Inori wiped the blood trickling down her chin, forcing herself to stand up again. She heaved and coughed out more blood, feeling her chest burning with pain. Ignoring her body that demanded her to rest, Inori took another stance.
Star Breathing: Final Constellation: Prayer of the Constellations
Stone Breathing: Third Form: Stone Skin
Gyomei slashed his axe, blocking each and every one of Inori's attacks. Her constantly changing tempo disoriented him, but it didn't make his attacks falter. He deflected every thrust, kick, and slash she sent his way, moving swiftly to counter every flip and leap she made.
Inori huffed and puffed, forcing her eyes to remain in their clairvoyance form until she felt herself on the brink of blindness. Her final form was called the final form because it was to be used as a last attempt to turn the tables during a battle, a form that combined all thirteen forms of Star Breathing into one deadly dance.
She could feel blood dripping down her nose and lips, warning her that she had reached her physical limit. But Inori ignored it, forcing herself to keep on moving even for a single second longer.
Stone Breathing: Fifth Form: Arcs of Justice
Star Breathing: Third Constellation: Mischief of the Twins
Inori jumped to avoid the axe before swiftly using it as a footing to dodge the spiked ball. She performed a mid-air backflip, aiming her swords at Gyomei. But the Stone Pillar easily blocked her attack with his chains.
Star Breathing: Thirteenth Constellation, Modified: Scattering Coils of the Elemental Serpent Bearer, Hydra
A visualization of a nine-headed serpent coiled around him. Gyomei swung his spiked iron ball around, deflecting each and every one of her slashes. He threw his axe as soon as he sensed an opening in her attacks, still swinging his iron ball to prevent Inori from utilizing her agility.
Star Breathing: Twelfth Constellation: Flow of the Fish
Inori weaved through the gaps of his attacks, ignoring the little cuts she got from all the flying debris. Her clairvoyance was at its limits, forcing her to stop using it lest she blind herself. She knew she didn't have long before she would eventually stop moving out of fatigue.
Star Breathing: Seventh Constellation, Modified: Celestial Judgement of the Divine Scales
Stone Breathing: Second Form: Upper Smash
Gyomei stomped on his chains, causing both his iron ball and axe to rebound towards Inori, trapping her from all directions. Finding no other choice, Inori blocked both of his weapons, feeling numbness spread from her fingertips to her neck.
She screamed as she landed back down. Her entire body was aching and sore from all the strain on her muscles. Inori tried to stand again, but she couldn't even put both feet on the ground before collapsing.
"Hoshizora, that's enough." Gyomei lowered his weapons, letting them drop onto the ground. "You're already past your limits. If you go on, you will be too injured to go on your patrols. Let's stop here, go rest."
Inori coughed out more blood, wiping the red liquid that dribbled down her nose and lips. So, this is my limit. I still can't even come close to Himejima-san's level. Closing her eyes, she sighed. I have to work harder to make up for my lack of strength. Speed, agility, body coordination, balance, stamina, reflexes, flexibility, technique, I have to hone the rest of my physical abilities to the max.
Gyomei placed his hand on top of her head, patting her with a small smile on his face, pulling her out of her thoughts. "Don't worry, you have improved since the last time we sparred," he assured her. "Back then, you couldn't move after performing your last form, but now you can still move. That is an improvement you should be proud of."
"Yes." Inori clenched her eyes shut, trying to keep her emotions and frustrations at bay. "Thank you, Himejima-san."
·̩̩̥͙＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚☆.｡.☆.｡.:*☆ ˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊·̩̩̥͙
"Oh, Iguro? You're planning on training with Hoshizora too?" Obanai turned his head to see Sanemi walking in the same direction as him, his hands tucked into his pockets and an unusually relaxed expression on his face.
The Serpent Pillar nodded. "I need some of her technique development training. The demons I faced during patrols are all weak, and I don't want my skills to get rusty."
"Tch. You too?" Sanemi clicked his tongue. "The youngsters are fucking useless. They can't even beat a weak demon who has no blood demon art whatsoever, how the hell are we supposed to expect anything?"
