The Dangers of Mystery, and the Power of Chaos

The instant Oras did not turn to leave with her, the Bakedanuki stiffened, not yet looking back until she heard his words through her familiar spirit. The crowd continued to murmur, glaring with hard, curious, and suspicious eyes at the ginger-haired man as he dared to move closer to their leader. Izayuki realized this, and in her frustration and disapproval, the ghostly cat would attempt to unsheathe and dig its claws into the shoulders of Oras-- likely to little success, seeing as petty and weak attacks from tiny animals never really would hurt mages.

“I didn’t know the Riyoshi had stooped to mingling with humans,” the ayakashi said, standing up on his giant tree branch and gazing down at the human. Upon hearing his words, the Bakedanuki would whip around and begin trailing after Oras quickly. The ghostly cat would hop off of his shoulders and vanish into the air as she did so. It would relieve Oras of her disguise, but such a thing was no longer needed.

“I mistook your Night Parade for a yokai caravan,” Izayuki said, glaring up at the silver-haired ayakashi. “Forgive us-- we did not intend to trespass. We will leave your domain and never return.”

The ayakashi shook his head at her words, moving his yellow gaze from the human to the pink-haired yokai. “Spare me your lies, tanuki. You brought a stranger- a human- into our realm, and forged our lanterns in order to reach this forest. Such things are not forgiven so easily. You of all mononoke should know this, Riyoshi.”

The Bakedanuki’s fur bristled as he brought up her family name. How did he know that detail, unless he were a skilled and crafty ayakashi who could read the past, spirits, or blood? Izayuki had never used her family’s name, nor was she apart of that clan. Her mother had betrayed the family, and Izayuki was born outside of it. The facts brought Izayuki to the conclusion that this was more than simple retrocognition. He could see their bloodlines clearly… he was just the person they were looking for.

“There is a price to be paid,” the ayakashi continued simply.

Before she could respond, the Bakedanuki watched as the surroundings grew dark-- the meadow, the lantern tree, the parade, the ayakashi leader, Oras… everyone disappeared.

And to Oras, everything would fade except for the lantern tree, the ayakashi, and the clearing. The parade would still have a feelable presence, but could no longer be seen.
To the human, the ayakashi would speak to him alone, without the influence of anyone else.
“My name is Torochi. Human, tell me-- why are you here in our world?” he would ask, yellow eyes blazing. He held a subtle smile on his face, as if he were slightly amused. His gaze held millenia of wisdom and knowledge, but his expression showed little else to be read.

~~~

From Izayuki’s point of view, everything vanished, except for the ayakashi. He was omnipresent in his own domain, capable of handling many interactions at once, to avoid influence from others as he spoke. The Bakedanuki scowled, glaring daggers at the fox-masked yokai. “Who are you?” she asked, a low animalian growl rising from her throat. She never appreciated the tricks of other yokai, nor did she trust their powers. They enjoyed debts, and she had led herself and Oras straight into the trap of one.

“Quit deceiving yourself, tanuki,” the ayakashi said with a low chuckle. “You led that human into that parade only to feed your own curiosity. You knew you could get out of a bind if you had to, but you also knew that it wasn’t the same for him.”

Izayuki prepared to protest, only to feel that gnawing inside of her again, as if one part of her nature was ravenously tearing at the other. She was ready to attack the ayakashi if she could, but suddenly felt no energy to make any movements against him. “Liar,” she snapped, unable to force any other words out.

“It’s only the truth, Izayuki. You have no family to speak of, your husband died, your daughter rejects you, and you find no more goals to live for anymore. But you can’t die, so you focus your mind on fleeting ideas to pass the time, and live in the world of humans to satisfy that need for action and attention,” Torochi said with a light shrug. “What a pitiful existence~”

The Bakedanuki trembled as he unraveled her, not only reading what was in her blood, but what had been carved on her spirit over time as well. She continued to lie to herself to cope-- telling herself that everything was fine, and that the goals she had were fine or even righteous. She knew she could not argue with what he saw-- it would be futile. “W-what is the price to leave this place?” she stuttered through gritted teeth, her hands clenched.

“I will do both of us a favor, little Bakedanuki. For your safe passage out of my domain, I’ll take your human blood in exchange,” he answered simply, wearing a cunning smile. “You will no longer be split in nature, and can align your goals without the burden of human ideals.”

