Chapter 7: At the Tengu Village — Finale —

“Hard to believe it was that completely one-sided…”
Sekiren tilted his sake cup and muttered under his breath.

“They’re still drinking and brawling like that—just as ever, a bunch of muscleheads. That’s exactly why it turned out that way.”
Aiha laughed, her shoulders shaking, and drained her sake with a cool, unbothered look.

“It’s so we can still fight even when you’re drunk. …You don’t mean to tell me you’ve never heard the story about some of our ancestors getting plied with alcohol and losing, do you?”
Sekiren laughed heartily.
“…Putting that aside, what was that stick, anyway?”

“That was—the Legendary Shu.”
Aiha lightly raised her sake cup.
“Whoever it recognizes as its master can monopolize the Shu (殳).”

“…So how does that affect anything?”

“Think of strike (殴) or kill (殺). Both of those contain the Shu (殳), don’t they?”
Grinning slyly, Aiha went on.
“A character that has its Shu (殳) taken from it can no longer hold any meaning. In other words, the act itself can no longer come into being.”

Sekiren let out a low groan.
“…That’s one hell of a notion.”

Then, Suzuran quietly spoke up.
“But wouldn’t thrusting (突) still be possible?”

Aiha’s eyes narrowed.
As if she had been waiting for that very question.

“Thrusting (突) is also a form of attack (攻撃). In the characters for attack (攻撃), there is strike (撃). And—strike (撃) also contains the Shu (殳).”
Aiha raised a finger and spoke, tracing each step one by one.

“In other words, thrusting, shooting, slashing—all acts that fall under the name of attack become invalid.”

“So… all forms of attack become impossible?”
Suzuran looked at Aiha with keen interest.

“That’s exactly right.”
Aiha nodded, clearly satisfied.
“More precisely, it’s attacks directed at the master that cease to function. Swinging a blade, loosing an arrow—those actions themselves are erased, vanishing like mist.”

“…But hold on. Back then, didn’t you throw (投) Homuramaru?”
Sekiren asked, as if something had just come back to him.

“Yeah—that was the result of trying to snap the Shu in half.”
Smiling, Aiha lifted her sake cup to her lips.

“And that shouldn’t have worked— …but it did.”
Sekiren frowned.

“It doesn’t react unless there’s a clear intent to attack. When I tried to strike him directly, I couldn’t move at all—but when I aimed for the Shu, I was able to swing with full force.”
Aiha laughed, clearly amused.
“If someone could fight without even being conscious—maybe they could’ve beaten it into the ground.”
She curled her lips into a sly grin.

“If you were dead drunk, maybe there’d be a chance… no—there’s no way.”
He muttered, sounding exasperated.

Just then, Homuramaru—who had been laid down—opened his eyes.
He sat up, settled into seiza, and placed his hands on the floor.

“…Sorry for pulling such a stupid stunt.”

Aiha’s eyes softened just a little.
“All right, all right. You merely brushed against the Legendary Shu, and it set your blood racing.”

Homuramaru remained bowed.

“…That said—even so, for someone of your caliber to inherit the name of Shuten-dōji… truly, the name of Shuten-dōji has fallen to the ground.”
Aiha laughed with clear amusement, drained her sake cup, and went on speaking, sounding even more entertained.

Suzuran’s eyes darted, while Sekiren narrowed his.
Homuramaru’s shoulders trembled as he lifted his face and rose to his feet.

“Hey… just because I backed off, you’re getting carried away…!”

“Come on, then. I’ll twist you up without breaking a sweat.”
Aiha took a stance, looking thoroughly amused.

Sekiren shrugged and downed his sake in one go.
“In the end, you’re drinking and brawling too, aren’t you…?”

Beside him, Suzuran quietly poured some sake and smiled.
“But… they do look like they’re having fun.”

After the two of them finished trading blows and came back,
Homuramaru shouted, “Damn it!”, while Aiha laughed loudly, clearly in high spirits.

“Whew… that was fun.”
She gave a light chuckle and raised her sake cup.

“There are countless tales about the Legendary Shu—but the last one told goes like this:
‘A young upstart who got carried away after obtaining the Legendary Shu was easily defeated in his very first battle.’”

Grinning, she glanced toward Homuramaru.

Homuramaru drained his sake in one gulp and shouted in anger.
“Bastard… I’ll beat you into the ground this time!”

“If you’re eager to add yet another loss to your record—then I’ll gladly oblige.”
Aiha raised the corner of her mouth and stood up.

“Do you not intend to stop them?”
Suzuran asked Sekiren.

“There’s no need for that.”
Sekiren rose slowly to his feet.

“Let me in too!”

Before long, the clash between two turned into a three-way brawl.

Suzuran quietly glanced outside.
Their first bout had begun before noon, but now the sun was already starting to sink toward the western sky.

Outside, everything would soon be wrapped in silence.
But—inside this residence alone, the noise looked set to continue for quite a while longer.

On that day, the Legendary Shu was quietly laid to rest, in exchange for one final tale.
But almost no one believed that story to be true.
—Except for those who had been there.