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Susabi had no idea how he got dragged into yet another girls-only party. He had stumbled upon the first one purely by chance and it wasn’t like he was particularly close to the other three spirits.
Yet here he was once again, seated beneath a majestic red maple tree while listening to them prattle on about their plans to conquer the world.
Or rather, it was more accurate to say that Kingyo was prattling on about her plans to conquer the world while Kaguya listened attentively and Enenra looked on in amusement.
When there was finally a rare lull in conversation, Susabi was surprised when Kaguya addressed him directly. “Uhm, Susabi-san,” she said softly. “I really like what you’re wearing today.”
Despite knowing exactly what he had worn, her words made him glance reflexively down at his own clothes. In the spirit of the autumn season and momijigari, Susabi had changed out of his usual formal blue robes and into a white one interspersed with patterns of red and black instead. He had also pulled his unruly hair, currently in a dark shade of black to match his robes, back in a neat braid that trailed down his back. He gave her a short nod of acknowledgement. “Thank you for saying so.”
“It does look nice, doesn’t it?” Enenra said with a thoughtful hum. “If I didn’t know any better, I would have thought that you were dressing up for something…or someone,” she added with a sly smile.
Susabi merely shot her a flat look in response, unwilling to rise to her bait.
Kingyo stomped her foot, unhappy that the attention was suddenly redirected from her. “Hmph! Who cares about what he is wearing! I have something that’s much better than a new outfit!”
“What is it, Kingyo-chan?” Kaguya asked graciously.
“This!” Kingyo withdrew something from within her sleeves and presented it with a flourish. In her hand was a small, flat stone about half the size of her palm. The stone was smooth like sea glass and colored a soft shade of blue that was reminiscent of a cloudless summer sky and when Kingyo held the stone up so that it could catch a stray beam of sunlight, it shimmered with a thousand iridescent shades of green and blue.
Kaguya gasped. “How pretty!”
Kingyo puffed her chest out proudly. “It is, isn’t it? I found it when I was swimming around with Goldfish the other day. Isn’t it the prettiest stone you’ve ever seen?”
“It is,” Kaguya agreed readily.
“Not bad at all,” Enenra conceded. Even Susabi was hard-pressed to admit that he had seen better.
“And that’s not even the best part!” Kingyo proclaimed. “So I asked around and apparently, this stone is a magical artifact with a special ability!”
This statement brought forth another round of admiring words from Kaguya.
A magical artifact? It was true that when Susabi concentrated, he was able to sense the faintest trace of spiritual energy on the stone. It didn’t seem to be malicious in nature, but he decided to speak up and ask anyways, “And what special ability does it possess?”
Kingyo opened her mouth, about to doubtlessly launch into a long-winded explanation, but before she could, Susabi glanced away, distracted by the sudden shift he felt in the atmosphere. His attention was drawn to the new energy signature he suddenly felt, the familiar aura brushing against his senses like a gentle spring breeze, and his body subconsciously relaxed before his mind could even register the lack of threat.
“Lady Enma did mention that I might be able to find you here, Susabi-sama,” a serene voice said pleasantly.
Susabi turned around fully to address the newcomer. “Ren,” he greeted, surprised. The last time he had seen the other spirit, Ren was preparing to travel to a faraway village to help the people there after a particularly bad drought had destroyed most of their crops. He wasn’t expecting to see him back until another week or so.
Susabi’s dragon flew forward to greet Ren’s own, but he barely took notice of this. Instead, his focus was on the unfamiliar figure in front of him. “Your form…” Susabi started to say before his voice trailed off.
Instead of the familiar cascade of sleek silver hair and gracefully curving horns, Ren’s hair was currently a startling ink-black color and tied back in a long, thin braid. His signature horns were nowhere in sight and his usual flowing robes had also been replaced by more form-fitting robes of red and black. If not for his dragon, Ren could have easily passed off for a wandering traveler.
Ren merely smiled in response. “I needed to blend in with the humans, so it was easier for me to take on a form more similar to their own.”
“I see. It…suits you,” Susabi said none too eloquently. While Susabi made it clear that he held no lost love for humans in general, somehow, seeing Ren take on the form of one didn’t invoke in him the usual feelings of indifference and disdain. Or perhaps it was because it was Ren that made all the difference.
He had never seen Ren in any form other than his usual one and Susabi blamed this for his lack of self-discipline as he continued to stare at the other spirit for several long moments. He had almost forgotten that they had an audience until they were rudely interrupted.
“Hey!” Kingyo demanded, jabbing a finger at Ren’s direction. “Who are you?”
Immediately, Susabi snapped out of the stupor he had somehow fallen into and drew himself up as best as he could while remaining seated, feeling affronted on Ren’s behalf. “Mind your manners,” he said coolly. “Do you realize who it is you are addressing? This is-”
Before he could continue, Ren extended a hand out to stop him and gave him a silent look of gratitude. He then directed a gentle smile to the still pouting Kingyo. “I am Ichimokuren, nothing more than a humble spirit. Might I ask for your name?”