Obanai nodded in agreement, knocking on the doors of the Star Estate before letting himself in. Inori had never minded people coming into her house without permission as long as they didn't do anything to her garden—Tengen literally broke in from the sky—but the Serpent Pillar still has manners and respect for someone's privacy.
Star Breathing: Second Constellation: Gallop of the Bull
Mist Breathing: Sixth Form: Lunar Dispersing Mist
Obanai and Sanemi watched as Inori and Muichiro exchanged blows. The wooden floor of Inori's dojo was worn out, a testament to the amount of friction it had endured from all the training done there. Neither of the pillars understood just how the floor came to be like that, but eventually accepted it after experiencing Inori's technique development training. The girl did, after all, use her boots inside her dojo.
Star Breathing: Thirteenth Constellation: Coils of the Serpent Bearer, Five Heads
Mist Breathing: Fifth Form: Sea of Clouds and Haze
Sweat dripped onto the floor as Inori continued with her attacks. The floor squeaked loudly as she skidded across the dojo. Inori blinked at the sweat piling at her eyelashes, clearing her vision as she dashed forward again.
Mist Breathing: Second Form: Eight-Layered Mist
Flower Breathing: Fifth Form: Peonies of Futility
Muichiro clicked his tongue. Inori's multiple breathing style was always a handful to deal with. She may prefer using Star Breathing during real battles since it was created solely for her to utilize, but that didn't mean she neglected the other breathing styles she had mastered.
"Are you two going to stop anytime soon?" The floor squeaked as the two pillars dragged their feet into it, forcing themselves to stop. "Iguro and I want to join the technique development training."
Inori huffed and puffed, wiping the sweat that continued to drip down her face. She gave the two waiting pillars a smile, beckoning them over. "Hello, Shinazugawa-san, Iguro-san. If you want, what about a team battle? I haven't tried that in a while. Muichiro and I versus you two."
"Are you sure? You two look tired." Despite his words, Obanai already took his spot next to Sanemi and across from Muichiro, who already moved to stand next to Inori.
"Well, we can always switch later." Inori beamed, lifting the twin wooden swords as she took a stance. She waited until the others took their own stances, internally counting to three.
"Well then, begin."
Wind Breathing: Seventh Form: Gale, Sudden Gust
Wind Breathing: Ninth Form: Idaten Typhoon
Serpent Breathing: Second Form: Venom Fangs of the Narrow Head
Mist Breathing: Fourth Form: Shifting Flow Slash
"Hahaha!" Sanemi roared, his grin turning into something borderline horrific. "Your Wind Breathing is getting better! Nice! Give me all you've got, you damn brat!"
Star Breathing: Ninth Constellation, Modified: Dispersing Arrows of the Flaming Archer
Mist Breathing: Sixth Form: Lunar Dispersing Mist
An illusion of a tornado made out of scattering flaming arrows attacked Sanemi and Obanai from multiple directions as Inori dashed forward, blocking every one of their slashes and forcing them to stay on defense. Muichiro's attack from above prevented them from using any of their techniques to retaliate.
"What sort of fucked up combination is it this time?"
"Eh, a few. Mainly Wind and Flame Breathing." Shrugging, Inori grinned as she stopped all of Sanemi's retaliating attacks. "How is it?"
"It's annoying as fuck."
"Good."
Mist Breathing: Second Form: Eight-Layered Mist
Wind Breathing: Fourth Form: Rising Dust Storm
Thunder Breathing: Third Form: Thunder Swarm
Serpent Breathing: Fifth Form: Slithering Serpent
Inori clicked her tongue as she and Obanai exchanged blows. The Serpent Pillar was preventing her from supporting Muichiro. "This is getting troublesome. Shall we try our sixth and seventh?"
