50

Writing this chapter was an interesting experience. It's weird liking a character and hating to write them at the same time. Zen Master Jun is that character for me. The amount of research I had to do into Buddhism to figure out what his 'fighting style' was going to be was annoying. It also took me a while to figure out the 'why' behind this interaction. I wanted to write about them fighting to show off a different character and Ibaraki's domain but I hadn't figured out why Jun would have accepted considering he isn't a fighter. That's why it took longer than I wanted.

Background on the gestures the Zen Master uses: The Mudra's (hand signs) he uses in order are; Abhaya (gesture of fearlessness), Bodhyangi (Fist of Wisdom, a common gesture for idols of Vairocana), Sha (Seal of the inner lion, I realize this is from Shugendo but shush), and finally Kai (Seal of the outer bonds, it symbolizes a divine weapon to devour evil, i.e the vajra dagger)

Chapter Text

The courtyard that once surrounded us is replaced with the lush forest that makes up the base of my domain, and the scent of nature pours out around us in almost intoxicating sweetness. The energy of nature surges through my feet and into my muscles, wiping away fatigue.

Billowing through the trees and into the clearing comes the dense fog that is filled with the concept of nothingness. It sits low to the ground, slowly and heavily flowing at knee height. It recoils away from my touch, needing to be forced into compliance with my will.

Behind me, the shrine I built fades into existence like a mirage. The pitch-black structure, flickering with hungry flames, contrasted by the fluidly flowing gold of Ki painted on the surface. The flames wish to rampage unrestrained and freely devour everything around them but cower under my attention.

In the centre sits the statue formed from crystallized divinity, a fierce monument that pours out malicious intent indiscriminately. I can feel the statue calling to me, eager to wrap around me as my armour and lend me its strength.

Byakko is laying down in front of the statue wearing an expression of disinterest in my battle. The brightness of his eyes and the alertness of his posture however indicate that if I call for him he is ready to fight.

Yet it is the titanic sword that towers above the land that calls for me the strongest. It releases an intense aura that whistles shrilly as it cuts through the space. This sharp wind cuts through my domain, felling trees and slashing long furrows into the ground.

The Zen Master shifts, placing the palm of his right hand facing outward at shoulder height with his left arm relaxed at his side. The radiance he is emitting swells outward into a shield that blocks the cutting wind.

Still, when the sword quiets down and he returns to a neutral stance, scratches cover his form from head to toe.

I grin up at him, equal parts smug and sheepish, "It has been a couple of days since my sword has been used so it's very excited."

Or maybe I'm excited at the prospect of using it, considering I doubt it has an ego of its own. Rather because this domain is a representation of myself, both my subconscious desires and conscious thoughts influence it.

The Zen Master's voice booms loudly through the clearing mostly due to his sheer size, "That sword may be too much for this spar. It would be over swiftly the moment that blade is unleashed."

I glance at the sword which is vibrating violently from where it sits, the tip piercing towards the void above. The sheer size of the blade is equivalent to the Zen Master's full height and radiates far more energy.

I have no doubt that between the sharpness of the blade and the solidity of his defence, my sword would be the victor.

"Ah well, I'll find someone else to use my sword on later." It thrashes with even more energy but I ignore it in favour of sliding into a stable stance, "Let's begin."

He nods and with his left hand in front of his chest, points his index finger upwards, wrapping his right fist around the finger. The gesture perplexes me until the myriad hands behind him all clench into fists and emit a brighter radiance.

Huh.

As a vast array of punches fall toward me like staggered meteors, I have a moment to debate how to respond to the attack.

The ground around me rumbles eagerly, a forest ready to sprout and block the punches.

My armour calls to me, ready for redemption from the failed defence of the dragon's breath days prior.

But no, it's only respectful to respond to a punch with one of my own. My Touki flares as my Ki moves along with the motion of my arm in perfect harmony.

