件は決して嘘をつかない
*** (Ume POV) ***
“The Kudan Never Lies,” Mikito-sensei said solemnly when Shishi finished her story.
Shishi stirred on the cushion beside me. She had said little before. Tomo and I had done most of the talking. Kao and Kan-chan had briefly assessed what they had seen at our house. The only thing Shishi had added to the briefing was a tearful story of Mikawa’s death and how she had felt when Mikawa returned and visited her. None of us, however, had mentioned the kudan. It hadn’t seemed relevant. But now that Sensei had asked, Shishi repeated the story she had told me.
Like me, Shishi left out all the personal bits. The story was fascinating even without the parts about ghosting her idol unit or meeting the hostess club manager. Tomo didn’t look skeptical for once, and neither did any of the others.
“Are you sure you quoted the kudan correctly? ‘Your time has not come. But she will bring you back. Have the joy of her.’ The exact words are critical,” Mikito-sensei asked. His son nodded.
“I think so,” Shishi responded. “I am sure that he didn’t mention who ‘she’ was because I thought the kudan meant the faceless girl.”
“That’s the trouble with prophecies. They are often vague.” Mikito explained and then, looking at his son, continued, “What do you think?”
The young man looked down at his open palms as if something was written there. A map or mystical text only he could see. “The ‘she’ could be Mikawa-san or Ume-san,” he said after a second. “Interpreting the first phrase is tricky. I think it means that when ‘the swallow,’ Shiomi-san, goes back to Kakuriyo, she will die, but not before. If they don’t go back, she is safe.”
I couldn’t help snorting, like going back to Muko… Kakuriyo was something we would voluntarily do. Our multiple trips to Kakuriyo had been against our will.
“The adage, ‘The Kudan never lies,’ is literally true.” Mikito-sensei picked up the thread. “All we can do is delay the prophecy’s fulfillment, but there is a loophole. If you can find the kudan’s mate, they can cancel the prophecy.”
The look of resignation that had come to Shishi’s face slowly faded and was replaced by puzzlement. She was probably wondering the same things I was. She glanced at me, but I only smiled back and waited to see if she would ask the questions.
In the end, it was Tomo who spoke. “And where can we find the kudan’s mate?”
Mikito looked uncomfortable. “I am not aware of the kudan’s mate being sighted during my lifetime, and most of the kudan sightings are mutant cows or fakes. The last verifiable sightings were in Miyagi Prefecture in 2011 and Hyogo in 1995, and we know what happened then.”
Indeed, those year’s earthquakes still give survivors nightmares. Our troubles seemed benign next to the events of those years, but I don’t think it was selfish to be more concerned about our situation than theirs.
Shishi’s face grew dull again and Tomo looked upset. I had no idea, nor did I care, how the others were reacting.
“Are we back to ‘If you want to live, you need to kick Shiomi out?’” Tomo protested, to my surprise. “Surely there is something you… we can do.”
Wow, his attitude was changing.
Mikito calmly continued, unruffled by Tomo’s protests. “Shiomi-san needs to look in the same place she met the kudan, Kakuriyo. It is her destiny, and she is the only one who can resolve it, along with anyone who ties their fate to hers.”
He was now looking dead at me. “It’s your choice, Ume-san. Consider well. This is not a choice to make lightly. You have your husband, Shizu-san, and Hanayome-shin, and there are many paths still open to you. As for Shiomi-san, we can offer her refuge and teach her how to use her powers.”
I looked at Tomo, but his face was non-committal. That was the wrong place to look. He had already agreed to follow my lead. Behind Sensei, I could see Kao and Kan-chan. Kao looked like she was willing me to make a certain decision. That was the wrong place to look as well. I didn’t need to look for the answer anywhere but inside myself. “Sensei, I’ve already made this choice. I promised to stand by Shishi and I will.”
“It doesn’t always work out the way you want,” Mikito warned, “but you have time to think about it.”
Kao looked like she wanted to say something, but didn’t. What I received instead was a thumbs-up. She wasn’t the only one who approved. Tomo nodded. Shishi slipped her hand in mine and I heard a quiet “Thank you.”
“Then we will proceed under that assumption.” Mikito-sensei resumed. “Don’t rush. You have time to prepare. Kan-chan seems to have taken an interest in you, and I am sure she can persuade Kao to teach you a few protective mantras. We will keep looking for leads and will let you know if we learn anything — Now then, I saw that Kan-chan bought some fresh sardines. Let’s have breakfast.”
