Chapter 12

"Well, the Kijo Lord with undoubtedly try to con us, or cheat, or something. They're not well known for their word. However, we did do what they wanted, along with their con, the location of the Yosuzume will lay. We only need to, push her. It's quite easy, if she doesn't come through, we make trouble to the tourist spots on the castle." I smirk, amused by the idea of trolling the Kijo Lord. Or is it lady? Meh. Whatever.

"What-Do-You-Think-You're-Doing-Humans." They replied when I dropped a bloody bag in front of them.

"Well, Kijo-sama you said you wanted the head of the Yokai eater, didn't you? There ya go." Yeah, I am using sama. Seems better than saying lady, or lord, or ladies, or lords. I really don't know how to talk to... them? See? Again.

Takae was standing beside me, still wearing the leather boots I gave her, her headstrong nature rearing its head when she refused to wear her old shoes.

She was crossing her arms, looking at the sides from time to time. She probably thinks we're gonna be attacked.

"Hmm. Very-Well. Your-Next-Task-Is-To-Help-Us-Cleaning-The-Beach-Of-Some-Nomadic-Mermaids." They spoke with superiority, sure of themselves that we're gonna comply with them no matter what.

"No," I said releasing a bit of my aura. "You promised us the place where the Yosuzume sleep. In fact." I say as I snap my fingers, a rune glowing underneath her table. Their eyes widened as they suddenly leaped backward.

A white dome made of my energy, coming from the table, surrounding the room, baring the entry to the rowdy Yokai pounding on it from outside.

"Now, now, little Kijo. You gave us your word, you will comply with it." I say, sitting beside the table and taking a cup of tea.

"You-Are-Strong. But-Only-Raw-Strength-Cant-Give-You-Security. The-Yokai-Alliance-Will-Hunt-You-Down." They state as they regain their composure.

"I am not afraid of slaughtering every single Yokai in japan, Kijo. I am not afraid of your deities either." Takae is just watching everything in silence. From her aura, I can sense she doesn't truly care about the Yokai. Well, understandable.

"Then-You-Truly-Are-Fearless-But-Stupid." They mutter as they grab each other hands. -sigh- "But-You-Made-Your-Point. We-Shall-Give-You-The-Direction-And-You-Shall-Leave." They state as the older one reaches inside her yukata, bringing an old parchment out.

Taking the parchment with a silvery smoky hand, I bring it in front of my face to read it. "Hm. Perhaps, this is the best you can do, can't you not?" With a smirk, I hug Takae's waist as the dome of magic compresses and just surrounds the two of us.

A horde of Yokai rushed inside the room, wielding weapons and looking at us with hate. "Well, well. Ta-ta monsters!" I wave as the dome compresses more and more like a second skin around is, and with a flash, we're in the pond inside the mountain.

"Ugh. Really? Inside the pond? Our clothes are gonna be wet again." She mutters.

"Well, I added the rune of recall here. Alright, now we're gonna go to the temple." I smirk as we climb out of the pond. A heatwave came from my aura, rapidly evaporating the water in our clothes.

"Say... Are you gonna keep hugging me?" Takae, with a grin of her own, says from my embrace.

"Now, now, I am just heating you up. I made you wet, after all." I smirk.

"Oh shush, you're too much of a perv." She mutters walking away from me, but I can see her smile and the red in her ears.

"Anyways, Nat. Why are we gonna go to the temple when we already have the information?" She asks as we leave the cave.

"Well, first of all, while there are probably Yosuzunes where the Kijo pointed, it's probably some kind of trap. Besides, the information in there is a haiku, let me read it:

Where the Skipjack Tuna breeds,

Ryoma Sakamoto rests,

Okuro Suzumi remains, traveler." I say with a tick on my eyebrow.

"They are purposely being annoying fucks." I grunt. "Besides, as I say, even if we find the place, which is not that difficult, all things said. It's probably some kind of trick. So, we're gonna go to the Chikurin-Ji temple, while the Buddhists there are not at war with the Yokai, they do watch them in case they ever break their bond towards Kochi." I say as we mount Bikey.

