...damn, Akebi-chan's School Uniform is good. Surprise recommendation from me! The manga's better for you guys who're lewd enough to desire middle school students' underwears, so there's my parental advice warning right there.

Hello again! Yet another chapter requiring you guys to jog your Oda Nobuna no Yabō knowledge. Yes, it does contain spoilers, but I guess from the lack of protests for me debuting non-Nasuverse characters, you guys don't mind very much. Beware! It's quite full of exposition – unfortunate, because I really want to move onto some climactic action scenes. However, the next 3 chapters will be full of testosterone and blood and gore! It's quite rare for me to give an M-rating warning for anything other than hentai stuff, but those definitely require it.

For those of you curious on how the omake's main character looks like, refer to Chapter 56, Page 19 of the Shy manga. Mai and Ai are there.

Ghost151: Glad to hear that. I was worried the following chapters will be hard to follow, so I had to make this one as an expository bridge. Personally, I don't enjoy Volume 7 onwards, but I persevered for the sake of Kurumi-chan's new Astral Dress. I'm also not deliberately choosing their canon; I simply didn't find a better Kabbalah-based system I like among the various media I know. Which technical part of this story you struggle with, still? Go ahead and ask your questions. Do you think what I'm doing is too complicated?
HoJ Roxas: Thanks! Unfortunately, it looks like I'm going to have to delay the action-oriented chapters by one more, since the next one should be an omake - once again, filled with some exposition.

N.B.: Check out the latest entry of Character Sheet Update at the end of the chapter. Man, it felt like ages since I've done this!

"Is this the dark side of society?"

A mature laugh was Mai's reply, voiced by Hisahide in all her naked glory. Nicknamed 'Danjō', her half-Persian blood not only granted her prodigious magical capability, but also exotic physical features attractive enough to make both genders salivate. The effect was particularly obvious on the young kunoichi, who was both sexually inexperienced and, as she recently found out, bisexual. The older woman was lying buck naked, spread-eagled, in front of the furiously-blushing Mai, acting very casually despite her perky breasts and slightly moist pussy lips were in full view.

"Don't' be such a prude, girl. You're still young!"

"Somehow, that doesn't fill me with calm or reassurance at all…" she mumbled, trying her best to tear her gaze away from Hisahide's splendour… and failing gloriously. "C-Can I get someone to replace me?"

"Fufufu… and directly disobey Heika's order? You're braver than me…" the dark-skinned woman pointed out, mildly blinking away the mild sweat dripping from her lilac bangs into her eyes. "Besides, what cushier job are you trying to get? Standing guard while I'm doing all the work is good money, no?"

"I don't need money! I want to go out and accomplish many things!" She nearly screamed her response back, but toned down her voice at the last moment because they're in a relatively cramped room – at the very least, small enough the kunoichi kept squirming uncomfortably in fear of 'accidentally touching' any part of the buxom magus's body.

Hisahide kept laughing in that exact manner which stirred up Mai's lust. Of course, that was entirely intentional – her advanced age meant she couldn't help but bully any younger colleague out of boredom and twisted good intentions – and she intended to keep going until Mai got the hang of it. "So you're that kind of underling, huh? Are you satisfied with that? …why don't we have fun instead, hm?"

- Srrt.

Mai instantly shivered when Hisahide extended her legs, and caressed the kunoichi's thigh with her toes. The former really wanted to yelp, jump out of her kneeling position, and scream with a high-pitched voice, but she endured with 'mere' incessant trembling. Closing her eyes so hard it became a wince, she squeaked out, "N-N-N-NO! I-I-I'M ON D-D-DUTY!"

"So we're good during the weekends?"

"OF COURSE NOT!"

The older woman feigned a disappointed sigh. "You're just as un-fun as my children these days…"

"JUST GET THIS OVER WITH!"

- Ha… Ha… Ha…

Mai flushed just that bit darker when she realized she just broke her own internal decision not to shout earlier.

She was suddenly tasked as an attaché to the Oda Clan by Himiko, who simply dropped by her personal room – 'Which nation leader does that?!' She screamed internally in embarrassment whenever she remembered her slovenly sleeping form – before getting tossed, almost literally, to Gifu Castle's front gate. When she was mentally preparing what kind of speech she should use to engage the bewildered gate guards as she paced around back-and-forth suspiciously while mumbling to herself, the main entrance opened to reveal Oda Nobunaga herself marching out with a small unit.

Before Mai could stutter out any kind of proper greeting, the Owari daimyō – decked in full body-hugging black armour set, contrasting her bright red hair – instantly commanded, "Oh, you're here? Just get inside and find Danjō! She has use for you!"

- Trot… Trot… Trot…

And with that, they're off, leaving Mai just as flabbergasted as the guards behind her. Still, she dutifully followed whatever she could interpret from all this bizarre and hurried event, trudging into the castle complex and resisting to simply flicker everywhere to shortcut her travel time. She'd heard of the Named Ones, and while that designation was ridiculous because the group didn't even have a proper name yet, she wouldn't want to stir up trouble in 'enemy territory', so to speak. When she was still an official Sōga, she would do so without hesitation, believing her skills would be enough to both avoid and get her out of a pinch… but this past year had taught her she was way, way below the top of the totem pole.

