Ten Shadows in the Heian Era

A comfortable warmth coats my skin as the evening sun shines down on us where we lay in opposite directions from each other on a patch of the grass that isn't torn up, our heads resting next to each others.

Across my lap, Generous Deer lies, curled up and at least pretending to sleep. I don't think my Shikigami can actually sleep. In fact, I don't think they're really sentient at all. They probably just act how I subconsciously believe they should act.

Thanks to Generous Deer, I'm already fully recovered, even if I am feeling rather drained. It's a novel feeling, I decide.

I'd never actually run low on Cursed Energy before today, so I had assumed that it wasn't an energy reserve kind of deal. I though that instead of running out of Cursed Energy, the stamina concern was more along the lines of running out of focus to continue to manipulate it.

Guess it's actually just difficult to use it all.

I'm satisfied though. I've learned a lot.

My Cursed Energy Reinforcement has improved somewhat, but it doesn't compare to the improvement in my ability to sense Cursed Energy.

Tamamo's illusions were really difficult to see through at first, but really it was just a matter of focusing harder to be able to at least vaguely sense where they are and aren't.

She also helped me learn how to project my Cursed Energy as an attack. It was horribly inefficient, but a big part of me is still marvelling over how cool it was to shoot a genuine magical laser beam from my hand.

Then there was that extra powerful punch she hit me with that ruptured my heart and very nearly killed me. That felt weird, beyond the pain at least. To my senses, it was like a flashbang, like her Youki froze and teleported or something.

"Hey Tamamo," I speak up after what felt like hours of just lying together in a comfortable post-fight bliss.

"Hm?"

"What was that attack?" I ask, further clarifying, "The one that put a hole in my chest? It felt weird."

She doesn't turn to look at me as she answers and neither do I, both of us just staring at the snow white clouds in the blue sky. "It's called Kokusen, or Black Flash."

Tamamo pauses her explanation to let out a sigh of contentment as her arm finally finishes regenerating. Generous Deer can't heal her because she's a Yōkai and Positive Energy is poison to her, so she had to do it herself, unfortunately.

"Black Flash isn't a technique. It's more like a natural phenomena. When Cursed Energy, or Youki, is applied almost in the exact same instant as a physical hit, the Cursed Energy will flash black and the power of the strike will be increased by about two and a half times."

"No wonder I couldn't defend it," I comment.

"That's not all though. When one achieves a Black Flash, they enter a temporary state of heightened ability. Everything becomes easier to do and clearer to understand. For me, it felt like I was seeing my Youki again for the first time. Even now, I am wondering how I could ever manipulate my Youki so inefficiently. Black Flash isn't a random phenomena, but it's also not something that can be done on command. No one is capable of choosing when they experience a Black Flash, all I really know about the activation conditions is that Youki must strike within one one thousandth of one one thousandth of a second."

"So one one millionth of a second then?" I muse, considering if I could activate that on command and immediately throwing away the idea.

Even if timing is the only thing taken into count, my fine control over my Cursed Energy is nowhere near that precise.

"Million?" Tamamo parrots, once more reminding me schools don't exist properly yet.

"One thousand thousands," I answer easily enough.

"Ah." Another short quiet passes before she speaks again. "How did you make Positive Energy without summoning your Shikigami? Can you take on their traits without bringing them out?"

Her second question makes me pause before I can answer.

I... Hadn't thought about trying that. Can I? I don't know. Something to test later. Maybe I'll see if I can merge my Shikigami with each other first, before experimenting on myself.

"It's a double negative," I answer and Tamamo briefly tilts her head enough to send me a flat stare before turning her attention back to the clouds. "When you multiply a number by a negative, it inverses. Positive becomes negative and negative becomes positive. It took me a while to learn it from Generous Deer, but since Cursed Energy is inherently negative, I just smash it against itself and it inverses into a positive. I haven't studied it academically yet, so I don't know how it functions in exacting detail."

A cloud drifts by that looks like a rabbit and when I point at it, Tamamo hums and points to the distance at a cloud that vaguely looks like a fist.

"That actually makes some other things make more sense," Tamamo comments and I hum inquisitively.

"When Negative Energy encounters a lesser concentration of Positive Energy, it corrupts it into more Negative Energy. However, when the opposite is true, Positive Energy simply overwhelms the negative and purifies it away. So, negative by negative makes positive, positive by positive makes more positive and negative by positive makes negative. So while Negative Energy can corrupt positive, the opposite is not true, so it just overwhelms and destroys instead."