Star Breathing: Sixth Constellation: Dance of the Maiden
Mist Breathing: Seventh Form: Obscuring Clouds
Sanemi felt his grin growing wider as illusionary mist covered the entire dojo, clones of the Star Pillar weaving in and out of the mist. This combined attack is making me dizzy, change of tempo? Not bad. I don't know how they managed to work together, especially when both of them drastically changed their tempo, but this is fun.
So, this is Tokito's 'mist'. Obanai hummed as he observed his surroundings. Changing tempo is something probably only they can utilize. It's actually quite impressive. I can't read their movements at all. Obanai narrowly blocked and dodged every hit coming his way. In this case, a wide-ranged attack that will clear out the mist should do.
Wind Breathing: Third Form: Clean Storm Wind Tree
Serpent Breathing: Third Form: Coil Choke
All four of them got pushed back by the force of their attacks, skidding to a stop at opposite ends of the dojo. Sweat dripped from Inori's temples and down onto the wooden floor as she panted. "We'll need to work on making the 'mist' thicker, Muichiro."
"Less talking, more fighting!" Sanemi charged forward. "Until one of us drops!"
"Caw! Stop! Stop! Mission! Shinazugawa Sanemi! Mission!" Inori managed to block the sword aimed at her just in time for Sanemi's crow to fly into her dojo. "You're late! You're late! Mission! Go to the mission now!"
"Shinazugawa-san, I never expected you to be late for a mission."
"Shut it, brat." Sanemi turned to glare at his crow. "Sourai! You told me I still have time!" He stomped out of the dojo with his crow cawing obnoxiously above him. Before the Wind Pillar fully left, he turned around to point his finger at Inori. "And you, we're fighting again the next time you're free."
"Okay, I'll see you then." Inori waved him off with a grin before turning towards Obanai. "So Iguro-san, shall we continue?"
·̩̩̥͙＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚☆.｡.☆.｡.:*☆ ˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊·̩̩̥͙
To say they were stretched thin was an understatement. The pillars hardly have time to rest, much less go home, with the exploding number of demons that have been roaming around. Even the Butterfly Estate was overflowing with patients, patients who he liked to laze around during recovery training.
"Caw! All clear!"
"Thank you, Kanamaru." The crow landed on her shoulder, and Inori stretched, feeling absolutely drained. She was sure she had killed ten demons in the span of three sleepless days, something that wasn't unusual, but was still draining. "Where to next?"
Inori suddenly felt someone hug her from behind, causing her to tense before she relaxed upon recognizing the familiar black-mint hair. "Hello, Mui. What are you doing here? I don't think this is part of your patrol area."
Muichiro hummed as Inori patted his head, combing her fingers through his hair. He nuzzled against the crook of her neck, ignoring Kanamaru's indignant cawing and Ginko's equally aggressive reply.
"I miss you." Inori chuckled at his sleepy voice, continuing to pat his head. "The number of demon attacks keeps on increasing, it's troublesome."
"Yeah, it is." Inori hummed in agreement. "But what are you doing here?"
"I forgot." Muichiro released her from his hug, moving to stand beside her and intertwining their fingers together. "I think it was because I'm done with my patrol and the sun is rising, and our districts are near each other."
Inori stared at the gradually brightening sky, realizing that the long night had finally passed. "We're quite far from the town. How about we grab some breakfast together before we have to continue our jobs?"
Muichiro nodded, walking out of the forest and along the crop fields at a relaxing pace, his fingers still intertwined with hers. It has been more than five months since he had the chance to hang out with Inori and just relax, no training or demon hunting. Her two consecutive long missions and their hectic schedule after the Mount Natagumo incident kept them busy day and night.
The two pillars walked slowly, enjoying the morning sun as they walked through the barren road. Kanamaru and Ginko were resting on their respective master's shoulder, glaring daggers at each other while cawing obnoxiously as usual, something Inori and Muichiro had grown used to, to the point they just ignored it until the crows attempted to blind each other.
"So, you've been combining other forms and creating modified versions of different breathing styles?" Muichiro tilted his head to the side as he listened to Inori's training experience. "And you broke Shinazugawa-san's dojo because you miscalculated the strength of your attack?"
