As soon as he stepped on the steps, Naoki Natsume, who was holding a thousand cranes in Amamiya, attracted the attention of the surrounding tourists.

Tourists looked at him from time to time, but there were not many negative emotions, and most of them thought that it was a happy family atmosphere like an older brother holding his sister.

"What a clingy sister." Some tourists sighed, "My younger sister was quite clingy when she was a child, but when she went to junior high school, she became interested in asking me if I had a girlfriend, and after I went to high school, she called me big brother with a cold face." ”

"Yes, little brother! Spoil your sister as soon as possible, and when she is promoted to the middle school in a few years, she may not be so intimate...... Oh! Such a lively child, are we talking about being shy? Struggling in your arms to get down and walk on your own? ”

Naoki Natsume faced the jokes of tourists, and while stopping the grinning Amamiya Chizuru and pulling her little hand back, as if to soothe the fried cat, he said with an embarrassed smile: "It's also possible that I'm tired and want to vent my emotions all the way." ”

Many stalls have been erected on both sides of the shrine's Shinto, and a rudimentary wooden shed covered with a tarp is the beginning of a night of luxury income.

Where there are fireworks displays, temple fairs and other activities in ten miles and eight townships, these hawkers who set up stalls in the townships on weekdays and pasta shops with their own doors will send people to push this cart over, build a shed to occupy a place, and the income earned by a grand event can be worth the income of ten days and half a month.

The senior sister and the school doctor stood under the big pine tree next to Shinto and waited for someone, there were quite few people here, and at a glance they saw Natsuki Naoki holding Amamiya Chizuru.

"You two are so slow!"

"Oh, it's actually a princess hug, it seems that sports students who exercise regularly will suffer at such a time."

Naoki Natsume smiled at the joke of the school doctor and replied: "She will try her best to escape by running 800 meters on the side of the body in the school, and it is really hard for her to come from the village, if she doesn't care, she may lose her temper all night at the bottom of the stairs and stay there and not come up." ”

"How can I have such a bad character as you say?" Amamiya Chizuru finally broke free from his embrace, went down to the ground, and knocked his clogs.

The clogs are gently touched on the ground, and the two small hands are cocked, which is very elegant.

"Nothing stopped me from giving those two passers-by a hammer just now? A guy like this who has eyes and doesn't know Mount Tai should pay the price for judging people by his appearance! She pursed her mouth: "Or is it that you actually yearn for a sister deep down?" ”

"Sister......" Naoki Natsume was a little stunned when he heard this.

Mio Izumi and Chizuru Amamiya glanced at each other, and they were both interested.

Amamiya Chizuru asked, "You can't really hide a sister at home, do you?" ”

Mio Izumi also blinked: "Isn't Naoki-kun an only child?" ”

"It's true that my parents only gave birth to me, but I wasn't alone when I was a child." Naoki Natsume looked at Nanamiya, and then shook his head: "Forget it, this topic will stop here!" I'm going to buy you something to eat. The senior sister loves takoyaki and caramel milk tea, and Chizuru is a crepe, the school doctor...... I'll check to see if there are any ones that sell roast birds and barbecued meat, and if you have alcohol, it's best. ”

Looking at his free and easy back, Izumi Mio was still puzzled, and the smart Amamiya Chizuru had already turned his head to look at Nanamiya.

"He finally saw you, the school doctor." Amamiya Chizuru was very sure: "The school doctor must know something." ”

"Sure enough, it's a smart little guy." Nanamiya looked at Amamiya Chizuru with a smile: "You can even see this, you can't escape your eyes." ”

Nanamiya beckoned the two girls to sit at a stone table under the pine tree, with a Go board carved on the table, which seemed to be a place for priests and shrine maidens to spend their time on weekdays.

"He had a childhood sweetheart when he was a child, and he was my little niece named Mao Asai." Nanamiya looks up at the starry sky, and whenever she misses her sister's family, she looks up.

I don't know if it's because the little girl is as gorgeous as a star, or because her sister's name is Yue.

"Does Naoki-kun have a good relationship with her?" Mio Izumi asked.

"It's so good that it can't be done," Nanamiya couldn't help but raise the corners of his mouth when he remembered the good times in the past: "Zhenxu she runs next door every day, sticking to him like a fart, and going to kindergarten is in the same family, although the two are two years apart, but I can't stand the life of a playboy when the little guy was young, and the girls in the whole kindergarten go down to the small class to the teacher, and they all like him very much, and Mao has a lot of fights with other girls in the kindergarten." ”

"Later." Mio Izumi blinked, her tone full of curiosity: "I remember that Naoki-kun came to Tokyo to live alone after graduating from elementary school, right?" Since it's a childhood sweetheart, it should still stay in the village? ”

"Don't ask."

