Please review!
Thanks for the review, Juliedoo! Mud makes anyone feel annoyed XD my cat is mostly white and now that the snow is melting I have to clean her up every time she comes back in x.x on the other hand, people in most parts of Japan already get to see the cherry blossoms T^T make me jealous.
Sorry that you were at school, EverRose808 D: I'm on holiday until the sixteenth :D it was okay to have a cliffhanger since the update was coming in less than a week XD I try not to torment my readers with cliffhangers too often :)
I'm sorry that I confused you, silentxangel x.x The Kurosawa Oni are Southern Oni. The Wakehisa are Northern Oni. Ayame's mother was a Southern Oni and she was not exiled from the South, she escaped after being imprisoned by them. Ayame is not exiled, she and her sister ran to the North after their parents were killed. Her half brother is a Southern Oni and the 'Visitors from the North' are of the same group that she killed twelve (two survived so ten) Oni in the past (before she knew Chikage). The Southern Oni apparently do not know where she is and the Northern Oni were able to track her from her home in the North to Kazama's home based on the fact that she left with a blonde Oni, Kazama Chikage. Let's pretend the Kazama Oni, or Western Oni, are the only Oni in Japan that have blonde hair.
The chapter 'Oni of the South' was her brother, a Kurosawa Oni, from the South come to try his luck at bringing the host of the Beni-hime back to her cardinal family. I had foreshadowing earlier about why Ayame stayed up a lot during the night, something along the lines of "waiting for an enemy that never appears/comes.' She was referring to the fact that the Kurosawa Oni were still after she and her sister. The last chapter was 'Visitors from the North' and was the Northern Wakehisa Oni come to try their luck at retrieving Ayame as well. They know her simply as the Tengu's Oni and want her for themselves, despite her having killed their men in the past.
Chiaki and Chiharu are staying back since they are unarmed (I'm pretty sure I mentioned at least Chiaki being unarmed a couple chapters back) and the Northern Oni are. I'm sure they'd jump in and help if Chikage or Ayame needed help but they kick their butts pretty soundly. Chikage's the only pro Oni in my story that can fight another Oni barehanded anyways. Actually, Amagiri could too :(
Takeshi did take them in but he's old and old fashioned, therefore he would have given them work rather than just taking care of them. That's why Hinata is a land god despite her constitution and Ayame is the shrine's familiar or guardian. He loves them like daughters but he isn't about to let them freeload XD
Killing other Oni is a no-no too, thanks to their endangerment. Ayame's in enough trouble for killing eighteen (ten from the past, eight in the storyline) but Kazama-dono is much older and probably has the deaths of a couple hundred Oni on his hands. That's why he's sworn to never raise a hand to another Oni. They're supposed to be in a more peaceful era as well, but the Northern Oni are a bunch of conceited jerks. Emi is only twelve and has lived a sheltered life, so though she knows her father and brother have a bloody streak she hasn't actually seen it firsthand. Even if she's an Oni, she's twelve. (Now I'm being a hypocrite since Ayame first killed when she was ten, by my calculations x.x she's sixteen right now and killed the Northern Oni five or six years ago according to her older sister from a chapter way back when x.x)
Yes, Ayame has matured. She wants to become a person who doesn't have to kill to lead because she understands the importance of life. Even if that's the case, it isn't just the Beni-hime and the Imperial Chrysanthemum that can make her lose control. I've been steadily implying that Ayame's weakness isn't in her physical strength; it's in her heart. When she killed the fox and the spider she wasn't under the influence of the Hime or the Imperial Chrysanthemum, that was all her. Ayame doesn't care about spilling blood when she's in full swing and that's what she loathes. She's a hypocrite. She wants to be merciful because it looks good, on the other hand she's about as compassionate as Sesshomaru when she draws her sword.
In conclusion, Ayame knows the value of life and of death and hates the part of her that ignores that. Sorry for ranting but maybe it makes up for me being half-assed while explaining and plotting things out in the past x.x thanks for the review :D
Thanks for the review, Whimsicott! I sincerely believe Kazama is a closet pervert in the games and anime XD good job with your story, by the way :D
Hanashobu
Chapter 28: Steel Petal style.
She faced the one armed Oni, golden eyes blank. Her transparent gaze was opaque for once and the connection between us disappeared.
Neither one of them transformed, clashing with their surface strength. It was almost even, considering his one armed state and Ayame's injury.
