Hope

"What brings you here?" Airi opens up the window of her bedroom and I climb inside. 

"I just talked with Kyouta about the situation with Ninako and I wanted to tell you about that." She closes the window behind me and sits down on her bedside. "You could've told me that tomorrow or just call me." 

"I know, but I just wanted to speak with you in person now." I take a seat on her chair and even though she is correct and this secret nighttime meeting wouldn't be necessary, I still answered her honestly. Deep down I might've simply wanted to see her. I would love to talk with Chiye and tell her all about the recent events and my thoughts. I would have the courage for that now.

"Please go ahead and tell me about it." She smiles and her expression looks happy. 

I push the chair closer to her in order to not have to raise my voice a lot. Chiye's bedroom is in its own corridor, separate from her parents room or the living room, but I still don't want to risk being found here in her room alone. 

Airi listens attentively while I tell her about Kyouta's feelings towards Ninako. 

"I wanted to call Ninako before you came here, but wouldn't it be too obvious if Kyouta plans to talk with her tomorrow anyways?" Airi walks around in the bedroom after I finished my summary. 

"If it feels right for you, you could still call her just to talk with her. Maybe that will somehow trigger something in her." I remain seated on the chair and watch her walk around in circles with a thoughtful expression.

"What Kyouta revealed is really promising for our goal, but I'm afraid Ninako feels pressured in a way towards Ren." Airi stops and looks at me. "Even if Kyouta's confession might cause her to understand her own feelings better or even Kyouta's actions so far, she might not be able to overcome herself to break it off with Ren."

"Assuming that she loves Kyouta." 

Airi doesn't respond to my comment and silently sits back down on the bed in front of me.

Our efforts are indeed in vain as long as it is not ensured that Ninako and Kyouta have mutual feelings for each other. 

"Let me talk with her and then we can only wait for Kyouta's confession tomorrow." Airi has a rather serious expression.

"Meddling with the love life of other people is difficult, isn't it?" I smile at her in order to cheer her up a little and to ease the atmosphere. 

She smiles back at me and sighs dramatically. "It is indeed!" 

"What did you try before in order to fulfil your tasks?" I'm actually curious about her previous attempts, maybe that might help us find a way to complete her tasks without having to actively intervene with other people's love life.

She ponders for a moment. "I tried to love and to be loved." Her expression changes and I can see melancholy in her eyes. "I was searching for a partner who would be able to show me that my hunger for love can be satisfied with only his feelings towards me."

Airi looks down on her left hand as she traces her empty ring finger.

"However, there was never such a man capable of quenching my thirst. All of them were blinded by my appearance, they promised to give me their everything, but in fact, they couldn't. They tried at first, but gave up later on, turning their back to me." She looks up with a bitter smile.

"At some point, I would just wander around and live amongst the humans, trying to learn love just by being with them. But I still couldn't comprehend love enough in order to return home."

Airi leans forward and takes my hands while looking me in the eyes.

"Maybe helping other people to find their fated love is what will complete the tasks given by my parents." She smiles softly with a hopeful glimmer in her eyes.

While I return her gaze my thoughts wander to Chiye. 

I'm wondering where she is now and what it means to drift towards the heavenly realm. It sounds undeniably final. As if that is the end. Her end. She, who still has her entire life ahead of her. She, who never experienced love herself. She, who didn't have a choice.

I squeeze Airis hands as I smile softly back at her. "Then we should try our best to help Ninako and Kyouta first." Her smile brightens up even more.

"I will try my best to get Chiye back." She squeezes back with her hands. "And then you have to confess your feelings for her."

I can feel the heat rushing to my cheeks. 

"Oh, don't be embarrassed!" She laughs and pats my arm. "Your feelings also deserve to be heard."

"I guess so." My words come out unsure as I'm trying to overcome the embarrassment. 

Airi continues to giggle joyfully. "How wonderful! I can see how Chiye captivated your heart. She is a kind soul and she bears no ill-feelings. It is quite refreshing."

It is strange seeing and hearing her say that. Luckily, Airi speaks in a different manner than Chiye so it is somewhat easier to separate them. But it's still Chiye's body which makes it weird.

However I'm glad that the atmosphere is now more hopeful than before. Airi and I both assume that there is no other option than fulfilling her tasks and getting Chiye back. Being on the same page with Airi eases my anxious feelings of losing Chiye.

