Threat Elimination (3)

"Meh, they don't know how to encrypt." Hager's agile fingers were a blur as he tapped on the keyboard.

Many lines of green codes ran across the black screen. Then the Windows screen appeared. Folders, files and toolbars - all there for the taking.

His hand reached out for the Tully's paper cup filled with steaming hot black coffee.

"Aahhhh caffeine," Hage smacked his lips and looked at me with a toothy grin. "You are lucky that they didn't use a Mac or else I would have problems."

"Just don't spill your coffee on that laptop," I muttered, eyeing the swirling coffee in his cup. 

A hyperactive caffeine addict of a tanuki yōkai was bad enough. Destroying a laptop full of information was worse. 

"Fine, fine, you old nag," Hage grinned in mischief as he placed the cup of coffee on his side table beside his desk. "We have a few folders of interest here though."

Then the old tanuki yōkai peered at something he tapped on the mouse pad. 

"This is not good," his tune changed. 

"What is it?"

"Kuro, where did this laptop come from?" He looked up, the colour was fading from his cherubic human form face. 

"A human abode, why?"

Hage gritted his teeth and turned the laptop around for me to look at. Staring in my face was my father's shrine with a circle drawn around the hokura, a small wooden shrine, commemorating him.

"If they are trying to get his spirit, that's the wrong place," I said. 

"Yes, but they also tried…," Hage leaned over and tapped on another icon. "Yato-no-Kami of Hitachi." 

The shrine of Yato-no-Kami appeared on the screen.

Hitachi province, now Ibaraki, was Yato's old spot to guard over before he turned renegade and ran around, causing death and disaster wherever he went. According to Daija, this was caused by the Deity of Calamity. 

The humans had drawn the circle around the hokura with the torii gate and its shredded shimenawa rope before it. 

"That's not where his remains are if they want to make a shikigami out of him," I pointed out. "The Tokugawa clan had his shrine moved from the original spot far from Atago shrine a few centuries ago. Not only that, the custodian shrine of the area is Susanoo-no-mikoto's own Soga shrine in Omitama nearby Namegata where Yato's shrine is." 

"Well, they are trying something and we know they have a half arsed baseline knowledge of our world. So yes, it is a clueless cult. However, the more clueless they are, the more dangerous they become," Hage shrugged as he flipped the laptop's screen back to his side. 

"See if they have pictures of human sacrifices," I asked, remembering the girl at the abode. 

Hage looked up at me in surprise. "You are kidding. This is the 21st century. Even the worst of the gods never wanted a human sacrifice. They only wanted virginal servants alive, not more dead servants for Izanami-no-mikoto of our netherworld."

"Daija and I saw a young girl alive…"

"Momiji only wanted that group out dead or alive. Possess a human to call the cops. You don't need to even move in. Easy money. The humans will clear away the humans," Hage exclaimed. 

"I want to make sure that they aren't a threat before we send them underground, that's why I brought the laptop to you," I said. 

"If you ask me, they are a threat. My tanuki group can trace who visits them in prison," Hage raised his eyebrow and continued looking at the screen. 

"… on second thought, maybe don't," he sighed as he flipped the laptop over again. 

"This archaic ritual." He pointed to a diagram of a circle filled with certain insignias. "Talk to Arahabaki about this. This is the old magic of the Emishi. Not onmyodo. I don't know what it is for, but the Japanese notation on it states that it is a 'strong' spell to gather warrior spirits. Onmyodo sealing spell is on another page too."

The quiet laser jet printer came to life on the short file cabinet against the wall and started a whizzing noise as it printed the copy of the spell. 

"This is a copy while I look through this laptop," Hage pointed to the printer

***

Arahabaki frowned as he studied the paper Kuro gave him. 

"Emishi, right?" She asked.

"Not Emishi, people of Arahabaki Kingdom, my people," he corrected her and waved the paper. "Where did you get this?"

It has been centuries since he had seen the ancient signs of his former followers. The spell was not powerful. In fact, whoever the dumb ass mortal was, the person had mistaken a fire spell for a summoning one. 

"From a place in the mountains of Nagano and we may need you on this one," Kuro said. 

"Why me?" He asked.

"You are immune to onmyodo spells, aren't you?" 

"And the other gods aren't? Any god worth his weight in shrines would be immune to onmyodo spells. Heck, even the Mishakuji are immune. They can call us through onmyodo but we can choose not to appear. That's the extent of the spells on us. No better than the suzu bell, which annoys the fuck out of me."

A sea of wrath stirred within him as he imagined the loud jingles of ten suzu bells across his shrines. His mitama had to split into ten places at the same time to listen to boring mundane human problems and process their wishes to ensure contributions.

That's why most gods rather congregate under Inari. The lesser ones combined into Inari had to help the stronger ones attend to the pleas of the mortals. Whether three in one or five in one, one had to be around. 

It was much better now with the pandemic situation. Fewer tourists and less ringing resulted in fewer complaints from the other gods. That was the unified agreement among the Gods in Takamagahara. 

In secret, he rather missed finding the excuse to kick a few tourists down for ringing the bells for fun. Nothing like the incorrigible trying to ring all bells at one go. His counterparts would laugh at the mortal whenever Arahabaki flick one down the steps for the disrespect shown. 

"So we are playing with a cult that doesn't know any better?"

"Yeah, I think they are trying to capture my dad's spirit as a shikigami," Kuro said. "I saw the photographs of his shrine on their laptop."

Arahabaki nearly burst into laughter. 

"Yamata-no-Orochi, a shikigami… right. Your father is way too big to even fit into a shikoji. His river would drown them before they can even try," he snickered. 

"Oh, and I want another appeasement ceremony after this. Direct it into the Hokkaido one, that's my only payment request," he added. 

"Are you going to unleash your wrath again?" Kuro cringed. 

"Nah dummy, I just like to feel something than always being angry. It feels good to be appeased at times."