Down, down, down, at the bottom of a long, winding tunnel, in a dark cave, where barely any light filtered, there stood a woman.

At once, Eitsu knew two things.

First, this women was the oldest, most powerful being she could remember coming across.

Second, Eitsu herself was far, far older.

What followed was an awkward pause, as the two kami considered each other in silence. In this situation, who should speak first? Who should defer to who?

Gathering herself, Eitsu broke the stalemate first, returning her appearance to that of the dark-haired, boyish young woman she had been presenting as in her current life. Her expression was rough, but she bowed to the goddess.

“I greet Izanami no Mikoto¹No-one's entirely sure how it should be written. 伊弉冉尊? 伊邪那美命?.”

She had only caught the briefest glimpse of the Queen of Yomi, even her cat-eyes struggling in the darkness. The merest suggestion of a woman in white robes, with her long, long black hair pooling at her feet. A cloth covered her entire face from forehead to chin. The sliver of her forehead, pale as the moon, was the only skin that could be seen.

“Eitsubyou no Mikoto... or should I refer to you as Kesshinichabe-kamuy?”

“Just Eitsu. I'm here to ask a favour, after all.”

“No wonder you're so willing to grovel.” Izanami's voice was silken smooth, her words as harsh as thorns. “I wondered why you bowed your head first, when you're my elder. Stand. Tell me what you want.”

Her last words sounded exhausted; Eitsu could hear echoes of Tsubaki's voice within them. Rising, she found that Izanami had drifted away to sit on a chair or throne made of rock. She watched this mutely.

“Got nothing to say now, after causing all kinds of trouble with the staff?”

Eitsu's eyes narrowed bitterly. “Perhaps if I got some answers, I wouldn't have had to.”

“You dropped that pretence of respectfulness very quickly. At least you are honest.”

“What respectfulness? You need to control your subordinates better.”

The already cold cave seemed to grow colder.

“Come closer.”

As Eitsu moved forwards, more details of the woman on the throne were revealed. She could see that part of Izanami's long hair was bound on the top of her head with large ornaments made of jawbones. She felt queasy looking at them.

There was a long, silver shape resting against the throne. It appeared to be some kind of sceptre or spear.

“What do you know about me, Lady Eitsu?”

“You're the Queen here, I guess.”

“... and?”

“... you have nice hair?”

Izanami twitched.

“What is it that you want?”

Eitsu swallowed down the answer that sprang first to her mind, and threw out the second. “There is... one of your shinigami. I want him punished.”

“Punished, you say? What has he done?”

“He betrayed me,” Eitsu spat. “He... hurt me.”

“How so?”

“He stole the corpses of my previous existences. He skinned them for their pelts.”

“That is unfortunate,” Izanami said, apparently folding her hands. It was hard to tell, as her sleeves were so long that her fingers could not be seen. “And he will certainly be sanctioned for it, but I am afraid that this is a relatively minor misdemeanour. It is not as if he killed you for those pelts.”

“He did. My third life. My eighth.”

Izanami sat up, her arms resting on the throne. “Anything else?”

“What do you mean, anything else? Is that not enough?”

“I did not say it was not enough.”

“... I heard he's been trafficking legendary animals.”

“From whom?”

“I don't really know who they were. I wasn't back to my full power at the time. I couldn't communicate with them properly. All I know is that there was a monk from the Four Kingdoms and a sorcerer from the far west investigating. And a dragon whose sister's pelt as to be auctioned off by him.”

The response to these revelations was utter silence from the throne. Eitsu couldn't tell what this meant with Izanami's face covered. “Well? Is that enough?”

“I told you before, I did not say it was not enough. Tell me... as a kaibyou, death is... well, other than this last, ninth life of yours, death means... less to you than to others.”

“You're wondering why I've come all this way? Caused trouble in Yomi itself to speak to you directly?”

“Indeed.”

Because each time, I've left someone behind.

“Because each time, he did his best to own me. And several times, that meant acting like he loved me, or that I had loved him, in another life. And if I wasn't his...” Eitsu gritted her teeth. “Others got hurt because of him too.” She raised her eyes to look at the blank white cloth hiding Izanami's face. “He acted like he cared for me, but not once did he ever know what I really wanted. He wouldn't listen even if I told him.”

