On Astral Tides: From Humble Freelancer To Astral Emperor

“Is everyone ready?” I asked, carrying several large suitcases. We were only going to be away for a long weekend, but even so, girls needed a lot of things, and Fae were no exception, it seemed. Looks like Haru-san has some business to attend to first, she texted me to say she’ll be getting a later train…

“Indeed, though I confess to some-some trepidation.” Shaeula observed. “The Night Parade may be in Kyoto, may they not-not? In that case…” she frowned, nervous, so I pulled her into a hug.

“Don’t worry. If your mother is there, you can be reunited. And if there are any problems, we’ll deal with them, like we always do.”

Shaeula nodded, and I could see a mixture of resolution and nerves on her face. I gave her a quick kiss, a fleeting brush of our lips, and patted her head. Still holding her, I looked at Hyacinth, who was in her maid outfit, though the skirt was longer, as I didn’t want her underwear to be exposed. To anyone but me anyway, I’m such a possessive hypocrite. Still, I was resolved to own that, so I had Karen-chan get me some maid clothes from Akiba, and ironically they were more modest than what Hyacinth customarily wore, showing less leg and cleavage.

Seeing Hyacinth looking at me, unwilling to show her affection in company, I resolved to treat her to some skinship later. “So, you ready, Hyacinth? You’ll be meeting my family again, so be good, all right?”

Hyacinth nodded so frantically it was as if her head was going to fall off. “Yes, I shall be good, I prooomised. Your family is mooost important to me too!” She had spoken to Aiko a bit when they had arrived in Tokyo for the big planning meeting, and exchanged a little talk with my parents and the Mori’s, but they were still hardly well-acquainted, and I worried she would cause friction, especially with auntie Hana…

“Really, I can hardly believe this.” Kana’s mother, Nagi-san said. Since she was married into the shrine, rather than of the direct line of Shirohebizumi, she did not need to attend Conclave, but there was no way she was going to be left behind. She was wearing casual clothes, and looked like a very pretty, more mature Kana. And speaking of…

“Here, straighten that up a bit.” Kana was saying, neatening the hakama of Marika-san, who was excited, acting her age for once eager to see her mother and grandfather again. “There, all tidy.” Kana then turned to me, looking a bit sour. “Akio, do you have to flirt so early in the morning? And with two girls at the same time… ugh, no, why do I even care?”

“Jealous, Kana dear?” Nagi-san asked with a smile, and she denied it, shaking her head fiercely. She too was in red and white hakama, though this was an expensive custom-made version, that all of our shrine maidens and trainees were going to wear at Conclave. I’ll spare no expense in impressing the faction heads. A little money is nothing that can’t be replaced…

“Jealous? Why would I be?” she tossed her head. “I’m sure I don’t know what you mean, mom. Anyway, come on, we need to go soon.”

“Grul is ready.” Grulgor declared. “Any foe that tries to fight, Grul will crush them!” he clenched a powerful fist menacingly.

“Sure. But hopefully that won’t be necessary.” I sighed. “But if it comes to any battles in the Boundary, you’ll get your chance. And if the Night Parade needs a lesson…”

“Then Grul will give it!” he roared, too loud for the early morning.

“Please show more decorum.” Masaji-san warned him, and Daichi-san agreed. Kana’s father and grandfather were dressed in fine robes, and were nervously escorting their kami, Shirohebi, who was strolling beside them, in his white robes and strange four-cornered hat. “Conclave will be a time of contemplation, of discourse. There is no room for violence.”

Grul sighed, a cavernous gust of breath. “Grul will not make trouble. But trouble often comes looking. If so… Grul will crush it!”

As they bickered, Aliyah snorted. She was dressed in her suit, and carrying several concealed weapons that were likely illegal in Japan. Her brother Trey was beside her, similarly attired, while Travis and Manx were wearing more casual clothing. None of them spoke Japanese, so they were looking a bit confused, but from our body language and actions they could make educated guesses. “Seriously, what the hell are you doing this early in the morning? It’s as though you are trying to piss me off, flirting with cute girls.”

“Cool it sis.” Trey warned, but she shook him off.

