Something came over my head from behind to cover it as I got to my feet.
Automatically, I looked up in surprise to see that it was a haori and that it was Tsunan's grand-father who had placed it over me.
'You're going to catch a cold if you stay like this!' he said and then, clearing his throat, he told me, 'About what you saw… I count on your discretion.'
I nodded, smiling at him cheerily.
Keeping his expression somber, he strode away.
The members of Tsunan's family were all very unique.
For instance, Tsunan's father. Because of his looks, one may think that he's an intimidating man. However, he was actually a loving person, deeply loyal and affectionate.
A while later, everyone had returned to their respective homes. Fortunately, there had been more fear than harm.
I knocked once on Tsunan's open bedroom door before I took peek inside of the room at the doctor. The latter was having difficulty bandaging his own arm, holding one end of the fabric in-between his teeth.
'Wait! Let me help you!' I called, crossing the room up to him. I couldn't help but blush as he was sitting bare chest on his bed.
'Thank you,' he told me while I did the bandage for him.
'It's me who should thank you for having rescued me.'
'You saved us all.'
I glanced up at him.
'Oh, it wouldn't have been possible without your parents. Just at the crucial moment, they recovered their lucidity which has allowed me to get to the Hangonkō,' I told him, cheerily. After a short pause, I added, 'They asked me to take care of you and to tell you that they love you profoundly.'
He smiled, causing me blush even harder.
'Do- Do you know where your grand-father got the Hangonkō?' I asked, averting my eyes shyly.
'He told me that he brought them from a young man in monk's clothes who was wearing a takuhatsugasa, at the train station. The latter was selling all kind of gim-cracks. He should have been bewared.'
***
Meanwhile, the mysterious young man in monk's clothes and wearing a takuhatsugasa was enjoying a hot tea in the moonlight just outside of the town of Toda. (WARNING: He is not really a monk!)
'Ah, how agreeable this is!' he commented, closing his eyes and taking in a deep breath.
His expression twisted up then.
'But decidedly, even monks today do not truly arouse people's trust. And I who believed that making myself pass for a mendicant Buddhist monk was the perfect disguise!' He exhaled then, 'But well, I'm not gonna complain!'
He took a glance at the gim-cracks he had laid down on a cloth next to him under the veranda of the house he had received the hospitality for the night.
The fake monk vagabonded here and there and in exchange of people's hospitality, he accepted everything that he was offered, even the things that people wanted to get rid of- cursed objects, bad spells, etc - and almost always, it was mainly these kinds of things that he was offered- and he, he would sell them to get money out of them.
A scammer of the worst type at first glance, what!
Even if, he didn't consider himself to be particularly dangerous as a person.
'Who would have thought that these gim-cracks would sell at a good price?!' he said to himself. He felt a pang of guilt at that moment, but he shook it off almost immediately, pulling himself back together.
'What happens after sale isn't my problem!' he asserted, closing his eyes with serenity for a few seconds. 'It's not all that, but I need to get up at dawn to be gone.'
At this, he stood up to go to bed.
***
The next day…
'I'm sorry! I drank a little too much last night!' said Hatsu as he stepped out of the bathroom, toweling his hair.
He had awakened at noon with an upset stomach that had caused him to spend a whole hour in the bathroom. But now that he had gotten rid of his clothes of last night and he had taken a good bath, he was feeling a lot better.
'I don't remember much about what happened after I came back. Forgive me if I misbehaved...'
Heihachi flushed up as he thought about the compliment the blond had made to him last night, but he shook it off immediately.
'...Kōmori-san!'
At this last part, the younger male's eyes went wide in shock and he jerked to his feet- from where he had been sitting on the mocket covered floor of the bedroom- to stare at Hatsu who was leaning against the door frame of the bathroom with his eyes narrowed and arms crossed over his chest.
'How- When did you learned about me?' Heihachi couldn't help but ask.
'Last night, I went to meet Tsunan and Shun. And you're gonna find it crazy; the latter told me a very strange story about her pet animal being in fact a human being.' Hatsu's eyes tightened at him completely. 'I've always found that little animal very suspicious.' He cocked up an eyebrow up at Heihachi then, giving him a questioning look as he asked, 'So, what's the story?'
