Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Blood. It smelled like blood.

The smell hit Amane like a punch in the face. Suddenly, he began to regain consciousness. He blinked hard, trying to get his vision back, but still couldn’t make out the shapes. He noticed that he was down on his knees and that his hands were stained, but he didn’t know what.

Amane still didn’t understand anything when his eyes began to work again. And then he wanted them to stop.

The first thing he saw was his hands, covered in blood. A few seconds later he realized that it wasn’t just his hands, his entire body was splattered with blood. His pulse quickened, fearing the worst. But no. He didn’t do it. Could not. He was his brother. He loved him. And even if he hurt him, he knew his brother loved him too. No. No. No. That wasn’t happening.

With terrible pain in his chest, he looked down at Tsukasa, who was lying on the ground, with a creepy smile on his face, wide eyes, and a knife buried in his heart. Dead. He was dead. Blood poured from his body making a puddle.

Tears filled his eyes. He sobbed that he was sorry countless times as he caressed his lifeless younger brother’s face. He apologized to him, their parents, and all the people who lived in the kingdom. He had failed them. To all of them.

Suddenly someone entered the room. Amane didn’t need to turn around to know who it was, but he still did it. He looked the sorceress straight in the eyes. He didn’t know what punishment she would impose, but he did not doubt that he deserved it.

Chapter Text

Nene was doing her usual routine. She got up with the crowning of the rooster at sunrise, brushed her hair, put on her dress, and left home with a basket ready to run errands. But she was more excited than usual, as the old librarian had said to her the week before that he had gotten a new book from a pen pal. And she will be able to pick it up that morning. Nene felt like she didn’t read anything new for centuries, she barely survived on the few stories that were available in her local library. She couldn’t wait.

She made her usual route of the bakery, the fish shop, and the butcher, not missing the stares and murmurs she left in her wake. She knew that she wasn’t very well received in her town, the scandalous size of her ankles was enough for the boys in the town to turn their heads when she appeared, But she also had bought ruin on herself helping her father on the farm and spending her days with her head in a book.

Nene had tried to be a conventional girl, she had tried. She dressed feminine, talked sweet, she even learned how to sew, cook, wash, clean… But none of that could erase the fact of having a man’s job and not being illiterate. 

She should have stuck to conventional: being a housewife and being careful to look impeccable every time she went out. That’s what she should have done, but the circumstances did not allow it.

Her father was old and had an injured knee, he needed help or the family would be ruined. Nene had an amazing strength for a woman of her size, she must help her father, even if that hurt her slim chances of getting a husband. And as for the books, she couldn’t live without them, needed them as much as to breathe. Being both a  young single woman in a remote village and a hopeless dreamer isn’t a good combination.

At the end of her usual route, she went to the library. Once inside, she inhaled the aroma the place gave off. The smell of books was her favourite, without a doubt.

She took the book she’d taken last week out of her basket and headed over to the librarian, who was so engrossed in his reading that he hadn’t even noticed her presence in the small room.

“Good morning, sir,” Nene said with a beaming simile.

The man came back to reality startled and looked around, but calmed down and smiled broadly when he noticed the girl.

“Good morning, Nene, my favourite person in this little corner of the world” when he said this, he bent down to pick up a package next to his chair and gave it to the girl.

She sighed and her eyes sparkled as she revealed the contents. It was a very old and worn novel, but she didn’t notice that. She was too busy admiring the title, which was different from the others in the room. A new story, new characters, new adventures. She almost burst into tears of happiness, but she managed profusely to thank the librarian. The old man said goodbye to her and she headed home. This time she cared less about the faces of horror she visualized as she left the library.

Nene wasn’t completely alone, luckily. 

She had a friend, a real one, and his name was Kou. And oddly enough, he was the mayor’s middle son. He helped her with her housework when she was too busy with the farm. They kept that a secret, she had enough of being the freak of the town to drag one of the only people who treated her right.

Had crossed Nene’s mind the idea to get married to him, but she ruled it out very soon. She cared about Kou only in a platonic way, and although she had once the slightest suspicion that he was interested in her, she decided to ignore it. He deserved one who loved him completely, and she was looking forward to seeing him happy with someone. So they were just two unfocused people enjoying each other’s company and having the small talk they needed.

“And what’s that new book about?” Kou asked, pouring himself a cup of tea.

“About a forbidden love,” answers Nene, blowing her cup. “A noblewoman destined to marry a tyrannical king falls desperately in love with a castle servant during the preparations for the engagement. Isn’t it romantic?”

Nene sighs with a lost look. Kou doesn’t need to be able to read minds to know that she is imagining herself as the noblewoman, he can’t help but smile. 

“One day I’ll get you out of here,” he says enthusiastically. 

The girl could only smile compassionately. She knew it was impossible, she had to stay there to help her father and Kou also had some things to do in the town as the mayor's son. But her friend always said that, and he meant it. If he didn’t give up, maybe she could believe in him, even if it’s only to resist the routine one day longer.

“Thank you, Kou,” she told him sincerely. “I don’t know what would I do without you”

There was a knock at the door and Nene ran to open it. Few people knocked on her door, only three to be specific. Her father, Kou, and Kou’s older brother. Minamoto Teru, the most popular man in the whole town. Not only handsome and intelligent, which was too amazing levels, but he was also extremely kind and caring. Absolutely every single girl in the town wanted to catch him, and she was not the exception. Teru had always been good to her, he had never looked at her badly unlike most of the men in the town. 

And since Kou was in her kitchen and his father was out of town, there was only one candidate left.

Nene quickly fixed her hair in the mirror by the entrance and opened the door with the best smile she had. She was aware that she had no chance with the eldest son of Minamoto. That he didn’t treat her badly wasn’t because he was interested in her, it was just one more demonstration of his impeccable attitude. But still, dreaming was free, right?

And there he was, she didn’t think there could be a man who would look better in small-town clothes. However he dressed, he had constant princely air catch her breath.

“Good morning, Nene,” he said with his usual good-natured smile.

“I’m so glad to see you,” she answered politely, hoping with all her might that he didn’t notice the blush that had settled on her checks. “Kou is in the kitchen, ¿do you want to talk to him? I’ve made tea, If you want some”

“I appreciate your hospitality, attentive as usual” he gave a tiny bow and the girl felt like she was going to faint. “But I’m afraid I have to decline your offer, I must return to the centre. I was just stopping by to ask you to tell my brother that he must help in the City Hall before he goes home.”

“Oh, sure, I’ll tell him now” she smiled with kindness.

Teru nodded, said goodbye, and headed back to the village. When Nene closed the door she sighed, imagining that in another life she and that man would get married and travel the world hand in hand.

She returned to the kitchen with her friend and after telling him what his brother had asked him, they continued with their lively talk. Everything was fine until mid-afternoon when they heard the desperate gallop of a horse and they both went outside to see what was happening.

They found an upset black horse outside the house that Nene instantly recognised.

“It’s Phillip, my father’s horse,” she explained while trying to calm down the animal. “I don’t understand, my father left this morning before sunrise to go to the big city. He told me that he wouldn’t come back until late at night, what is his horse doing here?”

“And why is he alone?” Kou added.

“Do you think something happened?” she asked with tears welling up in her eyes. Her father was all the family she had left, without him she was lost.

“Don’t worry” her friend put a hand on her shoulder and looked into her eyes very serenely. “Surely your father is walking around the city without realizing that his horse has escaped from the stable.”

Maybe he was right, but Nene had a bad feeling. She looked the horse in the eye and all that she could see was panic. Something was wrong.

“I have to go find him,” she said as she deftly climbed into the saddle.

“No, you won't,” Kou took the horse’s reins to prevent it from moving. “It’s dangerous. I will go”

“It’s my father,” she pushed his hand away gently, but she was looking seriously at him. “You have your obligations here. I will come back soon”

She waved goodbye to him and leaned close to the horse's ear.

“Come on Phillip, show me the way”

The animal took command and rode into the woods. Nene felt Kou’s gaze on her back, but she wasn't going to back down. She was terrified. Her legs were shaking and her hands were sweaty, but she had to keep going.

There’s nothing to worry about, she told herself, Kou is right, dad is in the city. I’m just going to give him his horse back. He won’t be amused to see that I left the village alone, but he won’t get mad. Dad never gets mad at me.

But she felt a stab of terror seeing the path that Phillip took. She had never left the village, but her father had explained to her many times the way to go to the city. And that was not the way.

Nene took a deep breath and let herself be carried by the animal until he came to a dead stop in front of some huge doors that overlooked the interior of a wall. She got off the horse without stopping shaking, the only thing that calmed her at the moment was the fact that the sun hadn’t set yet.

She approached the doors and noticed that the lock was broken. She tried to push, and the doors opened in front of her making a very creepy noise. The girl turned to see the animal who had brought her there, but he didn’t seem to have any intention to move. She sighed and led him inside the wall throwing the reins. He put up a fight, but not enough for Nene to abandon him to his fate in the woods with the wolves.

Once inside she closed the door and let herself explore the abandoned place. 

Inside there were gardens that should have been beautiful in their days, but the lack of care abounded and the flowers had given away to weeds and dry plants As a lover of vegetation as she was, it hurt to say that, but she wasn’t there for some withered flowers, she was there to find her father.

Behind the gardens, there was a castle. It also looked unkempt, but it didn’t look like it was about to collapse. Was her father inside? Was there someone else with him? There were no more horses in sight, and even if the castle wasn’t falling apart, it didn’t seem like a very welcoming place.

Phillip seemed to have exceeded his limits and refused to take another step, so Nene walked alone towards the door of the building with a slow and fearful step. She prayed quietly, praying to God that her father was safe and that they would allow her to take him away safely.

The castle gates were opened too, and she shivered violently again as she walked through them. She felt that she was being watched, but when she looked around there was no one. 

The room was a drawing room similar to the ones she had read about in her books but dustier and greyer. The windows were open, so the room was still lit by the remaining sunlight.

“Hello?” she asked with the strongest voice she could muster. “Dad? It’s me, Nene. Phillip has brought me here.”

 She waited for an answer that didn’t come, so she steeled herself to climb the stairs that were in the centre of the room. Her footsteps echoed, so she decided to focus on them instead of her frightening thoughts. She walked for a while, going down the long corridors and looking around. The walls were smooth and empty, marked as if paintings had once hung on them. Nene guessed that some thieves in the area had stolen them to sell them.

Nene kept walking until she heard a sound. A cough, followed by a murmur. And she recognized him instantly, her father. Thank God he was there, alive.

This time she put her fear aside and ran following her father's sounds. She found him seated on the ground, hugging her legs, locked in a cell.

“Dad!” Nene yelled, kneeling as close as the bars allowed. 

The man raised his head and his expression changed from surprise to happiness, but then changed again to deep concern.

“Nene!” he caressed his daughter's face, cleaning away the tears that began to fall from her eyes. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“Phillip arrived home very upset, and you weren’t with him,” she took her father’s hands. “You’re cold, dad. Why are you here? Who has locked you up?”

“That doesn’t matter, you must get out of here, now.”

“I’m not going anywhere without you.”

“Nene, listen, he hasn’t seen you yet. Get out of here before he does,” her father squeezed her hands tightly and looked at her pleadingly.

“Who is he? Dad, is the one who locked you here?”

“I think he means me,” an unknown man’s voice came from a few steps behind her.

Nene’s blood ran cold, but she still turned, ready to face whoever had dared to touch her loving father. She wanted to look him in the eye and tell him how disgusting he was and a thousand other things that would give her father a slight cardiac arrest.

But she couldn’t, because she couldn’t see his eyes. Or rather, there was no nothing to be seen. Not only did he wear a black mask that covered his entire face, but he also wore a long cloak to match his clothing, which did not leave an inch of skin exposed. Nene only wore a medium dress and her long stockings, it wasn't cold enough to wear that many clothes.

Despite the surprise, she kept a defiant look at him throughout.

“Please, it’s my daughter, it’s natural that she is looking for me,” he got on his knees but didn’t let her go. “She will leave, go back the way she came, and not say a word. Please, I’ve lived enough, but she still has a long way to go. Have mercy, I beg you.”

The masked man was silent for a while as if he was considering it. Nene took advantage of those moments to analyze him.

He wasn’t very tall, only a little taller than her. And his voice, besides being inexpressive, sounded young. Nene calculated that he must have been her age. And even with the abundant clothing, he did not seem to be very corpulent, rather the opposite. What was a young man doing here and dressed like that? And more importantly, why did the same young man keep her dear father locked up in a cell?

The girl’s gaze hardened and she squeezed her father’s hands tighter. Then, the young man spoke:

“If she leaves now there will be no consequences,” after saying this, he turned around, ready to leave. “But if she shows up around here again, she won’t have the same fate.”

“No.”

Nene’s voice echoed in the room. The word was out of her mouth before she even thought to say it. Her father begged her to calm down and return to the village immediately. But she couldn’t, she was terrified and there was a voice inside her head screaming at her to run, but she couldn’t. She couldn’t.

“I won’t leave my father here,” her voice didn't sound so sure this time, but she hoped it was enough.

Her eyes stayed staring at the black cloak that covered the masked man's head. She found herself face to face with his mask when he turned around, and she could feel in her bones how from inside of it he was watching her carefully. He stayed silent for a few eternal seconds.

“Your father entered my castle without permission, and if that isn’t enough for you, he destroyed a very valuable object. I don’t know how these types of matters will be cleared up where you came from, but under my rules, they are settled with jail time,” he said in a neutral tone. “And now you have entered my castle without permission, and have dared to question me under my roof. I’m being very generous in letting you go, I advise you to do it before I change my mind.”

Nene stayed rooted to the spot, she kept feeling the masked man’s eyes fixed on her and she was tempted to run away. But as she had said, she won’t leave her father there. She couldn’t let him rot in a dungeon, he had always fought for her. She had to get him out of there.

“If it’s because of that item he broke, I’ll pay for it,” tears came to her eyes and she tried in vain to stop them. “I’ll work all my life if it’s necessary, I will search around the whole work for one just like it. But please, let my father go.”

“What he broke has no monetary value, I’m afraid. I insist you should leave right now.”

“He's hurt! He has a problem with his knee, he can barely walk without a cane!” Nene cried uncontrollably.

The masked man didn’t say anything and Nene knew she didn’t have much more time before he got fed up with her. She only had one move left, a very painful one.

“Let me take his place…” more than a request, it sounded like a plea. “You let him go and I stay here. I’ll do whatever it takes, just let him go.”

A few moments of silence followed her word. She was so terrified that surely the masked could hear her heart beating.

“Whatever it takes?” he asked and Nene could only nod because she didn’t feel able to talk.

Her father was screaming behind her, begging her to leave, to forget him and live her life away from there. His screams increased the pain in his daughter’s chest and made more tears fall down her cheeks, but she stood firm in her decision without looking away from the masked, who seemed to ignore the pleas with absolute coldness.

“If you want to stay so badly I won’t stop you, the old man can leave. But you have to keep in your mind that when he regains his freedom, you will be trapped. You won’t be able to leave this place, ever. I will personally take care of that,” he stepped forward.”Are you sure you want to do it?”

“He’s my father,” Nene cried.

The masked simply shrugged and walked over to the poor man who was still kneeling on the ground. He grabbed his arm and pulled him close. When it seemed that he was going to say something, the masked put two fingers on his forehead and murmured something unrecognizable. When he stopped talking, Nene’s father collapsed unconscious on the ground.

“What… What have you done to him? You said you would let him go…”

“Don't worry about him now,” he turned to face her. “He’ll wake up in a bit, and by then, he’ll be home. You, on the other hand…” he put two fingers on her forehead. “Your body will be useful to me.”

Before he had time to process everything that was happening, the masked man began to murmur.

And everything went black.

Chapter Text

Nene regained consciousness lying on a mattress that, for a moment, she thought was hers. She thought she was in her bed in the village, waiting for the rooster’s crowing to announce the start of the routine one more day. But when she opened her eyes she was face to face with reality.

