Part 3: Chapter 11
Sadly, I do not own the anime: Noragami.
Time: The next morning.
Sitting atop the roof of a small house, Hiyori watched the triad of lights that reached into a bright-blue sky, forming a tall, slender, glowing pyramid that could be seen for miles. It'd been like that when she'd arrived, and it seemed like it would stay that way for a bit longer. She, on the other hand, was well past the time when she would normally be returning to her body, and deep into the time she would usually spent studying. Yet she was driven to see how it ended. She checked the time and allowed herself fifteen more minutes at max.
I wish I could understand what she's saying, Hiyori mused, referring to the girl, Melody, who sat within the triangle. The girl's voice barely reached across the distance, but Hiyori could tell she was in no danger of becoming an Ayakashi. From the time Hiyori had started to watch, the girl's strong and steady voice had conveyed embarrassment, but not despair. On the other hand, it's probably best that I don't, Hiyori admitted. She's confessing sins done while with abominations. It not something she would want anyone to hear. And I have a bad enough time trying to get those dead kids out of my mind. And the look on those gods' and regalia's faces when they died. Sometimes it's best not to know something.
For a few moments she looked away from the ablution to stare into the morning sky, enjoying the warmth of the rising sun. Then, with great reluctance, she turned her thoughts back to more pressing matters.
Now, how to pay for it all, Hiyori wondered. With my allowance it would've taken me a 'mere' four-hundred-and fifty-two weeks to pay back what I owe Kofuku. With another two million added to that, it's over a thousand weeks. Or twenty years. That's if I pay them a third of my allowance. Of course it won't actually take that long. In less than ten years I'll graduate high school, finish med school, and get a well-paying job at the hospital. But still, . . . .
Her cellphone vibrated and she pulled it out. A text read:
'Your mother is checking up on you.'
It seems like I got a partner in crime. Hiyori grinned, and with one last look at the ablution raced across the morning landscape to her body.
She arrived to see her mother, pale looking, standing and staring at her body. A few feet behind her stood Yua with her hands in her pockets, looking small and scared.
"Morning," Hiyori said, opening her eyes. "Am I late for breakfast?" Looking to the side of her mother, she flashed a smile at her sister.
"Not yet." Her mother looked around, ran a hand through her immaculate hair, and sighed.
The sheer tiredness of the sigh caused Hiyori to cringe. Frig! she told herself with the voice of her conscience also sounding tired. I'm really bad at being mad at people. Despite what she did, when she's like this I can only worry, and feel guilty.
"By the way, thanks," Hiyori said, speaking to her sister.
Yua looked confused, then her eyes dropped to where Hiyori discreetly tapped her phone. The girl's confusion increased, but she also started to look less worried.
Hmm. You know, it is pretty crazy to phone someone who's comatose. I wonder if maybe she thought it was a joke, that I would tease her over actually doing it. That she did so would imply she . . . trusts me? Filled with a warm glow, Hiyori turned her attention back to her mother who'd been quiet for too long.
"Your brother phoned," the woman said a few seconds later.
"What's wrong?" Hiyori demanded, fear now flooding her mind, wiping away that warm glow. Her mother's tone had screamed that something wasn't quite right.
"Oh, nothing." The woman looked around. "But he did suggest that he would like to take you and your sister out to dinner tonight."
Puzzled, Hiyori frowned. Something is definitely wrong, she told herself, nervously chewing her lower lip.
"Hiyori Iki, stop doing that," her mother commanded, and Hiyori smiled. She now knew something was wrong, but that it wasn't enough to deter her mother's attention to such unladylike details.
"By the way, how much do you think I would get if I sold my body?" she asked her mother, suppressing a grin.
"Hiyori Iki!" the woman bellowed, and Hiyori let the grin show.
"Just wondering. I need money, and since there are no nearby casinos I'm desperate." She looked over at her sister. "Little sis, you know any way to make some quick cash?"
