Shino grinned wickedly.
“That’s because your body is fragile. A weak vessel cannot hold much. That’s all there is to it.”
“Ngh. Yeah, I guess so. But you’re the one who dragged me into my second bath last night! That was completely unplanned, and I was still in my yukata, making it even worse…”
“Is that your excuse for stretching out on your back as soon as you got out of the hot tub and sending me, your master, out to fetch you a sports drink and ice cream?”
“Ngh! Y-you’re right about that. I’m really sorry I sent you, my master, out on an errand.”
Masamichi apologized sincerely, and Shino had just started to say something when an announcement rang out on the platform that a train was approaching.
Masamichi got on his feet with a relieved look on his face.
“Hey, here comes the train. I hope we can find seats, since it should take some time to get to Kyoto.”
“I don’t care either way,” Shino said without interest, and he stood up.
Shino’s movements were always quick, but they were even sharper than usual.
Maybe even a specter gets excited about going someplace he lived in the past.
Although Shino seemed to have mixed feelings about his late master, Kyoto was still his hometown, where he came into this world as a specter more than a thousand years ago.
Masamichi boarded the train after Shino, envying the specter’s unique experience—something no human could ever imagine. It had to be fascinating to compare the scenery then and now.
As expected, the train was pretty packed with commuters and students heading for school. But a large bulk of them soon got off at Osaka Station, and the two managed to secure seats alongside each other.
Shino sat by the window, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. He looked out at the scenery in silence until the train arrived at Kyoto Station.
For Masamichi, the half hour to Kyoto seemed to melt away as he gazed at Shino’s handsome profile, and he got off the train feeling as if he were possessed.
Shino’s steps exuded confidence, as if he were taking a stroll back home.
“Have you been to Kyoto since you left that jar and became a free man?”
“Several times,” he said clearly.
“Oh, I see. Then you’ve already seen things here and are familiar with modern-day Kyoto?”
“Not really. I’ve visited this place several times for business and antique transactions, but I’ve always gone straight home afterward. I’ve had meals but haven’t done much more than that.”
“Oh, you’ve been here on business. With Daizou?”
“Yes. Daizou said if we were to go out on the town, it would be when we brought Yoriko with us, though she said not to worry about it and to go out and have a little fun.”
“They were really close, weren’t they…? Hey, Shino, you’re going too fast!”
Even in the crowded corridor leading to the ticket gates at Kyoto Station, Shino walked briskly with long strides, leveraging his long legs and maneuvering through the crowds with surprising agility.
“You’re slow. You don’t want to stay in a crowded place like this for long, do you? Now, walk faster.”
“I’m doing my best. If I lose you here, we may seriously be separated for life… Whoa!”
Masamichi couldn’t help exclaiming in surprise.
Shino suddenly reached out and grabbed Masamichi by the wrist, shirtsleeve and all.
“Sh-Shino.”
“I’ve caught you. I’m not interested in looking for a stray servant.”
Oblivious to Masamichi’s concern about how other people saw them, Shino kept a painfully firm grip on his wrist and continued walking even faster.
“I’m going to trip.”
If he really did fall, he wouldn’t only have Shino clucking his tongue at him. He was likely to get other people involved.
Determined not to injure others, Masamichi made a desperate effort to keep moving his feet and was genuinely relieved when they reached the last long escalator leading to the main exit.
Shino was standing right in front of him, still holding his wrist. He’d probably be offended if Masamichi asked him to let go, and it was too late to start worrying about other people watching them.
Never mind me, but Shino stands out wherever he is.
Even as they rode the escalator that slowly descended, Masamichi heard female voices whispering behind him:
“I think I’ve seen that guy before. Is he a musician? A model? An actor?”
“Look at him, holding hands with his agent. Is he a foreign actor, maybe?”
It appeared to strangers that Shino looked like a star and that Masamichi was his agent. They were really a master and his servant, but since that wasn’t a common relationship, Masamichi didn’t think they were too far off the mark.
Masamichi was shy by nature, but since he’d begun living with Shino, he had experienced a wealth of surprises and things that had confused him, and it had made him stronger and quick to stand his ground.
Quietly, he tried to catch his breath while they took the escalator. He was taking deep breaths when he caught sight of a large poster by the ticket gate they were headed for.
A young man dressed in what appeared to be Heian attire stood with a small flute pressed to his lips—probably a hichiriki, a double-reed instrument—against the backdrop of a solemn shrine at night.
He looked fabulously mysterious, standing in front of a torii gate, bathed in a white spotlight.
O-oh. Could that be…?
Masamichi recalled the conversation he’d heard between the two women outside the large bath the evening before.
Could the man in that poster be the popular gagaku musician they were talking about? He sure looks cool, though I can’t quite make out his face.
Masamichi’s guess was right on the money.
As the escalator approached the ground level, the poster became more visible. There were bold letters toward the top that read, THE TALK OF THE TOWN! THE NOBLEMAN OF GAGAKU IS FINALLY APPEARING IN THE ANCIENT CAPITAL!
I was right. Hmm, so the man’s coming to Kyoto. Oh, but tickets are already sold out… Wow, he must really be popular.
Masamichi nodded in admiration when he noticed a SOLD OUT sticker at the bottom of the poster, where the details seemed to be printed.