Blackout

Due to my ignorance, I've been calling Shinto shrines as temples. I've fixed some of the mistakes, but I could have left out a mistake here and there. Sorry about that.

   Once again, I’ve forgotten to set an alarm before sleeping. It’s a good thing Yui’s more dependable.

   ‘Akira-kun, it’s time to wake up.’

   I woke up the moment I heard her angelic voice. I got up and stretch my body while letting out a huge yawn.

   ‘Morning, Yui.’ I say to her groggily.

   ‘Good morning, Akira-kun.’ she greets back with her bright smile.

   I reach out my face towards her to give her a kiss on the lips.

   ‘Akira-kun, you shouldn’t have done that.’

   ‘Oops, my bad. Was it too sudden?’

   ‘No, not at all. It’s just that, if you kiss me, I would want another one…’

   ‘What’s wrong with that?’ I lean in and kiss her once more.

   ‘Wait, you shouldn’t really. The others are not here. It wouldn’t be fair to them.’

   ‘Ah, I’ll just reimburse when we got back. For now, it’s just us.’

   ‘Well, in that case…’

   Now it’s her turn to lean over and kiss me. We kiss a bit some more, and then she pushes me away gently.

   ‘We need to go to Mountain Fuji right now.’ she reminds me.

   ‘Of course. Right after we have another kiss.’

   ‘No, really. We need to-mmnph~!’

   In the end, we kissed three more times. And all of them were initiated by her. When she’s finally satisfied, she covers up her face in shame.

   ‘I’ve become a lewd girl…’

   ‘Hey, we were just kissing. There’s nothing lewd about that.’ I assure her. ‘…Unless you actually believe that kissing will make you pregnant.’

   ‘No, I don’t! Even I’m not that gullible!’

   ‘Good. I was worried for a second there.’

   On the previous night, we bought some breads, rice balls and drinks for breakfast. I got two melon breads, three salmon-filled rice balls and a bottle of water. As for Yui, she got two rice balls with bonito flakes and a bottle of green tea.

   After we’re done with them, we got changed into casual wear that’s slightly thicker and more cold resistant by getting the clothes out with our teleportation magic. We’re going to hike a famous mountain, so there’s a chance that we’ll pass by some regular hikers on the way. If they see our uniforms, they might suspect that something’s up and get scared. We wouldn’t want that.

   We were planning to walk there, since it’s probably impossible to find a taxi in the middle of the night. However, turns out I was wrong. While we were passing by the convenience store, we see a taxi driver smoking right next to his car. He sees us too and wave.

   ‘Hey there, you two need a ride?’ he asks us.

   ‘Yes, please. Are you for hire?’

   ‘Sure am. Hop on.’

   So we did. The driver extinguishes his cigarette by stepping on it and disposes off the butt into a trash bin. After that’s done, he goes into the driver’s seat.

   ‘Let me guess, Mountain Fuji.’ the driver predicts our destination.

   I nod my head. ‘Yes, that’s where we want to go.’

   ‘Figures.’

   ‘Are you working until this late at night so that you could get more passengers like us who want to go to the mountain early in the morning?’ Yui asks curiously.

   ‘That’s right. And it’s not just me. Pretty much every taxi drivers around here are on constant graveyard shifts.’

   ‘Must be tough.’ I comment.

   ‘Not really. All we have to do is take afternoon naps. It’s not like there’s a lot of customers during the day.’

   We’ve been talking for a while, and the driver still hasn’t start the engine of his car. Just as I was about to ask him about it, he speaks once again.

   ‘Before we start the journey, I feel obliged to give you a warning. I don’t really think it’s a good idea to go there right now.’

   ‘Why is that?’

   ‘Since last night, well last last night to be more precise, I’ve been hearing rumors that something bad’s happening at the top of the mountain.’

   Naturally, both Yui and I know of it, but I have to act ignorant anyway.

   ‘Um, what do you mean by “something bad”?’

   ‘It’s mostly hearsay, so I’m not sure. What I am sure is that it has something to do with the shrine there.’

   ‘So, it’s got nothing to do with some natural disaster, or a Destroyer of some sort?’

