《Diaries of an Oni Bride in Asakusa》 Volume 1 - Prologue A lukewarm drizzle pelted the blossoms of the long-lived weeping sakura¡ª As my hair grew increasingly vividly red over the years, I was ostracized by others as an unsightly oni child that even my father turned his back on me. Unable to bear the pain and loneliness, I cried all the way till daybreak until my sleeves were wet with tears. A sweet, familiar scent brushed past my nose. Dragging along my long hair and the robes of my ko-uchigi, I crawled under the bamboo blinds and entered the corridor. There, I was entranced by the light crimson shower of the weeping sakura petals dancing through the gray skies of the cursed capital. They looked just like the color of my hair¡­ Suddenly, I felt a gaze upon me. Atop one of the many flowing branches, he stood there watching me. ¡ªIt¡¯s an oni. That jet-black hair and eyes I¡¯ve always wished for. However, the young man wasn¡¯t human. That sinister-looking pair of horns on either side of his head spoke eloquently of the fact that he was one of those oni threatening Heian-kyo. But more than anything, he was exceptionally beautiful. ¡°I¡¯ve come to bring you away.¡± Saying so, he held out a hand and called my name. Name. My name is¡ª Volume 1 - CH 1 ¡°¡­Maki¡­ Maki¡­¡± Someone was calling my name. It was the voice of my precious person. ¡°Come on Maki! I know you¡¯re still sleeping there! Wake up already!¡± Thump thump thump. Thanks to the vigorous banging on my door, I opened my eyelids. Why was it¡­? I seemed to have seen an extremely nostalgic dream and it made me feel terribly fatigued. The light crimson outline of the weeping sakura still remained at the back of my mind¡­ ¡°Maki! Wake up now! We¡¯re gonna be late for school! You hear me, Maki!¡± ¡°¡­Maki.¡± Oh, right. That¡¯s my name. Still in the borderlands between reality and dream, I almost forgot my own name. It was currently April 2016. My name is Ibaraki Maki and I¡¯m a highschool girl who just entered my second year. A cute-looking chouchin paper lantern with a botan sakura imprint shimmered faintly with a vermillion glow next to me, lighting up the mysterious words painted on its surface. ¡°MAKIIIIIII! GET UP RIGHT NOW! Do you have any idea how many times this makes!? We¡¯re barely one month into the school year, but you¡¯ve already racked up five charges of tardiness!¡± ¡°Jeez, Kaoru¡­ he¡¯s always such a nagging queen. That part about him really hasn¡¯t changed since the past¡­ Fwaaah.¡± I gave a huge yawn and got up. Still in my loose pajamas, I walked up to the entranceway and opened the door which was raising a racket even now. ¡°Morning.¡± ¡°Morning¡­ like hell it¡¯s the time for this, you lazy pig!¡± ¡°Give me a break¡­ I stayed up late night helping Secchan make chouchin lanterns yesterday. Since they¡¯re for the Hyakki Yagyou (Night Parade of One Hundred Demons), it was hard work, you know. We had to imbue them with an incantation and an onibi, and that really took up a lot of spiritual energy¡­ Fwaah¡­¡± I told him the truth in broken sentences as I stifled a yawn. The tall boy standing in front of me had jet-black hair and obsidian eyes, again dressed in an all-black uniform. His name is Amasake Kaoru. We¡¯re classmates in the same school, and I¡¯ve known him since young. Overall, he looked handsome with a manly face and sharp eyes, but his current expression was grumpy. ¡°I don¡¯t want to hear no excuses from a shameless lazy bum like you. How many times do you think I¡¯ve knocked on your front door: 58 times! Look at my hands now, they¡¯re all red! And all just to wake you up!¡± ¡°Who even counts that. You¡¯re such a stickler as usual.¡± Kaoru waved his hands before me and crabbed on and on. I didn¡¯t even bother entertaining him and turned back to return to my room. He followed behind, mumbling something the whole time. ¡°I bet you¡¯re the reason my door is getting all creaky recently.¡± ¡°You¡¯re the one at fault for not waking up to your alarm! No, it goes back even further, you should be ashamed you need someone to wake you up on school days!¡± ¡°Oh geez, shut up, Kaoru! You¡¯re being a nuisance to the neighborhood!¡± ¡°That¡¯s not a problem. Since there¡¯s no other humans living in this run-down apartment other than you anyway.¡± Kaoru folded up my futon with practiced motions and kept it aside. In the meanwhile, I changed into my uniform. It was a standard navy-blue sailor uniform along with an old-fashioned red scarf. You might think it¡¯s immodest of me to be changing in front of a pubescent highschool boy¡­ but when it comes to Kaoru, it¡¯s as if I was invisible and he continued cleaning up the rest of my room like nothing. ¡°Ah¡­ Who is this stunner with large, beautiful eyes I see in the mirror!¡± ¡°Stop praising yourself. To be honest, you look like a yamanba right now. Your hair is all over the place.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t help it, since my hair is so soft.¡± This guy doesn¡¯t know what a joke is. But, he¡¯s right. My long hair with a slight reddish tint was messy and disheveled at the moment. Well, if I just combed it a bit, it should look presentable. I glanced at the photo of my parents placed above the drawers and whispered with a smile, ¡°Good morning, Papa, Mama.¡± ¡°All right, move!¡± Kaoru slung both of our schoolbags on his shoulders and pushed me out of the room. ¡°We need to make haste. If we miss the train coming in 15 minutes, we¡¯ll be late for sure. And I don¡¯t wanna get yelled at again because of you.¡± ¡°Hey, Kaoru, surely you¡¯ve realized that I haven¡¯t had breakfast, right? Or are you just acting like you haven¡¯t?¡± ¡°Just bear with it.¡± He shut me off without answering me. ¡°It¡¯s impossible. You should know better than anyone that I¡¯m a hearty eater. And it feels especially bad today, I feel like the pit in my stomach is growing deeper by the second. At this rate, it¡¯s going to growl non-stop by second period.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t start acting like you¡¯re embarrassed by the sound your stomach makes. On the first day of the new term during the principal¡¯s address, who was it whose stomach grumbled so loud it echoed all throughout the hall, and then acted like it was someone else.¡± We went down the rusted stairs of my dilapidated apartment house, the ¡°Nobara Complex¡±, which had a cheap monthly rent of 50,000 yen. My parents passed away in an accident when I was in middle school, after which I moved here to stay alone against the wishes of my relatives. Kaoru and I exited the narrow lane outside the apartment into the Asakusa Hisago-dori Shopping Street, a Japanese-styled arcade filled with torii. We the took the north exit from there and cut through the Hanayashiki-dori¡­ ¡°Ah¡­ it¡¯s Secchan.¡± I saw the figure of someone sitting in front of an old lantern shop which bore the signboard ¡°Bakenekodou¡±. The woman dressed in a plain yukata with a bakeneko mask covering her face was the owner of the establishment. She was puffing on a kiseru while scattering grains of rice at a flock of little red birds in front of her. It was a somewhat bizarre scene on this deathly quiet shopping street. However, most people probably couldn¡¯t see her. After all, she wasn¡¯t human but an ayakashi. Many of their kind lived here in Asakusa. She seemed to have noticed me, and spoke in a lovely, husky voice. ¡°Good morning, Maki-chan. Thanks again for your help yesterday. Now it seems like I¡¯ll be able to make it for this year¡¯s Hyakki Yagyou somehow.¡± ¡°That¡¯s great. I¡¯m glad to of help.¡± I grinned happily. She stared intently at me through her mask and noted apologetically, ¡°You look sleepy.¡± ¡°Oh, don¡¯t worry. This much is still fine, though it¡¯ll be a pain to get through lessons. I¡¯m going off now, let me know if you need help again, ¡®kay!¡± I waved goodbye to Secchan and ran up to Kaoru ahead. ¡°Hey, Maki¡­ don¡¯t go around minding the business of the ayakashi.¡± His expression was stiff as he watched me from afar. Kaoru was also capable of seeing ayakashi. He pulled me close by my arm and muttered softly inside my ear. ¡°We¡¯re already human now.¡± ? ? ? We ran through the streets of Nakamise-dori which stretched from the grounds of Sensou-ji. As to be expected of Asakusa, one of the more popular tourist spots in Japan, there were already tourists here and there even at this early hour. Just by turning my gaze up a bit, I could see the symbol of this area, the Tokyo Skytree, jutting out into the sky. ¡°Ugh, I can¡¯t take it anymore. I¡¯m gonna die of starvation! I want some edomae-zushi¡­ preferably anago-zushi.¡± ¡°First thing in the morning and you want to eat that!? Unbelievable¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m just saying. You don¡¯t have to take it so seriously.¡± Kaoru looked at me flabbergasted, so I made up an excuse. Can¡¯t I dream? What¡¯s it to you. After my stomach growled repeatedly, he finally gave up and heaved a sigh. ¡°I¡¯ll go get some bread from the convenience store. That¡¯ll do, right?¡± ¡°Huh, you mean it!?¡± I was so happy that I unconsciously slapped his back repeatedly. ¡°I knew I could count on you, Kaoru! That¡¯s what all those part-time jobs are for, isn¡¯t it! That generosity is part of why I love you so much!¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°A hardworking husband¡¯s all a woman need. Even when times change, this fact alone doesn¡¯t.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s you husband, huh? Who? Who is it? Keep your dream-talk for when you¡¯re asleep!¡± Although he immediately shot down my words, he went inside a convenience store along the way and got me a large apple Danish ring and a pack of coffee-flavored soymilk. I finished them off in the short three minutes wait for the train at the Tokyo Metro. ¡°Ah, that was good. But it wasn¡¯t filling enough at all¡­¡± ¡°What, you¡¯ve got to be kidding! Look at the packaging. It says here the Danish ring is 1,225 calories. That¡¯s already half the recommended dietary allowance! ¡­I mean, wow, that¡¯s one high-cal pastry!¡± ¡°Danish-type sweet goods are all empty calories. Every girl knows that. ¡­Oh, the train¡¯s here.¡± Ugh, so squeezy¡­ We stuffed ourselves into the carriage like sardines in a can, and barely alighted at Ueno station before dying of asphyxiation. Our highschool, the Metropolitan Meijou Academy was a few minutes walk away. ¡°Maki, we won¡¯t make it in time at this rate.¡± ¡°I guess we have to take the shortcut then. Over the wall at the back it is!¡± We ran along the high walls surrounding the school to the area closest to the shoe cupboards. Then, with a running start and a strong jump, we crossed over the two-meter high wall easily. After landing safely on a grass patch inside the school compound, we made a mad dash for the shoe cupboards with nary a second to spare. The caretaker uncle who was sweeping the yard since morning stood dumbfounded with his jaw dropped, but we didn¡¯t even have time to care. It was only when we reached our seats as the chime rang that we finally breathed a sigh of relief. ? ? ? The chime signalling the end of fourth period rang out. ¡°It¡¯s lunchtime, Maki-chan. Let¡¯s go eat.¡± Despite the Danish ring with a monstrous amount of calories earlier, my hunger ruled supreme once more and I was slumped over lethargically at my desk. That was when he called out to me. The boy had a refined aura about him and a fastidiousness that one did not expect from a mere student. ¡°Yuri¡­ your breezy smile is too bright for me to look at right now.¡± ¡°Huh, what are you saying.¡± He almost looked feminine with his delicate features that was further accentuated by his soft hair and pearly-white skin. His name is Tsugumi Yurihiko. He is the eldest son of a family running a well-established Japanese inn in Asakusa, and was an old friend of Kaoru and I. ¡°I didn¡¯t bring a bento today.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t? That¡¯s rare.¡± ¡°I overslept. Yesterday, I was helping out with some ayakashi stuff and it took up a lot of my spiritual energy. I¡¯m dead tired now, and I doubt it can be fixed even if I ate tons.¡± ¡°Ah¡­ so that¡¯s why Kaoru-kun was in a bad mood this morning.¡± When he heard his name being mentioned, Kaoru, who sat in front of me, turned around with an unpleased look. ¡°You bet I am. Do you know how troublesome it is to wake her up. If not for me, she¡¯d probably still be in her futon snoozing right about now.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you. I was up late making chouchin lanterns at Bakenekodou. You have to carefully write down the incantation stroke by stroke using wax. Then, you have to shut the onibi into each lantern individually to make one. It¡¯s the peak period now right before Hyakki Yagyou and I even made a 100 of those.¡± ¡°Hey, keep your volume down, dumbass. Things like bakeneko or whatnot¡­ don¡¯t go around spouting stuff like that out loud.¡± Kaoru looked around flusteredly and scolded me in a low voice. I don¡¯t get what¡¯s the harm. It¡¯s lunch break and the classroom was filled with noisy chattering. Anything we said were pretty much drowned out immediately. ¡°Maki, it¡¯s about time you cut off all ties with them. It¡¯s not like you earn much doing stuff for them anyway, and all it does is distance you away from the real world.¡± ¡°What, you think I would work for no payment? Didn¡¯t you see that beautiful chouchin lantern with a botan sakura design on the handle, I got that for my efforts yesterday.¡± ¡°And what can you even do with that? At least get a part-time job from a human employer.¡± ¡°You can participate in the Hyakki Yagyou if you have one of those, didn¡¯t you know that? It¡¯s super pricey to buy, and ayakashi all over the country are dying to get one.¡± ¡°Oh, for goodness sake, stop saying things like ¡®ayakashi¡¯ or ¡®Hyakki Yagyou¡¯! Other people will start thinking you¡¯re wacky in the head. In the first place, what¡¯s the point of a human like you going to the Hyakki Yagyou.¡± ¡°Argh, stop nagging already. Be quiet, Kaoru!¡± ¡°Th-There there, the two of you¡­ let¡¯s keep your domestic spat from the rest of the class¡­¡± We started raising our voices and some of our classmates turned to look at us. It¡¯s always Yuri¡¯s job to stop us at times like this. ¡°Let¡¯s go to the club room. The folklore studies club room. You can have some of my bento, Maki-chan. My mom made too much today and forced me to take this juubako. She said to share it with you guys.¡± ¡°You mean it!? Hooray, I get to eat all these lavish side dishes!¡± ¡°You too, Kaoru-kun. We can discuss that topic all we want over there.¡± ¡°¡­Fine. I can¡¯t even scold her properly in a place like this.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t remember doing anything that deserves a scolding.¡± ¡°Now now.¡± When we left the classroom and walked down the corridor, I felt even more pairs of eyes on us then when we were in the classroom. Even though we strived to remain inconspicuous in our daily lives, we attracted a surprising amount of attention. It was especially true for Kaoru, who was always blanketed by the intense gazes of the girls. He was always popular with the fairer sex, ever since a long time back¡­ I mean, even I who have known him since young thought that he was rather attractive. He was not only great in his studies, but also excelled at any sports he played to boot. This caught the attention of other girls and appeared to trouble him to no end. ¡°As usual, the girls all seem to be interested in you, Kaoru-kun. It¡¯s the same as always since back then, huh.¡± ¡°¡­I¡¯m don¡¯t really care.¡± Yuri teased him a bit, but he only gave a cold reply, so I spoke. ¡°The girls care even if you don¡¯t. Look, behind that corner 10 meters ahead. There¡¯s a girl waiting in ambush to confess to you along with her clique behind. If I¡¯m not wrong, that¡¯s Hongou-san from class 2-3. She¡¯s a true-blue belle and a member of the cheer team, unmistakably one of those reigning at the top of the school caste.¡± ¡°Taking evasive action.¡± Saying so, he pulled my shoulders close by. ¡°You¡¯re gonna use me as a shield to block a confession again, aren¡¯t you.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t deal with this kind of women¡­ Just try shooting them down. They¡¯re so into themselves that it¡¯ll only hurt their pride. Affection turns into hate and then¡­¡± ¡°What is that even. A past trauma? And you call yourself a man¡­¡± Due to past experience, Kaoru keenly knew the kind of grudge they were capable of. ¡°Well, I kinda get what you feel, so I don¡¯t mind. Then, how about you do something for me? I¡¯m not so nice that I¡¯d do a favor for free.¡± I shamelessly ask for something in return, and he desperately replied while sweating cold sweat. ¡°¡­I¡¯ll treat you to anything you want after school. Just do something.¡± ¡°Hip hip hooray! I love you so much, Kaoru!