Chikabori Sunrise

A story about unfinished business between a tengu and a hitokiri.

***October 11, 2023***

***11:32 PM***

***Cabaret Musashi, Osaka***

“Dropping the candy I recently unwrapped? Fine. Losing some change on my way to Cabaret Musashi? Nothing too out of the ordinary. But my toast was suddenly burnt? That’s where I drew the line. I haven’t changed my toaster settings in 7 years. How the hell did I burn toast?”

Alice, who sat across the table at the lounge, looked at me with a dumbstruck expression.

“I don’t know. So Ryouta Okita ruined his bread, big deal. Just buy a new toaster, yours must be having problems already. I don’t know why you’d bring an old toaster with you no matter where you get assigned.”

“It’s called sentimental value, Arisu-chan.”

“It’s Yamada.”

“Do it for me, okay? I’ll owe you one. What’s the harm in a little examination?”

“I sense nothing on you, you’re fine. And if this is another one of their obscure hidden curses, it will take awhile for me to investigate your body for one. Why would they even curse you in the first place?”

“I killed one of them, remember? They’re a capricious bunch. That tengu’s brother, his dad, hell maybe his best friend wanted revenge so they place some misfortune curse on me.”

“Don’t be absurd. They’re not that petty.”

“That Mirror woman was turned into Chikabori’s public enemy number one just for trying to stop an incident the Hijiri was confirmed to be the suspect off. I doubt that they spare all that just for some bubbly pink-haired gal.”

Alice sighed, unable to find a comeback to that. Even she had to accept this fact. Humans could and had been petty. What made youkai different?

“Fine, I’ll get my things.”

We left Cabaret Musashi’s lounge for agents and made our way to my apartment. She did the usual procedures, reinforced the entire room with ofuda to prevent mana signatures from leaking, and then she took out her gohei wand from a briefcase, carefully tapping each paper talisman stuck onto the walls and the door.

“Take a shower. At least 10 minutes. I need you to be squeaky clean, you understand?”

A strange request, but who was I to question the specialist.

“Rather forward to you, Arisu-chan. Didn’t know you had that side to you.”

“T-that’s not what I meant! Just get in that bathroom already!”

She looked away in embarrassment. I couldn’t help myself. The slight flushed expression and the reddening ears were adorable. Alice was peak teasing material. I spared no expense with my shampoo, conditioner, soap, and body wash. The lady asked for a squeaky clean Okita, she’ll get a squeaky clean Ryouta. I must have spent more than 10 minutes in the shower, but Alice did not seem to mind. I brought my own clothes into the shower and emerged fully clothed, for her sake of course. When I got out, she was leaning on the door after a job well done. The entire apartment is covered in paper talismans, as if I was some ghost that was being sealed for the good of humanity.

“Alright, otsukare-sama, Arisu-chan.”

She rolled her eyes, probably accepting the fact that I’ll never call her Yamada. She readied her gohei and approached me.

“Stand on that octagon and keep still.”

I hadn’t noticed it, but she drew a large octagon with the ying yang symbol in its center on the floor using what I assumed was mana traced on the tatami mat. I did as told and stood in the middle, each feet on one of the ying yang sides as instructed.

“Now don’t move.”

She closed her eyes and thrust her gohei onto my stomach out of nowhere. I didn’t know if that was necessary but I made sure not to move. She began reciting a long mantra, her voice echoing in the silent room. The mana in the air began to thicken and the traced octagon began to glow. She finished after 5 solid minutes of recitation and the room was practically bathed in bright light coming from the traced octagon.

“Ah damn.”

“Did you sense anything?”

“Yes.”

The light suddenly stopped and the thick mana in the air disappeared abruptly, absorbed by the paper talismans covering the apartment.

“It’s definitely not done by the same mystic last September, but there’s a Vulnerability Curse put on you. Subtle, but not too subtle. It’s making you more vulnerable to misfortune. Minor stuff, something that would keep your suspicion low. But as long as they have it on you, there’s a chance they might make it worse.”

“Ha! They made the mistake thinking I do not have good intuition!”

“You found out because you’re a weirdo with your toast.”

“And they picked the wrong thing about me to mess with. Can you dispel it?”

“I just did, but there’s no stopping whoever is doing this from hitting you with one again. If they did so without you noticing before, they are most certainly going to keep on cursing you.”

“Any countermeasures you can suggest?”

“I can always fortify your room to block any curses from coming in, but that wouldn’t stop them from casting it when you are outside of the apartment.”

“Damn, not a good long term solution. I guess I’ll have to stop the source entirely.”

“Can’t you just have this negotiated?”

“I doubt Musashibou-san would spare the time for something like this. And technically, if I remember the deal correctly, the Snakes and the Hijiri are the ones who will stay away from each other’s businesses. There’s no guarantee that the suspect of this is from the clan we made a deal with. They could be from the Shameimaru, or hell, from the Hoshiguma even. If they’re that vengeful, bureaucracy won’t solve anything, only action.”

“Huh. Good point, well good luck with that.”

With a snap of her fingers, the ofuda covering the apartment walls all flew into her briefcase along with her gohei wand. She quickly shuffled her way towards the door. Closing the gap was nothing.

Inhale. The floor is the canvas. I am the brush. I dictate the pattern. The world around me blurred into insignificance, and in the blink of an eye, Alice was facing me with my back to the door. Exhale.

“Just wait a minute, Arisu-chan.”

“I am not going to Chikabori with you.”

“Who do you take me for? Unit 9? Heading over there and causing chaos is not what I was suggesting. No, I have something else in mind. And I need your expertise.”

Alice tried to get past me, but I wasn’t relenting. A surrendered sigh came from her.

