After Birthday lunch
“Whoa— that scared me…”
I can’t believe I’d run into a girl from my class at a hotel of all places.
It was supposed to be a birthday treat—my parents took me to this hotel buffet. I was busy being impressed by all the fancy food and happily digging in when I noticed a couple nearby.
They looked like high schoolers, no question.
Man… it’d be nice to have a cool boyfriend and come somewhere like this for lunch…
That’s what I was thinking as I casually watched them.
…Huh?
The guy looked familiar.
Oh—right. He’s a second-year at Hime High. That good-looking guy who always walks to school with girls from my class.
So he does have a girlfriend. And—wow—where did he even find a girl that pretty? There’s no one like her at Hime High, right? If there were, every guy in school would be freaking out.
I mean… I’ve seriously never seen a girl that pretty before.
Whoa—she just ate the piece of cake he picked up with his fork. From the side. And she’s smiling like she’s so happy about it.
Now she’s reaching toward his mouth—what is she doing? Wait… is she wiping it?
Huh? Huh? Did she just… lick her finger? She’s not his mom dealing with a little kid or something. That’s insane. What are they even trying to show off, doing that here?
…?
Is that girl looking over here?
Not just that—she’s smiling. And she even waved at me. Oh crap—she totally noticed I was staring. I quickly looked down.
“Rin? Is something wrong?”
My mom spoke to me.
“…It’s nothing.”
After a while, I ran out of food and got up from my seat.
I was scooping some chicken stewed in tomato sauce when someone suddenly said, “Hi.”
Startled, I turned around—and there she was. The girl from earlier. Her long, wavy hair was tied up in a ponytail. An oval face, sparkling dark eyes, smooth, flawless skin… and a slightly mischievous expression.
Wait… could it be—
“Soto-chan?”
“Yeah.”
I was honestly shocked.
Kinashi Sotoko.
So she actually looks like this… I always thought she had nice features, but I had no idea she was this pretty. I’d only ever seen her in that sailor-fuku uniform, with her long hair down and those thick black-rimmed glasses.
Then I found out we even share the same birthday—and that shocked me all over again.
I am never trusting horoscopes based on birthdates again.
Like, what is this difference?
It’s not just her looks. Soto-chan is top of the class academically, and everyone says she’ll definitely get into Miyairi next year. I’ve also heard she’s fast at long-distance running. She’s bright, confident… basically the complete opposite of timid, awkward me.
“Must be nice, Soto-chan. Getting your birthday celebrated by such a great boyfriend.”
I said exactly what I was thinking, and she shot back immediately:
“I told you before, didn’t I? He’s not my boyfriend.”
Right. I’d heard that already—that the good-looking guy was actually her older brother.
Man… what an amazing brother. Even though he’s in high school, he still properly celebrates his little sister’s birthday. Ah… I wish I had an older brother like that too.
Even after I went back to my seat, I couldn’t stop thinking about the siblings at the other table. The little sister’s face would light up every time she smiled, and her older brother would just watch her gently, like it was the most natural thing in the world.
Before long, they stood up. Sotoko-chan even waved at me. Watching the two of them leave together, they honestly looked just like a super close couple.
…I’m jealous.
Here I am, being taken out by my parents for a birthday treat like this, getting celebrated, enjoying all this amazing food…And yet, I don’t know why, but I suddenly felt really sad.
I went back home and flopped face-down onto my bed.
“Rin.”
“Yeah, what is it, big bro?”
“Happy birthday.”
“…That’s it?”
“Do you want something?”
“…”
…Hmm, no, that’s not it.
—
“Rin.”
“Yeah, what is it, big bro?”
“We’re going out.”
“Where to?”
“Just come with me. Don’t ask.”
…Okay, no, that’s way too pushy…
—
“Rin.”
“Yeah, what is it, big bro?”
“It’s your birthday today, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Anywhere you wanna go?”
“You’ll take me somewhere?”
“Yeah.”
“Then… I wanna eat something good.”
…Wait, isn’t that exactly what I told my dad?
—
Just the two of us at a hotel buffet.
“Rin.”
“Yeah?”
“What do you want to eat?”
“Um, the chicken in tomato sauce and—”
“Alright, I’ll go get it.”
