C22 The Fox Mask in a Dream
Hoshimori Shion stood blankly, feeling as if she were standing on the stone steps leading to Hoshimori Shrine for worship.
The sky was oppressively dark, shrouded in ink-black clouds despite it being daytime, without a single ray of sunlight.
The oppressive gloom left Shion feeling suffocated.
Not far off, the red torii gate of Hoshimori Shrine loomed.
However, the red torii, which once stood guard like a benevolent deity at the shrine’s entrance, had collapsed into scattered fragments.
“What… what happened?” Shion felt a strange numbness.
‘Had there been an earthquake? Why had Hoshimori Shrine’s torii gate crumbled?’ These questions echoed within her, yet she felt no surprise, only a dull compulsion to walk forward, one step at a time.
She slowly made her way towards Hoshimori Shrine.
Skirting around the fallen red torii, she arrived at the main entrance of the shrine.
The outer walls of the shrine buildings were covered in mold, with green and black patches clinging to their surfaces.
Shion stepped closer, intending to peer through a window, but it was obscured by a thick layer of dust.
She could discern nothing from outside.
‘Right,’ Shion thought, ‘the main hall’s door shouldn’t be locked.’
She tried to push open the door to the main hall.
To her surprise, it was locked.
‘Why?’ she wondered.
‘She almost never locked the main hall’s door; what if visitors came to worship?’
‘And when had she even locked it? She had no recollection whatsoever.’ Shion pondered, bewildered.
‘Could Ayane have locked it?’
‘Yes, Ayane should be here in the shrine, shouldn’t she?’ As this thought crossed Shion’s mind, she found it strange that Ayane hadn’t occurred to her sooner.
Just as Shion intended to call out Ayane’s name, she found her throat dry and unable to produce any sound.
At that moment, Shion didn’t perceive anything unusual.
She simply thought of her sister and longed to see her right then.
That was all.
Shion knocked on the main hall’s door.
Yet, the door yielded almost no sound.
Only a nearby window, trembling with the door’s faint vibration, shed a small shower of dust.
‘Not here?’ she mused.
‘With so much dust on the door, it seemed no one had been here for a very long time; she likely wouldn’t be in the main hall.’
‘She must be in the living quarters then.’
Shion decided to circle around the side of the main hall.
The living quarters could be accessed from there.
However, as she passed the area where the shrine’s divine body (TL Note: The object or entity in which a deity resides within a Shinto shrine, often an ancient mirror, sword, or jewel.) was enshrined, Shion saw a white-haired maiden in a miko (TL Note: A shrine maiden or priestess in Shintoism, often assisting in shrine duties and rituals.) outfit, kneeling solemnly before the shrine’s divine body, performing a respectful bow.
“Ayane?” Shion stepped forward, extending her hand towards the white-haired maiden.
When she was approximately two meters from the white-haired maiden, Shion felt as though an unseen force held her back.
She simply could not traverse those final two meters, no matter how hard she tried.
After completing her bow, the white-haired maiden stood up.
She turned around, gazing at Shion.
A fox mask concealed her face.
Shion couldn’t see her features.
Yet, she found the white-haired maiden before her strangely familiar.
Without Shion realizing, a blade had appeared in the white-haired maiden’s hand.
Shion recognized it as Reikiri, the spirit-cleaving sword enshrined on the rack at the front of the shrine.
Shion instinctively recoiled two steps.
A chill, almost identical to the dread she felt when encountering an evil spirit, seized her heart.
She wanted to turn and flee, but for some inexplicable reason, the force binding her prevented both her advance and her retreat.
She couldn’t see the expression of the white-haired maiden wearing the fox mask.
Yet, tear after tear streamed from her eyes, tracing paths down the fox mask, dripping onto the ground, and dampening her snow-white miko outfit.
‘She… she’s crying?’ Shion didn’t know what to do at that moment.
She was suddenly overcome with an urge to go and embrace her.
‘Just as… she always embraced her sister.’
Suddenly, Shion felt a dampness on her own hand.
She raised her hand, wiped the corner of her eye, and felt something wet.
It turned out her own tears had just fallen onto her hand.
‘I… I’m crying too? Why?’
The white-haired maiden raised Reikiri high.
Beneath the fox mask, the white-haired maiden seemed to utter something.
Shion couldn’t quite hear it.
Moreover, she couldn’t even discern the maiden’s lip movements beneath the fox mask.
Yet, Shion had a distinct feeling she was saying…
“Goodbye.”
As Reikiri descended, a silver light enveloped her eyes.
The light grew increasingly blinding, as if it were the golden rays of the sun.
****
Shion opened her eyes.
It was the most brilliant golden sunlight of morning.
It streamed through the white sheer curtains, falling upon her face.
The morning breeze drifted in, carrying the warm scent of summer mountain foliage.
Sitting up in bed, she reached to rub her eyes.
However, as Shion touched her eyes, she felt a dampness on her hand.
Turning her head, she glanced into the small mirror on her nightstand, where clear tear tracks were visible beside her eyes.
‘Had she… been crying just now?’
‘Why? Had she experienced some nightmare?’ Shion couldn’t quite recall.
After waking, nothing of the dream remained clear.
Shion habitually opened her phone.
The first notification that greeted her informed her that her alarm had rung about five or six times, yet she hadn’t woken.
It was already past half past nine.
‘Wait,’ she thought, ‘Ayane was supposed to go to school today, and she hadn’t even made her breakfast yet!’
Shion tried to get out of bed.
However, her body seemed to disobey, and after barely standing, she sank back onto the bed, weak all over.
Shion touched her forehead; sure enough, it was still a bit warm.
Her fever hadn’t completely subsided, but it was much better than when she was performing the exorcism last night.
It also appeared that yesterday’s exorcism had concluded smoothly, allowing her a day or two of peace.
On her nightstand rested a glass of water, a box of fever reducer, and a bento (TL Note: A single-portion takeout or home-packed meal common in Japanese cuisine, typically consisting of rice, meat or fish, and one or more pickled or cooked vegetables.).
The bento looked like it had been bought from a supermarket but was already heated.
Beneath the glass was a note, which Shion recognized as her sister’s handwriting.
[Idiot big sister, get well soon! I’ll be home early today!]
Shion smiled with relief.
It seemed Ayane had specifically gone to the town’s convenience store early that morning to buy the bento, heated it, and then left for school—what an effort.
Her sister was finally able to take care of her in daily life.
Though she had no appetite, tasting the bento Ayane had specially bought would at least honor her thoughtfulness.
Shion picked up the spoon and took her first bite of the bento.
“Ugh, it’s burnt! Ayane, do you even know how to use a microwave?”
‘Never mind,’ she thought.
‘She had no appetite anyway; she’d just drink some water, take her medicine, and lie down for a bit longer…’
Just as Shion was about to lie back down and continue resting, the door opened.
A girl with bright red hair entered, carrying a steaming bowl of porridge.
“Hoshimori-san, good morning! You’re awake.” Igarashi Rie, seeing Shion awake, greeted her with a smile.
She then placed the bowl of porridge she was holding onto the nearby table.
“Wait, wait… Igarashi-senpai?!”