A Lead

"Hey, hey, hey! Stinky fox, come here, come here..." Behind the counter, the Cat Shop Owner beckoned like a Maneki-neko, calling out. Konkiku, seeing the Cat Shop Owner's actions, walked over with a suspicious look. "What is it? So mysterious." Jumping onto the counter, Konkiku sat in front of the Cat Shop Owner, looking at her with a puzzled expression. If she remembered correctly, this friend of hers had always been direct with her, never hiding anything.

"Nothing much, I just wanted to ask you, you've always been with Lord Owl, so you must know a lot about him, right?"

"Well... I suppose so."

As soon as she heard the Cat Shop Owner was asking about Miketsu, Konkiku immediately became wary.

"So... you said he's wrapped in so many bandages all over, does he have a serious injury or is he especially ugly, using them to cover it up?" After a moment of hesitation, the Cat Shop Owner finally asked Konkiku.

"How could that be? Lord Owl's appearance is absolutely top-notch in the world! He's not ugly at all!" Konkiku said without a second thought after hearing the Cat Shop Owner's words, thinking, "My Lady Uka might look about the same age, but she's much prettier than you, and has a better figure. How can you call her ugly?"

Hearing Konkiku's words, a weight lifted from the Cat Shop Owner's heart. She let out a slight sigh of relief, a faint smile involuntarily appearing on her lips, and her cat tail gently perked up behind her.

"Then, do you know what kind of yokai Lord Owl is? And how old is he this year? Is he three hundred years old? Since he's not bad-looking, why does he dress like that?" The Cat Shop Owner adjusted her mindset and continued to question Konkiku.

"Well, Lord Owl is... why are you asking all this?" Just as she was about to answer, Konkiku realized something was off, and after a moment's thought, she turned to ask the Cat Shop Owner.

"Oh... just, just a little curious, you see. Lord Owl helped me out of a bind with those disgusting Leopard Cats, and because of him, my business has been booming for a while. So I became a bit curious about Lord Owl and wanted to know more." Hearing Konkiku's question, the Cat Shop Owner's eyes darted around twice, and she immediately came up with an excuse.

"I see... Although what you said makes sense... I'm sorry, but I promised Lord Owl I wouldn't reveal any information about him." Konkiku nodded, provisionally believing the Cat Shop Owner's explanation.

"Tell me, don't worry, I won't spread it around."

"No, I promised to keep it a secret!"

...

And so, the Cat Shop Owner tried to extract more information about Miketsu from Konkiku, but she got absolutely nowhere. In the end, a slightly annoyed Cat Shop Owner just blurted out.

"You won't say anything, do you like Lord Owl?"

"Like? Of course I do!" Konkiku said without hesitation. All Inari foxes adore Lady Uka, is there a problem with that?

"Just as I thought..." The Cat Shop Owner smacked her lips, then said, and then she stopped pressing further.

"Alright, there's nothing for you here. Go do what you need to do."

Shaking her sleeve, the Cat Shop Owner turned and went to attend to her own business, leaving Konkiku sitting there, somewhat bewildered.

What's gotten into this cat?

...

In Choyo-machi, on the riverside lawn, a group of yokai sat gathered, eagerly discussing fresh topics.

"Hey, did you hear? Just now, some guy overestimated himself and challenged that Owl, and ended up getting beaten down!"

"Someone actually challenged Owl? I can't believe it. Hey, what happened to that guy? A broken arm or a broken leg?"

"I don't know, but they say he was beaten black and blue, looked terrible, and in the end, he even knelt and begged for mercy. Anyway, the stories vary, who knows what really happened."

"Haha... serves him right. By the way, what was that guy's name?"

"They say he's a young demon, and seems to have some strength. His name was... Nura Rihyon, wasn't it?"

"Nura Rihyon? Why does that sound a bit familiar..."

...

On another patch of grass not far from that group of yokai, the tanuki Tamamura gulped down a mouthful of sake from his flask, let out a long breath, and then spoke.

"So... this is your so-called path to fame? I'm seeing the results, your reputation is certainly growing." With a mocking tone, Tamamura chuckled as he looked at Nura Rihyon in front of him, saying with a smile.

"Heh, it's just a minor setback, nothing to worry about. This will be the groundwork before I become famous, a setup to create an even greater contrast for my comeback later." Nura Rihyon said leisurely. His demeanor seemed completely unaffected by the yokai's rumors; his mindset was very open.

"Pah, I seriously doubt that if I continue with you like this, I'll eventually be dragged down by your reputation. I came out to make a name for myself across the land, and if jokes get back to Shikoku, I'll be ruined." Tamamura spat, then said disdainfully.

Just then, Yamausagi, who was beside them, finally woke up slowly, rubbing her eyes after breaking yet another snot lantern.

"Oh, oh, Miss Yamausagi, are you awake?" Nura Rihyon said with a smile upon seeing the awakened Yamausagi, while Tamamura on the other side shivered with disgust.

"Uwaaa... Yamausagi slept enough... Huh? Strange, white-hair, why do you have an injury on your forehead?" After rubbing her eyes, Yamausagi pointed her small hand at the bruise on Nura Rihyon's forehead, asking curiously.

"Ah, that's... Ow!" The tanuki Tamamura was just about to say something when Nura Rihyon immediately hit him on the head with his sword hilt, cutting him off.

"I just accidentally fell, Miss Yamausagi, don't worry. As a yokai, minor injuries like this heal quickly." Nura Rihyon said without changing his expression. Yamausagi nodded understandingly, then continued.

"Oh, in that case, have you found Mr. Frog?"

"We're still looking, I'm afraid, but we have some leads now." Nura Rihyon replied, though Tamamura beside him just curled his lip and said.

"What leads? Didn't your plan already fail?"

"Those are two different things. The plan's failure merely slowed down the pace of gaining fame. It might affect our speed in gathering information, but it doesn't affect our ability to sort out the clues for our search." Nura Rihyon said, looking at Yamausagi in front of him.

"Miss Yamausagi, you met us in Totomi Province, and you said back then that your Mr. Frog was captured by the humans there, right?"

Hearing Nura Rihyon's question, Yamausagi nodded. Nura Rihyon, having received confirmation, continued.

"Totomi Province is within the sphere of influence of the great human family, the Taira Clan. If a yokai was captured, it's highly likely they were taken by the Taira.

"I've dealt with people from the Taira Clan many times; they are mostly warriors and don't have many onmyoji. They mostly rely on medicines and strengthened talismans to deal with yokai. They capture large numbers of yokai for the onmyoji families of Heian-kyo in exchange for talismans and medicines. So, your Mr. Frog was very likely captured by the Taira and is probably currently being transported to Heian-kyo."

"Ah! Will Mr. Frog be in danger then?" Yamausagi said worriedly after hearing Nura Rihyon's words.

"Not before reaching Heian-kyo... but once he falls into the hands of Heian-kyo's onmyoji families, it could be dangerous. At best, he'll be forcibly enslaved as a shikigami; at worst, he'll become material for their elixirs, artifacts, or talismans. In short, nothing good will come of it..."