Prologue

Catalog of Wonders Index

Product Name: Transcription Marker

Oh! Is that…a Sunset Candy Apple?

The moment she saw it, Keiko knew that was what she was looking at. Sunset Candy Apples were a fictional food that appeared in one of her favorite books. In that story, the main character wanders into a strange town and buys one from a festival stall. It was a big red apple encased in caramel the color of the evening sky. That description had captured Keiko’s imagination. She wished she could try one herself, even if it was only once. Every time she reread the book, that desire to experience the same thing the characters did got even stronger.

But of course, that was a wish that would never come true. If only there were a way for her to visit the world inside that book… She was just going to taste bitter regret instead of those candy apples.

So when Keiko saw a real Sunset Candy Apple right in front of her, she just couldn’t help herself. Feeling a little awkward, she called out to the girl who was eating it.

“E-excuse me! Wh-where did you buy that…?”

Keiko hadn’t seen this girl around before; she was a stranger who just happened to be passing by. She wore a neon-pink hoodie, and her hair was completely silver. Her right eye was covered by an eye patch the same shade of pink as her jacket, with a crossed-through heart symbol on it. It made for an odd combination, this girl in her outfit full of bright, artificial colors, eating something as simple as an apple.

In the hand not holding the sweet treat, the girl in pink held the handle of a wheeled suitcase. When Keiko saw it, her heart gave another leap. The suitcase looked like something out of a story, too; it had such a cute, stylish design.

The girl had already taken several bites of the apple. She chewed, swallowed, and offered a friendly smile.

“You can get one from that store over there,” she said, gesturing to a nearby building.

Keiko thanked her, giving a little bow, and ran off toward the store.

The inside of the store was wide, roomy, and only very dimly lit. Keiko didn’t see any products lined up anywhere. There weren’t any tables or chairs like you’d find in a café, either. Just what kind of place was this? She realized she’d charged right in without stopping to check.

“Ah, a customer. Welcome,” came a voice from somewhere near the back of the store.

Keiko squinted and saw a man standing by the back wall; he must have been an employee. He was wearing a hat with a wide brim and had a thick scarf wrapped around his neck, both of which cast shadows across his face. Between that and the low light, Keiko couldn’t make out his features at all.

Hesitantly, she stepped forward.

“Uh… I was wondering… Wh-what kind of store is this?”

“This is one of the world’s few operational Transcription Parlors.”

“Transcription?”

She’d heard that word before. It was when somebody wrote down what people were saying during recorded interviews and stuff, right? That was what transcription was, wasn’t it? So was this a place where people did that kind of work? That seemed like the most reasonable explanation.

But the man with the shadowy face wasn’t done talking. He took a step closer to Keiko and pulled out some kind of highlighter pen.

“If you buy one of our Transcription Markers, you can come here to enjoy transcription activities any time you like.”

“I… What?”

Keiko didn’t get it. Was transcription really something you “enjoyed”? And what did this marker have to do with it?

As she stood there wondering, the man took a remote control from the wall and pressed a button on it. The wall suddenly lit up, and Keiko’s eyes went wide with shock when she saw what was there. What she’d thought was a regular wall was actually made up of lots and lots of books, all tightly lined up without a single space between them. The whole wall was one gigantic bookcase!

That wasn’t the only surprising thing about it. The books were all different sizes. The smaller ones were the same as you’d get in any other store, but the big ones were really big. The biggest one towered above Keiko’s head—it was the same size as the door she’d come in through. It was the largest book she’d ever seen, and there were several more just as huge sitting next to it.

“Wh-why are the books so big?!” she asked.

“Because the text is so small in normal-size books,” the man replied, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

But no matter what he said, there was no reason for any book to be that big, was there? Still feeling bewildered, Keiko glanced at the titles of the giant books. She recognized one of them—she’d read it lots of times over the last few years. It was the same book the Sunset Candy Apples appeared in.

“Oh! That book!”

Keiko pointed to it in surprise. The store employee nodded dutifully, pulled it off the shelf, and brought it over. He carried the enormous book to the middle of the room and laid it on the floor, all without showing any kind of strain or effort. It must have been a lot lighter than it looked. Next, he opened it and pressed another button on his remote control to switch on the light above them.

Despite the book’s abnormal size, the inside wasn’t anything too strange. Glancing at the oversize text, Keiko recognized several familiar sentences. It was the same story she knew and loved so well.

“The Sunset Candy Apples that appear in this book are a popular choice for transcription,” the shadowy man told her.

“Huh? Wait… Do you mean…?!”

“Allow me to demonstrate. I just have to find a page that still has some words on it…”

The store employee started turning the book’s pages. They were so big, each one made a low swish sound, creating enough of a breeze that Keiko could feel it on her face.

She gazed down at the book, her bangs fluttering. It was then that she noticed something unusual. Here and there throughout the book, parts of the text had become faded. Before she could think about why that was, the man stopped at a certain page. On it was a passage describing the Sunset Candy Apple.

“I will now transcribe this one for you,” he said, taking the cap off the marker.

He used it to draw a line through the words Sunset Candy Apple, dragging it across the page with a sharp squeeeak. When he was done, the line of color left behind suddenly expanded until it covered the words completely.

And then…the words rose up and floated right off the page.

“…?!”

The strange phenomenon didn’t stop there. First, the color from the marker floated away and disappeared. Then the words started transforming into something that wasn’t words. They rearranged themselves and turned into a real Sunset Candy Apple, just like the one Keiko had seen that girl eating earlier.

“When transcribing food, it’s better to make it a more substantial size, don’t you think?” the man in the hat and scarf said. “Here you go. Consider this a free sample.”

He then handed the apple to Keiko.

She took it and stared in amazement. There was no doubt about it—this was a Sunset Candy Apple. But at the same time, it was still the words Sunset Candy Apple. What a weird sensation.

Then again, reading and writing was weird, now that she thought about it. Words weren’t the actual things they described; they were just symbols to help represent them. But whenever you read a word, you still imagined the object, person, or idea behind it. It usually wasn’t something vague, either, but a clear, well-defined image. In a way, reading was like experiencing a powerful hallucination.

Keiko recognized that this was just a jumble of words in her hand. If she concentrated hard, she could still see the letters as they’d appeared on the page. But the moment she relaxed, those words went back to looking like a candy apple. The bright-red fruit encased in caramel the color of the twilit sky was exactly like she’d imagined when she read the book.

It wasn’t just the way it looked. The rough texture of the stick and the aroma of the candy coating were perfect, too. The smell made her think of long evenings at summer festivals, warmed by the setting sun. And when she gave it a lick, the taste was exactly how she’d imagined it, too. This sweet sensation on her tongue, filling her with a comforting, nostalgic feeling… This was what she’d wished she could experience for herself but thought only existed in a book. It was really real!

“Wow… This is… It’s actually moving…!”

“It’s always a pleasure to hear our customers appreciate what we do here. By the way, each of these markers costs only a hundred yen—”

“I’ll take one!”

From that day on, Keiko began visiting the mysterious Transcription Parlor on a regular basis.

During her visits, Keiko transcribed all kinds of words from all kinds of books. They had plenty of oversize versions of her favorite books there. One after another, she used the marker to bring pieces of those stories to life:

A plush toy made from cumulonimbus clouds

The sound of silver sugar cubes melting in a cup of coffee

A hill littered with shards of broken stars and rainbows

Objects, sounds, and scenery all lifted off the page as naturally as could be. Sometimes she’d draw lines through the names of characters as well. They crossed over into the real world, too, moving and speaking like real, living people.

Ahhh, I can’t believe I get to meet all these characters right here in person… It’s like a dream come true!

Normally, interacting with people from fictional stories like this wasn’t possible. But with the Transcription Marker, both objects and people could break free from books and become part of reality instead. How amazing that one little marker could do all that!

It wasn’t long before Keiko got totally hooked on her transcription activities.

However, there was one set of words she never brought to life, despite wanting to more than anything. They didn’t appear in any of the books on the parlor’s shelves. The storekeeper had told her he could order any book she wanted, and in any size, but that didn’t help. This book didn’t actually exist yet. It wasn’t a story that had been published and sold in stores, but one that Keiko was writing herself, in a notebook at home.

Now that I can use this Transcription Marker, I want to meet my own characters, too, not just other people’s. But…but…

There was a reason she hadn’t tried it yet. Back when she’d first bought the marker, the storekeeper had given her a warning.

“When there’s something you want to transcribe, always come to this parlor to do it. You’re free to take your marker home with you, but I recommend against using it anywhereelse but here. We cannot take responsibility for any problems that arise from using our products outside the premises.”

He had a point. There was more to books than descriptions of things that were fun, or pretty, or tasty. Depending on how you used it, the marker could also bring dangerous things into the world. But even so…

I can’t just take my notebook to the parlor and start chatting with my characters with that guy watching me. No, no, no! That’d be way too embarrassing!

Keiko had never even let another person read her story yet. Of course, it would be nice if people read it someday, when it was finished. But right now, she couldn’t help finding it a little embarrassing.

“Hmm… What should I do?”

She kept going to the Transcription Parlor, still thinking over the problem. Meeting fictional characters in real life was so much fun. Why shouldn’t she do the same with her own? Why did they have to stay shut up in her notebook?

Finally, the day came when she couldn’t hold herself back any longer.

“I’m sure it’ll be okay! My characters are all nice people, so they won’t cause any trouble. I’ll be extra careful not to accidentally highlight any bad words, too.”

Back at home in her room, Keiko gripped her Transcription Marker tightly and opened her notebook. Her heart beat faster and faster as she brought the tip of the marker closer to the page.

In the story she’d written, none of the characters had real names. They all referred to each other by nicknames instead. Her five main characters were called Storyteller, Glutton, Mage, Hurryup, and Bossman. She flipped through the pages and drew a line through each of their names one by one.

Skree…skree…skree…skree…skree…

Soon, all five were covered by the marker’s bright neon color. The words began to move and lift off the page, and then…

“Wowww!”

Just like that, five people were now standing on top of Keiko’s notebook. Her writing had been pretty small, so her characters came out in miniature as well—each of them was only an inch or two tall. Apart from that, they fit the image she’d had of them in her head perfectly. Granted, they looked a little rough around the edges, like sketchy illustrations, but that was probably because her handwriting was so bad. And they were her characters. Nothing could ruin them for her.

“Startled, I took a look at my surroundings. My gaze wandered to my feet, and I found myself shocked at this strange turn of events. What was going on?”

“Oh? We came out tiny in this world, huh? That means all the food is going to be giant size!”

“Oh-ho, a person from the outside world! You seem to be a powerful magic user, too.”

“Hello there! Um… Who are you? And what is this place?”

“Hello, Author! It’s been about three years since you started writing this story, huh?”

The five characters all started talking at once, filling the top of the notebook with noise and laughter.

Keiko found the sight so touching that she started to tear up. For so long, these characters had only lived inside her head. You couldn’t get much closer to someone than that, but she’d still been unable to actually talk to them. Now they were in the real world. Fictional characters and the author who had created them, together in the same reality. She’d always been able to see them in her imagination, but now they could actually look back at her. It made her feel a little bit bashful and self-conscious…but mostly just thankful.

“Hello! I…I’m so happy to finally meet you all!” Keiko said.

Wiping away her tears, she smiled down at the tiny figures standing on the page in front of her.

From that day on, Keiko began living together with her five characters—Storyteller, Glutton, Mage, Hurryup, and Bossman. From the moment they met, it felt like they were already close friends.

I do know them better than anyone else, after all. They came from my imagination, so in a way, they’re a part of me. It’s no wonder we get along so well!

She stopped going to the Transcription Parlor and began spending all her spare time with these new friends instead. Having them around was even more fun than she’d expected. Then one day, a thought occurred to her.

Isn’t there anything I can do to pay them back?

Getting to spend this time with them had been the greatest gift Keiko could have asked for, and it was only going to get better. Wouldn’t it be nice if she could give them something, too, to thank them for everything?

What should I get them? What would those five like best…?

It wasn’t hard to find an answer to that question. Keiko was the creator of the world these characters came from. She knew more about them than anyone else, including their hopes and dreams.

That’s it! I’ll get them a lovely airplane they can all ride in together!

Once the idea came to her, she knew she couldn’t possibly go with anything else.

In Keiko’s story, the five main characters dreamed of flying in an airplane someday. Planes didn’t exist in their world. The sky was ruled by a race of people with wings, and everyone else was strictly forbidden from flying. There may have been airplanes and blimps and hot-air balloons around once, but they were all gone now, and the art of making them had been lost. The heroes believed there could still be some airplane blueprints out there somewhere and traveled across the land in search of them.

That was the general concept anyway. She hadn’t found a way to actually wrap up the story. The five wanderers still hadn’t gotten to fly yet. But that was part of why this was such a perfect idea.

I’ve been writing that story for three years without coming up with a real ending… I may not be much of an author, but I can make my characters’ dream come true in this world. With the Transcription Marker on my side, it’ll be easy!

Of course, getting a real airplane would be entirely beyond Keiko’s means. But these five people were made of writing. It seemed only fitting that her present to them should be the same.

She grabbed her notebook and wrote down the words lovely five-seater airplane. Then she drew a line through them, the marker making a high-pitched squeak like it always did. However…

“Huh…? It’s not working. The words aren’t coming off the page.”

It was the same notebook her characters had come from and the same marker she’d used to make them real. It must have needed something more to work its magic.

“…Maybe the words need to be part of a story for the marker to bring them to life. The world of a story, the power of imagination, and the Transcription Marker… I bet those elements all have to work together to make things or people real.”

Now that she’d figured that out, Keiko went back to her notebook and started to write. But there was a problem. The story she wanted to tell was too long and too large-scale for her current writing skills. She had no idea what stage of their journey her characters would be at when they finally got to take their maiden flight.

“Hmm… I’ll just skip over some of the stuff in the middle and write that part now. I can always go back and fill in the blanks later, after I’ve used the marker.”

Keiko took up her pen and wrote a fairly simple sentence: After that, a lot happened, and the five companions acquired a lovely five-seater airplane of their very own.

Then she switched to the Transcription Marker and drew a line through the lovely five-seater airplane part.

Squeeeak…

This time, the marker took effect like it always had done.

“I guess it really does need a story for it to work. Uh… What exactly is this, though?”

She looked in confusion at the airplane that had just come off the page. It had a hazy texture, like the whole thing was covered in mist. If you squinted hard from the right angle, you could see that it was an airplane and that it was big enough for the five miniature adventurers to fit inside. Keiko figured that was because she’d thrown this airplane into her story without taking the time to properly flesh it out. That lack of definition must have carried over when the Transcription Marker brought it into reality.

“Well, this will have to do for now. It’s not much, but it’s the best they’re going to get.”

Someday, she told herself, she’d finish her story and write a real airplane for them. She’d do research so she understood how airplanes worked, how they fit together, and get a nice, clear image in her mind. The “lovely airplane” she’d write then would be a lot more believable.

Feeling a little nervous, Keiko presented her friends with the airplane and waited for their reactions.

“Wow… So this is what a real airplane looks like.”

“We can use this to fly in the sky? Flying without wings… It’s like magic!”

“C’mon, let’s give it a try! It’ll get dark if we don’t hurry!”

“It was hard to describe the aircraft now standing in front of us, but it was undoubtedly lovely.”

“Why don’t we make some bento boxes first? Imagine getting to eat and fly at the same time!”

Much to her surprise, they all seemed thrilled with the airplane, slapdash as it was. But then again, none of these characters had any idea what an airplane should look like. Such things didn’t exist in their world, and neither did any pictures or photos of them.

Keiko felt relieved, but also a little guilty. She decided to keep those feelings to herself and put on a happy face.

“All right, let’s pack some food and get you guys in the air!”

Her tiny friends—each one carrying their own boxed lunch—set out into the backyard. Keiko put the plane down on the ground for them. Laughing and chatting, Storyteller, Bossman, and the rest all boarded the vague, hazy aircraft.

And then… Well, it was hard to tell what was going on, but it seemed like the engines got started okay. The character in the front seat grabbed the control wheel (or whatever that thing was called) and did some other stuff, and they took off. Keiko really didn’t understand how any of it worked.

“Uh… Hmmm…”

She was feeling her inability to properly portray the airplane now more than ever. “Lovely” or not, the whole thing felt kind of sloppy. She started to wonder if she’d made a mistake.

But then she heard the laughter of her characters over the sound of the engines. They didn’t care about the plane’s imperfections. They were just enjoying the sensation of flying, whirling, and zooming through the air in every direction.

