“As the ancients said, morning classes are for catching up on sleep.” Don’t ask which ancients; give it another five hundred years, and anyone can be ‘the ancients’. After all, it wasn’t as if she hadn’t done something similar when writing essays for national language exams.
The autumn air was crisp and refreshing, with only a few scattered clouds adorning the clear blue sky. A large, fluffy marshmallow cloud completely obscured the sun, making the day unexpectedly cool. It was truly perfect weather for sleeping.
Shion had completely surrendered her inner battle against the part of herself that yearned to study; her angelic and devilish impulses had reached a consensus: sleep it was, for this morning. Besides, it was English class—the kind where even if she listened, she wouldn’t understand a thing. She might as well sleep.
“Hoshimori-san.”
A voice seemed to call her name, faint at first, as if from a dream. Shion stirred slightly, shaking her head, then settled back into slumber.
A poke at her back registered. ‘Was that Shigure trying to get my attention?’ she mused. ‘No, if it were truly urgent, Shigure would call out directly. It’s probably nothing important.’
“Hoshimori-san!”
The voice calling her name grew closer, inexplicably. An ominous premonition stirred within Shion. Even in her slumber, her legs began to tremble involuntarily. It felt as though something in her dream was drawing closer—something profoundly dangerous, perhaps even more terrifying than the samurai specters she usually faced…
Simultaneously, Shion felt the pokes on her back grow stronger, accompanied by a soft, tiny voice repeatedly whispering, “Shion-san… Shion-san… wake up, please…”
It sounded like Shigure’s voice, but sleep was simply too comfortable.
Suddenly, the desk where Shion was sleeping was slammed. The smile that had graced Shion’s sleeping face vanished instantly, and she involuntarily sprang to her feet with a jolt. Though she was dead tired, her inner alarm bells were ringing loudly, prompting her to quickly rub her eyes.
Then, she met the English teacher’s thoroughly enraged gaze.
‘Oh no, oh no, oh no!’ Shion cried internally. But at that moment, she could only stand awkwardly by her desk, watching as her classmates cast pitying and sympathetic glances her way.
“Forty minutes in a class, and you slept for thirty. Are you planning to sleep through the next class too, Hoshimori-san?” the English teacher snapped at Shion, clearly furious.
Shion didn’t dare mention that she had also slept through the previous national language class. The national language teacher, however, was accustomed to it; he simply lectured from the textbook until the class ended.
“I-I’m so sorry!” Were it not for the confines of the classroom, Shion would have surely prostrated herself in apology right then and there.
Fortunately, after the English teacher had angrily scolded Shion for a few moments, the dismissal bell rang.
It seemed the English teacher had indeed tolerated her for most of the class.
Only after the English teacher had exited the classroom did Shigure, who sat behind Shion, dare to approach her desk. She stroked Shion’s hair and said, “Shion-san, when you were sleeping in class, the textbook you used to block the teacher’s view fell…”
Shigure’s soft voice made Shion realize that her “protective shield” had fallen. No wonder! She’d never been caught sleeping before, but this class, she was!
‘One who frequently walks by the river is bound to get their shoes wet eventually,’ she thought.
Shion wrapped her arms around Shigure’s soft waist, rubbing her head against Shigure’s stomach. “Seriously, why did you suddenly get me caught? I can’t be the only one sleeping, right?”
Shigure’s face flushed slightly, but she still draped one arm around Shion’s neck, gently stroking her hair with the other. “Actually, it seemed like you were the only one sleeping, Shion-san… Lunch is after the next class, so usually everyone just rests during the first one.”
“Ugh, I don’t care, I’m still so sleepy! I need to sleep for the entire morning!” Shion continued to rub against Shigure’s soft stomach, finding it incredibly comfortable.
Mainly, she had been exorcising spirits so late last night that only an entire morning’s sleep could make up for the lost rest.
“Alright, alright, but Shion-san, you must wake up when I poke you. I poked you so hard just now, and you still didn’t wake up.” Shigure took a small step forward, allowing Shion to rub against her stomach in a more comfortable position.
‘So, it really was Shigure trying to warn me earlier,’ Shion realized. But still, sleeping was just too good!
“Oh, by the way, Shion-san, about the Autumn Festival…” Shigure suddenly changed the subject.
Upon hearing about the Autumn Festival, Shion perked up a little. After being scolded by the English teacher, she was already quite awake anyway.
“Mm-hmm, what about it?” Shion asked, blinking.
“Well, Shion-san, will you be performing the Kagura Dance at the Autumn Festival?” Shigure posed her question.
Kagura Dance? It was, after all, a rather formal festival. Traditionally, the Autumn Festival was a local event to pray to the deities for blessings during the autumn harvest, thanking them for protecting everyone and ensuring enough food for the entire year. Although few people in the town were still engaged in agriculture, the Autumn Festival had been passed down as an important town custom. Though, it felt as though the deities had little say over the crops in the fields anyway…
“Yes! I’ll be wearing the formal Miko attire to perform the Kagura Dance.”
“Is that so!” Shigure’s eyes shone with excitement, and the hand she had linked with Shion’s tightened imperceptibly. “I want to come and see you perform the Kagura Dance, Shion-san! Especially in your formal Miko attire!”
“Are you very interested in the Kagura Dance, Iori-san?” Shion tilted her head.
Shigure tapped her lips thoughtfully with her left hand, pondering for a few seconds before saying, “Actually, I mainly want to see Shion-san seriously performing her divine duties as a Miko. I’ve only seen you in Miko attire once, when we first met.”
‘Was that during their first meeting, when Shigure came to the Hoshimori Shrine to pray for her grandmother?’
“Actually…” Shion chuckled awkwardly. “Well, Iori-san, if you want to see it, you don’t have to specifically come during the Autumn Festival. If you truly want to see it, you can come tonight. The Hoshimori Shrine is open until we go to bed at night.”
That’s right, most people didn’t know the Hoshimori Shrine stayed open so late at night, mainly because… no one ever came!
“Then, then…” Shigure’s face turned red, seemingly struggling with a decision.
After a few seconds, she mustered her courage and said, “Then I want to come and see Hoshimori-san perform the Kagura Dance in Miko attire tonight!”