Standing right outside the entrance of the festival surrounded by bodyguards, Aoi fought the urge to fidget as her mother battled her stubbornly straight hair back into her professionally-styled do. Her fingers flexed around the handle of the violin case in her hand, the hem of her black dress swishing impatiently around her ankles as her gaze travelled over Erika's arms into the open square. 

The Saino's gold balloon-arched gates beckoned to her, each perfect sphere gleaming in the gentle sunlight, as if the sky and the festival's management had conspired to make the weather as pleasant as possible on that day. Beyond the entryway, she could see stalls lined up on one side, brimming with treats both sweet and savory portioned neatly into little samples, courtesy of the culinary aspirants. On the other side came the whirring sounds of all manner of ingenious inventions, their creators putting in the final tweaks before they could be displayed to research heads and university scouts looking for the next genius in the making. 

Aoi subtly leaned forward, her nose catching a whiff of crisp, deep-fried vegetables mingling with the fragrance of adzuki bean paste, only to be yanked back by a sharp tug of her braids. 

"I told you sleeping in the car was going to mess up your hair."

Aoi suppressed a smile. After nearly three days of getting possessed on-and-off, she'd finally had a good night's rest, and letting go of that so easily would just be utter madness. Yesterday, in the wake of her very public exorcism, Erika had been called to the school to pick her up, Miss Sugiyama enduring an earful from the enraged star as she ushered her weakened daughter into the car. From then on, Aoi had slipped into peaceful slumber, right until that morning where Erika had practically screamed her out of bed. 

"Now, if you start feeling sick, make sure you find your supervising teacher and tell her." Erika fussed with the silver clips holding Aoi's milkmaid braids atop her head, curling a few stray strands around her pinky so that they spiraled down the girl's flushed cheeks to her neck.

Aoi nodded obediently. "Yes, okaasan."

 "If you think that your instrument has been tampered with in any way, make sure she knows." Erika resumed finger-combing Aoi's hair, smoothing down any frizzy locks. 

"Yes, okaasan."

"And," Erika's voice turned quiet, leaning in as she fixed the collar of Aoi's dress, "if you feel that something is back, you must notify her immediately, understood?"

"Yes, okaasan."

Erika stepped back, hands firmly planted on Aoi's shoulders. "Remember, the float parade comes first. You can have fun all you want with your friends, but don't forget that today is about showcasing your potential to the recruiters, your first step to becoming a professional musician. Do your best, and the rest will follow."

Aoi looked up into her mother's eyes, her gaze steady. "Yes, okaasan."

A flurry of white swept into Aoi's vision, and for a moment the girl almost flinched, the image of cobweb strands hanging from the ceiling flashing before her eyes. It wrapped around her, Aoi's lips parted and poised to scream, until a bubbly voice shattered her nightmarish haze. 

"Aoi-chan!" The chalky swathes swept back to reveal Noriko with a winning smile, dressed in a snow-white kimono cinched at the waist by a pale pink obi. Ruby lipstick contrasted perfectly against the ivory of her teeth and her cheekbones were dusted with shimmering grey glitter, lending her youthful face a hint of hollowness. Her sleeves billowed around her in the wind, Noriko looking every bit like an ethereal fairy. 

Aoi sunk into the hug, only for the memory of Noriko face-down on the ground with a garrote around her neck to resurface in the back of her mind. She stiffened. "N-Noriko-chan. About yesterday, I—"

"No worries! You can barely see it!" Noriko chirped, lifting her chin to show Aoi her neck. Concealer had been dabbed around the area, covering up most of the traces, but if Aoi peered close enough she could see a hint of bruising. "Otosan told me everything, like how Seishin was his old school and his whole love triangle mess. It wasn't your fault he had a crazy ex, honest. I'll explain the whole drama later, right after we grab some food."

Aoi shook her head. "She already showed me."

"What, that spirit?" Noriko's eyes widened. Upon receiving confirmation, she shrugged. "Honestly, if you ask me, otosan should have just had her spirit scattered, at the very least. And then sold that story to some horror filmmaker."

Out of the corner of her eye, Aoi saw Erika glance over to the nearest bodyguard, who lowered his gaze. Their job was supposed to ensure that Erika sent Aoi into the festival completely undisturbed, and yet a little butterfly had slipped through. 

"Hi, Aoi's mom!" Noriko turned to Erika, dipping into a formal bow. "I'm Miyazaki Noriko, pleasure to meet you."

