Distant Star Exorcist
Prologue: From Future to Past – The Distant Star
The skies of the city were dark. Ruined buildings that had long since been absent of people dominated the skyline, horrid creatures clinging and shuffling about them as their mad laughter broke the air. For as far as one could see, this was the state of things. Not a person in sight in this ruined city, nothing but monsters, Kegare, roaming the realm that once belonged to mankind. Even the stars themselves had vanished from the sky, as if retreating from the sight that was below them.
But, deeper into the ruins of the city, the monsters weren't all that were roaming. It was a small group, but, the black clad Exorcists were fighting against them. While it was only a group of ten, they were keeping the Kegare closing in on them back, all guarding a cave and fighting their hardest to keep the creatures away.
"Keep fighting back! We have to buy as much time as we can for the ritual to be completed!" One Exorcist shouted above the rest, his spear driving into the Kegare before him. The weight of the man's wounds were starting to take effect though. His arms were slow as he pulled the spear free and stepped back, another Exorcist diving in two save him from the attack. "Thanks!"
"No problem!" The female Exorcist flipped a sword around, clicking her tongue as a Kegare came down on one of their number who'd been separated, the man's screams falling silent within seconds of being pounced on by the creatures. "How long does that Basara plan to take?! We've already lost ten people waiting!"
"We have to! If we don't, than Master Ashiya won't be able to go back and try to prevent this!" The man and woman struck back, both retreating closer to the cave with their remaining allies. "Hold fast!"
"Izayoi Engeki Ranbu!"
The yell drew the attention of the Exorcists as something flashed from above. Red and blue light streaked through the air as multiple circles appeared around all the remaining Kegare before them, and from it, the light leaped through one, seemingly coming out from all of them at once before appearing out of the first circle. The streaks of light all burst as the aura wreathed figure stood up, and the Kegare all showed the stars of their exorcism before bursting to ash.
The figure's size led to an immediate show they had to be quite young, shorter than most of the Exorcists present and with a slender frame visible despite their uniform. Their uniform was of the same black color with blue segments highlighting it. A jacket with loose sleeves open and showing the chest plate beneath. From their waist a small half-cape flared, across the belt being five holders for talismans and two sheathes at the back of the belt, armored pants covering their legs and the typical boots of the uniform. Fingerless gloves covered hands gripped two swords, both of the ornate design of enchanted weapons. The right blue and bearing moon markings, the blade's single edge covered in frost. The left sword crimson and marked by a sun, flames flowing across the double-edge.
A black fox mask covered the person's face, blue markings around the similarly colored eyes glowing along it, and beneath the mask showed messy black hair ending in pink tips, long enough that the back was tied to a waist length tail.
"Wha… Master Ashiya?! What are you doing out here?!" The male Exorcist leaned on his spear as the figure turned to him. Even with the mask, one could feel how the face beneath it was radiating concern for the people around them.
The mask the figure wore vanished in a shimmer of small panels to reveal their face. A boy who couldn't have been any older than fourteen, the messy bangs of his hair before his white skin and hanging over crimson eyes. He let out a breath as he looked the group over, making visible the sharp look of his teeth.
"So, we've lost even more." Ashiya's voice was light in tone, and he looked to the lead man with a stern look. "Kasuga, how are things looking right now after that wave?"
"Still pretty bad. We haven't had any word from the other teams elsewhere in the city for a while… they must be occupied as well." The woman Exorcist replied to Ashiya, who sighed again as his swords reverted to normal wakizashis, which he slid into their sheathes with smooth motions. "But, Master Ashiya, why are you out here? Didn't Chinu say she needed you for the ceremony?"
"That part's done. I wanted to be out here at least a bit. I know what's about to happen will be a one-way trip but… even then I can't just sit around and let people die on my behalf!" Ashiya said, putting a hand to his chest as he spoke. The clear passion in his voice clearly moved the Exorcists, though Kasuga approached and put a hand to the boy's shoulder.
"Master Ashiya, we all appreciate your desire to help, but please, head back to Chinu." He said, Ashiya looking like he would refuse. "Please! You have to finish the spell and go back. You're the only one strong enough to do so. Continuing to fight these endless waves with us won't get anywhere."
"I know that, but I can at least do something! Kamui is fighting elsewhere, and if this keeps up you'll all be overrun. At least let me stay long enough to keep them back." Ashiya said, turning when one of the others yelled. As he turned, Ashiya sent his right hand flying, his fist slamming right into a Kegare as energy covered his arm, smashing through the creature in an instant.