The other Oni ran at me, sword raised over his head. He had a better chance against Ayame's snake.
I was disappointed by the level of training the Wakehisa Oni had received. He practically walked into the butt of my sword. The Shinsengumi had been more formidable.
I turned back to Ayame who had already disarmed her opponent. She pointed the Imperial Chrysanthemum at him, the blade pulsating hungrily.
She tensed and I sprang from my place, grabbing her wrist. Ayame blinked and lowered her sword.
"There's no point in killing him," I whispered, loud enough for only her to hear. I carefully let go, satisfied that the Beni-hime was still dormant.
"I know,"
Old Wakehisa sniffed and leaned on his cane which he'd kept hidden under his open coat. The contours of it were straight but I didn't doubt that there was a hidden blade in the wooden shaft.
The younger Oni hadn't moved. I'd met him once before, at a funeral when he was barely more than a child. Wakehisa Wakahiro. His older brother Takahiko had fought on the same side of a skirmish that I had.
Takahiko had just been one of many young Oni that died. I'd been lucky enough to survive that hell.
"Have you gotten weaker?"
She glared back at him, knuckles white from gripping her katana
I hated his appraising stare. He was sizing her up, just as I had done when I first saw her. Any female Oni would turn heads; Ayame just guaranteed an extra long look.
"Maybe the warrior Tengu's influence has weakened,"
It probably didn't matter to her that the Tengu had done some pretty sketchy things. He was someone she looked up to and she wouldn't sit still while he slandered his name.
"Takeshi-sama's influence has never affected my actions,"
Wakahiro frowned. "Answer us this then: for what reason did you slay ten of our men?" his composure loosened, maybe because he was standing face to face with a girl who hardly looked capable of such a feat. "Who or what were you trying to protect?"
Her expression hadn't changed at all. I wanted to end this situation; I couldn't stand seeing her so drained of her usual emotions.
"The reason you're asking for is just an excuse. It won't change the fact that I killed your men in cold blood,"
Emi whimpered quietly. "Nee-san, is that true?"
"Sorry, Emi-chan."
Wakehisa-sama scowled at her and tapped his cane. "Oni are on the verge of extinction, every lost life is felt by the community. Gone are the days when we watched our kin die without reason,"
It was impossible for Ayame to even begin to understand the severity of our endangerment. She'd grown up in the North where it seemed like every demon species was still flourishing. Even the Wakehisa Oni had strength in numbers, though they weren't about to flaunt them here.
"Why should it have ever been okay to watch your kin die?" she retorted saucily. "Life can easily be taken but not so easily given back. I understand that better than you do, you dirty old man."
I almost palmed my forehead. She was just picking a fight now. What had set her off? Maybe she was just as irritated by Wakahiro's wandering gaze as I was.
"Hold your tongue!" Wakahiro roared. His hand inched towards his own katana, an elegant golden engraving along the sheath. "We have every right to demand your life,"
I hadn't thought they'd even consider that. If anything, they should have been trying to twist her arm and force her into a marriage with one of their own.
She didn't flinch at the threat. "I still can't figure out why you chose to seek me out now of all times. Maybe you only recently noticed that I had left? Or maybe there's a reason for you be concerned now,"
"It must be something rather important if you felt it necessary to cross into another Oni's land without announcing your intentions," I added. What they were doing went against all our principles and formalities.
The old man snorted. "We are calling in a favor,"
"From whom?" Chichiue inquired.
"From that girl," he growled. "She killed our men and lived on our land; she owes us quite a bit."
She scoffed. "You forget who actually governs the land,"
I hadn't realized she could react this way to anybody. She acted disrespectfully towards me but usually in defense to my own rude words. She at least tried to be polite to strangers. Not that they deserved it.
The old man gave her that much. It was true she'd never lived anywhere near their residence; she'd stayed well out of their way for the most part. It didn't get much further away than on a mountain that could only be reached by those who already knew the exact location and path.
"Let us get something straight, youngling. We can easily take what is dear to you away and it matters not to us if the Kazama Oni try to stand in our way."
Oka-san gasped indignantly. She knew a threat when she heard one. Chiaki and Chiharu stood closer to Emi, ready to fend off an entire army should they need to.
Ayame hopped off the decking, her small feet sinking just a little in the mucky ground. The simple gesture relayed to them that she did not want them to involve us.
