[Inari Standoff]: The Point of No Return

On that hot, miserable day, every exorcist in Kyoto patrolled the streets, hiding among the civilians in their plain clothes. Everyone knew Inari was out there, that at any moment, any one of them would pop up. Taeko and Shinju were no exceptions. They were posted on the roof of a thirteen story office building, scanning the streets and alleys below with their black binoculars.

Taeko wiped her sweat-soaked palms off on her navy-blue, ripped jeans, the ends her chestnut-brown hair stuck to her neck and chest. She had tied her tan tank top at the bottom, exposing her belly-button and midriff in an attempt to cool off, but it did her little good. Despite being thirteen stories high, there wasn't much of a breeze to cool them off, either. They could almost feel the fluid in their eyes boiling from the heat, their blood steaming in their veins.

"Ugh!" Shinju groaned, slouching against the chainlink fence of the roof, her orange hair tied in a ponytail. "This is bullshit! We've been up here for a damned week and nothing's happened! I'm melting!"

"Patience, Shinju." Taeko said. "All we need now is patience."

"I've never understood how you could be so calm all the time, Taeko. If we do see her, how do you intend on explaining you've traveled hundreds of years from the past to save her ass before she just ups and kills us both?"

"I don't know. Haven't planned that far ahead."

"You...What?!" Shinju recoiled. "Taeko, you always have a plan!"

"Not always. Sometimes I get lucky. Other times, I shoot from the hip and improvise something on the spot. And sometimes, it's all just a big gamble. I've been gambling with my life since I was a little girl. It's the only thing I'm good at."

"And, uh, all of this? Is this us gambling, too? Sitting here on a roof, sizzling like bacon in a pan, panties wedged between our sweaty ass cheeks, looking for an Inari in a haystack?"

"Yep." Taeko answered.

Shinju sighed. "To think she managed to elude us for a whole six months, though. And to do it without so much as a skirmish. That blood moon back then must've been a huge help to her. Hey, Taeko, you still think someone on the inside betrayed us?"

"Huh? Oh, I don't think so. I know so. I already know who it is, too."

"Oh, okay. I was just asking." Shinju said, taking a full minute to process what Taeko just admitted. "Wait, what?!"

"I think my underwear is starting to sink into my ass, too…" Taeko groaned, shifting her underwear through her jeans.

"Taeko, who's the traitor?! If you know who it is, why didn't you say so?"

"Because if we killed them right now, we'd be sitting in a divine court, stuck in murder trials and hearings. I didn't want to waste time. We'll find Inari first and then deal with the traitor."

"So? Who is it?"

"Simple. It's..."

Both of their phones suddenly vibrated, a siren alert tone blaring at full volume. They immediately checked their phones, seeing a Category-One emergency warning on their lock screens.

"Category-One threat sighted at Kyoto International Airport. Area has been sealed." Shinju read aloud. "Threat identified as..."

"Inari Okami." Taeko finished.

Shinju and Taeko exchanged awestruck glances. Inari had finally been found. With the airport sealed, the fox goddess would have nowhere to run. This was it. This was the day they had waited so long for. This was Taeko's last objective. The roof access door suddenly flew open, startling Taeko and Shinju. Manami rushed through it, her red hair tied in a messy bun.

"Manami, did you see this?" Taeko asked.

"Yeah, I did!" Manami panted, having climbed several flights of stairs to get to the roof.

"Let's go!" Shinju urged.

"Wait!" Manami urged. "We can't go down there!

"What? Why not? We know where she is, so let's go already!" Shinju barked.

"We can't go...because Amaterasu has summoned us." Manami said.

"What? Now?" Taeko asked.

Manami nodded. "Skyline Hotel. She wants us there right now to discuss infiltration plans."

"We already know the infiltration plan. Some of our best men are going in solo or with a team no larger than three members, themselves included." Taeko hissed. "What could she possibly need to discuss?"

"Look, I don't know what she wants to talk about exactly, but we've been summoned nonetheless. Let's go, we can't keep her waiting. I can drive us there." Manami said.

Taeko and Shinju reluctantly set down their binoculars and followed Manami down the stairs and out of the office building. Manami hopped in the driver's seat of her black sedan, parallel parked on the sidewalk outside of the gray office building. Shinju decided to ride shotgun while Taeko made herself comfortable in the backseat.

"Summoning us at a hotel at a time like this..." Shinju growled. "The hell is Amaterasu's deal?"

Taeko glared into the rear view mirror, staring into Manami's eyes through the reflection. "Skyline is in the opposite direction of the airport, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it is. Why?" Manami asked.

"Just checking." Taeko said.

"Well, let's get going." Manami said.

Manami pulled out of the parking space and merged with oncoming traffic, beginning the drive to Skyline Hotel, a massive, luxury hotel and a favorite of the top brass of the Exorcist Program. Taeko had been there a few times herself throughout her career as 'Lucrezia'. Taeko crossed her arms, wondering why on earth Amaterasu would call a meeting at such a critical time. She could only surmise Amaterasu was readjusting the infiltration plan, but calling an in-person meeting right at that moment just didn't sit right with Taeko.

