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The sun was setting by the time Umi, Shun, and Father returned to the port on Father’s tugboat. Shun’s heart swelled, just like the water that lapped against the concrete wall of the landing as they disembarked.
Shun hopped off first and turned back toward the boat to extend his hand to Umi. He saw the same hesitation in her eyes that he had seen when she was boarding onto the larger ship just a few minutes prior. Crazy to think that had only happened a few minutes ago— it felt like the whole world had tilted on its axis after he heard the truth about his true father from Yoshio-sama. When they left that ship, he felt like a great weight had been lifted off his shoulders.
Umi touched his hand and uttered a “thank you” as Shun approached the ship again to tie its anchor properly. Father disembarked last, finishing up the docking procedures before joining them on land.
“Thank you again for taking us to see Yoshio-san,” Umi said, turning toward Father and bowing.
“You’re welcome. I’m glad he was able to give you the answer you were looking for,” he said. When his eyes turned onto Shun, he bristled even though he hadn’t even done anything wrong. “Shun, why don’t you walk this young lady home? The sun’s setting. Dinner will be waiting for you when you get back.”
“Right,” Shun said with a nod.
“Off with you then,” he said with a gesture toward the slowly glimmering downtown.
Umi turned on her heel and nudged her head toward the path that led up to her house. Shun nodded and trotted over to join her side.
Her eyes looked like amber in the evening sunlight. One of the braids was just a little askew on the side of her head, probably as a result of all the running they’d just done to catch the ship in time. They started their walk in silence, just watching the city thrum to live in the spring air. It would be summer soon, which meant cicadas, popsicles, tans, and days out on Father’s tugboat over the water.
The last semester had been so much work with repairing the Latin Quarter that he hadn’t even considered what would be in store for him in the future beyond that. He preferred looking at life in the short-term, as it made it easier for him to digest. Keep your eyes on the path ahead, strut forward with confidence, and be rewarded with the fruits of your labors at the end. Which seemed to be proving true, considering they’d soon have more leisure time to each other as a reward for their hard work over the last few weeks and months.
Shun paused for a second to cast his eyes back over that water. The clouds looked like cotton candy suspended over the bright setting sky, the usual periwinkle blue replaced by blazing oranges and yellows. And right there, underneath the largest cloud, he watched Yoshio’s ship wander its way out of the harbor.
“Shun?” Umi’s voice called.
He turned back toward her, his eyes wide, and said, “Sorry.”
She turned her had back toward the path in front of them. She always had this look in her eyes, this far away look, like her gaze was cutting straight through everything and at something else entirely. It was way too calm an expression for looking out over their simple little town, at least.
“I’m so happy,” she murmured. “This is exactly what I wanted.”
“I know. It’s a huge relief,” Shun said. He glanced back over at her, pulling an easy smile, and said, “I guess that means we can go ahead with our relationship after all, huh?”
When she looked over at him, she didn’t have the bright blush he might have expected. Maybe he’d just gotten too used to her little sister, Sora, making faces. But hers was just serene, the smile long and relaxed.
“Yeah.”
Now he was the one left with a blush on his cheeks. He’d been planning on playing more of a sly act but she was all too prepared to match that with her own lax nature.
“What do you want to do now?” he asked. “You wanna go somewhere?”
“Mm, I don’t know,” she said with little hum. “I have to go home and tell Mom.” Umi stopped then with a gasp and the light in her eyes returned. “You should stay over for dinner! Come and say hi!”
“Oh, uh, I think Father wanted me back tonight—”
“—It doesn’t have to be tonight,” she said. “I’ll talk to her and Gran tonight about a time in the future, okay? I’m sure the boarders would love to meet you, too.”
“Sounds great. I’ll be looking forward to it,” he said with a nod.
He’d been to Miki’s going-away party before. And even into a chairman’s office with Umi at her side. And yet it was the thought of meeting her mother and grandmother that gave him just the slightest suggestion of hives down his arms. Would they approve of him? Of course, right? What did he have to worry about?
They made it up to the hill. Even once the sun set, the air was still warm and full of the sweet scent of roses, lavender, and poppies wafting from the gardens and flowerbeds along the path (and from Umi’s garden, of course).
Once they reached just outside Umi’s house, Shun stared at the fence that went around the perimeter of the house. He had seen this before, but this time, he dare not think of crossing through into the house on the other side.
Umi turned toward him and said, “Thanks for walking me home.”
“You’re welcome,” he responded.
“See you at school tomorrow?”
“Sure.”
She cast him another smile, hesitated, then turned on her heel and unlatched the fence to go inside.
Shun breathed out a sigh, loosened his shoulders, and walked back down the hill toward home.
At school the next day, things felt normal, at least in the beginning. Shun arrived early to the Latin Quarter to get started on the next edition of the paper. There was not much left to do, actually. Summer break would begin next week, with this being the last half week of classes leading up to it. But he could at least start thinking toward the future and what material might need to be printed to herald in the beginning of the next semester.
He had just sat down at his desk and pulled out a sheet of paper and some old tests to transcribe when he heard the club door open. Shun turned, and in the threshold stood Mizunuma.
“Hey,” Shun said with a wave.
“Hey,” Mizunuma echoed with a smile. “So, what happened yesterday? Where were you and Umi off to in such a hurry?”
Shun smirked. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”
“Well, yeah! That’s why I’m asking!”
Mizunuma sat down into the vacated chair near him and propped his chin up on a hand. His smile had an edge of amusement to it. “Give me all the juicy details.”
“Do you remember the picture I showed you?” Shun asked.
Mizunuma nodded.
“Father called and told me the third man in the photo was at the harbor but that he was departing soon, so I grabbed Umi and we rushed over there together.”
“And?”
“And we aren’t related.”
It wasn’t a sentence Shun wanted to say often. But the rush of relief that coursed through him when the words left his lips felt good.
Mizunuma was the only other person beside Umi whom he had told about his presumed genealogy. He wouldn’t judge Shun for whatever became of the answer. He had been supportive from the start and especially apologetic when Shun had told him about Umi’s copy of the photo at Miki’s party. When Mizunuma heard this most recent news, his lips spread into a bright smile and he reached out to clap Shun on the back.
