Chapter 366: The War of Women
"Just what on earth is going on?" Tamamo-no-Mae asked, grabbing Shirou by his collar.
"Whether it's status or lineage, as long as there is love, the mere position of a small-country princess is something I'd abandon in a heartbeat. I'll show you how easily I can leap over such obstacles," Kiyohime said with a triumphant smile.
"Hey, don't just abandon it," Shirou deadpanned.
Although Shirou wasn't exactly welcoming, there were others in the house who were very happy to see the fox dancer.
"Ah! It's Dancer-Sister! Did you come to play with us?" Hearing the voices, Atsu walked out and saw Tamamo-no-Mae, running forward in a pleasant surprise.
"Mm-hmm, I hadn't heard from you in a long time while in the city, so I made a special trip to see you," Tamamo-no-Mae said, patting the children's heads with a smile.
"I'm clearly the one who met him first... why has it turned into this after only being apart for a week?" Tamamo-no-Mae muttered to herself, feeling as if she'd been struck by a bolt from the blue.
"Hmm? I remember meeting Dancer-Sister and the Princess at the same time in the city, right? Tasuke?" Little Atsu said, recalling their previous experience.
"Ya-ya." The infant on her back let out a cry of agreement.
At that time, Tamamo-no-Mae had been dancing and Kiyohime had been watching the spectacle nearby. To avoid getting involved with them, Shirou had pulled Atsu and Tasuke away, only to encounter Tamamo-no-Mae again when they stayed at the inn.
"Fufu, I win~!" Kiyohime whispered, making a subtle V-sign with her hand.
"Migu-gu-gu-gu... Ngggh, I won't accept this!" Tamamo-no-Mae clenched her fists; she was practically at the point of biting a handkerchief. In her excitement, even her hidden fox tail's fur bristled.
She was a master of romance with over a thousand years of experience! In a backwater place like Shimousa, in a countryside town that didn't even have a name, she was definitely the ultimate "normie"! Right?! How could she possibly lose?!
"Calm down," Shirou said helplessly. One Kiyohime was enough of a handful; now that another had arrived, it was truly too much. Truth be told, he had known these two for a long time, though they were different individuals in another world.
"Kiyohime is just a guest," Shirou explained coldly. To be honest, he was so tired of the endless teasing from the villagers lately that he had given up on explaining further. He simply said:
"Anyway, come in and sit. I'll make tea."
"Yes, yes, come in. To our home~!" Kiyohime emphasized, stepping aside to make room.
"I can walk in myself!" Tamamo-no-Mae huffed.
"As I thought, has something happened in the city?" Shirou asked.
"Yes, Shirou. Strange things have been happening in the city lately. I think perhaps you should come and see for yourself," Tamamo-no-Mae said, her expression shifting as she looked at him seriously.
"I understand. Thank you," Shirou replied, nodding as things became clear in his mind.
"Hehe, I was actually helpful~! Unlike someone who just eats free meals. A 'virtuous wife' should be exactly like this~!" Tamamo-no-Mae smirked, glancing at Kiyohime out of the corner of her eye.
"Mmm-mmm..." Kiyohime seethed with anger, looking as if she were about to breathe fire.
Tamamo-no-Mae continued, her eyes darting toward the girl. "By the way, Princess, the city has been in a total uproar because of your disappearance, you know."
"Eh? I clearly left a note telling them not to worry and that I was just going on a week-long trip. They're making such a fuss over nothing," Kiyohime grumbled.
"Kiyohime, it really would be better if you went back," Shirou spoke up.
"What!" Kiyohime cried out, sounding wounded.
"Gu-hehe, Snake-Woman, just go back. Having me here is enough," Tamamo-no-Mae said smugly.
"Ngggh..." Kiyohime puffed out her cheeks in a pout.
"No, Tamamo-san, you go back too," Shirou said to Tamamo-no-Mae.
"Pfft~!" Kiyohime burst out laughing.
The fox dancer's pointed animal ears perked up as she protested, "Migu?! On what grounds! I just got here! At least let me stay for a full week."
"Alright, it's settled. For now, you'll stay here tonight, and I'll take you both back to the city tomorrow morning," Shirou said, looking at the sky.
Tamamo-no-Mae and Kiyohime looked at each other, then simultaneously let out mysterious laughs.
"He-hehehe..." "Fu-hehehe..."
