Chapter 6
Kira peeked around the corner of the building to see Hiyori, Yato, and Yukine walking toward Hiyori's house. She and Matoko had to wait until the fiendish hour before they could cross into the living realm and they'd almost missed their chance.
"Are they gone yet?" Matoko asked aloud.
"Be quiet you idiot!" Kira scorned. "You'll blow our cover."
"What cover? You do realize we can transform into anything in order to hide, right?"
"Still, with your big mouth you could be a lamppost and still give yourself away!"
"What exactly is your plan, Kira?"
Kira huffed. "We have to follow them and make sure the demon doesn't get Hiyori."
Matoko crossed his arms, his kitten whiskers twitching. "What is going to happen to us if our Lady finds out we're scheming against her?"
Kira scowled. "Izanami is no longer my lady and mistress."
"Hello? I'm home!" Hiyori yelled from the front of her house but no voice called back. The house was dark. "Hm, my parents must still be out. They seem to be gone a lot lately."
"Well, they don't have to worry about you as much," Yato skipped to the fridge and helped himself to one of her dad's beers. "That's kind of how parenting goes. They get to enjoy a little bit more free time now."
"True…" she lowered her voice. When he put it that way it kind of hurt thinking maybe her parents have been waiting for this for a while. Are all parents just waiting for the days when they no longer have to look after their kids anymore?
"Do you want kids, Hiyori?" Yukine asked.
"Huh?" Hiyori was baffled. She'd never really thought of having children. "Well, I suppose one day it might happen." She scratched her head. "I haven't really thought that far down the road."
"Really?" Yato questioned. "I thought all girls thought about getting married and having a family. I mean, that's what you all are good at, right?"
BONG! Hiyori had grabbed a skillet and hit Yato over the head with it. "NOT ALL GIRLS YOU MORON!"
"Ow ow ow ow ow! What was that for?!" he whined.
"You kind of earned it," Yukine added.
"Not all girls think about that stuff," Hiyori settled onto the couch wondering if maybe she was the odd one. Maybe most girls did think about those things and here she was barely able to think about next week let alone her future marriage and family.
Yato rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry, I'm not overly familiar with human women." He sat down in the chair across from Hiyori. "Sure I've spent all my life watching humans be born, grow, make families, and die but you're the first human I've had prolonged interaction with. I'm still learning all of this."
Yukine sat on the other end of the couch, his chin resting on his hand. "Did you find any information while you were out today?"
Yato shook his head. "All the gods are aware of curses but have never heard of this specific one or ever cast it."
"We found a book today," Hiyori said and pulled out the spell book from her bag. "I know what the curse is."
Yato's eyebrow lifted in disbelief. "Well that's mighty convenient. Where did you find it?
"At the library, but the librarian said she'd never seen it before and that it wasn't one of their books. She said I could keep it." Hiyori opened the book up to the page describing the spell and handed it to Yato who read the words with horror.
"What's wrong?" Yukine asked Yato.
At first he didn't answer. He closed the book and set it on his lap. "I know who the caster is."
"What?!" Hiyori and Yukine both cried out.
"Lady Izanami, the goddess of the underworld."
The three of them looked at each other as the voice didn't come from any of them. Hiyori and Yukine turned around to see two strangers standing by the kitchen table.
"SEKKI!" Yato roared as Yukine transformed and within seconds were at the throats of both of the uninvited guests.
"We're not here to harm you," the first one said calmly.
"Yeah, what she said!" the second one squawked in panic.
The first one was half woman half bird. She had the body of a normal woman but her feet were like a hawk's and had long brown wings that almost touched the floor. Her long black hair was pulled up in a ponytail. "I am Kira. This is Matoko." She pointed to the short creature next to her that seemed to resemble a boy that was half cat. He had more cat-like features than human with white fur on his paws and feet. He had the head of a boy though, with a cat's nose and whiskers. "We are bakemono, shapeshifting ayakashi. These are our most usual forms. We used to serve Lady Izanami."
