After the two returned, they washed up once more in the inn's bathhouse before returning to their room, dressed in the yukata provided by the ryokan.
Seeing that they were back, Sakurajima Iori chatted with them for a while before leaving.
Seeing that it was getting late, and with the sea breeze outside howling—signaling that rain was imminent...
"I wonder what the weather will be like tomorrow," Yukinoshita Shizuku said worriedly, looking out the window after laying out the futons and bedding for herself and Tsushima Kagami on the tatami.
To the side, Tsushima Kagami was swapping in a fully charged battery. He organized the DV tapes filmed that day, placing them into a box, and took out new tapes for standby.
While packing things for tomorrow's departure, he laughed.
"Didn't Miss Iori say that, logically speaking, the rain should stop by tomorrow morning?
At worst, we can just sleep in late and leave then."
Yukinoshita Shizuku nodded and yawned before returning to her bedding to lie down. She pulled a blanket over herself to prevent catching a cold from the air conditioning.
She turned her head to look at Tsushima Kagami, who was still organizing his things.
"Aren't you going to sleep yet?"
"Soon."
Tsushima Kagami finished replacing the DV's battery and tape, set it aside, and stood up to stretch.
He went to his own floor mattress and lay down, reaching up to pull the cord switch hanging from the ceiling light.
The entire room was shrouded in darkness.
"Goodnight," Tsushima Kagami said.
"Goodnight," Yukinoshita Shizuku replied.
The room was so quiet one could hear a pin drop; only the sounds of their breathing at different rhythms echoed within the guest room.
"So your breathing is this loud when you sleep," Yukinoshita Shizuku suddenly broke the silence, laughing.
"I thought you were sleepy? Why aren't you asleep yet?"
"I can't sleep."
"Then I'll count sheep for you," Tsushima Kagami suggested.
"What if you fall asleep first?"
"Then I'll just fall asleep," Tsushima Kagami said with a laugh. Shortly after, he heard the sound of what must have been Yukinoshita Shizuku turning over.
"...Kagami."
"Hmm?"
Tsushima Kagami, whose eyes had begun to adjust to the darkness, turned his head to look at Yukinoshita Shizuku, who had rolled over to face him.
After a while, hearing no further response from her, Tsushima Kagami simply waited patiently.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome."
The room returned to a silence where only their breathing could be heard.
At this moment, Tsushima Kagami suddenly spoke up.
"Shizuku."
"Hmm?" Yukinoshita Shizuku responded quickly.
"Um..."
"Do you snore when you sleep at night?"
Yukinoshita Shizuku threw a nearby cushion at him.
*
The weather forecast said rain today.
If I'm lucky, I'll meet you on the way.
Who would have thought.
The weather is sunny~
The night's wind and rain had ceased before dawn.
When Tsushima Kagami and Shizuku woke up, they were greeted by beautiful weather that lifted their spirits.
After getting ready, the two took a couple of photos together with Sakurajima Iori. They gave her one as a memento and left their phone number, telling her to find them if she ever came to Tokyo to play.
Under Sakurajima Iori's send-off, the pair boarded the Enoden and set off for Hase-dera.
After getting off at Hase Station, they arrived at Hase-dera.
Hase-dera is not particularly large, but from the foot of the mountain onwards, hydrangeas can be seen planted everywhere.
Every summer, tourists flock here to admire the flowers.
Especially after a rain, the morning hydrangeas still bear dewdrops, looking even more beautiful than usual.
After entering Hase-dera, they first arrived at the hydrangea pond, which was filled with hydrangeas of various colors.
The Ziyang flower, also known as the hydrangea.
The name "Ziyang flower" (Ajisai) was actually adopted by the Japanese because of a poem by Bai Juyi: "In what year was it planted upon the immortal altar? Sooner or later it was transplanted to the Buddhist house. Though men in the mortal world do not recognize it, I name it for you: the Ziyang flower."
Later, Japanese scholars determined that what he wrote about might actually have been lilacs.
This was because the great poet Bai mentioned in the preface, "A tree of mountain flowers, purple in color and fragrant in scent," whereas hydrangeas have neither scent nor grow into tall trees.
But that is no longer important.
It is an indisputable fact that Japanese literati revered Bai's poetry; reading that line, they felt it was excellent, and so the name "Ajisai" stuck.
As for Tsushima Kagami, he only learned of this flower's existence because the camera shots in Sankarea would frequently focus on hydrangeas after the rain.
As for earlier times, he might have seen them on TV or in anime, but they hadn't left a deep impression.
"Which color do you like?"
Yukinoshita Shizuku, having finished taking photos nearby, turned back to ask Tsushima Kagami.
Tsushima Kagami looked at the pond; besides purple, there were pink, purplish-pink, blue, and even white ones.
He pointed to one nearby.
"That purple-and-white color scheme isn't bad."
Yukinoshita Shizuku nodded.
The two admired the various species of hydrangeas along the flower path and finally arrived at the summit.
From here, nestled among the hydrangeas, they could overlook the long Shonan coastline.
Tsushima Kagami took out the DV and turned it on.
REC.
09:01:33
21.07.1998
Tsushima Kagami began filming a white hydrangea slightly tinged with blue, swaying in the gentle sea breeze.
"So you like this kind of color?"
Yukinoshita Shizuku, who had been gazing at the coastline, walked over.
"It's alright."
After wandering around for a bit, Tsushima Kagami handed the DV to Yukinoshita Shizuku and took the Polaroid from her.
"Let's take a commemorative photo here too."
"Okay."
Yukinoshita Shizuku stood at a photo spot where the coastline was visible behind her, surrounded by hydrangeas of various colors.
Then Tsushima Kagami pressed the shutter.
The two descended from the summit and visited the other side halls.
Aside from the hydrangeas covering the mountains and plains, Hase-dera is most abundant in Jizo statues.
They arrived at the Jizo Hall halfway up the mountain. It was surrounded by many small Jizo statues, known as the Sentai Jizo (Thousand Jizo). Tsushima Kagami looked at the rows upon rows of densely packed small Jizo statues and actually found it a bit creepy.
After Yukinoshita Shizuku finished taking photos of the small Jizo statues, Tsushima Kagami suddenly spoke.
"Let me tell you a story about Jizo."
Yukinoshita Shizuku looked at Tsushima Kagami with curiosity; this was the first time he had volunteered to tell her a story.
"Go ahead."
Yukinoshita Shizuku listened expectantly.
Tsushima Kagami smiled and suddenly lowered his voice.
"I have a friend, and this is what he told me.
"When he was little, in his countryside hometown, there were many Jizo statues.
"One day, he accidentally broke a Jizo statue that had a talisman sealed on it.
"After that, he would often see a woman pressing against his window, making a 'Po... po... po...' sound.
"She wore a white western-style dress and a white sun hat.
"Later, this friend remembered—he lived on the second floor. How could this woman be pressing against his window?
"So he told his parents and grandparents.
"When his family heard this, they became extremely anxious.
"Because they knew that this woman was called Hachishaku-sama.
"She loves to bewitch children. Any child caught by her will eventually..."
"Eek! Stop talking!"
Yukinoshita Shizuku rubbed the goosebumps on her arms and hurriedly stopped him.
"So you're afraid of ghost stories."
___
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____
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