Web of light. Part 1-7

An aimless waste of a unique, irreplaceable resource! Kues could be any kind of person, maybe not very smart in everyday communication, a lover of showing her ego and demonstrating superiority at every opportunity, yes kso! She was only sixteen, maybe seventeen years old. It's like throwing it in a landfill... No, not even an atomic bomb... a randomly found alien spaceship, preserved in excellent condition. Just because during the construction of the shopping center, when they were digging a foundation pit, it got caught under the bucket of an excavator and prevented the construction of an underground garage. No, not to throw it away, but to deliberately destroy it, they say, such an incomprehensible, probably dangerous thing, suddenly it will fall into the hands of competitors. The freaks! I hate it!

Wow, how the auto-training helped, my hands stopped shaking! And the way the fists clench... Fists, yes. Nothing has happened yet... but so far, all my hatred is the legendary "anger of a hamster in a cage." I can't change anything... And I can't, not in the position I'm in right now. Even if I rip off the amulet... and I will survive this event... No matter how much I train as a magician, I can't imagine any power on my own. And it's not necessary, it's not only dangerous, it's harmful. My strength, the strength of Amakawa, the strength of the Ferry of Light, and mine personally, is not in magic or muscles. Odin, no matter how strong he is, is not a warrior in the field, and the death of Kues in the "canon" was natural. But I have something more respectable in my hands than the notorious "nano factory" from some space opera. And thanks to my native department at the university — unlike the hero of that space opera, I know what a "scientific approach" is, and I know how to use logic. And even — here's a cheat from cheats! — I know how to use Google search! My only problem is that I need time to realize my advantages... and companions. And if everything is fine with the first one, then the second one is still to be dealt with and dealt with. And maybe I should do it right now, because I won't be able to continue working on the map anyway.

* * *

The child, nervously pacing the concrete floor of the basement, suddenly stopped and, smiling, looked affectionately at the racks of cages. The poor unfortunate rodents, who had been calmly engaged in important daily tasks like eating and sleeping, had their fur standing on end. Oh my God! It's a premonition! The scariest feeling for a hamster, much worse than the feeling of approaching mortal danger! They wanted to force them...

Work!!!

Part 10

Interlude 4. Mountain hotel at mineral hot springs, Rinko Kuzaki, a junior high school student, and her parents.

The Kuzakis quietly watched their restless daughter: the road to the hotel at the springs, where her father's sister worked and half of which was owned by her father's sister, was quite narrow, winding and, as a result, slow and long. Naturally, the father did not want to accelerate and thereby endanger the life of his family.

They were waiting for a week during which the family had traditionally, for many years now, used the "official position" of the owners' relatives, and when it was possible to spend all day not doing a little boring notary work (this is Tsukiro Kuzaki) or working with real estate (and this is her husband), but walking all day. in casual traditional clothes, helping the "sister", cooking for the guests of the establishment, sweeping the paths or just relaxing, gazing at the majestic and beautiful mountain landscapes. That's not to mention bathing.

This family tradition appeared eight years ago, when it became clear that their baby daughter, the fruit of their early love, because of which they were almost cursed by Tsukiro's parents, turned out to be so weak that a normal childhood for the child had to be given up. Rinko could not walk normally — the muscles did not have enough effort for the child to even stand normally without holding on to the wall or the mother's hand. And that was the end. The end, at least, of her mother's career, the career she had longed for... and which turned out to be so unnecessary. Violation of the metabolic functions of the placenta in the third trimester of pregnancy is a diagnosis made after the fact by doctors. Where were they, these experts, when she was carrying a child! Then it was still possible to do at least something, but now?! The young woman's hands dropped and tears welled up in her eyes, but her daughter's father was not like that. Realizing that traditional medicine predicts his daughter's path to disability, he turned to alternative medicine. Anything to get this daughter to walk! One of the "healers" recommended taking the child to the mineral waters: with the help of her parents, it was easier for her to stay on the water than to walk, and daily temperature effects on the muscles should have a beneficial effect. If you find a suitable source and if the spirits of this place are supportive.

