10 Chapter 10: The 59th head maiden of the Izanami Clan

Tatsurou was in complete darkness, but he felt somewhat at ease, as he achieved what he wanted, saving Shirayuki, but then as descended the darkness, as if was free falling, he was suddenly awaked, and as he opened his eyes he saw a sky covered in clouds, if someone had to guess, it looked like it was going to rain at any moment, and as Tatsurou slowly got up, he saw that he was standing on a stone tile road.

When he looked forward, he saw the road that seems to not have an end, with Toro torches on each side, and when looked behind him, he saw a fog that covered the road, as he looked at both options, Tatsurou choose the one with the torches, and as he began walking, the Toro torches began to slowly light up in pale pink color, and so, a long walk started...

After a 3 hour walk that seemed to never end, Tatsurou stooped, as he saw a Torii gate that had a flight of stairs that went up a hill with trees that made it look like a forest that had a Shinto shrine at his top, his face had an expression of surprise and awe as he saw this, he then turned his gaze to a small wooden sign that read "Izanami Shrine", as he saw the sign, his eyes opened wide, he then looked at the stairs again and began to slowly climb them...

Again, after 1 hour of climbing stairs, Tatsurou finally got to the top of the hill, and as he got there, he saw an asymmetrical stone tile road, that let to the entrance of the shrine but what impressed him, was not the length or the beautifully adorned front of the Shrine, no, it was a group of shrine maidens that formed a small road to the entrance of the shrine proper, as Tatsurou began walking in the middle of the shrine maidens they began to do a saikeirei bow as he passed.

And when he finally reached the two small steps before the Shrines door, he stooped, and for a while, nothing happened, until the front doors were opened by a small girl with black hair and blue eyes wearing also a shrine maiden outfit, but her clothes were different from the ones the other maidens were wearing, she wore a haori over her shrine maiden clothes, this showed, she was of a higher ranking, and as the maiden passed the door, she stooped and got on her knees.

"It is a pleasure to finally meet you in person, Kurokami Tatsurou-sama..." The girl said to him as she bowed.

"Wait...Tatsurou-sama? That one is new..." Tatsurou thought to himself as he looked at the girl, with surprise written all over his face, she then lifted her head and began to slowly get back up.

"Please, follow me, Kurokami Tatsurou-sama..." The girl said as she turned her back to Tatsurou and entered the shrine and shortly after he followed suit, after getting inside Tatsurou followed behind the small shrine maiden as they walked the halls of the temple, then climbed the stairs to the second floor

"Can I ask, where we are? And where you're taking me?" After not having exchanged a word since entering, Tatsurou decided to break the silence.

"We are at a place called Yomi, a place that exists in between the world of the living and the world of the dead, and as for where I'm taking you, please be patient Kurokami Tatsurou-sama, were almost there..." The girl said in a friendly tone to Tatsurou, and so he kept quiet believing the girl's words...after a few more minutes of walking the girl stooped in front of a big door, adorned with two foxes looking as if they were dancing, she opened the door and stepped aside

"We've arrived..." The girl said to Tatsurou, as she did a small bow, after looking at her, then to the room, he enterd it, and as he passed the door and got inside, Tatsurou saw a big room, that looked like the ones used for tea ceremonies, after admiring the room he was in for a bit, the door was closed behind him, he looked behind, the moment the door closed, but he wasn't scared, when he looked forward he saw a small table in the middle of the room, with two zabuton pillows on each side.

Tatsurou approached it, but there was no one, but the moment he blinked a woman appeared before him on the other side of the table, this woman was a bit taller than Tatsurou, she had long pale pink hair that reached to her hips that had a very big ahoge that sprouted from the top of her head, beautiful blue eyes, and pale skin, and she also dawned shrine maiden clothes, Tatsurou got scared for a brief moment upon seeing her, as he thought he was looking at a grown-up, more mature version of Shirayuki, and after a moment of absolute silence, while looking at the woman in front of him.

"Welcome to the shrine of the Izanami Clan, Kurokami Tatsurou-sama, I am Izanami Ayaka, the 59th head maiden of the Izanami Clan, it is a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance!" Ayaka said with a mature voice, that had a hint of cuteness to it, as she looked at Tatsurou that didn't know how to react and after another small moment of silence.

"Please, Tatsurou-sama, take a seat..." Ayaka said to Tatsurou and he jolted a bit, but then he took a seat in the zabuton pillow on his side and the woman did the same, and as the woman took a seat, her face filled up with surprise.

"My, oh my, we have a guest and I don't have anything for you, I'm such a terrible host..." Ayaka said as her face, became covered in embarrassment.

"You don't have, to worry about that..." As Tatsurou said this, she made a gesture with her hand, and out of nowhere, the girl with black hair appeared with a round wooden board, then the girl placed two cups on the table, a teapot and a plate with biscuits.

"Here it is, Ayaka-sama, now if you excuse me..." The girl said as she finished placing everything on the table and bowed to Ayaka and soon after she disappeared, leaving them alone again, then Ayaka proceeded to pour green tea into a cup and placed it in front of Tatsurou, and he just looked at it.

