As It Rains - Thai9911 - プロジェクトセカイ カラフルステージ！ (2024)

Chapter 1

Chapter Text

A shriek rang out in the dark streets, the lights above flickered. Waves of negative energy was released from the screaming demon bound by spiritual chains.

“L-Let me go, you…” The ghostly figure gargled, skin wrapped around bones for its body. Its white cloak, stained with faded blood and long, shaggy black hair fluttered in rapid speed. A glowing blue circle surrounded it, figures slowly etching itself into the border.

A chuckle, “My apologies, but that’s not going to happen. You cause a little too much trouble for your own good.”

As the circle finished, it shone even brighter. The demon let out a final, furious screech as its body burned into the essence of life.

Rui walked forward, his smirking face shrunk into one of mild sorrow. Exorcising spirits stopped being fun once adrenaline ran out, and what’s left was just regret for how things could have been.

The life essence lingered, and if not quickly dealt with, will be consumed by another demon. So Rui pulled out a talisman and let the glowing orbs absorbed into the paper.

He took in a breath and mumbled, “May you be free from this world, may you find peace in your next.” With a cast of spirit fire, the talisman burst into a blue flame in Rui’s hand.

The whisper of smoke flew to the sky, fading in with the stars above.

Rui closed his eyes and shook his head. He learned to not be hung up so much on these things.

Right then, he heard his phone rang. Picking it up revealed the caller was familiar, “Rui, all the presence is gone. You should head back.”

“I see. Do you want me to get something for you while I’m heading back, Nene?”

“Just get us some dinner.”

“Will yakisoba be fine?”

“Yeah, I’ll take any- Huh?”

Rui frowned, “Did something happen?”

Through the phone, he could hear Nene’s chair creaking as she settled herself, “It’s… I’ll tell you about it once you’re here.”

“Is it serious?”

“…Nothing you can do about it right now, so don’t try.”

Rui’s shoulder relaxed, “Fufu, you act like I like running to trouble.”

“Rui.” Nene deadpanned. She sighed as he giggled, “Get me extra pork. And take care of yourself.”

“Got it. See you.”

Rui put his phone back in his pocket. The closest soba place was a couple of streets away, and he wanted to pick up some stuff at a grocery store.

He tapped into his spiritual connections and called his companion, a Gashadokuro, into existence.

The giant skeleton’s joints creaked as gas leaked out of its mouth. Its thirst for humans, born from the years of anger and pain as unfortunate souls, was radiating. Even now, with their little contract in place, the demon still hungered for him, purely for what he would taste like.

Rui hopped on the giant’s boney palm and let it carried him to the nearest rooftop, then dismissed it. Yokai was invisible to the naked eye, by Rui wasn’t. Seeing a floating figure outside their house would surely frighten someone.

The building wasn’t high enough for Rui to see much besides the empty streets. Painting the road in white, the lights above shone unrelentingly. Some families still had their windows lit up, even after midnight. He could make out the shape of the river a little away, soft waves sparking like stars as they moved.

It was just as beautiful as it always was.

Rui jumped from roofs to roofs, feet light and free. Perhaps the best parts about his powers was the way his movement felt so smooth, like he was drifting through the air.

The noodle shop Nene liked was a few streets away. Rui dropped from the rooftop to an alleyway, then walked it over to the store.

The chef greeted him when he entered, “Welcome! What do you like to eat tonight?”

“Two yakisoba to go, please. One with extra pork, the other no veggies.”

“Coming right up!”

Rui sat on the counter stool, chin in his hand. Nene’s reaction lingered in his mind.

Maybe it was related to clan business? She usually handled that for them, since Rui couldn’t care less about it.

But even then, she was great with dealing with these issues; she was trained since young. What could have happen-

Rui snapped his head to the shop’s door on instinct.

There was a strong spiritual presence just now, passing through the street at breakneck speed. When Rui opened the door to check, it was already gone.

It was raining.

———

Nene was hungry.

Adjusting her headphones while staring at her keyboard, she wished for nothing but the sweet release of death, as this meeting droned on for hours.

“Now, Kusanagi?”

“Yes?” Her heart jumped. She pulled up her report in another tab and took in a deep breath.

“The appearance of malevolent spirits had increased. The Shingo Prefecture suffered the greatest increase in both numbers and spiritual energy.”

Nene’s hand fidgeted under the table. “The regions surrounding it, Yukishiki and Shiramatsu, also experience a rise, though not by much.”

“Me and Kamishiro have done patrols around these areas, but we haven’t found anything substantial. The shrine on Shiramatsu Mountain is intact, and the peaceful Yokai there haven’t exhibited any behavioral changes.”

“So you don’t have any idea where this sudden influx is coming from?”

“My apologies, but no.” Nene looked at her boss and shook her head. “We are still doing surveillance. A report will be made soon.”

“I’m hoping that we’ll get that report at the next meeting.” Which is next month. She internally cringed.

“We’ll try our best.”

Ishiyama nodded, “Well, the complication regarding rogue spirit energy will have to be backlogged for now. After all, the forthcoming ceremony is much more important.”

Everyone in the meeting call tensed up. Nene could tell that even Ishiyama looked uneasy, “I understand how everyone’s a little worried, but this is something unavoidable. We should strive to do our best by making proper preparations.”

Nene rolled her eyes, a frown etched on her face.

She zoned out until people was saying their goodbyes in the call. Then she said hers and promptly got out, slamming her laptop with too much force.

Laying on it, Nene breathed out a sigh of relief. If it wasn’t for the knocks on the door, she would have fallen asleep.

“Come in.”

Rui walked in, putting their food on the floor in front of her bed, “My apologies for being late. It was raining quite badly.”

“It was?” Nene groggily glanced at her closed windows, the thick mint green curtain completely blocked out the night. Combined with her headphones, she didn’t hear the rain at all.

Stretching her legs as she stood up, Nene turned to see a water-soaked Rui, his hair looked like it had just been dried with a towel, “Did you not wait for the rain to end?”

“Did I need to?” Rui grinned, “I was just worried that my friend at home was starving to death, is that a crime?”

Nene rolled her eyes, “You’re impossible.”

She sat opposite to him, and after being given her meal, shoved the yakisoba noodles into her mouth. She could tell Rui was amused, but she was too hungry to care.

Finishing their meal, Nene wiped her mouth with the paper napkin given with their order, while Rui wiped his using the back of his hand.

She judgementally stared, he smiled like a cat.

Nene shook her head, “Alright, first off, by next month, we need to compile a report regarding the strange spiritual energy spikes we’ve been seeing.”

Rui tilted his head, “That isn’t so bad.”

“Well, yes, it’s not that bad on its own…” Nene glanced to the side, “We have to do this… while preparing for the unification ceremony.”

Rui’s expression completely changed. His eyebrows tightened, his smirk turned into a grimace, “Wait, in September? This early?”

“Yes, that’s what have been decided on. Erika texted me about it before the meeting start. That’s why I reacted like that.“

Rui’s face was on his chin, While scowling, his cheek puffed up like he was a toddler, “I haven’t mentally prepare myself enough.”

“Yes, I know.” Nene sighed, “I haven’t even recovered from last year’s sh*tshow.”

Both of them let out a groan.

“…Well, if fate ordains it…” Rui fell dramatically backwards, arm covering his eyes, “I guess there’s nothing that can be done. When does it start?”

“Today’s the 4th, so it should be the 11th.” Nene played with a lock of hair, “Though we are expected by the 8th.”

“It lasts five days, so… The 16th is when it ends, right?”

She nodded, although he couldn’t see it.

The room was silent for a minute, with Rui just laying on the floor, while Nene cleaned the mess that was her table.

“I really don’t want to deal with any of it.” A small confession from behind her.

“Me too.” She mumbled.

Nene put all of her trash in a plastic bag, making sure she didn’t lose anything valuable or important. Picking up their dinner, she then maneuvered around Rui and silently exited her room.

When she came back after taking out the trash, she heard the almost silent sound of his room’s door closing.

It was raining.

Chapter 2

Chapter Text

A loud ringing sounded in the room.

“Mmm…” Saki groaned as she sat up on her bed, hand reaching out to shut off her phone alarm.

She checked her phone, “September 5th… Huh, Shiho just sent a message in the group chat.”

Shiho: “Anyway, are you guys free tonight?”

Ichika: “Yeah, I don’t have anything going on.”

Honami: “Me too.“

Saki: “Me three!”

Shiho: “Are you finally awake?”

Saki: “Yes!? I woke up early today!”

Ichika: “It’s 8AM already, Saki.”

Saki: “That’s still early!”

Honami: “We’re meeting in thirty minutes, Saki.”

Saki: “I can make it on time, you see!”

Shiho: “You said that before and you were fifteen minutes late, Saki.”

Saki scrambled off her bed and ran straight to the bathroom at the end of the corridor. With her phone still in hand and a change of clothes, she rushed straight into the shower.

Saki: “None of you have any faith in me :((“

Ichika: “I want to believe in you, Saki, but it’s kind of difficult.”

Saki: “Ichi~ :[[ I’m mad now.”

Shiho: “If you make it on time, I’ll buy you some ice cream.”

Honami: “I believe in you!”

Saki: “Aww! See, Hona’s the best!”

Shiho: “This conversation has derailed so quickly.”

Saki: “And whose fault is that???”

Ichika: “Alright, let’s talk about tonight’s plans a little later. Just get to the studio on time, Saki. And don’t be reckless, okay?”

Saki: “Gotcha, boss!”

Dashing out of the shower, Saki quickly went through all of her routines, skipping only the heavy makeup.

“Let’s just go with some lip balm. Ah, what hair-tie should I use…” She opted for a simple pair with star charms. Pulling her hair up into twin tails, she finished with a pair of sparkly earrings.

Today, she went with a white blouse with a picture of sunflower at the front, along with a pair of light blue jeans. Saki checked herself through one last time and gave herself a thumbs up.

She ran back to her room, grabbed her keyboard and purse, and sped down the plight of stairs, reaching the clan house’s kitchen. She planned to just grab something light from the fridge.

Her eyebrows jumped in surprise.

Usually, at this hour, most of the house had their breakfast already and moved on to their other tasks, like school or chores. Today, though, there was a group of younger girls chatting about.

They turned their heads at her approach.

“Saki!” Mina, an older girl, greeted, her tensed shoulder lowered down in relief, “Thank the world it’s you.”

“Thank me…?” Saki laughed, scratching her head, “What for? Is something happening?”

The girls glanced around nervously, then Mina offered her a hesitant smile, “Actually, it’s nothing important. Are your band practising today?”

“Yes!” She jostled her keyboard, which was strapped to her back, “We’re performing in a few days, and debuting a new song too! It’s important for Leo/need to perform their best!”

The girls didn’t seem to share her enthusiasm, but that was to be expected. Saki considered their music to be relatively mainstream, but most of the girls thought that it was too modern for them.

“Anyway, is there anything left to eat?” Saki’s legs was twitching, “Cold bread would be fine!”

Mina nodded, reaching to a cabinet for a packaged yakisoba bread. The others girls, however, were completely frozen in their spots. Their eyes kept flittering between Saki and the door behind her.

Although she wanted to check the situation out, she was already cutting it close. So Saki sent a quick ‘Thank you!’ to Mina with a nod and ran as fast as she could to the entrance.

As she slipped on her shoes, the main door opened. Saki looked up to greet them.

Then her heart stopped. Her smile froze.

“Saki-” She rushed past the two figures with determination, refusing to acknowledge the voice that called her. She tripped on her untie shoelace and almost smacked herself to the ground.

But she didn’t look back. She ran.

It wasn’t until she got to the bus stop did she stop running. Heaving out breaths, Saki glanced around, ignoring the weird stares by the old couple at the stop.

No one was chasing her. She was safe.

Saki grabbed the nearest lamppost, breathing in and out like how Honami taught her. Thinking about good things, like the ice cream Shiho would buy her anyway, or the special thing they were planning tonight.

Her legs stopped shaking. Her eyes got in focus again.

The bus arrived. Saki checked the number and hopped in. Shoving the yakisoba bread into her mouth, she let today’s incident sink into the depth of her unconscious.

———

“Alright, I think that’s good enough.”

As soon as Shiho said that, Saki plopped onto her keyboard and groaned.

“Saki.” Shiho sent her a look. She sent one back.

“Are you hungry?” Honami was dismantling the drum set already, “We could get something to eat before tonight.”

“Oh, oh!” Saki pulled herself up, “Fried chicken!”

Ichika glanced at her with a soft smile, “There’s a place I know that sells good fried chicken. It’s well-priced too.”

“Where is it?” Shiho zipped up her bass guitar case, “If it’s close, we can eat quickly and get to the venue early to find a spot.”

“It’s on Hanami Street, I’m pretty sure.” Ichika tapped her chin.

“Good, the venue is close to there.” Shiho wore the guitar case, just as Saki was done putting away her keyboard, “C’mon, let’s go.”

“Hey! Give me a sec!” Saki got the keyboard on her, with Ichika’s assistance. Honami put away the stools, and once they were done, Shiho shut off the lights and they exited.

Walking to the metro line, Saki took a look at the sky as the sun set. Today, it was clear, and she imagined the moon and stars tonight would be extra sparkly.

Ichika was quietly guiding her along with them so they wouldn’t lose her like last time.

On the metro ride, Honami was going through her schedule tomorrow. Shiho was staring at the speeding scenery, and Ichika was listening to her Miku playlist. Saki occasionally interrupted them with cute animal videos and memes.

She got a side eye for laughing too loudly.

Once they entered the restaurant, Ichika’s stomach rumbled.

“…I thought I could last longer than that…”

The girls laughed together as they found a table.

“Hmm, apparently they have a special ‘Spicy Chicken Challenge’ going on.” Ichika scanned through the menu, while Honami got them some sauce.

Saki’s eyes sparkled.

“Saki, no.”

She pulled out her puppy eyes.

“Saki, you can’t eat much spicy stuff.” Shiho scowled, “Remember the last time we tried something like this?”

“But that was years ago! I’m much better now.” Saki pouted, “Plus, look at the rewards! There’s a group of four plushies, one for each of us, and we get a free desert every time we buy something from here for the next year.”

“W-While the plushies are cute, are you so sure that any of us would win? None of us are good with spicy things!”

“It says here that the recommended amount of participants are four or five.”

“Ichika!”

“I’m just telling the truth.” She tilted her head with nervous eyes. Saki and Shiho had a small staring match until Honami tapped on the table gently.

“The challenge just started this week, and it lasts a full month.“ She reminded them, “Let’s get something light today and decide on this another time!”

“That’s a good idea, Hona.” Ichika said, breathing out a sigh as the tension between the other two cooled down.

“Let’s just get a four-people party meal. Is that good with everyone?” Three nods. Shiho moved to the counter to order. She snuck a look at the small plushies before returning to their table.

A good dinner later, the girls ran to the venue on Azayaka Street. It was already starting to fill, even though it was still a little early.

“The bands tonight are pretty popular, huh…” Saki turned her head all around the place. This venue wasn’t that different from the usual ones they performed at, though.

“Most of them have been active around the same time as us.” Shiho stated, “The most popular one here, I know some members from way back since those gigs in school.”

“Really?” Ichika tapped her chin. Shiho nodded.

“They were all freelancers, though. It was only around a year ago did they from this band together.”

“What’s their name?” Saki asked.

“Re-Footnotes. Their music really have blown up recently.”

“Let’s wait for their performance, then.” Honami stood up, “How about getting something to drink first?”

They settled down with water bottles, waiting for it to start.

Soon, the announcer came on the stage, his voice was booming even without a microphone. The show quickly pick up pace as he named one of the five bands performing that night.

Honestly, to Saki, the music was a little too loud. But the crowd seemed to be riled up by the performance, and soon all of them was caught up with the atmosphere.

After the fourth band finished their second song, Saki’s voice was hoarse from screaming too much. Honami reminded her about her water bottle, and she proceeded to chug the entire thing in one go.

“Oh, are you guys tired already?”

Wiping her mouth, Saki snapped her head up in shock.

An amber-eyed girl, long black hair with blue tips jumped on the stage, her guitar in hand, “We don’t appreciate the lack of support toward your home team, you know? C’mon, show us some energy!”

The crowd went absolutely buck wild.

“Home team?” Honami asked.

“Shiraishi An. She was born here, plus her father is a famous musician.” Shiho said, “On stage, she’s Vivid, but her actual name is so well-known around here that no one really refers to her by that.”

“Hey, calm down, will you?” A guy this time. He carried his bass on one shoulder like a battleaxe. His messy orange hair had a bright yellow streak in front, and his olive-green eyes shone in the light.

He glanced at the crowd, “If you all spent your energy right now, where will the energy be when we actually burn this stage?”

An even louder scream sounded out.

“Looks like you’re underestimating them.” The last two members got on stage. The one who spoke had light pink eyes and hair, tied to the side with a ribbon, “Get louder, everyone! You want to prove his condescending ass wrong, right?”

The venue was on fire at this point. Saki was screaming again until she felt a cough coming up. Honami handed her an extra water bottle, which she gulped greedily.

“The bassist’s on stage nickname is Bad.” Shiho went on with her explaining, even though Ichika could tell she was getting rowdy as well, “I work with him a few times back then. But it doesn’t seem like his real name is as well known as An.”

“The drummer’s Amia. Only work together once, but I saw them a lot in passing while scheduling for venues in highschool, so they’re very experienced. Their drumming style differs a lot from Honami.”

“Really?”

“Uhuh. They’re much more aggressive than you, which works well in this band’s favor, since their music is aggressive as well.”

Honami nodded, suddenly becoming very focus on Amia.

“As for the keyboardist…”

Ichika turned away from the other to see that the keyboardist was busy setting up their instrument, ignoring the others.

“Hey Trio, help us out here!”

They reacted to An’s voice by snapping their head up. Ichika’s eyes widened.

Trio had blood-red eyes that glowed a little, along with many piercings in both ears. A black beanie covered the entirety of the top of their head, and they’re wearing a dark mask with bloody fangs on its front.

The other three wore mostly black as well, but there were highlighted bits and bright colors mixed in at the trims or patterns. Trio wore a black hoodie and black jeans.

“They’re very emo.” Ichika commented. Shiho nodded.

Trio quirked their head to the side, and An prompted a question, “Which flavored soda is better, orange, lime, or grapes?”

“Lime!” Saki shouted, along with the audience as they voiced their opinions.

“How did we get here?” Ichika tilted her head in confusion. Also, the best flavor was definitely orange.

Trio tapped their knuckles on the bottom of their chin, before pointing at Amia.

“Yes, lime!” They shouted, going towards Trio and giving them a side hug, “I knew my bestie have amazing taste!”

She saw it then.

As their eyes flicked over to Ichika’s side, Trio’s eyes widened. Just for a split second, their body seemed to freeze before unthawing. They then calmly removed Amia from their body while looking down at the floor.

Her attention was quickly taken away from that when Vivid loudly shouted, “Anyway~ Sorry for taking so much of your time!”

“I wonder whose fault that is?” Bad deadpanned.

“Definitely yours, Mr. Orange!”

“Is that your best shot? Kindergarten humor?”

“Well, at least I’m not grumpy pants over here~”

“You-”

Trio knocked on Amia’s drum, sending them a tired mother look. Amia snickered from behind them as the two adults on stage sent Trio back a guilty, apologizing one.

“Jokes aside, we really did get carried away.” Vivid announced, “Let’s get this show on the road. Are you guys ready?”

The crowd went insane all over again.

———

“That was amazing!” Saki shouted after leaving the venue.

“I’m surprised you still have a voice to shout.” Ichika joked. Saki stuck her tongue out at her.

“Still, though. They were playing really well.” Honami commented, “I feel like I could learn a thing or two from Amia.”

“Me too.” Shiho tilted her head up to look at the stars, “I’m the most surprised by Trio, though. It was the first time I saw them play.”

“Really?” Saki’s eyebrows shot up, “You haven’t met them before?”

“Nope. I was skeptical at first about their skill, but they were just as competent as the other three. Makes me wonder how have I never seen them.”

“Maybe they’re from another area?” Ichika suggested.

“Maybe… It doesn’t really matter, anyway.”

The conversation lulled down as they made the trip back to the metro station. In Saki’s mind, aside from the unfortunate incident in the morning, everything went smoothly. Things were going to be fine.

She was going to be fine.

“Saki?”

Her heart stopped again.

She could tell the other three turned around, as it was human nature. But her legs wouldn’t move.

“Saki, hey-”

“Who are you?” Shiho shouted. She stood in front of all of them, Ichika and Honami stood to the side, blocking Saki from view.

“I’m close to her family.”

“That’s not an answer!” Honami frowned, “If Saki is close to you, why is she not replying to you?”

“Me and Father tried to visit her early morning, but she ran away.”

Ichika was baffled, “You do realize that makes you sound significantly worse, right? What kind of person are you to make a girl run away!?”

“But I-”

“If you can’t say anything more, then we’ll be leaving now.” Shiho ended curtly. They turned around and started walking away.

“I just want to explain something.”

“Explain.”

“Saki-”

Before she knew it, she was walking towards him.

“Saki…”

“Explain!” She hated crying. Why was she crying? “Go on, explain!”

She couldn’t look at him straight in the eyes, but she knew the look on his face, anyway.

Even since then, it had always been that ugly, cold void. And even now, it was still empty pity in those eyes.

“No matter what happens, he wouldn’t want you to keep avoiding training like this. You need to go back to before-”

“f*ck that!” She was cursing now. She couldn’t remember the last time she cursed, “Why do I need to sacrifice my happiness and passion away for your ‘before‘! What will that actually do for me!?”

“You need to heal.”

“I am healing! I am healing very well, negative amount of thanks to you!”

“Your brother wouldn’t want this.”

She sucked in a heavy breath.

“You have no right to talk about what my brother wants.” She gritted out, “It was you who erased his dreams. It was you who made him vanished. You don’t get to play hero and pretend that you are somehow doing anyone any service, when it’s clearly just for your family’s benefits!”

“He was a traitor-”

She slapped him. She didn’t know when she got close, but the ringing noise of the slap ignited her soul.

“Shut up, Touya. Don’t talk to me ever again.”

She turned her back to him and walked away.

“The ceremony is coming in a week’s time. You’ll have no choice but to face it.”

Her eyes darkened.

“That’s my problem, not yours. Go away.”

As the footsteps echoed from behind her, Saki slumped forward, her legs failing her again.

“Saki!”

Shiho wrapped into a hug, while Ichika and Honami gathered around her sides.

“H-He didn’t-” Saki sobbed into Shiho’s shoulder, “H-He used to be so k-kind and warm… Why did he change… W-What did I do wrong…?”

The three of them sent each other looks as Saki wept until she ran out of tears to cry.

Ichika glanced at her face and shivered. There was nothing that scared her more than empty, emotionless Saki.

Because that meant they failed to protect her.

“I’m sorry.”

Saki’s eyes were still fogged over, but as she sniffled, her hands reached out for Ichika’s and Honami’s. Soon enough, they wrapped around her like a blanket until she calmed down.

Honami looked up to the sky, “It’s going to rain soon.”

“Wasn’t it clear a few hours ago?” Saki mumbled, “The weather forecast didn’t say anything about raining tonight…”

“That… It doesn’t matter right now.” Shiho lightly scratched Saki’s nape.

Ichika tapped her chin in thought, “Hey, Honami. Your house is the closest from us, right?”

“…Yes, it should just take fifteen minutes of train.”

“Then how about we have a sleepover tonight?”

“Sleepover…” Saki whispered with a slight smile, “We’re nineteen now. Are we really gonna call it a sleepover?”

“A certain someone told me that you are never too old to have a sleepover.” Shiho chimed in.

Honami chuckled, “I have plenty of snacks at home, and Shibao missed you a lot, Saki.”

“…Okay then.”

They made their way to the metro station, just in time for their train to arrive.

Saki quickly fell asleep. Shiho was too anxious to do much else besides watch her. Ichika put on her playlist and zoned out. Honami stared at the outside world through the window.

It was raining.

Chapter 3

Chapter Text

“It’s done! I am exhausted!”

Mizuki shouted as their group finished with after-cleanup. They exited through the back-door, “It was raining so suddenly.”

“Yeah, the sky was so clear when we entered.” Ann nodded, “Didn’t bring an umbrella today, so I got a little worried.”

She checked her watch, “It’s ten already. Let’s end it for today.”

“Oh, crap!” Mizuki rushed over and grabbed An by the arm, “C’mon, we’ll be late for the last train!”

Both of them waved back while running, “Say hi to Ena for me, Mr. Orange!” Mizuki shouted.

As they vanished around a street corner, Akito sighed, “What the f*ck is wrong with them?”

