"Morning, Shouko."
While changing his shoes, Tsuna greeted Shouko, who had poked her head out from the living room, and then headed straight for the bathroom.
When he came out, the only person left at home was Daisuke, sitting at the dining table reading the newspaper. He asked, puzzled:
"Dad, where are Mom and Shouko?"
"Your mom went grocery shopping and took Shouko with her."
Daisuke's words were accompanied by the rustling sound of the newspaper being turned in his hands.
"Oh." Tsuna nodded, pulled out a chair at the dining table, sat down, and started eating breakfast.
Suddenly, the only sounds in the dining room were the faint chewing and the occasional rustling of the newspaper being turned.
Daisuke hesitated for a long time. Just as Tsuna was about to finish his breakfast, he put down the newspaper in his hands and said earnestly:
"Tsuna, you've grown up now. There are some things you should know."
Tsuna immediately stopped chewing. Seeing that his dad's expression wasn't entirely serious, he spoke up directly to answer preemptively:
"Dad, you're not about to say that our family is actually some ancient clan that has been guarding a king's tomb since ancient times, are you?"
"Or a family that signed a contract with some demon?"
"Watch less of that stuff, it's not good for your brain," Daisuke said faintly, without any expression on his face.
"Oh." Tsuna swallowed the food in his mouth. "But Mom quite likes watching TV dramas of this genre."
"Then pretend I didn't say anything." Daisuke picked up the warm milk from the table, poured a cup for Tsuna, and pushed it in front of him.
"Alright, I'm telling you something serious. No need to make jokes like that to lighten the mood."
"Oh."
Afterward, Daisuke talked to Tsuna about the physical changes that happen when boys grow up, saying that these are things every boy goes through and there's no need to feel any particular way about them.
Tsuna listened helplessly. He already knew all of this and had gone through it once, so he was quite indifferent.
But knowing that his dad meant well, he could only calm down and listen.
"Click..."
Daisuke only stopped speaking when they heard the sound of the front door being opened from the outside:
"Alright, that's all I wanted to say. Just understand it, and if you have any questions about this, come talk to me again."
"Okay, okay!" Tsuna quickly nodded.
He could barely stand the thirty-odd minutes of face-to-face explanation, and he had to nod and respond in agreement with his dad's words from time to time.
"Also." Daisuke saw him getting up to leave and spoke again.
"Huh?" Tsuna turned back, puzzled.
"You ate the slowest today, the plates on the table and such—"
Before he could finish, Tsuna interrupted him: "I know, I'll go to the bathroom and come back to clean up."
When he came out of the bathroom, he only saw the clean dining table and Shouko quietly washing dishes in the kitchen.
He quickly went forward to stop her, but she politely asked him to leave the kitchen.
---
Morning mist hung like a veil between the shrine hall pillars, the scent of decaying wood mingled with sandalwood, settling in the depressions of the stone steps.
The branches of the ancient cedar trees wove a dense net, filtering down scattered light spots that fell onto the eaves of the old shrine.
The faded shimenawa swayed in the wind, the ringing sound leaking from the hanging copper bells intertwined with the babbling of the mountain stream, startling a crow that flew past the lingering smoke from the incense burner.
"We're finally here. It feels like it's been ages since we last came."
The two of them left home, and it took about thirty minutes to reach their destination. Shouko looked at the scenery below the mountainside and sighed.
"It's almost a year, isn't it?" Tsuna took out a small pack of tissues from his pocket and helped her wipe the fine sweat from her forehead.
"Are you two here to pray for blessings or fulfill a vow?"
At this moment, a clear voice interrupted Tsuna's action.
Both looked over at the same time. The owner of the voice was the miko who had tricked them into buying omamori a year ago.
But her attire was completely different from when they first met.
She wore a pure white linen inner robe (kosode) close to her body, with delicate chrysanthemum-like embroidery on the collar and cuffs.
A white outer robe was worn over the kosode, with auspicious patterns like flowing water and cloud motifs woven into the lapels and hem using the noshime technique (traditional kimono pattern weaving).
Deep red skirt-like trousers, with denser pleats for a sense of drape, fastened at the waist with a white sash.
This attire, combined with the woman's beautiful face and the shrine behind her, seemed to blend together, but the broom she held in her hand created a sense of incongruity.
Tsuna had some impression of this outfit. After thinking for a moment, he remembered that this was the attire worn only by female mikos at shrines in Japan.
In Japan, the miko is the highest-ranking Shinto priest at a shrine. Traditionally, there are more males, but females also serve, though they are fewer.
The attire of female mikos differs from that of males, so Tsuna couldn't immediately recall it.
At this moment, a copper bell suddenly rang on its own. The vibration climbed up the sacred tree covered in ivy, shaking off a few morning dew drops that shattered the silence on the ground.
"You're not wearing that outfit because the miko isn't here, are you?" Tsuna withdrew his gaze because of the bell sound and asked suspiciously.
The woman's peripheral vision caught sight of the hearing aid Shouko was wearing. Hearing Tsuna's voice at that moment, she instantly remembered who the two of them were.
She still had a deep impression of the two of them; after all, they were her first private customers.
"How is it? Does it look good?" The girl spread her arms and turned around generously for the two of them.
"It looks good!" Shouko nodded and walked forward to observe.
Normally, when visiting a shrine, she could only look from afar. Even up close, it was just a quick glance. This time was different.
Seeing this, Tsuna also quickly followed Shouko's steps.
"But..." He walked forward, took a look, then withdrew his gaze, looked around, and finally asked, puzzled:
"Why are you, a miko, still sweeping the floor here?"
As for these clothes and such, a glance was pretty much enough. For him, as long as the clothes weren't overly flashy, they were fine to wear.
"What time is it right now? Besides, it's noted online and on the signs at the bottom of the mountain that the shrine is closed to visitors every Saturday."
The miko said faintly. It seemed she was already used to this kind of question. Seeing the confusion still on his face, she continued to explain:
"No need to think about it, closing on Saturday is a rule I set."
"Oh."
In principle, there are no fixed closing days. Most shrines in Japan are public places and are open for worship year-round, such as Ise Grand Shrine and Fushimi Inari-taisha.
Visitors can freely enter the shrine's "outer grounds" (public area), including the torii gate, purification fountain, worship hall, etc.
However, some smaller shrines may close on non-holiday weekdays, but the worship area is still accessible.
"Do you want to look around the worship area? I can show you the way." The girl unceremoniously handed the broom in her hand to Tsuna and suggested.
"Is that okay?" Shouko took the broom from Tsuna, feeling a bit hesitant.
She didn't want to trouble anyone, and it looked like she was still sweeping...
"No problem at all. I'll show you around, and then you can help me sweep. How about it? Isn't that a great deal?"
The girl waved her hand. In her opinion, this was definitely a worthwhile trade.
Anyway, if the two of them were going to look around, she would have to accompany them, so she might as well take a little break herself and get some benefits.