The seven Orochi members stared in awe at the gigantic mech before them. Even the largest of the Orochi bodies, Izuhara no Tamazuchi, Orochi's sixth neck, was smaller than the god of swords. Inside the Ame no Murakumo, Himeko and Chikane had taken their places as the Solar Priestess and the Lunar Priestess. Himeko stood at the Solar Priestess' station, in front of and below Chikane at the Lunar Priestess' station. "We did it, Chikane," said Himeko. "We revived Ame no Murakumo together." "That's right," Chikane responded. "And we did it before the world was destroyed." "Just because you summoned Ame no Murakumo in seven days instead of thirty," said Miyako, "doesn't mean that you have any better of a chance of defeating us." "We remember how you managed to defeat us last year," said Girochi. "And we won't let that knowledge go to waste." "There's one thing you don't remember," Chikane retorted, "how we defeated Orochi's united body last year. All of you had been petrified before the final battle was fought. As soon as Himeko and I announced our love for each other, Ame no Murakumo's power increased ten times over." "With the love that Chikane and I have for each other," said Himeko, "you don't stand a chance of winning!" "I don't know if you've noticed," scoffed Korona, "but there are seven of us and only two of you!" "Hatred is just as powerful as love," said Rehko. "The Orochi despise this world just as much as you love each other." "Orochi had lost his power because you had left your place as the Eighth Neck," added Tsubasa. "Now Orochi has not one member, but seven." "I was at your side when you fought Orochi last year," Souma said. "There were two people fighting against Orochi, me and you. The person at the Lunar Priestess' station is different, but there are still only two of you." "Here's a fact that I learned just this morning," said Chikane. "I don't think that your brothers ever told you, Souma. Kazuki never told you because there was never a need for anyone to know. Tsubasa never told you because he knew just as little as I did. My powers are not only those of a priestess of Ame no Murakumo." "What?" said Tsubasa. "What are you talking about?" Souma asked. "Just as the imperial house of Japan is descended from the sun goddess, Amaterasu Oomikami, the Himemiya family is descended from Susanou no Mikoto, god of the sea, god of storms, and original holder of Ame no Murakumo!" All of the Orochi gasped at Chikane's statement. "With the power of Susanou inside me," Chikane continued, "I will defeat Orochi just like Susanou did during the time of the gods!" "This is beyond anything that we had previously foreseen..." Miyako said to herself, her eyes wide with sudden, overbearing fear. "What now?" said a frightened Nekoko. After looking around for a moment, inspecting the situation, Souma finally said, "Retreat." The other Orochi looked at the Seventh Neck, eyes wide with astonishment. Souma looked back at them and repeated, "Retreat! We have no other choice. If Himemiya is indeed the descendant of the god that sealed away Orochi in the first place, then she may have powers beyond those of any of us." "You can't be serious," said Miyako. "You actually suggest that we simply give up?" "Not give up," said Tsubasa, "but retreat. We will return once we have fully and completely evaluated the situation." Himeko and Chikane looked on in stun as the eight Orochi bodies turned around and started moving away. "Chikane, they're retreating!" said Himeko. "Not if I can help it!" Chikane announced. The Lunar Mark of her back lit up, as did the green eyes of Ame no Murakumo. The blades on Ame no Murakumo's wrists extended and the god ran at the Orochi. Two quick strikes at Izuhara no Tamazuchi and the largest of the Orochi bodies was destroyed. Ame no Murakumo hacked away at Ooube no Senazuchi as the centipede-shaped mech tried to curl up into its wheel shape and roll away. Ho no Shuraizuchi was impaled by the large spike on Ame no Murakumo's head and Hi no Ashinazuchi was easy prey for the blades on Ame no Murakumo's wrists. It ran up behind Yatsu no Onokoshizuchi and jumped upward, skewering the purple mech with the spike on its head, and then sliced through Take no Yamikazuchi with the blade on its foot on its way down. Chikane then looked up and saw Take no Yasukunazuchi and Yokusemi no Mizuchi flying off. She aimed Ame no Murakumo's head toward the two flying mechs and fired a blast of yellow light at them, Take no Yasukunazuchi instantly vaporized by the powerful beam. Ame no Murakumo continued firing at Yokusemi no Mizuchi, but the bird-shaped mech was too fast and too far away to get a clean shot. "You were wonderful, Chikane!" Himeko cried. "You destroyed seven of the Orochi bodies so gracefully!" Himeko looked at Chikane, only to see that her girlfriend was not happy with herself at all. "Chikane?" asked the blonde. "I almost had it," Chikane said softly, clenching her fists. "If I had destroyed that last Orochi body, I could have ended it right then and there. But I couldn't do it. Now the Orochi will have another chance to destroy the world! And now that they're working together, it will be even harder to defeat them than it was last year!" Chikane felt hands taking hers and she looked forward to see Himeko staring lovingly at her. "The Orochi may have learned how to work together," said Himeko. "They may have learned about what they're up against. But we have also learned how to use our powers to their full