Chapter 9

The car stopped right at the entrance to Naomi’s school near Komabano Park. Katsumasa glanced at her passengers. “We’re here. Anything else you need?”

Naomi shook her head. “No, Katsumasa-san. Thanks for your help.”

“It’s the least I can do for you. I’ll handle things in your absence.”

They got out of the car, opened the trunk, and collected their luggage. Once they had closed it, Katsumasa waved one last time, then after a final look he left.

Naomi watched the car leave, then turned to look at her school one last time. “I hope my students are okay while I’m away.” One last breath, then she steadied herself. “Okay. Follow me, Rionne-san.”

They walked past the school, keeping the park to their right, until they found a gate and entered it. That late in the evening it was almost empty, with just a few people walking their dogs or some youngsters hanging out. Hardly anyone paid any attention to them, owing to Rionne’s magic.

One person was waiting for them near the ponds on the western side of the park, right by an old, lonely torii archway that looked scrupulously cared for nonetheless. Unlike other places, no signs explained what this torii represented or whom it was dedicated to. “Ah, you’re here,” Sugiyama welcomed them quietly, then he gazed at his student. “You got everything, Kurono-san?”

Naomi nodded. “The most difficult things to get were the shells and the grenades, but you know I have that covered.”

The shrine keeper frowned slightly. “I still disapprove of your reliance on Mimori-san.”

“I wouldn’t have accepted these things if I didn’t need them in there, sensei. It’s very hard to get them otherwise. That he offered to help freely is not a small stroke of luck.” Naomi returned his grave look with equal seriousness. She noticed Rionne’s curious look, so she explained, “Mimori is a—let’s call him a well-connected citizen. Remember I said rescuing people who get lost in the Maze is very hard? One of those I was able to get back was his cousin.” She grimaced. “Poor bastard’s stark raving mad, a total lunatic, but at least I got him back.”

The elf understood. “So he provides assistance out of gratitude. What does he help you with?”

“You’ll see later. It’s extremely illegal to walk around in the open with this stuff. I don’t have licenses for anything.”

“Let’s hurry, then,” Sugiyama said curtly and turned around. The torii was set atop three stone steps. On the second one, the gate keeper placed two incense holders, then one incense stick on each, and lit them up. Then he knelt in the seiza position in front of the gate, closed his eyes, and waited. Naomi, who knew the ritual of passage already, bade Rionne kneel behind Sugiyama and to his left. She herself did the same but to his right.

Once both women had knelt, Sugiyama started chanting, intoning a monotonous prayer with a set of prayer beads in his hands. Once the prayer finished he rang a small bell, then repeated it. Again the bell, then again the prayer, for one last time.

Then he rang the bell three times.

And stood up. “The gate is open,” he said quietly. “Go.”

Rionne was nonplussed. Nothing had changed—not visually, at least. There was no glowing and swirling gateway, no vertical pool of water, nothing she could see, but suddenly the air around the torii felt very heavy and solemn, as if many eyes were observing them, and she dared not indulge her curiosity then.

Naomi bowed to her master. “Thanks for your help, sensei. Please keep Rumiko-san on the straight-and-narrow until I come back.”

Sugiyama regarded Naomi with concern. “She would argue you need watching more than she does. And you can thank me by coming back alive and sane.” Then, he turned towards Rionne—and bowed deeply. “I beg you to look after my student,” he requested formally. “To rescue those who do not belong in the Maze is one thing; journeying to a completely different reality is another entirely. I am sure you understand me well.”

The elf wizard returned the bow. “I promise to protect and guard her to the best of my ability. I owe her that and more.”

Both women stepped up the steps, crossed under the torii—and outright vanished.

On the other side, Rionne was completely flabbergasted. “Where did all these people come from?”

If the park in ‘real’ Tokyo had been almost empty, a veritable fair was taking place on this side, the clearing where the torii stood crowded thick with people—and they were far from ‘normal’ people. On top of typical species from Japanese folklore, Rionne saw many of the characters and creatures she had first seen at AnimeJapan, except these were not cosplay but flesh-and-bone instead.

