Aberration

Chapter 23: Like a Brother

"..." Arash rested his head in Inari's lap, his face swollen with a pouting lip. "This would be the second time you've lost to her this week. I can kiss your ouchies better, but I can't fix your pride, young master." She teased, stroking his cheek. "Shut up..." The undisputed victor was Shiho Kagami, the undefeated champion of the land. "Alright. The sun is nearly at its peak. Seeing as how it's noon, we have a small amount of time before we need to conduct the ritual. Let's get you some ointment and we can start practicing after lunch. Oh. And speaking of lunch, have you finally received word from Raiyu? He's always so punctual... I remember once he was so frustrated with himself for being a minute past noon that he repented for nearly half an hour."
    "I haven't, my lady. He was supposed to be here some days ago though. Shall I check the forest?"
    "...He's memorized the map, but I guess it is possible to still get lost." Shiho clamped her lip between her thumbnail and index finger. "Yes... please survey the forest for us. Mr. Haito and Ms. Shirai, would you two be so kind as to assist Kagutsuchi?" The two Exorcists agreed and swiftly followed Kagutsuchi out of the courtyard and towards the entrance gates of the shrine. "Hey, Fox." Arash whispered softly. His voice was so hushed that it's possible that he may not have been heard even if had whispered in her ear. "Yes, my precious?" She responded with a fox's keen hearing. "So is this the thing you were concerned about? Why aren't you telling Shiho now?" She stroked his cheek again, shaking her head. "I can't say whether he is or whether he isn't a part of it, but I can say that he himself is not at the center of the ordeal. I can also guarantee that nothing shall come of our home. You have my word, my master."
    "Alright... But you should still tell Shiho that you feel something."
    "I don't wish to worry her over trivial things I can deal with myself if need be, my master." Inari concluded. "Are you two ready, or should I give you some more time to continue whispering?" Shiho asked teasingly, already a foot inside of her manor. "I'll be in the ritual grounds when you're ready, okay?"
    "Yeah, I'm coming. Don't worry..."

•••

Kagutsuchi's feet scattered about the spacious forest, nimbly hopping from tree branch to tree branch as if it were as easy as a jungle gym. His toeless sandals worked well to cushion the impact silently. "You have any luck so far?" He asked in a rough voice. "N-No. Sorry..." Ami concluded, her hair messy with leaves, sticks, and bug debris. Yukimura, on the other hand, wasn't anywhere near them. The last they'd seen of him was when he released the canine and avian familiars only for those two to become lost to the forest as well. "Where's Haito?"
"I... don't know."
"He probably got lost in the trees. Well, if he doesn't turn up soon, we can have Arash to find him later." She furrowed her eyebrows, gripping her sundress. "We can't just leave him until Arash finds him. I know this place is a Spirit Zone, but he should still be close by, right?"
"Hypothetically, yeah. There's only so much space you can cover before becoming 'lost', after all. Once you're Lost, it's hard to say where you wind up... I told him to stay close to me." He clucked his tongue. Kagutsuchi hopped down from the tree branches and regrouped with Ami, grabbing her wrist and pulling her along. "Hey-" She squeaked, but he still dragged her along without regard for her protest. "If your friend happened to get too deep in the woods, Arash won't be able to sense him. And I can't guarantee that Haito will be safe from predators... both animal and spiritual. You're staying close to me: got it? He'll be pissed off if both of you idiots get killed."

A number of sticks cracked within earshot and Kagutsuchi naturally cocked an eye, preemptively unsheathing a blazing sword from his soul. "Woof!" A dog barked then, followed by a long howl that beckoned in the flapping of a bird's wings and the scrambled steps of a young man. "Senpai!" Ami shouted, running up to greet him. He was covered in scrapes, bruises, dirt, and superficial blood. His clothes were completely ruined and he was bent over, struggling to catch his breath. "I'm sorry, Kagutsuchi... I was chasing Taka and when I retraced my steps, you two had completely vanished."
"The trees swallowed you up. We're currently in the South part of the forest. You can tell from the sun. If you get too lost, it's easy to find yourself all the way in the North side, about ten miles away. You're extremely lucky... how'd you find your way back so fast?"
"F-Fast...? That had to have been two hours..." Yukimura shook, grabbing his chest as he managed to catch his breath. "Well, if you're running in a straight line, it should take you about an hour to get back here, right? You should know, for us, you were only gone for about ten or fifteen minutes."
"I... followed Inu. It caught the smell of something and led me here."
"Canines can smell the spacial loops in the forest. Huh. That's interesting." Kagutsuchi, otherwise unconcerned, did show some amusement in this fact even if he was impartial to Yukimura's predicament. "So, while you were lost, did you find any traces of human life, pigtail?" Yukimura could feel his eye twitch in what was similar to agitation, but he softly responded: "I didn't find a person or footprints, but I found some glass. They're glass vials filled with something dark... I couldn't really make it out because of the lighting, but they were all around a small shrine."