The absence of the mark of the Solar Priestess left both girls momentarily stunned, but Chikane's fear for Himeko's safety won out over shock and she got them away from the college, down the stairs, and onto the bus that headed out towards Ohgami Shrine. The driver gave them a surprised look--Chikane's stained shirt and Himeko's ripped one certainly attracted attention--but one of Chikane's scathing glances got him to mind his own business.
Himeko was grateful for her sister's care; she was in a stunned state, trying to come to some understanding of what had happened. Chikane found them a seat in the back, well away from anyone else.
"Is...is it because I'm not a virgin, Chikane?" she suddenly blurted out.
Chikane blinked.
"I mean, it's only the blood of a pure priestess that can be used to summon Ame no Murakumo or Yamata no Orochi, right? So maybe I didn't hear the voice because I'm not pure to begin with?"
Chikane shook her head.
"That can't be it."
"What? Why not?"
She reached down and took Himeko's hand, then grinned. Despite her own worries, Himeko was happy to see the smile, the amusement in Chikane's eyes.
"Because I'm no more of a virgin than you are. No, I'm sure that requirement specifically means that we have to be technically...intact, or at least unpenetrated, since there's lots of ways other than sex that could happen. And we've been careful to keep our lovemaking to ways that wouldn't cross that particular line."
Himeko thought it over, then nodded.
"I think you're right, Chikane. After all, in our past lives you took my virginity and that didn't disqualify you as Lunar Priestess."
"And virgin or not, you were still the Solar Priestess. You still chose the new world. So the requirement of 'purity' only applies to the use of our blood in the summoning rituals."
"So it's something else, then. But what could it be?"
Chikane frowned.
"I don't know. Maybe Reverend Ohgami can help figure it out. He has access to a lot of information that we don't."
"Yeah, maybe he'll--" Himeko suddenly snapped bolt upright. "Oh, no, Marika!"
"What?"
"She's still at school!"
She dug into her bag and fished out her cell phone, scrolled past Chikane's name and autodialed Marika. It rang once, then twice, then Marika answered.
"Hey, Hikari, happy birthday! Did you hear all the excitement?"
"Marika! I'm so glad you're all right!"
"Yeah, me too. I'm glad I didn't have any history or lit classes this morning, though. They're saying it was a gas leak, but that's like the generic coverup for any suspicious explosion in any story ever written so who knows?"
"Marika, you should get back to the shrine."
"Go home? Hey, you know something, don't you? It really is a cover-up! What's going on?"
"We'll explain when we all get there," Himeko said, since Chikane and Marika's father could both do a better job of explaining things. "Oh," she added belatedly, "if you see Reiko Himemiya, stay away from her!"
"Reiko? Are you saying she had something to do with this?"
"I think so. Chikane says she's an Orochi."
"Orochi? You're telling me that priestess stuff was all real?"
"You didn't believe me?"
"Um...well...it's not so much that I didn't believe you as it didn't matter. I mean, you're my best friend regardless of your weird love life. Of course, it's cool that you're not crazy, too, although, you know, end of the world and all that..."
"Just...get home safe, okay?"
"Gotcha. I'll be careful."
Marika hung up and Himeko put away her phone.
"Is she all right?"
"Uh huh. I'm so glad of that."
"Me, too. She's goofy, but she's your good friend."
They said very little the rest of the way. The moment they had both dreaded and anticipated had come, but instead of being as expected it had brought surprises and fear for both of them.
-X X X-
Chikane had been intellectually aware that Takeshi Ohgami regularly performed the proper rites to maintain the shrine's sanctity, but as the awakened Lunar Priestess she could actually feel the shift in energies when she stepped through the prayer gate marking the boundary.
"Did you--?" she began to ask Himeko, then realized it wouldn't make any difference, just serve as further confirmation of what Himeko wasn't and just cause her beloved more pain.
"Eh?"
Chikane shook her head.
"Nothing."
They went up to the house and rang the bell. A moment later the sliding door opened.
"Oh!"
"Professor Ohgami!" Himeko echoed.
"I didn't expect to see the two of you here."
"Or we you," Chikane said evenly.
The professor grinned wryly.