¡± ¡°That¡¯s a pretty cheap ¡®love¡¯¡­ But, let me say first, I can¡¯t hang around for long. I¡¯m working a shift afterwards.¡± ¡°Yes, yes, I know. I love the working you. Earn lots more even after we get married, ¡®kay.¡± ¡°Hell no. I refuse to be your personal ATM.¡± ¡°What¡¯s yours is mine, and what¡¯s mine is also mine.¡± ¡°I see you¡¯re brazenly claiming what¡¯s other¡¯s as yours already. What kind of dictator are you!¡± ¡°I¡¯m not a dictator, I¡¯m your wife.¡± ¡°I want a divorce, right now.¡± ¡°¡­Let¡¯s keep it down, guys¡­ I mean, you¡¯re not even married yet¡­¡± Yuri cut in into our little back-and-forth at last. Kaoru had been so desperate to evade Hongou-san¡¯s confession, yet we were so engrossed in our quarrel that we went past her and her group without even noticing. I bet they were fuming, as their rage-filled glares drilled into my back¡­ Our destination was in the old school building, the art room¡­ or rather, the old art preparation room next to it. A cardboard sign on the door read ¡°Folklore Studies Club¡±. This was our base. The three of us, the only members of the folklore studies club, often gathered here to plan and discuss our activities. I opened the rickety door and we entered the room. There was a bookshelf agasinst the wall which was filled with old art magazines and dubious illustrated reference books, as well as manga from who-knows-when. There were also plaster figures and bovine bones used for reference by the windowside. Easels which haven¡¯t been touched for years stood randomly, covered in a layer of dust. A whiteboard was built into the side of the wall by the door, and several sentences were written on it as if they were homework for students to think about after a lecture. This was the title. ¡®Why must we ayakashi be exterminated by the humans?¡¯ Yup, it certainly felt a bit, no it was actually rather suspicious. Beneath it were¡­ ¡®About the ayakashi slain by Abe no Seimei and Minamoto no Yorimitsu.¡¯ ¡®The feud between the Kyo youkai and the Ooedo youkai is serious stuff.¡¯ ¡®I just wanna slaughter those pigs at the Onmyou Bureau.¡¯ ¡®Just delete the black history of my past life and burn all those literatures.¡¯ ¡®Enter the Hidden Realm without a fuss with this secret trick.¡¯ Etcetera. And several files were scattered haphazardly on top of the table in the middle of the room, each with a title on them that would make whoever saw them doubt the sanity of the writer.. Although we were officially the folklore studies club, our activities actually focused around incidents relating to ayakashi. If you asked ¡°why¡± were we doing this, the answer would be that the three of us could see ayakashi, and due to a certain reason, we were unable to leave them be. Put it this way, perhaps it could be said that we failed to truly become human¡­ ¡°Ooh! There¡¯s stewed bamboo shoots and tofu! It looks delicious!¡± Opening the juubako revealed all manners of side dishes: stewed spring vegetables and butterbur, rolled omelette, chicken karaage, black soybeans, bamboo shoot rice and umeshiso rice balls. I hastily took out paper plates and utensils from the cupboard. ¡°Your bento is amazing as always, Yuri. It¡¯s like you¡¯re going for a flower viewing picnic.¡± ¡°That¡¯s because my mom always can¡¯t wait to show off what she¡¯s learnt from the head chef at our inn, and. Thanks to that, my bento always turns into a juubako.¡± ¡°I mean, that¡¯s great. You get to eat your mom¡¯s handmade lunch everyday. Mine just disappears to some guy¡¯s place and leave me by myself these days.¡± Kaoru took out a bottle of tea from the fridge and casually dropped a bomb about his complicated family situation. I could only glance to the side at Yuri and he did the same. ¡°Let¡¯s eat!¡± It¡¯s finally time to eat. I took several portions of the small dishes onto my plate and dug into the stewed bamboo shoots. The soft texture in my mouth released all its juices when I bite into it. The taste of bamboo shoots and a slight hint of sweetness coated my tastebuds without being too overpowering. It was even more perfect paired with the umeshiso rice ball, creating a synergistic burst of flavors. ¡°As I thought, nothing beats traditional cooking! The food made by Yuri¡¯s mom has such a kind flavor to it. I can¡¯t get enough¡­¡± Not to mention, food made with in-season ingredients or traditional methods helps regain spiritual energy. No wonder I can feel energy filling all parts of my body¡­ ¡°Oh, right, Maki-chan, Kaoru-kun. You guys are going to walk around Sensou-ji after school, right? Can I tag along too? I need to grab some sweet potato youkan before I go for my lessons.¡± When Yuri specifically asked us for permission, Kaoru and I turned to look at each other while still eating. ¡°Sure thing. Why¡¯d you ask? We can just go back together like we do always.¡± ¡°Well, I wouldn¡¯t want be a third-wheel on your couple¡¯s date, would I?¡± ¡°Huh!? We¡¯re not a couple and it¡¯s not a date either! I¡¯m only going there to be squeezed dry of my salary¡­¡± Kaoru seemed to have something to say about it, but I just clapped my hands. ¡°Ah! Then, how about the three of us go for a temple visit to Sensou-ji and draw omikuji fortune slips. I¡¯ll make a prediction right now: Kaoru¡¯s definitely going to draw a ¡®Misfortune¡¯.¡± ¡°Damn it, don¡¯t change the subject, Maki¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s settled then! We¡¯re going on a food tour around the beloved Nakamise-dori¡­¡± I pulled out the club diary which recorded our daily activities from the stack of files containing our research. ¡°Ah.¡± *Crash* All the files above slid down in an avalanche, almost knocking over my mug, but luckily Kaoru picked it up before it could. A bunch of strange terms appeared, things like¡­ Shuten-doji, Ibaraki-doji¡­ ayakashi, past life, Abe no Seimei, oni extermination, Minamoto no Yorimitsu¡­ ¡°What did I tell you. That¡¯s what you get for leaving them around carelessly. Go hide them properly in the safe behind the bust. I don¡¯t want anyone to ever see these.¡± ¡°Nooo, but it¡¯d be such a pain to take them out each and every time.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not the problem! You hear me¡­ things like ayakashi or Shuten-doji or Ibaraki-doji¡­ or Abe no Seimei! The only highschool student who would be interested in this stuff are either suffering from chuunibyou, smartphone gamers, or the youkai otakus.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that just us?¡± ¡°No, it isn¡¯t! Have some shame!¡± Kaoru slammed my mug on the table so hard some of its contents flew out. With the same tension, he asserted. ¡°Take for example! Be it our past lives being that of ayakashi from the Heian period or whatever! Try telling that to any of our classmates and see what happens!¡± ¡°¡­Ooh. Kaoru said it himself.¡± For some reason, Yuri and I gave an applause. It was pretty rare of Kaoru to acknowledge that fact for himself. He turned completely red and turned his back on us¡­ he probably felt defeated. ¡°Anyway, it truly is strange, don¡¯t you think? We¡¯re talking about Heian here, that¡¯s more than a thousand years ago. And to think we¡¯d have reincarnated as humans after all this time¡­¡± It was a glorious spring day in this dusty art preparation room. Looking down at the courtyard from the window, I could see the long branches of the weeping sakura swaying with the wind¡­ Let¡¯s talk about a true, yet unreal story. About the three of us in the folklore studies club: Ibaraki Maki, Amasake Kaoru and Tsugummi Yurihiko¡ª About how despite having memories of our complicated past lives, we were born into this world as humans. ¡ð A long, long time ago, a pair of evil oni threatened the peace of Heian-kyo. Their names were Shuten-doji and Ibaraki-doji. Masters of a legion of ayakashi, they descended upon the capital of Kyo from their home of Mt. Ooe and rampaged freely. Violent and cruel, it was said that they loved to feast and drink, and assault humans, stealing and destroying at random. Driven to their wit¡¯s end, the Imperial Court employed Abe no Seimei to divine the ringleader of the calamity. Accordingly, the onmyouji named Shuten-doji and Ibaraki-doji as the roots of evil. As such, the Emperor ordered Minamoto no Yorimitsu and his retainers to subdue the two oni¡­ That was how the legend of the oni-extermination went, a famous tale which had passed on till now in the modern era. However, few might have known that the two villains of the story, Shuten-doji and Ibaraki-doji were married. And this infamous oni couple was none other than the past lives of Kaoru and I. The Shuten-doji and Ibaraki-doji of yore were said to be so strong that they matched the Kishin in spiritual energy. Leading a group of ayakashi, they created a special region in Mt. Ooe and lived there. They had done so so as to create a safe haven for the ayakashi who were being indiscriminately hunted down and exorcised by the onmyouji. Nonetheless, the sanctuary we built was exposed by Abe no Seimei, the most powerful onmyouji of that time, and we were attacked by Minamoto no Yorimitsu and his forces in the name of exterminating the oni. How deplorable our deaths were. Abe no Seimei and Minamoto no Yorimitsu. I¡¯ll never forgive them¡­ Like us, Yuri also had memories of his past life as the great youkai, Nue, as appeared in the Tale of the Heike. The Nue was a close friend of the two of us. However, he was also killed by the humans just because they thought his cries were inauspicious¡­ Thus, we died, but here we are now, born again in this era as humans while retaining the memories of our time as ayakashi, as well as keeping our strong spiritual energies from then. I have no idea as to what kind of karma led us to this outcome. The senses of when we were ayakashi and the deep-seated grudge of dying at the hands of the humans remained unforgettable. But, we now each had our own human families and led normal lives as that of students. It was an extremely abnormal situation, and I can¡¯t help but feel conflicted. ¡ð There were countless shopping streets in Asakusa, but none could beat the bustle of Nakamise-dori leading towards Sensou-ji from the Kaminarimon. ¡°Kaoru, Kaoru, let¡¯s start with that. Azuma¡¯s kibi dango! Along with iced matcha!¡± ¡°Look at you running around so excitedly. ¡­You¡¯re not planning to spare my wallet at all, aren¡¯t you.¡± The moment we reached Nakamise-dori, we joined the queue for my favorite kibi dango store ¡°Azuma¡±. Kaoru paid 300 yen per portion of 5 sticks of kibi dango and a cup of iced matcha each. The small kibi dango were dusted generously in kinako and handed to us in a paper bag while freshly prepared and still warm. The iced matcha was mildly sweet and perfect for washing down the snack. We enjoyed the kibi dango and iced matcha at the standing table in front of the store. After all, it was considered rude to eat while walking. ¡°You really do love to eat, don¡¯t you, Maki-chan. You polished off the whole stick like that with just one bite.¡± ¡°You never change, do you? Apparently, the concept of being lady-like doesn¡¯t exist anywhere in your brain, huh.¡± The two guys shared one bag and gossiped while looking at me eat as if I was some kind of rare animal. How rude. But, I don¡¯t even care since the dango were so delicious¡­ ¡°Ah, that hit the spot. Those five sticks were gone just like that, eh.¡± ¡°Are you satisfied?¡± ¡°Not even close. Let¡¯s go for another sweet one next. Then, we¡¯ll end it off with an Asakusa Menchi!¡± ¡°¡­Just promise me that you¡¯ll let me off with that, alright.¡± ¡°Well, of course. I get that there¡¯s a limit to your part-time pay too.¡± The pay for working part-time as a student was meager. Yet, Kaoru was treating me to all these delectable Asakusa delights. We have a long life ahead. It¡¯s better to learn to be frugal at our age¡­ I had that wise realization as I gulped down the rest of the iced matcha. ¡°That reminds me. I need to get that sweet potato youkan.¡± Yuri suddenly mentioned as if he just remembered. Speaking of youkan, the shop which comes to mind is the good ol¡¯ wagashi store ¡°Funawa¡±. Aside from youkan, their red bean filling ankodama were also a hot product for chilly days. ¡°Oh, I smell roasted sweet potato.¡± While Yuri was buying his gift, I was attracted by the godly fragrance of the sweet potato youkan wafting through the air. A fresh batch of the prism-shaped sweet potato youkan had just been stamped with the store¡¯s emblem. Funawa¡¯s sweet potato youkan: a confectionery which elegantly highlights the simple sweetness of the sweet potato, at the same time giving the mouthfeel of eating an actual steaming hot sweet potato. I had no doubts it was going to taste exquisite, but¡­ ¡°Say, Kaoru. I haven¡¯t had this before.¡± ¡°¡­Shall I get it?¡± ¡°Yes, please! I want to eat that nicely browned one with butter on top! I bet it¡¯ll taste amazing!¡± I shook Kaoru¡¯s collars excitedly, and even followed him as he queued for it. Kaoru conscientiously bought three portions. I held back my saliva which was about to spill out, and picked one up and blew on it before popping it into my mouth. ¡°Hot hot hot¡­ Hahh, that sweet and salty taste of melted buttery happiness.¡± ¡°What the heck is that.¡± The youkan was sliced into long strips which made it easy to pick up and eat. It really felt like I was eating a hot, steaming sweet potato. Watching me puff my cheeks as I ate, Kaoru seemed like he wanted to make another rude remark. ¡°Thanks for waiting.¡± Just then, Yuri finished his shopping and came over. ¡°I got the youkan and ankodama. My tea ceremony teacher really loves them. Ah, you got a set for me too? Thanks, Kaoru-kun.¡± ¡°You¡¯re paying.¡± Kaoru mercilessly demanded payment from him. Well, but I guess it¡¯s fine since Yuri¡¯s loaded¡­ Now then. After we relished the youkan, we headed for Denbouin-dori which cut across Nakamise-dori perpendicularly. ¡°Asakusa Menchi, Asakusa Menchi next!¡± ¡°This is the last one, okay.¡± Asakusa Menchi was as its name implied, a famous Asakusa fried minced-meat cutlet. That crispy outer coating surrounded a flavorsome mixture of beef and pork. When you bite into it, the umami-rich meat juices burst into your mouth and coats your tongue in rich, savory sweetness. ¡°Ooh, this is it! You can¡¯t call yourself an inhabitant of Asakusa if you haven¡¯t tried this. Long live Asakusa, land of delicacies! I¡¯m never gonna leave you!¡± ¡°I see your love for Asakusa is still well and alive. Don¡¯t normal high school girls prefer more stylish and cool places like Shibuya or Harajuku?¡± ¡°Well, you can hardly call us normal highschoolers, can you¡­¡± When all¡¯s said and done, the three of us all loved Asakusa. We finished off the Asakusa Menchi and smacked our lips in satisfaction. ¡­It was truly the best. That was the end of our Asakusa food tour. We then headed inside the grounds of Sensou-ji to draw omikuji. Unlike the usual omikuji where you draw small, folded slips of paper, the one at Sensou-ji is drawn by shaking a large omikuji box until a wooden stick comes out. You then pick up a fortune slip based on the number labeled on the stick. I shook a stick out and drew a fortune slip with the same number from the drawer nearby. ¡°Ughh!¡± As expected, Kaoru got a ¡®Misforture¡¯¡­ No, that¡¯s wrong! ¡° ¡®Great Misfortune¡¯! Kaoru got ¡®Great Misfortune¡¯!¡± ¡°Wow¡­ your luck is really bad, Kaoru-kun.¡± ¡°You must have done too many bad deeds in your previous life. I know it.¡± ¡°Sh-Shut up! It¡¯s just easy to get ¡®Misfortune¡¯ at Sensou-ji! Anyway, if it was something I did in my past life, you guys would¡¯ve gotten ¡®Great Misfortune¡¯ too! Show me that!¡± ¡°Mine is ¡®Great Fortune¡¯.¡± ¡°I got¡­ ¡®Small Fortune¡¯. Sorry.¡± ¡°¡­Yep. I knew I was the only one¡­¡± The boy known as Amasake Kaoru was in fact an extremely unlucky person. We must have drawn our fortunes here at Sensou-ji about five times now, and each time, he got ¡°Misfortune¡±. This time round, however, he got ¡°Great Misfortune¡±. He stood with his back bent, probably feeling down as he read the slip over and over. ¡°¡­This is bad. Apparently, I¡¯m going to get severely injured. And it says here my house is going to burn down.¡± ¡°Ahahah, you can¡¯t be serious¡­ Huh? You¡¯re gonna get injured, Kaoru? And your home¡¯s gonna burn down?? That¡¯s terrible! I don¡¯t want to see you get hurt¡­ What do we do?¡± At first, I thought it was a joke, but it gradually turned into unease¡­ After all, it was entirely possible for this kind of disaster to befall Kaoru. They don¡¯t call him Kaoru the ill-fated for nothing! ¡°What do we do, Yuri? Kaoru¡¯s going to burn up!¡± ¡°Um, it¡¯s not me, it¡¯s my house, not that that¡¯s much better.¡± ¡°Haha. Don¡¯t worry too much, the two of you. They say the omikuji at Sensou-ji is always slightly mean-spirited. Also, you can take it as your luck can¡¯t get any worse than it is now. And now that you know, you can take steps to be more careful.