My domain is so full of Ki it's suffocating and I can freely draw from the environment to supplement my Ki reserves. Because of that, even as I pour more Ki into enhancing my body, my reserves instantly refill.

My comparatively tiny fist impacts the first of the gigantic ones headed towards me and there is a brief stillness, followed by a thunderous boom and a noise like shattering glass. The auric construct that he attacked with shatters into glittering fragments, even as the others continue towards me.

A flurry of swift exchanges follows as I continuously counter the constructs with punches of my own. It's almost comical for these massive fists larger than my entire body to be batted away with ease and shattered.

As enjoyable as it is though, I'm not being pressured by the attacks, nor is there any intent to harm behind them. If I had to sum up the Zen Master's attack with one word… it would be hesitant.

My hand flattens out and I pump an incredible amount of Ki through my fingertips and into my claws. Focusing hard to condense the energy as tightly as possible, I thrust my arm towards his next attack like a spear.

The energy discharges on contact with the next construct, exploding outward in a precise beam that pierces straight through and slams into his chest. He stumbles backwards, off-balance by the blow before regaining his composure.

"Your attacks are half-hearted, there's no weight behind them," I remark, clenching and unclenching the hand I just attacked with.

The tips of my fingers are burnt from the expulsion of energy and even though they're rapidly healing, the damage displeases me. Neither my Ki control nor my techniques are to the level I want, especially after witnessing what another person can do with far less Ki than I have.

"This one is still unused to violence. Attempting to bring harm to another individual is unsettling." His tone is more contemplative than anything as he seems to be learning something from this first exchange.

He brushes off the front of his robes, the superficial damage I inflicted being wiped away.

"I can't say I agree with that. Can you even call something of that level an attack?" I goad him, though he remains disinterested in the provocation.

"Is my understanding lacking?" He muses aloud, "Or is the implementation wrong?"

I frown wondering why there's so much talking in this fight. I kick off the ground without warning, launching myself skyward toward him.

His lone eye widens as he sees my approach and the arms he constructed move to defend. The movement of the limbs is calm and methodical in spite of the surprise he showed. They almost seem to swirl hypnotically as they bend around him, creating a shield of palms that block my path.

I breathe out slowly and tightly rein in the flow of my Ki, forcing it into an even more condensed form than my last attempt, and spearing forward with my arm again. The attack is smoother and has more power than my last attempt, breaking through all the myriad hands that bar my path.

The piercing attack allows me to fly through his guard without slowing down and I follow it up with a front kick to his chest. The golden light that wraps around his body ripples at the point of impact, dimming noticeably as it blunts the damage.

At the same time, giant roots swell from the ground behind him catching his ankles as he's pushed back. The moment his ankles touch the wood, he realizes what I'm doing and his hands shift into another mudra.

The positioning of his hands is more complicated than the other forms, his hands pointing outwards from his chest together, thumbs upward, index and middle fingers curled inward together and his pinky and ring fingers pointing out in a v-shape whilst touching.

Whatever the mudra means, his energy explodes outward with blinding radiance and a soundless roar. The roots burn away despite their size and durability, while I'm flung back to the ground from my position in the air.

As I land the ground softens and flows, absorbing my momentum before hardening again to provide me support. My body does the rest as I bend at the knees and land in the same stance I began the fight in.

He doesn't wait for me to make a move this time, as his eye glows with power. From his eye, a beam of energy shoots towards me like a solid pillar of light.

I stomp my foot on the ground and a forest bursts into existence between us. The beam is blocked by the mass of trees, as they continue to grow no matter how many are destroyed. They aren't simply there to defend, however.

Their branches shake and shed their leaves, each glowing with a faint silver hue. They aren't the best medium for sword intent due to their lacking sharpness but it's a fun use to try.

Actually… wouldn't this work better?

The energy coating the leaves shifts to a ghostly white aura and the leaves themselves shift in shape becoming more arrow-like.

