The attacks came to a halt when Raiju kept repeating the unknown word, "Tomaru!"
The arrows ceased raining down on Arin's force field, and there was a brief pause of stillness before the appearance of monsters with humanoid bodies, wings on their backs, crimson skin, and a long, deep, blood-red nose akin to a pickle except for the fact that it's sanguine instead of being green-colored.
The monsters were most likely enshrouded within the white, woolly billowing clouds, and Arin came to this cessation after cogitating about it thoroughly in his mind.
"What!? So monsters with long red noses truly exist!" exclaimed Arin, gaping as he was left dazed by witnessing the truth.
"They do, and you're super lucky that they know me, so they won't put a single mar on you," Raiju responded gleefully.
"What are they called?" questioned Arin, wanting to know these surreal creatures better.
"They are called Tengu, mythological beings also known as yokai, "Raiju responded, sounding happy as they won't inflict any harm on Arin because he knows them from top to bottom.
"Ooh, I see," Arin said, his eyes narrowing as he craned forward to get a better view of the flying Tengus.
The Tengus in sight donned scarlet robes with white lacework connecting above their abdomens that kept the robes tightened up to their frames, acting as a cinch, and carried a supposedly long stick-like object girded around their waists that was clad in something black.
Arin was intrigued by what they were carrying wrapped around their waists: a sheathed object he had never seen or known before, and it was a bit larger than a stick, which practically all of them carried.
After looking at the Tengus for some time, Arin guesstimated that there were a hundred Tengus in total, each of whom held a bow in their hands and had a quiver full of arrows fastened to a harness worn on their body, which they most probably used to shoot arrows at him since they had previously designated him as an enemy, but that's old news now thanks to Raiju's helping hand.
"O almighty divine master Raiju, the companion of Thunder God Raijin, what do we owe for your regal appearance?" asked one of the Tengu as he approached Raiju after landing on the ground, kneeling, and looking down submissively in a servile manner. The others followed suit and knelt in front of Raiju to show their reverence.
"It's been a long time," Raiju stated in a sonorous voice for everyone to hear, "but it's wonderful to see that everyone is doing well and didn't forget to pay homage to me, which made me happy." "However, upon closer inspection, I believe the other two kinds among you, the Karasu's and Konoha's, are not in sight," he added.
"What!?, I can understand what he's saying and there are two other species among them!," Arin exclaimed, surprised.
In an introductory way, Raiju said, "Yes, the ones in front of you are known as Hanataka Tengu who are the second strongest among the three Tengu species."
"My master, I beg your pardon, but may I inquire about who this mortal human boy is and what he is doing with you—for whom I've started speaking in his language so that he can understand our conversation?" questioned the Hanataka Tengu's chief, his smokey voice laced with apprehension.
"He's a pal of mine, so don't worry about him.But more importantly, you didn't answer my question regarding why I can't seem to see anyone of the Karasu or Konoha species, are they still frightened to show up or what?" Raiju questioned, his mind racing with thoughts.
"Aaah! The Karasu's and Konoha's! As you can see, they are not with us, but I am confident that they will be overjoyed to meet you, divine master,"In a cautious tone, the chief of the Hanataka Tengu's answered.
"Alright then, take us to your sky castle of residence because the boy with me is tired, and I assume we'll meet up with the Karasu's and Konoha's there," Raiju spoke sounding loud and proud for the respect he got.
"As you wish divine master," the chief of the Hanataka Tengu's stated after he gestured an eye signal, and soon one of them with large vigorous bulk twice the size of Arin strode over to him from amid the line and tightly grabbed his waist, forcing Arin to submit to the sheer strength as the Tengu took flight after he shrugged off his beefy shoulders.
Swoosh! Flap! Flap!
"Wait! No! What if I fall off?," Arin questioned, his eyes welling up with tears as he looked at Raiju.
"Come on Arin, don't be a crybaby, you're in good hands, it's just a matter of a few minutes, so put up with it," Raiju said, shaking his head in disappointment.
"It's not about me being in good hands; what I'm anxious about is why we're flying so ridiculously high up in the sky that I can touch the clouds with my bare hand. Can't we fly a bit lower?"
