The Grand Onmyoji's Little Pets / The End of the Great Fire of Heian Palace

Evening at the Minamoto clan's residence.

The Grand Onmyoji walked in front carrying Shuten Douji, while Ibaraki Douji followed behind carrying a basin.

"Mister, what are we going to do?"

Shuten Douji snuggled in Abe no Taishin's arms, looking completely soft and cuddly.

"Shuten, aren't you asking even though you already know the answer?"

The Grand Onmyoji gently rubbed the little oni girl's head.

"I said I'd reward you, so naturally I won't lie to you."

"However—"

Abe no Taishin continued, "Since you want Ibaraki to join in as well, we'll have to put in a little more effort."

"Eh? Wouldn't it be fine just like last time?"

Shuten Douji recalled the scene from back then—being completely conquered by the Grand Onmyoji in front of her best friend, unable to stand up for a long time.

Her whole face couldn't help but flush red.

"Could it be that Mister didn't like it that way?"

"I don't have any particular likes or dislikes."

Abe no Taishin turned his head to look at Ibaraki Douji, who was holding the basin.

"I just think that since we're really going to bring Ibaraki in as well... then we should give her more of a sense of participation."

Abe no Taishin asked Shuten Douji, "Shuten, would you feel bad about that?"

"No way!" Shuten Douji quickly denied.

"It's because I insisted on asking Mister to include Ibaraki that it turned out this way."

"Hmm... it's not exactly like that. After all, I also think Ibaraki is quite good."

Abe no Taishin's fingers gently traced Shuten Douji's cheek.

"Anyway, let's try it first."

"If it really feels uncomfortable, then we can stop immediately."

[You brought Shuten Douji and Ibaraki Douji into the room.]

[This was the place where Tamamo no Mae had stayed before she left.]

"Eh... so this is where it is?"

Shuten Douji was a little surprised by the place the Grand Onmyoji had chosen.

She had originally thought he would bring her and Ibaraki Douji to the bathroom or the bedroom across the way.

"Don't you like it here?"

"It's okay! I just didn't expect it to be here," Shuten Douji said truthfully.

"After all, it's more convenient here."

Abe no Taishin's gaze fell on a large table in the room.

"Shuten, could I trouble you to lie down on that?"

"...Okay."

Shuten Douji nodded, then lay down on the table as Abe no Taishin had instructed.

"Shuten, spread your arms and legs out, make a big 'X' shape."

"Eh, alright."

Although she didn't know what the Grand Onmyoji wanted to do, Shuten Douji, who was wearing a kimono, obediently followed his instructions.

After Shuten Douji had made that pose, Abe no Taishin spoke to Ibaraki Douji, who was still obediently holding the basin and also wearing a kimono:

"Ibaraki, lie down on Shuten."

"Eh?!"

Shuten Douji tilted her head back and looked at the Grand Onmyoji with a surprised expression.

"Mister, what are you going to do?!"

"It's alright, trust me."

"..."

Since the Grand Onmyoji had said so, Shuten Douji naturally didn't say anything more.

"I understand."

Ibaraki Douji put down the thing in her hand.

"But in what way should I lie down on Shuten?"

"Just the opposite of her."

Abe no Taishin patiently explained.

"Understood."

And so—

Shuten Douji and Ibaraki Douji were stacked together, their feet just able to touch each other's hands.

Abe no Taishin then picked up a rope that had been prepared beforehand from the basin beside him.

After tying a beautiful knot, the two little oni were perfectly overlapped.

The feeling of being unable to move made Shuten Douji a little nervous.

But she was still very much looking forward to it—after all, this time it was Mister who had taken the initiative to make the request.

"Shuten. Do you remember what you did before you left Heian-kyō that time?"

"This..."

Shuten Douji's throat moved slightly.

Of course, she remembered the situation back then—her throat being stuffed full, a very fulfilling feeling.

"I remember..." Shuten Douji replied with a flushed face, "Mister, what do you want to do?"

"It's nothing."

Abe no Taishin picked up a bottle of sake from the side and reached into the bag at his waist.

Then the large shadow of the 'artifact' fell over Shuten Douji's face.

"I just wanted to try that feeling again today, is that alright?"

"..."

There was no reply.

But Shuten Douji's slightly opened mouth was the best answer.

The 'artifact', carrying sake, probed into the dark depths of her teeth.

