Chapter Text
Kunikida Doppo descended from the ship and stretched from the long journey. He hated getting on sea-faring vessels, but he supposed that it was better than nothing. At least the patron god of the seas had protected them on their voyage back to the port city where Doppo had grown up in, or maybe they had just favored Doppo’s vessel. He would never know.
He wandered the port for a little bit, trying to get his legs used to the ground again. He had been on the ocean for a few weeks, and thankfully unlike others on the voyage, he didn’t get seasick. That was at least one blessing to his name. The other blessing was the fact that Ichiyō still wanted to see him after he had left to further his education.
The woman and he had grown up together, and he had even babysat her little sister when she had other duties to do, and tutored her. That was what had led Doppo into wanting to further his own education, so he could in turn teach others. But him leaving had caused a rift between Doppo and Ichiyō, who had wanted Doppo to stay for some reason.
“Let’s spend our youth together.” Had been her words, and Doppo could admit that they were rather odd.
Doppo, while being gone for a little while, would still come back a young man, and Ichiyō would still be a young woman. They would still be youthful for a long while, until they were old together.
Maybe they would even spend that time together. Hopefully.
The dagger that Doppo had in its sheath felt like it was burning a hole into his pocket. It was far more traditional to give someone a ring when thinking about marriage, but Doppo knew that Ichiyō would prefer the practicality of a dagger, and her family actually did raise her to accept wedding daggers.
This particular dagger had her birth flowers etched into the steel of it, the delicate Lily of the Valley’s bell-like formation not taking away from just how sharp the blade was.
It reminded Doppo of Ichiyō perfectly. Pretty, beautiful actually, but deadly sharp.
Finally getting his legs at a respectable pace, Doppo walked to his old home, slotting the key into the keyhole and opening the door. The doorknob needed some oil to loosen it up, but that was fine. He could do that later, for now he would shower and get presentable and then go see Ichiyō.
Well, first he would have to go to the Higuchi household and ask where Ichiyō was. Maybe her little sister, Kuniko, would know where she was. Kuniko was easier to deal with than with Ichiyō’s parents, they were always chasing off Doppo for some reason.
It was like they were scared of something happening if Doppo hung around Ichiyō.
Whatever, Ichiyō could make her own decisions now, they were both adults. These thoughts that he had in the shower, these doubts, would be washed away in the sunlight and in the sight of seeing her smile. Doppo dried off and threw the thoughts away, combing through his hair and tying it back with a ribbon. Easy fix, and the rest of his hair would dry in the sunlight as he walked to the Higuchi residence.
Getting dressed, he wondered about the rest of the city. How much had it changed? What all had changed? Was the ramen place down the street still open? What about the takoyaki stand that always managed to get so many people to buy their food? Were they still around, or had they gone out of business in the four years that Doppo had been gone? How many stands in the marketplace shut down due to a death in the family, and he hadn’t known because he was gone? The world was ever-turning, everchanging, there was no way to apologize for everything that he had missed.
It had been in the name of bettering himself, bettering the future generation, but that meant he had to leave people behind here, regrettably. Well, not all those ties cut were regrettable.
Doppo still got a throbbing headache whenever he thought of what that fool Dazai had been up to. Probably up to trouble, could never make a respectable living for himself, nooo. Doppo would have to track his ass down and make sure he was still alive. It was just checking to make sure that he was still alive, that’s what Doppo told himself.
(He knew he was lying, but it was fine. It wasn’t like he actually cared if he found Dazai dead or alive. It wasn’t like he would weep actual tears if he found out that the bastard was dead and Doppo had missed the funeral.)
(Doppo was lying to himself. He was good at that, surprisingly.)
The sun was shining, and it wasn’t too humid today. Doppo raised a hand to block the sunlight that was shining directly in his eyes, trusting his feet to take him down the path that he knew as well as his own heartbeats. The building to his left had been redone, he noted dully as he pushed his bangs off his forehead. The road had been smoothed out, and it only took them four years to do so. The roofing on that house was also new.
There was something, undefinable in Doppo’s heart as he walked the path that he knew, but also didn’t.
It was the minor changes. The new, smoother road; the redone building; the roofing on some of the houses. Those signs were new too. So many small, new things that he had not been here to witness, and there were things that he would have to get used to as well. This was his city, but it wasn’t his in the same vein.