Huh. I actually never thought about that, but now that she's mentioned it, I've heard plenty of stories about positive things being corrupted, but I can't remember any about negative things becoming positive, unless you count the eradication of the negative as a positive.

I suppose that would depend on whether you count zero as a positive.

"How does your fire work?" I ask after another brief silence. "I tried to copy it but it didn't work."

"You can't copy it," she scoffs, though I think I can hear some amusement. "Foxfire is an ability unique to Kitsune. It's more of a physical trait than a technique, so unless you somehow manage to turn yourself into a Kitsune, you can't use it. Before you ask, it's the same with the illusions. You can't do them like me. However, you can probably mimic them with some talismans and practice. I doubt it though. Cursed Energy isn't that flexible, most of your potential is decided at birth."

"Lame," I complain. "I don't really have a proper offensive move beyond just throwing Cursed Energy around."

"I'm sure you will figure something out," she consoles before taking her turn to ask the question. "What is your goal?"

I wasn't expecting a deep question like that, but the answer is already so clear to me that I don't hesitate in my answer. "To learn."

"Learn what?"

"Everything."

"Heh, you don't act like a Sorcerer most of the time, but you definitely are one."

My brow raises at her apparent amusement. "Is that a compliment?" 

"Maybe it is," she says, sounding like she is actually unsure herself.

I don't have any more questions, and she doesn't seem to either, so we both just relax under the sun for a while, occasionally pointing out a cloud if it looks like something.

It's nice. Relaxing.

Once again, I find myself thinking how in my last life, I never would have been able to just lie down and enjoy the sun like this. It's embarrassing.

But here and now? I'm just happy.

I love this world, this second life of mine.

I'm just.. so happy to be alive.

Eventually however, the sun moves further across the sky, and I realise I'm going to need to start moving if I want to get to Edo before dark.

"You should get going, it's going to be dark soon," Tamamo eventually says, her words mirroring my thoughts exactly.

Still, despite that, neither of us move from where we lay right away.

"It seems this is where we part ways then, Tamamo-Sen~sei," I comment, lightly teasing her because I know she doesn't like suffixes.

Probably a Yōkai thing, though it's also probably racist to assume all Yōkai are the same just because of the one I met.

"Don't call me that," Tamamo snaps, though there's no heat in her tone.

An amused breath leaves me at her response, and there's another brief silence before Tamamo lets out a slight sigh and climbs to her feet, with me joining her, feeling unexpectedly reluctant.

She can use her Youki to magic her clothes all back to perfect condition, which is unfair, because I can't. So once I'm up, the first thing I have to do is get a fresh white kosode, a short sleeved thin kimono worn as an undershirt, from my shadow to slip on.

My hakama pants were thankfully mostly undamaged, so there's no burning need to change them. 

Once I finish covering myself, I turn back to Tamamo to notice her quickly turning her head away to stare at a random tree for some reason.

Following her stare, I don't see or sense anything strange and just shrug it off when she turns her attention back to me.

Our eyes meet and I smile. "So, what will you be doing now?"

Instead of answering immediately, she turns to gaze upon the city of Edo with a strangely solemn, and somewhat hesitant gaze.

Tilting my head curiously, I wait a moment for her to respond.

"I think... I think I am going to give the mon-" She cuts herself off and glances at me. I'm not sure what she was looking for, but she seemed relieved as she turned back to Edo. "I am going to give humanity a chance."

"What do you mean?" I ask, and she turns to face me fully, taking a half step closer to me, putting herself close enough that I could touch her if I reached out.

"I have only ever heard of humans through the Yōkai of my village. Before you, I had never spoken with a human for more than a single exchange. I have realised that I don't truly understand humans. It is as you said, humans are complex animals-"

"I don't remember using the word animals," I interject, but she ignores me.

"Regardless," she continues, "I intend to experience humanity through my own eyes. To that end, I shall be heading to the capital city, Heian-kyō. I shall see for myself if humans are as deserving of credit as you say, or if I was right about them."

What she doesn't say is that she intends to make use of the vast amounts of Negative Energy said to be swarming the capital to enhance herself.

