Gate Guardian - Song of the Frozen Soul

EXTRA PHASE - KOZUKATA SHRINE TRAINING

EXTRA PHASE - KOZUKATA SHRINE TRAINING

“So it’s here…” I muttered.

I shifted my eyes from the GPS app on my phone to the tall mountain with hundreds of footsteps in front of me. There is a wooden gate that has Japanese characters in it, and it translates to “THE HOLY KOZUKATA SHRINE”.

I battled my exhaustion as I went through the stairs that I didn’t bother to count. I have a heavy baggage on me, that’s worth one week of clothes for my stay here. The hike is quite repetitive because it’s only a one-way route, which is upwards. I am surrounded by pine trees but then when I was halfway through, it became cherry blossom trees. It’s fall, so there are no gay pink leaves yet.

When I reached the top of the mountain, I saw a wooden gate that is quite similar to the foot of the mountain. Then I finally caught a glimpse of the shrine.

“Oh, Rikkun!” It was Tiara, sweeping the grounds with her broom. “Y-You’re quite late. D-Did you get lost?”

“Nope. I’m just tardy. Always.”

Tiara grabbed my hand and smiled. “Come, I’ll introduce you to our Head Shrine Priestess.”

I had a short tour of the shrine. It looks more like a small village to me, since there are several traditional Japanese buildings that are separate from the main complex. There are a lot of teenagers, kids, and grannies in this place but all of them are women.

I was led to a four-story temple that has a golden bell on top. I was afraid that I’m going to climb again, but thankfully, the office of the Head Shrine Priestess is on the very first floor.

It was a petite girl with long brown hair, like Rapunzel, but she tied it with loops to keep it from the ground. Her face looks like two years below us.

“Welcome to the Kozukata Shrine, young lad. I am Asumi Kozukata, the Head Shrine Priestess and the one who leads the shrine maidens in this place. But I don’t bother about the honorifics since all shrine maidens are equal. You can just call me Asumi.” She said with her quite childish voice. “I believe you are Alaric Eisenhower, the newest Gate Guardian. May you state your Guardian Ability to us?”

“Um…” I cleared my voice and scratched my head. “My Guardian Ability is <Presage>, which means that I can predict the future twelve seconds in advance.”

“P-Predict the future?” The head shrine maiden Asumi dropped her formal tone when she stuttered. Then she immediately grabbed Tiara and had a private talk. But I can hear some words on the rather noisy head shrine maiden.

“I-Is that man the one Jeannette talks about? He’s handsome, and have a Guardian Ability to help our fortune telling business! Letting him go after the 2-week training camp means we’ll leave money on the table! We should have him converted and become our priest! I’ll fix a marriage for him with a shrine maiden! Hey you, Tiara! Why won’t you marry him!?”

“Wha-What a-are y-you t-t-t-talking about, Asumi-nee! W-W-We’re not lovers!” Tiara replied with her blushing cheeks.

Slightly annoyed, I cleared my throat with a high voice. That halted the two from having their not-so-private conversation.

“I-I’m so sorry for making you wait, Mister Alaric~” Now this Asumi lady totally forgot her formalities and talked to me like a seductive mother. “Your training will start now. I’ll test how your <Presage> does things.”

The head shrine maiden revealed a coin. “Heads or tails?”

I used my future sight and concluded one thing. “Both.”