He was falling. Falling into nothing. Everything was black and the only way he knew he was falling was through the very sensation itself. As he looked around the void, something fell passed his face. Focusing harder, he saw what it had been as another fell by him: a feather.
Glancing around again, he saw that they were raining down in all directions. Some where very small bird down, others appeared larger, some even as large and multicolored as the feathers of the peacock he had heard of.
He was caught off guard when one fell in front of his face and remained there. Caught in freefall, there was nothing he could do as the feather began to trace itself around the tip of his nose.
"W-wait a mi- Ah-hahaha! Stop that! Th-That tickles!"
The feathers began grouping together, moving all around his face.
"Ah, no! C'mon, stop, dammit! Hahahahaaaa!"
…
Hao's eyes snapped open, but his vision was obscured. All he could see was yellow. Worse of all, whatever it was, it was fluffy.
Unbeknownst to himself, Matamune continued to swipe his tail through the Onmyoji's face. He had found the blanket covering Hao's chest to be far more comfortable than the wooden floor, and was now lost in dreaming about whatever it was that cats dreamed about.
Being removed from the grasp of sleep, he sat up suddenly, causing the cat to tumble into his lap. Hissing, Matamune jumped to the floor beside the futon.
Rubbing his right eye, he looked at the cat with his left. "Ah, my apologies, Matamune."
The feline paced around a moment before settling back onto the crumpled blanket beside Hao, causing him to chuckle. He contented himself with scratching behind his companion's ears before a yell pierced the silence.
"HAAAAAAOOOOOOOO!"
A young girl of seven years came rushing into the room, followed by a boy of eight. Hao was standing by this point.
"What, what is it?"
The girl pointed at the boy, tears welling up in her eyes. "Daisuke said I was never going to become a good Shaman!" Daisuke held up his hands and shook his head.
The Onmyoji walked up to her, patting her on the head. "There there, Aiko, I'm sure Daisuke was only teasing you. Isn't that right, Daisuke?"
Daisuke was quick to agree. "Er, um, y-yeah, I was just teasing you, Aiko. No need to be a baby about it," he stated pointedly, but she had forgotten he was even in the room.
"What a cute kitty!" the girl exclaimed, lifting Matamune off the ground. "Where did you get him, Hao?"
Daisuke stepped forward, smacking her in the back of the head, both to remind her of his presence and to reprimand her. "Aiko! How many times do you have to be told to call him 'dad?' He's the one who took us in, so you could at least show him a little respect, right dad?"
Hao brought his hand to his chin. "Well, I did technically adopt you guys..." he mused, before raising his hands alarmingly. "But no, no, you don't have to call me 'dad.' I'm far too young to be a father! Plus, I've taken in people who are older than me, and they don't call me their father. That would just be strange. My only rule was to change your last name to 'Asakura,' you know that." He threw his hands in the air, mocking an exasperated shrug. "A man has to start a family some way."
With Matamune tightly clutched to her chest, Aiko triumphantly stuck her tongue out at Daisuke, causing him to scowl back at her.
Daisuke perked up. "Oh, that's right. You're going to be here for tomorrow's lesson, right da- er, Hao?"
The Onmyoji chuckled. "Hey, I may be busy often and sleep in from time to time, but a promise is a promise; training twice a week."
The boy pumped his fist in the air. "Alright! I'll show you how much better I am, Aiko!" he excitedly shouted, dashing out the door.
Hao held his hand up. "I don't train you so that you can-" he had attempted to say, but Daisuke was long gone. He sighed. "Ah. Oh well..." He decided to focus his attention on the girl instead. Smiling at her, he inquired "Aiko, would you mind releasing my friend?"
She stared at him in puzzlement for a moment before realizing he was speaking of the feline still crushed against her. Pouting, she placed the cat down, which made a beeline behind his master's legs.
The Onmyoji chuckled. "Thank you. Oh, would you mind telling Taiki and Jiro to get the preparations ready? I suppose I need to collect my pay for last night's assignment."
