Chapter 117
Chapter 117
Part 2, The Daidai God
As the sun's beak pecked at the nape of my neck, I walked alongside Kirima.
The old woman walking ahead seemed to think I had heatstroke and told me to rest at her house. Wearing a kitchen apron and a light purple kimono in this heat—I'm surprised she hasn't collapsed.
As we walked along the sand-colored breakwater, the old woman suddenly stopped and looked down at the beach.
"Oh my, Take-chan, Kana-chan."
The old woman leaned so far over the breakwater it looked like she might jump, and she waved her hand broadly.
When Kirima and I looked down, we saw what appeared to be a young brother and sister playing at the water's edge on the sandy shore. They looked to be elementary school age.
The girl wearing a straw hat waved back and even gave us a polite nod, but the boy with a bowl cut and a cheeky face turned his head away.
"Damn brat."
Kirima poked me in the head as I muttered. The old woman laughed, deepening the wrinkles on her face.
"My grandchildren are visiting. Mind if we take a little detour? Are you feeling okay?"
For some reason, Kirima answered in my place and said there was no problem.
The old woman descended the steps and stepped onto the beach, with Kirima following behind. I reluctantly followed Kirima too. I could already imagine the unpleasant scratch of sand getting into my socks through my thin soles.
As I stepped onto the beach and pressed into the wet sand, the coastline gleamed brilliantly.
I had come reluctantly, but the sight lifted my mood just a little. However, Kirima was hiding the furrow in his brow.
He always looks grim for no reason, but this time there was a reason. He must really hate the sea and his hometown.
I gave Kirima a shove in the back.
"Kirima-san, treat me to a soda or something."
"How does that even relate to anything?"
"It's coming out of expenses anyway, right? We were supposed to rest at that old lady's house, but now we're making a detour."
"Are you a kid? After the investigation is over."
Kirima sighed and began walking along the beach. His expression returned to the usual level of sternness I was used to.
As I gazed at the frothy white waves like saliva, the old woman began walking toward us with her two grandchildren. In one hand, she held a rattan basket covered in sand.
"Perfect timing. I had some soda chilling. You two can have some if you'd like."
Kirima muttered, "Guess I don't have to expense it now."
Unbothered by the swaying sleeves of her kimono, the old woman rummaged through the basket. The girl in the straw hat quickly ran over and took a bottle from her.
"Grandma, it's heavy, isn't it?"
"Oh, thank you, dear."
The boy with the bowl cut seemed to be fidgeting behind her, and then suddenly snatched the hat from his sister.
"Take, give it back!"
The girl chased after him, but since she was holding the bottle with both hands, she couldn't get her hat back. The boy ran around, taunting her.
Finally, the girl placed the bottle on the beach and gave her younger brother a light smack.
"You hit me! You're the worst!"
The boy threw the hat into the sea. The girl looked back and forth between her brother and the drifting hat, flustered.
What a rotten kid. Time for a rotten adult like me to step in.
I walked up to the boy and pinched his ear.
"You shouldn't do bad things. Do you know why?"
"Let go! You're an adult!"
"Yeah, well, if you do bad things, even worse adults will come for you."
The brat turned beet red and screamed dramatically. For such a small kid, he struggled with surprisingly strong force.
As I wondered what to do while the boy kicked at me trying to shake off my hand, a large shadow loomed behind us.
"Hey, brats."
Kirima looked down at me with the sun at his back. With the light behind him, his dark skin looked even darker, and only his piercing eyes stood out. The boy who had been thrashing around just moments ago suddenly went quiet and stopped resisting. What an overwhelming presence. I felt sorry for the criminals Kirima had cornered before.
"Uyuu, let him go."
Kirima said that and turned on his heel. At some point, he had picked up the soaking wet straw hat.
When I released the ear I had been pinching, the boy spat a parting remark and ran off.
I brushed the sand off my aloha shirt where he had kicked me barefoot and returned to where I had been.
The girl received the hat from Kirima and bowed politely. She reminded me a little of Kirima's daughter.
The old woman gave a troubled smile.
"Sorry about that. That boy is always so mischievous... Take-chan doesn't get any soda until he apologizes to Yumi-chan."
The girl pressed the hat, now too wet to wear for a while, to her chest. The white decorative ribbon had come off and disappeared somewhere.
The old woman opened a soda bottle, its condensation tracing a white arc, and handed them to us. A citrus scent drifted from the bottle's mouth, reminding me of what I saw in the well. Though the sunlight was hot, a chill ran down my back.
Kirima thanked her and took a sip of the soda before speaking.
"About the well we saw earlier—does this village have any beliefs associated with it?"
