Chapter Text
XX ???, 20XX - Introductions
Hello. My name’s Kangashi Mikoto, the acting Avatar of Izanagi, for the Mikoto Clan, who live in the outskirts of Kyoto, and this is my diary which I've been told to record my day-to-day life in... Currently, I’m a university student majoring in architecture, but outside of it and at home, I’m the Avatar of Izanagi. The title’s really just a formality these days, compared to what it used to be, but it is what I am regardless…
Ah, if you’re reading this, you’re probably wondering what the Mikoto Clan is. Well, that’s simple to explain - you see, the Mikoto are a long-running clan of humans which descend from the gods of life and death - Izanagi and Izanami themselves. Our clan essentially lives to serve the wills of the countless gods that exist, you see.
Although, we’re a clan which have existed in secret since ancient times. Little is known of our existence or intervention in mortal affairs - but I can guarantee in some points of Japan’s history, we influenced affairs the way the gods willed it.
That’s no different to this day. You see, the Mikoto are gifted. Talented from birth in fact. Well, not necessarily talented in the conventional sense, but we are born with a special capability. Every ‘generation’ of Avatars as it were - those of us who embody the will of each individual Shinto god still in existence - have a special resonance, tucked away deep in their souls. This resonance allows us to channel and call upon our gods when needed, and in turn, it allows our gods to efficiently communicate to us what they are striving for and even guide us when we are lost, metaphorically and literally.
It sounds complicated. It is, actually. Ehe… Still, that’s how it goes. I’m no different - I serve Lord Izanagi’s will. I’ve done so since I was a young girl, in fact. From the age of ten. I've been serving my lord for thirteen years now, since I'm twenty-three as of writing this... All Avatar candidates are trained essentially from when they’re conscious, able to talk, breathe, and act independently. We all get inaugurated into our roles as Avatars the exact moment we’re ten though, no matter what. No exceptions or anything.
Me, my sisters, my brothers, and my cousins alike - we’re the most recent generation of the Mikoto Avatars. Of course, being the Avatar of Izanagi, I’m extremely high up in terms of importance compared to everybody else. But that does not mean my family is unimportant, does it? I love them all equally - especially my older sister, Hiyori. She’s the Avatar of Izanami. A bit uptight and solitary, but she means well enough, I think…
And there’s me! The Avatar of Izanagi, the embodiment of the god of creation and life! Though, despite this status which has been handed down to me from my predecessor - my mother, I like to imagine myself as equal to everybody else. I don’t think of myself as being ‘above’ anybody in the metaphorical sense. We all exist for the same reason, after all, don’t we? Ehehe, it’s a curious thing to wonder about, life. But it’s a splendid thing too - and it should be cherished. Even if all things die eventually, life is a special thing, finite yet infinite, that always changes in a constant state of flux…
Ah, I’m rambling. I’m running out of ink in this pen, I can’t keep writing this diary entry, so I suppose I’ll have to cut things short for now…
Kangashi taps the non-tipping end of her pen idly against the page of her diary, staring down at the page she’d written out with an idle hum. She’d been spending the past fifty minutes figuring out what to say, but she figured putting a simple introduction - which doubled as a reminder to her - into her diary for now would suffice.
“I should really stay on top of this, if anything… Whilst it is an extra responsibility to do, it is a good thing to have in case my memory ever grows shoddy…”
The Avatar of Izanagi slowly nodded to herself, before her hands gently glided to shut her diary with a soft clap, as the hard cover smacked against the sheer abundance of pages within. With that done, she stretched her arms high over head and got up from her chabudai, walking over to a mirror and getting a good look at herself.
Her blue eyes reflected perfectly in the mirror, she ran a hand through her short blonde hair, then she glided her hands over her outfit a few times, straightening it out the best she could - she was merely wearing what she usually did, consisting of a quad-coloured jacket - the upper right is red, upper left is blue, bottom left is yellow, and bottom right is green - with a simple orange shirt beneath that. Legwear were simple long pants, split perfectly down the middle into one white half and one black half.
Content with her appearance after thoroughly examining herself, Kangashi nodded a few times.
“Perfect as usual, me! Now then! How’s the weather holding up~...?”
