TSUKUSHI and I chose a tea shop along the road to Tenmangū. We sat on red-cushioned chairs, eating umegae mochi—rice cakes stamped with a plum blossom design—alongside our matcha tea.
“So…” she summarized, “you’re interested in your boss, but he also makes you uneasy because you’re not sure what kind of person he is. Does that sum things up?”
“Pretty much.”
I’d told her about my situation while glossing over anything ayakashi: President Shinozaki had helped me with my working relationships (spiritual energy leakage) and offered me a new job. He was a kind and reliable boss. What’s more, he was young (in appearance) and handsome, and the amount of time we spent in close quarters (I didn’t mention the kissing, of course) caused my heart to stutter.
Yet he didn’t seem as conscious of me as I was of him. Wouldn’t a normal man (he wasn’t a normal man) show more interest in me given our close proximity?
“Let me get this straight,” Tsukushi said. “Your handsome, competent boss spends enough time with you, his female employee, alone that you think he might be into you?”
“No, um, wait!” I protested. “I-I didn’t explain the situation properly! He isn’t like that!”
“Uh-huh. And now you’re defending him.” She jabbed her finger in my direction. “You don’t want anyone badmouthing your boss, do you?”
“N-Not really.”
“In other words, you really do like him, don’t you?”
I studied the iris pond beyond the window, unable to bear Tsukushi’s gaze. “Honestly… I’m not sure if I like him,” I admitted. “After all, I’ve never had a boyfriend. Maybe I just think I like him because he’s kind to me. The idea of falling for him scares me when I have no idea how he feels about me.”
“It scares you?”
“Yeah. I think so.” Talking with Tsukushi, I was finally starting to understand. That’s right. I’m scared of falling for Shinozaki.
“So… Is that because you’re afraid he lives in a completely different world from you? As a company president?”
“Something like that.”
Shinozaki and I did live in different worlds. That was why I couldn’t comprehend his perspective. How much easier would the situation have been if we were both humans with a normal lifespan?
“Hmm.” Tsukushi placed a hand under her chin and mumbled, “I see.” Sinking into contemplation, she stared into the distance, her long lashes glittering in the light. I’d always loved her expression during such times.
“All right,” she said. “I’ve made up my mind. Times like this call for a survey.”
“A survey?”
“Yep.” She pulled her phone out of her handbag, her porcelain fingers dancing across the screen. “We need to ask several typical women how they feel about this.”
“Wh-What are you doing?”
“I’m contacting our friends in Fukuoka. Ideally, we can all go out drinking tonight.”
“You’re moving way too fast!”
“No time like the present, right?” Tsukushi looked directly into my eyes, her expression serious. “You’re my dear childhood friend. I’ve looked out for you since we were kids. The least I can do is help you out, no?” She grinned.
How could I argue with that miraculous beauty, that smile? “O-Okay.”
Replies dinged one after another. That the hour was lunchtime on a Friday must have helped.
“Looks like everyone can make it,” said Tsukushi cheerfully as she inspected the phone screen. “Wonderful. Are you going back to the office now? I’ll contact you when the workday ends.”
Her formidable momentum brooked no argument. I would be going out that night.
After returning to the office, I wrote my report and took care of the miscellaneous paperwork. And all of sudden, night had fallen.
I hadn’t gone out drinking in quite some time. For that reason, Tsukushi picked a lowkey pub near my house in Higashi Ward. The popular locations in Tenjin would be fully booked, but her selection, just outside the city’s center, was relatively empty. It was also cheap and, most importantly, delicious.
As soon as we sat down, everyone started to argue about the order.
“Let’s start out with…thirty salted chicken skin skewers and dipping sauce! How does that sound?”
“Hey! Can’t we order something a little cuter? Like pan-fried yam cake!”
“Sure, if you want to eat a brick of carbs. I’m having beer!”
“Sake for me!”
I hadn’t seen the lively group of women since high school. Strangely, all of them were completely at home in the pub.
“Honestly, I can’t hold my liquor to save my life,” I admitted.
One of my friends smiled at me endearingly. “Oh, Kaede, you haven’t changed a bit.”
My face flushed a little at that.
Tsukushi, seated gracefully among the group of working women, smiled at me as well. Her ethereal beauty seemed even more pronounced in a bar setting.
“It’s been too long, Kaede,” a friend said. “Congrats on finding a new job.”
“You were always busy when we invited you out,” another friend added. “We were worried about you.”
“Thanks, everyone,” I replied. “And sorry for worrying you.”
“So?” a friend asked. “Spill it already! Has Cupid’s arrow finally struck?!”
“Right, right!” another exclaimed. “What happened?!”
“U-Um… It’s kind of a long story, but…”
I recited the same rundown I’d given Tsukushi. Hopefully, this will satisfy their curiosity. Because I’d never discussed my nonexistent love life before, everyone listened intently. When I finished speaking, my friends exchanged glances, my story seeming to have sobered them.