"I'll get going, so you can go ahead and call Ninako." I let go of her hands and get up from the chair. I'm afraid of a more embarrassing exchange with Airi.

For another moment Airi stares at her empty hands until she follows me to the window.

"See you tomorrow." I climb outside and land softly on the ground.

"I'll see you tomorrow." She smiles and closes the window.

Chiye stands in front of me. A gaping void just right behind her. I try to take her hand to keep her away from the impenetrable darkness, but she avoids me by taking a step backwards. I try calling her, but my voice won't come out. She looks at me, eyes full of sadness but also determined. Her mouth opens and I can tell that she is saying something, but I can't hear anything. She continues talking but her words don't reach me. My throat hurts as I keep calling out to her, telling her to come back. 

She stops talking for a moment and looks me deep in the eyes. She carefully forms her words with her lips. "Yuzuru." I nod and stretch out my hands to grab her again. She slowly shakes her head. "I…." 

Before I can make out more words the ground beneath her starts to crumble. I can feel a shiver going down my spine, utter despair makes me sprint forward. However, Chiye pushes me back, I stumble and she falls down into the dark void.

The jolt going through my entire body wakes me up. I open my eyes, my heartbeat echoes in my ears as I'm trying to catch my breath. 

It takes a moment to get back to reality and to calm myself down. 

I never had such a horrible dream.

My head turns from the familiar ceiling of my bedroom towards the paintings above my desk. 

It was just a dream. But everything felt real, so real that it makes my skin crawl even now.

The buzzing of my phone helps me to snap back and I thankfully pick it up. It is Chiye's number.

At first I'm relieved to see her calling, but then it turns into a more bitter feeling. It is Airi.

"Hello." My voice comes out more rough than intended.

"Sorry, did I wake you up?" Hearing her voice through the phone helps me to calm down more.

"No, it's okay. What's up?" I sit up straight on my bed.

"I thought I should give you an update on my conversation with Ninako." 

"Yes, of course, go on."

"She was actually quite happy that I called. She was too shy to share more details on what's going on with Ren with you and Kyouta being there." I can hear her rustling in the background. "Well, the important information is that she tried to ask me about my opinion on Kyouta's reaction after her announcement. Not in a childish way to confirm his jealousy but rather if his reaction was odd. She said that she wouldn't have been able to tell Kyouta about her plans if it wasn't for our presence, it would have been too difficult. She described it as if saying it out loud in front of him would make things definite." She pauses for a moment and the rustling continues.

"Well, she seems to know about his feelings towards her already. However, it didn't seem to affect her decision whatsoever." Her voice sounds a little displeased. "I'm not sure if Kyouta's confession later will change anything."

"Did you talk about her relationship with Ren?" I get up from the bed and sit down at my desk.

"She only said that Ren is still very nice and kind towards her." Airi snorts annoyed. "As if being nice and kind is truly enough."

"For some people it is." 

"Perhaps if your partner isn't your soulmate. Otherwise your relationship should be burning with passion and overflowing with affection." Airi's voice turns slightly melodic at the end of her sentence. 

"Everyone perceives love differently, even soulmates." I try to placate her eagerness.

"You should share my enthusiasm." Her pout is unmistakable even through the phone. "Anyways, we have to wait until Kyouta confesses his feelings to her."

I chuckle a bit. "Yes, let's wait until after they talk with each other. When can I come pick you up? We could go to the city to look for another possible match."

"I'll be free in the afternoon." 

"Okay, I'll see you later then. If something comes up, you can call me anytime."

"Yes, of course. Bye bye." 

We hang up and I lean back into the chair and look at the colourful drawings.

Eleven more days until the spring festival.

It's still too early, but since I don't have any other plans, I go up the stairs of the temple. I'm not necessarily looking for Airi, but my eyes spot her almost immediately in between the crowd of visitors. 

With the approach of the festival the temple has gotten more lively. Red threads are swirling around. Usually, I just ignore them to the point of not registering them anymore. However now it seems like their red colour is almost shining, making it impossible to glance over them. A few couples are walking around as well and I'm involuntarily checking if their threads are connected.

They aren't. How would their relationship change, if they knew that they aren't each other's fated partner? I've seen far more couples who aren't connected being in a happy and fulfilling relationship. The chances of seeing soulmates together is relatively lower in comparison. 

