"Alright, see ya later!"
Yuugi and Itto were at the surface now, in the forest area around the entrance to the Underground. They just bid farewell to two youkai who lived there, Yamane and Kisume.
After they were far enough, Itto turned to Yuugi and said, "Serious, that green-haired girl creeps me out."
"Yeah, don't worry about that. She's far from us now."
Looking at the sky above, Itto sighed. He had to admit he felt a bit of relief going back to the sunlight.
He remembered what happened to the oni in Inazuma. They also left human society, but they didn't go as far as going underground. He wondered what Takuya would say about the oni in Gensokyo.
"Hey, Itto," Yuugi called, "They weren't really acting like themselves back then."
Itto looked down. He could accept those words, but it didn't change the fact he was different from them.
"They're usually pretty chill, but," Yuugi scratched the back of her head, "…yeah, I need to talk to Boss Satori and Reimu to see if I can organize a few excursions to the surface, from times to times."
Itto didn't reply. He didn't know what to say. What if he was really just an "incomplete oni"?
"Itto, what the oni respect is strength. You're still a young adult, but you have charisma, that's also strength. You also are a good person; this is an underestimated strength. If you decide to stay in Gensokyo, I'm pretty sure you can carve your own little corner here. Then, they won't mind if you were raised by a human or not."
"You think so?"
"Gensokyo is the kind of place that accepts everyone."
He felt he could trust Yuugi. But he also remembered her words: youkai had their corner, humans had theirs.
He didn't like that.
It was so different from home. Judging by his own experience, Gensokyo didn't seem to have something like the Commissions. No Tenryou cops spoiling his fun.
"If you say that, then," he slammed his fists on his chest, giving her a huge grin, "I will turn Gensokyo upside down with the Arataki Gang, Gensokyo Branch! No barrier between Arataki Itto and the world will remain!"
"That's the oni way, do whatever we want." Yuugi said, smiling back to him.
He couldn't help but notice a hint of melancholy in her smile. He could feel she was not mentioning something to him; but he would trust her reasons.
"But I need to see if you're up to the task." She said, after taking a sip.
"Oh? Are you challenging the most powerful oni Inazuma and of all Teyvat, Numero Uno, El Gran Rugido Arataki Itto?"
"I saw you summoning your weapon down there, how do you that?"
"Oh, this?" Summoning his claymore. "It's part of the secret and inscrutable Arataki arts."
Itto had no idea how he did that.
"Is that so? Keep your secrets, then. I'm more interested in how your little noodle arms swing it around."
"Oh, this might impress you, but I have fought a lot of enemies and prevailed other them. Are you so eager to be the next one?"
"I can crush you like a peach, little boy, and grind your horns until they're dust."
"In your dreams, hag."
Itto smiled, while upswing his claymore, resting it behind his back. He loved when an opponent took banter seriously.
"Our difference in power and fight experience is too big, not kidding now, kiddo."
"As if that was an obstacle."
"That's what I wanted to hear. Let's do the following: if you make me drop even a droplet of my sake, you win. I'm also not using my Power of the Unknown."
"Are you fighting without a weapon?"
"Not gonna lie, Arataki, these fists can punch through mountains. Can you withstand them?"
"Don't threaten me with a good time, Hoshiguma."
In front of him, Yuugi seemed as if a duel wasn't about to start. He had to admit she looked beautiful in that blue kimono. She closed her eyes and sipped her sake dish without a care in her.
Itto charged at her.
He could feel his heart pumping faster. Every single cell of his body told him it was a bad idea and that's why he couldn't stop running towards her once he started.
With a might scream, he swung his claymore at her.
The massive weapon was stopped by a finger.
He could feel a massive pressure in his arms. And yet, Yuugi stopped with just her left-hand index finger, since the other hand she used to hold her dish.
After finishing sipping, she opened one of her eyes and smiled.
"Don't hold back, dear."
Itto frowned. Moving her finger forward, Itto had to take a step back.
Using his legs to impulse himself, he cried and swung his claymore many times. She just blocked his attacks with the back side of her hand, or just dodged.
His strikes got stronger and stronger, to the point each shockwave caused by him striking and she parrying with her hand became stronger. Small rocks jumped with each shockwave, as well as leaves flew from the trees.
Being an oni, Itto had much greater stamina than the average human – he kept fighting even when a human would stop to catch their breath. He used all his secret techniques (which were just different angles he swung his claymore), trying to free himself from all the times he had to hold back.
He was an oni fighting a stronger oni. He had to give his all. He remembered there was one moment he used all his strength: to free his friends from the chasm entity. If Yuugi wanted to remember him, then he would tap on that power again.
"How many oni did you fight with, Itto?" Yuugi said, blocking yet another horizontal attack, with a slap of her free hand.
