A flower with no fragrance and no name, regarded largely as an omen of ill-tiding. She resented this world for that. She was not the only one.
Perhaps that is why this boy existed. Perhaps that is why that name suits him so well.
A curse from those who had done nothing wrong and merely existed, only to be rejected.
Hiyori...
The sword clips his cheek. Warm blood runs down his skin.
Hiyori...
He can smell the strange absence of aroma despite the burning and flowers dancing in the air.
"Hiyori!"
To Yato's surprise, Yukine comes out of the sky from seemingly nowhere. He's glowing with a strange aura that allows him to fly up here amid the dizzying dance of flowers. He hovers onto the edge of the thick trunk where Yato and Fudou are dueling and draws a sharp boundary to force the gods apart.
"Y-Yukine...?!" Yato looks at Yukine in shock at his presence here.
"Yato! You idiot!" The hafuri barks at Yato. The delivery god can clearly see some tears on the young boy's face, "You didn't trust me to help you?!"
"Quite the dedicated one you've got there, Yatogami," Tesso snarls.
"Well, yeah- wait, what's going on?!" Yato points at Yukine, "It's too dangerous here!"
"A hafuri's power is certainly marvelous," Fudou goes to cut Yukine down. The boy manages to maneuver away to Yato's side. Their blades clash together once more. Yukine tips the scales in Yato's favor by sending a side attack at Fudou.
"Can you feel your master's sting, hafuri?" Fudou asks Yukine as he readies his stance, black eyes glistening, "Of wielding a half-ayakashi?"
"There isn't any sting, asshole," Yukine retorts, "Except from maybe me..."
"... It's fine, Yukine," Yato sighs, "I don't want to risk you."
"We said we'd save Hiyori together!" Yukine punches Yato on the arm, "If it comes to it... we'll get punished together!"
"... Tsubaki," Fudou looks up to the shower of camelias, "How close are we... to breaking all the barriers?"
"We've strained it enough," A voice emanates from somewhere within the tree, echoing out, "But it doesn't seem like they're moving apart..."
Where the severed rensa flail helplessly in the air, smaller threads seem to appear across the land. They look almost like silk strings that run from the earth up to the skies...
"So many … links?" Fudou looks in awe at the hellish landscape as the sky is red and black with smoke from destruction wrought by the onslaught of ayakashi overrunning the city, "What is this? I want to know...!"
"Hrah!" Yato moves to slash him while his attention is drawn. Fudou gets clipped on the shoulder and jumps back before blasting a lash of energy in retaliation. The furry armor that is Tesso absorbs the shock well enough and Yato is undeterred, able to follow on his assault.
"Yato!" Yukine looks about ready to jump back in when a sudden vine sprouts from the tree underfoot and latches onto his leg, "Huh?"
"Don't get in Fudou's way," He hears Ume's voice.
"Y-you're...!" Yukine growls as he tries to cut that with a boundary. But they snag onto his clothes in their multitude.
"Tsk...!" Yato sees Yukine struggling and makes a snap judgment, "Come, Sekki!"
In a flash, Yukine's blades are in his hand as he drops Tesso's sword. The rat's armament comes in multiple forms, so it easily reclaims the unused portion. Now, with Tesso as armor and Yukine as his weapons, Yato slams hard onto Fudou with a renewed assault.
"Yukine, you alright?!" Yato pants as he swings both blades in a flurrying dance.
"Y-yeah!" Yukine says with relief despite feeling the crawling sensation of an ayakashi presence in this place, "You're worried for nothing, idiot!"
"Don't get cocky, whelp," Tesso says toothily, "But... victory may yet be in reach!"
Fudou grunts as he's pushed back with his one weapon against Yato's two. He has blood leaking from multiple wounds on his body, though none too major. With a gnashing of his teeth, he gets a zany look in his eye. He has not given up.
"Ubau!"
The wakizashi in his hand sparks and seems to split. One form turns into that familiar, terrifying, feral shape of Hiyori. The other remains the blade in Fudou's hand. The feral hanyo snarls at Yato without recognition and sends a rending barrier straight at him with her claws.