She wasn’t in her small but cozy room. She was in a big elegant room that was too empty for its size. All the hope that the previous day had been a terrible nightmare vanished, leaving her to fend for herself inside those walls.

 She burst into tears. She had dreams, and although the chances of her fulfilling them were slim, she always kept a spark of hope. But now that spark was gone, and Nene couldn’t handle it. Her life in the village may not have been a fairy tale, but she had her father, Kou, and the farm animals —before their time to be eaten— and now she was alone.

Or so she believed.

“Are you alright, miss?” a sweet voice interrupted her cries.

She looked everywhere searching for the person from whom those words came, but there was none else in the room.

“I’m down here.”

Nene peeked over the edge of the unnecessarily high bed and was petrified by what she saw.

There was a wooden doll looking at her from the ground. She was in front of a cart, carrying a kettle, a cup, and what appeared to be some biscuits. She thought she was still dreaming when the doll spoke again.

"I thought you might be hungry, breakfast is the most important meal of the day." Her face seemed drawn with paint, but even so, her mouth and eyes moved as if by magic.

Nene stayed a few moments more in silence until she reacted. She gasped and crawled backward on the bed trying to get away from the creature, so much so that she ended up falling on the floor.

The girl was trying to get up when a wooden hand appeared in front of her. She looked up to see the doll offering to help her with a sympathetic smile. She accepted the hand still in shock and got up in a daze. Later she apologized for reacting that way.

“Don’t worry, I think it’s a very natural reaction” the doll went back to her cart without stopping smiling, this time in a cheerful way. “I just hope that, regardless of this incident, we can still be friends. My name is Aoi. Nice to meet you.”

Nene inspected her with her eyes Her voice was very calm, her purple was up, and she had a sweet face even when painted. She was so pretty that you could stare at her for hours without getting tired.

Then the doll—Aoi—turned and offered her a biscuit. Nene didn’t understand what was happening. Her head was racing at a thousand miles per hour thinking about what would be the best way to act. A part of her still believed that she was still dreaming. After a few moments of silence, she decided that she’d act like everything was normal until she had more information.

“My name is Nene,” she finally managed to say with a slightly trembling voice. “I’m also glad to meet you.”

Aoi offered to accompany her while she had breakfast, and Nene accepted. She believed that this way, she could get something out of her and answer some of the endless questions she had.

You have to focus, Nene. If you let your guard down, you could end up like her. Or worse.

But Aoi was lovely, and Nene immediately forgot that she wasn't flesh and bones. And another thing that influenced them was that she never had anyone to talk to apart from Kou in her village. And Aoi seemed interested in what she had to say, and this shocked Nene so much that she ended up unburdening herself with her by telling her whole life. She talked about her childhood on the farm, through the early loss of her mother to an unknown illness. About when she begged her father to teach her to read the stories that she loved. And by the time she met Kou crashing into him making him fall down some stairs. Until reaching the present where she was a complete social reject.

“And for those reasons, men don’t even look at me,” she was looking at the ceiling lying on the bed as she spoke. “How I wish I looked like the other girls. If I didn’t have these radish legs maybe people wouldn't care that much that I was weird. Maybe even Teru noticed me.”

“Don’t say those things. You’re so pretty, Nene. I’m sure there is someone for you somewhere.”

Aoi’s voice brought her back to reality. She was silent for a few seconds, reflecting, and after that, she gave herself a mental slap. She had lowered her guard.

“Well. Now I’ll never know.” she managed to say.

“Why not?”

“What do you mean?” an idea crossed her mind and her face lighted. “Are there more people here?”

Aoi was smiling at her, with her—wooden—hand resting on her—also wooden—cheek.

“Well… Most people in this place are like me, made of wood, but…”

“But what?” Nene’s voice sounded desperate. She was desperate.

Aoi smiled even more and jumped off the bed. She grabbed the cart on which the empty kettle, cup, and biscuit plate were, and headed for the door.

“Perhaps you would like a tour of the castle. At this hour of the afternoon, the sky is beautiful. You could go out and see it from the gardens. But please, don’t try to run away. For your good.”

And then she left, leaving a confused Nene alone again. She wasn’t sure if that last part was a warning or a threat. Maybe a bit of both.

She wondered what she should do. According to Aoi, it was in the afternoon, so she must have slept almost for a day. If she were at home, she would be having tea with Kou, collecting the eggs from the chickens, or cleaning the pigs (the latter didn't excite her too much). She felt a pang in his chest as she remembered that she had left her father alone to do all the work, trusting her friend to help until he could hire someone. Now that he didn't have to feed her, he could afford it. 

When she felt tears threatening to come out, she got up from the bed. She needed to do something. So, following Aoi’s advice, she went out for a walk.

She passed through the remarkably empty stone corridors. She met other little wooden people, but when she got close, they ran away before she could say anything. Nene was stunned but continued on her way. And while she did, she prayed. She prayed not to meet the masked man. She didn't think she could face him at that moment. She didn't know what that person could do to her. Assuming he was a person at all. 

Luckily, before she knew it, she had reached the gardens. Although calling them that seemed almost an insult to gardening. There were only weeds, dirt, dry leaves, and a few wildflowers. It was depressing to look at them.

Nene sighed and looked up at the sky. Aoi wasn't lying. It was beautiful. It was already getting dark, but a few rays of sunlight were still illuminating with orange light. But it wouldn't last long.

She began to imagine, as she always did. She imagined gardens were colorful, full of flowers, fountains, birds, and butterflies. She imagined the castle to be a palace of polished stone with gilt details. She imagined herself as a beautiful princess in a beautiful dress, who shouldn't worry about anything, because she would marry a handsome prince who would love her. And although many people would have mocked her for being a childish dreamer, she felt better.

She continued with her fantasy until she saw the two large doors in the middle of the wall. The same ones she had crossed the day before. They weren’t closed because the lock was broken. She approached them.

When she was close enough to touch them, she turned her head to check that no one was seeing her. She wasn't going to stay there. She would run home and take her father far away into the city, where they would not be founded. The first years would be hard, but they would come out ahead. They would be together.

She pulled open the big gate, leaving enough space for her to pass through, and after checking again that no one was seeing her, she ran into the woods.

Nene ran as fast as her legs would carry her. Her legs would be fat and misshapen, but they also were fast and strong.

They had to be good for something, she thought as she ran through the woods.

But something was wrong. Since she left the castle, Nene felt an annoying beeping in her head. At first, she thought it was panic and adrenaline, but every step she took was stronger. So much so that her head was beginning to ache terribly, and her legs were trembling. But she couldn't stop. She had to go home.

The sun had already completely hidden when Nene fell to the ground. She covered her ears with her hands trying to calm the sharp sound, but it didn't help. It was inside her head. Her whole body was shaking and she could barely move. Her breath began to fail. 

And then she felt something move near her. Panic washed over her and she began to shake harder. Wolves.

She had to get something to defend herself with. But when she tried to get up, she felt a terrible pain in her head that made her fall again. She could feel the wolves getting closer and closer. She was lost.

Nene couldn't help but cry when a wolf lunged at her. She closed her eyes and prayed that it would all be over soon.

Nene waited for her end, but it didn’t come. She opened her eyes and saw the wolf right in front of her. Well, the corpse of the wolf. It had been stabbed and blood wouldn’t stop coming out. She wanted to scream, run, or do something. But the beeping was still loud and constant in her head, and she felt as if her limbs were too heavy to move.

The most she could do was look up at the terrible scene. A few feet away from her were five wolves lying on the ground in slowly increasing pools of blood. They were all dead. Well, not all of them. One was still alive, struggling against a black silhouette. 

Her vision began to blur. She didn't know if because of the tears or because of the infernal beeping in his head. Her eyes closed, and she felt so tired. And after seeing how the silhouette buried what she thought was a knife in the animal's head, she fainted.

When Nene opened her eyes, she found herself in an unfamiliar room and wondered if this situation was gonna be usual from now on. She was lying on a small bed covered with some old sheets. Her head was still spinning, and her vision was not quite focused, but she no longer heard that infernal beep and could breathe normally. 

But what the hell had happened to her?

"Didn't they warn you not to run away?"

That voice. Nene recognized her instantly. The masked.

Her heart skipped a beat, but she still turned to look at him. And there he was, sitting in a window, without a mask. But she could hardly see him since the only light that illuminated the room was that of the moon, which entered through that same window. He wore the same black clothes as the day before but had taken off his cloak. As little as could be seen, she had been right. He was young, maybe even younger than her. 

She stayed silent and began to tremble in panic. A voice in her head screamed at her to run, to get away from him, but she couldn't move. 

"You sneak into other people's castles, you volunteer for a life of restraint, you run off into the woods alone... Are you suicidal?"

She blinked. Was that a joke? Or was he just making fun of her?

Seeing that Nene didn't answer, the young man got up, and she jumped back a little and hit the wall. Would he be angry with her? She had tried to escape. But what would he do to her? Yell at her? Hit her? Lock her in a cell? She clung to the sheets as if her life depended on them and expected the worst.

But the young man simply snapped his fingers and the candles that hung from the ceiling and the walls lit up, lighting it up completely. And before she could process what he had done, he was at her side. She stood still for a few long seconds, then carefully looked up into his face.

The first thing she noticed was his eyes, big and the color of freshly harvested honey. Then his hair, which was reminiscent of dark wood and some strands fell in front of him. His features were very soft as if he was still halfway between adolescence and adulthood. Nene concluded that he was the kind of guy who wouldn't look twice if she ran into him in the market. 

But what disconcerted her the most was his expression. There was no anger in it, which clashed with the fact that she had fled. Instead, he seemed amused. A soft giggle escaped his lips, one he seemed to have no interest in hiding. 

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," he told her, still chuckling, and Nene was convinced that it had been exactly his intention.

Seeing that she still didn't speak, he sighed and raised his hands above his head.

"I'm not going to hurt you. I'm sorry for my disastrous manners, but I'm not used to having visitors. Let's start again,” he put a hand on his chest. “Nice to meet you. You can call me Hanako.”

Nene didn’t fully understand the whole situation. Her head was so busy spinning around and around plotting theories and arguing with herself. She couldn't do anything but look at him strangely.

"Now it's supposed to be your turn to introduce yourself." The boy—Hanako—smiled even more as if he had expected that exact reaction from her.

Nene, who was still clinging to the sheets, relaxed a bit. It didn't look like he was going to hurt her, but it wasn't like she felt safe with the person who had locked up her father. Though right now she didn't seem to have much choice.

"I'm Yashiro Nene," she said, her voice sounding calmer than she felt. And she was proud of herself.

But that feeling was short-lived. When she looked down and found herself dressed in a nightgown, which she hadn't been wearing when she left the castle, a lump formed in her throat.

"M-my, m-my dress…" 

“Oh, it was dirty and I thought maybe you'd rest better in clean clothes.”

"I appreciate it, but…" she felt how she began to blush. “W-who changed me?”

“Me” Nene gasped and covered herself with the sheets again. “Okay, I think I should explain…" Hanako started to speak, but Nene threw a pillow in his face before she started yelling at him hysterically.

“How dare you!? Damn pervert, if you did something I swear...!”

Your body will be useful to me.

That was what he told her right after she agreed to stay there. She turned even redder if that was possible. Was that what he was referring to? She was about to throw a chandelier off the bedside table at him but Hanako was quicker and grabbed her arm and covered her mouth with his hand before she started screaming again.

"Yashiro please calm down," he told her, but she just started shaking again and he sighed. “You're going to drop that throwing weapon, and I'm going to stop grabbing you, okay?”

Nene felt the panic subside within her and managed to nod gently. She loosened the grip on her hand until the chandelier fell onto the bed and bounced to the floor.  

“Very well.”

Hanako released her very carefully as if he make a wrong step she would run away or attack again, which would happen. But it was not the case, he slowly moved away staring at her. 

But the only thing that crossed her mind was that his hands were cold. Too cold.

"I have changed your clothes. But not in a conventional way,” he looked around as if searching for something and picked up his cloak which was lying in a corner. He put it on, and after looking at her and winking, took it off again. Nene was shocked when she saw that the black suit had given way to a white T-shirt and brown pants. “You see it? It's just magic, no strange intentions.”

"B-but…" she remembered how he had plugged in the lights only moments ago. Of course. Magic. It made sense, right? “A-and about what y-you said yesterday?”

Hanako frowned. After a few seconds, his eyes widened.

"Oh, that…" he put a hand on the back of his neck and looked at the ground. “I should have chosen my words better. I haven't talked to a girl in a long time. I was talking about work. During the time you are here, you will not expect to spend your days lying in bed.”

“Oh. Work…”

Nene noticed her face grow redder again. She had never felt so embarrassed.

"The first thing you thought was that I...?"

"And what kind of work?" she interrupted, trying to divert the conversation.

Hanako smiled mischievously, and she knew he would bring it up again sooner or later. But luckily for her, he let it slide for now.

"As you may have noticed, the castle has seen better days, and you will be in charge of it from now on.”

"What do you mean?"

“You know, make it look a little less ruined. In this place, apart from you and me, there are only wooden dolls and there are things that cost them. Like cleaning, they rot with water. And it costs a lot to heal them.”

Nene thinks about Aoi. Apart from being made of wood, it is also tiny, barely past her knee. That would make things even more difficult. 

"Okay, I'll do what I can." 

"Great," he said with a smile, but then, he turned serious. “You seem to be exhausted. I'd like to let you rest and tell you this when you've calmed down and, maybe, you've explored the place a bit. But I think I'd better tell you now. For your safety.”

Nene felt a chill.

“What are you talking about?”

"Come with me," he said, heading for the door. “I'm going to tell you why you can't get out of here.”

Chapter Text

“Please, Mr Yashiro, calm down,” Kou said for the third time on the way as he tried to drag him back to his house.

Kou could barely sleep that night. He had spent the time turning in the bed, worried about Nene. How could he let her go into the woods alone? It was dangerous. She could hurt herself, or worse, someone could hurt her. He should have stopped her, should have at least gone with her, but he had been rooted to the ground watching her go through the woods. He couldn’t help but wonder what his brother would have done in his place. Teru would have talked to Nene and convinced her to stay in the village while he went to look for her father. Instead, he had acted like a coward.

He wanted to go to his friend’s house first thing in the morning, but his father had sent him to run urgent errands from the town hall. By the time he finished, the sun was giving its last hours of light. But when he finally was on his way to Nene's house he found a scene in the middle of the main square. Nene’s father was yelling hysterically at everyone. He was yelling something about a hunted castle in the middle of the woods governed by a masked man. And he had Nene. Kou shuddered.

Luckily his brother, Teru, quickly took care of the situation. He pulled the man out of the crowd and assured him his daughter would be found. After, he instructed his younger brother to take him back home to rest and ordered him to see him at the town hall afterwards.

“I will bring her back home,” Kou said to the man. “I promise.”

They finally arrived at the house, and after repeating his promise to the man, Kou went to the town hall to meet his brother. 

On the way, it was hard not to notice that the whole town had heard about the incident. They all commented openly on their opinions in a not very polite way. There was also talk of Nene, they had formed some theories about her possible whereabouts, and obviously, they didn’t think about a hunted castle.

Kou had known Nene’s father for many years, and although the townspeople claimed that he had lost his mind after his wife died, he had always seemed like a very nice person to him. But, ¿a haunted castle? ¿A masked man? On their way, back home he also said something about some living dolls. Maybe the people were right.

As soon as he thought about it, he shook his head. He couldn’t think like that about his best friend’s father. Something happened to Nene, something bad. Maybe that was the way he had to deal with it. And even if he wasn’t sure what could have happened, he would bring her back. Whatever it takes.

Teru waited for him in his father's office, the mayor was out of town, arranging for his eldest son to take his place as soon as possible. He was sitting in the mayor’s chair, reading some papers with a serious face. The sitting opposite was Akane, who would become second in command as soon as Teru was in charge of the village. Kou didn’t understand why his brother have chosen him, he was incredibly smart, but he was always arguing or contradicting him. Maybe that’s why he chose him.

