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"speech"

"power/empowered speech"

[[Song title to accompany the scene - Search the titles on Youtube and click on the first result]]

My thanks to DiLost for the help in translations

"How do you think legends and fairy tales get started? Even the craziest ones come from somewhere."

- Qrow Branwen

Deep in the forests of Remnant and not too far from a great mighty river, laid a shrine. It had been built using the sturdiest of wood that stood the test of time, and the pavements that led to its doors had been well paved and unaffected by Remnant's sometimes unrelenting weather.

It was a rather impressive shrine, its architecture reflected an age long gone in Remnant and surrounding it had been four large metallic obelisks that towered just about any trees around it. The shrine was likely built during a time long lost in humanity's history, when human Nations had been forged under the name of the elements. It was an almost archaic design, of an old forgotten age.

Truly it had been a mystery as to how long this shrine had existed, and an even bigger mystery as to how it remained standing and unyielding, seemingly unaffected by nature itself.

Despite its majesty, the shrine had been devoid of visitors; likely due to its remoteness from civilisation and the growing threat of grimm that had been centre-piece to the collapse and destruction of the old nations. It had been a desolate shrine, merely a remnant of a once greater age that had decayed into nothingness.

The shrine however was not abandoned; within its walls lingered a man, the same person whom built the shrine ages past. Some would have called him a monk, a sage, an immortal, others might call him a hermit and it did not matter. For most parts, the ancient soul had isolated himself from the distractions of the world, preferring a solitary existence without visitors. Had he been honest, isolation was the motivation for him to build the shrine so far from civilisation and so deep into the forests.

Some might wonder why he had done so, and if he were asked that question; his simple answer would have been that interacting with others would have been a waste of his time, and would ultimately be pointless. The world may as well be dead in his eyes, and he would rather it be the case. If one were to ask further, he would have said "humanity is the problem". Truly, had he any visitors, his grim words and misanthropic demeanor would likely have chased the visitors out quickly without any effort on his part.

Indeed, he had been idealistic once, a long time ago...but there was a reason why he lost it now

Much like there is a reason why the moon was now shattered...

Winter

The morning cold had been unyielding, and the once green fields surrounding the shrine is covered in snow. It had been this morning where the shoji (1) to the side shrine had opened, and the sole occupant and owner of the shrine could be seen through the opened door.

The occupant, the hermit appeared younger than his suggested or speculated age; the man had been tall but not overly so, and his posture surely lacked the hunch that was prevalent to individuals whom have reached an advanced age. His face even more unrepresentative of his age as he might have looked young, perhaps his mid twenties; adorning it had been faded scars had one focused hard enough. The only indicator of his supposed age had been his near white hair, though there seemed to be faint hints of yellow in its hue. He wore a long white cloak that was left unzipped, where underneath plain black monk robes were worn. Around his neck was a necklace with nine red tomoe crystals and in his right hand was a shakujo, a monk staff.

Strangely however, the man's eyes remained closed or squinted, leaving them not visible to others. Despite that, he did not seem to have trouble seeing. Truly, he had the appearance of a world-weary and wizened man, a person whom has seen much in his indescribably long life.

"Kuso, this cold is pissing me off!" he mumbled.

...perhaps not as wizened as to have transcended his temper...

There was a reason from him to have opened the shrine door and expose himself to the uncaring cold, and that was to clear the snow that had completely covered the pavements surrounding his shrine. Even though visitors were one in a million, the old man certainly did not fancy his shrine looking messy.

He breathed in and remained still for but a moment, and not long after faint gust of wind blew. Miraculously the snow covered pavement was slowly but surely being cleared, and it only took a mere few minutes for the shrine's compound to be safe to walk...not that he had any motivation to walk around the shrine compound.

The sage breathed a sigh of relief as it marked the end of his menial, but overvalued task. He would have proceeded to close the shrine doors and enjoy the heat of his home had his eyes not caught a figure that was sitting beneath one of his ancient trees. His gaze fell upon a young maiden, adorned in blue attire with hair that seemed whiter than his and skin that seemed as pale as her hair.

He looked on for about a minute or so, and her form remained unmoving...

She just sat there...in absolute tranquillity...

Under his tree...

In the blistering cold...

Cold that gave even him discomfort! Though that's not saying much to be honest...

"Oi gaki! What the hell are you doing sitting there in the cold like that?! You know what...even better question, who are you and why are you here, in my shrine?! I don't think I'm expecting or looking forward to having visitors for the past couple of years!" Oh the sage had been irritable; his countless years of quality solitude lifestyle had been utterly destroyed by the presence of this stranger of a young girl.

At that rather eloquent outburst, the girl slowly opened her eyes and turned her attention to the sage in the shrine. Her expression remained unchanged, her face serene, calm and surprisingly absent of annoyance at being yelled at. She met the sage's questions with a polite answer.

"My name is Fuyu sir, I am on a journey and decided to stop here. I am waiting for my sisters to meet me here."

At the mention of "sisters", the sage scowled slightly...it would seem at least in the short term, he would be having possibly a two hundred to four hundred per cent increase in visitors. It had been troublesome, and he was not exactly keen about the prospect.

"When are your sisters meeting you exactly? Tonight? Tomorrow?" the sage asked somewhat irritable, hoping that it would not take too long for them to have their reunion and move on to wherever the hell they intended to go.

At that, the now named Fuyu looked at the sage, contemplating an answer, "I...believe one of my sisters will be here at the turn of the season...so I might have to wait for quite awhile. Don't worry sir, I won't be a bother to you, I will only occupy this tree in the day." She offered politely again.

The sage was unamused upon hearing that, in the same irritable tone he responded, "turn of the season...it's the peak of Winter, and despite how fitting your name is, I think you are being a fool to wait here until spring arrives! Just go home; I'm sure that's a much better way to wait for them!"

Fuyu tilted her head slightly at his comment, "I am very far from my home sir..." she responded simply. The sage is lost for words upon hearing this. Upon thinking it over...it kind of makes sense, given that his shrine is essentially too far from the closest settlement, it would be unconscionable to chase the girl away...

The finally sighed, "fine, do it your way gaki."Fuyu smiled upon hearing that, and proceeded to close her eyes again...sitting in silence.

This lasted for about thirty minutes, all this time the sage merely eyed her...curiosity now marring his expression. He had never seen such tranquillity and contentment in such a young person...he would know after all, as in his younger days he was anything but tranquil, and he still isn't in the best of times.

Though the longer he sat, observing his visitor's unmoving form, the more he started to desire the serenity that the child must be enjoying.

It had been for about an hour, and there were signs of an incoming snow storm. It was at this point that the sage's voice rang out "gaki!". Fuyu's attention shifted to the sage, patiently waiting for what the hermit has to say.

"Get in here, before you get caught in the snow storm. I'm not going to have a child get sick or frozen to death." The sage spoke, his voice even and his previous irritation completely gone. Instead, it resembled more a statement of fact rather than an explicit indication of concern.

Upon hearing the sage's words, Fuyu could not help but give the grumpy hermit a smile. The shift in her expression did not go unnoticed by the sage, but nonetheless he did not react to it.

