UOOOOOOOOO, !!"
"Do you recognize my engagement to Kunou?!"
"UOOOOOOOOOOOO, !?"
"When this is over I'll ask Yasaka‑sama to let each of you thank Kunou and her mother in person, maybe even a handshake session if we're lucky! (No promises, though.)"
"UOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, !!"
The Youkai raise both hands to the sky, beast‑men howling so loud the sound rattles the silvergrass plain.
…A handshake event may be pushing it, but at least I'd better arrange some face‑to‑face thankyou time or all this feverish energy will never cool down.
=====================
Mass Healing, Senjutsu‑Style
More than three hundred of us form a giant circle, linking arms.
Using senjutsu I tug on everyone's ki at once, driving their natural healing to the limit. Controlling this many auras is murder on my concentration, so I have Izuna possess every four or five people, acting as a repeater hub and an external battery of life‑force.
After two solid hours it's midday. I order the troops to eat, bathe, and rest up. Then I shift back to the resting manor.
=====================
At the Rest House
As always Kunou is waiting outside, but today her expression is clouded.
" …Ikki. I heard everything."
During a break in her lessons Izuna suddenly flew off; when she followed, she overheard her mother talking. Should have anticipated that, Izuna basically stays glued to Kunou now.
"I'm sorry. You didn't need to hear something that ugly."
"I'm the daughter of Kyoto's ruler; I would have learned it sooner or later. I never knew Father, my anger for Mother's sake outweighs any grief… and the culprit is already in chains."
True. The mastermind's cage and only mopping‑up remains.
"What will you do tomorrow?"
"I'll stay with Mother and coordinate from the manor. No need for the general herself to march out now."
"Then make us a good lunch and keep me company. Nothing calms the heart like normal, everyday things."
"Is that really enough?"
She tilts her head.
"Better than brooding over that tanuki's sins all day, right? You don't want to spend the whole time miserable."
"…You're right. Very well! Go shower, lunch will be ready when you're back!"
She scurries indoors, tails swishing. Good; a bit of routine will steady us both.
=====================
Night before the Raid
With Kunou's help I once again form the healing circle; by nightfall everyone's wounds are at least closed. They're exhausted, but a night's sleep will fix that.
The tanuki geezer? Yasaka‑sama and her most trusted retainers spent all day wringing every last scrap of information from him. By now he's ragged as wet paper.
I suggested whispering, "Confess and maybe exile is all you get."
He jumped at it, and sent emergency summons to every dirty subordinate he had. Perfect. His cronies will gather in one place and we'll bag the lot.
=====================
The Next Evening – Assault on the Tanuki's Estate
Retainers report the targets are assembled. Those absent will be handled by a second strike team.
With Yasaka‑sama locking the entire ley‑line, teleport escape is impossible.
A mass shift drops me and the Kunou Corps in front of the manor.
"MOVE OUT! Stay on my tail!"
"UOOOOOOOOOO, !!"
We smash the front gate and storm inside. A few hired enforcers, upper‑class devil level at best, go flying in seconds. Everyone else is non‑combat. My Youkai fans sweep corridor after corridor, trussing people up.
I locate the underground cell: a boy about Kunou's age, feathered wings shackled. The room is clean, the chain is long, and the "merchant" valued his poison source. Disgusting.
I carry the kid out, verify no one's hiding, then call Yasaka‑sama. Other teams report success. Cleanup will be ugly but beyond me.
The winged child will stay with Yasaka‑sama for now, under watch, antidotes ready. Later I'm told Kunou doted on him like a new little brother.
=====================
The Next Day – Yasaka's Study
Same members, same room.
"Thank you for coming. I couldn't even offer proper thanks yesterday."
"I should apologize, I couldn't help with the paperwork."
"Then let's call it even," she smiles. "Now, the reward I promised. Truth be told, I'd decided to give it to you no matter what."
"A… pretext, then?"
"Better to show you."
She reaches into her kimono and, not from the sleeve, straight down the front, pulls a tiny cloth pouch. (Warm. Let's pretend I didn't notice.)
A shake, and a marble-sized golden bead rolls into my palm.
"Long ago, before I ruled Kyoto, I saved a traveling merchant from the continent. He insisted on repaying me with that. It is a Golden Elixir, Jindan, one of China's supreme immortality pills."
"W‑wait, seriously?! You accepted something that priceless?!"
She recounts the tale:
~A thousand years ago
Merchant: "You rescue me? Take family treasure, one of two! Because, haha, golden balls should always come in pairs, yes?"
…Yes, the man was rather shameless.
Back to present
"At first I thought it was pure gold. Then I sensed medicine. Research proved it a true Jindan."
But aren't such relics fought over?
"Not among Youkai. Our lifespans are long already, and since Beelzebub invented Evil Pieces, even humans can gain near‑immortality. The market value plummeted."
Good point.
"Just swallow it?"
"Yes, but are you sure? You'll step beyond humanity."
"I'm already on that path with senjutsu. And honestly, Kunou, Kuroka, even Koneko, they're all non‑human. I'd rather not leave them widowed early."
With surprising ease I tip the bead back.
Gulp, !
"Ghh…!"
"Swallowing something that size dry would hurt. Water."
I down the offered cup. Lesson learned.
Thus I gained a lifespan rivaling a devil's and spent the Obon period in Kyoto, visiting Kunou's father's grave, too.
"Come anytime," Yasaka‑sama says at the gate.
"Thank you for everything. See you soon, Kunou."
"Yes! Until next time!"
They wave, and I shift home.
=====================
Note: Danzaburou the Tanuki: a raccoon‑dog Youkai who makes his living in both the human and spirit worlds and is infamous for swindling foxes to death