Uzumi and the Seven Great Oaks Chapter 3: Death

 

Death

I sat in front of a wizened old man wearing a kimono and holding a cup of tea in his hands. He eyed me with the sharpness of an eagle, and then put down his cup.

“So. You have gained the Seed Sight.”

“Yeah, I still haven’t figured out what that is.” I tried my best to not fidget.

“The elemental stone that you absorbed has changed the psions in your body. You are an oddity.”

“You’re not making any sense. Psions? Elemental stone?”

The Grand Master closed his eyes and folded his hands in his lap. “New Yesterday was founded as an enclave for yokai and monsters of all shapes and sizes. What do you know about the seven great oaks?”

“Nothing, really. I just assumed they had always been there.”

“They are the protectors of the leylines that flow through this city. New Yesterday is a city of magic. One of many in the world, but special in its own way. Monsters, known as yokai here, coexist with humanity. However, only those with the Seed Sight can perceive them.”

“Then why did I suddenly start seeing these, um, yokai?”

“I do not know. It has something to do with the elemental stones.”

“You mentioned them before. Was it that ruby that broke next to me?”

“Most likely. The elemental stones are mysterious in many ways, and we do not understand them.”

“This Seed Sight.” I shifted my legs. “You’re telling me that most people don’t have it.”

“That is what I am saying, yes.” The Grand Master lifted his teacup. “And you are a special case. Before you, all individuals with the Seed Sight have been born with it. You are strange in this way. The elemental stones have caused something out of the ordinary. This isn’t the first time.”

“So what now?” I was feeling a bit overwhelmed.

“You’re going to have to make a choice. Do you want to continue your ordinary life, or do you want to join the Seeds?”

“Wait.” Reese held up her hand. “You’re just going to let him in like that?”

“He is a Seed Sight. Like all Seeds, he has been given the choice.”

“But he just gained the sight today! He doesn’t know anything about what to expect!”

The Grand Master shook his head. “No. This is my decision. I can tell that this young man is very capable. Much more so than he appears.”

Reese pursed her lips. “Someone needs to teach him, then. Who are you going to foist him onto?”

“You, my dear.”

Reese raised her eyebrows. “Are you kidding me? I have to take care of this newbie? I’m already busy with the search for the elemental stones!”

“Patience, young one. We still need to see if he will accept.”

“I’ll do it.” I stood up, crossing my hand over my body. “I feel like this is something I have to do. I know barely anything about this place or you guys, but I can tell that I might be needed.”

“Good, good.” The Grand Master rubbed his beard. “Then Reese shall introduce you to our organization.”

Reese looked like she was holding back considerably. “As you wish.” She turned to me with a grimace on her face. “Okay then. Follow me. While we walk to the academy, I’ll tell you as much as I can about Seeds and Yokai.”

I nodded, following Reese to the door. Reese bowed respectfully to the Grand Master, and I did the same. We left the room and then took the stairs to the first level of the castle. After leaving the entrance hall, we stepped out onto the street. I was still impressed by the variety of monsters that were walking out in the open.

“Stop ogling.” Reese kept her gaze straight ahead. “There are people here who don’t like being stared at.”

“Sorry, sorry.” I maintained my gaze straight ahead as well. “So, um, do you fight monsters on a regular basis?”

“Yokai. Please use the correct term. Monsters are a different type of beast.”

“They’re the same though.”

Reese sighed. “Look, I’m not the one who made that decision. Monsters are beings traditionally associated with the cultural West. Yokai, on the other hand, have a distinctly Eastern culture of origin. The difference is unmistakable.”

“So why are there so many of them here in the middle of the American Midwest?”

“New Yesterday has a large population of Japanese immigrants. They came here after the Great Summoning.”

I blinked a few times. “Great …”

“Right. Normal people don’t know about that. The Great Summoning was a war fought between various spectral beings and humanity about fifty years ago. It upended the normal nature of things, and a large part of the population of Japan, Korea, and other eastern countries was forced to migrate to the West.”

“Oh.”

“They don’t teach this in regular school for a number of reasons.”

“Right, one of which is that most people don’t believe in monsters—I mean, uh, spectral beings.”

“Correct.” Reese appeared a bit less on edge. “I’m glad you’re taking this in well.”

“I mean, I just discovered that there’s a whole different world that I didn’t know about.” I looked up at the stone ceiling, which was spanned by large steel beams. The whole hollow area appeared to be artificial. “So where are we?”

“The Underground.” Reese took a right turn and I followed her. “It was built by a collaboration between Seeds and Yokai to act as a non-threatening home for both. Living full time on the surface as a Yokai is actually quite difficult.”

“So if a normal person were to come down here, they wouldn’t see all the yokai.”

“Correct.” Reese stopped in front of a building that was tall, but also thick, with a lot of wooden dragon statues on its various balconies. The light coming from inside was a deep, calming yellow.

“This is the academy.” Reese opened the door and stepped inside. “It’s where Seeds learn how to handle their jobs.” The door opened onto a hallway with wood paneling that had several classrooms along its length. “And it’s also where the lab is. That’s where they perform the awakening ritual.”

