John placed the manifest in the crate before putting the lid on, taking a brief moment to write "Box 12" on the lid in charcoal to make it easily identifiable later. Then, he floated it from under the canopy to a pile of boxes with other, related things, setting it off to the side. Of course, they would have to move this all in later, but the back lot gave them more room to work.

"And that's how I, personally, would do it," he said to Rin, who stood nearby, carefully watching as he went through the motions. "If you ever meet someone who actually does logistics for a living, they'll probably know a better way, but this has been more than sufficient for me."

"I see, sensei," Rin responded uncertainly, eyeing up the stack of heavy boxes like they were a beast that might jump out and attack her. "Why do you add a list of contents to the box, too? Isn't that wasteful when we already have a master list?"

John's mind immediately went to the time in university where he accidentally saved over the only copy of his "to research" list, which just happened to be called "New Document (1)", and the immediate mad scramble.

"Can you guarantee you'll never lose that list?" he asked. "How about whoever we hand it off to? Will they make sure to keep it safe?" John popped the lid on the next, wincing at the massive arrangement of dinnerware on display, with rough sheets of fabric shoved between them to stop the contents from breaking.

Rin shifted uneasily, answering, "No, sensei."

"Besides, we aren't the only ones dealing with these. Odds are the militia is going to deal with this stuff, and not every one of them will need the full list for themselves," John said, starting to carefully take some plates out and very carefully putting them on the ground, being joined by Rin. Thankfully, he didn't have to remind her to be gentle.

How the hell was he even going to get all this stuff back to the appropriate people? It wasn't like they had kept an accurate log of what they had, never mind what came from where. He had found some lists of stolen goods and money when he went looking, but they generally only seemed to make note of anyone they thought they could squeeze for more.

Really, their paperwork was disgustingly poor to his untrained eye. Sure, he wasn't expecting them to have modern logistics, but he was hoping for some bare minimum of inventory tracking. The only thing they kept a semi-good watch on was the money, although he could tell they were cooking the books there, and it was thus useless. The list was probably what they were actually sending to the government, so it looked like they were doing their jobs properly in case they got audited down the line.

Pretty smart, all things considered, although he had a feeling that it was Kiku's idea. The lack of effort elsewhere could be explained by the fact that it wasn't as if the Nameless needed their tribute to be well organized ahead of time; it had an excess of eager limbs to do the work.

The door slid open, and his head reflexively shot up, but it was just Yosuke with another crate.

"Set it down over here, please!" John called, gesturing to the stack nearby, albeit still out of the rain, before returning to work. It was a small mercy that they decided on sealed, waterproof boxes for everything. The fact that he had the telekinetic focus so they didn't have to go out into the rain to retrieve them was nice, too. Otherwise, he'd have to get Rin to do it, lest he accidentally expose the fact that he wasn't as physically strong as expected. Of course, he didn't want her to get soaked and perhaps catch a cold… although Rin was aligned with storms. Maybe she'd be fine, even if her Unbound state didn't provide some sort of blanket immunity?

Seconds later, he heard the gentle creak of wood put under pressure, and he replied with, "Thank you, I do appreciate all the help," although he didn't look back up. He heard Yosuke's steps fade away not long after, lost under the patter of the rain.

A few seconds later, he realized he didn't hear Yosuke close the door that time.

John looked up and saw Yuki stepping through the door, her monochromatic form trimmed in bright golds, a lighthouse in the murk, and she crept closer on padded feet, uncaring of the rain.

In fact, it almost skittered off her, not soaking her fur or clothing despite the weather continuing to intensify. Mentally, John added "hydrophobic coating" to her list of unfair advantages.

He opened his mouth to say something, but she shook her head, quieting him as she slinked closer, eerily silent, eyes locked on Rin.

Ah.

John looked back down, making a show of working lest the unwary target of Yuki's fox-ish impulses catch on. It wasn't his problem, really. He just hoped the kitsune would wait for the dragonblooded Unbound's hands to be empty; he wasn't ready to catch something thrown by a startled Rin. She probably had a pitch to surpass record holders by sheer strength alone.

