A short while later.
The main hall of the shrine.
Three figures knelt before a low table. Shinji sat at the center. Kikyō was at his left hand. The new-generation Uesugi Kenshin sat across from him.
She had already suppressed that inexplicable flutter from a moment ago. Three cups of hot tea were set upon the low table between them. The tea had been brewed by Momiji, though perhaps "brewed" was too generous; it was more accurate to say that Botan had physically dragged her into the kitchen, and she had boiled it with trembling hands.
Momiji was kneeling outside the sliding door, eavesdropping. Botan was sprawled across her back, also eavesdropping. Naoe Kanetsugu stood beside a corridor pillar at the side of the main hall. Her posture was upright. The blood-mist brand upon her neck was faintly visible in the candlelight. Her gaze shifted back and forth between Kenshin and Shinji.
The adjutant general of the Uesugi clan had been held captive by this yōkai for nearly two months. And yet, where once they had been mortal enemies, now her lord sat across from him, drinking tea. The absurdity of the situation had long since exceeded her willingness to dwell on it.
Of course, if Naoe Kanetsugu could have recognized that the lord before her was no longer the same lord from before, she would have found it even more absurd. What a pity she could not. Such was the unreasonable power of gods and buddhas.
Shinji lifted his teacup and took a sip. His crimson demon eyes swept across the figure opposite him. Truly, she was an existence utterly different from the previous generation's silver-white hair and golden eyes.
Yet the "seed" he had once planted within her soul, was still there. And he could confirm: with that seed in place, she would not, and could not, become his enemy. Confirming she was not an enemy was enough.
"Speak. What exactly is the origin of those moths?"
Kenshin set down her teacup. But before addressing the matter at hand, she tilted her head slightly. Her dark pupils seemed to have made a resolution before daring to meet his crimson demon eyes directly.
"Before we speak of that, there is something I must first say." Her voice was steady. Clear and pure, utterly unadorned. "The matters from before, forcibly bestowing names. Besieging this land. Those things, should not have been done." Should not have been done. Not were done by the previous generation.
Because in the perception of Naoe Kanetsugu and everyone else, it had been her doing. Uesugi Kenshin was the continuation of the previous generation. Even if her memories, appearance, and personality were entirely different, that was an unchangeable fact.
Thus, "This is an apology. And it must be amended." She paused. "Beyond that, there is also a debt of gratitude." These words made Shinji pause briefly. The miko beside him couldn't help but lift her gaze slightly as well.
The apology required no elaboration. From any angle, the previous Kenshin's southern invasion had been absolutely wrong toward Shinji and Kikyō. They had been, at the time, utterly unambitious, uninvolved in the world and had essentially been targeted without cause.
But a debt of gratitude, no matter how one looked at it, was difficult to count. Yet in the midst of this, Shinji, gazing at the girl across from him, narrowed his eyes slightly. It was as though he understood something. Kikyō lowered her gaze faintly. Her lashes quivered. Together, they listened to the second-generation Kenshin speak.
"You made me understand one thing." What she had understood, she did not say. But Shinji truly knew. Though it was incomprehensible. Though it was strange.
That kneel.
The moment the previous Kenshin had been forced to bend her knee before five hundred of her faithful, when the lofty, golden divine body of the so-called incarnation of Bishamonten had shattered, what was revealed beneath was not nothingness. It was flesh and blood.
The previous Kenshin had once said that the next-generation Kenshin, though she would not have her memories, would still inherit everything of her, including the thoughts and realizations she had gained in that single instant, and would surely come seeking Shinji again. Memory was not the whole. Some thoughts, were truly carved into the very soul.
And the newborn Kenshin before him had clearly inherited the comprehension of that instant when the previous Kenshin knelt. A god-buddha forced to kneel, was no different from an ordinary mortal.
She, too, had understood… the heart of mortals. No wonder this new-generation Kenshin seemed so much more humanized. So much warmer than the last. She had inherited that realization from her predecessor. And she regarded it, as a debt of gratitude.
