The Veiled Lotus
By: Crazyeight
Chapter: 07
Nighttime settled over Shiju-Iito and the city gleamed beneath it peacefully, as it had for the last four days. Katou liked that. Liked the quiet and the security she had seen so far, however false it might be. She couldn't remember the last time she slept so well.
A testament to Spencer's governing that his people can feel so safe under him, she thought, leaning against the railing of the outcropping of the Wong's business, her bare skin loving the warm air, the last vestiges of summer that continued to cling stubbornly to the world as it slowly gave way to autumn. I wonder if I could rest here to the end of my days once I have finished my task.
The notion appealed to her, though she held doubts that such a thing could be possible. Her eyes turned away from that comforting glow and her hand rose up to the large beads draped about her neck, fingering them in thought as she turned her mind to other matters, memories of her still as yet incomplete task coming to the forefront.
The north… Could the sixth one be in the north? Buried within the Mountain?
No answer came to her, and she stretched in place before climbing to her feet, deciding that her break was over. Knuckling her back with a grunt, she approached the table at the center of the room and took up a cake that lay next to a small cup of honeyed wine before settling down. Perusing through the pile of scrolls and reeds she requested from the Wong's archives, she scanned them thoughtfully. Three shikami were born within the last few weeks prior to her summoning. One of which had been reported as having 'died,' as its spirit failed to manifest within its vessel and subsequently vanished without a trace. Or so it was believed.
The shikami in question had all been made by the Wong family as a gift for an expected newborn in the kingdom of Maki, she thought, referring to a series of message reeds. That makes it certain that they are lesser shikami. Likely little to no sentience. A mere toy to keep the child company until it grew up. Simple, repetitive behaviors. Normally quite easy to 'birth' for the Wongs, as was explained to me. Almost routine in fact.
She paused on that. The fact that it vacated its vessel suggested that it was not at all what it was supposed to be or some external force had altered it. She contemplated that further, wondering how it could have come about. While not unheard of, as the Wong's method of accelerating the maturation and birthing was fairly unnatural for them, Shikami rarely changed their nature and were reluctant to depart from the vessel they were born into. They weren't like shikai, their greater cousins, who built their own bodies. changed forms as they desired and, if they so chose, move from place to place.
Could a shikai have done this? Or perhaps…The Fox?
Her heart quickened excitedly at the thought. Could she be so fortunate? She didn't feel so certain, nor did she want to get her hopes up. Leavings of The Fox, she knew from experience, were hard to locate and she doubted she could stumble over one so easily. Better to eliminate other potentialities before considering something rather outlandish.
The child… Spencer's youngest daughter. She is a Dreamer. Or has the potential to become one. Perhaps it became attracted to her for that and departed its body? Could she have altered it in some way? Perhaps into this 'friend' of hers that she speaks to in the Hall of Grass?
She sighed and closed her sunset eyes, thinking back on that encounter from four days ago. Kristy's friend hadn't been seen since then, though the spirit continued to roam the halls, and the guards roamed as well, trying to locate it. Working around them was proving to be difficult despite Spencer's orders to them to leave her be. Not that she was surprised, as they took their job deadly serious, but the fact that it slowed her down grated on her patience, and she had been patient for far too long already in her life.
There came a knock on the door, and Katou looked up to find a young-looking woman with rich, earthy-brown hair – a strand of which fell between her eyes – standing at the door, her vibrant, bright-red butterfly imprinted robe all but demanding attention in the flickering candlelit room.
"Hello, My Lady," she bowed. "I have been sent to check in on you. Our shop is closing down for the night, and the mistress would like to know what you intend to do."
Katou glanced at the pile of records.
"I shall return to the castle," she replied. "However, I would like these records sent to my quarters so that I may continue my research there."
The woman bowed again, smiling politely without protest. Likely she knew, either by intuition or word from the Lady of the House, Mayumi Wong, that Katou, having Lord Spencer's favor, could enforce such requests in spite of the shop's policy regarding its archives.
"I shall see to it that they are prepared and sent to you. Will that be all?"
"Hmmm…" Katou allowed a small smile to touch her lips. "I do have another request. These cakes. I'd like them to be sent along as well."
The woman barely repressed a chuckle as she bowed again. "I'll see to it that they are. They come from a bakery from down the south end of our section. If you like, I can provide you with its name and directions so that you may become its patron in the future. I'm certain they would be honored to receive someone of your notoriety there."
"Perhaps," Katou replied, her smile slipping. "Though perhaps not as well as you might think. Thank you though. I do appreciate the offer and may take you up on that at a later date."
The woman tilted her head to one side questioningly at this, but Katou was already lifting the cloths to her chest wraps, bringing them together and tying them, indicating that the conversation was at an end. Bowing again, the woman slid the door shut and departed to find servants, leaving Katou alone in the room and to the sound of the floor creaking outside. Katou listened to her rough step, drawing her robes back up over her shoulder and securing them.
