guarding the gate of Yomi. Three, taking care of his cousins. Four, being Takemikazuchi’s anchor. The last one is the hardest. It is also the one Kiun is the most invested in.

Chapter 7 - Attack

“I ran into him in the library again.” Hiyori told Kiun as they assembled in the meeting room for S class members. Hiyori wasn’t an S class member but she was there to watch the proceedings. “He was a little cold at first when I was talking to him, but when I told him that we were all here for him, he seemed genuinely surprised. He’s not much of a Weizhi, is he? He doesn’t seem to be able to decipher our honest feelings at all.” Hiyori frowned.

“I think he’s just really nervous when Takemikazuchi is around.” Kiun suggested. Hiyori looked at him.

“Oh! You didn’t put in a ‘sama’!” Hiyori grinned. Kiun’s face reddened.

“Th-that was because he asked me to!” Kiun said flustered.

“Is that so?” Sayuri asked as she suddenly showed up and took her seat. She smirked at him. “Honestly Kiun, have you been making any progress at all?” Sayuri said with a teasing voice.

“Sayuri san!” Kiun cried out.

“You’ve been getting rather close to Yato kun, Hiyori.” Sayuri stated her observation.

“Well...I don’t think he’s a bad person. I just get the feeling you know. After I told him we were all here for him he seemed to relax a bit and talk more, he even laughed when I told him that Kiun san was a worry wart!” Hiyori giggled. Kiun sighed. The mother and daughter were bullying him.

“But I wasn’t expecting him to come find me like that. Oh, Kiun, you don’t know what Yato kun did, do you?” Sayuri asked him. Kiun shook his head. “He came running to me right after I got Masaomi and he grabbed my arm. At first I wasn’t sure what he was up to but then he looked up at me with terrified eyes and told me that Hiyori had run off to where a powerful Guancha zhe was. I had already been told it was Sarutahiko so I hurried as fast as possible, Yato, fidgeting next to me the whole time. You guys were right, he does seem far more meltable than Takemikazuchi was at first.”

Kiun thought back to what Takemikazuchi had told all of them.

“Heck, I don’t even know how much of this body is actually mine. What if all of it is the raijuu?”

“Takemikazuchi was...different…” Kiun whispered.

Hiyori looked white.

“Hiyori, I want your personal opinion for something important.” Sayuri said quietly. Hiyori and Kiun both turned to look at her. “Can I start to put my trust in Yato?”

Kiun’s eyes widened. Even though he agreed that Yato was definitely starting to thaw, he would say no. The fact still was that Yato was attempting to do something against equilibrium for his father. But it wasn’t his place to say a thing. It was Hiyori’s and Sayuri was deciding to trust Hiyori’s judgement.

“Yes,” Hiyori said firmly. “He has ways to go, but he’s getting there.”

“Understood.” Sayuri stood up. “Is everyone assembled?” Tenjin called affirmative. “I’m pretty sure all of you already know, but I will brief all of you again just in case. Three hours ago, Sarutahiko crashed into Higashiizumo on the body of a raijuu. He claimed that there were hundreds of yokai coming here because of the shields and barriers having been torn down recently. Kiun confirmed that for us when he looked into the raijuu to discover the raijuu had been coming to warn all of us.” Instantly everyone began whispering in disgust. No one liked Sarutahiko. “Masaomi is currently outside, strengthening the barriers and shields with everything he has with others on watch duty. We’ll be hit with the brunt of it in three hours, so our job is go out there, fight, protect and strengthen barriers and shields. I’ve drafted up everyone’s positions.” Sayuri started to tell everyone where to go. Hiyori watched with something akin to sparkling respect.

“Mom, can I come?” Hiyori asked once Sayuri was done and had dismissed all of them. Kiun, Takemikazuchi, Ebisu and Kunimi who had stayed behind stared at Hiyori. Ebisu chuckled.

“Is there a better place to learn than at the actual battlefield?” Ebisu said, but his eyes were jade green instead of his normal dark green and they all knew that it was the Ningyo in him speaking.

“That is true, however, she cannot survive on the battlefield long enough to become a training ground for her.” Sayuri said, a respectful tone in her voice.

“Actually,” Kiun spoke up, surprising even himself. “She can probably survive longer than quite of a few of our Guancha zhes. I saw the wall she put up in between Sarutahiko and us. I think she’s more than ready.” Kiun said honestly. Hiyori looked him with a hopeful look on her face.

“Kiun, you do know what you’re saying, right?” Sayuri asked quietly. Kiun saw the look she was giving him. The look she was giving him was of a worried mother, not head Jianhuren and Kiun knew she was unknowingly giving him that look.

“As her teacher, would you let me take her to the battlefield, Jianhuren sama? I have full confidence in her abilities.” Kiun said formally. Sayuri looked startled and then embarrassed that she had let her personal feelings overcome the fact that she had a job as the head Jianhuren and that was running Higashiizumo.

“Very well, Kiun. You’ll have to keep an eye on her though.” Sayuri turned and picked up charm she always wore around her neck from the table.

“I intend to do just that, Sayuri san. This is a lesson for Hiyori chan after all...and...I’m stronger than before. My raijuu, he’s awake.” Kiun stated. All of them turned to Kiun with shock on their faces.

“He’s awake?” Kunimi cried out.

“When did he? Has he said anything?” Takemikazuchi asked.

“Do you have any hint as to why he was asleep?” Ebisu wanted to know.

“Do you know why he woke up?” Sayuri demanded an answer.

Hiyori watched the adults get worked up in confusion.

“I’m not sure.” Kiun shrugged. “We haven’t talked about it yet. I guess we’ll get around to it eventually. He’s a funny guy.” The raijuu growled in warning. “OK, OK, I’m sorry, I won’t tease you.” Kiun chuckled.

“Honestly...how much do you know about your raijuu that you treasure him and trust him so much?” Kunimi sighed.

“Well, he saved my life, I don’t need anything else to trust him for. He saved me when no one else would and twice too. He stayed with me to keep me alive. He cares about me.” Kiun grinned.

“A story that only one of us in this room has heard. You don’t have to get all happy about it if you don’t plan on telling us about how you first got your raijuu.” Ebisu made a face and turned to walk out. Kiun stifled a laugh as they all started to file out of the room.

“That’s it!” Takemikazuchi exclaimed.

“What’s it?” Hiyori asked.

“It struck me how very much like a raijuu Kiun was when he attacked Sarutahiko, it was almost as if he was a raijuu himself, only he had human form. But when you think about it, if that’s the kind of power a jiijin can get from being on the same wavelength of your yokai then we’d have all kinds of powerful people around us. But things aren’t like that. If there are super Guancha zhes, then the same can be said for jiijins although this is our first time seeing it. Maybe there is a different class of Jiijins entirely. Kiun is one of those. Jiijin’s with enough power to host an A class yokai and who knows, maybe even an S class yokai. Yukine might very well be one of those. But you see, I think yokai are attracted to special jiijins just as much as they are attracted to Weizhis, except with a Weizhi, yokai are a lot more careful. I’ve always found it odd that when I’m by myself, yokai observe me but don’t come close but yokai approach me when Kiun is around. Yukine doesn’t like yokai, but I believe the Yukionna saved him from something. The Yukionna didn’t possess him, take over his body and go on a rampage! That was Yukine and the Yukionna being on the perfect wavelength together, just like Kiun was!” Takemikazuchi explained excitedly. All of them stared at him. “Ebisu must have been a special type too.” Takemikazuchi gestured at Ebisu.

“You’re right.” Ebisu chuckled. “Jianhuren dono, I believe your Weizhi is smarter than most. Not even other Weizhis have thought this up and naturally assumed that the Jiijins were unstable, far too powerful, or the yokai had already crushed the host’s soul. There’s such a thing as people chosen by different Kami. After all, Weizhis are those born with the power of a Kami’s blessing or curse.” The Ningyo grinned toothily. “Well, I believe we have a war against yokai to see to.” Ebisu turned and started to walk off.

“Wait a moment, why was I given this power? I didn’t ask for it!” Takemikazuchi shouted. Ebisu turned back.

“Who knows what the Kamis have in mind. I only know that, you will one day see that you were given this power for a reason.” The Ningyo shrugged. “Kunimi, let’s be off.” It was suddenly Ebisu speaking and Kunimi nodded and ran after Ebisu.

“I wonder how Kunimi san handles both the Ningyo and Ebisu san?” Hiyori wondered out loud. Kiun looked at Takemikazuchi who was expressionless. To be honest, Kiun didn’t know what to say. He didn’t know how to make Takemikazuchi feel better. No matter what he said it wouldn’t change the fact that Takemikazuchi had been through far too much in his life. His life was practically the worst injustice Kiun had ever heard of. But at the same time, Kiun was glad for his Weizhi powers, for it meant that even if Takemikazuchi’s Ban Shen powers failed him, Kiun could protect him even if he wasn’t there. Kiun could meet and love him because he was a Ban Shen rescued from an illegal laboratory.

It was so selfish of him to think things like that. He should have instead wished that even if he would have never met Takemikazuchi, even if he could never see Takemikazuchi grin at him that Takemikazuchi could have grown up as a normal child and would have lived a normal life. Perhaps because he knew that it was useless thinking of what could never be and rather what he could do now. Kiun quickly went to Takemikazuchi’s side.

“Takemikazuchi sa-” Kiun started. He stopped and then quickly corrected himself. “Takemikazuchi, shall we go?” Takemikazuchi looked at Kiun. The least Kiun could do was let him know that even if the whole world turned against them, he would be by his side. Takemikazuchi had a mask up, Kiun could tell. He was trying to appear unaffected, normal.

“Don’t you have to keep an eye on Hiyori chan?” Takemikazuchi asked him with a raised eyebrow. Kiun started. He was right. As Hiyori’s teacher, Kiun’s first priority was her, not Takemikazuchi. This was his role in Higashiizumo. Kiun nodded.

“That’s right...what about you Takemikazuchi, will you be able to fight?” Kiun asked. His smile was fake. The smile Takemikazuchi gave him was not a happy one.

“Well, I don’t want to hurt you, so I’ll be careful. I promise, I think I’ve gotten an idea on how to do things.” Takemikazuchi shrugged turned and walked out.

“What was that, are you two actually stupid? Just kiss and be done with it.” Sayuri muttered.

“Sayuri san!” Kiun cried. Well at least, she couldn’t seem to tell exactly what Takemikazuchi had meant.

“Mom!” Hiyori was scarlet. “What are you even talking about? Kiun san and Takemikazuchi san are-” Hiyori sounded confused and embarrassed.

