Chapter 2: Chapter 1

“Brother Yuuji, you have a visitor.”
“I see. Thank you, Brother.”

The young man called Yuuji closed the scripts he was reading and delicately placed them back on the bookshelf exactly where he had found them.

He was quite tall so he could easily reach the higher shelves, and beneath his unkempt onyx black hair, he bore two deep brown eyes that seemed to unravel the world under his gaze.

A slight smile graced his lips as he left the comfort of the study, heading towards the chapel to greet the guest that had arrived.

But his mood flattened once he saw who was standing there.

“...”
“Yuuji. It’s time to move on to the next location. Pack your essentials and say your goodbyes, we’re heading to Japan.”

He had hoped it was a local from the nearby village that he was friendly with. There were several older visitors they got frequently, but it seemed that he himself was popular with some of the younger ladies in the village, and they’d often ask for him personally for prayers, or confessions.

Instead, standing between the neatly kept pews was an older Japanese man, with his grey hair slicked back and a thick moustache covering his upper lip. His expression was as cold and emotionless as ever, his soul-sucking black eyes staring straight through Yuuji as he waited silently.

He stood nonchalantly with his arms behind his back in a clean and finely tailored kimono, fit with haori and hakama, all spotless top to bottom despite the journey to this backwater church in rural England.

Yuuji gritted his teeth and lowered his head, before pacing toward his room to gather his belongings.

This wasn’t a totally unexpected occurrence, and he had a habit of leaving any important items ready in a large bag in order to leave as soon as the moment arrived.

Sometimes it was months. Sometimes years.

But he would always arrive one day; out of the blue, his imposing attitude and self-centred demands the same as ever.

Hastily scribbling down a note for the ones who had looked after and housed him these last two years, he took one final look at his humble room at the back of the church before closing the door and turning to leave.

“Grandfather, I’m ready.”
“Good. We’re leaving.”

With only those words, the old man turned and stepped out into the world beyond, his grandson three steps behind him.

After entering the nearby car that was waiting for them, it was a long and silent trip to the nearest airfield, and there they were transferred over to a sleek jet - similarly prepared and ready to leave immediately the moment the doors closed behind them.

As the only two passengers the empty air was suffocating, with Yuuji staring out the window at the shrinking scenery, and his grandfather deep in thought; arms crossed and head down.

“Yuuji.”
“Yes, grandfather?”
“The Shinto shrine you will be staying at this time is different from the ones before. It will be much smaller, but I expect you to remain diligent and follow any instructions you are given.”
“Yes, grandfather.”
“Most importantly, there are rumours of a ferocious demon spotted in the nearby woods. You are to assist the investigation as a top priority, and eliminate it if discovered.”

His grandfather raised his head slightly as he eyed Yuuji and continued.

“This request would normally be handled by the academy, but we have specifically been asked for discretion in this case, so I am trusting you. Do not disappoint me.”
“Understood.”

The rest of the multi-hour trip proceeded in silence, with only the whistling of the jet engines keeping them company.

Upon exiting the jet, two cars were waiting - one for Yuuji, and one for his grandfather, which they both entered without a word and departed.

The driver made some token small talk but kept it professional as per usual with these journeys. From car, to train, to bus, Yuuji finally arrived at the bottom of a small mountain where he began his ascent.

As he had not stopped since he set off from the church, he was still wearing his acolyte’s cassock and did his best to keep it clean, though the dirt from the worn passage up the hill was steadily spreading higher and higher towards his knees.

Aware of the possibility that there could be a demon lurking nearby he kept an eye on the surroundings, but as the sun hung high in the sky it was unlikely to be active here and now. Still, unlikely did not mean impossible.

Finally, he reached the peak where the main building for the shrine was located, and after a quick bow, entered under the torii towards a man that seemed to be waiting for him.

He was scrawny and wore a scowl that bore deep wrinkles in his skin, with a gruff voice like sandpaper. His hands twitched like leaves in the wind, and his eyes darted from side to side as if he was constantly watching his surroundings.