Questions, questions, and more questions abounded in her mind as she smoothed out her clothes, but as yet there were no concrete answers for her. Nothing about the shikami in the archives suggested an affinity for the Halls of Grass or even the Lord's castle. The only thing that left her assured of peace in her mind, at least until the harvest moon rose, was that the spirit remained without hostility towards the castle's occupants.
The harvest moon and the Fox Hunt… she thought, making her way downstairs. If the spirit isn't under control on that day…
She paused, pressing her lips together in memory before taking a deep breath.
Well, in the end, I'll fix everything that was broken and lost. It wouldn't do for me to abandon a task I took on, but if I fail, it won't matter.
She would do her duty to the utmost of her ability. Karma would collect a reckoning from her otherwise if she didn't live up to her word. A job once started, you must finish, her father had told her once upon a time in a life that lay far off now, and she aimed to adhere to that, knowing full well the consequences of failing her word when given. Hearing the sudden thumping of hurrying feet, her eyes fell upon a young, teenage girl with short, closely cropped hair, holding up the dress of her robe and half-running down the hall, eyes wide.
"Sora! Sora! Outside!"
Katou lifted an eyebrow at the panicked tone in the girl's voice, and she heard the earth-haired girl's voice from around the corner, broken occasionally by the girl's hushed, faint whisperings to her.
"What…? Again?! I see. Very well. Find your mother. I'll see to things."
The earth-haired woman, Sora Katou now knew her name to be, came into view, feet thudding loudly as she moved quickly toward the stairs.
"Is something the matter?" Katou asked. Sora gave her a smile that didn't fool her in the least.
"I'm afraid that you should go back to the guest room. It's probably nothing, but just to be on the safe side it would be in your best interest."
Not even waiting to see if Katou would do as suggested, she swiftly made her way down the stairs and toward the door below. Curious, she approached the stairwell to see what was going on. Now she could hear harsh, angry voices from outside. A number of them. Katou knew the tone – and the situation – instantly, and her hackles began to rise in response.
"…demons!" came a loud cry as Katou began to descend after Sora. "Makers of false idols! You have no place in Shiju-Iito!"
"Please leave," Sora said at the door, sounding calm. She was framed by torchlight. It seemed that her suspicions were accurate. Though small, a mob was gathered, and for some reason were dead set on this place becoming a site of violence and murder. Drawing closer, Katou leaned forward, blue light flickering at her fingertips as she took in the scene. She counted at least a half-dozen people at the door, men and women both, though there were likely more outside of her view. At the very least, it appeared to be a small group, something that was a relief to her. She knew the wrath of an entire village before. She did not want a repeat performance of that tragic play.
She reflexively sniffed the air, half-expecting the stench of burning flesh.
Nothing. Yet.
"You leave!" snarled an old, balding man waving a torch in front of Sora's face threateningly. The woman did not so much as flinch before the heat, instead keeping her eyes focused on the crowd. "You…makers of Shikami! Abominations! You go against the order established by the Heavens! In the name of the ancient gods most high, we refuse to let you remain here unchallenged while you practice your foul works!"
"We have the shelter of the Emperor, may he remain eternal," Sora replied. "He is the will of Heaven made flesh. He has given us leave to be in this city. Do you dare stand against him?"
"There is no Emperor!" scorned another man. "Only the Lord-General and his spears!"
"Why are we talking to this southerner bitch?!" shot out another man, starting forward, a club in hand and raised. "Kill them! Kill these worshippers of darkness!"
Sora raised her arm defensively at the club as it swung down toward her head, and Katou stiffened at the loud crack thatfilled the air. Blue fire flared around her hands, her whole body going rigid, yet all at once a loud hush filled the air, the mob going dead-silent. The business end of the club hung limply from a single, thin piece of cracked wood, Sora's arm holding steady beneath it and showing no sign of having budged at all. The man stared at her dumbly as she turned, and, with a polite smile, took hold of the ruined weapon and gently removed it from his numb grasp.
Her next action was considerably less gentle.
Moving almost too swiftly for Katou's eyes to follow, she swung her hand out in a wide arc, and her open palm connected loudly with the man who had attacked her. Blood sprayed like a fountain and he fell back with a horrified cry onto the ground, clutching at his face. Dropping the club like refuse, Sora stepped out into the night before the small crowd and moonlight washed over her. Warm skin and earth-hair chilled by the silver light gave way to grey, smoothly polished stone, gleaming in the darkness, covered only by the bright red robe wrapped about her body.
"The guards will be here soon," she announced to them, her tone still polite in spite of her shining, rock-hard hand dripping blood onto the ground. "If you insist on trying to harm those who dwell within, I'm afraid they will be unable to protect you."
