A Stout Soul

TO PAINT A CLEARER PICTURE FOR AKARI, Ryuuji started with how he and Hotaru first met. That was the easiest part of their story; they were childhood friends.

Ryuuji’s parents worked for the Institute of Divine Phenomena, or the IDP, as middle-level researchers, and they owned an apartment close to its headquarters in Mitaka. Hotaru’s family, as it turned out, lived just across the street from them.

As fate would have it, Hotaru was born with a natural gift for Kotodama, and it was an immensely powerful one at that. She was hailed as a prodigy from a young age, and she was practically raised in the IDP as a result.

She and Ryuuji would often play together in a nearby park, and even though they studied separately, they became good friends over the years. When the time came to enter middle school, Hotaru gained permission to study at the same school as Ryuuji, and they became classmates for the first time.

Alas, due to an experiment gone wrong, a yōkai outbreak occurred in the IDP and their neighborhood was affected during the incident. Ryuuji and Hotaru were on their way home when a mob of yōkai attacked them, and if not for Hotaru’s intervention, they would have surely died that day.

In the end, Hotaru held off the monsters long enough for the Arcane Containment Unit to arrive, and their lives were saved by an officer called Hino Katsuro. Katsuro became Ryuuji’s role model after the event, and he vowed to join the military to serve with him when he came of age.

Later throughout high school, Ryuuji developed romantic feelings for Hotaru, and he confessed to her shortly after their graduation. Hotaru accepted his feelings, and they formally became a couple.

Ryuuji then enlisted into the military, fulfilling the promise he had made, while Hotaru picked up a job in the Institute of Divine Phenomena. It was two years after this that Akari and Ren were also caught in a yōkai attack, and Ryuuji came to their rescue.

History repeated itself, and Ryuuji became a role model for the young siblings the same way Katsuro had done for him during his youth.

But two more years after that, the New Year’s Miasma Incident occurred. The event turned out to be the worst spiritual contamination disaster in recent history, and would have ended in unspeakable tragedy if Hotaru didn’t sacrifice herself.

“I had no idea…” said Akari, tears falling from her eyes.

“That’s why I abandoned my unit.”

Ryuuji had never told her the full story before, partly because he loathed the memory of it, but also due to the shame it brought him.

“But why did they imprison you?” Akari asked with anguish in her voice. “Weren’t you the one who convinced Hotaru-san to stand down?”

“There were no witnesses to corroborate my account.”

“That, and the Red Thread lobbied against you,” Hotaru added.

“What do you mean?” asked Akari, genuinely confused.

Ryuuji turned to Hotaru for a moment, waiting for her nod of approval. Once it was given, he broke the news to her.

“After Hotaru escaped with Reigetsu, the dragon spent two years purifying her in an isolated shrine. There, while she struggled to recover her humanity, he revealed to her the truth behind the miasma.”

He paused for a moment, searching for the right words.

“It wasn’t a natural disaster, Akari. The miasma was man-made, as have been many of the contamination incidents over the past few decades… And the people responsible for this are the upper brass of the Red Thread.”

Akari felt dizzy from the revelation.

“H- Hold on. You mean the same Red Thread from our Soul Lanterns?”

“The one and only. I never questioned what they did with the corruption we harvested for them, but as it turns out, they are weaponizing it.”

“It’s worse than that,” Hotaru chimed in. “I haven’t found hard evidence yet, but Reigetsu and I have reason to believe the Red Thread’s leadership are secretly Oni.”

“That can’t be!” said Akari. “The Bureau of Harmony has oversight on them. Heck, there’s also the military, the ATC, the IDP… everyone has contact with the Red Thread!”

“And that’s why everyone is compromised,” Hotaru hammered down. “Have you ever heard about the Broken Boundary Theory?”

“The Broken Boundary? Well yeah, they teach it at school. It says that spiritual contamination is proportional to industrial growth, due to our separation from the natural order.”

“She was a straight A student,” Ryuuji pointed out.

“And what are the arguments against it?” Hotaru asked.

“Arguments?” Akari tilted her head. “Um… none than I am aware of. The theory has been widely documented, and it’s accepted to be true.”

“It is true, but at the same time it’s not,” Hotaru argued. “You see, the amount of spiritual contamination generated in Japan is way higher than anywhere else. And sure, our land is inhabited by Kami, but our industrial development isn’t that different from other advanced economies.”

Akari scratched her chin, digesting the information.

“What I’m trying to say is there’s a massive discrepancy between the corruption we should generate, versus the corruption we actually make. I’m talking about a factor of ten, if not more. That difference is man-made, and the people behind it are from the Red Thread.”