"Kasuga is right, Master Ashiya!" The woman said, grabbing Ashiya by the shoulder, the boy clicking his tongue as his hands went to his swords while he watched the next wave of arriving Kegare. "You have to go! Chinu could complete the ritual any second now, and if you miss it there won't be another chance!"
"I know that! But I'm not letting you throw your lives away!"
"We won't be!" Kasuga said, gesturing an arm out to all the others. They all bore determined looks, not a one willing to back down. "We all knew what we would be getting into when we came out here today. Master Ashiya, we will not have wasted our lives if this succeeds and you are able to go to the past. So please, return to Chinu and prepare for what's ahead of you. Your future isn't going to remain in this broken world with us!"
"Ngh…" Ashiya took his hands off his swords, and let out a breath. He then tapped a fist to Kasuga's chest. "You all stay alive, got it? I don't care if this is one-way. Stay alive for as long as possible. Send as many of those damn things to the stars as you can and live! Those are my final orders as the Head Exorcist to you all! Understood?! Survive and purify as many Kegare as you can!"
"Yes, Miko!" The standing exorcists all saluted, Ashiya turning as he kicked up multiple rocks all at once, firing off his final signal to the Exorcists by enchanting them and sending the empowered stones into the coming wave all at once. The Exorcists cheered at the mass exorcising as Ashiya turned again and dashed past them.
But the mood was obvious among them all. The path the boy was about to take was one with no going back. Ashiya was still young, even if he had been forced to lead them from a younger age, he was still an emotional young teenager. He was putting up a strong front just as much as they were for his sake. So the boy ran past the battle even when he didn't want to, forcing away the angered tears coming to his eyes as he did.
Ashiya's dashing brought him back to the cave he had left to go out and fight. Within it, light was pouring out from a section deeper in, and various markings had become strewn about the walls in the process. The space had become the ritual which had one simple plan, send the boy back in time, and to find a way to prevent the tragedy that had caused their world to become what it had from occurring. Around the glowing white space within the depths of the cave were also twelve glowing white balls, all without form and linked to the massive circle around. Ashiya gave nods of respect towards all the glowing areas, clasping his hands in a short moment.
"Chinu, I'm back!"
"Took you long enough! Geez, running off like that, you really are your mother's son." The one who greeted Ashiya appeared like a young girl. Long pink hair coupled with ashen grey skin and golden eyes. She was not a human, but a Basara, a Kegare that had overcome its basic instincts and evolved, ironically, into a more human, but sentient, form. And Chinu was an even more unique case as a Basara that had no interest in harming humans, ironically loving them quite a bit.
"Sorry, I just couldn't stand by… I felt I had to do something before I left." Ashiya raised an arm as he went to the edge of where the light was pouring out from, the wash of air blowing up at him a bit. "Is it almost ready?"
"Just about yes. Every ounce of energy the Guardians had is being poured into this." Chinu strode up next to Ashiya and folded her small arms, the boy glancing at the Basara. "I will warn you, this will not be the most precise thing ever. Time travel is something that's existed out of the realm of possibility for ages, and this ritual is so slapdash it's absolutely insane to do."
"But it will work, right? I'll actually be able to travel to the past, and not just see past events like one would when showing a record?"
"Of course it will work, who do you think I am?" Chinu gave a proud little huff, Ashiya sighing. "But, this spell links to a particular point in time, which is where you'll arrive at. The point in time where an intersection created branches. The day when the Twin Star Exorcists, your parents, met."
"That feels very vague. But… the day my parents met huh?" Ashiya reached to one of his talisman holders and pulled out a pair of the paper items, one red and one blue, both inscribed in golden colored ink. He returned the talismans to the holders and nodded, looking back to Chinu. "But I feel that works out. Where will I show up?"
"In Magano, near where the intersection of fate occurred." Chinu strode closer to the edge, reaching her small arms out across the swirling light. "When you arrive, do your best to get into contact with the Exorcists of the time, if you can. And do not, under any circumstance, reveal your nature as the Miko to them unless you know it is someone who you can trust. Also, here…"
Chinu tossed a talisman, and it slid over Ashiya's chest. The talisman glowed and then faded. When it did, Ashiya felt a "dip" of sorts in his person, like something had just put a large weight on his shoulders.
"That talisman will act as a seal to limit your powers. It won't make you so weak as to make you unable to fell Kegare with ease, but it will make sure none draw suspicion towards you. The world you grew up in has demanded you grow as strong as you are in a short time. The world you will arrive in is one that is much less dire in its need for overly powerful Exorcists."