Enthusiastic about today, Kangashi strutted over to the window in her room, opening it and looking up to the sky, past the eaves of the roof overhanging above her head. For once, it was a blue sky - though traces of rain lingered from the day before. Mostly just puddles around the Mikoto estate, nothing too impeding.
“Oh! Perfect for a day out, in fact! Hmm, perhaps I’ll go for a walk later, or maybe I’ll check in on somebody... Maybe I’ll see something new again today, with any luck!”
Clasping her hands together with glee, Kangashi turned away from the window and began walking out of her bedroom. Taking a few turns down the hall, she passed by some of her siblings and cousins alike - fellow Avatars of other gods. She spotted the Avatar of Takemikazuchi wrestling with the Avatar of Futsunushi in the halls, which she had to patiently wait for an opening in to pass.
…Then again, they shouldn’t even be wrestling in the halls in the first place - it’s unbecoming of the Avatars. Unless if the two gods they were Avatars of were stirring things up, then in which case, maybe it was fine. Maybe. Possibly, even.
Likewise, on the way, she spotted some other avatars. The Avatar of Ishikori-dome was showing a new hand mirror she made off to the Avatar of Oyamatsumi, and the Avatar of Fujin sat off by themselves being menacing as per usual, among many others.
“Maybe I should grab something to eat first, at least…”
Kangashi mused to herself, raising a finger to her chin in thought. She hadn’t eaten all day, now that she thought about it.
Of course, if she wanted to get to a kitchen, or dining hall, she had to keep walking for a while - the Mikoto Estate was quite large, all things considered. It had a variety of specialist rooms dedicated to some of the Avatars - for example, Kangashi was vaguely aware that there was a ceramics workshop somewhere that was only used by the Avatar of Haniyasu.
Otherwise, the Avatar of Ukemochi tended to the kitchens, as did the Avatar of Tajimamori, for obvious reasons. Goddess of food and god of wagashi alike, it makes sense for that to be their respective domain.
“Hmm, what to eat, what to eat…”
Kangashi scratched her chin in thought, this time. If there was one thing she was always uncertain about, it was something as minute as this. The funny thing is, she wasn’t even a picky eater - she just generally had trouble with making extremely simple decisions.
She doesn’t quite know why that is either, especially for somebody like the Avatar of Izanagi.
“You’re struggling with this question once again, Kangashi?”
A deep voice resounded in her head, making Kangashi tense up on the spot, before quickly relaxing. Izanagi - her god. He was speaking to her again. Just like how any Avatar could freely call upon their god to lend them aid, be it in guidance or power, or just somebody to voice ideas to, the gods can likewise do the exact same thing. Admittedly, Kangashi still hadn't gotten used to the booming voice of Japan's god of creation and life resounding in her head at any given moment when he chose to do so. Sometimes, Izanagi didn't even announce his presence and always gave her a real scare as a result. Even after thirteen years of serving in his name, that aspect never changed even once.
“Well, yes, of course. You know how I can be when making conscious decisions…”
She heard a deep sigh. That was the thing with Izanagi - he was very easy to bewilder, but he always made his displeasure known.
"You could just ask the Avatar of Ukemochi to surprise you. I'm certain she knows what you like and dislike by now, especially after thirteen years..."
"Oh, that's a good idea, my lord!"
Kangashi heard yet another annoyed sigh as Izanagi muttered something inaudible under his breath, as the blonde continued onward to the dining hall. On the way, she bumped into somebody. Not figuratively - she quite literally bumped into somebody whilst eagerly roaming the estate with a pep in her step.
"...And next time, watch your step and where you're going, Kangashi."
Kangashi winced at being chastised by her god like that, but then again, it was her fault. She was too eager to go find the Avatar of Ukemochi that she lost focus on what was immediately in front of her…
"Ah, err, sorry about that!"
Kangashi immediately stumbled backward and bowed apologetically.
"Urk-. Ah, there's no need to say sorry… O-Oh, Kanny, it's you! Nevermind, it's perfectly okay!"
A familiar voice snapped her attention. Whilst she was looking down from bowing, she didn't properly see who it was she'd walked into. As a result, she had no idea who it was until she heard her voice, causing her gaze to snap up. It was a face she was especially familiar with - short blonde hair, like Kangashi's, though unlike her, the girl had golden eyes. A white mob cap rested upon her head, and she wore a plain purple dress with white bows.