As he made his demands, the memory of Kemuira Enenra flashed in the Bakedanuki’s mind. Her mother had accepted the smoke yokai’s help for her daughter in turn for cancelling a debt to the Riyoshi family. During that time, Izayuki had faced her human self-- the Enenra and her mother expected her to kill it off, but instead, the tanuki had accepted the other half. Doing so had grown her power as the two natures thoroughly merged. However, as of late, the human nature had become a burden, and was slowly but surely beginning to split.

… Did she even need that nature anymore?

She had no time to think about Oras in the exchange-- the closed space did not even allow such outside thoughts to enter. Izayuki could not think about her guild, her broken family, or the one she had brought to the world of Nazo. She could only consider Torochi’s offer.

“Fine. I’ll make that exchange.”

It was only because the Bakedanuki recognized the power of a yokai ruler in his domain that she was made so wary. Typically, she would never doubt her own power, and could see herself as safe within the world of Nazo. But because she had trespassed under the dominion of someone else, she saw the numerous issues and differences in power. Had this Torochi been somewhere else in Nazo, outside his domain, or in Earthland, the story would have had a different twist.

But this was not Earthland, and unless one received the ruler’s permission, they would not be able to find their way out of the labyrinth of the claimed terrain. The process of gaining a pass to leave was cruel, and the exchange itself was painful to the Bakedanuki. It felt as if a great portion of her was being ripped out of her body and spirit, while what remained began to swell in size.

All she could see for the time was darkness, and all anyone else could see was the pink-haired girl on the ground on her side, left heaving, with one clawed hand clenching the ground in pain. Of course the night parade leader would leave a spectacle for his followers, to add insult to injury. He was completely aware of who Izayuki was, and what her status in both Nazo and Earthland were. Thus, he would enjoy leaving her in a pitiful state to be laughed at and jeered.

Meanwhile, the unknown, insatiable dark energy was beginning to rise up in the ayakashi’s body and spirit, becoming visible to some keen eyes as it began to manifest around her. The energy or matter had no name, and was completely foreign and unknown, even to Izayuki herself. Her very body was made up of the shadow matter, and her spirit resonated with it. On her body the energy manifested by slowly molding various regions back to their true forms. Her silver-furred ears were now wispy, flowing, shadowy points, while the tip of her tail would melt into a ghostly state, moving as if it were a plume of black smoke. Her hands and wrists were pitch black, as if one were staring into the void, and her claws were much more defined.

Crimson eyes opened to witness the familiar, slow transformation. The last time she had been driven to such a state, in the House of Lost Souls, she had gone berserk and destroyed everything and everyone in the area. Her presence had cursed that very land, and it was only a near fatal blow dealt by her father which brought her back from that monstrous shape. Surely the lord of this realm knew that, or did he? What did he really want from her?

Growling, the Bakedanuki slowly would push herself up, staggering back to her feet. She could hear the ravenous instincts from within her, coming on more strongly than ever before. This time, however, they were not entirely unwelcome. There was nothing to stop them, and they felt so right. A deep seated hunger also began to spike, returning from a long slumber.

As she stood, she saw Oras once again, standing near the silver-haired ayakashi. Just what had he told her guildmate, and why had he not made any moves to kill the human just yet, as per their usual standards? She eyed the ginger-haired man suspiciously, not understanding how or why he was still alive, and half suspecting him to be an illusion of sorts, created for use in a sick game for the night parade to witness.

“Oras,” she stated flatly, attempting to ignore the chaotic states her body and spirit were in. If this were not an illusion, she fully expected the ayakashi lord had disclosed information regarding her, or had extended him a deal of some sort. Either way, she knew she would have to tread carefully.

The Bakedanuki glared at the masked man. She really did hate that mask. Masks were a form of cowardice in her mind, hiding what one truly was out of shame or fear. One could call it caution, but all Izayuki saw was fear of the unknown.

“You speak as if you know for certain that you are getting out of here. What kind of deal did you make?” she asked through narrowed eyes, her tail fur bristling. She wondered why he was not dead already, having expected the ayakashi to have killed and likely fed on him by now. He was still permitted to interact with her for one reason or another, so just what was it that he promised the lord of the night parade?

Izayuki took a bold step forward, still expecting the Oras she saw in front of her to be a deception, be it an illusion or a temporarily shapeshifted yokai. “What kind of ‘chat’ do you want to have? I’d say we could have it here and now. Why wait, unless you really will be alive by the time we leave this place,” she murmured suspiciously.