I knew it! I knew giving them this was the right choice!

As Keiko watched them fly, she felt her doubts drift away, and soon she was smiling, too.

But that feeling didn’t last. Suddenly, the plane wasn’t moving so smoothly anymore. It had started shaking, and the engines made an ominous spluttering sound. Before Keiko could even process what was happening, the hazy little aircraft fell apart in midair.

“Whaaat?!”

Keiko’s cry of dismay mixed with her characters’ screams as the parts of the airplane and its five passengers hurtled toward the ground. They fell with a sickening crunch in one corner of the yard.

“Oh no… My description must have been too vague for the plane to hold itself together…!”

She watched the scene unfold in horror but soon snapped out of her daze. This was no time to stand around and analyze things. She dashed over to where her friends had fallen.

“Everyone, are you okay?!”

Over at the tiny crash site, there was no sign of the hazy airplane or the people who’d been riding in it. They were all just letters now. The same messy writing that had sat on the pages of her notebook before. They weren’t even words or names anymore, just a random jumble of letters, mostly lowercase, with a handful of uppercase ones mixed in.

“No… It can’t be…”

Keiko sank to her knees in shock. After a moment, she began picking up the letters. She found the ones that had made up the word airplane first and put them on the palm of her hand.

“Guys, I…I’m so sorry. I feel like such an idiot for letting you fly in a cheap excuse for an airplane.”

She looked around for the other letters, taking care not to leave a single one behind. Once she had them all, she clutched them tightly, tears streaming down her face.

But then, she felt a strange squirming sensation in her hand.

“Huh…?”

She opened her hand again and saw a new word looking up at her: foøl

“What?”

Fool? Was her own hand insulting her now? It was true she’d been a fool over that stuff with the airplane, but still.

“No, that’s not right. Oh, could this be…?”

Keiko gazed down at her hand to see that the other letters were recombining as well.

reply

tells

quivers

“Um… ‘Reply tells’ what? Or is it tells like when people give away when they’re lying? And quivers… That means shaking, right? Or maybe those things you keep arrows in?”

As she looked down at them, reply formed itself into an envelope like someone would send an old-fashioned letter in. The word tells had formed into a face that kept twitching despite trying to keep its expression neutral. And quivers had become several little cases filled with tiny arrows. She was right—the letters were trying to put themselves together again but were in different combinations from before. Now they were making new words that were also coming to life.

The next phrase to emerge was Curvy airplane. The result didn’t look much better than Keiko’s original airplane, but its lines and textures looked a lot softer, almost like a plush toy.

“Huh? Wait a minute. I don’t remember there being a C in any of those words or names…”

Before she could think too deeply about that, another new phrase formed itself: Steam Bottles. A few seconds later, she had a collection of glass bottles in her hand, filled not with liquid but with swirling white gas. They were warm to the touch, and it was kind of cute how miniature they were.

“Ah-ha-ha… It’s almost like they’re turning into new ideas I could use in my stories.”

It was a small comfort, although it didn’t make the pain of losing her friends go away. None of these new creations shared any kind of affinity with Keiko. In a way, that made sense—most of them were things rather than people, after all. But it was still a far cry from the way Keiko and her original characters had become friends right off the bat. That must have been the difference between characters she’d written herself and things that had come together independently.

There weren’t many unattached letters left now, and the remaining ones were crawling closer and closer together. As Keiko watched them, she mulled over her question from before.

“I’m sure I didn’t write anything with a C in it… Come to think of it, why did the second o in fool have a line through it? And where did the q in quivers come from?”

Then the answer hit her.

“Oh, I get it! The bar from the G in Glutton must have fallen off to make it a C. And then it joined up with one of the os to make the q tail! Same for the line through that other o. It’s actually the dash from five-seater!”

Apparently, it wasn’t just the letters; separate parts of them had gotten mixed up, too. That explained the Curvy airplane and other strange words.

“Let’s see… I started with Storyteller, Glutton, Mage, Hurryup, Bossman, and lovely five-seater airplane. So far, they’ve turned into foøl, reply, tells, quivers, Curvy airplane, and Steam Bottles. What does that leave these last ones to make?”

The letters on her palm wriggled closer and closer together. Soon enough, they’d arranged themselves into two new words:

Hungry Maneater

And just like that, a tiny, vicious-looking monster appeared on Keiko’s palm. It looked up at her with a wicked smile and licked its lips.

Product Name: Store-Calling Signs

There were so many things that Yoshino wanted out of life. She wanted tasty food and stylish clothes and cute accessories like she saw on TV and in magazines. If she could go shopping and buy stuff like that, she’d have done it in a heartbeat. But she couldn’t.

“Oh man… I wish I lived in a town with more interesting stores. There’s practically nothing here; it’s so boring.”

Learning about stores she wanted to visit or products she wanted to try was one thing, but it was meaningless if she couldn’t actually go to those places or buy that stuff. It left her feeling so empty and frustrated inside. Even then, she couldn’t help herself and would end up gazing longingly at one magazine after another with their cute shops.

“Ooh, this cake sparkles just like a jewel; I’d love to try one… And look at this ham roll made with olives and organic yeast! I wonder how that tastes. Wow, these bags and clothes are all handmade one-of-a-kind items, huh? I’d love to see them in person and pick one out… Oh my gosh, I can just tell that this accessory store has such a nice vibe. It looks like the kind of place that sells magic items from storybooks…”

It truly was the stuff of dreams. Yoshino couldn’t visit a single one of those stores, though. They were all a long, long way from the town where she lived. Even if she chose the closest one, she’d use up all her allowance on the train ticket to get there, leaving her no money left to do any shopping.

“Urrrgh, why does this town have to be so boring? I want to get out there and see the world! I want to live someplace with lovely stores like these!”

Yoshino closed the magazine she’d been reading with a groan. She was only a kid, after all. She didn’t get to decide where she lived or what her town was like. Her desire to live in a town filled with trendy stores would never be anything more than a dream.

Or it would have been, if she hadn’t encountered that one very strange store.

It happened one day when Yoshino was walking through town. She noticed a sign she’d never seen before. It was higher up than most of the houses in the area, making it hard to ignore.

She found her eyes drawn to it and tilted her head in confusion.

“Signage Seller…? As in, a store that sells signs? Is that a thing?”

What would a store like that look like? Yoshino walked toward it, too curious for her own good. Up close, she found it was crammed with rows of signs, so many that they seemed to spill out of the door. It really was a place dedicated to signs and nothing else.

“I don’t remember there being a store like this here. Where did it come from?”

Drawing closer, she looked at the different products the store had on display. Big signs and small signs. Square signs and round signs. Flashy signs and plain signs. Signs made of wood, and metal, and plastic, and stone. Even fabric banners to put outside stores. They had signs of just about any size, shape, and material you could think of.

“You don’t see stores like this very often… But at the end of the day, it’s still just signs.”

Yoshino couldn’t think of a single time in her life when she’d needed to buy a sign. The store may have been rare, but it wasn’t one she’d ever use.

She was just turning to walk away when one particular sign caught her eye.

Something about it really piqued Yoshino’s curiosity. What a weird form of advertising. She’d never heard of anything like this before.

She decided not to leave and instead followed the arrow on the sign, toward the store’s interior. Going to a place she’d never been before made her feel a little nervous, but she stepped in through the door all the same.

The store was filled with signs, just like outside. It was dimly lit inside, with only the occasional spotlight illuminating the vast rows of signs. Yoshino made her way farther in, stealing glances at the products that seemed to rise up out of the darkness on either side of the store.

Finally, she arrived at the back of the store, where there was a counter with a cash register. Behind the counter sat a man who must have been the shopkeeper. And even though it was so dark inside, he was wearing a hat with a broad brim pulled low over his eyes. He had a big scarf around his neck, too—Yoshino couldn’t see anything but shadows where his face should have been. He looked strange, but in a way, that strangeness suited this store and the way it advertised its products.

Yoshino cleared her throat and stepped up to the counter. “E-excuse me. I wanted to ask about something I saw on a sign out front.”

“Of course. Which sign would you like to know about?”

“Oh, right. Uh… I think it was called a Store-Calling Sign?”

If that sign really existed, it could be fun to check out. It was probably nothing more than a lucky charm, but she might buy one anyway.

“It said you can summon any store you want to your neighborhood. Do you really sell signs like that?” Yoshino asked.

“We do indeed,” the faceless clerk replied confidently. “We are a Signage Seller, after all. We sell any and every kind of sign you can think of. Not just ones for stores to attract customers, but ones for customers to attract stores as well.”

Wow, I didn’t know Signage Sellers took this stuff so seriously, Yoshino thought. Still surprised that it was all true, she looked around the store.

“So which one of these is the Store-Calling Sign?”

The man stood up and began rifling through one of the many piles of signs. Finally, he brought out one about the size of a two-page spread in one of Yoshino’s school notebooks. She couldn’t tell at a glance what it was made of, but it looked pretty cheap. The design was simple, too—just a stick to hold it up, and a white rectangular space with black text.

“You simply have to write the kind of store you want to attract and the products you want it to sell in the blank spaces provided. Then you place this sign where you would like the store to appear, and—”

“And that kind of store will actually open up there?!”

“That’s right. Be warned, though—you can’t use the names of actual brands or chain stores.”

“Aw, so if I see somewhere I want to go or something I want to buy on TV or in a magazine, I can’t bring them to this town instead?”

“Unfortunately not. The sign won’t work if you try to do that.”

Yoshino couldn’t help feeling a little disappointed.

“But there’s no need to worry,” the man assured her. “A store summoned with this sign will be every bit as good as even the most famous stores in the world!”

That assurance hooked her in again. This was sounding more and more interesting. She wanted to buy one of these signs and try it out.

However, there was no denying that the whole thing seemed incredibly shady. Yoshino asked how much the sign cost—at this point, that would be the deciding factor in whether she got one.

“Just one hundred yen each,” the man told her.

That was a lot cheaper than she’d been expecting. If it was that cheap, there was really no reason not to buy one.

“Thank you for your business. I’ll include a can of our special store-calling paint. Please be aware, you must use this exact paint to fill in the blanks for the sign to work properly.”

Yoshino returned home from the mysterious store. That night, she was watching TV during dinner. It was a show doing a feature on popular upscale bakeries. But like always, they were all a long, long way away from her hometown.

“Oooh, just look at that stone-baked baguette! It’s the perfect combination of crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. And that golden cream bun—they said it’s made with an extra-large helping of the best quality eggs. I so wish I could try those…!”

She leaned forward, still gazing at the TV screen, and gulped. Normally, this would be all she could do—sit there and envy the people who got to live somewhere with such a wonderful bakery right on their doorstep.

But not anymore. Now she had a Store-Calling Sign.

As soon as she finished eating, Yoshino dashed out of the dining room and went up to her bedroom. There, she took the sign and the paint out of the paper bag the man in the store had packed them in. The lid of the little paint can opened with a click, revealing some red paint and a brush.

“All right, let’s do this. What should I write? I have to say the kind of store I want and what I want it to sell. But I can’t use real brands or store names…”

She thought this over as she dipped the brush in the paint and stirred it. After considering several ideas, she lifted the brush and began to write.

Skrsh, skrsh, skrsh… Writing with the miniature paintbrush was hard at first, but gradually, the words started to take shape.

“Yeah, this should do it!”

Yoshino finished writing the last word and let out a long sigh like she’d just finished a really physically demanding task.

That was how she’d chosen to fill in the blanks on the sign. The red paint really stood out against the white background. She felt confident she’d expressed what she wanted in a nice, clear way, without naming any specific brands.

Taking a step back and looking at her handiwork, she nodded in satisfaction.

The next day, Yoshino headed out to find a place to put her sign.

“Somewhere I want the store to open… I’ll just use one of the empty lots around town. There are hardly any stores here as it is, but there are plenty of old buildings and land that’s not being used. Ooh, there’s one!”

It hadn’t even been a full minute since she’d left the house when she came upon an empty patch of ground.

Yoshino stopped and looked around. A little sign like this wouldn’t do any harm, but if any of the grown-ups saw her, she’d probably get into trouble for messing around on private property. Fortunately, there wasn’t a single person in sight. Living in a sleepy town like this had its advantages sometimes.

Let’s get this done before anyone has a chance to see what I’m doing!

Yoshino took the sign out of the bag and scrambled over to a far corner of the empty lot. She gave a little cry of effort as she plunged the pole into the ground. It offered hardly any resistance, and the sign easily sank in until it could stand up on its own.

“That should do it! But still…is putting this sign here really going to make a new store appear?”

The idea gave her a fluttery, hopeful feeling in her chest. She went home, pausing countless times along the way to turn and look back at the empty lot.

The next day, she returned to check on the place where she’d put the sign.

“Whoa… No way!!”

Yoshino’s eyes practically popped out of her head. It wasn’t an empty lot anymore. In the space of one evening, a new building had been built from scratch, and a new store had opened up there. And not just any store—it was a trendy bakery just like the one Yoshino had longed to visit. It had brick walls the color of gingerbread, roof tiles resembling rows of cookies, and a door with a fancy latticed window that looked like hard candy with a chocolate-syrup pattern painted on it.

“Wowww! What a wonderful place!”

Her eyes sparkled with excitement. Then she sniffed the air. The fragrant aroma of fresh-baked bread was drifting out from inside the store. It made Yoshino’s stomach grumble.

She couldn’t wait any longer; she walked up to the door and pushed it open. A bell tinkled, and she was greeted with a blast of warm air, along with the smell of fresh bread and pastries.

Inside, lots of different baked goods were lined up. They had sweet buns and savory buns; crunchy, chewy loaves; and light, fluffy loaves. Everywhere she looked, there was something new. Glancing toward the back of the store, Yoshino caught a glimpse of the kitchen behind the counter, with a magnificent stone oven. There were probably even more tasty treats baking inside that oven, all made with the very best ingredients.

Yoshino let out a sigh of delight. This place was perfect; it was exactly like she’d imagined. Well…apart from one unexpected detail.

“Welcome! We’ve got plenty of fresh-baked bread here for you!”

“What? Huh…? Huuuh?!”

A store employee greeted her as she entered, and she jerked back in shock. For some reason, this person was dressed in a large animal suit, like the ones you saw at amusement parks.

She’d noticed the giant teddy bear standing behind the counter when she’d come in, but she’d assumed it was just a decoration. Had there been someone inside it this whole time?

I don’t see anyone else around, so…I guess they just do all their business in costume.

This store was more unusual than Yoshino had given it credit for. But she soon regained her composure and picked up one of the stylish little trays that had been set out. She also picked up a pair of tongs and started looking around at all the treats.

“Wowww…!”

Here, glistening Danish pastries with tempting cream and fruit on top. There, colorful slices of French sourdough filled with fruit. Familiar dishes like croissants, sweet red-bean rolls, and curry buns looked tastier than the ones she’d seen in other places, too. Even stuff she wasn’t too fond of, like raisin bread, caught her eye. The raisins looked so plump and juicy, she found herself wanting to take a bite of it right then and there.

Yoshino got so caught up in trying to choose, she did several rounds of the store before finally deciding. She left with five different kinds of pastries—although if she was being honest, there were lots more she’d wanted to try.

But now that I have a bakery like this in my neighborhood, I can always try those some other day. I can come here whenever I want, after all!

Who would have thought shifting her focus from going to somewhere with nice stores to making nice stores come to her would get such great results?

As she was leaving, she turned and looked at the corner of the lot, where the sign she’d written out the day before was still standing.

“It’s just like I wanted… No, it’s even better! Thank you for bringing such a wonderful store to me, Store-Calling Sign!”

The pastries Yoshino bought from the bakery with the costumed baker tasted just as good as they looked. As time passed, other people in town got to know about the store, and it soon became popular. Every day, customers crowded into the redbrick building for a chance to get their hands on some delicious baked goods.

Today, though, Yoshino wasn’t lining up outside it with the others. She was on her way to a different store—the Signage Seller.

“More… I need more! I’m gonna bring more and more lovely stores to this town!”

Yoshino had always wanted to live someplace where shopping was actually exciting. And now she could. Day after day, she bought more Store-Calling Signs. As soon as she got a new one, she’d fill in the blanks and stick it in one of the many empty lots around town.

Clothing storeTHAT SELLSbrands popular with elementary school kidsWANTED HERE!

Accessory storeTHAT SELLSstylish one-of-a-kind handmade itemsWANTED HERE!

RestaurantTHAT SELLSgourmet dishes that regular people can affordWANTED HERE!

