Chapter 49: Rainy June

On June 5th, Himemiya Izayoi still didn’t come to class.

After Minamoto Kiyomoto went back yesterday, he didn’t go to ask her for the reason.

She wasn’t a student in the first place, and he himself had to work hard to cultivate and prepare for the trip to Kamakura.

After entering ‘seeing God,’ he didn’t have to worry about his capacity affecting his personality in his divine power cultivation, and he began to advance by leaps and bounds again.

At noon that day, Himemiya Izayoi, who hadn’t come to class in the morning, suddenly appeared in the medical department.

Just as class was about to start, Minamoto Kiyomoto had already put on his white coat.

“Yo, you’re so handsome,” her delicate and beautiful face was smiling. As if brushing dust off Minamoto Kiyomoto’s collar, she dusted his collar.

“Are you here to listen to a medical lecture? There’s nothing to see in a corpse,” Minamoto Kiyomoto took her hand and smelled a sweet fragrance.

The classmates coming and going around them walked into the classroom while watching them.

“Do you know what day it is tomorrow?” Himemiya Izayoi asked, looking at her hand that he had waved away.

She was wearing a black baseball cap today, with all her hair tucked inside, which added some youthful vitality and handsomeness to her innocent and enchanting little face.

“June 6th? Gustav Vasa was elected King of Sweden by the Swedish parliament, and the Kalmar Union was dissolved?”

“Guess again, it has nothing to do with the king.”

“Is it related to the common people?”

“Almost.”

“That’s easy. A fire broke out in Moscow, and one-third of the city was destroyed. I’m right this time, right?”

“Take off your clothes,” Himemiya Izayoi ordered.

“A game of taking off clothes for wrong answers?” Minamoto Kiyomoto took off his white coat with great interest. “On June 6, 1752, a fire broke out in Moscow. Who was the culprit?”

“Come with me,” Himemiya Izayoi walked out of the teaching building.

“It’s not appropriate to take off clothes in a place like this,” Minamoto Kiyomoto handed his white coat to a classmate and asked them to send it back.

“Minamoto-kun!”

Minamoto Kiyomoto turned his head. Asana, Inaba, and Kishida, in white coats and holding textbooks, were looking at him.

“I’m going to accompany a beauty,” he waved his hand and followed Himemiya Izayoi.

It was almost time for class, and a strange silence enveloped the campus. It was still a rainy day.

The ginkgo trees were like waves, rising and falling.

“You really don’t know what day it is tomorrow?” Himemiya Izayoi asked.

“I know, but I don’t know the day you want to know.”

“Tomorrow is Miko’s birthday.”

“Is it?”

“Do you really like her, or are you just pretending?” Himemiya Izayoi turned her head and asked.

“This is Minamoto Kiyomoto’s secret,” Minamoto Kiyomoto replied. “So, you called me out to buy her a birthday gift.”

“I guess so,” Himemiya Izayoi’s tone suddenly became cold.

“I guess so?”

“This is Himemiya Izayoi’s secret,” Himemiya Izayoi turned around again and continued to walk towards the school gate.

Leaving the campus, Himemiya Izayoi did not go to the station, but just walked on the road.

There was an indescribable sorrow about her. Soon, Minamoto Kiyomoto knew what that sorrow was.

“Walking in the rain like this, the rain hitting the umbrella, making a dripping sound, it’s like being in Kyoto.”

Her hand swept through the air. Under her slender, snow-white fingertips, it was as if it were the ancient bluestone slabs of Kyoto, or the prayer wheels in the temples on the eastern mountains.

Minamoto Kiyomoto didn’t say a word and followed behind her.

It was unknown how long they walked. The two of them came to a large shopping mall that integrated catering, clothing, movies, and pet shops.

Entering the shopping mall, Himemiya Izayoi handed the umbrella in her hand to Minamoto Kiyomoto. Her movements were very natural and elegant, as expected of someone who had been served since she was young.

Himemiya Izayoi watched Minamoto Kiyomoto put away the umbrella, and then they went to buy milk tea together.

“Why buy milk tea?” Minamoto Kiyomoto asked.

“You can replenish your water just by drinking water. Why do you drink alcohol, juice, and coke?”

“I have no more questions.”

“Pfft!” Himemiya Izayoi stabbed the straw into the milk tea, put one hand in her pocket, and drank the milk tea with the other.

The two of them drank and shopped. An event was being held in the center of the shopping mall. A girl in an idol costume was singing and dancing on the stage.