When Teru noticed her presence, he smiled calmly at her and asked Akane to let them talk alone. He disappeared through the door without looking at Kou’s face. He wasn’t a bad guy but sometimes seemed like he was empty inside, like something was missing. The only times he seemed complete was when he and Teru had one of their many arguments or bets.

“Sit down, please,” his brother said pointing to the chair which was now free.

Kou stiffened but obeyed. He knew that Teru had two sides, he was a very attentive person, for him, the well-being of his family and his people came first. As a consequence, he took his work very seriously and was relentless in executing it. At that moment, Kou knew that he wasn’t talking with his brother, he was talking with the future mayor

Teru pushed the papers away and looked at him seriously. Something went wrong. Kou swallowed hard.

“What I am going to tell you right now is a secret that our family, the Minamoto, have been protecting for decades,” he paused as if looking for some excuse to stop talking, but finally sighed and continued. “To be honest, I didn't want you to know this. At least not yet. But I know that if I didn't tell you this you would do something on your own. It's better this way. And Nene is your friend, it didn't seem right to leave you aside.”

“What are you saying? And what does this have to do with Nene?” Kou felt confusion and worry wash over him.

“This place used to be a kingdom, and not a normal one. It seems that the royal family had many contacts in the field of sorcery, there were rumours that the royal family itself was instructed to control magic.” Teru said avoiding Kou’s questions.

Kou was puzzled. He expected that at any moment his brother would burst out laughing. But he kept looking at him seriously and Kou began to get exasperated. Nene was lost out there alone and they had sat him down to listen to fairy tales. He was about to say something when his brother spoke again.

“I know is hard to believe, I didn’t do it when dad told me. But I swear you that is true,” he took the papers he was reading before. “A little more than half a century ago from what I've told you, but the castle is still hidden in the forest. But not as well as we thought," he frowned. 

“You can not be serious. I don’t know if this used to be a kingdom, but, ¿sorcery? ¿Magic? ¿Are you kidding me?”

“There was an… incident,” Teru continued. “After that, the castle and everyone who lived there were cursed. The village people were so shocked that they decided to pretend that the kingdom never existed, to educate their children as if it had always been a town ruled by a small government,” he gave the papers to Kou. “But our relative at the time didn't feel safe living next to such a place, so he decided to go to the castle on his own to make sure the town was safe. He made a deal with that "masked man", as Mr Yashiro has called him, in which the town and the castle would be completely separated. Neither they would bother us, nor we would bother them. The only contact we would have would be from time to time, someone would have to go check that the deal is still standing. And when you return, you must carefully record everything you see inside the castle. The papers I have given you are the previous records of the former mayors of the town.”

Kou looked at the papers with wide eyes. Some of them were old and the caligraphy changed while he passed the pages. At the beginning of each one there was a date and at the end the sign of the previous mayors, he recognized everyone. Kou was confused, the papers were authentic but their content just didn’t make sense. Candles that were lit and extinguished by themselves. Objects that appeared and disappeared. "Dolls" that ran away if you approached them. Voices whispering in your ear.

“All of this… It can’t be true.” 

“I know that…”

“I want to help,” Kou interrupted. “I don’t understand this completely, I’m not even sure if I believe it. But Nene is in danger. And she needs help. She needs me.”

Teru looked at his brother for a few moments, then he closed his eyes and sighed.

“I knew you would want to. And I had planned something for you.”

“I’ll do it!” Kou almost jumped out of the chair saying it.

“Before, you need to listen,” Teru took again the papers from his brother. “You need to know what are you facing.”

Hanako guided Yashiro through the many corridors and stairs. She followed a couple of steps back from him noticeably nervous and a little terrified. He wanted to say something to cheer her up, but nothing came to his mind. So he just kept walking in silence. From time to time he turned to look at her and tried to reassure her with a smile.

He mentally reviewed what he had to say and how to do it. It wasn’t going to be easy and he didn’t know how she would react. But he had to do it.

It wasn't like he wanted her to be there either. He had given her the option to leave, just like he would have given it to the old man if he could. She had wanted to take his place, she was there by her own choice. A stupid and impulsive choice in his opinion. But when he saw the poor girl frightened and trembling, he couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt that made him feel responsible for her.

They didn't come across any dolls on their way. He was not surprised.

Nene was startled when Hanako stops in his tracks. He was in front of a door, he started to open it but hesitated.

“Yashiro, first of all, I need you to promise something,” he said in a neutral tone, very different from the one he had used before in the room.

The girl shivered again, but she managed to nod.

“First, you have to promise that no matter what happens, you will never go to the basement,” his gaze hardened. “Under any concept.”

"W-why?"

"Just promise."

Nene was confused, but she didn't think insisting was a good idea. So she promised.

Hanako's gaze softened again, but he was still serious. “And now, when I open this door, you cannot enter the room. Whatever you see, whatever you hear, you can't move from here. Do you understand?"

She accepted and he opened the door. Nene peered into the room with wariness and fear for what might be inside. But what she saw seemed to be a normal storage room. There were vases, furniture, old toys, mirrors, etc. Everything was quite dusty. She didn’t understand why Hanako had…

An urn crossed her field of vision. A beautiful one, so much so that Nene felt like she would pass out. Elegant and bright even when there was hardly any light. She felt a tug deep inside her. She wanted to touch it. She needed to touch it. 

But suddenly the urn disappeared from his sight giving way to a door. Her other senses started working again, though she hadn't noticed that they had stopped. She felt a hand pull her arm away from the door.

“I’ll ask you again, are you suicidal?”

“What was that?” speaking, Nene realised that she had stopped breathing.

Hanako helped her sit on the floor while she tried to get her breathing back.

"Cursed items," he explained sitting down next to her.

"And what does that have to do with me?"

He looked at the ground, as if trying to find the right words, or so it seemed to her. “When your father entered the castle, he broke a chest in that room and get cursed.”

“¿W-what, what type of c-curse?”

“Did you feel anything strange when you were in the forest?”

She did. 

“A-and, if I have t-taken my father’s place…” she stopped there. 

She looked at Hanako with tearing eyes, waiting for him to say something. Say that everything was a lie, a bad joke. That what he had done in the room had been a trick, that magic did not exist. That the living dolls either didn’t, that they had been only a dream. That what she felt in the forest was only because of the panic. That he was just a boy who, who knows why had a castle and didn't like people coming onto his property. But he only whispered without taking his eyes off the ground:

“I’m sorry…”

Nene’s world collapsed. She felt tears streaming down her cheeks, but did nothing to stop them. What for? Seeing her cry, Hanako started to move, as if he wanted to say something. But she didn't care. At that moment, she just wanted to cry.

They stayed like that for a while longer until he broke the silence.

“I will walk you to your room.”

When they arrived, Nene closed the door, threw herself on the bed and burst into tears.

Chapter Text

Nene's guts rumbled loudly. The only thing she had eaten in two days was some sad biscuits. She felt like she was going to faint.

Aoi had appeared at her door that morning, but she was in no condition and told her as kindly as possible that she needed to be alone. She still hadn't processed everything that happened and couldn’t act as if talking to a living doll was normal, but she didn’t tell her that. Aoi seemed to understand, although she told her that she would come back later. Nene was not enthusiastic about the idea, but when her new friend came back and offered to take her to the dining room she could not refuse.

And there she was, in that large room, with the only company of her stomach rumbling. Aoi excused herself saying that she needed no prepare something for later.

She waited sitting at the end of the huge table looking out the window. The sun shone brightly, it was a beautiful day. But she couldn’t see or hear any bird. If you looked closely, you could distinguish silhouettes of birds in the distance in the forest. They didn’t get close to the castle, no animal did it, it was like they could feel like something happened with that place. Nene tried not to think that she would never see an animal again.

She heard the sound of the door behind her and she turned. A doll, one she had never seen before, was carrying a plate of food.

“Sorry for making you wait, madam,” she said while she left the plate on the table. “Would you mind if I sit with you?”

“No. O-of course not,” Nene hastened to say. The idea of being alone with her thoughts made her want to throw up.

The doll smiled slightly at her and sat down beside her with her legs crossed and her hands resting on them. She had such an elegant air that Nene was very conscious of her looks. She was still in her nightgown, her eyes were red and swollen from crying and her hair was very tangled and it urgently needed a shower. She felt dirty, and she was. She tried to keep her composure as eating, but she was so hungry that only managed it halfway.

“I guess you would have so many questions.”

“Ah?” the doll’s voice snapped Nene out of her frenzy of devouring food.

The doll smiled slightly again. “Your name is Nene, right?” the girl nodded. “I’m Sakura.”

“Nice to meet you.” she smiled.

“Are you enjoying your stay at the castle?” 

“Eh…” Nene doubt.

“It must be all very confusing. I understand, even before the curse this was not a commonplace.”

“Curse?”

Sakura opened her eyes widely. “I see, Your Highness hasn't told you anything yet. Well, in that case, it's best if I don't say anything." Sakura started to get up.

“Wait!” Nene jumped out of her chair. “Your Highness? I-I don’t understand. Please, explain it to me. I’m trapped here and I’m afraid. I don’t know what's going to happen to me and I don't know why this whole place is so... weird. I beg you, tell me what's going on.” 

Sakura stared at her for a few seconds. She didn't seem very convinced, but she sighed and sat back down. "Fine. I'll tell you as much as I can."

Nene was stunned to hear the story of the ancient sorcerer-loving kingdom.

“A-and, Hanako is…”

“...the heir of the throne,” Sakura finished for her.

“B-but…What happened? How come this site ended up like this?”

“Something happened. I'm sorry I can't tell you more about that, but it's none of my business to tell. Anyway, most sorcerers are very… they take the law into their own hands, you could say. One of those who was present in the castle when it happened decided that the right thing to do was for all the guilty to receive a punishment. And so it was, this castle and all of us who lived in it were cursed.”

“Are you all guilty?”

“Guilt is relative, miss. Sometimes not stopping something makes you as guilty as doing it.”

“But, Hanako… Why he stayed as a…?”

“...human? His punishment was different. While the rest of the castle turned into dolls, Your Highness kept his body, but cannot expose it to the sun. If he does he will disintegrate.”

“Is he a vampire?!” Nene exclaimed louder than she meant to.

Sakura blinked a little in surprise. “N-no. It’s not like that. It just can't give it sun. That is why he never goes out during the day, and when he has to, he has to cover himself completely,” she said getting up. "It was nice to meet you, I hope you have a good day."

Nene said goodbye to her, but just before she left, Sakura spoke again.

"I suppose you already know. But for your good, I advise you not to go to the basement," she closed the door and left.

“I love your hair, Nene. Is so smooth and shiny,” Aoi said as she combed her hair.

“You think?”

They were in Nene’s room. Aoi had appeared shortly after Sakura left and dragged her through the halls not giving her time to ask where they were going. She was very grateful to see a bathtub with hot water. Her friend told her to relax and enjoy the bath while she found some nice clothes. Nene was about to tell her not to bother but she saw her so excited that she couldn't. When the girl came out of the bathroom she had at least fifteen options of dresses to choose from. Betraying her romantic spirit, she chose a simple but comfortable one. 

“Of course! I've combed maidens for as long as I can remember, trust experience,” she gave her a mirror. “Ready! What do you think?”

Nene didn’t recognize her reflection. Aoi had done a fantastic job with her hair, pulling it up into pretty braids and decorating it with some bobby pins. The bath had left her skin white and soft and her eyes stood out thanks to the red colour of her dress.

“It’s beautiful,” she said sincerely. “Thank you.”

Aoi smiled widely. 

Suddenly Nene wanted to cry. She had always felt bad seeing the other girls from the town going to the market together, going to each other's houses, laughing, sharing dreams... They never invited her, and that was a hard blow for her.

She looked at Aoi, who was trying to put the brush and mirror in a drawer too high for her and felt very grateful. After everything he'd been through, he had her. She called her friend, listened to her and always had a smile.

“By the way, Nene,” Aoi turned to look at her. “Did you mention that you liked books?”

Knocks on the doors.

He ignored them.

More knocks.

He'll get tired , he thought.

As if reading his thoughts, a voice spoke: “I'm not leaving until you open, so don't make me break the door down because you know I will."

Hanako grunted reluctantly, but still went to open it. He was tired of fixing the door.

“Was it so difficult?" Tsuchigomori entered the room without asking permission.

"Opening the door is the easy part," Hanako flopped down on the bed reluctantly.

"I haven't said anything yet."

"Well, do it now, let it be over soon," he felt a book hit his head. "Hey!"

"Respect your elders."

"You were nicer before."

"And you less scoundrel"

Hanako snorted and straightened up. "Okay, sorry . Now can you please give me a quick scolding? I'm a busy man."

"Whatever you say," he sat down in a chair next to the bed. "To which I came, we have to talk about our dear guest. First of all, we must emphasize that you are incredibly bad at hosting."

“Oh, fuck you!” he lay down again.

“How dare you lock that man in a cell?"

"I don't know! I got nervous, okay?”

"And that's the first thing that comes to mind?"

“Shut up.”

"Putting that aside," Tsuchigomori turned serious. "What are you going to do?"

Hanako knew what he meant, and it was a good question. "I'm on it."

"For now I would recommend you spend some time with her, make her comfortable . Not uncomfortable please, don't be confused," the young man stuck his tongue out at him. "Now she is in the library, maybe you should go."

“I don't want to, but thanks for the idea."

"I'll tell you another way. You must go to the library."

"She won't want to see me."

"Then make her change her mind," he pointed to the door.

Hanako muttered every insult he could think of as he walked out the door.

"I can hear you."

"I know!"

Nene had found the book she was looking for. The problem? It was on the highest ledge. But that wouldn't stop her. She hooked onto the shelf and began to climb. It seemed like a lot of trouble, but it was the book that had half left in the town, and if she didn't find out what happened to the protagonist at the end she would go crazy.

When she was about to reach it, she slipped and came loose from the shelf. She closed her eyes expecting to hit the ground but instead felt someone grab her before she fell. Nene held on tight due to fright and when her heart calmed down a bit she opened her eyes to came face to face with Hanako, who was smiling.

"I don't like to repeat myself, but seriously, are you trying to die?”

Then Nene reacted. He was close. Very close. And she could feel his arms around her entire body. It was the closest she had ever been to a boy. Or anyone. Her face became red.

"Eh... T-thanks," she looked down at the floor.

He got the message and carefully set her down, still smiling.

"What were you trying to do?"

"Get the book from up there."

"Need help?"

"Will you make the book float down with magic?"

"I was going to offer you a ladder," he pointed one across the hall.

Nene felt herself blush again. How had she not seen it?

Hanako put the book down for her and she thanked him.

"And... Thank you for keeping me from falling to the ground," he ducked his head. "And... for saving me from the wolves yesterday. You're a good guy."

For a split second, Nene thought she saw him blush, but he recovered so quickly that she could have imagined it. It looked like he was going to say something, but she wasn't finished. She had spent the whole afternoon thinking about what she was going to tell him when she found him, and if didn't tell him now she didn't know if she would ever find the courage to do it again. "We could be friends. Since I'm going to have to stay here… We could keep each other company," she took a deep breath. "I'm not going to lie, this whole situation continues to overwhelm me. Although if I didn't I guess I'd be crazy, right? My point is that I think everything would be easier if I knew you... And if you knew me. You know, being friends. If that's okay with you..." She said it all so fast she doubted he understood her.

Hanako was staring at her with a surprised expression. This time she did nothing to avoid the slight blush on his cheeks, which made Nene blush a little too. It made her want to look away.

"Friends?" he asked as if he hadn't quite understood.

"Yes," she replied immediately. "Friends."

They stayed for a few seconds, although Nene felt like hours. But then he smiled, and she didn't know why but this time it seemed such a sincere smile that she smiled out of inertia. Even though they hadn't said anything, she felt that something had changed between them, as if that tension in the air had dissolved.

