Chapter 20

Chapter 20

A/N I made some significant changes to Chapter 19 on Aug 6, 2020. If you read it before then, you may want to reread it before continuing forward to avoid significant confusion.

I hurt all over. My mouth tasted awful. My eyes itched. My ears rang. And there was a steady pounding in my head that I eventually realized was my pulse – apparently magnified a hundred times. From what I could sense, I was in a hospital bed and I was not alone in the room.

Rather than opening my eyes, I reached out to find a spirit. They were thick around me. I plugged into a wisp, a small swarm of poltergeists, and a shadow or two. Through them, I examined my surroundings.

That was when I saw Alpine tickling Mrs. Yanagi. They were seated together on a small couch and she was squirming under his fingers.

"Stop it, Gan-kun," she squealed.

"Yami-chan …" I couldn't understand him.

Emily? Are you ok? I prodded my partner.

Taylor! I am so relieved you are awake. How are you feeling?

Can't you tell? It's your body too.

As I have said before, the body is now yours. I am just a guest you allow to accompany you in your travels through this world. I am pleased to be your companion, but I make no more claims on your person. Except …

Except what? I asked.

Except in the most dire emergencies, where you are unable to function. As was the case in the Temple. I apologize for my presumption, but it was necessary.

What do you mean? What happened? I remember calling the Guardian to fight Inoue. Then … nothing.

Perhaps it is better if you see for yourself. She queued up her memory and helped me experience with her. This was new. We'd managed to share some visuals and other sensory information before. But this was a deeper connection.

I was amazed as I watched the end of the ghost battle. Seeing Inoue get sucked into the Buddha made me wonder.

What happened to him? Will he get out? Will we have to face him again? I had no desire to mess with spirits of that level a second time.

He has joined the Guardian.

What?

I heard my father telling the story to the investigators, before they took us to the hospital. I had never heard it before, but it explains so much. It seems that in the Heian period one of the first Inoue lords was betrayed unto death by his own family. He returned to the Kesuru valley as a vengeful spirit – a goryo. He caused storms and earthquakes, killing many and threatening all life in the mountains. One of my ancestors, an early Yanagi yamabushi– a mountain dwelling holy man – failed to quell the restless spirit, at least on his first attempt. Eventually the yamabushi managed to tame the goryo – locking him into a boulder near the peak of the mountain and saving the surviving Inoue clan.

The Yanagi and Inoue were thus connected. Each side felt both rancor and gratitude towards the other. This led to a complex web of interconnecting vows. The Inoue would provide for the Yanagi a temple – built around the boulder containing the goryo, which was carved into a Buddha. They would sponsor and support the Temple for all time. As long as the Yanagi continued to lay the dead to rest in the valley.

In return, the head of Yanagi had to make an annual public obeisance to the head of Inoue to make up for the yamabushi's initial failure. In turn, if the Yanagi should fail in their duties, the Inoue could judge them unworthy and evict them from the Temple. This history has been all but forgotten, but it is the basis for the long running enmity between the families.

I thought about her story carefully.

So the current Guardian is the accumulated power of however many Inoue goryo the Yanagi have tamed over the centuries – forced to serve a family the Inoue hold in contempt. And now our favorite mine owner will be joining his ancestors in this duty. No Heaven for him?

Nor any rebirth, as long as this duty lasts.

I can't decide if that is poetic justice, or just harsh.

The world is harsh but fair. Nothing lasts forever. A thousand years is just a few turns of the Wheel. As each soul pays its debt, it will find itself once more on the path to Nirvana.

I finally decided that was an optimistic worldview. Justice and redemption – the best of all possible outcomes. Maybe someday I'd find them for myself.

So … what happened next? I could tell this body was pretty torn up. How long have I been out?

She paused – never a good sign when answering that question. You have been unconscious, in a coma they say, for ten days. Everyone else has recovered, except for Father's arm, which is still in a cast.

Your mother and sisters?

Jin managed to keep the worst of the catastrophe from harming them, taking much of the damage upon himself. They were released several days ago, with little lasting harm.

What about Jin?

He was brought in with grievous wounds, but checked himself out – escaped, really – shortly after waking.

That doesn't surprise me. I sighed. We can look him up when we get back to Tokyo. I assume we are going back – to UA I mean.

Unless you wish otherwise.

"Reiko-chan," Mrs. Yanagi reached out and caressed my cheek. "You're awake, aren't you?"

I opened my eyes, though I could only see out of one. Something was covering the left side of my face. Probably my hair.

Emily had worn her hair short, with the bangs hanging over her left eye. I'd tried to pin it back so I could see more clearly, but the bang was constantly slipping back. I had considered cutting it all very short. But my long hair – as Taylor – had been such a point of pride growing up, I wanted to grow this hair out, as a bit of a tribute to the old me.

