Brown cat ears and a tail adorns a tall and lithe figure as they prowl under the eternal night of the Otherside. Every now and then, the figure would click their tongue in irritation to show their mood but their eyes remained sharp and inquisitive.
Tatsugoro Himitsugi, or simply Tatsu as he prefers, is by all accounts, someone who prefers simple joys. His ultimate goal in life is to attain the most common and standard way of living: Get a good job, find a good woman and get married, and lastly, to lie on his deathbed surrounded by his children and children's children.
Unfortunately for Tatsu however, he was born in a world of quirks that came along with people that wear Spandex doing a glorified game of cops and robbers. Even more unfortunate for Tatsu, he was also born to parents who not only have a flexible strong sense of justice that fancies toward morally comprehensible, but also have a strong connection to the Otherside of the world that few would know about.
His father is a collector of many curiosities, having travelled the world with what money he could gather whatever sparked his interest. A simple thief with no actual skill or finesse, only having achieved his dreams with a quirk that makes up to three people perceive him as a trustworthy person.
His mother on the otherhand, is a Nekomata who also happened to be a fervent cinephile that fell for his father's supposed 'lupin charms', having met his old man by pure chance during one of his incursion through a museum one late night.
This means that Tatsu is born of both mundane and supernatural, of both quirk and magic.
He isn't interested in knowing how or why it was possible, but his blood carried within them powers that come from both sides of the world.
Born with cat ears and a tail, not only is he a natural kemonomimi but he also inherited the strength of at least twice his physique. In addition, Tatsu awakened the quirk to radiate an indiscriminate but subtle aura that would make others perceive him less of a threat and closer to a friend. Lastly, he inherited a weapon and disguise that lead to his current profession that he didn't chose --Although he doesn't have any complaints about the pay-- which is being a freelance detective and exorcist.
The Spirit Claw as he calls it, allows him to cut through spiritual beings as if they were physical. This ability is what allowed a half-breed like himself save money from the costly expenses of a regular exorcist, letting him more breathing room with his budget than his peers in the business.
Sometimes, Tatsu even let's his instincts take over temporarily to fully embrace his supernatural half and become a tru Nekomata- that is, he transforms into a cat.
He still retains his rationality in this form, it is just that he becomes more susceptible to his feline impulses more. Nevertheless, these two abilities are what allowed him to live as long as he has.
After eight years of experience, Tatsu is can be considered a veteran in a profession that has people killed within the first decade. With his quick wit and his slick reflexes, he survived many a perilous catastrophes that could have put him six feet under.
Tatsu also considers himself a deft sleuth, being able to notice details faster than others. This is why he was on such tense guard ever since he was contacted by the family that manages of the largest shrines in all of Japan.
It's suspicious.
No matter how he thinks about it, it's suspicious.
Sure, he has been in business for years now, but most of the jobs he's done were either the one-and-done kind or the request commissions by some group or party.
This on the other hand, is a first for him as well.
Why would such an influencial family outsource labor in order to investigate some new religion is beyond him. For all he knows, it could have been pride or dissatisfaction towards upstarts.
Still, the new players might also be terrorists but don't they have some artifacts that could help them dominate the cult? Why go through such strange methods to begin with?
It's suspicious.
Sometimes, he couldn't help but lament about how he inherited his parents sense of justice because he wouldn't have taken such a shady job to begin with. Then again, he understood why he was hired.
A half-breed like him walking through the Otherside would rouse less attention than a human doing the same. For regular mundane folk like that, it'd be no different than offering themselves up on a platter and waiting for whatever creature decides to take a bite.
However, the more he dug, the more his intuition is screaming at his that this is a bad idea. The survival instincts of his Nekomata half never let him down. Despite knowing that he's walking straight into danger, he's confident that he could at least walk away with his life intact.
Until he came face to face with a supposed Kami.
'WHAT THE HECK AM I SUPPOSE TO DO AGAINST THAT MONSTER?!' Tatsu remarked internally.
His feline eyes glinted in the dark as he saw directly for the first time what kind of being he's hired to look into.