“Oh, you didn’t know? That’s no good Hiyori, as the next Jianhuren you have to be able to at least tell what the S Class members are feeling. Kiun is in love with Takemikazuchi.” Sayuri sounded way too serious.

“Sayuri san! Don’t just go around telling whoever you please! And especially not Hiyori chan!” Kiun wailed, his face, he was sure was probably redder than the bright red on Hiyori’s hoodie. Hiyori looked stunned and red too. She slowly turned to look at Kiun.

“I...I didn’t know, Kiun san…” She said slowly. And then it was like a switch turned on in her head. “Oh my kamisama! I should have known! It was obvious with the way you look at Takemikazuchi san!” Hiyori gasped. Now Kiun wanted to just vanish, disappear into the ground. He made a strangled noise and then grabbed Hiyori’s arm and pulled her with him as he marched out of the room.

“Sayuri san, I swear I’m going to get back at you for this!” Kiun yelled. He could hear the Jianhuren behind them laugh loudly.

------o------

“So, you’re major job for now is making a shield or barrier, any is fine. I’m not going to ask you to do anything complicated. If you manage to do something then that’s great, but for now, you need to just see what is going on around you. This is a learning process and I don’t want you to put yourself in any unnecessary danger.” Kiun explained as he tightened the knees pads he was putting on Hiyori just in case. It hadn’t been long since she had skinned her knees and elbows when Yato and Takemikazuchi went on their rampage.

“Then how about you stand next to me at all times, Kiun san?” Hiyori asked briefly glancing at the people that ran past them with armfuls of scrolls. She lowered her voice and spoke in hushed tones. “We know Takemikazuchi san will try his best not to hurt you but there are chances you might not be able to use your power properly, so maybe you should stay next to me so I can put a barrier or shield in front of you too.”

Kiun smiled at her and then patted his stomach softly.

“Thank you for your concern, Hiyori chan, but I’m pretty sure me and my raijuu can manage since he’s awake - although he seems rather opposed to answering questions on why he has been asleep for so long.” Kiun reassured her. She pouted and then turned to look around. Kiun looked around as well. Guancha zhes, Jiijins and Ban Shens were running around. Hiyori’s father and some of the strong Guancha zhes were watching over the children in the Institute. At the front line in each important corner of Higashiizumo was an S Class member. Takemikazuchi was in the in the farthest corner away from Kiun and Kiun felt anxious. Already yokai had come slipping in and they had been promptly slain or thrown out by members on the Institution.

“I wonder if Yukine kun and Yato kun are OK…” Hiyori said softly. “They probably want to know what is going on.”

“I just hope they keep their noses out of trouble.” Kiun muttered.

“I think they’ll be fine.” Hiyori said gently.

“A horde of yokai are approaching from the south!” Bishamon’s voice crackled in all of the walkie-talkies.

“This is Takemikazuchi, I sense them coming from all directions. The largest amount is in the direction of Iwasaki Shrine. Jianhuren dono, should I change locations?” Unease filled Kiun. Ever since Takemikazuchi had become the Ban Shen Kiun worked under, there wasn’t single fight in Higashiizumo that they hadn’t fought together side by side and now they were apart. Anxiety was eating him inside out. What if Takemikazuchi got hurt? Kiun wasn’t there by his side.

“Stay where you are, Ebisu should be able to handle them with those in his area.” Sayuri’s voice replied. “Brace yourselves.”

“They’re here!” Takemikazuchi yelled. Kiun watched in something close to awe as he saw differently colored shields and barriers go up. He had seen this sight before but it still caught him off guard every time. Since he and Hiyori were in the inner defence circle they could only watch and wait for some yokai to slip past the first circle and come to the second circle. The goal was to turn the yokai back and to either seal the insistent yokai or kill them if necessary. Hiyori looked both excited and scared.

“Kiun san, why is it that we have to keep yokai away from yomi? Don’t some of them go in?” Hiyori asked. There was noise everywhere, people were shouting and yokai were clamouring. Kiun could see flying and jumping yokai crashing into Masaomi and Sayuri’s impressive barrier.

“Some yokai that go into Yomi have different reasons for going in. The ones that we allow to go in usually have offerings for Izanami kamisama, but others usually want to bring unspeakable things out of Yomi and some powerful enough would try to even bring Izanami kamisama herself out of Yomi.” Kiun explained. The sky lit up from the direction of Ankokuji Shrine. He turned and saw a stream of lightning. Kiun only felt a little bit of his power drain. “He’s doing it…” Kiun said quietly.

“How are you feeling, Kiun san?” Hiyori asked in concern.

“I feel fine.” Kiun said quietly, looking down at his hands.

“Does that mean Takemikazuchi san now has control over his Weizhi powers?” Hiyori asked excitedly. The ground rumbled underneath them. “Kiun san to your left!” Hiyori shouted. Kiun spun around and jumped backwards just as a giant yokai burst out of the ground. Instantly Hiyori had a barrier over the two of them as it swiped it’s sharp and large claws down at them.

“Bakeneko!” Kiun yelled. “Hiyori take down the barrier, I’ll deal with it!” Hiyori let down the barrier and then Kiun drew on the raijuu’s power.

Let’s see how your fighting has improved, little one. The raijuu rumbled.

Kiun jumped at the Bakeneko, easily avoiding the sharp claws and slammed his lightning covered knee into it’s face. Guancha zhes let out loud cries of surprise and moved out of the way as the Bakeneko fell to the ground, Kiun still on top of it.

“Hiyori, do you think you can transport this guy to the edge of Higashiizumo? Preferably where your brother is.” Kiun jumped off of the Bakeneko and turned to Hiyori. Hiyori nodded.

“I’ll try.” She said with a determined look on her face. Everyone backed away from the Bakeneko and Hiyori let down the shield she had put up around herself and stretched out her arms. Her eyebrows furrowed together as a look of concentration came on her face. Kiun turned to look at the Bakeneko and then it suddenly lifted into the air and a large purple sphere formed around it. It floated and wobbled a bit before it started to move towards the place where Masaomi was.

“Kiun san, I haven’t seen you in action for a year now! You’re still as great as ever!” One of the Guancha zhes complimented him.

“For a year?” Hiyori asked as they continued to turn back huge amounts of yokai.

“I haven’t been really active since I became Takemikazuchi sama’s Jiijin.” Kiun explained. “He usually is pretty aggressive so before I have the chance to do anything, he’ll have already completed the task.”

“Kiun san,” Hiyori asked as they saw Bishamon leap backwards in the air and slice a yokai in three pieces with her elongated nails. “What kind of Ban Shen is Bishamon san?”

“A kamaitachi,” Kiun answered.

“A kamaitachi? Isn’t that an ability to use the wind as knives?” Hiyori tilted her head as she looked at him.

“You’re correct. A kamaitachi is a weasel like creature. No one is exactly sure what they look like since they ride sand devils. But they have the distinct ability to cut people with their long claws and control wind.” Kiun slammed his fist into a Onibaba that approached them.

“Everyone back off! The barrier is going up!” Someone shouted through the walkie-talkie.

“Get back.” Kiun put his hand on Hiyori’s arm and the two of them stepped back. Both of them watched a colored glass like barrier go up. Yokai around them wailed and screeched in distress and then it was silent.

“Where did all the yokai go?” Hiyori looked around in confusion.

“Ever since the all the barriers went down Sayuri san and your brother have been working on putting the barrier back up the way it was before plus some new additions. It’s taken them nearly a week to finish this barrier and now that they’ve finished it everything is balanced yet again.” Kiun dusted his shirt off, watching dirt slip off and yokai blood stick. “It’s a very difficult barrier considering it’s a barrier created over centuries and contains so many elements to it. When you’re finally considered a full fledged Jianhuren, you’ll be shown the book in which all the laws and elements to the barrier is written.”

“Kiun, your charge, Yukine, has gone missing.” Ebisu landed next to them. Blood was soaking his pants and both Kiun and Hiyori tried not to look at the gaping gash across Ebisu’s back.

“Yukine has gone missing?” Kiun asked in surprise. “I would have thought Yato would go missing a hundred times over before Yukine did!” Kiun turned to look at Hiyori. “Do you think you can go back to the Institute and join the search? I’ll go see Takemikazuchi sama and ask him to find Yukine with his abilities.”

“I’ll go. Perhaps Yato kun will be able to help. Also, Kiun san, you started using ‘sama’ again.” Hiyori turned and ran towards the Institute. Kiun shook his head at her and then went to go find Takemikazuchi. Takemikazuchi was bent over the fallen body of a Mujina.

“Takemikazuchi! Things went we-” Kiun hurried over and froze when he saw the amount of blood dripping from the cuts on his arms that went all the way down to his wrist.

“Well, I don’t want to hurt you, so I’ll be careful. I promise, I think I’ve gotten an idea on how to do things.”

“You-” Kiun cried, rushing over in horror as he understood what Takemikazuchi had meant. “You purposely undid your second seal to make the raijuu power overpower you Weizhi power use?” Kiun screamed.

“Ah, crap, you saw…” Takemikazuchi dryly chuckled.

“This isn’t funny!” Kiun shouted. “Why would you do this?”

“I wanted to use the power of a Ban Shen, not a Weizhi, that’s why. I didn’t want to be a monster.” Takemikazuchi wobbled onto his feet. Kiun dashed forward and supported the black haired male.

“And I keep telling you, you’re not a monster!” Kiun hissed. “Let’s get you to the Institute right away.” Kiun drew on the power from his raijuu and headed to the Institute, Takemikazuchi clinging to him with bloodied fingers. Kiun put Takemikazuchi on one of the clinic beds. “We need a Jianhuren right away!” Kiun yelled, trying to stanch the bleeding with his hands. It made him sick. He hated having to see Takemikazuchi like this. Maybe it would be better if he just used his Weizhi powers.

Takemikazuchi was pale and his limbs were trembling. Kiun swallowed. He had only heard what it was like for a Ban Shen’s second seal to actually come undone. The yokai tried to take over and in order to do that, they would have to reconstruct the Ban Shen’s body into their own. So at the very moment, Takemikazuchi was suffering the pain of the raijuu trying to rip his body apart and make something else.

“I’ll take care of this. Kiun san, I’m going to have to ask you to step outside.” Masaomi walked over.

“Why do I have to step outside?” Kiun asked in confusion, his grip on Takemikazuchi only tightening. “I’ve always been here during the seal making and when the wound is stitched up. Why are you asking me to go out?”

“Please step outside, Kiun san. If you would like you can join the search party for Yukine kun.” Masaomi gently pushed Kiun towards the clinic door. Kiun flinched as the door was closed in his face.

“Kiun san? Will you be joining the search party?” Aiha, one of the Guancha zhes who was good at seals, asked him. She has left the room just as he had been shoved out.

