Underwater Savior

Chapter 5: The Envied, the Sorcerer and the Possessor

by LadyRainStarDragon

Not mine. I can only wish. If you've seen the movie, then you know which characters aren't in it.

In an office building overlooking the river, a middle aged kitsune with dark green eyes sat at his desk, drawing plans for an apartment complex. More housing was needed in the area, but in order to do this, more usable land had to be obtained. With the filling in of the river that he was planning, the needs would be met. This housing was supposed to be affordable for the poor people, so he was really going to have to be careful of a particular individual making the rent expensive.

This business venture had something more to it though. The Kami of the river had to be taken into account. It was well known among the spirits that this Kami did not want to settle down. Others his own age had already done so. Kohakunushi however, had turned away every bride that had been offered to him. He had even turned away the human brides that had once been offered to him in the long ago. If the river was taken away, the Kami would be forced into the Spirit World. Once there, hopefully he would meet a spirit that caught his fancy. Ni was very tired of guarding the treasure he had once robbed a dragon of.

In exasperation, a broad hand ran through short dark hair. Invisibly, his four tails swished as he worked out the tension from sitting all day at his desk with his drafts.

It was once a common thing for the spirits to dally with the humans, producing many legends. Offspring were among those legends. In modern times however, the spirits did not mingle as freely. Some had lost the ability to get into the Spirit World and so lived in hiding, sometimes taking human mates and faking death or disappearance when the time had come. Others stayed in that other world, refusing or unable to return to the mortal world. The only ones able to freely travel were either enshrined or spirits of the greater rivers, seas, and other such creatures.

This particular kitsune was among those that could no longer return to the other side. He had chosen long ago to remain in this world, seeing that the humans needed to be cared for. Their race was so young compared to his own, and would make its own mistakes. Although he had passed on the position of local Inari god to one of his offspring, he still cared enough to help fix the mistakes. He just hoped that this plan would work.

After pausing to gaze out the window at the lovely view and flexing cramped fingers, he returned to his work. The sun had set, and the colors were fading from the sky.

Much further upriver, Kohakunushi had long arisen from where he had spent the night. After helping Koji prepare a breakfast to be waiting for Chihiro, he had left. Leaving the small home, he had walked along the river, unseen. All day he had wandered his banks, feeling that something was going to happen.

Kohakunushi now found himself slipping back into his river, melding once more with the waters, knowing exactly where they were going and which fields were actively drawing water at the time. However, instead of feeling at peace, a sense of danger was slowly filling his being. He wasn't sure, but it was almost like something was going to happen to his river in the near future.

Down the hall, in a similarly sparse office as Ni's sat what appeared to be your average Japanese man. He was slight of build, with almond shaped brown eyes and short black hair. However, this man was very different, he had a secret. He was a practitioner of witchcraft, an inu-gami-mochi. Not the European or American varieties of magic, his was ancient Japanese dog magic. Yes, His family had a dog spirit that had been passed down from father to son for generations. His family had prospered, but was ostracized from the community because of the rumors of the dark magic.

Chisen thought about the legend of how the family had acquired the dog spirit. Once a faithful family pet, his owner had become prey to the greed in his own heart. Dogs were reputed to bring their owner treasure, and so the own had killed the dog to enslave it's spirit. The dog was buried up to his neck in the earth, and tempting treats had been placed all around by the Ainu man, but just out of the dog's reach. The formerly beloved pet starved to death, and was bound into fetching for the family forever. Having died in such a horrible way then being treated as but a mere slave in the afterlife, the dog slowly became very malevolent. Now it was only employed only with the utmost of care and only when something was truly very difficult to obtain.

Chisen was himself also very greedy, having enjoyed the riches that his family had gained over the generations and having every little favor returned to him with interest. Those who still believed in magic greatly feared him. However, he also did not spend his wealth wisely, and so found himself with a common office job to finish meeting ends. He wanted more, and he knew what to do. He wanted the deed to the apartments that were going to be constructed, and would get them with help. Then he would be able to collect the rent for himself.

Chisen's work was finished for the day (it didn't help any that he was lazy) and so he grabbed his jacket and exited his office. Passing by the office of his boss, he poked his head in.

"Done Boss."

"On your way home?"

"Hai."

"Don't forget to punch out."

Chisen smirked at himself. Ni truly was a stupid man. As if he would forget to punch out. Last time he had, he had been docked way too many yen for him to do it again. Walking by the clock, he punched out as ordered and headed out the door. He would take the train home. He didn't feel like walking the distance when the train was so much faster. All the more time to prepare for the summoning ceremony. Before boarding the train, he picked up some salt and a few joss sticks.

Later that night, after he had had his dinner, Chisen went out into his backyard. Carefully using the salt to trace a pentacle on the ground before the Jizo, he made a safe place for him to be during the conjuring. This he ringed with five candles, one on each point of the star. In a small bowl directly before the Jizo he placed some fresh meat, with a lit joss stick beside it. Going back inside the ring, he lit the candles and began to chant.

After many rounds of chanting, a cloud of mist began to issue from the Jizo. It consumed the offertory meat greedily and slowly congealed at the edge of the circle. Two golden eyes peered out of the smoke. As the mist blew away, it revealed a large white dog.

"What do you wish of me, master?"

"Within a year, the Kohaku river will be destroyed and an apartment complex will be built. I want the deed."

The dog spirit cocked his head to one side. "Would it not be better to wait until it is constructed, and then take the deed?"

"You will make sure it happens, then bring it to me. However you must do."

Greed smiled. This newest master was truly stupid to leave such an important thing wide open for his interpretation. He would be free in this generation it seemed and the family would have come to an end. Such a price they would pay for their treachery.

"As you wish."

The mist swirled and collected once again, then dispersed. Where once the dog had stood, there was nothing. Chisen swept away the salt and extinguished the candles. Picking them up, he took them back inside. He would use them again another time.

A golden set of eyes watched as his "master" did a terrible job of cleaning up. Apparently the father had not taught the son how to properly end. The candles being brought inside the house would make it so much easier for him to escape. A tall human form with long white hair and gold eyes stepped forth from the shadows.

"Watch out for an old dog, master. It is the old ones who are wise enough to overthrow you. I will be free and take back the few treasures you haven't squandered. There is only one kitoshi in the area, and I could easily defeat him."

Time passed. Kohaku still kept an eye on the strange child that had fallen into him. Chihiro often would slip away to play by his banks. Sometimes she would have her friend with her, other times not. He would have to watch her carefully, she seemed to have a knack for getting into trouble.

A few times she came too close to the water for his comfort. During those times he would come out and play with her. Sometimes he would play his flute, but most of the time they played tag. Try as he might, even though it had been months, he could not shake the foreboding feeling. Kohakunushi knew that something would happen to him, then there would be no one to protect his little Chihiro.

Words

Chisen - composite name meaning bloody wizard or bloody hermit here.

Inu-gami-mochi- Literally dog god possessor. Typically is a female passing ownership down to the next female. In this story, we had the odd male one instead.

Inari - rice

Jizo- Buddhist road deity, represented by a phallic shaped rock.

Kitoshi- Buddhist or Shinto exorcist. Usually a man, but can sometimes be a woman.