The Night parade of One Hundred Demons (3)

The man before them was the same age as Ito Asahi except for his semblance. His hands and neck were covered in kanji letters of the sutra. His eyes were hollow and red, his hair was long and lustrous, and his presence was like a celestial being. As if he never wished to be sent to earth, his eyes held sorrow, unlike Mr. Kobayashi, who stood with pride. 

"In the last five hundred year period,

I will appear in the form of scriptures.

Consider them identical to me.

And treat them with due respect."

Were written on the man. 

"This is my son, Kobayashi Tsukasa." The master revealed his son's name. 

A sudden twitch of eyebrows was noticeable among Hayashi and Asahi, as it was very uncommon for the head of the association to have their names known. More so, the young master had not even been given the head position, so it was even more dangerous. 

"Are they the ones who shall be heading to Okinawa with me?" 

Just like Mr. Kobayashi, Tyukasa shared the similar dialect and the voice. He had a mellow voice, which soothed the soul. 

"Indeed, they are. He is Hayashi Tokoe, and here," Mr. Kobayashi pointed towards the side. "He is Ito Asahi. They shall be accompanying you." 

"I shall take my leave now. Ahem! My son will guide you both. Come back safely." 

With that said, Mr. Kobayashi left the room. Finally, the fragrance of the rottenness had disappeared. If his hunch was correct, the head of the association might die in a few weeks. 

"Ito san, you should pay attention to me now." Young master Kobayashi declared, which made Asahi immediately bow his head for forgiveness while Hayashi remained focused and silent. 

"So as you may have known, this mission is not an easy one. The night parade will happen in the next two weeks. We shall be departing now and start to exorcist as much as possible. There may be times when demons and yokai of much higher level encounter us, so I shall hope both of you will take care of yourselves." 

[

As the young master explained, they could understand the dangers of the mission were very high. As a hundred different yokai were led by the supreme yokai leader who could never get caught, it meant that the parade could either be very destructive or very meaningful. 

"What about during the night of the parade? Do we have to send the yokai's back to their realms?" Hayashi asked earnestly. His forehead had a sweat drip from the side, and his lips thinly tightened. 

All eyes were on him, and though the room was breezy and airy, the heat felt intense for the older man. 

The young master gave a tedious smile. "Only the Yama or the Cat can send the Yokai back to their realms. We exorcists only send them to the land of the dead, where they are stuck for eternity sometimes." 

Hayashi had his ears turn red from embarrassment after all, being the oldest, and yet, it seemed that he had the least amount of knowledge. Still, even though he had never gotten any formal education regarding the yokai, he had learned the combat against them, and that was all he required in a land of mirrors and smoke where the interpretation of real and counterfeit could barely be adjusted. 

"How shall we be identifying ourselves as we have such a long stay there, young master?" Asahi questioned.

"Monks, of course." Once again, the young master had a smile on his face despite his dead eyes, but this time, the smile had a slight glint of evilness, which Asahi could tell from miles away. 

"..." 

Both of them remained quiet. How were they supposed to be monks? How could they cut their precious hair off?!

"Bu-but young master..." 

"Well, any other method would be ineffective. Also, it would be better if you asked your seventy to send your luggage here, as we need to head there before the sunrise. The people there must be needing us." 

With that said, the young master, Kobayashi Tsukasa, dismissed both of them.

As they descended the stairs, Mr. Hayashi was quick to ask, "Do you think the young master will guide us well? It is the first time I didn't have Master attending with us for this parade." 

"Let's believe in the master's judgment. He knows the severity of the situation and knows the true qualifications of the young master." Asahi had an impeccable choice of words. 

As the two of them descended the stairs, the servants of the house waited for them in the living room. They took a seat on the luxurious couch. 

"Have the car prepared. I shall get my things ready and return them immediately." Hayashi Tokoe declared, and his workers nodded. Following his words, immediately the butler called the chauffeur to pick the master up.

Meanwhile, Asahi indolently sat on the couch. His eyes followed every action happening in the room.

"Prepare my luggage for a three-week stay and also prepare the flower arrangement," Asahi commanded. There were a few things Asahi wished to do at the North Star mansion, and it seemed like the best opportunity, which made him reluctant to leave. 

The butler startled at his master's command. Regaining his composure in a matter of seconds, the butler replied, "As you say, Master," and returned to the car.

"Then I shall be returning soon." Hayashi Tokoe declared and left while Asahi too walked outside of the mansion and decided to take a stroll around the zen garden. The servants of the house were short with words but accompanied him at a distance. 

The garden had newly drawn patterns on the sand. The bamboo was filled with droplets of water, and it hit the rock, creating a subtle "Ting!" sound. 

"We meet again, young master Ito." 

A familiar sound of Kobayashi Tsukasa could be heard from the garden. Asahi had his gaze up; he gave a sincere smile that wasn't from the heart. After all, he wasn't expecting to run into the young master so soon. 

"Indeed, we did young master Kobayashi." He replied. 

"How about we stand together? After all, it seemed that you were here to visit the garden too." 

How could Asahi deny the request from the son of the head? He couldn't. Giving an uncomfortable smile, Asahi joined the man, unsure of what brewed behind the man's head.