Chapter 43

Gakuto grunted as he woke up in an unfamiliar room. He slowly sat up, wincing, his hand grabbing his side. He was wearing a different set of clothes and there were some bandages on his right arm. He winced again, the memory of his fall and the broken ribs coming back to him.

His torso was also wrapped in bandages, he realized before gazing across the room. He was laying on a fluffy futon in the middle of a tatami room. A faint light was shining in from the shoji, telling Gakuto that it was still early in the day. There was an aura of calm and peace about the place.

“Someone took care of my injuries…” He glanced down at his hand, opening and closing it a few times before bringing it to his forehead, trying to figure out where he was.

He remembered the cave with the hidden shrine; the mysterious little girl and the mirror; of him swimming from that secluded beach to the tidepools and then he had hurried back to the village. That’s where his memories became fuzzy.

Gakuto jumped up and looked around the room frantically, realizing that the bundle with the mirror was not tied to his waist.

“Is this what you’re looking for?” A soft, melodic voice reached his ears. A young priestess had entered the room without him realizing, carrying both his clothes and the bundle.

Gakuto nodded, reaching out for his items when the priestess glared at him.

“Tell me, young man… are you always so careless with yourself!?”

He gulped, taking a step back as the woman slid the door closed.

“I guess injuries and the fact you were half-naked and soaked to the bone in the middle of the night is normal for you?”

Gakuto meekly crawled back into the futon as the priestess stared him down.

“That’s better. I certainly didn’t spend all the early morning bandaging someone who is going to run off at a moment’s notice.” Gakuto felt like he was being stabbed by her gaze. “And, I certainly didn’t drag your lifeless body back here by myself for you to injure yourself again!”

Gakuto muttered a small apology to the priestess, his eyes focused on the bed. She kneeled by his futon. The door slid open once more and Isshin stepped inside.

“Good to see you awake, young man.”

Gakuto made a small wave to the head monk as Isshin kneeled opposite of the priestess, who was now bowing politely.

“I guess I should apologize for giving you such trouble…”

Isshin laughed mirthfully. “Well, you certainly don’t take after Ryuta, do you?”

“...you knew my father?” Gakuto’s eyes widened at this revelation.

“Yes, of course. I also met you before, though it seems you don’t remember it.” Isshin held his hand, palm down, out, grinning. “You were about this tall when I saw you. It had to be almost ten years ago. I thought you were some orphan he had picked up along his way and was going to ditch you on the island.” The monk spoke fondly, rubbing his chin.

“It sure surprised me when I saw you the other day, the splitting image of that feral brat! I even thought that it was impossible for that man to have settled down, but it turns out he already had! Your mother must’ve been some kind of saint…” He stopped, seeing the uncomfortable squirming Gakuto made.

“Ah, my apologies… I’m just glad you’re alright. You looked worse off when Iori, here, brought you in, but your injuries…” Gakuto was rubbing his side, wincing. “...outside of the broken ribs are pretty minor. It was more your state that concerned me. Half-dressed, soaking wet. Even though it is late-summer, the currents around here are quite cold. Iori dragging you here probably saved your life!”

Gakuto looked at the priestess once more and he bowed deeply to her. She nodded slightly before standing, her eyes still narrowed at Gakuto. “I’m sure you could eat…” She muttered before slipping out of the room.

“I think I feel colder now than from the water…”

Isshin laughed, wiping a tear from his eye. “Don’t let it bother you, Gakuto. She was already irritated with me for my delay in sending her up the mountain to check on everyone. The rockslide happened so late though…”

“What!?” Gakuto cried out, causing Isshin to jump in surprise.

“The rockslide? It happened right as the sun went down, so a few chimes before midnight…”

Gakuto shook his head adamantly. “That’s impossible. I was caught in that rockslide! It happened just after the midday chime!”

“Perhaps you are in rougher shape than we…” Isshin’s eyes widened as he saw the dire look on Gakuto’s face. The young guard was clenching his fists on the bed and Isshin took a deep breath.

“Why don’t you start back at the beginning, Gakuto? Why aren’t you with Yurika and Kaede? You three were going up to the Secluded Shrine, were you not?”

Gakuto took a deep breath of his own before preceding to tell Isshin everything that had occurred to him that day: about how the Hound had accosted them on the slope and how he got caught up in the rockslide; about how he landed (relatively) unscathed in the forest and tried to make his way back to the girls; about the hidden cave and its small shrine; about the mysterious white-haired girl and the glassless mirror, even going as far as showing it to the monk.

Iori, the priestess, came and left with a tray of food while Gakuto was explaining everything to Isshin. The old monk listened intently, his eyes widening at some parts and he rubbed his chin as if contemplating some of the events, but he never interrupted the young guard.

When Gakuto was done, the monk went silent for a few minutes. The village chime went off in the distance, telling the two that midday was approaching, before he spoke again.

“I have spent nearly fifty years of my life on this island and, in all that time, the amount of actual intrigue I have heard from locals and tourists alike fails to match up to what you and Kaede have told me in the last few days.” Isshin chuckled gently before looking at Gakuto seriously.

“There were always whispers about an early shrine, but I’ve always dismissed it at hearsay… and I admit, I would love to see it but I think there are more pressing matters…” Isshin picked up the mirror, examining it.

Iori had returned with a kettle and was pouring tea for both Gakuto and Isshin, as the old monk focused on the old relic. “You three were heading to the Secluded Shrine yesterday, correct?”

Despite Gakuto having stated that a few times, he confirmed it once more: “Yes, Master Isshin. Why do you ask?”

Isshin furrowed his brow, as he turned the mirror over, his eyes focused on taking in every detail of the ancient item. “Because your story fills in quite a few gaps…” The old monk gently handed the mirror over to Gakuto, his eyes now locked with the young guard’s.

“For, you see, while Master Ieyasu has been in charge of the shrine at Ochiru’s peak as long as I can remember, I’ve always had…” Isshin hesitated as if struggling to find the right words. “...questions about the veracity of Inari as the saishu of the Secluded Shrine.”

“Questions?”

“Yes. I can’t remember, for the life of me, when she even showed up on the island, but it is like she has always been in charge there. Even when I was a boy myself! There’s also always been a strange aura about that place, which is how it got its nickname in the first place.”

“What do you mean?”

“People have climbed all the way to Mt. Ochiru’s peak and claimed to have never seen the shrine.” Iori chimed in, her eyes not meeting Gakuto’s as she poured more tea for Isshin. “Tourists and locals both claim it isn’t there, including some of the older villagers who have gone there for funerals.”

Gakuto tensed up as he looked from the priestess to the head monk, who was nodding his head slowly.

“That’s just one of many anomalies surrounding that shrine, and its mysterious saishu. Some have claimed she has never even left the grounds of the shrine, with some wondering if she even exists! Other tales of visitors actually finding the shrine but it is completely deserted, despite looking like it is kept up with!”

Gakuto was about to ask about more anomalies when Iori spoke up again. She was looking at the ceiling as if searching for a memory.

“The oddest thing about Saishu Inari has to be that, right?”

Isshin nodded emphatically, crossing his arms. “It would be ‘that’, no doubt.”

“‘That?” Gakuto asked, reluctantly.

“That is, in spite of no one knowing from where she came and when…” Isshin’s eyes locked with Gakuto’s.

“...she doesn’t seem to age.”