They launch towards him, their presence fading and he's forced to sweep his gaze across the mass of projectiles and burn them away. Some manage to make their way through and dig into the energy that protects him. They don't penetrate completely but every attack weakens his defence further.

Still, that was just a distraction.

He grits his teeth as the grass below him begins to cut into the soles of his feet. It's taken a while for the blades of grass to wear through his energy but when the entire environment is hostile to you, it doesn't matter how long you can hold out.

He stomps his foot in an attempt to break up the ground and turn the area barren but the ground softens and traps his foot. At the same time, the branches, now bereft of leaves, sharpen and rapidly extend towards him.

The ground pushes upward as I start to run, my Ki flaring in my legs to increase my acceleration. My Touki glows brightly as I draw more power out of it, enhancing my body further.

The resulting effect is that the forest becomes little more than a blur as I circle around the giant monk's flank. He's too distracted by an onslaught of wooden pillars stabbing at him mercilessly towards his vitals to notice my movements.

Still, he handles the obvious attacks easily, powerful palm strikes destroying the weapons of nature or flowing movements redirecting them away from his body.

The way his body moves isn't indicative of a martial arts background but rather a level of precision and bodily awareness created from centuries of devoted prayer.

It's his hands that move with such familiarity into their seals, the peaceful expression on his face as he deals with the attacks, and the complete faith glimmering in his eye that earns my respect.

He may not be a fighter like I am but his devotion to his own path is worthy of admiration

My claws glow silver as my sword intent wraps around them, the energy extending out into long blades.

Bursting out of the treeline, I jump and slash along the back of his legs with my claws. Both our energies flare brightly as I try to cut through his protection and he tries to negate the attack.

There's a flash of silver and gold as we struggle for an advantage but his lack of familiarity with battle and hesitation in battle hold him back. Blood bursts from the cuts along his legs as my sword intent proves to be stronger than his defence.

With my sword intent having cut through dragon scales before, it wasn't a fair contest from the start.

The wounds I leave aren't deep by any means, but they're wide and painful. They're a question for the Zen Master, a silent 'Do you concede?'

His grunt of pain echoes through the area. As a monk, he may know discipline and denial of passions but pain for its own sake isn't something they practice. Therefore, the burning sensation of an open wound stuns the Zen Master.

The pain surprises him enough that I have ample opportunity to attack again; an opportunity which I don't take. Instead, I wait to see whether he will continue the spar.

In the first place, this is a spar, not a deathmatch. Because of that fact, I distance myself from him and wait until he recovers.

The sounds of Buddhist chants flow through the area as a formless chorus echoes the Zen Master's prayer. The wounds on his legs knit closed as the scent of sandalwood drifts through my domain.

My nose wrinkles and the forest blooms around us. Scents of flowers, grass, conifer needles, and damp moss drown out the sandalwood to my relief.

The Zen Master starts to shrink back down from his natural size into something more humanlike before turning to face me. "Size alone does not seem to be a benefit."

I shrug, "It isn't a bad strategy but only really works when your opponent isn't far faster than you. Besides, it makes it far easier to hit you."

He nods along with my words, "This one is learning much from this discourse. Shall we continue?"

His question makes me smile because he has the will to see this through. Out of courtesy, knowing he isn't a martial artist, I summon my bow to my hands.

It would be pointless to close the distance and fight him that way since I would simply win. If we have a ranged battle I can draw this out and experience more.

I flash a challenging grin as I draw back the string of my bow, an arrow materializing as the string reaches the corner of my mouth.

He stares at the arrow in silent contemplation before nodding, "Many thanks for the consideration."

My fingers slide off the bowstring and it cracks like thunder, the arrow blinks out of existence as it hits the open air. The Zen Master's eye narrows and he strikes forward with a powerful palm, intercepting the arrow as it reappears.

The arrow breaks on contact with his palm but I hadn't truly expected it to do much damage. It was mostly a test to see how he would respond.

