/jp/ - Otaku Culture

(1/2)
‘The man was a gnat and he knew it’, yes, this was the problem Yukari had decided.
Goro was one of the hundred or so villagers on the ‘watch list’ for breaking taboos and becoming Youkai or worse, which would normally be the responsibility of the shrine maiden to watch, but as Reimu fell increasingly behind on her duties it fell to the Gap Sage instead.
Unlike other miscreants though, Goro almost seemed acutely aware of this fact and prodded, but never pushed, the rules. He would skim Youmu books, but never read them fully. He knew a few spells and incantations of various like but would rarely use them and only in unexciting fashions. He’d carried on business relationships with Youkai and accepted invitations into their domains, but always left early and abided by custom. And he honored his ancestors while safeguarding his own soul from taint with the minimum of Buddhist practice.
Even when it came to gods, Goro had been effortlessly evasive. He worshipped Okina, but only her aspects and never the whole. This syphoned any faith directed toward him in a myriad of directions, meaning he couldn’t be glorified, but also wasn’t glorifying Okina directly, so she was incapable of making him a surrogate.
‘If the old pervert was capable of taking male servants that is’ Yukari thought.
This all made it especially tricky to stop Goro’s recent efforts against her, but like a fly it was more of a passive annoyance. He might’ve greased palms, caused troublesome parties to join hands, found a way to get those fickle Grassroots Youkai to coordinate in a way nobody could decipher, gotten an Amanojaku as his aide, and just maybe, maybe it would result in her having to waste an hour or two to get a flyswatter. She had more important matters to attend to in the meantime.
That was until he showed up at her doorstep with the equivalence of a tactical nuke in the form of a cursed bracelet.
‘I should’ve have insisted on sealing that one permanently.’ Yukari grimaced, remembering the Youkai Hunter who’d manufactured those beads.
Which raised a more important concern: ‘Why had Okina allowed “that” to fall into his hands?’ Yukari questioned. The god was bound by ancient compacts to not allow the tomb to be pilfered unless the harmony of the village was under grave threat and while the rising tensions may qualify, why that cursed thing? Why not the spear that casted empty lightning or the braid that sealed words instead of the weapon made by a psychopath to win several bets at once!
‘Uses Houjustsu but behaves like Youjustsu, a grudge that never grows, made purely from humans without the assistance of gods, youkai, or spirit…’ Yukari listed off the dares she rembered.
Should she simply forsake subtly and respond in force?
‘No.’ Yukari decided, ‘This is just like Okina, to prod and provoke her opponent onto her turf and crush them with experience.’
“Yukari-sama.” A quiet but confident voice called from the door.
“We have a situation outside the establishment.” Yamashiro stated, seemingly unbothered by the dire nature of things.
Yukari had noted that her manager had become warmer and less jaded in the past few monthes, which had made the HSE run a little smoother and allowed her to address more dire matters, but for some reason she found herself a little annoyed by it.
“I’m aware.” Yukari stating, sliding forward a piece of parchment. “Read that statement when the Tengu arrive and keep our people from getting too close. At least until I have Ran take a look.”