"I didn't break his dojo. His dojo is still standing as normal as ever." Inori puffed out her cheeks because the only thing she broke was one beam of his estate. "But yeah, I've been combining different forms and testing them out, mostly with Shinazugawa-san, Rengoku-san, Iguro-san, or you. Himejima-san is actually the best sparring partner, but our schedules rarely allow us to train together."
She sighed, massaging her temples. "It's quite frustrating that my lack of muscle strength is holding me back so much." She clenched and unclenched her fists. "It's even more frustrating that my training time is cut off thanks to this explosion of demon attacks. Even Shinazugawa-san complains about weak demons wasting his time every time he comes banging on my front door, demanding a fight."
Muichiro hummed in agreement. The recent increase in demon attacks was really stretching the pillars thin. The demons they faced may be weak and couldn't be classified as one of the Twelve Demon Moons, but that didn't mean they liked the situation, especially because it had become apparent that since the incident in Mount Natagumo, many demons appeared in one area, sharing territories rather begrudgingly and wreaking havoc.
And he rarely had time to visit Inori or her estate, if he even had the chance to go home. Muichiro loved the Star Estate more than the Mist Estate, so being unable to play in her garden and feed the fishes there like usual was irritating him.
"What should we eat?" Inori asked as they entered the town. She pulled their intertwined hands as they walked through various stalls and diners. "I'm in the mood for something sweet, what about you?"
Muichiro opened his mouth, intending to answer when something caught his attention. He tugged on their conjoined hands, slightly yanking Inori back. He pointed his finger at one of the many diners in the street.
Inori looked at the diner sign, then at Muichiro before chuckling at the eager look on his face. "Furofuki daikon, right? Yeah, sure, let's go." She didn't need to wait for him to ask as she immediately pulled both of them into the diner.
"Umai!"
Inori and Muichiro jumped at the loud and familiar voice that echoed through the diner. While the Mist Pillar was busy recalling the familiarity of that voice, Inori instantly beamed at the familiar flashy figure that could only belong to one person.
"Rengoku-san! What a coincidence!"
"Young Hoshizora! Tokito!" Kyojuro beamed, patting the seat next to him. "Come here, let's eat together!"
"Um, you're the...uh...the Flame Pillar?"
"It's Rengoku Kyojuro," Kyojuro answered with his usual smile, not even the slightest bit bothered by Muichiro's lack of remembrance towards him. "Order whatever you want, it's on me! By the way, are you two on a joint mission?"
Inori shook her head, explaining to the Flame Pillar that they had just met on the way. She sipped her tea as she waited for her food to arrive. The three pillars engaged in a casual conversation about their recent encounters with demons and training, though it was mostly just Inori and Kyojuro discussing techniques while Muichiro piped in whenever he was finished dazing away.
"Even if demons are ordered to take me alive, they still attack with killing blows," Inori admitted just as their food arrived. "Well, they can't even hope to take me alive if they don't try to kill me, but it's not unusual for them to aim for my limbs."
After all, she was a swordswoman. She wielded her weapons and moved with her limbs. If they sliced her leg, she wouldn't be able to do her techniques. If they chopped off her arm, she wouldn't be able to wield her sword.
"That's why when it comes to defending, there are certain parts of my body that I will prioritize above everything else," Inori said, taking a clump of rice with her chopsticks. "If you die, you won't be able to fight, so vital points should be protected first. The body, in particular, contains a lot of vital organs, but it's also the easiest to injure."
There were scars all over her body that would never disappear, and she wondered what her brothers and the dead would say if they saw her now. They had always fussed about every scratch or nosebleed she got, so maybe they were cursing her for being reckless. Somehow, that thought made her smile.
"I usually protect my body with my limbs if my techniques can't block the attack, but it's also inconvenient because my limbs are important for my techniques. I can't swing a sword or move without them, after all." She chewed on her rice, moving her chopstick to pick a piece of meat. "Third is my senses, especially the eyes."