By spending a few years absorbing all of that ambient negativity, she will be able to make herself significantly stronger, and in three years time, she hopes she will be able to truly satisfy him as he did her.

"You're not just doing this because you really want to say 'I told you so' are you?" I ask, my tone purposefully sceptical.

A truly befitting vulpine grin is my answer, and I let out a dramatic sigh.

Both of us chuckle and a moment later, we are just standing there, smiling at nothing.

Tamamo's hand twitches forward for just a moment before retracting. "Well," she states, "I suppose I will see you around, Narauko."

I feel... Like I should say something, but I don't know what, so I just nod my head and smile. "Yeah. Goodbye, Tamamo."

A moment passes where neither of us move, when Tamamo raises a foot to step closer to me before changing directions at the last second and turning to the side.

Another step follows, and an unfamiliar sensation curls in my chest as I watch her walk away.

"Have fun in Edo Narauko," she calls out without looking back, "I'm sure you will have an interesting time."

"I'll be sure to tell you about it," I blurt out without thinking, and her steps falter for a moment before she continues into the forest, "When we meet again."

Her back disappears behind the trees and a breath I didn't know I was holding leaves me.

...What the hell was that?

I don't know. The fact that it was a new experience brings a smile to my face however. Besides, who doesn't love mysteries? I'm sure I'll figure it out eventually.

For now, new kimono, then Edo Jujutsu High, here I come!

Though... Didn't the old man say it was called Edo Metropolitan Curse Technical College? I'm pretty sure that's the proper name, but it's such a mouthful I cut it out of my brain.

Eh, who cares.

Strolling down the hill, I resume my four day long walk.

As the city gets closer I'm briefly struck by how much smaller it is than I was picturing, before remembering that I'm used to cities accommodating a much larger population.

Hell, I'm pretty sure the population of Tokyo when I died was greater than the entire population of Japan right now.

Still, 'smaller' doesn't necessarily mean 'small'. It might not be as big as the big cities in the future, but it is still very impressive.

Then again, I wasn't much of a city boy in my last life, though more so than in this life where I was raised alone in the forest with just one old man. It sounds sketchy put like that.

Either way, Edo is a beautiful sight to behold.

There are only a couple of buildings taller than three floors, and not by much, but honestly I think that looks better than towering monoliths blocking out the sky.

The biggest building by far is obviously the Edo Castle, standing proudly above the rest.

It truly is a sight to behold, enough that I lose myself in just observing it as I mindlessly walk closer.

The buildings are all with the matching architecture of the era, and I'm probably the only person in the nation as fascinated by them as I am, simply because to me this is all new and exciting, but to them it is just all they know.

There's also a lot of open space.

Edo is smaller than the Tokyo it will become, but calling it small would be a disservice. It is still incredibly large. After all, space isn't a premium in this age, so all the buildings are massive. Twice the size of the old man's home, which was already multiple times as large as what I was used to living in in my last life.

Even from a distance I can tell that the castle grounds have more open space than all the farms that the people living near my home had combined.

Damn. I just suddenly got struck with the urge to freeze this moment in time, but cameras don't exist yet and for some reason I never thought to practice drawing.

Well, on the bright side, I'm literally going to magic school in the morning, so maybe someone there will be able to help me out in making a magic camera.

...I should have watched one of those videos of how to kickstart modern technology from nothing. I have no idea how cameras are made.

I don't even know how to make the bits that make the bits.

Hopefully Cursed Energy will have a solution. Some kind of permanent barrier? That could maybe work. Make an incredibly detailed barrier that is a perfect match to whatever I want to take a picture of, then cover it with ink and press the barrier onto a an empty paper?

Aha! Tamamo!

Maybe her illusions can be manifested in some way and she can be my living camera?

Snickering at the thought of what face she'd make should I ask that of her, I shelve the idea.

Lost in thought as I am, I only realise that I've reached the entrance to Edo when someone calls out to me.

"You there!" The stern male voice states, pulling my attention to the approaching pair of men.

Very carefully, I control myself to avoid squealing as I take in the sight of two genuine, real life Samurai.

This is so fucking cool! I think on the inside, but on the outside I merely turn to them with a calm smile, my sleeves helpfully hiding my clenched hands. "Yes?"

The two of them come to a stop, each of their left hands resting casually just under the guard of their katanas, the tsuba.

