A little girl floated on the boundless emerald lake. Her features were delicate, her eyes closed beneath wispy, side-swept bangs. Her lips were rosy and moist, her expression peaceful. Clearly, she was in no discomfort.
In fact, two full days had passed since Miko Ryoko had been purified, yet the little miko remained unconscious. The Divine Messenger, however, said this was normal, because her power was awakening. Following the Divine Messenger's instructions, Mika and Chacha placed the little miko, who thirsted for water, in the Jade Pool near the shrine.
Just as Miko Ryoko had said when she lost her reason, almost all the shrine's miko had died. Only Chacha had returned to life, for some unknown reason. Yes, she had risen from the dead.
The poor miko had nearly broken down when she woke and saw the other miko's mutilated bodies in the shrine.
After the spellcaster told her how Ryoko had been purified, the miko could only tremble and sob softly. Perhaps she no longer even had the strength to cry aloud. Not everyone knew the whole truth about Ryoko, and most who did kept their mouths tightly shut. Yet the miko living at the shrine had suddenly been told one day that all their lives would be needed to seal the evil spirit. Even if they did not know why such a terrible price was necessary, their private conversations had always left them with vague suspicions...
She simply had not expected the truth to be so ugly. She had once cared for Ryoko. Ryoko, who had been so powerful, lay helpless on disheveled bedding, her face filled with despair. But Chacha had cowardly fled, cowardly pretended not to know, and cowardly watched Ryoko walk, step by step, toward an abyss from which there was no return...
Now, however, she had calmed down. Whether out of guilt or a sense of responsibility, she was the only one left at this shrine. Even the Divine Messenger considered it a place of defilement and intended to leave, but she would forever stand guard over this sacred ground filled with the dead. The miko had first deceived the Divine Messenger, hoping to use the Divine Messenger's power to forcibly pacify the dead miko, and that had brought this disaster upon them. She neither dared nor had the right to resent the Divine Messenger for abandoning them.
Whatever had happened, this was still the place where she had grown up. No matter how weak she was, even if she someday died beneath a monster's claws, she would never turn her back on this shrine. Gazing at the little miko lying quietly in the lake, Chacha sighed without realizing it. Such tremendous power was something she would probably never possess. Even so, she would never be afraid.
The clear lake lay perfectly still. The little miko lying in it had almost stopped breathing. Yet the spiritual power around her was circulating wildly! As that power surged beneath the surface, ripples began spreading across the tranquil water. In the blink of an eye, jade-green lotus leaves covered the lake. Amid the sprawling stems, Han could no longer maintain her human form and reverted to her original form. Spiritual energy from the forest rushed madly toward her. The plants, unable to speak, silently offered the girl of their own kind their strongest support!
A milky-white mist gradually shrouded the lake.
After an unknown length of time, the immense spiritual energy at the lake's center surged skyward once more.
The mist slowly dispersed, and spiritual energy purer than before returned to the forest. The breeze seemed to carry a young girl's murmuring-a soft whisper of gratitude.
The white mist cleared completely.
A slender young girl stood gracefully upon the lake.
It seemed that in the blink of an eye, the little miko had grown up. The small child had become a girl in her early teens and was walking toward those on the shore with a smile.
Han clasped the Paper Talisman at her chest. It was the precious talisman her Master had once given her to conceal her form and aura. It was only thanks to this talisman that she had been able to make her breakthrough in the lake without releasing her aura. She did not want those around her to be hurt because of her. Kikyo's fall back then remained an eternal wound in her heart.
During the days Han had slept without waking, the spellcaster and the miko had buried the dead miko's remains. The miko lay quietly in the earth behind the shrine, forever watching over this place.
Under the spellcaster's guidance [note], the three solemnly and earnestly performed rites to deliver the deceased. They recited sutra after sutra, soothing the resentment of the dead.
For a fleeting moment, the three seemed to see the miko in their white robes and red hakama bowing in farewell. Beneath the azure sky, serene smiles blossomed on the miko's lips. In that peaceful scene, their hair stirred gently as they turned away and attained Buddhahood.
Chacha seemed to see the senior miko at their head, who had been like an elder sister to her, move her lips slightly and silently speak the final words she had never had the chance to leave them.
She gripped the Red String at her chest, a blessing the senior miko had tied onto each of them with her own hands. She took one last look at that slowly vanishing figure and promised in her heart, I will take good care of our shrine.
In the blink of an eye, everything had settled.
It was time for Mika and Han to take their leave as well.
Chacha accompanied them all the way down the mountain. She watched them recede into the distance, then returned up the mountain alone.
The shrine's last miko straightened her back and stood alone at its entrance. Amid the dense mountain woods, the two travelers were already out of sight. After a long while, the miko turned and walked into the shrine, her resolute figure showing not a trace of hesitation or uncertainty.
Mika asked whether the miko could protect the shrine alone.
Han said she certainly could.
Mika pressed her for an explanation.
Han only smiled and said nothing.
Not far ahead, the dove traveling with them flew lightly through the air. Perhaps, someday, it would return.
Notes: 1. Takahashi-sensei doesn't seem to have explained exactly how to become stronger. Everyone seems to keep fighting, then grow. Or perhaps they train? But specific training doesn't seem to have been mentioned either. So in this story, I've established that both monsters and humans find opportunities to grow or break through in successive awakenings. They gain insights during battle and thus achieve an awakening. A monster's awakening comes with the growth of its original form, while for humans, it's only a breakthrough in power. Routine training serves to consolidate that power. I'm realizing I might be a setting obsessive... QAQ
2. Delivering souls is a spellcaster's proper duty, not a miko's. In the original, we only see Spellcaster Miroku and other monks deliver the spirits of the dead. The miko seem, at most, able to reform or destroy them.
3. The miko were buried rather than cremated because burial was still the predominant practice at the time. Funeral practices are generally determined mainly by religious beliefs, though~ Come to think of it, cremation in ancient Japan seems to have been used only by the wealthy. Kikyo was cremated so she could take the Shikon Jewel away forever and keep it from harming the human world again, right?
4. Han's confidence in the miko comes partly from the fact that the nearby monsters are very weak, as we can see from the Boar Monster. So, barring anything unexpected, Chacha will be able to handle them and protect the shrine in the future. Of course, their easy defeat of the Boar Monster was also partly due to Ryoko holding back. Ryoko herself was suffering terribly. She wanted revenge, was tormented by resentment, and was full of pain, but her compassion as a miko also made her hold back rather than attack with all her strength. The other reason is that Han quietly asked the forest to help Chacha. Besides, Chacha will grow stronger from now on, too~
P.S. I'm not stuck on the plot, but on the content... No matter how I write it, it feels wrong. My writing really is awful. Crying...
Before you continue