'Hey, wake up! You can't sleep here!' I heard a voice said, and the next second, I was shaken by a strong pair of hands by my shoulders.
'Where, then?' I asked, sleepily.
'Anywhere, but not here! You're in the way!'
That voice… I can't recognize it!
Instantly, my eyes blew open and I sat up in a jerk to find myself confronted to three strangers. They were two men and a woman, who were clothed traditionally, with each one of them carrying a Japanese traditional lantern. But the worse part was not that I didn't know these people, but I didn't even know where I was!
I looked around of myself, frantic to find my person in an unknown city under the night sky!
How- When did I- Where am I?!
'Will you get up or not?!' one of the men demanded at me, his expression growing impatient. 'You're in the way of the procession!'
The procession? A procession? Which procession?
Just as he had said that, abruptly, I could hear traditional music playing- like those that are usually played during Obon festivals- and I could decipher the sound of marching. That's when I caught sight of a large group of people, who were at least a hundred in number, marching into this direction, each one holding a lantern in their hands too.
I jumped to my feet on the spot.
What are all these people doing here? Where are they going? And I, what am I doing here?
My last souvenir was my going to bed at the cottage in Chikasue!
'Are you here to take part in the procession?' the woman asked me, and I looked at her face, too confused to form a real sentence. 'Pro-Procession?' I only managed to stammer.
'Yes! The Hyakki Yagyō!'
The Hyakki Yagyō?!
My heart jumped to my throat.
Does this mean that-
As I looked at the woman and the two men accompanying her more closely, I realized that they didn't look so human anymore!
'You- You are yōkai!' I cried out, backing away, horror-struck.
'I have difficulty to understand your reaction!' the woman told me, in a giggle. 'Why are you so surprised when, you are yourself a yōkai?'
'Me- A yōkai?!' I gasped, completely disheveled.
'Yes,' she chuckled, and at this, she transformed into a large, tall mirror, and I saw my reflection become altered to show me horns growing on my forehead, a long, pointed tail growing out of my back and my canines becoming longer and sharper.
'No, this can't be!' I squalled, reaching up for the horns on my forehead. I could feel them under my touch!
Covering my face with my hands and pressing my eyes shut, I screamed my lungs out with horror.
***
Shunsui's eyes blew wide open as he heard a scream. It was the dark-haired girl's voice. She must have had a nightmare, he said to himself, and couldn't help but feel a bit guilty for having forced her to play to the Hyakumonogatari Kaidankai when she was so terrified of the supernatural.
He had been about to get out of his bed to go to see her and comfort her when, he heard the door opposite of his room open. It was Gōjun. He, too, must have been awakened by the girl's scream.
The reddish-brown-haired young man decided to stay put, a small self-satisfied smile coming to his lips.
Well, well! It was not such a bad idea to play that game after all!
Even if he wanted to go and comfort the girl too, he decided to leave it entirely to Gōjun.
As he was about to close his eyes again, out of the blue, he realized that he could hear somebody breathing next to him. He froze into place, his heart skipping a beat. He was not alone in his bed!
Slowly, he turned his head to the side to look at the person who had huddled herself against his side, and his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets when he saw that that person was none other than his mother, Tsubasa Shigeizumi!
He had to clasp his hand over his mouth, in order, not to shout.
I can't believe it! She has sleepwalked to my room again! I should have locked my door!
The woman was fast asleep, and even then, she had a smile on her face. He was about to shake her out of sleep, but then dropped the idea.
I guess that I don't have any other choice but to go downstairs and sleep on the sofa! he said to himself, holding his forehead with his hand and sighing heavily.
But just as he made a movement to get out of the bed, unexpectedly, the woman let out a small groan in her sleep and shifted closer to him, clutching his arm.
Shunsui stopped moving dead to stare at the woman's face, awkwardly. Gently, he reached out to try to unloosen her grip on him, but she was holding onto his arm with both of her hands, a stubborn expression on her face.
I really can't believe this!
There was no way that he could make her let go of him without waking her up.
Holding his face with his hand, he closed his eyes and shook his head slightly, letting out another sigh.
He guessed that he had no other option now, but to remain where he was and try to get some sleep.
***
My eyes snapped wide open, my ears filled with the sound of a scream that I recognized to be my own.
It- It was only a nightmare! I realized, as I took in my surrounding.
I was back to my room, at the cottage, in Chikasue!
Oh, Kami-sama!
My whole body was wracking with terror, and pressing my eyes shut, I hid my face with both my arms, my heart pounding in my chest, my breathing coming out into pants. For a whole minute, I remained like this, until I heard a familiar voice call, 'Oi!'
Letting out a startled yelp, I jumped backward, entering a sitting position, to stare at the person holding himself there at the side of my bed.
'Gōjun!' I gasped.
I didn't hear the door open or even close. When did he come in?!
'I see that it was really not a good idea to play that game after all!' he muttered, raking his hand through his hair as he took in my miserable appearance.
