元の鞘
Moto no Saya


(TN: Title means "Original Sheath" - an expression meaning, "the way things should be.")

Feeling the presence of sweat forming beads on my forehead, I figure it's about time to take a short rest.

Kei: ......Pretty... thirsty......

Yet, this time I am empty handed, and as I look around I see no cafes or vending machines.

Kei: Grin and bear it...... just be patient.

Normally I would at least bring a bottle of water or tea but, of course, there was no opportunity for that this time.
I went on this forced hike knowing that, but if I get carried away and push myself too far, heat stroke or exhaustion would be scary.
With so few shougi pieces, the mission has to be carried out as planned, proceeding rationally, no rushing.
To cool my body even just a little, I fan the hem of my shirt and send my skin some direct wind.

Kei: Fui~~~

Though it's a bit immodest, no one's here, so it's all okay!
Much like taking care not to overheat an engine with insufficient coolant, all the while taking a few short breaks, I've managed to make it this far.

Kei: Okay...... let's get moving, then.

Handkerchief in hand, I stand up.
Gripping a bit of fighting spirit, I send it to my legs and begin walking.
Still, something is strange.
The area is disturbingly silent.
Even deep in a mountain, it's impossible for the voices of cicadas to continue all day without ceasing. It's normal for at least a gap or two to appear.
Yet, I can't help but think that this moment is definitely strange.
I couldn't hear the cicadas in the Ohashirasama's grotto, either, but this is quite different than that heart-easing quiet.
I continue hesitantly.

Kei: ---!?

Without knowing what is what, I am sent tumbling to the ground.
The earth is soft, but having been hit in the back with no reservation, my breathing is stopped with no air in my lungs.
With no time to find a replacement for the air I lost, my eyes, widened so far that they've become unfocused, catch a brightly shining object.
Looking up from my prone position, from the sky flecked in blue and green, I see a star fall...
As I close my eyes from fear and brightness, a chilled wind strikes my neck.
It didn't hurt.
I fearfully open my eyes, and beyond my chin at the base of my neck, reflecting the suns rays that had pierced the forest canopy is a familiar steel blade, polished like a mirror.
My frozen breathing revives...
My body, frozen stiff for a single moment, feels the return of its heat at the same speed, my heart beginning to beat rapidly at the sudden movement.

Kei: ......Stop. Time out.

Stopped just inches from sending my head rolling is the same sword blade that was thrust at me the day before.
Engraved in the metal, a design like the year rings of a tree, the spirit blade of the Onikiri - Ito no Tachi.

Kei: Ahaha, with this, you've pointed your blade at me twice...... no, three times now. For things that happen twice, there's always a third, huh...

Uzuki: ......So it's you.

With a seemingly dejected tone mixed in her voice, the drawn blade is returned to its original sheath.

Uzuki: What a fantastic diversion. It seems he escaped during our exchange......

Throwing her gaze somewhere far away, she reaches a hand out to me, still fallen prone.
I grip that hand with both of mine, and gain more than enough aid to stand.

Kei: By "he," you mean Kei-kun?

Uzuki: ......I have no obligation to answer that. I cut my ties with you last night.

Kei: Ah!......

My hands, still holding hers, are tossed away.
She seemed to have been thinking about something. She may have reached out with no recognition of me being the receiving end.
That would make her a fundamentally nice person who would lend a hand to anyone, but...
Thinking that... makes me feel lonely, somehow.

Kei: Even if our ties are cut, I think I have the right to an answer, don't you? Yes, I do. I probably do.

Kei: If you topple someone over and thrust a katana at them, I don't think you can say "this doesn't involve you," you know? And if it's a case of mistaken identity, I think that earns an explanation in itself.

Just a bit bent out of shape, I make some rather brazen remarks.

Kei: If you don't give me at least that much, I'll call you an oni, Uzuki-san.

And pretty mean, on top of that.

Kei: So, by "him" you mean Kei-kun? You mean you mistook him for me?

Uzuki: ......Yes, it's as you say.

Kei: You should really check your opponent before you do such violent things, you know.

Uzuki: Concerning that, I apologize.

Uzuki: But among the oni bearing physical forms, many have abilities to avoid detection. Even in the form of a young girl or old woman, they can easily tear people apart.

Uzuki: That is why, to seal the initiative, it was necessary to do that. Furthermore, by seeing the nature of his presence, I should have been able to tell whether it's him or someone else.

Kei: But that's pretty troubling, Uzuki-san. Even if we have the same name, mistaking me for him is just cruel.

Uzuki: Your aura wouldn't resemble his just because of that, though. Even if you consider that one's kotodama is known to have an effect. (TN: "Kotodama" also appeared in Nozomi and Mikage's explanation of Nie no Chi. In this case, however, "kotodama" refers to the sound of Kei's name, being the same as that of the male Kei.)

Kei: Huh......

Uzuki: I don't know if it's coincidence or if he used you somehow. But, because I mistook your presence for his, he managed to escape.

Uzuki: ......I probably can't catch him now.

She breathes a long sigh in my direction.
Being treated this way makes me feel the need to apologize.
Uuu, don't wax timid, Kei! You haven't done anything wrong.

Uzuki: ......That aside, why are you in a place like this?

Kei: "A place like this?" But I came here yesterday. I was the one who told you I met Kei-kun here.

Kei: And with the festival and all, you'd think the townspeople would come to see the Ohashirasama every now and then, right?

Uzuki: I saw that to be a remote possibility. Any religious people who would come here for worship probably know this is forbidden ground, and there's also a kekkai in effect.

Kei: Kekkai......?