"I'm sorry, you don't like green tea?" Ayaka asked this which caught Tatsurou, a bit of guard.

"No, it's nothing like that, it's just that, this is all a bit too sudden..." Tatsurou said in an embarrassed tone to Ayaka, and she smiled.

"I am very sorry, but I had to bring you here Kurokami Tatsuro-sama..." Ayaka said, with an apologetic tone, as she bowed.

"You had, to bring me, here?" Tatsurou asked confused, Ayaka then proceeded.

"You see there is something, that I want to tell you..." Ayaka said to Tatsurou as she made a small pause "I have to thank you, Kurokami Tatsurou-sama, for saving Shirayuki, from that vile red-haired woman..." Ayaka said with a tone filled with gratitude as she looked at Tatsurou.

"You don't have, to thank me...and you don't have to call me by my full name..." Tatsurou said this to Ayaka with an embarrassed tone.

"No, I have to, you did something, that was my duty as a mother, risking your life without being asked and not expecting anything in return, there is no way I can't thank you enough..." Ayaka said with a look and tone of gratitude, Tatsurou, on the other hand, couldn't stop being embarrassed by her words.

"I know, I can't give you anything in return for what you did, and I'm embarrassed to ask a favor from you when you did so much already..." Ayaka said this to Tatsurou and he got a bit curious.

"You want, to ask me, a favor?" Tatsurou asked with a curious tone and expression.

"Yes...but before that, would you care to listen for a moment?" Ayaka asked this to Tatsurou, as she awaited a response, he just nodded with his head.

"Very well...Shirayuki, already told you about what happened a month ago in our temple in Japan, right?" Ayaka asked with a curious tone.

"Yes, she did..." Tatsurou said as he nodded.

"Well, what I'm going to tell you happened, roughly a year ago, while I was praying to the gods, I was hit with a vision..." Ayaka said as she stooped for a bit before proceeding "In that vision, I saw that on the day of the ritual, that Shirayuki was going to inherit my powers, we were going to be attacked by a woman with red hair, and I saw that Shirayuki, was that woman's target, and unfortunately, I also saw, that I would die on that day..." Ayaka said this as she stooped again.

"Unfortunately there was nothing I could do, as these visions are absolute and we can't change them, and the Izanami clan, belonging to the Dragon God keeps us isolated from asking for help, especially from rival Clans because if we ask for said help, we will later be unable to refuse whatever favor they ask..." Ayaka said as her face got covered in sadness.

"But even with all this misfortune, I was granted another vision, and on that vision, I saw the island of Takamagahara and a boy in a black school uniform, protecting Shirayuki and fighting that woman..." Ayaka said as she looked at Tatsurou, and he got a bit surprised.

"So, that's why you sent Shirayuki-san to Takamagahara?" Tatsurou asked and Ayaka just nodded.

"And the vision, made me do the right choice, as you saved her, and I'm going to be forever grateful for what you did...." Ayaka said as she bowed to Tatsurou in a way to thank him.

"And now comes the part, that I don't feel too good about..." Ayaka said as she looked at Tatsurou, that was curious about what she might want to ask him.

"As of now, the Izanami clan members that survived the attack were transferred to other clans of the Dragon God, and the Izanami clan is no more, as they think that both I and Shirayuki died, but nothing is eternal and they could find out that she is still alive...I can't even imagine what they would use her powers for..." Ayaka said, as she teared up.

"So as of now, Shirayuki is alone, and at any moment she could be found and hurt by the dragon's God, or any other organization, so I...I would like to ask you a favor, even when you already did so much..." Ayaka said as she looked at Tatsurou and before continuing she took a deep breath.

"So, Kurokami Tatsurou-sama, would you please, protect and take care of Shirayuki?" Ayaka asked as she bowed but this time she kept like that, and silence reigned in the room for a while, until...

"I will!" Tatsurou said to Ayaka with a voice full of certainty, she lifted her head with her eyes opened wide.

"And even if you didn't ask, I would do it, but after what you told me, I want to do it even more, because I know just how much someone can suffer from their powers..." Tatsurou said as he looked at his right hand.

"So you can rest assured, Izanami Ayaka-sama, I will protect Shirayuki with everything I got!" Tatsurou said to Ayaka as he got up which made her cry of relief.

"T-Thank you, Kurokami Tatsurou-sama, thank you so much..." Ayaka said in between tears, Tatsurou became worried upon seeing her like that.

"You don't have to cry like that..." Tatsurou said to Ayaka, as she wiped the tears off her face.

"I know, but, I'm so happy, that she has someone that will look after her..." Ayaka said as she got up and smiled.

"You don't have to worry, I will do everything I can to protect her!" Tatsurou said as he gave a smile to Ayaka that responded also with one.

"Thank you, Kurokami Tatsurou-sama! Well then, guess I took to much of your time, now let me send you go back..." Ayaka said as she got close to Tatsurou.

"Very well then, time to send you home and thank you once more and please tell Shirayuki that I'm sorry for what happened and that I love her, more than anything in the world..." Ayaka said as she placed her index and middle finger on Tatsurou's forehead, and as she did, he fell into the darkness again...