Web of light. Part 1. part 29

Clans... After reading in more or less detail the period of about four hundred years since its official foundation, I partially realized how conditional the division of these associations actually was in terms of independence from each other. Cross-marriages connected the eleven Old Clans with family ties criss-cross, tightly binding the entire small magical elite of Japan. In addition, ordinary samurai and officials also considered and tried to negotiate (or at least not to quarrel) with magicians. Not all clans, like Tsuchimikado, had aristocratic ancestors, but even my clan, which has the best roots (seven hundred years ago, yeah), managed to intermarry at least three times with influential samurai clans from old Ezo, and how many times did they have children together with other magicians and influential clans It is difficult to count the women of my clan who are unable to transfer clan power to outsiders due to the coupling mechanism. It's clear why Amakawa hasn't been touched until recently. And it is clear why, even in the "good" periods, there were no more than a dozen active clan members...

I read and read, made notes, cut paper into bookmarks, and methodically left them in places that were interesting or difficult to understand, so that I could return later. At some point, Kaya appeared in the office, put a tray of tea on the table, and changed it an hour later... Two hours later, again. I missed lunch, but Mizuchi pulled me out for dinner. I honestly tried to participate in the conversation, but mentally I was too much into books, and the girls gave up on me. I think they were asking me about the details of my childhood life at the Yuto in manor, but I wasn't listening anymore. Because just before dinner, I came across the phrase: "And the evil spirit was captured, for she did not deserve an honest death by her madness. And the head said: "May your service be the glory of your family and your children." And [the Light changed] her spirit, and she became someone else [...], changing her path to service." Sweet, how sweet! What did the ancestor cat Himari do that the head of the clan took a considerable risk to not just kill, but capture the beast? What was the impetus, what reasons prompted the Ferry user to try his hand at a defeated enemy? I think I can guess, though. The brainless creature didn't know what she was doing, but making her realize her deed and then executing her fits very well into the logic of a medieval scientist and swordsman-magician at the same time. By the way, the main family's house in Noihara, which I was currently staying in, was also built after this event, which was suggestive, so to speak...

After this event, the names and species markers of the yokai increasingly flashed in the notes, and not all of them were neko: mizuchi and air spirits, earth spirits and tsukomogami, even one kitsune got mixed up, though only two-tailed. The ancestors were so kind that they even wrote down the text of the oath every time it changed. As a rule, after another entry like "killed a traitor" or "fell by killing a traitor"... Some Yokai died very quickly in battle, while others served the family for centuries. Some, as I was surprised to learn, were allowed by Amakawa to "retire" and even provided with disguises. Actually, I even got the impression that they were even willing to let me go.

Everything changed about a hundred and fifty years before I was born. Japan's isolation from the world created more and more gaps, and new products and new ideas entered the country... By the way, there were new yokai too. "Colleagues from the West" began to appear, and not all of them ended their lives in the teeth of evil spirits unknown to them or on the swords of samurai angry at Gaijin. Another head of the Amakawa clan couldn't resist one charming witch: a young girl got into concubines, and then into wives. It just so happened that she was the sister of the one who became the wife of the founder of the Jinguji clan. After this event, the clan's treasure trove of knowledge began to fill up in much more detail: who did what, the results of intelligence work or the bribery of informants. The discovery of the "eye" technology of the Ferry by the son of the head and his witch wife belongs to the same moment. Either the fresh genes worked that way, or a fresh look was enough... It doesn't matter, the important thing is that the clan has received a powerful tool to influence reality. Instead of the description "tighten your ass in the Zy position and, having made the Chi gesture, touch the blank and wait for the favor of the gods," specific descriptions appeared, from the numerous notes about these documents of the "chipboard" class, the pages were full of references and footnotes. The ways of working with spirits have also expanded: in addition to "military" meat, "specialized" spirits, such as Do, whose name appears in the column "found and sworn in" seventy-four years ago, began to fall into the circle of interests.

