“We’re back, you guys!” I called out as we entered the house again.

A few moments later, a small fox trotted into the entrance and started walking circles around me, rubbing her head around my calves.

“Woah, it’s a fox-” Keiichi jumped back a little, startled, then narrowed his eyes at the animal. “Wait, it’s got spiritual energy- and a lot of it! Is it a kitsune?”

With a muted glow, Akiha took on her human form, hiding behind me and tugging on the hem of my jacket. Her tail swished nervously.

“Hey, it’s alright, Akiha. You should know who he is, right?”

She nodded, her nose scrunching up.

Why’s she acting like this? She took to Akira and Nasa extremely well, and I don’t think she’s the shy type. Are there even any shy kitsune?

“Wait… Oi, Ren.” Keiichii was blinking at me. “Did you just call that Kitsune… Akiha?”

I nodded.

“The name of that… origami fox you always carried around…?”

I nodded again.

“So she’s actually a kitsune.” Keiichi looked lost for words.

He shook his head, then stuck a hand out. “In any case, I’m Matamura Keiichi. Nice to meet you for real, Akiha-chan.”

Akiha looked at him a moment longer then completely buried her head in my back.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” I poked her shoulder.

She refused to reply, but her tail and ears told me all I needed to know. She’s scared.

“Hey, Kei. You must be tired, why not let Nasa-san take you to a guest room and settle down?”

Keiichi retracted his hand, hiking his bag up on his shoulder and looking slightly disgruntled. “Sure, why not?”

I shared a glance with Nasa as she turned to guide Keiichi away from the entrance, but she formed a hand seal with one hand, and a moment later, my temples started throbbing.

Ah, what the hell-

“I noticed too. I think it’s safer to keep Akiha around you at all times. Something’s freaking her out.” Nasa’s voice reverberated in my mind.

Huh? Wait, how are you- nevermind, but yeah, I’ve never seen her this freaked before. I’ll take care of her.

The connection broke, and I suddenly felt as though a weight had lifted off my shoulders.

“Ren-sama?” Akiha whispered, her voice tinged with concern.

“It’s nothing.” I placed a hand on her back, walking towards our own room. “C’mon, I’ve got something that’ll cheer you up.”

Akiha still looked a little unsure, going by the way her ears were stuck up stiffly, but she walked with me anyway.

“What happened?”

Akiha’s tail started stiffening, and her pace slowed. Is she nervous?

“You don’t have to say-”

“That man… is different…” She finally spoke again, but her voice was soft and timid.

That man...Is she talking about Keiichi? Who’s she calling a man, he’s just eighteen- no, that’s not the point; what’s different?

“What do you mean?” I arched an eyebrow as we entered our room.

“He’s different from the last time I saw him, from when I was still sealed.” She seemed slightly more relaxed now that we were in the room.

“Different? Can you explain it?”

She shook her head. “Not in words. It’s something I felt around him.”

“Felt around him… like an aura or something…?”

Akiha nodded vigorously.

I scratched my cheek, unsure what this could mean. His aura seems different? I don’t sense anything off about his spiritual energy, though. But… I can’t deny Akiha's gut feeling. She is a guardian spirit after all.

I gestured for her to come closer, and she sat in seiza beside me. “Look, I can’t really understand what you mean, but if you don’t feel safe around him then just stick close to me, okay?”

Akiha looked at me with wide brown eyes, a small smile spreading on her face.

“Oh, yeah. I got you something.” I fished into my back pouch and pulled the flower ornament out of it.

“This is for you.”

I placed the flower in her hands. It sat neatly in her palms, and she stared at it quietly.

She’s been quiet for a while now. Does she not like it-

“It’s so pretty!” She finally exclaimed.

Her tail had started flicking back and forth, and she looked up at me, her eyes glimmering. “Thank you, Ren-sama!”

I smiled.

I leaned back against the wall as Akiha continued admiring the flower. I’m glad she likes it.

