"Shizuka-kun."
Doumeki paused as he rubbed a towel over his wet hair. He had just gotten out of the bath and put a robe on to walk back to his bedroom and dress. It was still very early in the morning and the sun was barely up yet over the horizon. A little surprisingly his grandfather was suddenly standing at the door to the bathroom looking like he'd already been up for hours.
"Grandfather?"
"We are going to deal with the spirit today. You and Kimihiro-kun should get prepared."
His stomach clenched tightly with stress. While he had all the confidence in the world in his grandfather there was always a chance something could go wrong. He nodded his head once stiffly. "We will."
Haruka smiled thinly and clasped Doumeki's shoulder. "Don't worry. It will be difficult, but I don't think Ame-Warashi-san would have tasked me with purifying the hydrangea bush if she felt this was a doomed mission."
"His parents had magic, and we've learned they were very powerful, but even they died from this spirit. Why will it be any different for us?"
"They were strong, true, but they were still very young, and they were not exorcists. You and I both have an advantage because of that."
Doumeki nodded again, slightly more reassured. "I'll go get Kimihiro."
"Meet me near the back of the temple grounds by the small hokura shrine as soon as you both eat breakfast."
"We will."
Once Haruka left Doumeki shut the light off in the bathroom and went to his bedroom.
As he expected, the other boy was still fast asleep on the futon. He did not usually wake up naturally until the sun had been up for an hour at least. The top of his head was visible down to just below his eyes, the rest of his face and body hidden by blankets. One arm was extended passed the edge of the futon and hovered just over the floor. His glasses were up on a table just out of reach.
If they needed to prepare Doumeki would take no chances with his safety. Quietly he closed the door. As he walked closer he dropped the towel that was still in his hand on the floor behind him. His robe followed after the towel. He knelt down beside the futon and carefully pulled down the blanket that covered part of Watanuki's face. He disliked waking the other up so early but it couldn't be helped. He ran his fingers through soft black hair. "Kimihiro."
Watanuki mumbled something unintelligible and tried to shuffle further down into the blanket.
Doumeki smirked a little and pulled the coverings fully away.
"Nnnn... Shizuka!" Watanuki blinked his eyes open and squinted up at him. He saw only a blurry, faintly annoying face staring down at him. "What?"
"It's time to wake up."
The teenager tried to roll over and grab the missing blanket. "Ten more minutes, your stomach should be able to wait that long." Doumeki climbed on top of him and pinned him down, causing the reach for the blanket suddenly impossible. "Just what are you doing so early in the mor-"
Watanuki's question died on his lips as Doumeki kissed him urgently. Large hands slipped under his neck and cradled his head up slightly and hips pushed demandingly against his groin. He wanted to protest that it was too early to worry about this yet, and it wasn't like they could go anywhere so couldn't this wait until a little later? Sure he understood desire by now but this almost felt like necessity sex...
It was strange to realize in his head that there was a difference between actual lust and being intimate because they had to. Both felt good, really good like always, but the emotions that drummed through his blood were a little different. He was almost mortified to have identified multiple kinds of sex. That just not something he would have ever done before.
Doumeki sucked on two of his fingers quickly before pushing them inside his partner's entrance. Not even much foreplay this time, either. That was odd. Doumeki was usually really greedy with the amount of kisses that he wanted.
Watanuki gasped at the intrusion and trembled when those fingers brushed over that particular spot inside. "Shizuka!" A tongue ran along his pale neck and teeth nibbled gently at the pulsing artery. "Shizuka," he gasped and wrapped his legs around Doumeki's waist. "What's wrong?" Everything felt too urgent, too hard and too fast and there was something definitely going on.
"Nothing," Doumeki whispered in his ear before kissing him again and quieting any other questions. Don't ask that now, not now...just wait till we're finished. Watanuki sucked in a lung full of air when his partner pressed against his entrance and slipped inside.
Doumeki managed to keep Watanuki's questions quiet until well after they finished. It was better for the boy to enjoy morning as much as he could before he was told what was to follow.
. . . . . . . .
"This is a really, really bad idea!" Watanuki asserted loudly.
"Nonsense," Haruka smiled as he poured salt on the ground. "I've worked all the kinks out of this plan. Everything will be fine."
"But-!" The teenager continued. "You plan on summoning that... that thing here? In the temple grounds! It's the only place I'm safe!"
"Which is precisely why we create a summoning circle here. The temple will offer the most protection for you while allowing us to kill the spirit quickly, without interference from other spirits that might be outside."
He couldn't help but shuffle his weight from one foot to the other in nervous agitation. Haruka was currently pouring a ring of purified salt around him, large enough to encase him and allow him to move but not enough to lay down inside of it without breaking the circle. "I've used more salt than anyone has a right to dealing with spirits in my life. This isn't enough to stop a boss from getting to me!"