For a few moments her sister just stared, eyes wide as she glanced between Hiyori and her mother. Then it seemed that she finally understood that it was a joke. "Cans," she suggested.
Now it was Hiyori's turn to looked puzzled for a few seconds. Then she recalled that her sister had made money collecting beverage cans to recycle. "How many to make three-and-a-half million yen?" she asked.
Yua eyes looked distant for a few seconds. "Two million, two-hundred-and-seventeen thousand and change," the girl replied.
"Oh. That would take a while." Hiyori look up at the ceiling. Yeah, pretty sure when she's ready, her grades will be nothing but straight As. She grinned, proud of her sister. But I wonder how long would it take to collect that many cans. She did the calculations and sighed. Jeepers, that's a bit too long
"Maybe I'll look into bank robbing," Hiyori told them. "At least five hours a day for two years, weekends included? That's a bit too much."
"Hiyori Iki!" Her mother's tone suggested she'd best stop teasing her.
"So, um, why does he want to take us out to dinner?" Hiyori asked.
Her mother turned away. "You'll have to discuss that with him," she said. "Now, young lady, get ready for breakfast."
Hiyori, having already dressed and washed before going out to watch the ablution, stood. She patted her sister on the head and followed them to where her father sat eating his breakfast. That too told Hiyori something was wrong. The glee that usually showed in his eyes at eating wasn't quite as bright as it should be. And he was tapping his left, index finger on the table. Frig! Hiyori told herself.
Morning classes fled by all too fast and lunch arrived.
"Any job suggestions?" Hiyori asked.
"Hmm." Akira studied the girl from across the table, then nodded, seemingly satisfied. "You got what it takes to be a prostitute," she said. "I bet Eiko would be willing to be your first customer." She paused, looking thoughtful. "And the second, and the third," she added. "And the fourth, . . . . You catch my drift."
Hiyori looked at her so-called friend who'd deliver the suggestion with a dead serious expression, wondering if this was how her mother felt when she and her father teased her.
"I disagree," Aimi said, also looking the topic of discussion over, face also dead serious. "Why give away the whole package when she can be a stripper. She's already got some experience in that field." Aimi looked over at a blushing Eiko. "Of course Eiko would still be her first customer, and her second, and her third, . . . ." She looked back at Hiyori. "Anyway, you catch my drift."
Sheesh, did they practice that line, Hiyori wondered as she picked at her vegetable salad with her chopsticks, all too aware of Eiko's gaze and the way the girl was blushing. I bet she's having some . . . um . . . interesting thoughts right now," Hiyori thought, amused. I wonder what they are. If only she was a he. Hiyori sighed. Can I be normal if I haven't had a serious crush yet? I'm sure Akira and Aimi have, and I 'know' Eiko has. The later she couldn't help but smile at.
"Any serious suggestions," she asked.
"Photography," Akira suggested.
Hiyori looked up. "Photography?"
Aimi nodded. "I bet the boys would pay at least a thousand yen for a pic of you. I mean, I'm sure the rumors have already peaked their interest."
"Don't forget Eiko," Aikira said. "She'll want the first pic, and the second, and the thir-"
"I get the picture," Hiyori retorted. "No pun intended." She looked over at a red-faced Eiko. "Any serious suggestions?" she asked, almost pleading.
"I'll take a pic if you go that route," the girl replied, face blood red. She looked at Hiyori from the corner of her eyes, appearing to be a bit nervous.
Hiyori sighed. "Noted," she said, "knowing she was defeated." Using her chopsticks, she picked a tiny radish out of her salad and bit down on it.
"Is there a way you could make money with that kick boxing stuff?" Akira asked. "Competitions."
"Not really. Low level competitions don't pay, and it wouldn't be right."
"Why wouldn't it be right?" Akira asked, picking at her own vegetable salad.
Hiyori shrugged.
"There are competition between magicians," Eiko said with a dead serious expression. "Maybe that. Or maybe get a job as a magician."
