The Two Oni Scrubbing the Grand Onmyoji's Back

"..."

Abe no Taishin knew that Ibaraki Douji would never speak up herself.

When she made such a seemingly outrageous request, it meant that her good friend Shuten Douji really desired all of this.

However—

"Ibaraki."

Abe no Taishin placed his hand on Ibaraki Douji's head.

Her yellow hair felt extremely pleasant to the touch, soft and smooth like silk.

"I don't think that's the right way to go about it."

"Eh?"

Ibaraki Douji tilted her head slightly.

"Why?"

Ibaraki Douji asked, "Is it that Abe-sama doesn't want to do it? Or is it that Shuten's service wasn't comfortable?"

"Ibaraki... are you sure it's okay to be so direct?"

Abe no Taishin replied with some helplessness.

"It's neither of those things."

"Hmm... how should I put it?"

Abe no Taishin said to Ibaraki Douji, "Ibaraki, I think even if we were to do something like that... it shouldn't be you speaking these words for Shuten. Can you understand what I mean?"

"..."

Ibaraki Douji didn't answer Abe no Taishin.

She just looked at the Grand Onmyoji before her, not showing any particular thought, but also not seeming completely unmoved.

And at this moment, Shuten Douji, who was beside them, woke up.

"It hurts..."

"Eh eh?! Mister?!"

Shuten Douji looked at Abe no Taishin before her, looking very surprised.

"When did you get here?!"

"...It's a long story."

Abe no Taishin reached out his other hand and placed it on Shuten Douji's head.

"Anyway, just think of it as me coming to save you."

"Save us, huh..."

Shuten Douji became a little embarrassed.

She actually wanted to ask him if he had come specifically to save them, but she couldn't bring herself to say it.

"By the way, Mister, there was someone earlier who looked down on you a lot!"

Shuten Douji declared, "I was going to teach him a lesson!"

"No need," Abe no Taishin looked at the corner of the palace that was still burning fiercely not far away, "He's already dead."

"D-dead?"

Shuten was a bit surprised.

"Let's not talk about that for now."

Abe no Taishin picked up Shuten Douji and Ibaraki Douji, one in each arm.

"Let's leave here first."

[You left the place where you fought Ashiya Dōman with Shuten Douji and Ibaraki Douji.]

[The fire grew larger and larger and was soon noticed.]

[A fire extinguishing operation began.]

[This was a disaster that would be recorded in history, known as the Great Fire of Heian Palace.]

[The Seihō Pavilion and Shōran Pavilion of Heian Palace were completely burnt down in this fire.]

[But more noteworthy than the destruction caused by the fire was something else.]

[That was the dozens of unidentified charred corpses discovered after the fire was extinguished.]

[No one could understand why there were so many unidentified corpses inside Heian Palace.]

[Only Minamoto no Raiko thought of something.]

[The next day, she brought up this matter to you.]

"Husband."

Minamoto no Raiko said softly while preparing tea.

"That fire... was it your doing?"

"As expected, I can't hide anything from my lady's eyes," Abe no Taishin didn't try to hide it.

"Yes, my lady, that fire was indeed related to me."

"Why did you do that?"

Minamoto no Raiko handed the brewed tea to Abe no Taishin.

The latter took the tea and replied.

"My lady, the thing is..."

[You told Minamoto no Raiko about yourself and Ashiya Dōman.]

[Of course, you didn't mention Shuten Douji and Ibaraki Douji's infiltration.]

[You also concealed the matter of Tamamo no Mae's mirror.]

[You originally thought Minamoto no Raiko would be surprised by this.]

[But her reaction seemed very calm.]

"I see, you've worked hard, husband."

"My lady, aren't you curious about this?"

"Curious?"

Minamoto no Raiko shook her head with a smile.

"Not at all."

"Husband chose to do this."

"As his wife, I should just believe him."

Hearing these words, Abe no Taishin looked at Minamoto no Raiko before him, his eyes filled with emotion.

"Raiko, meeting you is truly the luckiest thing that has ever happened to me in my life."

"Is that so?"

Minamoto no Raiko's cheeks flushed red.

Life was like their first meeting.

Even after being together for so many years, she would still feel her heart flutter because of this Grand Onmyoji's every word and action.

Every compliment from him was the most beautiful memory.

"It's wonderful that I can bring luck to my husband."

[Talent Strange Couple + has been replaced by Minamoto Clan's Song +: Your feelings for Minamoto no Raiko are extremely deep, and Kyoto is singing waka poems about you.]

[The investigation into the Great Fire of Heian Palace was still ongoing.]

[To protect you.]