"Hm. Alright." And that's that.

Mount Godaisan is about 5 kilometers southeast of downtown Kochi, at the top sits a big temple, it's name, Chikurin-Ji Temple, which means Bamboo forest temple, is a shame that there's not a single bamboo forest anymore. All that's left is maple trees.

Once we climb a flight of stone steps and go through the entrance gate, it feels like we are being spirited away. Once past the gate, The path follows a lushly moss-covered approach, before arriving at the main temple buildings, a red five-storied pagoda, and elegant gardens.

The main figure enshrined here is Monju Bosatsu, the bodhisattva of wisdom.

Rising one hand to my midsection, and the other towards my brain, straight fingers I close my eyes and in a whisper, I call out his name.

"Mañjuśrī oṃ a ra pa tsa na dhīḥ" I mutter, my words making the statue shine slightly for but a moment.

Smiling at Takae's confusion I grab her hand. "Let's go talk with the head monk."

"I decided." She suddenly says.

"Hmm? Decided on what?" I ask.

"How I want to know your past." She smiles, at my raised eyebrow she continues. "I want to know things, everything. But I don't want to overwhelm you, or me. I want to do it slowly. So, I'll just ask a little bit every day until I know everything about you." She looks content and happy. That makes me happy.

"Hm. Alright. Let's do it however you want." I smile, as we start skipping through the temple hand in hand.

"Oh, wait, wait. It's him!" I said stopping Takae, while I point towards a bald old monk sweeping the floor of a small courtyard.

"Hey!" I say with a smile and two fingers raised as we get near the monk.

"Hello Old Lama!" I grin. His eyes, smilingly accept everything around him. I can feel it, he became a monk to dedicate his life to serving all other living beings. His nature feels warm, his aura is a smile. He's probably just a sweet old lama.

"Good afternoon young ones." He smiles, stops sweeping, and rests his arms on the broom. "What can I do for you?"

"This is Takae, she was cursed by a Yosuzume when she was younger, her life has not been pleasant, to say the least. We finally discovered what to do to lift the curse, but we need to know where the Yosuzume rests, the Yokai leader gave us this after we helped them get rid of a berserk Onikuma, but I fear it's just a trap. So we came here to ask you where we may find the Yosuzume." I ask as I give him the parchment.

"Ho ho ho, it seems that old thing is still being her old evil self. Ah, as I always say, you can't be a good person if your haikus are bad after all this time." She mutters and crinkles his eyes as he strokes his beard.

"Hmm. A Yosuzume eh." He mutters as one of his eyes opens, and a penetrating light comes from it, scanning Takae from inside out. "Poor child, do not worry, we shall help you as much as we can. It is our duty after all." He pats one of Takae's arms.

Takae, with a nervous smile, accepts the goodwill of the Old Lama. "Thank you, sir," she mutters shyly.

As he leads us through the maze of corridors he starts speaking. "You did well in obtaining approval from the Yokai to search for the Yosuzune. Otherwise, our help would be minimum. Not that we wouldn't want to, but we couldn't. The old Kijo... They are always stopping our attempts at liberating the people of the curse." -sigh- "And while that's not our mission, since we tried first, they have been disturbing us in everything we do. But with that parchment, the other yokai will leave you be as you search for it."

"Hm. Don't worry Old Lama, I'll help ya in turn." I smile towards him.

"Ho ho ho, you do not have to worry child. It is the job of the older generation to help the younger." He smiles.

"Ah, exactly!" I say smiling. Gaining a smile in return and a confused sound from Takae. Later. I mouth towards her and making her nod.

As we enter another courtyard, we're the sound of wood smacking could be heard. We're greeted by a monk, this time it's an adult, his body, filled with scars and bulging muscles, he's training his forms in a Mu Ren Zhuang, or a wooden mummy. The wooden arms spin around as he catches or punches them with the side of his hands.