extent. That's something we've never learned before now. You're the descendant of the gods. And we can release Ame no Murakumo's full power by simply embracing and accepting the love that we have for each other. The Orochi have nothing on us, Chikane! And I know that we'll win this time! I just know it." The happiness returned to Chikane's face and she said, "You're right, Himeko. As long as we believe in ourselves and in each other, we can overcome anything." Chikane stepped down from the Lunar Priestess' station to the station that Himeko was at and kissed Himeko. With the Lunar Priestess no longer at her station, the station from which Ame no Murakumo drew her power, the dimension of color that the two priestesses were in began to dissolve. Inside the cave, Kazuki and Yukihito could no longer hear the sounds of battle. They made their way outside to see the Ame no Murakumo disappear in a glow of white light. When the giant mech was gone, all that remained were Himeko and Chikane, kissing in a loving embrace. As the two girls broke for air, they looked toward the cave to see Kazuki and Yukihito watching them. "We did it," said Himeko. "We revived Ame no Murakumo together." "You did," Kazuki said with a smile. "I am very impressed with both of you girls." "Mister Ogami," Yukihito said. "Isn't it about time we left? It's freezing up here." "That's true," Kazuki said. "Everyone, get your equipment ready." "There's no need for that," Chikane said with a smile on her face. The Lunar Mark lit up momentarily and Tsukuyomi no Mikoto appeared behind Chikane. The mech kneeled and lowered its hands in front of the two shrinekeepers. "Hop on," said Chikane. "You summoned your other self?" said Kazuki. "I think we gave the Orochi a pretty good scare," said Himeko. "I don't think they'll be back for a while. It'll give Chikane plenty of time to regain her spiritual energy after bringing us back home." "The girls have a point, Sensei," Yukihito said, climbing onto Tsukuyomi's left had. "Well," Kazuki said, "It would be much faster than by foot." With that, Kazuki climbed onto the mech's right hand. Chikane and Himeko retreated into the circular portal in Tsukuyomi no Mikoto's chest and the mech started making its way west. "Himeko," Chikane said as she piloted her other self down the mountain. "Huh?" Himeko responded. "Tell me," said Chikane. "What happened yesterday?" "Yesterday?" "What happened after Souma had captured you?" "After Souma captured me, he brought me to the Orochi realm. Girochi attacked Souma for taking me, but Souma defeated him easily. Tsubasa said something about showing me what it meant to be an Orochi, then Souma tried to touch the Solar Mark on my chest. I think that he wanted to turn me into an Orochi." "Just like I became an Orochi last year..." Chikane murmured. "But then something happened," Himeko continued. "I pleaded with Souma to let me go back to you and it had an effect on him. Tsubasa continued urging him to fill me with Orochi's evil, but Souma resisted his orders. During one brief moment, Souma overcame the Orochi inside him and pushed me off the edge. After that..." Himeko trailed off. "After that......" Himeko thought for a moment, trying to figure out what had happened after Souma had pushed her. "I don't remember what happened after Souma pushed me. The next thing I knew, I was in front of the cave, you holding me. Then you fainted and I helped Kazuki and Yukihito carry you into the cave." "When we found you," said Chikane, "you were in some kind of trance. A single ray of sunlight was shining down on you, you were hovering about fifteen centimeters above the ground, and your body was giving off a strange aura that had melted the snow around you." "I was hovering?" Himeko asked. "You don't remember anything that happened after Souma pushed you?" "Nothing except a vague memory of falling through space. The Earth was below me and the moon was above. But what captivated my attention was the sun. As I fell, it felt as if the sun's rays were wrapping around my body, engulfing me in their warmth, as if the sun's light was a magic carpet, carrying me down toward the Earth, protecting me from re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere. I can't explain it." "I wonder. Could it be...?" "What?" asked Himeko. "Oh, it's nothing," Chikane replied. "It was a stupid idea anyway." ---------- It was after midnight when Tsukuyomi no Mikoto got back to Mahoroba. After dropping off Kazuki and Yukihito at the university, Himeko and Chikane walked back to the Himemiya estate. As the two girls walked up to the door, Otoha exited. "Welcome back, Misses," said the maid. "Otoha," said Himeko. "I'm surprised to see you awake at this hour," said Chikane. "Well I just had to make sure that you two were able to get back inside the mansion when you got back," Otoha said. "Even if it meant staying up late to wait for you." "Have you stayed up late every night?" Himeko asked. "Yes," replied Otoha. "I didn't know when you would be back, so I kept watch every night in case you returned." "That's very thoughtful of you, Otoha," said Chikane. "I'm sure you're tired from staying up late every night. Go get some rest." "Thank you, Miss," said Otoha. The three women went inside. Otoha went to her room while Himeko and Chikane went to their room. "I'm exhausted," said Himeko, throwing herself down on the bed. "It was a long journey," said Chikane, lying down beside Himeko. "And it's late." "I wish that it could all