“But why would they do that?”

“I don’t know. They use cursed energy to power much of their technology, but they’re harvesting way more than they’re using for that.”

“And no one else is aware of this?”

“Most power brokers in Japan have been infiltrated. The only ones who are clean are the Divine Veil, but they’re badly losing the influence war. They’ve already accused the Red Thread of conspiracy, but couldn’t beat them in court. That’s why I’m out in the field, gathering evidence for them.”

“Wait, are you part of their group?”

“Not officially, but I do have friends there. We’ve helped each other a lot.”

“Let’s talk about your current objective,” Ryuuji chimed in.

“Right. You see, Reigetsu and I believe the Red Thread will launch another mass contamination event soon. Very soon.”

Akari broke in cold sweat at her words, her brow furrowed.

“Do you have any evidence of this?”

“Yes. Let me show you,” Hotaru replied, before reaching out for her laptop and turning it on. “Check these documents. It’s a report on the natural flow of cursed energy over the past months. How do they look to you?”

Akari studied the files presented to her, her face turning pale.

“It’s flowing into Tokyo from all around,” she concluded. “The concentration is waxing and waning, but the spikes get higher each time.”

“Right?” said Hotaru. “It’s currently at the level where it won’t trigger a contingency, but if a third party were to suddenly inject a massive amount of cursed energy into a concentration spike…”

“It would cascade into a mass contamination event…”

“Exactly. And based on this pattern, when is the next spike likely to happen?”

“One week from now, during the Obon Festival,” said Akari, her hands trembling as she held the computer.

“We couldn’t have a worse timing. The spirits of the dead cross to our side during Obon, and although the festival is meant to honor and appease them, many souls still carry the grievances and regrets they had in life.”

“And if someone were to hijack this…”

“We could see a disaster as severe as the miasma incident,” Ryuuji warned. “That’s why I’m joining forces with Hotaru. If the Red Thread, or anyone else is trying to leave the city in ruins, I’ll fight with her to stop them.”

The group fell into silence, the severity of the situation weighing down on them.

Eventually, Ryuuji broke the ice.

“Akari. I wish I could shield you from this. By the Gods, I swear I do. But because you and I are associates and I’ve thrown my lot to Hotaru’s side, I fear I’ve turned you into a target for her enemies.”

Even if she tried to remain neutral, her boss so happened to have joined forces with the Wandering Songstress — a dreaded and infamous terrorist with a massive bounty on her head.

In no world would the Bureau of Harmony leave her be. At minimum she would be interrogated, but the Red Thread could very well take her hostage.

Ryuuji hated himself for it, but through his one-sided actions, he had dragged Akari neck-deep into his mess.

“So there’s no going back, huh…” she muttered. She’d already committed a crime by destroying her tracking chip, but her association with Ryuuji and Hotaru had turned that into a casual walk in the park.

“I’m so sorry, Akari,” said Hotaru, clasping her own arm. “I know this is little consolation, but I can get the Divine Veil to protect you while everything is resolved. There will be some inconveniences, but I promise you’ll be safe.”

Akari turned her eyes up to Hotaru and Ryuuji. Then, she sighed.

“You guys…” she closed her eyes and pressed her fist to her forehead. “Do you seriously have so little faith in me?”

Ryuuji grimaced uncomfortably at her words.

“After everything you’ve told me, do you actually expect me to sit it out? Do you think I’ll stay hidden in some temple, praying for you?”

That was the plan, Ryuuji thought. But seeing the look on Akari’s face, he couldn’t bring himself to actually say it.

“Of course not! Hell no! If you guys are fighting, I’m in. I might not be as strong as you, but I refuse to let you take on everything alone. So I’m sticking with you, whether you want me or not.”

She didn’t leave room for rebuttal, and Ryuuji knew trying to dissuade her would be a lost cause. The girl didn’t budge an inch when she demanded him to accept her as his apprentice, and this time around, she dug her heels in even deeper.

“Oh love, you remind me of someone,” said Hotaru, looking at her tenderly.

“Shut up,” Ryuuji hushed her, before turning to his junior. “Akari, it will be dangerous. Far, far more dangerous than anything you’ve ever faced. We’re up against the government, on top of the Red Thread. I can’t guarantee you’ll make it out alive.”

“Then I’ll make sure you remember me fondly. But if your idea is to cut me off, then that’s out of the question. I’m not taking it.”

“You really, really remind me of someone~”

“God damn it, how did it come to this…” Ryuuji lamented. But try as he may, no force in the world existed to pry his apprentice away from him.

Akari was there to stay.