¡± ¡°Th-That¡¯s right! The omikuji here are kind of harsh as a rule¡­ I mean, look at mine¡­¡± Your wishes are close to coming true, but a great disaster will stand in your way. You will most likely have an encounter that splits the Heaven and Earth. See. It gave off bad vibes. And this is what they called ¡°Great Fortune¡±. ¡°It¡¯s just a matter of feelings! Let¡¯s wipe away all this moodiness and pay our respects to the gods. If we earnestly implore Kannon-sama, surely we can ward off the disaster!¡± Saying so, the three of us entered the worship hall and lined up in front of the offering box. I threw a 5-yen coin in to the offering box, while Kaoru threw 10-yen and Yuri 50-yen. Ugh, the economic disparity is clear¡­ No! What¡¯s important is the feelings behind the prayer! I clasped my hands together and prayed, ¡°Namu Kanzeonbosatsu¡±. ¡°Erm, I hope we get along with everyone in our second year too. That¡¯s most important. And then, I hope the businesses of the ayakashi in Asakusa can continue to thrive. I wish the three of us would live long lives, and that I would always be able to eat delicious food. ¡­I wish Kaoru would earn lots and lots from his part-time jobs.¡± ¡°Just so you know, I won¡¯t give you any of my earnings.¡± He didn¡¯t stop interjecting even in the midst of prayers. ¡°All I want is to lead a normal life as a normal human¡­ A peaceful life where I don¡¯t get involved in any of those troublesome ayakashi business¡­ Lastly, I wish for my earnings to be protected from Maki¡¯s hands.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a pretty sincere prayer coming from you, Kaoru-kun.¡± ¡°What about you, Yuri.¡± ¡°Me? ¡­Hm. For now, I wish for the health and happiness of my family. And then, it¡¯s for you guys to have a happy marriage, I guess?¡± ¡°What the hell. Are you trying to curse me or something?¡± Setting aside our bickering, each of us closed our eyes and prayed earnestly. Without saying it out in words, I prayed wholeheartedly in my heart for the wish I would put my life on the line on. I wish we can attain happiness in this life¡­ ? ? ? ¡°Ibaraki nee-shan, Ibaraki nee-shan.¡± When we finished our prayers and left the hall, several small little creatures called out to me. ¡°My, aren¡¯t these guys temari kappa from Sumida River?¡± They were hiding behind the pillars of the worship hall. The small green creature had a plate atop their heads, in other words, they were kappa. Among the various species of kappa, they were especially small and squishy. As the name temari implies, they were mascot-sized kappa that could fit on the palm of the hand. Some found this extremely cute and a certain group of enthusiast loved them as pets. ¡°Pleashe help ush, Ibaraki nee-shan. We¡¯re gonna die from overwork at thish rate.¡± The temari kappa looked at me with teary, beady eyes. Looking closely, I could see that their plates were completely dry and even had cracks in it. ¡°What happened?¡± I leaned down and asked the two temari kappa. ¡°Hey, Maki, stop it. You look like you¡¯re talking to an empty space right now.¡± Kaoru immediately warned me. It¡¯s true that the normal people who can¡¯t see ayakashi would think I¡¯m behaving strangely. I picked up the two on my hand and went somewhere devoid of people. Despite his protest, Kaoru and Yuri followed behind. ¡°It¡¯sh like that¡­¡± According to them, they were working at a newly established plastic food display workshop underground of Kappabashi and forced to work long hours under harsh conditions. The workshop was oversaw by gyuuki ayakashi who mistreated the weak temari kappa, in addition to paying only 1,000 yen and one cucumber a day. As a result, the temari kappa were about to die from overwork. The two of them had sneaked past the eyes of the supervising gyuuki and came to find me to seek help. ¡°A daily pay of 1,000 yen and one cucumber? That¡¯s even worse than a scam. Did you say the numbers wrongly?¡± ¡°Wow, that makes even our local black companies look good in comparison¡­¡± Even Kaoru and Yuri felt pity for the kappa when they heard the shocking working conditions and pay. ¡°We want at leasht 2,500 yen and three cucmbersh a day!¡± ¡°That¡¯s still pretty pathetic.¡± In order to live in the world of humans, ayakashi took up jobs to earn money. There were few places on this side where ayakashi could live safely, and food which recovered spiritual energy that was essential for their living were also rare. That¡¯s why ayakashi attacked and ate humans in the past, or their powers went out of control resulting in paranormal phenomena. The outcome was that humans exterminate those ayakashi. Indeed, it was eat or be eaten. If both sides wished to co-exist, there needed to be a common denomination between them, and that was ¡°money¡±. Thus, one needed to ¡°work¡± in order to earn money. In this modern era, there existed robust trade between the human side and the ayakashi side. However, a problem emerged in recent years where unscrupulous ayakashi preyed on the low-level ayakashi or those who can¡¯t find jobs, and worked them to the bone to fatten their own pockets. ¡°We beg you, shtrongest of the Asakusa ayakashi, Ibaraki nee-shan! Pleashe reform the chief!¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ Okay, I¡¯ll do it. I shall bring down the wrath of judgment upon this gyuuki with my own hands. But, I¡¯m not doing this without any reward. It¡¯s my motto to only work for what I¡¯m paid for.¡± ¡°Yay yay. Then we¡¯ll give you the kappa¡¯s buried gold in Sumida River.¡± ¡°Um, it doesn¡¯t have to be gold.¡± ¡°Yay yay. Undershtood. We¡¯ll give you one cucumber.¡± ¡°One cucumber only¡­ Well, fine.¡± It was a rather drastic drop from buried gold to one cucumber, but oh well. If it¡¯s to protect the discipline and order among ayakashi, I, whom they called the strongest in Asakusa, shall spare no effort. After all, so many ayakashi were counting on us¡­ ¡°Ah, look. It¡¯s time for my job.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Maki-chan¡­ I also need to go off for my tea ceremony lessons¡­¡± However, the two guys didn¡¯t seemed very concerned at all. Be it the spirit of helping out or the backbone to count on them, they displayed none of it. I had known this from the start. The two of them would rather not get involved with the ayakashi. ¡°Hmph, so be it. I¡¯ll do something about it myself.¡± ¡°Have you not heard anything I said, Maki. Stop poking your nose into the ayakashi¡¯s business. It does you no good. Did you forget what happened to us in the past?¡± ¡°¡­Then you should understand too. There¡¯s no way I can leave them in the lurch.¡± ¡°Are you an idiot? No, I take it back, you really are an idiot¡­ Maki.¡± His tone was unlike the usual as he faced the ground with a conflicted look. I perched the temari kappa on my shoulders and said to him softly. ¡°You just focus on your job and earn money for my sake, Kaoru. You too, Yuri. You should go since you already got the gift and all.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°¡­Maki-chan¡­¡± ¡°From here on out, it¡¯s just me doing charity work. Got to do some good since I¡¯m reincarnated and all.¡± Despite their cold reactions, I knew they were worried for me. It wasn¡¯t that they thought it would be dangerous for me to face off against a violent ayakashi like the gyuuki. They were well aware that I wouldn¡¯t lose to an opponent of this level. Their worries were about something else. That I would get too involved with the ayakashi¡­ and in the process of helping them¡­ that I would end up in opposition with the humans. ¡°Hurrah for Ibaraki-doji-shama! Our shavior and the shtrongest youkai!¡± Unknowing of the complicated feelings in our hearts, the temari kappa on my shoulders celebrated unconcernedly. They seemed without a doubt that I was still ¡°Ibaraki-doji¡±, and that I would gladly lend them a helping hand. ? ? ? We arrived at Kappabashi¡¯s cookware street. This well-renowned street was located in the western side of Asakusa in the Taito ward. Shops selling all sorts of items related to food and cooking lined the streets, such as cookwares and utensils, plastic food displays, crockery, to aprons and uniforms as well. As with its name, countless kappa displays and mascot characters could be seen all around, a testament of the local kappa legends. With statues and posters of kappa everywhere on the streets, it was surely a hotspot for kappa fans. Not that I know if such people existed¡­ Anyway, the kappa legend of Kappabashi went like this. During the Edo period, this region flooded frequently due its poor drainage system, and a businessman by the name of Kappaya Kibachi sought for a solution. As such, he used his personal wealth to construct a proper waterway to solve the problem. The kappa living in Sumida River were touched by his gesture and secretly helped out with the construction work night after night¡­ And so, Kappabashi became well-known amongst the kappa as a place where they could find work easily. However, the kappa weren¡¯t the only ones to move here as a result. In the first place, Asakusa was one of few areas in Japan where ayakashi gathered and made a living while hiding. There were also those unscrupulous ayakashi who decided to set up shop here so as to make use of the cheap labor provided by the kappa. That was probably the case too for the gyuuki this time round. When an ayakashi wanted to establish a business here in Asakusa, they were required to join and obtain a license from a certain labor association that can be found in the Asakusa Underground Shopping Street. However, this gyuuki-ran workshop seemed to have skipped that step and was operating illegally¡­ ¡°Thish ish the drawing of a mikan mandarin¡­¡± ¡°Thish ish the mold of a matcha ice cream¡­¡± ¡°Here are the rice flour dumpling modelsh¡­ pleashe put the varnish on it¡­¡± Like the temari kappa said, the working conditions of this workshop was terrible. There was no life in the eyes of the kappa working here. ¡°Hey, stop taking your own sweet time!¡± ¡°Gyah!¡± As the temari kappa worked endlessly to create plastic food display, those who stopped for even a moment were zapped with electricity through their neck collars by the gyuuki supervisor. I was hiding behind a corner and watching. ¡°How can they do this¡­ I¡¯m surprised you guys managed to escape under such conditions.¡± I thought it must had taken them the conviction to die just so they could escape, but they only tilted their heads cutely. ¡°We shlipped off the collar by luck.¡± ¡°Our bodies are quite shoft so it washn¡¯t too hard.¡± ¡°Huh. You guys are pretty easygoing¡­¡± Their escape was only the result of the carelessness and lack of caution of their modern ayakashi overlords. As a former youkai myself, I was slightly bothered by how pathetic they were, but that was irrelevant. The way these gyuuki abused and tormented the small temari kappa was far more inexcusable. Gyuuki were cow-headed oni with horns and tails. They were were currently half-metamorphosized and appeared as humans in factory uniforms. The workshop chief was a male with a scar on his cheek. He was brawny and had short brown hair. It was like the very template of an evil-doing middle-aged hooligan. ¡°Hey, you there, the skinny one! Didn¡¯t I tell you to make a white and blue shaved ice like the Tokyo Skytree! Why the hell is it this disgusting green now. And what is this thing which looks like cucumber slices on top!¡± ¡°¡­I-It¡¯sh cucumber-flavored shaved ice with cucumber toppingsh¡­ It¡¯s shure to be a hit amongsht the kappa during shummer¡­¡± ¡°I don¡¯t need something that only kappa would like! At least say it¡¯s honeydew-flavored!!¡± ¡°Gyah! Pleashe don¡¯t hit me!¡± I stepped out right before the gyuuki was about to whip the emaciated kappa. ¡°Stop it right there!¡± I had seen enough and shouted out loud. After separating with the boys, I went home first to bring along my partner¡­ err, this long and stiff something in a bag¡­ The temari kappa working on summertime food displays like shaved ice and other cold confectioneries turned and looked up lethargically. The gyuuki who raised his whip also came to a stop. ¡°Who the hell are you¡­ a human?¡± He turned to look at me who appeared out of nowhere suddenly with a scowl. ¡°Ibaraki nee-shan is here!!¡± ¡°Victory is asshured!!¡± In contrast to his surprise, the temari kappa all jumped up in joy, causing the gyuuki to look around the workshop in panic, ¡°Wh-What!? What the hell¡¯s happening??¡± ¡°My name is Ibaraki Maki. These temari kappa came to me for help after being exploited by you guys. A measly 1,000 yen and one cucumber a day? That¡¯s daylight robbery! And so, I¡¯ve come to punish you.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know where you came from, but you¡¯re an outsider. You don¡¯t seem to know that there are some rules you need to follow when in Asakusa.¡± ¡°You are the one who doesn¡¯t know who you¡¯re talking to, young lady.¡± ¡°Of course I don¡¯t. It¡¯s not like you know me either, right.¡± I spoke haughtily on purpose and swept my hair back confidently. It seemed to have angered him and a vein popped up on his forehead. He pointed to himself with his thumb and declared in a proud voice. ¡°The name¡¯s Genta, famed far and wide throughout Kamakura,. The Ushigozen who was said to have fought against the one-and-only Minamoto no Yorimitsu¡­ his descendant!¡± Hmm. Speaking of Ushigozen, isn¡¯t that the god enshrined in the Ushijima Shrine at Sumida River. ¡°The famous Ushigozen by the name of Joururi! The one who wiped out Minamoto no Yorimitsu¡¯s troops by the Sumida River! You think you can beat me!?¡± ¡°Hah, it¡¯s not as if you were the one fighting Minamoto no Yorimitsu¡¯s forces yourself. I also know Ushigozen myself personally, and I¡¯m sure he would be saddened to know that his descendants have fallen so low¡­¡± ¡°¡­Huh?¡± ¡°Oh, well. I¡¯ll just have to take it upon myself to punish you on his behalf.¡± I grinned widely and loosened the strings of my bag. A rugged wooden bat with numerous nails hammered into it emerged¡­ ¡°What ish that.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a bat. You can¡¯t tell?¡± ¡°It seemsh to be pierced by nails.¡± ¡°There¡¯sh blood splattersh on it.¡± ¡°Oh, it¡¯s just a bat made of sacred wood which I hammered some nails infused with my spiritual energy into. It¡¯s not like I can take on a tough opponent like a gyuuki with just any ordinary bat, so I strengthened it a bit like this. ¡­It¡¯s like partner to me now, having accompanied me on so many battles since I made it in elementary school. You guys have something to say about it?¡± ¡°N-Nothing at all.¡± The temari kappa atop my shoulders shook their heads fiercely. They whispered to each other, ¡°Ibaraki nee-shan ish going for the kill¡­¡± Still, I could hear them loud and clear, and no, I¡¯m not going to kill anyone today. The chief seemed to cower a bit upon seeing my ¡°iron club¡±, but soon put up a strong front and ordered angrily, ¡°Get her!¡± His subordinates turned back into their true forms, their mass of muscles ripping through their work uniforms and exposing their upper body. They all jumped on me at once. What a clich¨¦d turn of events. ¡°Here goes.¡± I swung my bat at the group of gyuuki merrily. Something like a spiked bat alone wouldn¡¯t even be able to put a scratch on a ayakashi. However, these nails had been enchanted with my powers from since a while back, and the bat exerted the force of my spiritual energy. That one swing alone produced a violent gust of wind which blew away all the gyuuki charging at me. Their huge bodies slammed into the ceiling or walls, and they fell onto the ground with their heads spinning. Shelves everywhere collapsed like dominoes, raising a cacophony. The temari kappa scrambled all around for shelter, sweat running down their heads. ¡°Oops¡­ looks like I messed up all of the food displays.¡± Erm, I really did try my best to hold back. But, I guess the combination of my excessive spiritual energy and arm strength I¡¯m so proud of, plus my beloved spiked bat resulted in this¡­ The chief was stunned speechless for a second, but his entire head turned red before long and he exploded. ¡°Impertinent little girl! You must be a vile exterminator from the Onmyou Bureau, aren¡¯t you!?¡± ¡°No¡­ that¡¯s not it¡­¡± ¡°Damn it! If it wasn¡¯t for those guys in Kamakura! If only they didn¡¯t mess up the business of the Kamakura youkai¡­ I wouldn¡¯t have had to run away from my territory¡­¡± ¡°¡­?¡± ¡°Whatever the case, I can¡¯t lose to a puny human like you!¡± In a rage, the workshop chief turned back into his original form, a huge gyuuki over 5 meters in height. ¡°Oh, he¡¯s huge.¡± Unlike the mid-level gyuuki just now, he had extra limbs like a spider. It was proof of a high-class gyuuki. His huge face and sharp horns like an Onigawara, mouth filled with razor-sharp teeth, and that pose with four limbs on the ground¡­ was supposed to look terrifying. That is, to a normal human being. ¡°I¡¯ll swallow you in one bite!