2.12: My StoryRui nudged me in the ribs firmly. “Go on,” she muttered. “Tell them.”

  “Y-yes,” I croaked. “I mean… I’ll do my best.”

  I took a deep breath.

  …

  “My face was stolen,” I began. “By a Noh-Face yōkai. It was the most recent incident along the Yamanote… There was an empty train on Halloween morning... Except for me. I was its st victim. Susumu, the old me, in a way, died that night.”

  Images flickered in my head.

  I felt again her cold hand closing over my cheek, the sensation of my own features dissolving away like wet paint.

  “I became a Noh-Face after that,” I said, my voice trembling. “I didn’t understand anything that was happening around me at first. I was just… terrified. I ran desperately, trying to figure things out. Every person around me was strangely more afraid of me than when I had my original cursed face. I found Rui, the only Spiritual Detective I knew about. She led me to meet the rest of my friends here.”

  I looked at Ume with a warm smile and a blush, “Ume, a vampire that feeds more on cuddles than blood.”

  Ume giggled and her fangs glinted in the ntern light.

  “Natalia-sama, who needs no introduction. She’s like the sun, as Rickey always said. She’s given me so much love, her wisdom, and she’s been a great source of stability for me.”

  Natalia-sama beamed and blushed faintly.

  “And Akuchi. Even though I’m still not completely sure what to think about her, she's stuck with me through everything, supporting me more than anyone else.”

  Akuchi didn’t blush. She simply preened in my praise.

  “What about me? What’s so special about me, baka?” Rui blushed and pouted, gripping my hand too firmly.

  I grimaced. “Um… yes. Rui-chan is the whole reason why we found Noh-face and then Mitsuhiko. Without her contribution and what she did when we faced Mitsuhiko, he would have imprisoned everyone in his scroll and who knows what he’d have done to Rui herself.”

  Rui nodded, slightly mollified.

  I continued, “Although Natalia-sama and Ume didn’t immediately join us in our investigation, we eventually tracked down the Noh-Face in the Yamanote tunnels. There were hints of her identity that I didn’t recognize then, but looking back, it’s obvious that it was always her. Reiko-chan. What happened to her was absolutely horrible. She’d tried to investigate Mitsuhiko’s murders herself and when she tried to take his yōkai scroll from him, he cursed her into that form, so to speak. She fought him and, in desperation, she managed to use his scroll. It was her own power that summoned the first Noh-face. At first it fought for her, but Mitsuhiko took control of it and turned it on her. It cimed her face and stole her life from her. When it came for her again ter, she tried to resist… and that struggle ended with her absorbing it and at that moment, she lost the rest of her sanity.”

  Kagami-no-Kami interrupted, frowning. “You say that she summoned the first Noh face. Most likely it was imbued with all of her darkest thoughts and impulses. Tell me more about her tale.”

  “...” I scanned through Reiko-chan’s memories and expined as best I could, “When she touched it, she was desperate to escape from Mitsuhiko’s tower. He had cornered her at that point. With her spiritual power, she was able to create the Noh face.”

  “Was it imprisoned in his scroll… or was it born from her own spiritual energy?” Kagami-no-Kami queried, half-musing.

  “I don’t have any answer for that,” I straightened. “but when she was joined with it, it felt like a part of her had rejoined her. But I think there was more to it than that…. Anyway, the monster that attacked me that night wasn’t her anymore. A twisted and insane being.”

  I swallowed.

  “After defeating her, I got a face back before the deadline was up… or maybe despite it… but it wasn’t the one I lost. It was Reiko-chan’s, my only remaining path to being human again. I had to tear apart my original face to weaken her enough to beat her.”

  “You destroyed your own face, your only path back to reciming your humanity in order to defeat her? Why did you go that far?”

  I hesitated a moment, my face turning pink, my eyes avoiding meeting hers. “I couldn’t leave it at that. Protecting everyone was the most important thing to me right then. She was using it as a weapon against me at the time and I knew that I had no choice but to destroy it. That was the only way to take away from her the warped power that she’d gained through murdering so many humans and stealing their faces. After that, we followed everything back to the source… Mitsuhiko.”

  “I see… continue,” Kagami-no-Kami said.