He glanced back to his partner, who was staring into the night sky, “There're no stars tonight.”

“Looks like it.” Akito glanced up too.

They stayed like that for a bit, just observing the space above, clouded over with darkness. Akito wrapped an arm around his partner casually.

Eventually, Akito dropped his arm with a slight smile, “C’mon dude, let’s go home.”

“…Yeah.”

———

“I’m home!” Akito shouted, just as Ena got out of the kitchen and into their shared living space.

They proceeded to have a small staring match, before Akito shook her head, “Mom stopped by today and dropped off some food, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Did you eat it all or some sh*t?”

“Of course not, dumbass.”

Akito sighed, “We bought a cheesecake.” Ena’s eyes lit up, “But we are splitting it into three, got it?”

“Of course, sure, I don’t mind. Gimme!”

Ena snatched it out of his hand before he could answer.

“Hey!” Akito ran into the kitchen, as Ena was balancing between using her phone and cutting the cake, “Do you even know what you’re doing?”

“Of course I do! Give me a second!”

She managed to cut it into six pieces, snatched two for herself and sped back into her room, muttering something about commissions.

“At least say thanks like a decent human being!”

“Thank you!” Ena shouted from inside her room. The house gone quiet again as Akito sighed, coming back to the entrance to take off his shoes.

His partner was still standing there, staring at Ena’s door with a strange look.

“Dude? Why haven’t you taken off you shoes yet?” Akito discarded his jacket onto the sofa, “C’mon, it’s not your first time seeing us like that.”

“…You’re right.” Nimble hands reached down to untie his shoes and socks. Shaking his head as he took off his beanie and mask, he quietly put them on a nearly shelf.

“I’m just reminded of Saki, that’s all.”

“What’s this all of a sudden?” Akito frown, “Did something happen today?”

“I saw her and her band in the audience tonight.” His hair had grown much shaggier, but he didn’t have any motivation to cut it. He really should have dyed it, but had no heart to.

Akito’s eyes widen, “For real? Did they recognize you?”

“Nope. Maybe Ichika thought something was weird, but didn’t seem like she figured out anything.” His orange eyes flittered about the small apartment he was leeching off of. His legs went rigid, and his hands were shaking in the hoodie’s pockets.

“…You’re getting too tense.” Akito walked over and dragged him to the sofa, “Sit down. Let me sort out dinner and we’ll have the cheesecake for desert.”

“But-”

“Tsukasa, it’s fine.” Akito chided, “Just settle down and turn on the TV or something.”

“…Okay.”

Tsukasa leaned into the hand Akito put on his head, like a dog being petted. His eyes clouded over for a bit, and he almost whined when Akito left for the kitchen.

Turning on the TV for background noise, Tsukasa entered the bathroom and splashed some water on his face. Washing all of the grogginess away, he looked at himself in the mirror.

His bright hair had gone dull and drab, he needed to wash it. Maybe he could get away with using one of Ena’s beauty products, she wouldn’t mind it, right?

Tsukasa carefully took out his piercings and put it in a box on the sink. He wondered how Saki would react, seeing him looking like a punk. Would she be mad about it, or would she be happy?

No, she wouldn’t be happy seeing him at all. She would slap him and swear at him, she would cry and be furious. Maybe she would even stab him with a knife.

That was fair, of course. He ruined her life; he ruined Touya’s dream, ruined everything, all for himself. A selfish, despicable bastard who deserved all that befallen him.

Right, the sink was right here. If he just filled it with water, he could-

“Remember Akito?”

He felt a voice rang in his head. Something monotone, yet so incredibly comforting.

“Akito did so much just for you to be here. Do you want to throw away all of his efforts?”

“I… No!”

“Good. Go get something to eat, Tsukasa.”

The voice faded away in his head. Tsukasa missed hearing it talked daily. He promptly splashed some more water on his face and roughly wiped it away with a towel.

Exited the bathroom, he found Akito standing behind the couch, wearing a worn out apron and holding a spatula, “Oh, there you are. Was scared you ran away again.”

“I promised I wouldn’t do that anymore.” Tsukasa puffed his cheeks slightly, though he didn’t realize it at all.

Akito shook his head with a slight smile, “Of course not. C’mon, the food’s ready.”

It was stir-fried rice and cooked chicken, very simple. Akito painted some honey on the chicken before putting it back in the oven. Then he cut it into pieces and tossed it into the pan with the rice.

It smelled heavenly.

“Thank you for the meal.”

They both dug in as the clock chimed 11.

Tsukasa used to be asleep as this hour, after making Saki and all the other kids sleep too. At the clan house, unless you had night shifts or duties, 10PM was usually when everyone got to bed.

Gotta make sure they stay healthy, right?

But now, Tsukasa found himself wide awake sometimes, doing music arrangement well after midnight. 2AM wasn’t even late for him anymore.

Akito was worse. They bought a coffee machine specifically because he was taking so many all-nighters. When both Tsukasa and Ena tried to intervene, Akito just bluntly stated that he was ‘making rent this month’ with his side job as a programmer.

Their band was just taking off recently, not like Leo/need. So they weren’t even signed with a label yet, let alone making a good amount of money.

Tsukasa was a little hopeful, though. Considering the reaction they were getting, maybe a contract wouldn’t be too far off. Then maybe they’ll have more time for their band, their passion.

Tsukasa wanted to laugh at that. Being a keyboardist was so far away from what he desired to be when he grew up. He wasn’t supposed to be super good at music anyway, let alone making a living off of it.

But life just wasn’t what he dreamed of.

Akito was scrolling through his email. Tsukasa could tell by the slight frown, the way his eyes narrowed just a little when a client added more work, how he exhaled when money was transferred.

Akito’s hair color was deeper at the top and light orange at the ends. The small strands that was dyed yellow in high school was now a full stroke. It was curled today, since there was a stage performance, but usually it just lay flat on his head.

Akito’s green eyes squinted and flittered a little more that normal tonight. Maybe Tsukasa needed to get that check, since hell would come loose before Akito admitted that he needed glasses.

His ears were slightly pointed. Not enough to be an elf, though. His black nails tapped to the rhythm of a nameless song. Ena got him to let her paint, after giving Tsukasa’s a sunset gradient.

Their eyes met. Tsukasa looked down at his meal, half eaten, and his phone, playing some mindless video he didn’t care about.

He wasn’t stupid. His cheeks were red, he could feel it.

Tsukasa knew himself, knew what he was. Akito was objectively good-looking, he had gotten a little taller than Tsukasa despite being younger, and he had an attractive voice.

Bearing feelings for him made sense.

Someone with red eyes pointed how a normal person wouldn’t just let their friend move in with them with no rent. Or how they shared the same room (different mattresses, but still).

Ena, in too many instances to count, just stared at them, at him like she was waiting for something, then huffed and rolled her eyes.

Plus, Akito was single and never dated, even though he certainly got some attention.

So, yeah, Tsukasa had a very clear shot.

But, as Tsukasa chanced a look at Akito again, he had to wonder: What use was there of dating?

Really, what use? They were already living in the same place. Tsukasa followed Akito pretty much anywhere unless they needed to do something solo. And they slept in the same room! (Again, different mattresses, but did that matter?)

He was closer to Akito than any potential partners the other could have. Most people probably assumed they were dating already. He knew Mizuki and Ann thought that at first.

So, no, no need to make his feeling public. Nothing would change.

It was definitely not because he was afraid what would happen if Akito rejected him, or worse, that he will be dumped for someone else. Seeing him being intimate with someone else, assuming that they would still be in contact and he had somewhere else to go.

Akito was his lifeline. If he lost him, he would truly have nothing left. But, no, it was fine. He was fine with this.

Don’t be like Icarus and dream too high. Don’t take any risk if you can’t afford the loss.

He had made too many mistakes because he was confident he could reach the sun. No more of that. He was going to keep it on the down low; he was going to pass by life in a blip.

Hiding his love away was worth it, even as his heart throbbed in sorrow. He had long accepted it.

———

“Hey, can you check on this?” Tsukasa offered his headphones to Akito, while the other was stretching. He tried not to focus on Akito’s toned stomach when the shirt was pulled up.

“Yeah, sure thing.” Akito closed his eyes as the music played. Since the track was a slower beat with softer synths and serenading guitar rifts, Tsukasa was worried the other would actually fall asleep. He certainly had been fighting it himself.

When the track ended, Akito opened his eyes and shrugged, “I don’t listen to this genre a lot myself, but it sounds nice enough. Send it to them and see what they’ll say?”

“Hmm… Okay then.” Tsukasa sent the files over with a generic text attached, then check his mail box again to find it empty.

He wasn’t that popular at all, only picking up creating arrangements a few months after living here. Around a month ago, he thought he was finally good enough to monetise his stuff.

Akito got him set up on the whole commission thing and even talked about making a website for him. Tsukasa quickly declined, since he didn’t need it yet, and that time could be used for someone else’s sh*t. And they would, y’know, pay Akito?

He stretched his arms and checked the computer clock, 2:24PM. His eyelids were droopy and his brain clouded up.

“I’m heading to bed.” Tsukasa said, glancing at Akito and his laptop, “Are you close to done?”

“Not yet. I need to finish this client request by morning.” They were sitting next to each other, on their respective mattresses, “It’s been a long day for you though, so get some sleep.”

Tsukasa nodded and shut off his laptop. Cleaning up his sleeping space, he slipped into the thin covers, hugging one of Akito’s old pillows.

In a moment of deliriousness, under the florescence light of their room, Tsukasa felt like being brave, just for a bit.

So, “Love you, Akito.”

He fell asleep right away after that.

———

Tsukasa opened his eyes to the sky, waves of red, orange and yellow fluttered across the blue.

Nowadays, whenever they need to meet face-to-face, he would find himself here, laying on a bench in this park filled with cherry blossom trees. To the unreachable far away, like a backdrop to the scenery, there was a Ferris wheel, moving for the rest of time.

“You’re here.”

Tsukasa turned his head to the voice of himself. Him, red eyes with fox ears and wearing a Gakuran. He was sitting on a shrine gate, one that moved itself every time he entered here.

“Sorry to make you wait, Kitsu.” Those blank eyes stared into him for a moment, before Kitsu nodded. He hopped down to the ground unscathed before walking over to his park bench.

“There’s nothing to apologise for.” He said in that monotone voice, “As for him…”

As soon as Kitsu said that, the main, stationary shrine gate lit up, and out came himself, yellow eyes, round racoon ears and an unbuttoned Gakuran.

“I’m back, bitches!” He shouted, as he hopped over to their location, the wind lifted him over.

“Yes, we could all see that, Taki.” Kitsu lightly chided. Though from the way Taki casually swung his arm around the other, Tsukasa knew he couldn’t care less about looking appropriate.

Tsukasa breathed out a contented smile.

“Anyway…” Taki dropped his arm and turned to Tsukasa with a strange, almost sad look, “I have good news and bad news, which one’s first?”

“Bad news.” Tsukasa said immediately.

“The unification ceremony or whatever, it’s…” Taki tilted his head away, “It’s happening in a week.”

Tsukasa’s heart stopped.

Deep breaths, deep breaths. Think about positive stuff, like Akito’s smile when Tsukasa makes breakfast pancakes, or An and Mizuki little banters.

He was sitting back down on the bench, with Taki rubbing his back and Kitsu murmuring things into his ears. Eventually, with some tears shed, Tsukasa got his bearings together.

“You used to tell me before that there was no rush to our goal, right?”

“Yes.” Kitsu said, pulling back, “There is no rush.”

“It’s only been a year, didn’t expect you to be ready or anything.” Taki rubbed his neck, “Didn’t mean to trigger you, but I just have to say it.”

Tsukasa held back the pain in his throat. Taki didn’t deserve it, “Why did you have to tell me?”

“Because of the good thing!”

“Which is…?”

“I think I know where they hid one of the Three Sacred Treasures!”

Kitsu and Tsukasa’s eyes widen. The former asked, “Where? How?”

“Snooped around on the Aoyagi for a bit.” Taki tapped his chin with his knuckles, “Heard that they wanted to show off the Magatama for a bit of clout.”

“And they can’t just produce a fake because…?”

Taki smirked, “They don’t want to just flash it in everyone’s face and called it there, y’know?”

Tsukasa’s heart dropped again.

Taki’s face turned serious, “That’s right. They’re planning on using the thing to screw over someone. Just like you.”

His mind was blank, his heart beat faster than ever. Such a massive opportunity, and such a massive risk.

If nothing else, he just wanted to know. To make the right choices and sacrifices this time.

“Tell me everything. Please.”

Chapter 4

Chapter Text

“Come in.”

The maid quietly put his meal on the glass table, then scampered out. The door closed with a click.

Touya looked away from his computer screen to his lunch, rice with a grilled fish and a bowl of soup. Then back to his work again and sighed.

“Today’s the 6th…” They only had a little time before the proper preparation begins, and nothing was going well.

“If it’s not Saki… Who would be our representative?” Touya scratched his hair in irritation. He proceeded to choke down the last of his 3rd coffee cup and exhaled.

He messed up.

He thought they would have more time to get Saki back on the ground again, or at least, he should have been better with his words when he mentioned Tsukasa.

She was wrong, though.

Tsukasa betrayed their clan, plain and simple. Nothing could change what he saw on that day.

Touya gritted his teeth. Saki hadn’t returned since then, and he doubted she would voluntarily come back for a while. Father had been busy lately as well, leaving him alone to deal with this issue.

Who was going to represent the Tenma clan when the last descendent straight up refused? How was he going to answer the Council?

Especially after the incident last year, they couldn’t afford any more “incidents”.

“So annoying.” Touya headed over to his lunch and quietly dug in. The curtain was mostly closed, letting only a bit of light into the room. Leaves were swaying in the wind, and he could already envision the yellow that enveloped the field.

As the autumn breeze traveled by his window, he had his lunch in silence.

The rustling of leaves didn’t calm him at all. If anything, they were getting louder and louder, making his skin prickled, slowly encroaching on his psyche, until he was drowning in it-

“Oh, so you’re here.”

Touya shuddered. His eyes darkened. The wind was blowing so harshly; it was tearing the leaves from branches.

“Ah well, too late!”

He couldn’t move. Its hurts so much. The sound of his bowl and chopsticks rang out when they fell.

“Why do you put in so much useless effort?”

Rapid breathing. Irregular heartbeats. A disgustingly smarmy smile and two pairs of eyes.

“She’s already dead, you know? Grow up already!”

Touya smashed the table.

The glass shards didn’t dig that deeply into his skin, but his blood was dripping onto the carpet, permanently ruining it. At least the pain helped him calm down.

“How do you expect me to forgive him after that, Saki…?” Touya mumbled, eyes filled with tears.

Okay, he needed to calm the f*ck down. C’mon deep breaths, deep breaths, think about anything else…

Wiping his tears away, Touya let the panic attack slowly recedes as his chest heaved. At least it wasn’t as bad as before.

Walking over to the medical cabinet, Touya took out disinfectant and gauze, then went back to the couch. Cleaning up his hand and bandaging it, he thought about what to do.

Obviously, Saki was out. The representative, he could ask someone else to fill in the role temporarily and made up an excuse. This would absolutely cause trouble in most of the ceremonies, but there were nothing more he could do here.

Even then, picking a candidate wasn’t easy, especially in such a short time frame. Every capable person he knew had responsibilities to take care of, and so…

Touya sighed. It was on him.

Either he finds someone, or that someone is him.

———

“I’m afraid not. It’s simply too much responsibility on this old man’s shoulder, you see?”

“I see.”

Touya promptly exited his relative’s house, not waiting to be greeted out.

It was so late already. He glanced at his watch to check. 11:30PM. That was the last person he could contact. It wasn’t like he didn’t expect this, but he still had a little hope.

He looked up to the sky. It was so clear tonight, but so had the other days. The weather forecast lately had been terrible, and Touya had an umbrella in his car just in case.

His stomach grumbled, and he sighed. He might as well get something to eat at one of those 24h stores.

With that in mind, Touya climbed into his car and revved the engine a little too loudly for this time of night. Then he sped off.

HIs playlist shuffled through the usuals, pop-electro tracks that would cause heart attacks due to the intensity of the lyrics. None of his clan-mates would ever believe that their golden child like anything other than classical music.

Yet he hadn’t touched his piano since last year.

“Hey, your hand spread is wrong!”

“Is it? I’m just doing what I was taught.”

“Hmm… But your fingers are longer… Staying like this, wouldn’t it be super cramped up after a while?”

“I don’t know.”

“…C’mon, let this future star show you how to play it right!”

Touya smiled wistfully at the memory. The piano was definitely out of tune now. He was supposed to teach Touya how to tune it himself, but they never got around to it.

“You know, you shouldn’t be playing around like this anymore.”

“Aw, why not!? Isn’t this grasshopper cute?”

“It’s not that. You’re going to inherit the Head of Clan title when you grow up. Father said that you need to be serious with training to make our clan proud.”

“But training with those old geezers are so boring! If I win, they start sneering behind the compliments. If I lose, they openly mock me! I can’t win with them at all.”

“Then come to my place and train along with me.”

“Oh, sure- Huh!?”

“Is there a problem? You started teaching me piano, I’m just returning the favor.”

“N-No, of course not! It’s nothing! Just that this future star… didn’t expect that at all, haha…”

Touya blushed a little. Young him had this weirdly strong, enviable confidence that he wished he could dig up again, if only to feel like himself instead of a lumbering meat sack with a soul.

At that moment, like the hands of fate had dictated it so, the playlist switched into something he hadn’t heard of before.

It was a band track, but the major instrument here was the synth. As the soft melody ramped up after the second verse, the guitar went in with a riff, while a sound akin to a distorted train horn played.

To you, whom I stabbed with words,

Can my ‘sorry’s ever be enough to heal?

To you, who is bleeding because of me,

You truly want to pay me back, don’t you?

Touya winced, glancing at the song title: Knife Wound by Re-Footnotes. The verses were sung by the main and sub vocalists, but the chorus had the entire band sing together. One voice was almost familiar, but it was drowned out by the others.

If so, then please don’t hesitate,

Let us find each other, use your heart to indicate.

Just message me when I am ready,

I’ll release both of us from this pain.

He didn’t notice how he ended up going straight forward instead of left like he needed. The song completely captured him.

If then, when we found each other,

Please stab me with the most brutal of words.

After it all, you will be free,

I selfishly ask then, “Can you smile for me?”

Slowing down the car, Touya found a convenient store as the song ended. He checked the GPS.

Wait for me, can you? Hold out longer, can you?

After it ends, my corpse is free for you to use.

f*ck, he ended up driving to Shingo. That wasn’t good.

Thankfully, as he glanced through the window, God decided to grant him this one boon.

———

Rui hated convenient meals.

Sure, he can’t cook for sh*t, but microwaved meals had always tasted like sandpaper to him. Unappetizing and way too expensive for its own good, Rui usually would only eat it as a last resort.

Which is now.

The fleeting presence from that day, he encountered it again. It bothered him that he couldn’t pinpoint what it was at all. Was it a Yokai? Or some sort of entity that didn’t care to keep their power hidden?

Either way, he had sidetracked so much trying to find this enigmatic source that he ended up in a nest of mad ghosts. Running away from them took a lot of energy, and finishing his usual patrol route took even longer.

So here he was. Exhausted, hungry, with Nene berating him in the communication line.

“Why do you always make the worst decisions?”

“Well, excuse you.” Rui petulantly answered, “We’re looking for a source for the uptick of spiritual energy, right? Pretty sure a super powerful spiritual force like that is suspect number one.”

“I’m not saying that part is wrong.” Nene deadpanned, “But, please, just look out for danger, will you? I know you’re super strong and sh*t, but I don’t want to have a heart attack every time we’re on patrol.”

Rui looked down at his filthy spaghetti, then answered in a lighter voice, “Okay. I promise I’ll be better.”

“You’d better, because-”

Rui felt it then, too. The spiritual energy that seeped into the store was cold and brittle, like a warning on its own. Still, he recognized it, how couldn’t he, after all…

“Is that… Am I feeling it right?”

Aoyagi Touya walked in, wearing an entire suit as if he just got off of a meeting and drove straight here. Except he was the literal Vice Head of the Tenma Clan, he shouldn’t be in a convenient store, let alone be in this area at all.

Rui looked at himself, a purple hoodie with a banana at the front, loose jeans and sneakers. He felt underdressed, which was dumb as f*ck, why was he feeling this?

“Why is he not calming his energy down?” Nene questioned, “He knows how to do that well enough.”

Rui didn’t answer. Rather, he took his time observing the man.

There were the things he remembered, like the height, almost as tall as Rui. The hair, that weird split between dark and light blue, currently combed into a middle part. The bulk, since Touya had bigger shoulders and biceps. And also built thighs and an incredibly appetizing ass-

No, Rui, bad, he chided himself, Now’s not the time to be gay. Save it for later.

Anyway, Rui had never been that big of a fan of physical training, especially since he could channel spiritual energy into his muscles if need be. His body was decent enough, though he wondered what he would look like with a bit more bulk.

But that was beside the point.

The important things were the new stuff, like the bandaged right hand, which was healing, courtesy of advance spiritual control. The eye bags were darker, and you could almost feel the weight in those silver eyes. So the dude was going through some sh*t.

Still, it wasn’t like Rui was about to meddle with this man’s clearly decreasing sanity, since, well…

“Isn’t he one of the people that caused the sh*tshow in the unification ceremony last year?” Rui mumbled, hoping the guy didn’t just have super hearing.

Nene’s keyboard went ‘clack’ and ‘click’ before she answered, “Yeah, it was him and a few other at the top, including the now missing Head of the Tenma Clan.”

So yeah, not some guy Rui wanted to mess with, even if he was kinda hot, “What’s the plan, chief?”

“Stay put and wait for an opportunity to sneak out. Going right now will look suspicious.”

“Okay.” Easy peasy, Rui just needed to not stand out too much.

Except apparently he was too sexy or something, because after Touya got his food, he immediately headed over to Rui’s table. Then he had the audacity to just sit right in front of Rui and dug in.

Rui was pretty sure both him and Nene were stunned into silence, because what the f*ck-

“I recognize you.” Touya said, completely unprompted, “You work as an investigator and patrolling officer around here, right, Kamishiro Rui?”

Okay, first off, what the f*ck!? His inner logic asked, I’m like barely above a grunt, what do you mean you recognize me? Was there a snitch? Is this guy just a creep? How long has he been investigating us?

Second off, now what? His inner hom*osexuality asked, Do we just hook up now? Like I don’t mind that, but also have some tact, will you?

“I have a proposal.” Touya continued, “I give away some of my information regarding the rise of the spiritual energy in this area to you. I know you’ve been investigating that.”

“And in exchange?” Rui squinted.

“You don’t report me for entering your clan’s domain without prior notice.” An answer attached to a blank face.

Rui was tempted to say, ‘That’s all?’, but then he thought about Touya’s border crossing. Normally, one can cross the border no matter their clan, so long as they are not registered threats. Threats as in they are powerful enough to defeat several low-ranking fighters by themselves, which Touya absolutely can.

It would surely start rumors due to his position, the tense preparation phase, and the Tenma Clan's current reputation. Also, it would mean the Rui and Nene would have to deal with paperwork and testifying to the clan and more annoyances on top.

Suffice to say, they didn’t intend to report him in the first place, but he didn’t need to know that.

“Go ahead.” Nene seemed to have come to the same conclusion.

“Okay, I accept.”

Chapter 5

Chapter Text

Kamishiro Rui was an interesting person.

What should be just another cog in the machine, albeit a sizeable one, turned out to be something special.

Touya remembered it then, too. The lazy eyes, the slouch posture, the smile. If you didn’t pay enough attention, you might not think that he was anything more than a civilian.

Which is why Touya got suspicious immediately when Rui was seen with higher-ups of the Yoisaki Clan. Even when he wore a suit, his attitude would peek out with a side-glance or eye-roll.

This kind of person, Touya knew from experience, could only end up two ways: Weak and will die soon enough, or exceptional but extremely demotivated. And it was just a hunch, but he felt like Rui was the latter.

So Touya got curious about this man and asked his subordinates to dig up some information. What he found was…

“A rouge?” Rui narrowed his eyes, “I’m supposed to believe that, really?”

Touya nodded. It wasn’t 100% the truth, but in his mind, it worked well enough. “A high-ranking member of ours defected, and is currently on the run. He’s planning something.”

“How is he hiding his presence, then?” Those yellow cat eyes glared at him.

“That’s a secret, I’m afraid.” Touya used one of his signature diplomatic smiles, “But that’s not what matters.”

He took in a spoonful of rice before speaking again, “My understanding is that his plan requires a large spiritual presence. And so, he’s been cultivating it around here, where he knew our control is weak.”

