"Well then, since I have told you everything, it is time for me to leave. I cannot stay in one place for too long." Osaimaru stood up without even finishing his tea, walking toward the unconscious Gabimaru.
"Mmmmm... out of everyone here, he is the one with the least talent. But his Reiryoku seems the most similar to my master's. I might as well give him a gift so he is not left behind."
"What?" Yorimitsu stared, still riddled by Osaimaru's frantic behaviour.
Osaimaru raised his middle and pointer fingers in conjunction; they came ablaze with a green flare once more. He began tracing something onto Gabimaru's back, the spiritual fire searing through the fabric of his robes onto his skin.
'It will be up to you whether or not you can use this seal. I sure do hope you manage to overcome it, or you will die very young.' He moved past Gabimaru and walked toward the door with a casual stride.
"Wait!!" Yorimitsu called out as Osaimaru reached for the handle.
"HA?!" Osaimaru turned his head slightly, his eyes glinting.
"Just who are you?"
"Mmmmhhhh… Hahahahaha! It truly is peculiar. You are really so much like him…?" Osaimaru spoke before throwing open the door and leaping out into the night air.
"Wait! You didn't answer me!" Yorimitsu rushed to the threshold just in time to see Osaimaru floating away, perched atop a giant paper shikigami that glided silently through the mist.
"Tch… what the hell is wrong with that person…. Ahhhh!" Yorimitsu wailed, scratching his head in pure frustration. The weight of the encounter was almost too much to process.
"Ahhh..."
A soft moan rang through the chamber. Shion was moving about, her eyelids fluttering as she began to return to the world of the living.
"Tch... It's too late now. I might as well regroup and see what to do from here," Yorimitsu muttered, turning to face Shion as she stirred.
Shion rose from the ground and sat upright. Though her garments were torn, leaving her partially exposed, she seemed mostly whole.
"I am glad you are alright," Yorimitsu said, giving her a soft, tired smile. She smiled back, but as she glanced around the strange room, she quickly pulled her tattered robes tighter, covering her body.
Just then, two more groans rang out. Watanabe and Gabimaru both woke at once, their voices thick with the haze of unconsciousness.
"Ha, all of them are waking up now?" Yorimitsu stood up, pouring the remaining tea into the nearby ceramic cups. He moved between them, handing a cup to each of his companions.
"Thank you…" Watanabe responded hesitantly, his hands shaking as he took the cup, still unsure of where he was or how he had survived.
"Haa… my strength is returning to me!" he uttered, taking another deep gulp.
"But wait… he stopped himself from relaxing, so what happened? Where are we? Did we defeat Harumichi?!" Watanabe threw a flurry of questions one after the next, his voice rising with panic. In the corner of the room, Gabimaru remained silent, curled up into himself as if trying to shrink away from the world.
"Ahhh… calm down," Yorimitsu spoke, standing tall despite the ache in his own bones.
"Yeah, it's a lot, I know. I thought we died then. But we managed to finish him off. After all of you passed out, I managed to pull you here and began treating your wounds," Yorimitsu said, flinching slightly as the lie left his lips.
'I'd better not tell them the full truth yet, he thought to himself, watching them drink the tea Osaimaru had left behind. 'It would be too much for them to handle the moment they wake... I will tweak the story a little. What's more, I have this uncanny feeling that there is a spy amongst us."
Yorimitsu smiled, watching them as they finished their tea.
…
A few moments later, he rose.
"Omaru and Wabonoske are both dead."
"What? When did that hap—" Watanabe started, but Yorimitsu shot him a sharp, silencing look. Watanabe swallowed his words, calming himself instantly under the weight of that gaze.
"Now, I want to know from you," Yorimitsu continued, his voice dropping to a serious tone. "Do we turn and head back to the Academy, or do we finish what we started?"
Before anyone could answer, Shion stood and walked toward Yorimitsu. She took his hand in hers, her fingers light and silent as she began tracing characters onto his palm.
"Ahhh… I see. I understand," Yorimitsu murmured, nodding to her. "Let's hear what the others say, then."
"I will listen to whatever you say, Leader," Watanabe spoke up, his resolve hardening despite his confusion.
"Mmmm. That's two," Yorimitsu noted. His gaze drifted across the stone floor toward the far corner of the room, where Gabimaru sat.
Gabimaru was still curled into a tight ball, sweating bullets. He was shaking violently, his breath coming in shallow, ragged hitches.
"Gabimaru… what do you think?" Yorimitsu called out, but there was no response.
"Gabimaru…!" Still nothing.
'Tch. Is he still in shock from that Secret Art earlier?' Yorimitsu wondered. He watched as Gabimaru began rocking back and forth, muttering something under his breath, a low, rhythmic mumble that sounded like a broken prayer or a curse.
"I have to do something, lest he break entirely," Yorimitsu uttered, his voice barely a whisper as he began walking toward the trembling boy.
"Calm yourself," Yorimitsu muttered, placing a firm hand on Gabimaru's shoulder.
"Taisho…?!" Gabimaru gasped. His eyes snapped open, and he turned his head slightly to face Yorimitsu.
'Ahh, good. It worked.' Yorimitsu felt a wave of relief. 'If the Golden Palm had failed, there would have been no way for me to pull him back from the brink.'
Yorimitsu's palm glowed with a soft, golden radiance, emitting a warm Reiryoku that acted like a hearth in a winter storm. Under that steady heat, the jagged edges of Gabimaru's panic finally began to smooth out.
"Ahhh…" Gabimaru glanced around the vast, spiked chamber, his breathing finally steadying.
"What a fool I have been," he muttered under his breath, the realisation of his collapse hitting him. He moved with a sudden, sharp clarity, turning and falling to both knees before Yorimitsu in a formal, deep bow.
"Taisho... thank you for bringing me back from the edge of the grave. I must ask for your forgiveness. I have been a coward, and I have failed you."