Chapter 10: The White Phoenix

Me and my one hour of sleep woke up early to attend the last day of the Sakura Festival. At least I was able to restore some energy with a type of kelp Moye told me to harvest from the trip on the sea.

"You're still not too familiar with the new sword arts Hanakanmaru taught you," Moye pointed out. "But it should be enough to surprise Kasumi."

"I sure hope so," I replied, my eyes closed.

"Meikyo-shisui. Remember, keep your mind in that state."

"Yes, I know. Clear as a bright mirror, tranquil as still waters," I rolled my eyes.

"The moment you said that 'yes, I know', your mind is no longer tranquil," Moye shook her head.

We then stayed quiet for the entirety of our trip to the festival ground.

When I arrived, eerily, I felt a pair of eyes filled with hatred and jealousy on me.

"Meikyo-shisui, meikyo-shisui," I shook my thoughts off.

"Rei! Over here!" Kasumi called out from afar with a smile on his face.

We chatted while a few more rounds happened, and finally, it was our faceoff.

"Best of luck!" Kasumi nodded to me and stepped onto the stage.

I took a few more deep breaths before stepping up as well.

The entire place was filled. It was the biggest crowd I've ever seen ever since my most recent Kendo match - which is no surprise, considering this is what they'd call "the duel between the dragon and the phoenix".

I took out Hanakanko. It's both unwise and a dishonour to Kasumi as an opponent to not use my weapon from the very beginning.

"Kasumi," I looked at him and said. "Just thought I'd let you know, I physically can't use the sword on my back. It's not that I don't think you're worthy."

"It matters not," Kasumi shook his head. "I'm using no weapons against you, but I am definitely going all-out."

"Hey, look! The dragon is already starting to intimidate the phoenix!" Spectators gathered around and started gossipping.

"Did he just say something about the phoenix not being worthy?" Someone said in the crowds.

"Now that's a misunderstanding that's hard to clear up," I shook my head.

"Does it bother you? I can go and explain." Kasumi replied.

"It matters not," I returned the phrase. "They can say whatever they want. All I have in front of me is the battleground."

That's right. I'm used to gossip, as a professional Kendo player - a former one.

"Excellent," Kasumi nodded. "Well, if you're ready, here I come!"

He then proceeded to charge straight at me, his palm spread wide yet steady. Far before his palm even came close to me, I felt a huge gust blow at my face. I thought of dodging, but my senses told me that it would be too late, so I braced myself for the hit.

In what seemed like a single frame in time, his palm collided with my left shoulder, I was staggered backward, and he appeared behind my back. All of it happened before I was reminded by the pain on my shoulder that I've been hit.

"I'm surprised by your speed, Phoenix," My face cringed slightly due to the pain.

"I, too, am quite taken aback by your reaction," Kasumi looked at his palm with a straight face. "An average person would have tried to dodge the attack - so I offset the collision point by a bit to perfectly land the hit. But you somehow knew that and just braced for the hit instead, which negated most of the damage."

"And please don't call me Phoenix," He scratched his head.

"Well, I suppose it's my turn now," I raised Hanakanko up and channeled some energy into the sword to prepare for the new move I got from Hanakanmaru. As Kasumi got into his stance, I finished imbuing the sword with spirit energy.

"*Kanshou no Sakura!" Focusing all of my power to the nadir of my body to boost my speed, I circled around Kasumi in a five-petalled sakura flower pattern, dashing towards him five times in a row and leaving a spirit projection of a petal at every hit.

"Too predictable," Kasumi fended off my attacks with ease and said. "These moves are nice for the show, but they don't really help in combat."

"Is that so?" I stopped after landing my fifth hit. "Rally!"

In a split second, I flashed to one of the petals and landed a hit on Kasumi's back. Just when he turned his body around, I blinked to another. And another. And I just kept flashing around arbitrarily.

"**Zhangzhong Bagua Zhen!" Kasumi finally yelled and raised his hand up into the air. A mysterious blob of black and white started to form in his hands, and when it filled his palm, he slammed it down on the ground, creating a Bagua shape circling him.

When I appeared yet again behind his back, he yelled "***坎对离!" and launched his palm in front of him, directly opposite from me. Astonishingly, it hit me right in the center of my chest.

"How did you hit me?" I asked, wiping off some blood on the corner of my lips.

"You appeared right on the 'Li' hex of the eight hexes. The hex opposite to Li is the 'Kan' hex, so the Bagua Zhen converted my hit on Kan to Li. It acts like a mirror, in essence."

"I see," I nodded. "You're strong, I'll give you that."

I acted calm, but on the inside I was panicking. "Moye, is there anything in the name of whatever god this world has to offer that I can do right now?"

"Yes! Taste the loss and appreciate what it has taught you," Moye yawned.

"Seriously?"

"Unless you can somehow break his Zhen, yes."

"Well, how do I do that?"

"The Zhen is only supporting his attacks. He only has two hands, and one of them has to support the Zhen, so he can only attack one person at once," Moye explained.

"But it's one-on-one."

"What he attacks doesn't have to be human," Moye yawned again. "If you still can't win, then you deserve the loss."

Of course I can.

*Kanshou no Sakura (返照の桜): Directly translates to the Rallying Cherry Blossom.

**Zhangzhong Bagua Zhen (掌中八卦阵): Directly translates to palmtop formation of the eight hexes.

***坎对离: In Daoism, 坎 is directly opposite to 离 in Fuxi's Bagua.