"The youkai exterminator who was trailing you?" Awazuki craned her neck in an effort to catch sight of the stranger again, but no luck: she had moved well beyond view.
"The very same." Though Hijiri was once again fully visible, Awazuki could make no sense of her expression. "Perhaps I was too careless in hiding our tracks."
And for the first time since they had met, Awazuki saw a bead of sweat on Hijiri's forehead.
"She's that powerful?" Awazuki had been so alarmed by the exterminator's strange form of dress she had barely begun trying to gauge her strength. Perhaps that was why she dressed as she did: as a distraction.
"I am not certain, but I would prefer not to discover the full extent of her abilities for myself."
Awazuki nodded, chewing her lip. It was strange to think that a year ago, the exterminator's appearance would only have annoyed her, due to the tacit suggestion that she and Meizuki weren't good enough at their jobs...
"Meizuki!" She turned back towards Hijiri with wild eyes. "What if she called her here? She'll lead her directly to you!"
Hijiri blinked, but fortunately didn't waste time asking questions. "I shall go inform my followers. We will leave at once."
At any other time, Awazuki would have gnashed her teeth at the thought of Hijiri departing so hastily with no certainty she would return, but now she nodded eagerly. "Good. Go!"
"I will send you a message once we have reached safety. We will find some way to reinforce the barrier yet."
"Right." Awazuki swivelled her head towards the shrine. "I'll go and distract them for as long as I can."
Even as she said the words, she turned back towards the forest. Before she quite understood what she was doing, she stepped forward and threw her arms around Hijiri.
"Awa—" Hijiri fell silent. Her tone was surprised, but Awazuki had no idea what her expression looked like: she had shut her eyes the moment she tightened the hug, focusing solely in her effort to transmit her feelings through the embrace.
She did notice that Hijiri slowly wrapped her arms around her and gave her a gentle squeeze in turn.
"Thank you." Hijiri extracted herself from the hug, with a tint of sorrow to her smile. "We will meet again. I promise."
Awazuki nodded, then recalled her own promises. She shoved Hijiri in the direction of her camp. "Hurry!"
Why she had felt such an urge to waste her time with hugs at a time like this, she could only wonder, but such thoughts would have to be examined later. Right now, she had to put all her energy into returning to the shrine.
She came to the courtyard short of breath and bursting with determination. Meizuki and the stranger stood in the middle of the courtyard, engaged in discussion. The stranger's back was turned to her; Meizuki's eyes were serious, but her expression was as calm as a jizou's. They both turned to look at her the moment she straightened her back.
The stranger spoke first, in confident, languid tones that put Awazuki in mind of a smug cat. "Ah. This must be... your sister, then?"
Awazuki meant to respond, but her attention was drawn to the mark on the stranger's forehead. It was a third eye, or rather an image of one, emblazoned onto the woman's skin with vibrant, shocking colours. Her real eyes were framed with similar colours, and Awazuki had no doubt the mark on her palm was also alike. Awazuki had already pegged her as an occultist of some bizarre fringe cult from a distance, but this cinched it.
"Sister."
She was so startled she barely realised Meizuki was addressing her. Her sister was avoiding her eyes, but her voice was calm enough. "Sister, this is Gennouchi no Manako. She's a master exorcist of the Yuugan tradition, and has most graciously agreed to assist us with the barrier."
Awazuki bowed out of sheer habit before the words registered. She had never heard of the Yuugan tradition, and Lady Gennouchi's appearance was still anything but comforting, but what really mattered was neither of those things.
"O-of course," she managed, praying her stutter wasn't too obvious. "She received our message, did she?"
Lady Gennouchi answered for herself while Meizuki nodded. "I did... indeed."
Intense relief flooded through Awazuki. Hijiri and the others were safe. At the very least, the exterminator hadn't come to Reishoumiya hot on their heels, which meant they should have ample time to pack their bearings and escape. What luck! For once, she was glad the barrier was in such a hideous shape, worlds of monsters behind it or not.
"It's a pleasure, Lady Gennouchi." She smiled so earnestly she could have passed for a deity of honesty.
"It... is." Lady Gennouchi kept staring at her, with the kind of furtive smile which suggested she was laughing at some private joke. She then turned back towards Meizuki. "I am afraid... my associates have exaggerated my skills. Though I am indeed... specialised in creating wards, I am but a humble youkai exterminator by trade. Naturally, I will... offer any assistance I can, but it is likely I can do nothing here but... gauge the amount of spiritual power required to... reinforce the barrier you spoke of."