"Do you have anywhere to stay until your sisters are here gaki?" at this Fuyu face turned blank, and for just a brief second, her serene expression cracked and the sage could see a mild panic surface on the child's face. This resulted in another sigh from the man.

"I suppose it can't be helped..." he muttered under his breath, "you may stay in the shrine until your sisters arrive, there is a lot of room here, I am confident it will keep you sheltered." Fuyu's expression of panic disappeared as quickly as it appeared, and replacing it was one of mild embarrassment. The sage motioned for her to enter the shrine through the opened door, Fuyu obediently stood up and approached the shrine.

"Thank you very much for your hospitality sir, I really appreciate it." Fuyu spoke, gratitude evident in her calm and quiet voice.

"Yeah yeah, take it as a lesson and just don't be such a dolt in the future. I honestly hope your sisters have planned ahead better." The sage replied nonchalantly.

It did not take long for Fuyu to reach the side entrance of the shrine where the sage was waiting, and it was then she managed to get a closer look at the man and noticed his eyes were either closed or squinted. Her eyes lingered on his cheeks, where the faint whisker-like scars were apparent...

"It is impolite to stare at a person's face for too long girl," the sage chastised her. Fuyu realised what she had been doing, and a slight blush dusted her pale skin in embarrassment before she apologised in her usual demure way.

For the first time in a rather long time, the sage did not entirely loathe the presence of a visitor.

Spring

The season had passed rather quickly, and this had given the sage some time to contemplate on the month or so he had spent with his rather unusual...tenant.

To his surprise, Fuyu had been surprisingly good company; he had half expected the novelty of company to tire him out yet none of it happened. Most of the time she sat under the same tree with her eyes closed, almost as if she was meditating. Then again, that might explain how she was the embodiment of patience that he had come to associate her with.

Once again ironic that he was much less patient than a child in her teens, and he was a sage...

With the arrival of spring the sage expected that Fuyu's sister would arrive to meet her. True enough, he was about to have another peculiar visitor to his shrine...

It had been like any other day, the sage would open the side doors of his shrine to let some spring air in. He expected to see the Winter brat Fuyu sitting alone under his tree like she always does. In fact, she still did so except for a rather noticeable difference.

There was another girl in front of Fuyu, and she seemed to be talking animatedly to the one under the tree. The new visitor could not be any more different than his other guest, mainly due to her long green-coloured hair tied up into a ponytail. In fact almost everything save for her skin were an almost plant-like green, much like the colour prevalent during this season. The sage noted that his second visitor was cheerful and spry, and in her arms she held a basket filled to the brim with flowers and fruits.

So engrossed in her conversation with his other guest that she seemed to have not noticed his presence...

"Hey, the gaki in green, are you that sister that the winter girl mentioned?" the sage announced his presence with rhetorical question, since it had been apparent due to the familiarity that they both girls shared when they were conversing. Unlike the few months back when he first met Fuyu, less irritation was present in his voice. Replacing the irritation had been one of nonchalance mixed in with mild curiosity.

The cheerful child's attention shifted to him as she gave him a lively smile to accompany her response. "Yup! Please to meet'ya my name is Haru! Thanks for taking care of my sister here" she spoke wrapped her arm around her sister's shoulder before her expression formed a pout. "Though...why did you call me a brat anyway, you don't seem thaaat old mister!"

The sage's brow raised at that observation, "Looks can always be deceiving gaki..." was his response. With that, he changed the topic to the issue that has been the forefront of his mind.

"I suppose you and your sister can get moving then, you still have quite a few hours until nightfall." There was a slight pause before both visitors shook their head in negative to that suggestion.

"Mister, we are still waiting for two more of our sisters!" girl now named Haru replied. The sage was irked upon hearing that, though it was somewhat expected.

"When are they arriving exactly?" the sage asked the same question he did for Fuyu back in winter.

"She will be here at the turn of the season mister!" Haru chirped. The sage could not say he didn't expect that to be the case...he seem to be spotting a pattern to this. His annoyance once again resurfaced however...

"Why are you kids so far apart anyway that it takes months for each of you to reach here?!" the sage responded, somewhat in disbelief. There was a slight pause...

Haru spoke up to, her smile was present but it was slightly more pensive..."we were kinda separated since the grimm invasion of our home many years back, each of us ended up at different ends of Remnant, living in the fringes of the various new kingdoms...". The sage noticed Fuyu had adopted an equally pensive expression as Haru gave him their answer.

"..though at different parts of the world, we managed to keep in contact through letters!" Haru's expression brightened "One of our sisters, Natsu decided that we could reunite after so many years and travel together!" she spoke enthusiastically. Fuyu, who was next to Haru gave her sister a smile and nodded as well.

The sage contemplated on what was said by the girl, soon a frown appeared on his face, "so you have been separated many years and this is the first time you are all reuniting?" he asked, gaining a nod from both of them.

He sighed and massaged his temple, "fine...I suppose it is unconscionable to chase the both of you off my shrine...and it seems you have no trouble finding this place after all...do what you will." The spring-themed girl cheered upon hearing that and her winter-themed sister smiled at her outburst.

As Haru was about to divert her attention back to one of her long lost sisters, the sage asked a final question.

"I suppose you planned ahead as to where you shall be lodging child?"

Just like the case with Fuyu, Haru instantly paused upon hearing that question. Though unlike Fuyu, she had once again directed her attention to the sage and did something that had given him old memories.

Scratching the back of her head, with a sheepish look, her response had been simple.

"Nope..."

"I figured as much...well your sister has stayed in this shrine for about a month now, if you wish you may do the same." The sage replied, unsurprised at the revelation.

What he did not expect was the child's reply to his offer, "thanks for the hospitality mister! I'll definitely make it up to you!", this resulted in another raised eyebrow from the hermit.

"How exactly?"

All he got in return was a bright grin from the spring-themed girl "oh you'll see..."

Summer

Over the past month, the sage did "see" what that child named Haru had done in return for his hospitality. If he had to comment on that, he might just say that whoever their parents were, named them well so far.

To say that the green haired brat had a green thumb would be a gross understatement. Like her sister, she had spent most of her time outside and upon his observation, she seemed to spend most of her time in the fields of grass surrounding the shrine. He might just say she was using seeds which she had in abundance and planting them.

...without his permission, but then again not like it mattered too much as long as it did not involve defacing his shrine...

Over the past weeks he had noticed that the once plain grass fields surrounding the shrine seemed to be less...plain. In fact he had notice quite a few trees sprout up in the span of over a month, and seemed to grow at an alarming rate.

In fact some seemed to have grown so fast that they started bearing fruits; he had to do a double take on this when he had caught eye of Haru quite enthusiastically plucking peaches from a tree that he was definitely sure was a mere seed in the ground about a month back since witnessing it. He was further surprised when most if not all the harvested fruit that the girl had acquired were often given to him, and she seemed mighty proud whenever he accepted it.

It had made him contemplate; in fact much of the behaviour of those two sisters gave him a lot to contemplate on...

Such as...of all the places they chose to meet, why here...in the middle of nowhere. Why were they taking his less than friendly behaviour in strides when almost any other visitors that he had met in the past were either annoyed to hell or too intimidated by him to linger on.