"Whether under contract or not, I am devoted to being a guardian. It matters not to me if I have to kick your butt to make you take back those words."
Wakahiro seemed to have grown tired of the bantering and drew his sword. I immediately knew it was demon steel, as did Ayame. The blade was a frosty white and as he lowered it, the tip touching the ground, the moisture in the soil began to freeze.
Ayame drew her katana again, the kodachi neglected at her side. I could feel the will of the blade for once and an unsettled chill ran down my spine.
I wanted to step in but couldn't. It was one on one. If the old man tried to step in I would interfere, as was only fair, and I hoped his skill had rusted over the years. He was once my father's rival.
"I want to see that power for myself," Wakahiro remarked. He had a confident air about him, arrogantly thinking there was no way a female Oni could best him in battle. "The power that makes you the Tengu's Oni,"
Both Ayame and I noticed there was a misconception of information. The Northern Oni seemed to think that Ayame's red form was something gifted to her by the Tengu.
My family still didn't know of its origins either and I wondered how both sides would feel knowing that a fellow cardinal family had overstepped the boundaries of regular Oni strength. It had never happened before, though it would definitely make the punishment for blood sharing seem like a slap on the wrist.
His hair faded white and his horns sprouted, Ayame's transformation following less than second later. I hadn't actually trained her how to spur the change on but it didn't matter now, seeing as she did it naturally.
The next few seconds were blinding flashes of white, frost flying from his strange demon blade and her long hair whirling about. There was a pause and he smugly took a hand from his hilt to tuck a strand of hair behind a pointed ear.
Ayame struggled to remove her left hand from the lower half of her hilt and my eyes widened just a fraction. From her fingertips to her wrist was a painful looking purple bruise, though I quickly realized it was severe frostbite.
"That blade is forged from a Yukiona's hair, isn't it?"
His lips turned down. "How could you tell?"
She put her hand back on the hilt and shrugged. "The man who gathered the pieces of this blade never once killed a Yukiona, because he himself was descended from one. You could say you've angered his blade,"
The blade was indeed steaming and the cold slowly retreated from her hands. There was a faint high pitched humming and I had no doubt in my mind that it was coming from the Imperial Chrysanthemum.
"Have you ever seen fear and hatred?"
He didn't respond and she took a deep breath. The blade glowed red and I assumed she had been holding it back. The mist that rolled off the blade settled on the ground around her feet, thawing it out instantly.
A sultry wind billowed but the deadly scarlet gas remained looped around her. Her eyes were completely sedate. "If I win, without harming you, get out of here. If I lose, I'll I accept whatever favor you request."
The old man smiled crookedly and replied for Wakahiro who was focused on the task at hand. Even he could feel that the bite from her blade wouldn't be pleasant.
"If you lose you will marry my grandson without complaint,"
I wanted to step in right then and there but Ayame directed a tiny swirl of the sword's youki at me, telling me both to stand down and that she was in control of the situation.
"That's fine. Disarm to win?"
Wakahiro nodded then charged in. Ayame met the powerful strike with a simple guard, holding out against his strength. He pulled away first, glancing at the small chip in his blade. It seemed like the Imperial Chrysanthemum's corrosive aura wasn't in full swing, yet.
"I'll break that blade in two more swings with my Steel Petal style," Ayame informed him quietly. She'd finally come up with a name for her sword style, one that suited her almost as much as her own name.
I suddenly remembered the first time we sparred. She had used a move back then as her last resort, three strikes that broke her opponents sword. It caused damage to her weapon as well and I had to wonder which demon blade would break first. Even the Imperial Chrysanthemum had become discolored around the area where their blades had grinded.
"Just try it," he challenged.
She appeared before him and her speed even surprised me. He was forced to bring his blade up to parry, even though she had promised not to injure him for whatever reason.
A crack appeared on his blade and Ayame leapt back to avoid his frenzied slash. There was a speck of fear in his green eyes.
Blood dropped to the ground and I anxiously scanned her. He'd managed to cut her right forearm, deeply.
"Do you give up?" he taunted, probably thinking she'd be deterred by the wound. If she was, she wouldn't show it. She was too stubborn to show weakness when she had gotten herself into this mess in the first place.
"This is nothing," she answered. The demonic energy she'd been keeping at bay rose up and wrapped around her arm, the blood sizzling. The sleeve of her sunset yukata dropped away and revealed that the gash had been cauterized.