After her rest post-mission, she… got nothing to do. Training wasn't fruitful because everyone she wanted to mentor her seemingly got plenty of urgent things to do, and had disappeared to who-knew-where. Even Tatsumi, her supposed handle, wasn't available… so technically, the only person remaining to ask was the Empress herself, who summarily threw the mission scroll at her face – figuratively and literally – and shipped her out of the Imperial Castle's compound.

"Welcome, young one," Matsunaga Hisahide was the one to welcome her, decked in her usual revealing garb. Low-cut kimono – which actually used far different patterns to stitch than simply modifying an existing piece and start cutting chunks off to reveal some skin – mildly smelling of herbs, smoke, perfume, and aphrodisiac, draped over a buxom body which was a sign of her foreign blood. "You're right on time. The person who's supposed to be here ran away, so thank goodness Heika heeded my plea."

'Ran away…? C-Could she be t-talking about… N-Nobunaga-sama…?'

If true, then she had just entered a monster's den so dangerous it's definitely above her pay grade. Was Himiko considering a raise for her?

- Gulp!

As the lump in her throat audibly and troublesomely went down, she bowed and sat formally on her knees. "N-Nice to meet you! Please take care of me!" She nearly bit her tongue just now, but managed to rescue it by changing it into a mild stutter instead.

"I heard many great things of you… from the higher-ups," the older woman remarked. "I never pegged you to be a nervous one, given what you've been through."

- Fuuuuuuhhhh…

A blow of warm, intoxicating breath enveloped Mai's head, making her dizzy. "Or… are you putting a façade in front of me?"

"I wouldn't dare!"

Because the kunoichi was lowering her head, she couldn't see Hisahide waving her hand around, though the way the air sounded when she did was distinctive enough Mai could recognize it. "I don't care either way. Do you think I've lived all these years for nothing…? Regardless, I was about to remind you we're in a safe, trusted place right now. Don't be so tense," she kindly explained, before adding as if in jest, "Although… the person you're talking to is perhaps not quite that 'safe and trusting'. Ufufufu…"

"…I can see that," Mai admitted. Despite her under-confidence, her mind was already working hard to establish a theory about who the person in front of her truly is, combining the information she'd gathered with the clues scattered throughout both the room and the individual. "But Heika seemed to place you in high regard, so I shall, too."

Compared to Mai's formal seating position, Hisahide was practically sprawling on a recliner, though thankfully with most of her clothing still in place. The kunoichi knew this was a woman who rampaged in the Sengoku Period behind the scenes, always sleeping with and drugging her victims to achieve more and more power, jumping from faction to faction as she'd suck her previous employers dry. 'The Betrayer', her naysayers nicknamed her, and Mai was caught by surprise when she first joined the Imperial Family as an official shinobi Nobunaga, a person she considered to be in the upper echelon of intelligence among all daimyōs, accepted Hisahide's offer of servitude right after a pitched battle. The chance the heat of combat rose up the redhead's brain was unlikely, because the decision should attain her retainers' consensus, and even the Minamoto man who's Nobunaga's lover went through years-long process before he was made official.

That's what made Mai's appointment so… well, calling it simply 'unusual' would be a massive understatement. One did not just become one of the Empress's officers without a thorough vetting, background check, challenging tests, and years of experience. Instead, she was more akin to a parcel being sold by her village and bought on a whim by Himiko, such was the speed of everything which had happened.

Hisahide must've been through a similar process… or perhaps she'd learnt to streamline everything, given how often she did this thing?

Still, Mai couldn't see this older woman as anything but a loyal retainer, to the point she's doubting her own judgement, fearing she'd fallen into the same trap Hisahide's past employers did. After all, they had years together, and yet her schemes went unnoticed; what good could Mai do in just this few short minutes? Besides, it felt like Hisahide was doing precisely everything to throw off someone who'd learnt their analysing skills from the book, constantly making Mai guess whether this very next thing was going to be a trap or genuine.

…like suddenly stripping in front of her.

They were in Hisahide's designated personal chamber in Gifu Castle. Mai hand't even had the time to greet the appointed owner – which should be a young Princess General named Akechi Mitsuhide – before she was stuffed into this room together with this… lunatic!

"Raise your head."

Oh, Mai wished she didn't follow that casual order.

Once she did – unfortunately for her young brain – she couldn't tear her eyes away from the slowly-revealed inches of perfectly brown, exotic skin, her mind's ability to see things in slow motion when under duress actually working against her right now. In reality, Hisahide was disrobing with her usual pace, and only the kunoichi's dirty, immature mind exaggerate things much more, playing up each minuscule gesture as some sort of attempt to break her mind and composure.

