Disclaimer: Shin Megami Tensei: Persona belongs to ATLUS. Touhou Project belongs to Zun. I have no ownership of the copyrights of either series in any way.
Edit Posted on 7/8/2021
Chapter 4: Bond with the Wind I
"So why don't you introduce yourself then."
"Hello, my name is Minato Arisato. I like listening to music. I don't have really much anything else to say. Please take care of me."
"Alright then. Just so you know-"
I kept the sigh as quiet as I could. There the teacher goes rambling again. It might be something important, but more often than not it hasn't been. He is an older, more experienced teacher, but that just makes it even duller. Not exactly the most glamorous way for the Deified Human of the Wind to start her first year of high school. Well Sanae Kochiya, you've got your work cut out for you. I think they call it sophomore year in America, but what the heck even is a sophomore? First year high schooler is much easier to say and keep track of.
"So with that out of the way, Arisato-kun you will sit… there, next to Kochiya-san! If you could raise your hand Kochiya-san." So the transfer student will be sitting next to me. Well the open seat was nice while it lasted. I raised my hand as asked, and as soon as I did that he turned his gaze towards me. Of course also looked back at him. It was in this moment that I finally took a good look at him.
I passed a glance when he walked in with the teacher, and he didn't really stand out. He had a slim build and was quite androgynous. His dark blue hair drooped all over the place, giving him an 'emo' look, and his eyes were a very interesting shade of lavender that probably would be striking had they not looked so... absent. Even while I looked at him now as he approached the empty seat beside me, he didn't look like anything special.
He took his seat and turned to me saying, "I'm Minato Arisato. Let's get along." The way he said it sounded well practiced. Probably a result from moving around so much if the gossip going around was to be believed. At least he was polite if nothing else.
"Sanae Kochiya, likewise." This is probably the most I'll talk to him. He doesn't look like much of a social butterfly.
"Good. Now today will just be focused on some introductory materials about your new status as high schoolers as well as how the year is generally going to go. Formal lectures and actual lessons will start tomorrow so be sure to-"
I couldn't help but heave another sigh. Even though I'm in high school now, things still haven't really changed like they do in anime. Sure we just got a transfer student, but it's not like he's got special powers or something like that. If anything he seems totally normal, if just a bit absent minded.
The teacher continued on with how it was our duty as students to learn and some other nonsense that really is important, but I couldn't give any effort to care about. I looked to my side to find that at some point… how did he all asleep so fast? He was completely knocked out and at the distance I was at, it was clear that he was snoring too. Typical… my eyes rolled. Just how do you fall asleep on the first day? Oh well, not my problem. Eventually, the teacher did finish, though he never did catch Arisato.
"Alright, well with that, everything is said and done. I'll see you all tomorrow and be sure not to get in trouble okay? Good-bye, and take care on the way home." The teacher than walked out of the room and the moment he did, everyone started to move.
"Man he is so old, wanna bet if you think he's going to croak in the middle of class?" Classy, you just got to love the youth of the generation. The teacher then hastily popped back in to the class and began to speak.
"Kochiya-san, would you mind coming out here to see me?" Another sigh… I saw this coming from a mile away. He then walked back out, but I could hear his footsteps stop abruptly, no doubt waiting for me to come outside.
"Wow, and it's the first day too." I could overhear a conversation going on near the far corner.
"Jeez, just what did that girl do? Is she a delinquent? She's got the hair for it." So what if I have green hair? It's not like it lets me break rules or something, though I certainly wouldn't mind the money… I've been watching too much western stuff.
"Hey wait. The old fart said Sanae Kochiya, as in that Sanae Kochiya?"
"Wait. Isn't Kochiya that girl? The one that all the adults…?"
"Yeah, that's the one."
"What's so special about her?"
"I hear that because she was born and raised in that old shrine on the hill despite the fact that there is no one there, that all the adults treat her like she's a goddess." I am a goddess, well half at least. "But if you ask me, it's a load of bull." It isn't…
"Yeah, seriously. She's just an attention whore. Someone should knock her down a peg." I'm sighing a lot today. I'd hoped that once I entered high school that all this would stop, but I guess not. It's not like it's outright bullying, as I assume their parents keep them from doing such, but it's still disheartening. I looked to my side, and I don't know what I was feeling but it seemed strange to see that Arisato was still out like a light.
