"Please leave!"
In a certain hospital ward, a girl with long black hair shouted at the dark shadow before her.
"No!" The shadow wailed, yet it could not resist the biological instinct of its body, rolling away smoothly to a distant corner.
"Uh, Yotsuya-san... I can't really leave right now," a man with reddish-brown hair lying on the hospital bed said with a wry smile.
"Tono-sensei, I wasn't talking to you," Miko said, waving her hands with an embarrassed expression.
"Hmm?" Tono looked puzzled. "You really are a bit strange."
"Ahaha, please get some rest, sensei. I'll be going now, I'll visit again next time." Miko didn't dare stay longer and hurriedly left the ward.
Once outside, she sighed and muttered to herself, "Sigh, right now I can only drive away evil spirits; I still don't have the power to exorcise them."
The crux of the matter was that a certain god had promised to teach her but hadn't shown up for nearly two weeks.
"Aosora-sama, when are you coming back?"
Miko shook her head, pulled up her small shoulder bag, and began walking toward home.
From an open windowsill in the hospital, Yato, still wearing his black tracksuit, bit into an apple while watching Miko's departing figure with interest. "A medium among humans? Her spiritual power is quite strong for someone so young."
"Yato, what did you say?" Hiyori leaned out, but Miko was already out of sight.
Perched on her shoulder was a little girl, her round eyes staring intently at the apple in Yato's hand.
"Nothing, nothing. Just a girl who looks even more capable than you."
"More capable than me?" Hiyori didn't believe it. She had been practicing her punches with Ditto for so long that she could easily take down three to five grown men.
Yato didn't want to discuss it further. He pushed away Fūki's restless little hand and asked, "So, are you done with your business?"
"Yeah, I finished talking with my father."
"Then let's go home. I'm a bit hungry," Yato said, clutching his stomach.
"Didn't you just finish an apple? Honestly." Hiyori gave him a look of disdain, picked up Fūki, and put on a bright smile. "Fūki, we're going home for a big feast!"
"Yay, yay! Fūki loves big feasts!" Fūki clapped her hands happily.
"Then let's get going."
The three of them left the hospital together.
…
As dusk approached, the sky turned a brilliant orange-red.
Yato and the others saw more than the average person; besides the orange-tinted clouds, there were many strange bands of light floating in the air.
"Storm..." Yato's expression darkened. "With this level of storm, Ayakashis might appear." [1]
"Ayakashi? Like the ones from last time?" Hiyori nervously gripped Fūki's small hand. "Are you going to use Fūki to fight?"
"Yeah, if Ayakashis show up, I'll need Fūki's help."
"Un! Fūki will do her best!"
Suddenly, Yato sensed something. He looked up to find a woman sitting atop a streetlamp, staring down at him with a face as cold as frost.
She wore revealing leather clothing, her long golden hair cascaded down to her waist, and her purple eyes reflected Yato's silhouette.
"I found you, God of Calamity!" A long whip appeared in her hand, lashing out toward Yato.
"Tch!" Yato jumped back, dodging the whip.
The whip struck the pavement with a sharp crack, sending gravel flying.
"Eh, what's going on?" Hiyori, confused by the situation, asked, "Who is she? Why is she attacking you?"
"She's Bishamon, the strongest Goddess of War I've ever met. Oh, wait, she's the second strongest now," Yato explained quickly. "I had a conflict with her before, and she's been hunting me ever since."
"Bishamon? One of the Seven Fortune Gods? You actually had a conflict with such a powerful deity? No matter how I think about it, Yato, you must have done something very bad, right?" Hiyori said in shock.
"That's not it at all!" Yato shouted angrily.
At that moment, Bishamon waited for Yato to finish before speaking: "Though I have a personal grudge against you, slaying the wicked is also my duty! Die, Yato!"
As she spoke, Bishamon prepared to swing her whip again.
"Wait!" Hiyori spread her arms, shielding Yato. "Bishamon-sama, Yato isn't wicked. Isn't there some misunderstanding?"
"A human? And Yato's Regalia?" Bishamon looked at the panicked Fūki, her anger flaring even hotter.
"Yato, do you even stoop to using such a small child? Unforgivable!" The whip in her hand danced like a serpent, aiming to coil around Hiyori and toss her aside.
"A mere human should not interfere in the affairs of gods!"
