“Oi. What did you just say, Haruie?” Chiaki Shuuhei demanded reflexively into the receiver in response to the unbelievable news.
“I said: Naoe is...alive.”
Sometime earlier. Chiaki made contact with Ayako the evening of the day he promised to aid Miike Haruya. That was when he learned the astonishing truth from Ayako.
“It’s Kaizaki,” Ayako told him, sounding shaken. A nurse had discovered Ayako where Kaizaki had left her after hitting her and helped her back on her feet; she finally got in touch with Chiaki after that. “It’s Kaizaki Makoto. He’s Naoe. It was Naoe.”
That’s impossible, Chiaki thought. “How do you know?” he asked.
Ayako took a deep breath and pressed a hand against her temple to somehow still the trembling. “I don’t know what’s going on, either. He hasn’t performed kanshou on Kaizaki, and he’s not possessing him either. But it was Naoe...!”
Chiaki was bewildered. Ayako shook her head.
“Sorry, I’m a bit muddled. But only Naoe would’ve said something like that to me. There’s no other explanation.”
Chiaki was speechless for a moment. He forcefully calmed himself as he pressed the receiver against his ear. “You’re saying Kaizaki Makoto is Naoe? Kaizaki is working with Ootomo. So Naoe is too?”
Ayako could only shake her head and tell him she didn’t know for certain. She hadn’t had a chance to come to grips with the situation. Chiaki nodded meaninglessly a few times in order to hold onto his composure.
“All right...all right. What about Kagetora, then? Have you been able to confirm that he’s alive?”
“Kaizaki said he’s not dead, that he knows where Kagetora is and he’s going to bring him back.”
“Kaizaki said he’ll bring Kagetora back?”
“Yeah. In any case, I’m going to head to Honmyou Temple
. I have to do something about that barrier. I’ll contact Yagami, too.”
Ayako’s assessment was correct. The Shimazu army was approaching. Protecting the city from the onshou was top priority. It was what Kagetora would have commanded.
“Got it. Once I’ve got this hostage situation under control, I’ll head back to Kumamoto immediately. I’m also worried about what Ootomo’s doing at Old Castle High School. You gonna be all right on your own?”
Ayako nodded. Though shaken, she was prepared. Chiaki nodded as well and hung up the car phone after exchanging and confirming various information and agreeing to keep in touch.
Then he sat blankly for a long time.
Naoe was alive...
Chiaki was frozen in place. He could feel his heart pounding.
(He wasn’t purified?)
“Impossible...”
They’d never found him despite searching for so long. Kaizaki Makoto was Naoe? Ayako said he wasn’t possessing Kaizaki either permanently or temporarily. Right—if he’d performed kanshou, Chiaki would have noticed it upon meeting him. When they’d passed each other at Old Castle High School, the only thing he’d reacted to had been his scent. How strange that his sense of smell had reacted and not his spiritual sense. And yet Kaizaki was Naoe? Was Haruie imagining things?
(Kaizaki Makoto is Naoe...)
If that was the case, then Naoe had manipulated events on E Island, too. Irobe and Hakkai’s movements, concealed from Kagetora, must have something to do with him too. They were undertaking covert operations under Kenshin’s direct supervision. In which case, was Naoe under Kenshin’s direct supervision too?
(What is going on?)
He was keeping not only Kagetora in the dark, but all the rest of them too. Wasn’t that strange? Why hadn’t he contacted them if he was alive? Had Kenshin saved Naoe? But how was he alive if he had performed neither kanshou nor possession?
(I don’t understand any of this...)
He’s not dead. Naoe is alive.
He said he would come back to me. That I should wait for him.
Had Kagetora realized...?
Chiaki’s expression was grim in a way it rarely was. He couldn’t see through to the truth. Were they working separately in order to help the rest of them? Had they factored in some sort of benefit? To be linked to Mikuriya and Ootomo...
That took some doing. But that was yet to be confirmed, too. Chiaki exhorted himself not to lose his cool. That was when someone called out to him. Miike Tetsuya had returned from the store with Chiaki’s requested beverage.