"Hey, wake up!" I snapped my fingers to help get his attention. He opened his eyes slowly and then looked at me with a dazed expression on his face. He then seemed to realize just what was happening and quickly whipped his head up. "You got some drool on your mouth there." I pointed out to him. He then wiped his face like a little kid, sloppily just rubbing away until it was dry. Okay, so maybe he is a little cute.
"When did class end?" He still sounded out of it.
"Just now. Don't sleep in class."
"Sorry." He then stared out the window. I took this as my cue to leave, but just as I started to walk away he quickly turned to me and said, "Thanks for waking me up."
"Just don't sleep in class." I needed to see the teacher. I continued to walk out of the room to find the teacher standing right where I thought he'd be.
"Kochiya-sama it is an honor to teach you."
"I'm sure…" In this old town, the senior populations follow the old ways and still worship the shrine, the Moriya Shrine. Because of my seemingly miraculous birth there, they worship me. Honestly, I still don't know how I got there. I just know that that shrine has always been my home for as long as I could remember
"If there is anything you need Kochiya-sama, please do not hesitate to ask." He then bowed in reverence just as all the others do. When I see them like this, it's hard to not want to return their favor, but still I can't help but feel like I've gone a bit numb to it.
"I'll keep that in mind. Is this all?"
"Yes, Kochiya-sama. I'm sorry for taking your time." He stood back up, acting as if nothing had happened.
"Then, I'll be going." I turned to leave, but as I did so, I overheard more students gossiping.
"Did you see that? Looks like the rumors are true."
"Yeah. She's got all the old farts under her thumb, even my grandparents seem to worship her."
"Wonder what she did to get so much attention? Think she'll do the same for me if I slip her a few thousand Yen?"
"Dude that is sick. Besides, you wouldn't want any of that if it's the old coots she's got on a leash."
I said that the senior population in the town worships me as the goddess I am, but all of my peers as a general whole reject me. They don't understand and just make up stories even though they can just get the answer from their elders. It's also because of this that I don't really have any friends. Everyone just can't get past that hurdle. All my life I've never had anyone who would just walk up to me and go 'Hey be my friend'. To be fair, that isn't how friendship works, but a while ago I probably would have taken it.
Oh well. I don't need friends. I've been fine so far, and I'll be fine from now on.
It doesn't really matter. I proceeded to make my way home to just get this day over with. On the way I was met with the usual reactions. From all the seniors, I was acknowledged with the 'sama' honorific and I in turn showed my respect. Most of the kids my age just simply ignored me or stared at me in ways that I honestly couldn't care to describe. I just wanted to be home. My house is at the top of the hill that oversees the town. It isn't exactly a small countryside. It's an average city. Not Tokyo level, but it doesn't need to be.
After making the trek up the hill, I finally reached my house, the Moriya Shrine. It's your typical shrine. It has a gate, a donation box, the main building, and the works. It also has a few amenities to make living there bearable such as a kitchen and a few other normal rooms with electricity. Though I don't have much to compare to since I've never really been to anyone else's home. Still, its not like it's bad here.
"I'm home!" I yelled as I opened the door.
"Welcome back Sanae-chan." Suwako Moriya, one of the resident gods of the shrine, was the first to greet me at the entrance.
Suwako-sama is a very young-looking goddess, emphasis on the 'looking' part. She sported mid length blonde hair, and grayish gold eyes. She wore a purple dress that had large white sleeves and a collar that was much the same color. The dress had multiple frog prints on it scattered about that looked cute. On her legs were thigh high socks (I think grade A) that were tipped at the bottom by simple black shoes. Her most striking accessory that would draw anybody's eye though would be her hat. It looks simple enough, being light brown and wide brimmed, but it just has these two big frog eyes on the top that just keep staring. They're more cute than creepy so I don't mind, but I can see it unnerving some people.
"Sanae, you're back. How was your day?" And over there was the other resident God of the Moriya Shrine, Kanako Yasaka. Counting her, the shrine holds three goddesses. Kanako-sama right now was wearing her usual ornate red shirt with what appeared to be stitched on white sleeves. At the center of her chest was a round mirror that she wears for reasons unknown even to me. Below is a long black skirt that had an intricate red flower print at the hem.
