I didn't know when I fell asleep, but I opened my eyes to see a wooden ceiling standing high above my head, red and black sheets of fabric strewn along the length of the beams. Gripping the cloth that was covering my body tightly, I slowly sat up and looked around the room, finding myself alone in what appeared to be a study that had long been abandoned.

Bookshelves lined the walls, many of their shelves collapsed from disuse and rot while sending their written loads spilling onto the floor. Some of the books and scrolls had been collected into organized piles, but most of them still lay on the floor, their spines crooked from the fall damage or some pages laying open towards the ceiling. The only part of the room that wasn't covered by shelves was the sliding door that was heavily damaged, some of the paper torn up by insects.

I heard something clatter down a hallway outside the door, a muffled groan sounding out before I could hear padded feet shuffle closer towards the room. Withholding a gasp, I wrapped the cloth around me tightly and lay on my side, trying to appear like I hadn't woken up yet.

The door rattled a little bit before giving way in its well-worn track, sliding open as the feet came into the room. Whatever it was stopped near me and I strained my ears to hear anything else from them.

"I know you're awake."

I bolted up and looked behind me to see Ichimatsu, his yokai form plain for me to see as his ears were perked forward, an eyebrow raised in a small arch as his eyes partially closed into a hooded stare. The red marks on his face blazed brightly as they matched the ferocity of his winter blue eyes. Ichimatsu quickly sat on the ground and pushed something towards me, freeing his hands.

"I figured you'd be hungry when you woke up, so I made something that I thought you could eat," The long red talons on his fingers pulled away before I could reach for the food tray that was shoved in front of me, his index finger reaching up and scratching his right cheek lightly, "I tried."

Loosening my grip on the cloth around me, I reached out and took the food tray, smelling the herbs that were cooked into the fish and rice. Taking the pair of chopsticks that were offered, I forced myself to slow down so I couldn't choke on the food.

"It tastes wonderful, Ichimatsu," I spoke when my mouth wasn't full of food, looking up at meeting his gaze with a smile, "It's almost as good as your mom's cooking."

Ichimatsu's ears lowered a little, his gaze falling from my face before he looked back up at me, "I'm sure she would've loved to teach you, (y/n)."

The white fish was wonderful to eat and the rice was just as flavorful as the fish. If Ichimatsu -- if I hadn't changed the brothers into yokai, then I'm sure that Ichimatsu would've made a wonderful cook.

My eyes dropped their happiness as my focus lowered to the wooden floor beneath me, the taste souring in my mouth as I pulled the chopsticks from my lips.

That's right...this is all my fault, I heard Ichimatsu shift around and glanced up to see his left side facing me, his focus on several books that were open on the ground in front of him. I looked down at my food, shoveling the rest into my mouth and drinking the warm tea that was served alongside the food.

If I had time to feel sorry for my actions, I had time to find answers.

Setting the plate and cup down on the tray, I brought the blanket around my shoulders and scooted over to the other side of the room where more books had been left on the ground. Blowing off the dust on the covers, I gently opened them to see that they were old records of the old Imperial court and their hired help, including their names, dates they were hired and retired, and what work they were contracted to do.

I scanned through the first book, struggling to read the older language before I came across someone who was described to be hired for 'exorcism'. Quickly reaching for my bag with the journal in it, I compared the names and found that the surname was the same...meaning that the Imperial court had hired the father before the son wrote about his escapades as a fude brush crafter. Writing down the name in the journal I had, I continued to pour through the guestbook and found other names that were listed as visiting the court for 'exorcisms' as well.

It seemed that the older royal families had problems with yokai.

----

"--told by the master that there was some sort of infestation, who had responded saying that he would send for someone to take care of the problem quickly."

My ears picked up a soft voice as my mind started to focus back on my surroundings, finding myself completely encompassed by several book stacks with my journal splayed open on my lap. I glanced around to see Ichimatsu laying on his side, his kimono spread over him like a blanket while his ears and tails were limp in his resting state. Despite the nine tails' length, they never seemed to take up a lot of room in the small book storage area, the wispy ends fading into the air as the tails shimmered like a mirage.

