Note: 'Jichan' means uncle and 'Jiichan' means grandfather, if I'm not mistaken. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong. Also, I noticed I've gotten over 100 hits for this story, but only 1 review. Is it really that bad? I honestly think this is my most developed story so far. sigh

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THE TALE OF MARISE: Chapter Three

Touma woke up to the sound of bare feet running across the wooden floor. He drew the blanket tighter around himself and tried to ignore it, but whoever was making the sound was now hopping up and down. Touma could almost feel the floor shaking under him.

Then, he realized the blanket he was clutching hadn't been there before.

"SA-CHAN! WAKE UP! SHIN-JICHAN IS HERE!"

Sa-chan? Shin-jichan? Touma sat up and looked around. He was still in the same room and alone. Whoever was screaming was so loud that he sounded like he was only a few feet away. Just when Jun finally decided to grow up, Touma thought, torn between amusement and annoyance. No wonder Shin doesn't live here anymore.

He could hear Shin talking to a child in the next room, then a boy's squeal of laughter. "Shhh, my friend is sleeping," Shin was saying. "You might wake him up."

Touma rolled his eyes. Well, Shin, it's a little late for that.

Suddenly, the door slid open and someone burst into the room. It was Shin's nephew, who appeared around five or six years old. He stared at Touma silently, as if preparing for the scream that came afterwards. Then, "AAAH! SHIN-JICHAN! WHO'S THAT? IS THAT YOUR FRIEND?"

And Touma thought Shuu was obnoxious. This little boy could be twice as loud, and he was no more than a meter tall.

Shin came in, grabbing his nephew gently by the shoulders and leading him out of the room. His nephew spun around on his heels as Shin turned him, imitating the stiff movements of a robot while making strange animal sounds. It wasn't until his nephew was completely out the door that Shin realized Touma was sitting up on the floor.

"Oh, the dead sleeper is awake."

"Really," said Touma. He couldn't hide the smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "That noise could have woken up a rock, not to mention the dead."

"At least I know how to wake you up now." Shin offered him a hand and pulled him to his feet. "Come on. My family is in the living room."

The living room looked much more like a typical modern room than the room Touma had just been sleeping in. It even had a dining table with four ordinary chairs around it. Shin's niece and nephew were sitting in two seats across from each other, bickering over a stuffed toy. Shin's mother sat quietly next to her grandchildren, watching them play. At first, she seemed old and tired—her graying hair was pinned back in a bun—but when she turned around to greet him, Touma could see that she was perhaps only in her early sixties.

She slapped her grandchildren's hands lovingly to get their attention. "Say hello to Shin-jichan's friend, Touma-jisan," she said. "And don't forget to introduce yourselves."

Touma soon learned that Shin's nephew's name was also 'Shin' because his grandmother wanted him to be just as easy to raise as Shin had been. In fact, little Shin turned out to be just the opposite, so the family began to call him 'Otouto' instead. Otouto was very aware of how he received his names, and explained it rather proudly. His sister, Sachi, was so shy that Otouto had to introduce her to Touma. She was already ten, four years older than her brother, but had the frame of an eight-year-old. And according to Otouto, she liked to read a lot.

"That's great," said Touma, searching for the right response. Sachi's quietness was making it harder for him. "Um… I like to read too."

Shin laughed, clapping his hand on Touma's shoulder. "I think you'll like him, Sachi. You could ask him anything and he would probably know the answer."

"Say something," Okaasan urged, giving Sachi a small tap on the back. "Say, 'Hello, Touma-jisan.' Tell him what kind of books you read. It isn't polite to ignore our guest." She quickly apologized to Touma for her granddaughter's silence.

"It's okay. I was just as quiet around strangers when I was her age," Touma replied. Shin threw him a half-surprised and half-impressed look. Touma glanced back and pretended not to notice.

Sachi blushed and gave Touma a small smile, which seemed enough to satisfy her grandmother.

"Something smells good," said Touma, giving Shin a small nudge and inhaling deeply. "Smells like your cooking."

"I learned how to cook mostly from my sister," Shin explained. "She's making lunch. By the way, where is Jun? I haven't seen him since this morning."

"Lunch?" Touma grabbed Shin by the wrist and read his watch. It was already past noon. "That's weird. I think he said he wanted to go for a walk along the shore, but it's been more three hours since he left. Could he have gotten lost?"