Kanako-sama herself was a well-built woman with puffy blue hair and piercing red eyes. As expected of a goddess. She also wears a rope circlet that has a red leaf on the side upon her head. Normally, under different circumstances she would wear a large circular, twisting rope called a shimenawa which would also have square like papers attached called shide. However since she is at home, this was not the case.
"It was okay. We got a new transfer student, but he doesn't seem very special." I consider these two my parents because they have raised me since I was very little. I honestly don't know why the shrine houses three gods, but I'd be lonely without them. They're family.
"Now Sanae, don't be like that. Remember that every new person has the potential to be a follower. If possible I want you to see if you can garner faith from him as well." Gods work very differently than what conventional wisdom would have people believe. Faith and belief serve as power for Gods, sort of like a battery. The more faith, the more powerful they become. Inversely, a lack of faith will result in the god fading from power. As in literal transience; fading from existence. Faith is for these transient people
Right now, they only have enough to manifest a physical form to be seen, though this isn't very useful as they try to remain invisible from the general populace so as to remain hidden and generate a sense of mystery. Currently, only the older dying generation still worships them and myself. However the same can't be said of the youth. At this rate, things aren't looking good. I need to gather faith for them. If I don't then they will disappear and… well, I won't let that happen! This is my mission as the shrine maiden and fellow god.
"Right, Kanako-sama. I'll try." I sighed again.
"As you should. At the rate this is going both Suwako and I will disappear. I don't think I need to tell you the consequences. I know you are trying but to be frank, it's not enough."
"Now Kanako, be nice. Just ragging on is not getting us anywhere."
"I know Suwako but to be faced with one's own mortality is still a frightening experience."
This is a desperate situation. I know I have to work to garner faith as the shrine's only maiden and fellow goddess, but it just seems hopeless as nobody follows tradition any longer. I don't want them to disappear. They're the only family I know. The only people I can rely on. However, again, there is no one in my age group that is willing to follow the old ways. They just find it a bother and tend to ignore it. Because of that my only parents are essentially dying. Just what am I supposed to do?
"I'm sorry. It's been a long day. I'm going to rest in my room a bit before I get to work." Everyday it's all so much.
"Take your time." Thank you, Suwako-sama.
I finally trudged my way to my room. It was a simple room that was furnished like any other normal room in Japan. I threw my bag on to the chair and just flopped onto my bed. Right now it was still midday, so the sun was still in the sky, but all this stress just wears me out. I needed just a moment.
After resting, I spent the rest of the day performing my usual shrine duties such as cleaning and faith gathering (well, trying), and then returned home for dinner. Just as any other day, no one even paid any attention to me on the streets. Afterwards I returned to my room and lay on my bed.
"Just what should I do?" I asked no one in particular. I don't know why I felt the need to ask that. I didn't even follow up on it. I just turned the lights off and went to sleep. Hopefully, tomorrow will be okay, I thought to myself. I just have to believe in myself and my gods, right?
-0-0-4-0-0-
Over the course of the next two weeks, life was pretty bland. The rumors didn't stop but I never expected them to. Neither did the way the teachers treated me. Nothing has changed since middle school. Normally I would head straight home as I would usually, but today I have cleaning duty. Somehow or another I got stuck doing it with Arisato of all people.
He isn't a bad person by any means. If anything he just seems distant and stoic, though he's still polite. It's nice I guess to have someone who isn't treating me like a porcelain doll, or a slut. It's impossible for him to not have heard the rumors… or maybe it is. I don't see him hang out with other people, though maybe that's because he talks to me. Or perhaps he just doesn't care. All the same, it's kind of nice to have someone like that around.
Though… it's kind of weird. It's not like it's his fault or… well it can't be on purpose… what I mean is that he has the weirdest luck. Most of the time, he just sleeps in class and none of the teachers ever seem to notice, and when he isn't sleeping in class he always gets picked on at least once that day to answer a question by one of the teachers. He always gets it right too. What is with this guy? But oh well, so what? No harm, no foul. The final bell of the day just rang, and everyone left as soon as they could. I turned to see that today was one of his sleeping days.
"Oi! Wake up! We have cleaning duty." Even if we didn't, I usually am the one to wake him up. What am I? Deified human of alarm clocks? His eyes flickered a couple of times before he got up and stretched, which was then followed by a long drawn out yawn that made even me sleepy. Hold back… hold back…
"Is the day over again? Are there coffins?" Just what goes on in his head? Coffins? What was he dreaming about?
