Something is terribly wrong.
“Shino,” growled Tsukushi, lips curling and eyes glowing. “I applaud you for making it all the way here.”
“Shinozaki!” I cried. I tried to run to him, and the paralysis struck again. Only my voice remained free.
“Welcome, my adorable little Shino,” Tsukushi drawled, strolling over to her brother. “We haven’t met in Yanagawa in, what, four hundred years?”
Shinozaki was much taller than his dainty sister. His hands were larger, his shoulders broader. Yet Tsukushi’s mere presence overwhelmed him. Even Shinozaki, who negotiated with ayakashi across Japan, couldn’t contend with my childhood friend—the kitsune. Cold sweat dripped down my back.
When Shinozaki and Tsukushi stood face to face, their shared features became all the more obvious. Although Shinozaki looked like the older of the two, they were clearly an elder sister and younger brother.
Tsukushi stood on tiptoe to touch his cheek, her pale fingers grazing his shoulder. Her mere touch caused him to stiffen.
“Poor little Shino,” she sang. “How agonizing is it for you to simply stand here?” She twirled to face me. “Shino said his last goodbye to Sakura—your past self—in Yanagawa. That’s why he hasn’t set foot here in over four hundred years. But he came back today to rescue you.”
“Shinozaki…” I mumbled.
“He deserves a gold star, don’t you think, Kaede?” simpered Tsukushi. “Not to mention, he withstood my spiritual energy to break through the barrier. That must have been painful, yet he didn’t transform back into a beast. How utterly heartrending.”
“Shinozaki.” I strained to speak to him from behind Tsukushi. “Shinozaki, I…”
“You heard everything, didn’t you?” he asked.
I couldn’t nod due to the paralysis. “Yes,” I answered, “I know that you and Tsukushi are siblings…and that I was your master in my past life.”
“Yes.” His voice was subdued. He smiled wanly as beads of sweat dripped down his face. “That’s what I wanted to tell you then, in the car.”
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I heard everything before you had the chance to explain.”
“Don’t blame yourself. You did nothing wrong.” He glared at Tsukushi. “You placed a seal on Kaede’s spiritual energy, didn’t you?”
“Huh?!” I squeaked.
Tsukushi nodded. “I’m a nine-tailed fox, remember? I can seal a human’s spiritual energy in my sleep.”
“You continued to live near Mount Tachibana after we separated,” Shinozaki theorized. “Kashii, where Kaede was born and raised, is relatively close. You found her immediately, didn’t you? And I never found her because you kept her energy sealed all these years.”
“Precisely.” Tsukushi tittered. “You’ve been neglecting your sadhana, Shino.”
A moment later, her nine tails fanned out behind her.
“Gah!” cried Shinozaki, falling to his knees. When he tried to stand, Tsukushi grabbed his necktie and forced his head up. “Tsuku…shi…” he groaned.
“How pathetic. Back in the day, you were far stronger and more skilled in battle than me.” Still gripping the necktie, she regarded Shinozaki with half-lidded eyes. Her soft voice oozed sugary venom as she said, “Oh, Shino, my dear and foolish little brother. Heartbreak has left you a shell of your former self. Why do you struggle so childishly to survive when your power is but a gentle breeze?”
At odds with her bewitchingly saccharine tone, her fist tightened around his necktie, yanking his face closer to hers. With a tender hand, she brushed aside his sweat-soaked bangs and kissed him on the cheek.
Evidently, he couldn’t lift a finger to resist. He merely glowered at her, his face twisting into a scowl.
“Darling Shino,” she said. “When Kaede drew her first breath, I immediately knew she was Sakura. I’ve protected her all these years, constantly changing my role and appearance. I did everything in my power to ensure she didn’t meet yet another untimely end.” Her form flickered as she considered her brother. She became my daycare teacher, my homeroom teacher. My classmate, switching to versions of herself at various ages.
My jaw dropped. She really has been watching me my entire life, hasn’t she?
“When Kaede started working, however, I couldn’t see her as often.” Tsukushi glanced at me. “The magical seal I’d maintained for so long began to weaken. Around that time, Shino, you discovered her in front of Tenjin Station. Your presence produced the final crack in my barrier, destroying it.”
Tsukushi faced me. The power in her piercing gaze caused my bangs to billow upward. “Kaede. I don’t want you anywhere near my little brother.”
“Tsukushi…” I whispered.
“Tragically, our ‘Lost Fox of Tenjin’ has been waiting for you for four hundred years, imprisoned by Sakura’s memory. But you aren’t her, even if you possess her soul. If you still wish to stay by Shino’s side… If you refuse to leave him…”
A powerful gust of wind slammed into me. My beloved transit card, dangling from my bag, broke in two, and I nearly passed out from her overwhelming spiritual energy.