¡± The gyuuki chief showed off his rows of fangs and made to gobble me up. Naturally, I raised my bat leisurely without much concern. ¡°What a fool. You don¡¯t know who you¡¯re dealing with.¡± I swung my bat in a wide arc and it connected exactly with his torso. It felt rather delightful and I pushed with all my might with a beaming smile on my face. ¡°Ahaha, and¡ªthat¡¯s a home run!¡± Having been hit by my violent spiritual energy in the flank, the gyuuki flew all the way to the other end of the underground workshop, crashing into the pile of cardboard boxes loaded with the completed food displays. Buried in a mountain of boxes, he tried to get up right away, but it didn¡¯t look like he had the strength to do so. ¡°Uh-uh.¡± Before he could move, I came before him and slammed my bat into the ground. The ground caved in with a loud crack. When he saw that, he shivered frightfully. ¡°You can¡¯t move anymore, right? My spiritual energy paralyzes those hit by it.¡± I looked down at him with a smile of victory. He seemed to have realized the difference in strength between us and stopped resisting. ¡°You shcum, take this, and this.¡± The temari kappa gathered around the chief and hit him repeatedly with their webbed hands. It was probably to vent their anger, not that it was very effective. ¡°!?¡± Right at that moment, something fast zipped through the air, causing my hair to flutter. A ¡°Gyah¡± came from behind me diagonally, its owner a mid-level gyuuki. He had been hit by a fastball (a plastic food display) apparently. Naturally, I knew who threw it. It was the black-haired boy who appeared sneakily from the entrance. ¡°Kaoru¡­ you finally came out. Why¡¯d you hide anyway.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t let your guard down so easily. They¡¯re gonna strike you from behind.¡± ¡°I already noticed it though.¡± For all his lecturing, Kaoru always followed behind and watched after me. ¡°¡­Who the¡­ heck are you guys? Are you really human?¡± The chief asked in a feeble voice. ¡°No. You people are human, but you¡¯re on a whole different level than those exterminators. But, you¡¯re not ayakashi either¡­ what the hell¡­¡± ¡°Well, who knows¡­ Heck, that¡¯s what I want to know.¡± I feigned ignorance. This was something I had wondered over and over again without arriving at an answer. Born with memories and abilities of a great youkai of yore, I always subconsciously act as if I was still an ayakashi, yet it doesn¡¯t change the fact that I am human. With a snort, I leaned down and peered into the face of the gyuuki chief, supporting myself with my bat. My long, slight reddish hair slid down my shoulders smoothly. Along with my scarlet spiritual energy¡­ ¡°Asakusa is welcoming of all ayakashi. There¡¯s no easiest place for ayakashi to find work in of Japan, after all. But, you¡¯ve got to abide by the local rules. I don¡¯t know what happened to you in Kamakura, but even if I didn¡¯t come to teach you a lesson today, someone else eventually will.¡± ¡°¡­Then, what am I supposed to do? There¡¯s no way for me to recoup the losses we took Kamakura unless I resort to such underhanded means. There¡¯s also the debts. ¡­There¡¯s no way anyone would want to hire such good-for-nothing hoodlums like us.¡± He slumped down in resignation. For all his big size, he sure was mopey. ¡°If you¡¯re serious about starting over, go visit the Asakusa Underground Shopping Street.¡± Kaoru came over and gave a suggestion. The gyuuki slowly raised his teary face. ¡°There¡¯s a labor association specifically for the ayakashi working in Asakusa at the Asakusa Underground Shopping Street. It¡¯s made up of both humans and ayakashi. You can probably seek advice for them about your debts, and they may also be able to find you jobs and a place to stay.¡± When he heard that, the gyuuki chief exhaled deeply once before losing consciousness. The temari kappa started cheering and dancing, ¡°We¡¯re free!¡±, ¡°Sherves him right!¡± ¡°And you temari kappa. Just because you want a job doesn¡¯t mean you should work at a shady workshop like this. It¡¯s important that you research beforehand what the basic salary and working conditions are like. You better believe my words as a veteran who had taken up countless part-time jobs.¡± ¡°Yesh shir, Shuten-doji-shama¡± They innocently waved their webbed hands. I couldn¡¯t tell whether they really got it or not. ¡°¡­Hahh. Cleaning up this mess is going to be a pain in the ass. Got to contact the association.¡± After scanning through the scattered food displays and the unconscious gyuuki, Kaoru took out his phone and called an acquaintance from the association. In the meanwhile, I lifted up the workshop chief with an ¡°Oof¡± and lay him down near the entrance. I plucked away the temari kappa still hitting him and whispered. ¡°¡­Put in some proper effort next time¡­ Asakusa welcomes you all fairly.¡± He could still start over. Whether or not one was an ayakashi, here in Asakusa¡­ ¡°Hey, Maki, the chairman¡¯s furious. He was yelling angrily, but now he just wants to cry. ¡®Ibaraki again!¡¯, he says.¡± ¡°But I didn¡¯t kill him! See, he¡¯s still brreathing.¡± I placed my hand near the gyuuki¡¯s mouth and checked. Y-Yup, I can still feel faint breathing! ¡°*Sigh* Good grief. I¡¯ll kneel along with you with our heads down until he forgives you.¡± Kaoru said with a scowl. I laughed a bit at that. ¡°What are you laughing at.¡± ¡°Nothing. I just find it cute how you always stand by my side in the end despite all your complaints.¡± ¡°Hmph, I just hate having more work to do. Whenever a force of destruction like you goes wild, it¡¯s much faster for me to step in to achieve a peaceful and amicable resolution¡­ That¡¯s all.¡± ¡°Yup yup, whatever you say.¡± ¡°¡­You never learn your lesson do you, Maki. In the first place, if you¡ª¡± It sounded like Kaoru was about to start with his lecture again, so I looked him straight in eye and thanked him with a smile, ¡°Thanks for always, Kaoru!¡± And so, he swallowed back his complaints and sighed one last time before he went back to cleaning up. He went around the workshop, lifting up the collapsed gyuuki and laying them down near the chief. Suddenly, I recalled a scene of my past beloved Shuten-doji, of his firm and merciless, yet meticulous personality¡­ No, it¡¯s not just in the past, I still love Kaoru deeply even now. ¡°Fufu, I¡¯ll help out too, Kaoru!¡± ¡°What do you mean you¡¯ll help¡­ this is all your fault to begin with¡­¡± At our feets, the group of temari kappa cheered with no regards to the atmosphere. ¡°Ash expected of the legendary Shuten-doji and Ibaraki-doji! The shtrongest ayakashi couple hash deshcended in Asakusa!¡± ¡°Oh, the edomae-zushi is half-off.¡± When my shift at the pickle shop in the department store basement ended, I came here to the sushi shop. I, Amasake Kaoru, was aiming for the leftovers with the half-price tags. ¡°Anago-zushi. Didn¡¯t Maki mentioned she was craving for it¡­¡± I somehow recalled that and ended up buying it before I even realized. In addition, I also got a tekka-maki and a kappa-maki. Leaving the department store, I cut through the grounds of the Sensou-ji which was still crowded even at this time, and continued past Hanayashiki-dori. Finally, I reached Maki¡¯s apartment house which was next to Asakusa Hisago-dori. ¡°Hahh.¡± I had ended buying food for Maki and was headed for her place again¡­ It had become so routine at this point that I pretty much followed my feet without thinking. Heading to her house in the morning to wake her up and visiting her after work had become a habit ingrained into my everyday life. What am I, some kind of Heian period husband living separately from his wife¡­ ¡°No no no, we¡¯re no longer husband and wife now.¡± I retorted my own thoughts. Switching back to reality, I pressed the bell. Unlike in the morning, Maki opened up right away. She seemed ravenous. Basically, she waited all this time believing I would stop by here after my part-time job. ¡°Welcome back, Kaoru¡­ Wait, that bag, could it be¡­ Sushi!?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t go fishing through the bag the first thing you see me.¡± ¡°Wow, anago-zushi and hosomaki!¡± Maki squealed elatedly and pulled me inside by my hand. ¡°The kappa came by today to give me the cucumber they promised. So I made potato salad and lightly pickled vegetables. Also, this is something extra but I made deep-fried tofu.¡± ¡°Sushi, potato salad, pickled vegetables and fried tofu huh¡­ That sure is a strange combination.¡± ¡°I made the pickled vegetables from the ingredients you got from your part-time job. I though it¡¯d be delicious that way. As for the tofu, it was cheap, that¡¯s why.¡± The six-jou sized apartment room had an old chabudai short-legged table in the center, and a television in a corner. That was all, and very unlike the impression one had of a girl¡¯s room. There wasn¡¯t any poster of singers or idols that were popular among girls her age because she didn¡¯t listened to any in the first place. The only thing that adorned the wall was an outdated calendar they distributed on the streets. A photo of her deceased parents was all that occupied the top of a small drawer. ¡°¡­¡± I could see the resemblance between Maki and her parents¡­ I sat down cross-legged at the chabudai, resting my weary feet. The large bowl of potato salad and pickled vegetables were already set and ready to eat. Despite how she looked, she was actually a great cook. Although it didn¡¯t look very elaborate, she could make most household dishes as well as her favorite foods, a skill she probably learned living alone. ¡°You sneaked a few bites of the potato salad already, didn¡¯t you. I can tell.¡± ¡°Can you blame me, I was so hungry.¡± ¡°You could¡¯ve just started on your own.¡± ¡°¡­No way, I wanted to eat together with you. A few bites don¡¯t count.¡± ¡°Look here¡­ What if I didn¡¯t show up.¡± ¡°What are you saying, you come here to hang almost everyday¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± Well¡­ I can¡¯t deny that. I coughed loudly to hide my embarrassment. Maki returned to the kitchen to scoop up the tofu which just finished frying and mounted them on top of the donburi. She was using antique bowls which an elderly ayakashi gave her as thanks for her help. I didn¡¯t know if it was actually worth anything, but it came in a pair. While she prepared the last of the items, I took out the sushi and lined them up on the table. Ooh, it¡¯s looking to be a pretty fine meal, in fact. ¡°Wow, that looks delish!¡± Maki brought out the fried tofu and sat down at the chabudai immediately. Clasping her hands and giving thanks for the food in high spirits, she reached out for her favorite anago-zushi straight away. It was a large mouthful, but she gulped it down in one bite. ¡°Yum, this is the best! The sauce on this store¡¯s anago-zushi is ever-so-slightly sweet and perfectly balanced. I love it! The sushi rice is amazing too!¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that great.¡± ¡°Thanks, Kaoru. You remembered, didn¡¯t you.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Watching her stuff her cheeks blissfully, it felt like spending my one-hour-worth of wages was worth it¡­ I picked up the bowl with the hot fried tofu and inspected it. Served with fried eggplants on the side, it was one of my favorite dishes. It was simple homefare. Silken tofu deep-fried until crispy, topped with abundant grated radish and chopped spring onion. Lastly, it was drizzled with a slightly sweet and savory sauce. It was best to eat it hot with all the toppings while the fried coating was still slightly soft and crisp. The moment when all the flavors blend together¡­ Ah, I¡¯ll never get sick of eating this. There¡¯s nothing quite like a warm meal after a shift of hard work. My heart feels soothed. ¡°Try this potato salad too. It¡¯s got your favorite ham and hard-boiled egg.¡± Maki held out the glass bowl full of potato salad to me. The luxuriant salad consisted of chunks of potato still firm, cucumber, carrot, onion, ham, egg, and also macaroni. Even though it looked heavy, the flavor was light on the palate and sweetness of the potato came through. I could taste the vinegar and salt used for seasoning, as well as the small amount of mayonnaise used for dressing. Typical teenagers who preferred big, bold flavors may not like it very much, but it was just perfect for the two of us who were pretty much old folks on the inside. Even if the cooking method and seasonings used changed, the fundamental flavors of Maki¡¯s cooking remained the same as always, from back then in our past lives. In fact, it was even more familiar to me than my mother¡¯s cooking. Since I spend more time here than I do my home, Maki always prepares my meal like it¡¯s the normal thing to do. Thus, I always buy something to treat her, and that¡¯s how we end up helping each other and providing whatever the other needs. Even the sarcastic remarks and gripes were just a form of communication between us, unchanged since ages past. If that¡¯s what being husband and wife is about, then I guess we are¡­ Not that I¡¯d ever say that in front of Maki. ¡°Is it good?¡± ¡°Mm¡­ yeah.¡± ¡°Here, have some of this pickled cucumber too.¡± ¡°Hey, I can tell you¡¯re trying to make me eat rest of the side dishes so you can hog the sushi for yourself! I¡¯m gonna have some of the anago-zushi too!¡± ¡°Ah, that was the biggest one! How dare you, Kaoru!!¡± Fighting over this and that, our dinner went on noisily. ? ? ? After dinner, the two of us sat down and watched an overseas drama on a rental DVD. We both love this kind of TV shows which didn¡¯t exist in the past and frequently rented DVDs to watch. A Blu-ray player would have been even better, but unfortunately, we were just penniless students. Thus, DVD it was. Soon, the night turned late. ¡°It¡¯s about time I went back. Any later than 11 o¡¯clock and the police will bring me in for wandering around the street.¡± ¡°You going already? But, we only watched one episode today. And it ended on a cliffhanger too.¡± When I told her I¡¯m going back, Maki pulled on my sleeve and grumbled. The episode had ended on the protagonist¡¯s death(?) and she was apparently very curious about what¡¯s going to happen next. ¡°You can just watch the next episode on your own. That¡¯s why I¡¯m leaving the disk here¡­¡± ¡°No way. It¡¯s not interesting unless we watch it together. I¡¯ll wait for you.¡± ¡°Right, anything you say.¡± ¡°Actually, why don¡¯t you just stay the night? Then we can watch the show all night and sleep like there¡¯s no tomorrow next morning. There¡¯s no school tomorrow anyway.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be stupid. How can I possibly stay over at a girl¡¯s place, especially when you live alone. That¡¯s indecent.¡± ¡°You¡¯re such a stickler for rules¡­ Who cares anyway, we¡¯re husband and wife to begin with.¡± Maki pouted. I ignored her and got up. ¡°You¡¯re coming tomorrow, right? What time?¡± She saw me off at the front door and asked. ¡°I¡¯ll be working all day so around evening, I guess.¡± ¡°Alright. ¡­Say, what do you want to eat tomorrow? Since you bought me my favorite today, I¡¯ll make something proper for you since I¡¯ve got the time.¡± ¡°Hm¡­ pork shougayaki then.¡± ¡°You really like that, don¡¯t you. Okay, pork shougayaki it shall be. I¡¯ll need to go shopping tomorrow¡­¡± She listed down the ingredients to herself. I watched her for a while and said. ¡°I¡¯m saying this just in case, but¡­ don¡¯t go get yourself mixed up in some ayakashi trouble or anything just because I¡¯m not around, you hear me.¡± ¡°Huh? Yeah, sure¡­¡± Her expression changed and she looked to the side to avoid my gaze. This girl¡­ I knew she was going to go meet some ayakashi first thing in the morning¡­ ¡°Hey, do you really get in your head? Whatever you do, don¡¯t do something dangerous by yourself¡­¡± ¡°Fine, fine, I get it! Now go quickly before the police catch you loitering!¡± ¡°Okay. ¡­See you tomorrow.¡± ¡°¡­See you. Be careful on the way back.¡± It ended up with me being chased out of her unit. I walked down the stairs and turned back up to look at her room. As usual, she stood by the windowsill and waved at me with a, ¡°Bye bye.