"You know I can just undo this myself, right?" Ashiya pointed at his chest, Chinu then giving him a smug look.
"Of course. But don't worry too much. I'd say I've only limited you to about forty percent of your current strength. As you continue to grow the seal will compensate. And for you, that much is still enough to match some of the strongest Exorcists of the past. Just try to take it easy, alright kid? As long as you play it safe it should last a couple of years, but overdo it and it'll break down even faster."
"Yeah yeah, don't worry. You know I can handle myself." Ashiya picked up a nearby case and hooked it to his belt, patting it as he flicked it open, wrapped up rations inside. "And there's some food for a few days too. Alright… I'm ready."
"Then stride forward, Miko." Chinu took on a more serious aura as she turned away from the streaming light, facing Ashiya as he cracked his knuckles. "Return to the time before your birth, meet the Twin Stars, and find a way to prevent the King of Impurities from ruining this world once more. Erase this hellish future from existence and replace it with one of peace! By the Twin Stars that guide you, may your path be clear."
"And may those who fall to malice be returned to the stars where their souls may rest." Ashiya aimed two fingers forward, a smirk coming to his face. "Be cleansed, be purified. Any Kegare that gets in my way will have its soul cleansed by my Star."
"And now on less form notes… good luck, Ashiya." Chinu turned again, and Ashiya strode to the edge, giving a breath. "If you find the time to meet the past me, tell her hi for me yeah?"
"Will that even make sense to you?"
"I'll get it, don't worry." Chinu casually waved a hand, and Ashiya tilted his head with a grumbling sound. "Now get going! The future won't fix itself if you just stand around like this! Jump in and head back!"
"Alright. Also, tell the others good luck from me too. You're all gonna have a tough fight ahead… I wanna be there with them, but… I have to do this." Ashiya let out another breath, closing his eyes for a moment as he strode forward. His eyes snapped open, and he dashed off the ledge and to the light below, vanishing within it as it wrapped around him. A few moments of bursting wind passed, and the gathered lights around the pit all followed suit into the light itself.
A few moments more, and it all burst away. The cave was left dark, Chinu standing on her lonesome in the space as the markings along the walls faded. She folded her arms and bowed her head one more time.
"Good luck, Ashiya. I wish you the best in the trials you'll face in the past in order to make a better future. Now…" Chinu turned as she rolled her fingers, a smile coming to small Basara's face. "I may as well shake off the rust on my own powers, as little that there are."
As Ashiya fell, his vision was filled with nothing but blinding light as the air whipped around him. He could hear voices, too jumbled together for him to make anything out. He'd lost track of how long it had been since he'd jumped into the gate, so all he knew was that he'd been falling for some time now.
"Just stay focused… when I see the next gate, that means it'll have worked. Once I arrive…" Ashiya took a breath as he felt a bit of weight at his chest. He was reciting the plan to remind himself. "Find and make contact with the Exorcists in the area. Once I do that… find my mom and dad in the past!"
It was then a shining golden gate of light appeared. Ashiya gasped, and then smile as it came closer. He braced himself as he fell through it, closing his eyes the instant be passed through. When he opened his eyes as the feeling around him changed, he first off, found he was still falling.
But all around him was a space familiar to him in many ways. The land around him looked ruined, rusted and decayed. The ground below in the ruined city was red and charred, and the sky was a sickly shade of yellow. Strewn all around was floating rocks and other items from the ruins. Similar and familiar, but at the same time different. And he could see them all around, skittering across the ruins and even in the air: Kegare.
"So, this must be Magano before it overtook reality." Ashiya steeled himself and aimed for some of the floating rubble. Kicking off of it, he bounded between more as he aimed for a nearby building, descending and skidding to a stop with a hard slam on the roof. "First thing's first, inventory."
Ashiya sat down at the edge of the building and removed one of his talisman holders. He rolled it open and shifted them out. He let out a relieved sigh when he saw all of the ones in it, numbering around six in total, all still bore their unique markings.
"Good. That means the Guardian Shikigami I had with me are still around even if I'm in the past. Suzaku, Byakko, Seiryu, Genbu, Tenko, Kochin. Glad you're all still with me." Ashiya closed the holder and then hooked it back to his belt. He stood and then scanned around, getting a better idea of his surroundings. He knew that Magano was a reflection of reality, so he could at least surmise the general idea of where he was based on what the area looked like.