The little oni girl, who hadn't drunk sake for a long time, couldn't help but collect every drop of the sake on it, not wanting to miss a single bit.

However, this time—

The Grand Onmyoji's artifact didn't fully bloom as it had before, but slowly withdrew afterwards.

And Abe no Taishin's actions didn't end there.

He gently lifted the kimono under Ibaraki Douji, allowing the long-hidden back garden to see the light of day again.

Shuten Douji's face flushed red all at once.

This was the first time she had seen her best friend's back garden so closely.

Small, tender, and twitching from time to time.

So that's what I look like...

"Shuten," Abe no Taishin gently stroked Ibaraki Douji's curved and tender streamline.

"Tell me if it feels uncomfortable."

"..."

Shuten Douji didn't speak, but her gaze was fixed on the Grand Onmyoji's artifact.

She saw Abe no Taishin take something else from the basin and gently smear it on Ibaraki Douji's back garden, which had never had a guest before.

Drip.

Some of it dripped onto Shuten Douji's face.

That familiar feeling—it was the bath salts they had used before!

Wait!

Was Mister going to...?

Things developed just as Shuten Douji had thought.

Above her head, the Grand Onmyoji's 'artifact' was gradually advancing into the depths of the ayakashi's body.

However, compared to Shuten Douji's embarrassment back then, Ibaraki Douji seemed much more relaxed.

She didn't seem to resist the Grand Onmyoji's "education" at all.

Shuten Douji just watched the light and shadow of the artifact flicker in front of her eyes, her face flushed red.

The memories in her mind were being evoked bit by bit.

She felt like she was also participating in it.

So that's what he meant—to let Ibaraki Douji, who had only assisted before, truly experience it this time.

"Mister, you..."

Shuten Douji said this, but seriously watched the process of her friend's back garden being developed.

After all—

She actually wanted to know what kind of perspective Ibaraki Douji had of her back then.

After a while, the rhythm stopped.

A trickle of water flowed in Ibaraki Douji's back garden.

Drip drip.

Shuten Douji below felt the warmth on her cheek.

She stuck out her little tongue and tasted the combined work of the three of them.

The Grand Onmyoji's voice rang in her ears.

"Shuten, it's your turn."

[This wasn't a one-time thing.]

[The two little oni who had been thoroughly developed by you asked you to do it again and again.]

[You didn't refuse them.]

[After all, they had indeed put in a lot of effort for you along the way.]

[The two little oni spent a wonderful time with your help.]

In the room.

Shuten Douji and Ibaraki Douji, who had played to their heart's content, snuggled up to Abe no Taishin, one on each side.

Their mouths were full of white silk.

Their back gardens were also radiating heat.

"Ibaraki, did you see how comfortable Mister was with me?!"

Shuten Douji boasted, "The kind where he couldn't stop at all!"

"Denied."

Ibaraki Douji raised her head and looked at Shuten Douji.

"Clearly Abe-sama was happier with me."

"No way!"

"Yes way!"

"No way! Ibaraki, you're dreaming! Mister enjoyed it more with me!"

"It's Shuten who shouldn't be dreaming, I clearly provided a better experience."

The two little oni argued over strange things, then simultaneously looked at the Grand Onmyoji.

This wasn't surprising—whose back garden was more comfortable, of course, was up to the person who had actually entered the back garden to decide.

However.

When Shuten Douji and Ibaraki Douji looked at the Grand Onmyoji, what entered their eyes was a face deep in thought.

He didn't seem very happy.

"..."

"..."

Shuten Douji and Ibaraki Douji immediately fell silent.

And this silence also brought Abe no Taishin back to his senses.

After realizing that both little oni were looking at him, he immediately smiled.

"What's wrong?"

"Didn't you say you were done playing? Why are you still looking at me like that?"

Shuten Douji hesitated for a moment and then said:

"Mister... what's wrong with you?"

"Did Ibaraki and I play too rough?"

"Of course not."

Abe no Taishin gently stroked the heads of the two little ones.

"I was just wondering why Tama-chan hasn't returned yet?"

"..."

Hearing this, Shuten Douji turned her face away.

"Mister... as expected, Ibaraki and I didn't serve you well enough."

"That fox spirit knows too much more than us, right?"

[You realized that Shuten Douji was a little sad because of your words.]

[You realized that this was contrary to the purpose of tonight.]

[You decided to make your inner thoughts clear.]

"No, Shuten."