I reached up to brush the hair back, only to find there was a bandage around my head, covering my eye. I looked through a wisp and confirmed what I felt.

"It's ok, Reiko-chan," Mrs. Yanagi tried to comfort me, but her voice cracked, and she raised her hand to cover her mouth. Alpine, who stood behind her, reached over and squeezed her shoulder.

I sent a poltergeist to feel behind the bandage, already certain what I would find. I was right – my left eye was gone.

Fuck … My thoughts ground to a halt. Not again.

I couldn't tell what I was feeling. This wasn't really my body, but it was all I had. I'd lost parts before, but that didn't make this easier. I guess someone had to pay the price to stop Inoue.

I am so sorry. If only I had been able to do something, Emily offered. The tremendous strain of trying to channel the Guardian, without the ritual, was too much for your quirk. It overloaded. I was so afraid it would be worse – that you might have burned out your brain.

It hurt. I could feel the tears pricking at my remaining eye and a tight knot twisting in my chest. It wasn't fair that this shit always happened to me. But despite what Emily had just said – life wasn't fair – not my old one or this new one. I knew that deep down. So, I took a deep breath and pulled myself together.

"It's ok," I said, reaching to Emily's mother, but talking to Emily as well. "I'm just glad everyone else is alright."

"You done good, kid," Alpine said as he reached for his cheroot. Mrs. Yanagi slapped his hand and he grimaced. "You made the sacrifice, but you saved the day. Can't do better than that."

What is the story between them? I asked. I didn't want to talk about the eye anymore. They look like they're having an affair.

Mother knew Yamayagi-san when they were young. They grew up in the same village, outside of Matsumoto. He is a few years older, but took care of her as a young child sometimes.

The babysitter?

Yes, she giggled like a Japanese schoolgirl. And when he came back to the mountains as a Pro Hero, he wanted to marry her. But she had already met my Father, and their families had arranged the match, so …"

Here you are.

It is a bit tragic on his side. He never married. I think he still loves her, but she loves Father.

As the Mountain Turns …

What?

An old drama my grandmother liked to watch.

"Reiko-chan," Mrs. Yanagi shook me gently. I opened my eye and smiled reassuringly.

"I'm here."

"I know where we can get you a pretty damn useful replacement eye, if you want," Alpine offered.

That got me thinking about wisps and shadows permanently set in the socket. It would give me a different range of vision.

"That might not be a bad idea," I said.

"I have some more news. Something you may not want to hear." Mrs. Yanagi sounded nervous. Not sure what she thought was worse than losing an eye, I nodded for her to continue. "You've been asleep for ten days. You missed the UA Sports Festival. Yesterday was the First Year's event. I'm so sorry."

"Ok," I said. "When will I be going back to school? I assume the Festival lasts for at least three days. When do regular classes start again?"

"Honey, do you understand you missed your chance to compete for the year?"

I rolled my eye. "Yeah, I got it. Like I said before, I'm not really worried about the Festival. I mean I hope my friends did well, but it's just not important to me personally."

"Some crazy kid from 1-A won it. Endeavor's boy came second," Alpine supplied. "Now there's a crazy man."

"I think we will need to ask the doctors about when you can be released," Emily's mom continued, ignoring the hero while slamming an elbow into his gut.

"Sounds good," I said, then yawned. Suddenly I was very tired.

"We'll let you rest, dear," the older woman said. I nodded and closed my eye.

I first woke on a Thursday. The Sports Festival ended on Friday, the same day I was released from the hospital. I spent much of that time experimenting with building a replacement eye from spirits. Friday morning, they replaced the bandage with an eyepatch. A couple of poltergeists allowed me to manipulate the patch and my hair so the socket could be covered or revealed. In the socket I set a wisp for pure visual and spiritual sight and a shadow for knowing without seeing. This allowed me to sense through the patch, though it wasn't as clear as the wisp's vision there was no tell-tale light. Looking in a mirror I shifted the wisp to a bright red color, giving me a seriously spooky death stare.

Apparently, on Friday evening Tokuda had finally gotten approval from the police and his editor to release the story, including the videos of the two big fights. I saw that he'd downplayed the spiritual aspects of the Guardian and the goryo for some reason. He presented them as quirk effects – the Guardian was shown as a gestalt projection from my father and me. The goryo was offered as a transformation after Inoue's supposed suicide – an old bloodline quirk. The end of the Temple battle wasn't shown. Tokuda had been outside and only flashes of light could be seen from within the sanctuary.

I called Tokuda. "Why did you lie about the ghosts?"

"It was what the police and my editor would let me report. No one believes in ghosts. Everyone believes in quirks. As my editor asked – can you prove it wasn't a mixture of quirks and delusions?"

"But spiritual stuff has been happening longer than there've been quirks."