"M-Monster…" the bearded man rasped, staggering backwards as the fallen man's companions helped him up. Katou dismissed her flames. The fight was out of them now. They had neither the ability or the means to affect any damage to the shikami and they knew it. With nothing more than curses on their lips, they took their friend and beat a hasty retreat. Katou watched them go for a moment longer before the shikami turned and stepped back into the shop, moonlight sliding off her, returning her to her earlier, warm appearance. Empty, stone eyes, gone in place of the illusion of brown-irises fell upon Katou, and she smiled apologetically.
"I apologize for the distraction, My Lady" she said, giving her a polite bow. "I will see to it that the records and food are sent to you at the castle."
"Do not worry," Katou nodded, giving her a bow in return. "May I inquire what that was all about?"
"I…" Sora looked uncertain for a moment before continuing. "They belong to the Order of the Golden Temple. We have been having some…difficulties with them recently since their temple was rebuilt. I am uncertain as to why they have been giving the family such trouble lately as there has been no animosity between them before. I do my best to protect them though, as little as it may be."
"Your service and loyalty is to be commended. The Wong family I am sure are both honored and blessed by your presence."
The shikami blushed at that, seeming to fidget, but she took the compliment as intended before noticing the bloodstain on her hand.
"Ah! I-I'm sorry! I…I must wash…"
"Do as you must." Katou held up a hand to keep her from leaving straightaway. "But I would like directions to the Golden Temple if you don't mind."
###
The crowd of devotees to the Golden Temple helped their companion up the steps to their church as he clutched at his tilted face, softly moaning around a mouthful of broken teeth.
"Someone tell him to be quiet," growled the bearded man, looking over his shoulder at the pitiful sight with a dark, angry fire blazing in his eyes. "It won't do him any good to be sobbing like a baby in front of the Ser Yohai when we see him."
"But…he's hurt!" snapped a dark-haired woman as the injured man tried to stifle his groans in response to other man's harsh condemnation. "Dan Shoto, show some respect for his sacrifice! The Ser Yohai will have evidence now…"
The bearded man identified as Shoto waved her off dismissively. "It will do him some good to have a rod in his spine when he appears before the Ser Yohai. He'll be more sympathetic for his plight then. After all, righteous men shed no tears for their pain, but wear them as badges of honor gained in service to the gods. Gods from on high, I cannot believe why those shikami makers… Those pretenders…are tolerated here. The Ser Yohai should have moved against them as soon as…"
"As soon as what?"
Shoto's foot paused at the top of the stairs and he spun about at the echoing voice. "Who…?" he began, quickly scanning his compatriots who were all doing likewise before zeroing in on the figure standing at the foot of the stairs below. A young, brown-haired woman with pale skin wearing a gleaming necklace. He frowned. Something about her jarred his memory, but he couldn't for the life of him remember having seen her before.
"Do you require aid?" he asked, brushing past his companions to get a better look at the woman. Her eyes followed him, seeming without emotion. With the moon at her back, her shadow stretched along the stairs. "While it's late, our doors are always open to aid…"
He grunted suddenly as his foot touched on her shadow, and he froze in place. His eyes bulged wide in their sockets and his chest twitched, attempting to breathe…and failed.
"You were at the Wong business earlier," the woman said, her tone flat and academic. "All of you. You threatened the occupants and one of your number was injured. Don't deny it. I was there."
Four shadows slinked out from behind her, dagger-like, yet waving like flames. Snaking out, they surrounded the devotees. A pillar of blue fire lit up from each shadow, boxing them in and casting an eerie azure light about them.
"W-Who…?" stammered out one of the faithful, looking at the blazing pillars fearfully. His hand rose to his chest, where a medallion containing a golden bird lay, clutching at it as though it would protect him.
"A servant of a true god," Katou replied, "and not your falsehood. I am its storm. It's lightning and its cast shadow. You will not disturb that family again if you value your souls."
Shoto was making choking noises now, throbbing veins standing prominently on his forehead at his struggles to draw in air. Katou began to ascend the steps, and her sunset eyes took on a hellfire glow in the light of her burning pillars.
"I will not accept no for an answer, and if I so much as hear of another assault on that family's home or any who serve them, you will get to meet my god far more swiftly than you would like." A shadow of a tail flicked out from behind her. "I trust that I have made myself clear." Her burning eyes flickered over the horror-filled gazes of the devotees and at the temple behind them, taking in the sun-logo shining in the moonlight. "It is a very beautiful temple you have built here. It would be a shame if it were ruined before its time."
With that, Shoto collapsed to the ground, gasping loudly as his body suddenly found itself able to draw in breath once more. His lungs drank greedily in loud, billowing wheezes. The blue fires winked out of existence and the shadows retracted, their business concluded. With that, Katou turned and headed off, the Golden Temple and its followers no longer of interest to her.
