Web of light. Part 1.2 chapter 16

Interlude 9. Part 1. Shizuka by the sea

[Shizuka by the sea]

Shizuka watched as the increasing wind and the increasingly strong seasonal current hit the "road of spirits" harder and harder. There was such force in the impact of the waves, the gaps between which almost reached the flooded roadbed, and the pressure of many thousands of tons of water that the stone bulls, the huge boulders that make up the body of the dam, could not resist. With each blow, the water carried away its prey: small stones, large stones, very large stones! The sand has been gone for a long time. And so the first bull swayed, the second... The sea rolled out multi-ton boulders with a low, almost infrasonic roar, like a child rolling forgotten backgammon dice. It rolled all over the rather large bay, drove into pits, rolled into shallow shoals, in order to once again create a lot of headaches for fishermen with the identification of new shoals and dangerous places. How many curses have been poured on the heads of the dead builders over the centuries... and how many years before the island of Spirits went under water from another earthquake, it was swallowed and never said. But the fishermen were lucky. The natural source of natural mana gushing from the center of the island has not gone away, and the yokai that once fell under the distribution of the elements periodically appeared as if from oblivion. Crippled shells, a gradient of seemingly affordable, but not very suitable for constant supply of "clean" energy — and all this is under multi-ton rubble of stones, and from above — flooded with seawater: this kind of soup was cooked at a depth of a couple of meters, and not a single fisherman dared to go there. The bottom of the bay was still somewhat seismically unstable, and some spirits, still alive, wounded, and held by rocks for centuries, spirit were getting a chance to be free. The combination of "clean energy" and the impossibility of organic nutrition created an indescribable combination of hunger and promiscuity, and heavy years of pressure created severe mental disorders. They are often clinically severe.

The dam created the problem. The old road along the embankment, piled on top of the cursed stone bulls, as soon as the seasonal current changed direction, they were driven by the waves to the place where they had once been laid by the spirits of the earth. And the "Way of the Spirits", a cursed road, allowed the lost Yokai to get ashore. Most of the weak and with wounds that had not healed soon found their demise in the teeth of other unintelligent spirits, however, another part... the part that was once very strong, and now remained just strong, was a serious danger. Mostly for ordinary people, but some... instances... Even the three leaders of a small group of spirits who settled on the wooded slopes of low hills near the nearest large city were forced to "sweat".

Meanwhile, more and more of the stones at the base of the road shifted too far apart, and the "Path", which looked like a ribbon of deep blue in yokai's perception of the water, trembled more and more, losing its thickness and scattering the energy lost by the spell around it with sparks. Finally, after another blow from the elements, it burst with a loud pop. That's it. No one else managed to leave the island. Shizuka, standing silently above the edge of the steep shore, among the fir trees bending in the wind, turned her back to the sea — only a thick braid slapped her back. First, there is a report that the next seasonal escalation of the situation has successfully ended and there will be relative silence in the surrounding forests and fields for another six months. The last two months had been extremely tiring, and now the Goddess of Rivers was going to unwind in the city. And at the same time fulfill the promise made to one interesting guy.

[Hiroe is at home]

Hiroe looked at her watch and decided that it was already quite possible to go out. She knew for a fact that Yuto-kun had another meditation practice class today and, therefore, she would definitely not find him at home. But she is very likely to find Kuzaki Rinko there, who returns from kendo classes on Saturday much earlier than Yuto. On any other day, Rinko might have turned away a friend who wasn't very close to her at school, or even a classmate, but not today. And what about the fact that she arrived ahead of time? Since Yuto's phone is not answering, she has already found out the few principles of sensei in relation to students from her mother in advance. And there, once she gets to Amakawa's house, she will be able to gather a lot of information on the subject of her interest. And if you can look into his room! The girl squeezed her eyes shut in anticipation, licking her lips. Of course, she was well aware that she could have easily asked to visit Yuuto anyway, especially if she had honestly given the reason. She could just see the guy grinning and showing her his house, making snide comments about some mess... but! It won't be according to the rules! Mom taught Hiroe Kaname well enough that she understood that with allies, including this skinny, short-haired girl Amakawa Yuto, the rules should not be broken without very serious reasons. Even if you know that he knows that you know... That's how, at about four o'clock on Saturday afternoon, Hiroe Kaname, a junior high school student, found herself on the street in front of the entrance to the courtyard of Yuto's house with a small bag in her hands. Well-mannered people don't go to a birthday party without a gift, right? And the fact that near this very door she ran into another girl about her own age, whose long black hair, shining green, was pulled into a tight thick braid, is, really, one of those coincidences that would seem to have a one in a million chance of happening... and they happen all the time.