"Yeah. We have cleaning duty. Get up, the faster we do this the faster we can leave." I still haven't come up with a way to get faith for the shrine and If I don't do something soon then… I don't want to think about it. I can't waste my time doing this, but at the same time I can't shirk my responsibilities as a student.
"Whatever." There he goes again; it's like his catchphrase or something. He still gets up to grab the cleaning supplies out of the back locker regardless of his non-committal response. He hands me a broom and we get right to cleaning. For the first few minutes, there is nothing but the sound of sweeping. We don't even so much as look at each other. Suddenly, to my surprise however, he breaks the silence. "Thanks for waking me up every day. It means a lot to me." He's already thanked me before for this.
"If you really want to thank me, then stop sleeping in class." It's a miracle how you're still keeping up.
"I'll try, but it's just so easy to." I can't blame you for some of the lectures, but still…
"Can you at least try?"
"I'll think about it." I don't know why but that last one made me giggle a bit. I think it was the stupid little grin he made there. "I think that's the first time I heard you laugh."
"Really? Guess I haven't had much to laugh about in a while. Besides, that really wasn't much of a laugh to begin with." I guess we can have a conversation going.
"Still, it's more than nothing. You look cute when you laugh." Huh? Cute? Me? Uh… I… before I could get a response out, I think he also realized what I was feeling and said, "Sorry. That was out of line Kochiya-san."
"I-it's fine. Also you can just use Sanae." Am I really that cute? No, don't play with your hair.
"Okay, Sanae-san." I only nodded in response and refocused my attention on cleaning the room up. Silence returned, replacing the previous conversation with an awkward presence. Together, we were able to finish cleaning earlier than I expected us to. He can be a surprisingly hard worker. I looked outside to see that even though I said 'earlier', it still ended up taking quite a bit of time, so at that point I could see the sun was already mostly below the horizon.
"Well good job today. I guess we can leave now." We both grabbed our bags and walked to the front of the school. "See you tomorrow," I said as I turned to leave when suddenly, Arisato spoke up and said-
"Let me walk you home. It's getting late." How… kind. Clichéd definitely, but it's still a kind gesture. However-
"You don't need to do that. I'll be fine on my own." It's not like I know you very well. You and I have only talked a few times, today included. Not only that, but I'll be fine on my-
"Well, let me do it anyways. I want to repay you for all those times you woke me up. Please let me." Does it really mean that much to him?
"I'll let you know I live quite a ways away." I suppose it couldn't hurt.
"That's fine. I'm used to being up late." Maybe you shouldn't be so used to it... not that I can talk with all the late-night anime. I turned around to start walking and he followed up. Well this is going to get awkward fast if I don't say anything. I should probably start a conversation of some sort.
"So how have you been adjusting to school?" Something basic to start us off should be fine.
"It's the same as usual."
"Okay… so do you move around a lot then? Do your parents change jobs a lot or something?" To be so used to it must mean that it happens quite a bit.
"I do move around a lot. I get sent from one relative to the other due to the fact that my parents died in a car crash when I was ten. Oh right I forgot to tell you. My parents are dead." Huh? That's not something you usually say with a tone of 'did I leave the oven on'. That's… uh…
"Sorry, I didn't know." Talk about a faux pas. I hope I didn't upset him.
"It's fine. I'm so used to it that I forget sometimes that it's supposed to be a big deal." Supposed to be?
"How can you be so mellow about everything?" It's sort of unnerving actually.
"You just learn to live with it I guess."
"I suppose that's true in a way." It's his normal…
"Though I have been told I'm a bit too carefree."
"I'd be surprised if you weren't." At least someone told him.
"Well now that I've said my piece, mind if I hear yours?" Now he was the one asking life questions.
"Um… sure. As you probably heard from the rumors, my family owns the shrine on the hill. I work there as a shrine maiden." He was silent and for a moment I thought that he was dozing off or something so when I turned to him I was shocked to find that he was instead staring at me intently; so much so in fact that I sort of flinched. I didn't know he could be so attentive.
"Are you okay? Do you want to stop?"
