Epilogue: A Promise Between Family

Epilogue:
A Promise Between Family

 

THE INCIDENT in Yao Bikuni’s meditation cave came to an end, and we returned to our everyday lives.

Shinonome-san and Tamaki-san’s injuries continued to heal, and they kept themselves busy with publishing preparations. In the end, Shinonome-san decided to forgive Yao Bikuni.

“I kind of understand how she felt,” he said with a slightly sad look on his face.

Yao Bikuni, now without a left arm, returned to looking after the recuperating souls. Something seemed to have changed within her however, as I heard through the grapevine that more souls had been saved as of late.

Part of me still couldn’t forgive her. But after learning how she felt, I just couldn’t bring myself to hate her. I decided I would treat her like I had before, with just a bit of extra caution. She seemed to do the same, giving me the usual embarrassing scolding whenever I delivered books. She would occasionally make a face now and then, but ultimately, we were back to the way things had been. It seemed to me that the incident had given us a mutual understanding that our relationship was one of those things that just didn’t need to change.

There were things that changed, things that didn’t change, and things that could never be changed. Only by perfectly balancing the three could one live their best life.

 

The end of autumn neared, and signs of the coming winter began to appear.

Cold winds shook the glass of the windows. It was still a bit too early to pull out the heater, but it was just cold enough to bring out the hibachi brazier.

“Shinonome-san, congratulations on the release.”

“Oh, thanks!”

“Don’t drink too much now. At least wait for everyone else to show up first.”

“I know, I know.”

He poured the high-grade Japanese sake I had splurged on into his favorite sake cup, filling it until only surface tension held it in and sipping off anything above the edge.

Tomorrow was the long-awaited release of his book. We would be lending it out at our bookstore, naturally, as well as selling it to those who wanted their own copy. But before that, we were having a party to celebrate the book’s release.

Shinonome-san’s dream was soon to be realized.

“Kaori, is this the last of the food?”

“Oh, yeah. Thanks, Suimei.”

Suimei brought over a big plate of food from the kitchen, specially made for today, but…

“Everyone’s late…” Even after the scheduled time, nobody showed up. Tired of holding back, Shinonome-san had begun drinking alone.

The winds shook the windows again. With the autumn leaves fallen, the trees outside looked cold and barren. I hadn’t seen many spirits flying about in the air lately, given this chill, and I’d hardly seen any beast-type spirits anywhere at all, as they’d started cooping up in their homes. A prime example of the latter was the ball of fur in my house’s corridor.

“Ugh… Heavy… Run away…Suimei…”

“Zzz… Zzz… Myah?! …Zzz…”

Nyaa-san and Kuro were sleeping together as one big clump of black fur. It was quite amusing, as you couldn’t tell where one began and the other ended, so it looked like they were some strange cat-dog chimera.

The two seemed so chummy as they slept, you wouldn’t have thought they bickered like they did. Then again, their relationship had changed after the fight with Yao Bikuni. No, maybe changed was saying too much… Nyaa-san had merely come to see Kuro just a tad bit more favorably than before, and Kuro was no longer constantly running away from Nyaa-san. The difference really was slight. Only those who dealt with them often, like me, could tell there was even a difference at all. Still, it was a welcome change.

Every now and then, Kuro’s front paws would twitch into action, and he would let out a pained whine. I imagined it was because Nyaa-san was riding up on his body, disturbing his sleep.

“Should we move Nyaa-san?” I asked Suimei.

“Nah. If Kuro really hated it, he’d move himself.”

“Uh-huh…”

I had Suimei pegged as the overprotective type, but he surprisingly trusted Kuro to make his own choices. A chuckle escaped me as I walked over to the kitchen to get enough plates for everyone who would be coming. That was when I heard some voices from the entrance.

“Oh dear, it’s so chilly outside! And it isn’t even winter yet! Now I’m all late because of it.”

“No, we’re late because you couldn’t find your fur coat and had to upend your room to find it!”

“Yeah. Why’d we have to help with that again?”

It was Noname and the Kinme-Ginme twins. The three of them noisily entered the house and crowded into the living room.

“Sorry we’re late, dears,” Noname said. “Congratulations on the release, Shinonome. I’ve brought along some well-cured sake I’ve been setting aside for a day like this!”

