Uchiha Sasuke’s Collapse Chapter 056

The moment the first light of dawn broke, the bronze torii gate of Iseyama Kotai Shrine was already covered in dew, and remnants of last night’s moon, cold silver, flowed within its dark green patterns.

Iseyama Kotai Shrine was a renowned shrine in Nagazora City, and even in the Far East.

During festivals and holidays, a continuous stream of tourists would come here to pray for blessings, seek the protection of the guuji, or obtain shimenawa ropes woven by the shrine maidens.

“Strange,” Mei looked around, instinctively touching the dangling earring beneath her earlobe.

“Haaa~tch~”

Kiana rubbed her sleepy eyes and let out a long yawn, then casually asked, “What’s wrong, Mei?”

“New Year’s Day is the day after tomorrow. Normally, there should be many tourists visiting the shrine. Why is it so quiet today…?”

It was too quiet, so quiet that Mei felt an inexplicable unease.

Glancing back at Sasuke, who was trailing behind the three of them, Mei felt a little more at ease.

Mei was also here to obtain shimenawa ropes.

“How much longer~ Haaa~tch~”

Kiana kept yawning.

“Why do you keep yawning, Kiana? Didn’t you get enough rest last night?”

“I…”

Kiana’s words stopped abruptly.

She indeed hadn’t rested well last night, not because she was out maintaining the “peace” of Nagazora City again, but because she had been having nightmares all night.

Most of her nightmares involved hearing wedding bells, seeing flower girls scattering petals, and Kiana being excitedly told that she was attending Mei’s wedding.

Then the groom wasn’t her.

And the bride wasn’t her either.

Sometimes Mei married Sasuke, sometimes Mei married that shorty Bronya, but it was never her.

After waking up several times, her last dream finally had her as the female lead.

But the one she married wasn’t Mei, but that poker-faced guy who made her grit her teeth!

Especially since “she” in the dream was sweetly clutching her slightly bulging belly!

Kiana woke up instantly and was so horrified that she couldn’t sleep all night, which was why she had been dozing off all morning and didn’t even have the energy to argue with Bronya on the way.

“How about you go to the car and sleep for a bit while you wait for us?”

“I…”

Kiana hesitated. If it were any other time, she would never miss an opportunity to interrupt Mei and Sasuke’s alone time, but today Bronya was also here, so it wasn’t a two-person world for them.

Moreover, compared to the minor issue of Mei and Sasuke being alone, the scene in her dream was more terrifying to her. At least for the past two days, she had developed severe PTSD towards Sasuke.

“We’ve just passed the torii gate. It’s not far for you to go back now. You’ll have to walk one or two hundred steps to go up, so you should rest in the car. You can wake up when it’s time for breakfast.”

Although Huskiana’s family status with Raiden Mei had plummeted due to the addition of Sasuke and Bronya, she still paid close attention to her pet’s mental health.

“Okay, Mei, I’ll wait for you in the car then.”

With that, Kiana wobbled her head and walked down the mountain.

“Is Sister Mei really comfortable letting that big idiot walk down the mountain alone?” Bronya asked, looking at Kiana’s retreating figure.

“Don’t worry, Kiana might be a bit silly, but going down the mountain is no problem. Let’s hurry too. Since there’s no one today, we shouldn’t have to queue, so Kiana won’t have to wait long.”

“Okay, Sister Mei.”

Mei and Bronya quickened their pace. Sasuke, behind them, still followed unhurriedly.

The 187-meter long stone steps wound upwards, each step smoothed into a gentle curve by wind and sun. The frequency of falling pine needles gradually increased. The morning breeze lifted the mist hanging from the deep brown cypress bark roof eaves of the main hall, revealing the kazariya carved with sixteen-petal chrysanthemums, and the dormant gold leaf in the wood grain suddenly stirred in the morning glow.

“There’s… really no one.”

After passing the last torii gate, Mei looked at the sparkling shrine in the sunlight, full of surprise.

“Has Sister Mei been here before?”

“Yes… but usually with Father.” Mei’s eyes seemed a little distant, as if lost in thought. “The guuji of Ise Shrine and Father are quite close. Every year, she even sends us some amulets she made herself.”

“I’m sorry, Sister Mei.” Bronya lowered her head and mumbled.

No matter what, she was one of the accomplices who participated in persecuting Mei, and there was no denying that.

“Let’s not talk about that,” Mei shook her head slightly.

“Excuse me… are you Miss Mei?” A young girl dressed as a shrine maiden stood outside the main hall of the shrine’s outer palace, waving at the three of them.

“That’s me… and you are?” Mei looked at the somewhat unfamiliar shrine maiden with confusion.

Strange, had the shrine recruited a new foreign shrine maiden?

She had typical Western features, blonde hair and blue eyes. In the West, where Christianity had a strong influence, it should be rare for people to convert to Shintoism.

“It is you, indeed. The guuji大人 arranged for me to wait for you here.” The shrine maiden showed a friendly smile. “A guest from afar, welcome to the land protected by Amaterasu Omikami.”

Mei immediately felt a bit strange, but couldn’t quite pinpoint why. Moreover, in previous years when she and her father came to the shrine, the guuji had never provided any extra services due to her father’s status or position, such as having a shrine maiden wait…

Seemingly noticing Mei’s confusion, the shrine maiden’s smile remained unchanged as she continued, “It’s like this: since there are no tourists at the shrine and it’s not as busy as before, I had some free time, so I waited for you in advance. After all, your father used to take good care of the shrine.”

Is that so?

Mei didn’t know much about her father’s business affairs. Besides, if Raiden Ryoma had truly helped the guuji of Ise Shrine, he wouldn’t have specifically told her about such “small matters.”

It’s just…

“Don’t you know? Father has already…” Mei’s expression darkened slightly, and she felt a little uneasy.

“Miss Mei, what are you saying! The guuji大人… is not someone who would kick someone when they’re down, you know.” The shrine maiden chuckled a few times. “The shrine will always welcome your patronage!”

“Th-thank you,” Mei immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

“Come in with me quickly.”

Ding-a-ling-a-ling—

The morning breeze rang the wind chimes hanging from the eaves outside the palace. Inside the inner palace, an old woman with silver hair suddenly opened her cloudy eyes.

“Miss Mei… it seems you haven’t realized that you have become the center of a storm.”

“For the sake of the shrine’s thousand-year legacy, this old woman had no choice…”

“If your esteemed father knew, he would surely understand.”

Behind the old woman, a small figure sat beneath the statue of Amaterasu Omikami, idly swinging her legs.