116th Spell: Run-In with the Makis
Unsure of what was going on, Haru walked around the edge of the pond over to where the half-naked women were. He avoided eye-contact as the women got dressed in their satin kimonos and escorted him into the brothel alongside Madam Hōsaku. Inside, there were a variety of rooms with open doorways covered by thin silk drapes which barely concealed the rooms' barely clothed occupants.
"My name is Suzuran," the pale-skinned woman with the plucked eyebrows said to Haru.
"I'm Tachiaoi," said the taller woman proudly. "But you can me Tachi."
"And I'm…Chūrippu," responded the younger woman with the silken black hair.
"You're all named after flowers," Haru realized. "Is that a coincidence? Or—
"They chose those names for themselves after I took them in," Madam Hōsaku explained. "Now where were you trying to get to before ending up in my backyard?"
"I was trying to reach Tateroji," Haru answered. "But I'm not sure how I ended up here instead."
"Tateroji is right across from Māreroji on the other side of the Zen garden," Hōsaku said.
"But I've looked down the street from Tateroji facing the Zen garden and I didn't see this place," Haru said.
Madam Hōsaku sighed and brought Haru outside the brothel. Haru beheld a main street that looked nearly identical to Tateroji, except the buildings were made of dark wood with blue tiled roofs adorned by red lanterns. Then further down the street, Haru saw a familiar Zen garden with Tateroji just beyond it. Yet from his side, there seemed to be a shimmering veil that stood between the street he was on and Tateroji.
"What is that?" Haru said to Hōsaku, pointing at the shimmering veil.
"That is the barrier that separates Māreroji from Tateroji," Hōsaku stated. "Only those who strongly desire to come here may pass through the barrier. For everyone else, this place is practically invisible."
"So Māreroji is like…a secret red-light district counterpart to Tateroji."
"Precisely!"
"Haru!" called a familiar voice.
Recognizing that voice, Haru looked across the street from the brothel and saw Rakurai Higa emerging from a shop looking perplexed.
"Uncle Higa!" Haru said and ran over to his adopted uncle.
"What are you doing here?" Higa asked and looked back at Madam Hōsaku. "Did you just come from Madam Hōsaku's Escort Service?"
"You could say I 'dropped in' there by mistake," Haru said cryptically, still embarrassed by what happened at the brothel.
This made Higa raise an eyebrow. "Now I have to know what happened."
"I didn't take you for the type to be concerned over children, Rakurai!" Madam Hōsaku remarked while Suzuran, Tachi, and Chūrippu waved and smiled at Higa.
"Haru is my ward," Higa said to Hōsaku. "I was recently appointed to be his legal guardian after his adopted family was murdered by Warumo-uragi."
"Oh, you poor child!" Tachi said sympathetically to Haru.
"My condolences," Suzuran added.
Chūrippu put a hand over her heart. "May your family's spirits rest in peace!"
"Actually, I did lay my Manai family's spirits to rest not too long ago," Haru admitted. "But thanks anyway."
Then Madam Hōsaku shooed the girls back into the brothel while Haru and Higa walked toward Tateroji. On the way, Haru explained what happened to him during Spring Break and how he ended up at the brothel.
"Sounds like Rui's mom runs a very tight ship," Higa noted after Haru finished talking.
"No kidding!" Haru groaned. "It's no wonder Rui didn't talk much about her family at school."
"But it seems like you impressed Rui's mom when you stopped the Bakotsu mid-gallop."
"Yeah, but I didn't actually have control over what I was saying."
"What do you mean?"
"Remember when Warumo was using Kotodama on me?"
Higa's brow furrowed. "Did you hear his voice again?"
"No, and that's what troubles me. I said something horrible, but without being provoked by Warumo in some way."
"Odd," Higa responded. "Perhaps I should bring this up with Dōmeki-sama. She might know what's going on."
"By the way, what were you doing in Māreroji?"
"Running an errand for Sabe-sensei. He needed a few supplies for Herbology that you can't get in Tateroji."
"Like what?"
Just then, Haru ran into someone. He stepped back and realized he was standing in front of the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher Ryosei Maki, who looked a bit disoriented. Behind Ryosei stood his son Daizō with the same medium black hair tied into a ponytail wearing an indigo-blue yukata and a woman Haru didn't recognize who wore an elaborate sky-blue kimono while her brunette hair was done up with a wooden hair-comb that depicted a crest of a skull behind a waterfall.
"Oh my goodness!" Ryosei apologized. "I'm so sorry I ran into you, Ryuji-kun."
"The fault is all mine, Maki-sensei," Haru said, remembering Ryosei's threatening words to him at the end of his First-Year Secondary term. "I wasn't paying attention to where I was going."
"How typical of you, Ryuji!" Daizō said sarcastically. "Yet somehow you managed to survive a full year at Mahoutokoro without getting expelled, even though you and your girlfriends were publicly humiliated in front of the whole school!"
"Rui and Hikari are not my girlfriends!" Haru snapped. "And neither is Nayu!"
"Now, now," the woman in the sky-blue kimono said as she hugged Daizō from behind. "What did your father tell you about being polite, even to someone you don't like?"
"Sorry, Mother," Daizō apologized. "I didn't mean to lash out at Ryuji the way I did."
"If you truly mean that, apologize to Ryuji-kun right now," the woman in the sky-blue kimono commanded with a strong authoritative tone.
Daizō flinched nervously before bowing to Haru. "I'm deeply sorry for what I said, Ryuji."
"Apology accepted," Haru replied, even though he didn't trust Daizō's honesty.
"So you're the Boy Who Vanished that everyone's been talking about," the woman in the sky-blue kimono said as she stepped forward and held out her hand to Haru. "I'm Nyoko Maki, Daizō's mother and Ryosei's wife. A pleasure to meet you, Ryuji-kun!"
To be continued...
Author's Note: Suzuran means 'Lily of the Valley' and Tachiaoi means 'Hollyhock' in Japanese, while Chūrippu is the Romaji spelling of 'Tulip'.