"Don't worry, little boy; the one carrying you for the sky ride is one of our finest warriors, so you may rest easy even if we're soaring among the clouds," stated the Hanataka Tengu's chief, glumly nodding.
"Arin! My name is Arin, and I hope you'll remember it as I look forward to being called by my name in the future rather than being called a little boy," said Arin emphatically in a gruff voice.
"Okay, I get it. I'll do you the honour of calling you by your name in the future, but for now, enjoy the sky trip," said the Hanataka Tengu's chief letting a note of assurance enter his voice and glumly nodding.
"Thank you for your understanding; I appreciate it and will try my best to enjoy the ride rather than be scared," Arin replied with a hard stare.
"Alright then, Arin, since you've stopped whining, I suppose we can now finally embark on a short sky ride to the Tengus castle," Raiju murmured, his voice sounding muffled after entering the bijou to use it as a vessel, but it seemed like he disappeared into thin air, which left the Tengus dumbstruck and baffled in thought.
"No need to fret, Tengus," uttered Arin aloud, letting a note of reassurance enter his voice, jolting them out of their muse by stating that Raiju is safe and sound inside this bijou and can even communicate from within it.
The Tengus were initially skeptical about whether they should accept and believe what a human boy was saying whom they met for the first time, but when Raiju piped up from within the bijou and said, "Let's go. I'm residing within it," they were convinced to believe Arin's statements.
The flight of the Tengus was smooth sailing in the direction of the castle until they encountered sudden howling blusters along the way, but the blusters slamming into their gliding bodies with tremendous force did little to nothing to impede their path instead of throwing them off balance.
Arin was thus thunderstruck by witnessing their majestic nature as they swept past the blusters gracefully and elegantly, while their clothing swayed to the beat of the wind as it blew faster.
"What's the object around your waist? Is it a long stick or something, and moreover, what is the item sheathed it called?" Arin questioned, mustering up the nerve to ask, his inquisitive gaze falling on the waist of the Tengu that was carrying him.
"It's kind of like a sacred sword known as a ka...ka...katana that we obtain once we g...g...get recognized as a wa...wa...warrior, and the thing that we use to keep it sheathed inside is called a sc...sc...scabbard," the Tengu stammeringly replied.
"A katana, I see. Not that I've seen one before. Do you mind if I touch it and give it a whirl?" Arin politely asked.
The Tengu that was carrying him stared forward for a moment before jerking his head toward Arin and telling him it was fine to touch the katana.
After gaining the stamp of approval, Arin let his fingers dance across the katana's tip before he drew it forth from the sheath. When he gripped the katana tightly, he noticed slight erosion and rust, prompting him to ask the tengu why he hadn't taken better care of it.
Instead of responding to Arin's question, the Tengu glanced at him with an insouciant expression for some time and later kept on flying looking ahead.
Arin wasn't sure why the Tengu gave him that look, but he didn't say anything, assuming the Tengu was offended by his remarks about his beloved sacred sword.
Soon after, Arin sheathed the sword and took a big intake of breezing, fresh, brisk air after dismissing the Tengu's behaviour, but he felt ho-hum simply because they were flying for longer than Raiju had mentioned as a short ride, so he stretched his neck left and right but observed no birds skimming through the scudding clouds beside them. Then he peered down to enjoy the gargantuan landscape from a bird's point of view.
As the Tengus were volanting at a moderate speed, Arin spotted several weird monsters roaming the prairies from high up in the sky, and to his amazement, some of them appeared to be more bizarre than the Tengus but lacked wings to roam freely in both ground and air, which worked in his favour.
"Are you really a fr...fr...friend of divine master Raiju?" the Tengu asked, his voice quivering.
After hearing the question, Arin pondered why the tengu carrying him spoke out of fear, despite the fact that the tengu possessed far greater strength than him, and on the inside, Arin truly believed that this tengu could rip a hole through the mountain with his bare fists if it so desired.
The Tengu didn't say a word further and remained silent after asking the question, which caused Arin to ruminate about what to say to him to appear as amicable as possible.
"Yes, I'm his friend, and it's a long story," Arin responded, breaking the silence between them with a quick and appealing response.
With an uninterested tone and sniffy look the Tengu responded, "I understand."
