“…What? But the shrine’s supposed to be off-limits,” he said.
“Yeah, it’s a mystery how she got in. Especially with people watching out front.” She stepped into the rear of the shrine, laid with tatami mats, and beckoned Jinta to follow. As he stepped through the bamboo screen, the first thing he saw was the small, simple altar. On either side, a vase held sakaki tree branches, and a candle was set out. In the middle was a single enshrined sword—the sacred sword Yarai. It was kept in an iron scabbard and, being a long tachi blade, had an impressive length of two-shaku and eight-sun. It was said it hadn’t rusted at all over the past thousand years, making people believe a soul dwelled in it. However, despite being an object of worship, there were no frivolous decorations on it; in fact, with its simple metal scabbard, it even felt a bit plain. But perhaps plainness was the ideal impression for a sword to give. It lent the shrine—and the Goddess it represented, Mahiru-sama—a sense of solemnity.
“Zzz…”
But before that solemn, sacred sword, a most foolish girl slept quietly. It was a wonder she dared to be in this forbidden area, despite the influential figures of the village holding a meeting next to it mere moments ago. Her hair had streaks of reddish-brown, and a bandage hid her right eye. She looked to be about six or seven years of age and was sleeping comfortably. This was Suzune, the girl Jinta left Edo with—and his younger sister.
Seeing her sleeping so peacefully, he could only sigh in exasperation and exclaim, “This girl… I’m surprised nobody noticed her.” Only the village chief and the shrine maiden guardians were allowed to see Itsukihime directly. If someone had spotted Suzune, she could be killed for blasphemy against Itsukihime. Her carelessness was enough to make his head hurt.
“Aw, don’t be so mean. She came to see you, you know?” Byakuya said.
“Me?”
“Yeah, she wanted to see you as soon as possible, since you’ve been gone for two days.”
Hearing that calmed him a bit. He had been away from Kadono for two days carrying out his demon-hunting duties. In the past, he and Suzune lived with Shirayuki and Motoharu, but now the two lived alone. It was no surprise that Suzune would get lonely when he was gone.
“Suzu-chan’s still young. She couldn’t bear waiting until you returned home,” Byakuya said.
“But that doesn’t make it okay for her to break the rules.”
“I, at the very least, don’t mind her visiting…” she grumbled, knowing full well she couldn’t convince him. The three had been inseparable in their youth, but now Byakuya spent her days alone in the shrine. It was the path she’d chosen for herself, so she didn’t regret it. But a small part of her still wavered.
“I’m kidding, of course,” she said, sticking her tongue out. Her intent was clear to Jinta: “Let’s pretend you didn’t hear that,” which he graciously did.
“Should we wake her up?” he asked.
“Yeah. Thanks.” An odd reply perhaps, but he understood what she meant.
He bent over and gave Suzune’s shoulder a shake. “Suzune, wake up.”
Suzune quietly groaned and rolled over. Her sleep must have been light, for that small shake was enough to rouse her. “Mgh… Jinta! Good morning,” she said, breaking into a smile as soon as she opened her eyes and saw him. She slowly stood, looked up at him with wet eyes, and added, “And welcome back!”
Two days must have felt like an eternity to the girl. Jinta couldn’t bring himself to reprimand her after realizing that. “Yeah. I’m back.” He patted her head, and she squirmed ticklishly. Her innocence made him forget, for a moment, that they were in a shrine, and his stiff, leaden demeanor eased.
“You’re so soft when it comes to Suzu-chan,” Byakuya teased.
“I try to be strict sometimes,” he said.
“Yeah right. You’ve always been soft on her, since a long time ago.”
She was probably right, but the only family Suzune and he had were each other, so he couldn’t help it.
“Not that that’s a bad thing,” Byakuya continued, “but I wish you’d share some of that sweetness with me too.”
“Ha ha, all right. I’ll try to.” His lips formed a smile unbidden at Byakuya’s childish teasing. He looked back to Suzune and locked eyes with her. All the frustration he had felt was gone, but he still had to remind her not to sneak into the shrine. “Suzune. I’ve told you many times already that you’re not supposed to be in here.”
“Whaaat. But you come in all the time,” she complained.
“That’s because I’m a shrine maiden guardian.”
“I know, I know,” she said with a pout. “And because the princess is your cru—”
Jinta quickly put his hand over her mouth to shut her up. That was close. A little more and she would have spilled the beans.
“Huh? What was that about me?” With a blush and a wide grin, Byakuya leered at Jinta. His feelings were as plain as day to her, but he was still too embarrassed to say them out loud.
