Аннотация: Hiroe takes Mizuchi and company shopping. And then he admits that Tsuchimikado is leaving the city and soon the committee will be cut down like in two other cities. A conversation at night between Yuto and a crying Shizuka.
Chapter 99.
The morning of a working day, and for me, a school Monday, greeted me with clean, humid air and killer food flavors. Mizuchi had already eaten and was now arranging the papers she had retrieved from the hiding places she had gone on a raid for "into the night." Meeting my gaze, Shizuka pushed the "blue" passport of a Japanese citizen in my direction. I opened it: the photo is really similar. And the name? Hmm, Chidori! The Goddess of Rivers has a surname, so now it's Mikuni. Almost Mizuchi, good harmony. But where did she get it from?
"I found it in their bag," snake shared her memories with me, not too happily, "near the destroyed camp. The Yokai is an ogre. Daughter and parents... We buried what was left."
Shoving food into my mouth with one hand, I logged into the Ministry of Emergency Situations website directly from my mobile phone and punched through my passport data. Hmm, they don't appear in the search, but the database is uniform across the country. And why? Yeah, I picked a folder out of a pile of papers: a certificate of purchase of a farm on the coast. We've already decided to relax in the mountains on our own. And snake is doing well - he knows how to work with documents.
"Do you have many of them?" I returned the documents to Mizuchi.
"Twenty pieces a year," she shrugged her shoulders. "It doesn't happen every year that they are suitable for age and appearance."
"It means that a hundred people are regularly eaten in our mountains..."
"About a hundred and fifty."
"...every year. Interesting."
Statistics of population losses. The mountains... wow! More than a thousand. Well, of course, the gang from which Shizuka "holds" not the entire array, but most of it... This means that the losses are mostly accidental - I lost my temper, got drunk and froze, and so on. What about the rating? What about the rating? Car crashes - about 5,000 people a year, and that's just on our island. That's a tough one... but I'm still against pseudo-dirty creatures living in the mountains who love human meat. Because reasonable people won't just starve to eat reasonable people's meat...
"Okay, I'm off. Close the door behind me, please."
"Okay," Shizuka got up and went to the door, suddenly asked: "Will it be possible to see your school?"
"Yes, there aren't many lessons on Saturday, we'll do it." and I left her at home and went to class.
chapter 100.
It's the middle of summer. It's warm, it's good, the last week of classes, and the schools will close. Applicants who have not passed the spring exam will have a chance to try to get a passing grade in a new one or choose another place - an innovation that is only five years old. The "Tokyo incident" - I didn't have anything like that "there"... And that's good. The mass suicide of 198 people from Ronin, who jumped from the roof of the 120-storey tower of the shopping and business center with a beautiful, almost exactly round figure. It's a murky story. It comes out in the search engine with the query "mass sacrifice", it seems that the police have unearthed some kind of trace there. But the government could not help but respond to the "official" reason, and the school (and student) academic year was "moved" so that it became closer to the European one...
Why am I thinking about this? I just decided to "go through" my "post-knowledge" again: over the past two years, a number of inconsistencies have accumulated... Although there is not much value from the "after-knowledge" either. I'm sure that if I hadn't recognized Shizuka by her appearance and characteristic speech, I still wouldn't have rushed at the enemy until she attacked. But would I invite her to my house? Well, let's assume that the manga helped me here. But Rinko, I managed to fix her behavior a lot: instead of showing a "boyish" character, she confidently engages in both school and kendo. And he still walks around without the "cat" ribbons, to which an entire chapter is devoted in the manga. Although they may be "supposed" to be bought this summer?
Shizuka, on the contrary, looks much more sane, about a year after communicating with the "canonical" Yuto. Or have I just not talked to her enough yet? But there are no hacks like "this food is not for you" or "if you slip up, I'll kill you." On the contrary, I was the one who asked snake to try to analyze our joint actions taking into account her broader life experience, and I got a thoughtful look and "I'm trying to change something for the first time, just like you, you know." And Rinko teaches cooking. And I went out with Hiroe a few times. I have only one explanation: something like this happened between this summer and the summer of 2012, when I will be sixteen years old. And this "something", perhaps, should be kept in mind.
Shizuka told me a bit about their "spirit community" and mentioned the problems with regular attacks. This is after I showed the surveillance system in action and explained the principle of operation in general terms. And then I found out one unpleasant thing: Mizuchi knows almost nothing about classical magic. This is despite the fact that she told me the layout of the hunter clans (well, I finally found out something about them! And, by the way, Yakoin is the surname of all detectives, not the name of the girl from Tsuchimikado o_O), about the magic techniques used... imagining the result and the affected area, she doesn't know how it works. More than that! The mana generated by the snake is incompatible with mine. At least in her hands, the mana-electricity converters don't work, no matter how much energy she pours into them. But the wooden roundels were soaked with water and swollen. Damn, a "chakra with an elemental aspect", like in Naruto. And I've already rolled out my lip... But I can make an amulet for Mizuchi. And the overwhelming universal "cuts" any type of chakra, that is, mana. It's a real problem...
