The illusion she followed

It's been days since the last yōkai. Yukari is getting impatient. They've been traveling, hoping for a pull, a disturbance, anything that leads to the next one. Hayato notices it first. Not a glaring sign, a feeling, something felt off. The stones under their feet were worn smooth through decades of travels, moss creeping through the crack, but the road curves wrong, the path seems to almost curl inward, uneven. 

Yukari walks ahead of him. Barefoot despite the chill, her tails swaying freely with no witnesses on the too quiet route. "Stop," Hayato says. She pauses, looking over her shoulder with a calm expression, like she knew he would talk. Soft dew shimmers on her lashes her eyes reflecting the gentle glow of his lantern. "What is it?" she asks. "This road... It wasn't here yesterday." She tilts her head slightly, almost amused. "Roads move all the time in the human realm." "They don't," he replies flatly. She smiles anyway. A soft smile, just enough to ease the tension. Hayato feels it before he can stop it, the warmth seeping in through him. "Then don't follow me." He should've stopped her, but instead he follows.

The trees grow denser around them, the branches overhead fuller until the sky almost seems to fracture into slithers of purple and silver through the branches. The air smells too sweet. Hayato instinctively reaches for a talisman on his belt, lifting it for a reaction, but there is none. He frown as Yukari hums something as she walks. A soft and unfamiliar sound that makes his skin prickle. He shakes off the feeling and quickens his pace. "You're certain this is the right direction?" She doesn't look back this time. "The pull is stronger here." "Your instincts are compromised. You're missing..." "Seven tails," she interrupts. "I know." He falls silent, jaw tightening. 

They walk over a small hill and the forest seems to end too quickly, opening to a small village. Wooden houses line the streets, paper lanterns glowing softly despite the early hour, chimney smoke curls in the air, the laughter of children rings out as they play, a woman kneels by a well and an old man passes them with a basket of persimmons. "Impossible." Yukari slows her steps, curious. "You see it too." "This village was abandoned. Decades ago. The people disappeared." Yukari steps into the street. Nothing reacts to her. No curiosity, no startled cries, no fear. A child runs past her, nearly colliding with her legs. Hayato grabs her wrist. She startles, not violently, but he feels the slight quickening of her pulse under his fingers. "This is an illusion," he states. "A complex one."

She looks down at his hand, turning her wrist slowly until his grip loosens. "I know." he releases her abruptly when the Tanuki reveals himself. The sky darkens too quickly. Colours bleed into each other like wet ink, villagers freeze in place, laughter turns to silence, lanterns go out abruptly, roads warp, walls stretch, roofs fold in on themselves like broken wings. in the centre of the chaos stands a man. He wears a monk robe that hangs loosely, stained with sake and dirt, a toothy grin on his face. "Well," the Tanuki says, "took you long enough." Yukari stiffens. Hayato steps forward, talisman already in hand. "Return what you've stolen and dispel this illusion." The tanuki laughs, bright, almost cheerful. "Straight to business? No appreciation for my craft?" He motions at the village. "This village took forever to perfect." "You're bleeding power into the barrier," Hayato warns. "You'll tear it open." "Maybe," th Tanuki shrugs. "Maybe I'll just enjoy it until it collapses." His eyes shift to Yukari. "Ah. There she is," he grins. "The fox without her tails." Yukari stares at him. "You have something of mine." "Do I?" His grin widens. "I found this little thing drifting through the cracks. Thought it was a gift." 

He snaps his fingers and the illusion bursts into motion. Dozens of villagers lunging, faces distorted, mouths open too wide as they attack. Hayato moves quickly, talismans firing rapidly, carving through phantom flesh and bones. "Stay back," he shouts, but Yukari is already moving. She darts sideways, ducking beneath illusions, her movements too precise, moving through gaps that shouldn't be there. Hayato notices it as he fights. "Yukari!" he shouts. "I can see through them," she shouts back. "Not fully, but enough." She vaults over a cart, landing on a feet as a blade whips past her throat. Her breaths come fast, but her eyes are focused.

The tanuki watches, perched on a rooftop, tail flicking lazily. "Clever little fox," he muses. "Even broken you're challenging." Hayato slams a barrier seal onto the ground, light flaring in an arc, illusions dissipating into laughter and smoke. "Enough games," the Tanuki snarls and the world breaks. The ground falls away under Yukari. Hayato moves without  thinking. Lunging forward and gripping her wrist. The illusion falls away to reveal a dark void beneath them. She clings to his wrist. For a moment, she looks afraid. The Tanuki attacks. Illusions solidify into weapons, crashing into Hayato's seal with force. He grits his teeth, muscles screaming as he tries to hold the seal and Yukari. "Yukari! find the tail!" "I know where it is!" She twists, using his grip as leverage to launch herself upwards into the illusion. Hayato slams down another talisman to shatter the illusion around him and follows.

The Tanuki's laughter echoes through the illusion. "You can't catch me, fox." She lands on a distorted roof with a thud, pain shooting through her legs. Before she can even gasp, the Tanuki appears in front of her, holding the tail between his fingers. "Looking for this?" Rage flares inside her and she lunges. The Tanuki dodges easily. "Still think you can fight without your power?" She doesn't answer. She feels for the pull to her tail and follows it instinctively. She follows his steps until she steps where he would instead of where he was. Her hand grasps the tail. The illusion shatters. The light flows through her, the world coming into focus. the Tanuki's fear, the tremble in his stance. Her tail unfurls behind her. Hayato arrives just in time to see the flash in her eyes as the illusion collapses in on itself. His blade moves almost faster than him, sigils glowing as he stabs into into the Tanuki's chest.

Silence falls as Yukari drops to her knees. "Another tail," Hayato says, stepping forward. "Illusion." her breath is slightly ragged. "Always good for hiding thing." Hayato looks down at her. "You moved through his illusions like you've done it before." She smiles. "I've lived a long time." He doesn't smile back. He reaches out his hand, hesitating a moment before offering it to her. As she takes it, he doesn't notice how quickly his pulse relaxes under her touch, and she doesn't comment on how easy it had been to guide him into trusting her.