Her husband's sister welcomed them cordially: despite the fact that the hotel was traditionally packed with people during the holidays, there were rooms in a distant "non-guest" house, food, and the opportunity to sit in hot water as much as you want. In addition to the separate outdoor serviced baths, there were a couple more reservoirs on the "shelf" of the mountain slope, one of which had boiling water (and the favorite pastime of tourists was to cook eggs in nets there, as the hotel staff carefully told them, and eggs, along with a carefully prepared net, could be purchased in the kitchen), and the second one was "heavy water". It was unknown why, but it was possible to sit in such water for five minutes, and then it began to mercilessly "press" on the skin and twist the joints, the head began to ache. And on the fifth day of their stay, following the recommendations of the "healer", it was their turn to reach the far reservoir. The natural reservoir, which bears almost no human traces, was surprisingly not empty.

A man and a woman calmly settled down in a "heavy" pool and did not plan to get out. And judging by the conversation, their head wasn't going to hurt. Out of politeness, after waiting for a couple of minutes, the Kuzaki couple nevertheless went down to the water and, as soon as they stepped into the pond, they immediately felt all the "charms" painted by the co-owner of the hotel. However, little Rinko, contrary to expectations, did not cry, she actually cried very rarely for a three-year-old toddler. The girl stubbornly tried to swim, but she couldn't do it very well, and the water with unpleasant properties clearly hampered her movements. The father of the family was already figuring out whether to pull the child out now or still hope for a miracle and keep it in the other source for as long as possible, when suddenly he heard a conversation behind his back.

"... So small and so stubborn!"

"Yes, she's just like my husband," Tsukiro forced a smile.

She did not go into the water — after staying in several reservoirs for several hours (and so for 4 days), she was already a little shaky when walking, and her husband ordered her not to go into the "harmful" spring.

"Dear? The woman turned to her escort. By the way, they were both standing, dressed in yukata, with completely dry hair. And how did you manage to get out and walk around the pool so quickly and unnoticed?

"At your discretion," the man grimaced slightly.

"My husband," she said, turning back to Tsukiro, "has a special technique, like acupuncture. It's not exactly a cure, but it can help your brave daughter. If you like..."

"Anything to help!" Kuzaki carried his daughter out of the water and looked incredulously at the towel rolled out on a flat boulder.

"What do you want, right here?"

"Yes, why delay?" The stranger shrugged his shoulders. "It's not long, two minutes at most."

"And what, will it help in two minutes?"

"It may help," the interlocutor clarified pedantically. Reluctantly laying the child down (the girl was still silently enduring all the actions she was doing to herself), he unwrapped the towel and took a step back. And he began to watch his counterpart suspiciously. However, he did not do anything special: he bent over the stone, long, sensitive fingers ran over the body of the little patient, lingering a little, kneaded the too soft muscles of the legs, rubbed his hands. Then he took the girl's head in his hands for a second... and he rose to his full height.

"That is all. The result will show up after a while."

The mother picked up and wrapped her child, it was obvious that she was ready to cry. Her lips were moving, you could make out a whisper: "Cami, if only it would help, if only something would help, give at least hope, cami!"

"Excuse us," Kuzaki bowed, making up for the impoliteness of his wife, who was already walking away along the path to the hotel. "My wife is very worried, she didn't mean to offend you at all! And thank you. How can I thank you?"

"Do not mention it." it is unclear why the man smiled crookedly in response. "Your daughter's physical health will soon be the envy of. But nothing is given for free, in return for the physical, your daughter should have grown up to be an outstanding intellectual. A mathematician, a chess player, maybe a brilliant engineer and a writer. Yes, confined to a wheelchair. My... treatment... it will make the body stronger, but in return, any other person would remain a moron, and your daughter will remain just an ordinary person. I don't know if this is the best fate."

There was nothing like that in the self-appointed doctor's voice or posture, just an ordinary middle-aged Japanese man. But his simple words struck the father of the sick girl from head to toe like an electric shock, and he immediately realized: yes, it will be so.