'Well, if she's going to take things that way… Who am I to refuse?' The older woman internally giggled, slowing down a touch to exemplify Mai's mental effect, though not nearly as egregious as when she was younger and was eager to find some sort of safety for a woman like her – a magus, half-foreigner, ambitious, and beautiful – among the early days of the Sengoku Period. "Keep watch."

"…yes." Mai's response came out rather dazed, undoubtedly due to the disconnect between what her heart was enjoying and her brain was moving her mouth with.

Hisahide resisted to shake her head in resignation, knowing it'd break the illusion even though she hadn't had any intention to start one. It'd become second nature to her all these years, who was nicknamed 'the Spider', to the point days where she could let herself relax and afford to be honest without getting stabbed in the back were a rarity. Fortunately, she seemed to have hit a jackpot with her latest selection of a daimyō to follow, the young conqueror Oda Nobunaga, precisely because she found all those schemes she'd long perfected actually turned unnecessary.

She crawled, climbed, and fought her way up to becoming a proper general, but people – and her own troops, no less! – all assumed she only achieved everything by way of spreading her legs open. In an era filled with respectable and admirable Princess Generals, she was conspicuously not included in that esteemed group, because public opinion looked down on her philosophy in life. Yes, Nihon was a much morally-free place compared to Nobunaga's old life, but her habit of sleeping around was looked down upon.

…she theorized it was because of her background – no noble blood, no great Sorcery Trait, no relation to the Imperial Family – which could've protected her from those public accusations. Many before her had at least one of those aforementioned attributes, which eased their transition to a public figure despite their spotted histories.

It only served to drive her further, personally experiencing this unequal treatment.

If men thought of her as a whore, then let her be one.

After all, once she severed their heads from their necks, they'd lose the ability to speak demeaning words to her anyway. Ditto the underlings she'd inherit – once she let them know she held the lives of their families in her palms, they'd fall in line, much too cowardly to consider backstabbing her on their own to even entertain the thought of avenging their supposed 'master'.

Ancient Nihon culture was strange, at least to Hisahide. Time and again, she'd proved words of loyalty and servitude were nothing more than thin shoji in front of the basest human desires: [Greed], [Lust], and [Sloth]. Yet those old geezers still dare to insist a warrior's entire life should revolve and be dedicated around someone who just happened to be born – and hadn't earned – a position of power and wealth? To dictate if one wasn't faithful to their superior's whims, they were less of a person?

Despite the influx of yōkai common sense and general tolerance, this stupid term – bushido – persisted, becoming the standard one judged another subconsciously.

Hisahide wanted to destroy everything of that.

It was years – decades – before she made any significant dent into that cultural misappropriation… at least, one she was satisfied with. The times were changing faster than her, fortunately enough for the next generation who never would've endured the same prejudices as herself, but it left her empty and morose in the end. What she had grasped in her hands suddenly was nothing more than overripe fruits everyone in the market was eager to crush as trash, instead of becoming valuable set pieces to be displayed as she chopped their heads off publicly.

Then, as if by fate, Nobunaga appeared.

Hisahide had thought her task in this world was done… but no. That redheaded kid – Nobunaga was black-haired when the two first met – had seen the foundational remnants of that obsolete wall sticking out of the ground the previous generation had attempted to smooth and gloss over, and decided they hadn't done a thorough enough job. 'Tenka Fubu' was the figurative till which would dig and churn and turn even down to the bedrock, until there's nothing left behind…

…only a prime, pristine plain Himiko would fill with whatever her young heart desired.

Back then, only Hisahide saw the connection already formed between the Minamoto and Oda, and had made preparations accordingly – chiefly the thickness of her knees' and forehead's skin, in expectation of a lot of grovelling – to be allowed a slice of the pie. Poking her head out into the tiger's mouth – as the popular saying said – required acceptance at least one limb would be torn off and consumed. Hisahide distracted herself by constantly gazing at the figurative tiger's cub, burning its image in front of her mind to numb the pain and horror she'd inevitably take.

The Minamoto Clan's deeds were well-known, though it was far too smart and capable not to use their influence to turn the victims' cries of injustice into the exact opposite. Manipulating public opinion – Hisahide's forte – to justify the crimes it committed…

…well, no – the official press release was 'it had to commit', as much as this subtle difference made it through relatively uneducated citizens. Most could read and write fluently, but anything deeper and more complex usually went right over their heads. The small things they could grasp were perfectly spoon-fed by the Minamoto Clan, starting after Yoritomo's death, but more likely having been established by the man himself prior to that, so his younger sister and her descendants could continue to wield the power necessary to enforce this… theatre.

Thus, after that generation, it turned the public's attention elsewhere as it stockpiled power. Gently, at first, but after a century or two, no one batted an eye when the Imperial Family wanted to enact a drastic change. As of now, Hisahide had little doubt Himiko, by herself, could subjugate Ming's and Goryeo's long-troubled administrations by sheer force alone, marching and slaughtering her way to the respective capitals with ease.