After that, they walked in the gardens under the night sky. He teased her about how cliche the romance stories she read were, but he still kept asking her about them. She was delighted to comment on her books, and she didn't take his comments seriously, it was impossible to do so when he said them in such a childish way.

It was a nice time, and even though the prince walking beside her wasn't even remotely like the ones in her novels, she couldn't say he was unpleasant at all. Perhaps her stay in the castle would not be the hell she had thought. And she came up with a way to make it even better.

Sakura went downstairs very carefully, hoping he wouldn't hear her. He wanted to delay it as long as he could. Even though she knew it was useless, he always heard her.

The basement was dark and damp, she hated it. The humidity made his arms and legs rot. But still, there she was, as always, even if she didn't want to.

"Well. What can you say about our new guest, sakura?"

Sakura closed her eyes, sighed and turned around. And unfortunately there he was.

Chapter Text

There’s nothing better than a bath after a long work day. Nene lay down on the bed exhausted, still wrapped in the towel. Aoi, as helpful as ever, had prepared clothes for her for the night, but she didn't feel like moving.

The last few days had been spent pulling up weeds and digging up dirt. She had set herself a mission, Hanako had asked her to help make the castle look better, so she was going to turn it into a place worthy of a fairy tale. And of course, she wanted to start with the garden. She thought it impossible at first since it was too big, but a bunch of dolls offered to help her. Apparently, they were all incredibly bored. Even with all the extra hands at work, there were decades of wild plants to uproot and acres of land to prepare for planting. But they had finally made it ready. She felt very proud.

During the days she worked, but during the nights she didn't rest either. She hung out with Hanako, with whom their strange friendship was progressing apace. He was a weird guy, but he had his grace. He made her laugh and get distracted, which she appreciated more than she could express.

Nene got up with difficulty. She had to get dressed. He would arrive any minute and he had gotten into the bad habit of not knocking on the door. She had better be wearing something other than a short towel when he stormed into the room like a hurricane.

As if summoned, a few seconds after she put on the dress the door was flung open.

Hanako crossed the room and sat on the bed right in front of her. "Good night Yashiro!" He yelled as he did every day, grinning from ear to ear.

Nene rolled her eyes. “How many times have I told you not to come in without knocking? You can't walk into a girl's room like that. Did nobody teach you manners?”

"But it's more fun this way," he argued in his usual mischievous tone, tilting his head.

"I could have been dressing up!"

"What I said, that would be fun."

Nene gasped and turned red. She grabbed a comb from the headdress to throw it at him but he held up his hands. "Just kidding, just kidding! I'll try to knock on the door, it's just that I forgot. It's not on purpose," he said, unable to contain his laughter.

"You better learn how to behave properly around a lady," she turned her back on him and sat down in front of the mirror to straighten her hair a bit.

She saw him move through the mirror but was still startled when he put his hands on her shoulders. She hadn't gotten used to his low temperature, would he be so cold for not having had the sun in so many years? She didn't know and it seemed impolite to ask. Hanako spun her around on her stool so she was facing him again.

"My apologies, my lady," he said and bowed. "From now on I will treat you as you deserve. I give you my word," he took her hand carefully and planted a soft kiss on it. Nene stared at him without understanding, and before she could he raised his head with a mischievous smile on his face. "Do you prefer it that way?"

The blush flooded Nene's face, she withdrew her hand immediately. "W-what...? W-why...?"

"You said you wanted manners."

"B-but... I didn't think you had them!"

He put a hand to his heart dramatically. "You offend me! I'm a member of royalty, I can be the most charming person on this planet."

"No one would tell."

"That hurts!"

"You will survive."

"Why are you so cruel to-" he started, but suddenly there were screams from downstairs. They were too far away to make out what they were saying, but it didn't sound friendly.

"What's that?" Nene asked getting up and approaching Hanako.

"I don’t know."

A doll ran in with his cloak in her hands.

"Your Highness, there is an intruder in the castle," explained in alarm.

Hanako grabbed the cloak and covered himself with it. In the blink of an eye, his normal clothes had been replaced by his black suit and his face was covered by the mask that had caused Nene so much terror on her first day in the castle. But now, seeing him like this, she felt no fear.

"Yashiro, stay here. I'll go see what's up," he said walking towards the door.

"Won't it be dangerous?" the question was out of her mouth before she had a chance to think about it.

Then he stopped and turned to her. "Are you worried about me?"

Nene swallowed hard. "O-of course," he said in a small voice. "You're my friend."

Hanako stood still for a few seconds. He lifted his mask a little and smiled at her. "I'll be right back."

He put his mask back on and left the room.

Nene was spinning around the room. There was silence again, but she didn't know if that was a good or bad sign. She heard footsteps of dolls running up the hall, away from where the screams came from, which increased his nerves.

After a while of feeling helpless, she peeked through the door. The dolls were gone. She thought about going downstairs to see what was going on, but Hanako had told her to stay there. She should do as she has been told, but what if he was in danger? No, he had told her he would be back soon. She had to trust him. But he had saved her in the forest, how could she sit there while someone might be attacking him?

She debated inwardly what she should do, but before she could decide a terrible crash sounded downstairs. Nene stopped thinking and started running towards the stairs. She didn't know she might find himself, but she wouldn't sit idly by. That blow was followed by other softer ones and voices that she couldn't make out. Nene quickened her pace and followed the noises.

When she got closer she recognized Hanako's voice and was relieved, but when she heard the other voice she almost fell to the ground. She thought she was imagining things until heard it again and there was no doubt. But how had Kou gotten there? She couldn't understand what they were saying until she saw them in the main room. Kou was trying to hit Hanako —who had taken off his mask— with a stick, but he stopped him with a knife.

“Where is she?!” Kou demanded to know.

"I told you she's fine!" Hanako seemed to be trying to sound cool, but he was clearly losing patience.

"I don't believe you! I swear that if you've done something to him I'm going to..."

"Kou!" Nene yelled and they both turned to her.

Seeing her, Kou's anger turned into deep relief. "Nene! Thank god you're..."

He couldn't finish the sentence because Hanako took the opportunity to disarm him, throw him to the ground and immobilize him. "A piece of advice, kid, don't let anything distract you in a fight," he whispered in his ear, regaining his teasing tone.

"Damn bastard! Let go of me!" Kou protested squirming.

" Nope ," Hanako replied with a sweet smile.

"Kou, what are you doing here?" Nene knelt beside them.

"I've come to take you home."

"Yeah, and how do you plan to do that, kid?" Hanako scoffed, still pinning him down.

"I'll do whatever it takes!"

"Oh, how passionate."

"Stop," Nene separated them. "Kou, I'm so glad to see you, but I can't leave."

"That's what I was trying to tell him but he jumped on me," Hanako acted offended.

"How come you can't leave? Why?" Kou asked her.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"I've been hearing Teru talk about kingdoms, sorcerers and curses all week. Whatever it is, I believe you."

"Ah, so you're Minamoto. That's why you looked familiar to me," Hanako stood up. "You're the middle son, right? The eldest has already been here. I was surprised that the mayor didn't show up, but I didn't expect him to send you," his gaze hardened. "What do you know?"

Kou tensed, but spoke just as seriously. "Everything."

Hanako tensed as well. They both held each other's gaze for a while until Nene couldn't take it anymore.

"The mayor? Teru? Do they know about this place?"

Hanako sighed. "It's a long story. Well, kid, it was nice meeting you, but I'm afraid it's time for you to go. You can tell your brother now that Yashiro is fine and that I have no intention of harming anyone. You know where the door is?"

"I'm not leaving without her."

"Kou, seriously, I'm fine. Nothing's going to happen to me. Go home, please."

"Why? Why do you want to stay?"

"It's not that, I'm cursed. My father broke a cursed object and I took his place. I can't get out of here."

Kou widened his eyes. He stared at her for a few seconds until he recomposed himself. "If you don't go, neither do I."

Hanako opened a clap. "Well, that's not possible. I'm afraid the number of guests allowed is full. You're going to have to go back to your village, unless you settle for sleeping in the garden."

"I will if necessary!"

"Perfect, I'll send for a blanket. I won't let you freeze to death, I'm not a monster. Now if you'll excuse me I have some unfinished business," he bowed slightly and left the room.

"Hanako, wait!" Nene followed him. "You can't leave him there."

"He wasn't serious about sleeping in the garden."

“Trust me, he was.”

He straightened his suit and frowned. "There are no free rooms."

"We're in a castle. There are enough rooms to accommodate the entire town! Please, I wouldn't put up with anything happening to her for wanting to take care of me." She begged.

Hanako stared at her. Nene was not able to understand his expression. He seemed worried and at the same time indifferent, which of the two was true? Would any of them be? She didn't know it. Then he sighed.

"Okay, he can stay. But just for a few days. On the condition that his room is as far away from yours as possible. I don't trust he didn't pretend to believe us to try an escape plan."

"Thank you!" She hugged him tightly. He seemed surprised but hugged her back just as enthusiastically. "I'm going to take him to his room." she said, breaking away and going to look for Kou.

"Yashiro!"

Nene stood up. Now he seemed subdued, but she didn't understand why.

"We're friends, right?" he asked.

She blinked. "S-sure."

Hanako gave a sad smile. "Good evening Yashiro."

Kou was confused.

He didn't understand why Nene was behaving that way, she almost seemed happy to be there. He really didn't understand. How come she couldn't see what she had gotten herself into?

She took him to a room on the third floor. "And so here it is. It's very big, isn't it? I see it as a waste of space... But there's no denying that it's very elegant, a little old fashioned, but elegant. I'd ask a doll to clean it up a bit, but I don't know why you can't see them anywhere at night. If you want to find a rag or..."

"Nene!" Kou cut her off putting his hands on her shoulders. "Why does it seem like the only thing you care about in this whole situation is the dust? You're trapped with a monster, we should be planning how to get you out of here!"

She gave him a sad smile. "Oh come on, I didn't get the best first impression of Hanako when I met him either, but he's not a monster. We're friends! Yeah, sometimes he makes jokes a little off the mark, but aside from that…"

"Friends?!" Kou's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. "Nene, he's not your friend, he's a monster. A murderer. He's not a good person, he's dangerous. He condemned this place. You can't tell me you're friends with someone like that.”

Nene's smile faded instantly."A murd... No. He doesn't... He's good! He saved me!"

"I don't know how he brainwashed you into thinking like that, but I'm telling you the truth. That guy is dangerous and I'm not going to let him do anything to you."

"He's not going to... Hanako won't..." she stared at the ground in dismay.

"Are you going to trust him more than me? Nene, we've known each other for years. You know Teru, he sent me here and you know that he does everything to protect our people. You can't tell me you trust a guy you hardly know who goes around with a mask and a knife more than us."

"No…Um…I…I don't…" she paused and took a deep breath. "I-I need to think. We-we'll talk tomorrow."

"But, Nene, what if he...!"

"I need to sleep, Kou, and think. Quietly. Alone," she smiled at him, tense and tired. "I'm so glad to see you. I've missed you," she squeezed his hand affectionately, said goodnight, and left.

Kou hesitated to follow her, the last thing he wanted was for her to run into that damned... Hanako, had she called him? His name didn't matter. But in the end he decided he wouldn't, she had said she needed to rest, and so should he. He had agreed with Teru that if he didn't return during the night Akane would go the next day to a meeting point they had established in the forest, and if he didn't show up they would force their way into the castle. So he lay down on the bed.

Kou didn't sleep that night, but not because of the sneezes produced by the dust—although that influenced—, it was because of the idea of having Nene so close again. He had had a terrible time, the idea of never seeing her again had consumed him day and night. And now she was only a few feet away from him. And he couldn't do anything for her. He silently cursed Hanako, sorcery and fate, who had sent his friend to this terrible place.

When the sun's rays began to pass through the window, he finally fell asleep.

"If you had taken another minute, I'll give you up for dead," Akane said leaning against a tree.

Kou was trying to get the air back into his lungs by breathing hard. He couldn't remember running so much in his life. "Sorry, I fell asleep."

"Did you fall asleep? How did you fall asleep?" Akane asked accusingly. "Hey, if you don't take this seriously..."

"I take it very seriously!" he exclaimed. "Look, it's been a long night. Give me a break."

"Why haven't you come back? What the hell happened?"

Kou explained everything that had happened since he entered the castle until he lay down on the bed.

Akane blinked. "Are you going to stay there? This is crazy. If the girl doesn't want to leave it's her problem, not yours. And your brother won't be too happy about you staying in that place by yourself. And do you know who he'll blame? Me. And I don't want to give him the satisfaction of scolding me for letting his little brother stay in a haunted place, the future mayor already has it too high to boost his ego any more. So let's get back to town as soon as possible. You'll just wake up, but for the rest of the people it's almost night."

"You haven't listened to me? She doesn't want to stay, she's cursed. Or so she says. The thing is, that Hanako has brainwashed her. I can't leave her. She needs me."

Akane was silent for a few seconds and then she growled. "Okay, if you want to stay, that's up to you. I'll come back here tomorrow to let you know what your brother said. But if you take half as long as today… I’ll. Give. You. For. Dead.” he got on his horse and rode towards the village.

Kou decided that he should go too. He set course for the castle, he had two crucial matters to resolve there:

One, get Nene out of there. He had to make her see reason to find a way to break the curse that bound her to the place.

And two, gather as much information as possible. His staying here actually benefited them, now he had the opportunity to discover all the weak points of the castle and its damned ruler.

Meanwhile, in town, Teru could use that information to carry out his plan. And they could put an end to all that madness at last.

She knew it. She had to know.

It was the best for everyone. He could have prevented it, he could have kicked that kid out, taken him away from her. He could have slowed it down a bit, a day at least. But for what? That had to happen, things would be easier that way.

He had relaxed. He had spent the last few days anxiously waiting for the night to come so he could spend time with Yashiro, there was no use denying it. She was so innocent and transparent... And she seemed to genuinely enjoy his company. Every time she called him friend he felt a deep joy. He almost believed that it could be possible. He almost believed it. The night before was a harsh reality check.

He was sure that the young Minamoto told Yashiro what he had done.That he was a murderer. That he was a monster. Now she would be afraid of him. And maybe that was good.

Hanako was sitting at the window of her room, looking at the stars. Normally that calmed him down, but tonight he felt more agitated than usual. He didn't dare to leave his room, he didn't want to meet Yashiro. The very idea that she would look at him again as she had done at the beginning, terrified, produced a pressure in his chest that he had not felt in many years. He couldn't deal with it.

It's the best way, he told himself.

It's the best way.

It's the best way.

It's the best…

Knocks on the door.

"Hanako? Are you there?"

He nearly fell over in shock. Yashiro. What the hell was she doing?

Think fast. Think fast. Think fast.

"It's open," he said as calmly as he could.

She carefully opened the door and entered the room. She looked nervous but not scared, Hanako felt relief wash over his as his logical side screamed at him not to be stupid and not let his guard down again.

She started playing with her hands looking everywhere but at him. "You haven't come today."

"Did you want me to go?" he asked, struggling with all him might to keep his voice from trembling.

Yashiro kept her hands to herself. "Yesterday Kou... He said something about you." Hanako tensed. "He said that you... that you were a..."

"It's true," he cut her off.

Yashiro was surprised, but for some reason he didn't understand she didn't seem scared. What the hell was wrong with that girl? How did she manage to ignore the danger and carry on as if...?

And then she looked at him, really looked at him. her eyes locked with his and a lump formed in her throat. He felt like she was trying to read him through his eyes. As if she wanted to peel away all the layers he had placed so precisely so that no one could know what he was thinking. He felt as if something was pulling inside him to expose him, something he couldn't allow. And yet, it took all his willpower to break eye contact.

"Why are you here, Yashiro?" he sounded calmer than he felt. "I highly doubt you want to be friends with a murderer anymore."

