A wind crawled its way through the alley blowing around the field of grass that used to be a typical alley er. For the moment everything was still, the fusion in the air left everyone holding their positions. In the edge of the widened alley was the massive assassin with barely any of his earth field still holding against Yuki’s field.

  Yuki took a step bad blinked several times cheg his eyes to see if they were pying games on him. Seiji hadn’t yet been clued into his ge being more focused on being scious once more. He didn’t know what Yuki’s problem was, but he stepped forward to get around Yuki. “What’s with that look Yuki? We’ve got someone’s ass to kick!”

  “Huh…right!” Yuki rubbed his fists together and stepped forward o Seiji. Even with both of them ba the fight, it didn’t feel so assured as Seiji acted. His hand still killed him with a throbbing biting pain that was only being held back by adrenaline. “Let me hahis, Seiji. You stay back this time!” Yuki charged forward, trusting in his mind to have delivered.

  Seiji tried to reach out for Yuki, taken aback by him suddenly being willing to fight. ‘What’s gotten into him? And what’s with all of this damn grass?’

  The assassin took a cautious defensive posture with Yuki finally itted. A strike with his good hand smmed into the thick forearm. Barely any movement came from the hit. Nothing ged with his fist halted. He didn’t really know what to expect, but hoped for something.

  fused covered him with Yuki making no noticeable impa the guy. Everythi a little off in ways he couldn’t figure out, but it seemed like Yuki should have done something. But the stranger remained a brick wall. ‘Did Yuki always look so blurry? How the hell he just tank hits like that from Yuki?’

  Chapter 29 – Dropout Priest

  Yuki leapt back to assess the situation. “Tough as stone…” Backed away, he suddenly noticed an odd crack or two along the forearm where he strubsp; ‘A crabsp; Is he actually made out of stone? But Ayumi said it ’t ge you…so what’s he doing to get this effect?’

  “ you keep going?” Seiji offered a hand to Yuki.

  Yuki grabbed on to Seiji feeling a bit of strength flowing into his body. “Thanks.” Everythi a little sharper. The dull movements disappeared as though somehow restored.

  “Let me take a whack at him, Yuki.” Despite how the st time went, his body told him he had a ce. None of it made any sense, but he was not about to turn down a ce to go toe to toe again.

  “Wait, Seiji! His defenses are to. I don’t know if it’ll make sense, but I thiually has rocks on his skin proteg him.”

  Seiji didn’t question robably should have been a red fg. However, being told that hadn’t ged his instinbsp; “I ’t expin it, but I know I win.”

  Knowing Seiji, he immediately wao pull him babsp; Yet there was something different about him now and not just the new clothes. His fidence felt genuine, even if he didn’t know where it came from. “I’ve got your back.”

  Seiji nodded with a grin to Yuki before turning to look down at the unassaible tower of a man. He pounded his feet against the earth getting a boost to his sprint. His body glided through the air as if he dropped twenty kilos. ‘What is this feeling?’ As Seiji came inte the man threw out a fist, but Seiji dodged it taking a step to the side. Rather than throwing a punch, his haended out ung papers from his long sleeves of the robe. ‘He’s ing again!’

  Another fist from the other arm came in f Seiji to roll away to safety, but found that he was being attacked by more than just an arm now. Out of the man’s fist came spikes of stone and rock flying at him. Out of instinct Seiji dropped to one knee and smmed his hand against the grass and dirt. The daggers of earth struck at and around him breaking up grass ah making a cloud around Seiji.

  “Seiji!” Yuki ran in a few steps uain about his friend. But the air ran thick like electricity charged through. He paused to see what would happen.

  Around Seiji a dome of cool blue light surrounded him. Kanji symbols ran in lines along the surfa a plex array of geometry and calligraphy. Behind the barrier, Seiji remained unharmed. He looked back up at their attacker unfazed.

  He stood up, releasing the barrier to charge bato melee. Dodging around and going for ter strike, Seiji worked to find a weakness. Like with Yuki, each blow did nothing. The man really seemed to be built like a tank.

  A lucky blow forced Seiji on the defense, blog with his whole body. The power pushed him back with his feet ripping through the grass and dirt. Seiji shook off the slight numbness as paper ash fell to the ground. ‘This is so weird.’