The dark-haired male was hesitating between remaining quiet or bolting for the door and running away. He didn't opt for any of the two, and instead, he began recounting to the blond how he had met Shun and everything that had followed.
'Never before had anyone intrigued me like her. And even before I realized it, I had grown attached to her,' concluded Heihachi.
So, it wasn't the first time, the other day, that that mysterious guy- or should I say, demon- has taken on Shun, Hatsu thought to himself, disturbed. And that picture…
He decided to put it in the back corner of his mind, for the moment, to ponder over later.
Something occurred to him at that moment and it brought a twisted smile on his lips.
'But tell me something, Heihachi! When you're a bat, you don't wear any clothes, right? Which means that when you transformed back into a human being, you were completely… NUDE!'
Hatsu had a nose-bleed as he tried to imagine the scene while Heihachi flushed up madly, shouting, 'Pervert!'
***
Meanwhile...
I was headed for Master Kagami's house to meet Gakkuri when, unexpectedly, I was surprised by the rain.
When I had left home, the early afternoon sky was a perfect blue and since the weather news hadn't announced for any rainfall today, I hadn't thought of taking an umbrella. Fortunately, I found refuge at a bus stop on the side of the road.
As I waited for it to stop raining, suddenly, I noticed a familiar face coming into this direction. The kid was hopping around in the rain.
'Natsuhiko?!' I called in surprise and the boy looked at me instantly.
'Shun!' he exclaimed, running to join me under the shelter. 'I went to see you at your apartment. You have moved out?'
'Yes, forgive me. I have moved in with Tsunan.'
'You mean the super classy guy with the dashing good looks of the other day?' he asked, excitedly.
I nodded with a small chuckle.
'Do you think that I could visit you at his place?' he inquired and I thought over it for a minute, murmuring, 'I don't know. I'll have to ask him. But tell me, what are you doing in Toda?'
'I came to visit you,' he said in a mumble, flushing up.
'You little mischief! You're here to see Gakkuri, aren't you?' I giggled, pulling at his cheeks.
'Ouch, it hurts!' he complained, trying to pull away.
'That's good timing! I was actually going to visit her!' I told him cheerily, letting go of his cheeks. He rubbed them, flushing deeper. Then, he shook his paper lantern and to my astonishment, it stopped raining in the moment.
'Impressive!' I complimented, gazing up at the sky which was beginning to clear up.
'You're hard to understand, aren't you?' he muttered and I understood from this that he had been responsible of the sudden rainfall. Even if it didn't make what he did less impressive, I couldn't help but feel a bit cynical.
After our little exchange, we headed to Master Kagami's house together.
It was Monday but fortunately, school vacation wasn't over yet.
'Hello!' I greeted Yama-san with a bow when she answered the door. I took a glance at Natsuhiko then and made him bow down too in civility.
'Hello!' she greeted us back. 'Please, come in!'
She moved out of the way to let us in.
We entered into a hallway which gave off directly onto a big living room.
It was the very first time that I was seeing the interior of the house and I found it very bright and spacious. The walls were painted in white and there were many large windows and doors everywhere which allowed sunlight to enter freely. In addition, the ceiling was very high.
'Kagami has told me that you'll visit,' she told me, smilingly, before she took a glance at Natsuhiko, asking, 'And who is this young man?'
'His name is Natsuhiko.'
'Nice to meet you, Natsuhiko,' she said to the young spirit with a grin. 'You're an Amefurikozō, aren't you?'
The latter nodded, his cheeks taking a light shade of red.
Speaking to me again, she informed me, 'Gakkuri has been waiting for you to arrive, but I guess that she must have fallen asleep. I'll wake her up. But please, take a seat in the meantime!' She made a gesture towards the sofa in the living room. 'Do you want to drink something?'
'No, thank you,' I refused, politely and she left to call Gakkuri while Natsuhiko and I went to stand in the living room to wait.
'Is that woman Gakkuri's mother?'
'No,' I replied, explaining, 'Because Gakkuri has family problems, Master Kagami and Yama-san have kindly accepted to take her in.'
