Yuume returned home and made himself his favourite tea, just like Midori suggested. He sat in the armchair and pulled out the bell from his bag.

Well, it looked very ordinary. It was just the bell made from white gold, hanging on the black ribbon.

"Hey" his flatmate, who was also his best friend, sneaked into his room. "Did you get it?"

"Yes" confirmed Yuume.

"Have you called them already?" Shoguri sat in the armchair beside him. "Should I watch you?"

"You don't have to" replied Yuume. "Akiichi lost his feather again."

"I know. You put it in the orchid's pot" Shoguri crossed his legs and leaned back comfortably. "Do you know that when you wake up, you'll be the only one, who will remember Tsuneo's death?"

"How do you know this?" Yuume was surprised.

"Akiichi told me. He was childhood friends with a yubiwa" Shoguri shrugged. "He, that yubiwa and Rencha were inseparable, according to his words."

"What happened that we didn't meet yubiwa?" asked Yuume.

"I don't know, I didn't ask" Shoguri poured some rum into his glass. "But in general, he knows a lot about yubiwas through this relationship. Rencha probably does too, but to learn something from him. I would have to buy all the biscuits in town, I guess."

Yuume laughed, then put the bell on his neck and called the yubiwa.

He felt cold, as if he was freezing. He even heard the sound of freezing water. He flinched and even got scared a little. Something was pulling him down, as if he was sinking in the liquid darkness.

He blinked. He had an impression that it wasn't just a comparison to the liquid darkness. There was endless emptiness there.

“Do you all really have to call in the worst of moments? I can’t even take a bath in peace” Yuume heard and looked in this direction.

He saw a man, who was wearing a black yukata and also a black kitsune mask with golden ornaments and accessories. His hair really was wet, like he left the shower a moment ago.

A man walked to him. His footsteps echoed against the endless emptiness. Wet black hair ran down his shoulders, ending somewhere on the collarbone line. His skin colour was quite dark, like Yuume’s, but a little darker.

But his eyes were different. They were golden like a sun on a clear day.

“Kin” said yubiwa. “You can call me that.”

“I’m…”

“I don’t care. What is your commission for me?” Kin interrupted him.

Yuume blinked. He just realised, how short was this man. Really, how tall he was, one and a half meters? Maybe a little more.

Are all yubiwas so short?

No, this receptionist was of rather average height. He could look into Midori's eyes without problem. So why there is a man with body of a tween standing in front of him?

“Are you alive?” Kin waved a hand in front of his eyes. “If you really want it, introduce yourself. If you're going to have a system reset over it, I would rather waste my time on such childishness as knowing your name.”

“Tansetsuki Yuume” he replied.

Kin nodded.

"Okay. Now the comission" Kin started walking around the abyss. "Midtimes are powered by our energy, so hurry up little."

"Midtimes?" asked Yuume.

"A dimension in our minds, where we meet curious customers like you" replied Kin. "I could decore it, but then I would be tired. Anyway, what's the point? We meet customers here maybe once or twice. After that, they can't come to us anyway, since we already know, who they are."

Kin circled Yuume probably for the fifth time.

"My brother and his pregnant wife died in a car crash" announced Yuume. "Their five-years-old daughter too. The other driver was drunk and hit them with his car."

Kin stopped sharply.

"What an idiot. Four people died, because one moron couldn't wait to be sober" the yubiwa snorted. "I need a date and your brother's name. Or at least his wife's."

"18th July 2014" replied Yuume. "My brother's name is Tsuneo, his wife's is Tereya."

"I understand. And about this... Wait" Kin frowned. "July?"

"Yes."

"Midori sent you here?"

"Yes."

"Shit, she did it again" Kin sighed. "What a stupid woman, she has a mess on her desk all the time and I shouldn't be shocked that she doesn't understand such easy rules. Her whole job is just writing papers and sending clients to us, for fuck's sake."

"Easy rules?" repeated Yuume.

"It's too early" explained Kin, glaring at him. "It's February."

"I know that it's February, but you have to prepare, right?" Yuume looked at yubiwa. "You can't just..."

"Listen, Know-It-All. Your brother's accident won't happen for another six months. Which means I have to wait almost six months. Midori should have made you aware that you have to come two weeks before the anniversary, if it happened earlier than five years ago, but this woman is forbidden to carry out assignments and as you can see, she doesn't even know the job she was assigned to at the Jikan Guild HQ" Kin sighed again. "Of course, I accept your request, because it's not some bullshit like finding your child's favourite teddy bear, who, five years later, has probably forgotten that they had one at all, but you need to understand how Midtimes work. And come here in July. Don't call before 4th July, okay?"

"But..." started Yuume, but Kin cut him off.

"Those are the rules. Violating the fragile structure of timespace can destroy all timelines and your brother, his wife, their children and you will die with all of humanity" he said. "Goodbye."

And he hung up.