"What brings you here alone so close to nightfall, and without any belongings?" The one who called out to me asks, not quite accusatorily, but it still feels like I'm getting softly interrogated by a police officer.

I'm not sure how open I'm allowed to be about Jujutsu school, but I also don't like to lie, so I decide to just give a partial truth. "I have a letter to deliver from my father. Is there any trouble going on that I should be aware of?"

"No. No trouble," Mr Samurai replies. "May I see your letter, to verify it's existence?"

"Of course," I smile and with my hands still in my sleeves, I reach into my shadow and retrieve the letter in question.

Briefly, I pull it out of my sleeve and wait for him to get enough of a good look to confirm it is real before putting it back in my sleeve and shadow.

"Very well, you may enter."

"Thank you, but before I go, could you recommend an inn I could spend the night in? I would rather spare the recipient of this letter the bother of reading it shortly before night. Better to pass it along in the morning."

The Samurai that hasn't yet spoken glances at the darkening sky before nodding his head in agreement. Then he turns a speculative eye upon me, his gaze lingering on my scarf for a moment, taking note of its unfinished state and poor quality material.

"For a good inn, you will need coin," he says.

"I have coin." The way both of their demeanour changes at my admittance is interesting.

It's not unexpected though. According to the old man, it is only really aristocrats, officials and other wealthy people that use coins, so having some of my own likely makes them think I'm some kind of noble.

Imagining their faces if they knew I got nicknamed Forest Child because I grew up with nature and wild deer as my only friends makes my smile widen a little.

"In that case, I would recommend Komachi Ryokan," he points directly at a specific building, one of the benefits of no skyscrapers, "They offer the best service in the city."

"Thank you," I say with a bow that is returned before turning and making my way past them.

I manage to control myself until I am well out of earshot of the Samurai before letting myself giggle a little, earning a strange look from a passer-by.

But I don't care, I talked to Samurai! That's so fucking cool!

I'm going to have to write some kind of memoir at the end of my life where I can admit to having gone through time just to brag to all the people of the future about all my cool experiences.

Ah, thinking that, I should probably just write some documents and stuff down anyway, for the sake of all the poor historians that have to try and figure everything out from random people's personal diaries.

Well, that's for future me to think about. I need to stop getting lost in my head so I don't get lost in real life too.

The street is wide, wider than a typical modern street, and it feels even larger since pedestrians aren't constrained to the paths on either side of the road. Anyone can walk anywhere, and it just makes that spacious feeling even greater.

Since it's late, I'd have thought there wouldn't be many people out, but once again, that's a thought for a future society. These people don't have at home entertainment after all, so the streets are rife with people.

Mostly men though, walking in groups, some with gourds of saké in hand as they stumble about. It's pretty lively, but also rather restrained. By which I mean that no one is incredibly loud despite fooling around drunk with their friends. 

If it was America, I wouldn't be able to hear myself think, but as it is, no one is really much of a bother.

Other than the men, there are also a few woman, and they seem to fit into two categories.

There's the simple women, who are running errands, likely either for their husbands if they are adults or for their employers if they are children, because child labour is still cool in this time.

Then there are the less simple women, dressed in elaborate, fancy kimonos, caked in makeup and often wielding fans without actually fanning themselves.

These woman are the ladies of the night, otherwise known as prostitutes.

Thankfully, I'm not mentally my age, and I'm also used to a world where seeing a woman's entire body was nothing special, so I'm not so enraptured by them as many other men in the street are.

Huh. That's a funny thought.

I alone have probably seen more boobs than anyone else on the planet right now.

All these poor men will never know the joys of unrestricted access to the internet.

So, a few woman covered in way too many layers of clothes, with painted white faces and sometimes blackened teeth don't really stir my loins.

...I feel embarrassed that I just thought those words.

That said, I can't deny that it feels good getting so many sultry looks from so many women. It's the nice, bubbly feeling of my ego being stroked, and I don't mind it at all.

Still, I'm not the horny fifteen year old I should be, so I just return their flirtations with a smile and keep walking.

Eventually, I make it to my destination, closer to the street glowing with red lanterns than I expected, the Komachi Ryokan. I can tell as much because it says so above the door in big Kanji.

What is interesting however, is the seconds script below the Kanji that I can't read, and that looks a lot simpler.

My curiosity piqued, I start moving to the building, only to have to step back as a carriage passes through the street in front of me.

