Seal

Shin turned away from the Yuki-onna, facing the direction Hinako, Yukimura, and Rentarou were. However, instead of looking at them, he fixed his attention on his right arm. Shuten-doji, huh? The mana in my arm is his? Did I have no power to begin with… No! I can’t think about that right now. It doesn’t matter who this mana comes from; I still need to use it.

Shin placed his arm behind him again before launching himself with the mana expelled from his arm. Normally, using it for this high of a jump would deplete his arm. However, even as he landed on the cliff where the three stood, his arm still glowed a scarlet hue. But he didn’t have the time to question it; there was a bigger anomaly in front of him. “Did Rentarou get an ice statue of himself?”

“No, I did that.”

“Huh? Why?”

“He was going to try to fight the Yuki-onna while you were talking with her. So I just had him chill for a bit.”

“Then, thanks for the help, Yukimura.”

“How did it go? Do we need to kill her?”

“No, we don’t. All we need to do is find a way to make sure she and her children are safe together, and she said she’d stop killing.”

“Do you have an idea?”

“Yes, and it involves Hinako.”

“M-Me? Wh-What do you need me for?”

“You’re good at sealing, right? Do you think it’s possible to seal the Yuki-onna and all of the Yukinkos into one seal?”

“If you’re talking about a regular sealing talisman, no. But if I had a bigger object that could store their collective mana, then I could try.”

“Would the bag Rentarou and I had work? It was pretty big and heavy.”

“No. It fits the big criteria, but it is not good for storing mana. After a few yokai are sealed in there, it will burst, and the yokai will be unsealed.”

“Then what can we use?”

“Would my sword work?” When Yukimura offered it up, Hinako immediately began to think.

If we were strictly talking about size, then no… but it is an Onmyoji weapon. So, it is a good conduit for mana. Therefore… “It depends on how much mana you can store in the sword, but it’s not impossible.”

“Good, then let’s try it. Yukimura, can I borrow your sword?”

“No need. I can come with you guys.”

“But I can’t carry—”

“W-Were you going to do what you did before?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Y-You don’t need to do that. I can make a path for us.” Yukimura extended her sword toward the area where the Yuki-onna was. “Freeze.” As soon as Yukimura said it, ice began to come together to form a slide to the Yuki-onna.

“I’m going first.” As soon as he said that, Shin immediately slid down. However, before Hinako followed after Shin, she turned to Yukimura.

“Wait, what about Rentarou? Aren’t we going to bring him down with us?”

“No, he might find some way to unfreeze himself if he’s right in front of the Yuki-onna.”

“True, he is an idiot… and a stubborn one.” With those words, Hinako slid down, and Yukimura followed behind her. Once the three were in front of her, the Yuki-onna posed a question.

“Who is the one you needed help from? Or did you need both of them?” The Yuki-onna’s eyebrow raised as mana began to swirl around her palm.

“Yes, I do need both of them. The blonde girl on my left is named Hinako, and she’s skilled in sealing. The blue-haired one on my right is Yukimura, and if you do get sealed, it’d have to be in her sword. Do you want to try it?”

“Hinako, how confident are you that you can seal all of us? Have you ever done this before? Will my children be hurt?”

“N-N-No. I haven’t done this before, but I think I can. The only thing I need is for you to gather all of your…”

“Children. All of my children.” The Yuki-onna turned away from the individuals in front of her to face the igloos behind her. She inhaled the cave’s frigid winds before her voice echoed throughout the cave, “Everyone, come out!”

Shin, Yukimura, and Hinako all covered their ears so they couldn’t hear the stampede of tiny feet skittering toward the Yuki-onna. In seconds, hundreds of the Yukinkos surrounded the Yuki-onna, all with unique hairstyles.

“I-Is that all of them?”

“It should be, but I just have to make sure. Kin.” Kin raised their hand from the crowd of yokai children. “Yui.” Yui did the same thing. Then, the Yuki-onna proceeded to call the names of all her children. She continued for twenty minutes, until she ensured they were all present. “Yes, now they’re all here.”

“Perfect, now we can begin the sealing process.” Hinako stretched out her arms toward the yokai as she began to mouth something. She continued to do that until yellow mana particles surrounded the Yuki-onna and her children, forming a circle around them.

“Is this sealing magic?” Shin whispered to Yukimura.

“Yes. It’s rare but not impossible to learn, but Hinako does it uniquely.”

“What do you mean?”

“Onmyoji normally say chants, experienced ones like Takeda are fast at chanting spells they already know. I, on the other hand, shorten my chants because of my proficiency with ice magic. But Hinako, she doesn’t verbally chant at all. She only mouths it.” Yukimura’s voice was low but it wasn’t low enough to where Hinako didn’t hear their conversation.

The tips of Hinako’s ears were reddening as she shouted back at them. “Can both of you quiet down? I can’t focus on the sealing! And Yukimura, bring your sword closer to me!”

Shin and Yukimura apologized at the same time, before Yukimura stepped toward the family of yokai. With unsteady hands, she extended the sword toward the Yuki-onna and the Yukinkos. Yukimura gave them one more smile before a yellow light enveloped them all.

Shin and Hinako both shielded their eyes, and when the light died down, the two didn’t see the yokai anymore. The only thing they saw was Yukimura lying on the ground, clutching onto her sword.

“Yukimura?” Shin raced to her side. “Yukimura, wake up! Are you okay?”

“Shin, she’s fine…” Hinako yawned as she slowly blinked. “She just needs some rest.”

“But we can’t let her sleep here.”

“That’s why you’ll carry her outside the cave.”

“Okay.” Shin slowly lifted Yukimura and placed her on his back. Then, as the two began to walk toward the cliff they entered from, Hinako paused. “Is something wrong?”

“We’re forgetting something.”

“What?”

“My brother. We have to go get him.”

“Do we have to?” When Shin said this, Hinako stared at him with the fury of a thousand suns. “I was joking, let’s go get him too.”

“Mhm. He’s probably cold by now.”