Guiding ahead

I arrived at the stairs to the local shrine. Sure, there were many more in the area, but most of them were on the smaller side. This was the main one, where they also held the seasonal festivals. And, I wasn’t alone. Fujiwara stood there too. She wore a simple outfit, consisting of a long light blue skirt with a beige sweater. As she saw me approaching, she waved to me. Then, once we were closer together, greeted me.
“Good morning.”
“Good day? Isn’t it a bit late?”
“Oh, well…” I could see hints of dark rings under her eyes. ‘Did she do the same and finished all of next week’s school work in a day?’ “Let’s just say it is morning for me.” Glossing over the fact, she turned to the stairs. Walking up the first few steps, then telling me “Let’s get going.”

The ascend wasn’t hard. Sure sometimes the elderly needed help, but it wasn't anything strenuous for young students. And soon enough, we were at the top. First, as if it were a regular shrine visit, we cleansed ourselves and then prayed. I felt as if I had heard some kind of whisper during it, but wasn’t entirely sure.
Unaware as to what the proper procedure was for today’s meeting, I had copied Fujiwara until now. Then, looking around once more, I saw that there were more lights gathered than in the streets. It was to be expected. By now, I had guessed they were some kind of spirits, and surely they would increase in numbers near a shrine.
Having finished our prayers, I looked around. While doing so, my gaze met Saitou, who came out of the side building. While her shrine maiden outfit felt entirely out of place in the city, here, she was fitting in perfectly. After joining us, we exchanged greetings.

“Good morning Suzu.”
“Good day Saitou.”
“Good morning, you two. Now then, shall we get started?” She turned to face me, waiting for a reply.
“Yes.” I didn’t know what I needed to do, so for me it seemed like it was more of a test to see if I still had my will. She gave a satisfied nod, and led the way. “Is there anything I should know?”
“Just do what you think is right.” A nonchalant answer from her. I guessed, it might be because it would show what kind of person I am? Or was it simply that obvious?
Following her, I stopped at the entrance of the side building she had emerged from. ‘Was it really alright for me to enter this place? Fujiwara had entered as if it were nothing, but she was a different case. …Should I do the same?’
“Come on in. You are my guest, so its alright.” As if reading my thoughts, Saitou reassured me. Taking a deep breath, I stepped over the threshold. …And nothing happened. I didn’t know why I was expecting something to happen, I had simply stepped into a building.

Now, with some of the tension gone, I took my shoes off, and followed the two girls further along the hallway. Around a few corners, Saitou ushered us into a room. It was fairly spacious, a traditional tatami room fitting the architecture of the rest of the building. We entered from the right side. The left side was open, and gave view to an inner courtyard. There were three cushions laid in the room: One in front, and two further away.
But, the main focus was definitely the head of the room. A gigantic kamidana had been erected, if you could even still call it that at its size. And surely, it gave off a divine air. I didn’t know what a divine air exactly was, or how it really felt like. But, if I had to put the name to anything, it would be the sensation it gave off. A beautifully crafted wooden display, with golden ornaments decorating it. A large mirror was situated in the middle as its heart, prostrated on a dark blue cloth.

The relaxed atmosphere from before was gone, so I knew right now was serious business. Saitou’s straight face was a stark contrast to her previous aloof manner. Fujiwara and I took a seat on the further away cushions. Saitou didn’t take a seat. Instead, she kept standing near the entrance. Once we were properly positioned, the door closed behind her, and she gracefully walked in. I couldn’t hear a single step she took. Her eyes were glazed over, as if she was in a trance.
She stopped in front of us, then turned to the mirror. I dared to take a look to it, and light seemed to shine out of it. Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw Fujiwara bow. So, I did the same, and brought my forehead to the ground. I couldn’t see what was going on, only hear what Saitou did. And from the sound, the quiet rustling of cloth and a slight creak of wood, it was likely she had picked up the mirror.
Following this, I suddenly felt a light fall over me, enveloping my surroundings. In the beginning, it felt cold and hard, causing me to shudder. But, it passed. Then, it became warm and comforting. It made me feel at ease. At least, it felt as if someone had put their hand on my head. After this gesture, all of the previous feelings were gone. I was back in the tatami room of the shrine.

Still keeping my head down, I waited. A few seconds later, I got my signal. “You may raise your head.” It was Saitou. Her voice was filled with grace and authority, different from her normal persona. I looked up, and met her gaze. After one final nod, the formal air was gone, and she went back to normal.
“Congratulations, you have been excepted.”
“…huh…” I didn’t know what to make of it.
She walked to the door. Fujiwara rose, and went to her. I followed the example, and we all left the room. Through the hallway, we entered a different one. It was smaller, and had a table in the middle. On it were three steaming cups with tea. We all took our seats around it.
Once she was comfortable, Saitou spoke “Now we can talk.” At least I took it as comfortable, as she let her tail and ears out.