Uzuki: By binding an area's perimeter, you separate it into two halves, within and without. That is a kekkai.

Uzuki: Much like your freedom of movement between countries is limited without a passport, if you fail to satisfy certain conditions, your movement in or out of a kekkai perimeter is similarly prohibited.

Uzuki: It's not as strong as a walled enclosure, but this kekkai has a human expulsion effect.

Uzuki: Unless you have a strong will to contest that, or a sufficient reason for entering, it will arrange for you to pass by without knowing. For example, by diverting your attention to another errand.

Uzuki: The incident from before happened because I was counting on the kekkai effect, but perhaps its power has weakened......

Kei: I have a proper reason for coming here, you know.

Uzuki: Mm?

Kei: Yesterday I came because I wanted to see the sacred tree, and today I wanted to meet you, and talk to you.

Kei: Because you reacted strangely when I told you about meeting Kei-kun. Last night, I realized why you were searching for him.

Uzuki: ............

Kei: That's how I figured out that Uzuki-san, the Onikiri, had come to the mountain today, and here we are.

Uzuki: ......Meet with me... for what?

Kei: Our severed ties. I want to tie them back together.

Uzuki: What could become of that? Last night, I explained it to you. I warned you.

Kei: That someone who draws oni like me would experience painful feelings if I associate with you, right?

Uzuki: Exactly. I take pains not to associate with even normal people. And of all things, you are a holder of Nie no Chi. Because of that---

Kei: Despite that!!

My interruption echoes through the forest.
As the sound dampens, I take a slow, deep breath.
I let the inhaled breath out quietly, in the company of my words.

Kei: Because I'm not strong like you, Uzuki-san, even if I think "I have to do that," I'm the type that let's time run out, without doing anything.

Kei: And after that, I regret it, thinking, "if only I did this" or "if only I did that."

Kei: Lately I've been thinking, If only I'd helped mom out a bit more...... maybe she wouldn't have died from exhaustion......

Kei: That's why... because I've always lived like that, a single threat that "you might regret that" doesn't bother me at all.

Kei: And what you were talking about, Uzuki-san, is really a matter of "if." If I cut and run from a threat like that, I'll definitely regret it.

Uzuki: Why...

Kei: Because I want to be close to you.

I watch her face firmly, unwavering, as I speak.

Kei: Are you really okay being alone, Uzuki-san? You don't want to be friends with me?

Uzuki: Kei-san, people like you are...

Kei: ............

Uzuki: ............

Our gazes lock together.
If I avert my eyes, I lose.
I fix my gaze firmly on Uzuki-san's strong eyes.
With a passing wind, the tree leaves emit a cool rustle.
The sunbeams streaming through the canopy waver, flickering.
The sweat on my forehead forms a bead and drops down.

Uzuki: Phew......

The silence is broken with Uzuki-san's sigh.
The one who averted her eyes first was Uzuki-san.
As was the first to speak.

Uzuki: I also enjoyed those trifling times we spent together, Kei-san.

Kei: Uzuki-san......

Uzuki: And I'll probably regret thinking that I didn't want to let that comfort go.

Kei: You think so?

Uzuki: In a future not distant from now.

Kei: Hmm......

Uzuki: But, perhaps we managed to avoid a regret very close to us.

Kei: I hope so. At the very least, I know I avoided one.

Uzuki: Haha, you're a special person, Kei-san.

Kei: Ahaha.

For a short time, we exchange glances and laugh together.
Before we know it, the cicadas are chirping.
The strained air, holding back the summer, blows far away.

Kei: ......Come to think of it, Uzuki-san, those are winter clothes, aren't they?

Uzuk: Oh, I guess it really does draw too much attention, doesn't it?

Kei: Well, not so much that it stands out, but......

Someone as beautiful as Uzuki-san would unquestionably draw stares no matter what she wore, and before worrying about clothes, I think she would have to do something about that sword.
So, setting appearance aside.

Kei: ......Isn't it hot?

Uzuki: It certainly is.

Kei: But, you say that with such a cool look on your face......

Uzuki: The idea being to clear the mind of mundane thoughts. You can't exchange life for comfort, after all. The inside lining of this clothing has spells woven into it.

Kei: Wah......

Drawing her fingers to her collar, she flips it over to expose the underside.

Uzuki: Kind of resembles Lafcadio Hearn's Story of Houichi the Earless, don't you think?

Kei: Yeah.

The first thing that came to my mind was actually the remodeled student uniforms that appear in manga about delinquents, but I'll just keep that to myself.

Kei: But, you're always in winter clothing, even at school?

Uzuki: Because of my duty, I can hardly attend at all, though.

Kei: Do the others bully you at all?

Uzuki: Not a problem. The Senba Clan is starving for members. If there was a student who could do anything to me with a basic use of force, we'd practically want to hire them.

Kei: But, what if everyone ignores you......

Uzuki: I myself have lived while suppressing my contact with others. It's of no consequence.

Kei: ............

Uzuki: Also, working as an Onikiri-Yaku, I end up bearing scars that ordinary students would shudder at.

Uzuki: Most students who've seen those scars accept my wearing this outfit.

Kei: ......So even if you end up covered in scars, you would still fight oni...

Uzuki: If I don't kill the oni, someone would end up devoured by them, after all.

Kei: Devour---

Kei: ---Ah.

Uzuki: ......Ahh, looks like Kei-san needs to eat something, too. Preferably nonhuman, I take it.

Kei: Uuu......

Uzuki: Well, there's nothing more to be gained from staying here. If you have no other business here, shall we go back down?

Continue...