The carriage is just a single horse tied to a wooden box with a bench on the front to hold the driver.

The main part of the carriage is simple but elegant in a way that makes one easily recognise the wealth of the person riding it without shoving it in your face with gold lining and the like.

The only openings are a pair of windows on the doors either side, except the window is covered by a red curtain.

Other than admiring the craftsmanship, I don't really think much of it until I feel a sudden, if slight, spike of Cursed Energy inside of it.

Out of instinct, my own Cursed Energy moves slightly, but other than that I make no reaction. I'm not sure if that was enough however, or if there was another reason, but either way, as the carriage moves past me, a single, slender finger emerges between the curtains and pulls them slightly apart.

The window doesn't open entirely, but it does open enough for me to meet the eyes of the passenger.

She is a woman of pale skin, with smooth black hair flowing past her shoulders and out of sight and a fringe that ends about halfway past her eyes, swept slightly to the left.

She has a small, button nose and sharp, angular features that make her appear noble, and her eyes are so dark that I wouldn't be able to pick out her pupil if not for the thin ring of iridescent light that shines between the pupil and iris.

Our eyes meet, and I feel her Cursed Energy move again, though I don't know what for. The moment feels longer than it is, until she simply raises a brow and turns away, facing forward once more.

The last I see of her before the curtain falls back and the carriage drives off is a faint, almost derisive smirk on her lips.

The carriage moves away, and I watch it go for a moment, confused and intrigued by the mysterious girl. Alas, I'm not going to chase her down like some maniac, so I will just leave it to Fate if we will meet again.

Moving on, I continue my approach to Komachi Ryokan.

There are some well dressed woman out in front of the building, but not in the way of the entrance. They don't call out to me or stop me as I walk past them, though they do give me more looks that flatter my ego.

A servant girl slides the shoji door open for me, and I'm briefly struck by how strange it is to see a child worker out in the wild, but I shake that feeling off pretty easily.

I mean, what's stranger. Child labour or Cursed Energy? 

The reception room is rather lavish, with fancy artwork painted onto the walls and even some of the doors.

Right front and centre is a counter with a pretty woman standing behind it. The room is otherwise empty, save for a man and woman having a quiet conversation off to the side.

Mentally shrugging away my own inexperience at life, I walk up to the counter with confidence and speak with a smile.

"Hello, I have heard that I may be afforded a room here for the night. May you assist me in this?"

The woman bows briefly, and when she straightens I notice her eyes roaming my body, but unlike those women in the street, I can tell she's not actually looking at my body, but my clothes.

In a manner that is starting to feel somewhat repetitive, her eyes pause briefly on my scarf.

"Honoured customer," she begins, the awkwardness of her voice barely noticeable. "This Komachi Ryokan does provide such a service, however our services are tailored for a.. specific clientele."

I should probably be offended or something, but honestly I just find her answer amusing, especially because of the hesitance with which she delivered it.

Clearly she doesn't want to be rude, but can't accept me for whatever reason.

That just makes me want to tease her.

"May you please explain exactly what you mean by this? I am afraid I do not understand," I say, and the way her face pinches slightly makes my smile widen a little.

Unfortunately, my fun is interrupted by a man's voice. Fortunately, I am easily entertained.

"What she means is that this is a high class ryokan, not some minshuku," he says the word like it's an insult, which really says a lot about him since a minshuku is basically the local equivalent of a boarding house compared to the ryokan's hotel. "Low class commoners like you don't belong in establishments like this, so run along and stop polluting the air. You're ruining my saké."

Hah. This guy's funny. 'You're ruining my saké', what a line. I'm totally going to steal that in the future if I ever get the chance.

Since he now actually has my interest, I look him over. He is obviously not a commoner, so there is some nobility to his face, though in a more stern way than that lady's graceful look, and his hair is brown and tied up into a topknot. His body is pretty good too, so he might even be a samurai. Though, the gourd of saké in hand ruins the serious vibe I'd always imagined Samurai to have.

"You wound me with your words, Stranger-bō, I was assured I could find room here for the night," I respond, using the suffix that I thought would annoy him the most, just for fun.

Bō, from what I understand, is basically the male exclusive version of chan, which is already a diminutive hypocorism only really used when talking to people you're really close to or babies.

