"Okay, okay, let me rewind this vinyl record of chaos a bit and review what the heck went on…you," Miu emphasized by pointing at each of the guilty parties responsible for wrecking a whole chunk of the Sakura Park, "lost your family pet and went around like a madwoman chasing it all across town, making Kumo agitated, which led to a whole chase sequence that somehow roped this prolific corporate asshole? Am I following the plot so far?"
"I-I can't really object…"
"Who are you calling an asshole, you gorilla bi-"
One glare and his bravado turned meek.
"...Y-yes, that's the gist of it."
"And that's not even mentioning whatever the hell you were doing, young man!" Miu cranned her neck towards her nephew who was currently trying to fuse with Gen's back, looking anywhere but his aunt in the face, "Don't look all innocent, Issei, I'm not going away if you pretend I'm not here! Why-for God's sake HOW?! How did you even manage to drive a whole moped up the Suicide Ramp?! Do you even realize why it got that name?!"
"W-Well, you see, Mr. Collins-"
"Oh my-of course that old, washed up bum would let a damn child ride on a moped without any supervision! He's irresponsible enough to have plutonium in his basement! Ooh, he better pray Miu doesn't learn he's responsible, because if I don't kill him, she will!"
"I actually agree, what the heck was that guy thinking…" Gou mumbled under his breath, not wanting Miu to direct her boiling anger at him, just because it was him, but also because agreeing with her openly was the last thing he wanted to do.
"H-hey, I-I've been reading motorcycle manuals okay!" Issei interjected, "I knew how to use it, and Dad constantly showed me how the stunts were done back in the day, s-so-"
"Issei, you're ten years old! You should be playing with toys or legos or reading manga, not trying to recreate Hollywood action pieces!"
"Mmmh, but I have been training for two years for a real spy mission! And when Mr. Jerk's hat landed on me, I thought it was my time to prove myself!" spoke the young boy with the sparkle of a dreamer on a mission. In spite of everything, he still believed this was an ordained test, the first call to action for his spy career.
"Ah yes, God told you to steal what isn't yours so you can live out your stupid fantasies. Honestly, if I was a spy and heard you calling yourself such, I'd be embarrassed!" said Gou snidely, spitting the words at him like venom. And that's exactly how they felt to the naive boy, recalling Straussen Collins' words, making his knees quiver.
You're not a real fucking spy, get it through your head!
"Okay, calm down you, he already apologized three times for that. That said, I can't disagree with the sentiment. Issei," she bent her knees to be at eye level with the boy who finally stopped fidgeting nervously in place to stare back at her, "you're just a young boy. I know Mr. Ozawa meant a lot, but I doubt he'd want you doing any of this. Gosh you dropped from thir-no, forty freaking feet while speeding on a slope, on a moped no less!" She shoved him into a warm embrace, hugging him tightly, "It's a miracle you survived, kid. Please, please never do these stunts. Your Mom would genuinely not endure losing you, too."
And again with the comment Miu slid in, Straussen's words of warning came blaring in his mind.
Fate? What a bunch of Disneyland ballooney, stop living in your little comics and face reality, you little clown. Go around acting like a tough guy and you'll end up hurting not only yourself, but your poor parents, too!
It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair at all! All these adults, they pursued what they wanted fearlessly and no one told them peep, but the second he tries being a little bold, they treat him like a criminal!
But…he was, wasn't he? By law, he had committed a myriad of crimes just in the past few hours. From stealing to severe property damages. But it was all for a noble cause…but even that was a misunderstanding. Gen-chan was merely a girl looking for her precious pet, the suit guy, although a jerk was upset, because he stole his precious hat and he…he just ran based on assumptions.
And he really could've gotten hurt…and his Mom would be…both her and Dad…they were probably worried sick he hadn't come back yet. It was already dark outside.
He hiccuped and whimpered, quiet but not enough to where his aunt wouldn't be able to hear it.
