Chapter 144

Noriko could barely look at the ruins of her former home as she passed it on her way down. At least the yamabushi hadn't returned, so she was by herself. She felt excluded, dismissed, at Ikue's unwillingness to tell her what had become of her school and her friends. She hadn't seen most of them for many years, but still, they were her friends, her sisters, and the only people besides Ikue and Fumie to whom she could speak freely. Yuta knew no more than the little she'd told him or what he had guessed or learned from his research. Anything he learned on his own was fine, but she would not put another of her sisters at risk by telling him more. Ikue had shamed her.