In truth, the eastern woods were that only in name: merely a segment of the enormous forest that surrounded Reishoumiya on three sides than a thing of its own.
Nothing could have been further from Awazuki's mind as she stepped into the woods, burning with a righteous anger that kept the chill from her skin. All was silent for now but for the babbling river which flowed through the forest and village alike.
She ventured further in, guiding the Hakurei Yin-Yang Orb in her wake and listening to the rushing water. As a child, she had once tried to follow the river all the way to its mouth just to see where it was. She had only walked for five minutes before Grandmother had noticed her absence and came running to snatch her back, followed by the scolding of a lifetime.
Back then, Awazuki had had no real concept of the danger the forest posed. Now, she knew it all too well. She strode on, uncaring.
After a few tentative minutes to re-accustome herself to the forest terrain, she continued her mad dash, avoiding some of the branches on her way only by a hair's breadth. She had run all the way so far, and would continue to do so all the way to the moon if necessary. She only had one goal, burned into her thoughts with a red hot iron.
Vengeance.
Despite several calm days in a row, remnants of mist lingered in the valley as she descended down the hill, more to do with the supernatural residents of the forest than the weather. She waded into it with an accustomed step and kept moving, hurrying towards the slope at the other side of the valley, over the
gnarly roots and sudden holes hidden underneath the moss and the veil of night, just waiting for an unfortunate victim to stumble and injure themselves. She ignored them all. Nothing would stand in her way.
Nothing here should have stood in Meizuki's way, either...
Awazuki slowed down to wipe the tears from her eyes, then kept running.
She slowed down again a moment later. Where to go? She didn't actually know where Meizuki had been, nor did she see any clues. No matter how she squinted, the faint waxing moon and the freshly awoken stars simply weren't enough for her to make out anything but black, indistinct shapes around her.
Just as she was about to speed up again, planning on following her gut instinct alone, she heard a low snarl to her right. She tensed and beckoned the Hakurei Yin-Yang Orb to her side. That done, she focused all her attention to her ears. Something was definitely there, breathing shallowly behind one of the trees.
She approached gingerly, but despite her caution she stepped on a dry twig, snapping it in half with a loud crack. The sound of breathing disappeared.
Before Awazuki could decide on her next course of action, an ear-piercing shriek deafened her, and the world went completely dark as something pounced upon her from the shadows. The shadow pinned her to the ground and began scratching at her face, trying to claw her eyes out.
Awazuki clenched her teeth together. Without even bothering to shield her eyes, she focused her thoughts on the Hakurei Yin-Yang Orb. She steered the orb to the left and allowed it to absorb more of her power. Then, she launched it at full strength into the youkai's ribs.
There was a crunchy, sickening sound, and the youkai fell off her with a cry. As Awazuki scrambled on her feet she got her first look at her adversary: some kind of a rat youkai, human-shaped but covered from top to toe in the matted grey fur of a beast. It snarled, revealing the full length of its yellowed fangs, and weakly readied its knife-like claws for another assault.
Awazuki ignored the blood trickling down from the cuts on her face and instead called for the gods. Bolstered by divine strength, she grasped the youkai by its grimy tunic, lifting it off its feet and smashing it against a nearby tree. Before the youkai could mount a counter-attack, Awazuki clasped her hand around its neck, squeezing it like a vice. She retrieved an ofuda from the folds of her clothes and smashed it on the youkai's forehead. As the divine light from the ofuda scalded the youkai, she focused her thoughts once more the Hakurei Ying-Yang Orb and hopped back as the orb rammed against the youkai one final time.
The rat youkai gurgled its last and went limp. Awazuki turned away from its corpse, ignoring the dark stains on her white shirt.
"Who's next?" she cried out into the darkness ahead, stumbling away from the scene of battle. "Which one of you bastards wants to get what's coming to them next? Come at me!"
Had she been thinking straight, she might have realised the futility of her endeavour: she had some strength, well boosted by skill and guile, but nothing that would last far if she chose to take on a forest full of youkai head on. However, in her berserked state she paid no heed to either common sense or self-preservation. There was a word to keep, after all.
