CHAPTER 10:

RESPONSIBILITY

Haruka knew that if there was one thing that his impassive grandson enjoyed—though his reaction would probably have one believe otherwise—it was listening to stories. Knowledge of the spirit world and what it held was a vital part of Doumeki heritage, and Haruka was a walking encyclopedia of folklore and myths relating to such matters. So, just as he had done with Tsuduki and Shino—to say nothing of Mamoru—he took advantage of every opportunity he had to teach and amuse Shizuka with his command of stories. And this lovely early summer afternoon, as the two of them sat on the porch together, was such an opportunity.

"And so the creatures of the underworld gave chase," said Haruka, with his arm wrapped around his young grandson, "and Izanagi ran for his life. To distract them, he threw down his headdress, which turned into a bunch of grapes. While his pursuers were busy eating the grapes, he was able to get away. But they weren't distracted for long."

"What did Izanagi do next?" said Shizuka.

"He threw down his comb, and it turned into bamboo stalks. And just as before, they got distracted eating the bamboo, and Izanagi was able to get away."

"Is that the end?"

"Not quite. Izanagi soon reached the boundary between the underworld and the world of the living, and there he found three peaches that he used to strike down the creatures. And that's why peaches and peach trees to this day are used to ward off evil." Haruka smiled at his grandson and pulled him closer. "March 3rd—your birthday—is said to be the start of the peach blossom season, did you know that?"

"Really?" said Shizuka.

"Yes," said Haruka with a smile. "Considering that old story, it's quite fitting for a Doumeki to have a birthday on a day connected with peaches, don't you think?"

Shizuka looked away.

"What's the matter?"

"Well…umm…" He fidgeted. "There's something I gotta tell you."

"What is it?"

"Well, yesterday when I was at Uncle Mamo's—I mean, uh, Mr. Watanuki's—picnic, I…me and Kimihiro…"

"Your mother told me all about that," said Haruka. "She said you were playing a game with Kimihiro and you stuck your head in a tree trunk."

"Yeah…ummm…" He squirmed free from Haruka's grip. "We, uhh…we weren't playing a game."

"What were you doing, then?"

"He said there was a ghost hidin' in that tree. He made me stick my head in there so I could get rid of it."

Haruka raised an eyebrow. "He knew about our family's power?"

"He said his dad told him."

"Ah. I suspected as much. So…did you get rid of it?"

"Kimihiro said I did. He said he felt it leave. And…" He shrugged. "Well…uh, you know what?"

"What?"

Shizuka smiled faintly. "That made me really happy." He looked up at his grandfather. "I mean, that must mean I'll be like you when I grow up, right?"

"Well, you've certainly inherited Gentaro's pure aura just as I have. And it sounds like it's very strong."

Shizuka perked up. "Strong?"

Haruka nodded. "I wasn't able to drive away spirits until I was much older than you. Same with your uncle." He smiled. "So it looks like you're well on your way."

Shizuka sidled closer to Haruka. "Umm…Grandpa?"

"Yes?"

"Does this mean I don't have to wear girl kimonos anymore?"

Haruka laughed heartily and rubbed Shizuka's hair, then got up. "What do you say we head inside and see what your mother's up to?"

Shizuka got up and followed him inside. At once he scampered off to the kitchen, where Shino was busy cutting up an apple.

"Oh, there you are," said Shino, turning around. "Been enjoying Grandpa's stories?"

"Yeah," said Shizuka, toddling up to the counter and eyeing the apple slices. "Are those for me?"

"They are," said Shino, "but they need one final touch." She picked up one of the slices and cut a V-shaped notch in its skin, then handed it to Shizuka.

Shizuka looked at it closely. "Kinda looks like a bunny rabbit," he said. Indeed, the indentation made the skin look like a pair of long ears.

"I know," said Shino. With a smile, she added, "Mamoru taught me that trick."

"Hmm," grunted Shizuka with a nod. Then he popped the slice into his mouth, closing his eyes and savoring the sweet, juicy taste. After swallowing he asked, "Got any more?"

