Chapter 41: “Running to the Night”

Minamoto Kiyomoto and Kamibayashi Miko had just returned to Hakusan Shrine when they saw Fuyuarashi waiting under the torii gate.

“Lady Divine Miko, Lord Minamoto,” Fuyuarashi, in a white kimono, was like a beauty made of snow.

“Good morning, Fuyuarashi. Miss Kamibayashi, this is one of Izayoi’s shikigami, Fuyuarashi. There’s also one in a green kimono named Haruarashi,” Minamoto Kiyomoto introduced.

“Is there also one named Seiran?” Kamibayashi Miko asked Fuyuarashi.

Minamoto Kiyomoto: “…”

Fuyuarashi couldn’t possibly understand the deep meaning of this sentence and answered honestly, “The master doesn’t have a shikigami named Seiran.”

“Fuyuarashi, what are you doing here?” Minamoto Kiyomoto stopped the small talk and asked directly.

“The master asked me to wait for Lord Minamoto here. If you come back, she wants you to go see her immediately,” Fuyuarashi replied.

“Looking for me? What’s the matter?”

Fuyuarashi shook her head.

The three of them walked up the mountain in the sunset, with Fuyuarashi one step behind them.

Minamoto Kiyomoto broke off a branch that had grown long on the road from above his head and, while walking, brandished the “Shinto-ryu” sword style.

“Miss Kamibayashi, I read a sentence today, ‘The equal sign is not the answer, but the equal value on both sides.’ The artistic conception of ‘Shinto-ryu,’ does it not necessarily have to be performed with sword moves? Can it be replaced with hands, feet, sticks, or spears?”

Kamibayashi Miko didn’t say a word, just took a step forward, then another. Although her movements were very slow, she disappeared from Minamoto Kiyomoto’s sight in a blink of an eye.

Minamoto Kiyomoto remained where he was, recalling the scene of her using walking to perform the “Rolling Log Slash.”

Fuyuarashi waited quietly by the side, looking at his profile, which was outlined in gold by the sunset.

“I see,” Minamoto Kiyomoto came back to his senses.

He first brandished the branch in his hand, performing the “Rolling Log Slash” once to get a feel for it, then closed his eyes, focused all his attention on his feet, and took a step.

An extremely awkward feeling came from his feet, as if he had forgotten how to walk.

Minamoto Kiyomoto opened his eyes, and his face quickly approached the ground.

“Lord Minamoto,” Fuyuarashi supported him.

“Phew—” Minamoto Kiyomoto let out a sigh of relief. “Fortunately, you’re here. Thank you!”

At this moment, Fuyuarashi suddenly extended her small, snow-white hand and gently slapped his right cheek.

At first, Minamoto Kiyomoto thought it was a mosquito, but then he remembered that there were no mosquitoes on this mountain. Only then did he realize that it was a “slap.”

“You’re seducing my shikigami again. Come over here,” Fuyuarashi repeated someone’s words in an emotionless voice.

Minamoto Kiyomoto stared into Fuyuarashi’s eyes, as if he were staring at a camera.

“Hey—” he waved his hand. “Miss Izayoi, Miss Izayoi, can you see? This is Kiyomoto.”

Fuyuarashi’s left hand grabbed the kimono sleeve of her right hand, and she raised her right hand.

“Don’t hit me, don’t hit me. I’m coming!” Minamoto Kiyomoto turned around and, using the “Rolling Log Slash,” stumbled towards Himemiya Izayoi.

Entering the spacious mansion, he saw Fire Fan trimming the branches of a pine tree.

Minamoto Kiyomoto opened his mouth to greet her, but Fire Fan didn’t even look over.

Himemiya Izayoi was in the archery range, wearing a white top and black hakama. Her usually innocent and enchanting face was now very focused and serious.

The sound of hitting the target in the open-air range was continuous.