We took the stairs to the third floor and stepped out into a room that was much different from the vibe of the rest of the Underground. White walls rose to join in an ached ceiling supported with steel. The floor was white tile. A large number of strange machines stood in corners, taking up most of the floor space.

A man in a lab coat looked up from a desk. “Reese. What can I help you with?”

“I have a new Seed that needs to undergo the awakening ritual.”

“You know that the ritual only happens at the beginning of the new year, right?” The scientist looked at me with a puzzled expression. “And I don’t see any candidates with you anyways.”

“He’s the candidate.” Reese pointed at me.

The scientist raised his eyebrows. “Oh? Why wasn’t he tested when he was seven?”

“He just gained his powers today. I’d appreciated it if you could spare some time to analyze him. You should have gotten an email from the Grand Master.”

“Ah, yes, I did. I just thought he was talking about someone, well, much younger.”

“Uzumi here is what you’ve got.”

I looked at Reese. “What’s the awakening ritual?”

“It’s the procedure that tells us your affinity.” The scientist stood up. “My name is Jonathan. I’m the staff researcher here at the Academy.”

“He’s a really good scientist.” Reese shrugged. “He can take care of you.”

“Are you going to stay here, Reese?” Johnathan looked at her.

“I’m interested. I want to see what kind of affinity an artificial Seed will have.”

“Very well then.” Johnathan picked up a small round device from his desk. “Okay. Your name?”

“Uzumi.”

Johnathan nodded. “Okay. Now take this—” He handed me a small needle-like device—”And draw some blood.”

I pricked myself. The blood dripped onto the sphere. “Does everyone put their blood on this thing?”

“Yes.” Johnathan observed the ball.

The ball blinked red, and then turned pitch black. Johnathan jerked, almost dropping the device. “My god.” He lifted the ball up. “Try one more time.”

I dropped more blood onto the device. The same thing happened.

Johnathan put the device carefully down onto his desk. “Your affinity is death.”

Reese gasped. “Death? You can’t be serious!”

“Yes. I’m serious. In all of my years here at the lab, I’ve never seen this before.”

I looked between Reese and Johnathan. “You’re saying something is wrong?”

Johnathan shook his head. “Nothing is wrong, per se. Just that you have the aura of death.”

“So? What does that mean?”

“I do not know. I only sat through half an hour of a lecture ten years ago. I never expected to see this in my actual career.”

I tilted my head. “So I’m strange?”

“Even more so, considering that you’re an artificial Seed.”

“Okay?”

“I, uh, I think we need to talk to a Shinigami.” Johnathan sat down, his hands visibly trembling.

Reese ran her hand through her hair. “I know one.”

“Shinigami?” I looked at Reese. “Is that another kind of yokai?”

“Not technically. Shinigami are gods, not yokai.”

“Okay. I think I get it.”

Reese grabbed me by the elbow. “We’re going. We need to understand what you are, and why you’re here.” She dragged me out of the lab and downstairs to the street. “Where we’re going, keep an eye out. The being I’m taking you to doesn’t live in the best neighborhood.”

“Right.” At that point I just wanted to see where this would end. We walked to the other side of the Underground, to a dilapidated corner filled with bins of trash. Reese took me to a small hole in the wall bar. I couldn’t read the Japanese signage that hung over it. We stepped in.

There was no one inside, and a man with slicked-back hair behind the bar. His muscles were huge, and his eyes shined a bright red. He was cleaning a glass.

“Reese.” The man put down the glass. “It’s been quiet a while, hasn’t it?”

“Jack. I have a Seed here with a death affinity.”

Jack tilted his head. “Ah, yes. I can sense the aura. Yes, you definitely are a death mage.”

“Death mage?” I frowned. “What does that mean?”

“Many things.” Jack reached for a glass and took several bottles off the shelf behind him. “Your pleasure? On the house, of course.”

“Um, Old Fashioned?”

“Sure.” Jack poured out an Old Fashioned cocktail, and pushed the glass across the bar.

I sat down and took it. Reese sat down next to me.

“So what do you think a death aura means?” Reese tapped the table with a nervous rhythm.

Jack replaced the liquor bottles. “It simply means that he has control over the flow of life and death. He can kill and he can bring to life.”

“You mean, necromancy?”

“Almost.” Jack took a chunk of ice and placed it in a glass. “He has access to the underworld. There are many things you can do with such access.”

“Like what?” I sipped my old fashioned. It was bitter.

“Many things, child. Death is a strange playmate. You learn much from just being in its presence.”

“You said something about killing?”

“Yes. If you wish, you can end life easily. It is never easy, but you can do it.”

“Does that mean I have, like, a death touch or something?”

“Perhaps.” Jack filled the glass with spirits. “Reese, your usual?”

“Thanks, Jack.” Reese took the glass and downed it in a single drink. She put the glass back down. “So you’re saying that he can raise the dead.”

“Somewhat.” Jack turned around. “You have a long road ahead of you, child. I feel the swirls of fate around you. You may accomplish many things, both good and bad. Perhaps even change the very fabric of the world.”

Jack turned back to face me, and smiled. His teeth were pointed. “I will be happy to watch.”