In the pause that followed, Eitsu realised that the only sounds she could hear were her own breaths, and the beating of her own heart. From the throne came only darkness and silence, as though there were nothing there at all. At last, Izanami spoke.

“Do you truly not know my story, Lady Eitsu? I hate to say it, but I'm surprised to find someone who is unaware.”

“Why's that?”

Izanami was brought up short by this bold declaration of ignorance, but only momentarily. She turned away from Eitsu. “Mou.”

Mou appeared by the throne almost instantaneously. “My Queen.”

“I am ordering an investigation. The shinigami Rei... I want his history. His involvement in the murders of Eitsubyou no Mikoto's third and eighth lives. Investigations into his trafficking. I suspect we may receive an extradition order from the Four Kingdoms on that matter.”

“And the murder of the performer, Tsubaki,” Eitsu interrupted.

“Who?”

“A mortal. A friend of mine. The shinigami that came to take her was called Kana. And now that I think about it, I ran into another shinigami called Jihi at the last Hyakki Yagyo. I already told her about Rei, and yet still nothing was done. So I'll say to you again, you need to control your subordinates better.” Her angry voice was like a sharp bite, drawing blood.

Izanami nodded to Mou, who bowed.

“I will look into those things, My Queen. Eitsubyou no Mikoto, will you please come with me. We will need to record your testimony.”

“And then?”

“Once our research is complete, we will bring the information to Her Majesty for her decision as to whether we will bring Shinigami Rei to trial or not.”

Eitsu sneered. “Nice bureaucracy you have there.”

“We must follow these procedures to ensure that punishments are dealt fairly. Please, Eitsubyou no Mikoto, I will lead you elsewhere for an interview.”

Mou led the way back to the narrow stairway that lead out of Izanami's throne room, but Eitsu stood for a moment longer, glaring at Izanami.

“Fair... Is that what you think? Does that make you feel better?”

“Eitsuby-”

“There's no justice for the dead,” Eitsu said softly. “It's too late for them. Luckily, I'm still alive and breathing, but...” She cut off her own sentence with a short laugh. “Whatever. It's not like I'd expected you to understand. Goodbye, Your Majesty.”

Izanami sat silent and unmoving throughout Eitsu's speech. She didn't make a single sound, even as Eitsu bowed mockingly and followed Mou out and away from the throne room.

---

“What?”

Eitsu perched on her chair, rather than sitting, her feet on the chair's seat with her bottom on the chair's back, careless as a hoodlum. Mou's impassive face seemed to carry a tinge of disapproval.

“Shall we begin, Eitsubyou no Mikoto?”

They were in yet another one of the many administrative rooms, the same wooden floorboards, the same chairs, only this time Mou was present, with another shinigami who had the appearance of a middle-aged woman and was introduced as Bunshyo²文書 - "archive".. Her white hair was tied in a simple, neat bun, and she sat poised with brush and ink.

“Tell me why you were looking at me so disapprovingly, and then we can talk.”

“I have no reason to explain anything to you, Eitsubyou no Mikoto. You are the one who came to us seeking remedy.”

“Right, so you're happy to have a shinigami who murders and is also a trafficker? Okay, enjoy.”

Mou's eye twitched.

“Eitsubyou no Mikoto, I... will explain once we have your evidence.”

“I don't trust you.”

Mou's eye twitched again. “I... swear I will tell you following this interview.”

“Okay then.” Eitsu slid into the chair, propping her arm up with her leg and smiling with sharp teeth. “Ask away.”

Mou actually covered her face this time.

But only briefly.

Then it was a series of questions from Mou, followed by Eitsu's answers. Where she had been in her third and eighth lives. Her name, her appearance.

“I left the pelts behind at Hanasan,” Eitsu recalled. “I didn't think I needed them any more. Do you really not know where the hell he is? Can't you keep track of each other?”

“We do not know,” Mou admitted, expression blank. “Now, this mortal... Tsubaki? Any other name?”

“No.”

“Tell me about her murder.”

Eitsu opened her mouth and her tongue stuck in her throat.

Don't stumble now. It means nothing. It means nothing compared to what needs to be done.

