New Year's Eve Day finds me on my way to my mother's grave early. Normally, I'd wait until late at night, but I've got somewhere to be. For the first time in years, I'm actually not sick today. The flowers I'd gotten from my usual place are wrapped neatly so as to protect them from the elements. There won't be a Kurama with me this year to revive them or add more if I ruin these.
It's been a few days since Hide had sent me that birthday present, but it hasn't left the spot I put it that first night. Every time I see it, it further strengthens my resolve. I don't know what he has in store for me, but I'm going to face it with Takumi's words in mind. I don't have to do this alone, and I don't have to be strong all the time. Just often enough.
Speaking of Takumi, I swear I heard him just now. Looking around, I catch sight of him and Mayumi crossing the street in front of me. I run to meet up with them, hearing Takumi chastise his sister.
"If you were any more disrespectful, I'd expect our ancestors to crawl out of their graves and smack you themselves."
"If they could do that, they'd be much more entertaining to look after," Mayumi pouts, turning at the sound of me approaching. "Asaki!"
"Hey, guys," I say, stopping beside them.
"What brings you out so early?" Takumi says. "You don't have to be at the shrine until this afternoon."
"I usually come pay my respects to my mother on New Year's. It's the anniversary of her death." My words are met with silence, so I quickly throw up my hands, saying, "Hey, it's fine. It's been a couple hundred years. It doesn't bother me so much anymore."
"Sorry," Mayumi says. "I've gone past Asami's grave so many times, but I never even thought about it."
"Why would you have?" I ask, shaking my head. "She's never been anything but a source of pain for you guys."
"Still," Takumi says, sighing. "We're on our way to do some cleaning at the family gravesite. Since we're going the same way, we might as well walk together. If you don't mind."
"Not at all," I reply, smiling. "I can help too, if you want."
"You don't have to," he says. "It's not as though you owe the Takedas anything."
"Maybe not, but I do owe you two a lot."
"Not a thing!" Mayumi cries as we start to walk again. "Seriously, you've given back every bit that we've given out."
"If you say so," I reply.
We keep walking and talking for a while, and I honestly feel so at peace for the first New Year's ever. As we turn into the cemetery, I freeze in my tracks, that peace dissipating as quickly as it had come. Walking out of the wrought-iron gates is my father, flanked by a dozen men in suits. When he sees me, he stops as well, narrowing his eyes first at me and then at my cousins.
I swallow hard, balling my hands into fists at the sight of him. This is why I always wait until the last minute to come. Does he know Takumi and Mayumi? There's no way. He doesn't keep in touch with the Takeda family.
"Father," I say, bowing a little. What do I do? This is so awkward. He's just staring with that disapproving look I know so well. I haven't seen this man since my graduation from junior high, and I really wish we weren't crossing paths today of all days with the company I have.
He nods his head, first to me and then to Mayumi and Takumi before walking past, the suits filing after him. I turn to watch him go, not relaxing until he's completely out of sight. Once he's gone, I let out a long breath, looking at Mayumi and Takumi. They're staring, wide-eyed, and I wince.
"What?" I ask.
"That was your father?" Mayumi asks.
"Unfortunately." I pull my braid over one shoulder, fiddling with the end. "I was hoping to avoid him."
"I've seen him here before," Takumi says, drawing my attention to him. "He never says anything, and he's always surrounded by all those men."
"Sounds about right. He comes here every year, leaves some garish amount of flowers, and then leaves." I scowl, gesturing toward the cemetery. "Anyway, I'm going to pretend I didn't see him and not let him ruin my day."
"If you're sure," Mayumi says. "We can talk about it if you want."
"I'm good." Waving her concern away, I step inside, heading for the familiar gravestone bearing my mother's name. Just like always, the stone is perfectly clean, a garish display of flowers left behind. I've never noticed before, but the bulk of the flowers are actually lilies. Setting my bouquet beside my father's, I kneel down, glad that the snow from Christmas has melted.
"Hi, Mother. It's me again. Where do I even start?" Reaching out, I press my fingers against the "A" in her name, sighing. "I met your family. They…they don't hate me like I'd thought they would. I don't hate them either. Is that surprising? I feel like you'd be happy to hear it, though. After all these years….
"I got into high school. Kurama's still around, and he's as annoying as ever. Father is…" I trail off, not sure how to continue. After taking a deep breath, I say, "Father is the same as always. I think I'm the one changing. I'm having a hard time hating him as much as I used to. I think you'd be happy to hear that too.
"A-anyway. Please continue to watch over me." I don't know why, but admitting things like that about my father makes me feel awkward. Getting to my feet, I turn to see Mayumi and Takumi bowing their heads to my mother's grave. They look up at me, and I swallow hard, my chest suddenly pinching at their actions.
