Kyoto

While Makio was talking to the foxes, Yoshio was flying to Kyoto. He had a bit of morning sun to enjoy with a cup of green tea to brace himself before flying to see the old librarian. He wasn’t thrilled about visiting the old librarian, but the memory of Sora’s face while recounting her childhood—and the mention of "the creep"—gave him enough motivation.

From the roof of the temple he took off, his thoughts swirling around the fox and whether Makio would be able to find them. The foxes did have exceptional noses, however, they might have never seen or encountered this specific fox. If so, it would be a dead end. He also hoped that the Internet would be helpful enough to locate the creep. For now, there were several leads, they just needed some additional push to follow through.

Hours later, Kyoto appeared on the horizon, signaling the moment Yoshio could teleport directly to the library, with no need to maneuver inside the city. Still, he loved Kyoto and would choose to spend some time walking around, if he had some time to spare. He stopped near some greenery, taking a breath. In a second he was no longer seen.

The library was an old, hidden institution, mostly visited by archival staff, far from the buzz of students. Yoshio, was a former history professor and had visited this library a great deal before. Thus, he knew his way around and was well-informed about the working hours of the librarian. He did not doubt that the hours would not have changed in the past one hundred years.

However, at the moment the old librarian was not behind the counter, which meant there would be some need for further search. Yoshio rolled his eyes in annoyance - now he had to look for this yokai. He started with the main hall, looking through the dark wooden shelves one by one. Then he went to the second floor, doing the same routine. Growing increasingly irritated, he glanced back down at the counter and finally spotted that smug umbrella yokai.

"That old useless kasa-bake!" he muttered.

Yoshio teleported in front of the counter. The old yokai lifted his gaze lazily and, with a sly smile, said, “You really shouldn’t do that. Too much teleporting, and one day you'll end up in a lab—some crazy scientist’s prized specimen.”

“Spare me,” Yoshio waved him off impatiently. “I’m aware of all the cameras.”

“Ah, of course, why would I doubt the wisdom of a seasoned warrior?” The umbrella spirit’s voice oozed sarcasm. He had the appearance of an elderly man, his exact age ambiguous. A long grey fringe covered one side of his face, obscuring whether or not he had an eye there. His square glasses held the hair in place, making it even harder to tell. He was wearing an elegant suit like a butler would, which seemed a bit big for him. This umbrella spirit had cultivated enough power over the centuries to become human. He lived long before Yoshio, it seemed, thus, he knew a lot. He knew all the things that were happening back then, no exceptions. His memory was that profound. Thus, despite him being sarcastic and annoying, he could be of great help. If you had a suitable payment that is.

Yoshio's face changed expression, and he put an ancient scroll on the table. Upon seeing it, the old man's eyes lit up, he wanted to take it, however, Yoshio did not give him a chance, taking it back in his hands. Looking seriously he said,

Yoshio’s face turned serious as he produced an ancient scroll, placing it on the counter. The yokai's eyes widened, lighting up with greed. But before he could snatch it, Yoshio pulled it back.

“I need information,” Yoshio said, his voice sharp.

The old man’s gaze was still glued to the scroll. “Of course! Ask whatever you want. I didn’t think such treasures still existed in this world!”

“Tell me everything you know about strange auras. Specifically, pink ones.”

The librarian’s expression shifted, his eyes narrowing in suspicion. “Why do you ask?”

“When did you start asking questions?” Yoshio shot back, his patience wearing thin.

The old yokai studied him for a moment before saying, “Tell me why you need to know, and I’ll share what I can.”

Yoshio felt a growing sense of unease. The librarian definitely knew something. His patience evaporating, he snapped, “You’ve never cared why I asked for information before. What are you hiding?”

"Ha-ha, " he seemed nervous, his eyes running around, "well, if you don't want to tell me, then there is a reason for that, ha-ha, I do know of a few people who had pink auras, as you call it, but… they’ve been gone for centuries."

"So, who were they, why have I never seen it?" Yoshio started to get impatient with these ambiguous answers.

"I mean I see you have brought the treasure today, yes. But for this information, it is not enough, I think."

He looked like a person who was perfectly suited for some slaps in the face, Yoshio thought. The umbrella continued, noticing how the murdering aura around Yoshio was rising.

"Anyway, I can tell you what you want to know about different auras, this one lady has been dead for hundreds of years now anyway. Ha-ha, you know, I am doubtful it's her again anyway..."