"The master of the household had called up several houses that specialized in sending angry spirits further on into the afterlife, called onmyōji, with many of them coming from long lines of purity within the nobility. Among the houses were the clans of Yowai and (L/n)," The soft voice continued, drawing my attention away from the sleeping Ichimatsu. My focus swiveled around until I saw someone else sitting behind me, my barrier of books separating us as the person kept their back turned towards me.

A long black cape covered their back and swirled about their sitting position, the cape reaching up and draping over their head. The right sleeve of his tunic was torn away, leaving just the upper part resting near their upper arm while the left sleeve was shredded even more than the right, barely holding onto their left arm in tattered diamond-like patterns. It made me wonder if the design was deliberate.

"Clans Yowai and (L/n), huh? That's a familiar name," They kept talking, catching my attention at the names they mentioned. I slowly climbed out of my little book circle and moved over to where they sat, glancing over their shoulder at one of the scrolls that I had yet to read spread open in their hands.

The fabric around their hands and fingers was tight and clung to their wrists and forearms before cutting off, making me conclude that the odd designs in their tunic were more than deliberate. The black hood was deeply set, completely hiding their face from me as they partially turned away.

"You're probably wanting to read this, huh."

"Was this in the room?" I gently reached down and took the offered open scroll from their hands, my eyes quickly skimming what they read out loud and finding it to be a transcriber's scroll from what seemed to be a public meeting about the yokai problem that was going on in the castle.

"Underneath one of the bookshelves, actually. It was like someone didn't want you to find it."

"Then I need to thank you," Switching from reading the scroll to looking at the person, I realized that they had stood up and made their way towards the door without making much noise, "Wait...!"

"You don't need to thank me," They commented softly, stepping over Ichimatsu's form easily while pulling the door wide open, "I was just wanting to help you since you seemed stuck with where you needed to look."

I skirted around Ichimatsu, following the person out of the room and chasing them down as they moved through the difficult to walk paths with ease, as if they weren't slowed down by the rubble.

"No, wait! I want to know who you are," I called, reaching out for the person's cape as it trailed behind them. Just as my fingers were about to touch the cloth, they spun around and yanked the fabric away from my hand while meeting my curious gaze with their own vibrant green hues. Their eyes seemed to glow deep within the sockets as the absolute blackness of the hood smothered their facial features, only revealing their eyes.

The black cape looped around their shoulders before trailing down their back, revealing the torn-up black and blue clothes they wore. Many lengths of metal looped around their waist and chest, some of the metal pinned to the cape as it formed a border of some kind around the edges of the hood.

"You don't want to know who I am..." The voice sounded more masculine as I listened, taking on a tone that I was familiar with but not knowing where I knew it from, "My job here is finished, so go back and study what you need to for the fights ahead."

"Then why help me?" I motioned back towards the room down the hall, my eyes closing as my head began to throb with pain, "If you're not an ally, then why spend time looking for an answer that I was searching for?"

"You will know why in time," He sounded saddened, taking a step away before turning and walking through an open doorway that led outside, "All the questions you have will be answered when the time is right, (y/n). For now, focus on your enemy and stay alive."

I raced to catch up with him, not satisfied with the answers, but as I pushed open the door after him, I stared out into an empty field. The wind blew through the destroyed farmland as I frantically looked around for the cloaked person, the cold temperatures of winter threatening to chill me to the bone before I ducked back inside the ruined building. Letting my feet guide me back to the room where the books were, I stared down at the sleeping Ichimatsu before laying next to him and pressing my back against his.

His tails instantly curled around me as one of his ears flicked back in my direction, still remaining asleep as I felt a heavy wave of exhaustion cover my body. The last thoughts in my mind were who the person was that didn't even seem to gain Ichimatsu's attention and the names that he spoke out loud from the scroll.

Did my family have an attachment to the fude brushes that I wasn't aware of? Is that why they were stored in my grandfather's plot?

Were my answers back home?