Shin frowned. "That's impossible," he said. "He might have gone to explore the city, but it's hard to get lost here."

"Maybe we should go look for him," Touma suggested.

Shin raised his eyebrows. Touma never ceased to surprise him.

- - -

They found Jun sitting on the beach, gazing out into the vastness of the ocean, oblivious to the burning sun above him. There was no one else—they had all gone home for lunch. Touma snuck up behind Jun, so conspicuously that anyone in a conscious state would have noticed, and poured a handful of sand over his head.

Jun barely reacted. He simply swatted over his head, as if Touma's hand were no more than a tiny fly. Touma glanced at Shin, who shrugged as if to say, 'Don't ask me.'

"How long have you been here?" asked Touma, taking a seat next to Jun on the sand.

"I don't know," Jun mumbled. He didn't look away from the horizon for one second. "Since this morning, I guess."

"You sat here," said Touma, "for four hours." It wasn't a question.

Finally, Jun turned to look at Touma. "Isn't it beautiful out here? It's like a different world."

Touma examined him for a moment. There was something different about Jun. His face was flushed, and his blue eyes had hazed over to become a shade of gray. It almost did seem as if he had just been to another world. "You sure you're okay?"

"Better than ever," said Jun, turning his attention back to the sea. "I could stay here all day."

"So could I," Shin interrupted, coming up from behind. "But lunch is ready. You can't skip a meal in my family. It just isn't allowed."

For almost a minute, Jun appeared to have no idea what Shin was talking about. Then, he suddenly stood. "Okay, let's go," he said. "Sorry about that. I'm kind of hungry too. Besides, I still have to meet your family, Shin-niichan." He began to head back toward the house.

Before Shin could leave after him, Touma caught him lightly by the arm. "Did you find that strange?" he whispered. "Did you not just see what happened?"

Shin pursed his lips, watching as Jun turned around and waved for them to hurry up. "Not now. We can talk about it later."

Touma gave in and released him, but not before scanning the horizon one last time. Whatever had captured Jun's attention was no longer there, or at least Touma couldn't see it.

- - -

The afternoon was perfect for a trip around the city, but Touma decided not to bring it up. Jun didn't say anything either—he was too busy playing games with Otouto. Sayoko had gone to check up on the family pottery store and Okaasan sat in her chair, watching all of them, her weathered hands folded in her lap with the elegance of a well-educated young woman.

Touma glanced at Jun for at least the tenth time since they ate lunch. Jun was still sitting on the floor, trying to explain the rules of Shogi (Note: Japanese chess) to Otouto, whose eyes kept wandering toward a small bird on the tree outside the window.

"Stop worrying," Shin said into Touma's ear as he pushed Touma's feet aside with the broom to sweep below the couch. "Maybe what happened was nothing. You're the one who's scaring me."

"Just can't get it out of my head," Touma muttered. "I could've sworn something was off."

"Touma." It was Okaasan. She motioned to the seat next to her. "Come here. I want to talk to you."

Touma got up obediently and joined her. He suddenly felt very young for the first time he could remember.

"Shin told me about you, all five of you, a long time ago," she said, giving Touma an assuring smile. "I have forgotten your names, but you must be Tenkuu's bearer. I can see it in you."

"Really?" said Touma, amazed Shin's mother could know so much. "Shin likes to tell me I'm not all that wise."

Shin threw him a look that clearly said, 'Shut up. Not in front of my mother.'

"Oh, don't listen to him," said Okaasan, waving her son away affectionately. "Shin is trusting, not truthful. You, on the other hand, are more direct, but not recklessly so. I like you, Touma. Tell me, is this your first time in Hagi?"

"Yeah," Touma replied. "It's slightly different from what I expected."

Okaasan touched his arm gently. "What were you expecting?"

Something inside Touma softened as he observed that Shin had his mother's hands. "I guess I expected it to be more modernized," he said. "After all, textbooks can be outdated. But it's incredible how well-preserved everything is."

"That's what I still love about this place," said Okaasan. "Do you have a passion for stories, Touma? Folktales? Legends?"

