Yamaha-no-Orochi 7

The momentary conversation with Orochi on the fascinating history of primeval beings lulled Alex into a false sense of security, reminding him of campsite talks with friends when he was alive, only to snap out of a temporary blissful moment when Orochi suddenly stopped talking and lifted his finger to the lips.

He could feel Yata shifting around, fidgeting with the retracted silk in his pocket, making Alex uneasy.

Orochi and Yata appeared to sense something in the woods, which Alex didn't. Used to Yata by now, Alex furrowed his eyebrows and squinted his eyes to sweep the area as his ears pricked up, attempting to catch any unusual sound among the background noises of the wind sweeping through the forest.

Alex nudged Yata, expecting an answer, only to have his elbow shoved away by the spider being.

"Something strange," Yata whispered in an irate voice. "I can sense it, but I cannot put a finger on it."

"Miasma," Orochi said in a strange yet calm voice. "Which means you two are not safe."

"Miasma?" Alex repeated to himself quizzically. He guessed it meant a poisonous gas of some sort, but how can it affect them if they have no physical bodies?

"Miasma can interfere with the energy waves of our bodies," Yata said, having overhead him.

"Some can shear souls, like mine," Orochi added, making Alex more worried about the situation.

"You can see it?"

Orochi frowned at him and raised his arm to point at the specific location, still midway down the mountain in the dark. "You have sight, but you don't see?"

Alex squinted as hard as he could. Nothing. Just a pitch black. Before he could turn away, Alex spotted the small greenish specks moving around.

"Ah, limited," Orochi grasped the cause of Alex's predicament.

"Limited?"

"Takes time to improve the skill. Practice makes perfect," Orochi replied as his gaze wandered into the dark scenery.

Frustration grew in Alex when he realised another existing yet troublesome limitation to his new afterlife senses. His aura sight which could only extend to the immediate area of a few trees around them and not beyond. He assumed, unlike the rest of the skills, the aura sight acted like a human's eyesight - you either have it or you don't.

Orochi's reptilian slits widened into a large round cat like pupils while his finger drew three commas in the air.

Three curved, comma-shaped objects radiating a strange purplish neon glow around their bodies appeared, rotating with the heads together and the tails forming a perfect circle.

"Magatamas," Yata uttered. "Always knew they can work somehow, but don't know how."

"Only us who are Jomon know their true use. The rest use it as a status symbol to decorate tombs, shrines and whatever things they see fit to decorate," Orochi answered with a touch of disdain in his voice.

Alex stared, awestruck, at the sight of the swirling magatamas. Simple and smooth, he could feel the power emanating from their bodies like a strong, crushing pressure pushing downwards on him.

Orochi whispered inaudible words to the wind. From the three rotating magatamas, a blackish mist spill down like water, forming dark swirling aperture opened right below the branches, reminding Alex of a black hole, levitating high above the ground into a dark abyss.

"Follow me." Orochi beckoned to them.

Alex pointed down at the swirling hole, the worst portal he had ever seen so far, and exclaimed, "to where?"

It reminded him of a mouth, ready to swallow him whole with nothing seen except a thick blackness of nothing. Alex didn't want to find out if he gets digested later.

"It's a safe place where they can't follow," Orochi said. "Or we can stay here. The miasma won't affect me, but you two will be, if it billows our way, should the intruders ever come near."

"I am not waiting to find out," Yata said, and before Alex could stop him, he jumped into the abysmal pit of a portal.

"Ladies first," Orochi gestured with his other hand.

"Why can't you go first?"

"Oh, the portal shuts with me going in. That's how it works. Unless you want to be alone here…"

Alex eyed him, still suspicious of Orochi's intentions, while Orochi shrugged. Taking a deep breath, Alex closed his eyes shut and dropped into the portal.

The gravity reeled him into a free fall and for a moment, he opened his eyes, only to see a squarish object at the bottom. Alex tried turning his head and an unseen force immobilised his neck.

The squarish object grew bigger and bigger until he noticed the details of his destination - a large Japanese room with the object which now resembled a giant pillow. He could see Yata at the other end of the room, trying to open the closed screen doors.

