Kazuki and Yukihito watched as the dark aura of evil lifted and the sun resumed shining its bright yellow light over Japan. "What was that, Sensei?" Yukihito asked. "It's Orochi," replied Kazuki. "The eight-headed Orochi has returned." He then turned to his assistant and said, "Yukihito, we must locate the Solar Priestess and the Lunar Priestess. They are the only ones that can revive the God of Swordsmen." "Right," replied Yukihito. As the two young men got ready to leave, they saw a giant mech walk up in front of the Ogami Shrine. "Sensei," said Kazuki, "is that an Orochi?" "No," Kazuki said, "I don't sense any evil from this creature." Then, Kazuki noticed the crest atop the giant's head. "That's the...!" At that moment, something emerged from the circular portal in the mech's chest. It was two girls, both of high school age. The shorter of the two was a blond-haired girl with a white ribbon in her hair, the taller had bluish-black hair with a white hair band. They both floated to the ground as if they were as light as flower petals. "Mister Ogami," said the dark-haired girl. Kazuki gave the girl a long, hard look. It was as if he had seen her somewhere before, but could not remember where. "Do I know you?" he asked. The girl answered, "Yes." She then said, "No. I mean, you did. Last year and in another reality." "What do you mean, 'another reality'?" "I am Chikane, the Lunar Priestess of Ame no Murakumo," she said, turning back to the Shinto priest. The blond-haired girl then said, "And I am Himeko, the Solar Priestess." Kazuki and Yukihito were stunned. Somehow, these girls knew about the myth of Ame no Murakumo and the two priestesses. And they had also saved the two shrine keepers from searching all over Japan to find them. "How do you know about Ame no Murakumo and the two priestesses?" asked Kazuki. "You told us," Chikane said, "when Orochi returned last year." "We fought Orochi and remade the world," said Himeko. "So that's why I don't remember," Kazuki said. "But you seemed to recognize me," Chikane said. "I do possess spiritual powers from being the keeper of this shrine," said Kazuki. "Perhaps the powers that I possess allowed me to retain some part of my memory of that alternate reality." "But that's not important now," Chikane said. "What's important is that Orochi has returned and we need to stop him again." "Quite right," Kazuki said. "Please, come inside." Chikane turned to her mech and said, "Tsukuyomi no Mikoto, you can leave now." The purple mech bowed to Chikane and then vanished. Kazuki and the two priestesses entered the shrine while Kazuki kept watch over the shrine. ---------- "I'm glad you finally came to your senses," Tsubasa said to his younger brother. "I tried to protect the priestesses and was punished by doing so," Souma responded. "And even after all I did for them, Himeko turned me down." "So that's what happened," Miyako realized. "Orochi saw the pain in his heart from being betrayed by the one he loved." "I told you it was a cruel world," said Tsubasa. "It has meant nothing but pain and suffering for all of us." "I realize that now, Brother," said Souma. "And that is why I have joined you now, to rid the world of all that stand in my way of being with Himeko." "What was that?" said Girochi, approaching Souma. "Get one thing straight, Seventh Neck. Hime is mine, and I won't let you take her." "Strange that you think that," Souma countered. "I was the one she chose to go out with last year." "That was another reality," Girochi barked, "and it doesn't have any effect on what happens in this one." Take no Yamikazuchi appeared to back up Souma as he said, "You're asking for a beating, Third Neck!" "Just try me!" said Girochi, Hi no Ashinazuchi appearing behind him as well. "You want another taste of my Sparkling Solar Wave of Massive Destruction?" Girochi jumped at the sound of Take no Yamikazuchi's ultimate attack and was silent. Feeling defeated, he clenched his right hand, the glowing mark of Orochi on the back, into a fist and growled in anger as his other self disappeared. "We shouldn't be arguing over who gets the Solar Priestess," said Miyako. "What we should be doing is formulating a plan to destroy the pesky Lunar Priestess and discover how she was able to summon another self." ---------- Kazuki carefully inspected the mark that had appeared on Himeko's chest. After Kazuki had determined that it was indeed the mark of the Solar Priestess, Chikane turned