"Well, that sure worked out like you planned, didn't it?" Kei chortled. He popped a wasabi pea into his mouth with a snap of his thumb, then dug into the can for another. "'Course, it gave me the chance to catch up on some personal business, so I shouldn't complain too much, but at some point we have to get on with the business at hand like the old man's always saying." He popped in another pea while waving absently at Abe.

"At least your personal business didn't hurt my family," Reiko muttered. The evening news, in Tokyo at least, had been full of the gangland carnage, the messy slaughter of a dozen or so suspected members of the Taki-gumi yakuza clan along with an equal number of innocent bystanders. The story had pushed the Himemiya Financial Group's troubles--what with the death of Himemiya Macrotech's COO and the apparent terrorist strike on another recent addition to the Himemiya keiretsu, Nishida Advanced Design--down to second place.

"You do realize, Reiko, that your family will be as dead as all the rest of the world when Yamata no Orochi consumes all," Saori pointed out.

"Of course, but that doesn't mean I want to keep hurting them along the way. They're no worse than people I haven't met, like those in foreign countries. Not like those damned priestesses!"

"Priestess," Akemi corrected. Her voice was heavy with pain; though the wound in her side was now just a pale pink scar in the process of fading to white the healing had taken a lot out of her. It was fortunate that her god had begun to reincorporate itself before Tsukuyo had stabbed her, or else she might have bled out like a normal person. An Orochi took a lot of killing, but a Neck's ability to regenerate was dependent on their god. Kill both at once, and the Neck stayed dead. "The blonde, Hikari, isn't the Solar Priestess."

"What!" Reiko yelped. "But that's impossible!"

"Why? Nothing says that the priestesses have to be sisters, or even to have any relationship at all before their destiny calls them," Abe pointed out. Perhaps the most despair-ridden of the Necks, he seemed to be the most dedicated to the annihilation of life out of the Orochi and as a consequence had been most deeply steeped in the lore of their god through his psychic communion with it.

"Then where is she?" Hirata asked. "We're supposed to be able to feel her, somehow, right? We Orochi?"

"I still don't believe it," Reiko declared sulkily. "If there's anyone in this world who's the sun to Tsukuyo's moon, it's Hikari. Ever since I met them in kindergarten, that girl is the only one in the world who can get close to her."

"That's natural enough for twin sisters," said Saori dismissively. "Akemi had the right idea, anyway. The sister is someone the Lunar Priestess will strive to protect, so she is a tool we can use to manipulate the one we need to kill. As for the Solar Priestess," she added with an elegant shrug, "we'll simply have to look harder."

"We have a more important matter to address," Ozawa interjected. It was the first thing the Seventh Neck had said since Akemi's return, and all heads swiveled in his direction.

"What the hell's more important than a missing priestess? Seems to me we'd better find her fast since we're having no luck with the one we've got now."

"Precisely, Kei."

"Huh?" He was startled by the agreement, so spun his head around and ended up bouncing the next pea off his cheek.

"The First Neck attempted to destroy the Lunar Priestess, but she escaped from Reiko. The Sixth Neck then attempted the same task, but was overcome in battle, albeit with the help of a distraction. How has this occurred? Tsukuyo Asamiya has not summoned Ame no Murakumo to fight us, yet has defeated two separate Orochi. This should not be possible."

Kei waved his hand airily.

"Yeah, well, Reiko wants her naked, not dead--a position which I've gotta say has its merits--and Akemi doesn't like killing girls. Told you I should have been the one."

"You mistake my point. We are the Necks of Orochi. We, each of us, is paired with one of the gods of destruction that will shatter the world with fire and storm and quake. Can you imagine the power you currently hold destroying the world, Second Neck?"

Above them, the dark sun seemed to pulse angrily, its swirling vortex seeming to seethe with rage. The will of Orochi, it seemed, understood its Seventh Neck's insinuations and did not like them.

"Well...no, I can't."

"Nor I. Can any of you?" His gaze swept his fellow Orochi, none of whom seemed inclined to contradict him. "Precisely. We wield but the Shadows of our gods' power, but the greater part of Orochi's might remains absent. Power that would annihilate the Lunar Priestess regardless of how hard she struggles. We must find out why this is and correct the problem, or else the ones to be destroyed may be us."

-X X X-

"Maybe you should make Marika stay home from classes," Chikane suggested. Takeshi Ohgami had called not long after they'd gotten back to the dorm, the delay being very little more than it took Marika to commute home. "I'm very glad she was there to come find me before anything could happen to Himeko, but hanging around in the open with us is just putting her in harm's way."

Himeko yelped upon hearing that.

"I'll think about it," Reverend Ohgami said. "She's a very strong-willed girl, but there are times when she will have to simply stop and listen to her father."

