Chapter 23:Fragment

The night was over and the sun was beginning to reclaim its place in this land. The clouds turn a deep orange color thanks to the light of dawn and the forest slowly begins to awaken.

With the chirping of birds and the breaking of small branches, from a deep area of the forest two people emerge. The first was a young man with dark yukata, blond hair and a look full of mental fatigue, on the other hand, his companion, a lady with a calm expression, black hair and priestess outfit, seems to be in perfect condition. 

Christopher pov. 

"With the stars out of sight, how do you plan to know the direction?"

It was a fair question and it's not because I'm tired from walking through the woods all night, it's just that I can go for days without sleep, though that doesn't mean I have to. 

"It's impossible until the... Let's head that way again."

Accepting my words and formulating an answer for my question, she is stopped mid-sentence as if sensing something and her eyes widen slightly before changing direction.

Walking through the forest for an hour or more, as the sun began to rise with full power, we came to a beautiful clearing of crystal clear water in the middle of the forest and in its center rests an island with green undergrowth on which grows a fruit tree. 

"This is... strange, there is no noise nearby and the water seems too good to be true."

"I see you notice it too, take a closer look and you will begin to see the reality."

Keeping my distance from the clearing and guided by Kikyo's nonchalant voice, I undo my transformation, receiving a silent glance through her brown eyes, before turning my full attention to the scene in front of me. 

The idyllic image unravels as if by magic, the clearing changes to brown vines full of thorns and pieces of bodies can still be seen on its surface, the island remains, but the tree changes to a larger, leafy one with red veins on its surface while its leaves have a deep violet color from which sweet smelling pheromones ooze.

"What you see is a yokai tree that has absorbed a fragment of the pearl, apparently it has been devouring all the fauna of the place and that's why the silence."

Speaking in a calm and flat voice, as if he had seen this situation hundreds of times, he points to a part of the bark, more exactly in the place where the veins join in a spiral shape and from where a light pink contained light comes from. 

"Seems right, wait, you mean you can feel the pearl fragments?"

"Umm... Now that you manage to see it you can take care of it easily, I'll stay away so I won't be a burden."

I stared at Kikyo as she walked away and only a few thoughts were running through my head, this made sense! The first time we met she tried to take the shard off my forehead, then she talked about being the guardian of the pearl and now she was leading us towards a share directly, it was obvious, I almost wanted to smack my forehead. 

"Now it's time to finish you off."

Tapping the ground with my feet, she advanced a distance of a few meters easily reaching the tree in the blink of an eye and without hesitation withdrew clouded fang from its sheath before launching a downward strike.

Obviously and proving to be a yokai, the vines resting in what used to be the clearing rise and attack like a whip in my direction. I didn't need to change the direction of my attack and even less when I have my tails outside that act automatically to defend me. Proving that my thoughts were correct, these move automatically, cutting and forcibly crushing any creeper that dares to approach, thus managing to avoid any possible damage.

"Unexpected, really."

With the sound of something slimy being ripped apart, the flesh fruits hanging from the tree explode letting out a shrill noise and a wave of sonic power managing to make me lose my thoughts for a few seconds. Without giving me any rest to recover, multiple vines congregate and surround me on all sides creating a sphere that envelops me completely. 

Noticing how all my line of sight is covered by thorns that begin to grow in disproportionate ways, wanting to finish me, I grab harder to fang cloudy, making strands of reddish energy begin to emerge from its blade while I light my tails in flames before attacking in all directions.

*¡Booooom!

In an explosion of flames and dry vines, I managed to eliminate his technique by restoring my field of vision and followed that by blasting clouded fang downwards unloading a reddish energy attack that cuts the tree in half cleanly. With that finished it landed ferociously on the ground kicking up a cloud of dust and then slammed my palm to the front causing all that dust to scatter so I could perfectly analyze the surroundings. Confirming that the tree is completely defeated, I walked to its dry trunk and digging my hand into its bark removed a soft pink fragment that started to glow in my palm. 

"One more for the collection, now, oh."

Being briefly mesmerized by the pure glow of the shard, I am brought out of that state as I watch the tree begin to dry quickly, the leaves losing color and the vines snapping in the wind, leaving the entire environment silent until Kikyo arrives with soft footsteps. 

"Grab!"

Spinning on my axis, I spin around like a spinning top and throw the shard at Kikyo catching her completely off guard, though she still manages to catch it easily in her hand before confirming what's inside. 

"Why are you giving it to me?"

Shifting emotions manage to admire in her eyes, but it wasn't because of the action of handing over the shard, but because of what it represents to her, it was a duty, a burden and a painful memory all at once. Her voice only confirmed those visible emotions, despite her attempt to maintain a monotone. 

"You're the one who found him and even though I got him by force, without your help in the beginning it would be a much more difficult situation."

We stare at each other for a few seconds, though then she shakes her head to herself, before turning away at the same time as a shiny object slowly falls towards my direction. 

"Next one's mine."

Watching her walk slowly away, I open my palm where the pink glowing shard is and then place that palm on my forehead making me feel a prick before a liquid runs down my forehead.

Finishing that I hide my tails and ears at the same time I keep the cloudy fang in its sheath, then start walking behind her.