"Issei…?" Miu immediately leaned forward, bringing her hands to touch his face but he stepped back and shook his head, roughly wiping his face.
He tilted his head and swayed with a quivering, graceful smile. That's right. A spy always had a mask. To cover for vulnerabilities and emotional openings. That's what Ozawa-sensei taught him. So he would don this mask, as if entering his school's theatre choir and he would fool them. Revealing his weakness was the last thing a spy ought to do.
"I got it, Auntie Miu!"
"Hooh, is that right?" Miu asked, brow arched as she put a hand on the curving dip of her hip. She didn't believe him.
That was okay. A mask couldn't work without a little performance.
"Next time…I will utilize a hook gun! And use my dragomobile!"
Miu groaned and held her head in her hands, like a person dealing with a bad-mannered cute dog that they wanted to punt but couldn't morally bring themselves to do so.
"You haven't learnt anything." Miu considered him for a moment, her face warming with a small, almost invisible smile. It was as if she was glad to see him back in his proper spirit. "At least you're back to your old goofy self, you little munchkin!"
She pinched his cheek playfully.
"Auntie Miu!" Issei whined, trying to slap her hand away, but failing against the strength of his affectionate aunt.
Gou cringed at the excessive display of affection from the side. Sure, the man had a cute niece he'd kill a person for, but this was too much.
"Well, if you're done dotting on that little criminal-"
"Never!" was the feral reply that came from the woman.
Gou shivered, then stared at her with a deadpan expression, clearly having given up of making sense of the whole ordeal, before raising his hands and walking away.
"...Right, well good luck to you guys in finding your Houdini turtles or a moral conscience or a mouth more befitting of a la-DYYYGHK!"
But his retreat was dashed to oblivion by the heel of one Miu Umehara who had stabbed his foot with her boot, causing him great, stinging pain.
"And where do you think you're going, hmm?" Miu asked with a sweet, innocent tone that was horrifically mismatched with her ominous smile, a dark aura surrounding her, making the man flinch.
"Oh for fuck's sake, just let me go you damned gorilla, I'm going home!"
Miu's faux sweetness soured into a scorching anger at the insult and she reared her hand back into a diamond hard fist.
"What did you just call me, you-?!"
But her fist never reached his face as it was deflected by the gentle palms of Gen, the little girl performing as little as a gentle whip of her wrists to redirect her strike.
"Gen-chan? But why?"
"P-please, Miss Miu, no more…n-no more fighting!" Gen stood her ground, getting in between the nerve-wracked Gou who looked like he would need new pants soon and the scowling she-beast.
Miu considered her for a second. Though the woman had just met Gen, she already had made quite an impression on her. The girl was adorably cute and cuddly-looking, with a shy persona that was both pitiful and endearing. And yet whenever things began to escalate she calmed the waters with but a sway. And despite her constant stuttering, her voice had an edge of resolution equal to Miu's.
She's like an unrefined blade made of water…
Thought Miu, before sighing and relenting.
"Fine. I won't hit the low-life, sub-human shitstain."
"Sub-human?!" Gou managed out an incredulous retort, parroting the insult as if someone had called him a racial slur.
She glared at him and pointed at his solar plexus, imagining how sweetly his ribs would crack if she hit him with her fists.
"That doesn't mean you're forgiven or off the hook for hitting my nephew and being an absolute prick!"
"Are you serious?! I literally had nothing to do with this before your little 'angel' stole my hat! I'M the victim!" Gou argued, pointing at Issei.
"I-I said I'm sorry already, dude! And you got it back anyways!" Issei exclaimed, throwing his hands up in an almost exasperated manner. Gou rubbed his temples, then grit his teeth and stomped.
"It's about the principle, you little shit!" Gou retorted before he squealed as he realized the sin he just committed in front of his would-be-arbiter.