It had also given him time to contemplate how damn hot the summer weather was this time of year. It was truly reason enough for him to lurk in the confines of his shrine, with a nice cup of tea. He would have offered those two kids tea as per courtesy's sake, but alas Fuyu said she preferred sitting under that tree, and Haru seemed to rotate between tending to the miraculously sprouting trees and talking to her sister.

All in all, they seem to prefer the outdoors.

Well, it was their choice, he just prefers the comfort of being indoors, with his tea and his nap when the mood strikes him. In fact, he might just have one right now, if it were not for the sound of laughter that was coming from outside.

The sage scowled again, who was going to interrupt his lazy day?

There it was again! This time he wanted to look for the source of that laughter, it was bothering him...maybe more than it should have.

He sat up, and his vision focused on another brat who now stood beside the other two under his tree. She had long red, almost magenta coloured hair. Her eyes also possessed the same colour, and she wore clothes that seemed awfully fitting for the peak of summer. That being said, appearance was not really what the sage was interested in, rather he was obsessing over something else.

"Are you that third sister those two kids are always talking about?" the sage called out to the new face.

"I am sir! My name is Natsu, and yes the reason I am here is to look for my sisters but-" she was about to continue but the sage interrupted.

"Let me guess, one of them is not here yet so you might just have to wait until the turn of the season before she arrives yes?" the sage completed.

"Yeah that's right! How did you know?!" the now named Natsu asked, this time the volume of her voice increased quite noticeably, almost in shock.

The sage could not help but deadpan over the child's seemingly dense reaction, nevertheless he entertained her.

"You think I can't remember what the two brats beside you have said in the past? I'm not senile yet girl." The sage responded. To the girl's credit, she had the decency to blush upon realising.

Soon her look of embarrassment turned to one of confusion, "wait a minute, how are you getting senile? You don't even look old!" she asked bluntly.

"That's what I said, but then he was all 'looks can be deceiving gaki!'" Haru decided to chip in, trying and failing to impersonate him when he said that a month back. Natsu did not seem to look convinced by his cryptic, or rather half-assed answer to what might have been a legitimate question. Nevertheless to the sage's relief, it seemed Natsu decided to let that curiosity slip, at least for the moment.

"Do you have any plans on lodging, Natsu-san?" the sage asked, half expecting the answer. Natsu's blank expression was all the answer he needed. Why did he even bother?

"Oi you two, tell your sister what you both have been doing for the past half a year, it applies to her too." Fuyu and Haru nodded to his request and did so. The sage heard an "ohhhhh" from Natsu, it seemed he has got his message across. Now he can go take that nap he was so looking forward too...

But the laughter he heard from earlier decided to rear its ugly head again, at least to him. It was time to end this.

He looked back to where the three girls were and indeed he identified the source of the laughter to be from his latest visitor. What annoyed him even more was that the summer-brat was laughing at him!

Oh the nerve...

"Oi new girl! What exactly do you find so exceedingly hilarious about me?!" he yelled out his question. Fortunately, or unfortunately for him, Natsu seemed unaffected by his growing irate voice.

"Nothing sir, I just find it amusing how you just keep insisting on getting cooped up in your shrine, it just doesn't make sense to me! My sisters tell me that you hardly ever get out of that shrine of yours!" the girl answered honestly.

The sage's annoyance seemed to evaporate, as frowned at the response, "what is your point child?" he asked much more calmly.

Natsu tilted her head, "why choose to view the world through only a slightly opened door but not leave it, when you could view the world by stepping through it?" she answered his question as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

The sage would have laughed at what she is implying and proceeded to sleep it off. It was a rather roundabout way to say 'you should go out more', and truly had anyone said that to his face, he would just ignore it altogether.

Yet why is he considering what this brat is saying? Perhaps it was the honesty that seeped into every word that came out of her mouth, something that was shared by her sisters so far. He just could not help but contemplate on what she said.

True enough, it had been a hot day such is expected of the season; but he knew for a fact that the heat did not really have much of an effect on him, in fact it seemed mellow to a normal person let alone him. Why was he been so unwilling to leave the confines of his shrine?

It took him about a minute to realise the answer.

There was no reason for it...

The sage sigh once more, before he stood up from his sitting position on the tatami of his shrine's living quarters, grab hold of his shakujo and went towards the slightly ajar shoji. He fully opened it, and wore his sandals.

-he then stepped outside.

The warmth of the sun did not annoy him as he had anticipated it would, much rather the opposite. The sage felt rather different, a sensation that had been quite foreign to him for no few years now.

He felt...better, almost as if the troubles and worries that he had bottled in were released. Bad memories from his past seemed to evaporate, even if for the time being. He breathed in deeply, allowing the fresh air to enter his lungs...he was still surprised how this seemed so foreign to him.

He did not have time to contemplate much longer before he felt someone tapped him on the shoulder, he focused on the source and saw the very person who miraculously convince him to 'go out more' as he put it. Natsu had a smile as warm as the sun itself, as much as he might have wanted to berate her for mildly surprising him for the sudden body contact, it did not happen. He could feel no anger in front of that face.

"There ya go! Now was it that hard?" Natsu spoke out.

The sage responded, the edge he usually had in his voice no longer present,

"no...I suppose it isn't."

Natsu's already cheerful demeanour intensified upon hearing his response. She grabbed him by his free hand and led him towards the tree where her other sisters were watching them. Fuyu's serene smile remained firmly set on her face, whilst Haru seemed more excited than she usually was; it was almost as if it was the first time she would actually be interacting with him outside of his cold greetings. In a way, that was true.

Upon reaching where the other two were, Haru almost immediately broke any silence that might have manifested.

"Y'know, I was always wondering...why do you keep holding on to that walking stick?! You obviously have no trouble walking, and you don't even look that old to begin with!"

"Haru-chan, it is impolite to ask such questions." Fuyu gently chastised her.

"Oh...uh...sorry..."

"It's fine, I have never spoken to any of you outside of formalities. I see no reason why I shouldn't answer your question." The sage responded, holding out the shakujo to the three young girls.

"This is a shakujo, a monk staff. Think of it as a symbol of my occupation as the owner of this shrine" Their gaze lingered on the staff. Perhaps to the girls, the staff seemed to be made of the darkest, blackest metal or wood they had seen, perhaps obsidian or ebony.

It took them awhile to break from their gaze on the hypnotic object.

"I think we are starting be rude guys..." Natsu voice broke the other of their stupor, and upon realising they were gawking, they started apologising to the sage.

For once in a very long time, the sage did not mind it. It seemed like nothing could dampen his mood on what would have been a mundane day. He let a sliver of a smile reach his face, it had been a faint one and he was sure those three would not have noticed it...except they did and their face lit up at seeing their reluctant host smile.

Well how could he not smile, for the first time in a rather long time he felt happy.

Fall

Maidens' POV

Fuyu, Haru and Natsu had been ecstatic about their reunion after what seemed like countless years since their separation, and this would only intensify the moment their final sister caught up with the rest of them. Alongside their...as what their host would describe as "child-like excitement", they were given quite some time to further unravel the enigma that was their seemingly reluctant host.

