Igloo Icebreaker

Shin and Yukimura followed the Yukinko inside the igloo. They were immediately met with an empty interior. There wasn’t much inside other than the snow that made up the walls, ceiling, and floor. The only other thing was an engraving of a name: Kin.

“Kin? What does that mean?” When Yukimura asked that question, the Yukinko immediately began to scribble on the ground. After it finished, it moved so the pair could see what it wrote, and it read: My name is Kin. Welcome to our home.

“Our?”

Kin wrote again: Yes. My brothers and sisters and I live here with Mama.

“Who is your mom?” This time, Kin didn’t write a reply; instead, he pointed at the only part of the igloo’s interior where there was no snow. Yukimura peered through the opening of the igloo and saw a sight that she couldn’t believe.

The cave was filled with frigid air as a ghastly feminine figure soared over the snow village. The figure had long black hair and a Yukinko in her arms. She placed the Yukinko on the ground of the snow village, leaving herself to hover above the other igloos. As she was in the air, countless Yukinkos came to greet her. They clung to her with a smile as she lowered herself closer to the ground. When the figure returned their smile, Yukimura saw a familiar face: the Yuki-onna’s.

Before Kin joined the other Yukinkos in celebrating the Yuki-onna’s return, Kin wrote another message: Bye. I’m going to say hi to Mama now.

Kin dashed out the door with a smile on its face. Shin chuckled at the sight before asking, “So who’s their mom?” However, Yukimura did not give him a verbal answer. She only staggered backward, pointing toward the opening of the barren igloo. Shin watched the Yuki-onna greeting her children for a few seconds before turning to Yukimura. “Maybe she isn’t as bad as we thought.”

“Huh?” Yukimura couldn’t believe her ears when Shin said those words. Do I have to spell it out for him? “She tried to kill us!”

“Maybe she was trying to protect her kids.”

“That doesn’t justify anything! The Yukinkos may not be as bad, but the Yuki-onna has killed countless people on this mountain.”

“But—”

“But, nothing! She’s an evil yokai that has to be killed!” A short silence filled the igloo before Shin asked another question.

“Why are you so against the idea that the Yuki-onna can be good? She’s smiling and being a mother right now, isn’t she? Isn’t that proof—”

“No! They use smiles to deceive and kill people. There is nothing more evil in this world than a yokai. Especially not after…” Yukimura’s voice lowered into a mumble. She tightened her grip on her sword before marching toward the door. However, before she could make it out, Shin grabbed her left arm with his right hand.

“Wait, Yukimura.” Yukimura’s grip on her sword tightened as she struggled to walk away.

“No, let go—”

“I won’t! Not until you tell me what happened.” When Shin said these words, Yukimura stopped struggling to get free of Shin’s grip. It was a long pause before she dropped the katana in her hand. Yukimura only turned to Shin with tears in her eyes.

“Not after yokai killed my parents. Is that what you wanted to hear?” Shin let go of Yukimura’s arm, but she wasn’t walking away anymore. She stood in front of Shin, staring him in the eye. “On my seventh birthday, my parents were both killed by yokai.”

“I thought Takeda was your dad.”

“No, he’s my… adoptive father. I lived with him, trained with him, and killed yokai with him for ten years, Shin. For ten years, Shin, I’ve been killing yokai. Killing and killing and killing them as an Onmyoji… even though I know… that it won’t bring my parents back.”

“I—”

“Do you know how that feels? Do you know how it feels to wake up every day knowing that you won’t be able to see either of your parents…” Shin’s eyes widened as Yukimura’s voice grew louder. Her tears streaked down to her chin. “Answer me, Yasura Shin!”

In that moment, Shin held onto her. His arms wrapped around Yukimura’s back, but she didn’t fight it. She waited for the answer that he delivered with his low and shaken voice. “Yes… I do know.”

Yukimura couldn’t see Shin’s face; she couldn’t see his pained expression. Yukimura could only see her tears roll down Shin’s back. “What do you mean you know?”

“Yukimura… my father died before I was born. And my mom died in a hospital a few years ago of an illness… But would you like to know what the weirdest part was?” Shin’s voice continued to crack as he spoke about his family. “The day before she died, she wasn’t sick at all. She was perfectly fine and then died the next day. I couldn’t even see her in the hospital, nor did I see her at her own funeral. I just suddenly lost my mom that day. But now I don’t even think it was an illness at all…”

Yukimura could feel Shin’s body shake as he spoke. “It could’ve been a yokai. After all, my grandma was an Onmyoji, and my mom always said they had the same job… A yokai could’ve killed my dad, too, without me knowing. But…” Shin let go of Yukimura’s torso and placed his hands on her shoulders. He pushed her back slightly so he could see her teary face, and Yukimura could see Shin’s pained face. “I still want to try to trust yokai.”

“But that doesn’t mean I have to trust them.”

“You’re right, I just want you to give them a chance.”

“Why should I?”

“Because… you gave Kin a chance, and you’ve seen how nice it, no, he was. But if we kill the Yuki-onna, we rob Kin and his siblings of their mother. They’d have to live through the pain that we’ve experienced… and… I don’t wish that for any of them. Not for any of the yokai that have been nice to us.”

Yukimura was at a loss for words as she wiped away her tears. But despite being lost, she still felt like she had to say something. “Shin… you’re an idiot.”

“Huh? Where did that come from?”

“Only an idiot would try to make peace with a yokai without a plan.”

“I-I… do have one.”

“Then let me hear it. You said you would, remember?”

Shin nodded, but before he could say what he thought of, the pair heard a familiar shout echo through the snow village. “So, this is where you’ve been hiding? You damn yokai!”

“Crap, that was Rentarou, wasn’t it?”

“Yes, it was.”

“Okay, new plan! You go calm down, Rentarou, to buy time for me to talk to the Yuki-onna.”

“What if she’s not willing to talk?”

“Then… we’ll fight it. Are you good with that, Yukimura?” Shin asked as he let go of her shoulders and kneeled to pick up Yukimura’s sword.

“It’s a stupid plan… But we don’t have much time before Rentarou runs amok, so it is better than no plan.” Yukimura grabbed her sword from Shin before exiting the igloo.

As Yukimura left, Shin lingered for a moment to slap both of his cheeks. “Okay, let’s do this!” With those words said, Shin followed Yukimura out and started making his way toward the Yuki-onna.