"It's right inside here, Momota-san..." Hiroki fiddled with the lock to the Bizen fishery storeroom.
Ritsuki stood behind the boy with a gaslamp in hand. His mouth was a flat line as he waited for his 'disciple' to unlock the door.
They had to make a trip back to Hiroki's house on their way over, neither of them knew how to pick a lock, so they had to borrow his father's keys to the fishery.
"You know we'll likely be unable to help if it's a demon, right Hiroki?"
"It doesn't matter if we must prevent something bad from happening!" the boy stubbornly declares, and turning the keyhole under the rusted lock, the door to the fishery was loosened with a creak.
"Besides, I can handle myself Momota-san, I'll use one of your cool take-down moves if the demon tries to attack me."
Hiroki turned around and wordlessly asked for Ritsuki's gaslamp so the young man gave it to him with a heavy sigh.
Ritsuki still had his reservations about Hiroki's theory, he was just humouring the boy in hopes that he may calm down and go home to sleep. The young man just couldn't have the boy go on this small quest unaccompanied.
"Come on, Momota-san, it's just around here somewhere..." Without waiting for him, Hiroki made his way inside.
Before Ritsuki could enter the fishery himself, however, he heard a sound come from behind, the unmistakable rustle of fabric and while it was odd it hadn't alarmed him too badly.
Turning around, he saw a few fishing boats docked at the jetty illuminated by the few gaslights on the pier; one of them was rocking which was strange because the waters were completely still.
"Who goes there?" he called out but got no response. Ritsuki was about to call again before he felt a sharp and twisting sensation in his spine.
His hand unconsciously moved to his blade and he unsheathed the base of the tachi, he whirled around to glare at the empty bay.
The waters were completely still, and the moonless night made for an eerie vista. Ritsuki felt like he stared at a bottomless abyss.
"Momota-san, here I found it...!" He heard Hiroki call from inside the storeroom.
Turning back, Ritsuki realised he had been gritting. Wincing from the pressure on his teeth and jaw, he turned around and took one last look at the rocking boat.
Deciding to ignore it for now, the young man made his way inside the storeroom, Hiroki's theory of demons being the cause for all of this bearing new credibility in Ritsuki's mind.
"Have a look yourself Momota-san, tell me this doesn't smell like a demon," he excitedly beckoned for him to see as he held the gaslight close to it.
There was indeed a severed hand, broken off right around the upper forearm.
It was suspended in a jar filled with a clear oil of some kind, and just like Hiroki had said it was bloated and a few natural growths were observed.
What intrigued Ritsuki the most was the presence of multiple human-shaped bite marks on the palm and wrist.
"Dear goodness..." the young man couldn't help but exclaim.
It was now highly likely a demon of some kind was indeed involved, perhaps a powerful and malevolent entity did reside in the bay; settling down, Ritsuki made an assessment of the situation.
"Do you believe me now, Momota-san...?" the boy hopefully turned to the young man.
"Hiroki, you said victims disappeared in the lake after midnight, right?" Ritsuki got up to his feet and placed a hand on his sword.
"So you do believe me! Thank you so much, Momota-san, I-"
"Then you must go home now, I will take care of this." Ritsuki quickly stated before Hiroki could form any thought in his mind that he might confront the demon with him.
"Hoh-huh-! Momota-san, I can't let you-"
"Don't argue with me, Hiroki, I say I'll take care of this." Ritsuki began to march out of the storeroom, "Give me your word that you will go home..."
"B-but, Momota-san, I-"
"I do believe... you were right, Hiroki," he stopped at the doorway and turned back, "I believe this is indeed the works of a demon. So it's your turn to believe me now..." He offered the boy an honest smile.
Hiroki remained silent, Ritsuki could see his bottom lip quiver as he thought to retort.
"I'll be alright, don't worry... tomorrow, I'll teach you one of my favourite sword techniques." Ritsuki could see the boy had sealed his lips. He would nod silently, and Hiroki nodded back.
And then he was off; Momota Ritsuki went to challenge the demon in the bay.
Having left on one of the fishing boats, Ritsuki sat alone as he imitated a humble fisherman.
Wearing a conical straw hat he had found on the pier, he played with his net and nodded along to his movements, humming a tune to himself.
Ritsuki appeared steady and calm, projecting an air of nonchalance; but inside he was quivering, he was terrified.
Of course, he could not show weakness to the demon, and yes, he could definitely feel them under the bay now.