And with every sign, another lovely store arrived in town to set up shop.

“I want a cake shop, and an ice cream parlor, and a candy store… A traditional café, a diner, and a sushi restaurant… A bookstore, a stationery store, a video game arcade… While I’m at it, I might as well bring in a new convenience store, a hundred-yen store, and a drugstore. I’m sure they’ll be nicer than the ones we have now! And then, and then…”

Amazing as the whole thing was, there was still something strange about it. Without exception, the stores summoned by the signs were all staffed by people in animal costumes. The clothing store had rabbits, the accessory store had squirrels, the restaurant had foxes; every store was like that. They wore the costumes for their entire shift and never took them off in front of the customers. Nobody had ever seen what any of them looked like underneath their animal outfits.

It was strange, all right, but it wasn’t really a problem. Everyone in town was thrilled with the new stores. Some people wondered how and why they kept springing up out of nowhere, but no one ever guessed they had anything to do with the signs Yoshino was putting up.

Thanks to the new businesses, the town was becoming more and more lively. While the new stores did great, the ones that had been there from the start found it hard to keep hold of their customers. Sooner or later, they all ended up going out of business.

Yoshino did feel kind of sorry for the owners of those stores, seeing them close their doors for the last time, but it really couldn’t be helped.

This just shows that people like the new stores with the costumed staff better. It’s sad, but this is just the way it is.

Customers had the right to choose where they bought things, after all. If the old places couldn’t attract enough people to stay in business, it was their own fault. It was a lot easier to think about it that way.

Now that those stores have closed, though, there’s a lot of space that’s not being used anymore… What a waste!

In the beginning, there’d been so many disused buildings and empty lots that finding somewhere to put the signs hadn’t been a problem. Since Yoshino had used most of the better locations around town, it was getting harder to find new ones.

It’d be nice if I could do something with the stores that closed down…

She decided to try an experiment. One day, she went to one of the old stores, one that was just an empty building now, and stuck a sign in the corner of it. This wasn’t like the empty lots she’d used before, but the sign slipped into the asphalt just as easily as it had in softer ground.

And the next day, a store had opened up there. It wasn’t like a new business was using the old building, though; it looked completely different. It was more like the previous store had vanished without a trace and been replaced with a new one.

“Huh. So I don’t need to use completely empty spaces for the signs to work.”

She tried it in other places, too, like the backyard of an empty house. The ground there was nice and soft, but the sign refused to go in, no matter how hard she pushed.

“Hmm… I guess if there’s already a building there, it needs to have been a store for the sign to work… Oh! But that means every old store that closes creates a space for a new one!”

That was a happy discovery as far as Yoshino was concerned.

As the days and weeks went by, the stores that had gone out of business were replaced with new ones, all staffed by people in mascot costumes. There were, however, some stores that stubbornly held on despite their dwindling customers. They had been in town so long that they’d become regular fixtures, just part of the scenery.

But that scenery was changing. Next to all the bright, trendy new businesses that the signs had summoned, these old relics stuck out like sore thumbs.

How annoying. With all these lovely stores in this town, the old ones just don’t belong anymore.

It was time for another experiment.

Yoshino bought a new Store-Calling Sign and tried sticking it into the ground near a store that was still running. The result? The pole sank in smoothly and easily. The next day, that old store was gone, with a lovely new one in its place.

“How about that. You can use the signs like this, too!”

Now things were getting really exciting.

“In that case, I can make this town even better by turning all the stores into cute mascot ones!”

Everyone will be a lot happier that way.

Yoshino put her plan into action instantly. She no longer limited herself to places she personally wanted to go to. Even stores she’d never had much interest in were fair game now. Bars, opticians, craft stores, stores for electronics and home appliances… She put down signs in front of all of them, replacing them with new-and-improved versions. Soon enough, almost every store in town was run by costumed characters.

Things went on like that for a while. Then, one day, Yoshino was watching a TV show that featured a store whose specialty was potato croquettes. It was a little butcher shop in a far-off town. Locals would drop by on their way home from school or work to buy piping-hot croquettes, biting into them then and there while they were still nice and crunchy…

“W-wow… Those look sooo good…!”

The moment she saw them, Yoshino knew she had to try one for herself.

“I wish there was a place that sold croquettes like that here in this town! So warm, so crispy… I bet they taste great as an after-school snack!”

She wasn’t about to just sit there imagining what that would be like. Not when she could go buy another Store-Calling Sign. It would summon a butcher shop equally as good as that one and run by someone in an adorable animal costume to boot.

But as it turned out, it wasn’t that simple. With all the “improvements” she’d been making to the town lately, Yoshino had actually run out of places to put signs. There weren’t any empty lots, abandoned buildings, or shops she didn’t like anymore. They were all occupied by lovely stores with mascot characters working there.

No, wait… Not all of them. There was still one old store she hadn’t replaced yet.

The Signage Seller… I can still switch that out for something new!

The next day, she set off to buy just one more Store-Calling Sign.

I guess this’ll be the last one. But that’s okay. This town’s got more than enough lovely stores for me to enjoy now.

She did feel bad about what she was going to do to the Signage Seller, considering everything it had done for her. But once it was gone, there really would be nowhere to bring in new stores. The town would be full, and Yoshino could finally just enjoy what she had. Better to do it now and get it over with.

She opened the paint can, filled in the blanks, and stuck the sign in the ground right outside the old store.

The next day, the Signage Seller had disappeared. In its place was a quaint little butcher shop, and the air was filled with the delectable aroma of fresh, crispy potato croquettes.

“All right, time for me to go shopping in my lovely new town full of lovely new stores!”

It was the weekend, and Yoshino was ready to hit the streets. She’d been spending her money on Store-Calling Signs for so long, she hadn’t had any cash left over to spend on other stuff. Now that she didn’t need any more signs, she finally had some allowance to spare.

“This is probably only enough for something from the bakery… But that’ll still be fun! Let’s go!”

She left the house and made the short walk to the charming redbrick building with the teddy bear worker and delicious baked goods inside. But when she arrived…

“Huh? Wh-what happened here…?”

Yoshino stood there for a moment in complete astonishment. The bakery was gone. The building itself was still there, and it still looked as cute as ever. But inside, there was nothing. No stone oven, no fresh bread, no customers. The person in the teddy bear costume sat slumped against the wall outside.

“E-excuse me… Wh-what’s going on here? What happened to the store?” Yoshino hesitantly asked the person.

She tentatively reached out and gently shook the person’s shoulder. The teddy bear head tipped forward and fell off, revealing…nothing. The suit was empty.

“Wh-why…why is this happening? Oh! What about the sign?!”

Could that have something to do with all this?

Yoshino ran around the store to the far corner of the lot. The Store-Calling Sign hadn’t vanished or fallen over; it was in the same place as before. But something was different now.

“What the—? The words I wrote are…disappearing?”

For some reason, the parts of the sign in red paint had faded away and were almost unreadable. In other words, the parts describing what kind of store Yoshino wanted and what she wanted it to sell were gone. They were fading into the white background.

It looked strangely familiar—as a matter of fact, Yoshino had seen this before. Sometimes old roadside signs would have sections that were so faded she couldn’t even tell what they were supposed to say. The only thing left would be a thin, washed-out-looking layer of red paint.

That’s it! Red paint stands out a lot, but it also fades faster than other colors!

The paint she’d used to fill in the blanks on the sign had been a vibrant shade of red. After all this time out in the open air, it had been weathered away by the sun. The sign no longer knew what kind of store it was meant to be calling, which was why the building was empty. That must have been how it worked.

“B-but it’s okay! The sign itself is still there, so if I just paint in the words again…”

Yoshino tried to reassure herself as a cold sweat broke out on her brow.

A moment later, she realized she was wrong. That plan wouldn’t work. What was it the man in the Signage Seller had said?

“You must use this exact paint to fill in the blanks for the sign to work properly.”

Yoshino couldn’t go back to that store to get more of their special paint. She’d erased it—and replaced it with a “butcher shop that sells piping-hot, deliciously fresh potato croquettes.”

As the days went by, the new stores started to disappear. One by one, in the same order Yoshino had placed them, the signs lost their color. The red paint faded, leaving only a blank sign, an empty building, and the hollow shell of an animal mascot sitting on the street.

Eventually, the very last store vanished, and the town became empty, too. New or old, trendy or boring, there wasn’t a single store left there anymore.

Product Name: Worry Seeds

Minami was on her way home, a pack of Worry Seeds in her hand. She’d found them tucked away in one corner of an unmanned vegetable stall. Each bag only cost a hundred yen, and the instructions on the back of the bag seemed simple enough.

Seeds for a plant that made you worry when you ate its leaves… It sounded pretty crazy. Minami had bought them on a whim, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t interested in developing new worries. People were always saying she didn’t have a care in the world. And they weren’t wrong. She never worried about anything too seriously. It wasn’t until recently that she’d started to have doubts about this carefree lifestyle. Was it really all right for her to go on living like this?

What kind of a person lives a whole thirteen years withoutworrying? Other people and characters in books and TV always seem to have a lot more on their minds…

If worrying was normal—if it was something everybody else experienced—then Minami wanted to see what it was like for herself.

But it’s not like you can force yourself to worry about something… Whatever. I’m sure it’ll all work out! Not having anything to worry about is a good thing, right?

That was how Minami had always shrugged it off before.

Today, that all changed when she was out for a walk and spotted an unusual-looking butterfly. She’d idly followed it around for almost half an hour and ended up at an unmanned marketplace she hadn’t seen before. That was where she’d found the Worry Seeds, which came in two different varieties—Mild and Spicy. According to the description on the back of the bag:

MILD SEEDS WILL PRODUCE WORRIES THAT ARE EASY TO FIX. SPICY SEEDS WILL PRODUCE WORRIES THAT REQUIRE A LOT OF WORK TO FIX.

After thinking it over, Minami had left with a pack of Mild seeds.

“All right, let’s get these planted.”

Upon arriving home, Minami immediately took the seeds out into the backyard. The garden looked pretty neglected these days, but there was plenty of space and sunlight. There were even several abandoned flowerpots and planters around, ones that had been filled with soil but never actually used to grow anything. She found a small pot, put the seeds into the soil, and poured some water on them.

A week later, the seeds had sprouted and produced a ton of leaves already. They were grass green with a subtle blue tint and slightly curly with feather-like edges.

Minami plucked one off the stalk right away. The scent of the plant filled the air. It was a distinctive smell, but hard to describe. It was like a cold breeze blowing across your chest, or the first hints of darkness in the sky after sunset.

“Ooh… Is it some kind of herb, maybe?”

Minami took in the aroma for a moment longer. Then she washed the leaf under the outdoor faucet and bit into it.

A scent that felt cool and dark and sorrowful tickled her nose. The leaf had a sweet, mellow flavor—a touch bitter, but spicy enough that it wasn’t bland. The different tastes all mixed together and spread throughout Minami’s mouth. There was a tingly feeling on the tip of her tongue that got stronger with each bite.

Crunch, crunch, crunch… Gulp.

Finally, she swallowed and licked her lips.

“Mm, that was pretty good. I could get used to this!”

The leaves tasting nice was all well and good, of course. But would they really have any effect on her mood?

Even if it turns out it was all made up, it’s not like there’s been any harm done, Minami thought nonchalantly.

But then…

“…Hmm?”

All of a sudden, she became aware of a strange, strained feeling in her chest, like a balloon was being inflated inside her. She had to let out a long sigh just to relieve some of the tension.

Her breath smelled like Worry Leaves. No matter how many times Minami sighed, the uncomfortable sensation wouldn’t go away. And she was feeling unusually restless.

What’s happening to me? It’s like… It feels like there’s something important I’m forgetting…

The unease and restlessness seemed to bubble up from the very bottom of her heart. She racked her brain, trying to figure out what might be causing it.

“Come to think of it…I’ve got a big test coming up next week.”

Just like that, everything clicked into place.

Minami didn’t like studying. And as a rule, she avoided doing things she didn’t like. When it came to tests, homework, or even just reviewing material she’d covered in class, she’d never given any of it much effort. She hadn’t seen any problem with doing things that way, either. So what if she missed some homework assignments or couldn’t answer questions when she was called on in class? No one ever died from getting bad grades. It wasn’t anything worth getting worked up about.

Now, though, she wasn’t so sure.

Is it really okay for me to keep on like this? I know I won’t actually die because of bad grades. Everyone has to die someday, so you might as well use the time you have doing stuff you enjoy. That’s why I always end up reading manga or something instead of studying. I…I thought I wouldn’t ever regret using my time like that, but…

Minami wasn’t going to live forever, but her life would still go on for a while. Maybe even longer than she thought. Sooner or later, she’d have to make big choices about her future.

If I don’t study, and I end up with bad grades, there’ll be high schools and colleges I can’t apply to… There’ll be jobs I can’t train for. What if I cut myself off from stuff I’d really like to do?

Choices like that were still a long ways away. But goofing off in the here and now would definitely limit her options later on. The thought made it hard to breathe. Like the air in her lungs was too heavy. Like there was a lump in the pit of her stomach, a void that stopped all her happier feelings from getting through.

This sensation… Could it be?

“Wow… So this is what it’s like to worry about something!”

It had worked. Minami had eaten a Worry Leaf and developed a new worry. Now she just had to figure out a way to fix it.

“The thing I’m worried about is falling behind in school and getting bad grades… In that case, there’s really only one thing I can do. I have to study!”

And she really did have to; she could no longer bear to stand around and do nothing. She hurried to her room, sat down at her desk, took out her notebook and textbooks, and began rereading everything she knew would be covered on the test.

Every day from then on, Minami studied long and hard. And her efforts paid off. When she finally got her test paper back, she was surprised at how good her score was. She’d gone from her usual position near the bottom of the class to the top twenty in her grade.

Sometime later, after the test had come and gone, Minami decided it was about time for a new worry. Still in her pajamas, she went out into the backyard and plucked another leaf. She normally had salad at breakfast anyway, so this wasn’t all that different. She bit into the leaf, chewed, swallowed, and then…

“Hmm… That’s weird. I really…don’t want to go to school today.”

She was a little taken aback by the strength of that feeling. She’d never felt this way before. What was different now?

Minami went back indoors and started her morning routine. But unlike usual, her whole body felt heavy and sluggish, like it was a huge effort to get anything done. Washing her face, getting dressed, eating breakfast—she didn’t want to do any of it. Because once she’d done all that…she’d have to go to school.

What’s going on with me? Why don’t I want to go today?

Minami continued to puzzle over it as she forced herself to get ready. Finally, with only a few minutes to go before she made herself late, she went to the front door and began putting on her shoes.

Oh yeah… Someone crammed these into a cleaning bucket full of dirty water yesterday.

The moment her feet touched the damp lining of the shoes, it all came back to her. You couldn’t tell from looking, but even after being left overnight, they still weren’t completely dry.

How many times have they done something like this? How long have they been on my case now…?

Not long after she’d started junior high, a small group of Minami’s classmates had begun picking on her. They’d scribble on her textbooks and on her desk, shove her on the stairs, put trash in her school lunch when she wasn’t looking… Until now, she hadn’t let it bother her. With so many people sharing the same space, some of them were bound to be a little mean sometimes. And putting up with stuff like this could even be seen as valuable life experience. It wasn’t anything worth getting worked up about.

Except…it wasn’t right. Nobody should be allowed to treat others like that, no matter who they are or what kind of place they’re in.

Can’t they tell that what they’re doing is wrong? How can they do such horrible things like it’s no big deal? I…don’t want to have to be in the same class as those kinds of people.

A chill went down Minami’s spine. For the first time, she felt painfully aware of the spite and malice being directed at her. It made her legs tremble.

If I go to school, they’ll be there, too. They’ll pick on meagain… I don’t want that. I…I’m scared. I don’t want to go…

In spite of those feelings, in spite of her wet shoes, she still found a way to drag herself to school. Because now that she’d identified this worry, it was time to do something about it.

When she arrived at her classroom, Minami went to her desk, then suddenly flinched.

Her chair was covered in wet paint. Someone had emptied an entire tube from the art room onto it. If she hadn’t noticed in time, she’d have sat down and gotten her skirt covered in it.

She looked around the classroom. The kids who bullied her were all gathered in a group by the window. Even now they were looking at her and snickering.

“…Hey! If you’ve got a problem with me, why don’t you just say it to my face?! Cowards!”

She didn’t even realize she’d said that out loud until everyone went quiet.

The bullies stared at her in amazement. There was no going back now. Minami walked up to their group, grabbed one of them by the shirt, and got right up in their personal space.