"That's not what I meant."

Abe no Taishin looked directly at the two little oni beside him.

"I just hope Tama-chan can repair that mirror as soon as possible—that way, I'll have a chance to figure out how to break the bonds on Raiko."

"Abe-sama."

Ibaraki Douji, who had been silent for a long time, spoke at this moment.

"I have a question."

"Go ahead, Ibaraki."

"Hmm..." Ibaraki Douji licked the traces from the corner of her mouth.

"What if the cost of breaking them is very high?"

"Then I still have to break them," Abe no Taishin answered the question without hesitation.

"Ibaraki, this isn't a choice, there's no such thing as seeking profit and avoiding harm."

Abe no Taishin continued, "All I have to do is keep trying until I find a viable method."

"But Mister, is all of this worth it?"

Shuten Douji muttered softly.

"You've clearly done so many things, but the cow doesn't know anything at all."

"Is this kind of silent dedication really reasonable?"

"There's no such thing as reasonable or unreasonable."

Abe no Taishin gently stroked Shuten Douji's head—he knew she was feeling sorry for him.

"This is my promise."

"I promised Raiko's father that I would protect her no matter what."

"I also promised Ushi Gozen that I would never let Raiko become her."

"As an Onmyoji, you have to have integrity."

Hearing this, Shuten Douji pouted and lay down on Abe no Taishin's lap.

"I'm so jealous."

"Jealous?"

"Yeah!" Shuten Douji muttered, "I really want to become Mister's wife too."

"But there's no chance at all now, right?"

"..."

"Mister, what's with that look?!"

Shuten Douji said with a flushed face, acting coquettishly.

"I'm serious!"

"I really like you! The kind of like where I want to be your wife!"

After saying these words, Shuten Douji felt a little embarrassed and turned her face away.

Abe no Taishin laughed.

He nodded and said gently:

"I understand."

"However—"

Abe no Taishin continued, "I really can't make you my wife, Shuten. I'm sorry."

"Wuu wuu wuu, you rejected me without even hesitating!"

Shuten Douji sighed.

"But I knew it all along."

"In this era, Mister has long been taken over by the cow."

"But—"

The little oni girl raised her head and squeezed out a sad smile.

"I still really want to stay by Mister's side, is that okay?"

"..."

Abe no Taishin gently flicked Shuten Douji's forehead.

"Don't say such things—"

"It sounds like I'm going to let you go."

"Mister..."

Shuten Douji became even more embarrassed.

Ibaraki Douji raised her hand at this moment.

"Abe-sama, can I ask a question?"

"What's the question?"

"Then what are Shuten and I to Abe-sama?" Ibaraki Douji tilted her head slightly, "If not wives, then concubines?"

"Huh?"

Before Abe no Taishin could answer, Shuten Douji got anxious first.

"Ibaraki, you idiot! Why would you ask such a question!"

"But Shuten, don't you want to know?"

Ibaraki Douji looked at her friend.

"This..." Shuten Douji was speechless.

The two little oni's gazes once again focused on the Grand Onmyoji in tacit agreement.

"If you want to ask that, then—"

Abe no Taishin reached out his hands and hugged Shuten Douji and Ibaraki Douji, one on each side.

"Let's call you 'the little pets conquered with the big stick'."

"Who wants to be a pet!"

Shuten Douji said this, but found that Ibaraki Douji had already obediently lay down on Abe no Taishin's lap—she seemed to have accepted this identity.

The little oni girl hesitated for a moment, then lay down as well.

After all, she knew that this title wasn't serious, of course—after all, the Grand Onmyoji cherished her and Ibaraki Douji very much.

Its true meaning was to allow her to stay by his side with peace of mind.

This was already very good.

[Time in Heian-kyō was flowing.]

[The commotion of the Great Fire of Heian Palace finally subsided—it was classified as a disaster caused by a serpent god.]

[Just as you had expected, Minamoto no Raiko returned to her normal life.]

[Of course, the problem of Fujiwara no Tokuko still existed.]

[You were still thinking of a way to completely resolve this matter.]

[Another season passed.]

[The cherry blossoms in Heian-kyō bloomed.]

"The cherry blossoms have bloomed."

Tamamo no Mae stood on the road entering the capital, a hint of nostalgia in her golden eyes.

"Maybe I can enjoy the flowers with Abe-sama."

She stroked the mirror in her hand and murmured softly.