The forest disappears at a cliff. Clouds line its face like a border and stretch into the bloody horizon. He hesitates at the edge, clinging to a nearby tree for stability. This place has always frightened him. He never knows what can be down there, waiting beneath the clouds. Is it a straight drop? Or would he roll down the mountain for miles and miles if he fell? It doesn’t matter, now. He sits down and rests against the tree, closing his eyes. Soon, he will wake up to what he can only describe as a new life. Everything is going to change — for the better, he prays.

A rumble of thunder drowns out the last of his prayers. He opens his eyes. The blood-coloured sky is now thick with lavender clouds. Night is falling. He cannot make out the forest, save for a few lightning strikes that illuminate his surroundings, but then the trees in the distance catch fire. He sees the glow of flames brighten and hears a shriek in the distance. A shriek of panic, rage.

“No … no!” What’s happening? Who could be doing this? He knows the answers already. It is Akki, and Akki is angry. What he does not know is why. Was this all a test of loyalty, to see if he could stay on his toes? To see if he would throw himself at the first pretty face to come by and try to sway him? Zaniel is certain he will never know, even if he should dare to ask. And for the first time in years, he does not care. It was foolish to get his hopes up in the first place. He should have known better than to trust anything in this place.

That’s the problem with dreams: you can’t tell the good from the bad, and after a while, they blend into one.

Zaniel closes his eyes again and assumes a comfortable position. He prepares to awaken. The tumultuous thunder, the heat of the encroaching forest fire, the warmth of that yokai’s ebony eyes. He can feel them, even now, like a warm kiss.

“Goodnight, Momotaro.”

His eyes fly open. The warm feeling on his skin dissipates the moment he does — the only thing he sees is the obsidian bracelet on his wrist, shimmering with cold light. As his body feels heavier and heavier, his bracelets vibrate. He feels creatures’ eyes all around him, watching him. He feels relief that he is leaving this world. Then, he feels the regret that he may have lost his only chance to make a friend here. And then …

“Damn.” Zaniel sits upright in his bed, touching his shoulders and chest. “My jacket. I left it in the house.”

It is true. The Yokai had eaten a perfectly good jacket.

PART I

one

ORANGE MARMALADE

光陰矢の如し

Time f lies like an arrow

“Ima okina-EE-to, okurema-SOO, yo … Ima okina-EE-to, okurema-SOO, yo …”