Himeko was humming a happy little tune as she walked up to the front door of her house after returning from school. One of the nice things about a small town—almost a village, really—like Mahoroba was that housing was much less expensive than in the city. When they'd lived in Chiba, the Kurusugawas had only been able to afford an apartment, but between her father's promotion and the lower land values, they now had a house of their own.
Her little brother Shiro was playing in the front yard, throwing a bright red ball covered in blue stars. The ten-year-old's new puppy, named, appropriately enough, Kuro, pounced on the ball, a flying bundle of black fur. He worried at it with his teeth and batted it back and forth between his paws.
"Aw, Kuro, no, you're supposed to fetch the ball, not run off with it!" Shiro complained; apparently the puppy was not picking up on the finer points of the game. Kuro looked up at him and woofed, his tail wagging so hard his entire back end was wiggling back and forth. Shiro laughed, unable to resist the dog's good spirits.
Kuro's kind of like Shiro's version of Chikane-chan, Himeko thought. After all, Shiro had wanted a puppy ever since he was three, nearly all his life, and it was the move to Mahoroba that had made it possible since they now had both the money and the space for it. The thought made Himeko imagine Chikane with puppy ears and a tail and she snickered. Kuro heard her, turned, and barked once, which made Shiro look.
"Hime-neechan!"
"Hi, Shiro! How was school?" Kuro scampered over to her, hopping up and probably getting paw prints all over her tights.
"Not too bad. There's a lot of work, though." He frowned. "Why couldn't we have moved before the spring term started, so I wouldn't have to catch up?"
"That's just when Otousan got the job. You should be glad that we moved at all."
Kuro scampered back to Shiro and pounced on his shoes, trying to bite at the trailing end of his shoelace. The boy grinned at the puppy.
"Yeah, I'm really glad we came here. I like this place a lot. You seem really happy too, neechan."
"Mmn!"
"Did something good happen?"
"Well, I joined the kendo team today."
Shiro laughed.
"Ha! That's funny, neechan!"
"Shiro, I was serious," Himeko pouted.
He looked at her in disbelief.
"No way! You're going to fight with swords and everything? But you're a total spaz! Do you know which end to hold?"
Himeko drew herself up proudly.
"Actually, they said I was the second-best one on the team!"
"Wow!" Shiro looked impressed, then went on to explain precisely what he was impressed about. "They must be, like, the worst team ever or something!"
"Oooooh, I am so going to...to...to...well, something awful, you can be sure!"
"Ha! You'd have to catch me first," he teased, "and you totally run like a girl." He scampered off, the puppy scurrying at his heels. Shiro's laughter at getting the last word in on his big sister trailed in his wake, making Himeko sigh. Forgetting that she herself had had pretty much the same concerns all day, she drew herself up and thought, That little brat! We'll just see what he's saying when we win our first tournament! Full of righteous indignation, she went into the house, took off her shoes, and slipped her feet into house slippers.
"Hi, Okaasan! I'm home!" she called. Himeko's mother was a housewife; in Chiba, she'd occasionally worked at part-time jobs to help out the family finances in leaner years, but with the family in a better financial position she was able to spend her time fully at home. Her hobby was ikebana, and Himeko noted a new arrangement on the table in the little hall between foyer, living room, and kitchen.
"Himeko, could you come in here, please?"
"Sure, Okaasan!"
Her mother sounded serious, and when Himeko walked into the neat kitchen, her face was equally serious. She got another surprise, too; her father was home early, sitting at the oblong kitchen table where they ate their meals. His expression, too, was serious, even dark, his lips pressed together into a thin line and his square jaw clenched in a sullen attitude.
"Otousan, you're home early. Is everything all right?"
Himeko's mother turned from the steaming pot she was stirring.
"No, Himeko," she answered the question for her husband. "Everything is not all right."
Himeko blinked, worried.
"Is it Otousan's health?" To her father she added, "Is that why you're home early?"
The answer, if any, was interrupted when Shiro ran into the room.
"That smells really good, Okaasan! How long will it be until dinner?" Seeing the tense atmosphere, he suddenly fell silent, then asked in a very small voice, "Is...is something wrong?"
"Shiro, please go to your room and take Kuro with you. Your mother and I are having an important discussion with your sister."
Ordinarily he would have protested or at least asked what it was about, but the boy picked up on the fact that his father was extremely serious. He bent and picked up the squirming puppy, then left the kitchen. A few moments later, they heard the patter of feet on the stairs telling them that Shiro had obeyed and was not trying to snoop at the door.
"This isn't about your father or myself, Himeko," her mother began again. "This is about you, and what you've done."
"Me?" Himeko squeaked. She hadn't done anything. She hadn't even forgotten any of her chores! And it was only the second day of school, so her parents couldn't be annoyed about her grades again.
"Himeko, what's wrong with you? How could you have done such a thing?" her father suddenly barked, making her jump in shock.
"Dad, what are you talking about?" she asked helplessly.
"Did you think we wouldn't find out? That there weren't going to be consequences?"
"I don't understand. I haven't done anything!"
They both stared at her.