“See? I knew everything would turn out alright in the end!”
Shun laughed, the smile widening, and said, “I should have trusted your intuition from the start.”
“Let’s not get too ahead of ourselves. It’s still good that you didn’t do anything you would regret later.”
“Right.”
“So, what’s next? Are you guys dating now?”
“We haven’t talked about it yet. She wants me to go over for dinner.”
“Woah, that soon? Things are progressing faster than I thought.”
“It’s not like that,” Shun said. “She’s just excited because her mom’s finally back from America and she wants me to meet her.”
“But still, that’s a pretty big step. Meeting family.”
Mizunuma leaned back in his chair and stared up at the ceiling. “I wonder if I could convince them to extend an invitation to me?”
Shun cocked an eyebrow at him. “What, so you can hang out some more with Sora?”
“You’ve figured me out.”
“If you like her so much, you should just ask her out.”
“I know. I’m working on it,” he said. “It would just be awkward if she doesn’t like me the way I think she does. I’m her senpai, after all.”
Shun nodded. That was reasonable, especially considering Sora had started out having a crush on him first. He had never minded her much, his attention always drawn to the sister at Sora’s shoulder. Which, now that he thought about it, did make him feel a little guilty. But at least Mizunuma and Sora were getting along well now. Getting along well, if not better, than him and Umi, in fact.
“I’ll ask Umi about you the next time she brings it up,” Shun said.
“Oh no, you don’t have to do that,” Mizunuma said. “I’ll earn myself my own invitation. That’s again if Sora feels the way I suspect she does about me.”
Shun nodded. “Good luck.”
Mizunuma smiled. “Thanks.”
During lunch time, Shun usually returned to the Latin Quarter to work on the paper. Sitting at his desk with chopsticks in a bento and eyes on old tests or stencils was a common sight. Today, though, he’d been invited to join Umi and the others at their bustling table outside the cafeteria.
Mizunuma sat at his side, having been extended an invitation in part because of his respective friendship with the girls and because of a jab he had made at Shun about not being able to behave himself unless Mizunuma were there to supervise.
Though untrue, Shun was not going to reject the offer.
“So, what are your plans for summer vacation?” Umi asked. “It’s coming up fast.”
She took a bite of the sticky rice she’d brought up to her mouth. Over the roar of other students shouting orders from inside and the clamor of chairs outside, Shun leaned in a little closer to catch her muted words.
“I’m going to be helping out on father’s tugboat.”
At Umi’s shoulder, Sora scoffed. “Grownups are always finding ways to weasel free labor out of us. Just look at how much they got out of us with the clubhouse.”
“Yes, but that was voluntary,” Umi said. “Don’t speak for Shun’s father! I’m sure it’s fine on the boat.”
Shun rubbed the back of his head. “Well, there is the sunburn…”
“I want to go to the shrine,” Sora said.
“What shrine? And on your vacation?” Umi asked.
“You know, the shrine!” Sora said. “All the kids in my class are talking about it! Apparently, it’s over in the forests nearby. There’s rumors that a ghost lives in it and that anyone who goes over there with an offering is gonna get haunted!”
“Really?” Umi asked, the intonation of the question flat.
“We heard about that, too, didn’t we, Shun?” Mizunuma asked. “The shrine’s abandoned but I’m hearing that it looks as good as new to anyone visiting it. You would think we’d have heard about it by now.”
“If it’s haunted, then maybe there’s a ghost who has been taking care of the place,” Shun said.
“I don’t know,” Sora said with a tap of her finger against her chin. “I think a hoard of malicious spirits live there and they’re getting mad that we’ve trespassed on their territory! It’s said that if you visit there, then you’re gonna fail all your tests!”
Umi scoffed. “Don’t listen to them, Shun. They’re just making up stories to scare us.”
Shun smiled. “I don’t know, I think it would be kind of cool if ghosts were real, don’t you? I don’t think there is such a thing as a malevolent spirit. Father only taught me about good ones.”
“Yeah, well, I’m not taking any chances,” she said with a huff and a glance in the other direction.
Shun held back a laugh. He hadn’t ever considered that Umi would be afraid of ghosts, especially when Sora sounded so fascinated by it all.
“Hey, Shun. Want to go there some time for an investigation?” Mizunuma asked with a casual smile but underhanded glint in his eye.
Shun withheld another smile. “I’m not sure that’s the best idea.”
“C’mon. From the sounds of it, the place is unpopulated anyway. We could just poke our heads around to see what it’s all about then leave.”
“I didn’t know the student council president was so nosy,” Sora said.
“It’s just a mild curiosity,” he said back. “If I thought it posed any real trouble, then of course I would be more worried about it.”
Umi shook her head.
“Don’t worry, Umi,” Shun said, drawing her attention. “Nothing’s going to happen. We’ll be alright.”
He had been hoping to see a flush to her cheeks but she hid her cards, only sparing him one more huff before turning her eyes once more to her bento.
After school that day, Shun waited outside the school gate to walk Umi home. He had rushed a little, afraid that she would pass by him without him even knowing, grabbing the bike in such a hurry that he had had almost forgotten the lock.
He waited under the shade of a tree, his smile still bright in the sunlight when she caught his eyes from across the yard and picked up the pace to reach him, her skirt swaying, the case in her hand swinging from side to side.
“Hey,” Umi said once she reached him, her shoes skidding to a stop on the slope in front of him. “Hope you weren’t waiting long.”
“Not at all,” Shun said. He gestured to the path ahead of them. “Shall we?”
“Of course.”
Umi bowed her head a little and took the first steps forward. She led him down the concrete path that led up to their school and down toward the narrow, tree-lined and manicured streets he was used to seeing in this neighborhood. The place still swarmed with other students also going home after classes had ended, some walking in pairs or small groups while others took bicycles, the high ring of a bike’s bell alerting students lower on the hill to get out of the way.
“Get a room!” Someone jeered as they passed by on the aforementioned bike, Shun catching the glimpse of a grin before the face disappeared and all that was left was the back of their head.