“I am the Guji here. You are the young Ishitake I take it?”
“Yes sir, Ishitake Yuuji. I will be in your care.”

Yuuji bowed deeply towards the man, who clicked his tongue and waved his hand.

“Enough. Your room is other there, on the left. Hurry and get changed, then meet me back here for your tasks today.”
“...I understand.”

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Yuuji bit his tongue as he hurried towards the room he had been directed to. It had been close to 20 hours since he woke up, and he’d barely eaten, but his first impression would have a great impact on his living conditions for the duration of his time here and the Guji did not seem the type to hear his request.

Neatly folding his cassock to one side for later cleaning, he pulled open the sack he had received, only instead of seeing the traditional kariginu he was used to wearing in shrines like these, he found ragged linen clothes more reminiscent of a servant’s outfit.

They had been washed, but held deep set stains that turned the once white cloth a mottled grey, and hung so loose he had to tie the waist and ankles with string.

The room itself was a little dusty, but otherwise well-kept and even slightly larger than his room back at the church - though that wasn’t saying much. The walls were bare, but the window into the beautiful garden outside made up for that… except one thing that drew his attention was the small hut at the edge of the grounds, connected to the main building by a single hallway.

It wasn’t too uncommon for rooms like those to be used for storage, but strangely the windows on only that section had been covered with thick wooden shutters that blocked out the light.

“Maybe it’s a hobby room..?”

In secluded areas like this, people often dedicated themselves to hobbies, and in some cases, things like dark rooms for photography or carefully maintained workshops needed unique adjustments and building requirements.

Tucking away his bag of personal belongings, he took a deep breath to compose himself and returned to the main grounds once more to meet the Guji.

“Finally, you’re back. Today you are to clean the hallway floors, water the plants in the garden, and pull any weeds you find.”

Yuuji’s eyebrows furrowed slightly, as his chores were even more menial than expected.

“Yes sir. But may I ask something?”

Clicking his tongue once more, the man tapped his foot impatiently.

“What is it?”
“I was called for a demon investigation. Is there anything related that I can be doing?”
“I will decide that, not you.”

The man leaned over and sneered with open disdain.

“You are not to go snooping anywhere without permission. Clean only the hallways, remain only in the garden, and keep your head down and mouth shut.”
“...Understood.”

Something fishy was clearly going on as Yuuji recalled his grandfather’s words that they had refused the academy’s aid and asked for more discretion. The fact that he’d only seen glimpses of others at the shrine through windows, and the open hostility he’d received as an outsider made it painfully obvious he wasn’t welcome, despite only arriving at their request.

But, he wasn’t here to ask questions.

Suppressing his rumbling stomach, he grabbed cleaning supplies from a nearby cupboard and began scrubbing the floors.

The shrine was quite small, but cleaning all the hallways himself with just rags and a bucket of water still took over an hour, and it was right as he was finishing the last hallway that he realised the doors in front of him had a solid chain padlock on them.

He’d been absorbed in his work in order to focus on staying awake, so he hadn’t noticed that he was now right in front of the hut he’d seen previously from his room. The chain padlock was so obviously out of place he couldn’t help but feel curious about it, though he knew better than to stir up trouble.

*...*

…Was he imagining things?

At the moment he had been transfixed on the chain, he could have sworn he heard a shuffling come from within the room.

He remained silent and strained his ears, but only the whistling of the wind outside could be heard.

“What exactly do you think you’re doing!?”

With impeccable timing, the Guji appeared once more, his face red and steam erupting from his nostrils.

“If you’re finished cleaning the floor, get over to the garden!”

He grabbed Yuuji’s wrist and yanked it towards the exit. Puzzled, Yuuji continued forward, but as he turned back he saw the man inspecting the lock before staring daggers at him, so he sheepishly obeyed.

Escaping the spiteful gaze, he tightened his fists.

There was something in that room. Something secret, that they desperately didn’t want to escape.

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