A Misunderstanding

In the afternoon, in the small grove behind the high school campus, the Onmyoji girl Keikain Yura was kneeling on the ground with both hands supporting her. After being hit by a series of verbal blows from Miketsu in her heart, she had turned entirely into gray stone. A gloomy aura radiated from her, making the surrounding air seem to darken in response.

"I've been rejected... rejected... rejected... To actually be rejected by my own shikigami... What a failure..." Yura, her self-confidence shattered, lowered her head and muttered incessantly. Her spirits were so low that she had lost all will to fight; if she sank any further, she might have cried out, 'I'm sorry for being born an Onmyoji.'

Her dismal mood even attracted several passing wandering spirits, who circled around her, adding ghost fire special effects to the gloomy environment.

Of course, the blow to her self-confidence was only one aspect. For Yura, this defeat against Miketsu carried an even more fatal loss.

"It's over... all over... Not only did I fail to defeat the enemy, but even my living expenses are gone... My living expenses... my living expenses... my living... huh?"

Just as Yura's heart hit rock bottom over the loss of her money, a familiar stack of bills suddenly appeared before her lowered eyes. Looking at the paper currency, Yura's heart skipped a beat. After her thoughts stalled for a second, she suddenly reached out and grabbed the stack of bills in her hands, the gloomy aura around her vanishing instantly.

"My living expenses!!"

Having reclaimed her money, Yura couldn't help but feel a surge of joy, her mood skyrocketing from the abyss. Her sudden reaction startled the wandering spirits that had been drawn to her depression, causing them to scatter and flee, and the ghost fire effects vanished at once.

After a brief moment of joy, Yura suddenly felt something was off. She looked forward and saw a black-haired girl standing before her with a smile. It was she who had just handed over the stack of bills.

Seeing the girl who had somehow gotten so close, Yura was startled and quickly took a backstep to put distance between them, speaking in a tone of extreme vigilance.

"You... actually... gave the living expenses back to me?" Yura asked, find it somewhat unbelievable. Miketsu shrugged and spoke casually.

"Of course. As a high school student, I can't exactly rob a middle schooler of her money."

'You don't really look like a high school student either...' Yura thought, though she maintained her wary expression.

"But, but aren't we enemies?" Yura couldn't understand why a girl on the opposing side would suddenly do such a thing. She was currently trying to guess the other's intentions.

Seeing that Yura's vigilance hadn't decreased in the slightest, Miketsu chuckled. She spread her hands and continued in a relaxed tone.

"It's only you who considers me an enemy. I've never looked at you that way."

"You don't see me as an enemy... Ugh... are you trying to win me over? But, but I won't yield so easily to an evil practitioner who raises malevolent spirits! Don't look down on me!" As she spoke, a look of resolve appeared on Yura's face. Although she currently had no means of attack left, she still refused to bow her head.

Hearing her current master's words, the white dog shikigami, Tanrou, who was sitting nearby, couldn't help but palm his forehead with a front paw and shake his head slightly.

"A practitioner who raises malevolent spirits? Heh, I think you've misunderstood something. While I did indeed summon those malevolent spirits, it wasn't to enslave them..." Miketsu continued with a smile. Hearing Miketsu's words, Yura blinked, a trace of confusion appearing on her face.

"Eh... you weren't enslaving them..."

Yura spoke in a daze, and Miketsu maintained her smile as she replied.

"Yes. Now, let me reintroduce myself. My name is Fushimi Inaba, and I am a Miko of Inari."

"An Inari Miko!?"

...

The sun in the sky had gradually sunk toward the western horizon, casting the light of dusk across the vast land.

On a quiet little street not far from the high school campus, Miketsu was walking slowly. Beside her was Yura, whose expression still held a hint of doubt.

"In other words... you are a Miko of Inari, and those malevolent spirits were randomly selected and summoned by you using a secret technique so that you could eliminate them." Walking beside Miketsu, Yura spoke while processing Miketsu's previous explanation. Miketsu nodded with a smile.

"That's right... I didn't expect those malevolent spirits to happen to be imprisoned by you. I was also wondering where that spiritual technique interference was coming from at first..." Miketsu spoke calmly. The doubt in Yura's eyes hadn't fully dissipated; there was still a trace of vigilance in her gaze. Although they were walking together, she purposefully kept her distance, clearly not having fully believed Miketsu's words.

"You say you're an Inari Miko... what proof do you have?"