"Thanks for following your heart, Asami!" Mayumi says, pulling me into a hug. I return it, swallowing back tears once more.
"Thanks for leaving us a chance to reconcile," Takumi says, resting a hand on my shoulder. Mayumi grabs his hand, pulling him into the hug, and I laugh as he groans, squeezing us both tightly and quickly before pulling away. "It's like having two obnoxious sisters," he grumbles, stalking away.
"What a softie," Mayumi whispers, winking at me. We both giggle, and I wipe my eyes, so very relieved that I can share this day with family that actually cares about me. "Come on, let's get to work."
Mayumi leads me to a shed where the Takeda family stores all the things they need to look after the grounds here. After we've been working for a while, dusting and wiping down gravestones, Hata joins us, giving me a smile but otherwise not saying a word. Even so, at one point, I catch him arranging the flowers on my mother's grave before bowing his head, presumably talking to her much the same way I did.
"Nap time!" Mayumi says after a few hours. The grounds here are pretty extensive, since the Takeda family is so old, so it's taken us a while to get the place looking as good as it does. There's not a stray leaf in sight, all the grass between the graves is neat and tidy, and not even an ant would dare crawl across a stone while we're still here.
"We've got enough time to shower and get ready to head to Hino's," Takumi says, eliciting the longest groan from Mayumi that I've ever heard.
"Ai-Ai would understand if we were a little late, don't you think?" Mayumi asks, earning a glare from her brother.
"Judging by how freaked out she's been, I really don't think she would."
…
Sometimes, I question the validity of my life choices. Standing underneath an awning at the Hino family shrine is one of those times. It's dark, it's cold, there are people everywhere, and I just want to go home. When Mayumi helped me put on my shrine maiden outfit earlier, I got suckered in by the fact that my mother had once worn the same things. If I'd known just how boring this would be, I'm not sure even the outfit would have swayed me.
"Put your back into it, Takeda!" Ai shouts from my right as Takumi makes another sale. We've got so many amulets here that it's hard to keep track of what they all do.
"How do I put my back into talking to people?" he barks at her, shooting her a dirty look before smiling at the next pair of high school girls who come up to him. For some reason, he's only been getting female patrons. Maybe it's because he looks pretty sharp in traditional clothing. On the other side of things, Ai has been asked out three times in the span of an hour.
"You guys have this under control," Ai says, waving absently in our direction. "I'm going to go check on Mayumi." Mayumi and one of the other workers here have been manning an amazake station for a while now. I wonder if she's getting hit on too.
"Tell her not to drink too much," Takumi calls after Ai. "If she gets drunk off of that stuff, I'm going to ground her for a month."
"Does she like amazake?" I ask.
"Not really, but it's cold." He breathes into his hands as though to illustrate his point, saying, "She would drink it just to warm up, forgetting there's alcohol in it."
"It would take a lot to get her drunk," I reply, turning to help another patron who comes my way.
We don't get much time to talk for a while as business picks up, amulets for studying, health, love, and money disappearing left and right. I didn't realize these things and this shrine were this popular. There really are a lot of people here.
"Shit." I look over at Takumi to see him glaring at a group of people who're roughhousing not too far from us. "Are you all right if I—"
"Go. They're going to hurt someone."
"Thanks." Takumi vaults over the table in front of us, and I wince as some of the amulets fall to the ground. Show-off. Bending down, I pick up the fallen trinkets, resettling them in their proper places. Another group of people comes up to me, blocking my line of sight, but I'm sure Takumi is fine. I certainly wouldn't want to fight him.
"Asaki?"
Huh. What are the odds? At the tail end of the group here to buy amulets are Kuwabara, Yukina, Keiko, and Kurama. I work my way through everyone before them, and by the time they reach the front, Kuwabara is grinning.
"Wow, Asaki, I almost didn't recognize you. You look so old-fashioned," he says.
"Don't be rude, Kuwabara," Keiko replies.
"If Asaki looks old-fashioned, what is that saying about us?" Yukina asks, frowning from herself to Keiko. Both girls are wearing kimono, their hair pinned up neatly. Keiko's is a royal blue with white wisps like snowflakes while Yukina's is white with flowers. I think they're absolutely adorable.
"N-nothing," Kuwabara replies, blushing.
"You could have worn a kimono as well, Kuwabara," Kurama says, drawing my attention to him. I'd been trying to avoid that because on a list of people who look perfectly natural in kimono, Kurama's at the top of that list. His is just a simple pale blue, but I'm not sure I've ever found him more attractive. Maybe it's the old demon in me, but I'm a sucker for traditional wear.