"Are you actually going to stand there and deny it to our faces?" he snapped, his anger building. Himeko's mother, though, actually started to look hopeful.
"Now, Hajime, dear, Himeko has never lied to us in the past. After all, it's only rumors. Perhaps it's only been a misunderstanding."
"A misunderstanding! She—" He broke off, then took a deep breath, mastering his emotions.
"You'll tell us the truth, won't you, Himeko?"
"Of course, Okaasan."
"Well, then?"
Himeko stared at her helplessly.
"Himeko?"
"You haven't even told me what I'm supposed to have done!"
They looked at her incredulously, then at each other.
"Eiko?"
Himeko's mother nodded.
"We didn't say, you know. And if it isn't true, then she really might have no idea what we're talking about."
Hajime Kurusugawa nodded, then turned back to his daughter.
"Do you know a girl named Himemiya at school?"
"Chikane-chan? Of course! She's beautiful and amazing and I know you'll love her when you get to meet her!"
"Himeko!" her father cut her off sharply, then went on to put it in words, a sour look on his face. "Are you or are you not engaged in a homosexual relationship with Himemiya Chikane?"
Oh.
She supposed she should have figured it out when her father mentioned "rumors." The same kids who'd seen them kissing, who'd spread the rumors through school, might have told their families as well. Adults would tell other adults, particularly if this world's Himemiya family was anything like that of previous lives. Of course it would be sure to get back to Himeko's father.
"Yes," Himeko answered.
Eiko's face fell; the spoon handle slipped from her fingers and clacked against the side of the pot.
"My God," her father muttered. "So you don't even deny it."
"Chikane-chan and I love each other!"
"Love!" Hajime protested. "You only met yesterday! How can you be talking about love?"
"It's true," Himeko argued. "We really are in love!" She wished she could explain, but the truth about their past lives and their relationship would just sound like nonsense to her parents. The Kurusugawas didn't even know of the legend, since they weren't from Mahoroba. I wish Chikane-chan was here, Himeko thought helplessly. She'd know what to say.
Her father made growling noises, and her mother just sighed.
"Himeko, we know this isn't your fault," Eiko began. "Girls get crushes on other girls sometimes; it's a natural part of growing up before you properly find a young man. And we don't believe for a moment the things people are saying about you."
"W-what are they saying?" Himeko asked.
It was her father who answered.
"The rumor is that you seduced the Himemiya girl into this perverted relationship."
"It's not perverted!" Himeko protested.
"Apparently, she's some kind of school idol, so everyone's talking about it, particularly given who her family is."
"We don't blame you, Himeko," her mother said. "To someone rich and beautiful and unscrupulous, a sheltered girl like you would be easy prey, but you must see how it would look to outsiders."
"Stop it!" Himeko yelled. "Stop saying those horrible things about Chikane-chan!"
"You're defending her?" Hajime lashed out.
"She didn't do anything wrong! She didn't lure me or seduce me or anything like that!" She turned back to her mother. "And, Okaasan, this isn't some crush or temporary fad. I've known for a long time that I like girls in...in that way."
Himeko's mother gasped in shock at this pronouncement. Her father slammed the flat of his hand down on the table.
"Then in essence, you're saying that the rumors are correct. Himemiya-san was a normal, innocent girl before she became involved with you."
"Why is it so wrong?" Himeko protested. "We're just like any other couple in love. Just because we're both girls—"
"Do you have any idea what you've done?" he roared, and Himeko flinched back. Her reaction obviously caught his attention; he sat back in his seat, clenching his teeth as he again tried to leash his anger.
"H-Himeko," her mother stammered. "If this is true, then why didn't you ever tell us?"
"It...wasn't important, Okaasan. I mean, not until now. I wasn't interested in dating anybody until I met Chikane-chan, so...I guess I was a little scared?"
"But you're so young. How can you be so certain? Maybe you just haven't met the right boy yet, and—"
Himeko shook her head.
"No, Mom; it's not a phase. I'm never going to want to date a man." It occurred to her that she was technically deceiving her parents on this point, since she was bisexual rather than an actual lesbian like Chikane, but the statements she was making were the literal truth. Since she had Chikane, she knew and always had known she wouldn't want to be in a relationship with any boy, no matter how nice or attractive he was.
"Himeko, you can't know what you're saying, not when—"
"Eiko, that isn't the point now," Himeko's father cut his wife off. "Whether Himeko is just experimenting with romance or if she really is...different, that's something we can worry about later. The problem is this so-called relationship with Himemiya-san."
"It's not 'so-called'!" Himeko protested.
"Whatever it is, it ends now."
Himeko stared at him. This can't be happening, she babbled to herself. She couldn't understand what was going on.
"You are to have no contact with Himemiya-san other than what is mandated by your teachers at school," he went on remorselessly. "You will not speak to her, you will not call her or take calls, you will not exchange texts or e-mails, you will not sit together with her or be alone together in any way. You will do nothing, do you understand me, that can be construed as you having any kind of relationship with her."
"No!"
"This is not a discussion, Himeko. This is final."
Himeko's hands tightened on the handle of her school bag. Her vision clouded with tears, and it felt like it was hard to breathe, her throat glowing close, choked up.