And this was the tiger's mouth Hisahide had placed her head in. At least, she rationalized, the beast was young and perhaps wouldn't be interested in anything more than a nibble. Even more so when she decided she'd do so via the young Nobunaga, so perhaps…

Little did she know what would bite her was the tiger's shadow, instead.

Sengo.

Muramasa.

Throughout her long life, Hisahide had felt shivers going down her spine whenever a man evaluated her like a piece of meat plenty of times. More often than not, she'd take it as flattery, compared to more innocent women who'd either be scared or insulted… though there were a few scant times when what 'the Spider' felt was utter disgust and desire to destroy.

But never [Death].

She could still remember the instant his normal, warm ember eyes turn bright silver.

That moment, any thought of controlling, using, or harming Nobunaga went out of her mind. As a magus, self-hypnosis was easy, but it's quite the novelty when it's done voluntarily to herself against herself. That was the only way the invisible blade placed against her spiritual core would be removed… though only to one side, ready to strike once she changed her mind. Perhaps it's a threat too subtle for most to notice, but Hisahide's focus in Magecraft was directly related to spiritualism – her personal judgement as the best way to chase Akasha – and his gaze screamed loud and clear.

Nobunaga only realized what's happening when Hisahide froze for several seconds too long, and immediately nudged Muramasa to give her a break. The dark-skinned woman was unsure he only let her go to show Nobunaga was in control of her, and not the other way around, or real pity and obedience to the woman he loved. Regardless, the Matsunaga Princess General, for the first time, swore true loyalty and servitude to another – ironically, to a young woman nearly 20 years her junior.

"P-Pardon?"

To Mai's nervous request for repetition, Hisahide didn't bother to elaborate much. "I'm going to incapacitate myself. Stand watch and guard me. If anyone comes with refreshments, you can store it there." She pointed at a chest carefully laced with [Time]-preserving talismans, where food and drink could keep their optimum temperature for as long as magic energy was fed into them.

- Drop.

The last of her clothing fell to the ground – her fundoshi, mostly, since she'd long forgone chest wraps to showcase her breasts' healthy volume – and she didn't hesitate to take one step forward, placing her mildly-bushy pubic mound close to Mai's frozen gaze and nose, before laying down spread-eagled, showcasing her brown lower lips, leaking clear fluid one at a time. Hisahide herself wasn't sure whether that's just cold sweat or arousal, because she was feeling both nervousness and pleasure.

After all, it's not every day one got to swap bodies.

Well, technically it wasn't 'swapping', because that would entail perfect switching between two spiritual cores. There were cases where this happened naturally because of incidents with dimensional tears in the world, though there's certainly a lot more cases where attempts to achieve this were done. Success stories? A handful, and most of them were from the first group.

- Srrt.

Hisahide's occupied room had two sliding doors: one from where Mai entered, and the other right atop the magus's head as she was lying down. It's a typical Nihon construction, though the added confusion effect for foreigners when a designer decided they'd make all the walls look like doors was exhilarating.

From there, the cause of Mai's morality-questioning inquiry arrived.

A dead body. A young girl; light-haired, so perhaps a Nanban hybrid. Said hair was splayed roughly around her clearly-cold head, though it was as well-maintained as the rest of the corpse. A pair of maids was wheeling it in on a strangely-advanced trolley bed, equipped with specialty joints which enabled it to be lowered near Hisahide's lying height, easing the transition to place it on the floor instead of roughly dumping it beside the dark-skinned magus.

"You even bothered to dress her up," Mai noted, the sight of the all-too-common lifeless girls sobered her up from her nervousness and indecision. "This setup… [Soul Transference]?"

"I'm glad you're finally using your brain," Hisahide sarcastically complimented. "I'm trying out a new version, since the old ones I researched don't have enough… oomph, you know? If I'm doing things for myself, it better be perfect."

"Aren't they enough to stand guard, though?" Mai gestured to the departing maids, who gave her solemn, silent nods before sliding the dor shut. "This place is better-defended than a military fortress, even. Why do you need me, exactly?"

"Oh, anyone can do. I'm informed by Heika you're free, so you're selected," the magus offhandedly answered, before closing her eyes. "This will take a moment, so I'll leave you to your lonesome."

The magic circle under her body glowed… along with another one below the corpse, which Mai had missed when she first entered, too captivated by Hisahide's striptease show. Her mind was also misled by the fact the magus was lying smack-dab in the centre of this symmetrical room, thinking there's not enough space to prepare another magic circle. Besides, magi loved [Order] in things, and making crooked lines just wasn't their forte.

Lo and behold, the room expanded sideways into a longer rectangle, and the two circles were now the centre point of the space.

As Hisahide had turned silent and the Mana in this space intensified, the kunoichi stood up as stealthily as possible to take in the perimeter of her new surroundings. Gifu Castle was certainly luxurious, but she was wondering of the spatial traps and confusion-based defensive systems around here. Was it as impressive as the Imperial Castle? If it's anywhere near the latter, then the Oda-Minamoto connection was more solid than she thought. Of course, as a shinobi, it's not her business to judge this kind of political thing, but it's always good to establish the fact to avoid being frozen with lack of knowledge.