"Can you prove that? Old records and stories don't count." He sighed audibly; his frustration evident. "For whatever reason, people don't want to hear about ghosts. Even Kanjiya-san is questioning herself on what she saw now that she's back in the big city. If I didn't have the videos, I would be wondering too."

"Thanks." I said and hung up.

My father once said that there is a veil between the worlds and most people only see through that veil when they need to. Emily offered. People come to miko to talk with their departed loved ones. However, they seem to assume it is some sort of trick at the same time they take comfort from the communications. While I do not understand it, I have seen the effect myself many times.

So those that need to know, know and those that don't, don't. And from what Tokuda and the Assayer said – the government knows.

I suppose …

This veil, is it some spiritually enforced global master effect? The thought reminded me of the Simurgh's control of people on a global scale. Or is it just human nature to believe only what they can see while they see it?

I wish I could offer you more insight. I simply do not know. Perhaps there is some truth to both. The collective unconscious is closely linked to the spirit world. Perhaps the two forces work together to protect the separation.

It seems to me that one point in the disbelievers' favor is the fact that we aren't up to our eyeballs in goryo and nasty spirits. Surely the Inoue aren't the only pricks that can come back. If it could happen to anyone, then why isn't the world filled with ghosts?

But you know the world is filled with spirits both great and small. You see them every day. The reason the destructive forces do not decimate the land is that people like my father stand to stop them. There are more than 150,000 temples, shrines, and churches in Japan alone. And in each one is a man or woman working to protect their flock. They perform daily rituals and rites which pacify restless spirits and drive out evil ones. And they have been doing so for as long as there have been people on these islands.

I never thought of it that way.

It has been my whole life.

I think she won that one.

When I got home Friday night, I saw the Temple was under repairs. People from both Dasumiru and Kesuru had come to volunteer their efforts. Materials had appeared, almost magically, by the truck load. Saturday morning I eavesdropped on a number of conversations that suggested their reasons for helping were split pretty evenly between morbid desire to see the sight of the reported battle and gratitude for the family that had driven the hated tyrant to his death. It seems Inoue had been no more popular among his tenants and workers than among the local Burakumin.

"I was wondering," I asked Mrs. Yanagi when we were alone in my room, "what is the status of the Temple ownership? I heard you talking to the tax lady about deeds and Emily told me the Inoue had provided the Temple."

She kept laying out my futon, spreading the thick comforter over the thin mattress. "That's still to be determined. Records show we have been paying tax on the property for centuries, and the Inoue have never done so. The deed found in Inoue's records was so old as to be meaningless. But your father admits they have some rights. The government doesn't necessarily agree with him. He says it is a matter of honor to acknowledge the ancient agreements between the families."

"Where does that leave us?"

"Where the Yanagi have always been, here in the drafty house on top of this cold mountain." She sniffed. "For how long, I cannot say. It may come down to Inoue Souji. He is now running the company while his elder and younger brothers are being held in the detention facility in Matsumoto. For attacking the Temple and participating in the seppuku."

"And their mother?"

"She's decided to seek solace in Okinawa."

I moved to help her with the bedding. It was all I could think of. Villains I could face, but these sorts of financial and marital issues were beyond me.

"No," she said, frowning at me. "You're still hurt. You sit down and let me take care of this."

Saturday afternoon, Principal Nezu and Kan-sensei showed up at the Temple. I met them in the traditional sitting room of the Yanagi home.

"We are honored by your visit," Mrs. Yanagi said as she served them cups of tea off a tray. She set out bowls of snacks as well.

I was ensconced in a comfortable zaisu – a legless chair common in traditional tatami rooms – pulled up to a low table. Emily's mother took her place next to me, kneeling on a cushion.

My teacher, dressed in a dark maroon suit rather than his costume, was seated in another zaisu while the Principal sat cross-legged on a tall pile of cushions. I kept expecting him to topple over, but he balanced on them like an acrobat.

"Having heard the reports in the media and spoken to the investigative team, we were very concerned with the events of the last two weeks and their impact on Reiko-san." Nezu's squeaky voice still managed to carry a tone of deep concern, with hints of regret and remonstration.

"It has been a very trying time," Emily's mother replied. Her back was straight, and her voice tightly controlled. "It seems that neither of us can keep her safe in this troubled world."

The two stared at each other silently for several seconds. The sound of me sipping my tea could be heard easily.

"The world is not a safe place, though heroes try to make it more so," Nezu said.

"And Reiko-chan is a hero," Mrs. Yanagi replied. "Even if she needs more training and preparation. Thus her studies at U.A."

"Indeed," the Principal agreed.

I guess that means I wasn't getting expelled.

"I have several concerns I would like to address before that happens," he continued.

Or maybe not.

"What sort of concerns?" I asked. "Mrs. Yanagi looked at me then settled deeper onto her cushion.

"The first is about your health," Nezu started. "I understand you received serious injuries both in the bus attack and the incidents here in Kesuru-machi. Are you fit to return to your training?"

