"This is just too much for me to take in," I said, sitting down on Kon's red cushion that was slightly moist from him and Mio having sex. "I thought I'd be prepared for this having already met several gods, but now I'm seeing the literal heaven of kami."

Suddenly, I didn't feel too brave about confronting anyone here, let alone Amaterasu again. Why only now when we were finally here that I was getting second thoughts? 

Kon walked right out and with a wave of his hand, brought forth a small rowboat. "Come along, you two. Getting you ashore will be all the help you're getting from me. The last thing I want is Amaterasu breathing down my neck for bringing mortals to our sacred land."

"Can't we just fly? It's gonna be faster, right?" Mio asked.

"Absolutely not. If the tengu won't jail you first, then the dragons will swallow your body and soul whole," he warned.

Both of us gulped, then acquiesced to climbing onto the rickety boat. Kon transformed back into fox form and dipped his three tails into the 'water' to serve as a propellor. Our boat moved along the cloudy surface like it was actually water. There were even ripples which expanded outwards as it cut through.

Many boats like theirs were coming in and out of the torii gates. Those going in vanished as they crossed the threshold, and those coming through seemingly appeared out of thin air. One boat was adrift with a kappa inside, a green man with a turtle shell on its back and slight depression on the head, fishing up koi into a bucket.

Flying above us were tengu of different shapes and sizes, including ones with animalistic traits like a crow's head, but many were red-skinned humanoids with elongated noses. They dressed in militaristic garbs reminiscent of samurai and held spears that I hoped not to come into contact with.

"Kon, do you know anything about Amaterasu and Uta's relationship?" I asked.

"Other than they are parent and child? Not much. I do know Utako is a lesser kami of fortune who presides over a small parcel of land in Hokkaido. You're asking me, but aren't you his wife?" Kon questioned me in return.

"W-We didn't really talk much about his background. He's never sounded fond of being a kami…"

"Well, I'm sure Amaterasu feels the same way," he quietly said.

The boat reached a stone dock between two larger sailing ships that were moored. As we were about to climb off, Kon grabbed each of our wrists.

"Try to stay inconspicuous," Kon warned, gesturing to our outfits. "Takamagahara hasn't been a sparkling paradise for centuries."

Leaving us with that cryptic warning, he let Mio and I go. Now the both of us were really on our own. On the docks was a series of warehouses that had yokai of all kinds. Many of the workers were muscular oni or animalistic humans, unloading stuff off ships that come to shore. They didn't look like they wanted to be there, especially with tengu supervising them like nosey bosses. Despite being much larger, enough that their heads would scrape the ceiling of my house, they were subservient to the smaller yokai.

"Let's catch a ride." Mio pointed to one of the wagons being loaded.

We stayed out of sight by sticking between stacks of cargo and jumped onto the wagon when the oni loading it walked away. Thank goodness yokai and kami were larger than humans. Their things were just as proportionally larger, so there was more than enough space behind a big box for us to hide.

Now we just needed to wait for the oni to start moving the wagon. Two hulking boars were snoozing, waiting for their cue to start moving.

Something crashed behind us. When we peeked out, this wagon's oni had tripped and the contents of the crate he was carrying spilled out. It was a bunch of peaches, many which were now bruised or smushed on the ground.

"Stupid oaf, watch where you're going!" a tengu growled.

"I'm sorry! I should've watched where I was going," the red oni said, hurriedly picking up the ones that weren't damaged.

"What do you suppose the kami'll think?" Another tengu joined to taunt him. "Maybe we should cut a couple of soul coins from his annual pay."

"Please, anything but that… I won't mess up again. I promise!" he pleaded.

The other onis turned a blind eye and went back to work.

"Tsk. Dick-noses are really laying it on him. I wanna teach 'em a lesson in manners." Mio scowled.

"Wait!" I urged her. "Kon said we have to stay hidden. If we interfere, who knows what might happen to us."

"We're succubus. Worse that happens, we fuck their noses for a good time and get off scott free." She smirked, then peeked out.

I felt a tingle against my aura as Mio strengthened her own. Both of the tengu shuddered, apologized to the oni to his surprise, then walked away.

"Nice job making them leave the scene," I said, grateful that it was all she did.

"Oh, don't worry. Once those two are out of sight, they're gonna fuck each other in the ass with their noses." Mio cackled.

I put a hand to my face and groaned.

