Footprints Fade and Shadows Call

That night, there was darkness. Inês dreamed she was stuck; frozen in place by an unseen force in a void of frigid black. She was wearing her regular clothes and she wasn't alone. Next to her, and stuck as well, there laid a beautiful woman. She was young, with pale skin and inky, almond-shaped eyes. Inês couldn't move or say a word. She was drained of all force. All she could do was take note of what little there was around her: under a cover of thin blue frost, there were bolts and machinery; and all around them, a low, metallic hum. The hum got louder until it hovered over their heads. It was Debuu, flying in a choreographed dance. The bug sat between Inês and the woman, and there was a kind of glitch; it faded out and a calico cat stood in its place. It was only a second before the chubby insect was back. Then, it climbed into the woman's mouth.

Inês woke up. It was dusk, and Lu was laying by her side. She let out a sigh.

Marcel and Jin's room was just like theirs, except their futon laid closer together.

“He's still in rough shape, huh?” Inês asked.

“Yeah.” answered Jin. “He hasn't done much but sleep since we got back yesterday. What about Lu?”

“Same thing. She's all pale and small; it worries me.”

They shared an anxious silence.

“Look.” Inês decided to jump head first into the matter at hand. “The reason I came to see you is that I need your help.” she lowered her voice. “I want to go back to the path behind the shrine, just the two of us. There are a few things I need to make sure of.”

“Like what?”

“I'll tell you where it's safe. Also, I need you to do me a favor.”

“Sure...”

“Don't tell anyone I'm going with you.” she whispered.

“How are you going to manage to sneak out without Debuu or the ninja-keeper knowing you're gone?” he asked, skeptical.

“Leave it to me.”

Inês went back to her room, making a whole production of it along the way: she asked for tea she could take to Lu and dango the both of them could eat when she woke up. At the same time, Jin told everyone he wanted to go on a walk alone to stretch his legs and clear his mind. Back in their bedroom, she sat the tea and dango on the floor and glided the rice door open discreetly. Outside, her trusted friend the tanuki had trouble containing his impatience.

“First of all, look at how I'm dressed very carefully.” she instructed him. “Now, can you make yourself look exactly like me?”

There was a soft pop and it was just like looking at her reflection. Well, a reflection with a tail, but that wouldn't be a problem.

“Here, get in my futon! I don't want you to leave Lu's side. You can have the tea and dango, but take care of my friend. Nothing can happen to her.”

Her own face looked back at her with a go get 'em expression, and, somehow, that gave her the courage she needed. She stepped out in the chilly air, put on her Doc Martens so as not to raise suspicions, and marched on to the shrine.

It took her no time at all to get to her destination. Surely, it helped that the weather was clement, and she wasn't blabbering or strolling about. She climbed the stone steps two at a time and found Jin sited on the deck of the shrine, waiting for her. She sat down next to him and exhaled. There was quietude while she caught her breath. Jin was the first to break it.

“So, what is this about?”

She breathed in and closed her eyes. She could hear the wind dance with the trees, but nothing joined in. No birds or rodents. She remembered her first day in this place – how she hadn't noticed any animals. She hadn't seen any animals since then.

“Have you ever seen a fox or a bird since you've been here?” she asked.

“No.”

“Any other animals.”

“Well, we have fish at dinner.” Jin pointed out.

“Not cooked, I mean. In the wild. Like owls at night or squirrels in the trees.”

Jin looked down, lost in thought.

“Remember what you told me?” she said. “Well, as the days have passed, I realized I never did get hungry. I actually stopped eating in the morning. And I only eat in the evenings because Debuu and the innkeeper are always there; I don't want them to get suspicious.”

“You're scared of them?” he asked, perturbed.

“I'm being cautious. I'm not sure who can be trusted. I have a feeling in my gut.”

Jin got up, his arms crossed. He turned to face Inês.

“Marcel is all in on this. He loves it here. What we do, the people…”

“Does he love the people or does he love how they make him feel?”

Jin looked up at the sky, searching for an answer – or maybe he already had it.

“Have you noticed that no one in this place has names?” continued Inês. “No one seems to have likes and wants. It's as if they have no personalities; like they're…”

“NPCs.”

The two sentai exchanged a knowing look. Inês got up in turn and went in the direction of the path. The sky was blue and the virgin snow glimmered in the high noon sun. There was a pleasant chill in the air and the naked trees swayed lazily against one another.

“What about Lu?” asked Jin.

“What about her?”

“She's been getting more powerful. How does she feel about this place. Would she be ready to accept that it might not be what we hoped?”

“Lu loves being a sentai, but if she knew for sure that there was something nefarious going on beneath all of this, she would want out. She has a heart of gold.”

“Marcel has a good heart, too.”

“I didn't mean to say…”

“No, I know. It's just, I didn't want it to go unsaid.”

Inês stopped in her tracks. Looking around, she was lost; not actually: she was in the right place, but there were no traces of yesterday's fight. The trees and ground Lu had charred were immaculate, and the remains of the Yuki-onna were nowhere to be found.

“Jin, am I losing my mind or has the battlefield been completely erased?”

He looked around, a hand on his chin, as if searching for clues on the scene of a crime. He was uncovering snow with a stick, digging for truth, when a distant chorus carried over to them. Watching the horizon, among the many brown figures, Inês saw the three children they had saved the day before.

“What is it?” asked Jin.

“I was just thinking… After Yuki-onna had already been burned, and these children passed her by yesterday, I thought I saw her cry. I've been wondering why.”

The boys and girl were merrily skipping about, unconcerned of any potential dangers that might be lurking still. When they got to them, they didn't seem to notice Inês and Jin.

“Excuse me?” asked Inês.

The children stopped dead in their tracks, looking forward, still. Inês went up to them and kneeled to their level.

“Hey, guys. How have you been doing since yesterday?”

The kids smiled; a smile that didn't quite reach their eyes.

“Good. Thank you.”

“Really? And you aren't scared to pass through these woods alone?”

“Scared?” asked the little girl. “Why? We play here every day!”

“But it's not every day that you see a Yuki-onna.”

“Yuki-onna don't exist!” said the taller boy.

The three children shared a laugh and scurried away, as they disappeared into the distance, their voices blended into one:

Let me through, let me through,
Where the wind forgets to cry.
Past the gate of frozen blue,
Where the seventh child did lie.
Going’s soft: a breeze, a sigh,
But none return who say goodbye.

Step by step, the snow will fall,
Footprints fade and shadows call.
Whisper low and do not stray;
The road back melts before the day.

Laughter echoing in the children's wake, a cold chill ran down Inês' spine.

“Have we really ever saved anyone?” she asked.