Before Nanamiya could speak, Amamiya Chizuru had already interrupted Mio Izumi.

She looked at the curious senior sister and pursed her lips.

"The name Mao Asai has an impression." She hesitated and said, "It's on the Sapporo car accident memorial stone, and it's the same car accident as my mother." ”

"Huh?"

Mio Izumi was stunned for a moment, and then sadness swept through her body.

"I'm sorry." She whispered an apology to Nanamiya.

At this time, they all understood why Naoki Natsume showed such a trace of amazement and distressing freedom just now.

"It's really embarrassing to experience life and death at such a young age." Amamiya Chizuru quickly recovered from the dull atmosphere, and she crossed her hands on her hips: "Very good, as an empathetic Chizuru-sama, I will spend the rest of my life warming him and healing the shadow of my childhood!" ”

Nanamiya smiled softly, there is such a girl who likes it, maybe it's that guy's happiness.

"I've never heard the school doctor mention this before." Mio Izumi discovers a blind spot.

Nanamiya thought about it carefully and replied, "Yes, why...... I always felt that when I saw him before, I would forget all the things I had when I was a child, but I only recently remembered that we had a fate before. ”

The first fireworks suddenly exploded in the sky.

The brilliant fireworks temporarily obscured the stars in the sky.

Visitors looked up at the sky, and then let out lively exclamations and cheers.

The fireworks display has begun.

Because it was a long time to wait, and the fireworks exploded in the night sky, several girls finally couldn't help but decide to go to Natsume Naoki.

Maybe for them, it's happier to be able to watch fireworks with the boy they like than to wait for him to buy food.

"Hey, why are you here, you've already started to set off fireworks."

Amamiya Chizuru slipped into the crowd and found Naoki Natsume in front of a stall selling yakiniku birds, grabbing his belt and pulling him out of the crowd.

"I'm buying you something to eat." Naoki Natsume carried a lot of bags with snacks in his hands, and he also wore a fox mask on his forehead, which did not cover his mouth and nose, but used as a headdress: "I finally squeezed in." There is sake sold inside, but you can't take it out, so you can drink it on the spot and dispose of the paper cups. ”

Nanamiya shook his head with a smile: "I'm not hungry, don't bother." As for sake...... It's full of temptations, but now that I've drunk too much, I won't be able to send you back. ”

"Do you want to drive back?"

"You can't let the two of them stay in your house tonight, can you?" Nanami Ye replied: "There is a shared car outside, rent it for one night and come tomorrow." ”

"Didn't I ever know that Naoki-kun used to like to eat cakes?" Mio Izumi noticed that Naoki Natsume was carrying a half-eaten box of half-eaten cakes in the bag.

The little cake resembles the kind of mango mousse sold in the dessert shop, with a triangular cut into pieces, and most of it has been eaten.

"Eaten?" After being reminded by his senior sister, Naoki Natsume found only a small half of the cake left, and his expression was slightly stunned: "I only remember buying it but I don't remember that I ate it?" I don't remember who I bought it for, but I remember passing by the old woman who sold the cake and I wanted to buy it...... Does the senior sister like cream? ”

Mio Izumi shook her head, "I only like caramel." ”

"Don't look at me." Amamiya Chizuru also shook her head: "I don't like to eat mangoes. ”

"Desserts are only for little girls, and big sisters prefer wine." The school doctor shook his head.

Who is that for?

Who ate it?

"Do you still have a roast bird to wait for?" Amamiya Chizuru took his hand and shook it: "Someone is setting off fireworks in front, I seem to have seen a float!" I want to go over and play! ”

"I just gave the money, there are a lot of people waiting, and finally it's my turn." Naoki Natsume rubbed her head and said with a smile, "You guys go play first, I'll take the yakiniku and go to you immediately...... If you buy your favorite chicken wings and spend money, you can't give them to others, right? ”

Then he distributed all the food in his hand to the senior sister and the school doctor: "Now is the meal, if you are hungry, make a mat first, I know where the float will go, and I will go over to meet you later." ”

Watching the three of them go away, Naoki Natsume sighed.

After looking at my watch, I guess I will have to wait a minute or two, after all, there are too many tourists tonight, and every booth is almost full.

Even if everyone only earns it once, and they don't even think about making money back, it is enough to make a lot of money by picking up all the tourists who came to the festival today.

"Eat half of the mango mousse ......"

Naoki Natsume looked at the half box of cakes in his hand, and thought to himself, could it be that the spirit of the house in the family came with him?

