Chapter 6: A Shocking Surprise

In an instant, we were transported halfway across Nippon to Ryoshima Coast. Right away, I knew we were closer than ever to the mysterious enemy still in hiding. A foreboding aura lurked in the air, threatening to reduce the entire area to nothing but a cursed zone. The Guardian Sapling must be revived again before that happens.

Scattered across Nippon, offshoots of the sacred tree Konohana offer protection to the land around it. These are called Guardian Saplings. By the looks of Ryoshima Coast, it is apparent that its Guardian Sapling has become corroded with evil. To make matters even worse, the mist of Blight did not dissipate, instead growing stronger as we drew near. This presented a problem, because Kiyoko, strong as she was, could not fight off the mist's effects now that it has grown in power.

She tried to hide the pain she must now be feeling, but I knew she was not well by the way she acted. She was struggling to even stay upright, moaning lightly from the pain. Something needed to be done about this; otherwise Kiyoko wouldn't be able to continue. Calling on my Celestial Brush, I drew a single loop in the air, activating the technique called Galestorm. A strong divine wind blew through Ryoshima Coast, driving back the mist. Not expecting the sudden gust of wind, Kiyoko got blown over, unable to brace herself.

The air was now clear of the horrid mist, but the dark presence still remained, so I headed towards the Guardian Sapling. As I thought, its power was failing, on the verge of wilting. Painting a circle over the tree, it was restored instantly in a shower of cherry blossom petals—another technique called Bloom. The menacing aura immediately vanished, and Ryoshima Coast was returned to its natural beauty. Yet I couldn't shake the feeling that something was still amiss . . . But anyway, North Ryoshima Coast was the next place to search.

Crossing the border, we arrived at the northern part of Ryoshima Coast. The evil here was even more powerful. The entire area here was reduced to a cursed zone, leaving everything desolate and barren. It was always a terrible and depressing sight to see, with all life mercilessly destroyed by the sheer power of darkness itself. I saw something out of the corner of my eye, but I chose to ignore it. The Guardian Sapling was out of reach for now, and staying here would be too risky for Kiyoko, so we left the empty wasteland that was once North Ryoshima Coast behind us.

o~*~o

The day was coming to a close and we needed to regroup for now, so we headed to Sasa Sanctuary in Taka Pass. We checked into the Sparrow Inn—which is, in fact, run by actual sparrows—to rest for the night.

"Welcome to Sparrow Inn!" chirped the hostess. "We hope you enjoy your stay!"

"Thank you, we will," Waka replied politely. The young sparrow blushed in response. Always the charmer, he is! I thought to myself. I don't blame her, though, with that cute French accent of his. And he's good-looking, as well . . . Wait, what am I doing? Snap out of it!

Leaving it at that, I walked to my room with Kiyoko, and I could swear I felt heat rising in my face, as if in spite of the fact that I am a wolf. Trying to take my mind off that, I eyed one of the little sparrows dashing around, carting plates of food for the other customers. I swished my tail out, tripping the bird and sending his serving tray filled with food into the air. To my amazement, he actually caught every single plate, and then continued his frantic dashing around the inn, like nothing just happened.

When we made it to our room, there was our meal laid out for us. I caught a whiff of the drink, and it distinctly smelled like sake (Japanese alcohol, for those of you who don't know), so I decided to taste it. It was definitely sake, and it was strong, too. Kiyoko clearly didn't notice or didn't care, as she went ahead and drank it. She must have liked it, because she started to drink even more of it. This will not turn out well.

Apparently, that sake was all too strong, as it intoxicated Kiyoko to the point of absolutely losing all common sense. Next thing I knew, she made her way out of the room and went someplace else in the inn. I wasn't too worried, as I figured she was so out of it that she would pass out sooner or later. Boy, was I ever wrong!

3rd Person

In the next room were Waka and Issun, which is to say that it was not a very good idea to have them stay together in the same room.

"Are you prepared, my little bouncing friend?" Waka said, quite confident.

"More than you know, ya half-baked prophet!" Issun snapped back.

"We'll see about that . . ."

"Yeah? Well, how about this?"

Of course, they weren't actually fighting, but only playing a not-so-friendly game of shogi (the Japanese version of chess). Issun slammed his piece down on the board, close to checkmate. At that moment, a very tipsy Kiyoko stumbled in, tripping over practically every piece of furniture in the room. Being drunk did not help her coordination.

"Hey, Kiki," Issun said, a bit wary. "Uh, what are you doing here?"

"Me? I jus' wanna have some fun!" she slurred. Both Issun and Waka did not like the sound of this. She stumbled towards them with a strange, unsettling look in her eyes. She then plopped down on the floor next to them.

