Epilogue: Living in the Spirit Realm

Epilogue:
Living in the Spirit Realm

 

I GENTLY SQUEEZED the brilliant white rice so as not to crush the individual grains as I added the standard ingredients: boiled kelp, salmon, pollock roe, and pickled plums. And one special twist.

“This is amazing! Fried chicken and eggs, yum!” Kuro cheered.

“Pretty good, huh?” I said. “I made it special for Shinonome-san since he’s such a lazy bum.”

“You know, this is the first time I’ve ever eaten something so delicious,” Kuro mused.

“Whoa, Kuro, slow down a bit or you’re going to choke. Hey, there’s rice stuck in your fur.”

Suimei just watched, smiling at his partner. Together, the two of them had played a major role in capturing Jorogumo. And a good thing they had too. Had we let the Tsukumogami copy of the ferocious Jorogumo run free, she could have harmed far more people. With no police force in the spirit realm, an attack like that tended to turn into every spirit for themself.

It wasn’t just Suimei and Kuro who’d dashed off to thwart Jorogumo, to be clear. When word spread that I was the target, the bookstore’s regulars had rushed in to help. I wanted to think they hadn’t killed her, but the terrifying look on Umi Zato’s face as he’d run off to join the fray made me wonder.

“Don’t do anything too scary, okay?” I’d said at the time.

“You’ve got nothing to worry about,” Umi Zato said. “We’re just going to make sure that she doesn’t want to see any more humans for quite a while.”

They most certainly had.

Now, Shinonome-san brooded quietly over his miso soup. At times like this, it was best to just leave him alone.

I sipped my own ginger-infused miso. At least Noname was in a good mood, unlike my pouty father.

“Jorogumo’s silver silk threads are quite rare,” she sang. “I managed to get quite a few, and now I can make some clothes out of them. Maybe you and I can have matching outfits, Kaori.”

Noname was mesmerized by the glittering silver thread. She flipped through a kimono catalog, plotting how to spin the threads into wondrous attire—though she looked a bit disappointed with whatever she was finding.

“Oh,” she said, looking up. “Suimei-chan, Kuro-chan, I meant to ask: Do you have anywhere you can stay now? If you don’t, you should come live with me. My house may be a little small for Kuro-chan, but Suimei-chan, you know a lot about medicine, right? I’d love it if you could help with my apothecary work. Things get pretty busy in the summer with all the idiots running wild.”

Suimei shot me a look. He was currently using our guest room, as he had been before. Ordinarily, we loaned it out to customers visiting from far away. Otherwise it just sat empty.

Though I’d be a bit lonely, I nodded at him. Suimei looked at Kuro and some silent agreement passed between them.

“All right,” Kuro said. “Now I’ll have a sweet little auntie to look after me.”

Everyone went absolutely still. Though Noname’s face didn’t change, rage flared just under the surface.

“Eh…he he…he… Ignorance sure can be terrifying, can’t it?” Kinme muttered.

“You’d best take that back unless you want her to rub mustard in your wounds,” Ginme advised.

Though the twins were deathly pale, Kuro just tilted his head to the side. “Hmm, big sister, then?” he suggested.

“Oh, my! I love it.” Noname’s whole demeanor abruptly changed. “You’re going to be my little baby from now on.” She pulled Kuro in close and rubbed her cheek against his.

The power of a purehearted doggy truly cannot be underestimated.

Suimei, meanwhile, stared off blankly, barely registering the scene before him. Perhaps he was just tired, but it was a bit eerie, almost like back when we’d first met.

Suddenly, I remembered his smile from not so long ago—just before he and Kuro ran off to deal with Jorogumo.

Thank you so much. You really helped a lot.

A flush crawled up my face. I slapped my hands against my cheeks to relieve the heat but to no avail. My heart tried to pound right out of my chest.

What was happening to me? I dared to glance back at Suimei. The moment my eyes met his perfect hazel gaze, my heart started to race all over again.

“Hey, Kaori?” he said.

“What?” Aaah! My voice cracked!