“Nothing,” he protested, blushing as well. He knew full well she knew, but he still wanted to protect what little pride he had.
Byakuya burst into laughter. “Oh, Jinta… Jinta, Jinta, Jinta.”
“Jinta’s so shy!” Suzune said.
“That he is,” Byakuya agreed.
The two looked at one another and giggled. Jinta thought it strange how his reprimanding of Suzune had somehow turned around on him, but continued. “Ahem. Like I was saying, be more careful, okay? For your own sake.”
“Okaaay,” Suzune replied, but Jinta had a feeling he’d catch her sneaking in again soon enough.
Perhaps reading his mind, Byakuya teased, “Being a big brother’s tough, huh?”
It was. With a wry grin, Jinta thought to himself, But it’s not all bad, and he sighed.
The shrine was filled with a joy it usually never saw. Jinta’s face naturally softened as he looked at them, like he had been thrust back into the warm, easy days of their youth. But an indescribable pang of sadness flashed through his chest. They might be smiling in the present moment, but Byakuya couldn’t leave the shrine and live like a woman her age should. She was stuck in there to protect her sanctity but at the cost of a normal life. Just how lonely was she?
He tried to imagine her solitude but immediately quashed the thought as it rose up. He couldn’t pity her. He mustn’t pity her. Byakuya—no, Shirayuki had made her choice. Long ago, she had sworn an unsteady yet heartfelt vow to be the strength, the pillar of Kadono, as her mother had before her. And he in turn had sworn to protect it out of admiration for its beauty. So he mustn’t pity her. To do so would be to trample over all the determination that had brought her to this point.
Still, he wanted her to find peace, at the very least. That was partly why he became a shrine maiden guardian in the first place—for the sake of a childhood friend who gave up her own happiness and her youthful but earnest vow. And for the precious world she made here, he could continue to wield his blade.
“…I think I’ll head home now.” Suzune glanced sideways at Jinta with a slight frown.
“Already? You should stay a little longer. We rarely ever get to meet like this,” Byakuya said.
“No, I should go. It’d be bad if I got caught, and I just wanted to see Jinta.” Suzune’s eyes crinkled, as though she were wiser than her apparent years suggested. However, in the next moment she broke into a childlike grin and said, “Later, Jinta! Don’t stay out for too long!”
“Wait, let me come with you. You’ll get caught if you go alone,” he said.
“I’ll be fine. I have the secret path I used to get here! Bye-bye, Princess!” She fixed the bandage over her right eye and trotted towards the entrance, only stopping once to turn around and wave before leaving the shrine.
Jinta watched her go with some lingering worry and said, “She’s trying to be considerate of us, huh?” Suzune was very obviously trying to give the two some time alone together. Realizing that even his still-young sister could see right through him, and even went out of her way to give them space, Jinta felt a bit pathetic.
With a soft, happy sigh, Byakuya said, “She’s such a good girl.”
He felt the same way but was hung up on one thing. “Personally, I’d be happier if she were a little more independent.”
“You think she’s pushing herself?”
“I do.” Suzune had difficulty talking to people other than Jinta and Byakuya and didn’t leave the house except to run the rare errand. Perhaps that was why she felt she couldn’t inconvenience them both. As her brother, Jinta was worried for her.
“I had to scold her because it’s against the rules, but really, it’d be nice if she were allowed to play here at the shrine,” Jinta said. He would almost certainly die before Suzune’s time came, leaving her on her own. Ideally, she would turn to Byakuya then, but that would never be allowed so long as the rules forbade it.
“You’ve put some thought into this. I’m surprised,” Byakuya said.
“Of course I have. I’m her older brother, after all. It’s only natural for me to think of my younger sister’s happiness.”
“Ha ha, I see. It must be rough being a big brother.”
Byakuya always acted as though she were older than him, but her tender voice in that moment truly did feel like that of an older sister’s. Jinta awkwardly averted his gaze. Aware of how bashful he felt, she giggled until she had tears in her eyes and then calmed down.
After that, they spoke together casually, just small talk. But their peace was broken by the sound of the wooden floorboards creaking.
“Quiet. Somebody’s here,” she said.
Their relaxing time together came to an end. Byakuya quickly fixed her posture, and Jinta crossed through the bamboo screen back to his position, fixing his clothes. Silence returned to the shrine, and the two returned to being Itsukihime and her shrine maiden guardian.
A moment passed before they heard a voice from the corridor outside. It was the village chief who had been at the meeting only a short while ago. “Princess, might I have some of your time?”
Close one, Jinta thought. If Suzune had left a little later, the two might’ve bumped into each other.