'You're late,' Nanashi snarled.

'What? You just arrived yourself,' Hajimo replied.

'Alright, alright... there's no need to play the blame game. For an old man, you sure are childish.'

'Ha! If we're talking about being childish, how about you stop deluding yourself? We both know that you're older—no, not just older, far, far older than me.' Hajimo said with a victorious smirk, which quickly vanished once Nanashi gave him a killer glare.

'Sorry,' he said, bowing his head before continuing. 'No need to take everything I say so seriously. I am an old man, after all.'

'But I am older than you,' Nanashi stated matter-of-factly.

'What? You don't look a day over 30!'

'Excuse me?'

'28?'

'No.'

'26?'

Nanashi shook her head.

'20?'

She still shook her head.

'17?' Hajimo asked incredulously.

'No, stop. You're flattering me,' Nanashi said with a hint of amusement. 'You know, when people see me with Akiza and her mother, they think Suzune is my older sister.'

Hajimo scoffed and rolled his eyes. 'Yes, I could easily mistake you for her grandmother—sorry, sister too. Uhm, let's get to the reason why we're here. What kind of kitsune are you?'

'The normal type. Is there a fox with eight legs?' Nanashi replied sarcastically.

'No, I mean, what element did you start off with?'

'Oh, fire.'

'I thought so. Explains your personality.'

'I know, I'm extremely hot,' she said, winking at him.

Hajimo yawned before answering, 'Here's what we're going to do. We're going to max out your fire power by having you absorb as many fire demons as we can find. Then we'll focus on the other elements. Those are going to be a little difficult to get a hold of.'

'How are we going to get them?' she asked.

'Don't worry about that now. Just follow me.'

Nanashi traced the winding path of the Hajimo, an ancient pathway veiled in emerald twilight. It led her to a hidden meadow, bathed in the ethereal glow of a waning moon. Scattered amongst the swaying blades of grass, like stardust caught in a weaver's loom, danced tiny flames. Their sapphire light flickered and pulsed, some hovering weightlessly, others weaving intricate patterns in the air, as mesmerizing as fireflies performing a silent, celestial ballet.

"Right, here we are. Go on and power up," Hajimo said, pointing at the field.

"No, I'm not. I don't know what they are. They could be bad for me."

"No, they're not. They're kosenjobi, ancient battlefield fire. They're a type of oni or demon fire, formed from the blood of countless warriors and animals that died on the battlefield but never moved on."

"Well, why didn't you say so in the first place?"

"I just did."

"Right, time to eat," Nanashi said before changing into her fox form.

"Why are you changing into a fox?"

"Because I need to eat them to power up."

"Really? Geez, that's so primal and barbaric. Why don't you just absorb them?"

"Yes, I could do that. However, I've been a fox for so long that I've kind of forgotten how. Ah, I'm so embarrassed, I could die," she said, throwing herself on the ground and covering her face with her paws.

Hajimo smirked. "No need to be embarrassed. We all have something we don't know how to do. The only thing you should be embarrassed about is being so ignorant as not to learn it, even when you know you need it. Come now, get up and change back into your human form, then I shall teach you."

Nanashi got up and changed back into her human form, “I am ready.”

‘Huh!’ the old man scoffed.

“What?”

“Who, would have thought that after all these years, I would have another student after Sasuke.”

‘No one, however, what you do know is that I am the best and most beautiful student, you ever had, right?’

“Nanashi, you are truly one-of-a-kind.’ Hajimo said, his eyes shining with admiration. ‘An undiscovered treasure, wise beyond your years. There is no one else quite like you.’

A brilliant smile spread across Nanashi's face at his heartfelt compliments. It was a real, unguarded grin that seemed to light her up from within. Seeing her joyful smile stirred something deep within Hajimo, resurfacing bittersweet memories he had tucked away long ago.

“Ai!, you making me emotional, let us being.”, he scoped up a kosenjobi in his hand and held it in front of her but she was more focused on killing the mosquito bussing in front of her.

“Hey, over here.”

“Sorry, I just cannot handle these things, but you have my full attention now?”

Hajimo let out a heavy sigh before continuing his mystical instruction. "The first step is to quiet your mind and feel the essential energy flowing through the object before you. Reach out with your senses until you can perceive its unique energetic pattern, like a hidden melody playing just beneath the surface."