Before she could speak though, I fixed her with a stern glare, my grey eyes hard, which made her swallow nervously, stepping back a little. Speaking to her in English, I made a matter clear to her. “Look, Aliyah, this is your first task. You and Trey are going to be muscle in Kyoto, and guards for certain people. But I don’t want you to use too much bad language. Besides, we have young girls here.” I warned, gesturing to Marika-san and Keomi-chan, who was now a firm friend of hers, with a similar mental age despite being quite a bit older. On seeing her, Aliyah nodded, contrite.

“Damn, yeah… uh sorry. Anyway, you can count on me and Trey. We are stronger than ever!”

“With that arranged, I shall remain here.” Ixitt cackled. “I am close to a breakthrough regarding the artificial Ether Spires, if I can just salvage some decent Etherites. Anyway, I shall look in on the shrine here regularly, have no fear. And keep any eye on these two.” He looked at Travis and Manx, who were staying behind to guard the shrine, along with several guards from Fujiwara Security. Since Ixitt spoke English like Shaeula, Hyacinth and strangely enough even Grulgor (which was weird in itself) there should be no problems.

“In that case, we should be going.” I gestured to the minibus that had been laid on for us by Hinata. She was very disappointed she wasn’t able to attend, but had made all the other arrangements, including for my family and Marika-san’s. She’s getting more and more capable. She’s quite the catch… “We’ll be meeting up with everyone at Tokyo station, as well as Kikuchi-san and his daughter.”

“I still can’t believe my friends at school are involved in this.” Kana shook her head. “This is your fault, Shaeula!”

“My fault? Why, I was simply giving them a great-great opportunity, out of the goodness of my heart…”

As they argued we all boarded the bus, me giving one last check to make sure we had everything, and then we were off…

********

“Hey, he’s here! Bro, over here!” my sis was waving at us as our large, conspicuous group entered the station. Of course, the group with my sister was gathering plenty of looks too, as it contained Eri and my mom and auntie Mori, so two gorgeous women and two pretty girls. Father and uncle looked a bit plain by comparison. Marika-san’s grandfather and mother were there too, and on seeing them Marika-san brightened and rushed over to hug her mother.

“Mother, I’ve missed you!” she said, happily.

“Me too, my little girl.” She fixed me with a glare then, still not liking me. “So, have you been looking after my daughter like you promised? There’s been no trouble, I hope?”

“Mother!” Marika-san protested stoutly. “Akio-sama and the people of Shirohebizumi shrine have been good to me, I assure you!”

Oh Marika-san, you good little girl. Considering the disaster with the yakuza, she was lying. I’d have to reward her later. Still Nagi-san, Keomi-chan and Kana reassured Marika-san’s mother and grandfather, while my sis and Eri barrelled over to me, our parents following. “Damn, bro. You brought her? How the hell did that happen?” she scowled at Aliyah.

“Long story.” I laughed. “Well, they work for me now.”

“Well, just don’t try anything funny. I don’t swing that way.” Aiko warned. Trey and Aliyah looked relieved as she spoke in English, giving them more people to talk to.

“Aliyah won’t cause any trouble.” Trey promised. “We are on our best behaviour.”

“Yeah, no shit… err, no problem.” She corrected herself, scratching one cheek hesitantly. “You’re a real cute girl, but your brother is a madman. I’m not having him break any of my ribs again.”

“You did that?” Aiko asked, and I shrugged.

“Well, she had it coming. Oh, there’s Kikuchi-san and his daughter, as well as their kami.” I waved at them, and they came over slowly, his daughter Maiko-san still a bit wary around Kana, who noticed that, pouting a little. The jade beetle, in his human form, moved to speak to Shirohebi, leaving us humans to greet each other.

“Oh come on, Kikuchi-san. I don’t bite. And speaking of… everyone else is here!” Kana greeted her friends with a wave.

The school friends of Kana had arrived. They were wearing casual clothes, but we had shrine maiden outfits for them in our luggage. On seeing all the girls, my sis rolled her eyes, turning to Eri. ”Damn, bro really loves surrounding himself with cute schoolgirls. I think you should be worried.”