"Waka," she cooed, "why don' you an' me have some fun?" This caught him off guard. He backed away, not wanting to find out what her current definition of "fun" was. She inched even closer to him, then suddenly threw herself into his arms, snuggling him.

"Th-That's enough now," he said, pushing her away.

"My, my! You naughty boy!"

"What?" Only then did he realize that he had unknowingly placed his hand right on her chest. Embarrassed, he quickly pulled his hand away. But it was too late. That little mishap gave Kiyoko more cause to get excited. Way too excited. In the midst of her fit of happiness, she somehow managed to knock Waka down on his back. Seizing the opportunity, Kiyoko lay on top of him, getting even more . . . affectionate.

"Whaddya think you're doin', man?" Issun yelled at Waka. "She's probably gonna do somethin' to ya if you don't get her off you soon!"

"I would if I could," Waka grunted as he tried to shove Kiyoko off him, "but she's stronger than she looks!"

"Yeah, sure! You just can't handle a little girl, and a drunk one, no less!"

"Quiet, you pesky insect!"

"I am not a 'insect'! Or did you forget that already forget that, pretty boy?"

Meanwhile, in the next room . . .

Amaterasu

Ugh. That sake sure packs a punch. I lay sprawled out on the floor, groggy from finishing off the sake that Kiyoko didn't gulp down. My ears picked up some noise from the next room. Listening closer, it sounded like there was a bunch of commotion going on in there. Curious, I heaved myself up from the floor and staggered on out to the source of the noise.

It's probably just some guys having a party or something, I thought as I walked. I'll just tell 'em to tone it down a bit and—What in heaven's name is going on? I saw before me a scene of absolute chaos.

Waka and Issun were having another battle yet another battle of wits as usual. Then I noticed something very wrong with this picture. Waka was down on the ground with Kiyoko on top of him. By the Gods, they're not . . . Oh, that tears it! Rage building in me, I brought out the Celestial Brush without knowing what exactly I was to do with it.

I slammed the brush down and managed one messy circle with a line coming out of it—a technique I like to call Cherry Bomb!

As the name suggests, a large cherry bomb appeared in the middle of the room, fuse lit and ready to blow.

"What were you thinking, ya big furball?" Issun shouted at me, his voice carrying hints of panic. "You're gonna blow us all up! Including you!" Whoops, guess I didn't think about that. Well, time for me to scram! I fled from the room, followed by Waka and Issun.

But for some crazy reason, Kiyoko refused to leave, apparently fascinated by the colorful bomb. Then came the expected explosion along with Kiyoko's cry.

We walked back into the now demolished room to find her passed out, looking extra crispy. Yet she turned out fine; she survived and was only asleep. She was returned to our room, and we all did the same, putting an end to one of the most insane nights ever.

The following morning, I woke up feeling perfectly fine. Kiyoko, on the other hand, stayed in bed suffering from a bad hangover. It seems that even she cannot simply shake off something like that. She slowly rose, holding her head.

"Good morning, Snowflake," she groaned. "Oh, my head . . ."

A little later, when Kiyoko was feeling somewhat better, we headed back to North Ryoshima Coast. Everyone hovered tentatively at the edge of the cursed zone. Me, Waka and Issun would be fine, but Kiyoko . . . She said she could take care of herself, but I'm not so sure.

"I'm going in," she said, entirely serious. "No matter what, I am going through that cursed zone! I won't let it get the best of me!"

And that was it. We all knew that when she's made up her mind, there was no stopping her. There was no choice but to let her go. Brimming with confidence, she marched right in without hesitation. We stood at the ready, prepared to pull her out if need be.

Within her first steps in, Kiyoko went stiff, ceasing to move. For a terrifying moment, I feared that she had fallen to the curse. Thankfully, she broke free and scrambled back to safety.

"Wh-What was that?" she gasped, shocked by the experience.

"That, my friend, is the power of a cursed zone," Waka replied. "And that is why we were so against you coming along in the first place. Now I hope you see the risk this presents for you."

". . . Alright. I'm ready to try again!"

"You can't do that, Kiki!" Issun intervened. "You know what's gonna happen to ya if you do!"

"He's right," Waka agreed. "You just now felt for yourself the effects of the curse. Had you stayed any longer, chances are you would have turned to stone."

"Yeah, what he said! Wait a sec, did I just agree with the half-baked prophet?"

"Why, yes you did, my little bouncing friend."

"Alright, you win," Kiyoko sighed, reluctant to give in. "I won't go in there . . . for now. But next time, I will be ready for sure!"

There was no use in arguing any more, so we transported back to Kamiki Village. But right before I jumped in, I now took notice of what I caught a glimpse of earlier. It then hit me that the strange island was all too familiar, fear filling my heart.

It was none other than Oni Island.