Umi frowned. “Seems we’ve become minor celebrities now,” she said.
“After yesterday’s event with the Latin Quarter, it makes sense, doesn’t it?” Shun asked.
Umi reached up, covering her face with her book bag. “Don’t remind me,” she bemoaned.
Shun laughed. “It’s okay. We’re okay. …Right?”
The last comment came out more unsure than he had intended. But when presented with unknown territory like this, it seemed natural that he be a little hesitant about the next moves. Even after Umi had clearly expressed some interest in continuing a relationship with him, the scars of recent events were not so easily forgotten.
“Yeah, of course,” Umi said. She smiled at him and the pigtails on either side of her head bobbed from a light breeze. “Hey, um, Shun.”
“Yeah?” he asked.
Umi opened her mouth, prepared to say something, then closed her mouth again. Shun frowned. This seemed to be a habit of hers; she was so intelligent when she spoke, the words obviously curated from thoughts inside her head. Sometimes, it seemed she spent so long thinking up what to say that she ended up choosing to say nothing at all.
In the past, this had not been as big an issue because he could read from her expressions and actions what she must have been thinking. But now, with his own doubts and hesitations about the relationship, he wasn’t sure what to expect.
Should he ask her the question first? Or should he let her decide for herself when she was ready to say something aloud to him about their attraction? Perhaps they didn’t need to say anything at all. They could let the actions speak for themselves.
“Nevermind,” Umi said. “The thought’s run away from me.”
“If the thought returns to you, let me know,” he said.
“I was… I was wondering if you would be free some time to hang out,” she said.
“Sure, but maybe not this afternoon. I have to do something with Father,” Shun said.
“Oh, I see,” Umi said. “Maybe Thursday then? At the clubhouse after school? I have some time. I could do some stenciling for you.”
“Or we could do something that’s not work,” Shun said. “Like maybe go to a cafe or something.”
Umi laughed. “There aren’t any cute cafes in town.”
“We’ll find something,” he said.
Umi nodded. The smile on her lips had grown brighter.
They had reached the intersection of the road now where they would either continue traveling down the slope toward the shops downtown or Umi would go up on another path toward her house. Shun took another step toward downtown as Umi straightened up her spine and grasped the book bag in front of her skirt.
“Thanks for walking me part of the way. I can go the rest of the way on my own.”
“You’re welcome,” Shun said. “I’ll see you at school tomorrow.”
“Yes, I’ll see you at school,” she said with another hopeful smile.
Shun always enjoyed these moments the most. The ones where the stress in her shoulders dropped, the smile became warm and relaxed, and Umi’s hazel eyes lingered a comfortable second too long on him.
Umi was first to turn on her heel and strut back up the path toward her house. With a sigh, Shun pivoted on his heel, jumped on his bike, and rode down to his house by the waterfront.
The last time Shun had checked in with the courthouse, his birth certificate had included Umi’s father’s name in its records. Just by closing his eyes, he could envision the signature at the bottom of the document and all the strokes required to spell out the name under his mother and father.
His real father, the man taking care of him now, brought him back to the courthouse that afternoon to have the documents corrected. Although clearly unexpected work that Shun had first doubted was even possible, he appreciated the change. Even if things never became that serious with Umi, he never wanted to imagine what might happen if a fellow student got ahold of these documents. And Father clearly understood the importance of them, too.
By the time they had left the building and stepped back outside, the sun had started to set. The building was at the top of yet another hill, a copse of trees rustling in the breeze behind the courthouse. From what Shun understood of the rumors Sora had mentioned before, that was where the shrine was. Somewhere beyond the manicured courtyard and into the freer nature where only a few well-trodden paths could lead people in and out of the area without getting lost.
Shun considered asking Father what he thought of the rumors the students had been discussing. He was the sort of man who had unshakeable thoughts about such things. No matter how many times Shun asked the same question, Father would provide the same response. At least he was consistent in that way; it was a quality Shun appreciated.
They were only a few steps down the path and toward on their way downtown when Shun heard the tromping of feet behind him. He turned and saw three girls in their school uniform running down the path, their faces lit up with glee and fear. Father stopped and took a step to the side to let them pass, so Shun followed his example, watching them scramble to get down the path.
“Did you see that?” One said, hastily throwing her head over her shoulder to look at the path they’d just left behind, but only Shun and Father stood there.
“Let’s get home!” Another shouted, then they disappeared down the hill, leaving a trail of their breaths and the stray laughter on the wind.
“Wonder what that was all about,” Father said.
“Some kids at school say they found a shrine in the forest,” Shun said.
Father’s eyes widened. “Did they now?”
Shun nodded. “And they say it looks brand new but that it’s haunted.”
“Nah, can’t be. Someone’s just looking after it. Don’t be like those girls, Shun. Keep your nose out of trouble, alright?”
Shun once more nodded. Meanwhile, his mind went immediately to he time he had crawled out onto a shingled roof and tossed himself into a pond at school. Or the time he had jumped from tables to make it onto the stage in their auditorium so everyone could hear his bold proclamation about preserving the old. If Father only knew the sort of mischief he had already gotten into, maybe he’d be even stricter with his warnings.
Nights at Shun’s house were often not all that quiet. The walls were paper-thin, as were the floors, and even though activity outside usually died down after a certain time, the rush of the water never did. He had long ago learned how to block out the sounds of people speaking and boats rocking against the waves while in his bed, how to close the windows and doors to keep out all but the cool sea breeze on nights when he wanted the privacy but still the freshness of the outside air.
Tonight, he found himself struggling more than he had anticipated to go to sleep. He had pulled on a white tee and a pair of shorts and lay flat on his back, staring up at the ceiling, the air just a little too warm for a blanket such that when he sweated, the breeze would lick at his skin and cool him down. A clock somewhere counted the minutes in light ticks and the sound of the water outside filled his ears. The room never got completely dark; lantern lights from outside usually kept it a dim gray but not black.
Umi, surprisingly, was not the thing at the forefront of his mind, either.