Of course, she could never really mistake this girl for anybody else - she was a long time friend of the family, and of Kangashi's in general.
"Oh, Merry! What brings you here? It's not everyday you come here - usually it's me coming to you! Is Renko not with you today?"
Maribel Hearn was the girl's name, a fellow student majoring in relative psychology from the main city area of Kyoto, though Kangashi and many others just called her Merry. Not just as a pet name, but also partly because her first name as it was is actually quite hard for Kangashi to pronounce, even though Kangashi's quite a fluent speaker.
"Ah, no, she's got an important lecture today that she had to attend, so it's just me instead…"
Whilst Kangashi was a native to Kyoto, like many of her siblings and ancestors alike, Merry wasn't - though she had been living in Japan for a long time, even if she didn't have any relatives here. Despite that, the two had been friends ever since... high school, as a matter of fact. That's where they first properly met in public.
Well, that's what it is on the surface, at least… The reality is, Maribel's a part of the Hearn Clan, who are similar to the Mikoto in the aspect that they have existed since ancient times. The Hearns and the Mikotos have been allies since those long-forgotten times, intertwined throughout history, from generation to generation. For each Hearn, there's always one Mikoto who meshes with that Hearn the most. In Maribel's case, that Mikoto which she was practically in near-perfect sync with was Kangashi.
Either way, Kangashi eyed Merry for a moment, before reaching up and fixing an unkempt lock of hair.
"What are you-?"
Merry, initially confused, flinched at Kangashi suddenly touching her hair, before relaxing once she realised moments later what she was doing.
"You can't walk around with unkempt hair like that, Merry~. People might think you're a delinquent otherwise~."
"But lots of delinquents brush their hair…?"
"Hmhm, unimportant! Still, what brings you here? Bored? Just looking to kill some time doing something with me? Or is it important?"
"Err, well, it's kind of a mix of all three. There's something I want to talk about… It's about my dreams - you know, the really life-like ones."
At that, Kangashi made a noise of understanding, humming in affirmation.
"Aaaah, is that it? Well, you know I'd lend an ear. Had another one of those realistic visions of an unreality, did you?"
Maribel very slowly nodded, looking around at some of the retainers and Avatars casually roaming the hall. The student's gaze lingered quite hardly on the Avatars of Takemikazuchi and Futsunushi, whose wrestling had now breached into the corridor Kangashi and Merry were standing around in. A crowd was actually starting to form watching the two wrestle - Kangashi noted the respective Avatars of Raijin and Fujin among them.
"...Are they… um... normally like that…?"
"Oh, quite often, even if it is unbecoming of them. Usually it's their two gods stirring things up - those two are quite the hotheads you see. They boast a lot about their pure strength. Of course, just strength pales in comparison to a fine blend of technique, agility, power, and intelligence alike. I'm sure the Avatar of Omoikane can attest to that. Let's just… move in here."
Kangashi softly grasped Merry by the hand and lightly dragged her inside the dining hall, of which she was about to go into if she hadn't bumped into Merry like that and got distracted.
"Shouldn't you be… you know, stopping them, though…? I thought you were the one everybody listens to around here, if anything, Kanny."
"Ah, well, if I get involved in their little wrestling match and try to break it up, they'd try to drag me into it for disrupting them. I did that once before - it was a mistake. A lot of furniture ended up broken… even if I did make them stop by defeating them in the end."
As the Avatar of Izanagi grimaced, Merry slowly nodded in understanding.
"Ohh… I see. Err, why are we in the dining hall?"
"I was going to ask the Avatar of Ukemochi for something to eat. Do you want anything whilst you're here? This is the avatar of the food god we're talking about, Merry."
"Umm… Eh, sure, why not… But she, err, she doesn't make food the same way her god does, does she-?"
"No, of course not. That's unsanitary. It's not like she's Ukemochi herself, either."
Kangashi grinned widely, patting Merry on the shoulder reassuringly. The mere sight of it calmed some of Merry's nerves. Not all though.
"I'm sure you'll get hooked on it soon enough. Right, now then… shall we?"
"Mhm. I guess in the meantime I can talk about something that happened recently… Like the time that-“