  Seiji moved in tinuing his patterns of evading and throwing papers with the man. ‘It’s like I a reflex only with no thought.’ He flipped over the man nding behind him, pg his palm to the earth before jumping again in time. ‘What am I doing?’ The moment he nded his hand touched the ground and rolled himself out of the crushing assault of the man.

  The man seemed to be growing impatient with his attacks. When Seiji jumped back the man crossed his arms produg rge spikes from his elbows that broke free propelling towards Seiji. There was no time for a barrier as Seiji waved his arm in an ar front of him, produg a series of papers in a line following his hand.

  The momehe spikes collided with the paper mutually disiing on impabsp; Yet the assault wasn’t finished as more spears of earth were u Seiji. Many papers remained in the air catg the flood of projectiles. As the defehinned, he produced more with the barrage tinuing.

  A minute was bought for him as he brought his hands together. He interced his fiogether with the right hand’s index and middle finger held straight as he began to mutter something. As the st of the papers floating in front of Seiji were taken out, five pilrs of light burst up around the man showing papers at their base. On the ground, light weaved the earth eg each pilr in a circle as the pilrs bent inwards hitting the man. A moment ter all of the papers that Seiji had stuck to the man’s body suddenly began to glhtly. “Yuki! Kick his ass!”

  “Right!” Yuki sprung into a pulling back his good hand for one final punbsp; Caught in the light, the brute braced with his arms. The distortion effect around Yuki shot out at the point of impact through the forearms and into the chest.

  The moment hung still with no clear sense anything happened. Brief disappoi came over Yuki. A snap bubbled up triggering Yuki to focus.

  Cracks raced out from the tact widening out as though he split the man’s arm. ks of earth tumbled away as the armor shattered. Beh the unbroken skin a deep purple quickly surfaced. Then along the broad chest cracks formed.

  Blood coughed up in sprays as the Field shattered. The monster of a man lost bance leaning back to crash into the grass. Deep red bruising appeared over the chest and arms as he y unmoving.

  Yuki came to rest in front of the bleeding assassin that y on the ground uo move from the injuries. The wild look from before was breaking through him as he had been attag, but he bli himself out of the tranbsp; ‘Did I… Did I?’ As Yuki looked closer, the man was still breathing strong, but would not be able to move for some time. The wounds were deep, but not immediately life threatening.

  Seiji walked up to Yuki patting him on the shoulder to get his attention from the fight. “Shit man! We won…”

  “Yeah…” Yuki turned away from the se and looked at Seiji staring down at him. It was then that his curiosity kicked in ging his expression again to fusion. “What’s with the clothes, Seiji? I thought you hated…”

  “Huh?” Seiji’s face twisted a little in fusion, but Yuki poi the clothes to direct his eyes down. When Seiji gave into Yuki’s questioning and looked, his eyes widened in shock making him jump babsp; “What the hell am I wearing these stupid clothes for?!” Seiji began to pull at them, cheg to see if it was real and where his school clothes had gone. It was sadly very real and very missing.

  “That’s what I’m asking. When you woke up you were wearing them. I didn’t say much then because we had other matters.” Yuki’s mind ran through the events that led up trying to figure out what happened si became very clear to him that Seiji was in the dark. “And what’s with those papers? They look like charms or something.”

  Seiji wasn’t able to keep up with the barrage of questions, still trying to deal with the clothes. ‘Why the hell didn’t I notice this before? And what’s Yuki talking about paper charms?’ It required Yuki to grab Seiji’s hand and show him what it was that he was holding the eime.

  “You were throwing them around all over the pce like out of a manga I read. Holy, you looked pretty badass”

  “Huh? Wait…these are Ofuda, the hell? The talismans that we use at the shrine? But why do I have them?” Seiji attempted to repy what he did before, but it became a blur. Everything was all reflexive like he had do before and just knew without needing to trate. ‘What the hell happeo me? What’s this strange feeling I have? What the shit’s going on?’

  Yuki had a ton of questio, but he suddenly khat he should not be stig around any lohan necessary. Unfortunately, he was still in a problem. ‘I ’t turn it off again. Damn…wish I knew how to work this.’ Yuki walked over to Seiji trying to look as serious as he could. “Hey Seiji, I need a favor.”

