"Not being able to see Onii-chan for three years will definitely feel a little lonely..."
Suou Yuki lowered her eyes slightly, her voice soft but unwavering.
"But I'll endure it. Please rest assured, Onii-chan."
There was no trembling in her words. No tears.
Only resolve.
As the eldest daughter of the prestigious Suou family, she had long since been trained in self-restraint.
Her mind was sharper than most girls her age, her will more tempered.
Three years apart?
If there was a promise at the end of it all—then what was three years?
A blink. A breath. A heartbeat held in stasis.
Yukima Azuma gave a small, approving nod, his gaze warm with admiration.
But then, as if sothing had just occurred to him, he added with a wry smile,
"On the last day... I probably won't be able to stay with you. I'll need to go to the mountains."
The mont the words left his mouth, Suou Yuki's eyes lit up with sudden realization.
"You an... the shrine in the mountains near Itomori?"
Azuma nodded once, his expression turning serious.
"Umu. I have to perform a ritual there. Sothing important."
Suou Yuki's curiosity, already burning over the past weeks, flared once more.
Ever since he'd shared the strange truth about the identity exchange, she had imrsed herself in research—interviews, records, whispers from the past.
She used the Suou family's network to gather obscure tales of the god of Itomori, piecing together the threads Azuma had told her.
Ironically, many of the stories Azuma now knew ca from Yuki's own lips.
So when he ntioned going into the mountains, she imdiately understood.
He wasn't going on a sightseeing trip.
He was going to the sacred place.
The hidden shrine—shrouded in myth, sealed in mory.
"It's said the shrine isn't even in Itomori Town itself, but deep in a cave high in the nearby mountain range," Yuki whispered. "For nearly a century, only the priestesses of the Miyamizu family have known how to reach it."
"And on the day of the ritual..." she paused, "...you'll return there. Just as your ti here runs out."
Yukima Azuma gave a quiet smile, tinged with sothing like lancholy.
But Suou Yuki, excited despite herself, clapped her hands.
"Can I co with you?"
She imdiately noticed his hesitant expression and quickly added,
"I promise I won't get in the way! Just my eyes, not my mouth!"
Azuma chuckled. "You're really not interested in gods, are you?"
"Not particularly," Yuki admitted, smiling cheekily. "But this god changed my life. He sent you. So if sothing unpredictable happens in the future, I want to know where I can go to... ask for a favor."
Azuma's eyes softened, but he remained unconvinced.
"You might be able to go to the shrine, but will the Suou family even allow it?"
She paused at that.
Yuki knew what he was getting at.
She wasn't just a daughter.
She was the Suou heir—the family's prized gem.
And the last ti she'd snuck out, it ended in a terrifying asthma attack.
He'd seen the aftermath. He couldn't forget it.
Her being punished for such a stunt again? It wasn't just possible—it was guaranteed.
But Suou Yuki only grinned.
"Onii-chan-sama has sneaked into this fortress dozens of tis already. Taking out just once shouldn't be that hard, right?"
"No way," Azuma replied instantly, shaking his head.
"Why not?!"
"Taking you out isn't the problem. But when you co back, they'll lock you down tighter than ever."
"They might even sentence you to house arrest for a whole year!"
"That's fine," Yuki said, surprisingly calm. "One year is one year. I can focus on studying."
"...You're seriously okay with that?"
"I've already decided, Onii-chan-sama." She placed her hands on her hips with exaggerated confidence. "I'm a healthy bishoujo now!"
She spun in place as if to prove it—her skin glowing, her hair lustrous, her voice clear and strong.
Azuma gave her a long, hard look.
He rembered the pale girl from just weeks ago—delicate, withdrawn, eyes rimd with fatigue.
This radiant version standing in front of him was nothing like that ghost of herself.
She was vibrant. Fierce.
"I heard that if you sneak out again," he said, "they'll really enforce full isolation. No visitors, no outings, no cell phone."
"I've thought it through," Yuki said, her tone softening. "Even if they lock up... I was going to focus on the Suou family curriculum anyway."
She sat down, her eyes thoughtful now.
"If I get it all done in advance, then maybe—three years later—I'll have more freedom. I can co find you."
The room quieted.
Her eyes, still carrying the brightness of youth, shone with sothing much deeper: purpose.
Azuma felt a pang in his chest.
She was just a girl—not even in high school yet—and already choosing the hard road, just to earn the right to keep a promise.
"...Alright then," he said after a long silence. "I'll co pick you up that day."
"Yatta!!!"
Yuki exploded with joy, fists pumping in the air.
"Onii-chan-sama Saikou! Onii-chan-sama Banzai!!!"
And in that cheerful cry, beneath her laughter, was the weight of a countdown neither of them could slow.
Elsewhere...
Tokyo — Sensouji Temple.
Amid the bustle of tourists and the swirl of lantern light, Miyamizu Mitsuha walked quietly beneath the massive red gate.
She had seen much of Tokyo these past few weeks—iji Shrine, Ochanomizu's used bookstores, the Skytree's sweeping skyline, the endless rows of books in Tokyo's library.
But this... this was her final destination.
Sensouji Temple.
She wasn't here just to sightsee.
She was here to pray.
After everything—after living in soone else's skin, swapping lives with Yukima Azuma across ti—she found herself questioning reality.
And if there were gods... maybe they were listening.
Mitsuha stopped outside the temple gate and bought two candied apples.
She bit into one—and her eyes widened.
"Whoa... this is amazing!"
She handed the second one to Kato gumi, who stood beside her.
Their friendship had deepened quickly. Mitsuha's natural warmth and gumi's quiet sincerity made them click effortlessly.
Kato gumi accepted the apple and bit softly.
The sweetness was clean, not cloying. The glaze thin but satisfying.
She stared at the bite mark thoughtfully.
Could she recreate this?
Maybe... to give to him.
"By the way," Mitsuha asked, licking a bit of syrup from her thumb, "how did things go after that—after the physical fitness test?"
gumi blinked.
"The test?"
"Yeah. You said you helped Yukima-san apply dicine in the classroom. But I heard that girl with the twintails—Sawamura—got angry and stord out before that."
"...Eriri?"
Mitsuha nodded.
"What happened after that? Weren't they on bad terms?"
gumi paused. Her expression was unreadable.
Why was Mitsuha asking this now?
Eriri had, after all, just visited a few days ago.
And the mont Mitsuha saw her, she had fled like a startled deer.
"According to Azuma-san..." gumi said slowly, "Eriri apologized."
"He accepted it. Then invited her to join the club."
"Huh. He's way too soft," Mitsuha muttered. "She bit him! That's not tsundere, that's just feral!"
Kato gumi tilted her head, eyes narrowed ever so slightly.
"Miyamizu-san... do you like him?"
Mitsuha froze.
It wasn't the words—it was the certainty in gumi's voice.
Her candied apple halted midair. Her jaw went slack.
"W-What?! No! Of course not! Where would I even—? I haven't even t the guy!"
But the panic in her tone betrayed her.
gumi hadn't even said Azuma's na.
And yet—
Mitsuha had known exactly who she ant.
gumi said nothing more. She smiled and took another bite of her apple.
Mitsuha, face flushed, stared at the ground.
Then glanced toward Asakusa's temple gates.
"Let's go in. I heard they serve vegetarian als inside."
As they walked together into the temple, hand in hand, two thoughts echoed between them:
Three years isn't so long.
Unless your heart is already waiting.
Reviews
All reviews (0)