Chapter Three: A Convenient Misunderstanding
IT had been a few days since Akari took up her post as custodian of the Bookhouse, and time had passed quickly. Now she had to return to her real job.
Akari dressed in her new light-pink kimono adorned with red peony flowers and a bright red sash.
It was company policy for her to wear the mandatory work clothes, which consisted of a drab coverall apron, at the office. But Akari gave herself free rein to wear what she really liked underneath.
Her shabby work bag slung across her shoulder, Akari sat down in the entrance hall to re-lace her boots. Tomohito hovered behind her fretfully.
“Are you sure you’re not going to take the Kotogatari along with you?”
“I told you already. We can’t bring personal items to work. If it got stolen, I’d never get it back. Or it might get confiscated and disposed of. You don’t want that, do you?”
“No, Mistress…”
Tomohito’s shoulders slumped and he slunk back a step as Mayoi came trotting up.
Her beautiful kimono sleeves were tucked up and she wore a frilly apron. She offered a cloth-wrapped bundle to Akari.
“Mistress, I made you a bento lunch. Please bring it with you!”
“What a sweet girl you are, Mayoi! Thank you!”
Akari was genuinely pleased. She’d been wondering what to do about lunch. Mayoi blushed and smiled happily. But she was lingering. All of a sudden, Akari guessed what she wanted.
“…Hug?”
“!”
Mayoi’s face lit up. Akari had guessed right. A moment later, Mayoi flung herself into Akari’s arms. As Akari hugged her tight, bulky kimono and all, Mayoi snuggled close.
Mayoi had grown extremely affectionate toward her in a very short amount of time. But after so much loneliness, the little girl was still awkward about expressing her wants. Akari tried to anticipate her needs whenever possible.
After a few moments of silent hugging, Mayoi seemed satisfied. Then she looked up, her expression smug and aimed at Tomohito.
Akari swore she could hear the sound of his teeth grinding together.
“Urgh! I could make Mistress Akari a bento lunch, if only I had a moment to study the technique!”
“By the time you’re done with that, I’ll already have memorized all of Mistress Akari’s favorite foods.”
Akari watched them pensively. She’d thought they were close after a decade spent living together, but she’d been forced to revise that opinion.
For her part, Akari had become quite good at breezing past these little rivalry spats of theirs in the past few days.
Releasing Mayoi, Akari got to her feet as the two Kotogami stared each other down.
“I’m off. You two get along, now.”
“Then I shall see you off, Mistress!”
“If you dare follow me to my office, I shall take all your duties and give them to Mayoi.”
Tomohito froze and began stealthily slipping out of his shoes again. Akari sighed. I knew it.
“Mistress, I worry about you…but I understand. Have a good day.”
“I’ll see you both later.”
Akari looked over her shoulder. Tomohito was staring at her, expression doleful, while Mayoi was waving cheerfully.
Hand on the door, Akari paused. Tomohito tipped his head to one side as he observed her.
“Is something amiss, Mistress?”
“…It’s nothing. See you later.”
It’s just been so long since anyone’s seen me off at the door, thought Akari, waving at them both with an odd feeling in her chest.
✦ ✦ ✦
∗∗∗
IT was cold out in the morning air, even though spring’s coming was evident.
Clutching her cape tightly around her shoulders, Akari headed to the streetcar station. She had to leave the house a little earlier than usual, but it was very convenient that the streetcar ran all the way from Shinkuju station to Marunochui, where she worked.
She went through the ticket gate using the commuter pass she’d bought yesterday and got onto the streetcar along with a crowd of other workers in suits. Now all she had to do was relax and get off at the station nearest to her office.
The wooden houses and buildings seen from the streetcar windows became classier and less mismatched as the journey progressed. Also, the streets running parallel to the tracks became increasingly populated with rickshaws and automobiles.
Akari disembarked at the nearest stop and found herself in familiar territory: Marunochui. It was heavily populated due to its status as the center of economic development in the Yamato Empire, and corporations and businesses abounded.
