E19: Spring Training

Weeks passed without incident. Tamiko had kept her word and stayed inside the shrine house, quietly bidding her time while handling the day-to-day tasks of the shrine. Whenever Mizuki saw her, Tamiko would greet her with a bow and a hug before moving on with her things. Mizuki always offered to help, but she would get the same response each time: "I'm fine Mother~"

At the end of the day, though, it gave her the time to leisure and enjoy herself. She went out, making rainstorms and watching it drizzle over the countryside from a tall hill. She was able to draw in her rock garden, making quick sketches with her rake before smoothening the surface back out for another day. She even spent more time teaching Herveen, Anna going out with Pearl on errands while they went behind the temple.

"Ms. Mizuki, how long do I have to stay in this position?" Herveen said, floating around off the air. She and the Ryu have been at it for a couple of hours now. Herveen wasn't allowed to let her body touch the ground, relying only on her mana to sit it in the air. She wobbled and bobbed back and forth, sweat dripping down her body and falling to the ground. "I think I'm going to faint…"

"Then simply stop your fainting, if you keep absorbing mana then you will be fine," Mizuki said, walking around Herveen. "Eventually, you might fall asleep, but by then, you would awake still floating in the air. Slowly gathering power shall become an unconscious effort, and you will be able to create spells unseen before."

"Is this how you became magic?" Herveen said, slowly spinning in the air.

"Oh no, I just read some scrolls!"

"Why can't I do that?"

"For you to go through our entire catalog would take more time than your parents drop you off," Mizuki explained. "Also, only deities are allowed to reach the transcripts." Herveen groaned, righting herself and stopping her spin before she became too dizzy.

"Now, then, it seems you got comfortable being in the air. I need to go make another storm, will you be alright here?" Herveen shook her head, clenching her staff as she slowly fell back down to the ground. She was out of breath, her entire body feeling dull. "Aww, oh well, I guess we could continue on the hills then."

_________________________________________

Mizuki took Herveen to the fields tucked under her arm, gasping when she saw that Tamiko was already there. Herveen had already fallen asleep, recouping after her recent exercise. "Daughter! What a pleasant surprise," she said, Putting Herveen on her tail, so she could hug her. Tamiko turned around and huh'ed, not expecting Mizuki to come here. "You couldn't stay within the shrine forever, could you?"

"I got a message to arrive here," Tamiko said. "Is this where you have been coming to?"

"Yep," Mizuki said. "It's where I do my weather-related duties." She gets beside Tamiko, a few clouds seeming to have followed her up the hill. "I just get such a nice view while it rains, it's peaceful." She sat down, the clouds gathering together above her while she chilled, moving Herveen onto her lap. "Do you get away from anything?"

Tamiko's mind went to Nabu, but she quickly thought of another thing to tell her. "I feel confined in my room at times," she said. "This place happens to be the complete opposite."

"I understand," Mizuki said. "Anna can get pretty, if I dare say, annoying to listen to." Mizuki looked around, checking if her Shirohebi had heard that.

"That is not what I meant," Tamiko clarified. "It's just, I need more space to hone my craft, and fewer people that could get in the way."

"Have you been practicing?" Mizuki asked. Tamiko, rather than saying yes, touched her hand against the ground. She started drawing water from the ground, pulling all the dew from the entire hill into a ball of water. Mizuki lifted her butt, letting the droplets she was sitting on collect as well while she started in awe and pride.

"I learned a trick I call, 'the water grapeshot'. Personally, I think it's some of my best work~" Tamiko said, stuffing her hand inside the water ball. A small glow was put into the center, Tamiko then taking her hand out and putting her hands under the ball. She grunted as she got a good handle hold on the bottom, throwing it up into the air with the force of a hippo.

"What a ball…" Mizuki said, watching it ascend upwards until kaboom, it blew up in an explosion of water and steam. It came back down on them, both Mizuki and Tamiko making water arches over themselves to keep themselves dry. "Hey, we both were thinking the same thing, hmm?" Mizuki said chuckling. Tamiko laughed a bit, looking at her arch. "Yes, I suppose…h-hey what are you doing?" Mizuki had come over and moved next to her, fusing their arches until they were both under one large umbrella. "I-I left because I wanted space, not because…" Mizuki sat the both of them down, watching the scenery while waiting out the rain.

"I wasn't warm to the idea of a new shrine, or all these changes at first," Mizuki said. "But, I think I have finally gotten used to it. The view is quite lovely from above the treeline."