Afterward, Shirou prepared a lavish dinner. Since Tamamo-no-Mae had come all this way from the city, it was worth celebrating. There was venison from a mountain hunt and Inari sushi that a fox would surely love.
After dinner, he had Atsu take Tasuke upstairs to sleep. Once he tucked the children in, he went to check on Tamamo-no-Mae and Kiyohime, who were staying in the other two rooms on the second floor.
Tamamo-no-Mae's room was unlit and pitch black; they were currently in Kiyohime's room. Just as he was about to slide the paper door open, he heard the two girls talking, interspersed with sounds of laughter.
"He's really too much! I clearly invited him like that, but he was completely unmoved. I even said I didn't mind," Tamamo-no-Mae complained, lying on her bedding and kicking her feet.
"Exactly!" Kiyohime nodded repeatedly. She felt a deep sense of empathy for what the fox woman was saying; after all, she had been bundled in a quilt for an entire night.
Tamamo-no-Mae and Kiyohime were no longer fighting; instead, they were bonding over criticizing Shirou, unknowingly forming a united front.
'I'll never understand the mysteries of female friendship. But if they can stay quiet and get along, that's for the best' Shirou thought. He didn't go in to disturb them and turned to leave.
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1:00 AM...
A dark shadow appeared stealthily on the first floor of the cottage. Another shadow walked silently down the stairs.
The two shadows collided in front of the door at the corner of the stairs and fell to the floor. One shadow scrambled on all fours, trying to be the first to enter the corner room. The other grabbed the former's legs, preventing her from moving a step forward.
The former naturally resisted, struggling to break free. Neither dared to make a sound, because the person sleeping inside this room was Shirou. Their goal was to sneak into his bedding and "create a fait accompli."
Finally, the two seemed to reach a compromise and slid open the white paper door of Shirou's room from both sides.
Unfortunately... the room was empty.
The green-haired girl and the fox dancer, their hair messed up from the scuffle, stared at each other in a daze.
At that moment, Shirou was actually working in the forge. He was trying to craft a master blade capable of dealing with magical beasts, but currently, due to the limitations of his materials, he wasn't satisfied; he was only producing what he considered failures.
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The next day, it was already past noon by the time they set out from the village. Because the women had dallied and refused to leave, a lot of time had been wasted. It wasn't until after lunch that he finally managed to drag them along toward the city of Shimousa.
"Even letting me stay for a few days would have been fine," Tamamo-no-Mae said dissatisfiedly.
"I'm going to get scolded when I go back," Kiyohime said, narrowing her eyes and looking conflicted.
"I'll walk you all the way to your door, so stop worrying. Once you're ready, we leave," Shirou said.
"Fufu, that's true. Since we're already in a relationship where we live together, it's about time I took Shirou to meet my family," Kiyohime smiled, seemingly entering another strange fantasy.
"Well then, I'm heading out to take them back to the city. You two be good at home and don't wander too far! Bandits come out after dark," Shirou said to Atsu and Tasuke.
"We know, Grandpa!" Atsu replied obediently. She followed Shirou, Tamamo-no-Mae, and Kiyohime all the way to the village entrance before stopping, waving her hand continuously at them.
Setting off in the afternoon and crossing two mountains, they didn't rush given Kiyohime's pace. Listening to the two girls bicker along the way, they soon reached the hour of dusk.
It was the time of Ouma-toki—the twilight hour. In ghost stories, this is the time when demons and monsters appear. A strange wind blew, and a mist rose; it felt as if the three of them had stepped into a different world. The sound of festival music, like a parade, echoed from the road ahead. The magical beasts that had previously been mere shadows now revealed their true forms.
Oil-paper umbrellas walking on one leg, floating red lanterns, brooms with tiny eyes, kappas with plates on their heads, an old man riding a goldfish, and a girl followed by a marionette? Strange-looking monsters passed one after another along the rural road.
There were also yokai with flutes and hand-drums, playing and blowing to the beat, collaborating to perform a mysterious and eerie piece of music.
A female demon with branch-patterned horns on her head scattered pink peach and cherry blossom petals, which flew everywhere with the swirling wind.
There were even red, white, and black Daruma dolls with painted mustaches and human faces, hopping along the ground.
"Now that I think about it, tonight is the Night of a Hundred Demons (Hyakki Yagyo)," Tamamo-no-Mae said, looking at the scene with surprise.