From the corner of his vision, he saw Yuki silently standing behind Rin, looming over her like some sort of guillotine.

Work went on for a few minutes more, and he was starting to wonder when she would notice. The box was unpacked, counted, and repacked, along with some extra notes about the conditions of the contents and what they were made of, so it would be easier to find the exact owners. Honestly, it was positively baffling that they put wood, stoneware, and ceramics in the same container—absolutely deranged behaviour on behalf of whoever packed this.

On top of that, they decided to put bolts of cloth under the dinnerware layer, and under that were a few scattered tools, which he put off to the side to be repacked elsewhere in a place that made more sense.

Almost impatiently, Yuki kept leaning closer and closer, as if daring the Unbound to notice her looming presence. She was still as serene as ever, of course, perfectly calm, arms calmly at her side as she cast Rin in her shade like a towering oak, muzzle bearing a gentle smile. Still, though, there was no mistaking the warm twinkle of mischief in her eyes.

How Rin managed to remain unaware of a kitsune breathing down her neck was beyond him. Really, she should feel it that close. Was she ignoring Yuki on purpose? Was it some kind of play he just couldn't understand the meaning of?

Rin rose back up to move and reach the other side of the box, and Yuki perfectly mirrored her, staying behind her scant inches with eerie grace. When her target settled, she stilled again.

Then, something changed.

Both of them twitched.

Without a sound, Rin slumped over like a puppet with her strings cut, and Yuki drunkenly staggered and hissed sharply, a hand going up to her forehead as she stood up, ramrod straight, searching the area.

"Rin!" he called, jumping to his feet and running over to the Unbound's side. "Can you hear me?"

No response.

She had already begun to lean to the side, and he grabbed her before she fell the rest of the way over, easing her descent. Her eyes were closed, and he mumbled an apology as he put his ear up to her chest… but her heartbeat and breathing were both steady.

Clicking his tongue, John cursed to himself before gently laying her in the recovery position, resting her on her right side, putting the matching arm in an L shape, tucking the left under her head to support it, and finally positioning her legs to stop her from rolling onto her stomach.

When he looked up, Yuki was leaning against a wall, breathing heavily, but unbowed. "Yuki! Are you alright?" he hurriedly asked.

The kitsune hissed, a hand going up to her temple. "Other than the fact we're under attack by the priests?" she groaned, pushing herself back to her feet.

"The priests?" John said, momentary terror searching his heart as his eyes darted around, finding nothing. "Where? How?"

More importantly, why wasn't he affected?

"I recognized this feeling. They must have placed some sort of empowered Ofuda around," she grunted, standing straight. "It's suppressing yokai and those who share their blood. It's a potent charm, and not one Rin is strong enough to bear. Yosuke, too, I wager."

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So they were alone.

Testingly, John pointed at a box and levitated it. "Everything is still working fine for me."

"Ofuda like this and similar charms abuse purposeful flaws introduced in the design spirits by the gods, capable of influencing them in many ways as a means of control," Yuki breathlessly explained. "As part of that, anything more than a mortal is unable to use them."

John cursed again. "Fine. Fine! Alright, so, they put up a charm to, what, make you sick?"

"No," Yuki stated, shaking her head. "They've created a zone where spiritual beings are forbidden to enter, and this is the consequence of breaking that. They shouldn't be able to create charms this strong; the materials are too expensive."

Kiku must have supplied what they needed.

"We have to leave, get back to the fort," John stated, then paused. "Wait. What are the odds they already put these up there, too? Should we go somewhere else for you to recover?"

Yuki shook her head, wincing at the motion. "No, the feeling of this charm is distinct, and one I recognize; they would hold no power there, out in the woods, or on a road. That is a place that, by all reasonable accounts, you own. You gladly welcomed me into your home, and that matters."