“Have you decided what to buy?” Minamoto Kiyomoto asked.

“Do you have any suggestions?”

“First, it shouldn’t be expensive. Second, ignore flashy things. You should consider practicality. For example, a French dictionary or a French record would be very good.”

Himemiya Izayoi listened while drinking her milk tea, then her lips left the straw and she said, “For example, a 760,000 yen ring?”

“For example, a 760,000 yen ring,” Minamoto Kiyomoto affirmed. “But Kamibayashi must already know French, so there’s no need to buy a dictionary, but you can probably consider it from this direction.”

After walking for a while, Himemiya Izayoi turned into a Wedgwood handkerchief specialty store.

She took a fancy to a light green handkerchief with lace that had the charm of blue and white porcelain, and also some British brand’s English style.

Himemiya Izayoi placed the handkerchief at the tip of her nose, as if she were smelling it, but her eyes were staring at Minamoto Kiyomoto without blinking.

Those eyes had a soul-stirring power, as if they were trying to say something.

“How is it?” he asked.

Himemiya Izayoi handed the handkerchief over and placed it at the tip of his nose. Just as Minamoto Kiyomoto was about to smell it, she suddenly took it back.

“Let’s look around some more,” she put down the handkerchief and walked out of the store with the straw in her mouth.

Minamoto Kiyomoto glanced at the handkerchief and followed her.

In the end, Himemiya Izayoi still bought this handkerchief.

Minamoto Kiyomoto bought a set of summer-style tableware. The style was simple, with patterns of watermelons, lotus leaves, carp, and leaves blown by the wind.

The two of them had dinner at the open-air restaurant on the top floor of the shopping mall. The rain had stopped.

The customers were all in a good mood. A couple on the left was happily discussing the movie they had just watched;
The couple on the right was excitedly talking about the movie that was about to start;

The three women behind them were applying the lipstick they had just bought on the back of their hands.

Only the two of them, Minamoto Kiyomoto, were not talking.

Himemiya Izayoi looked at the sunset, and Minamoto Kiyomoto looked at the afterglow of the sunset changing on her face.

“Are you in a melancholic mood today?” Minamoto Kiyomoto asked with a smile.

Himemiya Izayoi didn’t speak.

“Is there something you want to say to me?” Minamoto Kiyomoto put away his smile.

Himemiya Izayoi shook her head weakly.

“It seems you’re not in good spirits. Are you homesick?” Minamoto Kiyomoto asked again.

“There’s no home to speak of. I have no relatives and no friends,” Himemiya Izayoi still looked at the setting sun in the west, her voice as if it were coming from a very distant place.

“What are you talking about? Aren’t I and Miss Kamibayashi?”

“Are we?” She withdrew her gaze from the sky and let it fall on Minamoto Kiyomoto’s face.

“If not, then not,” Minamoto Kiyomoto’s gaze turned to the distance, and he took a sip of oolong tea.

Himemiya Izayoi had been ignoring him all day. Now she was saying they weren’t friends. He also started to get angry.

A meter of twilight separated the two of them, and they didn’t say a word.

Himemiya Izayoi’s head rested casually on the back of the chair, as if she were extremely tired.

“Let’s go back,” she said.

“Okay,” Minamoto Kiyomoto stood up and paid the bill directly. The waitress said she would help pack, but he replied ‘no need’ and left directly with Himemiya Izayoi.

On June 6th, it was, of course, a rainy day.

“What’s wrong with Himemiya?” On the way to school at 8 am, Kamibayashi Miko asked.

“She’s having a fit,” Minamoto Kiyomoto replied faintly.

“Speak properly,” Kamibayashi Miko’s tone carried a hint of severity.

“She’s homesick and wants to go back to Kyoto,” Minamoto Kiyomoto said.

After school, Minamoto Kiyomoto separated from Kamibayashi Miko and went to buy a cake.

Returning home, along with the tableware he had bought yesterday, he walked along the courtyard wall of Himemiya Izayoi’s house to Kamibayashi Miko’s house.

“Happy birthday, Miss Kamibayashi,” he came to the veranda and said with a smile.

“Thank you,” Kamibayashi Miko was cultivating under the wind chime.

Shirako, in a military uniform and an apron, came to take the gift.

Minamoto Kiyomoto reminded, “Inside is a new set of tableware. A new age, a new atmosphere. Let’s use it tonight. There’s also a cake. It’s a fruit cake that the little butterfly likes the most.”