"Of course," said Meizuki, bowing. "Any aid you can provide to us is invaluable, I assure you. My sister is very skilled at keeping the youkai at bay—" if this was meant as a barb, it didn't come through in the tone, but Awazuki flinched anyway, "—but the situation at hand is simply something we are not equipped to deal with."
Lady Gennouchi tilted her head. "It brings you no dishonour. Such... ancient wards are often utterly forgotten."
Awazuki noticed she was wholly outside the conversation, but she didn't mind. The longer they talked amongst themselves, the more time Hijiri had to warn the others, and the less time Awazuki would have to spend stalling and looking suspicious. Then again, it did sound like the first thing Lady Gennouchi would like to see was the barrier itself.
Instead of trying to butt in and as rusty as her ability to do so had grown since she had begun studying magic, Awazuki focused on gauging Lady Gennouchi's strength. She did at least possess true divine power, but what most struck Awazuki was the relative paucity of it. Powerful, yes, but not the hair-raising kind of power she would have expected from Hijiri's reaction. Perhaps this was simply a case of mistaken identity, and Lady Gennouchi was a different member of the cult of Weird Eye-tattoos than Hijiri's stalker.
Before she could decide how likely it was, Lady Gennouchi's words filtered back in. "Your description of the ward was... intriguing, to say the least. Its antiquity cannot be exaggerated, and it is possible we have long since lost the means of creating... such things. If you don't mind... Lady Hakurei... I would like to see it at once. Not only due to professional interest... but due to the urgency of the matter."
Meizuki nodded. "Yes, of course." She beckoned at the shrine, and the Hakurei Yin-Yang came flying to her side. "If you will follow me..."
"I'll come too," said Awazuki the moment they began to move.
They paused. For the first time since they had returned from the woods, Meizuki met Awazuki's eyes.
"Someone needs to stay at the shrine, sister." No rancour or disappointment, neither in voice or gaze. Even if Awazuki suspected Meizuki was keeping up appearances for Lady Gennouchi's sake, for the moment she had her sister back.
"Surely it won't take long." Yes, they were technically not supposed to leave the shrine abandoned, but no-one but Grandmother had ever taken that seriously as long as Awazuki lived.
Meizuki shook her head. "Since Lady Gennouchi is here now, it's possible some of the other spiritualists offering their support will arrive today as well."
"...Right." It made sense, Awazuki supposed. "Please be careful."
Meizuki actually smiled at that; a faint, fragile gesture. Awazuki's heart leapt, then quickly settled back down.
Lady Gennouchi spoke up before she did. "Let us go, Lady Hakurei."
"Yes."
They had already arrived at the end of the courtyard when Lady Gennouchi halted abruptly and turned. "You were... Lady Awazuki, no?"
Awazuki wrinkled her nose. Lady Gennouchi must have known she was the eldest. In other words, the form of address was an intentional slight.
Lady Gennouchi ignored her expression. "Your sister tells me you witnessed... some unusual activity near the barrier... this past winter."
Bright eyes as cold and deadly as the heart of winter flashed through Awazuki's mind. She shuddered and nodded.
"We shall... keep our guard up, then." Lady Gennouchi's expression didn't match her tone: her smile revealed far too many teeth. Furthermore, there was something bestial about the way she had looked at Awazuki, something Awazuki would have called youkai-like a year prior.
"See you soon, sister." Meizuki turned and followed Lady Gennouchi beyond the gate.
Awazuki was still staring after them, and had just began to wonder how long the two of them had talked before her arrival when Meizuki re-emerged at the top of the steps. She paid no attention to Awazuki; her eyes were fixed on something invisible just before her in what was either shock, or awe, and she reached out her hand into the air just beneath the gate, only to pull it back without finding anything.
Awazuki was already on her way over when Meizuki turned again. Her lips moved, but she spoke too softly for Awazuki to make out anything but her knitted brow. She cast one more fleeting glance at Awazuki, her composure gone, then wrenched herself away and disappeared from view.
Awazuki halted, dumbfounded. Maybe they had been talking about the gate, but she had a sinking feeling it had been about her.