  Several council members leaned in.

  “Some days ter, we confronted him in front of his building. Or… we tried to,” I said, the memory turning my stomach. “He ambushed us and captured us with embarrassing ease. He stole my face again, essentially taking my body from me. To do that, he locked me in a reinforced cell and left me to fall apart as a yōkai. He meant to break me both mentally and physically.”

  Matriarch Tōhi’s blossoms quivered.

  “You ceased to be fully human,” she murmured. “in that moment.”

  I nodded weakly. “Kind of… I was on the point of giving up, drowning in a sea of my own miserable tears. I don’t mean that figuratively. Anything a Noh face does is really exaggerated. They have a strong consciousness power, I think.”

  Kagami-no-Kami smiled cryptically.

  Rui’s hand found my wrist again and tugged on it.

  I smiled at her and continued, “Before I went insane, Reiko-chan found me and combined with all the pressure that my tears put on his cell’s walls, she busted me free,” I whispered. “She wasn’t fully herself even then… but much more than she was in the tunnels. She wasn’t able to communicate well with me initially… She was more like a cursed ghost of her—but even like that she came for me anyway. She saved me even while she was completely broken and had no hope left. And we…”

  My throat tightened.

  “…we merged like she did with the one she created. We were like two broken pieces trying to become a complete person.”

  The council chamber went very still.

  “Spiritual fusion…” Kagami-no-Kami whispered. “That is forbidden… But it is done.”

  “We became one single Noh face yōkai ,” I said. “But we were no longer the monsters that Mitsuhiko made. We had become something new and stronger. Rui cheered me on and filled me with consciousness power. Reiko-chan’s martial arts instincts and our joined spiritual power—together we fought him. Him and his Enenra yōkai. And somehow we won.”

  A soft murmur moved through the chamber.

  “After the fight,” I said quietly, “I stopped being a Noh face when they freed Reiko’s face from where he kept it, inside his scroll. Once it came out, my power faded. Mitsuhiko wasn’t defeated yet. He stood up, ready to kill us all, but when things looked grim, Akuchi came out from nowhere and finished him off.”

  “Yeah! I turned into a heat seeking missile. I totally blew my brains out.” Akuchi ughed exaggeratedly. “Ohohoho! He’d kicked me into the air earlier, through most of his building, but I came veering back just in time to see everyone cornered by him when he got up. Even with all that battle damage he took, he was a truly scary guy.” Akuchi posed, strutting with a little moonwalk dance.

  “So I flew into his face and boom!” She cpped her hands.

  Natalia and Ume giggled. I smiled warmly nodding along and Rui pouted.

  “Stop strutting, baka.” She smacked Akuchi on her backside. “Let Sumire speak. This isn’t YOUR story.”

  Akuchi scowled at Rui, but then blushed faintly, looking at me.

  I smiled fondly at them both and straightened.

  “Well anyway…” I mely continued, “I used my remaining spiritual energy to seal Mitsuhiko in Rui’s scroll. She helped to guide me. At that point, I’d returned to being a human, but no longer the man I was born as. She gave me everything that she had and was and I didn’t know that until this morning. I’m not her even though I have her face and body. We’re both Susumu and Reiko at once. Sumire Shinohara.”

  Rui squeezed my hand and grinned at me.

  “A new person built from everything we were. Hopefully the best parts of us, rather than the worst.”

  Kagami-no-Kami studied me with fascinated stillness.

  “Extraordinary,” she breathed.Her mask shifted a fraction in her hair.

  “You say you are no longer a Noh face,” she said, “But you are mistaken to think that. Your soul is that of a Noh face yōkai. Yet the echo of that darkness lingers within you.”

  “Have I been corrupted?” I asked, stunned, a chill going up my spine.

  “No… it’s not necessarily a form of corruption, as long as your willpower is strong and your spirit gentle. A Noh face is but an empty vessel, but filled with boundless consciousness power. It’s still inside you. When you die, you’ll once again manifest as one.”

  “I don’t want to be a noh-face again,” I whispered.

  “You are not one right now, and your fate isn’t set in stone,” Lady Byakuren said. “A serpent leaves her old skin behind. She does not crawl back into it.”

