Peaceful days

Luckily, I got some respite. After the last two days had been eventful, Thursday proved to be more relaxed. We continued our tour of the surrounding countryside. During the trip, I caught Suzuki glancing at me from time to time. He never mentioned our exchange from Tuesday, despite his evident curiosity. I really had to respect how steadfast he was to his claim of waiting. The mood was a bit tensed I the beginning, but after the first few hours had passed, we got back to normal as if there had never been an incident.

There was only so far we could go in a day, and there were only a limited number of spots in the area. Due to that, we finished our explorations on the eve of the day.
Still, we had accounted for that, and would spend Friday differently.

***

The next day, we met up at Tanaka’s place. We had decided to do a good old fashioned sleep-over. As his house was the biggest, the rest of us were welcomed by him.
Standing in front of a gated driveway, one could take a look at the wide property, with a massive old-styled building claiming the center spot. As the outer door wasn’t locked, we could just walk right in. In this region, it was more of a design choice than anything else, as no one in the neighborhood would just break into someone else’s property.
Walking the short winding path, we then stood in front of the main door to the building. At least this time the regular visitors chose to use the bell.
Shortly after it rang out, Tanaka opened th sliding door in front of us. “Good to see you. Please come in.” No visible surprise was to be seen on his face. Which meant that the others usually came in this way and he got used to it.
It was Suzuki’s and my first time visiting him, so of course we were astonished at the size of the property. I realized Ono and Sugimoto were watching us from the side, so I quickly recovered and walked in. “Thank you for having us.”
“Surprised, right?” Ono gave a smug smile.
“Yes. I would not have imagined it.” Suzuki was still a bit stunned, his eyes wandering around the entrance.
“And it is really useful.” Sugimoto started reminiscing. “As kids we always had our meet-ups here. The lawn back out is spacious for a lot of games. Are we staying in the usual place?” He turned to Tanaka as he asked this.
“Yes. It should be large enough, even if there are five of us.”
After the short reply, I asked in turn. “What do you mean?”
But he didn’t reply, as Ono cut in, “Best to see for yourself.” and led the way.
I gave our host a short glance. He just motioned forward, making no attempts to stop his friend. ‘If they had really been here so often, it is probably more of a second home to them than a friend’s house. Or they just roll that way.’ Thinking about it wouldn’t solve anything, so I hurried after him. The rest of the group followed suit.

Following a short route through the building, we emerged on a terrace on the backside of it. From here, the outer garden was visible. There were many trees, flowers and shrubs planted, even a pond with a small bride.
“Over there.” Ono drew us out of the stupor, and pointed to a separate building. It was still a decent sized house, if only with one floor. Very similar to old tea houses.
“So we have the entire space to ourselves?”
“Yes.”
We went on over. To my surprise, there was even a TV in the room. Not only that, an AC was present too. In addition, a bathroom was also installed in a separated area.
“We usually use this room if family visits during gatherings, so we upgraded it a bit so it is a more comfortable stay than just a room to sleep in.” Tanaka explained.

Sure, we had a plan to play and enjoy the stay. However, it was business first, then reward. Today we had actually gathered for two reasons, even if I may have forgotten it in the beginning.
As we had previously discussed, we would have met up at Sunday to discuss homework, making sure everyone got everything. But seeing as we were meeting today already, we had decided to move the plan forward and get rid of it now. Doing so would allow us to have a totally stress free Sunday at the festival.
So we went to work. And it actually wasn’t that bad. Sugimoto, who had been my biggest cause of concern, had actually done pretty well. Still, that didn’t prevent Ono to make jokes at his expense, hinting at the past event mentioned previously. It went so far that even Tanaka played along. Maybe one day I would learn about that event. Although Sugimoto was well guarded, and prevented any chance of the others telling me, meaning ti could take a while for progress on that front.
On a more serious note, there was a person that needed more help with some tasks: it was Suzuki. When I thought about it, it seemed obvious in hindsight, as he had missed many classes when new concepts had been introduced.
No one actually said anything bad regarding that. We took our time explaining the gist of things, and brought him up to speed.

After making sure everyone had gotten everything down, we started to laze around. Tanaka brought more things over. I had half expected a butler to show up for that kind of stuff, but it didn’t seem to happen. That would have been too stereotypical.
With a console now present, we started playing different games on it: either in group games or VS matches. While our numbers didn’t add up — many games were designed with four players in mind, and we were five guys — it didn’t matter too much, as we took turns taking a break, using it to visit the bathroom and such.
Later, we ordered pizza. Not to safe the trouble of cooking, but as Ono and Sugimoto had argued, it was an essential part of a sleepover.
And thus, we had our little celebration.
‘So this is what a sleep-over usually is like?’ It was nice, and everyone had a pleasant night.’