“Stop!” bellowed Shinozaki in a hoarse voice.
The wind ceased as abruptly as it had started.
Shinozaki stood between me and Tsukushi, shielding me with his body. “That’s enough,” he barked. “I’m the one you’re after, right? If you lay so much as a finger on Kaede, I’ll never forgive you.”
“Oh?” said Tsukushi. “How does a lowly, one-tailed whelp intend to stand against a nine-tailed fox?”
“I’ll gladly give up my life to protect Kaede—but you can’t kill me, can you?”
All emotion vanished from Tsukushi’s face. His words had struck true.
“Tsukushi,” he said with renewed strength. “Keep protecting Kaede from the shadows for eternity. Or at least until her life ends. So long as she’s able to live a normal, peaceful life, I don’t need anything else. I’ll even venture to the Far Shore with you.”
I stared at his back, feeling as though I’d been punched in the stomach.
“Would you let me say farewell to her?” he asked.
“Do as you wish.”
Shinozaki turned to face me, his eyes twinkling above a weak smile. He was usually so well-groomed, yet his shirt was in tatters, his hair tousled. “Sorry,” he said, ruffling my hair. “I never meant to drag you into this mess.”
He took my hand and placed it on his chest. The instant I touched the sigil through his shirt, I heard a pop.
“Did you just break the contract…?” I asked.
His impassive expression told me all I needed to know.
“My sister’s demonstrated that you were reborn as Kaede—not Sakura—which nullifies it,” he said. “After all, you’re a different person now.”
“You can’t be serious.” I shook my head. “Wasn’t it important to you?!”
“I was being selfish. Now I want you to be free from me.”
“Free from you…?”
He embraced me. The warmth of his tail curled around my neck brought me to the verge of tears.
We’ve never done this before, I realized vaguely. He’s kissed me, sure, but never hugged me.
Countless thoughts raced through my mind.
You don’t have to leave me.
Where are you going?
Why don’t I have any say in the matter?
I wordlessly sank into his arms. In spite of his comforting warmth, my emotions were too scattered for me to speak.
“The first time I kissed you truly was out of necessity. I didn’t do it because you were Sakura or for any other reason.” His low, muffled voice tickled my eardrum. “But as we spent more time together, I grew increasingly nervous about kissing you. That’s how much I…”
“You were nervous too?” I asked. “I thought it was just me.”
“I’m an idiot. Despite all the suffering I caused you in your past life, I still don’t want to let you go. When will I ever learn my lesson?”
“Shinozaki, I—”
“Truth be told,” he said, “I even considered finding you a new job after we got your spiritual energy under control.”
His arms tightened around me. He pulled my hairclip free to run his fingers through my hair, kissing me on top of the head.
I closed my eyes.
His breathing grew ragged, his body warmer. “To be completely honest, I was waiting for Sakura,” he whispered. “But I never once considered you a replacement for her. That’s what makes this all so heartbreaking. I didn’t want the woman I love to lose her normal life because of some cosmic baggage.”
Pressing my hands against his chest, I looked up at him. His ears lay flat, and when I smoothed his disheveled hair, they stirred happily. They always betrayed his emotions, and my heart warmed.
I would tell him the truth.
“Shinozaki,” I said. “I love you.”
“You shouldn’t,” he replied. “You really shouldn’t.”
“Don’t leave me.”
“I have to.” His smile was troubled. “I’ll only cause you more unhappiness.”
Don’t say goodbye with such a tender look on your face.
“Tsukushi and I will continue to seal your spiritual energy from the shadows,” he said. “Live a normal life, Kaede. Please.”
The patter of raindrops on leaves sounded in my ears.
“Huh?” Turning around, I found a vibrant garden dampened by a passing shower. The tips of my shoes had gotten wet as I sat on the edge of the veranda.
“Why did I come to Yanagawa by myself…?” I murmured.
I snatched at whisps of memory as I watched the rain. Had the beauty around me caused my mind to go blank?
“Oh, that’s right,” I said to myself. “Someone gave me a ticket to Ryokan Ohana. Since I’d never visited Yanagawa, I decided to take a trip out here. That’s what happened…right?”
I rose to my feet in a daze. I would get soaked before long. Feeling as though I’d been bewitched by a fox, as the saying went, I picked up my bag.
“Whoa! Why is my Hayakaken card split in half?!”
Leaving Yanagawa, I noticed what appeared to be a few strands of dog hair clinging to my shoulders. Perhaps an animal had brushed up against me at some point. Yet I had no memory of such an event.
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