An allowlist, not a blocklist, then, and one that implied the world "remembered" who owned a place, at least enough to influence magic, which was terrifying in its own right.

"Let's get out of here," he responded.

"Wait," Yuki said, cautiously walking over to one of the walls. Her ears swivelled in every direction, tails silently twitching, before suddenly, with a burst of energy unexpected in her weakened form, she leapt over it, landing on the far side with a quiet grunt.

Then, she took a few steps further away, and his heart seized for a moment as he feared she was about to leave for elsewhere.

Yuki rejoined him with another hop, her brow furrowed in confusion and her lips drawn tight. "I hoped to locate the Ofuda by where the effect felt strongest along the outside, because that's where they would have had to plant them, but it didn't fade when I left."

"So it stretches farther than you expected?" he tensely asked.

"It shouldn't stretch at all," Yuki stated. "These are for warding a building or a distinct location, not a collection of them. At best, you could use it on a set of walls, but the town doesn't have that, nor would that affect everything within the walls."

Worrying. Was this some modern development or some secret technique Kiku knew? Something wasn't right. How far did it reach? Was it the block? The town? Even further?

They had to get out of here. John had seen a stable earlier, so perhaps…

"I have an idea. We don't know how far this goes, but we need to get clear, and we can't exhaust ourselves doing it. I could load people up on the flying disc, but that would take more than one trip, and leaving someone alone under this is unacceptable. First, we find Yosuke. Second, we head to the attached stable. If there's any cart there, we can use that to ferry everyone out of here. Can you direct a horse, if there's one there to pull it? If we really need to, we could get some of the militia to help pull it, or even just help carry Rin and Yosuke," John rattled off.

Yuki, after a moment, nodded. "That plan is sound, but we may want to cover them in the cart to avoid causing a panic, and I should avoid pulling it. We can't afford to appear weak, and a kitsune drawing a cart may raise alarms."

John tried to carry his unconscious student telekinetically, only to have the focus sputter out, failing to grab the Unbound as her Aegis effortlessly blocked the effect. Fuck. He hurriedly wrapped her up with a spare bolt of fabric from one of the boxes and tried again, grabbing onto the fabric rather than her, only to be greeted with the same lack of grip.

Well, it was probably for the best that he had a weapon easily accessible, anyhow. He swapped the focus out for the heat one before lifting Rin, straining under the unexpected weight.

She was far heavier than she had any right to be, and John was not a weak man. Sure, she was around the same height as him, but this was beyond what should be possible. No, she was just physically dense for some reason beyond him, almost as if she had iron bones.

Slowly, the two headed into the building, searching for Yosuke.

"You know where Yosuke is?" John asked Yuki.

The kitsune shook her head. "No," she quickly responded, ears pivoting. "My senses are dulled. I can't smell him or hear him."

He nodded to acknowledge her, and the pair stayed close together, unwilling to part company as they cleared the area room by room.

John tried his best to ignore the occasional layer of far too much dark red dried blood on the floor, each denoting somewhere Yuki had executed a man earlier that day. The search crept by in tense silence, minutes ticking by like hours. Rin's weight in his arms slowed their progress, but he refused to leave her behind, lest something terrible happen.

Ultimately, they found him, slumped over with a heavy box on his lap on the second floor, next to yet another grisly splatter. Yuki took him without complaint, tossing him over her shoulder, unbothered by the blades through his skull.

The trek to the stable was short. Yet, it was one of the longest John had experienced in his life. Every step revealed hidden threats that disappeared when he deigned to look at them; every sign of safety was a veiled warning, and the shadows had hidden teeth, threatening to chew them up and spit them out.

Yet, they went unattacked all the way to the stable. The door was heavier, very solidly built, and had a rope tied around the handle and a spike on the wall like a tamper seal. John had no patience and burned through it in a second, impossible heat as effective as any knife. The stable itself was gloomy, the only light spilling through their entry and the small, high-up slits in the wall as if through dense prison bars, an impression that was not helped by the unlit lantern hanging at the center, between all the empty stalls.

