Today was supposed to be ordinary and boring. Itsuki Mutsumi had the day off from work at the convenience store, and had been dragged to do more maintenance work on the shrine grounds. One of the toolsheds had a broken window (some brats threw a baseball through it) and they were in the middle of the rainy season, so it had to be fixed as soon as possible. So it was on a slightly sour mood that Itsuki made his way uphill to the shrine. His brow was already sweaty from the bicycle ride up the hill when he arrived, even though he was wearing his tracksuit. It was a perk though from working outside and at odd hours; he could wear his school tracksuit without a problem, and wear other equipment over it if necessary. He usually switched out his running shoes for steel-toed boots for security reasons though.
The young man caught a glimpse of his boss's daughter, the shrine maiden Sayori. She waved a timid hand at him before disappearing into the shrine, her long black hair flowing gently with the breeze. A light blush creeped on Itsuki's cheeks before he could prevent it, and he turned around angry with himself. The girl was still in high school, and she was way too young. But she's so cute... The boy shook his head - since when did he like cute girls?! He had no time for such nonsense. Still a little annoyed with himself, Itsuki turned around and fished out his phone to text his younger brother.
Hey Keiichi~
Working on the shrine grounds, might be out a while. There's leftover beef stew in the fridge. Remember to do your homework, ok?
Love, your brother
Once that was out of the way, Itsuki made for the toolshed with the broken window. Thankfully, the priest had already ordered a new window glass and it was sitting inside the shed, waiting for him. He put on his work boots and his gloves, then slipped in his earbuds to listen to some music while he worked. He didn't always do this, but sometimes it helped him to not get distracted. With Sayori around the grounds today, he definitely needed to focus harder on doing his job. The work itself wasn't difficult, but it required a lot of attention to details and a careful handling of the heavy glass. He started by removing the old one, breaking off the pieces and taking down the window frame. Then he used some sealing glue to secure the glass in place, and took a short break while it dried.
He had made rice balls the night before, and he devoured those in just a few minutes before heading back towards the bottom of the stairs of the shrine grounds to get a coffee can in the vending machine. Just as the coins dropped in the machine, someone poked his arm lightly. Startled and pulling out his earbuds instantly, Itsuki turned around with a frown only to look down at Sayori.
"Hey-yo, Mutsumi-senpai." The girl smiled warmly at him, though there was a small sparkle of amusement in her eyes.
"Sa... Ikie-san. I didn't notice you." Itsuki cleared his throat and pressed the button for the coffee can.
"Silly, you can call me Sayori. Everyone does. Also, sorry I scared you!" Her grin clearly indicated she was not sorry at all.
The boy nodded and flashed her a small smile, grabbing his drink and taking a few steps away from the vending machine. "All right, Sayori-chan. You didn't scare me, I was just listening to music. Busy day for you?"
Sayori Ikie nodded thoughtfully, her lips almost pouting, before dropping some coins in the vending machine as well. Unlike Itsuki, she chose an oolong tea drink. "Yeah, somewhat. We're not in a festival season yet, but there are a lot of older people visiting these days. It feels nice for them to have someone to talk to, you know?"
"I suppose." Itsuki looked at the time on his phone and cleared his throat, finishing his coffee in just a few sips. "Sorry Sayori-chan, I have to get back to work. I'll see you later!"
They waved goodbye and Itsuki jogged back up the stairs, his lungs protesting at the sudden strain, but he didn't stop until he was back at the top and almost back at the toolshed. That was a close one... Close to what?! Groaning, Itsuki ruffled his hair, annoyed with himself. His earbuds back in and forcing himself to focus on the music and the rest of his work, he put his gloves back on and placed the frame back on the window.
It was almost the end of the day when he finished everything he had been assigned. Out of nowhere, a low breeze sent a shiver down his spine, giving him goosebumps all over the back of his neck. He pulled out the earbuds, wondering if he had just imagined the breeze and if instead it was just the feeling of being watched. But there was no one around, even the lights in the shrine were out, meaning Sayori had gone home already. Creeped out, Itsuki began picking up the tools he had used and swept the floor for good measure, making sure there weren't any glass shard residue. Once again a breeze coming from the back of the shed startled him, and this time he found the source: the wardrobe he had repaired a couple weeks ago had one door swinging slowly, as though a gust of wind was coming out from inside of it.
"How the... What?" Itsuki mumbled to himself before dropping the broom against the wall. Curiosity taking over logic, he stalked towards the wardrobe and pulled the door open. He knew what should have been in there, he had put it in himself. Yet, the wardrobe was completely empty save for some kind of tapestry he hadn't noticed before on the back of it. His hand raised to touch it, but to his astonishment it wasn't hard. The back of the wardrobe was simply gone. Instead, his hand pushed the tapestry like it was a curtain, and on the other side he could hear the rustling of leaves. It was took dark to see, and with the sun setting there wasn't enough light to make out anything. Taken by a sudden impulse he couldn't explain, Itsuki stepped in the wardrobe and walked past the tapestry.
What followed was nothing Itsuki had ever experienced. It was like he had walked right into a tight corridor, the sides threatening to crush him, yet he could move his arms freely. The impulse to run took over and the boy ran and ran and ran until he was out of breath. Something tripped him, and closing his eyes tightly he stumbled forward and fell flat on... grass.