After finishing a round, Minamoto Kiyomoto clapped and said, “Today I finally know why the core of archery is ‘truth, goodness, and beauty.’ It turns out that when a beautiful person shoots an arrow, it’s so elegant.”

Himemiya Izayoi threw the bow to him, “Try it.”

“Okay!” Minamoto Kiyomoto was full of interest and imitated her appearance just now.

Just as he had drawn the bow to its fullest and was about to shoot, Himemiya Izayoi shouted to stop.

“Archery is not only about hitting the target, but also about the stability of the movements. You maintain this posture and see how long you can keep the bow and arrow still.”

“I like to do challenging things,” the bow in Minamoto Kiyomoto’s hand was as still as if it were on a rack.

“By the way, what did you want to see me for?” he asked, maintaining the posture of a fully drawn bow.

“I took a nap this afternoon.”

“Yes.”

“I dreamed that you did something to wrong me.”

“Dreams are the opposite of reality.”

“You give me three practical examples to prove that dreams are the opposite of reality, and I can believe you and forgive you this time.”

Minamoto Kiyomoto thought for a while, but couldn’t think of any.

He couldn’t think of any at all. Even if there were, who would deliberately say it, and who would happen to tell him?
“It was a dream. Can you blame me for that?” he said.

“Can’t think of any?”

“This is not a question of whether I can think of it or not, but a question of logic. The night I met you at Gotokuji, I also dreamed that you pounced into my arms. I didn’t call the police and say you took advantage of me.”

“You’re quite good at talking.”

“After all, I’m the number one in the country, a student of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Tokyo… it’s just mystification and flowery words.”

At this time, Himemiya Izayoi took a bow, drew it to its fullest with a smile, and aimed at Minamoto Kiyomoto’s temple.

As the number one student in the country, a student of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Tokyo, his ability to admit his mistakes was also first-class.

“You country bumpkin with no money, no power, and no strength, you’ve played with the hair of this peerless beauty, been in the same room with me, and eaten this miko’s saliva. Do you know how lucky you are? You still dare to do something to wrong me?”

“…Izayoi, I can’t hold on any longer. Can I shoot?”

“You’re going to shoot? Me too. Let’s do it together.”

“…I think I can still hold on.”

Ten minutes later, the bow and arrow in Minamoto Kiyomoto’s hand had already begun to tremble.

With a “swish,” the arrow was shot. Almost at the same time, a “swish” came from his right.

After holding it for so long, Minamoto Kiyomoto’s arrow missed the target. Himemiya Izayoi’s arrow accurately hit the bullseye—not Minamoto Kiyomoto’s head.

“You can’t even last fifteen minutes. If a person like you were in Kyoto and encountered the inspection of the Lord of Kyoto, you would have been executed long ago,” Himemiya Izayoi said with a disdainful sneer.

“I don’t think the problem is with me, but with that Lord of Kyoto who likes to execute people.”

“Haruarashi.”

“Master.”

“I’ll write a letter. You take it to Kyoto and give it to—”

“Big sister? Big sister!” Minamoto Kiyomoto gently tapped Himemiya Izayoi’s fragrant shoulder with his small fist. “Let’s not let outsiders know about the private conversation between the two of us.”

Himemiya Izayoi closed her eyes slightly, showing a comfortable expression.

“Hmm~, harder.”

“That sounds so erotic.”

“An erotic person hears everything as erotic,” Himemiya Izayoi turned her head slightly and glanced at Minamoto Kiyomoto with a charming look. “Are you erotic?”

“It depends on who it is. If it’s you and Miss Kamibayashi, I always have to be a little erotic. Otherwise, there’s something wrong with my body.”

“Does it really depend on who it is?”

“Of course,” Minamoto Kiyomoto told her what had happened this afternoon, even mentioning that he had suggested to Kamibayashi Miko that they save money and sleep together in a love hotel, but was rejected.

As he spoke, he became confused again.