After twenty minutes of driving through the hustle and bustle of Downtown Kyoto, Manami pulled up in front of the hotel entrance. She parked beneath the glass canopy at the entrance, mesmerized by the tiered, stone fountain spitting out spires of water into the air. The hotel walls were white with a red carpet leading guests into the massive foyer and reception area, complete with sparkling, marble floors, vaulted ceilings, and stained glass clerestories hanging above the entrance side of the interior.

"Gotta hand it to Amaterasu, she knows a classy hotel when she sees one." Manami said. "It's mostly CEO's and hedge fund big-shots that come here."

"Let's just get this over with." Shinju said, unbuckling her seat belt.

"What floor will we be on?" Taeko asked.

"The eleventh. Amaterasu paid for the whole floor, but we'll be in the penthouse. We'll have more than enough privacy up there." Manami explained.

Both Manami and Shinju noticed that Taeko hadn't unbuckled her seat belt. She hadn't moved at all since they pulled up, and she showed no intention of leaving the car.

"I don't like this. Something's not right." Taeko said. "The penthouse on the eleventh floor faces east, in view of four other skyscrapers where some of the other exorcists are currently posted."

"What are you saying?" Shinju asked.

"I'm saying that if a sniper wanted to take out either Amaterasu or myself, booking us in that penthouse would be like giving them permission to do it." Taeko said. "Not only that, but the higher floors are large and maze-like, and they only have a few exits, aside from the elevators. In the event of an attack, we'd have no hope of getting out of there without being boxed in. This is why Amaterasu usually sticks to ground or first floor suites, but never eleventh. Especially at a time like this, the choice of venue is odd. It defies all logic."

"That's true, she's never booked a suite that high up before, and never facing the east side when it comes to Skyline." Shinju said. "What's your call? Should we go in?"

Taeko uncrossed her arms and released a heavy sigh. "I hope I'm just overthinking it. Let's go."

The three entered the hotel, letting the valet service take the car. Manami handled speaking to the reception desk and checking in. The girls were handed room keys and directed to the elevators. They quickly marched through the dining area and lounge, Shinju stopping for a moment to appreciate the myriad of crystal chandeliers and skillful playing of the jazz pianist across the room.

"Hot damn, this place is amazing! We gotta eat here! It's on Amaterasu's bill, right?" Shinju asked.

"Cut it out, Shinju. We're here on business." Manami scolded.

Shinju puffed her cheeks and crossed her arms. "Fine..."

Taeko called the elevator and pressed the button for the eleventh floor, the doors closing in front of them. The buttons on the blood glowed in sequence as the elevator passed the first, second, and third floors, then kept climbing.

"Still feeling off about this place, Taeko?" Shinju asked.

"I'm not sure. I guess we'll just take another gamble." Taeko said.

The elevator opened at the eleventh floor. Manami led the way to the penthouse through the quiet hallway. They stopped before the white, double door entrance of the penthouse and scanned the room key, unlocking it. Manami let everyone in first, then closed the door behind them.

Shinju's breath was taken away by the sheer amount of marble sheen and gold trim decorating the floor. The long, glass door ahead of them allowed light to pour into the suite, and offered a fantastic view of the city below. The suite came complete with mounted, flat screen televisions, a fireplace, and tan loveseats.

"No one else is here." Taeko said.

"The whole floor was quiet, no?" Shinju asked.

"Yeah, I noticed, too." Taeko answered.

Manami peered out of the glass door, spying the skyscrapers Taeko mentioned earlier. "She called us here for an urgent meeting, but she's not even here yet?"

Taeko sighed, taking the pencils out of the drawer next to one of the loveseats. "We'll at least do her the courtesy of waiting. Besides, Shinju and I need to take a shower."

"Got it. I'll keep watch and let you know if anyone shows up." Manami said.

Shinju and Taeko closed the bathroom doors behind them. The marble floors and granite countertops were sparkling and spot-free. The bathroom was fitted with a large, stand-in shower with a bathtub inside of it, a glass door partitioning them from the triple sink. Shinju went ahead and got the shower running as Taeko slowly undressed herself and tossed her sweaty clothes aside. She stood naked in front of the mirror, staring at her reflection.

"You can't shower with those bandages on, Taeko." Shinju said.

Taeko nodded. "I know."

Taeko undid the bandages around her arm, leg, and head. They fell to the floor, unveiling the grey discoloration in her limbs and around her right eye, scarring from when she nearly transformed into a Mu-Onna during the Warring States era. They served as permanent reminders of her lost daughter, and of Bishamon's attempt to kill her.

"Taeko?" Shinju called out, worried.

"Do you think Osamu's okay?" Taeko asked. "You said he hasn't been the same since...you know."

"I don't know. I kept asking if I could do anything for him, but he didn't want to speak to either of us."