…it felt like she'd been doing that more often lately.

- Zuuu…

- Zzz…

- Zuuu…

- Zzz…

- Zuuu…

- Zzz…

"Hah!"

Mai awoke with a jolt, immediately bringing her form-fitting sleeves to the sides of her lips. Lian shamefully brought up her tendency to drool, and in a desire to upgrade herself from beings seen as 'the cute kid' into 'potential lover' by her crush, Mai put more effort into her appearance and behaviour lately.

…it's a work in progress, since she definitely felt dried liquid staining both corners.

Why wasn't there any beauty-grooming ninjutsu out there? She wouldn't need to invest so much effort into self-groom that way!

When her sight came to, there was no one remaining in the room. Any trace of the two magic circles had been erased or dissipated into nothingness, and Hisahide's discarded clothes were also nowhere to be seen. There should be traces of two bodies being carried off – post-mortem analysis was a particularly well-studied branch of knowledge shinobis were required to learn – but, much like how the corpse first came in, there were none in sight.

There was a supposed trick to gleam microscopic information from all surfaces around her by way of pulsing one's Od and reading the response the Mana gave back, but Mai was untalented and inexperienced in this field, having given up after a few failed attempts. Besides, there's undoubtedly countermeasures in place for that sort of rough technique, despite how new the entire construction was. Passive counters were one thing, but it wouldn't do if she ended up antagonizing the current caretaker of the place.

She patted down her shinobi uniform, mildly dishevelled from her lull of sleep, before choosing the door the corpse was wheeled in from.

There was now little doubt in her mind the Imperial Castle was, at the very least, not personally managed by Himiko. Perhaps an automated system… or a yōkai the size of a castle. Certainly, according to the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki, there's certainly several individuals who were perceivably large enough for humans to comfortably live within them, the most recent example being Osakabe-hime who was actually counted among the Hyakki Yakō – though Mai had never personally met her. But if that theory was true, then wouldn't Mai be inside said yōkai the entire time?

…anyway, this was a question far beyond her paygrade. Her latest payment had just arrived… enough to start building her own shinobi village if she wanted to. Now she knew how ridiculously powerful the Minamoto Clan was, when a low-ranking member like her now suddenly had enough resources to achieve all her dreams after one big mission.

Yet another surprise: the very next room had that very same corpse of a young girl, sitting and drinking tea calmly, the now-familiar figure of Hisahide nowhere to be found.

The two of them locked gazes for one moment – one shocked and incredulous, the other amused and patient. A few moments later, Mai chose not to fall onto her innocent persona this time and immediately played along, "Congratulations on your success, Matsunaga-sama."

Compared to the cold, lifeless face which Mai had been staring in shock a few hours ago, along with Hisahide's well-aged, yet still maturely beautiful exotic appearance, this new person was very, very different. A combination of a sagely pair of eyes on a youthful face certainly had that effect, creating discomfort during first meetings but unforgettable attraction as time went on. The already-light-coloured hair combined with Hisahide's previous lilac shade, turning pure white – rather odd-looking, since her skin was very fair, making a person whose entire chromatic theme was… well, white.

Fortunately, she's not wearing white clothes, or Mai would've complained of workplace abuse for her poor eyes.

This new person was smoking a pipe – undoubtedly something carried over by Hisahide – and it looked just as out-of-place as everything else on that very young body. Mai didn't want to make logic jumps, but it took everything she had not to show at least a questioning gaze across her eyes. Shinobis never questioned what their superiors did so long as they weren't ordered or pleaded to, and however temporary this posting was, Hisahide was her boss now.

"Thank you. Come, dine with me," she excused Mai from her formal semi-bow, patting the incredibly inappropriate place of her own lap. It might suit the previous Hisahide with her larger and taller body, but right now the two… young girls were about the same size. "You must be as tired as I am, falling asleep in an instant back there."

Mai instantly flushed, losing whatever control she had over her expression, unable to find a retort among her limited vocabulary.

"Thankfully, I have other measures at hand, though it'd be reassuring to have you as an additional layer of safety," this new person twisted the knife even further, using a voice completely alien to Mai yet an oh-so-familiar tone and dialect. "Don't worry, I won't put this in your performance report."

The kunoichi immediately shuffled to sit on the recently-revived girl's lap, eager to shut that poisonous mouth up.

Displayed across the table in front of them was the familiar lush selection of expensive food, though a tad different from the ones Mai'd seen in the Imperial Castle. There, everything must be to Himiko's taste, and only modified when health was a concern. Here, it was more… 'traditional', in a sense it catered more towards aesthetics and how bourgeoise the ingredients were instead of pure taste.

Not that Mai was hard to impress. So long as it looked impressive or the person she's close to recommended it, she'd totally scarf anything down. That's why she's so easily gullible during her trip to Ming in regards to the strange things Lian kept putting on her plate, faking such a good expression of care Mai just couldn't reject it.