However, we will have to enter the "community of spirits" anyway: we need a testing ground for our combat abilities, at least mine, and we need sparring. Yes, and weapons need to be prepared. Now Mizuchi has occupied her computer and spends her days reading popular science literature. The poor snake's brain is really creaking - after demonstrating the laser (sawed through a wooden block in the basement... and again, the poor wall!) and she decided to master at least the theory of the linear accelerator... and she got stuck. But it's harmful, harmful to be a humanitarian, if you don't have to fight with words. Yuto the "canonical" may have also turned his tea mug into a superconductor (and I don't even doubt about the teapot!), but even if he had noticed, would he have drawn a conclusion? It seems to me that the answer is "no".
By the way, about education: with a brush, Shizuka writes just fucking well: smooth, clear lines - and this is without a "cheat" touch-up with his strength of a watery ink solution. Again, some facts from the history of Japan through the eyes of a contemporary, if not an eyewitness, are something. If anyone has watched Samurai Kenshin, that era is through the eyes of a snake... something like Russia in 1905-1920. A complete arctic fox. And gangs of samurai with swords. Mostly, though, with torches, ropes, and outdated firearms. Brr, if you really have something to compare it with, you immediately understand what a good time you live in. However, not much has changed for the Yokai: big cities are tightly closed, medium and small - you can get there if you look with both eyes.
These Yokai are an interesting civilization. There's not a word in the manga about this, although it's possible to guess in principle. This development from the "simplest" forms up to the local deity is impressive. I can imagine what would happen if there were no people on Earth... but they are there, and the species itself (if the concept of a biological species can be squeezed into such a variety of forms, possibilities and parameters) of spirits turned out to be among the "disciples" of human civilization. Just as a child learns to use his brain by looking at adults, so ayakashi, gaining intelligence, learned from people. Languages. Manners. Behavior. Minus the "instincts", of course. And now it's a grotesque medieval education next to the civilization of the 21st century... However, according to Rowling, magicians should have the same problems.
In general, it's not just the snake that has a swollen head. All experiments have been suspended, except for the extension of signal coverage, I'm frantically rebuilding my knowledge of the world. One good thing is that my studies are almost over...
chapter 101.
Saturday. Last school Saturday! People are walking around the school half in "civilian" clothes, handing in textbooks, cleaning club rooms, in the sense of cleaning so that everything is in place, and not as usual. Our "bespectacled" team doesn't stand out much against this background, although Rinko and I have already been asked a dozen times if we have brought a "new girl" who will be studying at school next year. And Shizuka is very thoughtful. Apparently, it did not occur to the snake that regular education could play such an important role. Especially when I showed some "fast" experiments on "demonstration machines" in our club, such as diffraction or elastic deformation. Or the second graders assembled a "water whip" - just a jet of water at a pressure of 6 atmospheres (you don't even need a pump, just a water pipe and an air expansion tank), which in five minutes "gnawed out" a nice cavity in a piece of limestone - so he poisoned Mizuchi in a knockdown. I had to go into the staff room and look at the information on the stand about the rules for transferring students - apparently, Shizuka must be a schoolgirl after all. Moreover, in my opinion, she knows the most difficult subjects like Japanese and Japanese history no better than the teachers. By the way, the speech of the Goddess of Rivers has also changed, archaisms are almost not found, but there are meme words from the Internet, such as "trollolo" or "parallel to me." And that's all in a week. Well, the "rubber" sealed keyboard and mouse are included from the very beginning - this is if anyone has any questions why I didn't buy a used laptop for Mizuchi. At the exit from the school, I came across Taizo with a stack of textbooks (his and his sister's, as I understand it, we don't have that much), and immediately scattered this rack when he saw my "escort". However, to the question "are you multiplying them by division?" I choked and couldn't find what to say, but three girlish fists thrust under my nose explained everything exhaustively. It's lucky that the guy got carried away with avionics, otherwise with Shizuka included in the "canonical" version of Taizo, he would simply not have lived to high school! Yes, Hiroe also walks around the school with glasses and smiles mysteriously at questions. No matter how the new fashion is brought to school... Although maybe that's what he's trying to achieve? The disguise will be excellent.
By the way! Shizuka deposited a portion of her savings, about three hundred thousand yen, into the "general cash register." It was very difficult, at least for us now, and we eventually covered all the expenses for its arrangement. As I understand it, Mizuchi has some gold buried in the "if anything": she's a solid girl, you can't take it away. It seems that the summer vacation month will be marked by "study, study and study," especially since Kaname, feigning embarrassment, asked her to "pull up" in the exact sciences. It seems that the girl has already rethought something about the world and people. And I'm going to have experiments, meditations, and a lot of brain work. In general, routine is like routine.
