Chapter 3: Memories of the White Clover

Chapter 3:
Memories of the White Clover

 

THE LAMPS ARRANGED around the store cast a dim, yellow light throughout the cluttered interior. It felt like an old family home, something built many generations ago with all sorts of Japanese-style knickknacks filling up the limited space. Everything from trinkets to sundries to lamps lined with traditional Japanese paper, old antique dressers, and framed Japanese paintings piled high.

The general store maintained a quiet, peaceful presence in the back alleys of Kappabashi, located in the Taito Ward in Tokyo. Founded generations ago, the place was known for serving both regular customers and wholesale partners alike.

I was setting out the latest products while customers chatted excitedly as they browsed the shop. During this time of year, fireworks festivals were held every weekend. That drove up demand for small accessories to accompany summer kimono and yukata.

As I worked, a man approached. “Doin’ good, Kaori-kun.”

“Why, thank you.”

The man’s name was Toochika, and he was the owner of the store.

Despite the summer heat, Toochika-san wore a brand-name suit and leather gloves with his hat pulled down low. Between his clothing and his mustache, he looked like a fashionable older gentleman. He waved me over and presented me with a book. “Can I leave this with you?”

“Of course. But I have to say I’m a bit surprised. You usually like to bring it back yourself and enjoy a drink with Shinonome-san while you two get into it over something or other.”

Toochika-san shrugged and slid his hat to the side, revealing the white plate riddled with fine cracks that was the top of his head. “This heat has really gotten to me lately. I’m thinking of going to the river for a while to take a break and meet with some friends I haven’t seen in a while. Unfortunately, that means I don’t have time to go to the spirit realm. Please give my regards to Shinonome-san.”

Toochika-san was a kappa spirit—an old one at that—from right here in Kappabashi.

I’d originally thought the name of the area had something to do with the legend of the kappa, but Toochika-san laughed that off. Perhaps he’d been here for a long time, maybe even longer than the bridge itself. Now he worked as a merchant selling a large variety of products in addition to running a general store. In fact, Toochika-san also served as a wholesaler for home appliances in the spirit realm. He was one of a number of spirits who lived among humans. Some even held political office.

Though humans would never guess it, the boundary between the human world and the spirit realm was quite blurry.

“Leave it to me,” I said. “I’ll tell Shinonome-san.”

Toochika-san nodded and gazed down at the book before he let out a long, hot sigh. “I have to say, you have a wonderful bookstore. There’s no way I could have gotten my hands on that book without you. I had such a great time, I couldn’t put it down for a whole week.”

Toochika-san put his hands to his chest as if basking in the afterglow of the experience.

We carried quite a few books that had been lost to the human world or that were otherwise rare and difficult to obtain. That made the store something of a paradise to booklovers like Toochika-san. However, we rented these books out at such high prices that they rarely circulated.

“Oh, and thanks for letting me take some time off on such short notice,” I said with a bow.

Toochika-san waved it off. “No worries. Spirits are quite active in the summer months, and I imagine your shop must be as well. It’s really no big deal. Besides, you’re Shinonome’s precious little girl, so how could I refuse?”

“Little—hey! Don’t treat me like a kid.”

Toochika-san chuckled at my objection. “It seems like just yesterday that you were still so small. But my apologies, I’ll keep my jokes to myself. Anyway, thanks for showing up to cover for the worker who called out, Kaori-kun. You’re a lifesaver.”

“No worries. I’m just happy to have a job.”

Toochika-san winked. “You’re quite humble, one of your many adorable traits.”

Suddenly, I heard a yelp behind me. When I glanced over my shoulder, I saw a gaggle of female customers both young and old going red in the face. Toochika-san waved at them, and another shriek spiked through the shop. Kappa spirit or not, the owner of the shop was quite popular among this brand of customer, who thought of him as rather cool and fashionable.

“Oh, by the way…” Toochika-san took something out of his chest pocket. “Here, I found this sandwiched between the pages of the book I borrowed. Does it belong to a customer?”

He held out a bookmark made of traditional Japanese paper, crafted by hand with flowers pressed into it. Judging by the rough edges and uneven texture, it looked as it if had been made by an amateur. It had clearly seen a lot of use, judging by the wear and tear.

I took it with a frown. “Hmm, could be. Maybe it belonged to the last person who borrowed that book.”

