The sling was light against my back, no longer full from the ample collection of journals that I once had a few days ago. After writing down the most important information I could find in them, I gathered my writings into a single book, selling off the 'collection' to a bookstore and using the funds to pay for heavier clothing to use in the upcoming winter months. A few kind people were able to give me clothes that they were going to get rid of, and I scavenged some needles and thread to sew them back into usable shape.

Making my way east towards the mountain, I hitched a ride when I was able to and traveled by foot the rest of the way. The weather began to turn colder, slowing down my progress as I gathered emergency diversions for the humans-turned-monsters, knowing that I didn't have many uses left in my fude brush. If Ichimatsu was accompanying me, then I wouldn't feel as exposed or unprotected...but that's not how life worked.

A large jug of sake was wrapped up in the sling, pushed to the bottom and surrounded by the thick winter clothing so it couldn't be broken easily. With an oni, a tanuki, and a daitengu counting for three of the brothers, the sake was a must to keep them from eating me. I also had salted meat strips for the inugami, as well as any other brother that wanted meat.

It was the last brother I was the most worried about: Karamatsu. Being transformed into an ao andon, he only needed fear to survive...and I was terrified of him. I never traveled by candlelight just so he didn't have a way to appear near me, though I was positive that it didn't matter.

He knew how to pluck my strings, how to shake my confidence.

Karamatsu was once a young boy with no care about what he was going to do in his life, but the monster in the brush gave him a sense of purpose and he soon embraced the curse, almost as completely as Todomatsu did. The youngest brother was the first to fall to the monster, the tanuki inside coercing him with tricks and playful mannerisms that turned deadly when he fully shifted. By the time the brothers and I had realized what happened, it was too late.

They fell to their monsters one by one, using the fude brushes to stop the cursed brothers and becoming monsters themselves.

My hand rested on the hidden pouch, feeling the wooden shaft of the brush inside.

I was the last, with only a use or three left before I would fall to my own monster and join the brothers in their yokai reverie.

Taking in a deep breath and sighing it out to clear my mind, I held my head high as I walked down a footpath that was slightly shaded from the noon sun by the trees, interlacing their branches as a makeshift cover. It wouldn't do me any kind of good to dwell on the mistakes of the past, straightening up and readjusting the pack slung across my back.

After weeks of travel, I couldn't help but smile at the sight of Mount Tsurugi, the top of the mountain reaching up to the sky as the clouds swept down its wide slopes before flowing out over the nearby plains. The other mountain peaks near it extended the mountain range, but my destination was right in front of me.

"Ichimatsu..." I barely whispered, once more walking down the path that would lead me to the peak. The wind picked up a little, almost urging me to keep moving forward. I briefly stopped and pulled out a thicker jacket, tucking my yukata sleeves close and wrapping it around me before fastening the sling on my back again. I had never climbed a mountain before, but was warned to not fall prey to those that used the blinding snow to their advantage.

"(Y/n)," I heard someone call out my name from behind me, turning to see the familiar black kimono fluttering around a human form, nine dark cream-colored tails fanned out behind him. The wind played with his long ears and slightly longer hair, partially revealing the red eyes that stared right at me.

My throat tightened as I rushed to hug Ichimatsu, feeling him catch me and wrap his arms around my shoulders. He felt warm through the jacket, as his hands lightly caressed my back.

"I'm so glad to see you again," I looked up at him, pulling away slightly before his hands shifted from my back to my cheeks, tilting my head upward and swiftly sealing our lips in a kiss. A cry of surprise was smothered in my throat as Ichimatsu leaned down a little more, hungrily kissing and lightly sucking on my bottom lip.

After the heated kiss, he released my head and held me close once more, both of us breathless.

"I've been waiting for so long...to do that," His deep voice resonated against my ear, and my heart skipped a beat before I was able to look up at him.

"I thought...you were going to wait at the peak?"

"It would've been cruel to let you walk up there by yourself," Ichimatsu gave a slight smile, one of his fangs sliding out from underneath his top lip. He completely released me from his grip and took a few steps forward before looking back towards me, "I'll tell you the good news at the peak."

"Why not here?" I fell in line with him, mindful to give his tails a wide berth.

"The person who can help us lives at the peak, in the shrine built on the summit," He extended a hand, pointing towards the very top, "He'll be able to show us what to do in regards to...this."

"Then let's get going," I smiled, following Ichimatsu's lead as he picked an easy path to walk, helping me up the steeper parts of the path and carrying me when I collapsed.

The three-day trek wasn't long with Ichimatsu's company, both of us spending the sitting hours talking about the past and laughing at the antics that he and his brothers would get up to. The temperature turned colder and I wrapped myself in thicker clothes, while Ichimatsu stayed in the same clothing from five years ago. When I had asked him about it, he said that the cold never really hindered him and his tails provided extra warmth if he needed it.

"The person that lives at the peak," I spoke softly, my warm breath turning into cold wisps of frost as we continued to scale the mountain along the traveled foot path, "How exactly can he help us?"

"He practices a dying art that could be responsible for making the cursed fude brushes," Ichimatsu looked back towards me, "That's what I'd been told...and I want to pursue it, especially if it's true."

"Would you...be okay with going back to being human?"