Somewhat cynically, Chikane wondered how well that would work. Marika wasn't exactly the type to meekly follow orders, and whatever one could say about her, she was passionately loyal to her friends. But it would be better if she wasn't out exposed to danger, for Himeko's sake at least.

"In any case, there's another matter I want to talk to you about, although the outcome of this second attack does tie in well with it."

"Indeed?" Chikane was interested.

"Yes; I think it may be significant towards explaining some of what you've experienced thus far. Let me read a passage to you."

"Go ahead."

Ohgami cleared his throat.

"'The demon of incarnate malice is called Eight-Headed Orochi, and its eight heads are the gods of destruction: Take no Sukunazuchi, Yatsunoo no Koshizuchi, Hi no Ashinazuchi, Ooube no Senazuchi, Ho no Shuraizuchi, Izuhara no Tamazuchi, Take no Yamikazuchi, and Yokusemi no Mizuchi. And these heads shall rest upon the Eight Necks and be borne by them and be wielded as they direct. And thus as the spirit of Orochi itself lies sealed beneath the Lunar Shrine, so too do these pieces of its body lie sealed within the earth so that try as Orochi might to call upon them, this may not be done, until that day when the malice of humanity has grown so strong as to bridge the gap and day and night are once again rejoined.' Do you see what I mean?"

"I'm not certain that I understand," Chikane said. "It appears to be a retelling of the part of the legend specifically concerned with the Orochi, although 'day and night rejoined' clearly refers to the priestesses."

"That's what I thought at first, too, but then I started to think about it in light of what is happening now and what you and Hikari have told us."

Chikane glanced at Himeko. What Ohgami was talking about was actually more of her twin's specialty than her own. While Chikane was superior at logical analysis and deduction, and hence at making advance plans, sometimes quite complex ones, she often constrained herself by making unwarranted assumptions. It was Himeko who could "think outside the box" and turn a problem on its head to find a creative solution.

"And it relates to the fights I've had with the Orochi, also?"

"I think so. It's the part about the eight gods being sealed within the earth. I'd always taken that as just another description of how Yamata no Orochi remained contained until its day of awakening, but what if it's not? What if it refers to a literal, separate seal or seals placed upon the eight gods, distinct from the seal which restrained the will of Orochi itself?"

Chikane sat upright.

"I see. You're suggesting that even though Yamata no Orochi has called to the eight Necks, they have been unable to fully tap into the power of their respective gods--that the Shadows of the gods are just that, the barest fraction of their power, a reflection of their identity and little more. In other words, just as my power as Lunar Priestess is partially sealed, so are the Orochi working under the same restriction."

She paused as a memory came to her.

"Reverend, in the last cycle there were various shrines and prayer gates around Mahoroba that were destroyed simultaneously with the Orochi's awakening. Do you think those might be the seals we are discussing?"

"It could easily be. Mahoroba is a special place in the battle between the Orochi and Ame no Murakumo, the place where the earth meets the world of the gods."

"Unfortunately, this does nothing to help us find the Solar Priestess."

"I know that. Still, it does give us some explanation of what has happened so far, and provides hope that we may have a chance, the breathing room to solve our own problems."

"Maybe. I just hope they don't take steps to solve theirs, or else apply strategy to their next attack."

There was a moment of silence on the line.

"I apologize, Tsukuyo," Ohgami finally said. "It is all too easy to forget that you are the one fighting these battles, and thus far doing so alone."

"No, I allowed the situation to get the better of me. You didn't deserve it."

"You are gracious, but I do need to remember your circumstances. We'll continue our research here."

"Thank you." They hung up, and Chikane put away the phone.

"Did the Ohgamis learn anything interesting?" Himeko asked. "It sounded like it."

"I think so." She summed up the other half of the conversation while Himeko nodded along, taking in the details.

"I wonder why that is?" she said curiously. Her puzzled expression made Chikane giggle.

"Chikane!"

"You really don't know?" she asked, still laughing.

"No, I don't. You're mean to tease me," Himeko pouted, and Chikane gave in.

"All right. It's because of you."

"Ehhh?" She pointed at herself. "Me?"

"You sealed the Orochi away last time. You chose the new world we'd be reborn into. You did it without despair and without worry, unlike me. You did it in the spirit of love, just as you chose to join me in my imprisonment within the shrine rather than returning to your life in the new world. The power of Orochi is the power of mankind's malice, and a world built in love simply has less malice to offer than one chosen in pain and suffering. So the will of Orochi slept an extra three years, and its lesser selves remained sealed."

Himeko's jaw sagged.

"And I did that?"

"Who else? And it's a good thing you did, too. Without a Solar Priestess to help summon Ame no Murakumo, the Orochi would have a huge advantage. Without a Souma Ohgami to turn sides and defend us, either Reiko or that Sixth Neck from today would have had no trouble overwhelming what little power I have. It's thanks to you we still have a chance."