“Possibly,” Toochika-san said. “Anyway, I must be going. It looks like the afternoon worker finally showed up, so I guess you’re just doing the morning shift today. Leave the rest to her and go home early. If you’re late, that idiot father of yours will lose his mind.”

“I, uh…okay.”

“Be careful on the way home.” With that, Toochika-san made a gallant exit.

I inspected the bookmark in my hand. It was an average little thing, with four-leaf clovers and white clover flowers pressed into it. For some reason, I found myself intrigued.

 

***

Upon returning to the spirit realm, I set about my cleaning for the day, trying to keep my face blank. After a break for lunch, I returned to my task, still maintaining that cold expression.

“Hey, Kaori. Kaori!” Shinonome-san called. He followed me around the house like a baby duckling trailing after its mother. He kept peering at my face, trying to read my expression, though all he really managed to do was get in my way.

I finally broke. “Gaaah! What?! You’re so annoying!”

“A-annoying…?!” His jaw dropped. “I’m just worried about you is all.”

“Why? Can’t you see I’m fine?”

He muttered something under his breath and scratched the side of his head. “Well, umm, you know, I heard that you cried about that thing that happened the other day, and well, I thought maybe you were lonely, so…”

“Huh? It’s fine, nothing for you to worry about.”

Shinonome-san slumped his shoulders in defeat, voice weak. “Well, if you say so.”

To be fair, he wasn’t wrong about the crying. Taking care of Hatsu and Sasuke as they grew weaker and weaker had nearly torn my heart apart. I’d desperately tried to stay calm even while struggling for soothing words to say to my dying friends. I’d been scared, so very scared, and there had been absolutely nothing I could do about it. I’d just told myself that it was my job and I had to do my best.

With the support of my family and friends, I managed to see it through. Still, even knowing that Hatsu and Sasuke would be reborn and we’d meet again, I hated to watch my friends wither away like that. I broke down in the end. I knew I should’ve sent them off with a smile, but I hadn’t been able to help it.

These things in the ground are mere shells of who they were, Nyaa-san had said at the time. There’s nothing important here, nothing to be sad about.

As someone who had lived in the spirit realm, it made sense for Nyaa-san to feel that way. However, it did little to calm the emotional turmoil swirling inside me.

And then…

There’s nothing wrong with being sad, with feeling lonely, with feeling pain at saying goodbye. When Suimei spoke those words, the taut threads of sadness straining within me finally snapped.

However, I had apparently cried a little too much, because even just hearing about the event had sent Shinonome-san into overprotective parent mode, which was actually quite annoying.

I sighed and pinched Shinonome-san’s cheek.

“Eyach…hey!” he wailed.

“You worry too much, you no-good codger,” I said.

“Can I really be all that bad if I’m worried about you?” Nonetheless, he finally eased up.

I placed my fist over his heart. “I never said there was anything wrong with worrying, did I? Just don’t overdo it.”

“Hmph.” Shinonome-san scowled, the first time I’d seen his expression change since I got home.

Just then, Suimei came into the living room. “Hey, I want to head out soon.”

Right. I’d promised to accompany him on his search for whatever he was looking for.

I packed up the cleaning supplies. “I’m going out with Suimei,” I said to Shinonome-san. “Please keep watch over the store…and try to calm down.”

“Kaori…” He frowned.

“See you! Come on, Nyaa-san, you’re coming too.”

“Mreow?!”

I scooped up my best friend, who was right in the middle of her nap, and hurried out of the bookstore. Before we left, I remembered that odd bookmark and grabbed it as well. Couldn’t hurt to have that with us while we looked for—whatever we were looking for.

Speaking of which… “You’re searching for a spirit, right?” I asked Suimei. “Do you have any leads?”

“No. Nothing in particular,” Suimei admitted.

“Hmm, I see.” I raised the book, with the bookmark nestled within, and smiled. “Well then, maybe you can join me in what I’m looking for too.”

Suimei blinked several times before finally nodding in agreement.

Glimmerflies fluttered in their lamps, illuminating the streets of the town. We encountered more traffic than usual traversing the main street. Spirits tended to be more active in summer. Something to do with souls getting restless, according to Shinonome-san. I wasn’t entirely convinced by this claim, but true enough, summer brought all sorts of out-of-towners to market.