Chapter 102.
It's time for normal schoolchildren to rest and relax before the new school year, and only here, in the Amakawa house, there is a yoke of smoke! In two weeks, I personally conducted almost a year's worth of research on the Ferry and came close to solving the problem of increasing the speed of muscle reaction with magic-based amplifiers. Either my previous work experience affected me, or I just approached the "critical mass" of accumulating knowledge, but after I carefully examined how Shizuka moves "on acceleration", I managed to catch the necessary elements visually, through glasses. And then, over the course of a week, through trial and error, we managed to choose the configuration of the lines, in response to which, when applied to the material, it is reduced by applying magic - mine or Mizuchi's. I must say right away that the block of wood or plastic did not want to shrink. But everything worked out with the rubber! And with muscles too, even more effectively. Poor hamster, he was in such a hurry to escape from the scary me that he didn't jump in full force... This is the first time I've seen the real personification of someone who fell against a wall. Then it was necessary to somehow intensify the work of the nervous system, at least the cerebral cortex, so that the experimental animal could cope with its own speed. The "eye" ferries only "broke" hamsters for me, and for all my friendly feelings and agreements, I would not want to demonstrate these weapons unless absolutely necessary. For five days I searched for an answer, trying to imagine the logic of nerve cells through the logic of muscle cells, and eventually I bred a ten and a half hallucination hamsters, plunging their not very complex (compared to human) brains into the power of an electrical storm of signals caused by forcing using modified muscle weaving (the power part was cut off, leaving purely electrical effects). The only effect, apart from the hallucinations of the subjects, was the realization that perhaps I had invented a not very pleasant protection against mago scanning of human memory. It is enough to channel a little mana as part of any spell, and instead of direct or indirect access to memory, there is a whirlwind of vague visions and a malfunction of the hemispheres. Fifteen minutes and the subject falls asleep. He also loses his short-term memory. In general, the ferry equipment is rather dubious, from the series "leave as a souvenir to an enemy who has learned a lot, but got caught." Or send them to retirement with such a "draconian" thing. We just need to make sure that the subject does not voluntarily tell everything after two or three wonderful awakenings from such a state... and schizophrenia won't work.
Realizing that I had reached a dead end, I habitually slipped into a state of meditation... And then he came out: he had to take a hamster. My training sessions with sensei continued, and there was no end in sight yet, but I already wanted to test one idea. "Ferry scan". I used this term to describe a theoretical thing that I couldn't test otherwise - the spontaneous "improvement" of a material not for a given property, but for a given quality. I'll have to explain a bit here. I'll start with a simple one - a "ferry" mana catcher. After charging a piece of wood, glass, metal key holder, and a plastic pencil case with amulet properties, I found that metal captures magic most effectively, and wood accumulates it (thanks to the snake for working as a mana source). The hamster turned out to be the worst in terms of the dynamics of taking the amulet. No, seriously, where do you think I got mana into the amuletized muscle structures if the rodent wasn't magical at all? That's it. Looking at the graph of the capacity-saturation rate -regularity relationship of the molecular structure, Shizuka looked puzzled, then thought deeply... meanwhile, I started "meditation with a hamster." The idea of "scanning" lies on the very surface: How did my ancestors, Amakawa, naturally determine that the material at hand could be used as the basis for an amulet? It's simple, they tried to feel their blood power, to use "Steam" as that button in the joke about Photoshop fiftieth version: "do it well." At least that's how I explained to myself Mizuchi's retelling of the "Unique" magical amulets she knows, made by our family, such as the "Impossible Mediator", which instead of dispelling the user's magic, concentrates it. However, a hamster, unlike a simple piece of wood, is a superposition of a large number of elements that make up a smaller number of tissues, and I tried to focus on the nervous one. Putting my hands on the back of the animal sitting in the carrier cage on my lap, I disconnected from the outside world for about twenty minutes. The hamster had long since fallen asleep under my hands, basking in the warmth, and I was still trying to find a response... and I felt something like that. Ferryboat. Get out of meditation. Eyes. Well, yes. No, I definitely got something done - the dense jumble of lines around my head and spinal cord looked much more meaningful than with an ordinary "spontaneous" Ferry. But what does it give? When I woke up the hamster, I was convinced that it wasn't exactly the speed of information perception. So, what if mana is served? Hmm, but the structure does not consume it. Damn, what did I do? After putting the animal back in its cage, I climbed onto a chair with my feet and again began to drive myself into a trance, this time trying to focus on the sensations I experienced in the last "session" and interpret them. And he found himself at a loss. I've highlighted something, but here's how to interpret them... will? An idea? The condition? Something that is not verbalizable. I tried to remember if I had ever felt like this before. I don't think so. Although... At the very edge of sensation... every time I worked with animals... the very shadow, the imperceptible shadow of a feeling... when I interfered with the work... consciousness? No, no hamsters don't have consciousness. Well, there's definitely a second alarm system. It's like I'm breaking something in my fist. Something whole. Previously, without reaching the required degree of detachment, I would not have been able to isolate this feeling, but now... now I realized that I had always felt this "wrongness". Previously, without reaching the required degree of detachment, I would not have been able to isolate this feeling, but now... now I realized that I had always felt this "wrongness". I took the time to pull out of my bag my "magically" powered laser pistol, an artifact I made almost two years ago, I tried to feel it, and I felt it... accuracy. Not completeness, but a step in the right direction. My head started to hurt. I had to get an analgesic from the first-aid kit, which, after twenty months of unsafe experiments, I finally thought of placing in a working basement. I washed down the pills. He swirled the rest of the water in his glass. I got another "clean" hamster. So. Ferry on the muscles. Made by. The introduction of the drive. Made by. Fill in the mana... Five minutes... enough. And now - detachment and Ferry. I feel... wrongness? Incompleteness? Disadvantage... speed? That's it! Fuck, that's IT! I put the hamster on the floor and kicked it lightly in the ass. A jump... Where the hell is it? Blurred movement from the left, straight, right, up... pushed off the wall?! Another loss... And on the bag of food? That's it! More precisely, he is. Wow, damn, how the muscles glow! And the head? It seems there is almost none, except... Oh, that's it!
