封じの柱の儀
The Ceremony of the Hashira Seal
Tsudzura: Uuu! That was a horrible ordeal......
Sakuya: That was a disaster, huh?
Tsudzura: It was a disaster˜
After sucking away that much of a person's blood, isn't it going a bit far to call it "a disaster"?
But, oh well, if I consider that I've touched a fox's tail enough for a lifetime, I guess I can think it a fair trade.
Tsudzura: Now------ let us begin.
Ohashirasama: Please do as you must.
Ohashirasama: By the way, Tsudzura-sama, there is a request I would like to make of you.
Tsudzura: What is that?
Ohashirasama: To seal the Nie no Chi------ or perhaps transmute it into normal blood------ would this be within your means?
Tsudzura: I think I can, most likely.
Tsudzura: ......Would you be referring to Kei-oneesan?
Ohashirasama: Yes.
Ahh, that was a bit of a blind spot.
The reason I was targeted by oni is because of something special about my blood, or the Nie no Chi, and if that were gone, that special preference would disappear.
Tsudzura: I will do with Onee-san as you request.
Tsudzura: Ahh, I almost forgot. Any regrets you have can become unintended resistance, so if there is anything else, please mention anything you can think of.
Ohashirasama: Very well------ there was a child who was possessed of Nushi's wakemitama and became an oni------
Senba: ............
Ohashirasama: Can I entrust that child to your care, as well?
Tsudzura: Indeed, as long as the wakemitama remains at large, this seal we're working so hard to strengthen can still be broken. We shall address this matter˜
Tsudzura: Uzuki-san, as the Onikiri-Yaku of the Senba Clan, you should be capable of slaying the oni only, correct?
Senba: ......I will see to it.
Tsudzura-chan unexpectedly seems quite the slave driver, so Senba-san must have some rough days ahead.
Tsudzura: That is our answer. Anything else?
Ohashirasama: No. That is more than enough.
Tsudzura: Very well, then------
Tsudzura-chan claps her hands in kashiwade.
The plosive wave of that sound blows away all other sounds in the area, and resets the air with something softened and warm.
When the reverberation ceases, there is only a strict calm remaining.
In the midst of that silence------
Tsudzura: I will now conduct the ritual of the Hashira Seal------
---only Tsudzura-chan's words can be heard.
*Zawa*------
Those words are the herald of a clamorous event, as the kotodama bristle all the spirits of the trees to life.
*Sawa*------ *Zawa*
The leaves begin rustling in tens, hundreds, thousands. Harmonizing and resonating with Tsudzura-chan's words, the echoes of the mountain amplify her kotodama.
*Sawa*------ *Zawa*------ *Sawa*------ *Zawa*------
Quivering excitedly, the leaves reflect the falling moonlight every which way and shine.
Bathed in that pale blue light, the great tree itself begins to shine------
Before long, the light spreads from leaves to branches, from the branches to the trunk, until finally, the entire divine tree is ablaze with moonlight.
And then------
Into the light given off by the divine tree, the Ohashirasama's body fades.
Leaving behind a beaming smile in her last moment, she melts away into the light.
Ohashirasama: Kei-chan------ goodbye------