"Hiyori! Kuh!" Yato dodges gracefully into the air. He notices just in time as the tree around them seems to sprout branches to swat or snare him, "What the-"
"It's Ume, Yato!" Yukine calls to him, "She's the one controlling the tree...!"
"What? Damn...!" Yato growls as he cuts those wooden tendrils away, "Figures that she's a nature spirit...!"
"Yatogami, stay sharp!" Tesso barks. The feral Hiyori jumps up with her sharp claws. Tesso's mantle head unfurls to combat her with his teeth. She is much faster and claws at his face. The rat man snarls in pain.
"Hmf!" Fudou now meets Yato in midair, adding to the pressure, "Can you fight on these multiple fronts, Yatogami?"
"Ngh...!" Yato sweats and blocks his strike while also fending off the tree's attacks. He and Fudou cross boundaries and the shockwave blasts them both back along with Hiyori into the mountains surrounding the giant tree. The camellia shower is momentarily disrupted by the wind before it continues raining. The groaning of the very fabric of their world can be felt as news reports popped up all over the city about the rash of disasters that suddenly seemed to be occurring during the strangely prolonged eclipse.
"Your highness."
Tenjin appears before the Heaven court with Tsuyu. He is not allowed to bypass the curtain nor the rows of shinki gathered before the meeting chambers of the sun.
"... Tenjin. What are you doing here?" Amaterasu's form can be seen behind the curtain as a shadow, "I had issued an order to destroy the god of calamity."
"There is information we need to disseminate along the troops, which have severely been cut down by the power of the god of calamity," Tenjin bows his head, "Regarding the god, Fudou Magatsuhi."
At the full name, a ripple through the very air can be felt.
"Magatsuhi...?" Amaterasu says quietly, "What..."
"He is a god of calamity from the north, originally. I had seen him about a thousand years ago... when the Old Gods of the north were first in conflict due to the old wars," Tenjin says somberly, "The power he bears with him surpasses that of a normal god's shinki... it rivals that of a hafuri, despite not being a blessed guidepost."
"And what are you suggesting, Tenjin?" Kusanagi asks. The other two treasures look on in anticipation as Amaterasu remains quiet behind the curtain, "A hafuri does not a god make. And yet the powers he is commanding are entirely-"
"It is likely to be a powerful ayakashi," Tenjin answers abruptly, "An ancient spirit to be exact. Fuyutsubaki."
"Fuyutsubaki...?" Amaterasu echoes.
"Yes, a spirit... like Tsuyu," The god of knowledge looks to his precious assistant, "But I am afraid far less benevolent. I had finally ascertained my suspicions when the great tree appeared..."
"... And he seeks to cut the rensa... But that will not grant the split he seeks," Amaterasu sighs.
Tenjin glances up slightly in surprise, "What do the rensa serve, then?"
"The living and dead... their memories, their bonds, are quite strong. The rensa serve to bind them whilst preserving them. Otherwise... the grief would create multitudes more ayakashi than we have now," The curtain rattles as Amaterasu steps out. A hush falls over her court as they gaze upon her form, which is no longer that of a child's. She appears now as a young woman, with the same pale hair. There is no further sign of any mark of attack on her face from earlier. Tenjin and Tsuyu quickly bow deeply.
"When Izanami was sent to Yomi, that was the beginning of grief. With the growth of humanity, their grief would only be unending as long as life and death went on. To create the balance, the rensa were formed to bind these, spanning both Shores," Her yellow eyes appear melancholic, "They regulate the flows of these powerful emotions exchanged."
"Then... if they break..." Tenjin feels a slight sweat build.
"Yes... that pillar of stability will be gone. Ayakashi spawn will be uncontrolled from the outpour, not to mention much stronger varieties. That is why..." Amaterasu makes a small gesture with her sleeved arm, "His weapon, the item of dual natures... If that breaks, as well as any other hanyo weapon, then we may preserve the rensa."