She continued to move towards him, slowly but steadily. After a few steps, she stood with only a half meter of space in between them, gazing up at the masked man. With a swift and gentle motion, her shadowed hand would attempt to remove the mask from his face-- she had to know, was this a disguise of the enemy, or really him? His soul felt the same, but it could have just been stolen upon his demise if he had been killed. Attempting to make eye contact, whether or not she successfully took the mask, Izayuki would continue in a low voice, her crimson eyes dire and serious. “What did they tell you?”

Izayuki could slightly feel the agitation from Oras-- though he kept his demeanor calm, as per usual, anger was not a difficult emotion to pick up on. Of course, she could have only been imagining it, but given the situation, it would not be surprising. “Is it unrealistic to expect that of a human among territorial yokai?” she retorted as she drew closer to him, step by step.

Her hand reached for his mask, but he grabbed her wrist and twisted it away before she could make contact with it. She gritted her teeth in frustration, but could not help but relax as she felt him tense from the pain of the shadow energy on her arm. She felt a slight rush of satisfaction as the energy burned away the parts of clothing that made contact with her-- served him right.

“Every lie I’ve told you?” she echoed, before attempting to grip onto his wrist with her own arm that was held by his hand. With him not yet removing his mask, it increased Izayuki’s suspicions that he was not really Oras, but an illusion or deception created by Torochi. Nevertheless, she would play along, just in case. Her abyss-darkened hand would continue to burn him so long as it continued to make direct contact with his clothing and skin. “Enlighten me-- what are these ‘lies’ I’ve told you. List them off, one by one,” the Bakedanuki stated flatly, not even attempting to be daring or threatening. She simply wanted to know if he could back up such a bold claim.

The Bakedanuki’s fur on her tail continued to bristle in frustration as he continued. So that was what they had told him-- ayakashi certainly did enjoy watching conflict. She guessed that they expected her to kill him, and would then take his soul, thus giving them both the unique soul and an entertaining show. They appeared to have no doubt that she could kill him, seeing as she had already been granted her freedom with her own exchange. “And what happens if you don’t defeat me?” she would ask with narrowed crimson eyes, trying to keep her firm grip on Oras’ arm. “Do you die, or are you trapped here forever?”

The Bakedanuki gritted her teeth as the masked man moved closer, to be face to face with her before speaking. Her silver-furred ears were drawn back flat against her head, as if there were a threat in front of her. The words she heard spouted from him were mostly nonsense, or a warped perception. With little effort, Torochi had done a great deal of mental manipulation towards both of them. He had stoked their weaknesses, and preyed on their shortcomings in an attempt to blow them out of proportion. The Bakedanuki was slowly coming to realize this the longer Oras spoke.

“I act in shared interests. I can’t force you to do anything, nor do I coddle other mages-- they can make their own decisions. Who was the one who said ‘I’ll go’ after I explained that there would be great risk involved? You didn’t ask for more details-- you jumped in before thinking more about it. You’re not cautious. You’re daring. A cautious individual would not dive headfirst into an offer to see another world with a yokai, nor would they be so apt to dig into situations for information that they were not involved in. A cautious person would mind their own business, and steer clear of anything that could cause them harm,” Izayuki explained, letting go of her grip on the illusionary clothing on his arm. What she stated was a simple observation, but very true in her eyes. She had known cautious people, and she would not categorize Oras as one of them. “You jump right into whatever interests you in your hunger for information and this ‘truth’. Truth won’t grant you safety, either. Information will only make you more vulnerable.”

He had mentioned Black Rose, which triggered the Bakedanuki’s tail to twitch in curiosity. Now was a time to bring up the subject of the guild? “My guild hides its information for just that reason. What we know paints a target on our backs. We can’t so easily spill our secrets to just any curious investigator,” she explained grimly. “You want to know Black Rose’s secret? Fine. We are a pet guild of the Magic Council that witnessed them attacking and killing innocents, while utilizing other legal guilds to do it. Our goal is to stop them at all costs, and see to it that the Magic Council is destroyed, reformed, replaced, or drastically changed, while trying not to bring any innocents into the crossfires. This goal would only be seen as ‘dark’ in their eyes, and our members labeled wanted criminals.”

Taking a step backward, Izayuki attempted to grant a small amount of distance between them. “So again I say, list off every ‘lie’, one by one.”

“What words am I twisting?” the ayakashi snapped back, her tail twitching in continued frustration not at Oras, but at the situation. “I won’t deny I was curious. But my curiosity alone is not enough to force someone to do anything. I made the offer, and I warned you of the dangers. If I were completely certain I could protect you, why would I have bothered to tell you of the risks? You assumed wrong.”