Taking a bite of rice and following it with some miso soup, Hiyori gave the suggestion some thought. "It wouldn't feel right," she finally replied.
"Why not?" Eiko asked, curious.
"Other than a basic fee as a priestess, do you take money for what you do?" Hiyori asked, ignoring the way Akira and Aimi rolled their eyes. "I'm sure you could ask for some huge amounts for healing."
"It wouldn't be right," Eiko immediately replied. "Ianuaria expects us to take a fee. We do need to live after all. But if we got too greedy she would turn away. We're supposed to be available to everyone who needs us."
The petite, black-haired girl picked at her tofu with her chopsticks. "And it could be dangerous to draw too much attention," she added.
Hiyori waited.
"Oh." Eiko looked up. "Is that why?"
"Too much attention is bad. For one I can't explain how I do those tricks." Hiyori let her left hand lay flat on the table, then let her spirit hand rise. She took a small radish from her salad, wondering just how many radishes were in it, then tossed it at a watching Akira. She repeated it with Aimi. Then she let the hand return to its rightful place.
"We'll make you explain one day," Akira said, picking the radish out of her hair.
"We will," Aimi agreed, frowning at the way her hair had been discolored by the offensive projectile.
Hiyori grinned, knowing that to her three friends the radishes would've seemed to appear out of thin air. She also knew should she ever give an explanation, that only Eiko would believe it.
"Then there's the fact that Magicians work hard for years to perfect a trick, and here I would be pushing them out of the way with tricks I learned without all that effort. It would be like cheating."
"Oh." Eiko nodded. "But you do practice," she pointed out. "A lot."
"I do," Hiyori admitted, "but not in the same way." She shrugged.
"Oh, I see." Eiko took another bite of tofu and swallowed. "You can do exorcisms," she suggested. "It would be okay to ask for a fee there." She glanced at her friend and grinned. "Especially since you don't need a god to do it, and there's very little competition. It'll be mostly the toes of frauds you'll be stepping on."
"It would be introducing my family to a world that I don't want to." Hiyori answered. "Those frauds would be curious, and they would say stuff that could come back to my family."
"Oh." Eiko looked disappointed. She'd clearly hoped to win favor with her crush.
Hiyori sighed. Some good suggestions, she noted, feeling like kicking herself. It feels like I'm just making excuses though when I knock them all down so easily.
"Hmm." Akira raised her hand, grinning. "I have the perfect job for you," she said, failing to hide her smirk.
"What is it?" Hiyori asked, cringing.
"We have a school festival coming up. You could sell kisses at it." Akira looked at Eiko. 'I'm sure Eiko would be willing to be your first customer, and your second and thir-"
"I get it," Hiyori said, doing a facepalm. Still she grinned at her friends' teasing, knowing the time would come when she would be able to tease them back.
Hours later, upon entering the practice field for her club, Hiyori sensed something different about the sweating, grunting mass of gathered students. For a while she stood watching them, not willing to empty the field of them until she knew what it was.
They aren't looking at me as much, she noted, feeling relieved. Usually soon as I poke my nose through the gate there's glances, and stares, and whistles, and rude suggestions, and even ruder pick-up lines. Sheesh. I wonder if they were trying to pick me up, or turn me off guys. I'm sure Eiko would love the later.
She walked past the students to come to a stop in front of Milo. She looked back at the students, then caught his eye, her eyebrow raised.
"I had a talk with them," he explained, looking nervous. "If they give you any more trouble, let me know." He took a deep breath. "Just don't make them leave, please."
Hiyori smiled. About time, she told herself. Now I only need to worry about the dozen or so girls who are jealous that he spends practice time sparring with me. I wonder what they find so attractive. Sure he has muscles. And he's incredible at martial arts. And he's certainly got a presence. But he's also almost three times our age. Yuck! But then they are martial arts fanatics; they practically worship it. So maybe they see him as god? Oh well. Wait, . . . is that how Akira and Aimi see me when I mention Touno?
