I arrived to a spot which wasn't that crowded. In fact, it was in total contrast to the rest of the area; it was calm, too calm. The walls of the buildings were tagged and the pavements not well-kept.
As I passed by a small alley, my eyes fell onto a small group of men in the middle of something that resembled nothing good. Staggering backward, I backed up against the side of the building, my breathing accelerating.
They didn't seem to have noticed me.
Carefully, I peered down the alley to see exactly what they were doing until my eyes landed onto the face of the girl at their feet.
Eh? Eh?! EH?!
My mouth went agape. "She" was in fact a "he"!
Shirane?!
Why is he wearing women's clothes?
I watched as Shirane was flung around on the ground and his back left the floor as he was fisted by his collar, only for him to get knocked down again with punch in the face.
'Take this, you piece of shit! Bloody Otokonoko!'
At this, I understood better what was going on.
'Burabura!' I called, and without any delay, the Tsukumogami appeared.
I informed the yōkai rapidly about what I wanted it to do for me and it exclaimed, merrily, 'At your service, Shun-sama!'
'Shun-sama again, eh?' I said, complainingly, and it rolled its eyes, lolling its tongue teasingly. I knew how much the small yōkai to play tricks and I was more than satisfied by the result of the change-up it gave me.
'Kōmori-san,' I called and the small animal seemed to read my mind. It flew across of the alley, letting out a blood-curdling screech which captured the thugs' attention, causing them to freeze.
Slowly, they turned around to face me as I made my entry; all color leaving their faces upon my appearance.
Mimicking a zombie's walk, I put on my most frightening voice, growling, 'You little brats! It's because of punks like you that I've died! I'm going to take keen pleasure ripping your hearts out of your chests and eating them raw!'
I laughed wickedly and it had the expected effect.
The four thugs screamed their lungs out in terror and stampeded away, stumbling and falling several times on their way. They probably had heads of truants but there was nothing like an old good apparition of a vengeful spirit of the dead to make their blood run cold.
I turned to Shirane then, the latter was staring at me frantically. As I parted my hair out of my face, he gasped, recognizing me only then.
'Shun Shutsuki?!'
In a puff of smoke, I took back my old appearance- the black on my skin faded, my kimono was no longer old and dirty, my feet became visible again and my hair recovered its brightness. The three Hitodama floating around me vanished at the same time.
'Hah! I believe that I've given them the fright of their lives!' I chuckled. Kōmori-san flew up to me, taking its place onto my back again, and I corrected, 'Sorry. We gave them the fright of their lives.'
Then, flushing up, I scratched my cheek in embarrassment, giggling, 'Maybe I went a little too far with the demoniacal laughter.'
I turned to Burabura then.
The day I had joined the organization, Master Kagami had put me into a contract with the Tsukumogami such that I could summon it in case I needed help, even if the dark-haired man still remained its true master.
'Thank you, Burabura! The make-up was perfect. The artifices excellent. The Hitodama; great idea!'
I patted its head and it moved into the touch happily.
'Call again, Shun-sama!'
The Tsukumogami disappeared in a puff of smoke and I turned to face Shirane once again. He was still on the ground, in a sitting position. I was about to reach for him to help him up, when his expression changed suddenly into a brooding one and he slapped my hand away, muttering, 'Don't touch me! I didn't need your help! I could have managed on my own!'
The red-haired boy wasn't my favorite person on earth to say, if I was being honest with myself. If there was anyone who had really been nasty with me at the organization, it was well him. I would never had intervened if he wasn't handicapped by what he was wearing.
The thought caused me to unconsciously take in his appearance all over again. As he followed the movements of my eyes, he became utterly mortified, looking like he was going to burst a vessel.
'Listen to me carefully, Shun Shutsuki! If you tell anyone that you've seen me in this accoutrement, I'll rip your tongue out, is it clear?!' he threatened, hovering at me, his eyes throwing daggers.
I put my hands up in front of me, breaking into cold sweat. I gave him a nod, gulping.
He exhaled in frustration after that and strode away, getting out of sight.
***
A short while later…
I sighed, humping my back.
It was starting to get dark and I was still as lost as I was before meeting with Shirane. At the way we had parted, I hadn't had a chance to ask him my way. I seriously doubted that he would have helped me, though.
I turned when I heard somebody call my name, suddenly, and my eyes fell onto Doctor Tsunan in the crowd.
'What are you doing here?' he asked, as he came up to me. I flushed up and squirming in embarrassment, I admitted, 'I'm lost.'
He understood exactly what happened without having me to explain.
'Well then, let me drop you home.'
'It's okay. You don't have to take the trouble.'
'It's on my way,' he assured me as he set back walking again. 'I've parked my car a good distance away from here though.'
'Alright. Thank you,' I said, with a grateful smile, tagging along with him. 'And you, why are you in Shibata?'
'I had a few things to take care of for Shiragiku before Shuko and she moves in Toda.'
'I see.'
He was a true friend. Loyalty was a virtue that everyone at the organization seemed to possess.
My eyes traveled around us.
Shibata neighborhood was even more charming at the end of the day when all the lights were on.