“Sensei? Has something happened? You look pale.”
“H-hey. Nah, it’s nothing.”
“Here,” Tetsuya said, handing him a canned coffee. Chiaki took a deep breath. They had been investigating all day here at Aso Shrine—trying to track down the location of a ‘certain object’ with Haruya. He hadn’t intended to allow Tetsuya to come along, but Tetsuya had stubbornly insisted, grabbing onto the tail of the car until Chiaki had relented. Haruya hadn’t said a word to Tetsuya.
The object Haruya had come to Aso Shrine to ascertain was a treasure called the «Golden Serpent Head».
“It is Frost Shrine’s object of worship,” the Miike family head had explained. It had been enshrined at Frost Shrine in ancient times, but in the sixth year of Jougan (864) had been transferred to Aso Shrine due to Mt. Aso’s eruption. Thus it was written in the Miike Records, a set of secret historical documents in Miike family custody strictly forbidden to outsiders’ perusal— though if published, these ancient documents would rate national treasure status. They had been passed down through generations and sealed against opening by any save the Spirit-Protector’s hand.
The ‘true body’ was noted in the Miike Records. The transfer of Frost Shrine’s object of worship to Aso Shrine was only recorded as ‘Votive offering, 12th month of Jougan 6’ in the Aso family’s public documents—likely to protect its confidentiality. Thereafter, the Aso Clan decided by convention to call the object the «Golden Serpent Head», and Miike followed suit.
But the misinterpretation by Haruya—no, by generations of Miike Spirit-Protectors—had recently come to light. The «Golden Serpent Head» was not in Aso Shrine.
“Has it been stolen...?!” Haruya paled, but almost immediately recognized his mistake. The «Golden Serpent Head» had left Aso Shrine four hundred years ago. Miike hadn’t been aware of that fact until now.
There were records of it being given to Higo lord Sassa Narimasa four hundred years.
Now it was Chiaki’s turn to be stunned. To have Sassa Narimasa of all people show up in this context. In other words, Narimasa had possessed Frost Shrine’s object of worship. But there the trail ended. Where was it now? There was no mention of it in public records. In order to track down this «Golden Serpent Head», Haruya had finally decided to attempt a meeting with the current head of the Aso family.
There appeared to be some sort of special, deep connection between the Miike and Aso families which had existed since ancient times.
The Aso family had been thrown into an uproar merely upon hearing that the Miike Spirit-Protector was coming to visit. The meeting had taken place immediately. The current head was also the chief priest of Aso Shrine. Aso Shrine, Higo’s premier shrine and formerly a government-subsidized shrine, enshrined Takeiwatatsu-no-mikoto of the Aso founding myth at the head of a pantheon of twelve gods in his family, which was rare even on the national level. The Aso family’s eminence was equivalent to a barony. Yet it maintained a secret connection to the Miike family, at most village headman class.
This was Haruya’s first meeting with the current head of the Aso family. It wasn’t rare for the two families to hold no meetings at all for two or three generations. The exchange of anything between them but documents was rare. In other words, the Miike Spirit-Protector’s request for a meeting implied urgency and a state of emergency, as exemplified by the relationship between the two.
No one was allowed to sit in on their meeting (not even family). No matter which of the two requested a meeting, the other gave it maximum priority, no matter the circumstances. This agreement had been in place for more than a thousand years.
Of course neither Chiaki nor Tetsuya were allowed to attend. They were waiting outside the gate for Haruya to emerge.
“Did you—I mean, did Miike’s Celebrants know about the «Golden Serpent Head»?” Chiaki asked Tetsuya, who shook his head. This was the first time he’d heard of it.
“We all thought the current object of worship was the true ‘genuine article’. I mean, it’s at Aso Shrine.”
(‘Genuine article’?)
Tetsuya immediately clammed up as if the words had disgusted him. What did he know about this object of worship?