“If you think this is funny, maybe you should take a video of it sometime and take a good, long look. Maybe then you’ll see just how messed up this nasty stuff you’re doing is!”

With one last snort of disdain, Minami released the bully, who still looked absolutely dumbfounded. For a little while, nobody spoke or even moved. It was like time had frozen. Then the bully seemed to come back to their senses and left the classroom in an awful hurry. Almost like they were running away.

After that, the bullying incidents involving Minami abruptly stopped.

More time passed, until Minami tried her third Worry Leaf. What kind of new worry would she end up with this time?

“Hmm… Now that I think about it, Mom and Dad are probably going to get divorced soon.”

She’d had a feeling things were headed that way for a while now, but she hadn’t let it bother her. Whether her parents were together or apart, what shape her family took, or how they lived, none of that would change who she was. It wasn’t anything worth getting worked up about… Or was it?

I love both my parents. They’re precious to me; they’re my family. I want us to stay together, the three of us, like we always have…

Those were her true and honest feelings.

But Mom and Dad have their own lives. If they’ve already made up their minds to split up, there’s not a lot I can do about that.

Changing the way people felt about each other was no easy matter, even if you were their only daughter.

I…I don’t want to lose Mom, though… Or Dad… I’d miss them so much!

Tears welled up in Minami’s eyes and ran down her cheeks. Wiping them away with her sleeve, she looked around her. The backyard had plenty of space and sunlight, but all that grew there was weeds.

Minami’s parents used to garden as a hobby. They’d both been regulars at their local plant nursery. That was where they’d first met, and through their shared interest, they’d grown closer and eventually gotten married. Back when they still had a good relationship, their garden had been filled with different plants. Not just flowers, but herbs, fruit, and vegetables, too. You could wander around it and find all kinds of stuff that was good to eat.

Things were different now. With no one to tend them, the plants had withered and died. Her parents barely even spoke to each other anymore, let alone spent time gardening together. In a way, the neglected state of their yard was a perfect reflection of the state of their marriage.

I know Mom and Dad have their own feelings about all this. They probably think they’ll be happier if they split upthan if they try to stay together. But still…if we can all be happy together, then that’s how I’d want us to be. Those two are doing what they think is right, for the sake of their own happiness. So…it’s okay if I do the same thing, right?

Minami’s resolve was getting stronger. She needed to think of a solution to this problem. Not just to stop her parents from divorcing, but to find a way to mend their relationship as well.

“But…what in the world can I do? Hmmmm…”

She put all her energy into thinking about it. She thought, and thought, and thought, and finally, she went to the plant nursery and brought back a potted rose plant. She presented it to her parents and told them her plan.

“Mom, Dad, I want you to make a bet with me. You know how roses are really hard for beginners to take care of, right? Well, I just went and got this one. It hasn’t even got any buds on it yet, but I’m going to do my best to keep it alive as long as I can. If I can get it to flower, promise me you’ll call off getting divorced!”

Her parents were surprised. They weren’t quite sure what to say. They certainly didn’t agree to the bet right away. They didn’t say anything like “Don’t be silly. We’re not getting divorced,” either. But after thinking it over for a moment, they did say something.

“Minami,” her mother began, “if you’re going to grow roses, you need to read some books and study up on them first. Plants are living things, so taking care of them is like taking care of a pet. You’ve got to know what you’re doing.”

“You’re going to have to check on that rose every day, Minami,” her father added. “Pay attention to it. There are lots of bugs and diseases that can damage flowers like that. If anything looks even a little bit strange, you need to investigate it and treat it right away.”

The two of them took an active interest in the plant their daughter was growing. As the days went by, they not only gave her advice but went outside to check on her rose themselves. Whenever it looked like it was struggling, they’d discuss the problem together and think of ways to fix it.

At some point, they started planting their own flowers, too. Before Minami knew it, her parents were out there all the time, smiling at each other and talking about what they were going to plant next.

“These Worry Seeds… They really are something special.”

Minami squatted down, gazing at the plant with its curly green-blue leaves. She thought back on everything that had happened. Eating these leaves had indeed made her worry about things she hadn’t given a thought to before. But it wasn’t as if they’d made anything new happen in her life. It was more like she’d gotten a fresh perspective on things—on her studies, on school, on her family. She’d become more aware of how serious those situations were, which in turn was what made her worry.

“‘Each Worry Leaf consumed will lead to a new worry in your life.’ I guess this is what that meant.”

Satisfied with that explanation, she got to her feet and looked up at the sky. She felt so fulfilled, so accomplished. This was a feeling she’d never have been able to experience before.

“Even someone like me can worry about things. And I can figure out ways to fix them, too!”

The thought made her happy and proud of herself.

“Then again…I guess it’s only thanks to the leaves that I was able to solve my worries so easily.”

Minami’s eyes wandered back down to the plant pot. All the worries that had come from eating the leaves had been resolved almost right away. Quick and easy solutions had pretty much fallen into her lap. These leaves were grown from Mild seeds, after all.

What was it the packet had said? “Mild seeds will produce worries that are easy to fix.”

“Right… Normally, it’d be hard for someone who never studied to boost their test scores up in just a week. And there was no guarantee standing up to my bullies would get them to stop. I might have just annoyed them and made everything worse.”

Then there was the matter of her parents. Maybe she hadn’t fixed their relationship at all. Maybe the two of them had already wanted to reconcile deep down, and she’d just given them an opportunity to do it.

“Well, anyway, I think I’ve eaten enough of these leaves.”

They’d already done more than enough to help her to grow as a person. The difference between the version of her that never worried and the one that did was amazing, really. It was the kind of progress that went beyond regular growth. It was more like evolution.

“Now that I’ve experienced worries for myself, it’s actually kind of scary to think about how I lived before.”

But she knew better now; that was what was important. And she’d be fine without the seeds’ help from now on. Minami would find her own worries, and even if they weren’t easy to resolve, she wouldn’t just shrug everything off like she used to.

“Oh…”

She’d looked up from the plant again and noticed a couple of butterflies nearby. One was some kind of swallowtail, the type she’d seen around here before. The other was unusual; it had pink-and-black wings.

“That looks like the one I followed that day I found the Worry Seeds…”

They were both fluttering around the garden, the strange butterfly in front, as if it was leading the swallowtail somewhere. Maybe butterflies could be friends even if they were different types. That was a nice thought.

Everything seemed to be right with the world. Minami stood there a while, feeling the sun on her face and taking in the rose-scented breeze that drifted all around her.

In time, the plant that sprouted from the Worry Seeds grew flowers, and those flowers eventually wilted. The leaves that Minami hadn’t eaten also disappeared at some point.

But her story didn’t end there.

One day, Minami was in the backyard when she caught sight of a flock of colorful butterflies in one corner. She found herself drawn toward them, curious about what could have attracted them to that spot. It was a little patch of edible plants—parsley, honewort, celery, that kind of thing.

“Huh? How did this get here? I don’t remember Mom or Dad planting any of this.”

It wasn’t just regular plants, either. Looking closely, Minami could see some Worry Leaves in there, too. But hadn’t the one she’d grown withered and died a long time ago?

“Maybe it grew some new seeds back when the flowers bloomed? And they somehow found their way all the way over here?”

Minami tilted her head in confusion.

Suddenly, the butterflies all scattered and flew away at once. And then a caterpillar came crawling out from the patch of plants. It had colorful stripes and spots that really drew the eye. She had a feeling she’d seen ones like this before…

“Hmm?”

She looked down and noticed that a huge number of ants had assembled in the space between her and the caterpillar. Before she knew what was happening, something even stranger happened. The ants began to line up and arrange themselves into letters.

Greetings, human! I am a swallowtail caterpillar that lives in this garden.

Minami looked at the words blankly, like her mind couldn’t keep up with what she was seeing. This was unbelievable!

Wh-what the…? What in the world is happening in this garden?

Fighting through the confusion, she tried figuring things out. The ants were the ones forming the words, but from the content, it was clearly the caterpillar that was “writing” the message. A swallowtail caterpillar…

Come to think of it, didn’t a ton of caterpillars like this start feeding on the parsley Mom and Dad grew a couple of years ago?

Yes, she remembered now. They were so pretty, it had seemed like such a shame to exterminate them. She’d saved several specimens and raised them until they grew into butterflies, feeding them on parsley, honewort, and celery leaves.

Minami gave a gasp of realization.

Could it be…this caterpillar ate some of those Worry Leaves?

Those frilly, feather-like leaves did look a lot like the parsley these bugs lived on. What if the rest of the Worry Leaves hadn’t withered after all? What if they’d been eaten by caterpillars like this one?

As if to answer that thought, the ants began moving again, rearranging themselves into a new message.

I’m here representing my family, who evolved after eating some strange leaves. We live in this patch nowand tend the plants. We have many friends and allies here.

Minami’s disbelief was starting to fade.

Evolution—that was how Minami had described her own experience with the leaves, too. She hadn’t merely grown; she’d evolved. But in the caterpillar’s case, that was more than just a figure of speech. It had literally become something greater, gaining abilities and intelligence beyond what it would normally have been capable of.

“Let me get this straight… This patch of parsley and honewort and celery and…Worry Leaves—this is something you swallowtails made? So you’d have a place to get food?”

That’s right! We got the other bugs to help, too. We all carried seeds and soil and water here and cultivated our own little field. Now we’ll never have to worry about getting enough food.

The evolved caterpillar seemed to understand Minami perfectly. The ants moved around to reply to her when she spoke. They were actually having a conversation.

“You got the other bugs to help? You can do that? Oh, like these ants! They’re helping you out by forming these words so you can talk to me!”

Exactly!

Minami let out a sigh. It was all making sense now.

I’d never have expected the other bugs to agree to help the caterpillars just like that. But I guess that’s because of the leaves, too.

It wasn’t that different from what had happened to her, even if it was on a different scale. Whenever she ate a leaf and gained a new worry, the problem would go away soon afterward. Things would just so happen to work out in the best possible way for her. Other people would suddenly have a change of heart or change the way they did things.

We plan to keep growing these strange plants, so our children and our children’s children can evolve as well!

Minami read the new message and nodded. “It’s such an amazing transformation; I guess you would want to pass it on. But…wait a minute.”

Something didn’t feel right. The caterpillars had evolved and gotten the other bugs to help them build this little plot of land. All that tracked just fine. But that wasn’t the only ability they’d gained, was it?

“Mr. Caterpillar, you’re using the ants to speak to me right now. Personally, I think that’s even more impressive than the farming thing.”

Such a drastic evolution could only have been achieved with the help of the Worry Leaves. And whenever those leaves did anything, it was to help find a solution to a problem.

“Does the fact that you can talk to humans now also have something to do with solving one of your problems?”

Ah yes. About that…

Suddenly, more and more ants began swarming out from the grass and from under the ground, forming more and more words.

We realized something. At this rate, our kind are going to have lots and lots more children. Soon enough, there will be so many of us that we’ll eat all the leaves in this plot of land. We were worried we wouldn’t have enough food to go around.

Minami could hear the skittering of tiny footsteps and the fluttering of tiny wings. On their own, they were small, but there were so many of them that they were getting louder. And they were coming closer.

And so, we decided to ask you for something, Miss Human. We want you to give this entire garden to us! Oh, it would be nice if we could get your house as well. Then we won’t have to worry about birds eating us. Human homes are so much safer than the outside world. And they’re cool in summer and warm in winter… Talk about comfort!

The cacophony of wings and legs was even closer now, surrounding Minami on all sides.

What do you say, Miss Human?

She raised her head and slowly looked around.

It wasn’t just the patch of earth the other bugs had helped out with.

People shared their space with all kinds of bugs. It wasn’t just ants and butterflies. Lurking beneath the soil were things that stung. Things with poison. Things that ate away at the foundations of houses. The kinds of bugs you saw on bug spray, labeled vermin for their potential to cause people harm. If a large swarm of creepy-crawlies like that ever attacked a human all at once…

You’re not going to say no…are you?

A bead of cold sweat trickled down Minami’s back.

Of course… Mild seeds give you worries that are easy to solve.

She’d known that, but there was something she hadn’t thought of until now. The solution to one person’s worry could mean the start of a new worry for someone else. She should have noticed that sooner. She should have made sure nobody else ever ate those Mild Worry Leaves. Especially if they weren’t human.

“What am I going to do now…?”

Minami didn’t have any answers. She could only heave a sigh.

This was definitely going to grow into a new worry. A massive worry that would take a lot of work to fix.

Product Name: Two-Drop Medicine

It all began in a small town’s commercial district, and the two specialist tea stores there. They were called Ichinose Tea and Ninomiya Tea. The stores were so close to each other that it was only natural they should be rivals. They were constantly competing to get the most customers.

“Grrr… Unbelievable. Darn that Ichinose Tea!” the manager of Ninomiya Tea muttered under his breath one day.

The reason for his bad mood was simple. On his way home from the wholesalers, he’d happened to pass the Ichinose store. And there, inside, he’d seen one of his customers. Not just any old customer, either—a regular. Someone he’d always been able to rely on. Seeing someone like that get lured to a competitor had been quite the shock.

“Steal my customers, will ya?”

Mr. Ninomiya slammed his fists down on the table in frustration. The teacup and saucer sitting there rattled.

That Ichinose shop was such an eyesore. Why wouldn’t it just go out of business already?

Deep down, though, he knew that Ichinose Tea was the more popular tea store. If the competition between the two of them ever turned nasty, Mr. Ninomiya’s store would be the one to go under first, without a doubt.

When it came to basic teas and tea supplies, Ninomiya was no slouch. But Ichinose had something extra, something he couldn’t hope to imitate—the original blends created by the store’s former owner.

“She really knows how to mix those flavors and aromas. I’ll give her that…”

This master of mixing was the mother of Ichinose Tea’s manager. Her original blends had been the store’s top product for as long as anyone could remember. From signature blends to seasonal blends to brand-new creations, she could do it all. Everyone from tea novices to seasoned connoisseurs were utterly enchanted by them.

Not long ago, old Mrs. Ichinose had stepped down as manager, leaving her son in charge. But the store still sold her original blends—the teas only she could make.

Mr. Ninomiya heaved a sigh. Wasn’t he ever going to get rid of her?

As it turned out, he wouldn’t have to wait long. Soon, Mr. Ninomiya heard a very interesting rumor. Mrs. Ichinose, the former owner of Ichinose Tea, had fallen ill with a serious disease. People said it was so bad that she had virtually no chance of recovery. That was the best news he’d heard in a while.

All right! There’s no way that store can keep putting out those original blends now. That new manager is nowhere near as good as his mother.

The events of the next few weeks unfolded just as Mr. Ninomiya had predicted. With Mrs. Ichinose laid up in bed, the store’s supply of her teas rapidly dwindled. They couldn’t make more to replenish it. Nobody could make tea the way she did. Once the current supply was used up, they’d be gone forever.

Day by day, more and more SOLD OUT signs appeared on Ichinose Tea’s shelves. And as the shelves emptied, the customers started to desert the store as well. It was a mere shadow of its former self, and Mr. Ninomiya couldn’t have been happier.

Yeah, just like that…

At this rate, his rival’s sales would decrease more and more, and the store would be forced to close for good.

It’s only a matter of time before that eyesore disappears forever!

As far as he was concerned, that happy day couldn’t come quickly enough.

Then, one day, an unusual visitor wandered into Ninomiya Tea. He wasn’t a customer, but a traveling salesman who’d come to try selling some products of his own.

“Would you like any medicine? I have some very effective treatments here,” the man said.

He was polite enough, but that didn’t take away from how shady he looked. He was wearing a beaten-up old trench coat, along with a broad-brimmed hat and a thick scarf that cast dark shadows over his face. Mr. Ninomiya could hear the man talking, so he must have been moving his lips, but his actual mouth was all but invisible.

The shady salesman carried a large leather briefcase. Parts of it were discolored from old stickers that had long since peeled off. He opened the case and took out one of the things he was selling. It was a little glass bottle, about the size of a pointer finger.

“This bottle contains a miracle cure,” he explained. “Mix it into tea or water, and you can recover from any injury or illness in the blink of an eye. And that’s not all. You see, this is called—”

“Whoa, whoa, let me stop you right there. We don’t need any medicine.”

Mr. Ninomiya shook his head. A medicine that could heal any injury or sickness? The very idea was ridiculous. As if something as great as that really existed. It had to be some kind of scam. Most likely, the bottle contained nothing more than a sickly sweet syrup, medicine in name only. This weirdo probably made his money hawking useless products like that to gullible customers.

