Chapter 16: A Mother's Strength, a Father's Will
"What's the meaning of this? What's the Celestial doing here?!" Miko inquired bluntly to the oni as Tenshi is seen slowly trying to push her body out of the rubble, blood trickling from her forehead down her face. Suika raised her brows and said "If you want to know you'd better patch her up. Might've gone a lot too rough on her, might've not…Depends on your point of view."
Byakuren swiped an arm out towards the Celestial and said "Ichirin, hurry!" while staying focused on the oni. Ichirin heeded the urgent tone and rushed over to Tenshi, using Buddhist magic infused into her rings to begin the healing process. Suika nodded her head approvingly and said "Good, good, you got right on that!" and then looked to the group with a shrug and tilt of her head.
"I mean, the Celestial's a brat, but I wouldn't have punched her over here if I could've just asked her to come. Look, it's unfortunate but-"
"D-Damn…oni…!" Suika stopped when Tenshi had gotten enough strength back to prop her body up, the first thing she did being to burst out in anger "Y-You helped that witch…Y-You let her take Kokoro!" Those words brought the worst possible feelings down upon the Taoists and Buddhists, with Miko's face slowly paling while Byakuren left her mouth agape and her arms quivered as she slowly clenched her fists.
The most dreadful scenario had come to pass, and out of the group only Tenshi had bore witness to the events to relay the information. Suika held a hand beside her face and commented "Hey if it makes you feel any better Celestial, at least Kokoro's powers helped quell the Tengu-Underground War before it went anywhere."
"Don't you dare try to pass this off lightly…! You probably set up the war in the first place, all to deliver Kokoro to that witch!" Tenshi's attitude got Suika to stomp the ground with her right foot. The ground cracked around the base of her body, and the display of strength quieted Tenshi for a moment. The oni then looked up with eyes looking coy.
"Now seriously, lets not make assumptions. I was just asked to hold you guys off for a bit. Well…and one other thing, but that all depends on what your next move is." Suika gripped a hand around a fist and cracked the knuckles with an echo.
Miko stepped out from beside Suika with furious eyes that could pierce any soul. With hand gripped tight on her sword Miko slowly pulled it forth and sunlight lashed out wildly. As the light added to her ferocity she said "By decree of the Crown Princee, you shall take us to Kokoro right NOW!" Suika's expression just got wilder, her instincts as an oni bursting forth as she cracked the other knuckles and said "As expected, you're willing to fight!"
She then spun her arms around and lashed the chains against the ground to kick up dust before smashing her fists together and sending out a shockwave that nearly blew down the trees behind her. Miko paused for a moment, realizing something important "…Of course, as an oni, you desire to fight."
"Duh! And hey, I'll even throw in a good deal for you too…." Suika swung a pointer finger towards Byakuren and Miko, telling them earnestly "If just one of you fights and defeats me, I'll open the way to Mayohiga so you can try and get Kokoro back."
Byakuren and Miko gave a skeptical glance, forcing the oni to remind them "Hey, onis don't lie." Suika held her arms against her chest as Miko was ready to finish drawing her sword. However, Byakuren held her arm out and firmly said "I'll handle this." Her followers reacted with a unified gasp.
"M-Miss Hijiri!" Kyouko proclaimed, while Suika let out an impressed whistle between her fangs while planting her knuckles against her hips. Byakuren turned to her, pulling some prayers beads from a pocket and holding them below her chin. Her mind tried to delve into serenity even as Suika spoke to her "Fighting a priest is no different than fighting a shrine maiden. If you're expecting me to hold back…"
After her solemn prayer, Byakuren put the beads around her neck and looked at the oni with an absolutely calm expression "I hope you don't. I WILL rescue our daughter." She then took a couple steps towards her opponent, the tension rising around the area as the Buddhists and Taoists moved back at Miko's gesture. Miko looked towards Byakuren and remarked "I do not wish to cast doubt but…You have to be wary of this oni in particular."
Without looking back, Byakuren nodded and then moved again until she was only a foot away from the oni. Their glares met, Byakuren's calm and Suika's merry, and the oni said to her "Truth be told, I heard you're pretty strong. That you made that one vampire cry to her mommy." Byakuren didn't say anything, her presence filled with enough determination to make Suika grin.
"Well…alright then." The oni dug her toenails into the ground and pulled her right fist back. Byakuren spread her legs a little and pulled her own fist back, then after a slight pause both threw their punches at each other. When they collided the force of their blows lashed out as shockwaves of pressurized air as rough as storm gales. A couple trees had their trunks split wide open and they fell down, with Suika leaping back out to grab one tree at the base.
