On Astral Tides: From Humble Freelancer To Astral Emperor

“I thank you for seeing us, Father.” Reiji said respectfully to the small, bespectacled priest who ran the church they had visited. The man was Japanese, which was unusual, but not unheard of.

“Oh, it isn’t a problem.” The priest replied. “There’s no Mass today.” He paused, looking at his guests. “Are you sure I can’t serve you some tea? Hospitality is important.”

“It’s fine.” Reiji shook his head. “Hopefully we won’t keep you long, and we’re imposing.”

“I am always happy to help the people that keep us safe and protected.” The priest replied. “Unusual though it is to see you visit. Modern Japan is welcoming to different faiths, so we seldom have trouble with graffiti or vandalism, not like in other countries. So I’m rather wondering what I can do for you?”

“Oh, it’s a trivial matter.” Reiji assured him. I’m a little perturbed, it seems that the priest isn’t aware we are coming, unlike the other shrines we visited. Was he not contacted, or is he just a better actor? “You’ve recently been involved in fundraising with some Shinto and Buddhist shrines, I believe?”

At the agreed opening, Officer Usui was next to speak, her tone gentle. It’s lessconfrontational coming from a young woman such as her. “I’m a little curious. I’m not well versed in Christianity, but don’t you believe there’s only one God, and all others are false? Isn’t it difficult to work with other faiths?”

The priest didn’t seem to take offense, merely answering, his tone gentle. “That’s true, certainly. and honestly, I believe it. Though it is harder nowadays, isn’t it?” He laughed self-deprecatingly. “All this talk in the media of those blessed by the Gods. But then, what is a God? I studied Theology, Philosophy and Religion before I had my religious awakening and trained to be a priest. As a young man, I wasn’t particularly devout.” His eyes were distant as he explained. “It basically comes down to faith. I have faith in God, and I’ll worship him, as my conscience dictates. But… I studied Philosophy as well. There’s an argument often quoted, to disparage Christianity. If an old woman, who has no faith in the Lord, spends her whole life doing good deeds with no ulterior motive, then passes away unbaptised, would she go to Hell, while a sinner who lived selfishly his whole life, but confesses on his death bed and is shriven of his sins, goes to Heaven? Honestly, I don’t believe in Hell…” he smiled. “I believe that the Lord has love for all, and that woman would find herself in Paradise, rewarded for her good deeds. It’s not strictly orthodox, but I believe faith is between man and God. Just don’t tell the Archbishop.” He winked, and Reiji found himself rather liking the man.

“I see. So you don’t hold extremist views?” Usui clarified, and the priest sighed.

“I’m not sure when religion became extremist, but… I’m don’t know why, but you want to ask if I have sympathy for the views of the Church of True Revelation, don’t you?”

“Guilty as charged.” Officer Usui agreed. “It’s a pressing concern.”

“Well, let me preface my response by answering your previous question. No, I am more than happy to reach out to good people of other faiths, to spread a little joy and charity within the world. Whether I believe in their Gods, the Kami, that doesn’t matter. We should all be more like the old woman, doing good because it is right. As to whether I have sympathy for this group… as a Catholic, I can certainly respect their zeal, but… it does seem to be repeating old mistakes. The Inquisition was the same, prepared to torture and kill for the good of the victims. It’s not for man to make that decision. But for God. So no, I don’t agree with their outlook.”

“Even if they are right, and the world will be destroyed?” Officer Usui pressed, and he shrugged.

“If the end of days are here, and it’s the plan of God, then we should do our best. But I’m not convinced God would want us to persecute those who don’t believe. But I am just a humble priest. My opinion is my own. But his Holiness, the Pontiff himself, did call for calm and cooperation. So I don’t intend to change my mind.”

“Thank you for that.” Reiji said, nodding. A man of principle. I don’t believe he’s lying, my instincts are usually accurate. “Now as to what we are here for, Father…” Reiji briefly explained the situation regarding the attacks recently, and the priest nodded.

