On Astral Tides: From Humble Freelancer To Astral Emperor - Six Hundred And Thirty-Two

“I’m starting to feel sorry for those who attacked my Territory…” I muttered, as the horde of decaying, skeletal bear Kamuy and charred, wretched tree-beings flooded towards us in a disorderly mob, the towering monolith of fog, cloud and lightning standing like a lighthouse directing the mass of enemies to attack us. “…this is a bit overwhelming. Luckily…”

I glanced over at my companions. There was one problem, as Blue still seemed rather out of it after Bintara had forcibly settled her mental state, calming her frenzied fury. But other than that, I was with powerful Yōkai, as well as Hyacinth and Daiyu. After all, Shaeula’s a Kamaitachi…

As if she could sense my thoughts, Shaeula sniffed, but waved her wrist, and the spatial storage within her watch produced her Pinwheels, modified and upgraded once more by the wiles of Bjarki and his Dvergr craftsmanship. Grabbing the handles, she smirked at me, as if catching me out. “You were thinking something quite-quite foolish again, no? This is not-not the time to be distracted. Battles of attrition are most-most tiring!”

“That’s true.” I agreed. “While none of us are weak enough to be quickly drained by a Rank Three Territory, over time it’ll become burdensome. All right then…” I raised my voice and let out a burst of wind element, amplifying my shout and directing it forward so as not to hurt the ears of my companions, though Mae’s and Hana’s still flickered as if pained.

“We’re not here to fight, but we will defend ourselves. Call off your creatures and we can talk this out!” My voice boomed out over the battlefield, and it was loud enough to be heard across the whole island here in the Boundary. Some of the oncoming enemies even stumbled, and seeing that, Shaeula and I exchanged another glance, both realising that an amplified sonic attack could be a useful tool in future battles. A bit like Shaeula’s Flashbang attack…

Our only answer was an intensifying barrage of fire from hidden Defensive Emplacements, and so we had to respond aggressively. “Right, can we…” My words were drowned out as a beam of vicious lightning swept out from the cloud-beast. Shaeula raised her hands, her Foehn surging out, and the lightning, which blazed an ominous purple so deep as to almost be black, started to come apart, but then Foehn scattered away from it.

“Damn-damn it! It is not-not ordinary lightning…” Shaeula spat, dropping one Pinwheel and snatching out her Mortal Fragarach, her motions rapid. Pointing the blade at the oncoming storm, she yelled out her own command.

“Reverse!” she ordered it, and adherence scattered. Blood trickled from her ears and nose, shockingly bright, crimson and silver, against her pale skin, but the lightning did halt, before blasting upwards in a column of stormy energies, thunder booming, hurling grit and sand out like a billowing tide.

“Shit-shit…” Shaeula wasn’t one to curse often, but this one was fervent. “I do not-not think that was mostly lightning element… it was more-more likely adherence…”

As our eyes adjusted to the brilliant explosion, a crater twenty metres wide blasted into the ground before us, scattered debris from trees and bears thrown everywhere, Red was first to act. “Blue, wake up, you damn fool! There’s battle to be had, and blood to be shed! We’ll drink sake and fine, strong mortal spirits out of their skulls… or perhaps…” He roared in frustration, still clutching the narwhal horn. “…they’re too rotten for that, it would taint the booze. But a necklace of their teeth, and skulls turned into drums to make merry music…” His makeshift spear tore through one of the trees like it was paper, and his foot shattered the ribs of a charging undead bear, though dust element leaked out, burning into his skin.

“I am not of use here, although…” Bintara had the ocean at our backs to work with, so spears of water were dragged out and hurled towards our oncoming foes, raining down like a thousand javelins, though sadly such smaller-scale attacks did little. “I shall try and restore Blue to fighting shape. Go.”

“Hyacinth, guard her, and… damn, if you act, then this whole Territory is finished…” As I shook my head, Shaeula had started wielding her Pinwheels with wind element, and the taut strings whined, shining a lustrous emerald, as the vibrating strings, now made of an alloy of Blue Akionite… Damn, that name is incredibly embarrassing… giving them far greater strength, durability and elemental capacity, swept into the front-running ranks of our enemies, chewing through wood, flesh, bur and iron-hard bone with equal ease.