Would Ichiyō be the same? The same look, but a different person underneath? Had she become someone undefinably different to Doppo in the four years he had been gone? Would they ever be the same again?
Doppo shook his head, physically trying to dispel the nerves, because that’s all these thoughts and small feelings were, and sighed. Ichiyō would be herself, and Doppo would be himself, and Kuniko would be her annoying younger self that would try to jump on Doppo’s back and yell in his ear about things that happened at school.
They would be the same. They would have to be.
Turning the corner that brought him to the Higuchi household, Doppo paused, and studied the nameplate on the gateway. It was the same kanji on the metal, but it wasn’t the same metal. It had been replaced when Doppo was gone, and it looked like the gate had been replaced as well. How much had Doppo missed? How much had Ichiyō not included in her sparse letters? How much did he not know?
A gasp alerted him to the fact that he had been spotted, and he turned to find Kuniko there, watering can in hand and brown eyes bright with happiness as she practically beamed at Doppo. His hair had gotten longer, but it seemed that didn’t matter to the kid recognizing him.
“Doppo-niisan!” Kuniko tossed the watering can aside and ran through the open gate and tossed herself at Doppo, the man only catching her thanks to his knowledge of her squeals. That one definitely meant that she was throwing herself into a hug, no matter how old she got. Damn wait. Kuniko was sixteen now, wasn’t she? Doppo had four birthdays to make up for both Higuchi ladies then.
“Hey Kuniko, been staying out of trouble?” He gently pressed his knuckles into her head and rubbed them back and forth, making the girl giggle and swat at his hand.
“Some days are easier than others!” She grinned up at him, practically a mini-Ichiyō, just a little more smiley. “We didn’t know you were coming back, you surprised me! And I definitely know Dad and Mom don’t know you’re back, since you’re here. That means you’re looking for Onee-san, aren’t you?”
“I am. Although I just realized I need to give you four birthday presents.” Doppo said, flicking her head. “Maybe I’ll get on that after you tell me where she is.”
Kuniko’s smile slightly dimmed, before she cleared her throat.
“Onee-san is at the temple.”
Doppo felt his eyebrows creep up his forehead. Ichiyō wasn’t a- a staunch believer. There was no reason to go to the temple today, no reason to celebrate. Why on earth was Ichiyō at the temple?
He opened his mouth to ask when Kuniko broke through his thoughts.
“It’s best that she explains it to you, Doppo-niisan.” Her eyes flicked up and studied Doppo. “Maybe, maybe now that you’re back, she’ll consider my offer. I would be fine with it, and she knows it. But she’s determined to carry the burden, and I don’t want her to carry it alone.”
Burden?
Something settled in Doppo’s stomach. It wasn’t the bittersweet unease that had come with the small things in the city. It wasn’t the bittersweet happiness of realizing that Kuniko had grown up and was on her way to becoming a beautiful young woman. It was something like dread that was sitting in his stomach like a pit. It twisted and curled around like anxiety, making his throat tight and his fingers tremble.
“I’ll be back.” He tapped his knuckles against Kuniko’s head, their normal parting, and started making his way to the city’s temple. The road was smooth, smoother than it had ever been in the entire time that Doppo had lived in this city. The closer Doppo got to the temple, the harder it was to move. The temple was populated, despite it not being a time to go to the temple traditionally.
Why were people going to the temple? It made no sense, and Doppo didn’t like things that were happening out of the normal status quo.
His eyes caught on something brown and there was brown attached to that white, and when Doppo turned, he saw something that eased a tight knot in his throat that he didn’t know was there. It was there the entire time he was gone to further his learning, but now that he could see the person with his own eyes, that knot of tension was gone and now the tension was climbing up the back of his neck.
It always seemed to do that with Dazai.
“Dazai!” Doppo called, wading through the crowd, trying to make his way to the man who seemed to be around his own height now. He still had the bandages around his neck and his wrists, but he was missing the wrapped-up eye, and that was a much better look than the one that Doppo had left him with.
“Kunikida-kun! What a surprise! What a shocker! You’re back from making something of yourself, how amazing. And you decided to come to the temple, have you come to pray for a wife?” The obnoxious man wiggled his eyebrows at Doppo, and Doppo was once again wondering how the hell that he had ever been worried about this idiot.
