“Did you all feel that?”
Chihaya’s voice was calm, but her speaking pace was a bit faster than usual.
Mai nodded. “I felt it.”
“This feeling is…” Hitomi hesitated, as if confirming.
“It’s Lady Kaguya’s power.”
Futaba’s voice rang out.
It was completely different from her usual light, teasing tone. Her voice carried a rare seriousness, even a hint of tension.
The expressions of the others couldn’t help but turn serious.
‘No way? Again?’
‘Amaterasu came, Tsukuyomi came, now Kaguya-hime too? Are all of Takamagahara descending for a team-building event? What is Hakone, some kind of deity check-in spot?’
He turned his questioning gaze to Chihaya.
Chihaya shook her head.
“I’m not familiar with Kaguya-hime’s power. You need to ask Futaba.”
You turned his gaze to Futaba.
Futaba wasn’t looking at him.
She couldn’t spare the attention.
She clearly felt a power descending from the moon in the sky, targeting her, getting closer and stronger, enveloping her like a tide. That power was cold, distant, carrying an indescribable sorrow, as if moonlight itself had weight.
Futaba’s mind was a mess.
‘Is this… a Divine Descent?’
‘How could it be a Divine Descent?’
‘In the history of the Tsukuyomi family, there has never been a record of Lady Kaguya performing a Divine Descent. The family also doesn’t have a Curse Technique tradition of transforming oneself into a Vessel for Divine Descent.’
‘Before a normal Divine Descent, shouldn’t a Curse Art be bestowed first, allowing the Miko to train and modify her body? Why did Lady Kaguya descend directly?’
‘How… did Lady Kaguya just come?’
‘What will happen to me?’
‘Can her body withstand it?’
‘Will there be side effects?’
Futaba’s mind raced through countless thoughts, each one sending a chill down her spine.
That power gave her no time to think. It fell from the moon, through the night sky, through the courtyard, through her body.
She could feel that power entering her body, an indescribable feeling of being soaked from the inside out.
Futaba gritted her teeth and closed her eyes.
‘Lady Kaguya, please don’t break me.’
***
The aura around Futaba changed.
It wasn’t the vast, ancient, suffocating heat of Amaterasu’s descent. Instead, it was a cold, distant temperament tinged with a faint sorrow. Like moonlight in a bamboo grove, or wind in the dead of night.
She opened her eyes.
The color of her eyes changed. No longer the black, smiling eyes from before, but a crystalline color—a pale silver-white, as if moonlight had condensed in her pupils.
Everyone present knew—Kaguya-hime had descended.
Chihaya was the first to react. She stood up, slightly lowered her head, and bowed.
Mai and Hitomi also stood up, bowing respectfully.
The three girls stood side by side, heads slightly lowered, no one speaking.
You was still sitting there, not yet sure what attitude to adopt toward her.
He looked at the “Futaba” before him—no, now he should call her Kaguya-hime. The face was still Futaba’s, but the expression, temperament, and eyes had all changed. There was no trademark smile, no light-hearted tone, replaced instead by a gentle, distant expression tinged with faint sorrow.
Kaguya-hime stood up, her movements graceful, like a princess—no, she was the true Moon Princess.
She walked up to You, stopped, lifted her skirt, and bowed slightly.
“Divine Child, it’s nice to meet you. I am Kaguya-hime.”
Her voice was gentle yet distant, carrying a faint sorrow. It was completely different from Futaba’s own voice—Futaba’s voice was crisp with a lazy tone, while Kaguya-hime’s voice was lighter, softer, like wind chimes ringing in the distance.
You was taken aback.
He hadn’t expected Kaguya-hime to bow to him, and he felt a bit on guard. This was his father’s enemy. The one who seized Tsukuyomi’s incense offerings, divided Tsukuyomi’s authority, and caused Great God Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto’s presence in the mortal world to plummet.
He stood up, still a little tense inside, but tried to keep his face calm.
“You are a deity, I am a human. I cannot accept your courtesy.”
Kaguya-hime smiled.
The smile was faint, but light danced in those crystalline eyes.
“You are certainly worthy. You are the descendant of Great God Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto, a noble Divine Child.”
She paused.
“Moreover—you claim to be an ordinary person. A truly ordinary person would not act this way when encountering a deity.”
She looked into You’s eyes.
“This is precisely what shows your extraordinariness.”
You was taken aback.
He didn’t want to get caught up in this issue with her. Whatever “extraordinary” or not, he was just an ordinary transmigrator, just unlucky—or rather lucky—to have a deity for a father. But that wasn’t something he could explain.
He asked directly.
“Lady Kaguya, what brings you here this time?”
Kaguya-hime did not answer immediately.
She looked at You, moonlight reflecting in her crystalline eyes.
Then she spoke, her voice still gentle, but her tone much more serious than before.
“You need not be tense, Divine Child.”
“I came down this time with only one thing to tell you.”
Moonlight shone on her, blurring her silhouette. She stood there, like a painting, like a legend.
“I have never harbored any intention to usurp Great God Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto.”
The air in the courtyard grew still.
You looked into Kaguya-hime’s eyes. Crystalline, transparent, unfathomable eyes.
‘Never harbored any intention to usurp.’
‘What does that mean? She doesn’t want to replace Tsukuyomi?’
‘Then why did she seize Tsukuyomi’s incense offerings?’
He didn’t have time to think more, because Kaguya-hime had already started bowing.
“I’ve delivered my message. I should go.”
She turned around, took two steps, then stopped.
“Ah, Divine Child—”
She didn’t turn around, her voice coming from her back.
“Futaba is a good girl. Please treat her well.”
Then her body swayed.
That cold aura receded like a tide, quickly, completely disappearing in a few seconds.
Futaba’s eyes opened.
The black pupils returned. That trademark, smiling gaze also returned.
But—
Her body swayed, a bigger lurch than when Kaguya-hime left. Then a trace of blood spilled from the corner of her mouth, glaringly bright under the moonlight. Her knees gave way, and she pitched forward.
You didn’t have time to think. He took two quick steps and reached out to catch her.
Futaba fell into his arms, her head resting on his shoulder. Her face was pale, her lips lacking color, but her eyes were bright. Not the usual elusive feeling, but a purer brightness, like a child who had gotten something they wanted.
“Futaba? Are you okay?”
You’s voice was a little tight.