“Gramps gave us some green pheasant meat to give y’all. Let’s get some hot pot going!” Ginme said.

“I’m going to borrow the kitchen for a bit, Kaori. I brought some tofu from Kyoto,” Kinme said.

Another guest arrived soon after.

“Congratulations on the release, Shinonome. You know, I’ve been thinking this for a while now, but the way you’re going from book-lending to publishing is kinda like you’re following in the footsteps of Kamakura Bunko, yeah? I think that’s pretty incredible! As your friend, I’m proud of you.”

This arrival with a stylish mustache and a brand-name suit was Toochika-san, the kappa spirit who ran a store in Kappabashi, Tokyo. He had used his business connections in the human world to help get Shinonome-san’s book printed.

He took off his hat to reveal a plate on his head, which he rubbed anxiously as he said, “While the publishing itself is going without a hitch…we need to have a serious conversation about how we’re going to avoid the pitfalls Kamakura Bunko fell into. Now, you’re no Kawabata Yasunari, nor does your book include any short stories by Mishima Yukio or anything by Endo Shusaku, but… Ah, we’re doomed. We’re going to go bankrupt just like Kamakura Bunko!”

“Oh, be quiet, you,” Shinonome-san said. “Why are you making it sound like we’re doomed to fail before we even start? Those guys aren’t even around anymore!”

Toochika-san let out a jovial laugh, then sat next to Shinonome-san and began discussing business.

I smiled at the familiar scene. More people soon arrived, making the room feel even more cramped than before.

“Congratulations! Here, make sure you eat this.”

“I can’t wait to read the book! I’m in it too, right?”

“Hey, I got a distant relative saying they want to be in your next book!”

Spirits from around the neighborhood, long-time customers of the store…and just ordinary passersby gathered inside, all congratulating Shinonome-san with big smiles. Shinonome-san had his hands full just trying to thank them all. I noticed, however, that there was a person who should have been there who was missing—someone who had worked just as hard as Shinonome-san to make this book a reality, and who was therefore fully deserving of these congratulations.

I sneaked out of the store, into the street, and scanned the area. I found Tamaki-san leaned up against a wall by himself. He had an incredibly gaudy scarf around his neck, and his nose was red and sniffling. Through his sunglasses, I could see his eyes unhappily shut.

“There you are. Everyone’s waiting for you, c’mon,” I said.

He scoffed. “Waiting for me? Please. I’m well aware that nobody would want me to ruin their celebration; I’m doing you all a favor by sitting this one out. Nobody likes being forced to read a story they don’t like, now do they?”

“You’re as cryptic as ever… Just get in, who cares. It’s cold outside.”

“Ha ha. You’re unyielding, but I suppose I should expect such from the daughter of Shinonome.” He turned on his heel and waved. “Unfortunately, I have other business to take care of and will have to decline.”

“Oh… Like what?”

“Little miss, have you not noticed? Somebody’s been scheming behind the scenes of our recent debacle.”

My eyes opened wide, but I wasn’t sure of what he was getting at. Tamaki-san turned his head and peered at me with his white, clouded right eye.

“Who told the nun that Shinonome’s main body was beneath the bookstore? To go ever further, who gave the nun’s father that souvenir from the Palace of the Dragon King? Mermaid meat can easily make a mess of a human’s life, yet that man so carelessly gave it away… Just who was he?” For the first time ever, the ever-aloof Tamaki-san showed me true anger.

“I’ve been searching for that man for a long, long time,” he continued. “I even play the buffoon in my attempts to catch him. As such, I don’t have time to waste on celebrations and the like.”

“Just what did that man do to you?” I asked.

“Now, wouldn’t you like to know?” Tamaki-san began walking off without explaining further. He waved as he went. “Give Shinonome my regards.”

“Wait, where are you going? You’ll come by again some time, right?” I asked, not wholly sure why I did so myself. I just had this nagging feeling Tamaki-san was going somewhere far, far away.

He stopped and, without turning around, said, “You should take a page from that young man’s book, little miss. Don’t let your guard down around me. Depending on how you interpret things, I may one day become your enemy. It’d be wise to keep your distance.”

“No way!”