"Oh, you're so dead! I told you to stop being rude to-"
"S-STOP!" Gen cut in again and raised both hands, a faint, nigh-invisible misty curl releasing from her body and swaying their thoughts, inducing strange calmness. Her voice was even more resolute and this time she managed a quivering glare. "E-Enough with the fighting already! I-I'm the one responsible, s-so if you want to attack someone, attack me!"
"Gen-chan…"
"Kid…"
Gen turned to Miu and her expression softened.
"Miss Miu, i-if Mr. Gou helps me retrieve my turtle, would you forgive him?" she asked the older woman, who could only keep her rage for so long until the adorable dazzle of the shy girl calmed her waters down and she let out a heavy sigh.
"Fine, I'll let the little leech keep his head and balls…"
"Why my balls?!" Gou exclaimed, though remained ultimately ignored.
"But he has to be quiet and stop attacking Issei."
Gen nodded and turned toward the aforementioned man, who was fidgeting a bit.
"Mr. Gou, I-I understand Issei-kun wronged you and y-you got roped into m-my mess, but please, do us this one favour and y-you'll be free to go." Gen pleaded with him, grasping his hand with her smaller palms. The gesture surprised Gou and he was about to slap her hand away and lecture her for touching him without consent, but then he looked into her eyes and saw a vision of his sweet niece, gentle and innocent like this very girl, and his stingy instincts relented.
"F…Fine. I'll help you find that damn magically vanishing turtle. Just as long as…" he stopped himself before uttering the insult he had in store for the woman balling one fist with an evil smile in front of him, "M-Miss Miu here promises to not…punch me."
Miu, amused, crossed her arms.
"Hmph, I made all the promises I needed to make, it's your turn now."
"Grrr…you…!"
"But if you're a good boy, maybe you'll just go with a slap on the wrist~" Miu said, her tone almost gaining a playful inflection as she tilted her head. Though she hadn't yet realized it herself, teasing this 'worm of a man' had gotten kind of fun.
Gou Momozono stared back at her with concern and fear as if she were a snake and he a mice she was toying with.
"A…Are you hitting on me?"
Now that shook the sharp tigress out of her terrifying confidence.
"Wha-"
"Ewww, Auntie Miu, that's gross!" Issei said, making gag sounds and cringing.
A blush crept up her face and Miu waved her hands and formed an X with them to emphasize her denial of any feelings, alleged or otherwise.
"A-aah no, Issei that's not it-!"
"Please, I don't want to get dragged to the gorilla den, I'm not ready to be King Kong's brother-in-law!"
"King-?! Oh, that's it, I'm ripping your freaking your jaw off, you damned lizard! You're not using that mouth for anything good anyways!"
"N-no please…!" Gen exclaimed with a wavering shout.
And so they went back and forth and back for a few more minutes before the only voice of reason among the group, that being the mystical girl Gen, finally pacified them.
In the end, they agreed to keep a distance of ten feet from each other so they wouldn't get into more fights. Miu Umehara would walk with Issei and Gou Momozono would be with Gen.
"Wait…what about the dog?" Gou asked, suddenly pausing in his step.
Everyone exchanged a look in awkward silence.
"Oh my god, Kumo!" Issei ran back to his still slumbering dog. "Gen-chan, you said you could wake her up!"
"U-uhm yes, just promise to…h-hold her back, she m-might see me as a threat and a-attack me."
"That silver pooch is nothing but trouble-Ow!" Gou groaned in hoarse pain as Miu slammed her elbow into his ribs, before she trotted up to the two kids and the dog. She grasped the back of Kumo's neck and gave Gen a thumbs up.
"I got her, Gen-chan, don't worry. As long as I have my hands on her, she won't even move an inch!"
"O-okay then…h-here I go."
Gen uttered a fast mumble, the sounds blending into each other like a formless, incoherent spit-boxing, but Miu recognised some of the vowels. The girl was reciting some buddhist chant in seconds.
Then she rubbed her hands, spoke a name of a Buddhist figure and tapped Kumo's forehead three times.
