Ch. 3 Kitsune.Tsuki

Ch. 3 Kitsune.Tsuki

Ch. 3

The temple was a lot larger on the inside than it looked. The walls were adorned with bullion lights that burnished the room softly with a tranquil glow. The ceiling had gold tiles that were decorated with red motif. The floor was simple - polished hardwood floorboards, rigid on the feet, easy on the eyes. Beside statues of Oinari were incense pots, holding incense sticks whose smoke fashioned designs in the soft breeze. Jin followed Oinari cautiously; unaware of what was to be expected. "Sit, please" the person said. Jin was undecided of Oinari's gender, making it even harder for Jin to trust in this stranger. Plus, Oinari wore ancient clothing - robes he had only seen in old paintings and history books. Jin crossed his legs on the floor, gazing up at this individual whom had created such pain in his chest, pointing Jin's body to this place of worship. "Don't be afraid, I won't hurt you...anymore" Oinari said. "I am the God of agriculture, of life and vegetation, of death and birth, and I need you to be my new messenger." Jin was bemused and deeply terrified, his body shook enough for Oinari to notice. "N-new messenger? Why me? What happened to your old one? What do you mean God? Am I still sleeping!? Is this all a dream or some messed up joke?!" Jin, trembling, began to stand. Oinari lifted a hand to Jin's standpoint. Another painful sensation surged through Jin's chest, and whole body. It made him cringe and scream, which lead him to plunge on his back. Oinari stood over Jin, "just so you know, I am a man." Oinari gave a hand to Jin. Jin brushed it away, heaving himself up off of the floor. "I thought you said you weren't going to hurt me.." Oinari ignore Jin. "I usually get mistaken for a woman," Oinari looked at his hand, "because I have a feminine face, not to mention my hair is rather long." He leaned himself against an altar. Jin sighed. "Ok listen; I have better things to do with my time other than being taken into some stupid prank." Jin searched his body for electrical devices that could answer his question as to how he had experienced such pain. "So if you don't mind, I think I'm just going to leave and pretend this never happened, alright!?" Jin stomped his way to the large doors of the temple. Oinari laughed a deafening snigger. As soon as Jin reached the doors, they slammed shut.
--
"Do you really think this is a joke? What an ignorant child you are." Being outwitted and defied was one of Jin's extreme dislikes. He hated feeling smaller and inadequate. Jin turned to face the man at the altar, with his ridiculous robes and long hair. Jin felt drawn to him, but wanted nothing to do with him. "Yes. I think this is all a joke and I want to leave right now." "Tonight is the night of your 16th birthday, is it not?" Oinari slid his fingers against the silk of his robe. "H-how... yes it is, how do you know?" the boy stammered. The man walked straight up and against Jin's body, forcing Jin to look directly into his eyes. "Tonight, there will be a great loss, and a great gain that will affect you deeply. If you listen to me, and accept as true every single word I say, then the loss can be sojourned. But the gain cannot be avoided at any cost. Are you prepared to listen, or shall I go on with my duties without your discretion?" Jin had never felt as troubled toward anyone in his life as he had now. Eyes stinging, he held back tears. "Ok, I'll listen."

Oinari rest Jin on a small mat, setting himself onto an altar. "First point of business - I have already told you I am a God, so technically I have a lot of power, right?" Oinari talked with grace, though his language was quite juvenile. "Though, I am nothing without a messenger. My courier is someone who receives letters from other Gods who wish for me to carry out their tasks." "What happened to your old messenger?" Jin asked inventively. Oinari sighed, staring down at the wooden floor. "He was killed by the Hyakki-Yako. Unfortunately, I realized he wasn't as strong as I thought, but that's why I need you. I've watched you rail against other human beings, so it shouldn't be too hard for you to ignore the Hyakki-Yako, right?" The boy was puzzled. Oinari fled along one subject to another. "Ok so...what? What the hell is a 'Hyakki-Yako'? And why did you call me a 'kitsune'?" Oinari laughed, though his face was serious. "Hyakki-Yako are the netherworld inhabitants, they reside in a children's purgatory called Sai no Kawara which is a small island surrounded by black waters. They're shinigami, kind of like Death himself, though they are much lesser. They want to take the letters from my messenger, because if they do, they can succeed in destroying the world, breaking the Life Chain...if a letter does not arrive to me then I can't do what one other god may want me to do...the wind god may want me to cycle the oxygen in our atmosphere, but if I don't get his message, humans will no longer be able to breathe, do you understand?" Oinari drew in a deep long breathe. "Yea, I guess so...But, what are the Hyakki-Yako, and how am I supposed to avoid them?" Jin bowed his head forward; his exhausted mind was taking a toll on him. He was still in his night clothes, ready to sleep. "Hyakki-Yako are Yakoi, or ghosts. Not really blobby white ghosts that you see in cartoons, but demonic shinigami ghosts that can do anything they want, unless you stop them. As for how you can steer clear of them," Oinari drew a massive glass ball from under his robe. It was filled with stars and galaxies, moving as the universe expanded. "This ball houses all of the power that can help you, transform you, possess you, and whoever holds it has possession of the kitsune. A kitsune is a fox, a natural servant of my function. But you can't transform or have any powers unless I perform a Fox Lunacy, and you must wear a shard of this large orb." Oinari flung a necklace onto Jin's long neck. "Alright, I understand most of what you said...you can explain more to me later, but I want to go home now before my mother wakes and has a heart attack" Jin rose to his feet. "Jin, wait" Oinari raced after the boy. "Don't you want to know what the loss is?"