It was those girls.
Or, more properly, whatever they had been running away from.
Although he had heard a few of them giggling, it had sounded so forced, as though their voices really had been drawn tight with apprehension and fear. Was that shrine really real, even though he had never heard of it before? Not even Father dared to deny its existence even though he had lived here since he was a child. But he hadn’t questioned Shun about it, either, just told him to keep his distance from it.
Shun turned over in his bed and stared toward the window. He knew it would be bothering him all night if he didn’t do something about it but it also wasn’t like him to go out in the middle of the night without good reason. Father would scold him, mother would get upset, and the curfew would turn into a grounding. He wouldn’t be able to visit the clubhouse after school anymore if that happened.
With a wistful sigh, Shun tucked his hands underneath his head and closed his eyes.
Maybe he could find time tomorrow to visit the shrine instead.
The next morning provided no opportunities to sneak away to the shrine. If Shun wanted to do it, he would have to find time after school.
When the last bell of the day rang and the students were all preparing for clubs or their walks home, Shun slipped away toward the clubhouse and the thin trail that led around back and into the trees behind it. Today he had learned from Sora over lunch that some students were taking that trail to get to the shrine faster. Had it really become such a fad in only a short few days that there were paths branching off to it like that now?
Just as Shun took his first few steps into the forest, he heard someone clear their throat behind him and turned around. And there stood Mizunuma, his arms crossed, a knowing smile flung on his face.
“And where do you think you’re going?” he asked.
"C'mon, you're curious too, aren't you?" Shun asked. "Everyone's talking about the shrine. I just thought I would go check it out for myself."
"And skip newspaper club?"
Shun rolled his eyes. "Nobody's going to miss me for just one day."
Mizunuma looked for a brief second like he wasn't going to budge. But then he dropped the stance in his shoulders and said, "Alright, I'm going with you. But only because I'm curious, too."
"I knew you'd see my side of things," Shun said with a satisfied smile and gestured for Shun to walk with him toward the path into the forest.
The sun was high in the sky as Shun and Mizunuma trudged down the dirt path. He listened to the birdsong in their ears and snapping of twigs, but when he turned his head, he didn't see anything there. It was natural that a place like this would have flourishing wildlife, though, so he wasn't overly concerned about the noises. They were probably the quietest humans the wildlife had seen in a while.
The path was fairly straight with very few elevation changes or change in scenery. It was in the back of Shun's mind to be wary and keep his eyes pointed ahead lest he get lost, even though they hadn't encountered any forks in the road yet.
When the path started to widen and they reached a the shrine, Shun's tongue got stuck in his throat.
It was larger than he had imagined. It was a shinto shrine, he noted, judging by the bright red archways leading up to the only building, the haiden, which glimmered under the dabbled sunlight filtering in from its clearing. The trees had been cleared around this area to make room for the arches leading away down the actual entrance, which included a few stone steps clear of the typical moss or other greenery Shun might have expected.
In front of the haiden stood an offertory box with talismans hanging from the outside. Shun circled it and hummed thoughtfully as a smell caught in his nose. There was incense being burned here.
"Curiouser and curiouser, don't you think?" Mizunuma asked.
"I can't believe students are freaked out by this place," Shun said. "It must be tough trying to maintain a place like this with so many people passing through but not offering anything."
He reached into his pocket and his hand found the coin he had stored there. Mizunuma cocked an eyebrow at Shun as he pulled it out and approached the offering box.
Shun grasped his hands together and closed his eyes as he began the praying ritual. First, he made his offering, extending the coin toward the offertory and dropping it inside. He heard it clatter at the bottom until it settled. Then he rang the bell hanging from above the box, the sound a gentle ring in the otherwise peaceful forest. Lastly, he prayed, bowing twice, clapping twice, and bowing once more.
This was the part he had come for, the part at the end where he was allowed to offer up a silent prayer of what he wanted. Since it was his first time at this shrine, he started off with an introduction of himself, including his complete name and address, before following through with his request.
I hope I have a long and prosperous future with Umi.
“Satisfied?” Mizunuma asked.
Shun lifted his head and opened his eyes again. His eyes hadn’t even been closed that long but the sunlight was so bright on them.
“Yeah, I’m done,” he said.
“Do you even know what god belongs to this shrine?” Mizunuma asked. “Or were you just praying hoping it’ll land?”
Shun smiled. “Everyone’s talking about the place but nobody even knows the basic details. I’m not sure what god lives here but there’s no harm in trying, right?”
“Right,” Mizunuma said with a nod. He turned on his heel to face the stone path leading from the arches and down a few steps into a different trail into the forest. Shun assumed that was the path that would spit them out near the courthouse where they had seen the girls earlier.
Shun took his first step toward Mizunuma when he felt his foot knock into something on the ground. He glanced down and his mouth opened in small shock.
He had almost kicked something small and green across the dirt into the nearby underbrush.
“Mizunuma, hold on,” Shun said as he crouched down to inspect the small rock-shaped thing further.
It was the green shell of an unmoving turtle, its body frozen on the path ahead of them.
Mizunuma hummed and approached once more, joining Shun at his side. He crouched down beside him and pressed his hands against his knees.
“It looks like a pond turtle,” Mizunuma said.
“Yeah, but there’s not even any ponds around here,” Shun said. “Unless I missed one somewhere.”
“I wonder where it came from? Maybe some weather washed it up here or something?” Mizunuma asked.
Shun shook his head. “We haven’t had any bad weather recently.”
Mizunuma hummed once then rose onto his feet again. He tucked his hands into his pockets, pushing aside his school jacket to make room for the thumbs to slip inside. Shun frowned. He often admired how straightforward and analytical Mizunuma could be, but in a situation like this, the steely look in his eyes was a little too coarse.
“We should do something. It could get injured if we leave it out like this,” Shun said. He did almost accidentally step on it, after all.
“I doubt it’s a pet that belongs to somebody. It’s probably native to the surrounding forest or something,” Mizunuma said.
