“As everyone can see, the Hoshimori Miko of Hoshimori Shrine prays daily to the Divine Being for the town’s tranquility and everyone’s happiness. The Autumn Festival, one of the town’s oldest historical traditions, has for centuries been a pivotal festival where the Miko offers a sacred dance of blessing to the Divine Being. On this day, the Miko prays for a bountiful harvest in the coming year.”
The pre-recorded narration played from the recorder. When Shion had laid down the track, she had purposely elevated her voice, imbuing it with remarkable clarity and projection. Her words resonated throughout the entirety of the Autumn Festival’s main venue.
As Shion’s voice echoed, Shigure, Nanami, and Sakuya, gathered at the shrine’s stalls, instinctively looked up. Their gazes converged on the very center of the stage.
When the maiden in Miko attire emerged, a hush seemed to fall over the audience. Nearly every eye in attendance was fixed on the main stage of the Autumn Festival.
Truthfully, it was merely a simple wooden platform, crudely pieced together from brown planks. Around the main stage, several small torches flickered, their crimson flames casting a warm glow upon the maiden’s face. Her long, silver-white hair cascaded down her back, catching the dancing light of the fire.
Opting for torches instead of modern lighting was the most traditional method the two shrine maidens could devise.
“Wait, isn’t that…?”
“Isn’t that Ayane-san?”
Sakuya and Shigure spoke almost in unison, while Nanami’s eyes widened with shock.
****
Ten minutes earlier, beneath the great red torii at the shrine’s entrance.
“Sister, what’s wrong? You called me over in such a rush,” Ayane greeted Shion, who appeared to have been waiting under the torii for quite some time, as she jogged up.
“Ayane, about that… there’s something I need to ask of you.” Upon seeing her younger sister, Shion’s gaze dropped instead.
“Hmm? What is it? The Kagura dance is about to start in about ten minutes. Is there something else you need me to do, Sister?” Ayane glanced at her phone and asked.
Shion took a deep breath. “Ayane, in a little while… could you take my place and perform the Kagura dance?”
Without waiting for Ayane to reply, Shion immediately stepped forward and grasped her hand. “You don’t need to perform it perfectly formally. Most people here haven’t seen me dance the Kagura before anyway. I… I truly have something very important to do right now, so I really can’t…”
Shion’s words grew increasingly fragmented and flustered. The situation was urgent, and the only solution Shion could think of was to ensure the Kagura dance proceeded as planned, drawing everyone’s attention to the main venue of the Autumn Festival, while she herself attempted to slay the malevolent spirits. If that was the plan, the only way was for Ayane to perform the Kagura dance in her stead.
“So, I…” Shion wracked her brain, but all the numerous excuses she had just concocted vanished from her mind the moment she met her sister’s silver-white eyes.
“No problem~”
Despite having heard no explanation, Ayane smiled and made an ‘okay’ gesture.
“Eh?” Shion was momentarily stunned.
“My silly sister must have something really important going on. Otherwise, she wouldn’t entrust such a crucial task to me,” Ayane playfully stuck out her tongue. “So, silly sister, how will you compensate me after you solve this problem?”
“Uh… for one week, whatever you want to eat, Ayane, I’ll make it.”
Ayane leaned in a little closer. “What if I want to eat Sister?”
“Th-that’s fine too!” Though she didn’t immediately grasp Ayane’s meaning, agreeing outright seemed like the safest bet!
“Alright then! You go on and be busy, silly sister. I can handle this for you for a bit.” Ayane placed her hands on her hips and waved them dismissively.
“Then, the Miko outfit is on the living room sofa. I’m counting on you!” Shion said, waving to Ayane before heading straight for the shrine’s main hall to retrieve Spirit Cutter for the exorcism.
In truth, if Shion had looked just a little more carefully, she might have noticed that the mischievous, excited smile on her sister’s face carried a hint of reluctance.
In Shion’s memory, she had almost never seen her sister wear a Miko outfit. Yet, Ayane changed into the Miko attire with surprising speed, as if she were remarkably practiced. Although her figure was much better than her older sister’s, the inherently loose Miko robes still fit Ayane quite well.
“Sister, I’ve changed, do you want to see…” Ayane called out towards the door, twirling the skirt of the Miko outfit in front of the living room mirror. But the only response she received was the clamor of the Autumn Festival carried by the night breeze.
Ayane pushed open the door. The last thing her eyes caught was Shion’s back, holding Spirit Cutter, hurrying along a shortcut down the mountain.
The night wind rustled the grass in the courtyard, carrying away two teardrops that fell onto the ground.
“I’m sorry, Sister… for leaving you to bear everything…”
****
The opening pose of the Kagura dance involved kneeling, facing the torii, towards the dwelling place of the Divine Being, and offering the most sincere blessings.
From the recorder, melodious music drifted forth. The accompaniment for the Kagura dance was an ancient melody: restrained, steady, and lingering. Amidst the crackling sparks, the torchlight transformed Ayane’s silver-white hair into a brilliant fiery red. Her long hair swayed with her movements, dancing in the night wind.
Completely contrary to Shion’s expectations, Ayane’s movements bore no resemblance to a homebody who typically spent her days watching morning and evening dramas. On the contrary, her Kagura dance movements were ethereal, like those of a celestial maiden. Unlike Shion’s posture of devout prayer, Ayane’s stance was more relaxed, more natural, as if she wasn’t requesting anything from the divine, but merely performing a pure dance.
If Shion could see her now, she would undoubtedly be astonished. After all, she had never seen her sister wear a Miko outfit, let alone perform the Kagura dance. If she were beside Ayane at this moment, she would surely say something like, “Perhaps you should perform the Kagura dance for me from now on, Ayane.”
‘Essentially, she’s a lazy dog too~’
However, at this very moment, Shion, deep within the dense forest, along the mountain path, had already encountered malevolent spirits and was locked in a bitter struggle. Although she could still hear the sounds from the Autumn Festival, to her now, they were nothing more than fleeting background noise.
To prevent the malevolent spirits from converging on the Autumn Festival venue, Shion directly unleashed her Spirit-Quelling Physique’s ability. The aura of her physique swiftly drew the surrounding malevolent spirits towards her.
In a small clearing within the woods, Shion found herself completely surrounded by a throng of malevolent spirits. The scene eerily mirrored her first encounter when she had walked into the shrine’s back forest with Spirit Cutter in hand.
“But I must protect everyone…” Shion gritted her teeth, confronting the malevolent spirits before her, which glowed with an eerie red light.