   ‘Not that I know of. So, do you still feel like going there?’

   I pretend to hesitate for a few seconds before answering, then put on a uncaring expression.

   ‘Eh. It’ll be fine. If it happens, it happens. I mean, we’ve been planning this for so long. No point to cancel it over some rumors. Right?’

   I directed the question at Yui.

   ‘Yes. We’re already here anyway, so we might as well take the chance.’

   The driver shrugs. ‘Well, just don’t say that I didn’t warn you.’

   He finally starts the engine, and the car starts moving after he releases the handbrake and steps on the gas pedal. Through the rear-viewing mirror, I could see the driver’s face. His expression is one that says he knows we’re hiding something, but he chose not to pry. I’m really grateful for that.

   The convenience store is quite close to the base of the mountain. A fifteen minutes drive is all it took to get there. When he stops the car, I look at the meter to see the amount of money I owe him. I pull out some cash and hand it to him. He took them and hands back the change. Yui and I then got out of the cab.

   ‘Thanks for the ride, mister.’ I tell him before he leaves.

   ‘No problem. Just do me a favor and don’t die on me, alright? It’ll scar me for life if I had to see the news of my passengers got caught up in an accident and kicked the bucket.’

   ‘Please don’t worry. We’ll be fine.’ I assure him.

   ‘Thank you for your concern.’ Yui adds.

   ‘Right. I’ll be off then.’

   After the driver left with his car, the two of us turn to face the mountain that we’ll be hiking.

   I inhale deeply. ‘Right, let’s begin.’

   Yui nods in agreement. Together, we start to hike the mountain.

   The path to the mountain is surrounded by the infamous Aokigahara, also known as suicide forest. It’s quite dark, so we switched on the torch lights that we brought to make sure we don’t trip on something.

   ‘I wonder if there’s any ghost around.’ I say out loud.

   ‘Nice try, Akira-kun. However, I’m no longer scared of ghosts.’ Yui says smugly.

   ‘Well color me impressed. Looks like your father was telling the truth.’

   ‘Of course! I’m no longer the scaredy-cat you knew.’

   ‘Well, I’m glad to hear it. The thing is, there’s a transparent baby hanging on your right shoulder for quite a while now.’

   Yui freezes up immediately and makes a small squeaking sound from her throat. She turns her neck slowly so that she could look at her right shoulder, only to see nothing there.

   ‘And that was a lie.’ I smirk.

   Yui rushes towards me and starts pounding my body with her tiny fists while making incoherent noises. It took her quite a while to calm down.

   ‘Let’s continue with our hike, shall we? We still have a long way to go.’ I say to her while she’s catching her breath from all those pounding.

   She puffs up her cheeks like a cute hamster. Just as I thought that she’s going to hit me some more, she just lets out a loud ‘Hmph!’ and walks ahead of me. I smile and follow her silently.

   After walking for around two hours, I start to be more alert, as it’s witching hour right now.

   For those of you who don’t know, witching hour is between 2am to 4am. During these hours, devils and spirits are said to be the strongest. In other words, spirits might come out for real. This is, after all, a famous place for people to end their lives. Those who have remaining regrets before they die might end up as spirits and wander around the forest, not even realizing that they were already dead.

   Yui knows this too, which is why she’s slowing down and make sure to check her surrounding more carefully. I even start to hear leaves rustling when there’s no wind around.

   ‘You want me to take the front, Yui?’ I offer.

   She shakes her head. ‘It’s fine, Akira-kun. I can take up the front position too when it’s necessary.’

   ‘Alright, if you say so.’

   ‘Just so you know, I’m still mad at you.’

   ‘Can I be forgiven if I give you head pats?’

   Yui stops walking for a second, then slowly walks backwards so that she’s standing right in front of me. Wordlessly, I reach out my left hand to stroke her head. The more I stroke, the louder she purrs. I can’t see her expression right now, but I’m pretty sure that she has an ecstatic look.

   She pulls away my hand gently after a while.

   ‘Hmm? Did you had enough already?’

   ‘No, of course not. There’ no such thing as enough head pats from you, Akira-kun. It’s just that…’

   Yui points towards somewhere to our left. My night vision’s not as good as hers, so I need the help of my phone’s flashlight.