The meeting wrapped up after about an hour, and Haruya appeared. He looked glum. “I must return home at once,” he told them. They went back to the Miike house and had a late dinner. After that Haruya called Chiaki into his room. He knew where the «Golden Serpent Head» was.
“Did the Aso family know?”
Like the Miike, the Aso had its own secret documents forbidden to public view. Some had been made available to academic research, but not all. Even the existence of these documents was not known to the outside world. Their contents ranged widely: from personal matters to secret wartime details. Haruya had wondered if anything about the «Golden Serpent Head» was also contained therein. The seal had been broken according to Haruya’s request. Luckily they had found details and specifics.
“The «Golden Serpent Head» was given to Sassa Narimasa four hundred years as proof of the Aso Clan’s allegiance. But Koremitsu, the then-head of the family, didn’t know the true legend behind the object.”
It had been a society at war. The Aso family had already decided that the position of military commander was stronger than that of chief priest. The shrine had been destroyed. Within the fierce offense and defense when no one was certain whether they would devour others or be devoured themselves, the truth about the «Golden Serpent Head» had been lost.
"The «Golden Serpent Head» was officially recognized as the head of a giant serpent who lived in the mountains of Aso, given divinity by the volcano’s magma. Another myth says it is one of the heads of the legendary eight-headed, eight-tailed serpent.
“The eight-headed, eight-tailed serpent...?”
“Yes. But all of these stories concealed the truth of the «Golden Serpent Head»—they’re legends fabricated by the Aso and Miike families. In other words, we manipulated the information. But the truth guarded by generations of our heads—”
Had been lost during the chaos of war. It had been an oral tradition never set down in writing. That the oral tradition survived for more than a thousand years was itself a miracle—as was the bond between the two families.
In the Sengoku Period, during the time of Aso high priests Koretoyo and Koremasa, the family acquired the services of such matchless heroes as Kai Souun and did battle with powerful clans on all sides: among them Shimazu to the south via an alliance with Ootomo Sourin, and Hizen’s Ryuuzouji. Souun’s magnificent battle at Hibiki Plain [Hibiki-ga-hara] thundered across the whole of Kyuushuu: ‘the Aso family has Souun’. But the family slid rapidly into ruin after Souun and Koremasa’s deaths. Though eldest son Koremitsu assumed the position of head priest, he was but three years old at the time. Subsequently, Hideyoshi embarked on his subjugation of Kyuushuu and installed Sassa Narimasa in Higo. By the time the family gained Narimasa’s patronage, it had already hit rock bottom after years of adverse circumstances and great poverty.
Narimasa offered his protection in order to win over the hearts of the people: favorable treatment of so distinguished a family as that of Aso Shrine’s chief priest had mass appeal.
This was when Koremitsu presented the «Golden Serpent Head» to Narimasa as thanks for the reinstatement of his old fief. By that time, the Aso family’s documents and treasures had been evacuated to Otokonari Shrine, the «Golden Serpent Head» included. At that point the true legend had already been lost. It was presented by Koremitsu to Narimasa as a prized treasure said to be the head of the legendary eight-headed, eight-tailed serpent.
“And? Where did Narimasa put this «Golden Serpent Head»?” Chiaki examined Haruya’s expression as he pressed for the punchline.
“He was delighted and made it the guardian deity of his castle; it is said he buried it beneath Kumamoto Castle as its god-pillar and built a small wayside shrine to it.”
“Beneath the castle...!”
Narimasa’s Kumamoto Castle was the old castle—in other words, where Old Castle High School stood.
(Then the ‘serpent’s head’ Mikuriya and her people are searching for is this «Golden Serpent Head»?)
Mentions of it in the Aso family records ceased thereafter. Unless something else had happened, the «Golden Serpent Head» was currently right beneath Old Castle High School. He was sure of it. Mikuriya Juri...no, Ootomo Sourin was looking for the «Golden Serpent Head»—the former object of worship of Frost Shrine. But why?
