When I was still a kid, I heard the story about Manjushage from Kinoshita. Saeki was with me at that time.
It was a sad story. So very sad.
I remember, Saeki was crying after he heard the end of that story.
What a crybaby.
It was early in the afternoon, when Kirishima and Saeki finished their report from their latest mission. They were walking along a corridor to Rokkaku's office to submit their papers. The door to the office was opened, and a yellow-eyed man came out of the room.
"Ah, Kirishima! Saeki!"
The jolly young man approached his two co-workers, half-running.
"Hirahara, why all the ruckus?" Saeki asked.
"Rokkaku-san gave us permission to attend the Obon tonight!" Hirahara screeched in excitement, followed by a big smile appearing on Saeki's face.
"That's so great, Hirahara! So, who's joining for tonight's party?"
"Let's see...me, Rokkaku-san, Tagami, Kinoshita, Kirika-san, Ayako, and...I don't know, man! There's too many people!"
"How about Tanizaki? Is he joining us?"
"I don't think so. I heard he's still recovering from his last mission's injuries. Too bad, though..."
"Obon?" Kirishima questioned, his head tilted curiously.
"You don't know? The Obon Festival, man! Aren't you feel excited just a bit, Kirishima?" Hirahara spoke loudly, his face was flushed.
"Ah, that's right...Kirishima haven't took a part in Obon Festival once," Saeki adjusted his hat, "do you have another assignment for today, Kirishima? If you don't, why won't you join the Obon tonight?"
"I think...I'm free for tonight," Kirishima mumbled, while Hirahara swung his fist happily.
"Yeah! Let's go!" the yellow-eyed man danced silly, like an overjoyed little kid, "I'm gonna call Tagami and Kinoshita to prepare for tonight's party! We're gonna wear yukata for the festival...and oh! Also Kirika-san...we need snacks and drinks too!"
Hirahara ran fast, his loud footsteps echoed through the corridor. Kirishima sighed, Saeki chuckled a bit.
"He's so hyped," the blue-eyed Kirishima muttered, amazed by the sheer energy emitted from the echoes of Hirahara's running.
"Excuse us, Rokkaku-san," Saeki knocked the office's door, "it's Saeki and Kirishima. We're bringing our reports for yesterday's mission."
"Come in."
As they entered the room, clusters of purple smoke greeted their nostrils. Rokkaku's usual smoking habit.
"Here's my report, and this one is Kirishima's. Ah, by the way, Rokkaku-san...are you by any chance...joining the Obon tonight?"
"Yes, of course. It's been two years since my last Obon Festival," Rokkaku exhaled a whiff of purple smoke from his pipe, "you two should also enjoy the festivities. We should take breaks once or twice."
"Sounds really fun, Rokkaku-san," Saeki grinned, "we cannot wait for tonight."
Kirishima and Saeki took a deep bow, then left the office.
"What's Obon, Saeki?" Kirishima asked, invited a raise of Saeki's eyebrows.
"You really don't know, eh..." the light-haired jailer sighed, "Obon, or the Ghost Festival is a celebration from humans to pray for the deceased souls. On this day, the barrier between human world and spirit world weakens. That's why, vengeful ghosts or evil spirits are receiving blessings and prayers from humans for tonight, and they won't cause any trouble in Obon."
"So that's why we're free from any assignments today," Kirishima nodded, finally understood the situation.
"Exactly," Saeki smiled, "ah, you need me to help with your yukata? I know, you're gonna have a big problem about it."
"Yes, please do."
The sun was setting down, and the sky was getting darker and darker. The lights from the festival were turned on. The residents of Gokuto gathered on the square, filled with merry laughter and joy and dances. Stands were open, selling candies, masks, and prizes for a game.
"There they are!" Hirahara shouted, pointed his finger to Saeki and Kirishima, who was just arriving. Kirishima wore a dark blue yukata, Saeki wore a light brown one, while Hirahara and Tagami donned their brown and black yukatas respectively.
