Volume 7 Chapter 7 Kazuramichi Ako’s Resolve ⑥
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
After spending the night in a mountain hut, we reached “San-no-Yu” around noon on the second day. It was located inside an otherworldly realm that had manifested deep within the mountains.
Ayabe Orihime-hime crossed the rope—the kongousen1 that marked the barrier—without a shred of hesitation. I followed her, stepping into a space that was deathly quiet compared to the mountain forest we had just left.
Not a single sound of rustling leaves, birds, or insects reached my ears.
The only thing echoing in the stillness was the gentle, soft splashing of water. Rounded river stones lay scattered across the riverbed, and the stream flowed peacefully along. On the far bank, a cliff rose up; strangely, river mist had gathered at the top, obscuring my view of what lay beyond.
As I looked slightly downstream, I saw the familiar sight of countless open-air hot springs of various sizes. For some inexplicable reason, thick bamboo stakes had been driven into the water, standing in a cluster that reached about as high as my crotch.
Orihime-hime led the way in silence. With a graceful leap, she sprang onto one of the bamboo stakes and hopped from one to the next, making her way toward the center of the spring. After a moment of hesitation, I gathered my resolve and jumped onto a stake myself.
”——!”
The diameter was less than twenty centimeters, making it incredibly difficult to place both feet. I had to plant one foot and struggle to maintain my balance.
”Ako. Focus your Reiryoku, lest you fall.”
Orihime-hime’s words didn’t sound like a simple, common-sense warning to keep from getting wet. The water under my feet was milky, with a tint that looked like yellowish cream.
”What’s in the water?” I asked.
She flashed a wicked grin, seemingly amused by my wariness. “Don’t be so skittish. It’s not like this is the River Lethe2, you know.”
She was referring to the river in the underworld of Greek mythology—the one that makes anyone who drinks from it forget everything. After invoking such an unsettling name, Orihime-hime crouched on her bamboo stake, scooped up some water in her cupped hands, and drank it. She then shook her wet palms to show me it was safe.
”——, !?”
I tried to touch the water, but the sudden stimulus made me jerk my hand back instantly. It wasn’t hot, nor was it cold.
”This water, you see—it hurts. Terribly so.”
She laughed joyfully, like a child who had successfully pulled off a prank. I, however, didn’t have the spare energy to scold her.
”(Hnngh, ghhh…)”
I endured the pure, piercing pain that assaulted my fingers. It was an intense agony that seemed to drill right through my skin to the marrow of my bones—a sensation I had never experienced during my time as an exorcist.
”(Fuu…, ggh…!)”
I used my clothes to wipe the water from my fingers, and the moment the liquid was gone, the pain vanished as if it had been a mere hallucination. There was no hindrance in the movement of my fingers, and my skin showed no signs of damage. That, in itself, was terrifying.
”——Do you understand now? You mustn’t fall.”
Her voice held a sadistic tone that told me exactly what was coming next, even without a word being spoken. Before I knew it, she was holding a red loop of yarn.
”I—what am I supposed to do?”
”——? You’re here to steal the secret techniques, aren’t you?” Orihime-hime tilted her head, as if she were questioning why I’d even ask. Perhaps even this was just a ploy to break my spirit. “But, yes. Let us give you a goal. Why don’t you try pushing me into the water?”
Four dry, popping sounds followed in quick succession. Ako had fired four shots before she could even finish her sentence, the echoes lingering long in the silent, otherworldly expanse.
”So violent. But that was the sort of house the Kazuramichi family was, wasn’t it?”
Two bullets aimed for her head, two for her chest. Yet, each one was caught and tangled in the red thread Orihime-hime held taut between her hands. The bullets splashed into the spring with a soft sound, and the woman with the face of a young girl laughed.
”Ninja Art: Toy Manipulator Thread—Frog.”
With a display of movement as vivid as magic, her white hands danced, and the red thread between her fingers took the shape of a string-figure frog.
”!”
Splash. Sounds erupted around Ako. Frogs the same color as the hot spring water poked their heads above the surface. Predicting what would happen next, Ako managed to leap from her stake just as several frogs surged from the water, rushing the stakes before bursting and scattering the hot spring water everywhere.