[And also to prevent the last "Fujiwara no Tokuko" from doing anything unexpected.]

[Minamoto no Raiko volunteered to participate in this matter.]

[She became even busier because of this, sometimes even needing to patrol outside at night.]

[You were simultaneously carrying out your plan.]

[You found Tamamo no Mae.]

[You returned the mirror to her.]

"Tama-chan."

Abe no Taishin looked at Tamamo no Mae before him and the mirror in her hand.

"This is it, right?"

"Yes," Tamamo no Mae nodded, while tightly holding the mirror in her hand.

"Abe-sama... thank you so much."

"If it weren't for you, I'm afraid I would never have been able to retrieve this mirror again."

Abe no Taishin shook his head.

"It was nothing."

"Tama-chan, you are so clever. Even without my help, you would definitely have found a way to retrieve the mirror."

"However—"

"You should still remember the promise between us, right?"

"Of course, I remember."

Tamamo no Mae stroked the mirror, her expression looking a little troubled.

"But..."

"But what?"

Sensing that Tamamo no Mae was a little nervous, Abe no Taishin tried to speak in a teasing tone as much as possible.

"Tama-chan, you are my lover."

"Shouldn't you tell me everything?"

"Hmm... of course, I understand."

Tamamo no Mae's gaze rested on the mirror in her hand.

"I haven't forgotten my promise to Abe-sama."

"It's just that this mirror has been damaged a bit from maintaining the Onmyōdō formation for too long... If I want it to be effective, I'm afraid I'll have to go back to the mountains for some time."

"Abe-sama, look..."

[You knew what Tamamo no Mae was worried about.]

[She was afraid that you would think she was deceiving you.]

[After all, if she just left with the mirror from now on, it wouldn't be easy for you to catch her.]

[But you had no such concerns at all.]

[Because you knew that Tamamo no Mae couldn't do such a thing.]

"I understand, Tama-chan."

Abe no Taishin directly nodded in agreement.

"Is there anything I can help you prepare?"

"Abe-sama..." Tamamo no Mae looked at the Grand Onmyoji, who hadn't hesitated at all, "Aren't you worried that I'll just leave like this?"

"No."

Abe no Taishin smiled slightly.

"I believe that Tama-chan is a yokai who keeps her word."

"..."

Tamamo no Mae's golden eyes were already wet.

She knew this was absolute trust from the other party—in this world, he was the only one willing to trust her like this.

Then—

She would just accept it gratefully.

"Thank you for your trust, Abe-sama. I will definitely return soon."

Tamamo no Mae said.

"But before I leave, please taste my tea one more time."

"...Okay."

[Tamamo no Mae left you with beautiful memories of drinking tea with her body.]

[She left temporarily with the mirror.]

[Minamoto no Raiko was also even busier due to the aftermath of the Great Fire of Heian Palace.]

[In the end, it was Shuten Douji and Ibaraki Douji who stayed by your side.]

[But your mind wasn't on them.]

[You were thinking about the memories that had surged forth when you were fighting Ashiya Dōman back then.]

Saying it was a memory might not be entirely accurate.

Abe no Taishin felt it was more like a connection.

A connection between himself and the golden cup.

And it was precisely because of this connection that the continuous stream of power had occurred back then.

The cup brought back from Onigashima... did it actually have such a mysterious connection to him?

Abe no Taishin could feel that he was only one step away from untying the bonds on Minamoto no Raiko.

He was certain that as long as Tamamo no Mae repaired the mirror, the solution to everything would appear before him.

But speaking of which—

Abe no Taishin looked at his hand.

Shuten Douji had said that he was something other than a "human."

So what exactly could that be?

[You pondered this question for a long time.]

[You didn't get an answer.]

[Time flew by quickly in the process.]

[Night fell, and it was time to take a bath.]

This was a rare occasion for Abe no Taishin to bathe alone.

He picked up his things and walked towards the direction of the bath.

It was something that Minamoto no Raiko had modeled after the pond where they had first met.

Whenever Abe no Taishin came here, he would feel like he had returned to the past.

But this time—

The situation seemed a little different.

Because Shuten Douji and Ibaraki Douji were standing at the door.

"..."

Abe no Taishin's gaze swept over the two little oni.

He vaguely felt the purpose of them standing here.

Seeing the Grand Onmyoji approaching, Ibaraki Douji tugged at the corner of Shuten Douji's clothes.

"Abe-sama has arrived."

Ibaraki Douji whispered, "You must cherish this opportunity."

Since her last conversation with Abe no Taishin, Ibaraki Douji had seriously thought about her actions.

She quickly realized the source of the problem.

"She wasn't Shuten Douji."