"I wouldn't be surprised if he hated us."

"I tried ending it for her the best way I could. I used a Paradise Dagger. It's supposed to help the target visualize their happiest dream. For Rousoku, that dream was going home and being accepted by her parents."

Shinju closed the shower door and approached Taeko, slowly embracing her from behind. "I know how much you care about the guy. I wanna help him too. But it wasn't our fault how things turned out. It wasn't really anyone's fault."

"Other than Inari's." Taeko hissed.

"You haven't seen her in ages, Taeko. A lot can change in four-hundred years. You were taken to the future, but Inari had to live through it. What if she's not the person you used to know?"

"That's...just another gamble." Taeko said. "Shinju, I'm sorry. If you want to back out of this, I won't blame you."

"Come on, what are you talking about? We've come this far together. I'm not leaving you now." Shinju said.

"Shinju...we're about to cross the point of no return." Taeko said. "We were supposed to get the jump on Inari, just like how we got the jump on finding Kagutsuchi. We couldn't do that, though. Not only that, but Amaterasu herself is involved in this operation. We'll be at odds with her as soon as we try to rescue Inari instead of killing her. There's no telling how this will all turn out."

"Yet another gamble, huh?" Shinju tittered. "Is that why you're so on edge?"

Taeko nodded. "Yeah. There's two things wrong right now. It's not just this hotel."

"What's the other thing?"

"We haven't heard from Cyanide since the Cat-One alert went live. And he wasn't invited to this meeting."

Shinju recoiled, realizing how odd it was that Cyanide wouldn't be invited despite being on the same team as her. "Holy shit...Taeko, you don't think..."

"Keep the shower running, Shinju. That traitor I told you about? She's right outside."

"It was Manami?!" Shinju gasped.

"She didn't even ask where Cyanide was when she spoke to us on the roof. She didn't mention him at all. And she's been awfully quiet since we pulled up outside of this hotel. The first thing she did when she walked in was go to the glass door. The exorcists posted across from us should have a good view of this penthouse. She could've very well have been signaling to them that we were here."

"What do we do? If you knew it was a trap, why did you walk in?"

"We would've been far more exposed outside than in. At least in here, there's cover. I've been to this hotel a few times already, too. I know where the exits are. Manami, on the other hand, has been searching for Inari for years at a time. She hasn't been here in decades."

Taeko turned the hot water knobs on all three of the faucets, filling the bathroom with even more steam. "Shinju, take our clothes and tie us a rope. We'll use the window to escape. We'll have to do it naked, I'm afraid."

"The steam will hide us, right?"

"That's not what it's for." Taeko said, taking the pencils out of her jean pockets. "We should have just enough graphite here to make this work."

It had been a full thirty minutes since Shinju and Taeko went in the bathroom. Manami had spent all that time waiting, but soon began to worry. She slowly approached the bathroom door, hearing the shower and all faucets running. She knocked and called out to them, but received no answer.

"Damn it!" Manami cursed, twisting the door knob.

To her surprise, the bathroom door was unlocked. She fell into the bathroom as she twisted the knob and pushed forward, hardly able to see a thing through all the steam. She suddenly heard a snap in the door hinges. Taeko had taken the graphite from the pencils and stuck them into the metal hinges. The kanji for 'fire' was written beside the hinges, superheating the graphite in their grasp.

Manami then noticed the cracked open window, a trail of clothes leading outside of it. Shinju and Taeko repelled down to the window of the suite two floors below them, stark naked and dangling ten stories away from certain death.

"Here! We'll smash through the window, Shinju!"

"Got it!" Shinju said, making finger gun and blasting through it with concussive air.

They used their momentum to swing through the broken, glass frame and land safely into the suite below. Thankfully, the suite was empty, so no one had to see the two women naked. It would've been far too difficult to explain what was happening to any befuddled civilians.

The superheated graphite upstairs reacted with the steam flooding the bathroom, filling the room with hydrogen. The sparks and molten heat of the graphite then set fire to the hydrogen, causing a massive explosion that rocked the entire hotel and tore apart the penthouse with Manami still inside.

"Oh my god, Taeko!" Shinju gasped.

Taeko marched into the bathroom of the empty suite, grabbing the complimentary bath robes and towels. She tossed a pair of them at Shinju and saved a pair for herself.

"Dress yourself and cover your hair in that towel. We've got a few minutes before the police and fire department rush through this building." Taeko ordered.

Just as she said that, the fire alarms throughout the entire hotel went off, the dissonant sound stabbing into their eardrums. Even from inside the suite, they could hear the doors to other rooms fly open and close shut as people fled into the hallways towards the exits. Taeko always said she gambled with her life, but Shinju couldn't help but be taken aback by just how quick-minded she was. If this was a gamble, Taeko was making it look like escaping death was her destiny.

Taeko put on her robe and covered her hair with the towel. "We'll blend in with everyone during the chaos and slip away from this hotel. The snipers across from us won't be able to pick us out from the crowd. Let's go.”