"Now, aaahhh…"

The kunoichi obediently opened her mouth and allowed the chopstick to enter it, knowing she'd already lost.

"I'm going to make it mandatory for anyone to laugh arrogantly when they're viewing things from this high," Hisahide declared. It's already difficult to tell apart her intentions with her usual tone; now with her new body and identity, it's even more so to differentiate whether she's joking or not. "I've seen Kippōshi-chan indulge in that luxury; seems interesting to try."

Of course, now was the best time to try such idiotic idea, according to Mai, because the height of Gifu Castle and the weather conspired to create loud, whistling winds to drown out anything like what Hisahide was saying.

…oh, no, it's 'Flower Goddess', now. Talk about pompous.

The corpse was originally named 'Manmi Senchiyo'… someone Mai really didn't know or heard of prior. Obviously, it's a person very close to Hisahide's heart, in a way the magus knew this young girl down to the make-up of her very soul. There were a lot of problems of [Soul Transference] which could be avoided by simply being friendly with the would-be corpse, because nature just wouldn't allow easy transition between two completely unrelated bodies. Souls were all connected through Akasha – uniquely, even an antagonistic relationship between two or more parties counted as 'positive values' towards the magic formula calculation, enabling, for instance, cases where bitter rivals swapped bodies or hijacked one another throughout history. Of course, the best matches would include close family members, loved ones, or best friends, especially when everything was done willingly. All of these had positive multiplication factors towards the end product, but it all started from simply knowing.

It's much harder to possess a stranger, for instance. Any case like this would indicate the strength of the culprit, which was why the Holy Church created a specific Sacrament to deal with potential lawbreakers in this area. Those who could simply choose a corpse at random from a cemetery remotely were particularly troublesome, with powerful Spiritual Cores and array of complimentary skills to fight off any law enforcements.

Still, this was all Mai's theory. Outright asking what Manmi's relationship with Hisahide would be rude, much like asking a chef where and when and how precisely he killed his cows or other cattle during a calm, soothing meal. All she needed to know was whether Hisahi- er, Flower Goddess would use this new body for good or evil. If it's the latter, then she would have less of a conscience of betraying her orders and dish out justice, leaving the explanations and reports later.

...or not, since Flower Goddess seemed to be in a talking mood.

"The original owner of this body kindly donated it to me – such was her devotion to Kippoushi-chan. Personally, I'm never one for sentimentality, but because our lord trusted me enough to give me this... 'gift', then I'll work hard to not disappoint," she blabbered on. "Not that there's anything wrong with my old one, but during this momentary peace, it's good to take the chance to upgrade and use the time to get used to a more powerful vessel, instead of being forced to rush under emergencies later."

"In terms of combat ability, how much more powerful is... the current you, Flower Goddess?" Mai asked, both genuinely curious and simply wanting to get more out of this trickster.

Surprisingly, after a good, long suck on her pipe, Flower Goddess shrugged. "I joined hands with Senchiyo... or, more precisely, the two of us have now perfectly fused together into a new identity. Anyway! What I'm focused now is on my [Clairvoyance] ability, instead of combat. Reading the future is always tricky, and we can't always rely on Heika to hand down her visions to us whenever she wants to."

"Have you seen anything interesting, then?"

"About you? Things in general? Or me?"

Mai was thankful this personality seemed to have a personal limit in teasing, unlike her previous incarnation.

"Will you mark me down in professionalism if I ask about the first one?"

"Yes."

Mildly stumped at such a blunt admission, Mai chose, "...then the future of the nation."

Flower Goddess smirked so wide the kunoichi instantly knew she fell for a trap. "Well, to reward your honesty, I can say you may directly ask Heika about what she has in store for you later. You know; despite her demeanour, she's very friendly if you're direct with her? Now, for the nation... Fufufu, you sure sounds like an elder when you ask that."

With her face red, Mai shot back, "If you don't want to answer, then don't bother!"

"Alright, alright, calm down, little girl... Though should I change my way of talking to be more... hip? Is that what kids like you call it these days?" Flower Goddess pondered, serious enough she actually put down her smoking pipe to put one hand on her chin and another on her hip. "I can assure you the path Kippoushi-chan's taking has the correct goal... though whether she's choosing the right path with all the pitfalls and fateful junctions remains to be seen. If everything stays ideal, then it's a surefire lock," she instantly explained using more modern terminologies, to the point Mai, who grew up in a secluded shinobi village, had difficulty keeping up. "But I can also tell you Heika is already looking beyond Nihon... to claim the lands which used to oppress us and, as of right now, have very little magical defence."

The young kunoichi took several moments to blink her confusion away. "...do you think I'll get deployed in the front lines?"

"If you manage to make it into the Hyakki Yakou, then you have a shot." Flower Goddess paused. "But judging from our Heika's personality, it's much more likely she'll use the top 10 as shock troops first, and people like us as peacekeepers afterwards."

"Peacekeepers... or jailors?"

