Mio and I were at the mercy of Tsukuyomi. Not even with the strength of the Blade of the First Temptress in my hands was I able to resist a kami's power, especially not while it was empty of any sexual energy. As the Lunar God rose from the bed and walked toward us, an almost translucent shawl dragging on the ground alongside her shimmering hair, a wry smile flashes across her face.

"Where's Amaterasu? What did you do with the Goddess of the Sun?" I asked the new ruler of Takamagahara.

"I did not exile Amaterasu or anything of the such, if that is what you are truly asking. When I arrived, the palace was occupied by no greater kami except for the many yokai and lesser kami servants. My sister left on her own accord, ashamed of her own failings and has casted herself to the farthest reaches of this realm," Tsukuyomi explained.

"Then maybe you're the more reasonable one? We got two yokai cunts that need their ass kicked," Mio said.

"Regrettably, that is not of my concern." She shrugged.

"I don't get it. Two evil yokai are waltzing around Japan, and you kami don't plan on doing anything about it? Don't you care about what happens to Takamagahara or Japan?" I asked.

One corner of Tsukuyomi's lips pulled up into a smirk. "Were you not the one who set her free?"

"I… I—"

Tsukuyomi knelt down and placed a slender finger to my lips.

"We kami cannot meddle in the affairs of the mortal world. Our charge is to remain as impartial watchers, governing only by our existence. Only the children born of the sun may challenge Tamamo," she cryptically explained.

Children born of the sun? Was that supposed to refer to Amaterasu's children like Uta?

"Alright, you've had your fun. It's time to show you what a succubus can do!" Mio channeled magic down her arms, but whatever spells she was conjuring sputtered out at her fingertips. "Hey, what the hell gives?"

"You think your paltry magic from another world will help you? Laughable. What kami would I be if you could so easily resist my powers? Here, allow me." Tsukuyomi waved her hand in an upward motion, removing the talismans from the ground and giving us our movement again. 

When we stood up, she vanished into a mist and reappeared behind us, with an arm around each of our shoulders. A shiver ran up my spine as she buried her face into my hair and breathed deeply. 

Her skin was cool to the touch, yet somehow warm at the same time like a full moon during a summer night. Even without the talismans holding us down, I still felt the bearing weight of her presence.

The bedchamber was closed off with no real entrance. The only way out was the square-shaped hole in the ceiling. On each side of the room, there were stairs leading down. But to where, I had no idea. If we made a break for it… could we even escape?

"I know what you're thinking," Tsukuyomi began, turning her head to sniff Mio now. "You may try to escape, but I will find you as long as you're in Takamagahara. Why not stay with me? I can provide you with anything your heart desires. You're succubi, so perhaps I may interest you in what you like best?"

We followed her eyes to the yokai and lesser kami, resting on the bed. They sat up to wave at us, the yuki-onnas squeezing their breasts, handsome oni men flaunting their erect members. They definitely looked tempting—

"Deal!" Mio said without hesitation, licking her lips and eyeing the oni's bright red dicks.

"Mio, that's not what we came for!" I scolded her.

"I haven't had a good fuck in ages. There are some perfectly ripe cucumbers and fresh clams in front of me, so how are you gonna expect me to say no?" she asked, running off to bed where they welcomed her to their orgy.

"Did you already forget that we're supposed to be— ah!" A moan escaped my lips when Tsukuyomi kissed my neck and reached between my thighs.

"Why care about anything other than pleasure. Isn't that what your kind desires most?" Tsukuyomi asked, pressing two fingers into my hole.

It took every ounce of strength I had to break free from her grasp. 

"I'm more than just a succubus. My home is in danger of being ruined by Tamamo and Shuten, and I don't plan on being a sex toy for a rapey goddess like you!" I shouted, my words echoing loudly across the chamber.

"That's too bad— for you, I mean. Not me. You see, pets have no choice. They simply obey." Tsukuyomi threw out a red rope that snatched my right wrist, then another that grabbed my left. One hard yank sent me flying into the ground at her feet. The same bindings lengthened and coiled around me until I was entangled in shibari-style.

A disheveled Mio leapt off the bed, having taken interest in my bondage.

"Bondage play? Well, don't leave me out! Teach me, too!" Mio exclaimed, and was then promptly entangled in the same fashion and dragged up beside me.

I gave her an exasperated sigh. "Nice work, genius. Now we're both trapped."

Tsukuyomi opened her mouth to speak, but a tengu flying in from the opening in the ceiling interrupted and stole her bluster. The red-skinned, long-nose yokai landed in the kneeling position, head hanging low so as to not lay eyes on anything but the Lunar God's feet.