Silence permeated the scene before Kumo began stirring awake, twitching and stretching slowly like a teen waking from a bad hangover.
"Ahaha! Gen-chan, you did it, you really didn't hurt her and you woke her back up!" Issei exclaimed with pure joy, his eyes nearly tearing with relief at the sight of his dog, burying his face in its fluffy fur and hugging it tight. Miu and Gen gazed at him with an 'aaaw, how cute' expression, while Gou rolled his eyes in disgust.
Kumo looked around, blinking awake. She saw, or rather felt her owner on her, and she barked happily, sniffing and licking his face.
"Happy to see you too girl, you gave me quite the run-around!"
"Wroof!" the dog barked, as if replying: 'Speak for yourself, I was scared you'd gotten lost, dingus!'.
"Haha, I didn't get lost, I took a short-cut!" Issei said, knowing his dog so intuitively by now they almost communicated telepathically. For his troubles he received another series of licks, causing him to giggle. "O-okay, okay, I got it, you can stop!"
Kumo licked him a few times just to show some pettiness and her head slowly turned toward Gen. The dog's expression went from warm and loving to cold and feral so fast it even had Miu shook, who immediately tightened her grip.
"Kumo, no!" Issei cried but it was too late.
"Grrrr-WROOF!" Kumo snarled as if crying 'YOU!' and immediately went to leap and bite at the girl, bearing her fangs at her, the motion so sudden Gen yelped and stumbled back. Gou got in between them, guarding Gen with his frame.
"Hold it there, 'Daddy-Protector', I got her!" Miu teased as despite Kumo's utter ferocity, the dog held no candle to the grip of a professional kenjutsu practitioner. It took her a few seconds to realize something was pinching her neck, hard, and she was leaping but not moving. But just to make her quiet down, Miu got her attention with a feral snarl of her own. "Kumo, sit."
Kumo perked her ears up and turned her head and her growls and snarls turned into frightened whimpers as she realized the person prevented her from leaping at the little girl. It was a wolf-like beast Kumo sometimes saw arriving at her abode. A creature more feral and scary than anything else Kumo had seen. To Kumo, there was her master whom she loved and then there were the two alphas of the animal kingdom - her master's mother and her master's aunt.
Kumo lowered her head in reverence and slackened in the monster's grip, prostrating herself on the ground, submitting to the Alpha Beast.
Miu held her sharp domineering stare for a few seconds, making sure Kumo would not immediately spring into action, letting the dog's wild energy dissipate. Kumo was now fully laying on her belly.
"Good girl, Kumo!" Miu chirped, her features softening as she let go of her neck and rubbed her fur with affection. Kumo whined and licked her hand. It wasn't an excited lick, like with Issei, but more of an appreciation of being shown mercy.
"U-uhm…" Gen spoke up and Kumo's ears perked up again. Though she didn't spring into action, her teeth bared again in a low snarl until her master, her beloved human, stroked her chin and kissed her ear, melting her anger.
"Kumo, it's okay, she's a friend…" Issei spoke and looked toward Gen. "At least…I hope we are."
Gen's cheeks dusted with pink and she looked away, playing with one of her bangs nervously.
"Y-Y-Yes…we are."
"Oh my…" Miu looked between them with amusement while Gou had a strangely protective look on his face.
"Yes! New friend!" Issei quietly indulged in his social triumph before resuming his reassurance, stroking behind Kumo's ears now, "She's a good person, Kumo. She has a pet, too. Like me and you. She was just looking for it."
Kumo's snarl gradually faded into a curious doggy hum, the more her master spoke. She got up and slowly circled around Gou and Gen. The two thought she was pouncing on the chance to attack again, so Gen hid further behind Gou and Gou prepared to kick at it.
"Step back from the kid, jerkwad. Kumo's not going to do anything."