"Oh, it's not anything like a formal belief. It's just something rooted in our daily lives."
"When did the custom of dropping daidai fruits begin?"
The old woman placed her hand to her cheek and thought for a moment.
"I think it was right after the last war. Back then, all the young people were taken by the army, and only the elderly and those who failed the draft were left in the village. We thought the village would collapse like that, so we prayed for health and safety, clinging to whatever we could."
The villagers' desperation twisted the form of their god. It's a common tale. I've come to realize that since taking this job.
"But ever since then, there really haven't been any illnesses or accidents in this village. That's why we feel we have to show our gratitude and give something back."
"So that's why you drop the daidai fruits?"
"Yes. This village has always been good for growing summer oranges and lemons. They help with summer fatigue, so everyone treats them like gifts from the gods."
Kirima wore a troubled expression. If the old woman's story was true, then nothing bad had happened. But even if it wasn't bad, it was definitely abnormal. Could a village really exist without a single injury or illness?
Maybe it was the heat, but I couldn't organize my thoughts. I gave up thinking and looked out at the sea.
The waves rolled rhythmically, and I thought they looked like the belly of a giant blue fish. How many years had it been since I came to the sea? Probably since the time my whole family was still together.
The old woman looked into my face.
"Are you okay? Still feeling dizzy?"
"Ah, no, I was just thinking..."
"I should bring you some oranges too."
A thought suddenly struck me. If I admitted I had heatstroke, would that mean a sick person had appeared in this village? If so, maybe the god would show up and try to do something.
Kirima glared at me as if he had read my mind. It was the same look that silenced the brat earlier. I felt like I was being pierced.
Just then, a scream came from the direction of the sea.
The once-calm waves suddenly surged, rising like a black wall. The boy from earlier was being tossed around in the violent current, bobbing up and down.
"Take-chan!"
Before the old woman could even shout, Kirima sprinted forward. Still in his suit, he dove into the towering wave without hesitation. The sea surged like a living creature.
"What the hell are you doing? You'll get swallowed up too!"
I had no choice but to head toward Kirima. The hard wave shattered, and spray burst like shrapnel.
Kirima waded deeper into the water up to his waist. The boy's face, surfacing between the waves, had changed from its earlier defiance to a child's crying face.
Kirima reached out his hand to the drowning boy.
"Grab on!"
As I ran, I caught sight of something at the edge of my vision—someone standing at the water's edge.
It was an old man with a long head, about twice the size of the person we saw in the well. His beard-covered face twisted in sorrow.
I instinctively knew something bad was happening. I splashed into the sea and grabbed Kirima's arm. Kirima turned to look at me.
"Uyuu, help me."
The boy screamed as he was tossed by the waves.
"Help me!"
At that moment, a particularly large wave engulfed the boy's head.
The black sea swallowed up his small body.
"Damn it..."
Kirima pushed further into the deeper water, parting the waves. Something was wrong. No matter how high the waves were, a child shouldn't disappear like that in an instant.
The old man on the beach was still watching us. The ominous feeling grew stronger.
I instinctively shook Kirima's arm.
"It's no use if you drown too!"
"This isn't the time to worry about that!"
"Just get out of there, now!"
"That boy..."
I forced the words out of my throat.
"Territorial Divine Offenses is watching us!"
Kirima's eyes widened and he froze. The once-violent sea calmed as if it had been a lie, and the waves gently lapped. Only the quiet sound of the tide pulling the sand remained.
As we stood frozen in the middle of the sea, the old woman's voice rang out.
"It's dangerous if you go that way, both of you."
Her voice was so cheerful, it was hard to believe her own grandchild had nearly drowned. The girl beside her only looked apologetic, not the least bit panicked.
Kirima and I exchanged glances.
As we hesitantly made our way back to the beach, the old woman gave us a smile.
"Oh my, you're soaked. I'm sorry. I can't believe you searched so hard just for a ribbon on a hat."
The old woman bowed. I shook my head.
"Your grandchild..."
"Yes, Yumi-chan says it's okay now."
The girl said 'Thank you' and looked up at us with concern.
Kirima muttered in a hoarse voice.
"Take-chan almost drowned. We need to call an ambulance quickly..."
"Take-chan?"
The old woman and the girl repeated the name as if they'd never heard it before.
A breeze passed beneath my wet shirt, rapidly sapping my body heat.
This is a village where there are no accidents or illnesses. But if someone were to die in an accident—
"It would be erased..."
I muttered unconsciously. It seemed Kirima understood what I meant.
"So that's what this is..."
Kirima bit his lip hard.