Target Acquired

As twilight faded and night descended, several dark figures leapt from the treetops and landed on the ground deep within the mountains surrounding Heian-kyo. They stood near a desolate cave, and after surveying their surroundings, they locked their gazes on the vine-covered entrance.

After confirming with one another through silent glances, the men in black converged toward the opening. They first summoned animal-shaped shikigami to serve as scouts, sending them into the depths of the cavern. Once they confirmed there was no danger, they entered the cave together. Inside, they found four massive, floating feathers. Atop each feather lay an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes, sleeping peacefully. The swaying, levitating feathers acted as cradles for the children.

"That's it. All four targets are here."

"Take them back quickly. Lord Mitsunaka is sending all the chigo to the forbidden grounds tonight. Don't keep him waiting."

After a brief exchange, the men in black picked up the infants from the feathers and prepared to leave. They placed sleep-inducing charms on each infant's swaddling clothes before summoning several large avian shikigami. Mounting the birds, they took flight, heading toward the horizon under the cover of night.

Not long after the men had departed, a figure emerged slowly from the shadows of the forest into the clearing before the cave. Miketsu stood there, head tilted back, silently watching the dark streaks receding rapidly into the night sky.

...

After flying through the dark canopy toward the north for over ten minutes, the men finally reached a valley. Deep within its depths, the faint flicker of firelight was visible.

The avian shikigami did not land directly in the valley. Instead, they circled in the air for a moment before descending near the valley entrance. The lead man in black jumped to the ground first, turning to speak to his companions.

"Dismiss your shikigami quickly, or we won't be able to pass through the barrier..."

The remaining men followed their leader’s lead, jumping down and dismissing their bird shikigami. They carried the still-sleeping infants—some on their backs, others in their arms—and moved toward the valley entrance together.

However, they had only taken a few steps before the men carrying the infants suddenly let out strange, muffled groans.

"Ugh... why is it... so heavy all of a sudden?"

"So much weight... what’s happening?"

The men felt the weight of the infants on their backs suddenly skyrocket. It felt as though they were being crushed by hundreds of pounds, forcing their backs to bow and their feet to sink into the muddy ground. Instinctively, they tried to shrug off the burdens on their backs, but no matter how they struggled, they could not escape the crushing pressure.

"What's going on?" The leader turned around at the sound of the commotion, only to witness an incredible scene.

The three men who had been carrying infants were now pinned in place, their legs trembling and their backs bent double. The tiny infants in swaddling clothes had transformed into grotesque, deformed yokai. They possessed the bodies of babies but were unnaturally bloated. Their once-adorable faces were now those of wrinkled, smirking old men and women. They had wrapped their limbs tightly around the men's backs, refusing to let go, all while letting out chilling, mocking cackles.

"Konaki-jiji!"

The leader cried out in shock. Just as he was about to draw a talisman to exorcise the creatures, a hairy paw lunged from the bundle in his own arms and clamped down hard on his throat.

"Guh... ack... this is..."

With his windpipe constricted, the leader struggled to look down. What he saw was the wide, smirking face of a tanuki peering out from the swaddling clothes. A single leaf was stuck to its forehead.

"Hello there."

With a muffled poof, a cloud of white smoke erupted from the bundle in the leader's arms. The squat, round figure of a tanuki leaped from the smoke. With one hand still gripping the man’s throat, he pulled back his other hand and delivered a heavy blow to the man's forehead, knocking him to the ground before he could even react.

Immediately after, the tanuki sprang into action. While the other men were still pinned down by the monstrous infants, he moved with lightning speed, using his sake gourd to club them all into unconsciousness. Looking at the pile of fallen men, he clapped his hands together and spat disdainfully on the ground.

As the tanuki finished dealing with the men, the sound of beating wings echoed from the sky. Makoto, in her true form, descended from the distant heavens and landed on the scene. Behind her followed several other avian yokai of various types.

Miketsu, clad in black robes, leaped down from the back of a large, bright-yellow bird. Surveying the scene, she finally rested her gaze on the strange infant yokai and the tanuki.

"You did well, Tamamura, and you too, Konaki-jiji..." Miketsu said calmly in the voice of Owl. Encouraged by her praise, the yokai responded immediately.

"Hehehe, it is our honor to serve Lord Owl..."

"Ha! Did you see that, Lord Owl? The secret transformation arts of the Shikoku Tanuki!"

The Konaki-jiji were yokai born from the spirits of abandoned infants. They would transform into babies and lie by the roadside to lure passersby into picking them up; once carried, they would gradually reveal their true form and become heavy enough to crush a person. Transformation, meanwhile, was a secret technique of the Shikoku Tanuki, allowing them to assume various forms using a single leaf. By using their respective abilities to disguise themselves as infants, they had completely fooled the men in black.

"Hmph... the sorcerers of Heian-kyo are nothing special. Not a single one saw through me. It seems my secret arts have reached a new level, haven't they?" the tanuki said proudly, looking at the unconscious men. Konkiku, standing by Miketsu’s feet, spoke up lazily.

"Oh, please. If Menreiki hadn't helped you mask your demonic energy, you never would have fooled them so easily. They are members of the Three Great Clans, after all; they aren't that easy to trick."

As Konkiku spoke, Menreiki, dressed in black, floated down slowly from Makoto's back. Hovering in the air, she drifted silently toward Miketsu and settled close to her without a word.

The Mask of Kawakatsu possessed the power to shroud essence, create illusions, and hide auras. Menreiki had once used this power to disguise the entire Hata residence as an ordinary home where nothing had happened, almost perfectly concealing the truth that she was a yokai and her family were all ghosts...

Hearing Konkiku's blunt retort, the tanuki immediately began to bicker back. Miketsu ignored them, turning her gaze toward the entrance of the valley ahead. By following these men, they had finally found their objective.