Hi guys. So after watching so many anime about the Obon festival I really wanted to include it in this story so here we have it. I don't own the world of Noragami. It belongs to Adachitoka sensei.
Kazuma reread the letter several times, tugging at his hair as he reconfirmed the contents. He sighed as he checked the time and stood up from his chair, stretching as he made his way to the entrance of Bishamon's mansion. "Going somewhere, Kazuma-san?" Kuraha asked, who was lying on a small sunspot in the hall. He stretched out his paws and yawned before licking himself. Kazuma grinned to himself as he thought how much Kuraha actually enjoyed being a cat as much as human.
"Yeah. I have some business to do at the Aiko estate," he said as Kuraha perked his ears. "Aiko-dono you said? I heard she was banished to the human world for causing chaos during Valentine's Day," he said. "Yeah, she asked me to check on something. I'll be back in the evening so please tell Bishamon-sama about it," he said as he closed the doors behind him. He breathed in the fresh air as he walked down the courtyard, the trees swaying in the wind.
The Aiko estate wasn't too far from Bishamon's estate so he reached it at a good pace. When he entered, he found the place slightly unkempt, the trees growing a bit too wildly and the grass slightly longer than normal. "What have they been up to?" he muttered to himself as he rung the doorbell. A hundred ringing bells sounded at once and Kazuma had to cover his ears to avoid getting deaf.
The door opened with a creak and a petite Shinki popped her head out, dressed in a maid's uniform. "Who goes there?" she asked as Kazuma bowed. "I'm Kazuma, Shinki to Bishamonten. I am here on urgent business for your master," he said as the girl's eyes widened. "Is the head of the household here?" Kazuma asked as the girl scanned around her, as if checking on something. "One moment," she said as she disappeared down a corridor. The mansion was really dark for some reason, the lights off and the place had a gloomy feel to it.
Kazuma sat down on a chair, some dust puffing out from it. As he swatted the dust from his face, the girl reappeared with a man in his early twenties, his hands in the pockets of his jeans and half of his face enclosed with a mask. He didn't really have the manager look on him. "Are you Minato-san of the Aiko estate?" Kazuma asked as the man smiled. "Nope. I'm Ayato. Minato-san is not feeling well at the moment so I'm in charge for now. How may I help you?" he asked, his eyes searching Kazuma for a hint.
Kazuma cleared his throat as he straightened himself. "Call all of the Shinki in the household here. I have some questions to ask of them," he said as Ayato cocked his head. "Oh, does our Master want to find out about our wellbeing? How touching," Ayato said as he clapped his hands. Soon, several Shinki in servant uniforms came into the hall, their hands clasped in front of them. Kazuma scratched his head, recalling Aiko having told him she had more Shinki then the ones present.
"I here on urgent business from your master, Aiko-sama. Recently, she has been experiencing severe cases of being blighted," he said as the servants gasped, some whispering among each other. "She determined that due to the rapid spread of the blight, it couldn't be caused by her Shinki, Akito whom she had just recruited in the human world but rather by those of you present here. May I ask of your physician to conduct a physical examination on all the Shinki here so I may bring some peace to your master?" Kazuma asked. Ayato's face twitched at the sound of Akito's name as he got out the words.
"We don't have a physician here," he started to say. "I can take care of that. I'll send for Bishamon-sama's physician. He'll be on his way in a while," Kazuma said. The Shinki were looking panicked, wondering who would commit such an act of blighting their master. "Ayato. I'll send for him now," Kazuma said as Ayato grinned. "There is no need," he said as the doors slammed behind Kazuma. "What is going on here?" Kazuma demanded as Ayato came towards him. "Thank you for giving us the news we desired. The goddess has been off the grid so there was no way of knowing how her condition was," he said.
"You purposely blighted your master?!" Kazuma said as a fist slammed into his stomach. He coughed as he collapsed on his feet, people grabbing him from the back. As he tried to get away, Ayato kicked his face, knocking him unconscious. "Take him to the dungeon. Maybe he can keep old Minato company then," Ayato smirked as Kazuma was dragged away.
….
"An obon festival?" I asked as Hiyori told us about it. "Yes. It is a festival held to send off the spirits of the dead back to the underworld. For us, we have stalls and lights in the shrines around the city where we can play games and eat food. We also wear yukatas," she said, her eyes shining as she explained. She had come over immediately from school to tell us about it so she could bring us there straight away. "Oh! I always wanted to see Hiyori in a yukata!" Yato said as he popped his head from upstairs. He yowled as someone kicked him from behind, sending him tumbling on his face.