"Of course, I knew it was lovely. We share a connection mother, I should be able to know what you enjoy, and vise versa."

"Is knowing interests really an innate thing?"

"Undoubtedly so!" Tamiko explained. "If someone is unable to tell, then that bond might as well be a failed one. Are you nervous that you don't know what I like?"

"Well, you never told me," Mizuki said shrugging. "What do you like then?" Tamiko chuckled, waving off the question. "Oh, you are just joking, I'm sure of it!"

"It's genuine. There is something that goes unspoken, but it's not like someone could read a mind," Mizuki said, putting an arm around Tamiko's shoulder. "I just wish there was something I could do…"

"Well…" Tamiko thought about pulling her to her side, but the quietness, the scenery...she decided didn't want to ruin the moment. She could always go through with her plan later. "Have you also feeling that pull?"

"Pull?" Mizuki asked.

"Yes, it's strange, but the water feels like it wants to be dragged towards the left…"

"Dragged…" Mizuki turned to her lap. "Oh right, my student! I've been teaching her quite a bit of mana manipulation." The Nureonago turned to Herveen, watching her snooze away on her lap. "She seems peaceful, are you sure she is the cause?"

"I did tell her to practice until gathering power became second nature to her body," Mizuki said, giving Herveen a head rub on her hat. "That means she did a good job," she said, smiling warmly. "It did take quite a bit of convincing, though."

"I am merely surprised she's sleeping on your lap."

"Surprised?" Tamiko nodded. "Personally, I wouldn't allow myself to be as vulnerable. You could stab her, or throw her off a cliff…"

"Well, that's the beauty of a relationship. It requires a certain amount of trust to be able to grow close with another," Mizuki said. "She trusts me enough to go through all this harsh training, and you trust me enough to call me your mother."

"I suppose…" Mizuki picked up Herveen, forming a literal water bed under her. "Yes, and what better way to show trust than letting yourself be vulnerable? Share secrets, be under their care, and encroach their entire livelihoods to a mythical dragon and slime." Tamiko thought about it, realizing that she was talking about them.

"If an entire population trusts us to allow their food to grow, then we can share secrets and private thoughts, right?"

"Do you share secrets with Anna and Mervana?" Mizuki nodded. "Mervana said she had a horrible past, but I still trust her, and if you had a horrible past…"

"You would...trust me." Tamiko sighed, looking down at her past. "Um, mother?"

"Hey, the rain stopped," Mizuki said, just noticing that her daughter's mini talent show had finally run out of water to fall. "I wonder how Anna and Pearl are doing with Maiden training…."

"Most likely using the slimes as target practice, I did make them look a bit too disposable…" Tamiko said, wondering if she should have put more effort into her servants.

"Probably not, Anna said she had things to attend to," Mizuki said. Tamiko jumped up, looking down at her. "Wait, but who is at the shrine?"

"Nabu said she could ensure no humans came. Why?"

"I need to go," Tamiko said, running down the hill.

"Wait! Sweetie, I can just make a portal home!"

"Please do your tasks mother, I can handle it, trust me!" Tamiko yelled over her shoulder, leaving Mizuki and Herveen on the hill. "Guess it is just us now," Mizuki commented. "What of an impromptu weather lesson, hmm?"

_________________________________________

"Do you know your part, Sana?" Nabu said telepathically. She, Marsaw, and Namaru were all staying hidden in the forestry around the temple, while Sana and been the honeypot that had gone inside. She had gotten weird looks from the slimes, but since Anna had given her permission to watch the building, none of them bothered her. She wanted into the bathroom, ensuring she had privacy before responding. Yes, she thought. They can't hear me right?

"Of course not, unless you're talking out loud while thinking," Nabu said. "We do not need to talk to have a connection, but repeating the words out loud helps get it through...do not do that, though."

Right, Sana thought. So do I start looking around?

"Not yet," Nabu said. "We need Tamiko to be the instigator, not us."

That is stupid, why don't we just look for proof? Namaru said. We've already waited too long, she could already be doing something again!

"She is unlikely to keep anything so close to Mizuki, and if she finds us there, she could just play it off as us being nosy," Nabu said. "Either she is friendly, or she slips, and we catch her in the act. Sana, just keep walking around there." Sana nodded and came out of the bathroom, opening the door right to Tamiko. "OH, MIZUKI'S DAUGHTER, HOW ARE YOU DOING?" Sana said, jumping a foot back into the bathroom. Tamiko looked disheveled, holding muddy shoes and a few leaves in her slimy body. Her eyes were emotionless, staring at the Harpy hanging around. "So, Anna really did leave," Tamiko said.