¡± She always stayed in that position watching me go until I went out of sight. When I see her like this, a part of me feels reluctant to leave. I thought to myself, I come over to her house as soon as I can tomorrow too. ? ? ? I lived in a condominium along the main road to the Tokyo Skytree, across the Kototoi Bridge. When I entered the apartment and switched on the lights, there was no one around as I had expected. Nothing had been touched since I left this morning. Not the newspaper nor the remote control. In other words, no one entered or left the house. ¡°¡­¡± My household was the typical example of a broken family. A mother who doesn¡¯t do household chores and played around all day. A father who neglects his family to spend time with his lover. And there was me who just watched them with cold eyes¡­ I had memories of a past life. Even though it was of an ayakashi, I was once an adult and thought of myself as being quite independent. I didn¡¯t have any expectations of my parents as a human teenager. Nevertheless, returning to this lifeless house after spending time with Maki always left an emptiness my chest. ¡°Forget it. I¡¯ll just go to bed quickly. There¡¯s a long day ahead of me tomorrow¡­¡± And I¡¯ll work and work and work, so that I can get a delicious cake of some kind for Maki¡­ After all, she¡¯s going to make my favorite pork shougayaki. Speaking of which, just how much do I even need to earn monthly in the future so that she can always eat anything she wants? For that, I¡¯ll need to study hard and get a good grade so that I can get into a good course in university. Then, get a job with a reputable company that has proper employee welfare, or perhaps work a government job, and then¡­ ¡°Huh, what am I thinking? Get a grip, me¡­ Marriage is exactly what Maki wants from you. Don¡¯t you ever forget what a wife from hell she¡¯s like, Kaoru.¡± As I soaked in the bath, worries about future subconsciously drifted into my mind. Feeling a sense of lethargy for the culmination of my path to come, I shivered a bit in the supposedly warm waters. Volume 1 - CH 2 The folklore studies club room after school. After a brief, fruitless staring contest against the career survey form that was handed out today, I gave up and opened the club activity journal instead. Kaoru was opposite me reading his manga magazine. Meanwhile, Yuri wasn¡¯t around as he was attending the class chairman meeting. ¡°Hey, Kaoru, have you heard about the ¡®four lows¡¯ that the modern Japanese women look for in a husband?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°I saw it on the TV. They are: low posture, low dependence, low risk and low maintenance.¡± ¡°What are you trying to say, Maki?¡± ¡°Low posture meaning they don¡¯t boss their wife around. Low dependence meaning they don¡¯t rely on their wife to do the household chores. Low risk meaning they work a stable job that has a low risk of being restructured. And, low maintenance meaning they don¡¯t spent needlessly on unneccesary things¡­ or so, apparently.¡± ¡°Ho. In that case, I must be the ultimate choice when it comes to looking for a husband in these times then¡­ Hah.¡± Kaoru put down his magazine and flashed the haughtiest grin at me. Still, if I¡¯m being completely honest, he pretty much fits all the above criteria. That personality is somewhat irritating at times, but he is the diligent type. He even comes over during the weekends to tidy up my bathroom, all the way to the slightest speck of grime in the pipes even though no one asked him. He also doesn¡¯t have any hobbies that costs a lot. I mean, Kaoru pretty much loves money so he doesn¡¯t even spend much. It¡¯s still too early to predict what job he¡¯ll take up in the future, but his results are excellent and he¡¯s seriously studious¡­ Taking into account his pragmatism, it¡¯d be safe to assume he¡¯d find a stable workplace with good employee welfare. Anyway, even without all these discussions about his specs and what-now, I¡¯ve known since forever that Kaoru¡¯s a good husband. ¡°Still, you have much more room to improve on in terms of the ¡®low posture¡¯ part. You act like you¡¯re always right from time to time.¡± ¡°Huh? What do mean I act like I¡¯m always right. And what, you fancy yourself a queen from somewhere?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not a queen from somewhere, I¡¯m your wife!¡± ¡°What is this hellish wife saying¡­ Well, this is what you are: high-handed, high upkeep, and high bludgeoning strength! Do something about these ¡®three highs¡¯ before you talk!¡± ¡°That part about being high-handed I do admit. But, that high upkeep is uncalled for. I¡¯m fine with you just the way you are, nothing more and nothing less.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°And high bludgeoning strength is one of my good points. A woman needs to be strong no matter the era!¡± Kaoru just stared at me like he didn¡¯t know what I was talking about, and in the end muttered something unintelligible under his breath before fnishing off his can of cola. That¡¯s right, I was once Kaoru¡¯s wife. Near the entrance to the folklore studies club room was a whiteboard filled with scribbles, a result of the fervent brainstorming session we¡¯ve had the past few days. Several topic headings still remained as a leftover of our discussions. Why must we ayakashi be exterminated by the humans? As always, this was our main theme, written right at the top. Kaoru and I were none other than the reincarnations of the famed pair of oni feared far and wide in Heian-kyo a thousand years ago. We were the one and only Shuten-doji and Ibaraki-dooji. ¡ð Back in the Heian period. Except for the small number of the rich who lived in grace, the Capital was in the midst of a great famine that saw many starved to death, their bodies left rotting on the streets and diseases running rampant. The chaos also saw the rise of night burglars, and public order was in an awful state. This is all because of the ayakashi and their curses, they said. In order to cover up their shortfalls, the Imperial Court pinned everything on the ayakashi as their scapegoat, driving them away from their dwelling, and exorcising and exterminating them indiscriminately. Those who survived the hunt also vented their fury for their fellow ayakashi by assaulting the humans. This is a story from those times. In the midst of the fighting, an oni by the name of Shuten-doji emerged and built a hidden village in the heights of Mt. Ooe as a safe haven for the ayakashi. In a sense, he had established an extremely small country. At that time, countless ayakashi had lost their homes, and there were also many humans being persecuted under suspicion of being ayakashi in disguise. He invited them all to his country and provided them with food and shelter, even providing jobs for them so that they may continue to live there. Unfortunately, our peace was short-lived; it was brought down by the most famous onmyoji of all times, Abe no Seimei. Furthermore, an ayakashi exterminating force was formed, led by Minamoto no Yorimitsu, who was hailed as the strongest of the time. Under him was his four retainers: Watanabe no Tsuna, Sakata no Kintoki, Urabe no Suetake, and Usui Sadamitsu. They uncovered our hidden village, tricked their way in and brought down the fort¡­ Basically, they slaughtered the lots of us. Flip through any historical text and you would read that Shuten-doji and the group of ayakashi he led was a group of violent marauder who abducted women and children and ate them, looted and plundered for gold, and left only destruction in their wake. Of course, these were but convenient ¡°facts¡± created by the humans. The only accusation that had any truth to it was that he had ¡°kidnapped¡± a princess, that being me¡­ From the viewpoint of the humans, this was nothing but a heroic tale of eterminating monsters. However, from our perspective, it was plainly a genocide for the simple reason being that ¡°we were ayakashi¡± and nothing else. ¡ð ¡°Why is it that we were reincarnated as humans, I wonder?¡± I inadvertently muttered as I rested my chin on my hands on top of the club activity journal. Kaoru replied almost immediately, ¡°What¡¯s this out of the blue?¡± ¡°I mean, don¡¯t you find it strange? I know humans and ayakashi both have the concept of death and rebirth, but I¡¯ve never seen or heard of any humans reborn with the memories of ayakashi like we do.¡± ¡°That just means we¡¯re the exception. Maybe it¡¯s because our spiritual powers were too great. ¡­Not to mention, Heian-kyo was full of curses and sorcery at that time. It wouldn¡¯t be strange if some kind of incomprehensible distortion occurred that messed up our rebirths or something.¡± ¡°Hmm, sounds plausible. Must be all those onmyoji¡¯s grudges.¡± I wrote it down in the journal under the entry for today¡¯s date. This is surely due to a curse by the onmyoji, yes¡­ The eras have changed with the passage of time, and so have the local culture and even the relationship between humans and ayakashi. Having lived in modern Japan for seventeen years, I¡¯ve gotten used to most of the changes. Still, there were certain things that I just can¡¯t help but be unable to get used to. ¡°It¡¯s a twist of luck that we were reborn as human, so we should be live properly and ceremoniously as humans do. In other words, Maki, you should stop sticking you nose into ayakashi matters without thinking it through with your brain first.¡± ¡°Blah blah blah, again with the lectures. Oh, how the hot-blooded you of the past would¡¯ve cried if he heard you now.¡± ¡°Hey, that topic¡¯s off-limits!¡± ¡°People these days revere Shuten-doji the strongest oni in all of Japan¡¯s history, you know. A veritable legend and Hero amongst ayakashi. They just can¡¯t get enough of him, showing up everywhere in games, light novels and manga. Your heroic figure as you protect the weak ayakashi, cutting down evil humans with your tachi. ¡­I still remember it clear as day even now. How you saved me from the prison I was locked up in¡­ Ah, my heart still skips a beat whenever I think back to that moment!¡± ¡°Ahhh, stop it! That¡¯s all dark history to me now! Nooo, just kill me!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t get why you¡¯re always so embarrassed¡­ Alright, let¡¯s write that down too. ¡®Kaoru thinks of his past life as dark history, and wants to die just by remembering it. Yet, he adores shonen manga series where Shuten-doji appears as a strong character and reads them religiously every week.¡¯ Yep, that should do it.¡± ¡°Wh-Wh-Who says that¡¯s the reason I read them every week¡­!¡± Whenever I see Kaoru¡¯s reaction when I mention Shuten-doji, it reminds me of a teenage boy writhing in embarrassment at having his cringey youthful indiscretion revealed. Though, I guess he is in his adolescent years now if we¡¯re talking in terms of physical age¡­ Regardless, I think I understand Kaoru¡¯s regret whenever he hears the legend of Shuten-doji popping up. He had fought so hard against the humans for the sakes of the ayakashi. But at the end of the long battle, he lost everything. Due to a mistake, he¡¯d driven all his loved ones to their deaths. It¡¯s because of this trauma and inner conflict that he currently tries to distance himself from matters related to the ayakashi. I know for one that he secretly helps them out from the shadows, though. ¡°I¡¯m back!¡± Right on cue, Yuri opened the door with a bang, announcing his return. ¡°I hate to interrupt while you guys were digging up Kaoru-kun¡¯s old wounds, but do you have a moment?¡± ¡°How long have you been there?! And, you¡¯re not a single bit sorry about it, aren¡¯t you?!¡± Contrary to his gentle appearance, Yuri was in fact slightly blackhearted. He manages to hide it pretty well, though. Deflecting Kaoru¡¯s scowl with a smile, he lifted an index finger and continued. ¡°How would the two of you like to stay over at my house tonight?¡± ¡°What! Can we?!¡± I reflexively bounced up from my seat. A stay over means we can stay up late to play games and chat all night! Yuri¡¯s lips twisted into a grin and he continued, ¡°Actually,¡± My parents and the inn¡¯s staff are all not around today because of a staff retreat. Since I¡¯ll be home by myself, Mom suggested that I invite you two to come over and stay the night.¡± Yuri¡¯s mom have always looked out for me and Kaoru since we were kids and trusted us deeply. This wasn¡¯t the first time she called us over to stay too. ¡°Actually¡­ there¡¯s something I need to consult you two about too.¡± ¡°¡­Hm? Something you want to consult us about?¡± ¡°If there¡¯s anyone I can rely on, it¡¯s you guys. ¡­Hehe.¡± Said Yuri cryptically with his index finger pressed against his lips. With his looks that wouldn¡¯t lose to any girl, combined with that last smile, I¡¯m feeling kinda scared here¡­ ¡°Oh, right. Let¡¯s stop by the supermarket in front of the station on the way back. We¡¯re having a barbeque party tonight.¡± ¡°D-Did you just say barbeque?!¡± But with that one sentence, I jumped up in excitement once more. The light in my eyes might have been too carnivorous as Yuri took a small step back and nodded in reservation. ¡°Y-Yeah¡­ We just got some quality Miyazaki beef from our relatives. Mom said to treat the two of you to them. But I thought just that alone wouldn¡¯t be enough to satiate you, Maki-chan, thus the trip to the supermarket to get more meat and vegetables.¡± ¡°Alright! Let¡¯s go! Right this moment!!¡± I hurriedly packed up, stuffing the career survey form and my pencil case into my bag. The club activity journal was the one thing I didn¡¯t brought home, so I just kept it in the usual location in the drawer under the table. ¡°You only ever make haste when it comes to eating, don¡¯t you.¡± ¡°Shut it, Kaoru! Hurry up and pack your stuff.¡± Just when I was about to leave the room, the scrawls on the whiteboard suddenly caught my eye. They were the topics brought up by us yesterday. In the end, we debated over and over until we were all worn out, and just left it there half-finished. I guess it¡¯s fine to leave it as it is without erasing it. We haven¡¯t finished our discussion, after all¡­ ¡°Come on, Maki. You¡¯re the one rushing us and now you¡¯re standing there like a rock? Let¡¯s go.¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯m coming!¡± As I caught up to Kaoru, the topic of yesterday¡¯s discussion surreptitiously flashed through my mind. The main question being: Were there any other paths we could¡¯ve gone back then? Was there a way for both humans and us ayakashi to co-exist without trying to eradicate each other? You might say that perhaps, there¡¯s no point pondering over something like that by now. And you¡¯re right. But just as the elderly liked to gather around and reminiscence about the good ol¡¯ days, when snacks and refreshments are available, we¡¯d often like to imagine what the past could¡¯ve been. We all individually have our doubts about reincarnating as humans while retaining the memories of our times as ayakashi. Not to mention the regrets that we¡¯ve yet to be able set aside. Sharing a common history, talking it out like this soothed our souls. At the same time, we took care not to show the regrets and lingering attachments of that era on the outside. ? ? ? ¡°Heeey, mind if I have a bit of your time?¡± As we left the old school building for the main block, a female third-year student ambushed us along the walkway. When we saw her, the three of us collectively let out an ¡°Ugh¡±. She was none other than Taguchi-senpai, president of the infamous ¡°newspaper club¡±, a tall-statured girl who wears a headband in her short hair. Beneath her affable smile, she collected scandalous information schoolwide, and wrote articles on them, leading people to speculate that she held sway over the student council and even the staff faculties¡­ ¡°I¡¯m Taguchi from the newspaper club, are you guys fine to talk?!¡± ¡°Nope, not fine at all.¡± ¡°Ah, wait up a sec.¡± When we walked past her without paying heed, she dashed ahead and blocked our path. My guts told me that glint in her eyes was dangerous, and the pen in her hand seemed even mightier than a sword. ¡°Surely you guys are aware? Rumors about the folklore studies club are the hot topic nowadays and everyone¡¯s curious! You guys have even earned a spot as one of the school¡¯s seven mysteries already!¡± ¡°Huh? What seven mysteries?¡± I inadvertently asked back, only for Kaoru to poke me in the head as he said, ¡°Don¡¯t look her in the eye. Just ignore her.¡± ¡°You¡¯re the talk of the whole school. One of the top hotties of the second-year along with a multi-talented pretty boy and a beautiful girl?, spending all their time cooped up in the art preparation room in the old school building. What on earth could they be doing?! Doesn¡¯t that just pique your interest!¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°In the first place, what kind of club activity do you guys even do? That in itself is already a mystery.¡± Our shoulders trembled with a jolt as our eyes darted around. ¡°Um¡­¡± Taguchi-senpai didn¡¯t miss that as she took out a paper notepad. ¡°I-It¡¯s nothing much. Just as the name implies, we investigate the various Japanese folklores and legends, and write reports summarizing our findings. Nothing dubious at all, I can assure you.¡± Yuri immediately followed up with a harmless explanation, but Taguchi-senpai looked at each of us with a face that screamed unconvinced. ¡°Hmm, somehow that doesn¡¯t fit the image I have of you all.