Keshin: Chase of the Horizon

The Gong Will Ring at Eight

CHIHEISEN

"The gong will ring at eight, come to the hall for dinner okay, Yasuo?"

I held on to the framing of the open windows as I waited for the footsteps of the Ki Keshin to disappear from my hearing. The room was dark, with only a faint candlelight in the darkness. I watched as the Suimin keshin walked inside the room, dropping the satchel he carried on the floor. He sat on the edge of the bed, his back against the window. I sat on the windowsill, observing his back.

I jumped from the window down to the edge of the bed without making a sound. I approached the oblivious keshin, with my katana on hand. In the blink of an eye, I held the blade of my sword against his neck. I heard him chuckle, as annoying as ever.

"It's nice to see you again too, onihime." He said, mocking me. I applied more pressure from the blade onto his neck, enough to make the skin bleed.

"I don't know what you're trying to do, but I'm pretty sure we both know that cutting my throat won't kill me." I looked down at his face as the tip of my blade moved down to the dip above his right collar bone. His playful expression quickly turned into surprise.

"Slashing your throat won't, but this can, am I correct?" He held his breath as the tip of my sword played around his Jakuten, as if he was afraid of what I might do.

"You've hurt this once in the human world, haven't you? I wonder if it will take away your immortality if I hurt it again." I said in a playful voice.  I heard his breathing become uneven as he looked me in the eye.

YASUO

I felt fear embrace me as the tip of her sword danced around my Jakuten, I couldn't risk hurting it again, even in Tendō.

"I've been watching you, ever since you cut my hair. You're quite intriguing, Suimin." I tried to keep my cool and plastered a smirk.

"I should say the same thing about you, Onihime. What do you want from me?" I asked in a firm manner. I was so confused. What on earth is she doing here? If she was on the run, why would she come to Kyūden?

"So you can pay me back before I leave. " She whispered to my ear as I felt the blade of her katana slash off my tied up hair. Before I could put her to sleep she took her sword once more and slashed my neck with it. I felt the blood gush out of the wound and I fell to the ground. Although us keshins don't die from physical pain, it still paralyzes us for a few minutes and can even make us pass out. As my vision blurred, I saw her look back at me before jumping out the window, while the gong rang in the background.