Chapter 343: Sumiko

Characters (in order of appearance)

 * Yoshimori Sumimura
 * Sumiko Sumimura
 * Chushinmaru Karasumori
 * Tokimori Hazama
 * Toshimori Sumimura
 * Shuji Sumimura
 * Shigemori Sumimura

Summary
In a flashback, Sumiko Sumimura is doing laundry when young Yoshimori comes in, wiping away tears. Sumiko asks if his grandfather has been working him hard again, but adds that it'll be troublesome if he can't use the techniques. Yoshimori admits he doesn't hate the training, but wishes someone else was the heir. To cheer him up, Sumiko tells him to change clothes and takes him to a cafe, where she buys him ice cream. Sumiko promises to keep it a secret from Shigemori. Yoshimori asks about Masamori, who likes ice cream as well. Sumiko is surprised, since Masamori never said so, and Yoshimori insists that she would know if she watched him. Sumiko decides to bake a cake when they get home, which Yoshimori is eager to see. However, the cake comes out badly burnt, and Sumiko decides to get rid of it before Masamori comes home from school. Yoshimori desperately tries to reassure her, saying the cake will be fine if they just remove the outside, and promises to help her next time.

In the present, Yoshimori is shocked as he realizes that his mother plans to stay behind so that she can close the Shinkai from the inside. Sumiko explains that all ties must be cut with the outside so that the Shinkai can be sealed from the inside. Tokimori Hazama did this as well with the previous Karasumori Castle, but failed. Yoshimori refuses to let her, and Sumiko asks if he would let all their work so far be wasted. Yoshimori refuses to let her become a sacrifice, but Sumiko says she doesn't think of it as a sacrifice, because she wants to do it. Yoshimori assumes that Hazama has tricked her, but Sumiko reveals that she has been working on this plan for ten years and knows every detail. Yoshimori volunteers to take her place instead. Sumiko seems amused, and says she wouldn't bother doing it if Yoshimori could do it himself. She explains that the Shinkai Yoshimori built with Chushinmaru's power also uses the power and structure of the Shinyuuchi to maintain its shape, and that she was balancing it from the outside the whole time, where Yoshimori would have just let it collapse. Yoshimori's only task was to draw the power out of Chushinmaru.

Yoshimori angrily says he hates the idea of Chushinmaru. Yoshimori promised to protect him so Chushinmaru could live outside, but Chushinmaru never accepted that possibility. Sumiko points out that Chushinmaru chose that fate so he could protect others, but Yoshimori continues to say he hates the whole idea. Sumiko finally says that she thought everyone would be happy with it: if she seals the Shinkai, Yoshimori would no longer be the heir, and their family would no longer be bound to Karasumori. Sumiko says she doesn't understand people's hearts, and that someone with her power isn't capable of living as a normal person. She admits she was unable to do anything for Yoshimori or their family, and that all she can do is use her monstrous power for their sakes. Yoshimori insists that she isn't a monster and that things will be fine if she's with them, but Sumiko says they're already used to her not being home. Sumiko reveals that she visited Yoshimori while he was training under Hazama, only to find him fast asleep. She admits that was the last time she saw him with her own eyes, and after saying so, her body dispels, revealing it to have been a Shikigami clone. With her last words, Sumiko says it will take some time to seal off the huge world that Yoshimori created.

Hazama appears and tells Yoshimori it's pointless to resist: Sumiko has a hard will, and Yoshimori is nowhere near her level. He points out that Yoshimori has been in the spirit world for three days, which is his limit. Hazama says he's achieved his goals now, and that Yoshimori is free to do what he wants. Yoshimori gives Hazama a real body within the Shinkai, which will keep his spirit from fading. Then he punches Hazama in the face, and orders him to stay by Chushinmaru's side, and to eventually tell him the truth about their relationship. Yoshimori returns home, only to find his family eagerly awaiting him.