That was when Touma decided he liked Shin's mother too. "Am I that obvious?" he asked, pointing to himself with a curious smile. Then, he called to Shin, who was now curled up on the couch with a book. "Hey, Shin, how much did you tell your mom about me? Did you tell her my entire life story?"

"I said you were a physics professor at the University of Tokyo," said Shin. He obviously hadn't been reading his book at all.

Suddenly, Jun let out a groan of frustration from across the room. Otouto had built a tower of chess pieces and knocked it over, scattering the pieces all over the floor Shin had just swept. Shin jumped to his feet and began to help Jun clean up the mess as Otouto ran outside to play in the garden with his sister. Touma could hear Jun muttering to himself, "Little kids. Bet I was never that annoying."

Okaasan made no comment. Her expression remained serene, but her eyes were full of quiet amusement. "I think you'll learn to love the Hagi Sea during your stay," she said to Touma, continuing their conversation from before. "Or perhaps I should say the sea, the sky, and everything in between. There are many hidden stories that already exist. Others are still waiting to be told."

Touma swallowed as he recalled Jun's ghostly expression earlier that day. It's like a different world.

A voice interrupted his thoughts. "Touma!" Jun was saying. "Can you help us find the lid to this Shogi box? I don't see it anywhere."

Touma stared at him. "Are you kidding? Find it yourself."

"Oh, make yourself useful for once, Touma." Shin was lying flat on his stomach, trying to reach something under the couch. He only succeeded in pulling out a large ball of dust. Jun was still searching under the table. Shin sighed, sitting on the floor motionlessly, as if he were making a life-or-death decision. Then, he stood up and pushed the entire couch aside. There was absolutely nothing under the couch except more balls of dust, but it didn't seem to bother him. He simply grabbed the broom and began to sweep the floor again.

Okaasan watched him do all of this with a knowing smile. "Shin, why can't you be more like your friend?" she asked fondly.

"What are you saying, Kaasan? I'm an adult already."

"Be careful what you wish for," said Touma. "If Shin were more like me, there wouldn't be a single strand of black hair left on your head."

Shin spun around to face him, horror written all over his face, which slowly turned into resignation. Okaasan gazed at Touma for a moment, as if she had no idea who he was talking to. Then, she laughed.

- - -

The water was cold that night. Shin stayed out on the beach after his swim, grateful for the warm air. He pushed his dripping hair from his eyes, taking in as much as he could of his surroundings. He had almost forgotten how much he missed this place. Just as he was about to close his eyes, he felt a pair of hands squeeze his shoulders.

"Hey." It was Touma, kneeling behind him. "Did you think you could just sneak away? Jun was looking for you."

"Why is that?"

Touma grinned. "He couldn't figure out how to take a shower without a showerhead."

"Should I go back?" said Shin, positioning himself to stand. "Did he figure it out yet?"

"Sit back down," Touma replied, giving Shin's arm a little tug, so that his friend fell back onto the sand. "He's fine. Your sister boiled some water for him." He suddenly became serious. "About what happened today at noon… Do you know about it? Does it have something to do with this place?"

Shin looked down at the sand, playing with the grains between his fingers. "I don't know," he said. "If something was there, it's gone now. I didn't see anything strange in the water."

"Well, this tells me otherwise," said Touma softly. He pulled out a blue glowing object from his pocket, holding it in his palm for Shin to see. Shin could just make out the faint outline of the 'wisdom' kanji inside Touma's yoroi orb.

"That's normal, Touma. Mine does that all the time."

Touma closed his fingers around the orb and stuck it back in his pocket. "I feel like something's about to happen, Shin."

"Then the others would be here by now," said Shin. "And I would feel it too."

"I never said it had to be a bad thing," Touma retorted with a hint of a smile. "Maybe your mother's right. This place is having some kind of effect on me. But I'm glad I came here."

For a long time, they watched the stars in silence. The entire sky had reflected itself over the still ocean, which made it hard to tell where the ocean ended and the sky began. Shin found Touma's hand and grasped it firmly, feeling Touma's grip just as firm over his own in an unspoken promise. It suddenly felt like they were boys again.

"Me too. Thanks."

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Please leave a review if you have something to say. They really are encouraging. Even one good review is enough to make me want to write more. I like to feel as if I'm writing for other people, not just myself. And constructive criticism is always appreciated. Thank you. :)