A Casual Walk in Magano

"Oh no!!" Kinako appeared in a huff of smoke and screeched, his tiny claws gripping Benio's shoulder. Benio winced slightly and he returned to his pendant form, which settled around her neck. 

Benio pulled out her Talismans and concentrated. "Magano Gate! Open! Come forth at once!" 

The large golden portal to Magano opened, and Benio stepped through confidently. It took her an extra minute to cast her protective and offensive talismans on herself and summon her swords, but it was worth the wait. Protection enchantments and strength charms aside, she didn't know what she'd do without her foresight spell. It sharpened her vision by a hundred-fold, allowing her to see every tiny move the enemy made toward her, and paired with her speed charm, allowed her to move safely out of harm's way and counter the blow.

The massive Kegare was shaking the old husk of a building that it had ripped out of the ground, and Benio could see a little boy cowering beneath some rubble, flinching in terror every time the Kegare moved. It was looking for him. It could sense the delicious spell power coming in waves off the terrified child, and it wanted it. 

Faster than thought, Benio sped toward the Kegare and slammed the flats of her blades against its gargantuan forehead. The creature stumbled back and roared, raising its claws to swat her out of the air, but her foresight mask saw the motion and she jumped safely down onto the ground, glaring up at the colossal figure. She almost hadn't been fast enough. Damn. Benio swore and grabbed her Curse Talisman, a "gift" from the creature who'd killed her parents. 

She could feel Kinako trembling against her neck as she held it out and took a deep breath. Harnessing the power of Yin to enhance her combat abilities was dangerous at best, but she had to do it. 

"White Chill! Battle Fangs! Come forth at once!" Benio shouted, feeling the familiar surge of power as her legs turned into the Byakurin Toki. 

The Kegare took a hesitant step back, sensing the spell power coming off of Benio in droves, then dove in for the attack. Benio hardly had to do anything. She simply thought, move out of harm's way, and her legs carried her safely out of danger. She clenched her fist. Basara power was addicting. Too addicting. Benio hated to admit it, but she loved how fluidly she moved when she was using her legs, how fast she was, how hard she hit. 

Benio sped toward the Kegare, sliding her blade deep into its flesh and dragging it along its ribs, watching in morbid satisfaction as acidic Kegare blood sprayed out, dissolving as soon as it hit the air. The Kegare screeched in pain, and exploded. No star appeared to mark its exorcism, and Benio frowned. That scratch shouldn't have been enough to kill it. 

"Give me a break." 

Benio froze. 

"You're really having fun without me again?" 

No. He could not be here. 

"Although, I suppose I couldn't really call that fun. It took, what, one hit to kill it?" 

Kamui was striding toward her, his golden eyes mildly amused. 

The little boy, who had been hiding behind some rubble, cried out and ran toward him, perhaps comforted by the sight of another "human". 

"No-" Benio started to shout as the boy grabbed Kamui's coat and tugged it, still crying, but Kamui simply regarded the child for a second. Then he stretched his hand toward the boy, and Benio's insides turned to ice. However, Kamui simply patted the kid on his head and said softly, "It's okay now. The monster is gone." 

The boy nodded and sniffled, and Kamui gestured toward Benio. "Why don't you go with that nice woman over there? She'll be able to take you home." 

The boy ran over to Benio, who opened a Magano Gate and sent him back to reality. 

"So." Benio stared at Kamui, memories flashing through her head of their last encounter. "What are you doing here? Planning to kill me? Fight Rokuro? Eat some humans?" 

Kamui scoffed. "Hardly. I'm a wanderer, remember? Like it or not, I was bound to end up back in your area of Magano at some point." 

Benio gripped her swords tighter, preparing for the moment Kamui would drop his truce and attack her. She had to be ready. Her foresight spell allowed her to sense every movement of his, and she would know the minute he tried anything. 

After a while, Benio realized several minutes had passed without either of them saying anything. In an effort to alleviate the tension, she said, "So.. how's Suzu?" 

"Who?" 

"You don't know Suzu?" 

"Never heard of her." 

"I guess- I guess I just figured that you Basara all knew each other," Benio said in surprise. 

"Ha. Maybe some do, but I've only met a few other Basara in my lifetime," Kamui explained. 

"So.. Chinu? How's she?" 

Kamui blinked, then allowed a small smile to show itself on his face. "She's doing very well. Most of her "collection" was washed away by Kaguya, so I helped her settle into a new location and salvaged what I could from the flood." 

"That's good." 

"She spoke of you often." 

"She did?" 

"Yes. She said, and I quote, 'You know, it's never happened before that a Luna and a Basara arrive together to get Luna's powers back. Perhaps... perhaps this will work. Perhaps I should stop doubting the power of the Sousei and put my faith in your Luna.'"

"Right. Because I'm.. Kegare, as are all the female Twin Stars." Benio stared at the ground. In the months since she'd returned from her trip to Chinu's home, she'd tried her best to ignore that.. darker aspect of her. 

"What's so wrong with being a Kegare?" Kamui asked simply. 

Benio couldn't even begin to comprehend the question. "You guys kill for fun." 

"There are some humans who do that also," Kamui pointed out. Benio narrowed her eyes. 

"Name one Kegare - besides Chinu and Suzu - who hasn't killed a single human. I'll wait." she crossed her arms and glared at Kamui. 

"Actually, you're quite wrong. Chinu used to be renowned for her human-killing. Then, about a few hundred years ago, she had a change of heart. I'm not entirely sure myself, as I was a mere Kegare then, but according to Gabura, she heard music. Human music. Whatever she heard, or saw, or felt, it changed the way she understood humans, and since then, she's never lain a harmful hand on a human." 

"Ch-Chinu used to-" Benio felt sick to her stomach. "I actually quite liked Chinu. Clearly my judgement was wrong." 

Kamui laughed. "You'll hold her accountable for things done years before your great-great-great-grandparents were even born? Humans change, and so can Basara. Granted, her crimes, and mine, are on a far different scale, but so are our lifespans. Besides," Kamui looked to the ground, his eyes suddenly sad, "some of us lay awake at night thinking about the sins we've committed." 

Benio softened. "Kamui. As long as you're living for the day I can exorcise you, it's enough." 

Kamui nodded, and turned around. "Well, goodbye, Adashino Benio. I look forward to the day when the fangs I gave you come after me." 

"Goodbye, Kamui." 

A/N: I wrote this at 12 in the morning in one sitting so if some information isn't accurate, or Benio and Kamui aren't quite in character, or there's any grammar mistakes and what have you pls let me know and I'll fix that asap