A clan’s domain is centrally structured, meaning that the headquarters of said clan will always be the most guarded area. After all, it hides the deepest secrets of the clan, from techniques to artefacts.

The clan houses are strategically placed, so whenever the main building is attacked, there will be more than sufficient force to combat against it.

Most of the time.

Either way, this leaves a large vulnerability: the borders. Since one clan safeguards many regions, the borders can stretch for miles, and there’re only so much resources one can spread.

That’s why when a threat like him enters the domain of a different clan, it needs to be reported either beforehand or right after. Touya’s presence, if spotted, would cause quite a controversy.

Of course, he had the option of just running away, but beyond the fact that he would have looked like a coward, especially if he were to be caught, anyway…

Meeting Kamishiro Rui was worth it, perhaps.

“Is he…” Rui bit into the back of his chopsticks, “Planning a ritual? That’s the only thing I can think of.”

“That’s our best assumption as well.” Touya took a sip at his dark coffee. He could tell Rui was staring at him, but screw him, the dark coffee tasted wonderful.

Touya was definitely not addicted, of course not.

“So, what are you going to do with that information?”

Silver eyes stared into golden ones, before Rui let out a sigh, “Report to HQ, what else? They’ll probably tell us to handle ourselves anyway…”

“Oh, but assuming that you’re not lying…” He tilted his head, “Isn’t this guy your responsibility? Even if I go in pretending to know nothing, the guy will probably spill about all of your sh*ts.“

“Also, what do I do about the fact that he’s completely invisible to me? I can’t fight something I can’t see.”

Touya took another sip before answering, “One, although he’s a defect from our clan, he’s hiding in an area not in our jurisdiction.”

“You could say that we just need to ask your Clan to let us deal with this ourselves, but as you might have pieced it together already, things aren’t that simple.” Touya huffed, “If my understanding is right, this spiritual presence has only been causing the rise of activity in the area, yes?”

A nod. Touya continued.

“If we want to do anything as the Tenma Clan, we would need evidence to show that we are directly involved. I think you understand why we can’t do that.”

Rui leveled him with a flat stare, “So your sh*t became our sh*t to deal with?”

“I’m afraid so.” Touya met that stare with a smile, “But if you managed to get him back to our domain, then logically, it will be us that handles it.”

“So I just need to move the criminal across the border, gotcha.” Rui bit out, “You still haven’t answered my second question. How do I catch the guy if I can’t even see him?”

“His powers can only last for so long, though chasing after him constantly is ill-advised.” Touya finished his meal, “If we are going with the assumption that he’s planning a ritual, he would need a suitable location…”

Rui’s eyes lit up, though he hid it by glancing away, “There’s a place, but it hadn’t gotten that affected yet…”

“He has his ways…” Touya stared into the black abyss of his cup, “I assume you have a lot of questions regarding myself.”

“Of course I do. How the hell do you know my name, anyway?”

“I’m not exactly a virtuous moral compass. In order for things to go the way you want to, sometimes your hands have to be dirtied.” Father had taught him that once, he was a fool to not believe it.

“I’m not exactly interesting, you know?”

Touya laughed internally at that lie, but didn’t say anything.

Rui sat in silence for a bit, then his eyes widened. A moment, then he spoke, “You just need evidence that the guy is from your clan, right?”

Touya nodded. Rui’s face lit up with a smirk.

“So I get the confession out him and my job’s done, right?”

Touya arched his eyebrows in surprise, “I guess… you are right.”

“Great. Now give me your number.”

…What?

Rui tilted his head, smug, “What are you thinking there? I’m just innocently asking for you number so I can actually send you the evidence.”

Touya was blushing, he could feel it. He was caught off guard and ended up embarrassing himself. He slid his number over silently, avoiding looking at Rui’s slightly shaking shoulder from holding back laughter.

“And… there’s! Send you a friend request.” Rui leaned back in his chair, meal long finished, “Look at me, befriending a high-ranking enemy. Really living the life here, you know?”

Touya couldn’t help it, he let out a soft chuckle. It was honestly depressing, how this was the most normal conversation he had since last year. It felt like he was talking to a friend again.

Rui’s eyes widened, and he glanced away while biting his lip, “Anyway… It’s really late. I can cover for you till you are out of the border, but we kinda need to go right now.”

“I see. Let’s get going then.”

Touya got out of the chair and power-walked to the door, when Rui shouted, “Oi, jerkass! Clean up after yourself!”

Oh.

Rui was holding the empty packaging in his hand, “I know you’re rich as sh*t, but think about the underpaid workers, won’t you?”

Ah.

He quietly made it back, and under Rui’s watchful eyes, he threw away his trash into the correct bins and cleaned up the table with a soggy rag.

Then he promptly went over to the checkout booth and bought himself another cup of dark coffee.

Rui was looking at him like he was an alien, something that needed to be studied in a lab.

“I’m not addicted.“ Touya involuntarily mumbled.

“Yeah, and I can grow wings out of my head.” Rui smacked back, “It’s over midnight already. Get something lighter.”

“No.”

“Well, your insomnia, not mine.”

Rui ended up getting a cup of orange juice, and both them got out of the store at the same time.

“Do you have a car?” Touya tossed his keys around.

“Nah, I live close enough that I usually just walk.”

“So, how are you planning on covering for me?”

“Well, I-” Rui stumbled, “sh*t. I guess I’m getting into your car. Need to cover your energy with mine, right?”

Touya nodded.

The energy you release depends on how strong you are, among many other factors. At some point, it’s becomes nearly impossible for you to fully control and hide your energy.

Not fully impossible, of course.

Saki had proven that.

“Besides, due to… circ*mstances, most, if not all knows what my energy feels like.” Touya said, “I need you to stay right next to me to hide my presence.”

“Oh, so romantic.”

Touya just gave Rui a flat look. The other just answered back with a chuckle.

“C’mon, let’s get going.”

They heading over to where Touya’s car was. It was a slick black thing with a modern-looking design, and that was about as much as he could care about it.

Father had insisted on it as his birthday gift, and he had no heart or mind to say no.

Rui let out a soft whistle, but otherwise stayed silent as they got into the car. Moments later, they were already out on the streets.

“The amount of people that could detect spiritual energy around this area is not exactly high.” Rui, sitting shotgun, leant his head on the window, “Mostly older folks who wouldn’t know that it was you specifically, but knew that you’re not from around here.”

“I assume they are very loyal to your clan as well?”

“Yeah, I guess.” Rui smirked, but his eyes held baggage, “Moreso that they believe in ‘the older days’ or some sh*t. Wish that they wouldn’t be up in their asses about it, especially when our clan reforms are actually doing good.”

Touya contemplated for a bit, then he asked while turning on the music, “Can I ask about those reforms?”

“What, so that you can copy them?” Rui asked sarcastically.

When he looked to his left, however, Touya’s determined face caught him by the neck.

Rui turned back to the window, “Mostly about helping those who are struggling, physically or otherwise. There’s the minor stuff, you know, like campaigning for higher fines for littering and planting more trees…”

“But there’s also stuff like increasing accessibilities in public spaces. And spreading knowledge about sh*t like autism and being gay.” Rui humorously laughed, “You know, things that should have existed plenty of years ago. Things that kid me should have and deserved to have. Things that makes me feel a little better knowing that other kids have now.”

Touya could sympathize with the waving tone of voice, but he said nothing. The music, though loud, continued to go on without being commented.

“So, what are you going to do knowing that?”

“What I want to do and what I can do are different things.” Touya turned sheepish, “Unlike what you may expect, I don’t hold any legal positions, nor do I have many connections I can pull.”

“But… you’re the Vice Head!”

“Of the Tenma Clan, yes, but nothing more.” Touya made a sharp turn, “My workload is quite massive already, and I can’t find much time to fulfill it and add in anything else.”

“There are people in the clan who held high-ranking spots in the system, of course, but my and their opinions tend to clash.” Touya smiled, sadness just below the surface.

“Perhaps that’s why I’m-” He shut his mouth right on time.

“What?”

“It’s nothing.”

Can’t believe he almost reveal the fact that he was going to have to play Acting Clan Head.

Seemed like just talking to Rui had already loosened his defence a little too much. He can’t be like this every time an attractive guy and him have a conversation that lasts longer that five minutes.

And so, for the last few minutes of the drive, it was complete silence as his playlist picked another song he hadn’t heard yet.

A soft guitar rift followed with a drum solo and a synth compliment. Touya glanced at the title: Twilight Whisper by Re-Footnotes. He needed to check the discography of this band.

“We’re here.” Rui announced.

The border is simply just that, a physical barrier between lands. Though Touya knew there were plenty of ways they can upgrade this tollbooth using spells and artefact, it isn’t possible.

The effect of spiritual energy has on normal humans are not to be understated, they are unpredictable and they are almost always negative. It is outright banned to subject normal humans to spiritual energy sources or attacks because of this.

Touya slowed his car right before the automatic toll gate, and Rui opened the door with a thud.

“One last question before I go.”

“What is it?”

Rui turned back and looked at Touya in the eye. The yellow irises glowed in the dark, they held so much weight. It felt like Rui was as wound up as an animal, ready to strike.

“How much do you actually know about me?”

“Everything that had ever been said out loud.”

Rui’s eyes filled with mirth, “So nothing then. Good.” He turned his back to Touya and jumped out.

Rui waved once before tucking his hands into his hoodie and walked away. The sounds of his steps echoed behind Touya’s back.

Touya started his car up and sped in the opposite direction.

It wasn’t raining tonight.

Chapter 6

Chapter Text

Divorces were always rough.

Akito was glad that their mom finally made the decision after years of living with a man that no longer loves her. Or loves anyone, to be honest.

Their dad didn’t even fight it. Once the papers were signed, he picked up his luggages and vanished. It had been a year since then, and no communicating efforts at all.

At least he left the house for them? Akito didn’t know what to think, and he was too tired to. He just knew that both him and Ena wanted to get away from there as soon as possible.

The problem was that their mom refused to sell it. No matter what, she wouldn’t agree, but when they asked, she couldn’t provide a reason. Just mumbo-jumbo about how “sacred” the place is, and she couldn’t possibly “let it fall into the wrong hands“.

Whatever the hell that meant.

So second best option, move out of the house. With some searching, they managed to rent a small apartment. The savings helped with securing the place, and their mom would deliver some home-cook food every other week.

They tried to talk her out of it, but she was too stubborn.

It took a bit, but they settled down. Now, Akito needed to worry about his freelance career.

Coming out of college, he was not going to let his Computer Science degree go to waste. But there was no way he was going to work in a stuffy office, so online it was.

Akito could accept small work, finished in a few days, then sent it back and get the cash. It wouldn’t mess up his schedule at the gym, or his practise session with his bass.

Speaking of which…

“Yo, dumbass, what do you want?” An had answered him like that, when he called for the first time in a month.

“I need a gig, just finish settling down from moving.” Akito mumbled. It was late, “Have any space left for me?”

“Hmm, I don’t know, you’re calling kinda late…”

“Shiraishi, f*cking stop speaking like a child. It’s gross.”

He could hear her laugh through the screen, “Geez, you’re no fun. Yeah, got one slot ready, two days from now. Let me ask Mizuki if they can also be there too. Y’know, uniting our trio together!”

Akito rolled his eyes, “Sure, whatever, that’s fine by me. Who’s the keyboardist?”

“Haven’t found one yet.”

“Hmm…” Akito didn’t have many contacts, especially ones of keyboardists, mostly due to his stage attitude. Mizuki and An only stayed because they were good, and they forced their numbers onto Akito’s phone.

To be fair, they started playing together a lot since then. Which helped with not needing to find gigs.

“It’s not a bother, anyway. We’ll just play with whoever.” He eventually said.

“Yeah…” An replied, facing away from the phone, “Hey, you’ve been thinking about their suggestion too, right?”

Akito almost forgot about that, “To form a band with the two of us… I don’t see a problem with that, but we would need a keyboardist.”

“Mizuki’s been searching for one. Maybe they’ve found them?” An sounded hopeful, “I’ll ask them about it tomorrow.”

“Yeah, hopefully. Anyway, bye.” Akito shut off the call before An could say anything else.

He thought about it a little. Having a band would significantly make finding gigs and organizing events easier. Plus that would mean actual practise sessions with a whole band. If they can push it, maybe even original music or getting signed with a label.

Akito disliked the idea of being too successful and ended up as a media star or something. But even he could admit that having original music to his name was alluring.

If he could make full-time money as a bassist and not needing to take computer work again…

Akito went to bed on his mattress, dreaming about a blazing stage.

—————

“Yeah!”

An rocked back and forth with her guitar while the song reached the climax. Her vocal was really hitting it, Akito had to admit, and he wondered how she had gotten so much better in such a short time.

He, however, was a little rusty. Being a sub-vocalist, he rarely had many eyes on that aspect, but his pride was damaged a little when his voice cracked back there. At least his playing was still on point.

As for the others, Mizuki was playing as well as always. They were a little sad that Asami, the keyboardist, didn’t have plans to join a band, but soon brushed it off.

Asami was decent and kept pace with them nicely, but Akito didn’t feel like they would match too well together. Perhaps it was for the best that she declined.

Akito shook his head, the song was reaching the slow bridge, preparing for the final chorus. He shouldn’t be too distracted.

And then he glanced at the audience.

Towards the back of the venue, near the door, was a guy soaked in the rain. He only had a black undershirt on, along with baggy white pants and a jade pendant around his waist.

If Akito didn’t know better, he would look like some kind of exorcist.

Either way, he was definitely not dressed for the occasion. Judging by the dripping wet hair and nervous posture, seemed like he somehow evaded security and got in here while avoiding the rain.

A feat, honestly. Akito wondered if strolling in from the back door was that easy.

Still, the guy was watching without buying a ticket. The right thing to do was reporting him after their performance, maybe get him a discount since he was here only for the last two songs-

Their eyes met.

Akito was glad that the bridge had a complicated fingering pattern, since that meant he had something to focus on apart from those miserable orange eyes.

Like holy hell, the guy looked like he was about to have a panic attack. Definitely not a recommended state of being to be in while being a live house.

Akito chanced a look at him again while he sang his line, leading the song to An’s high note. It was dark, especially at the back, but those orange eyes shone through. They held so much weight in them, like the damp was going to burst and he was desperately holding it in.

Something clicked.

The peach-colored hair suddenly looked dirtied, the dampened bangs almost hiding the eyes from view. His clothes had visible dirt stains. His pants had tears on the thighs and knees, while there was a visible wound on his shoulder.

Blood was running down his arm.

Wait, holy sh*t, what?

Akito blinked, and all of that was gone. Those eyes suddenly flashed red, and a sneer formed on the guy’s face.

He dashed towards the exit door.

“Wait!”

The entire concert froze.

Akito just now realized that An and Mizuki was doing a bit, and the three of them, along with the crowd now stare at Akito in confusion.

Don’t bring attention to him, his subconscious mused. Akito mustered all of his courage and improvisation skill and took a deep breath.

“Sorry to interrupt, everyone.” Akito could hear his pulse, “I was just… hungry.”

f*ck, was that really your best shot?

He blushed furiously while An and Mizuki laughed their asses off. Actually, everyone was laughing. Akito felt like burying himself alive and never speak to anyone again.

“Oh~, is baby Akito hungry~” An used that sickly sweet voiced that she knew he hated, “Do you need me to feed you?”

“What the f*ck, Shiraishi, no!” Akito knew that she only said things like that to rile him up in front of the audience. Still, “Can you stop being disgusting for two seconds?”

“You know, I just happen to know a pretty wonderful seafood restaurant near here.” Mizuki tilted their head and then smirked, “Akito, you’ll be a gentleman and take these three ladies out for a meal, right?”

“Shut it, Akiyama, I’m gay.”

Asami laughed a little, while everyone else let out a series of fake shock noises. It’s not like he kept his sexuality that much of a secret, after accidentally outing himself that one time.

Still, he glanced towards the back door.

The guy had paused, his eyes boring into Akito’s, before the red switched to orange again.

“Hey.” Akito began, glancing at the audience again, “You know, my parents just split up recently.”

“It’s funny, y’know? My old man didn’t even flinch. He just signed the paper and poof, gone.” He tilted his head up at the stage lights, “I wonder how much we truly mattered in his life.”

“Akito…” An whispered. He ignored her and took a deep breath.

“But what’s done is done, right?” Akito showed the audience a grin, “What’s gonna happen now is I’m going to sing about it. Get it out of my chest, bear it out for you all to see.”

“Music exists to tell a story, to reflect upon this world.” Akito strummed his bass, trusting that the others knew what he had planned, “So I’m going to show all of you what it meant to live, with this burden attached to me.”

Akito shoved himself towards the microphone, shouting with all of his strength, “Are you guys ready for our next song?”

The crowd roared.

And the peach-hair guy stayed a little longer.

—————

Akito ran as fast as he could.

After delivering a half-hearted apology to his bandmates for leaving early, he ran out of the back door.

It stopped raining, but the guy had run away right after the song had stopped. Akito couldn’t say anything to him at all.

But he wanted to.

He wanted to talk about the wounds, the color-changing eyes, the strange clothing and dirtied hair. He wanted to hear about his sadness, to ask all those questions in his head.

He wanted to hear the guy’s voice.

He couldn’t have gone far, Akito mused, even though he had not a single strand of evidence to prove this. He just knew by some means that he could find him.

He ran and ran until he saw it.

At the end of an empty alleyway, there the guy was, slumped on the wet concrete floor. If he was dressed differently, Akito would have thought he was a stoner.

Akito slowly stepped forward, making his steps echoed in the space between the walls, “Hey.”

No answer.

“I saw you back there.” Akito whispered, “You stopped when I called out.”

Still no answer. The heavy breathing meant he hadn’t fallen asleep.

“Y’know, you still watched some of the concert without paying for tickets.” Akito hoped that he sounded like he was joking here, “So, pay up.”

A face full of tears. The eyes kept switching between angry red and misery orange; his eyebrows kept frowning and unfrowning. Like it was a war being held inside his mind.

What is happening—

Akito almost didn’t catch it in time.

Holding his arm, he had just managed to stop this guy from running away again.

There was no expression on that face, besides the blazing yellow eyes, something he had never seen before. They shone so brightly; it felt like staring at stars.

Akito gripped the arm tighter, “Do you have anywhere else to go?”

The guy shuddered, his body convulsing as he clutched his head. There was still no sounds to be heard, even as his mouth opened and air was released in heaves.

Akito held him through it all, wanting to hug the guy, but was worried that he would overstep some kind of boundary. Then he froze, and Akito stepped back as an entire weight of a guy fell onto him.

Like a sorrowful record, he sobbed, “I’m sorry… I couldn’t…”

Akito wound an arm around his back, letting the guy’s tears wet his shoulder. As the sound of crying echoed in the alleyway, somehow, a weight in Akito’s heart faded away. He wondered why?

About five minutes later, the sobbing had calmed down, and Akito found himself a tired sack of potatoes.

“Hey, don’t fall asleep on me. I’m not strong enough to carry you home, especially with my bass behind me.”

“Oh, right…” With some difficulty, he managed to get the guy upright again. He wiped away the remains of his tears, eyes gone back to orange.

“First off, what’s your name? Need to refer to you in some way other than ‘that guy’.”

A laugh. Akito’s heart stopped.

Even after crying so much, the guy had such a charming laugh. It was a glimpse of who he was, behind whatever tragedy he had gone through.

“T-Tenma… It’s Tenma Tsukasa.”

“Alright then.” The name sounded familiar, but Akito couldn’t remember from where, “Do you have anywhere to go?”

A head shake.

“Then let’s go to my place.”

“But-”

“No buts.” Akito shoved his hand into his pocket, “You can’t expect me to leave you here, right?”

“I mean…”

“Tsukasa, you had a panic attack.” Tsukasa flinched, his body turned defensive, “If there’s truly nowhere for you to go, then there’s no one for you to turn to when it happens again.”

Tsukasa tilted his body away, but didn’t say anything.

“Besides, your clothes are…” Akito checked again. He just now realized that all of the wounds and dirt from before, including the gash in the shoulder.

Tsukasa noticed it too, but he didn’t hide it anymore. He just avoided looking at Akito, not even wincing at the pain.

“Does it not hurt?”

“I’m used to it. It’s fine.” Tsukasa bit out, getting defensive again.

Akito’s resolved hardened.

“Okay, game plan.” Akito plopped one of his hands on the other’s clean shoulder. Looking Tsukasa directly in the eyes, he said, “We’re coming to my house, where I can handle this wound properly.”

Tsukasa opened his mouth, but Akito spoke before he could, “And after a good warm shower and a nice home-made dinner, you’re going to tell me everything you can, got it?”

Tsukasa scrunched his eyebrows together before heaving out a sigh. He nodded once.

“Good, let’s go.”

I’m literally dragging a stranger into my house.

What the hell am I doing?

Why am I fine with this?

Chapter 7

Chapter Text

“We’re here.” Rui mumbled to himself.

“Yeah,“ Nene said, “The sky had gotten darker.”

Rui glanced up that the gray, cloudy sky above. They started their trek around noon, and at three hours later, they have arrived at the unnamed shrine on Shiramatsu Mountain.

The wooden structure was overgrown with moss, with thick patches of weeds at the base of the stone pathway and steps. The roof had gone a dull brown, and most of the warding talismans had faded.

It was in a sad state.

Nene had asked around for information regarding the shrine, feigning that they were tourists. All the townspeople would tell them, however, was that it had always been there.

There was apparently no spirit to honor, nor any treasure to pillage. Most of them saw no point in up-keeping something that didn’t have any meaning.

Rui furrowed his brows, but didn’t say anything until they saw the shrine for themselves the first time.

“There’s no presence here at all,” He had said, “The townspeople were right, there is no spirit here.”

They had checked around the area and found that the decorations and talismans had worn away, so Nene suggested that perhaps the spirit left this place after it was free.

“While that’s possible, but I don’t think it’s true.” Rui shook his head, “A spirit that requires the shrine to house usually hold some attachment to the place, positive or not. Unless exorcised completely, their energy will remain.”

“So, whatever was here, it was exorcised?”

“That’s the logical conclusion, yes.”

Now they returned, and the place looked the same. The shrubbery had grown a little thicker, but that’s about it. Still, with a silent nod, they split up and started their search.

———

Rui couldn’t sleep.

They had found nothing, no traces of any gathering or plan. Nene had even wasted some of her energy for a scanning check, but nothing out of the ordinary. Perhaps he had been lied to by Touya then.

He shook his head.

While that was possible, it would also mean that they would lose the one hint they had. It was either this or starting over, and Rui wasn’t in love with the latter.

If nothing else, he should just do some patrol. Had he done one for today? Of course.

But it didn’t hurt to be sure.

At 1AM on September 7th, Rui decided to sneak out of the house.

He dressed up in his usual outfit, a hoodie that hid many secrets and a pair of loose jeans, designed to look like a lousy collage student.

Rui snuck into the hallway. After checking left and right, he padded over to the bathroom, checking himself in the mirror after he turned on the lights.

He missed having long hair.

Styling long hair was simply easier, in his opinion. When he gently combed through the short locks, he reminisced about his younger self, refusing to get a haircut no matter how much he was bribed.

How would he react, old Rui wondered, knowing that he himself was the one to cut his hair.

At least the messy, rough look made him look even more like a hooker?

Rui shook his head. He shouldn’t think of such things right now.

He put a little silver hoop on his ear and splashed some water on his face just to be sure. Rubbing his face with a towel, he took in a breath to compose himself.

A slight knock. Rui turned around to see Nene, hair down and in her sleeping gown, scowling.

Rui could only sheepishly smile at her annoyance, but before he could defend himself, she muttered, “Don’t be stupid.”

Rui stared as she slipped back into her room, her footsteps echoed in the silent night. He glanced back at the mirror and sighed.

Sometimes, he wished Nene would have more days to rest, where her job and duties couldn’t bother her for a little while.

It had been so long since he last seen an innocent smile on her face, before her special “talent“ was found.

He wondered back into his bedroom and opened the window. The wind of midnight flew right through him, and just for a moment, Rui let himself feel the night.

With a tug on a part of his mind, he called forth the Gashadokuro from their contract and watched as the skeleton giant floated right outside of his window, extending his hand to him.

Rui hopped on without a word, closing the window beside himself and commanding the giant to move upwards.

Soon enough, Rui landed on the top of a highrise building, right next to a satellite dish.

With a wave of his hand, he dismissed the giant.

As the wind blew on his hair, he thought about all the knowledge he had about rituals.

Rituals were unique, in that it was one of a few ways a normal human can interact with a spirit. Usually, through a ritual, a spirit can act upon their will somewhat.

