Obon

A seemingly ordinary couple walked along the beach, carrying their clothes with them, waiting for the water to dry on their bodies. From the outside, you couldn’t tell that just a few minutes ago one of them had experienced clinical death, and the other had taken a small evolutionary step.

Extreme conditions have always pushed natural selection, which plays mercilessly with feelings.

"I thought you were ready for anything…"

"The towel takes up too much space, why did I need it?"

"Arrogant indignation is what I was missing."

"S-sorry. I'm still trying to figure out who I am now."

"It's okay, I'm just kidding! I'm just glad you… survived."

Alone with their thoughts, the couple walked north along the coast until the number of city buildings increased greatly.

"We're going there."

Keshita pointed in the direction of the city.

"It's a pity there's not much time left until sunset. It's incredibly beautiful by the sea." Aoki looked at the horizon with a melancholic farewell.

"And romantic."

Miku was embarrassed and answered in her cold, but a few degrees lower, manner.

"Just because you saved my life and stole my first kiss doesn't mean I like you! Besides, it's all because of you…"

Miku said the last words almost inaudibly. She knew it was stupid to blame Keshita for this. But her inquisitive mind questioned everything that had happened. One hypothesis was that the memories that had surfaced were fake.

"But why? This is even more nonsense."

The couple got dressed and moved on.

In the north of Izumo there was a private sector, so there were no high-rise buildings, shopping centers or many shops, as well as the festive mood of the metropolis.

However, it conveyed a special atmosphere, closer to the origins of Obon. People hung lanterns at the entrance to their homes, guiding the deceased. In some places, you could find small shrines. And the aroma of cooked food led people to the place of the main celebration.

"Are we still following the ringing sound or the smell of food?"

Miku joked, but then her stomach started to rumble.

"Ha-ha. The ringing is coming from there. But we really haven't eaten in a long time."

"It's good that I still have some cash left. I still need to leave some for a place to stay…"

Miku thought about where they were going to spend the night and how it would happen. At first, she blushed, then became irritated. Thoughts about the experiment, Mukibutsu, the lab, and the uncertainty of what they should do came up.

"Look!"

Keshita pointed to a row of food stalls. Yakitori, kakigori, takoyaki, yakisoba, fresh fruit, caramel apples, chocolate-covered strawberries and bananas, dango and other sweets. People happily ate the various foods, smiling and chatting in groups. Even though they looked like a single organism.

Some were in ordinary clothes, a few of them were in traditional attire. Girls dressed in yukata - a summer kimono made of cotton, linen with various colorful patterns. Men's kimono didn’t differ much from women's, except for more formal colors: black, brown, dark blue or green. And instead of patterns, there were usually kamon - family crests. Some, for greater formality or solidity, wore haori (jacket) and hakama (bloomers).

Tamiya's stomach growled.

"What are you waiting for?"

"W-what do you want to try?"

"You're just like a schoolboy…"

First, they tried takoyaki to replenish their protein, fat and complex carbohydrates. For dessert, they’d some mitarashi dango covered in syrup.

"Sugar! How I missed you!"

"After such a hard day, even dango tastes so good…"

"W-what? Usually not?.."

"I love curd cheeses… the most delicious ones are the foreign ones. My parents often bought them for me when I was making progress in my studies…"

Miku felt sad, and anxious thoughts returned. Keshita decided to do something urgently.

"Oh, right! I saw tsukimi dango here, just a minute…"

Keshita ran to one of the shops and returned with two sticks of white dango, and they continued their way.

"Why are they called that?"

"Oh yeah, you… Grmm… in honor of the full moon."

Keshita pointed to the moon that had just appeared in the sky and pulled one of the balls off the stick, when he suddenly remembered something about himself.

"The round shape is said to bring good luck in romantic relationships… Am I getting too sentimental?"

"Is there a full moon today? This day never ceases to amaze."

"You haven't tried dango yet, come on, bite into it."

Miku looked at Keshita in surprise and brought the white ball to her mouth.