“Big sister Izayoi, why do you think Yuka said ‘I like you so much’?” he asked while massaging Himemiya Izayoi’s back.

“That’s a girl with a love brain. She treats love as everything. When she meets a scumbag, she’s either deceived emotionally or treated as a wallet.”

“I’m not a scumbag,” Minamoto Kiyomoto said with great confidence. “She’s a masseuse at a hand massage shop, and I’m a customer. Asking her out was just a 30,000 yen business deal. It was her own wishful thinking.”

“You really didn’t say anything to her?” Himemiya Izayoi asked in disbelief.

“A third-year student from the countryside, and still a virgin. What topic could there be between him and a Tokyo woman who works at a hand massage shop?”

Himemiya Izayoi pointed to her right shoulder, and Minamoto Kiyomoto slowly massaged from her left shoulder to her right shoulder.

“And, regardless of her profession,” he continued, “just the fact that she already has a boyfriend, the person I like must be a virgin.”

“You’re quite conservative.”

“It has nothing to do with being conservative. I don’t mind if the other person is a virgin or not. I just don’t want to be at a disadvantage.”

“Shall I help you?” Himemiya Izayoi blew a breath on Minamoto Kiyomoto’s bangs with a smile.

It tickled, both on his forehead and in his heart.

“I have been wandering the world all my life. I don’t know when I will die…”

“Da!” Himemiya Izayoi flicked her finger and hit Minamoto Kiyomoto on the forehead.

“It hurts,” Minamoto Kiyomoto covered his forehead with both hands and took the opportunity to get out of the back-massaging job.

“You really did something to wrong me,” Himemiya Izayoi turned around, poked Minamoto Kiyomoto’s chest with her index finger, and her face had a smile without any smile.

“It’s not a capital offense,” Minamoto Kiyomoto said.

“It’s not a capital offense,” Himemiya Izayoi nodded, affirming his statement. “Buy me a gift?”

“I have to save money to buy classes.”

“You can owe that side. I’m going to take a bath and change.”

“Are you going to buy it now?” Minamoto Kiyomoto asked with confusion.

“And have dinner by the way.”

“That’s not what I meant… forget it.”

After Himemiya Izayoi left, Minamoto Kiyomoto stayed alone in the archery range, practicing using a bow and arrow to perform the “Thunder Fire Slash.”

One arrow after another, the sky had already darkened. There were no lights in the archery range. Instead, it was even darker, as if for practicing shooting in the dark.

“Idiot, let’s go,” along with the sweet voice, the archery range suddenly lit up.

The sudden light made Minamoto Kiyomoto subconsciously squint his eyes. The next moment, he widened his eyes as if to find an average.

The Himemiya Izayoi before him was wearing a white long-sleeved thin shirt with flowers, a half-skirt, and carrying a white bag in her hand. She was dressed very sweetly and cutely.

“Your eyes are so wide, big brother~” Himemiya Izayoi tilted her head and said with a sweet smile and a super cute doll-like voice.

“Wh-what are you doing?” Minamoto Kiyomoto’s words were not smooth.

“Don’t you like it, big brother~” she lifted her skirt and spun around, then looked at Minamoto Kiyomoto with a ‘cute, innocent, and a little proud’ look.

“Wait, wait, wait!” Minamoto Kiyomoto pressed his chest.

He didn’t like cute, and of course he didn’t hate cute, but at this moment, what hit him was Himemiya Izayoi, this little demon herself.

“Big brother, are you alright~”

“I’m fine. You’re so cute it’s heartbreaking. I’ll restrain my feelings,” Minamoto Kiyomoto averted his gaze.

“Big brother~” Himemiya Izayoi’s innocent and cute face came closer.

“Go away!” Minamoto Kiyomoto turned away.

“Big~ brother~~” Himemiya Izayoi bent her waist and brought her face closer again.

“…”

The two of them looked at each other for a while. She suddenly shook her arm, and the bag in her hand hit Minamoto Kiyomoto’s leg.