"H-how can you be so sure!?" Gou, despite putting on a front, still remembered the ferocity and agility Kumo displayed earlier, while naturally being afraid of confrontations with any animal that could bite or scratch hard, and as such couldn't quite suppress the little shaky dance his half-backling knees did.
Miu put a hand on her hip, tilting her head with light bemusement. "I've fought that dog once. Believe me, I know when she's truly poised for an attack. Just let her sniff Gen-chan a bit, 'Papa-Bear'."
"Tch, I'm nobody's 'papa'."
But he complied and slowly stepped to the side, letting Kumo freely circle around Gen in a convergent spiral, decreasing the distance between them stride by stride until the dog was basically shoving her nose into Gen, sniffing every little scent on her.
The dog considered the little girl that had put it to sleep with a strange spell and its eyes glazed over with an inscrutable intellect. She was judging her.
"Say her name. She likes it when people call her by her name." Issei hushedly told Gen.
"H-Hey…Kumo?" Gen reluctantly called to the dog, her lip curling up into a quivering smile.
The dog's ears shot up, it tilted its head and then without a second warning Kumo jumped on her hind legs, causing everyone to gasp, and began licking Gen's face. It wasn't the explosively affectionate or submissive licks she did with her master and his aunt, but it was nonetheless a sign of intimacy. Almost like she was apologising for attacking her and simultaneously forgiving her for knocking her unconscious.
"A-ah, h-hehe, w-wait s-stop it…hah…i-it tickles, Kumo!" Gen let out sputters of an awkward laugh while she stood frozen, as if in her entire life she had never been licked by a dog.
Miu found the scene diminutively endearing and aw-ed, while Issei was jumping up and down and celebrating.
"YES! Yes, now Gen-chan and Kumo can be friends and we can be the Three Muskateers of the Akashic Records! Together, we'll unveil the cosmic truths!" he effectively bunny hopped toward the two and hugged them both, joining in on the fun and making it almost like an initiation ritual to accept the timid girl into some secret society…a secret society of adorable delusions.
"This is just too cute…" Miu smiled and tilted her head.
"Akashic Records? Cosmic truths? Kid went from spy cosplay to a Lovecraft novel protagonist, he can't even get his fantasies right-OW! F-fuck, I told you to stop hitting me, woman!" Gou groaned as his negative raving was again cut off by a well struck elbow blow.
Miu side-eyed at him with an irked glare that softened into a chiding expression.
"Tsk, I'll stop when you get some love in that shriveled up heart of yours. They're kids, let them enjoy life a little."
"Pft, whatever…" he said dismissively, yet inside, Gou's heart throbbed. The words resonated with him, strangely enough. He too had a little niece who was as excitable and living in her own world, just like Issei. He sighed, muttering something about 'stupid kids' and 'disgustingly adorable'.
Issei was holding the girl's hand, shaking it like a general congratulating a private for their promotion to a higher rank.
"A-Ano…I-Issei-kun…this is a bit too much…" Gen said, a clear line of red across her face, with a bit of steam coming off her.
"Nonsense, nonsense! You've been accepted by my great side-kick-"
"Wroof!" Kumo barked at him while still on her hind legs, front paws on Gen's left shoulder. She huffed in displeasure.
"Oh-oops, sorry, I meant-you have been chosen by our brotherhood of templars to seek out and destroy evil together! From now on, we shall be known as…uh…" his voice lost its theatrical intonation, trailing off as he looked around for things that could give him inspiration.
His eyes landed on the half-moon shining in the twilight sky and he blushed a little as it reminded him of Gen's own glistening silver hair, which was even cuter in the faint moonlight glow. He had it!
"T-The Trilunar Tribunal of Justice!" Issei declared, pointing at the stars above like some protagonist from a shounen manga, proud and confident in his theatrics.
Gen's blush increased tenfold, toying with a stray bang shyly for a bit before looking back at him with a gentle smile.
"Tri-lunar? Mmh, I like it, Issei-kun!"
