【Ch. 8 - Sudden Development ①】

【AN: All locations present in this story are fictional and of a loose relative location to each other and have no bearing to real life locations. Basically, its set in modern not!Japan and its easier to not have to fact check stuff I don't know.】

Heyo. Takeda Ryouta here. An utterly average recently-hired and presumably recently-fired everyday office worker. A plain normal human being.

Well, at least that's what I was when I woke up today. I'm still trying to process these last few hours, given the life changing and reality-view altering events that I've just been through. Events, for some reason, mostly consisted of driving off lust-crazed foxgirls trying to assault me.

I guess I've also just now been employed by an actual kami. Who also tried to make a pass at me. Somehow, that one was probably the most dangerous assault to my senses today. Seriously, what is going on?

At the end of all of this, I've found out that I'm presumably some sort of spirit user sorcerer... thing? An Onmyōji was what they said. I really don't know. Don't even know what this entire thing entails. Hell, I could still be dreaming.

At least I wish I was, it'd save me from my current predicament at least.

“You actually signed that contract that quickly?! Do you know what it means to contract to a kami?! You've barely even be in this realm for a few hours, and yet you're tying yourself down to it! In the first place-...!”

Tama-san is currently lecturing me. The sole individual today who seems to not be trying to get into my pants. Incidentally, she's also a foxgirl. One of Inari-Okami's messengers or something.

From what I gathered, Kitohana-sama had restrained her from interfering somehow while she was coercing me into signing that contract. That's at least most of what I got from her first few minutes of yelling full force at that now-absent kami. It then quickly shifted to criticism about my actions.

And so here we are now.

“We very well could have just gone straight to the Onmyōji themselves! Get a contract there if you wanted to, but now you're underneath Kitohana's thumb! That damned...!”

I'm not sure how long its been going on like this. In some ways I'm impressed that she had enough points to continue on for this long. Not that I actually think she's in the wrong.

I was pretty hasty. I mean, I did pretty much play directly into Kitohana-sama's hand like she said. I won't deny that. The pay was _really_ good, mind you. At any rate, I should probably try to calm her down.

“Uh, Tama-san?”

“What?!”

“...It's kind of too late for regrets isn't it?”

“...”

Urk. Please stop. That look somehow hurts more than you just yelling at me. It was pretty hard to look at her directly. I advert my gaze almost instinctively. Er, I'm sorry okay? Please just forgive me, already!

“Haaaa— Fine. Its not like you can negate that contract anyway. You've made this bed, alright?!”

That was easier than I thought it'd be! Maybe she was also getting tired of it.

“Yes!”

I respond with unintentional gusto, instinctively sitting up straight as a board. Looking like she was quite done with me, she presses a hand to her forehead and sighs. A textbook facepalm.

“She's still not back, huh? That kami... probably wasting time. It shouldn't be that difficult to get a single tome.”

“So, what do I do then? I'm guessing I can't just go home for now?”

“...No, you can't. You'd probably prefer going through a gate closer to your home anyway. And we're not making that trip until that lust aura issue of yours is fixed. Come to think of it, where would the closet shrine to you be?”

“Er, there’s a small local shrine nearby my place, I guess. It’s on the outskirts of Motoyama. Actually, shouldn't that have been the shrine that was closest from where I arrived since I came here from my front door? Where is here anyway?”

I've never even heard of Kitohana-sama until now. I could only guess she was a kami only really known to locals. Which probably meant that I was actually nowhere near my home.

“One would think, but I guess whatever gate you walked through decided to place you somewhere fairly arbitrary. This shrine is in a rural area in Yuzawa.”

That far?! That was basically two entire prefectures away from my home.

"Why you got dumped where you did, I have no idea. Even in this realm, it'd still take about two hours unimpeded to get near Motoayama from here. Where you came in was even further away from your home, actually."

"Still that long? Given that I'll be working for Kitohana-sama that probably means I'll have to move closer to here, huh?"

“Doubtful. Chances are you won't be coming here all that often. Kitohana-sama is probably aiming to increase her overall influence by having you contracted directly under her. I doubt she actually needs an Onmyōji solely dedicated to this shrine. You'll probably be lent out to deal with other kami's issues whereever.”

“Issues?”

“Runaway messengers, overly malevolent spirits, mediation of disputes, all sorts. At least, that's what current Onmyōji are tasked with. I'm not sure what to make of your specific existence. Especially that part about directly contracting us spirits.”

“Didn't Kitohana-sama say you would be training me about that stuff?”

“That was just her way of telling me to babysit you. Or answer questions. In truth, I am just a simple messenger serving Inari-sama. The only interactions I have with Onmyōji are fleeting at best. Same with my knowledge.”

“Huh. Feels like we won't be seeing each other much after this, then.”

Well, she did seem to want to get me out of her hair as quickly as she could. I couldn't really blame her, given all that's happened. Still, it'd still be somewhat sad if we just left it off like this. She has been the only one who's basically unconditionally helped me so far for whatever reason.

“...Somehow I doubt that.”

"What do you mean?"

“Kitohana-sama's been gone for too long. I'm pretty much certain that she has something incredibly irritating planned. Especially since she left me here with you.”

She did come off as someone who'd string you along by the pinky. With what I know, it'd probably be a development of asking me to contract with Tama-san or something. Tama-san could just say no to that, though, so that feels a little too obvious.

As if on cue, a wind suddenly picks up in the chamber. With a display of petals and greenery just like as when she disappeared, the aforementioned kami re-appears in front of us. The now-familiar smug-like smile on her face made for an ominous premonition.

“My! That was quite the affair one must go through to obtain permissions. Such is the nature of such ancient lost practices, I suppose. Takeda! I have but a simple question for you I wish to hear an answer for.”

She really is like a storm.

“Uh, what is it?”

“How would you like to date our little Tama-chan?”

No... she's closer to a typhoon.