"No Monday lectures. I'm overseeing a 3:00 lab section, as Hikari knows, but nothing before that. It's a schedule well-suited to cope with the wild night life of an academic. Now, I happen to know that you don't have a similar excuse." Her gaze flicked from one to the other. "Are you all right? You don't look hurt, but your clothes are telling a story."
Chikane shook her head.
"No, things are most definitely not 'all right,' as you put it. We need to speak to Reverend Ohgami."
"Did something happen to Marika?" the professor immediately asked.
"No, no, she's fine," Himeko reassured her. "She's on her way here now."
"Marika, too? Then what's going on?"
"Do you remember what you wished us last night? Let's just say that Himeko doesn't have to worry about studying for your quiz."
"Yamata no Orochi?" Professor Ohgami caught her meaning at once. "Surely you can't expect me to believe--?"
"All I would like from you, Professor, is to know where Reverend Ohgami is."
"He's in the shrine. If, however, you think that I'm simply going to let this go, you are sadly mistaken." Her eyes met Chikane's evenly. "To my way of thinking, this little fantasy of yours has gotten completely out of hand. It is no longer an amusing quirk and may well pose a danger to my family. I will expect proof of these outrageous claims of yours."
"You'll have it."
Professor Ohgami just arched an eyebrow.
"Um..." Himeko put in. "Before we do that, could I borrow a safety pin? My hand's getting tired holding my shirt closed."
"Of course." She stepped inside and came back with one in under a minute. Himeko fumbled with it and managed to prick herself.
"Here, let me," Chikane said. She gathered up the torn edges of the fabric and secured them back into place. The shirt, she thought regretfully, was a total loss, thanks to her stupid impulsiveness. She needed to control herself better or she wouldn't be any good to Himeko at all. "There."
"Thank you, Chikane."
"All wardrobe malfunctions repaired? Then let's go."
They crossed over to the shrine and found the priest inside as his sister had said. Takeshi Ohgami was dressed formally in wide-sleeved jacket and billowing hakama pants. Chikane realized then that she'd never once seen him in Western garb, be it a suit or T-shirt and shorts. He was an attractive man with hair the same mint-green shade as his sister; Himeko and Marika had once suggested that he kept that hair cropped close and sported his neatly trimmed moustache to add some sense of maturity and masculinity to his pretty-boy looks.
"What's happened?" he asked at once, noting both the expressions on the three women's faces and the general atmosphere surrounding them. "Marika--?"
"No, it's nothing about her," Professor Ohgami assured the worried father. "Tsukuyo and Hikari have something to say."
"Miss Asamiya?" His gaze naturally went to Chikane.
"The Godless Month has come at last. The Necks of Yamata no Orochi have been called. They tried to kill me, or at least one of them did. Reiko Himemiya."
"Miss Himemiya attempted to kill you with a cup of coffee?"
"No, Professor, that's from when I was trying to get to Himeko; I nearly ran over someone. She tried to kill me with Take no Sukunazuchi--or its Shadow, whatever that means. It's one of the things I wanted to ask you about, Reverend."
He nodded.
"I see."
"I don't," his elder sister said flatly. "You promised proof, Tsukuyo, and while I didn't mind waiting until we were with Takeshi, I think now is the time for it."
"All right."
Chikane turned her back to the Ohgamis, then pulled her hair forward over her shoulder so it wouldn't interfere with the view. She then pulled up her shirt to her neck to expose what she knew would be there, the mark like a tattoo of a crescent moon with the horns pointing upward.
"So?" Professor Ohgami said.
"It's the mark of the Lunar Priestess," the priest said.
"Or the product of any vaguely competent tattoo parlor."
Chikane didn't answer in words, but instead called upon her power as Lunar Priestess. It was actually fairly hard, trying to make it manifest without actually doing anything with that power, but she'd been trained in how to fulfill her role. She felt the tingling throb from her back and saw the silvery radiance cast, and knew that she'd succeeded in making the full symbol, the true, ornately drawn crest to show itself.
"I don't believe it!" Professor Ohgami gasped. "How--?"
Chikane couldn't resist a tight little smile, almost a smirk, of her vindication, though no one else could see it.
