4.3 Sensei, don't be mad Part 2

Junna hadn’t been back to the shrine since long before Ibuki died. Looking around made them feel a little nauseated. All they had of the place were good memories that were tainted now, as if they’d had sewer water spilled over them. Wasn’t it worse if it all looked the same? Junna’s world had collapsed, but the rest of the world kept spinning.

“Library,” Hifumi said suddenly, pointing to the building that housed the various books and texts. Junna wished they could stomach going in there and hide from Doikawa like they used to back in their school days.

“You want to go to the shrine library? Well, I don’t see why not. Go ahead. We’ll meet with Doikawa-sensei in her office.” Nana allowed Hifumi to break off from the group. Hifumi bounded away from them on tiptoe, looking like a frightened deer. Doikawa apprehended them before they could reconsider following her.

“Good morning,” she said to both Junna and Nana. Nana murmured a reply and bowed her head. Junna sighed in resignation, hanging their head.

“Hello, Doikawa-sensei…”

“I was just finishing some morning chores. You’ve arrived at a good time. Shall we meet in my office?”

Nana bowed her head again and Junna raised theirs, just slightly. Doikawa escorted them to the shrine’s office that she used for entertaining guests she knew on a casual basis. Nana and Doikawa made polite small talk while Junna tried not to sweat too much. The last time they had met with Doikawa in person was… not great.

Doikawa allowed them to sit around a low table on cushions. She liked to keep her interior design traditionally Japanese, but her fashion sense off of shrine property was more modern and western. She almost always wore designer glasses (her only expensive accessory) and dark, bold makeup colors while off duty. Naturally, while at the shrine she wore the usual white kimono and light blue hakama, no makeup. She wasn’t a miko but the kannushi, the head priest, so she didn’t wear the red hakama and had multiple sets of more elaborate robes for different occasions.

Junna and Nana made themselves comfortable while Doikawa prepared some tea. There was no real kitchen, but she had an electric kettle and a sink in a small storage closet. Doikawa usually had good tea. She was a person with an eye for quality. That was probably what made her so strict, though.

“I’m going to… check on Hifumi.” Nana stood up and bowed, scooting towards the exit.

“Hey, what about your tea?” Junna weakly reached towards her, but they knew that wasn’t nearly enough to keep Nana there under the stern gaze of Doikawa Touko.

“Another time. Thank you for the offer though, Doikawa-sensei! I’ll make sure Hifumi doesn’t cause any trouble.”

Doikawa simply nodded as Nana made her escape. Junna almost felt betrayed, but even if they dreaded talking to Doikawa, it was better this way.

“So I think… that evil variety show. Itsumademo MIDNIGHT SESSION. Has something to do with Ibuki,” Junna said eventually, after Doikawa had sat down and stared at them in silence for too long. “I had a talk with Izanami about it. In Yomi.”

“Izanami-no-Mikoto,” Doikawa corrected them. “So you’ve spoken to her though you haven’t visited here until today.”

Was she mad about that? Junna wasn’t Doikawa’s student anymore. Yes, they had planned on visiting the shrine when they returned to Tokyo, but they could do it on their own time! That time just happened to be after suffering through an Itsumise episode.

“I’m… going to take care of it. I guess I have to find their studio and exorcize the shikigami?”

“That is what I assumed as well. Locating it has been difficult.”

“I could use some advice, but I don’t need help…”

“Don’t you?” Doikawa didn’t like long-winded discussions that beat around the bush. Junna quickly picked up their cup of tea and took a drink to hide at least the bottom half of their face. They didn’t have a good argument since Nana had been dragged into the last episode with them, and they shouldn’t have said such a thing in that tone.

“I don’t want to drag anyone else into this.”

“It’s too late for that. Do you know how many contestants have died so far?”

“Hopefully it’s not in the… triple digits?” Junna braced themself for the answer. A jolt of fear made their voice waver.

“Not yet. They started out on a YouTube and Niconico channel and only did short episodes. Back then, a lot of the contestants could escape, but by the time they started airing on TV, hardly anyone was able to beat a challenge,” Doikawa explained. This was the most Junna had heard about the show so far. “The hosts usually run games or challenges for most of the episode, such as those in Sasuke or Tokyo Friend Park.”

“Sensei, I have no idea what those are.”

“You’ve seen variety show clips, yes? Obstacle courses, physical challenges, sometimes quizzes. Online, episodes were posted during the Hour of the Ox; on air, they tend to air advertisements and sometimes begin episodes at midnight.”

“So they get an early start.” The hour of the ox didn’t actually start until 01:00. Junna figured with a title “Always Midnight Session,” the show had leeway for when it aired. “When did this show start? Online, I mean.”

“The first video on their channel was uploaded June 30th, last year.”

Junna was afraid of that. Doikawa knew exactly why.

“Then I need to get to work because we don’t want it to hit the one year anniversary.”

Which would also be the two year anniversary of Ibuki’s death. Doikawa, having been there after Junna’s failed resurrection attempt, also knew that if they failed to stop the run of the show before June 30th, the situation would be bad and they’d only have another week before it got unfathomably worse. Ibuki’s resurrection date was July 7th, and it was likely she would gain even more power after a day so significant.

