Down Time

Summary

Satou discovers the temples lion dog statues missing and it interrupts his down time

Stats

290 words, average reading time ~ 3 min

Rating

PG. Mild swearing.

Tags

temple, yokai, side stories, same timeline as Guardian

Characters:

I was in desperate need of some quiet time to think. A difficult case still had my stomach in knots even though we'd solved it and the perpetrator was locked up. So I visited Tsukaji Temple after dark. Absorbed in my thoughts, I beelined it straight to the washing station and incense areas.
Zing! Something red zipped by. Could it have been a finch, or a kingfisher?
When I looked back to follow the thing's path, something felt off about the scene. Think Kazuo . What is wrong, here?
Click. The Koma Inu statues weren't in their place. Did someone steal them? Did they need repair after the earthquake? That should have been in the Nonogawa River Valley Gazette, though. Where were they?
I rubbed my temples and growled. So much for my quiet time. Dutifully, I pulled out my phone so I could report the incident.
A red ball bounced off the stone path and smacked into my chest. Huh?
Tromp, tromp, yelp, skitter. Something big slammed into me, knocking me on my ass. Claws scrabbled on the stones and suddenly the single horned koma inu lion dog statue meekly bowed and said, "Sorry. We were playing because no one was here. Are you alright?"
The other appeared beside it and hung its head. "We'll return to our guard duty now."
"I'll be fine," I said as I rose and dusted off my pants.
Evidently, even the stoic koma inu temple guardians need some down time, too. A quick glance around allowed me to verify I was the only person at the temple. So I offered to throw the ball for the pair.

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Komainu (Lion Dog Guardian) by Amy Winters-Voss

Spooktober Prompt

Horned

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