Chapter 2

Old Enemy, New Friend?

“No!!”  Kusanagi cursed.  “The Arigami should all still be sleeping.  This should not be!” 

Kusanagi flew rapidly towards where he sensed the Arigami.  As he got closer he slowed and took cover in the trees to allow him to access the situation unseen.  First thing he noted with relief was that he could not sense Momiji any where nearby.  “At least she is not in immediate danger,” he sighed.

Immediate he spotted the Arigami and noted that in actuality there were two Arigami present.  One was large and grotesque seeming to be made of a surging mass of mutated vines.  The other was small, humanoid, and while distinctly female, it was covered head to toe with a dark green animorphic skin, changing shape during the battle, sometimes forming a shield, and other times forming sharp edges to attack with.  However, the most interesting thing Kusanagi noticed was that the two Arigami were fighting each other.

Kusanagi watched the battle with interest.  He needed a better understanding of this new threat.  He noted that while the large vine Arigami was just trying the smash the smaller one, the humanoid Arigami was fighting more precisely and just trying to get to the mitama.  He thought it strange that the smaller always returned to a normal humanoid form whenever it could since most Arigami choose to change their shapes into ones better suited to fighting and keep it.  With that thought he started to focus on the humanoid Arigami more intently.

He watched her fight and cataloged everything that made her different than what he had dealt with in the past.  It was definitely a female since there was no practical reason it to have breasts in a fight.  “Definitely B cup,” he thought with a smirk.  Critically he observed her protective covering.  She was covered from head to toe with a dark green substance that seemed to change to suit the arigami's needs rather than having a more permanent form of armor and weapons.  He watched as the larger Arigami caught her in one of its vines.  A split second later, spikes erupted from her body piercing the vine and forcing it to release her.  As she leapt from slithering vine to slithering vine (like he used to) towards the larger Arigami’s mitama, three tendrils shot out at her seeking to pierce her flesh.  Before they could find their mark, what Kusanagi had taken for hair swung out to form a shield and deflected the tendrils while she formed knives at the end of her fingers and sliced off the tips of the tendrils.  While she did not seem able to fly, at times when she would jump her hair would fan out and webbing would form between her arms and side and she would then glide through the air for short bits.  From where Kusanagi was watching the fight he could tell that while the smaller Arigami was stronger, she was not a skilled fighter and did not use every advantage she could.  Many times during the fight she would react barely in time. 

Kusanagi then heard talking but could not understand what was saying from where he was at.  Silently he stalked closer and got an even better look at the Arigami.  It was then that Kusanagi noted that while the larger Arigami had only one mitama near it top, the female one had two.  One was embedded in each wrist, and they were an emerald green.  With that observation he examined the larger Arigami and noted for the first time that its mitamas was green as well.

“Shit!  A new type of Arigami has decided to grace Japan.”  He muttered.  That was when he heard the large vine Arigami speak.

“You will not be able to hide the Kushinada from me for long” it grated.  “She belongs to us!”

The humanoid Arigami responded in a strange echoing voice.  “She belongs to no one! Least of all you!”

“Well that’s all I need.”  Kusanagi quipped.  He then released his arm blades.  “Time for some herbicide,” he said with the edges of his moth pulled into a hungry smile.

While the large vine beast was particularly distracted by the smaller Arigami slashing deep cuts along its main stalk, Kusanagi flew into battle.  “You just made my day!”  He exclaimed as he charged in from the beast’s right and smashed its mitama before it could even focus on him.  Instantly the vines seemed to shrivel in upon themselves until there was just a sickly, little bit of ivy left sprawled on the forest floor. 

Kusanagi turned to face the other Arigami, intent of learning what has been happening while he was gone and what was its intent towards Momiji, when he discovered he was now alone.  “Shit” all he said before he started racing toward Momiji’s home trying to feel out her familiar energy with his mitamas.

A dark figure quietly snuck into a bedroom window and came to stand in front of a mirror.  Dark green plasma seemed to be sucked into two mitamas, one on each wrist.  Until a young woman stood naked in front of the mirror.

“So, Kusanagi is back” Momiji quietly mused to herself.