"I'm fine. I'll continue." I took a moment to catch my breath. "So then… then… actually that was all I wanted to say to be honest. I don't really have much else." I can't tell him about my anime and manga. That's just too embarrassing. Great now I've made an even bigger fool of myself.
"That's fine." He smiled and shrugged. I don't know why but as stupid and honestly out of place as it was, I felt… happy that he left it at that. We just continued on and even though it was quiet, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Eventually we did make it to my house.
"Well, here we are." It had gotten dark so the only lights that were on were the streetlamps and the ones coming from my shrine.
We just looked at each other for a bit before he asked, "So I guess see you tomorrow?"
"Yeah…" This got really awkward. After a brief moment of silence I just said, "Bye," and made my way home. Just as I was about to make it out of sight Minato yelled out-
"By the way! You can just call me Minato!" I could still hear him loud and clear. I think this is the loudest I've ever heard him say anything.
"Sure! Goodnight Minato-san!" I yelled back. Why am I so responsive to him? Actually, why is he so friendly at all? I wondered these thoughts as I finally managed to make it back home. I decided to put these thoughts on the back burner. I'm just tired, that's all.
-0-0-4-0-0-
The next few days we didn't really talk to each other all that much. Sure there was the usual little ritual of waking him up and other typical pleasantries, but besides those, not much had changed. Oh right. He and I now refer to each other by our first names now, but we still add honorifics. It's not much, but it's more than I could say for anyone else my age.
Lunch break started, and I was already making my way towards the roof top. Opening the door, it was empty as usual. It's normally forbidden to students, but they let me up here. It's one of the few ways I make use of my status so deliberately.
I like eating up here because it's so easy to feel the wind. The breeze is something I always like to be in contact with if I can. Wind is my domain, my element. I can control it with ease, though sometimes it acts up when I get a bit emotional. I've done my best to control it, but it can get the better of me when I'm not careful.
When I made my way her today, I noted that the stares and talks about me behind my back had subsided somewhat. They still made glances my way every now and then, but on the whole they seemed to have moved on to other things to talk about. I guess you can only be the hot topic for so long. Wish it would have happened sooner, but it's nice that it happened all the same.
I looked through the fence that surrounded the roof. The familiar sight of the empty track field was enough to prompt me to start eating. As I opened my boxed lunch, I heard the door to the roof open up. Surprised I quickly whipped my head to see who it was. I don't know if I was happy or not, but I felt something when I saw just who came to eat lunch up here.
"Oh, Sanae-san. I didn't know you were up here," He stated in his usual, drowsy way. I was about to retort that he shouldn't be up here, but I don't think I want to explain to him why I was allowed to eat on the roof. No… I don't think I'll explain at all. He seemed to be thinking about something for a few seconds before finally asking, "Do you mind if I eat up here with you?"
"Go ahead." I don't mind his company, and if the teachers ask, that will just be another thing I'll use my status to leverage. At least he wasn't part of the rumors when classes started. In fact I think he slept through most of it. He then walked up to me and sat to my left before staring out at the town.
"It's a good view." As always he says things in a succinct manner. He then opened up the plastic bag that held his bread before continuing with, "Do you come here often?"
"I eat up here every day. It just feels so nice to feel the wind blowing." It's practically a part of me, so I always feel better with, than without. Seeing him bite into his bread, I too began to eat my lunch and we continued in silence as we looked over the town together. Together… I think this the first time I've eaten lunch at school with someone else before. I turned to my side to find that Minato was once again beginning to doze off. This time with half a melon bread in his mouth. "Hey! Don't fall asleep in such a stupid manner." Seriously, is there any time this guy isn't about to fall asleep? I snap my fingers a couple times.
"Huh! Oh right. Sorry about that."
"How many times do I have to tell you, don't fall asleep." I worry for this guy too much sometimes. "Say by the way, why did you come up to the roof?"
"Hmm… now that I think about it, I don't know. Wanted a change of pace I guess?"
I let out a giggle that almost turned into a snort. "As always I wonder whether or not that head of yours is empty." And again, there's just more empty silence. I just can't hold a conversation with him can I? But he's being a bit more quiet than usual… Did I hurt him? It was just an offhand joke.
"I sometimes wonder that too; whether or not I'm empty." Oh no, I think I might have.
"S-Sorry…" I need to make up for it!