I guessed that he had been awakened by my scream. I was about to apologize to him about it when, unexpectedly, he asked me to move a little and he entered my bed with me.
My heart jumped to my throat.
What is he doing?!
He came to place himself behind me, with his back turned to the wall, and sending his arm around my waist, he lied himself down, pulling me down along with him.
I flushed tomato red.
'Wh- Wh- What are you doing?' I stammered, as I tried to get out of his grip, but he only tightened his arm around my waist.
'Shut up! And sleep!' he stated, grumpily.
My face flushed even deeper, my heart fluttering.
Our body was completely pressed against each other now! I could feel his scent! The heat of his body!
'Gōjun-'
'I hold on a lot to my sleep. Last night, I was unable to sleep properly because of you, and it's out of the question that I allow this to repeat itself tonight as well. Next time, make sure to lock your door! And now, be quiet! And sleep!'
He tightened his grip on me even further. I almost had difficulty to breathe.
How does he want me to sleep, with him- a guy- in my bed? It was so intimate, so...!
I almost had a nose-bleed.
He ignored me completely as I began to struggle, trying to break out of his grip to get out of the bed. But, all my efforts were vain. And at some point, I had to give up. For hours, I was unable to close a single eye to sleep or to get rid of the flush of color on my face. And even when Gōjun was fast asleep, he didn't loosen his grip on me even once, making it impossible for me to escape.
Finally, it was only sometimes before dawn that I finally fell to sleep, out of exhaustion.
***
At daybreak, in Kokubunji…
'You wake up with the birds, eh!'
Jerking to a stop, Natsui Mizoroge turned around to look at the person who had spoken, filled with surprise.
'Yūsei...' she whispered. What is he doing here?
The young man was holding himself a distance away from where she had stopped with her bicycle. He was waving at her, with a smile on his face.
'Hi!' he greeted, as he closed the distance between them.
'Hello!' she greeted back, watching him in bewilderment. 'May I ask you what you're doing here?'
Averting his eyes and scratching the back of his head in embarrassment, the blond male answered, 'Well, I came not only to keep you company, but also to assist you! You can't ride with your sprain, can you?'
Natsui looked down at the ground, blushing a little.
It was very kind of him to want to help her deliver today's milk and newspaper!
'All you have to do is keep walking with the bicycle, while you indicate to me the respective houses where we have to make a delivery! I'll take care of the rest,' he told her, grabbing a pack of milk and a newspaper in his hand already, before she could refuse his help or anything. 'You told me the other day that for those clients who take both milk and newspaper, these are to be left on their porch, right? While for those who take only the newspaper, we simply have to throw it into their garden, is that also right?'
'Yes...' she replied, smilingly, feeling extremely touched by his solicitude. 'You remember it very well!'
'Yes, I do,' he replied, averting his eyes again, his cheeks taking a small shade of red.
Bringing himself back together then, the blond male got to work immediately. He accompanied the girl from one street to another, running from one house to the next energetically, to deliver the goods in her place.
They both chatted with each other during the whole way in good humor, and the ginger-haired girl couldn't help but gaze at the young man every now and then with a grateful feeling in her heart.
After all the deliveries were done, Natsui thanked him fervidly for his help and she asked the young man to wait for her in the public park, while she'd go and return the bicycle to her boss.
And on this, they both parted with each other.
That was the time for Hiyori Miyatsu to make her entrance.
The dark-haired girl was relieved to find Yūsei standing by himself at their usual table, waiting for Natsui to arrive. She had been hoping to meet with the young man all alone to speak to him. Very quickly, she hurried up to the blond male.
The latter greeted her with a severe look.
'Yūsei...' she whispered, averting her eyes, pretending to be ashamed of herself. 'I'm sorry about what I did yesterday!'
'Are you also going to apologize for lying about Natsui's brother?'
Hiyori gasped in shock.
He knows about it?!
Her heart accelerated in her chest. She was completely uncovered now! There was nothing that she could do or say to rectify the shot anymore! No, in fact, there was something…
'Why did you do that? I don't understand your motivation!'
'Can't you guess?' she declared, putting on an anguished look on her face. 'Can't you see that I love you?!'
The young man's eyes went wide at her, his breath catching.
'If I have done all of this, it is simply because I was jealous of Natsui! Whenever I would see you with her, it would make me completely mad!'
This girl…
'You're far worse than I thought!' he gritted out. 'If you think that I am going to believe you! And even if what you're saying is actually true, it doesn't excuse your behavior in any way! It only proves how much you are vulgar!'
Hiyori's heart skipped a beat.
He's not such an idiot! I have to manage to convince him!
Running up to the young man, she grabbed his arm with a pleading look, telling him, 'I know that what I did was wrong and I want to apologize to Natsui for it. I should have done things differently. I should have told you about my feelings, instead of taking on her! But it's not too late! I want to do things properly now. I love you, Yūsei! Just give me a chance!'
'Hiyori?!' a voice called, at that moment, and instantly, their head snapped around to look at the person who was standing there, a few feet away from them, and who has apparently overheard their conversation.
