Summer arrived in full, and it was the first day of summer vacation. The sun was already out for awhile when Sumire woke up, the pleasantly warm morning air wafting into her room after she opened her window.

She cleaned herself up and changed into knee-high brown summer dress. A cream-white cotton shirt was added over it for modesty. After putting on light makeup, she decided to braid her hair just because, and tied a white ribbon at its end.

Finally presentable, she headed out of her room to have breakfast. Her grandfather was away for a meeting with the Yokai Hunter Association, so it was only her and her sister on the table. Somehow, it felt much more casual today, and she and Koharu chatted while they ate.

“Grandfather is sending you on a task today, right?” Koharu asked after a moment. “You should eat more, Sumire. You’re going to need more energy if you want to seal a yokai.”

“I’m fine, Sister”, Sumire replied, but Koharu insisted to add another slice of baked fish to her plate. She was grateful for it, nonetheless, and ate the fish along with sweet-sour cucumber and seaweed pickles.

Koharu smiled brightly, but then her face turned somewhat serious as she leaned over the table.

“Have you seen Shigure again? He said he wanted to take you for a summer vacation before Obon”, Koharu said in half-whisper, as if worried that their grandfather would hear despite not being present.

Sumire did see her brother again. He told his plans to her, but she doubted that her grandfather would allow her to leave. His enmity with Shigure aside, her grandfather would want Sumire to handle more yokai-related cases now that she had a better reputation within the yokai hunter community.

She didn’t say this to Koharu and Shigure, however, and instead told them that she would rather enjoy the summer with her friends.

“Momo wanted to take me to a summer festival”, Sumire told her sister. “I also want to buy an omamori.”

“Oh? Protective charm for who? That ‘acquaintance’ you mentioned?” Koharu’s eyes lit up. “You know, I still don’t know his name, but Shigure mentioned about a ‘classmate’ who works part-time at an udon shop…”

Realizing that she had backed herself to a corner, Sumire let out a sigh and placed her chopsticks so she could converse properly.

“His name is Shiba Natsuno”, Sumire said. “He’s a yokai cleanser.”

“I didn’t know there are still yokai cleansers around”, Koharu sounded surprised. “Does grandfather know?”

“He asked me, but…” Sumire was unsure how to put it without revealing Natsuno’s heritage. “I couldn’t answer him.”

“Why?” Koharu asked. Sumire stayed silent, and an understanding flashed across Koharu’s face. “Oh, Sumire… I wish you don’t have to keep secrets from me.”

“I’m sorry”, Sumire apologized. She really did feel sorry. She hated keeping things from her siblings, but there were things that she simply couldn’t reveal even to her own family.

“Don’t”, Koharu said. “I know that you know I keep secrets from you too, and I wish it doesn’t have to be that way.”

Sumire wanted to ask what secrets her sister was keeping from her, but held her tongue. A secret for a secret — it was only fair.

—

Her client that day was a renowned politician, Ishida Kaito. He explained to Sumire during the car ride about the yokai that plagued his father, Ishida Genji, which appeared from their family heirloom — an incense burner from the eighteenth century. 

Mr. Genji kept asking to light the incense every night before sleeping, but he grew weaker when he woke up. The doctors presumed that the smoke from the incense was the cause of Mr. Genji’s weakness, but after thorough examinations, they couldn’t find anything wrong with his body. In the end, the family turned to yokai hunters after Mr. Genji’s obsession toward the incense burner became more irrational.

They arrived at Ishida family manor past noon. A servant let Sumire and Mr. Kaito into the house, where Mr. Kaito’s wife and daughter were already waiting for them. Somehow, Sumire was not at all surprised to find Natsuno — Mr. Kaito’s daughter, Yayoi, clinging to his arm like a leech.

“Daddy, I told you my boyfriend can help!” Yayoi claimed, and Sumire was having a flashback to Suzuki family’s case.

“Ah, Yayoi. There’s nothing wrong with asking for a professional yokai hunter, you know? Just in case”, Mr. Kaito dismissed his daughter, before calling a servant. “Fetch the incense burner from my father’s room. He should be asleep still, so he won’t make a fuss if it’s missing for a bit.”

The servant bowed and exited the room. She returned not long after with an antique incense burner made of porcelain. It was intricately shaped like a blooming lotus flower. She placed it on the living room table, before excusing herself.

“So this is the trouble incense burner?” Natsuno asked as he leaned forward to examine the object before him.

“This scent… It’s hangonju, isn’t it?” Sumire named a tree which roots were often used as a material to make incense. Natsuno whistled.

“No wonder your grandpa is getting weaker”, Natsuno told Yayoi.

“The yokai may be a hangonko. It feeds off grief and longing of a dead beloved one”, Sumire explained to the Ishida family. “Mr. Ishida, does your father have someone he loved and lost recently?”

“My mother died last fall”, Mr. Kaito said with a strained voice. “Is there any way to make the yokai leave?”

“You can try throwing the incense burner away”, Natsuno replied. 

“You—” Mr. Kaito snapped at Natsuno, but Sumire interrupted him.

“Mr. Ishida, your father is already obsessed with the illusion the hangonko showed him”, she told him. “He won’t get better unless he stops burning the hangonju incense and lets go of his grief.”

“There’s no way I can refuse my father. He’s the head of the family…” Mr. Ishida said meekly. “Miss Kazahana, is there a way to… make the yokai less dangerous?”

“I don’t think that’s possible…” Sumire answered.

“How useless”, Yayoi cackled, turning to her ‘boyfriend’. “Sweetie, you can do better than her, right?”

“I can try”, Natsuno smiled at his ‘girlfriend’, and somehow, something ugly reared its head in Sumire’s chest.

They lit up the hangonju incense, and the spirit of a woman came from its smoke — the hangonko floated along with the smoke. Not long after, an elderly man waddled into the living room. He was short, with a balding head and long beard. His hands were outstretched, as if trying to embrace the smoke.

“Izayoi… Izayoi…” Mr. Genji called, but his efforts were in vain. He couldn’t grasp his dead wife, who smiled lovingly at him.

“You who reign over Takamagahara, whose blood runs in our veins”, Sumire cast, and aimed her bow toward the hangonko. “Lend us the light to fight the darkness and put this evil in chains!”

“NO! Izayoi!!” Mr. Genji howled, and rushed toward Sumire.

Natsuno shielded her, but somehow, in his bout of rage, the elderly man was strong enough to shove him away. Natsuno’s back hit the table and the incense burner, the porcelain shattering into pieces as the table flipped over.

Natsuno howled out in pain, and Sumire watched in horror as blood began to seep from his white shirt.

In the chaos that ensued, Sumire helped Natsuno away from the manor, her hand shaking as she frantically took out her phone. Somehow, she managed to dial her brother’s number from memory.

“Brother— C-can you pick me up? I need to go to the hospital”, she said, voice trembling. Her hand which encircled Natsuno’s back was wet with red, and Sumire had a bizarre flashback to months ago when they went against Yuki Onna.

“Please, hold on”, she begged.

In that moment, she didn’t know who she was praying to, only that help would arrive quicker.