"Wroof!" Kumo barked in approval, wagging her tail excitedly.
"Ehehe…!" Issei chuckled, rubbing his nose cockily, but internally he was hyperventilating. This was the first time he had gotten a compliment from a girl his age. A girl that looked borderline inhuman with the levels of cuteness she could exude.
"Alright, you two love chicks, let's save the smooches for later-"
"E-eeeh?!"
"A-AUNTIE!"
Both children gasped, sputtering over their own disbelief and complete discombobulation, as their faces turned fully red now. However, Miu, ever vigilant and precise, just cut straight to the point, though internally she aww-ed at how cute their reactions were.
"We still got a search to go on. Think of it as the 'Trilunar Tribunal'-s first job!"
"Yeah! Let's start our search, Gen-chan! With me, Auntie and Kumo by your side, we'll find that turtle of yours before you can even blink!"
"O-okay, a-and thank you all very much! I'm in your debt!" Gen bowed, showing absolute gratitude towards their generosity and blinked remembering she forgot one more person, before bowing to him as well. "And thank you, too, Mr. Gou! Your help is greatly appreciated!"
"Hmph…whatever." Gou muttered, looking away and pretending to sink into one of the tree's shadows. Though his tone was still rude, the others could tell he was just pretending to not care at this point. Miu almost began teasing him, but held back, knowing it would just lead to more needless drama.
And so, the five embarked on their search, continuing from Gen's previous suspicions and the leads. Issei offered to use Kumo's powerful nose to streamline the search, though Gen only had a little trinket that her turtle would often chew on which had a faint trace of its scent. The majestic dog nonetheless pulled through, leading them through one of the side paths down the northwest alleyway and into the clearing where the Amenominakanushi Shrine stood.
Kumo's tail began wagging wildly and she let out a bark, as if to say: 'That's where the trail leads! It's inside the shrine!'.
"Atta-girl, Kumo!" Issei praised his ethereal dog with a few scratches under the chin and a quick peck on her head, making the dog's wag even harder, having completed her assigned duty. He turned to Gen with a confident smile. "Kumo's saying your turtle went through here and into the shrine!"
"Is he a dog whisperer now?" Gou drawled out, earning a momentary glare from his companion. Despite their initial agreement, due to the kids literally becoming attached to the hip, Gou and his present tormentor eventually began walking together, chatting occasionally.
"Your mouth really only knows how to ruin the moment, huh?" Miu asked, her voice matching his drawl.
"I'm just saying…"
"Well…yeah, I agree that it's weird, but that's kinda what makes it so beautiful. His bond with Kumo is so strong they can understand each other like they share one mind."
"That sounds like something a villain from our studio's anime would be able to do."
She smacked him on the back of the head, which caused him to explosively cuss her out. Miu only chuckled. Getting reactions out of him seemed to have become a new hobby of hers.
"D-Does the trail lead to anywhere else or does it cut off here?" Gen asked, looking at the shrine while tugging on her sleeves, anticipating clearly building up under her skin.
"Nah, Kumo's nose is better than even Batman's navigation thingamajinks! Which means, your turtle is probably still in there, Gen-chan!"
"O-Oh, this is amazing! T-thank you so much, I-Issei-kun and…K-Kumo-chan!" her eyes sparked with joy, a tear nearly forming as her shoulders, which had a slight tense to them the entire time, now became fully relaxed, like the discovery of her turtle's location just let her breathe again. She rubbed her hand and awkwardly raised a fist, "F-first victory for the T-Trilunar Tribunal of J-Justice?"
"YEAH!"
"WROOF!"
"I don't understand, though, what would a turtle be doing in a shrine?" Gou asked, a look of puzzlement crossing his features as he came to a step in front of the steps.
"It's because…" Gen began explaining and stopped short, some internal debate written on her face, causing her voice to die down for a bit as she bit her lip and rubbed her forearm, but she eventually resumed with that familiar cute quiver. "I-It's because many shrines have food offerings that also include citrus fruits. H-He loves those a lot, so he's often attracted to places of worship."