Aiko brightened. "Sure thing, Hao!" she shouted, rushing out the door.
Hao smiled. "Such energy. What a wondrous thing."
Stepping over to his wardrobe, he began selecting his Onmyoji clothing selected for the day, piece by piece. Having gathered the necessary layers, he stepped behind his elaborately painted byobu, a gift given to him for his services, decorated with the scenes of the foot of a mountain. A stream started midway from the leftmost panel and flowed across the bottom of the next three. A cherry tree stood on the right bank, in full bloom. A multicolored bird was nestled in the tree's branches while a rabbit feasted on the grass on the opposite bank. The fifth and rightmost panel was decorated with the gray boulders of the mountain.
Satisfied with his dress, the priest stepped out to face the world, his feline companion following closely behind.
As he walked out onto his veranda, he gazed around his estate's courtyard, Matamune rubbing around his legs. At it's center, he could see Haruki, Katsuro, and Megumi, three others he had taken in to join his "family," were all meditating. Focusing on their Shaman training, he assumed. In the far left corner, he could hear the beating and banging of the worker he had hired to build additions to his mansion. Times were hard, and the priest did what he could to lessen the burden the people had to suffer. Taking some of them in and giving others a job was the least he could do.
Taking a left turn, he nearly ran into a elderly man, appearing to be at least in his seventies, nearly knocking the cane out of his hand.
"Oh, Master Hao, my apologies!" the old man stammered, regaining his balance.
"No, Shinobu, it's fine. It was my fault for not watching where I was going, not yours," the priest said with a bow. He continued with small talk, just to engage in pleasantries. "I assume you will participate in this tomorrows's training?"
"Ahaha, of course I will," Shinobu chuckled. "I'm interested to see what comes next now that I understand hyoui-gattai."
Hao smiled. "Oh, you certainly will enjoy it, I promise that." He looked around. "Ah, and make sure you remind all the others to attend." Shinobu nodded.
Across the courtyard, he noticed Jiro waving to him, showing that preparations were complete and the cart was ready to depart. Excusing himself from the old man, he paced over towards his guard. Suddenly realizing his error, he half-turned to face his veranda. Matamune was patiently sitting at its edge, lazily staring at the priest.
"Ah, do you wish to stay, Matamune?"
The cat's ears perked up and he immediately dashed towards his friend.
Having taken the majority of the day to reach the neighboring region, the sun was setting as the cart came to a halt in front of the gates of the local lord's castle. Hao silently stepped out of the cart, Matamune following suit. Feeling the chill of the autumn air, the Onmyoji drew his pure white kariginu closer around his neck.
The three gate guards knew who their guest was and made haste in opening the gate for him. "We've been expecting you, Lord Onmyoji. Please, enter."
Hao obliged them, stepping over the threshold, his two guards and feline entourage not far behind. Leaving two to remain at the gate, the third guard tasked himself with leading the group through the courtyard up to the main door and to serve as an announcer of their arrival.
"Ah, Lord Abe, your guest, the Lord Onmyoji, Hao Asakura has arrived."
A muffled "Send him in!" was somewhat heard through the large door.
The lord eyed the guard disapprovingly when it was revealed the priest had a group with him. He was expecting only one guest, not three. Lord Abe first glanced at the priest, then to the chair set out for him. "Do sit down."
Abe was sitting behind a rather large wooden desk. He appeared to be calculating his finances. The lord was quite obviously very wealthy, as he had four samurai guards in his employ, who were usually in the service of daimyo. Two of them stood to each side of the desk.
Hao took the offered seat as the lord continued. "Now then, about your payment..."
"Yes, a handsome reward!" Taiki said, a little louder than intended. He quickly covered his mouth upon realizing how vocal he had been.
The ensuing silence allowed for the detection of a seemingly humming sound. Leaning forward, Abe peered over his desk. Slinking around the priest's feet, Matamune was eliciting a purr as he marked his territory: the lower half of Hao's legs.
