Late night.
Yuuki ran desperately through an empty forest.
Large private estates like the Asagami and Ryougi residences were built far from crowded areas. Because of that, on the path back toward his home, Yuuki encountered almost no one.
More than that—he'd plunged straight into the woods, cutting off the road and trying to reach home by the shortest line.
Why… did Shiki want to kill him?
Yuuki couldn't understand.
He knew Shiki had an impulse to kill. But he had always believed she would never truly kill.
In the original timeline, she had come close to killing Kokutou—yet in the end, she couldn't do it.
She would rather erase herself than hurt someone else—that was why there had been that three-year coma after the car crash.
Shirazumi was dead. Whatever small deviations had happened, Shiki should still be "clean." She should know she wasn't a murderer.
And yet, that strike had been real. If Yuuki hadn't dodged by instinct, he would already be dead.
Why?
Yes—he lacked the certainty that he could reach Shiki's heart the way Kokutou could.
Yes—his occasional disguises made Shiki angry.
Yes—many times he was the one imposing, clinging, causing trouble.
But he'd tried.
He wanted to protect her.
He wanted to stay by her side.
He wanted, after everything ended, to still be her friend.
If it was him… was it fine to kill him?
Because it was him… it was fine to kill him?
Then wouldn't that mean he'd failed again?
Whish!
A blade tore into the side of his abdomen. Yuuki staggered and fell in the woods.
He was far from any place people would pass—but there was still a long distance to the Asagami estate.
Yuuki rolled onto his back and stared up at the sky.
The ground was damp, thick with mud. Insect cries buzzed around him, as if trying to drive away an intruder.
His side. His neck. Scratches across his shoulders and ankles from tearing through the night forest.
Pain like this… he was starting to get used to it.
If dying were this easy, maybe it wouldn't be so bad.
Yuuki stopped running entirely. He stared at the moon—it was still missing a corner.
Shiki, in her orange kimono, pinned Yuuki down. There was no way he could rise and escape.
Her slender wrist lifted high. The short knife—slick with blood—caught the moonlight in a cold gleam.
"Any last words?"
If he begged, would he live?
If he copied the original protagonist perfectly, would that have been the correct path?
But…
I'm not Kokutou.
As Yuuki looked at the Shiki looming over him, the fear drained away.
He laughed.
This place was isolated. Even if he died here, Shiki could leave without alerting anyone.
"What are you laughing at?"
"Ah… sorry. I just… realized the last time I was this close to you was a long time ago."
Even now, trying to get close? Shiki frowned, unable to grasp what this man—about to die—was truly trying to say.
"Then consider this a bit of advice. When you leave… watch for passing cars."
Shiki couldn't understand the "last words" he was forcing out anyway.
"And if you ever run into a shady, gloomy monk… this might be useful."
Only then did Shiki notice—
At Yuuki's side, a massive, absurdly oversized greatsword was stabbed deep into the soil, standing silently like a grave marker.
As if it were a tombstone for a soul that had already abandoned hope of survival.
After all… everything was fake. Really—crossing into a story he watched as a kid? How could that be real?
If he died here… what would happen?
Would he "cross over" again into another story?
Would he return to his previous life—alone in his room?
Or would it be true death?
If that happened… could he see his real family again?
I miss them…
Yuuki closed his eyes. Fear was gone. Only a kind of regret remained—something Shiki couldn't understand.
Shiki stared at him, unblinking.
This man, to the very end, was stirring her heart—making her irritation flare.
But after this, he would never irritate her again.
No—after this, she would probably never even see him again.
Shiki thought that, and finally brought the knife down.
Whish—
Clang!
The knife flew from Shiki's hand.
Shiki staggered back several steps, her arm buzzing from the shock.
A familiar figure stood between Shiki and Yuuki.
Red hair that looked like it burned in the moonlight.
A crisp, practical maid outfit.
And the weapon that had knocked the short knife away—
"…A wrench?"
"As a maid, carrying a wrench is perfectly reasonable."
"No—no it's not! And why are you here, Miss Tama?!"
Yuuki, still on the ground, finally processed what had happened—and couldn't even stop himself from complaining.
Tama scratched her head. In truth, she'd come because she sensed a magical fluctuation near the Asagami home. The source seemed to be that oversized greatsword embedded beside Yuuki.
And then she happened to see someone trying to murder her master—so she charged in without thinking.
Shiki studied the sudden maid calmly. Instinct screamed that this person was strong—and unlike Yuuki, she carried a strange "presence."
It was similar to Shiki's father's presence—something accumulated through years of fighting inhuman things. Shiki and Kaname didn't yet have that.
"Are you connected to an exorcist family?"
Tama flinched and quietly looked away.
"E-exorcist family? What's that…? Tama doesn't know…"
"…Fine. Asagami—don't show up near my house again. Next time, I will kill you."
Seeing Tama refuse to answer, Shiki understood she no longer had a chance to kill Yuuki tonight. She dropped the warning and turned away into the darkness.
"Hey! You bully who tried to kill my master—don't run!"
Tama moved to chase, but Yuuki—bracing himself against the greatsword to stand—caught her wrist.
Tama turned back, confused. Yuuki shook his head.
"By the way… I think the last time you saw her was twelve years ago. That was Shiki Ryougi—the future head of the Ryougi family."
"…Huh?"
After a short, stunned silence, Tama stared at Yuuki in disbelief and pointed in the direction Shiki had vanished.
"You're telling me that horror-movie woman who crawled out of a TV… is the shy little girl you played with as kids?"
Fujino had visited the Ryougi house before, and Shiki had even stayed at the Asagami estate for several days—but Tama had always been away during those times.
After so many years, their reunion had happened under such extreme circumstances that Tama couldn't connect the two images at all.
She did, however, understand—more or less—why Yuuki had been going to the Ryougi house every day.
In the end, Tama stared for a long moment, then asked the question she couldn't hold back:
"Was that… some kind of play? Like… part of a kink?"
"No. I just… made her a little angry, that's all."
"Master Yuuki… your taste in women is worse than your father's."
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