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡°There¡¯s this mysterious air around you that I can¡¯t help but feel. Anyway, that¡¯s precisely why the whole school¡¯s so interested in you guys! Especially the girls, they¡¯re all dying to know more about you, Amasake-kun!¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Kaoru, who had averted his eyes from Taguchi-senpai all this time, accidentally reacted to her words and hurried covered his mouth. This drew out a grin on her face, and she held out her pen in front of Kaoru as if it was a microphone. ¡°Amasake Kaoru of Class 2-A. A handsome guy belonging to the rare black-haired faction nowadays. Excellent academic-wise, constantly hovering around the top ten. Of course, what stands out most is the adult-like sultriness that girl can¡¯t get enough of! Also fantastic at sports to the extent pretty much all sports club invited him to join but were rejected. You don¡¯t see this kind of cutie who isn¡¯t a frivolous playboy or a superficial pretty face anymore!¡± Showing no concern for Kaoru whose eyes had rolled back to show their whites, she turned her pen towards Yuri this time. ¡°Tsugumi Yurihiko of the same Class 2-A. A fair-skinned pretty boy whose looks are no inferior to any girls¡¯, and prodigy reigning at the number 1 spot result-wise since year one. Family runs a famed traditional Japanese inn, the ¡°Tsugumi Inn¡±, thus is loaded. The air of maturity around him earns the respect of males and females alike, both student and staff.¡± The look on Taguchi-senpai¡¯s face approached rapture as she fluently recited the information written on her notepad. Yep. I mean, our past selves were pretty fearsome to be honest, but this one is rather dangerous in her own right. That¡¯s saying something. ¡°And, uh¡­ Ibaraki Maki, same class as the two. Some call her the top beauty in our campus, but the person herself doesn¡¯t seem to care for it, and constantly lunches early at her backmost seat by the window¡­ Test scores below average¡­ and often caught sleeping during lessons¡­ Oh, but her physical abilities and reflexes are a sight to see. In an earlier basketball match, she tore off the basket itself when she went for a dunk shot, causing a school-wide uproar.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¡­Is it just me or somehow, only the info on me seems to be skewed. ¡°So, anyway. Any girls caught your interest recently? Especially you, Amasake-kun.¡± Ah, I see. So that¡¯s her true aim. As expected of Kaoru. Even back when he was Shuten-doji, there was a legend that countless girls died of lovesickness with one look at his handsome face. I see his sinful reputation has not left him even now. ¡°That¡¯s a ¡®No comment¡¯ from me.¡± ¡°In other words, you¡¯re free at this time?¡± Kaoru glanced at me and said something ambiguous like, ¡°You could say I¡¯m on a contract basis for now.¡± Nonetheless, Taguchi-senpai just noted down on her memo as she repeated ¡°contract basis¡­ contract¡­¡± ¡°What about you, Tsugumi-kun? Your fanbase is unexpectedly pretty wide, and I hear they¡¯re the ones who¡¯re actually rather gung ho. Not to mention, they consist of both boys AND girls.¡± ¡°¡­What do mean gung ho?! And BOTH boys and girls?!¡± ¡°What¡¯s the relationship between the three of you to begin with? Being the only girl in the group, which of them are you actually going out with, Ibaraki-san? Please share with me a comment about how it feels like to be waited on by two attractive guys?!¡± In the end, she blasted me with an outrageous question. There was only one answer I could possibly give. ¡°We¡¯re already beyond the level of going out with who or what-not. I am Kaoru¡¯s wife, and Yuri is like a mom to me by the name of best friend¡­¡± ¡°¡°AAAAAAAAAAHH!!¡±¡± However, my voice was drowned out by the screams of Kaoru and Yuri. The two of them grabbed me by the arms and made a mad dash for the shoe cupboard as though they were trying to get away from Taguchi-senpai even one second earlier. Leaving myself to the forces dragging me, I spared a glance at Taguchi-senpai who was left behind. We were trying to go about our lives in as discreet a manner as possible, but I guess we really are prominent, be it for good or bad. Those who stood out from the crowd, or were different from the rest always caught the other people¡¯s attention first. But then, those ¡°normal¡± ones eventually comes to fear them, and may even try to chase them away or lock them out, some even going to the extreme of trying to exterminate them. ¡°You idiot, don¡¯t go saying crazy stuff like that to her in particular!¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ve heard nothing but bad rumors about our school¡¯s newspaper club.¡± The boys warned me so after releasing me at the shoe cupboards. It seemed they¡¯re especially cautious when it comes to Taguchi-senpai. ¡°Still, no matter what we say, humans only listen to whatever they want to hear, and interpret them the way they want to.¡± ¡°¡­Maki?¡± The tone of my reply must have been different from how I¡¯m like usually as the boys looked at one another. That¡¯s why, I laughed and continued on sardonically while changing shoes. ¡°Anyway, there¡¯s really no topic quite as interesting to kids this age as love, don¡¯t you think. So long as there¡¯s boys and girls studying in the same building, stuff like who likes who, or who¡¯s going out with who naturally becomes the latest rumors.¡± ¡°Yeah, and things like that were even more heated up during the Heian period.¡± ¡°Oh, I remember. They were really all the rage back then. All those meaningless love songs.¡± Kaoru¡¯s retort was right on the money, and Yuri, being a famous poet back then, was reminded of that graceful time a millenia ago. T-That¡¯s right. After all, love gossips were the only source of amusement at that time¡­ ? ? ? ¡°How many types of meat should we get? For beef, let¡¯s get galbi and sirloin. Oh oh, I wanna eat skirt steak too! Wait, but boned pork rib grilled with salt and pepper sounds amazing too! A-And chicken winglets! Ooh, chicken neck too! You can¡¯t miss that when grilling meat!¡± ¡°Alright alright, it¡¯s okay if we get them all.¡± We were at the meat section of the oft visited supermarket in Asakusa. Like a child pestering his mother about how much sweets could he get, I looked towards Yuri for permission on which meat to get. ¡°Have you no shame, Maki? People invite you to their house for dinner and you spare none of their expense?¡± ¡°But none of these are the classy stuff, you know? I¡¯m just trying to get more meat by picking chicken and pork.¡± ¡°It¡¯s really quantity over quality for you, isn¡¯t it¡­¡± ¡°Oh, that reminds me. Gotta get beef tongue too, how could I forget¡­ They¡¯re your favorite, right?¡± ¡°¡­I-Indeed, beef tongue is a must when it comes to grilling. But, we shouldn¡¯t splurge¡­¡± ¡°Alright alright, beef tongue for you it shall be.¡± Said Yuri as he took a big pack and placed it into the basket nonchalantly. ¡°Tch¡­ typically rich kid.¡± Despite that, both Kaoru and I were bowing down to Yuri before we knew it. I give my thanks to our lord benefactor, Yuri-sama. ? ? ? The Tsugumi Inn, a famed traditional Japanese inn boasting a history of over two hundred years. This was Yuri¡¯s home, an inn which could be found along Asakusa Butsudan Street. This luxurious Japanese inn? had welcomed countless famous celebrities thus far who had nothing but praise for their services, and was often feature on the TV as well. Especially of note was the new 8-storey annex, whose large bath on the top floor offered a panoramic view of the surroundings and the Skytree. However, that wasn¡¯t where we went; our destination was the old inn at the back. The old tiled roof building exuded a air of elegance as always, every part from the front gate in evoking the Edo style. It now served as the primary residence of the Tsugumi family, as well as the main office of the inn¡¯s management. ¡°It feels so long since we¡¯ve visited.¡± ¡°And we have it all to ourselves too.¡± ¡°What about your little sister?¡± ¡°She went along the trip with my parents, while I¡¯m in charge of house-sitting. ¡­I won¡¯t be alone, of course.¡± Yuri entered from the back entrance and ushered us in. We made our way to the living room, the antiquated wooden flooring sqeaking with our steps. The room was recently renovated closer to the western-style, but you could still see the modern Japanese influence here and there in the windows, furnitures and sliding screens. The interior design must have cost a bomb¡­ We finished up dinner prep in no time, and the three of us crowded around the iron griddle. The long-awaited grilling party now commences. The crackling sound of the meat grilling and that irresistible aroma stirred the appetites of us hungry highschoolers like nothing else. And did I forget to mention? The meat grilling right before our eyes was nothing less than Miyazaki beef! ¡°Ahh¡­ I can¡¯t believe I¡¯m actually tasting Miyazaki beef! I¡¯m so glad to be alive right now¡­ This meat, just when you thought it¡¯s melting in your mouth, the sweetness of the fat just burst through¡­¡± Miyazaki beef¡­ one bite alone is enough to make you a prisoner to its taste! They don¡¯t call this Japan¡¯s number one wagyu beef for nothing! That brilliant red flesh and beautiful marbling. You could even call this raw meat a piece of art! A brief sear is all it takes and when you put that piece of meat into your mouth, the umami renders you speechless! Fat so rich and exquisite, yet leaves a clean aftertaste¡­ I¡¯m in heaven! ¡°Hey, I was grilling that piece¡­!¡± ¡°You only have yourself to blame for spacing out. As they say, the top of the griddle is a battlefield. It¡¯s eat or be eaten!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t think I haven¡¯t caught you eating all the meat I¡¯ve been grilling! Some of them are even raw still¡­ Don¡¯t come crying to me when you get a stomachache later! And eat some veg too!¡± ¡°I am eating my vegetables. The grilled onions are sweet and delicious too, and I also like the bell peppers and squash. But nothing beats the saut¨¦d bean sprouts which have soaked up all that delicious meat juice¡­¡± I picked up a bunch of the sprouts and dipped them in just a bit of sauce before bringing them to my mouth. The slight crunch complements perfectly well after a mouthful of the flavorful meat. As if in wait for this moment when I wasn¡¯t looking, Kaoru scooped up a piece of meat with a, ¡°Now!¡±, and gobbled it along with a spoonful of white rice. ¡°When was it that Maki-chan became such a glutton, I wonder. Back at the Fujiwara Clan, you were this frail, beautiful princess¡­ Before I knew it, you had turned into this big eater who could swallow a pig whole, and swings around a bat or an odachi. I don¡¯t know if I should you¡¯ve grown healthily or what¡­¡± Commented Yuri on my voracious eating style while lining the griddle with a fresh batch of meat. Now that he mentioned it, I wasn¡¯t quite sure of it myself. I¡¯ve always had a big appetite as far as I¡¯ve known. And my bottomless stomach seemed to have followed me on to this life. Kaoru and Yuri too were on the can-really-eat side in fact, considering they¡¯re boys in the growing-up phase, so I think it might¡¯ve to do with those who can use spiritual energy. Not to mention, ayakashi fundamentally had a greater need for food, and were gourmet in general. Ah, that hit the spot! After we stuffed ourselves on the meat, Yuri further surprised us with an array of select fruit ice cream prepared by his mother. ¡°The Tsugumi Inn provides only the highest quality of service,¡± and with that motto in mind, she purchased them from a renowned fruit parlor located in Ginza. The six tiny cups were presented in neat rows in a fancy wooden box, looking extravagant enough to be made for a king. The flavor were vanilla and peach, honey yuzu, strawberry cheesecake, melon, mango and blueberry¡­ ¡°Let¡¯s split them by rock paper scissors.¡± Yuri set the box on the table, and we began the match promptly. The grand victory belonged to me, and I unhesitatingly chose the vanilla and peach that immediately caught my eye, but not without pumping my fist into the air first. The next winner was Yuri who picked the honey yuzu flavor. Lastly, the loser Kaoru chose the melon one. ¡°Oh well, they all look equally good to begin with¡­ And don¡¯t they always say, good things come to those who wait.¡± Muttered Kaoru who sounded sore after his utter defeat, but I didn¡¯t let that bother me and got to open my vanilla and peach ice cream. The deep-pink ice cream with peach bits formed swirls in the pure white milk base to form a beautiful marbled pattern. When my eyes have finished feasting on its splendor, I popped the whole thing into my mouth. The sensation made my eyes close reflexively. ¡°Ahh¡­ so sweet.¡± Sweetness like biting into a fresh, juicy peach flooded my tastebuds, along with a slight tartness that struck the perfect balance, and my face melted into ecstasy. Not to be outdone, the creamy vanilla ice cream gently coated the insides of my mouth and left a mellow aftertaste. I could ask for nothing better to finish off our meal of grilled meat. Yuri and Kaoru too were enamored by their respective frozen treats. ¡°Ice cream¡­ what a miracle this modern times has to offer. Back in the Heian period, the only desserts to speak of were either fruit jellies or karakudamono.¡± ¡°That brings me back¡­ karakudamono, huh.¡± That old dessert jolted our collective nostalgia. Karakudamono were a type of fried Chinese pastry served to aristocrats during the Heian period that was introduced by the envoy to Tang China. It was made by frying dough in sesame oil and dressed with a sweet syrup made from rice or wheat flour. In the past, it was a treat that was only available to the wealthy. But now, anyone could enjoy all kinds of delicious sweets with an infinite variety to choose from. The one thing I can confidently say I¡¯m thankful for to be born again in this era would be the food. Let me say it again¡­ Praise be to the modern people! ? ? ? After we finished relishing the elegant dessert and cleaned up, we spent the time leisurely playing cards. Time passed in a blink of an eye and it was time to bathe. The right to enter the bath first was to be decided by a life-or-death match of President. As usual, I was the one to win in this kind of game and the right to bathe first belonged to me. ¡°Ahh, this is paradise!¡± The house had a large bathtub made of Japanese cypress wood that went up to the shoulders when filled. Relaxing in it was the ultimate pleasure, and the cypress wood gave off a pleasant fragrance which soothed the mind. The tiny bathroom in my apartment could not even hope to compare. After a soaking to my satisfaction, I left the tub and put on the yukata Yuri prepared for me. ¡°My, what a cute design.¡± It was an elegant yukata with a red plum blossom design on a white background. Yuri once mentioned that they chose yukatas with designs that seemed popular with the female guests so I guess this was one of those. ¡°I¡¯m done, who¡¯s next?¡± I returned to the guest room as I dried my hair with the towel, and an immediate reply of, ¡°Finally, it¡¯s my turn,¡± came from Kaoru, who was chatting with Yuri on and off as they watch the TV and had a tired of waiting look on his face. ¡°Kaoru, look at this yukata.¡± What do you think? My eyes seemed to say as I stared at Kaoru, but he only uttered a few words with a straight face. ¡°You, make sure you properly dry off your hair.¡± And with that, he eagerly made his way to the bathroom. He really loves his bath after all¡­ Meanwhile, I was shaking with moroseness. ¡°Cheer up, Maki-chan. It looks really great on you.¡± ¡°Not you too, Yuri. Saying things you don¡¯t mean.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not true at all.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± Haah¡­ I sighed. I plopped down on the sofa Kaoru was sitting on before and wiped my hair with the towel. Yuri came right over and took it from me, saying ¡°Here, let me,¡± and began drying my hair. ¡°You¡¯re going to do it for me?¡± ¡°Yup, just relax.¡± Faced with his warmth-filled smile, I felt like a child being entrusted to her mother¡¯s care. His hands were extremely gentle, and even though he was just drying my hair, something warm seemed to transfer through my hair and even my back felt toasty. That was surely because of his gentle and transparent spiritual energy. Say, Yuri, you lost that match of President on purpose just now, didn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Not at all. I just got a despairingly bad hand, that¡¯s all.¡± ¡°¡­Alright, we¡¯ll just say that¡¯s what happened.¡± ¡°But it¡¯s true.¡± He just played dumb. As usual, I can¡¯t tell what he¡¯s thinking. ¡°Whatever the case, if only Kaoru could be as gentlemanly as you. That reaction just now. That¡¯s totally uncalled for.