Quantum Leap Vol. 7 Fausto japan KabushikiGaisha

C024 Yokai Taijiya Comes Along

"See what I told you, father. He would be a youkai to know of these things. Furthermore, he came with a human, maybe he got manipulated as well."

"Don't mind my daughter, she can recognise things not seen by a normal naked eye. What is the star that is on your forehead, young man?"

"I can't see it, chief. Its called the Third Eye and it enables me to see just what Saika -Chan is capable of too. The other night when my Sensei was setting up camp in the night of the expedition, I could see Soul Gathering Demons like a salamander but only two short hands near the head and a body as long like a snake. They were gathering lost, wandering souls near the place my Sensei had first found me."

I related to them what had happened before right until today. " Harune, why don't you tell me the naughty watch salesman. I want to hear... I want to hear..." Enyo pleaded with me as he held Fujin in his arms and made it sit up and held two of its paws together in a begging fashion. I looked at him and laughed.

I soon narrated how I started to earn my first silver coins as a housekeeper and my Odachi's sheath was made in the Blacksmith and Hiko-sama said my appearance alone would cost the Blacksmith 200 gold coins.

Then how I went to the watch shop before lunchtime and was treated like a beggar and decided to have my revenge. When I told them about how the owner of the watch shop behaved, all of them laughed, including Saika.

"Chief, could we request something from you? Since Fujin could transform into a Bakeneko, it could carry Saika and Enyo to our village and protect our travellers and merchants along the trade route in a much faster fashion. Cavalrymen could only reach the target area when everything is over and done for."

"Furthermore, Hiten had spinning wheels on his ankle and can carry him up on the air. I was unable to do so. Brother... Brother... Can you show us how you defeated Hiten?"

"It is not a defeat... He carried his semi-unconscious younger brother, Manten that was knocked out by me at that time. You don't have to call me brother, but call me by my name too."

"By the way, chief... It is good for both Saika -Chan and Enyo to be at our village because they are children and girls their age. You wouldn't want them to waste their life like me, who had forgotten the word 'play' when Enyo mentioned it. I have lost my childhood... "

The Chief pondered on and was reluctant to let his children go to Kitakata Village but when we mentioned that they would be paid and could come back to the Youkai Taijiya Village if activated, he was glad to allow them to assist our Village.

I spin a tale and told them that it's a blessing to allow them to be in Kitakata because my Third Eye could somehow foresee the future, and it is not a very good one. To change destiny, we had decided to make certain things happen to have a butterfly effect.

I explained to them that they have to trust me on this. I don't have any methods to show how it is, but the only way is to take a fork in the road and see how it goes. I volunteered to come along for any extermination of youkai so Enyo could witness how I managed to drive away Hiten.

I told them they can ride on Fujin and dismount as normal because the residents had never seen such happenings before and they all would be volunteering to relocate instead.

After having tea and some snacks, we managed to persuade Saika and his brother back to Kitakata.

=*=

The four of us had reached the outskirts of Kitakata Village and Kinrara that had transformed into a Bakeneko earlier to transport Saika and Enyo on its back had transformed back into a nekomata. Hiko-sama and I dismounted from our horses and walked together with them and headed to the perimeter of the village.

The moment Saika and Enyo saw the village that was expanding due to the development of future residential dwellings, they were awed at the number of men working on the grounds.

" Harune, are these men working to make new plots for land development for new residents you were telling us about? Wow... It is no joke! So many workers here and so many people in this town. We have never been here before and most of the villages we had been are mainly smaller settlements like a few thousand people."

"Yes, Harune...The settlements that we had been are normally targeted by Youkai but in a village of this magnitude, the youkai normally stay at a further distance because of a barrier that was created by a Hoshi assigned in this village."

" Saika -Chan, Enyo... I didn't know that a barrier is installed here in this village by a Hoshi. What does it do?"

"If a youkai enters this village, their powers will be significantly decreased and would be easily defeated by a few Youkai Taijiya or at least a dozen soldiers. They would not be able to exercise their full prowess upon entering this village and that's the good point of it."

"Yes, Harune. That's why youkai seemed to be abundant near small settlements and not a town like this because of the spirit and willpower of its residents would be too overwhelming for them."

"No wonder Hiten and Manten didn't approach our village that time and was wondering a few distances over at the duelling grounds and also happened to be an abandoned final resting place. A cemetery..."

"What's a duelling place?" asked Enyo who was curious about a place that only existed in Kitakata Village.

"A duelling place is a dedicated ground for those who wished to settle their differences. It is at the northern side of town where a separate gate was assigned to access that area. Normally duellers would either end up as victory or losers or even both may end up as losers that lost their lives." Hiko-sama explained in detail as Fujin was carried in Enyo's as it felt a bit affected by the village's protection barrier.