They were unable to truly discern much of his story; despite his willingness to open up and converse with them more often, it had been obvious that their host remained tight-lipped on his past even though they were forthcoming with theirs. It would have been a lie to say that they were not curious...

Haru and Natsu seemed keen to pry on his personal life to sate that curiosity, which normally involved asking as many questions as they could about him. That course of action however had been nipped in the bud through Fuyu's almost withering glare at the suggestion. It was understandable in a way, given how she had been lodging in the shrine the longest of the three sisters.

Fuyu appreciated why the sage wanted to keep his past behind closed doors; she had been the more observant of the three, and she knew how his face seemed to morph from pained to forlorn at any mention of whether he had "friends" or why he was un-keen on entertaining visitors.

They did not have time to contemplate further on their host however, as at this moment in time, as Fall reached its peak...another phenomenon had surfaced and it had not been good.

It had been nightfall, and the sisters noted that despite that the broken moon seemed so different...instead of the near snow white colour that they were used to, the moon glowed a deep scarlet. It seemed really strange, and they could not help but feel a growing sense of dread building up in their minds and hearts.

The normally lazy looking face of their host had not been present like any other day; replacing his usual expression was one that seemed dead serious. His body tensed, and his grip on his shakujo tightened...the girls knew he was often annoyed, but this look that resembled an old war veteran on the other hand had been so foreign to them.

Natsu reached her hand out to touch his shoulder, intending to ask what was wrong but she was stopped by the deathly calm voice that came from their host.

"You three, I want you to stay in the shrine. Whatever you do, do not leave its confines." The three of them were about to ask why...

It was then that they heard them...

Howling and growling came from every direction; the noise of running could be heard from a distance. The sound of beasts and monsters...the sound that were etched in their memory when they were much younger...

"Grimm..." Fuyu whispered. Natsu and Haru tensed up at what their sister said, their fear elevated to new heights. Haru was on the verge of panic, whilst Natsu tried her hardest not to do the same.

Their host however, remained calm and unmoving for but a moment. Soon after, he stood up from his sitting position, and approached the shoji leading outside. The girls were shocked at what he was about to do, and made their voices heard.

"Sennin-san, what are you doing!?" Natsu shouted distress in her voice. To her, and the others it seemed like the sage was about to head to his death if he went out.

The sage looked back at them; they could see a faint purple glow seeping out from his squinted eyes. The sage's response to them had been simple and firm.

"You will stay in the shrine, am I clear?" at that point in time, they could feel an almost imposing and commanding aura that radiated from their host. All they could do was nod obediently, but that did not stop them from worrying about what he would do.

Seemingly satisfied by their acknowledgement, the sage opened the shoji and went out, closing it behind them. They heard the loud noise of running, from every direction. It had been so loud that the silence was completely drowned out by it. Fuyu, Haru and Natsu huddled together holding on to each other in the hopes that a miracle could save them from the approaching grimm and leave their host unharmed.

Suddenly the drowning noise ceased completely, a dead silence permeated the air. The three sisters were confused as to the sudden change.

The three of them proceeded to open the shoji slightly to take a peek at what was happening outside. What they saw shocked them thoroughly.

Outside the shrine, their host was standing completely still and calm. Facing him...hordes of beowolves that numbered by the hundreds. They had their attention firmly on the person in front of them, most were growling in obvious hostility while some circled the sage threateningly, ready to pounce on their apparent prey.

The sisters would have been shattered at the prospect of their friend dying in such a way, the three of them contemplating to find some way however futile to assist their host. Though as they were dreading the outcome, they noticed something really strange...

[[東方[Touhou] Yuuhei Satellite- 色は匂へど散りぬるを]]

The sage had his back facing them, and as they watched, they noticed ten black masses form behind the sage. In moments they took the shape of small black spheres that floated behind him in a circular formation, spinning slightly. Each one of them radiated in barely contained purple energy. The sisters were questioning what they were, and how their host manifested or created them.

It was cut short, as suddenly loud howls were heard from the mass of grimm, not long after that...they speeded towards the sage with intent of rending him with their claws.

"Sennin-san!" Fuyu, Haru and Natsu yelled in unison, terror-filled and sorrowful at seeing their host and friend moments from being cut down.

Though their pain would be short-lived as within a fraction of a second, the sage reacted...

A single beowolf was close to the sage and it lunged with its claws outstretched; it was then when one of the balls floating behind the sage sped towards the beowolf at blinding speeds, and crushed though its chest and coming out from the other side. The beast seemed shocked as its body disintegrated into red dust rather almost in an instant than slowly in the form of red petals.

The three sisters bore witnessed to what had happened as well, and suffice to say they too had been shocked at the power of that seeming harmless black sphere. Natsu rubbed her eyes to confirm what she had seen, Haru had her mouth wide open in shock, whilst Fuyu frowned slightly.

The other grimm however were not shocked and continued to rush the solitary sage. As they approached en-masse, the other nine spheres reacted, surrounding the sage protectively like a shield. Every beowolf that came in contact with the violently spinning spheres lost their limbs and heads depending on where the contact was made. Much like the first grimm, they disintegrated into red dust rather than petals. The mass of grimm surrounding the sage thinned, and it was then that the sage acted.

One of the spheres morphed into a black double-helix shaped sword which radiated the same deep purple aura. The sage held the sword in his left hand as he engaged the tens to hundreds of grimm. It was then the sisters lay witness to a one-sided massacre.

With speed never thought possible, the sage weaved through the horde of grimm effortlessly; with every swing of his sword, another grimm turned to dust. In matter of moments, beowolf after beowolf turned to dust at the relentless assault of the sage. Every strike from the beowolves hit nothing but air, as the sage seemed to predict the movement of every single grimm in his vicinity, dodging them seamlessly whilst he pressed the attack.

The sisters managed to catch a glimpse of their host's eyes if only for a moment, they could see that his eyes glowed a bright purple but from the distance they could not see much else.

The other black spheres homed in on nearby beowolves, destroying them in a similar manner. Some had miraculously channelled various elements such as fire, lightning and wind; as the literal force of nature decimated the ranks of grimm. Spinning his shakujo for a moment, black fire gathered around it and it continued to burn in intensity. With one swinging motion, the flames that gathered around burst forward in the form of a black flaming dragon head. Some of the grimm moved out of the inferno's way but a fair few were decimated by the hellfire.

The sisters watched almost hypnotised by the literal destructive miracles that came from their friend and host.

Upon realising that keeping apart from each other was not helping, the remaining beowolves started to bunch up and rush the sage with overwhelming force once again.

The sage saw this change in tactic, as he willed the sword to return to its sphere form and take its place behind him again. As the mass of grimm approached him once again, his now empty left hand was not raised, and his outstretched palm now faced the beasts. The sage breathed in calmly,

Shinra...

The beasts were now mere arms length from him,

...Tensei

The space in front of the palm where the grim were dangerously close to the sage distorted for a fraction of a second. Not long after, an unrelenting force akin to gravity blew back the horde with such indescribable force that every single grimm in front of him for a large radius were destroyed utterly, mostly bursting into red petals as their bodies were literally crushed.

[[End Song]]

Just like that, what had been hundreds of grimm had been destroyed by a single person in a span of a few minutes. The three sisters had been shaken by the 'performance' of their host, but they felt no fear. Their friend had saved them from a terrible fate, and for that they were grateful.