There was a long silence. Hanako had looked out the window again but all his attention was focused on the girl a meter away from him. He could hear her breathing, he had stopped.

She broke the silence. "I-I don't know anything about this place... I don't know anything about you. And I know that Kou would never do or say anything that wasn't for my good. The logical thing would be to stay away from you..." There it was again, the chest pressure. She was right, he knew it. They shouldn't even have gotten close to her. He looked at the ground and lowered his head, he felt ridiculous. And he didn't want to go too deep into it, but he also felt lonely."But I will not do it."

Hanako turned to her. She kept her eyes fixed on him. But this time in them there was a look full of security, in it he could see how much she had thought about the subject. But it didn't add up, if she had thought about it she wouldn't be talking to him.

"I'm will not do it," she repeated. "I... I don't think you're a bad person. You saved my life... And you've always been good to me... Well, sometimes you're a bit of a jerk, and you make jokes in bad taste and stuff. But that doesn't matter. And even though I have no idea what happened to you, or what happened to this place... I'm a grown woman capable of making my own decisions! And I decide I want to be your friend."

That woman was definitely crazy. Hanako should have told her to drop it. It would be best for both of them to keep their distance. She had no idea about anything and he should tell her. Above all, he should tell her about that .

But all he did was stare at her dumbfounded. He noticed that he had blushed, but he didn't care because it felt good. As if the solution to all his problems lay in the words she had spoken to him. He wanted to hug her, hug her very tight. But instead he said: "Are you sure?"

Nene nodded enthusiastically and began to rummage through a bag that she had hanging. She took out a book and spread it out in front of her. "I thought that... Well, you always ask me about the books I read and I spend hours and hours talking about them. So, I thought that we could read one together and then discuss it, so we could both talk. If you feel like it, of course." she said, lowering her voice more and more to the point that she could hardly be heard.

A minute later they were both sitting on the floor and leaning against the wall with the girl holding the book between them.

"Um...Yashiro? Would you mind reading it out loud yourself?" Hanako asked her.

She looked at him confused. "You can not read?"

"It's not that. It's just... I'd rather listen."

Yashiro didn't seem very convinced, but she started reading the story out loud anyway. Hanako listened carefully, at least at first. He found that looking at her was much better. It was fun to see her expression changes, how she sighed when the protagonists interacted, how she frowned when there were conflicts, how her face lit up with the first kiss. She was much more interesting than the story.

They were more than halfway through the book when Hanako's eyes began to grow heavy. Yashiro seemed just as tired and stopped reading more and more often because of yawning. He couldn't tell who burned first, but they had ended up leaning against each other. It didn't bother him, he was comfortable.

After a while, Yashiro put the book aside, but she didn't get up or move away, and neither did he. He stayed still listening to her breathing, and without realizing it, he fell asleep.

Tsuchigomori entered the room without knocking, not in the mood for formalities. He had been searching the castle for hours for that damn little prince, and there was no sign of Yashiro either.

He had ruled out the room Hanako insisted on staying in, at night he used to go out on the roof or for a walk. He never stayed there because he couldn't go out during the day. But there was only that place left to look at.

Inside, he found the two missing persons asleep on the floor. They looked very comfortable sleeping next to each other, what's more, he hadn't seen the prince sleep like that since... ever. He would have liked to leave them like this for a while longer, but he couldn't.

"Your highness," he said, waving his arm to wake him up.

Hanako just mumbled something in his sleep. Tsuchigommori in his good days would have insisted a little more, trying to gently wake him up. But he hadn't had a good day, so he grabbed a pillow and hit him in the face with it.

The young man was startled and opened his eyes. "What the fuck..."

"Wake up, it's going to be dawn in less than an hour."

"Tsuchigomori?" he asked rubbing his eyes. He was clearly disoriented. "Did you have to be so rude?"

"Be thankful it was a pillow. Now wake up the lady and close that window before the sun comes up."

Hanako turned to Yashiro strangely, as if he had forgotten she was there. Seeing her, his expression changed. He got up and, being very careful not to wake her up, took her in his arms. "I'm going to take her to her room."

"Didn't you hear me? It's going to be dawn..."

"Easy, Tsuchi. I won't be long," he said with a smile and left.

Tsuchigomori was puzzled. At first it had seemed to him that someone from outside staying in the castle was a bad idea. But, the look on Hanako's face when looking at the lady... A small smile appeared on his face. It was early to assume anything, and even more so knowing the prince, but there might be a shred of hope for them.

Chapter Text

Hanako laid Yashiro down on her bed, pulled the covers over her, and muttered a spell to change her uncomfortable dress for bedding. He went to the window and drew the curtains so the sun wouldn't wake her when it came out, but not before taking a look at the garden. She had taken her new job very seriously and the dolls had caught her spirit. She had a good hand with people.

He looked at the bed where she slept soundly. Her brows were furrowed a little, and from time to time she mumbled single words. During the journey to her room, she let out some other groans. Was she having a nightmare? Hanako shook his head, he had been long enough. If he didn't come back he was screwed, he had two options: Either the sun would kill him, or Tsuchigomori would.

He went to the door and when he was about to open it Yashiro stirred on the bed. Instinctively he turned to her. She was lying on her side clutching the pillow with an anguished expression.

Fuck it, Hanako thought and walked towards the bed.

He put a hand on her forehead and concentrated. He watched as little by little her expression softened until a small smile formed on her lips. The spell had worked, but still he left his hand on her forehead a few seconds too long. When he realized it, he quickly moved away and almost ran to the door. But once again, before opening it, he turned to her.

"Sweet dreams, Yashiro," he whispered before walking away.

Kou closed the door to his room behind him. He felt dirty, a liar.

He had met Akane in the forest before noon. His brother hadn't been happy about his staying here, but he couldn't ignore the benefits. Kou had the opportunity to get valuable information first-hand, and he could also make sure that Nene was safe. However, Teru had warned him not to get carried away, he had to keep his purpose in mind at all times or he would fail. 

Kou didn't think that would be a problem, how was he going to get carried away in that situation? He was sure that nothing could cause him a distraction.

But that was before he went back through the castle walls when he found a bunch of dolls scattered around the courtyard. Some carried shovels in their hands and dug holes in the ground, others seemed to plant seeds in them while those that remained with watering cans sprayed water as they passed. He took a general look at the garden he saw her, kneeling in a corner working the land. When she saw him, she smiled broadly and called him over.

Nene, after enthusiastically explaining her reform plan, asked if he wanted to help her plant flowers in that part. Kou accepted, after having missed her so much he wasn't going to waste a second that he could spend with her. They talked while they were working, she asked him about her father, she wanted to know how he was dealing with her not being at home. Kou thought about what to say to him, not that his father took it badly, but that was because he had assured him that he would bring his daughter back. He ends up saying that every day he’s a little better. He saw her sad face and decided to change the subject hastily. She smiled sadly at him but got carried away with the talk and eventually perked up.

" Kou? " she said when they were done. " Um... Can I ask you something? "

" Sure, whatever you need, " he replied, brushing the dirt off his pants.

" You see... About Hanako... " she started and Kou tensed. "I-I know you're convinced that he's... evil. But despite what you said, despite what he did, I… ” she paused. “ This place is full of mysteries and... We don't know the story, we don't know what or why happened, right? I want to know. I want to know what happened here and what happened to him. But everyone avoids the topic or says it's not their thing. And I haven't had the courage to ask Hanako, though I don't think he told me either... " Nene had lowered her gaze to the ground, but she suddenly looked back at him with a nervous smile. " Sorry, I got off topic. What I wanted to ask you is... Can you give him a chance? I'm not asking you to be his friend or anything like that. Just I want you to see that  he's not as horrible as you think and you'd be calm when you get back to town knowing I'm not in danger. "

Kou stared at her. She wasn't serious. She wasn't. But her firm expression made it clear that she was. He wanted to refuse, a chance? What kind of chance did someone like him deserve? But he was unable to, for two reasons.

First, getting closer to him would serve him well for his mission. If he did, he would be able to discover his weak points much more quickly and easily.

And the other reason was Nene. She was looking at him with pleading and hope in her eyes and Kou felt his heart pounding in his chest. Besides, she was so pretty with her two braids and her garden clothes that only a monster without feelings would have been able to deny her anything.

He promised that he would make an effort for her, Nene thanked him profusely and went to help the dolls clean up. Kou entered the castle a little overwhelmed, he had lied to his friend. Well, he had actually kept part of the truth from her, but he wasn't going to pretend that was any better. He intended to tell her about Teru's plan as soon as they had a moment to talk. But after seeing her so happy talking about wanting to reform that place, and especially after she asked him to give him a chance to Hanako, he knew it wouldn't be a good idea. She seemed genuinely happy there and it made his throat tighten. He knew that if he told her it would break her heart. He also knew that the longer he waited the worse it would be. But he couldn't tell her or even try.

He told himself that as soon as he got more information, he would prove Hanako to be dangerous and make Nene see reason. It shouldn't be too hard to dig up dirt on a murderous prince in a haunted castle. But it still bothered him that he had to hide something from his friend. He had never hidden anything from her and he didn't like to start doing it.

Suddenly the door he was leaning against opened and he fell backwards hitting his head on the floor.

"Oh, you've already shown up," said an unfamiliar voice.

Kou looked up rubbing where he had been hit and came face to face with a doll.

"Why did you do that?!" he stood up

"How was I supposed to know you were there?" the doll walked into the room. "In the room at the end of the hall you have a bathroom and clean clothes ready. Don't let it get cold, I haven't spent all morning preparing it for anything. It even splashed water on my arm, if it rots I'll let the dust eat you." 

The boy didn't quite know what to do next, but the idea of a bath after his day was very tempting. Without taking his eyes off his door, he headed towards the end of the corridor.

When he finished and changed his clothes he went back to the room. The doll was still there, cleaning the furniture with a rag.

"Who are you?" he asked.

The doll frowned. "Who asks?"

"Minamoto Kou, second son of the town mayor," he said pointing to himself.

The creature raised an eyebrow and looked him up and down. "Mitsuba Sousuke. The wretched servant who has been put in a cap to work for you," he smiled as falsely as he could and went back to cleaning up. "Me a servant, what a waste."

"You don't have to, you can go."

Mitsuba sighed exasperatedly. "Look, town boy. Here things are done in a way. Jobs that nobody wants, like this, are drawn to chance. And if you have to do it, you do it and that's it. I'm not here for you, I'm here because I have to. So please make it easy for me."

Kou was beginning to resent his tone, but that arrogant doll could help him. He had been there from the beginning, he should know everything that happened in the castle. Maybe if he could get close to him…

Then Mitusba, noticing that he was looking at him, turned and gave him a look of disgust. Well, it seems that he had to do it the hard way. He went to the door and put on the latch. 

"H-hey, what are you trying to do?" asked the doll taking a step back. "You're not trying something sexual right?!”

"What?!"

"I'm not going to let you touch me! I'm too pretty for someone like you."

"I'm not going to…! It doesn't matter," he walked over to him. "What do you know about this place?" asked seriously.

Mitsuba seemed to relax. "Is that what you wanted? It didn't take so much drama. Well, I know some things, but unfortunately, I can't share them."

"Why not?"

"Because…" he leaned close to his ear as if to tell him a secret. "Because I don't want to," and he quickly ran to the door and opened it. "One thing you should know is that all the latches in this place are broken. Welcome to the castle, town boy," he ran away.

Kou stood rooted to the spot, he didn't expect such impudence from a doll. Then he reacted.

"Come back here, you bastard!" he yelled as he ran in the direction Mitsuba had gone.

"How could you like that ending? It was the worst thing I've ever read in my life!" Nene was outraged.

"It was a good ending and I'm not going to change my mind," Hanako was adamant.

They had finished reading the book the night before and had different opinions. Nene had not liked that the male lead died at the end of the story. Instead, Hanako thought it made sense. How could he think like that?! Did he not have a heart? She stepped in front of him as they walked.

"No. It wasn't. It was a tragic ending that could have been perfectly avoided."

"Yashiro, please. He signed his death warrant as soon as he sided with that evil duke."

"He did it to be with his love! It was romantic."

"And he was with his beloved until he was captured. He himself warned her that it would happen. It was a realistic ending," he argued, opening the kitchen door for her.

Nene entered the room without looking at him. "Realistic? I don't read books to be realistic, I do it for the love stories! If he dies in the end, what was the use of everything they've been through? And on top of that, she marries his brother. His brother! I still don't believe it."

"She went on with her life as he asked her to. What else did you want her to do?"

"I wanted her to fight for him," she crossed her arms, looking at him defiantly.

"How? She couldn't… You know what? I can't argue on an empty stomach," he headed for the pantry. "What do you want? I think there are some radishes out there. By the way, can you eat them or would that be cannibal...? Ouch!" He cut himself when Nene elbowed him in the ribs.

She had referred to herself as radish legs only once in front of him. It had been a mistake. A serious mistake.

"You deserve it."

"That's abuse! Seriously, Yashiro, what am I going to do with…? Oh shit!" he complained rummaging through the pantry.

"What's wrong?" she stood behind him.

Hanako turned to her with a pout. "There are no doughnuts left."

"And can't you eat something else?"

"It's not the same," he said sitting on the ground like a little boy.

Nene sighed and searched the pantry. She started taking out loose ingredients and putting them on the table. Hanako looked at her curiously.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Didn't you want doughnuts? I'm looking to see if there's what it takes to make some."

"Are you going to make me doughnuts?" Hanako got up right away. Nene found his expression of enthusiasm sweet, he was smiling from ear to ear and his eyes sparkled. She almost forgave him for his bad literary taste. Almost.

"I'm going to try making doughnuts," she corrected. "I've only done it once, and it was a couple of years ago. Don't rule it out that this could end in disaster."

"I'll help you," he picked up the sack of flour she had left on the table.

"Do you know how to make doughnuts?"

"No," he said smiling.

Nene shook her head and stood in front of the table trying to remember the recipe. She grabbed the milk. What had to be mixed first? The sugar or the flour? No, the flour was the last thing. Or was it the former? She couldn't remember it.

Suddenly the kitchen door was flung open. Nene jumped in fright and Hanako almost spilt the flour on the floor. She saw Kou hyperventilating, it was obvious that he had run there. From the doorway, he quickly scanned the room with his eyes and cursed when he didn't find what he was looking for.

"Have you seen a pretty raucous pink-haired doll walk by?" he asked. They both shook their heads. "Shit! He's run away again!"

“¿R-run away…?” Nene asked.

“¿Again?” Hanako added.

"Oh! By the way, Kou," she had an idea. "Since you're here, do you want to help us make doughnuts?"

“¿Doughnuts?” Kou turned his attention to her.

Nene nodded enthusiastically and turned to Hanako. "He bakes the best desserts in town, but don't let the baker find out. Will you help us, Kou? I'm a bit lost with the recipe."

"Yeah, kid, will you help us?" Hanako grinned at him.

Kou's face changed when he spoke. "I have nothing to do with you ."

Hanako just shrugged and continued playing with the flour sack. Nene looked at Kou pleadingly. It was the perfect opportunity for her two friends to start getting along. Well, it was too early to get along. Maybe tolerating was more successful.

Kou held her gaze, surely remembering the promise he had made to her a few hours ago. He finally sighed and walked over to Hanako, who was throwing the sack to the ceiling and catching it before it hit the ground. He took the bag from him. "You're going to break it if you keep doing that."

"Wow, I thought you had nothing to do with me ," Hanako said in a playful tone.

"This has nothing to do with you ," Kou replied.

Hanako didn't seem to care, the other's attitude seemed to amuse him. Nene stood between them, she didn't want to tempt fate.

For the next two hours, they were making the doughnuts. Kou did most of it while Nene helped as much as she could. Hanako, for his part, spent his time fluttering around the room making comments, absurd questions and trying to get his hands on the dough when Kou wasn't looking.

"Yashiro, you have dough on your face."

"Oh, where?" she rubbed his cheek.

Hanako let out a giggle. "On the other side."