Well, no matter. More importantly, she had to decide what was the best use of her time. She could do exactly as Meizuki had suggested she do and stay at the shrine, or she could go help Hijiri and her crew to make a hasty exit, possibly even agreeing on a time and place when they could meet again.
She was already approaching the gate before she could really give it thought. At the very least, she could find Meizuki and the creepy exterminator and hear what the latter had to say about the barrier.
That is, she could have. Only, as soon as she tried the pass the gate, she slammed into something invisible that knocked her off her feet.
She got back up, more startled than hurt. She groped the air by the gate and was met with a solid, smooth surface like cool stone. Not entirely unlike another barrier she had encountered.
She began to inspect it more carefully, glaring at the air in hopes that her anger would force it to spill its secrets. After a while she discovered that when she pushed against the barrier, she could just barely discern an ofuda clinging to the other side, seemingly floating in mid-air.
She bit her lip and ran her hands over the surface again, looking for a weak spot.
This had to be Lady Gennouchi's doing, but why? Furthermore, Meizuki had clearly noticed what she had done, but had based on all evidence accepted whatever explanation the exterminator had given. That likely meant the barrier was meant for Awazuki's protection. Didn't matter. She refused to be caged like this, especially with no way of knowing whether Hijiri was safe.
Her hands stilled. There. A weakness in the invisible force, one she could break without issue. Now she only needed to...
She had already began chanting when she realised what she was doing and stopped. No. She had given her word.
That only left one other way to break the barrier: the orb. Only, Meizuki had taken it with her.
In the end, Awazuki found herself delivering a sharp kick to the barrier, trying to channel all of her frustration and the bone-gnawing uncertainty into the move. All it did was make her toes sting.
She slumped against the barrier. Nothing to it. She had to wait and hope. And possibly imagine the dashing escape Hijiri was currently making.
The sun crawled across the sky. It gave Awazuki no answers no matter how she stared at where it lurked behind the wispy clouds.
It hadn't taken long before she had become utterly sick of both waiting and hoping. At least sweeping the courtyard gave her something to do, something to try to distract herself with by pretending the leaves were an invading army of oni.
The fact was, they had been gone for far too long. It was well into the afternoon already; more than enough time to inspect every single individual shaku of the barrier if necessary. Whatever was keeping them couldn't be good.
She stabbed at the dirt and yesteryear's leaves with her broom like they had called her dirty names. What if both she and Meizuki had misread Lady Gennouchi, and the exterminator was actually a malicious youkai devouring her sister at that very moment? A silly thought, perhaps, but one that felt less silly the more minutes passed without so much as a whisper about what was going on beyond the shrine.
Wait. There was a whisper.
"Hakurei no Awazuki."
Awazuki looked around, but saw nothing. The voice was distantly familiar, but not one she could name without hesitation. Tewi? No: she was more high-pitched, and never so matter-of-fact. Finally, she located the speaker perched on the roof of the shrine. A mouse youkai, in simple grey garb, with red eyes that were hard, but not hostile.
Awazuki stared at her, then shook her head. "You shouldn't be here." Whatever she thought of youkai now, there were limits. She didn't even want to begin to imagine what kind of shrine maiden would allow youkai to traipse all over hallowed ground, at least without invitation. Then, she frowned. "How did you even get here?"
The youkai ignored her protest. "That thing out there is only to keep people from leaving, not entering. Speaking of which, you should shatter it as soon as possible. This place is giving me the creeps. I want out."
"I can't."
"A fledging magician could topple it over, and from what I've seen you're pretty adept for a human. If you start working on it out, you might even rid of it on time."
Overt familiarity was something Awazuki was used to receiving from youkai, but something about the mouse youkai's tone made it sound like she really thought she knew Awazuki. On time for what? she meant to ask.
"Who are you?" was what she actually asked.
The mouse youkai managed to suggest rolling her eyes with her expression without actually doing so. "I'm Nazrin, if you must know. I'm only here to bring you a message, so listen sharp." She cleared her throat. "You must run away. Now, if you can."
The indistinct fear that had been building up within Awazuki grasped her innards. "Why?"
Nazrin sighed. "Why can't anyone ever do as they're told instead of asking time-consuming questions? Here's the rundown." She raised her index finger. "The exterminator who has been tailing us has finally caught up. Lady Byakuren bought the others time to escape, but was captured. You're in danger because you're associated with Lady Byakuren and need to run for it while you still can." She lowered her hand and raised an eyebrow in turn. "Good enough?"