"No!" Himeko repeated, then unconsciously fell into the most common protest, just or not, of a child facing a parental edict. "This isn't fair, to say something like that. You don't have any reason for it!"
Anger rushed back into his expression like a thunderbolt, completely consuming it. Himeko couldn't understand why he was so angry; it was like facing off against Orochi all over again except this was somehow worse, because this was someone she cared for, a man who'd always been there for her, supporting and looking out for her as a child. She found that a lot scarier than demons or monsters. It's like a nightmare! she quailed.
"Not fair?" Hajime shouted. "No reason? Don't you understand what your little game is doing to this family?"
"I thought...I thought..." Tears were starting to stream down her face, but she found her courage. "I thought that my family would be happy that I've found someone that I love, someone that loves me back and wants to be with me!"
"Is your 'love' worth seeing this family out in the street?" her father shot back. "Because that's where it's going to end up!"
Himeko gasped, a kind of sick, phlegmy sound because of how choked up she was.
"I don't—"
"Understand? Of course you don't. You didn't stop to think, because all you cared about was your pretty little dream romance. You didn't think of how your selfishness would end up hurting other people, did you?"
"Hajime, dear—"
"No, Eiko. She was the one who said we didn't have any reason, that she didn't understand. So I'm going to make sure that she does understand." He turned from his wife back to his daughter. "That's what you want, isn't it, Himeko? Or maybe it isn't. Maybe it's easier for your little fantasy if your parents are ogres, trying to separate you for the fun of it? After all, what's the fun of forbidden love if no one is forbidding it?"
"Hajime!"
"That isn't it!"
"Then consider this. Forget the embarrassment you'll cause your mother and myself. Forget how hard it is for Shiro to move to a new school at his age and make new friends ordinarily, before the entire town knows about his sister. Let's just consider the most important point. Why are we here at all? Why did we come to Mahoroba in the first place?"
"Because you...because you got a promotion at work," Himeko said between sniffles.
"And where do I work?"
"K-Kamiyatate Pharmaceutical."
"Which is a key division of the Himemiya Financial Group. Do you understand now, Himeko? Your girlfriend's family owns the company I work for. What do you think will happen, with my daughter putting the Himemiya heiress's name on every pair of lips in town, making her an object of derision and contempt? It's already started. In one day, one day since you met this girl, my section chief has already started dropping heavy-handed hints about how the personal conduct of employees and their families reflects on the company as a whole. That's after a single day, Himeko. This isn't a joking matter or a child's game. If you stay on like this, I'm going to lose my job, and for a misconduct discharge, without references or recommendations, which will mean I'll very likely never be able to work in my profession again. At the very least, we'll lose this house, since we won't be able to make the payments on the mortgage. Then there's your future, and that of your brother. Tuition at a decent school, to say nothing of college, is expensive. You'll have ruined all of us with your little romance. Is that what you want? Is it?"
Himeko shuddered as his words lashed out at her. No wonder her father was so angry—it was fear, plain terror for himself and his family, everything he'd worked for, that was driving him. They were real fears, too; she'd seen the petty, grasping nature of people in the past. The way people like the fangirls from that morning had been contemptuous and resentful of "someone like Himeko" being close to Chikane, just for being ordinary. How much worse would it be if she did something that so many people actually believed was in and of itself immoral? They'd be sure to blame Himeko, and by extension her family. To want to punish the Kurusugawas for their "sins."
Her father was right. All those things could happen, if she didn't obey him and let Chikane go. If only she'd known! They'd kept their relationship secret in their previous life; they could do it again. Himeko had been thoughtless, though. She'd only considered their own happiness, how much she knew Chikane had hated hiding it, how much she herself wanted to be able to say it plainly and openly. It would serve her right if she had to be separated from Chikane again, a punishment for her own selfishness. She ought to obey her father for the whole family's sake.
But she couldn't.
She could do it to herself, but not to Chikane.
Chikane had sacrificed so much for her, lost her time and again through the ages, wandered lost and alone, waded through blood and pain and seen her sanity shattered, been lost in an unspeakable despair. I can't...I can't abandon her again. Not even for something temporary, a few years. I just promised her yesterday that I wouldn't have any regrets.
"I can't!" she sobbed. "I can't do that to Chikane-chan again!"
Her parents gaped at her, speechless. It could have been her refusal—Himeko had always been a well-behaved and obedient girl, though with a strongly-developed sense of right and wrong. Or if they were paying close attention they might have wondered what she meant by "again," when she'd apparently known Chikane for all of one day. They couldn't know about fate or destiny or past lives.
She couldn't betray Chikane. It would be like cutting out a piece of her own soul.
But what about my family?
It was too much for Himeko. Being caught in the middle like that was a burden she wasn't prepared for. Tears streaming down her face, she bolted, running for the door.
"Himeko!" her father shouted, leaping from his chair. "Come back here! Himeko!"
She didn't heed him, though. She rushed through the hall into the foyer, wrenched open the door, and ran out of the house into the late-afternoon sun, sun that had seemed warm and full of promise but now felt harsh and mocking.
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