Millennial Mischief Page 7

  She sat down with a bowl and began eating.

  “Fox food,” Shun said. “Red beans. They are quite sweet. If you want to try it, Yuki will get you some.”

  He shot a look at Yuki. I took it as meaning it was really rude to eat in front of a guest without offering them any. But then I wasn’t exactly a welcome guest. I didn’t expect Yuki to offer me food. I’d been surprised she’d even offered me a drink. So long as she shut up with the bitchiness, I’d be okay.

  Four days of this, that meant 12 hours a day, 48 hours total. I could do it.

  Shun’s movie finished and he got up.

  “I’ll leave the snacks for you,” he said, pointing at a bag of crackers on the table. I grinned. Snacks would definitely make this more manageable.

  I moved my cushion so I could lean against the wall while Yuki spread out her futon. Then she looked over at me.

  “Is that yours?” she asked, nodding at my backpack.

  “Yes.” I grinned. Not that I needed her approval or anything.

  “I need a gift for my friend’s child. Where did you get it?”

  Some people could say that without it being insulting but you’d never be able to include Yuki in that group. Luckily, she left it at that and put headphones on.

  I grabbed my phone then realized she hadn’t given me the Wi-Fi password. I waved in her direction. Without removing her headphones, she handed me a slip of paper with the password on it.

  I uploaded photos of my shopping haul, not expecting anyone I knew to be awake at this time of night.

  A few times, I glanced at Yuki. I’d kind of been hoping she’d turn into her fox form when she slept but she stayed human. She did curl up in a ball like a fox though so that her knees were almost on the pillow near her face. It didn’t look comfortable to me.

  Before long, I got a message from Gabby.

  “Get me one of those dinosaur bags, please. Best friends forever. And a $10 fee for your efforts.”

  I shot back a message saying “$20 plus shipping.” Maybe I could make a business out of this. Buying cool Japanese stuff and selling it back home. I’d make a fortune just going shopping. Sweet.

  Then I got an answer. “Don’t worry. I can order it online.”

  Damn this modern age.

  We chatted for a while before she had to sleep. It felt weird having to keep information back from her but most of the stuff that had happened ever since I’d arrived here weren’t things for big mouth Gabby to know. I hadn’t told her, or any of my friends, the reason for this visit. Still, when she went offline, my insides felt empty. Luckily, Shun had left those snacks to fill that gap.

  After a few hours, I’d finished all the snacks and had looked at everything I could think of on the internet.

  Yuki had turned off the heater before she’d fallen asleep so the apartment had turned freezing cold. I had no idea where she’d put the remote. I thought I found it but it was for the TV.

  No way would I risk turning on the TV and waking her. Even though I’d slept earlier, my head kept drooping. A short snooze seemed so tempting but I had a horrible feeling if I did Yamaguchi would know.

  I looked up funny cat videos but I didn’t want to put the sound on and, if I used headphones, I wouldn’t be able to hear if anyone broke in so I browsed through things to do in Tokyo instead. Not that I’d have a lot of sightseeing time. I’d seen Shun’s roster. We had alternating eight-hour shifts. That’d give me time to sleep and eat before being back here. I’d definitely bring a more comfortable cushion with me for my next shift. My butt had gone to sleep.

  Something tapped outside and I jolted. A weird sound. I looked over at Yuki, curled up asleep. If I woke her and the noise meant nothing, she’d be so angry. But then if I didn’t wake her and we got attacked, I’d be in all kinds of shit.

  It tapped again. I went to the window and peeked through the gap in the curtains. Because Yuki was on the ground floor, she didn’t have a balcony like I did but a drab concrete courtyard. The streetlight shone into it enough for me to realize it was empty.

  Really, wouldn’t it be better having this box at my place? At least it’d be harder to break into. Anyone could get into that courtyard. But then I guessed shimmying up one floor didn’t count for much protection if you had paranormal powers. Or were a ninja. Was that a risk? I didn’t think we could fight ninjas.

  Some branches blew around the courtyard. It must’ve been them tapping against the window. At least we didn’t have to ward off enemies right now.