“I guess I’ll join…” Kiun mumbled. Kiun turned and walked off, leaving Aiha standing there. He ran into Hiyori rather quickly.

“Kiun san! You have to come and see this!” Hiyori said, grabbing his hand and dragging him with her. They had just arrived at the main classroom when he spotted Yato standing inside his arms stretched out strangely.

“Yato kun, did you find Yukine kun?” Kiun asked, curiously.

“He’s right here.” Yato answered.

“Huh?” Kiun blinked and then he directed his gaze properly at the empty space in front of Yato. He blinked again and then there the blond boy was standing, shivering and clutching a flimsy piece of paper to his chest. “No way, is he using his Jiijin powers?” Kiun gasped.

“He is. You’ll never guess what he’s done.” Hiyori said. Kiun walked over to Yukine and put his hand on Yukine’s shoulder.

“Are you OK, Yukine kun?” Kiun asked. Yukine’s skin was starting to look like paper to Kiun. Yukine looked up at Kiun. His eyes were bloodshot and he looked terrified.

“Here, I got this.” Yukine thrust the piece of paper he was holding into Kiun’s other hand. Kiun glanced at it.

“You got the blueprint? What were you thinking? You could have gotten into trouble!” Kiun cried out.

Yukine smiled wryly.

“I remembered that I could draw the power of the Yukionna through a small flaw in the seal put on me. When I tried it I could see barriers and shields and Yato couldn’t see me. Everyone was outside dealing with whatever you guys were dealing with. There was no way I couldn’t use this opportunity.”

“That’s pure recklessness.” Kiun murmured, looking down at the scratchy chicken like scrawl Yukine had done. “Are you OK? You look awful. It must be because this is the first time you’ve knowingly used the power of the Yukionna. You should take a seat.” Kiun propelled the boy onto one of the chairs. Then he took out his walkie-talkie. “This is Kiun, I found Yukine kun, he was reading books in the special class. I’ll take of him.”

“Where is Takemikazuchi san and why are you covered in blood?” Yukine asked, making a face.

“That idiot is in the clinic for his stupidity and most of this is his blood and yokai blood.” Kiun muttered unhappily. All three in the class stared with wide eyes.

“That’s the first time I’ve heard Kiun san say something like that about Takemikazuchi san. Is he OK?” Yukine asked, looking at Hiyori.

“I wonder…” Hiyori said.

“Ah, I get it.” Yato said knowingly.

“Quiet, kids.” Kiun rolled his eyes.

“I tried to copy the blueprint as clearly as possible. I wasn’t sure how much time I had.” Yukine pointed out, effortlessly changing the topic.

“It looks recognizable. Thanks, Yukine kun. You just got paler. Maybe we should take you to the clinic.” Kiun reached for the boy in worry.

“I’m fine.” Yukine brushed Kiun’s hand away and Kiun was struck with how ice cold Yukine’s hand was. Yukine got to his feet. “I think I just need to slee-” Kiun, Hiyori and Yato watched in horror as Yukine’s skin turned as white as snow and his eyes rolled back just as he fell forward. Yato was the one to catch him before he hit the ground.

“Yukine kun!” Hiyori and Kiun cried.

“Yukine! Oi, Yukine!” Yato shouted.

“Get him to the clinic at once!” Kiun yelled.

Author Note - Thank you for putting up with the wait for the new chapter yet again! Although this chapter didn’t have as much Takiun action as the last chapter, it leads to a lot of Takiun action in the next chapter. So look forward to the next chapter. I’m not going to give any of you guys any hints as to what will happen next. And as always, my thanks to wuminguk for taking her time to translate this into Chinese and help me out when I need help with Chinese terminology. Teehee~

[carrotcouple]

In The Land of Higashiizumo (AO3)

Kiun has four jobs. One, working for an organization called ‘Equilibrium’. Two, guarding the gate of Yomi. Three, taking care of his cousins. Four, being Takemikazuchi’s anchor. The last one is the hardest. It is also the one Kiun is the most invested in.

Chapter 6: Plan of Action

“So how are things going with your practice?” Hiyori asked Kiun as they sat down in the Jianhuren classroom, a bewildered Yato coming behind them.

“He’s getting the hang of it, so it would seem. The first few times it was a failure and I had to eat more of that Yokai medicine. Ebisu sama seems the most amused by all of this. Anyway, he can control his power to the point my lightning has dimmed only a little bit. In an actual fight, I don’t know how effective it’ll be. But the major issue is, has your mother discovered that you’ve been stealing sacred thread and using the raijuu seal spell?” Kiun whispered. Hiyori frowned and turned towards Yato, absentmindedly rubbing ointment on his wrists to heal the rope marks on them.

“I don’t think she’s noticed.” Hiyori told Kiun. “At least she hasn’t noticed it yet.”

“How are you feeling?” Hiyori asked Yato. “Sorry about knocking you out for so long.”

“And I keep telling you he was probably under a spell.” Yukine muttered.

“So exactly what did you people gain by letting me out so quickly?” Yato asked bluntly. He turned to Yukine. “What do you even have to do with any of these guys?” Yukine shrugged.

“They seemed interesting.”

“Yato, how about you tell me what we gain by letting you out?” Takemikazuchi walked up to Yato. Yato looked up at Takemikazuchi and then dropped his gaze. Kiun wondered if the boy was unnerved by Takemikazuchi’s stare. A lot of people got nervous when Takemikazuchi looked at them.

“Other than getting a whole lot more trouble on your plate, I have absolutely no idea.” Yato shrugged as he fiddled with Hiyori’s pen on the table.

“You have a pretty good guess, but you won’t say, am I right?” Takemikazuchi tilted his head. “So Yato kun, who is this person you’re so afraid of?” A heavy second ticked by and it was almost as if everyone in the room had stopped breathing. Yato lunged at Takemikazuchi, Hiyori’s pen in his fist aimed straight at his throat. His hand stopped a couple of inches from Takemikazuchi. Yato growled under his breath and he seemed to struggle as he tried to stab Takemikazuchi. “Man, this just proves that Masaomi kun still has a lot to learn. When Sayuri san put the barriers on me, I couldn’t even touch anything if I had the urge to use it to hurt someone else or myself.” Takemikazuchi shook his head in disappointment.

“Who the hell agreed to let this guy do the persuading?” Yukine asked with a face.

“Here’s the deal, brat. I can’t read what’s going on in your head and you can’t read what’s going on in mine, but we both have higher intelligence levels. I’m gonna ask you to understand this and realize your choices. I was kidnapped at the age of two and taken to one of the illegal Ban Shen laboratories. If it wasn’t for the fact that I was a Weizhi I would have died when the raijuu was put in me. Even then it was more painful than anything else. It took five years for my body to accommodate the raijuu. Five years of excruciating pain. Imagine your bones breaking and mending, yours muscles tearing and rejoining, your organs ripped to shreds and being brought back a hundred times a day for five years.” Takemikazuchi said seriously. Kiun closed his eyes and willed the image of little baby Takemikazuchi screaming and crying in pain away. Kiun forced his eyes back open.

I have to face this. Only if I face it will it be possible for me to hold his hand.

“And then I was experimented on. They tested how quick my body would heal, how much the raijuu could heal. Heck,” Takemikazuchi’s voice cracked and he pressed his hands against his torso. “I don’t even know how much of this body is actually mine. What if all of it is the raijuu?” Hiyori’s hand was pressed against her mouth in horror. “I was rescued at the age of eighteen. That was a year ago.” Takemikazuchi looked Yato dead in the eyes. “And yet I have decided to align myself with these people. Now tell me, Yato kun. What will your choice be?”

Yato stared at Takemikazuchi, aimed pen still stopped by the barrier. His briefly glanced at everyone in the room. The pen slowly lowered.

“Have it your way then,” he said dully. Yato drew up to his full height. “He’s my father, a Guancha zhe.”

“Your father?” All of them cried out. Yato rolled his eyes.

“Yes, my father. He’s an extremely powerful Guancha zhe. I don’t know how he does it, but he can hide his thought processes from me. He has all kinds of dangerous artifacts from all over the world and has learnt the art of astral projection. Even the former Jianhuren wouldn’t be able to hold him back for too long. In his astral form he can create actual damage and also pass through barriers. That’s how he got into Higashiizumo to tell me to find something.” Yato explained. “He doesn’t work for Equilibrium, it’s his goal to bring Equilibrium down.”

“Bring Equilibrium down?” Kiun shot to his feet. “ Wait a moment! How can one individual do such a thin-”

“If he’s got a Weizhi frightened of him and doing everything he wants, then he’s a formidable force, Kiun.” Takemikazuchi said with a troubled look on his face.

“He wants me to get a certain scroll from the Iya Shrine. It has information of what’s in Yomi.”

“When does he want this scroll? Do you know anything about his plan?” Yukine was the first to speak.

“I don’t know,” Yato shrugged. “I’ve never bothered with trying to find out what he’s up to before. He’s too frightening.”

“Let’s steal the scroll!” Hiyori said excitedly. All of them turned to look at her. “If you think about it, he wants the scroll to find out what’s in Yomi. If we read the scroll ourselves we can pick up a little on his plan! You’ve never defied him before, have you, Yato kun? He won’t be expecting you to look into it seriously. Let’s do this!”

“Wait, Hiyori chan! Do you even know what you’re saying? You want to steal what is probably a top secret scroll from the Iya Shrine? The most protected shrine in Higashiizumo?” Kiun asked her incredulously.

“And if all of us work together, I’m sure we can do it!” Hiyori told him, dead serious.

“You have to admit, she’s got guts and brains.” Takemikazuchi grinned at Hiyori. Kiun resisted the urge to internally frown in jealousy. He didn’t want to behave like this every time Takemikazuchi acknowledged the prowess of a girl. “Fine then, let’s do this.”

“How would we break into that shrine anyway? Isn’t it guarded by Kofuku san usually?” Yukine asked.

“Oh, you’re pretty knowledgeable about this!” Kiun chuckled. Yukine huffed in what should have been annoyance but they all could see his ears had turned red.

“It’s true, Kofuku san is a formidable opponent.” Takemikazuchi frowned. “Yato kun, would you happen to know where exactly the scroll is?” They all turned to Yato who was staring at them speechlessly.

“Why are you guys doing this? I still don’t understand.” He glanced briefly at Hiyori with a suspicious look on his face before he looked back at Takemikazuchi.

“Eh? You still haven’t figured it out yet? You’re not much of Weizhi are you? We’re trying to save you Yato, the same way we saved Takemikazuchi.” Kiun said with a friendly smile. It was strange. People feared Weizhis and called them horrible monsters, but Kiun could see the light within Yato and Takemikazuchi. They were just children. Children who were scared of the world that was trying to reject them.

