The Legend of the Pink Diamond Talisman and the Divine Sword

'WAIT - YOU'RE SAYING THAT I'LL ACTUALLY GET TO DO A CONDITION REPORT ON, AND CLEAN THE PINK DIAMOND TALISMAN AND THE DIVINE SWORD!? LIKE, THE TALISMAN THAT'S IN THE HEAD OF THE STATUE OF THE LEGENDARY WARRIOR PRINCESS!?"

Kikyo blurted out to the Kyoto National Museum President, Kazuo Miyamura as she then held her hand over her mouth, blushing exceptionally hard and almost dropping the notebook that she kept all of her condition reports and other important notes related to her internship in. It was a notebook that could be described as the definition of kawaii: pink and white, with copious amounts of somewhat expensive stickers that elicited a felling of moe, stylishly placed all over it's hardback cover. 

"Hai, Watanabe-san, that's what I said. After all, you've demonstrated that you were worthy of being accepted into Kyoto University, as well as being hired on as a Curatorial Intern here at the museum, so I believe that since you've proven yourself thus far in the latter capacity as well, that you should be able to handle our most precious artifact. Do you know the story of it, by chance?"

Kazuo said as he stood up from his shining and imposing, carved cherry wood desk, straightening the formal attire that he was wearing that day - which was a dark grey, tight fitting pinstripe suit, along with a white dress shirt, and a maroon tie. It fit him well and gave him the proper professional presence that complimented his gracefully aged face and close cropped grey hair, all of which mattered when he spoke to distinguished visitors who came to the museum, or when he inspected the permanent staff and interns alike. A professional appearance and a reputation to match it were also aspects that Kazuo was well used to, being that he had previously been the head of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology. 

"Arigato, Miyamura-sama! I'll make sure that I do my best with this honor, I promise that I will, and please tell me the story."

Kikyo said as she regained her composure, bowing deeply to Kazuo as she then stood up elegantly and listened closely. As there was more leeway for interns in terms of the dress code at the museum, Kikyo, who was rather petite and lightweight, with dyed pink shoulder length hair and light, smooth skin, and a short sleeved, schoolgirl uniform style outfit that consisted of a just above the waist length, short, white and pink accented top with a pink neckerchief, as well as a short, matching shirt, with white thigh high stockings and lightweight pink dress shoes. She smiled at Kazuo as she gently waved for him to walk with her as he stepped out of his office, locking the door once Kikyo was in the hallway with him.

"It is said that long ago, millennia to be exact - long before Japan was the place that we know it as today, even before the Daimyo, Samurai, Shogun, or Emperor - this land was one of deities, namely kami, and greater deities - a land that was both beautiful and terrifying for the humans like us, who were guests of sorts. At that time, it is said that a great and just Warrior King, a precursor to the Daimyo, was chosen by the the most supreme of the greater deities, the Goddess of the Sun, Amaterasu, to marry her and to forge a closer bond within the land between the divine and the mortal, and for this wedding gift - Amaterasu granted him a sacred talisman, which at the center, had a pink diamond that was perfectly carved into pointed oval."

Kazuo said as he walked with Kikyo, who as utterly fascinated by there story, even though she already knew it by heart. It was simply the manner in which Kazuo told it, with such measured passion and with such poise in his voice. Kikyo then nodded politely for him to continue. 

"And yet - this arrangement, did not satisfy all of the inhabitants of the land - for this pink diamond talisman, according to Amaterasu, was said to grant the firstborn daughter of this Warrior King, the girl who would be his successor - and the one who would bring eternal balance and peace to the land by unifying it under a benign rule. The seat of power of this Warrior King, was a castle that shined whiter than the moon, with a glow that was complimented by a natural forest of cherry blossom trees! It was truly a symbol of peace, justice, and harmony."

Kazuo continued, before nodding to Kikyo before continuing.