"It's like metal inlaid right into her skin."
She let it go, relaxing so that the mark faded to its regular, passive state. Chikane pulled her shirt back down, swept her hair into place, and turned around.
"Do you believe us now?" she asked Professor Ohgami directly. There was no sign left on her face of the surprise her voice had showed, only an amused smile.
"I'd certainly say that the weight of evidence has shifted to your side...Lunar Priestess."
"If Yamata no Orochi has been revived," the priest said, quickly adapting to business, "then we must make preparations to summon Ame no Murakumo as soon as possible. That has to be the first step."
Chikane shook her head.
"No, I'm afraid that the first step has to be to find the Solar Priestess."
"What? But I thought that your sister..." He and the professor turned to Himeko, who looked down, flustered.
"That's one of the things we need to talk about, Reverend."
He nodded.
"Then perhaps we should return to the house where we can talk things over in more comfortable surroundings."
-X X X-
The place of crimson torii rearing out of swirling mists did not lie anywhere that could be reached by merely traveling. It existed apart from normal space, accessible only by the power of the seething black orb that pulsed in the red-lit sky above. This was the haven for the minions of Orochi.
"You had the Lunar Priestess in your grasp, and you let her get away," said Junichi Ozawa. The Seventh Neck stated it flatly, as a fact. The prayer gate he stood atop was dozens of feet away from the others, but they heard him as easily as if he'd been standing next to them.
"She didn't beat me!" Reiko shouted back. "She just ran away."
"Yo, that's what he just said," drawled the Second Neck. "You need the batteries on that thing checked or something?"
"Don't be an ass, Kei," interjected Hirata.
"Hey, you can't push me around, Fifth. I'm as much of an Orochi as you are." As if to prove his point, the black aura sprang up around him, the Shadow of a seething black beast like a jellyfish with a pulpy central mass and writhing tentacles. Hirata's face seemed to solidify into a jet black passion mask, flames flicking from within the open-mouthed, rigid smile.
"Stop it, both of you!" Abe shouted. The Third Neck slammed his fist down on his torii, producing a thunderous echo that jolted Hirata and Kei both. "We have been given a sacred charge by Yamata no Orochi! We are the ones chosen to bring destruction on this filthy world that has betrayed us! How can we sit here, squabbling amongst ourselves?"
"Human nature," Saori purred, tossing her hair. "Besides, Abe, I adore watching men fight. It's so deliciously primal. Don't you agree, Akemi?"
"Garbage," the Sixth Neck stated. She lightly caressed the polished blade of a knife.
"These petty arguments solve nothing," Ozawa declared flatly. "I want an answer. How was it that the Lunar Priestess escaped you, bearer of the strongest of the Orochi gods?"
"She used her own powers as a miko against me," Reiko snapped. "This isn't like those of you who settled your personal problems--"
"We agreed to let you handle the Lunar Priestess because she was your personal problem," Akemi corrected her.
"That doesn't matter! The point is that she is the Lunar Priestess, not some ordinary person armed with knives or guns. Like us, her power comes from the gods."
"Yet Ame no Murakumo remains sealed, does it not?" Ozawa observed. "Her power is limited."
"It's because Reiko screwed it up," Kei drawled. "She got involved, made it all mean too much to herself." He pounded his fist into his palm. "I won't make that mistake. I'll teach that priestess what it means to take on the Orochi."
"I'll go," Akemi contradicted him.
"I agree," said Ozawa.
"Whaaa--?"
"She is a killer. We all are the messengers of Orochi; we all bear the same malice towards the world as a whole, but only the Sixth Neck has taken life with her own hands. Even I, thoroughly trained by the military, have only struck by remote in real life. Destroying the Lunar Priestess will be done face-to-face, her blood extracted to summon Yamata no Orochi and her body left twitching in the dust."
"Don't give me that crap. You think that man-hating bitch can do a better job than me?"
"But of course," said Saori. Kei glared at her, looking as if he was about to pick a second fight, but Abe spoke up first.
"I agree with Ozawa. We are all resolute in our dedication to Orochi, but our skills differ. I believe that Akemi is the best fitted for this task."
"It is settled, then. Find her and kill her, so that Orochi may be unleashed without a way for those petty fools to fight back."
