Two weeks before The Fall Festival
The Path from Nikko to Osaka was quite a bit longer than Haru had thought, and despite having tried to walk the whole way, the young man had eventually realized that a train ticket really wasn't that expensive, and it would take a whole lot less time to do so. Still, he refused to take more public transport after getting off the Shinkansen, preferring rather his own two feet to take him the rest of the way to this Safeholme academy he had heard so much about. He was quite thankful that it was still in style to wear masks in public spaces as it helped him hide his teeth when he had to talk which, due to the fact he wore a Kariginu and was carrying a Shakujō with a bag tied to it, happened more often than he'd like as many thought he was a priest on a pilgrimage. At this point, the young Onmyōji had his sights set on his target, and was at the final stretch to reach the school. a place where he could learn more about magic, about people from other cultures and, most importantly, about this western Druidism that had fascinated him so much once he'd learned of it.
At this point, Haru had started walking uphill, making his way to the mountains that were nestled to the west of Osaka bay, though it was still heavily developed. Just how far up does this go? he wondered, taking a look at the scrap of paper he'd carried with handwritten directions on them. He squinted, as the penciled in characters had been smudged a bit. From the corner of his eye, though, a glimpse of a small black creature disappearing into a shadow caught his attention.
"Bakeneko?" he asked aloud, quietly, looking away from the paper to investigate further.
A few steps, remarkably quiet despite his wooden footwear, brought him to the shadow in question, but his instincts told him to look farther up the street, and sure enough the dark figure sauntered lazily out from another shadow, continuing its own path up the street. Curious and wondering if it was a malevolent, or even simply mischievous, spirit, Haru took off after it, trying to seem as if he was just travelling the same path. Though, a quick glance at his directions told him that wasn't necessarily a lie. Keeping a 'casual' distance, the half-Oni confirmed that his new target was in fact, a cat, but unlike most Bakeneko he'd met, it lacked a forked tail. Inquisitively, He quickened his pace, and so did the black cat. Slowing down, the cat did as well. At this point, the young man had confused himself. Perhaps it was just a cat, but then again, there was no way it could have gotten from one shadow to the next that quickly without being noticed.
Suddenly, the cat turned a corner, heading further up the hill, giving Haru no choice but to quicken his pace to make sure he didn't lose his target. Rounding the corner himself, the young man found himself face to face with the black cat, and stopped dead in his tracks, locking eyes with the creature as he did so. Golden orbs stared into his own brown eyes and almost bewitched him, moreso than any normal cat had been able to do before. Unwilling to move and scare the cat, Haru waitied, and watched. Eventually, and much to the Half-Oni's Chagrin, the cat spoke.
"Can I help you? It's rude to stare." the cat asked, speaking English.
Haru stammered, taken completely off guard by this new development. he started speaking in Japanese, but noting the cat's fluency and first choice of English, decided to answer the cat in kind. "I-I uhh, Well." He cleared his throat. "I was looking for a school around here, but you caught my eye and I had to investigate... I'm an Onmyōji and it's my duty to ensure that dangerous Yokai are kept in check but... You're not a Yokai, are you?"
"Ding Ding. That's correct," the cat answered unenthusiastically, sitting on his haunches and licking a paw, before rubbing it over his head, cleaning himself as cats do. He paused, looking up again at the young man. "Again, can I help you? Are you satisfied?"
"Ah, Well. I suppose I'm not dissatisfied. But I am wondering why exactly a talking cat is here, especially if you aren't a Bakeneko or some other Yokai." Haru finally relaxed, settling his staff down and resting the bag on his shoulder. "I am Haru by the way. what do you go by?"
"I'm Sable, if you must know. And I'm just a cat. Well, not just a cat, but, I am a cat more than anything else, and not some spirit or ghoul or whatever these Yokai you speak of are." The Cat, Sable, continued to clean himself, speaking nonchalant as if he was starting to get bored. "As for why I'm here, I suppose that's none of your business, but I'll assure you that I'm not up to anything bad. There's just a lot of magic nearby and I figured I'd investigate."
"A Lot of magic?" Haru pondered, taking a moment to realize the two of them may be headed toward the same destination. "Perhaps it's the school. I've been looking for a magical academy that I've heard about, and I'd like to enroll there. If you want, you can accompany me," he offered, proffering the scrap of note paper with directions on it. "I should be able to find the way for us."
Sable paused in his cleaning, tongue stuck halfway out at the offer, and looked up at the young man, considering his offer. "You know, that's not a bad idea." Without another word, the cat hopped up, kicking off the wall and then latching onto Haru's Kariginu and then climbing up to the tall teenager's unburdened shoulder, where he perched himself with ease aplomb. "Lead the way, Mister Haru, and Tarry not!"
Haru sighed, unsure of how to take this, but took up his staff and continued up the hill.