He shot her a disgusted look. He should have given up then and there if he couldn't handle her bizarre methods and headstrong attitude.
She raised her blade again, waiting for him to make the final move. I saw the small blemish on the Imperial Chrysanthemum and unease settled in my stomach. If his blade didn't break on the next swing hers might very well crack off instead.
His nostrils flared and he sprang forward once more, determined to win by any means necessary.
Ayame danced back, her feet lightly touching the ground. Her weaker arm was close enough for him to reach with one more step, tempting him to move inside of her range.
The moment he did she brought her sword around faster than he anticipated and he again brought his blade up, forgetting that she had no intention of harming him. The upper half of the blade disappeared and she stepped around him, wrenching the hilt from his hands by stabbing the tip of her blade into his hand guard.
A second later the part of his sword that had vanished dug into the roof above us and Ayame flicked the hilt away and sheathed hers in one smooth motion.
Wakahiro's mouth dropped and he turned just slightly to gape at the victor.
"Do you still want to see the form that makes me known as the 'Tengu's Oni'?" she mocked.
Old Wakehisa gave a disgruntled sigh. "You won, and that can't be argued or denied. However, the right remains to us to ask for your death,"
I was done listening to their crap. They were in the wrong for coming here to demand it.
Chiaki spoke up before me, which annoyed me to no end.
"It is not us who you must ask,"
He let out a frustrated breath. "Who then?"
"The Kurosawa Oni," Ayame finished. "Though I'm barely their responsibility, I'm just the daughter of one of their runaways,"
Telling the Northern Oni risked her being hunted down by her clan. They'd probably let the Kurosawa Oni know that they had seen a member of their family behaving as she would.
"I couldn't just sit still and die even if I wanted to. There's someone who wouldn't let me,"
She was probably referring to the Beni-hime but I had to ponder what my family possibly thought.
The first of the Oni we had knocked out was stirring and Wakehisa turned.
"Very well then. Wakahiro, collect those four and let us be on our way."
He obeyed stiffly, lifting one over his shoulders and rooting another awake.
No sooner had they left did the Imperial Chrysanthemum snap, aura dispersing. Ayame let go and backed into the decking, sitting down heavily. Her hair returned to its usual green-sheened-black and she gathered it in her arms, measuring the section she had cut off.
I had to laugh. "Is that all you're worried about? You just made an enemy of the Northern Oni and possibly revealed your location to the Southern Oni,"
She brushed it off with a dismissing tilt of the head. "I held back, I'm sure I don't have much to worry about if that's the extent of skill,"
"What about your arm?" I rebuked.
"I was distracted," she admitted.
I gave her an incredulous look. "What were you distracted by in the middle of a fight?" I'd properly scold her for engaging in a fight that risked her hand later.
She turned her palms up and I felt some of my vexation melt away. They were burnt much worse than her arm, though both had healed a bit by now.
"The Imperial Chrysanthemum won't listen to me anymore, since it can no longer rule me through my own fear."
That was solid proof of her growth; she no longer had to rely on the sword for its immense power. It also proved that the sword was still too tenacious for regular usage.
She beckoned the white snake forward and it wrapped around her arm, head resting in the palm of her hand. She removed the kodachi from her belt and tossed it on the ground next to the broken katana.
"O slain serpent, return to the grave with evil in tow."
The snake proceeded to bite her, bloody characters appearing across its back. It uncoiled itself and slithered to the two swords, lying across them. It turned pitch black before disintegrating.
"Was that a seal?" I questioned.
She stood again, retrieving both halves of the blade and slipping them into the sheath. "That was miko work, banishment of evil intent, if you will. The Imperial Chrysanthemum isn't able to exude its power,"
Chiaki approached me and pointed to Wakahiro's discarded demon blade. "What about that one?"
"It's broken so it's pretty much useless now. Agano is the only place in Nippon that currently has the ability to repair demon steel, but their guardian deity is a Yukiona. I doubt they'll want to touch it for fear of upsetting her."
"Nee-san," Emi interrupted.
Ayame reluctantly glanced up at her. The pained half-grimace was plainly expressing her feelings. She hadn't wanted Emi to ever know of her darker side.
"You saved me, that has to count for something, right?"
"I saved one person, just one person, with that form. That doesn't even begin to make up for the ones I brutally killed with it." She deliberated for a moment. "There's a stigma attached to the Kurosawa Oni and it's physically manifested through me."