While I was busy trying to get myself under control, Suimei mumbled under his breath, “Kuro is really adorable.”

“Huh?” I said.

“That black coat,” he said. “The way his skull rounds off in the back, his long torso and short feetsies…”

“Feetsies…” I could hardly believe what I was hearing.

“It feels amazing to pet him,” Suimei went on. “And he even knows how to wait properly if you give him the command. You can hold out his favorite beef jerky, and he’ll just wait there so patiently. What a smart pup…”

“Smart…”

I let my gaze unfocus as I listened to Suimei rave about Kuro’s charms. His love warmed every word, as though Kuro was the very heart and soul of Suimei’s being.

After the incident with Jorogumo, Suimei and Kuro had decided to leave the exorcism business. It was impossible to make a new contract now that Kuro’s body had been returned to him, anyway. Plus, with the tsukimono binding now lifted, Suimei’s emotions no longer needed to be suppressed.

Nevertheless, the two of them would always be together now. They would live together as one unit, just a human and a spirit together as friends. I was confident that Suimei and Kuro would build a wonderful life side by side. They might run into challenges, but they would overcome them, I was sure of it.

Nyaa-san hopped up on my lap and nosed against my hand for attention. She mumbled under her breath as I stroked her fur. “Aww, the breakfast table will be awfully empty without Suimei around.”

“Huh?”

“Are you stupid? With Suimei gone, we won’t get any rent. Say goodbye to all this great rice.”

“Oh, right… Well, I’m fine with the cheap stuff. I can just go back to it.” I looked down at the brilliant white rice, already mourning its loss, before abruptly turning back to Suimei. No, actually, I couldn’t go back to the cheap stuff. It was intolerable. I got on my hands and knees to grovel, big wet tears forming at the corners of my eyes.

“Please, Suimei, stay with us a little longer,” I begged. “What about two more months? Is that okay?”

Alas, I was rejected outright.

“Why? I’m going to live at the apothecary with Kuro now,” he said.

“I, umm, well…what if only Kuro goes, and you…”

“Are you kidding? You know I’m not going to have the same kind of cash I did before. In fact, I need to tighten my belt and live frugally here in the spirit realm. Although I do intend to cash out all my assets in the human world. Man, I wonder how the rest of the clan will look then. They’ve probably been shaking since they realized their Inugami was gone.” Suimei smirked darkly and cackled. “The home the Inugami abandoned will now fall into ruin. Too bad!”

“That’s mean!” I said. I’d never seen this darker side of Suimei before.

Someone patted my shoulder. Shinonome-san thrust his thumb up into the air. “We’ll figure it out together, as father and daughter.”

“But this is all your fault to begin with,” I moaned. “If you actually took money when you lent out books, I wouldn’t need a part-time job!”

How oblivious could he be?

I batted at him in annoyance, but he just laughed and dodged away to the other side of the small living room as I lunged after him. Ginme took in the spectacle while Kinme casually sipped at his tea. Nyaa-san just curled up in the corner of the room without a care in the world…and also to avoid getting involved. Suimei continued to smile at Kuro as his beloved pet tried to escape Noname’s grasp.

I shook my fist at my father. “Gah! You’re such an idiot!”

“Oh, really?” He grinned as he danced away again. “With an attitude like that, it’s no wonder no one will marry you!”

“Shut up! How can I get married with such a bumbling fool for a father?!”

From then on, my home descended into a familiar chaos. Ah, it was good to be back to normal.

I suddenly stopped short, my gaze drawn to the sky outside the window.

The spirit realm was a world of everlasting night. Though the sun never rose, the sky was filled with stars and an enormous moon. The glimmerflies danced against a swirling backdrop of strange, indescribable colors that washed across the darkened sky.

Spirits ruled this mysterious world. But though it appeared terrifying at first, the spirit realm was home to many gentle and friendly residents. It was the kindest and loveliest place I ever knew. Nothing would ever change that.

Human though I was, I was raised by spirits…and I fully intended to live in their realm today, tomorrow, and every day after that.