"That kneel made the previous generation, made us, understand. Gods and buddhas may stand above. But we.... are still mortals." Kenshin lifted her eyes. Solemn. Without the slightest prevarication. All of it was the truth. This was the origin of her so-called "debt."
"So, Lord Nakai Shinji, you must have felt it as well? My army is different now. You shattered the prestige of Bishamonten. You made them realize that the existence of Uesugi Kenshin is not absolutely exalted. Not absolutely invincible. That gave me the chance… to stand with them as equals." A
n army composed of fanatical zealots was, of course, terrifyingly powerful. But in many cases, relying solely on so-called gods and buddhas made it all too easy to lose one's own drive to advance.
Now, Echigo, and even Kōzuke, were, without a doubt, freer. Though they might not be stronger than in the previous generation's time. Yet their potential was far greater.
"So I must thank you. And I have always been searching for an opportunity to repay this debt." This was the reason for her once again coming south. Not for conquest. Not for invasion. And certainly not to establish that so-called "Divine Kingdom on Earth." The mortal world should have a mortal kingdom, unrelated to gods and buddhas. She had come merely to seek an opportunity. To repay a kindness.
Naoe Kanetsugu, standing beside the pillar, furrowed her brow almost imperceptibly. She felt something was off. Yet she also felt that this lord of hers was somehow better than before.
Shinji, for his part, remained as composed as ever. He had no intention of burying past grievances. He simply recognized the fact: the one before him was, indeed, another individual now. "Fine." His tone was casual. But the attitude was sufficient.
A glimmer of light surfaced in Kenshin's violet pupils. The curve at the corner of her lips deepened by half a measure. The girl folded her hands into her sleeves.
"Then, let us speak of the matter at hand." Her voice was crisp and clear once more. "As for the question you just asked… those moths, came from Mutsu Province in the northeast." She gave a direction.
"Moth demons have inhabited the mountain forests of northern Mutsu since ancient times. Scattered. Weak. Never amounting to anything. But in recent years...." Kenshin paused. "They've gained a leader."
"What's his name?"
"Menōmaru."
The instant that name fell, Shinji's crimson demon eyes stirred once more. Menōmaru. That name was familiar to him. It was a daiyōkai who had appeared in the original story. And his background was far from simple.
He was the offspring of Hiyōyōki, a daiyōkai who had come from the Heavenly Continent, only to be defeated and sealed by Tōga, the Inu no Taishō.
Menōmaru was a demon who had inherited the bloodline of a top-tier daiyōkai. But if Shinji remembered correctly… Menōmaru should have been sealed away along with the demonic power of his father's corpse. Moreover, though he was a demon carrying the bloodline of a top-tier daiyōkai, Menōmaru was not like Sesshōmaru.
The moth-demon race was not innately powerful. What they possessed was the ability to directly inherit the strength, and even the memories, of their fathers, grandfathers, and even their own kin.
In a sense, they achieved generational inheritance of everything. In other words, this Menōmaru had most likely been awakened. And awakened along with him, was the demonic power of his father, Hiyōyōki, which should have remained sealed. And then, he also recalled something else.
Himemushimaru.
Several months ago, he had been one of the four vanguard commanders dispatched from Kyōto. Himemushimaru.
"Before, the barrier of Mount Hakurei suppressed the impure energy of the Kantō," Kenshin explained. "The north is bitter and cold. Those yōkai had long since yearned to migrate south in search of more fertile lands. That moth demon you killed some time ago, he was, in fact, an advance tentacle they had sent out. He had been cooperating with the yōkai of Kyōto to infiltrate the Kantō."
"After that moth demon died, Menōmaru absorbed the residual fragments of his memories. He learned of the current situation in the Kantō. He learned that there were no true daiyōkai here. And now, with Mount Hakurei gone, the barrier has completely vanished. Menōmaru, who had been scheming for a long time, formally marched south with his moth legion."
"So, the three clans of Tōno were driven out by this very force," Shinji said in sudden understanding.
"Correct." Kenshin nodded. "What you saw just now was only the vanguard. Menōmaru's true body has not yet arrived. He is a true daiyōkai, not much weaker than the Tsuchigumo you once faced." Kenshin's gaze rested upon Shinji. That faint fluttering surfaced once more, and was once again instantly suppressed.