I started thinking back to Nasa’s words a few nights ago. She’s the descendant of Kuzunoha, the mother of Abe no Seimei. That explains her name, at least. I wonder if all of their bloodline have names related to leaves. No, that’s not the point. Nasa-san said that Akiha, if allowed to develop and grow, will eventually turn out even more powerful than her. Nasa-san’s spiritual presence just from revealing her tails was enough to physically stress my body. If Akiha can turn out even more powerful than that…

I shuddered just thinking about it. Man, spiritual beings are scary. Nasa-san did say I can’t let her lose her single tail now, though, or she’ll lose herself. But what does that mean? Dad said that Akiha’s life force is tied to my spiritual energy so she won’t ever truly die unless I run out of it, but what does losing herself mean?

Sighing a little, I pushed the thought away, then looked at Akiha again, who was pinning the flower on a lock of her hair, below her right ear.

How did dad even come to possess a kitsune who’s that strong? The others… Kin, Gin, Aoko, Mafuyu… Kin was single-tailed, Gin and Aoko both had three, and Mafuyu had four, but even so they weren’t particularly powerful. Akiha’s appearance alone was able to throw uncle Joman off his attack.

I stretched a little before shifting to lie down on the tatami matted floor, placing my head on a hand. Nasa-san said that kitsune grow and develop their powers by doing things that are in their nature, like deception or fighting. If we’re going up against uncle Joman and his forces, I don’t know how much strength we’re going to need, and while I’m somewhat decent with a sword I still don’t know how to use my spiritual energy when it only starts circulating when I hold Kenji.

Majority of the techniques I had learned all required hand seals that weren’t possible to complete with one hand, so while using my sword I would be able to use my spiritual energy, I wouldn’t be able to mould and to actually use it practically.

As I lay there thinking, my eyelids eventually grew heavier, and as I fell asleep I was only vaguely aware of Akiha returning to her fox form and curling into a ball next to me.

I woke to the smell of a sickly sweet fragrance, accompanied by the tang of bitterness that bit into my senses, and my eyes shot open immediately.

Yokai.

I leapt to my feet to find that Akiha had already woken, and had been standing over me in human form, her tail and ears straight with alertness, and her fingernails elongated into claws. The room was dark, shoji screens flickering a translucent beige with the lamps around the house. It’s night.

“Akiha.” I whispered. “Do you know where they are?”

The fox spirit shook her head.

I lowered a hand to the earring on my pouch. “We need to find the rest now. If they manage to catch us while we’re split up, we’re all dead meat. We need to find Kei first since he can’t fight.”

“I can smell him.”

“Great. Lead the way.”

Sliding open the shoji screen, Akiha and I bolted down the hallway, the smell of lingering death and evil thick in the air.

The suffocating scent got thicker and thicker, and the hairs on the back of my neck started to raise, goosebumps appearing up my forearms. My instincts were screaming at me to run, to get out of the house and not look back.

I can’t fight anyway-

“DUCK!” I screamed, shoving Akiha down.

We hit the wooden floor panels hard, my skin slightly abraded where it had slid on the wood. A single thin white line sped over our heads less than a moment later, almost glowing silver in the dark of the night.

I turned around, scrambling to my feet. “Akiha.”

The fox spirit didn’t need any more instructions, igniting a ball of flame in her hand, and then sucking in a sharp breath as the hallway filled with light.

My throat went dry, my heart gripped with fear as my eyes focused on the thing standing before Akiha and I. No, not a thing. Things.

They were all over the walls, on the ceiling, on the floor, skittering over the wooden panels with eight spindly legs. Spiders.

They hissed in dissonance, a chorus that sent shivers down my spine, and as I watched, rooted to the ground, they came together to a single spot on the ground before piling on top of one another, and black smoke started swirling around the mound of spiders.

My fingers twitching, I snatched the keychain off my pouch and held my sword Kenji out in front of me, its bluish silver blade glinting.

The smoke cleared to reveal a woman dressed in a black kimono with violet designs on it, raven black hair done up meticulously with gold hairpins. She glared at me with eight slanted eyes before opening her mouth to reveal her fangs, hissing at us. Jorogumo.

“Tsuchimikado Ren…” Her voice was dry and gravelly, like nails on a chalkboard. “You die tonight.”

