Kantarou did take a brief moment of pleasure in sliding open the shogi door quickly enough as he left that Youko and Haruka fell backwards into the room. He scampered out before they could recover and retaliate, and headed for the stairs, chuckling as he went. Now…how best to prepare? Somehow the feeling he had been getting all evening made him think this wouldn't be an easy case. It made him decide to at least put on a good show. He pulled out his formal exorcist robes, and took off his normal red and white hakama. The elaborate crimson and silver robes patterned with chrysanthemums made his lean frame look a little more impressive, anyway-he would take what he could get. He made sure he had plenty of ofuda, the charms he used for barriers and defensive attacks, and his prayer beads. For some reason, as he moved to leave the room he picked up an old sutra that he had been studying in relation to a historical youkai story. It was supposed to be reference material for one of his books, but he had relegated it to the bottom of a stack of papers. Still, it was odd that his fingers had plucked that particular sutra-his fingers had just seemed to stick for a moment as they moved across his desk, and it had been there in his hand. This particular sutra had been used for banishing a powerful demon into a sealed boulder after it had decimated an entire village. He shrugged and smiled to himself-who was he to ignore intuition (technically, he ignored it quite often). He quickly and carefully tucked the sutra into the breast of his robes, just in case. Leaving his room, he hopped down the stairs and then slowed to a dignified walk once he got close to the reception room. Haruka had of course noticed Kantarou's rush down the stairs, with his superior hearing, and he raised an eyebrow and smirked at his master's antics. Life just seemed so much more comfortable when Kantarou was his normal immature self. Haruka didn't want it any other way; though life would also have been much less annoying if the man was just normal.
"Yosh then…Haruka, let's go," Kantarou demanded. He sounded and looked a bit better, although Haruka could tell he was still tired from the earlier cases. Hopefully this case could be over and done with quickly. Kantarou told Youko not to wait up, just in case-and he couldn't resist telling her to make sure there was food left out since he was bringing in hard-earned money. Out of respect for his long day, she restrained herself from strangling him before he went out and satisfied herself with giving him a withering glare that could have burned through glass. Home matters taken care of, the exorcist stepped through the front door after the young servant, and Haruka followed. The sun had completely set, and the street was dimly lit by lanterns at the entrances of the neighboring houses. Normally the night was soothing to Haruka, but looking at Kantarou's slender back and silver hair moving away from him into the darkness gave him a sudden chill. It seemed too much like he was fading away-like he was looking at a ghost. He hurried his footsteps unobtrusively and wound up pacing alongside his master instead of behind him. He told himself wanting to get closer had nothing to do with it-it was just easier to step in if any trouble arose if he was close by. Yeah, right. It didn't help that Kantarou glanced up at him every once in a while with his ruby eyes and smiled at him. It also didn't help that it was the young exorcist's patented smirk of mischief-it made the man look downright diabolic. Haruka couldn't tell if he was planning something or not. Being worn out didn't seem to affect his normal personality for long, it seemed. The tengu doubted that anything really could affect that part of him. Haruka had the feeling if they were not following someone to an affluent part of the city, Kantarou would have forced him to carry him piggyback or bridal style all the way. It almost gave him something to look forward to on the way home. Almost. Haruka was enjoyably distracted by thoughts of his master as they walked on towards an older section of the city.
The object of Haruka's interest had his own distractions-mostly trying to keep his feet moving in front of each other and trying to act like his normal self. He was usually so energetic that even he began to feel that his normal self was obnoxious, just from the effort of trying to act like it. The ominous feeling he had been noticing since the last case was getting worse the further they walked, and Kantarou was starting to feel oppressed by it. His head was starting to pound dully again, and he wondered if he would be able to solve the problem without using too much power. At the rate he was going, he wasn't going to be able to do anything for the next couple of days with the current drain on his body. He gave Haruka another sidelong glance. There was no point in worrying him over something that couldn't be helped-it wasn't like the tengu could exorcise a ghost or demon (although he could destroy things violently if the situation required it), which was what the situation sounded like. He wished he knew more about what they were walking into. He also wished that they were not following someone, so he could have begged Haruka to carry him-not realizing Haruka knew him well enough to have already thought of that scenario. Kantarou shrugged mentally, already planning a next time, and instead steeled himself to keep walking without staggering. The servant seemed to be intent on taking them to one of the oldest (and least populated) parts of the wealthier set of the city, and the lanterns began to decrease in number as they kept walking. After an hour or so of steady walking (and wobbling in Kantarou's case), they finally reached a set of massive iron gates hiding a pathway in an otherwise deserted neighborhood populated with crumbling walls and broken paving stones. It set the young exorcist's teeth on edge just looking at the gate-it had streaked red over time, and in the dim light offered by the lantern set in one side, it looked like it was bleeding rust. He shuddered a little but resolutely moved forward to stand in front of it. He might be a lot of things, but at least no one could call him a coward. Well, maybe Haruka and Youko could, but he at least wasn't a coward when it counted. Their guide pushed open one side of the gate, which groaned and screeched like some metal beast in pain-just to add to the mood, Kantarou couldn't resist thinking, and beckoned them inside. Haruka and Kantarou walked in side-by-side, perhaps a little closer than necessary, but both were feeling distinctly uneasy now. The slamming growl of the gate shutting by itself behind them didn't help at all. It seemed like they had just been eaten by the jaws of the gate, and really, didn't things always go downhill from this sort of an entrance? Kantarou was starting to wonder if this was supposed to be a dramatic set-up, or if there was really someone who enjoyed this sort of ambiance for entertaining guests. He just couldn't decide on which. It would have been an excellent time to decide to postpone the job until daylight, when it might be safer. Unfortunately, Kantarou was far too curious a man by nature to let this case go now without finding out what was going on. As they walked down a gently curving but overgrown pathway, he kept his eyes on examining his surroundings and making sure they didn't lose their guide on the dark path up to the brooding manor house-he never noticed the bells on his bracelet begin a steady trembling. It could almost have been attributed to the motion from walking-but not quite. They continued to walk forward in the night, and the lanterns behind them faded out and disappeared, leaving complete darkness to swallow up the path they had taken.