Consequently, merchants kicked into high gear, which just added to the crowd. A glut of food stalls lined the street, filling the air with all sorts of delicious scents. Other shops sold bizarre souvenirs and trinkets. All the merchants shouted, trying to attract more attention. The lively mood would linger until Obon—the festival of the dead—when the spirits would return to their native homes.

“Hey, ma’am, can I have one?” I said to a merchant. She offered an array of bright red candy apples at a stall beside the road. The glimmerflies’ glow reflected dully off the bright, sugar-coated surfaces.

I bought two and offered one to Suimei. He shot me a stern look. “I don’t need one.”

“Too bad, you’ve got one.”

I persisted until he accepted the candy. I already knew he liked sweets; it was too late to defend his masculine sensibilities.

I chomped on the apple, and sweetness and acidity warred in my mouth. My cheeks relaxed with pleasure. A glance at Suimei revealed he was enjoying his as well, if in small, reserved bites.

“You know, I never thanked you,” I said—a bit of a non sequitur, I know.

Suimei tilted his head in confusion as he took another bite. I wondered if he even grasped how much he’d done for me.

I struggled to verbalize just what that simple hug the other day had meant to me. Were it not for him, I’d probably still be bawling my eyes out. Not only that, the act had revealed a softer side to Suimei. A happier side. I didn’t know if that was great news for him, considering the demands of his family business, but…he seemed less tense, less worried, less jumpy about being in the spirit realm.

I smiled and plucked off a piece of caramel clinging to the side of his lips. His eyes went wide as I pushed it into his mouth. “Thank you for helping me back there,” I said.

He flushed bright red. “Are you crazy?”

“Hey, now you’re getting mad at me? I was thanking you.”

Suimei stumbled back and jabbed a finger at me. “Are you still so oblivious? You shouldn’t be doing things like that with members of the opposite sex.”

“But you said that I always acted like a child, didn’t you? So who cares if someone as childish as me does something like that, huh?”

“Don’t make me keep repeating myself! You’re a full-fledged adult.”

“Hm?” Well, it seemed Suimei finally saw me as a grown woman. It was rare to hear him say that, considering how he often treated me like a child. It was certainly an improvement, but it was also kind of embarrassing. I mean… “F-fine, I’ll be careful.”

“That came out odd,” he muttered. “Just forget I said anything.”

We both stood there, our faces burning. It felt like every spirit passing on that crowded street gawked at us. Was that why I felt so warm?

“What are you looking for, anyway?” Suimei grumbled.

“Oh, that’s right.” I presented the bookmark again. “I’m looking for the owner of this.”

Toochika-san had selected quite the rare book to borrow. Only a handful of spirits had borrowed it over the last couple of years, all of them regulars, and only they could have left the bookmark behind.

“I figured it was a good opportunity to catch up with people while searching for the owner of this bookmark,” I explained.

“Catch up?”

“Yes. You know, thank them for their patronage…and…” I stumbled. I needed to choose my words carefully so I didn’t inadvertently make Suimei angry—I had this nagging fear that for some reason he might reject me outright. I braced myself before continuing. “And…introduce you,” I said. “See, I think if you say hello to everyone, they might help you find what you’re looking for.”

Suimei’s eyes narrowed, face closing up. “I’m an exorcist.”

“That’s fine. It doesn’t matter.”

“What makes you so confident?”

“I said it’s fine, didn’t I?”

Suimei fell silent.

“I know what I’m talking about,” I insisted. “So please, believe me.”

No matter what I said, I couldn’t seem to reach him. Then his shoulders slumped in defeat.

I understood his reluctance. Though Suimei had lost his powers, he was still an exorcist. Some spirits didn’t mind, but plenty would never come around to trusting him. But a lot of our regulars held respectable positions in the spirit realm, so they would no doubt be of great help to him, if we could earn their cooperation.

Cicadas buzzed, jolting me back into the moment. My chest tightened around the familiar sound, but then the memory of Suimei’s words seeped into my heart, soothing the ache. I treasured those words as much as I treasured anything. As such, I was more determined than ever to help him find what he was looking for—though I didn’t want to force the issue.

“I’m sorry,” I said. “You don’t need to come if you don’t want to.”

Suimei said nothing to that.

“Let’s go. We’re almost there.” I regained my composure and started walking.

