Free Katsugami by Debbie Olive

Chapter 2
    The next morning came as Katsuro
no Hiroyuki overslept were it not for the voices of the others
residing in the compound he would have forgotten the duty entrusted
to him, jumping from the futon to head straight for a quick bath
afterwards he hurriedly wore his mint green kariginu "clothe" and
asagutsu footwear.
    Removing the weapon box from the
compartment below the tatami "floor" as, he began selecting the
best of the shikigami and spell tags before returning the rest of
the weapons to their previous hiding place. Crouching a little he
began using his fingers to form the Akiraka ni suru spell to keep a
look out for anyone that may be around before leaving his room so
as not to be discovered by the others, after making sure the place
was safe he then snuck out through the back door heading through
the garden leading into the forest path moving as quickly as his
legs could carry him
    Releasing the shikigami iguru
before mounting on it, as they both took to the air while releasing
the spell of invisibility to hide from the very eyes of the humans
whom he had sworn to protect. Gradually the journey was coming to
an end as they were drawing closer to the tori gate of the
Sumiyoshi shrine which was now visible, on getting to the entrance
Katsuro no Hiroyuki slowly descended from the back of his eagle
style shikigami, flicking his fingers to disperse the shikigami
into its lifeless form afterwards he headed straight into the
shrine.
    There were few people still
praying in front of the offering box located at the center of the
shrine, none seem to notice that an onmyouji had just passed by
since the spell of invisibility had not been released. Watching the
people closely Katsuro no Hiroyuki noticed there was a woman who
had it not been for the faint yokai aura that seem to be emanating
from her there would have been no way he would have known she
wasn’t human.
    “ What should I do? There are other
humans around, maybe I should lure her outside the shrine?” all
these he asked himself before making the decision to quietly
approach the young woman as he dispelled the spell that hid his
presence.
    Standing among the worshippers was
a raven haired beauty with dark eyes dressed in a wine and gold
colored yukata which hid feet that were covered in red sock and
wooden slippers, her hair was held in a finely crafted kanzashi
embedded with pure dark glittering onyx stones. Deep in thought she
didn’t notice when her worst enemy was very near until he
spoke.
    “ Excuse me my name is Katsuro, can
we go somewhere private there is something I wish to discuss with
you.” Wondering what the strange man wanted she decided to follow
him as they begun heading towards the entrance of the shrine.
Exiting the shrine completely he gestured with his hand for them to
turn left into the forest; while all this was going on the woman
didn’t say a word as she obediently followed him.

Chapter 3
    The deep brown Ginkaku-ji style
mansion home to the onikisu noble family to the front was a grown
senbonzakura "thousand cherry" tree on the right was a
shishi-odoshi "water fountain" at the back was a zen garden made of
gravel resembling that of rippling water with small plants growing
around.
    Inside one of the rooms in the
mansion voices could be heard as a gathering was made to discuss
their fate among other noble families, seated at the head of the
table was Yuudai-sama the head of the family to the right was his
wife Azami-sama, while on the left was Namika and Shinju his
children.
    Clearing his throat he began by
saying "You all know the Naginata family are well known for their
battle prowess and weapon making skill, recently the head of their
family asked me to make a sculpture to commemorate the birth of
their heir" pausing to allow what he said to sink into their
ears.
    "We heard of his birth, nothing
special just another child born into the noble family" said
Namika
    "They want it placed at the genkan
"hallway" leading to the living room,