Hanabi

Chapter 21: Sneaking in

INFO:

Bakeneko – another type of cat youkai, that's confused with the nekomata. Actually, the differences between the two aren't so clear at first.  People used to believe that really old cats would turn into bakeneko just like they could turn into nekomata, but a basic difference is that the tail of a nekomata would split in two, and the tail of a bakeneko wouldn't. There are stories of bakeneko turning into human forms, cursing and possessing humans, awakening dead people and manipulating bigger animals to attack people. However, nekomata are seen as more dangerous and brutal while bakeneko are seen as more manipulative beings that can put spells on people.

Saya – the Japanese term for a scabbard.

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- Why do I think I’m getting myself into something I really shouldn’t?

Haruna mumbled like a grumpy old man while she stared at the golden-haired woman that had entered her room minutes earlier, carrying many pieces of equipment with her.

After they initially agreed on a plan, three whole days had passed and now it was beginning to get darker outside. That would be the night. She was actually going to break into a museum along with a youkai.

Rina looked so nervous while she sat on the bed observing what Tomoko was doing, that Haruna almost wanted to say something reassuring, but she kept quiet. The mood between them had somewhat changed during those last days, and Haruna still felt really weird about it.

She still couldn’t believe she told those things to a kitsune, and that Rina had a story like that one to tell her. It was surreal, just a few days ago she wanted that fox to disappear and now she thought Rina wasn’t that bad. During the last three days they hadn’t really talked much, but the change inside of Haruna’s mind was big.

It made sense. Rina’s story made sense. There were several places where people revered the white kitsune as deities on their own right, or sometimes blended their image with the image of Inari. That wouldn’t be a reality if the guardians weren’t really seen as good-willed messengers and helpers. Even if people didn’t really believe most of the old stories anymore, the way culture evolved would always show a reflex of how things were in the past.

After all the suspicion and fear Rina was met with when that happened, after those times passed, Haruna knew people’s minds slowly changed towards those white foxes. People started trusting them. Haruna always knew that Inari’s kitsune were supposed to be among the purest and most helpful creatures alive. She just never thought she would get to know one.

She also had to admit that her hatred for kitsune did extend to the guardians too. She knew she could supposedly trust white kitsune, but that never meant she would really do that.

But everything made sense now. Rina’s involvement with those other people who were haunted by Oni, how Tomoko was in debt with her, how she cared about Mami’s fate, everything fit together now. The common knowledge about white kitsune was true.

Haruna moved her gaze towards Tomoko again. The nekomata was turning on a laptop over the bed and messing with some things she was taking out from a big handbag.