Just as Sumire expected, she couldn’t find anything about cracks in Yomi in her family’s library. She spent the week sifting through the scrolls and manuscripts, only to come up empty.

There were books from ancient now-extinct clans in a locked section, though. But those books were locked away for a reason — some contained dangerous spells and dark rituals. Only her grandfather held the key to it. Sumire was tempted to ask if she could perhaps have temporary access to it, but that would mean explaining about the whole thing and possibly outing Aoi as a half-yokai.

And she couldn’t do that. She simply couldn’t.

The memory of her encounter with Yuki Onna was still fresh in her mind. It was a proof that even in this modern era, people still viewed half-yokai as something dangerous and repulsive. She didn’t want Natsuno, and now Aoi too, to meet the same end as Yuki Onna’s son.

Sumire pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. What was she supposed to do now? She felt like she was stuck in a predicament that she had no way to resolve.

Before she knew it, it was almost time for her patrol. She left the library and changed her clothes, before finding her sister in the kitchen. Koharu was talking to a servant as she washed dishes, but stopped when she spotted Sumire.

“I’m heading out”, Sumire told her.

Koharu looked worried for a brief moment, but forced a smile to her lips. It made Sumire feel bad that she couldn’t tell her sister about this. They used to be so close — Sumire used to tell Koharu everything that weighed on her mind. What happened to that?

“I made snacks. Bring them with you, alright?” Koharu said as she handed a neatly packaged bento box. “You can share them with your… um, acquaintance.”

Sumire blinked.

“We’re just classmates”, she told Koharu, but she tittered like Sumire just told her something silly.

“Alright, alright. I’ll stop teasing you”, Koharu said. “Be back before dawn, will you?”

“Mm”, Sumire nodded, and exited the kitchen.

It was only once she was outside her house she realized that she hadn’t seen Natsuno outside classes since their encounter with Yuki Onna — and it wasn’t like Natsuno was a diligent student either. He skipped classes way too often. Somehow, it felt like Natsuno was avoiding her.

The neighborhood was peaceful, no spiritual disturbance afoot, so Sumire allowed her thoughts to wander. Was Natsuno really avoiding her? Why? He was like a leech to Sumire throughout spring, often appearing in places where Sumire would go. Was he afraid of her because of her lineage?

For the umpteenth time that night, she let out a sigh. She wouldn’t get any answer like this, so she decided her next course of action was to confront it head on.

—

It was almost midnight and Kitsune-Ya was still crowded with late diners. Most of them were office workers who came off from their overtime and decided to have dinner and some drinks to go with it. Sumire tried to find Natsuno among them, but she could only see Tamamo no Mae serving a rather drunk middle-aged man. No Natsuno in sight.

She slipped out of the small restaurant before Tamamo no Mae could notice her presence.

Disappointed, Sumire circled the alley next to Kitsune-Ya, only to find Natsuno sitting at the back of the shop, next to a bunch of smelly garbage cans. Both of them noticed each other at the same time.

“Hey”, Natsuno greeted her, lacking his usual enthusiasm. “On a patrol?”

“Mm”, Sumire returned.

Awkward silence fell between them. Natsuno fiddled his Dojigiri bracelet, looking lost in thought. Immediately, Sumire felt concerned and she didn’t know why. Perhaps it was the metaphorical clouds that hung over the boy’s head.

“Are you alright?” Sumire dared herself to ask.

“Oh. Huh? Yeah”, Natsuno answered, but he looked surprised at her question. “Yeah, I’m totally fine. Summer’s here, you see?”

The first part was obviously a lie — the boy didn’t seem fine. Not in the slightest. The second part was lost on Sumire. What was wrong with summer?

“You’re not on a patrol?” Sumire asked. “It’s summertime.”

“Nah”, Natsuno shrugged. “Too many spiritual disturbances around, it’s hard for me to keep track. Just gonna leave them to the pros, y’know?”

It was so unlike Natsuno. He never had trouble not ‘leaving things to the pros’, as he put it. He spent the whole spring following Sumire around like a headless yokai. However, Sumire suddenly could see the reason why.

“You don’t want to cross paths with professional yokai hunters?” she asked.

Natsuno gaped at her, before letting out a breathy laugh.

“You can be so perceptive sometimes”, he said, shaking his head. “That’s annoying. Stop that.”

“Sorry”, Sumire apologized, although she didn’t know why she was apologizing.

“Let’s walk away. The smell’s starting to bother me”, Natsuno said as he finally stood up. He patted his pants and put his hand in his pocket.

They walked out of the alley and onto the street in front of Kitsune-Ya. Despite being near-midnight, the street was still alive with people milling about. Sumire could spot at least three professional yokai hunters on patrol among them, and was about to tell Natsuno. The boy, however, seemed to notice them already and pulled Sumire into a cafe.

“Told Mom to close up shop during summer, but the old hag just won’t listen”, Natsuno hissed, looking more frazzled than usual. “One of them got into the shop one time, but he didn’t seem to notice freaking Tamamo no Mae was serving him beers.”

“That’s good, right?” Sumire asked.

“She could’ve slipped up. Things could’ve gone wrong”, Natsuno said, sighing and raking his fingers through his long black hair. Some strands had gotten loose from his ponytail, and somehow Sumire was overcome with the feeling to fix the mess.

She forced herself to focus on what Natsuno had said instead.

“How can I help?” Sumire asked again.

Natsuno stared at her in bewilderment, like she just grew another head. Like what she said was something so bizarre.

“I want to help”, Sumire insisted.

“Do you realize what you’re offering?” Natsuno asked back, his silver eyes seemed to bore into Sumire’s soul. “You’re freaking serious, aren’t you?”

“Language”, Sumire chided before she could stop herself.

Natsuno laughed, surprising them both.

“I don’t think there’s anything you can do that won’t raise their suspicions”, Natsuno said. “But thanks. The thought is appreciated.”

That didn’t make Sumire feel better, but she knew he was right.