"This is the best Shaolin Monk of our temple. His name is Puddin." He says with a forced smile.

"Pfft!" I can't. Oh god. Before I could explode, I can feel a pinch from my sides, forcing my laugh down. Ah, sweet Takae, she did not laugh, but she's smiling and pinching me every time it seems I am about to lose my composure.

"Puddin." Pfft! "I have a task for you." Says the old man, giving the younger monk the parchment. "We need to find the Yosuzume, one of them is cursed, has been cursed for years. I don't know how she's alive, but they did say her life wasn't a good one. Let's help her." He smiles towards the younger man. As he examines Takae, stopping in her waist and boobs. Oi, oi, oi. Puddin boy, she's mine.

"Alright." Holy shit, his voice is deep and rumbles like a volcano.

"This is probably a trap, but we know the Yosuzume do come from that area." With a grunt he removes his robes, revealing his muscled body and he flexes as he looks at Takae from the corner of his eyes. Oh, you little bitch.

Takae does blush, that's normal. But it's making me angry. "Hmpf." I grab her waist and look straight into Puddin's eyes. "Mine." Now her blush is enormous and she brings a hand to her face.

With a grunt, he smiles lecherously for a second looking at us both. Wow, he does not aim low, huh.

"Let's go, the sooner we end this, the better." He says while he wears a different robe than the one he discarded, it's not filled with sweat for once, and it seems to have some kind of holy defenses.

As we search the surrounding areas near the riverbed where the tomb of Ryoma Sakamoto is, we suddenly find ourselves in another realm. The blue sky turned dark red, a black circle where the sun was. Black smoke trailed everywhere from the ground.

"A bounded field." Mutters Mr. Puddin.

"Is that so? How did you tell? Did you spread Cream Brulee on your buttcheeks and it tingled? Or was the red sky that-Ugh" I was interrupted by a harsh jab on my sides.

"Nat! Behave! He's helping us!" She mutters with a small frown.

"Ah... I am sorry. I just... I am not used to having a partner, and others trying to take my partner away." I muttered looking at the ground.

"I am sorry Pudding." I turn to him. "Let's... Start again from zero." I say as I extend my hand for a handshake.

"No, my name is Puddin. Not Pudding. No Gs. I don't like Gs. Fucking Gs. And I don't like pudding either. But I swore to help you both. And I will. I also don't like you." He said turning away leaving me hanging.

As my hand fell to my side, Takae's hand caught it. "Good." She smiles. "Even if he doesn't like you, that doesn't mean you shouldn't try to be better. Always. And... I am happy that you got jealous for me. But... Well, I am new to this relationship thing. Let's just take our time and speak of our feelings and all that. That's what Nabeshiman always said. And, well, I can feel that I can trust you. Do you trust me?" She asks with a serious look on her face.

"Ah, I do. Sorry about earlier. I was cursed too, I couldn't love anyone, and since I am free of it. It feels... Weird. But I don't dislike it. All things considered, I have been acting a little bit out of it." I say as I scratch my nape. "Don't worry, I'll tell you later. Let's focus on your curse for now." I say as I bring her to a kiss.

"Can I join?" A rumbling voice said, opening my eyes, Puddin is right there, five centimeters from us. His face is dangerously close.

Before I could do anything, I feel movement, using my energy on my eyes, I can see in slow-mo as Takae's foot crashes on Puddin's face, twisting it and sending him flying. Huh.

"Nice," I say with the last peck, as I rush towards Puddin to heal him.

"Ah! He scared me! Ahh! I am sorry Puddin!" she says as we go near Puddin. But he's surprisingly okay, he rises from the ground and cleans his clothes of the dust.

"No matter. That's what usually happens. I do not know why." He mutters as he scratches his chin.

"Well, I am not one to offer love advice. I do not really know how to do it. But, hm, perhaps you should watch a romantic movie or something." I say to him. As we turn around to keep searching. "Say, it's typical to have bounded fields here?"