"You've not used my salt," Haruka informed him. "Also, you have Mugestu with you, and his fox fire will help protect you should the spirit get too close."
"But-!"
"Stop complaining," Doumeki commented from behind his grandfather. He was working on getting the string attached to his bow. "You want this dealt with, don't you?"
"Of course I do!" He yelled in reflex. Mugestu squeaked noisily around his neck and tickled at his cheek. "I don't want anyone hurt either, though..."
"Have some faith, Kimihiro-kun," Haruka insisted.
The teenager blushed and swallowed his complaint. "Just... be careful?"
"Always," the old man chirped. He stood up once the circle was complete and wiped his hands against each other to clean them of the excess salt. "Now, keep him in this circle, Mugetsu. We're counting on you to not let Kimihiro-kun come to harm."
The pipe-fox squealed and wound itself around the boy's neck twice before squeaking its response at the priest.
"Very good. Shizuka-kun, please take your place next to the hokura shrine."
"Got it." Doumeki hefted his bow over his shoulder and walked a few feet away.
"This is still a really bad idea!" Watanuki fretted.
Haruka picked up his own bow and a quiver of arrows from the ground and slung them over his back. "Remember my signal, Shizuka-kun. We need to weaken it first, then use the sword to remove the arms."
"I'm ready."
"I'm not!" Watanuki wailed. Mugetsu squeaked again.
Haruka walked around a large circle that had been drawn in the dirt. There were symbols written inside of it, all of which meant nothing to the two teenagers. The characters were archaic and impossible to discern their meaning. The priest readied his bow and pulled the string back, a brightly shining spirit arrow faithfully docked and ready. Doumeki mimicked his grandfather and readied an arrow. "All right, Kimihiro-kun. Repeat after me: Old One, you are summoned in this circle."
Watanuki's face paled, his hands fists in his hair. "Are you sure?" Haruka merely nodded at him. "Er.. argh... Fine! Old One, you are summoned in this circle."
The diagram drawn in the dirt flared to life with light and a rush of wind. Watanuki shrunk to his knees and shielded his face as dust flew up and into his eyes. There was a squeal of noise, a shriek of triumph and frightful thuds as heavy long tentacle arms slammed against the ground and pushed against the barrier of the summoning circle. The noise was almost deafening.
The creature was rocked by a heavy blow as Haruka's first arrow struck home. Just as it started to move in the direction the hit pushed it in Doumeki's arrow hit it from the other side and rocked the spirit back again. The creature screamed as it was bombarded on both sides by powerful spirit arrows. Its several arms danced wildly as it looked for escape.
Watanuki's eyes watered from the debris in the air but managed to get a good look at the thing. He had not actually seen the spirit yet. The first time the creature had shielded its presence from him in order to get closer and the second time he was passed out in the back of the Doumeki family car. Akane was right, it was awful looking.
A crack appeared in the barrier surrounding the creature as it continued to beat against it. Watanuki felt his heart beat in his throat.
"The barrier is starting to break down!" Haruka called out to his grandson. "Get ready!"
"Do it!" Doumeki yelled back.
They must have discussed the plan prior because Watanuki had no idea what they were talking about. "What? No, don't do something rash! Keep it in that circle thing!"
Haruka changed the angle on his bow slightly and did something with his hand. While neither could quite see what he did the result was three spirit arrows chirping loudly like lightning in his grasp. This hit was going to be a big blow.
"Get back!" Haruka narrowed his eyes on his target.
Doumeki backed up and continued to fire a volley of shots. "Fire!"
The priest released his arrows. Watanuki might have screamed during the aftershock, but he wasn't sure. If he had he was unable to hear himself in the maelstrom that followed. The shattering of the circular barrier was akin to an explosion of glass, shards of magic splintering and crumbling to the ground. The creature screamed angrily and lashed out with its newly freed legs in search of its attackers.
Doumeki fired more arrows but lost sight of them as they disappeared in the swirling mass of magic and wind and legs.
One of the spirit's legs brushed up against Watanuki's ring of salt. The teenager covered his head completely and felt the reverberations around him as the barrier held.
"Grandfather!" He heard Doumeki yell. Watanuki looked up and managed to catch a glimpse of a body lying on the ground somewhere on the other side.
"Keep firing!" The other man managed to bellow back.
Now that it seemed Haruka was down and his painful arrows was of no more concern the spirit moved closer to Watanuki and tried to break the circle of salt. Its huge lumbering form filled his vision and a putrid smell invaded his nose. "Shizuka!" Watanuki yelled frantically. He felt pitifully exposed and trapped all at the same time.
Mugetsu unwound itself from around the young man's neck and squeaked indignantly at the creature trying to attack them.
A flash of light as the creature fully left his neck and suddenly the little pipe fox spirit was a fully grown fox of a respectable size. Nine tails twitched angrily and claws longer than talons scraped menacingly against the ground. The fox spirit was a thing of beauty, sleek white fur and graceful body ready to pounce.