"Good block! I wonder how you'll deal with this though?" The void fog rolls into the clearing and starts to pack together, becoming a thick cloud that swallows everything.

Within seconds the space around us is so full of the fog that sight is useless.

To make matters worse for the Zen Master, I conceal my presence as much as possible. He may have been able to notice me earlier but that was in a courtyard with full visibility, not a forest covered in a fog created from the very element that conceals me.

I can sense everything inside my domain so the fog does nothing to impede me, instead, acting as the perfect environment for me to stalk my prey.

With my movement obscured I circle him, firing arrows from all angles. Some he manages to block, as I feel the arrows break before they reach him, but the majority slam into his body unerringly.

Whenever he starts to get into a rhythm, managing to block a few arrows in a row, I change things up. The arrows either slow or accelerate, they curve at obscure angles, or more simply fly at him at once.

I may be taking a bit too much enjoyment in hunting like this if the laughter echoing through the area is any indication. I'd imagine that if it were anyone less stoic and composed the laughter from all directions distorted by the dense fog would prove too much for their sanity.

Even as he tries to counter with beams of energy, the fog swallows the magic mercilessly. The void in the clouds eats away at the spells until nothing remains. It's honestly a terrifying situation that would mean death in any scenario that isn't a friendly spar.

Once I've had my fun, I dispel the clouds with a wave of my hand.

When the Zen Master is revealed he's covered in shallow wounds from my arrows. I made sure not to aim for any vital spots, partially out of the spirit of a spar but mostly to drag things on.

"That was an unpleasant experience." He says while healing himself again. "This one thinks it is time to finish things up."

I rub my chin in thought then smile, "Sure. Only after one final attack though."

A wave of black flames devours everything between us as they race towards him. He correctly identifies the danger in the attack but does something unexpected in response.

His hands clasp together, fingers interlacing and his energy pools in front of him, taking the form of a shining vajra dagger. The dagger, with its diamond-shaped blade, is essentially the totality of his energy, focused into a single weapon.

It flies towards me and punctures straight through the wave of flames, his attack apparently not meant to stop mine at all. Instead, he chose the other option which was to try and make me stop my attack.

I don't think I want to though.

I grin excitedly and ignore his attack, not halting the progression of the flames heading towards him.

What will he do now?

His attack reaches me first and I apply what I learned in Yomi and move to redirect the dagger. I lean to the side as it enters my reach and bring my arm up from my side in a wide arc with my palm facing outward.

Wrapping my hand around the handle, I then bleed the momentum with a circular motion up over my head, behind me, and back down to my side. I finish the movement by bringing the weapon up across my chest.

The dagger burns my skin due to the sheer power packed inside of it, even with my Touki protecting me. Suffice to say that if it hit me, I'd take serious damage.

The whole time my eyes never leave my opponent.

He looks unsurely at the flames before something comes over him and his resolve hardens. Closing his eyes he whispers a prayer and walks into the flames with unwavering faith.

For a moment I panic and try to pull back the flames because if the Zen Master dies I'll be in serious shit. Not only from the different sects of Zen Buddhism and Buddhism as a whole but Yasaka would also be pissed.

The panic turns into disbelief as the cursed flames part around him without my interference. At the same time an illusory lotus blossoms at his feet and the image of a benevolent Buddha appears behind him, smiling gently down at the monk.

I glare at the spectral Buddha and it has the gall to smile at me next. It clearly isn't a projection the Zen Master created since the totality of his remaining energy is in the dagger clasped in my fist.

Rather this is an actual being that intruded on my domain without my permission.

The projection glances up at the sky of my mindscape, the void split by my sword, and throws me another wider smile before disappearing.

Who said you could leave, asshole!?

I grumble as I turn my glare to the Zen Master, "Do you want to explain what genius thoughts prompted you to attempt suicide by cursed fire?"