“Not really.” Eri sniffed. “Well, there is one…” she looked at Kana with her dark eyes, but Kana was studiously ignoring her. “Besides.” She continued. “I am more concerned about what’s going to happen in Kyoto. It’s very important everything goes well.”

“Yeah, guess so.” Aiko agreed, as the friends of Kana, as well as the shy Takagi-san, all came over.

“Whoa, so this is the famous Mori-senpai then? I remember seeing you at that meeting, but we didn’t get to talk, did we? I was a bit overwhelmed there, to be honest, so many important people.” Mio-san said, before introducing them all again. “Look, Asami-chan! Now I take a good look, she’s as cute as us, the sister too! Damn, you’ve got some competition, Kana-chan!”

“I’m not interested, I keep telling everyone that!” she complained, and that lightened the mood, everyone laughing, the shy Takagi-san too, and even Maiko-san cracked a slight smile. “Anyway, Kyoto! We get to skip school and go to Kyoto! Awesome!”

“You’re there to work!” Eri said harshly, and Mio-san giggled.

“So strict!” she said. “That’s the presence of a winner in life! Looks, boyfriend, money. Nice!” she gave a thumbs-up, and Eri actually blushed a little, which was pretty charming. “Still, I hope it won’t be all work. I’d like to see the sights, have some fun! We didn’t get to go on our school trip, right Kana-chan?”

“Yeah, you missed out!” Asami-san agreed. “But there were things I missed out on too.”

“Well, I hope so too, but bro’s work comes first.” my sis said, before looking very excited, showing me a post from a web site on her phone. “Bro, check this out! Rumour has it that the idol group Red and White will be doing a guerrilla concert in Kyoto some time over the weekend! That’s a big deal! They are super-hot at the moment, and the lead dancer is super pretty! Apparently they are all Uni students that started an idol group together… and check this out.” I looked at the pictures of them dancing in what looked like shrine maiden gear, just flashier, with tons of frills and other decorations.

“Oh yeah, you like them too?” Mio-san asked, and my sis started rapidly talking about her favourite songs and so on.

“I hear she’s a shrine maiden at Kanda-myōjin shrine.” Takagi-san said, surprising everyone. “What?” she protested. “Just because I’m plain, I can’t be into idols?”

“No… nothing like that.” Kana said slowly. “I’m just surprised you volunteered that information. You don’t like us popular girls much, do you?”

“No.” she looked at Maiko-san, who shrugged. “But… you haven’t bullied Kikuchi-san. Instead…” she looked at me then. “She told me you saved her father’s life. I still don’t really get it, not even having seen that magical world, but… you aren’t a bad man. And if you are nice to us, they will be too, right?”

“I’m always nice.” Kana protested. As the bickering and mingling of groups continued, the neutral shrines arrived, led by Chiyo-san. On seeing us, we exchanged greetings.

“I must say, this is quite the group you have here.” She remarked, eyeing Aliyah and Trey, as well as Grulgor. “And a maid too. How very… decadent.”

“Oh yeah, I was going to mention that. She was there at the meeting too.” Asami-san grinned. “So, you’re into that sort of thing are you, Akio-kun? Maid roleplay? Giving her orders to do this and that?”

Before I could answer, Hyacinth piped up happily, face flushed, clutching her cheeks. “Ooof course. I warm master’s bed whenever he asks, and I wash his back, and his frooont too. Master washes Hyacinth then, and we…”

As she carried on with her delusions (which really weren’t, as we did indeed do that sort of thing), Kana merely rolled her eyes. My mother and father, as well as uncle and auntie, came over as well.

“Hello again, Hyacinth. I’m happy to see such a beautiful girl being intimate with my son!”

“My little Eri, don’t disrespect her! I warned you before, and I’m saying it again!” Auntie Hana was saying sourly, and as Hyacinth insisted that “Nooo, she would never insult the mistress…” I turned back to Chiyo-san and Kana’s friends.

“Uh, well, Hyacinth does have her issues, but she’s actually like Shirohebi over there.” I pointed to the silent snake, who was attracting curious looks with their androgynous appearance and strange clothes. “She may look like a cute maid, but she can effortlessly kill anyone here barring me, Shaeula and Grulgor.”

