The story is divided in two story arcs. The "Heian Chapter" takes place in Kyoto during the
Heian period and follows Minamoto no Hikaru, the younger sister of
Minamoto no Raikō, on a quest to save Japan. The "Tokyo Chapter" follows the reincarnations of Hikaru and her comrades as the ancient evils of days past manifest themselves in present-day
Tokyo.
Heian Chapter The "Heian Chapter" is set in the middle of the
Heian period, where the people of the capital of
Kyoto are in deep agony, focusing their last hopes on the retrieval of the five
magatama that represent the
five elements (Metal, Wood, Water, Fire and Earth). Legend has it that when the magatama are laid together, their circle of Affinity will save the capital from
suffering and whoever places the last stone is to become the emperor. Three of the Magatamas are scattered throughout
Japan. The Emperor, relying on the prophecies of
Abe no Seimei, delegates the task of recovering the three lost Magatamas to
Minamoto no Raikō of the
Minamoto clan. However, Raikō is struck by an epidemic and barely able to move. Instead his younger sister, Hikaru, secretly takes his place. Hikaru is joined by
Watanabe no Tsuna,
Usui Sadamitsu,
Urabe no Suetake and
Kintarō and manages to collect all but one magatama: the Magatama of Fire. Hikaru returns to the capital with news that Shutendouji, who possesses the missing magatama, has plans to attack. The court does not believe her, but Hikaru and her party decide to stop Shutendouji and recover the last magatama. With the five magatama in hand, Seimei's true intent is revealed. The
onmyoji plans to create a circle of Enmity and bring about the destruction of the capital in order to save it. Hikaru confronts Abe no Seimei, only to find out that he is none other than Mansairaku, her love. She tries to shoot him with an arrow but she is constantly held back by her feelings. Hikaru keeps demanding that Mansairaku stop his destructive spell, but he does not listen. She charges towards him with her dagger, but fails to pierce his heart, and he continues with the spell. Just after the final pillar of light appears and the destruction of the capital begins, Hikaru starts to play her flute, a sound that Mansairaku always loved. Hikaru then tries to remove one of the Magatamas and stops the spell. When she tries, her flute falls on the Magatama of Fire and breaks it, causing the spell to end. As a result, Hikaru's and Mansairaku's souls fly to heaven. As the capital settles from its near destruction, Sadamitsu and Kintaro, the only surviving heroes of Hikaru's group, lay to rest the souls of Hikaru, Tsuna and Urabe. Kintaro asks Sadamitsu, " Where did they go?" To which Sadamitsu answers, "They went off to this place full of flowers, some place far away."
Tokyo Chapter The "Tokyo Chapter" follows the reincarnations of Hikaru and her comrades in present-day Tokyo. Hikaru is a high school student and the landlady of an apartment housing called Minamoto Heights. While her tenants include the freelance writer Tsuna, the fortuneteller Urabe, Sadamitsu and a little boy named Kintaro. Hikaru's brother, Raiko, has been missing for a year when she sees him for the first time amidst a crowd of people in Tokyo. While the story evolves, Hikaru is confronted with even stranger events, like the appearance of a ghost train on the
Yamanote-Line and the recurring encounters with Mansairaku. Eventually, Hikaru finds out the locations where paranormal phenomena are occurring are related and interacting because of their affinity with the five elements. The Japanese capital is, once again, threatened with destruction. Hikaru, Hikaru's party and Mansairaku join forces to restore the circle of Affinity and save Tokyo. Having put right the ancient wrongs, Mansairaku vanishes and Hikaru's brother returns. == Characters ==