“Save me,” Yato muttered with a scoff. They ignored him. They didn’t expect him to believe they could save him yet.

“So where is the scroll?” Takemikazuchi asked, sounding rather annoyed.

“Behind a brick underneath one of the torches was all he said.” Yato told them.

“There could be a lot of torches there!”

“How would we even get in?”

“Forget how to get in, it’s getting out that’s the problem.”

“The Iya Shrine priests are pretty hard to deal with too, they’ve dealt with Shrine robbers for centuries.”

Kiun, Hiyori and Yukine started to talk all at once.

“Hold it, leave the planning to a Weizhi that knows Higashiizumo well.” Takemikazuchi hushed all of them. “Knowing Yato he would have somehow sneaked his way in and maybe gotten caught in the process. It’s not easy for him to do anything in that state. We’ll need a copy of Sayuri san’s blueprint of the Iya Shrine, our problem would be leaving the shields she’s placed around her office area intact. Then would be a distraction for Kofuku san, Daikoku san and the priests. The priests would most likely leave any disturbances to Kofuku san and Daikoku san. We need a method to deal with them. Then we have to get the scroll without triggering any alarms. All of this has to be done in a way that will not raise suspicion at all and I have an idea.” Takemikazuchi grinned.

------o------

“Kiun san, am I strange for not following in my mother and brother’s footsteps and doing something out of the norm?” Hiyori asked as the two of them started to fill in the new bookshelf they had gotten in the special class. Everyone was taking defense lessons from Daikoku but Hiyori had always been taking lessons for defense so Kiun and her had stayed back to fill in the new bookshelf they had gotten after Suzuha destroyed the last one. Kiun didn’t want to tell her that he was actually concerned that Masaomi was following in her mother’s footsteps. Each Jianhuren was known for being radically different from the other.

“It’s not strange, Hiyori chan. You are doing what you think is right with your powers. You will make a fine Jianhuren one day.” Kiun smiled. He watched the insecurity melt away from her face and she nodded as if reassuring herself. “Everyone is different. And I can tell, there’s something special about you, Hiyori chan.”

“So she does take after her grandmother...does that mean I’m going to lose Masaomi?”

Kiun didn’t want to think of it, but he believed that Sayuri san was going to lose Masaomi, not Hiyori. Either way it would be painful. Hiyori had the makings of a Jianhuren more so than her brother. Kiun wondered if Masaomi had already figured it out.

Kiun regretfully looked down at his discarded notes. He had told Hiyori the things she could not do as Jianhuren, but he had yet to tell her the price her family had to pay for gaining such power. He didn’t know how to say it.

“Oh, don’t you think Yato and Takemikazuchi san will like this book?” Hiyori asked. Kiun turned. ‘A History of Weizhis’.

“You’re very thoughtful about Yato kun aren’t you Hiyori chan, you’ve seemed to have taken an unusual liking to him.” Kiun dusted one of the books. No doubt she had been fascinated. It was just like her to become fascinated by something that should normally scare people. When he heard no answer he turned to her. She had a conflicted look on her face.

“Kiun san, don’t tell this to anyone else...sometimes, when I look at him, I hear his voice screaming my name and I can tell he’s trying to warn me, trying to save me. I hear that same voice in my dreams sometimes. When I hear that voice, I think, someone who sounds that scared to lose me can’t be all that bad, right, Kiun san?” Hiyori looked up at him. Kiun’s face had lost all color.

Scribbled somewhere in his bundle of notes was written:

The price paid for the power of Jianhuren, the loss of one of the Jianhuren in training and the test of a loved one.

Jianhuren were known for having prophetic dreams and glimpses into the future every now and then. What was Yato screaming about in Hiyori’s glimpse of the future?

“Kiun san?” Hiyori asked nervously. “Was there something wrong with what I said?”

Kiun snapped himself out of his daze. He refused to worry Hiyori.

“Ah nothing, just a little tired, I think Takemikazuchi sama went overboard with his training again.” Kiun awkwardly laughed.

------o------

“Yukionna’s can do that?” Yukine asked in surprise as they sat and there and ran through their plan.

“That’s right, at the highest level, a Yukionna jiijin should be capable of turning invisible like a Yukionna. I don’t think it should be possible for you to do it right now, but if you manage to draw even a little bit of power from the Yukionna you should be able to become unnoticeable although you’re still visible to people.” Takemikazuchi explained.

“So you want me to steal the temple layout blue prints?” Yukine asked Takemikazuchi.

“That’s the plan, you’ll be suspected the least out of all of us.” Takemikazuchi told him. “If they get suspicious they’ll probably question Yato and possibly me because there are still some people who have become wary of me since my last fight with Yato.” Takemikazuchi turned to Yato. “Some of the idiots here are way too hot blooded for their own good, so if they get scared or suspicious they might turn violent. Luckily, they shouldn’t be able to get too far. Think you can handle it?” Takmikazuchi smirked at Yato. Yato huffed.

“I’m not a child that’s afraid of pain.” Yato sneered.

“For some reason I feel like he’s insulting me, Kiun. Can I kill him?” Takemikazuchi turned to Kiun his voice straining to keep out the rage.

“We need Yato kun for our plan. So just calm down.” Kiun unconsciously reached forward, patted Takemikazuchi’s head and only realized what he was doing when Takemikazuchi puffed out his cheeks with an angry pout. Kiun flushed and snatched his hand away. Takemikazuchi looked at Kiun, slightly startled. “Anyway, continue telling us what the plan is.” Kiun gestured for Takemikazuchi to continue. Takemikazuchi turned back to everyone else.

“We need a proper distraction for Sayuri san to show up for long enough so that Yukine can steal the blueprints. The major issue would be the amount of shields she has in her office. If even one goes down the plan will be ruined. To be honest, Yukine will have to work the hardest. Yukine before the Yukionna possessed you, you were able to see shields and barriers, right?" Takemikazuchi asked.

“Well, I think I know what you mean by that…” Yukine nodded.

“The reason why you can’t see them anymore is because you have yet to match with your Yukionna’s wavelength. Once you have, you will be able to see a lot of things you couldn’t see when you were just a simple Guancha zhe.” Kiun tried to explain. “I’ll have to train you along with Hiyori,” Kiun tried to work out lessons in his head.

“So basically, as a Yukionna jiijin you should be able to avoid those shields. That’s why Yukionna’s are so dangerous, because they can’t be held down by anything.” Takemikazuchi grinned evilly and Kiun almost shuddered. Takemikazuchi’s eyes were burning with excitement and Kiun was seeing the Weizhi that he was. It was like standing on the brink of a stormy sea.

Now that Takemikazuchi mentions it, it’s true that Yukionna can’t be held down by anything except when they’re in the body of a Guancha zhe or facing an extremely strong opponent. So why did it possess Yukine? I haven’t heard of a Yukionna incident in so long and Yukionna are strong, it doesn’t gain more power from possessing a human child that hasn’t developed psychic powers properly. Yukionna don’t want to travel into populated places either, they only stay into their territory. So why possess Yukine?

“As for the distraction, Yato that’s your job. You have to somehow rile Suzuha up. Or create a scene yourself. Hiyori chan, it’s your job to attempt to stop him with your power. Now, I know that you’re more than capable of stopping him when he’s restrained like this, but you have to pretend that it’s hard for you, create a lot of fuss and disaster so that your mother can’t step in and stop the whole thing in one go. Kiun and I will be in the library and we’ll move out to assist Yukine the moment Sayuri san leaves her office.” Takemikazuchi finished. “It’s all or nothing with this plan, that’s why we have to do it perfectly.” He paused, a frown on his face. “I want to keep this mission a top secret one so we’ll have to return the blueprints as fast as possible, Yukine will you be able to scribble a rough copy of the blueprints down when you’re in Sayuri san’s office?”

“As long as it’s not too complicated.” Yukine answered.

“Yukine kun has such a big job.” Hiyori smiled brightly at Yukine. Yukine blushed and looked away.

“OK, now that we’ve had this meeting, I believe it’s time for Hiyori chan’s classes with Kiun. We should try our best to not disrupt everyday schedules.” Takemikazuchi got to his feet and stretched and everyone else shot up as well. Kiun and Hiyori left first, walking towards the Jianhuren classroom.

“Kiun san, this only occurred to me now, but the day of the Oni migration, I think my brother was starting to tell me about the classes I would take. I know they would have tried to break it to me very gently about how I was a Jianhuren and all that. But there is one thing I remember very clearly that struck me as odd. My brother told me to stay far away from Yato kun - this I now understand - but he also told me to stay away from Yukine kun.” Hiyori looked up at Kiun. “I wonder why he told me that, Yukine kun is harmless.”

“Maybe because Yukine kun is an unstable jiijin.” Kiun smiled at her.

Why would she be asked to stay away from him? Is there really more to him than I thought? I’ll have to ask Takemikazuchi after this…

“Oh...you’re probably right.”

------o------

“Takemikazuchi sama, may I have a private word with you afterwards?” Kiun asked at dinner. Kaun and Maun looked up from their food and Miun stopped picking out the fish from bone for Takemikazuchi. Kiun resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Takemikazuchi was such a child, he couldn’t even eat his fish without help.

“Yeah, sure.” Takemikazuchi said, playing with his soup.

“Stop playing with your soup, Takemikazuchi sama.” Kiun said sternly.

After dinner Kiun and Miun washed the dishes while Takemikazuchi went to take a bath. Kaun and Maun were discussing some of the shields they still had to put up especially after Yato’s rampage.

“Why do you have to be so formal with him? He’s been living here for more than a year.” Miun asked. “I mean, I understand that Kaun and Maun are still sort of scared of him, but I am stuck at home with him a lot and I know he’s harmless.” Kiun didn’t know his little sister was the type to worry about these kind of things.

“I just have always called him that, I guess and well...he is technically my superior…I mean, I’m the head jiijin in his group.” Kiun fumbled for a reason.

“But do you have to act that way even at home? You’re in love with him aren’t you? Don’t you want to talk to him informally? You know maybe call him Take chan and-” Miun started. Kiun slapped a foamy hand onto her mouth and she let out a out a sound of outrage.

“Sh! How do you even know that?” Kiun hissed. How had she found out that he was in love with the Raijuu Ban Shen?

“It’s really obvious, you know that, right?” Miun removed his hand from her face and answered. “I think he’s the only one who can’t really tell.” Kiun went scarlet. “Look at your face! My goodness, why don’t you at least try to drop the ‘sama’?”

“I’ve done it once before, but it was embarrassing…” Kiun muttered.

“You sound like a child! Like an elementary school student too shy to call their crush by their first name!” Miun laughed at him.