“…”
No, seriously, shouldn’t we go together…?
—
I suddenly remembered that moment—Soto-chan wiping something from her brother’s mouth with her finger.
“Hey, you’ve got cake on your face.”
“Huh? Where?”
“Geez, hold still, I’ll get it.”
My finger traces along his lips.
—Wait, what?!
No way, no way, no way, no way.
That’s not something you do with your brother!!
—
Lost in all these ridiculous fantasies, I was snapped back to reality by my mom calling from downstairs.
“Rin! You still haven’t taken Shiro out for a walk!”
“Yeeah, yeah, I’m going!”
“‘A great evil will appear tonight.’”
Not long after I went out walking the dog, I heard a voice like that. A familiar boy was standing in front of me.
“How many will be sacrificed?”
The words came out of my mouth on their own.
“No idea. At the very least, in this world, the lives of the women who became their mothers were taken.”
“In this world? You mean it has appeared before?”
“So many times I’ve lost count.”
“Something like that… has it really not shown up for so long? I haven’t been watching just Iyo, but still…”
“It’s been about seven hundred years since it last appeared.”
“Seven hundred… that long?”
“Last time, a land deity sealed it. The villagers gathered and even raised a monument.”
“And even though it was sealed, it’s come back?”
“Yeah. That’s why its roots run deep.”
I had no control over any of that conversation.
Ever since the god known as the Sea Deity of the Seto descended upon me, the voices of gods would sometimes speak through me like this. Though, to be fair, there were only ever two I spoke with.
Come to think of it, the boy standing before me now was probably the same—some god had descended into him, making him speak against his own will. I remembered he’d said “Ishizuchi” before… Ishizuchi—that’s the highest peak in Shikoku, Mount Ishizuchi, isn’t it?
Even so…
What on earth were they talking about? “Evil”? What does that even mean?
“Evil refers to souls that have fallen into endless hell, leaving their grudges behind in this world.”
…Huh?
“Such evil possesses those who are yet to be born. Those who are possessed have their lives controlled by its will, and at times, they may even take the lives of others around them.”
The boy in front of me said that.
I guess he was kindly explaining it for my sake, but… I still didn’t really get it.
A god descended into me, right?
Doesn’t that mean my body is being controlled by a god’s will right now?
Then what’s the difference between that and being possessed by this so-called “evil”?
“Gods do not involve themselves in individuals. They do not interfere in the life of the one they descend upon. Evil is different. Evil replaces the person it possesses.”
Then what happens to the person who gets possessed?
“They go on living as the reincarnation of that evil.”
That’s… pretty awful. Is there any way to prevent it?
“There isn’t.”
Then what’s the point of freaking out about it?
“Exactly.”
…Huh?
A voice echoed inside my head.
“Panicking will not make evil disappear. If humans are born into this world and live out their lives fully, no evil will remain. However, that is a matter for humans. It is not something the gods involve themselves in.”
The boy spoke again.
“One must ensure no grudges remain the next time. To prevent souls from wandering forever, their resentment must be removed. That was the belief of the land deity of Iyo—that doing so would bring stability to the land.”
…A rebuttal?
The god inside me said nothing more.
—
Woof, woof, woof!
Shiro barked, and I snapped back to myself.
The boy who had been standing in front of me was gone. Looking around, I spotted him running off in the distance. He was probably training. I’d often seen him running since he was a kid. People always praised how quietly and seriously he worked at it.
—
Being pulled along by my dog, I walked through the neighborhood and came out by a pond. The setting sun was shining over it.
I sat down on a bench in front of the shrine and let go of Shiro’s leash.
Shiro ran off freely. He likes this shrine since he can run around as much as he wants.
…?
For a moment, I thought I saw a shrine maiden. Is someone inside the shrine?
That’s weird… this place doesn’t even have a resident priest.
Shiro came running back. I peeked into the shrine, but there was no one there.
Guess it was just my imagination. I took Shiro and headed home.
…What a weird birthday.
It was supposed to be my day, and instead I just got shown someone else’s happiness. How pathetic.
And even after coming home, I got dragged into something that has absolutely nothing to do with me.
…I’m exhausted today.
