THE SHRINE OF TWO MOONS PART 2: Asahi and Arukuro

Asahi spun.

He could still sense Reiji’s aura but it was faint.

The black sphere holding Reiji sat in the center of the courtyard like a hole in reality. He struck it with his Katana — but the steel didn't bite. It vibrated violently, his Kishin flaring and dying against the surface.

“Reiji?!”

“You should worry about yourself,” Murei spoke from behind

Flaming ribbons tore through the space.

Then—

MOVE.

A voice echoed inside his skull.

“Huh?”

Asahi turned just as the air ignited, taking a hit on the shoulder, followed by pain sharp enough to steal his breath.

He knew that voice.

Murei’s arms split apart, flesh unravelling into more burning ribbons. One carved a molten trench through a pillar, splitting it. Asahi dove, rolling across the veranda boards beneath the sweeping shrine roof.

I THOUGHT I WOULD NOT BE REQUIRED AGAINST SUCH PATHETIC CREATURES

The voice snickered.

Asahi skidded to his feet.

Murei was gone, replaced by a lingering smell of ozone and burnt cedar.

“Arukuro?” Asahi snapped aloud.

OF COURSE

Another ribbon hissed from his blindspot. Asahi slashed on instinct, hitting empty air.

“Tch....! He’s too fast. I can’t get a read on him!”

HE IS CONCEALING HIS AURA. A CRUDE TRICK —BUT EFFECTIVE AGAINST AMATEURS

“Hey,” Asahi hissed, narrowly avoiding a lash. “That includes me, you know!”

SADLY, YES.

“So what’s the plan?” Asahi panted, vaulting over a stone lantern. “Can’t you talk him down? Aren’t you their king or something?”

A pause.

YOU MEAN LORD.

Another pause

AND I CANNOT

“Why not?!” Asahi ducked beneath as a ribbon vaporised a nearby pillar.

IT IS NOT IMPORTANT. HOWEVER—IF YOU GRANT ME CONTROL—

“Nope.”

The word was barely out when a ribbon slithered beneath him. He tried to slash it but instead the ribbon wrapped around his Katana forcing his grip open, sending the sword clatering away. The veranda boards beneath his feet splintered as he was driven back.

Murei stepped into the lantern light, expressionless. “Are you planning to run the entire time?”

GET LOW. HE WILL AIM FOR YOUR CENTER MASS

Arukuro’s voice was suddenly calm.

Asahi moved diagonally one foot, sliding, then pivoted with the other. The ribbon missed his skull by an inch, detonating against the stone basin behind him, wooden ladles scattering like bones.

Sensing a gap, he rushed Murei's left side. Another ribbon whipped toward his face. He slapped it aside with his bare palm. The burn was immediate and excruciating.

“Ow…!” he hissed, rubbing his palm against his damp Kimono. “…that freaking burns.”

WELL DONE, Arukuro approved. HOWEVER —OBSERVE THE FLOORING. THE BOARDS ARE WET

Asahi looked down. The rain was mixing with the scorched wood, creating a treacherous, slick field. He shifted his weight, his feet finding a rhythmic, sliding balance. He wasn't a swordsman right now; he was a dancer in a minefield and the King of Yokai was calling the steps.

Murei reappeared in front of him. “Stand still. Time is of the essence.”

A single ribbon condensed then split into two massive burning whips.

“You heard him, Lord....” Asahi panted, sidestepping the pivoting on his right foot. The ribbons ignited the shimenawa rope above. “....What’s the plan?”

WE REQUIRE YOUR SWORD. FOLLOW MY DIRECTIONS.

Asahi nodded, tracking the steel ten feet away.

NOW

Asahi used the water-slicked cedar as a launchpad, his front foot sliding while his rear foot snapped forward to maintain his centre. A ribbon lashed out but Asahi was already gone. He stomped the pommel of the Katana with his front foot, catching the flipping sword before settling into a Gedan-no-kamae stance.

RIGHT

Two ribbons struck Asahi's left arm and two more wrapped around his torso. The force hurled him through a row of wooden ema plaques, prayers splintering before he slammed into the base of a shrine pillar.

I TOLD YOU TO MOVE RIGHT

"You just said right, how was I supposed to know?!" Asahi snapped.

Coughing, he peeled himself from the pillar, pausing long enough to place a few broken ema back on the rack.

“There,” he wheezed. “Now grant me some good fortune.”

VERY WELL

KOKYŪ RYOKU. ARE YOU AWARE OF IT?”

“Ko…”

LEFT

Asahi dove. Pain gnawed at his side.

“Tch…Yeah,” he gritted his teeth. “But I’m not good at it.”

I SHALL AID YOU.

The world tilted.