Naomi hardly paid them any attention. “Japanese culture has more imaginary characters than probably any other in our world. Most of those here come from Rumiko-chan’s realm, which is almost next door.” She reached for a satchel hanging from her belt and pulled out a small paper bag and a little metal dish. Then she crouched and called out: “¡Gizmo! ¡Ven aquí!”

Somewhere in the crowd, a warm meow responded, and a gorgeous Ragdoll cat came running through the stalls and legs of pedestrians, to literally jump into Naomi’s arms. A few of the eclectic passersby were taken by the tender moment and stopped to watch. “There, there, handsome, I’m happy to see you too,” she smiled as the cat purred loudly and headbutted her nose softly. “Here, I brought something for you.” She put the dish on the ground, then opened the bag and poured its contents onto the dish. Gizmo wasted no time digging in. “Dried salmon,” she explained for Rionne’s benefit. “He loved it.”

Rionne thought she understood. “He passed away, didn’t he?”

“My friend Elena spread his ashes in this park, so his spirit lives on here. I feel a little guilty—she misses him terribly. At least I can get him the food he loved.”

She waited until Gizmo had finished his meal. The cat took his time, but once he was done, he looked upwards at her, meowed once, and curled himself around one of her ankles. Naomi picked him up, and Gizmo perched himself on her left shoulder, sitting on her backpack.

Rionne frowned. “Is he coming with us?”

“Part of the way. I take care of him, so he protects me.”

A blink. “What could a cat spirit protect you from?”

Gizmo meowed gently and nuzzled Naomi’s ear. She patted his head softly before answering. “Remember what Hiroshi-san said. ‘Guard your thoughts well.’” Then she looked at her. “Now it’s up to you. You know which way is your realm.”

The elf was about to say she had no idea, then a thought struck her—and she let her intuition guide her. She did a full rotation slowly, scanning the fair, then pointed down a trail thick with people. “That way.”

“Let’s get going, then.”

The trail took them out of the clearing where the fair was. The people they came across started to change: there were fewer fantastical creatures and characters, and more students—high school students. Rionne turned to look at Naomi, but her companion said nothing, her expression now serious and focused. Gizmo was also quiet, his blue eyes large and staring ahead.

When they reached the park gates, they stopped. Rionne saw the difference immediately: whereas the park entrance in the ‘real’ Tokyo was on a street that ran in both directions, here it was next to a cul-de-sac, and the street only had one exit—towards Naomi’s school. Students were streaming towards it.

“There is something I must do here,” Naomi said quietly, and approached alone a small shrine next to the entrance. Under a small roof, the pink effigy of a winged girl watched over the park gate.

And before this effigy, Naomi knelt and held her hands together. “Sweet Goddess, please bless my journey,” she prayed quietly—and with unusual fervor. “Please grant me Your strength. Gird my soul against despair. Steel my heart for the trials ahead.” On her shoulder, Gizmo let out a mournful meow.

Then she stood up. “I’m ready,” she muttered. “Let’s go.”

Rionne merely bowed her head and led the way. Naomi’s grim face told her all she needed to know.

The wails of ambulances and police cars reached them. The students they saw started running—past the school gates. Roughly a hundred meters away, there was a building under construction, which the police had cordoned off.

They walked through the throng and reached the police line. Rionne then looked upwards—and gasped: “By the Saint! Is that girl—she is going to jump!” She grasped her staff with both hands and planted her legs firmly apart—

“Don’t,” Naomi whispered, her left arm outstretched and barring Rionne’s way. “This is from my past. This is my trial.”

One of the police officers saw them and approached them. He scrutinized the exotic Rionne first. “This area is restricted, young lady. Why do you want to cross?”

Immediately the elf wizard understood this police officer was one of the Guardians of the Maze—his shape and behavior influenced by some terrible trauma from Naomi’s past. She was puzzled. How did it affect her?

“My home is in that direction,” she said simply. “I ended up on this side by mistake.”