"Ah, finally…he's coming. You know what to do, yes, Ibaragi? Make sure the tengu cannot interfere. It is Ichinomiya we want to take care of this time-we can always fetch my ogre-eating tengu to play properly next time…after we get what I want." A faint voice chuckled dryly from within one of the locked rooms in the very manor that the exorcist and tengu in question were approaching. He could sense the intense spiritual energy of the exorcist as they approached the house, and he found himself respecting the young man just a little bit more. They had planted several demons to get him to exhaust his powers, weakening him beforehand, and he still had enough left to announce his presence without his even trying. It just made him more tempting-his power was glowing like an all-you-can-eat sign to those waiting in the manor. The owner of the voice smiled with dark anticipation. The game was so much more fun with unpredictable opponents-he so hoped that the exorcist would hold up long enough to be able to put some of his larger plans in motion. "Ibaragi? Is everything ready for our guests? They must be getting curious by now. I think you should show them in immediately once they reach the front."
Far underground, below the actual manor house, a striking woman with long brown hair was sitting in a small stone room. The walls and floor were ancient weathered stone, the flagstones polished smooth with time. The room itself was bare except for a single large stone pillar carved out of a boulder with an ancient seal striping the weathered sides, crouching from ceiling to floor in the center of the low-ceilinged space. She smiled into a polished black mirror as she held it up, and nodded her acknowledgement to the master of this particular game. She had so been looking forward to meeting their two guests again-it was extremely kind of her own master to call them over to play. She pouted as she remembered that she was only playing with the exorcist today-the tengu was for later. Still….she blew onto the mirror's surface and it rippled and twisted to show her the approaching guests near the front of the manor. Kantarou Ichinomiya….the exorcist….as she looked more closely at him, she felt a little happier. Although he wasn't as tall and handsome as the dark-haired tengu, his exotic silver hair and vermilion eyes made him more interesting to look at the longer one stared. It was good she didn't have to kill him right now-it would be such a waste of rare beauty. Ibaragi smiled widely to herself, mouth opening just enough to reveal her fangs had lengthened into wicked points from her excitement. They were so close now….it was time to welcome them properly.
The servant finally reached the front door of the manor, which naturally was also massive and forbidding. At this point, Kantarou would have been extremely surprised (and a little disappointed) if it had looked tasteful or welcoming. Haruka walked up the steps and paused, waiting for his master who was lagging behind. Kantarou shook his head and forced his body up the last few steps, trying not to show how much his legs were shaking after all of the exertion. He was starting to think Haruka suspected something was wrong with him, since the tengu kept glancing at him with that worried look on his aristocratic face. He also kept hovering by Kantarou's side, instinctively moving closer in a protective gesture. The tengu would of course deny it and move away if it was pointed out to him. It was just another side of Haruka that the exorcist found appealing, and it brought a small smile to his face. He finally reached the top of the steps without panting or huffing for breath (which he was proud of), and they both turned together to step foot into the dark stone manor.
Naturally as soon as they crossed the threshold, the doors slammed soundly shut behind them. Haruka whirled and immediately tried to force them back open, but Kantarou called softly for him to stop, holding one hand up in front of the tengu. The exorcist had stopped in his tracks and was slowly looking around, trying to find any details that could tell him what was going on. He placed one hand on his chest, expecting the usual pain, but his scar remained quiet. Both of them noticed with growing alarm that the servant they had been following seemed to have completely disappeared in the short time between opening the doors and being trapped in.