  I blinked. That strangely made sense.

  Ryūjin tapped his seat, his voice low and resonant. “The depth around you is unmistakable. Human or yōkai… such weight comes only from great sacrifice.”

  Lady Kogane leaned forward, her voice like bells chiming softly. “That bracelet of yours, by the way. It carries many memories. Much loss. A relic intertwined with spirit. You have given it a new purpose. I believe that it very much likes your Maneki-Neko Fist.”

  I gasped. “How did you know…”

  Rui immediately stepped in front of me, cutting me off. “There’s no way that’s true! That’s not how my dad used the bracelet! That’s my inheritance you’re talking about here. No one’s touching it or changing it without my permission.” She thumped her chest.

  A ripple of amusement moved through the council.

  Lady Kogane giggled softly, “The relic wishes to support its user however it may. You may wish to consider furnishing her with more such accessories to help develop her power further.”

  Kagami-no-Kami tilted her head and then stepped back.

  “I have heard enough,” she said. “Her story aligns with Natalia’s report. Her spirit shows rebirth, fusion, and a willpower beyond that of ordinary humans… and yet she shows no sign of taint. No signs of its madness. Only some sort of potential.”

  She returned to her seat.

  “I propose,” she said, “that we recognize Shinohara Sumire as a special-status individual… human-bodied, yōkai-souled, cssified for jurisdiction and protection.”

  “Seconded,” Meifu-no-Nana chirped, already scribbling. “Paperwork is delicious.”

  “Approved,” murmured Tōhi.

  Ryūjin nodded. “Agreed.”

  Yuki-Onna exhaled a drift of frost. “She’s certainly interesting. I would like to see where her destiny leads her.”

  “Then it is carried,” Lady Byakuren said. Her eyes softened on me. “You belong here, child. You are one of us. Do not forget that.”

  My knees nearly buckled.Just like that I was registered.

  “Additionally,” Kagami-no-Kami continued, “her actions in this case merit commendation. We should consider—”

  “DETECTIVE LICENSE NOW,” Rui exploded.

  Every head turned and eyes locked onto her.

  Despite having everyone’s focus on her like that, Rui stomped into the center of the circle like a tiny thunderstorm. “We’re not just here for her identity card!” she shouted. “Sumire deserves an official Detective License from the Council.” She clenched a fist. “She solved a very big and dangerous case already. She took down a powerful yōkai master… Mitsuhiko. She made Ushi give up. She’s clearly qualified, so just stamp her license and hand it over.” She opened her fist into an open palm and grinned brashly at the council.

  There was a moment of stunned silence.

  Then the Tengu Daimyō ughed uproariously.

  “You have not changed one bit, Shinohara Rui,” he said, his throat rumbling. “Always leaping ahead three steps.”

  “I’m not leaping over anything important. These things you’re talking about are just unimportant little details that should be swept under a rug.” Rui snapped. “I’m correcting obvious injustice here.” Her hand wiggled insistently.

  “Is that so?” he asked mildly. “Very well. Shinohara Sumire clearly possesses spiritual power, sufficient combat ability, and an unfortunate talent for attracting trouble. That does qualify her to be a recognized and licensed spiritual detective.”

  Rui smirked victoriously.

  “However… it only clears her to take the Detective Examination,” he finished.

  Rui’s expression cracked. “…What’s with that?”

  “In one week,” Kurama no Hoshigami said. “Here, under Council auspices. We will determine if she meets our standards. Her courtyard bout was… promising, but unpolished. If she wishes to stand as a detective in both worlds, she must prove she can do so without relying on miracles and luck.”

  “Hey!” I protested weakly. “What I pulled off wasn’t just luck!”

  “Some of it was, Susu,” Ume whispered at me.

  I blushed profusely, embarrassed. It was lucky that I figured out in time how to make the jade bracelet work for my Maneki-Neko Fist technique. I guess I get it.

  “Ahhhm,” Ume hummed as she ran at me and jumped into my arms.

  Oh no! I blushed AGAIN!

  I flinched and caught her by reflex. It didn’t take long for her to start nibbling on my ear again amorously.

  The Tengu Daimyō snorted. “You are untrained, Sumire Shinohara. But with refinement, you could become much more,” the Daimyo said, still amused.