"I've fought some really mean things."
"Just to let you know, I counted 15 opportunities to end this already."
"Make this 16!"
"What are you planning?"
Itto tossed his most trusted companion: Ushi.
The small bull travelled through the air like a missile, but Yuugi caught him one-handedly without any problem and pressed him against her chest.
"Who are you little guy?"
The little bull made a content expression.
"Now, witness the power of the Oni King's Kanabou!" Itto raised his claymore and let his Vision transfer Geo power to its blade. A case of unbreakable stone, with spikes around it covered the blade, while a yellow aura surrounded the oni.
"Oh," Yuugi raised an eyebrow, "This might be interesting."
With the power of mountains, given by the Lord Geo himself, Itto charged at Yuugi like he never had before. He could feel the ground shaking, each step like a bullet. His arms felt like the rock pillars that sustained Mount Yougou, holding all its energy into a single point.
"Here I come!"
The thrill of the battle, of finally unleashing his full power on someone equal as himself. Something so raw, so brute and yet so beautiful took over his heart.
This was what being an oni meant!
"I guess it's time to play seriously!"
Tossing her dish up in the air and Ushi away, Yuugi blocked the first hit with one hand, but the second and the third one required two hands.
The impact made her take one step back.
Her eyes had a mix of surprise and elation.
"I knew you had it, Arataki, but it's time to cool down!" she said, while blocking the fourth strike with her arm and, when Itto swung Kanabou in order to make a hurricane, Yuugi punched him at his stomach, strong enough to release a gust of wind on the opposite side.
"Guh!" Itto gasped for air. The yellow aura around him dissipated, like dust to the wind. The rock-hard casings of his claymore crumbled like dry clay.
"You amused me, Itto," she said, grabbing him by the waist, "So I will finish you off in style!"
With that, Yuugi dropped Itto to the ground, making a loud THUD sound.
After Itto recovered his senses, he saw Yuugi on the top of him. He could feel her soft and yet firm legs over his abdomen. His back hurt – after all being air dropped into the ground in a finishing move wasn't the softest thing that ever happened to him. Yuugi really managed to make him break a sweat.
She had a smile in her face. Her cheeks were redder than before. That probably must be the alcohol she was drinking.
"Itto," she said, after sighing, while adjusting a lock of her hair in front of her left eye, "You're a really fun guy, knew that?"
She opened her hand and her dish landed right on it.
It landed trembling a bit, making the dish wobble in her hand. With the sake making waves in the flat cup, she tried to balance it. A small droplet, smaller than a raindrop fell right on Itto's lower lip.
"Heh, you won, Noodle Arms, and, most important, no sake was wasted." she placed her right hand on his chin and stroke it gently, "If you want to fight more, I'm all ears any day."
Itto felt himself feeling warm. He didn't know why, but he felt he earned her respect. After all, she invited him to more spar sessions!
Gensokyo really taught him a few things. He was the strongest oni of Inazuma, but in Gensokyo, as much as it hurt to admit, he didn't even make to the top 20. And yet, that woman, who was probably top 5 at least, kicked his butt without much effort.
It was so exhilarating.
She let go of him and laid down beside him.
"How strong are you, Yuugi?" He asked, looking at the sky above.
"See this mountain we're in now? I can move it with one hand."
"You're kidding, right?" his eyes widened.
"You're right, it'd be a bit uncomfortable," she replied, as if it wasn't a big deal, "I'd have to use both…but then I wouldn't have a free hand for my sake."
"Wow, I…really?"
"Heh, who knows? But you saw with your eyes a fraction of what I can do. You never can be sure of reality, that's the fun of being a youkai."
"Oh, if I'm like you, that explains why I get stronger, the more people know about the Arataki Gang."
"That sounds sweet. But, what do you think of Gensokyo now?"
"Awesome! I could never fight like that at home."
He imagined even if he fought off an isolate place, the Tenryou cops would still find him somehow. He finally noticed they were lying down in a crater and the trees around them bended a bit.
He thought of what Parsee said. He knew she was just trying to rile him up, even if there was a bit of truth in her words, but he felt he belonged to that world now. Like Yuugi said, he could find his corner and turn Gensokyo upside down.
"I'm curious now," Yuugi said, turning her head to him, "How did you that magic trick with your claymore? Your amulet was glowing."
"Oh, that's my Vision," he picked it and lifted to show his Geo Vision, "In Teyvat, some people are given Visions by the gods, to wield the elements. I think someone explained to me once, some yada-yada about having powerful resolves, but what matters is that this makes me a top dog. Mine is Geo. I'm unbreakable, like a mountain! Mighty like a ravine!" He said, while sitting down to flex his muscles, making Yuugi giggle.
