After formally bidding farewell to Toga, Miketsu returned to Inari Mountain. Upon reaching the shrine's Secret Realm, Miketsu changed into her miko attire and climbed directly to her exclusive seat atop the torii.
After the recent series of events, Miketsu had gained a deeper understanding of this dangerous world. It was more perilous than she had imagined. Yokai and Onmyoji, the demon realm and the human realm – hidden currents surged in every direction, and a moment of carelessness could lead to being swallowed whole.
Therefore, to better prepare for future situations, she decided to review the past events and make plans accordingly.
Regarding the demon realm, Toga and the leopard cat yokai simultaneously showed Miketsu the extreme duality of yokai: bloody cruelty and benevolent chivalry coexisted within this group. Different yokai could not be generalized; there were both dangers and opportunities. Her inadvertently created identity as Owl could serve as a bridge to communicate with the demon realm, seeking more assistance and befriending more yokai like Toga. After all, the more friends one has, the less one worries.
Regarding the human realm, she could continue to use the identity of Asakura Hao to study Onmyojutsu in the Onmyoryo. At the same time, she could conduct some preliminary understanding and investigation of the Onmyoji families. In this incident, she clearly discovered that there was a mastermind behind the scenes manipulating the entire situation. Controlling the Seimogura to gather information and deliver it to the leopard cat yokai, and finally controlling the fallen fox yokai to salvage the situation – all this covert activity was likely carried out by a force within the human realm, possibly one of the three major families!
Miketsu did not arrive at this speculation out of nowhere; she had her own reasoning. Firstly, the Seimogura infiltrating Fujiwara no Kanehira's hiding spot must have been specifically targeting a certain group of people there. It was either aimed at the Harima resistance forces represented by Toga or at the Fujiwara clan represented by Fujiwara no Kanehira. It couldn't have been targeting Miketsu herself; if it were targeting her as a deity, it wouldn't have dispatched a Seimogura, which serves as a "divine ear and eye." The possibility of it targeting Toga was also very small; he himself said that the leopard cat yokai did not possess the Seimogura technology.
Considering this, the highest probability was that the Seimogura was targeting Fujiwara no Kanehira. As a high-ranking member of the Fujiwara clan, targeting him would very likely involve power struggles among the noble families in Heian-kyo. After all, Fujiwara no Kanehira was in charge of the Spirit Tool Bureau within the Onmyoryo, dealing daily with the forging and maintenance of spiritual tools, and would not actively engage in exorcism, making it unlikely for him to provoke beings from the demon realm.
If it was confirmed that the mastermind was targeting the Fujiwara, then the other two Onmyoji families would be the most suspicious. However, due to Seimei, Kamo no Tadayuki's disciple, suddenly entering the fray to resist the fallen fox yokai, the Kamo clan's possibility became very low. Therefore, after all deductions, the most suspicious mastermind appeared before Miketsu.
"The Minamoto clan... is it?"
After identifying the suspect, Miketsu let out a slight breath, then shook her head, not wanting to think too much. Although she had found the most suspicious mastermind, it currently held little significance. It was best for her not to actively participate in the disputes between Onmyoji families. For now, she could only keep this matter in mind and act cautiously if she ever had to deal with the Fujiwara in the future. As for the other Onmyoji family, the Fujiwara clan, they had provided her with sufficient help so far. In the future, although she would not align with them, she could still offer them appropriate assistance.
Finally, the divine realm. To be honest, Miketsu found things to do in the other two realms, but she was completely at a loss in her own divine realm. She still had no clue about how to use divine power. Besides Matara Okina, she hadn't met any other deities, and Okina was very mysterious; she seemed to know something about Miketsu's situation but said nothing.
Shaking her head, Miketsu stopped thinking about the perplexing matters of the divine realm and turned to another important question: what should her sword be named?
Toga had named his demonic sword Tessaiga, and hers should also have a good name.
So, Miketsu took out the katana she carried with her and placed it in front of her, carefully beginning to think of a name for it.