She heard rustling in the frozen underbrush, and with a snarl, extended her hand and sent the orb flying towards the source of the sound. It hit the ground with a loud thud, but when she beckoned it back, it returned with no new stains.
"Cowards! I thought humans were supposed to fear youkai, not the other way around!" She prowled onwards and heard the brittle plants snap under her feet, senses heightened to their limits, narrowing her eyes to see as much as she could. "Where are you, youkai with wings? I'm coming for you, so you might as well show yourself now!"
"The violence you are so intent on will only bring you misery," a quiet, but commanding voice said from her side.
Awazuki turned on her heels, flustered.
A young woman, who most certainly hadn't been there when Awazuki had last looked in that direction, stood in front of a massive oak tree at the foot of the slope. She wore the modest robes of a Buddhist monk, and her face a mask of sorrow and controlled pain. She had the most unusual hair Awazuki had ever seen, even taking Meizuki's into account: it was mostly brown, but the hair growing from the top of her head — assuming the limited light hadn't betrayed Awazuki's eyes — was clearly purple.
Immediately, Awazuki was struck by a feeling of wrongness. As unassuming as the woman looked, she had a presence that would give pause even to the most reckless and foolhardy. Something about her, something Awazuki couldn't put her finger on, spoke of both great wisdom and great power.
Youkai, Awazuki's instincts screamed. She has to be a youkai
"Who are you?" she asked brusquely, glaring at the youkai.
The youkai pursed her lips, then briefly bowed her head. "My name is Byakuren Hijiri. Whom do I have the pleasure of speaking to?"
"None of your business, Hijiri." Awazuki spat, pronouncing the name like a curse. Hijiri frowned, but Awazuki paid it no mind. All she cared was figuring out whether Hijiri was the youkai who had attacked her sister. She had never been especially good at gauging her opponent's strength beforehand, but Hijiri was oozing with power, no doubt about it. "Did you hide your wings or what?"
"I don't know what you are talking about."
"Cut the crap. I know you're a youkai. Where are your wings?"
"I have no wings." Hijiri stared intently at Awazuki. "You are an youkai exterminator, then?"
Awazuki snorted. "What does it look like?"
"So, you must be the one who has rampaged through this forest tonight." Hijiri's eyes narrowed. "You must cease immediately, or I have to remove you from the woods. By force, if necessary."
Awazuki curled her hands into fists. "Not until I have done what I came here for. Just try and stop me!"
For a moment, Hijiri looked sad again. "I dislike violence, but to protect the youkai of these lands..." She raised her chin, "I will give you one more opportunity to leave and never return. If you have any sense, you will take it."
Awazuki growled. The youkai had the higher ground, and there was no questioning she was powerful. Powerful enough to be Meizuki's slayer, wings or no wings? Awazuki wasn't sure yet, but she was about to find out.
Charging forward, she called for the Hakurei Yin-Yang Orb, sending it flying towards the moon. With a scream, she ran up the hill and lunged herself at the youkai, holding her gohei forward like a knife. Simultaneously, she removed her attention from the orb, causing it to plummet from the sky and towards Hijiri.
Hijiri clicked her tongue. "Pitiful." She waved her arm in a large circle, then held it forward to meet Awazuki's onslaught.
Awazuki found all her momentum gone the second those pale fingers touched her, immobilised in the middle of her strike. She opened her mouth to protest, but no words or insults strong enough came to her.
All the same, the Hakurei Yin-Yang Orb continued its dive towards earth. With uncaring eyes, Hijiri held her head up and with another flick of her hand, summoned a light breeze which somehow was enough to throw the orb off its intended path and made it gently float towards the ground some feet away from them. It landed on the ground with a soft thud and started rolling down the hill.
Hijiri her gaze back towards Awazuki. Before Awazuki had a chance to even feel fear, she found herself flying backwards, a searing pain spreading from her chest, the taste of metal in her mouth. She landed painfully on her left arm, barely keeping herself from crying out. She tried to sit up, only to find herself immobilised from the neck down.
