Togakushi Shrine

“This is your stop,…” the chubby taxi driver said as we reached Nagano City. Yukimura was sitting in the front, so she got off first, but before Rentarou or I could get off, the taxi driver yelled, “Where do you think you two are going?”

“Are we forgetting something?” we asked that question at the same time, but he didn’t seem to care. Instead, he cared about something else. “Where’s my money, you brats? Going from Shiga Kogen to Nagano Station is a long drive, and lemme tell ya the gas isn’t cheap!”

“How much is it?” I asked, gulping, knowing it was going to be a lot more than I bargained for.

“24,000 yen.”

24,000 yen? I get that it was far, but that much is highway robbery.

I dug into my coat pocket for my wallet, and it was in that moment that I knew I messed up. I searched my other pocket, and that was when Rentarou looked at me, confused and puzzled by my odd behavior. All I could give him in return was a nervous smile.

“I forgot my wallet.”

“How did you forget that?”

“I must’ve forgotten it at the hotel when I went to buy a drink.”

“You’re good for nothing, you damn monster.” However, despite saying that, I saw his face begin to mirror mine as he frantically searched through his pockets. When both of us realized his wallet wasn’t there either, we put aside our differences and turned to the one person who could save us: “Yukimura, please help us!”

“I can’t believe both of you forgot your wallets.”

“We’re sorry, ma’am,” Rentarou and I said that sentence in sync; however, Rentarou didn’t hesitate to break that sync.

“We’re here now, so I’m going my own way. Don’t follow me.”

“Alright,” I said that, but I realized those words were going to be hard to follow when I saw where he was going. Instead of walking toward the nightlife of Nagano City, his feet faced toward the Togakushi Shrine, and that was the same place that I was trying to go to.

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“While I’m still being nice, can you tell me why the hell you two are following me? Especially when I told you not to!”

“We’re not, we just have a common destination.”

“That’s a load of crap. We already passed the entrance of the shrine, and deviated from the path we were designed to go through.” Rentarou was right, but I couldn’t get to their house without taking this strange path. As we passed the skyscraping cedar trees, Yukimura silently followed me, leaving the front to Rentarou, who continued speaking.

“I find it hard to believe that you’re not following me. You’re just ashamed to admit it.”

“Why would I want to follow you? You’re the last person I’d want to be with.”

“Sure, sure, whatever you say.” He waved his hands in the air mockingly before asking his question. “But what are you here to go see anyway?”

“My grandmother.” Both Yukimura and Rentarou went wide-eyed at the same time. However, while Rentarou's eyes reflected excitement, Yukimura’s were from something else.

“Sh—” Yukimura was trying to speak, but Rentarou’s booming voice drowned out her soft one.

“Whoa, your grandma lives out here? That’s a big coincidence. The person I’m trying to see is also a granny. It’s funny that two grandmas live out here where no one is supposed to.”

He’s right, it’s strange.

“Ren—”

“What was her name again? Granny Yasuda? Yagura?”

Yasuda…Yagura… Those are similar to my… No, that can’t be!

I broke past Rentarou, nearly shoving him into the trees. From my peripheral vision, I could see Yukimura close behind me, seemingly having come to the same conclusion. Rentarou was catching himself, but I didn’t have the time to care about that. I had a disgusting feeling that was gripping my gut.

Left. Right. Straight. Left.

I followed my memories to the path to my grandmother’s house. It hasn’t been long since I've been here. I make sure to come here and check up on her every summer. She’s the only one I have left, so please!

However, when we got there, I didn’t see her house. My legs gave out. I surrendered myself to the forest floor, hearing the slight panting of Yukimura behind me and the sound of Rentarou catching up in the distance.

“She was supposed to be here!” My hands slammed onto the ground, causing it to crack and break away from where I struck. However, only Yukimura was close enough to see a teardrop leave my eye.

“Shin, it’s not—” Yukimura reached out to me, but I only turned to face her.

“It’s not what?”

“She’s trying to say it’s not gone.”

Huh? What did he mean by that?

“Granny put a seal on this place so it can only be seen if you use a certain talisman.” Rentarou pulled out one from his pocket, a talisman that had the symbol of an eye on it.

“The same one that I got from Hinako… but I kind of forgot... that I can’t use magic. So, can you do it for me, Yukimura?”

“Fine.” She grabbed it from his hands before it burned with an azure hue. The light grew and expanded until it enveloped us all.