“I see. A tip that the attacker of Shinohara-sama was seen here. I said a minute ago that we don’t suffer much discrimination, but that seems rather… maliciously motivated.” He let out a long sigh. “Our Lady of The Sea church has long been known for good works. We have a small, yet devout faithful. But…” he did pause then. “…we are also a popular destination for charity tourism.”

“Charity tourism?” Bunta-san asked, and the priest nodded.

“Basically, it’s a modern style of missionary work.” He explained cheerfully. “After all, the days of travelling to foreign, backward…” He smiled to the rob the words of their sting. “…countries and proselytising the word of the Lord are long gone. But there are still poor, unfortunate lands. Not every country as is rich, prosperous and peaceful as Japan or the Catholic countries of the West. So we do get travellers coming to aid in charity fundraising, or using us as a base to travel to neighbouring countries.”

“I see. And I assume you keep a list of these, Father?” Reiji asked.

“I do, though… I’m not sure in good conscience I can release such information. I don’t want to believe anyone could do such a thing as attack a charitable woman like Shinohara-sama.”

“Let’s change the subject for now then.” Reiji said, meeting Officer Usui’s eye, and she spoke casually.

“You have a particularly good relationship with Nezu shrine and several others, don’t you? Recently your fundraising efforts have been delivered jointly with them.”

“That’s correct. It fosters a sense of community, which we need now more than ever. It was quite the successful event. We supported the poor and the homeless in Tokyo, helping them regain some dignity, and raised a significant sum to aid our brothers and sisters in flood-hit countries around us.” the priest said proudly. “And before you ask, yes, while most of the participants were long-time members of our flock, there were some foreign visitors who helped, but I can’t imagine they would be the sort who would attack Shinohara-sama.”

“Another question then.” Usui asked, nodding. “I assume you are aware of Bando-san, the priest of Nezu shrine.” At his affirmative noise she continued. “I don’t suppose you have discussed the first tragedy of Kyoto with him at all, or with other members of the Shinto or Buddhist faiths?”

“Oh, Bando-san. Yes, Nezu shrine was the first to reach out to us when we started our charitable efforts. For that I’m grateful. So, I have no wish to gossip. Is this really relevant, Detective?”

Reiji nodded. “I am afraid it is, Father. How and why… is difficult to explain, but rest assured, we don’t pry out of mere curiosity.”

“I see.” The priest let out a long sigh. “It wasn’t told to me in confidence, not as a Confession, but… I am not a man to share the secrets of others lightly. I don’t see the connection, but… of course we talked about Kyoto. It had a large impact on the faith in Tokyo, after all. The deaths of so many promising young religious people is a tragedy. It’s sorrows like those which is why we need faith, to believe that they live on in a better place. Bando-san was…” He explained that Bando-san was acquainted with several shrines who lost people, which was information they had already gathered, and that he was angry and bitter about the whole event. “…it’s understandable. Grief is a terrible thing.”

“Yes, when we spoke to Bando-san, he seemed rather upset that Oshiro-san wasn’t able to prevent it. I expect you also have mixed feelings regarding Oshiro-san, what with the British incident.” Reiji pointed out.

“Not really.” The priest surprised them. “As I said, I do not approve of violence. No more than the Apostles fought, even when they were captured and martyred. But then, I am not such a saint as to say that standing up to fight for the innocents is wrong. Sometimes turning the other cheek is only a sop to one’s conscience. The Church of New Revelation was wrong, and I believe standing up to that was right. Sadly the path of what is right and wrong is a thorny one. Perhaps it could have been resolved peacefully, but… again, let God judge.”

Officer Usui was surprised. “That’s… not what I expected.”

“Don’t be so surprised. Every man and woman makes their own decision on what faith is. If the Church of Hew Revelation was here now, I would urge them to give up their crusade of violence. Changing hearts and minds is best done by good works, charity and kindness. Showing others the better way is what the Lord wants, I’m sure. After all…” he smiled cheerfully then. “…isn’t that why you are here, to ask about our fundraising efforts?”