Rinko will get up and walk and run too. And as for outstanding intelligence... What kind of happiness would it be for a girl if she couldn't even get up on her own. A miracle! This is the miracle they prayed to the spirits and gods for!

Kuzaki literally fell at the feet of his daughter's savior, touching his forehead to the rocky ground. And no matter how much the startled couple tried to lift him up, he did not agree to get up until they told him how he could help them. Upon learning that he was engaged in real estate, the man and the woman exchanged glances and asked for help choosing a house. Preferably in a quiet and cozy neighborhood in the city. The next day, Rinko woke up her sleeping parents, demanding to be taken out for a walk. She was still not very stable, but she was standing on her feet with complete confidence. Is it any wonder that the Amakawa couple soon found themselves neighbors of the Kuzakas?

Memories of wonderful things — no fooling around! — During the healing process, we returned to Rinko's parents every time they went to the mountain hotel for a "Christmas vacation" after Christmas. There was so much despair, hope, and, after successful healing, happiness back then... and they felt so much pride and happiness looking at their daughter now. Especially now. After all, she is already so big and independent, she even started wearing glasses, although with her perfect eyesight they are not really needed... and so touchingly he takes care of the orphaned Yuto! Well, just a couple! And they, the parents, were not at all against a possible affair. However, here the thoughts of the husband and wife were different. If Tsukiro felt more sorry for the poor child, orphaned so early and deprived of parental warmth, the loss of which, if possible, needed to be compensated in some way — to help, as they themselves had once been helped by Amakawa. Her husband, who perfectly remembered that long-ago conversation immediately after the healing, understood perfectly well: neither medicine, nor massage, nor acupuncture could give such a result... and with such a side effect. Amakawa's inhuman abilities, which were more suitable for spirits or kami, clearly could not be attributed to naturally occurring events. Witchcraft, magic, generic ability, whatever you want to call it. Possessing better analytical abilities and well-trained attention to detail than his wife (and you can't become a good real estate agent otherwise), Kuzaki saw perfectly well how, since the purchase of the house by the sorcerer family, loud hysterical quarrels from neighbors from the third house on the street quickly stopped, as the eternally ill pensioners from the fifth for some reason they began to go grocery shopping themselves, and the old grandfather, who was always pawning his collar, became a model of sobriety. It was as if someone had expertly cleaned out the sources of irritation and minor troubles from their neighborhood... Thankfully, there weren't any big ones. And he, Kuzaki, knew perfectly well who these "someone" were. Kuzaki's family had never been cultivators or grain growers, their family, as far as it was possible to trace, were servants of one of the minor samurai clans, servants and warriors, if necessary. Along with the kicks of his grandfather, who is always swearing at his untalented grandson, the son of his worthless son, who is even ashamed to give a stick in his hand, not like bokken, he has to some extent adopted their family philosophy. "Serve the worthy," my grandfather used to say, telling family stories. Then, at the hot spring, he prayed for an errand precisely because of this desire. To serve the heavenly reward. And in the last year, he began to notice something. Even if little Yuto looks much weaker than Rinko, even if their childish communication has not changed at all, but it is the girl who has now become the leader in their pair.

"What happened to you? Was there something scary in the park?"

"No, it wasn't. Yuto protected me."

My daughter followed the family path with dignity!

* * *

Rinko, of course, had no idea what thoughts were going through her parents' heads. It wasn't often that the girl found herself outside the city, in nature, only the traditional week-long vacation at the springs in the mountains and a couple of days on the beach in the summer: her parents were busy people. While they were driving along the highway, passing suburbs and villages, the girl did not see anything unusual. But then the transnational highway was replaced by a regional one, then just a regional road turned aside, and then they taxied onto a narrow serpentine mountain road leading to the pass. It was here that the springs were located, and apart from the once-a-day regular bus and the hotel minibus, only rare local cars could be found along the way, living in two small villages beyond the pass. However, they preferred to swim where they needed to by water — both faster and more convenient than on a winding road.