Peaches

By Lake Biwa, the earth began to tremble. A rumbling sound emanated from all directions, and ripples spread across the calm lake surface. Countless stones broke off from the steep cliffs due to the tremors, falling into the lake.

“Careful…” Standing on the edge of the cliff, two shinkan, one old and one young, supported each other, barely managing to keep their balance amidst the shaking earth.

Just like that, the earth’s tremors lasted for several seconds before finally ceasing. The two shinkan, still supporting each other, sighed in relief after confirming their surroundings were safe, then released each other.

“Hmph… This commotion was much greater than before… It seems that fellow’s temper is getting worse and worse…” The old shinkan gazed at the lake before him, his worry deepening. Beside him, the young shinkan suggested with a furrowed brow,

“How about… we try making another offering to the Earthquake Catfish now, to see if we can stabilize it?”

“It’s no use. Not to mention whether the Earthquake Catfish can accept our offerings now, even seeing it is extremely difficult for us. Inari’s sacred bells have gradually lost their power; we can’t even guarantee we can summon it again, let alone have it accept offerings…” The old shinkan shook his head, speaking slowly with a sigh. Just as the young shinkan was about to say something more, a small, clear sound came from afar.

“Father!”

“Dizi?” The young shinkan muttered with a frown, then turned his head to look in the direction of the sound. He saw a blue-haired young girl, about eight or nine years old, dressed in plain clothes, rapidly running towards them. Seeing this, the young shinkan couldn't help but scold,

“Why did you run out, Dizi… Didn’t I tell you to stay put in the shrine grounds?”

“Huff… huff… Father, and Grandfather… There’s a strange older sister at the shrine secretly eating the offerings for Inari Okami! She’s bigger than me, and I couldn’t beat her, so I couldn’t stop her. You two hurry and go see!” The young girl named Dizi pointed towards the shrine, saying anxiously in a small, muffled voice. Hearing her words, the two shinkan, old and young, exchanged glances. Then, the young shinkan spoke,

“Come. Lead us there.”

Dizi nodded, then led the two shinkan into the shrine and to a somewhat secluded Haiden. Here, plate after plate of offerings had indeed been arranged, mostly pastries and fruits.

The Hinanawi clan’s shrine was primarily for worshipping the Earthquake Catfish, but because this duty was entrusted to them by Inari Okami, their shrine naturally also had a place specifically for worshipping Inari Okami. After hearing rumors of Inari Okami’s revival, the Hinanawi shinkan, hoping Inari Okami would manifest again, offered fresh offerings here every day.

Upon arriving at Inari’s Haiden, the young shinkan glanced at the prepared offerings. He noticed that a plate piled high with peaches now had several missing. He scanned the surroundings with a slight frown but found no unfamiliar figure.

“Has anyone else suspicious been here before?” Turning his head, the young shinkan asked several Miko who were sweeping nearby. However, the Miko all shook their heads.

“No… We’ve been sweeping around the Inari Hall and haven’t seen anyone suspicious come by,” the Miko said directly. Hearing their words, the young shinkan’s expression hardened. He looked at Dizi, who was anxiously looking around.

“Ah… strange… Where did that strange older sister go? I just saw her secretly eating peaches here… How did she disappear?”

Seeing his daughter like this, the young shinkan sighed helplessly and then said,

“Tell me, Dizi, did you secretly eat the offerings again? Are you inventing a non-existent person to cry thief while being the thief, just to avoid getting scolded again?”

“Ah! No, it’s not! It’s absolutely not like that! I truly didn’t eat the offerings this time. There really was a strange white-haired older sister here just now, and she was the one who secretly ate the peaches! You have to believe me, Father!” Hearing the young shinkan’s words, Dizi quickly tried to explain. However, perhaps because of her past record, the young shinkan didn’t want to hear her explanations. He continued to speak sternly to Dizi,

“Stop making excuses. If there really was a suspicious person who entered the shrine, why were you the only one who saw her? Are the others blind?”

The young shinkan questioned Dizi. Hearing the shinkan’s words, Dizi froze, her mouth drooped, and her eyes began to well up.

“I… I…”

“It seems I was too lenient with you before. Not only did you secretly eat the offerings, but you’ve also learned to lie. This time, I must punish you properly. Now, kneel before Inari Okami’s Haiden and apologize to her directly. Do not get up until I return!” The young shinkan continued sternly, and Dizi finally couldn’t bear it any longer and burst into loud sobs.

“Waaah!!”

…

By Lake Biwa, on a cloudy afternoon, before the Hinanawi Shrine’s Inari Hall.

Before the empty Haiden, only Dizi knelt on the ground, whimpering and sobbing continuously. Large tears continuously streamed down from her eyes, and her round face was full of grievance.

“Waaah… waaah… It wasn’t me… It clearly wasn’t me, how could this happen… I didn’t eat them this time…”

“If you didn’t eat them this time, that means you’ve eaten them before. Secretly eating offerings is disrespectful to the deities, you know. Being slightly provoked shouldn’t make you so aggrieved.”

At this moment, a playful, gentle voice came from behind Dizi. Dizi froze, then turned to look. She saw a white-haired girl in white robes and scarlet hakama lying on her side atop a torii gate behind her, eating a peach and looking at her with a smile.

“Ah! It’s you!” Seeing this figure, Dizi immediately stood up from the ground, turned around, and pointed at the torii gate, continuing,

“You’re the thief who stole Inari Okami’s offerings! Father, come quickly! I found the real thief!”

Watching the girl begin to call out, Miketsu took a bite of her peach and exhaled softly. Then, she took another peach from her sleeve and threw it down to Dizi.

“Here, this is for you.”

Seeing the peach flying down from above, Dizi’s expression froze. She stopped calling out, stretched out her hand, and accurately caught the peach.

Looking at the peach in her hand, Dizi’s expression solidified. Saliva seeped from her mouth. After a moment of hesitation, she brought it to her lips and took a direct bite, seemingly having completely forgotten about calling for help.

Lying on the torii gate, Miketsu couldn’t help but smile faintly at the scene. She thought to herself, “As expected of a child, so easily bought and fooled.” Miketsu had specifically picked that plate because she had seen Dizi looking at the peaches with such a greedy expression.