After all, tonight's sacrifice is always related to ghosts, what if there really is an earthbound spirit in reality?

"Whose Earthbound Spirit could it be?" He was standing on a dry mountain water next to Shinto, with a stone lion in his hand.

"Hey, little brother! Your roast bird is ready! ”

The stall owner with a sweat towel on his head yelled at Naoki Natsume.

"Here, please help pack the bag."

"It's a misfortune, little brother, the bag just ran out...... How about a bag in your hand? ”

The stall owner held a handful of roast birds in his hand and put them in a paper bag, but when he tried to get the plastic bag, he found that it had run out.

Today's business was a little unexpected, so he looked at the plastic bag in Natsume's hand and discussed it with him.

Naoki Natsume looked left and right, and finally solemnly took out the half box of cakes in his hand from the plastic bag and put it on top of the stone lion's head.

"I don't know who you really are, but tonight's excitement should belong to everyone...... It's like I'm inviting you. ”

He folded his hands, turned around and handed the plastic bag to the boss: "Put it inside." ”

The surrounding crowd bustled towards the square, and in Naoki Natsume's blind spot, the mango mousse placed on the stone lion disappeared the moment someone passed by.

Then, on the way to the float in the square, the garbage cans that were already full of garbage clanged and made a noise.

Eaten cake trays and forks were thrown on top of the garbage heap.

No one notices, because no one will perceive this, just as no one cares that a cake floats in mid-air.

At this moment, the poor cake is also isolated from the world.

"Hey, the roast bird is here, whoever is hungry should come and eat some hot food!"

Naoki Natsume found a group of three in the corner of the square.

It's a corner, but because there are so many people, even the corners are overcrowded.

"Are you a child?"

Amamiya Chizuru looked at Naoki Natsume as she walked by, and then she walked up to him, crossed her feet, and reached out to try to touch his face.

But not in reach.

"What's wrong?" Naoki Natsume took a half step back, not knowing why.

Nanamiya chuckled and put her arms around his neck from behind, holding him in his arms: "Little guy, the cream is rubbing on your face." ”

"Huh, cream?" Naoki Natsume took out his mobile phone, and looked at it with the reflection of the screen off, and sure enough, there was a touch of cream on his cheeks, "When did it happen?" ”

"Who knows." Nanamiya wiped off the cream with her white fingers and took out a handkerchief to wipe her fingers clean.

More and more fireworks are going off above people's heads.

"Welcome to the Teine Shrine ceremony!" Standing on the float to pay homage to the guests, his smiling face actually had a hint of sacredness against the backdrop of the fireworks.

Mio Izumi had accompanied Naoki Natsume before, and he knew the rules of Teine Shrine, so he asked with a slight surprise, "Can they talk today?" ”

Naoki Natsume looked at the shrine maidens who set off the flowers on the float and the Miyaji who stood at the front of the float and guided the float slowly, as if recalling his childhood when he was a child and followed the adults to have a lively time.

"You only do it once a year...... The young Miyaji is also becoming more and more like the old man. ”

"What old man?" Amamiya Chizuru finished nibbling on the chicken wings, and her little tongue licked the oil from her fingers.

"It's the former palace secretary of the shrine, and he presided over the festival here when I was a child...... I vaguely felt that I was looking for him when I came home this time, but I can't remember it now. ”

Naoki Natsume frowned slightly.

Amamiya Chizuru said as a matter of course: "Wouldn't it be better to ask for it yourself?" No, he's ......."

"Not really." Naoki Natsume shook his head: "That's what I said, anyway, the float is going to the Okunomiya." ”

"Huh?" Amamiya Chizuru immediately showed a reluctant expression: "You won't want to go somewhere else, right?" I don't want to go anymore! ”

"I'm sure I'll be holding your hand this time." Naoki Natsume assured with a smile and held out his little thumb: "A liar will swallow a thousand needles." ”

"Okay then." Amamiya Chizuru hesitated, "It's for the sake of the chicken wings, so I can't hold your hand." ”

"Frankly, no one will laugh at you...... Ah, my mom and dad are here. ”

"Huh! Where is it! ”

"Uncle and aunt?!"

Naoki Natsume found his parents in the crowd and waved his hand to say hello, and Amamiya Chizuru and her senior sister were like great enemies, and they instantly became smart.

They were as helpless as the students who had done something wrong and were about to enter the teacher's office, and Amamiya Chizuru grabbed the roasted bird in his hand in a panic and stuffed it directly into Nanamiya's hand.

I made fun of Nanami Night, and I smiled and took a bite of the roasted green onion.

"Son~" Reiko Natsume is also wearing a kimono today, and she saw her baby son from afar, and when she got closer, she found the two girls who were following him and were a little embarrassed.