“No, I’ve actually come because someone pointed me in this direction, but,” He motioned to the crowds around them, who were pressing in on all sides. “what the hell? The temple was never this popular in our youth.”
Dazai’s eyes flashed with an emotion that Doppo couldn’t pin down beyond the fact that it was grim while his face was still its stupid grinning devil-may-care smile. Something was wrong, and Dazai was only cementing the fact with his actions, while his words would no doubt try to tell Doppo everything was fine.
“Oh, that’s because we have an Oracle in town! It’s not a surprise that Kunikida-kun didn’t know about that fact, since the Oracle didn’t show up until after you left.” Dazai’s hands waved as he talked, but his eyes were hard and sharp. He wasn’t proud of the fact that there was an Oracle in their city and at the temple, and he wasn’t pushing to get to the temple like everyone else was. What was going on? Who was the Oracle?
An Oracle was either a good thing or a bad thing. It could bring prosperity or it could bring ruin. The prophecies could bring a nation to wealth or it could bring a nation to its knees. Maybe that’s why Dazai was on edge, since he could do all that already, all without an Oracle’s help. And he wasn’t getting paid for thinking of those plans either.
But no, that wouldn’t explain the grim look in the man’s eyes.
“An Oracle? That certainly explains the hubbub.” Doppo looked around them, the crowds pressing harshly against the temple and the lines that were being formed so people weren’t swarming the place. It didn’t explain why so many people were here though. Had they traveled for so long just to see the Oracle? Were they people from the city that Doppo simply didn’t recognize?
“Doesn’t it just?” Dazai looked with him into the crowd, his face finally matching his eyes at last. The pensive expression didn’t really suit the man who Doppo had always known to cause mischief, but perhaps he had done some growing up while Doppo was gone as well. Doppo wouldn’t bet on it though.
Something was off though. Something was really off, and Doppo wanted to get to the bottom of it. Unfortunately, with all the crowds, getting an uninterrupted time with the Oracle would be practically impossible. He would have to wait until later today and hope the crowds would die down and he could squeeze in and talk to the Oracle on his own.
Which meant he would either have to wait around, with Dazai of all people, or he would have to wander around the city more and potentially ruin his shoes on who knows what. Or he could try and get some food and wait out for a few hours, maybe wander around the shops until the daylight died down.
Hmmmm. Spend time with Dazai here in this alleyway and potentially lose braincells simply by being in the idiots presence, or find some food and potentially see what wares the stores have?
Really, Doppo didn’t need to have furthered his education to come to a conclusion for that question.
He pushed himself off of the wall that he had been leaning on and started off down the sidewalk, fighting against the flow of the crowd to get away from the temple and to get to some sort of food stand or somewhere to eat. He didn’t even say goodbye to Dazai, but he knew it would be fine. Dazai Osamu was a cockroach, getting rid of him was nigh on impossible. Not impossible, but practically impossible. No one could get rid of him when they wanted to, which meant that Dazai was letting Doppo walk away currently. Or maybe he was laughing into his hand at Doppo fighting the crowds.
Thankfully, the crowds thinned out quick enough and Doppo found a food stall selling takoyaki. After buying some and sitting down to let it cool, he stared up at the sun. At least the sky was still the same. No matter where Doppo would roam or how far he would go, the sky would never change from being never-ending and always beautiful. He sighed and checked the temperature of the takoyaki, finding it a temperature that he was able to eat at now without burning his tongue, he popped one of the foods into his mouth and chewed.
Himself and his thoughts and the takoyaki were the only things on this bench currently, and maybe it wasn’t the best place to be. Doppo’s thoughts weren’t the kindest right now, especially since he hadn’t really talked to Dazai. Dazai was a good way to distract himself from the thoughts that were trying to weigh him down, especially with what Kuniko had said to him. What had she meant, that Ichiyō was carrying a burden and maybe Doppo could talk some sense into her? It had to be bad, because Ichiyō always carries her burdens quietly. She would never have told her sister about the burden she was bearing, or told her sister that the burden that could be passed to Kuniko.
He chewed on the takoyaki and contemplated the burdens that Ichiyō could be holding close to her chest. Did she have a job? A secret job that was supporting the family? But no, her father wouldn’t have allowed that, seeing as it would be a perceived slight for her to have a job without his permission.
Did she have a husband?