"Oh don't worry about it." He then finished off the last of his bread and begun to crumple the wrapper. "It's nice having a friend worry about it instead for a change."
"…friend?"
"Yeah. We're friends aren't we?" Friends… really? Is it supposed to be this easy?
"Sure!" I spouted hastily. I have a friend. I have one…
"Have you not had friends before?" Hey!
"J-just who do you take me for? So what If I haven't?"
"So then I'll take that as a yes."
"Hey!" I lightly hit him on the shoulder, and he began to laugh. I think this is the first time I had ever heard him laugh like that. It was full of heart and life. It was a life that seemed to show a love for living.
"Sorry, but I'm sort of the same way so I understand a little."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"You know I move around a lot right?" I nodded. It sounded familiar, but I couldn't say I remembered it for sure. "That doesn't leave a lot of room to make friends. A lot of people just left me alone because they didn't want to bother with someone who was going to be leaving." Being left alone? "Because of that I don't really have any friends either, or at least ones that I could call good friends. Though I wouldn't understand that either."
"Okay … but why do you want to be friends with me though?" I want to hear more of this. Luckily for me, he continued.
"You might have noticed, but I sleep in class a lot. Well that's kind of gone on for a while." It's a bad habit and you should stop. "I would sleep all the way through the day because no one would wake me up. This year however, someone is waking me up." Me? "You're the first person to ever bother with me, and you've kept going even after all this time. I thought maybe I could be friends with you."
"And it's for that reason that you thought I would be a good friend? Isn't that a little too frivolous?"
"I guess so. But I guess I just really wanted someone to talk too." Before he could say anything else, the bell then rang signaling that lunch was about to end.
"Well we better get going, I suppose." He then turned to me and asked, "Shall we?" I just nodded my head in response. I cleaned up my leftovers and got up to follow him back to the classroom. Friends… well I guess I do worry about him more than anyone else at school, but that's not really saying much. We do talk, but not a lot. Wait, do I worry for him or about him? When did I start to care anyways?
…I'm thinking too much about this. For the rest of the day, class proceeded as usual and ended as usual. I decided to do something different today though. Once class ended I saw that Minato was wide awake today. Perhaps it was fate… I guess it's now or never.
"Hey," I called to him. "So do you want to walk home together?"
"Huh?" He looked back at me blank faced. I can never read his expressions to be honest, even after having sat next to him since the beginning of the school year.
"Don't get me wrong, it's just that we're friends now right? So isn't that what friends do? It's not like I'm doing this for any special reason or something." Oh god why did I make it sound like a typical Tsundere line? Calm down, it wasn't one for one…
"Sure. Just let me pack up and we can get going." Good he doesn't seem to have picked up on it. "Well I'm done, ready to go?"
"Huh? Yeah let's get going." That was really quick, still I guess even he wants to get moving… probably to go back to sleep.
Either way, we got out of our seats and started towards the exit. We got out of the classroom, then the building, and then before I knew it, we were already well on the road back to my house. As we turned another corner I noticed something. We haven't really talked at all. We've been walking for ten minutes straight, and we haven't said a single thing.
That's just great. Way to go Sanae, invite a guy to walk home with you and make it the dullest walk in all of history. Invite… a guy… I think I can feel my face- is it getting hot? It would be characteristic of the weather, but it feels a bit much at the moment. Oh no, what do I do now? What can I do now? I… what's going to happen? Will he think I'm weird? Will he just leave? What is he thinking right now? Oh no, oh no, ohohnoohnoohnoohno.
"You know it's nice, just walking with someone, even if there is nothing to talk about." Save!
"Is it?" Smile Sanae, don't show that you were panicking just then.
"Yeah, just the quiet ambiance; It's nice." Phew. He doesn't think this situation is weird. "So how far away are we still?"
"I brought you here last time don't you remember?" He shook his head for no. Sighing, I then followed up with, "We're almost there now. It's just at the top of this hill."
"Oh right." He looked up at the sky as if distracted.
"You do know exams are coming up right? If you keep this up you're gonna end up in the bottom, you know?" I certainly don't want him to fail, but other than those questions he gets right in class, it seems as if he wouldn't do well since he sleeps at all other times.
"They're coming up?" Well… I guess that answers my question.
