The rain hit the roof of the inn like bullets.
It had been falling for what felt like hours.
Light from the hallway cut through the paper door, painting thin, trembling lines across the tatami floor. Every now and then, thunder rumbled somewhere beyond the walls, but neither of them spoke.
Hori sat still, her arms wrapped around her knees as she stared straight at Haruki.
Her hair was still wet from the bath. Dark blue strands clung to her neck and cheeks before falling heavily down her back, leaving small drops of water on the tatami floor.
Haruki's hoodie hung loosely from her body, its sleeves rolled up three times just so her hands could escape them. The hem fell to her thighs. His sweatpants were cinched around her waist with a hair tie.
She smelled faintly of cheap inn shampoo and his detergent.
'I'm so careless.'
Hori lowered her eyes for a moment.
'What did I think I'd wear after the shower?' Grateful Haruki had spares. It seemed she would be wearing Haruki's clothes from now on.
Across from her, Haruki sat with his legs crossed, hugging the large chibi penguin pillow he'd gotten a while back.
He hadn't stopped staring at her.
The only sound between them was the rain.
And the occasional drop of water falling from Hori's hair.
Plop.
Haruki finally broke the silence.
"Okay, Hori."
His voice was quieter than usual.
"Let's start."
Hori nodded.
Haruki shifted the pillow in his arms.
"Before I sign this whole contract of being your guardian for the time being..."
He paused.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"I need you to be very, very, very, very honest with me, okay?"
Hori nodded again.
A bead of sweat slowly rolled down her cheek.
She tightened her arms around herself. The hoodie was too big.
"What would you like to know, Haruki-san?" Her voice was calm.
At least, she tried to make it sound calm.
She was ready for whatever question he was about to throw at her.
Haruki stared at her for several seconds.
Then he raised his hand.
His sharp, neat fingernail pointed directly at her nose. Then it came.
"Who exactly are you?"
Hori froze.
The question was simple....Almost painfully simple.
Yet somehow, it felt like a bullet.
One that could tear through everything she had been trying to keep together.
Her fingers tightened around her knees before she looked away.
For a moment, she couldn't speak.
'Who am I?'
The question shouldn't have been difficult. She knew her name. She knew her birthday. She knew her father. She knew her home.
She knew who she was.
Didn't she?
Then why did answering feel so frightening?
Hori slowly looked back at him. "My...." Her voice caught.
She swallowed.
"My name is Tabata Inori."
Haruki didn't move.
"I turned fourteen not too long ago.
My blood group is O-, and I am 5'4 feet tall." Her voice became quieter.
"As strange as this may sound..."
She hesitated. "...I am the Prime Minister's daughter."
The inn went silent.
More rain.
Haruki's expression barely changed.
But his arms tightened around the penguin pillow.
"I don't watch the news much..."
He paused.
"...but didn't the PM lose his daughter just recently?"
Hori's face went blank.
Then her lips trembled. She looked down, making a face that spoke volumes. She knew that moment would come, and the feeling made her eyes burn.
"No..." A tear escaped. She wiped it away quickly... Another followed.
Then another.
"I don't know..."Her voice cracked.
She tried to wipe her face again, but the tears were already coming faster than her hands could handle.
"I don't know what manner of devils are behind this..." Her breathing became uneven.
"What sick game this all is...I don't know why I was announced dead instead of missing..."
Her voice broke. She couldn't finish the sentence.
Hori pressed her hands against her face.
For several seconds, she said nothing.
Haruki watched.
The girl who had been speaking so confidently only moments ago now looked impossibly small inside his oversized hoodie.
Hori slowly lowered her hands.
"But I'm alive. I'm alive, okay?"
She looked directly at him.
There was desperation in her eyes now.
Not anger.
Not pride.
Just fear.
"I don't know how I ended up here. I don't know what happened to me. I don't know who did this. I don't know why everyone thinks I'm dead."
She swallowed hard.
"And I don't even know how I'm supposed to explain any of this to him when the time comes."
Hori's voice dropped to a whisper.
"But..."
Her voice finally broke completely.
"I just want to go home. I need to get back to my father." She hugged herself.
Haruki stared at her. Nothing came out of his mouth, he didn't know what to say.
The words didn't make sense. None of them did.
The Prime Minister's daughter?
Declared dead?
Some kind of devils?
She doesn't know how she got here?
His mind tried desperately to put the pieces together.
Nothing fit.
'She's not really making any sense. Is she crazy?'
His eyes narrowed, that was his first thought.
Haruki let out a short, sharp laugh.
Not because anything was funny.
Almost as if he needed to break the uncomfortable silence.
"You're lying." He pointed at her again.
Hori's eyes widened. "I'm not...!"
Before she could finish, Haruki suddenly leaned forward.
Hori flinched as he placed his ear gently against her chest.
She froze as he listened for a moment.
Then he pulled back.
"See?" He pointed at her. "Your heart's racing."
Hori stared as Haruki nodded confidently. "That's what liars do." He added.
For a moment, she simply looked at him. Then something inside her snapped.
"It's racing because I'm fed up with all this!" Her voice exploded through the room.
"Do you even know how hard it is to keep accepting that this is all happening?! I'm this close to losing it!" Haruki's eyes widened.
Hori's fists clenched. "Think about it!" Her voice shook.
"Everyone on this planet knows about my father's strength and status!"
She wiped the tears from her cheeks. Annoyed they didn't stop.
"So for some...some THING to be able to pull this off without him finding out and killing them..."
Her voice dropped.
"It makes my skin crawl..."
The anger slowly disappeared from her face.
She looked down at her hands. Her fingers were trembling. Badly.
"I had a dream earlier..." She continued, Haruki said nothing.
"About the night before my birthday....some foolish part of me thought Father could be responsible for all this."
Hori's eyes became distant as she clenched both hands.
"That this was all for my fourteenth birthday." Then she shook her head.
"That was wrong of me." Her voice was definitely quieter now.
"Father would never be so cruel....I know that."
She looked up. There were still tears in her eyes, but she refused to let them fall.
Haruki continued staring at her. Hori took a slow breath.
She had already cried.
She had already shouted.
She had already explained herself.
There was nothing left to prove.
"With all due respect, Haruki-san...I absolutely do not care if you believe me or not."
She looked him directly in the eyes.
"All I need is your help."
The rain suddenly seemed louder.
Haruki looked away. For the first time since the conversation began, he didn't have a sarcastic remark.
And for the first time since she met him, he wasn't smiling with that pleasent look on his face.
He simply sat there, thinking....
Eventually, he folded his arms.
"First of all..." His voice was blunt again.
"Never raise your voice at me ever again."
Hori's expression softened.
She lowered her head. "...I'm sorry."
Haruki waited a moment before continuing. "Second of all..."
He looked back at her.
"Let's say all of that were true."
Hori remained silent.
"Reuniting with the Prime Minister of all people won't be easy. So what's your plan?"
Hori opened her mouth. Then stopped. Her fingers curled into the fabric of the hoodie. She looked somewhat confident.
"The plan is simple to be honest.
Her voice came quietly.
"Haruki-san..." She lifted her eyes.
"I want to become a Priest!"
Haruki blinked as Hori took another breath.
"And..." Her hands tightened around the oversized sleeves.
"...I'll need you to train me."
Just then, lightening struck. A white flash painted scene. Cementing her words and resolve.
And Haruki... was definitely intrigued.