Concluding too soon

“They what?” I asked in disbelief.
“Sealed your memories. As said before, when people come into contact with the magical, at times, they themselves get the ability to see past the veil, and can walk among us. Now, you can’t undo what has happened. But you can act as if it had never happened. So, they placed a seal on your memories, suppressing them. Not only that, but your parents moved away too. With this, the chance of you remembering anything became near zero.”
I didn’t miss that detail. “Only near.”
“Yes. One important point is, your abilities and memories are essentially tied together. If you do not remember how you got there, how can you know how to use them? Not only that, you had just gotten them. There was no chance that you somehow remembered how to do it, and suddenly became an adept. But…”
“The seal broke nonetheless.”

“Not broken, weakened.” This time, Fujiwara resumed. “It might have been because you returned to the area, because you were in my vicinity, or for a myriad other reasons. But the point is, you begin to remember.”
“Actually.” I had to interrupt them here. “You wanted me to be truthful, but there is one detail I hadn’t mentioned yet, as I thought it was irrelevant.” They looked at me, waiting for me to go on.
“Since that incident, I had a dream. It always repeated, almost every night. I am in a clearing, with the same lights we previously talked about floating around.”
“Wait.” Saitou interrupted. She thought for a moment, then slowly rose her eyes to meet mine. “It is not an imagination?” “No.” “From that time on?. “Yes.” She sunk into silence once more.
Upon this, my throat reminded me of the drink in front of me. We all took a short moment for a break, and had a gulp before resuming.

“There are only two possibilities to explain this, maybe three.” During our short break, Saitou had sorted out her thoughts. “As basis, any of them can be used to explain why a memory from then, a scene so to say, is in your dreams.
One, something happened while they cast the seal, causing it to be incomplete.
Two, they intended for it to weaken over time, and deliberately made it incomplete.
And three, which I doubt, someone else cast a spell to mess with it. Obviously you never had any encounters similar to now, otherwise your reactions would be different. Or am I wrong?” “No.” “Not that it matters right now.” She let Fujiwara continue.

“At that time, the decision was made for you, as you were still a child. With the intention that you could lead a peaceful life, and leave this world behind. But now, you are old enough to decide on your own. You have two options. One, we recast the seal, and you will be none the wiser. Our talk right now and everything surrounding it will be included. You can live on a normal life.” It might be my imagination, but it seemed as if her voice was slightly sad at the option. Saitou might have picked up on it too, for she continued to carry on.
“Option two, you let it slowly deteriorate, by interacting with us. It might throw part of your life upside down. The benefits of it are marginal, I can’t recommend it, but the choice is your. You have a week-” I wouldn’t need a week.
“Can I give my answer right now?” Shock spread through them.
“Sure, but, don’t you want to think about it?”
“Already did. The choice is obvious.”
“Then, I will prepare-”
“I will stay in this world.”
“…”
“…”
“…”
“Really?!” Cheerful from Fujiwara
“Really?!” Angry from Saitou.
“Yes.”

“But why! I swear to the gods, if you are just staying just to satisfy some curiosity…”
“No, I wouldn’t do that.” ‘Probably.’ “Well, for one part, I have to admit, it does seem interesting, but!” I quickly added before the priestess would explode. “I want to know more about it. Not just naive childlike curiosity, but… I feel a connection. That I am supposed to be here. In the end, it might just be a gut feeling…”
It didn’t do well to quell the frustration, but someone else intervened on my behalf. Mori had appeared to check in on us. “Isn’t that fine. It is his decision after all.”
“! You know why I am dissuading him from it!”
“And you know why I respect his decision.”
Sparks seemed to fly between the two. ‘There probably has to been some conflict in the past.’ Saitou rose with a huff, “I’m heading home!” and walked away. But, before the distance became too long, I grabbed her wrist and stopped her. “What do you want?!” She looked furious.
“Could you maybe explain it to me?”
“I have nothing to explain to you! Now let me go!” The last sentence had a deep growl accompany it. Now I saw her second tail vividly. Not only that, her pupils had turned to slits, fangs could be seen in her teeth, and the fingernails on her hands had grown longer. Furthermore, the shadows around her appeared to be moving and expanding, with glowing eyes from them, as if hundreds of cats hid there.
I could tell it was a bad situation. One you should usually run away from. But, for some reason, I persevered. “I want you to know, that I do not write your feelings into the wind lightly.” She did not react. Well, she didn’t grow angrier, so perhaps it was good? “There is a legitimate reason I wish to stay. I just can’t put into words.”
The scary air around her lessened. “It is not easy, treading both worlds.” But there was still a hiss to her voice.
“I can imagine. Still, I wish to do so.” ‘Not try, do.’
My feelings must have traveled across, as things around her turned to normal again. “Fine.” She yanked herself free. Then, walked back into her seat, plopping down on it, her face still a bit in a grimace.