"You're late," Tagami frowned in his usual manner.
"We're so sorry, I can't found Kirishima's obi belt, so..." Saeki drooped his head regrettably.
"Ahhh, it's fine! You're here, and that's that! C'mon, the others are waiting!" Hirahara cheerfully dragged Tagami's arm, walked through the buzzing crowd.
Among the sea of people, they found familiar faces. Rokkaku and other jailers were all wearing yukatas, sitting together on a bamboo mat. Kinoshita was holding a cup of sake, his face was flushed red.
"Sorry for the wait," Saeki bowed, followed by a faint smile from Rokkaku's lips. The Chief nodded, and reprimanded Kinoshita for drinking too early.
"Kinoshita, restrain yourself."
"No worries, Chief! We still have plenty," the green-eyed man chugged another gulp from his cup, completely ignoring his superior's advice.
"It's okay, Rokkaku-san. We need to relieve ourselves once in a while, right?" Kirika smiled, opened a large basket filled with various foods, "I brought snacks. Does anyone want some?"
"I want some croquettes, please! Oh, and fried bread, too!" Hirahara yelled happily, dragging the poor Tagami in the process.
"Kirika-san, you look so pretty in yukata. You too, Ayako," Saeki praised the two women, who blushed at the words.
"Aww, thank you very much, Saeki-chan...I'm flattered," Kirika laughed heartily, while Ayako was fidgeting in embarrassment.
The sake cups were filled, and the sweet smell of liquor drifted on the air. Kinoshita was already hitting his eleventh cup.
"It feels so strange, seeing everyone in traditional clothings and having a celebration like this," Kirishima mumbled, almost quietly. The sake inside his cup was glowing in a gold color. He downed the content in a single gulp.
"I agree. We always interact in work-related problems, and seldom to spend time outside of work," Saeki replied.
"AH, HEY!" Hirahara suddenly screamed. His fried bread was snatched away by Ayako's tongue from her second mouth behind her head, which she apologized for.
"However," Saeki poured sake to his cup and Kirishima's, "it's not bad, isn't it?"
Kirishima stared at Saeki's shining light blue eyes for a while, and smiled.
"Yes. Not bad at all."
When I was still a kid, I heard the story about Manjushage from Kinoshita. Saeki was with me at that time.
It was a sad story. So very sad.
It was about two fairies, tasked to guard the flowers of the netherworld.
One was called Manjuu, while the other was called Saka. Manjuu was tasked to guard the flowers' petals, while Saka was tasked to guard the flowers' leaves.
However, they fell in love with each other. They never met because the plants never bears flowers and leaves in a simultaneous time. They defied their duty to meet with each other. They abandoned their duty. Then, the gods were furious, and punished them to be separated for all eternity.
They promised to meet again in the afterlife, but they never met. Not even for once. They were never fated to become one, even since the very beginning.
I remember, Saeki was crying after he heard the end of that story.
What a crybaby, I thought.
"That's why," Kinoshita ended his story, "we, the Underworld Jailers, shall never abandon, question, or defy our duty."
I nodded my head─Saeki was sobbing on my shoulder.
"Hey, where's Kirishima and Saeki?" Rokkaku whiffed purple smoke from his pipe, "the Bon Dance is starting soon."
"They went to the backyard of the square," Kirika answered, looking somewhat worried, "Kirishima-chan doesn't feel well."
"What, he can't handle his liquor, again?" Kinoshita took a big gulp straight from the bottle, "he's still a kid, it seems."
"He's not a drunkard like you, Kinoshita," Tagami hissed, his face was a mixture of disgust and intrigue. Kinoshita's ability to chug down a whole bottle of liquor is a wonder to anyone.
"Hey, hey, hey," Hirahara jumped, "the dance is starting! C'mon, everyone! Let's go!"