"I'm glad. I really hope that I can still be useful, even if I'm not someone special."

"There's no one more special to me."

Himeko blushed, which Chikane thought was so cute.

"Chikane, you know what I mean!"

"Yes, but any chance I have to say 'I love you' is worth taking."

Himeko gave her that cute, shy smile she so often got when faced with spontaneous compliments. Chikane liked it better than the embarrassed blush the old Himeko, the Himeko-before-they-were-lovers had shown, because it meant that she'd grown into more self-worth. Of course, she still blushed at the drop of a hat when embarrassed, but that was for different reasons and Chikane found it cute, too.

"I love you too, Chikane. Oh!" Himeko's eyes widened as a thought seemed to strike her. She spun to where she'd tossed her bag on her bed and began to fish through it. "We keep forgetting this, or it keeps getting pushed aside by some crisis."

She took out an oblong package done up in sparkling white paper with a red bow, about the size of a jewelry box. Her birthday present for me, Chikane thought. She'd thought it likely that Himeko would get her jewelry; her lover had always had a taste for adorning her with accessories.

It was true that they'd missed out on a couple of opportunities to celebrate their birthday, but that wasn't only bad luck. The truth was, Chikane had thought of it more than once and had chosen not to bring it up.

"Have you been carrying that around with you since yesterday?"

"I'm sorry the bow got a little squished. I made sure to bring it with me yesterday morning; I didn't want to leave it lying around where I couldn't get it in case I was attacked by giant robots." She made a curious face, touching her lower lip with an index finger. "I wonder why the Orochi look so different in this cycle? Maybe it's because they're still sealed?"

"I don't know. Perhaps it varies with the nature of the chosen world?"

"Maybe. I think Souma would be sad if he was still alive; I think he liked being a mecha pilot."

Chikane chuckled. "Just like the hero in some action manga." She didn't actually dislike Souma Ohgami, but it was hard to be too kind about the boy who'd once been a rival for Himeko's affections.

"But! As it turned out the Orochi did attack, and I do still have your present instead of leaving it sitting in a wrecked classroom. So...um...happy belated birthday, Chikane!"

She extended the gift to her sister. Chikane took it, smiling at the other girl's enthusiasm, and tugged on the trailing end of the ribbon, smoothly untying it. She then slipped a fingernail under the fold in the paper at one end and snapped the tape, deftly opening the paper without tearing it. She set the wrappings aside and held the slim black box in her hands for a moment, then raised the lid.

Inside was a necklace, a silver locket on a simple chain. Chikane lifted it out, letting it dangle from her fingers. The locket was in the shape of a clamshell, the two halves pressed together, and was a pretty piece with nice detail work. Chikane brushed her fingertips over the shell's surface.

"Kaiawase," she whispered. "The matched shells." She felt her eyes grow wet. It had been in their past lives when she'd told Himeko about the shell matching game, how that for every shell there was only one other in all the world that matched it exactly. There was also another side of it, though--every shell absolutely did have that one matching twin, since each clam did have two shells. People were like that, too, she'd told Himeko, and all the while her heart was bleeding as she assured the girl she loved that there was someone out there for her. She'd told her that to encourage her, back when Himeko was still a shrinking violet unaware of her own strength and while Chikane herself was still suffering from the delusion that the best she could hope for was to assure Himeko's happiness with someone else.

It was also one of the first things Himeko had said to her when the doors of the Lunar Shrine had slammed shut, sealing both their souls inside: I want us to be together forever...just like the two halves of a clamshell. It was a promise between them, a promise that they weren't just friends or priestesses fighting together or sun and moon, but a couple in love, that they would be together not just because of destiny or fate but because they chose it.

She opened the locket and saw the characters written inside spelling out their names. Her eyes were tearing up as she closed it again, kissed the tiny shell, and slipped the chain over her head. She had no intention of taking it off again, ever.

"I don't know what to say, Himeko," she said, sniffling a little. "I love it." She clenched her fist around the locket, feeling the metal grow warm in her hand.

"You do? I'm so glad! I'd hoped you'd like it, but I was a little worried. You're really hard to buy for."

She was smiling that wide, bright smile that always lit up Chikane's heart, the one that made Himeko the sun in her life regardless of whether or not she was the Solar Priestess. It struck Chikane again just how much she didn't deserve someone as pure as Himeko. Oh, she was mostly over the old complaint, that her physical desires for another girl were dark and ugly; the gods knew that Himeko didn't find them anything of the sort. There were other parts of her, though, or maybe parts that were just missing. What kind of person, after all, could be so disconnected from humanity that she could stand by and watch them die because logic told her it was more likely she'd be able to protect them in the future? What kind of person could have deliberately chosen to torment the one she claimed to love in so many different ways, all as part of a carefully planned scheme for that loved one's allegedly ultimate benefit?

