Shoving the wreckage away, Akari laid Mitsuko down carefully on her back. Then she grabbed the book again and began flipping through its pages.
She could only make sense of one or two pages. The rest seemed to be a combination of random printed characters that didn’t even form coherent words.
It was clearly a mass-produced product, cheap and flimsy. Akari felt her chest constrict with pity and anger.
Mitsuko had said these books were designed to be disposable products. But the beast wreaking havoc in front of her now was a natural soul, not meant to be disposable, nor was it meant to be sold as a product.
If the book disintegrated like this, who was to say whether the Raiju’s spirit would be released again? What if, instead, it remained wild and violent, untethered? Or what if it disappeared without a trace, exterminated? Like the Nue had been…
Then that left only one option. She had to give the beast a decent narration. Right here, right now.
She didn’t have much to go on, but the beast had given her a few hints about itself. It had told her that it had been forced into half-formed shape when it was sealed within the book.
And it had originally come from overseas, from Angland. Also, it had the power of electricity.
“Mistress Akari, I have captured the beast!”
“Great job, Tomohito!”
Tomohito grinned, gold hair flying, red eyes sparkling.
Then he flung the Raiju onto the ground before Akari. A little too violently, but Akari decided to overlook it.
It seemed as though the yokai had expended all its fighting energy. Even so, lightning still sparked and crackled over its body, intermittently making its skeleton visible.
Akari got to her feet, holding both books. She looked down at the Raiju.
She’d been reading about the similarities between Eastern and Western yokai only recently. She remembered being surprised how many features they had in common.
She was still afraid to narrate. But she knew she had to. If she didn’t narrate, all would be lost. She had to give it a try.
If she could narrate with an open heart, tell the tale of its homeland…then maybe that would bring it back.
So, as Tomohito watched, Akari began to narrate the tale of the electricity-wielding beast from the faraway land.
“In the West, there lived a type of beast similar to the Eastern Raiju. Originally, these creatures lived in the hills. They were flying spirits, whirling freely in the skies. But then mankind invented airplanes. The beasts were fascinated by these metal birds the humans built. They loved to tinker and fiddle with the metal parts. The humans studied these creatures and noted their characteristics: a love for machinery and a mastery of electric power. They named them Gremlins.”
The beast at her feet stirred and stiffened at the sound of her words.
But before it could move, Tomohito had leaped protectively in front of Akari.
At the same moment, Akari began to speak louder.
“Western beast, wielder of electricity!
Newly identified by the humans
and noted for your love of mechanical parts!
Appreciated by the humans for your helpful tinkering,
your advancement of human mechanical knowledge,
born of your mastery of thunder and lightning!”
“The Gremlin… The Gremlin…”
But Akari was stuck.
She didn’t know the creature’s name. She flipped through the pages, but it wasn’t written down anywhere.
She couldn’t complete the narration.
The electricity running over the beast’s skin seemed to sputter and falter. Tomohito’s shoulders slumped in resignation.
But then the beast’s eyes found hers, intelligence shining from within the purple orbs.
{You may name me yourself.}
Akari didn’t hesitate. She knew what to call the beast. She would use the reading of the character for lightning. She raised her voice again.
“The Gremlin Rai!”
The arcs of electricity suddenly began to glow with an intense power, as if building for an immense lightning strike. Akari closed her eyes against the sudden increased brightness, Tomohito pulling her protectively against his chest.
But the lightning strike never came for her. Instead, it streaked past her, leaving darkness in its wake.
Wincing, Akari opened her eyes. Something was shimmering in the dim light of the flames. Shining…silver.
It was the hair of the young man standing in front of her.
He was slim and wiry, dressed in black and silver Western-style clothing. He had Western facial features too, very handsome, with glittering purple eyes.
His most striking feature, however, was his sharp, triangular ears, which poked beastlike through his silver hair.
Akari was taken aback, although she’d been picturing something like this to begin with.
How odd that he came out looking like this, she thought.
The young man walked up to her, his gaze intense.
He touched her politely on the arm, the same arm that was cradling the gray Raiju book.
“I am a Gremlin, and my name is Rai. I belong entirely to you, Mistress.”
“Er, excuse me?”
The young man was speaking perfect, unaccented Japanese, and his manners were unexpected.
But the next moment, golden-haired Tomohito had shoved his way between them.
“How dare you touch Mistress Akari without permission. You exist only on her mercy.”
“Which is why I am hers. She named me and entered into a contract with me. I shall serve her until this body turns to dust.”
The silver beast, Rai, seemed utterly calm, as if caring nothing for Tomohito’s hostile tone.
Tomohito huffed, eyes widening.
“A contract?! Mistress Akari, permit me!”
Akari had been watching their exchange without really paying attention. Now she yelped as Tomohito grabbed her hand and turned it palm up. Ouch, her splinter wound! She’d forgotten all about it.
“No! Then a contract has been forged! With blood, yes, not tears like mine… Ah, wait! Then she and I are contracted eternally too?!”
Akari had the feeling she was in for a world of trouble as she watched Tomohito snarling at Rai. But for some reason she couldn’t get her thoughts in order.
She clung to Tomihito’s kimono, her knees almost buckling. It was so hard to breathe…
Yes, it was really hot inside the warehouse now. Akari realized the flames were licking their way up to the ceiling and growing closer.
Wait, is Mitsuko okay? Akari whirled around, looking for her.
At that exact moment, there was a mighty crash, and the warehouse’s iron door blew inward. Then Munakata burst through the opening, dressed in his military uniform and riding on the back of a werewolf.
“Well, you’re alive at least…but what the devil has happened in here?!”
Munakata scowled at them, a Kotogatari clutched in his free hand. He looked back and forth between the still-bickering gold and silver Kotogami pair, and then at Akari, who was standing beside them looking exhausted.
She looked back up at him. He seemed half relieved, half annoyed. And somehow kinda blurry…
“Oh, hi. Do you think you could wrap things up here?”
The room was starting to go dark around her. As Akari felt her eyes closing, the last thing she saw was Tomohito and Rai, both black-haired once more, staring down at her with alarm and concern.
She sank into darkness, clutching both of their books tight against her chest.