  “Wha—“

  “We probably should stick around any longer, but I need you to whack me in the head hard.”

  “Huh? Why?!”

  “I’ll expin ter, just hurry!”

  Seiji didn’t uand what Yuki was getting, but the dead serious look in his eyes told Seiji enough. He took a moment and pulled back his arm tightly letting it go flying through Yuki and dropping him ft on the alley crete once more. All of the grass, clothes, everything faded away before Yuki touched the ground. “Not sure I uand, but this is getting plicated.”

  He looked around at the alley seeing the few areas of damage caused by the fight. However, Seiji couldn’t dawdle too long and with Yuki unscious it made his task harder now. Seiji bent down and lifted Yuki up over shoulder. He gnced over at the still body of Yuki. “What the hell’s going on Yuki…”

  “Huh?” Yuki snapped back to reality. He sat on a rge semi-ft stone in the back of the shrihat Seiji had carried him back to. Yuki wasn’t sure if he was weled by their grandfather, but that didn’t seem to be the immediate issue. Someoared at him with great i.

  They wanted answers.

  “Don’t ‘huh’ me, Yuki! You seem to know something about that giant Russian brick shithouse!”

  “That’s some colorful use of nguage.”

  Seiji leaned in on Yuki as if it would help get him answers. They had left the alley so quickly after defeating that strange guy that Seiji did not have any time for answers. That and he carried an unscious body while trying not to look suspicious.

  Yuki swallowed slowly knowing that this was ing. He khat he was going to have to expin it when Seiji refused to run away. It was iable now. “Well I’m not sure where to start, its kinda plicated.”

  “Let’s start with that guy that attacked you. He seemed to be out for more than just a few drops of your blood.”

  “Right…” After Saki gave him practice, the expnation came out smoother. And Seiji quietly, mostly anyway, absorbed it all. Both Saki and Seiji took the revetions far better than him, though given the circumsta made sense.

  At the end, Seiji rubbed his head still rolling it around. “Damn, man… What’s the pn?”

  “I don’t know. I guess I’ve been in a little bit of denial hoping it would pass over in time. But Saki and now you… I ’t run from this anymore. But it’s not like I go into the lion’s den as I am. It’s still a waiting game for now.”

  “Where is this pbsp; You going to be close by?”

  “Oh… I…I just realized I never asked Ayumi about that.” He ughed a little at his absentmindedness. “I guess with everything going on, it didn’t seem that important.”

  “Not important? It’s your homend.”

  “Japan is my home, not wherever that pce is and Momoko, Ken and Jun my family.” It hit him suddenly saying it to Seiji. The weight of the words felt heavier than he realized.

  “I get that. So who the hell’s this Ayumi?”

  “ht, she didn’t know about you so your memories weren’t altered. You saw her the other day when Saki yelled at you.”

  “That tiny little girl? Huh…shit…oh shit!”

  “Seiji?”

  He leaned forward and jumped up getting in front of Yuki. Seiji grabbed him by the shoulders with an inteare. “All that stuff, what the hell was that shit? Was it your powers?”

  “Huh? What are you talking about?”

  “Ya know, that shit!” Seiji started to gesture with his hands, pointing at himself as if that helped. “The light…” He trailed off into whispers without anymore reag Yuki. His eyes darted around the shrine grounds.

  More than a little fused, Yuki tilted his head. It took a few mestures for it to clibsp; “Oh the Shinto–” Immediately, Seiji smmed a hand over his mouth.

  “Quiet, man!” A very serious gre from Seiji fixed on Yuki. He refused to back down until Yuki agreed. Slowly Yuki nodded his head looking bewildered. “Good…shit…”

  Taking a breath in, Yuki could speak again, but kept it quiet. “You talking about the shinto powers? Yeah, you looked great, straight out of a movie!”

  “Don’t breathe a word of that to anyone!”

  “I mean who’d believe me?”

  “Yuki…”

  “Okay, okay, I’ll keep it a secret. It’s not like I even know how it happened.” Thinking ba the alley, he tried to imagine what the trigger had been. He knew vaguely enough how the powers work to know what he needed. Yet he didn’t know how or why it happened. His subscious tio govern his life. “Given Seiji powers…what more I do with this power?’