Fuyu, Haru and Natsu could not help but breathe a sigh of relief knowing the danger had come to pass. To their confusion however, they saw the sage stiffen again before mumbling what sounded like "kuso". They then heard something else from the sage

Amenotejikara

The sage disappeared...

Fall's Maiden

She ran as fast as her legs could take her, the sound of grimm was dangerously close and to be honest she had no idea where she should run off to. Aki had been looking forward to finally reunite with her sisters and she knew she was not long from arriving at their meeting place, the shrine deep in the forests.

The red moon seemed like an ill omen, and true enough it appeared that the grimm had become aggressive and decided to attack nearby settlements in hordes. She was unfortunately caught up in this ordeal.

She was hoping that there was a remote chance she could outrun the grimm that was closing up on her, but alas it was not meant to be. Pure brute force seemed to crush into her chest as she was forced back to a tree, the impact so strong that it had resulted in minor rib damage. Aki was in pain, but whether fortunate or not, she was still wide awake to witness what had attacked her...

...an ursa major.

The beast had its full attention on her as it approached her almost slowly. Aki was in tears, she knew that she would face her death here.

The ursa major growled, its bestial teeth clear for Aki to see; it seemed her fate would be sealed.

Well that was before a figure that was definitely human appeared in front of her, obstructing her view of the large grimm. This quickly shocked and confused her, it had been impossible for a person to materialise out of thin air...she was half tempted to conclude that she had was hallucinating...but the ursa major seemed to have reacted to the arrival of this individual.

The beast seemed to growl even louder and crouches slightly, indicating willingness to strike the person down. Aki's apprehension returned, as she was now worried for the person who seemed to intend to protect her from the large grimm. It was an ursa major, and she was completely unwilling to have someone die for her, even if she faced the very real outcome of being killed herself.

She saw the palm of his left hand open, and very quickly a swirl of blue energy form in at the centre of the palm. It started to take the form of a sphere, which grew until it was big enough to encompass his open palm.

Aki noticed the ursa backed away slightly at the sudden surge of energy, though very shortly after that its hostility returned. The beast raised its clawed hand at the individual in front of her, ready to cut him down.

As its claws came down on him, his left palm which contained the sphere raised to meet the ursa's claws. What Aki witnessed thereafter left her in awe.

The sound of grinding could be heard as the ursa's claws met the sphere; with said claws almost instantly disintegrating from the sheer power of the spiralling sphere, much like how a person's hand was quickly destroyed when met with a large drill.

The ursa roared in pain at the sudden loss of its left hand and jumped backwards a fair distance in the hopes of gaining some distance from the obvious hazard. The person in front of her seemed to not want any of that at the moment.

Bansho Ten'in

The words came from almost every direction, but it came loudest from the person in front of her. Aki could feel a surge of energy as the air seemed to shift around her. She was then startled to see the grimm that had temporarily retreated was now being dragged by some unknown and violent force towards the man. The speed the beast was being dragged had been staggering to her as in mere seconds the force had closed the beast's distance from them. It was dragged by its head, leaving the beast vulnerable to a strike to its bone-like skull.

Which was what exactly happened as the man raise the spiralling sphere towards the grimm's skill, where it then swiftly grind its head into dust, before the sphere exploded outwards and launched the now dead ursa meters back.

The headless carcass of the grimm began disintegrating as it hit the ground. It had been at that time when Aki realised what had happened.

She had been saved, almost as if some kind of miracle. But before she could even breathe a sigh of relief or rejoice there was still one more problem.

Her ribs were still cracked and movement in any way would spell unspeakable pain for her. In fact, with the shock and fear having passed, the pain had already commenced. Aki resisted the urge to cry as she experienced the searing sensation of her injury.

As if being able to listen to his thoughts, the man who saved her from the ursa major finally turned around to face her.

The Sage

He let out a silent grumble, this was not the first time the grimm had a sudden increase in aggression. This tends to happen during the times when the moon had turned blood red. It had been an inconvenience in the past, and even more so now since he technically had kids under his 'care'. He now likely had to care for this new arrival in his list of guests.

As he looked at the disintegrating corpse of the ursa major he had just destroyed, his attention was directed to a moan of pain that came from behind him. His attention shifted to the girl that he now faced, and knew immediately that she had been injured quite seriously since she is clutching her chest in pain. To his surprise however, she remained conscious, to the extent that she was considering his appearance.

He took a short moment to consider this fourth visitor of his; short, light brown hair that accompanied her eyes. Considering how...frail she looked, it had been surprising indeed that she sustained a blow from one of Remnant's more dangerous grimm and still remained alive, let alone conscious.

He noticed soon later that her eyes were focused onto his, awe and fascination seemed to radiate from her facial expression.

The sage would have wondered why, but he soon realise the reason for her reaction...

His eyes were wide open for her to see...

This was getting troublesome, well it seems there is no need to hide them at this point. Priority needed to be directed to treating that worsening injury of hers.

The sage approached the girl perched on the side of a tree, she did not appear to be afraid of his approach but the pain seemed to be giving her some trouble talking. He was now lowered to her sitting level.

"Remove the hand from your chest." he said simply.

The girl obediently did so.

"Lift up your shirt."

The girl did not do so, instead her expression shifted from pain to shock, incredulity and discomfort. He sighed...kids these days and their assumptions...

"The grimm struck you in the chest, if I cannot see the injury, I cannot heal you." The sage explained. Upon hearing this a flash of understanding reached the girl's face. She slowly lifted up her shirt, albeit hesitantly, embarrassment now marred her face as she blushed lightly.

The sage immediately focused on the wound, and not any other part of her modestly endowed chest. The bruise had been large, and swelling had started to take effect. Fractured ribs, as expected...it would be simple enough to heal, but that would mean physical contact was in order. Without giving her any more notice, he pressed his palm onto her chest where the bruise and fracture was. The girl yelped at the sudden contact in surprise and mild pain at irritating the bruise. It did not take long however for her to finally appreciate what the man had done.

If the girl was blushing lightly before, she was now almost completely red in the face at the admittedly intimate contact. He had found that expression of hers to be...endearing.

The sage poured some of his energy into his palm, and a faint green glow radiated from it; he could feel the swelling of her bruise disappearing rapidly and the fractures of her ribs beginning to mend. He idly noted the girl's expression changed from embarrassed, shock, through to wonder and finally bliss as the healing aura mended all the damage she had sustained.

It only took about a minute for the bruise and fracture to completely heal, the sage removed his palm from her chest and prompted her to lower her shirt, for which she gratefully complied.

He then stood up.

The sage now notice the girl looking up at him expectantly, she smiled at him before she herself manage to gather the strength to get up. She seemed to open her mouth to speak but the sage pre-empted her.

"You are on a journey, looking to reunite with your sisters for the first time in a long time correct?" he asked. The girl was visibly surprised; she closed her mouth and nodded.

"So, I suppose you are Aki?" the girl was even more surprised now at what he said but she once again nodded. She was however curious as to how he knew and was about to voice it out.