In order to conduct a ritual, besides having the right ingredients and preparations, one must draw spiritual energy, either from themselves or some other source.

There’re the usual things, like using the ritual item as a vessel, or be appeased by offerings and pass on to afterlife. Communicating with spirits is an arduous affair, and Rui isn’t even sure if you can talk directly to one without spiritual energy.

Still, a wide-scale, disastrous ritual that requires a massive amount of energy isn’t impossible. Rui had heard legends of a catastrophic event where the gates of Hell itself was opened, or a spell that causes severe natural disasters.

There weren’t exactly sources for those things, but Rui still remembered the stories that were told.

Perhaps adults should seek to traumatise their children less, he mused.

Rui sighed. The wind had calmed down, and he turned his view from the blinding streets below to the sky above. His eyebrows rose just a bit.

It had been raining a lot lately, so he didn’t notice it until today.

The moon was just over half full.

He wondered if the moon would turn full once the grand ceremony come. Maybe he should look into rituals on the full moon specifically.

Leaning on the fence at the building’s edge, Rui contemplated many things, but found himself at an impasse. Maybe the rise in spiritual presence was ultimately nothing at all, and everyone was just chasing a dead duck.

Wouldn’t that be funny-

He felt it.

Before Rui knew what he was doing, he was riding the Gashadokuro, chasing this presence as it hopped from building to building, never slowing, never stopping.

He could only hope that whoever was down there weren’t looking up to see a floating man speeding through the air. Without the Gashadokuro, there would be no chance for him to win.

What confused him the most was that the invisible guy wasn’t doing anything besides running. Was this a way to coax spiritual energy? Or had the man had achieved what he wanted to do for the day and was just playing around?

Eventually, Rui snapped out for his trance as the Gashadokuro was climbing Shiramatsu Mountain, speeding right above the cacophony of trees.

Was their theory right, after all?

As the forest thickened, he could feel the presence getting closer. Eventually, he dismissed the Gashadokuro, opting to trek the remaining distance himself.

Standing right in front the gate of the shrine, he took in a breath and readied himself.

Remember, just get evidence, then get out.

You are not paid enough to risk your life.

He entered, then promptly felt dizzy at his first step. As his vision recovered from blurring out, he let out a gasp.

The shrine was there, but so much farther away. It was like he was in a courtyard, with flower beds, a cobblestone pathway, and miscellaneous items scattered about, like a mop or clothes lines.

The space was lit with green, floating will-o-wisps, their glow unnaturally bright as they wavered, extinguished and then lit up again.

And in the center, cloaked in a black hood and armed with a katana was a figure, tilting his body away from view.

“Great job making it this far.“ The figure’s voice was male, with plenty of echo to go around, “Gotta say, you’ve been interesting.“

The figure turned to him. The cloak covered the body below, but in contrast to that was a tanuki mask, with a pair of glowing yellow eyes behind them.

Rui turned serious, realising this wasn’t going to go as planned, “So what, a duel to the dead now?”

The figure laughed, “Eager, ain’tcha? Well, not like you can escape, anyway.”

“What a jackass.“ Rui mumbled, rolling his shoulder before setting his eyes on his opponent, standing to his full height, “You’re going to fight me with a weapon? Unfair, don’t you think?”

“Don’t act like you don’t have a bunch of sh*t in that sh*tty ass drip of yours.” The figured unsheathed the katana, pointing it toward Rui, “C’mon, maybe if you land a good hit on me, I’ll let you go.”

“Tch. You act like you can even survive.” Rui grinned, digging his hand into his pocket, “Try me.”

At the sound of a non-exist sound of a gong, the two dashed towards each other, weapon in hand.

Chapter 8

Chapter Text

The sounds of metal rang out.

Rui used his pair of kunais to block the initial strike, using his spiritual energy to push the masked man back.

The man span in the air and jabbed his katana into the ground to slow himself. With a thrust, he pulled his katana up and sent three air slashes towards Rui’s way.

Rui jumped to the side, launching one of his kunais at the masked man while pulling out his talismans. Through the smoke created when the blades crashed into the ground, he heard his kunai being deflected.

Tossing the talismans into the air, Rui wordlessly ignite them with a flick of his fingers. Vivid blue flames swarmed his sight, and he launches them with a flick of a wrist.

From the smoke, the masked swordman jumped high in the air, and the little fires he created dashed forward. However, as if he wielded the wind itself, the area was suddenly hit with a storm, wiping out the flames.

In the split second of opportunity, Rui snuck behind the man and summoned his Gashadokuro’s arm, raising it for a punch.

The man spun back and used his own energy to stab the katana into the Gashadokuro’s boney fingers and landed on them before jumping back. The sheer force of the movement pushed back the arm, leaving Rui exposed.

Rui cast a defence charm using his talisman just in time to intercept an air slash sent his way, before landing and noticing something strange.

Rui’s eyes widen as the cracked stone slabs were piecing back together, the broken flower pots mending, even the clothesline attaching itself, the fallen clothes returned to their hanged state.

He felt the air shifted, and using the other kunai, he deflected the strike aiming for his throat. He was not prepared for the sideway kick to his stomach that launched him away.

Rui made a hand gesture as he bit down the rising bile, and the wind slowed him down enough to not crash into the wall.

Summoning the Gashadokuro fully, Rui stabilized himself as the giant skeleton moved toward the masked man with unexpected speed.

The man used his sword to bounce on the Gashadokuro’s knuckles, before going in with a stab. The giant head saw this coming and opened its mouth, its empty eyes had a note of hunger in them.

The man spun in the air, using the wind to suddenly change his momentum. He watched as the Gashadokuro prepared its backup plan, a gigantic fire ball forming in its mouth.

The skeleton shot the ball, and the man readied himself, channeling the surrounding wind into his blade. With a silent slash, the man cut through the fireball; the wind dissipating the heat into the surrounding space.

When he looked back at the Gashadokuro, however, there was a terrifying glint in its eye sockets.

He saw it too late.

Rui, taking advantage of the distraction, pulled out one of his special talisman and pushed spiritual energy into it. It created a magic circle, and Rui, forming the shape of a gun with his hand, fired a shot.

It hit the man in the shoulder.

As he fell, he crashed into a large vase. Rui approached, watching how even with the man there, the pot still tried to heal itself, forcing the man to roll away.

He scanned the area. Besides the kick to the stomach and several of his talismans used, nothing else indicated that a fight ever happened at all.

It was so bizarre.

Rui, who have read countless books and stories, had never seen this before. What do you call a space like this?

“It’s interesting, isn’t it?“ The man spoke, his tone strangely somber, “I, well we started calling these Domains.“

Rui stared into those yellow eyes, not unlike himself. For the first time tonight, he could feel the weight behind them.

He had so many questions, and it seemed like the man wasn’t intending to fight anymore. His katana had vanished, and his body was leaning against the wall, clutching his wound.

For all of their sh*t-talking, neither of them were willing to take a life.

“Man, what with us and shoulder wounds…” The man laughed, “He’s gonna be so mad…”

“Who are you talking about?”

“Any question but that one.” The man leveled him with a look, “And no asking for names either. If I can answer anything else, I will. Just know that you’re on a timer.”

Rui opened his mouth and closed it. Waving his hand, he sent the Gashadokuro back to its resting place, wherever that was.

Rui honestly wasn’t sure.

Thinking about his questions more carefully, Rui asked about the most prominent question in mind, “What were you doing for several days, just running around like that?“

“Was trying to find something, ended up failing.” The man continued to stare, tilting his head, “Managed to find you instead.”

“Why were you aiming for me?”

“You said it like we have a hit on you or something.” The man laughed again, “Honestly? Right person at the right time.”

“Care to explain?” Rui’s eyebrow twitched.

“Nah, you’ll figure it out real soon.“

Rui shook his head, “Fine, what’s with this place? Domain, you call it?”

“Do you recognise the layout?”

“No.” The space look like it was a time capsule, but the clotheslines and such meant that this place was reasonably recent, a few years at most.

“Make sense.” The man shrugged with one shoulder.

“Created using the memories of the deceased, plural.” He tilted his head away again, not meeting Rui’s eyes, “At least two, but usually more. Noticed how detailed this place is? At least ten dead, I reckon.”

Rui felt a chill down his spine, “That’s a massacre.“

“True.” Yellow eyes met yellow eyes, “Some folks never leave peacefully, some don’t leave at all. Gather these memories together and you get this weird-ass space.”

“So, it’s correcting itself because…”

“It was remembered to be like that.”

“And the shrine…”

“Wasn’t there when whatever happened did.” Rui glanced back at the courtyard, “Need it in order to create this place, that’s why it stayed.”

“…What’s the purpose of this place? Why are you disturbing the dead?” If there was one thing one should never do, it was to abuse the dead for one’s own needs, especially in such an invasive way.

The curious part of Rui wanted to dissect this place, learn everything about it, inside and out. The rational part pointed out how immoral this was.

“It’s not like we want to do this…” The man shook his head, “But it’s important. And necessary.”

Rui raised his voice, “Then answer me. What’s the-”

“Listen.”

Rui felt it.

A storm suddenly started. Ghastly wails of the dead filled his ears, as the gales swept up the invading spiritual energy into the center. The cries were from everywhere, old and young, male and female, it flooded his ears and Rui felt himself buckled under the emotional weight.

It continued on for several more minutes until he felt the same dizziness from before, when he had first entered this Domain.

Rui opened his eyes again, finding himself in the real world this time, facing the old shrine with no courtyard.

The masked man was there, in his hand was some kind of crystal glowing eerie green, “A Domain’s job is to collect spiritual energy. You were needed to further entice the energy to gather here.”

“So, that’s why we fight, but you didn’t aim to kill me.”

The man’s eyes filled with mirth, “Needed to stall for time. You were a great sparring partner, besides the cheating part.”

Rui’s raised his eyebrows, “You have a katana and midair jumps.”

“You have a giant skeleton and magic guns.”

Rui conceded with a sigh, “Well, what’s my payment?”

“You want to be paid?”

“Well, yeah?” Rui said, incredulous, “You dragged me all the way out here just to fight, kicked me in the stomach, made me waste a bunch of talismans on you, and you expect me to do this all unpaid?”

“…You know what, sure, I’ll reward you.” With that, the man extended his clean hand, “Grab it.”

Rui hesitantly grabbed it and felt all came to black.

“Mother, just a little more…”

“What’s happening to her-”

“Run- Agh!”

“Lord Tenma, please save us!”

“Was this your doing, Tsukasa? Do you despise me that much!?”

Voices, indistinct and echoing, looped around Rui’s head. When the ability to see returned to him, he found himself alone, with so many more questions.

“Rui.” He almost jumped, before realising it was Nene’s communication line.

“How… How long had it been?”

“Roughly thirty minutes.” Nene’s chair creaked, “I’ve been watching. The spiritual energy around the entire Shingo Prefecture had subdued.”

“It’s normal now?”

“Well, it all gathered towards the Shiramatsu shrine at an unprecedented pace, and them it all vanished.” Her nails were lightly scratching the table, “And Rui, I could detect you, but you were also blurry, like I couldn’t pinpoint your location.“

Her voice shook, just the slightest bit, “I got worried. Please, tell me what happen?”

Rui took in a deep breath, then put on his soft voice, the one he used whenever Nene was like this, “I’ll explain everything when I get back.”

He needed to return home, and fast, before Nene lost it. She was strong, but anyone raised like her would frequently be expecting the worst.

Just before he said goodbye to her, he glanced down and found something at his foot.

Lifting the tanuki mask up, Rui tilted it around, inspecting it. It really was just a normal tanuki mask, something you could buy at a festival.

“Is this… my payment? Or is it…“

“What?”

“It’s nothing.” Rui tucked the mask into his elbow, calling the Gashadokuro out, “I’m coming back.”

“Okay, be safe.”

As the wind swept through Rui’s hair, he thought about many things. But the little insight at the end bothered him the most.

“Did he show me what had happened in that courtyard? Who could have possibly heard all that and still be alive today?”

Chapter 9

Chapter Text

“Kasa?”

In the dead of night, after he relieved himself in the bathroom and came back to bed, Akito found Tsukasa’s figure sitting up on his mattress, eyes a blazing yellow.

He was sleeping like the dead five minutes ago.

Tsukasa shared a body with two alters, at least from what Akito had researched on regarding systems. He’s not even sure if they are one, but they seemed fine with being called that.

Right now, Taki just smirked at him, tilting his head while tapping his lips with a finger.

Keep silent.

“…Why are you out? Need me for something?” Akito whispered. He probably didn’t want to alert Ena, who was working on a project.

Taki didn’t front unless he needed to. The alter shrugged with one shoulder, and Akito narrowed his eyes.

“Something’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

Akito leveled him a look before flicking the lights on.

He could only stare in shock at the bleeding wound on the shoulder. The blood had dried on the skin, leaving the mattress and blanket spotless.

“What the hell, what happened!? Actually, no, let me get the medical box first. And no, stay where you are!” He was freaking out, his skin suddenly felt clammy and uncomfortable.

Akito rushed over to the bathroom again, grabbed the things he needed and got back. Taki was thankfully sitting still where he was, a sheepish look on his face.

Akito had long accepted that something was going on with Tsukasa, with the magically disappearing and reappearing wounds, the color-changing eyes, the entire demeanor of the guy.

However, whenever he asked, they refused to answer anything regarding it. Tsukasa would get defensive and shut down, while Taki and Kitsu, in their own ways, would deflect and ignore it.

Akito was too much of a softie to actually force them to answer.

Taki let out exaggerated grunts and moans as Akito disinfect the wound with a roll of his eyes, hiding his fear. The wound was shaped much differently than other times, and Akito’s eyes widened.

“Were you shot!?”

It came out much louder than he wanted to, but Taki just laughed, “Yeah, real sharpshooter. Could have actually killed me.” He didn’t mean that last sentence, Akito hoped. He wanted to ask so many things.

Instead, he asked the obvious question.

“Why did someone shot you?”

“Nothing to worry your pretty little head over.”

“But I will, I have to.” Akito leveled him with a look, the one that shut up Tsukasa and his alters, “You are risking your life for whatever that you refuse to tell me, and then you get shot!”

“I-”

“As your friend and the one who saved you, I believe I have the right to know what’s going on.”

“You can’t do anything about it.”

“How do you know that?”

“How do I know that?”

He couldn’t be prepared for it.

One moment, he was busy wrapping the bandages around the shoulder. The next, he was pinned down onto the floor, a sword’s blade right at his throat.

“What will you do when your enemies do this?” The room turned completely dark, the yellow eyes glowed eerily, “You might be above average for a normal human, but you can’t fight. Tsukasa wouldn’t be happy seeing your corpse.”

Akito felt a knee pressed into his ribs, and even with a wounded shoulder, whatever Taki was, Akito didn’t have the strength to fight it.

“What am I supposed to then? When any of you, and especially you get hurt…”

Taki scrunched his eyebrows together, mouth opening but not forming words. He shook his head repeatedly and released Akito by toppling back. The sword vanished into nothingness.

“You shouldn't be so involved with us.”

Akito would never get used to get used to the way Kitsu talked. Tsukasa and Taki sounded like normal humans, distinct despite sharing vocal cords.

Kitsu sounded like a robot, emotionless and unattached. His words weren’t usually so robotic, but they were still cold.

“I sav- You guys have nowhere to go!”

“You are correct about that.” Kitsu said, red eyes staring at him, “And all of us own you an endless amount of gratitude.”

“So why-”

“Which is exactly why we can’t inform you of anything.” The red eyes were glowing, emotions bleeding into them instead of his voice.

Akito felt choked up. This wasn’t how things supposed to go. They had a good concert night, Tsukasa finally loosened up after seeing his sister, he was bone dead tired from all of his work and just wanted to sleep.

“Please don’t misunderstand me. We didn’t hide things from you because we don’t trust you.” Kitsu turned away, “But Taki is right, even if he was brash about it. You, for a lack of a better word, are powerless.”

“…Can I do something about that?” Akito hated how his voice was shaking.

Why did he care so much?

“I don't think so.”

Kitsu sounded as monotone as ever, but his red eyes was filled with something unexplainable, “If we could have, we would have hid everything from you . But it truly was impossible, because you grew so close to us.”

“What should I do to help you? I want something like this to ever happened again.” Akito sighed, holding himself back, “Even if I interacted the most with Tsukasa, I still care about you two.”

Kitsu was silent, wrapping his arms around himself. He closed his eyes, and for a moment, Akito wondered if he had fallen asleep.

“Hey, Akito?”

“…Yeah?”

“Can I, uh… Hug you?”

That did it.

Akito didn't even reply, he just lunged into Tsukasa’s arms. He refused to cry, especially because nothing catastrophic was happening, he didn't want to overreact and be less dependable for them.

He knew, despite the way they act, Tsukasa and his alters were in a sh*tty situation. They had no family besides their sister; they had no friends besides the band; for the longest time, they only had each other.

He was the only one who fully knew about their situation, they only have him to turn to when they're hurt.

So no, Akito wouldn’t cry, because it would be pathetic to act like he was the one that was hurt and scared. He couldn't show them he was terrified of losing them, too.

“This is enough for me. Thank you, Akito.”

Akito was crying, silently the teardrops fell.

Tsukasa didn't say anything about it.

Chapter 10

Chapter Text

“Have everything?”

Nene glanced at their luggage, which was two suitcases and a backpack. She was currently holding a bag containing snacks for their long journey ahead.

“Yes.” Rui swung the key around his finger, then tucked it into his pocket, “Is the sweater enough for this weather?”

“It should. It’s only September, it can’t get that cold.” Nene huffed, “I put a scarf and a pair of gloves in the backpack just in case, so don’t worry.”

Rui nodded, then moved to get the backpack off the ground. Nene noticed how he was only wearing two shirts, one long sleeve and one short.

He had naturally good cold tolerance though, so she didn’t comment on it.

With the backpack situated over his shoulder, Rui and Nene quietly made their way to the bus stop, which will get them to the train station.

“Ah, the leaves are turning.”

Nene glanced up, and her sight was filled with shades of green and yellow. They weren’t going to fall yet, but autumn had definitely come.

“Festival attracts spiritual activities.” She murmured, not focusing.

“Hmm?”

“It’s nothing.” She shook her head, “I’m just thinking out loud.”

The wait for the bus was short. Nene got herself the window seat and pulled out her headphones. Rui treated himself to some of the candied fruits in the bag.

She could feel the calmness.

It was a normal level of calm, where spiritual energy lingered just enough to flow softly like water in a spring. It’s daytime, but she could see the peaceful Yokais going about.

Chouchin-obake, paper lanterns with eyes and a long tongue, or karkasa-kozou, hopping umbrellas with one eye. They swooped and swished around the unaware humans, chuckling as they go.

Sometimes, she spotted stronger presences, but they minded their own business and she didn’t have to worry too much.

Yokais rarely endanger humans. Sure, they played pranks, but they don’t have any incentive to actually cause harm. After all, Yokais live by absorbing the energy from other living things.

The genuine dangers are vengeful spirits, or Yokais that had been manipulated through a contract.

Nene still didn’t know much about that subject.

She turned to Rui, absentmindedly scrolling through his phone, and like many times before, she wondered how he got the Gashadokuro to work for him.

It was one of the few things he refused to talk to her about.

Speaking of which…

“How did Aoyagi respond?”

“Oh?” Rui turned to her, before turning back, “I sent him a picture of the mask and told him about the guy escaping. He said something about having a lead and thanked me.”

“Is that all?”

“Yup.”

“…What’s going to happen? What’s he going to do?” Nene started chewing on her thumbnail, “I don’t like this.”

Rui handed her a piece of candied fruit, “Don’t think about it too much. Whatever it is, we can’t interfere. Didn’t you say the same thing to me, hmm?”

“I guess.” She took his offer and put the piece in her mouth.

The rest of the bus ride went on silently.

———

Shingo Central Station.

The white building is surrounded with trees and shrubbery, with a glass sliding door. Nene brought her suitcase to the entrance, just as Rui threw away the trash in a bin nearby.

The row of chairs was packed with people and luggage, and Nene breathed out in gratitude for her decision to book the tickets online.

Ignoring all of the food and souvenir store, they walked to the ticket booth, where a lady greeted them.

“How can I help you two?”

“Two tickets to Mizayanaga, please. We’re booked previously, the name is Kusanagi Nene.”

The sounds of keyboard tapping rang out, “Ah, two tickets at 10:30 AM, yes?” Nene nodded, “Please provide us your identifying card and info so that we can verify you.”

“Here.”

“…Here’s your two tickets. Enjoy your trip!”

Before they got on the train, Rui insisted checking out the shops and ended up buying far too much sweet for the two of them. Nene couldn’t deny they were delicious, though.

They got in the seat after packing their things away. Rui put his backpack on his lap, as Nene once again took the window seat.

“Aren’t you excited about returning home, Nene?”

Nene glanced toward the window, “A little, I guess. I haven’t spoken to Granny Hanami in a while, and there’s a sale for tiramisu at the cafe I really like.”

“I see.”

“What about you?”

“Hmm…” Rui feigned thinking about it. Both of them knew the answer, Nene honestly wasn’t sure why she even asked, “Nothing in mind. Maybe something interesting will come up.”

“I would rather not.” She grabbed the sakura mochi packet he handed to her, “I would like thing to stay normal, thank you.”

The train let out a loud hiss as the wheel started to roll. The scenery of outside of the window moved like a motioned picture.

If Nene were more creative-minded, perhaps the autumn scene would have inspired her to draw, or maybe take a picture. She was fine with just staring at it while listening to music, though.

The sakura mochi tasted strange in her mouth. It wasn’t as great as how Granny Hanami made it, “It’s too sweet.”

“Really? I think it’s pretty good.”

“Rui, you have a massive sweet tooth.”

“Fufu, do I really?”

She silently glanced at his snack bag before leveling him a look. Rui tilted his head away, pouting.

“I asked this earlier, but is your wound okay now?”

“It aches, but not by much.” Rui moved on to a soda-flavored stretchy candy, “As long as I don’t apply pressure to my stomach, it should be okay.”

“That’s good.”

The train continued on, they wouldn’t reach Mizayanaga until night. Nene found herself drifting off, leaning her head against the window.

———

Nene could feel the wind blowing through her hair.

“Huh?” She opened her eyes, realizing that she was sleeping on a flower bed. As the wind blew, the petals and branches of the trees swayed in the air.

“Is this a dream…?”

She stood up and observed things. She was still wearing the outfit from earlier, including her green sweater. The flower field she was standing in had a path leading away from it.

“There’s only that way, so there’s no other choice.”

With uncertain steps, she walked through the cobblestone path leading out of the flower field. Beside the sound of the leaves and flowers swaying in the wind, there was nothing else.

Nene walked for a solid minute before catching sight of something.

Atop a hill in the distance, dancing with the wind was a girl.

With her pink hair tied messily at the back and her white dress flowing left to right, Nene felt like she was witnessing ethereality for the first time.

She was clutching a basket, and Nene could make out the soft, cheerful singing voice as it was coming closer to her.

Wait-

The girl turned to the source of the rustling, pink eyes locking in with purple ones.

How had she gotten this close without realizing it?

The girl tilted her head in curiosity, before rushing over, a bright smile lit up her face.

“Hello there! I’m Otori Emu, Emu meaning smile!” The girl said, standing just a few centimetres in front of Nene, “What’s your name? C’mon, tell me.”

“You’re too close…” Nene blushed, “K-Kusanagi Nene… Nice to meet you…?”

“Nene, Nene…“ Emu tapped her finger to her mouth, before bursting into a smile, “That’s a beautiful name! What does it mean?”

“U-Umm, something like ‘peacefulness and quietness‘, I think? I haven’t thought about it for a long time.”

“That’s okay.” Emu smiled, “Life’s a bit hectic, don’t you think? It’s difficult to find time to think about such things.”

Nene didn’t know how to answer that, nor did Emu expect one, it seemed. She just smiled and back off a bit.

Her smile turned softer, not quite reaching her eyes.

“I’ve been waiting for you for a while now, y’know?”

“Huh? W-What for?”

“Why are you asking me?” Emu scrunched her face cutely, “Isn’t this your job?”

“My job?”

“You’re a psychopomp, right?”

“A- Wait, what are you talking about!?” Nene stepped back, suddenly feeling like she was cornered in this wide field, “Cause a psychopomp is-”

“No? …Are you like me, then?”

Nene felt her heart shattered with just a whisper.

Emu was smiling, still. Clutching the basket filled with flowers with her small fingers. Yet her eyes told a different story.

“If you are not here to guide me, then you must be here waiting to be guided, right?”

“I’m- No, I’m not dead!”

Emu widened her eyes in shock, the smile slipped away like water over a duck’s back.

“Then why are you here?”