Akari’s company was among their number. And while the gray, sterile-looking company buildings loomed large, there were also a number of parks preserved for recreation, still thick with their original trees.
“I heard it used to be an army parade ground, though.”
She needed to cut through Hiyabi Park to get to her office. Just as Akari was about to head into the green, leafy park, she heard a loud voice coming through a megaphone somewhere nearby.
“And so it seems evident that in these post-Westernized times of ours, the continued existence of the yokai is an anachronism! Why then does our government appoint these shady Narrators to positions of power? And why are these yokai allowed to run unchecked in our midst? I say this should stop!”
The speech was met with supportive cheers from a group of men standing around holding placards that read things like “Abolish All Narrators!” and “Burn All Kotogatari.”
Ah yes, the main reason why I didn’t want to get involved, Akari thought, sighing to herself.
Hiyabi Park had been the gathering ground of late for these anti-Kotogami, book-burning activists. They viewed all yokai as dangerous beings and mistrusted the Narrators’ ability to keep them in check. As radicals, they were demanding the burning of every last Kotogatari tome in existence.
Akari disliked stories, but her solution to that was to simply avoid them. She didn’t feel the need to pursue their destruction. She grimaced at the activists and noticed that the other commuting workers walking nearby also looked uncomfortable and annoyed.
In Hiyabi Park, several newly erected signs said things like “Beware of Animal Spirits” and “If you encounter an animal spirit, remain calm and contact the Narrators’ Association.” Akari wondered if those book burners understood that the Narrators were the ones dealing with the yokai disturbances. What did they think was going to happen if they got their wish—if the Narrators were shut down and all the Kotogatari burned?
But she kept her mouth shut, not wanting to get involved as she hurried across the park.
Akari’s company, Sumimata Corporation, was a general trading company that dealt in Western clocks and imports, and manufactured gramophones for sale. Akari’s job was primarily to assist the male employees.
She served tea, filed various paperwork, and did random accounting. There were always piles of such work to be done. The female employees were also generally kept so busy doing routine tasks for other (male) employees that they were always playing catch-up with their own work.
It looked as if the other former residents of the company dorm were back at work today too, and the hot gossip of the office was all about the fire and the Raiju attack.
At lunchtime, the gramophone clock automatically played a record, a Western tune Akari didn’t know the name of. The clock was one of the company’s prized original products. Akari sighed from her seat at her appointed desk as the music played.
“After a few days off, work seems more draining than ever…”
It had taken some effort to get back into work mode. She hadn’t made any major mistakes so far, but she felt as though she’d better be careful for a while.
“Miss Akari…”
“Oh, Mitsuko. What’s up?”
When Akari heard the clear voice behind her and turned around, she saw Mitsuko Maruyama, who’d joined the company at the same time as her.
She was the same age as Akari. Dressed in a somber kimono with a fine pattern, hair tied in a tidy chignon, and emanating an aura of grace and refinement that immediately identified her as a graduate of an all-girls school. She could be somewhat timid, and usually it was up to Akari to initiate conversations with her. It was very unusual for her to seek Akari out this way.
Mitsuko chewed her lip for a moment before responding. “I heard your dorm burned down. I was wondering if you were okay.”
“I don’t know if okay is the word I’d use. All my stuff went up in flames. Hey, since you’re here, why don’t we eat lunch together and you can fill me in on everything I missed?”
“Oh, okay. Sure.”
Mitsuko’s expression instantly brightened as Akari pulled out her bento lunch. The two of them decided to head up to the rooftop together to eat. The office stank of the men’s cigarettes and was unpleasant to eat in.
“So, how’s that new project you’ve been put on going?”
“It’s going okay. There were a few mishaps, but nothing too bad. I’m just glad to be helping out.”
Mitsuko smiled shyly. Akari was rather impressed. Mitsuko never complained, and she was very difficult to read. But right now, she was showing a rare confidence in her work.