be over," Himeko said. "I wish that the Orochi would just let us be, that we could just live our lives like ordinary girls." "Ordinary girls..." Chikane echoed her girlfriend. "I've always longed for the day that I could be called an ordinary girl. Although I never actually realized it until high school. I had been brought up as an aristocrat, taught that I should strive for excellence. And for a while, I enjoyed the attention that I got. However, on that day when you followed that puppy into that flower garden, all of that changed." Himeko remembered chasing after the puppy that had strayed onto the school campus. It had run through the bushes into the flower garden that was on the grounds. Even though it was off limits to students, Himeko followed the dog in there anyway. And as she came out of the bushes, she saw Chikane standing there, looking at her. That was how Himeko and Chikane had first met. "As soon as I saw you," Chikane continued, "my entire life changed. You didn't know that I came from such an important family, so you treated me as you would have treated anyone else. And it was then that I realized that impressing people and living up to my family's reputation was nowhere near as important as I thought it was. Just being able to talk with you as a friend made me happy. I realized that being cool and aloof was getting in the way of meaningful relationships. It all changed when I met you, Himeko." "Chikane..." The two girls held each other and kissed briefly. After taking off their priestess uniforms, they realized that they were both too tired to even bother picking out pajamas to wear to bed. They simply crawled under the covers, only in their lingerie and held each other, quickly drifting into a deep sleep. ---------- At that time, the Orochi had a crisis on their hands. The truth about the Himemiya family's origins had shaken up all of them. "Descendants of Susanou," said Rehko. "How can we put up with the power of such a person?" wondered Miyako. "I don't want to get boomed by Ame no Murakumo, nya," said Nekoko. "How can we stand up against the power of a descendant of Susanou, two Priestesses, and Ame no Murakumo?" said Souma. "The answer is simpler than you think," an ominous voice said around them. The seven Orochi members looked around themselves for a moment, looking for the source of the voice. "Who said that?" Tsubasa said. Suddenly, with a flash of purple, a middle-aged man appeared in the center platform of the Orochi realm. He was tall, had dark gray hair, and eyes an eerie shade of amber. "Himemiya!" cried Souma, recognizing the man. "That's the Lunar Priestess' father?" Girochi asked. The Orochi members murmured to each other at Takeshi Himemiya's sudden appearance in their realm. "Settle down, everyone," said Takeshi. "Settle down." The Orochi gradually stopped talking amongst themselves and turned their attention toward Takeshi. "I am sure by now that you know why I am here. Orochi has chosen me to be his vessel. It has come to my attention that Ame no Murakumo has been revived." He then looked at Souma and said, "It seems that the Seventh Neck failed to capture the Solar Priestess." Souma shifted his weight backwards, frightened by the man's menacing stare. "If you are Orochi's vessel," asked Korona, "you must know what Orochi is thinking. Does he have any ideas?" "As a matter of fact," Takeshi said, nonchalantly examining his fingernails, "he does." He turned back to the Orochi members eyeing him and he said. "You must summon your most powerful beast, Gattai Orochi." "Orochi's united body?" said Tsubasa. "Can we even summon Gattai Orochi without the Eighth Neck?" Miyako wondered. "As long as Orochi's eight bodies are under Orochi's control," replied Takeshi. "Yokusemi no Mizuchi can be used by any of the Orochi, so all of Orochi's bodies are under your control. Let's face it, you're left with little choice against Ame no Murakumo." "You seem rather calm about all this, Himemiya," said Souma. "If the Orochi get defeated, you go down with us." "I know that," Takeshi said. "But I have full confidence in my minions." Anger appeared in the Orochi members' faces at Takeshi's last remark, but they were careful to keep their distance from the one that had inherited Orochi's power. "I will be waiting." Then, in a flash of dark energy, Takeshi was gone just as suddenly as he had appeared. To be continued... ---------- TERMINOLOGY: Gattai is a Japanese word for "Combine." Gattai Orochi is the United Body of Orochi that Ame no Murakumo fought at the end of Kannazuki no Miko. ---------- OMAKE: After dropping off Kazuki and Yukihito at the university, Himeko and Chikane walked back to the Himemiya estate. As the two girls walked up to the door, Otoha exited. "Welcome back, Misses," said the maid. "Otoha," said Himeko. "I'm surprised to see you awake at this hour," said Chikane. "Well I just had to make sure that you two were able to get back inside the mansion when you got back," Otoha said. "Even if it meant staying up late to wait for you." "Have you stayed up late every night?" Himeko asked. "Yes," replied Otoha. "I didn't know when you would be back, so I kept watch every night since Wednesday in case you returned." "It looked like you've been up late every night, Otoha," said Chikane. "Well," said Otoha, "there were times that I would lie awake, rubbing myself off several times a night just thinking of you."
Back to Spiral of Destiny Index - Back to Kannazuki no Miko Shoujo-Ai Fanfiction