The magus gave her a coy look. "Can't we be both? What do you think?" She even spread her arms wide, with the faraway horizon and howling winds as backdrop, to emphasize her conjoined desire with Himiko to rise up in the world. "Of course, a repressed society will, sooner or later, fight back. There are plans in place to keep the... our soon-to-be citizens happy – even more so than their current government. I'm not privy of the details, so don't look at me like that."

Despite Flower Goddess's request, Mai maintained her accusatory gaze. However, when the older girl matched her intensity, she finally relented. "In the end, the best way is always incited insurrection."

"How do you think the European empires got their hands on their current colonies? In fact, we, Nihon, have been far too late in this aspect. No wonder Heika sees us all as unruly children even more immature than how she looks," Flower Goddess opined. "There's no better chance now, with Goryeo losing their Dragon's Heritage to us and Ming's own is under negotiation with ours. The Reverse Side over there is tired of constantly being repressed and is about to be extinct; flaunting how good we have it here is all it takes to have them on board."

"But there's the issue of 'Mandate of Heaven'," Mai argued, taking a reminding tone. "it's not easy to change the citizens' perspective on who should rightfully usurp that title, even if you have them all in your pocket."

"Tsk, tsk. You underestimate our strength, little kunoichi." Flower Goddess wagged her index finger. "Have you not considered our capacity to change the collective consciousness?"

"That's-! T-That's mass brainwashing!" Mai raised her voice, catching herself at the last moment just before it turned into a scream. "What makes you so different than the tyrants before us?!"

"Er, hello? Are we not living in a society created by tyrants? Or have you, like everyone else, been fooled by what the Minamoto Clan puts out there as 'free history education'?"

"B-But that's... That's different!"

This time, Flower Goddess actually looked angry. "Will you stop blinding yourself?! Damn!"

- …

Taking a few deep breaths, she continued, "I won't deny Yoritomo-sama and Yoshitsune-sama's good intentions. Back then, our nation certainly needed a strong hand to actually face itself in the mirror and see its own flaws. Even then, what they've established turns out to be closer to utopia than any previous ruling family. What other kingdoms appreciate and integrate their Mystery side to their day-to-day life like us? The closest thing would be the old British Empire, before they turned on their Dragon's Heritage and unwittingly cursed their descendants forever! So their failure a year back was also influenced by fate, you know that?! Not just the efforts of Shirou-kun and the rest!"

As Mai noticed previously, Flower Goddess's personality was really different than Hisahide's – or presumably Manmi's too, but Mai didn't know her – to the point she let out her unusually intimate way of addressing Muramasa. This was actually a rude act because neither knew each other that well beyond what professional relationship they'd established through Nobunaga, but Flower Goddess was currently so unexpectedly incensed by Mai's insistence of a peaceful utopia she simply missed her mistake – or just didn't care.

"Do you think I like controlling and seeing people suffer? YES! So what?! I have the family around me I've always wanted, and they can be my chains!"

- Haa... Haa... Haa...

Wiping the cold sweat away from her exposed nape and collarbone, her tone softened. "Apologies. I was too into it. Your questions are all appropriate and understandable."

Mai bowed deeply, returning to her formal attitude when they first met. "No, I overstepped my boundaries. A shinobi's duty is to follow the master's orders..."

"...but also to advise them if a jarring mistake is found," Flower Goddess finished. "Have I told you of my disdain of bushido?"

"No, but I have to excuse myself. There's a guest waiting for me downstairs, it seems."

Flower Goddess followed Mai's pointing finger over the latter's shoulder, seeing a maid politely standing there, waiting, clearly overlooked even though she should've been in the former's line of sight. She shook her snow-white hair, a small smile blooming on her new, but still beautiful face. "For your information, this is related to the first choice. May your future be prosperous.

Mai was taken aback. '...about my future...?' Furrowing her brows to think what's causing this latest development... but she couldn't think of anything beyond what she just said to Flower Goddess earlier, partially to escape her ongoing rant. [Soul Transference], however perfect, always had side-effects, and an infamous one was a cantankerous personality whenever some random mental trigger was pulled. "Thank you for your kind words. Excuse me."

"Ah, you don't have to. Your work with me is finished; another person will bring you your next task."

"Huh? I... don't feel like I've done anything worthwhile..." Mai admitted, though she was already walking towards the maid. "But it's an honour to meet and work with you, Flower Goddess-sama."

When she made it to the bottom of the castle, she couldn't help but reminisce what a strange day it had been. Thrown towards a superior who only requested a body to stand guard like some sort of unpaid villager for a job she was technically allowed to sleep through. There were ninjutsu covering [Soul Transference], yes, but today was also the first time she saw it performed live – the Souga Village didn't really perform Edo Tensei variations. Then, sleeping on the job usually got her killed, not just the VIPs she's supposed to be guarding. This was actually the first time she witnessed the 'mercy rule', because everyone else she knew was punished in some way for their negligence. This time, ironically, it's Flower Goddess who could be said to be that, not punishing Mai because... she couldn't be bothered to do it, really.