"She said that she needed someone to watch over, the temple…" Sana said. Tamiko nodded and stepped inside the small space, closing the door behind her. "You didn't, see anything too private, right?" Tamiko said. "There are a few spaces that are off-limits to all but the owners of the shrine…"

"Of course not," Sana said. "I would never go into somewhere like the basement or your bedrooms…." She tried to sidestep Tamiko, an arm grabbing Sana from her own shadow. I-Isn't that Namaru's power?

"You seem in a bit of a rush," Tamiko said, dropping her shoes in the sink. "Why?"

"Well, you are cornering me….a bit...in the bathroom…" Sana said, trying to lift her leg out of the hand, but the grip was too strong. "You can understand my nerves…"

"Right, right, right…" Tamiko said, relinquishing the hand. "Why don't you come with me then? We can talk while you are here, over some tea…"

"Cannot unfortunately, you understand, lesser deity conversing with someone of your stature…"

"Strange, you didn't carry that same attitude back when you hurled a grand piano into my head."

"Times….change," Sana said.

"Indeed~"

"..."

"..."

Namaru and Nabu listened for anything else, not liking the silence. "Sana, say something," Nabu said. "Tell us if you want us to storm that bitch," Namaru said. Sana shook her head, getting a concerned look from Tamiko.

"No? But...to what?" Tamiko said.

"Erm...to staying...in this bathroom?" Sana went with it, not sure if she sounded convincing. Tamiko nodded opening the door. "Yes, we have been in here a while. After you, lesser deity."

"Call her piano head, call her piano head," Namaru whispered while giggling.

"Thank you, um….piano head." I am going to die now. She saw Tamiko pause, Namaru's cackling going off inside her head while Nabu scolded her.

"P-Piano head, that is a...that is clever." Tamiko was clearly finding words to say, whipping out her hand fan. "Fu fu fu! I hope I can get such a roast for you as well."

"She just took it, oh stars aha ha!" Namaru said.

"Hopefully not literally," Sana said, following Tamiko. "I can't make any promises, darling~," Tamiko said, taking Sana down the floors to the main dining hall. It was just a round table, only able to fit six to eight people. Sana sat down in one of the chairs, while Tamiko sat down on the opposite end. Sana looked around, one of the sides of the room just being a glass expanse that showed the forest scenery.

"I see you are a natural light kind of person," Sana said, one of the slimes bring her a filled teacup. Another slime brought Tamiko the same kind. "My tree does not get this kind of lighting, so I have to keep a few candles around."

"You live in a tree?" Tamiko said, taking a sip of the cup.

"Well, I am a bird first, deity second," Sana said also taking a sip. "It is cozy."

"I could never, I need my space. Plenty of maids, everything as their own dedicated room. A princess need's her luxury."

"I suppose so," Sana said, finishing her tea. "This does taste like royalty too." Do you have any more?"

"Of course, help yourself," Tamiko said, also getting another cup. "This tea has quite a bit of history and prestige. It is a popular drink used when diplomats or kingdoms with tense relationships meet together," she explained while Sana took another sip. "Drinking the tea is seen as a sign of trust and merriment. One, because the leaves used to calm the mind, and room subsequently." Tamiko took a sip of her own, emptying half the teacup. "Secondly, it has an odd quality, one that allows secrets to, just, slip out of someone."

"Slip out?"

"Indeed," Tamiko said. "So to reject it not only means that you are being a bit rude, it also means that you could know its effects, and have something to hide from the other~" Sana stopped drinking, swallowing the last gulp. Tamiko narrowed her eyes, taking another sip from her glass. "However, that does not mean that it is a given. At the end of the day, truth-seeking tea is as much of a superstition as a deity to mortals…yet, it rarely, rarely fails~"

"But, then why would the host drink it?" Sana said, keeping her eye contact while clutching the drink.

"A show of trust, and a claim that they have no skeletons to hide. So Sana," Tamiko asked, learning over. "Is, there anyone else with you?"

"That is a strange question," Sana said. "Why would I come here with another?"

"Because, I think you came here to set me up," Tamiko said. "What could you be possibly supervising on a residential floor?" Sana looked down at the table, thinking up an answer. "Milling around, I suppose…"

"For what?"