But of course, this wasn’t where it ended. No. According to our two self-proclaimed experts, there was something that needed to be done when new people joined them.
“A test of courage?” Was my first idea, so I asked.
“Ts ts ts. That wouldn’t be any fun for us?” Sugimoto exclaimed.
“Not that it could be done properly on this property.” Ono added as a real explanation.
“No, we want to torture you!” The original speaker resumed. “So! Now, confess!” He said in an overly dramatic tone.
“W-what exactly?” Suzuki got swept up by his momentum.
“Let’s start with… embarrassing accidents in the past!” Sugimoto started laughing to himself like a B-movie villain.
He kept on doing so until a fist on his head stopped him. “We will not be doing that.” Tanaka declared
“Alright, alright. Then, how about love stories.” He gave a different option
“Is this a girls’ gathering or what?” Ono put in to our defense. Luckily, as I had a shock, as had Suzuki too, visibly. ‘So I am not the only one who has some thoughts on the matter.’ Not that I could properly sort my own thought. They were still in a jumble after Wednesday.
“Do you have any better idea?”
“No fun if just they have to tell us things. Let’s make it more… interesting.” A sly grin spread on Ono’s face. With a deft motion, he pulled out a card set. “Let’s play with these. Loser has to do a truth or dare. That makes the field more even, right?”
“As if! You are way better at cards.”
“Ono.” Tanaka looked him straight in the eyes. “Are these regular cards?”
He acted a bit hurt, but quickly laughed it off. “Yes, I didn’t bring these to cheat. No today, at this gathering. They are honest to god normal playing cards.”
“Then good.” ‘Did he actually use manipulated cards against them in the past?’
With the host’s approval, we began playing many rounds, with silly punishments to follow for the loser of each round. The idea had been good, as I felt that it — the mutual suffering and embarrassment — had brought us closer together.
Still, everything had to come to an end. Once the moon had risen high, we noticed our fatigue, and turned in for the day…

During the night, I took a walk outdoors. It wasn’t that I couldn’t sleep in the presence of others, but I something had compelled me to go out. I moved to the veranda, and took a look over the garden.
As per usual, I had ignored all the lights moving around outside in the presence of everyone else. But now, I had a chance to take a proper look at the ones around here. And they gave off a different feel then the ones I saw in nature. Looking at those usually filled me with a sense of tranquility. But the ones here made me feel warm and happy. ‘Does the influence of people extend to the spirits?’ It might be possible. There was much for me to learn. I took a good look at the moon, and its reflection in the pond.
With my curiosity quelled, I walked back to bed. It was getting late, and I didn’t want to stay asleep when everyone else got up.

***

The next morning, we got up late, which was natural after staying up late. And since it was Saturday now, there weren’t any repercussions. But, as habit would have it, Tanaka had gotten up early. Role model student, that guy. Still a bit cranky from just getting up, I moved out to the sink to splash water into my face.
Once in a more awake state, I turned around to walk back. Only to backwards in shock, as a person had appeared next to me out of thin air. “What are you doing here?!” In front of me was Suzune.
“I could ask you the same.” She looked at me with indignation. “And why did you jump back when you saw me? I am not a ghost.”
“…No. I mean, yes. I mean, ugh! I am here to visit. What about you? You just broke in-!”
I heard to outer floor creaking. Tanaka moved his head out to look at me. “Is everything alright? I just heard you shout.”
“Ah, I’m fine…” He was starring straight at me. But he made no reaction to Suzune. Then it clicked in my head. “Yeah sorry. I just hit my head somehow. I’m not really hurt or anything, it was more the surprise since I was still half asleep. Sorry for worrying you.” I quickly gave that excuse.
“It’s alright. More than that, I am happy you aren’t hurt.” With that, he moved away.
But I was really more awake now. And being awake made me remember, Suzune could just walk around with being seen. So, with a smaller voice, to not be thought of as a person talking to himself, I asked her again. “Okay, but seriously, why are you here?”
“To take a look after things.” I looked at her quizzically, as that didn’t explain much. An annoyed sigh later, she elaborated. “You see that spirits are around here, right?”
“Yes.” That much was obvious to me.
“Well, someone has to look after them.”
“…But why? Don’t they usually just live by themselves, and do their own thing?”
“When they live by themselves, that is the point. But these here don’t.” She took a look around the perimeter. “You see, this house here is old. Many generations have lived here. And of course, so did the spirits. There was no reason for them to move away. Still, even if regular humans can not interact with them, they can still influence those around themselves. So, from time to time, I come to check in on them in places like this. To make sure that there was no bad influence.” Her face turned sad.
‘A spirit turning evil must be a bad thing.’ While that explained here purpose, it did not explain the timing. “But why today? Why specifically when I am here? Aren’t you busy with other things?”
“I could ask you the same. Why do you always show up when I do some work? I am not doing anything, so it must be your fault, clearly.” She pointed at me.
At this point, I felt arguing would be useless. “Yes yes. Let’s put it aside for now.”
“Hmm, agreed.” We settled the matter by postponing it indefinitely. “Now, I will be busy around here, so just ignore me. Don’t mind me at all.” And so, she started walking away. After a few meters, she turned around and called out to me. “Since I already met you, I can tell you instead of writing. Come to the shrine today, around 12 pm.” She continued walking away. I couldn’t really run after her or call out loudly, as others saw me by myself, without her present.
Swallowing this frustration, I walked back in.
“Did something happen?” Sugimoto asked me innocently.
Apparently the frustration was visible on my face. “Not really, just hit my head, that’s all.” The excuse seemed to work.

Soon after, we got together in the kitchen and ate breakfast. I tried not to look out fo the window, as a certain someone would be plain visible to me.
Instead, I tried to keep my focus on our conversation. We discussed some minor details for our meet-up the next day, making sure to repeat place and time. NOt only that, but which activities to prioritize. Which naturally led into talks about which food stalls would be recommended, and so on.
With happy thoughts about tomorrow, we parted ways as Tanaka saw us off. And so, after all the storm from before, I had my two days of peace. …Which would remain that way, as more chaos would appear on the horizon.