"Are you friends with Naoki?" Reiko Natsume's eyes lit up immediately, these two girls are so beautiful.

"Hello, Auntie, Auntie!" Amamiya Chizuru's head went down on the spot, she never expected to meet Naoki Natsume's parents in such a place.

What to do?

How should I say hello?!

Is it curtsy, or skirt, or should I bow and thank you?

Wait, thank you, why do you want to say thank you when you meet for the first time?

In the end, she couldn't turn her head, so she actually stretched out her hand very stiffly, wanting to shake hands with Reiko Natsume.

"Please advise me when we meet for the first time! My name is Amamiya Chizuru, and I'm the senior of my senior sister! ”

The little rich woman who is not afraid of heaven and earth actually stuttered at such a time, and Naoki Natsume wanted to laugh when she saw it.

On the other hand, the senior sister is very polite and slightly bends her knees.

"Hello uncle and aunt, my name is Mio Izumi, and Naoki is an alumnus."

Compared with Amamiya Chizuru, who is keen on Western culture, Mio Izumi sees the elders of the family more often during the New Year, and most of the time she wears a kimono, so she has a good grasp of etiquette.

And Amamiya Chizuru began to pay for her own self-doing at this time...... During the New Year's holidays, others came to visit Amamiya Kimma, and she was too lazy to socialize, so she locked herself in the house and played electricity, and the kimono was also worn out to meet people for the first time.

Then he left Natsume Reiko with the impression of 'girls wearing kimonos and shaking hands'.

Then after shaking hands, Amamiya Chizuru regretted it, and kept her head down and blushing, eager to find a crack in the ground to get into.

"Hello, Naoki thanks to you for taking care of him."

"Where, Naoki-san, usually helps us a lot, and if you have the opportunity, you will definitely come to the door."

"Yes...... That is true...... This. ”

"You're welcome!" Natsume Reiko felt that Mio Izumi was free and generous, and it was also interesting to lower her head, and after shaking hands, she covered her mouth and smiled, and then turned her head to look at Nanamiya: "Miss Nanami is also here, you didn't come to the shrine often before." ”

"When I was young, I was not sensible, but now I look at it, it's quite lively." Nanami Ye looked at the lively crowd and smiled slightly.

It's lively, but she still doesn't like to join in the fun.

This time, it's just a pity.

Natsume Yusheng was wearing a tattoo, standing beside his wife, and looked at Naoki Natsume: "Later, the float is going to the Okunomiya, and your mother and I will also follow, what about you?" ”

"Old ...... Ahem, is the former Miyaji-sama still healthy? Naoki Natsume asked, "I haven't seen him in years, so come back this time and say hello." ”

The Okunomiya of Teine Shrine is in the deep mountains and old forests.

That being said, the road is not difficult to walk, and it is not too far, after all, the main shrine of Teine Shrine is located in the small town at the foot of Teine Mountain.

After decades of generations' efforts, both the cement road and the bluestone road in the mountains and forests have begun to take shape, and only the last section approaching the Ao Palace is slightly more difficult to walk.

The float stopped at the end of the concrete road, and many people chose to return the same way and not enter the Okugu Palace, leaving only most of the palace priests and shrine maidens and the pious residents of the surrounding villages and towns to follow the large army to the Okunomiya with torches in hand.

Just like that day when Senpai and Naoki Natsume visited Teine Shrine, the current palace secretary sat in the main hall to draw lots for divination to help the villagers establish psychological dependence, which is the belief of many residents for a lifetime.

Push forward another ten or twenty years, and sitting in the main hall is the former palace secretary.

From young to old, he was also the psychological dependence of countless people, and later he lived in the Ao Palace, and many people can only see him once a year, so naturally they will not give up this opportunity.

The current palace secretary walked at the front of the line, holding a torch in his hand, with a solemn and solemn expression.

This is the inheritance, and if he is a few decades down, when he is old, it will be his turn to live in the Ao Palace and train apprentices to inherit the next palace secretary.

Then it was his turn to visit him with his younger devotees, who had been with his disciples during the annual sacrifice.

In this way, it has been passed down from generation to generation, and the small Teine Shrine has blessed the villagers at the foot of Teine Mountain.

The night gradually becomes quiet, and the noise of the fireworks festival stays at the foot of the mountain, and when you look back, you can still see the fireworks and boiling at the bottom of the mountain.

The stream flows down from the mountain spring, wading through a small stream, and what catches your eye is a "thatched hut" in the bamboo forest——

It looks like a thatched hut, like a hermit's residence, but it's really the Okunomiya of Teine Shrine.