She seemed to be at a loss for words, unsure how to share something that both terrified and shamed her. She'd been quietly suffering since the Beni-hime had appeared, always worrying about her next move.
"Ayame hosts a being called the Beni-hime," I continued. "It's taxing and generally quite stressful. The Beni-hime is capable of forcing her conscious under, though she's usually stubborn enough to hold her own."
She was dissatisfied with the image I painted. "I'd like to blame her for the Northern Oni she killed but it doesn't change the fact that she used my body to accomplish that. Pushing the blame onto a vengeful spirit is hardly appropriate,"
Chiharu jumped in first. He finally had the last piece of the puzzle. "Why don't you just exorcise her?"
I had the same thought, though I concluded the Tengu would have already done that if it was within his power.
"She rivals gods. If I could ask I would but gods exist on a higher plane of existence, naturally making it impossible." Ayame had put her own thought into it. "Any other methods would likely kill me and even then she would just transfer to her next best host,"
"Then why not transfer her to another host?" Chiaki suggested, trying for an air of nonchalance.
Ayame was willing to hold onto the Beni-hime for as long as could to prevent anyone else from being troubled. There was no way she would just push it off onto someone else.
She was fed up with talk of the Hime. She didn't even like talking to me about her, especially in present context.
"Are you dumb?" she fixed him with an icy glare. "She doesn't just leave her previous host for another one; when she finds a new suitable host, she drives her current one mad."
I'd already heard it from Hinata but it still made my shoulders feel heavy. I refused to accept that as her fate.
She turned her head towards the woods after her outburst, preferring not to see the reactions from my family.
They'd mostly figured it out on their own, though the concrete facts were more than a little jarring. Emi was silently crying, a mixture of pity for Ayame's less than favorable state and a subtle amount of hurt from being left in the dark for so long.
"I should leave, it isn't right for me to be bringing trouble to your home."
I was fine with her decision, as long as she didn't mind me following.
Chichiue seemed like he wanted to say something to reassure her but Oka-san cut him off with an outraged huff.
"You stupid girl, we already knew you were trouble." Oka-san stomped over to her and hauled her up onto the deck by the elbows, indifferent to her muddy feet for once.
She was stupefied for a moment before Oka-san hugged her shoulders, gently stroking her hair. It was probably her first time being subjected to a mother's fierce protectiveness.
"If you still insist on leaving at least let me straighten your hair out first." Maybe it was just another case of my mother's extreme measures.
I sat with Chiharu later that night. Oka-san and Emi had convinced Ayame to stay longer, yet again.
I was curious about what Oka-san had done with her hair but she'd walked straight past me without saying a word. Her hair was done up at the time and I couldn't exactly tell how much she had cut off.
"Pass me that book over there,"
I complied. He was cleaning up, ready to return some books now that his research was finished.
"Why do you think the Wakehisa seemed so desperate?" I asked.
Chiharu tied a few books together with rough string before replying. "Didn't you hear? Wakahiro's bride, previously his deceased brother's bride, was stolen by the Yamauchi Oni."
I sorted through a group of books and bound them together. "What a bold move for a clan smaller than our own,"
"Indeed. The Wakehisa were lenient enough to let it pass, forcing them to pledge a daughter for the next generation's head and a son for their reputation instead."
"And they were hoping to use Ayame as a replacement?" I snorted, like hell they were.
"That would be logical. I'm surprised they left her alone for so long,"
I rolled my shoulders. "Apparently, they tried to abduct her once when she was younger. The Beni-him reacted badly and ended up killing them off, as you know."
"So that's what happened," he didn't bother fishing for more information. He was content with what he had.
There was a terse silence, broken by Chiharu's offhand musing.
"How long you have liked her, I wonder."
"Are you trying to tease me?" it was a little late for him to start acting like a nosy older brother.
"No good?"
I shook my head. I suppose that meant he approved.
"When are you leaving tomorrow?"
I shrugged. "First thing, probably,"
He handed me a load of books. "I see. Do be courteous to her,"
"Yes, yes," maybe.
Uwah Q.Q nothing is coming out the way I want it to T.T
Anyways, please review :'D and I'm sorry if anyone else is feeling confused by this point D: I'll try to straighten things out since it'd be cruel to recommend going back and reading through 100,000+ words x.x
April 18, Chapter 29: Steel Flower.
