The Cursed Iris

Sprout 9: The Power of the Vermillion Bird

Katsumi continued to stare at Kikyo with his mouth agape as she ate the boar meat that Homura gathered. Kikyo giggled, "What is it?" she teased.

"Oh nothing, you're just so much like Ayame, just an inverted version of her. I find that crazy."

"That? Oh yeah the creator has a meaning behind that. I mean each one of us have a meaning to be quite honest."

"Creator?" Katsumi and Natsume asked confused.

Atsuko who had just woken up, interjected nervously, "She's just talking, don't mind her," she chuckled. She then looked at Kikyo frustratedly. "Don't say dumb stuff like that Kikyo, you'll scare people."

"Okay, fine."

Atsuko sighed, "So Homura you don't mind if we eat and talk right?" she asked as she took a piece of meat.

"Of course not. In fact, I would love to."

"Alright, well first question is what are the abilities of the Phoenix Gear?" Atsuko asked curiously.

"The Phoenix flame, the power over the yin and yang cycle through nature, and the feather that transcends time, are a few of them," she replied bluntly.

Atsuko got even more confused. "What does that mean?"

Ayame stared at them with a glisten in her eyes, "Well, the yin and yang cycle is pretty much control over a person's, animal's, or object's life force, including your own. If you're in balance then you will age normally, but if it's out of balance I think you get the idea," she replied enthusiastically.

Homura smiled. "That's exactly correct. You have the power to speed up, slow down, or even reverse the aging process for most living things. Although it does come at a cost."

"Of course, a broken ability like that does, so what is it?" Atsuko asked frustrated.

"You sacrifice some of your own life force as a drawback," Kikyo replied with her mouth full. They all looked at her in surprise as she continued chewing. "I mean it's basically putting two and two together."

"Yes, I'm afraid that is the largest drawback, that is why even I myself wouldn't use that ability."

"So, why even pass something this crazy on to me?"

"Because you have the most potential out of anyone in our bloodline. That is why," Homura stated.

Atsuko stared at her, and then she looked at Ayame, "Didn't you have a question for her as well?" she asked with a pout.

Ayame nodded. "Yes, I'm more curious about the gears as well such as the Senryu Gear. I want to know it's abilities."

"I cannot tell you that," Homura replied almost immediately.

Ayame's cowlick reacted to her mood, "Why not?" she asked as she sunk into her chair.

"Because it's bad practice to tell someone's abilities without having them here," she said shrugging her shoulders. "Besides I'm sure you'll meet her at some point in your journey."

"I really hope not," Katsumi replied under his breath.

Homura started laughing. "I almost forgot that your sister, Asami, and Minori all grew up around each other. Good times to be honest."

"Not really, they all bullied me because of what I said about being like Totomaru," Katsumi yelled back embarrassed.

"Well of course. Chiyoko already said that she was going to be the Half Breed King, Asami wanted to take my place as Suzaku, and Minori wanted to become the Dragon Sage. To be honest, they weren't far from achieving them until your situation happened."