The Japanese language is so much more fun than English. You don't need to swear, or even use any insults to insult people, it's brilliant.

Predictably, he didn't like that.

"You watch your words, Boy, or I will have your head. I am Taira no Yoshikane, and because I am in such a good mood, I will not pursue this if you apologise and leave immediately."

Honestly? A surprisingly level-headed response. I was half expecting a 'prostrate yourself one thousand times' kind of thing. Maybe that's a Chinese thing? Or maybe it's just a harmful stereotype and I shouldn't keep assigning traits I remember from popular media onto strangers.

I don't know, or really care. I just want to go to Jujutsu Hogwarts, but that's not until the morning so I have to amuse myself somehow until then.

"Ooh, one thousand apologies, Ōtaira-kakka-sama," I respond with a deep bow, going from calling him as if he is a cute child to effectively calling him 'Your Excellency Great Lord Taira'. "I was not aware my head was such a valued commodity. However, I must unfortunately decline your request, for I am still in need of a room for the night, and my feet already hurt from so much walking, I could not bear to travel any further."

Okay, maybe I'm laying it on a bit thick. I blame Tamamo. For some reason, she has made me feel confrontational today. Maybe I just want to get in a fight again thanks to our fight still being fresh on my mind. That's probably it.

Yoshikane's eyes narrow at me, and the woman he was talking to earlier takes a subtle step back, clearly not wanting to get involved with any upcoming violence.

However, before anything more fun can happen, another voice interrupts.

"What is going on here?" The aged, demanding feminine voice calls out, and both of us turn to see some old hag walking our way with a massively slouched back and a walking stick that honestly looks kind of of cool in her hands.

The old lady's glare snaps to me as if she could sense that I just called her a hag in my head, but she quickly moves on to glare at the receptionist girl instead. Probably because her womanly intuition got confused since I also complimented her at the same time.

"Well?" She demands, and I start to get the feeling that the receptionist is new to the job because she has that kind of nervous energy you see in new hires who think they've messed up but don't know what they did wrong.

"U-um. Well," she begins, only to be cut off by the Taira.

"I'll tell you what happened, Madam. This low born brat has come to make a mockery of not just myself but of this very establishment."

"What are you, twelve?" I can't help but blurt, rolling my eyes. "To think, you had such impressive lines earlier and now you are pointing blame like a child caught sneaking sweets. Are you so afraid of getting in trouble that you lost composure?"

"You-!"

"Enough!" The ha- her glaring eyes snap to me -old woman yells out, slamming her cane into the floor and effectively shutting the Taira up.

Then, after glaring the man down, she turns her full attention to me and points her cane at me. "You! Boy! Who are you and what is your purpose here?"

"My name is Narauko," I answer with a smile, not at all intimidated by her, since I am a man with nothing, so unlike the Taira, she can't exactly ruin my reputation or tattle to my family or anything like that. "I am simply here to rent a room for the night, by the recommendation of a Samurai at the city limits."

"Hmm," her glare lessens once she notices its ineffectiveness. "This ryokan is expensive, and we only accept coin. Do you have any coin, Boy?"

Pulling my hands out of my sleeves, I hold out the pouch of coins the old man gave me and lightly toss it underhand at her.

She catches it against her chest and pulls the strings open to peak inside.

I have absolutely no idea how much is in there, since even the old man wasn't sure how currency is functioning these days. But he said it should be enough to get by, so it's probably enough for a room.

Unfortunately she doesn't have a visible reaction to the contents of the pouch, so I don't know if it's an impressive amount, hardly anything, or just average.

The Madam pulls the string closed and tosses the pouch back, which I catch and return to my sleeves.

"Anyone who pays our prices is an honoured customer, and I will not have fighting in my establishment. If either of you cannot accept this, then leave."

"I have no problem with this," I quickly agree, sending the Taira a sunny smile and getting a glare in return that doesn't seem as murderous as I would have expected.

"Fine," he says before turning and wrapping an arm around the woman he was talking with's waist and stalking off. "Just have another bottle of saké delivered to my room, this one's ruined."

No one speaks as we watch the pair leave, and once he's out of sight I turn to the Madam with a friendly smile. "He seems fun," I comment, and she doesn't seem amused.

However, I feel like she secretly is, deep down.

"Don't go causing any more trouble in my house, Boy, or I will kick you out myself."

