出会い
Meeting

"It may light the path for you, but it is your own will to walk down that very path."

If losing his magical briefcase back in the United States wasn't bad enough, losing his important notes for the second edition of his bestselling book—Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them—was much, much worse.

Especially in the middle of a foreign land where he couldn't understand the language.

Newt Scamander arrived in Japan—also known as the "Land of the Rising Sun" in some books featuring this mysterious Eastern country—about a week ago. He came here via a passenger ship from the Californian harbor, after finishing the rest of his research on American magical creatures and paying Tina's sister, Queenie Goldstein, a quick visit. He was supposed to meet up with a Japanese liaison wizard going by the name of Fujino, but all the street signs were gibberish to the magizoologist. He couldn't even ask for directions from the locals, who were giving him curious glances as they passed by him.

Much of Japan was still trying to recover from its devastating destruction in the aftermath of the second muggle world war. Even though Newt knew that there was nothing he could do for the war-torn Japanese, his heart couldn't help aching at the sight of their awful living conditions. He did wanted to reconsider this visit, but Fujino told him in his letter that the best time to study this magical creature was "at the height of despair". That made Newt curious just what this beast was, the last push convincing the British wizard to come to Japan.

However, Newt didn't expect a hurricane to hit the country the very next day of his arrival. The storm left nothing but a trail of destruction in its wake; worse, it took his precious research notes with the debris around him into the air. Even if he managed to recall a few pages with a Summoning Charm, the power of nature was truly beyond the league of any magic. Of course, he didn't give up hope so easily without quick-casting a tracing spell so that he still had a way to get back his scattered notes… somehow.

Except that he didn't know where to begin his search.

Even so, he knew he had to start somewhere. Newt strolled down the rubble-filled roads with a hand in his coat pocket. The setting sun dyed the cloudy sky in clashing shades of purple and red, a beautiful sight to behold, which contrasted strongly with the current crumbling state of the town.

He didn't know where he was going. The hand in his pocket was gripping onto his wand, waiting for any reaction from the notes hidden nearby. The rows of shophouses were replaced with the wilderness as he walked further away from the suburb; the shadows around him growing darker as the night began to fall.

When Newt was sure there was no one around, he pulled out his wand and muttered, "Lumos." The tip of his wand lit up, illuminating the path before him—a flight of steps crudely carved from the rocks in the ground, with a series of ascending, red gate-like structure arching over the meandering way. He remembered that these gates were called 'torii', symbolizing the transition from the profane desires of the mortal world into the sacred land of a Shinto shrine.

Ah, there must be one nearby, maybe at the top of this hill. The Japanese believed that the purest spiritual yang energy were usually gathered at the peak of the highlands, far away from the chaotic yin that was abundant among the humans living below. The summit was also the closest gateway to the Heavens, to where the gods and goddesses the people worshiped were residing.

It was in Newt's nature to keep an open mind towards every magical creature he had come across in his life and his research, but there was something about how the Asians (like the Japanese) were devoted to the supernatural that made him respect them. It was beyond just bedtime stories to put children to sleep—they didn't just fear the creatures like how the Europeans and Americans did simply because they represented the unknown; something the humans couldn't control. The Asians had learned to accept these magical beings in their world, co-existing with them, offering each other their needs in exchange for protection and other benefits. A win-win for both sides.

As Newt climbed higher up the rocky stairs, his surroundings had become so dark that he could barely see a few steps before him, even with the wand light. His heart skipped a beat when he heard a sudden caw from above, the sound amplified by the dead stillness of the inhabited woods. The climb was also tiring the wizard out; even if he could attempt short-distance Apparation to make the climb a tad easier, he didn't dare to try in such an unfamiliar place in case he splinched a limb by accident. Furthermore, it was impertinent of him trying to cheat under the eyes of the gods waiting in the shrine at the top.

Compared to his physical agony, the eerie silence was worse. Newt's first visit to Japan to study the kappas a couple of years ago had taught him not to underestimate the magical creatures here. The Japanese took their way of the magical arts very seriously, so much so that they believed that magic was closely related to one's emotions and spiritual balance. Every person had both light and darkness inside them; one couldn't exist without the other. Finding the balance between the two opposing ends was the key to maintain order and peace, to prevent a person to stray too far from the righteous path. That was the basis of their embracing nature: understanding that there was no absolute good and bad in the world, regardless of human or creature.

If only the wizarding community in Europe and America could be as open-minded towards magical creatures as those in Asia.

Newt stopped and leaned against a torii to catch his breath. He didn't know how long he had been climbing the stairs—he couldn't even tell how long this path would stretch on before he could reach the shrine. It was almost the end of autumn and the weather was getting colder, but beads of sweat lined on the British wizard's forehead, where he wiped them off with his sleeve. At that moment, he thought he saw a flash of white before his eyes.

"Who's there?" He waved his wand around him, but the dim light from the tip did little in the pitch blackness. In fact, he felt like the darkness was swallowing his wand light, bit by bit. Then he recalled his drifting thoughts about embracing the darkness.

"…Nox."

To his surprise, instead of experiencing blindness the moment he was plunged into the blackness, what greeted him was a shimmering, ghostly fox before his widened eyes. There was something familiar about it, but Newt was too shocked to remember.

The fox turned around and hopped up the rocky stairs, leaving a trail of blue, haunting flames behind it. The strange wisps of fire seemed to glow brighter than his wand light, bathing the shadowy forest around him in a bluish hue, while the red in the torii became black.