"I don't know!" Sana said. "I'm just a bird shrine-sitting!"

"Then why can I see Namaru laughing behind a tree!?" Sana stood up and looked out the window, afraid that she had been caught. "Wait, she isn't there…" Two of the slime maids grabbed each of her wings, holding her captive. Tamiko slow-walked over to her, her soft demeanor completely gone by this point.

"A truthful person wouldn't have looked," Tamiko said, her shadow being engulfed in shadow mana. "But that's alright, I can just keep you until your friend's come."

"Fine then," Sana said, trying to wring her wings out of the maids' grip. "Turn me into a shadow servant! I won't care, but Mizuki might be wondering how you have someone else's powers!"

"If it was still winter, you might have been right," Tamiko said. "But, after my meeting with Nabu, I realized that she was right."

"That you're a manipulative killer?"

"That I wasn't powerful enough, thank you very much!" Tamiko punched Sana in the gut, getting a squawk out of her. "That was for calling me a piano head earlier, and this~" She paused, starting to choke her with her engulfed hand. Sana could feel something being burned into her neck, Tamiko holding her there for a minute until letting go and letting her slump back into the slimes. "This is for thinking I wouldn't notice your trickery. Let her go," she commanded, the maids. "Now then, how to break you before mother gets back~"

The door to the dining room breezed open, four other slimes forcing in Namaru and Nabu. "N-no, run away!" Sana said, her body feeling heavy as she tried to get up. "She is too powerful!"

"What did you do to her?" Nabu said

"You bastard, let us go!" Namaru yelled, stepping on one of the guard's feet. Of course, it didn't work, mostly because a slime very rarely felt physical pain. Tamiko obliged by their wishes, snapping as the two were pushed down in front of her. She didn't let them get up, Tamiko immediately doing the same grip she did to Sana that she did to Nabu. Namaru and Nabu grunted, grinding their teeth while the branding sensation fired off on their neck. "No need to waste my time monologing," Tamiko said. "I could have blundered my whole plan."

"Why, why does my shadow burn…" Namaru said, standing up on unsteady legs. She felt like she had a fever, sweating while the sensation lasted.

"Like it? I had to figure out something that not even you can counter," She held out her fan, motioning it down towards the ground. "Kneel~"

"Fuck o-" Instantly, the weight of a mountain fell on Namaru, her body getting on one knee without her will. "Ah, watch it with my legs!" she said, her knee slamming into the ground with too much force.

"Oh, sorry. I haven't exactly polished my power yet, but with you three, I will have plenty of practice from now on~" she said, three shadowy leashes all appearing in her hand, connected to a collar on each person's neck. She turned to Nabu, who had her face down ever since being pushed to the ground. "What of you, higher council member? You have talked so much, yet here you are, kneeling down to an exceptionally dressed slime." Nabu stayed silent, her head not moving. "Why are you so silent?" Tamiko said, tugging on her leash. "Is the shame of this that hurtful to your pride?"

The Hakutaku started laughing. It started as a low, small tickle in her throat until it slowly crescendoed into a belly-filling laugh that reached the corners of the room. Tamiko, off-put by the laughing, kicked her hard in the face, knocking her hat off in the process. "You buffoon! Why are you laughing?"

"You really thought that we would fall so easily to your guards?" Nabu said, staring up at her with a now-bloody nose. Haven't you noticed?" Nabu said, raising her hand. Her fingertips were melting into blue slime, the blue taking over her hand. "What?" Tamiko said, looking at Namaru. Her hands were also turning blue, along with her hair. No! They couldn't have! Tamiko looked up at the guards, noticing that one had gone missing. She turned around, narrowly dodging an attack from one of the guards.

"That's right, we have duped you with the bodies!" Nabu yelled, laughing as the other three guards went to attack. Tamiko evaded, jumping over them and raising walls of fire to stall while she tried to keep up. That doesn't even make sense! Unless...Nabu's powers, she must have found a Yokai that turns herself into a slime! Tamiko thought, getting kicked in the back by one that had sunk up behind her. I barely have time to think," She said, forming a dome of fire around herself. The slimes punched through, their first steaming from each hole they put into the barrier. But why are their four? What power could Nabu have...wait. The last time I met her, she was able to control shadows… She raised a leg as one of the slides punched upward through the floor, Tamiko expanding the barrier then going back to running. For all her training, she never expected her own guards to be used against her. Two of them, they must be shadows! Which would mean that the two on the ground are my own maids! Both her hands started to glow black once more, making a beeline towards the maids. Even still, I can't enslave all 4 bodies like this, maids, please help forgive me! She grabbed both "Nabu" and "Namaru"'s necks again, quickly getting rid of the collars around their neck before running once more. Nabu and Namaru instantly subdued the four slimes, Tamiko applying her collar on them once they were down for the count.