It's effortlessly swung like a bat and Byakuren swings the side of her arm against the tree to break it apart, but not without her skin reddening from roughness. The splinters fly out before her eyes, making it hard to react as the oni bounced forth after throwing the trunk across the ground. Suika swung her fists twice and hit Byakuren's crossed arms, pushing her back each time. The oni is able to land right away and trip the priest with a hard kick to the back of her legs.
Byakuren's eyes widened as her body was thrown up, halting her counterattack and allowing the oni to grab her by the legs. With a twist of the body the oni is able to throw her towards the forest. Byakuren crashed through two trees with the back of her dress torn, but she's able to clap her hands and use magic to increase her mass so she dropped to the ground immediately. Her feet dirtied by the tracts she dug into the ground, Byakuren nevertheless had firm footing when Suika came charging at her with horns held down.
With some concentration Byakuren used another spell to make her eyes more perceptive, allowing her to grab Suika's horns as they were inches away from her body. This plan couldn't deal with the oni's strength even as Byakuren pushed forth with all her might, and her legs were dragged back deeper into the ground which in turn compromised her position. It was only when her back was against another tree that the priest stiffened her legs and made her move.
Smashing her head against the tree as she bent back was a light cost as it allowed her to pull her arms up and throw Suika into the air, her body blowing apart the leaves of the canopy and eventually entering the clouds. Byakuren looked down, given a moment to rest as she rubbed the dirt and blood mixed on her legs. Her touch started to heal the wounds when she was disrupted by a massive shadow looming above.
Byakuren looked up to a giant foot coming towards her, as Suika has made herself thirty feet tall. With little time to spare Byakuren turned and punched the tree down, leaping underneath it's falling form and sprinting as fast as she could through the forest. She just barely made it away from the impact zone as Suika turned the area around her foot into a mushy crater of dirt and splinters. Birds fluttered off in droves while Suika swerved her titanic head around and echoed playfully "Where are you?! I wouldn't want to break down the forest to find ya!"
She'd get her answer when a thick tree flies out of the forest going for her knee. Suika turns her knee into mist without disrupting the balance, and with knuckles pressed against her hips she said "Oh come on that was obvious" before finding her balance being disrupted from behind as something struck her there. She began to fall forward, but with a grin she looked back and saw Byakuren in mid-air with fist held out.
"Ah, you rode the tree, not bad!" Suika let out that one last echoing remark before shrinking herself down and landing at the back edge of the crater. Byakuren stood in the center of the crater with some blood trickling down the side of her face, and with a quiet aura around her she held her hands before her chest and stared up at Suika.
"You've gotten a couple good blows in so far, not bad!" The oni grabbed her right shoulder and swung the arm around, shuffling a foot back and forth to dig herself in place.
"Now I'll have a little more fun with this!" The ground rumbled on both sides of Byakuren's body, and two tiny Suikas leaped out and punched her in the face hard enough to make her turn. She spins a couple times while the real Suika digs her hands into the ground and heaves at least ten feet of the crater's underground straight into the sky. Byakuren collapsed onto her back and was stuck there despite her attempts to free herself.
Only when the mass falls is she able to free herself, but a giant Suika was ready with her right fist burning at the chains to shatter the mass into tiny chunks. The sky burned with chunks of rock large and small as Suika shrunk down and let them hit her to little effect. Byakuren fell to her feet with parts of her dress burned off, her skin singed, and bruises across her arms. Suika suddenly pulled out her purple gourd and drank some sake from it.
"You've given me a good fight so far, I'm impressed! But…" Swiping the gourd away from her slobbering face, Suika's cheeks blushed and she stood amongst the burning rocks drenched in shadows that her and the smirk she gave look especially beastly. Byakuren looked at her while her body felt ready to collapse, seeing the oni as she should've been the whole time. Finally, Suika finished "You're just one flick away from falling like a domino!"
The oni tossed aside her gourd aside and swung her fist back around, gritting her fangs and saying "Hey, don't feel bad! You're strong, just not oni strong! If it makes you feel any better though, the menreiki will be alright." She then launched herself at Byakuren, who had a tired yet unflinching gaze as the punch was thrown. Suika, expecting an easy victory, was surprised when her punched was caught in the priest's grasp, with her using her other hand as support while holding her ground.
"Hey, you still got the will to fight!" Suika grinned confidently. Byakuren's eyes were obscured by her hair as she lowered her head and muttered a few words, at which point her body started to be bathed in a vibrant aurora-like light. The area shook as slowly but surely some glowing tattoos spread across Byakuren's skin, much to Suika's confusion.