Arin remained taciturn since he was at a loss for words as a result of the life-or-death situation he had found himself in a while ago thanks to the Tengus. Besides, the Tengu that was carrying him also seemed uninterested in talking at length with him; moreover, he gave him a contempt look, so he thought better of it by deciding it would be best to keep the stuttering fellow talking less, which is good for the both of them.
The magnificent castle of the Tengus came in the viewpoint of Arin's eyes but he was gobsmacked about the fact that Raiju didn't say anything the entire journey, which made him feel both sad and guilty on the inside because he assumed Raiju was still upset about his previous behaviour.
"We're ge..ge...getting close to the ca..ca..castle master, Arin," the tengu said meekly.
Arin's mind brushed off the thoughts that had consumed him after hearing the title of master, and his countenance appeared flummoxed as to why he had been called a master, but his concerns of being called a master vanished when he descried the breathtaking castle of the Tengus.
The Tengus castle turned out to be a colossal skyscraper perched on an enormous silver of land suspended in mid-air.
The hovering stronghold was perched like a celestial deity on a foundation of cloud-based land with lush green meadows and vigorous wind currents. It was an elaborate, multilayered stone palace, stretching high into the sky with increasingly smaller structures piled high and topped with triangular silhouettes for roofs. The castle had no sky-scraping turrets or towers, as one would expect, yet even without them, it still looked absolutely stunning as it was. After casting an admiring glance at it, Arin continued to rubberneck the castle since, in his eyes, it was so spellbinding and marvellous that it nearly appeared unrealistically fanciful to him.
"The castle, Arin, Isn't it wonderful?" Raiju questioned, his voice clear and audible from within the bijou.
Arin was extremely thrilled since Raiju was talking with him, and he guessed that because they were friends, Raiju had already forgiven him for his rude behaviour, albeit some parts of his brain cells thought otherwise.
"Yes, it's fantastic, my bosom friend Raiju," replied Arin, sounding happy and beaming like a kid.
Swoop!
Arin was at last liberated from the strapping Tengu's tight grip after they dropped down and landed upright without any flub on the stone floors with a thud, which produced a sharp creaking sound as if the stone floors were crumbling under the heft of their bodies that hit like a ton of bricks.
The low buzz of chatter came to a halt when the Tengu guards stationed at the castle entrance spotted the Tengu chief and the new specimen, Arin.
"Chīfu, kinmu-chū ni chatto o shite mōshiwakearimasenga, watashi ga kiite mo kamawanai nonara, anata to issho ni iru kono ningen no kodomo wa daredesu ka?" asked one of the Tengu guards, bowing in front of the Tengu chief with trepidation.
"Don't worry, I'm not going to pick on you guys for being loquacious with each other and neglecting your guarding duty; in fact, I have excellent news for everyone: the divine master Raiju is with me, and this human boy is his friend; therefore, we must treat both of them with great warmth and respect for as long as they stay with us; and another thing to remember is that you should only speak in the boy's language instead of our mother tongue, 'Nihongo', or any other ancient language to put the boy at ease," the Tengu chief merrily replied.
"Ok, we understand Chief and pardon my rudeness, but where is the divine master Raiju because we don't see him anywhere among the crowd?,"one of the guards questioned, peering at the chief and other Tengus.
"Don't worry, young soul, I'm right here," Raiju said aloud as he stepped out of the bijou and shook his entire body.
"My apologies, divine master. You were here the entire time within that bijou the human boy had in his hands, and we must confess we were troubled for not seeing you," one of the Tengu guards responded.
"Ahem!, the boys name is Arin, keep that in mind," the Tengu chief said, pointing his finger in Arin's direction.
"Thank you very much for telling them my name, but it's dire that my little brother and I need to use the restroom, so if you could please tell me where it is so that we may heed nature's call," said Arin, waving his hand up to shoulder height to get attention.
"It's right ahead to your left if you walk along the hallway Mr. Arin,"the Tengu chief answered in a mild voice.
The main door was then swung open instantly by the Tengu guards, and Arin departed without saying "thank you" as he dashed inside, exclaiming, "Got it! I've got to go inside the castle bathroom right now!"
Before leaving, he noticed the Tengu chief mumbling something in one of the guard's ears, but he didn't think much of it as Raiju was with them.