'Tha-thatha-that much, and he's still spending more?! What is he, an equinox well?!' Tatsu watches in shock as Kizuki handed out his spiritual energy like candies to children trick-or-treating ot his house. 'Control yourself, man! This is the kind of info clients would pay extra for! Dig just a bit deeper before pulling out!'
Renewing his resolve, Tatsu began inching closer in line to receive a blessing. He doesn't know the exact specifics of the blessing that is being handed out, but from his observations, there doesn't seem to be any outwardly negative effects. And, on the offchance that there is instead a negative component to the blessing, he can use his mother's specially grown silvervine to snap himself out of it.
Truly, as he looks at the faces of those who have already partook in their blessings, he worried of abilities that took control of one's mind or hallucinogenics that made one delirious beyond the pale.
However, his worries were entirely unfounded.
As soon as the Kami's bleeding touched upon his skin, immediately he felt himself relieved of fatigue and the weight he felt from the drain of using his gifts for so long without proper replenishment fade away to gracious relief.
The sensation he once thought took great effort to attain was given so flippantly, he felt as akin to a baby chick being fed by it's mother. Now he knew why the other beings, pureblooded a mundane, would foster such an expression of bliss when they stepped away from their place in line.
Tatsu snapped out of his stupor and shook his head, already forgetting where he is. Fortunately, there are others who are doing the same as him so he didn't stand out of the crowd.
'...Absurd.' He thought to himself as he followed the crowd who already received their share of blessings. 'This is completely different from other cults... Those normally employ the carrot and the stick method, usually aided with psychedelics or psychological conditioning, oftentimes both!'
Tatsu felt his back beginning to sweat as his heart began beating faster.
'But these guys... These guys don't need either of that. They are have the best carrot to lure- no, what they have is no different than divine nectar! No matter what restrictions the cult emposes or what demands they make, if beings of the night catch wind of this, they would flock endlessly for a taste of this forbidden fruit... And even willingly strap a slave collar to their necks.'
Kizuki underestimates the scarcity of spiritual energy in circulation.
True, there is enough for everyone to survive. The keyword here is 'survive'. Those couldn't downsize their consumption either faded or disappeared. The Rokurokubi's friends and acquaintances either found other ways to subsist on other sustenance or forced a mutation and devolution for survival but the vast majority of beings chose weakening.
Those that fell into the last category are also the ones who patiently and stubbornly await the day when they would once again rule openly.
That's why, despite knowing how valuable it is on paper, Kizuki who came into being with circumstances without a lack of it, does not grasp the desperation of his kind. The only reason he was not swarmed and put into chains as a battery is because of his strength.
When he first arrived, Tatsu resolved himself to leave once he gathered enough information to satisfy his client, a one-and-done deal and return to his usual hunts.
But now? Now, he too, is tempted to stay and remain among the ranks. It was only thanks to his half-blood heritage that he is able to resist the urge but for everyone else? The only exception would the completely mundane humans among the crowd who wouldn't understand and are thus safe. However, the fraction of those who fit the bill undoubtedly have the gears turning inside their heads.
Ignorance is bliss for the uninitiated.
But for the sake of survival, many are willing to postrate themselves and grovel between someone else's legs. Such is the state of the world's Otherside.
At a later date, after Tatsu discreetly snuck away back to the mundane world, the traditional Shintoist family who hired the half-blood for a commission received the shocking news from his report.
Unbeknownst to Kizuki, the Kami persona he made up became a high priority target by the humans and was declared to be a threat posed for capture.
They have no delusions of grandeur or superiority when the announcement was made. To them it was more of a procedure now than anything.
In any case, they know that any 'Kami' is more trouble than they first seemed and are following their old system to prepare counter measures. Fortunately, Tatsu included in his report about the rumors of more Kami within their ranks, so at the very least, they wouldn't be caught by surprised if more than one appeared.
Meanwhile, the Rokurokubi in question is trying to balance twice the work with less than a quarter of his usual sleep and was mainly on autopilot during the repetitive tasks.