“Fruit! Fruit!” The little butterfly clapped her hands cutely and flew around the cake box happily.

Shirako snorted, but she didn’t ask Minamoto Kiyomoto to help in the kitchen.

When it was time to eat the cake, Minamoto Kiyomoto and the little butterfly together stuck 21 candles on it—they even counted them after sticking them in.

After extinguishing the lights, the birthday atmosphere instantly arrived.

“Joyeux anniversaire”

“Accepter de bon coeur”

Minamoto Kiyomoto sang the French version of “Happy Birthday” with deep emotion.

“What’s this? What’s this?” The little butterfly pulled Minamoto Kiyomoto’s cheek.

“This is ‘Happy Birthday’,” Minamoto Kiyomoto spread his palm, and the little butterfly let go of his face and landed on his palm. “It’s to wish your Lady Miko a happy birthday.”

“Little butterfly wants to sing too!” The little butterfly raised her hands high.

“Lady Shirako, let’s sing together,” Minamoto Kiyomoto took Shirako’s small hand.

Just as Shirako was about to struggle, he added, “This is a blessing for Lady Miko.”

Shirako pursed her lips, snorted, and let him hold her hand.

Minamoto Kiyomoto, with Shirako on his left and the little butterfly on his right, one person and two shikigami sang “Happy Birthday” together.

Opposite them, in the orange light of the candles, Kamibayashi Miko clapped to the beat and smiled slightly.

After singing the song and making a wish, the two people and two shikigami began to eat the cake.

“You’re twenty-one today, one step closer to twenty-five. May I ask what Lady Divine Miko’s thoughts are?” Minamoto Kiyomoto used the serrated knife for cutting the cake as a microphone and interviewed Kamibayashi Miko.

“You’re actually younger than me,” this was Kamibayashi Miko’s thought.

“Please answer my question directly, Miss Kamibayashi! Are you hiding something?”

“If I die, you won’t live either.”

“Okay, everyone, Lady Divine Miko’s thoughts on her twenty-first birthday are that she will kill Minamoto Kiyomoto before she dies. From this, we can see that the Divine Miko is not as kind as everyone thinks.”

“You’re quite suitable to be a reporter,” Kamibayashi Miko said.

“Thank you, I think so too.”

At this time, Fire Fan came to visit with a gift.

“Where’s Himemiya?” Kamibayashi Miko asked.

“The master caught a cold last night and doesn’t want to infect Lady Divine Miko, so she can’t attend the birthday party. Please forgive her, Lady Divine Miko.”

“It’s okay. I wasn’t planning on having a birthday anyway. Tell her to take care of herself.”

“Thank you, Lady Divine Miko,” Fire Fan left the beautifully wrapped gift, bowed to everyone, stood up, and left.

Fire Fan returned to the mansion and reported to Himemiya Izayoi.

“Master, the gift has been delivered.”

“Yes,” Himemiya Izayoi sat cross-legged in meditation, her eyes closed.

More than a dozen small, fiery red evil dragons swam and circled in the dojo, fighting each other.

The waves of fire rolled, lightning flashed, and the air churned uneasily like boiling water.

“Roar!” An evil dragon roared ferociously, tearing apart the other evil dragons and swallowing them alive.

In a blink of an eye, the only surviving evil dragon had grown so large that it occupied the entire dojo.

The dragon’s body was lifelike and became vivid. Its mouth was slightly open, and it exhaled a scorching breath.

The evil dragon raised its head, opened its huge mouth towards Himemiya Izayoi, and its scarlet eyes were full of killing intent.

“Roar!” A roar that pierced gold and cracked stone.

The evil dragon flicked its tail and swooped down.

The heat wave emptied the air, and the dojo instantly turned into scorched earth. Fire Fan was directly sent flying by the air wave, sticking to the wall like a thin piece of paper.

The dragon’s mouth, full of fangs, was about to swallow Himemiya Izayoi in one bite.

Himemiya Izayoi still sat upright. A mirror slowly appeared behind her. Wherever the mirror’s light shone, everything froze in an instant.

The evil dragon still had its mouth open, but its huge body disintegrated like ashes, and finally, only a bone floated in the air.

The pressure disappeared. Fire Fan finally came down from the wall and knelt on the ground again as if nothing had happened.

“What did they say?” Himemiya Izayoi still had her eyes closed, as calm as water.

“Lady Divine Miko told you to take care of yourself.”

The room became quiet. The mirror had an overwhelming presence.