“Miike-san, just what is this «Golden Serpent Head»? What was being worshiped at Frost Shrine? If it’s not the head of the eight-headed, eight-tailed serpent, what is it?”
Haruya hesitated. After all, even in the Aso family only the family head knew the secret truth. Thinking that it must be difficult for him to speak of it, Chiaki altered his question. “Well, why did you go to ascertain the «Golden Serpent Head»’s location? You thought there was a possibility someone would carry it off, right? What does the targeting of Asara-hime have to do with this thing?”
“If someone wanted to pervert Frost Shrine’s object of worship, then Asara is absolutely necessary.”
“What do you mean?”
Haruya was silent. After several minutes during which he glared bitterly at Chiaki, he finally seemed to make up his mind. He said heavily, “It appears only you can help me. I have no other choice. I need help. I will place my trust in you.”
“Will you tell me, then?”
“Please listen carefully. These are important secrets my family has protected with our lives for generations,” Haruya said gravely, his expression stern. “I have explained that the god deified at Frost Shrine is the onryou of Kihachi, who was beheaded by Takeiwatatsu-no-mikoto. Frost Shrine’s object of worship is, in truth, Kihachi’s head.”
“Kihachi’s head? His severed head is the object of worship...?!”
“Yes. Frost Shrine still has an object of worship, but it is not the real thing. The real object was called the ‘true body’, and it was transferred to Aso Shrine more than a thousand years ago. This head was deformed by hatred into something very like that of a serpent, and therefore became known as the «Golden Serpent Head». That was the basis for the legend our ancestors devised, of which the eight-headed, eight-tailed serpent was only one among many.”
“...Why was the real thing sent to Aso Shrine?”
“To keep it safe, is what I was told,” Haruya explained flatly. “There was a gang who wanted to use Kihachi’s head in a magic ritual intended to subvert the state. The head was transferred to Aso Shrine to protect it from these scoundrels.” Thus it was written in the Miike Records. But in actuality... “In actuality, the Aso family took it from us.”
“Took it? Why?”
“The Miike family fell under suspicion. In other words, those who planned to subvert the state were not a third party, but members of the Miike family.”
That year, the sixth year of Jougan, the Middle Peak underwent a major volcanic eruption, and it was believed that Kihachi’s deep-seated grudge had caused the event. The Miike family, who were descendants of Mikenu-no-mikoto, were responsible for controlling the crater—a role they had been assigned by the Aso family and which they had fulfilled since ancient times. An ugly rumor circulated: that they had used Kihachi’s head to cause the eruption. The Aso family suspected the Miike family of plotting to overthrow the government. They commanded that the Spirit-Protector be punished and Kihachi’s head transferred from Frost Shrine.
“So what really happened? Was the Miike family responsible?”
“I don’t know,” Haruya said. “But if they did really use it, an eruption would’ve been the least of it.”
“You sound like you know what would have happened.”
“Kihachi’s head would have sunk Kyuushuu into the sea.”
Chiaki abruptly straightened.
“So it is said in my family. Keeping us in check was another reason the Aso family took Kihachi’s head. Whether the rumor was false or true, the Aso family would act immediately if we made a false move—that was the message. The Aso family, descendants of Takeiwatatsu-no-mikoto, would continue to control and subordinate the Miike family, who are descendants of Mikenu-no-mikoto.”
“Control... Why?”
“We pose a high risk. Not because we’re descendants of Mikenu-no-mikoto, but because we’re descendants of Asara.”
“...Just what is this Asara-hime? Is Kihachi’s head’s really that dangerous?”
“Kihachi’s spirit is sealed within the ‘true body’. Asara is necessary to release him. Asara is the only one who can speak with Kihachi and the only one who can help to release him. In other words, she serves as the only key capable of awakening Kihachi’s onryou.”
And it was said that Asara would be born into the Miike family. She would be the reincarnation of Asara-hime.
Hokage possessed the ability. The odd incidents at the bonfire ritual were a response to Kihachi. In other words, proof that she was Asara.
