Chapter Text
Minori hummed to herself, drowning out the howling wind. The sounds of the forest only seemed to get creepier as the night went on. She had been sent to find the source of the strange magical energy — and, frankly, she'd always wanted to investigate the fae forest more, but her duties as a priestess came first. Still, she couldn't shake the ever-present feeling that something would happen to her out here…
It was getting late. If she didn't find the rift soon, she would have to navigate in the dark, and at the moment, she wanted nothing less. The forest was confusing enough as it was — though, as a bit of a silver lining, it seemed to take kindly to her presence. From what she had heard, some were not so lucky.
Maybe this feeling is a sign that the rift is near, she told herself, trying to steady her breathing. Maybe I'm almost there. Her lantern began to flicker and dim — surely not a good sign. She didn't have much longer before it went out entirely.
Why did she agree to do this in the first place…?
Yet another rush of wind. Minori shivered. Her talisman had a slight glow, barely noticeable to someone who wasn't looking for it. Usually it only glowed when Minori herself was using magic — it was strange to see it working on its own like this. She decided to take this as yet another sign that she was getting closer to the rift.
If the rift was even real, of course. There had been sightings of strange magical happenings for as long as Minori could remember, and more often than not they were simply tricks of the eye. But the forest had some innate magic to it already, and the deeper Minori walked into it, the more she herself became convinced that this time, there really was something to be concerned about.
It was another few minutes, the energy around her growing stronger and her talisman's glow becoming brighter as her lantern dimmed, before she finally saw it.
It was nothing like the way she'd heard people describe rifts. Shiho had seen a few on her expeditions, and she described them like little traces of energy, or small imperfections in the fabric of reality, noticeable but overall pretty harmless. This one, though, was a full tear between the two worlds. Minori had to brace herself against the ground, digging her heels into the dirt, to keep it from pulling her forward. The rift gave off a bright light in an unnatural shade of red. If she squinted, she could just about make out what was on the other side. The true Fae Kingdom, not just the few denizens of it who made their homes in the forests of the Material Plane in places where reality was a bit thinner. It was mesmerizing, and it took everything Minori had to keep her senses about her. In the haze, she could almost make out some items scattered haphazardly around the rift — as if they'd been dropped in a struggle, though she saw no other signs of one. A small wicker basket, the cloth that once covered it lying on the ground covered in dust. A small book. An old ribbon…
…wait.
She recognized that book.
That… no, that can't be right.
The people of the forest worshipped MEIKO, right? But MEIKO didn't have a prayer book. Not one like this. Neither did KAITO, if she remembered correctly. No, she was positive this was a prayer book for Miku. More specifically, a schoolchild's book, the standard one that Minori had seen children carrying every time she was at the temple.
If she could just get a bit closer…
The force of the rift was overpowering. Her head was beginning to spin as she helplessly grabbed at the little book, trying to keep her arm steady against the pull of the rift. If I could just…! With one final swipe, she finally managed to get a grip on the book. On some impulse, she opted to grab the basket as well, hooking it around her arm before shoving herself off the ground to her feet and running as fast as her legs would take her. Her lantern had completely extinguished itself at this point, and her talisman's bright glow faded the further she ran, quickly plunging her into darkness. The few markers she'd memorized from the winding paths on the way in quickly became indistinguishable. She didn't recall ever seeing the red glow of the sun setting, only the grayish hues of twilight before she was plunged into complete darkness. It was by pure fortune that she managed to finally reach the clearing that she knew so well, the trees becoming sparser and sparser until she was at last in the open field, until she could at least see the little dirt road that would take her home. It took everything she had not to collapse into the grass right then and there.
She stumbled her way back into the temple, falling asleep practically the moment her head hit her pillow. She could report what she'd found to Tsukasa in the morning, but she was in no state to relay information now. Besides, she doubted he was awake at this hour, either.
Minori stretched her arms. It was earlier than she would normally wake up, but she had to tell Tsukasa about what she'd found last night. He would know what to do. Maybe he would even recognize the prayer book…
…speaking of which, she hadn't even bothered to look at its contents yet. The curiosity hit her all at once — she had to see what whoever owned the book had written. The handwriting was childish — surprisingly neat, but the lines were still a bit shaky and whoever was writing was obviously gripping the pen with far more strength than was typical of someone who was used to it. The cover was covered in dirt, crusted over in some spots, and loose grains caught in the spine made the pages difficult to turn. The prayers seemed to be pretty generic — she couldn't find anything that might identify who it belonged to. How many young girls frequented the temple, anyway…? She was sure she could narrow down the list somehow… though, what if they weren't here anymore? What if the rift had claimed whoever left this book? After all, Minori barely managed to keep in from pulling her in, she was sure a small child wouldn't have had the strength to…
…
She decided not to think about that too hard. That was Tsukasa and the others' job. All she had to do was relay the information. She closed the book. It was starting to make her nervous. She placed it into the basket, brushed the dirt that had fallen out off her skirt, and headed out to the barracks for the morning.
Tsukasa was the only one at the barracks at this hour. It made sense — the only other knight she knew who would be up this early was Akito, and he didn't usually report to his station until later, after some of the other knights had arrived. She held the basket close to her chest. She had a sinking feeling as she approached him — maybe it was the book, but this whole situation was giving her a vague sense of dread.
"Um… Tsukasa?"
"Oh! Good morning, Minori! I didn't see you there." How he managed to project his voice this much so early in the morning, Minori would never understand. She held the basket out towards him.
"I— I found these in the woods yesterday. When I was investigating the rift… It's not like any rift I've ever seen. It's like someone completely tore the boundary between the Material Plane and the Fae Kingdom…
Tsukasa took the basket, a confused look on his face. "And… why did you take these with you?"
"Look inside. One of Miku's prayer books. I thought it was unusual to see one right by the rift, so I… I'm not sure. I figured you would know what to do. It looks like it belonged to a young girl, but I don't have the slightest idea who…
Tsukasa's brow furrowed. He took the basket and the book from Minori, looking both over carefully. "It looks like they've been sitting there a long time, huh? Where in the woods was this…?
"I… I'm not exactly sure. I just followed my talisman… apparently, there's so much raw magical energy around the rift that it activates when I get close. Or at least, that's what I think… I'm really not sure, but there was definitely something."
Tsukasa hummed to himself. The basket, the book… he seemed to still be piecing everything together in his head. "…Minori, would it be alright if I borrowed your talisman?"
"Umm…" Would it? It certainly helped with channeling her own magic… though, she'd been getting better at doing spells on her own. Maybe this would give her a chance to practice…? She trusted Tsukasa, no matter what, but… "I'll— I'll only be gone a day, I promise! I just… I need to see the rift for myself. I can't… this…" He was leaving something unsaid. That wasn't like him — though, Minori thought it would be best not to pry. It wasn't her place… and, to be honest, she wasn't sure she wanted to know any more about the book or its owner.
"…Alright. Just… please bring it back safe, alright…? It's important."
"You have my word! I'll be off as soon as Akito and Mizuki get here." A serious look fell over his face. "And… thank you, Minori. For everything. I… Thank you."
Minori nodded. "Of course!" She gave a small wave. Tsukasa barely responded. I hope he's okay… She made her way back to the temple. There was dirt all over her floor from the book and basket, not to mention her shoes… first things first, some sweeping would be in order.