As she suspected, he was unable to be specific in telling her what she had lied about. The leader of the night parade was cunning-- he could plant doubt so smoothly, and prey on the smallest inkling of suspicion towards another. He presented his words as truth, and though they had some truth in it, their entire purpose was to stir up emotions and the sense of a situation for an entertaining show. She glanced at the silver-haired yokai for a split second, not surprised to see a smirk on his face, creeping out from under the fox mask. This was exactly what he wanted. They were playing right into his hands.

After hearing his next two questions, the Bakedanuki gazed down at the ground in front of her, her silver-furred ears no longer drawn flat against her head as if their were a threat nearby, but instead in dejection. Though she did her best to mask the emotions, her tanuki traits would betray them. “Ever since Elyx, my husband, died, I have no goals, other than to finish what I started when I assumed leadership of Black Rose,” she said, keeping her crimson focus on the grassy ground.

Izayuki paused for a moment, before looking back up at him and pointing towards the pocket where she sensed Oras was keeping the leaf she had given him. “I don’t give my contracts out like business cards. If I didn’t care, you wouldn’t be holding that. I don’t throw away lives at the expense of my own curiosity,” she continued, staring boldly at the masked man with her Bakedanuki features relaxing finally, no longer quite as tense. She hated thinking about where she was in the present, with her husband dead and gone, and without family. Torochi was quick to bring those facts back up and rub them in her face, however.

“You said you have to defeat me in order to leave,” Izayuki mentioned, meeting his eyes once more. “Go ahead.”

‘Time will tell’ was his last response after she had mentioned the point that he was a lot like her. Only now did he really see, from another perspective entirely. Both Torochi and Oras were right-- she no longer lived for any goals. Her goal for revenge had been smudged out by time and lack of necessity. Her goal to raise a family had been overturned upon Elyx’s death and Astrid’s rejection of her. And any other goals? They had either been reached or were no longer worth pursuing in the Bakedanuki’s eyes.

In Izayuki’s case, she simply could not die. Trying would be too much trouble, and every past attempt on her life by someone had resulted in failure on their part. Her body would scatter and then recompose to her true form. If anything, her dying was somewhat more dangerous for those nearby. Surely the night parade leader knew this. He did not anticipate for Oras to successfully kill Izayuki. He wanted her to be the executioner.

“You’re right,” she said with a defeated sigh, shaking her head. The shadowed transformations on her body began to melt away slowly, starting from her tail and ears, to her arms and claws. When he continued, Izayuki stared at him disapprovingly. “Do you want to die? Our only option is to do what they want. Play their games, and live to see another day,” she explained, shooting an angered glare over the surrounding yokai. “Hurry and take a strike. Don't worry about me. I know you find it hard, but just once more-- trust me.”

If he did strike her down, she would not die. Her body would break down into the dark matter it was made from, and shortly afterward, it could reconstruct. Her idea, however, was to utilize her freed soul to attack the night parade leader while she could. Fighting a physically alive yokai was easy, but fighting against a soul was another story entirely for ayakashi.

Meanwhile, the silver-haired yokai watched the two, his smirk slowly fading. Were they really intending to do this? He suspected what was about to happen, and readied himself just in case.

Izayuki was fully prepared for Oras to strike her down. She lowered every defense she had, and prepared her unlabeled soul and her dark matter body to snap into action right upon being ‘killed’. She watched Oras bring out his dagger without much expression. Though in reality, her heart was beating hard in her chest, she displayed no apprehension. She had already been killed at least two or three times, so what was one more death?

As Oras launched himself forward to drive the dagger through her, the unsuspectable happened. The leader of the local night parade must have known what was up, and understood what the Bakedanuki was planning. This was not supposed to be a fight with a victor-- this was a planned execution, and the executioner failed at doing her job. With a rush of energy, Torochi had made his move, and ripped apart Oras ever so smoothly with his power.

The Bakedanuki’s jaws parted in a silent scream, her mind and body in too much shock at the swiftness and reality of it all for her to even release a sound. Before anything else could happen, however, there was an instantaneous explosion following the unlikely demise of her guildmate. The explosion was of the nature of his shifty soul, and much like a black hole, desecrated and absorbed everything within proximity.

Izayuki could feel the outer layer of her body being ripped away in the shockwave, with her human skin tearing apart bit by bit, with black energy and matter seeping through the rips in her body. As the explosion continued, her entire body ripped apart, leaving nothing but a humanoid figure composed entirely of the shadow matter, with jagged canine ears, razor claws, and a plume of dark energy for a tail.