“Miun!” Kiun snapped.

“Alright, alright, I won’t say anything, but please do try.” Miun shook her head, still chuckling under her breath as she finished up the dishes. Kiun headed to their home office and clutched his hands. They were slightly colder than usual and shaking. Training with Takemikazuchi had definitely gotten better but it still affected him. It tired him out and left him exhausted and cold at the end of the day. He didn’t let others see it of course and he refused to let Takemikazuchi find out if he could help it. There was a knock on the door. Kiun turned. Takemikazuchi was standing there, his hair slightly damp.

“Can I come in?” Takemikazuchi asked with that roguish and attractive grin of his. Kiun forced his heart to calm down.

“Yeah, close the door while you’re at it.” Takemikazuchi closed the door and walked over to Kiun. Kiun’s heart would not calm down. Kiun hadn’t been alone in a room with Takemikazuchi since his realization that he was in love with him and now his eyes weren’t sure where to look at.

“This is about Yukine kun. You know that there’s something more to him, right?” Kiun asked, weaving his freezing fingers together. Why was he starting to feel colder?

“Ah, so you realized…” Takemikazuchi smirked. “Yukine kun is more than just an unstable jiijin. You already have realized he’s one of the few jiijin like you able to host an A class yokai in their body. Something definitely happened with the Yukionna that possessed him on that mountain. Moreover, that mountain is off limits. No one goes off the trails and up there was where Yukine was found. It’s interesting, they managed to find out about my family, but just like Yato, they haven’t been able to find out anything about Yukine kun’s family.” Kiun watched a cold smile spread across Takemikazuchi’s face and suddenly it was no longer his child Takemikazuchi but the Weizhi filled with darkness to the brim. “You know how they whisper when they think we’re not listening about how the previous Jianhuren had a vision of you and me? The rumour amongst the Ban Shen is that Sayuri san had a vision of Yato and Yukine.” Takemikazuchi reached a hand forward and Kiun clutched his hands tighter, forcing himself not to flinch. The eyes with which Takemikzuchi was looking at him with were nothing short of someone who who could crush him with a single touch. Takemikazuchi brushed a strand of blond hair from Kiun’s face. His voice was venomous and bitter when he spoke next.

“If they’re this scared of us, then how scared would they be of Yato and Yukine? We both are already a pair of harbingers of disaster and another pair has come.”

Kiun was struck with the need to say something, something that would shove that black abyss in Takemikazuchi back down so that his Weizhi would stop hurting. Kiun stepped towards Takemikazuchi.

“But we aren’t scared of you. Kaun and Maun just don’t want you to bring down the roof again and Miun adores you. She thinks of you as a little brother. Yato isn’t scared of you! He sees you as a rival! Yukine kun thinks you’re an idiot that doesn’t use his brain. Ebisu isn’t scared of you one bit and neither are Tsuyu or Suzuha.” Kiun bit his lip. “Hiyori chan thinks of you as a friend.” Kiun was pretty sure he was going to cut his skin with his nails given how hard he was clutching his hands together. “I’m here, aren’t I? I would never be scared of you, no matter what kind of darkness lies within you, no matter what you have done and what you might do...you...you’re just Takemikazuchi to me. Just Takemikazuchi. I know that’s not much of a reassurance but I mean it.” Kiun felt relief as he saw Takemikazuchi’s eyes widen in surprise and the darkness melt away.

“Kiun, you just called me-”

“IT’S SARUTAHIKO!” A voice screamed from outside and there was a loud crash. The lights went out.

“Why is that man in Higashiizumo?” Takemikazuchi hissed. “Oh well, ignore it, someone else will probably take care of it, it’s not a big deal trust me.” Takemikazuchi’s voice said. “I can’t see you, damn it.” There was slight crackle and a very thin film of lightning surrounded Takemikazuchi. Kiun made a noise of surprise as his body went completely cold. “Shit, shit, shit. Did I do that?” Takemikazuchi grabbed Kiun’s freezing hands and pulled him closer, one arm going around Kiun’s waist and then Takemikazuchi’s lightning was gone. “Sorry, just a natural reflex to use my lightning, you know.” Kiun’s heart almost hiccupped into his throat. Takemikazuchi was so close Kiun could feel his breath against his face.

“Right…” Kiun managed to not squeak, but his voice audibly wobbled.

“You OK there? Are you really that cold? Well, I mean of course you are, your hands are freezing.” Kiun didn’t know what to do and it sounded like Takemikazuchi had gotten closer! “Sorry, I went overboard during training, didn’t I?”

“No, you were fine. I know you want to get the hang of it as soon as possible…” Kiun answered. Kiun started when there was warm hand against his face the next moment.

“Did, I startle you? I was just trying to see if your face is warming up.” Takemikazuchi lightly laughed. Kiun involuntarily leaned into the warmth. Kiun heard Takemikazuchi’s breath hitch in his throat. “I wish I could see your eyes right now, I like your eyes…” Takemikazuchi’s voice had lowered and had become a whisper. Kiun was right, he was closer. Kiun was sure his face was on fire.

“Well, I like you eyes too, they’re beautiful.” Kiun was startled at how his voice had dropped in pitch.

“That’s the first time I’ve heard that one.” There was hint of a chuckle in Takemikazuchi’s voice. Kiun was feeling light headed with the amount of heat that had rushed to his face. “Thank you.” It was genuine and Takemikazuchi’s nose bumped against Kiun’s and Kiun felt a moist breath on his lips.

“Kiun nii! Kiun nii! You have to come see this!” Miun’s voice screamed. They heard her thudding footsteps and then hurried and loud knock on the door. Kiun and Takemikazuchi stood frozen in place for a moment and then he heard Takemikazuchi sigh and then the black haired weizhi pulled away. The door opened and Miun stood there with a way too bright flashlight. “Sayuri san and Masaomi kun are on their way here.” Takemikazuchi didn’t hesitate and strided towards the door. “Kiun nii?” Kiun shook his head and quickly ran after Takemikazuchi. Already Guancha zhes and Jiijins were gathering. Kofuku had already arrived with Daikoku. Sarutahiko was standing on top of the body of a huge raijuu and the raijuu inside of Kiun uncurled.

“You killed it…” Kiun uttered in shock. Sarutahiko looked at Kiun.

“Yes I did, it was enraged and crazy and on it’s way to Higashiizumo.” Sarutahiko answered. Kiun felt anger, white hot anger, both his and the raijuu inside of him.

“Why did you kill it? A raijuu is an A class yokai! They’re far more intelligent than those puny little creatures that roam the earth! You could have communicated with it! Calmed it down! Asked what was wrong! Why did you kill it?” Kiun screamed. Sarutahiko’s eyes were cold and filled with disgust.

“Kiun...calm down…” Kofuku whispered.

“A yokai is a yokai, they all deserve to die, so does the one inside you and those who fancy themselves the friends of yokai.” Kiun considered himself a calm person, but it had been so long since the raijuu in him had fueled his power and his own emotions. Kiun couldn’t keep himself down. That was a death threat to one of his closest friends. Kiun had leaped at Sarutahiko. He heard at least six people yelling his name. Kiun hadn’t felt so much power in such a long time, he hadn’t moved so fast in such a long, thunder crackled overhead. Kiun was blinded.

“Kiun stop!” he heard Takemikazuchi yell. Kiun froze, the haze in his mind was broken for just a second. Sarutahiko’s sword was at his neck the next moment.

“I’ve killed a crazed raijuu, I’m pretty sure it will be easier to kill a crazed raijuu jiijin.” Sarutahiko snarled. Takemikazuchi grabbed Kiun’s hand and pulled him behind him.

“Stay away from Kiun.” Takemikazuchi growled.

“Ah yes, of course, the freak Ban Shen,” Sarutahiko grinned but his eyes were still filled with disgust, perhaps even more disgust than when he looked at Kiun. Kiun glared, wanting to punch the man in the face. He hated him. He had never liked him, he was considered the craziest Guancha zhe in equilibrium but he was the most powerful Guancha zhe in Japan and was on par with several Ban Shens. A purple wall suddenly formed in between them. Kiun’s eyes widened. He’d recognize that power anywhere. Hiyori scrambled onto the raijuu and stood next to Takemikazuchi.

“Put the sword down!” she snapped.

“What do you think you’re doing little Jianhuren in training? If you act up too much, you’ll be the one to be ta-” Sarutahiko started. Kiun didn’t need to think much to know how the sentence was going to end.

you’ll be the one to be taken.

“Shut up!” Kiun shouted. “Shut up! Don’t say another word!” He reached forward and slapped his hands over Hiyori’s ears.

“What is going on here?” Sayuri’s smooth but clearly angry voice boomed.

Kiun turned his panicked and tear filled eyes to see Sayuri standing at the the head of the raijuu, Masaomi behind her and a breathless Yato beside her. Yato’s usually emotionless blue eyes glinted in the dark. There was fear in his eyes.

“Hiyori, Takemikazuchi and Kiun get down, I’ll make him explain things to me himself. No one attacks the people in Higashiizumo without going through me. Why would you kill a servant of Raijin in Higashiizumo, Sarutahiko?” Sayuri asked. Kiun took Hiyori’s hand and hurriedly started to take her off of the raijuu. Takemikazuchi followed.

“Yokai from all over have heard of the barriers and shields your pretty little freak over there took down.” Sarutahiko gestured at Yato. Hiyori turned, fire in her eyes and she looked totally ready to clamber back up the raijuu and punch the man in the face. Takemikazuchi put his hand on her shoulder and held her in place. He looked up at Sarutahiko and Kiun saw that darkness swimming in his eyes again.

“His name is Yato, you homicidal asshole.” Takemikazuchi snapped. Sarutahiko looked ready to swoop down and impale Takemikazuchi with his sword.

“You have hundreds of yokai heading this way and this raijuu was one of them.” Sarutahiko finished. Kiun put his hand on the raijuu’s head and closed his eyes. He stood up and turned around.

“Sayuri san, tell him to leave Higashiizumo at once, this raijuu was coming to Higashiizumo to warn you me and Takemikazuchi sama of the danger that was approaching us.” Kiun said, hate so clear in his voice even Hiyori looked shocked. “Any competent and intelligent equilibrium member would have tried to listen to a servant of Raijin before killing them.”

“Masaomi, restrain him. We’ll keep him under lock and key until I get word back from Equilibrium on what will be the consequences of his actions.”

“Are you OK?” Yato’s hesitant voice asked. He was talking to Hiyori looking her up and down.

“Ah...did you go get my mother?” Hiyori asked with a nervous smile. Kiun looked at Takemikazuchi who looked back at him. They were totally not expecting that. Masaomi came, holding Sarutahiko’s hands behind his back.