"I certainly do," said Shino, performing her little "rabbit ears" trick on the skin of another slice.

"Make that two more, will ya?" called the voice of Tsuduki. Shino and Shizuka looked behind to see him peering out from behind the kitchen entrance. He was wearing his favorite black ballcap with "TALK IT REAL" written on it; he had a fondness for things with English writing on them, though he had no idea what the words meant.

"Tsuduki, these are especially for Shizuka," said Shino with reproof. "He needs the nutrition."

"Come on Sis, just one?" said Tsuduki, holding out his hand. "I gotta have a quick snack before I head out."

"Can't you buy something at the station?"

Tsuduki frowned and sucked air through his teeth. "Well, uh, that stuff can be kinda high, y'know?"

"And for the record, where are you going?"

Tsuduki's eyes widened and he shrank back. "I'm…uhh…I'm…well, I'm just going out, y'know…nothing special…"

"Who do you think you're fooling?" said Haruka, approaching him.

Tsuduki spun around. "Oh! Pops! I-I thought you were still hangin' out with Shizuka."

"I was." Haruka smiled wisely. "You're running off to go play Pachinko again, aren't you?"

Tsuduki hunched his shoulders up defensively. "N-No…"

"Then where are you going?"

"Uhh…" He scratched the back of his head. "Akihabara."

"Why?"

"To…uhh…look for a TV. Yeah! That's it, I'm gonna go look for a TV."

"We already have one."

"Yeah, but…uhh…I'm gonna go look for a better one…you know, one of those fancy ones with the big screens and…junk…"

Haruka shook his head. "Son, just admit it: you're going to go play Pachinko."

Tsuduki sighed. "All right, all right, ya got me. But now you're gonna give me crap over it!"

"No, I won't," said Haruka. "I can go feed the koi myself."

"Feed the koi?"

"Yes. It was your turn to feed them today, remember?"

"Oh…right."

"I'll let you off the hook today," said Haruka, going into the kitchen and opening up one of the cabinets. "But just remember: there comes a time when you have to lay your fun aside and do your work." He got out a small container of fish food and closed the cabinet.

"See, you ARE giving me crap!" Tsuduki moaned.

"No," said Haruka, walking out of the kitchen, "I'm telling you to go ahead. Just know that the next time you want to skip your chores, you won't get this kind of leeway."

"Aww, now you're makin' me sound like some kind of lazy jerk!" said Tsuduki, running up to Haruka's side. "Come on Dad, can't you hear me out once in a while? Sometimes a guy just needs to cut loose! I mean, don't YOU ever feel bogged down with all your work?"

Haruka laughed gently. "Sometimes," he said, walking past his son. "But taking care of this temple is my responsibility." He turned to Tsuduki with a knowing smile. "We all have responsibilities around here."

He left the living quarters and headed back outside, fish food in hand. Just outside the living quarters was a trail flanked with hydrangeas, and it led to the western edge of Doumeki Temple's pristine pond. Haruka walked down the pathway that encircled the pond and stopped in the center, where it met the tree-lined route to the main grounds. Ever since the days of Gentaro, this pond had been highly valued by the priests of Doumeki Temple, who used its water to fill the fountains used by visitors for purification. Looking down, Haruka saw the koi swimming about contentedly, their white and red scales catching shimmers of sunlight.

Smiling, he reached into the container and threw out a handful of pellets. "Here you go." The koi swam closer to the surface, catching the floating pellets in their mouths and making a curious little blub-blub-blub sound that had always made Tsuduki laugh as a child. Thinking of this, Haruka couldn't help but laugh himself. He tossed out another small handful, watching the koi with mirth.

"Mind if I join you?" said a rich, lovely voice.

Haruka turned around. His eyes widened with recognition. "Yuko!"

Yuko walked up to him. "Good afternoon, Haruka."

"Good afternoon," said Haruka, bowing. "It's been a long time. My, you look beautiful!"

"You think so?" said Yuko. She had her hair pulled up in a long ponytail, and she wore a white jacket with black dragon designs on its sleeves. "I certainly try my best."