Seriously, though… What the heck is with this guy?

Mr. Ninomiya squinted at the strange man’s face and felt a chill run down his spine. He’d been straining his eyes for a while now, but the shadows over the man’s face were still just as dark. He couldn’t make out any of the man’s features at all. It was almost like he didn’t have a face, like underneath his hat, there was just one big lump of shadow.

Whatever this guy’s story was, nothing good would come of having him around. Better to get rid of him as soon as possible.

Mr. Ninomiya began waving his visitor toward the door. “Go on now, get out of here. You’re interfering with my business.”

“Ah, I see…”

The peddler offered no resistance, nodding and packing his things away. He wasn’t going to make trouble; that was a relief. But just as he was stepping out of the door, Mr. Ninomiya had an idea. With a little smirk, he called out to the strange man.

“Hey, if it’s medicine you’re selling, I know somebody who might be interested. There’s a little place near here called Ichinose Tea. I hear the manager’s mother is real sick right now.”

“…Is that so?” He tipped his hat and bowed in gratitude. “Ichinose Tea, you say? I shall go and pay them a visit this very minute.”

With that, the man with the dark, shadowy face left the store and set off toward his next stop.

“Would you like any medicine? I have some very effective treatments here.”

Young Mr. Ichinose, the current manager of Ichinose Tea, stared in bewilderment at the peculiar visitor who had just arrived.

“Are you…a traveling salesman? Wait, did you say medicine? What kind of medicine?” Mr. Ichinose asked.

“These bottles I have here contain a miracle cure that will heal any injury or illness in the blink of an eye.”

“It does what?”

Mr. Ichinose drew in a breath and looked hard at the salesman’s face. Or at least, he tried to. Underneath the hat and scarf, there wasn’t much of a face to be seen. No matter how much he squinted, it remained a shadowy, indistinct void.

The strange man took a step forward, his hat moving in time with the swaying of his head.

“I heard that somebody here is suffering from a dreadful malady. A gentleman by the name of Ninomiya told me.”

“Mr. Ninomiya? From Ninomiya Tea?”

Now Mr. Ichinose really didn’t know what to think. He truly had no idea who this mysterious visitor was. In the back of his mind, he had a nagging suspicion that this man might not even be human.

But if Mr. Ninomiya went to the trouble of sending him here…

Mr. Ninomiya worked in the same industry as Mr. Ichinose and was a familiar face in this neighborhood. If he was the one who’d sent this merchant here, it would be rude to turn the man away. There was something else to consider, too.

A miracle cure… If this guy’s not making it up, then…

His mother’s illness had been deemed incurable. The way things were now, she didn’t have very long to live. The doctors had given up on her, but if there was even the slightest chance Mr. Ichinose could still save her, he was willing to take it.

If this man can save my mom, I don’t care what kind of person he is. Even if he’s not a person at all… Even if he’s the devil himself.

Thinking of his mother again, the young manager pursed his lips tightly. And then…

“Come on in,” he said. “We live on the second floor. The, uh, patient—my mother—she’s up there now.”

He welcomed the strange peddler inside and guided him up the stairs.

“We were told being in the hospital wouldn’t help her now, so she’s staying here, with me.”

Young Mr. Ichinose led the visitor to his mother’s room, where she was dozing in her bed. When her son called out to her, she slowly opened her eyes and turned her gaunt, haggard face toward him. She saw the other man by his side and wrinkled her brow.

“Looks like you’ve brought me a rather strange visitor,” she said.

The salesman didn’t seem offended and simply offered a polite bow.

“I am a traveling medicine seller. I have some very effective treatments with me today.” He opened his bag and took out a glass bottle. “This is my miracle cure. Mix it into tea or water, and you can recover from any injury or illness in the blink of an eye.”

“Hmm. It’s not just your looks, then. Your wares are as shady as you are.”

“Don’t be hasty, madam. If you doubt my medicine’s efficacy, why not try a free sample?”

He turned to his host and asked him to provide “a simple beverage.” The younger man nodded and began preparing some tea.

Mr. Ichinose selected a lemon-and-ginger blend, one of his mother’s few creations still left in the store. He brewed a pot and poured out two cups, then placed one by his mother’s bed, the other in front of the medicine seller.

“Oh my,” said the strange man. “You needn’t have made one for me as well.”

“It was no trouble. Besides, it’s just good manners to provide refreshment for a guest.”

“That’s very kind of you. Far be it from me to refuse such hospitality…” The man raised the cup to his invisible, shadowy mouth and took a sip. “My, what delicious tea. So fragrant, too.”

“Thank you. All our original blends were made by my mother here. Of course, she’s too sick to do that now, and my teas are nowhere near as good as hers…”

Young Mr. Ichinose sighed, his shoulders sagging. The idea that his mother didn’t have long to live was really taking its toll on him. It wasn’t just the pain of parting that weighed on his mind. He was also worried about the future of the store he’d inherited from her.

“Honestly, I don’t think I’ll be able to keep this place running after she’s gone. It’s bad enough that my skills aren’t up to her standard, but there’s already another tea store in this neighborhood I have to compete with.”

Tears had sprung to his eyes while he was talking.

“I know all too well that I’m not good enough… I feel so pathetic. Mr. Ninomiya runs his store all on his own and does a great job of it. Compared with him, I’m just…”

“Don’t worry, Mr. Ichinose. Everything will be all right.”

The medicine seller spoke gently, holding up the little bottle.

“If you use this medicine, your mother will recover. And once she’s better, you’ll have more than enough time to study her techniques and make those skills your own.”

“R-really…?”

“That’s right. Let me give you a demonstration of this product’s effects.”

The strange man twisted off the cap of the bottle with a squeak. He then tilted the bottle toward Mrs. Ichinose’s tea and poured in some medicine.

Drip… Drip…

“Here you are, madam. Please try some,” he said, holding the cup out to her.

She reluctantly took it and stared at the contents doubtfully. She stayed like that for a while, not bringing it to her lips, but gazing at her reflection in the tea—at her own gaunt, haggard face looking up at her. The tea had started to cool when she finally moved again, heaving a deep sigh. With a resigned shrug, she drank the cup dry.

“…Oh my,” she said. “I actually do feel a little better now.”

The old lady’s eyes widened in surprise. And it was true—she looked a lot better than she had a moment ago. There was a healthy glow in her cheeks, where before her skin had looked pale and dry.

Product Name: Injury Peeling Cream

The two girls boarded the evening train and rode it to a town some distance away. They sat next to each other, speaking in low tones so the other passengers wouldn’t hear them.

“Sorry to make you come with me, Kumori. I know the train ticket wasn’t cheap.”

“Don’t worry about it, Hinata. I just hope your plan works. I hope…that you get your revenge.”

Hinata nodded and slipped her hand into her coat pocket. Her fingers closed around the plastic bag with her “weapon” inside it. Her breath quickened with a mixture of excitement and nervousness.

From the seat next to her, Kumori took Hinata’s other hand and squeezed it reassuringly. They sat there, holding hands while the train rattled on through town after town as the sun slowly sank into the horizon.

Six Months Earlier…

Hinata and Kumori were on their way home from their elementary school and noticed a strange vending machine outside a drugstore.

“Hey, Kumori, look. What do you think this stuff is?”

“Huh? Injury Peeling Cream?”

The two of them looked at the product behind the display window, both tilting their heads in confusion. That cream seemed to be the only thing the machine was selling. The display sample was in a box with no other information, so the name was all they had to go by.

“Must be some kind of medical thing. Like, it’ll heal your injuries so fast it’ll be like you peeled them right off!” Hinata said to Kumori.

“Hmm…”

“Maybe we should take some home for the others. The younger kids are always getting scrapes and bruises, you know? They might like something like this. And also—”

“I don’t know about that. It’s only a hundred yen. I can’t help but wonder if something that cheap is even going to work.”

Hinata nodded. What Kumori was saying made sense.

“Besides, there’s no need for us to buy them anything,” Kumori added with a small smile. “There’s plenty of real medical supplies in the nurse’s office, after all.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

It was a good point, but Hinata still didn’t want to let it go.

“Come on, Hinata,” Kumori urged. “Let’s head home.”

“Right…”

Hinata turned away from the vending machine. But then somebody called out to her.

“Aww, aren’t you gonna buy any Injury Peeling Cream?”

Hinata turned to see a girl she didn’t recognize standing there. A girl with a really flashy sense of style. Her hair was entirely silver, and she wore a neon-pink hoodie so bright it almost hurt to look at it. Over her right eye, she wore an eye patch that same shade of pink, with a crossed-through heart on it. She looked about the same age as Hinata and Kumori, or maybe a little bit older.

“This cream is really great stuff, you know,” the girl said. “You just smear it onto a place where you’re hurt and peel it right off. You can use it to remove any injury, no matter how bad it is…or how old it is.”

She finished that last part with a smirk.

Hinata felt herself getting mad. The girl in pink had been looking at Kumori when she said that—she was laughing at her. At the big burn scar on her face.

A cream that can peel off any wound or scar? As if, thought Hinata.

There was no way something like that existed. This girl was obviously lying to them. But why?

Did she see Kumori’s scar and decide to come up with this to make fun of her? Well, I won’t let her get away with that!

Hinata took her coin purse out of her pocket and put a hundred-yen coin into the vending machine.

“H-hey, Hinata…”

Kumori tried to stop her, but it was too late. Hinata pressed the button, and a box of the cream clattered into the drawer at the bottom of the machine. She picked it up and thrust it toward the silver-haired girl.

“Why don’t you go ahead and show us how it works, then? If you’re telling the truth, it won’t matter if you get hurt, since you can just use the cream to take the injury off afterward, right?”

She stood there glaring, the box in her outstretched hand. But the other girl just narrowed her eyes and smirked.

“That’s a rare item, you know. Once you use it up, you won’t be able to get any more. You shouldn’t waste it.”

“Sounds like an excuse to me. What are you, scared?”

“Of course I am. Peeling off an injury’s one thing, but it’s still going to hurt when you actually get injured.”

Put like that, it sounded so simple. Hinata didn’t have a good response. She withdrew her hand, clicking her tongue irritably. The other girl took a step back and snickered again.

“Everything I told you about the cream is true. Now that you’ve bought some, you might as well use it.”

“Listen, you…”

“You’ll understand once you give it a try. You’ve made a wise purchase, Hinata.”

That attitude of hers was so annoying. The girl turned and left, dragging a strange-looking wheeled suitcase behind her that clattered as she walked. Hinata watched her go and put a hand to her chest—to the place where she had an old scar, so old now that it didn’t even hurt anymore.

Hinata and Kumori first met at the orphanage where the two of them lived. They’d both suffered violence and abuse at the hands of their respective birth parents. As a result, the girls had been taken away to live in this group home.

They’d been there for several years now, but both of them still bore the marks of their painful past. Kumori had a large burn scar on her face. Hinata had a scar on her chest—a big one that had never healed properly. The main difference between them was that Hinata always hid hers. She never wore tops with low necklines, just in case they made the scar visible. She didn’t want anyone to see it. She didn’t want to look at it herself, either. But since she was stuck with it, hiding it was her only choice.

Or so she’d thought…until now.

Back at home, Hinata opened the box and took out the instructions. She and Kumori read them together in their room. When they were done, they both looked at each other.

“…Looks like that girl wasn’t just making it up,” said Kumori.

“Yeah, that’s really how it’s supposed to work,” said Hinata. “I’m still not convinced it’ll actually do any of that, though.”

“True… But it was being sold outside a drugstore, so it’s got to be something medicine-y, don’t you think?”

“…Are you going to use it, Hinata?”

“It’d be a waste not to, now that I’ve got it. There’s no harm in just trying it out, right?”

Naturally, if there was anything she was going to use the cream for, it was the scar on her chest.

“K-Kumori! Come hold the mirror in front of me!”

“All right… Is this okay?”

Hinata and Kumori shared a room. That meant there was no one else around who might disturb them. Hinata didn’t have to worry about anyone seeing her scar, either.

Urgh…, thought Hinata.

The moment she saw it in the mirror, her breath caught in her throat. This was normally something she went out of her way not to look at. Seeing it like this gave her an awkward, squirmy feeling in her chest. She wasn’t quite sure how to describe the feeling, but she didn’t like it. Her hands were already shaking.

“Hinata, are you okay?”

“…Yeah. I’ll be fine so long as you’re here with me.”

Kumori seemed to relax a little and smiled. In turn, her smile calmed Hinata down enough to steady her hands. She took the tub of cream out of the box, opened the lid, and scooped some out. After taking a deep breath, she turned back to the mirror and began smearing the moist, cold substance over every inch of her scar.

Could this actually work…?

Feeling ever-so-slightly hopeful, she reached for the plastic tweezers that had also been in the box. She brought them to the edge of the scar and pinched. There was a light peeling sensation, like something was coming loose from her skin.

No way…

For a moment, Hinata was so surprised that she forgot to breathe. Then her heart began beating twice as fast.

Applying a little bit of pressure, she started tugging at the tweezers. Slowly, gently, she pulled them away from the spot they’d pinched into. It didn’t make any sound, but it felt a little like when you peeled a sticker off something, except in this case that “something” was her skin. Finally, the last part lifted away, and the whole thing felt lighter than a feather.

She looked at herself in the mirror. The skin on her chest was clear—the scar was gone.

“…!”

Her breath caught in her throat again. Tears filled her eyes. They made her vision blurry, but even then, she continued staring in awe at her reflection.

“…I’m so happy for you, Hinata,” Kumori said after a while, sounding just as amazed as her friend. “This cream really is amazing. Even after seeing it in action, I can still barely believe it. This is no ordinary medical product. It’s almost like…”

She got that far and abruptly stopped. She couldn’t bring herself to finish the thought. Instead, she put down the mirror and took out a plastic bag from the box the cream had come in. She opened the bag and offered it to Hinata, who lifted the scar—still held tightly between the tweezers—and dropped it into the bag.

“There… It’s done,” Hinata choked out, forcing down the tears that had started creeping into her eyes. “Now all that’s left is to keep it somewhere safe and clean, right? Would my desk drawer work for that? What do you think, Kumori?”

“I’m sure it’ll be fine. It’s in a bag you can seal shut, so that should be hygienic enough. You don’t need to worry about it anymore.”

“So we’ll be fine so long as we keep the bag somewhere it won’t get ripped open?”

“Probably. I think a lot of those warnings were just talking about fresh wounds, like cuts and scrapes.”

“That makes sense. You normally have to wash those and keep them clean so they won’t get infected.”

Hinata nodded, satisfied.

“Okay then, that does it for my scar…”

She sealed the bag before offering the still-open tub of cream to Kumori.

“It’s your turn next!”

Now they knew that the cream really worked. It seemed only natural to Hinata that Kumori would want to use it, too. She could finally be rid of the burn scar on her face.

To Hinata’s surprise, though, her friend gently shook her head, refusing to take the cream.

“No, that’s okay. I’m good.”

“Huh? Don’t worry; there’s plenty left. I made sure to leave enough for you.”

“No, that’s not what I mean. Listen, Hinata…” Kumori stared straight into Hinata’s eyes. “I’ve never really wanted this scar to go away.”

“…Really?”

“Really. More than changing myself, I want the world to change. I’d like to live in a world where people don’t care what my face looks like. So I think I’ll keep this scar just the way it is.”

How was Hinata supposed to respond? She’d never thought about it like that before.

After a long silence, she finally managed to mumble, “You’re amazing, Kumori… Changing the world? I had no idea you were thinking about stuff on that level. Here I am only thinking of myself and what would make me feel better. Next to you, I feel so petty…”

Her shoulders slumped in disappointment. But Kumori just smiled.

“Oh, Hinata. You don’t need to feel bad about that. You and I are different people, so of course we’re going to want different things. That’s all there is to it. Being ‘petty’ or whatever doesn’t come into it.”

“Kumori…”

“Besides, I really am happy that you’ve gotten what you wanted,” she said, smiling again.

I should have known… This is just the kind of person Kumori is.

So confident, so thoughtful… It was sometimes hard to believe she was the same age as Hinata. And just because she could put up with pain or discomfort, she’d never push that suffering onto somebody else. Hinata respected her from the very bottom of her heart. She was so lucky to have someone as amazing as this in her life.

My life started out pretty terrible because of my parents. But at least I ended up here and got to meet Kumori. That makes all that bad stuff from before worth it.

That was just how much Kumori meant to Hinata.

“Kumori…” Hinata threw the bag with the scar in it on the floor and leaped forward to embrace her friend. “Whether the world changes or not, I’ll always love you. More than anyone in the whole world.”