  Rui’s hair practically stood up. “Stop pouncing on Sumire-chan like that! Every time she blushes, you lose control and attack her!”

  “Sowwy~.” Ume giggled. “I can’t resist my vampiric appetite.”

  Rui pouted, crossing her arms. “Eventually I’ll beat you to the punch.”

  “You’d jump on me like she does?” I blushed at the thought of having the two attacking me the same way.

  “Well…” Rui muttered, looking away.

  “I for one, would not hesitate.” Akuchi decred grabbing me from behind.

  “Hyaaaa!” I stiffened and flushed.

  “Stop that! Have some manners, bakas!” Rui yelled and rounded on the Yokai Council again. “Anyway!!! You expect her to pass a whole exam in just a week from now? That’s crazy!”

  “Crazy generous, you meant,” Yuki-Onna murmured, amused. “We rarely make such exceptions. Human and yōkai lives are on the line.”

  Meifu-no-Nana tapped a brush against her teeth. “Besides, you will help her, won’t you? You have been very loud about her potential.”

  Rui spluttered. “That’s… not the point… but I mean yes, obviously.”

  “Then all is well,” Byakuren said. “We are done here.”

  Natalia-sama bowed. “Thank you for your time, honored council. I will oversee preparations on the human side.”

  “Do so,” Kagami-no-Kami replied. “I wish to see what kind of mask this girl chooses to wear in the end.”

  That’s… kind of ominous sounding...

  A shikigami unfolded itself from the floor nearby… paper turning into a slender, faceless attendant. It bowed to us and gestured toward a side passage.

  “Your private portal to leave the Yōkai world awaits,” Lady Kogane said pleasantly. “We do not wish to keep humans away from their world for too long. They get… wobbly.”

  Rui grumbled all the way up the steps out of the chamber, gring at Ume. With a little sigh, she hopped down and took my hand instead. She and Akuchi fnked me like nervous bodyguards. Ushi stayed behind, leaning on the edge of the circle, watching us go with a grunt.

  At the top of the chamber, just before the door, I gnced back.

  For a heartbeat, every member of the Council was looking right at me.

  I wasn’t sure what that meant.

  Why are they so interested in me?

  Maybe they expected something from me.

  I swallowed hard and bowed to them before following the shikigami into the whispering hallway.

  After many turns, going through chambers, cavernous and narrow, we reached the portal chamber.

  It felt small compared to the Council’s room, a circur space with walls of polished bck stone and a single paper door on the far side. In the middle there was a standing mirror as tall as the ceiling reflected us, and something else. The surface shimmered like stirred water, showing fshes of Tokyo’s skyline flickering beneath the gss.

  Natalia-sama stepped in front of it.

  “This will return us to the human world the swiftest way,” she said gently. “To a safe location, hidden from prying eyes. Later tonight, we will discuss the exam, Sumire-chan.”

  I blushed again.

  It was becoming weirdly common to be called Sumire-chan like that, but I couldn’t stop blushing.

  Am I actually cute? Really?

  Ume snuggled herself into my arm and Rui hung off my other arm almost competitively. And Akuchi pressed herself against my back, too tightly for my comfort.

  SQUISH

  My stomach clenched. “I wonder if I’ll be ready in just a week,” I mumbled.

  “We have plenty of time,” Rui said briskly, brushing my worries aside. “We’ll get you ready, Susu. You have me, Ume, Akuchi, and Natalia-sama supporting you. We’ll all properly guide you.”

  That didn’t make me feel better. Natalia-sama’s training had usually backfired in some spectacur way. What could Akuchi, Rui, and Ume teach me?

  However things turned out, they were at my side, and that was what mattered.

  It was good to be needed and wanted by others. I couldn't help feeling warm.

  I took a breath and squeezed Rui and Ume’s hands.

  “Okay,” I said. “Let’s go.”

  Natalia-sama pressed her palm to the mirror’s surface and it rippled.

  Cold air smelling faintly of city pollution and the scent of food cooking wafted from restaurants. The tter aromas made my stomach grumble as though we hadn’t had breakfast this morning.

  One by one, we stepped through.

  And Tokyo welcomed us back.