Haruka smiled. "So you want to help me feed my koi?"

"Perhaps," said Yuko, standing beside him and looking down into the water. "Though just watching them is pleasurable enough, isn't it?"

"It certainly is," said Haruka, tossing out one more handful of food.

"What about your grandson? Does he enjoy watching them?"

"Sometimes." He began to laugh again, this time quite heartier. "Though of course, there was that time when he was hungry and tried to take the poor fish out of the pond to eat them!" He shook his head.

"How has he been? Has his health improved?" She grinned shrewdly. "Though with an appetite like that, I'm sure he's very healthy."

"His breathing is still a nagging problem," said Haruka, setting the fish food can down on the ground. "But it looks like he's gained Gentaro's power much earlier than I or Tsuduki ever did."

"How is that so?"

Walking over to a stone bench near the pond's eastern edge, Haruka told Yuko about the incident at Mamoru's picnic and how Shizuka drove the ghost out of the tree trunk. "He said it made him very happy," he said, sitting down on the bench and lighting a cigarette. "Even happier when I told him he was far ahead of where I was at that age." He rested his chin in his palm. "I ought to tell Shino all about this; she deserves to have her worries about him eased."

Yuko sat down beside him. "Perhaps," she said, "but his well-being is not the only worry your daughter has."

"What do you mean?"

Yuko gave Haruka a deep, penetrating gaze that made his heart flutter. He recoiled; he had forgotten just how powerful the scrutiny of those crimson eyes could be.

"She's also concerned about her son's destiny…and to a degree, so are you."

Haruka looked down, speechless. He had also forgotten how adroitly and acutely Yuko could destroy whatever locks existed upon one's psyche.

"Well, what do you have to say?" said Yuko.

Haruka listlessly flicked his cigarette, still refusing to meet Yuko's gaze. "You're right," he said. "You're absolutely right. He's not like other Doumekis. He's so shy when the rest of us have been as social as you can get. Granted, Shino's a reserved one, but she was never anything like Shizuka. And we can't forget his health; why, I had a bad case of the flu at his age and recovered in no time—and this was during the war when we were low on food! But if Shizuka had been in my place…" He shook his head. "I don't even want to think about it."

"And the most frustrating thing is that you know just why this is so," said Yuko.

Haruka's eyes narrowed. He took a long drag on his cigarette, blowing the smoke out quietly but forcefully.

"Don't you?"

Haruka snuffed out his cigarette on the bench. "Yes," he said. "It's his father. After all, Suteru was nothing like a Doumeki either." He scowled. "In neither body nor heart. I tried to warn Shino…I tried so hard…she wouldn't listen and now she's had to go through losing one child and fretting endlessly over another…" He restlessly lit another cigarette.

"You have a right to feel upset," said Yuko. "Every day we are confronted with things in this world that we can't change. But as hard as it may be to believe, Shizuka's circumstances all are part of Hitsuzen."

Haruka perked up. "Hitsuzen?"

"Yes," said Yuko. "Fate. Inevitability. The endless course of every event always leading to another. Don't you remember?"

"Of course I do," said Haruka. "I just don't see what you mean about Shizuka,"

Yuko got up off the bench and stood in front of the pond, thoughtfully surveying the landscaping that surrounded it. She looked over her shoulder at Haruka. "Come here." Haruka got up and stood beside her.

"Look around you," said Yuko, gesturing with her arm. "See the water in the pond. See the bushes around the path. See the large stones and the moss that covers them. Now tell me, did you put any of these things here?"

"In a way, yes," said Haruka, scratching the back of his neck. "This spot was always here, but I keep it maintained."

"Yes, but did you pour the water in the pond? Did you put the moss on the stones?"

"No."

"And do you question this arrangement?"

Haruka looked down at the pond again, beholding not only his reflection but the reflection of his surroundings. "No…though it's a marvelous thing to behold."

