Episode 5: The Truth of Japan

"Welcome back, Harutora-sama."

"Ojou-samatachi, Harutora-sama, welcome home."

Yuuna and Issei were astounded as they walked down the hall of the Tsuchimikado estate. Maids would bow and greet Harutora and his childhood friends formally whenever they passed by one. So far, Issei had encountered at least five maids and he's sure there are more since the estate is quite big. They knew that Harutora and his childhood friends all came from a wealthy and old family but intellectually knowing something and seeing it with your own eyes are two very different things.

Harutora then told a maid to give them a change of clothes and then lead them to the baths. They would talk over dinner. After that, the Hero Club members each went their separate ways with Yuuna and Issei being given clothes and led to the baths where the rest will join them. Apparently the girls each have their own room in the Tsuchimikado estate since they are all living together. Another shocking discovery for Issei and Yuuna.

Issei and Yuuna parted ways in front of the bath. When Issei entered the bath, he had to marvel at the traditional bath design and how big it was. He quickly bathed and then went out, putting on the clothes Harutora provided him which was a simple gray kimono. This is the first time he's wearing a traditional clothing in something that is not a special occasion… well, maybe it can be considered a special occasion.

Issei waited outside the bath when Yuuna finally came out. Like him, she was also provided with a kimono, a simple one that can be worn in casual settings. Now that he thought of it, everyone in the house seemed to be wearing traditional clothing. The Tsuchimikado must be a family with a long history if they are always so traditional even in a daily setting because only those families wear kimono on a daily basis.

The two of them were then led to the dining room where they will talk. Inside, they found all of their friends already waiting. Surprisingly, it is only Harutora himself who does not wear traditional clothing. Both Hinata and Kunou appeared to be wearing Miko outfits with some modifications like the family crest while Wakaba wore a pure white kimono. Harutora look rather out of place wearing a plain red shirt and black shorts which Issei just had to point out.

"Tsuchimikado, you look out of place in your own home."

Harutora chuckled. He seemed to think so too. But he liked to think of himself as a normal modern day teenage boy and he liked to dress casual, unlike his childhood friends who were more set in their family's traditional ways. At least their family does not enforce their ways onto their children but Wakaba and Hinata preferred to dress traditionally unlike him. So he replied to Issei;

"Just because our family is traditional doesn't mean I have to wear a kimono at all times."

Issei and Yuuna took their seats, sitting across each other. Issei sat next to Harutora with Kunou occupying the other side while Yuuna sat to Wakaba's left and Hinata is seated on Wakaba's right. When they're finally comfortable in their seats, Yuuna and Issei thankfully got used to sitting in the seiza position during themartial arts training that they received, dinner was brought in by the maids. It's a simple set of rice, fish and miso soup. The group ate dinner in relative silence.

When they finally finished dinner and the tables were cleaned up, their talk began after the seating position changed. The childhood friends and Kunou now sat facing Issei and Yuuna who are feeling nervous. They are about to talk about a whole new world after all, at least to Issei and Yuuna. A minute passed by and… they still haven't started.

"So, where should we start from?"

Harutora asked, sounding embarrassed and unsure as he smiled wryly.

"Uhh, so we know now that the supernatural is real. Things like youkai and onmyouji are real and that something is happening. Kunou is some kind of a fox youkai and you guys are… onmyouji?"

Issei listed what he knew and guessed to which the three humans and one youkai nodded.

"That about sums it up but I'll fill you in on the details. You're a bit wrong when you called us all Onmyouji. Hinata, for instance, is a Miko. Miko and Onmyouji are different. The definition of Onmyouji are Japanese magic practitioners that follows the usage of Onmyoudou, our own set of magic system established since the time of Abe no Seimei. We are basically the Japanese equivalent of Western magicians. We simply use a different system that is acknowledged as Japan's own system. Miko though are entirely different. Miko are female priests who serve a god and are able to channel the god's power in the form of blessings. Gods receive power from being known and worshiped and they in turn use the power they receive to bless their followers through the medium of their Miko. A normal Miko is able to spread their god's blessing through ritual kagura or ofuda sold in shrines but high-ranking Miko like Hinata went even further and are able to utilize the god's blessing they received to aid them in battle by amplifying their powers. The main difference between an Onmyouji and Miko is the nature of their powers. Onmyouji use their own magical power to use their spells while Miko, in addition to the ability to use Onmyoudou, are able to channel a god's power. This very ability to channel a god's power is what makes them Miko. It is an ability one is born with and its potency depends on the god's favor."