She sat on the torii for almost half an hour, then finally couldn't help but pat her almost smoking head.
Forget it! I won't think about it for now! I've been so busy these past few days that I haven't eaten meat in a long time. Tonight, I'll go to Choyo-machi, eat some meat, and look for inspiration!
...
Since she had already explained the matter of Owl to Tsuruha, Miketsu didn't have to wait until night to sneak off to Choyo-machi this time. Instead, Miketsu set off at dusk. Since Tsuruha was still reluctant to stay among yokai, Miketsu brought Konkiku again this time.
Dressed in her attire, riding Konkiku, Miketsu arrived at Choyo-machi before dark and witnessed the scenery of Choyo-machi at dusk. Although not as grand as the night view, it had its own unique charm.
Walking down the street, Miketsu noticed that the atmosphere around her felt somewhat off; there were many inexplicable gazes. Observing carefully, Miketsu found that the yokai on the street seemed to inadvertently cast their eyes her way. When her gaze turned towards them, they immediately turned their heads away, avoiding eye contact. Some even did a 180-degree quick turn, and some whose eyes were on the back of their heads simply closed them when she looked.
It wasn't just gazes; in various distant corners, groups of three to five yokai gathered, gesticulating and talking about who knows what. When they saw her, they immediately scattered like birds.
What's going on? How strange!
Watching the behavior of the yokai on the street, Miketsu shrugged and then ignored them, continuing towards the Cat Izakaya.
...
Choyo-machi, on a grassy bank by a river, the yokai youth with anti-Newtonian pale golden long hair was sitting by the river, meditating with his eyes closed.
At this moment, around the yokai youth, a pile of various yokai had gathered. They were discussing something intensely, and the yokai youth sat right in their midst, taking in every word. Yet, all the yokai present seemed not to see him, completely ignoring his presence, each speaking their own thoughts.
...
"Hey! Have you heard? The yokai general that Oyakata-sama of Harima sent to Heian-kyo... is dead..."
"yokai general? Are you talking about Lord Torin? He's dead?"
"Not just him, there was another one, a female named Kaen, and she brought a large group of subordinates! Both of them, and all their numerous subordinates, are dead! And they were killed!"
"Killed? Who has such power? Did those Onmyoji in the city make a move?"
"No, it's said not to be Onmyoji! It's that dog yokai they've been chasing! They were taken down by their own prey!"
"This... how is this possible? That dog yokai was being chased before, wasn't he? It's said he was even surrounded by the Gakusatsu Group and didn't dare to fight back. How could he suddenly..."
"I don't know about that, but it's said he found a helper, a very powerful helper..."
"A helper, who is it?"
"Last time that dog yokai was surrounded in this town, do you remember who helped him?"
"This... could it be..."
"Hehe... Although it's not confirmed yet, it's pretty much like that. The one who helped that dog yokai nearly wipe out the leopard cat yokai from Harima is most likely... Owl."
...
The yokai youth listened intently to their conversation within the crowd of yokai. Among the repeatedly mentioned names, one greatly piqued his interest.
Just as he was about to continue eavesdropping, a voice shouted loudly from the riverbank.
"Rihyon!"
The voice was extremely loud, directly interrupting the yokai's conversation. All the yokai turned their gazes towards the direction of the voice. A tanuki yokai stood there, looking left and right, as if searching for someone.
Shouting so loudly just to find someone? Yokai should have some manners too!
As the yokai looked at the tanuki yokai, each lost in their own thoughts, a voice suddenly spoke from among them.
"I'm here, Tamamura..."
Seeing the suddenly appearing yokai youth, this large group of yokai was startled, instinctively putting distance between themselves and the yokai youth, Rihyon, who was originally in the center. Some even stumbled and fell.
When did this guy appear?
Watching the reactions of the surrounding yokai, Rihyon smiled faintly and walked towards Tamamura. Along the way, he turned back to look at the still astonished yokai.
"Thank you all for the information. I am Rihyon. Please remember this name; in the future, it might be me you are discussing."
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