The officer scanned her with sharp eyes. Then nodded. “Alright, I can understand that. You may pass.” Then he shifted his attention to Naomi with a frown. “And you? Your home is the other way. Why do you need to get through here?” His gaze became a cutting glare. “You’re not attached to the other side. There’s nothing for you to gain there. Why should I let you pass?”

On Naomi’s shoulder, Gizmo hissed at the police officer. She swallowed. “A mother begged me to go. I am going there to find her son.”

“That’s her concern. Not yours.” The glare was unbearable now, cutting right through Naomi. “What brought you here? What brought all of this here?”

Tears spilled down Naomi’s face. She sniffled, then reached into her backpack and pulled out an envelope that she handed to the officer. “This is my sin,” she said, and her voice broke. “I’m going there out of guilt.”

Rionne’s stared at Naomi wide-eyed with surprise.

The police officer weighed the closed envelope in his hands for a few moments, thinking. It seemed like he was going to open it, but in the end he did not.

Then his eyes met Naomi’s again. “There’s no paying back this debt. You know it.”

Naomi let out a quiet sob. “Yes, I know,” she said miserably. “But I must go anyway.”

The officer kept his relentless glare on Naomi, measuring her for an infinite number of interminable seconds.

Then he stepped aside. “You may pass,” he said. Then he added with unexpected sincerity, “I wish you the best in your journey.”

Naomi bowed to the officer. “Thank you, sir. Thanks for your kindness.”

The officer let them through the barrier, and soon the scene—with all its horror and pain—was behind them. Their path led into some urban alleyways, but the landscape before them started thinning noticeably, with fewer buildings and less modern infrastructure in sight.

At a bus stop, Naomi crouched and took Gizmo into her hands. “I’m sorry, darling, but you can’t come with me,” she whispered. The cat meowed in protest and tried to lick away some of her tears. “I know, I know,” she said. “I love you too, but you can’t come. You have to stay here. I’ll be back, okay? I promise.”

Slowly she put Gizmo on the ground. The cat looked up at her and meowed sadly. “I know,” Naomi said again, and her voice broke again. “I’ll be back. I swear.” She petted him one last time. “Please go back. I don’t want you to get lost.” Then she stood back up. “Let’s go,” she told Rionne.

But Gizmo protested louder now. As Naomi readied to continue on their journey, he stood right in her path and curled his tail around her left ankle.

The elf looked at him, then gazed at the path ahead of them. It was dreary and stormy looking, the land becoming drier, trees losing their leaves the further ahead she looked. Then she looked behind them, at the city now growing distant, and saw the road back was much greener than the path ahead.

So she knelt next to Gizmo. “Can we rest here?” The cat meowed in support.

Naomi sat tiredly on the bench. “Damn you both.” Gizmo hopped onto her lap on the spot. He meowed gratefully at Rionne, purring happily.

The elf sat next to her. She waited a while before speaking again. “I carry my share of secrets and burdens myself,” she said quietly.

Naomi closed her eyes, but did not brush her off. “My debt can’t be repaid.”

“The guardian said as much.” Rionne did not know whether to look at Naomi or not. “If it will ease you, I would like to know more about it.”

Naomi breathed deeply. “Remember what Rumiko-chan said? That we used to hate each other’s guts?”

“She mentioned as much.”

“I was an incredibly stupid, petty bitch,” she said flatly. Gizmo meowed disapprovingly. “Yes, I was,” she said at him without looking. Then to Rionne, “You wouldn’t believe it. You saw the school we walked past? Before we reached the—checkpoint?” Rionne nodded. “That was our school—is my school. I teach and organize workshops there. I try to protect my students, my kids—against the kind of people I used to be.”

The elf weighed what she heard against her curiosity. “Why did you and Ayase-san hate each other like that?”

Naomi gave Rionne a quick overview of education levels: pre-school, elementary, junior high and high school. “I was on my last year as a high schooler when one day a girl wearing horns and dragon wings appeared at the school gates.”

“Ayase?”

“Yep. Everyone was looking at her.” Naomi smiled with bitter embarrassment and looked away. “Rumiko-chan was—still is on a whole other level. I mean, it makes perfect sense, she’s a succubus. But we didn’t know back then. To us she looked like a cosplayer.”