To properly get my point across, I thought about it once more. I was by no means just letting them talk to me without thinking through the things they said. And a few things did stand out to me. I connected them, and came to a conclusion.
“With all the information I have on hand now, there is something I suspect. During my dream, there was a person with me. And before, Saitou said you had asked her if there had been any previous accidents, which made her look into it. Fujiwara, might yo be-” I didn’t get much further, before a splitting headache hit me. The pain left me in shock, emptying my head of any thought. It was so bad, it made me double over.
“Are you- oh no.” I could hear her voice at the edge of my consciousness. “Suzu, can you?” It was hell. But then, all of a sudden, everything passed. My pain, my thoughts, away. Only an empty sensation in my head, as if I had blanked out. I opened my eyes, and saw Saitou retracting her hand from my head.
“Remember when we talked about your options. That is why we said deteriorate, and not remove the seal. It might be in a state where it vanishes by itself, yes, but it was originally intended to hold for your lifetime. It is quite the powerful spell. Should you attempt to force it open, either by action or coincidence, this happens.”
“Then-”
She held a hand up. “Stop that thought. In fact, stop thinking while listening to me now.” It was tough, but I somehow managed not to have side-thoughts while listening.
“Normally, no things that were in relation to what had happened would be near you. So, no thoughts regarding that would occur. But now, that magical things play out around you again, there is a limit to how far you can go. Try to go too much into the direction of thinking what was in the past, and bam, headache. You got that?”
“Yes.” It was disappointing. Thinking, I would finally solve things today, once and for all, only to be told I have to wait for time to resolve it. Still, in a sense, it was progress and a step forward.
My chagrin must have been visible on my face, as Saitou told me with a softer voice, almost sympathetic. “I wish I could give you the option of just removing it entirely. But, the spell is too strong for me, I can’t do it. And, as for the people that could do it… there are none around here at the moment. I will look into things, as it is my duty, and give you a heads up if anything changes.”
I smiled in response to her kindness. “Yes. Thank you very much.” ‘I guess she is not that bad a person. …Or youkai.’

Saitou took her glass and finished the rest of her coffee. Then, after a satisfied smile, she looked at Fujiwara. “Bring him to the shrine.” With that, she left without saying goodbye.
Silence hung around, until I broke it. “Did I… do something wrong?”
“Not quite.” Mori gave a chuckle. She had remained nearby after her previous intervention. Or she had returned after seeing a customer leave. I didn’t know, as my focus had been preoccupied for the time. “It is her way of accepting you. When she acts nonchalant around you, it means she decided to let her guard down, and deemed you trustworthy.” ‘That was fast. But perhaps, the past played into it. Was she…’ I stopped my thoughts from going too far, fearing another headache now that Saitou wasn't around to stop it.
Mori continued, indirectly confirming my idea. Or at least, part of it. “There is a story behind it, but I think it is too early for you to know. Ayame cant help you there either, it happened before she got here.”
I turned to face her. Fujiwara’s face was complicated, reflecting many emotions at once. Pondering about her situation, I felt my focus coming to a limit. Now that the tension in the room had come to a halt, the exhaustion hit me all at once. I reclined in my seat, leaning against its back.

