Sneaking Out

Shin lay on his bed, not watching TV, but staring up at the ceiling. Silence filled the room as the wind blew the mountain’s frigid air on his face. The only noise he could hear was the occasional sound of footsteps, which were probably Rentarou.

Why did I drink that coffee? How stupid am I? Now I can’t sleep at all. But I don’t want to make noise for the others; Rentarou is doing it enough already… Maybe I should go out for a bit.

With this thought, Shin sprang up from his bed. He stepped over his half-open suitcase before grabbing his coat from the closet. As he zipped up his jacket, his hand reached for the doorknob, oblivious to the person who awaited him on the other side.

Shin swung open the door, expecting to greet an empty hallway; however, on the other side was Yukimura. She had her hand raised to knock seconds prior, but when she saw the door move, she swiftly brought it down.

“Y-Y-Yukimura, what brings you here?” Shin didn’t know how to react to the sight of Yukimura in her pajamas. They were mostly white from head to toe, except for snowflakes, which decorated her top and bottom all over. All Shin could do to shield himself from the sight was cover his eyes as he said, “I thought you’d be asleep by now.”

“I thought you were asleep too.” Yukimura’s eyes immediately averted from Shin’s face. She may have gone to knock on his door, but she was silently hoping he would leave her with no response.

“Then, why’d you com—”

“Why are you in your jacket?” Yukimura cut him off before he could ask about her reason. Now, her eyes were slowly moving, locking back onto Shin.

“You caught me red-handed. I was about to go down around Nagano City for a bit.”

“Nagano?” Yukimura was shocked at the mention of the city. “We just came from there. Why didn’t you ask Takeda to stop?”

“That’s because… I didn’t expect to be so awake after that car ride. Now, I need to let some steam loose before going to sleep.”

“You sound like Rentarou.”

“Please don’t insult me like that again.”

Yukimura’s eyes closed slightly as she let out a light chuckle. Shin smiled as she did, closing the door behind him. However, her laughter didn’t last long before she went back to her regular stoic face.

“Sorry, but Shin, I can’t let you go to Nagano City.”

“You sound like Takeda.”

“N-No, I don’t. And like I said, you can’t go, there’d be no one with you in case something happened.”

“I’ll be fine on my own. I know that place like the back of my hand…” Shin’s smile faded before he said these next words. “And I only want to do one thing there. One thing, and then I’ll come right back.”

“One thing?”

“One thing.”

There was a pause as Yukimura thought about her options. However, she eventually gave in to Shin’s wishes on one condition: “I’m coming with you.”

“W-What? You don’t need to bother yourself with me, Yukimura. I know you’re tired.”

“It’s fine. Someone needs to watch you.” Yukimura already started moving to her room, leaving Shin with no room to answer. Instead of stopping her, all he could do was sigh. Shin knew better than anyone that once she had that look in her eyes, there was no stopping her.

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Shin’s boot tapped on the snow’s surface. Every time his shoe pressed into the snow, there was a slow but satisfying crunch. However, with each crunch, Yukimura was met with a slight annoyance.

“When does the taxi arrive?” Yukimura mumbled these words with a sharpness in her voice; however, it wasn’t so low as to reach inaudibility.

“It should be soon,” Shin said as he shivered. Before, he was too focused on sleeping, but now that he was mostly awake, Shin could feel the full bite of Shiga Kogen’s cold.

“Why aren’t we waiting inside?”

“That’s because we don’t know when the receptionist will get back… Oh, I think I see it right now.” Shin squinted his eyes as he saw a figure approaching them from a distance. The figure was waving at them, so Shin waved back. At least, until the pair heard a familiar voice.

“What are you two still doing up?” It was Rentarou. He already had his coat on, and from the looks of it, never took it off.

“Nothing, we were just getting some fresh air.” Shin lied through his teeth.

“Yeah, right. You were probably just trying to run, weren’t you? Luckily, I caught you before you did.”

“No! Why would I run away?”

“Because you’re scared to face whatever the Kishin inside of you. Aren’t you?”

When Yukimura heard that word, she immediately turned to Shin. She expected him to fall into the snow, writhing in pain, but he was fine. The only reaction he had to Rentarou’s words was his own retorts.

“The better question is, what are you doing outside? You weren’t trying to run, were you?”

“What reason do I have to run?”

“Because you’re scared of the thing inside of me.”

“Like hell I am! I’m only out here because I’m trying to sneak out like how you two are going off together.”

“W-We’re not doing that. Yukimura’s only supervising me while I go around Nagano City.”

Rentarou’s normal explosive voice quieted down at the mention of that place. “You’re going to Nagano?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Nothing. It just reminded me that I have someone I need to see there.”

“Is it her?” Yukimura asked, interrupting Shin and Rentarou’s back and forth.

“Yeah, I’m visiting her.”

“Who is she?”

“An Onmyoji.”

“Yeah. An Onmyoji whom I owe something to. So, I’ll accompany you guys, and while I’m there, I’ll also make sure you’re not up to no good, Shin.”

Shin was about to refuse, but before he could, the taxi arrived. Its white exterior matched the layer of snow beneath it. It was the same layer of snow that Rentarou trampled over when the taxi’s door opened.

Shin only sighed at this sight. I thought I was going to have some alone time with Yukimura, but I guess that’ll have to wait.