"You sound like a pervert when you say that," Yukine said as he walked down, stepping on his master, who groaned even more. "Yukine, you brat," he groaned as he sat back up. "Do we even have enough time to get yukatas?" Akito asked. "No worries. You can wear normal clothing if you wish. But I'm sure maybe Daikoku-san might have some spare ones," Kofuku said as she emerged from the kitchen. "Yeah. Come to think of it, I wonder if I still have them…" Daikoku said as he headed into his bedroom.
"Come on! It will be fun!" Yato said as he watched us. Its not like a haven't been to an obon festival before, but I still felt a little weak from the blight. I had to take a double dosage today just to keep away the stinging. "I think I may pass…" I started to say when Akito spoke, "We will be delighted." "Great! We meet here at six so we can walk over to Tenjin-sama's shrine!" Hiyori said. "Eh?! Why must we go to that old man's shrine?! We can always go to my shrine!" Yato demanded as Yukine kicked him again. "You don't even have a shrine, idiot!" he said. For a kid, he was pretty aggressive, always disciplining his master like this.
"Okay. I'll go back and get changed," Hiyori said as she leapt away. She had come in her half-Phantom form so she had to collect her body where she left it.
"Wah! Let's go get ready!" Yato sang as he pushed Yukine upstairs. "Yo! Here are some yukatas for you to try!" Daikoku called as he went up the stairs. 'You really going to lend me one?"Yato asked sweetly as he got pounded. "Shut up you freeloader. I know Hiyori already got one for you!" Daikoku said. "Come one, Ai-chan! Let's go try some on. Akito-kun, you go join the boys," Kofuku said as she grabbed my arm and tugged me into her room. "What is it…" I started to say when she closed the door behind her. "How are you feeling?" she asked. "Fine," I muttered as I scratched my back. "If you need anything, just say the word," she said as she rummaged through her closet. "Now, lets find some yukata!" she squealed.
….
"Where is Kazuma at this time?" Bishamon groaned as she paced her office. She had been waiting for Kazuma to come in and give her his daily report for the patrols for two hours but he still hadn't come back. "Don't worry, milady. I'm sure he has a good explanation for it," Kuraha purred as he sat on the floor. "Kuraha," she said and he changed back to his human form. "Go to his office. Maybe he left a clue there for us. It isn't like him to be this late," Bishamon said and Kuraha bowed as he exited the room. As Bishamon watched the sun set, she sighed as she sat in her chair, wondering what had become of her blessed vessel.
….
"Hiyorin!" Kofuku called as Hiyori approached us. She wore a pink yukata with cherry blossom prints and she clutched a tiny pouch in her hands. She had even done her hair in a nice updo, with using chopsticks to stick her hair in a bun. I saw Yato gaping at her, completely entranced at her transformation. Even Yukine was staring. "Wow! Everyone actually wore a yukata," she said as she looked at all of us. I tugged at my dark blue one, which had purple flower prints and a purple ribbon tied at the back. I glanced at Akito, who looked good in his black and gold one, although he looked slightly uncomfortable with it.
"Come on guys! Let's have fun!" Kofuku said as she grabbed Daikoku and tugged him into Tenjin's shrine. Yato grabbed Hiyori and Yukine by the hand and dragged them in as well, leaving both me and Akito standing at the entrance. "Uh, do you want to?" he asked as he held out his hand. I stared at it for a moment, wondering if it was even a good idea. What if my blight spread to him? "Uh, its fine," I stuttered as I walked in, my sandals clicking as I walked. I noticed his slight disappointment in the comment but he followed suit.
"Wow! There's so many lanterns and stalls!" I gasped as we walked around. The shrine had been done up nicely by the locals and people had set up stalls around, selling food and having game stations. I caught sight of children fishing for goldfish in a large basin and some more were catching balloons from the water, hurling them into buckets behind them. We approached a stall, where we ordered two candy apples and we walked around, munching on them as we came to a shop selling masks.
"Oh, look at this," I said as I picked up a cat mask like one used by the Anbu in Naruto. "That's cool," Akito said as I put it on his face. "You look good," I giggled as he tugged it off, blushing slightly. I mentally slapped myself for doing something so silly. "That would be 1000 yen," the shopkeeper said and I handed him the money. "You didn't really need to do that," Akito muttered as we walked around some more. The summer heat was still there but there was a slight breeze around tonight. "Come on. Lighten up a little. You're too stiff, you know that?" I said as I tugged his arm.
