Kajii Takumi came to the Dove District in pursuit of his former sweetheart. It was an acquaintance who told him she was working there as a sex worker. He knew this acquaintance from his school days but didn’t think of him as a friend, particularly because he always said things that got under his skin.
The friend said that he met his old sweetheart in the Dove District and that she had grown into a proper woman, her breasts and hips fleshing out. He even claimed that he’d paid money to sleep with her.
Takumi was furious, but he didn’t care to waste energy on a lowlife like that man. He knew she would never be in such a place… But what if she were? The faint possibility drove him to the Dove District.
His mind was broken, the same thought repeating within it: I want to meet her one more time. Just once more. He was haunted by lingering regrets, trapped by feelings he left unsaid. He had continued to search for her ever since, all for the sole purpose of meeting her. He believed that if he could find her just once more, they would stay together for good this time.
He was in his mid-thirties now and beginning to develop conspicuous wrinkles. He was tall and thin, but in an emaciated and lanky sense. His face was pale, and his gait was unsteady. He looked like he had become a ghoul. Even so, he continued his search, shambling through the night.
He saw a figure appear from the darkness and came to a stop.
“We meet again,” the figure said in a voice as stiff as steel. He was a young man, about seventeen or eighteen years of age. He had a sword bag slung on his shoulder and a well-trained physique that was visible even through his clothes. The rugged young man, who looked out of place in this red-light district, stood before Takumi as if to block his path.
Takumi recognized the man’s face. He had been the one who got in his way when he reached out for his sweetheart that one time. Remembering that moment put Takumi in a foul mood. The young man’s composure only irritated him further. Filled with bile, he glared at him.
✦ ✦ ✦
2
HOTARU SLEPT IN BED with her skin pressed against her client’s. The sun was already at its peak. Bright beams of sunlight shone in from the window and roused the man beside her. She met his gaze and smiled passionately, then snuggled closer against his chest.
In the old pleasure district of Yoshiwara, it was customary for men to be roused at eight in the morning—beaten awake, if necessary—but things were lax in the Dove District. Since it was a relatively new red-light district, rules were lenient, and many customers slept in until noon. Hotaru lazily welcomed the morning with her client from the previous night. By the time she saw him off, lunchtime was long past.
“Whew…” Spending the whole night with a client took quite some stamina, but she couldn’t let her exhaustion show while the client was around. Only after confirming he was out of sight did she exhale deeply.
She’d never once hated her job as a sex worker. She worked hard to be a woman worth dreaming with, but the nights she spent in the embrace of others were terribly cold. Before she realized it, her hand was reaching for the small bottle in her pocket, seeking warmth.
She must have still been exhausted, because the bottle slipped through her fingers and rolled on the ground. Luckily, it didn’t break. She followed the bottle, but someone reached for it before she could.
“Is this yours?” It was the rugged-looking young man who came by the milk hall just to drink. He picked up the bottle with a blank expression, glanced at it for a moment, and then nonchalantly handed it to her.
She sighed with relief when she touched the bottle’s familiar glass. She thanked him with a genuine smile, forgetting to don the mask of a sex worker. “Thank you very much.”
“Not at all. That’s star sand, isn’t it?”
“It is. I got it as a gift some time ago.”
To Takumi it had been merely a simple gift, but to her it was so much more. When she held it, her heart felt warm and full.
“Must be quite the old gift. The glass is all dull,” the young man said.
“I suppose I’ve had it for a few years now.”
“You seem to treasure it.”
“I do. I’ve left many things behind, but this was the one thing I couldn’t bring myself to part with.” The truth slipped out all too fast. It appeared she still hadn’t fully woken up fully, and she forced a smile as though to chastise herself. “Oh dear. A lady of the night shouldn’t spoil the mood so.”
“Nonsense,” he said. “We all have things we can’t bring ourselves to leave behind.”
He meant to say he was no different in that sense. Understanding this, she said nothing in reply and looked at her feet.
She was interested in the young man, but only as an odd patron who stirred some curiosity. Conversely, the young man liked the way she handled herself as a lady of the night, but he had no desire for her services. Their interest in one another only went so far. That was why, even when they both revealed some of their true self, there would be no attempt to pry deeper. It was an unspoken rule that such things weren’t done around here, and he had to know that.
Her assumption lowered her guard and made his sudden sharp words feel like they clawed at her heart. “Do you cling to that thing because you can’t bring yourself to forget Kajii Takumi?”
Her heart ached painfully.
“A bottle containing traces of bygone days… Is that the form of your lingering regrets?”
He was not mocking her. He took the tone with which one might chastise a child, a tone full of gentleness. But her damaged heart throbbed violently.
“You’re awfully mean-spirited today,” she said.
“Forgive me, but it’s in a man’s nature to turn jealous when a woman shows off a gift from another man.” He made a light apology and shrugged. He clearly didn’t mean what he said about being jealous, based on the way he was brazenly gauging her reaction. “I happened to meet Kajii Takumi last night. It seems his feelings for you haven’t changed.”
She knew this, too, was just another jab to get a reaction out of her. Still, she couldn’t stop herself from trembling. With moist eyes, she stared back at the young man, but he said nothing further. Satisfied with what he saw, he excused himself and began to leave.
There was much she wanted to ask him, so she tried to call out. However, her voice wouldn’t form. All she could do was watch as he faded from view.
✦ ✦ ✦
Jinya had spoken with Kajii Takumi the previous night. What they shared was less of a conversation than it was Takumi laying his emotions bare.
“Who is she to you?!”
“She isn’t the kind who belongs here.”
“I’ll make her happy this time for sure. We’ll be together forever. I won’t let go of her twice.”
“So please, I beg you. Don’t…don’t take her from me.”
As a fellow man, Jinya could somewhat understand how he felt. On an emotional level, he was on his side. But he couldn’t fully approve of his actions, so he was left conflicted.
“These things happen, I suppose.” Jinya walked away from the man, then mingled with the crowd and murmured to himself. He had thought it was just Takumi who was clinging to Hotaru, but despite the way she acted, she was attached to him too. They both held lingering regrets toward one another, and the Dove District had welcomed those regrets.
It was a strange situation, but it presented a good opportunity. The two likely already understood it was time for them to confront their regrets, but they wouldn’t have been in this mess in the first place if they could take that first step themselves.
“It’s not like me to play matchmaker, but…” Surely nobody would fault him for giving them a little push?
Jinya didn’t mind playing the fool from time to time, especially not if it meant a heart entranced by what was lost could come to face tomorrow.