her back to Kazuki and brushed her long, dark hair out of the way, revealing the crescent-shaped mark just below her neck. Kazuki inspected Chikane's mark as well and determined that it was the mark of the Lunar Priestess. Himeko and Chikane sat down next to each other on their knees and Kazuki sat down in front of them. "You are indeed the priestesses of the moon and the sun," said the longhaired shrine keeper. "Tell me, you defeated Orochi one year ago, correct?" "Almost," said Himeko. "It was actually Souma who fought Orochi." "Souma did?" said a surprised Kazuki "Yes," replied Himeko. "He betrayed Orochi and used his powers to protect me and Chikane. I revived Ame no Murakumo, but she didn't have the power to seal Orochi away, she was only able to destroy his united body. Orochi's spirit tried to escape, but Souma fought him while Chikane and I spent as much time as we could together before Ame no Murakumo sealed herself and Chikane back into the Lunar Shrine." "So that explains why Orochi is back after only one year," Kazuki spoke his thought process. "Souma was using Orochi's power, which could not be used to destroy or seal Orochi away. Orochi has been recovering his strength over the past eleven months and has again returned during the godless month." He then asked the girls directly. "But what I don't understand is how Chikane was able to return. Before now, it has always been that the priestesses reincarnate in different bodies each time they are needed. Chikane, how did you come back in your current form?" "I was in the Lunar Shrine for eleven months," replied Chikane. "Alone in the darkness, I had a lot of time to think." ---------- I thought about many things. I thought about Himeko, Ame no Murakumo, Orochi, and the fate of the priestesses. About a month ago, I started thinking about the sun and the moon themselves, not just the priestesses. I remembered the myth of Tsukuyomi, the god of the moon. As the Lunar Priestess, I thought that Tsukuyomi would listen to me. "Tsukuyomi," I said. "I am the Lunar Priestess of Ame no Murakumo. Are you there?" There was no answer. I asked again, "Tsukuyomi, can you hear me? I am the Lunar Priestess of Ame no Murakumo. If you can hear me, please answer me." Still, no answer came. I realized that if Tsukuyomi would not respond to a verbal act, perhaps I could get her attention with the power of the Lunar Priestess. I concentrated hard and the Lunar Mark on my back lit up. Using all the power I was able to call forth, I called out, "Tsukuyomi. I know you can hear me. I demand that you answer me!" "Who resides on the moon?" a deep female voice asked in the darkness. It seemed that I had gotten Tsukuyomi's attention. "I am the Lunar Priestess of Ame no Murakumo," I answered. "The Lunar Priestess?" Tsukuyomi said. "What do you call upon me for?" "I want to be free of this shrine," I said. "I want to see Himeko again. I want to live a normal life. Please, help me." "You took on your mission as the Lunar Priestess," Tsukuyomi responded. "You made the choice to sacrifice yourself in order to remake the world. Once you are locked within the Lunar Shrine, you cannot be released until you are needed again. I am sorry, but I cannot help you." "Tsukuyomi?" I called out. "Tsukuyomi! Answer me!" However, she did not answer me. "Himeko..." I said to myself. I felt the tears come to my eyes. I missed Himeko so much. I couldn't bear the thought of not being able to spend my time with her, to hold her, to kiss her. It was at that time that I wished that my spirit could cease to exist. I would have preferred to rest in the eternal peace of nothingness rather than that everlasting cycle of partings. However, one day, Tsukuyomi spoke to me again. "Lunar Priestess," she said. "Tsukuyomi?" I asked. "It is time for you to leave, Lunar Priestess," she said. "It's time?" I asked, my hopes rising. "How long has it been?" "Eleven months." What Tsukuyomi said surprised me. It had felt like hundreds of years since I was locked away in the Lunar Shrine. Hundreds of years certainly would have been consistent with the cycle of rebirth. But eleven months? "Have you decided to help me then, Tsukuyomi?" "That is not the reason for releasing you," she said. "But I have silently watched you for the past eleven months, and I truly felt sorry for you. But I could not let you go before now for fear of Ame no Murakumo's wrath. But Orochi was not sealed away last year. You must return