“Dooo not worry. None shall harm lady Bintara ooor lady Blue!” Hyacinth promised, the gleam in her eyes wicked. “Do not count me out, either, fooor… remember the Myconid lands?” She began to create mushrooms and fungi which sprouted from her bare skin, greedily drinking up her wood element, which then rapidly decayed, a new generation quickly taking their place…

“I shall till the ground and let it bloom with the dead!” Daiyu, who was frustrated by her inability to contribute to our battle at sea, swung two of her jade bells. The yellow bells chimed, and ruby energies flooded into the ground beneath the charging foes, before it collapsed, a trench forming, a half-dozen metres deep. Then rang the reddish-purple bells, and fire bloomed, the creatures that stumbled in catching fire. In retaliation the bears began to spit balls of the horrid ooze that plagued them, but Hana waved a hand and one of her tails, wind roaring, driving back the filth, before she wagged a second tail, and her wind elemental assault diverted, becoming one with Daiyu’s flames, causing an eruption of golden-yellow destruction, hot enough to sting our bare faces.

“How… unpleasant…” Sekka murmured, her body starting to heat up, her hair soaked, giving her the appearance of someone who had just crawled from the ocean. “Still, it seems that those who plagued us did indeed come from here. I shall have my vengeance!” A wave of frost covered the sands, and while she directed her attacks away from the flaming trench, the battle front was huge. As shambling trees stepped forwards, burned and blistered roots dragged like feet touching the ice, the cold quickly spread, and soon only a dozen icy statues remained.

“That big one is a nuisance.” Mae observed. She hadn’t acted, and neither had I, we both understood the true threat. “It… is not a Kamuy, perhaps. Maybe what they called Kunne-Kamuy, the thunder demons who lurked within the endless clouds. But while it seems to lack intelligence, it has no shortage of power…” Mae raised her hand and her tails, her brilliant golden-blonde hair defying gravity and lifting towards the skies, her power tangible, a weight we could all feel.

“Crush!” She closed one fist, a surge of aether and adherence leaving her, and the beam of lightning launched from the oncoming monster was compressed into a ball, growing smaller and smaller, until Mae grinned viciously. “It has been far too long since I let loose.” The effect was spoiled by her sudden cough, a little blood being spat onto the frozen sand, but soon her confidence was back. “Lest I forget, I am Tamamo-no-Mae! To greet me in such a manner… ill-befits my status!”

A nova of lightning was released as she hurled the orb she had compressed into the back ranks of the mob. The detonation was brutal, reducing many trees and bears alike to ashes, and the island shook. Despite that, we were still being bombarded by other attacks, so I made a decision.

“Daiyu, Nebisuki, can you find the Emplacements and disable them?” I swept my hand to the side, and a golden-yellow mist, full of hungry flickering shades of red, purple and more burst into being. “We can handle here, even if we have to go a bit hard!” It’s just a shame a good chunk of the ether these deaths are scattering is reabsorbed by the Territory. We’ll be lucky to get half of it… but it should keep us in fighting shape regardless…

As I split the Foehn into dozens of bolts and ignited the charging mass of bears, Daiyu nodded. Her pink bell was swinging now, and blades of wind scythed down several charred trees. “Yes, I do not care to be simply shot at endlessly. Besides…” Daiyu’s senses and intuition were both incredibly keen and it seemed she was bothered by this whole situation. “…I am certain there is more to this than simply an aggressive Chosen such as you.”

Aggressive? Me? Shaeula was laughing as her Pinwheels were savaging the enemies, slicing them into gory chunks, and Red roared in both delight and pain as my Foehn erupted in a massive explosion as backdrop to our conversation, the bears and trees set alight becoming flaming debris, spreading the wrath still further. Mae had launched a dozen rays of various energies at the largest threat, yet clicked her tongue as they mostly passed through harmlessly, but then her next attack followed, condensing down to the two different elements which seemed to have the greatest effect.

“No, something reeks here, of conspiracy. Come.” Daiyu beckoned to Hana, who with a chuckle raced alongside Daiyu. The great towering mass of stormy cloud, dark violet flames flickering within, giving it a baleful, ominous cast, like the sky before a hurricane, seemed to turn what might have been a head, though it was hard to be sure. A great torrent of lightning gushed out, but Mae and I were both waiting.