"Are the yokai gentlemen having a banquet?" Kiyohime asked curiously.
Shirou saw a sight that didn't exist in his original world. The long blade in his hand trembled slightly; this world was indeed abnormal.
The old man riding the goldfish stopped in surprise when he saw the blue-robed dancer and swam over on his goldfish.
"Oh my, oh my, if it isn't Lady Tamamo," the short old man in a black official's hat said with a slight bow and a squinty smile.
"Hello, Lord Ebisu," Tamamo-no-Mae returned the greeting.
"Have you also come to join the banquet after the parade?" the old man asked.
Tamamo-no-Mae shook her head and said gracefully, "No, my current setting is a human dancer, so I won't be joining. I wish you a pleasant time."
"I see, I see. Then I won't disturb you." The old man on the goldfish nodded slightly and swam away, muttering to himself: "O-hoho! To think I'd meet such a great figure; tonight was truly worth coming out for."
"Was that just now the god Ebisu?" Shirou asked in surprise.
"Eh? That tiny grandpa is the God of Commerce?" Kiyohime tilted her head, not quite believing it.
"If I'd known, maybe I should have offered a prayer," Shirou said with some regret. After all, he was raising a son and daughter now, plus two burdens who ate his food; it wouldn't do if he didn't earn more money.
"Well, it was just an avatar descended to the human realm, another form of familiar. There are many such existences, so it's nothing to be surprised at. After all, the Shintoism of this place believes in animism, with eight million gods. Existences that are both yokai and worshipped as gods are not few," Tamamo-no-Mae explained.
"So, I advise you not to have excessively high expectations of gods. Even if you pray, it won't change your fortune. After all, things like lineage are decided from the start," Tamamo-no-Mae said, spreading her hands.
"Ooh, what a rare combination. A fox lady, a snake? And a wielder of a demon blade?" A blue seashell, spurting water out of thin air, floated over. Inside sat a black-haired girl with Oriental dragon horns, observing Shirou and the others with curiosity.
"I'm not a monster!" Kiyohime said huffily.
"Eh? Did I get it wrong? Then... young man, are you the monster? A blade-yokai in human form?" The dragon-horned girl looked at Shirou inquisitively.
"No, this is indeed a blade I forged," Shirou said.
"Long time no see, Lady Ogui. Are you here for the parade too? Where have you been these past centuries?" Tamamo-no-Mae asked, looking at the dragon woman of her era.
"Ah, Fox Lady. The last time I saw you was when you were being hunted by Seimei and his army. After that, I took a little nap and accidentally overslept. When I woke up, I heard the human dynasties back home had changed several times; it gave me quite a shock. Since there's no rush anyway, I'm staying here to play for a while," Ogui said with a smile.
"Hahaha, could you not bring those things up? We can have a pleasant chat!" Tamamo-no-Mae's face turned very dark as she spoke.
"Sure. So, what exactly is your relationship?" Ogui, a woman with a dazed and cute air similar to Mashiro—a bit of an "airhead" type whose thought process was far from normal—continued to ask the fox dancer without concern.
"Actually, you weren't wrong. If you say Shirou and I are existences that fight together and share life and death, that's correct. Shirou is the bladesmith, and I am Shirou's sword. It's perfectly fine for you to hold my hand now too~!" As Kiyohime spoke, her face turned slightly red, and she entered into another strange fantasy.
Shirou flatly refused. "No, no, I won't hold it. If things get dangerous and we really have to fight, just hide behind me."
Hearing Shirou's words, Kiyohime's face instantly flushed red. She opened her mouth and let out a strange cry: "Wuu... waah!!"
"Shut up! You're too noisy! You snake-woman!" Tamamo-no-Mae suddenly became very angry and shouted at the princess.
"Wuu..." This time, Kiyohime didn't snap back. Her face was bright red, she suppressed a smile, and she pumped her fists up and down excitedly.
What is with her? Shirou thought in confusion, though he was somewhat used to their occasional fits.
"Hmm? What about you, Fox Lady?" Ogui asked, looking at Tamamo-no-Mae.
"As for Tamamo-chan, she is Shirou's sheath, encompassing Shirou's sword within her body~! Kyaa~!" Tamamo cupped her blushing face, her eyes sneaking a peek at Shirou's lower body, before letting out an excited scream.
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