so that you can revive Ame no Murakumo again and seal Orochi away like you did in your past life." "You mean...I'll get to see Himeko again?" The tears I was crying were no longer of sadness and despair, but instead of hopefulness and love. "Yes," Tsukuyomi answered. "Thank you!" I cried. "Thank you! Thank you!" I was so overjoyed at the idea of seeing Himeko again that I could not say anything else besides, "Thank you." "There will be challenges," said Tsukuyomi. "Souma Ogami will not be able to find it in himself to fight Orochi's power to protect you this time. He will try to kill you and take Himeko for himself. You alone cannot stand up against any one of Orochi's eight bodies. I will help you, Lunar Priestess. I will be your sword and your shield. I will give you the power to protect Himeko." "Thank you, Tsukuyomi." As our conversation ended, the Lunar Shrine collapsed. For the first time in eleven months, I looked around and was able to see something other than pitch-black nothingness. I saw the torii of the Lunar Shrine and I saw the blue Earth in front of me. I saw the sun shining brightly upon the moon and it bathed me in its warmth. It reminded me of the warmth I felt every time I thought about Himeko and how much love I had for her. However, there was something else in front of me. It was a giant mech, much like one of the eight bodies of Orochi. However, it did not give off an evil aura like Orochi. It was colored purple-and-white and it had yellow lining and green jewels on its forehead, shoulders and hands. It reminded me of the chihaya that I wore as the Lunar Priestess. However, what caught my eye was the crest that it had on its head, the Lunar Mark. "Come," the mech said in Tsukuyomi's voice. "I will take you to Himeko." I knew that even though the bodies of Orochi were mechs, they were also gods. Therefore, I figured that a god such as Tsukuyomi could also take on the form of a mech. This mech before me had to be Tsukuyomi no Mikoto. But it was more than just the god of the moon. As I looked into the mech's glowing blue eyes, it felt like I was looking in a mirror. Even though this mech was ten times my own height and had the likeness of a robot, I somehow felt that it was a part of me, as if I could control it as freely as I could control my own body. It was not only Tsukuyomi no Mikoto, it was also my other self! I leapt upward to the circular portal in Tsukuyomi no Mikoto's chest and it drew me in. On the other side of the portal, I found myself in a cockpit surrounded by swirling, yellow light. Before me, an image of the outside was projected so that I could see where I was piloting Tsukuyomi no Mikoto. I aimed toward the Earth and jumped toward it. I watched as the Earth grew larger and larger as I grew nearer and nearer. I was falling toward Asia, toward Japan, toward Honshu. I touched down on a beach in the southeastern part of Honshu, possibly not far from Tokyo. Tsukuyomi no Mikoto had protected me from the fall back down to Earth, but I wanted to get out. I had developed a case of claustrophobia after being locked away in the Lunar Shrine for almost a year and I was in desperate need of a large, open space with actual air to breathe. I exited Tsukuyomi no Mikoto through the portal in its chest and I set foot on the sand. I took a deep breath and sighed in delight as the salty sea-air entered my nostrils. I picked up a handful of sand and felt the fine grains slip through my fingers. "I'm back," I said to myself, so happy to be alive again. I was about to return to Tsukuyomi no Mikoto so that I could get to Mahoroba, which I figured to be due west, when I sensed something odd from somewhere in the sand. I walked in the direction of my sense. As I grew closer to the source, I felt a sense of urgency and I ran toward it, as if I was going to find Himeko there. I dropped to my hands and knees and started digging into the sand. Whatever it was that I was sensing, I had to find it, no matter what. It was several feet below the surface, but eventually, I found it. It was a pink seashell. My eyes widened as I looked at the shell in my hand. It looked exactly like the pendant that Himeko wore around her neck. It had to be the other half of the bivalve that both shells belonged to! "That shell is important to you," Tsukuyomi said. "Yes," I replied, tears streaming down my cheeks. "Himeko has a shell just like this. This is the other half of that bivalve, I know it is!" "This