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August 22: Festival Preparations

When I woke up this morning, the sunlight stung my eyes and my head was throbbing from a writing frenzy that lasted way beyond midnight. After last night’s dinner and evening bath, I went straight to bed and grabbed an empty notebook from my bag, writing down whatever I could recall: first day of arrival, homecoming party, beach outing, Tora’s birthday, and everything else in-between.


Looking at the open notebook I miraculously haven’t drooled on after blacking out, it seemed I had only reached up to the 20th of August, and even then the entry still wasn’t completed. Flipping and skimming through the pages, there were things I wrote that felt like it would be better off edited out when submitting to the teacher back at school.

Getting my groggy self up, I put the notebook and other things away and folded my heavier-than-usual futon and dragged myself to the bathroom to freshen myself up. The morning bath took the drowsiness away, but not the headache. Fortunately, the tea Grandma made along with breakfast did. In the background, the TV showed snippets of summer festivals across the country. It was the lifestyle segment of a news program covering said topic. I thought it would be nice if Minasato’s Bon Festival could also be covered; it could boost the number of tourists coming here.

The phone rang and Grandma got up to answer it. She then called for me, saying it was Tatsu-nii. When I said “Hello”, what greeted me was the dragon’s energetic voice.

“Yo, Hiroyuki!” Tatsu-nii said. “Good morning. Had breakfast yet?”

“Still in the middle of it,” I said. “What’s up?”

“We visited Tetsu-san yesterday.”

“Oh? How’s he doing?”

“He’s doing great! You just can’t keep a good carpenter down! Looks like he’ll be ready to go back to work in just a few days.”

“Great! I’m glad to hear that.”

He giggled. “You should’ve seen the look on his face when we showed him the box of sweets we bought. He had to keep himself from drooling.”

“Guess we know where his pot belly came from now.”

“Anyway that’s not why I called. You got any plans this morning?”

“Nothing in particular, really. Why?”

Tatsu-nii’s voice changed to a serious tone. “We have a bit of a situation here.”

“Does it involve Tappei-san and alcohol?”

“Yes,” the dragon said along with an audible sigh. “Pa wanted to have a bit of a drink before going to the festival but that ‘tiny bit’ ended up being three giant bottles.”

“Where are my snacks?!” Tappei-san said in the background. “I can’t drink without any -hic- snacks!”

“So what do I need to do?”

“We got some work to do on the shrine grounds to prepare for the Festival. And without Pa around we’re really gonna need the extra hand. And we need to finish before noon because the Kodoris have something to do there. Ah, what a pain!”

Since I was partly responsible for the Kodoris having the ritual done early, I felt like I had an obligation to help Tatsu-nii and the Group out so I agreed. Tatsu-nii said that he would pick me up in half an hour so I could finish breakfast and whatever else I needed to do in the morning. As soon as he hung up, I called Tora and told him what I was going to do. He said it was alright since he also needed to do some preparations and we agreed to meet at my house around four in the afternoon to go to the Festival. With the planning done, I finished my breakfast and got all my things ready.

Tatsu-nii arrived with his truck three minutes earlier than what we had agreed on. There were skid marks along the path the truck travelled, but miraculously it was still whole, which meant he didn’t damage anything along the way. At least, I hoped he didn’t. Chuukichi-kun and Akira were on the back, the little mouse clutching tight on the edge of the truck’s railing with a look of terror on him. The horse on the other hand shouted how the dragon could’ve killed everyone with his driving, followed by some expletives.

“Did you die?” Tatsu-nii asked.

“Well no,” Akira said.

“Then stop complaining.” The dragon turned to me. “Hiroyuki, get on. Saved the passenger seat just for you.”

Just as I got on my seat, Tatsu-nii revved up the truck and drove with speed I could only describe as murderous. Had it not been for me reacting quickly and closing the door before the car moved, I would’ve been sent flying already. Or the pieces of lumber and other stuff out back with Chuukichi-kun and Akira if they hadn’t been tied down. We made it at the foot of the shrine without causing any damage, but it felt like some years were taken from my life. I could say the same to the two riding on back who looked almost pale.

Once we got to the shrine grounds, there were some workers already halfway done with the paper float they were constructing. Some were hanging out paper lanterns, some were constructing the stage for the Bon dance, and some were setting up stalls. It was my first time heading to the shrine on the day of the Festival so early, and seeing everything being built from the ground up was a fresh sight, like a kid on a trip to the candy factory and seeing the entire process of turning plain sugar into a treat that would make the mouths of gods water.