"Haa… that totally went over my head."

"Ahaha, me too."

Issei and Yuuna admitted, much to their embarrassment.

"Maa, it's not really hard. Just ignore the textbook definition and remember this; Onmyouji are those who practices Japanese magic while Miko are blessed directly by the gods."

Harutora summed it up in short words which Issei and Yuuna understood.

"Now, about youkai, as fellow Japanese I don't think I have to explain much here other than emphasizing the fact that they are real and there are many kinds of them."

Yuuna and Issei nodded again. Indeed, as fellow Japanese, there is no need to explain about youkai other than saying that they are real. As Japanese, Yuuna and Issei knew stories about youkai and can identify them if they came across one, provided they know what to look for.

"The general knowledge about youkai can be found in books. The stories we heard about them are mostly accurate though missing minor details so we'll just explain the important things about youkai that are not general knowledge. Kunou!"

Harutora called out the fox youkai's name. Yuuna and Issei turn to the young fox youkai who would take over the basic explanation about youkai since she is one.

"Youkai are essentially beings that are able to use the power known as youki which roughly means something like demonic power, although it is an entirely different power to the demonic power used by Western supernatural species. Through the use of youki, we are able to use youjutsu, demonic techniques specific only to youkai with each species possessing differing special power, though we do have a shared youjutsu system that any species can use but most tend to use youjutsu specific to our species because that is where our power is most potent. General youjutsu are not so different from common magic apart from the energy source and alignment but the potency of our youjutsu is strongest when using the power specific to our species. There are three major categories of youkai; benevolent youkai that are good and some even serves an Amatsukami directly like foxes serving Inari-sama, neutral youkai that has no alignment and are the most similar to humans in behavior, and the evil youkai who preys on humans. This is only a general categorization though as not all foxes are good and not all oni are evil."

"So to summarize, youkai are youkai because they have youki and can utilize youjutsu and we have many different kinds of youkai that can either be good or bad?"

Yuuna summarized.

"That is correct."

So now they have the summary of what Onmyouji, Miko and Youkai are and that means the oni they faced belong to the category of evil youkai. After giving Yuuna and Issei time to digest what they have learned so far, Wakaba began the next part of the explanation.

"Now on to the main topic of the matter. For decades after the end of the Sengoku era and the unification of Japan, evil youkai activity had lowered greatly, especially since the middle of the Edo period, and the supernatural side of Japan had been relatively peaceful. There were still a number of supernatural related incidents but compared to the past, you can call the era peaceful. This is thanks to the efforts of all Kami of Japan, the Onmyouji, Miko, and benevolent Youkai that had joined forces to end the era of strife and with the death of many powerful and notable evil youkai like the Kurama Tengu, Shuten Douji, Tamamo no Mae, Nue and many others, the evil youkai lost their rallying points and were scattered across the lands, unable to do much other than causing some troubles in the areas they are in. Peace reigned for a long time, that is until the early days of the Showa period."

Wakaba said in a foreboding tone. Hinata then continued for her.

"A lot of things happened during that period but speaking of it in detail should be left for later since it will take a lot of time. So in short, a great enemy by the name of Dairokuten Maou appeared with a great army and declared war on the Amatsukami. The Koto Amatsukami fell to the Maou and it signalled the beginning of another war. Realizing how powerful this Dairokuten Maou is for being able to eliminate all the Koto Amatsukami and that is without his army, the Amatsukami as well as their allied Kami along with the majority of the benevolent Youkai under the command of the Hyakki Yakou of the supreme commander of all spirits sealed Takamagahara with a temporal seal to keep the Maou from spreading destruction throughout Japan."