“Congratulations.” Fujiwara smiled at me. It seemed sincere.
“Thank you. But, what for?”
The shrine priestess leaned her elbow on the table, resting her head on her palm. “Essentially, the local gods have accepted you. You should have felt it.” ‘So that was the hand on my head?’
Fujiwara joined in excitedly. “Remember how I told you we need to come here for a registration. That was it.”
That peaked someone’s interest. “Really? You told him it was a registration?”
“It was the easiest way to explain it at the time.”
“Sure…”
“Then, how would you explain it?”
“…” She fell silent. “Anyway,” Recovering, Saitou cut the conversation short. “with that sorted out, you are fully part of our world. So, welcome.”
“To be honest, it was a bit anticlimactic…”
“Be happy about it. Usually, any kind of tension means there are problems. And you wouldn’t want those, right?”
“I guess you are right.” I laughed wryly.
“Sorry.” Fujiwara bowed her head seemingly out of nowhere. Once she moved up again, she had a teary eyed look. “I had kept my distance the last few days to make sure I didn’t say anything.” It passed, and she fired herself up. “But now, you can ask all the questions you like.”
‘Yes, questions.’ I had a lot to ask. As they had mentioned before, the explanation with it being a registration had been easy to understand. And it would likely be hard for me to fully understand the proper reasoning for what had happened a few minutes ago. That had one reason: a lack of knowledge. And I wanted to remedy that as quickly as possible. Humanity made its advances by gaining more knowledge. Not only that, it also provided safety. So, regarding that as the most important factor, that was where I started my questioning.

“Is there anything I absolutely have to know? Of the ‘don’t do that or you will get killed’-kind.” It seemed like a good starting point to me.
Saitou faced me, looking discomposed. “Yes. Don’t ask something stupid like that with a serious face, or I will tear you to shreds.” I withstood her stare, not breaking eye contact. In the end, she sighed. “Do you really think anyone around here would do something like that?”
I pondered for a bit before giving my answer. “No.”
“Exactly. Sure, you should try not to offend anyone, but aside from that-”
“Basically,” Fujiwara cut in. “Behave around everyone as you think would be good.”
‘Another of those ‘show you true side’ things?’ “Is that really all?”
“Yes. I have trust in you that you won’t screw up.” ‘Thanks for the encouragement, I guess.’
Saitou sensed my distress, and elaborated. “I am sure you know not to offend strangers you come across the streets. It is the same here. You do not know them, and they do not know you. Simply be kind. …Also not pissing off any local gods might be a wise choice.”

“Okay, I got it.” Then, I went over to more concrete questions. “Are there any customs I should be aware of? Is the etiquette different from humans?” Sure, they were basic questions. But, that was where I was at: the basics. Asking for more specialized or pin point questions without a general understanding of the basics was pointless. Same as building a house without a foundation, it just didn’t work.
“Just treat them the same as humans. It generally works. Otherwise, apologize for mistakes, and hope they forgive you since you are new to all of this.” ‘Such a laid back attitude.’ In my mind, I already planned to give Mori’s café another visit. She was nice, and would surely offer good advice. And I still needed to come back for another drink.
But for now, I was here, and had the opportunity to learn. “You said I shouldn’t anger the gods. What about other… kinds? Like, certain youkai or ayakashi. Is there something I ought to know?”
“Just assume that most of what you know from folklore is accurate. Not 100%, but it gets the gist. In my opinion, you would best learn about it from them themselves. Ask. And if they refuse, apologize, and drop the subject. I think you should know what is appropriate and what is not.” ‘I don’t, and that is the point of why I ask you.’
“Then, what about those lights. I guess they are spirits?”
“Yes. Mostly nature spirits. If you see a lot of them around, it means the land is at peace, and makes for good farming. If you ever find a sudden lack of them, it means danger. Even in the city, there are always a few, although very few. And if they suddenly vanish in nature, run. Whatever caused it, you are not equipped to deal with it.”
‘Well, I guess I got at least one warning sign now.’

