"There is still one more issue…" Haruko pointed toward Abe no Seimei. "What should we do with Mr. Abe?"
"Just call me Seimei. Or even 'big brother Seimei,' if you like…"
Uncertain if he was joking or serious, Haruko chose to ignore Abe no Seimei's remark. With a wave of his hand, ink and brushes appeared on the table. "I need Haruko to inscribe her name on my spirit tablet."
"Then, I'll need a drop of Miss Haruko's blood to grind the ink," Mr. Kogimi offered, taking on the task. His first instruction, however, made Haruko hesitate. "Since Miss Haruko and Mr. Abe are blood relatives."
"Go on, Haruko. But remember, never offer fresh blood, whether to a human or a demon."
"I know." She wasn't some perverse maniac, after all, eager to parade her blood around.
"Otherwise, you might be hexed or cursed," Seimei said, his tone light, as if teasing, though his gaze flickered toward Haruko, clearly meant to frighten her.
"Right, right," she muttered, heading to the kitchen. She picked up a sharp sashimi knife and pricked a small cut on her fingertip. The blade, being new, quickly brought a bead of blood to the surface, and she let it drip into the inkstone.
"Shinya."
"I understand."
Mr. Shinya extended his hand toward her, indicating for her to place hers in his palm. Haruko glanced at Seimei, and seeing no objection, complied.
"Don't worry. I won't hurt you. Truly." Shinya, with his typically sparse vocabulary, could only add "truly" to sound more convincing.
A blue flame ignited in Shinya's other hand, drawing close to her still-bleeding fingertip. Haruko felt no heat from the flame, only the warmth of Shinya's palm. The flame danced on her fingertip and then vanished, taking the cut with it. Even squeezing her finger yielded no further blood.
"Amazing! Thank you, Mr. Shinya!" Haruko clasped her finger, relieved to feel no pain.
"Here, Miss Haruko." With the ink ready, Mr. Kogimi dipped a brush and handed it to her.
"Oh, thank you! I'm writing Abe no Seimei, correct?"
"Unless you'd rather write your own name and see if this centuries-old spirit tablet devours your body," Seimei responded, bored with her trivial question and taunting her deliberately.
Haruko fell silent, thinking, After all, he's an old man. As the younger one, I should let it go.
With the ink, she inscribed Abe no Seimei on the tablet. Though the black ink barely marked the wood, as she completed the last stroke of Seimei's name, the characters darkened to a deep crimson, as if etched permanently into the spirit tablet.
"Only the 'Abe' is halfway decent." Seimei examined his tablet and criticized Haruko's handwriting. "Oh well, at least this way, I can retain a solid form even when Haruko isn't around during the day. To be honest, I'm tired of always seeing Haruko's body."
Boom. Haruko felt as if something exploded in her mind.
Of course! If Seimei had been inside the spirit tablet she kept in her room, hadn't he already seen her changing?
"You lecher!"
Newly have a solid body , Abe no Seimei didn't expect to receive an imprint of her five fingers across his face that very night.
"So…did you really look?" After Haruko bid them goodnight and stormed to her room, leaving the spirit tablet behind, Shinya quietly asked.
"Oh? Why? Are you curious?"
"I swear to heaven! Absolutely not!"
"Hah…" Seimei only chuckled, neither confirming nor denying. He took a sip of tea, long since cold, grimacing as the "calming" blend overpowered his taste. "Tonight was my first time leaving the tablet since arriving in Tokyo; before, Haruko's spiritual power couldn't sustain my physical form."
"I see… that makes sense."
Kogimi nodded in understanding, though Shinya felt even more puzzled. Then why provoke Haruko on purpose?
"Now, my turn to ask," Seimei continued, closing his fan and setting aside his air of careless playfulness.
"The secrets you keep from Haruko—would you care to share them with her guardian?"
Though Haruko thought she'd be too restless to sleep after all that had happened, she drifted into a dreamless slumber within five minutes of lying down. When she woke the next morning, she felt completely refreshed. As she began changing to wash up, she noticed that the spirit tablet she had left in the dining room last night was back in her room, positioned on her desk as usual.
"Good morning, Haruko," Abe no Seimei greeted, flipping through a collection of recipes she had brought from home, recording her culinary experiments.
She found herself at a loss for words, tempted to crawl back under the covers to avoid the questions crowding her mind. Even though her classes began in the afternoon today, it was her first cooking class since term began, and she was eager to arrive early.
"This dipping sauce for grilled fish looks intriguing," Seimei commented, filling the silence himself.
"...I need to change," she managed.
"Go right ahead." He responded casually, as if intent on irritating her.
"Why is everyone always…"
Haruko couldn't finish. For some reason, tears filled her eyes, refusing to stop as she wiped them away with her sleeve, only to dampen the fabric further. What began as light sobs became uncontrollable gasps.
All the exhaustion of the past few days, everything that had unfolded the previous night, the concealed truths Shinya and Kogimi had kept from her, her growing homesickness—all weighed heavily on her, and she cried like a child in front of Abe no Seimei.
With a sigh, Seimei moved beside her, sitting on the edge of her bed and gently drawing her into his embrace. Though they'd only met last night, she found herself unbothered by his touch, feeling an inexplicable comfort, as if her father were soothing her, as he had when she was small.
"Cry it all out. You needn't think about anything for now."
As he comforted her, Seimei's outward calm belied the turmoil within. Last night's conversation with Kogimi had revealed the challenges awaiting Haruko—trials he could not prevent, for he was no longer the powerful onmyoji he once was, only a spirit clinging to this world through the strength of his descendant's spiritual energy.
All he could offer Haruko was a fleeting sense of peace and care before thrusting her into a harsher reality. He had no choice but to do this to keep her safe.
Haruko had half a mind to yell at him, to destroy his spirit tablet even, but ultimately, she couldn't bring herself to do it.
Perhaps it was because she knew his explanations last night had been reasonable; she had already accepted that Abe no Seimei was, indeed, her ancestor.
Seimei gently wiped her tears away, smoothing her sleep-mussed hair as he said, "I was only joking last night—I didn't spy on you while you changed."
"I know," she murmured, her voice thick with tears. His treatment of her was that of a guardian toward a child—kind but without a trace of romance.
"Forgive me…"
If she weren't his descendant, Haruko would have lived an ordinary life, untouched by demons or spirits, free to pursue her dreams and live as any normal person would.
"No need to apologize. My life isn't so miserable." She stuck out her tongue, smiling. "My life won't be miserable! It'll be vibrant!"
"Yes, it will." Seimei patted her head in reassurance, though his gaze drifted to the distant horizon outside her window.
She still didn't know that when the "lock" on her spiritual power was fully released, an ordinary life would forever elude her.
Even if she forced herself to mimic a person without spiritual power, she could never again return to the "blind and deaf about sprite" existence she once knew.
Moreover, her spiritual power, so potent, would soon make her a beacon, drawing spirits who would view her as prey.
The gears had begun to turn, and now everything was simply a matter of time. How much longer could they grant her freedom? How much longer could they protect her?
Not even Abe no Seimei could know the answer.
"Seimei… I still have so many questions," Haruko said, hesitating before choosing the simplest title. "But right now, I'm just so confused."
"Don't worry, I won't interfere with your life. When you're ready, you know where to find me." Seimei gestured toward the spirit tablet on her desk and rose from her bedside.
"Now then, what shall we have for breakfast?"
"I'd like rice with horse mackerel and miso soup."
"...You're really impolite, do you?"
Haruko sighed. Though Seimei's appearance bore some resemblance to Fuyuhiko, his personality was entirely like Chiaki's.