"The rise of Imperial Japan coincides with this Maou's rise and the decline of Imperial Japan coincides with the Maou's sealing. If it weren't for the Maou, the Amatsukami and us, the supernatural side, would have done something about the atrocities committed by our brethren during WW2. Or at least that is what I hope. Anyway, right now, thanks to this Maou, the majority of the Kami and benevolent Youkai are inside the seal even now. Right now, the ones maintaining Japan's spiritual integrity is the Kyoto Youkai, the Sandai Miko, and the various Tochigami that were not involved in the war. "

Issei and Yuuna didn't know what to say or how to react to this news. They are saying that right now the majority of the Kami and benevolent Youkai are absent thanks to some extremely powerful Maou appearing and declaring war on them. Most of all, they can't believe that the Koto Amatsukami, the eldest and strongest gods of Japan, are no more thanks to this Maou.

"Right now, the supernatural side of Japan is in a state of crisis. But it's not just about this Maou. After the sealing of Takamagahara conducted by the Shinto Trinity, the powers that maintained the peace in Japan are essentially gone, battling this Maou inside Takamagahara. No one can enter or exit Takamagahara as long as the seal exists."

"The evil Youkai forces, hearing this, began to gather once again. Normally, we can handle them with our forces but right now we are basically left with just leftovers with most of the truly powerful members of the peaceful faction trapped in Takamagahara. And so a year after the sealing, evil Youkai began attacking us and we were pushed back due to their surprise attack. This is how the Youkai Civil War started and it had been going on for nearly seventy years."

"Fortunately for us, there is one Amatsukami that was not sealed. Knowing that we would be lost without a guidance, one of the higher ranking Kami did not participate in the sealing but instead stayed here to help us as well as to prepare our forces should the war in the seal went badly. Thanks to the Amatsukami, we managed to rally our forces and stop the evil youkai's advancing forces. We have been on a stalemate for over fifty years. But now it seems the enemy wanted to break this stalemate."

The childhood friends and Kunou took turns explaining about Japan's situation to Yuuna and Issei who are listening closely to every word they said. This is a very important matter and it concerns the future of Japan. Who knew that behind the scenes such a large scale war is being fought in their very own country?

"Tokyo is relatively peaceful as it is mainly populated by humans and is guarded strictly by professional Onmyouji and Miko. But apparently the enemy had found a way to infiltrate the kekkai protecting Tokyo."

There was about twenty seconds of silence after Harutora put in his comment when Issei realized that they have spoken the main points they needed to tell Yuuna and Issei. Now Issei raised his hand to ask a question.

"So I get most of the things you said about what is happening in Japan but… what about that… thing that appeared on my left hand?"

"Ahh right! Ise-kun has this cool red gauntlet on his left hand before and you said you'll explain about that too!"

Yuuna exclaimed, remembering about the red gauntlet Issei had before. That honestly almost slipped Harutora's mind. The blonde Onmyouji then start his explanation about the gauntlet.

"That thing Hyoudou possessed is an item called a Sacred Gear."

""Sacred Gear?""

Yuuna and Issei tilted their heads in confusion, both at the unfamiliar name and the fact that it was said in English. That could imply that the thing came from outside Japan.

"A Sacred Gear is an artifact left behind by the God of the Bible…"

"Wait wait wait! Uhh, God of the Bible as in THE God that appeared in the Christian Bible?"

Yuuna inquired. The four people who knew nodded.

"Yes, that very same God. You two already knew by now that supernatural is real so is it any surprise that other religions' gods are real? Angels and Devils are also real but that can be explained later. Now, Sacred Gears are artifacts the God of the Bible bestowed upon select humans. They have various forms and uses from one that are only utilities to one that gives magical power and those that create weapons or are weapons themselves. Sacred Gears even have series, like limited edition gears that are one-of-a-kind that tend to be more powerful than the more common variety. But the strongest of these Sacred Gear series are the Longinus series."

