Daisuke stepped into the Ryoyu family bakery. The first thing he noticed was the smell of bread and some other smell. It was sweet and strong and a little unpleasant. It was the smell of incense. From the smell, one would expect the bakery itself to be dark and gloomy, but it was a cheerful place. The windows had handmade lace curtains on them and they were all open. Poppy flowers decorated the counter. There were white, wooden chairs and tables with flowers painted on them. The walls were bright yellow, so it seemed as though the sunshine was trapped inside the building.
An old lady sat behind the counter at a table, reading tarot cards. She had long, black hair streaked with white and wore a yellow dress. Chrysanthemums were interwoven in her hair.
"Hello," she said without looking up. "Would you like me to read your fortune?"
"Uh, that's okay," Daisuke said. "I don't have any money."
"It doesn't matter." The old lady shuffled the deck of the tarot cards and laid out seven of them. She turned them over one by one. "Someone did something. Something so horrible it led to murder."
"Murder?" Daisuke asked nervously.
"Yes. It was in the past, but it still lives on. The hatred is very strong. If he---" the old lady pointed at Daisuke "---doesn't do something about it, it will keep going on. This also involves someone else and he should be warned because he is also involved in it. Beware!" The lady tossed back her head and let out a cackling laugh. "Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!"
Daisuke took a step back toward the door.
"Well, thanks," he said with a shaking voice and grabbed the doorknob.
The old lady jumped from the back counter, ran up to Daisuke, and grabbed his arm. "Wait," she said sinisterly.
Frozen stiff, Daisuke nodded. What was going on?
"Uta!" the lady called.
Song? What song?
The lady cackled when she noticed the frightened look on Daisuke's face. "Oh, relax. You look like I'm about to grind your bones to make our bread or something. Don't worry. I use the bones of fifteen-year-olds, not fourteen-year-olds."
Daisuke managed a weak smile. "Uh-huh."
"Kiku-san," a voice said. "Were you scaring the customers again?"
Kikuko laughed and let go of Daisuke arm. "You know me well, Uta."
Daisuke heard the sound of rapid footsteps descending from the spiral staircase in the corner of the room and looked up. Chie, wearing a white pinafore and yellow, ruffled dress, walked up to them.
"Hello, Chie-san," Daisuke said, relaxing visibly.
Chie smiled. "In case you're wondering, Uta's my nickname. My grandmother thinks that anyone who can carry a tune is the world's best singer."
"You can sing?" Daisuke asked, surprised.
A glow of pride filled Kikuko's face. "Of course she can."
"Kiku-san," Chie said as if protesting.
"Come on, Uta. Sing 'Onnagokoro'."
Chie blushed and played with her hair ribbons. She was visibly uncomfortable. "Uh . . ."
"Please, Chie-san," Daisuke begged. "I'd love to hear you sing."
Blushing, Chie nodded. "All right." She took a deep breath and began to sing.
"You said you loved me forever
You said I was your flower
So I smiled and thanked God
You said we were through
So I smiled and said it was okay
But on the inside I was weeping
My heart was shattered
So I prayed upon a sad stone
Even if we're through could we still be friends?
How was I to know it would never be the same?
You broke my heart and left it in the dirt
Now I will never find its tearstained shards
Among the blood of our friends. . ."
Chie stopped singing. Daisuke sighed as if in awe.
"Wow," he mumbled. "That was really good."
"It's not my best song. The tune is a very difficult one to follow, and, well, the words really don't rhyme or make sense together."
Kikuko scoffed. "Any idiot can carry a tune, but few can release its emotions."
"I don't do that!" Chie said, blushing.
"It's true, Chie-san," Daisuke said. "You sounded happy in the beginning, then sad nearing the end, and completely devastated at the last few lines."
Chie played with her hair ribbons again, but she was clearly pleased.
"You said the song was called 'Onnagokoro', right?" Daisuke asked Kikuko. "What does that mean?"
"It's an old word, I think. If I remember correctly, it means a woman's heart or a maiden's heart. Girls, are delicate, you know. Even the toughest ones have a soft, delicate heart." Kikuko stared at Daisuke closely. "Why, even you have a delicate heart and you're a boy! That's rare, you know."
At Daisuke's confusion, Kikuko laughed.
"I'm sure you know what I mean. By the way, I'm Kikuko Ekisha, Uta's grandmother and fortuneteller in case you couldn't tell."
Daisuke nodded and stared at the flowers on the tables. "Why are there so many poppy flowers?"
"For Hinageshi," Chie responded.
"Hinageshi?"
"Poppy flowers were my mom's favorite flowers. She was even named after them."
"Oh, that's right. Hinageshi means 'poppy flower'."
Kikuko laughed. "Well, now that introductions are over, take this."
The laughing woman handed Daisuke a white, cardboard box with flowers on it.
"What is it?"
"Bread. To make up for frightening you."
Daisuke opened the box and took a bite from one of the bread rolls. It was soft and steam rose out of it when he bit it, warming his face.
"Mmm! It's good!" he exclaimed with his mouth full.
"Of course it's good." Kikuko smiled proudly and pointed to herself. "I made it."
"Thank you for coming, Dai-kun," Chie said. "Come back any time. Now, I need to go back into the kitchen. Bye!"
"Okay, bye!"
As soon as Chie disappeared, Kikuko turned back to Daisuke.
"I wasn't kidding about your fortune. He did something and I know he's there. He probably remembers it, but doesn't want to remember."
Daisuke knew Kikuko was talking about Dark.
"What did you do?" he asked.
"Nothing!"
"You did something!"
"Anyway, I would suggest you proceed with caution. I'm not telling you this so you can get paranoia, Niwa-chan, but watch out. They're out there, you know. And tell that thief the next time he takes something as fragile as a maiden's heart, he had better not break it."
Daisuke wanted to ask more questions, but Kikuko gave him another box of bread and ushered him out of the shop.
"That was weird," Daisuke mumbled on his way home. "Dark, was there some girl you hurt?"
"No! I'm a perfect gentleman."
"Right. You were talking about two girls: Sumiko and Saki, right?" Daisuke's eyes widened. "Wait a second! Is Chie---?"
"Could be. That's why you'd better watch out. It's been a while seen I've seen both of them. If I remember correctly, Sumiko was bratty and Saki was the nice one. Their middle names were anagrammatically similar and they got a real kick out of calling each other their middle names. I think one was Anas and the other Sana."
"So are they light and dark as well?"
"Probably. Sumiko was a scary one. Her personality could change in a heartbeat. She could be your best friend one moment and slit your throat the next."
Daisuke walked the rest of the way home in silence.