And she, this corrupt, broken person, was the one whom Himeko loved? The one whom a girl that made, not innocence, precisely, but purity into an art form looked at and said, "You are the other half of my soul. You are the one perfect match for me in all the world."

It was almost a joke, one of those cosmic ironies the gods liked to inflict on the world. And Chikane felt blessed by it every day of her life.

She didn't say any of that or burst into a deluge of tears. She'd already done that once that day, after all, and that was enough, no, more than enough worry to cause Himeko. Instead, she smiled, still holding the locket, and said, "It's perfect."

Himeko let out a giant sigh of happiness. Unfortunately, that made it time for Chikane to face what she'd been ducking for a day and a half. Once again, though, her cleverness hadn't been able to deflect the drive of Himeko's emotions.

"I have a gift for you, too," she admitted, "but under the circumstances I think I chose badly."

"Don't be silly, Chikane. I love my bear. He's really cute!" She picked up the stuffed toy and hugged it. "Though I do need to think up a name for him. Maybe you could help?"

Chikane laughed, unable to help herself.

"Himeko, you silly girl, the bear isn't the gift! I just thought it was cute."

"Oh. I wondered a little, since you had said that we'd exchange gifts over yesterday's lunch, but when you didn't say anything I thought maybe you'd decided to give me mine early as a wake-up surprise. I know you'd never come out and ask for your present, so I thought that could be it."

And she unerringly hits the sore spot. Sometimes it was very surprising just how well Himeko seemed to know her.

Chikane shook her head.

"No, there's another present; it's just that I didn't choose well and I feel a bit embarrassed now, giving it to you."

"Chikane, don't be silly."

"I'm not, really. But...here, you'll see." She got up, opened her desk drawer, and took out a fancy red envelope with gilt design and a wax seal, which she handed to Himeko. Her beloved turned it over twice in her hands, noting her elaborately calligraphed name on the front, done with brush and ink.

"The gift itself is kind of plain, so I was fancier than I had to be with the envelope." As always when she gave anything to Himeko there was a little ball of nerves in the pit of her stomach.

"It's really pretty, Chikane." Himeko started to push her finger under the flap, then stopped, frowned, glanced around the room, and held the envelope out to Chikane. "Um, would you open it for me, please? I don't want to break the wax because I'd like to keep the envelope, and I don't think I could open it intact."

Chikane smiled.

"All right." She slipped the point of her letter opener under the edge of the flap, used her fingers to apply pressure to the envelope so no force was transmitted to the seal, and slit the envelope open before returning it to Himeko.

"Thanks; I'm all thumbs at stuff like that."

Himeko turned the envelope over and let its contents, two pieces of pasteboard, spill out into her palm. Her eyes widened when she saw what they were.

"Tickets to the Ryoko Imahara exhibition in Kyoto?" she squealed happily. "Oh, Chikane! I might even get the chance to meet her!" Imahara was a photographer whose work Himeko really admired, even owning three books collecting her work. In a couple of seconds, though, curiosity overcame her excitement. "But why is this a bad gift? Can't we afford the train fare?"

Chikane shook her head.

"No; I'd looked up hotels and train rates online and found that we'd be all right, although our room would be strictly no-frills and we could pretty much forget about trying any local delicacies."

"So what's the problem?"

"The tickets are for this coming Sunday, and I don't think we're going to have the free time to go."

"Why? Did you have a big test scheduled for the next week you need the study time for?"

Chikane laughed despite her worries.

"No; I was thinking more along the lines of saving the world from the Orochi." She tossed a pillow at Himeko, catching her full in the face.

"Oof!" Himeko was blushing furiously. "Geez, I'm not that much of a ditz!" Chikane just arched an eyebrow at her without saying a word. "Okay, maybe I am. But it's not like I really forgot about the Orochi or anything like that. It's just...well, it felt for a bit there like we'd had our normal lives back, that's all. So I guess I'd just put the entire shrine maidens thing out of my mind for a few minutes, that's all. Like it was part of another world or something."

Our "normal" lives, Chikane thought. So Himeko was having some of the same thoughts that I was. She touched the clamshell locket again and thought of the promise of forever that it contained. Then she thought again of the fact that Himeko wasn't the Solar Priestess and those implications. "Another world," indeed. The thought of what that meant was like a shard of ice in Chikane's heart.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

A/N: A couple of manga-specific references get dropped in this chapter. The idea of shrines around Mahoroba sealing the eight Orochi gods is based on a comment by Kazuki in vol. 1 about how several shrines and prayer gates were destroyed at the time of the Orochi's emergence. And while in the anime Himeko leaves Chikane's present in her dorm room, it gets left in her school classroom in the manga.