“Thanks, Hinata. I love you, too. More than anyone in the whole universe,” Kumori replied without missing a beat.

Hinata hugged her even tighter.

Wait, the universe…? That’s bigger than the world, right? It is, isn’t it…? Hinata wondered.

She looked at Kumori’s face for confirmation. Her friend seemed to guess what she was thinking and laughed mischievously. Hinata loved that side of her as well. She gave her another extra-tight hug.

The next day, the vending machine that had sold the Injury Peeling Cream was gone.

“That girl was right. We really won’t be able to get more of this stuff.”

“I guess not. We should probably put aside what we’ve got left for emergencies.”

They decided to keep the existence of the cream a secret between the two of them. Perhaps one day, one of them would get seriously hurt. Or they’d meet someone else with a scar that really bothered them. The girls promised to use the cream only for those kinds of occasions.

However, it wasn’t long before Hinata and Kumori broke out the peeling cream again, to deal with a relatively minor injury. One of the younger boys from the orphanage tripped and fell while out in the backyard, scraping his knee badly. It just so happened that the two girls were also there at the time.

They could have simply taken him to the nurse’s office, but they hated to see a kid so much younger than them in such pain. They really wanted to do something for him, and he was young enough that they could probably explain away the “magic” cream without too much trouble.

Hinata quickly smeared some cream over the boy’s knee. However, she was in so much of a hurry that she forgot to peel it off with the tweezers.

“Ow!” Hinata yelped.

“Hinata, are you okay? Oh!” said Kumori.

The moment Hinata had touched the scrape, it had attached itself to her hand instead.

The girls saw the boy safely back to his room, then used the cream again, this time making sure to use the tweezers.

“Come to think of it, the manual did say not to touch injuries with your bare hands.”

“Hold on, Hinata. You’ve got to wash it off and disinfect the wound before you put it in the bag. If there’s still dirt and stuff mixed in there, it could get infected. You don’t want to get tetanus or anything like that.”

Hinata did as Kumori said. Since the boy’s graze had made its way onto Hinata’s hand, it counted as her wound now. It hurt just as if she were the one who’d fallen. But the moment they peeled it off, the pain disappeared. Even when they washed the wound and sprayed it with disinfectant, she didn’t feel a thing. After that, they wrapped it in a large bandage and sealed it in a plastic bag.

As the days went by, the graze got smaller and smaller. And eventually—after the same amount of time it usually took a wound like that to heal—it disappeared completely.

“You can basically put your injuries away so they don’t hurt while they’re healing. That’s pretty handy,” Kumori said.

Hinata nodded, but her thoughts were elsewhere. She was thinking about a different use for the cream.

Hmm… So, technically, you could use it to move an injury from one person to another, too…

Everything was normal for the next six months or so. Then, one day, Hinata and Kumori were playing in a little park behind a shrine in their neighborhood. It was on the outskirts of town, so hardly anyone ever went there. They’d been exploring a dense grassy area, and Hinata tripped on a furrow in the ground and fell.

On its own, that wouldn’t have been a problem. But it turned out that furrow was full of broken glass and bottles. As a result, her leg had gotten cut up really badly.

“Ah…!”

So much blood was coming from the wound. Hinata finally realized what was happening, and she felt a rush of pain.

“Urgh! Ow…! Wh-what do I do? What do I do…?”

“Hinata, the cream! You’ve got that with you, don’t you?”

“Oh, right!”

Hinata always carried the Injury Peeling Cream with her in case of emergencies. They were able to use it to remove the large gash from her leg almost immediately. It took a lot of cream, though. Deep, fresh wounds wouldn’t come off unless you applied it really thoroughly. When they were done, there wasn’t a single bit of cream left in the tub.

“That’s it, huh? Feels like a waste to use something so special for a thing like this…,” said Hinata.

“What are you talking about? This is exactly the kind of thing we should be using it for. We set it aside for emergencies, and this definitely qualifies as one of those.”

“Yeah, I guess…”

The moment they peeled the cut away, the pain faded, just like always. The wound stopped bleeding, too.

All they had left to do was wash and disinfect the cut, seal it inside a plastic bag, and wait for it to heal.

Except…

“Hey, Kumori?”

Hinata stared at the wound held between the tweezers, and a plan began to form in the back of her mind.

Instead of just waiting for it to heal, Hinata had decided to use this wound…for revenge. Revenge on her so-called parents, the ones who’d inflicted so much pain on her. The moment she came up with the idea, she told Kumori about it.

“Think about how it works on TV and in mysteries. The detective always finds a way to trace the weapon back to the culprit. But if we use the Injury Peeling Cream as our weapon, it’ll basically be a perfect crime.”

“I guess so. If you put this wound on somebody’s neck, it would be like slashing their throat without leaving behind any evidence. But, Hinata…”

“What? Are you saying I shouldn’t be thinking about revenge?”

Kumori’s brow—scar and all—furrowed as if she was in thought. She didn’t nod or shake her head in response but kept her eyes downcast.

“That’s not for me to say,” she replied. “I don’t want revenge on the people who gave me my scar. It’s enough that I’ll never have to see them again. But if you do want revenge, then that’s fine. That’s what’s right for you.”

“So…you’re not going to try to talk me out of it?”

“No. If this is really what you desire, I don’t have any right to stop you. I’ll say one thing, though. This cream is a double-edged sword.”

“? What do you mean?”

“Think about what would happen if your victim got a hold of it and used it against you. The more powerful a weapon is, the more danger you’ll be in if something goes wrong. That’s all I’m worried about.”

Kumori’s expression remained serious.

Hinata was silent for a moment. She understood what Kumori was trying to tell her. And it made sense that she’d be worried. However…a powerful tool like this didn’t come along every day.

“I think…I’m going to have to take my chances,” Hinata stated. “I’ll never get an opportunity like this again. How else am I going to get my revenge without worrying about being arrested for it?”

Maybe that was asking for too much. Maybe, if she was serious about wanting revenge, she should have been prepared for whatever kind of punishment the law gave her. But that wasn’t fair. All Hinata wanted to do was pay someone back for what they’d done to her, take back something that was taken from her. Why should she get punished for that?

“Before I met you, Kumori, my life was always controlled by someone else. I feel like…if I can’t prove I’m the one in control now, this will never really be my life, you know?”

Kumori nodded. Of course she understood.

Hinata nodded back, trying her best not to cry.

The girls returned to the orphanage, gathered up all their allowance and savings—along with the plastic bag containing Hinata’s old scar—and set out again.

Hinata was so antsy she could barely sit still. Even with the gash removed from her body, it would still heal over time. She had to hurry. A perfect injury like this ought to be used while it was still nice and deep.

Kumori didn’t say anything but stuck by her friend the whole way. The two of them went to the train station, and each bought a ticket to the town where their intended victim lived. Hinata didn’t consider that person family anymore. From now on, they were just a target.

It cost her almost all the money she had to buy a one-way ticket. But that was okay. If she could get her revenge, she didn’t care what happened afterward.

The train passed through several towns in the fading evening light before the girls finally arrived at their destination.

If the target still had the same job as before, this was the station they’d arrive at on their way home. Hinata hid in a place where no one would notice her, scanning the faces of the different passengers as they got off the train. Several trains came and went, and then she saw who she was looking for. She could never forget that face, even if she wanted to.

This plan had been just a spur-of-the-moment thing, so it was a relief that they’d found the target so easily. At the same time, seeing someone who had caused her so much pain walking around like nothing had happened made Hinata’s blood boil.

“…Looks like we’re still in the clear. Now we just have to follow them. Ready, Kumori?”

“Sure, but what then? Should I go talk to them to create an opening for you?”

“No, too risky. I don’t want to put you in danger if things go wrong. This is my problem. Just stay behind me and keep yourself safe.”

All she needed was for Kumori to be there for her. Knowing she was there meant more to Hinata than the other girl could have realized. If she were doing this alone, she would have crumpled under the pressure and given up. But with Kumori by her side, she knew her resolve would stay strong.

“…Let’s go,” said Hinata.

Mixing in with the crowd of commuters coming out of the station, Hinata began tailing the target. Kumori was a short distance behind. Every now and then Hinata would turn around to check that she was still there, and Kumori would meet her gaze and smile encouragingly.

It was getting dark, and with so many people around, the target wasn’t likely to notice the two girls. In fact, the target wasn’t taking much notice of their surroundings at all. Clearly, this was someone who never expected anyone to come after them for revenge someday. So carefree, so oblivious… It made Hinata want to puke.

Eventually, the target turned off the main street onto a smaller, quieter road. The girls followed, still being as careful as they could.

It shouldn’t be long now…, Hinata thought.

She wouldn’t have to worry about people seeing her down here. All she needed was to pick her moment. If she ran as fast as she could, she’d be able to get close to the target before they noticed her. It would be tight, but a few seconds was all she’d need. Once the wound touched the target’s neck, the whole thing would be over.

But the right moment never presented itself. Before she knew it, the target had turned down a narrow side alley. That happened to be the opportunity she’d been waiting for.

The target emerged into a park, bought a drink from a vending machine, and sat down on a bench. There was a strong breeze that night. It ruffled the leaves on the trees, covering any footsteps Hinata made as she crept across the grass on the other side of the bench.

Finally, she was standing right behind her target. Hinata took out two plastic bags from her coat pocket: One held the deep cut she’d peeled off that afternoon, and the other had the scar she’d removed from her chest almost half a year ago. Even after sitting in her drawer all this time, it hadn’t healed or faded. It still looked the same as ever. That was the bag she opened first.

Holding the scar with the tweezers, Hinata lifted it out of the bag. She swung it gently toward the target, watching as the scar made contact and attached itself to the back of their neck.

I…I did it…!

She’d always wanted the chance to give this back, too. The scar was no longer Hinata’s. It was the target’s problem now. It didn’t look like they’d noticed it sticking onto them. It was an old scar, after all; it had stopped hurting a long time ago.

Breathing heavier now, she opened the second bag. She picked up the cut with the tweezers like she had with the last one, ready to transfer it.

But then something unexpected happened. The light from the streetlamps fell on the scar on the target’s neck.

When Hinata saw the scar, she started trembling. She’d stuck it there herself just a few seconds ago. It looked different attached to someone than when she’d peeled it off. Why did it look so much more fresh and raw now?

Her heart felt like it was being squeezed to death. A shudder ran down her arm, making her fingers loosen up.

Ah…!

The wound fell out of the tweezers’ grasp. The next moment, it was blown away by the wind, along with some dry leaves.

What…? No… No way!

Hinata’s mind went completely blank. That cut still technically belonged to her. If she lost it now, she’d be in real trouble.

I need to hurry… I have to get it back!

Hinata practically crawled after the breeze in search of her missing injury. It had blown away from the target, so at least she wouldn’t have to step out in front of them and risk being caught. But that also meant it had blown out of the park and into the street.

She headed out and saw Kumori standing a little ways away.

“K-Kumori, I…I dropped the cut…!”

Kumori came running over, and Hinata told her what had happened, her voice somewhere between a scream and a whisper. Kumori looked shaken, but she pulled herself together and did her best to sound calm.

“Then we’ll just have to find it,” she said. “Where did you lose it? Out here?”

“The wind blew it away, so I can’t be sure…but it’s probably around here somewhere.”

“Let’s split up and look. Don’t worry; we can fix this. Just remember not to get excited and touch it with your bare hands, okay?”

Hinata nodded, and the two of them began their search. They desperately felt around on the sidewalk and in the road, squinting into the darkness. They investigated anything that looked remotely like the cut, but all they found were old stains and cracks in the asphalt.

Then a car approached and honked its horn. The girls got out of the way to let it go by, and there, illuminated by the headlights, was a familiar wound. The breeze of the passing car whipped it up from the ground. Before they could stop it, a strong night wind blew, sending the wound flying even farther away. The girls hurried after it—they couldn’t afford to lose sight of it again.

But they were too late. Before their eyes, the wound was blown toward a roadside waterway and silently drifted down into the water.

“No…!”

Every ounce of Hinata’s strength seemed to leave her at once. A regular river would have been bad enough, but this was a city waterway. That water was practically sewage. Who knew what kind of germs were swimming around in it? And that was her wound that had just fallen in. If it got infected, all that nasty stuff would find its way into her body. She might as well have been pouring poison directly into her bloodstream.

She had to get her wound out of there. But how was she supposed to find something so thin and flimsy in that murky water, and at night, too?

Just as Hinata was starting to despair, Kumori leaped over the guardrail that fenced off the waterway and plunged in.

“K-Kumori!”

Hinata staggered toward the rail and climbed over as well. The water wasn’t very deep—it would probably only come up to her knees. It wasn’t flowing very quickly, either.

Kumori had already thrust both arms into the water, swirling them around in the general area where she’d last seen the wound. Then the moon came out from behind the clouds, and one patch of the water seemed to change color. Kumori lunged toward it.

“I found it!”

She raised her arm and waved to Hinata. Her palm now had a deep, bloody gash on it.

“What else was I supposed to do? We needed to get it out of there fast, and sticking it to myself was the only thing I could come up with…,” said Kumori.

The girls had found a faucet in the park and washed Kumori’s wound in some clean water.

Now the two of them were walking side by side. They were going to a local hospital, one by the train station. Hinata didn’t stop crying or trembling the whole time.

The Injury Peeling Cream was gone. There was no peeling the cut away. Kumori was stuck with it.

“If…if I knew this would happen to you, I’d have given up on my stupid revenge plan…”

Hinata knew this was her fault. It had happened because she wanted revenge. Because she couldn’t let go of the past. And she’d ended up hurting the person who mattered most in the world to her.

Kumori didn’t seem all that upset, though.

“Don’t be so hard on yourself,” she told Hinata. “Failing and being wrong aren’t the same thing. Sometimes you can do everything right and not get what you want. Just because you didn’t get your revenge, it doesn’t mean you were wrong to try.”

Even now, despite all the pain she must have been feeling, she was still the same calm, collected Kumori as ever.

Drip, drip, drip…

A steady flow of liquid fell onto the sidewalk as the two friends made their way along. Some of it was dirty water from the river. Some of it wasn’t.

Hinata moaned and shook her head over and over. “No, I was wrong. Right from the start, I was wrong. This is proof of that. You getting hurt this bad is the worst possible thing that could happen. This is all so, so wrong…!”

Hinata screamed at the top of her lungs. Kumori stayed by her side, smiling gently.

…Hey, Hinata. Can you hear me?

I know, I know. You’re going to regret what you did no matter what I say. Nothing I can say now will change that. Do you think you’ll feel this way for your whole life?

Anyway, I’ve been thinking about that Injury Peeling Cream.

I think a demon must have invented that stuff. It happens all the time in stories, right? A person gets some kind of mysterious item with weird powers, and everything goes wrong. Because right from the start, it was designed to make humans unhappy. If someone buys the item and does what the demon wants, the demon wins. If they use it in a different way and become happy, the human wins instead. I guess that means you lost this time. So long as you keep regretting buying that cream, you’re playing right into the demon’s hands.

But you know, if I’d been the one who bought it instead, I think we would have won. Even if everything else played out exactly the same. You know why? Because I understand how important revenge was to you. For you to want to give up on that, to say you were wrong for even trying…that shows how much more important I am to you, doesn’t it?

I’m sorry that you have to suffer like this, Hinata.

But right now, I can’t stop myself from smiling. I’m so very happy, from the bottom of my heart.

Sample Product: Shadow Embroidery Kit

Kagekake had been a little village about two hours’ drive from the nearest big city. However, it had lost that name a little more than ten years ago, before Kakeru was even born. It had merged with other villages in the area, becoming just part of a larger town, and the name Kagekake Village had disappeared from the map. In spite of that, it wasn’t always easy to remember what the place was called now. Kakeru didn’t live there himself, and his parents still called it by its old name: Kagekake.

“We’re just more used to using that name,” his mom told him on the car ride into town. “Some of the bus and train stations still have Kagekake on them, too. Same with the schools. It’s kind of a pain when we send Grandma packages and end up getting the address wrong, though!”

Kakeru’s mother had been born in Kagekake Village. And her mother—Kakeru’s grandmother—still lived there, in a typical “quaint little house in the country,” the kind you saw in movies and anime. Kakeru always looked forward to visiting her in the summer, and this year was no different. He was going to go hunting for bugs in the mountains, fish in the rivers, and eat tons of watermelon slices cooled in the old well in her backyard…and then, when the Obon festival came around, he’d eat fresh corn on the cob and play with his friends Ryou and Ecchan, and they’d set off fireworks Kakeru’s grandma had given him… The few days he spent there every summer were filled with happy memories.

