Whose Shrine Is It Anyway? (Ryuu)

The rain poured harder and harder, drowning out Rapture’s grunts of physical exhaustion. The Mezuki’s agonized braying, however, pierced through the thunder with frightening power. As it received blow by punishing blow, it appeared to weaken, buckling under the immense pressure. Finally, the beast seemed to give up, throwing down its weapon and calling out to the distorted sky in some archaic, unknowable language. Its cry was so powerful that Rapture had to step back for a moment, only to witness a new ungodly horror. A blinding flash of lightning struck the lone tree’s top, surging through the trunk and into the Mezuki’s elongated horns. But instead of getting electrocuted, the hellish fiend became invigorated by the raw element, standing up straight and growing in size, twice larger than before and with rippling muscles to match. It was as if it had been dosed with a large number of steroids all at once. A second giant spiked club appeared in one of its hands, the other having doubled in size as well. Now, the weapons crackled with electricity, fully charged and entirely lethal. The beast easily shrugged Kawari off as the kyonshī seemed to pick up speed in their lumbering assault as if drawn to the dark energy emanating from the gatekeeper. All this situation needed was a full-blown orchestra and they’d have an iconic anime fight. And an iconic anime fight called for an iconic anime transformation. Cue Rapture.

Not one to underestimate the situation, Rapture immediately began to pray to the Great Red Dragon for his assistance. In turn, her bright blue eyes turned blood red, a pair of white horns erupted from her skull, her attire took on an entirely new look, and the hilt of an ancient katana burst from her chest.

Spoiler:

“Alright. Now, I’m out for blood,” she grumbled, unsheathed the sword, and sliced off the heads of three nearby kyonshī without even looking. Within her, the Great Red Dragon huffed. He and the Mezuki went way back. They were once friends, turned foe when Mezuki chained himself to the gates of Hell. This would be a fight for the books.

Rapture wasn't the only person who realized that this was going to need some epic anime transformations. Kawari had to step back, even, from the Mezuki's mighty roar as it got some power from a lightning strike? Was some other force supporting this thing? He scoffed as the creature grew in size, and without a word, ran behind the tree and out into the field behind it. He turned around to face the creature and Rapture, making sure that he had enough space between them and himself and any kyonshī lurking about, and formed a hand seal, gathering chakra as he became enveloped in its golden orange glow of energy, it flaring up around him erratically. "Hoooooooooooooh!"

He decided this was a serious situation, so he forced his chakra through two seals. He wasn't wanting to force them open, which is why he created this space between him and the beast, and guided the chakra through the seals. He also needed time to gather the will for the pain this was about to bring him. "Third Seal of Life... release! And the Fourth Seal of Pain... RELEASE!" The chakra emanating from Kawari became a bright, golden hue, and then turned into that of a lively, neon green. But if Rapture could even see, she would be able to visibly tell that his body was becoming very strained.

He growled and darted over to the tree, running up it with no issue, and then launched himself at the beast's head with a strong, down-angled kick. His strength had increased two-fold to 20 tons, and his speed even more so. With this maneuver, he was trying to kick it off balance towards Rapture so that she could take advantage of it falling, and the momentum would leave him in the air long enough to flip forward, flying head first towards the beast with a mighty battlecry as he would punch straight into where its heart should be. If things went as planned, he would be cratering it into the earth only slightly through the impact. But its body and organs would be taking 20 tons of impact point blank. "Go to hell!" he shouted at it angrily. His legs and arms were already on fire from the pain. And in plain view of his new friend, the strain on his body would present itself, blood dripping from his nose now.

Even through the rain and thunder, Kawari Wen’s transformation looked impressive, if not dangerous. But what was a good shōnen power up without risk? The state of the Great Red Dragon put strain on Rapture as well, although the force was more spiritual than physical. It would be akin to walking around with a giant beast ten times her size slung over her back. But the petite powerhouse didn’t let anyone on to her strain, as it simply was not her way. Instead, she narrowed her red eyes and gritted her teeth, making her way around the tree. Time seemed to slow as she proceeded, the rain pounding against her multi-pierced face, obstructing her vision but not her focus.

The Great Red Dragon seethed from inside her, his disdain for the Mezuki filling her soul with fury. Nothing righteous about it, just raw emotion. Mezuki had once been a noble spirit, keeper of one of the gates to heaven. He and Ryuuzaki, the spirit, got along well. Many of Ryuuzaki’s comrades had fallen in battle, ninja and samurai alike. Their souls passed through the once-noble Mezuki to be initially judged, and righteously so. But Mezuki grew jealous of the gods who dwelled within the gate while he was left to work on the outskirts. Envy clouded his judgment, and he began to send souls to hell out of spite. Eventually, he was cast to the Shinto hellscape of Yomi, where he was punished by being forced to guard its gates. A cruel mirror of his former life, the only solace that Mezuki found was in the few times he was able to escape into small pocket realms like one Kawari Wen and Rapture had been sucked into.

A voice emitted from Rapture’s throat that was not her own. It was low, coarse, and resonating. Ancient phrases were spoken in a tongue known only to the spirits and Mezuki. The girl was rather taken aback. This was the first time it had ever happened and spoke to the gravity of the situation. While she could not understand what the Great Red Dragon had said, she somehow understood that it meant that he was addressing the corrupted beast. A declaration, an understanding that although he didn’t want to fight Mezuki, it was necessary. It was then that Rapture understood that she would have to reap his soul. To destroy it completely.

As Kawari Wen readied his attack, Rapture closed the space between her and the Mezuki, shoving the blade into its heart with expert maneuvers, slicing straight through the center before retracting the blade. In the process of doing so, she extracted the Mezuki’s soul and embedded it into the blood-comprised sword. The beast had not died, but its soul was hers now for the Great Red Dragon to consume, and consume he did. A bit of a daze fell over her, exhausted from the spiritual energy she had expended. Her unlikely ally completed an impressive set of motions and finished the beast off. Responding to the yokai’s death, the rain ceased almost immediately and the sky turned blue. As the beast’s destroyed corpse twitched once more, a voice could be heard. This time, in a tongue that all could who was present understand.

“Thank… you…”

As the voice resonated through the air, the scenery melted back to the shrine. No more kyonshī, no more fields, no more sense of dread. Peace and familiarity. Rapture collapsed, breathing heavily. Her attire had returned to her normal garb, and her hair and eyes were back to their usual hue. A trickle of blood ran down her mouth, which she wiped away with her sleeve before shakily getting up. Steadying herself, the yokai priestess turned to her new companion. “It appears… I have a use for you, Kawari Yen…” she rasped, and chuckled lightly. What a day it had been.

Even after only a few mere moments of utilizing the Fourth Seal of Pain, it was sure to remind Kawari why it had such a fitting name. His leg muscles and arm muscles were already splitting ont he inside, as if he had just gotten through an hours-long workout session using weights well above his class. But he wasn't done. Rapture seemed spent, and although he was too, he couldn't allow this moment of vulnerability to be unaware of the undead still in the area. With a few movements, he had blown through most of them with skilled punches and kicks, the strength of his blows, the divine magic influencing them, and the rotting decay of the bodies ensured he was practically blowing through them like a hot knife through butter.

When he was done, he fell to his knees near Rapture, breathing heavily as he worked to close up the seals within himself. Wiping another trickle of blood from his nose as she said taht she had a use for him. "Yeah...? And what use would that be?" He spat out to the side, and got up. Refusing to show weakness any longer. He straightened up and stood tall, though it was physically taxing to do so with his muscles at the mooment. Kawari was nothing if not willpower in the flesh.