'This is not the time for distracting thoughts,' the new-generation Kenshin reminded herself.
"How did he draw humans into this?" Shinji asked, feigning complete ignorance.
Kenshin's dark lashes lowered for a beat. "According to the intelligence gathered by my elder sister *cough* the Kantō Kanrei, Aya-Gozen, the northeast has always been in chaos. No single daimyō has ever been able to stabilize the region. Bandits and wanderers are everywhere. Menōmaru used his scale-powder to control a portion of them, and used his yōki to buy off another portion, granting power in exchange for loyalty. There is no shortage of such scum among human evildoers."
Shinji was silent for a moment. His thoughts had drifted further. The three clans of Tōno. The great kappa. The kamaitachi. The Yuki-onna. That group of yōkai that had come south from the direction of Mutsu months ago.
At the time, he had wondered what kind of existence could have driven them into the Kantō. Now, he had his answer. They had, in all likelihood, been driven out by the awakened Menōmaru.
Menōmaru had consolidated the many factions of northern Mutsu, yōkai and human alike, swallowing the weak, expelling the defiant. The three clans of Tōno, unable to resist and unwilling to submit, had chosen to flee south.
Of course, as Kenshin had said, there was one more crucial link. Mount Hakurei. Before Saint Hakurei's enlightenment and nirvana, the Buddhist wall of Mount Hakurei had covered a vast swath of the northern Kantō. That barrier held an immense suppressive power against yōkai, especially daiyōkai.
Even if they came, they could not remain for long. That was why Menōmaru had been unable to march south. Now, the barrier was gone. The road was open. So the question remained. Who, exactly, had awakened Menōmaru, and allowed him to inherit the power and memories of his forebears, becoming the new leader of the moth demons? And also…
Shinji's gaze returned to Kenshin. "Will Menōmaru come personally?"
Uesugi Kenshin was silent for a moment, as though in thought. Then, after a pause, as if arriving at an answer "If it were before, I would say yes." She said. "But now…"
"Not necessarily, is it?" Shinji picked up the thread.
"Mn." Uesugi Kenshin inclined her head slightly. The corner of her lips curved. "Because of your existence." Not a daiyōkai. Yet wielding power that could, for a brief span, contend against a daiyōkai.
That was the Demon God of this age. Nakai Shinji. One of Menōmaru's motives for daring to march south, was precisely because the Kantō's impure energy had long been suppressed by Mount Hakurei, and there were no true daiyōkai present. Now, with Shinji filling that void, things were different again.
The tea had gone cold. Shinji set his teacup back onto the low table. "So what do you intend to do?" How… do you intend to repay your debt?
Kenshin lifted her gaze. Her silver-violet eyes were exceptionally translucent in the candlelight. "Stay," she said. one word.
Naoe Kanetsugu's body instantly straightened from the pillar. Momiji, outside the door, drew a sharp breath. Botan, jolted by her back, nearly bit her own tongue. Kikyō's hand, holding the teacup, froze midair.
"The debt I owe you.... must be repaid." Kenshin spoke with absolute candor. Utterly devoid of guile.
"Though Menōmaru may not come south personally, Musashi is, after all, a land beset on all sides. The forces of the northeast are not merely the moth legion. Not merely yōkai… Three hundred soldiers, encamped outside the village. They will not enter the barrier's range. They will not interfere in shrine affairs. Until the northern threat is resolved... what say you?" It was a request. And also a cautious, tentative probe.
After a beat, she added one more line. "Of course, if you find this unacceptable I can leave immediately. I would not wish to disturb you."
This, truly was entirely different from the previous generation. Shinji thought.
The main hall fell silent. He looked at this face across from him, still exquisitely refined, yet no longer detached to the point of inhumanity. He couldn't help but marvel inwardly.