Arukuro’s voice was no longer calm. Asahi’s foot slid out from under him on the wet floor, barely catching himself as his scattered thoughts snapped inward. A ribbon scorched past his cheek, close enough to singe his hair, but he didn't feel the heat.

INHALE

His heartbeat thundered, loud enough to drown the rain that seemed to hang in the air. Asahi inhaled.

Murei attacked again but instinct betrayed Asahi as he exhaled, evading the strike.

I DID NOT TELL YOU TO EXHALE.

The ribbons boomeranged mid-air, forming a perfect X of fire. Asahi's knees buckled as the attack passed overhead, shearing the top of the stone lantern clean off.

STAND UP. YOU CALL THAT BREATHING?!

“I’m trying my best here.....” Asahi staggered back up.

NOT ENOUGH.

Murei stopped, his head tilting as he watched Asahi's aura flicker and darken at the edges. “What was that…aura just now? ”

“What do you mean?” Asahi forced a grin, though pain was chewing through his ribs. “That… th-that was all me. Yeah. One more time....let’s go.”

Murei thrusted forward, tightening the ribbons into a burning spear point. Asahi tried to inhale again, but his lungs rejected the oxygen, resulting in him spewing blood.

DO NOT RUSH THIS TECHNIQUE

“You’re falling apart,” Murei hissed. “Your body knows it.”

“Shut…. Up ….” Asahi wheezed.

The attacks came relentlessly.

Asahi couldn’t dodge. Instead, he deflected the ribbons with the flat of his blade but because his breathing was shallow, each impact felt like a hammer blow to his ribs.

“I... can’t... hold it...”

IGNORE THE PAIN. NOW—INHALE

Then, his vision sharpened. In that single breath, he could see the wet floor, the flaming ribbons and beneath the ribbons, Murei's physical flesh.

EXHALE

Asahi released the breath. His aura collapsed inward, no longer spilling wild. It wrapped his muscles, his joints and Katana. His stance lowered naturally. It was like his entire body had become weightless.

“This is....” Asahi murmured, eyes widening. “This is Kokyū Ryoku?”

More ribbons attacked. Asahi didnt just see them; he knew where they would hit. He slid forward, cutting one cleanly, twisted his wrist to sever the other two in a fluid motion.

“Impressive,” Murei admitted as the ribbons dissolved into sparks. His eyes narrowed. “…. even if it was a fluke.”

Asahi exhaled slowly, steam rolling from his lips.

“No. That was skill, my Yokai friend.”

NO. THAT WAS A FLUKE.

“Come on,” Asahi muttered. “Don’t embarrass me. Let’s say it was intentional.”

THAT IS NOT THE ISSUE.

“Relax. Now that I’ve mastered Kokyū Ryoku, I’ll finish this guy and save Reiji.”

Asahi hadn’t realised that he had spoken aloud. Murei’s expression became a cold, predatory mask.

“Mastery?” Murei stepped over a charred shimenawa rope, his ribbons unspooling. “You’ve merely learned to blink.”

“I got him!” Asahi lunged, air whisling through his teeth, forcing a massive inhale.

STAY CENTER. DO NOT OVERREACH

Asahi ignored him, blinded by the sudden clarity of Kokyū Ryoku. He executed a high-speed sliding step striking in a vertical arc, cutting four ribbons simultaneously.

“Woooo!” Asahi laughed. “Did you see that? I’m awesome! One more time.”

But he was moving too fast for his own lungs to keep up.

Murei realised it. He performed a transmutation feint, dissolving the ribbon Asahi was aiming for into superheated mist. Asahi's sword sliced through empty air, his momentum pulling him far beyond his center of gravity.

“….there you are,” Murei whispered, rising from a low crouch.

BEHIND Y—

Too late.

A crushing blow slammed into Asahi’s exposed ribs. The impact didn't just knock him back, it shattered the rhythm of his breathing. Kokyū Ryoku collapsed like a popped balloon. He was sent crashing through the row of ema plaques.

I TOLD YOU TO BE CAUTIOUS

Asahu gritted his teeth, blood bursting from his nose. "Yeah....my bad."

His fingers twitched toward his Katana but his arm felt like it was made of lead. Murei stood over him. He snapped his fingers.

“Transmutation art — Enshō-kyaku."

Dozens of ribbons moved clockwise, evaporating the water on the floor into vapour, creating a vacuum. Asahi tried to inhale but the air was choking; it felt like needles.

“Gah…!” Asahi stumbled, his heel catching on a shattered ema. “I….I can still…”

Murei seized Asahi’s arm. With a sickening wrench, he swung Asahi down, slamming him back-first into the stone basin. The stone cratered.

“Now,” Murei spoke, aiming the ribbons at Asahi's throat. “Let’s see that ‘skill' one more time.”