Slightly mollified by the attention Ren was giving her, Kingyo puffed out her chest and drew herself up to her full height, despite the fact that she barely reached Ren’s chest. “Me? I’m the great and cute Kingyo!” She then gestured grandly to Kaguya. “And this is my friend Kaguya!”
“Hello,” Kaguya greeted shyly.
“So you’re the infamous Ichimokuren,” Enenra commented. “I almost didn’t recognize you in that human guise.”
“I’m afraid my reputation has preceded me,” Ren demurred. “And you are?”
“Enenra, nothing more than a humble smoke spirit,” she said, echoing his previous words with a smirk. “Though I’m afraid I don’t have as prestigious of a reputation as you do.”
As the introductions were going on, no one noticed the way that Kaguya was glancing back and forth between Susabi and Ren, taking in their identical hairstyles, similarly patterned robes, and matching dragons. She finally couldn’t keep her curiosity at bay anymore and spoke up. “Uhm, excuse me, Ichimokuren-san, why do you look so similar to Susabi-san?”
“Ah!” Kingyo exclaimed, only just realizing this. “You’re right! You have matching dragons and everything!’
Before either of them could answer, Enenra interrupted with a sly smirk. “My, haven’t you heard of the human custom where couples would wear matching outfits?”
Kaguya’s mouth dropped open in understanding while Ren’s eyes widened in shock. Susabi fared only slightly better, barely managing to change his shocked sputter into a loud clearing of his throat.
“No, you misunderstand, that’s not-” a startled Ren started to say.
“Does that mean you’re a couple then?” Kingyo demanded with all the blunt candidness of a young child.
“Such an absurd question does not warrant a proper response,” Susabi intoned, aiming for cool indifference and only just managing to reach it.
“Then why do the both of you look similar?” Kingyo insisted. She pointed to the way their dragons were chasing each other through the sky, playfully intertwining and nipping at each other’s tails between their bouts of play-fighting. “Look, even your dragons act so familiar with one another!”
Kingyo was clearly not going to drop this topic any time soon, so Susabi attempted to divert her attention instead. “Were you not in the midst of explaining what your little artifact could do?”
Susabi thought that he had finally managed to shut down that line of questioning when Kingyo brightened up, but at her next words, he immediately regretted asking.
“Right! As I was saying, this is a very special stone! It has the ability to show you the one you hold dearest to your heart!” Kingyo announced with a flourish.
There was a moment of stunned silence before Kingyo was bombarded with a variety of different reactions.
Susabi immediately vowed not to get within ten feet of that stone even as Kaguya began to gush over the stone with renewed interest.
“So it can essentially act as a love detector,” Enenra said with an impish smile. “How interesting.”
“Exactly! Pretty cool, isn’t it?” Kingyo declared proudly.
“What an intriguing artifact,” Ren murmured thoughtfully before he shot a sidelong glance at Susabi. “Don’t you think so, Susabi-sama?”
Unwilling to let himself contemplate the implications of Ren’s question, Susabi crossed his arms and forced himself to keep his expression even. “I highly doubt there is a magical artifact that works in such a manner.”
Kingyo stomped her foot. “It does work! Watch, I’ll prove it to you!” She cradled the stone in her palms as she explained. “So first, the stone will glow if there is someone that you hold close to your heart.” Under everyone’s watchful gaze, the small stone in Kingyo’s hands began to emit a soft green light. “Then its surface will change to show you who your special somebody is.”
A few moments later, the stone’s surface, which previously reflected Kingyo’s eager face, rippled slightly before it was replaced with a new image.
Kingyo took one look at the image that had appeared and let out a loud shriek. “Ehhh?”
“W-What’s wrong, Kingyo-chan?” Kaguya asked, worried.
Enenra craned her head in for a better look and promptly burst out laughing. “After all that talk about wanting to beat him, who would have known that Lord Arakawa was the one you hold closest to your heart?” she said between chuckles.
Curious despite himself, Susabi chanced a closer look and saw that it was indeed the distinctive features of Lord Arakawa reflected clearly on the stone’s surface.
“No! How can this be? This is completely wrong!” Kingyo exclaimed. “I absolutely hate that bully! This stupid thing must be broken or something! Here, you try!” She forcefully thrust the stone into Enenra’s hand without warning.
Enenra took it without complaint, still looking amused. Again, everyone watched as the stone began to glow softly in her hand. But instead of revealing a new image, the stone’s surface was suddenly obscured with smoke, making it impossible to discern anything.
“A pity,” Enenra said, not looking particularly concerned at the unexpected outcome. “Looks like it’s not working for me. How about you give it a try, Kaguya?”
“Eh? Alright…” Kaguya obediently took the stone. Once again, it glowed softly and this time, an actual image did appear on the surface of the stone. Upon closer observation, they were able to make out a figure holding a flute—however the figure seemed to be shrouded in shadows and other than a vague outline, they couldn’t get a clear view of who it was.
Kingyo snatched the stone back from Kaguya, looking visibly frustrated with it. “What’s wrong with this thing? I don’t know why it isn’t working properly right now—it must be broken or something! Hey, you give it a try!” she suddenly demanded, pointing straight at Susabi.