”——gh.”
It was a simple technique, but a truly nasty one. By creating and manipulating targets with string figures, the consumption of spirit power was kept low even when using such a method. Furthermore—
(I can’t get close!)
Even setting aside the interference of her Technique-formula, Orihime-hime was far more accustomed to moving from stake to stake. She was much faster. For every one stake Ako jumped to, she would move across two or three. And her path seemed nearly endless.
Splash. The frogs appeared on the water’s surface once more.
(Technique-formula: Yuki (Snow).)
Ako had devised this technique to weave a net of sub-zero temperatures using spirit energy, freezing whatever it touched as both an offensive and defensive move. She expanded the range to its maximum, freezing the frogs the moment they poked their heads out. The resulting ice statues flipped over in the hot spring, exposing their bellies.
”My, how cute.”
Orihime-hime laughed, offering a response that was hard to interpret. Based on the way the frozen frogs remained motionless and her reaction to them, Ako surmised there wasn’t a massive difference in their spiritual power levels. When the targets of a Technique-formula overlapped between practitioners, the one who exerted more spiritual power was generally the one who held control. Kurosu Tamane had demonstrated that to Ako and Suzuri back in Kanto.
”Toy Manipulator Thread—Butterfly.”
While Ako was deep in thought, the red yarn changed shape once again between Orihime-hime’s hands. This time, butterflies stood up from the water. They took flight from the surface without a sound, only to shatter and vanish upon hitting Ako’s net of cold spirit power. This happened again and again, dozens of times, until the area was filled with cold air and fine, mist-like ice.
”It seems we’ve reached a stalemate.”
”Is that how you feel? I have a different opinion.”
”——!? Ggh, ah—!”
Immediately after Orihime-hime spoke, a stabbing pain thrashed within Ako’s chest.
”If you’re going to break them, you should push them further away.”
It was a fair point, but right now, it was bothering Ako’s Reiryoku immensely. She glared at Orihime-hime while clutching her chest, struggling to stay upright. Orihime-hime didn’t look concerned in the slightest; if anything, she found the display quite amusing. Her hands moved once more, and the red thread formed a new shape.
”Toy Manipulator Thread—Crimson Tower.”
The thread formed a knot, weaving a bridge between her hands that looped through the upper and lower sections. Suddenly, hot spring water shot up in front of Ako like a geyser. It soared twenty or thirty meters high, standing like a pillar with an imposing presence that made Ako hesitate to approach it carelessly.
(This one… it won’t freeze!)
The mass was clearly more than she could handle. Just as she was about to switch to a secondary plan, Orihime-hime’s words slipped easily into Ako’s mind.
”That’s as far as you go. After all, you’re just a little sister without her real brother.”
That was a remark she couldn’t simply ignore. If it was a calculated provocation, it was masterfully done.
”——I won’t lose, though.”
To buckle now would be to show a lack of love for her step-brother—that was the challenge Ako accepted. Her anger allowed her to organize her calculations in a single instant. The destination for the stolen heat, the temperature gap, the resulting flow. She had it.
(Step-brother——)
She thought of her step-brother, and of the heat she had shared with him. Using that sensation, she stole the heat from the top of the water tower to freeze it, while simultaneously funneling that heat down into the hot spring below her feet. The heat began to circulate. The rapid, unnatural change in temperature created a localized disturbance in the spirit power. All that was left was to give it a direction.
”My.”
Orihime-hime’s eyes widened in surprise as Ako swung her arms wide and spun her body.
”Ninja Art: Blizzards of the Moon and Flowers (Setsugetsu-ka)!”
The single turn became a fierce, swirling gale that created a tornado above the water. The whirlwind struck the pillar that stood within the spring, knocking it down, shattering it, freezing it, and blowing it to pieces. It was a storm of ice that even forced Orihime-hime into a defensive posture on her stake.
”Hmph!”
In the midst of it, Ako lunged forward with all her might, without a hint of hesitation.
”Kyaa!”