Awazuki staggered. She had secretly anticipated bad news since first colliding with the barrier, but it still struck hard. It was like an earthquake, the kind that rattled everything above ground to pieces.
"But..." She stopped herself, seeing from Nazrin's expression trying to dispute the news would only elicit more sighing. Yet, she had to know.
"Look," Nazrin interrupted her question before she could even begin uttering it again. "I'm just relaying what Lady Shou asked me to tell you. I've done my part. If you won't destroy the barrier, I'm going to go to the back and wait till it's lowered."
"Hold it!"
Awazuki hadn't really expected mere words to keep Nazrin from scurrying back into the shadows, but to her surprise she stayed. She cleared her throat. "None of this makes any sense. How could that woman possibly have captured Hijiri? I gauged her power earlier." Lady Gennouchi was more powerful than Meizuki, perhaps, and could certainly beat Awazuki now that magic was off the table, but that didn't make her an equal opponent to Hijiri. "Why should Hijiri be afraid of her?"
Nazrin hesitated. Or not: it might simply have been the light playing tricks on Awazuki's eyes. "You could say her true strength lies in the same place as Lady Byakuren's does."
"Huh?" Awazuki blinked. "Buddhist magic?"
Nazrin didn't answer. Nazrin was no longer there.
Awazuki stared at the suddenly barren roof and was just about to roll up her sleeves and scour the shrine — if the youkai had told the truth and the barrier kept everyone locked in, she couldn't have gone far — when she heard several sets of footsteps approaching from behind her.
When she turned, the wind whispered in Nazrin's voice.
Leadership.
The pit of Awazuki's stomach had vanished, but she raised her chin. "How may I help you?"
The men ignored her. There were five of them altogether, all but one tattooed with the same ghastly eye as Lady Gennouchi and wielding clubs and short knifes. Ruffians, by the look of them, if somewhat better groomed than most.
"I said," Awazuki raised her voice, halting to keep it from cracking, "how may I help you?"
The foremost of the men, the one without a tattoo, his hair tied to an exceptionally long ponytail, took another step forward. "I think you already know."
She could guess, yes, but but she wasn't going to give them the pleasure of admitting it. "You came with Lady Gennouchi, no doubt. If it's food and lodgings you need, you'll find them in the village."
The men exchanged looks, except for a thin man at the back who spoke. "Lady Gennouchi sent us over to take care of loose ends."
Awazuki noticed she had unconsciously taken a step back. She forced herself to still. "Right. And what does that have to do with me?"
"Can't have youkai spawn masquerading as shrine maidens, can we now?" This was the man standing behind the leader, holding a club much like an oni's cudgel.
"More like youkai maiden," the thin man snorted, ignoring the sharp glare from his leader. "Or a she-youkai. Shrine youkai?"
The man with the cudgel shook his head and continued. "Think you could fool a master exorcist? She knew you for what you were the very first time she glanced at you."
Awazuki's knees were beginning to shake, but fortunately that didn't show through her hakama. "If she's as good as she claims, she must know I'm human."
"Haven't met many humans with hair the colour of moss, my dear." This was a man standing in the middle of the pack, likely the oldest of the group. He spoke calmly, but if anything, his honeyed smile made Awazuki dislike him even more than she did the rest. "Besides, we have been trained to fight youkai. We can tell for ourselves."
His gaze hovered by Awazuki's right ear. Instinctively, her hand rose to cover it. She forced it back down.
"Our lady wouldn't have sent us over if she wasn't certain," the leader concluded, returning his attention back to Awazuki and hitting his open palm with the head of a club in a leisurely, unconscious sort of manner. "This needn't come to violence. Lady Gennouchi is at present dealing with the ringleader of your cabal. If you agree to stay put and wait for her, we will not lay a finger on you."
Awazuki clutched the broom with such force it was a miracle the shaft hadn't exploded into splinters in her hands. Two things were very clear. First, Nazrin's warning had been no ill threat. Second, whoever Lady Gennouchi was, she was as far from being a friend of her clan as the youkai with wings.
The thought of family made her stir. No matter how angry she was, Meizuki would never allow for strange men stomping around the shrine grounds and calling Awazuki a youkai, let alone threatening her. Never. The look of distress on Meizuki's face as she had departed from the shrine flashed before her eyes. "Where is my sister?"