Susabi felt his heart leap up to his throat, but outwardly, he didn’t express this with anything more than a slight tightening of his brows. Before he could try to find some way out of this predicament, Ren spoke up from beside him. “Would you mind if I try it?”
Susabi threw a startled glance at him, but the other spirit didn’t look particularly concerned. As if he sensed Susabi’s gaze on him, Ren turned to give him a gentle smile, still looking as serene as ever even as he waited for Kingyo’s response.
“Hmph, since I’m such a kind and generous spirit, I guess I’ll let you!” Kingyo declared magnanimously.
Susabi tried not to make it obvious how closely he was watching as Ren walked over to Kingyo and accepted the stone with both hands. As soon as the stone made contact with him, it immediately began to glow brightly, much brighter than it did when the others had previously held it.
The next few moments they waited for Ren’s image to appear felt like an eternity to Susabi. In order to keep himself from rushing over and crowding around Ren like how the girls were doing, Susabi forced himself to keep his arms crossed and his eyes closed, looking like the very picture of calm collectedness even when he was feeling anything but that.
Susabi’s eyes snapped open when he heard the girls gasp at whatever had appeared on the stone. To his surprise, Ren didn’t look shocked at whatever image was reflected. Rather, he saw the way that Ren’s features visibly softened as he looked down at the stone.
“I don’t think it’s broken at all,” Ren affirmed.
“I really shouldn’t have expected otherwise,” Enenra commented as she peered down at his result.
Kaguya, on the other hand, was staring at the stone with an air of complete bewilderment while Kingyo was frowning in consternation. “You like him?” she blurted out, clearly perplexed by whoever it was that she saw. “But why? He’s such a—mph! mph!” Susabi didn’t know whether he should be grateful or annoyed when Enenra suddenly slapped a hand over Kingyo’s mouth.
Ren simply responded with a heart-wrenchingly soft smile. “I do. It’s true that at first glance, he can come off as aloof and intimidating, but underneath all that is someone who is kind and honorable, someone who can always be counted on to do the right thing. For example, despite what you might say about him, he has never once treated you poorly, has he?”
“Hmph!” Kingyo crossed her arms, but tellingly enough, said nothing to refute Ren’s words.
“A spirit as powerful as himself and with such a prominent position must have many responsibilities to look after. He needn’t concern himself with an insignificant spirit like myself, yet he has continued to provide me with invaluable assistance time after time again throughout the years,” Ren recounted. The same openly soft expression from before crossed his face. “I truly was blessed to have been able to meet him.”
Susabi was stunned by the depth of sincerity in Ren’s words. It was clear that whoever it was that Ren was speaking of, it was someone that he must feel very strongly for. Distracted as he was by his own thoughts, Susabi failed to catch the calculating expression that flashed through Enenra’s face for a split second when she shot him a knowing glance.
“As enlightening as this was,” Enenra started in a deceptively light tone, “There’s still one of us who hasn’t tried it out yet.” Before anyone could respond, she literally took things in her own hands when she grabbed the stone from a surprised Ren and dropped it into Susabi’s hand before he could react. “It’s your turn, Susabi!”
In hindsight, Susabi could have easily thrown the stone away from him, but at the first sight of it glowing—as brightly as it did when Ren held it—he froze completely. He watched with silent trepidation as an image began to slowly appear on the stone’s surface. The last thing he wanted was for everyone, or more importantly, a particular someone, to see who it was that the stone showed for him, but before the image could fully form, Ren’s hand closed over the stone, blocking it from everyone’s sight.
“I think it’s enough if Susabi-sama himself is aware of who it is,” Ren said gently before giving Susabi a meaningful look, one filled with the weight of the unspoken words between them.
Susabi felt his breath catch in his throat. Oh, he thought a little numbly. He really had been blind this entire time. Despite the way he had tried to mask his true feelings through aloof words and an even colder demeanor, the truth is, this thing between them had been building up for some time now, hasn’t it?
And to think it took an insignificant stone of all things to make him see what has been in front of him this entire time, he thought a little ruefully.
Susabi suddenly rose to his full height, startling the others around him with his abrupt gesture. “I have some unfinished business to attend to,” he announced as he brushed some nonexistent dust off of his robes. He hesitated for a split second before finally turning to address the other spirit. “Ren, I believe that there is something that we need to address.”
Ren gave him the same gentle smile that he had seen thousands of times before, only this time, Susabi could finally recognize the fondness in his features. “Of course, Susabi-sama.” Carefully, he took the stone from Susabi’s hand and still, without giving it a single glance, returned it to Enenra.
Enenra watched the way the both of them exchanged yet another sickeningly soft look before they walked away together without another word. She glanced down at the stone that had been returned to her and let out a soft tsk. “It’s not fun when it’s that obvious.”
“What? What do you mean?” Kingyo piped up, confused. “Anyways, who did that Susabi see?” she prompted as she tried to reach up for the stone. “Is it somebody that we know?”
Enenra glanced back to where the other two spirits had departed and smirked. “Well, it’s not like it matters now. In any case, I have an even better idea. I remember seeing Shuten Doji and Ibaraki Doji around here earlier and I think they would be very curious about this little stone of yours…”