“He’s right.” Bunta-san muttered. “I’ve seen it. There’s a difference between what the devil inside Shiratori-sama does and what the boss does. How they get on, I don’t know. They seem like oil and water to me. But… it’s not wrong to fight to protect oneself, or others.”

He’s changed a bit, it seems. Bunta-san has a complicated past, and has been complicit in crimes I find hard to forgive, such as the death of Oguro Daizen, but… he was too much of a coward to commit any truly evil acts. When protected, feeling safe, he is actually a reasonably pleasant person. Not that I’d trust him with my money, he’s greedy too, but with the protection of Oshiro-san, he won’t have financial worries…

“There’s a line I like. Ichika-chan told me why Akio-kun helped her, back in the day. He said ‘I have a sister and a childhood friend. If they were in a position of being threatened and abused, I wouldn’t want anyone seeing it to just walk on by, so I surely had to act.’”

The priest momentarily frowned. “Noble sentiments. I wish that the world did not need violence to defend against violence, but it has always been this way, even since the dawn of time. After all, even Paradise was lost to sin, and Cain drew his blade, bringing death to the world for the first time. All manner of sin was released, and since then, we do the best we can. But against sin, we have virtue.”

“Yeah, it’s not like he killed those thugs.” Usui snickered. Again, that’s not proper. I am beginning to give up hope you’ll ever learn to be dignified, Officer. But… perhaps other skills are needed for this job. “Just made sure Ichika-chan was safe. But I’ve little sympathy for wrongdoers. But he sure isn’t flawless or perfect. He’s a womaniser for one, and the other…” Nice leading words there, Officer. Let’s see how the priest here takes the bait…

“Yes. Bando-san does rather blame Oshiro-sama for the Kyoto incident. He has taken to drinking rather heavily. It seems rather unfair to me, but when it is family and friends who lose children… it is often hard to be fair or keep perspective. Though there’s something a little deeper, if you ask me. Wait…” the priest frowned. “I… I am not being questioned under warrant, am I?”

Surprised at the sudden question, Reiji denied it. “No, we are merely conducting enquires on a tip-off.”

“In that case…” The priest went into the room at the back of the church and brought out his laptop. He pulled up a list, and nodded. “There was one strange conversation I remember. Bando-san was saying that Oshiro-sama was responsible for the coma of Uchida Yamato-san. I have of course never met the boy, but I understand he was a very highly regarded member of the Japanese faith community, and fell at Kyoto. Others mentioned that it was Yamato-sama who led the ill-fated expedition, despite being told not to underestimate the dangers, but…”

“Yeah, Akio-kun was cut up over it. He told the trainees never to enter elsewhere than his Territory, just like we are told not to explore the Boundary.” Usui agreed. “But they were young and Yamato-san was effectively their leader in spiritual matters, and so we ended up with this mess. Blaming Akio-kun seems unfair though. Shaeula told me he was up against Nurarihyon and the whole damn Night Parade. The Hyakki Yagyō! Akio-kun would be the first to admit he’s not superman. He can’t perform any miracle.”

“The Night Parade? Really?” The priest was taken aback. “Well, no matter. Whatever happened, Bando-san seems insistent that Oshiro-sama was to blame, and he suspects he was jealous of Yamato-san and tried to push on him his own failures, since there would be none to gainsay him. When in his cups, he did confess he had received information from a concerned bystander…”

Oh? I’m still not seeing the connection to the attack on Shinohara-sama and the other murders, but… we’ve definitely stumbled into something thanks to this Oracle…

********

“So what do you both think?” Reiji asked, after they left the church. “It stinks if you ask me.”

“We got the list. Though not sure how much good that’ll do us.” Officer Usui sighed. “Over a hundred names, and most of them are elderly. But there are a few from overseas. I’ve already got the staff at the Ministry running them through the database and checking immigration records.”