Victory! After two years of trial and error, after so many discarded hypotheses, I finally got my hands on a means to survive in battle. Even if it hasn't been worked out yet, even if it's unclear how to regulate mana consumption, even if I won't risk using it on myself soon... but I have a chance to win in a direct clash with the enemy. At least I won't "slow down" anymore. Hmm, and Yuto from the canon, under the control of Himari, achieved, if I remember correctly, this effect twice as fast. But unlike him, I understand what I'm doing! Damn, I am! I'm so euphoric!
Chapter 3
We blew almost the entire snake's "budget." For the most part, she spent it on herself and on business, not on trinkets: several sets of clothes, bought a school uniform for the new school year. It turned out to be quite simple to arrange the transfer of documents: Shizuka called "her" "old" school and simply gave the address of the new one. Of course, she was scolded there for taking so long to transmit the coordinates, but the data was sent. Then Mizuchi worked as a copier, copying the handwriting of Chidori's parents, under whose name she entered our school. To school, but not to the classroom: it was not possible to get her transferred to us: and so the bias by five people towards our "B". So the Goddess of Rivers ended up on the same stream as me and Rinko, but in the "A" class. It's kind of fast-paced... But on the other hand, is she a scout or is she out for a walk?
Mizuchi also talked about her role in the Corpse Eater group when we discussed the release of our classes at the "training ground". It's still purely theoretical, but the day is not far off when at least Rinko and I will have to experience Amakawa's abilities for ourselves.
Let's hope that Kuzaki's brain will get an update on high-speed processing of information from the senses and reactions: Hmm, "us." I tried not to even think about matters of personal devotion: the "Ferry" that was embedded in Rinko's central nervous system was anything but affecting the higher functions of the brain. It seems that on the contrary, he was slowing down in some ways. Over the past year, I've managed to spy on the structure of some of the neighbors down the street-Soli borrowed there or vice versa- lent me a large curry cauldron, which I think was the only one on the street. I managed to memorize and draw pictures of the lines of more than fifteen people... including Kuzaka's parents. Do I remember naively talking about behavior programming? When did you not understand the essence of the Ferry, only learned to see the lines of light? Now I doubted that it was even possible. That is, it is possible to influence higher nervous activity... about how replacing a video card with a more powerful one will enable the "Aero" mode with translucent elements in Windows 7... when they come up with it here, this seven. Or you can compare it with installing a good discrete audio system.: the card "wraps" the sound calculation on its processor, and the processor no longer spends its power on this process, which is faster. And if, for a computer, the distribution of tasks from the speed of execution is still on the conscience of the user - whether he uses Aero or listens to music there is his business, then the neural network, which is the "computing center" of the human brain, will try to independently redistribute resources, which will affect behavior... it is unknown how.
So, the lines of light, of course, somehow affected the higher nervous activity of the majority of those examined... but weakly. You can even guess how - I don't know when and on whom Amakawa collected statistics on the work of the "Ferry" in humans, and it's good that I don't know, and I would be afraid to look into the eyes of "unsuccessful experiments", I've had enough of hamsters! Basically, the Ferry affected some physiological functions of the central nervous system, just like Rinko's, by the way. Which ones are beyond my experience to understand. Here you really need to identify patterns with statistics... or find the clan archives, which looks more realistic. I feel like I need to open the "Mystical House" in Noihara, and after talking to Mizuchi about the Yokai's perception of people, I gave up the last illusions that the heir of the clan would be recognized. There will be a fight if I cancel the technique... by the way, it is also unknown how. Or wait until sixteen. I wouldn't want to kill any of the family's vassals, it's not for nothing that my grandfather left them to me. And somehow I'm not ready to go all the way for more than five hundred years of development on my own. Although it is necessary to prepare for the worst...