must be a sign," said Tsukuyomi. I could hear in the god's voice that she was interested. "It's a sign that Himeko is your other half, and you hers. It cannot be a coincidence that you found that shell on the first place that you landed back on Earth." "I knew it," I cried. "I knew it all along. Ever since I first met Himeko, I knew that she was the one for me. I tried to hide my true feelings because were both girls. But still, I knew that Himeko was the only one that would make my life complete." "Your love is strong, " said Tsukuyomi. "I've never seen emotion of this power before. The love that you feel is so powerful that it may even rival the power of the gods! Even I am a little frightened by its strength!" I did not need to hear Tsukuyomi's words to know that what she was saying was true. The feelings that had grown in my heart ever since I met Himeko were enough proof for me. "You want to look nice for Himeko when you see her, don't you?" Tsukuyomi then asked. "Yes," I said, wiping the tears from my eyes. "These priestess clothes are not appropriate for seeing Himeko again." Tsukuyomi no Mikoto extended its right arm and out of it came a large blade. It put the blade to its left arm and scraped off a small bit of what would have been its skin if it had the likeness of a human. The piece of metal was in fact many silver beads that were joined together, creating a ring with two chains coming off of it, the end of one of the chains consisting of two semi-circle arcs. I threw the seashell up into the air and the silver chain collided with it. The two arcs clamped down upon the top part of the shell, digging a hole through it and forming into a complete ring, locking the shell in place. The circular chain threw itself around my neck, creating a necklace, and I simply locked the two small chains together, causing the seashell to hang just below my collarbone as a pendant. Tsukuyomi no Mikoto's blue eyes then lit up and I felt her power engulf me. The purple priestess uniform that I was wearing started glowing the same shade of blue and I felt it change its form around my body. The socks transformed into white sandals, the chihaya transformed into an elegant, white dress with a white belt around my waist and a metal ring to hold the belt in place, accentuating my figure, and the hair band that I wore was now white instead of yellow. It was exactly the kind of clothes I had in mind, pure white, such that Himeko would see me as an angel that had descended to Earth. Seeing as Tsukuyomi no Mikoto was my other self, it was not surprising that she knew exactly what I wanted to wear when I presented myself before Himeko. I was ready. A fire burned within my heart and it fueled my soul, filling my body with energy. "Let's go!" I exclaimed, jumping back into the portal in Tsukuyomi no Mikoto's chest. I piloted Tsukuyomi no Mikoto due west toward Mahoroba, toward Himeko. ---------- "Once I made it back to Mahoroba, I exited Tsukuyomi no Mikoto's body and started walking. I followed my heart..." Chikane looked at Himeko. She put her hand on Himeko's and finished, "...and my heart brought me straight to Himeko." Both girls were shedding tears as Chikane finished her story of how she made her way back to the one that she loved. "That..." someone sniffled behind them, "That was...such a beautiful story." Chikane, Himeko, and Kazuki looked at the entrance to the shrine to see Yukihito listening intently, crying like a baby. "Yukihito," Kazuki said with a stern look on his face, "were you eavesdropping?" "Sorry, Sensei," said the college student, returning back outside. Kazuki turned back to Chikane and Himeko. "It was a beautiful story, though," he said, the usually expressionless face now with a smile on it. He then continued, "All of your memories of the alternate reality seem to be intact. Do you remember the sacred words for reviving Ame no Murakumo?" Himeko and Chikane held hands, as if trying to use the contact to reinforce each other's memory. They both said in unison, "The mighty and brave Susanou no Mikoto. The country of Izumo falls on the river of sunlight. Eight-headed dragons of the land, diminish and fall to the blade of the Totsuka sword. God of Takemi Katana. God of Iwatsutsu no O. God of Kanayama Hiko. God of Kanayama Hime. God of Tsurugi no Ikusa. God of Tate no Ikusa Along with the powers of the eight million gods. We hereby invoke the revival of Ame no Murakumo. Release the God of