Shun turned his eyes onto the turtle again. It hadn’t moved since he crouched down to inspect it. He reached out and ran a finger along the ridge of its shell. He had read somewhere once that turtles have nerve endings on the bones of its shell, which makes it possible to feel when they’re being touched.
None of its friends were around and surely more students would come by again later to cause more trouble. Before Shun had thought much about it, he reached for the turtle and lifted it into his hands, curling his fingers gently around its small body. With his palms together, he could hide it completely in his closed hands.
“You’re really set on messing with it, huh?” Mizunuma asked.
“When I get home, I’ll look up if there are any ponds nearby where I could drop it off. Maybe a neighbor has one or something,” Shun said.
“You’re not really thinking of dropping it off at a neighbor’s, are you?” Mizunuma asked.
“I can’t just leave it here.”
“Defending the weak, I see,” Mizunuma said with a thoughtful nod. “I can’t be too judgy about that. Let’s get out of here before more classmates find us.”
That evening, Father was sitting in the living room as always with the television on when Shun entered the house and one-handedly removed his shoes to leave them outside before stepping into the tatami room.
“Hey, Shun,” Father said.
Shun gave a respectful bow then took a step toward his room.
“Are you coming back down for dinner?” Father asked.
“Yes, I’ll be right back,” Shun said.
His footsteps echoed on the stairs as he took them two at a time up to his bedroom. When he reached the upper floor and padded over to his bedroom, he opened his hands a little and peered down at the turtle sitting in his palms.
He hadn’t thought this far ahead. What was he supposed to do now? He had told Mizunuma he would look for a safe place to drop the turtle off where it wouldn’t get trampled, but in shorter terms, it would need a safe place to stay overnight.
He looked around his room. There were still a few boxes left from things he had salvaged from the renovation of the Latin Quarter. He sat down on the floor and placed the turtle on the floor beside him as he started to empty one of the boxes, placing stacks of papers against the legs of his desk.
For a turtle, it moved quite quickly across the floor. Shun paused his cleaning just to watch it waddle across the floor toward his bed.
Once the box had successfully been emptied, Shun rose onto his feet and placed it on his desk. The box easily consumed half his desk but that was okay. It was only temporary. Then he reached back down for the turtle and placed it inside.
It wouldn’t be the most comfortable existence but if it was only for one night then it was probably tolerable. Shun turned his head back toward the entrance to his bedroom and walked back out to join his family for dinner.
That night, Shun had a dream that Umi really was a goddess of luck swathed in silks and ribbons, stepping barefoot through clouds that left ripples like raindrops on a still body of water. Her short hair had been undone, flowing against her upper back like waves on the ocean.
And then a turtle appeared at her feet though it wasn’t the same small one Shun had found earlier that day. It was giant, as large as a mountain, looming up behind her like a moon being eclipsed by the sun.
When Shun woke, it was to a dull thud of something hitting the floor. He turned over in bed and saw that the box was missing from his desk. With a jolt, he sat up and looked down to find that it had fallen on the floor. He jumped out of bed and knelt on the floor, searching for the smooth curve of the turtle’s shell when he found it under his bed again.
Shun reached out and ran a hand along its back, searching for injuries, but couldn’t find any. He heaved a sigh and leaned back on his thighs.
“You have to stay here today, Aka-chan,” he said, using the Japanese word for “baby.” “I’ll come back for you after school.”
He dragged the box down onto the carpet and placed Aka-chan back inside.
At school that day, the strangest thing happened.
Shun was sitting at his desk listening to a lecture on English when his eyes coasted down to the tiled floor beneath his feet. Crawling across the floor there was the small leaf-shaped mark of Aka-chan. Shun’s eyes popped open. Without thinking of anything else, he leaned down, reaching toward the baby turtle to scoop it into his arms.
Before he could touch Aka-chan, though, a strange feeling washed over him. It was as though a cloud had eclipsed the classroom only no shadows actually came. He only felt the weight of something on his shoulders, and before he realized it, Aka-chan had popped like popcorn on the floor up into the sky.
None of the other students turned their heads. Aka-chan landed on the floor, unmoving, as a turtle clone landed down right beside it. Then the process repeated itself again and it bubbled up out of the floor, multiplying until a small pile had gathered next to a student’s desk and spilling over into someone’s bag.
Shun straightened up in his seat and took one more glance toward the teacher, whose glassy eyes remained glued to the board in front of him. Shun collected his hands in his lap, willing himself not to reach out toward the turtles who were seemingly not there. At least, not to anybody but him. Across the room, he caught Mizunuma’s judging gaze, Shun gestured with a small bob of his head toward the floor, so Mizunuma followed the gesture, but his eyebrows only went up in confusion at the seemingly empty tiles.
Shun exhaled another sigh and turned his eyes onto his notes. Best to just ignore it then.
At the end of the class, when Shun glanced back down at the floor, all of the Aka-chans had disappeared.
“Hey, earth to Shun, are you listening?”
Over lunch that day, Shun struggled to keep his attention on anything but the chopsticks slotted between his fingers. His eyes kept darting to the ground, expecting more Aka-chans to appear, but they never did. Was he going crazy? Was the shrine an illusion too and the turtles had been an extension of it?
Shun shook his head and lifted his eyes to meet Umi’s from across the table. “Sorry, I’m listening,” he said.
“Mizunuma was just telling us that you guys went to the shrine yesterday afternoon,” Sora said. “And you didn’t tell us? What if I wanted to go with you?”
“We could go together again today if you wanted,” Mizunuma said. “Though it’s not all that interesting looking. It really is just another shrine you would find anywhere.”
“In the middle of the forest? Popping up out of nowhere? No, I don’t think so,” Sora said. “Don’t you think so, Umi?”
“I think it would be a better investment of our time to do something else,” Umi said. “Like going out on the water. Isn’t it supposed to be summer? The last day of school before summer vacation is tomorrow, after all.”
Shun smiled. “I didn’t take you to be an adventurous type.”
“We do live in a harbor. We should go out on the water every now and again since it’s so close.”
“I’m sure Father wouldn’t mind if you wanted to join us on his boat some time so long as you don’t get into any trouble,” Shun said.