Break the weapon... Tenjin realizes what the sun goddess means... Even through this eclipse, she can see it.
As the strings that seem to connect sky and earth appear in the wake of the sundering of the rensa, the goddess blinks slowly.
"These strings then..." Tenjin breathes, "The threads..."
"Kizuna... the bonds shared by the living and dead. With their pull, even massive, ancient ayakashi can materialize on this Shore..."
The court rumbles.
"That is my order. Release the reserves," Amaterasu says with quiet and absolute authority.
Ume, or Tsubaki, at the tallest part of the great tree, surveys the world under this dark sky as magenta lightning sparks. Down below, the city is besieged by the battles of ayakashi and the gods trying to combat them. The remaining rensa remain like beacons amid the spreading chaos. Rumbles through the earth can be heard. Tsubaki slowly smiles as the branch poking out of her head flowers.
Fudou swiftly jumps up onto her level, without his weapon. With a simple call of her name, Hiyori returns to his grasp. Blood drips from his sleeve. His dark clothes cover any other wounds he may have. His hat is long gone.
"The waters, land, and skies of this country are full of the old ones like me," Tsubaki smiles softly as the chaos continues before her eyes, "Kaigyo, Namazu, Hanzaki... if the rensa are gone, then they can come forth."
She herself was born from such emotions gathered at that snowy bush...
"... So, the shores will not part," Fudou says hoarsely, seemingly unbothered by his injuries.
"Are you angry?" Ume looks to him, "Is this unsatisfying for you?"
Fudou looks to the weapon in his hand and then towards the remaining chains. He no longer looked towards them with intense curiosity.
"My new puzzle I have found..." He says quietly, glancing at his reflection on the short blade.
He never finishes his sentence because Tsubaki charges and hugs him lightly. Her body seemingly melds onto his in the form of roots that burrow under his skin. He doesn't show a lot of surprise. The roots meld into his very being, spread along his entire body.
Silently, his head looks again towards the remaining chains. He makes for those immediately, eyes glowing a little pink. The tree softly sways its branches, flowers still raining in serenity despite the surrounding pandemonium.
We need to finish this puzzle, Magatsuhi... that's the reason you exist... that's the reason why I gave you this name...
The hand on the short blade tightens as the roots flex the fingers in lieu of the normal muscle. The pink shimmer on the blade glints just a little.
"Augh... Ow..." Yato winces as the rat head nuzzles him, "Uwagh!"
"Wake up, Yatogami! There are not many rensa left!" Tesso says with urgency, "Magatsuhi will not be waiting for us to recover! Nor will he afford himself that luxury at this point... so this is our chance."
"Man, this old man's really bossy," Yukine grumbles.
"Alright, alright!" Yato sits up from the grassy underbrush with a grunt, "Geez, just don't wake me up with a rat's face ever again!"
"Hmf, you won't see it again once this is over," Tesso grunts.
Yato huffs and gathers his swords from nearby after staggering to a stand. His wounds are still patched a bit uncomfortably. The omamori from Hiyori is still within the folds of his belt sash. He looks out with a determined expression towards where the trees clear to show the city, as well as the sky overhead.
"That really was Hiyori, right..." Yukine says in a small voice. Despite her feral features, she still looked like... The boy grasps the folds of his robe by his chest, "We can bring her back, right, Yato? She's gotta come back..."
"If you do not have the resolve, back down, now," Tesso growls in a low tone.
"... Yeah, we're definitely getting her back...!" Yato grips his blades and now makes the large leap over the trees, towards the remaining rensa in the distance.
Wait for me, Hiyori... Just please hang on...
As the world seemed to be ending in response to his pleas, he sharpens his focus. A hard edge of light is in his eyes. Just kill Fudou... And then the shinki will be freed. He hadn't thought of killing someone other than his father in a while now. It's not the pleasant feeling in the world... but there is no hesitation. This is his resolve.
Sorry for the long wait. Been catching up on stuff.