“I’ve also arranged for us to visit Shinohara-sama again.” Bunta-san said, hanging up his call. “I must say, her housekeeper sounded surprisingly jovial, considering her grave injuries. I’ve also texted Watanabe-san. She’ll make the arrangements.”

“Excellent. While we’ve already checked Shinohara-sama’s property extensively and found nothing, I’m more inclined to give it another go. I’m still not making the connection, but…”

“There’s definitely one.” Usui nodded. “Here’s what we know. There have been a number of deaths recently, all of which are suspicious. Some can be chalked up to Chosen getting out of their depths and getting killed by monsters in the Boundary. Others…” she narrowed her eyes, and Bunta-san looked away. “…were Chosen disputes. Though that’s dropped off, at least in Tokyo. But then there’s ordinary people, who seem to have been killed by Chosen. The motivation seemed to be money, as far as we can tell. But the last two, especially Shinohara-sama’s case… they seem different. Clumsy. The power displayed is more in line with someone who has had Chirurgery. Even so… Shinohara-san should have died. It’s… puzzling.”

“I think… the last couple are a different culprit, with different aims.” Reiji said at last. “I can’t think of any other reason for the otherwise messy attempt.”

“Makes sense. But what aim? What’s the common thread?” Usui asked, as they approached the car that would take them to Shinohara-sama’s home.

“If you ask me… it’s religion.” Bunta-san said. “Three shrines, one church. And there’s one common thread that links them. It’s a stretch, but it’s the boss.”

Reiji agreed. “Yes, the shrines are obviously linked to Oshiro-san, and the Catholic church, at least the one sect of it, has also a deep enmity with him. But that doesn’t explain Shinohara-sama and the other recent victim.”

“That’s what we have to find out.” Officer Usui smirked. “But honestly, if we can’t even with that Oracle Engine leading us to the clues, we’re pretty useless.”

I wouldn’t put it that way, and I do dislike using such… unscientific methods, but it’s not doing anything unethical… As he entered the car, sitting in the driver’s seat, “Check the list on route. See if we can find anything suspicious.”

“Roger that, Detective!” Usui agreed, and as the car pulled off, Reiji considered the most likely possibility. Does Shinohara-sama have something important? Some knowledge or ability? If so, wouldn’t they have killed her… unless…

********

“We may not be able to find anything, but we’ll do our best.” One of the Fae that they had called upon said, looking strange in a voluminous coat, large even for the autumn chill. The hood was up, covering most of his rat-like face, but a tail could occasionally be seen poking out of the bottom. There were nods from several others, weaselkin, and one was small, the size of a child, with green skin and yellow eyes. They were all carrying equipment, glittering red stones providing the power source.

“That’s all we can ask.” Reiji said, as they stood outside Shinohara-sama’s mansion. “We’ve already come up blank with traditional methods, so we’ll try anything.”

“In that case, we should have asked Shaeula to come.” Usui snorted.

“Anything ethical.” Reiji corrected. “All right. Just be careful, Shinohara-sama is in a very bad way, we shouldn’t disturb her much.” They pressed in intercom, and the gates creaked open, and they were met by a middle-aged maid, who smiled at them warmly, which was a bit strange.

“Detective, officers…” she paused, wide-eyed at the Fae. “…uh… welcome. Mistress Shinohara is waiting for you inside.”

“Thank you. We won’t strain her…” Reiji began, but the maid laughed.

“Don’t worry, don’t worry. Mistress has been rewarded with a miracle for her good deeds! It’s surely the will of…”

“Enough of that, dear.” A confident, pleasant voice sounded, and Reiji and the others widened their eyes in shock as Shinohara-sama appeared, dressed in casual long skirt and cardigan. Her arm… her wounds… does that mean… it must do. Another link in the chain. Seeing them staring, Shinohara-sama laughed. “Yes, I was indeed healed, but it was no miracle. Merely a good deed I am not sure I am worthy of.”

“Nonsense…” the maid began, but Shinohara-sama sent her to get tea for her guests.

“Take a seat, and we’ll talk.” Shinohara-sama said, and when they were seated, Usui was the first to speak.