"Lord Raijin has asked to see you," the tengu said.

The cozy yet slightly uncomfortable atmosphere around us had grown thick with tension. From the bed came a collective gulp from the denizens of this city.

"Are you his servant?" Tsukuyomi calmly asked.

Confused, the yokai glanced up. "I'm sorry?" 

"I asked… Are you his servant? Because if you aren't, then you need not deliver his foolish messages to me." Her eyes narrowed to mere slits on her face.

"B-But like you, Lord Raijin is a greater kami— urk!"

An invisible force chucked the tengu out the opening he entered from and into the sky, his screams growing more distant by the second. Tsukuyomi was trembling with anger and had both fists clenched. The ones at the bed gulped, some hiding and cowering beneath the bedsheets.

"To be compared to that drunken oaf," Tsukuyomi muttered spitefully.

"That's right! Raijin was the one who tricked us into releasing Tamamo! It obviously sounds like you don't have much love for your brother, so we can work together… and…" I trailed off as the reaction I got from Tsukuyomi was anything but what I expected. Like how she took interest in me and Mio, the kami's lips curled into a scheming smile.

"Raijin did such a thing?" She gasped, feigning dread that would make a theater student proud. "How terrible, deceiving mortals into releasing a yokai like Tamamo no Mae into the world."

From her two fingers came a snap so loud that mine and Mio's ears started ringing. I squeezed my eyes shut to bear through it, but the sound of iron clasping shut made me snap them open. We had been transported into a dank and musty dungeon. Our only light source was from the paper lanterns floating in the hallway beyond the iron bars that caged us. The stone walls had paper talismans slapped all over them like we were being contained as demons. 

Well, I was technically a demon.

Standing on the other side was Tsukuyomi, her face creased with a smile of triumph.

"Be good girls and stay here. Perhaps it is good that Raijin asked for me. Tomorrow, we shall accuse him together," Tsukuyomi said right before vanishing into mists again.

In her place stood two tengu guards, both wearing old samurai armor and wielding a naginata.

"That bitch— Get back here! I'm not into dungeon-play when I'm the prisoner!" Mio bashed both fists against the bars, but the energy blew her to the other side of the cell. "Holy shit… don't hit that… It packs a harder punch than Selene…"

I walked up to the iron bars, where our guards had their backs turned to us. As I tried to charm either of them, a sharp pain ran up my spine. Even our succubus powers were useless here. I tried to rip off the talismans from the walls, too. However, my nails didn't so much as scratch an indentation. It was like the talismans were a part of the stone itself.

"This isn't good… This isn't good…" I began to pace around the room.

"What's up? I thought her bringing that drunk god to heel was whatcha wanted?" she asked.

"Something about the way she acted and sounded… reminded me of Beatrice, like Tsukuyomi knew she had us fooled. Kind of like when Beatrice was disguised as a teacher. It doesn't look like we're getting out of this one." I sighed.

Walking over to where Mio was charred and sitting slumped, I leaned against the wall and dropped down next to her. The will to continue fighting was draining from me. We really might never see Kana and Uta again.

"At least here, I won't have to eventually face my parents—"

Mio pinched my chin between her thumb and index finger, then lifted my head to face her. She leaned in to plant a kiss on me so tender and sweet that I almost swooned. When she pulled away, my eyes were spinning and my face was about to erupt like a volcano.

"W-What was that for?"

"To remind you that it isn't over until we kick the bucket. Well? Feeling any better? Or do I gotta shove my tongue down your throat instead? Because I will." Mio grinned.

"But it might as well be over. We're stuck in case you haven't noticed— mmmrphh?!"

Mio pushed me to the ground, drilling her tongue down my throat like she promised. Our tongues coiled and wrapped around each other, swapping saliva as we nursed on the other's lips. As I struggled underneath her body, she dry humped me, squeezed my ass with both hands, and used her tail to tease my clit.

The little show drew the attention of our tengu guards, who couldn't help but glance over their shoulders and shifted uncomfortably where they stood.

One thing led to another, and we ended up having sex in front of the tengu guards for the next few hours. Mio finally got off my face, proud and happy with herself for almost suffocating me to death from forcing me to eat her pussy for so long.

"If you were… trying to kill me… you were getting really close…" I said, gasping for air now that I could breathe again.

"Heh. You can handle it. Still not as good as me, but I don't want anyone else but you to tongue-fuck my cunt," Mio said, clasping her hands above her head and stretching.

"So, you don't actually care about staying here? Because it looked like you were getting really comfy with Tsukuyomi's offer earlier…"

"Oh, calm your tits. I wasn't just being horny for the sake of it. Watch…" Mio shut her eyes, and we waited for a few minutes with nothing happening. "Er… Hold on… almost here… Might've ran into someone…"

I was about to lose hope until the sound of footsteps approached from the hallway.