"But… I''m your only Shinki so if anything happens to you now…" he said as I looked at him in the eye. "Akito, I can take care of myself. I don't need to be babied," I snapped. He reeled back a little, shocked by my response. Some people glanced at us, figuring us as a couple having a fight. "I'm sorry… I didn't mean to," I started to say when he smiled. I looked at him in shock, not expecting him to smile after such a nasty comment. "Yeah, I'm sorry too. I didn't mean to sound rude and all. Forgive me, my lady," he said as he bowed.
"Oh, come on," I started to retort when I heard a yowl coming from the shooting range. Yaot had tried to shoot the toys and failed at every attempt and was now trying to get Yukine to pool out some money. The boy had started a fist fight with him while Hiyori begged them to stop. Daikoku and Kofuku on the other hand were walking arm in arm down the street, enjoying eating their candy floss. "Everyone looks so happy, huh?" I whispered, watching the people around me. I couldn't even remember a time when I had been this happy.
"Say, maybe we should pay old man Tenjin a visit," Yato said as his group came to us. "Yeah. I need to pray for luck in the exams," Hiyori said as she tugged them behind her. The trio were pretty sweet and I really envied their closeness. As I turned, I felt a stinging pain in my back. I grunted a little as I tried not to squirm. "Aiko-sama. Are you okay?" Akito asked. "Nah. I'm fine. Just need a little support," I said as I held onto his arm. He flushed slightly at the action but he just let me hold on until we saw Tenjin standing with his shrine maidens.
"Yo, old man!" Yato grinned as Tenjin glared at him. "I won't forget the tooth you took out from me that day," he growled as he bared his teeth, revealing a hole in the middle. "Tenjin-sama, I wanted to pray for some luck," Hiyori said as she held out some money. Tenjin smiled as he started to rant some super old poem to her. As she was transfixed by it, I felt the pain growing more and more. This is impossible. The medicine should be working… I thought to myself when the pain exploded.
I cried out in pain, falling to the ground as I writhed around. "Aiko-sama!" Akito yelled as he knelt down next to me. "Don't touch her!" Kofuku screamed as she tried to come near me. "Stay away!" I hissed, gritting my teeth as I tried not to scream. Luckily, the passerby didn't notice a writhing girl on the ground. "Did you take the medicine?" Kofuku demanded as I slowly nodded. "How many?" she pressed on and I muttered two. "TWO?! And it still ended up like this?!" she shrieked as Mayo, one of the shrine maidens came with a bucket of water.
"Sorry, my lady. This is going to sting," she said as Kofuku yanked down the back of my yukata, revealing my back. "Oh Kami…" Akito said as the maiden tossed the water onto the blight. I screamed, the pain so intense as though someone was burning me. But the pain didn't go away and the others stared as the blight spread to my face. "You! Did you do this to your master?!" Tenjin demanded as he grabbed Akito by the neck. "I would never hurt my master!" he shouted as he kicked.
"Don't give me that answer! I know you desire her!" Tenjin shouted as Yato and Daikoku tried to separate them. "Come on, old man! Get a grip!" Yato shouted as he wrestled them apart. All the while, I was writhing in pain, the blight spreading like wildfire. "Ai-chan! Tell me who is causing this!" Kofuku said as I screamed. "I. Don't. Know!" I said through gritted teeth. "Come on! You should be able to sense it right?!" Yato yelled as he came to me. The Shinki stared at me in horror as the gods tried to get me to tell who was causing the problem.
"We have no choice. We have to move her to her home," Tenjin said. "Impossible! She's not fit to travel in this condition!" Kofuku snapped as they moved to carry me. "We have no choice! She'll die if we don't find the Shinki responsible. Besides, its been a while since I cut someone," Yato said, his eyes glowing blue. "But how can we move her? We'll be blighted if we touch her," Daikoku said as someone scooped me up in their arms. "What are you waiting for?! Let's go!" Akito shouted as he carried me. "You stupid kid?! You want to get blighted?!" Yato shouted. "I don't care! Her life is more important than mine!" Akito shouted as the blight spread to his arms.
"Akito… please… don't put yourself at risk," I muttered as I slowly slid away due to the pain "Shut up. We're taking you home," he said as he held tightly to me. "Come on. Open the gate!" Yato shouted as he called on Sekki. "Very well. Be careful," Tenjin said as he opened the gate to Tamagahara. "I would be very frank. It would be better to kill the Shinki who is doing this to you," he told me. "I. Won't. Resort. To. That," I mumbled. "Then I wish you luck," he said as we were whisked away to Tamagahara.