“I- I don’t know!” Nene cried out, digging her nails into her arm to stop herself from panicking, “I was on a train with my friend, we were returning to our hometown and…”

“…I see.”

Emu smiled again, but tears suddenly adorned her eyes, “I’m sorry. I don’t know how, but it seemed that you were caught by this place.”

“I was so lonely that I kidnapped you from your friend and your home, I think.” She clutched the basket close to her chest, “I’ve been waiting for so long, awaiting the day I can finally rest…”

“And now your heart is trapped here, too.” She laughed, broken by her sobs, “I’m sorry, I don’t know how to get you out of here. Maybe you’re trapped here forever…”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, please forgive me-”

“Hey, please look at me.”

Emu, with tear-filled eyes, looked up to find Nene hesitatingly smiling, “I… Well, I haven’t been in situations like this before, but I was taught by my elders that apparently, this can happen.”

A space created by a tethering soul, desperately clinging on to this mortal world. It differed from the Domains she and Rui were studying.

“I’m not sure how much I can help you, but I want to at least let you know that you’re not dead yet.”

“I’m- But how, I was…”

“In order for a space like this to be created, your soul must still be bound to your body.” Nene explained, pulling out her packet of tissue paper.

She quietly cleaned Emu’s face of tears and dirt.

“So I can guide you back… I think.”

Emu’s face was covered in shock, before she smiled as brightly as the sun. She lunged forward, gathering them into a hug as they collied with the grass.

“Thank you, thank you! You truly are a psychopomp!”

“Like I said, you’re not dead yet.” Nene smiled, but she sobered up quickly.

The key word is yet. She had no idea how much time Emu had left.

“Can you sit up, then sit beside me?”

“Sure!” Emu barrel-rolled to the side, dirtying her dress meanwhile. Nene was secretly glad no one had to go through the trouble of actually cleaning and washing it.

Sitting up herself, she wiped off some of the dirt on her clothes before turning to Emu.

“Please tell me everything you can, in as much detail as possible, about what happened that lead to your ‘death’. I don’t need a perfect recollection, but I do need you to piece everything together and say it out loud.”

Chapter 11

Chapter Text

“What I remember… Where to start?”

Emu looked up, her basket put to the side and her hands in her lap, “I guess I should start from the beginning.”

She turned to Nene and smiled, “Normally, I wouldn’t tell anyone about this, but you know about the spiritual world already, so…”

“The Otori, along with the Hanasato and Kiritani, are the three families in charge of the Three Sacred Treasures. Do you know them?”

“The Imperial Regalia of Japan, the Yasakani no Magatama, the mirror Yata no Kagami, and the sword Kusanagi no Tsurugi.” Nene replied, “Our family shared the name with the sword, something which we tended to joke about.”

“I see.” Emu nodded, “The Magatama was under our family’s protection for hundred of years, it was passed down to us at the end of the War.”

“The War…” Nene mumbled.

She tried to recall what she taught by her elders, “In order to visit the ‘Other Realm‘ and unlock the secret to immortality, a special ritual must be done, using the three treasures. Several smaller groups and clans, overwhelmed with greed, decided to massacre each other.”

“Uhuh. That’s a long time ago, though. Even before I was born.” Emu clasped her hands together, “Well, before my grandfather was born, and before his grandfather was born, too…”

She shook her head, “When I grew up, we were forbidden from ever seeing it. My siblings and cousins and I tried, really hard too, but the guardians would catch us and we would be sentenced to extra housework.”

Nene noticed a light smile on her face.

Soft and wistful, with a guilt hiding underneath.

“Things stayed relatively peaceful, you know? Eventually, I think all of us sort of forget about it. Well, except Hinata.”

“Hinata?”

“My sister.” Emu grasped a flower stem with her fingers, looking down, “She was chosen to be a guardian for the small temple that housed the Magatama.”

“She’s amazing. You should have seen her with a blade. Hinata is so strong she could take on both of my elder brothers on her own.”

Emu whispered, her voice growing small.

“She shouldn’t have…”

Nene wrapped her arm around the other to comfort her, as the wind continued to flow between her hair.

There was something so comforting about that.

“…You might have guessed it already, but we were ambushed.”

Emu looked at her directly in the eyes.

Like this, Nene could see the tears starting to fall again. She took out her tissue packet again and handed over to the other with saying another word.

“Hinata felt something off, so she decided to check on the temple. Me and my brothers was going with her to return to our house, so we decided to follow her.”

“The Otori, we specialised in rituals and other non-combative aspect of spirituality. Still, we were holding the attackers of well enough… I think…”

“Then something strange happened.”

Emu let go of the flower stem and grasped tightly onto the handle of her basket. The fringe made it difficult for Nene to look at her face and eyes clearly.

“A Yokai, I think…? It started to shoot out these homing bolts, they trapped us in these spider nets like things, even the ones we’ve been fighting off.”

Nene furrowed her brows, “So, whoever commanded the Yokai isn’t affiliated with any of those who attacked initially?”

“No, I think they betrayed each other. The attackers at the start seemed to be from the south, far from where we were. The guys with Yokai, I couldn’t tell because their voice were distorted through their masks.”

Nene tapped her chin in thought.

Shingo wasn’t that far south, more south-west than anything. Mizayanaga, where she and Rui were heading, was at the far north of the country.

She hadn’t heard about any suspicious activities regarding the south, but then again, she hadn’t heard about this attack at all.

The fact that the Three Sacred Treasures were kept away and a secret to all, that made sense. But something so severe, like one of them being stolen, that should have-

Her eyes widened as a thought crossed her head.

Still, she needed more information.

“What happened next?”

“Those guys entered. They were all wearing black hoods and masks, the types that you can buy at a festival stall.” Emu pulled out a lily from her flower basket, absentmindedly rubbing the milk white petals.

“They had a leader, and they demanded the Magatama. The first attackers shouted protests even before us, about being betrayed by the Akaichi Organization.”

Nene absorbed the info.

First, “You assumed that the first attackers, the ones who were betrayed, were southern because of their accent, correct?”

A nod.

Okay, “The Akaichi Organization leader, how did he respond?”

“It’s eat or being eaten; backstab or being stabbed in the back.” Emu cringed at the sentence, “So cliché.”

Nene had to agree.

Still, not much to work with, “Did he say anything else? Anything hinting at their intention?”

Emu shook her head, “After he said that, he summoned the Yokai thing… It was a massive spider, with twelve eyes and a piercing screech. Just imagine it makes me shiver.”

“He commanded it to kill all of us, and the spider, it…”

Nene leant herself a little closer to Emu, lending her the strength she needed.

“The sack at the back of it, I don’t know what it’s called, but it started to swell up, larger and larger, and then it…”

“It shot out those bolts again, this time aiming for our organs.”

Nene felt something stabbed her in the chest.

“It felt like, no, the heat from the blast was so strong my stomach was certainly melting off. I couldn’t handle that, I couldn’t, I’m sorry, I let out a scream.”

“Then I woke up here, dressed like this.”

Emu was crying, clutching her stomach, “I’m don’t know anything else after that. I’ve been here ever since, I don’t even know how much time has passed. It’s only been two weeks here for me, but what if time flows differently?”

Nene let her sobbed while she went through everything.

Whoever was behind this not only knew where the Magatama was hidden, they had the resource in order to collaborate, mobilize and then betray a part of their force.

There was a suspect already on her mind, one that absolutely had enough resources in his control. But it wouldn’t make sense, giving the knowledge she had on him…

She shook her head. Now was not the time for that.

She had a soul to guide.

“Emu.”

The girl looked up, her eyes cloudy with tears, her hands had torn apart the lily she was holding.

Nene took a piece of tissue paper and gently wiped the tears away, “Thank you. That should be half-way done. Now we can actually get to bringing you back.”

“But how, my body surely must be rotten by now? Or at least it’s not whole anymore…”

“From what the elders taught me,” Nene answered, “Your soul’s desire to live in the mortal world is so strong that it clings to the spiritual energy of the area.”

“Since a powerful treasure like the Magatama existed there, you should be able to channel that energy in order to return. The spiritual energy may heal your body enough to sustain life.”

Nene glanced away, “I should warn you, however much the spiritual energy will heal you, it wouldn’t be completely. Salvaging you soul from death is already a monumental task.”

“Also, I don’t- I can’t say anything about the conditions of your siblings or the betrayed attackers… But chances are that you’ll return alone.”

“And about how time flows… I wasn’t taught about that, but I think you’re right in that time flows differently, so please be prepared for it.”

Emu remained quiet for a while, her sniffles slowly calming down.

The wind kept blowing, and Nene wondered the significance of this windy flower field, what it meant to Emu, why her soul hid itself here. Those are personal questions, however.

She would rather not intrude.

“You know.” She said, shocking Nene back to her. She couldn’t help but feel relief when Emu smiled again, “I was expecting to fade away, to finally pass on. I thought I earned the right.”

“But now, realising that I might be the only one that can return, wouldn’t it be selfish of me to go?”

Nene didn’t think so, but she didn’t speak.

“…I decided!”

Emu hopped up, surprising the other, “I want to come back. If not to avenge my siblings, then to at least learn the truth and help the Otori clan.”

“I see.” Nene nodded, standing up, before scrunching her eyebrows, “Wait, Otori… Aren’t you-”

“Uhuh.” She laughed, “I wonder, which of my cousins has taken on the role of leader?”

Just then, Emu’s body started to glow, “This is it, right? Will I meet you again, Nene?”

“I… You can, yes.”

“Then can you promise me that we’ll meet again?”

“Uh… Sure, I promise.”

“Didn’t count.”

“Huh? Why?”

Emu laughed, grabbing one of Nene’s hands as she was getting brighter and brighter, “We didn’t pinky promise, duh!”

“H-How old are you?”

“I’m almost 21 now!”

“We’re that same age!?”

Emu laughed again, clutching onto Nene’s hand even as the light got so bright Nene couldn’t see her anymore.

“Thank you, Nene. I’ll meet you again.”

“Y-Yeah, I’m looking forward to that.”

———

Nene sprung out of her sleep as she heard the sound of the train’s horn.

Have they arrived?

“Had a good sleep?”

Nene turned to Rui, whose digging through a bag of chewy candies, “I’m impress, you slept through the entire trip. Usually, it’s hard to get you to sleep more than three hours per day.”

The train ride from Shingo to Mizayanaga is six to seven hours, Nene recalled. But she spent less that thirty minutes with Emu…

She shook her head. Rui seemed to catch onto her expression.

“Is something wrong?”

“No.” She shook her head again, “But it’s something important, I’ll talk to you about it later.”

“I see. Let’s get off this train and back to our apartment first, then.”

Chapter 12

Chapter Text

Saki stared at her train ticket with contemplation.

Shiho was watching over their luggage, while Honami and Ichika were getting them something to eat.

And here she was, hiding in the bathroom.

“Miyazanagi…”

She hadn’t been there for so long.

“Deep breaths, Tenma, deep breaths…” She muttered, “Remember why you’re going there.”

Finishing her business, Saki exited the bathroom stall. She washed her hands silently, watching her reflection in the mirror.

She decorated herself a bit today, a light tinge on her cheeks and sparkles around her eyes. After the long slum she had been through, it was good for her sanity to doll herself up a bit.

Saki combed her twin-tails to get them into shape before exiting the bathroom.

The girls were waiting for her, boxes of noodles in Honami’s arms and drinks in Ichika’s.

Saki settled herself, making sure that they couldn’t see her blank face. She faked glancing at her watch as she walked before she looked up and smiled, dashing over.

“Ah, you’re back!”

“Saki!” Ichika smiled, “We got some yakisoba and ice tea for lunch, is that fine?”

“That’s perfect!” She said, sitting next to Shiho, who was busy scrolling through her phone. Honami wordlessly handed both of them their portions, before sitting next to Ichika.

Their luggage, which was four backpacks, a suitcase and two guitar cases either lied on the floor or leant against the chairs. Honami didn’t bring her drum pads because they took too much space, and Saki didn’t want to bring her keyboard along.

“It’s a vacation!” She had said to them while they were discussing this trip idea, after she suggested it, “I can leave it behind for a week.”

“Sure, sure…” Shiho had agreed, exhausted but smiling, “Just practice extra hard once we get back.”

Now, Saki, after thanking for the food, started shoving noodles into her mouth. It wasn’t as good as how Ichika made it, but that was to be expected.

Ichika was a pro in all things yakisoba, after all.

Shiho gave her a dirty look, but Saki just smiled back.

She glanced over at Shiho’s phone, “What are looking at?”

“I’m trying to find a spot for food tonight.” Shiho said, sipping her tea, “There’s a good amount of places around the hotel we booked, but I’m not sure where to go.”

“What are the options?” Ichika asked.

“There’s a sushi restaurant, a ramen one, a fast-food joint, but let’s avoid that one.” Shiho tapped her chin in thought, “The ramen has the best rating.”

“Miyazanagi is famous for its ramen too…” Ichika recalled, “But this place is famous, we might not get there before it gets too crowded.”

“The train ride is almost eight hours long…” Honami said, “We are travelling from one end of the country to the other, after all.”

Saki hid her sigh with the noodles.

At least with such a long travel length, she would get some more time to think about how she would handle the coming situation.

She didn’t feel bad for Touya at all, the reverse really, but she was technically the head of the Tenma Clan now, even if she didn’t want it.

“It’s about the protection and stabilization of the spiritual energy that lies deep within the land.” Her father explained the ceremony when they were young, “As such, clan heads need to be there in order to ensure balance, not just between the humans themselves, but also us and the spiritual world.”

Is all of that true? Saki couldn’t tell. No one besides the leaders themselves knew the details regarding the actual unification ceremony.

And Tsukasa had never had the chance to see it either.

Still, unless she wanted the Aoyagi to completely took things over, she had to interfere, at least for the unification ceremony.

Touya could handle all of the boring diplomatic stuff.

She glanced over at the girls. Shiho seemed incredibly occupied with something on her phone, while Ichika and Honami was busy finishing their meal.

Saki got her box clean in minutes.

“Hey, I think I found somewhere interesting we can go.”

“Really? Let me see-”

The words died on Saki’s tongue.

“The Miyazanagi Flower Festival?” Ichika said, tilting her head over.

“Oh, that’s sounds nice. When is it happening?” Honami asked, picking up their trash.

“The 11th…?”

Saki speed-read through the article, quickly finding herself sweating bullets.

“It said here that it will be held for the first time publicly in the famous Ama-no-Kunshu Temple, the largest of its kind in the country.” Shiho scrunched her eyebrows, “In previous years, the temple annual festival, held in December, was an exclusive celebration, where the place would be closed off temporarily for the duration, which is traditionally a week.”

“The festival will be held from the 11th to the 16th, with a special, never-before seem ceremony on the last day.” Shiho muttered, “I guess we can go on opening day and closing day to get the full experience?”

“But Miyazanagi… Is it famous for flowers?” Ichika asked, “Also, wouldn’t it make more since to hold a flower festival in spring? It’s reaching autumn now.”

“I don’t know.” Shiho pulled out her social media and searched up the keywords, “Seems like it’s a big discussion topic online too. Apparently, since it was so exclusive, none of the natives there know much about it either.”

“How can that be?” Honami asked, their trash packed up at her seat, while she viewed Shiho’s phone from the back.

“The Ama-no-Kunshu Temple… It’s on a pretty steep mountain range, and the trails are hard to climb.” Saki recalled robotically, mind running miles a minute, “Usually, in December, it will take a day to get there from the closest settlement, because of the heavy windstorms and cold weather.”

She looked up and saw three pairs of eyes trained on her.

“Wow, Saki, you sure know a lot about this place.” Honami smiled.

“Oh- Aha, yeah,” Saki tilted her head away, sticking her tongue out for good measure, “My family used to go there when I was young.”

“Saki…” Ichika mumbled, but said nothing else.

Shiho shook her head and sighed, before turning back to her phone, “Okay, we decided on that, yeah? Let’s go over other places of interest as well. This trip is going to last two weeks, after all.”

“There are a lot of cute stores and cafes, an art museum, a local theatre show, a crafts market, a tour around an anime studio…” Ichika listed from the notes on her phone, “I did some research last night, but there might be more.”

“Oh, since we’re going up the mountains already…” Honami pulled out her phone and typed excitedly, “How about we do some skiing or snowboarding?”

“Hona, that’s a great idea!” Saki clapped her hands, “But… Do you know how to ski? I certainly don’t.”

“Ah, I remember when Tsukasa showed us your first family trip to a skiing resort.” Ichika smiled, watching Saki for her reaction, “You couldn’t handle the sticks at all and ended up crying the whole time.”

“Really?” Saki asked, and Ichika was glad that after a few days, mentioning Tsukasa or her parents didn’t seem to trigger Saki anymore.

She asked them to make these sorts of mentions often so that she could get used to it, but the three of them weren’t sure if this actually works or not.

“Yeah, I still remember the photo where you tripped down a small slope and ended up being a giant snowball.” Shiho chuckled, “Let me see if I can find it on my phone again.”

“Hey~,” Saki pouted, “We’re getting sidetracked.”

“I’ll send the pic to the group chat later.”

”Shiho!”

“Alright, what else…”

Right after Ichika finished speaking, the train let out a loud screech with its horn.

“Ah!” Saki stood up, “It’s time to go already!”

“Seems like it.” Shiho stood up along with the other two, “Let’s sort out our things before going.”

Honami picked up the trash and left to throw it away, then all of them got their backpack onto their shoulders. Before long, they got settled in the train cabin.

Saki reeled back a little as the train started, letting out a loud whistle as the scenery began to move.

A little moment later, they started doing their own thing. Ichika put on her Miku playlist while working on lyrics, Shiho fell asleep, leaning against the cabin’s wall, and Honami was compiling everything into a schedule for them.

Saki glanced out of the window, not paying attention to the sights.

She wondered, with fear in her chest, what this recent development meant. Why were they showing the unification ceremony to the public, most of which are normal humans?

Why are they endangering normal humans?

Did she, selfishly, endanger her friends?

Saki glanced over to the three of them, enjoying themselves, and she felt a decision settled inside her heart.

No matter what, she would get to the base of this. If not for his sake, then for theirs.

Chapter 13

Chapter Text

“Hiking?”

“Yeah.” Akito bit into his chicken, before glancing at Ena, “Just me and him, getting some fresh air together.”

“Hmm…” Ena quirked her eyebrow, “Why not with your band?”

“They’re, uh, busy…” Tsukasa mumbled, mouth full of rice, “An have her father’s coffee shop to handle, and Mizuki is planning a trip to Britain to see their sister.”

“We plan to have another trip at the end of the year, but for now, it just us.” Akito said, quietly getting his carrots over to Tsukasa’s plate. The other didn’t seem to mind.

Ena stared at them, shoving the chicken curry into her mouth all the while.

Akito seemed relaxed enough, but Tsukasa kept looking at her, like he was waiting for her reaction.

She wasn’t sure what he was looking for, “Both of you are adults, do whatever the hell you want.”

“I mean, yeah.” Akito got up and poured himself a cup of water, “We’re not exactly asking for your permission.”

She would beg to differ, especially when Tsukasa looked like he had just won the lottery, “When are you going?”

“Ah, we’re planning on… tomorrow?” Tsukasa was staring at her again, like a lost puppy waiting instruction.

Ena sighed, “Miyazanagi is like at the other end of this country, you sure you couldn’t have picked a closer place?”

“Tsukasa wanted to see that new festival they had going on, what was it again?”

“The Miyazanagi Flower Festival, hosted in the Ama-no-Kunshu Temple.” Tsukasa glanced away, face distanced, “I used to go there with my family when I was young.”

Oh? Was that why he looked so unsettled?

Ena didn’t know much about Tsukasa, let alone his family. He showed up in her living room one night all beat up while Akito was patching his wounds, and then he just stayed.

She kept her distance; he kept his, and without Akito around, they wouldn’t have talked much. She didn’t mind it, though; Tsukasa’s presence warmed the house up, and Akito was smitten with him.

She wanted to gag at their obliviousness sometimes.

Now, her heart ached a little as she saw his expression. Whatever this is, seemed like it was important to him.

“Have everything prepared yet?”

“Not quite.” Akito brought his empty plate over to the sink, “I’ll go shopping soon. Need anything?”

“…There’s a new release for an eyeshadow pallet I want.” Ena shoved her own carrots over to Tsukasa, who stared wide-eyed at her, but didn’t complain.

Curse their mother’s supply of these accursed things.

“Where’s the store?”

“Inazuma Street.”

“I- That’s so far away!” Akito frown, “I’m going on foot!”

“Too bad.” Ena co*cked her head, crossing her arm, “You’re leaving your dear sister alone in this empty apartment for two weeks. At least have the courtesy of doing me a favor.”

“Ugh…” He groaned, “Fine, give me the cash. Sorry, Kasa, I’ll probably not going to be back for a while.”

“Nah, it’s fine.” Tsukasa wiped his mouth with a piece of tissue, “I’ll do the dishes and get a load of laundry going.”

“Thanks, bud.” Akito patted the other on the head, and in Ena’s professional opinion, Tsukasa enjoyed too much, with the way his cheeks brightened up like a tomato.

Ena quickly got out of her chair and headed back to her room. She didn’t really need that pallet; she just needed to stall for some time alone with Tsukasa.

Still, it was cute, so she didn’t mind forking the money over to Akito, and if it turned out not to fit her, she could just give it to Mizuki.

Once she was sure Akito was on his way, she headed back to the kitchen.

She observed Tsukasa for a moment.

She went to one of their concerts recently and was surprised to see the extent to how much he wanted to remain anonymous. The piercings, the beanie, the all black attire…

And the red eye contacts.

She wasn’t even sure where he kept them. But staring at the Tsukasa on stage, at those red eyes, she couldn’t believe that was the same Tsukasa at home.

Something about him was just different, and she couldn’t tell what it was.

Right now, Tsukasa was lathering the dishes up with soap, mouth miming a song. The yellow-to-peach hair was neck-length and disheveled, and the eye bags were heavy.

Not that hers were any better.

Tsukasa had a bright smile as he sang, a sort of joyful innocence that Ena herself missed dearly. There were bits and pieces of memories that floated up, of her showing off her own drawings with a similarly bright smile.

She and Akito grew up too fast, and from the looks of it, Tsukasa had it bad, too. Yet without him, Akito might have still been that rugged thing that refused to acknowledge his own emotions.

In a way, she was envious of him.

Ena shook her head.

She tapped on the countertop to get his attention.

“Hmm?” Tsukasa turned to her, “Can I help you with something?”

Ena avoided looking at him, opting to scratch the counter, “Once you’re done with the chores, come over to my room, okay?”

“Oh, uh, okay.”

Ena nodded and went back to her room.

———

“T-This is…”

“I have a friend who’s starting a small business selling these earrings.” Ena answered, not looking up from her screen, “She sent me some samples, but I’m not interested in anyone right now.”

That wasn’t exactly true. Futaba had asked her to help with the design, so she had created them with Akito and Tsukasa in mind. It’s subtle enough, and it matches the music their band made.

Tsukasa was blushing, she noted as she glanced at him and his shaky hands. If he knew the full details, he would have been as red as ketchup.

There was two sets of earrings, each of them looked like they were hand-crafted using wires. Dangling down a silver stud was metal twisted into a ball with sharp edges, and inside of them were fake gems formed into a heart.

“Isn’t this… for a couple?”

Ena turned from her screen to stare at him, boring into him with the weight of her gaze.

She sighed, “Look, I’m incredibly grateful that you’re in my life, even if we don’t interact much. Because of you, Akito smiled a lot more.”

She continued on when he remained silent, “After our parents’ divorce, no, even before that, he was distancing himself from our family. Going to the gym, band practise, hell sometimes he didn’t even try to give an excuse.”

“I was slowly losing grip on my brother,” Ena pinched her arm, using the pain to distract herself, “The first week we were here, despite living together, we didn’t speak at all.”

“And then you came along.” Tsukasa’s eyes was orange. But deep inside of them, in her room only lit up with her white desk lamp, she could see shades of red and yellow dancing about.

Once again, she wondered, where did Tsukasa come from?

“Akito adored you, beyond anything I have ever seen.” She sent him a pointed look when tried to rebuttal, “Patching up your wounds was one thing, but letting you live here? Straight up begging me to not kick you out?”

“For the record, I had no intention of doing that.” She glanced away again, “But Akito willing to lower his ego for you. He cooks for you, you clean for him, there are weekends where you two would do movie night together!”

“God, you two disgust me sometimes.” She pouted.

And other times, when she had break time from her commissions right before dinner, when she could faintly hear the soft laughter coming from the two people in the kitchen…

She allowed herself to smile.

