Chapter 2
“Creak—”
He unlocked the shrine doors with a key. Everywhere he looked, a thick layer of dust blanketed the surfaces, tattered cobwebs hung in the corners, and the air was heavy with the scent of age.
After inspecting the place inside and out, Moon at Dusk had a general grasp of the situation.
The good news: the building was intact and still appeared solid.
The bad news: roof tiles had fallen, and there was hardly any furniture.
Though there was running water and electricity, household appliances were limited to the lights. There wasn’t even a mattress—just a few worm-eaten planks, let alone bedsheets or blankets.
How was he supposed to sleep here, beneath the open sky?
Moon at Dusk was silent for at least three minutes, his mind overheating as he tried and failed to figure out what he could possibly have done to offend his grandmother to be sent here for “reformation.”
He took a deep breath, his dark eyes shining bright and sincere. “Renji, I’m sorry.”
I was too stubborn!
“It’s fine, let’s head back,” Renji Yanagi accepted the apology calmly, as if he’d expected it, “I already gave my family a heads-up.”
Moon at Dusk nodded hurriedly, recalling his earlier words, his face still tinged with embarrassment.
“Eh—are we leaving already?” Akaya Kirihara, who had just begun to enjoy the thrill of exploration, sounded regretful at the prospect of leaving.
Moon at Dusk said, “Akaya, let’s come back to play next time.” His tone was tinged with melancholy and faint despair.
As his words faded, a chilly wind swept through the scene. A crow fluttered down from the roof, tilting its head to watch the three humans.
Akaya Kirihara said, “...Alright, Moon-senpai.”
The descent took less time than the climb, but still nearly five minutes.
The Yanagi apartment was only a ten-minute walk from the shrine, so the trio didn’t bother with a taxi, choosing instead to walk and pick up some sandwiches for lunch along the way.
Akaya pointed to a nearby taiyaki shop, asking, “Renji-senpai, can we have some taiyaki?”
Renji didn’t even look up, “Buy it yourself.”
Akaya Kirihara, who had spent all his allowance on a game console this month, was speechless.
Whimper.
Moon at Dusk chuckled.
It really felt just like a kid begging for snacks and being coldly refused by his mother...
“Mom” Renji and “child” Akaya both turned to look at Moon at Dusk.
“Uh... Akaya, I’ll treat you to taiyaki!” Moon at Dusk offered.
Akaya’s focus shifted instantly. “Really, Moon-senpai?!”
“Of course.”
“Yay, thank you, senpai! I want red bean flavor!”
Renji objected, “Don’t spoil him too much.”
“What’s the harm?” Moon at Dusk breathed in the sweet aroma of roasted taiyaki. “Renji, you should pick a flavor too.”
Before Renji could answer, Moon at Dusk exclaimed, “They actually have mint chocolate flavor—let’s have that!”
He naturally made the decision for him.
Renji’s lips twitched; he wanted to refuse, but seeing his childhood friend’s expectant profile, he swallowed his words.
After buying taiyaki, they walked a few more minutes and arrived at the apartment.
“I’m home.”
“Excuse us.” ×2
Renji’s parents weren’t home. Inside was only a large orange cat sprawled on the entrance mat, flattened into a feline pancake.
Hearing familiar voices, it lazily lifted its head, its fluffy tail sweeping the floor, and let out a long “meow,” as if greeting Renji.
Moon at Dusk crouched down, gazing at it.
The vertical pupils reflected the face of the two-legged creature. The orange cat recognized the little human it used to see often and graciously stretched out a paw.
“Meow–”
Moon at Dusk took the paw, squeezing the soft pads, “Big Orange, you’ve gotten fatter again? I guess I’ll have to call you Big Fat Orange now.”
The cat was incredulous, “Meow?!”
You two-legged creature, don’t go saying nonsense! This isn’t fat—this is the weight of love!
The orange cat stood, its short legs and belly nearly dragging on the floor. It waddled adorably to Renji’s feet, tugging at his trouser leg.
Tell him off!
“Really is fat,” Akaya scratched his head, “but I thought the cat at your place wasn’t called that?”
Renji corrected him for his cat sister’s sake, “Her name is Summer Blossom.”
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Akaya smacked his fist into his palm, “Right, that’s it.”
“Summer Blossom is her formal name. Big Orange is her nickname. Isn’t that right, Big Orange?” Moon at Dusk turned, continuing to tease her.
Summer Blossom yowled angrily, “Meow!”
You’re the Big Orange! Your whole family’s Big Orange!
But no matter how fierce, the kitten was still just a ball of fluff—adorable in the eyes of humans.
“So that’s how it is,” Akaya said, “Big Orange sounds pretty nice too.”
Renji knew it was futile to argue, casting a pitying glance at his cat.
Accept your fate, Big Orange.
Renji had tried to get Moon at Dusk to stop using the nickname, but Moon at Dusk was stubborn about it.
The odds of changing his mind: 0.001%.
So he chose to give up.
The cat, seeing her young master unwilling to stand up for her, grumbled (meow meow) and turned away.
Moon at Dusk clicked his tongue, “Such a temper.”
Akaya agreed, “Yeah.”
Renji thought, Who else calls their cat sister ‘Fat Cat’ or ‘Big Orange’—Summer Blossom’s temperament is actually quite good.
“Renji, looks like you have something to say?” Moon at Dusk smiled at him.
Definitely on purpose.
Renji kept a blank face, “Nothing. Let’s eat.”
He walked in first.
“Renji is so serious, right, Akaya?”
“Ah... right.” Akaya responded, caught off guard.