“As long as it means I’m already back home by 12:30 AM, alright. I’m at my limit here already, what do you need me to do?”

“I need your familiar to deliver a very loud message, something that will catch a lot of youkai’s attention.”

“Possibly, what’s the message?”

The Harukas 300 tower stood shrouded in an eerie stillness as the clock on my phone struck 4:32 AM. The unsleeping city of Osaka was bathed in its lights, quite the sight.

The chill of the pre-dawn breeze played with me as I sat on a metal bench, waiting for my enemy. It’s been hours since I sent my challenge. While it was impolite to make me wait, I did killed one of their own so it’s only right to inconvenience me, I suppose.

Moments later, the silence was shattered by a gust of wind that seemed to have a life of its own, bringing with it the unmistakable, haunting call of the Tengu. My danger-sense kicked in and I quickly picked up my sword which was lying on the bench inside my scabbard. A winged figure appeared, materializing from thin air, their traditional long-nosed mask casting eerie shadows as they stepped forth. A voice of a woman echoed across the silent observation deck.

“My name is Yukimitsu no Kuromasa-”

Her black feathered wings unfurled as my attention went to the armor she wore, a mix of lacquered metal and leather that were probably from Border Realm beasts. She carried a tachi on her belt, its scabbard decorated with ornate metal. Its blade was more curved compared to mine.

“Okita Ryouta. But you probably knew that. I was beginning to think you weren’t going to show up.”

“It’s hard to ignore your taunts when that noisy paper crane was flying around Chikabori and disparaging my name.”

“Well, you did put a misfortune curse on me from the shadows. A very cowardly and underhanded move. But I’m glad you decided to accept my challenge. We settle this like warriors, not petty mystics who cast hexes from afar.”

The tengu responded with her hand going for her tachi’s hilt.  The view of the sprawling city below, made it seem like the whole world is watching our battle.

“You killed my brother, prepare to die.”

“You messed with my toaster, prepare to leave it and me alone.”

Separated by a gap of just a few meters, we drew blades. Iajutsu was useless against a tengu’s senses, so it was no use exchanging quick-draws. The first blow was hers. A lightning-quick exchange of strikes. Her tachi and her bodies’ motions was a dance of steel. Sparks flew into the night sky with each block of my katana. A strong deflect to the side gave me the second to back up and reposition.

We circled each, their footfalls echoing in the empty space. Being on the defense was unwise. With a flash step,  I closed the gap and went for the neck. Her well-timed evasive maneuvers and supernatural speed made it a struggle to even find an opening. Even with Reinforcement, each strike from me was answered with a block and an immediate retaliation. Our swords seemed to sing in the air as they clashed, but her song was clearly louder. As the minutes passed, her movements became unpredictable. She began flying around me, her curved blade aiming for quick decapitations and dismemberment. A tachi was best for horseback, but a flying wielder also made it a dangerous weapon from the impetus of her dives . Every two seconds a strike came from different directions, forcing me on the defensive.

“Your foreign lackey is not here to help you now.”

She said, floating high above me.

“He wasn’t supposed to be there in the first place.”

I shouted back. Sweat drenched my brow, and my muscles began to burn with the effort. This brief respite was welcome.

“Yet you still took the advantage!”

She dove like a falcon, and she nearly cut off a hefty chunk of my scalp if not for the split second she telegraphed and I parried. My blade shook from the force, and I realized I’ll lose the fight of attrition if we kept this going. Her tachi was forged better than mine, despite it being older.  Her feet made an echo as she landed on the ground and began another barrage. She must have noticed it too. I had to risk it.

“Then let’s settle this with-”

I dashed back and sheathed my blade.

“Iajutsu.”

“Brave. But foolish.”

She said, backing up and leaving ten meters between us. She sheathed her tachi, but she was still poised to strike. Sword-wise, I had the advantage of the smoother draw. But she had the natural speed and agility of a Tengu, and she knows this. But that slight advantage is all I need. I pulled down my tie and my mask’s snug material covered my entire face and neck.

Our gazes remained fixed at one another, the cold stillness in the air was filled with tension. With every heartbeat, my muscles tensed, my senses sharpened. My katana felt like an extension of myself, ready to cut through the wind. What a thrill.

“Oshite mairu!”

"潔く死ね!"

*Goddamn it! She got the better battle cry!*

In a split second, we lunged at each other, steel shrieking in the air as we unsheathed both blades. 0.2 Seconds, that was the speed advantage I got. Her blade moved to intercept my slash, an upward stroke straight through my right shoulder. A searing pain shot through my body, and then crimson splattered onto the floor. All the sensation in my sword arm was gone.

Her precision was astonishing. But not perfect. As my arm and katana fell to the floor, she realized that in the span of 0.2 seconds, there was a Snake Key mere inches away from her left eye, the eye holes on her mask being the only weak points I could exploit. She focused too much on my sword. Big mistake.

“Consider both of us even, you take my arm, I spare your eye.”

The tengu did not speak, only the splattering of my blood could filled silence. Goddamn, so that’s how it feels.

“This is satisfactory.”

She said as she sheathed her blade. I retracted my Key and stepped back, clutching the bloodied stump where my right arm used to be.

“Do not trifle with the Yukimitsu ever again.”

She added with a bow, a respectful gesture from one warrior to another.

“As long as no Yukimitsu who works for the Hijiri messes with the Snakes.”

With a “Heh”, she disappears into the wind, just like how she appeared. The moment she was gone, I quickly took out a Stim from my jacket and jabbed it on my right shoulder. You know, the healing was even more painful than my arm getting sliced off. In a minute, my wound closed up.

“Now then, how am I going to get back to Cabaret Musashi carrying a detached arm?”

I know. I’ll call Arisu-chan. I gotta get out of here before sunrise.