Yoshio slammed his fist on the counter, making the librarian jump. “I didn’t mention a woman. What are you hiding, you ancient piece of junk?”

“M-Mister Warrior! There’s no need for violence!” the yokai stammered. “I wasn’t the one who decided who gets to know these things! But I can show you the books. Follow me.”

Yoshio, still frowning, replied, "Then lead me there already!"

"Will I receive the treasure now?" the librarian looked at him, hands outstretched for the scroll. Yoshio sneered, turning away.

“Not until I hear or see something useful. Try to cheat me, and I’ll beat the crap out of you.”

“Ha-ha,” the umbrella spirit wiped the sweat from his brow. “Right this way, please.”

They walked in silence a bit, then Yoshio stopped and looked at the guy.

"Why are you always calling me a warrior, I have not fought in any battles for so long. And I do not think I ever was worthy of the title anyway..."

The old man looked behind him, observing Yoshio, hesitating about something.

"Pardon my manners, I have always called you that, and since you have never corrected me, I assumed you were fine with that. I might call you something else next time you come, warri-.. em" he paused, not knowing how to call Yoshio.

"Okay, whatever, I don't care, please come up with something next time, I do not want to hear this in reference to me. It makes me uncomfortable."

They walked past the hall, to the other side of the library where the stairs for the staff were. Old yokai pushed the door, indicating that they were going to the basement, where some older books were. Yoshio followed silently, analyzing their recent conversation and the umbrella's ambiguous answers. As they entered the room, the warm light lit up automatically. There were, in fact, several rooms separated by glass in this archival space. The old man gestured for him to follow, and they passed several rooms, filled with various historical books. As they approached the darker side of the basement, the yokai pushed the glass door, to one of the poorer lit-up rooms. The air grew mustier with each step, and the smell of old paper and dust immediately hit Yoshio's nose. Without a word the librarian went to one side of the room, looking for a specific piece. He put on white gloves, and took the other pair out of his pocket, giving it to Yoshio. He then continued looking intensely at some stacks of scrolls and books, finally taking out several of them. With great care, he began pulling out scrolls and ancient texts, placing them on the table, conveniently situated in the middle of the room, and lit up a lamp. Finally breaking the silence, he opened the book with care.

"I know you are careful, and I do not have to emphasize the importance of history preservation to you, Professor," a hint of sarcasm returning to his voice, "however, I have to say that you be extra careful with these. Please take a look yourself, I believe that what you want is described there."

"Pff, so you remember now I was a professor, do you?" Yoshio rolled his eyes. "I know of the rules, now let me be." He gestured for the other to move.

"I will then just stand here, please take your time, I have absolutely nothing else to do." The useless umbrella was again back to his normal sarcastic self, Yoshio ignored it though, looking at the book.

The book describes some historical events. He looked through several pages when he saw something of importance, specifically a mention of a family, where in each generation the eldest daughter had a "gift", an incredible source of power, that could be seen outside of their body. According to the legend, to be the husband of such a woman meant to possess the power, and to possess the power meant you could be living a longer, healthier life, full of possibilities, good luck, and well, power. Thus all the daughters were highly sought out by various bachelors (and other men). Usually, the men who would end up as husbands were high nobility, and several Emperors went out of their way to get the eldest daughter. However, it seemed that the family managed to evade the Emperor's concubine destiny somehow, even several times. It was unclear though how (and if) they remained alive after that, although the details were murky. When he finished reading, he took the other book. It was similar in tone, however, and also lacked information regarding what was their surname and what had happened. He thought if this was the power he thought was her aura, then it seemed that either the family managed to survive and Sora was their descendant. Or in case they didn't, she might be a reincarnation of one of these daughters? This was something he could work with. He closed the book with care, turning towards the old man.

"Hey, junk, tell me more. You clearly know something."

"Professor, of course, I don't!" he waved his hands, taking a step back, "I would have told you, if I did, you know that, ha-ha."

Yoshio did not believe that, stepping forward, looking threatening.

"I told you not to play guessing games with me, I do not care that you are old. I can beat you up if you continue with the charade."

"Professor, I am sure you learned all the same information from the books, as I know." His eyes were running around the room, sweat falling from his temples.