The leader had the temerity to look bored. "Is that really something you should concern yourself with at the moment?"
"That's not an answer." Images of horror joined those borne by concern. What did she actually know about Lady Gennouchi? She wasn't a youkai, but that didn't mean she wished the Hakurei clan well. And if someone wished them ill, what better tactic than to first separate them...
She could have slapped her forehead for what a fool she had been, but that would have wasted precious time. Instead, she looked around in search of an escape route.
"Lady Gennouchi did warn us not to look for reason here," the leader said, sounding more tired by the moment. "Youkai never learn."
She shouldn't have let herself be provoked, but she couldn't help it. "Big words from someone who obeys a monster."
Most of the five were taken aback, but only one, the last one to speak, displayed absolute outrage. "How dare you speak of Lady Gennouchi like that?"
"I can guess her character well enough," Awazuki snarled, not really thinking about her words so much as where she stood. If she took just a few steps to her right, she could run onto the porch and into the shrine, and from there, with luck, hide herself like Nazrin had. "That's what she has to be if she's willing to harm Hijiri." One step, then another. No reaction from the thugs yet. "Youkai or not, she's the kindest person I have ever known. Now let me see—" she jerked her head back, feigning surprise. "Meizuki!"
Only two of the men turned to look where she pointed. It would have to do. She swirled around and leapt onto the porch stairs, pulling her elbows close to her body as she dove inside the shrine.
"Get her!"
A hand, a powerful hand, grasped onto the back of her robe. She managed to shake it off, only for another to wrap around her wrist, dragging her backwards.
For the fifth time since exiting Reishoumiya, the young man paused to straighten out his best clothes.
Calling them his best clothes was a misnomer, really, a fact he became more painfully aware of each time he tugged his jacket in place. Still, they were at least clean, and he had doused himself with cold water earlier to clear the remaining dust of the road from his hair. He was as presentable as he was ever going to be. He should, if nothing else, make a better impression than he had earlier entering the shrine grounds, so eager to share the good news he had neglected to notice he was covered in mud up to his knees and generally looked like something that had been ran over by a pack of wild horses.
He knew he was being selfish. There was no purpose to re-visiting the shrine but to bask in Princess Ayame's radiance and hoping to make a better impression. The smile she had granted him once he had shared the good news was surely the greatest gift any mortal could possibly ask for. Asking for more of her time was greed, pure and simple.
He knew it, and yet he pulled at the hem of his jacket once more and kept walking, rehearsing over and over what he was going to say. How deeply grateful he was to be allowed another moment of her time. How, while he hadn't paused to investigate, it appeared the village had received some travellers, and perhaps they were the very people who had promised to aid the Hakurei clan. How, even when his toes had frozen so brittle they would have snapped from the lightest touch and he had thought winter would swallow him warm, all he had had to do was to think of her face and so feel summer on his skin once more...
He stopped dead in his tracks.
"Princess Ayame?"
For a moment, he thought his fantasies had simply conjured a replica of the shrine the crossroads. Then, she rose, still facing the jizou, and he saw she was there in the flesh. The edges of her hakama and robes were dripping with muddy water and melting snow, and several strands of her strange golden hair had escaped their ribbon. It took him another moment to realise she had been praying to the statue.
She turned towards him with the most peculiar expression he had ever seen. It was as though all the muscles on her face were trying to move in different direction, while she struggled to keep them still. If he didn't know any better, he would have guessed she had been crying.
As if by itself, the Hakurei Yin-Yang orb rose to hover by her hand. In the sunlight, its surface had a pearly shimmer to it.
"Princess Ayame?" he repeated, struggling not to stammer, feeling that even these quiet words were destroying something that ought not to be broken. He made sure to keep the camellia blossoms he carried firmly behind his back. Even when he had first plucked them on the way they had felt like an inadequate offering. Now he felt foolish for even thinking of gifting her something so trivial.
A moment passed. The lost, haunted look in Princess Ayame's eyes faded as recognition set in. "Oh, that's right. Thank you once again for your sacrifice."
"It was nothing, Princess Ayame. Uh..." Here was an opening to tell her of his exploits, but they felt pale and meaningless when compared to the shadow which had fallen upon Princess Ayame's face. He bowed his head. "Is something amiss?"
Voiced, the question sounded far more blunt than he had meant it. Fortunately, Princess Ayame didn't seem to notice. If anything, she appeared to be barely listening, her eyes flitting down the path towards the shrine.