[Two girls under the window... Ugh, under the door of Amakawa's house]

Of course, if a neighbor had looked out the window right now, he wouldn't have seen anything strange in the picture that opened up: just two very ordinary girls about ten years old, standing opposite each other, equidistant from the gate to the courtyard of Amakawa Yuto-kun's house. Are they standing for a long time? But let them be.

Shizuka regarded the little stranger somewhat suspiciously. On the one hand, an ordinary person who is on the borderline between a child and a teenager is too subtle, almost to the point of pain, a girl, and everything would be fine... If it wasn't for the look in his eyes. That cold, appraising squint, the sharp fluctuations of the pupils focusing on different parts of Mizuchi's body, the uncharacteristic "frozen" plastic for a child... and yet the Water Snake couldn't figure out what had aroused such interest! After all, she's been specializing in intelligence for years... rather, it should be said that the number of these years is closer to a hundred. Ordinary clothes, ordinary (okay, maybe not ordinary, but definitely human) hairstyle, sandals on his feet, white socks... Ordinary clothes, ordinary (okay, maybe not ordinary, but definitely human) hairstyle, sandals on his feet, white socks... The opponent was definitely not an exorcist — there were no emanations of power, none at all. And why is she looking like that?

Hiroe, in turn, looked at the unknown girl and quietly fell apart from the feeling of mystery... No, SECRETS! Firstly, the exposed areas of the opponent's skin shone a little more strongly than human skin should shine in the sun... or at this distance, she would have smelled sweat somehow! Some creams could have such an effect (and her mother refused to teach her this categorically and flatly!), but they definitely could not leave her clothes dry and clean. In addition, this set of clothes, if I may say so, is a set, and in no way a set in which socks were the most common item... pure white, as if dust did not exist in nature at all. The peach-colored sandals matched the dress closely (too short, in Hiroe's opinion, to go with her... hmm... to the boy's birthday... or was it on purpose?!), but the trouble is, this style of shoe was last produced about twenty-five years ago, and it didn't look like a new model or a special order. She didn't find them in the trash, did she? There are no shoes in such good condition in the trash. There were no special complaints about the dress (except for the length!!!) it was quite possible to buy it in the shopping malls near Hiroe's own house... just not from natural flax without synthetic admixtures.

In fabrics, as my mother used to say, no self-respecting woman can afford to rely on the price tag. Well, the finishing touches: black hair, shining green in the sun, braided in such a gorgeous braid, for the possession of which you can strangle... tied up in black... shoe stores... With a shoelace! It was... so gorgeous... such an intriguing mystery that only by a monstrous effort of will could the young Kaname not lick her lips! "Yuto-Yuto, if I met someone like that on my first visit to you... Like this... such... You can't give such gifts on your own birthday, you can't! It's so necessary to seduce an innocent girl, so cruelly! If the riddles don't stop there, I don't even know how I'm going to hold back anymore!"

Despite such a long description, all these glances under the door took about ten seconds, after which the girls synchronously "froze off", and Hiroe asked first:

"Hi! Are you going to Yuto-kun's too?"

"Hi. Yes, I'm going to Yuto-kun. He invited me to visit, so I came." The snake replied a little sarcastically.

"Great! My name is Hiroe, shall I introduce you?" and Kaname Jr. extended her hand in a European handshake, another small test.

Shizuku. Mizuchi calmly shook the outstretched hand, noting how warm it was. Wow, it's almost thirty-seven degrees. Snakes and ordinary ones can feel heat well, and the water demon is subject to differences in fractions of a degree. Are we calling? The short-haired woman nodded at the door intercom.

The River Goddess nodded and pressed the call button.

[Kuzaki Rinko, the kitchen of the Amakawa house]

Rinko hummed a tune of her own composition to herself — as usual, she was caught up in the special, cozy spirit of this place in the kitchen, regardless of the house. The girl took her time chopping vegetables with a knife and mixing ingredients for future meat roasting, put water on the hob to warm up and began to thoughtfully sort the products for the third. A celebratory dinner? No, come on! Yuto doesn't celebrate his birthday, just not on the day his parents die. As he sadly joked last year, "minus on minus, they hope to give a plus not only in mathematics." The death of his closest relatives changed the guy — from an unsociable and introverted child, he turned into an extremely purposeful young man, and the obstacles that stood in his way seemed to only give him a reason to pick up speed towards his goal. Towards a strange, dangerous, and incomprehensible goal: either hope for an incredible future, or an incredible, deadly danger coming from literally every corner.