There’d been a sad memory last summer, too.

But that was okay. Kakeru would still be able to see his other friends this year. He wondered how they were all doing—Ryou, Ecchan, and the rest…

The family car continued along the highway, a stream of other cars passing them in the other direction.

“It’s strange to be saying this now, but it’s kind of a shame Kagekake Village lost its name,” Kakeru’s dad said from the passenger seat with a sigh. “A place’s name helps to tell people its history. It’s not something you should change willy-nilly.”

“Kagekake’s kind of a weird name, though. What does it mean?” Kakeru asked, raising his voice a little so he could be heard over the TV in the back of the car. It was his mother who answered the question.

“Well, kage means ‘shadow,’ and kake means ‘to be missing something.’ So it’s a place where shadows go missing. There’s lots of old stories about people losing their shadows in the village. Always have been, especially on bright summer days when the shadows are that much darker. People look down at their feet and see little chunks of their shadows are gone… Not that I’ve ever seen anything like that myself.”

Her words sent a little chill down Kakeru’s spine. He’d never seen a shadow with pieces of it missing, either. But it reminded him of something he had seen.

“Huh. So that’s part of the village’s history? Isn’t it just a regular spooky story?” he asked, trying to shrug it off and talking a little faster than he meant to.

His mother laughed and said “I guess so” as the car entered a tunnel that cut right through a local mountain.

When Kakeru’s family was back in the open, they drove across the bridge they always took to get to Grandma’s house. In Kakeru’s mind, this was the real entrance to Kagekake Village. In times gone by, the river below them had been a barrier that marked where the village ended and the outside world began. His family crossed that barrier every year when they drove across this bridge.

On the other side…

Huh?

All of a sudden, Kakeru felt…weird.

He leaned over and looked out the window. It was the middle of the day, and the sun was shining bright, but the town looked unusually dark and shadowy. That wasn’t the only strange thing, either. All the people were staring at him.

Whether they were waiting at bus stops, standing in supermarket parking lots, or just walking down the street, everyone’s head turned toward Kakeru and his parents as they passed by. And their eyes all looked so…empty. There was something about the way the people moved that seemed unnatural.

At that point, the cause behind this was still a mystery.

Finally, the family arrived at Grandma’s house. Kakeru’s parents opened the car doors, and summer rushed into the cool, air-conditioned interior. Warm summer country air, carrying the scent of trees and rivers and the earth with it. It should have been comforting, but this year, it gave Kakeru goose bumps.

“What’s the matter, son? Come on, help us out with the bags,” his dad called to him.

Kakeru reluctantly got out and turned his face to his father. “Hey… Didn’t the people in town seem a little weird today?”

“…You noticed that, too, huh?”

So it wasn’t just him. He hadn’t been seeing things. He was about to ask if his mom had also noticed, but she had already walked up to the door and rung the bell. Grandma didn’t answer, so Kakeru’s mom went around to the store entrance to look for her. Kakeru’s grandma ran a little toy store, which was built onto the side of her house.

“Do you think something happened while we’ve been away? Something…bad?” Kakeru said to his father.

“Who knows? Maybe we should ask Grandma.”

“Yeah… She lives here, so if anyone would know—”

“No, nothing happened.”

Just like that, Grandma was there. They hadn’t heard her coming, but she was standing right by them now.

“So good to see you. Don’t just stand there. Come in. It’s hot out here, isn’t it?”

Grandma was smiling like she always did, but something was wrong. She wasn’t moving. Her lips moved when she talked, of course, but the rest of her body was completely still.

“Oh, Mom, there you are. We’re here!”

Kakeru’s mom appeared from around the corner and came running up. Grandma turned to greet her, still wearing that eerie smile.

“Welcome back, dear. Let me take those bags, and you can all come inside and relax.”

“Uh… R-right. Thanks…”

Her expression troubled, Kakeru’s mom handed Grandma their bags. Obviously, she had noticed the strangeness in the old lady’s behavior as well.

Grandma didn’t move at all apart from when she spoke, and even then, it was only her mouth that moved. There were none of her usual unconscious tilts of the head or meaningless little hand movements. No movements that didn’t have a specific purpose—maybe that was the best way to describe it. It was almost like all the various tics and habits she’d built up over the course of her life had been taken away.

“Come on in. I’ll cut up some nice, cool watermelon slices for you.”

Beckoning them inside with her right hand—and only her right hand—Grandma looked like a marionette in some kind of half-hearted puppet show.

After a while, she stopped waving and stepped through the little gate into her front yard. Kakeru’s mom and dad shared a concerned look but followed her all the same. Kakeru did, too, and he felt a chill run down his spine.

Huh? What was that just now?

He was looking at his parents’ feet when they crossed the threshold. Their shadows were stretching out behind them, back the way they’d come.

That’s…weird, isn’t it? I mean…

When Grandma had gone in just now, she’d walked through the same gate and up the same path, and she hadn’t had any shadow whatsoever.

Come to think of it…it was the same for those people we saw in the car on the way over.

Kakeru shuddered. That was what had been so off about the town today.

The sun’s so bright, but…none of them had shadows. They were all gone!

The world around him seemed to warp and distort under the hot summer sun.

“Sure is hot today…”

Wiping sweat from his brow, Kakeru forced himself to swallow, despite the dryness of his throat. For a while he waited, hoping one of his parents would come back outside. He really had no idea what was going on, or what he was supposed to do about it. But he knew he didn’t want to go inside his shadowless grandma’s house. He was afraid to call out for his mom or dad. What if his grandma came out instead?

I’m really thirsty, though. I should have put something to drink in my backpack…

They had a cooler box in the car, which probably still had some bottles of juice and iced tea in it. But without the car keys, Kakeru couldn’t get inside to check.

“Urk…”

Left with no other choice, he sidled up to the house’s gate and peered across the garden to the front door. After making sure no one was around, he stepped in. There were plenty of plants and greenery there, so it was a lot cooler than out on the street.

He walked toward the old well that stood in a corner of the yard. Grandma used it to keep watermelons and drinks cool sometimes, but… No, there was nothing in there today. At least the moist air rising from the water felt a little refreshing.

“Grandma said this water isn’t safe to drink, right…?”

Here he was with cold, clear water right in front of him, and he couldn’t have a drop. He didn’t want to risk making himself sick. Maybe he could go look for a vending machine or something nearby.

Kakeru turned away from the well and caught sight of a little doghouse in another part of the garden.

“Oh, I almost forgot,” he gasped. “Kurosuke!”

Kurosuke was his grandmother’s dog. A black dog that had been here since before Kakeru was born. He was a friend that Kakeru looked forward to seeing every year. Why hadn’t Kakeru thought of him before now?

“Kurosuke? Are you here…?”

Kakeru called the dog’s name, but there was no response. He got closer to the doghouse, crouched down, and looked inside. No Kurosuke. The only things in there were a dirty old blanket and empty food and water bowls.

“Guess he’s not here…”

He stood back up, looked around, and was about to call for Kurosuke again when…

“Kakeru. You’re back.”

“It’s been a while, Kakeru. We’ve missed you.”

Two children had appeared at the front gate.

“Ecchan…? Ryou…?” Kakeru mumbled his friends’ names, his voice cracking.

He may not have seen them very often, but there was no way he’d forget their faces. However, their eyes were blank and hollow, their smiles stiff like they were just painted on. They looked like completely different people from the Ecchan and Ryou whom Kakeru knew.

The kids stepped into the garden, and when Kakeru looked at their feet, he saw that they didn’t have shadows, either. He shrank away from his friends as they came closer.

Just then, the door opened, and three people stepped out: Kakeru’s grandma…and his mom and dad.

“Kakeru. How long are you going to stay out here? Hurry up and come inside. It’s okay. There’s nothing wrong with your grandma after all.”

“Oh, Ecchan and Ryou are here, too. Hello. This town is just the same as ever.”

“Mom… Dad…”

Kakeru felt like his legs were going to give out from under him. His parents had become like his grandma, like Ecchan and Ryou. Hollow eyes. Pasted-on smiles. Bodies that barely moved, like half-hearted marionettes. Their shadows were gone, too.

No way…

But it was true. This must have been what happened to people who lost their shadows. It was almost like they’d stopped being people and changed into something else entirely.

The five of them were surrounding Kakeru now, getting closer and closer.

“Come on, Kakeru. Put down that heavy bag,” Grandma said.

She reached out for the knapsack on his back. He jerked away before she could take it.

“Kurosuke!”

In a quivering voice, he called out for his faithful friend. Grandma and Mom and Dad and Ecchan and Ryou had all changed into these strange creatures. They were gone. But Kurosuke wouldn’t abandon him. Not Kurosuke.

“Kurosuke, where are you? Kurosuke, I need you! Kurosukeee!”

“…What are you talking about, Kakeru?” His grandma tilted her head in confusion. “Kurosuke died last summer.”

She grabbed hold of his knapsack. Kakeru desperately shook her off and ran between his parents and into the house through the open front door. He slammed it shut behind him and locked it.

He could hear his family calling his name and pounding on the door. He turned away and, still in his shoes, hurried farther into the house.

Kakeru thought about what his grandma had said just now.

Kurosuke…died last summer?

He knew that. Of course he knew that.

It happened one year ago.

Kurosuke passed away the same day Kakeru and his parents came to stay with Grandma.

He died of natural causes. Old age.

Kurosuke had been an old dog, older than Kakeru by several years. The two of them had been friends for as long as Kakeru could remember. When he recalled the good times at Grandma’s house, Kurosuke was always a part of them. Even though they only got to see each other for a few days every year, Kurosuke never forgot about Kakeru. Saying good-bye to a friend like that had been painful.

While his parents were digging a grave for Kurosuke in the backyard, Kakeru just sat by the dog’s body and cried.

It was then that a girl appeared in front of him. She was wearing a neon-pink hoodie and an eye patch with a crossed-out heart on it. Her hair was completely silver.

Kakeru was sure he hadn’t met her before—he’d have remembered someone in a bright, showy outfit like that in a small country town like this.

The girl beckoned to him, calling him out into the street. Then she said “This is for you” and handed him a small black box. On the front of it was a label that read SHADOWEMBROIDERYKIT. Kakeru opened the box to find some white needles, a spool of black thread, and a pair of scissors with white blades.

“Huh? What is this?” he said.

When he looked up, the strange girl was gone.

Who was that? And…what’s a Shadow Embroidery Kit?

Not sure what to think of it, he made his way back into the yard. The sun was setting, and a long shadow was stretching out from under Kurosuke’s body.

His shadow was lying on its back just like he was.

Once they buried him, Kurosuke’s shadow would disappear forever. The thought made Kakeru feel even sadder.

Shadow…embroidery?

Kakeru took the scissors out of the box. Their blades were shining white, as if they weren’t just reflecting light but had been coated in light itself. It gave them an unearthly sheen. What if these scissors could actually cut shadows? Kurosuke’s body was going to go into the ground, but maybe Kakeru could keep his shadow as a memento…

Of course, Kakeru didn’t really believe that. Not yet.

He hovered the scissors over the edge of the dog’s shadow and gave them a little snip. It felt strange; it wasn’t quite like cutting paper or cloth. When he looked down, the shadow now had a tiny cut in it.

It was true.

Still partly in shock, he snipped again, and again. Every time the scissor blades snipped together, Kurosuke’s shadow separated from his body a little more. Finally, Kakeru had cut all the way from one side of the shadow to the other. It slid away from the body…and stood up. It was now a solid mass of darkness, shaped like a dog.

“Kurosuke…?”

When Kakeru called the dog’s name, the shadow wagged its tail and came bounding over to him. It was acting just like Kurosuke had when he was alive. He’d always been a big, black dog, so this shadow didn’t look all that different.

Kurosuke…was back.

Kakeru was so happy. The two of them could play again. And since Kurosuke was a shadow now, he wasn’t technically alive, so he couldn’t die, either. They could stay together forever.

With tears in his eyes, Kakeru leaned forward and hugged his old friend.

Shadow Kurosuke only ever appeared in front of Kakeru. But he was still Grandma’s dog. He’d keep living here at Grandma’s house, so he’d probably show himself to her sooner or later.

Kakeru decided to tell her about the Shadow Embroidery Kit so that she wouldn’t be surprised when that time came. At first, she didn’t seem to believe his story, but then she smiled.

“Scissors that can cut shadows, you say? Perhaps it was Lord Chikage who gave them to you.”

“Lord Chikage?”

“He’s the guardian deity of Kagekake Village. There’s a shrine honoring him in the bamboo grove by the river on the edge of town. The legends say he’s a god with the power to control shadows.”

Kakeru nodded, curious.

The power to control shadows. If a god like that did exist, it wouldn’t be strange for them to have something like the Shadow Embroidery Kit.

But then…who was the girl in pink? It was hard to imagine her as the guardian deity of this old village, even if she had been in disguise.

Lord Chikage. Kakeru hadn’t thought about him in a long time, but the name flashed into his mind now.

Does a god like that really exist?

If he did, then…perhaps everyone losing their shadows had something to do with him. But first, Kakeru had to figure out what he was going do next. He’d managed to escape into Grandma’s house, but that would only buy him a little bit of time.

The other doors and the windows weren’t locked, and Grandma probably had the keys on her anyway. The Shadowless creatures might force their way inside at any moment.

If they catch me, will they take my shadow away, too?

Then Kakeru would be exactly like the others: hollowed out, like he’d lost his soul.

No way. He couldn’t let that happen. He had to leave this place and go somewhere they couldn’t follow him.

Which door should I use to get out? There’s lots of ways out of Grandma’s house, like the back door, or the porch…

He’d reached the end of the downstairs hallway, where it split off in two directions. The left path led to the back porch, while the one on the right went to the toy store on the other side of the house. The store was usually closed during the Obon holiday. It was most likely locked up right now, with the shutters covering the doors. Kakeru could probably open them, but the noise was sure to attract the Shadowless.

He turned left and went out onto the porch. Somebody was waiting for him there.

“Kurosuke! So this is where you were,” Kakeru said.

The dog-shaped shadow was curled up on the sunlit porch, as comfy as could be. At the sound of Kakeru’s voice, it got up, wagging its tail, and trotted over to him.

“Ah-ha-ha… Thank goodness. I knew you’d be okay. You’re already a shadow, so it’s not like anyone could take yours away.”

Relieved, Kakeru reached out to pet his friend’s head. But before he could, the shadowy dog opened its mouth wide…and sank its teeth into the shadow of Kakeru’s right hand.

“Huh…?”

Kakeru looked down. His right hand had no shadow—the dog had bitten it off.

“…K-Kurosuke?”

Still wagging its tail, the shadow ran around Kakeru, gazing up at him. That had been Kurosuke’s way of saying “More, please!” when he was alive.

“No way…”

Kakeru tried to move his hand. Everything from the wrist up, where the shadow had been taken off, felt weird. It wasn’t that he couldn’t move it; it was more like…like the hand didn’t belong to him anymore.

And that wasn’t all. His head felt fuzzy, too.

He didn’t want to think about what this meant. But he had to.

Shadow Kurosuke had just eaten a part of his shadow. Had it been hungry? But in that case…

The people around town. Kakeru’s grandma. His parents. Ecchan and Ryou. All the people who’d lost their shadows…

“Kurosuke… Did you do that?”

The shadow wagged its tail happily. Kakeru kept his eye on it and took off his knapsack. He only ever used this big bag when he visited Grandma in the summer.

Kakeru opened it up and thrust a hand inside. He pushed past his change of clothes, toothbrush, gaming console, and the other things he’d packed. Right at the bottom, his fingers closed around a small black box. The Shadow Embroidery Kit had been in this bag all year. He opened it and took out the scissors.

Shadow Kurosuke had opened its mouth again and was advancing toward Kakeru’s shadow. Kakeru raised the scissors and swung them down at the canine shadow’s head.

“I’m sorry! I’m so sorry, Kurosuke!”

Again and again, he plunged the scissors into what had once been his friend. The shadow was torn apart by the shining white blades, gradually losing its shape. Soon enough, it was just a pile of shredded scraps on the floor. They slid away through the gaps in the porch, melting into the shadows cast by the harsh summer sun.

“Urk… I-I’m sorry…!”

Kakeru fell to his knees and sobbed, his tears splattering on the wooden boards beneath him. He’d lost Kurosuke all over again. Even worse, this time he’d been the one who sent him away. But at least it was over now.