"Sucks I'm not that familiar with Tokyo. But if what Chinu said is true then that is where I am, right? Mayura said Mom and Dad met in Tokyo at my age."
As for the location, other than the city ruins around him, there was also a large swathe of clear space between where he was and another section. Between those areas was a wider section of bridges, and under those a river that ran right through the center of the two districts. Or at least, it probably was a river in reality, but in Magano it was just the dried-up riverbed.
"Uh, this would be a crossing between districts, right? Tch, Tsuchimikado never had stuff like that. I only got to the mainland after things went to hell, so I've got no idea how normal cities actually work. Wait, why am I saying all of this out loud?" Ashiya bonked himself on the side of the head as he sighed. His eyes then widened when, from the riverbed, he caught the obvious sight of Kegare being exorcised, the glints of the stars of exorcism blinking in and out in a few moments. He leaned forward on her perch and laughed. "Well guess I got lucky! There's already Exorcists fighting down there!"
Ashiya raised the hood on his coat and donned his fox mask. He climbed to the ledge and jumped from his perch, bouncing off of more floating rubble to descend faster. Though when he hit the ground, as he expected he was quickly met by a bunch of Kegare gathering around him.
"Bring it." Ashiya drew his swords, and with a quick flick of one of his holders, the red and blue talisman's shot out and hovered over the blades as their inscriptions glowed and expanded over them. "Be Cleansed. Be Purified. Return now unto the Stars, thee who's souls have fallen to Sin and Impurity! Blade of Yin, Blade of Yang! Come forth at once!"
The inscriptions folded over the blades, and they shifted into the ornate red and blue weapons he preferred. With a quick flick that ignited the blades with fire and ice, Ashiya moved forward. Simply a blur of red and blue as he dashed around the swarm of Kegare, slashing each one in a mere instant before stopping where he'd started. As he flicked his swords across each other, the Kegare now laced in ice and flames all lurched as stars crossed their forms. As they burst away, Ashiya looked to his blades and gave a hum, almost disappointed in sound.
"I guess it makes sense the Kegare in the past would be weaker, but aren't they almost too weak? Even the ones I could one-shot in my time were stronger than this. Agh man, how am I gonna gauge where I stand at forty percent if small fry like this are what I deal with first?"
The sound of crashing and various things breaking drew Ashiya's attention. And then a massive Kegare the size of a small house came bursting out from the roads. The boy only gave a hum as the monster's laughter echoed in the air as it grinned wildly at him, claw like appendages rearing up from its back as its fanged maw dripped with stained fluids.
"That'll do."
When the Kegare lashed at him with one of its claws, Ashiya whipped up one of his swords. The claw slammed into the flat of the weapon, and in the same instant the blade was whipped around and cut right through the claw. He followed through by dashing into the air, his blade cutting into the beasts's body, leaving gouges near its head. Ashiya let out a hum as he had felt a bit of a tug following his slashes, telling him the Kegare had a rather hard body. But clearly not enough to stop his swords. He just needed to cut deeper due to its size.
One of the claws whipped around in the air and slammed into Ashiya. But a gleam shone in the moment he did. As Ashiya skid back across the ground, he now had glowing marks across his body, and the boy let out a chuckle. As the Kegare turned back to him, the claw it had slammed him with broke off and faded away, the beast yowling as it flailed.
"Enchanted Gear: Complete Armor." Ashiya flicked an arm as the glowing lines became duller but also more solid, "Lion's Arms, Adamantine Body, and Rapid Stride. This mask of mine has Star Reading by default… why am I saying this to a Kegare that can't speak?"
The Kegare roared and charged at Ashiya. The boy flipped his swords around into a reverse hold, taking a low stance as he gripped the hilts tight. His aura flared around him, and he let out a breath before he dashed forward.
"Obororenge no Mai!"
With the call of the attack, Ashiya shot up as he neared the Kegare. His movements were rapid as he pelted the Kegare with attacks that seemed almost simultaneous in execution. The final attack saw Ashiya dash behind and then burst through the Kegare, leaving its body riddled in deep cuts. Ashiya skid to a stop and spun to be facing the Kegare. Leaving one blade in the ground, as the exorcism star appeared over the beast, he traced it with two fingers aimed at the creature.
"May you return to the stars and find rest." Ashiya swiped his fingers, and in the same instant the Kegare burst away.
Ashiya reverted his swords and stored them. It was then he remembered the Exorcists he'd seen fighting. He was only just down the way from that spot. Nodding to himself, but still leaving his hood raised and masked on, Ashiya moved closer to where he could still hear fighting coming from.