Three hours later she headed home, feeling good. While she'd got a sense of satisfaction from messing with the club's teacher, it'd also made her feel bad. There were students who wanted to compete, and she'd caused them to lose four hours of instruction time. Now, she happily mused, my only real problem is three-point-five million yen. But that's not something that worries me too much; it's just a problem to work on. With the way regalia talk about them, who would've thought a Nora would take such a relaxed view on two million yen.
Walking in the door she yelped as someone grabbed her and gave her a hug.
Her bother, Masaomi, grinned at her. "Normally I would say you're my favorite sister, but now that I got two." He looked at Yua, then back at Hiyori, and shrugged, still grinning.
"What? I'm being demoted again," Hiyori yelped, glaring at Yua who took a fearful step back. Hiyori hurried to grin at her sister, letting her know it was a joke.
Her brother ruffled her hair, and she felt like she was five again. "Welcome home," she said, then turned to look at her mother. "With three of us here, but only two bedrooms, are you kicking me out?" She tried to look crestfallen.
"Hiyori Iki," her mother said, then shook her head.
"I'm sure we could find room for you in, um, maybe the kitchen cupboards," her father interjected.
"How well do I need to dress?" Hiyori asked, feeling euphoric at seeing her family all together again.
"The best," her brother said. "It's not often I get a chance to spoil my little sister." He paused. "I should say little sisters, now, shouldn't I? Are you going to spoil her as much as I spoiled you."
"Heaven forbid," her mother exclaimed. "You're the reason she didn't turn out ladylike." She glared at her only son, then turned to also glare at her husband. "You and your father," she amended.
Feeling as if she was in spirit form, Hiyori headed off to her room grinning. Yua hurried to follow, heading to her own room, looking terrified.
"Hmm," Hiyori mused as she considered her options. She so rarely had to dress up that she had no suitable clothes. "Hmm," she mused again, feeling giddy. Maybe what I took for worry this morning was just mom and dad being ecstatic at him coming home, the girl told herself, hoping.
Black jeans and my best red blouse, she decided a few moments later. And maybe earrings for the occasion? Not one to spend an hour getting ready, Hiyori slid her door shut behind her less than five minutes later. Recalling how frightened her sister had looked, she tapped on the girl's door.
The door opened an inch to show a single brown eye. Even with such a small view Hiyori could tell something was wrong? "You okay?" she asked.
Her sister nodded.
"Hmm." Hiyori grinned. "You know, sometimes you suck as bad as me at lying, and other times you're a pro. This time you're like me."
Yua considered the words, looked behind her, then back at Hiyori.
"Wondering what to wear?" Hiyori asked.
Yua paused, then nodded.
A half-truth, Hiyori realized, stepping in the room. "I've never really dressed up for such occasions," she told her sister. "And neither does my brother. Just so long as the clothes isn't faded or ripped, it's okay."
She looked where her sister had her dresser open, then at the closet which was also open. While her sister now had more clothes then she'd probably had in her whole life, the girl never told them what she liked. So what she had was mainly what she needed, and a few items of what they thought she might like. "I know," she said, grinning at her sister. "Let's dress the same like sisters might?"
Again Yua paused, then nodded.
"Red shirt," Hiyori said, taking one from the closet racks. "And black pants," she added, taking a pair of black jeans from the dresser. Do sisters ever dress alike like this, she wondered. Twins might, but that's because they look alike. Oh well. Doesn't matter so long as she's happy.
She left the room and waited. When her sister came out Hiyori grabbed her and pulled her into her own room. "Wait," she said, and rummaged through stuff she'd kept, but never expected to ever use again. Minutes later she pulled out a box and produced a pair of clip-on earrings featuring Amu Hinamori, the main character of the anime Shugo Chara.
Kneeling beside her sister, she clipped them on and stood back to examine her work, then nodded in satisfaction.
"If I have to leave, will I have to go back with my father?"
