Flashes of the girl keep bothering me every night. What's wrong with me? Why am I suddenly thinking about this person?

"Master! Breakfast is ready!" Yuki-onna called Rikuo from outside of his room.

Rikuo sat up and scratched his head. His face puzzled.

He sighed.

He went to the dining room to find his mother preparing more food for the rest of the clan members.

"Hi, Rikuo! Did you sleep well?" Wakana asked.

"Uh – yeah, kinda." Rikuo started to eat.

"That's good. Lately Yuki-onna's been bugging me about something about you…" She started to say.

"About me? Whatcha talkin about, mom?" Rikuo questioned.

"Hmm… She tells me you've been spacing out more and more lately, and whenever you fall asleep you always say…" Wakana suddenly stopped talking.

"Say…?" Rikuo glanced at his mother.

Wakana disregarded her pause and continued to cook. She smiled and said, "Oh nevermind, Rikuo! Go ahead and eat!"

Rikuo paused for a while before going back to eat. He wondered.

I've been saying things?

NIGHT

Rikuo was sitting outside of his room, facing the cherry blossom tree in full bloom.

Yuki-onna happened to pass by him, and he called onto her.

"Tsurara, can you come here for a bit?"

"Ah – Master!" She immediately sat beside him. "What may I do for you?"

"Tsurara…"Rikuo went closer to Yuki-onna's face with the whispering gesture.

Yuki-onna's face started to turn red, and she closed her eyes. "M-m-master!?"

"Tsurara, what have you been telling mom about me?"

Yuki-onna opened her eyes. "Eh?"

"You know."

"Eh – ah – oh – Master…" Yuki-onna exhaled. "I have observed recently… Master… you haven't been yourself this week."

"This week?"

Yuki-onna nodded. "You're always staring out the window every class day, and when you're asleep you - …"

"I… What?"

Yuki-onna faced away from her master, implicating she really didn't want to say anything to him, even though she has the duty to do so.

Rikuo stared at her, one brow up. "Tsurara, what's been happening?"

Evidently, Rikuo here has been daydreaming more and more recently, and every night he says something that Yuki-onna has always heard, because the moment he says it, she's always been passing by his room – and so, she knows.

"You've been saying 'I miss you.' Master." Yuki-onna said. "Every night since the start of this week."

Rikuo's eyes widened, his pupils dilated.

Cherry blossom petals started falling all around him, flying with the wind.

"I miss… who…?" He uttered.

"Ai." The one who answered was not Yuki-onna. It was the yokai sitting on the branch of the cherry blossom tree.

Rikuo looked up to the yokai. He was looking down at him with the seductive smirk.

Something as simple as hearing that name sparked something inside of Rikuo. His heart skipped a beat at the mention of that name.

"Don't you remember her, human me?" The handsome yokai in red asked Rikuo. "Or have you forced her out of your memory?"

Rikuo's face darkened.

No doubt about that. I cried my way out of it.

"Why… why now?"

"It's been 7 years, hasn't it, human me?" The yokai jumped down and walked towards Rikuo, who was staring on the ground.

"7 years?"

"Yeah. 7 years."

Rikuo looked up at the demon. "And what about you? You sound like you've moved on very efficiently from that." He was on the verge of crying out loud.

"Well you've suppressed your feelings so efficiently too." The yokai held out a hand to his human form. "Your anniversary's near." He smirked.

Our 7th anniversary?!

Patches of wonderful memories suddenly appear all over Rikuo's mind. Her eyes, her hair, her kimono, her words, her voice.

The most overwhelming thing he remembered… when the girl told him she loved him.

"So… that's why I've been so conscious about things? No, I've been unconsciously conscious about those times." Rikuo uttered.

"And it has finally come to this." The yokai said.

Cherry blossom petals swirled around them, the moment it all flew up, Rikuo was already in his night form.

Yuki-onna was surprised to see him transform.

He was on his red haori.

"Yuki-onna." Rikuo said.

"M-master?!" Yuki-onna's face red.

"The nights are longer these days, aren't they?"

"Y-yes Master."

"Well then, take care of my room for me, Yuki-onna." Rikuo walked towards the misty exit of his home. "I'm gonna go hunting." He looked back and smirked before disappearing within his Fear.

7 years, eh?

That's such a long time.

I wonder what you look like now? Probably still the same, since you'll never get old. Unlike me. I may live for eternity, but that eternity right now is nothing to me if you're not with me.

We promised to be friends forever. We said we loved each other. And now that my memories have been reminisced, there's no stopping me from getting back to you.

This is what fate has lead us to. This is what our red strings have brought us to.

We have no end in this world, and as I said before, everything around me will be brilliant if you're beside me.

Let me see your face, Enma Ai.

END

Twitter: Aloeemodin