"Used to?" Yato questioned.
Kira sighed loudly as if she was frustrated. "We've served our Lady for many centuries. Recently however, she's changed in a way that we can no longer deny."
"How so?" Yato pushed further. "And why is she after Hiyori?"
"Because you pissed her off!" Matoko said with a snicker. Kira kicked him over.
"Me?" Yato lowered his Sekki.
"Yes," Kira walked over to the back patio door and stared out into the night. "Three years ago you went into the underworld and thwarted Lady Izanami. It is not uncommon for people and gods to visit the underworld, though she was rattled by the fact that not only one but three gods escaped. Very few people have ever returned from the underworld."
"So she's mad that she didn't get to keep one of us. How pathetic. Yukine," Yato summoned his regalia back to his human form. "But why me? Ebisu and Bishamon escaped too. And why go after Hiyori personally?"
"To put it simply," Kira continued, "she is trying to make you the god of the underworld; her king."
Hiyori gasped while Yukine and Yato were left wide-eyed.
"K-king?" Yato stuttered.
Kira nodded. "Lady Izanami is no stranger to loneliness as she's not allowed to leave the underworld. That is why she tricks people into staying and those who are not fooled by her charm are either kept prisoner or killed. Yet, you were a worthy adversary. She saw something in you she hadn't seen in anyone else. It made her feel a pain she couldn't describe when you disappeared. Ever since, she's tried to find a way to get you back. She knew you wouldn't come willingly."
Yato understood where this was headed. "She went after Hiyori to get to me?"
"Yup!" the kitten bakemono chirped. "She wants to get rid of your girlfriend and make you king!" Matoko smirked.
Hiyori waved her hands frantically. "I'm not his girlfriend! She doesn't have to worry about me!"
"It doesn't matter," Kira stated firmly. "The reason Izanami appears differently to different people is because she can reflect what is in your heart. By seeing the people you hold dear to you, she is able to use their image to try to control you and win you over. But what people don't know is that she also learns the identity of that person that you care about." Kira pointed to Hiyori. "You were the one closest to Yato's heart. She knows who you are now and what you mean to Yato."
Hiyori blushed intensely and looked over at Yato who's face was also bright red. Both of them lifted a hand to their cheek as if they were mirroring each other's image.
"So you see, Izanami will stop at nothing to get rid of you Hiyori Iki. She wants Yato for herself and you are in the way." Kira turned to face the three of them.
"Then why are you here?" Yukine asked angrily. "Don't you serve her? Are you here to hurt Hiyori?!"
"No," Kira lowered her head.
Hiyori noticed the sadness behind Kira's fierce, red eyes. "It's ok," she approached Kira and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, "you can tell us. We'll understand."
"Please," Kira choked, "we have always cared for Lady Izanami and always will. She took us lowly yokai in when we had nowhere else to go. The far shore treats us half-breeds like strays. We're not welcome anywhere." Kira's body trembled. "She's been our Lady and practically our savior for so long. But we couldn't stand by any longer and watch her do this to herself or to others. She's never been so desperate as to employ a conjurer to summon demons to hurt innocent living people. I couldn't take it anymore!"
Yato felt empathetic towards her. He knew what it felt like to be close to someone and then feel like enemies. He and his father used to see eye to eye when he was little but now it was completely different. Yato felt his anger sifting away like sand from his fingers. There was something he still didn't understand. "You said she employed a conjurer? Why?"
"Lady Izanami can't leave the underworld," Matoko replied. "So she hired someone who could."
"Who?" Yato asked.
"We don't know," Kira answered. "We've been trying to find this person but whoever it is, they are powerful and very elusive."
"How can we protect Hiyori? She's in constant danger now because of this demon," Yukine interrogated.
Kira handed over a leather bag to Hiyori. "We took these from the underworld. They are stone talismans. They contain a small amount of Izanami's power to conceal, reveal, and transform."
"What do I do with these?" Hiyori opened the bag and out spilled three black stones with symbols etched into them.