“All of you return home at once, those of you on guard come with me. S class members, meet me in the training rooms in three hours. Kiun, how long do we have till the brunt of it reaches us?” Sayuri asked Kiun.

“Just about six hours, that’s what I got from the raijuu’s memories.” Kiun answered. Sayuri put a hand on Yato’s head and smiled.

“Thank you for telling me that my daughter was in danger, Yato kun.” Sayuri said. Kiun smiled and saw Takemikazuchi grin. Yato looked wide eyed and shocked. “All of you, go, rest and collect yourselves. Tsuyu, Suzuha, I know both of you are here, please send the raijuu off properly.” Both mentioned materialized with a whirl of flower petals. Sayuri turned and Kiun and Takmeikazuchi stood there watching everyone start to leave. Kofuku grabbed Kiun.

“You scared me! You dumb raijuu jiijin!” Kofuku screeched.

“Oh...sorry Kofuku sama.”

She frowned at him.

“Go catch some sleep. See you in three hours.” Kofuku kissed his cheek and then she and Daikoku left. Kiun and Takemikazuchi followed Miun, Kaun and Maun into the house.

“Kiun nii, never do that again.” Miun hissed, upset. Kiun smiled gently and bumped his forehead against hers.

“I’m sorry for having scared you, Miun.” Kiun whispered. They said good night and Kiun was just heading to his room when Takemikazuchi grabbed his hand. Kiun looked at him.

“Hey, Kiun?” Takemikazuchi said in hushed tones. “I’m the one who’s supposed to get angry here, go on rampages like that, get hurt and almost die.”

“What are you saying? You shouldn’t be doing any of tho-” Kiun started in horror.

“I’m just asking you to never put yourself in that kind of danger ever again, that’s my job.” Takemikazuchi said.

“And I’m saying that isn’t your job, you idiot! I don’t want you to get into danger, ever!” Kiun continued in the angry, horrified tone he had been using. Takemikazuchi ran his fingers through his hair.

“I’m not communicating this very well, am I?” Takemikazuchi whispered. He came straight and Kiun and then cupped Kiun’s face and pressed his forehead against Kiun’s, staring straight at him in the eyes. “It’s funny, I can finally see your eyes, but I was more honest when I couldn’t see your eyes. I wonder why.” Kiun was frozen and he didn’t even want to know the expression on his face. Takemikazuchi closed his eyes. “Please be careful, I never want to see you get hurt.” Kiun swallowed.

“I don’t want to see you hurt either, Takemikazuchi sama…” Kiun whispered.

“Hey,” Takemikazuchi pulled away although his hands were still cupping his face. “Do me a favor, Kiun.”

“Huh?”

“Call me Takemikazuchi like you did earlier. If you don’t I won’t listen to you.” Takemikazuchi frowned. Kiun was sure his face was as red as a tomato. “Go ahead, call me by my name without honorifics.”

“Takemikazuchi…” Kiun had never seen the black haired male beam so brightly.

“Kiun nii, about what I said earli-” Miun froze. “Am I interrupting something?”

Kiun moved away so fast he almost tripped and fell over.

“I’m going to sleep!” he declared and fled to his room.

Author Note - I’m so sorry for having taken so long to update. I went to a different state for the summer and it was near impossible to get my hands on an electronic device, let alone the internet. On top of that, my laptop broke down during my trip. Once I got back to my place, it took me awhile to get back into the flow of writing this! I hope you’ll forgive me! I’ll work extra hard for this fanfic from here on out. As always, special thanks to wuminguk for translating this for me!

[carrotcouple]

In The Land of Higashiizumo (AO3)

Kiun has four jobs. One, working for an organization called ‘Equilibrium’. Two, guarding the gate of Yomi. Three, taking care of his cousins. Four, being Takemikazuchi’s anchor.

The last one is the hardest. It is also the one Kiun is the most invested in.

Chapter 4: Yokai’s Heart

“Kiun, I need you to take care of the new addition to the Institute.” Sayuri told him, pulling him towards the window of her office which overlooked the front garden. The garden was empty, save for a black haired male standing in the middle of the garden staring at the ground.

“Why me, Sayuri san? I’m not one of the trained caretakers in the Institute!” Kiun said, a little apprehensive.

“He’s our most recent Ban Shen rescue. According to records in the lab in which he was being experimented on, he’s been there since he was two years old, Kiun. I don’t know how he survived in there. Fifteen years in one of those labs...Kofuku had to have two years of therapy until she was able to talk properly again after being in a lab for three years. He’s a raijuu Ban Shen.” Sayuri sighed. Kiun turned to look at her.

“A raijuu Ban Shen? Is that possible?” Kiun asked in surprise.

“It’s because he’s not a normal child. He was sent here because I’m the only one who can restrain him. That boy despises the world and would burn everything to the ground if he could. The only reason he isn’t is because I’ve placed at least fifteen different barriers around him alone. I’ve shut down his powers and put protection barriers so he doesn’t hurt anyone else or himself. That boy doesn’t have life in him anymore. I want you to rekindle it, Kiun.” Sayuri sighed, rubbing her temples.

“I don’t understand...if he’s just a Ban Shen, why would you need to shut down his powers? Isn’t that an unnecessary barrier seeing that you’ve already taken precautions against him hurting himself?” Kiun tilted his head, confused.

“Kiun, that boy’s a Weizhi.” Sayuri said gently.

“A Weizhi?” Kiun cried out, jumping a little. “Sayuri san, I can’t take care of a Weizhi! A Ban Shen is one thing, but a Weizhi? I can’t do it!”

“Stop right there. That is the exact attitude I don’t want you to approach him with. With his powers sealed, he’s just a simple, troubled seventeen year old. I want you to take care of him because you’re the only known person in the world that has befriended a raijuu and because you take care of your cousins, therefore you know how to watch over someone who needs your help. He can’t stay in the Institute. It will kill him.” Sayuri turned to look at Kiun in the eye. Kiun swallowed, feeling the pressure of the situation.

“I understand…” Kiun whispered. “Give me some time to talk this over with my cousins.”

“You do that, if you need it, I will personally explain the situation to them. For now Kiun, watch him and understand, he’s only a child. A small, scared and hurt child.”

“Um...Sayuri san, what’s his name?” Kiun asked.

“It took us a while to find out his name. We tried to track down his family only to discover, his mother was single and died from overworking. His name is very fitting, although a little interesting given the job we do. His name is Takemikazuchi.” Sayuri patted Kiun’s shoulder and started to walk to her desk.

“Takemikazuchi…” Kiun softly said to himself, looking down at the boy. The black haired head twitched and then looked up. Kiun was suddenly breathless when he found himself looking at empty and soulless burgundy colored eyes. The boy stared at him for a moment or two before looking back at the ground. Kiun had heard that people from shadow side of the world could instantly identify a Weizhi. Rumor was that all one needed to do was look at a Weizhi’s eyes and you were invariably drawn to them. “Sayuri san, can you give me his file?” Kiun asked, turning to the Jianhuren. Sayuri grinned at him.

“Here you go,” She held out the file to him.

------o------

“Kiun. Kiun snap out of it!” Ebisu clapped his hands in front of Kiun’s face. Kiun dropped his chopsticks, a little startled. Ebisu leaned back in his seat. “Were you listening to me or were you too preoccupied in worrying about how Takemikazuchi is handling his current class with Yato kun?” Ebisu chuckled.

“Oh, I apologize Ebisu sama, I was recalling something Sayuri san told me a couple of years ago. Also, it would make sense if I was worried. Takemikazuchi sama isn’t as strong as some people think. If I could have been watching over him instead of having to join the barrier check, I would have.”  Kiun picked his chopsticks up again.

“Don’t you think you’re underestimating him a little bit? People can do all kinds of things when they have people there for them. Anyway, you don’t have time to worry about him, don’t you have a lesson with Hiyori chan in a bit?” Ebisu asked. Kiun frowned.

“You’re right, I’ll be teaching her how to be a Jianhuren.” Kiun picked up a piece of pickled radish and nibbled on it. “I’m not sure if I can actually do this...I have everything planned in my head, but to actually teach the next Jianhuren, the one who will take Sayuri san’s seat one day. I don’t know how I’ll manage to pull it off.”

“It’ll be fine. Hiyori is a Jianhuren by blood. She’ll pick things up even if you’re unsure about explaining things properly. She and her brother are very like her grandmother, so I’ve heard. I’ve only heard things about their grandmother, but we all know she was the most powerful Jianhuren to have lived. You’ll be fine Kiun, everyone has to start somewhere.” Ebisu said reassuringly. Kiun ate the last bit of his rice, nodding.

“Thank you for your advice, Ebisu sama. I’ll go drop by to check on Takemikazuchi sama without bothering the class, then I’ll head to the place where I’m going to teach Hiyori chan.” Kiun stood and picked his tray up.

“You do realize because they’re Weizhis they’ll notice that you’re there even before you get close enough to touch the door?” Ebisu asked from behind Kiun. Kiun stumbled.

“Ah, that’s right...I forgot…” Kiun straightened up, turning to look at Ebisu who was grinning at him. Kiun was always wary when Ebisu smiled. To any other person he seemed like a normal boy. But those in Higashiizumo knew better. Ebisu was the only Ningyo Ban Shen to have ever existed. There  had never been any Ningyo Jiijins. No one had seen a Ningyo other than the one sealed in Ebisu in over five hundred years. Moreover, the Ningyo and Ebisu were on extremely good terms and shared knowledge with each other. Ebisu had the wisdom of a centuries old Ningyo. In addition to that, unless his heart was stabbed or his head was cut off, he was essentially immortal. His powers when he fought was no joke either. Whenever Ebisu smiled, Kiun was constantly reminded that he was looking at someone as knowledgeable as Tsuyu and possibly he was looking at the Ningyo as well instead of just Ebisu. “Then I’ll just head to my class with Hiyori.” Kiun put his tray away and then headed to the classroom.

He’s trying to tell me not to go see Takemikazuchi. Fine then, I’ll listen to his advice. Kiun opened the door to the room usually used for Jianhuren classes. Kiun sucked in a large lungful of air. The room was large and mostly empty. There was a desk, two chairs and a white board in the corner of the room, but other than that, the large room was empty. I can do this right? The question was directed at the raijuu inside of Kiun. Kiun got no answer. After saying that foreboding line the night before, the raijuu had fallen asleep again.

“Oh, Kiun san, you’re here!” Hiyori’s voiced piped up from behind him. Startled, Kiun turned around. “I was a little nervous about doing this Jianhuren training so I thought I’d come early and make myself comfortable in the classroom, but looks like you’re already here.” Hiyori smiled awkwardly. Kiun nodded and walked in, making space for Hiyori to walk into the room.