“Useless!” she said with a laugh and a curse. “Let’s go!”

“Young Master Kiyoshi is also a person. His heart is also made up of the superior vena cava, the inferior vena cava, the right atrium, the left atrium, the aortic arch, the left pulmonary artery…” Young Master Kiyoshi recited the structure of the heart once. “…the apex of the heart.”

The two of them left Hakusan Shrine and took a taxi to Omotesando. The taxi driver praised Himemiya Izayoi all the way.

When they arrived at Omotesando, the people who brushed past them would definitely turn back.

This was not important, because Himemiya Izayoi usually had this kind of situation when she wore other clothes.

What Minamoto Kiyomoto cared about was that the high-end brand stores with wide storefronts along Omotesando were all Chanel, Gucci, and the like.

“My big sister Izayoi,” he said in a low voice. “You are the miko of the number one shrine in the world. You can’t do without high-end brand things. What’s the point of me buying you the cheapest thing in that kind of store?”

“Then what do you say we do?” Himemiya Izayoi held her bag with both hands, so cute that she could kill all of humanity.

“It’s best to buy something that is not too expensive, but has a bit of taste, and is something that can be used in daily life, and is small and cute.”

“For example?”

“For example, a bath towel, or something that can be used in a hot spring. How about a little yellow duck?”

Himemiya Izayoi glanced at him with cute, angry eyes, as if she were pouting.

Then, she stomped her foot, pouted, and stood there, not moving.

“Hey, he seems to have made that girl cry?”

“To make such a cute and beautiful girl—”

“How outrageous. What kind of man is he?”

“He must be a scumbag!”

The eyes of the people around were very kind, regardless of men, women, old, or young.

“Buy, buy, buy!” Minamoto Kiyomoto was really convinced. “Whatever you want to buy, I’ll buy it!”

“Really?” Himemiya Izayoi showed a sun-like bright smile and grabbed Minamoto Kiyomoto’s arm with both hands.

Just looking at this scene was enough to make one happy, except for the person whose arm was being held.

“Really, really. Let’s go.”

The two of them went down the long slope of Omotesando and came to a jewelry store.

The storefront was sunken. They walked down the stone steps and entered the store. All they could see were sparkling glass cabinets, and the floor was black marble.

“I’ve never been to such a high-end store in my life,” Minamoto Kiyomoto’s footsteps were heavy.

“Then it’s a good opportunity to see it,” Himemiya Izayoi was very happy. She looked around the store, turning here and there.

The rings, necklaces, and watches in the glass cabinets were all priced at several million yen.

But they were indeed very beautiful. This was the first time Minamoto Kiyomoto had clearly realized that there were so many beautiful, cute, and exquisite things in the world.

But several million yen…
Minamoto Kiyomoto had it, earned through hard work from Itomi Sayaka. He had originally thought of helping Kamibayashi Miko pay off her loan, but now he had to buy these stones that could neither be eaten nor drunk, and were useless for cultivation.

“Kiyomoto, come here, look at this!” Himemiya Izayoi called out to Minamoto Kiyomoto, then said to the salesclerk, “Can you show me this?”

“Okay,” the salesclerk was wearing a black dress, with her hair in a chignon, and her forehead was completely exposed, shining under the lights.

With her gloved hands, she respectfully took out the ring and placed it on a black velvet shallow dish.

Himemiya Izayoi casually reached out and picked up the ring.

Her snow-white, delicate hands were much more attractive than the ring. It was like the difference between a white radish and white jade.

Minamoto Kiyomoto walked closer and looked at the ring.

There was a fiery red diamond on it, as if a real flame were burning. It should be some kind of red diamond.

Minamoto Kiyomoto glanced at the price, 760,000 yen.

Although it was considered cheap in the store, his heart still trembled.

“Are you sure you want to buy something so expensive?” he asked Himemiya Izayoi.

