Japan - The Land That Breathes Magic

The second week of teaching drifted by in an oddly gentle magical blur. Mutsuki had begun to understand each student’s patterns, their mischief, their sensitivities, their bursts of power. Though yokai would always be unpredictable, he found he could usually tell when Mon’s hat would burp, when Akashi’s ears would pop out, when Meow’s bad luck was about to roll like a storm cloud.

And every time chaos began to swirl out of Mutsuki’s control, Youchan appeared with impeccable timing and steady hands. Always ready with a soft voice and a look that said she had already predicted today’s disaster three steps ahead.

After confirming the children could safely be around humans, Maria approved the next stage: relocating the class above ground into the newly restored shrine building. Brighter, warmer, less dungeon-like and more “conducive to learning”, in Mutsuki’s words.

The morning sun filtered through the paper screens, painting soft amber onto polished cedar floors. A faint thread of incense drifted from the main hall.

Youchan had just finished sweeping before the children arrived. She stood by the door, smiling faintly as Mutsuki flipped through Maria’s syllabus with an unimpressed sigh.

‘Week three… ‘’geographical magic sources and ley line theory’’…’ he muttered. ‘Right. Because six-year-olds definitely need geomancy.’

‘Six,’ Sumire corrected primly as she floated in. ‘I turned six last month, Sensei.’

He bowed dramatically. ‘My apologies, Your Highness.’

The arriving class giggled. They all did their personalized greetings and sat down on their seats contentedly.

‘Well then,’ he continued, rolling up his sleeves and fluffing up his skirt, ‘let’s talk about magic places. Places where even humans can feel magic. Well, if they stop staring at their phones long enough.’

He flicked a spark of magic across the board. The chalk lifted and began drawing on its own, glowing lines spreading into a bright map of Japan.

‘These are called power spots, or ley lines. Imagine veins of magic under the ground. When they meet, the energy builds up. So naturally,’ he tapped the map, ‘humans built shrines there to keep the energy calm. Or maybe to borrow a little.’

‘Like this one here?’ Meow asked, ears and tail twitching.

‘Exactly. This shrine sits on one of the oldest ley lines in the Kanto region,’ Mutsuki said proudly. ‘But there are others too. Kashima Jingu in Ibaraki, said to house a god who keeps earthquakes in check. Haruna Shrine, nestled in Gunma, where wind and water twist together so powerfully, your hair stands on end.’

Youchan watched in amazement. She fully expected him to ask her, the representative of the country’s strongest shrine-protector lineage. But he already knew his stuff.

To her surprise, the children leaned forward with equally bright eyes. Mutsuki now knew how to shape his lessons so even the smallest attention spans stayed hooked using colorful illusions, animated glyphs, playful dramatics. Being a magical performer went a very long way.

And here,’ he pointed to a glowing spot on the board, ’the Tatetsuki Stone Circle in Okayama. Ancient magic is so strong there that you can hear it humming. People say if you listen closely, the stones whisper.’

‘Do they really?’ Kishin whispered while clutching his bat like a security blanket.

‘Only to those with kind hearts,’ Mutsuki replied with a wink. Kishin was starstruck.

‘How do we get stronger there?’ Akashi asked, already flexing a little.

‘Well,’ Mutsuki paced with his hands behind his back, ‘every yokai draws power differently. For example…’ He scanned the room. ‘Sumire, where would you feel the strongest?’

‘In a river,’ Sumire said instantly. ‘Preferably clean water. And if there’s cucumber, even better.’

‘Duly noted,’ Mutsuki chuckled. ‘Kojiro?’

‘High peaks,’ the tengu answered. ‘Where the wind sings. The higher, the better.’

‘Honey?’

‘Forest! Trees! Big trees with honey smell!’

‘Understandable,’ said Mutsuki, writing on the board. ‘Meow?’

‘A store with shiny coins!’ she said hopefully. The class burst out laughing. Even Youchan covered her smile.

‘Not technically magical,’ Mutsuki said, ‘but… true enough. Money does move people. It’s a different kind of power.’

‘What about you, Sensei?’ Gon asked suddenly. ‘Where do you feel strongest?’