“…Huh?”

Something moved in the corner of Kakeru’s vision. Something big.

He looked up and out into the backyard. There, he saw a giant lump of ink-dark blackness. It was so big that it stuck out of the yard and stretched all the way to the fields on the other side of the street—a mountain of living shadow.

Glancing down, Kakeru saw that it was sliding out from under the porch. Had this thing been hiding underneath the house this whole time?

“Don’t tell me…”

Could this be the shadow that ate other people’s shadows? Was this its real body? Had Shadow Kurosuke only been one small part of it? In that case, Kakeru hadn’t really defeated the shadow. It was more like he’d snipped off a tiny branch from a much larger tree. The shadow-eating shadow was still alive.

He took a breath and looked up at the monster. It didn’t seem like it was going to attack him. Instead, it started to slowly lumber away. It must have been afraid of the light-coated scissors in Kakeru’s hand.

But…there’s not a lot a little pair of scissors can do against something that huge…

Kakeru wasn’t safe yet. If that shadow changed its mind and came back, it would all be over. He and his shadow would be gobbled up without a trace.

I have to get out of here… Out of this town!

But the moment he started walking away, he heard a noise. His grandma and the others were calling his name. The Shadowless knew where he was, and they were getting closer. It seemed like the people who’d had their shadows eaten became soulless husks, controlled by that big shadow. In that case, they were probably after the scissors.

If I lose these, that thing will come back and eat my shadow, too…

He had to get away. But how? There were a lot of Shadowless, and Kakeru was only one boy. It wasn’t just the five Shadowless in the backyard he had to deal with, either. Even if he escaped, there were more of them all over town.

If I can’t run from them, then maybe…!

Kakeru came up with a crazy idea. He had no idea if it would work, but he’d have to take the risk.

He crouched down and began snipping away at his own shadow with the white scissors. Once it was no longer attached to his body, he screwed it up into a tight little ball and tied it up with the black thread from the embroidery kit.

“Ah, Kakeru.”

He shoved the shadow into his pocket right as his grandma and the other Shadowless rounded the corner and came into sight again. They looked down at his feet, where the bright sun should have cast a shadow, and smiled creepily.

“So you’ve finally lost your shadow as well.”

It had worked. The Shadowless thought he was one of them.

Ecchan and Ryou returned to their own houses. Kakeru’s parents and grandma went back inside and began watching TV and drinking tea. They still acted like empty husks of their former selves, but they weren’t trying to attack Kakeru anymore. He decided to stay with his family a little longer and pretend to be like them. He sat in front of the TV, sipping his tea, doing his best to mimic their strange, marionette-like movements.

Before long, he felt safe enough to go off on his own. First, he went to the family altar and picked up the box of matches kept there for lighting incense. Then he went into the storeroom where his grandma stored extra stock for her toy shop. There, Kakeru emptied out his knapsack and filled it with anything that could be used as a weapon against the shadow creature.

If it’s a shadow, things that make light or fire will probably work…

Ready as he’d ever be, he quickly sneaked out of the house.

Kakeru was soon heading for the edge of town. He passed several Shadowless on the way, but with his own shadow out of sight, none of them paid any attention to him.

After a while, however, that changed. The shadow in Kakeru’s pocket began to squirm around violently.

Whoa! Wh-what’s it doing?

He took it out and saw that it had struggled so much the black thread was starting to unravel. He wasn’t sure what would happen if his shadow got away from him, but he had a feeling it wouldn’t be anything good. Kurosuke’s shadow had become that big monster, after all. Kakeru had to do something, and fast.

Without really thinking, he did the first thing that came to mind—he took the tiny balled-up shadow, put it in his mouth, and swallowed it. He wasn’t sure why he’d done that. It was just instinct.

A little while after eating his own shadow, it began to grow back, starting at his feet and stretching out behind him. On the one hand, it was a relief to have it back to normal. On the other…

“Oh? Hey, you still have your shadow.”

“You have a shadow? That’s no good. Come here a moment.”

“What have you got in that big backpack? Let me see it.”

The moment Kakeru’s shadow returned, the Shadowless around town all flocked toward him. They seemed to be drawn to his knapsack, where the Shadow Embroidery Kit and his weapons were.

One person was already reaching for the bag. He brushed them off and ran. Thankfully, with their jerky, awkward movements, the Shadowless weren’t that fast. Kakeru didn’t have to run very far before he was clear of them.

A little more, and I’ll be able to leave town. The bridge… The city limits… They’re just up ahead…

He sprinted with all his might for the bridge his family had crossed on the way here. When he arrived, he came to an abrupt stop. Several Shadowless townsfolk were gathered around the entrance to the bridge. Some of them must have doubled back and gone on ahead to wait for him there. He’d never be able to leave town like this.

What…what do I do?

He couldn’t just stand there. He could hear the footsteps of other Shadowless coming after him.

I’ll just have to hide somewhere for now!

He looked around and spotted a bamboo grove by the riverside. Without so much as a second thought, he ran in that direction.

Kakeru reached the grove and walked deeper and deeper inside. Eventually, he arrived at a clearing, where he sat down to rest his aching legs. It seemed like he’d shaken off the Shadowless for now; they weren’t following him anymore.

“But what am I going to do from here…?”

Just as he was heaving a gloomy sigh, a strong wind blew through the clearing, whipping up the leaves on the ground and forcing Kakeru to close his eyes. When he opened them again, there was a young man standing in front of him.

“Huh…? Ah!”

Who was this guy? Where did he come from? Kakeru was certain he hadn’t been there a moment ago.

But that wasn’t the only reason Kakeru was confused. The man was dressed in a black kimono, with old-fashioned beaded necklaces around his neck. You didn’t see many people dressed like that these days. Especially not people as young as this person. In a weird way, though, the outfit suited him. He seemed so at ease and comfortable in it, as if he dressed that way all the time.

“It’s been a while since anybody came to see me here,” the young man in the kimono mumbled.

He turned a cool gaze on Kakeru. The boy suddenly felt uncomfortable and looked away. His gaze wandered down to the strange man’s feet, and…Kakeru turned and ran.

“Whoa?!” he cried.

All of a sudden, the man was blocking his path. Kakeru stumbled back and fell onto his butt. The man in the kimono looked down at him and tilted his head in confusion.

“What’s the matter? Why are you running?” he asked Kakeru.

“B-because you…you don’t have a shadow!”

“Hmm? Shadow? Ah, of course. I know I put it somewhere…”

The man smiled slyly, and a shadow began growing out of him. A moment later, it spread out across the ground, becoming four shadows, then eight, then more and more. They swirled around and eventually split apart into tiny shards, each one about the size of a bamboo leaf.

“As you can see, my shadow is a bit of a maverick. Best to pay it no mind.”

The man waved his hand at the ground as if beckoning something toward him. The little shards of shadow hiding under the leaves began to move, once more swirling around him like a whirlwind and disappearing under his feet. The whole time, Kakeru could do nothing but sit there and watch, amazed.

Wh-what just happened? Who is this guy? Can he…control shadows?

Wait… Hadn’t he heard about something like that before?

Of course. Last year, Grandma had said there was a guardian deity in Kagekake Village who could control shadows. And that there was a shrine dedicated to him in a bamboo grove on the edge of town.

Kakeru looked up at the man again, and he glanced behind him. Sure enough, nestled among the countless stalks of bamboo was a tiny house—could that be a shrine? Then this person was…technically not a person at all, but…

“Y-you’re the guardian deity…Lord Chikage?”

“Oh, you know my name?”

The man looked surprised. But he didn’t deny it; he’d basically just admitted to being a god.

Kakeru let out a long breath. This was too much.

“Well then… What are you doing here? Did you need something from me?”

“What am I doing here?” Kakeru repeated as he staggered to his feet. He clenched his fists and glared at the so-called guardian. “Why are you acting so casual? Aren’t you supposed to protect this place?! Don’t you realize what’s happened to this town? Why haven’t you been helping?!”

“W-well, you see…”

Lord Chikage faltered a moment in the face of the boy’s accusations. Then, scratching the back of his head awkwardly, he found the words to explain.

“…I’ve been asleep.”

“…Asleep? Really?”

Kakeru sighed, his shoulders slumped in exasperation.

“In my defense, nobody came to wake me,” said Lord Chikage. “Unless humans call on me for help, I can slumber for days, years even.”

“You’re pretty good with that,” Nozome told him.

“I suppose. I have something like this myself, so I’m used to this kind of work.”

“You have one of these…?”

“That’s right. Although I’ve been using mine for several hundred years, so it’s gotten a little worn down. I think I’ll take this Shadow Embroidery Kit as a replacement. Consider it my payment for dispatching the Shadow Eater and stitching this fellow’s head back on. That’s fair, don’t you think?”

Nozome nodded. She didn’t like this, but the man wasn’t leaving her much choice.

“Hey… You’re an Inhuman, too, aren’t you? Are you a god or something?” she asked.

“Mm… Something like that.”

“Are you a friend of that kid I gave the embroidery kit to?”

“No, I only met him today. Sorry, but I think you’d better give up on inflicting despair on him… There, that should do it.”

Finishing the final stitch on Nieno’s head, the man cut and tied off the end of the thread.

“By the way, you called this fellow Nieno, yes? Is that what he’s calling himself now?”

“…So what if it is?”

“…Never mind.”

The man’s composure seemed to fail him for a moment. He narrowed his eyes and gazed at Nieno with a complicated expression on his face. Like he was looking at something distasteful but also felt sad about it. It seemed like a whole lot of other emotions were competing for attention within his heart, too.

“Well now, demon child. I’ve brought you your black book and the suitcase with the doors on it. I suggest you and your partner use it to leave this village right now. And this time, don’t come back… I mean it.”

The man said the last part under his breath before turning around. He picked up the unmoving shadow monster and carried it away. Once he was out of sight, Nozome took Nieno’s hat and put it back on his head.

“Hey, Nieno. About what that guy said at the end… I get the feeling he was saying that to you, not me.”

“What?”

With his head back on his shoulders, Nieno was acting more like his old self. He adjusted his hat and tried making sense of things.

“Was that god somebody you used to know?” Nozome asked him.

“Perhaps… I’m afraid I’m not sure.”

Nieno simply tilted his head—now attached to his body once more by black threads—in bewilderment.

Lord Chikage took the shrunken, wilted Shadow Eater back to his bamboo grove. By then, the shadow of a nearby mountain had fallen across it, making everything look darker than it should have for that time of day.

“If we wait until night, the Shadow Eater will melt into the darkness and get away,” Lord Chikage said. “We have to deal with it before then.”

Kakeru walked with Lord Chikage out of the grove to the stony riverbank. There, the god laid the creature down. He took out the contents of Kakeru’s knapsack and stuffed them into the monster’s open stomach, stitching it up with black thread when he was done. By now the Shadow Eater was just a hazy, indistinct shape that still somewhat resembled a dog.

“Lord Chikage… This shadow’s never going to go back to being Kurosuke, is it?”

“It never was. A shadow is a shadow. Your old friend has been slumbering beneath the ground this whole time.”

Was that true? Or was it just the god’s way of comforting the boy for changing Kurosuke into a monster? Kakeru had no way of knowing. But regardless, it didn’t change what needed to be done. Now that this shadow had become a Shadow Eater, it had to be put down. Kakeru was sure of that.

Lord Chikage had stuffed the monster’s belly with fireworks. Kakeru had taken those from his grandma’s store when he first went on the run. There had been plenty in the storeroom. He took the matches he’d gotten from the family altar and lit the last one. When it began to spark, he stuffed it through a gap in the threads. He closed his eyes and jumped back.

The fireworks inside the Shadow Eater caught fire one after another. They erupted into showers of sparks and bursts of color, ripping apart their shadowy container. They burned, banged, and crackled until every last scrap of shadow had disappeared completely.

Epilogue

It was a few days after the Shadow Eater had disappeared and the people had gotten their shadows back. Kakeru was sitting in the reading area of a little community center in town. It wasn’t much, but the place had some books about local history and folklore. He took one of the books off the shelf and began to read.

It was a collection of legends from this region, all having some connection to shadows. It contained everything from tales hundreds of years old to more recent ones, although the book itself was pretty old—it had been printed before Kakeru was born.

There was a story about missing shadows, the same phenomenon that old Kagekake Village had gotten its name from. And then there was another story about two people who could trade their shadows between them. Another told of a tree that had been struck by lightning and burned away, leaving only its shadow behind. And of course, there were several stories about the creatures known as Shadow Eaters, too. Even that wasn’t the end of it…

“Well, now. What are we reading today?” someone asked.

Kakeru had been sure there was no one else in the reading area besides himself. He raised his head at the familiar voice, which sounded like it was coming from the chair across from him. Sitting there was, of course, Lord Chikage.

“O-oh, hello! Thank you again for your help. It seems like everyone in town is back to normal again,” Kakeru told him.

“Is that so? I’m glad to hear it.”

“Y-yeah… I asked around, and it seems like they remember what they said and did while they didn’t have their shadows. But no one remembers how they felt during that time.”

“Probably because people who’ve had their shadows eaten are unable to think or feel anything.”

“Right… Back when their shadows were gone, they all seemed so empty inside. They probably were experiencing stuff that should have made them happy or sad, though. Like meeting new friends, or saying good-bye to people they really cared about…”

It was Kakeru’s fault they’d all had their shadows eaten. He didn’t know how he could ever make up for that.

“At the very least…I want to make sure I don’t make the same mistake again. So I’m going to try learning everything I can about the strange things that happened with shadows in this region,” he said.

“That’s an admirable notion. What kinds of stories have you read so far?”

“I just finished this one… The sacrifice whose shadow couldn’t be beheaded.”

Kakeru read back over the page and summarized what he’d learned.

“Hundreds of years ago, the people of Kagekake Village decided to offer a human sacrifice to the gods to halt some natural disasters. As part of the ritual, the sacrifice had to be beheaded…”

As he continued relating the story, Kakeru felt more and more gloomy.

A human sacrifice. They cut off a person’s head to try to appease the gods. Even if it was a story from olden times, it was still awful that people did that…

After taking a minute to breathe and pull himself together, he went on.

“But when they cut off the sacrifice’s head, his shadow stayed the same. Since the shadow of his head was still attached, he didn’t die. But he’d lost his real head, so he wasn’t alive anymore, either. He’d become something else—not quite alive, not quite dead, not even human anymore. After that, he’d appear around the village sometimes… That’s all the book says about it.”

It was a strange, creepy story, but it also had an edge of sadness to it. A sacrifice with no head, but the shadow of a head still attached…

As Lord Chikage listened to the story, he heaved a sigh and nodded. Then he held out his hand for the book. The boy passed it to the god, who leafed through the pages for a while.

“Would you like me to teach you some more about this story? About the sacrifice who couldn’t be beheaded?” Lord Chikage asked.

“This is the story of how the villagers selected their sacrifice,” he began. “They started by taking several people from the poorest families to an old shack on the edge of town. They talked to them one by one and told them all the same thing: ‘If you don’t want to be the sacrifice, you just have to leave the village by dawn. If you don’t run, we’ll assume you’re volunteering to be the sacrifice. If you all run, we’ll go after you and sacrifice whoever we can catch. And if none of you run, we’ll call off the ritual and won’t sacrifice anyone.’

“You see how this was set up? If they all stayed behind, none of them would have to die. But abandoning the others and running away was a more reliable way for each individual candidate to ensure their survival. That’s how the system really worked.

“The next morning, dawn came, and the villagers returned to the shack. Inside, they found a young man—the only one who didn’t run. He’d spent a sleepless night in deep conflict with himself. He’d wanted to believe in the others, right up to the end. He couldn’t bring himself to save his own skin if it meant one of the other people would be killed instead. But they trampled all over that compassion.

“The villagers decided that the young man had volunteered to be the sacrifice and went ahead with the ceremony. Nobody stood up for him or tried to save him. Friends, family—they all betrayed him. He was abandoned to his fate and had his head cleaved from his body.

“…What’s that? How do I know all this?” Lord Chikage added. “Because I am the god they sacrificed him to. His head is the same head that now sits upon my shoulders. I still have all his memories from when he was alive.”

In the blink of an eye, Lord Chikage was gone. The only thing left on the table was the book Kakeru had been reading.

Wedged inside one of the pages was a tiny scrap of shadow. When Kakeru opened it to that page, he found it was at the same place he’d stopped reading before.

Lord Chikage had used a tiny shadow as a bookmark. It slid down the page and disappeared, melting into the book’s shadow without a trace.

Bonus Story