“Quite the maid indeed then.” Chiyo-san agreed. “Well, everyone is here. We should board the train soon. I must say, that girl of yours arranged everything very well. We were ferried here in rather luxurious circumstances.” At that Kana’s friends and Takagi-san agreed. “Hiroto-kun, his family and those of the Susanoo faction, other than your good selves…” she nodded to Kana. “… have gone along with him. They have greetings to give and matters to attend to before tomorrow. Still, we’ll see them later.” The old woman observed. “I have people to see as well, and you’ll have to meet plenty of old farts and young prideful idiots. Still, if you want to be important, you have to put up with the tiresome windbags.”

“All right. But can we discuss our plans on the train? It’s nearly time.” Raising my voice I called for everyone to board.

“All right. Eri, got your bento?” My sis asked.

“Aiko, the train is only two hours.” She sighed, exasperated. “And you had breakfast, right?”

“Yeah, but… I mean, it’s the shinkansen! I’ve not been on it before! And on trains, you have to have a bento, right?”

As they bickered good-naturedly, Aliyah leaned over. “She seems a bit too relaxed. This is a big deal, even if I don’t get it, right?”

“Yeah. But I’d rather everyone be in good spirits and calm. Depending on what we find in Kyoto, we might have to fight, and while I don’t want Aiko involved…” I looked at her fondly. “…she’d never forgive me if I left her out entirely, since she’s training so hard to be useful.”

“Sometimes sentiment isn’t healthy.” Trey observed, and I agreed.

“Yeah. If it’s too dangerous, I’ll tell her no, even if it upsets her. But… well, ideally, everything will run smoothly, but then, when has it done that recently?”

“Amen to that.” Aliyah muttered. “Amen to that…”

*********

The journey on the bullet train to Kyoto had been smooth and pleasant. We had ended up with nearly an entire carriage in the green car, and the time had passed with a mixture of catching up, socialising, people getting to know each other and some planning as well. Chiyo-san was intending on doing the rounds with all three factions, since she was politically neutral but influential, and the plan was to arrange for me to meet those willing to listen.

Kikuchi-san and his daughter would need to meet their fellows in Amaterasu faction, and while they were lacking influence, being a tiny shrine in a shitty part of greater Tokyo, with him being a Candidate this was his chance to change that.

Kana and her family were going to sit out their own initial faction gathering, leaving it to Hikawa-san, as they had their kami present, which was a trump card we were keeping to ourselves. The jade beetle would not be accompanying Kikuchi-san, as it was too early to reveal that to Amaterasu faction, who were potentially our biggest stumbling block to cooperation.

My family had spent the trip with Shaeula and Hyacinth, getting to know my newest woman, and I felt embarrassed as my mother squealed and fussed over her. Damn, I wish she’d act her age…

That left me with Eri and Kana on either side of me, and the atmosphere was… interesting. I remember Eri asking Kana if she was interested in me. Don’t get me wrong, I think Kana likes me, but just as an older brother. She’s too prideful to accept sharing, she’s made that plain. Still, as I looked at Kana, I did admire her beauty, as well as her unflinching selfishness. She was always true to herself, even if that did ruffle some people the wrong way.

Of course, my wandering attention stimulated Eri,. Who became very affectionate, and she spent a good portion of the trip kissing and cuddling with me, which led to a lot of gentle mockery from my sis and the other girls. Still, as the train pulled into Kyoto station, we could see the whole of historic Kyoto. My sis was thrilled, as expected, and she also embarrassed me with her antics. Like mother, like daughter I guess… Still, the thought was a fond one.

“All right. Hinata should have sorted out a minibus to take us to the docks where we catch the boat to our ryokan. Now I know Kyoto is beautiful and interesting, but we’ll have time to gawk later. First, let’s get back and get set up at our lodgings. Then we might have some time before I have my first meetings.”

“Roger that!” My sis declared, grabbing a case. When I raised my eyebrow, she grinned.

“My Olympic recurve bow you got me, bro. Damn, hope I don’t need it here in Kyoto, but I’m taking no chances.”

“Hey, I like her more and more…” Aliyah smiled, realising she was carrying a weapon.