"You sisters have lodged in my shrine; they are a talkative bunch, at least the Spring and Summer child are. They have mentioned you off and on. I merely presumed that you were the Aki they were referring to."

At the mention of her sisters, Aki perked up and finally voiced out a question.

"Are they fine? How are they?" she asked, excitement faintly evident in her voice.

The sage was about to rant about their annoying liveliness, if it were not for a faint tremor. Tremors, especially when grimm were around were hardly ever a good thing. From his heightened senses, it seemed very likely that the source of the tremor seemed to be in the general direction of where his shrine was...

He needs to return to his shrine fast, or else those annoyingly lively maidens, would not be so annoyingly lively any longer.

"How about you find out yourself?!" the sage responded, free arm not outstretched to the girl, motioning her to grab hold of it; he was prepared to either grab hold of her by force or said how this was not the time to ask why she should grab hold of his arm...but to his surprise there was none of that.

She obediently did so; the puzzled sage looked at her for a second to see worry etched on the face again; however he was more puzzled by how unusually...trusting she was of him.

Still now was not the time to care.

"Amenotejikara"

Six Paths

The sage was now back in his shrine, with Aki still firmly holding on to him as she felt somewhat sick upon having essentially teleported from one area to the next. It seems her discomfort had been cut short as she had recovered quite quickly, her expression replace with one of renewed fear as she seemed to be staring at a something in front of him.

The sage looked towards the source of her distress, he had the urge to curse loudly at what he had seen. It seems when grimm started raining, it pours.

He was now facing a rather large Death Stalker, though that had not been the worse part of the whole debacle.

Some of the trees and fields of his shrine's compound had been destroyed by its size...

"Hey sennin-san is back!" He heard a loud voice call out from his shrine, the sage had been somewhat grateful that his shrine remained untouched, and even more grateful that the three kids actually did what they were told.

The sage then looked Aki into the eye and gave her a simple order, the same one he gave to her sisters, "get in the shrine, and don't come out until I say otherwise, do you understand?" Aki nodded and ran towards his shrine, allowing him to focus on the threat at hand.

The moment Aki entered the shrine, she was met with a fierce hug from all three of the sisters; but they would have to cut this moment short as they were still aware that their friend is handling a ridiculously large grimm just metres from where they were.

The four reunited sisters went back to observing the sage, although they were a little more reassured since he took down an army of beowolves without breaking a sweat, this was a Death Stalker he was facing one of the strongest grimm known to humanity.

There seemed to be uncertainty as to which entity would make the first move and the four sisters could not help but hold their breath at the tension that seemed to fill the air.

"Can we just get this over with, you mindless beast?" the sage spoke out loudly, there was no fear or excitement but rather a faint hint of annoyance.

His request elicited the reaction he seemed to have desired

The Death stalker had not wasted much time in engaging the sage, its stinger landed on the sage with intention on impaling him with the venomous appendage. That however did not happen as with a casual swipe of his shakujo, the Death stalker's stinger was knocked aside with shocking force, so much that the scorpion-like grimm staggered. The Death Stalker recovered quickly however and prepared its pincers and stinger for a relentless attack on the sage.

Prepared being the key words as the Death Stalker would be unable to carry on the assault. Before the enormous grimm could make any further movement, a large number of golden chains made of pure energy emerged from the ground, piercing and wrapping the grimm's pincers, legs as well as its body. The Death stalker struggled under the strength of the chains, yet not matter what it had done the constructs remained unmoving. More chains continued to emerge from the ground, and with each chain wrapped around the large grimm, the more tired it became evidenced by the weakening struggle. It had not taken long for the grimm to be completely immobile.

The four sisters watched as purple energy seeped out of the sage's body, with the energy radiating from the chains intensifying as well.

It was then they heard a whisper in the wind, of words they could not understand...

"Rikudo: Shōjyōdōron (2)"

Upon hearing those words, four sisters witnessed second by second as the chained Death Stalker started to disintegrate, the tainted energy that formed the beast had been rapidly absorbed by the chains as it pulsed. With each pulse, the giant grim started to lose its form, and by the sixth pulse, the chains held nothing.

The chains then slowly dispersed, and they could hear their friend breathe a sigh. He remained where he stood for about a minute. The broken moon started to lose its blood red hue, and it had become apparent that there were no more grimm at least for the moment.

The four reunited sisters heard a voice ring through the air.

"Why did they have to ruin the shrine?" they looked back towards the sage. He was walking slowly back into the shrine, completely at ease, as if there had been no army of grimm nor a death stalker had appeared.

For the first time in months, Fuyu, Haru and Natsu could clearly see the eyes that their host and friend had kept hidden from them for so long.

His eyes had no iris, and no sclera; rather his entire eye was a vivid purple that glowed brightly in the night. There were three concentric circles that formed a ripple over his pupil with each circle containing three commas, making a total of nine in each eye.

Three of the four sisters understood why he wanted to keep them hidden, they were bizarre, extraordinary...hypnotic...

"What have I told you kids about gawking at someone?" the sage asked, amusement in his voice. The four sisters broke out of their stare, three of them blushing and muttering quiet apologies for their obvious rudeness.

"What the heck are with those eyes though?! They're freaky! What about all those cool awesome stuff you did with those grimm?! You were like 'troublesome...' and then you were like slash! And slash! Then those beowolves were all-" Haru fired away questions tactlessly, and would have persisted had she not received a smack on the head from Natsu. Despite Natsu's action, she was also curious as to how his eyes could be so...unique from what could possibly be any human or faunus throughout Remnant.

The sage chuckled tiredly from that question, almost as if expecting it sooner or later, "you could call it a...manifestation of my aura, but more...personalised."

The girls mulled over what he said for a moment, before Aki finally responded, "so it's like a semblance?" The sage focused his unusual eyes at her, almost as if contemplating on what she had suggested.

"What makes you say that?" he asked

Aki scratched the back of her head slightly, trying to explain why she said that, "well...I suppose since you have described it as a manifestation of your aura...so it is your aura given an outward appearance or form. That's why I thought it sounded like a semblance..."

The sage hummed, appreciating what she had said, "it seems semblance is a very appropriate word to describe it then. I am impressed how you kids are even aware of what aura is, but I can't say I am exactly surprised."

Just like that, a much more comfortable silence filled the air, as the sage and the four sisters sat in the living room of the shrine. The four of them were starting to feel the exhaustion from the night's events and what was essentially a grimm invasion. Aki herself survived a near-death experience only to have been saved by the man in front of her...the memory of that event alongside reuniting with her sisters whom were all safe brought a smile and a faint blush to her face.

She wanted to express her thanks to the sage and her saviour, but she saw the person in question with his eyes closed, not squinted. It was a shame...perhaps she might have to let him know tomorrow, it would be rude to wake him up just for this...

It seems Aki's three sisters seems to have notice that strange look of longing that had been etched to her face, and suffice to say it had been the most tactless of the three who spoke her mind.

"Y'know I was wondering, how did the old man manage to find you?" Haru asked Aki softly.

Aki was about to retell her experience but it was then she realised something was off with Haru's question.

"What do you mean old man? He does not look old as far as I can see..." Aki asked, her confusion apparent. She was mildly surprised when her three sisters proceeded to giggle softly at her question.