"Yes, they're coming up. Jeez, get your act together."
"I'll be fine." Sure you are.
"If you say so… oh we're just about here." We now stood before the shrine's stairs. Except on them sat a certain goddess.
"Hey there Sanae-chan! Who's that you got there? A friend?"
"Suwako-sama!" She wasn't one to just lightly show her appearance, even if her demeanor on a regular basis would seem otherwise. I quickly took a glance at Minato's expression to find that he… had not changed expressions at all. Well I guess Suwako-sama does look like a normal kid.
"Hello there!" She exclaimed, her greeting now directed towards Minato. "I'm Suwako Moriya. What's your name?"
"Minato Arisato." He responded quite quickly and even a little bit nervously. I guess even if he doesn't show it, he still gets surprised. "Um, who are you? Sanae-san's little sister? A cousin?"
"Aww, how sweet, but bzzt!" Suwako-sama crossed her arms as she made that buzzing noise. She then puffed out her chest and proudly proclaimed, "I'm actually Sanae-chan's guardian. And don't let my youthful appearance fool you. I've been around the block young man."
"Oh, then it's nice to meet you Moriya-san." Aren't you a little too accepting of what's happening!? I mean there is going with the flow, and then there is this! Who in their right mind would so readily believe that someone who looks like a child is actually the parent? Granted it's true, but still!
"Um, Suwako-sama, what are you doing out here?" I didn't want Minato to meet my parents just yet. When did I want him to meet my parents?
"Oh, I was just taking in the last weeks of spring before summer settles in. Can't you feel it in the wind Sanae-chan? Summer is coming soon. I can feel it in the earth slowly becoming warmer with the gaze of the sun bearing on it more and more."
"That's an interesting way to put it. I like it." Minato, please don't encourage her. Actually why do you pick now to start talking?
"Heheh, thanks Minato-chan. Say, why don't you come inside?"
"Um, I think that Minato might not have the time for that." Please say no. I'm happy you're getting a long, but I just wanted to walk home together, nothing more than that, at least for now.
"If you will have me." Well there goes that. Minato bowed a bit and Suwako-sama beamed with one of her more childish smiles.
"Great! Now don't drag your tadpole tails! Come on!" She then began to hop, just go with it, up the stairs leaving me and Minato behind, moving shockingly quick despite her decidedly odd mode of travel.
"Well she certainly was interesting. Nice though." At least he seems to like Suwako-sama. Though I've never seen him dislike anything.
"Well, let's get going." This was already happening, so I might as well just accept it and make the most of it. He and I began our trek up to the shrine. Before too long, we made it to the top of the shrine though with no Suwako-sama in sight. "I guess she's already inside." I told him.
"Okay." We then stood there for about five seconds before he then asked, "So when are we going to go inside?"
"Oh right; inside. Hehehe…heheh, heh. Yeah let's just go." This is going way too fast. We then walked up to and went inside the front door. "I'm home!" I yelled into the empty looking halls.
"Welcome home Sanae." This time it was Kanako-sama that greeted us. "Hello there Arisato-san. I'm Kanako Yasaka. I'm Sanae's other guardian. Suwako already told me you were coming." Oh boy, how's he going to react now? I turned to him to find that, once again, no change! Seriously, nothing? Two women claim to be my guardian and nothing? Are actually from America? You know Lesbian relationships are not that accepted here usually, right? Really? Does anything faze you?
"It's nice to meet you Yasaka-san." So, I guess that's a no then… well at least it makes me happy to know that he's okay with it.
"My, what a polite young man you are." Kanako-sama then turned to me and said," It's nice of you to bring home a friend Sanae. I was beginning to worry that you had no one who would believe in you." Did you have to phrase it like that? At least even Minato seemed confused over the wording. And when he's confused it usually he means he'll not pay that much attention. Useful here, but kind of annoying elsewhere.
"Kanako-sama, please stop." I don't need such teasing.
"Alright," Kanako-sama answered back with a small grin. "Well anyways, come inside. Have some tea." At her behest, we made our way to my living room and sat down at the table to drink some of the tea that apparently, Kanako-sama had prepared.
"It's good," Minato said after taking a sip of the tea.
"Thank you." Kanako took the compliment with delight… too much delight. I think I know where this might be going.