¡± ¡°Ahaha. Kaoru-kun¡¯s just too shy to say anything. You know that best, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°I know, but¡­¡± ¡°You may not think it seeing how he¡¯s like usually, but Kaoru-kun really can¡¯t do without you, Maki-chan.¡± Yuri said to assuage me. ¡°And I¡¯m not just talking about our past lives. Even now, because you¡¯re here by his side, Kaoru-kun can put his mind to various things, all while keeping you in thought. That¡¯s also why he¡¯s working so hard at his part-time jobs.¡± ¡°¡­Yuri.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no question in my mind, you two make the perfect husband and wife.¡± Although he was smiling, I could somehow sense a loneliness in his eyes. I recalled seeing this expression before. Just like us, Yuri¡¯s past life was also that of an ayakashi in the Heian period. Like Shuten-doji and Ibaraki-doji, he was a great youkai living in that era, the Nue. There were several tales about the ayakashi known as the Nue. Some of them depicted the Nue as having the face of a monkey, body of a raccoon dog, limbs of a tiger, and tail of a snake. Depending on the source, they could also be of some other different animal. However, the Nue that we knew of was a white and beautiful avian beast-like ayakashi. Well-versed in mimicry, he disguised himself as human for a long period of time, and involved himself in the matters of the Imperial Court¡­ That was the Nue. He served as a senior court official of the powerful Fujiwara Clan in the Heian Palace. From before the time I was born as princess of the Fujiwara Clan with the ability to see the supernatural, he had been there and thus took care of me in all aspects of life. That¡¯s why Yuri still feels like a guardian to me even now, and I rely on him for all sorts of matters. Over many years, he had supported the balance between humans and ayakashi in the Imperial Court, but was outed by the humans in the end, and exterminated. It was clear-cut for me and Kaoru who were completely on the side of the ayakashi. However, in his case, he couldn¡¯t completely let go of either sides¡­ So I can¡¯t help but feel that he must have felt terribly lonely. ¡°There, all done, Maki-chan.¡± As I brooded over the past, Yuri had dried my long hair immaculately, and was running a comb through them. I turned around while holding a strand of my hair between my fingers and fumbled with it. ¡°You¡¯re a lifesaver, Yuri. There¡¯s no one else but you who could manipulate spiritual power so finely as to replace a hair dryer.¡± ¡°It¡¯s no big deal. There¡¯s not much use to it other than such trivial tasks, and since I was reborn with such a vast reserve, it would¡¯ve gone to waste either way. Maybe I should do it for Kaoru-kun too. It wouldn¡¯t do to have him catch a cold because of that.¡± ¡°I doubt Kaoru would want that, he seems like he¡¯d hate it. Seriously, you¡¯re just like our mom, Yuri.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± At my remark, he looked back at me with blank eyes that resembled that of a dead fish. Yep, that probably didn¡¯t sound like a praise. ¡°But really¡­ I can¡¯t thank you enough. You and Kaoru are literally my savior in our past lives.¡± ¡°¡­Maki-chan.¡± ¡°This era is so peaceful and abundant, and there¡¯s countless delicacies to discover. ¡­It¡¯s almost like the pain and suffering of a thousand years ago was nothing but a lie. Still, the times may have changed, but I never stop having worries. Things like exam results and what to do in the future, stuff like that. Not to mention, my daily expenses¡­¡± ¡°Hehe.¡± The two of us giggled. Then, I turned around to face Yuri straight in the eye, and spoke from my heart. ¡°If anything happens, you can count on me being on your side, Yuri. No matter what.¡± Seeing me so serious, he looked slightly bewildered for a moment, but soon smiled back at me gently and nodded. ¡°Oh, right. How about I help you dry your hair later after you¡¯re done bathing? It¡¯ll be a breeze with my spiritual power.¡± ¡°H-Haha, I think I¡¯ll pass. How do I say it, your spiritual power is too fiery, I¡¯m afraid it¡¯d scorch my hair¡­ No, that wouldn¡¯t even be the worst case. If it goes badly, I¡¯d lose all my hair¡­ down to the roots even.¡± ¡°That¡¯s so rude! I was planning on being real careful too.¡± His skin was already pale to begin with, but now his face seemed to turn blue. Did he think my spiritual energy was napalm or something? Um, wait, what were we talking about in the first place again¡­? ¡°Haah¡­ I almost got lost in your house again, Yuri. Just how many rooms have you got.¡± Right then, Kaoru returned from his bath. ¡°Haha, well, the bathroom is located down the furthest back. It can¡¯t be helped since this house used an inn and was built that way. Sorry, was the corridor too dark? How¡¯s the temperature of the water?¡± ¡°Yeah, no complains there. I wish the bath at my house was so big. The whole place¡¯s big, I mean.¡± ¡°Ahaha. But, it¡¯s rather old and needlessly antiqued, so strange things do tend to show up too¡­¡± ¡°¡­Strange things?¡± ¡°Alright, it¡¯s my turn to bathe,¡± Said Yuri before leaving after giving us a smile and those suggestive words. I stared intently at Kaoru¡¯s appearance. ¡°What is it,¡± he asked as he gulped down a cup of cold water. ¡°That yukata¡­ You totally look like the old Shuten-doji, Kaoru.¡± ¡°Huh? Oh¡­ maybe.¡± He looked at his own yukata, then to my kimono, and sat down on the sofa. For a while, the two of us watched the usual drama series on the TV¡­ Out of the blue, Kaoru suddenly mentioned. ¡°Hey, Maki¡­ do feel something weird?¡± ¡°Huh, what¡¯s that? Are you saying my yukata looks weird?¡± ¡°What? No¡­ I¡¯m talking about this house. I didn¡¯t feel something like this the other time.¡± At Kaoru¡¯s words, I heightened my sense to search our surroundings for any other presence. He¡¯s right¡­ there¡¯s something else here. ¡°¡­It feels like there¡¯s something staring at us.¡± I whipped my head to the side, and glared at the gap between the fusuma. The pleasant air around us turned tense instantly. At the same time, the presence spying on us promptly withdrew. ¡°Hold up!¡± I jumped up and forcefully pulled the sliding door opened to try to capture the escaping something. However, there¡¯s was nothing behind the door. Only the long, dark corridor. ¡°¡­Where could it have gone. I swear it was behind here earlier.¡± ¡°Is it an ayakashi?¡± Kaoru walked past me into the corridor and looked around. We turned to look at each other, then with a nod, walked down the corridor gingerly. *Creak* *Creak* The vacant corridor of an old and dark former inn. The unsettling quietness further accented the creepiness of the place. The darkness further down the corridor; the stains on the walls and the ceiling; the creaking of the floorboard. It was precisely such ambience which led humans to make out things like the ayakashi and the paranormal. The frigid air seemed to cling onto the skin like a damp cloth¡­ ¡°What should I do if a ghost pops out, Kaoru?¡± ¡°There¡¯s not much difference between a ghost and an ayakashi anyway, what¡¯s there to be afraid of.¡± ¡°They¡¯re totally different, okay! I¡¯m not really comfortable with things my fists can¡¯t touch¡­¡± ¡°You are what scares me instead, seriously. ¡­Hmm?¡± Kaoru came to a sudden stop. Pricking up my ears, I could hear a strange cooing sounds come from somewhere. Hooo¡­ Hooo¡­ It was soft but disconcerting. Apparently, it was coming from the above floor. As if guided by the cries, we ascended the stairs to the second floor, and came out to the corridor lined with antiquated guest rooms. ¡°This is the room.¡± We walked silently without a sound till we came before the room where the creepy sounds was coming from. I know it¡¯s rude to go around someone else¡¯s house and enter their rooms without permission, but it¡¯s better than doing nothing if something strange is going on. With that excuse in mind, I stretched my hand out towards the door. Right beside me, Kaoru took a gulp. However, before I could open it, a hand clutched my shoulder. ¡°¡°EEEEEKKK!!¡±¡± Kaoru and I both let out mighty shrieks. ¡°Wh-Wha-¡­ What¡¯s the matter, you guys?!¡± We turned around to find a boy who just got out of the bath with a look of surprise on his face. Dressed in a white yukata and a indigo-brown haori, he did indeed invoked a sense of ephemerality, but clearly wasn¡¯t a ghost. It was just Yuri. ¡°Yuri! Don¡¯t scare us like this!¡± ¡°Huh? I spooked you guys? The two of you??¡± Kaoru and I were clinging onto each other and shivering with goosebumps. Looking at us, Yuri burst into laughter as he clutched his stomach. ¡°What¡¯re you laughing about.¡± ¡°I feel kinda pissed off somehow.¡± ¡°I mean, it¡¯s funny, isn¡¯t it? In terms of strength, you two are the among the top-class ayakashi ever recorded in history, the Shuten-doji and Ibaraki-doji. Even in the official ranking of historical exorcism difficulty published by the modern Onmyou Bureau, you two oni are up there in the SS-Rank. And yet¡­ *pft* look how scaredy you are¡­ Hahahaha.¡± Now he¡¯s starting to make us feel embarrassed instead, and I unconsciously raised my shaking fist. Of course, to those who knew of our past identities as that of great youkai, it may be amusing to see us being so timid. Still, there are times when we could get surprised too. ¡°Phew. But I¡¯m sure those behind the door are much, much more afraid than you guys. After all, two big shots have gotten so close to them.¡± Yuri opened the door and slid open the fusuma. To our surprise, several small animal-like ayakashi such as the one-eyed goblin and zashiki-warashi?, as well as some other ones I don¡¯t even know the names of, were tucked into the opposite corner and trembling. ¡°How come there¡¯s ayakashi in your house, Yuri? Aren¡¯t these rooms meant for humans to stay?¡± ¡°Nue-sama!¡± The weak-looking ayakashi flocked towards Yuri¡¯s legs. He gently stroked their heads while giving a troubled smile. ¡°These little ones¡­ they are still weak and lack the power to mimic humans and find work. With no place to call their own in this city, they came to me for help. Since we have lots of empty rooms, I thought it would be alright for them to stay here where they¡¯d be safe, but¡­¡± Looking around, we saw even more small and weak ayakashi start to gather around this room. They must all be living here in the old inn. ¡°¡­You¡¯re okay with that, Yuri?¡± ¡°Well¡­ there¡¯s only so much I can do. After all, this house is as much my family¡¯s as it is mine. Lately, they¡¯ve been feeling something out-of-place. Especially my little sister¡­¡± Hooo¡­ Hooo¡­ The creepy cries started again. When he heard it, Yuri went to the windowside and opened the sliding door and window. The beautiful dark blue skies adorned with a bright moon. Just then, a small white bird flew down to the windowsill. It was a lovely bird ayakashi that gave off a pale white-blue glow like that of the moonlit night. ¡°Is that¡­ a thrush?¡± It somehow reminded me of Yuri¡¯s past appearance when I look at the bird. ¡°That¡¯s right. This thrush ayakashi has feathers which glows silver, so they call it a tsukitsugumi.¡± ¡°So basically, it¡¯s like the lowest grade of a Nue, huh. Anyway, I didn¡¯t expect it would find its way here.¡± Kaoru observed the tsukitsugumi intently. Yuri bent down by the window and extended a finger. The tsukitsugumi hopped onto his finger without hesitation and let out a ¡°Hoo. Hoo.¡± ¡°Is this what you wanted to talk to us about?¡± Kaoru seemed to have figured it out. ¡°¡­Yeah. I¡¯m actually at a bit of a loss. Because of the tsukitsugumi¡¯s cries every night, my little sister who¡¯s a bit sensitive to spiritual energy can¡¯t seem to sleep. The staff retreat today was actually suggested by me to take her away so that she could get some rest¡­¡± This is just what ayakashi were like. No matter how much they tried to live in secret, they caused trouble to people just by being close. The unearthly atmosphere they give off naturally is poisonous to humans, regardless of whether it was released intentionally or not. This holds all the more true for something like the tsukitsugumi¡¯s cries, which were feared by people since ancient times as an omen of disaster. For those who knew close to nothing about the ayakashi, hearing a strange cry without an apparent source every night was sure to spook them. ¡°I¡¯m really glad these ayakashi came to me for help, but at the same time, I feel conflicted. Right now, I¡¯m already human. And I also have a precious family and their normal lives I wish to protect.¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s only natural. This house belongs to your family. Rather, it¡¯s these little ones who trespassed inside and squatted illegally who are the problem.¡± Said Kaoru as he glared at the lower youkai, sending them trembling in fear. This is indeed a pickle. This kind of thing happened from time to time, where those ayakashi with no place to go or have some kind of special circumstance come to us former great youkai for assistance. And in the case of Yuri, he was extra kind and empathetic to begin with, so the weak ayakashi adores and loves him. All the more so since he lives in an old Japanese inn with an excess of rooms, oh how convenient it must have been to find them a living space¡­ Nonetheless, Yuri was now human. And he constantly hangs in his mouth that family was his number one priority. ¡°It¡¯s been around two weeks since this one came to me, I guess. It got lost in this sprawling city despite its young age. By all rights, it should be living in the forest where it can spread its wings freely in the skies and sing its song, nurturing itself on the fresh air and spiritual energy of mother nature¡­ But, now that it¡¯s here, there¡¯s no place it can live.¡± ¡°Indeed. Small animal-like ayakashi may be unsuitable for Asakusa. Then again, we can¡¯t release it back into the forest just like that. There¡¯re some maniacs out there who¡¯d pay a fortune for even a single of its feathers. It¡¯d get captured and sold to the highest bidder in no time. And those underhanded dealers exist on both the humans and ayakashi side.¡± ¡°Yep. That why we can¡¯t return it to the forest until it grows sufficiently to be able to protect itself.¡± Kaoru and Yuri both crossed their arms as they brainstormed for a solution. In the human world, there were those who illegally hunted animals for their skins or horns. This is true as well for the ayakshi world. In the case of this tiny tsukitsugumi, it¡¯s cute appearance and luminous feathers makes it an attractive pet in the eyes of some humans who could see ayakashi. I squinted hard at the little bird on Yuri¡¯s finger. ¡°How ¡®bout this, Yuri. You can leave this child under my care for the time being. I live alone after all, and the apartment I live in doesn¡¯t have a single human living there due to its desolate state.¡± ¡°¡­There you go again, sticking your nose in ayakashi business where you don¡¯t belong.¡± I proudly stated my suggestion, and as expected, Kaoru protested. ¡°But if there¡¯s anyone who could train this child, it¡¯d be me. I¡¯ll do it until it can at least mimic a person.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to hear you grouch if you start losing sleep because of it. That¡¯s an ayakashi that cries throughout the night, you know.¡± ¡°No problemo. I¡¯m rather confident in my ability to sleep through any din¡­¡± ¡°As usual, you¡¯re a woman without a single lick of elegance.¡± As always, Yuri intervened between us with a, ¡°Alright, alright, let¡¯s stop with the lovers¡¯ spat there.¡¯ But, it can¡¯t be complete without Kaoru arguing back, ¡°We¡¯re not having a lovers¡¯ spat!¡± ¡°Are you sure about that, Maki-chan? I feel bad troubling you.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to say a single word more, Yuri. It may be attached to you now, but I¡¯m something of a great youkai myself. I¡¯ll make this darling swear its allegience to me to matter what.¡± ¡°Is it just me or does it sound like your goal has changed?¡± Ignoring Kaoru¡¯s snide remark, I held a finger out and coaxed the tsukitsugumi, ¡°C¡¯mere you.¡± ¡°You need to let Yuri go. You don¡¯t wanna trouble him any further, do you? So come stay with me from tomorrow onwards, okay?¡± The bird twisted its neck to look at Yuri, followed by me. Then it bit my finger and flew away into the night sky. ¡°Oww¡­ Where do you think you¡¯re going after biting me!¡± ¡°Hahaha. That must be what they mean by bonding through physical contact. I think it likes you, Maki-chan.¡± As I rubbed the spot where it pecked me, Yuri took my hand. His warm spiritual power transmitted from his hand and soothed the pain. ¡°¡­Thank you, Maki-chan.