FAREWELL
Yayoi thought she would be scolded by her parents, but once she got back to Uncle Kamei’s house, they simply hugged her without saying a word. Their relief was palpable, but that only made it clearer how much they had worried. She cried and apologized, and that was the end of it.
“Sword-san was right after all,” she said. Keito didn’t know what she meant, but he didn’t bother to ask since she seemed satisfied.
Because it would be difficult to leave first thing in the morning after everyone had stayed up so late, the new plan was to leave in the evening. That meant everyone could take their time to say their goodbyes.
“Goodbye, Nanao-chan.”
“Bye-bye. I’ll write you letters.”
“Me too.”
Of course, there was no better place for them to bid each other farewell than the usual small shrine.
Reluctant to part, the two girls hugged. Once Nanao was ready, it became Keito’s turn to say his goodbyes. He handed her a memo he’d prepared the previous night.
“Be well, Yayoi-chan.”
“Thank you for everything, Keito-san. Um, what is this?”
“My address. I was thinking I could be your pen pal too and maybe get to know you better until next year. What do you think?”
“I would love to,” she replied, smiling widely. This year’s summer was over, but now she had next year’s to look forward to, and it was all thanks to a suggestion from one meddlesome demon.
“Oh, you’re heading home already?” Just as they were about to part, a stranger called out to them—a young man, perhaps around high school age and somewhere close to six feet in height. His musculature was rather imposing. He acted like an acquaintance of Yayoi’s from the way he called out to her, but she treated him like an unfamiliar face.
“Um, I’m sorry. Who might you be?” asked Keito, speaking for the group.
The young man answered with a surprised look. “You’re kidding. We met last night. Have you already forgotten about me?”
“Last night…?” Keito didn’t recall meeting this man last night. He’d been too busy looking for Yayoi; even if he had encountered him, he wouldn’t be able to recall it. His voice did sound slightly familiar, though.
“Um, excuse me.” Yayoi hesitantly spoke up, seeming to realize something. “That voice… Might you be Sword-san?”
“You got it.”
“Sword-san” was what Yayoi had called the Yatonomori Kaneomi blade. However, the one talking had been the demon sealed inside the sword, never the sword itself.
Finally realizing the man’s identity, Keito took a step back. “Wait, you’re that sealed demon?!”
“Took you long enough,” the demon said with a grin. He didn’t seem remotely as wicked as the legends claimed.
Yayoi looked as surprised as Keito to see the sword’s true self out and about. Nanao, who had no idea what was going on, just looked between everyone in confusion.
“I owe my escape to you, Keito-kun,” the demon said.
“What do you mean—ah, so that’s why you had me draw you from your scabbard!”
“Exactly. The seal was already weakening, though. I could’ve escaped on my own in two or three years.”
The scabbard had apparently played a critical role in sealing away the demon. A cold sweat ran down Keito’s brow. Had he just released a wicked demon into the world? “Oh man. You’re not going to go on a massacre or something, are you?”
“That’s not my thing,” the demon replied. “Now that I’m free, I think I’ll go back home.”
“Oh? That’s it?”
“That’s it. I’m not one for senseless slaughter.”
Keito couldn’t tell whether the demon was being truthful or not. He could only hope he was.
Yayoi smiled at the demon. She’d believed him to be a good person all along. “Sword-san.”
“Hey, Yayoi. Did they scold you when you got back last night?”
“No, you were right. My father cried and said he was just glad I was safe.”
“What’d I tell you? There isn’t a father in the world who doesn’t love his daughter,” the demon said a bit emotionally as he patted Yayoi’s head. He looked young, but he acted more like a doting grandfather. Perhaps it might be okay to trust him after all.
“Thank you, Yayoi and Keito-kun. I was able to leave some doubts behind thanks to you two,” he said. “You reminded me that there are some things more important than just thinking. Now, let me get out of the way of your farewell.”
With a heartfelt grin, the man began to leave. Yayoi and Keito tried to stop him, but he simply said they’d probably meet again somewhere down the road and continued to walk away.
He departed just as abruptly as he arrived, leaving Yayoi, Keito, and Nanao in a daze.
“Uhh, so who was that ‘Sodo-san’ guy or whatever?” asked Nanao, who hadn’t properly heard the man’s name.
“Good question,” Keito replied thoughtfully. The way the man came and went like the wind was kind of funny, and Yayoi seemed to think the same thing. The two shared a look and smiled.
“You think we’ll meet Sword-san again?” she asked.
“Who knows? But, well, he did say we’d probably meet somewhere down the road.”
“I hope we do.” A touch of sadness filled her eyes, but there was hope in them too.
Suddenly remembering they had been in the middle of their farewells, Keito brought up his promise to write to her again. “Oh, right. Continuing where we left off, write me some letters too if you can.”
“Oh, yes. I’d love to. I think Nanao-chan can give you my address? Although you could probably find it easily on your own too.”
“Oh? What do you mean?”
“My family’s shrine is pretty famous around Hyogo.”
“Is that so? I should be able to find it no problem, then. Hm? Wait, you mentioned you helped out with your family business before, right? Are you a shrine maiden or something, then?” He envisioned her in shrine maiden attire, but she shook her head. He felt a bit disappointed, having got his hopes up. She smiled teasingly at the way he wore his emotions on his sleeve.
“Um, I do wear shrine maiden clothes, but our shrine doesn’t exactly have shrine maidens.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yes. Instead of a shrine maiden, it’s our custom to have what we call an Itsukihime.” Yayoi, her name bearing “ya” meaning night and “yoi” meaning evening, spoke proudly.