Saddened to hear this, the young spirit's expression fell a bit.
My eyes landed onto the set of pictures displayed above the chimney at that moment, one particular picture attracting my attention. Master Kagami and Yama-san were on it, alongside a teenaged girl.
The latter resembled Yama-san a lot. They had the same face, except that the girl's dark hair was a lot longer.
I guessed that she was their daughter.
The girl appeared on the other pictures too in the company of the couple, where she was of different younger ages.
'Her name was Yasu.'
I flung around at the sound of Yama-san's voice, startled. I hadn't heard her arrive.
'She died a few years ago,' she murmured, her expression and tone filled with sorrow.
'Tsunan and Hatsu told me about it. I'm really sorry,' I whispered, affected by their loss.
'Ane-ue!' exclaimed Gakkuri as she arrived and the kid jumped at me all excitedly. I lost my balance and fell down on the floor, with her on top of me.
This caused Yama-san to chuckle, lifting up her mood again.
'Sorry,' Gakkuri apologized in embarrassment as we picked ourselves up. She looked at Natsuhiko then, blushing.
'Hello, Natsuhiko!' she greeted, shyly.
'He-Hello Gakkuri!' stuttered the young spirit, nervous.
'I was thinking of taking Gakkuri to the playing ground,' I told Yama-san and then looking at the two kids, I added, suggestively, 'We could also eat candy-floss.'
'Yosh!' they exclaimed together, grinning widely.
'Alright! Have fun together!' the older woman said, in another chuckle and the kids and I left immediately.
When we reached the playing ground, the sky was cloudless with the sun shining brightly. For hours, I watched Natsuhiko and Gakkuri play and after that, as promised, we ate candy-floss.
Yatta! It tastes so good! I thought to myself after I had finished mine. I should probably buy Tsunan one...
In accordance to this, I stood up from the bench we were sitting on, declaring, 'Time to get back home!'
It was near four o'clock.
As I started towards the candy-floss merchant, unexpectedly, Gakkuri grabbed the sleeve of my kimono. Instantly, I paused to look around at her and caught her tortured expression.
Her eyes were set on the ground, her back humped.
'Is there something wrong, Gakkuri?' I asked worriedly, sitting back down. She released her hold on my sleeve.
'I know that it's my parents who got you kidnapped the other day...'
My heart skipped a beat.
'I'm not dupe, you know?' she told me, tearfully, staring at me in the eyes.
'Gakkuri...' I breathed out, troubled.
'The worst is that they did not do it because they love me; they did it because they wanted to teach both of us a lesson. And when I think that I come from them, from these people; what kind of a person does that make me?' she demanded in distress.
My heart shrank.
Pressing her eyes shut and holding her head in-between her hands, she sobbed frantically, 'Ever since I was born, I have never received their love; they have always rejected me. But I didn't choose to come here! This life has been imposed onto me! So, I ask myself, what am I doing here? What is the purpose of my life? Wh- Wh...'
She was crying so hard that she couldn't speak anymore and was hip-cupping.
Words failed me in that moment and tears flooded down my cheeks. Instinctively, I pulled her into a bear hug, wishing to convey to her through my action, the words that I was unable to speak.
She froze against me and I hugged her even harder.
'Ane-ue, are you... crying for me?' she whispered, obvious stupefaction in her voice.
Yes. Yes, I was shedding tears for her because of the terrible emptiness she felt inside of herself that was making her suffer so much.
All that she wanted was for her parents to be happy that she's alive.
Slowly, I felt her relax into my embrace and she hugged me back, crying her little heart out.
We stayed like this for one long moment and when we pulled away from each other to shed our tears, I realized that some of her anguish seemed to have dissipated.
Natsuhiko, who seemed to be fighting to hold back his own tears, stood up at that moment and he moved to stand in front of her, facing her.
'Gakkuri,' he stated, very seriously, 'I want you to know that I will always be there for you from now on. You'll only have to call my name and I'll run to be with you.'
'Do you promise me?' she asked him, putting her little finger up. He gave it a bewildered look and she explained, 'It's like this that we seal a promise.'
