I Fell In Love With A Girl Who Died Before I Was Even Born

We got close enough for the glowing lights from the konbini to cut through the growing evening fog.

"I can make it back to Shin'yume-sou," I told Yuki.

She gave me a long, thoughtful look, like she was reading more from the lines on my face than I meant to give away, then turned her head toward the distant shimmer of neon buzzing quietly through the trees.

"Okay," she said gently, finally breaking the silence. "But do me a favor first, okay? Stop by the konbini and grab some of those raindrop cakes and a few bottles of Ramune for Natsumi. I noticed she's running low."

Since when does Yuki care about Natsumi?

"You're worried about the nekomata?" I asked. "Earlier today you were yelling at her about how much she skipped school."

Yuki folded her hands in front of her and smiled a little.

"I saw how concerned she was about you while she was training you this morning, and while her mind has certainly gone to pot, she's not too bad herself."

I raised an eyebrow at her, pausing in the middle of the road like she'd asked me to carry a sacred scroll up a mountain.

"You know, Yuki, the only reason Natsumi even has any Ramune in the first place is because I bought it for her."

She rolled her shoulders, like the world's gentlest shrug.

"You've got me there," Yuki said, voice full of this stupid sweet innocence that was 100% performative. Her translucent eyes sparkled with quiet mischief. "But now that you know she's low, could you really live with yourself if she went without?"

She didn't… did she?

I'd been swindled by a ghost into buying snacks for a nekomata.

"You did that on purpose," I grumbled, folding my arms.

She giggled, stuck out her lower lip in this exaggerated pout that made her look like a cartoon snow bunny begging for forgiveness.

"Don't be mad at me, Ryu."

I looked at her. I mean, really looked, straight into those stupidly beautiful ice-blue eyes of hers, and felt the floor drop out of my chest.

"That's not even fair," I said, quieter than I'd intended.

She bit her lip, rolled her eyes playfully, drifting just close enough that I could feel the chill radiating from her ghostly form.

"I know."

And suddenly I knew exactly what I wanted to do.

I knew. I could already feel myself leaning toward her in my head, like some lovesick idiot from a coming-of-age anime who believed sheer force of will could somehow bend the rules of ghost physics.

She saw the look on my face, her expression softening into something quieter, almost wistful.

Frost prickled gently across the front of my blazer as she sighed softly.

"I know what's not fair," she whispered, her voice breaking a little. "It's not fair that I don't have a body. What's the point of trying to date someone if you can't even kiss them goodnight?"

I blinked, startled, hopeful, cautious all at once.

"Wait... are we dating?"

She tilted her head thoughtfully, floating closer, her silvery hair drifting gently like fog around her.

"I think we both want to," she admitted softly. "But it's not right, is it? Not really."

Her shoulders gently slumped forward, and her voice dropped.

"I died decades ago, didn't I? I'm… barely here, Ryu."

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I shook my head slowly, disagreeing with her.

"Shion died in 1994. That hasn't exactly stopped her."

Yuki flushed, actual color blooming faintly across her ghost-pale cheeks. She looked down shyly, then up again, her lips twisting ruefully.

"Do I need to be jealous of Shion now?"

I opened my mouth, but she cut me off, rolling her eyes at herself.

"Don't bother to answer... I already am, a little. I mean, she doesn't have a beating heart, but she does have a body. That's unfair. She can hold your hand. Hug you. Feel you."

I stepped forward, instinctively trying to close the distance, and spoke firmly.

"I know how I feel about you, Yuki. And whatever you are, whatever rules say we're not supposed to work, my feelings for you are as real as they get. Honestly, I'm lucky to have you."

She gasped softly, spun in a floating, happy circle, her translucent arms thrown wide like she was dancing with moonbeams. Tiny snowflakes shimmered from her fingertips.

"You just made my whole evening, Ryu!"

I couldn't help myself from laughing as I watcher her scrunch up her nose.

"I'm gonna go watch something absolutely awful with Azuki and let her braid my hair again!"

She paused mid-spin, cocking her head at me quizzically.

"Oh! What's Sun-In?" she asked.

I nearly tripped over my own feet remembering what happened last time Azuki braided her hair.