Abe cleared his throat more audibly than necessary and settled back in his seat. "As I was trying to say, about your payment... For your services, I'd like to reward you with five koku."
"Five koku?" both Jiro and Taiki exclaimed in unison. "That's not enough to feed half the people at Lord Hao's estate! What happened to his 'handsome' reward?"
The samurai immediately placed their hands on the hilts of their swords, slightly drawing them out of their sheathes. Seeing this, Hao's two guardians returned the gesture. Matamune hissed, his yellowed fur bristling. Lord Abe eyed the Onmyoji coldly, leaving the fate of the situation up to him.
Hao presented his trademark smile. Rising from his seat, the priest held his hands towards Jiro and Taiki, a nonverbal gesture for them to stay their weapons. Following a few more tense moments, they complied. The samurai eventually did the same, though remaining wary.
"I humbly accept my payment. I sincerely thank you, Lord Abe," the priest said with a bow.
"Be glad that I'm paying you anything," Abe's voice resounded in his head, a side effect of his reishi ability. "It's always frauds like you who expect the most. Try actually contributing to society instead of running around with your fake 'magic' hocus pocus."
The Onmyoji continued to smile at the lord.
"But Lord Hao!" his two guards protested. "That's not even enough to feed half of the family!"
The priest turned to the two of them. "That's why I'm always busy," he said pleasantly. "Plus, we have enough to get by and then some," he added.
Returning to Abe, he bowed to the lord. "I thank you for your hospitality, Lord Abe, but I must be on my way. If you are ever in need of my services again, please, do not hesitate to call. I'll come running."
"Oh, I'll certainly keep that in mind, Sir Onmyoji. Do have a safe trip," the noble replied, feigning niceties.
"Of course you'd want to come back, expecting more pay. No, I don't think I'll need the services of any more fakes."
Turning to walk out the door, Jiro and Taiki behind him, Hao's smile faded.
Ducking to avoid knocking off his eboshi, Hao stepped into his courtyard. The inn he had spent the night at was a little less than accommodating, so he had caught up on his sleep during the ride home.
Not a second had he entered his courtyard before Daisuke and Aiko were upon him.
"HAAAOOO!" they shouted as they dove into his arms. "We thought you were never going to show up!"
"But, I was only gone for the night," he said, perplexed. "Plus, it's still morning."
"We know, but we've been waiting forever to train!"
The priest smiled. "I know, I know. Go and get Shinobu and help him inform everyone. We'll begin training at noon."
"Alright, we will, but you'd better not slack off and forget!" they called over their shoulders.
He sulked a little. "When have I ever let you down...?" he mused to no one. Matamune rammed his head against Hao's right leg. Reaching down and sliding his hands under the feline's forelegs, the Onmyoji lifted his friend to face him. "Well, at least you still have faith in me, right?" The cat mewed happily.
Content with the reply, the priest paced back to his cart, where his escorts were struggling with unloading Hao's "handsome reward."
"Oh, um, Jiro, Taiki, could you to reload those two koku?" They sighed, causing him to grin. "Well, it's just that I have something else that I wish to use them for." The two guards exchanged confused looks, but complied with their lord's wishes.
Hao walked over to the ox and, taking it by the reins, coaxed it into following him. "Now then, would you two care to come along?" They both shrugged and fell in behind the cart.
The cart was led around the right corner of the estate before coming to a halt. The seven workers Hao had hired to add to his mansion were hard at work on the outer wall. Seeing the lord of the building standing before them, they abruptly stopped, looking bewildered.
The Onmyoji gave them a broad smile and waved. "Hello, gentlemen. I certainly appreciate the hard work you've been doing to this place. However, I have this problem, you see." He gestured over at his cart, feigning an uninterested face. "For a recent job I received this payment of seven koku but, well, I simply can't eat that much." Therefore, I'd like to give it to you" Their faces lit up. It was only enough for a single person for a year, but still, divided amongst their family, it would still last a while.