"Cut the crap, " he took another step forward pressing onto the librarian, "I know you know more. Tell me now, I am warning you for the last time. What was their surname?"

"Okay, okay, I will tell you, do not beat me!! But I do not remember their surname unfortunately, it has been a long time, you know, and at that time I was still an umbrella, so I was basically listening more than participating. But I can tell you of the one that declined the Emperor, and stayed alive after that!"

Yoshio took a step back, tilting his head, "continue. And do not miss anything!"

"Of course, I got it! I will not! There was indeed this family, and for many years they tried to hide their powers, however, inevitably the husbands would become prosperous and rich, making them noticeable in the capital. And during this time, the rumor got out that the daughters of this family had this special power that would bring luck and prosperity to the one, who would marry them. People thought it was a lie, however, after several generations, they seemed to notice, that the husband of the older daughter would always prosper, be lucky, and be successful, no matter where he started before he met her. And strangely, the wife would always have a daughter as a first child.

The rumors started spreading around, and finally, at this specific point in time, somewhere in the Emperor Kōnin period or something, the oldest daughter of the family reached fifteen years old. The father was set to protect her and tried to tell every person who came with a proposal to their door that he would not let her leave the house so early in her life, leaving everyone confused, and bitter, as she was of age. Men were furious, complaining left and right. The news spread all around and reached the Emperor.

The daughter was smart and did not show herself around too much, however, it did not help, as soon enough the convoy from the old Emperor came in, asking the family to accept the proposition for her to become a concubine for him. The father refused, saying she was already engaged to someone, and it could not have been broken off. As the Emperor from that time was old and conservative, he had to respect the traditions, thus he did not insist and did not get mad, letting it go. However, he told his son, that he needed to get that girl's daughter as his wife, no matter what. The son was the father's child, listening to all his advice. And the old Emperor let the family know that he sought their future daughter to be his son's wife. It was a bit of a trade, everyone understood - the older daughter was now free to marry whoever she wanted only because the old Emperor allowed it. However, in the future, they had to give her daughter away for the Emperor's son. The family wanted everyone to live, so they had to agree.

The older daughter then indeed married someone she chose herself - a young scholar, with whom they fell in love at first sight. She was smart, as I said, and she soon left the capital, to live far away with her husband, under the pretense that she was ill, and needed fresh air and nature around her. They were spreading information that she was deeply ill and unable to bear a child. She kept it secret that her daughter was born soon after they left. She kept that daughter hidden, deep inside their home, no one knew about her for fifteen years, and even the emperor's spies never noticed her. However, the daughter was mischievous and sought adventures. Thus, when she was a teenager she started to leave their house to the forest. The mother was terrified that she would be found out there, and kidnapped.

The young Emperor had taken the throne by that point, wanting to obtain that woman with special success powers. And soon one of the best warriors was sent to spy on the family and to see if there was a daughter in the household. The warrior, khm, " he paused here looking intensively at Yoshio. He, on the other hand, did not understand the pause, encouraged him to continue with the story by waving his hand. The old man complied, "Yes, yes, stop rushing this! What happened is that the warrior fell in love, when he saw her, not knowing it was the Emperor's future wife he was supposed to find. And then they ran away, making the Emperor mad, and then they were killed out of wrath. End of story."

"Wait, old man, that was way too fast of an ending compared to the beginning. Are you still hiding something important?" Yoshio looked with suspicion, while the librarian looked exhausted, he had no intention to tell him anything more.

"No, no, I mean I told you all the important events, what are you talking about? I have told you that I was not as mobile and as capable as I am today. I was not present in there to witness it all anyway. Also, would you think the Emperor would want to save these types of embarrassing events in history anyway? You will never be able to find anything else about this story in the books."

"Sure, old man, sure." He was still hesitating, however, he knew that this time he would not be able to learn more. "Do you maybe at least know about what this weird power entails? Why was it like this and why does it work only with the husband?"

"Oh, that I can not be sure. It seemed to be a mystery for the family too. I do not think they talked about the origins too much."

"Okay. Here is the scroll, "Yoshio tossed it to the librarian, making him jump nervously, trying to catch it in the most gentle way possible.

"Hey, what are you doing throwing it like this, this is the treasure!"

Yoshio was nowhere to be seen though. Old man took his glasses off, touched his sweaty forehead, and thought That was close. I barely managed to get out of this conversation this time. Hope he never comes back.