Interlude 2
"Honey, Nathan finally called! He's asking for you." I heard from my wife from the kitchen. I was currently spending my weekend morning relaxing on the couch, so I made my way over.
It was surprising he was calling so soon, I thought it would take longer.
Nathan had always been an odd child. Extremely independent, but not to the level of pushing me or his mother away.
He just always knew what he wanted, and how to do it. Add in his frightening intelligence and how he was always learning, and you got a recipe for a person who is always moving forwards.
Thinking of Nathan, I was reminded of the power humming beneath my skin.
He called it Ki, the power of life.
Even just having it unlocked was such a massive shift in perspective.
I felt healthier, stronger, more alert. I could focus longer and do things I had never imagined.
From what he described, he unlocked this power when he was barely three years old, and has only grown exponentially stronger as he aged.
If he has felt like this since he was a toddler, I think it is a miracle that he turned out as well adjusted as he did.
His mother and I did fret for a long time about his lack of social connections, but the addition of Hana and the reveal of magic did a lot to assuage our worries.
I wouldn't want to talk to other kids if they were stupid and weak too. It is a miracle he didn't grow any disdain for normal people, as strong as my boy is.
I've seen people act worse while wielding political power in an office job, say less about a child with the power to simply snap anyone who displeases them.
Finally making it into the kitchen, I took the phone from my wife. She looked really good since Nathan helped her unlock her Ki, even if she started from touki.
One of the endless blessings our boy has brought us.
"Here, he only said hello and then asked for you." She pouted.
"I'll see what he wants, then you can talk later." I offered.
Nathan and I had an understanding, especially about some of the darker parts of the moonlit world. I had my experience in the military when I was younger, and Nathan is in the thick of it personally.
There are things that his mother just wouldn't understand.
Oh, she knows about things like Kunou's attack a decade ago and the devil that Nathan is treating in his base, but she doesn't understand.
Not truly.
That is ok.
"What's up, champ?" I asked while putting the phone up to my ear.
"Hey dad, sorry for calling so early in the morning, but this couldn't wait." Nathan sounded subdued. That was not a good sign.
"What happened?" Amy noticed my change, but I put my hand up before she could say anything. She looked a little peeved for being shushed, but relented.
"There was an attack." Nathan simply said. He didn't sound too upset, so the worst didn't happen.
"Is Hana ok?" I questioned, which caused Amy's face to contort, but I kept my hand up and she held her tongue.
"Yeah, Hana is not hurt. It was a close thing though, and it took me all day to calm her down. She finally fell asleep and then I called you." He explained, sounding exhausted.
"How did that happen? You have only been gone for a week!" I asked, thoughts racing.
He said the supernatural was dangerous, but this is insane. I need to find out more.
"We are still questioning the attackers we captured, but it seems like they were planning this for a long time. At best this was an unlucky coincidence, at worst my presence as a Sage was leaked and forced them to move." Nathan tried to sound calm, but I could tell he was tense.
Tense and furious.
I don't think I have ever seen Nathan upset over anything. If I had to guess, his inborn power and intelligence gave him such confidence that he never needed to be upset over anything. An attack on his daughter is what it took to bring out those emotions.
I would almost be proud if it wasn't such a terrible situation.
"You think they moved because you were a Sage?" Nathan had explained what a Sage was while teaching us some basic Ki knowledge. He explained it as being a 'nature god without divinity'. He said that explanation left out a lot of nuance, but got the point across well enough.
At this point Amy had figured out what happened from our conversation, and had sat down at the table while looking extremely worried.
"Yeah. All I've done that was Sage related was clearing out a small curse, but it was enough for information to travel. It didn't help that there were bad actors on Yasaka's end too." He explained, sounding frustrated at the end.
His host had troubles on the home front, huh.
"Bad actors? What do you mean exactly." I asked, trying to build a mental image of this whole situation. Supernatural politics sounded like downright medieval most of the time, so I didn't have high hopes.
"It was a two pronged attack. Some traitors from her faction tried to poison the leyline which would have crippled or outright killed her if they succeeded, as well as effectively magically irradiating a decent chunk of Japan for anything not darkness aligned." He laid out.
Traitors are the worst, but he didn't sound too upset about them. That meant they were dealt with, and didn't do anything too egregious to him either.
"The other attack?" I gently prodded, and even over the phone I could hear my son's voice tighten.
"The traitors coordinated with a group of human supremacists. They were attempting a decapitation strike on Kunou, either capture or kill. Problem is, one of them clocked Hana as a spirit on sight and started talking about how she would sell for a lot, heavily implied as parts." Nathan ground out in barely contained rage.
I couldn't help but agree.
"What the hell is wrong with people?" I nearly shouted, startling Amy, who now looked extremely scared as well as worried.
I took a deep breath to calm myself, and tried to placate her again.
Selling Hana for parts?
That small, beautiful, lovable girl? The same Hana who was dropped into our lives and brightened them immensely?
"When are you coming home?" I asked in a no nonsense tone. Maybe we let him go explore too early, especially dragging Hana around. It clearly was not safe out there.
Nathan hesitated for a moment, before finally replying. "We can't right now. It's safer here at the moment."
"What do you mean safer? You were just attacked!" I whisper-shouted, frustration creeping into my tone.
"During the attack I injured the human faction's leader and their transport mage, but they both ended up getting away due to my utter unfamiliarity with magic. Ironically, the safest place for us right now is right here. Safety in numbers and all that." He calmly explained back, but I can tell he was not happy about letting them get away.
"How good did you get them?" I asked in grim satisfaction.
"Transport guy lost an arm. I managed to steal this super cool soul spear from the leader, but I don't know what to do with it yet." He replied with a similar tone.
"You don't want his weapon? It must be good if it is soul related." I inquired. Soul related anything is usually top tier for a reason. Even I knew that.
"It is apparently some sort of ultra important Abrahamic relic, which would put me squarely in their sights. I would rather not have that for now. Plus, I don't really want to go around putting random things in my soul. I don't know where that thing has been." He lightly joked at the end, but I got what he meant.
The mundane church has always been intense, and apparently the supernatural side is downright fanatical. Or so we have been told. We took those books with a grain of salt, but honestly it makes sense.
"So what is your plan then?" I asked, seeing as he wasn't coming back anytime soon.
"Probably hang around here for a few months, learning as much healing as I can while splitting the rest of my time between Hana and clearing the curses out of this place. I am being paid quite well for my services." He said, but I could have sworn I heard a woman's voice laugh when he said that.
"Alright, make sure to call more often then. I know you only called now because it was urgent." I ribbed my son a little.
"Hey! I am not that bad." I could just imagine his offended face.
"You had a secret base in the forest for years, and only told us because you got a flower pregnant." I deadpanned back. I could hear him sputtering trying to respond.
Eventually he found his words.
"Alright, I have to go now. I am an important person now, so that means meetings." He said with dread. I felt for him, meetings are so boring.
"Ok, talk to you soon then. Your mother misses Hana something fierce." I said, getting a small glare from the side.
"Bye dad."
"Bye son."
The line went dead, and I prepared to face the herculean task of calming down my wife who had grown more anxious that entire call.