"Uhm..." Asuka looked at you closely, eying you from head to toe. You sighed deeply, fanning yourself as you looked out at the seemingly endless sets of overgrown steps. Moss and vines covered them and some steps were raised by roots, as well.
"What're we out here for?"
"Auntie wants to try and regain a hold on the old temple. She seems to have come to the conclusion that you can be of great help."
"Ahh! So that's why these side-characters are here." You looked back over your shoulder at Asuka's Aunt and her sister, whom you have not gotten acquainted with.
"Did you just... Call me a side character?" Asuka's sister asked.
"You haven't even been named, yet, so you're a side character." You slapped the back of your neck as you felt a bug land on it.
"This outfit barely does anything for me." You muttered as the Aunt and Asuka's Sister exchanged a look.
"About that... Who told you to wear this outfit?" Asuka asked hesitantly.
"Fionna." You explained.
"She told me these clothes are designed for exploring." You were wearing tan shorts, white socks that reached up to your knees and beige shoes. Over your chest you had a button-up tan shirt and you had a safari hat over your short, dark hair.
"I am a veteran explor-" You stopped and turned suddenly as you heard a shutter sound. You learned so far that it was the sound made when taking pictures.
"No pictures!" You scolded. It was Asuka's sister that held her phone like a camera.
"Cute. Is he really a demon?" The sister asked, looking at Asuka and her Aunt. She levelled her gaze on you last.
"My name is Maoka, by the way."
"He is." Mishiko assured her.
"My familiars finally came back under my influence and implied when I asked them that he has some connection to Fox spirits. It makes sense why he was able to cow them at that time. To think, he could have had us at his mercy but he left instead."
"You're lucky I'm so nice." You said to them.
`Lucky I'm in your head, is more like it.` Fin teased.
`Shush. What do you think about this? There's a Fox spirit here, which is apparently something close to you.`
`Not necessarily. I could command those little spirits because my aura is intimidating and familiar. Foxes are an extremely old species... We can't be certain when or who-`
`No... No... It kinda sounds like they know you personally. Kinda sounds like they're a specific person that really doesn't like you. Maybe we should tell em that we don't actually have any influence here.`
`You're jumping to conclusions... Play it safe.`
You began ascending the steps. "The barrier here got broken?"
"Usurped." Michiko stated, following close behind. She was in her shrine maiden garb while the other two girls were dressed a bit more reasonably for the time and place.
"When the spirit felt a certain disturbance many years ago she broke free and took control of the barrier. The shikigami and spirits within the temple turned against us and drove us out... I was a girl at the time. I managed to escape with three Shikigami that remained loyal and restarted the temple elsewhere."
"Goodness, I wonder what happened."
`I died.` Fin stated.
`I'm pretending to not know...` You rebuked quickly.
"I suspect that if you broke through our barrier easily enough, this one should also pose no problem. As it stands, I've never been able to make it through with shikigami or other spirits intact."
"That's a nice theory..." You were starting to lose your breath.