"What's so funny?"

"We asked the same thing when we first met him" Fuyu, Haru and Natsu answered almost in unison. It seems answering in almost perfect synch led to a higher volume, as the sage proceeded to groan and wave his hands in a dismissive manner in his sleep, almost as if saying "shut up gakis, I'm trying to sleep!".

The Four Maidens

The sun greeted him as his eyes opened after a rather peaceful sleep, and thankfully for him the sun had decided to be a little gentler with the morning glares. He noticed that there was no movement in the shrine as always, but rather movement out in the compound.

The four sisters have yet to leave the shrine, he would have expected them to at least be gone by now given that it had been pretty late in the morning, arguably close to noon.

The sage got up and reached for the shoji...

True enough, there they were...working on the damage that the grimm last night had done to his shrine's compound.

Hold up, he wasn't really...

He was about to call out to them but for a change, Aki managed to see him and responded faster that he could.

"Oh you're awake sennin-san! I hope you slept well!" Aki called out. This in turn shifted the other three girls' attention to him and they in turn gave their own morning greetings. The sage observed what they had been doing, they were making quite decent work on fixing the damage to the shrine compound. Thankfully the damage mainly extended to the dirt ground and some pavements. To think that those girls actually helped with...

...What was he saying...of course they would...

The sage scratched the back of his head, a habit that he had almost long forgotten, "you know...you do not need to help me with the shrine." He said, feeling a little bad that they had likely spent most of the morning fixing his shrine while he was off sleeping well past the crack of dawn.

All four sisters tilted their heads in unison, the sage could not help but admit silently that their reaction had been adorable. Nevertheless, he should just explain to them exactly why that is the case.

"Remember my semblance? I can mend all of this without issue; there is no need to waste your energy unnecessarily." He said, he indeed did not wish them to tire themselves out, especially if they were close to the end of their stay at his shrine.

But what the girls did had puzzled him tremendously, as they shook their heads.

"Y'know, no offence but you really should exercise a little more old man!" Haru responded in her usual bubbly manner. The sage could not repress the twitch of his eye...this was going into troublesome territory again.

"Haru's right, I mean like you said...you are suppose to be an old geezer and all, I think doing work the harder way is good for those rickety bones of yours." Natsu decided to add her input into this.

The sage started to frown in annoyance, he had a good mind to give these two brats a piece of his mind.

And he would have, if it were not for the usually quiet Fuyu giving her opinion on the matter, but not after a stern look towards the Spring and Summer themed girls.

"If there was ever something that we learned when we were kids, it was to never take the easy way out even when we are tempted by it sennin-san." The annoyance was put on hold for the moment as the sage was curious as to where she was going with this.

"This shrine, you told me months back that it is something that you treasure did you not?" the sage replied with a yes.

"Wouldn't you want to use both your hands to mend something that means so much to you? If it could be done with a mere flick of a hand...I don't see the reason why you would treasure it as much as you do." Fuyu continued, but he could see traces of hesitation in her voice, possibly from the absurdity of her suggestion.

"So what are you trying to say, Fuyu-san?"

"Anything in life worth having is worth working for, at least that's what I think..." Fuyu responded, she seemed a little more confident with her words. Haru, Natsu and Aki seemed to share her view, as they nodded at what she said.

The sage idly realised that he had a greater habit of thinking with the presence of these girls, what had been years upon years of silence and an empty mind, had now been filled with questions and contemplations.

"Hard work", he remembered valuing that when he had been younger and yet now it seemed those old motivations were a distant memory. He now found those morals troublesome, unnecessary...

Yet, this girl with a mere handful of words made him question what he thought was fact, it made him reminisce back to a time when he once knew a friend whom he quite fittingly called a "genius of hard-work".

He missed those times...

Fuyu's statements were purely emotional rather than logical; it was easy to completely disregard what she had said. But here he was, deciding to do otherwise.

These girls truly baffled him.

The sage chuckled, and gave Fuyu a nod, "fine then, we shall do it your way. A little exercise might do me some good after all."

Just like that, he agreed to something that he deemed unnecessary.

And he felt strangely contented.

Children of Prophecy

It had taken them almost the whole afternoon to clean up the courtyard and mend the damaged shrine. Dusk had settled and now the sage face the now reunited sisters, and they appeared ready to finally depart the home of the hermit, someone they viewed as their first good friend.

The sage intended to take this opportunity to speak his mind, a question that formed for quite some time now.

And he would have if it were not for Aki who pre-empted him.

"I had been wondering for awhile sir, I would like to know who you are?" Aki asked.

That was a question he had to think over for some time, he did not know what to truly say. He decided to merely give them a simple response.

"What else is there to wonder? I am a sage, a hermit who lives in this old shrine, far from civilisation. "He paused for but a moment, "my story is not very interesting, I have nothing else to my name and no one else to care for...or to love. I am sure you could find more interesting characters where you are going."

Hoping that Aki would be satisfied with the rather lacklustre response, he was surprised to see a warm smile crept up to her face.

"But sennin-san, do you not see? You have so much." This response threw him off a loop.

She was...right. Ever since this four had decided to visit his shrine, he felt like he gained so much more than he ever could. It was nothing material, nothing tangible in the strictest sense.

The sage suppose that it was untrue for him to say that he had no one to care for, no one...precious. That in itself, trumped anything material...

He lowered his head, trying to hold in some stray tears that had threatened to fall out. Yet despite his mild emotional state, he finally got his chance to ask these four the question that he had kept formed over these months.

"Why me?" he tried to sound calm, yet he could feel his voice shaking very mildly. "Why did the four of you...choose to open my eyes? To brave through this grumpy, cynical, loathsome hermit? Why am I so special?"

Aki, Fuyu, Haru and Natsu looked to one another again, they were perplexed at the sage's question. Aki, being the oldest decided to finally answer on their behalf.

"I...beg your pardon sennin-san, we did not do what we did because we thought you were special. We wanted to be here, to do what we have done, because we are able." It had been the sage's turn to look at them, hopeless confusion on his face.

Aki continued, "even when we were separated for so many years, we knew there were people who were always worse off than us. We were glad that even with the distance between each of us, we still had each other. There are many less fortunate than us. The four of us decided to reunite, so we could help others in need with whatever strength we have, as a family."

This was truly the very first time the sage had felt truly shocked. It had truly been a very long time since he had met...humans whom were truly thought for others, humans so kind and selfless. So long in fact he had thought to himself that those moments were almost impossible. Humanity was flawed, humanity is often beyond redemption...

But these four...

A bitter laugh came from him, tears that he had been holding back leaked slowly off his rippled eyes. He could not help but speak his cynical mind.

"I honestly believe that you would be fighting an uphill battle there gaki. This Remnant is huge and problems will always arise. Whether they are catastrophes, grimm or just the squabbles of humanity...you can never stop them all, or mend every single thing that is broken."

He stopped being surprised over their unyielding smiles and confidence, Aki responded almost instantly, "I suppose we have much work to do then."

And just for that moment, his cynicism evaporated; he could not help but...place his trust in these four maidens. They were stubborn, their idealism indomitable...he truly prayed that they will have the strength and the will to work towards such goals.