“I don’t know what you’re going to do with those, that’s on you.” She stared him again, noticing how his body had gone lax, “But I do want you to at least try.”

“I could have given them to Akito, I admit,” She tilted her head, “But in my mind, you’re the one hesitating more, right?”

“…Yeah.”

“…I want my brother to be happy. And I want you to be happy, too.” She sighed again, “On the off chance that he doesn’t reciprocate, you can still live here, at least until you find a better place.”

“…I’ll give it my best shot.”

She turned to him. Those eyes, orange, was swirling with red and yellow, almost like they were glowing. He clutched the small box containing the earrings, about the size of his palm with a solid grip.

He was smiling. A tentative, nervous smile, but that was enough.

“That’s good, you’re done now.” She turned back to her screen, “Now get out of my room, shoo!”

He chuckled as the door was opened, but before it closed, she could hear a soft, “Thank you.“

She leant back, sinking herself into her chair. The talk was heavier than she expected, she might have to put off this piece for a bit and take a break.

Ena felt herself collapsed into the bed, clutching her collection of plushies. She just needed a small nap, no need to actually turned off the light or her computer.

That was when her phone rang.

“Someone’s calling at this time? Might be Futaba again.” She groggily dragged herself off the bed and scrunched her brows at the caller. She cautiously picked up.

“Mom, is something wrong?”

Chapter 14

Chapter Text

“What are you planning to do now?”

“Can you be more specific?”

Kitsu’s sigh echoed in his head like it was said out loud in the shower stall.

“The earrings, Tsukasa.”

Tsukasa rubbed his hair with soap after he turned off the showerhead. As he gathered up his mullet to wash, he thought about Akito.

“Do I… Was it that obvious?”

“I am not good at recognizing these sorts of human emotions,” Kitsu said, “But from what I can tell, if you ask Ena, An, Mizuki or Taki, their answer would be Yes.”

“Or course they would.” Tsukasa mumbled back. Silence quickly engulfed him.

After a while, Kitsu raised a question, “If you don’t love him, then why accept the offer?”

“I love him.”

Tsukasa’s eyes widened, but it was impossible to take back that sentence.

“Then is there something else at play?”

“…Kitsu, what do you think lovers do?”

“Are you hinting at sexual intercourse?”

“No!” Tsukasa snapped his head back to the empty wall, “Stop trying to do that, by the way.”

“Have I done something wrong?”

“That. Asking me questions when you know the answer.” Tsukasa pouted, “I know you can feel what I can, so you already know I’m feeling.”

“Perhaps you are right.” Kitsu conceded, “But something I’ve realized because I’ve been in this body with you for so long…”

“Is that you don’t internalize you feelings.”

“What does that mean?” Tsukasa grumbled as he stood under the showerhead, turning it on, “I think about my feelings all the time.”

“Yes, you think about them. Then you proceed to stuff them into a box and never acknowledge them again until you have to.” Kitsu muttered, tone as even as the humming of a fridge, “Even before Akito, even before this predicament, you refuse to actually examine your feelings regarding important matters.”

“I… That’s…”

Tsukasa shut off the water.

“You’re not wrong… I just don’t know how to not do it.”

He exited the shower stall and started toweling himself, “Tell me, what do you want me to do? When, well, if we become significant others of each other, what would it change in the end?”

“You seem to want a happy ending, no?”

“That’s not true. I want a normal life.” Tsukasa tilted his body down, drying his hair, “And that’s not the answer to my question. What actually changes when we’re together?”

“You don’t expect me to have an answer to such a human peculiarity, surely?” Kitsu mumbled, bothered while his voice was still even, “Frankly, I wonder why you worry so much about the future so far away? Isn’t the important thing about living is focusing on the present?”

“I am happy with the present.”

“…What are you afraid of?”

“Isn’t it obvious? Again, I ask you to stop asking such questions.”

Kitsu let out a low groan, “…We’re not getting anywhere like this. You truly are stubborn.”

“Nah, I’m a coward, you know this.” Tsukasa dressed himself in a big white T-shirt and loose yellow pants, “You’re just trying to fix this coward thing. Sorry about that.”

Kitsu went silent in his head, that was alright.

He knew he had angered the other, and he couldn’t help but derive a little pleasure from that.

“When Taki returns, I will have him talk to you.”

Tsukasa’s eyes widen, “Do you want me to die!?”

“This is the last resort I have.”

The sound of water streaming down a steep mountain suddenly ripped through his head, and his vision swam. He blinked rapidly, trying to clear his headache.

Tsukasa tiled his head once his bearings were together again. Indeed, the sight was what he expected.

Another him, mullet included, was picking up the clothes laid on the floor. Those red eyes, holding all the feelings that couldn’t be expressed, they simply stared him down.

“These go into the closet, correct? Or do I have to wash them in the fancy washing machine first?”

———

The wind felt so good in his hair.

Taki hopped around, from building to building, keeping himself invisible with the well of spiritual energy the three of them shared.

Nowadays, only him used it regularly, so it can last him days on end if he needed it to.

He missed it, though.

The days where Tsukasa was a child. When they were children along with him.

Taki was born into this world with his sword in hand, just like Kitsu with his flute and Tsukasa with his umbrella. Even as he came into existence, he knew of little but mastery in the blade.

Tsukasa always was too lax in his fighting because of this, believing fully that Taki would get him out of trouble should danger gets over his head.

He was right, of course, for what was he born for but not protect him?

He took a stop at a rooftop near the river.

In the place of cherry blossoms and shrine gates, he could remember a young Tsukasa clutching his red paper umbrella while making a determined frown.

“Master!?”

“Yes.” A young Kitsu answered, voice just as emotionless as now, “You brought us into existence, and for such a gift, we asked that we can serve you until the end of our lives.”

“Wait, wait, hey!” Young Tsukasa blushed and furiously scratched his head, “Don’t kneel, stand up! If anything, I should be the one thanking you!”

“Thanking us!?” Young Kitsu asked, wide-eyed, “No, no, that won’t do, that just- Why are you kneeling in front of me!?”

“Cause you’re not standing up!” Young Tsukasa pouted, “If kneeling is the way to express gratitude, then I’m kneeling for you too!”

“I-” In the rarest moment known to man, one Taki permanently kept in his head, Kitsu started bowing repeatedly, mumbling something about forgiveness, while Tsukasa got even more flustered, trying and failing to get the other to stop.

Then Taki burst out laughing.

The two of them snapped frozen in place, as if they forgot there was a third person there.

“Y-You two looks like idiots, you know that?” He laughed out loud til he was short on breath, wiping away his tears.

“Like seriously, c’mon now.” Taki walked over and grabbed Kitsu by the arm. With some effort, he dragged the other up as Kitsu let out a squawk, “He said to not kneel, haven’t you heard?”

“Let go of me, you indignant-”

“Yeah, yeah, use big words all you want, you just look more stupid.” Taki let the other go, yellow eyes boring into Tsukasa, “And you, are you going to-”

Tsukasa let out a gasp in wonder, “Your sword…”

“Oh, this thing?” Taki asked, pulling out the sword from its sheath with experience he couldn’t possibly have, “Want to take a look at it?”

“Yeah!” Tsukasa hopped up and started touching the blade, with eyes shimmering in excitement. As if the childish joy was infectious, Taki found himself smiling as well.

Taki looked at the blade he had fought with just under an hour ago, a blade that felt like it had been in his hand since forever. A katana, with a sharp tip that slightly glowed green and the character for wind carved into the hilt. At the pommel, there was a tassel of red, orange and yellow along with a string of beads.

“Want to see me do some moves with it?”

“Yeah!” Tsukasa said, excited like a child on New Year’s Day, “I want to see that thing you did that save my sister!”

“Alrighty then, let’s head over there, the field’s bigger.” Before he finished his sentence, Tsukasa had already run away through one of the shrine gates.

“Oi, calm down! You think this is hide and seek or something?” Taki sighed, before turning to young Kitsu, shell-shocked, “Okay in there?”

“I-I am fine…” He replied, huffing, “I just didn’t expect things to turn out like this.”

“Ah, it is what it is.” Taki said, laughing as he walked away, “C’mon, let’s not keep him waiting.”

In hindsight, he was glossing over things that happened afterward that sour this memory. Though this was one of their first encounters, before they had names, so it was hard not to feel a little fondness for it.

Taki chuckled, hand digging into his pocket for the crystals, the remains of Domains. They had three now, but they had already covered all the spots they could, so moving north was a must.

The festival was just an excuse on top.

“He never got the full explanation on how these are formed…” Taki kicked the air, leaning back, “Whelp, his fault for not asking questions fast enough.”

The memory about the tanuki mask flashed in his mind and he smirked, “Let both those bastards theorize for a while. It’s wrong no matter what, anyway.”

Something tugged at his mind, getting more and more insistent, and Taki groaned.

“God, they’re bickering again, gotta get back there quick before it gets bad.”

Even as he said that, a smile formed on his lips.

He crouched down and jumped away, body remaining invisible the entire trip home.

Chapter 15

Chapter Text

“This annoying thing…”

Akito sighed, looking down at the bag containing the box containing the makeup pallet. The thing cost a hefty amount too, not even mentioning the ridiculous line he had to wait.

“It doesn’t even look like it’s her style, geez…” He groaned, before stepping into the convenience store three streets away, the place he had meant to go first.

“Kasa likes the slushy they sell here, and all three of them like the fries.” He muttered as he pushed the door in and entered.

He wished he interacted with Kitsu and Taki more, but to his credit, they don’t make it easy for him. Taki doesn’t front often, and Akito could go an entire month without meeting him once.

Kitsu is the reverse, he covers for Tsukasa all the time during shows, since Kasa refused to play in front of an audience. From what he could tell, the way the two plays is almost identical. They might be communicating with each other throughout the show, who knows?

But he’s also remarkably silent and pensive, not to mention the robotic way he talks. The audience probably thought his non-verbal nature is an act, or a disability, but it’s both, in a way.

Akito weaved through the halls of the store, grabbing the essential things like shampoo and toothbrushes, while his mind wandered to Tsukasa’s predicament, like how it usually does when he’s alone with his thoughts.

Tsukasa isn’t a normal person, and Akito wasn’t an idiot.

Something was up, considering how Tsukasa would basically never front unless he was at home, or hanging out with one of their few friends. If he needed to go out for something small, like groceries, Kitsu or Akito would go instead.

So yeah, the idea that he just randomly wanted to go to the other side of the goddamn country to visit a random festival in a steep mountain range is, yeah, f*cking insane.

Akito couldn’t help but chuckle to himself.

Still, he had promised himself to help, so he couldn’t abandon Kasa now. Plus, he was mildly worried about how Tsukasa would handle himself, with only his alters.

“Kitsu would get him on the right track, I think, but Taki…” Is an enabler to Kasa’s more dangerous tendencies, he thought, but shook his head.

That wasn’t exactly true, it wasn’t like Taki actively harm Kasa, more like they would be self-destructive together, and Kitsu wasn’t going to stop that, even if he tried.

Akito looked down at what he grabbed, which were mostly hygienic stuffs like tissues, hand sanitizers and razors, along with a retractable knife, a lighter and plenty of snacks.

He just mostly grabbed stuff they needed for long nights, since they won’t be going by train. The three of them didn’t want a record of Kasa’s name anywhere, fearing it might be tracked.

He asked by whom, but they wouldn’t say.

The plan was to take the bus from one city to another if they could afford it, and if they couldn’t…

“Just prepare some camping stuff.“ Taki had told him with that devious smirk of his and refused to elaborate any further.

He sincerely hoped that they would stay in a hotel at least once or twice, but that might leave too much of a trace too. He didn’t know how much they had to sacrifice for this.

“Do I need anything else…” Akito muttered, before he felt a strange chill that flowed down his spine.

He whipped his head back, only to see a figure standing at the end of the store aisle, checking a box of cereal.

Dressed in a prim and proper tailor-made suit, the man has a strange dual-colored head of hair, dark navy and light cyan bangs combed to the sides, framing his pale face.

Their eyes met.

The sheer harshness inside the pools of silver shook Akito, and he felt himself physically shivered. His expression was frozen like ice, and Akito felt like a needle just stabbed his heart.

The man stepped forward.

He stepped back until he shook his head and snapped himself out of the trance.

The man stopped along with him and just stood there, an unmeasurable distance between them, and Akito could just feel the goosebumps all over himself.

“You need something, dude?” He tried his hardest to not show his discomfort.

The man kept staring until he opened his mouth and said…

———

“Are you the bassist from Re-Footnotes? Bad is your stage name, yes?“

Touya went to a show from this band recently, with a mask, a cap, and proper techniques to hide his spiritual energy.

He didn’t like to admit it, but nowadays, even music weighed on his mind like a boulder. It was hard to find a song that truly resonated with his cracked soul.

So when this band effortlessly stabbed through his heart and got him to feel anything at all, he had to check them out, even if his schedule didn’t allow for such a luxury.

He had to admit, their show was electric.

For him, who had never got much time to go to live events, seeing the sea of people shouting and cheering for the musicians was truly a sight.

Perhaps the most memorable of all, though, was that he was here.

Touya knew those eyes, even if he tried to hide everything else. The emotions that can never be said, a curse he would bear for the rest of time.

Do you find my speech pattern insulting, Touya?

The rage and grief he experienced was insurmountable, but as his nails left indents in the meat of his palm, he found himself listening even closer to the music.

Do you believe it when I say sorry?

Do I believe it when you say sorry?

We hurt, we stab, we cut each other,

There’s never a satisfying answer for us both.

Touya knew who wrote the lyrics the moment he heard it, the moment he laid eyes on the band, because only one person could write himself as a perpetrator and a victim at the same time.

Such a bastard, he thought, I can go up that stage and just punch you in the face, is that the answer you want?

So why haven’t you done that yet? A voice whispered, one that haunted him since that day, Are you so weak that you still hold on to such things?

He betrayed us, the voice shouted, Have you no shame?

Yes, Father, I am a creature made of shame. He admitted in his head, as the lead singer reached the high note signaling the end of the song, So shameful, in fact, that I still love them, despite the haunting voices and memories in my head.

I am a terrible son, I’m sorry-

“Hey, are all of you ready for our last song?”

He tilted his head up, desperately wiping the tears building up in his eyes. He could feel the sympathetic gaze a few people nearby were giving him, No, please, I don’t deserve that, no-

“I know some of you, no, most of you are going through sh*t right now.” The bassist commented, his voice echoed inside the venue just as much as it echoed inside his head, “So just for tonight, I want you to just let it all off and shout as loud as you want, yeah?”

The crowd screamed even louder, and for once, Touya felt his heart synced with the beat of the people. The last song completely enshrouded him, and he couldn’t help but shout along with the audience.

How have you done that? Touya wondered, staring at Akito now, who's holding a strange assortment of things in his bag, How have you caused my heart to beat again? Even with them right there…

“Uh, yeah.” The man finally answered, after a long while of silence, “Are you a fan…?”

“You could say so.” Touya replied, “I went to your show once and had a good time.”

“Oh, okay,” Akito tilted his head to the side, a hand clutching his nape, “Yeah, thanks for supporting us.”

“It’s nothing, sorry to bother you.” Touya took the random box of cereal he grabbed and moved to walk away, “I have to get going now, see you.”

“Oh, uh, yeah, bye-”

“Ah, one more thing.” Touya turned back, just as Akito started to walk, “You’re getting a lot of supplies, am I right for assuming you’re going on a trip soon?”

“Yeah,” Akito smiled, seemingly more at ease, “Me and my buddy are going for two weeks. We’ve been stressed out for a while, so a break is probably a good thing.”

“I see. Well, good luck to you.”

He walked to the countered and bought the cereal box, along with a cup of dark coffee. The employee stared him the entire time with a befuddled face, but no comment.

He pushed the door opened and stepped out, chugging his coffee in one go before throwing it in the trash.

Once he was a suitable distance away, he let spiritual energy flowed to his eyes. The world turned greyscale, with the souls of people radiating blinding white lights.

Touya blinked a few times before his eyes could make it out.

A soul, formless and constantly moving like any other, except there was a slight marking on it, so small that even if you can use spiritual sight like he could, you would still struggle to see the needle of ice that pierce the area around the heart.

Touya allowed himself a dirty smile.

I found you. I won’t lose track of you, or you ever again.

Chapter 16

Chapter Text

“I see.“

Nene fondled with the sleeve of her sweater, violet eyes hidden by her thick bangs. She was sitting on her bed, her blanket draped loosely over her legs.

“Otori Emu…“ Rui frowned, “Considering how important she’s supposed to be, I feel like I should have heard about her…“

Rui was a runt, yes, but he used to hang around the big dogs, so it made no sense why he hadn’t heard of this before, or read about it anywhere.

“I think it’s a closely kept secret.“ Nene mumbled, “If I’m right, then the clans that hide the Three Sacred Treasures most likely hide from other clans, too.“

“Which might mean that we’re the first to hear about it…“

Rui frowned, absentmindedly playing with the pages of a book, not reading it, “Even so, this is quite a problem. I wonder why the Otori clan has made no statements regarding it…”

“Perhaps…“ Nene glanced up, pushing the bangs from her face, “The danger lies much closer and are much more powerful that we thought.“

Rui looked at her, wide-eyed, before his stare solidified, “You think this is…“

“Yeah. I think that whatever will happen next in this ‘festival‘, it is all a cover for something else, something sinister.”

“…I guess we have to do some sleuthing, then.” Rui smirked, but Nene, after being with him for so long, knew that smirk.

It was the ‘I’m gonna go endanger myself now!’ It was definitely her least favorite look.

Especially because she knew that nothing could wipe that smirk off his face.

So instead, she sighed, “In a couple of days, there will be a grand meeting before the festival starts. Of course, we won’t be in the important meeting that happens after that, but I’m hoping that we could still scope out something.”

“Moreso than anything…” She continued, dropping her feet onto the floor to stand, “I think there’s going to be a lot of rumors circling around.“

“I see. We won’t be the only ones that have doubts regarding this ‘festival‘.” Rui stretched, popping a few joints in his body, “But first, let’s get something to eat for tonight.”

———

“Where should I put this, sir?”

Rui was holding a box full of fireworks, red and cylinder, attached to each other with ropes.

“Ah, Kamishiro, the truck at the back, please.”

Rui nodded at his boss, Ishiyama. The man was in his forties, with pepper and salt hair and a light stubble he probably forgot to shave. Still, he was one of the best higher-ups he could ask for.

“Yes, sir.” Rui smiled, quietly passing the box to one of his colleagues. They went in and put the box at the back. The fireworks will be spread out to the citizens, along with essentials like rice, oil, instant noodles and fruits.

He smiled a little. Things like this weren’t common back then, and he couldn’t express how happy he was that Clan Head Yoisaki is much, much better than her predecessors.

It was rare to see the clan helping the needy like this a decade ago, when Rui was fending for himself in the streets. Obviously, they had to go as employees of Yoisaki Industries, something that the Clan Head had almost no hands in, but it was fine.

Rui continue passing boxes, which were then loaded up into the trucks. Making sure they were all settled, he and his colleagues turned back to their boss.

“Good job, everyone!” The old man smiled, “Someone else will handle driving and getting the goods to folks. You can return to your other duties once you have lunch.“

Rui and everyone nodded, but before he could move to go, Ishiyama stopped him, “Ah, Kamishiro?”

“Yes, sir?”

“The Vice Head is looking for you.”

Rui’s eyebrows shot up, “Are you sure, sir? I’m not sure why I would need them to be called up?”

Oh, Rui knew. He just wanted to see what excuses she was going to use.

“It seems she is interested in what has transpired in the Shingo Prefecture. Kusanagi has given a detailed report to me, but Vice Head has some questions.”

“Sir,” Rui argued, knowing that it was futile to fight the will of that woman, “The events of the situation is written out already? Do you know not of what she’s asking for?“

“I… unfortunately don’t.” The man scratched the back of his head, signify his truthfulness, “She’s expecting you after lunch.”

“I see. Thank you, sir.”

Rui slowly walked back to the building’s cafeteria, giving his boss a slight nod before he went pass him.

———

“You asked for me, Vice Head?”

Rui didn’t come to her office often anymore after he was demoted to a small underling, while she was promoted to second in command.

He wasn’t exactly jealous of her, however. So much responsibilities on such small shoulders.

“Please, Rui.” A monotone, whispery voice rang out in the sparse room, “Call me by name.”

“Ms. Asahina.” Rui raised his eyebrow, “To what do I own the pleasure?”

Asahina Mafuyu has seen better days.

Her eye-bags were heavy, and her long purple hair had been tied into a loose updo in a rush. Rui knew that she had a private bathroom in this office, so if necessary, she could quickly freshen up.

Seemed like for him, she didn’t need to do that.

Inside those dull eyes when she looked at him from the paperworks, he could look at himself, as if her eyes were mirrors. The specks of blue were barely visible, drowned in a sea of purple.

She sighed, “Please sit.”

Rui complied, then proceeded to pour himself tea, like this was his office instead. He knew she couldn’t care less.

“I noticed you left out important details regarding what happened on Shiramatsu Mountain.” Mafuyu continued, “Namely, Kusanagi mentioned nothing about what had transpired inside that fog that had gathered atop.”

Rui frown, “And how would I have known such things? As stated in the report, the event happened way into the night, passing my last patrol of the day.”

He crossed his arm as he continued with the technical truth, “I was snoozing when Nene woke me up and pulled me over to see the phenomenon.”

Mafuyu leveled him a deadpan look, one that screamed distrustfulness, but Rui didn’t budge, “Look, I don’t know what you want from me, but if you want me to talk, I’m afraid you have to give me a reason.”

Mafuyu clapped her hands together and breathed in, “Fine, you want a reason, I give you a reason.”

She walked over to the coffee table, holding a large, yellow manila file, and proceeded to slam it down right in front of his face.

Rui gave her an affronted look, but she refused to acknowledge it, pouring herself a cup of tea instead.

Rui took a look at the outside of the file, labeled as “Classified” as he opened it. Then he felt his heart dropped to his stomach.

“Six months ago, a small clan of spiritual practitioners were attacked in Nakahira.” Mafuyu started to talk, as Rui felt his pulse reaching his ears while reading, “No one survived. At the scene of the crime, there was not just the clan members, but also persons of other affiliations.”

“Their most valuable treasure was presumably stolen, though we don’t know what it is.” She put her cup of tea down onto the table, “All records of it were destroyed.”

Rui took in the sight of the massacred Otori clan, along with some perpetrators, before slamming the file close, “I don’t get how this is related to Shiramatsu Mountain? What is it that you want to imply?”

“The Akaichi Organization.”

Rui tilted his head in surprise, though he remained silent.

“The chaos that has been happening most likely involves them, a group of terrorists who has been moving from south to north, wearing festival animal masks to both hide their identities and act as a calling card.”

Rui glanced away, thinking about the tanuki mask at home.

“Chances are, they will gather here for that festival.” Mafuyu leveled him another look, “As such, we have to take advantage of this situation and clinch them. But in order to do that, I need info on all bases.”

“You believe that what happened on Shiramatsu Mountain have something to do with these guys?”

“I can’t know, but it is a hypothesis, or a part of one.” Mafuyu picked up her cup again and took a sip, before looking at him with all of her weight, “So I ask that you at least tell me some of the truth, Rui.“

Rui glanced away, before suddenly standing up, “I’ll discuss it with Nene first. We’ll follow through if we reached a consensus.”

He promptly walked out of her office, as if he was her boss.

Mafuyu drank the last of her teacup before putting it back down. She picked up the file and put it back onto her desk.

“I wonder… Since when does it feels like you’re more broken than me?”

Chapter 17

Chapter Text

“Is this enough?”

Akito plopped down a pile of wood at his feet for the fire, as he heard the sound of Tsukasa fixing the positions of their sleeping bags inside their tent.

There was only two. Taki and Kitsu would just go back to Tsukasa’s body.

“I think so.” Tsukasa’s head popped out of the tent, before he dug back in.

“…How does it work?”

“What do you mean?”

“Splitting between the three of you.”

“Ah…” Kasa said, and Akito saw his figure slouched thanks to the fire, “I think I need to go over the basics first.”

Akito started to feed some branches into the fire, before setting the stones to secure it from the wind. He looked up and saw how the smoke rose, only to dissipate mere seconds later.

That was definitely not normal, but Akito knew better now.

The sound of rustling leaves caught Akito’s attention, and he turned to see Kitsu entering their camping area as the flute he was holding faded away.

“I have done a quick check around the area. There are no threats nearby.” He said, sitting down on the ground, arms wrapped around his knees, “I heard that we will be giving you an explanation about us.”

“Yeah.” Akito sat down right next to Kitsu, “Quick question, where’s Taki?”