For several seconds Hiyori froze, the words bouncing around in her head. "Yua, how could you think that?" she asked, her stomach twisting itself into knots. She pulled the frightened girl in for another hug. "You're my sister, and you're here to stay until you've finished high school, and since there's so many colleges close by, probably until you've graduated college as well."
She let go of her sister and stood back to look her in the eye. "Much as I wish he was staying, I'm sure he's not. And if he was, you could stay with me until mom and dad made one of the other rooms into a bedroom, or built an extension to the house. I was just teasing mom about my being kicked out. Don't take it too serious, okay?"
The girl didn't say anything, but did seem to be considering the words.
Hiyori reached out to tuck a lock of her sister's hair behind her ear. "Yua, your father is in jail, and he'll be there for thirty years. Nothing will change that. And if he does get out I'll . . . ." What will I do, Hiyori asked herself, fuming as she thought about the man. "I'll fix it so that either he goes back, or can never can hurt you again."
Her sister looked dubious, but nodded.
"Nearly identical," her brother said when he saw them, but the words sounded strange, and he looked away as if in pain, and close to tears.
Puzzled, Hiyori could only try to shrug off a sense of foreboding. Her apprehension only increased when her mother took a look at the two of them, tried to smile, and left the room. Her father then quickly followed her mother out, looking worried.
Half-an-hour later, faced with excessively decorative, and excessively complicated, and totally incomprehensible menus, both she and Yua let their brother order for them.
"Why do I need to speak a language from a country that's ten thousand kilometers away in order to be able to order a meal?" Hiyori asked.
"Any other language would disrupt the atmosphere," her brother replied, smiling at her.
"Since when can you speak French."
Now her brother paused. "I think that's a story for another time," he told her. "And when you're older."
"How old do I need to be to know how you came to speak a language?" Hiyori asked, curious.
He shrugged and smiled.
When the food came, Hiyori could only stare. When she brought what looked to be miso soup to her lips to drink, her brother shook his head and frowned. He also frowned when she tried eating the bread. And when she tried to eat with the larger of two fork. And then when she tried the smaller fork. And when she tried to eat with a spoon. And when she placed the bread she wasn't allowed to eat on her plate.
After half-a-dozen more frowns, Hiyori decided enough was enough. Heedless of her brother, she took a fork and tried to eat with the unfamiliar instrument. When her brother again frowned, she shrugged and glared at him. When he looked away, she grabbed the glass beside his plate and took a sip.
"Yuck. People actually drink that?" Hiyori asked, looking at the glass she held.
"My sister, the alcoholic," he said, smiling as he took the glass from her fingers. "Other than the foreign etiquette, how's the food?"
"Strange, but good. It's nice to try something new." She smiled. "Thanks for bringing us here. Yua seems to think it's good too," she added, looking at her sister who was busy with a knife and fork.
The girl looked up, her brown eyes looking first at Hiyori, then her brother, then back to Hiyori.
Beaming a smile at her sister and brother, Hiyori again pushed her sense of foreboding aside. Life is great, she told herself. Wondering if the tiny . . . something . . . was finger food, she picked one up and popped it in her mouth. From the table next over there was a gasp, and she looked to see a man and woman staring at her. Guess not, she thought, grinning, and took another.
Two hours later, full and happy, she'd just shut her bedroom door when she heard a tap.
"Come in."
Her brother entered and looked around, his eyes not meeting hers. After his examination of her room, he turned to face her.
"From what mom has said, I expected to see someone totally unrecognizable, but you haven't changed at all."
"Changed? In what way?" Hiyori asked,
"Hearing her talk, the odds were fifty/fifty that you were an invader from Mars."
Hiyori blinked. "Huh?"
"When they didn't find any alien DNA, she let the idea go."
"Huh?" Hiyori shook her head, then realized her brother was joking. "Maybe I'm from another dimension," she suggested. "Then the DNA might still be human."