I glance down to my right thumb. Still no thread. Is it because I'm only a 'tool'? What does that even mean? "Yuu." Airi approaches me happily. Between all the red threads it stands out even more that she also doesn't have a thread on her finger. 

"You are early!" 

"I didn't know what to do, so I just came here." 

She looks at me with a mischievous grin. "Then please assist me so I can get off work earlier."

"Of course." I smile back at her and she gestures to me to follow her towards the main building.

Airi elegantly navigates through the small crowd.

"Yuzuru, hello, are you here to help us out again?" Chiye's mother meets us halfway.

"Yes, I guess so." I politely bow at her and she smiles at me. 

"That's very kind of you. But before that, I would like to talk with both of you." She is still smiling but her tone changed. 

Airi and I exchange a glance at each other and she shrugs her shoulders. We follow Chiye's mother into the main building where she leads us into a small room. We take a seat next to each other on the bamboo floor. 

Miyama-san sits in front of us. "Let me get straight to the point."

Her serious tone makes me a little uncomfortable; did she find out about my visit last night?

Unexpectedly, she bows down towards Airi first.

"Would you kindly tell me your name? I wasn't sure at first, but the strong spiritual presence is unlike what my daughter usually emits."

My body tenses up as I hold my breath surprised by her words. 

I look over to Airi who smiles. "Splendid. I tried to conceal my presence, though I didn't expect anything less from the head priestess. My name is Airi, I'm from the Lunar Kingdom." As if she had a veil over herself the entire time, her entire aura suddenly changes. I can't really put it into words, but I just know that this being casually sitting next to me is not a human. It feels ominous, but in a more positive way. Her aura feels almost good, exhilarating. 

My heart pounds faster and I can feel a strange sensation in my fingertips. Any doubts about Airi's existence are now gone. Just as clear as Chiye who is gone as well.

"It is an immense pleasure to be able to speak to you in person. What is the reason for your presence here in our humble realm?" I can't take my eyes off of Airi, but I can see in my peripheral vision that Miyama-san is bowing again.

"Certainly you must have heard of my unfortunate fate. I was exiled here to fulfil two tasks on true love, it wasn't my intention to take over this child. It was during the storm that I have surprisingly obtained this body." 

"Oh my, how interesting. It is my honour that my daughter is suitable to be your vessel. However, now that you have taken over, the question remains where Chiye is." The way Miyama-san speaks is still friendly but with a certain insistence. 

"She is wandering towards the heavenly realm. That is all I can say." 

I look over to Chiye's mother whose facial expression hardened.

"There is not much time." She now looks at me. I can see her concern being reflected in her eyes.

"We are in the process of trying to complete her tasks. We will try to finish both tasks before the spring festival." I firmly return her gaze with my utmost earnesty.

Her expression softens up a bit. "Very well, I entrust you with bringing back Chiye and helping Airi with her tasks." She faintly smiles.

I bow down deeply. "Thank you for your faith in me, I will try my best."

Chiye's mother leans forward and places her hand softly on mine. "Please don't see it as a burden. Especially not as your sole burden to carry. If this is something that the heavens have decided, then so be it." I look up and though she smiles I can see her eyes glimmering wistfully.

Her position as the head priestess makes it difficult as a mother to simply accept what had happened to her only child. I grit my teeth and nod. 

"Please feel free to use the time without feeling obligated to help around the temple. We will be fine." She pats my hands and gets up. "If there is anything that I can help you with, please let me know anytime." She turns towards Airi. "You are of course still very welcome to stay at our place for as long as necessary. Please don't feel burdened with the mundane things and preserve your energy for your tasks." Miyama-san bows again and leaves the room.

As the door slides back behind her I feel how the tension in my body loosens up. I let out a small sigh. "We shouldn't waste any time!" Airi springs up energetically. "Stay here, I will change my clothes. We can use the extra free time to look for another couple to bring together." 

Airi leaves the room and with her the warm fuzzy aura emitting from her as well. I should tell her to conceal it again, as it might cause suspicion from other people.

Airi's motivation is contagious and for the first time since the storm, I can truly feel genuine hope dwelling up inside me. Eleven days are enough for Airi to finally return back home and to get Chiye back on time for the spring festival.