The oni, not wanting to waste the good fortune that befell him, quickly gathered the rest of his fallen fruits, shoved it into the back of the wagon, and hopped into the drivers' seat to take off. As we rode into the city, we peered out of a small, fist-sized hole to get a look of our surroundings.

It wasn't just kami who lived here, but also many kinds of yokai. All those supernatural things that would happen to people, praying to gods, and mythologies surrounding them were based on truth after all. Those creatures I'd only known from a surface-level understanding, I was now seeing with my very own eyes.

Maybe this explained that scary encounter during the test of courage over summer…

The wagon stopped in front of a building, inside of which were yokai bartering over the price of a bottle of wine. We jumped down onto the clean and somewhat narrow street of Takamagahara that was probably a back alley.

If it weren't for these supernatural beings, I would have thought we had gone back in time to 17th or 18th century Japan. Instead of lampposts, there were stone lanterns. A constant flow of paper lanterns floated above the city like they were drifting down a river during a festival. Deeper into the city, rising into the sky, were much larger pagodas and towers, culminating to the massive palace with a sun shining behind it where Amaterasu likely resided.

It became abundantly clear that this city was like a home for these beings. Yuki-onna and zashiki warashi, spirits that take the form of young children, dressed like geishas were soliciting themselves as prostitutes behind the brothel windows with an proprietress nearby. Tengu patrolled the streets on the ground and in the air. Oni, kappas, and other yokai peddlers hollered from behind their vendor stands, trying to sell trinkets or foods.

Kon was right. We were so out of place in our school uniforms.

"Why, hello sexy, babe!" Mio left my side to press her face against the window to a brothel. The yokai inside waved back. One, who was in a beautiful blue kimono and smoking from a pipe, looked like a normal human being.

Until her neck extended, and it continued to extend out the door and past the drapes to greet us.

"Curious things, you are." The long-necked lady smiled.

"Holy shit." Mio gasped. "You can deepthroat the world's longest dick like that!"

"Oh, my god." I smacked a hand to my face, embarrassed to be next to her.

The yokai giggled. "My name is Yuzuki, a rokurokubi. I have met many humans before in Japan, though meeting one in Takamagahara is a first."

Rokurokubi. Yokai who had frighteningly long necks and could detach to fly around if they so wished.

"I swear I thought I saw some school girls walk through here!"

"You sure it wasn't just a zashiki warashi playing tricks on you again?"

Behind us, rounding the corner into the alley, were a couple of tengu. They had to be talking about us.

"Shit. They know we're here," I muttered.

"Ladies, inside. Now!" Yuzuki urged.

Mio and I traded looks, hesitating to trust a stranger right off the bat. We didn't have a choice since the tengu were getting closer, so we followed Yuzuki's head in as it retracted. She then led us into the last room at the end of the hall and slid the door shut, but because of the traditional architecture of the building making use of shoji and fusuma meant that silhouettes could still be seen. These paper-thin dividers weren't real wooden walls, but only reinforced with a lattice woodwork.

"Yuzuki, open up!"

Heavy and impatient knocking came from the front.

"You two stay quiet, okay?" Yuzuki whispered, then walked down the hallway.

"Think we can trust her?" I asked Mio.

"I'd trust a prostitute over a politician, that's for sure," Mio said.

Either way, both of us still had our succubus powers, and Mio demonstrated earlier that it worked on yokai.

"Goodness, what is with all the commotion so early?" Yuzuki sighed to make her displeasure apparent.

"We're looking for a pair of human girls. You and your girls are sitting by the windows almost every day, so you must have seen something," the tengu accused her.

"If I had, don't you think I would have known? Now please, your presence scares away potential customers— hey!"

Footsteps stomped their way into the hallway. One by one, they began opening the doors, and a woman and customer within would yelp in surprise. They were closing into ours.

"W-What do we do?" I glanced around the room and was disappointed not to find even a window to jump out of.

That was when Mio suddenly shoved me to the floor and kissed me— shoved her tongue into my mouth.

"Mmm… Mio… Now isn't… the time— mmph…"

"Just shut up and enjoy it!" She tugged the skirt of my school uniform and panty away, then buried her face into my pussy. A tail and tongue assaulted me, sending my senses alight with pleasure. I grabbed her head and held it firmly.

Yuzuki and the tengu group stopped in front of our room. 