Her brother gave it some thought, then nodded. "That would explain a lot. But you're still you. They might get the DNA the same, but you would act different." He shrugged and grinned at her. "Since you're always reasonable, you've never really come into any conflict with mom and dad. You know, for a while when you were younger they thought you might be timid, or shy. You hung back when in a group, and you tended to do what others wanted. That wasn't the case, of course. You were usually just content to listen in and go with the flow. But when you had a point to make, you never hesitated to make it clear. At times you were a force of nature to be reckoned with, but that's a side of you they rarely saw."
"I know I've been causing them quite a bit of trouble lately," Hiyori admitted. "And I've been worrying them."
"You're more secretive," her brother said.
"Just on the issue of my sleeping spells," Hiyori replied.
"Why?"
Hiyori blinked at the blunt question. "There's nothing they can do. And mom freaked out when I cut my palm during club practice. A rather serious cut, but just a cut none-the-less. You know what she did?"
"I do. I wish someone had taped it."
Struck speechless, Hiyori glared daggers at her bother.
"The look on your face must've been priceless." He grinned.
"I bet," Hiyori muttered. "Anyway, if I were to tell her why I go comatose like that, she would worry. And I can't tell dad because it would be cruel to have him keep it a secret from mom. So I usually try to keep quiet on it."
"Oh. And this?" Her brother held up her fake id.
Hiyori let her body settle down, then rushed forward in spirit form to snatch the id away. When the scrap of plastic seemed to teleport to her hand, her brother frowned, looking from his hand to hers and back.
"I really have no excuse for that," Hiyori admitted. "I didn't even actually need it, so it was 2500 yen wasted."
He shrugged. "Neat trick. Where did you learn it?"
Hiyori looked down at her hands and the fake id, wondering how to reply. A lie would not get past her brother.
"I see." Her brother sat on the edge of the bed. "No big changes like mom said there were. That's a relief." He patted her on the head, then looked away. "Even if she did something like . . . what she did, you need to go easy on her."
"I'm trying. But what if she does something like that again. Do you know what it's like to walk onto that practice field?"
"I can imagine." He paused. "Okay, actually I can't. And she might try something like it again."
"Why? And what do I do if she does?"
"You do your best to cope. And try not to get into situations where it could happen."
"Why? Shouldn't I get angry? I mean, if there's no other way to stop her, then what else can I do? I can't just ignore it."
He grinned at her. "Why, you ask? That's the question they're asking you, and you seem to think it's best if they don't know. What if you were in their position? Would you want to be told?"
Hiyori frowned. "They have no secrets from me," she insisted, knowing it to be true.
"Would you want to be told?" he asked again, tone now serious and sad.
"I don't know." She pushed herself up. "But it's my life she's affecting. I need to know if I'm to accept stuff like that and not get angry. I keep stuff hidden from them about those sleeping spells, but I don't expect them to just let it slide. Much as I hate it, I know they'll worry, and even keep me in hospital for weeks at a time. I know there are consequences to not telling. If I don't have enough information to know why she would do something like that, I can't do anything other than get angry, just like they can't do anything other than worry."
"I see." Her brother looked down at his hands. "So, is that a yes."
Hiyori thought on it for a while, replaying the whole stripping scene in her mind. I don't want that to ever happen again, she told herself. If it did, I would need a good reason not to get angry and get in a shouting match with her, and . . . . I don't know what. This isn't like when I 'accidentally' get nude in front of the gods and regalia. They're respectful, and the regalia can't be anything but least their rude behavior become a sin and sting their god. But on that field, the leers, and the rude comments, and . . . . Frig!
"Yes," she finally said. "I don't want to fight with her, and if that ever happens again, I would need a good excuse not to."
He nodded. "I see."
For a while they sat in silence. He starring at the ceiling, she at him, waiting for his explanation.
"Frig!" her brother said when the silence had grown too long. "I don't know how to put this, except be blunt. She's lost two kids-"
"What?" Hiyori looked at her brother. Inside her stomach roiled, and she knew she didn't want to hear what came next. Her intuition had already told her."
"You were a part of triplets," her brother continued. "The other two were stillborn."