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

By the time the sun bled into Saturday morning, everything between me and the Asuka clan felt raw.

Hotaru had been the first to break the silence.

She stood in front of me with her pigtails twitching like antennae, muttered out an apology about the poison dart, and refused to look me in the eye until I mumbled forgiveness.

Hibana had been there, arms crossed, looking like she wanted to die of embarrassment, but she didn't interrupt.

Then Matron Urazome herself told me the part I hadn't wanted to hear.

The Asuka clan, she said, were my allies.

Not my friends, not my family, but my allies.

Their duty was to the town, to keep the humans from realizing how many monsters shared their island, and to keep the yokai from tearing each other apart.

The black dragon spirit, my spiritual animal, made me part of that balance whether I liked it or not.

Whether I wanted it or not, the fact that a dragon was in their midst meant that the things I did, my decisions and actions, would affect others regardless of my intentions.

"We share the same goal, boy," she'd said, her voice steady as stone. "Keep the peace, or watch this island drown."

It should have felt like reassurance, but it didn't.

It felt like a chess player promising her knight she'd never throw him away… unless the game demanded it.

I hated it. I hated feeling like a player in a game where everyone else had a copy of the rules but me.

But I also knew that just meant I needed help, and the Asuka clan was power incarnate. Hibana in particular, a brutal training partner, sharp as a blade, merciless as the bruise blooming on my ribs.

I wasn't going to get stronger without someone like her pushing me past the point where I thought I'd break.

So I accepted their apology.

Reluctantly.

Begrudgingly.

But I accepted it.

And now, here I was, out of the clan's stronghold, walking the cracked path beside the narrow road that snaked up the hill toward Shin'yume-sou.

Yuki drifted at my side like she always did, her glow soft in the morning light, and Hibana walked ahead just far enough to make it clear she wasn't in the mood to talk… but wasn't abandoning us either.

Every step jarred my ribs, my lip still stung where it split, but I was breathing fresher air, and the sight of the old crooked boardinghouse on the hill filled me with something I hadn't realized I'd missed.

I was home.

God help me, despite everything, it was good to be home.

"So, what now?" I asked when we reached the konbini.

Hibana finally stopped and turned around.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

I caught up with her.

"Don't play dumb," I said. "You know what I'm talking about. Am I just supposed to pretend that your cousin—"

She snorted.

"Don't go there, okay?" she said in a way that made it clear she wasn't asking.

Then she took half a step back and put her hands up defensively.

"Look, sorry, this is… it's new for me too. It's like we're in the habit of kidnapping our classmates or anything."

My shoulders tensed, but I nodded.

"Okay, but I still want to know. What are we supposed to do?"

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Yuki floated between me and Hibana, watching us silently.

"Are you talking about wanting to continue your training?" Hibana asked.

She smirked.

"Yeah, actually, I think that'd probably be a good idea. At least, I'd be able to avoid a damn kidney shot from you in the future."

Then she rolled her eyes at my remark.

"If I bother to teach you how, you mean. Don't get cocky, baka. You're not half as good as you think you are."

Then she added, almost under her breath, "But you're better than I thought you'd be."

I almost fell over.

There were very few times that I could remember Hibana complimenting me. Actually, just once, in Shin'yume-sou when she was talking about my fight with Ken.

"Ryu," Yuki said as she floated by my side. "I know it's not easy to work with Hibana, but, ultimately, I think it's probably beneficial for you. But… can you promise me something?"

I could tell, by the tone of her voice, she was being serious.

"Yeah, sure. I'll do whatever you need."

I expected her to smile like she usually did when I reassured her, but instead she looked away from me, like she was ashamed.

"Can you promise you'll tell me if you ever discus… um… exorcising me with Hibana?"

My gut twisted. She looked ashamed for even asking, and that pissed me off more than the bruises on my ribs.

"Yuki," I said, sharper than I meant to. "Why the hell would I ever talk about that? You're not some problem to be solved. You're…" I trailed off, suddenly aware of Hibana watching me, but I didn't care.

Yuki finally looked back at me, a worried look on her face.

"Earlier, you know… she asked you what your plan with me was. Since Hibana's an exorcist, her magic is centered on fighting and getting rid of yokai, monsters, and, well… me."

Her blonde hair hung over her face, and she fiddled with her hands as they were folded in front of her.