"There is a rule here in this town that no one is allowed to draw their weapons, and the moment a person draws its weapons from the sheath, patrolmen would appear from nowhere and apprehend the offenders. This applies only to bladed weapons like Kodachi, katana, shortswords, sabres and even a dagger or karambit."

"How about this Kurisagama that Enyo is holding next to his obi?" Saika asked with concern as the weapon that Enyo carried had no sheath whatsoever.

"Don't worry about it, a Kurisagama is considered as a low-level threat cold weapon and normally these are handled by farmers, same like rakes, shovels and hoes."

Saika and Enyo felt relieved at the reply that was given by Hiko-sama. As we walked through the outermost District, the residents greeted us and we replied. It's was a busy district with the residents who weren't employed milling about to perform their daily task.

As we walked, Hiko-sama explains how this village had separated the residential district into 5 clusters, the government employees and their families in the first, the nobles on the second cluster, those serving the Mayor as a Samurai or Imperial Guards on the third cluster, the commoners on the fourth and lastly the plebs or General workers.

Hiko-sama explained that the plebs on the outermost cluster had been coined as commoners now since they had been employed by a corporation here, had permanent jobs and salaries, improved their standard of living as well as being accepted as residents of Kitakata. Previously, they were considered as an outcast of society.

"It is pretty warm here in this town, we have to remove the battle gear that we are wearing underneath our kimono. And change back into this. It is a practise that we do and be ready for battle at a moments notice, can we, Oneesama?"

"It's a good idea, Enyo. Furthermore, with a protective barrier installed, we won't be expecting any trouble. Look at Fujin, even it had become a normal nekomata already."

Saika showed to us Fujin, that had turned docile due to the effect of the protective barrier and turned into a cute little two-tailed cat.

When we reached our corporation grounds, both Saika and Enyo were witnessing hundred of workers laying out the foundation of buildings and were erecting the skeletal structure of barns, as what Enyo termed them.

"Ohh...who is building so many barns for? Is this a residential project or part of keeping animals and livestock like horses, cattle and sheep?"

"Hehehehe...That's what people would see when they see these buildings that resemble barns. Come, follow us into this barn here and you would get your answer." I said as I beckoned them through the courtyard and went into a warehouse where they were producing Hae Shanpu. The moment both Saika and Enyo entered, the mixed scents of fruits trailed into their nostrils and they were refreshed and felt invigorated and energised.

"Wow... So many people working here! And all are girls. These are the residents from the outermost cluster?"

"Yes, Saika -Chan, these are the residents from the outermost District. They are working here on their 2nd shift now and what they are making is a product called Hae Shanpu. It's a variety of 10 different scents and were offered at discounted prices for the residents on the 4th and 5th District."

"It smelled so nice! It's like fresh fruits that you could find all season, and you shower in them?" asked Saika in excitement as the thought of shampooing her hair whenever she has a shower excites her.

"ROOM! Good afternoon Senpai!" a girl greeted and all work halted for a moment as they stood up and greeted us before continuing their work again.

"Hello, Senpai! How are you? You brought visitors here in this production line?" asked Izumi and I introduced Saika and Enyo to the newly appointed Plant Manager.

"Ah... These are our friends from a nearby village. It's a small settlement and they would be here in Kitakata and putting up with you in Jiyu Residence. Hmm, could you arrange for their accommodation when they are here?" I asked Izumi to assist our new visitors to Jiyu Residence as they would be sharing a room.

"No problem, Senpai. I would allocate Hanna and Gin's room to accommodate them, by the way, my name is Izumi and this is Riko. What's yours?"

"Eh... Eh... They have a cute cat! Even if the cat looks weird with an extra tail... Meong meong... What is your name?! Wheee... It looks so fluffy!" that's Riko, as usual, shooting off her mouth in a friendly manner.

"Oh, I am Saika and this is my brother, Enyo... And this nekomata here is Fujin. Nice to meet you too!" they both exchanged pleasantries and when Riko was petting Fujin close to Enyo, he felt a little embarrassed because this is his first time being so close to a girl his age.

"Senpai... Can I play with Enyo and Fujin after work? Can I, please? This cat is so cute... I have some grilled saba, I think Fujin would love some!" pleaded Riko with her hands clutched together under her chin.

"Hahahaha... You have a lot of time in the morning before your shift. They had travelled from far and is tired from the great distance, let them rest first and you can play with Enyo and Fujin in the morning." I advised and Riko pouted in a fake disappointed manner.

"Okay, we get back to walk the grounds first and help out the rest if they needed. We meet again, Enyo, Fujin and Saika -Chan!" Riko said to us, bowed and left to continue helping the production line in mixing another cauldron with coconut, olive and lye mixture with the assistance of the storekeeper.