..I'd rather think about the money. Which are again missing. So, Shizuka specifically spent so much money because she had to hire tutors. I can't give her the right amount of time... and after consulting with her, we decided that communication with adults would be good for her. I also helped, mostly in physics, Rinko took over mathematics, which was difficult for her until I started helping her, and now, having felt her own mistakes, she could even explain mathematics to the spirit, who knew mathematics at the level of four simple arithmetic, at least such simple things as proportion and equation with one unknown. Snake mastered fractions quickly. At the same time, the three of us - the human part of the "association" - were stunned to see how Mizuchi handled the antique abacus, which she also brought from her stash: she was calculating her expenses and her savings. However, two weeks later, the scores still gave way to Excel. Shizuka also discovered Chemistry!
It just so happens that the majority of reactions in school chemistry and organic chemistry in general are somehow related to aqueous solutions. I couldn't even count on getting into the chemistry classroom, except by taking a chemistry teacher hostage and tying dynamite around her. Therefore, I had to buy a set of dishes for the laboratory at home and a Japanese equivalent of the "young chemist". It's not like Shizuka has a lot of free time... but you should have seen how her eyes literally "lit up" when she saw another successful school experience: and I don't mean magic. This is what a person who has come into contact with a Miracle with a capital letter looks like... As it turns out, neither does Yokai.
In general, we "hooked" the snake on the "human world". I don't know how she's going to get out of it when the Spirit Road gets back together in the bay, but I'll probably have to go there with her and try to break the spell on the bulls. At the same time, we'll get to the sea, at least by the end of the holidays.
chapter 104
Hiroe is a smart girl after all. It was she who did not allow our company to completely bury itself in work - it was necessary to let off steam somehow! We still visited the amusement park, which I promised Rinko last year, just walked around the city (the girls were just like that, and I was laying new sensors and connection paths for the signal network). They even had the audacity to come to the very center of a huge ten-story supermarket, which reminded me at the same time of the Moscow GUM, the Moscow Children's World on Lubyanka and some kind of "mega mall" like "Megi". They killed the whole day, but they had fun and relaxed... and they taught Shizuka to crowds of people, which at first made the village yokai just sick. And Shizuka, as it turned out, loves ice cream very much. No, it's not like that: SHE LOVES ME VERY MUCH. And she can eat a kilogram in one person. On the other hand, if you have a body made of water, why not? Although I absolutely cannot imagine what processes are going on inside the demon carcass at the level of chemistry, physics and physiology. I haven't asked Mizuchi yet if she creates a gastrointestinal tract for herself when she eats, why she washes if she uses water herself, and other "cute" details, in order to avoid injury to the template and all that. I'd like to sort myself out here! Although, of course, I'm interested. But - "no one will embrace the immensity," as the NTV channel reinterpreted Kozma Prutkov. And I'll get to the Yokai yet. Although it's better to get to a normal library first.
If you try to search for information on the subject of magic on the Internet, search engines give out huge amounts of information... Most of the time, it's the nonsense and speculation of the townsfolk. There are literally grains of reliable information among them, but sorting it out is not a task for the faint of heart. Unfortunately, it never occurred to Shizuka to use a network of informants to get the information she needed, like properly connected acquaintances and so on... but it occurred to the Corpse Eater. Which, when it came up, Mizuchi was surprised to tell herself. The Ayakashi leader was always aware of the latest developments on the "magic front", learned about significant changes very quickly and was generally a very extraordinary being. Very much on his mind.
At least Kaname's seemingly innocent questions caused Shizuka to literally sink into thought.: I actually noticed that our society makes the Goddess of Rivers think much more often than in the canon. And the first results are already there. By the way, if you think that Hiroe dragged us to the city center just to sit in cafes, don't insult her like that anymore. I myself have fished out at least three goals: to train Mizuchi to respond adequately to clusters of homo sapiens, to look for possible observers from the Committee (because it is quite difficult to run into a policeman from Tsuchi's squad in such a "plebeian" place, at least according to Shizuka, who for some time watched the magicians from a respectful distance fortunately, they did not try to muffle the auras burning with power). Kaname's third reason was to buy clothes for the summer temple festival. Which, of course, we are going to, she had no doubt. "Shall we go?"
Carefully asking Mizuchi if she had any problems visiting temples ("What other problems could there be? I lived at the temple myself... you know."), I just waved my hand. For some reason, boys were not required to dress "specially" for such events, but there was a whole ritual for the female sex... I didn't even listen.