Taiki and Jiro hurried up to Hao. "But sir," they whispered, "you were only paid with five koku."
Seeing the workers growing apprehensive at the three men whispering amongst themselves, Hao smiled. "Ah, so you accidentally unloaded two koku before I stopped you, eh, Jiro?" he said, loud enough for the workers to hear. He then gave an exaggerated shrug. "Well then, I suppose you'll just have to fetch them from storage, hm?" He turned back to the guards and winked.
The two caught on immediately. "Um, y-yes, that's right. We apologize, Lord Hao."
Continuing the charade, Hao chuckled. "Oh, it's fine. Just make sure that you get them out of the storehouse. For now, just write down these hard working men's addresses so you'll know where to deliver their payment."
As Taiki and Jiro went about writing down addresses, the priest took the opportunity to slink back to his courtyard.
Before him sat the adopted members of his family in the courtyard's garden. In the very front were Daisuke, Aiko, Haruki, Katsuro, and Megumi, all eagerly awaiting the day's lessons. Shinobu was resting against a large rock placed in the garden as, if he were to sit down, he always had trouble getting back up, old age not being a friend of his.
With the training session about to begin, Matamune found a nearby rock to curl up on, deciding to take a nap for the time being.
"Alright then," Hao stated, "first, let's see how you've improved with the ko-Oni strike. You can sit this part out, Shinobu."
Daisuke and Aiko were the first to step up. Daisuke focused his furyoku on a few fallen leaves while Aiko decided to use stones as her medium. A translucent white energy emerged from the ground around both the leaves and stones, engulfing them in the process. The energy took a spherical shape, with pointed protrusions serving as limbs and ears. The creation of the mini shikigami was complete.
When all was said and done, Aiko had managed to create two shikigami opposed to Daisuke's five.
"See, Aiko, I told you I could do better than you!" Daisuke teased.
A numerous amount of the same shikigami as his, at least one hundred, surrounded Daisuke. As he looked around, he noticed Hao's outstretched hand, controlling the creatures.
"It doesn't pay to be arrogant, Daisuke. Pride can blind you to realizing your true potential. Plus, whether you like it or not, there will always be someone more powerful than you." The Onmyoji released his focus, banishing the shikigami he had created. "That's all I wanted to point out to you."
As he looked around, he saw the varying numbers of shikigami the members of his family had summoned. He was impressed with the results. "Now we're going to do a little sparring. I want the first two rows and the last two rows to pair up. Practice battling your shikigami while I show something to Shinobu." The front row of Daisuke, Aiko, Katsuro, Megumi, and Haruki were paired with the row behind them, consisiting of Asuka, Gorou, Kiku, Ryota, and Takeshi.
With everyone arranged into their sparring groups, Hao turned to Shinobu. "So, ready for the next step?"
The old man hobbled forward. "Haha, of course, Yamato and I are ready for anything." As the words were said, the spirit of a warrior wearing light armor and bearing a straight sword, appeared behind Shinobu. Finding his balance, Shinobu held up his cane and pulled it apart to reveal a straight sword hidden inside of it.
Hao nodded. "Good. Now, you know that when using hyoui-gattai, you enter somewhat of a trance that allows your companion spirit to exhibit his or her skills that they had when living. However, with the next phase there are a few options. You can either allow the spirit full control, dominate the spirit, or attempt to sync with the spirit. I'm going to teach you the sync method, as the other two are quite limiting. Now, initiate hyoui-gattai."
Shinobu did as he was told. Focusing his furyoku, Yamato formed into a blue sphere in the man's hand. The sphere bore some of Yamato's characteristics, such as his face and short hair.
"Alright, when you implant Yamato into your sword," Hao continued, "use your furyoku to access his memories, and use them to bring him to the physical world."
Shinobu concentrated as hard as he could, pushing the sphere into the blade of his weapon. It resulted in the sword emitting a faint glow, the impression given off by a hyoui-gattai.
