Even before entering, one could feel the heaviness within the room, as if the air had been trapped. Despite that atmosphere, Asahi swung his arm, and his haori swayed with the wind, creating a royal feel as he opened the door.
There were about six old men in the room, chatting with each other in whispers. Their faces held a calm, mellow smile when they saw the new head of the Ito family.
"Konbanwa" Asahi greeted him in his heavy voice and gave a murky smile as he entered and stood in front of those men.
On the very left was a lanky man with a mellow smile. His eyes were smiling like a crescent moon, the total opposite of the aura he portrayed, also known as Hayashi Tokoe. At his right was a man in his late fifties.
Squarish jaw, sharp tongue, and fierce eyes. His lips were in pouted form, known by his name, Takahashi Kaito. While the man next to him was the man Asahi was happy to see,
The same man from a few years ago had his eyes turned downward, his belly was protruding, and he wore a proud smile. Maruyama Kenji.
"I welcome you to the main house of the Ito family. The previous family head, Mr. Ito Ichiro, sadly passed away. Thus, as the only grandson and blood relative of his, I have been chosen to succeed in this house."
His voice pierced through the thin separators. Despite his young age, he held a strong aura and even stronger spiritual energy. Asahi deliberately released his energy, and the masters of the Onmyouji association narrowed their eyes at the newer competitor.
"Ito kun, as a representative of the Ito family, we would need you to pass the Onmyouji test to qualify to stand amongst us. But if you fail, remember, the consequences are appalling."
Mr. Kobayashi, the head of the Onmyouji association, replied. He sat next to Maruyama, signifying the hierarchy.
The Ommyouji could only ever have six members, as per the rules. When his grandfather applied to be a member, due to the Maruyama, they were blatantly rejected among the big gathering of the hundred and one families.
The Maruyama had done it to showcase their powers when someone rejected their offer, but despite that, his grandfather acted calmly, but he was furious after all. In the next two years after that event, the House of Ito family was one of the most renowned for its business regarding stationery.
"Sure," he replied with his menacing smile while his cat, Kuro, felt chills down its spine.
'You aren't going to use me, are you?' Kuro telepathically spoke to Asahi.
Since they shared the slave-master relationship formed by the spell, it allowed Asahi to communicate with his familiar and even trace its location and feelings.
'How could I not?' Asahi replied in an amused tone.
"Well, then. Let's go outside. There will be three stages for you to be judged. First, you would need to find which one of us carries this." Mr. Kobayashi took out a jadeite from his pocket.
It was carved in a traditional dragon shape, while another two beaded bracelets hung near it, which were in a jade green color. Takahashi and Maruyama had a faint crease on their foreheads as the head of the association showcased the dragon.
"You can only use special attacks three times." Mr. Kobayashi explained, and they walked to the battleground.
The hallway was filled with images of the different forms of the Buddha and even a few pictures of the Mahakala and the Manjushree. At the very end was the picture of Tara in her green painting, and thus they were led outside the hall.
Asahi was confident as they walked outside to the battleground. They were in the big zen garden, where the free space was enough to fight two people. The two heads of the Omyoji took their stance, and Asahi left Kuro at the enagwa.
While the four heads acted as bystanders, Takahashi Kaito and Maruyama Kenji stepped forward and positioned themselves. They had their dominant feet flexed forward, and their hands formed into fists.
Asahi took his stance as well, parting his feet and bringing his two hands into fist form. Then the semi-head of the association yelled, "Start!" while raising his hand in the air and throwing the dragon jade into the air.
As per the rule, Asahi waited for the first five seconds, and immediately Takahashi jumped into the air and grabbed the key chain. Once the five seconds were over, Asahi jumped over towards Takahashi.
For the first match, Takahashi aggressively started to throw strong punches. His fierce eyes vigilantly gazed from left to right, anticipating and launching his attacks while his body posture was calm and laid back. He bit his lips as Asahi continued to not take a single hit. Asahi matched the man's fast-paced punches as he continued to block.
While in the midst of it, Takahashi started to channel his spiritual powers and launched a power punch, which threw him almost half a meter away.
"Ahem!" Asahi clutched his abdomen as the punch was impactful.
The environment started to get more intense, as this time it was Ashai who initiated the fight. He raised his left foot and launched a backkick, but Takahashi grabbed his foot in reflex. Right at that moment, Asahi flung his entire body weight, caught the man's abdomen, and turned him to hand his body on the mud.
It led out a very loud thud as the old man Takashi landed on the mud while also carrying the body weight of Asahi. As he reached for the keychain, the man threw it up in the air and got caught by Maruyama.
Asahi had sweat drip from his forehead while he was about to stand up, but Takahashi this time locked his feet around Asahi's waist. He threw Asahi to the ground while throwing punches, to which he broke the lock of the man's leg, raised his feet, and started to stride and swing his legs in the air to create balance.
While Takahashi had his knees almost dislocated, Asahi successfully landed on his feet and ran after Maruyama. He had a smirk on his face while he whipped off the sweat from his forehead. The heads of the Omyouji and Kuro curiously watched the fight unfold, as it was very rare to even get past Takahashi.
~
Vocabulary
1) Konbanwa - Good afternoon