'Yes. I promise it to you, Gakkuri,' he told her, the two making a pinky promise.
They smiled at each other, causing me to smile too.
***
Later…
The sun was setting when I heard the front door open; Tsunan returning home from work.
'Tadaima!' he called from the genkan and I went to see him in.
'Okaeri!' I greeted him, with a pleasant smile, 'Did you have a good day?'
'Yes.'
'Oh, give this to me!' I told him, taking his bag from him immediately, to put it away for him.
He thanked me while he took off his shoes.
'Is your injury better?' I inquired, anxiously and he took a glance at his upper arm, answering, 'Yes, a lot better.'
'Yokatta!' I said with relief, before I announced, 'Diner is ready. I hope that you're hungry!'
Just as I turned around and begun to make back into the kitchen, he called out my name suddenly.
I paused down to look at him. 'Yes?'
'Did you cry today?'
I was taken aback.
'Y-Yes. It was Gakkuri,' I replied, in a murmur, averting my eyes for a second, before I gave him a reassuring smile, telling him, 'But you go freshen up! We'll talk about it while we dine. And you could also tell me about your day.'
***
After a short while...
'I'm feeling a bit worthless,' I admitted, humping my back. I was sitting opposite of Tsunan at the low table in the dining room where we were eating our dinner together and telling each other about our day respectively. 'I didn't really know what to tell her.'
'It's extremely painful to feel rejected, especially by our parents. But she's not alone and the more she'll take conscious of it, the better she'll feel. I'm sure that she's going to be alright.'
Yes, Gakkuri isn't alone. She won't lack the warmth of a home at Master Kagami's place.
This brought a smile on my lips.
'Is the food good?' I inquired then, suddenly anxious, as I realized that I had prepared him more than one bento and meals without knowing if he liked or disliked my cooking. 'If my cooking isn't good, please, tell me. I'll try to ameliorate it,' I murmured, timidly.
'No. Don't change anything! It's already very delicious!'
I blushed.
I knew that he was sincere for it didn't resemble him to give false compliments.
'Th-Thank you!' I stammered, looking away shyly.
'Is this candy-floss?'
I perked my head up at this and followed his eyes onto the packed candy.
'Yes. It's for you!' I replied, cheerily, pushing it towards him.
When we were done eating, I got up from the table and put our plates into the sink to wash them.
'Let me help you!' he proposed, grabbing a cloth in order to dry the washed kitchen utensils.
I smiled. 'Thanks.'
'I wanted to ask you...' I murmured, hesitantly after a moment as I handed him the last plate and switched off the tap.
'Hm?'
I turned to face him completely, keeping my head lowered though, feeling a bit uncomfortable. 'Well, I wanted to ask you if Natsuhiko could visit me here?' I added very quickly then, 'If you find that I'm abusing of your generosity, I beg you for forgiveness!'
I could feel his eyes on me suddenly.
'Of course, you can call your friends here, Shun! You don't have to seek my permission for that!' he stated, and my head snapped up at him in surprise.
He was perfectly serious.
'O-Okay! Alright! Thank you,' I said, smiling happily. 'Ever since Natsuhiko has seen you, you have become his idol!'
After this, he went upstairs to his bedroom.
The doctor wore kimonos only at home and the one he had been wearing on the previous night had been damaged when he got cut at the upper arm. I had washed it in the morning, having successfully managed to take off all the blood, and by this time, it had already dried.
I decided to do some stitchings on it in case he wished to wear it again, hoping that he'd appreciate the attention.
When I was done, I went upstairs to give it to the doctor and found the latter sleeping in the rocking chair by his bed with an open book in his lap and his spectacles- which he wore only when he was reading- still on.
I gazed at him for a moment, smiling, before I took his spectacles off carefully, put his book away and covered him with a thin quilt. I left the stitched kimono on his bed and switched off the lights of his room as I came out, letting him sleep peacefully.
Thank you for reading!
Glossary
Takuhatsugasa - a traditional Japanese hat worn by mendicant Buddhist monks
Genkan - entrance area
Tadaima – "I'm back, I'm home"; O-kaeri – "Welcome back"