Mizunuma laughed. “I don’t think we should be worrying about that when it comes to Umi. I’m much more concerned about Shun.”
“Hey,” Shun said with a teasing smile.
“All that aside, how was it anyway?” Sora said. “You said it just looked like a normal shrine? Are you sure?”
“Yes?” Mizunuma asked. He leaned back and crossed his arms. “What, disappointed that there weren’t more ghosts?”
“Well, kinda!”
Umi sighed. “I thought we were done with talking about all of that.”
“Sorry, but I need more information,” Sora said. “The other girls said that they heard a lot of strange noises and some swore they even saw things!”
“Did any of them see turtles?” Shun asked.
“What?” Sora asked, whipping her head toward him. She shook her head. “No, nobody saw any animals as far as I can remember…”
“You found a turtle there?” Umi asked.
“Yeah,” Shun said.
“That’s not that weird,” Sora said. “There’s estuaries around us and stuff.”
“That’s not the same as a pond,” Shun said.
His shoulders dropped. She was right. Once he got home, he ought to take Aka-chan back to the shrine and set it free. He didn’t want to bring himself any more bad luck.
Umi opened her mouth to say something—
—And was abruptly cut off with the sharp ring of the school bell. She rolled her eyes and rose from her seat, Holding the plastic blue tray in her hand and preparing to toss the small leftovers in the garbage.
After school, Shun left his classroom with Mizunuma at his shoulder. A question was already on the tip of his lips, with Mizunuma wondering how the turtle was faring.
“I decided to name him Aka-chan,” Shun said. “It woke me up in the middle of the night. And then in class today— did you see?”
“See what?” Mizunuma asked. “All I saw was you staring at the floor like a madman.”
“You didn’t see the turtles?”
“The what?” Mizunuma asked with a laugh. “No, I didn’t see anything. Are you feeling alright? Did you get enough sleep last night?”
“I think did,” Shun said. He lifted up a hand, metaphorically waving the thought away. “Nevermind then. I didn’t say anything.”
“What, did you see it on the floor?”
“It wasn’t just one,” Shun said. “I saw many. Like they were multiplying right in front of me.”
“Mmm, yeah, I definitely didn’t see that,” Mizunuma said. “Make sure you’re getting enough sleep tonight.”
They’d made it to the Latin Quarter and Shun took his first step toward the landing that led inside when he heard a voice behind his ear. He turned around to find Umi calling his name.
“Hey,” he said.
“Shun, do you have a second?” Umi asked.
“Sure,” he said.
“I’ll leave you lovebirds to it,” Mizunuma said with a michievous wink.
He continued up into the stairs while Shun turned his eyes onto Umi. “What is it?” he asked.
“Could we go on a little walk?” she asked.
“Sure.”
Shun followed Umi back toward the school courtyard and past other students. She didn’t open her mouth again until they were alone, nestled between short brick walls, bushes, and trees of people’s houses on either side of the path.
“I spoke to my mother and my grandmother about inviting you to dinner tomorrow night,” Umi said.
Shun’s eyes widened. “Yeah? And what did they say?”
“They said they would love it if you would come,” she said.
“I would be honored to come,” Shun said. “Sounds like the perfect start to the summer vacation.”
“Really?”
“Of course,” he said. “It’s for you, Umi. Of course I want to meet your family.”
They paused along the path and he reached out for her hands. She switched hands to hold the bag in one hand, the other hand going into his. Her skin was warm between his palm and fingertips enough to bring an easy smile to his lips.
“I really like you,” he said. “And if you want me to meet your family, then sure, let’s do it. You said it would be tomorrow?”
Umi nodded. “We could meet outside the house at six.”
“Sure, that sounds good to me.”
“Good. Great.”
Her smile glowed as she turned to look down the path. Shun squeezed her hand once more then asked, “Are you going back home now?”
“Yeah,” she said. “Mom hasn’t even been back for a whole week yet, so I’ve still been helping out at the house a little. I have a lot less work to do now that she’s around helping out.”
“That’s good,” Shun said. “So you really will have more time this summer to hang out.”
“I think so.”
When she looked at him again, he saw a hopeful glint in her eye. Maybe they could go on a trip somewhere. They could go on adventures wherever they wanted around the city. They’d already gone to Tokyo together once, after all.
“Anyway, Mother is probably waiting for me. I should go,” Umi said.
“I’ll see you later,” Shun said with a small nod.
Umi turned on her heel to walk away, hesitated, and turned back around.
Before Shun realized what she had done, she’d leaned in close and pressed a kiss against his cheek then spun back on her heel to strut away.
Shun lifted his hand and pressed it against the warm spot, smiled, then lowered his hand again.
Back home, Shun climbed the stairs up to his room and knelt at the box where Aka-chan was supposed to be. When he looked inside, however, he found it empty.
Shun’s heart sank. But the box didn’t look like it had been disturbed at all. Then what had happened?
He scoured his room, starting with underneath his bed and desk and working his way to the other boxes and storage at the other side of his room. But no matter where he looked, he didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. Certainly not any escaped turtles.
In retrospect, it hadn’t exactly been a good idea to leave it in a box in his room all day. He had made sure, though, to give it some food. Perhaps Mother or Father had seen it?
Shun left his room and went back downstairs to find Mother in the kitchen but no Father in sight.
“He’s out late tonight with work,” she said. “He’s not going to be back until much later than usual.”
“Okay,” Shun said. “Did Father mention anything about a turtle to you?”
“A turtle?” she asked. “No, he hasn’t mentioned anything like that. Why? Is your friend missing their pet?”
“Something like that, yeah,” Shun said.
He sat down at their dinner table and watched Mother turn around with a spoon in her hand, some flecks of white rice sticking to the edge.
“How was school today?” she asked.
“Fine,” he said.
Shun spent the rest of dinner scraping his mind for ideas of where the turtle could have gone when he caught movement from the corner of his eyes and looked down to see a single Aka-chan walking across the carpet. Shun dropped his chopsticks back into his bowl and leaned down to scoop it back into his palms before it could escape from him again.
