"Uuuh... Kurumi-chan, I'm sorry. I've let your charm shatter into dust." Kurumi's body took on a strange grayish pallor. After comparing herself to Kimi Aoi, she realized that she was merely an unbloomed bud, while Kimi was a flower in full, radiant bloom—a lofty blossom that outshone all others.
"There's no need to compare yourself to me. The deity I've formed a contract with is the Goddess of Dance. I am always expressing divine grace." Kimi finished the bread she'd been eating and lightly licked her own fingers.
An overwhelming allure struck straight into Kurumi's heart. Her face flushed crimson, her heartbeat pounding. The sight of Kimi licking her fingers was so mesmerizing it made Kurumi's head spin.
But in the next instant, Kurumi's soul almost left her body. Her complexion turned completely gray as she slumped against the wall and slid down to sit on the street. Her whole body radiated despair. "Uuu... Kurumi-chan, I've been utterly defeated... completely crushed! I can't face the world anymore!"
"Cease your behavior. You are greatly troubling my lady," said Futayo, stepping protectively in front of Kurumi with her spear Tonbokiri pointed toward Kimi. To the straightforward Futayo, who didn't understand such things as charm, this was simply an act of impropriety. What is 'charm'? Can it make you stronger?
"The Divine Weapon Tonbokiri—Lord Honda entrusted it to you, didn't he?" Kimi looked at Futayo, deliberately licking her finger again, teasingly provocative. You want me to stop? Then I'll do it even more.
"It seems words cannot reach you. In that case, I shall resort to force," Futayo said, stepping forward. Her movements left afterimages as she lunged toward Kimi. Honestly, Little Honda, you can't communicate properly with anyone, can you?
The tip of Tonbokiri locked onto Kimi's hand. Futayo had no intention of harming her; she merely wanted to separate Kimi's hand from her lips. Couldn't she see that her divine lady was in torment because of such indecent gestures?
In the blink of an eye, Kimi vanished from in front of her. Futayo froze, instantly spinning around to see Kimi now standing behind her.
"How? You're a dancer—how can your speed surpass that of a warrior?" Futayo's expression grew serious.
"Why not find out for yourself?" Kimi replied, pressing her long index finger lightly against her lips. Such breathtaking allure was, unfortunately, wasted—Futayo's wooden head was entirely immune to charm-based attacks.
"Acceleration." A glowing sigil of divine script appeared beneath Futayo's feet—the Shinto acceleration spell, which multiplied speed exponentially, limited only by the body's endurance. One of the Eight Great Dragon Kings, Tachibana Muneshige, was said to have mastered it to an astonishing seventeen-thousand-fold increase.
A flash of blue light streaked forward—but Kimi was gone again. Even at many thousands of times her normal speed, Futayo couldn't touch her.
"No... a dancer's speed shouldn't surpass that of a warrior. This must be an evasion technique," Futayo murmured, charging a third time toward Kimi's back. Yet this time, her pace was normal—slow, deliberate, every movement visible.
"You needed two tries to confirm something so simple. You really don't understand subtlety." As the spear tip neared Kimi's heel, her foot lifted gracefully, as if she'd predicted it in advance. With a dazzling midair spin, she landed once more behind Futayo. Both movements were perfectly clear to the eye.
"So that's it—it's a divine performance art, a complete evasion spell. Speed alone cannot reach you," Futayo said, spear poised in hand.
"Hmm~ and why do you assume it's only speed that can't touch me?" Kimi smiled, bringing her palms together. A tiny fairy-like spirit appeared in her hands—her Divine Familiar, proof of her contract with a god. Through this familiar, Kimi could channel the power of her divine patron. This was the unique domain of Shinto Performers, practitioners who drew strength from the gods through ritual song and dance.
"The god I've contracted with governs the art of pleasure," Kimi said softly. "Do you think this body, consecrated to such a deity, can be toyed with by just anyone? Only the one I willingly wither for may touch me. To everyone else, I am an untouchable queen."
She raised her hands, her body swaying with fluid grace as she began to dance. The Divine Familiar circled her, and rings of pure white blossoms spiraled around her form, blooming endlessly in the air.
Divine Art: Dance of the Summit. It forbade any contact from others. As long as the dance continued, the barrier remained absolute.
"This weapon was bestowed upon me by my father—the Divine Weapon Tonbokiri," Futayo said, pointing the spear at Kimi. The blade reflected Kimi's image in its polished surface.
"I know Tonbokiri. It can slice in half anything reflected upon its tip. You won't slice me apart, so you intend to cut through my divine performance instead, yes? If you believe a Divine Weapon can touch me, then go ahead—try it." Kimi tilted her head upward, exuding a natural, unshakable confidence.
Though her charm had no effect on Futayo, that quiet confidence still unsettled her. Futayo suddenly realized she lacked the certainty to defeat Kimi. In a straightforward fight—where her weapon could reach—she feared no one. But she couldn't even touch Kimi. From the start, the very idea of a proper duel was impossible.
"Connect..."
"Little Honda, stop!" Kurumi's voice cut through the tension at the critical moment.
The spear Tonbokiri was indeed the nemesis of all barriers. In ordinary mode, it could cut through tangible matter. In higher form, it could slice anything whose true name was known. Anything with a known name could be severed by its edge.
But there was a condition: the thing to be cut had to be important to its target. In other words, the target must value what was being cut. Only then could Tonbokiri sever it. Because of this, Futayo's weapon was effective against nearly everyone.