As we headed east, I greeted acquaintances that we passed in the street. Thanks to the festival, glimmerflies glowed in red lanterns hung along the streets, turning the town bright and beautiful, a truly one-of-a-kind experience.

“Kaori.” Nyaa-san nudged my shin. “He’s gone.”

“Huh?” I stopped short, whirling around. Sure enough, Suimei was nowhere to be seen. I rushed to retrace my steps, fearing some spirit had attacked him, only to find him standing calmly a little ways off. Relief washed through me.

Suimei was staring intently at his surroundings. It was quite the scene. Long row houses filled this area, like you might see in a historical drama. Lively spirits occupied these buildings, far different from the quieter residents near the bookstore. A Tofu Boy carried his wares on a long balancing pole over his shoulders. A glimmerfly seller walked by to peddle his wares. An Ittan-Momen hung himself out to dry with the rest of the laundry. Several women stood around a well, making small talk as their children played about their knees.

“C’mere, Taro!” a child called.

“Aroof! Ruff ruff!” Suimei very nearly smiled as an excited puppy bound toward the child who had called for him. It looked like the puppy was what had caught Suimei’s attention. He almost seemed to be smiling at the sight of this innocent play, though there was also something lonely in his gaze.

“Do you like dogs?” I asked him.

“Not particularly… But he’s just like the spirit I’m looking for, Inugami. He’s slightly longer than a dog, with black and red spots. The long head and pointed ears make some people think he looks like a weasel. He’s the real reason I came here. You see, he was my partner. We worked together as exorcists.”

“Wow.” I blinked. “But what made you tell me this all of a sudden?” Until now, he’d never said anything about the spirit he was searching for other than that he was looking for it.

Suimei thought it over for a moment. Then he bowed his head and faced me. “I want you to introduce me to your customers. I understand if you prefer not to because I’m an exorcist, and I know there’s not much I can do to repay anyone, but…I want to find my partner as soon as possible. He’s…like a part of me.”

A part of him, huh? I wondered if that meant this Inugami was used as a weapon in exorcisms. Or maybe it was more than that? Suimei’s blank expression revealed little.

“Leave it to me,” I thumped my fist against my chest. “I’m going to repay the debt I owe you. On my spirit honor.”

“Debt?”

I snickered and thrust my hand out at him. “If you don’t know, that’s fine. I’m glad you helped me, so thanks!”

Suimei wore a complicated frown, but he eventually held out his hand. Just as we sealed our pact, Nyaa-san shouted at us to get moving.

“Hey, it’s really hot out here!” she called. “Let’s get this out of the way so we can hurry on home.” She lay on the side of the road, glaring at us.

Though a lot more pleasant than the human world, we could still work up a sweat here. Suimei and I quickly headed to our destination: A room in one of the many row houses around us.

We stepped through an ordinary door into an ordinary room just off the street. Or it would have been ordinary except for the sign reading Umbrella Repair. Beyond the paper-covered screen doors awaited a world of red. Bright vermilion paper covered Japanese-style umbrellas with complex skeletal frames. The finished models lined up against the wall were truly works of art.

The light from the glimmerfly lantern in the corner cast crimson shadows across the walls, dyeing everything scarlet. A warm mixture of glue, oil, paper, and fresh bamboo scented the space. The moment we stepped inside, the noise of the streets hushed to a whisper.

The owner of this shop was, of course, an umbrella-related spirit known by most as the Ghost Umbrella, One Leg, or even the Ghost Karakasa. I just called him Karakasa-niisan. He wore a stylish black kimono and an umbrella atop his head, though the oil paper of his umbrella was yellowing and torn in places.

He looked through one of the holes in the umbrella and eyed the bookmark before shaking his head. “Hmm, no idea,” he apologized.

“That’s all right,” I said. “Sorry to bother you.”

“No, not at all. Oh, just wait there.” He limped into the back room, laughing as he searched for something. Eventually, he returned with a wooden box. He sat on a tatami mat and cracked his neck. “Sorry. I haven’t heard much lately. I’ve been rather busy because of that kappa.”

Naturally, Toochika-san was the kappa he was referring to. Toochika-san also purchased goods from the spirit realm. It was often the only place to get certain handcrafted goods humans had stopped producing. With the recent boom in popularity for traditional Japanese crafts, Karakasa-niisan was earning a healthy profit from his sales to Toochika-san.