“I don’t think so. Prominence Dusk!” The ring of darkness fringed with light appeared again, as I used Void Serpent Steps to close the distance. The cascade of lightning was swallowed up, though this time, cracks spread through the shadowy circle surrounding me, light leaking out. Yeah, this isn’t a purely elemental attack, or… not like we use, at least… but that’s not going to stop me…

Mae’s barrage struck the creature, and small wisps of cloud were dragged from it, which quickly dissipated. I retaliated with my own blasts of light and darkness element, as Mae had tested their efficacy and it seemed the best option, even as Prominence Dusk poured most of my reserves into the conversion. I rapidly began manipulating the adherence, trying to turn it into a form more usable, and I shuddered, as thoughts of hatred, despair, anger, jealousy and lust began to permeate me. I felt a pain in one eye, then a savage pain in my calf. Then my other eye burned, and lastly my head felt like it was splitting, my skull throbbing as if struck hard twice.

Fuck off! Forcing that down, the phantom torment vanishing as quickly as it came, I finally finished weaving the adherence into a form Prominence Dusk could utilise, close enough to elemental flame rather than lightning now. My own flame was a vicious, inky black, seeming to drink in nearby light. The halo around me collapsed, scattering motes of fading blue and indigo light, but as the obsidian flame roared onto my target, I drew Tsurugi, who eagerly gathered her strength.

Oh! It’s a cloud, a storm! I want to, no, I feel I need to cut it, father!

Go right ahead! Daiyu and Hana had raced past the mob, Hana blasting her way through with brute force, and Daiyu rang her bells once more, and in the distance a Defensive Emplacement, buried in the mountain, only the part that discharged bolts of elemental earth showing, collapsed into ether, pierced through by spikes of rock. Clever. After we reach Rank Four, and fix the obvious holes in our security, maybe we can start doing sneaky things like that?

“I am Ame-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi! I gather the clouds, cut the storms, and slice any obstacle that blocks father’s way!” Tsurugi cried out in her sweet, youthful voice. “Sever!”

Once more I swept out a perfect blow, the nature of the Flexible Serpent Sword that I had crystalised from Motoko’s and Natsumi’s teachings perfectly matched to Tsurugi, who had adapted her shape into an elegant katana. The sky shivered, as did the burning cloud-creature, and half of it was blown away along with the inky, ominous flames I had returned to it.

“Not bad…” I landed, rolling to my feet, and Tsurugi danced in my hand, several more bears that assaulted me furiously slashed apart, bodies breaking down to ether. Red, covered in blood, mostly his own, the narwhal spear worn down to a broken stub only two metres in length, which he was now wielding as a club, charged my way, bulldozing several trees aside, despite them dwarfing his massive height. Seeing the madness in his eyes, blood dripping from his sockets, I panicked for a moment, but he merely smirked at me, fist and club smashing a bear to shards of bone and powdered dust.

“Har. Har. A grand brawl.” He smirked, sweat rising off his muscular body like a silver mist. Even as he called out to me, a bear rushed at him, claws slashing. He dodged, four furrows raked into the ground. A javelin of ice then pierced it, flung by Sekka. Another bear charged, but Red kicked it aside, despite it surely weighing as much as a car. “Gets my blood boiling.”

To prove his point, he spat, a mixture of silver spittle and crimson, smoking blood. “I see why Blue lost control now. There’s rage inside these things. Not the pure, white-hot anger we Oni feel, but… a dark, bitter hatred. Best not get caught up in it.” He glanced up at the shrunken mass of cloud. “Else if you go crazy, it’ll be a bloodbath. One that’ll make the time my poor dead bro and the Kijo bitches got killed look like a brawl over a half-empty gourd of booze.”

Moments later, the battlefield changed. Without any warning, all around us the tree-creatures were collapsing, mushrooms sprouting from their bodies, charred bark and blackened heartwood riddled with expanding arrays of mycelium, tendrils digging deep. Some mushrooms, with fat, virulent red, orange and purple heads, throbbed disturbingly, before they exploded into thick clouds of spores, spreading across the battlefield. Some flared to ashes where they ran into my Foehn, which was still propagating, seeking out victims with mindless, yet almost purposeful, hunger. Other clouds of the cloying dust froze, dropping to the ground in clumps. But enough spread to destroy the trees, both animated and what remained of the groves before the volcano, yet none of the bears were affected, merely crashing through the living smog and seeking us out, dusty claws raised, rotten fangs clacking, ready for battle.