Somewhere below the waters lurked a great evil of some kind, he could not precisely tell how powerful or even how many as the special insight he was bestowed as the Kishu-no-Seishin was still - as described by Niten - rather dull.
Regardless, Ritsuki reasoned he could slay a demon with the weapons he had available and his own impressive strength. The young man had once wrestled a black bear into submission when he was younger.
Ritsuki had a plan as well: since it was a loosely known facet in hearsay that demons had the ability to regenerate lost limbs, the young man would negate the problem by going directly for the head.
He reasoned that if he did this, the demon might immediately die and he would be victorious.
Ritsuki placed his fishing net down and took up the boat's oars, his body oscillated back and forth as he positioned himself in the middle of the bay. The occasional low chime of iron chains rung from his movements.
He had with him, his father's tachi on his right. Held in its ornate ivory sheath, the blade looked out of place inside the drab and humble fishing boat.
On his left arm, he had wrapped around the chain of a kusarigama, an improvised sickle weapon he inherited from the crazy mugger.
A crude weapon, but it would suffice for Ritsuki only planned to use the chain as a gauntlet for his sword arm.
"Alright... wicked demon in the waters, my name is Momota Ritsuki; and tonight, I shall speak for the people of Bizen..." he mumbled under his breath and took a breath.
He would never imagine this would be how his evening went. Ritsuki took comfort in the fact that he held the powers of the Seishin. Even if he failed as a human, he'd fight the demon with the strength of the one inside him.
But the young man hoped that he alone would be enough for tonight, for he was peeved to use a gift from the devil; even if it was for a laudable cause.
"I'm helping... Momota-san will understand..." Hiroki followed Ritsuki's boat in secret, paddling as quietly as he could and from a great distance.
"And he won't get angry at me if I don't get myself in danger." He tightened his grip on the iron weapon he held in his hand.
He had indeed gone back home as Ritsuki had instructed, but on his way to his room, Hiroki caught sight of his father's old hunting shot on its display above the hearth.
Hiroki's plan was to simply shoot at the demon from a safe distance. And if it ever got too close for comfort, like a situation where it boarded his fishing boat, he kept a handy knife just in case.
He noticed his friend had stopped rowing, so he stopped his boat as well.
"Hmm..." The young boy then heard a bump come from behind him. Hiroki turned around and finally noticed a pitch under a loose fabric on the back of the boat.
"Owie~~" winced out a tiny voice as it began to move. Revealing himself to be a young boy as the fabric was pulled off, he continuously rubbed his head as he fished around for something on the boat.
"W-who-?" Hiroki could not finish his question as the younger boy quickly found what he was looking for and lit himself a gaslamp.
It was Shota, Hiroki's younger brother.
"Sho-?!" the older boy rushed to put his younger brother's lamp out, save that they were discovered by Ritsuki and jeopardised the entire operation.
"W-what are you doing here...?!" Hiroki sternly asked in a hushed tone.
"Uh, I'm here like you, nii-chan...! I'm here to help...!" the young Shota innocently exclaimed while mimicking his older brother's hush.
"What...?! Oh... oh, is this what I get for being deceitful...?" Hiroki pulled his hair and cried to the sky.
Hesitantly looking to where Ritsuki was, the older brother saw the young man standing on top of his boat.
Ritsuki had unsheathed his blade and appeared to be in a loose stance, and he was looking directly towards them.
"Damnit, Sho...! You blew my cover..." Hiroki mumbled under his breath and hung his head.
Shota didn't seem to understand, he tilted his head and began to tap his older brother's head.
"Did I do something wrong? Is nii-chan mad...?" the boy meekly asked, still in a hush.
"N-No, Sho... I'm not..." Hiroki stuttered then growled in frustration, rushing back to his gun he didn't turn back, "Just try not to fall into the water."
"Okay...!" Shota gave his older brother a thumb even though he couldn't see it.
Facing forward once again, he met eyes with the young man who was discernibly unimpressed, Hiroki could see it even from this distance. He noticed Ritsuki had snuffed out his gaslamp, so his eyes must already be sharp enough to see his boat, even without Shota's little light.
Hiroki could do little but wave awkwardly back at Ritsuki. The young man in turn raised his sword to wave back.
But just as he lifted his hand, much to Shota and Hiroki's fright, something came lurching out from the silent midnight waters.
Aiming for Ritsuki's head with great power and velocity.