Teleport

“Ah, and one more thing. Don’t touch that right eye of yours for now, alright? It’s in your best interest.”

“My best interest?”

“That ghost was very intrigued by it. You don’t want another to come after you, right?”

Naoya shook his head energetically. The area around his eye felt weirdly cold. He followed the woman out of the empty restaurant, acutely to let the rope between them hang slack. The interior of the building looked pristine, but lifeless. Outside, back on the street in front of the Nishimon Gate, the atmosphere was much like he left it.

The gleaming rift in the sky was smaller now, less bright. He could see several people sit on the ground beneath it, chanting. They had various animal heads. Dogs, sheep, even birds. Yet from the neck down they wore the same jacket and dark trousers as the woman he was following. It was a sort of uniform, he realised. He wished he had a thick jacket like that. It was much colder in this purple world than it had been in the sun of the real one.

“What’s your name?”

The woman stopped and stared at him.

“With everything going on, that’s your question?”

“Yes?”

She rolled her eyes. “Aki.”

“Mine’s Sekiguchi Naoya. Naoya with the kanji for honesty.”

“Mhm. Naoya, tell me, what brought you here today?” Aki asked.

“I planned to have a quiet day walking around by myself, taking pictures. That’s down the drain, I suppose.”

“You suppose right. As soon as the rift is closed, you’ll come with us to HQ. Also, no more photographs.”

Naoya frowned. He took another good look around. Another person would’ve probably asked a lot of questions. Yet as it stood, Naoya was someone who took everything in before asking questions. And there was a lot to take in.

“No more photographs?” he asked instead.

“No.”

“Why?”

“All will be answered in due time.”

“Ah, you’re one of the people who enjoy being cryptic.”

Aki crossed her arms. “I’m one of the people who enjoy quiet company.”

“That makes two of us.”

Naoya’s right eye burned. What had that ghost wanted with it? Around him, the people in the same uniform moved like a military squad, searching through the nearby buildings. The chanters seemed to be successful in their endeavour, as the light above them faded. Finally, everyone reconvened at the bottom of the stairs. They made a weird, colourful bunch, with their animal heads, like a parade of fursuiters—only their features seemed to be real.

“Why don’t you have an animal head?” he asked.

“Why don’t you shut up?” Aki shot back.

“Fine, fine.”

The one with the cat head returned. She saluted the waiting group, who started to relax.

“Good work today. The barrier around here should hold until next Golden Week. Though the one directly above Kiyomizudera might not be as strong. Still, if you react as fast as today, it will be no problem.”

Relieved murmurs sounded throughout. From the purple sky, a small, golden bird flew down into the middle of the commotion and landed on the cat’s shoulder. Immediately, the mood turned. Naoya looked at Aki quizzically, but she was just as focused. The cat held the bird to its ear, listening intently, then it dispersed into thin air.

“We have another breach in Kanazawa. I’m sorry to send you again so soon. Move out.”

She threw a paper talisman at the floor, which turned into a pool of golden light. One after the other, the animal people vanished into it, being whisked away to some place. Finally, only the cat and a rabbit were left over.

“Karin, I entrust you with supporting Aki to bring that man in.”

“Yes, captain,” the rabbit saluted.

Aki saluted as well and the cat jumped into the golden light. With her, the light disappeared. The rabbit walked over, regarding Naoya curiously. She had light brown, fluffy fur, which begged to be touched.

“Do you have a talisman?” she asked.

“Yeah,” Aki replied.

A light flared up once more, when Aki threw another piece of paper to the floor. Aki grabbed Naoya’s hand and pushed him into it. For a moment, all he could see was bright light, feeling like the floor was pulled out under him. Then he stumbled onto a lawn, losing his footing and almost fell into the adjacent lake, but two hands held him back, pulling him back up. He fell back, coming to sit on the lawn, blinking confusedly. The rope around his wrists dug in just a little more.

“Where… What…”

“Look up.”

Naoya did. Above him, a golden glow, standing out starkly against the vacant, purple sky. The only thing of a different colour in this desolate dimension. Aki’s hand flared up with a blue light and in a blink, the world shifted. Colours, noises, smells, even the wind, returned. The water was blue, red leaves floating leisurely on the surface. Reflected in it was…

“Kinkakuji?” Naoya blurted out. “But we were just…”

“Hush. Come on.”

Naoya looked behind him. Standing there, were two people, who wore the same dark uniform he was used to by now, but they were different. One was a small woman with braided hair and large glasses. She held a rabbit mask in both hands, looking at Naoya with cautious calculation. One was… a tall man. He wore his long, black hair in a ponytail, two wispy strands escaping it to frame a face that looked even more delicate than the woman’s.

“Who are you?” he asked as he struggled to his feet.

“Karin,” the woman with the rabbit mask replied.

“Aki,” the man said.

“Wait, that can’t be right.”

Aki rolled his eyes. “Of course not. Just as untrue as everything else here. Come on.”

When Aki walked ahead through a backdoor of Kinkakuji, Karin grabbed Naoya’s hand and took him along with them.