Awazuki turned her head to see her enemy. Cold sweat ran down her forehead.
The forest was no longer dark. The youkai, now descending to where Awazuki was crushed down by unseen forces, glowed with a pure, unearthly light, strong enough to illuminate the valley, the thin mist floating around, and above all the severe, determined expression on the youkai's countenance. Her hair was floating upwards despite the lack of wind, and every pore of her being seemed to be emanating sheer power.
Awazuki knew she was dead.
Hijiri stepped right next to Awazuki and raised her hand. The glow around it turned blue, and from the way Hijiri looked at her, Awazuki guessed it was intended to deal the finishing blow on her. For a brief moment, Awazuki entertained the thought of a counter-attack: perhaps she'd be able to take the youkai by surprise with a quick leg sweep, or even a desperate tackle? But no matter how she struggled, her limbs remained useless.
She glared up at the youkai, battling tears. She would meet her death bravely head on, looking her assassin the eye; she owed that much to herself. No crying. None.
She couldn't do it. Tears started rolling down her cheeks.
"What are you waiting for?" she growled, hoping to overcome her other emotions through wrath. "Just do it already!" Now, that the situation was stretching on beyond her threshold of spiritual pain, true fear seeped into her veins. Fear not just for her own life, but that of her dear sister. Fear that she had failed to avenge Meizuki. Fear that the youkai wouldn't actually slay her, forcing her to live with her shame unless she took her own life afterwards. "Do it! I wouldn't have hesitated if it had been the full moon and the situation was reversed."
Hijri tilted her head. "What difference does the phase of the moon make?"
Awazuki growled, both out of genuine annoyance and as an attempt to hide the quivering in her voice. "My powers are tied to the moon. Who cares? Just kill me already!"
"Very well," the youkai bowed her head. "If you wish for your death so badly, I shall have to grant it to you." The cold anger i Hijiri's eyes had given way to sadness. "Before that, however, I wish to ask you some questions. What was your goal when entered this forest tonight? Simply to slay youkai by piecemeal?"
"What difference does it make? Just kill me."
"It may not make a difference, but I wish to know. Tell me."
"Fine!" Awazuki spat. "It was for revenge! A youkai killed my sister tonight! I wanted to find the winged bastard that did it and rip them in half! I wanted to rip their guts out and decorate every tree in the forest with them! I wanted to bleed them dry and burn their remains! They killed my sister!"
"Your sister? I saw no human remains in the woods."
The knot in Awazuki's chest tightened. "She came back home, just barely. But her injuries are too much, and there's no way we can save her." She bowed her head. "If only it had been me... if I had been hurt in her stead, she might have been able to do something about it. But she can't save herself..."
The youkai looked thoughtful. "So, she still lives?"
Awazuki looked away. "When I left, yes." Her grandmother's warning rang in her ears. What if Meizuki had died while she was away?
The glow around Hijiri's hand vanished. "In that case, return to your sister. Trying to seek meaningless vengeance will only bring you peril."
Awazuki looked up, barely daring to believe what she had just heard. "You mean..."
"Yes, you may go. If I ever catch you harming youkai, however, I will not give you a second chance. I cannot tolerate humans treating youkai poorly." Hijiri's hazel eyes gleamed in the pale magical light. "If your words were true, your actions tonight can be forgiven. However, by lashing out indiscriminately against all youkai because of the actions of one, you feed into the vicious circle of hate between humans and youkai. Think about your actions the next time."
"But you're not a local youkai yourself." Awazuki wasn't entirely sure she was right, but she had never heard of any monster like Hijiri living in the area.
"I haven't been here for long, no, but that doesn't mean I do not care for those who live here. All youkai are brothers and sisters."
More than anything, Awazuki wanted to smack the youkai for her sanctimonious spiel, but as she was still unable to budge, all she could do was roll her eyes. Still, if she had acted upon her instinct, she'd most likely be now dead, unable to avenge her sister. It'd be better to agree with the youkai for now and wait for another day.