“I might not be able to say it officially yet, but you are welcome anytime you want.”
“What do you mean by that. Officially?”
Now, Fujiwara unfroze, talking once more. “For anyone that becomes part of the magical world has to be, …registered. That is why I have to bring you to the shrine.”
“Can’t I go by myself?”
“Well, you can. But it is easier if you have someone accompanying you.”
“In that case, I will be counting on you.” I corrected my posture, and faced her directly. I wished to show the sincerity of what I thought next. “Not only that, thank you for everything you have done for me. And please, accept my apology for all the trouble I surely will be causing you. At some point, I will give you a present to make even.”
She got incredibly flustered. “No no no, no need. Really. Like, I help you because I want to. It makes me happy too. Ah, forget that part. But, because I am basically connected to all of this, it is my responsibility. Yes, that is is. Yes.”
While thinking upon the connected and responsibility part, the headache rose up again. To my displeasure, I had to discard the train of thought.

Managing to calm down, Fujiwara gave a short cough before continuing. “I can imagine it must be a lot to take in all at once. Perhaps, we should stop here for today.”
“Yeah, might be a good point.” I rose. “Should we meet here another time, or?” I didn't want to intrude on her free time, where she also had private life. So, I had to leave it to her to set the next date.
“I will message you after clearing a few things out.”
“Sorry, and thank you.”
“I told out, it’s fine.”
She got up too. I went to the counter to pay, but was told I didn’t need to. “First drink is free. If you feel bad about it, come by again, and become a regular.”
“Then, can I pay for the others? They really did much for me today.”
“Ah, you don’t need to-“”
“Alright, Mister gentleman.” Mori was amused, while Fujiwara blushed.
I handed over the money. After that, we said our goodbyes. Once outside, I resumed the conversation.

“Oh yeah, there was one other question I had, unrelated to magic.”
“Sure?”
“Why did you suddenly start calling me by my first name?”
“OH!” I must have put her on the spot. “Well… is it bad?”
I thought about it for a moment. “Not really, but it could cause trouble…” She pouted. “Personally I don’t mind, so feel free to continue doing so.”
“Yippee.” She did a cutesy action. Even I could tell it was faked. If anything, it furthered my previous idea that most of the things she did were an act. “Anything else?”
“Well, about this café…”
“Ah, because Mori said it is for these occasions. That reminds me! I need to hand you something.” She pulled a paper slip out of her bag. “This is for you.”
I received it, held it in my hand, and inspected it. It was warm. Not just because it was in her bag, but as if it emitted a slight warmth. It was comfortable to touch. Furthermore, there were signs written on it, which seemed to glow slightly. Overall, I imagined it to be... “An amulet?”
“Correct. It allows you to be unsuspected in case of walking through simpler illusions. Basically acting like an ID-card, so others know you are allowed. But it has a second effect. For once, when we walked here, did you think you could find the way on your own?”
“No chance.”
She giggled. “Thought so. That is because this place is hidden from normal humans. Mori opened this café as a place for spirits, youkai and ayakashi to gather. Carrying this with you, you will find the way, and not be regarded with suspicion. But, there is a side effect…”

“That might be?”
“When anyone needs help, and you happen to be walking by them, they will ask you for it. While it is not obligatory to help, it is seen as rude to refuse. Refuse too often, and you will be frowned upon. And helping actually has them owe you a favor, which can be good!”
I thought about it. “Well, it is in line with my resolution. I decided I would move along them in this world. And when I see someone in need, it is natural to help. Be they youkai or human, it does not matter.” I really didn’t see it as a bad thing. Maybe if I was in a rush, and therefore had no proper explanation as to why I was subsequently late. But overall, seemed like a decent thing, especially when you were the person in need of help.
“Then, everything turned out well.” She took a look at her phone. “Oh, the time. Sorry, but I will hurry along for now. See you later.” She waved me goodbye excitedly, and left with a spring in her step.

I would have to mull everything over in my head once more to make sense of all the details that were implied in what had happened today. Not only that, but to get a clear mind once more. Only one problem: as I was led here, and my guide had left, how was I to find my way home?