"And this world, which has so badly wronged us all, shall die," Saori concluded.
-X X X-
Steam rose from porcelain cups as Takeshi Ohgami brewed the bitter green tea. Though he was merely offering hospitality to his guests and not performing the formal tea ceremony, his movements nonetheless had the ease and grace of someone who was sensei at that difficult art. Though he was no doubt bursting with anxiety on the inside, he projected nothing but serenity and calm. Himeko was impressed by his ability to retain his composure; he was even better at it than Chikane. She, too, had recovered herself after proving her point in the shrine and received the cup of tea with her usual dignity. Professor Ohgami, for her part, knelt calmly with her usual expression of faint amusement.
Himeko just didn't understand how they could take everything so easily, but kept her mouth shut because she was embarrassed to show her immaturity in front of the others. Inside, though, she was completely confused and more than a little scared. The Solar and Lunar Priestesses were two sides of the same coin, inextricably entwined with one another, and yet only Chikane had awakened. Himeko hadn't heard the voice of Ame no Murakumo; the mark of the sun hadn't even appeared on her body. Whatever her expectations were of this cycle, there was no place in them for her to imagine herself not being the Solar Priestess.
Chikane sipped her tea.
"As I see it," Reverend Ohgami said, "we have multiple problems, all stemming from the absence of the Solar Priestess. You have awakened as Lunar Priestess, Miss Asamiya--"
"You'd better just call her Tsukuyo," his sister interjected, "or else things will get quite confusing."
"With your permission?" he asked the girl.
"Of course," Chikane replied, while Himeko nodded mutely.
"Very well. Tsukuyo, I'm certain that you realize that you are not fully awakened to the powers of the Lunar Priestess?"
"Quite; I am a Sword Priestess with no sword."
"Then you are aware that the rite to unseal your powers is a necessary precursor to summoning Ame no Murakumo. This cannot happen without both priestesses."
"Um..." Himeko interjected, "I don't mean to be rude, but I don't remember performing that rite last time."
"We didn't have to," Chikane explained. "I was the Eighth Neck as well, remember? That was more than enough power to forcibly break the seal on our powers as priestesses without performing the proper rite."
"Then that was why my sword appeared to me right before you had that awful fight with Souma and stole Take no Yamikazuchi from him?"
"That's right. That was the moment in which I truly embraced my nature as Orochi, which in turn shattered the restraints on us both as miko."
"If I may be so bold," Professor Ohgami interjected. "As I understand the legends, the Necks of Orochi are those whose anger and despair have driven them to wish the destruction of the world. Tsukuyo, at this point we're putting our hopes with you, and regardless of how things turned out, you felt that hatred and despair in your last life. What's changed?"
"Hey!" Himeko said. "Isn't that a little too much? Chikane is Chikane, regardless of what she's been through, and--"
Chikane's hand covered hers, stilling the flood of protests.
"It...is a fair question, Himeko." She met Professor Ohgami's gaze directly. "I can only say that I made a great many mistaken assumptions in the past, which caused needless suffering both for myself and those around me. I can assure you, however, that I have learned from those mistakes and that I have found...a reason not to despair." Though her expression did not change, she gave Himeko's hand a quick squeeze.
Himeko looked from her to the professor and back, wondering if the older woman would comment. She knew that Himeko and Chikane were lovers, after all, and though she hadn't believed then their explanation that it was a continuation of their past-life relationship she now knew that story was true, and therefore would have a good idea what Chikane was talking about.
"I see," was all she said, though not even with a glance at Himeko to indicate what she meant. That was good, because Himeko really, really didn't want Marika's father to know. She had a fairly strong impression that the priest would not be amused by their relationship the way the women in his family had been. "Thank you for the explanation."
"Next there is the ritual to summon Ame no Murakumo," Reverend Ohgami went on. "One priestess sheds the blood of the other, and the one whose blood was shed calls for the god. It may be that this can be done with only you, Tsukuyo, but I cannot be sure."
"Neither am I. We...performed that one together, the last time."