Yura spoke warily once more. Hearing this, Miketsu gave a wry smile and took a small identification booklet from her bag. It was embossed with the crest of a fox and a rice ear. Upon opening the booklet, it revealed a standard photo of Miketsu in her human form, with her name, professional rank, and other basic information below. On the title page, there was a golden signature radiating the aura of divine power and faith as an anti-counterfeiting measure.

Seeing the ID booklet that looked similar to a police badge, Yura was slightly stunned. She then focused on the contents and began to read to herself.

"Fushimi Inaba... exorcist miko... stationed at Mount Kagami-oboro... the issuer is... Tsuruha!?"

As she looked at the ID Miketsu had produced, an expression of disbelief gradually appeared on Yura's face, especially when she saw the golden signature carrying the aura of divine power, which made her cry out in surprise.

"This—this is an ID personally issued by the Tenko God. You are a high-ranking Miko directly under the Inari Main Shrine!?" Yura said in shock. As a child of an Onmyo Clan born and raised in Kyoto, she naturally had a very deep understanding of Inari. She was startled the moment she saw Tsuruha's signature.

Inari Mikos belong to various Inari gods; generally, the more noble the status of the Inari god, the higher the status of the Miko. The golden signature on an Inari Miko's ID comes from the Inari god they serve. As someone from a Kyoto Onmyo Clan, Yura had heard her elders talk about the structure of the vast Inari god system long ago.

There are many branch Inari gods, and the one with the most respected status is Tsuruha, who is closest to Uka. Although the primary Inari deity, Uka, has left powerful miracles in the world, her true self has almost never involved herself in mortal affairs for a thousand years. Therefore, her closest Divine Messenger, Tsuruha, acts on her behalf in the mortal realm, becoming the foremost existence beneath Uka. She manages all the affairs of Inari. Over a thousand years, her power has become incredibly vast, and she is worshipped and honored as the "Tenko God."

Across the three realms of gods, humans, and demons, whether it be the Grand Commander of the Yokai, the head of an Onmyo Clan, or a high-ranking human government official, all respect and fear the Tenko God. This is not only because she manages the massive "Inari," but also because she is the proxy for Uka's will.

Tenko God Tsuruha's status is extremely exalted. A Miko personally recognized by her is naturally a high-ranking Miko directly under the Main Shrine, belonging to the highest class of Inari Mikos. After all, in this era, there are no Mikos personally recognized by Uka, nor are there IDs issued by her.

Yura never imagined that the girl before her, who looked about the same age as herself, was actually so formidable. Seeing Yura's utterly stunned expression, Miketsu replied softly with a smile.

"Well... does this prove I'm an Inari Miko?"

Hearing Miketsu's words, Yura snapped out of it and nodded hurriedly.

"Uh... yes! Of course it does! I never thought you'd be a High Miko from the Main Shrine. No wonder your secret techniques are so powerful..." Yura muttered. The wariness in her heart vanished completely. Then, a thought occurred to her.

"But... since you're an Inari Miko, why didn't you reveal your identity from the start? If you had, we wouldn't have had to waste so much time."

"Hehe, I suppose I wanted to see what the Kyoto Onmyoji of your generation were like, so I just played a little joke... Don't take it seriously." Miketsu continued to smile at Yura, while Yura felt a slight pang of anxiety.

"Ugh... a joke... I feel like jokes shouldn't be played like that..."

"Oh, is that what you think? In that case, it seems I was a bit in the wrong. I apologize. How about I treat you to dinner?" Miketsu continued to speak with a smile. Hearing this, Yura was stunned, then spoke with some embarrassment.

"That... maybe not... we've only known each other for a little while. You also came from Kyoto to Tokyo; since we're both living here, we should save our money. After all, money doesn't just fall from the sky—mmph!"

Just as Yura was saying something, a sudden strong gust of wind blew down the street they were walking on, forcing her to stop mid-sentence.

In the wind, Miketsu slightly raised her hand and deftly caught several bills that had been blown in from various places. Lost property from all over the city was, by some miracle of the wind, delivered into Miketsu's hands. Miketsu displayed the bills before Yura's eyes. Seeing the money in Miketsu's hand, Yura was rooted to the spot in a daze, while Miketsu laughed easily.

"Let's go~ let's go have a big feast. You should be able to part with the idea of saving if we're eating with this unclaimed money I picked up."