The dagger burned in his pocket, and he popped another takoyaki into his mouth and chewed with vehemence, glaring down at the paved ground. Ichiyō would have told him if she had found a husband, right? Surely she would have, in one of those sparse letters that they exchanged over the years. Ichiyō would have, surely would have told Doppo. They told each other everything when they were kids, when they were growing up. There were no secrets.
His chewing slowed down as he contemplated the sky again. He didn’t know how to articulate the stress that was growing in his chest and making his fingers quiver. He was supposed to be the stronger one out of everyone, surely everyone expected that of him, but here he was, shocked and surprised that no one from his past had sought him out to see why he was acting so weak. Thankfully Higuchi senior hadn’t sought him out yet and asked him why he was acting so weak.
The sky darkened, and Doppo ate the last takoyaki on his tray and threw the tray into the nearest trashcan. Walking back towards the temple, he saw that the crowds had thinned out to an incredible degree, and Dazai was still in his alleyway, raising his eyebrows at Doppo and grinning that stupid grin.
His eyes were still dark though.
That only put Doppo on edge. Dazai’s eyes were his most honest part about him, and obviously the man was thinking about something that was clearly getting him down in the dumps. Whatever it was, the idiot wouldn’t talk to Doppo about it, no matter how he would needle the brown-haired bandage-waster.
Maybe once he cleared up whatever was going on with Ichiyō and Kuniko, then he could try and help Dazai with whatever problem he had.
Getting in line, he wasted about half an hour just staring at the sheer opulence that the temple had now. It made him. . . . . feel not right. The temple wasn’t supposed to be opulent. The temples was supposed to be simply functioning, something that showed that there were people who stayed here to do their duties to the kami that had chosen them. Simple functions, for simple people who fulfilled the kamis wishes.
Not this, this opulence. There were so many new decorations that practically dripped in gold and silk and high quality things. Things that had no place in the temple. Had the temple become corrupt? The priests and the Oracle?
Oh wait.
The Oracle.
He supposed the Oracle could be entirely at fault for this. The new decorations could be gifts from people who were grateful for the Oracle’s powers, and they in turn could have gifted them to the temple. The temple workers, priests, and others, could have gotten greedy and refused to give the gifts back to the community and the city, as they should have done. But what did that have to do with Ichiyō? Had Ichiyō gone undercover at the temple to search for why it had become so opulent and rich? That would be something that foolish woman would do, she always dove headfirst into things that concerned her, be it her sister or her family and refused to back down until she saw things through.
He was going to be busy then, trying to figure out how to pull Ichiyō out of the temple without blowing her cover.
After enough time passed, he managed to get to the Oracle’s room and knocked politely on the door before slipping in, like all the people beforehand.
Unlike all the people beforehand, the Oracle’s voice didn’t ring out and ask him what he wanted. The Oracle didn’t ask him why he was here or what he craved. The Oracle stopped playing with the jars in front of her and simply stared at him.
Doppo stared straight back at the Oracle.
At Ichiyō.
Doppo stared at Ichiyō.
Ichiyō stared at Doppo.
“Doppo. . . . .” She started, still staring at him with wide brown eyes that had always seemed like home to him. “You, you’re back. I wasn’t expecting you back until. . . .”
She fiddled with the sleeves of her dress, a dress she never would have worn beforehand. It was far too much white. Higuchi Ichiyō never beforehand wore so much white. Sure there were some streaks of pink along the hip area, and she had what looked like a blue-bejeweled belt on, each jewel on a gold chain that extended downwards and jingled whenever she shifted. A crown of flowers was on her hair, and her hair was down. Ichiyō hated her hair being down, she said it got in the way whenever she did something. The corset around her chest looked tight, tighter than anything she liked to wear. Ichiyō preferred having freedom of movement, but her dress, how she was dressed screamed that she was. . . . . .
It screamed that she was trapped.
The white dress, the tight corset, the chain belt that alerted people of movement. The crown of yellow carnations that probably were grown in the on-temple grounds garden were worth a fortune.
Higuchi Ichiyō, for all that she looked like an angel currently, for all that she looked like she earned the temple a fortune, for all that she looked like she could walk out of this temple right this goddamned moment–
Higuchi Ichiyō was trapped.