Mutsuki paused for a moment. The room fell quiet.

‘On stage,’ he said softly, then quickly smiled. ‘But these days, the classroom will do.’

From the back of the room, Youchan’s gaze softened. Mmm… I’ll ask him later.

‘Alright!’ Mutsuki clapped his hands, changing the mood. ‘We’re going to make our own power spot cards! You can pick a real place or invent one. Think of what kind of energy it has. Fire, wind, water, earth, or heart.’

He passed out paper and colored pencils. The kids immediately dove in.

‘No magic ok?’

Sumire drew a glittering river shrine, complete with cucumber offerings. Kojiro’s card showed a lonely mountaintop where feathers blew like snow. Honey’s paper was full of trees and sticky yellow circles labeled “HONEY ENERGY!!”. Kishin’s card had a big crying face in the middle, which he explained was “a mountain that cries rain for people”. Meow’s one had just coins everywhere.

‘This is what the shrine will look like when I’m rich!’ she said proudly.

Mon, grinning, reached into his magician’s hat and pulled out a handful of glittering dust. ‘I’m drawing this!’ he declared, throwing it over his card.

‘Mon!’ Mutsuki groaned, though he couldn’t help smiling. ‘No magic! Who knows what else you could’ve grabbed in the name of art!’

‘But… it looks pretty,’ Mon said innocently.

‘He’s not wrong,’ Youchan murmured, admiring the shimmering cards.

When everyone was done, Mutsuki gathered them into a circle.

‘Now tell me one thing. What kind of power do you like the most? Not what you have, but what you admire.’

‘I want to fly!’ Honey said immediately.

‘I want to control the sea!’ said Sumire.

‘I want to make everyone do what I say!’ said Gon boldly.

Mutsuki raised an eyebrow. ‘Careful, that one comes with paperwork and lawsuits from your own family.’

Bright laughter filled the room and echoed off the walls. Even Youchan’s soft laugh joined theirs. To wrap it up, Mutsuki tapped the map once more.

‘Remember, magic isn’t just in places. It’s in people, too. The more you believe in something good, the stronger that spot becomes.’

The children looked at each other, proud of their cards. Some started talking about visiting shrines together one day. Mutsuki watched them with quiet affection. Their energy is infectious, their wonder is genuine… When did I ever lose sight of mine...

He dismissed them for lunch as the room buzzed with pride and excitement.

‘Next time, we’ll talk about the yokai who protect these places. So study well. And don’t summon anything dangerous.’

‘Hai, Sensei!’ they chorused, bowing.

As they slowly filed out to wash hands and prepare for lunch, Youchan murmured at his side. ‘They really like you, you know.’

Mutsuki looked at the colorful cards scattered across tables, some of which he secretly pinned to the board, imagining future lessons inspired by them.

‘They’re good kids,’ he said softly. ‘I just hope they never lose that light..’

Akashi raised his hand. ‘Sensei… how do you know so much about magic places? Even the secret ones?’

Gon added, ‘Yeah! Even the textbook forgot that underwater one!’

‘Even I didn’t know about the one under the sea!’ Sumire said.

Their curious and glittering eyes were all on him,

‘Ah… well…’ Mutsuki smiled faintly while he combed his fingers through his ponytail. ‘Let’s just say… that I had a strange childhood.’

‘How strange?’ Meow leaned forward. This time, not causing any incident.

‘Hmm. Strange enough that my family’s house was built on one of those hotspots,’ Mutsuki said with a small laugh. ‘My grandmother used to say it was like living on the roof of a sleeping dragon. Every once in a while, the ground would hum, or the tea would ripple on its own.’

Sumire tilted her head. ‘Wasn’t that scary?’

‘It was,’ he admitted softly, ‘but also… kind of beautiful. I could feel the magic under my feet every day, like the earth breathing.’

He turned back to the map, tracing the glowing lines with his finger. ‘When I got older, I wanted to see how far those lines reached, so I travelled from shrine to shrine, mountain to mountain. I was looking for music, actually.’

‘Music?’ Kojiro asked.

