The curriculum at Metropolitan High School had always been fairly relaxed.
After lunch break, there were only two minor classes left, the sort of lessons students attended with half their minds already drifting toward after-school plans.
By the time the final bell rang, the classroom loosened like a knot coming undone.
Chairs scraped.
Bags were zipped.
Students called out to friends about club activities, cram school, karaoke, shopping streets, and whether anyone wanted to stop by the convenience store before heading home.
Tachibana Hibiki, a model member of the going-home club, had no interest in participating in any of it.
The moment class ended, he packed his bag with practiced efficiency and prepared to escape the suffocating campus as quickly as possible.
But just as he reached the classroom door, his steps stopped.
For some reason, he turned back.
His gaze swept across the classroom before finally settling on Mizuki Mirei, who was preparing to leave for kyudo practice.
Hibiki walked over.
“Mizuki-san.”
Mizuki looked up, a little surprised.
“Tachibana-san?
Is something wrong?”
Hibiki studied her face.
She was smiling, but the sorrow beneath that smile was too obvious to hide.
The matter of Shihou Shrine had clearly been weighing on her since lunch.
“The shrine situation must still be bothering you,” he said.
Mizuki’s fingers tightened slightly around her bag strap.
Before she could respond, Hibiki continued in his usual flat tone.
“A new French dessert shop opened nearby.
I heard their macarons are good.”
He paused.
“As thanks for lunch today, my treat.”
The invitation came without warning.
Mizuki froze.
Her mind blanked for a full second.
He…
He was inviting her out?
After school?
To a dessert shop?
Did that mean…
A date?
Heat rushed from her chest to her face.
Her cheeks flushed bright red, and her heart missed several beats before making up for it with frantic pounding.
“Um…
I…”
She waved her hands in a panic, completely losing the cool composure she usually maintained.
“I’ll ask for leave from club!
You…
wait for me!”
Without waiting for Hibiki’s reaction, Mizuki turned and fled toward the restroom at the end of the hallway like a startled rabbit.
Hibiki watched her go, expression unchanged.
Girls were really difficult to understand.
Inside the restroom, Mizuki rushed to the sink and splashed cold water onto her burning cheeks.
Again.
Then again.
The chill finally pulled her back from the edge of complete panic, but her heart was still beating so hard it felt ready to jump out of her throat.
With trembling fingers, she took out her phone, opened LINE, found the contact labeled Senpai Kinuko, and typed quickly.
[Mirei: Senpai Kinuko!
He…
he invited me to a dessert shop!]
The reply came almost immediately.
[Senpai Kinuko: Oh?
Really?
Well done!
Looks like my plan worked!
Good luck, Mirei-kouhai!
Reviving the glory of Shihou Shrine depends entirely on you!
Go for it!]
Mizuki stared at the screen.
The words were enthusiastic, encouraging, and far too provocative.
She leaned against the cold sink, and a complicated, bitter smile appeared on her face.
A few minutes later, after fixing her hair and applying a little light makeup to make herself look less haggard, Mizuki took a deep breath and left the restroom.
Hibiki was already waiting at the school gate.
He leaned against the wall with his head lowered, idly tapping at his phone.
When he saw her approach, he looked up as naturally as if nothing unusual had happened.
“Let’s go.”
Then, as if remembering something, he raised his phone.
“Right.
I don’t think we’ve exchanged LINE contacts yet.
Is that okay?”
“Ah…
y-yes!
That’s fine!”
Mizuki’s heart began racing again.
She hurriedly took out her phone, nearly dropping it once before finally exchanging contact information with him.
After leaving the school, the two walked side by side along the evening street.
The dessert shop Hibiki mentioned was not far away.
It stood on a commercial street near the school, tucked between a flower shop and a stylish little café, its glass windows decorated with elegant gold lettering and pastel displays.
Along the way, Mizuki’s thoughts were in complete chaos.
This…
this should count as a date, right?
When we get there, what should I talk about?
Books?
He likes writing, doesn’t he?
Or maybe movies?
What movies are popular lately?
What if he suggests walking around after dessert?
What if he asks to watch a movie?
What if…
What if after dessert, he wants to take me to his apartment or a hotel?
The thought nearly made steam rise from her head.
Although she had approached him with the hope of connecting Shihou Shrine to the Tachibana family, that did not mean she was mentally prepared to move that quickly.
Wasn’t this pace too fast?
Far too fast?
While Mizuki’s imagination ran so far ahead that it had nearly begun naming their future children, Hibiki, who was walking slightly in front, stepped into the dessert shop.
Mizuki hurried after him.
Before she could properly look around the interior, Hibiki had already purchased something from the counter and walked back out.
In his hand was a beautifully packaged paper bag.
He turned and handed it to her.
“Here.”
Mizuki blinked.
“This is the thank-you gift I mentioned.”
The warm dessert box was placed directly into her hands.
Hibiki’s expression remained calm.
“I have something else to do, so I won’t walk you home.
Be careful on your way back.”
Then he waved, turned around, and left in the opposite direction without the slightest hesitation.
He disappeared into the evening crowd before Mizuki could even process what had happened.
She stood alone on the sidewalk, holding the beautifully packaged macaron set.
