Chapter 19: Chapter 19 – Mountain Oeyama

A sudden voice from his side surprised him and made him jump from the bench. He looked to his side and noticed a middle-aged man standing beside the entrance. He looked like a tourist with his blond hair and soft beard.

"Hahaha, sorry, young man. I didn't think my voice would surprise you." The man apologized with a hearty laugh. "Name's Robert Brennan. What about yours?"

"Kai." He introduced himself shortly. "Please don't worry about it." Sitting back on the bench, he scooted over to make some space for the man.

"Thanks, young man," Robert said. "So, what's new? Ah, you don't have to answer if you don't want to. I was just curious seeing you look a bit out of it and mumbling to yourself, so I thought of starting a conversation. Am I a bother to you?" He quickly explained why he asked Kai.

"No, actually…" Kai shook his head. "It was just… this environment is new to me. Like the atmosphere and such."

"I agree!" The man nodded and crossed his arms. "This is a nice place, isn't it?! The air is also fresh, way better than big cities in the US."

"True."

What Robert had said was also true. But he knew the reason for that.

Kyoto was a place where the Leyline in Japan converged into one. It was filled with power spots that made Nature power abundant in the air.

From what Rena explained last night, Nature power also affected plants and others. A place with a lot of Nature power would thrive and look better than those with a lower amount of Nature power.

In essence, the plants could grow faster and healthier, thus increasing the oxygen and stuff essential to make the air feel fresher.

He talked with Robert for a while. They unexpectedly had a lot of things to talk about for strangers who had just met coincidentally. The fact they both came from the US may be the reason why they had so much in common.

A few minutes passed in the blink of an eye. A woman's shout broke off their conversation.

"Robert! Where are you!"

Curious, Kai peeked inside the ryokan and noticed a blonde woman wearing shorts and a white tank top looking around, looking annoyed. The name she shouted was coincidentally similar to the man sitting next to him. Or maybe the man was the person she had been searching for?

"Oh, shoot. Rebecca has woken up."

The man confirmed that with a worried tone. Robert peeked inside and squinted his brows. "This is bad. She looks so annoyed."

"Your friend?" Kai asked.

"Yeah, sort of," Robert replied with a strained smile and stood up. "It's nice talking with you, Kai. I hope we can meet again sometime."

"It's nice to talk to you too. I need to return to my room too. My companion must've finished bathing right about now."

"Hahaha, see you then." The blonde middle-aged man entered the ryokan. Kai followed his back and watched as the woman dragged him by the ear.

He laughed wryly, unable to react to the scene before him. Soon, he stood up and crossed his arms.

"Well, let's return to my room."

Walking inside the ryokan, he greeted the receptionist with a smile and proceeded to his room. He passed some tourists and locals that stayed overnight in the ryokan. The locals were all friendly, greeting him when they passed.

He soon arrived in front of his room and slid open the door. Amber was inside, sitting on a cushion and waving at him. Her body was wrapped with a towel, but Kai didn't really care as long as she covered herself with something.

"Good morning, Kai." She greeted him as if nothing was wrong.

"Good morning." He replied. "So, where are we going today?"

"Hmm... How about we see Oni Village today? The Oni Festival will be held in this place. It is located somewhere secret that surely piqued your interest. A different space."

"Oh?"

Even the mention of a different space already piqued his interest. It was something fantastic! It shouted Supernatural! The fact that Amber only wore a towel wrapped around her body left his mind as he pounced at her, putting his hands on her shoulders.

"Let's go. Right now!"

His purpose for visiting Japan was to satisfy his thirst for the Supernatural World and make his debut in it, announcing his presence. It would be dangerous for him but worth it, as his goal was to get involved in something like this.

Without a doubt, he knew he had put himself in danger. Hence, another reason why he helped the Foxes. To make himself accustomed to the danger presented by the Supernatural World.

"Kai… so bold…" Amber muttered in a shy tone as she glanced away from Kai. Her cheek was dyed red as her towel fell from her body.

Kai noticed his mistake and turned around. "S-Sorry."

"Well, it's not like I mind." Came to his ear was her reply, accompanied by a playful giggle.

It was then he noticed that he had been teased once again. "You…"

"Fufufu. Let me get dressed first. You also want to change your clothes, right?"

He nodded. The clothes he wore right now weren't good enough to be presented to other people. Maybe it was still better than most clothes and looked good on him when he sat in front of the ryokan earlier.

But, going around with such clothes? It was a no for him. At least he wanted to look stylish enough.

"Good idea."

***

After getting dressed, Kai and Amber went to a mountain called Mountain Oe, or Oeyama, better known by locals in Nishikyo Ward, to the southwest of their ryokan. He wore a white shirt and black suit, looking like a gentleman, while Amber wore her usual qipao.

Legends said Oni Village was located on this mountain. The mountain was only 480 meters in height, not tall by any means. Because of the legend, many Oni sculptures and statues could be found here. They were only derived from the legends.

For ordinary people, Oni wasn't real and only existed in legends. But, for people like Kai and Amber, the story was different.

"Crazy… This place is filled with Oni!" Kai exclaimed excitedly. "Is this the Oni Village?"

Most people gathered around the mountain was Oni. They just pretended to be humans. Still, some humans were still present, interacting as usual with the hidden Oni.

The appearance of Oni was a bit different from regular humans. They had two red horns jutted out from their forehead, and all of them had red eyes. Their skin color was next. Some had normal skin colors similar to humans, but some also had blue or red skin color.

Kai understood those colors came from their legends. He had heard about blue and red Oni folklore.

'So the stories are based on true Oni!' He nodded his head in understanding as he noticed the legends held some truth in them. The difference was their faces looked similar to humans instead of the scary face described in the legend.

"I had expected such a reaction from you. But unfortunately, no. We are only at the entrance of their Village." Amber replied with a small chuckle.

"Still, I have seen a lot of Onis around here."

"Indeed. They are here to do business, selling some merchandise to tourists and travelers." She explained and pointed at a stall. The owner was an Oni with blue skin and sold an Oni mask to a tourist from overseas.

Looking at them, Kai felt conflicted. Should he be happy to know the truth or be disappointed because the Oni normal humans knew all this time was fake? He decided the former was better.

"Then, Amber…" He turned to Amber and grinned. "How can we enter the Oni Village?"

The Phoenix grinned back and replied to his question with another question. "Are you ready to climb a mountain?"