He demonstrated by closing his eyes and extending his hand, palm outwards, concentrating intently. "Once you truly understand the inherent flow, you must then align your own inner energies to harmonize with the object's vibrations. Let them resonate together, beating in perfect synchronicity."

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

Hajimo opened his eyes, leveling Nanashi with an intense look. "From there, you must conjure a swirling void of negative energy within yourself. Do not fear its opposing polarity, for like the celestial dance of sun and moon, opposites are destined to attract and intertwine. My own energies carry a negative charge, enabling me to draw the object's essence inward."

He curled his fingers inward, as if physically pulling something invisible towards his palm. Faint tendrils of azure light began coalescing in his grasp. "Finally, amplify that negative flow, drinking in and absorbing the object's power fully into your very being. Can you feel the potential, the possibility, coursing through you?"

Hajimo's eyes burned with fierce determination. "Understand this technique, Nanashi, and you will unlock the ability to wield the fundamental forces of creation and dissolution themselves."

“Yes, Sensei!”

“Good, now you go.’

‘Shhh, enough talk.’ She said, picking one into her hand and repeating what her Sensei, said ‘Basically, there are three steps, first, feel the energy, second aline energy, third, negative void.’ And in an instant she absorb the orb.

“I did it.” She shouted.

“Well done, I knew you could.”

“Let me, see if I can absorb two at once.” She grabbed two at once in each hand and absorbed them both.

“Good.” he said applauding her.

“I wonder, how many, I can absorb at once?”

“Wait, now, lets us not rush into things, this could have a negative impact on your body.”

Nanashi, paid no heed to her Sensei and with arms outstretched like a goddess embracing the sky, she closed her eyes and became a beacon. The kosenjobi, shimmering like celestial fireflies, felt the pull of her negative void. One by one, they streamed towards her, drawn by an unseen force as potent as a supernova. With each luminous moth nestled in her hand, she surged across the field, a whirlwind gathering the very essence of the night. Not a single kosenjobi dared resist her call. The air crackled with raw power as she swept through the landscape, leaving behind a desolate path a testament to her awe-inspiring dominion over the luminous swarm, ‘I am done!’ she shouted across the field.

“Great, we will move on to the next target.” Nanashi trailed behind Hajimo, her trusted guide leading them deeper into the forest's emerald embrace. Twisted roots and hanging vines created an antiquated labyrinth, challenging them at every turn. Just when Nanashi thought they must be hopelessly lost, the trees parted to reveal a hidden grotto unlike anything she could have imagined.

A soft, azure glow emanated from the boughs overhead, where tiny orbs of brilliant blue and pure white danced among the leaves. The luminous spheres gently bobbed up and down, some even slipping through gaps in the canopy to tumble towards the mossy ground below. But instead of shattering against the earth, they seemed to absorb the impact, morphing into liquid tendrils that flowed back up the trunks to rejoin their celestial choreography.

Nanashi held her breath, utterly transfixed by the ethereal spectacle unfolding before her wide eyes. The orbs continued their mesmerizing cycle, falling and rising in a perpetual, graceful loop. Some clustered together in radiant formations, while others struck out on their own glistening arcs across the grotto. All the while, their brilliant dance cast swaying shadows that ebbed and flowed like the tide across Nanashi's upturned face.

In that transcendent space lost to the outside world, it felt as if Nanashi and Hajimo had stumbled into the cosmos itself. The forest grotto harbored its own sublime rhythms and secret laws of nature waiting to be unraveled by those rare few who could find this enchanted hollow.

“Wooow, where are we, Oh!, look, there is more Kosenjobi.” She said in an excited tone.

‘No, they are not, they are Tsurubashi.’

“What is the difference?”

“Kosenjobi, did not move, they do.”

“So, negative void will not work?”

“Nope, it will.”

‘Then stop wasting my time son!’ she said pushing her Sensei aside, stretched her hands towards the heavens like a king, adorning himself in the praises of his subjects, ‘Come to me!’ , all the Tsurubashi, flew to her at once, entering her body at a great speed, making the once lit up forest by the Tsurubashi to go pitch black and her skin to glow white.

“I think that is enough for today.” Hajimo said.

“No..no.., I am just getting the hang of the this, there is no, turning back now.”

“But, I think you have had enough, your skin is literally glowing white, like a ghost, if that is not a sign, then I do not what is.”

