Author's Note:

This one is actually a bit shorter, though it took roughly the same amount of time as usual. I actually wanted to have it out a bit sooner, but had to visit family over a weekend for 4th of July, which threw off my routine for a bit. Sorry about that!

~ STAGE 21: For Real This Time ~

[START]

When was the last time Kasen had dodged lightning? That Ox-Head's descendent, maybe?

Iku's dance was graceful; a song of lightning and squall, accompanied by the thunderous roar of heavenly dragons. With each motion, a deafening crack resounded. Finger pointed skyward, she beckoned the dragon's judgment and its bolts split the earth.

Were Kasen any lesser, they might've hit their mark. As she was, three steps was all she needed. A single, instantaneous movement to evade the first few white-hot strokes. Another, for her silhouette to reappear in front of Iku, as she positioned herself as needed.

Finally, Kasen angled her fist. With precision and force far beyond human comprehension, her bandaged arm shot at Iku's torso and cracked like a whip. Its form broke, morphing from a closed fist to a cavernous maw. Blue light hummed from its mouth. With a howl that could shake the very heavens—

"Dragon Sign 『Dragon's Growl』!"

The dragon unleashed its power, and a burst of light swallowed Iku whole. At point-blank, she could do nothing but let out a shriek of surprise as the blast shot her upwards. In the same moment, a decisive shattering.

Kasen Ibara (Aggressor) - ✦✦ [✦ x ]

Iku Nagae (Defender) - [✦✦✦ x ] x

"That was careless." With a flourish Kasen's bandages refolded, molding back into their original shape: a palm beckoning to her recovering foe. "You shouldn't make such slow attacks while I'm close enough to counterattack."

"Haah…" A haggard Iku realigned herself to an upright floating position. Accumulated bumps and scrapes were starting to show. "So relentless. You even have the energy to criticize me while we fight. I haven't even landed a hit on you yet…"

She really hadn't. Kasen had nary a scratch on her, and even worse for Iku, she didn't seem winded in the slightest. It would be a disheartening sight for anyone. "You've got time to correct that. Roughly three Spellcards' worth."

Iku's responding chuckle was tinged with discontent. "Indeed. It wouldn't do well for me to embarrass the Dragon Palace like this."

Kasen smirked, and it'd be easy to assume she was inviting the challenge. In reality, she was getting impatient. This was taking too long. Despite her seemingly effortless performance, it was taking a good amount of effort to avoid Iku's attacks. Maybe she could speed things up by playing more aggressively, but that carried a risk of taking more hits than she needed. This wasn't the last fight she'd need to have.

Suika was still up ahead. And Kasen knew her well. Even something as innocuous as a few questions could easily be turned into a game, and a game for oni was the same as it was for any other youkai: a contest between individuals. To show off fearsome power, to demonstrate their abilities. Kasen knew from the moment Luka mentioned her name that would be the end result.

So she needed to conserve her strength. To take her time, even if it meant Luka needed to wait in Heaven a bit longer for her to arrive. She would need to spar with that drunken gremlin before the day was over. This part, this fight—it was just a time-waster. Nothing more.

Kasen's only worry right now was that Luka was staying out of trouble and waiting patiently for her to catch up.

Blue sparks lit up the steely sky. Crackling lightning; a symbol of divine power. It surrounded Iku, coating her like a wreath of blessed thorns. "Thorn Sign 『Thundercloud Stickleback』!"

"Hm." Of course, another troublesome attack. Maybe—no, she was worrying too much. She could still take her time. Luka was in Heaven. What was there to worry about?

(So,) Luka thought, (how do I not die here?)

"Oi, y'hear me girl?" Suika drunkenly badgered. "C'mon, celestial, what's your deal?"

Luka grimaced. This wasn't ideal. Her one source of info, hammered out of her mind. Could she even get anything comprehensible out of her like this? "Not a celestial. Just a person." Best to keep her responses simple. Luka still wasn't sure what kind of person she was dealing with. Compound that with booze, and, well… "Hrm." That inviting scent interrupted Luka's thoughts. "What is that?" She gestured at Suika's drink. "Seriously, it smells crazy sweet. Like peaches."

