An Opportunity

The day after the Inari Festival, the daylight hours of Heian-kyo saw the clamor of the previous day dissipate, replaced by the return of its usual tranquility.

Deep within the Secret Realm behind the Inari Shrine on Inari Mountain, Miketsu and Kanako sat facing each other inside a small pavilion. Now that a night had passed, it was time for them to discuss "official business."

"Ha! Thanks for the hospitality last night. While the scenery here in Heian-kyo isn't as grand as back home, it's quite comfortable. Your Divine Messengers provided excellent service," Kanako said, sitting cross-legged before Miketsu while sipping a cup of clear tea. Miketsu’s lips twitched slightly in response.

So these two really did come to Heian-kyo for a vacation under the guise of a mission from Takamagahara... No wonder they didn't come to find me immediately but instead disguised themselves as humans to attend the festival. However, from another perspective, Kanako doesn't seem to take the orders from Takamagahara very seriously. This might be an opportunity...

Keenly perceiving Kanako's attitude, Miketsu spoke slowly as she looked at the Goddess of Wind and War.

"Very well. Since you've rested enough, let us get to the point. You said you came to Heian-kyo to deliver a directive from Takamagahara, correct?"

"Indeed. Takamagahara gave me orders to investigate the truth behind the rapid expansion of the Inari faith across the Kinki region. I am to confirm your current status as Uka-no-Mitama-no-Mikoto—to see if the true Uka-no-Mitama-no-Mikoto has truly awakened, or if there is a false god impersonating her," Kanako said unhurriedly between sips of tea. Hearing this, Miketsu felt a sense of calm. She had known for a long time that the expansion of her faith would eventually draw the gaze of Takamagahara.

"And once you have confirmed it, what will you do?"

"If the Inari Okami expanding her faith in Heian-kyo is a fake, I am to immediately bring down divine punishment and annihilate her. If it is truly Uka-no-Mitama-no-Mikoto, then they demand that you go to the Celestial Realm and return to Takamagahara..."

As Kanako finished speaking, a brief silence fell over the room. After a moment of focus, she continued.

"And if I refuse to go?"

"Then Takamagahara has ordered me to take you back by force..." Kanako said without a change in expression. As she spoke, the atmosphere in the room grew several degrees more somber.

"Tell me, Kanako, are you truly so willing to obey the commands of Takamagahara?" Miketsu asked, her voice carrying a subtle tone.

"Heh, 'willing' is hardly the word for it. I have no love for those high-and-mighty, arrogant fools. But it can't be helped; as an orthodox god, one must be loyal to Takamagahara." Kanako spread her hands as she spoke. She seemed to catch a hint of Miketsu's intent and looked at her. "What... do you really not want to go?"

"Yes. For certain unavoidable reasons, I absolutely cannot go to Takamagahara right now. So... can we negotiate?" Miketsu finally expressed her stance, meeting Kanako's gaze directly.

"Sigh... You actually don't want to go? This is troublesome..." Kanako rubbed her forehead, looking somewhat distressed.

"To be honest... we are both deities of the same lineage, and our kinship isn't that distant. You even helped us see through the schemes of those petty miscreants yesterday. I truly don't want to be your enemy or force you into anything. Are you sure you won't go? If you are the true Uka-no-Mitama-no-Mikoto, those guys probably won't do anything to you. At most, they'll just want to ask some questions," Kanako said, scratching her head in a bind.

"I apologize, but I have my own specific reasons. In short, I will go to Takamagahara eventually, but absolutely not now. If you wish to duel, I am ready to accompany you," Miketsu stated firmly. Kanako fell into deep thought before finally speaking.

"Heh... It seems a clash between us is unavoidable. How about this? In consideration of the help you gave us, I'll be a bit lenient. I won't go all out. You only need to hold out against my offensive for half a quarter-hour. If you do, I'll count it as my loss and give up on bringing you back to Takamagahara. How does that sound?" Kanako looked at Miketsu with a faint smile.

"I only need to hold out for half a quarter-hour for it to be your loss? You seem quite confident in your strength," Miketsu replied, her own aura not backing down as she saw the battle intent in Kanako's eyes.

"Naturally. After all, my divine office is far better suited for combat than yours. If I went all out, you wouldn't have a chance of winning. This... is the opportunity I'm giving you. Make the most of it..."

As she spoke, a light breeze began to swirl around Kanako. Simultaneously, a faint shimmer of light began to radiate from Miketsu. The spiritual power of both goddesses expanded outward, eroding the space in an instant.

Suddenly, the quiet, elegant room in the pavilion vanished. In its place was an exceptionally vast and bizarre world.

The entire world seemed to be sliced cleanly in two. On one side was parched, cracked earth piled high with endless remains of the dead and broken swords. On the other side were golden rice fields swaying like waves, stretching boundlessly. One side was a dim, dark twilight; the other was a high, cloudless blue sky. On one side, massive onbashira were scattered haphazardly into the ground; on the other, torii gates stood in neat, orderly rows...

Kanako and Miketsu—Takeminakata-no-Kami and Uka-no-Mitama-no-Kami—had both deployed their divine realms. Their domains, representing their respective authorities, intertwined and fused to construct this entirely new world.

The two flew into the sky, hovering above their respective domains. Behind Kanako, a thick shimenawa was coiled in a circle, and she bore four miniature onbashira on her back. Miketsu summoned Tsuruha and mounted her, the Divine Qian Heavenly Bow held firmly in her hand.

"Then, here I come! Brace yourself, Uka-no-Mitama-no-Mikoto... Yasaka Kamikaze!"

The once clearly divided sky suddenly turned chaotic. Surging clouds rolled into spiral after spiral. From within these vortices, one violent tornado after another connected heaven to earth. They tore through the surroundings as they converged on Miketsu from all directions. Each of these tornadoes was far larger than an Explosive Current Wave and rivaled the Feather Blade Storm. And Kanako had summoned eight of them at once! Such was the divine might of the God of Wind.

Miketsu watched as the storms ravaged the golden rice fields and quickly closed in on her. She spread her hands, her expression one of divine compassion, and murmured softly.

"Eradicate calamity, dispel evil... protect the myriad nations... Be stilled..."

From the heavens, beams of golden light pierced through the thick, heavy clouds. All the dark clouds were dispelled in an instant. The storms ravaging the earth vanished into nothingness, and a sudden silence returned to the world.

As an agricultural deity, Miketsu could not create cataclysmic storms like Kanako, but she could eliminate them. As the Inari Okami who brought prosperity, Miketsu possessed the power to dispel natural disasters to protect the harvest. The storm Kanako had just unleashed had been judged as a natural disaster by Miketsu and directly pacified.

"Heh, interesting..." Seeing this, the battle intent in Kanako's eyes grew even stronger.