"A time of experimentation" is how one can characterize this short period of unprecedented enthusiasm for magical science. Homura and Kamisakura, who managed to lose their best sorcerers in the fire of unsuccessful experiments, perfectly illustrate the degree of madness of clans and renegade magicians on personal power, only about thirty years of madness that gripped the exorcists after the country was shaking in the fever of change...

..And then the War at Sea broke out, great and terrible, stupid and disastrous, ending with a "blow" of intimidation in the form of two cities burned by an atom. She also did not ignore the clan of amulet demonologists.

Of the nearly two hundred "sworn in" and one hundred and twenty in active service, less than half survived and did not go missing. The two younger Amakawa families were killed in their entirety. The information about the sixty-nine remaining spirits was also incomplete. The country was in chaos... and it was stopped simply by the titanic efforts of the Circle. Drained of blood by mutual hostility, the fever of the pursuit of power in the pre-war years, and an endless wave of blood-maddened spirits, the magicians entered the battlefield hand in hand for the last time in known history. Oh, yes, they drove the spirits back to their place, just like three hundred years ago. But we didn't stop there. Yokai were killed indiscriminately, without regard for unwritten agreements and personal sympathies... Anyone who could, fled. Those who couldn't, hid and prayed that they would pass by. If magicians and non-humans had time to talk before, now the scorched earth tactics have come into play. The Magicians have learned a cruel lesson.

My grandfather also belonged to the "war-born" generation. Genosuke Amakawa, who became the head after the death of his older brother, who never acquired a family and offspring, approached the issue of preserving the ancestral legacy in detail: methodically rejecting any proposals for joint operations with other clans and completely ending all existing clan business (mainly the supply of amulets), Grandfather Gen focused on expanding the boundaries of the use of clan power. And he have achieved success! During his reign, not a single yokai was accepted as vassals under oath — however, at that time the spirits generally tried not to show themselves to the hunters who were brutalized and trained in endless battles. According to the spirits, the book did not contain any information at all until Genosuke found a wife. He was thirty then. Then, for the first time, the names Himari and Kaya appear in the records. But the birth of the firstborn coincided with the birth of a new unique artifact, which the Amakawa had not made for a hundred years. Then another one. Then another one. After handing over the post of head to his matured son, Amakawa completely "went into research", entrenching himself in Noihara. By the time his grandson was born, the clan's name already sounded like a brand. Amakawa lit up in the Circle again, but it was a different glory. "Amakawa, we're doing the impossible"...

I flipped through the last page and saw an incomplete page, followed by blank pages. And what do we have here?

"The heir confirmed the possession of the power of blood."

"Bakeneko Himari becomes the bodyguard of the "prince"."

"An oral secret marriage contract has been concluded with the Jinguji clan. Kues Jinguji is arranged for Yuto Amakawa, with the condition that both will live to be 16 years old."

I looked down, and the hairs on my head literally stood up!

"Under unknown circumstances, the vassals of the clan dropped out."

And a list. Sixty-nine names. And below:

"Forever erased from the history of the clan and declared unborn [names of parents], the grandson of the eldest line Yuto Amakawa was declared the heir."

And last of all, there was a strange note in my grandfather's handwriting, just a few words:

"Due to the high danger to active members, the clan is suspending its activities."

Date and signature. It was recorded five days before the death of the parents.

It was already getting light outside, hinting that it was time to go home soon. I stared at the last page without blinking, trying to figure out what it all meant. I couldn't think straight-I had too much information inside me, and fatigue was taking its toll. However, the decision was correct — THIS should not be shown to outsiders. And you can't show it to your own people either, you can't! But something needs to be done right now. I dipped my brush into the ink and, trying to draw the lines smoothly and with one touch, as I was taught in school in calligraphy, wrote down:

"Amakawa Yuto. The post of head of the clan was accepted ahead of schedule. New vassals have been accepted into the clan [name list]." Date. Signature.

My hand never wavered.

Interlude 23. [The day before]. Takamiya, a working-class neighborhood. A public event coordinated with the administration to attract the public to the Squad.