"Underestimate my strength, fine…But do not underestimate…" Her aura bursting out with enough radiance to overcome the sea of ash and flames, Byakuren raised her head to glare forth with fiercely burning eyes and exclaimed "A mother's desire to save her child!" Her grip made the oni's bones crack and with her still surprised there was nothing Suika could do to prevent Byakuren from raising her up and slamming her against the ground.
The rocks erupted around the oni, but when leaped up she was hit with a straight punch to the face that sent her grinding back along the ground. The fire in the air had dispersed by this point, but the one in Suika's eyes burned even brighter. She smeared some blood from lips and watched as Byakuren sped right in front of her instantly while raising her shapely leg up high. Even as a blur in the air the leg was visible enough for Suika to leap onto the toes and let herself get launched without harm.
Byakuren readjusted her posture and looked up to see Suika once again growing larger, but in the middle of the process the priest rocketed up and smashed her fist into Suika's chin. Her head jerked back as a shockwave ruptured the sky, and with her spiraling backwards she plummeted towards the ground. Suika grit her teeth and while stamping the ground split a part of herself underneath and waited for Byakuren to come at her, at which point another clone of herself popped right out and struck the priest in the chin with a powerful uppercut.
Byakuren's aura kept flaring brightly as she stood her ground and pushed her chin down against the clone's fist. When the clone was dropped to the ground the priest instantly punched Suika in the face and knocked her back. The oni smiled and then sets her chains on fire, planting her hands against the ground and causing the ground to erupt towards Byakuren.
Leaping forth, Byakuren tumbled through the flames even at the cost of parts of her clothes burning off, but her singed skin healed up quickly and left her undeterred from going for another punch. Suika shrunk herself down and dodged the punch, sprinting underneath Byakuren and safely returning to normal size at the center of the crater. She then turns around and tauntingly gestures at herself.
Byakuren doesn't even get to run when a giant fist pops from the ground and launches her skyward. Suika then claps her hands jollily and summons dozens of clones to throw themselves at Byakuren from all directions, trapping her in a cage of punches. Even their strength combined couldn't help when Byakuren released her energy in a massive burst that sent the clones flying all-around.
The priest charged at Suika and the oni started to turn to mist. Byakuren pulled out a golden dagger and charged it with magic, throwing straight forth like a bullet and rearing that same hand back into a fist. The dagger sticks to Suika's body chest and keeps her solidified, and as the oni bears things down and tries to pull the dagger out Byakuren was already right in front of her with fist an inch from the face.
Suika's eyes widened but she couldn't help but smirk as Byakuren's punch buried her six feet underground in an instant. All the energy was released in a burst of light from cracks half a mile around, and from above it'd look like a lotus. For a while there was silence, Byakuren keeping her fist into the ground as her "Superhuman" spell wore off. When the broken ground rumbled, Suika raised a thumb up out of it and said in a muffled tone "Ha..hahaha! Alright, you've won!"
Byakuren raised her brows a bit, yet didn't hesitate to pull Suika from the ground and letting her stand up. There was a scratch on Suika's horn and a couple of her fangs were broken, but other than that she had just a few scuffs and bruises. Suika grinned and pulled out her gourd, taking a drink of it and saying "Hey, that was a fun fight!"
"…Were you holding back?" Byakuren inquired with a suspecting glare, yet Suika just glanced at her playfully to say "Hey now, why'd you want to take the wind out of the sails of victory? Shouldn't you be more concerned with getting to your daughter?"
The priest gave little resistance and nodded her head, then Suika energetically leaped her way back to the Myouren Temple. Byakuren flew back as well, by then Tenshi having risen to her feet. Miko let out a relieved sigh while the Celestial was just glaring at the oni. When Byakuren was back, Suika threw the dagger back to her and then pulled out a small glowing scalpel. It was surrounded by a dark purple aura with some slight crimson on the edge.
"Alright, let me just open the gap to Mayohiga and you can go have fun with Yukari!"
"And then you can buzz off you oni pest!" Tenshi exclaimed, her blunt tone returned. Suika grinned and after waving the scalpel around tauntingly turned around and sliced the air cleanly, a massive rift opening up to a dimension filled with fog. The scalpel broke and Suika planted her hands against her hips, saying with a slight slur "Well, have fun! Oh, but one thing I'd like to say…"
Her expression got a bit serious for once as she said "You better be ready to consider the possibility that YOU are doing the wrong thing." She then leaped out of the area just as quickly as she had returned, and with Byakuren shaking her arm a bit from tension she stepped up to Miko and Tenshi as all of them focused on the gap.