Nice job, Hyacinth. You’ve become truly terrifying. I think I’ve raised a weapon of mass destruction, but… I trust her. She’s never given me a reason not to, even in her dark fits of melancholy or rage. Though best to be safe… Resolved to look into any training or equipment that could protect against being mentally influenced, like Blue was, I raised my hand, scattering fire element, and Foehn blazed anew, turning into serpentine, blazing ropes, which burrowed into the remaining bears, as well as the lightning demon. In the distance, explosions echoed, and the weight of fire pouring in from the Emplacements was drying up, Daiyu and Hana clearly rampaging successfully.

And despite all this… the Territory owner hasn’t come forward. That’s… troubling. Either because they’re not here, or worse, because they are… regardless of that, this battle is almost over. With the trees collapsing one-by-one, and the bears mostly eradicated, that only left the wounded colossus of fog, cloud and thunder. Foehn was consuming it, spreading, and I drew Tsurugi once more, readying another slash, though her voice was tired, a yawn interrupting my thoughts. Don’t worry, you can rest soon, I hope…

[Yushkep…] The air around us vibrated, the very ground shuddering. My hair, as well as Shaeula’s and the others, stood on end, Mae’s fur especially affected, much to her annoyance.  [Omap… omap… OMAP… aeangesh… aepange… AETUNNE!]

“What-what is that?” Shaeula, her Pinwheels slick with gore, stumbled to a halt. I felt it then, even as sparks of lightning were crackling around us, rising from the ground like miniature geysers. The odd, intangible pains I’d felt earlier returned, and Shaeula howled out a cry of anguish as her right eye exploded, blood pouring down. Shit, just like that time fighting the Bargeist, when I awaked my Eye…Bintara, back from the battle, also winced, her own right eye rupturing, though she quickly placed a hand over it, trying to heal it.

[Sik!] Despite Foehn burning it, and Mae continually punishing it with blasts of light and darkness, the cloud-demon roared out a word, though it seemed more a vibration, rather than directed, conscious speech. I went to confront it, ready to back Mae up, when my calf erupted, gushing blood, as if a long, thin, sharp object had torn through my flesh, nicking bone, cracking it.

[Kem!] The booming cry sounded like thunder, the skies now raining down a toxic, acidic cloud as an accompaniment to the din. With my widened perception, I saw Sekka stumble, her calf also spraying blood from a similar wound. Moments later, Blue’s left eye exploded, and she shuddered, though still showed little reaction. Hyacinth’s left eye also popped, and that served to anger her, and against the falling fog and rising lightning she countered with massive, thorny vines rising from the soil, virulent mushrooms sprouting from the whiplike fronds giving extra protection, as she scattered the fog.

[Siki!]

What the hell… adherence… it’s… no, what I thought was adherence earlier, it isn’t quite the same thing. Though I’ve been handling it as though it was, so there must be some sort of similarity or connection.

[Pa! Pake! Rai… Ray… HOKI!] I staggered, hearing my skull crack. I wasn’t alone, Mae, Shaeula, Red and Sekka were all stunned, though just for a moment. As blood cascaded down our heads, dripping into and obscuring our vision, I felt the weight of anger slamming into me, urging me to let go, to give into rage…

Nope. Tsurugi… ready… for one more?

Mae unleashed a massive surge of darkness element, blanketing the battlefield, swallowing up the sparkling lightning, muffling the booming cries. My own light element responded, blossoming like a moon within the sudden darkness, and as the quieter whispers of the creature started tearing through Mae’s shadowy barrier, I thrust Tsurugi through my gathered light element. She drank it up, and drawing a vivid, indigo slash, containing hints of shining silver, I struck the creature once more. Darkness parted, blown away by the brilliant streak of light, which carried forwards, striking halfway up the volcano, gouging a slash deep into the rock, from which boiling, oozing mud spewed, igniting as it touched the air, the flames exuding a sickly black smoke.