"Of course, Madam. But you would need to sell me a room first, before you can kick me out."

"Indeed," she says as she moves behind the counter, shooing the other woman away. "How long do you intend to stay?" She asks.

"Just the night. I will have other lodging options in the morning. Well, I hope so anyway."

The old lady hums and nods her head before writing something down behind the counter.

"Six," she says without looking up.

"Eh?"

"I am charging you extra for causing trouble with Taira," she says, not answering the part I was actually confused about.

Still, the time she spent talking was enough for me to figure it out, and I pull six coins out of my pouch and slide them across the counter. "Seems reasonable," I say.

It's not like I really care. This money is basically worthless outside of big cities, of which there are maybe three, and when dealing with politicians, which I don't really intend to do if I can help it.

Politics just seems so boring. Maybe it's more interesting in the past, and I do want to see a court in session, just for the experience. But some old dudes talking about laws and stuff could never compare to the beauty of the natural world.

The Madam moves to the side of the room and slides a door open. A moment later, another child comes out and the Madam leads her back to me.

"Jishi will take you to your room," the she says with a hand on the girl's shoulder, who bows low.

"Oh, one more thing," I speak up before Madam can walk away, and she raises a brow in question. "I noticed a script I'm unfamiliar with under the Kanji," I gesture behind me to their front door, "What is it?"

The old lady seems intrigued by my question and starts looking at me in a new light, as if I've just turned some preconceived notion of hers on its head.

"You can read Kanji but not Hiragana?" She says, and inwardly I curse the old man for teaching me the much more difficult Kanji when Hiragana is apparently already invented.

Well, I don't mean it though. I'm quite happy to know Kanji, even if it was a pain.

"My father assured me it was the only written language being used," I answer.

"Is your father a monk, perhaps?" She asks in turn.

"No, but he did raise me in a shrine." I don't think the old man had a very positive view of Buddhism mixing in with traditional Shinto traditions.

Then again, it's basically only in the capital that Buddhism is such a big thing. Most people are still Shinto. I can't imagine Amaterasu-Ōmikami is particularly happy that her descendants are worshipping another pantheon. But then again, maybe she doesn't care or is encouraging it, I don't know, I'm not a God.

Though, the old lady's question briefly brings back some vague memories that rich old people in ancient Japan treated Buddhism much the same as rich old people in Europe did Catholicism.

Which is to say, they could live their lives however they want, so long as they bribe the church or become a monk right before they die, then they get to avoid the bad afterlife.

So, she's probably thinking that the old man is some old noble who retired into monkhood, as is popular. It would explain my knowledge of Kanji but not Hiragana, my having coin, as well as why my clothes are, while not high quality, still higher quality than a commoner would have, with exception to my scarf of course.

"I see," she says after a moment. "Hiragana is fairly new, so if your father retired some decades ago it is possible he simply doesn't know. In that case, I will have Yoshino sent to your room instead. She is better learned than Kaeda."

I don't know who Kaeda is, but I just smile and bow before following little Jishi further into the building and up some stairs.

The walk is silent, both because I'm enjoying admiring the art decorating the halls and because I'd feel awkward talking to a little girl who I'm pretty sure is basically in indentured servitude, which is a polite way of saying slavery.

It's a pretty common thing these days. From what I understand, since people have a very strong sense of family in this era, selling your daughters off, mostly to brothels, is considered a perfectly normal thing.

People don't even look at it with shame, just sympathy. For the women, or girls really, it's considered as them doing their duty to help their family through tough times, and people understand that.

It's pretty strange to my sensibilities, but at the same time, as someone who wants to explore the world and all of its cultures, I'm hardly going to go around telling whole peoples how they should be living their lives.

I just want to learn and experience. I don't particularly care about fixing any perceived problems or creating some kind of utopia. That's way too much work.

The brat eventually slides a door open and steps to the side, bowing as I walk past her.

The door slides shut behind me, but I pay it no mind, too busy admiring the room.

I haven't been to many hotels before, so I can't really comment on any differences, but the room is pretty large, plenty of space.

There's a large futon laying in the centre of the room, and past that is a balcony. There are some draws that I obviously don't need thanks to my shadow, and to the side is another door that a quick check shows to have a tub for bathing inside.

The walls are all covered with artistic designs which, combined with the tatami mats and shoji doors really just make the whole room aesthetically pleasing.