"No. There are few, but they're not hidden like this one." He answers with a grunt.

"I am gonna speed around for a few seconds," Takae mutters, and even before I could tell how dangerous that was, she disappeared in a flash.

"Oh well." I can sense no one except us here.

Hmm... What an awkward silence.

"So..."

"I..."

Oops, it seems we spoke at the same time, and now the silence is worse.

"Alright, Puddin. You first." I wave at him with an easy grin.

He's looking at me neutrally. Keep looking boyo, I bite. A few seconds pass until he finally opens his mouth.

"I am sorry for earlier. She's the only one who hasn't laughed or pretended not to when she heard my name. So I thought that maybe I had a chance." He rumbles.

"Hm. Aren't you a monk though? Shouldn't you live in celibacy?" I ask pointing to the mistake of his life.

"I know! But I never wanted to be a monk. I was dropped on the doorstep of the temple when I was younger and never tried to do anything else. But lately, I've been having these... These sexual thoughts!" He screamed.

And Takae was with us, we were both gaping at him. Suddenly his eyes turn red, and he lunges at us. Dodging him was easy though.

"Rarr!" He's grunting and retorting, his face, different emotions pass. Fur starts to grow from his arms. "Growl! Argh... Mine, mine, you both smell of sex! Of Pussy! GIVE ME YOUR PUSSIES!!" Great, he's a werewolf now. And apparently, I was wrong about his age. He's probably sixteen.

"Oh lord, a teenage werewolf. In puberty. Just great." I mutter as Takae's eyes are widened at his transformation.

Oh look, he just tore his human face off. "Erm... Buddy, pal, Puddin... Listen, I'll get you to a brothel or something in a few hours okay? Just... Calm down." I said placatingly.

"Uh... Nat... It's not working. He's growing bigger... His dick too." She mutters beside me with a blush on her face.

"Don't even think about it, werewolf dicks have thorns to 'grab' better," I say rolling my eyes.

"Oi, oi! I was not thinking about it." She says diverting her eyes with a grimace as she slightly closes her legs.

"Rawr! Mine, mine!! Let me bite your boobs!" An animalistic voice screams as we dodge another swipe.

"Dude, you're not getting anything like this. You gotta calm down." But it seems that my words do not work, this time I parry the attack with a hand, as I brought a silver needle.

"Alright, gotta calm you down then." Stabbing him multiple times through his chakra points, his transformation suddenly reverts, he's still wounded but I can heal him easily.

Pouring a little bit of dragon blood on his wounds to heal him, he suddenly jerks and starts thrashing around.

"Nat? What's going on?" Takae asks as she taps my shoulder.

"I don't know... Hm. It's like he rejects the dragon blood. Curious. He's not gonna die though. So relax, and his injuries are closed. Anyway, did you find something?" I ask.

"Yeah, there's something weird on the other side, a magical circle. Made of feathers." She says with a frown.

"Hm. Worth looking into it." I mutter as I kick Puddin's head to knock him out. Probably better than letting him thrash around and hurt himself.

"Hoh. Indeed. Good Job Takae. These are Yosuzume feathers. But... This is weird. Why is this here? You know, the Yosuzune often ambushes travelers in the woods or the mountain trails. The rest of the time they usually live among the sparrows in the mountains. So, this, is not something they do. Hmm. Let me check something."

Taking out chalk from my ring, I start constructing a ring around the feather circle. Using gemstones as nexus points between my circle and the feathers. I create a magical echo, telling me what's the use of that circle.

Information rushes to my head, countless Yokai catching every Yosuzune, and sacrificing it on the circle to create a super Yosuzune. The objective is to make a super curse, to destroy their enemies. The test subject was Takae's father since at the time he was the mayor of the Kichi Prefecture, and he was a good man. He tried his best and was slowly destroying the curse without knowing about it.

