A/N: I know Kekkaishi was finished like 2 years ago and I just recently finished it. I came across a picture in tumblr and its source was from pixiv. I hope that the artist comes across this story because it was beautiful. It was perfect. I hope my words would be able to describe it. To that artist, I thank you and I do not claim it as my own. The characters in this story are also not mine. Thank you, Yellow Tanabe-sensei, for giving us a wonderful story.
It was finished or so they thought. The Houin marks disappeared but was it really the end? Yoshimori felt ambivalent about all of this. He would never see his mother again, never fight ayakashis anymore and never have to experience losses after so many battles. No one was going to get hurt. That was what he wanted but it felt all too familiar for him. It was routine. Would he ever talk to Tokine like before? She had specifically said that he should never talk to him during the day but… When the night comes, they will never have to do that job and go to the Karasumori site again like before. It was quite weird and what was weirder was that Tokine approached him that morning.
"Yoshimori, um… Can you? Never mind," Tokine said.
"Hm? What is it?" Yoshimori groggily said.
"Um… Mom and Grandma won't be home later so… Um… Can you…?" she mumbled.
Yoshimori suddenly felt awake and gulped.
"Uh… Never mind!" Tokine said.
"What is it then! Why do you keep changing your mind?" he said.
"Can you teach me how to bake?" she said softly.
"Sure." Yoshimori grinned coolly.
"Later then. Bye!" Tokine waved and went to her friend Madoka.
Yoshimori felt like skipping all the way to school but he was still tired after creating a big castle and that castle town. He was too tired but happy. He still had to catch up with school so he can't skip out and hang out in his favorite place by the roof. He would try to listen as much as possible but with the way the teacher is droning on. He can never keep up. He wanted to pass the time quickly so he could get on and teach Tokine to bake. He smiled smugly and fell asleep.
The end of the day came and Yoshimori stretched his arms out. There were students rushing out the classroom and his friends were still bugging him for sleeping the whole time. One of them told him that he would be in the cleaning duty. Wide-eyed, he grabbed his backpack and ran away. His classmates tried to chase him but he disappeared. Yoshimori was laughing all the way until he bumped into Tokine.
"Let's go!" Tokine said.
Yoshimori nodded and blushed. It was certainly weird to walk home with Tokine. They were walking home normally. They were going home for normal reasons. There was nothing too ominous going in the background. There were no shady characters to follow. They were finally going home as normal friends.
They reached the Sumimura residence and then Tokine backed up for a bit. She grasped Yoshimori's sleeve and he thought she was shaking from fear but she wasn't. He first noticed how she bit her lower lip. She was nervous. She never went in the Sumimuras' house on a whim. Yoshimori placed a hand on hers.
"Don't worry. No one's home yet. Toshimori is still playing with his friends. Dad is out to meet his editor and Grandpa is… Well, he is out with those senior dudes." Yoshimori said.
Tokine gave a hesitant smile then nodded. Yoshimori confidently grabbed her hand and pulled her inside. He was so excited to spend time with Tokine as normal kids. They were going to bake today! The house was quite serene. As they passed by some rooms, Tokine noticed an altar in the room. It had a frame of Yoshimori's mother and beside it is the shikigami paper, which was also framed.
"Um. Yoshimori, can I just have a second?" Tokine said.
Yoshimori nodded hesitantly. His face showed confusion and he was frowning. He was worrying why Tokine keeps on stopping on every little bit. Then he saw his mother's altar. He understood. Tokine kneeled and clasped her hands. She muttered a little prayer and smiled.
"Thank you," she whispered.
She stood up and smiled at Yoshimori. She told him to lead the way. There was a sad smile on his face but he continued on. There is no use on being sad now. He understood his mother's sacrifice. It was to make all of them free and happy. They arrived at the kitchen and instantly, Yoshimori was in his baking outfit, the cute apron and bandana. Tokine giggled and Yoshimori blushed as he scratched his head.
"What do you want to make?" he asked.
"I don't know. You choose," she replied.
"How about a cheesecake then?" he suggested.
"Sounds good," she said.
Yoshimori took out all of the ingredients out of the cabinet and the refrigerator. He also took out all the equipment as Tokine watched him silently. As they were in the progress of making the cheesecake, Tokine was noticing on how passionate Yoshimori can be in terms of baking. She had always thought of how effeminate a guy can be when he bakes but she saw the passion and it made him manlier.