"Hey! Boy! Where are you? We still need to talk to your master and mistress….Oi!..Ooii!" Kantarou cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted. Silence followed except for the echoes of his voice reaching the corners of the vast walls and high ceilings. He felt a chill crawl up the back of his spine, thinking not for the first time he should really listen to his intuition one of these days. Otherwise it was a wasted talent. He mentally apologized to whichever kami had given him that particular gift-he probably didn't put it to its best use. He felt rather than saw Haruka move up next to him so that their sides were almost touching again. With Haruka here with him, he really should just try to get the job done quickly. He was probably safer right now than he had been all day thanks to the tengu's presence. Kantarou sighed deeply and leaned briefly against his tengu, wishing again they could just go home and eat.
"Haruka, let's find out what is going on so we can leave. I don't want to split up to search though (it's too clichéd and never ends well besides), so we will look by floor and go from room to room. We need to stay close, fine?" Kantarou wore one of his rare serious expressions, making it seem like he really meant to find out what was going on. The man looked almost impressive when he did that, his finely sculpted features much more noticeable when he wasn't making strange faces all of the time. Haruka sighed and decided to go with it. If things become too hairy, he could always fly them out-that was the main reason he was here after all, wasn't it? Kantarou ruined the serious demon-hunting mood somewhat by spinning in a circle and then pointing randomly to decide which direction to search. It was such a huge place he knew he was virtually guaranteed results no matter where he wound up pointing. Unfortunately, he realized he had ended up pointing at an extremely dark corridor that seemed to slope downwards and out of sight of the main entrance hall.
"Um…ne, Haruka, why don't we start somewhere…lighter?" The tengu ignored his master this time, and gripped him firmly by the arm and started towing him towards the hallway. The sooner they started this search, the sooner they could get out of this place. It was even affecting his nerves, and he was hard to rattle. He honestly just wanted to get Kantarou and himself out of here in one piece. Both of them felt their unease solidify into certainty, but they didn't hesitate (Haruka had Kantarou's arm, so the exorcist couldn't stop even if he wanted to) as they made their way into the dark. It was one of those times that they knew they would regret not following their instincts, but they were in too deep to stop now without getting to the bottom of the deepening mystery.
As soon as they set foot into the corridor, Kantarou felt a sudden stabbing pain in the scar in his chest. "Aah…" he gasped as he unconsciously clutched at his robes over his scar, tripping and falling to his knees. Haruka immediately grabbed him tighter and held him up by his arm, peering anxiously at his face.
"Kantarou! What is it? Is something there?" Haruka spoke while his eyes began scanning the corridor for enemies. He already knew what this reaction meant. The young exorcist nodded his head in confirmation, but the pain was so intense he couldn't keep himself upright. He sagged in Haruka's grip and curled up around himself, crying out once before he bit his lip to keep quiet, and tried to will his body to work around the pain like it normally did. His heart was starting to feel like something was trying to rip it out through his chest. Haruka stopped looking around when he didn't find any immediate threats or attacks and focused on Kantarou, starting to realize that this wasn't a normal reaction. Usually his master could still function through the effects of his scar-it was the only reason Haruka agreed that having it was somewhat useful. "Kantarou…oi! Do we need to get out of here?" he asked urgently, gripping his shoulder tightly and shaking him a little. As if shaking would make him reply quicker.
Kantarou struggled to respond, but the pain had quickly increased to the point where he felt he could no longer draw in a breath of air. Shit! Haruka! This is bad…something extremely powerful is here…I can't handle it like this…sparkles began to dance in front of his vision as he began to lose consciousness from a lack of air. He didn't even have enough to cry out at the pain in his chest, which felt like someone was succeeding in tearing him open slowly. A few lines of moisture trickled from his eyes without conscious thought as he fought to breathe. Haruka knelt and cradled him, hoping to soothe the pain a little and restore his breathing.
He had never seen Kantarou incapacitated this badly before-normally the scar didn't hurt him badly enough to make him collapse like this. He held his master a little tighter against himself as the other man gasped for breath and arched backwards in agony, his eyes wide open but not seeing anything, not even Haruka. That was too much-he just needed to get Kantarou out of here, quickly. The tengu had never thought about how much it would bother him to see the exorcist in pain like this-it was making his feelings start to slowly spiral out of the tight control he normally kept them in since regaining his memories. He felt helpless frustration and fury bubble up inside of him as his Kantarou coughed and fought for air in his arms. It was just like the young exorcist to be the reason he couldn't stay looking calm and collected, like an ogre-eating tengu should. He stood up suddenly and picked up his master completely, still cradling him, and turned around to get out of the corridor-only to find that the way out was no longer there. A blank stone wall, just as old looking and as solid as the ones surrounding him, stood in front of him.
"Shit!" he cried with feeling, fury beginning to well up inside of him as Kantarou's struggles to breathe become weaker. "Hang in there, Kantarou…we are going to get out of here," he growled, mantling his wings protectively in front of his body as he tried to decide what to do.