'To think a single kneel could produce such an entirely different Uesugi Kenshin.' He turned his head and glanced at Kikyō. Kikyō met his gaze. An exceedingly faint, almost nonexistent nod. Acceptable. After Mount Hakurei's disappearance, Musashi would directly face the northern threat. They truly needed manpower. No matter how powerful Kikyō was, she was still human. She could not guard every direction. And her specialization against demons made her even less suited to dealing with large numbers of human soldiers.
"Fine." Shinji spoke. Kenshin's lips curved upward faintly. The angle was minuscule, but it was undeniably there.
"However—"
"Mn?"
"Your soldiers stay outside the village. And you yourself.... also stay outside."
Kenshin's smile froze. Then, as though she had thought of something, her face flushed red once more.
"And...." Shinji's crimson demon eyes met her dark pupils directly. "Don't even think about bestowing a name upon me."
Not an enemy, but this matter, too, was not exactly within the category of enmity. Shinji had to guard against it.
Kenshin fell silent. Then she lifted the now-cold teacup and took a shallow sip. "Rest assured." She lifted her brows once more. Earnest. Resolute. "I will never again do such a thing as forcing my will upon another."
And besides, rather than divine artifacts… she actually had other, inexplicable thoughts. Only....
'No. Must not think such thoughts!'
Naoe Kanetsugu, standing by the pillar, closed her eyes. She, too, was lost in her own wandering thoughts. After all....
Something really does feel off here!
....
At the same moment. A thousand km away.
Sagami Province. Odawara Castle.
Hōjō Ujiyasu sat within a dim room of the tenshukaku. Her deep purple kimono wrapped around her delicate, undulating figure, only the chest was somewhat lacking. In her hand was a slip of paper.
The writing upon it was very clear: Uesugi Kenshin has arrived at Kaede's Village with her elite forces. She has aided the Demon God Who Cleaves Thunder in repelling the moth demons. Furthermore, the Uesugi army has encamped outside the village and shows no intention of leaving.
"Bastard." Hōjō Ujiyasu ground her teeth and crumpled the slip of paper into a ball.
What was Kaede's Village? It was the very place where she had just submitted documents to Kyōto, petitioning for it to be established as the central seat of Shintō for Kishin Mikoto-no-Mitama! It was the seat of the shōshin worshipped by her two provinces of Sagami and Musashi! And now...the Dragon of Echigo had gone there to station herself permanently. Her home had been robbed.
"Did anyone even ask my opinion?!" Ujiyasu slammed her palm onto the low table. She raged. And then she raged.
"My lady, shall we dispatch troops?" the retainer beyond the screen asked cautiously.
"Dispatch what troops!" Ujiyasu suppressed her fury and let out a cold huff. "Send word, strengthen the defenses of Odawara Castle. And send someone to Suruga. Tell the Imagawa, especially that coward Imagawa Yoshimoto, that their god is about to be stolen away by that woman from Echigo!" Hōjō Ujiyasu was determined to dominate the Kantō.
Naturally, she understood the situation there better than anyone. Among the provinces of the Kantō, if one spoke of the greatest power and influence, the Imagawa, ruling three provinces, stood at the very top. But if one spoke of military might capable of reigning supreme across the realm, it was not the Imagawa. It was the Uesugi. The Dragon of Echigo.
Even Takeda Shingen had repeatedly suffered at her hands. Though she had sustained heavy damage from Shinji's previous blow, her power severely diminished, her foundation shaken, that woman… that Uesugi Kenshin was still alive. And Echigo had recovered considerably under her continued rule.
The Hōjō, who were not particularly skilled in martial force, effectively semi-dependent upon the Takeda in that regard, could never stand against the Uesugi alone.
If she marched troops to demand an explanation, she would likely be ground into dust so fine even her ashes wouldn't remain. These god-and-buddha-worshipping people, they were all so utterly maddening. Uesugi Kenshin was like this. Takeda Shingen was the same.
Yet though she could not defeat them, Hōjō Ujiyasu had no intention of sitting idle. Nor could she possibly forget how very close Shinji and Imagawa Yoshimoto had always been. Her own attempts to win him over had failed, or perhaps, had only partially succeeded.
Since she couldn't win by force… then she could only muddy the waters first!
Wait. "Send a letter to the Takeda as well."