“Then this desire to get their hands on Asara means someone wants to use Kihachi’s head? To use Kihachi’s power.”
“Precisely. I can think of no other explanation.”
“Miike-san, you—” Chiaki’s eyes held a deep glint, “—seemed to have some ideas about the people targeting Asara. Do you know who would want to abuse Kihachi? This is why you hide Hokage-san away, isn’t it?”
No one outside of the Miike knew about Asara and Frost Shrine’s object of worship. Knowledge of Kihachi’s soul being sealed within the ‘true body’ was kept an absolute secret from all but the Spirit-Protector and his attendant. Haruya’s attendant had died seven years ago—thus Haruya was the only person who knew.
“If the information was leaked, who did it? Where did they get it?”
“I can only guess.” Haruya’s answer was calm. “If anyone other than myself knows, then it’s probably—my uncle Katsuya.”
“Katsuya?”
Haruya nodded. “He is my father’s younger brother and the older brother of Tetsuya’s adoptive father Tatsuya. He cut ties with Miike more than sixty years ago. Now... he calls himself by his mother’s surname, Ikeda.”
“Ikeda Katsuya...”
“I heard that as a young man, my uncle rebelled against our family’s ways and set himself up in opposition to the Spirit-Protector; he left after basically disowning us. He was young, and he appears to have felt fettered by the strictness with which our family kept to our time-honored customs. I heard that for a time, my uncle was influenced by the socialist movement and joined the Communist Party’s underground cause, but I don’t know what happened to him when the war started. Afterwards, he founded his own religion: the Himuka cult.”
Chiaki couldn’t believe his ears. “The Himuka cult!”
“Yes. Takeiwatatsu-no-mikoto is its enshrined deity. But that’s only their public face; what they really worship is...the god of fire. In other words,” Haruya’s eyes sharpened, “The priest Kihachi. Whom we Miike worship as Onpachi-sama.”
“What...?!”
“But he is treated as a secret god; I don’t know how much of the specifics have been told to the ordinary worshipers. Or if, as in the case of the secret Christians of the past, most of the worshipers pray to a object whose true character they don’t even know. But my uncle had only one ambition, which was why he created the Himuka cult.”
“Ambition? You’re not gonna tell me he wanted to use Kihachi to overturn the government, are you?”
Haruya pressed his lips together. With a grave expression he said in a low voice, “The Himuka cult is, as it were, a religious group derived from Miike.”
“...”
“If my conjecture about my uncle’s reasons is correct, then they...these people who have focused all their efforts on Kihachi—should be call the ‘purer Miike’.”
“Purer Miike?”
Haruya fell silent. He didn’t seem willing to say anything more. They were approaching the heart of the matter, but Haruya’s reluctance was plain. Chiaki said in a low voice, “Okay. A few days ago the younger Himuka cultists went missing. Ikeda Katsuya died a short time before that. Do you think the kidnappers’ letter has something to do with them?”
“I do,” Haruya answered mechanically. “My uncle’s death was probably the trigger; those young people were likely inspired to fulfill his last wishes.”
“To release the seal on Kihachi’s head?”
“Yes.”
“What in the world for?”
Haruya fell silent again. The question was not one he would answer. There was too much weight. Chiaki changed the question again.
“Did you know the missing devotees can fly? Do you know anything about this ability?”
“I know that there’s a ritual which will produce this ability.”
“Oh?”
“It’s a spell called the ‘Method of Bird-Flight’ passed down to the Miike Spirit-Protectors. Perhaps ‘awaken’ is a more accurate description than ‘produce’. The ritual reacts to blood that is the same type as Asara’s. The stronger it is, the greater the possibility of actualization. Miike has several rituals for awakening the secret power carried in Asara’s blood. We can also crystallize the divine majesty carried within Aso’s magma.” He was speaking of the luminous flame stone used by the Himuka cultists. “But these rituals require the sacred flame enshrined within the Miike head house.”