“Um, Kaede,” one said. “That guy sounds…sketchy.”
“Are you sure that office is safe?” another friend asked. “Your boss isn’t sexually harassing you, right?”
“You can’t trust hot guys,” a third friend pronounced. “Speaking of which, is your boss single?”
“Huh?” I asked. The eminently practical question caused me to blink in surprise.
My friends’ expressions grew even more doubtful.
“I…think he’s single?” I ventured.
As soon as the words left my mouth, I gasped, recalling the mark of his master-servant bond on his chest. The flash of memory sent ice creeping down my spine.
“I could also absorb your spiritual energy by forming a contract with you,” he’d said. “But unfortunately, I already belong to someone else.”
What had he meant by that? He never spoke about his master. Could the person who’d etched that faint sigil on his chest be important to him?
Even when I was a kid, my hunches tended to be right. And that usually spelled bad news for me.
“You think he’s single?” my friend repeated. “So, you haven’t asked him directly?”
“No…”
“Seriously, Kaede, only get involved with him if he’s single. What’s the point of having a relationship if you can’t get married?”
My friends, clearly worried about me, began to opine on all things love and romance.
“We’re still young, sure, but the years fly by once you start working. I’m actually giving dating apps a shot.”
“Whoa, you’re not scared of meeting up with strangers?”
“Just because a friend introduces you to a guy doesn’t mean he’s safe either.”
“True. My boyfriend and I are living together now. I keep wondering when he might pop the question.”
“Oh! Is someone going to be a wifey soon?!”
“Heh. Well, if things go according to plan.”
Their conversation overwhelmed me. My friends were truly incredible. A single kiss sent me reeling, while they’d already moved on to a different stage of life.
“Oh, Kaede, don’t worry about that,” someone said. “Keep moving at your own pace.”
“Seriously,” another friend reassured me, “just hearing you talk about love is a sign of growth.”
I laughed. “You think so?”
As I silently nibbled on salted yakitori and pork ribs, my worries gradually began to feel trivial and cliché. I would never be able to participate in discussions of marriage and children regardless; so long as I worked with ayakashi, I would never have that sort of normal life. On the contrary, after joining Shinozaki’s company, I’d vowed to protect the normal lives of ayakashi—and that desire hadn’t changed.
Hadn’t I always hoped for a normal life? I’d worked for a company near my family home because I wanted to cling to what was familiar.
But I forgot. Life keeps changing, no matter how much we wish it would stay the same.
Someday, I would grow old. My relationships with the people around me would change. My parents, the rest of my family, my friends wouldn’t remain the same forever.
I’d chosen a path that deviated from normalcy. Furthermore, I was passionate about that path. Suddenly, the idea of such an abnormal life filled me with dread.
And on top of that…
Shinozaki already had someone he cherished. Their bond had been etched into his skin for four hundred years.
“Are you okay, Kaede?” asked Tsukushi, noticing my silence. “Want to step outside for a bit of fresh air?”
“Sure…”
We exited the pub and looked up at the sky together. I couldn’t see a single star. Everything seemed distant, foreign. The commotion from other restaurants. Cars racing up and down the street. The hum of insects filling the summer night air. The streetlamps illuminating the shopping district.
“If only I had more romantic experience,” I murmured, studying the sky.
Tsukushi simply waited.
“I realized something while talking to you and everyone else,” I said. “I…think I do have feelings for President Shinozaki.”
It sounded so obvious when spoken out loud.
“Congratulations,” she said with a nod. “To realize how you feel is a wonderful thing. But Kaede… Your boss isn’t normal, is he? At the very least, you couldn’t tell us everything you know about him, right?”
“…Yeah.”
Until then, Tsukushi had listened without a word of criticism. She looked at me, solemn. “Then remember this: relying on love alone to bring people from different worlds together will only sow unhappiness.”
“Tsukushi…”
“You want to be normal, right? Living an abnormal existence day in and day out will only wear you down. There are a lot of problems that love alone can’t solve. Besides…”
“Besides?”
“If your boss isn’t normal, how do you know he’ll be able to accept your love? What if he already loves someone else?”
Her words pierced my chest.
That’s right. Shinozaki already has someone precious to him. And their relationship has lasted for over four hundred years.
“Thank you,” I said. “Talking to you always helps me see things more clearly. I appreciate it.”
“Don’t mention it,” she replied. “Promise me we’ll meet up again soon, okay?”
“Oh, it’s almost last call!” I exclaimed, checking the time on my phone with a start. “Let’s head back in!”
Tsukushi shook her head. “Go on without me. I want to enjoy the breeze a bit more.”
“Oh? Well, okay then. Shoot me a text if you want us to order you something!” I dashed back into the brightly lit pub.
At the time, I failed to perceive the strange shadow cast by the streetlight—that of Tsukushi with nine large, swishing tails.
🍁🍁🍁