Chapter 2: 仮面鬼
Chapter Text
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A calm warrior shadowed the great daiyokai as he returned home. One who wore an oni-kabuki mask carved of wood embedded with spiritual blessing that was painted white, the colour of purity. His robes consisted of several layers of fine garments made with expensive silk coloured silver and white gifted to him by the Daiyōkai of the Western Domains. His haori was dyed a fitting light blue that matched the colour of sky just after rain. The clothing was given as a peace offering. One to replace the previous kimono whose sleeves were now in tatters. Torn to shreds by a blade wielded by a mighty hand.
Still.
The masked warrior had no such injuries on their person.
Walking a few paces ahead was Inu no Taishō, a contemplative frown on his face—his cheek marred with three precise and recent scars where his opponent managed to draw blood. At this, he humbly accepted that he had underestimated the warrior and for that ignorance learned a valuable lesson.
A master only needs to draw blood a single time for their strike to be fatal.
The human warrior, a woman, managed to not strike and draw blood once, but thrice with deadly precision and finest. Inu no Taishō vowed never to be on the opposing end of her blade if he could help it and to never underestimate a human again. For in their mortal passion lies the potential for power.
"Forgive me," he said eventually, his steps slowing slightly, "for I am curious. Might I ask a question?"
The masked Oni nodded.
"You may." They permitted.
"Why do you wear the mask of an Oni, instead of that of a Hannya?" Toga asked for the mask of an Oni was for a man and Hannya for a woman.
Behind her mask, Gin-sama smiled, pride radiating from her aura.
"Because I am a warrior." She replied as they trekked through a path of stones. "And a warrior's spirit has no gender. Man and demon alike are fools who cover their own eyes of the strength females possess. Calling myself a man brings me honour as a warrior, while calling myself a woman brings me nothing but shame."
The daiyokai frowned and pondered her words. Upon seeing his deep quizzical expression Gin-sama decided to elaborate.
"To me, the Oni mask means on'yomi (隠), to hide and conceal." She added simply. "It is my burden to hide and conceal who I am for none will ever accept me."
The daiyokai startled at the brutal honesty of her words and observed her resigned acceptance with a slight frown.
"Thank you for answering my inquiry." Toga bowed respectfully to which the masked swordsman merely inclined her head and continued walking passed him.
Blinking, he swiftly caught up with her, a slight smile on his face.
What an intriguing human...
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Slitted eyes of fiery gold pierced through the mask. Scrutinizingly staring at the Oni-masked man bearing both a wakizashi and katana. The man had no scent nor aura that he could recognize and read. If he was a demon, Sesshomaru could not tell what kind, if a mortal—he silently scoffed—then this mortal was no different than dead with its smell of nothingness. No, even the dead reeked of death. Just what was this being?
"Sesshomaru," Tōga's voice thundered, his tone filled with authority. "I have found a master willing to teach you kenjutsu. While you are apprenticed to this master...his words are my words and you will obey and learn well."
His eyes flickered to the white Oni-masked man, then back to his father. Apathetically, the young daiyokai dipped his head into a respectful bow, acknowledging his father's commands.
"Yes, father."
"From this day until you have learned all you can where your master goes you will go, and where your master stays you will stay also."
"Yes, father. Is that all father?"
Cold eyes landed on the great daiyokai.
A silent act of subtle defiance.
Lightning seemed to crackle through the very air as tension thickened between the two. Invisible sparks of clashing auras and wills pushing against the other. All while Gin watched with interest.
Tōga hesitated.
"That is all." He whispered, breaking away from the icy glare. "Shishō-sama, I leave you with my trust."
Gin bowed her head, not bothering to voice the corrections of her proper pronoun. She didn't truly care how she was referred to, after all. In fact, she was grateful that Inu no Taishō hid her gender from her son. It would make things easier.
Tōga paused and looked back at his son who's eyes remained as cold and indifferent as they were before. Sighing, he turned and leaped into the sky, flying away and leaving his proud son and mortal teacher behind.
Silence sang with the wind.
From behind her mask, and in her eye that could see she examined her new student. Chronologically, he was older than her by a great deal of years. Biologically, he appeared to be no younger than fourteen and no older than fifteen. He looked in between. She was eighteen. And by the time he looked to be her age her bones will have already become nothing more than dust. It was a terrifying thought how little time she had.
Wordlessly, she slipped a hand into her kimono and pulled out a hand-scroll. The piece was made of fabric instead of paper and it's inscriptions were made of embroidery instead of ink. Fondly, Gin recalled how her master had gifted her with the scroll when he first began teaching her. Now, it was her turn to pass on the scroll. She offered the scroll to the young demon who wordlessly accepted it and gestured for him to begin reading. She watched him unroll the scroll and examine it impassively. The corners of her lips quirking upwards as the child's eyes narrowed.
"Shishō-sama, these are not characters." Sesshomaru said flatly, only a slight bit of annoyance trickling into his voice.
The white oni merely tilted their head and pointed to the scroll once more, this time tracing each character with her finger. She stared expectantly at Sesshomaru and waited. He gave her a hard look filled with haughty irritation and immersed himself back into the scroll. She walked away with a slight smirk.
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While he strained his eyes to try and make sense of the strange characters Gin stood and posed with her katana. She kept repeating the same forty-eight different stances and positions, pausing each and every time to hold each stance before moving on to the next.
She had been repeating these forms for hours—-circling around Sesshomaru the entire time as he attempted to decipher the scroll. He hid his irritation—though it was undeniably there—and maintained an apathetic look of slight annoyance. Frustration filled his slitted eyes as he silently glowered at his newly appointed teacher (in all her incompetence). Watching as she continued to strike the same positions over and over. He glanced back at the scroll and skimmed through it.
He froze.
Forty-eight.
There were forty-eight different characters embroidered on the scroll and forty-eight different stances. Each character seemingly corresponding to a specific stance and having a stroke to reference the positioning of a blade. At the sight of his realization, Gin immediately stopped her stances, coming to a neutral position and giving Sesshomaru a slight nod.
Now carefully watching her stances, Sesshomaru's eyes flickered to and from the scroll and her form. This time observing her use several of the same stances in a different pattern.
His mind whirled.
Forty-eight forms.
Forty-eight characters.
It was clear to see now that his teacher wasn't simply showing him forms...she was teaching him an entire language.
Sesshomaru began to connect each stance to its corresponding character, easily noting how the katakana writing system used forty-eight characters also and began translating.
—Y
—O
—U
—P
—A
—S
—S
He stared at the white Oni with something akin to respect as he put the scroll aside. Standing and unsheathing his own blade to formulate his own response. Gin observed in bemusement as Sesshomaru began to mimic her stances with such elegance and precision it seemed like he was dancing. In mere hours he had already learned how to speak in the language she only just taught him.
A prodigy. She realized, as she read his message. Inu no Taishō wants me to guide and teach a prodigy.
—T
—H
—A
—N
—K
—Y
—O
—U
—M
—A
—S
—T
—E
—R
Act