If he kept chasing me, no other girl would have to dance to death. That thought alone kept my feet running, even if they went numb. No women have to feel the obligation of taking part in the ceremony, and no shrine maiden or priest would have to be involved in chaos.

Without the Shinigami King's bride, Kiri no Tsujigiri would keep on looking. As long as I'm nowhere around the Matsuryoku Town, he'll stop bothering them. Or anyone. I'll be the bait.

All that would be left in the town are harmless and rude ghosts! The town would be blessed with a kind of freedom that would no longer involve any of that sacred stuff!

Maybe this is what Ayumi meant by change!

I turned to look behind me, expecting Kiri no Tsujigiri to chase me in an invisible ghost form for a sneak attack. I waited as I tried to anticipate where he could pop out of . . .

No where.

The wind gave me chills, and it was hard to walk on the crisp frost with my uwabaki, so I removed them and held them in my hand. Walking carefully, my feet shove into the snow on each step through my socks.

I wonder what happened to those hunters? Not that I'm concerned about them, but I'd pass out if I saw their corpses rotting out here in the cold. 

It fell eerily silent. I continued walking until I passed by a vibrant red torii. Its pathway inside was so misty, like it was a portal to another dimension. I couldn't see what marked it. It could only mean something.

There must be a Shinto shrine nearby. I could ask for help, maybe ask for herbal tea to relieve my sore throat. I hope Kiri no Tsujigiri won't attack this time.

"Not even a 'thank you'? Figures."

My soul left my body for a second.

"Guess the shrine skipped the manners lesson. I told you at the hut. I've got a plan to get your voice back. But clearly, listening isn't your strong suit," he poked my forehead with his index finger, as if indicating I don't have a brain inside.

So while I was planning my great escape, he actually had a plan?

Was he that serious about this Shi no Hanayome thing? There’s no helping now that I’m caught. I smiled faintly, a habit when words won't come. He scoffed anyway. I bet he also knows about what this arch leads to.

"Hear me out. Just this once. Let me explain how you lost your voice first." He fixed his straw hat before explaining, making my ears absorb.

"Remember when your good-for-nothing boyfriend hit me in the head and I fell on top of you? Yeah, it turns out ghosts and mortals are not supposed to touch physically. Heck, even sharing each other's blood is a big fat no. It's the number one rule in the ghost realm. And because of that, things changed for both of us."

Oh, I remember.

Kiri no Tsujigiri bled when Kenichi hit his head with a log. A drop of his blood might've spilled into my wounded palm. Not only that, we also bumped into each other's heads when he fell on top of me. I never expected that such a thing would work.

"Luckily for you, only your voice was taken. As for me, my . . ." He looked away with an expression mixed with frustration and perplexity on his face. "That's for another story. These effects will last until you die or until a ritual is done. Speaking of ritual, I've got a plan. Listen close, brat. Not that it'll reach that thick skull."

He mocked, making my eyes twitch in annoyance. "I know someone who can help us perform a spell that will reset our restricted conditions. He's very close to the Shinigami King, and he's basically like his advisor or groomsman, or something.

"Once we perform the spell, you'll get your voice back, I'll get my - something - back, I'll kill you, bring your dead body to the Shinigami King, and congratulations, Matsuryoku Town will be free from eternal winter. Hooray."

Matsuryoku Town . . . Free from winter?

Then that means the townspeople won't have to suffer anymore. The stories the children made about me, half of them were true. That I was a spirit of winter.

In a way. Ayumi would get to see real sakura petals, and Kenichi would bask in warmth. No more brutal ceremonies!

If I kept breathing . . . They'd keep hurting. It sank in like frost on bare skin. Because I'm the destined Shinigami King's bride. Maybe this was my destiny as the daughter of the Shizuka Clan, becoming the Shi no Hanayome.

That’s why I was sent here. I have to admit. I could barely keep up with all this information shoved into me.

"Sooo, you get the picture? You should be. I am NOT explaining all that shit again." He rolled his eyes. I nodded my head as I mentally scoffed at his impatience. I should've figured. Like in the rumors, he's exactly as rude and cruel, if not violent.

Alright. I've made my decision. I’ll accept this kind of fate! To die for change! Kiri no Tsujigiri clapped after seeing my eager and confident expression.

"Good! You're easy to talk to! Now, to meet this guy, we'll have to go to the ghost realm, which is . . ." He tilted his head towards the misty pathway of the arch.

Why am I even amazed? I thought he'd have to choke me to go to the ghost realm like the legends said. Then again, not all legends and rumors are true.

"Before you worry your pretty little self off, don't you worry,” he gave my shoulder a pa. “As long as you don't reveal yourself as a mortal, no ghost will crawl up your ass like a leech."

I've often been told I look like a ghost myself because of my looks. I can take care of myself!

"Don't touch a SINGLE ghost, either. Well . . .other than me. If—when they sense warmth in you, you're as good as dead, but if you're lucky again, you'll lose your eyes. Or you'll get bald. And I'll have to search for the next Shi no Hanayome, which would take AGES."

Somehow, I felt myself nodding along at his words. No way I'm letting him kill more women!

"By the way. If you're still mad that I knocked out those old geezers from the ceremony. Don't worry. They had a history of being frauds and criminals. They deserved to die."

Oh.

This guy's morals terrify me. And he said so with a chuckle. He's no different than a tyrannical emperor. Not that I was siding with the priests to begin with.

I’ve been suspicious of them once and got pretty anguished when they prophesied that Ayumi was going to be the bride. But it doesn't change the fact that they had lives and families.

Nothing can help now that they've been killed.

After exchanging hostile faces with each other, we stepped into the arch.

❁

So, this is the ghost realm.