“It’s good to have some money to live on, which also affords me the time to read to my heart’s content and catch up on books,” Karakasa-niisan said. “None of that was possible when I was a human. I’ve never been happier.”

Karakasa-niisan pulled a bowl of glue over. As a human, Karakasa-niisan had been a broke, masterless samurai who did umbrella repairs just to make ends meet. Even then he’d loved reading, though. His desire to read had not diminished as a spirit, and after many twists and turns, he had ultimately become one of our regulars.

He offered me the wooden box. “You said you wanted to eat this the other day.”

Confused, I opened the box. I gaped at what I found: Red bean paste sandwiched in a thin, pale yellow wafer crust. This was monaka, a famed snack made by Noppera-bo! Sold seasonally and only in limited quantities, it was so popular that you couldn’t buy it unless you lined up well before the store opened. Moreover, I couldn’t justify the high cost—it was even more expensive than normal monaka.

I involuntarily swallowed as Karakasa-niisan nudged the box toward me again. “You can have it, if you like,” he said. “I’m not a fan of sweets.”

“Are you sure?”

“Of course.” He smiled warmly between the gaps in the umbrella. “You’re always such a great help, Kaori.”

“Thank you!”

“If you find the spirit your friend is looking for, please let me know. Oh, one more thing…” Karakasa-niisan offered me a large piece of cloth dyed a brilliant dark blue, meant for carrying items while traveling. “Take this. You’re going to all the other regulars, right?”

“Oh, thank you. But why are you giving this to me?”

Karakasa-niisan just grinned. “You’ll understand in due time.”

Thanking him again, we left the shop and made our way to the other regulars.

Umi Zato lived in a fisherman’s hut right on the beach.

“Oh, well, hello there, it’s great to see you,” he said when we approached. “Hmm? I’m afraid I don’t know anything about the bookmark. Hey now, I’ve got some dried fish right here, do have some. As much as you can carry. Inugami? I don’t know anything about an Inugami, but I’ll look for it. Hey, have some mollusk. I’ve got some top-grade shellfish right here just for you, and they’re huge too.”

He grabbed a whole bunch of dried fish and mollusks from the back of the hut and pushed them into our arms before bellowing out a laugh, the wrinkles in his face creasing even deeper than usual.

“No worries, no worries,” he said. “You used to play with me in the sea when I was just a wee lad. There I was, standing out there gazing at the waves and you came over to befriend me. I’m eternally grateful.”

Umi Zato gently stroked my head. I smiled at the memory.

When I was little, I had always played with Umi Zato when I came to the seaside. We would use shells to make little houses. That had been a long time ago, though, and I was surprised he still remembered it.

“Hmm? You want more dried fish? Shellfish?” he asked.

“No, no, that’s quite enough. Thank you!” I carefully put away the items he gave us and bowed deeply to hide the tears stinging my eyes.

“Come stop by again sometime. I’m always here.” Umi Zato saw us off with a strum of his lute.

Everywhere else we traveled that day, we left with more souvenirs. Everyone welcomed me in as soon as they saw my face. It seemed Karakasa-niisan had anticipated that—hence the cloth. By the time we reached the last of the regulars, gifts and trinkets filled the bundle.

“Well, it looks like you’ve got quite the haul there,” Noname said. Yup. That’s right. Noname was the last of the regulars. She had also borrowed the book in question, but unfortunately she knew no more about the bookmark than anyone else we’d talked to that day.

“Then whose bookmark is it?” I mumbled to myself as I sipped the cold jasmine tea Noname had brewed for us.

“I’m sure you want to go home soon, don’t you?” Noname said. “Did you introduce Suimei to everyone? How did it go? Did they agree to help?”

“Yeah, it went okay. Everyone told me to let them know if I find Inugami.”

“Well, that’s good. I wonder if they’ll call Suimei a Strangeling soon as well.”

“Ah, I hope so. Then he’ll be able to go out alone.” I glanced over at Suimei. “What’s wrong?”

His mouth had returned to that old complicated frown. “Why are all these spirits so quick to help me? I just don’t get it. No one seems worried that I’m an exorcist at all.”

“They said they’d help, so who cares about that?”

“No, it’s not that. It’s…gah, I feel like I’m going crazy here. Just what are spirits anyway? All the ones I ever exorcised didn’t care for humans at all. It’s just weird seeing them trying to help me out. Is there something wrong with them?”