  Before I shut the curtain, I looked up at the wall surrounding the courtyard. About half a dozen crows sat along there as though standing guard.

  One of them looked like the crow from earlier, the one who’d pecked my ear, but I had to be kidding myself. All crows looked the same. Still I gave him a little wave.

  A little while later Yuki stirred. Then she got up and went to the bathroom. When she returned, she had glasses of cold tea for us both.

  “Sorry. Did I wake you?” I asked.

  She shook her head. “Nope. I never sleep for long.”

  I wanted to ask if that was a fox thing but didn’t know how to bring up that issue. Since Yuki had actually said a non-bitchy thing to me, I didn’t want to ruin it by incorrectly referring to her fox state.

  “Tell me about the kami,” I asked her instead.

  She sat up in bed, sipping her tea then reached over for the air conditioner remote.

  “There are blankets in the cupboard if you want one.”

  Wow, that was almost friendly of her.

  “I’m fine. If I have a blanket, I’ll end up sleeping.”

  She shrugged. “Okay, the kami. It’s hard to explain simply but I’ll try. You’ve heard of Shinto?”

  “The religion?”

  “It’s not really a religion like you’d call a religion but that’s close enough. In Shinto there are many kami. People can become kami or trees or mountains. It’s not a fixed thing. Some kami live in the shrine.”

  I nodded. So far it didn’t seem so complicated.

  “We have matsuri, festivals. At that time, the kami leaves the shrine. There is a mikoshi...”

  She grabbed her phone and got up a photo to show me. The photo showed a shrine-like structure, all elaborately decorated with gold carvings the same as the box. The structure was on huge poles with a whole bunch of people carrying it. They looked like they were dancing.

  “The mikoshi is a portable shrine. They take the kami from the shrine and carry him around the neighborhood. He likes to see things.” She smiled so I wasn’t sure if that was a joke or not. “There is drinking and eating. And lots of fun. And everyone chants wasshoi, wasshoi.”

  “Have you carried a mikoshi?” I wasn’t sure if I said the word right.

  “Of course not. I’m not a servant of the Gods.”

  I must’ve looked confused because I didn’t see the connection.

  Yuki sighed again.

  “There are two types of kitsune,” she said. “Some work for the shrine. They think they are so good but they are just servants. The other type are tricksters. We work for no one.”

  “You work for Yamaguchi.”

  She sighed again. Not a sigh of exasperation this time but a deep sigh like that hurt her deep in her soul.

  “That can’t be helped. Shouganai. I can do nothing.”

  I wanted to ask her why but she’d turned from me. An obvious end of conversation sign.

  “So, why is this kami here?”

  “There is trouble. The old man, he makes trouble. And because of that trouble, he expects revenge. But there are some things humans shouldn’t mess with. He’s scared someone will steal the kami.”

  I sat up and looked at the box.

  “Can we open it and see the kami?” I asked.

  She reeled back, shocked. “We can’t.”

  I didn’t move away so she jumped up and pushed me away from the box.

  “Don’t touch the box.”

 
“Why not?”

  “Only priests can see kami. Only priests can talk to kami. You can’t open that box. It’s forbidden. You would just see air.”

  She could say that but I’d been pretty convinced that box had moved earlier. Since we’d reached a state of — well I wouldn’t exactly call it friendship but maybe peaceful coexistence, I didn’t want to argue with her about it.

  Maybe this could work. Some people just take a while to warm up and I’d probably put her off by wearing Ashley’s dress the first time we’d met. Being on speaking terms with Yuki would make the next few days go faster. I might even get tips from her on doing my eyeliner.

  I’d just thought of asking when she pulled out a packet of cigarettes and lit one up.

  “You’re not smoking that in here!” I knew it was her apartment but no. Just no.

  “Yes, I am,” Yuki said, inhaling then blowing out a perfect smoke ring.

  “But this is my place of work. It’s illegal to smoke in someone’s place of work.” I glared at her. Surely she’d put the cigarette out or at least go to the courtyard.

  “Not in Japan it isn’t.”