¡± As usual, his smile looked ephemeral. He turned his gaze towards the night sky. Bathed in the pale-blue moonlight, his side profile tinged with melancholy looked extraordinarily beautiful. A long, long time ago¡­ Back when he was still known as the Nue, I occasionally saw him staring into the moon-hung night sky like this, as if he despaired at the world. Hooo¡­ Hooo¡­ In the Heian period, it was believed that hearing this unsettling cries signalled the forthcoming disaster. Meanwhile, it looked like we¡¯d have to go to sleep hearing the cries of this violent tsukitsugumi. ? ? ? ¡°Ugh¡­ I just can¡¯t seem to fall asleep.¡± The tsukitsugumi¡¯s cries were part of it, but that wasn¡¯t all. Yup, I¡¯m not hearing wrongly. There¡¯s definitely some clacking noise coming from the room next door. Kaoru and Yuri were supposed to be sleeping behind that fusuma separating our rooms. When I opened a slit to spy, I spotted the two of them playing shogi by the light of a hinotama which called this place home. ¡°Aah! How could the two of you play while keeping me in the dark! I knew it!¡± I pushed open the sliding door rather forcefully and protested, but Kaoru and Yuri turned only their heads towards me, their hands still on the pieces. ¡°She noticed as I expected¡­¡± Kaoru seemed to have known that it would turn out like this. He gave out a weary sigh that was signature to him. ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you, Yuri. We should¡¯ve locked her up in a single room.¡± ¡°Y-Yeah.¡± ¡°And you, Maki. How could you enter a boy¡¯s room just like that. Shame on you. Why do you even think we decided to split the rooms like this? Though I must admit, it was too na?ve on our part to expect to be able to get a good sleep when we¡¯re just separated by a thin fusuma.¡± ¡°Do you even hear yourself, after I caught you guys playing! Not to mention, aren¡¯t you the one who always says that even if the three of us lay down together, it¡¯d just be group of elderly!¡± ¡°That¡¯s not the problem here.¡± Kaoru flat out declared. ¡°It¡¯s totally unfair that you guys are the only one playing and chatting together.¡± ¡°We aren¡¯t chatting. We only talked a bit about the weather since it seems like it might rain later¡­ while playing shogi.¡± ¡°And a bit to do about lifestyle¡­ while playing shogi.¡± ¡°Two boys of your age staying up late secretly and this is what you do. You guys seriously reek of old age. ¡­Oh well, I already knew that you two loved to play shogi and Go since kindergarten¡­ or rather, since our past lives. Go on and play. ¡­But I¡¯m keeping this fusuma open.¡± With that, the two boys turned to look at each other, then continued with their game. With the fusuma open, the hinotama flew here and there and I returned to my futon. Oh, right. Let¡¯s make that hinotama my bolster. It¡¯ll surely be warm. Thinking that, I grabbed the hinotama when it zipped by and stuffed it into my futon and hugged it. When he saw that, Kaoru pointed over and said, ¡°Maki just ate the hinotama as a midnight snack!¡± But I¡¯ll just ignore him. There probably isn¡¯t any other highschool girl using a hinotama as a bolster, but it really is soft and fluffy and warm¡­ Just when I was feeling comfortable, the pitter-patter of the rain came, along with the smell of petrichor. ¡°Huh, it really started raining.¡± I got out of my futon and rushed into the corridor to shut the windows. Yuri and Kaoru too got up and closed the windows further down the corridor. ¡°¡­Hmm?¡± Outside of the window was the courtyard, but¡­ A silvery fox was standing right there. Even in the rain, its fur coat still shined brilliantly in the night. ¡°That surprised me¡­ Is that a fox spirit? Did it come here looking for Yuri too?¡± I stuck my head out of the window and shouted, ¡°You okay there?¡± But the fox only stared at me for a while before bolting away without a sound. What is it¡­? It was extremely beautiful, and somehow, it felt kinda familiar. I closed the window and returned to the room. Yuri and Kaoru came back shortly. ¡°Hey, you two, did you saw a fox also¡­¡± I was telling them about the fox when just then. A flash of light flooded the room, followed by a *boom*. The three of us recoiled and held our bodies close. ¡°¡­¡­Huh?¡± Another thunder and lightning. And suddenly, a human silhouette showed up on the sliding door by the corridor. When the rumbling died down. The shadow was gone as well¡­ ¡°¡­Did you see it?¡± ¡°Y-Yeah¡­¡± I gritted my teeth and opened the sliding door with momentum. Alas, there was no one there, neither to the left or right of the corridor. The darkness at the end of the corridor felt eerie all of a sudden, and I could feel a strange chill emanating from that direction which wasn¡¯t present just now. ¡°Could it be a thief?¡± ¡°But there¡¯s not a single beep from the security system¡­ And in the first place, the ayakashi here would¡¯ve let me know of any such intruder.¡± The lingering sense of unease was also felt by Yuri and Kaoru. Falling rain in the dead of the night¡­ and the faraway rumbling of thunder¡­ ¡°Huh? Did you bring this with you, Maki-chan?¡± ¡°What?¡± Another strange incident occurred. Yuri was the first one to notice it. Right by my feet was our ¡°club activity journal¡±, its pages flipped open to one with the title: Why must we ayakashi be exterminated by the humans? It was the central conundrum we¡¯ve always held. Herein this record of our club activities lay the grievances, regrets, laments and anger we¡¯ve experienced which we still couldn¡¯t find an answer to. My eyes slowly went wide. ¡°Huh¡­ what, why?! I¡¯m pretty sure I kept this inside the desk drawer!¡± Perplexed, I picked up the journal and held it close to my chest. My heart was still racing. What the hell is going on¡­ ¡°Did you bring it back with you by accident, Maki¡­¡± ¡°No, that doesn¡¯t seem to be the case. Maki-chan seems genuinely shocked.¡± Both Kaoru and Yuri were speechless as well. After all, they both witnessed me locking it up inside the desk drawer. In that case, who could¡¯ve possibly taken it and placed it here? Was it that silhouette just now¡­? But, who? The three of us looked at one another, question marks on our faces. Is there really something in this old building¡­ no, perhaps it¡¯s more accurate to ask was there¡­ Afterwards, we went one around the other rooms and questioned the lower ayakashi regarding what we saw, but they didn¡¯t see any suspicious person nor ayakashi¡­ ? ? ? As a result of the unknown intruder, I ended up spending the night in the same room as Kaoru. Yuri was the one who suggested that. Also, it was a cunning excuse for him to return to his own room. ¡°Maki, hey¡­ your spiritual power is feeling too sharp and prickly and it¡¯s poking me¡­¡± ¡°Well yeah, I¡¯m like a cat with all its fur standing right now.¡± Tucked in my futon, I was in vigilant mode. The chill I felt under my feet earlier was just that strong that it made me so on the edge. In the end, we didn¡¯t manage to figure out what it was¡­ ¡°Say, Kaoru.¡± ¡°I¡¯m asleep. And sleeping people don¡¯t talk.¡± I tried to call out to him only to be met by a cold response. And it seemed like he was facing his back towards me too. But it¡¯s clear that he¡¯s awake still. ¡°That thing just now, from the chills that came from it, do you think it¡¯s a vengeful spirit of some kind¡­? Kaoru?¡± ¡°Souls which die with lingering attachment become ghosts. It applies to both humans and ayakashi. And those with especially strong regrets or hatred turn into evil spirits. You should know¡­ Haven¡¯t you seen your fair share of such cases.¡± In response to Kaoru¡¯s dry logic, I could only reply weakly, ¡°Sure, I mean¡­¡± I was still on high alert with half my head peeking out of the futon, but my mind was filled with pensive thoughts. Being in a dark room like this brought back memories of my past life when I was still the weak and powerless princess Ibarahime. Just because I had eyes which could see the supernatural, I¡¯ve had case where evil spirits tried to take over my body more times than I could count. That was the reason why I remain slightly frightful of ghosts till this day. Kaoru mentioned earlier that ghosts and ayakashi were not that different, but I consider ayakashi as something special. The number of times I had been targeted by them may have been as plenty as the stars filling the skies, but at the same time, I was saved by an ayakashi, that¡¯s why¡­ ¡°Maki¡­?¡± Kaoru must have found it weird that I was being so quiet. He shuffled to lie on his back and turned his head to face me, and said to me in a whisper. ¡°¡­You looked good.¡± ¡°Huh? What are you talking about?¡± ¡°Your yukata just now¡­ It looks just like the past you.¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± Because it was so sudden, I froze still with my mouth wide open. But I immediately regained my composure, and reached an arm out to grab Kaoru and shake him around powerfully. ¡°Huh, what was that?! Say it again! One more time!¡± ¡°You being scared was just a lie, wasn¡¯t it! Like hell I¡¯d say it again! My lips are zipped as tight as a drum¡­ And stop shaking me like that with your crazy strength! I¡¯ll die!¡± Oh, Kaoru. He¡¯s so bashful¡­ I nudged my body along to the end of my futon, and tried appealing to him: ¡°Bring your hand out.¡± He silently jutted out his right hand as if to say ¡®I don¡¯t need this any more, you can have it,¡¯ so I grabbed it tightly. ¡°It¡¯s hot¡­ Your hands, it¡¯s always so hot.¡± ¡°Yeah, my body temperature is rather high. That must be my metabolism acting. And Kaoru, your hands are cold as always¡­¡± For a while, we just held hands in silence. His big, bony hand didn¡¯t squeeze mine back tightly, but I still felt secure just holding them. The rain continued to fall for some time before letting up. Look like it¡¯s just a passing night shower. The clear moonlight came out from their hiding place and illuminated the sliding door, casting the shadow of its lattice on my white futon. Without thinking too deeply, I whispered out loud a doubt that wouldn¡¯t leave my mind. ¡°Say, Kaoru. Why is it do you think¡­ that we didn¡¯t stayed on as ghosts, but instead reincarnated into this time period?¡± Kaoru did not say anything. Perhaps it¡¯s because he couldn¡¯t find an answer either. Instead, his hand which held mine tightened a bit. In the journal by my pillowside recounted all those things we experienced in our past lives¡­ Despite dying undeserved deaths and being filled with curses and regrets during the Heian period, the three of us did not turn into vengeful or evil spirits. Although it wouldn¡¯t have been strange at all for it to happen¡­ Still, here we are, in the ¡°modern¡± era, reborn and living as humans. ¡°Hooo¡­ Hooo¡­¡± As silence hung in the room, the tsukitsugumi¡¯s cries resumed sporadically. Filled with nothing but questions, I started to get tired. It¡¯s useless to think any further at times like this. Plus I¡¯m sleepy. And nothing scares me as long as Kaoru is by my side. Tomorrow¡¯s the weekend. I¡¯ll just sleep to my heart¡¯s content and laze in bed. My name is Taguchi Saki, a third-year and president of the newspaper club. To the average school population, I¡¯m known as ¡°Taguchi the Hyena¡±. The trio managed to dodge my surprise interview offhandedly just now, but little do they know, the phrase ¡°Give up¡± does not exist in my dictionary. Come hell or high water, I will produce enough content about them to fill up a page in the campus newsletter for next month! None can nor shall anyone stop my ambition! That being the case, here I am in search of truth, in front of the empty folklore studies club clubroom. ¡°I sure hope there¡¯s some juicy information that the readers are dying to know, preferably the romance related stuff.¡± There¡¯s no one around, so it¡¯s all-I-can-rummage. It went without saying that I safely infiltrated the old art preparation room in the dusk. The first thing that strike me was how cramp the room was with all the miscellaneous objects lying here and there, most of them covered in a layer of dust. And also¡­ the mystifying list of words written on the whiteboard. Why must we ayakashi be exterminated by the humans? ~What could we have done that would¡¯ve allowed us to avoid the death ending?~ <<>> ¡°¡­¡­Huh?¡± I couldn¡¯t help but utter. After all, it was just so absolutely ridiculous. Things like Abe no Seimei, Shuten-doji blah blah blah¡­ there¡¯s what sounds like items. Are they talking about a game or something? Frankly, I even feel embarrassed for them reading all this. To think this is what those three who have so many fans are doing. ¡°I-Is there something else?¡± I don¡¯t want learn about their loony tendency. Just give me something spicy that¡¯d make the readers scream. Suddenly, the drawer under the wooden desk caught my eye. I managed to pry it open somehow. ¡°¡­Club activity journal? Whoops¡­ could this be a lucky find?¡± Thinking it¡¯d be something worth reading, I took it out and opened it. Why must we ayakashi be exterminated by the humans? And was greeted once more by that senseless title¡­ What the hell is this even, it makes no sense! ¡°N-Nevermind that. Let me just bring this home and study it in detail. I¡¯ll reserve my judgement for after I¡¯m done reading, then I¡¯ll return it here first thing next morning.¡± Anyway, I tucked the journal under my arm and looked through the titles of the books left haphazardly around the shelves. ¡°Encyclopedia of Ayakashi¡±, ¡°The Mysteries of the UMA¡±, ¡°Crazy Powerful Power Spots and Where to Find Them¡±. The books and magazine all had dubious titles as such. Seriously?! What the heck are they doing in this room?!! ¡°¡­¡­¡± Tic tic tic¡­ I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s because I was in an empty room at this late hour, but the sound of the dusty clock on the wall sounded strangely loud. ¡°W-Well, I now know that those three are doing some seriously kooky research over here. I still don¡¯t know if it¡¯s just a hobby or if they¡¯re serious about it, but their chuunibyou over the occult is in the terminal stage, it seems¡­ Will anyone even be glad to read about this¡­? A-Anyway, I just need to report the truth. Now is the time we lifted the veil of secrecy behind those three¡­¡± Trying to pump myself up, I took out my pen and notepad and narrated to myself. Just then, I felt a sharp gaze at my back, and jumped around. ¡°¡­Eh?¡± As I thought, there was someone there. But my head started to spin and my vision turned dark. I could hear a man¡¯s low voice coming to me from afar. ¡­Forget all you¡¯ve just seen. In the corner of my blackening vision, I seem to have seen a beautiful, swaying golden tail. ? ? ? ¡°Senpai. Taguchi-senpai¡­ Wake up!¡± When I opened my eyes, the skies were a light navy blue and I could spot a few stars appearing in the twilight. It would appear that I had been dozing off on a bench in the courtyard between the old and new school building. And the one shaking me awake was Micchan, aka Aiba Michiru. ¡°Senpai, what were you doing sleeping here?¡± ¡°Huhn¡­ Why was it again?¡± ¡°Oh, come on, get a grip! You just ran off saying you were gonna get that surprise interview then you didn¡¯t come back, that¡¯s why I came to find you. Did you get any info on those three?¡± Oh, right. I had snuck into the folklore studies club clubroom, hoping to find something that¡¯d give me a clue into the relationship between those three, romance-related info in particular, but¡­ ¡°¡­Yeah, that. There was nooot a single thing. All I found were dusty easels and brushes. Nothing of note nor any info at all.¡± Wait, was that really the case? I have this feeling I discovered something actually. Maybe I¡¯m still half-asleep, that¡¯s why. ¡°In that case, it¡¯s all up to me then, since I¡¯m in the same class and all. There¡¯re many events lined up for us second-years after all, such as outdoors school, the cultural festival and the field trip too. I know the newspaper club already covers all the events and their ongoings, as well as a special feature on the couples who come together during those times, but you can count on me to keep chasing after info on those three relentlessly!¡± ¡°Micchan¡­ You¡¯re such a good girl! As expected of my number 1 disciple¡­¡± As the growth of my junior in the newspaper club brought a tear to my eye, I got up from the bench and stretched, taking a yawn in process. That must be it, my mind must still be dreamy. I have no doubts that I went into the clubroom and fished around for juicy materials. And there was nothing. Nothing¡­? A gust of cold wind blew past, causing the branches of the weeping sakura that was right in front of the folklore studies clubroom to sway back and forth. ¡°¡­The proud do not endure, they are like a dream on a spring night¡­¡± For no reason, that phrase came out from my mouth. Why the Tale of the Heike? Did I read that somewhere recently¡­? ¡°Sen-pai, it¡¯s almost school closing time. Let¡¯s get back already.¡± Micchan was calling me, so I ran and caught up to her and left the place.