“What?” Tamaki-san spun around, looking utterly flummoxed by my instant reply. Perhaps he was just putting on airs to try and depart while looking cool, but I was having none of it.

“I haven’t forgotten that time I went to Okinawa to deliver books. You gave us the information I needed to fulfill both that Kijimuna girl’s dream and her father’s. There was that time with Yao Bikuni too… You told us about her terrible life beforehand so we wouldn’t assume that she was just a bad person.”

“You’re free to interpret what I say as you like.”

“But if you never said any of that in the first place, things would likely have ended differently. Besides, while you often say I’m free to interpret things however I like, you never forget to leave a clear path that lets everyone be happy. I know you’re a good person, Tamaki-san, and I’ll continue to believe you are one from here on out.”

Tamaki-san’s eyes seemed to moisten a bit as he made a face like that of a child trying to hold back tears—but only for the briefest of moments. He let out a grandiose sigh and lowered the brim of his hat with his left hand. “…Do what you like. I am but a story-seller, and depending on the listener, a story can be wicked or virtuous. When the time comes, I hope you’ll be careful as to how you interpret mine.”

He lowered his head and smiled. “…I’m sure Shinonome will try writing another book again. I’ll make sure to drop by to collect his manuscript then.”

With a flutter of his haori, he left, coolly disappearing from the town.

 

After seeing Tamaki-san off, I returned to the shop and was immediately snagged by Shinonome-san. Perplexed, I was dragged into the crowded living room, where I realized everyone had a glass in hand. Shinonome-san thrust a glass of juice into my hands, then looked over everyone and cleared his throat.

“Ahem, thank you all for gathering here today. I am filled with joy to be able to release this book… It would seem a certain story-seller is missing from our celebration, but you’ll have to forgive him, as he’s a shy one.”

A roar of laughter swept through everyone. A brief smile came to Shinonome-san’s face but was soon replaced by a stern expression.

“This book is an unprecedented first for the spirit realm… Honestly, I don’t know if it’ll do well at all, but my hope is that it’ll lead to the creation of many more books throughout our realm. Books enrich the heart and expand worlds—both the real world and the world of the mind. There are no limits to the worlds that can be created with books. I think they’re genuinely incredible.”

He smiled a bit from embarrassment and continued. “I’d be happy if my book could expand someone’s world. Um, anyway, I owe everything to my daughter here today.”

“Huh?” I looked up at him, surprised.

“Without her help, none of this would be possible,” he said, a bit proudly. “I owe her a lot for helping me achieve my dream and want to repay the favor somehow. So, I swear from this day forward, I’ll continue putting out more spirit realm-original books and make my daughter the happiest girl in the whole spirit realm. Of course, you all will help me, right?”

“There he goes, talking about his daughter again!” somebody groaned.

“And I won’t ever stop talking about her! She’s the cutest daughter in the world!” Shinonome-san replied. He took the ensuing heckling from everyone with a smile.

I was red in the face, with tears ready to stream down the moment I let my guard down. Shinonome-san then gave me a toothy grin and tousled my hair messily. He faced everyone with a wide grin. “I’m gonna do my best to become a father Kaori can be proud of and hope to have your help. Cheers!”

“Cheers!” the crowd echoed.

“Congratulations!”

“Good luck, Shinonome dear!” said Noname. “I’ll be cheering you on!”

“You better meet those deadlines, you hear?!” said Toochika-san.

“Sorry, I can’t make any promises there,” replied Shinonome-san.

“Aha ha ha ha!”

Laughter filled the room. I took a small sip of my juice and glanced out the window.

“Ah…”

Thick clouds blanketed the sky, and white snow fell to the ground—the sign of an early winter. It had to be cold outside, and it would only get colder yet. Winter was a season of waiting, waiting for the warmth of spring to release us from the piling snow.

But at this moment, the cold of the outside world went unfelt as the room was warmed by the excitement of the spirits that filled it.

I smiled and gazed at Shinonome-san’s back. He had accomplished his dream and was now setting off to achieve a new one.

I made a new wish: Please let me remain this man’s daughter. Even if we weren’t bound by blood, I wanted to be the best daughter I could be to support him.

I put a hand to my now warm chest and smiled, then joined in the fun with everyone else.