Kokkuri-San

Saki paused at the corkboard outside the lecture hall, scanning past the usual cluster of tutoring ads and lost-cat notices. One handwritten note caught her eye:

Kokkuri-san. Come if you dare. Bring your own coin. Friday night at nine in room 406.

She glanced at her watch. Perfect timing—right after her chemistry class ended at 8:30.

At 8:50 p.m., Saki made her way to Haruto dormitory and knocked on room 406. Silence. She knocked again, harder this time. Still nothing. With a shrug, she turned to leave.

"Hey, wait! Don't go!"

A girl with short black hair opened the door, slightly out of breath. "Sorry, I was in the bathroom. I'm Rina." She gestured for Saki to come in. "You're here for the ritual, right?"

"Ritual?" Saki stepped inside the dimly lit room. "I thought Kokkuri-san was a game."

"It is a game, but we take it seriously here. We play the real version." Rina's eyes gleamed in the lamplight.

A lanky guy sitting cross-legged on the floor looked up from playing a videogame. "Hey, I'm Daiki. Looks like we have our three—perfect number to start."

"Just the three of us?" Saki asked.

"Smaller groups work better. More focused energy, higher chance Kokkuri-san will show up." Daiki held out his hand. "Did you bring a coin?"

Saki took out a bronze 10-yen coin from her pocket.

"Perfect." Daiki's expression grew serious. "Now listen carefully to the rules. This isn't a joke—if we don't follow them exactly, things can go wrong. Most important!—never, ever mock Kokkuri-san. We invite him, ask our questions, and send him away politely. Understood?"

Saki smiled and nodded.

They formed a triangle around a sheet of paper marked with hiragana characters, numbers, and yes/no boxes. Saki placed her coin in the center circle as instructed, and they each rested one finger lightly on top.

"Kokkuri-san, Kokkuri-san, please come to us," Daiki pleaded.

The coin trembled slightly under their touch.

"Will I pass Calculus 2?" Daiki asked.

The coin began to slide across the paper with smoothness, stopping at "Yes."

Rina went next. "Will I find a summer job?"

Again, the coin glided to "Yes."

Both turned to Saki. The room felt smaller somehow.

"Will my boyfriend and I... will we stay together until the end of the year?"

The coin moved sharply to "No."

Saki stared at the coin, her heart sinking. She looked up at Daiki and Rina, who were watching her with barely concealed smirks.

"You guys are jerks, and this is stupid," she stood abruptly and left.

"Saki, wait!" Daiki jumped up, panic in his voice. "You can't leave like that! You have to apologize to Kokkuri-san and take your coin back."

But she was already out the door, taking the stairs. His calls echoing behind her.

Later that evening, Saki found Riku already home, sprawled on their couch.

"Hey," he said, looking up with a smile. "How was your day?"

She barely grunted in response, dropping her bag on the floor.

"Everything okay? You seem upset."

"Just ran into some idiots at school."

"What happened?"

"Nothing important. Just some stupid game called Kokkuri-san."

Riku's expression shifted. "Kokkuri-san? Why would you play that?"

"I told you, it was nothing. Can we just watch TV?"

"Sure." But as they settled on the sofa together, Riku's arm around her shoulders, he spoke again. "You know, with that ritual, it's okay to get frustrated with the other players, but never insult Kokkuri-san himself."

Saki tensed. "What do you mean, ritual? It's just a game."

"Saki-chan," Riku said softly, using the affectionate suffix that usually made her melt, "you didn't insult Kokkuri-san, did you?"

"I told you. It was just a stupid game. I didn't insult anyone or anything." But even as she said it, the "No" answer echoed in her mind.

She turned to face him. "Do you love me?"

"Of course I do. Why would you even ask that?"

"I just need to know that everything's good between us. Because I love you so much."

He kissed her then led her to the bedroom. They made love with tenderness that chased away her fears. Afterward, as sleepiness overcame her, she whispered, "I love you."

"I love you too," he murmured back.

At 1:17 a.m., Saki's phone buzzed. She fumbled for it in the darkness, squinting at the bright screen.

Riku: Will come home soon
Riku: Sorry I'm late