  Yuki didn’t look at me. She just kept blowing those smoke rings.

  “You’ll ruin your health.”

  “I’m a three-hundred-year-old fox,” she said. “Smoking hasn’t hurt my life expectancy.”

  “I’ll show you the statistics on passive smoking,” I said, grabbing my phone.

  “I’ll change the Wi-Fi password.”

  Bitch. I got up and went out to the courtyard. It might be freezing cold but it’d be better than sitting in the apartment with her and her passive smoke. I wrapped my arms around myself and shivered. The crow flew down and sat on my shoulder. He gave a gentle caw.

  “That’s right,” I said to him. “She is a bitch. But what can we do?”

  Chapter 13

  I slept most of the next day until it was time for me to take my shift again. I needed to shower fast so I had time to eat before I was back in Yuki’s apartment. This wasn’t a situation that made for an engaging Instagram feed. I hoped my parents appreciated that I was doing all this work to get their stone back. If they didn’t, I’d tell them tonight as soon as I got on Yuki’s Wi-Fi.

  I’d actually hoped her signal was strong enough for me to connect from my apartment but no such luck.

  After showering, I tried on my new skirt. I’d been dreaming when I’d thought that thing would fit me. It might fit one thigh. How did Japanese girls stay so skinny? Oh well, I’d be sitting around the apartment doing nothing so no point dressing up too much. I put on some leggings and a long t-shirt, then remembered how cold it’d been last night so I added a few more layers. I’d probably have to spend half my time standing out in that freezing courtyard while Yuki smoked.

  I could get Shun to talk to her about it. He wouldn’t expect me to be exposed to her secondhand smoke.

  I walked to the store and grabbed some food for later. I got back to Yuki’s. Shun opened the door and, when I went in, Yuki was curled up asleep. She sure loved sleeping.

  “Any issues?” I whispered.

  “No need to whisper,” Shun said. “When Yuki’s asleep, it takes a lot to wake her. If you have any trouble, make sure you shake her. That’s the best way.”

  That disturbed me in a few ways. Firstly, it meant touching Yuki. Even if she’d warmed a little, we didn’t have that kind of relationship. And, secondly, how long had Shun spent around sleeping Yuki?

  “It’s been fine,” Shun said. “Almost disturbingly peaceful. Do you have plenty to amuse yourself? Yuki might sleep for hours so she won’t be much company.”

  I bit my tongue and didn’t say that even awake she wasn’t much company.

  “I’m fine. I’ve got a heap of movies and books on my phone. And lots of food,” I said, indicating my bag.

  Shun took the bag off me and put stuff in the fridge.

  “If you need me, just call me,” he said. “You can use Skype.”

  I got his details off him. Then I noticed the overflowing ashtray on the coffee table.

  “Oh Shun, there’s one thing. Yuki smokes in the apartment.”

  He raised his eyebrows. “Is that a problem?”

  “Yes.”

  I got up and emptied the ash tray in the rubbish bin. Burnable rubbish.

  “Maybe you should ask her to open a window or smoke under the kitchen fan.”

  Well, he’d been a lot less understanding than I’d expected. I guess he didn’t want to get into the middle of things. I doubted Yuki would stand under the fan and smoke even if I asked her.

  At least she couldn’t smoke in her sleep.

  After he left, I got back online. My shopping haul had a heap of likes but that didn’t excite me as much as it had once. Then I sent a message to Mum updating her on things and telling her I’d agreed to work for Yamaguchi for a while.

  “Oh dear,” she sent back.

  “What does that mean?”

  “Nothing. I’m sure it will be okay. LOL.”

  I always tried to explain to Mum that LOL didn’t mean lots of love but she never cared.

  “Be careful.”

  That didn’t reassure me at all. What had she expected me to do? I hadn’t had much choice about this. If her and Dad hadn’t been so furtive before I’d left, things would be much easier now.

  I asked her how things were at home but she said she had to go and didn’t answer.

  That box on the table tempted me. Even if Yuki had said the spirit had no corporeal form, I wanted to check for myself. She’d been so shocked, though, when I’d suggested opening the box.