“What!, this is nothing, I can handle this in a jiff, just watch.” She said, closing her eyes and took few deep breaths, causing the glow from her skin started to fade, “Done!”

“I still do not know and I should know better but if you are willing than follow me!, we are going to a big one.” Hajimo said enthusiastically

“Hai!”

Nanashi, ever the eager student, accompanied her Sensei on another odyssey. This time, their destination was a coastline where the very air vibrated with anticipation. As they neared the shore, a spectacle of unimaginable wonder unfolded before their eyes. Multicolored orbs, like spilled jewels from a celestial vault, danced and whirled above the churning waves. These spheres of light, imbued with the vibrant hues of sunrise and twilight, dipped and soared in a mesmerizing ballet. Then, in a moment of breathtaking awe, the orbs began to converge. They swirled together, a symphony of light coalescing into a magnificent form. From the depths of the ocean, a mighty dragon rose, its scales shimmering with the borrowed brilliance of the orbs. Its form, sculpted from living light, pulsed with an otherworldly power. Witnessing this celestial fusion, Nanashi stood breathless, forever etched in her memory the spectacle where the very essence of the sea coalesced into a mythical being.

“What are those?” Nanashi asked.

“Ryuto, also known as dragon lights, no one knows where they come form or their origin but they show up often, do you know how to walk on water?”

“Nope.”

“That’s it!, I guess we are calling it a night.” Hajimo said, starting to walk away.

“I can do it.”

“Are you serious, that flame is more than 200 meters away, are you going to swim to it?”

‘No, I am going to use the negative void to suck it in.’

“Nanashi, I warn you do not do this.” Hajimo said, in a firm and assertive voice.

“Watch closely,” Nanashi called out, her voice ringing with sublime confidence as she approached the shore. The gentle waves lapped at her bare feet as she waded into the shimmering depths. With arms extending gracefully to either side, she tilted her head back and released a mighty cry: "Void!"

The word erupted from her lips like a thunderclap, the very air trembling at its ethereal power. A massive vortex of unseen forces coalesced around Nanashi's form, whipping her raven locks in a tempestuous frenzy. The maelstrom rapidly intensified as it drank in the iridescent dragon-lights scattered across the heavens, inexorably drawing their brilliance inward.

The entranced spheres swirled and pulsed, resisting the void's insatiable pull for only a moment before ultimately converging together. In a blinding cosmic explosion, a titanic dragon of crimson flames burst into existence with an earth-shattering roar. The behemoth immediately wheeled about, frantically fleeing the voracity of the vortex devouring its very essence.

Yet Nanashi remained unwavering, pivoting smoothly to track the dragon's desperate attempts at escape. An ethereal light blazed from her eyes as she maintained her draining weave of magic, toying with the fearsome beast for what seemed like an eternity condensed into mere minutes. Only when the swirling tempest sputtered and waned did the fiery leviathan finally halt its futile flight, sensing its opening.

With an ear-splitting bellow, the dragon arced around, hurling its full terrifying mass towards the solitary figured standing amidst the dying winds. But Nanashi simply smiled, serene admist the onrushing oblivion as she spoke the words, "Pride and vanity will be your end. Trust me... Void!"

The overwhelming torrent rematerialized with catastrophic force, a swirling tsunami of energy that slammed into the charging monster like a celestial battering ram. The dragon's forward momentum was first checked, then overwhelmed as it was gradually subsumed by the infinite depths of the void. Within moments, the last ethereal embers winked out, their fire at last extinguished.

Nanashi's knees buckled as the ultimate vestiges of draconic power were absorbed into her very being. She collapsed in a boneless heap, her chest heaving with ragged breaths. Yet her lips curved in a triumphant smile. For she had faced the primal fire of creation itself and emerged victorious through the sublime mastery of the void's infinite potential.

“Where to next Sensei?’

“Home.”

“No, I can still..” before she could protest, she passed out, her Sensei, summoned a low breeze, lifting her body off the ground, and carried her all the home and left her sitting up right infront of her burrow, Nanashi, moved around and groaned as if she was having a bad dream.

“Shhh!, it is okay, I am sorry, I am making do all of this, I also hope, that I did not make you refigure your body and made permanent void, if so, than I am afraid to say, that you will have to say good bye to your friends forever.” Hajimo said in a heavy sad tone, and ruffling the top of her head, like a proud father would his daughter, before vanishing into the night.