Erika nodded, giving the girl a quick once-over. She gestured to Noriko's white kimono. "The pleasure is all mine. Aoi says you're a ballerina. What will you be performing tonight?"

Noriko smoothed down her outfit, a blush creeping into her cheeks. "Madame Butterfly."

Erika's drawn eyebrows scrunched together. "Isn't it a little... mature? The themes in the story, I mean."

"The songs are beautiful." Noriko pinked further. "I patched them together for a solo."

"Noriko!" 

All three heads turned around at the sound of the voice to see Kenjiro, his arms reaching out only to be blocked by two interlocking arms of the bodyguards. Upon noticing all eyes on him, the man shrunk back with a sheepish grin that faintly resembled his daughter's smile. 

Erika directed the bodyguards to withdraw with a flick of her head. 

Kenjiro all but ran up to the songstress, wringing his hands before dipping into a bow. "Erika-san, it is so nice to finally see you— in person, I mean. I'm a huge fan, and uh— I'm also, Noriko's father."

"It's always nice to meet a fan." Erika regarded him cordially. "Aoi mentioned that she promised an autographed album."

Eyes widening, Aoi ducked back into the car momentarily, re-emerging with a shiny galaxy-themed album decorated with her mother's sprawling signature in silver. She'd very nearly forgotten it, but that wasn't something anyone needed to realize. 

Kenjiro's eyes bulged to the point they nearly popped out of his skull as he received it from Aoi's hands. "I-I-" he blinked, straightening himself as he clutched the album to his chest. He cleared his throat, looking between Aoi and Erika in turn. "I came to apologize. It was my past unresolved personal issues that led to... this whole unfortunate incident."

A sliver of ice slid into Erika's expression, but she let him continue.

"Kimura-san was a close friend of mine, I couldn't have had her soul destroyed. But she was full of resentful energy, the kannushi said, so all he could do was seal her away. We never expected her to escape."

As Kenjiro spoke, Aoi found herself enraptured by him. She stared up at him in awe, noticing the earnestness of his eyes and the bobbing of his Adam's apple when he swallowed. His downturned lips moved in the most alluring way she had ever seen, and her gaze traced the fine line of his jaw. No wonder Cho had been so obsessed with him. 

Then she blinked, unspeakably disturbed by her own thoughts about her friend's father. She glared at the ground in disgust, hoping nobody had seen her embarrassing ogling of a man almost twenty years older than her. She'd never even stared at Hiro that way, in all two years of walking past the theatre room every chance she got. 

"I'll admit that I am at fault here myself, Miyazaki-san," Erika was saying, breaking Aoi out of her horrified self-reflection, "I should have kept a closer eye on my child, noticed that something was off. But being a parent is a learning process, and one that we are all still working on, don't you agree?"

"Yes, Erika-sa—"

"Then I assume you won't go telling this story to the press, Miyazaki-san? As an avid fan, or so I've heard, you understand how rumors can be harmful to a budding artist's career."

Kenjiro nodded mutely. Even bubbly Noriko had fallen silent, acutely aware of the tension in the air. 

Erika spun to the girls, brightening up immediately as if she hadn't been sniping at someone a second ago. "I think we've all been standing here quite a while now, haven't we? Go on, you two, can't have you late for the parade. I'm sure both of you will be amazing up there on the floats."

She bent down and pressed a kiss to Aoi's forehead, smiling in acknowledgement to Noriko gushing words of polite gratitude. 

"Shall we?" 

Aoi stared at Noriko's open palm. Hesitantly, she placed her hand in hers, reciprocating the ballerina's smile. Together, they headed into the festival, wonder filling their eyes as they gaped at the fancy decorations and displays.

One of the bodyguards opened the car door for Erika. Before getting into the car, she whirled to Kenjiro, who was preoccupied with waving goodbye to the girls. "My lawyer will be in touch for an NDA."

🎻

"These are delicious." Noriko licked the chocolate dripping from her stick, somehow managing to chew at the same time. Her eyes roamed the stalls, looking out for the next fun thing to see as she dragged Aoi and Hiro along in her mini-adventure down the streets. "Who knew dark chocolate grilled squid would taste so good?"

"You're going to get a stomachache." Aoi eyed the revolting monstrosity in distaste. Her fingers curled around her boat-shaped dish of takoyaki grilled to crunchy perfection, violin case now strapped to her back. She poked at the abundant bonito flakes with her stick, piling them high above one of the octopus balls before spearing it and savoring a bite. 