From the woods behind the shrine, I heard the faint beat of a drum. Most likely that was the Kodoris rehearsing for their ritual. Sneaking to take a peek would only bring trouble, definitely in the form of a large scarred wolf beating me to a bloody pulp, so it was best not to interfere. Still, I wished good luck for all of them come the time for the actual thing. Even if Shun-kun tripping on his miko garb and biting the tip of his tongue while reciting prayers was something tempting to see.

Going back to the front, I noticed that Tatsu-nii was wearing nothing but a happi and a fundoshi, something I failed to see earlier because of the rush to get in here. That was in contrast to his two other companions who were wearing their regular work attire. The clothes accentuated the curves of his thick and stout figure, and the way his tail waved left and right made it seem like the fundoshi was loosening bit by bit. All his stuff’s hidden inside a slit so him going out fully naked won’t be too much of a problem, provided he stayed sober during said incident.

Coming from the left side of the shrine, Shigure-jiisan approached us. “You’re even later than I thought you’d be,” he said.

“Sorry about that, Uncle,” Tatsu-nii said, bowing slightly. “We had a little problem back home and had to pick up Hiroyuki from his home.”

“I’m sorry for the delay,” I said.

“Oh?” The old dog stroked his beard. “Tappei must’ve been hard on you guys, huh?”

Tatsu-nii put his hands in his hips. “Well, that’s kinda true. He was like, ‘We’re going to the shrine to help with the work’ then drinks until he can’t drive.”

“That Tappei never changed, honestly.” Shigure-jiisan’s eyes turned upward. “I can imagine him getting into a fight with the missus right about now. But enough about that. For work, there’s only cleanup,” Shigure-jiisan then pointed to Akira and Chuukichi-san carrying bits of scrap wood, “But I guess the other guys already got that covered.”

“Any other work, Uncle?”

“How about an errand? I asked for some Indian millet from Botan back at the school. Would you guys get it for me?”

“Indian millet? Is that sweet sorghum?”

“Yes that’s it. It’s only a little, but I thought our food cart should have some local produce. The millet from the school should be a good addition. Well, I leave everything to you.”

I raised my left arm and flexed, putting my right hand on my left bicep. “You can count on us, Shigure-jiisan.”

Tatsu-nii ran towards the stairs. “Let’s go, Hiroyuki!”

What followed was another speedy drive to the school. Since all of the equipment on the back of the truck was unloaded, Tatsu-nii didn’t have anything holding him back from driving even faster than before. While we did make it to the school in record time, I was on edge the whole time that by the time we arrived, my hands has red marks all over them from grabbing the seat belt too tight.

Entering the school, I called out for anyone inside but there seemed to be no one there, not even Botan-sensei who practically lived here with his duties as night guard and all. We decided to stay in and wait for him there just in case he came looking for us. We roamed around and I took the moment to bask in the nostalgia of the place, sans the ghost hunting.

The shoe racks looked like they just got a fresh coat of paint. The paper on the sliding doors were a fresh white, as if new. The floors also seemed to have a new coat of was applied to it. All of it suggested that the school had itself refurbished quite recently. One thing I noticed though, which I failed to last time in Kounosuke’s little stint, was that the rooms now had air conditioners. Small ones, but enough to cool the classrooms.

Eventually we reached the teachers’ lounge and decided to wait for Botan-sensei there. Students were usually not allowed to enter the place unless there were matters to discuss with a teacher, but we’re not students anymore so I could say that rule is moot at this point. Tatsu-nii tried to fiddle around with the thermostat but found out that it couldn’t go lower than 18 degrees.

“Screw it, this is good enough,” Tatsu-nii said.

“You know, I would appreciate breaking into this place more if we were kids,” I said. “Now that we’re no longer in elementary, it feels underwhelming.”

“Man, I’m so envious of the kids today!” Tatsu-nii placed himself near the air vent. “Back in our day, we only had electric fans to cool us down. No fair! Kids today should experience that too!”

“Don’t you think that’s a little egoistical?”

The dragon looked inside the cupboards. “Oh look, there’s manju. You want one?”

“Tatsu-nii! We don’t even know who those belong to.”

“There’s no one else in the school but Botan-sensei. Do you think anyone else would own this?”

“Well, no...”

“Then stop your worrying and get one already!” Tatsu-nii took one and held it between his lips.

In reluctance, I took the manju he offered. We went the extra mile and brewed some tea for ourselves too. The red bean paste had a bit of a weird smell, but other than that it tasted fine. We ended up having about two pieces of manju each, which was a horrible mistake with what followed.