Even with people on the other side, I was getting close to orgasming. "Ahhh, oh god! I'm going to cum if you keep… nnghh…!"

"Sounds like they're having fun in there," a tengu coyly remarked.

"I must insist you to leave," Yuzuki demanded. "Otherwise, I will charge you extra when you come back later."

"Tch. Even the brothels are getting full of themselves. Save your best girl for me later, Yuzuki!"

Frustrated by their lack of progress in finding us, the group of tengu left.

"Mio… nnh… you can stop now— aaaahhhh!" Ignoring me, Mio shoved her tail into my pussy and licked my clit more ferociously until I climaxed.

Yuzuki returned to the room to tell us that they were gone and was surprised to see us in an uncompromising position.

"Oh, my. I thought you were acting." She held a hand up to her mouth and giggled.

"Heh. I'm something of a genius," Mio proudly stated.

"Thanks for that," I panted, fixing my disheveled self thanks to Mio. "But are you sure you should be sticking your neck out for us? Harboring us might get you in trouble."

"Those miserable tengu only find joy in imprisoning whoever they can get their gangly fingers on. Besides, I would like to know more about you two. Why have you come to Takamagahara?" she asked us.

We were brought upstairs to Yuzuki's room where I explained to her the gist of my reason for coming while she served us tea. One sip put me in a state of calm. 

Taking a glimpse outside through the window showed a bustling city beyond these walls which reminded me of home. Except this place was populated by very different kinds of people. In the other rooms, Yuzuki's prostitutes made it pretty obvious they were servicing customers, which got Mio squirming with eagerness in her seat.

"Succubus, is it? How fascinating! What a life to live as creatures that take pleasure to the highest degree," Yuzuki said.

"Wanna try having sex with a succubus?" Mio winked.

"Maybe another time." She smiled, then turned to me. "So you have come for love? I think it is rather adorable that a mortal like you and a god like Uta have become entangled. There is no shortage of those kinds of stories between our worlds."

"W-Well, I don't know if it's really love. I do know that I want to do whatever I can to change Amaterasu's mind. When Uta reached out to me at the shrine, I think it's because he was looking for companionship. For him to be alone again…" I bit my lower lip just thinking about it.

Mio put a hand on my shoulder and squeezed. "I've been caged for a large part of my life until the war on Elza happened. No one deserves to be trapped like that. Unless of course it's part of some BDSM play, then count me in!"

I rolled my eyes.

Yuzuki set her empty tea cup down, then stood up to walk over to the window. She tugged on the drapes, glancing down at the streets below.

"While your intentions are a curious one, you have come at an inopportune time. Takamagahara hasn't been the paradise for kami and yokai in recent centuries," Yuzuki said, gesturing for us to join her by the window.

Kon had also said the same thing.

We crept closer, careful not to show ourselves too much for fear of being seen. Below, a group of tengu was harassing street merchants. Poor yokai could do nothing but accept the harassment.

"Do you mean the tengu are menacing the populace?" I asked.

"The tengu answer to the Supreme Kami, which is currently Amaterasu. However, our dear Goddess of the Sun has grown reclusive as of late. As a result, those who would see to her will of ensuring the peace in Takamagahara have become problematic in her absence," she explained.

I knew well how the absence of a leader could lead to chaos down the chain of command. But was Amaterasu really that absent? She showed herself on Earth. Maybe there was more to it that Yuzuki wasn't telling us or didn't know about.

"Alright, but there's gotta be someone else in the pecking order, right?" Mio chimed in. "Kinda like after Beatrice, there's Selene, and after Selene it's Layla. Shouldn't another god or kami, whatever you call 'em, that those dick-noses answer to?"

"Mio has a point. There are more kami than just Amaterasu around. Are they okay with the tengu running amok?" I asked.

"That would fall to Raijin, but that kami…" Yuzuki hesitated to say more, almost as if she was afraid of being smitten by divine punishment.

Raijin. That was the kami of lightning and storms. A fearsome deity often depicted with red skin, oni-like in appearance, and eight drums arranged in a circle behind his back which he beat to create thunder with.

"You don't suppose Raijin can get me to Amaterasu? They're siblings, aren't they?" I asked.

"Well… You would be hard pressed to convince him to do anything," Yuzuki said with a sigh.

The way Yuzuki regarded Raijin sounded like that one lazy uncle you didn't want to have over for dinner. The Kami were having a lot more problems up here than I expected.