“Who are you?” I brandished my sword, raising my other arm to keep Akiha behind me. “What do you want? How did you get in?”

“Slipping past the wards was easy enough once I knew who set them up.” Her eyes shone dangerously.

“Once you knew who set them up?” I frowned. How would-

The image of the Jorogumo who had been watching Nasa and I in Dainisekai flashed in my memory. “Her!”

“Yes.” The spider-woman raised her arms, mouth broadening into a mad grin. “My sister’s information has proven invaluable, and you’ll pay with your lives.”

We’ve been monitored this entire time. I clenched my teeth.

“Ren-sama!”

Akiha’s cry jolted me back to reality, and I brought my sword up just in time to block another of the silver lines. The string went taut as it hit my blade, and I dug my feet down, Kenji already trembling with the pressure against it.

“Oh? You can stop my silk blade?” The Jorogumo smiled, amused. “That’s a fine sword you have there. It’ll make a nice spoil.”

“What makes you think I’ll die?” I spat back, sending a surge of strength back into my arms and forcing the silk down.

Akiha sprang into the air beside me, two small spheres of foxfire floating above her palms. With a small grunt, she sent the fireballs flying towards the Jorogumo, illuminating the hallway as they went.

The hall exploded in a radiant flash of gold, the light excruciating to look at, and I cringed back, raising my arms to shield my eyes.

“Did we get her?”

Akiha was silent, already conjuring more foxfire. Her eyes were narrowed, her tail stiff.

No way. Even Akiha couldn’t-

“Your attacks are powerful for a one-tail, kitsune.” The same insidious voice scratched, spitting out the last word as though it was venomous. “But you really think you can hurt me with magic of that level?”

The smoke cleared.

The spider-woman had her arms outstretched, a maniacal grin on her face, fangs dripping. “I’ve had just enough playing with you. Now die.”

Clenching her fists, she drew her arms back towards her, and suddenly I lost grip on Kenji, the sword clattering to the ground.

My arms were forced up and to the sides, my legs spread apart, and my feet left the ground. My eyes went wide with surprise, but I couldn’t do anything to resist; whatever force acting on me had far greater strength than my body did.

“Oi, what’s this?” I roared, struggling, but my limbs refused to move as ordered.

Beside me, Akiha screamed, a shrill sound of pure agony, and I snapped my head towards her to see her being held up in the air in the same way, but her limbs were held tighter and were already taut.

“Akiha!”

Her arms and legs… they’re going to break. Mine too. I could already feel my extremities being pulled on, my muscles and tendons stretching and aching more with each passing moment.

I glared at the Jorogumo, mustering every bit of rage I had in me. “Let her go, you crazed spider-”

“Why? It’s her job to die for you, is it not? It’s already a show of compassion for me to kill you both at the same time. You can both pass on to Yomi together.” She drawled, her forearms tightening visibly.

“Ren-sama… please… run…” Akiha looked at me, one eye squeezed shut with her pain, but she snapped her fingers, and foxfire bloomed out of her fist, swirling around me.

With a few soft snaps, my limbs were freed, and I fell to the floor.

“Akiha!” I scrambled towards the fox spirit, but she screamed again as her body was raised even higher into the air.

“Uh uh. You sure you want to do that?” The Jorogumo taunted. “Her body’s in a delicate state right now. One touch and… something may break. You don’t want that, do you?”

“You… bitch…” I spat, picking Kenji up and leaping towards her. “I’ll kill you!”

My grip tightened around the katana’s hilt, the now-familiar warmth of spiritual energy circulating within me, and I sliced down at the still-grinning face of the yokai.

The blade went through her like she was made of paper, but the moment I came to a stop, her body burst into black fragments that dispersed and scuttled a distance back, piling on top of one another and forming her body again.

“Get back here! I’ll kill you, I swear-”

“Can you?” The Jorogumo smirked, then pointed at my feet. “Looks like your body’s smarter than your brain. It already knows you can’t kill me.”

Huh? What’s she talking about- I tried to move forward, but my feet were rooted in place, the tip of my blade shaking as I held it out in front of me. I can’t move.