“Well I don’t like you, so back off.” My sis shot back in English.

 “The air here isss thick with ssspiritual power.” Shirohebi said suddenly, and the jade beetle kami concurred. It was then Shaeula added her own agreement.

“Yes, there is power here, definitely.” Her eyes glowed. “And a familiar taste-taste to the air. The Night Parade is here. I can feel-feel them. And much more besides.” Her hand sought mine and I squeezed it gently. Yes. More besides. I can feel Territories affecting the Material. And not just one or two, but at least a few close to us here.

“Grul says we will crush them if they cross us.” the bald-headed yet oddly handsome brute reassured her, and Hyacinth chimed in as well.

“It shall not-not come to that, I hope. But if it does… well, those foolish cats perished, did they not-not? Any who cross us shall meet the same end.”

Feeling a sting in my head, I grinned. “Sure. Now, I think that’s our bus. Hmm. There sure are a lot of shrine maidens and priests about.” The station was bustling with them, and we were drawing attention as well.

“Well, with nearly two and a half thousand shrines, and everyone wishing to attend, I expect there will be upwards of twenty thousand faces here for Conclave, many of them priests and maidens. Though only a few will be eligible to attend the major meetings and the Conclave itself.” Chiyo-san said, ushering her granddaughters into the bus, where they went with long suffering sighs.

“Oh, look, look! A cake store!” Keomi-chan pointed. “Can we get some for the ride? I love cake!”

“Fine then.” I shook my head. “Get enough for everyone, and also some for gifts. That reminds me…” handing my father and uncle some money, I told them to buy a load of spirits and other alcohol. I might as well be prepared…

*********

“Well, this is worth the money.” I remarked as we reached our ryokan, after a delightful cruise down the Katsura river to the outskirts of Kyoto, where there were plentiful natural hot springs and other delights. As we were greeted by a pair of impeccably-dressed women wearing yukata, mother and daughter by the looks of it, I returned their greetings politely.

“Let us show you to your rooms.” The mother said, while the daughter marshalled several other staffers to take our bags.

“This is so cool! Right Kana-chan, Marika-chan?” Keomi-chan giggled, her face still somehow smeared with cake.

“I must admit to being impressed.” Marika-san’s mother said. “I had worried my daughter was being treated poorly. I still don’t get just what is so special about all this shrine business, but… it obviously matters.”

“Yes, we don’t get it either.” My mom said. “But we know Aki is doing his best, so cheer up. Us girls from Nishimorioka have to stick together!”

As my mother worked her charm, we entered. We were shown to a pair of large rooms, one for males and one for females, both richly appointed, with futons already laid out, along with yukata and other clothing to wear around the ryokan, and a late breakfast spread, full of fresh fish, meat and other delicacies.

“And this is your private room.” The hostess said to me, showing me a rather nice room with its own private open-air area with outdoor bathing and terrace. Four futons were already laid out. Nice. It isn’t that I mind sharing with the guys, but…

“Wow. No fair bro, that room is killer.” My sis said, turning to Eri and Shaeula. “I get that you want to get all cosy with my bro, the maid too, no doubt.” Hyacinth nodded at that. “Well, that’s fine, but…” my sis continued. “This is like a holiday, so you have to spend at least a couple of nights in the communal room. Like a giant school trip sleepover! I won’t take no for an answer, all right?”

“Fine.” Eri laughed, in good humour. “I won’t abandon you, Aiko.”

“This will be great.” Aliyah rubbed her hands, only for my sis to deny her.

“No way! You can sleep with the guys. Or even in my bro’s room. No way I can trust you with us!”

“Oh come on, your bastard brother… err, my employer… would kill me if I tried anything. I don’t have a damn death wish…” she looked at her brother, but Trey raised his hands in surrender.

“I ain’t touching this one with a ten foot pole, you are on your own!”

As she howled in betrayal, I laughed. “All right then. Everyone get your stuff put away, then we might as well eat. We have a busy weekend ahead of us, so we should all relax while we can!”

“Sounds good to me. Come on, my son is paying for all this, so we might as well enjoy it.” my mom said, and at that everyone burst into action, stowing bags and getting changed…