You have gained in strength. Your Level has increased from One Hundred And Fifty-Nine to One Hundred And Sixty-One. Your…

Just two Levels for all this massacre? That doesn’t seem right, especially not with how strong this creature was. Even accounting for the lost ether to the Territory…

As I sheathed Tsurugi, her metallic blade still shimmering prettily with the remnants of my light element, the fog dispersed, and the skies cleared. The lightning vanished into scattered motes of light, and a faint, wistful wail could be heard, making my battered head and thigh ache.

[Mat… Matu… … … Men…o…ko…]

“Shit.” I spat blood, Ether Healing rapidly trying to repair my wounded skull and calf. It wasn’t easy, it resisted, in a similar manner to adherence-poisoned wounds, but now the battlefield was clear of enemies, at least for now, we could take stock of the situation. I staggered over to Shaeula and attempted to regenerate her missing eye.

“That-that stings.” she pouted. “Be more-more gentle.”

“Sorry.” My own eyes glowed, and I realised it would be quicker to be ruthlessly brutal. I excised the surrounding flesh and even burned the nerves carefully. Shaeula drew in a hissing breath, clearly in agony, but moments later her eye regrew, and she blinked it, rejoicing in her restored vision. As for her injured head… the analogue to adherence inflicting it wasn’t as severe, and I was able to work around it.

“Quite the wretched being.” Mae strolled over, ears flat against her skull showing off the pain she was hiding, though she’d shaken the worst of it off quicker than anyone else but me. “And powerful. It was surely once a Kunne-Kamuy. I recognise that will. It is not as the Kami or the true Divinities, such as that one which dwells within the white woman.” She tossed her head, rubbing at her temples, water element from her fingertips soothing her aching skull. “But it is still an old power, will imposed on the world based on their nature. In a way, it is similar to what we Yōkai are… or were.” Her tails drooped. “My head aches infernally. But for now, best see to the others. To our good fortune, the creature returned to its rest before it could escalate its wrath, as I do not wish to think of what might have happened next. We would have endured, certainly, but some of our weaker… comrades…”

Sekka, limping over, her long hair a mess with frozen blood, grimaced. “Comrades, you say. I am tired of being surprised.” She raised a hand, and an icy shield like a giant flower bloomed, blocking an aetheric bolt, sparkles of icy diamond dust scattering. “I am so damnably tired of all of this. What happened to my peaceful world?”

“It never existed.” Red smirked, as I moved over to see to Hyacinth, Bintara and Blue, who came out of her stupor at last, only to discover her missing eye and many other savage wounds littering her burned, corroded flesh. “You simply hid away, you and all you snow women. And those that hide always find their little burrows are found by the hunter eventually. Never be the prey, woman. Never the prey, always the predator.”

“That might be true.” Sekka agreed at last. “But as those of us with power slumbered, the world was peaceful, for a time.”

“But that time has ended. There, all better.” I patted the giggling Hyacinth’s shoulder, after replacing her eye. The painful excision of damaged flesh and nerves barely bothered her, and she bore it without complaint, which was a cause for sorrow, in many ways. “Oh, your mushrooms were a masterwork. Just targeting the trees…”

“I tooold you, Akio.” she chortled. “Hyacinth is learning all the time, it is nooot so hard to improve upon what I have dooone before. We ooonly wanted to eat Myconids, remember? They were all plants tooo, as well as Fae.” Her giggles were manic now. “Though we shooould never mention these near Primal Forest or his ilk. If they knooow what I can do, they will wish me gooone. And you would not allow it, I knooow that.”

“Yeah. Damn right I wouldn’t.” I agreed. Bintara had seen what I did to Shaeula and scooped out her own damaged optics before regenerating them, and the pair of us fixed up Blue, who was staring out at the destroyed battlefield, a mass of still-blazing Foehn, wildly growing mushrooms and a massive gash in the landscape greeting her confused, one-eyed gaze.

“Just what the hell happened here? Last I remember, I was wrecking that stupid whale, ripping out its guts, then all of ya…” She rubbed at her temples, clearly lost. “My head hurts like a Kanazuchibō whacked me with their damn mallets, or an Ippon-Datara decided to forge a helmet with my skull. Ya going to tell me just what’s going on, or just leave me hurting and angry?”