Watching the incoming whip, Hiyori narrowed her eyes. Moving by reflex, she dropped into a stance. Her hands struck like lightning, parrying the long whip to the side.
"This human..." Bishamon reassessed Hiyori. Although she hadn't used much force, the ability to clearly see the whip's trajectory and parry it so precisely was proof of the girl's extraordinary nature.
"That's enough, Hiyori." Yato stepped forward. "This really is between us; it has nothing to do with you. Go home and start cooking; we'll be back soon."
"Fūki, come!"
Fūki transformed into a slender sword and fell into Yato's hand.
"But..." Hiyori hesitated.
This time, Bishamon didn't intend to give them any more time for chatting. Seeing Yato ready, she immediately lashed out with her whip at full strength.
Yato stood ready, intending to use Fūki to counter, when suddenly a brilliant light flew from the distance, piercing the ground directly between them.
Sensing the immense energy within it, both Bishamon and Yato instinctively chose to avoid its edge, stepping back several paces.
The light seemed grand and imposing, yet it made no sound as it hit the ground. When the radiance dimmed, they saw it was an arrow of light.
The tip of the arrow was embedded in the earth, and it quickly dissipated on its own.
"Who is it?" Bishamon looked up in the direction the arrow had come from. She saw a figure floating in the sky, holding a plain, unadorned black longbow. It was clearly he who had fired the arrow.
"It's Aosora-sama!" Hiyori recognized the man and immediately cheered.
"It's that kid. No wonder he's so flashy," Yato muttered, his gaze trailing over the longbow in the man's hand. "Finally seeing his Regalia. It looks pretty strong."
"Hello, you two." Aomori waved at them. "It feels like it's been a long time."
"What do you mean 'long time'? It's only been about ten days," Yato retorted.
Bishamon, however, stared at Aomori with a stern expression. "Who are you? Why haven't I seen you before? A being like you shouldn't be unknown."
"Regrettably, I am just an obscure minor god. It's natural that Bishamon-sama wouldn't know of me." Aomori looked Bishamon up and down, this beautiful, mature woman.
It was said that her clothes, hat, and everything else were transformed Regalia. If an accident happened during a fight and she lost her spiritual power, wouldn't she end up streaking?
Noticing Aomori's sharp gaze, Bishamon's expression became uncomfortable. She barked, "So you truly are birds of a feather with this God of Calamity? Wicked gods have no right to exist!"
However, Aomori's figure suddenly vanished. When he reappeared, he was already standing behind Bishamon, right on the rump of her lion mount.
"You must be tired, Bishamon. Supporting so many Regalia all the time... you must be exhausted."
"You...!"
Before she could turn around, Aomori snapped his fingers. A dense orb of Holy Light suddenly appeared, wrapping tightly around Bishamon.
An instant later, the light vanished. Bishamon had closed her eyes, falling unconscious onto the lion's back.
"Bishamon-sama, what's wrong?!" the lion cried out in human speech.
He, too, was a Regalia.
"She's fine. She's just too tired and fell asleep. Take her back to Takamagahara," Aomori said calmly.
Hearing Bishamon's steady breathing, the lion calmed down and asked, "Kazuma, are you still there? What do we do now?"
The earring on Bishamon's earlobe flickered, and a voice came through: "Let's go back. Let her rest."
"Alright!" The lion hurriedly took to the air and departed.
The pressure of that man standing behind him had been unlike anything he had ever felt.
"Well, that's settled then." Yato breathed a sigh of relief and let Fūki return to her human form. "How did you make that crazy woman fall asleep?"
"That, naturally, is a trade secret," Aomori said with a smile.
Hiyori hugged Fūki and asked, "Yato, what kind of misunderstanding do you and Bishamon-sama have? Why is she always hunting you?"
"Ahaha, it's nothing much." Yato avoided giving a straight answer.
Stare—
"Could it be a case of 'love turned to hate'?"
"No way!"
Aomori was truly just passing through this time and didn't want to engage further. After saying goodbye, he turned into a purple light and vanished.
"Sigh, the gap between gods seems even bigger than the gap between gods and humans," Hiyori remarked with a sigh.
"Tell me about it," Yato agreed, nodding. "An exceptional god like me is truly a rare find in this world."
"Hehe."
"What are you laughing at?"
"Fūki, let's go home."
"Hey, wait for me!"
…
"I'm home!"