“Isn’t it hard to live your life doubting everything?” I asked.

“I’m only suspicious of spirits,” he muttered, disgruntled. “I’m still an exorcist, after all.”

Noname smiled. “I suppose it’s only natural that you’d feel that way. Just like humans, there are many kinds of spirits out there. But you know, their fondness for humans is only a recent development—at least for the ones around Kaori.”

My eyes widened. “No way!”

Noname smiled. “What’s so surprising?”

“No, I mean…it wasn’t always that way? This is new?”

Noname snickered. “All this change is thanks to you, Strangeling.”

Strangeling…that was what the residents of the spirit realm sometimes called me. I frowned. “Huh…I always thought ‘Strangeling’ was a word for a human who had settled in the spirit realm. Is that not quite true?”

“‘Strangeling’ can refer to a human being from the outside—from the human world,” Noname confirmed. “But it also refers to a human being who has blown a breath of fresh air into our restricted world. There have been several others in the past…but now it refers specifically to you, Kaori.”

“What? But what did I do?”

“Don’t rush me,” Noname chided. “Try to listen through to the end first. Anyway, we spirits are generally quite lonely.”

“Lonely?”

“Hmm, how to put this? I don’t mean that we’re alone. We live together in a large town like this, after all, just like humans who built villages to live together. However, we don’t interfere with one another.”

This I understood. I’d seen it happen. Even if a stranger’s neighbor disappeared or an acquaintance dropped dead in the street, spirits might feel nothing and pretend it hadn’t even happened. Suimei’s brow was creased, and he nodded with interest.

Glancing at him, Noname pointed at me. “This child, the Strangeling, changed everything. I wonder if anyone has told you, Suimei—she was a real crybaby when she was younger.”

“Kinme mentioned it,” Suimei said. “But what’s your point?”

“Thanks to Shinonome-san’s tireless efforts, she cried less and less over the years. In fact, whenever she saw a spirit, she would do everything she could to get close to them, no matter how dangerous. Let me tell you, it was pretty rough parenting her at that age.”

I shuddered at the thought of a toddler stumbling over to an immense, menacing spirit. What had I put my adoptive parents through back then?

“Spirits, unlike humans, have incredibly short childhoods,” Noname went on. “I guess we’re like animals in that sense. People here aren’t used to dealing with infants. We didn’t intuitively realize that if you take your eyes off them, they can easily end up endangered. They can fall, cry—all sorts of bad things. If you leave them alone, they’ll die.”

“Die is a bit extreme, don’t you think?” Suimei winced.

“It isn’t! What if they’re walking down the road and fall into a gutter? Or they jump out in front of a running spirit? Or slip in the bath? Or swallow a toy? Human mothers are amazing. I truly respect them. When Kaori arrived, we quickly learned we couldn’t just leave her to her own devices and keep to ourselves. We had to change.”

Oh, dear, I’d been a real terror as a child, hadn’t I? Noname continued, describing how any time I howled “Let’s play!” the spirit realm quaked. Once I got a hold of someone, I would conscript them into playing with me for hours on end. And the glowering bookstore proprietor was always fast on my heels to keep me safe. Were something bad to happen to me…well, let’s just say spirits feared to see me hurt while he was watching.

“Everyone was reluctant at first, but before you knew it, they were looking forward to hearing the sound of your little footsteps.” Noname chuckled. “We became comfortable with your warmth and learned we could hug you without hesitation. We came to cherish this human child and her bright, innocent smiles.”

Noname rested her chin in her hands and smiled gently. “I didn’t even realize how lonely I felt until you came along, Kaori. I learned the joy of hearing someone’s laughter and the warmth of thinking about another person. Everyone began to care about you, and the whole atmosphere of the spirit realm grew livelier.”

Noname’s beautiful amber eyes fixed on mine as she stared deep into my soul. I couldn’t help but relax under her lovely gaze.

“Previous Strangelings had also brought great change to the spirit realm,” she said. “You, Kaori, changed the minds and hearts of the spirits who live here. Wouldn’t you agree, Nyaa?”

Nyaa-san thumped her tails against the floor. “I still have a strong memory of those days. Everyone was extremely overprotective of Kaori. And of course, we also received a lot of gifts. So anything Kaori asks of me, I’ll do it without hesitation…even if it’s related to an exorcist.”