“Then we’ll just reintroduce ourselves to each other for the time being.” Kiun suggested, walking towards the corner where the desk was, Hiyori trotted after him. Hiyori stood in front of her seat, obviously feeling too awkward to sit down. Kiun simply motioned at her to sit. She hesitated for a moment before sitting down. “Earlier you knew me as just a sponsor to the Institute. However, I work under this Institute. This Institute is known as Iki Institute for Troubled Children. In reality it is an Institute under an organization called Equilibrium that functions around the entire globe. I am a part of this organization as a raijuu jiijin and one of the few jiijins who has become friends with my yokai. I have lived in Higashiizumo my entire life.” Kiun finished and looked at Hiyori expectantly.

“Ah right,” Hiyori shot to her feet to introduce herself. “My name is Iki Hiyori. I’m supposed to be a Jianhuren. The third Jianhuren currently alive. I am completely new to all of this, so you’ll probably have to teach me from scratch, Kiun san.” Hiyori said quietly.

“That’s not a problem Hiyori chan. If you can think of some of the basic questions, feel free to ask me and I’ll answer. The rest will be covered in your classes.” Kiun pulled out the little pad of notes he had made the night before from his jacket.

“Um, then in that case, can you explain what Higashiizumo is exactly? I’ve always seen Matsue whenever I left the institute to go out.” Hiyori frowned.

“As you know, in the year 2011, Higashiizumo was merged with Matsue.That was because people forgot why Higashiizumo was kept separately and no one carelessly stepped into it. And the reason was that Higashiizumo was the jurisdiction of the Jianhurens and was the under the realm of Yomi no Kuni. Whenever you have stepped outside of this Institute, Hiyori chan, you have been accompanied by either your mother or brother and they have shielded you from seeing Higashiizumo for what someone like you should have seen it as. The thing about us who dwell too close to this side is that we can see things on different planes of existence. Higashiizumo is exactly that. It exists on a different plane of existence. The current barrier of Higashiizumo, held intact by your mother and your brother extends from the Lake border from the north side, the Matsue border from the east, Iwasaka Shrine in the south and Ankokuji  the Buddhist Shrine in the west.”

“Oh come to think of it, there are quite a few big shrines here…” Hiyori thoughtfully rested her chin on her hand.

“Yes, but the most important for us here in Higashiizumo is the Iya Shrine, dedicated to Izanami kamisama.” Kiun informed Hiyori.

“I see...what exactly is a Jianhuren, Kiun san?” Hiyori asked.

“Jianhuren are guardians to the gate of Yomi. You have heard of things like guardians of the gates of heaven and the like? Well, your family has been guarding the gate to Yomi for centuries. Your family was given the power to make sure nothing truly dangerous can go in or come out. The Kami granted your family this power. However, such power obviously comes with conditions and limitations. If a Jianhuren leaves Higashiizumo for a even one minute more than a week, the Jianhuren dies. That’s why you were kept inside this Institute and home schooled your entire life, Hiyori chan.” Kiun finished with a rather gentle tone. Hiyori looked stunned.

“So...I can never travel to another country or go on a long trip?” Hiyori whispered, looking both scared and dejected.

“Unfortunately, yes. Your family aren’t the only guardians of the gate of Yomi. All around the world there are openings into Yomi, or the Underworld as most people would call it outside of Japan. There are other guardian families there.”

“Oh…” Hiyori was silent for a while, staring at her hands. “Why are all the terms we use in Chinese?” Hiyori asked, finally looking up, a hard glint in her eyes.

“They were coined by people who spoke Chinese. Around the time most of these terms were coined people in Japan mostly spoke Chinese. So we stuck to that tradition even as more terms were made.” Kiun told her. “Anymore questions?” Hiyori shook her head.

“I’m pretty sure my other questions will be answered in my lessons.” She stated.

“OK then, let’s get started on making you understand where the base of your power is and what a Jianhuren is capable of doing.” Kiun put his notes down and started his first Jianhuren training class.

------o------

“What will I be doing in the normal classes with everyone else?” Hiyori asked Kiun as they walked towards the room that was assigned for the class with Yato, Yukine, Nana and Suzuha.

“You’ll be learning about different Yokai, how to fend them off and sealing and exorcism techniques.” Kiun told her.

“Oh, so everyone can seal and exorcise...not just the Guancha zhes.” Hiyori said thoughtfully, playing around with a small, purple, empty cube that was rotating around her hand. Kiun had to resist the urge to smile. Ebisu had been right. Hiyori picked up things faster than expected. Although she didn’t know what exactly she was doing, her power came naturally to her.

“Exactly, Guancha zhes are those who are restricted to just sealing and exorci-” Kiun stopped and looked around, alarmed when he heard yells, curses and wailing. Something crashed and he saw a cloud of dust. Hiyori and him looked at each other before they ran to the classroom they were assigned to. Outside of the classroom was a group of curious children. Inside, Yato was on a desk, the shard of a broken flower pot in his hand and Takemikazuchi was standing, prepared to fight on the ground, small crackles of lightning all around him. Suzuha was clutching a book shelf and wailing.

“Brothers! Sisters! What have they done to you?” He sobbed into the wood of the shelf.

“Oh, you want to go? Huh, you disarmed Weizhi? You think you can fight against me? You can’t use your powers, you little shit!” Takemikazuchi snarled.

“I’m more than just my powers! Trust me, you haven’t seen me fight!” Yato growled.

“What have they done?” Suzuha cried.

Kiun’s eyebrow twitched in annoyance and he moved forward before he could think. He marched over to Takemikazuchi and whacked him across the head, just as Hiyori moved forward, grabbed Yato just as he lunged and threw him over her shoulder.

“And what do you think you’re doing, Takemikazuchi sama?” Kiun snapped.

“Kiun!” Takemikazuchi said startled. Then he lowered his head, feeling rather embarrassed. “Sorry, I told you I’d be OK in class this morning but it didn’t go so well.”

“What have they done?” Suzuha screeched at a glass breaking pitch.

“Good thing you noticed, Takemikazuchi sama.” Kiun said flatly. He turned to look at Yato who was grimacing in pain on the floor. Hiyori was above Yato, looking rather apologetic. “And you, Yato kun. I don’t know what you’re trying to do but you shouldn’t act up in this Institution. There are three Jianhuren and over ten S-Class members. Don’t do anything stupid again.” Kiun finished with a nod. Suddenly he remembered that there had been one more person that had been making a fuss. But they had gone silent. Kiun started to turn. “Suzu-guah!” Kiun cut off, choking as the wind was knocked out of his lungs. He vaguely heard Hiyori scream and Yato and Takemikazuchi cry out in alarm. He heard several children who had been watching the scene shriek in terror. His eyes cleared and he found himself wrapped in what seemed to be tree roots. He couldn’t move and inch. Then he noticed that Takemikazuchi, Hiyori and Yato were wrapped up in tree roots as well. Kiun saw Suzuha crouched on the ground his face distorted with rage. “Suzuha! Calm down! I’ll expl-” Kiun let a hiss as the roots started to tighten.

“Kiun san! Takemikazuchi san! Can’t you burn these roots with your lightning?” Hiyori cried out.

“And make him angrier? Hell no! Sayuri san said to never get on the bad side of a Yetong and like I’m going to be doing that today!” Takemikazuchi bit out.

“Then what do we do? These roots are getting tighter by the second!” Yato snapped, struggling furiously.

“I’ll try to get him to calm down.” Kiun said urgently. Not that it seemed to work the first time he tried. “Suzuha, you haven’t even heard us explain! You shouldn’t attack us so suddenly! We’re your friends!” Kiun managed out, feeling his bones creak under the pressure of the roots wrapped around him. Yato scoffed.

“ Friends ! As if!” Yato snickered.

“Takemikazuchi san! Your stitches are coming undone!” Hiyori gasped. Kiun turned. Indeed. The strain from the roots were undoing his stitches. Takemikazuchi usually kept his arms covered by wearing long sleeved shirts and jackets. Even now his arms were covered, but they could see the blood starting to seep into his clothes.

“The raijuu is getting noisy,” Takemikazuchi growled through gritted teeth.

“Suzuha kun!” Tsuyu practically flew in through the door in a whirl or plum tree blossoms. Ebisu followed in after her, Nana and Yukine looking in from behind him. “Stop this at once!” Suzuha turned to look at her, his eyes wide and confused. Suddenly the room was awash with blue light and the roots shrivelled and vanished. Kiun, Takemikazuchi, Hiyori and Yato dropped to the ground. Kiun felt the power of the raijuu that had just been within his reach, vanish.

“Tsuyu, I think your student can study in the gardens today, I will not have him attacking anyone else.” Sayuri’s stern voice said as she walked in right past Ebisu. She turned to look at Yato. “As for you young man, you’ve caused quite a bit of trouble since day one. Not that it wasn’t expected. But do not make me use the amount of barriers I used on the last Weizhi that came here. Trust me, you don’t want that.” Kiun saw Takemikazuchi frown and look down at the ground. Yato flinched and shrank away. Kiun swallowed, quietly edging towards Takemikazuchi to check his arms. “Ebisu, those of your class that can fight well - namely Hiyori, Nana and Yato - will be using these seals on Yokai outside. ” Kiun’s eyebrows shot up. From what he had heard, Sayuri never involved herself in any of the teaching material in classes. “Yukine will be learning combat techniques from Daikoku in the training hall.” Kiun started to slowly roll up Takemikazuchi’s sleeves to check the damage done by Suzuha’s powers. Sayuri turned to look at him. “Kiun, use this and stitch it back up. Since the seal wasn’t broken, I won’t have to personally do it. Oh, there you are, Fumiha, do you think you can lead Yukine to the training hall?” And the Sayuri was gone, all the spectators following after her. Tsuyu tugged Suzuha out of the room. Ebisu turned to grin at them.

“Looks like we’re about to have some fun. Take kun, Kiun shall we lead our students out?” Takemikazuchi turned to look at Kiun and Kiun noticed how dull his eyes looked. Nana and Yato went out the door after Ebisu. Hiyori peered at Kiun and Takemikazuchi briefly before following Ebisu as well.

“Are you alright, Takemikazuchi sama?” Kiun asked in concern. Takemikazuchi looked up at him and then shook his head. Kiun frowned as he watched the black haired male stride out of the room.