Yuko smiled thoughtfully. "It is the same with Hitsuzen. Just as nature fashioned the area around this pond, so has Shizuka's life been molded in a particular way. He may not yet know of his father, but he is aware of the limitations he has. Very aware. The incident with the tree trunk proves that he wants opportunities to rise above his weaknesses…to live up to his forefathers…to be needed. And your ties to the Watanukis have provided him with a perfect opportunity."

"You mean his friendship with Kimihiro?" said Haruka. "Mamoru set that up to help Kimihiro, but I'm sure Shizuka can benefit from it just as well."

"Yes, indeed," said Yuko. "The two of them rather close, aren't they?"

"Mamoru certainly wants them to be," said Haruka, laughing gently. "Though it hasn't been easy."

"And I'm sure he shows no sign of giving up on it."

"Not at all."

"And he should not. After all, Gentaro never gave up on stopping the conflict between his sons."

"Good point," said Haruka, taking a drag on his cigarette.

"In fact, that's what led him to write that book of his. He hoped they would eventually stop fighting and start learning."

Haruka took the cigarette out of his mouth and raised an eyebrow. "How do you know so much about Gentaro?"

Yuko grinned at Haruka wryly. "Who do you think led him to his destiny?"

Haruka gasped. "You…are the Great Dimensional Witch?"

"That I am."

The cigarette slipped out from between Haruka's fingers as he stood with his jaw agape. "But…but that was all so long ago…are you a spirit?"

"Are you?" said Yuko, cocking her head to the side. "No, I'm certainly not a spirit."

"But still…how can this be?"

"The details are too much," said Yuko, walking past him as she spoke, "but to sum it up, in wishing for me to survive, my love made me pay the price of an extended life."

"But if it were his wish," said Haruka, "shouldn't he have paid the price?"

"He couldn't have," said Yuko, standing still and looking up at the sky. "Thus the work of Hitsuzen in my life has changed forever. A wish made without paying the proper price always brings disorder. Yet disorder can be controlled…if given the opportunity."

Haruka stood beside her. "Is that what you meant all those years ago when you said you were trusting in the future to heal your wounds?"

"Yes. Everything is about to come full circle. You see, Mamoru's son is…very unusual. The circumstances of his existence are unusual, and his destiny is unusual. But all he must do…is never disappear."

"Disappear?"

"Yes. He must never be consumed by his woes. He must never allow himself to be burdened down. And most of all…" she paused, closing her eyes. "No matter what happens, he must continue living…for my sake as well as his."

Haruka tucked his hands behind his back, looking off to the side. "Well, that seems simple enough."

"But it is not."

"It's not? Why?"

"Because he cannot do this alone. He needs a companion—an anchor, if you will." She smiled knowingly. "And it's a niche that Shizuka can surely fill."

Haruka's eyes widened.

"It's true. But his path has not yet been determined. After all, Hitsuzen does not always act on its own. We all have the potential to contribute to its flow, and we all have the potential for disrupting it. That is why I grant wishes, for just as you tend to nature's work here in this garden, so do I guide others through Hitsuzen's workings."

"So are you going to guide Shizuka?" said Haruka.

Yuko turned away. "I have my place in this scheme. But it is not yet time. Right now it is your turn to nurture his potential." She looked over her shoulder at Haruka. "Just as Mamoru is doing, you should foster every opportunity for strengthening the bond between them. But remember, whether or not he will fulfill his role in that boy's life rests on his shoulders alone. It is his responsibility to make that choice. And as for the boy himself…" she paused, letting out a brief, gentle sigh. "You trust in the future. That's all I ask of you." She turned and began to leave.

"Wait!" Haruka called out.

Yuko stopped and turned around. "Yes, what else?"

Haruka bowed. "Thank…thank you."

Yuko nodded, then left him. Walking under the shade of the tall trees, she stopped near the edge that marked the end of the path and the beginning of the main grounds, looking back. As she stood there, her heart and mind remained heavy with doubt. Doubt and an odd twang of regret, like a bitter aftertaste following an equally bitter meal.

"Forgive me, Clow," she said, lowering her head. "But I can no more do this alone than the boy can."