I squirmed under all this attention, staring down into the glass in my hand.

Noname stroked my head, so gentle and motherly. “The regulars at that store were the first to fall for Kaori. I think of you like my own child, though perhaps I spoiled you a bit much. You’re still quite childish for your age.”

“If you realize that, you could just start treating me like an adult, you know,” I said.

Noname wrapped her arms around my shoulders and laughed. The sweet, floral scent of her perfume filled my nose, leaving me feeling shy, almost like I wanted to cry. More than anything, I really wanted to avoid that.

“No matter how much I may want to treat you like an adult, that’s quite a challenge in its own right,” Noname apologized. “From my point of view, your arrival was still just a short time ago, and I can hardly keep up with your growth. Most spirits live far longer than humans. Plus, the flow of time is different for us. Maybe that’s not an excuse, but please forgive me if I still spoil you a bit. Anyway, I think I’ve rambled on quite enough.”

“Huh?”

“You’re looking for the owner of this, aren’t you?” Noname said, pointing at the bookmark. “Well, I’ll tell you where you can find them.”

Noname sent me off with a mischievous wink.

 

***

Noname’s information brought us to the Nasu Highlands.

Off in the distance stood Mount Chausu, one of the primary peaks of the Nasu mountain range. Vast grasslands and shrubs filled a region devoid of any buildings or signs of human life. Only birdsong and the rustling of the wind filled the air. Unlike the hot and humid haze that swirled around Tokyo, a pleasant breeze blew across the plateau. In the distance, cows grazed. White clover grew all around us, their three leaves swaying in the breeze as they basked in the sun. Pretty white flowers poked out between the leaves.

After having passed through hell, this seemed like heaven. Nyaa-san, Suimei, and I paused for a rest, and I made my way to the lone tree growing in the meadow. There I found Shinonome-san, dressed in his usual yukata, lazing about underneath the tree with his pipe in his mouth.

“Hey, what about the store?” I asked as I sat beside him.

“I left a customer in charge,” he said.

“What?”

“He’s a regular.” He waved his hand. “I’m sure it’s fine.”

Some customers were more than happy to mind the store since it meant they could read to their heart’s content. That was probably what had happened today. I still couldn’t believe how cavalier Shinonome-san was about it. No way could you get away with that kind of thing in the human world.

“You’re just slacking off,” I scolded.

Shinonome-san narrowed his blue-gray eyes and pouted like a child. “Oh, shut up, you.” He sighed, reaching over to ruffle my hair.

I could understand the allure of playing hooky in a place like this. For a while, we just enjoyed each other’s company in the shade of the tree in the meadow. It practically glowed beneath the dazzling summer sun.

“You used to bring me here a long time ago,” I said.

“That’s because humans need to be exposed to the sun.”

That was true enough. Shinonome-san had understood when I was a child that humans could get sick without sunlight, and thus he’d taken me to the human world every so often. Many times, we’d come here.

“I would chase Nyaa-san around and eat the lunch Noname prepared for us,” I remembered. “It was a lot of fun.”

Shinonome-san looked just the same now as he had back then, thanks to his being a spirit with a long life span. As he lay there smoking his pipe, I was transported to my childhood. I’d changed so much, but him, not at all.

“I’m sorry about earlier,” I said. “Did I hurt your feelings?”

Before we left, Noname had informed me that Shinonome-san came by to complain to her about my remark earlier in the day, when I called him annoying. He merely shook his head with a wry smile. That left me relieved.

I reached into my bag, finally digging out the object that had brought us here in the first place. “Is this bookmark yours?”

Shinonome-san blinked and swiped it from my hand. His ears burned a bright red. “I was looking for this. Thank you.”

“Well, I’m glad I found it! But what is it? It’s pretty old. You don’t seem like the type to be messing around with pressed flowers, either, so I didn’t put it together until Noname tipped me off. I ran all around town looking for the owner.”

“Aah…hmm.” Shinonome-san shifted and took a long drag on his pipe. Several moments passed before he let out the white smoke and watched it waft away into the sky. “The…the flowers in this bookmark, well, you gave them to me the first time I brought you here. I couldn’t bear to throw them away, but I didn’t know what to do with them. Noname suggested I make a bookmark, and, well, I did.”