Therefore, she swallowed her pride and nodded. "I understand. I will go. I want to see my sister." For the last sentence, she looked the youkai straight in the eye, summoning up tears to glisten in her eyes. She accomplished it far easier than she had expected, and discovered to her shock that she really wanted to return home more than anything else. She hadn't even gotten a chance to say farewell to Meizuki...
The youkai's stony expression softened just a tad. "Go. Take care of your sister. And never raise your hand against youkai again."
Awazuki discovered she could move again. She rose up to wobbly legs, not looking at Hijiri. "Right. Thanks."
"There is one more thing." Hijiri held her palms together, and when she parted them, there was a tiny red orb floating between them. "Take this and place it on your sister's chest. I cannot guarantee that it will work, but with any luck, her life will be saved."
Awazuki hesitated, then grabbed the orb with both hands. It was strangely warm. She clutched it tightly between her palms.
She looked at Hijiri with amazement. "Why are you helping me?"
"You acted out of love for your sibling. I cannot begrudge you for that." And for a brief moment, a faint smile appeared on Hijiri's face. "Hurry, now."
Awazuki wasn't sure whether she should thank Hijiri or not, but at that moment, she didn't care. Without further words, she turned around and rushed towards home, the tiny orb herd firmly in her hands, the Hakurei Yin-Yang Orb trailing slowly after her.
Once at the shrine, Awazuki rushed inside without bothering to readjust her garments. The villagers had left. All that remained was Meizuki and Grandmother, the former lying on fresh blankets, the latter sitting in vigil by the former.
Grandmother turned her head as she heard Awazuki's footsteps. "I'm glad you finally came to your senses." She looked her up and down at her disarrayed garments with eyes of disdain.
Awazuki didn't respond. She knelt next to Grandmother and took Meizuki's hand. It was stone cold.
"Did you find the youkai?" Grandmother asked, Based on her tone, she expected a denial.
Awazuki shook her head. Unless Hijiri had somehow hidden her wings and turned out to be far more diabolical than expected, there had been no trace of the youkai. "Grandmother, I want to... can I have a moment alone with her?" She swallowed, summoning words that didn't come naturally to her. "Please."
Grandmother shook her head, but stood up all the same. "Of course. You too need to say your..."
Whatever the end of the sentence was, Awazuki never found out. Grandmother swallowed it and exited the room without another word.
Awazuki leaned over Meizuki. She was still breathing, but only barely. Time was running out.
A tremor of fear ran through Awazuki. What if Hijiri had been lying, and the glowing orb hidden in her fist would only make Meizuki worse? Hijiri had looked sincere when telling her of the cure, but looking sincere while being deceitful was well within the skill range of most youkai.
She shook her head. Either way, she had to try it. She had to. Even if it was nothing but a sliver of hope, it was more of a hope than if she did nothing.
She opened her palm and guided the orb gently to Meizuki's chest.
For several torturous heartbeats, nothing happened. Then, the orb sank lower still it merged with flesh, absorbed by Meizuki's body. The glow vanished.
Meizuki's eyes slammed open. She began to cough violently, so loudly Grandmother rushed back into the room.
"What did you do, Awazuki? What—" She fell silent, staring at Meizuki. Meizuki still looked stricken, but her eyes were wide open, and as her coughing subsided she adopted a calm expression.
"What happened?" Her voice was strained, but otherwise the same as ever.
"Meizuki!" Awazuki reached for her hand once again. It had regained some of its usual warmth. "How do you feel?"
Meizuki took several deep breaths. "Dizzy."
"You need to rest. And so do you, Awazuki." Grandmother crouched down and placed her wizened hand on Meizuki's forehead. "We thought we had lost you, child."
Awazuki let go of Meizuki's hand and rose to leave. She wasn't needed.
"Goodnight, Meizuki," she whispered. Then, she turned around and retreated into the sleeping chamber.
She laid out her mattress and fell onto it at once without bothering to change. She fell asleep almost at once.
For the entire night, her slumber was restless, packed with dreams full with visions of glowing beings with amazing powers, all imbued with a sentiment she had never before felt about a youkai.
Jealousy.