The Shrine at the End of His Career

The road to the hidden shrine wound up a lonely foggy hill. Stone steps half-eaten by moss leading up to an unseen hilltop stretched endlessly. Each one mocked Mutsuki with a reminder that his once glamorous life now had a cardio requirement.

‘Ah, yes,’ he muttered, dragging his feet. ‘From Tokyo Dome to a mountain shrine. The natural trajectory of all great idols.’

Clutching his long skirt, Mutsuki climbed slowly, duffel bag slung over one shoulder, humming a tune he didn’t realize was sad until the wind refused to carry it.

He’d sung for arenas before. Thousands of glittering faces worshipped him under lights bright enough to burn. And he did get burnt. Now, his only audience was one crow that had followed him all the way from the bottom of the hill.

He started humming his last single as he climbed.

♪‘I sing, you dance, I sing, you follow…’♪

‘Damn,’ he muttered, while bending down to pick up a litter as he studied the oddly huge bird. ‘Do I only have one fan left?’

The crow surprisingly returned Mutsuki’s curious glances.

‘Are you the guardian here or something?’ Mutsuki asked the black bird. To which he obviously didn’t get a response for.

♪‘I sing, you dance, I sing, you follow…’♪ Mutsuki sang as he kept picking up small random bits of rubbish on his way up.

A crow hopped from one tree to the next, keeping up with him. It cawed disdainful.

‘Don’t look at me like that,’ Mutsuki said, squinting up. ‘At least I’m still standing… I don’t go down easily.’

Mutsuki, who was feeling lonely on his punishment, er, rather, adventure, found solace in the presence of the shiny black bird. The crow cawed louder with Mutsuki’s each verse.

‘Oh, now you sound like my aunt,’ he grumbled. ‘You think I wanted to hypnotize a stadium? It happens…’

Mutsuki, our lovely main character, is depressed. And he thinks he is hiding it well. He continued his way up with an increasing collection of rubbish on his hands.

♪’I give my heart to you, so you must follow me…’♪

The crow fluffed its feathers and croaked an offbeat ‘’Caw!’’ as if booing.

Mutsuki sighed. ‘You know what? You’re right. I don’t even like that song anymore.’

The mountain breeze teased his long silver hair as he reached the torii. He paused at its base, brushing the sweat from his brow. The silent magic surrounded the shrine. Something old and powerful. Mutsuki could feel it under his skin, prickling like static. The whole area’s energy shifted with his arrival.

‘Mmm… Now this is a magically charged shrine…’ Mutsuki whispered to himself.

The moment he stepped through the torii, a faint ringing echoed in his ears, like bells underwater. He blinked and realized he wasn’t alone.

A young woman stood a few meters ahead, sweeping fallen petals from the path. Her robes were the traditional red and white of a shrine maiden, but there was nothing ordinary about her. Her hair fell like spilled ink down her back, catching sunlight in subtle blue tones. Her skin held the calm radiance of moonlight on water, and her gentle yet clear eyes seemed to hold both kindness and distance, like someone who saw too much and spoke too little. When the wind passed, it caught a strand of her hair and carried the faint scent of cherry blossoms.

‘Oh,’ he said under his breath. ‘A celestial being. Perfect. They’re sending angels to supervise my punishment now.’

She turned to face him, startled, the broom pausing mid-sweep. ‘Um… can I help you? The shrine doesn’t open for tourists until…’ How did she come through the torii, no, how did she even get close to the hill without me sensing it?

Mutsuki stopped mid-step. His breath taken away. I have never seen anyone so beautiful.

Mutsuki is so taken aback that he accidentally let the wind carry all of the litter away and into the shrine grounds.

‘Oh. Tourists,’ Mutsuki said flatly. ‘Yes. That’s me. A tourist with a family, er, government-issued punishment order.’

She blinked twice. ‘I… What?’ I wasn’t expecting a pretty lady today…

Mutsuki sighed, rubbing the back of his neck, then playing with his curly ponytails. ‘Look, I’m supposed to report to some… person. About some kids. Or daycare. Or something underground? Honestly, I stopped reading halfway through the letter.’ 

Mutsuki bent down and started collecting all the rubbish once more and chucked them into the nearest bin, before coming back to face the mysterious pretty lady.

The miko tilted her head, the crease of confusion growing on her brow. Then, as if realizing something, she pressed a hand to her lips. ‘Ah! You’re… Mutsuki-san?’

‘The one and only,’ he said, spreading his arms dramatically. ‘Former national treasure, current national embarrassment.’ Of course. They probably told the poor girl a man was coming. And here I am indeed, a man with makeup, magically enchanted to look petite, and a dress more girlier than hers.

‘I’m… Well… You can call me Youchan. I’ll be assisting you.’

‘Assisting me to what? My own funeral?’ he muttered.

She laughed softly and daintly. The sight made Mutsuki blush without even realizing it. ‘Not quite. This way, please.’

He followed as she led him past the shrine’s main hall, gardens, then down a narrow wooden corridor. The air cooled as they walked, the faint scent of sakura faded into something else. Earth, rocks, offerings, and the faint sour tang of magic.

They stopped before a huge slanted sliding door. Youchan pressed her palm against a talisman, and a low rumble echoed beneath their feet. Youchan knelt and opened it, revealing a staircase spiraling downward.

Mutsuki swallowed. ‘So… I just teach here? Underground? Not suspicious at all.’

‘The light down there’s still being repaired,’ she whispered. ‘But it should be bright enough once we reach the main room.’

Mutsuki blinked at the pitch-black descent. ‘Ah. A basement. Of course. The perfect place for redemption arcs or ritual sacrifices.’

Youchan giggled. Not denying nor affirming the statement.

Mutsuki raised his hand to manifest light out of his palms but before he did, Youchan whipped her phone out to illuminate the way.

‘Ah! Of course! The magic of technology!’ Mutsuki mocked, failing to be the prince, or princess, who saves the day.

‘It’s just the school,’ Youchan eventually said, smiling politely. ‘The lighting was damaged during the last… incident.’

‘Incident,’ he repeated, suspicious. ‘What kind of incident?’

‘You’ll see.’

That sentence is never good news… Mutsuki shivered. Last he’d hear that sentence was from his cousin Maria, and the experience that followed did properly let Mutsuki “see”.

‘What did Maria sign me up to…’ Mutsuki muttered.

Well, it is certainly powerful here alright. Mutsuki thought to himself as he glide his hand on the walls to gauge the aura levels.

The descent was long, damp, and eerily quiet. Somewhere in the darkness, water dripped in slow rhythm. The walls vibrated alive with old enchantments.

He sighed, tugging at his sleeves, as they continued down. The stairs creaked beneath him, the air growing colder. Only the sound of his footsteps… and that infernal crow, which had followed them inside, echoed through the stairwell.

‘This place is haunted,’ Mutsuki muttered as he inched closer to Youchan for comfort. One would think that even if dressed in cute clothes that he would still be the man, but no, that’s wrong. He cowered like a small girl beside the miko.

‘No,’ Youchan giggled beside him. ‘Just occupied.’

By the time they reached the bottom, the last sliver of daylight was gone. The corridor opened into a wide, shadowed chamber.

‘Welcome to the Misfit Kindergarten,’ she said, pushing open the curtains. ‘Formal name is still in the works.’

The room ahead was dim, lined with low desks, a few shelves of children’s toys, and several faintly glowing talismans taped to the walls.

He exhaled. Oh, it’s not so bad...

Mutsuki squinted into the gloom. ‘But I thought you said there would be lights down…’

Something moved.

A pair of glowing eyes blinked from the shadows. Then another. And another.

Oh, it is bad…