"We know the spell primarily targets the person's subconscious and their dreams. These stones can help conceal your soul while your dreaming and also they can be used to transform your dreams." Kira held Hiyori's hands in her own. "If you're having a nightmare, these can also be used to transform it into a good dream." She smiled at Hiyori.
"We have one more problem," Yukine pointed out, "Hiyori is a half phantom. Her soul will randomly slip out of her body without her control and it seems like the demon is able trap her in her phantom form."
Kira and Matoko looked at each other puzzled. "Half phantom?"
"Yeah…" Hiyori chuckled anxiously, "an accident happened a few years ago that left my soul somewhat attached to the far shore. Now my soul tends to randomly leave my body at the most inconvenient times."
"How often does this happen?" Kira asked
"Not as much as it used to," Hiyori replied. "It used to be fairly regularly but now it's about a few times a week instead of multiple times a day."
"Have you ever tried to fix it?" Kira looked at Yato, concerned.
Yato folded his arms and looked away. "Well, yes and no…"
Kira shook her head. "I suppose we'll have to cross that bridge when we get to it. Right now our focus needs to be on finding the caster. There is a way to end the spell."
Hiyori invited Kira and Matoko to sit down while she poured over the details on how to reverse the curse. She explained that the demon was summoned to take a soul and cannot go back to the underworld without one. The caster usually has something of personal value of the person who's cursed and uses it as a honing beacon for the demon.
"Have you noticed anything missing, Hiyori?" Kira questioned.
"Not that I can immediately tell. I can take a look later to see."
"Also," Yukine raised his hand, "how do we find the caster if we know nothing about them? It could be anyone. Is there any way to narrow down the search?"
"Hmmm," Kira tapped her chin, "I imagine the caster has some similar abilities to conjuring if they were able to summon this strong of a demon. We'll need to question anyone we may know with these capabilities. I can't imagine a human with that type of power so I would start with spirits and gods."
"You really think another god would help Izanami to hurt Hiyori?" Yukine asked.
"It's possible. At this point even those closest to you should be treated as a potential threat. We're dealing with a type of black magic that nobody has touched in centuries. If we're not careful the caster could easily manipulate even one of us into betraying Hiyori."
"How do we know we can trust you two?" Yato inquired curiously.
"You don't," Kira replied unbothered. "And I'm not asking any of you to trust us one hundred percent. Likewise, Matoko and I don't know if we can trust you. But all we have is each other. You need us to help you find the caster, and we need you to kill the caster and help us bring the old Izanami back."
"What makes you so sure ending the curse and killing the caster is going to change Izanami's mind?" Yato asked.
"We're not completely sure. We're hoping against all hope that bringing an end to this curse will also end her mission of making you her king and open up her eyes." Kira's body tensed up. "We're risking our own lives doing all of this. But I'd rather die saving someone I care about from themselves than live on the sidelines and watch them lose who they truly are."
Matoko sniffled. "Our Lady may be the goddess of the underworld and a formidable god, but she's one of the most loving and understanding gods we know. She takes in all types of yokai and broken spirits and gives them a home. Without her, we would probably have been vanquished long ago."
Kira patted Matoko on the head. "We just want the Izanami we know back. If we have to go to the ends of the earth or die trying, we won't give up. We love her."
Hiyori was moved by their words. Even though Lady Izanami was feared by so many, there were those who still loved and cared for her. She thought about Yato and his relationships. He was an obscure god with nothing to his name except a measly shrine she'd built for him but it was proof to him that someone cared. Hiyori thought about what she would do if she ever lost Yato like Kira and Matoko are losing Izanami. She would fight like hell too to get him back.
"Let's all work together!" Hiyori cheered. "Starting tomorrow we'll look for the caster and get your Izanami back!"
Kira smiled warmly as Matoko jumped up and down cheerfully on the couch. Even if things still ended in disaster, she finally felt her sliver of hope grow bigger and brighter. They might actually stand a chance in reversing this spell and getting their Lady back.