7日目はとても興味深い一日でした.私たちは冬木市に到着しましたが,どうやら間もなくお祭りが行われるようで,その合間に柳洞を訪れることができました.
The temple itself is nothing to really look at, although the name seemed unnervingly familiar to me.
This temple, like many others, was located on top of a mountain overlooking the main city. The pathway to the Main Hall (the Hondou, I think) has a white slate, maybe marble, pathway that is surrounded by what looks like andesite slate.
Wandering on a path alongside the new, bright sprouts of leaves and flowing sakura petals that are blown from below the entrance by strong winds, sunlight streams down powerfully, illuminating the otherwise dim path in a dream-like, blissful glow.
Not far off was Sven's family, Sven, and the Dursleys, leaving me alone to think. The clack of my new traditional Geta colliding with the wind-washed stone was brushed with a soft pink hue.
My thoughts slowly return back to the last two days. How Chisa and I ended up exploring the Imperial Thunder Sakura grove. A grove of carefully grown trees that are considered one of the rarest and most precious for their materials within the magical world, as SK informed me.
Exploring the area, we also found quite a few magical and non-magical plants, including what Shorekeeper called 'Imperata cylindrica [Japanese blood grass]', 'Thismia kobensis [Fairy Lantern]', 'Eurya japonica', and apparently the rarest plant, 'Konjiki no Namida [Tears of Gold]', also known as 'Yoko no Sake [Fox-spirit's Wine]'. Konjiki no Namida is apparently a very dangerous and beneficial plant, as the vines are heavy with some extremely powerful curses while the flowers are imbued with immense blessings.
Wait, huh-
For a moment, in front of the ominous vines and closed flower buds, appeared a black-haired woman with her back turned. She wore a pure white kimono and disappeared just as suddenly.
"Chisa, did you see her?" I call out to Chisa, who was slightly away from me, only to be rebuked.
"Her? Who's her? There is no one else here but u-"
A blinding light akin to the sun opens up from the direction of the vines, causing both of us to be blinded, as well as several people behind us whom we had yet to notice.
It took a moment, but with Shorekeeper's aid, my eyes adjusted, only to be greeted by a flower that can only be described as sunshine. A few droplets of dew sat on its petals, and unconsciously, I walked toward it.
Reaching toward it, I cupped the flower, gently caressing the pale bluish petals on its outside. Now that I am this close, I can see that its colors differ from the outside in, going from bluish-white, reddish-white, a vibrant sunset red and orange mix, and a pure yellow in the center.
Mesmerized by the sight, it takes me a moment to take my sense of self back before withdrawing my hand. As soon as my fingers leave it, a pulse of light flashes, and instead of the one flower, I now find myself surrounded by about 10 more similar flowers, which differ in size and opening. Yet somehow, none of their glow causes any discomfort to my eyes, even as SK's protection wears off.
The last thing I notice on the flower is a pitcher-like plant filled with a gold liquid that spirals with motes of blue and red.
Instinctively, I hold out my hand once more, and the vine shrivels and breaks while the pitcher seals and drops into my hand.
Like a passing breeze, I hear a soft whisper: 'Amayakasasete yo {uoy liops em tel}'.
Soon, the rest of the flowers slowly close, and the vines partially retreat.
Finally, Chisa opens her eyes and calls out, "Harry!"
Spinning around, I notice Chisa and walk toward her. Then I notice the group of armed... magicians and samurai heading straight for us.
I quickly run to Chisa and pull her behind me, dropping the useless pitcher in the meantime.
It is not useless.
< Later!!!!
Soon, one of the samurai, his sword pulled and aimed, walks up and opens his mouth, about to speak.
A loud growl rings out as the samurai is tackled to the floor by a blur. Soon, several voices follow.
'Kon'
"Kon!"
"Kon-kon!"
"KON-KON-KON!!!"
Myself and Chisa find ourselves now protectively surrounded by many foxes... no, Kitsune. Several had multiple tails.
To my surprise, I fell on my ass, and soon a GIANT 3-meter-tall white-and-blue Kitsune, who froze the ground it walked on, arrived.
It made no sound, yet simply by glancing at the armed group, it had all of them drop their swords/wands.
This was then followed by several of the younger and softer Kitsune calming down and approaching us. Most of these Kitsune were pink and purplish, while a few were orange, and fewer were white and pale blue.
One of the bigger ones, a Kitsune roughly 1.5 meters tall, then dropped the pitcher that I had previously let go of to grab Chisa into my lap.
Then a few of the very small ones, who I could guess to be cubs, jumped on me and Chisa, making us laugh as their fur tickled us in the soft red grass.
Now the situation became as follows: Chisa and I stayed surrounded by most of the Kitsune, with the biggest one even picking us up and putting us on top of her (she's tall, okay).
