Zaniel prepares to say that no, he is in no need of flowers tonight, but in the end, he thinks better of it. After all, it is unwise to refuse a gift from any yokai. The three of them watch the flowers bud and bloom from the earth, under the girl’s tiny rainfall. The boy collects the flowers in threes.

“What’s it like, hafu boy?” the girl suddenly asks. “What’s it like, going back and forth all the time, pretending for so long? Is it lonely?”

She is concentrating too hard on her rainfall to see the glint of anger in Zaniel’s eyes or hear it in his voice. “Maybe in a hundred years you’ll find out for yourself.”

“Not likely. We have each other. Here you go.” The boy obviously did not catch it, either. He hands Zaniel a full bouquet of red roses. The whole process only took a few minutes, as promised. “Good luck with these. Well, we’ll let you get on with your break.” He helps his sister to her feet and they stroll away, hand in hand. Zaniel watches their backs, listens to the clop-clop of their wooden geta get quieter and quieter. That’s two … or is that three?

Zaniel is cold all of a sudden. He tucks the flowers under one arm and folds his hands into the warmth of his armpits. The flowers will survive, of course, assuming he can keep his eyes open long enough to put them to use. He feels the impending danger of nodding off, so he continues his walk. “Idiot,” he curses himself. Who gets sleepy in a world where he’s already asleep?

He walks farther along the path, concentrating on the trees and the shadows they cast against the red sky behind them. They begin to normalize now, matching the deciduous trees that exist in the real world. The sky begins to darken to a deep, warm brown. He relaxes a little, but only a little, for he knows that yokai may still lurk here.

He is correct. It is not long after that another shadow appears. This one sits in the middle of the path, squatting as some humans like to do. Zaniel assumes he is meditating or sleeping. Were it not for the man’s long red nose, Zaniel would skirt right around him. He knows that would be a most unwise choice. This creature is a tengu, and tengu deserve the proper respect.

“I apologize for disturbing you, Tengu-sama,” Zaniel begins with a deep bow. “I merely want to pass through these woods unscathed. Please, let me by you without due harm.”

“So formal. Oh, wait. You are Akki’s boy. Why not say something, kid?” The Tengu rises to his feet, brushing itself down. “Do you not know how dangerous these parts are? Humans get devoured up here all the time.”

“How do you know me, sir?”