“This is a shock. Did Akio-kun or Shaeula fix you up?”

“Indeed, Oshiro-san did. When Fukumoto… no, I suppose she is Takatsukasa-sama now… contacted me, offering me a chance at life, I wasn’t sure, but in the end… I’m glad. Seeing the smiles on the faces of parents and children alike… it’s what I set up my charitable foundation for. Now I have a new goal. Disease, injury and sadness, all can be banished. I want to build a hospital, where all can be saved.”

“It’s not that easy, you know.” Officer Usui said. “Oh hey, this tea is good! Anyway… self-healing isn’t so hard, I hear, but learning to use Ether Healing on others isn’t going so well.”

“I am aware. No, not aware, there is much I don’t know, but Takatsukasa-sama explained to me the problems. But what can be done once, can be done twice. And twice can be done any number of times.” Shinohara-sama quoted an old proverb. “I can’t help but feel my second chance at life is for a purpose.”

“Hinata-chan sure is a fiery one.” Usui chuckled, snacking on an expensive small cake that was laid out on the table. You have cream at the corner of your mouth, Officer. When will you learn to be dignified? “But I’m sure she has her reasons for everything. Speaking of…”

“You are here about the robbery and attack, yes?” Shinohara-sama said seriously. “Honestly I am not sure what more I can tell you. I can’t even be sure whether it was a man or a woman, from the bodyline, as they were wearing an ill-fitting set of clothes with a large, long coat, and their face was obscured by a mask. But judging from their strength and speed, I would have said a man, however now I am far from sure. I have seen too much.”

“Yeah, when you see the power a little cutie like Shaeula packs, you realise there’s no difference.” Usui agreed, listening intently. “But if it was someone like her, you’d be dead, right?”

Shinohara-sama agreed. “Yes, I had no way of fighting back. Their voice was disguised, neither male nor female, sounding almost robotic… perhaps a voice changer?”

“Wind element can do that too.” One weaselkin spoke up. “Disguising one’s voice is hardly difficult.”

“Yes, though we still narrowed it down to a human rather than a spiritual being, didn’t we?” Officer Usui continued. “And I may be wrong, but I think it seems more likely now, given everything we’ve learned.”

Yes, I don’t disagree. “Shinohara-sama…” Reiji began, but after she told him to be less formal, he smiled apologetically. “I understand you told the Police everything that happened, and I’m sorry to rake up bad memories, but… if you can remember anything useful, that would be helpful. especially anything relating to Oshiro-san, or any sort of religious connection.”

Shinohara-sama, no… -san… seemed puzzled for a minute. “Religious connections? Oshiro-san? I’d never met him before yesterday, though I had seen him in the newspapers and on television. You’d have to be living under a rock not to. I don’t see what that has to do with a violent robbery. I may run a foundation, but I am still rather wealthy in my own right.” Still, despite her words, she frowned, trying to recall. “I only remember flashes, it was very traumatic. A home invader shouldn’t have been able to gain entry, and it all happened so fast…”

“Anything at all would be helpful.” Reiji repeated, and she nodded. After a while, she remembered one odd phrase.

“They were demanding money, gold, jewellery… I don’t keep much money on the premises, but I was forced to open the safe, which contained a lot of jewellery, some watches and so forth. However… the tone was strange, even with the distortion. It seemed… uninterested, somehow. And they said… what was it, what was it… oh yes… ‘this will cover the demands of the greedy wretches. They should be happy to serve the cause…’ At the time, I remembered the comment about greed, and well, aren’t all thieves greedy? But… serving the cause…”

“Yes, it’s as we suspected. Not a simple robbery. The cause…” Reiji mused. “All right, let’s take a look around, if that’s all right with you, Shinohara-san?”

“By all means.” She was wracking her brain as the Fae started scanning everywhere with their strange devices. “I did find it odd that there were no traces left, and nothing appeared on our CCTV. Obviously the mansion is equipped with it. But it went down during the incident.”