The wind shifted harshly, almost pushing me back enough to slip before Ichimatsu grabbed onto my wrist, his tails reaching out to create a barrier between the wind and I. Pulling me close, he ran some of my hair between his fingers with a soft smile on his face.

"Of course I would be," Ichimatsu's lips brushed against my forehead, "You're still my betrothed."

The mountain wind had grown absolutely cold, forcing me to wear all of my winter clothes that I had bought. The gusts hadn't lessened any as they began to carry snow, covering the footpath and the mountainside in a light white blanket of snowflakes. Ichimatsu had shifted to walking behind me, his tails fanned out to keep the large gusts of wind at bay as I navigated the path. It was starting to get hard to take in deep breaths and we eventually had to stop for a short rest, partially indulging in the sake I had brought along to keep ourselves warm.

We pressed on before our bodies began to cool down too much, the snow having stopped completely and the wind roaring less and less as we ascended.

Soon, the shrine at the top of the peak came into view, as well as the gate marking the protected land the shrine was on. My pace quickened when I saw a figure sitting near the stones that supported the shrine, the rounded straw hat extending past his shoulders and kept the snow that was on it from falling onto the wearer. A large cloth was wrapped around his torso, tied down by a blue-gray rope near his neck that ended in a tassel, the color matching the sash tethered around his waist. The hakama he was wearing was tucked into thick socks that covered his feet and calves, the fabric looking dense enough to keep his legs warm.

He held an unlit round lantern on a rod, setting it down when Ichimatsu and I were close enough. I turned to see Ichimatsu still in his kitsune form, confused as to why he was showing his yokai side off to this other human.

"You did a good job, Todomatsu."

I quickly turned to the man, watching him stand up and walk towards us as the wind slightly shifted the hat to the side, a rip in the brim revealing a piercing blue eye that was fixated on me. Dark gray markings covered the right side of his face, trailing down his cheek until it disappeared underneath the cloak that rested high around his neck. Pushing aside his cloak, the man reached up with a bare hand, grabbing the hat and sliding it off his head until the chin strap caught the slack and held it behind his neck.

"It was really fun, big brother," Ichimatsu smiled, nearly skipping over to the man as his form shifted. The nine tails shrunk and disappeared underneath the dark kimono as it shifted from its blacks and grays to a white kimono, a snowflake pattern revealing itself as the fabric settled around him, the white fading into a black near the bottom hem. The collar of the kimono puffed up until there was a furry creature wrapped around Ichimatsu's neck, its head resting on its tail, while Ichimatsu pulled at one of his vulpine ears. The ear popped off with ease and twisted itself into a wide, slightly ripped oil-paper umbrella, shedding the fur and revealing the wooden shaft of the umbrella handle as Ichimatsu tilted it towards his back, resting the shaft on his right shoulder.

When the umbrella had settled, I realized that Ichimatsu's face had completely changed as the umbrella was moving. The deep red eyes had brightened to the same piercing blue color as the other man, with dark marks resting on the outside of his eyes to create a vague raccoon look. Two more marks had formed underneath each of his eyes, creating thick whiskers that slightly dipped down on his cheeks before rising high as they neared his ears. The brim of the umbrella barely hid the bright blue eyes from me.

I took a step back, my left hand covering my mouth as my heart began to race.

Karamatsu and Todomatsu. The ao andon fear-eater, and the tanuki trickster.

"I told you that the next time we met I wasn't going to be so nice," Karamatsu walked towards me, moving past Todomatsu.

"Don't tell me it was all a ploy--"

"All of it," Todomatsu let a sly smile rest on his lips, "You were so desperate that you never stopped to ask why our brother would leave a note like that behind, then not stay with you."

"It was during the Night Parade...!" I stumbled back, regaining my footing quickly as Karamatsu kept advancing towards me, "I had thought that he couldn't stay long because of that."

I fought to keep my fear and panic down, knowing that's what Karamatsu wanted from me. My eyes glanced towards Todomatsu, a smug smile resting on his lips as he sat on the rocks where Karamatsu used to be.

"Todomatsu, please help me! I'll give you the rest of the sake!"

"That cheap drink won't buy my assistance," The youngest sextuplet brother tilted his head away from me in disgust, crossing his right leg over his left knee, "I doubt it would even pay for Osomatsu's help."

I cried out as Karamatsu grabbed my upper arms, keeping me from falling and dragging me close to him, his face rubbing against my hair as if breathing in an intoxicating scent. His hands were hot, feeling the heat through the heavy coats I was wearing and faintly wondering if I would have some kind of mark from how hard he was holding me. I pushed against his chest, trying to move past him to go back to the shrine.

"I can still smell it," Karamatsu's voice took on a low growl, dipping his head down to my neck as his hands shifted up to my shoulders, grabbing at the seams of the coats and slowly peeling them away from my body, like I was a dessert to savor. I jammed my heel into his toes, punching and kicking to get away from him.

"Let go of me!"

The fude brush secured to my hip was freezing cold, reminding me that it was still there. I sucked in a breath, still trying to shove the ao andon off of me.

If I used the brush, I risked fully transforming into the monster sealed in the brush.

If I didn't...

Karamatsu pulled apart the coats and yukata, exposing my pink flesh to the bitter cold of the mountaintop, a triumphant look settling on his face as he pressed his lips against my collarbone, his tongue sliding out and caressing the bare skin.

There wasn't time to think it over.