There is a torii gate in front of the Okunomiya gate, and this torii gate looks a little more ornate than the thatched house.

"How does it look ...... Shabby? Amamiya Chizuru couldn't help complaining, she turned her head to look out of the mountain, the city was brightly lit at night, and the fish and dragon danced at night: "The scenery is not bad." ”

"After all, it was built a hundred years ago." Naoki Natsume replied, "Only shrines with a long tradition will have Okunomiya." ”

He frowned, a sudden tingle in his mind.

I think I've been to this place myself?

But why is there no memory?

The main entrance of the hut was open, and the fire in the house was dim, but an old man could still be seen sitting with his back to the door.

No one needs to say anything, all the believers who can follow the palace priest to worship in the Okugu Palace know the rules, everyone did not make a noise, lined up to the torii gate and bowed, did not approach or enter, just looked at the old palace priest from a distance and was satisfied, and then began to go down the mountain together.

Accompanied by her husband, Reiko Natsume also bowed deeply, no matter how I said that I was a colleague before, I came to the Rice Shrine to "go to the countryside to teach" and was not familiar with the place, the old palace secretary took care of it very much, and the salary was more, and I also helped the matchmaker, so I had today's family.

"Son, let's go home first when we go down the mountain." Before Natsume Reiko left, she whispered to Naoki Natsume: "Don't play too late tonight...... There is also moderation. ”

Natsume Yusheng also glanced meaningfully at the two girls beside him, "Remember to go home early." ”

Gradually, the crowd went down the mountain, and only the current palace secretary and a group of four people were left outside the hut.

"If there's anything you want to ask, just ask." Amamiya Chizuru urged: "It's so deserted in the mountains, let's go down to the temple fair and watch the fireworks." ”

Naoki Natsume nodded, and walked through the torii gate to the door of the hut.

The fragments that flashed through my mind became more and more tingling and more obvious.

Backyard......

Backyard?

What's in the backyard?

Before he walked up the steps, the ghost envoy glanced at the backyard of the hut and then froze.

A stone monument and a small grave bag.

The stone tablet reads "Tomb of Shino Asai".

"Natsume-sama, you're back." The voice of the old palace secretary came from the thatched hut, and he turned to look at Natsume Naoki at the door, and sighed with emotion: "I thought I would never see you again before I died, after all, Tokyo is a big city suitable for young people...... Hey? ”

Seeing Naoki Natsume walking alone, the three ladies following behind him were also very faced, and the wrinkled face of the old palace secretary showed doubts.

"Didn't that little girl come with you? I obviously left her a note. Call...... Maki Nanami? ”

"What?"

Naoki Natsume was a little dazed.

Why is the grave of that little girl when she was a child in the backyard of the Ao Palace in the deep mountains and old forests?

Also Who is Nanami Mao?

I only remember Mao Asai.

"Hmm!"

He clutched his head in pain, as if there was a ball of yarn full of needles in his head stirring.

It's a hundred times worse than a fever and headache!

Looking at the painful appearance of the familiar and unfamiliar young man in front of him, the old palace secretary frowned slightly and stroked his beard.

"You...... Forgot about it too? ”

"One, two, three......," he counted, and finally looked at the surrounding woods with insects and birds, and lowered his head and stretched out a fourth finger: "Four." Fortunately, it was timely, the eyes could not see the heart, and it would be really hopeless two days later. I'm still alive, old man, and I've finally come in handy. ”

He seemed happy, not in ten years.

The last time I was so happy, it was because Naoki Natsume fabricated a living life in front of his eyes ten years ago.

From then on, he called Naoki Natsume Naoki Natsume-sama.

The old palace secretary beckoned to the door, "You all come here." ”

"We?" Amamiya Chizuru frowned and pointed at herself, obviously resisting: "I am a materialist, I don't believe in this. ”

"Hahaha, young people really have the vigor of young people. If you don't believe it, you won't be afraid, so you shouldn't be afraid of me. ”

The old palace secretary laughed, he patted his thigh, glanced at Naoki Natsume, who had a splitting headache, stroked his beard and said, "Originally, I was going to bring these things into the coffin, but now...... I repented. ”

"I have a good relationship with Natsume-sama, and I also have a good relationship with that little girl, so I decided to risk my life to help them too."

He lit a stick of incense and shook it gently in front of Naoki Natsume, whose painful expression gradually eased, and finally tilted his head, and his face fell on the futon next to him like a sleeping baby, and fell into a deep sleep.

"Guys, do you want to have a dream?"

He shook the incense in his hand and smiled kindly, "There are people and things in your dreams that you have forgotten. ”