------o------

“This,” Ebisu said holding up one of the strips of paper that Sayuri had handed him, “is an Ofuda. It’s a talisman that was issued from the Iya Shrine. It is said it will protect you from evil spirits. So, now I’ll tell you what it is that you have to do. These Ofuda were specifically made in mind for the training of young kids like you. It banishes the yokai you put this on. But luckily because of Sayuri san’s barriers. The yokai you banish will go no further than five hundred metres away from us. Your task is to take an Ofuda and put it directly on the yokai’s eye. We have different yokai arranged for all of you. None of you are allowed to use your abilities. Hiyori chan you will be up against a Kappa, Nana you will be up against a Fuuri and Yato kun, you will be up against a Basan.” Ebisu told them, reading off the list of training Yokai they had.

Kiun was holding a length of sacred thread in between his teeth as he pinched Takemikazuchi’s torn flesh together. He honestly didn’t want to do this himself. Of course he had stitched together wounds before, but for some reason, he couldn’t bear to look at Takemikazuchi’s arms. He felt enraged. He was furious at himself and at Suzuha and he had no idea why. They were at a section of Higashiizumo that Sayuri kept separate for the training of new Equilibrium members.

“I think you all know what a Kappa is, so I don’t need to explain. A Fuuri on the other hand is a small badger like creature that many people mistake as a Tanuki. It behaves like a monkey and is relatively quick. Full grown Fuuris can fly. A Fuuri looks like an otter with leopard spots all over it’s body.” Ebisu looked at Nana who nodded in understanding. He turned to Yato. “A Basan, Yato kun, is that.” Ebisu pointed and all of them turned to look. There was a giant multicolored rooster with a bright yellow spongy comb on the top of it’s head. It was breathing green fire onto the ground near its feet. Yato’s jaw dropped. Kiun looked up at Takemikazuchi when he heard a snort. Takemikazuchi looked highly amused. Kiun grinned, he remembered the Basan very well.

“Putting the Ofuda on that thing’s eye is impossible! Not only is it huge, but it breathes fire as well!” Yato screeched unhappily.

“Well then, it looks like you’ll have to be careful,” Ebisu smiled cheerfully at Yato as Kiun sunk the needle into Takemikazuchi’s arm. He heard the raijuu Ban Shen hiss in pain. “Also, the last Weizhi here put this guy down in less than a minute and with more shields and barriers put on him than you have.” Ebisu added, glancing at Takemikazuchi who stopped grimacing to smirk at Yato. When Kiun had first watched Takemikazuchi take down the Basan, he had been astounded. Takemikazuchi’s movements had not been those of someone who had stayed locked up inside a laboratory his entire life. They weren’t even the reckless movements of someone who was eager to die. They were the movements of someone who was born to fight. Yato sent a brief condensing glare at Takemikazuchi.

“Now then, shall we start? Nana, we’ll start with you! Don’t forget, using your abilities is against the rules.” Nana succeeded after three tries, scrambling up trees after the lithe creature, tripping over while trying to grab it’s tail and running after it as if she were chasing a squirrel. She sat down next to Ebisu, covered in scratches and purpling bruises.

Hiyori was next and all of them stared in something close to awe and terror as she wrestled a Kappa in it’s home environment of water. Hiyori threw the Kappa out of the water and then planted the Ofuda on it’s eye. She stood up and pushed her wet hair back, walking towards them. Yato discreetly moved out of the way.

“She’s not human…” Yato muttered.

“Please, I doubt she wants to hear that from you.” Nana shot him a look. Kiun finished the stitches.

“I’m done Takemikazuchi sama. Now if you will-” Kiun looked up at Takemikazuchi.

“That was amazing, Hiyori chan!” Takemikazuchi shot up and strode over to the sopping wet Jianhuren. Kiun blinked. He had been pretty sure that Takemikazuchi wasn’t interested in any of their students at all. Now that he thought about it, he was pretty sure Hiyori had shown a certain amount of interest in Takemikazuchi as well. Well, they were close in age and powerful and smart and good looking in their own ways. Perhaps, Takemikazuchi was romantically interested in Hiyori. That was good, that was very good. Hiyori could be Takemikazuchi’s anchor.

And then Kiun realized that he was frowning.

But I thought I was his anchor.

Jealous, are we? The raijuu’s voice echoed in his head before the feeling of it being awake vanished.

J-jealous? Kiun sputtered. No way.

“Yato kun, it’s your turn.” All of them turned to Yato who was staring at the fire breathing Basan. Ebisu smiled in a cheeky manner. “Be careful now, Yato kun. We do have a healer here, but It will be difficult to reconstruct you properly.” Takemikazuchi snickered and Kiun couldn’t hide his grin. Yato turned to glare at all of them. Kiun got up and went to Takemikazuchi.

“Do me a favor and stand still, Takemikazuchi sama.” Kiun said, carefully helping Takemikazuchi to put on a sleeveless shirt. Yato looked at the Basan and then clambered up the nearest tree. And then he jumped from one tree to another. All of them stared astounded.

“He’s...he’s a monkey…” Takemikazuchi said with something close to wonder in his voice. All of them burst out laughing. Yato leaped at the Basan.

“Oh there he goes!” Nana stood up, watching in interest.

“Nah, that won’t work.” Takemikazuchi shook his head. The Basan moved out of the way and Yato crashed into the ground.

“Great Izanagi! Is he OK?” Hiyori asked starting forward.

“He’s fine, don’t underestimate Weizhis like him.” Ebisu said, blocking Hiyori’s path with his arm. Yato shot back up, his knees scraped, lips bleeding and dirt smudges all over him. A stream of green fire came at him and Yato jumped into the air just as high as Kiun had seen Takemikazuchi jumped that day. Yato clutched the yokai’s feathers and clambered up the body, Ofuda clutched tightly in his hand.

“Oh dear,” Hiyori uttered suddenly. Takemikazuchi looked at her in amusement.

“You can tell what’s going to happen?” he asked. The feathers Yato was clinging to suddenly all shot up on edge sending Yato flying through the air. They heard his scream of surprise. Nana looked at Ebisu with wide eyes. Ebisu gestured at her to keep watching. Yato landed perfectly. He didn’t even waste a second and he was charging at the Basan all over again. Only this time he failed to dodge the green fire. Nana, Hiyori and Yato shrieked at the same time. But Takemikazuchi cackled wildly, laughing and clutching his stomach. Kiun looked at his charge with a small smile and stopped. Takemikazuchi was laughing beautifully. It wasn’t even scornful laughter. It was laughter that came from amusement. Pure happiness. Kiun swallowed.

“The fire’s cold!” Yato exclaimed. Realizing that he had screamed so loudly for no reason, Yato growled in rage and then flung a himself at the Basan once more. But Kiun’s eyes were fixed on Takemikazuchi.

------o------

“Ah, so she noticed the increase of power in the Basan. Well done, she’s going in a very good pace. In fact, I think she’s learning faster than I expected.” Sayuri leaned back in her chair. “So she does take after her grandmother...does that mean I’m going to lose Masaomi?” A pained look crossed over her face.

“We don’t know that yet.” Kiun said kindly.

“Thank you, Kiun. Has your raijuu said anything about Takemikazuchi?” Sayuri looked at him seriously. Kiun stared for a moment. He darted his eyes down nervously.

“No.” Kiun said clearly.

There was a long moment of silence.

“Right. Very well then, you’re dismissed.” Sayuri waved him away with her hand and went back to cleaning the long sword given to her by a priest of the Iya Shrine. Kiun exited the room and heaved a sigh of relief. He didn’t know why Sayuri had asked him, but it couldn’t be about anything good. He knew that every single person involved with the Institute watched for Takmeikazuchi’s betrayal. Kiun was sure, the moment things got strange, Takemikazuchi would be put under lock and key, or worse, killed. Kiun wouldn’t allow that. Kiun sniffed.

“Something smells sweet.” he went to the window and peered out. There were branches of cherry blossoms everywhere. The Institute was pink! He suddenly heard a grumble and looked down into that very garden in which he had seen Takemikazuchi first. Takemikazuchi was seated on a cherry blossom coated floor. He was surrounded by tiny white things.

Kiun found himself running into the garden before he could stop himself. Takemikazuchi looked up from his book and at Kiun. There were rabbits all around Takemikazuchi and one had even settled on his head. Kiun was laughing before he could stop himself.

“Wha…” Kiun wheezed. “What is going on?”

“This is apparently that tree kid’s apology to everyone. The Institute is flooded with these stupidly pink cherry blossoms and damn animals everywhere. And for some crazy reason, these rabbits will not leave me alone!” Takemikazuchi erupted. Now Kiun couldn’t stop laughing.

“But...but it suits you so much!” Kiun  laughed. Takemikazuchi frowned, grabbed Kiun’s arm and then pulled Kiun down before could brace himself. Kiun spat out cherry blossom petals as Takemikazuchi shoveled them onto him. “Takemikazuchi sama, stop it! I can’t breath! Takemikazuchi sama-” Kiun jolted when suddenly he electrocuted the petals and burnt them to a crisp. “What I didn’t call for the power to-” Kiun stopped, Takemikazuchi was positioned above him, holding an armful of petals. He was grinning in that roguish way of his.

Thump.

Oh.

Thump.

“...some can capture the heart of a yokai.” Tsuyu had said.

“Something’s coming.” The raijuu had said.

I’m in love with him.

“ Has your raijuu said anything about Takemikazuchi? ” Sayuri had asked.

Lightning streaked across the sky and struck Takemikazuchi. Kiun let out a yell of surprise and sat up, lurching forward and reaching for Takemikazuchi as the black haired male’s eyes rolled back and he slumped to the ground. The rabbits scurried away making scared noises.

“Takemikazuchi sama! Takemikazuchi sama?” Kiun cried out.

“What happened?” Sayuri ran across the garden and to them.

“Lightning struck him! I don’t understand! Lightning shouldn’t have affected him! I don’t understand! Sayuri san, what’s happening?” Kiun looked up at the Jianhuren, worry etched all over his face.

“Masaomi, Kazuma, take Takemikazuchi to the health building. Kiun, you’re coming with me.” Sayuri grabbed his arm and yanked him up.

Masaomi and Kazuma stepped forward from the line of spectators and picked Takemikazuchi up. Kiun stared with wide eyes.

“Sayuri san, what’s going on? Sayuri san?” Kiun asked as he watched Takemikazuchi get carried away.

She said nothing but continued to drag him with her.

Author Note - Thank you for waiting patiently~ I hope you enjoyed the lovely cliff hanger and extra chapter!! It took a long time to research for this chapter, I even had to create my own map for the barrier of Higashiizumo from the current map of Matsue. Researching Ofuda was tough too. But aside from all of that, thank you for waiting and I hope you enjoyed this chapter. For Maddie, the Suzuha scene is dedicated to you since you wanted him to freak out over bookshelves. And for Cat,  you wanted to read Yato vs. Basan ever since I mentioned the Basan. Here you go~ Please hold on tight for the next chapter!