“I just got back today.” Doppo said slowly. “I wasn’t expecting. . . . .” He motioned to the getup that Ichiyō was wearing. “You’re the Oracle? How did that happen?”
Ichiyō studied him, her shoulders held back and her head tossed high, before she practically deflated. Her shoulders curled inward, fighting against the corset that was trapping her ribcage and her head drooped downwards. The crown of flowers nearly fell off of her head as she stared into her lap, her fingers playing with one of the blue jewels on the chains.
“It’s, well.” She looked away. Her hair nearly hid her face, but she brushed it behind her ear. “It was always going to happen.”
Doppo stayed silent, and just let Ichiyō talk. It seemed like she needed to. She must have been giving so much advice recently, been helping so many people, but who was helping her?
“My family. . . . on my father’s side anyways, they made a deal with a kami a long, long time ago. As long as the family records go back.” Her head dropped and her hands gripped the fabric that pooled in excess around her waist thanks to the opulent dress. “Every firstborn daughter will be possessed by the kami and become an Oracle for the kami. In exchange, the Higuchi family will prosper throughout the years.”
“How does that work for when the Higuchi’s don’t bare daughters?” Doppo asked quietly, thinking of the past Higuchi generations.
Ichiyō shrugged. “Bad times.”
“What are the side effects of a kami interacting with your body so. . . . directly?” Doppo asked hesitantly.
Ichiyō swallowed, and reached for the tea that was no doubt cold on the table.
“It, do you really want to know?”
“Yes!” Doppo slammed his hands down on his knees as he glared at her. “You’re my oldest friend! And– you said it for a reason, didn’t you? You asked me to spend our youth together for a reason. So tell me,” He was pleading, just shy of getting on his hands and knees to gain information, “tell me what the side effects are Ichiyō. Tell me why you said that to me.”
Ichiyō’s face crumpled, before it smoothed over into a mask.
“Whenever I’m possessed by the kami, it takes anywhere from seconds, to years off of my life.”
Doppo stared at the floor.
This is why Kuniko asked for my help.
“What happens when you marry? And take on someone else’s family name?”
The dagger was burning a hole in his pants again.
“Well, the kami is attached to the Higuchi name.” Ichiyō said slowly. “So, technically, I would be fine, and wouldn’t be possessed anymore. Just have a life that was shorter than my partners in the end.”
So there was hope. Doppo could propose and he could get Ichiyō out of this whole entire mess and keep her safe and make sure that no one hurt her again. He would make sure the rest of her life was a good one–
“But I won’t be marrying.” Ichiyō said, her tone somber.
“Why not!?” Doppo nearly yelled, glad that he was the last one in line and therefore had a lot more time with Ichiyō than anyone else did. “That would save you, wouldn’t it!?”
“It would save me.” Ichiyō whispered, staring at the jewel in her grip. “It wouldn’t save Kuniko. When the firstborn daughter is married off, then the kami will pass onto the next daughter.”
Doppo knew he wouldn’t be able to sway her after she said that. Ichiyō was terribly protective for her sister, and stubborn to boot. No one would be able to move her from her stance, no one would be able to stop her in her self-imposed crusade to save her sister from something that could threaten her life.
“I see.” He whispered. “Nothing I can do to help you, then?”
Ichiyō gave him a sad, wistful smile.
“Sorry, Doppo.” She muttered. “I really did, I wanted to spend our youth together. I knew this was going to happen, that I was going to end up at the temple, in this room, eventually. This was the end result for me. But I wanted to, I had really hoped we could spend a little more time together.”
“We’ll still spend time together.” Doppo promised.
Ichiyō laughed. “Yeah. Come visit me often, okay?”
Doppo nodded, somewhat distracted. Someone finally poked their head in, a temple worker, and told Doppo that it was time to leave. He stood, bowing to Ichiyō.
“This visit was rather enlightening. Thank you for your time.”
“It was good seeing you.”
Doppo left the temple and stretched his arms above his head.
And then immediately started heading to the nearest tavern.
Someone there would be either drunk enough to join him on his quest, or stupid enough to join him on his quest. It was going to be an arduous one, and he needed as many people as he could get. He would need supplies too, and to drop by the Higuchi household before he and his crew left the city for a while. Hopefully not for a year. Doppo didn’t want to be gone for a yearlong quest, but it would be a pretty busy one.
After all, killing a kami was going to be no easy feat.