Newt couldn't help gaping at the sight. "Beautiful," he breathed in awe.

The aching in his legs seemed to have subdued, so he continued his climb while following the trail of cerulean flames. Each time he passed under a torii, the carved words on its two pillars glowed white. He could feel his muddled thoughts, his fear… all his negative emotions being washed away as he walked further up the steps. He felt lighter and free—like there was a strange, positive energy coursing through his body, purifying his soul from his burdens, filling him with hope and tranquility.

The narrow path began to widen, then the rockiness was soon replaced by a platform of sorts. A torii that was much larger than those he had seen along the way towered before him, guarded by two stone fox statues. Beyond the torii was an oriental structure—the shrine. The ghostly fox sat before the entrance, its tail swishing slowly behind it. It must have been waiting for him to reach here.

What intrigued Newt more was a figure standing next to the fox.

On closer look, the figure belonged to a pretty Japanese lady in a miko's attire—a white haori for the top, ending with a red hakama—who gave Newt a bow when he stopped right in front of her. "I am glad to see you safe," she said in an accented English. "It is dangerous to wander around this hill at night."

Newt returned the bow before asking, "Are you… a shrine maiden here?"

"No," the lady shook her head. "I was here for my training, and then I foresaw you coming here."

Newt's eyes traveled down to the ghostly fox next to her. "Is that…?"

"Yes, I summoned a familiar of Inari to guide you here," the lady replied, bowing once more. "This shrine is one of those that was built to worship the god of fertility, Inari."

"I'm sorry for the trouble," Newt gave the lady an apologetic smile. "I was just trying to look for the notes I've lost."

The lady raised an eyebrow, and pulled out a stack of papers from the front of her haori. "Do you mean this?"

Newt couldn't believe his eyes when he took the papers from the lady. "Yes," he gasped as he flipped through the notes. It was even arranged in order, starting from the time he was in Greece researching on ashwinders, to Iran to follow the myth about a certain white rooster. "Thank you. Thank you so much."

"You are welcome," the lady beamed at him. "You used a very interesting spell on these papers. That really helped me to find them all from the forest around here."

Newt looked up and stared at the lady. "You did mention something about summoning a god's familiar… I take it that you're an onmyoji?"

"I am surprised that you know about us," the lady exclaimed. "Yes, I am from one of the families blessed with spiritual powers from our gods to exorcise evil. I am Yuriko, from the House of Kisaragi."

"Yuriko Kisaragi," Newt echoed her name. "Pleasure to meet you."

"The pleasure is mine, too," Yuriko bowed her head. "I read some of your papers while waiting, and I am interested in your work." She looked up at the night sky. "I can feel your love for these magical creatures that you are researching on. Instead of fearing them like most people do, you sympathize with them."

Newt gave Yuriko a sideways glance. He felt extremely lucky to meet someone who could share his vision, his feelings for his field of study, through such an amazing encounter like this. "I feel that not every beast is a danger to us if we treat them correctly and with the respect they deserve," he said. "They are not detestable beings; they are our friends. They have every right to live in this world with us as much as we do."

"However, humans are not a sharing being." Newt could hear a hint of sadness in Yuriko's voice. "That is why we fight. We go to wars. We do not want to share. We want to own the things for ourselves." She squatted down to stroke the ghostly fox. Even though her slim fingers seemed to pass through it, the fox appeared to enjoy itself.

Newt chuckled. "But that's not entirely true, is it?" He knelt down and gazed at the fox. "This magic you're using—I think it's called 'onmyodo'—is one that's built on the connection between witches and wizards with the spirits, right? You can call forth this little one to help me because of the bond you share with it."

"You are able to follow its guide because your heart is pure," Yuriko said in a quiet voice as she looked into Newt's eyes. "The kitsunebi—foxfire—will only show the way to those who are in a real need, but taunts those whose intentions are vile. The kitsunebi may light the path for you, but it is your own will to walk down that very path."

"Hang on," Newt muttered, pulling out his wand to conjure a quill and a bottle of ink. "I need to write that down." Which made Yuriko let out soft laugh.

The conversation went on under the starry night sky, amongst the sounds of quill scratching and light-hearted laughter.

Years later, Yuriko received an owl mail from Great Britain. She was astonished at the brown-feathered bird, one that was an extremely rare sight in Japan, and it took her a minute to recollect herself to notice the parcel the bird had brought with it.

She opened the parcel to find a book inside. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Second Edition. There was a note on the cover page:

Turn to page 172.

Yuriko did as the note had said, then her eyes widen at the page. An entry about the kitsunebi that she had told a certain Caucasian man back at a shrine in the middle of the night.

At the end of the entry, there was a line that read:

Dedicated to Yuriko Kisaragi, who was the shining light that guided me out of the darkness.

This oneshot is the third installment of a multi-chapter submission for the competition. Do check out the other chapters by the other fellow Gryffindor players below (all can be found on FFnet):
* Chapter 1: "πυροσβεστήρα ~Firestarter~" by Theoreticaloptimist
* Chapter 2: "خروس ~Rooster~" by SecretFruits

Forum: The Houses Competition
Year/Round: Year 1, Big Bonus Round
House: Gryffindor
Theme: Element - Fire
Prompt: [Event] A very important meeting
Word Count: 2231 (gdoc; excludes title, summary and A/N)
Beta: CK