Tonight, the moonlight cast a distinct chill.
[Everyone get a good rest tonight. Tomorrow, I’ll be relying on all of you!] Shion sent this message in the group chat, receiving a flurry of “OK” replies from the other girls.
“Isn’t my silly big sister going to sleep yet?” Ayane asked, yawning as she wrapped herself around Shion from behind, resting her head on her sister’s shoulder.
Though Shion was already tired, bearing Ayane’s weight like an extra burden, she still reached out, habitually ruffling her sister’s hair. “Ayane, you go to sleep first. I just need to double-check the stall arrangements for tomorrow.”
“What else is there to do?” Ayane pouted. “Kazama-san and I set up the stall ourselves today while you were practicing your Kagura dance, you know. All the stock is ready, we’ve checked it several times. Are you saying you don’t trust me, big sister?”
“Of course not! I trust Ayane to handle things!” Shion turned to look at Ayane, forcing a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes.
“Big sister.” Ayane tugged lightly at Shion’s ear. “If there’s anything bothering you, you have to tell me. Don’t keep it all bottled up inside.”
“Honestly. Once we make some money at the Autumn Festival tomorrow, I’ll buy you some new clothes!” Shion reached out and patted her sister’s cheek, feeling its softness like solidified milk.
Ayane still pouted, but she ruffled Shion’s hair before finally releasing her sister’s ear. “Alright, I’m going to sleep then. You should go to bed early too, big sister.” With a huge yawn, she turned and walked back into her room.
The girls had been incredibly busy these past few days, all for the cultural festival. Shion, Ayane, and Nanami were occupied with preparing stock, while Shigure and Sakuya took charge of decorating the stall. Rie, meanwhile, tirelessly promoted the Autumn Festival online.
However, Ayane had also noticed that her sister seemed somewhat distracted these past few days.
Long after Ayane had retreated into her room, Shion, clad in her Miko attire, once again approached the main hall of the shrine to pray.
The Miko knelt before the Divine Being, reciting incantations with fervent concentration, attempting to sense any surge in malevolent spirits over the past few days.
Yet, this time, the response to her prayers was identical to the previous nights – utterly devoid of difference. She sensed no signs of malevolent spirits whatsoever.
Although she no longer remembered the almost hallucinatory visions she had witnessed that day at Rie’s home, just before the sealing, the two words, ‘malevolent spirits,’ that had escaped her lips then remained firmly etched in her memory.
However, for several consecutive nights, she had ventured into the back mountains for exorcisms, even without sensing any strong malevolent aura. She had only encountered scattered, insignificant traces of malevolent energy, easily dispelled without even needing talismans.
Shion lifted her head, realizing that, in her daze, she had unconsciously walked beneath the great torii gate and was now seated on the shrine’s stone steps, bathed in the clear moonlight. Despite days of relentless work, her body screamed for rest, yet her mind remained acutely tense.
Suddenly, her phone chimed with a crisp ringtone. Shion instinctively pressed the answer button.
– Shion-kouhai, are you asleep?
– I just pressed the answer button, so what do you think? Shion retorted, a hint of exasperation in her tone.
– Well, I had to ask, just in case you were asleep. The elegant young lady who always maintained her composure in front of others only ever revealed her mischievous side when she was with Shion.
– Right, if I were asleep, your call would have woken me up anyway. So, it’s basically like I wasn’t asleep, isn’t it? Shion continued to quip. For some reason, Rie and Nanami were becoming increasingly similar in their ability to be teased…
A brief pause followed on the other end of the line. – Shion-san, are you still worrying about the malevolent spirits?
Hearing Rie’s question, Shion’s heart seemed to skip a beat.
‘Rie probably knew all along that I couldn’t sleep.’ It was already late into the night, but ever since she had visited Rie that day, this persistent worry had clung to her heart.
Though Rie had called under the guise of ‘harassment,’ in truth, she was genuinely concerned for Shion.
– Yes. Shion admitted truthfully. – I am… quite worried. It’s precisely because I’ve forgotten… forgotten what I saw that day, that I’m so anxious. If I knew, I could prepare in advance. But I just have this constant bad feeling.
A soft chuckle drifted from the other end of the phone. – Shion-san, don’t worry about things that haven’t happened yet. Don’t forget, before the current Guardian was born, our family was in charge of managing the seal. Hasn’t the town passed so many years uneventfully?
– But the seal has a limit, doesn’t it? If it’s exceeded, it would cause you a lot of trouble, senpai. A lingering worry still gnawed at Shion’s heart.
Rie chuckled softly. – Shion-san, you’ve already helped so much lately. The seal’s condition is far better than when I took over. If anything happens tomorrow, I’ll just seal the malevolent spirits back in. No matter how bad it gets, it won’t be worse than when I first took charge.
– But…
– Shion-san, the responsibility of sealing malevolent spirits isn’t yours alone. The Igarashi family also bears this responsibility. You don’t need to shoulder all these burdens by yourself, Shion-san. You’d get too tired.
‘Shouldering everything?’
‘Yes, it’s true. All this time, it seems I’ve been trying to carry everything on my own shoulders.’
‘I’m already… so very tired. Constantly worrying about the emergence of malevolent spirits, constantly guarding against them harming others in this world, constantly keeping their secrets. It feels as though I’ve borne all of it by myself.’
‘I haven’t even confided a single word to my dearest sister.’
– Shion-san, what’s wrong?…
“Huh?” It was only upon hearing Rie’s voice that Shion realized she had been silently wiping away tears, her sobs now uncontrollable.
– Shion-san, are you crying? Rie, on the other end of the line, began to panic slightly. – What’s wrong, Shion-san? Don’t worry, I—I’ll figure something out. Tomorrow’s Autumn Festival will definitely go smoothly!
– Yes, I trust you, senpai. I’m just… a little tired. I’m sorry…
Her words unfinished, Shion ended the call.
Fatigue and a sense of powerlessness washed over her like a tsunami. She remained seated on the stone steps, burying her head in her arms, and began to softly sob beneath the red torii.
‘She didn’t know why, but she had taken on the responsibility of exorcising malevolent spirits. Yet now, even with her constantly improving abilities, the situation with the malevolent spirits continued to develop in unpredictable ways.’
‘She yearned for someone to lean on, a haven where she could momentarily rest.’
Yet, even now, she chose to hang up on Rie, reserving her vulnerability for herself alone.