"Shion-kun…"
The name reverberated inside Okotsu's skull, a phantom voice that seemed to hold great power over him. With a sudden, jerky motion, Okotsu shoved Watanabe away, struggling to his feet.
"What are you doi—?" Watanabe paused, his breath catching.
The dagger was still buried in Okotsu's side, wedged between the ribs, and as Watanabe looked closer, he saw an anomaly. There was no crimson stain; instead, a thick white and viscous substance dripped from the entry wound.
'Ahhh... my Sarashi...' Okotsu thought, his hand trembling as it hovered over the hilt of his blade.
With a wet, sliding sound, he tore the dagger from his body and threw it aside. It clattered against the bone-ground. Okotsu then raised two fingers, focusing his Reiryoku into the centre of his chest.
"Realise." Kōga
The command was a whisper. The white, slime-like substance that had been compressing his body began to retract, sloughing off his frame and hitting the ground with a heavy, wet thud.
"Wait... wait... what the hell am I seeing?" Watanabe stammered, his eyes widening.
'Ha. I thought so,' Yorimitsu murmured to himself, his hands were forming seals now. From his perspective, he watched the previously flat chest of the assassin expand, reclaiming its natural form as the constriction was lifted.
Before Watanabe could finish his thought, Okotsu reached for the edge of his jaw. With a sharp, upward motion, he pulled at the skin. It peeled away like wet parchment.
"So... she was using a human skin mask," Harumichi mused from his tail-throne, his fingers still poised over the Koto. He sounded almost impressed. "She's one from Kōga-ryu, it's no wonder why I couldn't sense her before she attacked me."
"You're... you're a woman?!" Watanabe was far too stunned to maintain his combat stance.
The figure standing before them was no longer manly looking, her face was soft and round, framed by the remnants of the disguise, yet possessed a lethal sharpness at the jawline, her body was well defined, she had the grace of a woman, yet a new air of danger clung to her.
"Stop being distracted! It's time to begin!" Yorimitsu's voice boomed, vibrating with the authority of a high commander.
"No, you don't," Harumichi hissed.
TANG!
A singular, low-frequency note rang out from the Koto. The logic of the domain shifted instantly. Beneath Yorimitsu's feet, the sea of skulls dissolved into a pitch-black abyss, a yawning hole leading into the void.
"Shit!" Yorimitsu gasped as he began to plummet.
But he didn't fall far. Shion melted from her position and reappeared instantly on the vertical wall of the bone-mountain, her hand catching Yorimitsu's hand with impossible strength. She threw him up, and he pulled her along and left the hole.
Yorimitsu glanced up at her. Shion's eyes were cold, locked onto Harumichi with an impossible stillness.
"Did you manage to place them as I told you, Shion?"
She looked down and gave a single, solemn nod.
"Good. I'm not sure if this is going to work... let's just hope it makes a difference," Yorimitsu muttered, his gaze shifting to the terrain. "That was the last of the Snake Sand I had left. I used the rest, redirecting Watanabe's fate to ensure he survives that curse earlier..."
Harumichi plucked another note. A massive orb of hellfire manifested inches from Yorimitsu's face, ready to incinerate him.
SWISH!
Watanabe was there. He moved in a blur of ice-cold steel, his katana cutting the fireball in half, the two halves dissipating into steam.
In that brief, protected heartbeat, Yorimitsu finished his seal. He bit down hard on his thumb, letting a single drop of blood fall to the ground. He slammed his palms together, the whole place shot lightly.
"玄武 (Genbu) – North! 白虎 (Byakko) – West! 青龍 (Seiryū) – East! 朱雀 (Suzaku) – South!"
His voice rose to a roar that drowned out the Koto.
"Four Flames Cardinal Fūin-jin"
From the four cardinal points of the domain, massive pillars of celestial blue flame erupted, piercing the bruised sky. They formed a square of blinding light, and at the centre, hovering directly over Harumichi, a massive, glowing Kanji seal manifested in the air.
"祓"
"Tch. I knew it... Those are the flames of Kita. Those wicked flames, so the Boy is Minamoto," Harumichi hissed, his gaze flickering with a mix of hatred and thrill. "But wait... they are far too weak. What is going on?"
He looked at a thin, singular thread of blue fire that had managed to latch onto his back. It didn't burn his skin; it simply clung there, pulsing to his heartbeat.
"Ha! Of course, they wouldn't be able to do anything to you yet," Yorimitsu shouted back, his face pale from the strain.
'I don't have my regular gear. To set up this Hōjin properly, I had to have Shion carve the Fuda (seals) directly onto the scattered bones of this graveyard. I wasn't sure if they could hold up, but since the ritual started... I guess they'll work."
"Taisho!" Gabimaru barked. He was still rooted to the spot, his body a chimney of steam. His grip on his katana was white-knuckled, but his breathing was terrifyingly steady. "Are we done?!"
"No! I've deployed the sealing barrier, but it's a bothersome one," Yorimitsu explained, rushing forward. "It will take an incense stick's worth of time for the ritual to fully understand his Reiryoku before it can force a seal."
'And considering how his energy is constantly shifting souls, it might take even longer,' Yorimitsu thought grimly.
"We have to keep attacking him! The more impact we land, the faster Fūin-jin can analyse his power. Just an incense stick worth... and we win!"
"Mmmm. You don't say?" Harumichi's fingers danced across the Koto strings.
TANG!
Gabimaru's katana suddenly felt like it weighed a thousand pounds; he was forced to drop it to the ground. In the same heartbeat, several ethereal sabres manifested out of thin air, lunging for his throat.
CRASH!
Gabimaru's blood reacted instinctively, a crimson barrier surging upward to meet the blades. They shattered into mist upon impact.
"His Onmyōdō... it has something to do with Fortune!" Yorimitsu roared, closing the distance with a desperate strike. "Be careful!"
"Ahhh... so he figured it out," Harumichi whispered, his eyes narrowing as he focused entirely on Yorimitsu. "I think I'll kill that brat first. If the head falls, the rest will be easy to pick apart."