‘Mm. It was not just an excuse to get space from my family. It was also something I did enjoy. The feeling of being connected to the earth. The rhythm only nature can make.’ Mutsuki nodded, smiling to himself. ‘You can hear them too, you know. The ley lines. They hum in certain frequencies. It’s like the world’s heartbeat. If you stand still enough, you can almost tell where the energy wants to flow next.’

‘So that’s how you knew lots of secret places!’ Honey said with wide eyes.

‘Exactly.’

He dusted off his hands and leaned against the desk. ‘It became a habit. Whenever I sang or performed, I could feel which spots carried power best. Sometimes I didn’t even need a microphone. The earth would carry my voice.’

The class gasped in awe.

Then Meow squinted suspiciously. ‘So… you were cheating?’

Mutsuki nearly choked. ‘N-no! Not cheating! Just… natural amplification!’

Youchan let out a soft laugh from the corner. ‘That’s one way to put it.’

He threw her a helpless look, then sighed in defeat as the children laughed.

‘Alright, alright,’ he said, waving his hand dramatically, ‘yes, maybe I got a little help from the world. But you know what that means?’

‘What?’ the kids chorused.

‘It means,’ he said with warm eyes, ‘that the world listens back. If you treat it kindly. If you walk where you’re meant to. Magic isn’t about power, it’s about connection.’

The children went quiet at that, thinking it over.

Then Meow raised her paw again. ‘Sensei,’ she said seriously. ‘If the earth can hear us… does that mean it knows when I drop my lunch on purpose? Cause I don’t like leftovers?’

‘…Yes,’ Mutsuki said gravely. ‘And it is very disappointed in you.’

The class burst into giggles, rolling over their desks as Youchan also tried not to laugh too hard.

The children eventually quieted down, their laughter replaced by the rustle of lunchboxes and the soft clatter of chopsticks. The classroom was warm with sunlight, children chattering and munching, and the occasional splashes from the koi fishes on the pond.

Mutsuki leaned back in his chair, smiling faintly as he watched Gon trying to feed Honey rice balls while Meow sneakily traded pickles for sweets. It was peaceful. A rare kind of peace. Youchan, who’d been watching from the side, walked over quietly and knelt beside his desk.

‘You know a lot about these places, Sensei. I am surprised,’ she whispered.

Mutsuki taken aback by the sudden closeness, ‘umm… I suppose I do.’

‘Have you ever gone back to any of those places?’

He hesitated. The light from the window caught in his lashes as he looked toward the map still drawn on the board.

‘No,’ he said finally. ‘It would be nice if I could. I’ve met some friendly people and yokai alike in my adventures. I sometimes wonder where they are now and what they’re doing.’

She lowered her gaze. ‘I’ve never left this shrine,’ she murmured. ‘I wonder what it’s like to see the world and still decide ‘’yes. This is where I want to stay’’.

‘Mmm,’ he nodded slowly. ‘But being too travelled also means you have a lot of “home”. Or no home at all.’

She smiled softly. ‘I hope your heart finds its home, Sensei.’

He chuckled gently. ‘And you, shrine maiden who never leaves her mountain.’

They fell into a warm silence. Children chattered, laughed, and swapped pickles for sweets. Mon argued with Gon about who could build a better origami castle, Sumire reminding everyone to wash their hands properly.

Mutsuki looked at them and sighed. ‘They make me want to stay,’ he said. ‘And not go searching for a wild source of happiness out there anymore.’

‘I feel that I am building something important here.’ He added. ‘Not just for the kids. Also for myself.’

‘Then stay,’ Youchan replied simply.

He turned to her, startled by the sincerity. Ho ho…

And you?’ he whispered close to her ears. ‘Will you continue to stay because you want to, or because you must?’

Youchan’s eyes lifted to the window, where sakura petals drifted like oversized pale snow.

‘At first, because I must,’ she said. ‘Now… I think that is beginning to change.’

Mutsuki’s heart gave a small, confused flutter. He smiled, leaning his cheek against his hand, studying her in that afternoon glow. He didn’t say anything more, but his expression said plenty. She also smiled back.

Outside, the earth hummed faintly beneath the shrine with a pulse they both could feel. It’s saying “I ship these two”.

Maybe this is what a home feels like.