"Your flames were a surprise and this one was about to surrender when he felt a crossroads before him." His gaze looks distant as he stares through me, "Retreat or advance, give in to fear or prove his faith is unwavering."

You can't be serious. A fucking religious epiphany was what prompted that?

My eyes narrow and my chest rumbles with a snarl, "And if you were wrong? Do you think your fellow monks would feel merciful even if I said you chose to die?"

My domain rumbles as my anger starts to affect our surroundings, "This wasn't some ritualistic fire walking ceremony, those flames are powerful enough to devour dragons! Susanoo wasn't even willing to let them touch him!"

He looks genuinely repentant as he takes in my words, "Apologies, Ibaraki. This one hadn't considered the consequences of failure."

My armour starts to manifest on my body as it uses my anger to force a link to me. I banish it back to its place in my domain with a quick glare and force my emotions back into control. If I wore my armour now, the rage that it was formed from would cause me to lose control and kill the Zen Master.

"You may have divorced yourself from the secular world in an attempt to find enlightenment but your death wouldn't remain a separate issue." I cross my arms in front of my chest and continue to glare at him. "I might not care about becoming the enemy of every Buddhist in Japan but it would endanger my family."

He bows a full ninety degrees to show his remorse, "This one could have caused you great harm and offers a thousand pardons."

Yeah, because an apology is worth a lot in this scenario. It may have turned out fine but the alternative would have been terrible.

For once I'm almost regretting fighting someone.

I sigh, knowing full well that it won't help to push this further but wanting so badly to do exactly that. "A lack of experience in combat isn't an excuse to walk into cursed fire with no protection. That should make it even more obvious why it's a bad idea."

Running my hand through my hair in frustration, I try not to dwell on that possibility. "At least explain what the hell that display at the end was about."

"Very well." He glances at me hesitantly, "Do you know much about the core teachings of Japanese Zen?"

"Of course not." I bite out, still pissed off.

"The goal is to uncover one's true nature and that true nature is empty. The goal in practice is to live a selfless life, emptying oneself of the things that tie down the mind and freeing it. Once the mind becomes a void, free of the five aggregates, enlightenment can be reached." He explains, most of it going over my head but I focus on one key point.

"That's why you got so excited about the calligraphy I showed you?" He smiles, excited that I picked up on that.

"Indeed. Few have reached such a deep understanding of the void as you demonstrated." I frown contemplatively at that.

I can't really claim that my insights are the result of my own efforts. They're purely the result of the quirk of fate that had me end up in this world.

"That still doesn't answer who the Buddha that showed up was." I point out, not wanting this to drag out any longer.

"That was one of the five Tathagatas, Vairocana, embodiment of the sunyata." I roll my eyes at the incomprehensible words. I get that this is someone impressive but using a foreign term doesn't exactly help.

"Sunyata means what exactly?" His eye widens as he realizes I have no reason to understand that term.

"Ah, it is the state of mind this one had just described. Emptiness, vacuity, void."

Oh… that makes a lot of sense.

The void is one of the concepts that fuel the cursed flames I create. If a high-level deity who embodies that concept appears, it makes sense that they could part the flames. Their intrigue at the void in the sky becomes clear with that knowledge as well.

It still pisses me off that they were able to enter without my permission though. I click my tongue in annoyance.

"So if I'm understanding things right, your show of faith or whatever summoned the Buddha which saved you." I stare at him thoroughly unimpressed.

"Exactly." I let out an explosive sigh and plop down onto the grass.

I stare up at the sky of my domain and wonder why I have to train constantly when others can just pray for power.

Divine protection is annoyingly effective.

How come Susanoo hasn't sent any of that my way? Stingy bastard.

"Buddhism is overpowered. I thought Tripitaka just had plot armour but apparently, all the monks do." The Zen Master smiles indulgently as he listens to my lamentations.

He sits down in a lotus position across from me and takes in our surroundings. Now that I'm not using my domain as a weapon to attack him he can appreciate the view.