"I may be slow for a day or two but nothing that I can't work through."

"Neh?" Kan-sensei muttered.

"I am happy to hear that. This leads us to my primary concern," Nezu paused to sip his tea. "I do not believe you are the same person that took the U.A. entrance exam."

"I'm not," I said calmly. "I do not believe any of us who have gone through real fights are the same people we were three months ago. Kodai-san, Rin-kun, Agoyamato-san changed along with me. The students of 1-A have also evolved, if what I'm hearing is correct." I brushed my hair back to show my eyepatch. "I may have changed a bit more than most."

"I don't think that explains the divergences and discrepancies I have observed. You fight too differently, use your quirk too effectively. It does not correlate sufficiently with your performance in the exam."

"You're concerned because I'm better than I was in the exam?"

"In a word, yes." Nezu smiled. "It is not just the depth of the improvements; it is the scope of other changes as well. Your academic performance demonstrates an inexplicable difference in capabilities – your unheralded improvement in English and difficulties in Japanese being the most incongruous. Your combat style and quirk mastery imply a level of training and experience that we cannot match to your known history. In short, you are too different. Occam's Razor suggests you are not Yanagi Reiko."

I took several calming breaths. The giant gerbil had me dead to rights – no pun intended. Emily's mother was looking at me, letting me decide what to say. I had considered this possibility though. Ever since we first met, I assumed the Thinker and I would be having this conversation. I would not, could not tell the whole truth. But I also didn't think I could get away with a flat out lie.

"I'm sure Kan-sensei has told you about my quirk examination by the Assayer." Nezu nodded. "The Yanagi family have a history of Medium-type quirks. Mine is the ability to see, communicate with, and control spirits."

Again, the nod.

"All the Yanagi children have been trained to channel spirits to communicate with their family and loved ones as part of our Miko duties." I continued. "I took it a bit further and tried to find a spirit that could help my performance at UA. After the exam, I found the spirit of a hero dead for more than a hundred years. One unknown to modern records. She's been training me, helping me understand better ways to use my quirk. That, combined with my coming to learning new things about my quirk that let me control several different types, has allowed me to expand well beyond my initial capabilities."

"You are saying your interaction with this Interregnum-era hero has helped you improve so much?" Kan-sensei sounded doubtful.

"Weaver," I said. "Her name was Weaver, though I haven't been able to find anything about her online. Maybe you have access to better sources?" I was honestly curious if there was some bleed over between this world and Earth Bet, known only to high level officials. "She tells me stories, gives me ideas. Coaches me. I've been thinking about writing some of her experiences down. I could share them with the other students. It might help them too."

"I would certainly be interested in reading them," Kan-sensei said.

"So, this Weaver spirit has made all the difference?" Nezu pressed.

"That and the brain injury, and the attacks, and starting at a new school, and making friends, and … I can't say there is any one thing wholly responsible for the changes. I've been through too much for that to be the case."

Again, the Principal stared at me, daring me to meet his eyes. I did – one eye to his two. Mrs. Yanagi put her hand on my shoulder in a visible show of support. If I was not Yanagi Reiko, the family was in on the charade. Which, of course, was the case. Mostly.

"Very well," the Principal said. "Will you be ready to return to Musutafu City tomorrow? Classes start again on Monday."

"I'm ready."

"Kan-sensei will accompany you on the train. It leaves at 1010 tomorrow morning. I must return this evening. I look forward to seeing you again at U.A."

Kan-sensei showed up the next morning in a taxi and had a private discussion with Emily's parents.

"Try not to lose any more body parts," Mieko snarked. She had mostly healed but the cuts on her left arm and forehead were likely to leave scars.

"Try to stay safe," Miyoko butted in. She was still limping from a twisted ankle.

"You too, both of you." I pulled them into a group hug. Mieko squeezed hardest. "And take care of Mom. I think she feels … different. I guess because she's the only one in the family who can't talk to spirits. If you two and Dad are busy speaking with the dead, she's got no one to talk to."

"Ok,"

"We will." I think they'd not thought of that before.

Farewells with the parents were more formal, with Kan-sensei watching. Mrs. Yanagi made sure I had my new phone. Mr. Yanagi told me to continue to make the Yanagi name shine – which was a compliment by his standards, if not a statement of concern for my wellbeing as a person.

My teacher and I boarded the train, him pushing my luggage. I would have used my geists for that, but he reminded me of the stupid quirk laws. We spent most of the trip going over what I had missed while laid up and preparing for the upcoming classes.

I was exhausted when we arrived at my apartment building. Several figures slunk out of the unlit stairwell at the big man's glare. Bugs scurried to hide when we turned the apartment light on. The room was clean, but the building was infested. Kan-sensei snorted in disgust.

Be it ever so humble – there's no place like home.