Himemiya Izayoi put the ring on her ring finger, raised her hand to the height of her face, and carefully examined it against the ceiling, which was full of spotlights.

The diamond sparkled under the lights, and her hands and face were also impeccably beautiful.

“Hmm?” Himemiya Izayoi asked Minamoto Kiyomoto what he thought.

“It’s so beautiful. I’m so envious of you!” The first half of the salesclerk’s sentence was to Himemiya Izayoi, and the second half was to Minamoto Kiyomoto.

Minamoto Kiyomoto crossed his arms, rested his right hand on his chin, and fell into a dilemma.

The salesclerk’s expression did not have a trace of contempt, or even embarrassment.

It was as if it wasn’t that Minamoto Kiyomoto couldn’t afford it, but that he insisted on buying it for Himemiya Izayoi, and Himemiya Izayoi didn’t want it.

The one who broke Minamoto Kiyomoto’s last line of defense was Himemiya Izayoi.

She gently poked him with her beautifully curved elbow, then looked at him with eyes that said, ‘After you buy it, I will definitely be very obedient and listen to you’.

“Buy it!”

“No need to wrap it. I’ll wear it directly.”

“Welcome again!”

The salesclerk saw the two of them all the way to the door and bowed as she saw them up the steps.

“Ah, my money!” When the relatively cool May evening wind blew, Minamoto Kiyomoto instantly sobered up.

Himemiya Izayoi was admiring the red diamond ring on her hand under the streetlights, not saying a single word of comfort.

Minamoto Kiyomoto’s heart ached, but he actually didn’t care that much.

Himemiya Izayoi had taught him a lot. Not to mention a 760,000 yen diamond ring, even the world’s most expensive Moussaieff Red Diamond, worth 7 million US dollars, couldn’t buy “Fire Thunder.”

“Why didn’t I charge for the ‘Mahavairocana Sutra’? Even 100,000 yen for a class would have been good!” Minamoto Kiyomoto’s heart began to ache again.

“Alright, stop shouting. Look at your useless appearance. Big sister will treat you to dinner.”

“I want to eat a big meal!”

The two of them came to a barbecue shop that couldn’t be smaller and sat at the only outdoor table in front of the shop.

“Does it still hurt?” Himemiya Izayoi squeezed out an edamame and fed it to Minamoto Kiyomoto’s mouth.

“It doesn’t hurt anymore, it doesn’t hurt anymore. Don’t feed me. I’ll eat it myself.”

Minamoto Kiyomoto ate barbecue and drank a drink—Himemiya Izayoi didn’t like beer, and he also liked Coke and Sprite, so he simply didn’t order beer.

“Do you know why I bought it?” Himemiya Izayoi showed the ring on her hand.

“Like a flame?”

“Because of the price.”

“760,000 is not a small amount, Miss Izayoi.”

“My birthday is July 16th.”

“I’ll give you a birthday gift, but you can’t choose it yourself,” Minamoto Kiyomoto said immediately.

“Look at your useless appearance,” Himemiya Izayoi said with disgust. “What’s your birthday? This miko will buy you a 7.6 million yen gift.”

“As expected of the Lady Miko of Ise Shrine. September 9th.”

“You’re really saying it?”

“You’re not being polite with me. Why should I be a stranger to you?” Minamoto Kiyomoto took a sip of Coke.

“I don’t hate this kind of relationship,” Himemiya Izayoi, as if blowing a harmonica, placed a pod of edamame on her red lips. “Big brother~”

“Cough, cough, cough!” The Coke went up his nose.

“Hahaha! Ah!” Himemiya Izayoi laughed so hard that the edamame fell on her skirt.

“As if drowning and melting”

“Under the vast night sky with only you and me”

“The two of us, now, are running towards the night”

It was unknown which shop it was, but YOASOBI’s newly popular song was flowing out.

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(End of Chapter)