A Warning from the Earth

‘Lady Uka, Inari Okami... I am a priest of the Hinanawi clan... Please, hear my prayer...’

The faint sound of prayer drifted into Miketsu’s mind, causing her, who had been lying atop a torii gate, to startle. She immediately sat upright on the crossbeam.

At the Inari shrine, she usually filtered out the prayers of ordinary mortals. Aside from a few targets she had specifically marked beforehand, she shouldn't have been able to hear any other prayers at all. So, what was the deal with that voice just now? Why was it able to bypass her filter? And what in the world was this 'Hinanawi' clan?

Filled with a trace of confusion, Miketsu began to locate the petitioner. She found that he was very close, right there among the crowd of people praying at the shrine. Turning her head, she spotted him immediately.

It was a young man dressed in simple clothes. Though his attire wasn't luxurious, it was very neat. His exposed skin wasn't rough, nor did it show signs of sun exposure; he clearly wasn't a laborer who worked outdoors. At that moment, the man stood before the offertory box, continuing his prayer with deep devotion.

‘Though I do not know if you have truly awakened, Lady Uka, I offer my prayer here nonetheless, hoping you might hear it...’ the young man continued. Hearing his words, Miketsu’s brow furrowed slightly. Judging by his tone, he seemed to know that Inari Okami had once been in a deep slumber. What was his connection to the previous Inari Okami?

Suppressing her questions, Miketsu continued to listen to the man’s prayer.

‘Our clan has always followed the mission Lady Uka entrusted to us. We have watched over and made offerings to the yokai of the earth, stabilizing its state so that calamity would not fall. However, the situation has changed. Since Lady Uka pacified the creature a hundred years ago, it has shown signs of resurgence in recent years, becoming increasingly restless. We can already foresee that if the yokai is not pacified again soon, it will eventually vent its fury. When that time comes, a great disaster will likely be unavoidable, and the shaking earth will destroy much...’

Hearing the young man’s prayer, Miketsu raised an eyebrow, her confusion deepening.

What was this? What mission did the previous Inari Okami entrust to their clan? What was this 'yokai of the earth' they were supposed to guard that could bring about calamity? And now that creature was becoming restless and needed Inari Okami to pacify it? Furthermore, he described the calamity as the 'shaking earth'... did he mean an earthquake?

Miketsu frowned as she thought rapidly. She suddenly realized the young man had mentioned that the last time Inari Okami pacified this so-called yokai was a hundred years ago—which seemed to coincide exactly with when the original Inari Okami had fallen into her slumber.

‘Recently, we have heard that your divine miracles have been appearing frequently in Heian-kyo, Lady Uka. Thus, I have come to try and pray to you here. If you can hear this prayer, please, you must pacify the yokai and prevent the calamity from descending.’

Having finished his prayer, the young man gave a deep, devout bow toward the shrine’s Haiden before turning to leave. Seeing this, Miketsu initially thought about sending a divine oracle to tell him to wait so she could ask exactly what was going on. However, after careful consideration, she decided that if the man truly knew the previous Inari Okami, it might be better not to speak with him directly. Thus, Miketsu simply placed a mark on the young man and allowed him to depart.

Afterward, Miketsu stood in place for a moment, lost in thought, before looking toward the back of the shrine. Regarding this matter, she intended to ask Tsuruha and the others to see if they knew anything about it.

...

In the Inari Secret Realm behind the shrine, inside an elegant and simple wooden house, Tsuruha—now in human form—was sitting before a low table. A bronze mirror sat in front of her, and she was currently looking at her reflection, carefully applying subtle makeup.

Originally, Tsuruha took great pride in her status as a divine fox and looked down on kitsune who enjoyed taking human form; consequently, she rarely appeared as a human herself. However, since her younger sister, Konkiku, had learned how to transform, the situation had changed somewhat.

Konkiku, who loved her human form, was obsessed with various styles of dress and ornamentation. She frequently appeared before Miketsu in a dazzling, fashionable state. Far from punishing such behavior—which should have been seen as a lapse in divine fox integrity—Miketsu seemed to appreciate it quite a bit. Not only did she take the dressed-up Konkiku with her to the demon realm, but her gaze was often drawn to her during their daily lives.

Faced with this situation, Tsuruha felt an inexplicable sense of crisis. After finally realizing that her Lord Deity seemed to prefer looking at beautiful women more than foxes, Tsuruha began to put effort into transformation and makeup—areas she wasn't particularly skilled in.

After applying a few more light touches of makeup to her face, Tsuruha stared at herself in the mirror, checking from every possible angle. In the end, she still didn't seem satisfied, and she lowered her head with a soft sigh. Just then, a familiar voice came from behind her.

"Oh my~ Are you dressing up? My lovely Divine Messenger is working so hard... I wonder who you're planning to show this to?"

Hearing that voice, the fur all over Tsuruha’s body—metaphorically speaking—stood on end. She turned her head blankly, only to see a familiar girl leaning her face close to hers, watching her from a hair's breadth away with a wicked smile.

"L-Lady Uka! Why, why are you here!"

In her panic, Tsuruha tried to stand up immediately. However, the girl behind her was one step faster. She threw her arms around Tsuruha’s neck from behind, her immense strength pinning Tsuruha so she couldn't move.

"Don't think about leaving, my cute Divine Messenger. You haven't answered my question yet. Tell me, who are you working so hard on your makeup for?" The girl whispered into Tsuruha’s ear from behind. The faint breath caused Tsuruha to tremble involuntarily, her face turning bright red.

"Please don't... Lady Uka, please don't be like this..."

"Heh... It seems you're still being a bit dishonest. In that case, I'll have to use some measures..." As she spoke, the girl exerted force with her hands, flipping Tsuruha’s entire body over so she was pinned to the floor. She grabbed Tsuruha’s arms, rendering her immobile, and pressed down slightly on top of her.

Tsuruha stammered, unable to form words. Deep within her panicked eyes, a trace of anticipation actually flickered. Seeing this, a smile played on the girl’s lips. Just as she was about to make her next move, the paper door of the room was suddenly slid open.

"Hey, Tsuruha, you're in here, right? I have something to ask you."

Sliding the door open, Miketsu spoke loudly into the room. Then, seeing the scene before her, she froze on the spot.

"L-Lady Uka! Why are you there? Then this one is..."

"Oops... This timing is really unfortunate."

Standing at the doorway, looking at the stunned Tsuruha and the troublesome Dakini-ten, as well as their compromising position, Miketsu’s mouth twitched. She spoke slowly.

"You two... what on earth are you doing..."