“A dancer I knew,” she managed to say. “I spent some time pretending to be her pet. She travelled to Chup-tuk to reunite with her dance troupe after that bastard Rei cause her some trouble, but then she- he- well, he killed her.”

“Why would he do that?”

“You should ask him that,” Eitsu hissed. “I think he got jealous I was spending so much time with her.”

“And how did he kill her?”

“Snapped her neck,” Eitsu replied shortly.

“That is... unusual. Shinigami are well aware of the consequences of murder.”

“Didn't stop him from killing me twice.”

“Well, there is an unfortunate loophole there.” Mou frowned. “As you have multiple lives, your reincarnations were instantaneous, without you having to be processed through Yomi first-”

“Yeah, Jihi-san said something about that.”

“- but a mortal... What an odd thing for him to do.”

“He did panic and run away almost immediately,” Eitsu pointed out.

“We will speak to Jihi-san about this matter as well. Thank you for your cooperation, Eitsubyou no Mikoto.”

“Aren't you forgetting something?”

“Forgetting... Oh.” Mou cleared her throat and tapped the table next to Bunshyo. “Bunshyo-san, thank you for your assistance. Could you please take your recordings to the Office of Lord Enma³閻魔 - "town" and "demon".?”

Bunshyo had not said a single word the whole time she had been present. She gathered up the papers, ink and brushes, bowed to Mou and Eitsu, and left.

“Do you not know the story of Izanami no Mikoto?”

“That's the third time I've been asked. How many times do I have to say no?”

Mou stared at Eitsu. Eitsu stared brazenly back. At last, the shinigami began to speak.

---

There was only ocean.

Izanami rubbed her pregnant stomach thoughtfully as she cast a weary glance at her husband. “Is there nowhere to rest?”

They floated together in the air above the ocean, Izanagi scanning the waves. “I cannot see any land. Let us see...”

Other than the clothes on their backs, the only other possession they owned was a long spear, a naginata⁴薙刀 - a long polearm with a single-edged blade on the end., brilliant silver with a bright red tassel winking with red corals, gifted to them by their family as they set out to find a new home. So far, they had been unable to find a suitable place.

Izanagi⁵Again, no-one's entirely sure how this should be written - 伊邪那岐 or 伊弉諾. jabbed the spear into the ocean as if he was stabbing a fish, but when he drew his arm back, there was no seafood on the end of the spear, but an entire island. It wasn't long before a whole archipelago lay below them, and Izanami gratefully drifted down to rest, and eventually, give birth.

They were happy days. Child after child was born to the couple; they couldn't get enough of each other. The eight islands of the archipelago were populated with their children, and their children's creations.

And then, the dream ended.

“It hurts...” Izanami shivered, her breaths shallow and weak. Her husband had never seen her struggle so much with childbirth. Something was wrong. He gripped her hands tightly, but it felt as though he were chasing her down a long, dark tunnel, and she was slipping further and further away.

The first child she birthed this time burned like a flame, literally. Izanami screamed in pain as this kami of fire came into the world. Izanagi stared at the burning, crying boy, unable to tear himself away from Izanami.

Barely conscious, she struggled on until a second child, a little girl whose skin was cool to touch and whose eyes were dark like water, was finally born.

It took Izanami a long time to die.

Propped up by her desperately sobbing husband, she stared at the daughter in her lap, to exhausted to move her head. Her eyes flickered towards her son, at the singed earth around him.

“Mitsuhanome⁶彌都波能売 - "water-dragon-woman".,” she murmured to her daughter. “Look after your brother, okay? Let's call him... Kagutsuchi⁷軻遇突智 (Kagutsuchi) - "to shine" and "force/power".. Calm him down when he gets... angry...”

“Nami?” Izanagi patted his wife's cheek.

There was no response.

“Wh... Nami? What do I...” Izanagi sat and stared at his wife's corpse, her cold hand gripped in his, until Mitsuhanome's hungry cries roused him. He lifted her from Izanami's dead embrace.

His eyes drifted over to his wriggling, crying son.

“What about me, Nami? Who will stop me if I get angry?” His free hand found the hilt of the sword at his hip.

Eight islands he brought to the surface, for his lovely Izanami to rest on.

