Chapter 038: Colorless Marsh

Colorless Marsh ( 無色沼 Mushoku Numa ) is the 38th chapter of the Kekkaishi Manga written and illustrated by Yellow Tanabe

Summary
Shigemori explains to Yoshimori that Lord Uro is a god who lives in the nearby Colorless Swamp. Every so often, his bed needs to be repaired, and it is a Kekkaishi's duty to assist him. Shigemori says he last repaired the bed fifty years ago, and now it is Yoshimori's turn. Because it is already too late in the day, Shigemori arranges for Yoshimori to go the next morning. Yoshimori has many questions, especially since Lord Uro follows him into the kitchen and stares at him. In an attempt to break the ice, Yoshimori hands Lord Uro a sweets cookbook and offers to make him anything he wants out of it. Lord Uro selects doughnuts, and Yoshimori makes him a plate full of them. Yoshimori tries to ask Lord Uro about Karasumori's origin, but Mamezo interrupts him. After eating, Lord Uro abruptly begins a story about him sleeping in a dark forest long ago when a human interrupted him, asking him to turn over the land. Though Lord Uro first refused, the human made a bed for him in exchange, so Lord Uro gave him the land. Lord Uro falls asleep before Yoshimori can ask more questions.

That night at Karasumori, Yoshimori assumes that Karasumori was the forest Lord Uro mentioned, and that the human was a Kekkaishi ancestor, likely Tokimori Hazama. But Yoshimori realizes that this story and the one he has been told don't match up: if Hazama was requesting the land they currently protect, it would mean that the Karasumori Clan originally lived elsewhere, and not on the school site as legend states. Tokine arrives with Hakubi, having heard about Lord Uro from her grandmother. She mentions that Tokiko also claimed to have repaired Lord Uro's bed, and wonders if they went together. She offers to go with Yoshimori to make the repairs, but he turns her down, not wanting her to get involved with his plan to ask Lord Uro more about Karasumori. Tokine finds his refusal curious, but does not argue.

The next morning, Yoshimori and Shigemori head to the Colorless Swamp with Lord Uro and Mamezo. After reaching a lake, Lord Uro opens up a portal in it and dives in. Shigemori says he will stand guard, and warns Yoshimori not to take too long, since he still has his nightly duties. Yoshimori dives in after Lord Uro.

Characters (in order of appearance)

 * Shigemori Sumimura
 * Lord Uro
 * Yoshimori Sumimura
 * Mamezo
 * Tokimori Hazama (flashback)
 * Madarao
 * Hakubi
 * Tokine Yukimura