"Hm? We're not supposed to be relieved from the post for another few hours," one of the tengu guards said.

"Eh, guess the change from day to night has got my sense of time all messed up. You guys go ahead. We'll just take over your shift early," an unknown voice casually replied.

"Thank the gods." The other let out an exasperated sigh. "These two we've been guarding have been screwing for hours! Time to visit Yuzuki's place to work out this frustration, hehe…"

Replacing the tengu were two onis, both I recognized from Tsukuyomi's bedchamber earlier.

"Heh. Charmed them earlier when the bitch wasn't looking. Sometimes I'm too smart for my own good." Mio rubbed her nose and puffed out her bare chest.

For once, Mio pulled off quite the ruse. However, if I complimented her, she would never let me hear the end of it.

"If I ever doubt you again, you're welcome to slap my ass," I said.

Both onis performed hand signs in front of the cell, ending it with a fist pressed to their palm and fingertips facing forward. The iron bars hummed, then disappeared like an illusion shimmering away. We swapped places with our unlikely saviors. They entered the cell as we exited and raised the barrier again. When Tsukuyomi and the next guards came, they were going to have an unpleasant surprise.

"Next problem, how the hell are we getting out of here? That bitch said she can see us, right?" Mio asked.

"That's only if she can see us," I reminded her, then casted invisibility on myself. "We're just going to have to hope this works."

Mio did the same, and we navigated through the long dungeon chamber which contained all manner of yokai, kami, and creatures I had no words to describe imprisoned here. At the end of the corridor, an iron and wooden door was locked tight. Fresh air was blowing in from the small slat at the top of the door.

With the iron-wrought key given to us by the onis earlier, we were able to unlock the door and leave. The next chamber turned out to be a walkway along the edge of the palace. On the left was a walkway that led back into the palace, and on the right was an open wall and only a wooden railing to keep people from accidentally falling off.

We leapt off, leaving the palace behind as fast as possible and heading into the city, with the eternal moonlight at our backs.

"What now?" Mio asked as we soared over Takamagahara. "We still aren't any closer to finding out how to deal with the damn yokai. Staying here might get us caught again, too."

"There's only one place I can think of… Raijin," I said.

"That big ape screwed us over to begin with!" she cried.

"I feel like there might be more to it. Just trust me on this."

Holding back from protesting any more, we flew to Raijin's shrine and landed in his empty stone courtyard. The doors this time around were wide open, like it had never been closed. Though some things didn't change, because it smelled like an alcoholic's den who was failing to recover from alcoholism.

"Raijin!" I shouted as we entered, finding the kami of storms passed out on his throne seat and snoring.

Since we were free from the palace and away from Tsukuyomi's restraints, Mio channeled magic into her hands to create a crackling ball of energy. She lobbed it at the sleeping kami, the ensuing shock startled him awake with a jolt.

"Is it morning?" Raijin groggily asked, then glanced around the shrine until he saw us. "Oh, it's you two! Didn't expect to find you in my shrine again so soon."

"Can it, fatso! You got some explaining to do!" Mio yelled.

Noting the genuine confusion on Raijin's face confirmed it for me.

"Raijin, you tricked us into releasing Tamamo no Mae the last time we came, didn't you?" I asked, further testing whether he was playing dumb or not.

"What? No! Why would I do such a thing that would bring harm to Takamagahara and Japan? Wait… You two did? I've been trying to gain an audience with Tsukuyomi to speak about what's going on, but that miserable sister of mine hasn't answered me at all!" He groaned.

Amaterasu destroyed the talismans Raijin and Mutoh had given us, so we couldn't show it to him again. However, it was clear just speaking to the kami that he had no idea what I was talking about.

"You gave us talismans to stay away out of sight of the tengu, then sent us to Tamamo no Mae's shrine. It was your storm that transported us there. You're telling me that you didn't do all that on purpose?" I asked again to be sure.

"I would never deceive you. I am a kami of my word. The talisman Mutoh gave you should have been real, and he lends me his spiritual power to create portals, unless—" Instead of finishing his sentence, Raijin sucked in a deep breath and fell into thought.

"And it doesn't look like your boy Mutoh's here. Looks like you got duped, big boy. Guess the gods of this world ain't so all-knowing after all, huh?" Mio taunted.

"But I don't understand… Mutoh has served at my side for centuries. Why would he do such a thing?" he asked himself, taking it more harshly than either of us expected.