"Please, pay me no mind." He was startled to have her suddenly looking directly at him. "Today has been... a challenging day."
"You don't have to apologise to me, Princess Ayame." There was a hitch in his breath. "Is there anything I can do to help?"
She shook her head with such brittleness he had to fight the urge to throw all propriety to wind and throw his arms around her. He averted his eyes and focused so heavily on squashing the thought that he almost missed her response. "Thank you, but there is nothing anyone can do. I must simply reach a decision."
Again, she turned towards the path leading to the shrine. This time, her gaze lingered. "And I believe I have done just that."
She gave him a quick bow, then set off towards the shrine while he was still busy bowing back, as brisk and efficient as if she was leaving to exterminate youkai.
Before he had time to do more than take one hesitant step after her, the ground under his feet gave away with a deafening roar
He struggled for balance, Princess Ayame likewise. The tremors became manageable almost as soon as they had begun, but by then, his attention was fully drawn by what he saw in the distance.
Countless pillars of light, so bright they outshone the sun, rose up from the shrine and bathed the horizon in radiant glory. Slowly, as he watched, the began to fade, but at their clearest they turned the sky almost white.
He fell to his knees, certain he was witnessing the manifestation of a god in full divine aspect. The first crack of doubt only emerged when he caught sight of Princess Ayame's face. She had frozen still, her eyes widening first with apprehension, then horror.
Then, she moved. If he had thought her fast before, now she sprinted faster than he had ever imagined a noble lady could move, faster even than when he had witnessed Lady Hakurei tearing through the village earlier that day.
He hesitated only for a fraction of a moment before he followed. There was nothing he could do, almost certainly, and yet...
He didn't know what he had expected to see after rushing through the gate. He knew he hadn't expected a massacre.
He halted abruptly, nearly colliding with Princess Ayame who had likewise been stupefied to stillness. His jaw dropped.
Only splinters and smouldering cinders remained of the porch and the front wall of the shrine. The courtyard was likewise gone, replaced by a crater. Five mangled bodies lay strewn amidst the destruction, their clothes ragged, their limbs in unnatural positions. They were all undoubtedly dead.
At the centre of it all, standing still with her arm extended towards the sky, stood Hakurei no Awazuki. Her back was turned; her long hair, undone by whichever conflict had also left her garments torn and bloodied, fluttered freely in the breeze. Sunlight reflected off the strands.
Strands of the most dazzling, vibrant mossy green the young man had seen in his entire life.
As they stared, Lady Hakurei's hand fell, and she slumped her shoulders with a sigh to to end all sighs.
"Of course they were wrong." The words were teary and uttered so quietly she was clearly speaking to no-one but herself. "Of course..."
It sounded like she meant to say more, but then she doubled over. There was a sound that was not quite a sob.
Princess Ayame's hands shook as she searched for her voice. "Sister..."
Lady Hakurei stilled. Slowly, she straightened her back and looked over her shoulder at them. For a heartbeat, she looked almost happy, only for the spark in her eyes to go out.
"Sorry."
She collapsed into a heap on the ground.
They had been wrong. A youkai would merely have shrugged it off...
The thought, which had been circling in Awazuki's mind time and time again, joined the blurry shapes with their gleaming aura and slowly metamorphosed into Meizuki hovering above her. In the light, her hair looked like spun gold.
It took Awazuki a moment to realise her head was resting on Meizuki's lap. Warm and safe. Things were finally back to normal.
It still burned where the iron had sunk into her chest, so deep it had all but gone through her, but it was a distant thing now. Perhaps the wound wasn't as bad as it had first felt.
Only, Meizuki was crying. That wasn't good. There had been a promise, hadn't there? She didn't want to break any more promises.
"It's fine, Meizuki." It was strange, but it really didn't hurt any longer. She simply felt cold, like some of the retreating winter had taken shelter underneath her skin. She tried to raise her hand to point upwards, but it wouldn't budge. It couldn't be helped. "Look at all the stars."
There was a shadow behind Meizuki. A villager, sunk down in prayer. Someone who had come to show their respect to the shrine's deity? Good. That felt important today, somehow. She had neglected the gods for too long.
Tears kept rolling down Meizuki's face, but she turned to look at where the stars danced around, so much closer to earth than they ever had been before. It was as if they have travelled all the way down to greet them like old friends.