As he got closer, a large Kegare came into his field of view first. He picked up his pace to be safe… and then he heard a voice as he came all the closer.
"I don't care if it's a Sin or an Impurity, I'll cleanse them all!" The roaring of a boy's voice made Ashiya stop. What he saw was the large Kegare getting slammed from below by something, the roaring continuing as the beast was carried up into the air. And whatever had been done to it, the beast was blown away with that one impact, leaving only the fading remains.
And as the dust cleared, Ashiya gasped as he saw the two figures within it. A boy and a girl who couldn't have been much older than he was. The boy with messy brown hair and red eyes, his right arm currently in a state that gave it an appearance like a Kegare. The girl with flowing black hair and teal eyes, her school uniform still covered in the glowing marks of active Exorcism Enchantments.
Ashiya was still too far away to hear anything as the two began speaking to each other. The boy looked at his arm as it began returning to normal, muttering something. Only for the girl to, in obvious annoyance, stamp on his foot and cause the boy to start yelling as she ground her heel onto him.
But, Ashiya didn't care about what they were saying. He was frozen in place as he stared at them. As the two teenagers began moving, they stopped for a moment. Clearly, they had seen Ashiya. Ashiya snapped out of his stupor, and quickly dashed away as the boy called out to him. He bound away, past the ruined riverbed and back into the city ruins. Once he was far enough away, Ashiya leaned up against a wall, his mask vanishing and revealing his tense and wide eyed his expression had become.
"That was them! Those two kids… they were my parents! Enmadou Rokuro… and Adashino Benio." Ashiya reached into a pocket and pulled out a small case, popping it open. In it was a picture, one of people who were clearly the two he'd seen, but at least maybe a decade older. And in the arms of the woman, of his mother Benio, was a baby Ashiya. "I found them… I found them. Hehe… yeahaaaaa!"
Ashiya threw up his arms as he let out the cheer. That meant for sure that he had definitely made it to the past beyond a shadow of a doubt. Chuckling to himself as he leapt up to the rooftops, he couldn't stop the feeling of excitement as he reached to his talismans, pulling out a Gate talisman and tossing it after chanting.
And if he'd felt excited due to his good fortune, what he saw as he stepped through the gate and to normal reality, that excitement turned into awe. The air blew around him as he his vision took it all in. Spreading out all around him was the city, not in ruins but proud and complete. The buildings lit up the darkness of the night like stars of their own, the sky above left a dark blue with the moon shining up through the clouds. And down below were hundreds of people going about things as they would.
No worries about life, no having to constantly fight for their own safety. Normal people going about their normal life.
"Whoa… the sights in Tsuchimikado were great, but I've never seen a city like this." Ashiya raised an arm as the blowing air knocked his hood loose. He chuckled as he threw his arms out while standing at the edge of the building. "If this is the kind of world I missed out on, then how could I not want to make sure it stays this way?!"
Ashiya's arms dropped. His hands tightened to balls, and his head lowered. A few seconds later, and the glinting lights made his falling tears obvious as his body shook. His mind had drifted back to those he'd left behind in his own time. He knew it was a one-way trip, there was no going back there. All he could do now was do his best to make sure things didn't wind up as they did in that time. To make sure the world he found himself in, this one that had awed him from the moment he saw it.
And to make sure to do it for the people he'd left, and who's fates he was no longer sure of, but who he'd put all his faith into.
"Don't worry everyone. I promise, I'll make sure this world stays the way it is! I'll Exorcise them all... I'll purify every Kegare who aims for destruction, any who get in my way! I'll send them back to the Stars and end this 1000 year long war!"
The boy looked up to the moon as he aimed two fingers at it, quickly swiping them in the formation of a star and then cutting his hand through it. Though it was then as he was standing there on the rooftop that the rumbling of his stomach hit him. Ashiya lurched off his perch and grumbled, leaning on his knees.
"Dammit… and there I was sounding all cool by myself too. Food… good thing I packed some." Ashiya sighed as he stood straight. And as he started munching on some of the food he'd packed with him, a ball of ohagi-which was actually all he'd packed-he scanned around the crowd below. And just his luck, he spotted Rokuro and Benio coming out of an alleyway. Ashiya quickly chomped up the rest of the snack and then wiped his mouth off, chuckling as he leaned on a hand. "Now onto step two: Get into contact with the local Exorcists. Seika Dormitory, right, Mom and Dad?"