“You made this?” I gasped.

“Fine, yes, it was me! I did it all. I originally thought about asking some craftsman to make it, but that jerk Noname seemed to enjoy making me do it.” He scratched at the back of his head and refused to make eye contact.

So these were white and four-leaf clovers that I’d picked for him? Though I remembered coming here, I had no recollection of giving him flowers. Still, I could easily imagine it, considering how many white clovers blanketed the hillsides. It made sense that I’d spent time searching for four-leaf clovers, making crowns out of intertwined flowers, and all that.

And Shinonome-san had kept my first little offering all this time. This, coming from the same bumbling old man who couldn’t even do his own laundry.

In a fit of emotion, I smacked Shinonome-san on the back. I didn’t know what to say. A simple thank you didn’t seem right, but neither did a joke. But wow, I couldn’t believe what a sweet old softie my adoptive father really was.

Shinonome-san desperately tried to evade my hand, crying out that I was being too rough.

“Damn that Noname for telling you it was me,” he grumbled. “Who does she think she is? Here I am trying my best to look like a cool, strict father.”

Shinonome-san continued to mutter about his ruined image as I sat there blinking. Finally, I broke out laughing, the sound carrying across the empty meadow. Shinonome-san frowned, concerned, but I couldn’t stop laughing. I was just so happy that he thought so much of me and tried to be a good father.

“Aaah, my sides hurt from laughing so hard.” I rubbed at my sides as Shinonome-san stared off into the distance with an affronted look. I shifted over to sit closer to him and placed my head on his shoulder. “Don’t be silly. I think you’re cool…and I know that I can always rely on you. I’m proud to call you my father.”

He swallowed hard. Glancing up, I saw the flush in his face, but I pretended not to notice.

“Hey, you’re proud of me too, aren’t you?” I asked.

“Of course! You’re the heart and soul of the spirit realm.”

“I think that’s going a bit overboard!”

“Hardly. That’s a fair evaluation, I’d say.”

Hey, Shinonome-san… Though I couldn’t voice the words, I spoke them in my heart: I wonder if I’ll always be your little girl, even when I become an old lady. Will you treat me any differently then?

Of course, I could never bring myself to actually ask this. Shinonome-san was a spirit, and a very long-lived one at that. I was just a human with a relatively short life. Time moved at very different speeds for us.

Suddenly, I remembered Sasuke and Hatsu and cast my gaze downward. One of these days, I too would die, and I was sure Shinonome-san would be quite saddened by it. Still, I didn’t want to leave his side. This man who had watched over me from such a young age was immensely important to me. I loved him. I never wanted to make him sad. But I knew that he would one day suffer if we remained close.

I tried to sound more cheerful than I felt. “Well, if you say so, I guess I’ll just have to go with it. I’ll do my best to keep being a daughter you can brag about to others.”

“I guess I’ll do the same, then,” he agreed.

“Great, then I want you to wake up every morning before me, shave that awful stubble off your face, and actually eat your lunch. Oh, and wear some proper clothes for once! You’ve gotta take care of yourself.”

“Ack! Where’d that come from?”

I held Shinonome-san’s gaze, even as he scowled at me. “You said you wanted to be a cool father, didn’t you?”

Shinonome-san averted his eyes, though he mumbled out a promise to give it a shot.

I smiled and turned my attention back to the meadow. It seemed like such a strange place, considering the hustle and bustle that surrounded us every day in the spirit town. Deep in my heart, I hoped that we could return to this place soon. In ten years, twenty years…as long as time would allow.

“Hey, wait a minute,” Suimei shouted. “Get that thing away from me.”

“Kaori! Shinonome! Look at this! It’s amazing!” Nyaa-san called. She was bounding about with a giant rat held tightly in her teeth.

Goosebumps spread over my skin, and I reeled back. Shinonome-san went pale and sat up straighter.

“Hey, I got a nice meal,” Nyaa-san crowed. “You should be congratulating me.”

“Wow, uh, that’s amazing, Nyaa-san,” I stammered.

She giggled. “Aah, it’s been a long time since I caught such a fine specimen. Here, I’ll show you.”

“No, that’s okay, you can have it all to yourself! Please don’t bring it any closer!”

With that, the serene moment between Shinonome-san and I shattered, and we were pulled back into the chaos of our normal lives.