Forbidden Love
Chapter 12: The Kagura
"Okaerinasai, Luka-sama," Momo greeted from the top of the stairs.
Luka and the others just came back from their trip to the onsen, however the others decided to just visit the shrine the day before school starts again. They only have three days left to spend.
"How was the trip, Luka-sama?" Momo asked, carrying one of her bags.
"It was so much fun! You should've been there!" Luka exclaimed as she remembered her and Gakupo's date.
"Could that be from Len-kun?" asked Momo, pointing at the chibi-Luka-headed octopus.
"Oh, her name's Tako Luka. It's from Gakupo-kun," she said, blushing as she held the stuffed toy close to her heart.
"Oh," Momo said in disappointment.
Luka talked about the rest of the trip and all about the malls and shops in the village, the huge snow-covered mountains, and the vast, empty plains. From what Momo was hearing, Luka had a wonderful time.
"Luka-sama, after you finish dressing up, please go to Amane-sama's room. She needs to talk to you," Momo commanded, placing Luka's luggage on the floor.
"Oh, okay. Thanks," she replied, closing the door after Momo left.
She quickly dressed up, hoping to see her grandmother's face if she gets there earlier. She ran down the halls after closing the door of her room, but slowed down when she reached the hall that leads to her grandmother's room.
"You called for me, Grandma?" Luka asked, kneeling in front of the shut sliding doors.
Luka maintained her normal tone of voice to hide her disappointment of not seeing her grandmother. Luka had been living there for three months now and still hasn't seen even just a glimpse of her grandmother who she hasn't seen since she was five years old.
"Yes, Luka. In seven days, an important ceremony will take place. Momo-san will explain to you what it is and how it's done. After school, you are to return straight back home for training. You may not have any visitor during those seven days of training. Is that understood?" she strictly explained, not even asking if Luka had any questions.
"Y-yes, ma'am," she replied with a frown on her face.
"Rest up for tonight. Tomorrow is that start. Momo-san will explain to you what this ceremony is tonight during dinner," she contined before sending Luka away.
After doing her curtsey, Momo brought Luka back to her room to rest from the long trip she had from the onsen. The warm, soft futon that she fell on made her swiftly go to sleep.
"…ka-sama…Luka-sama," Momo's voice echoed as she shook Luka's body to wake her up.
"Oh, is it time for dinner?" Luka asked, slowly sitting up while rubbing her eyes.
Momo nodded and went on ahead. Luka followed behind, stretching and yawning along the way. Momo prepared soup for dinner to warm their bodies up. She smiled as she saw Luka happily eat the food.
"So, what is this ceremony I'm training for?" she asked, wiping her mouth.
"Yukitsuki no Gishiki, or the Snow Moon Ceremony is a ceremony that is performed every twenty years on the last full moon of the year. In this ceremony, you must perform the miko kagura. That is what your training will be for. Amane-sama has told me that you do not know how to perform the kagura," Momo explained while sipping some tea from time to time.
"What is it for?" Luka asked, finishing her bowl of soup.
Momo placed her cup of tea down gently as she closed her eyes to pause and take a deep breath.
"Recently, the night has been filthy."
"What do you mean?" Luka asked in confusion.
"The spirits around has been unstable for they have not felt any purification recently. Your grandmother, Amane-sama, is growing old causing her powers to fade including the purified seals she had placed on the spirits," Momo explained in a serious face.
"Your performance of the kagura will purify the night and the seals for the spirits," Momo continued with a smile on her face.
"Yosh! Ganbaru!" Luka exclaimed, getting up from her seat while holding up her fist.
"You can go ahead to bed, Luka-sama. We're going to start training early in the morning," Momo smiled, cleaning up the table.
"Ok. Oh, Momo-chan, I promise you this," Luka said, making Momo stop what she was doing.
"I'm going to do my best!" Luka said with full of determination.
She ran to her room to continue her sleep. Momo smiled from Luka's lively determination. However, as soon as she heard Luka's sliding door close, her smile turned into a frown filled with worry and pain while placing the bowls in the sink.
"I'm sorry, Luka-sama."
"First, I'm going to show you how to do the kagura," Momo stated, grabbing a gohei from the shrine's storehouse.
Momo and Luka walked back to the shamusho's front to show Luka the kagura. Despite of the cold weather, Momo and Luka stayed outside. Fortunately, all of the snow has melted.
Momo stood in front of Luka while holding the gohei in front of her chest. She took deep breaths and started dancing. She raised the right hand that held the gohei to the top of her head while stepping with her left foot.
Then, she raised her left hand up to hold the gohei with both hands while she joined her feet together. After that, she drew a huge circle with both of her hands and placed the gohei near her chest. She turned a full circle and placed the gohei on top of her head with her left hand on her abdomen.
Momo continued dancing, amazing Luka. Her gaze was kept on the graceful Momo as she danced the kagura in front of her. When Momo finished, she bowed her head to Luka while she clapped for her.
"Wow, Momo-chan. You're really good," Luka exclaimed, her eyes still wide open from the amazement she just watched.
"Now, it's your turn," Momo said, handing her the gohei.
She taught Luka the basic steps of the dance and told her that the dance she showed was not the one she'll be dancing in front of everyone for the ceremony. Momo also explained that she will not be using the gohei, but will be using a different instrument for the purification.
During the process of learning the kagura, Luka started realizing that she must do well and maybe she would get to see her grandmother. She was determined after realizing that it was also a big responsibility.
"Even if it's hard, I will definitely not give up," Luka confidently thought as she tried dancing the basic steps.
"What did you tell her?" asked Luna with concern.
"I told her that the ceremony is for the purification of spirits around us," Momo replied, respectfully kneeling on the floor.
"Good."
"But, Amane-sama, it's not right to lie!" protested Momo, raising her tone of voice.
"Do not tell me what's right and wrong, Momo-san!" Luna yelled in anger.
"Yes, ma'am. I apologize and would like to ask for your forgiveness," Momo replied, her frown hidden behind the shut sliding doors.
"I forgive you, but I'm going to tell you this once again," Luna said, her normal tone of voice returning.
"We all had to make sacrifices."
kagura- ancient Shinto dance meaning "god-entertainment"
okaerinasai- a formal phrase meaning "welcome home/back"
onsen- hot spring
chibi- Japanese slang word for "small child" or "small person"
tako- octopus
Yukitsuki no Gishiki- Snow(yuki) Moon (tsuki) Ceremony (gishiki); The Snow Moon Ceremony is a fictional shrine ceremony created for this story.
miko kagura- ancient Shinto dances performed by shrine maidens
yosh- a word used for motivation. e.g. "Let's go!"/ "I got this!"/ "I can do this!"/ "Come on!"
ganbaru- a word used for motivation. e.g "I'll do my best!"
shamusho- a building in the shrine where the family that takes care of the shrine lives
gohei- wooden wands decorated with two zigzag paper streamers