"See? It will be fine." Awazuki wanted to keep watching the dance, but the invisible hands trying to drag her underground were growing stronger. Blindly, she sought Meizuki's hand, only for Meizuki to clasp hers instead, so tightly Awazuki felt her thrumming pulse through her palm. "I... promise..."
Her eyes fell shut. She focused on the beating of Meizuki's heart, strong and insistent, and let out a contented sigh, so deep it felt like it expelled her soul as well.
"Look, Meizuki! Have you ever seen so many stars at once?"
But Meizuki wouldn't look. Her face was fully hidden behind her sleeves, sniffling all the while.
Awazuki sighed. Meizuki had been crying on and off from the moment Mother had left, and while she had calmed down for a while, too tired after the miracle she had performed to do more than lie down to sleep, once she had seen her reflection in the bucket and realised what had happened to her hair, she had began to howl all over again.
"I said look!" Awazuki tugged at Meizuki's wrist. Her own tears had finally dried out, leaving her feeling like a husk. She longed to lie down on the grass and fall asleep, but she couldn't forget the last thing Mother had told her. "I can't teach you about the stars if you don't see what I'm pointing at."
"I don't want to learn," was Meizuki's sullen reply, muffled by the fabric of her robe. Her new hair really did look weird, curly and golden like a youkai's, but it wasn't like anyone was going to mistake her for one after she had used divine power to save a man's life.
"Meizuki..." Usually, Awazuki's little sister was a pest, twice so when she wouldn't stop weeping, but now, looking at her, all she wanted was to cheer her up, even a moment. "Come on. I'll tell you a story about the stars, but you have to see them to understand it."
Meizuki lowered her hands. Her entire face was red and splotchy, with strands of her strangely bleached hair plastered to her cheeks. "What story?"
"I don't know." Awazuki racked her brains for the fairy tales Grandmother told them, but right then, standing there on the open hill with the endless sky opening up above them, they felt more distant even than the pale moon.
In any case, Meizuki was no longer crying. After a brief silence she spoke, her voice small and stifled. "Mother won't come back."
The fear Awazuki had tried so hard to keep at bay gripped her heart. "Is she dead?"
Meizuki said nothing at all. Fresh tears sprung out.
Awazuki squeezed her hand. There was no use asking how Meizuki knew: she had already learned that her little sister was special and sometimes knew things it made no sense for her to know. Perhaps the gods sent their servants to whisper secrets in her ear at night. Instead, she thought of their mother, her long hair she sometimes let Awazuki play with, and her low, comforting voice, which she had lowered further still to give her parting words to Awazuki.
"Look after your sister."
"She will be back," said Awazuki, knowing she was lying and knowing Meizuki knew it too. Maybe pretending it was true would keep the crushing weight off of her for a moment longer. Meizuki was the one with proper divine powers, but Awazuki could tell stories. "She isn't dead, you see. She fought her way up the mountain, through all the oni. Then, at the peak of the mountain, she met the leader of the oni. She challenged her to a duel, and the oni accepted. They fought for a day and a night, but they were so powerful that neither could win, and had to begin anew. They fought for another day and a night, with still no winner. Finally, they decided they would keep fighting no matter what happened until one got the other down on their knees. That's why Mother isn't coming back. They're still fighting, and will keep fighting until they become stars."
Meizuki said nothing for a long while. Finally, she slumped down on the grass, dragging Awazuki down with her. "Everyone always goes away."
Awazuki's mouth went dry. Ignoring the distant lights and the voices calling out, one which sounded suspiciously like Grandmother's, she crouched down next to Meizuki and took hold of her chin. She turned her chin till they were looking each other in the eye. "I won't go away."
Meizuki tried to shake her head, her eyes full of scepticism.
"I mean it. I won't go anywhere. I promised Mother."
"Awazuki!" It was Grandmother, unmistakably so, with a edge of fear Awazuki had never heard in her voice before. She was going to be in a world of trouble.
"I'll promise you, too." She let go, and was happy to see Meizuki didn't turn away and was moreover clearly listening. "No matter what happens, I'll be here."
Meizuki said nothing, but her eyes shone with starlight. She believed her.
Awazuki tried to smile, and found she could.
"I'll always be here for you," she repeated as someone called out in the darkness, and the footsteps drew rapidly closer. "Always. I promise."