“He’s…” Tsukasa came out of the tent, just as Kitsu was about to answer, “Doing his own thing. He doesn’t like people knowing about it, sorry.”

“I suggest asking about it later. He might tell you.” Kitsu glanced at him, before at the fire again.

Akito just nodded, as Tsukasa sat down next to him, pincering Akito in.

“I think we need to start by explaining what spiritual energy is. Then we’ll get to the other stuff.”

“Yeah, sure, okay.”

———

“Spiritual energy exists in all beings.” His father explained, tapping the board with a wooden rod.

Tsukasa took a glance to the side, at the cherry blossom tree where the flowers eternally bloom. When all the petals fall, his mother explained, the buds would simply grow again, no matter the time or season.

Their “classroom” is a courtyard, with wooden desks and chairs for the twenty of them, ten-year-olds born inside the Tenma clan, residing in the prefecture of Yama-o-Gata.

“However, having spiritual energy does not mean you can naturally wield it.” Tenma Hirose, Clan Head continued, “Some of you can access yours now, but some needs training.”

Eyes flittered to Tsukasa, causing him to scratch his nape in embarrassment. Even without being the son of Clan Head, it was known that Tsukasa could use his spiritual energy ever since he was a baby.

Supposedly, he moved his pegasus plush when he reached for it, which his mother found out, then promptly decided to announce it to everyone, despite his father’s chagrin.

But before he could turn fully red from the stares, he heard the voice of someone familiar, “Teacher?“

“Yes, Aoyagi?”

Tsukasa turned to his savior, a boy with two-toned hair and gray eyes. Aoyagi Touya, he remembered, his father was an important figure in the clan.

“What about those who are born outside of clans, sir? Are they able to wield spiritual power?”

“Good question. The answer is actually yes.”

Sounds of confusion echoed in the courtyard, before Hirose quieted them down by slamming his stick to the ground.

“However, they are limited by one important factor. Their body might not be accustomed to spiritual energy, especially when it traveled within the body in unnatural ways.”

Hirose turned his back to them as he crouched down, gathering something under his desk, “You are lucky to be born in this environment, since your body can grow to be used to the strain spiritual energy since birth. Pass a certain point, even if someone tries to, it will be impossible for them to learn anything spiritual, they started too late.”

Tsukasa nodded as his father continued, putting up a diagram of a human body, “I must stress this, the only role genetics have is that someone might gain access to their power earlier, it does not play into how powerful they actually grow to be. That requires training and discipline.“

He turned back, facing his class, “Don’t be arrogant if you are lucky, and don’t be disheartened if you are not. Understood?“

A chorus of “Yes, sir.”

“Good. Now, for our first lesson, we shall go over the basics of how spiritual energy flows.”

———

“The spiritual energy inside a living being takes the form of a mass, constantly changing.” Tsukasa explained, moving his hand around to gesture, “It’s a common misconception that it flows around your body like blood, but in reality, it’s relatively static, staying somewhere around the chest area.”

Akito frowned, “So when you use it, what happens?”

“The energy travels to your limbs and/or to the object that you want to affect.” Kasa continued, “For example, remember how we got here?”

“…Taki gave me a piggy ride.” Akito stammered out, face turning red. Tsukasa just chuckled at his reaction.

“Taki learned to pour his energy into his legs, and along with manipulating wind, it allowed him superhuman mobility.” Kitsu said, unpacking the marshmallow bags, “And he remained invisible thanks to my ability to manipulate water.”

Akito turned to the other, as Kitsu loaded the marshmallows onto the sticks, “Tsukasa manipulates shadows.”

“Wait, really!?”

“Well, I don’t really do it anymore…” Tsukasa laughed, taking a marshmallow stick with a nod, “I’m definitely rusty.”

“But how does that work? Do you guys learn that in class?”

“No.” Kitsu handed another stick to Akito, “We’re only capable of it thanks to the items we were born with.”

“Items? Like your flute?”

“Yes.” He stated, hovering the marshmallow over the fire, “Taki has the sword, and Tsukasa has the umbrella.”

Akito turned over to ask, only to find Tsukasa holding a red paper umbrella with a bamboo stem.

“I haven’t used this thing for so long… Well, I barely use it as is.” Tsukasa tilted his head, his smile bore a sense of sadness.

“…Can I touch it?”

Tsukasa shook his head, “It prickles when it’s us three. It will straight up stab your hand otherwise. Same thing with the others, too.”

He turned to the fire, smile sheepish, “Our training started off with hand-to-hand combat, before slowly splitting into different categories depending on which weapon suits you best. Since Taki was already proficient with the sword, we were kinda cheating from the start.”

“You say that.” Kitsu replied, staring at his cooked marshmallow, “But even now, your own sword skill is insufficient.”

“Hey, c’mon now…” Tsukasa sulked, “I’m just not comfortable using that thing, okay? Besides, I always fight with my umbrella, anyway.”

He pouted, “Don’t see the point in learning it.“

Kitsu opened his mouth before closing it. Akito had gotten a bit better at reading him, and it seemed like something was bothering him, but he didn’t want to speak up.

Maybe he would ask about it later.

“So, how did your clan react when you guys can do all this stuff?” He decided to ask instead.

Tsukasa stiffened before he forcibly relaxed his shoulder, “I… Well, besides our family, no one knows about Kitsu and Taki.”

“Our existence were kept a secret by our own choices.” Kitsu continued, “We understand that as Future Clan Head, Tsukasa bears many responsibilities, and as such, can’t also bear the pressures of unsavory rumors.”

“Hey-”

“Am I wrong?”

“Yes!” Tsukasa threw his arms up in the air, “I don’t like the idea that you’re somehow tainting me by existing within me.”

“I thought I told both of you already. If Tenma Tsukasa must be Clan Head, then Tenma Kitsu and Tenma Taki must be as well.”

“That’s not-”

For the first time in forever, Akito saw flashing blood-red eyes, before they were quickly hidden away as Kitsu tilted his head down, “We have had this discussion many times. You simply do not listen to reason.”

“I don’t see any reasons that make sense besides my own.” Tsukasa countered, “I won’t let you keep demeaning yourself like this!”

“…Akito.” Kitsu started, tone even colder than normal.

“Y-Yes?”

“You were wondering earlier how we were born, correct?”

“Well…” Akito rubbed his nape, “Kinda, yeah.”

“The truth… Is that we’re-”

“Demons.”

Akito snapped his body around and felt his heart stopped.

There, in the groove of trees, stood Taki, blood covering himself from top to toe, painting his face and clothes in red. The sounds of droplets echoed in Akito’s ears.

As if impervious to it all, as if he knew how Akito would react, Taki smirked.

“Ah, ruined the fun. Sorry about that.”

Chapter 18

Chapter Text

“How bad is she, Doctor?”

Thirteen-year-old Tsukasa clutched his sister’s hand tightly as his father questioned the practitioner.

“We stabilized her, she should be out of danger for now.” Mr. Nanami said, clutching his clipboard, “However, this is the first time in my career facing such severe spiritual poisoning.”

The middle-aged man sighed, glancing away from the Clan Head, “I have some medicine that can help with the symptoms, but I advice that at least for the next couple of years, she shouldn’t be practicing much spiritual activities.”

“But-” Tsukasa croaked out, but he couldn’t find any word to say. Frustrated tears poured out, and he could feel his father patting his head softly.

“I understand. Thank you, you are excused.”

The man bowed before exiting. With no one else talking, the room became suffocating.

“Saki… Hey, wake up…” Tsukasa shook her fragile body, trying to get her to wake, but his father halted his arm when the shaking got too intense.

“Son…” Hirose sighed, looking at his daughter’s sleeping form, “It’s late, you should get to bed.”

“But-”

“No buts.” He gripped his son’s shoulder, “It’s already late. I’ll give the teachers my word regarding your absence tomorrow.”

Showing a calm face as he tilted down, Hirose scratched his son’s nape, “She needs the sleep to be better, otherwise she won’t recover quickly.”

“I- Yeah, okay…” Tsukasa let go of his sister and made his way to the door.

Before he turned the knob, he spoke up again.

“How is Mom doing?”

Hirose tensed up, “She still hasn’t finished with her… arrangements.”

“She’ll come back soon, right?”

“I don’t know, son.”

Tsukasa left without another word.

———

“…And they live happily ever after.”

Tsukasa closed the story book, glancing over to Saki’s sleeping form. Her arm twitched a little, and he hoped that meant she was sad the fairy tale ended.

It had only been half a day; he reminded himself. He needed to be patient.

A knock on the door shocked him out of his trance.

“Dad?”

“No, it’s Aoyagi.”

Tsukasa frowned. Why was his classmate here? They weren’t that close, outside of a few interactions.

“Uh, come in.”

Aoyagi Touya creaked open the door softly, making sure to not make any noise before closing it. Hanging from his hand was a bag containing a box and a metal bottle, and he was wearing his backpack.

“You missed class today.”

“Yeah.” Tsukasa said, face blank, “My sister was sick. I couldn’t have just left her here alone.”

Touya just nodded before placing the items on the bedside table.

“I copied some notes for you.” Touya helped his backpack down and got out his notebook, “There’re sticky notes, so you just need to place them on the pages. The paper I attached to them is to make sure the glue doesn’t dry; don’t remove it until you want to place them.”

Tsukasa gingerly took the note-filled piece of paper from Touya, “Uh, thanks…”

“Mother said soup helps the sick by being warm and easily digestible.” Touya continued on, ignoring Tsukasa’s confused expression, “The flask is well-insulated, and if the contents are too cold when she woke up, you can easily warm it up in the micro-”

“Why are you doing this?”

“Oh…” Touya tilted his head away under Tsukasa’s gaze, “My apologies, I’m a little too forward, aren’t I?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, Saki and I have started to meet each other in the music room.” Touya explained, “I was doing violin practice before she stepped into the room and started to sing.”

“H-How did I-”

“She asked that I don’t inform you. She seems to have a sort of enjoyment in evading you.” Touya smiled as Tsukasa made a face, “We have only been meeting for a couple of days, but yesterday, she didn’t come.”

“O-Oh.”

“I wasn’t that concerned; maybe she was busy.” Touya glanced at the ten-year-old in the bed, face pensive, “But when I saw the Clan Head himself asking for your absence with a solemn expression, I knew something was wrong. I then asked Father about it.”

“…Yeah, okay.” Tsukasa rubbed the back of his neck, “Uh, thank you for taking care of her. She can be a little rowdy.”

“Really? I think she’s very sweet.”

“Yeah, well, you’re not the one having to deal with her all of the time.” Tsukasa laughed. His heart calmed down a little.

“You didn’t need to do this, you know?” Tsukasa mumbled, glancing out to the courtyard outside of the window, “I mean, I appreciate your help, but I’m not sure how to repay you.”

“A repayment…” Touya tilted his head, “I haven’t thought about it before.”

“Well, what do you want to do?”

“I…” Touya furrowed his eyebrows in concentration, before loosening them, “How about visiting the music room along with your sister next time?“

“…Is that it? Sure!” Tsukasa said, beaming, “Are you sure you don’t want anything else?”

“I’m happy with just this.” Touya nodded, his smile soft and shy, “I don’t have many friends, so…”

Tsukasa frown, “Why? Is someone in class giving you a hard time?”

“No,” Touya shook his head, “Perhaps it’s because Father is an intimidating person. Or it’s because I appear to be cold and hard to approach.”

Tsukasa scratched his neck in shame. Whenever there was a group assignment, he always went for his close buddies and never really noticed Touya being left out.

“I’m sorry.” He blurted out, causing Touya to look at him, “I should have noticed this sooner.”

“You didn’t need to.” Touya rebutted, surprised.

“But I should have.” Tsukasa said, “As Future Clan Head, I need to be more dependable than this.”

“Dependable, huh…”

To Tsukasa’s amazement, Touya laughed. A bright, beautiful laugh that was unexpected from someone so reserved.

“Father had his reservations about you.” Touya admitted, “He said that I was a better choice, that you weren’t dependable enough.”

He shook his head again, “I now know that he is wrong. For I know myself enough to know that I would never put a stranger’s comfort and happiness above my own.”

Tsukasa blushed, “Ah, r-really?”

“I have no reason to lie.”

Tsukasa felt his heart nearly bursting out of his chest. His face was reddening, he could tell. He coughed into his hand to regain composure, the way he saw his dad do when he is close to laughter.

“I see.” Tsukasa stated, “Well, if you say so, then you are safe inside this future star’s hands!”

“Future star?”

“Yes!” Tsukasa stood up and straight in front of Touya, “Have you seen my father when he give speeches? Or the leading actor of a theatre show?”

“They shine like the brightest star, guiding everyone’s eyes toward them.” He closed his eyes and imagined himself at the climax on the stage.

How he was facing the toughest enemy of his life, one that both possess strong physical prowess and a deep relation to the protagonist. How, after the close fight, he managed to deal the final blow to his foe.

“And at the end, I’ll hold my adversary in my arms, whispering my lamentations at this cruel turn-out of fate. And as their breathed their last, I’ll-”

An innocent, light-hearted giggle. Tsukasa snapped his eyes opened.

“Big bro is always going on about this.” Saki sat up on the bed with Touya’s assistance, “I’ll have to show you my video library later.”

“I look forward to that.”

“You have a what!?”

Those eyes just look at him with sheer delight, and Tsukasa felt his heart beating loudly in joy.

He came in for a hug, and she wordlessly obliged.

“Don’t scare me like that again, got it?”

“Got it.”

“How long have you been awake?”

“For a bit, around the time when you started to act.”

Tsukasa blushed harder in embarrassment, but looking at Touya, he didn’t seem to be judgmental at all about this side of him.

Something in him settled.

“I think it’s time for me to leave.” Touya stood up, “Enjoy the sweets and soup if you like. Just return the metal flask to me the next time we meet in class.”

“Got it, thank you.”

“You are not forgiven for betraying our promise, just so you know.” Saki half-heartedly pouted.

Touya just laughed, “I patiently await my punishment.”

With that, he left, closing the door with a silent click.

Chapter 19

Chapter Text

“Now, go!”

Hirose, wielding a great-sword, swiped at the uncontrollably spreading hoard of spiders.

Touya cut through the horde of creatures, creating a path, and led a group of vulnerable folks through a chokepoint. He ran along with the group, after making sure everyone had evacuated.

“Sir, where should we lead them to?” Touya contacted him through the communication line.

“The main road. I have asked your father to help with transporting them to a safer location.” Hirose’s eyes flashed purple as his blade struck with thunder, “I ask that neither you nor him send any reenforcement.”

“But-”

“This is my sins to endure.” He said, winding his blade up and slammed it down. Thunder flashed as it burned the spiders to a crisp.

The smell of charred monster guts would have made him gagged years ago, but he have now grown used to it.

“…I trust you, sir.”

“Thank you.” He wiped away the filthy blood that stuck itself onto his face, “If we can’t make it, then I hope you appreciate your future prospect. I have trust in your capabilities.”

“Sir, please don’t joke about that.” Touya pleaded, his voice shaky, “Please, return safely with them.”

“…I promise.”

Hirose turned off the communication line, not waiting for a response. He quietly took a look at how the spider retreated and surrounded him. They hissed, venom spurting from their mouth.

Hirose frowned. These things must be around the size of a pillow, with glowing nuclear green eyes and sickly black fur.

His son’s worst nightmare was these things, it seemed. After seeing them like this, Hirose couldn’t fault him.

He gripped the handle of his blade tight, and with a decisive, lightning-fast move, summoned the Lightning Spirits with a slam. From the thunder that struck came a flood of purple wisps, pouring out from a rift in the ground, flying and chuckling about.

As they laughed and laughed, the spirits dove into the nightmare spiders suicidally. As explosions rang out around him, Hirose focused on staying upright, not letting the force of lightning completely overwhelmed him.

When the smell of ozone overpowered the smell of charred guts, and the sound of deafening thunder slowed down he opened his eyes and took a look around the surroundings.

The shrine built for his ancestor was destroyed.

What remained was a pile of burned fabric, torn up wood and broken roof pieces. Even without using his spirit sight, he could tell that all of the urns stored in there were shattered.

He would have time to mourn them later. Saving his children was more important.

He slammed his blade, “Come out and fight me, you coward!”

———

Tsukasa clutched his spear with a death grip as sweat trickled down his spine.

A hand wrapped around his arm, and he turned to see his sister’s smile. In her hand was the specially crafted bow made to help the flow of her energy better.

Saki was faring much better than him.

“I-I’m terrible at this.”

“Don’t say that!”

She smacked his arm before guiding them forward through this nightmare scenery.

The forest was terrifying; the fog felt almost like a sludge that both of them had to trudge through and the sky above was a deep violet. Once again, he was reminded that they were stuck in a nightmare dimension.

He took a look at his sister, hair frazzled and dress torn, and tried to calm himself down. Here he was, older than her, and yet he was letting a ten-year-old leading the charge.

Yet, as they moved through this place, as the trees twisted their branches into their path, Tsukasa felt as if he was about to collapse. Breathing became difficult, and the only thing keeping him up and moving was Saki’s hand.

They walked and walked until they reached a clearing. Well, a courtyard, really. The ground was paved with stone, leading up a shrine. Ominous lanterns floated about, their flames an unfamiliar green.

And with horror, Tsukasa blankly stared at the eternally blooming cherry blossoms trees, their petals flowing in the wind.

Just a little in front of them stood three figures, and before he could say anything, Saki let go of his hand and ran.

Noticing it too late, Tsukasa ran after her, but stopped short to dodge when a blade of shadow energy was sent towards him.

“It’s a shame, really.”

Saki, eyes completely blank, clung onto a woman wearing a traditional kimono, her bow dropped somewhere behind him. She stared at him like he was a new animal at the zoo.

The woman wore an elaborate hair updo and makeup, her kimono adorned with cherry blossom petals. One of her hands smoothed out Saki’s hand, the other held her weapon, a fan.

Her voice, usually soft and kind, was filled with disappointment, “Your blood was supposed to be strong, Hirose. But I didn’t expect this.”

Tsukasa stuttered, feet stuck to the ground.

“Mom?”

“Ah, Tsukasa.” It was that smile, the one that always comforted him when it was raining and he had a nightmare, “My darling, I’m sorry.”

“For what!?” He shouted, “What did you do!? What’s happening!?”

“I wish things happened differently.” Monika confessed, “One of you have to replace me as one of the Eternal Entities. But it seems like your father’s talent for lightning has overpowered mine.”

“What are you saying?” Tsukasa frantically shook his head, “Eternal Entities…?”

“Lightning is such a beautiful thing.” Monika turned around, hand dropped to linger around Saki’s back, “But it lasts only a moment. It strikes with power and conviction, but it fades as soon as it has done its job.”

“As much as I love your father, and I truly do, from the beginning, I knew that this was how it was going to end.” She said, catching a petal with her fan, “Tsukasa?”

“Y-Yes?”

“Have you ever wondered why the cherry blossom trees moved through its cycle of rebirth so quickly?”

“…I have never…”

“Your father likes cherry blossom flowers. Back when we started dating, he would tell me many stories regarding them.” She sighed, “And when they go out of season, he would be sad to see them go.”

“And so, I take it upon myself to make sure that they bloom eternally. Or well, as eternal as I can do it without him asking too many questions.”

“Keeping them healthy forever would have been suspicious, I realized, but I can put the trees in an eternal cycle of rebirth.” She turned back to him, “Among many other things, this is the power I wield as one the current Eternal Entities.”

“But for the rules of the universe, eternity is forever challenged. At some point, this mortal body I possessed have started to decay and fade away, even as I actively try to use my power on it.”

“Eternity cannot fall, or else all concepts of life will become meaningless. I realized that someday, I will need another soul to endure this mission.”

“So what!?” Tsukasa shouted, “You want to borrow one of our bodies!?”

“You misunderstand me.” Monika shook her head, “I intend to sacrifice myself in order for you to gain both my power and title.”

“S-Sacrifice…!?”

“If one of you have gotten a talent for shadow manipulation like me, this process wouldn’t have been so difficult.” She sighed, frustrated, “Nevertheless, it has to be done.”

“No, wait, what do you mean-”

Monika’s face flashed with anguish before she steeled herself, “Now!”

Before he could register anything, someone struck him from behind, knocking him out completely. His form collapsed onto the stone pavement.

“You yap on and on…” The fox-face demon mocked, “But I don’t see the big deal? The kid’s gonna be super powerful for the next couple of hundred of years, and you lived too long already, y’know?”

“This is simply how we have been doing things since the beginning.” The tanuki-face demon nodded, “After this, I should start looking for my successor myself.”

“You two are demons.” Monika frown, tucking Saki closer, “You live in a place where immortality is abundant and finality is a myth. To believe that you can even understand, let alone judge me and my mortal experience is despicable.”

“Hah? You hear that?” The fox-demon laughed, “She calls herself a mortal! Hah! How many humans have you outlived by now?”

“Contain yourself.” The tanuki-demon frowned.

Monika gently placed Saki to the side of the courtyard after she had put her to sleep, ignoring the mockery.

“Come now, we don’t have much time left.”

Tsukasa’s form was dragged to the center of a ritual circle, and Monika quickly moved through the steps, with the help of the other two Eternal Entities.

As his mother finished setting up, Tsukasa stirred awake, but blindfolded.

Not that it mattered, he could barely move at all. He could barely hear anything, either. Like trapped in darkness, he thought, though even thinking was slipping from his grasp.

Yet, in the space between reality and dreams, he thought he heard a sound, a painful scream.

Then another.

Then another.

But he was too tired to do anything else besides sleep.

Chapter 20

Chapter Text

The boy awoke to the sound of fighting.

His head throbbed with pain, his breathing labored and his skin painted with sweat. Something crawled inside of him, spreading unnaturally through his veins.

He tried to sit up, but his vision flashed so badly that he felt nauseous. His nails found the stone slabs and dug into it, and he could feel how it was crumbling in his hand.

How strong was he?

Through the searing pain, his ears were flooded with screams. Wincing, he blinked furiously, trying to clear his head.

“f*ck, he woke up.” Someone shouted, “Get that kid!”

Tsukasa cringed, what was happening-

Someone’s arm was sliced off right in front him.

Before the blood could splash over him, someone grabbed him by the collar and pulled him back.

The man with his arm cut off shouted bloodily as he clutched his wound, glaring at him with a hatred so unfamiliar. He promptly ran toward him, blade in hand.

A katana, gleaming green impaled his chest. He dropped dead on the spot, eyes still wide opened.

“Pathetic.”

That was his voice.

That was not him.

Not Him looked exactly like him, except a pair of racoon ears and yellow eyes. Holding the katana in his hand, he looked at Tsukasa with an undiscernable expression.

He swiftly turned around, and with unfathomable speed, dashed forward. As if the wind itself guided him, Not Him flipped in the air and dashed several more times.

To Tsukasa’s eyes, Not Him was nearly invisible.

An explosion sounded out, and Tsukasa winced, closing his eyes. Opening them again, he saw the storm of dust settled, and in the arms of Not Him was his sister.

He ran forward, barely noticing the hand behind letting go. Until they came face to face, his thoughts were blank besides worry for her.

He peered down and breathed out a sigh as she snored softly, dead to the world.

For just a moment, he felt a numbing peace.

“You okay there?” Not Him asked, a slight draw to it that tickled his brain.

“I-”

The wind kicked up again, much stronger this time. Tsukasa winced even harder than before as Not Him clutched Saki even closer.

“f*ck.” He heard a shout, “What’s happening!?”

Someone with a voice suspiciously similar to him grabbed him from behind, making sure he was staying upright, “This place, it’s collapsing.”

“What do we do!?”

“Brace for impact.”

Tsukasa’s vision flashed again, of memories of his mother, of the thousands of years she had lived before she had them.

He felt a tear running down his cheek before blacking out.

———

It was cherry blossoms again when he opened his eyes.

The sky was so blue, though. It was winter where they lived, so the sky was often covered with heavy clouds. This sky, he thought, looked like a sky on a summer day.

“Oi, he’s awake.”

Tsukasa turned and almost rolled off the bench that he was sleeping on. Sitting up, he saw a Ferris wheel in the far distance, and a bunch of shrine-gates floating around.

He heard footsteps, and when he searched for the sources, he found Not Him and… Not Not Him?

Not Not Him, with fox ears and red eyes, plainly stared at him, before kneeling and bowing on the ground-

Wait, what!?

Tsukasa snapped himself out of the trance his mind was in because what was happening!?

He shook his head vigorously, trying to remember, and slowly but surely, things returned to mind, like sand in an hourglass.

He remembered Not Him saving Saki from something, the storm that caused him to relive his mother’s life, the man dying right in front of him while missing an arm-

Oh.