"We should get going…We can't keep Kokoro waiting." Tenshi was surprisingly the first to break the silence, but neither Byakuren or Miko disagreed. Yet as they made their way to the gap, a meek voice called out to them "W-Wait Miss Hijiri! We're coming with you!"
It was Kyouko speaking up for the group, who stood determined and at the ready. Byakuren shook her head and stated "No way! Yukari is not someone to take lightly." Miko was the one who spoke up for the group by stating "Hijiri, I don't think they are wanting to come to fight the witch…Instead, their desire is to make sure that Kokoro comes back safely. Besides, there is something to be said for strength in numbers."
Byakuren looked at her followers, their faces firm and strong, and upon reflecting on their experiences with Kokoro the priest hung her head a little and said "You can come along…but please be careful." Everyone assured her with a nod, and the last bit of hesitation came from a deep sigh from Byakuren and Miko. Tenshi was the first to leap into the gap, her anger guiding her hand to draw the Hisou no Tsurugi as they went to Mayohiga. When everyone gathered inside the strange realm, the gap closed up behind them.
They were greeted by a deep grey fog bathed across this hollow village. There were no sounds save for the whispers of parted spirits passing by. Some of the weaker Youkai in the group quivered but huddled close to the stronger as Byakuren, Miko and Tenshi took the lead. It didn't take them long though until a pale light guided them towards Kokoro, who was suspended between two phantom boney hands digging into her head.
"Kokoro!" Tenshi leaped in a panic and tried to cut the hands, but some lasers fell down around the menreiki's body and made the Celestial retreat. Then, with hearts pounding against their chests like a symphony of tiny drums, the group looked up as the violet Youkai enigma descended as a shadow amongst the fog, swinging her parasol to part the fog and put it over her shoulder. When Yukari hovered before Kokoro she leaned against a gap and gave a smile of hidden intentions.
Her irises glided from one side to the other as she stayed perfectly still until Byakuren said "Yakumo Yukari…What have you done with Kokoro?!" with a firmness more expected from Miko.
Yukari held a hand out and gave a lazy gesture, commenting in a tired voice "Before you chose to come, you should've brought a gift. Though then again…" Yukari moistened her lips and let out a limp smack, making the timid Youkais whimper. With a playful raise of her brows she said "Not that I am hungry at the moment."
"We don't have time for your games. You know what we're here for." Miko said, her face contorting just a bit as her powers only revealed a haze in Yukari's desires. The Youkai smirked and responded "No time for games? Yet you've been playing one this whole time."
"We've figured that." Said Miko bluntly, Yukari crassly telling her without a pause "So you say, but what's the point of determining you are a player if you can't even determine the purpose of the game or your role?"
"And I suppose you aren't going to make us privy to such information, youkai?" Miko said as her hand slowly went to her blade.
"Not if your attitude borders on the aggressive, child of the crown." Yukari brushes her hand out, and while Miko does let go of her sword she glances at Tenshi and Byakuren and belays her intentions with a nod. For the time being, the group was quiet as Yukari moved aside and floated upright, allowing Kokoro to be visible.
Her eyes were lifeless yet her body appeared to not be scarred. Byakuren tensed her fists while Miko mustered up every bit of patience she could, and Yukari cracked a smile at them until she began to speak.
"The tanuki made things interesting by trying to have you teach the menreiki, but you were just holding back her potential all this time." Yukari could see the confusion even with how subtly it was expressed, and with a smile creaking forth like a rusted gear she continued "The tanuki was good at keeping the truth hidden, but the REAL truth of the matter is something I have not yet expressed everything regarding the menreiki and her role in future events."
She then held her head up high and docilely said "There are many gods and goddesses holding their grip on various functions in this universe of ours. Regardless of their allegiances or scuffles towards one another, they end up working towards the unified purpose of keeping this 'boat' we call reality afloat. Yet there's one thing even the strongest succumb to…Their base desires, their emotions, their feelings emanating from the deepest reaches of their souls."
"They have no choice but to listen, for without 'emotion', without 'desire' and without 'feeling' then aren't you nothing more than a puppet guided by the whims of fate? There are some who might disagree with that, but there was one goddess in particular who maintained this firm and fantastical belief across the universe no matter what. In the time before sentience became part of the infinite, this goddess used their sixty-six masks to spread emotions to those who needed it."