"Your turtle sounds more like a wild pig." Gou said and reluctantly shifted his weary gaze to Miu, remembering her admittance to still managing it. "Do you keep fresh fruits in there, like apples or persimmons?"
Miu put a hand on her chin and pondered. "We do around big festivals, but the next one is still a good three weeks away from now. Besides, there's not really any food preservation technology in it, so if we leave anything but raw wheat it'd just rot and cause half the bugs in this park to infest the entire building."
"Doesn't Granny Sayu leave her groceries there all the time?" Issei asked, tilting his head.
"Issei, she's got dementia, the last time she came she thought the shrine was the bank and nearly gave me thirty-thousand yen to 'deposit to her grandson'."
"Sheesh, I know I wouldn't be parting with that kind of money, even for my family." Gou said, his eyes rolling with stinginess.
"Like any woman would be dumb enough to fall for and start a family with you!" Miu spoke, nearly laughing in mockery of the sheer 'idea' a man like him could have grandkids.
"S-shut up! Plenty of women have wanted me, I'm just focused on my financial growth! The profit! Who are you to judge me like some marriage counselor?! What man would want a rabid, gorilla like you anyway, huh?!"
"Oh ho ho ho! I'll have you know I received the most amount of confessions in Kuoh High during my high school years! I'm a goddamn national treasure, hun!"
"H-Hey, please don't start again-"
Gen stepped in to placate them but was stopped by Issei's hand on her shoulder. Her cheeks dusted with pink and she looked trepidly over her shoulder to see Issei and Kumo shaking their heads in sync, silently telling her to just let them fight it out.
"They're not going to stop, plus I yoinked the key to the sacred room inside the shrine while Auntie Miu wasn't paying attention!" Issei smirked like the trickster he could be sometimes, twirling the key once, throwing it in the air and snatching it.
"B-But, I-Issei-kun, y-you stole again!" Gen objected, only to lose her voice when the boy got shamelessly within nearly kissing distance of her, his breath on her lips.
"Naaah, we're just speeding things along!" He then lowered his voice to a tone that was almost husky, at least as husky as a ten year old boy's vocals could get when trying to emulate James Bond. "Besides, I'll give it back. Now come, comrade Gen, we shall find your lost companion!"
He grabbed her hand and dragged her along as he ran up the stairs to the shrine building, Kumo following parallel to them. By the time the two bickering adults below noticed they had sped off and began calling out to them, the trio parked in front of the gate. It was a double-layered one. A torii gate and a sakura tree lychgate with several ofuda placed haphazardly, numbering in nearly a hundred.
Kumo barked excitedly, her ears pointed and she dove down, nearly upturning the soil as she sniffed out the one foot gap distance of elevation between the lychgate and the ground.
"Hey, is your turtle large?" Issei inquired.
"N-no, he's quite small actually!"
"Small enough to fit through there?" he pointed at the gap that Kumo was sniffing with supreme enthusiasm, a seeker on the prowl. Gen gasped, and for a second she was stunned.
"Y-Yes…it must've crawled there not too long ago, too!"
"Mhm, your buddy's definitely inside!"
The two shared a bright smile and without waiting any further, Issei whipped out the keys, circled through the ring until he found the one for the outer gate. With a slight struggle he put it in and the gate mechanism clicked as it loosened, unlocked.
"Alright, onwards, warriors of justice! Victory is upon us!"
"Y-Yeah!"
"Wroof!"
However, the instant the door was pushed open by a slight angle, just enough to let Gen get a peek of the courtyard of the Amenominakanushi Shrine, something in the fountain flow that was the world seemed off. A cold silence washed over them, and Issei felt a chill run down his entire little body.