“Naturally, I will help. You need more of a variety of skills and more people with stronger spiritual powers. I know Hachikuji-san and Kajiyashiki-san will help. Kajiyashiki-san has begun gathering information about Itsumise online. I believe Hifumi has been visiting the library to help him.”

So not only was Kei forced to cut more of what little free time he had, Hifumi, a junior high school student, was also helping. For a few moments, Junna and Doikawa drank their tea in silence. Doikawa scolded Junna for holding the cup from the top, letting it hang while gripping it only with their fingertips. Junna sighed and switched to a full-handed grip from the side.

“You really didn’t want to involve anyone else, did you?” Doikawa asked, gently but elegantly placing her cup on the table.

“Of course not. I never wanted to involve anyone.” They paused. “I know that doesn’t mean no one else got involved.”

And the closer it got to June 30th, the worse things would get. They really did need help, and they hated it. The situation was their fault and putting off what they knew would solve it had only made things worse.

“You are doing the right thing. We will help you: me, the members of the shrine, and your friends. We still have other options if the situation gets dire.”

Izanami mentioned the heavenly court, but when Doikawa said that, it brought to mind a completely different kami.

“What about asking Doikawa-no-kami?” Doikawa’s expression didn’t change, but Junna could sense her tense up, ever so slightly. No one at the shrine ever talked about the kami housed there, not as long as Junna could remember. Doikawa used to completely ignore Junna when they asked questions about the kami. “Come on, can’t you tell me anything about it? I know the holy artifact is a mirror, but I’ve been in the main sanctuary. It has no presence at all. There’s no way it houses even a tiny part of a kami’s spirit.”

“It isn’t important to know the nature of Doikawa-sama, only to worship it properly when asking it for blessings, as we do with all kami.”

“You also have to appease kami when they get angry or they cause disaster.”

“The world is more peaceful than it once was. You should not continue searching for answers about Doikawa-sama.”

“Why, is it really that terrifying?” Junna wasn’t afraid of that kind of thing in the least. Doikawa knew this, but her answer came as a surprise to Junna.

“It’s a piece of knowledge that you can’t unlearn. It is an unpleasant truth, like the understanding that fairy tales are nothing more than stories, and not everyone gets a happy end to their story.”

Junna pondered that and drank their tea. Doikawa’s answer was surprisingly emotional. Sentimental, even. Junna felt like they needed to stop prying to protect Doikawa’s feelings, rather than to let Doikawa protect theirs.

“There’s something else I did not realize I would need to talk to you about.”

Junna’s stomach dropped. They knew exactly what Doikawa had seen—or sensed, rather—as soon as they’d stepped onto shrine grounds.

“You have two ghosts inside you.”

It was way more than two and it wasn’t just ghosts.

“You already know a lot about my abilities, so it shouldn’t be that shocking, right?”

Doikawa was definitely judging them for being “impure.” Carrying dead spirits in their body was probably one of the biggest taboos they could commit in regards to Doikawa’s faith, and technically their own.

“I have never been sure what to make of your abilities because there are so few cases we can compare it to. Humans accumulate impurities by nature, but by carrying these spirits, you are accumulating far more impurities far faster than usual.”

“I’m probably disturbing these holy grounds, huh?”

“This is not a joke. What will you do with the spirits you have with you now?”

“I…”

Junna braced themselves for a slap.

“Absorb them and carry that with me.”

“You will continue to accumulate negative energy if you do that.”

Junna could see the kanji in their head, piling up and overlapping until it blotted out their mind’s eye.

汚れ、汚れ、汚れ

Kegare… impurity, pollution, sin.

“I make offerings and do purification rituals and stuff. I’ve absorbed way more than two ghosts, it just takes time for them to settle.” Junna resisted comparing the spirits they absorbed to goldfish acclimating to a new tank while their familiars drifted around them.

Doikawa was silent.

“You already know about all this. I used to do this when I was younger sometimes, if a ghost or curse was too strong or wouldn’t listen. Just because other people can’t do it doesn’t mean I don’t have the power to.” They tried to keep their voice even to sound like an adult. Doikawa wasn’t even ten years older than them, but she made them feel like a petulant child..

“Yes, I know. So all I will say now is to remember to keep that negative energy in check. You are a living human, too much would be deadly for you.”

“Ha… sometimes I feel like I’m already dead anyways.”

“Sagyo-kun.”

“Uh—yes?” Junna’s voice quivered and their response came out more hesitant than they would have liked. Doikawa’s tone had sharpened like a blade.

“Speaking those words is an ill omen.”

“I guess?”

Doikawa didn’t say anything else. Junna finished their cup and stood, ready to leave. They were hoping Nana would have time to come ward their apartment since it wasn’t even afternoon yet.

“Sagyo-kun.” Doikawa called without raising her voice or facing Junna. She remained seated at the table with her teacup in hand.

“Yes?”

“Izanami-no-Mikoto gave you her approval, but that doesn’t mean that the kami of the heavenly realm approve of anything that’s happening here. I haven’t seen any signs one of them might actually descend from the heavens, but they might send messengers or agents if they feel like they need to. We don’t want to involve the kami of Takamagahara in this ordeal.”

“Watch out for heavenly agents, got it.”

”You know better than to make them angry, I hope.”

“Would never do that.”

On purpose, anyway. Junna’s existence alone probably filled them with rage and disgust, but there wasn’t anything they could do about that.