“Which means...” Chiaki leaned forward, “Ikeda Katsuya stole the Miike family’s fire as well as secrets only the Spirit-Protector knows. Did he steal them from you?”
“Not from me,” Haruya looked pained. “From my...younger brother.”
“Brother.”
“The position of Spirit-Protector initially went to him before it came to me.”
Haruya’s younger brother Miike Hideya. Tetsuya’s father.
“I believe he passed away when Tetsuya was young...”
“Yes. My brother died suddenly nine years ago. I was living in Tokyo at the time, but was called back to take his place as Spirit-Protector.” Haruya’s expression was gloomy. “Though outwardly his death was accidental, it was in fact unnatural.”
“Unnatural... You’re saying...!”
“There is a high possibility he was murdered.”
Chiaki caught his breath. “You’re implying Ikeda Katsuya...”
Feeling someone’s presence, Haruya looked sharply toward the door. Chiaki fell silent as Haruya studied it for a moment before calling out loudly, “Tetsuya, If you’re standing outside, enter.”
The amber door opened, and Tetsuya entered. He looked pale. He seemed to have heard their conversation just now. Haruya, however, was calm. “I told you to go home, Tetsuya. Yet you’re still here.” Tetsuya looked up stiffly at Haruya. “Did I not say I would take care of everything? I cannot allow you to involve yourself further. Go home. Would you disobey an order from the Spirit-Protector?”
Tetsuya’s shoulders trembled. He seemed to want to say something, but couldn’t get the words out. “I can’t just...leave things be,” Tetsuya said as if he were choking the words out one by one. “Hokage doesn’t belong to you! I won’t allow you to exploit her for Miike’s advantage! It’s just not gonna happen!!” Tetsuya yelled like the words were exploding out of him. He charged into the room. Chiaki looked apprehensive. Haruya looked at Tetsuya with completely quiet eyes.
“Tetsuya reminds me of my younger self,” he said.
“Miike-san.”
“When I was young, I too rebelled against my family. I refused the position of Spirit-Protector and ran away to Tokyo. If my brother had not died, I would probably have never stepped across the threshold of this house again.”
Normally Tetsuya would have inherited the position of Spirit-Protector, but their relatives had called Haruya back instead due to Tetsuya’s tender age. If his brother’s death had not been so suspicious, Haruya would not have agreed.
“My uncle Katsuya was the same. Yet, if he was so opposed to the Miike family, why did he create a religion that was so similar to our beliefs?” What had the war done to change his mind? “We’ll go see Hokage,” Haruya decided. “Even if the other side obtains Kihachi’s head’s, they can’t do anything with it without Asara. They’ll be after her. Please lend us your aid,” he said to Chiaki.
To protect Asara? Did he not intend to hand her over?
In any case, they had to go to her.
“Where is she? Where is Hokage-san now?” Chiaki asked
Haruya responded plainly, “Takachiho. Hokage is at Takachiho.”
It was the middle of the night, and the sleet had turned into true snow. He had no choice but to put on a chain for the mountain roads. According to the map, National Highway 325 was the shortest route from Aso to Takachiho, but given that it was narrow and full of curves, taking Route 265 toward Soyou Town would probably be faster. In any case, he would be able to drive faster on the wider road.
Takachiho Town in Miyazaki Prefecture was a place of legend, for it was where the grandson of the sun goddess descended to earth.
Takachiho was also a place where a different version of the Kihachi folk tale was told: that of Mikenu-no-mikoto exterminating Kihachi. Naturally, it also had a deep connection to the Miike family, descendants of Mikenu-no-mikoto. As befitting a place of legend, Takachiho boasted several ancient shrines, including Ama-no-Iwato Shrine. Another was Takachiho Shrine, where Mikenu-no-mikoto was deified.
“Are the Takachiho and Aso Kihachis the same person? Or are they different?”
“I suppose they are technically the same.”
“?”
“Kihachi was the name of an actual person, but in legend certain things are meant to be symbolic. In stories there are many examples of object personification.”