"Yuki, promise me right now that Azuki won't put Sun-In anywhere near your hair. It'll turn it blonde."

Her eyes widened dramatically, lips parting in cartoonish horror.

"Like you?"

I shook my head, trying not to laugh even more. Then I reached out impulsively, pulling her into an attempted hug. She drifted through my arms, leaving a gentle frost across my fingertips as she pressed an ethereal kiss against my cheek.

Damn. So close.

"I promise I'll behave," she giggled softly, floating back up the path toward Crescent Moon Academy.

She spun one last joyful circle before disappearing into the mist and shadows of the forest.

When she was gone, I stood quietly in the cool darkness for a long moment, looking up just as a flicker of movement slid silently across the moon—a shadow carrying no weight but plenty of meaning.

Murasaki.

She was watching. She would come to see me soon. I felt it in my soul.

And I hated just how much I was secretly looking forward to it.

I sighed, pushing the thought away for now, shoved my hands into my pockets, and stepped into the comforting buzz and warmth of the konbini.

Time to grab some snacks for Natsumi. Because apparently, in addition to everything else, I was everyone's ghost boyfriend, vampire therapist, and soda mule now.

Remembering the way I felt when I looked at the "Fox's Crossing" sign, I'd settle for soda mule as long as it was real.

A few minutes later I stepped out of the konbini and into the foggy evening.

I'd barely set foot on the stone path to Shin'yume-sou when I felt sweat cling to my back.

I could make out the glittering neon lights of the onsen ahead, but something about the fog gave it a decaying and foreboding look that I was unfamiliar with.

The lanterns surrounding the onsen appeared to be turned down, but the speakers were on, playing something like soft jazz. The old black boxes sounded warped by the fog, like the music was underwater—slow, dreamlike, and wrong.

As soon as I heard the fluttering of bat-like wings, and the soft, melodic giggling, I knew.

Murasaki.

I could feel her presence the same way I felt the warm fog and the sweat on my back.

"Darling," she said from behind me, her shadow passing above my head.

The fog around the two of us was blown away by the whoosh of her wings as she landed in front of me.

She smiled, the lantern's lights around us were reflected in the violet pools of her eyes. And I felt the mirth behind her grin. She'd been waiting for this. I didn't know how, but I could sense the rush of euphoria when she saw me.

"There you are," she said, stepping forward. "At last."

As soon as she stepped into the faint light of the lanterns, I could see the faint outlines where her wings had been.

And her demonic horns.

Which only highlighted her impish smile.

"Ryu-kun, tell me, are you okay?" she asked.

She softly brushed the bruised left side of my face, her touch was soothing and electrifying at the same time.

Then we embraced each other, and I felt her incredibly soft, warm frame pressing against my own that ignited fifteen-year-old hormones.

"Why don't you show me to your room," she whispered before playfully nibbling my earlobe.

Then my mind flashed to first period class. Inego was staring at me from his desk, eyes wide.

Slowly, he shook his head.

Mouthed: "Bad move."

And I knew if I took Murasaki up to the second floor and let her into my room, I'd never leave without a succubus claiming part of my soul for herself. I'd never be the same again, and I'd never look at Yuki, Shion or even the damn tanuki the same way.

"Hibana," I said suddenly.

Murasaki's entire face darked as though she'd stepped back into the shadows again.

"Hibana?" she spat as though the name itself were laced with battery acid. "Whatever are you bringing that sourpuss up for, my dear?"

I looked down and saw her press her face into my chest as she let out a dreamy sigh,

"Can't it just be the two of us tonight?" she asked trying to steer the conversation back to us.

I nodded, but I imagined taking her to my room only to be stopped by Hibana demanding that I do my janitorial work before anything else.

Murasaki tensed, sensing my own thoughts.

"Oh… that bitch," she muttered to herself.

I heard her hum softly for a second or two, then I saw a mischievous glint in her eye.

She giggled, then stepped back, fingers ghosting up her sides. With a flick of her claws, she unhooked the top of her dress and let it fall. It slid from her like a whisper, pooling at her feet.

She stepped out of it, hooking the hem with her foot and flicking it away as if shedding a second skin.

"Thankfully," she purred, "I have other plans."