Susanou and drive out those lives that ought to seek atonement. Shinchoku." "I am impressed," said Kazuki. "Chikane, Himeko, do you feel ready to perform the revival ritual?" "I'm ready," said Himeko. "I'm not ready." Himeko and Kazuki looked at Chikane with surprise. "I've been locked away in complete darkness for almost a year. Before I do anything else, I want to spend some time alone with Himeko." "But what if the Orochi attack us again?" asked Himeko. "Tsukuyomi no Mikoto will protect us," said Chikane. "If you're in danger, I will use her power to protect you." "At least we know that you can perform the ritual when you are ready," said Kazuki. "If you have nowhere to stay, I can offer you lodging for the night." "That is very gracious of you, Mister Ogami," Chikane said. "But I would prefer it..." she trailed off. Then, with a dreamy, nostalgic expression, she finished, "...if I stayed with my family." "You're family?" said a surprised Himeko. "Will they know who you are?" asked Kazuki. "You remembered me because of your connection with Ame no Murakumo," Chikane answered the priest. "Perhaps the connection that I had with my parents will allow them to remember me as well." "Very well," Kazuki said, standing up. "But I will be here just in case." "Thank you, Mister Ogami," said Chikane, standing up as well. "Thank you very much," said Himeko standing up with Chikane. The two girls bowed to Kazuki and then turned to leave." ---------- Meanwhile, the seven Orochi members were gathered in the circular platform in the center of their dark realm. "Souma," Miyako spoke, "you are the only one that has seen this mech that the Lunar Priestess summoned. What was it like?" Souma explained Chikane's mech's characteristics, "It was like another of Orochi's bodies. It looked like a giant robot, but it had the abilities similar to those of one of our other selves." "Sounds like the Lunar Priestess has another self as well," Korona said. "Did the priestess's other self have a name?" asked Miyako. "I didn't catch it," replied Souma. "We hardly ever mention the names of our mechs to our opponents. The Lunar Priestess didn't call out her mech's name either." "Maybe if one of us were to go up against the Lunar Priestess again," Tsubasa spoke up, "we could convince her to give us its name." "But how would we do that, nya?" Nekoko wondered. "If we called out our other selves by name," Tsubasa explained, "she may do the same." "Like a subconscious suggestion," said Rehko. "Exactly," replied the First Neck. "But who should go after her?" Korona asked. "I'll go," said Girochi. "I can't wait to see my Hime again!" "No, Girochi," Miyako said. "What?" Girochi cried. "Why the hell not?" "Your attraction to the Solar Priestess will only distract you from your mission," the Second Neck explained. "Our objective is to find out all we can about the Lunar Priestess's other self." "I'll go, I'll go," said Nekoko. "I can't wait to boom things with Nyan-Nyan again!" "That was all we did last year, destroy things," Miyako said, "and the priestesses gave us a beating. We need to take down the Lunar Priestess before we can fulfill Orochi's will." "No," said Souma. "I think Nekoko SHOULD go." Everyone looked at Souma in surprise. "I know the Lunar Priestess better than any one else in this place and I know how she thinks. She will do anything to make Himeko happy, and that includes protecting Himeko's friends. Causing destruction might be the perfect way to draw the priestess out. We don't have to go find her, she will come to us." "Yes," said Tsubasa with a smile. "Now you're thinking like an Orochi." "Does this mean I get to boom things?" said an excited Nekoko. "Yes, you get to boom things," Tsubasa said. "Nya!" cried Nekoko happily. The smallest of the Orochi members jumped off of the circular platform down into the clouds below, ready to started causing mayhem on Earth. ---------- TRANSLATION NOTE: The word chihaya refers to the complete uniform of a miko, including the traditional kimono, socks, and pleated pants. ---------- OMAKE: "Get one thing straight, Seventh Neck," said Girochi. "Hime is mine." "No," said Souma. "She's mine." "No, she's mine." "She's mine." "She's mine!" "She's mine!" "She's mine!" "She's mine!" "She's mine!" "She's mine!" "She's mine!" "What pesky little brothers we have," Miyako said quietly to Tsubasa. "Indeed we do," Tsubasa quitly responded.
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