"So what do you want to do then? Become a pastry chef?" she asked.
"Well, that's what I first thought but now, I want to be an architect," he answered.
"Architect?"
"Yeah! And I will build castles!" he said so excitedly.
"But doesn't architect need to be good in math?" she said.
"What?" the sparkle in his eyes vanished.
"Yeah. You'll need math. Maybe I can help you."
"Uhhhh. I didn't know! Wait, you'll help me with math?"
"Yeah. I was planning to be a math teacher," she said.
"A MATH TEACHER?! OH NO." he said glumly.
"What's wrong with that? I thought you wanted to be…"
"Tokine, there's something wrong," Yoshimori said.
His eyes scanned the surroundings. Tokine too was aware of that mysterious feeling in the air. There was no evil energy lurking around but there was something definitely wrong. They left the flour and the liquid mixture on the table. Yoshimori approached the window and parted the curtains. It was snowing. It was purely white outside but it was just the start of autumn. Having snow in such an early time is a sign that something is going on.
"Is this the work of an ayakashi?" Tokine asked.
Yoshimori looked at his right hand and the Houin mark was still not there.
"Could be. But I can't sense any evil energy," he said.
"Karasumori?"
"Nope. The Houin mark would be here by now if it was him,"
"Then what is this?"
"A guardian deity," Yoshimori guessed.
Yoshimori asked Tokine to meet up with him after they get into their kekkaishi uniforms. It was still snowing and it was not going to stop. The clouds were getting darker and darker. They were both in kekkaishi uniforms now. Their families still haven't returned home. They investigated around the neighborhood. Mothers in the kitchen were frozen solid while cooking for dinner. Kids playing in the room were frozen as they are running around. It was as if time had stopped and only the two kekkaishis could move.
"We should try going to the Karasumori site. The culprit might be there," Tokine suggested.
They moved quickly back to their school. The snow was getting thicker. They had to use their kekkais and jump in the air so they could swiftly. A statue was there. It was in the middle of the school grounds.
"I'll finish this off. Ketsu!" Yoshimori said.
The statue was lifted off the ground and Yoshimori approached it. Tokine followed suit.
"Karasumori is no more. If you have ill intentions of this place, I will not spare you," Yoshimori said.
The statue seemed unmoved by what he said but the snow became harsher. Snowflakes were enlarging and the wind was getting faster.
"Let all of them go. Disappear," Yoshimori said.
"Be careful. He is a guardian deity. You cannot kill one, remember?" Tokine reminded him.
The statue's eyes widened and the color of the snow turned red. The snowstorm raged on. The wind was circling around the statue and was forming a snow tornado.
"Tokine, get back!" Yoshimori pushed her into safety. He conjured a barrier for her but the barrier was melting fast. Tokine made another one for her but it was weaker than Yoshimori's. The snow formed balls now. It was a mixture of snow and hail but it was all in red. Yoshimori achieved musou and called on his landlord, Shiguma.
"Create a shinkai. Awaken the real guardian deity," Shiguma said.
Yoshimori concentrated hard and created a shinkai. Tokine was also engulfed in that bright light. Yoshimori showed the statue a world of absolute snow. It was a place where snow was absolute perfection. For a moment, Tokine saw the statue smile at its brilliance but it was no ordinary smile. It was a smirk. The snow in Yoshimori's world had turned into sharp icicles and were directed into Tokine's direction.
"NO!" Yoshimori shouted.
He went in front of Tokine and shielded her from the icicles. He had thought of using the zekkai but it would kill Tokine. It was his first thought but the second thought came in too late. He should've just used a regular kekkai to protect both of them. He was now mortally injured. Without the Karasumori's powers, his injuries won't heal as fast as it did.
"Ketsu! Metsu!" Yoshimori shouted.
The statue exploded into different pieces just like the sparkling pieces of snow falling. The snow was still falling but it was gentler now unlike before. Tokine held Yoshimori and placed his head on her lap. She was not crying. It was weird. His eyes were close and he was barely breathing. She placed a hand on his forehead. There was a melancholy smile on her face.
One day, I will repay you.