Noriko merely waved away her concern, producing another stick of the same flavorful horror and sinking her teeth into it. "It's gourmet food; if I'm getting a tummy ache, so are all the Saino culinary scouts."

Next to them, Hiro slurped on his warm handmade soba noodles, each mouthful topped with scallions and chili powder. His hair was swept under a crown, and he was careful not to get any soup on his long midnight-blue sleeves. "I think both of you picked the wrong food. You're going to get stinky fish breaths."

"We don't need to open our mouths, silly. Aoi's playing the violin and I'm dancing ballet." Noriko rolled her eyes at him. "Besides, it's not like anyone can smell us from up there."

Aoi's gaze followed the direction of Noriko's chin-jerk to a series of enormous floats lined up at the end of the stalls, and octopus bits nearly fell out of her gaping mouth. 

Each almost twelve feet tall and brimming with vibrant decorations, the parade floats were a sight to behold. Most featured circular platforms, with the exception of the two rectangular floats made for the theatre troupes, obvious by the velvet red curtains framing the stages. The artists had spared no effort in their masterpieces, dressing the pre-made floats in deceptively realistic props and hand-painted canvases. Noriko's Float Nine featured the interior of a traditional Japanese house against the backdrop of a solemn blue winter, with wilting trees and fragile blossoms. Aoi's Float Eight now had a beautiful mini staircase spiraling up from the ground to complement the scroll of violins she had previously seen, though it was hard to tell if it was functional or otherwise. All eighteen of them already had drivers stationed within, ready to be wheeled out into the heart of the square where the performances would take place.

"We had a short steering rehearsal yesterday," Noriko explained, nibbling at the ends of a tentacle. "They briefed us a little, too. Like where we'd be positioned in the square, you know, so our sound systems don't overlap. And for all of us to be here by eight fifteen—"

"Saitou Hirotaka!" Ginji's pitchy pre-pubescent voice shrieked from the direction of one of the first few floats, his reddening face and big ears sticking out behind a curtain a few seconds after. "I said to be here at eight o'clock sharp! It is now eight oh-five!"

Hiro's eyes bulged, nearly choking on his noodles. He stuffed a final scoop of soba into his mouth, practically hurled the rest of it into the nearest trashcan, and broke into a sprint towards a majestic azure float with a gigantic dragon sprawled across it. "Coming!"

"Ganbatte ne!" Noriko called out, prompting Hiro to turn around mid-run. She pumped her fistful of squid stick in the air. Aoi raised her hand in a motionless wave, takoyaki stick pinned between her fingers and suddenly becoming very aware of a stray bonito flake stuck to the side of her mouth. 

Hiro dipped his chin with an affirmative smile, lifting one hand in a brief wave before turning back and disappearing behind a curtain. 

Aoi's eyes were still lingering on the red drape when Noriko let out an excited squeal. "Rin-chan!" 

A similar squeal erupted behind her, and Aoi swiveled to see the Yamasaki triplets, each dressed in sweeping robes of a different colour. The girl running up to Noriko with a wide beam, probably Rin, wore black and had a red ribbon in her hair. Hana was wearing her customary face of indifference, along with indigo robes and a matching ribbon, which left the one in lilac and flower braids to be Shizuka. All three of them had secured their flutes to their waistbands, a simpler substitute for cultivators' swords. 

Aoi smiled politely at each of them, continuing to take small bites of her food as the three girls caught up with them. A part of her was sure that she would bolt the second any of them raised a flute to their lips, but for now, she would resist the writhing of her insides to appear completely normal. Not that getting possessed by a vengeful ghost of her friend's father's high school ex-girlfriend and having a very public exorcism contributed to normal in any way. 

"Aoi-chan, have you seen their float? It's literally so beautiful!" Noriko pointed at a float decorated with cloud motifs and lined with bunny-shaped prints. A massive arch had been constructed from one end of the platform to another, tipped with ridges that resembled the points of a pagoda. Large lotus flowers and lush leaves twined around the structure, skillfully made to look like they were freshly picked out of a water garden. In short, if any of the floats were a Chinese drama fan's dream come true, it would be this one. 

Aoi saw the float and a gasp burst from her mouth. But it wasn't because it featured the most adorable rabbits in all of float decoration history, or that it was the most glorious float she had ever seen. No, it was because she noticed a very familiar float with violins and a set of stairs behind it. 

The Yamasaki triplets were on Float Seven. 

A/N: I fully intended this to be the last part of the story, but apparently everyone had other plans.