"No way!" Kuwabara sputters, his face red with embarrassment. "I can't wear a kimono! They're kind of girly." Kurama raises an eyebrow, and Kuwabara almost flinches. "W-well, not on you. I just…I mean, you look really manly, Kurama. Totally manly. You know what, I'm just going to go now." He walks away without buying anything, and I can't help but laugh.
"Poor thing," Keiko drawls, smiling wryly at me.
"There's nothing wrong with men wearing kimono," Yukina says. She sounds a little confused, and I wonder what she's thinking.
"Kuwabara has a strange sense of what makes a man," Kurama replies. "That aside, are you helping your cousins, Asaki?"
"Ah, yeah," I say. "They kind of sprang this on me, and I couldn't say no. It's been surprisingly boring."
"You look really cute in that," Keiko tells me, smiling.
"Thanks. It's not very comfortable, but at least I'll be able to say I've done it once. I haven't angered any gods by doing so, as far as I can tell. Do you guys want amulets?"
"Let's see," Keiko says. She grabs one for health, eyeballing it. "Better do this one. I got sick a lot last year."
"I don't think all of that was your fault," I reply, thinking about the Chapter Black incident and those demon insects.
"Still, I'd rather be safe than sorry."
"I'll take this one," Yukina says, also picking up a health amulet.
"Do you get sick a lot?" I ask.
"It's not for me," she replies. "There's someone I'm worried about. He's far away right now, and I want some good luck to keep him safe."
I'm not sure that's how these work, but I won't argue with her. "Okay, Yukina. I hope it helps."
"It will," she says, smiling brightly up at me. "I think I'm going to go find Kuwabara."
"I'll come with you. Kurama, catch up with us?"
"Of course," he replies, and then we're alone. Or as alone as we can be at a crowded shrine on New Year's. "How long are you here?"
"Hm? Oh, I don't know. Until someone tells me I can leave, I guess."
He frowns, picking up a charm for love. "Well, if you get a chance, you should come find me."
"Sure," I reply, surprised when he passes me money for the amulet. "You know that's for luck in love, right?"
"You say that as though you think I don't need it," he says, narrowing his eyes just a little.
"W-well, I…." My face has got to be as red as my pants right now, and I wish I could be anywhere else but here, talking about love luck with the one person I want in that way.
"I have a feeling that next year will be the year," he says, smiling in a way that makes my heart beat faster.
"I-is that so? Finally found your soulmate?"
"It's possible." He gives me a wave, and I watch him go, feeling like I've just been burned. What the hell does that mean? "Stupid fox."
"Was that Kurama?"
I jump at the sound of Takumi's voice, pressing a hand over my heart. "Dammit, you scared me!"
"Calm down," he deadpans, rolling his eyes. "If you're that lost in thought about him, then you're not doing your job."
"Hey, ease up," I grumble.
"Get out of here," Takumi says, bumping me with his hip. "I can take care of this. It's slowed down, and if I need help, I'll just grab Hino."
"But, I—"
"Go find him." He turns to a couple that have walked up, waving a hand at me, and I sigh, turning and chasing after Kurama. Stupid Takumi. I didn't even ask, but he knew exactly what I wanted.
I'd lost sight of him in the crowd, and there are so many bodies here that it's hard to get a proper hold on his energy. I feel like he's close, and it shouldn't be that hard to find someone with hair so red, but it's disorienting. Someone elbows me, and I stumble. I would have fallen if a hand hadn't found mine, pulling me out of the crowd.
"Careful," Kurama whispers in my ear, and my legs turn to jelly, nearly collapsing on the spot.
"S-sorry. I'm fine." We're standing off the main path where the crowd isn't as thick, which is good because I'm pretty sure the heat I'm giving off would melt a person.
"Are you free now?" he asks, still holding my hand. I swear his eyes are sparkling in the low light. It's hard to read the expression on his face, but I can't tell if that's because I'm still reeling or if he's being intentionally difficult.
"Y-yeah. Takumi let me off."
"Good. Want to walk with me?"
"Sure." This is the part where I expect him to drop my hand. He does not, however, instead leading the way through the crowd. People seem to step to one side for him, which I kind of envy. We weave our way easily to where Kuwabara, Keiko, and Yukina are standing, talking to Mayumi and Ai at their amazake stand.
Mayumi waves as we approach, and I see her eyes fall on Kurama's and my joined hands. She looks up at me, surprised, and I pull my hand from Kurama's, embarrassed. Why did I do that? Kurama doesn't look my way, so I can run the gamut of my emotions in peace. Stupid stupid stupid….
"Takumi send you away?" Ai asks as we approach.
"Yeah. He said he could handle it."
"What a martyr," she says. "I'm going to go check on him. You're all right, Mayumi?"