"Dango is dango, chewy rice cakes… W-what is this!?"

“I noticed that they were prepared differently here and wanted to try it, but… they turned out to be too expensive because of the recipe… I spent all the remaining money.”

"It's… just like mochi. Inside is white chocolate and… soft curd cream?"

Keshita nodded his head, pleased that his money hadn't been wasted.

“Thank you, this is incredibly delicious…”

"Listen, about parents…"

"No need. We must finish the experiment. I'll deal with this later."

"You don't have to push yourself so hard!"

"There's nothing I can do about it now. I need to figure out the nature of your ability. Afterwards, everything will become clearer, I think."

The couple reached Izumo-taisha, one of the oldest Shinto shrines. A yagura, a wooden structure for performers, was erected on the square. People danced around it to music, performing the traditional Bon Odori dance.

"People are so happy, even though the end of the world is approaching… if only everyone behaved like this… no, that's stupid."

Keshita was daydreaming as he looked at the merry crowd.

"Maybe we should dance? You might go into a trance and ooh-ooh-ooh."

"Uh-uh?"

Keshita was surprised. He agreed to help Aoki take his mind off the experience. The pair joined the others, repeating the movements. The yagura musicians kept the rhythm, and the familiar sound of bells rang out.

"Is that him?" Miku smiled, throwing her hands up.

"I'm not sure, but the sound comes from here…"

Suddenly a girl with a white umbrella walked past Miku, Keshita unexpectedly my heart sank. Her image stood out from the others. Tall and sublime, like a goddess descended from heaven. A simple white yukata interspersed with black tomo patterns, but the materials used felt exquisite and extremely valuable. It was as if she wasn’t just putting on an outfit for a holiday, but was going to become its center, although in a second so She suddenly disappeared into the crowd, just as she’d appeared.

"Don't get distracted, or you won't enter a trance! It worked before."

"Obon…" A thought flashed through the girl's mind. " Feast of the Dead. I’m always surprised that our birthdays fall at its beginning and end. Lights and noise for the amusement of the gods. It's a pity that we won't be able to dance the Kagura together…"

"Huh? It turns out that it 's nothing…"

"…but now there are more important things to do. The battle with the gods, with evil itself…" The stranger's thought sounded again.

"Gods? Evil?" Keshita whispered.

"What are you mumbling about?"

Miku stopped dancing and pulled Keshita aside.

"…I will definitely return your soul, Yomi!"

"Soul?"

"Reading someone's mind? No wonder Obon has such thoughts."

Keshita looked at Miku seriously.

"I can distinguish between 'ordinary' thoughts about it and 'serious' ones, when a person believes it as reality."

"Maybe… a religious fanatic?"

Miku looked around for a possible contender.

"That girl with the weird hairdo in the white kimono with the umbrella?"

"Yes, how did you understand?"

"I don't know, intuition?"

"It's strange, I can't read her thoughts completely, penetrate her subconscious and memory. It's like she's blocking my ability. "

The pair decided to follow the strange stranger without being seen. All this time, Keshita tried to read her thoughts and delve deeper into her memories, but the further he went, the worse he felt. The stranger walked around Izumo-taisha along the outer wall until she reached the fence leading into the forest on the mountain.

"She went there."

Miku looked around the corner cautiously and then read the sign by the fence.

"…entry prohibited without a guide."

"It's getting even more interesting. Right now."

Miku put down her backpack and took out two cloaks with small devices attached to them.

"Put it on."

Aoki commanded and threw her cloak over herself.

Then she pressed the button and disappeared in an instant.

"What!? Invisibility cloak?"

Keshita was surprised, although he thought that he was no longer capable of this.

"Yes, the little bit of equipment left from Mukibutsu. The monk left it behind for some reason. Probably a tracking device here would negate the essence of invisibility. It also partially absorbs the noise you make. Move, she's getting away!"

Keshita threw on his cloak and they hurried after the stranger, keeping their distance.

A mountain forest path to the lair of a god… or a demon?