Miko opened her front door, changed her shoes in the entryway, and walked in.
"Welcome back." Her brother, Kyousuke, was playing with a small kitten. "Why are you so late today, onee-chan?"
"Ah, ran into some stuff." Miko looked exhausted and gave a vague excuse before heading up to the second floor.
"How strange." Kyousuke watched his sister's back disappear up the stairs out of the corner of his eye. "Could she have gone on a date? With that expression... did they have a fight?"
"Hmph, serves her right."
A few seconds later, however, Kyousuke heard Miko scream. He picked up the kitten, walked to the bottom of the stairs, and shouted, "Onee-chan, what happened? Are you okay?"
Then, Miko's slightly trembling voice came from above: "I-I'm fine! I just saw a cockroach and got a bit of a scare."
"Are you sure you're okay?"
Miko was destined not to answer that question. She was clutching her chest, gazing in surprise and joy at the familiar figure sitting at her desk.
"Aosora-sama, you're finally back?!"
"Yes, I'm back." Aomori smiled. "Miko, how have you been these past few days?"
Miko closed her bedroom door and walked to Aomori's side. "I've been okay, it's just that the evil spirits still love to find me."
"Also, my homeroom teacher had to go on leave because she's having a baby, so we got a new teacher." She told Aomori about Tono. "I thought he was a cat abuser before, but it turns out it was a misunderstanding. He's actually a very kind teacher. There's an evil spirit haunting him, and I tried to help but failed."
"I see. That was my fault; I promised to teach you exorcism," Aomori said. "But while I was away this time, I found you a good teacher."
"A teacher?"
"There, she is." Aomori tossed the longbow into the air, and it condensed into a human form.
Miko's jaw dropped when she saw her. "What a beautiful lady."
The person summoned from the bow was a stunning woman dressed in miko robes. Her expression was cool, yet she instinctively inspired a sense of warmth and trust.
She was Kikyo, whom Aomori had transformed into a spirit.
"Kikyo, my condition was for you to look after her."
"Understood." Kikyo nodded slightly and patted Miko's head. "Hello, my name is Kikyo. I look forward to your guidance."
"K-Kikyo-san, I am Miko Yotsuya." Compared to Kikyo, Miko was far more nervous.
Standing before this celestial-looking Kikyo, she couldn't help but feel a sense of inferiority.
"Kikyo was a powerful miko in her previous life. She is more suited to be your teacher than I am," Aomori explained.
"Un." Internally, Miko wasn't quite as happy as she expected to be.
"Alright, you two get along. I have other things to handle, so I'll be off."
With that, Aomori vanished, much to Miko's disappointment.
"He's gone already?"
Miko turned to look at Kikyo, not knowing what to say.
Seeing this, Kikyo took the initiative to start a conversation on a topic they shared: "Would you like to know how Aosora-sama and I met?"
"Yes, yes!" Miko nodded vigorously.
"At that time, I was a ghost whose body was made of clay..."
…
"Waaaah, Saint Hakushin was so pitiful! Just hearing you tell it, I can already feel his pain. How deep must his original suffering and sorrow have been?"
After hearing Kikyo's story of Saint Hakushin, Miko immediately broke into tears.
"Miko is a kind girl," Kikyo said, gently putting her arm around Miko's shoulder. "Fortunately, Saint Hakushin found release. He no longer has to suffer the torment of those painful memories."
"Then, what about that big villain named Naraku?" Miko asked, wiping her eyes and smiling sheepishly.
"Naturally, he was dealt with by Aosora-sama. And I, having received his mercy and blessing, was transformed from a ghost into what I am now."
"So, the price was to become my teacher?"
"The price? I suppose you could call it that," Kikyo said. "Why do you want to learn exorcism?"
"Um, at first I wanted to protect myself, my family, and my friends from being harmed by evil spirits. Now... I also want to use this power to help more people who need it."
"Very well. Do you know how to use a bow and arrow?"
"Eh?"
————
[1] Storm - the raw says 時化 which roughly translate to "stormy weather." I don't know what was the official translation for this one. I tried looking in wiki but found no such thing. If you know the right term used in anime for situations when "ayakashi might appear because of the weather or atmosphere," please let me know.
Want to read ahead of schedule? Head over to my p-atre-on: p-atre-on.c-om/Overgod [Just remove the hyphen to access normally]