The cold evening wind blew through her hair.
Her heart, which had been racing wildly only a moment ago, seemed to freeze solid.
“The date…”
Her voice came out weak and empty.
“It ended just like that?”
She remained standing there for a long time before finally recovering from the violent rise and fall of emotion.
She had been completely, utterly, mercilessly abandoned.
A wave of grievance and shame surged up inside her.
Her eyes stung, and for a moment, she almost cried right there in the street.
With nowhere else to vent, Mizuki took out her phone again and turned to Senpai Kinuko, like a bullied young wife seeking comfort.
[Mirei: (Crying) (Crying) (Crying)]
[Senpai Kinuko: ?
What happened?
Did the date not go well?]
[Mirei: He…
he didn’t want to go on a date with me at all!
He called me out, shoved dessert into my hands, and left!
He left!!!]
[Senpai Kinuko: …]
[Senpai Kinuko: Hahahahahaha!!!]
Through the screen, Mizuki could almost hear the other party’s unrestrained, deafening laughter.
[Senpai Kinuko: Sorry, sorry, I couldn’t help it.
But that really does sound like something blockhead Kyo would do.]
[Senpai Kinuko: I told you before, that guy’s emotional intelligence is terrifyingly low.
In his eyes, you’re probably no different from a lamppost on the side of the road.
He doesn’t see you as a girl at all, does he?]
[Mirei: (Heartbroken)]
[Senpai Kinuko: Alright, alright, don’t be sad.]
[Senpai Kinuko: By the way, let me tell you something important.
Something huge happened in Tokyo recently.
You definitely won’t believe it, but legendary oni and gods might actually exist.]
[Mirei: ?
Really?]
[Senpai Kinuko: Would I lie to you?
I’ll send you the exclusive video I got through my connections.
It’s bloody, so prepare yourself first.]
A few seconds later, an MP4 file appeared in the chat.
Mizuki stared at the file for a while.
Then she quietly put her phone away.
Shihou Shrine was located in the suburbs of Tokyo.
Even by taking the fastest train from the city center, reaching it took quite some time.
By the time Mizuki Mirei dragged her exhausted body back onto the familiar mountain path leading to her family’s shrine, the sunset on the horizon had turned the color of blood.
The forest path was quiet.
The city’s noise faded behind her, replaced by rustling leaves, distant birdsong, and the occasional creak of old wood somewhere deeper in the shrine grounds.
Every blade of grass, every tree, every stone lantern along the path filled her with painful nostalgia.
This was where she had grown up.
The only home she and her father had.
The final crystallization of hundreds of years of Mizuki family heritage.
And now, that home was about to be taken from them.
Japan’s religious world had always been deeply entangled with politics.
Once the political ally the Mizuki family had relied on fell from power, their standing within Shinto circles declined sharply.
Now, they were treated like a dying household.
A shrine with history, land, and no protector.
In other words, prey.
If we can’t find a new, powerful ally…
Mizuki lowered her gaze.
Those people really will take Shihou Shrine away.
Her father, Mizuki Daikei, the current head priest, was too gentle.
Too weak.
Too kindhearted.
Expecting him to maneuver between politicians, religious organizations, creditors, and opportunists to find a new backer for the family was almost impossible.
Which meant the burden of reviving the family had quietly fallen onto her shoulders.
A girl of only seventeen.
Mizuki subconsciously tightened her grip on the dessert shop bag in her hand.
An unprecedented urgency rose in her chest.
Should I be more decisive?
Her thoughts drifted unwillingly to Hibiki.
Tachibana-san…
doesn’t seem like a bad person.
She bit her lip and stepped onto the shrine approach with a heart full of self-pity.
From there, she could already see the torii gate of Shihou Shrine.
The shrine gate looked somewhat worn from years of insufficient maintenance.
The paint had faded, and some of the old wood bore clear signs of weathering.
There was no helping it.
With too little money and too few people, the Mizuki family no longer had the ability to properly maintain such a large compound.
Mizuki walked into the shrine courtyard and instinctively prepared to call out to her father as she usually did.
But before she could speak, she stopped.
The inner sanctum, which should have been quiet at this hour, had voices coming from inside.
Visitors.
No.
Not just visitors.
Arguments.
Mizuki’s expression changed.
Curiosity and unease pulled her forward.
She stepped lightly across the courtyard, hid herself in the shadow near the corner, and listened.
What she heard made her blood run cold.
“Chief Priest Mizuki, we originally agreed to give you one month to consider.”
The man’s voice was polite.
Far too polite.
Beneath that courtesy was something chilling.
“However, our leader changed his mind today.
He hopes you can make a decision as soon as possible and formally transfer this compound and the land to the Meiyuan Church.”
Mizuki’s fingers clenched around the paper bag.
The man continued calmly.
“All of Shihou Shrine’s current external debts have already been transferred to the Meiyuan Church.
Therefore, our request is completely reasonable and legal.”
A pause.
“We hope the Mizuki family will stop this pointless resistance.”
His voice lowered slightly.
“Chief Priest, you wouldn’t want your precious daughter, who is still attending high school, to meet with an accident on her way home, would you?”
Mizuki’s breathing stopped.
“You must have heard of our Church’s methods.”
…..