"It was wrong to speak her inner thoughts for her."

"She needed to take action herself."

And so—

Ibaraki Douji's strategy for helping her friend changed from being a mouthpiece to now being an encourager.

She firmly believed that if Shuten Douji actively made a request, the Grand Onmyoji before her would be unlikely to refuse.

After all, if he really wasn't willing,

He would have objected from the very beginning.

So the key to the problem was to get Shuten Douji to speak up.

Now, during bath time, was clearly the best opportunity.

"This... that..."

Although Shuten Douji understood that Ibaraki Douji was helping her,

However—

It was hard to say it out loud.

She stammered for a long time, and only managed to squeeze out one sentence:

"Good evening, Mister!"

"Yes, good evening."

Abe no Taishin smiled slightly.

"Is something the matter? I'm going to take a bath. We can talk later."

"Okay, okay!"

As soon as Shuten Douji finished speaking, she saw Ibaraki Douji's murderous gaze.

However, the latter didn't speak up for the former this time.

She had thought of a better method—the provocation method.

Ibaraki Douji said to the Grand Onmyoji:

"Abe-sama, I want to take a bath with you."

"Eh?!"

Shuten Douji's eyes widened.

She completely hadn't expected her friend to say such a thing at this time.

She was even more surprised that Abe no Taishin would directly nod.

"Yes, okay."

Just like that, Ibaraki Douji followed Abe no Taishin into the bath. They closed the shoji door, leaving only Shuten Douji outside.

The little oni girl became anxious.

She changed her previous hesitant manner, directly pulled open the shoji door, and barged into the bath.

Abe no Taishin looked at her and asked:

"Shuten, do you want to join us too?"

"N-no!"

Shuten Douji's face flushed red.

"I just thought I should come in and sit down!"

"I see... I understand."

Abe no Taishin didn't ask any more questions. He held Ibaraki Douji and walked into the bath.

The subsequent progress far exceeded Shuten Douji's imagination.

Ibaraki Douji didn't say a word and directly lay down on the Grand Onmyoji's lap.

The pool water submerged her small body, as if bleaching her slightly.

Ibaraki Douji, being patted on the head, looked very docile.

The artifact that Shuten Douji had once thought was difficult to obtain, she easily held in her hand and even began to play with it.

Under the Grand Onmyoji's gaze, this oni from Mount Ōe engaged in close combat with the artifact using curses from her mouth and tongue.

From her slightly clumsy method, it could be seen that she had no experience in this area.

But her sufficiently diligent tongue made up for this—if she didn't know which point was suitable, she would just try them all.

Shuten Douji was stunned.

She completely hadn't expected things to be so simple.

Take a bath with the Grand Onmyoji, then lie down on his lap, and look at him pitifully.

Everything would develop in the desired direction.

Shuten Douji's throat moved slightly—some kind of shackle in her mind had been broken.

And at this moment,

Ibaraki Douji stopped temporarily.

She shook the artifact in her hand and invited Shuten Douji.

"Shuten, aren't you really going to join us?"

"Abe-sama's 'artifact' is very fun to play with."

"..."

Shuten Douji couldn't hold back any longer.

With the 'artifact' as the center, the two little oni straddled the Grand Onmyoji from the left and right.

"Ibaraki, move a little! I don't even have room to use my mouth!"

"Ibaraki, don't touch that round thing! Mister doesn't like that kind!"

"As expected of Shuten! You even know that kind of thing."

"Of course, after all, I'm a genius who succeeds on the first try!"

The little oni sharing the artifact were very happy, and even the activity of their tongues increased a bit.

The two served the artifact from the left and right, looking like they were enjoying themselves.

Abe no Taishin gently stroked their heads.

Rather than saying he was enjoying this oral service,

It was more like he was offering himself to let Shuten Douji and Ibaraki Douji have fun.

This was the reward they deserved for helping him.

However—

Shuten Douji still noticed the worry in the Grand Onmyoji's eyes.

"Mister, what's wrong?"

"Did Ibaraki and I do something wrong?"

Abe no Taishin shook his head.

"Of course not."

"Your performance was great—I'm just thinking about how to explain the Great Fire of Heian Palace."

Abe no Taishin knew that the investigation into that fire couldn't be easily brushed aside.

Minamoto no Raiko would definitely have to spend a lot of effort on this matter.

This was not the situation he wanted to see.

"..."

Hearing Abe no Taishin's words, Shuten Douji was taken aback for a moment.

Then, as if she had made up her mind about something, she said:

"Mister, I can solve this problem."

"Solve it?"

"Yes," Shuten Douji nodded.

"I... can take responsibility for all of this under a different identity."