Rionne closed her eyes. “I can see the similitude with my own experience.”

“It wasn’t really like that, but that’s beyond the point. Popularity is a big point at school and I was the popular girl of my year. The most accomplished, the most beautiful, the one everyone wanted to date. Then Rumiko-chan transferred in, and she was sexier than me.” Again the bitterly embarrassed look. Gizmo meowed and nuzzled her hand. “I couldn’t stand it. So we butted heads right from the start.”

“It seems to me like a very banal reason to become adversaries.”

“I agree,” Naomi lamented. “I agree so much. But remember I said I was a petty bitch. A petty bitch wounded in my pride. Then it got worse. She—did her thing with one of my best friends, and stepped forward to punish a fucker who tried to rape my other best friend.” She looked downwards. Gizmo looked back, and nuzzled her hand again. “I didn’t want to admit that getting the rapist had helped Rei-chan. And when I learned she had slept with Kozue-chan, I flipped out. Used a cosplay convention to put together a performance painting her as the monster she was, and she turned it right back at me.” A slow headshake. “Only then I realized I was not dealing with a human being, it was a demon I was challenging. I panicked.”

Rionne nodded seriously. “The pettiness is visible. But your panic is understandable too.”

“It doesn’t end there. Someone approached me—my gym instructor, she put me in touch with someone, a woman who was a curator in a museum. Long story short—she offered me a taste of power. I accepted it, got hooked, and asked for more. I was desperate for a way to get my friends back and get back at Rumiko-chan. But for each gift she invested me with, this woman demanded a service. So I delivered blackmail for her.”

The elf’s face darkened. “You were lured by a warlock.”

“I was. But it still wasn’t enough. I was given tools, but not the knowledge to use them. Rumiko-chan was born with those.” She let a long sigh. “So when not even magic worked, I turned to blackmail myself. I went after her friend Kotone. She was this very shy and naive girl whom even her own classmates were bullying.” She rubbed her face with both hands. “And I blackmailed her. I told her to stop seeing Rumiko-chan, or else.” Gizmo stood on her lap and meowed, then nuzzled her neck.

“And this is the girl who was about to jump…”

“You see it now? You just don’t pay back this kind of debt.”

Rionne and Naomi sat in silence for a little while. Gizmo was still standing on the latter’s lap, his azure eyes huge and round and very much focused on her.

The elf dreaded asking the question at the tip of her tongue. “What happened to Kotone?”

“Rumiko-chan rescued her. She flew to catch her after she jumped, in full view of the entire school. She didn’t care. But they both almost got killed. Rumiko-chan isn’t strong enough to hold someone aloft on a rainy day.”

Rionne bowed her head. “‘There’s demons, and there’s demons,’ she said.”

“And she’s right.” Naomi shook her head. “Lust demon or not, she turned out to be so much better than I was.”

“I find it striking that you are in such friendly terms with Ayase now.”

“When I realized what I had done, I was a mess. Didn’t know how to say how terribly sorry I was. But Rumiko-chan told me apologies were worth ‘a piece of crap on a stick.’ So I got to work. That’s when I turned my life around.” Naomi gazed at the horizon now. “I’ve spent every day since then trying to atone for what I did. That Rumiko-chan warmed up to me in spite of all the horrible shit I’ve done tells me I might have accomplished something.” Gizmo meowed in protest. She smiled at him and patted his head. “Yes, handsome, I know you care too,” she said softly. Then her smile vanished. “But whatever I did wasn’t enough. It’s not enough.”

A shaft of sunlight pierced the clouds above for a moment. A thunderbolt rumbled in the distance, then a gentle rain started falling. Gizmo chirped placidly and curled himself to sleep on Naomi’s lap.

Rionne smiled at the cat. “I promise I will never in the future disregard the care of a simple housecat.”

“Show some respect. Gizmo is not just a cat, he is my furry guardian angel.” Naomi petted him softly, then breathed deeply. “Thanks,” she said simply. “I needed this.”

Rionne reached out and did something very rare for her: she held and squeezed her wrist. “People in your realm say, ‘what are friends for?’”