“So Kihachi was supposed to represent something else?”
“That’s a reasonable way of looking at it.”
Chiaki looked at Haruya in the rearview mirror.
(Maybe...)
The legend of Kihachi lingered in several places around Aso. He felt as if, with the mentions of object personification and symbolism, and Takeiwatatsu-no-mikoto or Mikenu-no-mikoto exterminating Kihachi, he knew Kihachi’s identity.
(Maybe the legend of Kihachi is...)
The car entered Takachiho Town. Following Haruya’s directions, they continued into the mountains upstream of Takachiho Gorge.
Around them was a precipitous and rocky valley. A short distance away was Ama-no-Iwato Shrine, whose object of worship was the cave and ‘Heavenly Rock Door’ where the great Sun Goddess Amaterasu was said to have been secluded. Because these were worshiped from the opposite shore, this unusual shrine had no main shrine building. Certainly this place had that living vitality that made it seem as if such legends might become reality at any moment. Asara-hime—Hokage—had been hidden here for a year.
“Though our roots are here in Takachiho, there is a family whose connection to this place goes even further back than Miike’s. They’re looking after her.”
“Were you hiding her from the Himuka cult?”
“Since the bonfire ritual, we‘ve noticed Hokage-as-Asara’s powers getting stronger,” Haruya related straightforwardly from the passenger seat. “Asara, as a shrine maiden of fire, has special abilities. Since the bonfire ritual when she first ’responded’ to Onpachi-sama, Hokage has awakened as a shrine maiden. Because her powers are so strong, we decided a year ago to hide her here to avoid attracting attention.”
“To avoid attracting Ikeda Katsuya’s attention?”
“...”
Tetsuya listened to the conversation, looking frightened.
“That’s what happened, isn’t it?”
“Are they the ones who sent the threatening letter?” Tetsuya asked cautiously. “Sensei, do you also think they’re the culprit?”
“No idea... They may or may not be the actual culprit.”
At the very least, the Himuka cult had betrayed the secret.
Based on eyewitness testimony (the person who had attacked Takaya had also abducted Akemi), Inaba Akemi had been kidnapped by Shimozuma Rairyuu. That agreed with information from Kaizaki Makoto (that it was Rairyuu who had attacked Takaya). In other words, the Himuka cult was in communication with the Ikkou Sect. The Ikkou Sect had attacked Takaya. It was strange that Himuka cultists had stopped them, but there must be something else behind it.
The Ikkou Sect was allied with Akechi Mitsuhide in the anti-Oda Alliance, and Chiaki had also received information that Akechi was allied with Shimazu. Shimazu was enemy of Ootomo. However, the people at Old Castle High School were Ootomo.
They didn’t know whether the Himuka cult knew the location of the «Golden Serpent Head». Even Haruya wouldn’t have known it was at Old Castle High School without the Aso family’s secret documents.
So where had Ootomo gotten their information regarding the «Golden Serpent Head» from? He’d heard that members of the Aso Clan had been resurrected as onshou (probably one or more of Koretoyo, Koremasa, or Koremitsu) and were living under Ootomo’s roof—that was probably where the information had come from. Which meant they didn’t know that the «Golden Serpent Head» needed Asara, or even that it was Kihachi’s head.
In other words, the two sides were after the same thing, but both were missing a large chunk of information. In that case there was still time to act.
“In any case, we have to rescue Inaba. The kidnappers can’t be allowed free rein.”
“Sensei, just who are you?” Tetsuya muttered menacingly. “I can’t believe you managed to get so much information out of the Spirit-Protector. There’s something going on with you. And then there’s Ougi. There’s all this stuff about miscellaneous spirits, too. Everything’s been weird since you arrived.”
(Oh dear...) Chiaki was surprised by the spear suddenly pointed in his direction.
“You should tell people your true identify before you start asking them to tell you all their secrets! Why did you come to our school?!”
“Tetsuya, stop,” Haruya said. Tetsuya reared back in shock. “If you’re going to be a noisy impediment, go home. If you must come with us to see Hokage, be silent.”