We explained how she’d gone mad, and Bintara had to rescue and restrain her, and her skin darkened, at least the patches of azure which hadn’t corroded, taking on a violet hue. She scratched her cheek idly, clearly ashamed. “I see how it is. Ya have my thanks then. Damn, I itch and burn all over.”

I quickly worked Ether Healing on her, not a complete job, but enough to get her back to fighting shape, and it was then that Daiyu and Hana returned. The two of them were a bit battered, Hana was limping, her calf pierced just like ours, and her fur coat was burned and full of holes. Daiyu’s cheek was smeared in blood, but she still had an onyx eye in her socket, likely it had grown back thanks to Chang’e’s power. Her coat too was rather torn and smeared with blood, but otherwise they both seemed in good shape. I was about to congratulate them, when I saw the troubled expressions on their faces.

“Did something happen?” I asked, and Daiyu exchanged a long glance with Hana, who shrugged, uncertain.

“At first there were few problems, more annoyances than dangers. The ruler here is crafty and vicious. The Emplacements were buried, or hidden within trees, and there were other traps too, pits, poisonous gases, wires not unlike your Pinwheels, Shaeula…”

“Young Daiyu here has excellent danger perception.” Hana praised her, before extoling her own virtues, likely the point. “And I am a Kitsune, one of the strongest of the Hyakki Yagyō. My nose is also very keen. Such trifles are only bothersome to me. Though I am disappointed the coat you gave me is ruined…” She grimaced theatrically at the bloodstained cloth. “…I shall make it up to you, repay you…”

“No thanks, it’s just a coat.” I cut her off dryly, much to her exasperated, somewhat amused annoyance. “We shouldn’t linger here, it’s just a waste of our strength.”

“Fine.” Hana sighed, allowing Daiyu to finish the explanation.

“We were caught unawares by whatever strange power afflicted us. My eye exploded, Nebisuki was wounded in the leg, our skulls were nearly crushed, yet we pressed on. We destroyed a dozen or more Emplacements, though I am sure many remain further up the volcano, perhaps they were silenced as they could do little to harm us. We also destroyed several of what I can only assume were Barracks. I know you do not wish for an escalation to this conflict, but… if we were weaker, many of us might have fallen. I shall not arrogantly underestimate and go easy on a potential enemy. A wise lion uses all its strength hunting even a simple rabbit. It is as you say, we can pay reparations in ether later if necessary.”

I agreed. “Yeah, I won’t blame you both. The situation isn’t one where we have the liberty to take it easy anymore.”

“Then… as we were about to return, your sword beam struck the mountain, and it cracked. Near us, much of the surface fell into a chasm. My instincts told me we needed to investigate, and… you had better see it for yourself.”

“See what?” I asked, but Daiyu merely shook her head.

“It is a Building, I am certain. For what purpose… I do not know. But it is sinister indeed.”

“The décor is… familiar.” Hana chuckled ruefully. “Or it would be, if not for the… subjects. It is the sort of scene that would not be unusual when the Parade is trumpeting its worst excesses. You may not find it a pleasant sight.” she warned.

“Pleasant or not, we have to investigate. Retreating now will likely only weaken our position and gain us nothing after what we’ve done here. Besides…” I left it unsaid, but back on the Material, the situation was unusual as well. Just how does it all fit together? But it surely needs dealing with, else Tsukuyomi wouldn’t have sent Tsukiko and I the vision…

“Are you sure you are fine?” Tsukiko asked, not for the first time. Even with the connections between my subtle bodies being weakened when it came to transmitting damage, my calf had still been pierced by the strike from the strange Kunne-Kamuy. Of course, Ether Healing had rapidly restored it, but Tsukiko still worried.

“Yeah, everyone’s okay.” I promised her, as we looked around the destination we had arrived at. “Though apparently Daiyu and Nebisuki found something troubling. We’re going to investigate it now.” I paused, looking around Rishiri Town. Since the vision had shown the blood drop from the wagtail Moshiri-kor-kamuy striking the volcano from the west, we decided to ride the helicopter over there first, landing on the beach away from one of the two towns on the island, occupying that western coast, though calling it a town was stretching the definition. “You know, this reminds me a bit of Nishimorioka. We’ve even got a mountain, well, a dormant volcano. We don’t have this lovely sea view though.” I put my arm around Tsukiko, not only to keep her warm, as the winter chill was particularly fierce up here in northern Hokkaido. No, the way everyone is looking at us is… strange. Almost hostile.