   When I point my phone’s flashlight at the general direction she’s pointing, I see a man walking straight towards the road while mumbling something that I can’t hear. At least, I think he’s mumbling, since his mouth is opening and closing.

   At first, I thought he was lost. But then, I realize something more important. The man is transparent. You can see through him like he’s made of glass.

   He’s wearing the uniform of an office worker and holding a brief case on his right hand. The suit and pants are quite wrinkly, and his shirt’s mostly unbuttoned. Also, he’s not wearing a necktie. After he got out of the forest, I could hear his mumbling more clearly.

   ‘...a drag. I have to go to work again. Why do I have to go? It’s not like I’m being appreciated anyway. All that stupid manager does is nag, nag, and nag. And when I come home, does my wife welcomes me back with a smile? No. I got nagged at some more. Why am I still alive?’

   Great. He’s one of those spirits who’s doesn’t realize that he’s dead. I don’t know about this anime, but in others this kind of spirit is quite hard to deal with, as one wrong word might agitate him and turn him into a vengeful apparition.

   ‘Hey, Yui. What do you want to do? Do we just leave him alone?’ I whisper to her.

   ‘Is it okay if I want to help him to pass on?’

   ‘Of course it is. Go ahead.’

   ‘Thank you.’

   Yui walks towards the spirit to strike up a conversation with him.

   ‘Good morning, sir.’ she tells him politely.

   ‘Oh, good morning young lady. What are you doing here this early in the morning?’

   ‘Well, my boyfriend and I are just taking a stroll.’ she begins.

   I notice that she’s blushing a bit when she introduces me as her boyfriend. Seriously, just how cute can this shrine maiden be?

   ‘A stroll, huh? Must be nice to be young. I remember those happier times, when my then-girlfriend and I were strolling along the beach of Odaiba. I took unpaid leave just to bring her there, and we had lots of fun.’

   He lets out a huge sigh.

   ‘That was the only good time I had ever since I started working, to be honest. After that, everyday is just work, getting nagged at, more work, more getting nagged at. I simply can’t find time to have fun anymore. And now, I have to work again.’

   ‘Oh, didn’t you know? Today is a public holiday. All companies are closed.’ Yui informs him.

   He looks at her in surprise. ‘It is?’

   ‘Yes. The schools are closed as well, which is why the two of us could find time to take a stroll.’

   ‘Blimey, I was so fixated on working I didn’t even know today’s date.’

   ‘You should use this chance to take a break. Perhaps you could go to Odaiba for old times’ sake?’

   ‘Yes, maybe I should. I could go for a swim, eat watermelons, listen to the sound of the waves, just relax and do nothing…’

   He drops his brief case. It disappears right after it leaves his hand.

   ‘Well, I’m off. Thanks for telling me that today’s a public holiday, young lady.’

   She smiles at him with the most angelic smile ever since by man. ‘You are most welcome. Have a nice trip.’

   The man smiles back and disappears. May he rests in peace. Yui looks at me and smiles again, although the smile this time is a bit sad.

   ‘Shall we continue with our “stroll”, Akira-kun?’ she asks me.

   ‘Yup.’

   Yui looks quite sad even after sending off the spirit, so I decide to talk to her about it.

   ‘You okay there?’ I ask.

   ‘Yes. It’s just so sad to see spirits like him who committed suicide and needs guidance in order to go to the afterlife.’

   ‘Well, this is the harsh reality. Not everyone can be happy while they’re still alive, and some people chose the easy way out in order to escape their miserable life.’

   ‘Did you ever had an urge to commit suicide?’

   ‘Well, it’s not until that level, but I sure had depression way before I met any of you. I mean, I was a Class 6 student. I thought that’s already my limit, and I would graduate without having a single achievement.’

   Of course, there’s also my old life where I have zero friends, mostly ignored by my own family, and definitely no girlfriend. But I’ve already left that life behind.

   ‘And now?’

   ‘I guess you could say I’m much happier. I received a double promotion, I did lots of good, and I have lovely girlfriends. I’ve never been happier.’