"The Longinus series."

Issei repeated the words in his mouth. It sounds powerful alright.

"The Longinus was said to be so powerful that it has the potential to kill gods."

Hearing what Harutora said made Issei gulp. The power to kill gods, that is some serious power alright.

"And if my suspicion is correct, the Sacred Gear you have is one of those Longinus, the mid-tier Longinus, Boosted Gear."

Issei blinked when Harutora revealed what his Sacred Gear is and everyone now is looking at him. It took a moment for Issei to process what Harutora said and there is only one reaction he has to this revelation.

"…ehh?"

Twenty minutes after their meeting, which took over an hour is over, Issei and Yuuna sat together on the front porch overlooking the Tsuchimikado mansion's garden. Their friends left them to process the information that they've just been told. It was quite a lot to take in. After all, a whole new world had just been revealed to them in the span of a single night. Issei especially looks frustrated.

"This is all too much to handle. And worse is there is no way for me out of this."

Issei lamented. Before they ended the conversation, Wakaba had implied that Issei especially cannot ignore the supernatural world now that he is involved. This is because he is in possession of a Sacred Gear and Harutora is convinced that it is a Longinus. A human with a Longinus will never be ignored by the supernatural world. It is the fate of Sacred Gear users, especially Longinus wielders. The only way out is to extract his Sacred Gear which Wakaba mentioned is equal to killing him.

Wakaba can be quite blunt when she needed to be and she thought that Issei needed the warning, which is true, but now it is weighing on his mind.

Yuuna though can get out of all these things. All that needed to be done is to wipe her memories and make her forget and she can return to her normal life. But that way out is also weighing on Yuuna's mind.

Well actually it doesn't really weigh on Yuuna's mind. She already knew what she will do from now on. From the beginning there is only one answer for her.

"Ise-kun, are you worried? Anything I can help you with?"

Issei sighs at the question asked by the girl sitting beside him. As usual, she doesn't sound at all worried or burdened by what happened around her. Always optimistic and worrying about others instead. But then again, that is how Yuuna is and Issei wouldn't have it any other way.

"It's nothing. This is my problem so I will sort it out myself."

Issei said. Yuuna did not reply but instead got up and stood in front of him. Issei looked up and came face to face with a frowning Yuuna who proceed to flick his forehead.

"Ouch! Yuna, what the…"

"Remember the Hero Club tenets number 4; If you're troubled, talk to someone!"

Issei pouted and crossed his arm as he replied to Yuuna;

"What about you then? I'm sure that you're also troubled by what we've learned today."

Yuuna put a finger to her chin as she look up and then smiled as she turned around, looking at the moon's reflection on the koi pond. Like Issei said, she's also troubled by what they have learned today. But unlike Issei, she already knew what to do. Her answer had already been decided the moment she realized the situation her homeland is in.

"I already have my answer, Ise-kun."

Yuuna turn back to face Issei while showing her usual smile that Issei had come to know.

"I will help my friends. I will not let go of my memory even if it means more danger to me. I will not leave my friends, especially when I know that they are in trouble. Tsuchimikado-kun, Nogi-san, Hinata-chan, Kunou-chan, they all need help and I want to help them in any way I can."

Yuuna said to him, eyes filled with unbreakable conviction. Issei stared at Yuuna, not finding any lies or doubt in the words she uttered moments ago. The Sacred Gear user sighs. It's just like her to say that.

"It will be dangerous you know. This is not a problem that we can solve by helping carry a few stuff around. Our lives can be at stake here."

"Even so, I want to help them, or at least try, after all, you're likely to succeed if you try."

Yuuna said again. Issei heaved another sigh but then his lips curled into a smile.

"I guess I've found what I want to do."

Issei stood up and walk towards Yuuna. Putting a hand on her head and then ruffling her hair, Issei grinned.

"I'll have to make sure to keep you out of trouble, Yuna-chan."

Yuuna pouted but as Issei walked back into the mansion to sleep while laughing all the way to his room, Yuuna smiled.

"Thank you, Ise-kun."