"You were so cool when you threw that punch, Immortal!"
Princess Kaguya ran up to Fu Hua, gazing at her with admiration. That Onmyoji had looked incredibly powerful, but Fu Hua had beaten him to a pulp with one punch!
Her adoptive mother was just too cool!
She was now more than happy to accept Fu Hua as her mother. Having such a cool mom didn't seem so bad!
"Don't sweat it. Just the basics."
Looking down at little Princess Kaguya clinging to her leg, Fu Hua let out a sigh of relief. She hadn't come looking for trouble—she'd just been praising her and calling her Mom. Nothing to worry about, then. She'd given Fu Hua a fright.
"???"
Princess Kaguya didn't understand what Fu Hua meant.
"Never mind if you don't get it. I'm going to look inside. Want to come with me?" Fu Hua pointed toward the depths of the cave. There might be something else in there; the Onmyoji couldn't have had nothing but a jade slip.
"Yes, yes! But..."
Kaguya held her arms out to Fu Hua, clearly asking to be picked up.
"..."
After studying Kaguya for a moment, Fu Hua picked her up. She was only a little girl of five or six, after all. There was no harm in carrying her!
Still, Fu Hua couldn't help feeling that her Kaguya was missing something...
Right, she seemed to be missing the five treasures Kaguya had demanded.
The Stone Bowl of the Buddha of India, the Jeweled Branch of Penglai from Mount Penglai, the Fire-Rat Robe of China, the Dragon's Jewel that shone with five colors, and the Swallow's Cowrie Shell...
These were the key items in Princess Kaguya's story, The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter!
Besides, her little Kaguya would grow up in just