It's so freaking weird.

As disconnected as I have become with the memories of my old life, I can't really just forget them entirely. So it fills me with such a strange feeling to just enjoy being in a room.

What happened to humanity that we went from having beautiful buildings like this that improve your mood just being inside of them to soulless boxes of concrete and bricks all painted tan, of all colours?

I doubt I'll live long enough to do anything about this, but if I somehow get into a position that I am owed a favour by someone with power I know will hold through time, then I'll ask them to ensure their descendants preserve the beauty of their culture.

The quiet sound of my room's door sliding open brings me out of my thoughts, and I turn around to see a pretty woman shuffling into my room, holding a tray with food and drink on it.

Unlike the brat that led me here, she is a woman grown. With voluptuous curves, pale skin and long, flowing black hair, she really is a beauty.

If asked a week ago, I would have said she's a ten out of ten, but now, that ten spot is taken by Tamamo, and this woman doesn't really compare. I'd give her a seven out of Tamamo.

Damn fox woman has made everyone else look less attractive to me by comparison. The thought almost make me laugh, but I don't want to seem crazy.

Besides, it's not like this woman is any less beautiful to my eyes than she would have otherwise been. I just keep thinking about Tamamo for some reason.

"Honoured Guest, it is not every day that I am asked for specifically," The woman I assume to be Yoshino greets, her tone and expression both sultry. "I hear you have travelled far, so I made sure to bring you an extra large serving~."

...Did the old lady forget to mention why she was called for specifically?

I'm aware people of this time are pretty sexually open, and I am totally fine with that. I want to experience everything, and sex is not excluded in that, especially with a beautiful woman. But on the other hand, venereal diseases exist.

Though, on the other other hand, I have magic healing in the form of Positive Energy. Though, again, on the other other other hand, I don't know if that will work on diseases.

I'll have to experiment before I'm willing to risk myself.

Then again, she would probably get fired if she was diseased, since this is a high class place.

Still not going to risk it though, patience isn't something I lack.

"Thank you," I smile as I move to a small low table and sit on my ankles in front of it.

With a smile of her own, Yoshino places the tray on the table and takes a seat by my side, pushing her breasts against my arm.

Smiling, amused, I shake my head at her antics and pick up the provided chopsticks while she pours me a cup of saké which I insist we share.

Turns out I was actually pretty hungry, because the food didn't last long. It doesn't help that it was probably the best meal I've had in this life.

Placing the chopsticks down on top of the bowl, I let out a satisfied sigh.

"Thank you for the food," I say, smiling at Yoshino. "It was much better than what I've been eating on my journey here."

"I could tell~," she teases before her eyes lock onto my lips," You ate with such gusto that you made a mess~."

That's embarrassing, I think to myself as I look to the tray for a napkin of some sort, only for my attention to be stolen away when Yoshino gently turns my head to her with a slight touch of slender fingers.

Before I can even think about why, I feel and see as she leans forward and licks the sauce off of my lips directly.

The sudden intimacy makes me freeze for a moment, which Yoshino uses to guide one of my hands under her kimono and onto her breast.

Ah. Hello hormones, nice to see you.

I squeeze without even really thinking about it, and Yoshino drapes herself over me in response and softly moans into my ear.

Okay then.

"You feel tense~," Yoshino whispers to me, "Are you just going to sit there, or will you allow me to alleviate your stress~?"

But my Hiragana lesson....

One of Yoshino's hands drops down to my rapidly hardening crotch, all while trailing kisses along my neck.

"You're so big,~" she whispers, "Please use me to your heart's content~."

....Ah fuck it.

If she even does have any diseases, my deer can probably fix it. 

Actually... Couldn't I just cure her from the get go?

....I can always learn Hiragana later.

///

A/N: He~llo! Dear readers!

Get cockblocked lolololol

On a real note tho, what do you guys think about smut? 

There is going to be romance eventually, and Narauko is gonna be fucking, I mean, it is the Heian era, if you know anything about that period of time, it's that the nobility were all sluts, men and women alike.

My original idea was just that I would only write smut when it's with characters that are going to be long-term companions of Narauko, or are otherwise significant, like if he ends up getting with Tamamo.

So my question is, would you rather there is no smut, only smut for important characters, or that I just write smut whenever it comes up instead of cutting off like this?