“Everything alright?” Mother asked.
“Yes, everything’s fine,” Shun said as he straightened back up in his seat.
That night, Shun slipped extra kale into Aka-chan’s box and apologized for not taking better care of it during the day. He wouldn’t have time tomorrow to take care of it either if he had to go to school during the day, but he couldn’t risk losing the turtle, so what was he to do?
He’d take it with him, he decided. There was enough space in the breast pocket of his student uniform for it to fit comfortably and it didn’t seem the sort of creature to writhe around too much. Maybe he could ask Umi to take care of it in her garden for him until he found a better place to put it.
The thought of seeing Umi again for dinner the next day brought another smile to his lips. Although he had every reason to be a little nervous about presenting himself well in front of her family, he didn’t actually find himself feeling that worried about it. He would try his best and that was about the most he could hope for.
Operation “Bring the turtle to class” went off without a hitch.
At least, in the beginning.
Once classes started, Shun should have known something would go wrong. This was the last full day of school before summer vacation and here he was incapable of paying attention to the lecture. At some point early on in classes, the turtle tried to climb out of his pocket and onto the desk. Shun, of course, could not stand for this, and ended up sitting the most rigidly in his chair than he had all year.
Mizunuma knew something was up but politely declined on commenting on it even over lunch. It was only once they arrived at the newspaper club that evening that Shun finally fished Aka-chan and Mizunuma made a passing joke about the clubhouse welcoming pets.
It would be good to give it some air and a few leaves of kale ahead of the dinner with Umi, Shun thought, even as he once more felt that suppressing weight on his shoulders, the same weight he had felt when he thought he’d seen a turtle multiplying on the classroom floor the other day.
But when he lifted his head, he didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. And when he looked into the hallway, he still didn’t see anything, even as the feeling persisted.
“What’s up?” Mizunuma asked, but Shun shrugged the feeling off, turning his eyes once more onto the turtle on the table.
“It’s so wonderful to finally meet you. You can call me Matsuzaki-san.”
Umi’s mother was a little taller than Shun had expected her to be but just as kind as he had expected. Shun bowed in the respectful way, pressing his arms agains this sides, though one hand went up at the last second to press agains this shirt pocket to make sure his tiny friend didn’t fall out.
On the wind, Shun heard the faint sound of a voice.
“Bring it back…”
He lifted his head up toward the second story of Umi’s house but it didn’t sound like it had come from that direction. He dared to make a small glance behind his shoulder before Umi’s mother caught him and said, “Wanting to leave already?”
“Oh no, it’s not like that,” Shun said. “I’m sorry.”
“There’s no need,” she said. “I was just picking on you. Please, come inside. Dinner has already been prepared.”
“So, you’re Umi’s boyfriend, huh? What is she like? She’s pretty insufferable, huh?” Riku, Umi’s younger brother, asked as he leaned over in his chair, his eyes so wide and bright they shone brighter than the moon.
Umi hissed, leaning over to smack him lightly on the arm. Riku dodged out of the way, sticking his tongue at her.
“Come on now, he’s a guest,” Umi’s grandmother said with a small frown to her lips. “I won’t be having you making him uncomfortable. Shun, would you like some tea?”
“Of course,” he said.
Umi perked up in her seat and reached across the table for the tea kettle. As she pulled her hand back to pour Shun a cup, Aka-chan in his pocket stirred, making him flinch. Umi startled too, almost dropping the kettle on the table before righting herself.
“Don’t do that, Shun!” she whispered.
Shun only smiled and nodded at her once she had finished filling his cup.
“Thank you, Umi,” he said, then brought the cup to his mouth and took a sip.
It tasted terrible. Like someone had mixed mustard in it and somehow added wasabi at the same time. Shun tried not to make a face and failed, swallowing once.
“Shun, are you okay? Do you not feel well?” Umi asked.
“What kind of tea is this?” he asked.
“It’s just normal green tea.”
“Oh, I see,” he said.
“Why? Does it taste funny?” she asked.
“It tastes normal to me,” Sora said. “Maybe it’s because you visited—”
Umi cleared her throat, effectively cutting off the younger sibling, and straightened up in her chair again. “Why don’t we talk about something else? Like our summer plans?”
“That’s a good idea, Umi. So Shun, do you have any special plans?” Umi’s mom asked.
Shun shook his head. “I’ll probably help out on Father’s tugboat for most of the time and hope I don’t get a sunburn that’s too terrible.”
Just as he said that, he felt like something had touched his forearm. But when he moved it, he didn’t see anything there. He cleared his throat again and reached for cup of tea but once more remembered its taste and put it back down.
Was he allowed to do anything without feeling weird?
“Hey, Umi, could I talk to you for a second?” Shun asked.
Umi’s eyebrows furrowed and she took a glance at her mother and grandmother. They didn’t say anything, only gave their own silent permission, before Umi rose to her feet and gestured out to the garden. “Sure.”
“Shun, did I do something to upset you? Are you sure you’re feeling alright?”
Umi stood in front of Shun with her hands clasped in front of her chest. Shun sighed heavily as he reached into his pocket and pulled out the turtle he’d been keeping there. He showed it to her and she gasped, showing off the deep brown of her eyes, as they coasted down to its tiny, leaf-sized shell.
“Where did you get that from?” she asked, drawing her eyes back up to his face.
“I found it while Mizunuma and I were visiting the shrine,” Shun said. “I’m worried that it’s back luck. Will you help me return it to its rightful place?”
“But what if that turtle belongs to somebody? And you’d want us to what, leave right now? And go to the shrine? The sun’s setting.”
“I considered it, but when I looked around, I couldn’t find anybody. And yeah, I think we should do it now, before weird things keep happening.”
“Weird things?” Umi asked. Her eyes lit up and she grabbed him, making him flinch. “You think this turtle has to do with all the weird rumors the students are making up?”
“I don’t know if I would go that far, but it’s definitely been affecting me,” Shun said. “And you’re still my goddess of luck. Will you help me?”
Umi sighed. “You’re not leaving me many options. Let me go talk to mom and grandma.”