However, Kimi Aoi was the one and only natural counter to Tonbokiri—the sole existence in the world it could not cut.
First, Tonbokiri could not sever Kimi's divine performance art because she regarded it merely as an ornament—a flourish to accentuate her beauty, something utterly optional.
Second, it could not cut Kimi's body because she viewed her very name, "Kimi Aoi," as just another accessory, as replaceable as an article of clothing. It mattered little to her.
Thus, Kimi was the one and only bane of Tonbokiri. Were Futayo to attempt to use it against her, her warrior's heart would suffer a blow from which it might never recover. In her path of training, Kimi would forever become an insurmountable mountain—one that Futayo could never cross. Such a defeat could very well shatter her spirit completely.
"My lady, I have overstepped," Futayo said immediately, lowering her spear and straightening up. Attacking without her divine superior's command was a grave disrespect—a slight against divine authority.
Kurumi ignored her and instead looked directly at Kimi. "Kimi Aoi, if you were granted the chance to make any wish come true, what would you do?"
"Divine One! How might I obtain such a chance?" Kimi dismissed her Divine Familiar, her expression still composed, her smile unchanged.
"Divine One?" Kurumi tilted her head, feigning confusion.
"Lord Honda serves directly under the ruler of Musashi. There exists only one being higher than that—a being of time itself. I can only think of you, Lady of Time." Kimi gracefully sank to her knees, folding her hands together as she performed the ceremonial bow of a shrine maiden.
Kurumi was impressed. In such a brief encounter, Kimi had already discerned her true identity.
And yet, though Kimi showed respect, her gaze never wavered. Kurumi understood why—Kimi's self-awareness, her understanding of her own worth, surpassed all else.
They were the same kind of person. Kurumi adored Kurumi-chan with unreasonable self-love; Kimi's beauty was one of confidence, of unwavering belief in herself. Both were cut from the same cloth. Thus Kurumi knew—no matter what, Kimi would never falter.
"Even if the price is everything you have?" Kurumi's lips curved into an ecstatic smile. I want her. I want her completely. Her possessiveness burned fiercely—an urge to devour the woman before her.
"I have my reasons—reasons I must grasp my wish with my own hands," Kimi said, her voice as radiant as ever. Her beauty was that of a snow lotus—pure, crystalline, and flawless. Confidence was her hallmark, but beauty itself was her essence—etched into her soul. Kimi was not merely beautiful; she was the embodiment of beauty itself.
"Ten days from now, come to my divine temple," Kurumi said, resting her chin in her hand, smiling with alluring wickedness. "I require a vessel for my incarnation. Your reward will be the fulfillment of one wish."
Her smile deepened, her eyes glinting with predatory hunger. I want to devour you... Kimi Aoi... become one with me.
The wait was both agonizing and full of anticipation. In the academy, Kimi Aoi leaned back in her chair, head tilted, a book resting over her face.
Behind her, Toori Aoi sat with a colorful adult magazine in hand, reading with rapt attention and a goofy grin plastered across his face.
"Foolish brother, if one day your big sister leaves, you must live on well without me." Kimi lifted the book from her face slightly, gazing upside down at Toori.
"Eh? Why would you say that, Sis?" Toori tilted his head, smiling dimly as usual.
"Because I'm Kimi-nee." With that, she placed the book back over her face, her charming smile hidden once more, and continued to nap lazily.
...
Ten days later, within the Temple of Time, leaders of powerful organizations from across the world gathered together. The smaller factions waited in the side halls, while only the great powers were permitted into the main hall: Mikawa Musashi, Tres España, K.P.A. Italia Holy Union, England, Hexagone Française, and the representative academies, including Sanada Academy. P.A. Oda was too far from the Far East to arrive in time, meaning six of the world's seven great powers had assembled.
"Divine One, the Holy Union nominates Olympia," Pope Innocent said respectfully. His candidate was a beautiful woman of mature age—pure, yet clearly a married type. Not Kurumi's taste. The goddess immediately shook her head in rejection.
Next came Tres España's representative, King Felipe II. "Divine One, we recommend Flores Valdés," he said.
Kurumi shook her head even faster. Short hair?! Her crimson eyes narrowed. Kurumi-chan doesn't do short hair! And you expect me to become short-haired myself? Never!
Then Matsudaira Motonobu of Musashi stepped forward. "Divine One, Musashi recommends Kimi Aoi as your vessel."
Kurumi's gaze turned toward Kimi, whose serene smile and radiant poise remained unchanged.
"That's her!" Kurumi declared instantly. Sitting upon her throne, enveloped in divine radiance, her calm expression was accompanied by an overwhelming aura of majesty.
"You all have no sense of beauty!" she added sharply, her wine-red eyes sweeping over the representatives from the Holy Union and Tres España. The two old men exchanged helpless glances. They had agonized over what qualities a goddess might seek in a vessel—the Holy Union chose compassion, Spain chose innocence—but it never occurred to them that the Goddess of Time would simply choose based on beauty.
"Sis!" came a loud, clumsy voice from outside the great hall. Toori Aoi's unmistakable tone echoed through the temple, accompanied by hurried footsteps.
Those guarding the stairway to the hall turned their heads simultaneously, watching the foolishly smiling Toori dash up the steps. Veins popped on their foreheads, forming cross-shaped marks of irritation.
"To make noise within the divine temple—such insolence is punishable by death!" declared a woman with short pink hair as she stepped forward. It was Tachibana Ginchiyo, of Tres España—wife of Tachibana Muneshige, one of the Eight Great Dragon Kings.