The armed group had backed off a good 10-15 meters away from the Kitsune, after which most of them relaxed and simply sat down.
Now, mind you, at this point, Chisa and I were playing with the cubs and a few of the younger Kitsune, so I really wouldn't have known what was going on unless SK told me. She had disappeared practically into the clouds, and any time she approached, the giant Kitsune would growl at her, so she decided to avoid the issue and simply watch from above, as obviously this group of big foxes wasn't exactly malicious.
Within the next 30 minutes, a young man arrives who speaks with the Kitsune, and only then do they open up a path for the man to approach where we are. At this, the big Kitsune pauses and vocalizes, 'Kon.'
This causes all but one cub to leave us, as one white-and-blue one tightly clings to Chisa and glares at the big one.
The likely elder Kitsune makes no other attempt to separate Chisa and the youngling. When the young man, roughly 20 years of age by appearance, arrives, he first bows to the elder and then looks over to us, greeting us.
"Hello, children. I see you are quite liked by the Kitsune."
Finally, having recovered and a bit hesitant, I slightly bow and reply, "Hello. Yes, they seem quite fond of us, especially Chisa... sorry if this causes any problems...."
By now, I had put the pitcher, which was akin to a glass vial in size, into my pocket, where it stood out less.
"Ah... yes, you did cause quite a commotion, but don't worry. There does not appear to be any harm done... the only real concern is that you were never supposed to be able to get inside here, children. Would you please explain how?" the slightly exasperated and obviously tired man asked.
"Well, I had seen a hole in the stone wall and decided to check it out... Chisa followed... and then we explored this place..... I promise we didn't break anything!" I almost yelled out at the end, quite unnerved by possible consequences.
Sighing, the man looked at the sky before returning his gaze to us.
Soon after, we were further questioned about what we had seen and if we broke anything, but as we didn't lie or break anything, there was no issue.
In a passing comment, the man stated he was surprised a Yuuki Kitsune had bonded to Chisa, as this was an exceptionally rare occurrence for the race, especially for the young, and without Chisa giving anything in return.
When asked about this, he mentioned that the small Snow Princess Kitsune had life-bound itself to Chisa, meaning it would permanently be her familiar and would even die if Chisa were to die.
Now, at this point, Chisa fainted at just the chaos of the day. In turn, I had picked her up and was now carrying her while following the man to the Imperial Palace's private area, from which he would guide us to the public area.
He also mentioned to keep this secret and about the Statue of Secrecy, which wasn't kept from us thanks to our substantially, abnormally large magic reserves for our described age.
The same day, after returning to the hotel, we received a package sent by the Imperial Family, one package for myself and another for Chisa, both sealed until we were at least 10 years of age.
Chisa also received information on how to take care of the now-named Ana, short for Anastazhia, in reference to one of her favorite stories.
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A/N: Holy, do I not have time to bloody write anymore. Anyway, please leave some powerstones, comments, and reviews.
Word count above is roughly 1450~
Plant Lore — Fuyuki Grove (Ryuudou Temple)
Konjiki no Namida (金色の涙 — "Tears of Gold") / also known as Yoko no Sake (妖狐の酒 — "Fox-spirit's Wine")
The rarest plant discovered in the grove, and the last known cultivated stand of its kind, growing only within this warded temple ground. A near-forgotten relic plant from a past age of gods, once known across a wider region before falling to near-extinction.
Vine: Dominant red body, veined through with streaks of orange and blue. Carries the plant's curse — the veins run heavy with a potent, ancient poison/curse, tied to the blessing-turned-burden of the moon deity and the storm god. The poison evaporates easily and can be absorbed through skin contact alone, making the vine itself extremely hazardous to handle carelessly.
Flowers: Open in a radiating pattern — 7 petals at the core, expanding outward through rings of 12, 17, and 22 — each ring shifting through a distinct color band: red at the center's edge, then yellow, pale white, and finally a very pale light blue at the outer tips. When fully bloomed, the flower is said to glow brightly enough to be mistaken for a rising sun — hence "Tears of Light/Gold." The flowers carry the plant's blessing: an immense, layered benediction tied to Amaterasu (sun/healing) and Inari (fox/prosperity).
The Wine: When the curse-bearing sap of the vine and the blessing-infused nectar of the flower are combined, they produce a legendary substance — one of the most wonderfully tasting compounds known, said to grant partial longevity effects on top of its beauty. For Kitsune specifically, the mixture acts as an extraordinarily potent intoxicant, akin to a divine drug, tied to old folkloric ideas of fox-possession and fox-offered sake.
Harvested form: A small, pitcher-shaped seed pod/vessel forms at the base of a spent bloom, sealing shut and filling with the golden liquid — spiraled through with threads of blue and red — once the vine and flower have fully exchanged their properties. This is the actual harvestable "Tears of Gold," small enough to fit in a pocket, resembling a sealed glass vial.