Standard disclaimers apply

The meeting was paused to allow Mayura to escort Izumiko to their room; after she'd changed out of the robes of the Hime-gami of course. However, before Izumiko left, she made it a point to thank Miyuki for putting so much effort into keeping her safe and to wish him and the others luck in figuring out the mystery.

Silence descended over the room like a heavy winter cloak as Miyuki sat like a statue, deep in thought over the Hime-gami's tale. He could understand why she'd felt it was necessary to let them know the source of the threat. It meant that any girl, except the ones in this room, were a threat to Izumiko.

"Well;" began Miyuki; "as usual, the Hime-gami just complicated everything." Closing his eyes, Miyuki continued by saying aloud this thoughts.

"We have to assume that every girl except the ones in this room is the source of the threat. The Souda siblings, as I know, are descended from mountain priests; no offense, but I doubt your ancestors were royalty."

"Considering the circumstances;" Manatsu said, "none taken." Honoka, seeing where the questioning was leading, gave her input.

"My family tree is out as well; my ancestors were shrine dancers." Miyuki, having expected as much with Honoka's abilities, nodded in gratitude of her honesty.

"What I'm still in shock about is that the Hime-gami is the matriarch of the Sagara family line." Miyuki responded to his father's shock with an 'are you serious?' look.

"Don't you think that would be obvious? As far back as our family history has been recorded, the Sagara line of mountain monks have always served as protectors of the Hime-gami's vessels. Did you honestly think she would have given that task to just anyone?" Miyuki pinned his father under his gaze as he continued; "Besides, who better to trust with the safety of your daughters than their cousins? Even if its' been centuries since the Sagara and Suzahara lines were actually related, the fact still stands that our families are connected by blood."

Miyuki stood to face the window as his thoughts swirled like a whirlpool. The situation's danger level just spiked astronomically. The Hime-gami's existed for 1000 years; that means that this grudge from the wife of the prince has been fermenting almost as long. Unfortunately, as is evidenced by the Hime-gami herself, these type of grudges only become worse over time.

"Shinko;" Manatsu said, drawing Miyuki away from his thoughts; "doesn't Izumiko have a familiar? What did she call him again . . ?" At the mention of Wamiya, an idea struck Miyuki at a way to find the source of the threat.

"Wamiya! Come to me now!" Everyone jumped out of their seats as a black crow materialized on Miyuki's shoulder.

"You have command over her familiar?!" Yukimasa couldn't believe this!

"For your information, Sagara does not 'command' me. Only Izumiko has that power. I have chosen to heed Sagara's call because he was the first person, besides me, whom she honored with a dance. Also, like me, he seeks to aid Izumiko for the sake of her happiness, not her power." Wamiya, having corrected Yukimasa's error, turned to face Miyuki to ask the purpose of summoning him.

"Now that that was clarified; why do you need my help?"

"Can you give us a hint about who the descendant of the prince's daughter is?" Wamiya regretfully shook his head before explaining the reason.

"When the Hime-gami was executed, my spirit went into a deep sleep. It is the way with us mountain spirits that choose to become the familiar of a divine being. We can only awaken when our master re-binds us to them."

"Like Izumiko did unknowingly while dancing at the top of your mountain." Wamiya nodded before explaining further.

"The original Hime-gami's power worked in much the same way; it was her dancing as a young adolescent that had bonded me to her in the first place." Murakami interrupted to add his own experiences.

"When the Hime-gami had mentioned our meeting in the distant past, I remembered that it was her dancing that had drawn me to her. As the vessel for the God of the Arts, I have always had an eye for talent; the Hime-gami's ability to dance and sing has no equal." Miyuki couldn't help nodding in agreement; he'd seen firsthand how beautiful Izumiko's dancing and voice are.

"Thanks for trying anyway Wamiya. Since we still don't know the source of the threat, could you help us out by being our eyes and ears?" Wamiya contemplated Miyuki's request before asking for further direction.

"Do you mean keep an eye out for sources of danger?" Miyuki nodded before adding further instruction.

"That; but also, act as our spy. You have an advantage that none of us do; you're inconspicuous. At first glance, people would mistake you for a common crow. We need to use that to our benefit." Wamiya considered what Miyuki was saying before interpreting his request.

"What you're really asking is that I listen around and see if I can find out who is the source of the threat." Miyuki nodded as Wamiya chuckled a bit; "You didn't even need to ask. I am more than willing to investigate this mystery . . . for Izumiko's sake, mind you." Miyuki smiled in gratitude as Wamiya disappeared to start on his task.

"The same goes for all of us." Miyuki added. The young monk turned to face Murakami before he pleaded for his case; "Considering the circumstances, could I please change my class schedule so I'm in Izumiko's homeroom and all her classes?" Hodaka nodded in agreement, adding his opinion on the matter.

"While it would be unorthodox, the nature of the situation calls for such drastic measures." After nodding in appreciation, Miyuki turned to face the students still present in the room; "Our job as students is obvious; we need to keep our eyes and ears open to see if we can unmask this girl, if she is a student. At this point, we cannot rule any person out." The teen boy turned to face his father to give a special job.

"Dad; while your good looks can make you cocky sometimes . . . in this case, it makes you the best man for the job." Yukimasa nodded at his son before finishing his son's train of thought.

"You want me to screen the older women in the school to find any suspects." A smile flitted across Miyuki's face; who knew it would take a crisis like this for father and son to finally have an actual relationship?

"Principal Murakami; could you assist my father in the screening of the women on campus? I imagine that as the principal, you have access to the resumes submitted to Hojo Academy for any employee that works on campus?" The principal nodded before adding another helpful fact.

"Even better; due to the nature of our curriculum, we require all potential employees to go through a criminal and ancestral background check." Before Miyuki could ask why the school checked the family trees of their employees, Murakami explained the logic behind the excess security measures.

"It's so we can avoid families with a history of killing divine spirits." Miyuki couldn't help the thought that flitted through his mind at the principal's explanation; too bad it doesn't screen for ancient family grudges.