"Got a keen nose, eh?" Suika grinned. "Yer right on the nose! Peach sake, straight from Heaven's orchards!" She cheered, refilling her dish. "Could pour ya some if yer feelin' it! There's plenty to go around!"

Luka balked. "Uh, thank you, but I really shouldn't." How her tolerance would hold up against divine sake aside, this wasn't the time for drinking. Even if she could use something to take the edge off her stress. Her arm still ached from her fight with Tenshi. "Actually, I came here for something else." Seizing her chance, Luka stepped under the portico and rested against its supports, putting herself right next to Suika. The support surprisingly didn't shake, despite how shoddy it looked. "Just something small to ask. Won't take up much of your time."

"Hah, I got nothin' but time here!" Suika didn't seem apprehensive, but she also seemed to only be half-paying attention to Luka. If anything she seemed more interested in her drink, judging by her hearty swigs. "Go 'head, shoot your shot."

"Okay…" Luka tried to find her words. Having this meeting dropped on her so suddenly ruined her whole pre-plan. Where to begin, what to ask? How many times had she laid out this same story to complete strangers these past few days? "Um…" She stared into the wooden boards below, lost in thought for a moment.

"Heya." An red plate suddenly cut into her vision. From nowhere, Suika had produced another sake dish and was holding it out for Luka to take. "If yer strugglin' to think, take a drink. Might help to loosen yer tongue some." A smirk.

Luka stared at her for a moment, her words lost. Her chest felt tight for some reason, but warm at the same time.

Silently, Luka accepted Suika's offering. Hearing the sake pour in her cup, feeling the sweet liquid slide down her throat and burn. It felt familiar. That comfort made her words flow in-tune with the drink, like running water. Soon enough, she was already finished recounting her tale. Only then did Luka realize she'd gone through four refills. She was still sober, thankfully.

As she wrapped up, Suika seemed to be studying her. "Huh. Quite a tale. A half-youkai, eh…?" She was musing over something. "Though, yer not even sure of that, eh?"

"Yeah." Luka stared into her drink. Her reflection looked back, not offering an answer. "If I can be honest, that's why I came all this way. Figured I could get some kind of answer from you."

Suika cocked a brow. "Aaaaand what'm I supposed to tell ya? Seein' me in some vision ain't gonna mean I'll remember yer face."

"I know that." Luka frowned. "I remember other things, too. Partial stuff. Words and phrases that come to mind, but I don't know what they really mean." She took another sip from her drink. Its warmth seemed to be pulling her to a specific thought. "... So, why don't I start with one: who are the 'Big Three'?"

Suika stopped, lips freezing just as they went for another sip. Her lips pursed and her stance became guarded. "That s'posed to mean somethin' to me?"

Now it was Luka studying her. Suika's eyes became piercing, almost questioning. It wasn't the gaze of a drunk. No, from the beginning, that question wasn't a genuine one, was it?

She was waiting for Luka to speak.

"... They're leaders of the mountain. Or, were." Luka deduced. It was an easy guess. "The tengu talked about them pretty weirdly. Like they didn't want to mention them. If I had to guess, it's just the ones in power not wanting to cause any unrest. Which would make sense. When, in your heyday, you can erase a small army of youkai extermination specialists with just a swipe, that person's gotta be a real big shot with the youkai of the mountain. She'd command a lot of respect. Moreso than some shadowy mobster who everyone's dodgy with." She made sure to lock eyes with Suika as she spoke. "Am I right?"

Suika blinked, looking a bit surprised at Luka's pointed remark. Then, she started laughing. Loudly. "Helluva deduction, detective! Tryin' to butter me up?"

"So, you did remember it." Luka said. "That fight from my vision."

"Heh." Suika sneered. "Maybe. Got anything else you wanna bring up?"

She'd read Luka's expression. "The tengu got real weird when I mentioned that term, and how it felt off." It felt wrong. It still did, in a way. "It was the number. The number was wrong. There weren't just three of you, were there?" 'Just' three. There were more. Nothing else explained that feeling, nor everyone's reaction to the term. If it was as simple as some new member having been added, then why was everyone so guarded about it? No, something happened. "Am I right?"

"Could be." Suika's eyes resembled a lion on the prowl. "How many d'ya wager there were?"

Luka didn't have an exact number. Shouldn't have. But, if she had to guess…

Something was nibbling at her. Pulling her to a specific line of thought, and making her more and more certain of it.