The populace of the island did include a handful of smaller, darker-skinned citizens, similar in appearance to Hotene-san, probably signs of some Ainu blood, rather than being culturally Ainu themselves, as sadly there were fewer than twelve thousand remaining across Japan based on the last survey the government conducted, and the language itself was culturally extinct, with maybe a dozen native speakers remaining, and a few professors who were trying to preserve the lost tongue.

But it’s not just them, is it? The looks we were receiving from everyone didn’t match our circumstances. For a start, Tsukiko was truly stunning, even wrapped in a fur coat her explosive curves couldn’t entirely be hidden, and apart from her exotic scarlet eyes, she had the classical looks of a Japanese Princess, with her long black hair down to her ankles, and perfect facial features. Yukiko would disagree, complaining about her own appearance, but I think she’s plenty pretty enough, especially as her confidence grows. No, focus on the task at hand here… I could have expected jealousy and hostility from some women, or perhaps I would have received the same from bitter, envious guys, assuming they didn’t recognise me, which in itself was unusual, but… it was an entirely different sort of wariness and scorn.

“Do you fancy a drink?” I asked, and Tsukiko knew I was looking for an excuse to talk to someone. Nodding, we walked to a nearby convenience store. It was small, as befit a village of a population which likely didn’t even break a thousand, and as the bell at the door chimed, we stepped inside. Huh, that’s… unusual. There was a community noticeboard, once more reminding me of my hometown, as they were often placed at central hubs like shrines or the major stores.

Walking over to it, we inspected the posters and notices. Most of them seemed old, the papers yellowing and faded, but the newer ones… that’s… interesting. There was a crudely made poster, with a thick black cross over a radio, a television and an antenna tower, and the message was to boycott television and radio, and only use a local station, Rishiri FM. Beneath it was scrawled testimonials, about the ‘lying mainlanders’ and ‘blasphemous outsiders’.

“What do they mean by that? Blasphemous?” Tsukiko frowned, not liking such terms. “Rishiri Island may have no true shrines, as we reckon them, but there are still definitely those of note, such as Rishiriyama atop the mountain, and Kitami Fuji shrine in this very town.”

“We should check that out next.” I suggested, looking at the other posters. One used a lot of words I didn’t understand, mixed in with Japanese, while a third pointed out that the airport was ‘closed for long-overdue maintenance’.

Though considering it is lucky to break thirty thousand passengers a year, and we’re definitely close enough to the mainland to be easily accessible by boat, that wouldn’t cause much of a fuss. Yet…

Shaking my head, we left the noticeboard, and I picked up a couple of bottles of water, before taking them to the bored shopkeeper, a man in his late fifties, with greying hair and a wrinkled, weatherbeaten face. He eyed us warily, taking my money with a distinct lack of usual manners. I raised an eyebrow, and he grudgingly thanked me as was customary, before spitting out a few cold words. “Mainlanders? Here for a day trip?”

“Yes. We got a boat over.” I lied. “It’s beautiful here, but we’ll be heading back before it gets too late.”

“Oh.” He seemed relieved by that. “Yes, the north is so very beautiful. More than you know.” As Tsukiko opened her bottle and took an elegant sip of water, her throat working, I inwardly applauded the shopkeeper for ignoring such a stunning sight. “But it’s also cold. And sudden storms can blow in from the north. Best head back to the mainland early. Mark my words, it will be a stormy night tonight.”

After that long speech, he fell silent, clearly wanting us to leave, so we did, and once outside, I took a swig of my own water, grateful that my injured leg hadn’t bled enough to be noticeable and arouse suspicion. “I’m not aware of any storms in the forecast.”

Tsukiko agreed. “No, the weather should be clear and cold tonight.”

“In that case…” Mind made up, just as in the Boundary I had arrived at the foot of the mountain, ready to investigate what Daiyu and Mae had discovered, I was ready to probe further here. “Do you know the way to Kitami Fuji shrine?”

“I have never been, but… I believe so.” Taking my hand in hers, we once more huddled together, looking like a handsome couple on a date, but… I can feel it. My senses are keen. Someone is watching us, and… they don’t feel friendly…