"I want to meet him. Can you please tell me where?" I implored her.

"You care very much for Uta, don't you? Very well. I shall tell you where Raijin resides." Yuzuki relented with a smile, which relieved us to have finally made progress."But you cannot simply meet him. You must bring a worthy tribute. He will want an alcoholic beverage of the finest quality. I imagine Lunar Gin will be enough to grant you an audience, but it is very costly."

"How much we talking? Like in yen?" Mio asked, reaching for her wallet.

"Oh, no. Here in Takamagahara, we exchange currency known as soul coins. They contain essences of a former life. Long-lived human souls in a lifetime of happiness can be more valuable than a kami's own," she explained.

Of which we didn't have.

"We'll figure something out. Thanks for your help, Yuzuki." I stood up and bowed.

"Before you leave, you two might want to change into something more appropriate. Maybe something that won't make you stand out as much?" Yuzuki raised a brow.

We were each given a kimono and a mask to wear on the side of our faces. Mio had koi fish prints on her dress and an evil oni mask on her head. I wore a black dress and a mask depicting a goofy pig like a regional mascot. Quite the contrast.

"Staying in your succubus forms will make you less human-like, too. I wish you two good fortune. If you ever wish to drop by, as friends or as customers, you know where to find me." Yuzuki winked.

"Thank you so, so much!" I bowed again.

"You bet your fine ass we'll come back!" Mio exclaimed.

Our first order of business was to find Lunar Gin. Yuzuki gave us the location of both where it was sold and where Raijin resided. Thanks to our succubus powers, it was easy to charm a merchant. What we didn't expect was how large the cask was.

The Lunar Gin was held in a giant earthenware bottle painted in black, about as tall as a human and as wide as a bookshelf. Fortunately, we were a lot stronger than the average human. We had to fly in order to carry it by the thick rope that surrounded the neck of the bottle, but stay low enough to the ground that we didn't draw attention from the tengu.

"First that Inari god that Kon was talking about, and now this Raijin guy? Your gods sure do love drinking," Mio said.

"Something tells me it isn't just because they like drinking. I wonder if the kami are just… I don't know how to explain it." I sighed.

At the northeast end of the city, we came to an enormous shrine. An empty stone courtyard was all that was between us and the building. I had expected Raijin's domain to be a lot more… stormy.

We walked up to the doors that we had to crane our necks up to see the top of. Golden nubs lined the length of it, and a golden knocking ring was fixed onto each side. It took both of us to pull and let go repeatedly in order to create a loud enough knock which echoed within.

"Raijin! I want to talk to you! We brought Lunar Gin as tribute!" I shouted.

They began to open, groaning and scraping against the stone floor. The heavy mixed smell of alcohol and stale air wafted up to my nose. It was downright foul. Even Mio pinched her nose shut.

At the very least, it looked like Raijin was willing to see us.

We lifted the large cask of Lunar Gin inside, and stepped through what felt like a veil. Waiting within the modest chamber, lounging upon a massive throne was a giant man whose incredible size towered over us like a statue, and two intense eyes that embodied nature's destructiveness stared down at us.

"Who are you to seek an audience with—" He hiccuped and let out a burp so loud that I thought a hurricane had formed in the chamber. "Oops. Excuse me. This belly of mine has been building gas all day, so that really hit the spot! Hahaha!"

"Eh?" Mio and I uttered.

"Lord Raijin, you can do with a little more decorum…" A normal sized man dressed in white, priestly robes and with a white cloth over his face, sighed at the larger being's feet.

"Hey, I said I was sorry! Or did I? Oh, who cares. Just bring me that Lunar Gin, Mutoh!" Raijin demanded.

"You're… Raijin?" I asked.

The kami in front of me was certainly red in the face, not because he was red-skinned like an oni, but because he had been drinking. He possessed a powerful, booming voice, but nothing about it struck fear into my mortal heart like thunder would. When he talked, the large beer-belly jiggled like pudding.

"That's right. I'm Raijin, kami of lightning and— Wait, I got another big one coming! It's going to be a new record, Mutoh!"

The priest named Mutoh pressed both hands to his ears just as Raijin let out a deafening burp that rocked the shrine, knocking Mio and I off our feet.

"Saeko?" Mio called to me while rubbing her head.

"Yes…?" 

"Something ain't right with the gods of your world," she said.