But we still spotted one committee member. Well, what can I say: a slightly flickering aura, weaker than Shizuka's when she hid her power without the amulet. She admitted that in a normal state, without a completely severed sixth sense, she would not have paid attention to this man who was walking two children and his wife through the rows of toys on the top floor under a transparent roof... and in vain. Because he didn't lose his vigilance, and a couple of times I noticed from afar how his eyes were turning blue - I used something like a scanner spell. I had to take a chance and stay where I was: if my Mizuchi amulets couldn't even stand up to such a test... But the guy wasn't the least bit interested in us. Big deal, kids. But he didn't miss any of the strangely behaved personalities who almost turn on themselves in any crowded place. The criteria for the selection of suspicious persons became clear. Indeed, intelligent yokai who are "divorced from life" often behave "not at the checkout," like the woman who gave Rinko the "blessing." Sometimes it's more noticeable, sometimes less, but almost all spirits choose the image of "visitors" in order to somehow justify their oddities. That's how they get caught. After all, our Mizuchi has surprisingly successfully chosen the image of an eleven-year-old girl, how many times has she disagreed with such "ordinary" people without noticing each other? Something tells me that she frowned more than once. No, the inspector himself won't interfere: "call a friend" - and one of the policemen will get his ass off the chair. Or the committeemen themselves will send an elimination team with enchanted ammunition. Shibata-san often interacts with his father... and he often takes his family here on vacation. Hiroe explained innocently in response to my questioning look. Dad generally interacts with many of the middle-level employees. Everyone's computers are buggy and breaking down," a sidelong glance at Mizuchi, "you know!"
"Yes, I understand, I understand how lucky we are to have you! We really appreciate you, don't doubt it."
"And I really appreciate you all!" The one with the haircut smiled.
"The main thing is not to evaluate it as a reward." The gloomy snake muttered and almost choked on the ice cream: Kaname had such a furious look.
"I gave it to you. Word. I. Never. Not. Violating. His" Hiroe literally hissed. It even got to me - it was so unexpected.
"I'm sorry," Yokai looked away. "Me... I shouldn't have said that. To stir up the past..."
With great, obviously visible difficulty, the fragile short-haired girl regained partial composure, but the mask kept trying to slip off her face. She was speaking so softly now that I could barely hear her whisper:
"Father... he doesn't know, of course... even her mother, she considers the Committee to be just a place where money is drained from the budget... a warm, bread-filled place "for your own. But I found out... Over the past year, the Committee has had two offices in two cities... destroyed. All the people just disappeared, they were searched for and not found."
"But how? Police combat groups..."
"Yes, that's the reason. People named Tsuchimikado from five medium and small towns were transferred to Tokyo, and two more resigned. It's not so easy to find information, I had to search on social networks... "Black boxes" in cities with less than five million people are being closed... And I don't want that... so that my father would also "go missing" one day."
For a second, it seemed to me that the warm summer air was freezing like the Arctic trade wind on the White Sea. You can dislike exorcists as much as you like, and transferring magicians gave me additional "freedom of maneuver," but I absolutely did not want to get it at that price. That's why so many Yokai "limits" attacked Yuto from the canon - and this is in the city! That's why, after only five years, the Yokai feel "at home" here, and neither Himari nor the others had any problems. Again. I'll have to act again, and much sooner than I wanted to. But, thanks to Hiroe, there is still a chance to be proactive. You just need to figure out what exactly needs to be done... And don't get too worked up. There's still time. Only the whole mood to walk was gone.
chapter 105.
So we rested. So we've done our job. What happens if the combat group of magicians leaves the city? Nothing at first. Then emboldened, ever-hungry little things like "Chameleons of Dreams" and other not very reasonable stuff will make their way into the city. Usually, these comrades of magicians and yokai with a strong aura bypass the tenth way, which greatly helps to minimize any "minor" mysticism in cities, but when the number of minor yokai grows into quality, the committee members will have to release their magicians onto the streets. Or is it more correct to say "magicians"? I was very impressed with the energy level of the inspector and his family. A very low level. Even I have it eight times higher, judging by the glow of a quarter of the reserve fused into the accumulation amulet. Ask why there is no such problem in the villages. So look at the village houses: all are hung with "voices of the wind", amulets "for luck" from the nearest temple, figurines-"deceptions", and offerings are regularly left. And it's not just cats and rats that take food from the tabernacles.