The remains of the red and black evil dragon from Hakone actually showed signs of disintegrating under the mirror’s light. Vaguely, there was the mournful cry of an evil dragon.

Fire Fan hesitated for a moment, then said, “Lord Minamoto was by the side… he didn’t say anything.”

“You may leave.”

“Yes.”

Under Himemiya Izayoi’s curse, the bone absorbed the divine breath between heaven and earth and re-formed into a red and black evil dragon.

But the evil dragon was coiled in a corner of the tattered dojo, not daring to approach Himemiya Izayoi by half a step, looking at the mirror with fear.

But the mirror did not let it go.

The mirror’s surface tilted slightly, and a white light swept out. The evil dragon opened its huge mouth, and before it could even let out a mournful cry, it had disappeared without a trace. Even its bones were crushed into powder.

For the next few days, Minamoto Kiyomoto did not see Himemiya Izayoi.

However, on June 19th, a Saturday, Itomi Sayaka asked him out on a date again.

“How are you and those two?” Still at the French restaurant in Yotsuya, Itomi Sayaka asked.

“We had a fight.”

“A fight? Why?”

Minamoto Kiyomoto didn’t answer and skillfully ordered from the waitress.

After the waitress left, he closed the menu and said, “Let’s change places next time. I’m tired of the food here.”

“Was the fight because of Hamamoto?”

“Hamamoto?”

“The person who plays the violin,” Itomi Sayaka took a sip of coffee and observed Minamoto Kiyomoto.

“What does our fight have to do with her,” after saying this, Minamoto Kiyomoto looked at Itomi Sayaka. “Are you trying to confirm something?”

Itomi Sayaka put down her coffee cup with a surprised look, “Confirm what?”

“Nothing, maybe I’m just being too self-conscious.”

“It seems that as long as they’re handsome, they’re prone to feeling good about themselves,” Itomi Sayaka nodded in agreement.

The two of them chatted for a while. Before leaving, Itomi Sayaka wanted to take a photo again.

She stood behind the seated Minamoto Kiyomoto, her chin resting on his shoulder, her arms affectionately wrapped around his neck.

“Wait, this posture—”

“What’s wrong?”

“My neck is a sensitive area. Can you hold me somewhere else?” Minamoto Kiyomoto said.

“Hahaha, little brother, you’re so cute. But big sister is not interested in knowing your sensitive areas.”

Itomi Sayaka slowly withdrew her arms, as slow as a movie scene, like a snake rubbing against the skin of Minamoto Kiyomoto’s neck.

Halfway through, she suddenly stopped.

“Since you told me a secret, I’ll tell you a secret too,” she said softly, her fingers pinching Minamoto Kiyomoto’s Adam’s apple. “Big sister, I really like men with beautiful Adam’s apples.”

She squeezed slightly, then let go.

Finally, she placed her hand on Minamoto Kiyomoto’s shoulder, then rested her chin on her own arm.

After taking the photo, she lit a cigarette, took a puff herself, and then put it between Minamoto Kiyomoto’s lips with a smile.

“Goodbye.”

“Goodbye,” Minamoto Kiyomoto took the cigarette and extinguished it in the ashtray.

After Itomi Sayaka left, Minamoto Kiyomoto touched his Adam’s apple, stood up, and returned to Hakusan Shrine.

“Did Itomi Sayaka guess that you know their identities?” Kamibayashi Miko, who had been watching the scene, asked.

“Not necessarily,” Minamoto Kiyomoto thought for a moment and replied.

“I think the way she pinched your Adam’s apple at the end was a warning to you.”

“She’s probably gambling,” Minamoto Kiyomoto said with a smile. “If I don’t know her identity, her action is a temptation; if I know, then it’s a warning to me that she can kill me at any time.”

Kamibayashi Miko sized him up, “You don’t seem to take her threat to heart?”

“I like to outwit and outmaneuver. It’s very interesting,” Minamoto Kiyomoto smiled even more happily.

“Then what about Himemiya Izayoi? I see you’ve been keeping it in mind.”

“Nothing,” Minamoto Kiyomoto put away his smile. “It’s just that when she’s in a bad mood, she shouldn’t have come to me. ‘Mahavairocana Sutra’ in exchange for ‘Fire Thunder’ and ‘Divine Weapon Curse,’ I don’t owe her anything.”

“It’s almost time. When are we leaving for Kamakura?” Himemiya Izayoi’s smiling voice came from behind.

Minamoto Kiyomoto didn’t even turn his body.

(End of Chapter)