After a spell of remaining silence, Fujiwara asked, a bit despondent. “Is there… nothing else you want to ask?”
“Well…” ‘I better explain properly what I think.’ “There are things I want to ask. Related to the past as well. But, I have learned my lesson that forcing it is a bad idea. Instead, I will take my steps forward, slowly, in this new world. And I am sure, that with time, I will be able to remember everything.” Talking about it once more made me remember a detail that Saitou had mentioned previously. “By the way, you said there wasn't anyone available who could remove the seal. Doesn’t that mean someone capable of it is around?”
“…Yes.” She avoided my gaze. “There is just one problem.”
“And that would be?”
“They refused.”
“Huh?” I took me a moment to let it set in. “They refused, just like that?” ‘Weren’t you supposed to help each-other?’
“Yes.” Frustration started to rise, but I kept it down.
‘Maybe it takes too much out of them, or there is some other practical reason they refused. I shouldn’t think badly about it without meeting them first. Meeting them!’
“…Could I meet that person? I could try to convin-”
“Best forget it.” Saitou looked uncomfortable. Then, facing me “They might tear you to shreds or burn you. Literally.” ‘What the fuck?’ “That is why I didn’t want to bring it up. Sure, almost everyone is harmless. So telling you about one of the worst encounters you might have wasn’t high on my priority list.”
While it stopped me, it didn’t stop someone else. “Suzu, could you be talking about-” She got silenced with a hand gesture. Then, after taking a quick look at me, Saitou moved next to her, and whispered something into her ear. Fujiwara got visibly dejected.
Once back on her seat, Saitou consoled me. “Sorry. I know we said we could now talk with you straight, but some things are still better left alone. I hope you can understand.”
I could. “Yes. Sorry to put on the spot like that.” The mood had noticeably gotten low.

Luckily, I could think of something to distract them. It didn't overlap with my goal of gathering information, but that could wait. At least, it had to. And I needed to learn more patience in this matter if I wanted to wait for the seal to loosen itself. “Say, is there going to be a festival next week?”
“Hm? Ah, yes. It will be held at our shrine. What about it?”
“I just happened to hear about it.” '…Saitou looked a bit younger than me. There will be a festival at this shrine. My father mentioned similar things. Too much to just be a coincidence.' “Say, do you know the name of the person that was assigned to help with it?”
“Hm? Sure. …What was it again? Something with yama. Yama…, yama…”
“Yamazaki?”
“Ah, yes. How did you know?”
“That’s my father.”
“Ah!” She let a fist drop onto her open palm. “That’s why he seemed similar to you.” Apparently, she didn’t know my name. Did she not bother learning it, or? “I would have realize if I remembered your name better.” Looks like I hit bullseye. And apparently, it was written on my face, as she soon gave an excuse. “Don't look like that. I just have a hard time remembering your last name, with Ayame always going on about ‘Minoru’.”
“Wai-! I don’t!” “Yes yes. You can save that.” Saitou cut Fujiwara’s protest short.
I regarded her for a moment. “You rarely use names at all.”
“Hmm. You might be right. I just don’t see the point of it. You are you, name or no name.” ‘I take it that might be a differing viewpoint of youkai and human.’
“Then, what do you feel comfortable with me calling you?”
“Go with Suzune. It’s what Aya uses, so it is easier for me to react to. Then I can also call you Minoru, which I actually have remembered.”
“Alright. Then once more, I hope we get along from now, Suzune.”
“You too.”

Looked like managed to get an agreement with her, moving closer. That didn’t go by unnoticed, as I felt the stare of a third person pierce in me. I turned around to face Fujiwara. It looked like black flames were bursting around her, and her eyes gleamed red. ‘…Wait a second.’ It didn’t look like it, it was actually happening!
“Ayame,” Suzune sounded annoyed. “tone it down. You are in the shrine.”
With a whoosh the flames vanished. What remained was a pouting girl. ‘I had almost forgotten she was a kitsune… Did she add illusions for dramatic effect?’ With it dispelled, her gaze was still focused on me. I wasn’t so dense as to not get the note.
“May I call you by your first name too?”
She immediately brightened up. “Yes!”

Now, all tension was gone. But, as Saitou had mentioned the shrine once more. “By the way, what shrine is this? Like, which deity is enshrined here?”
Saitou looked at me with disbelief. “Are you serious? You come here and pray, without knowing whom you are praying to? Sigh. It is Amaterasu. At least that name should tell you something.”
“Yes, it does.” ‘It would also explain why I saw that light, as she is the sun goddess after all.’
“We may not be high in rank like other, more prominent shrines, but she is still enshrined here. It might be good if you were to ask some of the locals about the other shrines in the vicinity. Today you were here on my invitation, so you had some lenience. But it will be taken as an affront if you do not know who you are praying to.”
“Which goes against what you have told me before. Don’t worry, I have learned my lesson. I will make sure to inform myself.”
“Good.” It seemed I managed to satisfy her. “Then, we will stop here for today. I do not want to cut it short and kick you out, but as you have mentioned, we have preparations to do for the festival.”
“It’s alright. Thank you for taking time out of your day and helping me in my endeavour.”
“You are welcome. But, it is part of my job, so no thanks needed. Aya, could you lead him out?”
“Yes.” We finished out tea, and left the shrine building.