The Engagement

Above the wild forests far from Heian-kyo, brilliant golden light shone down from between the night clouds. The dark, dense woods were suddenly bathed in a gentle radiance akin to the morning sun, as a surging vitality dispersed the solemn, black silence of death. Suspended in mid-air, Yorihime looked up in astonishment at the source of the brilliance within the clouds.

“Such a gentle light of divinity... is the newcomer... a god?”

Under Yorihime's stunned gaze, a young girl dressed in white robes and a vermilion hakama, wearing the Heavenly Mirror Crown, descended slowly from the clouds. With white hair and crimson eyes, she held an intricately decorated bow and arrows. Miketsu looked down at the earth with a calm expression. Seeing the wary Yorihime and Eirin, who was pinned to the ground by countless blades, a hint of surprise followed by realization flickered in her eyes.

“I see. I was wondering why you, who had already escaped, would suddenly set off a firework for me. It seems you've run into even greater trouble...” Miketsu said with a smile, looking at Eirin imprisoned by the blades. Eirin responded with a bitter smile of her own.

“Ah, it couldn't be helped. Our luck today seems exceptionally poor. Calling you here was a desperate measure...” First, they had encountered an orthodox god lying in wait while trying to seize Princess Kaguya. After exhausting all their options to escape, they had run straight into the pursuers from the Lunar Capital... After grumbling about their luck, Eirin looked up at Yorihime in the sky and continued to warn Miketsu.

“Uka-no-Mitama-no-Mikoto! That person before you is a pursuer from the Lunar Capital. She is here to take away two runaway Lunar Princesses, including your Kaguya!” Eirin shouted. She had to make Miketsu understand the stakes to ensure she stayed on their side.

“Uka-no-Mitama-no-Mikoto? I see... So you are the daughter of Susanoo-no-Mikoto, the Goddess Uka who presides over prosperity?” Hearing Eirin’s words, Yorihime finally understood the identity of the newcomer. Meanwhile, Miketsu was processing the information Eirin had just shared.

The Lunar Capital? So there really is a city on the moon? Kaguya really did come from the moon, and this person wants to take her back?

“Are you truly from the moon, and have you come to take Kaguya back?” Miketsu asked slowly, looking at Yorihime. Yorihime met her gaze and answered.

“If the Kaguya you speak of is one of the two Lunar Princesses stranded on the surface, then my answer is yes. My mission is indeed to recover the two of them, arrest the sinners who fled the Lunar Capital, and sweep away any force that dares to stand in my way.” At this, Yorihime’s eyes narrowed slightly, her tone becoming dangerous and stern.

“That includes you, even if you are an obstructer. If you truly are raising the other princess as my Master said, please hand her over. I can promise you a lavish gift on behalf of the Lunar Capital in return.” Facing Miketsu, Yorihime acted much as she had with Eirin; though her words were respectful, her attitude was profoundly arrogant.

“I have no wish to make an enemy of the heavenly gods of the surface, but if you do not step aside, I will have no choice...”

“I’m sorry, but my little Kaguya won't be taken away by some mysterious stranger...” Miketsu responded flatly. Upon hearing this, Yorihime tightened her grip on her long blade.

“In that case, I must apologize for the offense...”

Seeing that a fight was inevitable, Miketsu condensed an arrow of light in her hand. At that moment, Eirin shouted from the ground.

“Uka-no-Mitama-no-Mikoto! She is very powerful and can borrow the strength of any orthodox god from the Yamato Pantheon. Even you will find her difficult to deal with! Find an opening to take us away, and I will explain everything to you later!”

“Borrowing divine power...”

“That’s right, just like this! Watch closely, Lady Uka!” As Miketsu murmured to herself, Yorihime made her move. The long blade in her hand suddenly emitted a dazzling golden light—a light that was intimately familiar to Miketsu.

“Uka-no-Mitama... Demon-Slaying Cleave!”

Yorihime swung her blade, unleashing a golden wave of energy. In mid-air, the energy rapidly split and expanded, instantly forming a dense tide of blades that surged toward Miketsu.

Facing the familiar fluctuations of divine power, Miketsu did not panic. She immediately notched an arrow of light on her bow and fired straight at the incoming tide of energy. The arrow of light also split rapidly in the sky, much like the golden blade energy, transforming into a torrential Sacred Arrow Rain in an instant.

“Sacred Arrow Rain...”

The rain of light met the tide of blade energy. Each of Miketsu's arrows accurately struck an incoming blade wave, neutralizing them. For a moment, the entire sky flashed with continuous, blinding radiance, visible even from the distant Heian-kyo.

After canceling out the incoming attack, Miketsu’s arrow rain was not yet exhausted. A massive, dense volley of light continued to pour down, aimed directly at Yorihime below.

“Did she pour a massive amount of divine power into it all at once?” Yorihime murmured, watching the sky full of arrows descending upon her. Then, a different divine power manifested around her.

“Dance of Ame-no-Uzume...”

In mid-air, Yorihime began to dance. With graceful and agile movements, she dodged every single arrow of light falling from the sky. Not a single arrow so much as grazed the hem of her clothes.

“It is useless, Lady Uka. As a mere agricultural god, you cannot defeat these various divine miracles. You are simply wasting your divine power... Hm?”

After a turn in her dance, Yorihime found Miketsu staring at her silently from a close distance. A pair of calm, crimson eyes looked at her, devoid of any emotion.

When did she get here!

Yorihime’s eyes widened. In her shock, Miketsu had already clenched her fist and swung it toward her head. Yorihime immediately relied on the agility granted by the Dance of Ame-no-Uzume to dodge. However, Miketsu, who had already seen through Yorihime's movements using causality vision, changed her move mid-way. She stopped her fist and kicked toward the direction Yorihime was dodging. Yorihime took a heavy blow to the abdomen. Her face turned pale as she doubled over and was sent flying, crashing violently into the earth below, kicking up a cloud of dust amidst a thunderous roar.

After kicking Yorihime into the ground, Miketsu immediately fired several more arrows into the thick dust. The arrows of golden divine power pierced the cloud. When the dust finally settled, Yorihime was revealed at the center of a massive crater.

Yorihime was covered in a thick layer of rock. She stood hunched over, one hand leaning on her blade which was thrust into the ground, the other hand clutching two arrows of light as she gasped for breath.

“Huff... huff... Aren't you... aren't you supposed to be an archer?” Yorihime panted, looking up at Miketsu in the sky.

“I am, but that doesn't mean an agricultural god like me can't know a few peasant moves for self-defense,” Miketsu said, shrugging her shoulders.

“But that strength is far too great. Does an agricultural god really possess such power?”

Hearing Yorihime's question, Miketsu thought for a moment before answering.

“Well... planting is exhausting work. Tilling the fields and hoeing the soil is all manual labor. What's so strange about having a bit of strength?” Miketsu said, spreading her hands with a relaxed expression.