"Yeah. We're almost out of amazake anyway. When it's gone, I'm going to hang out with these guys."
"Sounds good. Thanks for all your help." She waves her goodbye, disappearing into the steady stream of people.
"Want some?" Mayumi asks, passing me a cup of the hot drink.
"I've never been a big fan," I reply, taking a sip. I'm sure it's warm, but I'm so hot right now it just feels like it's room temperature.
"You don't have to drink it," she says, handing Kurama a cup. "Nice kimono, by the way."
"Thank you," he replies. "Even if it isn't manly."
"Hey, cut me some slack!" Kuwabara cries, making Yukina and Keiko laugh.
"You should see Takumi," I tell him. "He's wearing hakama."
"But see, that's better than just a kimono."
"Are you saying if I can find a spare uniform, we can get you into it?" Mayumi asks, smiling mischievously.
"I didn't say that!" Kuwabara replies, looking incredibly embarrassed. "Come on, guys. Give me a break."
"Sorry," Mayumi says. "You're too fun to tease."
Yukina laughs again, and Kuwabara takes her hands in his, saying, "Not you too, Yukina, my darling."
Much to my surprise, she blushes, just a little. "Sorry, Kazuma," she says, smiling softly. "You are fun to tease."
"O-oh," he says, eyes wide with surprise. His own face tinges red, and he drops her hands, saying, "Well, you can tease me all you want."
"Someone's playing favorites," Mayumi says, grinning.
"Can't really blame him," I reply.
"Hey, you!" Out of nowhere, a woman, covered from head to toe, rushes up to us, pulling a table out of who knows where, slamming it down, and slapping some white papers on the top. She's wearing the same purple kimono and head scarf as last year, and I can't help but laugh at her antics.
"Botan, you're not fooling anyone," I tell her, smiling.
"Well, I think it's fun," she says, pulling off the scarf and pouting something fierce. "I haven't seen all of you in ages, and I wanted an excuse."
"You don't need an excuse to come see us, Botan," Keiko says. "We're friends."
"Oh, you," she replies, a big smile stretched across her face. "I've come bearing fortunes if you're brave enough this year."
"Do you guys…know this lady?" Mayumi asks, leaning over her counter toward us.
"Is that Mayumi?" Botan says, clapping her hands together. "How adorable!"
"Um, thanks?"
"Mayumi, this is Botan. She's a really good friend of ours," I say.
"Nice to meet you?" Mayumi looks seriously confused, and I don't blame her. I'm so used to the reaper's antics that this feels like business as usual to me.
"I'm ready for it this year!" Kuwabara cries, snatching one of the fortunes from the table. "Hey, I got 'awesome luck!'"
"Congrats," I say as the others go for their fortunes. Even Mayumi, after I coax her a little, comes to get one.
"What about you?" Mayumi asks after reading off her "good luck" fortune to me.
"After last year, I think I'm good," I reply.
"Well, tough cookies, because this one is for you," Botan says, slapping one into my hands.
"Botaaaaan," I whine.
"I worked hard on these," she says, frowning. "It's the only fun I get to have all year, what with Koenma breathing down my neck all the time."
"Did she just say 'Koenma?'" Mayumi asks, eyes wide.
"Oh, uh, yeah." I shoot Botan a dirty look, which she returns with one of chagrin. While she explains things to Mayumi, I grimace down at my fortune. "Mixed luck" yet again. Most of it looks good. Academics and money are fine like last year. Health is coming in at poor again, with a warning that "trouble will find you, no matter how hard you try to avoid it." Fun. Surprisingly, my luck with love doesn't have any word associated with it, just a statement that says "go for it."
"How is it?" Kurama asks, leaning over my shoulder.
"None of your business," I reply, folding it up and sticking it in my sleeve, a smile on my face. He raises an eyebrow at me, but I don't offer anything more.
"All right," he says. "Then I won't share mine either."
"I think I'll live," I tell him as Mayumi grabs my arm. "Hey!"
"You didn't tell me you knew a little Enma and the grim reaper!" she cries, eyes very wide.
"I could fill a well with the things you don't know about me," I reply, shrugging.
"Well, now's as good a time as any to spill," she says. "What other crazy deities do you know?"
"None, I swear. Unless you count that one time I ran into a king of Demon World."
"A what now?"
Grinning like an idiot, I slide out of her grasp, saying, "Oh, nothing. Nothing at all." Go for it, huh? Maybe I will.
A/N: Go for it! Go for it! Go for it! I can't be the only one chanting that. That is all XD
Thanks for reading, and a special thanks to firemadein789, MasqueradeStar11, Sammie, and Layla1234567 for the reviews!