I looked down to see that my knees were trembling ever so slightly. My hairs were still raised, my chest tight. As I made eye contact with the Jorogumo, a cold vice came over my heart, a chill creeping up my back. I can’t feel my body. I can’t do anything. Is this… fear?

“Now… die.” The Jorogumo raised a single hand towards me.

Just as she was about to clench her fist again, there was a flash of gold, and the heavy air was parted by her scream, like the sound of a thousand nails scraping against a sheet of metal.

Her arm, detached from the elbow, hit the floor softly, wisps of black smoke rising into the air.

“You will not touch them.”

“Nasa-san!” I shouted at the back of the woman who had appeared between the Jorogumo and myself, her nine tails brilliantly flared up.

“Take Akiha and run! I can’t fight her while protecting you, her reach is further than mine.”

She snapped her fingers, and a small cry of surprise came from Akiha. Hearing her sound out again returned my control over my body, and I took a step towards her body, which lay limp on the wooden floor. “Nasa-san-”

“Go, Ren! Find Akira and Matamura-kun, take them and look for the twelve. I have to stay and protect this house. You will find them where the light of the two suns meet. Go now!”

I scooped Akiha up in my arms, giving Nasa’s back one last look. I’m sorry, Nasa-san.

“Nasa-san, please stay safe!”

The fox spirit didn’t reply, but the Jorogumo did, cackling. “Do you think you can stop us from going after him? Even if my sisters and the other yokai cannot lay our hands on him, he will be snuffed out by his own kind.”

I froze. Own kind?

“That’s right, Tsuchimikado. Beware the hunters.” The Jorogumo gave one last crazed laugh before the sounds of foxfire igniting cut her off.

Refusing to watch the fight, I clenched my teeth and sprinted out of the house.

“Akira! Kei! Where are you guys?” I screamed, my throat itching and burning.

“Shut up!” Somebody hissed in my ear, and before I could react, a hand clamped over my mouth, and I was yanked behind the building.

My eyes shot to the side to see Akira peering around the edge of the wall, an ofuda already in her hand. Keiichi was behind me, a finger held up to his lips.

Footsteps were approaching.

“I swear I heard something here!”

“Same here. They must be close.”

Akira jerked back a moment later as the footsteps got further again. “That was close.”

I stuck my own head out a moment before I was pulled back, and caught sight of four humans clad in black fanning out in different directions. They were dressed in what looked like gakuran jackets, though the lapels were overlapped and the buttons were on the left side, and wide black hakama pants, with a white belt and an assortment of pouches and ofuda containers attached. Their jackets had hoods, all of which were up and covering the Onmyojis’ faces, but I didn’t need to be able to see their faces to tell from the spiritual energy within them that they were all high level onmyoji.

“Get back here, you idiot!” Keiichi whispered, a vein throbbing on his forehead. “Are you trying to get us caught?”

“The Jorogumo mentioned hunters, saying that if we don’t get found by the yokai first, a group of Onmyoji called the hunters will still be on our tail.” I recalled. “Are those them?”

“Probably.” Akira knelt beside me. “They’re elites. I’ve never heard of their existence before, even within the Bureau, but they’re at least on the same level as Kia-san, if not higher.”

I grit my teeth. That’s not possible to fight. If there’s a whole group of them chasing after us-

“Oi, Ren. What happened to Akiha?” Keiichi asked.

I looked down at the comatose fox spirit in my arms. “She fell unconscious when we got attacked by the Jorogumo. She… saved me, but I couldn’t do anything.”

“Jorogumo?” Akira’s eyes widened, and she gripped my shoulders. “Ren-sama, where’s Nasa-san?”

I couldn’t meet her eyes. “She held the yokai back so that Akiha and I could escape. She told us to meet with you two and run, to start looking for the twelve.”

Akira sat back on her haunches, eyes unfocused. “If she said that… we’ll go. Nasa-san won’t lose to a single Jorogumo. I have faith in her. We need to go now while she’s distracting them for us.”

The sun had started to rise, the twilight sky shimmering with the rays of new light.

You will find them where the light of the two suns meet.

The four of us ran.