The dark creature could only slowly come to its senses, observing the leader of the night parade crying out as he died slowly, and the surrounding yokai that survived on the run for their lives. Even the tree was slowly being destroyed as the black hole of a soul was consuming everything nearby. So that was what it was… true destruction and chaos concentrated in a soul within a human.

The beast moved towards the soul cautiously, somewhat surprised that it was not also being consumed by the ravenous, destructive soul. Perhaps that was because of the dark matter that had no real label. It was likely not seen as anything that could be destroyed or consumed, and thus was missed by the chaotic atmosphere the soul produced. The minutes dragged on as the beast witnessed the soul and its moderate but sure decomposition of the place. Moving even closer, the humanoid compilation of dark matter gingerly took it in their clawed hands, cradling it gently.

Holding it in her arms, the creature of dark matter curled up on the darkened and now dead and barren ground. After dying, he could cause so much destruction to one place? They really were alike. She only hoped that somehow, this was not truly the end for him. Thus, she would linger until she knew for sure whether he was coming back, or if he had left his soul behind for eternity.

The beast stirred as there was new movement from the soul. Slowly but surely, it began to reconstruct itself, regenerating a new body-- the form of her guildmate. Staring with white eyes in curiosity, the creature made room for the revival, but still kept the form cradled in her arms, unable to let go. When without her real body, Izayuki was left without much of a mind, logic, or emotions. The bare minimum to exist were pure instincts, and that was just what it was. She felt the instinct to protect this odd soul, and to reflect on nothing but the last few minutes leading up to Oras dying and her being ripped apart.

Eventually, he had fully brought himself back, and life was coursing through him once again, even if weakly. The dark creature took note of how weak and frail he looked, so young and gentle looking without his mask and figure so well hidden. It was then that the beast heard its name, which quickly brought it back to a state of being mentally and emotionally aware of itself and the details of the situation at hand. Within seconds, the dark matter morphed to her preferred human form once again, as if nothing had happened. She wore the same clothing as before and retained her fluffy tanuki features.

As he gained energy, the Bakedanuki could not keep her tail from flicking to and fro, happy and relieved to see that he was not dead. As usual, her features would betray her, but in this instance, it was not as if she minded. “Oras…” she began softly with a relieved smile, gently letting go of him from her arms. “I’m glad you’re okay.”

As Oras rose to his feet and began to stumble, Izayuki’s first instinct was to jump up and catch and steady him. Fortunately, she did not have to as he managed to keep himself from completely falling over. However, the Bakedanuki observed his shaking, understanding that finding one’s bearings after death was quite a difficult and tedious process. The first time she had been killed, it was easy to recover as she had possessed someone and continued fighting. The second time, it took her many, many days to fully recover. Luckily, she had been rescued from the cursed location where she had been killed, and thus was able to recover in relative comfort.

Izayuki waited patiently as he began to ask questions. She understood that the situation was likely quite confusing for the human, who was quite unaccustomed to the idea of dying and reviving. Standing with him, the Bakedanuki would point with a dark-clawed finger at him, specifically, at his soul which she still saw with an aspect of her magic. “It’s your soul,” she answered simply and gently. “Your death released it and its true nature. And when you were brought back, it was your soul that did so,” Izayuki said. She did not completely understand what had happened, but her best guess was that the soul brought Oras back more in its image, and according to its nature. Thus, there would be fewer boundaries for the soul and its chaotic nature for now.

The Bakedanuki’s eared perked at what else he had to say. The idea that he could feel emotions was slightly unnerving to the yokai, who preferred to keep her feelings bottled and hidden from the rest of the world, while she wore an outward disguise to depict how she wanted to be seen. But the following of what he had to say was most curious to the Bakedanuki, who had not expected such words from him. Of course, she felt a flash of guilt. Overall, she did not care about just anything, and could not deny the fact that she was selfish, even if not outwardly. However, she made a point to not be that way towards guildmates, and that made all the difference.

“Apology accepted,” she said, flicking her tail dismissively. She would eagerly take apologies, yet for her, making them was difficult, even if they were owed. “But, you missed one important fact. My last request was for you to trust me-- you did, and I failed you. For that, I owe you,” Izayuki stated, avoiding eye contact with him. He knew what she meant, surely, and it was not something she so easily wanted to repeat. With her new nature, becoming indebted to a human in such a way was slightly shameful, as she had been unable to hold up her end of a brief bargain.

“Your soul’s nature… I can only describe it as a chaotic black hole, really,” Izayuki explained, gazing back towards Oras and following his gaze to the deceased yokai noble. “It consumed everything around that had life or magic energy.”