Who would have thought that when Yuto called her for that "serious" conversation, she didn't believe him at first. Some kind of exorcists, yokai, magic, how can you even believe in this nonsense in the modern world? It's like this idiotic story was invented by some mangaka, and then half the boys in the class read this stuff... However, it is possible. Yuto gave a very convincing demonstration... and then she saw a strong spirit with her own eyes. I even talked to him. I even gave out nuts and one pineapple! Smiling, the girl touched the hairpin with the back of her hand: the heavy gold object always felt pleasantly cool against her skin... and it has become a serious protective amulet.

Yuto, Yuto, well, who would have thought that this happens in life: your neighbor is suddenly a prince, the heir to an ancient family of magicians. The last survivor of the clan, his parents renounced their ancestors. And they died. An amulet that blocks magic and hides the heir of the family from the world, but only for the time being. Sixteen years will come, and young Amakawa will have to find himself with his own world, the world of yokai and magicians who live so close — and as if beyond the glass... but this is self-deception. That thing from the park... which she barely remembered, scary, ugly... Hungry. Yuto's strange power manifested for the first time, hacking the monster in one blow... and by getting rid of the illusions that you can hide inside yourself from a part of the world. At least by saving Yuto, she herself could not accept for a long time that such a cozy and beautiful city of theirs could at any moment become the refuge of a monster or monsters.

Yes, Yuto was smart, not like her. Yuto takes care of her so much, constantly trying to protect her. And Yuto wouldn't be left alone with his world, not when he'd let her in on everything! Maybe if she were some kind of boring aunt from a melodrama that her mother loves to watch so much, she would wring her hands and scream "how useless I am", and in the end would only add to Yuto's headache... But she's not a stupid grown-up aunt! That is, she is already an adult... Well, almost... although, when looking at Midori, I really want this "almost" to become at least a little more! but definitely not stupid.

"The power is not in magic, the power is not in the Ferry of Light, the power is in ourselves. A hundred years ago, people were dying of colds and pneumonia, and forty years ago they went into space." That's what Yuto said. Yuto is right. Personal strength is not a cudgel, it is the ability to get results. This requires brains — and the desire to use them. Even in kendo, where bokken is sensitively hit in the brain from time to time, this principle applies... and the enchanted clothes of Prince Amakawa, who, his remember, called the result of "pumping" underwear his "most senseless feat", are very much in demand! Stupid, stupid Yuto, he doesn't understand anything. In training, he "flies" to "these places", sometimes leaving absolutely monstrous-looking bruises... and very, very uncomfortable! But Rinko can't just tell him about it?!

The girl's cheeks turned treacherously red, and it took her a long time to notice the soft beep of the phone. What else is this, it doesn't look like an SMS, and she couldn't send such a signal to anyone... The map! Kuzaki dashed to the table, picking up her cell phone. Damn, damn, damn, the signal is right in front of the house! How could she not have heard the sound earlier?! Of course, it doesn't cost a strong spirit anything to travel such a distance in a minute, but what would it be unnoticeable? What should me do? Yuto! Call... turned off. Damn it, meditation! What to do, what to do? Okay, take it easy! Yuto had warned her that he had invited a yokai he had met in the forest... how she'd sandbagged him back then, that he'd managed to get into trouble out of the blue... however, with benefit, the friend managed to partially restore, partially guess to a part of the memory... The area in front of the gate should be visible from the second floor! Rushing down the stairs, she looked out the window. Girl, black hair, braid, matches! And this... Hiroe, damn it! What is she doing here? And how capable she is of driving the spirit with her completely shameless tricks, only a corpse in front of the door was not enough! And it's not funny, Yokai are not toys. Yokai — trouble! Rinko went down the stairs, opened the front door and went to the gate. She was holding a frying pan in her hand, which she had automatically grabbed from the kitchen and grabbed a la bokken. This is how she appeared before the two visitors, a little disheveled, in an apron with a chicken and with a frying pan in her outstretched hand. The "Meeting night" was definitely a success!