*PLOOOF*

Alex fell into a soft enveloping cushion, which sprung back like a trampoline, and threw him off, flying past the room and crashing into the padded walls. His body slid down the wall as a daze enveloped his mind.

Yata's face appeared in front of him like a double vision while the colours of the auras scattered around.

"I guess he hasn't figured how to travel in the air," Orochi's voice said as Alex made out his figure, stepping off the large pillow.

"Where are we now?" Yata asked.

"Not in Shimane," Orochi replied.

"Wher—"

"Remind me, why are you in my FUCKING PLACE!" an unfamiliar voice yelled from behind the closed doors.

"Long time no see!" Orochi snickered with a mischievous glint while Alex noticed the choker and chains tying him to the mountain in Shimane had disappeared.

The doors slid open with a force, and a young handsome man appeared dressed the same way as Orochi, stomping his foot like a child throwing tantrums.

"Yata, Alex, this is Ōmononushi of the Miwa shrine, the oldest shrine in Japan where even Okuininushi of Izumi has to pay his respects to."

Miwa shrine, as Shamoji described it during the car trip, was in Nara on Mount Miwa.

The oldest and possibly the most powerful Mishakuji appeared like a brash young man, fuming away at the sudden intrusion.

They are all fucking weird, Alex thought as he watched the Mishakuji staring down Orochi who met his glare with a defiant grin.

"Besides, Takamagahara doesn't check your place and your Mishakuji probably gave you the news. Two beast kings in my area," Orochi said while Ōmononushi took a step back to glance at both Yata and Alex.

With a heavy hearted sigh, Ōmononushi shook his head. "I think Kanghui is in trouble."

"Oh? Whatever happens to that migrant isn't our business. Told you all a long time ago, let migrants do whatever they want and reap the consequences, but noooo, you of all, helped. Let's see, Uga went to help Benten, and now the one sitting in almost all of his shrines is Benten."

Alex recognised the moniker for Benzaiten, a female kami with a snake like body. She originated from India, as Sarasvati and human folklore merged her with Ugajin, a Japanese serpent god of fortune.

Ignorance was bliss. The more Alex knew, the more he didn't want to know. Another primeval being usurping another's position sounded more like court intrigues, which he didn't sign up for.

All Alex wanted was the weapon from Kanayago. Not get stuck in the complex politics, which he had no clue of. Trouble started from day one of his afterlife and ceaseless in finding him.

"Still, I have to honour my words."

"Honour," Orochi spat. "You can protect that honour now. I helped for old times sake. That's it to all and I am going…"

"Those beast kings…" Ōmononushi trailed off.

"They are trying to get to Kanghui. They can shape-shift to human form and enter Planet Trouble here. From what you and I know, those are exiles - yet they can enter Earth," Orochi said.

"So you are saying…"

"Someone wants to erase Kanghui's existence," Orochi said, lifting his finger to Alex. "He's the bait. I was happily on my mountain, then the fight enters my area."

"So it's my fault," Alex hung his head in despair.

"Not yours. It's just that politics in the hidden dimension is just as bad as the human world, if not worse, since most of us live on perpetually."

"Some of us, like yours truly, are happy to lead content and boring lives after our adventures," Orochi replied. "The more powerful you grow, the more someone wants to kick you down. That's how bitchy all worlds are."

"So that's why you pretend to be restricted by those chains," Ōmononushi scowled.

Alex realised by Ōmononushi's tone that he, too, found out about Orochi's pretence of being imprisoned.

"Hey if I took them off in full view of Takamagahara, they will give me something worse. Better one of my snakes wear it to keep up the appearances now," Orochi replied.

Ōmononushi's eyes narrowed. "Don't tell me you have been up to your old habits of playing with the females again."

"Pot calling the kettle black," Orochi retorted. "Want us to compare the records of the humans? My involvement was with one named lady, one of Susanoo's countless companions, and she still can't leave me ALONE. You have MORE… let's see Isukeyorihime, Ikutamayorihime, and let's not forget Yamato-Totohimomosohime who killed herself by stuffing her vagina with a chop—mmfffpphh!"

Ōmononushi muffled Orochi's mouth with his hand before Orochi completed his ghastly rant and glanced at Yata and Alex, who both pretended not to hear about their womanising ways by making mundane comments about the screen doors.