It was the very first time in my life that I was seeing something like this. I had never known anything other than my village, and the towns in which I had been during my last mission had nothing in common with this.
As we were walking, we came across of a woman who was distributing leaflets at some point, and she handed one to the doctor.
'What is it?' I asked him with curiosity.
'It's a film which is being released in cinema across the country.'
'The cinema? I've never been to the cinema before,' I said, almost to myself, as he handed me the leaflet.
I read it.
The film's title was "Te wo Tsunaide".
Theory of complot. Story of conspiracy. When the Kingdom of Inogashira is put to fire and the sword, Seiun Zarame, a teenaged young girl of the island of Kosaka, sets out on a journey to stop the bloodbath and finds an expected ally in the heir to the throne; and the latter's most loyal cohort member. Will the three of them be able to stop the Daigoku clan from being exterminated and thus preventing a genocide? And what if this has turned out into a full-scale war?
With a secret nation and demons involved in the story, Te wo Tsunaide brings in the right doses of adventure, fantasy and emotions.
I liked the intrigue instantly.
'Do you want us to go watch it together?'
Surprised, I turned to the doctor and found him smiling at me.
'Okay,' I agreed, eagerly, blushing a little.
'Friday, then.'
I acquiesced.
Dear Kami! If the girls learn that I'm going out to the cinema with Doctor Tsunan, they'll scrag my neck! A shrill ran down my spine at the thought. I had noticed how much they were protective, even possessive, about him.
I giggled, nervously, breaking into cold sweat and the doctor gave me a bewildered look.
A few minutes after that, we reached his car and he held the passenger door open for me.
'It's strange, I thought I saw Shirane earlier and he was dressed up like a girl,' he said, thoughtful.
'Really?' I giggled, becoming nervous again.
***
Cho Kururugi was passing by the river in Kuribayashi when, she noticed a certain redheaded boy from afar who was sitting down the slope. He was so much absorbed by his own thoughts that he didn't even seem to notice her.
'Well, well! And I who had hoped to be able to take a picture of you disguised as a girl! I'm disappointed!'
The boy hadn't wasted time to rush home and change his clothes. Though, he had been feeling way too low to remain indoors and this had led him to take a walk and he had ended up here.
Unable to control herself, Cho broke into hysterical laughter, wishing she had showed up on the date just to have the pleasure of seeing the red-haired boy dressed up in women's clothes.
'Don't talk to me!' Shirane muttered, turning his face away from the girl.
Her laughter died down into a giggle. 'Oh, Shirane Nakagiri is angry against me! That's a first!
'Leave me alone!' he grumbled.
She plumped down beside him, biting her lower lip to stifle another laugh. 'Are you really that angry? It was just a silly prank!'
He took a deep breath, before he sighed heavily.
Turning to face her, he mumbled, almost to himself, 'I'm not angry. I'm just...'
Disappointed.
Her eyes went wide at him.
'No. Nothing,' he said, morosely, getting to his feet to leave.
'Shirane!' she called, her tone serious.
He realized that when he had turned to face her, she had noticed the bruise that he had at the mouth from the punch he had taken earlier. She had a swift mind and easily understood what exactly happened. 'I'm sorry. I never thought that-'
'It's alright,' he assured her, putting on a good face. 'Just a few bruises. Doesn't even hurt!' He thumbed over his shoulder then, saying, 'I'll get back home now. It's almost dinner time.'
He would have asked her if she wanted him to walk her home as it was starting to get dark, but then, he held back himself, knowing fair wall that her answer would be in the negative as always for, she'd think that he was being a macho and underestimating her.
'See you tomorrow!' he called, walking away, melancholic.
Cho lowered her eyes, feeling extremely guilty.
Does he really love me that much? She wondered. He accepted to cross-dress after all just for the sake of going out with me. He didn't even shout at me for having duped and made fun of him!
She frowned at the ground, her emotions in turmoil.
But the person that I love is Tsunan! That is, I think so...
***
When I woke up the next morning, the weather was cloudy.
I stepped out of bed and walked up to the window to gaze outside for a moment until a knock came down on my door and I went to open it. I was greatly surprised to see the young person standing there in the corridor.
'Gakkuri?'
The last time I had seen the kid, it had been the day she had nearly slipped off the rails of the bridge nearby and I had brought her to my apartment. I had been deeply worried about her safety after she had fled.
'Goo-Good morning!' she greeted, timidly, squirming a little.
Greeting her back, I looked athwart of the corridor to see if there was someone with her, but apparently, she was alone.
'Do you think that- we could spend the day together?'
My eyes widened at her in puzzlement.
She wasn't in school uniform and I remembered that students were actually in holidays.
'I told my parents that I'm going out to play at a friend's place.'
I stared at her a whole minute, more than surprised, before I replied, cheerily, 'Okay.'
I moved out of the way to let her in. Just then, I heard a tap on the window and perplexed, I went to see what it was.
Out of the blue, a figure appeared outside of my window, hanging upside down.
Spooked, I staggered backward and went down on my behind.
'What are you waiting to open? For the deluge?!'
Thank you for reading!
Glossary
Kami - Shintō divinity