He had arrived. He had the body of a boy going into his teens, slim, and a face with soft almond eyes and thin eyebrows, long dark hair that went past his waist. Star earrings dangling from his ears and the same pattern on leather straps tied to his waist.
The mysterious auburn haired teen gasps at his arrival. Her will wavers, and the powerful presence of the onmyoji makes the remaining demons quiver..
The future King takes in the appearance of the assaillant. He expected someone older, the rise of negative energy had called him back to the place. He had felt something in the city since yesterday. Obviously she caught him before he could find her himself.
"Hao ! I'm so happy to have found you !" she errupts.
All of Hao's party is surprised by the sudden change in atmosphere, the demons actually start to vanish now.
"Are you ?" the future king says with a piercing tone, he had been ready to rain his fire on her, and now he doesn't feel any anger coming from the mysterious teen. He has to stay on his guard, because he had felt her furyoku from dozens of miles away… He softens his face into a fake smile " And why would you be so familiar with me? Who would you be?"
Almost all the onis were gone, and the girl was gliding in his direction, beaming. He took note of the opened shirt, with the six triangles formed around a circle, "Could be a sun or a six pointed star…."
She got too close, his followers always kept a few feet away from him as his presence was threatening. The teen girl looked about sixteen and was taller than him, he did not like having to look slightly up when she got to a foot in front of him.
"I'm the last Asakura of the line, I came to help you become a great shaman king" she beamed
"Ugh.." Hao thought with slight disgust.
Her phrase had sounded rehearsed, as if she had chosen those words in advance, and he couldn't tell if she was telling the truth… it dawned unto him. He thought she had just had a strong presence he had to get through, but no, he could really not read her. He heard all the other's still. And the one in the tent could read her thoughts . Through her he heard her feelings " I hope he likes me, I want to help him, I hope he accepts me". How odd. He had to stay on his guard.
"Asakura is it ? and why would you attack .."
" I didn't mean to, but they started and I got carried away !". She interjected apologetically. She interrupted him and he hates that, but he was more busy looking at her face, she was pretty, more importantly she was an open book, you shouldn't need reishi to guess her mood from such an expressive person and from what he could get through intermediary the interrupting Asakura was earnest. Now, the auburn haired girl was worried she had upset him, and was concerned about something he couldn't understand. An oni reappeared, a single one that latched onto her leg.
She was waiting with a pouty face. And the onmyoji became aware of his followers, they were nearby and were scared, flabbergasted, anxious. More Onis, tiny ones, started rising up again. The Asakura girl was feeling the same thing.
"How ..?"Hao asked himself.
"Hum perhaps we should take this elsewhere…" The stranger said.
And by the time she had finished her sentence the world around them vanished. The two powerful shamans were now in a space that had no walls, no ground, no sky and nothing perceivable outside of themselves.
"How did you.." Hao catches himself, he creates his armored oversoul of Spirit of Fire.
The new Asakura was sitting on the inexisting floor, legs crossed and leaning back on her hands; looking away from him.
"This is a technique you should know by now… the dimension spell. I just needed to be away from everybody. And it will be easier for you as well" She took a deep breath and turned to smile at him, but her eyes caught onto the oversoul, and they gleamed with pleasure.
"Oh ! That's how you formed S.o.F !"
The great Onmyoji feels like the rug has been pulled from under him. Yes he knows this technique, he could easily disband it but he didn't feel like he had too. The whole situation should have him attack her immediately. He didn't know there was an Asakura who had this power. He felt like she had about half of his furyoku, no Asakura except him was this powerful. No Asakura outside him should know this technique.
" Furyoku annulment and dimension creation ? Who are you exactly ?"
She looked worriedly to him, and then away again like she had at first. " I don't want to freak you out.."
Despite his unusual handicap with her, Hao wants to hear her, to trust her.
She blushed suddenly, turning to face him, she started: " I mean I…" and then she stopped. and looked questioningly.
After a second of her examining his face, the Asakura girl said: "You can't read my thoughts ?"
Hao just stared back at her, the blood rising to his face along with a feeling of panic. His reflex is to engage his Raven oversoul, revealing the missile throwers in the wings. He recomposes himself quickly, one thousand years of struggle, he should not be caught off guard like this.
"She looks harmless, why hurt her ? No she could be dangerous, she looks… nice."
"Hum you want to fight me but you like me at the same time" the bewildering girl said bluntly.