“Are you okay, Master?” Not Not Him asked, and Tsukasa felt so overwhelmed by everything that he latched onto the first thing he heard.

“Master!?”

———

Something shifted inside his mind that day.

As he watch Not Him wielded the blade with ease, he was reminded of the childish act he put on to get to this point. How effortless it was to perform a personality he didn’t possess.

Was it because he needed to do that? Why?

In this place of cherry blossoms and shrine gates, there was no one else but him, Not Him and Not Not Him.

Even with just two people, his mind couldn’t seem to let itself be free.

He was afraid. Of what, himself?

The wind kicked up again. His head hurts. His mother’s life draped over him like a heavy blanket and he just wanted to dig himself in a hole and never show his face again.

Someone sat next to him. Someone else sat next to him.

The sword show ended already? Since when?

Why was water going down his cheeks?

The world flashed repeatedly again.

He was so tired of this.

———

His room was dark.

Tsukasa hated the darkness. He remembered when the few times he couldn’t sleep when his mother finished telling him a story, he would always ask that the night light stayed on.

Yet, with his blanket and his plushies right beside him, with the smell of wood coming off of the walls-

Someone flicked his forehead. The night light was turned on.

He spotted Not Him crouching over him, frown etched on his face.

“Bastard.” He smacked Tsukasa’s arm, though the void inside his mind made it difficult to feel anything, “Why did you act like nothing was wrong!? We were f*cking terrified!”

Was he acting? He liked acting; he thought he was decent at it.

“Answer me!” Not Him shook his shoulder, baring his teeth, before being pulled back by Not Not Him. Not Not Him, in contrast, was crying.

They were all crying, Tsukasa realized.

Suddenly, he was cold. His soul went frigid, and the shivering spread through his body.

He barreled into them for a hug, begging for their warmth, to feel the texture of their skin to know that they were real, that he was real.

Why were they crying? Tsukasa desperately searched for an answer to relieve the three of them, but no matter what, nothing seemed to show up.

Eventually, minutes, hours, weeks or months, Tsukasa felt himself collapsed onto his bed again, dragging the other two with him.

A blanket was draped over them. The night light turned off.

Tsukasa liked the darkness. In the darkness, there was no role to play, no stage to stand on, no audience to act in front of.

In the darkness, Tsukasa was his true self, a cowardly little thing who had failed everyone around him.

Someone clutched him close, someone else clutched him closer.

“Why am I alive?”

“…Beats me.”

“I don’t know either…”

His soul felt warm. His shivering stopped.

“Is my sister okay?”

“Should be.”

“Your father has taken her to the infirmary. She was only knocked out.”

His soul clung to the presences beside him, crooning like it was alive.

“What am I supposed to do?”

“Such a vague question…”

“…How are we supposed to know? Just go to sleep, dumbasses.”

He slept… better than expected, he decided, when the morning sun came through the window.

Not Him and Not Not Him were still there, and his soul felt less alone.

Chapter 21

Chapter Text

“Oi, oi, slow down-”

He just got dumped in a stream.

To be fair, fighting Akito’s grip wouldn’t have been difficult at all, but Taki would rather the guy just drop him like a sack to get him to cool off his steam a little.

He turned up to look and, and wow, the guy was pissed. Now, Taki actually understood how Kasa was attracted to him. In his very biased view, willing and able to fight is a big part in being sexy.

He had very different personal taste compared to the other two, clearly.

Taki snapped back to reality when water was splashed onto his face.

Oh, the guy poured it over his head. The blood that drenched his hair dyed the flowing water red.

“Are you injured anywhere?”

“Got some scratches on my arm, nothing-”

“Shut up. Get yourself clean up before I come back.”

Akito stomped back to their camp, and huh, that was kinda hot.

He sighed, dragging some water up with hand movements, before letting them down, drenching him like he was just under a waterfall.

Man, why out of the three of them, he was the horny one?

Taki watched as the blood washed away, save for the blotches that stained his Gakuran. They would be gone soon enough; he never needed to wash his clothes.

Once he deemed himself clean, he dragged his ass out of the stream and let the water on him and his clothes drained down until he was dry.

With their special, well, situation, one of the perks was that they could wield each other’s abilities, albeit more limited.

To Taki, the wind was a limb he could control, and so he wielded it without thinking. For water and shadow, though, it required him to concentrate fully.

In the heat of battle, he couldn’t afford the brain space for that.

The sound of rustling leaves made him turned his head.

Akito trekked through the bushes, med kit in hand, and Taki sat down, palm up in a gesture of surrender.

Akito sighed, “Take off your jacket. Show me where the wounds are.”

“Aye aye, captain.”

Taking care of their wounds like this, Taki laughed to himself. It was somewhat romantic; he had to admit.

“…Can I ask something?”

“Yeah?”

“Hah, I should have asked this way before, but…” Akito glanced away, hand holding the alcohol-soaked cotton pad, “You guys… share wounds with each other, right?”

Taki’s eyebrows rose.

“Oh yeah, we never explained that to you, huh.” He scratched his tanuki ears, glancing away, “Since we share the same body, we share senses and stuff.”

“This body you’re seeing right now, in the real world,” He continued, “Is created by temporarily projecting our soul from Kasa, draining his spiritual energy. Any wounds on us would be dispersed to the other two and the same for healing.”

They healed much quicker than normal, Akito remembered. It took less than half a week to fully heal the bullet wound.

“So, it would drain him to keep you guys up for too long?” He threw the cotton pad into a plastic bag.

Taki frowned, “…Well, it kinda should do that, but…”

“Tsukasa produced quite an unusual amount of spiritual energy.” Kitsu interrupted them, and Akito looked like he was jumped by a ghost.

Kitsu had a small smile on his face, the one that said he was successful in trolling someone.

“Jesus.” Akito sighed, “Spare me, please, or I won’t have much longer to live.”

Kitsu nodded, sitting beside them, “It might be because his body houses three souls, and so each of us contributes to spiritual energy production.”

He turned his head to the moon, “Still, we don’t like splitting from each other for too long.”

“Yeah, I don’t trust Kasa to be alone.” Taki sighed, “Kitsu stays with him at home these days, and you’re here too, so Kasa has been doing better than before.”

Akito nodded, but remained silent as he wrapped the wound with a roll of gauze.

And just as he expected, the f*cker was lying, since besides the deep scratches on his arm, there was a stab wound in the thigh and f*cking hell another wound in the shoulder.

“How have your arm not dislocated yet?” He grumbled, and Taki laughed.

He knew Tsukasa has disturbingly high pain tolerance, but seeing all three of them talking and moving just fine while struck with so many wounds…

Was that why Tsukasa wore oversize sh*t? Akito remembered that wounds on Tsukasa didn’t bleed, but to randomly get them out of nowhere…

“You okay?”

“Huh?”

“Pale as a ghost.” Taki frowned, “Just… don’t think too much, yeah? It gets more f*cked up the more you think about it.”

His heart was beating so quick, he realized. He loosened his shoulder and tried to finish wrapping the shoulder first.

“Why are you out so late? Who were you fighting?”

“Uh, seven bears?” Taki winced when Akito glared at him, “Not my fault, promise! I was aiming for a bird, and-”

“Why are you hunting for a bird at this hour?”

Taki ground his teeth in displeasure, but Kitsu flicked his ear to get him out of it.

“I’m telling him if you won’t.”

“Argh…” Taki groaned, “Fine.”

“So. I think we’re cursed somehow, on top of all of this bullsh*t.” He sighed, watching Akito in the corner of his eyes, “You know how Kitsu’s voice can’t change tone no matter what he’s feeling?”

“That’s… yeah, that is a curse.”

Akito glanced at the other, and Kitsu remained staring at the moon. As usual, his eyes held so much emotion that it was leaking out from his skull.

To not be able to express your emotion via voice and only little be facial expression…

“And me…” Taki continued, but stopped.

He looked sad, Akito thought, as he reached for his tanuki ears and scratched them.

“I have to kill at least one thing every few nights. Usually twice a week.”

Akito reigned in his shock.

“It’s a kind of blood-thirst that builds up and slowly drives me insane, y’know?” He admitted, “Fighting, getting close to death, it gets the edge off, but I don’t get many chances for that nowadays.”

“I mean, it’s not like I want to be a monster. Usually I just go for rats, because they have strong enough instincts that hunting them clears my head.”

“…Tried to go to a bird tonight, got led to a cave full of bears.” Taki laughed, bitter and joyous, “At least I’ll be fine till next week. Probably.“

Akito stayed silent as he patched up the thigh. The stream rippled, and the leaves swayed, as silent blanketed them.

“Am I interrupting something?”

Tsukasa soundlessly appeared right next to him, and Akito was going to punch someone if he got jump-scared a third time.

“Ah, sorry.” He closed his umbrella and let it faded away, before sitting beside him, “I finished cleaning and setting up our campsite, so I thought to drop by.”

Akito stared at him, countless thoughts filled his head.

Tsukasa hides so many things from people, including him. He acts like he isn’t affected by pain and loneliness, but when you read his lyrics, you will see the guilt-ridden self lying beneath.

Taki mentioned that they were all cursed. Did that include Tsukasa? Was he suffering even more than Akito could have known?

As if he could read Akito’s thoughts, Tsukasa shook his head.

“I would rather not weight down tonight with the burdens of my sins.” He glanced at the moon, “The wind is soft and the water is running smooth tonight. Let’s just enjoy it when we have a chance to.”

He could just feel how Taki and Kitsu had something to say, but they stayed silent. The mood once again slowed down.

Akito pinned the gauze into place before he remembered a question he had for a long while.

Might as well ask now.

“What do you guys view each other as?”

The three of them turned to him before turning to each other.

“I don’t think about it too much these days.” Tsukasa said, glancing at Akito.

“If I were to be honest, we thought we were siblings of some sort at first.” Kitsu tugged on their ear, blushing, “But that ended badly, and for multiple reasons, we realized that was an awful idea.”

Tsukasa practically choked on air, with red spreading all over his neck and cheeks.

Akito frowned, not really getting it.

“Since we share senses and emotions, including being horny and needing to jerk off-” Taki mumbled, also getting red.

Oh. OH sh*t THAT’S-

“Yeah, yeah, f*ck, I get it now.” Akito winced and forced a laugh, trying to ease the uncomfortable air, “That… must not be fun.”

“It really isn’t.”

Kitsu coughed, “Another reason was that compared to what Tsukasa was with Saki, his sister, our relationships were just different. We view Tsukasa and interact with him in a unique, unnameable way.”

“You said before that there’s people kinda like us, right?” Tsukasa asked, “What word did you use, ‘alters’?”

Akito nodded, “Alters can have many types of relationships between themselves, though.”

“Then we are alters with undefinable relationships between each other, I guess.” Tsukasa laughed, light and soft.

“Don’t care much either way.”

“I have no complaints.”

The four of them stared at the moon some more until Tsukasa started to yawn.

Returning to camp, Akito saw how all of their trash had been sorted into bags and the fire had lulled down, almost extinguished.

He moved to feed it so Tsukasa’s sleep wouldn’t be cold.

Only to turn and see the three of them cuddling together in the tent, the sleeping bags used as a mattress.

“Didn’t you guys say that-”

“Shut up and get your ass in here!”

Akito just half-heartedly dumped the branches in to the remaining ember. Making sure that it actually caught fire, he entered the tent.

Somehow, there was enough space for all of them. He bought a pretty small tent, so they were packed like sardines.

Kitsu folded his arm around his stomach, leaning his head on Akito’s shoulder-blades. Tsukasa loosely draped his arm around Akito’s shoulder over to Kitsu’s back, leaning against Akito’s chest. Taki, as if he was not wounded at all, threw half of his body over all of them.

Their legs were entangled like a bunch of cables, and Akito felt like he was the pillow everyone was hugging.

“Comfortable?” He asked.

Three unanimous hums.

“Good. Get to sleep.”

Chapter 22

Chapter Text

“Come in.”

Mafuyu put down her pen and took a sip of the cup.

Kusanagi walked in, her face cinched tight and her hands clasped together. She took a deep bow, and Mafuyu put down her teacup, ready to ask her to calm down.

She could feel the girl shaking from here, it was unexpected.

Rui came in behind her and shut the door, hands in his pocket.

Kusanagi glanced at him from her bowing position, and Rui raised his eyebrow at her.

Mafuyu sighed, “Please, no need for formalities, Ms. Kusanagi. You and Rui can sit at the couch, if you wish.”

Rui rolled his eyes and moved to the couch, pouring the both of them tea. Kusanagi quickly bowed again before sitting down, elbowing Rui in the stomach when he reached for the treats on the table.

“What?”

“Rui, come on.”

He pouted, but otherwise relented.

Kusanagi stared at her teacup for a bit, then took in a large breath, “Vice Head?”

“Yes, Ms.Kusanagi?” Mafuyu smiled softly, using her public speaking voice to hopefully get her to be less agitated.

Rui seemed less than impressed by the switch-up, but she had expected that.

“Can I… ask for the file about the Otori Clan?”

Mafuyu tilted her head, accessing the girl. Her nails were digging into the meat of her fingers as she moved her hands around anxiously, and on her face was a frown, deep and stress-related.

Could Kusanagi have known someone from the clan? That wouldn’t make sense, considering her history-

“It’s a yes-or-no-question, Vice Head.” Rui deadpanned.

“Ah, sorry. Please, give me a second.” Mafuyu reached down and unlocked one drawer of her desk. Files labeled “Classified” that truly cannot be leaked were kept at her own house, where she had a special way of protecting them.

These files, also “Classified”, were needed on hand, however, so she made sure to bring them to the office, then to home when she clocked out.

Kusanagi reached out to the file once it was in arm-length and murmured a thank-you. She gingerly opened the file, and as she flipped the pages, her face lost more and more color.

Rui, in a moment rarely seen by her, wrapped Kusanagi with a side-hug, his face morose as she cried silently.

Mafuyu was even more confused.

“Do you know the victims, Ms. Kusanagi?”

“…Ah, please, Nene is fine.” She wiped her eyes, “I-I don’t know them personally, but… I have met one of them in my dream.”

Right. Mafuyu had read about this.

Seafarers, those who are sensitive to the boundary between life and death. Unlike usual spiritual power, the ability to connect to those on the other side frequently came with intense trauma regarding death at a young age.

And when it said young, it meant less than three years old.

Those who became Seafarers will get enhanced senses for spiritual presences, and they tend to dream about those who have died. Mafuyu have even read about some of them managing to return them to the waking world.

Though that was a tight-lip secret. Elders of Seafarers are intensely enigmatic, not even writing anything beyond the basics down on paper.

When a child is found to be a Seafarer, they are whisked away to an unknown place, then years later, they’ll come back to the real world. Nothing more is known about the process, and none that knows can tattle.

Kusanagi is a Seafarer, she knew this much, since it was written in her file. Her entrance exam results were superb, and she was capable with a blade. Someone like her could probably rise through the ranks quickly if she tried.

Mafuyu glanced at Rui, noticing how concentrated he was on the file. They cared for each other, so it wasn’t a surprise to see him invested in this case as well.

“I-I can give you a report about that dream right now, if you like?” Nene offered, her eyes determined.

And who was Mafuyu to deny free information?

“Please, go ahead, Nene.”

———

“I see.”

Mafuyu glanced at the text document containing the meeting between Kusanagi and one Otori Emu.

The name rang a bell, but Mafuyu wasn’t sure what. She would have to check later.

Kusanagi was now staring at Rui, and he stared at her back, before relenting. He pulled out a tanuki mask from inside for his suit.

Was it pinned on him the entire time?

“I fought a guy at the top of Shiramatsu Mountain. He caused the rise in spiritual activities in the area.” He admitted in a huff.

Mafuyu nodded, already typing in a separate document, “Any noticeable detail?”

“Wore a black cloak, muffled his voice with the mask, proficient with a katana and controlling wind.”

She frowned at that. Wind control was a difficult technique, only a few places taught that Art. She would have to look into that later.

“Any testimony?”

“He called the space he created ‘Domains’.” Rui frowned, “They are created from the memories of the deceased. He seemed to know when it will collapse, but I’m not sure if he caused the collapse himself.”

“He had noticed I’ve been chasing him around for a bit. But that night was the only night he kept his presence long enough for me to chase him, which was his intention.”

“At the end of our fight, he gave me his mask, and…”

Mafuyu stopped her typing to glance at him. The yellow eyes flickered with something unspeakable.

“He name-dropped… a ‘Lord Tenma‘?”

That gave her pause.

“That is something to note.” She highlighted this line yellow in her file, “Then, it is likely that he is from the Tenma Clan…”

She frowned at that. No one would be so oblivious that they would name their clan, especially if they want to remain anonymous, “Or this is some kind of set-up.”

“Come to think of it, why would this person left their mask behind?” Nene spoke up, “I assume they want us to connect the dots between the Akaichi Organization and the Tenma Clan. But this is quite heavy-handed.”

Mafuyu agreed, “This person, they must gain some sort of benefit from providing us this knowledge.”

Rui tapped his finger to his chin, deep in thought, before pulling out his phone with a sigh, “I should have brought this up sooner.”

Mafuyu raised her eyebrow.

“There’s apparently a traitor in the Tenma Clan. The Vice Head, for some god-knows reason, seek us out for the job.”

———

“Have you eaten anything yet?”

Mafuyu typed out some of her theories until the document became a wall of text.

This mysterious traitor had left behind clues for them, as if he knew for sure that they would be trying to solve this puzzle.

Someone strong enough to fight Rui, who knew of ‘Domains’, who can turn himself invisible and control the wind-

And last Mafuyu check, neither the Tenma Clan nor the one the area they governed, the Yama-o-Gata Prefecture, had a prolific wind user.

Not to mention the Akaichi Organization and the stolen Sacred Treasure. Mafuyu felt like she was going to have a bad migraine.

A chuckled, “I should ask you that first, I think. It has gotten late, have you eaten anything?”

Mafuyu glanced at the clock, 8:00 PM.

“I’ll grab something on the way home.”

“I see, I’ve eaten already, so don’t worry about me.”

How can she not be worried?

“…Is it acting up?”

“I’m fine, the stitches don’t hurt as much today.” A small laugh, “I’ll be able to make it to the meeting, if things go well.”

“…I see, I’m happy to hear that.”

She took out her USB and transferred the files over. She would mull over them at home.

“…Please inform me should any trouble arises.”

“I will. Make sure to keep yourself healthy as well, Mafuyu.”

“I know. Goodbye, Kanade.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow, hehe.”

The called ended. Mafuyu tucked the phone into her pocket, gathered the files labeled “Classified” and walked out of her office.

Chapter 23

Chapter Text

“Here’s your report, sir.”

Touya looked up from his table, pen still in hand, as he finished up the remaining work.

With this signed off, he could make his way to Miyazanagi now while other personnels cleaned up the mess that was left behind.

If there was one thing he really missed about those bastards, it was that they were efficient. And that his workload was so much smaller…

“Thank you. You can go now.”

He skimmed through the report regarding Saki and her friends’ trip in Miyazanagi. Nothing important, just them wandering around and sightseeing like normal tourists.

Touya couldn’t help but smile a little, despite the circ*mstances. Even though he still needed her to return to her duties, seeing her smiling confirmed to him that she was in safe hands.

Those bastards would be happy.

He left behind all of the files and papers, someone would get it delivered tomorrow. He left his desk, went over to his alcohol cabinet, and poured himself a cup of whiskey.

“Ew!”

Taki completely spitted the whiskey out, looking at it like it personally offended him.

“Is it that bad?” Touya asked, frowning. He had hoped that his friend would enjoy his father’s gift, but…

“No offence to you, bud, but that’s filthy.” Taki wiped the remains from his mouth, “Kitsu might like this, but not me.”

“Kistu?”

He was surprised. Out of the three of them, Touya interacted with Kitsu the least these days. He seemed to avoid Touya.

Was he still…

“Something’s wrong?” Yellow eyes glanced over to him. The wind unconsciously started in his office, despite how the windows were closed.

“It’s nothing.” He shook his head, “Though I don’t know what to say if Father ask.”

Taki laughed, loud and mocking, “Say the truth, if you wanna. dickhe*d hated us already.”

He held the empty glass in his hand, the rest of the whiskey poured into a potted plant, “One more year and Kasa’ll be twenty. Then we’re dragging that rotting corpse out of his seat.”

“Who is going to replace him? Do you have anyone in mind?” Touya asked as he gulped down a shot.

The bitterness changed into a soft sweetness as it went down his throat. He closed his eyes, enjoying the aftertaste.

When he opened his eyes, Taki stared at him like he was a demon in disguise.

“Are you serious?”

He whipped out his sword, and Touya reflexively raised his hands to block-

Only for the scabbard to smack him on the head.

Touya winced as he rubbed his forehead, but when he had recovered…

Taki looked at him with so much fondness that Touya felt dizzy.

“C’mon, guess. If you get it wrong, I’m hitting you again, idiot.”

His heart stung, always, whenever he drank, especially whiskey. But some nights, he needed the sting to remind himself that he was alive.

His phone rang, and Touya knew who it was before he even glanced at the screen.

“Father?” He drawled, monotone.

There was no one else in his life other than him.

“Are you prepared? Today’s the 9th already. Shouldn’t you be heading out now?”

Heavens above, was he trying to piss Touya off?

“Yes, I know, I’m heading out now.”

It took everything in him to not just throw the phone into the wall.

“Good. Remember why we are doing this.”

Touya promptly shut off his phone when he heard that sentence. Because no, being reminded of why he was doing this only pissed off him further.

Touya walked over to the top left corner of his office, wound up a punch and let loose.

The punching bag tore in half from the sheer force, before ice grew and climbed around the gap, attaching the two sides together like a badly sewn stitch.

He let the cup of whiskey fell to the floor, hearing the shattering sound but not really recognizing it. His head was somewhere above the clouds and stuck there, not being able to free himself.

He glanced towards his piano, opposite to the alcohol cabinet.

Tsukasa sang with a strange voice, Touya thought.

It was deeper and more melodious, as if he had years of experience in singing. It betrayed the facade of cheerfulness he put on while learning and handling clan duties.

When singing, Tsukasa sounded like a tired man, one that was at the end of his rope. The songs he picked was always old and sad, something you could find at a jazz bar.

Had it always been like this? Touya couldn’t remember. He just knew that for the longest time, Tsukasa had never looked like he was ancient compared to everyone else.

With the way he playfully mocked himself afterwards, Touya was not sure if he even liked the songs or singing.

Touya felt like he knew less and less about Tsukasa each day.

“Touya!” Tsukasa shouted, hands closing the piano keys, “What do you think of my performance?”

What should he say?

Would it be better to praise him? He was certainly worthy of praise.

Or would it better to say that whenever Tsukasa sings, Touya felt as if the world itself is ending?

When Tsukasa did anything, all eyes drew towards him, like watching a star in the sky. Yet hearing his voice, Touya thought of a dying star, slowly shrinking into itself until it became a black hole.

Only that there was no supernova. Just a quiet fade away, like a desk lamp being turned off.

“You’re amazing.” He admitted, because what else was there to say?

Tsukasa blushed a crimson hue, “Really? It seems that even with my increased workload, my singing ability had not yet fade.”

He smiled, something that wasn’t quite reaching his eyes.

“Though I’ve made such a dreadful song choice for such a cheerful day, my apologies.”

Touya glanced outside, where Tenma Monika’s grave was out of sight.

On this cheerful day, there was a new bouquet placed and new talismans of protection laid.

He was in his car now.

Things that were needed, such as important files and gifts, had already been transferred. He had also informed all border checkpoints of his journey, so no repeat of what happened in Shingo.

He turned on his speakers before going through Re-Footnotes’ songs again. This time, he selected the most recent album, named “When The Sky Turned Dark.”

The first song on the list was, “A Promise Broken.”

“You broke our promise.”

The storming sky mixed with the filthy stench of blood made Touya dizzy and nauseous. His men, ones with spouses and families, lied motionless on the ground.

They were only knocked out, he knew, but even so…

A blade of water sped toward him, though he deflected it with his own sword.

“You broke our promise as well.”

He pointed his sword to those glowing red eyes, staring him down with such heavy emotions. Touya stared back, his eyes blank, hiding his desperation and anger.

With the rain beating them down like this, it was hard to see if the other was crying or not.

“If that is the case…” He formed a katana from the flute he was holding, “Then let us end this nobly.”

He raised his sword toward Touya, “I, Tenma Kitsu, challenge you to a duel. The winner must knock the loser’s blade out of their hand.”

Touya agreed to this duel by silently and shamelessly attacking first.

He glanced out of his car window, determined to make the long ride from one end of the country to the other alone.

As the song reached its chorus, something repeatedly tapped on his car roof, joining the instrumental.

It was raining.