The desperate, all-or-nothing strike caught Orihime-hime. Together, they both tumbled into the hot spring, Orihime-hime’s face wearing an expression of surprise mixed with a hint of admiration.
”Ahhh—!”
”Ggh…ghhh…!”
Orihime-hime was caught off guard and couldn’t help but cry out. Ako, though she had braced for it, also let out a groan of agony. As she grimaced through the stinging pain that radiated throughout her entire body, she looked down at Orihime-hime, whom she had pinned to the bottom of the spring.
”My win, I believe.”
”Fufu… you’re quite good, Ako. You pass…”
Even as she writhed in pain with teary eyes, Orihime-hime answered in a voice that sounded somewhat enchanted.
Having managed to pass the test, Ako rested her body in a proper, normal bath at “Ichi-no-Yu.” She was slumped against the edge of the tub in a somewhat sloppy posture, asking Orihime-hime, who for some reason was still in the bath with her, a question.
”By the way, I hate to say it, but are you sure that can be called a Ninja Art?”
”That’s a trivial matter. Besides, you came here seeking power for your step-brother, didn’t you? What it’s called has nothing to do with it.”
The reply was quite lax, but Ako felt troubled if it wasn’t a Ninja Art, so she kept silent and gave a nod. She had, after all, discovered and mastered a new application for her power.
”If it’ll serve as Reiryoku, I’ll give this to you.”
”…What is this?”
Ako opened the scroll Orihime-hime had tossed to her, taking care not to let it touch the water. The title read “Beginner’s Level,” and although the contents were written in a slightly old-fashioned style, it was certainly readable.
”Skills of the Shinobi clan aren’t mastered in a day. If you intend to study them in earnest, you should read through that.”
”Thank you very much.”
The order of events felt completely backwards, but it would surely be useful for review.
”And now, what will you do, Ako?”
”I’ll return home tomorrow. And then, for the time being—I think I’ll ask my step-brother if we can try for a baby.”
She had been away from him for two whole days; surely a little bit of spoiling like that would be forgiven.
”Oh, how lovely. But are you sure?”
”Well, there’s no guarantee it will happen on the first try.”
”That is true. Perhaps I shall try following your example.”
That day, two twisted desires resonated with each other, and two dangerous women were born.
—
Summary:
Ako follows Orihime-hime into a pocket dimension within the mountains to reach a hot spring known as San-no-Yu. After a brutal, magically infused duel involving painful hot water and string-based techniques, Ako secures a win and earns Orihime-hime’s approval. The chapter concludes with Ako reflecting on her successful test and planning her return to her step-brother.
—
Trivia:
The hot spring water in San-no-Yu causes intense, unnatural pain that leaves no physical marks.
Orihime-hime uses a Ninja Art called “Toy Manipulator Thread” to create various shapes that act as combatants.
Spirit power control is determined by the amount of power poured into a technique when targets overlap.
Ako’s “Setsugetsu-ka” technique utilizes rapid temperature changes to create a vortex.
Orihime-hime rewards Ako with a “Beginner’s Level” scroll for her Shinobi training.
—
Translation Notes:
Notes:
• Orihime – Younger sister of the Ayabe family head and candidate for first-class exorcist.
• Ayabe – The Ayabe family name, associated with Nara. The lineage is one of the Kansai Eight Families and has its roots in a clan of shinobi.
• Ako – A young girl with a doll-like, expressionless face who conceals deep emotional intensity. She is the niece and adopted sister of Naoshi and serves as the assistant to the Acting Head of the Kazuramichi family while possessing the blood of a Yuki-onna.
• Kazuramichi – The Kazuramichi family name, carried by Naoshi and Ako. This lineage is one of the Kansai Eight Families and holds a significant position within the exorcist hierarchy.
• Tamane – The strongest and only First-Class exorcist in Shikoku. Known for her ability to handle multiple opponents simultaneously. A 21-year-old First-Class Exorcist and university student. Stands at 147cm with bronze-tanned skin and long black twintails. Wears sports brand tracksuits and carries a Boston bag. Loves beautiful people and weighs ‘three carrots.’
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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