[The patrol car crew consists of Ishida Rino, a senior patrolman, and Aya Suzuhi, a patrolman]

Takamiya is a green city. Even in a built-up business center, there was always a place for squares, and in the relatively free development of the workers' dormitory quarter, there was always a place for squares. A small wooden stage, now decorated with a banner with the inscription "Mutual Aid Squad — your chance to make your world a better place," was not much different from other similar structures in neighboring green areas. On holidays, such places served for street music groups to perform and for all sorts of local bigwigs to make speeches out of the blue — from a representative of the warehouse administration to the factory management of a local concrete and building mixes production company.

The city government has established an opportunity for public organizations to hold their events twice a year, without additional payment, in order to attract the attention of this very public to their activities. According to the protocol, the events were conducted under the supervision of a specially designated patrol service crew, and among themselves, the police considered such trips almost a day off — sit in your car and sleep, lazily watching as the rare interested passers-by come up to ask the speakers what is going on here. It might be a little more lively on a day off, and it might come to a fight purely for "ideological reasons" — I didn't like the color of the shirt there, for example. But the "Mutual Aid Squad" did not bother to get permission for a day off, taking Wednesday as the time of the event. You can sleep all day again!

Ishido pushed the driver's seat back to the maximum, lowered the backrest and instantly dozed off, but the young Aya rolled down the window and began to watch with interest as three girls effortlessly dragged speakers, microphones, and connected an amplifier onto the stage. Ha, and Ishido said that they would yell into the matyugalnik for no reason, ha.

If Rino-san hadn't deigned to fall asleep, he would have noticed that the events surrounding the "social event" from the very beginning had gone a little off the beaten track as usual. And why is that? Because we need to be closer to the people, closer!

[A retrospective analysis based on the results of the survey of participants and witnesses — Hiroe Kaname. The file "For the A-Ko Group Report".docx]

Here's a simple question: working quarter, ten in the morning. Some people want to organize a mass event. Who can approach them at all? No, there are handymen who get a day off because of shift shifts, but these comrades, who sleep like marmots and for the most part have not yet overslept after a stormy farewell to the end of the work shift, will leave their houses and apartments no earlier than noon, or even sleep until three. The kids are at school. But the "other halves" of the local proletariat have mostly stayed at home and are now either finishing their morning chores, or have already sent their husbands/children/older brothers out...

...And instead of going to watch TV, go grocery shopping, or do work at home (many wives of hard workers sew professionally, and some make souvenirs with folk crafts), they went to have fun in the square next to the dormitories, where two yokai artels from the "group" had arranged for themselves. Well, what about it? It's new and interesting, and besides, the girls invited me to participate!

The "girls", consisting of two yokai and Haruhi, who was safely hanging on Hikari-Pachi's neck (and was completely pleased with this fact), became friends very quickly. Haruhi, despite her somewhat strange understanding of the world around her, turned out to be a very positive and pleasant person to talk to, and because of her "cockroaches in her head," she fit into the women's collective like a sister. The "younger" spirits of the "Amakawa group" also had some different and different ideas about human society in general, and about the "unwritten" rules of behavior within it. No, nothing fatal. They just didn't really understand that there was a difference between the stated reasons and the true ones. Perhaps this can be called childish naivety.

Despite the fact that even the youngest Yokai in the group living in the working-class quarter had long since passed fifty, in fact, they all remained mostly children. A big human city! Bright as a candy wrapper. There is a danger — exorcists, they must be bypassed by the tenth way and not contacted. There are friends, Amakawa-dono and his girlfriend, the director, who must be obeyed. It's not too different from the rules of life in the "gang" of Kashi. True, the accepted Oath has already begun its work, forcing the spirits' brains to perceive the world more analytically than before, but the spirits have not yet been able to get into the unhealthy spirit of innuendos and allegories during "simple human communication", although they more or less understood. Yuto and I have made considerable efforts to socialize our striking force in our living environment, not being lazy to explain incomprehensible points five times. And if the lectures for the male workers had already moved, due to contact with contractors and colleagues, into the plane of practical application, then the female part, which provided a simple way of life, looked at the world much more simply in this matter.