Some thirty minutes after eating the manju, our stomachs rumbled and we were curling from the pain. I had the urge to fart but I feared doing so might release something else other than just gas. That weird smell should’ve been enough of a warning for us that the manju had already spoiled. Trying to contain ourselves, we got out of the teacher’s lounge and looked for the nearest bathroom. As we treaded the hallways, our stomachaches came in waves, moving on when it waned and staying still at its peak. Tatsu-nii was close to giving up, but we had to press on.

Then eventually we reached our place of refuge: the men’s room. Sparing no time we rushed and took a cubicle each and did what we had to do, details about it need not be said. I got my business done quicker than Tatsu-nii and just as I was washing my hands, in came Botan-sensei rushing towards a cubicle, letting out the loudest and wettest fart I have ever heard in my life so far. No guessing that the manju was the cause. That confirmed the fact that it was his, but meeting your old teacher in the bathroom and see him take a crap was stunning. The awkward kind of stunning. Especially if you were aware that the stench that now filled the bathroom came from said teacher.

“Man, this is bad,” Botan-sensei said in his cubicle, still passing a lot of gas. “Should’ve checked the expiration date of that manju.”

“Is there no normal adult in this place?” I thought to myself.

While I could’ve gone out already and wait for Tatsu-nii outside, a part of me wanted to stay just in case he needed help like, say, running out of toilet paper or his cubicle door getting stuck. The former did happen, but not to the person I expected it to.

“Wait. There’s no toilet paper! H-Hey! Is someone out there?!”

“Botan-sensei? You need help?” I asked.

“Nishimura? Ah, yes please. Sorry. Can you check the supply closet for toilet paper?”

“Alright.” I open the supply closet and searched. “Toilet paper, toilet paper, aha! Found them!”

“Thanks Nishimura. You’re a lifesaver.”

“Heads up, sensei!” I threw the roll over the top of the cubicle.

“Got it!”

After a brief moment, I heard the sounds of toilets flushing as both Tatsu-nii and Botan-sensei came out of their cubicles.

“Ahh, much better,” Botan-sensei said. “Lesson learned. Never ever eat manju past its expiration date.”

“Yeah,” I replied. “The taste was deceiving.”

“Sure was. Wait. What do you mean ‘the taste was deceiving’?”

And I had to open my big mouth.

“Huh? What’s going on here?” Tatsu-nii asked, coming out of his cubicle.

“We got busted,” I replied. “Oddly enough, it wasn’t because of you.”

Botan-sensei smirked. “Normally I’d hit you guys on the head, but the stomachaches are enough of a punishment. So, I guess you guys are here for the vegetables Shigure-san requested?”

Tatsu-nii nodded. “Yep.”

“Alright. Come, I’ll show you guys where-”

“Hold on a sec,” I said. “Have you guys even washed your hands yet?”

“Ah.” The two paused before heading to the sinks.

Heading outside the school after our bathroom business was done, Botan-sensei led us to the garden where he showed us not only the Indian millet Shigure-jiisan requested, but the crates of vegetables that we would also bring. Either I missed something while the old dog was talking about our errand, or he played us and deliberately didn’t say anything about it. Given that we were there already, we had no choice but to load them onto the truck.

When we got back to the shrine with the vegetables, Shigure-jiisan already gave us our next task without even so much as to give us a minute to rest. Akira and Chuukichi-kun came to report that the stage construction had already been done, so the task assigned to us was to set up the Taiko drums. The drums that later at night many male beastmen, in all their fundoshi-clad muscled glory, will beat with giant sticks for the Bon dance among other things. Once again, Tatsu-nii’s inhuman strength saved the day.

Noontime came which meant not only lunch break for all of us workers, but also time to leave whatever we were doing as the Kodori clan would use the shrine grounds for the harvest ritual. Just before going down the shrine stairs, I got a glimpse of Shun-kun and his miko outfit. It was the traditional white upper garment and a red hakama, and he also wore crown that was made with dried grass and held what seemed to me a small tree branch close to himself. That was all I could see as one of the attendants shooed me away.

It also meant that I had to leave as I needed to get ready for the Festival. Not willing to endure another death-defying ride in Tatsu-nii’s truck, I opted to walk home. On the way, I encountered Soutarou-kun who carried a tin of caramel candies he planned to give to Kyouji-san later as part of his plan. I took a sample and upon tasting, told the little lion that it would surely win him the Labrador’s heart.

We went our separate ways after bidding him good luck. And since there was still a bit of time, I took a quick rest and sat under a tree.