The only reason she was alive was likely because of her body, which was unable to be categorized. It was made of a matter and energy unlike any other, a substance nobody had ever encountered on any world or astral plane. It was a mystery to Izayuki, but she had become known for her mysteries, hence her title as a Wizard Saint-- the god of mystery.

The Bakedanuki was taken aback as the human made his demand, telling her to promise to never believe she was indebted to him again. In a way, it was quite a high demand for a yokai, even if it was seen as compassion by a human. The mild surprise on her face was evident as he asked for such a thing. Even though kind humans often would not ask for anything in return, that seldom canceled a debt. However, his was different. He asked her to promise to never feel she owed him again. All she could do in her minor shock was nod.

However, the next bit to come dropped even more surprise on the guild master. She listened curiously, at first not completely understanding, as he was already a member of her guild. She was the one who had recruited him, after all. As he fell to his knees, the Bakedanuki instinctually moved forward to catch him in an embrace, gently going to the ground with him, holding in a hug much like she had cradled his soul moments earlier. She placed her hand on his right shoulder blade, where she could sense his Black Rose guild mark. “You’re already a part of my family, as a member of Black Rose,” she said warmly. “We all have our weak points, and it’s in those times where we need others to help us.”

She was only repeating what she had been taught, from all the various individuals in her life. Long ago, she too had tried to shoulder everything. But then the guild came along and told her that such a thing did not strengthen one. Elyx, Kakuma, Jin, Magna, and many others had mentored her in that aspect, showing her that she could find strength in numbers, not just physically, but emotionally as well. “You’re surrounded by family now. All you have to do is open up,” she continued, thoughtfully recalling how Black Rose gave her worldview a makeover, so she did not have to live in pure isolation. Thinking of it, perhaps it was time to let go of some of her grief, and open herself back up to the guild while she was at it. “By the way, do you still have that leaf I gave you?”

The Bakedanuki noticed the smile on his face, which almost seemed unnatural, given how closed off he was, and how often he would hide his facial expression under a mask or an illusion. She slowly would release him from the embrace, while listening to his own observations about the recent events. “You did kill many yokai. Some managed to escape, but the closest ones were killed. It isn’t your fault, though-- their leader was the one who killed you. There’s a simply solution for the future, though. Simply, don’t get killed,” she explained, with a tint of humor in her voice. Naturally, it was not simple to survive, but it was not difficult either, if one were smart about living.

“You’ll have to find out what other secrets your soul holds at another time,” Izayuki answered. She was personally not fond of his ability to read emotions, finding the act intrusive and disconcerting. “But, if anything, you’ll want to figure out how to seal that ability to an extent. Feeling the emotions of others could be burdensome, as not everyone is happy and cheery,” she continued. It was a half selfish suggestion, even though it held truth in it. Feeling the emotions of others could drive one to confusion and madness at worst, and just stress them out at best. For her, however, she did not enjoy being read like an open book-- it was unnerving and made the ayakashi uncomfortable.

When he checked for the leaf and confirmed he had it, the Bakedanuki grinned. The leaf was the physical manifestation of a one way bond, after all. It was the symbol of a contract and would allow her to assist him in a time of need if he used it. “Keep it. If you ever need me, just hold it and call my name,” she would repeat her words from before the ordeal. If he would not hold her to a debt, he would at least have a sign of her loyalty.

Izayuki nodded in response to Oras’ decision. The main reason his life was so dangerous was because he had chosen to pursue the path of a wizard, and doing so had its upsides, as well as its downsides. The path held many dangers and mysteries, and many mages would lose their lives before ever getting anywhere. Though the two of them could not permanently die as far as she knew, it did not erase the perils that laid ahead. She personally had not chosen the life of a mage, but lived it anyway, having found no other home.

Fortunately, her unease had not been picked up on by Oras, as it was more of a mental note than an actual emotion resonating within her. He nodded in response to her statement, and mentioned he agreed with her. At his question, the Bakedanuki shook her head in uncertainty. “I have a means of returning to Earthland and the guildhall, but to do so, you have to be in a state that’s mentally, emotionally, and physically fit,” she explained. “If you’re sure you are stable, we can go.”

The ayakashi watched in satisfaction as he secured the leaf of her contract, better known as the Obake no Chikai in the eastern language, in a pocket underneath his cloak. The Bakedanuki’s ears twitched at his sudden gratitude. She saw no reason for her to be thanked, really, yet would accept the gratitude regardless. “Of course.”