This is why the Kijo used this as a chance to either develop a new curse or reinforce it. Using Takae's father as a test subject, linking him to the curse. This is why they used the Yosuzune, because to the Yokai, the Yosuzune is just an unlucky bird. An animal, not worthy enough of being called Yokai.

However, she didn't count on Takae's interference, at the time she was already blessed by Fujin, she was blessed since her birth. And as the Shinto God of Wind, Japanese birds, be it Yokai or not, fall under his purview. That's the reason why, she didn't die because of the curse, she was only slightly harmed. Yes, her life has been in shambles since then, and she has suffered a lot. But compared to what the curse would have done, this is already a miracle.

To lift the curse, I need the life essence of the Kijo. Heh. Good, that bitch is gonna suffer. I didn't know just how angry I was, until Takae's hand was on mine, her sad eyes looking at me. She saw everything too, after all.

"Are you okay?" I ask gently as I embrace her.

"No. That monster ruined my life... But, I guess it's not as bad as it could be. I am healthy. I am happy. Thank you for linking me to your spell." She mutters as she presses her head to my shirt and I feel it dampen a little bit.

"Don't. I'll include you in everything from now on. I'll teach you magic or whatever you want. I'll take you with me everywhere. But first, let's lift this curse." While I am sounding nice and calm. I am everything but, that bitch dared to lie to my face. My heart is beating fast, pumping my blood, I am gonna send her to the grave.

"Let's wake Puddin." Oh, he woke up himself? Hmm? He's taller? His muscles are even bigger? What is going on? "Uh. Puddin?"

"Oh, the mortals." What? "What?" Putting a hand in front of Takae so she knows I'll protect her, she nods and gets ready for a fight.

"Puddin, what's going on?" I ask as I bring my aura to the maximum output and focus it all on Puddin. Trying to sense what's going on.

Hm? This is...

"Puddin? Yes. What a hilarious name this vessel had. I am Amatsu-Mikaboshi the ruler of stars." Said the evil primordial with pride.

"Pfft. Yeah sure. You're nothing but a little remnant. A sliver of the sliver that made the real Ama-No-Kagaseo. You're stupid or selfish? Don't waste our time and leave that vessel. Go back to be whatever smoky creature you were and you shall live." I said flexing my power as much as I can.

"Hm. Curious. You're strong, no doubt about it. But you are just a mortal! Don't you dare think you can fight against deities, worm." He says shattering the ground with a step.

"Oh, August Star of Heaven, I know you. Your weaknesses, your abilities. The fact that you're not a fighter, just a quitter. You crack under pressure." I say menacingly as in my hands appear two sai infused with the abyss from Oblivion itself.

The moment the two Sai appear, Amatsu Mikaboshi stopped advancing. "Hm. Very well, you win." He says as his presence completely leaves the area leaving Puddin alone.

"Phew. Luckily that worked." I say the Sai going back to my inventory. Might as well call it that. Grabbing Puddin from his leg I throw him towards the river.

Looking towards Takeo, I see she's still reeling in shock. Smirking I walk towards her and slap her ass.

"Ah! Nat! Are you okay?" Her voice was full of concern.

Ah, how cute. "Relax," I say, placing my head between her boobs. "We are both okay," I whisper, caressing her back.

"What was that... And that energy?" She asks in shock.

"Hmm, well, according to the Shinto he's a god of darkness, but in truth hes not part of the Shinto. Amatsu-Mikaboshi is just sliver originated as an offshoot of Oblivion when it broke. Oblivion is a cosmic entity that embodies the void. An incarnation of the primordial darkness and chaos that existed before the universe. Do not think too much about it. It's not that strong, not really. I mean, the void is not a joke, but well. Not like you can use void outside the void." I grin. "Let's go, I can hear Puddin shouting."

Two hours later, we find ourselves with other seventeen monks in front of the Kijo Castle.

With a clap of my hands, I take a few hanafudas and pass them along to the monks. "You know what to do." with a savage grin on my face. All the monks take the hanafudas and start surrounding the temple. It's time to remove this pest.