“Uncle...”
“I will not tolerate backchat. Don’t be a bother to your teacher.”
Though rebellious, Tetsuya didn’t dare defy Haruya. There was the fact that he embodied the dignity of the Spirit-Protector, but Haruya was also truly colder than he needed to be toward Tetsuya.
Tetsuya’s father had probably been murdered by Ikeda Katsuya...
The Miike family had kept it a secret from Tetsuya and Hokage. Perhaps its coldness toward Tetsuya was due to its need to protect this secret. Was it because it was taboo? Or was it the flip side of sympathy?
“Take the road in front of that building on your right. Follow it down until you can see the torii.”
Chiaki stopped the car at the place indicated by Haruya. They would have to walk from here. The three got out of the car with large flashlights in hand.
“Follow me,” Haruya said, and set off on the luxuriant mountain trail. Chiaki and Tetsuya followed.
It was quite a walk. There was no illumination at all. Though one could not mistake one’s way on the straight path, it was not a trail to be taken in the middle of the night. The trek was considerable. At last they could see a small glow up ahead: a house. An ancient wooden house had been built in a small isolated clearing. There were two structures, the smaller one an ancient shrine.
“It’s...Frost Shrine,” Tetsuya murmured, looked at the placard at the front of the building. “I didn’t know there was a Frost Shrine here.”
Haruya headed for the house beside it. A middle-aged woman emerged from within. Haruya had probably contacted her beforehand. “Spirit-Protector,” she greeted Haruya, who responded:
“Thank you for seeing us.”
She then noticed Tetsuya.
“This is my nephew Tetsuya, son of my younger brother.”
“Your younger brother...you mean Hideya-sama!”
She bowed to Tetsuya with respect and reverence—and perhaps also with sympathy. Haruya called the woman, ‘Tomb-Protector’ [Tsukamori].
“Where is Asara?”
“She went up to dance the night kagura.”
“I see,” Haruya responded, glancing up at the mountain, then asked in a low voice, “Has the object in question been prepared?”
“It is being collected now. It will be ready when she returns.”
“Very well.”
He gestured to Chiaki and Tetsuya, and began climbing the path behind the shrine. Chiaki and Tetsuya had no choice but to follow.
They walked for perhaps ten minutes. They could hear bells ahead in the darkness.
“This sound...”
The bell was used by oracles and shamans in their dances. They finally spotted a dim light up ahead.
There was a cave. It yawed like a huge mouth in the bare surface of the mountain. The light was coming from within. Haruya entered without hesitation. Candles burned instead of braziers, and their glow cast three giant shadows against bare rock.
They reached the innermost part. Tetsuya and Chiaki stared. A single shrine maiden dressed in white danced before the altar.
Her clear bell-tones echoed within the cave.
It was a beautiful maiden.
She seemed unearthly. Her eyes were entranced, fixed in ecstasy on something far away. In the swaying glow of the flames she looked like a mystical being.
She never noticed them. All three watched until she finished. Even Chiaki stared. Tetsuya stood frozen, his mouth half-open.
The shrine maiden finally finished her night dance. She appeared to come here to dance every night. She quietly turned to them. Not a tuft of her glossy black hair was out of place.
Tetsuya called her name in a hoarse voice. “Hokage...”
The shrine maiden’s expression suddenly changed—so much so that it startled even Chiaki. It was as if she’d taken off a mask. She came back to herself from her tranced state. She became just another young woman.
Hokage was startled by their appearance. “Te-chan... Why are you here?!” She noticed Haruya immediately thereafter. “Spirit-Protector,” she muttered, her lovely face contorting. Tears began to flow from her eyes. “Sp-Spirit-Protector, help me.”
She sounded like a child. Haruya looked at Chiaki with eyes narrowed in pain.
“Save me...! I can’t take it anymore! I...I’m being devoured by Asara!”
Tetsuya goggled, aghast. “Hokage—...”