His knees quivered despite himself and he looked around. He gasped, his ten year old brain not able to process the eerie pitch blackness that had overtaken the sky. It's true that night was encroaching earlier, but the darkness that permeated the entire sky above seemed eldritch…alien…wrong.
And it wasn't just the scale, the whole world seemed devoid of colors now.
Next to him, he heard Kumo growling and he moved his gaze to her. A gut-feeling of underlying horror struck him when he saw just how on edge his dog was. Even when they walked around bad people like drunks and drug addicts or when Gen had agitated her for some reason, Kumo had never looked this nerve-wrecked. He could practically feel the fear, anxiety and flight-fight instincts bubbling under her skin like electro-static. In fact, there was some present electricity in the air, like the calm before the storm that only dogs and cats could sense.
"ISSEi, you little rascal, wait for me before running off, we talked about this!"
"Seems he didn't learn jack-shit from your scolding earlier, he's already back to his thieving ways!"
"Oh, can it!"
The bickering voices of his aunt and Gou Momozono brought a fortunate sense of normalcy, as he saw them approach from the top few stone steps into the pathway that led to the shrine entrance. At first they beamed with their usual bravado, Gou grumbling about everything and Miu putting the fear of god in him with her blizzard-like glares.
"There they are! Issei, Gen-chan, Kumo, wait for us before you run off like that, I can't be responsible for-"
He almost sighed. Almost believed it was just his brain playing tricks on him. But the moment they arrived near them, their expressions suddenly changed.
"What the hell? When did it get so dark, the sun set like twenty minutes ago tops?" Miu was the first to utter a word about it, followed by Gou's expected reaction.
"Oh my god, can't this day stop getting weirder every fucking second?! Did I die or get transported to limbo, is that why I'm getting tormented by this She-Hulk?!"
"I'll show you a She-Hulk, you paper-thin piece of shit!" She clenched a fist to strike which caused him to pipe down and cover his face on instinct, not wanting another taste of the Miu Nose-Breaker. She exhaled and pinched her nose. "Alright, maybe…the oxygen has thinned up here…"
"We're not on a mountain for it to be this thin, though." Gou countered, trying to regain what little sense of composure he had left by frantically dusting off his Borsalino hat.
"Well, then fuck I don't know, what's your explanation!?"
"If I had one, I would know well enough to stay away from this accursed place!"
"Then why are you mouthing off to me, ya dingus?!"
"WROOF! WROOF! WROOF!"
Suddenly Kumo exploded into the loudest and most virile and aggressive barks Issei had ever heard, displaying such sheer aggression that it even caused Miu's brow to crease in concern. It was like the dog became possessed by the spirit of violence.
Issei stared at her for a moment, that muffled terror thumping in the back of his throat like someone slowly choking him out. He went to her and started rubbing and stroking her belly.
"Kumo…what's wrong girl? What's up with you?" try as he might to project a level of confidence as Mr. Ozawa had taught him to do in stressful situations, Issei couldn't help the little whimpery edge that invaded his voice, which only worsened as Kumo just seemed to get even more aggressive until-
Her voice broke into a frail whine. He heard something slam into the gate, something really heavy, with enough mass to bend the whole structure. Then he heard his aunt and Gou's reactions.
"NO!"
"WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT?!"
A second later he heard a wet squelch, like a watermelon being crushed, followed by trickling sounds like spilled liquid and something hot landing on his arms and face. He smelled it. Metallic-like, with a hint of humid coppery feel. He looked at himself and saw red. So much red it coated his hands in it.
Blood.
He gulped loud enough to reverberate through the scene and time slowed down. Terror like nothing he had ever felt before began to rattle his body like a vibraslap, spit trailing down his mouth and his muscles so tense that if he had made a hastier movement he would've snapped something. The world got cold, so unbelievably cold, like the hands of death reached out to brush their pale touch over his back and his bones felt heavier than normal, as if he was suddenly made of rock.
When he finally looked toward the source of the squelching sounds, all he could do was scream.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"