"Four. That number feels right, for some reason. There was one other member, and something happened to make everyone tense about possible mention of them." Luka nodded, sure of her theory. "Am I getting close?"

Suika had already started grinning when Luka said the number, and her grin only got wider as Luka continued. But it wasn't a happy look. No, there was malice in her eyes. "Mind tellin' me who you are, girl?"

"I… thought we just covered that." Luka raised her brow. "I don't even know."

Suika regarded her cautiously. "Lemme rephrase that: what d'ya want from me?"

"Answers, I guess." Luka replied. "You really don't recognize me? Anything at all about me?"

"Nope." Suika swirled her sake, relaxing back into her drinking. "I just asked who ya were, after all. D'ya think I'd bother if I knew?"

"I—" Obviously not, and Luka knew it. But that wasn't what she wanted to hear. She climbed up an entire mountain for this, for gods' sake! And the person she wanted to speak with had nothing for her? She needed something, anything. "Tell me about the Big 'Four'." Luka emphasized the number. "Who were the others? And why the secrecy behind the fourth one?"

Suika stopped just short of taking another sip, "Yer gettin' real hasty, goin' and assuming yer right about the count."

"Quit dodging me." Luka glowered. "'This isn't a game."

It was a stupid thing to do, pressing like that. Suika could casually snap her neck like a grape vine before she even knew what was happening. Luka got the feeling she was considering it, as their eyes locked. But she didn't back down. This meant too much to her.

After a few seconds of silent stating, "Gyahahah!" Suika burst into abrupt laughter. "A game, now there's an idea! Yeah, let's do that!" She turned, offering Luka her full attention. "Howzit sound? A duel, and the prize for winnin': I'll tell ya all about the Four."

(Huh?) "A Spellcard duel?" Luka hesitated.

"There any other kinds?"

"No, I meant… Why? Do we really need to?" Please, no. No no no.

"Does an girl need a reason to break stuff? Indulge in a lil' rampage, as a treat?" Suika chuckled. "Deal, or no deal? I ain't makin' any other offers."

(Shit!) Bad, this was so unbelievably bad. Did it even bear elaboration why? Aya had trounced her, and it took a miracle of quick-talking to get Tenshi to leave her alone. The bruise on her arm was just a gentle warning of how badly things could go when fighting someone obviously stronger than her. Fighting Suika? She'd be an idiot to accept that offer.

"Deal." A desperate idiot, even. "—On one condition."

"Mm?"

(Thinkthinkthinkthinkthink—) "Just having a plain duel between us wouldn't be that interesting." Luka explained. "You've got good senses. I'm sure you can tell I'm pretty weak just by looking at me."

"Oh, that wasn't just an apperance thing?" Suika seemed genuinely surprised. "Thought you were one of them 'hiding their true strength' sorts."

"Nope. Flimsy as paper." Luka held her hands up. "You'd break me in an instant. Which is why we should change the rules a bit, keep things interesting."

Suika sipped at her drink curiously. "I'm listenin'."

Spellcard rules alone could only dampen things so far. She had to think of a ruleset where she had a chance of winning, even against an opponent with an overwhelming strength advantage. On such quick notice, only one idea came to mind. A game she'd seen some kids in the village playing, one which she was reminded of by looking at Suika.

"It's obvious, isn't it? We play 'Oni'." Luka smirked, trying to look confident. "A modified version mixed with Spellcard rules. How's that sound?"

Suika's expression went blank. She was likely stunned by the idiocy of what was just suggested to her. "Pfft—" Then her uproarious laughter returned, stronger and louder than ever. Like a hyena, "Pahahahahaha! 'O-Oni', eh?! Y-hyaha-yer a funny one, I like that! Real good with jokes, hahaha!" She fell into a fit of rampant cackling, thrashing her dish about and sending the remaining droplets in it flying about.

Luka raised her arm, blocking a few of them with her shirt sleeve. Sincerely, she followed up, "So, is that a yes?"

"Yeah! You've got a deal, Luka!" Suika snarled, showing her teeth. Only then did Luka realize how sharp they looked, like those of a wild beast. "Ooh, yeah. This'll definitely be fun."

Author's Note:

You didn't think it was gonna be that easy, did you?