"No, that's not quite it. You didn't sync with him, did you?"
The old man shook his head. "I thought I had at first, but I lost it."
The Onmyoji nodded, while taking a quick glance at the sparring matches, to make sure they hadn't gotten out of hand. "It's fine. You just learned something new, so you can't be expected to do perfectly on your first try." Being able to remember his previous form, Yamato reappeared beside Shinobu. No worries, so try again," Hao told them.
Shinobu prepared his hyoui-gattai once more, placing it in his sword. As he did so, visions of a battle between two armies flashed in his mind. He focused on these visions, knowing that they were Yamato's memories, and metally placed himself in his spirit's shoes.
With the action complete, some of Yamato's features had implanted themselves over the old man's body. His sword was once again aglow with energy, while his arms now bore glowing arm guards and on his chest was Yamato's wooden chest plate. On his feet were Yamato's boots, allowing the Shinobu to stand with perfect balance, as if he were a younger man.
Hao clapped his hands together. "Very good! What you now see is known as an over soul. It implements the shaman's furyoku and is far superior to the use of only hyoui-gattai." His eyes perked. "Ah, and there are other forms of an over soul. This is just the first step. However, additional training will be required to reach the next levels, which I will explain in a moment." The Onmyoji grinned. "You catch on quickly, Shinobu."
The old man chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. "Well, if only I had known this about fifty years ago...heheh."
Hao chuckled as well. "Better late than never, no?"
"Oh, most definitely."
The priest turned, focusing his energy on his other "students." Most of them had stopped, completely exasperated from the strain of the training. Only Daisuke and Aiko remained at the center of the group, Daisuke having three shikigami at his disposal and Aiko with only one.
"Told ya I was good at this!" Daisuke taunted playfully without teasing, Hao's lesson still echoing in his head.
"Don't count me out just yet!" Aiko countered. "I'm trying something new!"
"Ha, talk isn't going to settle it, so let's do this!" Daisuke exclaimed, sending his shikigami in for the attack. Hao watched attentively.
Aiko's single spirit moved in quickly, tearing the leaf out of Daisuke's middle shikigami. As his other two turned to face it, Aiko's shikigami dealt them the same blow. Daisuke was dumbfounded and attempted to conjure up more spirits, but his energy was spent and he sank to the ground. Aiko followed suit, unable to hold up the focus needed to keep the shikigami intact. Hao clapped his hands.
Daisuke was astounded. "Hao, what happened. I had more than she did!"
The Onmyoji smiled. "Well, you had dispersed your energy out among the three. Aiko, however, focused her energy into a single shikigami. While both methods are very useful, in your weakened state, you only had numbers on your side, which can easily be defeated with one powerful force." Daisuke sat in silence.
"Now," the priest announced, "the next step in your training. This step will be very difficult. You see, when a shaman has a near death experience and recovers, his or her furyoku will increase exponentially. Granted, I'm not telling you to go out and try to live through a suicide attempt. I won't condone that and will in fact disown you if you do try it. No, there are other methods to reaching this state. One way this can be gained through meditation to induce a trance. Another way is to travel through the Yomi Cave, a place that I found during my own training. It is a place which robs you of all your senses, leaving in a deathlike state. It also takes seven days to pass through, contributing to the feeling of death. I intend to send the strongest of you there while the others remain here to meditate until they are strong enough to take the challenge."
Apprehensive murmurs passed through the group as they discussed their options.
"That makes for the end of today's training session. It's only going to get harder from here on." Still solemn, the Onmyoji turned to walk into his mansion before seemingly realizing he had forgotten something. "Oh, and good job. I'm very proud of all of you," he said over his shoulder.
Matamune, having woken up a few minutes before the session ended, got up to chase after his friend.
a/n: Not much action in this chapter since I wanted to flesh out the beginnings of the Asakura family. I'll make up for that in the next chapter, though.