My Pawfect Rebirth

31: Strike Back

"Why the hell are we walking around this place?" Katsuki asked. 

"Though it's highly impossible for spirits to appear in the temple grounds, they can appear around the place." Aster said. 

Katsuki turned his head and noticed a large pond, almost the size of a lake, that didn't even have any ripples in the water, it was a pool of still water. Another thing he noticed was a pair of large statues on each side of the pond. 

"What the hell is that?" Katsuki asked, pointing at the pond. 

Aster turned his head and smiled. 

"Ah- that. That is known as the Pond of Purity." 

"Ha? Why the stupid name?" 

"It's not a stupid name, it's actually known as the pond of Holy Cleansing to the Monks here." 

"Cleansing?"

"Mn. You know how in churches where people get baptized, they have to basically be dipped into water to wash away all their sins, it's kind of like that pond. The difference is that this pond is known to cleanse of any spirits or auras on the human body. It's also the place where Monks become Monks." 

"What does that mean?" Aster sighed, but he smiled because he'd gotten memories of this pond. 

"When someone who stays and learns the ways of the Buddhist Monks, they are to basically be baptized in that pond. The only main difference is that if they do get washed by those waters, they are forced to have their head shaved off."

"What? Why?"

"It's just a tradition the Monks have always done. I've known Monk Bankei for a long time, and he actually played in that pond just for fun without realizing that he was cleansing his body from the bad spirits. Even if you touch a drop of water from that pond, you are considered cleansed, and that means you have to shave your hair off. The last time I came to this place was for a 'field trip' I had for one of my college classes, and... Hmph, let's just say I was the only guy in the class that came back with hair." Aster said with a laugh.

"So how'd you know about it and no one else?" 

"Easy, because where I grew up, we had something similar to this pond, and my mentor told me to never go near the pool of water unless I'm 100% sure that I'm ready to be a Monk. And though everyone in my class lost their hair because they were playing in the Pond of Purity, they didn't become Monks, simply because it was a life lesson that all of them needed. It also helps that Monk Bankei is very close friends with my mentor, so me and Monk Bankei respect each other. Monk Bankei also knew right away that I can see spirits, and I knew that he was a Grim Reaper. That doesn't mean I disrespect him since he's a powerful Grim Reaper alone compared to all the other Reapers." Aster said.

( Note:  By the way, this Pond of Purity is important for what's to come, so just keep it in mind! )

Katsuki was amazed at how Aster knew so much about a topic that he never really thought much of. 

But soon the blond's thoughts were interrupted when he got a strong whiff of a very familiar scent. He stopped in his tracks and felt his eyes tearing up and his nose burning. 

"Katsuki, you okay?" 

"I... I smell one. They're here." Katsuki said, covering his nose. 

Aster lifted his head up and sniffed the air and could smell the same strong scent soon after. 

'I'm surprised he could smell it faster than me, but at least he can tell it's one of them.' Aster thought. 

"It's coming from that area." Katsuki said, and pointed at the waterfall, the same one they washed up in that same morning.