"Raijin, we all got played by Mutoh. Can you think of anything he would gain from tricking us into releasing Tamamo?" I asked.

In a world where yokai and kami lived hand in hand, even Mutoh would suffer the consequences of an evil yokai bringing misfortune to Japan. That was, unless he had more to win in doing so. Unfortunately, by the troubled look on Raijin's face, the kami was at just as much of a loss.

"Not a thing… Have you seen the state of Takamagahara on your way here? There are no winners here," Raijin said.

"I can think of one person who wins— the one who's currently sitting in the palace, Tsukuyomi. She became the new ruler after Amaterasu went missing. We actually just escaped from the palace earlier. I told Tsukuyomi, thinking that you tricked us. It sounded like she wanted to frame you for Tamamo's release," I explained.

The greater kami furrowed his brows. Twirling a finger, he conjured a small, swirling storm at the center of the chamber, revealing a bird's eye view of the immediate area outside of his shrine. He grunted with displeasure from not finding what he was looking for and zoomed out. Now the crystal ball of a storm showed us the sprawling tiled rooftops of Takamagahara which surrounded Raijin's shrine on this side of the city.

However, Raijin zeroed in on a pack of tengu flying in this direction, and they were being led by none other than Tsukuyomi. They found out we had escaped sooner than I thought and were coming straight here now.

"My dearest sister comes to place me shackles, it seems. On the charge that I was the one who released that accursed yokai." Raijin expelled a heavy sigh, causing the calm storm to thunder and boom.

"Then we fight that bitch ass, right? Three versus one, we can take her!" Mio exclaimed.

"No. I see now, like a clear day after the brewing storms have cleared, my apathy has greatly contributed to this beautiful city's fall. It has also led to Mutoh betraying me and subsequently leading you to release Tamamo no Mae. Maybe if the bottom of this wine bottle was all I looked forward to, I could have seen it coming… I, Raijin, God and Lord of the Storms, must take responsibility. I will face my errant sister, but you two must flee while there is still time. The least I can do to make up for my folly is to send you back to Japan before my sister captures you." Raijin, for the first time since meeting him, stood up.

"We don't want to go back yet. We need to find a way to defeat Tamamo and Shuten, and we can't do that without help! Can you open a portal for us to Uta's shrine instead?" I asked.

"I see, so you still wish to reunite with your husband. Very well, I have not forgotten our deal before Mutoh's betrayal. The seal to Utako's shrine should be down due to Amaterasu's absence, so you're free to visit him without retribution." Raijin conjured up a storm to another shrine.

This time, without Mutoh here to tamper, we could only hope it was the right place by putting our trust in Raijin.

"What about you, big guy?" Mio asked.

The halo of drums at his back lit up one by one, and when he extended both hands, two massive wooden rods manifested in his grasp and crashed to the floor. 

"If it's a fight my sister wants, then it's a fight she will have. Now go, before she finds out you were here," Raijin said, appearing more like a god now than when we first met.

As the swirling clouds enveloped our feet and sucked us in, we came out onto another island shrine more similar to Kon and a lot smaller than the one Tamamo was sealed in. Our feet touched down at the bottom of clean stone steps that were recently washed and swept of fallen leaves. Cherry blossoms were in full bloom despite the season, swaying listlessly to the winds and carrying petals across the gardens.

Several shrine maidens, dressed in white and red robes with a cloth over their faces, who were performing chores around the area like sweeping the grounds, washing the stone lanterns, and wiping the walkways, stopped what they were doing once we arrived.

"Uhm… Can we help you?" a short-haired shrine priestess asked.

"Is this Uta's shrine?" I asked.

They glanced at each other and nodded in unison.

"It is," she confirmed, "but— hey!"

I ran past the shrine maidens as they tried to stop me. However, they froze in place and straightened up.

"Nu-uh. You let Saeko do her thing. You ladies can play with me instead," Mio said, biting her lower lips and drawing a collective gulp from the priestesses.

Like Raijin said, there was no seal on the shrine when I reached the doors. Holding my breath, I pushed them open. Sitting inside, within a room furnished for that of an emperor from all the red and gold furniture, wooden toys strewn about the floor and one-tailed kitsunes scurrying about, and all the dim sum buns and fruits on a table, was Uta. He was lying on his belly on the bed, head propped on one hand, eyes peeled wide seeing me. 

"Uta!" I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Saeko… is it really you?" Uta asked in disbelief, slipping off the bed and planting face first on the ground. We ran into each other's arms and embraced tightly. Tears began to stream down his cheeks, and he cried uncontrollably. "I thought… I thought I would never get to see you again!"

"You missed me that much, huh? It's okay. I'm here now," I said, stroking his back.