Renji paused, “Akaya, about today—Sanada is really angry.”
“Ah?” The topic shifted so quickly he couldn’t keep up.
“Starting tomorrow, you’re punished with double training for a week.”
“!!!”
Moon at Dusk remembered something he’d overlooked. “Come to think of it, isn’t today Saturday? Why do you still have practice?”
The seaweed-haired boy explained, “Our Rikkai Tennis Club never takes a break all year.”
Renji rarely talked to him about the club, so Moon at Dusk genuinely didn’t know much.
He sighed, “That’s tough!”
“For Rikkai’s third consecutive national title, it’s a necessary sacrifice!”
His passionate words radiated positive energy, and Moon at Dusk felt a solemn respect.
“That’s ambitious, Akaya!”
Renji plated the sandwiches and taiyaki, pouring each a glass of orange juice.
Moon at Dusk eagerly took his taiyaki and bit into the fish’s head, chewing, frowning, then swallowing.
The chocolate flavor was rich, mingled with hot mint—strange at first, but with time it became oddly enjoyable.
“So weird. I’ll try another bite.”
Renji watched him devour a taiyaki at lightning speed, then took a tentative bite himself.
...Next time, he’d better just refuse Moon at Dusk altogether.
“Renji, isn’t it an interesting taste?”
“...Mm.”
“It’s actually pretty good.”
“As long as you like it.”
Akaya was tempted, “Is it really tasty?”
“Try it.” Renji quickly broke his taiyaki in half and handed it over.
“Thanks, Renji-senpai—let’s trade!” Akaya divided his taiyaki as well.
Renji inhaled the sweet scent of red bean, imagining its velvety texture. He felt a touch of emotion.
This is taiyaki!
Meanwhile, Akaya ate and commented, “Hmm, so weird... Ugh, hot and cold... Finished, still weird.”
He suspected he’d been tricked.
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Moon at Dusk declared, “You just ate too little. Eat a whole one and you’ll find it delicious.”
Akaya hesitated, “Really?”
“Yep, next time we’ll have more!”
“Okay!”
Renji watched helplessly as his younger schoolmate was thoroughly convinced, conscience uneasy. “Moon at Dusk, eat quickly before it gets cold.”
“Oh.”
Moon at Dusk kindly didn’t point out that sandwiches were cold to begin with.
After lunch and a short rest, Moon at Dusk called his grandmother several times, but no one answered.
“Is everything alright with your grandmother?”
“My grandmother’s health is excellent, though she might have gotten caught up in something,” Moon at Dusk said, not worried and even reassuring them. “She’s always busy, so it’s common not to reach her.”
Renji: I don’t really get your family.
Given Moon at Dusk’s unusual circumstances, he didn’t press further.
“So what will you do next?”
Moon at Dusk took out a card and named a figure, “This is all my savings.”
He pressed his hands together, pleading, “Renji, please help me!”
What else could Renji do but agree? He took out a tablet and opened a spreadsheet.
“Minimum repairs for the house, water heater and fridge, furniture and daily necessities... and enough left for living expenses...”
Moon at Dusk gritted his teeth, “I don’t need much for daily expenses—I can earn more!”
Despite his youth, he’d started working early.
Back in Kyoto, Moon at Dusk sometimes took jobs. For instance, if his cousin Songstress An was too busy, she’d pass tasks to him; or when a generous, fiery teacher didn’t want to do her tasks, she’d outsource the work.
He gladly took these jobs, since the pay was considerable.
He also took assignments directly from the official Sorcery Association, though the remuneration was reduced.
Since he had no sorcerer rating and refused to align himself with the Supervisory Department or any of the Three Families, they wouldn’t grant him privileges—and sometimes even tried to cause him trouble.
But he only wanted to hone his techniques, so he didn’t mind.
Now things were different, and the thought of getting exploited by Old Orange was infuriating.
Moon at Dusk unconsciously puffed his cheeks.
Renji didn’t know what thoughts had annoyed him, so he simply said, “Then let’s leave enough for a month’s expenses... Just barely enough.”
With the budget set, Moon at Dusk shopped according to Renji’s list. The card balance dwindled rapidly, and after accounting for the repair costs, only five digits remained for his daily spending.
Ah, so empty.
“I’m so poor.”
The brown-haired boy lightly tapped his head in consolation.
Renji wanted to offer his home as a place to stay—his parents wouldn’t mind—but Moon at Dusk would never agree.
He knew his childhood friend’s character well, so he didn’t say anything unnecessary, only helping as much as he could.
Renji pondered for a moment, then asked, “How do you plan to earn money?”
“I know!” Akaya finally had a chance to speak. “Moon-senpai can exorcise evil spirits—he can make money doing that!”
Moon at Dusk blinked, “That’s about right.”
He didn’t mind exposing his sorcerer status to ordinary people, but explaining it was too much trouble. Exorcism was close enough.
Renji pressed his lips together—just as he’d suspected.
“Will it be dangerous?”
Moon at Dusk paused, then gave a confident smile, “Don’t worry. I’m really skilled, so there’s no danger.”
Akaya nodded vigorously, launching into an animated retelling of the train incident, embellishing it until Moon at Dusk almost believed he’d exorcised a special-grade curse instead of a minor one.
He wasn’t halfway through before Renji calmly interrupted, “Akaya, you should head home.”
“But...”
“No buts, let’s go.” Renji stood, ready to leave.
He really didn’t dare let his scatterbrained junior go home alone—if he got lost again, it would be even more trouble.
Moon at Dusk stood as well, “I’ll come too. On the way, I can stop by the supermarket.”
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