"I agree!" Kyojuro exclaimed mid-eating. "The vital points, especially the solar plexus, the stomach area, the heart, and the head must be protected at all costs! Of course, your hands and legs are also important, as well as your eyes! However, don't forget to make sure your blade doesn't break!"
"My boots are hard to make, so I have to try my best to make sure they're not chipped or broken." Well, she could always discard the boots for a few weeks, but luck favored the prepared.
"Inori, aren't you practicing all thirteen of your forms by using your legs?" Muichiro tilted his head to the side, trying to remember the hazy conversations and sparring sessions. "So, it's like your fourth form, but there are thirteen of them now."
"Yeah." She nodded, shoveling more rice into her mouth. "As disadvantageous as it is, we humans won't be able to regenerate lost limbs, so it's better to be trained in anticipation of losing them. I haven't been able to perform my techniques with my legs as well as I would with my swords though."
"That's great! How inspirational!" Kyojuro laughed, patting her back. "I should do that too! Young Hoshizora, let's try it the next time we can train together! I promised I would bring Senjuro too sometimes! He likes your garden and library!"
"That's good to hear, and you're always welcome in my estate." Inori flashed the Flame Pillar a smile. "Senjuro-kun is also very much welcome. He doesn't need to wait for you or me or anything, he can come visit whenever he wants. In fact, I think anyone is allowed to enter my estate whenever they want as long as they don't ruin my garden."
Kyojuro laughed again, still patting her back. He still remembered the time Inori told Tengen that her garden wasn't just good for sightseeing, but also for hiding bodies. Needless to say, the Sound Pillar made sure to be extra careful whenever he decided to visit the Star Estate (even though everybody knew Inori wouldn't hurt Tengen too much).
The trio finished their meals when the entire stack of empty plates almost reached halfway to the ceiling, courtesy of Kyojuro. Inori tried to pay for her own food, but the Flame Pillar patted her on the back and pushed her out of the diner before she could pull out her wallet.
"Ah, it's pouring." Inori shielded her eyes as she looked up at the grey sky, stepping back under the roof. As much as she wanted to dance in the middle of the rain and inhale the fresh scent of petrichor, she didn't want to get sick during such a crucial time.
"What are those clouds again?" Muichiro blinked up at the sky, letting a few drops of water land on his nose. He tugged Inori's sleeve, pointing his finger at the sky with his head tilted to the side.
"It's probably a nimbostratus cloud."
"I see. Thanks." Muichiro placed his head on Inori's shoulder, still staring at the rainy sky.
"Yomoya, yomoya, looks like it's raining." Kyojuro stepped out of the diner. "Looks like none of us brought an umbrella! That's unfortunate."
Inori sweatdropped as Kyojuro proceeded to laugh like it wasn't a problem. Well, it wasn't a problem, but it would take a chunk of their time to wait for the rain to let up. Not to mention the lack of sunlight that would usually invite demons to prowl around in the middle of the day.
"Okay, no other choice, then!" Kyojuro wrapped his arm around Inori and Muichiro's shoulders, pulling them to their feet until they were tucked under his haori. "Let's go!"
"Huh? Wait, wait, Rengoku-san—ah, Rengoku-san! You're going to get drenched!" But Kyojuro ignored her protest, dragging the two younger pillars out of the safety of the roof.
Inori noticed that she wasn't drenched at all. Sure, a few droplets pricked her, but she wasn't sopping wet or anything. Looking up, she realized that Kyojuro had his arms above their heads, receiving most of the rain's impact.
The three continued their way to the nearest store that sold umbrellas, buying one for each of them to use. Inori felt a bit guilty because she and Muichiro were relatively dry, but Kyojuro was drenched to the point his usually spiky and flaring hair now resembled a poor imitation of Muichiro's hair, dripping water all over the floor.
"At least buy a handkerchief or a towel."
"No need! I am fine!"
"You look like Inori when she fell into a lake a long time ago."
"Mui, I'm begging you, please forget about that."
·̩̩̥͙＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚☆.｡.☆.｡.:*☆ ˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊·̩̩̥͙