The girl felt her stomach twist. 'Teruaki?!'
Does she know this young man? Yūsei wondered, looking at her face.
The girl was staring at the young man who had arrived, breathlessly, her expression more than discomposed.
'What's going on here?' he demanded at the girl, his eyes shifting from her face to that of Yūsei, and back again.
'Who are you?' the latter inquired.
'I'm his boyfriend!' the young man answered, angrily. 'And you, who are you?'
Yūsei didn't answer him. He was too stupefied. He simply gasped at Hiyori,
'You have a boyfriend?!'
Teruaki Kume stared at the blond male for a second, realizing that the latter had no idea that there was already someone in Hiyori's life, before he looked at the dark-haired girl, his expression filled with disgust.
'No! Not anymore! It's over between us! Don't show me your face ever again!' he muttered at her, and flinging around, he flounced away, while Yūsei continued to stare at the girl, voicelessly.
Hiyori could read in the eyes of the blond male the feelings of disgust that she was inspiring him. She was completely floored. It was all over! There was nothing that she could do anymore! All her plans have failed!
Teruaki!
She started to ran after the dark-haired male, and managed to catch up with him outside the gate of the park.
'Teruaki, wait!' she called out, yanking him to a stop by his shoulder. 'It's not what you're thinking!'
The young man slapped her hands off him and continued to walk, telling her that he didn't want to hear to anything.
'Oh, please, will you listen to me for a minute?!' she exclaimed, cutting his way. 'Don't be stupid! I don't love that guy! It's all a ploy that I've put into place!'
At this, the dark-haired male jerked to a stop, his eyes widening at her. 'A ploy?!'
'Yes,' she replied, and explained to him rapidly that it concerned Natsui, informing him of all that she had been up to try to create a rift in her relationship with the blond young man.
'I can't believe it! Are you still talking about your cousin!' Teruaki Kume shouted, shaking his head at her in a mixture of anger and cynicism. 'Why are you so obsessed with that girl?! I don't understand, Hiyori! But there's something I can tell you for sure! You've gone too far this time, because what you have done has put our relationship in jeopardy! I never minded before that you take on that girl, because it didn't affect our relationship with each other, but now, it is affecting us directly!'
'Look! I'm sorry!' Hiyori told him, acknowledging his point. 'I should have found another solution, instead of proposing to him. But it's all over now anyway!'
The young man stared at her for a whole minute, before he said, 'Hiyori, I don't know…'
'Oh, come on! We're not going to break up because of something so stupid?!' she said, giving him a seductive smile. 'I know how much you love our little encounters!'
And reaching up for his face, she kissed him on the mouth.
The dark-haired male tried to resist at first, but she didn't allow him to, and finally, he gave in.
***
Natsui Mizoroge averted her eyes, putting a hand over her chest, her heart thumping.
Without wanting it, she has overheard Hiyori's whole conversation with the dark-haired male. She was not very much surprised by the answers she has found to the questions she had been asking herself for days now. However, she couldn't help but feel overwhelmed with guilt that the dark-haired girl got Yūsei Nishoji involved in her plans.
As she went on to meet up the blond male, she didn't really know how to face him, and tried to avoid his looks as much as she could.
On his side, Yūsei behaved just as evasively, still very much puzzled by what had happened. He couldn't believe that people like Hiyori Miyatsu could exist in this world. And the most frightening was perhaps the fact that- as he was starting to understand- the girl was acting without any motive at all.
The atmosphere remained very awkward between Natsui and him during the whole length of the tutorial. It was only at the end of it, as they were both heading for work, that the ginger-haired girl decided to address the subject at last.
'Yūsei...' she murmured, and the young man instantly looked at her. 'I know what happened between Hiyori and you this morning.'
His eyes widened at her.
'I came across of her boyfriend and her just outside of the park and I heard them speaking.'
'I see...' Yūsei whispered, not really knowing what to say.
'I want to apologize to you for what Hiyori did. It's only because of me that she has tried to play with your feelings. I regret that you became involved in all of this. It's not fair towards you. Not to forget that I should have warned you that she already has a boyfriend. I thought that perhaps, they had broken up. I'm really sorry.'
'No, Natsui, stop it!' he stated to her, fervently. 'You don't have to apologize for anything. You're not responsible for her actions! She's the only one responsible for her own actions, okay?!'
The ginger-haired girl looked at his face at that moment, the heaviness that had been pressing her heart down, uplifting, even if just by a little.
'Thank you,' she told him, with a small smile.
'Eh?' The young man cringed away, his expression a bit panicked, his cheeks taking a small shade of red. 'Why- Why are you thanking me?!'
Natsui became a little panicked too, and she turned her face away to scratch the back of her head, her cheeks reddening just as well.
She didn't really know the answer to this question. She had only felt like thanking him and the words had come out of her mouth.
Thank you for reading!
Glossary
Hyakki Yagyō - night parade of one hundred demons
Yōkai - a class of supernatural spirits and entities in Japanese folklore