"S-Sixty six masks…?" Miko's pale-faced stutter was met by Yukari bluntly stating "Speak only when addressed with an inquiry, child of the crown" before she continued on while relishing a bit in the realization creeping up on the group's face.
"The goddess remained in secrecy, not wanting either attention nor recognition for their actions. As time passed though, the concepts of 'emotion', 'desire' and 'feeling' became so ingrained into the infinite of reality that the goddess slowly began to disappear. Faith, after all, could not reach someone who never made their presence known. History would forget this goddess, yet fate would still have plans for their particular powers."
"When, by sheer coincidence, the sixty-six masks were created by human hands, magnetically luring the lingering traces of this goddess' powers into their forms. Thus, when the tsukumogami process happened, a rather unique one was born. A human body, inhabited by the remnants of power for sixty-six emotional masks, was born. Because of this confliction, this person could not expression emotions unless the strength of their 'feelings' and 'desires' matched the strength of the individual masks."
"The menreiki, born with the name of Hata no Kokoro, is the reincarnation of the goddess, Kokoro-no-Okami." Only Yukari could end such a sentence so stoically, and she spent her time after with a docile smirk as the group reacted with differing degrees of shock. Tenshi in particular swung her sword out and exclaimed "Bullshit! You think you could trick us with that fairy tale?!"
"Trick? …Fairy tale? Only inexperienced children use those words…Though I suppose they will forever describe the coddled Celestial. My words are the truth, a carryover from the boundless history of this universe of ours. Regardless of your views Celestial, there's nothing you can do to make me change my mind on giving you back the menreiki. Her latent power needs to be awakened in order to combat what lies ahead, and I can no longer wait for you to see this duty through."
"Then why bother telling us this story?" Miko inquired. With a mischievous grin, Yukari said "When did I ever say I was telling YOU that story?"
"I-I beg your pardon?" Miko could not describe the uneasiness that churned in her stomach, and Yukari continued to say "You do not understand what you're getting into if you believe that you are the ones of importance here. Your role as a 'player' has come to an end. Now you are worthless. That's all you needed to know."
Byakuren clenched her fists and Miko immediately drew her sword, taking the lead and proclaiming "ENOUGH!" in unison. Miko stated "We are taking our daughter back and you WILL give her to us!" As they started to advance towards her Yukari let out a tired sigh and lifted her right hand up leisurely.
"You're in no position to demand anything. I see…I have no choice but to make a point." Her fingers gestured aloofly, and all of a sudden Byakuren and Miko fell to their knees as their eyes widened and their bodies shook violently. They gargled as the fog around them forced itself into their bodies, which then caused strands of thick darkness to erupt from their mouths and envelop them whole.
"L-Lady Hijiri!"
"C-Crown Prince!"
The followers were at a loss for words besides the abject fear taking control of their minds, and Tenshi pulled back and grimaced as the darkness swallowed the helpless parents and turned them into a puddle of black goop. It didn't end there though, as the darkness rose up into two titans of differing and grotesque shapes.
From the left puddle emerged…something held up by a pitch black humanesque hand. It wore the cape of Miko, but the rest of it's "clothes" were made out of pale white and violet arm save for one pink one grappling the center of its "chest". Its hair was styled similarly yet with two horns made visibly out of hands, and its eyes were pale, yellow and sagging amongst the black canvas that was its face. Behind it was a blasphemous golden metallic sun, and loosely held in its fingers were its shaku and sword.
From the other puddle emerged a thick silver skull with dozens of lifeless spider-like grey eyes and an irregular gaping maw with the black of a void inside of it. Strapped to the forehead by violet ribbons was half of Byakuren's body, yet the skin was pale white and there were no eyes to speak of. Waving out from the sides of the skull were the symbols usually seen on Byakuren's magic scroll along with some very bizarre violet/white membrane tentacles.
The two titans towered terrifyingly over the group, drawing squeals out of the weak and revulsion even from the strong. Between and behind these grotesque creatures Yukari floated, her eyes drooping tiredly as she looked towards the group. In a voice distorted to sound like Byakuren and Miko, these titans proclaimed "I am the Shadow…the true self!" and Tenshi was ultimately the only one who could say anything.
"W-What have you done to them?! This is fucked up!" Tenshi proclaimed like a scared little child, and with a cold raised of her brows Yukari's face was cast in a monstrous shadow as she stoically commented "What did I do? Nothing…You, Celestial, are the one who brought them here to die. This is the price to pay for the folly of overestimating your position…"
Next Time: Impossible Survival