"Here?"

Nene moved with the intention of cleaning herself, but before she could he gently ran his thumb over where the dough was. When he pulled his finger away he put it in his mouth and smiled at her.

She turned red almost instantly. "Y-you—Y-you... W-why...? That was disgusting!"

"Don't waste food!" he excused himself.

Kou, who was concentrating on his task, stood in front of Nene holding a spoon as a weapon. "Is he bothering you?"

The girl couldn't answer because they both started arguing. Although it wasn't an argument as such, it was simply Hanako laughing making Kou mad as dodging his blows with the spoon. Nene sighed and went back to concentrate on the dough.

After a while, more absurd discussions, irrelevant comments and a declaration of a food fight, the doughnuts were finally over.

"Oh, they look so good," Nene said holding up the plate where she freshly made late-night appetizer rested.

Hanako grabbed one and brought it excitedly to his mouth. But just before biting him he stopped. He looked at Kou with narrowed eyes. "It won't be poisoned, right?"

"What are you talking about?" Kou brushed his hand away.

“I don’t trust you.”

“I don’t trust you too!”

"This is ridiculous," Nene grabbed the doughnut from Hanako's hands and bit into it.

"See? There's nothing wrong with them," Kou said accusingly.

Hanako didn't seem very convinced but he still took another doughnut and imitated Nene. When he tasted it, his face lit up and he began to devour it.

"Try one, Kou. They're awesome." Nene offered him one with a smile.

The rest of the night was nice, they ate their donuts sitting on the floor while Nene led the conversation. She told Kou how finished the book they had read and the outrageous opinion of her reading partner. He evidently sided with Nene and Hanako muttered something of his own accord which he ignored so as not to start another argument.

After a few hours, Hanako got up to leave before dawn. He said goodbye to Nene and made a gesture to Kou making it clear that he was watching him.

"See? He's not that bad," Nene said to Kou as he walked her to her room.

"Mmm…" he looked at the ground. "I don't trust him."

"I know, so I appreciate the effort," she smiled at him and stood in front of her door. "See you tomorrow, Kou," she said entering her room.

"Nene, I..." Kou started to speak but stopped. He was staring at her as he seemed to think well of what to say.

"You, what?" she asked him.

After a few seconds of silence he collected himself and smiled, it seemed a slightly nervous smile and he said: "N-no, nothing. I'm just glad I'm here with you."

The girl smiled broadly again. "I'm glad you're here too."

Two days had passed since Kou and Hanako established a kind of truce. Not that they got along, Hanako was insufferable and seemed to enjoy teasing Kou. Still, the initial tension that hung between them had lessened considerably. That was good, it allowed me to spend more time with him. During the two nights that had passed since the doughnuts, Kou spent time with Hanako and Nene. It happened by chance, he ran into them in the corridors and Nene invited him to join them while the others made some stupid comments. But still, he hadn't gotten anything useful from him, and he was getting impatient.

Since he couldn't sleep, he decided to go out into the garden to get some fresh air. He sat on the ground, leaning against the castle walls and began to play with a stone-throwing it up and picking it up repeatedly. His head was running at a thousand miles an hour. How could he get the information he needed? How long was he going to keep the truth about his stay there from Nene? Would she be mad when she found out? What if...?

The gates to the garden suddenly made a noise and Kou was startled causing the stone to fall on his head. Cursing under his breath, he turned his gaze to the massive gates in the walls. They were ajar and Hanako's silhouette could be seen going through them and closing them again carrying a large sack on his back. He watched him walk towards the castle and before he could wonder what he was doing, the sack twitched. Kou stood up instantly, what the hell was in there? Hanako simply readjusted it and kept walking.

That bastard. Had he kidnapped someone? He knew he was dangerous but didn't think he was brazen enough to do something like that and walk around so calmly when there were normal people so close to him.

When he entered the castle Kou followed him. At that moment his brother's warnings didn't matter, he had to help whoever needed it. He entered the building just in time to see him walk into a room. But when Kou peeked in for a closer look the room was empty. It didn't make sense, he had just…

"Are you spying on me?"

Hanako's voice sounded behind him and Kou spun around. "Y-you... How did you...?"

"So you were spying on me," he stated with a teasing smile. "Wow, I don't know whether to be offended or flattered."

But Kou hadn't heard the last part, all his attention was on the sack that was still hanging on his back. Without hesitation, he grabbed a candlestick that he had propped up on a candlestick next to him and threatened Hanako with it. "What are you carrying behind there? If you've done something to someone, you're going to pay dearly.”

Hanako blinks in surprise. "Okay, first of all, I don't understand the problem that you people have with wanting to throw candlesticks at me. And second, I think there has been a misunderstanding." Slowly he put the sack down and opened it.

Kou dropped the throwing weapon in shock as he saw a bunch of small, pink creatures jump out of the huge bag and run away.

"What the hell was that?!" he asked still looking in the direction they had gone.

"Those were mokkes," Hanako explained. "They are harmless, but they give a lot of work. They steal things from the townspeople and hide them around the castle. Every so often I have to go return everything that seems important."

Kou turned to look at him and frowned. "I still don't trust you."

Hanako laughed in response. "I'd be disappointed if you did."

"Are you making fun of me?" Kou hardened his gaze.

"Not at all, I like your attitude. It'll be fun having you around," he patted him on the back. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I told Yashiro I'd be by for her in a few minutes. You don't keep a lady waiting, do you?" After saying this, he disappeared through the corridors.

Kou was left alone with his thoughts again. He looked at the sack on the floor, he had been wrong. For a moment he felt ridiculous, he had accused Hanako of kidnapping when he was doing something good. Was he getting paranoid? Was Hanako really that bad?

When that question crossed his mind he shook his head effusively. That was exactly what Teru had warned him about. He had to keep the plan in mind. Hanako was a murderer. That was what he had to focus on, that and getting information. That's what he was there for. He must not forget it.

But he couldn't shake off a feeling of discomfort and doubt.

Luckily for him, a noise distracted him again. It was coming from next door and it sounded like a... crying?

Carefully, Kou walked to the door and opened it.

"Mitsuba?"

"Hey! Come back here!" Nene yelled running through the halls.

She was in her room fixing her hair while waiting for Hanako when she noticed that her hairpins were missing. She looked everywhere, it was impossible that they were not there, she had just put them on. Or hadn't she? Was she going crazy? Her theory was confirmed when she saw a squishy pink creature carry her accessories out the door. The most surprising thing was that the creature turned to look and laugh at her before running away. But Nene wasn't going to give up, those hairpins belonged to her mother, and she wasn't going to lose them.

She chased the pink dough down the halls and up the stairs until she was out of sight. And not only that, but she had also lost. She couldn't locate that place in the castle. The walls were darker and in general, everything seemed more run down. It was cold.

She tried to make a mental map of the path she had taken. She had crossed three corridors to the right and one to the left went down some stairs, turned left again and went down other stairs. And other ones. And other ones.

A shiver wrapped around her from top to bottom, and not from the wetness. She had gone to the basement. The place she had been sternly warned not to go. She should go back the way she came, but her curiosity was stronger than her common sense.

"Hello?" she asked and her voice echoed. "Anyone there?”

"Look who's showed up," said a very familiar voice.

Nene turned to it.

"Hanako?"

Chapter Text

“Hanako?”

No. It wasn’t Hanako.

“Nene! I’ve heard so much about you,” said the stranger standing right in front of her, very close. “I wanted to meet you! And here you are!”

“M-meet me?” she said a little in shock.

The unknown person looked extremely like Hanako, but it wasn’t him. Nene had noticed right away, his gaze was different.

“Of course! You’re new here, and new things are interesting!” he answered raising his arms and smiling. “I want to know everything about you. Will you tell me? I can tell you things too…”

“Tsukasa!”

Nene felt how someone pulled her arm making her take a few steps back. Then, Hanako appeared and stood in front of her, still not letting go of her arm. It seemed like he protecting her, but she could feel how he was trembling. 

Fake Hanako ’s face lighted up. “Amane! You came! It had been so many years since you went down to see me… I was so bored of being here alone unable to play! But now you’re here and…”

“Tsukasa!” Hanako yelled again, still shaking. “You… Why?”

That guy—Tsukasa—smiled and walked over to him. “Because I missed you, silly! And I’ve already told you, being here is boring. I want to play .”

Nene watched them attentively and without understanding anything. Seen in front of each other, their resemblance was even more incredible, but their differences also stood out more. Although what caught her attention the most was that even though Hanako was pale, Tsukasa was... translucent. She swallowed thickly, what did that mean? Was he a ghost ? A few days ago she might have questioned thinking about something so strange, but she began to think that she was losing the ability to be surprised.

“Since you didn’t come I had to entertain myself, but it wasn’t the same,” Tsukasa continued putting a hand on his face and caressing him. “Don’t you want to play, Amane? Remember all the fun we had… Don’t you remember? All those moments that we spent together. My favourite was when you stopped holding back You know, when you picked up that knife..."

Nene felt Hanako getting more nervous with each word. His grip on her arm was tighter and his expression of terror was getting worse. But still, he didn't move and seemed to have forgotten to breathe. Alarmed, she used his grip to drag him up the stairs.

“See you soon!” Tsukasa’s voice stayed behind.

She barely managed to get Hanako up the stairs in the state he was in. When they reached the top, she sank to the ground exhausted and confused. He was still standing, her hands outstretched, staring at them with an unreadable expression.

“H-Hanako? Are you okay?” she asked. “W-who was that? ¿Was him…?”

“I told you not to go to the basement,” he interrupted. “I told you, why haven’t you listened to me?” Tears welled up in his eyes and Nene felt a pang.

“I-I’m sorry, I just… I d-didn’t want to…”

“I had to go,” he said looking up and quickly walking away.

She didn’t think following him was a good idea. She didn’t think he wanted her to. So she stayed there, sat on the cold corridor floor, with a million questions in her head and a bitter feeling in her chest.

Nene walked through the library, looking for a book which could distract her. She had spent most of the day sleeping. Although her dreams had been worse than normal, and she could count on the fingers of one hand how many times she had rested well since she arrived at the castle, and it was getting worse.

Besides, she kept thinking about what happened the night before, but she was so tired that couldn’t make anything clear. And since sleeping wasn’t an option, Kou and Aoi were busy and she hadn’t the strength to work, she decided to resort to her usual method of escape from reality: reading. But even looking for an interesting read was too much effort for her, she felt less energetic each day, and spending sleepless nights with Hanako was taking her toll.

Hanako… ¿What would he be doing? She knew that during the day he locked himself in his room, ¿but would he be alright after what happened? He seemed quite affected, Nene had never seen him so... absent. It was as if he was there but his mind was somewhere else, she felt horrible for him even though she didn't fully understand the situation.

She was so focused on her thoughts that she didn't realize that a doll had crossed her and collided with them making them fall.

“Oh, God. I’m so sorry. I wasn’t looking where I was going, are you okay?” Nene apologised and helped him up.

“This is why I don’t like teenagers, they always have their heads in the sky,” said the doll, dusting himself off and she hung her head in shame. Then he looked at her carefully long enough to make her nervous. “Lady Yashiro,” she tensed. “I hadn’t the pleasure of talking with you personally yet. My name is Tsuchigomori,” his tone softened.

“N-nice to meet you,” Nene couldn't help but feel intimidated by that doll. He was taller than the others, and she didn't know what that could mean.

"Come with me," he said and started walking.

She was a bit shocked by his attitude, but she had nothing better to do, and didn't have the courage to tell him no, either. So she followed him.

Tsuchigomori led her down the aisles until he stopped in front of a bookshelf. Nene wanted to ask him what he wanted from her, but then he tugged on a book and the shelf slid aside, revealing what looked like an office. It had no windows and was lit only by luminous stones embedded in the ceiling. In the center of the room was a huge desk filled with things she couldn't identify with two chairs on opposite sides, and the walls were lined with shelves overflowing with books, papers, other odd gadgets, and crystal balls. Tsuchigomori sat on the inner side of the desk.

“We'll be more comfortable here,” he argued. “You can sit down, I'm not gonna eat you.”

She sat immediately, but still didn’t understand what she was doing there.

“I heard you went down to the basement.”

Nene shallowed thick. “H-how do you…?”

“Rumors spread faster than you can imagine,” he interrupted her. “So it's true.”

She lowered her head in shame and regret. He sighed. “You would have found out, it was just faster than expected. Still, it seems that you are doing well, not all people would take it so well to have seen a ghost.”

His gaze was fixed on her, she could feel it. She just shrugged without looking at him. “I… It isn’t the strangest thing I’ve seen here.”

Tsuchigomori closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “Yugi Tsukasa, his spirit has been wandering in the basement ever since the curse was placed. He was the prince's younger brother.” Short pause. “He… This wasn’t supposed to end up like this…” he passed a hand over his face.

“W-what do you mean?” Nene asked quietly.

The doll made an effort to regain his composure and spoke again. “I used to be a sorcerer and I specialized in divination,” he said, pulling tarot cards out of a drawer. “But above all, I was the royal adviser, and when the princes were born the king asked me to take care of their education.”

“You were Hanako’s teacher?”

Tsuchigomori's face changed. "Hanako... That's how he calls himself now."

"Isn't that his name?" Nene was surprised.

He shook his head. "Yugi Amane, that's how I met him. But now he won't let anyone call him that."

“Why?”

“It's complicated, like everything about him,” he said, getting to his feet. “He was always a strange boy, he did not relate to others, he did not pay attention when I spoke to him and he spent entire days locked in a tower to the point of having to break the door to get him out of there and eat something decent,” he explained with a sad smile. “He and his brother had a complicated relationship, and that worried the king and queen a lot, so they asked me to do a tarot reading to make sure everything was going to work out. And the cards said yes, it was supposed that Amane would become king, he was supposed to rule for many years and instead…” his gaze dropped to the ground. “I had never failed a reading before, ever. And just when things seemed to be going the way they should, a curse fell on us all. Maybe if I hadn't relaxed so much, things would be different, but it's no use complaining now.”

Nene tries to process everything. “T-that means Hanako...”

“Listen, Lady Yashiro,” he met her eyes for the first time in the entire conversation. “I know this situation must be crazy for you, that's why I'm telling you this because I think you deserve to know if you're going to stay here. But as far as I can go, the rest of the story is up to the prince. I no longer have the right to say anything. Still, if you ever feel overwhelmed or need advice, my door is always open,” he said with a kind smile.

The girl smiled back grateful, but still left the room with more questions than answers.

Hanako had been sitting by Yashiro's door for over an hour, she didn't have the courage to go inside. He didn't know how to behave after what happened the night before. If it had been up to him he would have stayed locked in his room, but Tsuchigomori had other plans for him. After having had a (one-sided) talk, he had made Hanako see that he couldn't hide forever and even if he could, it wouldn't do any good because Yashiro would end up finding the truth just the same. But it was up to him to do things well or not, and Tsuchi had made it very clear how he wanted him to do them, before kicking him out of the room.

He could hear her footsteps on the other side of the wall, she was walking from one side to another. He sighed and stood up, giving it more thought would only make him scramble out of there. With his heart pounding in his chest, he knocked on the door.

“One minute!” she said from inside.

Hanako's breath caught, what was he going to say when she opened it? He was still in time to flee, but his feet refused to move. When she opened the door she was surprised to see him and he looked away almost instantly. He had worked up the courage to talk to her, but looking at her while he did so was too much.

“I’m sorry about yesterday,” he managed to say.

“Hanako…” 

“I know you have a lot of questions,” he interrupted. “I know you have, and I also know that you deserve answers. I just…” he muttered looking at the ground “...I don't see myself capable of answering them.” He made a pause but continued speaking. “If you want me to… If you really wanna know everything that happened here, I’ll tell you. But if you could give me some time…”

“Hanako.”

“...I know it's not fair to you, but really…”

“Hanako.”