There is a short awkward silence
"So she can read my mind but I can't hers… and she knew I should have been able to use reishi. A descendant that inherited my ability, it's not that surprising. The only thing betraying her intentions is her trapping me in this dimension" The great shaman thinks back on her words. "Easier… she ran away from the other's thoughts, the demons are proof she can't control her reishi"
The young woman stands up and looks at him. She goes into her own interior monologue: "I didn't expect him to look like a child, I need to make him trust me but I can't say too much either, does he even believe me when I say I'm from the future ? He didn't question me, actually he did, I probably didn't say enough… not reading each other's mind is tiring, it makes everything… or maybe that's a good thing ?"
"Hum this is interesting you can't read my thoughts and you have a small furyoku amount right now" her smile becomes mischievous.
The desire to fight rises in her, he can sense this much, but the great onmyoji stays calm this time.
"Small ?" he responds to her jest.
His opponent actually looks like a cat about to pounce. He forces himself to relax; A warning should be enough: " This provocation could cost you a lot you know ?"
But his alleged descendant continued on: "This is the only time I might have a chance to beat you. What do you think ? should we go all out ?". Her voice was poisoned honey, so he dives in the same mischievousness.
" If you are another one of my descendants you should address me with respect" Hao says nonchalantly to distract her while he engulfs her in his own dimension spell. It works.
The new dimension is seemingly identical to hers, which is easy because it was an empty space, however his own creation is made of a 40% oxygen. The first Asakura wishes to cut her off from her demon summoning power, but he cannot know for sure..
The auburn haired girl takes a long deep breath. "Hum how nice, so you're going to burn me to death ?"
She had completely changed mood again, her ancestor had not, she could see malice and irritation on his features.
"Address your King with respect" and the man launches a warhead towards her.
Of course his descendant used the oracle technique to dodge. He had seen it in Zangching's memory when she had used the technique earlier. Being an Asakura of this power meant she had mastered all of his Tcho Senjiryakketsu techniques, and more considering the dimension spell… the one he himself had only figured out recently.
" You think too much," the Asakura girl declared, cutting off a third of his raven O.S with a slash of her arm. She had appeared slightly behind him while.. no she was also in front and…
"This is not the oracle technique." Hao realizes.
" So you don't know the containment spell, I'll have to teach it to you" his three opponents say teasingly.
He lunches three fire ignition spells, one for each clone . But the last Asakura is quick. The flames lap her like a dog greeting their owner, no wounds. The onmyoji is surprised. .
"You need a stronger fire if you want to reach me"
" I said address me as your King" he blurts back, throwing another flame spell, taking advantage of the 40% oxygen, this one glows white.
The still mysterious woman had gathered her three forms and stopped the flame with her hands.
" I am actually stronger than you right now ! " she beamed. The pretty girl's glee contaminates him. He is amused, he hasn't had a fair fight in a few decades.
"Don't get ahead of yourself " the man says confidently.
"Hum we're having fun but I need you to get serious if you want to understand how I'm at an advantage"
The onmyoji could see how she had stopped him. He was dubious this was actually possible. The three woman had the same aura, the same amount of furyoku each. How had she managed that? His dimension was created within hers… "Maybe she is able to summon her other copies from that dimension, if so she could still summon onis but she wa…"
"You are lost in thought again, do I really have that effect on you ?" dares the auburn haired teen, she has eyes like blue green gems, he could tell because she had slid right in front of him, again. Now she was getting too confidant and it annoyed him.
Hao prepares one forbidden spell.
" I told you not to be so familiar…"
His descendant stopshim with three right hands to his mouth.
"You can't use that spell on me, it would backfire terribly "
He sees anger in the future Asakura's face. "She changes mood so quickly." As if to prove his point she softens again " And you should address me with respect, because I am the greatest shaman queen there is."
"Queen" the word echoes in the onmyoji's thought, "That's what she was here for. "Make him a better King", "the last Asakura" and that odd thing she said about Luchist being at her wedding." He sighed, disappointed. "Oh well if she wants to help me I can certainly use her great powers.".
" I feel greed" The last Asakura said, frowning.
"Speak for yourself." The first answers.
And he set off his most powerful fire spell, the whole dimension would erupt in flames. At least it should have, the two are still standing facing each other, the women's body triple hands in mid air between them.
"Are you hesitating?" the girl says.
"I am not.."
But the girl was talking to his chest. Spirit of Fire looked… troubled. His eyes widens. His spirit had never wavered. He calls him"Sp.."
"It's okay you can burn me, I want you too."
There was a short pause, in which both Hao and Spirit of Fire felt a strong desire to burn, so they obliged and the three Asakura women went ablaze along with most of the dimension the onmyoji had created.