What surprised her most, however, was what awaited her at the bottom of Gifu Castle... after a long, long walk down the stairs.

It's rude to just jump down from the rooftops to the ground, even if she was perfectly capable of doing that as a kunoichi. Bad manners.

"Miss... Kasha?" Mai greeted, rather unsure what form of address to use, so she resorted to the youkai species name. "It's a pleasure to meet you again," she chose a formal tone to continue.

It's the youkai who was pulling the luxurious carriage Himiko and Mai were on when they're heading to the secret port on the way to Ming. Extremely busty and tall, clad in... some fabrics which were inspired by a kimono – causing plenty of flesh and bare skin to spill out – her enchanting face was decorated by cute whiskers and sharp, triangular cat ears. Unexpectedly, the slitted eyes gazing back at her was warm, and completely un-predatory as Mai expected. The kunoichi knew in war times, the wheels she's using as a substitute to her lower body would've been engulfed in flames – a remnant of her original form before popular perception coloured her current physique – but, just like that time, the pair of large wheels, centrally locked with facial decorations, looked as ordinary as ever.

"Hello, my successor. Let's make this quick, shall we?"

"W-Wait, w-what are you talking about-!"

Without warning, the youkai's large frame dove straight towards Mai... and into her, bathing her in blue-red flames.

Character Sheet Update!

K

Kuhashiya

Predicted Class: Rider, Berserker, Avenger
Gender: Female
Height: 220 cm (300 cm)
Weight: 100 kg (190 kg)

Alignment: Chaotic Good

Strength: C
Endurance: D+
Agility: A+
Mana: B
Luck: C
Noble Phantasm: EX

Class/Personal Skills:

Riding: B (B+)
Most vehicles and animals can be handled with above average skill, even vehicles non-existent in the time period she was alive in, without exception. However, she cannot ride the likes of Phantasmal Species such as Monstrous Beasts. Gains a positive modifier when riding 'herself' – or, more specifically, her flaming chariot lower half.

Magic Resistance (Flame): EX
Supreme protection against all [Fire]-based Magecraft, for she's made of flames herself. However, in actual combat, her general ability to cancel other spells altogether is at most B-ranked.

Mad Enhancement: C
Raises basic parameters and strengthens one's physical abilities in exchange of hindering mental capacities. However, with age and wisdom, Kuhashiya can hold basic conversations just fine even with the Skill active. Using Living Weapon and leaving her host to handle complex mental calculations is her typical way of circumventing this drawback.

Yōkai Realm: C
Kuhashiya's personal Marble Phantasm, common to most yōkai of her stature. Rank-Up to all parameters except Agility and Luck. Being a [Fire]-based Guardian Spirit, this Bounded Field constantly gives [Fire] damage towards her opponent. However, in terms of absolute Conceptual Weight, hers was not exceptionally powerful because of her weaknesses to opposing Elements.

Mana Burst (Flame): A+
Infuses weapon with [Fire]-based Mana. Unique to her Origin of [Duality], Kuhashiya wields all three of physical vermillion flame, magical azure flame, and spiritual white flame. The tools she usually wields are her whips and chariot wheels, though typically she simply transfers this ability to her host and lets them channel this Skill into whatever weapon they're comfortable with.

Aragoto Dance: B-
The combat skills Kuhashiya learnt during life from her older sister. Unique to the Izumo-taishi, this was a style specifically tailored to miko who were physically weaker than men.

Noble Phantasms: — (None recorded)

Character Profile

A kasha (lit. "fire chariot") is a yōkai who snatches corpses and spirits them away to hell. Its name originally referred to the mythical chariot believed to transport sinners to the underworld. It is believed this folklore got fused with the ancient Japanese belief a cat should never be allowed in the vicinity of a corpse, resulting in the conception of kasha as a monstrous cat driving a fiery chariot. She is a servant of hell tasked with torturing the very souls she steals. In Japanese, there is a saying: "…one is in a fiery chariot…", which means one is suffering great financial difficulty. This saying originates from a belief in kasha, with the struggle of poverty being likened to 'kasha's torture'.

Japanese folktales also feature another type of kasha known as Kuhashiya. Most of these tales revolve around a cat who wishes to repay the kindness of a poor temple which has taken it in. This cat will cause something eerie to happen at a funeral, only stopping the supernatural show when its favoured temple gets involved in order to improve the temple's reputation. There are many variants of this story, but they are all based on the folk belief cats have the ability to exert mysterious powers upon the dead. As these tales spread, various funeral rites were introduced all over Japan to keep kasha away from the deceased.

A former human who was a miko serving at Izumo-taisha, born to the Nakamura blacksmithing family. The grudge transforming her into a yōkai was one of vengeful torture and murder when she was brutally raped and beaten to death by several of the temple's many sponsors. The Empress personally came and purified her when she rampaged and nearly burnt the whole complex down, then employed her within the Hyakki Yakō, giving her the sense of stability required to control all newborn yōkai's powers. She has been observing Mai for quite some time, ever since they met.