The University Raccon (3)

"Foxglove!" 

He muttered as if a sudden rock of enlightenment had been thrown to his head. Despite his inexpressive face, the subtle change in his eyebrows was clear. Right after the train came into view and stopped. 

A multitude of people were in a queue and got on the train, and behind them, Asahi joined as well. He sat next to the window, and the train resumed its speed. Since it was still early, the train was partially full, and the seat beside Asahi was empty. 

Meanwhile, Asahi took out a pen and a notecopy from his bag and started to note down everything he could think of. He created a mind map to organize his thoughts. Firstly, a supernatural phenomenon was going around, but there was barely any trace of it. Second, although it was just a hunch, he could feel the same spiritual energy from two students, and lastly, it could either be a Kinetsu or a tengu or at least a shape-shifting oni and at the very least a tanuki. 

Either way, he wasn't sure. 

The time ran by soon, and his station was next. Asahi started to pack up his belongings and got off along with the crowd of people. The walk to his home was like a breath of fresh air. The sky had started to turn golden, and the air was clean and fresh. There were plenty of farmlands filled with green rice plants. 

A few children were on their bicycles while their mothers carried their bags. The children told about their days while some played with their friends. 

Asahi took a quick glance and, without altering his speed, swiftly returned back home. Ever since his grandfather had died, the house had become quieter, but that wasn't his concern right now. 

"Welcome young master." The Buter was quick with his feet despite his growing old age. 

"Eh," Asahi nodded and headed to his room. He pulled open the fusuma. There Kuro was playing with a big lemon green yarn, which was thick and fluffy. He slightly sneered and entered. After stripping off the outdoors clothes and wearing the house clothes, Asahi immediately went to his table and was hell bent on making a formula for the poison and its antidote. 

'What was the thing that last time I didn't use, yet it still made Nezu have such a serious effect?'

This question kept rotating in his head while the pen's tip was being hit on the table. He couldn't wrap his head around the reasoning behind it. Just because it worked on Nezument that it would work the same on everyone else? Or would the symptoms vary as per the spirits? 

He could never be sure since spirits, Yokai, and ghosts were never studied well. Perhaps the Omyouji association could help him, but unless he was Mr. Kobayashi's son, he was never going to be given the full information. 

"What are you stuck on?" Kuro curiously gazed at the paper while its hind legs were scratching Asahi's shoulders. 

"This poison." 

Kura took a closer look at Asahi's face. There was no trace of satisfaction, and rather, with each second, his face hardened. 

"And the other thing you are stuck on?" Kuro meticuliously pointed out. 

Asahi sharply glanced at his cat, not liking that his weakness was pointed out. He had let his guard down, which was dangerous. He immediately made a passive expression, 

"It's some trifle matter." 

With that said, Asahi stared to draw a few more formations. Each of them required some incredibly rare herbs, but he couldn't care about that. He continued to note down his thoughts and later came to a halt. 

"I'm not sure how my poison affected Nezu that badly. I want to recreate that formulation," he murmured, forgetting that Kuro was also with him. The cat was sharp-minded, intelligent enough to become as silent as a dead body while observing the thoughts and notes of its master.

"Well, perhaps a perfect mixture of herbs could be the trick. I can definitely tell that more than half the ingredients you wrote down would not even be the required catalyst." 

"..." 

Asahi was baffled, but he was tongue-tied. His face had a disapproving look but took his time after to let Kuro's words sink in his mind, as it wasn't the time for him to be saving his reputation but figure out ways to conceal his weaknesses. 

"How about I add the Omyouji chant? It could perhaps work?!" Asahi spoke to no one in particular. 

"It might," Kuro diligently answered while approvingly giving a nod. It had an evil grin and stood on its limbs, following its master. 

They walked towards the basement, which was dimly lit. The walls were dirty, and plenty of cobwebs were all around the stairs and the ceiling. Asahi used his rusty key and entered his experiment room. 

Heading straight towards the bookshelf, he looked through the books and took out a few papers and a book related to exorcism. With a placid face, he sat down on his chair and turned the pages of the books while the papers were kept neatly beside the book. 

The pages were worn out and the color was faded, but each page contained a chant and a talisman symbol for the specific yokai or event. Asahi argus eyed each page. Plenty of chants were written for the kinestu and tengu, yet none of them matched the phenomenon of what was happening. 

While he turned the page there, he saw a sentence that was marked "The troublesome creatures who can shapeshift more than a kinetsu." 

'eh?' His eyes gazed at the heading of the chant, and it was for a tanuki. It was odd since tanuki are often harmless creatures. In such a dilemma, he decided to make the poison for two kinds of creatures, the tanuki and the kinestu.

Just the thought of making poison made his tranquil face the smirk of a vile human. The way the poison could penetrate the cells of the spirits, the way it could hopefully destroy their existence. He couldn't wait to get the herbs. 

"Kuro." He turned his head toward his cat with a big grin. His eyes held the evilness as his crescent moon-shaped eyes glanced at the black cat.