Himeko felt a sting at her heart. That particular memory was one of the worst ones, from the things Chikane had done to her but even more so because of the pain Chikane had been suffering that made her do them. She ached to pull her beloved into her arms, to hold her close and stroke her hair and tell her that everything was all right, just as she did every time she thought of that horrible night.
"This is quite the problem," Professor Ohgami said. "Without the Solar Priestess, you cannot effectively fight the Orochi. Moreover, neither can she, wherever she is."
"That's not all," Himeko said, mainly because she knew Chikane wouldn't. "The final ritual, the one that restores the world, absolutely demands there be both of us. Or...I guess, Chikane and...whomever is the Solar Priestess now?"
Tears stung at her eyes and there was a little catch in her voice at the end.
"Himeko..." Chikane turned worried eyes on her.
"I'm sorry," she sniffled. "It's only...I just realized that if there's another Solar Priestess, then it'll be you and she reborn again next time. I won't be with you."
Chikane sighed.
"And to think, last time I tried so hard to make that happen, even at the cost of my own soul."
"Perhaps you succeeded," Professor Ohgami said. "I'm of course not sure of how these things work, but if you put that much effort into changing fate, isn't it possible that you did so? Your primary goal was, if I recall correctly, to free Hikari from the painful destiny of being the Solar Priestess. All the rest was largely incidental. So maybe you accomplished that goal?"
Chikane shook her head forcefully.
"I can't--I won't believe that!" Himeko, though, could tell that she had doubts, and she also knew that the notion that Chikane was somehow responsible for this present situation would cut her like a lash. I have to watch for that, she resolved. I can't let her start blaming herself for things that aren't her fault.
She chose to speak up, then, to try to turn the conversation onto slightly safer ground.
"Reverend Ohgami, is there anything we can do to try and find the Solar Priestess?"
He rubbed his chin.
"I am not certain, but I believe that it may be possible. The tie between the two priestesses is very strong, as if they were two sides of the same coin."
"Two halves of the same shell," Chikane murmured.
"I believe it may be possible to use that relationship to draw you closer to the Solar Priestess, Tsukuyo. A mystical bond this profound ought to give a firm foothold for this kind of attempt. I will consult my library at once to see if there is anything that can be done."
"Thank you, Reverend," Chikane said, her mask of composure back in place.
"Think nothing of it. It is my duty as a priest and a member of the Ohgami family to aid the priestesses of the Godless Month in any way that I can. I confess that I have feared my role, if any, would be small and my dedication needless since I've come to know you both, so I readily embrace this task."
"Have to keep the family end up," the professor agreed. "I'll help you look. I may not be much in the way of mystical knowledge, but library use I know."
Her younger brother chuckled.
"You're too modest, Minako; as a teenager you knew more about our family heritage than I did."
"Until I decided there wasn't much point in studying gods that don't exist and destinies that wouldn't happen, you mean?" She smiled wryly. "That bit of arrogance certainly came back around to bite me, didn't it--which, I may add, is the only reason why I'm not smacking you upside the head for reminding me that it's been a quarter-century since I was a teenager."
Her comment made everyone laugh, which was quite a relief. And it was, of course, just then when Marika clomped up the veranda and into the room through the sliding door only to find them all smiles and levity.
"Well, I'm glad to see you're all having fun. Seriously, though, Hikari, you call me up all scared and talking like it's the end of the world, literally, and I find you in here laughing and having a grand old time! If you were going to have a party, you could have at least told me so I could pick up a cake."
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
NOTES: Apparently "Reverend" is actually the correct way to address a Shinto priest in English. Thanks to happychameleon for helping me look that up.
Some readers, particularly those who have only seen the anime, might have wondered what I was smoking when Chikane had the thought that "she'd been trained in how to fulfill her role." Unlike the anime Chikane, the manga Chikane had been taught by her family that she was not only going to be Lunar Priestess but the Eighth Neck besides, and had in fact been operating as Priestess of the Church of Orochi even before the Godless Month began (see vol. 2 for details). So even before she regained her past-life memories, this Chikane was already prepared for what happened next...except that the fact that she was in love with Himeko pretty well trashed her grandfather's Evil Scheme(tm). I kind of like the fact that Chikane gets to snicker in her granddad's face about that, right before she blows up the world.
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