"Kanako-sama, would it be alright if we talked in the hall for a moment. Minato you can just sit here and make yourself at home." He nodded before he began to relax, and his shoulders drooped a bit. His eyes then started to close. "No sleeping!" His eyes jerked back open immediately after that. Once I was sure he wasn't going to be dreaming on my floor I grabbed Kanako-sama by the hand and took her with me outside into the side hall. "Kanako-sama, what are you planning?"
"Sanae, this is an opportunity. If we can convince him to have faith in the Moriya shrine then there is a chance that it will cause others to follow his lead. We cannot pass up any chance where we can gather more faith." And there she says it outright like it's the most normal thing in the world. Except that she's right; completely so in fact. She's always right but…
"I don't want to use him like that…" I eked out softly.
"Hm? And why is that Sanae? Don't you see? This could be what we need to begin resurgence; a domino effect that could lead to a revival of the shrine. He can be that first domino. We just need to-"
"But I don't want to use my first friend like that!" I covered my mouth in shock. I just raised my voice to Kanako-sama. Though I was more in shock over what I had just said. I saw that Kanako-sama seemed just as shocked over what had happened. However, instead of becoming angry or spiteful, her expression instead softened into something else. I was a bit too frazzled to say whether it was kindness or understanding, but it was one of those… or maybe both?
"I see. If that is how you feel then I don't think I have any right to stop you in this regard." She then smiled at me one of her rare motherly smiles and followed it up by saying, "Just make sure to treasure him alright?" She then walked back into the room. From out in the hall I could hear her say, "Sorry for that. Sanae and I were… oh you did make yourself comfortable didn't you." Oh no, please tell me he didn't. I ran back into the room to find that, indeed, Minato was once again asleep on the floor. Suwako was kneeling over him as if viewing a particularly interesting specimen. I rushed over to him and began to shake him to try and get him to wake up.
"Hey! I told you not to sleep here." His eyes fluttered as he slowly returned to consciousness.
"Oh, hey. You're back." He said while still half asleep. Why does he keep doing this?
"Are you awake now?"
"Mostly, yeah." He then reached for the MP3 hanging on his neck and looked at the display for a few seconds before getting up and saying, "Thank you for having me over, I'm sorry for not being able to talk to all of you more, but I have to get going or else I'm going to miss the sale for groceries."
"Not at all! There's always next time, right Sanae-chan?" Everyone was now looking at me expectantly, even Kanako-sama. What am I supposed to say to everyone? I can't possible say no with all of them staring at me like that.
After a moment of silence I sighed, closed my eyes, and just said, "Yeah. Next time." I opened my eyes back up to see something I hadn't in a while: his smile.
"Sanae-chan, your face is as read as molten lava!" Suwako-sama I don't need you to say that so loudly!
"Well I really need to get going now if I want to make it at a reasonable time."
"That really is too bad that you couldn't stay over for very long. You can stay longer next time. Sanae, will you please escort him out?" Kanako-sama asked me.
"Yeah." Was all I could say other than, "Let's go" to Minato. It didn't take very long for us to walk to the shrine's stairs that led out. Once there, we stood there for a little bit as if not sure how to end things off… How is it this hard to just say goodbye?
"I'll see you tomorrow?" he asked once the silence had become just a bit too awkward. looking at me expectantly.
"Tomorrow is Sunday Minato-san. There's no school." How do you survive? Do I have to look after you?
"Oh right. Then on Monday then."
"Yeah, Monday then." He nodded his head and with a hand wave he said-
"See you then." He then began to walk away down the steps of the hill.
"See you then." I replied back as he began to get smaller and smaller, farther, and farther away.
Edited Author's Note: This chapter was a bit of start to more of the length that I wanted to write, and the chapters from here got longer and longer. Now the idea of having chapters only about 7k feels like I'm not putting enough content out. If I'd written it fresh now, I'd have kept the chapter at 15k. Oh well, it would do me well to accept some chapters will end up shorter than other. Being willing to put out shorter chapters is something I tried to accomplish with another fic of mine… Anyways, like history, it rhymes, so I'll have a more substantial Editing Note for the next chapter.
Author's note: You know, this and chapter 5 were going to be one chapter, but that would be just too long. I broke it up to try and make it more digestible. Whatever the case is, I've got more thoughts, but I'll leave them for the next chapter.