While performing the Kagura dance was indeed a Miko’s inherent duty, this was, it seemed, the first time Hoshimori Shion had been specifically requested to perform it for someone. Though she had readily agreed to Iori Shigure’s request, by the time she was walking home, a powerful urge to bury her head in the ground like an ostrich grew with every passing thought.
The bell signaling the end of the final class echoed through the halls. The hour was still early, the sunlight outside streamed in brightly, and the cheerful chirping of birds seemed to linger in the campus groves. Even after shaking her head no less than ten times, the image she had conjured in her mind stubbornly refused to dissipate.
She envisioned herself in that ridiculously short Miko attire, raising the golden Kagura suzu in her right hand before Shigure. As her hand lowered with the bell’s sway, a gentle mountain breeze would inevitably lift the skirt, exposing the sight beneath the red fabric almost completely to Shigure’s gaze…
‘Oh, for heaven’s sake…’
Lost in these thoughts, Shion unconsciously pulled out her phone, swiftly browsing shopping sites for safety shorts. Indeed, Shion, true to her slightly slow-witted nature, had only now remembered to purchase a pair, despite having felt the high probability of exposure during her private Kagura dance practice days earlier. Since officially becoming a Miko at Hoshimori Shrine, Shion had performed the Kagura dance countless times—for the Autumn Festival, New Year, and Spring Festival. Yet, astonishingly, Hoshimori Shrine possessed not a single decent pair of safety shorts, nor even any suitable short undergarments!
‘How on earth did I manage to get through the past few years?!’
“Shion-san, it looks like steam is about to rise from your head~”
Shion tilted her head, her gaze meeting Shigure’s worried eyes.
Shigure reached out, gently poking Shion’s soft cheek. “Shion-san, do you have a fever? Are you feeling unwell?”
Shion hastily shook her head. “No, not at all.”
“But… Shion-san, your face is truly flushed. Are you alright?” Shigure gently placed a hand on Shion’s forehead. “Hmm, a little warm… I think you might be. Are you feeling unwell, Shion-san?”
‘If I told Shigure right now that I was feeling unwell, a little feverish, would I be able to somehow get out of tonight’s performance?’
‘But… wouldn’t it be wrong to lie to Shigure? After all, it was her earnest request.’
Shion ultimately shook her head once more. “I’m perfectly fine~ Let’s head to the shrine together, Iori-san!”
While Shigure still appeared somewhat concerned, the anticipation bubbling within her heart quickly eclipsed her worries. If Shion-san insisted she was fine, then she would trust her word!
****
By the time they returned to Hoshimori Shrine, it was barely four in the afternoon.
“Big sister seems to be bringing more and more people home these days,” Ayane murmured conspiratorially into her sister’s ear.
“That’s not true at all!” Shion retorted, currently busy in the kitchen preparing snacks, with Ayane draped over her, observing as she poured tea into cup after cup.
“Didn’t Kazama-san just visit a couple of days ago?” Ayane remarked, gently tugging Shion’s earlobe.
“And how many is *that*?” Shion countered.
Ayane shook her head, leaving her sister with a parting shot—”Big sister, you really should exercise some restraint; your health is important, you know”—before turning and heading towards the living room. There, Shigure sat on the sofa, swinging her legs back and forth as if swayed by a gentle breeze, clearly unable to contain her soaring spirits.
Shion shot her silly younger sister an exasperated glance, then emerged with the tea and snacks. The three girls settled into the living room, engaging in a desultory conversation. Having grown more familiar with Shion and Ayane, their exchanges were far less constrained than before. Still, a subtle quietness hung in the air…
“I’m off to do my homework now. I want to catch the evening drama during dinner later,” Ayane announced, stretching languidly before standing and heading towards her room. “You two carry on~”
Once Ayane had departed, Shigure’s fingernails began to tap softly against her teacup. Though the delicate sound was faint, Shion could perfectly discern the girl’s eager anticipation.
“Well then, I’ll go change into my Miko attire now. Shigure-san, please make your way to the main hall of the shrine and take a seat, perhaps where you drew lots earlier.”
“Mhm!” Shigure nodded emphatically, her steps light with excitement as she left the living room and headed towards the shrine’s main hall.
Having changed, Shion observed her reflection in the mirror. She typically wore this Miko attire when venturing out for exorcisms, but for some inexplicable reason, the blush coloring her cheeks today added a subtle hint of… ‘seductiveness’?
“Iori-san, I’m here now~”
Seated in the shrine’s main hall, Shigure hadn’t even dared to pull out her phone, fearing she might offend the divine spirits. But the moment she saw Shion appear before her once more, dressed in her Miko attire, holding the golden Kagura suzu to modestly shield her face, Shigure involuntarily rose to her feet.
Shion offered Shigure a soft smile, then gently swayed the Kagura suzu in her hand. “I’ll be wearing this very outfit for the performance.”
Having said this, she shyly fiddled with the hem of her skirt. “The Kagura dance involves some rather broad movements, and I… won’t be wearing any safety shorts or anything underneath, so I’m begging you, Iori-san, please try not to stare…”
Shigure made an “okay” gesture, then subtly smoothed her own skirt before settling back down, eagerly awaiting Shion’s dance.
Shion pressed play on the recorder, and elegant, yet distinctly ancient, music began to flow from it. Shigure felt as though she could almost see individual musical notes gracefully swirling and dancing around the shrine. Accompanied by the music, Shion knelt, commencing the entire Kagura dance with a reverent prayer to the divine spirits.
As the musical passages gracefully drifted by, the white-haired maiden rose, her steps elegant and synchronized with the music, as she began to wave the Kagura suzu in her hand. The crisp, clear ringing of the golden bells resonated ceaselessly throughout the shrine’s main hall.
Shigure found herself swallowing hard. Shion, fully immersed in the Kagura dance, truly embodied the grace and sacredness befitting the mistress of Hoshimori Shrine.
‘She is truly beautiful.’
Yet, for some inexplicable reason, after Shion had specifically emphasized that Shigure’s gaze shouldn’t drift downwards, Shigure found her attention drawn even more intently to the space beneath Shion’s red skirt. With Shion’s graceful movements, and an occasional gust of wind wafting in from the mountain forests beyond the shrine, the view beneath Shion’s skirt became tantalizingly visible in glimpses.
Alright, it was actually white—Shigure had already caught countless fleeting glimpses of it in the few minutes Shion had been performing the Kagura dance. But it was precisely this tantalizing, intermittently revealed sight that made Shigure unconsciously fix her attention beneath the Miko’s skirt.
“No, you absolutely cannot look anymore, Iori Shigure!” Shigure chastised herself, pinching her own hand.
‘Fine, just one more peek, just one! And then no more looking at all!!!’