So, weak committee members will take to the streets. No, they also have powerful magicians, Jinguji supplies well-trained combat groups to its structure. It's just that there aren't many of them. Just as there are an order of magnitude more magicians in the Committee than in the police, there are also an order of magnitude fewer truly powerful magicians than there were in the police. But to deal with the small fry, while the exhausted townspeople turn to temples, priests and various charlatans for amulets and talismans, there are enough of them. A strong kick is enough for most, they are not very fast, very cowardly and, to put it mildly, not smart. Thanks again to Mizuchi for the tutorial on the basics of yokai management. But stronger and, most importantly, more intelligent yokai, having seen this method, if I may say so, will understand: the magicians are gone for at least a long time. And they will go to have fun in the cities - at the expense of people, of course. Ordinary people will not be affected by this - the minuscule amount of energy that can be extracted from a person or animal without magical abilities will not interest anyone of any importance. On the contrary, the trifle will run away, the number of problems with "mysticism" will decrease. But the weakest magicians will be dealt. In such circumstances, paradoxically, employees without a gift at all are more suitable. Anyway, they perform mainly registration and reporting functions. No, you can achieve amazing success with a gun and a kind word, but in the case of a massive attack, the magicians and everyone around them are doomed. If there had been an agreement between the local especially sane spirits and the Committee Members, perhaps the problems could have been avoided. Partly. But - "not in this life." The Spirit Killers from the Tsuchimikado clan diligently maintained their reputation, and the strong Jinguji are not far behind. However, they can also be understood. There has never been a single successful contract between an organization of people and a group of Yokai in the entire written history. One asshole is enough, from either side. But my clan, the Amakawa, somehow managed. As I have already reasoned from the very beginning of my "hit" - what does Amakawa have that others don't? Obviously, a "Ferry". And I had my first vague thoughts about how the ancestors used it to achieve... no, not submission. The Amakawa Ayakashi clan, I think, was fully served. As they say, not for fear, but for conscience. Otherwise, my current knowledge and what I remember from the canon will not come together: as Himari Yuto said, "even if there was no order, I would still take care of you..."
Okay, we can think about the principles of service later. Now my task is to use the situation "in my favor", while having as few victims as possible from all sides. And something is looming. The path is even more risky and faster than I had planned: I will have to take responsibility not only for the Yokai from my "retinue" to other clans, but also to the demons for the actions of Hunters in this region. And not only in front of "my own people", but also in front of those who were not even close to me in my retinue. And, worst of all, we will have to take responsibility for the "ordinary" citizens. They really won't know about it... I hope. I thought I was nervous before the university entrance exam "there". Holy shit! Everything is learned by comparison. And the expression "the hamstrings are shaking" is not at all figurative, it turns out... And my scenario is extremely simple: I actually decided to assemble a "brigade" from an available "resource" - from yokai. That is, to make a "roof" and cover no less than a million-plus city. Yes, yes, just like that. In the spirit of our "new Russians" in the 90s, "there". If I hadn't been born a Russian, if I hadn't been a teenager who was already thinking about something in the "dashing 90s", I would have let the situation take its course one hundred percent... and this is the worst thing that can be done. Because the lawlessness in the city will provoke a raid by the Jinguji combat group now, and those, since they are waiting for them in a dozen more places at once, will not be deterred by "minimal damage" to the territory. Everything related to Ayakashi will be cut out and destroyed. A "big fish" in the form of a Mizuchi and a Devourer is likely to survive by escaping in time... and all achievements will be lost. It will be difficult for anyone to hide from the Jinguji cleanup group... and they will refuse to sit out under protective amulets... and they will do it right. Because life "after" will follow a completely different path... the rails of the canon. Where the snake hates all hunters, but also hates Yuto, who could have done something and didn't. Even if she knows with her mind that nothing could have been done. BUT IT'S STILL POSSIBLE, DAMN IT!!!
Okay, calm down. The main problem is the lack of time... Hiroe promised to get the information somehow, but we will count on a month, otherwise everyone would know, including Kaname's father and mother. That means a month or more. And the first problem will be to persuade the Death Eater and Co. to come with me. Moreover, this will have to be done literally in a few days - so that there is time left to work out the strategy and tactics of patrolling the city and come up with something for those who are on vacation. The Death Eater's group should be enough... I wonder what he would say to such a "generous" offer. I hope he doesn't try to kill me on the spot, but I'll take Mizuchi with me... When I talk you into it... Don't get distracted. The second stage will begin with Tsuchi's departure - groups of demons will enter the city under amulets and begin to catch small change and filter the flow of intelligent spirits... which will have to be exposed if they do not agree to register... still figure out how to do it... and they won't promise to break the riots, that is, the rules (and tighten surveillance!). And the rest are kicked in the coccyx (or where their tail will grow from there) - and for 101 km. Our land, fuck you all...
It started skidding again, nerves, nerves. So, when the bullshit statistics decrease proportionally more than in other cities after the departure of the Tsuchi polis, show up to the main committee for the city and present yourself in all your glory - with yokai behind your back, so that you can drive your soul into your heels with one aura... and politely, politely explain about the protectorate of the Amakawa clan... Hmm, on what grounds... Yeah, the USA! I need a buffer zone around my house. 101 km. And don't f... don't care! After that, I'll either be smeared and captured by Jinguji's battle group, or even Tsuchi... or the chief committeeman will turn out to be smart. And he will conceal the agreement with Amakawa, and Amakawa with the Yokai... more precisely, a slight distortion of information, which will give some preferences to him and me... the city authorities, who will be put under pressure by the Social Committee, should also be satisfied - there are no spent shell casings and craters from fireball explosions. And you definitely need to mix up something useful financially. Ah! The head is square! But I carefully wrote down the theses in a lined notebook "for the most important".