“We checked everything.” Bunta-san pointed out. “There wasn’t any tampering as far as we could see, but…”

“Yes, perhaps it might be possible with spiritual powers.” Reiji mused. “If so… it was clearly planned out well in advance, yet the actual robbery and your injuries wee so clumsy. It doesn’t add up.”

“If it’s to throw us off the scent, that doesn’t make a lot of sense.” Officer Usui mused. “It’s almost as if…” her eyes narrowed. “Hey, a murder of a famous person in a robbery makes headline news and is soon forgotten, but if she’s left with lasting, gruesome injuries, don’t you think it’ll get more coverage?”

Before Reiji could answer, the goblin-like Fae came over, shaking his head. “It’s impossible to find traces of aether that shouldn’t be here now, elemental energies neither. It’s been too long, and unlike the Astral, the Material is starved of aether so it quickly disperses.”

“A shame. But we never expected it to be easy. Is there anything else?” Reiji replied, then one weaselkin who was using an odd set of goggles to peer around, smiled broadly, letting out a cry.

“Yes, I think so!” he pointed to the floor, which was richly carpeted. “See here…” he grinned. “There’s a clear footprint.”

“I don’t see anything…” Reiji looked at it, and the weaselkin handed him the goggles. Suddenly the light was a different colour, a dull reddish-brown, and he could see the contours of the ground. “What is this?”

“It uses a little aether to simulate various elements, allowing further insights. The floor under the carpet is wood, which we can probe. See?”

“Fascinating. We never thought to check under the carpet.” Reiji replied. “Can we get a photograph?” With the weaselkin fiddling with the settings, Reiji wondered just wat other secrets were hidden…

********

“The second crime scene also had the matching boot print. It seems someone doesn’t know their own strength.” Reiji laughed, looking at the images. “I think this goes beyond someone with mere Chirurgery. The strength to press a print into wood as one moves… careless. And at odds with our prior theory.”

“Yes, this isn’t the Boundary.” Bunta-san agreed. “Things don’t just disappear over time.”

“So, now we have to check the previous murders, for the same prints. Want to bet we won’t find any?” Usui laughed. “I could use some pocket money, tonight is going to be expensive.”

“You think I don’t know that someone there will pay?” Reiji sighed. They certainly are profligate with their money, but then, they were either poor and so now like extravagance, or are too used to being rich and noble to care. Not my problem anyway.

“You got me there.” Usui giggled. “But… we have to check, right?”

“The equipment needs rechanging, but tomorrow we’ll escort them to the previous scenes. Those boots… quite distinctive. The soles are filled with what look like nails…”

“Google seems to say those are hobnailed boots. They are said to be more common in Britain. It all comes back to the foreign visitors to the church, right?”

“Too early to tell.” Reiji shook his head. “But we have a lot of little pieces of the puzzle. But for today, we’re done. Go enjoy your get-together. But don’t drink too much, we have an early start tomorrow.”

“I’ll ask Shaeula to take care of it before I go. I’m not holding back!” Usui declared. “I hear you’re going out as well, Bunta-san?”

He nodded. “The boss has some friends, they asked me. Since they want to know more about Shiratori-sama’s double life. My lips are sealed though…”

“Probably wise.” Usui giggled. “So anyway, what will you do tonight, Detective?”

“I’ll speak to my wife and daughters about finally getting Chirurgery. And… I’ll take them out to dinner as well. Because I think we are going to be doing a lot of overtime soon. I want the culprits caught before they strike again.” There’s too many unknowns, but one thing I am certain of is that it wasn’t mere robbery that they were committing. It was a statement, or a plan. There’s something deeper at play… the Kyoto incident. The Church of New Revelations. Chosen. Boots. Greedy people and serving a cause… the cameras not working during the incident. Shinohara-san’s injuries. The distaste for Oshiro-san displayed by the priest of Nezu shrine… so many pieces, but how do they all fit together? I have a bad feeling if we don’t find out soon… something terrible will happen…