“...I promise I will tell you anything you want, just…”

“Hanako!” she grabbed his face and forced him to look at her. “It's okay, Hanako. I’ll give you all the time you need.,” she smiled.

He blinked. “Eh?”

Yashiro released his face from her hands. “I don't want to force you to say anything you don't feel comfortable with. I... I saw how yesterday affected you and I want to help you and understand you, but I don't want to be nosy. Because you're my friend, and I know you'll tell me when you're ready.”

Hanako remained silent, she looked at him with her usual smile. As much as she got to know him, as much as she found out things about him, she smiled at him in the same bright way. He didn't understand why she did it, he didn't understand her . His stomach turned in a strange way as he was still unable to speak. Had he blushed? He hoped not.

“Besides,” she continued. “That's your business, not mine. And I know if anything affected me, you'd tell me.”

The strange feeling in his stomach gave way to the feeling that someone had dropped a piano on him. He believed that his conscience couldn't be any dirtier, he was wrong.

“Yeah…” he said, trying to smile. “Thank you…”

Either he was a very good actor or the dim light in the hallway made him more believable, but Yashiro didn't seem to notice his change in expression. She simply walked through the door frame and closed it behind her.

“So? What do you want to do tonight? We could take a walk in the garden,” she suggested.

“Actually,” he returned to his usual tone. “ Tonight is perfect to show you a special place.”

Nene followed Hanako around the castle.

“A special place? Special in what sense?” she asked him.

“You'll know when you see it,” had been his only response.

They reached the foot of a tower that had to be climbed by spiral stairs. Nene complained that she was too tired to climb so many steps.

"Oh come on, Yashiro! Put those radish legs to work!" he scoffed before starting to speed up the stairs, which made her chase after him so she could wipe that stupid smile off his face. At least that distracted her from the longest flight of stairs, but it didn't keep her from reaching the top exhausted.

The tower had round walls and was old, dusty, and alarmingly empty. There was only some sad wooden furniture and a big window.

“It's… interesting,” Nene said, trying not to offend.

Hanako laughed. “Nice touch of you trying not to hurt my feelings, but this isn't the place,” he walked over to a small cabinet and opened it. “It's this way.”

She looked at him as if he had gone mad. “What do you mean?”

“I mean that it’s this way,” he repeated and got into the cabinet. “Come on, come in here.”

Nene blinked. “Do you want me to get in there with you?”

“I give you my word of honor that I won't try anything dirty,” he assured her with a hand on his chest.

“I don't know if your word is worth much.”

“I'm going to ignore that hurtful comment,” he said and offered her his little finger. “Pinkie Promise?”

She hesitated, but in the end, she intertwined her little finger with his and as soon as she did he yanked her causing her to bump into him in the cabinet.

“You just promised you wouldn't do anything weird!” she protested.

"Maybe you were right anyway and my word isn't worth much," he answered, laughing and closing the door.

It was suffocating, the two of them barely fit and they were stuck to each other. He was leaning against the interior wall and she was completely pressed against him by the door behind her. Nene noticed how the heat rose to her face.

“W-what is this supposed to be for?” she asked.

“Wait and see,” he replied before wrapping his arms around her and beginning to mutter things she didn't understand, but they were so close she could feel his breath on her ear. She fought with all her might to suppress a shudder.

Suddenly she saw how strands of her hair began to float and gasped when she felt her feet leave the ground. She clung to Hanako in alarm, he giggled.

They floated for a few seconds until they abruptly fell back to the ground. Nene was afraid to move, but Hanako spun her around so she was facing the door.

“Now open it.”

“W-what’s on the other side?” 

He took her hand gently and guided it to the doorknob. "Open it and you will know."

She doubted.

“Don’t you trust me?” he asked with a mock sad tone.

She trusted him irresponsibly, but she didn't say it. She just did what he asked, and she opened the door to find herself in the same room she had left behind when she entered the cabinet. It had the same circular walls, the same furniture, and the same window, but this time it was full of papers and books, there were large and strange artefacts everywhere, and it was illuminated by a large ceiling-mounted chandelier that gave off a warm light. It didn't feel nearly as lonely and cold as before, there was a very peaceful energy.

“Wow…” Nene walked through the door frame. "What's all this?"

There was no answer. She moved around the room, looking at the complex and extravagant metal artefacts. She didn't dare to touch them, they seemed fragile. The papers stuck to the wall and those that were loose or on the desk caught her attention, some had drawings of the starry sky with the stars connected by straight lines, but most had sketches of the moon. She also took a look at the books, they weren't like the ones she read, in most of the titles the word astronomy appeared, although she didn't know what it was. 

When she looked out the window she gasped and took a few steps back until Hanako stepped behind her and placed a hand on her back.

“H-how high are we?” she asked.

“A lot,” he answered, taking his hand away from her back to grab her hand and gently pull her back to peek out the window.

They were just above the clouds, so close that if she reached out she could touch them.

“How is this even possible?” Nene was shocked.

“Magic,” he smiled.

“It’s… scary,” she said while looking at the small gaps that the clouds left between each other, where the alarming height at which they were was seen.

Hanako giggled. "That's because you only look down."

She raised her head and the sight left her in awe. Thousands of stars covered the sky shining with an intensity that she did not think possible. It was beautiful.

“Does it still scare you?” he asked.

Nene shook her head before looking at him. He had his face in his hand as he looked up at the sky, his lips forming a genuine smile and his eyes shining in a way she had never seen. He looked so happy that for a moment she forgot all the madness she was experiencing. Despite having climbed above the clouds through a magical cabinet. Despite that, only a few hours ago, she had tea with a wooden doll. Although they were both cursed, for an instant, she forgot that they weren't two normal young people enjoying the stars.

When he looked at her he kept that same expression for a few seconds before changing it and turning around again quickly. Even so, without really understanding why, and without wanting to understand it, Nene was certain that that image would remain etched in her memory.

“Thank you,” she said looking back at the sky. “Thank you for showing me this place. The stars are so pretty…”

“Do you want to see them up close?” he asked excitedly.

“Closer yet?” Nene was surprised. “I warn you that I am not going to enter that hellish piece of furniture again.”

Hanako let out a laugh and turned away from the window. "Too bad, it's a lot of fun! But that won't be necessary," he grabbed a huge contraption and brought it right in front of her. “Tell me, Yashiro, do you know what this is?”

Nene took a good look at the strange object and shook her head.

“This is a telescope,” he explained, kneeling down and slightly moving the contraption. “With it, you can see things that are very far away like stars. And since there is no moon tonight they will look very bright. If you look through it in the right place…” he placed his eye in the hole and tightened some nuts. “...you'll be able to see amazing things,” he finished and stepped back to make space for her.

She knelt down beside him and mimicked him by placing her eye in the hole. She blinked a couple of times to focus her vision and was amazed. “I-is this a star?” she asked, looking at the beautiful flash of light.

“Yes, and a very bright one. Although with this telescope you can't see it very well.”

“I think it looks impressive…” she heard him chuckle. “Do you want to watch?”

“No, I'm fine,” he replied, getting up from the ground.

“Why not? It’s wonderful…”

“I know but…” he doubted. “You know, the light. Since it's so soft it hardly affects me, but... Better not push fate.”

“Oh…” she had forgotten about that part.

“But never mind, at least you can put this old thing to use,” Hanako patted the top of the telescope. “That makes it not feel like a waste of time how long it took me to build it.”

“Did you build it?”.

He blinked “Uh... Yeah... I guess so…”

“That’s amazing!” Nene smiled admiringly at him.

He blushed and squirmed uncomfortably, putting his hands in his pockets and he surprised himself  finding something inside. “Oh right! I think this is yours,” he said, pulling out the hairpins that she had lost the night before.

“Oh my God! How could I have forgotten about them?” Nene got up quickly to pick them up. “Thank you so much, Hanako. Where did you find them?”

He shrugged. “They were in front of my door.”

“That's weird, yesterday a little pink creature had them.”

“A mokke?”

“A what ?”

“They’re… Nevermind, you said that a little pink creature had them?”

She nodded. “Something’s wrong?” she asked when she noticed that his gaze hardened.

“No, nothing at all,” he said, smiling again.

Nene, of course, did not believe him. But she was beginning to feel very tired and she didn't want to insist, she also liked the dynamic they had had up to that moment. So she sat on the floor, leaning against the desk in the room, and motioned for Hanako to sit next to her. When he did, she rested her head on his shoulder, as was her custom, and closed her eyes.

“Thank you for showing me this place.”

"You said that already, Yashiro," his smile could be heard in his voice.

She smiled back. “It doesn't matter, when you're grateful to someone it's good to show it by saying ‘thank you’. It's like when you love someone and you don't get tired of saying ‘I love you’, don't you think?”

There was a long pause, in which only the sound of the wind and their breathing could be heard.

“Yashiro?” he broke the silence.

“Yeah?”

“Thank you for being my friend.”

Chapter Text

Sakura caressed the mokke with her little wooden hand. The creature, meanwhile, ate some candies she had given them. They were sitting on the basement stairs, she knew Tsukasa couldn’t go there. But that didn’t matter, she would end up coming down to see him and do anything he asked for, as always. She always did it. 

She felt pretty bad for the young lady, Nene, who had been dragged down to the basement with no idea what was to be found there. And now that she had figured it out, she would have even less idea what she was up against. Although not that Sakura had the right to feel bad for her, after all, she had been the one who had sent the mokke to her room, as she had been told.

After releasing a long sigh, she got up ready to go down the stairs, moving only by inertia and impotence. Would she be free one day? Had she ever been? It had been a long time since she had looked for any answers.

Weeks passed and Nene finally accepted the castle as her home. She felt good inside those walls and happy with the people inside them. Of course, she missed her little but comfortable house in the village, the animals on the farm, and most of all, she missed her father. It wasn’t a perfect situation but she had made peace with it. And it wasn’t as if she was never going to see her father again, Kou had promised her that he would tell him to visit her once he returned to the village. She couldn’t wait to see him, but she also felt bad about her friend leaving. It wouldn’t be fair to ask him to stay, and she wanted him to be happy, even if she couldn’t be with him.

But besides that, she was feeling good where she was. The dolls were kind to her and she had Aoi and Hanako. Nene didn’t feel lonely at all.

“Which do you prefer? Blue or red?” Aoi asked.

Nene looked carefully at the two dresses in front of her. They were both pretty, like everything Aoi bring to her. It was a rough decision.

“Umm... I don't know, which one would you choose?”

Aoi took the blue dress. “Well, objectively speaking, this is more appropriate for a night walk, but…” she took the red. “This one goes with your eyes.”

Nene smiled and took the red dress. “I knew I could trust your judgment.”

After she changed her clothes she sat in front of the mirror. Aoi stood behind her on a stool and began to comb her hair. It was a little ritual that they had established, every night before Hanako appeared in her room, Aoi helped her get ready. Nene liked it, it was what village girls did, get ready together and talk about life, or so she thought because she had never been invited.

“So? What are you and Your Highness doing tonight?” she asked as she braided a few strands of her long hair.

“The usual, probably,” she answered, trying to move as little as possible to avoid disturbing her friend. “A walk in the garden. And later we could read together. You know, the usual.”

She hadn’t told Aoi about the tower above the clouds. For no reason, she felt like keeping it between Hanako and her. He hadn’t taken her there since the first time, but he promised to do it when it was a good night to see the stars. But still, she enjoyed their little routine on dry land.

“That’s sweet, don’t you think?” Aoi leaned out for Nene to see her in the mirror, she had a soft smile and her painted eyes were. “Almost… romantic.”

Nene blushed instantly. “W-what?! No! I-it isn’t that way,” she shook her head without thinking about her poor braid. “We’re not… He’s my friend! We’re friends! Good friends. N-nothing more than that.”

Aoi kept smiling, undid what was left of the braid and started again. “Are you sure, Nene? You seem quite comfortable with each other. And didn’t you dream about marrying a prince?”

“That’s not… We’re comfortable because we’re friends. That’s what friends do, enjoy each other’s company,” she tried to regain composure. “And anyway, he’s not exactly my type of prince.”

“Umm… I see…” continued her friend. “Still, I think you could give him a try.”

“W-why would I do that?”

“Because…” Aoi leaned close to her ear and whispered. “...it's pretty obvious that he likes you.”

Red invaded Nene's face again. Hanako liking her? Impossible.

Or maybe not so impossible… What if the jokes that he always did… weren’t jokes? What if there was another reason for him always being clung to her apart from trying to be annoying? What if…?

No. Nene stopped there. Maybe a few years ago you would catch her with that, but she had grown up and had been through some misunderstandings about love that has ended in a humiliating rejection. And what was more important, Hanako was her friend. If he was always doing bad-taste jokes and flirting with her brazenly it was because he was like that. And she was easy to make blush, which made it funnier for him. He didn’t mean it. He had even made it with Kou! And she didn’t think he was a two-timing guy. Although the difference between her and Kou was that he used to get angry when Hanako did that with him. Which, of course, made it funnier for him.

No, Nene wasn’t going to cross that line. Not again. Hanako didn’t like her, and she didn’t care. She didn’t care at all, even preferred it that way.

Speaking of the devil, the room door swung open and Hanako entered the room and sat on Nene’s bed smiling as he always did. What a surprise, he didn’t knock on the door. But when he noticed the strange, almost frightening way the girls were looking at him, his smile turned to confusion.

“Eh… I interrupt something?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

“No! Nothing at all!” Nene exclaimed, getting up quickly and walking towards him. “Now, let's go.”

Hanako blinked. “O-okay… but shouldn’t you…?”

“Bye, Aoi! Thank you for the dress and everything,” she interrupted him, dragging him to the door.

“But, Nene, your hair isn't done yet…”

“See you tomorrow!” she waved at her friend and closed the door.

Once out of the room, and far enough, Nene released Hanako’s arm. 

“Okay… What was that for?” he asked.

“Oh… You know…” Nene smiled tensely. “Girl stuff.”

“Why are you so nervous?” Hanako got closer to her and smirked. “You two weren’t talking about me , weren’t you?”

Nene tried so hard to not blush again. “O-of course not. You are too vain,” she said and turned her head dignified.

Hanako gave her a I don't believe you at all, but I'm going to pretend I do look. “Yeah… Sure,” then he pointed at her. “By the way, Yashiro, have you by any chance seen yourself in the mirror?”

Nene looked at him again, this time offended. “What are you implying?”

“I'm not implying anything, but..." he grabbed her half-done braid. "Your hair is a bit of a mess.”

A month earlier, Kou found Mitsuba “crying” in a room.

“Mitsuba?”

When became aware his presence, the doll started yelling at him.

“You?! Oh, goddess. You're the last person I want to see right now. Leave me alone! I’m not going to tell you anything about this place.”

“B-but are you okay?”

Mitsuba gave him an exasperated look, then sighed and put on his face the most fake smile the boy had ever seen. “Yes, of course! Please don't waste your time with an ordinary servant like me. Just go on with your life and forget about this.”

“Why are you here? Where you crying?” Kou ignored him.

The doll's smile turned into an expression between sadness and anger. “No. I wasn’t crying. You wanna know why? Because I’m a fucking wooden doll, and that means I can’t cry. My eyes are fucking painted! I can’t cry, neither eat, get a bath or anything! And all of this for what? To spent my days alone in my room? What kind of existence is this?” his voice was trembling and his gaze ended on the ground.

“W-why are you alone? There are many dolls here,” Kou sat across of him.

Mitsuba looked at him again with narrowed eyes. ”What are you trying? I’ve told you that I am not going to tell you anything.”

“I’m not trying anything!” said Kou offended.

After arguing a bit, Mitsuba confessed him that he didn’t get along with the other dolls. He had tried to be kind and polite. Even he took the roughest works for them. But it didn’t matter, they simply didn’t like him.

Kou felt bad for him, and he offered to be his friend with a big bright smile. He also tried to ignore the disgusting expression in the doll’s face when he said that.

