神の妖怪

God’s Youkai

十二

“Ryou-sama! Here you are. I was searching all over the shrine for you, there is still some unfinished work to do for today!”

Jirou’s voice reached him already from far, and all emotions were suddenly washed away from the God’s face. He moved further from the boy, standing up. Now, when Minami thought about it, the man appeared just after Jirou was gone. Could it be that the God did it on purpose?

“Wonderful.” The God didn’t even try to hide the sarcasm in his voice. “Minami, do you want to help?”

“Can I?” Minami had no clue how he could be helpful to the God. But if the boy might be useful, then he wanted to help. That way he would spend more time with the man.

“Ryou-sama, you’re not trying to avoid me on purpose, right?” As Jirou was already close to them, Minami noticed small sweat drops on his red face. The elder man really wiped the whole shrine searching for the God.

“Oooh… not at all.”

The man’s empty face didn’t change, but for some reason, Jirou rubbed his nose bridge with a deep exhale. Minami felt this strange tension in the air, but he was so confused about it. Were they serious or joking?

“Minami will help us.” The God gave a quick notice before heading towards the building first.

“Well well... who could have thought...” Jirou glanced at the puzzled boy, with no less surprised face. Minami was sure he saw him winking at him before going after the God.

Minami was lost only for a couple of minutes longer before he got the grip of his task. It wasn’t hard, since the God was writing down the blessings on the parchment, answering the prayers written down on the small wooden tablets that Minami and Jirou gathered before. The boy only had to place the tablets in front of the God and once he answered them, Minami replaced them with new ones. The man’s hand smoothly slid through the paper, leaving refined ornaments of ink after himself. Minami couldn't help but gaze astonished at its beauty. However, the pile of prayers didn’t seem to end.

“I really enjoy this view of you working, Ryou-sama.” Jirou at his table, from time to time was glancing at the God over a big book.

“Minami, maybe you could read the prayers for me? This way it could be faster.” The God completely ignored Jirou’s words, asking the question so unexpectedly, that Minami almost dropped the tablet, he was holding in his hands, on the floor.

“Ummm…” The youth glanced at the tablet between his fingers. It was fully covered in tiny signs from multiple strokes, only looking at them made his vision blurry. Maybe he had seen some of them before but had no clue about their reading or meaning. “I can’t… understand.”

“Is it a difficult one?” The God was reaching for the wooden tablet in Minami’s hands. The boy was slowly getting sick. What if he sees the man’s cold face again? What if the God would get angry at him? This time because of how uneducated the boy was. “Minami, what’s wrong..?”

“N-nothing, sir…” Minami again glanced at the tablet, as if something could change. He anxiously pressed it between sweaty fingers, looking down at his feet. “I just… don’t know… how to read. I’m sorry...” Finally, he somehow managed to collect the words and admit how useless he was.

“That’s alright, don’t worry. Just give it to me.” The God made that short pause before answering, but for Minami, it felt like forever.

The man didn’t sound like he was disappointed or anything, yet for some reason, tears gathered in the corners of the boy’s eyes. Of course, the God was close enough to notice it, but as he opened his lips to say something, a loud noise came from outside.

“What’s going on out there…?” Jirou sighed, getting up from his table and walking outside, leaving the boy with the God in the awkward silence.

“Minami, reading is something you can learn. Don’t---”

“Ryou, you dumb fox! I had to get the whole shrine on their feet to find you.” The door opened with a loud blast.

It was a tall man with caramel skin color and rusty red long hair, tied in a high ponytail. Minami was sure he had never seen him before. Once the stranger entered the room, he glared at Minami with such fierce eyes that the boy instantly felt that strong sense of guilt, as if he personally did something wrong to this man. The person didn’t have the same animal features as Ryou, only one long tail in the same color as his hair. Yet the powerful heavenly energy glowing from him made Minami realize a little bit too late that he was a God himself. Only from the man's spiritual energy, the boy could already tell how different he was from Ryou, but definitely no less strong.

“Get out. There is something I need to discuss with the fox.” He ordered, not letting his golden eyes off the boy. Minami wouldn’t be able to move even if he wanted to. The man’s hateful stare pinned the youth to the floor. The boy couldn’t even move to bow for the new God.

“You found me, so why the fuss?” Ryou casually shrugged, putting the brush and parchment aside. “Also, Minami isn’t bothering anyone. He can stay.” The man added shortly after.

“For some brat to listen about Gods business? No way. Get yourself out of my sight, human.” He took a step forward and Minami got chills enough to get his senses back.

The boy flinched and rushed out as fast as he could before Ryou could say anything. As soon as he got outside he almost bumped into Jirou. The elder man caught Minami with both hands, and the boy saw his lips moving, but he couldn’t understand a thing. He was still strangled by that powerful and terrifying energy that chained him down. Minami’s frightened eyes, shaking body probably was enough for Jirou to understand that the boy wouldn’t be able to say a word.

The high priest hugged the youth around his shoulders, leading him further from the building, towards the kitchen. Once seated, with a cup of green tea, Minami was finally able to feel how the tension inside him fell.

“Who… was that God…?” Minami tenderly asked, once he was able to breathe easier and his heart stopped fluttering inside the chest.

“That was Ennou-sama, the God of bonds and marriage,” Jirou explained, looking at Minami softly. He must have understood how the boy felt. “He and Ryou-sama… are close friends, we could say. If I’m not mistaken they were born around the same time.”

Minami heard about Ennou before. He was one of the nine most important Gods amongst many others. People prayed for him, asking for a strong relationship, good marriage, or a loyal partner. However, Minami always pictured him as kind and gentle, just like bonds between people should be. Maybe every opinion the boy had of Gods was wrong. Maybe none of them was really fond of humans.

“He… was scary… I mean… Ryou-sama is… different.” Minami couldn’t speak disrespectfully about a God, but he tried to explain that inner numbness that crushed him as soon as the man entered the room.

“I perfectly know what you mean… let me tell you, Minami, Gods are frightening. Ryou-sama and his patience towards us is… how to put it… extraordinary. Gods see this world differently, and we as humans, won’t understand that.” Jirou’s words only confirmed Minami’s speculations. He still had so much to learn. “On the other hand, Ennou-sama is usually indifferent when it comes to humans, especially students. I think something serious must have happened, not only you got to feel his anger today.”

Minami pressed the cup harder between fingers. He should have known that Ryou for some reason was giving him special treatment, but other Gods had no reason to do so. He had more questions, but not enough strengths to ask them.

“Jirou…” Even though the voice called only the high priest, both, elder man and Minami, turned around when Ryou’s voice appeared at the door. “I’m going back to TEN right away. The ritual will have to wait. I’m leaving the shrine in your hands.”

With his last words, the man glanced at Minami’s worried expression. The God again had that mask on his face, distancing himself from the boy. Jirou must have been right, something important happened.

“Of course, Ryou-sama.” Jirou’s voice was calm, but Minami felt that the elder man was also no less worried. Surely, neither of them asked further questions. The God seemed to be in a hurry.

“Move, Ryou!” An impatient yell came from outside, Ryou almost demonstratively rolled his eyes before turning his back at both Jirou and Minami.

“Jirou, send the messenger to me if something happens. I will get back as soon as I can.”

The God walked out, but Minami also moved forward, one hand pressing against his chest, clenching clothes between fingers. He couldn’t explain why, but he had a bad feeling about this. Maybe because it was the first time the man was leaving after they met.

“Sir... be careful,” Minami asked shyly, but with a clear voice. He couldn’t take his eyes off the God’s back, even though the man didn’t respond.

Minami wasn’t expecting an answer anyway, he only hoped that the man heard his prayer.