"Ahahah!" Tamiko said, followed by the two and the guards behind Sana. "You thought you could outsmart me, but I outsmarted your outsmarting! It does not matter if it takes 10 seconds or a 100, I have still caught all three of you," she said, patting both Nabu and Namaru on her back. "Don't worry, my lovelies, I'm sure the mana used will wear off within the moment."

"I am not sure about that," Nabu said. Tamiko's victorious smile switched up once more, but this time out of panic. Nabu looked past Tamiko to Namaru on the other side. "Do you feel like you will turn back, Namaru?"

"Not really, I fact….I think I like this newfound freedom." Tamiko instantly reached back towards Nabu and Namaru's necks, but this time, they were ready for her attempts. Nabu grabbed her wrist out of sheer speed, while Namaru's shadow snagged her arm midair. "I never would have guessed Nabu, using my own shadow in ways I never knew…."

"It is the other perk of mana-sutiru. You are able to innovate the powers you gather, but, at the cost of being the progenesis of a new yokai type." Nabu held up her other hand, strings shining in the natural light. Tamiko followed them back to the guards behind them, seeing a limb move each time Nabu wiggled a finger. "Nature does not like many abilities concentrated to one person, so nature shall create balance by forming the ability in other yokai. This is one of mine."

"You were controlling them?" Tamiko said, feeling a mix of hopelessness and befuddlement. She had spent so long training off-screen, yet never made a contingency for if her newfound powers didn't work. Her talent had been predicted and countered over the board, and now she had no tricks left up her large sleeve.

"Yes, and as such, I shall now bear the burden of providing the ones after my guidance. That is the fate of nature's chosen. It's why I decided to be the Yokai's Association's archive and censor. When your destiny is part of your job, it becomes a lot easier to fulfill it." Nabu tapped Namaru's elbow, freezing the joint. "Now, I did promise that you would get a cheap shot in once we figured out her power. My advice, a nose for a nose."

"Oh Nabu, you old-fashioned goat," Namaru said. "It isn't cheap if you almost died." With that, she gave the Nureonago one hell of an elbow to the face, freezing on contact with Nabu's ice, then shattering it with the force behind her arm. She sent Tamiko flying off, landing on her back holding her nose. Namaru walked over and picked her right back up, holding her by the collar of her kimono. "You self-righteous, undignified, daughter of a whore…" Tamiko said through a broken nose.

"Thank you, I like when my enemies are groveling on the ground." Nabu came over and grabbed Tamiko's wrist, activating her power. She put her hand around Sana's neck, Sana gritting her teeth as the collar got removed. She coughed a couple of times, getting up now that she was finally allowed to. "It took you long enough," Sana said, seeing Namaru hold Tamiko in a rough pin. "That is the last time I ever get used to bait...where is Marsaw?"

"Circling around. I am actually glad we didn't need her," Nabu said. "I severely underestimated how fast Tamiko could make something work. If we didn't succeed, she could have gotten Marsaw as well. It almost makes me proud, if she weren't without evil intentions."

"I swear, I will get you, then I'll get that fox man once and for all, then I will sit upon Amaterasu's mantle myself! You're just a hurdle in my master plan!"

"Tell that to the judge, jury, and executioner," Namaru said.

"Actually, do not," Nabu advised. "A younger Ganan would beat someone to a pulp for forgetting to say hello. She has calmed down now, but I can't imagine what would be going through her head seeing you here, especially after kicking you through half a forest."

And thus was the probable end. Tamiko could see no way out of this that didn't involve having to power her way through three- alright two, Sana is kind of usel- no wait three, Marsaw could come at any moment, yokai. The only thing to do now was to marinate in her own failure. At least it couldn't possibly get more embarrassing, Tamiko thought, not self-aware enough to realize what kind of movie she was living. Spoiler, it wasn't the good kind people talk about on Instagram. It was the bad kind, where the only person that would probably vouch for you at this point is about to come and see the fallout of your havoc.