"You could always become a monk in training." I scoff at the offer.

"We both know that would never happen. I have no interest in enlightenment." Plus I would have to give up alcohol, gluttony, women, and fights to the death.

Sounds like a bad deal to me.

"You may have no interest in faith but you will have to put your trust in something eventually." He says out of the blue.

"What are you talking about?" I am perplexed as to where this came from or where he's going with this.

His expression is earnest as he continues, "There isn't anyone you would allow to support you is there?"

"Of course there is." I roll my eyes at him, "I trust my mother, my sisters, and Byakko. I even trust the people in my home village and my minions in the Golden Dragons."

"You trust your family with your heart but you don't look to them for support outside those matters. Your tiger, Byakko, is a being that could never betray you. Lastly, your 'minions', as you call them, aren't trusted with anything you find important, nor are the villagers you speak of." He lists these points off so matter of factly that it catches me off guard.

He holds up a hand to forestall my angry response at suddenly being called out like this, "This one doesn't judge you on this, he merely wishes for you to look inward. You must see for yourself whether this is the truth."

He waves his hand and a hauntingly beautiful katana, wrapped in prayer beads appears on his lap. The sword's blade is pitch black, darker than the night sky, with blood-red flecks dotted along the blade like stars.

As the Zen Master removes the prayer beads from the sword, a miasma begins to rise off it, indicative of a powerful curse. After my short experience with Canis Lykaon earlier today, I can recognize how strong the curse on the blade is. It isn't as intense as the Longinus but it is certainly above my flames.

The Zen Master hands me the sword and I blink in surprise, "This is trust, Ibaraki. Kenmyoren is yours now because this one has met you and your family. Your actions and their opinions of you are the foundation of this trust. Prove that the trust being placed in you is not unfounded and do not release Otakemaru onto the world."

With that, the Zen Master places the prayer beads in front of me and stands up. "Sparring with you was interesting but not something this one intends to repeat. Both of us have gained much from this discourse."

"Wait a minute!" I stand up and wave the sword around, "You can't just drop this on me like that."

"You asked Yasaka-sama for that sword as a reward, did you not?" He asks.

I sputter in response, "Yeah, but I expected to either be told no or receive it from her. Why the hell did you have it?"

"Byodo-In, the temple the Kenmyoren was kept at is a Buddhist shrine. This one was tasked with teaching your sisters and gauging your character before your request was granted." My eye twitches as I'm told that he has essentially been spying on me.

Yasaka is going to get a piece of my mind the next time I see her.

"Yasaka-sama may have felt indebted to you and wishes to accept your request but assurances had to be made that you would act responsibly." Yeah, I understand that but that doesn't make it any less of a piss off.

I shake my head and move on to another important topic, "So I have to find a new tutor for my sisters then?"

He regards me with confusion, "Why would you need to do that?"

"If your mission is done, you aren't going to stay anymore," I say flatly given how obvious the conclusion is.

"Your sisters are a joy to teach, this one will naturally continue instructing them." He flashes a smile that is supposed to be reassuring.

For me, it's just headache-inducing.

My domain collapses as I stop fueling the barrier and the courtyard returns to normal.

"Whatever." I grouse, any excitement I had built up from the beginning and middle of the spar completely ruined by the ending.

"I'll see you next time you come teach then." The dismissal is clear in my words and he recognizes it.

I also plan on spending as little time with him as possible after this. Anyone who can walk into cursed fire on something as flimsy as a hunch is too insane for me to deal with.

'Dragon's breath.' Byakko says and I flinch enough that the Zen Master raises his brow in question.

Fine, maybe that was hypocritical but my point stands. He's equally as insane as me at the very minimum.

"Remember what was said about trust, Ibaraki." He says, bowing before heading out of the courtyard.

"Yeah, yeah," I mutter while staring at the sword in my hand.

What am I going to do with this?

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