Heian-kyo, designed after Chang'an of the Tang Dynasty, was a typical grid-plan city. A dozen or so major avenues, running horizontally and vertically, divided the entire city like a Go board. The city blocks were neatly constructed within the grid created by the roads, resulting in an extremely orderly layout.
It was said that beneath this rigorous design lay the profound principles of Yin and Yang, the mysteries of which were only truly understood by the Onmyoji of the Onmyoryo.
On Suzaku Avenue, Miketsu lowered the veiled ichimegasa on her head, quietly observing her surroundings as she walked through the crowd.
Despite having a rare chance to visit the big city, Miketsu was in no mood to look around.
Something was wrong. She felt that something was not quite right, but she couldn't put her finger on what it was. Although the street before her seemed perfectly ordinary with nothing amiss, Miketsu couldn't shake the feeling that there was a problem.
She felt as if she was being watched by some gaze from time to time, but it would vanish in an instant, only to return a short while later. It was a repetitive and unsettling experience.
"Tsuruha... do you feel it?" Miketsu murmured, moving to a quiet corner to consult her divine messenger.
"Yes... Tsuruha also senses a slight strangeness. This is different from the Heian-kyo of the past," the divine fox in her sleeve quickly replied in a low voice, also sensing that something was unusual.
Different from the Heian-kyo of the past? Does that mean this situation only started today? Miketsu gleaned this information from Tsuruha's words.
"I keep feeling like I'm being watched, but the feeling disappears quickly, only to return again after a short while. It's endless," Miketsu further described her sensation, wanting to confirm if Tsuruha was experiencing the same thing.
"The feeling of being watched?" Hearing Miketsu's words, Tsuruha paused for a moment, and then, in a flash, she seemed to have figured something out.
"I understand, Lady Uka. It's spiritual vision. That is the sensation of your spiritual body being scanned by spiritual vision."
"spiritual vision?!" Upon hearing this, Miketsu couldn't help but flinch. She glanced around before asking Tsuruha.
"I haven't been exposed, have I?"
"It's unlikely... If someone had truly discovered that you are a deity with spiritual vision, they would have continued to observe you instead of suddenly disappearing. This should just be a case of you being caught in a scan as they surveyed the area." Drawing on her centuries of knowledge, Tsuruha in the sleeve provided a detailed analysis.
"Because you, Lady Uka, are a noble deity, the purity of your spiritual body is very high, making you extremely sensitive to observation by spiritual vision. That is why you had the feeling you just described."
"I see..."
Hearing Tsuruha's words, Miketsu breathed a sigh of relief. Then, she sensed something else was amiss. If that feeling was indeed caused by someone using spiritual vision to scan the surroundings, as Tsuruha had said, then it was happening far too frequently. Scanning the same place over and over again? Were they insane? Wouldn't they get tired of constantly shaking their heads?
Based on this phenomenon, Miketsu quickly formed another guess: there was likely more than one person using spiritual vision, and judging by the frequency, there might be many.
At the thought of this possibility, Miketsu observed the people on the street more carefully. Sure enough, she spotted many strange individuals.
A hunched-over old man with an odd smile, a short, mysterious person with a covered face looking all around, a middle-aged man in flashy clothes... There were many such people on the street. Miketsu could feel an unusual fluctuation from them. Whenever one of their gazes swept past her, the feeling of being watched would arise, only to disappear when their gaze moved elsewhere.
It was indeed the effect of spiritual vision. Miketsu confirmed the cause of the strange feeling, but another question arose in her mind.
"Are there usually this many people in Heian-kyo who can use spiritual vision?"
"No... there aren't usually this many. I don't know what's happened today for so many unusual practitioners to suddenly gather in Heian-kyo. It's fortunate that you did not come from the divine realm today, Lady Uka." Understanding the situation, Tsuruha was also somewhat bewildered. She had never seen so many people capable of using spiritual vision gathered together before.
"In any case, Lady Uka, you should find a shrine as soon as possible. Tsuruha believes that today's Heian-kyo is very strange."
"Mm..."
After a silent nod, Miketsu adjusted the ichimegasa on her head, hiding her unusual white hair. She then continued walking and asking for directions, receiving many possible answers from passersby.
After careful consideration, Miketsu decided to go to a shrine called Gion Shrine, simply because the word "Gion" seemed pleasant to her.
Along the way, Miketsu felt the intermittent scans of spiritual vision upon her. It made her want to activate her own spiritual vision to take a look, but for the sake of caution, she decided to focus on concealing herself.
Her intuition told her that the demon realm in Heian-kyo must be very lively right now.
Miketsu weaved her way through the grid-like streets, finally arriving at the eastern part of Heian-kyo, an area known as Sakyo-ku. After crossing the Kamo River via a large bridge, Miketsu stood before the Gion Shrine.
In front of the shrine's gate, Miketsu looked at the shrine before her, then at the street behind her, and a strange feeling welled up from within her heart.
The street before the shrine was lined with a row of beautiful shops. Countless red lanterns hung between them, and colorful paper umbrellas decorated the streetscape. Women in heavy makeup and splendid attire walked gracefully, accompanied by their maids, attracting the gazes of countless passersby. There were also many young maids in front of each shop, calling out to customers.
"This, this is..."
"This is a Hanamachi, a pleasure district. Lady Uka, please do not go over there."
A Hanamachi? A pleasure district? Is this shrine's entrance right next to a red-light district?
Seeing this scene, Miketsu was utterly shocked. In her mind, religious places were supposed to be as far away from such districts as possible. What was the meaning of this one being built right next to it?
At this sight, a deep-seated suspicion about the god enshrined in this so-called Gion Shrine arose in Miketsu. She doubted whether it was a proper deity at all.
With this in mind, Miketsu decided to first find out who was enshrined here.
"Excuse me, do you know which is the main deity of this shrine?"
Without a second thought, Miketsu approached a woman who seemed to have just come out from praying at the shrine and began her inquiry.
In this era of elaborate etiquette, it was actually quite rude for a stranger to address a woman so directly. However, this woman did not seem to be a respectable lady. She paid no mind to Miketsu's behavior and, with a chuckle, spoke to her in a rather charming manner.
"Hehe... this is the shrine of Susanoo-no-Mikoto. Didn't you know, little sister?"
Susanoo-no-Mikoto? Who is that god? The name sounds quite powerful. I thought it would be some god of lust or something.
Miketsu thanked the woman, who appeared to be a worker from the Hanamachi, while muttering to herself. She then found an empty spot and asked Tsuruha in a low voice.
"Tsuruha, have you heard of this Susanoo-no-Mikoto? Which god is he?"
From within Miketsu's sleeve, Tsuruha paused for a moment, then responded in a strange tone.
"Th-that... Lady Uka, Susanoo-no-Mikoto is also Takehaya Susanoo-no-Mikoto. He is the younger brother of Amaterasu Omikami, one of the Mihashira-no-uzunomiko..."
"The Mihashira-no-uzunomiko!? The god of this shrine next to a pleasure district is that powerful!?"
Hearing Tsuruha's words, Miketsu was instantly flustered. She had heard of the Mihashira-no-uzunomiko because she had watched Naruto a long time ago, due to the naming convention of the Mangekyo Sharingan. They were the three most noble gods in Shinto.
Miketsu was still marveling at this, but Tsuruha hadn't finished speaking.
"Lady Uka... there is one more thing. Susanoo-no-Mikoto is not only one of the Mihashira-no-uzunomiko, he... he is also your father..."
"..."
"What? My dad!?"
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