"Sounds like a strange magic", she said, still lying down on the ground, "if it's magic at all, like those snake oil salesmen at the top of the mountain try to sell us. Are the Inazuma gods like that?"
"Of course," he returned to lie down, "my fame reached the Shogun." Still smiling, Yuugi raised an eyebrow, making Itto scratch his hair, a bit embarrassed, "It's just that she's never noticed it. But, still, Inazuma is a really awesome place. I have my gang, Akira, Genta and Mamoru – we're friends since we were kids!"
"Oh, how did you meet them?"
"They took a dare from some bullies to bother me. But I could see through the ruse and helped them to teach those bullies a lesson. Ever since then we're together."
"That's pretty cute. Humans and oni working together, how quaint…"
"Then, there's Grandmaster Hanakado, he is a specialist precuring onikabutos for beetle brawls."
"You have beetle brawls?"
"Exactly, we test our training and bonds in the arena."
"Amazing. I guess it must be like spellcard rules, but with beetles."
"Putting that way, maybe. Oh, there's also Kuki, she's so freaking smart! If there's something that can fixed with brains, she can do it. She always bails me out of prison."
"Do you get there often?"
"Sometimes, whenever there's something weird, the cops just go to me first."
"That's really awful. I guess there are things that don't change."
"Eh, I'm used to; if I stay for six hours, I get free food. Oh, there's also my buddy, the Traveler! He's so awesome and so powerful! He fought the Shogun once, two dragons, and more! Before you and the other oni here, he was the only one of two people who could give me a run for my mora."
"Oh, that's my kind of person," she said, cracking her knuckles, "I'd love to trade punches with him."
"Our duel made me think of that as well. I need to ask him to spar next time I see him. I hope it's better than Miss Spoilsport."
"Do you have a beef with her?"
"So, some time ago there was this decree that confiscated all Visions from everyone in Inazuma. The Shogun sent her tengu general to get mine."
"Was she that tengu I saw with you earlier?"
"Yeah. Sara Kujou, the Chicken General. The most stuck-up creature of all Inazuma. She ordered me to hand her my Vision. I obviously refused, but…"
"She took it?"
"I have no idea, she just floored me. When I saw her on top of me, taking my Vision, it felt…"
"Itching for revenge?"
"Not only that…Seeing her over me, it felt…astonishing."
"Oh…"
He looked at the blue sky above. His heart always raced faster when he thought of that moment. The Kujou Tengu looked so…majestic, so wonderful. Even with that serious face, that must've never smiled once, she looked so…so…grandiose. She gave him the battle of his life.
"I want to have a rematch because of that. An open one, a sumo duel right in the crossroad of the city, so that everyone can see my feelings towards her. I don't care if I lose or win, I just want to have fun with her again. But she just refuses. I kept challenging her through the bulletin board, and she refused. There was a war recently, and she was there. I was so scared that she might've died in the war, so when it ended, I just felt a relief I never felt before. But she still refuses a rematch even today. One day…one day…Oh, sorry, I just let my mouth run like a charging boar."
He glanced at Yuugi. She had her face away from him.
"Yuugi?"
"No matter how tall the mountain is, the birds still fly over it."
Itto felt there was something different in Yuugi's voice. He sat down, taking a better look at her. Did she sound upset?
She also sat down, stretching her arms. She turned to him and, with a smile, she said, "Your home means a lot to you, right?"
"Yeah," it seemed she returned to normal. He wondered why her sudden change in mood. Somehow, he felt he shouldn't press further. "I really need to start thinking on how to return. I was exploring a domain with Traveler, Sara and that shy Fontaine boy Traveler brought. His brother said he needed to know the world. What was his name? Fromellette?" He placed his hands on his head, "I promised his brother that I would take care of Fromellette, he's going to kill me if something happens to him!"
"I understand," she patted Itto's back, "You have a lot to take care of at home. Gensokyo isn't the place for you at the moment. But it could use a good guy like you."
"Uhm," he had to admit he got a bit nervous, "I'm really sorry, Yuugi."
"Don't be. You're carving your own path in Inazuma, just like you would here. That's the oni way."
"Heh. Gotta admit that really makes me feel like an oni."
As they got up and went on their way, they saw a familiar-looking youkai approaching.
"Ms. Hoshiguma, Mr. Arataki."
"Oh, you're that wolf tengu…Majima?"
"Momiji. I'm glad I found you, there's something I need to show you."
Without realizing that Itto didn't know how to fly, Momiji took off. Itto looked at Yuugi, who shrugged and grabbed and tossed him over her shoulder and followed Momiji. He seemed a bit confused, but let a loud "Woohooo!" when he realized he was airborne.
A.N.: If I was writing Yuugi PoV, when she smiled weird at Itto, it was because she was thinking of Reimu; he would give her a lot of headaches.