【Ch. 2 - Strolling Along】

Thoughts were streaming through my head rapidly. A human here? That's impossible. Even if you ignore the fact that its normally impossible for humans to have enough spiritual energy to enter or even survive in this realm, there are a multitude of wards preventing forced entry to begin with.

Any mortals we bring in as guests are typically limited to the local area of the shrine they were brought in from. It's pretty much unheard of for one to be on a path like this. Not to mention those areas near the shrines are generally safer for mortal souls in general. This far out a human soul would simply erode away.

A handful of extremely seasoned practitioners every generation could maybe manage to do something like this; priests, miko, exorcists, that sort. The human in front of me clearly wasn't one of these, though. And hell, even they would find it difficult to so much as breathe here.

Wait, calm down. Nothings going to be answered just by thinking about it. I stop these racing thoughts and look carefully at the man in front of me. Miraculously, he seemed completely fine health wise. As for appearance...

How plain.

I mean, its not like he was unattractive. But I wouldn't really call him the type to turn heads, either. Well, that's being generous too. Bluntly, he was the sort of everyday person you'd pass on a street without consideration. Office appropriate haircut, appearance, and attire. Utterly average.

Most certainly not the type of person you'd expect to breach the wall between realms. I decide to call out to him.

“Hey, you.”

He freezes in place once I speak as if snapping into awareness. He stares at me for a long while, blinking slowly. Great. Seems like he really is confused about what just happened too. This might be tiring.

“Right, before you ask. Yes, this is a real. No, you aren't dreaming. You're currently standing in the spiritual realm. Yes, it exists. I'm not going to harm you, but I would like to figure out just how you managed to get here. The ears and tail are real.”

Let's at least try to pre-emptively answer the typical questions. I watch him slowly digest what I just said.

“Um, so am I dead then?”

Tch, missed that one.

“You aren't. At least, you don't look or feel like a deceased spirit. So, let me ask, who are you and how exactly did you get here?”

“I... see. Err, my name's Takeda Ryota. I'm just a regular developer, I guess? Uh, the last thing I remember is stepping through my front door to head out to work... and then suddenly I'm wandering into wherever here is? So, um, who... what are you?”

He pats his body a few times while answering me, I guess to check if he wasn't truly dreaming. His eyes were darting between my face, ears, and tail all the while. This would be the normal reaction I suppose. Well, at least he wasn't in a complete panic or running away.

“So, Takeda-kun, is it? You may simply call me Tama. As you can see, I am a messenger of the esteemed Inari-sama. A genuine, live, kitsune.”

I flick my ears and wave my tail as I introduce myself. I've been told these gestures are cute.

Huh?

Wait.

Did I do that by habit just because I'm introducing myself to a man?

Was I really that desperate?

Actually, don't answer that. Lets move on!

“Ahem. Putting that aside. You're saying you simply walked through your front door and you just appeared here? This isn't exactly somewhere a mortal just wanders into, you know.”

“Um, yeah. There was a sudden flash of light when I left my apartment, and next thing I know, I'm walking into this place.”

“Right. So you really have no idea how you got here, then… How do you feel physically?”

“… Normal? … Should I be feeling something?”

Wonderful. Mysteries abound.

I peer at him closely. It really didn't look like he was suffering from any ill effects despite having been here for some time now. Did he have a constitution immune to the detrimental effects of being here as a mortal?

More questions for later.

“Well, it's probably best for you that you don't stay here too long at any rate. Come with me.”

I turn to the direction of the nearest shrine and immediately set off. It wasn't my original destination, but this is far more important than delivering mail.

This is looking like it'll be a headache, so in reality I really just wanted to pawn him off to someone else as soon as I could. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't curious, but I try not to get dragged into troublesome things if I can help it. Less headaches that way.

“What? Oh, uh, right! Wait!”

He scrambles to follow me. I don't bother looking back to check. I wager he he was probably just looking to and fro at the surroundings, anyway. Not that there was too much interesting to see.

“Er, So, Tama... sama?”

“Don't. I'm not important enough to warrant reverence.”

“Tama-san, then. Um... So spirits like you actually exist, huh? Does that mean all the other legendary stuff exist too? Yokai, gods, that sort?”

“Hmph, its pretty much as you imagined, yes. Most of those old tales you might have read are true to an extent in the end. Have you read many?”

"No, I only know as much as a regular person would. Do people wander in here a lot? You seem pretty used to this."

Hm. I suppose I was being oddly calm about this. I guess I'm the type to be in unknown situations? Situations like this have basically never happened before for me, so I'm finding this out about myself too.

“I've never heard of this happening before, no. Right now I'm just trying to get you to someone who might know better than me as quickly as possible. Its normally pretty dangerous for humans to be so close to us spirits.”

I look back at him to check. He shifts his gaze when he notice me do so. Oh? I would hope he was just simply staring at my tail just now. Maybe I should warn him a little.

“On that point, you sure are quick to trust me. With the stories told of my kind, I'm surprised you're following me this obediently. Should you not be more afraid of me?”

This wasn't entirely just me teasing him. The tales were true to a degree, after-all. Violence and manipulation of mortals may have been reduced significantly by now but its not like it was actually uncommon. Even without knowing the full truth behind this situation, I can see existence like his being embroiled with spirits in the future. One should learn to be cautious if that's the case.

“I mean... I reckon you would have done something by now if that was really your aim. Besides, it doesn't look like there'd be anywhere to run even if you are just feigning nice to trick me.”

“That's an awfully naïve view.”

“I guess so,” He shrugs, “Well, you're also acting so quickly I didn't really have the chance to think this through any better, either… so I may as well just go with the flow now.”

“Haah, is that right? So you admit to being easily swept into a fox's pace, then? You modern humans really do lack a sense of danger. Or are you simply just too trusting of a pretty face?”

“Pretty...? Well, that might be true too.”

“Flattery will get you nowhere. And why would you only retort to that point?”

I shoot a glare at him, and he simply laughs dryly in response. Hmph. Somehow, this attitude was starting to annoy me. Why did I feel like I'd get swept up in his pace if this continued? Well, it was going to be someone else's problem shortly as far as I was concerned.

Soon enough we approached a fork in the road. The shrine wasn't too far off from this but, by some cruel fate, I could see a problem up ahead. Another messenger was just rounding the corner and heading straight for us.

Even from a distance I could see her form stiffen up and eyes widen as soon as she spotted Takeda.

Now, how was I going to explain this?