Nakashima Wakana may be many things, but she doesn't believe herself to be an idiot. One mustn't go to the war without weapons.
Well, her weapons are...
"Holy books? Salt? Iron?" Sayuri checks out the items in the bag one by one. "Didn't they already fail? Father even tried to get you exorcised by a priest when you were 7."
"Don't forget that scammer shaman." Natsumi flips the pages of the holy book. "She took so much money. Thanks to her, I realized that I want to be a lawyer. If I find her again, I will sue her for sure."
"I really liked her colorful clothes." Sayuri picks up the small wooden branch. "Uh... is this by any chance?"
"A magic wand?" Natsumi raises her brow at Wakana.
"It's a ghost repelling wood. I read about it online." Wakana takes it back from Sayuri. "It took me all day to find it."
"Is there any wood that repels stupidity?" Natsumi cocks her head.
"Uh..." Wakana blinks her eyes at her.
"Wakana, you aren't doing this for Minami Sei, are you?"
"Hahaha!" Sayuri clutches her stomach and laughs. "Sister, she's not a fool. To do such a dangerous thing for a boy, it means that she likes him. That's impossible."
"Why is it impossible?" Natsumi grimaces at her. "She might be in love with him since the moment she saw his parents die."
Liking Minami Sei? Does she still like him? That prickly boy? Ha! As if! She would rather start living in the cemetery.
"I am here, both of you." Wakana raises her hand. "I don't like Minami Sei. What's there to like about him?"
"He's handsome. He's taller than you are. He is dashing. He is polite, smart, and good at sports." Sayuri begins to list. Wakana and Natsumi stare at her. Sayuri chuckles. "Oh, don't look at me like that. It's my hobby to observe people's bodies to design appropriate clothes that suit them. Whether one is fat, tall, thin, or small, all kinds of people will be able to find clothes for them in my store. The name of my fashion brand will be..."
Sayuri looks toward the window with dreamy eyes. "SaWaNa."
"Huh?" Wakana hasn't heard of that name ever.
"Sa from Sayuri, Wa from Wakana and Wataru, and Na from Natsumi and Nachiko," Sayuri explains. Nakashima Nachiko is the name of their mother. "What do you think?"
Wakana gives her a thumbs up. Total approval!
Natsumi smiles softly. "It's not bad. I thought that you would choose something like Lily."
"I was going to, but Lily is already a brand name. It's quite popular too." Sayuri resumes checking out the ghost repelling items. "Back to the topic. Wakana isn't crazy enough to like a boy who is completely out of her league."
"Why is he out of my league?" Wakana is offended. "You always tell me that I am quite good looking. I can easily become a model. Our neighborhood aunties always say that we are pretty. Father also says that we are celestial beauties."
"Of course, you are pretty." Sayuri gives her an encouraging slap on her upper arm. "You are my sister. How could you not be pretty? Didn't you hear that our mother was the prettiest one in the village?"
"Father was handsome too." Or so she heard from the gossipy aunties. Wakana sighs. "Even at this age, Father is the most handsome face of the village."
"Not anymore. His position has been overtaken by Minami Sei." Sayuri tells her, "His top status as the handsome guy isn't the reason why he's out of your league."
"What is the reason?" Natsumi is getting angrier. She dislikes Minami Sei for the obvious reasons.
"It's because of her dark past." Sayuri doesn't dance around the cause anymore. "When she was in elementary school, didn't she go around and tell people how she can find out the secrets? There was one time when she tried to find out how someone's husband died. People started her calling the child from hell. Nobody has forgotten about it and she wears gloves. She rarely goes outside. She screams when she touches dead fishes. Our father is a fisherman."
"I can't even eat fish and meat." Wakana rubs her belly. "I hate this."
"You are popular at the school as the loony bin." Sayuri pats Wakana's head. "Don't worry. Natsumi is called something worse. She's the cold b*tch."
"What are you?" Natsumi snaps at Sayuri. She's aware of the names that other people call her behind her back.
"They like me because I am a fashion expert. I can also make friends," Sayuri replies honestly. "I am endorsing my future brand. People skills are important, Sister."
Natsumi shakes her head. "Being excellent is important."
"Not being like me is important." Wakana touches the ghost repelling wood. "If you are not like me, you can eat fish and meat. You can become a fisherwoman too."
Sayuri and Natsumi become quiet. Wakana packs her weapons. It's going to be midnight soon. She might be doing this for Minami Sei, but her reasons are clean. She's the only one who knows about the red guest. She doesn't like him. What's there to like? He's handsome? Meh~
"Even if you were not the way you are, Father wouldn't let you go to the sea and become a fisherwoman." Natsumi breaks the silence. "There are other jobs that you can do. How about going to college and taking the exam to get a desk job that pays well?"
"I don't want to go to college." Wakana is adamant about not adding more to her father's worries. Going to school has been more than enough. "I am going to be a police officer. I can become a traffic police officer."
Just because she's following Minami Sei, does she have to be in the same branch? He will think that she's stalking him. She needs a job because she needs money to live. The teacher was right. She can't live like a freeloader.
"Good." Natsumi smiles brightly at Wakana. "If you had said that you wanted to be a detective, I would have thrown you into the sea."
"Am I an idiot?" Wakana rolls her eyes. "I am not a masochist like Minami Kun who wants to be a detective because he hates the sight of blood. I will help the elderly and the children cross the road. I will catch bad guys who break the speed limit. That's more suitable for me."
Sayuri imagines Wakana smiling at people and helping them cross the road. She doesn't know why she finds it funny.