Now exhale. Is there anything I can do "right now"? To talk to Shizuka, maybe... And I think I'll talk...
... I'm on time. Yokai was clearly sick, and it wasn't physically bad - a half-naked girl sitting on the floor in a puddle of her own water, convulsively clenching her fists, staring at nothing with empty eyes, from which moisture continued to run. It was scary. But for once, I didn't allow myself to be careful. Sometimes you have to put everything on zero over and over and over again, because that's the only way there's any chance of winning. I sat down wearily in a puddle, propping the girl's back with my back. The dealer? It's all on zero!
chapter 106.
It's wet to sit in a puddle. It's not even cold, it's summer outside, and the water from the Mizuchi is not icy, but quite body temperature. My back was soaked too. We're sitting. We are silent. The snake cries completely soundlessly.
"We're going to have to save them now, aren't we?" Finally, she asked softly.
"If you're talking about committee members, then the expression "forcibly protect from the possibility of death" is more appropriate here."
"Not too different, you know."
"Well, considering that we're actually going to take their place. No, it's wrong, not the place, but the territory."
"Are we going to?" Yokai asked with some surprise. Huh, I almost stopped crying.
"Yes. We were talking about a just world... It's time to test our beliefs and calculations on the control platform."
"Kh-huh!" Shizuka choked on it. "You're talking about your hamsters!"
But what if you don't test the model of a society of intelligent beings on hamsters? Shizuka forced a smile:
"It's unusual to feel like a hamster... You know!"
"Well, if it makes you feel better, feel like a scientist forced to enter the experimental area... or a device for measuring the result. Unfortunately, we have to enter the experiment now... But that doesn't mean that if we don't like something, we can't change it. Have you become familiar with the concept of role-playing games?"
"Is that where a girl dresses up as a maid so she doesn't have to clean up? I didn't know you liked that, Yuto-kun! And you're so young..."
"Not those role-playing games!" I finally managed to cut into Shizuka's monologue. "I was referring to D'n'D board games or role-playing games with reincarnation. No, not a maid or even a nurse! An elf or a Space Marine. What I mean is, the player and the piece are one. The player represents himself as a figure, plays the game by himself. And we will not have a game, but a study..."
"..Imagine yourself as a hamster!" Mizuchi snorted. I just sighed heavily: everyone's got these hamsters.
"So you want to make Jinguji work for you? It's a big idea, you know."
"It will be beneficial for them too." I shrugged my shoulders, "besides, not all the Jingujis, but only the local Committee. Personally, they did not actually participate in anything because of their weakness, civilian personnel were not involved at all. And we will need loyal magicians if we want our experiment to turn into a practical guide.
"They didn't kill themselves, you know, they just targeted the killers."
"As far as I know, is there a similar practice among the Yokai to detect potential food?" Shizuka grimaced. I pointed my finger at the sky and got hit, but it was simple: how did all these hordes of weak-willed aggressive freaks come out to canon Yuto, if you can feel my aura barely a kilometer away?
Shizuka inhaled... exhaled...
"Two desires are fighting in me, you know... trust you without looking back... or drop everything and run without seeing a crash... Your dream has already become mine."
"If that's the case, it's still no reason to sit in a puddle," I translated the conversation. All these "high matters" and "diplomacy" are pretty exhausting. I do not know how much longer a snake can stay in a puddle of water, a water yokai is probably comfortable... But not for me! Therefore, I hesitated for a second longer, then mentally waved my hand, and, bending down, picked up the girl under her back and knees.
"Ouch! Where are you taking me?"
I understood intellectually that a body made of water could not be heavier than a body made of water and protein. That's the confirmation.
"To bed. I need to sleep. Tomorrow we will hold a general briefing and start acting, and now we will rest."
"..You're going the wrong way, you know..."
"=I stood in front of Shizuka's room, looking puzzled and silent. I won't be able to sleep anyway... one... I should think about all this... again.
I opened the door with my foot and carried the girl into my room. I put it on the bed, just like that - wet, without undressing. He climbed in next.
He squeezed the stiffened body by the shoulders and waist. And, tired, he fell asleep. I don't know what Shizuka was doing there at night, but the next morning I woke up in a wet bed, in wet clothes, and a snake hugging my neck, smiling in a dream. While I was opening my arms, which were almost made of steel for such a fragile build, I heard, "It's still so early, nii-chan, dree-aam!" Yeah, it's stupid, but I was grinning from ear to ear as I walked down the stairs. Wow, miracles do happen!