Once the battle was over, and Tashi had claimed his winnings, Both him and Miko exited the arena. The shining sun that hung in the middle of the sky directly above them told them it was lunch.
"Did you enjoy it? It was quite exciting, wasn't it? You seemed like you did so I wouldn't mind bringing you here again!" Tashi said. Miko honestly felt uncomfortable throughout the whole experience, even though she didn't show it. She learned alot watching, but that didn't mean she wanted to sit through it again.
"Well... I apologise but I don't think I am really a fan of it.. It was abit too violent for me," Miko answered with an awkard smile plastered on her face.
"Ahh... its that so... My bad, I forgot to take into account the violence... I had forgotten that it was not suitable for most women due to this reason," Tashi laughed nervously.
"Its fine," Miko shook her head, giving him a smile of assurance.
Both of them quickly found a small, open air restaurant by the streets and sat down for their meal. It was a good portion of noodles, enough to fill them up until dinner.
"Since you aren't really a fan of the tournament previously, would you give me the chance to make it up to you, darling?" Tashi asked, resting his face into his palm as he stared at Miko dreamily.
"Mhm, sure!" Miko chuckled.
Tashi took Miko to one of the shops on the more crowded end of the street. This end of the street were usually more frequented by the wealthy and cultivators. The shop had gold embelishments on its signboard, displaying its prosperity. Inside, there were hundreds of jewelry on display enclosed in glass cases. Miko was immediately enraptured by the countless precious stones that were framed by their silver and gold pendants. Their chains made them stand out more as they glistened from the sunlight entering the windows.
"Can you pick one?" Tashi asked teasingly after seeing Miko's reaction.
"Uhh, I don't think so..." Miko responded, turning a little red in embarrassment. Surprisingly, she didn't understand why she was suddenly shy being caught staring, mesmerised by the stones. It had always been part of her nature as a fox, though divine, to like such things.
"So this is part of love..." Miko thought, as she really couldn't attribute it to anything else, since she was only like this around Tashi. She turned around to look, only to find Tashi speaking to the shopkeeper, before she turned back to the masterpiece of a necklace.
After a few more moments, Tashi came up to her. He placed a necklace on Miko, hooking it behind her neck. Miko jumped slightly, not only in surprise, but also in slight pain.
"Here, you seemed to like this style, and I thought it suited you. It has inscriptions imbued into the pendant, so it can help protect you against spirits."
"Is that so? Thank you so much! I love this!" Miko said, ignoring the burning sensation she felt between her collar bones. She could tell it had fourth grade inscriptions based on how much it was hurting her even though she was in a human body.
"Is this the gift you meant to give me to make up for earlier? There's really no need! Don't get me wrong, I love it, but it looks to be a tad bit expensive, especially since it has inscriptions?" Miko whispered to Tashi.
"It's worth it. With how gorgeous you look, I'm not surprised if those beasts would want you for themselves, or any other spirits for that matter. Just take this as another form of my protection to you." Tashi smiled and whispered back.
Miko could only think back to the past with what he said. It was true that there have been a few foxes who pursued her in the past. Some of them were normal spirit foxes, although there were also other nine tailed foxes with varying constitutions and cultivation levels.
T/N: In case of confusion, difference between divine and normal spirits is the different constitutions. Normal spirits can only cultivate one type of element while divine spirits can cultivate up to 2, are much stronger and may grow physical mutations. Back to story...
"Alright then, I'll... pay you back in some other way in the future..." Miko sighed.
"Yep, you will. In marriage, of course." Tashi teased before leaving the shop. Miko couldn't help but blush at his words. She left the shop as well, ignoring the pain caused by the necklace.
"Where are we heading now?" Miko asked.
"Well, have you ever been to a holy shrine?" Tashie responded. Miko was taken aback. She had been looking for shrines of her goddess of foxes, but gave up due to the lack of leads. All she could conclude was that the new regiment completely destroyed them to remove traces of the previous kingdom that stood here. As shrines were frequently worshipped by humans, it contained dense energy from the gods worshiped there, even after it had been removed for a long time.
"No, since I couldn't find them no matter how hard I looked," Miko replied, "Although I'm interested in seeing one."
"Since it is already late spring, I think we can visit the goddess Benzaiten's temple." Tashi replied.
Tashi halted a passing, empty carriage. Both of them boarded it as he handed the coachman a few silver coins.
"The goddess Benzaiten is the godess of love. I'm sure if we are sincere enough, she can bless us with love and fortune," Tashi continued as the carriage started to move forward. " Besides that, I think that there will be a spring festival held soon throughout the capital. Maybe even in the villages, though just not as grand. Many people will also be visiting the temples and shrines to pray, so it will be more sincere if we head there early."
"What happens during the festivals?" Miko asked. With a new empire and many things changing, she wanted to know if the culture and tradition that influenced such festivals have also been altered. She already knew most of the gods and their tittles since some spiritual beasts like her were messengers or forms gods took when they occassionally decended from the heavens. This made them sacred, and therefore privy to some knowledge shared in the heavens, such as forgotten, old folk tales, including the relationships of other gods to their own gods, as well as other important information hidden from the humans, such as the conferment or birth of a new god.
"Well, at the start, it mostly starts with visiting and praying to the respective shrines. Since spring symbolises fresh beginnings, growth, renewal, ressuresction and reinvigoration. As such, many would visit to ask for love, blessings, good fortune and prosperity. They would also pray for good harvest in the upcomming year, protection from evil and disasters, as well as good health. Popular deities include Benzaiten, Ebisu, Hachimen, Omoikane, Inari, and uhh, many more."
"Wait, Inari?!" Miko yelped a little in surprise.