So there were they, spending time together since then. Kou had found that Mitsuba’s nature was harder than he had expected. But he could be very nice too when he wanted. It would be a lie if he said that he had no intention of getting even a little bit of information about the castle or Hanako from him, but he really wanted to be his friend. Still, Mitsuba didn't say anything at all about it., and that bothered Kou less than he expected.

But that didn't mean that Kou didn't continue searching on his own. He had met Akane once since he left the village. They decided it was best to see each other every few weeks to give him time to gather information without arousing suspicion. Teru still didn't like the idea of him being there, but apparently he was very busy with his tasks as the future mayor of the town and gathering what he needed to execute his plan to protect the town from the castle's magic. Or rather, to protect the town from Hanako. 

This made Kou feel strange. As much as he hated to admit it, during his time in the castle, Hanako hadn't seemed bad to him. Unbearable, childish and very, very annoying. But not bad. Could it be that he really wasn't bad? Or maybe that was what he wanted him to believe. He didn't know, and to be sure he needed information. Information he didn’t had. 

But where could he find it? Maybe going down some dark and suspicious stairs like the ones he had just seen in the corridor? It could be a good start.

"What's down there?" Kou tried to get closer to the stairs, but Mitsuba stopped him.

"Don't go that way!" he held him by one leg, then smiled nervously. "You know, it's just the basement. It's just dusty and damp. That's bad for a wooden doll," he grabbed his arm. "Come on, aren't you hungry? I'm sure there are cupcakes left in the kitchen..."

“Why are you acting so strange?” Kou narrowed his eyes looking at him without moving from the spot.

“I-I'm not acting strange…” Mitsuba looked at him pleadingly. “I just… I don't like dark places. Can we just go please?”

Kou thought about it, he didn't want Mitsuba to have a bad time, and his expression made clear that there was something more than a dusty, humid and dark basement. What if it was something dangerous? He had to find out and tell Teru. But his friend seemed terrified. Maybe he could leave now and come back at another time to investigate…

Suddenly there was the sound of a door closing from the basement. Kou's alarms went off.

"Stay here if you want, I'll be up right away," he told Mitsuba.

"No wait...!" he tried, but Kou was already gone.

Once downstairs Kou looked around, there was no sign of anything suspicious or dangerous.

Behind him, small quick footsteps were heard and he went on guard. But it was just Mitsuba, coming hyperventilating.

"I told you that you could stay upstairs."

"I don't like being told what I can or can't do," the doll replied, making himself dignified. "Well, here we are. Happy? As you can see there is nothing unusual, just a dark and cold corridor. Now, can we go back upstairs?" he tried to appear calm, but his tone betrayed him.

"I heard a door."

"It would be the air."

"In a basement?"

"Come on, it's not even the weirdest thing that happens in this place.”

He had a point. But still, Kou had a bad feeling. Straining his eyes, he located a door a few meters away from them.

"Wait, I just want to make sure everything's fine," he said heading for the door.

"You must be kidding me..." Mitsuba complained, but still followed him, watching his steps.

Kou rested his hand on the doorknob, his heart beating fast. What would be in there? Was it the reason why his friend was so scared? There was no turning back. He opened the door carefully.

Mitsuba peeked out from behind him and breathed a sigh of relief. "See? There's nothing. Now do me a favor and let's go back upstairs."

Kou looked at the empty room. "T-this doesn't make sense. I heard a noise, there must be something."

"I already told you," Mitsuba pulled him towards the stairs. "It must have been the air, really, you're becoming so parano..."

A voice spoke, interrupting him. "Oh, look who we have here."

The doll stopped short. He turned his head slightly towards Kou looking at him in terror. The boy instinctively moved in front of him to face whoever it was. Although all the scenarios that he had been able to imagine were not even close to what he found.

"Mitsuba, you're back! And you brought someone with you!" said the stranger smiling.

Although for a moment Kou wondered if "strange" was the right word. He had been shocked to see a weirder, more translucent version of Hanako. It took him longer than expected to realize who he really was. It was hard for him to remember what his brother had told him before he left town with what appeared to be a ghost in front of him.

"This is a portrait of the old royal family," Teru had explained.

Kou looked at the image carefully. You could tell it was very old, the edges were torn and the colors had turned yellowish. In it you could see an elegant man and woman smiling calmly, in front of them were two identical little boys. Twins.

"And this is one of the crown princes to the kingdom," he handed him another portrait. "We don't know their names, all the records of the royalty disappeared. We don't know if the villagers of that time decided to destroy them or it was the castle itself. "

The twins were no longer children in the next image, they seemed to be a year or two younger than Kou. They were standing next to each other dressed in elegant clothes. They were not very tall and their dark hair falling over their foreheads made it difficult to distinguish them. The only difference between them were their expressions. The one on the right smiled in a strange way and it seemed that his eyes, although painted on the paper, were staring at you. Instead, the one on the right seemed to be rather uncomfortable. As if he didn't want to be there and was only doing it out of commitment. He had a tight smile and his arms hidden behind his back.

Teru leaned into the portrait and said to the twin on the right.

"This is the one who now runs the castle. The older of the two princes, who calls himself Hanako," he leaned back in his chair. "Nearly sixty years ago, he killed his younger brother in cold blood and brought ruin to that place."

Kou looked at the uncomfortable boy in the portrait again, he didn't seem to be capable of committing murder. But he was the one who kept his dear friend Nene captive. The worst wolves are the ones that dress up as sheep, right?

"Why did he kill him? " he asked looking up. "For power ?”

"We don't know, he was next in line for the throne. But on coronation eve he rushed his brother with a knife in hand."

"Is there anything else I should know?”

Teru hesitated. "Well, there is...something. It's just rumors though, " he paused before continuing. "Some of the Minamoto claimed that the ghost of the murdered prince still haunts the castle seeking revenge. But don't dwell on that, it's just rumors."

No, Teru, it wasn’t just rumors.

“P-prince Tsukasa…” Mitsuba stammered, peeking out from behind Kou and making a little bow. “I-I’m glad to see you.”

“Me too!” he replied enthusiastically. "It's been a shame I couldn't go after you all these years. But now that you've come down here everything will be easier and more fun! Come on, there's a lot to do..."

The ghost moved closer to the doll, but Kou put him back behind him with a protective gesture. He didn't feel good intentions on his part, besides, his childish tone gave him chills and his eyes didn't have any sparkle. “Don’t touch my friend.”

Tsukasa looked at him with wide eyes, but he didn't seem angry, just curious. "You must be the mayor's son," smiled. "I wanted to meet you too. But still..." he grabbed Kou’s shoulder and slammed him to the ground.

Kou was caught by surprise and didn't react in time to avoid the blow. Pained and confused, he tried to get up as the ghost cornered Mitsuba.

"Come on, Mitsuba, I know you're loyal to me. You won't run away again, will you? You know you owe me. You owe me everything," he said smiling as he grabbed his arms. The doll trembled uncontrollably as he looked at Kou in terror.

He got up again and released Mitsuba. "I said don't touch him."

That surprised Tsukasa for an instant, but he immediately smiled again. "Wow! You really have guts. Maybe you could be more fun than I expected. I might even play a little with you, too."

Kou swallowed hard. "Play ?"

Tsukasa nodded effusively. "That's it! I like to play with people. Like Mitsuba, he likes me to play with him. Right, Mitsuba?"

The doll just clung to Kou while trembling, seeming unable to speak.

The ghost turned towards the boy, looked at him for a few seconds and cocked his head. "You're friends with Nene, right?"

Hearing her name, Kou tensed. "Nene...? What do you want from her?"

"I wanted to ask her something, but I couldn't because Amane showed up right away and wanted to take her away. Sometimes he's a bit of a killjoy," he said, speaking like a child being sent to bed early.

Kou didn't know who or what he was talking about, but at that moment he didn't care. "W-what question?"

Tsukasa took a step towards him. "I just want to know."

"Know what?" Kou's hands were sweating.

He smiled again, his eyes empty. "I want to know how she feels, being about to die."

"You knew," Kou accused.

Hanako, cornered against the wall, looked at him confused. "What are you talking about?"

"Don't play dumb with me. You knew it all this time. You knew Nene's curse wasn't just about trapping her inside this place. Did you know she's going to..." he stopped there, but he started to shake.

Hanako's eyes widened. "W-what..? Kid, I have no idea what you're talking about. It seems to me that someone doesn't take too well with haunted castles and is starting to imagine things..."

"I said don't play dumb with me!" he gripped him tighter. "I've seen your brother in the basement, he told me everything. Are you going to tell me he a lied?" Kou tried to sound intimidating, but desperation crept into his voice as he asked the question. It had to be a lie. He had to tell him that he was crazy. That he had fallen for a horrible joke and that he shouldn't believe everything anyone told him right off the bat. He had to make fun of him for being so gullible. And he had to tell him that Nene was fine. He had to.

But he did not.

Hanako changed his teasing expression to a blank one and just looked at him. His silence was answer enough.

Kou felt a surge of anger and helplessness. "Damn bastard. How long did you think you could hide it? And you've had the nerve to play friendly in front of her. Nene doesn't know about this, does she? When she finds out..."

"She won't find out," Hanako pushed him away and switched their positions. Now he was the one who had Kou pinned against the wall. "Because you're not going to tell her."

"And how are you supposed to stop me? Are you going to kill me like you did to your brother?" he said, managing to hide the lump in his throat.

Hanako's impassive expression broke for a moment, but he composed himself to speak again. "That won't be necessary," he loosened his grip. "You won't get anything by telling her. Yashiro can't get out of here, she can't do anything to prevent her death. You would only make her last weeks of life anguishing and depressing. Is that what you want for her? Do you want her to be miserable? " he made a pause and then released him. "I don't think so."

Kou felt overwhelmed. ““B-but… This is not right, we must tell Nene! We can't hide something like that from her.”

"As you've told her that you're here as a spy for your brother?" Hanako raised an eyebrow. Kou's breath hitched. "I'm the owner of this castle, kid, I know everything. I don't mind if you pass information on to the future mayor, I don't think there's anything here that could be of use to him in whatever he intends to do. But it still seems to me kind of hypocritical of you to judge me for something you do yourself," he gave him a fake smile.

Kou tried to process everything, but the only thought of Nene dying kept repeating in his head. Nene, his lifelong best friend. Dead. It couldn't be. He couldn't let it happen.

"There must be a way," he finally said. "There has to be a way to break her curse."

Hanako shook his head. "There's no way, kid."

"Don't say that when you haven't even tried."

"Do you really think I haven't tried?" Kou saw how he clenched his fists. "I've done it. Believe me, I've done everything I can think of. Spells, potions, incantations. Even transferring the curse to someone else, but it's too late, it's already taken root in her. It's useless, don't waste your time thinking about it."

"A-and that's it? Are you just going to give up?" Kou was getting angry again.

Hanako just shrugged. That was the last straw for him, Kou lunged at him again. "You can't be serious. During all these months you and she have become so close... She considers you her friend! A-and you're going to let her die ?"

"What would you rather I do?" Hanako was expressionless. "That the day she found out she was cursed I would have told her, by the way, you will die in about a year , pat her on the back and act like the jerk I am? Plunge her into misery and leave her for the rest of her life alone stuck here? With nothing to do while she counts the days she has left? Is that what I should have done?" he was staring at him with empty eyes, Kou had to fight the urge to back away. "Well, I didn't. I'd rather try to make her enjoy the time she spends here. Spend time with her, give her something to do. Is that so bad? I don't think so, but maaybe my judgment doesn't count too much.” He broke free of Kou's arms. "I admire your determination, kid, mine vanished years ago. But if you do what you want, you will only get suffering, for you and for Yashiro. Sometimes it's better to resign yourself and accept what you've been dealt."

Kou watched as he turned to walk away. But he wasn't done. "I'm not going to give up," upon hearing this, Hanako stopped. "I'm going to break that damn curse and get her out of this place."

Hanako stood still for a few seconds before turning with a fake smile to wish him luck and leave.

Kou was angry, very angry. But still, he couldn't help feeling that when Hanako spoke, the only one he was trying to convince was himself.

Hanako didn’t use to have dreams in his sleeping, even when he did, it was just nightmares. But from time to time, he had one dream. The same every time.

He was lying on an unfamiliar ground looking up at the sky. That sky was the darkest he had ever seen and it seemed so… close. Hanako stayed admiring it for what seemed to be hours, but it could have been minutes, or even seconds. The time felt strange, but he didn’t care because he had a weird feeling of peace. As if he belonged there. As if it was his destiny to be there. It didn’t matter what he had done in the past. It didn’t matter the mistakes he had made and the damage he had caused. It didn’t matter. He was there. He was alone. He was at peace. And just before waking up, realize that he was lying on the moon.

Sometimes years went by without him having that dream, but when he had it was always the same. Until that night.

Hanako was lying on the same unfamiliar ground looking up at the same dark sky and it seemed as close as always. The time still felt strange, the weird feeling of peace was there. He belonged there, his destiny was being there. It still didn’t matter what he had done in the past. It still didn’t matter athe mistakes he had made and the damage he had caused. He was there. He was at peace. But he was not alone.

He could feel a familiar warmth in his hand and looked at it. His hand was linked to a small and soft other one, one he could recognize anywhere. Yashiro squeezed his hand gently and he looked up at her face. She was smiling at him and her eyes were shining.

A lump formed on his throat while his mind didn’t stop bombarding him with intrusive thoughts. Her hand was warm, he wanted to hold it forever. Her hair was long and soft, he wanted to braid it until his fingers broke. She was beautiful, he was a mess. She was kind, he was an asshole. She was innocent, he was a murderer. She wanted to live her dreams, he had condemned her.

Tears filled his eyes. She kept smiling. Would she keep smiling at him once she discover the truth? He wanted to apoligize. He was sorry. He didn’t want that for her. He wanted to say something. He needed to say something. He wanted her to know that he… He wanted to tell her that… He…

The words were out of his mouth before he knew it.

“I love you.”

Hanako opened his eyes immediately. He was in his room, lying in his small bed. Alone.

After hyperventilating a bit, he managed to light a lamp manually, using magic while being altered could end badly. In the sense of burning down the entire castle. His hands trembled the whole process, but he didn’t start a fire.

His heart was beating hard in his chest, he was breathing heavily and tears were falling from his eyes. He had to calm down.

Hanako wiped his tears with the sleeves of his shirt and began to breathe deeply over and over again. He focussed on the sound of his wall clock, which marked just over noon. Better, there were still many hours of sun before someone claimed his presence. As the minutes passed, his pulse returned to its usual rhythm.

Once he was calm, he buried his head in the pillow and let out a heavy sigh. What the hell had just happened? What the hell had he just dreamed? What the fuck did he just say ?

Noticing his pulse quicken again, he got up from the bed and began to move restlessly around the room. Well, no need to worry. He just had to clear his head. Separate concepts. Yes, that's where he should start.

One: He was dreaming . That had to be made clear. It had just been a dream, it didn't have to mean anything, right? 

Right?

Definitely not, next point.

Two: The dream itself. It had been at least a couple of years since Hanako hadn't dreamed, just a nightmare from time to time, but nothing similar to his half-recurring dream. It had caught him off guard. Well, Yashiro's presence had caught him off guard. At what point had that woman become so deeply embedded in his subconscious? He didn't know, and he wasn't sure about finding it out.

Next point.

Three: Hanako didn't know whether to be embarrassed or scared by his sudden… declaration . What was that supposed to be for? He did not… He couldn’t love her. Impossible. It could never happen. No. He was doomed to a life in the dark. She was doomed to die locked up there. And he tried to make her happy the time she had left, but he was doing it for a selfish reason. He felt guilty about her curse and was trying to lighten his conscience a little.

At least, at the beginning.

Hanako leaned against a wall and dropped to the ground with a loud grunt. He tried to remember what he had said to Kou hours before.

That wasn't his fault.

He had already tried to fix it.

He shouldn't play with fate anymore.

He knew all of that, but he also knew that when he saw Yashiro his common sense would vanish at all.