Eight pieces, he cut his son's body into.

Handing Mitsuhanome to the first of her older siblings that he found, Izanagi left immediately for the cold lands he had heard whispers of, the land of Yomi, below the earth.

He could find Izanami, and bring her back, right?

Across the grey, barren country, he walked until he reached a giant monolith of rock, and through a crack in the stone, he heard his wife's voice once more.

“Nami?”

“... Nagi?”

“Wait! I will come down to... Ugh...”

Izanagi was a big man. He struggled to fit through the narrow passage down to where he could hear Izanami's voice. “Nami, come up here. I will take you home.”

“I... cannot.”

“What?”

“Nagi, I am dead, my love. I have been here so long, and I have already eaten the food from this place. I... cannot go back with you.”

“Then I will stay here-”

“No. You should not be here, love. Go home.”

“Let me at least see you.”

“Absolutely not,” Izanami said sharply. “You cannot come down here and see me. Go home, Nagi. Thank you for coming to look for me, but it is all over now. We must accept this. Turn around now and go.”

He wouldn't. For who knows how many days, he stood outside the passage to the cave, pleading and arguing with Izanami, he begging her to come with him, she telling him to accept reality.

They both eventually fell silent, out of words.

He had been there so long, without once eating food, that when he tried one last time to slide into the passageway, he found he could finally, just, fit through.

Go home.

You cannot come down here and see me.

It is all over now.

Over? Never.

He inched his way down the passage in the dark until he could just about make out a cave ahead. But it was so dark...

To a kami of creation, this meant nothing. He clicked his fingers, and a flaming spark sprang between them.

Izanami was dead.

He knew this, but...

The rotting corpse of a woman crouched before him in the cave, the remains of her eyes dripping down her cheeks as she turned her face towards him, ruined mouth opening in a scream.

“I TOLD YOU NOT TO COME DOWN HERE!”

Izanagi frantically pushed his way back up the passage, faster than he had moved before, his body scraping against the hard rock. The passage spat him back out of the grey plain, and he fell to the ground, bleeding and vomiting stomach acid in fear and disgust. His lovely Nami...

There was nothing in his stomach, but he retched and retched again.

There was no time for this. He could hear her scraping her way upwards after him, screaming.

“I AM DEAD, YOU IDIOT! WHAT DID YOU EXPECT? WHY DID YOU NOT LISTEN TO ME?”

Run.

He didn't look back. From seemingly nowhere, nightmarish creatures appeared to pursue him.

What were they? Why were they following him?

He was so tired and weak from lack of food and sleep, he had to distract them, somehow. Tearing away the cord and comb that held his hair, he felt them transform in his hands, fake fruits and bamboo shoots appearing in their place.

He had to be really hungry, if that was what came to mind. He tossed the objects behind him and kept running, not looking back as the sounds of chomping faded.

Was that light? Was he nearly out? He didn't even know what was up or down, north or south, but he desperately kept running...

“NAGI!”

Nami... No... a decaying carcass.

He burst into sunlight.

“Why...” His dead wife's voice came crawling over the sunlit grass towards him, where he lay trembling with relief and exhaustion. “Why did not you listen to me, you fool? I told you...”

That dearly beloved voice... He closed his eyes and saw the rotting corpse once more.

“My wife is dead,” he muttered. “You are not her. Go away.”

A choking gasp , and utter silence was returned to him. He kept his eyes shut tight. Was she gone?

“Is that so?” The voice was cold, so cold. Even in the sunlight, he felt it drive freezing nails through his bones. “After all this, that is what you have to say? Fine. Walk in the sun and pretend everything is fine. You beloved wife no longer exists. Have fun with your precious little toys up there in the light. But I want to play too. I will 'borrow' a thousand mortals every day, 'my dear'. You would not deny me that, would you? After everything else?”

“I will make sure a thousand five hundred mortals are born every day!” he shouted back, eyes still screwed shut. He heard Izanami scoff at the childishness of his declaration, but it didn't matter. She didn't respond, and the coldness faded, and she was gone.

---

“Huh. Pretty messy divorce,” Eitsu remarked.

There was no mistaking it. Mou really did glare disapprovingly this time.