The sage's resolve strengthened, he knew that there was one more thing that he could do for them.

"The things the four of you make me do..." the sage murmured, much to the four sisters' confusion.

Creation of All Things

"The things the four of you make me do...", the four sisters heard their friend murmur under his breath. They would have asked what he meant by that, if it were not for the surge of energy that filled the entire compound. It had been overwhelming, yet they were not affected in any adverse way by it.

A fiery aura surrounded the sage that accompanied the climb in energy; the four of them saw it shift from a dark blue, through to golden and finally settling into a constant shift between white and black. The metallic purple of the sage's eyes now burned a brightly, the comma that surround the pupil spinning wildly.

Much like last night with the grimm attack, the sisters had seen something, an image that they would have never expected to see from the sage.

Image of a god,

"W-what's going on?!" Natsu asked confusion and mild panic in her voice as a result of the almost overwhelming aura that they faced.

"Sennin-san! What are you doing?!" Haru shouted out. Fuyu and Aki looked at the sage worriedly as the density of the energy caused the very air itself to whirl.

Despite that, the sage responded, his calm voice resounded, "do you hold trust in me?". The four of them nodded almost instantly.

The sage smirked,

"then don't struggle."

A familiar set of ethereal chains emerged from the ground and wrapped themselves around the four maidens. They were wrapped firmly around their arms and legs, but gentle enough as to not hurt or give them discomfort. The four of them had been surprised by the sudden constriction of their mobility, yet they felt the need to trust the...man in front of them.

They did not notice strange markings starting to form underneath each of them, golden markings that bore similarities to the sage's eyes, yet were different.

What had been the pupil of the sage eyes, were a YinYang symbol on the marking.

The four maidens then heard those words that would change their life.

"Banbutsu Sozo: Shitai (3)"

An uncontrollable and constant surge of energy entered into each of them from the chains that held them and the markings under them. It was a sensation that overwhelmed them completely as they reached the verge of unconsciousness, yet through some force beyond them, incapacitation did not come to pass. They also did not realise four flaming orbs formed above each of them; blue, green, magenta and yellow, colours that matched each of the four maidens. The more energy the chains fed their frames, the brighter the orbs burned.

This lasted for a whole minute when as sudden as it all happened, the process ended. The orbs that hovered above them dispersed and the glow of the chains dimmed. Soon enough the chains dispersed, giving the four sisters their mobility again.

The energy that surrounded the sage died down, until all traces of it had completely gone.

Fuyu, Haru, Natsu and Aki had been conscious throughout the entire process. They were surprised that despite the overwhelming sensation they had felt for what seemed like an eternity, they were neither exhausted nor numb. In fact, they felt more energised than they could possibly have felt.

"What...was...that?" Natsu asked the question that rang through their heads.

"Why don't you find that out by yourselves?" The sage responded, amusement returned to his voice. He motioned for Natsu's hands, and this led her to focus her attention to it.

A fiery orb levitated on her palm.

"What the?!" Natsu waved her hand back and forth, hoping to extinguish the flame. As if listening to her thoughts, the ball of fire immediately extinguished. This surprised Natsu and her sisters, as she stopped waving her hand and instead looked at her opened palm.

She willed the fire to burn again.

The orb of flames came back to life. Natsu was at awe at what had happened...

Her other sisters, they each gave their 'gifts' a try as well;

Fuyu willed ice to surround her, the surrounding grass coated with ice.

Haru placed her palm on an empty patch of land and willed for a tree to grow. Indeed a tree did grow, but instead of forming over a span of weeks, it had been created in mere seconds.

Wind started to form around Aki, increasing and decreasing in intensity according to her desire.

They were at awe at what the sage had bestowed upon them, but more importantly they were more interested in why he did what he did.

Tale of Four Seasons

It all seemed to endearing, how these four brats acted like kids instead of their unusually wizened selves; curiosity and excitement evident in their demeanour and expression. He idly wondered whether this had been what he had acted like back in his younger days.

To their credit, it was not long till they regained their composure. Four heads turned sharply towards him.

"Why?" the four maidens asked in unison.

He gave them his answer, "all four of you strive to help those in need, when in fact there was never a need to do so. You could have reunited as a family, find somewhere to live in peace for the rest of your lives...yet you four decided to risk your lives again to give others a chance at happiness."

He felt is lips twitch upwards again, this was no smile, and it was more a grin...a grin which he had forgotten the last time he ever wore.

"This is me, placing my trust in the four of you and whomsoever you trust in the future. Take this gift...and know that you are all able to do so much more."

The four sisters looked at each other after he gave his answer, he could imagine the multitude of thoughts that ran through their heads. They saw their expressions change to one of resolve; it was then that they turned and faced him.

"We have vowed to help those in need in any way we can, and we will do it the best we can." Aki spoke on behalf of her sisters. There was no deceit in her words, only heartfelt sincerity and conviction.

The sage gave a hearty laugh, "I'm sure you gakis will!" he said.

Just as he said that, he observed their expression turned into uncertainty and hesitation. Aki asked him another question.

"Is there...no way we can convince you to c-come with us?" she asked, the sage was almost surprised by how bashful she sounded.

He shook his head, he had no intention of leaving his shrine any time soon. "I'm afraid that this is a journey you four will have to take alone." He said simply. The countless years of experience gave him the ability to endure the look of hurt that the four girls gave him as he said that, though it required all the endurance he had...

Thankfully for him, the kicked-puppy expressions that the four girls gave him were gone soon after, replaced by looks of confidence.

"Well, we will promise to return each and every year anyway! You are our friend after all sennin-san!" Aki finally spoke, her three sisters responded in kind.

"It's Naruto." He said, the four maidens gave a questioning look to him.

"If we are friends, the least I could do is give you my name." he explained. Looks of understanding could be seen as he had expected but what happened next was something beyond his expectation.

The four maidens entered his personal space, and gave him a heartfelt hug. The sage was lost for words, no complaints, no questions...nothing. He was just unused to this form of physical interaction, he had been unused to it for years.

He could hear Aki whisper to him, "thank you for saving me, for taking care of my sisters...for everything..Naruto." He heard Fuyu, Haru and Natsu saying similar things. For that, he could not help but give a warm smile, returning their show of affection.

"Isn't that what friends are for dattebayo?" just like that, a verbal tick he thought had been gone resurfaced just for that moment.

And just for that moment, he was not a cynical old sage, but rather Naruto. It had been years since people called him by name.

Comfortable silence accompanied by the sounds breeze as they remained there for close to a minute. The sage decided he should let them know

"I think it's time for you gakis to get moving before night falls." He told them. The four maidens slowly released him from their hug, and nodded as they prepared to leave the shrine.

One by one the sisters left, each promising to return each and every year to visit their dear friend.

The sage looked forward to it every year.

[[【東方Touhou】幽閉サテライト｜三千世界【中日附詞】]]

(1) Sliding door

(2) Six Paths: Path of Purification

(3) Creation of All Things: Four Noble Truths

Extra - The Sage's Shrine is based of the Moriya Shrine

AN: Inspired by Volume 3 - Chapter 6 and "World of Remnant - Story of the Seasons". Took a little longer than I wanted to write this but eventually I did.