"Yuki, you know me better than that," I said. "There's no way I'm ever going to try to exorcise you. Not after everything we've been though."

She looked up, her eyes glowing.

"Really?" she asked.

Her grin alone was worth it, but when she twirled in a circle, sending snowflakes scattering in the air around me, it was an absolute miracle.

"You know what that means, right?" she asked, giggling. "I'm gonna haunt you forever!"

I laughed, even though I could feel Hibana's judgmental stare.

Didn't care at all right then.

Yuki's laughter was everything then.

The onsen gate came into view.

Behind it, the flickering neon sign in glorious, grimy pink and dirty blue: Shin'yume-sou.

My disaster.

My home.

And sitting right in front of it, arms wrapped around her knees, hair hanging loose and messy, was Shion.

She looked like she'd been carved out of the night itself.

Same clothes as yesterday.

Same dry green eyes.

Only difference was the shadows hanging darkly under them.

She'd been there all night.

Waiting.

The moment her eyes found me, her lips twitched into that razor smile of hers. But it didn't reach her eyes.

"Blondie!" she croaked, springing to her feet in a motion far too fluid and unnatural for anything human.

"Took you long enough, idiot," she said.

Her voice was steady, but I caught the crack in it when she said my nickname.

Yuki gasped beside me, covering her mouth with her hands.

"You really sat here all night? Oh, gracious…" She trailed off, too stunned to finish.

Hibana snorted and folded her arms.

"Ugh. Drama." She stomped past us toward the gate, throwing one of her arms up dismissively. "I'm out."

I barely noticed her leave. My ribs ached as Shion threw her arms around me and hugged.

She didn't look away.

Not for an instant.

"You look like hell," she muttered, sharp and soft all at once.

"Funny," I said, trying to smirk through the bruises. "I was worried about you too."

That stopped her. Just for a second, her whole act slipped.

Her eyes softened.

And then, without a word, she leaned into me, her shoulder pressing against mine like she was making sure I was solid.

Real.

Still here.

For once, Shion didn't need to say anything.

And for once, neither did I.

She leaned forward, quickly, and without even thinking about it, I did too.

Half a second later, it happened.

I felt her thin, dry lips press against mine with full intent, and I returned that intention as our arms wrapped around each other.

We'd kissed, then and there, in front of the gates of Shin'yume-sou and right in front of Yuki who gasped.

Shion's eyes met mine.

Sharp. Dry.

Angry. Vulnerable.

And in love.

"Blondie," she said, stepping backwards.

I let go, knowing exactly what she meant and being every bit as confused about it as she was.

"Oh gods," she muttered.

I shook my head.

"It's okay," I said, without really knowing what I was referring to, but it seemed appropriate.

Yuki's hands were still clutched over her mouth.

She looked like she didn't know whether to cry, scream, or vanish on the spot.

Shion, being Shion, reacted first.

She took a breath, coughed, straightened her collar, and muttered something that sounded like, "That didn't count," even though her eyes still burned holes through me.

"Right," I said, my voice rough. "We'll just… pretend that didn't happen."

Yuki nodded a little too quickly.

"I think that sounds just… swimmingly perfect."

Shion didn't nod at all.

She folded her arms, like if she squeezed tight enough she could hold in everything she'd just let slip.

I let the silence hang for only a moment before cutting it.

Shion," I said, lowering my voice. "How much do you remember about the Nightlands?"

That got her attention.

Her head tilted, her hair falling loose around her face, green eyes sharp again.

"More than you think," she said.

Her tone was too dry to be a bluff, but I just wondered how much of the "real world" she remembered.

She took half a step closer, lowering her voice until it was just for me.

"I remember meeting you there, Blondie. At Dick's Discotheque in the Nightlands, I mean. And you…" Her lip curled, not in anger but in hesitation.

"You mentioned someone named Lana."

The name made my chest tighten.

Shion pressed on.

"I remember her too. Kitsune. Red hair, sharp smile. She was there, then… I wasn't. And the next thing I knew, I was ripped out. Banished. Like I'd been shoved back into my dorm room. In my bed."

Her smirk came back, bitter and cracked.

"Except I don't sleep, remember? So waking up from a dream? That's a someone's idea of a sick joke."

I felt a chill run down my spine.

Lana would've thought that a vampire waking up from a "dream" was funny as hell.