THE late-summer sun had begun to set over Futsukaichi. I cast a spell to materialize a hidden road, then brought the car to a screeching halt in the parking lot of a traditional Japanese inn.
Red dragonflies flitted all around me, and Xu Fu—former human and Kaede’s kidnapper—leaned against the entrance to the inn. He smiled faintly, holding a pipe in one hand. The smoke drifting from the metal-tipped stem had been enchanted with fangshi magic. I furrowed my brow in response to the unpleasant scent; it irritated my sharp sense of smell.
“Well, well, if it isn’t the shapeshifting fox of Chikushino,” Xu Fu said. “It’s a scorcher today, isn’t it? Why don’t you come inside and rinse that sweat off?”
“Shut up,” I growled. “Return Kaede to me now.”
“Whoa, whoa, hold your horses. I fully intend to give her back.” He smiled, expression unreadable despite his twinkling amethyst eyes. “However, your wifey is in the middle of a two-hour massage. Why not let her finish since she’s already here?”
I didn’t answer.
“Do you intend to sit out here and wait?” asked Xu Fu. “I would rather you didn’t disrupt my business, so please come inside. I’ve brewed some tea for you.”
That he controlled the situation vexed me. Yet I had no choice but to follow him wordlessly inside. As soon as I crossed the threshold, a tingling sensation caused me to shudder. From that point onward, I would be inside his barrier.
The labyrinthine resort was a blend of Japanese and Chinese architecture. It was reminiscent of buildings in old red-light districts. Xu Fu led me to a Chinese-style reception room, where a woman in a ruqun began to brew tea. She performed a traditional Chinese tea ceremony while Xu Fu lounged in the seat across from me.
“Green tea, eh?” I asked. “Is it Longjing?”
“Ureshino, actually,” he replied.
“Then why are you preparing it like that?”
“I wanted to see if you would have the same reaction as Kikui.”
The beaded bamboo screen rattled in the wind.
“Tell me.” Xu Fu’s long, black hair shifted against his shoulders as he fixed his gaze on me. “Why are you so attached to Kikui when she’s no longer your significant other? Will you not renew your contract with her unless she remembers her past life? I find that difficult to believe. Aren’t you the fox that tossed aside a thousand years for love?”
I stayed silent.
“Oh, don’t give me that look. You’re scaring me half to death,” he guffawed as he fiddled with his pipe. “Are you respecting her free will, perhaps? Hoping she’ll fall in love with you of her own volition again? Playing the purehearted lover, are we, Mr. Kitsune?”
“I don’t need her to love me,” I said. “I just don’t want her to die in this life due to the supernatural. That’s all.”
✦ ✦ ✦
“How chivalrous of you. Your sister has become a powerful, nine-tailed fox. Yet you’ve remained a lowly one-tailer because of your obsession with a single woman. Usually, I would only expect that sort of foolishness from a human. It’s laughable.”
“Shouldn’t the massage be wrapping up soon?” I demanded. “Bring her here. Now.”
“Speaking of which…” he said, ignoring me. “There’s something I’ve been wondering.”
“Out with it then.”
“Your sister should have noticed a girl as conspicuous as Kikui by now, no?” He sipped his tea, eyes narrowing behind his round glasses as he watched my reaction. “Well, either way, I share your hope that Kikui doesn’t die due to her involvement with us.”
The woman in the ruqun leaned down and whispered in Xu Fu’s ear. He nodded, rising. He twirled his pipe and forced my head up by tapping the mouthpiece under my chin.
He smirked at me. “Here’s a bit of friendly advice: decide what you want to do with that girl sooner rather than later. Before she gets dragged into a fight between siblings.”
“Thanks for the warning,” I replied. “I can tell just how many women you’ve brought to tears.”
The corner of his eye twitched. “Kikui is spelled using the kanji for chrysanthemum and well, yes?”
His quiet voice followed me out of the room.
“I can’t think of a better name to describe her past life. Chrysanthemums placed before a watery grave. Well, I’m in no hurry. I’ll welcome her as my employee at any time. As a former human, I’d love for us to get to know each other better. Now then, have her home at a decent hour, won’t you?”
🍁🍁🍁
✦ ✦ ✦
I sank into the couch. My mind and body were pleasantly drowsy from the hot spring and massage. Before long, a familiar face appeared in front of me.
“Shinozaki…” I murmured.
“Let’s go,” he said softly, holding out his hand.
His kindness caused my chest to tighten. Why did he always treat me with such compassion when I did nothing but inconvenience him?
“I’m sorry,” I mumbled as I took his hand. “I basically ditched work.”
“Don’t worry about it,” he replied. “Hainuzuka’s on the case. I originally intended to let you take the day off anyway.”
“…Thanks for coming to get me.”
“No problem.”
We left the room together. Although the resort had bustled with people earlier, a deathly silence hung over the deserted inn. No employees bade us farewell. Only the buzz of a vending machine in the old-fashioned souvenir corner reached my ears.
Outside, the sun was already sinking beneath the horizon. As we climbed into the car, rain started to pitter-patter on the roof, an unexpected evening shower. Shinozaki turned the key in the ignition without saying a word. Yet he didn’t touch the wheel.
Finally, he said, “I’m sorry for keeping quiet for so long. I’ll tell you everything about my master.”
“Shino—”
“Just hear me out,” he begged. “After that, you can decide how to proceed.” Rain began to fall in earnest as his serious, golden eyes found mine. “But please remember this: no matter what I confess, choose the best path for you. You don’t need to take my feelings into account. I only want you to be happy and to have full control of your future.”
“Shinozaki…”
“I’m about to admit something that I’ve kept a secret for centuries.” He shook himself with a chuckle. “…Do you mind if we set aside time for this conversation in a few days? I won’t be able to talk about it without steeling myself first.”
“Of course,” I replied.
He started to drive. The rain drumming against the car rang in my ears in absence of the radio. Oddly enough, I didn’t feel uncomfortable, despite the silence. Shinozaki had rolled the sleeves of his dress shirt to his elbows. I could have studied his muscular forearms, his long fingers expertly handling the steering wheel, forever.
“Shinozaki.”
“Yeah?”
“I like it when you kiss me.”
He didn’t respond.
I forged ahead. “You startled me the first time, sure, but I didn’t dislike it. I’m glad you were my first kiss. No matter what you tell me, my feelings won’t change,” I promised, then heaved a deep sigh. I couldn’t express how I felt in a single breath. “If you don’t mind kissing me either, I want you to keep absorbing my spiritual energy. I don’t want anyone else to do it. I realized that with every fiber of my being today.”
“…Well, that’s certainly an honor,” he said after a long pause.
“Still, there is one question I’d like to ask you, now,” I said with a glance at his profile. “Is that okay?”
“What is it?”
“Would you still be able to kiss me without the pretext of absorbing my spiritual energy? No, that’s a poor way of phrasing it. Would you still want to kiss me without that obligation?”
We were approaching the Dazaifu interchange. Shinozaki stopped at a traffic light that dammed the flow of cars onto the highway. He brushed aside my hair and cupped my cheek. The world emptied but for the beat of the rain, rhythmic click of the turn signal, and metronomic swish of the windshield wipers. His lips grazed mine.
Unlike the previous two times, he didn’t absorb my energy. He kissed me a little longer than usual, leaving behind a faint trace of warmth.
“At the very least,” he said, “I would never kiss anyone but you or another woman who shares your soul.”