Unravel

The next day, the two were back to normal and didn't mention anything that happened yesterday. As if it's nothing but a dream, they acted surprised as to why I'm here with them.

For clarification, I slept at the second floor while I left them below. It's easier to monitor two grown-up children from above.

Well, seeing as its already afternoon, we decided to have a quiet and normal brunch.

“Akito,” Kiyoko said once we're done. Senna had gone back to the main house with the dishes. “Can you return later? Around seven will do.”

“A bit late for Lady Yuugure, don't you think?”

“Technically, yes, but this is still related to Yuugure one way or another.”

***

The story was short and simple: a certain god had a faithful servant and her name was Yuugure. She obeyed the teachings of this deity and helped bring together people to their fated ones thus fulfilling her own destiny.

However, as obligations grew and the god was no longer in charge of specific tasks but with broader concepts, Yuugure was burdened with the changes. A human's way of adapting was different form the divine, so, in response to her help, the deity promised someone who'd help her as she takes her rest.

Neither Senna nor Kiyoko knew much about the story, but it's enough to say that their basis for imitating Yuugure was to pay respects to the first Hoshii. The lineage was said to be descendants of the servant that I started wondering what would happen if there's just males born. Would they groom him to take Yuugure's place or would they wait for a biological girl?

To answer my question, Kiyoko said there's never been such case, and the line of her parents all the way back had a daughter.

The way I see it, things never mattered much so long as a female would be Yuugure. In the unlikely event there's no daughter, I surmised the current one would simply continue her duties.

“It's not about imitating her, by the way,” Kiyoko corrected. “We try to send her a message that her task is still being fulfilled even as she rested in paradise. That’s about a rough overview on this job.”

In a way, the Hoshii continued the legacy. Superstition or not, it's a noble undertaking—to bring people together.

“Heh, maybe I, too, was brought in here by Lady Yuugure,” I joked, to which the lay simply smiled.

I quickly went home, got changed, and returned by the stipulated time. This was also part of the job and I'm never dreaming of seeing Kiyoko's wrath descend again. She might literally go for my neck next time. Her passive-aggressive way of teaching me lessons, with the most hurtful through pay cuts, was too much. Recently, I've begun indulging myself on the cakes she herself procured. As delicious as it was, it's also expensive, but it's well worth the price especially after seeing the quiet bliss on Senna's face when I gifted it on one of the rare times she at the shop. As expected, no employee discounts were given because apparently, it’s still business. She wouldn’t even let her niece eat a slice.

Anyway, when I got back, she’s done dressing Senna up. I've seen her wear different kimonos, but this yukata stood out in a weird way.

“This looks cheap,” I immediately commented upon first look.

“As it should,” Senna responded. “I'm going out as the current representative of the bloodline.”

***

KRING!

Every now and then, I could hear the sound of a bell being rung. Senna had been flicking her wrist during those times; I think her bracelet had some bells attached to it.

I never said anything during the journey. She seemed occupied for one, but this was a job concerning Lady Yuugure so I guess the natural course of action was to keep my eyes open and protect her. After all, nobody recognized her when she doesn't want to be seen—kind of like her mother but to a lesser extent.

The slow strides and the bells made me feel like I'm on a pilgrimage of sorts. In a bustling city center, the two of us created our own detached space. Everyone minded their own business that's why they overlooked us, but wasn't that the obvious?

“Our eyes see everything, yet we choose what and which.”

Senna glanced at me when she heard that. Did I just say that out loud?

“Guess I did affect you in some way,” she said, blushing a little. She's being more vulnerable than usual. 

“Positively, if I may add.”

KRING!

I fumbled for an explanation during the bus ride until we reached our destination. It's very embarrassing to expound on such a Senna-ish line. I mean, whenever she said stuff, it never came off as pretentious, it just… flowed naturally. Her personality also helped since she's definitely the type to blurt these things out and with some follow-up to boot.

Apparently, there's a local festival happening. We both had no idea what it was and she seemed not too interested about it. If I'm correct, any festival worked so long as she attended. What struck as odd was instead of going to the stalls or visiting the nearby shrine, we took a detour and headed to some obscure area.

Despite the strangeness of her request, I dutifully obeyed.

“Should I give you a piggyback? The rough path might hurt you.”

“…”

“Hm? Something wrong?”

“…It'll come undone.”

She missed a few pages again. What will ‘come undone’...?

I took her in a princess-carry position. We didn't utter a single word nor have I attempted to get a whiff of her scent—anything. Even her hair brushing against my skin was too much. It's just… awkward to do anything after I understood what she meant. I did carry her like that when she's wearing a furisode alot so how come she got worried about her kimono getting undone just now? Was it because we're alone out here, in the dark? The way she's acting like a normal girl all of a sudden wasn't helping either.

KRING!

Shortly, we reached our destination. It's a bit of a test to go all the way up here, but seeing as we're overlooking the lights of the festival stalls, it wasn't so bad.

I put her down and turned my back as she fixed herself. My phone indicated a twenty-minute walk. Ack, now I understood why my back hurts.

“Lady Yuugure had nothing left to remember her by,” Senna said. “It might be that, or nobody told mother and auntie the full story.”

I'm now leaning to the assumption there's some bad blood between them and their relatives if they're left out on the major stuff. This was a family that matched people for generations, knowing the reason as to why they do it must be the very basic of basics. Why they taught Kiyoko and Yukina their art without divulging the full story was strange indeed, more so when Yukina and her daughter would assume Lady Yuugure.

“But we still honor her nevertheless. In our own way.”

“Did Kiyoko tell you to do this?”

“We don’t know much so attending festivals was a makeshift solution. It might even be because nobody shared our belief in the first place. It looked like baseless superstition, after all.”

Well, she had a point. That reminds me, isn’t it tanabata today?

“Let's hope your feelings will reach her then,” I said. “Anything I can help with?”

She extended her left hand. Our hands met. She slid hers until only our pinkies touched. “Stay…”

I'm sure she meant ‘stay still’ as she closed her eyes but the sudden burst of color that illuminated the surroundings and the loud bang of the fireworks drowned out everything else.

KRING!