"As I mentioned, those who were not satisfied were rival domains within the faction that humans collectively made up, as well as some of the more corrupt, vile, and otherwise evil deities, more specifically the kami who secretly plotted to overthrow the rule of the humans, their fellow deities, or the kami who didn't align with their dark and scheming ways, and the greater deities whom these dark kami viewed as obsolete and otherwise outdated in terms of being the ultimate overlords."

Kazuo stated as Kikyo clutched her hardback notebook as she walked with him down the halls of the museum and smiled with great enthusiasm, wanting to hear more. 

"That was when the greatest, most terrific overwhelming war swept the land - with the Warrior King who as the mortal husband of Amaterasu, helping to lead the combined alliance of humans, good deities, as well as the greater deities against the humans and aforementioned deities who were blinded by avarice, wrath, and evil. So the war continued on, until that domain of the vast cherry blossom forest surrounding the castle stood as the last human stronghold that stood for good - with all of the allied deities and the greater deities - except for Amaterasu - having been exhausted by nearly twenty years of continuous, destructive combat. Yet - that was when two prophetic miracles occurred: the daughter of the Warrior King, Saotome, turned eighteen, and so was able to take part in the divine war effort. Along with being given the pink diamond talisman, she was granted a sword forged collectively by the greater deities and blessed by her father as a last ditch effort - a massive and impressive, wide and curved on the sharp side, cherry blooms pink sword, etched with expert carvings of these blossoms that were enchanted."

Kazuo continued as she gave a soft smile to Kikyo, whom he could tell was still enthralled by this legend. 

"With the prophecy of the talisman and the enchanted sword forged by the gods and goddesses and based by her father, the Warrior King, Saotome singlehandedly faced off agains the humans and deities who stood for the forces of evil - defeating them with her divine strength and the will of pure good - yet so strong were these forces of evil, that they'd only remain defeated until her anointed successor made contact with the talisman! This resulted in the war ending, as she went on to rule for decades of what she hoped would be an everlasting peace. Yet when Saotome eventually passed away, Japan went through centuries of war and suffering - before emerging with a renewed grace in 1945, less than one hundred years ago. As the legend states at the end, upon her deathbed, Saotome had her essence placed into a blessed statue of herself - along with the divine sword and the pink diamond talisman, so that when a successor worthy of taking up her legacy was found, they would be able to defeat those temporarily defeated forces of evil once and for all!"

Kazuo said before putting his hands together, as he bowed to Kikyo slightly, with Kikyo then blushing and blinking when she realized that they were now in front of the life-sized pink opal statue of Saotome - with her short, combat-appropriate kimono, her long, flowing hair in a ponytail that was held in place at the base by a simple kanzashi, pointing and holding the massive, perfectly preserved sword outwards as if in a ready position, while the pink diamond talisman - a slightly smaller than palm-sized, pyrite circle with a long since antiquated Japanese script carved into it, with the carved, oval shaped pink diamond inlaid in the center.

"I shall leave you to it, Watanabe-san."

Kazuo said as he nodded to Kikyo, before walking off. Kikyo bowed to him right before he left, then turning her attention to the legendary statue of Saotome!

"First things first, condition reporting."

Kikyo said to herself as she grabbed a surgical mask and archival gloves from a small, locked cabinet nearby that was reserved for permeant staff and interns who were on the curatorial team. As she laid down her opened notebook gently, she got on a stool that she'd also gotten from the cabinet, and as she carefully touched the talisman in the forehead of the statue of Saotome - a flash of white and pink light engulfed her as the museum disappeared just as quickly!

As Kikyo blinked, she could see that she was now in a green meadow, with cherry blossom trees all around her, and before her in a truly awesome state - was the castle from the legend! 

"WHAT - I'M IN THE WORLD OF THE LEGEND!? IT'S REAL!?"

Kikyo blurted out as she blinked and took a few anxious breaths. She knew what this meant: she -for reasons that she didn't yet know - was Saotome's successor from the prophecy, as foretold in the legend!