As the ancient melody from the recorder reached its final cadence, Hoshimori Shion gracefully waved the Kagura suzu. With the last strains of music, the girl set the bells down and knelt, once more offering a silent prayer to the deities, her lips softly murmuring words of supplication, invoking the advent of happiness.
This, then, was ‘a cycle renewed,’ mirroring her opening gesture.
“How was it, Iori-san?” Having concluded her dance, Shion, brimming with eagerness, approached Iori Shigure, who had been observing from the sidelines, to inquire about her impressions.
“Uh…” To be honest, Shigure was quite entranced. The request she most yearned to make at that moment was likely to ask Shion to perform the dance again, just so she could watch it once more.
However, a pang of guilt struck Shigure for having stared beneath Shion’s skirt, and she dared not voice such a request.
After a few seconds, Shigure finally nodded emphatically. “Mm, it was… truly beautiful!”
“About that…” Shion leaned forward slightly. “Iori-san, you weren’t staring beneath my skirt just now, were you?”
Hearing Shion’s question, Shigure’s face immediately flushed crimson as she stammered, “I, I… no! I truly didn’t look!”
” ‘While I truly wish to believe you, I can’t help but feel your expression betrays you,’ ” Shion mused, waving a dismissive hand. ” ‘Still, we’ve already bathed together; a glimpse beneath a skirt is hardly a major transgression.’ ”
Lost in thought, Shion couldn’t help but pull out her phone to check the delivery status of her online order. ‘How could a small pair of safety shorts take this long to arrive…’
While Shion, on her end, had become absorbed in checking her phone, Shigure’s inner world was churning with a tempest of emotions.
‘What’s happening, what’s happening…? Why did Shion-san suddenly say that…? She must know I saw her underwear or something! If she knows, why would she even mention it, wuwu…’
Iori Shigure, her hands clamped over her head, huddled in a small corner, utterly consumed by her internal turmoil.
Shion walked over and gently poked the ‘little sun’ crouching in the shadows.
Seeing Shigure look up, Shion smiled and asked, “Iori-san, it’s still early. Would you like me to dance for you again? This time, please pay more attention to my movements from an observer’s perspective, to see if there are any problems?”
The fleeting shadows that had clouded Shigure’s face moments before were instantly swept away, replaced by an overwhelming sense of anticipation that bloomed across her crimson cheeks. The blonde girl nodded emphatically, her golden hair shimmering in the afternoon sun with her every movement.
“Good, then Iori-san, watch carefully now~”
****
It wasn’t until the sun began its gentle descent westward that Shion heard a resounding shout from the shrine’s living quarters: “You idiot sister! I’ve finished my homework, where’s dinner?!”
“Coming, coming! Ayane, wait for me!” Shion called out from the main hall towards the living quarters, simultaneously tidying her Miko attire.
However, when her gaze fell upon Shigure, the girl’s head appeared to be steaming, her face a vivid crimson, as if—like a computer pushed beyond its limits—she had utterly overheated and crashed.
Shion walked up to Shigure and gently poked her cheek.
Shigure’s mind still seemed to be in a state of complete shutdown, yet with Shion’s gentle poke, a thin, crimson stream began to trickle from the blonde girl’s nose…
“Iori-san, you’re bleeding from your nose!” Shion quickly retrieved the handkerchief she carried, stepped forward, and gently dabbed Shigure’s nose.
Only when her face was covered by the somewhat warm handkerchief did Shigure’s brain return to normal operation.
“Eh? Eh? What happened…?” Shigure’s mind was still somewhat muddled, but at least she was beginning to react.
” ‘I hardly think the Kagura dance is anything… *lewd*, is it?’ ” Shion teased, gently stroking Shigure’s hair. ” ‘It’s a sacred dance performed to pray to the gods. How could it possibly make Iori-san bleed from her nose?’ ”
“N-no! I think Shion-san danced really well! I, I don’t know anything about dancing or such things, but I truly believe Shion-san’s dancing is superb! I have no suggestions to offer. It’s just… Shion-san, you absolutely *must* buy safety shorts, otherwise, otherwise it’s just too… stimulating…”
Shigure spoke with a rapid, slightly incoherent rush, yet she managed to convey her thoughts and opinions clearly enough.
“Mm-hm, Iori-san, I’ve received your suggestion~” Shion nodded, pulling out her phone and pretending to earnestly record Shigure’s advice.
In truth, Shion was already acting on that advice. The safety shorts purchased online were en route; surely they wouldn’t fail to arrive before the Autumn Festival, would they?
‘Surely… they wouldn’t, right?’
Subsequently, gazing at Shigure, whose cheeks were flushed and who dared not meet her eyes, Shion inexplicably felt a renewed urge to tease her.
Humanity’s sole lesson from history is that humanity learns no lessons from history. Shion, it seemed, had conveniently forgotten her last mischievous prank on Shigure during their shared bath, a prank that had nearly backfired spectacularly.
But who cared? What if she remembered? Hoshimori Shion would undoubtedly stumble into the same pit again.
Shion took a small step forward, positioning herself so that Shigure, still seated, found her head roughly level with Shion’s lower abdomen.
“Speaking of which, the weather’s been quite dry lately, Iori-san. You should be careful not to get any nosebleeds.”
“Wuwu, it’s just that what I saw just now was truly too…”
“Like this?” Shion subtly lifted her skirt. Beneath the already very short red Miko attire, that faint wisp of white once again appeared before Shigure’s eyes.
Shigure’s heart lurched violently in her chest, threatening to burst.
She quickly clamped a hand over her nose, lest the nosebleed that had just slightly subsided burst forth anew.
“Hey! Shion-san, you… wuwu…” Though Shigure yearned to voice a protest, she quickly realized her nosebleed had yet to subside and promptly clamped her mouth shut.
“We’ve already bathed together, Iori-san,” Shion said, adopting an air of utter bewilderment. “You even pulled me in to bathe with you; Iori-san shouldn’t be swayed by seeing beneath my skirt, should she?”
Before she finished speaking, Shion once again subtly lifted the hem of her Miko outfit, holding it up for a slightly longer duration this time. Shigure’s gaze was once more helplessly ensnared by the glimpse beneath Shion’s skirt…
“Alright, alright, no more teasing Iori-san~” Just as Shion was secretly chuckling, pleased with her little teasing trick, Shigure suddenly reached out, her hand seizing Shion’s skirt.
“Eh? Eh? Iori-san…” Shion’s eyes widened as she met Shigure’s gaze, a gaze that had suddenly darkened, and an immediate sense of foreboding washed over her.
“Shion-san is always like this, only teasing me here, but always at *this* moment!” In Shigure’s narrowed eyes, a distinct hint of resentment had begun to simmer.