The smell of animals was overpowering, yet there were none to be seen, for whichever horses, mules, or whatever else they had long gone, likely sent away to call for assistance.

There were, however, thankfully, a few carts. They took the smallest of them, which might as well have been an oversized hand cart, which John suspected was primarily for collections around town, and loaded the pair into the back. At least it should be light enough to move on his own. John covered them with the sheet he had previously wrapped Rin in. Perhaps people might still be suspicious that they saw neither of the duo leaving, but it was better for people to think than to know, and they'd likely conclude they snuck off when nobody was paying attention.

"Ready?" Yuki asked, heading to the door as John grabbed the thick wooden handles.

Now that he thought of it, it would be a foolish idea to head straight back to the fort; that'd be the obvious direction to flee, and that's where they'd set an ambush, if they were going to attack them anywhere.

Say, presumably, Kiku was on the allowlist, correct?

If so, why wasn't she poised to take advantage of this? If she were around, surely the optimal route would have been to strike when the effect first went up? Both he and Yuki would have been distracted. As much as he hated to admit it, he would have gone down without a fight, and Yuki probably would have been folded in short order. From there, she could have made whatever she wanted afterwards and used mind control powers to sell it to relevant figures in town.

So, why had she not already struck, then?

Worry ate at his gut.

"Yes. We should take a hard right twice," John said. "We'll move away from the fort, and the obvious exits from town… It'll take us to a path down by the stream. Then, we can float however far we need to for it to fade, then circle back once we've recovered."

She held his gaze, thinking carefully. "Agreed," she said, after a pause that was far too long for his liking, and unbarred the door before throwing it wide.

The rain was thicker than ever, like a weeping black void had opened up above in the time they were inside. The roads were drenched, thick with heavy mud from the dirt being borderline drowned, and visibility had dropped like night had set in early by the sheer weight of the curtain of rain.

A militia man nearby jumped, pointing his weapon at the new threat before suddenly realizing who he was pointing a spear at and dropping it with a clatter and a clear look of terror.

Thankfully, the crowd had dissipated like the morning mist, doubtlessly dispersed by the soldiers and the weather. As John stepped out, he couldn't help but notice that where Yuki dropped the bodies was only a red pool and long drag marks, too, with no further sign of their former inhabitants other than some hair.

"Something urgent has come up," stated Yuki, barely contained menace clear in her tone. "We will be back once it's dealt with."

The man hurriedly bowed, scooped his weapon off, and hurried off like a rat caught in the light, feline tail ram-rod straight behind him, doubtlessly off to inform his commanding officer.

John and Yuki rapidly disappeared between the buildings, their pace quick but a step short of running. They darted between alleyways, John subtly scanning the scant few unfortunates caught out in the storm along the way, yet getting no hits.

Nobody stopped them.

His arms burned from the exertion, sweat ran down his back, and he was starting to puff as the buildings thinned out. The axle of this thing was not well-made, and it kept catching every rotation. Still, he persevered, sheltering in Yuki's aura of annoyance and urgency that kept their path clear as the buildings started to thin, even as the rain stung his skin like tiny knives of ice.

And yet, there was no attack.

Out of view, they abandoned the cart by the side of the road, hauling Yosuke and Rin down to the riverbank, where they tossed them into a quickly made ice boat, floating smoothly along with the current. The ice and the weather were too much, and John started to shiver. Without even looking at him, Yuki seemingly instinctively sidled up to him, warm fur and cloth dulling the dull ache that had begun to settle into his bones. He allowed it, despite how his heart caught for a moment when he saw a kitsune moving closer, instead focusing on trying to pick out any threats waiting for them up on the banks.

Still nothing.

Nature hid their potential enemies now, the buildings having almost entirely vanished, only the occasional farmhouse cutting through the thick woods that seemed to sprout magically around them.

And yet…

It was only when they passed the last of the buildings that Rin and Yosuke awoke with a start.

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