Mugetsu opened its mouth and a gold colored fire spilled forth. The attacking spirit backed away instantly from the heat. The pipe fox leaped over the ring of salt and cleanly sliced away one of the creature's many arms.
Something in the air shifted. Watanuki didn't know what it was, but something felt different after that arm came off. It seemed like something they were supposed to do, and it felt completely right.
Doumeki tossed aside his bow and drew the sword that was strapped to his waist. He was glad that his leg was completely healed because he found he needed to be quick on his feet chasing after each leg while avoiding the many others. Li's sword sang with power in his hands and lusted after the blood of the spirit.
Doumeki wondered if spirits had their own kind of blood. Perhaps they bled just pure energy? It was an interesting thought. He was about to find out. The sword sliced through the air and pushed through one of the arms like it was hot butter. The appendage dropped to the ground and faded away in a wave of liquid stench.
Mugetsu made a noise from deep in its throat, a call that was only possible in its larger form. Watanuki thought it sounded something like the recordings of the soulful calls of whales that lived deep in the oceans. The noise captured the spirit's divided attention and allowed another arm to be cut from its trembling, massive body.
It felt like it must have taken hours, but eventually Mugetsu and Doumeki managed to cleave the old spirit of all of its appendages. Doumeki lifted the sword in his hand and dove in for the final strike. His grandfather had explained how this creature needed to die and it certainly wasn't easy. The rain spirit had been right in that it would not have been enough to just use Li's sword – Mugetsu was far better at this with his fire and sharp claws. The fox spirit could move faster than any human.
The old spirit shrieked in rage when Doumeki buried the sword into its side and pulled, opening a huge gash in the main body. A black and oily substance spilled forth and frothed like burned coffee on the ground.
Haruka managed to push himself upright and retake his bow. He probably should have backed up himself, considering he was close enough to get knocked down and twist his ankle. He pulled a single arrow out of his quiver and rolled a very special paper ward around the wood shaft. Carefully balancing himself he aimed for the open wound his grandson created and released.
The projectile buried itself in the old spirit's body and brought the ward to the heart of it. Tempest winds whipped around them and tore are their clothing. The surface of the spirit's body rippled like a rip current and shrunk into itself, quite literally in the works of imploding.
Further and further the body shrunk in upon itself, collapsing and squeezing every last drop of the vile substance it had for blood. When the noise suddenly stopped Watanuki's ears kept ringing, a strange tense silence hanging over them.
One small, tiny piece of black energy buzzed angrily in the center of the broken summoning circle. Doumeki stood motionless and stiff, not willing to relax and not sure what to do, because his grandfather had not mentioned this being the result.
Mugetsu leaped up like he was made of air and snapped his jaws over the ball of energy. The fox spirit landed on the ground and swallowed the ball neatly, licking its jaws and chirping happily in its strange, deep sounding voice.
Doumeki dropped the sword and rushed to Watanuki's side. He slid to his knees and pulled the boy close, kissing him and checking him over for any damage. "Are you okay?" He managed to ask between kisses.
"Fine," Watanuki pulled away and gasped, only for Doumeki's hand to cup his head and pull him back again. "Mhmmf – I'm fine, fine!" He pushed away. "But Haruka-san!"
Haruka smiled. This was the first time the boys had ever kissed in front of anyone. He reflected on the knowledge that it was also the first time Shizuka was ever more concerned about the welfare of someone else above his grandfather. It was pleasant realizing that his grandson was nearly grown now and had found someone so special.
The boys got up and ran over to him. "Haruka-san!" Watanuki worried. "Are you all right?"
"Fine, Kimihiro-kun. I only twisted my ankle." Mugetsu pushed itself against the priest's side and cooed at him.
Doumeki knelt down and offered his hand. "I'll help you into the house."
"So, it's gone now? Am I safe to go outside?" Watanuki asked.
Haruka grunted as some weight was accidentally placed on his foot and allowed himself to lean against Doumeki. "Yes, it's gone, and you should be safe to leave. You'll need to go out, in fact. I won't be able to make it to the hydrangea bush like this. You and Shizuka will need to take care of it."
"What? How do we do that?"
"We'll worry about that in just a bit. At the moment, we should rest and get food."
"Huh, I am really hungry," Doumeki realized. Famished, in fact. Odd, as he had just eaten not very long ago. "I want fried chicken and potato salad."
"Ooh, good suggestion," Haruka agreed as they limped along to the house. "Exorcising spirits works up a real appetite."
"Fried chicken? Do you know how long that takes! And potato salad, too! I'll be in the kitchen for hours!"
"Then best make a cake while you're at it," Doumeki added helpfully. "I want chocolate."
"With strawberries on top," Haruka supplied helpfully.
"Aargh!" Watanuki despaired.