A number of people gathered at the center, lining up in a giant circle. They were dancing around a giant wooden scaffold, while singing and clapping all the time. Their colorful yukata sleeves flapped around among the lights of the festival, making a passionate show for both eyes and ears. The combination of various colors, movements, noise, and the sweet smell of sake, they all made an intoxicating performance ever, for both humans and spirits.
They all knew, they were blending with the humans ever since the dance has started. The boundary between Gokuto and the human world was dissipated, but they didn't care. Both parties were too drowned in ecstasy of the festivity, celebrating the meeting of the two different worlds, albeit unconsciously.
The circle was consisted of both humans and spirit dancers.
"Are you alright?"
Kirishima was throwing up rather violently, considering the amount of liquor he consumed that evening. Saeki was worrying all the time.
"Do you want to drink some water?" Saeki gave a bottle of water, but Kirishima rejected it and threw up again.
"I'll be...okay...if I throw up some more..." Kirishima stuttered, before throwing up loudly, under a tree.
"Gosh, you're sweating a lot," Saeki patted his partner's back, wanting to relieve the hangover.
"...water," Kirishima gasped, and chugged the bottle Saeki gave to him.
"Are you feeling okay?" Saeki asked, a worried expression painted over his face, "let's just go home now, if you're not feeling good."
The blue-eyed man clenched his head, staggered to standing up.
"I'll be fine...after taking a walk for a while," he mumbled, "also...I need some fresh air."
Saeki sighed, "alright, then. Let's just walk around here. Don't stay too close to the festival, you'll get headache from the lights and the noise."
They both walked around a small, dark forest. Far away from the festival's frenzy. A cool wind was blowing, drying away Kirishima's sweat. He felt a bit lighter now, although his headache still hurt.
"Ah, look," Saeki pointed at a bush, "manjushage flowers."
A cluster of red spider lilies was blooming within the dark bushes. They were almost like glowing in the shades, giving a rather creepy aura.
Ah, those flowers. I remember Kinoshita's story, Kirishima thought to himself, a creepy, irritating story.
"They're in a full bloom now," Saeki admired the flowers, "as if they're absorbing the energy from the Obon Festivals, don't you think?"
Kirishima was too groggy and dazed from his hangover. He swayed back and forth, before finally tumbled down to the ground. Fortunately, Saeki was there to catch him.
"Kirishima, you're utterly wasted," Saeki grumbled, "let's just go home for today. You can't handle to continue the party any longer."
"Shuddup...I'm totally fine..." Kirishima mumbled, sitting on the ground. He let out an unnerving chuckle, much to Saeki's disbelief.
"No, you're not. Just stay here, I'll tell Rokkaku-san and the others. I'm gonna take you home."
"I toldja...I'm fine!"
Kirishima jumped, lunging himself towards Saeki─who shrieked a little. They both fell down the ground, rolling over in the process.
"Owwww...what are you doing, Kirishima?!"
Much to his surprise, Saeki found Kirishima grabbing his wrists, sitting atop of him. Kirishima's face was flushed red. His blue eyes were unfocused.
"Kiri─"
He wasn't quite sure what was happening to him, but he wasn't expecting Kirishima would do something outrageous to him.
"Stop─mnnnn─"
Kirishima was kissing him, while holding tightly to his wrists. He struggled to broke free, but it was for naught. Kirishima's strength doubled in a drunken state, or so it seemed.
"I said...STOP!"
Saeki successfully shoved Kirishima away. He gasped, feeling a raging current of blood rushed to his face.
"Wh─what were you thinking?!" Saeki blushed hard, convincing himself that Kirishima did that under the influence of alcohol. Yes, that's must be it. It must be a mere heat of the moment. Or something.
"Hey...do you remember?" Kirishima spoke, in a hoarse voice, "Kinoshita's manjushage story?"
"What...what about it?" Saeki asked nervously, still keeping his distance from Kirishima.
The blue-eyed young man cackled, "what a stupid, annoying story. Ahaha, I also remember...you were bawling like a baby right after the story ended...hahahaha!"