   ‘That’s good to hear. However, please tell me or someone, anyone at all if you ever feel depressed again.’

   ‘Don’t worry, I’ll definitely do that.’

   After walking some more, we get to meet some hikers who probably start hiking this early in the morning so that they could catch the first sunrise from the top of the mountain. A vast majority of them are middle-aged people or the elderly.

   ‘My, my. It’s rare to see young folks getting up this early to climb a mountain.’ an elderly man comments to his equally elderly wife when they see us.

   ‘Indeed. You’ll never catch our grandson crawling out of his bed before noon, much less at midnight!’ the wife chuckles.

   ‘Have the two of you been hiking this mountain for a long time?’ I ask them in an attempt to make conversation.

   ‘Aye. We’ve been hiking for…how long was it, dear?’

   ‘I think it was, what, forty years? Give or take a few years.’

   ‘Wait, are you saying that you have been hiking this mountain for forty years, each and every day?’

   ‘Sure am. Rain or shine, hot summer or cold winter, we never skipped our hiking for a single day.’ the man says proudly.

   ‘That’s really impressive.’ Yui says in awe.

   ‘Well, we didn’t had any money to go on fancy trips during our break back when we were young, so we came hiking. Before we know it, it became a habit of ours.’

   Yui and I ended up listening to their life stories while continuing our hike. Don’t get me wrong. I don’t find them boring at all. It’s just that we’re kind of rushing. Unfortunately, their stories are way too interesting to gloss over. Plus, it would be rude to interrupt them and continue our way.

   In the end, we only met a single spirit. It’s just as well too. I honestly don’t want other people to see them and get freaked out, or worse, get a heart attack.

   ‘Well, I’m sure it’s because the priests have been making rounds to send off any spirits they see.’ Yui informs in a small voice when I told her of the lack of other spirits. ‘The one we saw has most probably deceased recently.’

   The sun was about to rise from the horizon when we finally got to the top. And right on time too, as the elderly couple are just done with their last story.

   ‘Well then, we’ll just be standing here to wait for the sun to rise. I’m really sorry that we took up so much of your time.’ the wife apologizes. ‘It’s been a long while since we told our stories to someone, so we couldn’t stop once we started.’

   ‘Please don’t apologize.’ Yui says to her. ‘All your stories were very beautiful. Isn’t that right, Akira-kun?’

   I nod in agreement. ‘Absolutely. I don’t mind hearing it again if we ever have the time. Unfortunately, we have somewhere else to be right now, so I’m afraid that we’ll have to leave you.’

   ‘No no, please don’t mind us and go to wherever it is that you need to be.’

   We bow to each other, then Yui and I left the elderly couple and head for the shrine located further down on the road. I know we’re heading the right way since there’s a torii gate at the entrance.

   ‘Say, Yui. Will the priests who work there believe us if we just identify ourselves? I don’t fancy getting chased out for being mistaken as troublemakers.’

   ‘Don’t worry, Akira-kun. The head priest there has already been notified that we’ll be going there.’ she assures me. ‘Besides, I’m acquainted with the Assistant Head Priest there.’

   ‘Assistant Head Priest? Is he like your father’s subordinate or something?’

   ‘If you have to put it that way, yes. Like the Head Priest, his assistants were chosen by the Head Priest himself. After that, they get dispatched to temples all around Japan to watch over normal priests.’ Yui explains.

   ‘Wouldn’t it hurt someone’s pride if the head of a shrine is merely known as Assistant Head Priest?’

   ‘Well, it has been decided by the Emperor of Edo way back in the Meiji Era, so there’s nothing we can do about it. As for hurting someone’s pride…’

   From the way Yui ends her sentence and her expression that clearly says she doesn’t really wants to talk about it, I decide to let it slide. It’s probably something that an outsider should not hear.

   ‘It’s fine. You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.’

   ‘I’m sorry, Akira-kun. I was told to keep it a secret ever since it happened.’ Yui apologizes.

   ‘Then you have all the more reason not to tell me.’

   While we’re chatting, we’ve already reach the other end of the gate. There, a priest who dresses differently from the two priests behind him smiles and bows at us.

   ‘Welcome to Okumiya Shrine.’ he says to us.