  As I thought that, the box jumped, like something inside called to me. Maybe my curiosity made me imagine things. Just to be sure, I tore up some strips of paper and sat them on the table to mark where the box sat. That way, if it moved again, I had scientific evidence.

  I sat back and ignored that box. Yuki would kill me if she caught me anywhere near it and she’d said I wouldn’t see anything. I started watching a movie. That’d distract me from even thinking about the box.

  But the words “open the box” echoed in my head. Not like I thought them but like someone else put them there. I turned up the volume on my movie. Idle curiosity was one thing but hearing strange voices led to bad things. Obeying those voices led to even badder things.

  I went to the window, wanting to check if my crow was still around. When I saw him on the wall, I waved. If I went outside, I could ask him if I should open the box.

  Then I shook myself. I’d actually been planning to ask a crow if I should open a box filled with air? That was not the act of a normal person. Sitting around in an apartment with someone who hates you while you watch a box can make a person go a bit stir crazy.

  After a while, Yuki woke up.

  “I’m starving,” she said. “Want some...” she seemed to be searching for the right word. “Beans?”

  “I’m not sure,” I said. Shun had said they were sweet but I wasn’t sure. Beans didn’t sound that delicious.

  “I’ll give you a small bowl to try.”

  She went into the kitchen. If these beans tasted disgusting, it’d be a totally awkward situation.

  When she came back, she handed me the bowl then sat down, cross legged on her futon.

  “Stop moving,” she said. “You jiggle too much.”

  I hadn’t even noticed my legs jiggling. Sitting still for all this time proved a real challenge. My energy built up inside me with nowhere to go. All I’d done was sleep and sit.

  I picked up the bowl and tried a small bite. Strange texture but the beans weren’t awful. They were sweet but not sweet like sugar.

  “Why are there bits of paper on the table?” Yuki asked.

  I screwed up my mouth, not wanting to tell her but her expression said I couldn’t avoid explaining.

  “I thought the box moved so I wanted to test it.”

  Yuki laughed. “The box can’t move.”
>
  She kept laughing. It wasn’t that funny. She could stop laughing now. And the box had moved. I was sure of it.

  “What is this kami the kami of?” I asked. She’d said many things have kami so I wanted to know and, more than that, I wanted to shut up her stupid laugh.

  “It is hard to explain,” she said. But then she said that about everything. “He is a victory god.”

  “So, he will lead us to victory?”

  “Maybe not you,” she said then turned away. It didn’t take long for her friendliness to disappear. “I think he’s an ancestor of Yamaguchi,” she added.

  She went back to the kitchen with our empty bowls.

  If this god was an ancestor of Yamaguchi’s, that added a whole other layer of danger to this job. I couldn’t imagine Yamaguchi being too forgiving if anything happened to his ancestor god.

  “I’m going to the conbini,” Yuki said.

  “Conbini?”

  “Shop. Convenience store.”

  “Aha.” I nodded. I got it. Conbini was short for convenience store. That made sense and saved saying a whole lot of syllables. Then it hit me what she’d said. “Wait. No. You can’t. I’ll go instead.”

  I’m pretty sure she wasn’t allowed to just pop out to the shops, leaving me alone to protect the kami. I couldn’t fight. I couldn’t do magic or create illusions. All I’d be able to do is scream like a little bitch.

  “I need more beans and you won’t buy the right ones.”

  She’d just had a bowl of beans so I didn’t see the urgency.

  “Can’t you wait until Shun gets here? It’ll only be an hour or so. Or call him and get him to pick you some up.”

  Yuki laughed. “I’ll only be five minutes.”

  “If anything happens, are you going to tell Yamaguchi you popped out to buy beans?” I asked her.

  From the way her face blanched, I knew I’d got her there. She might act all full of bravado but that bravado didn’t extend to Yamaguchi.

  “I’ll take my phone,” she said. “You can call me. Seriously, I haven’t been out of this apartment in so long, I need some fresh air and a break.”

  I hadn’t thought about how hard this must be on her. At least Shun and I got breaks but she was in this apartment the whole time.