"Just what are you trying to imply here?" Saeki felt his face heating up from double embarrassment─being kissed in a sudden, and being reminded of his shameful childhood.
"Hey," Kirishima suddenly stopped laughing, "you won't leave me, right?"
"Huh?"
Kirishima drowned his face onto Saeki's chest. His body was hot and sweating.
"What if...our duty separates us forever? Will you abandon your duty to see me, Saeki?" Kirishima mumbled, his eyes were closed, "you won't leave me, right?"
Oh, I see now. So that's his insecurity, walled up within him...for all this time...
"We're not fairies," Saeki replied, "we're Underworld Jailers, you know. That's not our duty. We won't be separated like that."
Kirishima's blue eyes lit up, staring straight into Saeki's own light blue eyes.
"We'll be always together, right?" Kirishima asked, hugging Saeki like a little child. He fell asleep in Saeki's arms.
Saeki didn't answer the question. The fireworks' noise sprayed above his head was distracting him from Kirishima. The night sky was filled with vibrant colors─dazzling brilliantly like blazing flowers, blooming wildly in the sky.
"It's such a waste," Saeki muttered, "you should've seen these fireworks, Kirishima. They're so beautiful."
"G'mornin'..."
A lazy greeting came out of Hirahara's yawning mouth. Everyone was exhausted in the morning after Obon Festival. Especially Kinoshita (for have consumed many bottles of liquor) and Kirishima (who has a very low alcohol tolerance).
"Morning," Saeki greeted back, "I know, we're still dealing with our hangovers. But, we have to do our job properly."
"Screw that," Tagami let out a scornful protest, "I'm going to sleep for a long time after these missions are done."
Hirahara took his shovel, lazily dragging his feet back to work. So does Tagami.
After the two left, Saeki knocked the office door, and entered to see a familiar person. Saeki's face went deep red.
Kirishima was standing there, turning his face to see Saeki.
"Good morning, Saeki," Rokkaku greeted, "for today's mission, I assign you to go the city's western district. I heard there's a rampaging spirit there. Please assist Kirishima to capture it."
"Yes, Sir."
"Your face is awfully red. Are you still drunk, Saeki?" the chief commented on the flustered Saeki, who was shaking his head furiously.
"I'm fine, Sir! Please allow me to continue the mission. L─let's go, Kirishima!"
Saeki awkwardly left the office with Kirishima, who was watching in confusion the entire time.
"Are you okay, Kirishima?" Saeki asked, "is your headache gone already?"
"I'm fine. I'm just feeling a little dizzy, but I'll manage it."
"Hey," Saeki whispered─his face was serious, "do you remember what was happening last night?"
"No. I don't remember a thing."
"Oh...okay."
Saeki wasn't sure whether he has to feel happy or dejected for Kirishima's forgetting last night's embarrassing moments.
"I do...remember a bit," Kirishima scratched his nose.
"W─which part of it you do remember?" Saeki asked, rather nervously.
However, Kirishima didn't answer his question. He smiled enigmatically, and just that.
"Let's go," he brandished his sword, "we're going to get our job done─because we are Underworld Jailers, right?"
Saeki's face went deep red again. Nevertheless, he nodded and followed Kirishima's footsteps.
It's alright. We won't get separated. We're not fairies, we're Underworld Jailers.
Author's notes:
A little notes for fellow Gokuto Jihen/Underworld Capital Incident players: the events during Obon Festival (for example, the boundary between human world and Gokuto is dissolved) are purely based on my imagination. There is no evidence that can prove my theory of Obon is canon or true to the real game, so please don't think too hard about it. Just enjoy the story as it is (lol).
Also, the Obon Festival and Manjushage Legend are real-life Japanese culture (well, except for Manjushage, it's a Japanese story based on Chinese myth).
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the story, and I apologize in advance if I made mistakes in grammar or writings. English is not my first language. *bows*