It looked exactly like Matsuryoku Town, but more spacious and with wider roads. The roofs on their buildings had less snow. A crowded town with bustling people—ghosts.

Some ghosts that passed me had missing eyes, missing limbs, some had their flesh exposed. Perhaps their bodies stayed in the exact way they died.

I spotted the famous urban legend, Kuchisake-onna! She's so pretty with that slitted mouth of hers! And Oiwa too! Her drooped eyes just make her shine among the other ghosts. The way the snowflakes poured from the skies made no difference.

It must mean that eternal winter, real-life seasons, happen in the ghost realm, too. The Shinigami King must be somewhere nearby. I could somehow sense it. There are ghosts here, but their energy feels noble. Different from the others.

Stalls selling food, masks, kimonos, and yukatas . . . Bathhouses, stores, and beautiful two-story buildings, and pagodas adorned with red tile roofs and stone walls filled my sights.

The area smelled like incense with a calming, heavenly aroma. It's almost unfair how the underworld seemed a lot more cheerful and livelier than it was in Matsuryoku.

With ghosts strolling in the streets on and about, they didn't need to worry about entities haunting their homes and streets.

They're not even dressed in thick layers of clothes, as if the cold doesn't bother them. Of course, seeing as they're already dead, they wouldn't need those. Once I get my voice, Matsuryoku will turn out just like this.

Honestly, I can't wait.

"Keep your eyes peeled, Mari. Just because this place attracts you, doesn't mean its residents are as decent." Kiri no Tsujigiri shrugged his shoulders as if I was supposed to know that. His words drained the light in my vision.

It's not going to hurt to appreciate being in such a lively environment once in a while. After the Genpei war two decades ago, even the city of Kyoto wasn’t this lively.

The tsujigiri and I kept walking as I continued silently admiring the buildings and stalls. Wow, they sell stuff that I've never seen before, not even in Yamanashi Prefecture, or even Kyoto! Wait—What's that?

"Hey! Where do you think you're..?! UGH!"

Ignoring Hidoi no Tsujigiri, I ran towards a certain stall that sells, I don't know, a sweet treat that looks like three balls of rice skewered on a stick.

“These are called 'dango', miss! Ah, a newcomer? Pretty eyes you've got there!" The seller, who looked like a middle-aged man, greeted me in joy after seeing the way my eyes lit up at the sight of these treats. He must’ve thought I was a ghost who had recently died because of the bloodstains on my kimono.

Even ghosts are happy here.

"These are made with rice flour, and they taste well with green tea, bean paste, and sugar! Want to try one? On the house for new ghosts!" Woah! People in town would sell this for a fortune.

I reached out a hand to pick—

"Sorry, she’s got, uhm . . . Rice allergy," Kiri no Tsujigiri interrupted, deadpan. "Fatal. Super rare. She's one in a million." He pulled me towards him by the wrist. I know I'm not supposed to touch ghosts, but I was only going for the free dango!

The seller then crossed his arms and raised a brow, glaring at the Tsujigiri. His jolly expression from earlier was replaced with an annoyed frown. "If it isn't Kashiki Azuri. Is she another one of your flings?"

Flings..? What the hell?! Kiri no Tsujigiri, a tomcat—Wait . . .

"What if she is?" The man in question responded with a cocky smirk before leaning close to my ear, hissing, "Great. Now I'll have to deal with this, thanks to you."

Whoops.

"Listen here, you bastard! Why don't you do something useful for once, like searching for the Shinigami King's bride, instead of fooling around with innocent girls like my daughter Michiko?! Because of you, she chose to stay in that disgusting place you took her to!"

Michiko! The young woman who was killed by Kiri no Tsujigiri last year! So this man is her father. Late father. She mentioned he died when she was young, from an illness, and grieved over the fact that he never got to continue his family's business of selling sweets.

It made me somewhat proud to see that he's continuing that legacy even in death. And I'm surprised that Kiri no Tsujigiri has made quite a name for himself in this world.

Hold on . . .

THIS GUY FOOLED AROUND WITH MICHIKO ONCE?! THAT SWEET INNOCENT GIRL, MICHIKO?!

THIS SON OF A—

"Aww, come on! She loved that place!" He winked. "If you asked me, she's having the freedom she wanted and had the best time of her life. Ain't it your job as a father to be happy for her? Not my fault I died young, sexy, and beautiful, old geezer!"

He stuck out a tongue towards the seller before sprinting away from the stall, dragging me along with him.

No! My precious dango!

The yelling of Michiko's father caused a commotion with the passersby involved. The noise faded as we walked farther and farther away until we stopped in front of a classy-looking pawnshop.

The area was pretty discreet and a lot quieter. He let go of my wrist before turning to me with a face of pure chagrin that made me want to curl up in shame.

"You had one job, Mari. One teeny, tiny . . . FUCKING JOB."

I know, I know! I'm so, so sorry!

Wait a second—why am I even sorry for someone like him?! A tomcat who fooled around with random women, HIS OWN VICTIMS, and left their broken pieces behind?!

Not only that, he's very rude! He's terrified a lot of people in my town! Still . . . I'm the one kneeling. I need him just long enough to bring spring to Matsuryoku. Just long enough to fulfill my destiny.

"What's all the noise for?"

The door of the shop slid open, revealing a man, possibly in his fifties, with grey hair, slitted eyes, neat glasses, and dressed in the tidiest manner I've ever seen. Not a single wrinkle in his yukata. He smelled like oranges, too.

I can't place my finger on it, but the air around him was familiar. Almost too familiar.

"Good, you're here." Kiri no—Azuri grabbed my wrist again, and pulled me into the pawnshop before the old man slid the door closed.

He must be Azuri's acquaintance.