It was not long before Shun and Umi had returned indoors to confess to Umi’s family that no, Shun was not, in fact, feeling very well and he actually would need to be taking an early leave back home. Umi asked permission to walk him back home and they acquiesced.
Little did they know that as soon as they were out the door, they were headed up toward the courthouse and the trail that would lead to the shrine.
By this time, the sun had already set and the world had been dipped into dark hues. Umi had snatched an old lantern before heading out and they stopped just before the woods to get it lit. Shun led the way into the forest with Umi at his side, the lantern keeping the path ahead of them lit. It was a full moon out, which made the forest less frightening, with the moonlight glistening in faded grays and silvers over everything.
“This is a bad idea, you know,” Umi said.
“You don’t have to go with me if you don’t want to,” Shun said. “I understand if you’re afraid of the dark.”
“It’s not that,” she said. “It’s just that if you’re right and something bad really is connected to all of this, I’m worried about how bad it’ll be.”
“So you do believe in ghosts,” he said with a little chiding smile.
“I don’t—” Umi whipped her head toward him and he grinned at the bright blush on her cheeks. She turned her gaze away and crossed her arms. “I guess I feel just a little bit childish admitting it, that’s all. There’s no point in denying it, it just… scares me sometimes.”
“Ghosts scare you?” Shun asked.
“The not knowing scares me,” she said. “When I don’t understand something, that brings uncertainty. And I don’t really like uncertainty.”
“That’s okay,” he said. “Those sort of moments are natural. We’re almost here now, let’s see if there’s anything there.”
Umi leaned in closer and stretched out a hand to curl into the fabric of his jacket. He smiled, glancing down at her once, then turning his eyes back onto the path ahead of them.
Lanterns had been lit around the shrine that made it feel more like the world during a sunset than at night. The same oppressing air as before arrived and Umi shuttered at Shun’s side. Once they approached, the lantern light spread across the dirt at their feet and traveled up the already orange walls of the lantern-lit haiden to a figure standing in the shadow of the doorway.
“So, you finally came to return to me what is mine,” the voice hissed, yet it came out smaller than Shun had anticipated. More like one of Umi’s siblings were speaking to them.
“I’m sorry,” Shun said as he reached back into his pocket and pulled the turtle out. “I didn’t know this turtle belonged to anybody. I was only worried that someone else would accidentally step on it since the shrine has been getting more traffic recently.”
The shadow approached and Shun’s jaw dropped.
It was much smaller than he had anticipated and in the shape of a human. Details started to emerge. The person wore a traditional kimono and geta and from around their mouth stretched a beak.
“Are you a human?” Umi whispered.
“No,” they responded. “I am a god of longevity and this is my shrine. Since you are a mortal, you may call me Tsuru Nyōbō.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” Umi said.
Shun bowed at her side.
Tsuru Nyōbō extended their small hands to Shun and said, “Return to me what is mine.”
Shun slowly placed Aka-chan down and Tsuru Nyōbō’s eyes lit up. They pressed the turtle against their chest and crooned.
“You’re finally back! Oh, how I missed you!”
“I’m sorry for any disturbance I might have caused,” Shun said.
“It’s okay,” Tsuru Nyōbō said. “Since you’re still young, I’ll forgive you this one time. Especially because you’re not like the other humans who come by here and drop all their garbage for me to clean up. You actually offered something, and as my first follower, I am forgiving.”
“That’s so sad,” Umi said. “So many students come out here and leave a mess. We should send some sort of message to them not to do that anymore or they’ll get punished.”
Shun laughed. “Hey, that’s not such a bad idea.”
“Are you Umi?” Tsuru Nyōbō asked.
Umi’s eyes widened and she cleared her throat. “Yes.”
“I shall grant you a blessing of good fortune. Close your eyes and lean down.”
“Oh, um, okay,” she said.
She closed her eyes as she had been asked and leaned down low enough for Tsuru Nyōbō to reach up and press a small hand against her temple. Shun watched as it glimmered with light and then faded, like a little gemstone disappearing into her body.
“Do you feel any different?” Shun asked.
Umi rubbed the offending spot on her forehead but shook her head. “No. Well, actually, I feel a little… lighter?”
“Your friend prayed for you to have a prosperous future, so I gave you a seal of good luck,” Tsuru Nyōbō said. “No need to thank me. It’s the least I can do after seeing someone being kind to my land for once instead of trouncing around on it.”
“We should probably go home now,” Shun said. “It’s gotten really late. It’s probably already past my curfew.”
“We’ll have to come back some time and help out around here,” Umi said. “Or at least tell the other students about it.”
“Maybe I’ll even write something about it in the paper,” Shun said.
“That’s an idea,” Umi said.
“I understand that you two need to leave for the time being. Feel free to come back whenever,” Tsuru Nyōbō said. “And may good fortune bless both of you.”
“Thank you again,” Umi said with a bow.
Once they had made it some distance away from the shrine again, Umi reached for Shun’s hand and sighed.
“Do you really feel okay?” Shun asked.
“If you want to know the truth, I’m very happy,” Umi said. “I’m glad that you helped the shrine god out.”
“You’re just glad it wasn’t an evil spirit,” Shun said.
Umi laughed. “That, too.”
The silence felt good. It no longer had any of the oppressive air he had felt whenever Tsuru Nyōbō had presumably been around causing trouble for him, trying to draw his attention and tell him to return their turtle.
Once they reached the courthouse and returned to more well-lit areas, Shun turned back to his shoulder to find Umi looking up at him with light in her eyes.
“Hey, Shun?” she whispered.
“Yeah?” he asked.
“I think we should date now,” she said.
“I think so, too.”
“I kind of already assumed you’d say that, but it feels good to hear it. After everything that happened, and we weren’t talking about it…”
“I know,” he said. “I thought it would be a good idea to give you some time to think about it.”
“Thank you for giving me that time.”
“You’re welcome.”
“But I’ve made up my mind,” Umi said. The determination returned to the set of her brow and she reached out to grip Shun on the sides of his arms. She leaned forward and pecked him once on the edge of his lips.