After breakfast, Kan-chan and Kao saw us off, along with a promise to help. The support felt nice. It had been a long time since anyone except Tomo had supported me. It also felt wonderful not to be looking over my shoulder all the time.
We were quiet till we passed the area where the tengu had ambushed us when Tomo broke the silence. “So, what should we do to celebrate? I won’t have as much time to cook now that I’m working again. So let’s live it up.”
I knew what I wanted, unagi, but I remembered Shishi disliked eel. Or was it just from that one place? I wasn’t clear. Either way, I wanted her input. “What do you want, Shishi?”
No surprise, she replied, “Whatever you want.”
“No, I want to hear your opinion. You’re a house member now. Pick something.”
“Oops,” I thought, I should have consulted with Tomo about officially making her a house member. I really needed to stop boxing Tomo into a corner. I thought he was on my side now, but it’s always nice to give people a choice. “Who knows, maybe since she can leave safely now, that’s what he wants.”
“Even if you get your own place, Shishi,” I said, trying to fix my gaff, “this is about defeating the curse.” Inside I wilted at what I was saying, thinking “I’m so bad at fixing these things. Now I had probably offended both of them,” but Tomo didn’t look upset and for once Shishi hadn’t wilted.
“How about nabe or sukiyaki? And Tomo, maybe you could teach me how to make it. If you’re working and Ume’s writing, I could cook and keep house. I kept house for Mikawa, but you’ll have to show me how to cook. I’d like that.”
That brought a smile to Tomo’s face. As much as he probably hated the idea of sharing his kitchen with someone, he loved being seen as reliable and people depending on him. Besides, it would keep messy old me out of the kitchen.
“Sukiyaki it is then,” Tomo said, “and I’d love to teach you to cook. Someone has to take care of Ume when I’m not around.”
I guess I didn’t need to consult with him. The baton of Ume’s care had just been officially passed.
“Is there anything you would like, Ume?” Shishi pressed me.
“Pudding; caramel pudding with lots of caramel. Tonight or any time.”
“First cooking lesson,” Tomo started. “Broiled mackerel or salted salmon with ochazuke followed by pudding. That will bring a smile to Ume’s face. And don’t speak to her until she’s had her first cigarette.”
I was in trouble, I realized, between a good cop, Shishi, and a bad cop, Tomo, I didn’t stand a chance. But if it meant my two favorite people were getting along, I would just have to suffer with being taken care of.
“And what do you like?” Shishi asked Tomo.
“I’m not any fancier than Ume.”
“He likes meat,” I interjected. “Gyudon, soborodon, or hayashi. You can’t go wrong with any of those.”
“Hayashi,” Shishi echoed reverently, “and how about sweet potato curry? My mother used to make that?”
“Sweet potato curry sounds good.” Tomo sounded interested, which made me happy. The whole conversation made me feel happy. No, not just happy. That my favorite people were communicating and getting along made me ecstatic.
Things kept getting better and better. The day after our feast, I got a letter from Yuri Sokutatsu about my submission. I stood in our living room and yelled at the kitchen where Tomo was showing to Shishi the correct method of cleaning a rice cooker. “They want three more!”
“Three more what?” Tomo asked as he stuck his head out. Shishi peered out from behind him.
“They want three more episodes of ‘The Handmaiden’s Tears,’ and if it’s popular, they’ll continue it. But there’s more!” I said, cutting off the beginning of a cheer. “One of their regular writers got sick. They want me to ghost their story till the author can write again. It’s an isekai about a girl reborn in an underwater kingdom, and they think I could fill in.”
“Yabai,” was all Tomo said, but Shishi pushed past him and wrapped her arms around me. If I hadn’t already been ecstatically flying around the moon, that would have finished me.
“I did it, Shishi. I did it, Tomo. They want to publish my stuff,” I shouted as I danced around the room holding Shishi’s hands. Her eyes were so bright, I think she was excited as I was.
“And look,” I stopped and waved the check that had come with the letter. “I have money. Let’s go celebrate. There’s a Melon Batake a Go Go show. Let’s go Shishi. You too Tomo. All three of us. Please!”
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Note: Oh, Ume, not the three of you.
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Story by Nara Moore
Twitter/X:@nara_moore
Mastodon: sakurajima.moe
WordPress: Josei Yuri and Paranormal Romance
Art by Mai-sensei
Twitter: @Maiisheree
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