The full moon rose slow that night.
Not heavy. Not loud. Just… different.
Yuzume felt it in her fingertips first, a faint buzzing, like the air was holding its breath. Each step she took across the shrine grounds made the sensation sharper. Not painful. Just... strange.
She lit the last lantern. Tied the last charm. Then stood quietly at the garden's center, where the spirit gate shimmered pale beneath the moon. It looked the same as always.
But it didn't feel the same.
The spirits passed through one by one. Laughing, weeping, murmuring thanks. Yuzume bowed, smiled, offered them peace. Her movements were steady. Her words were kind.
But something inside her pulled tighter with each passing soul. A tension behind the ribs. A whisper behind her thoughts. Like something just out of reach had finally turned to look.
Across the courtyard, Riku watched. He didn't say anything. He didn't have to.
Later, they sat by the river. The current was slow and glassy, moonlight stretching across the surface in silver ribbons. Her tail curled beside her, still for once.
"You okay?" he asked.
She nodded.
But her fingers were curled a little too tightly in the fabric of her robe.
"I think the veil is thinning," she said quietly.
He turned his head. "Is that bad?"
"I don't know."
She meant it. Whatever it was, it didn't feel dangerous. Just unfamiliar. Like a memory pressing up against the edge of her skin, waiting to be remembered.
Riku reached over, fingers brushing hers without thinking.
She didn't pull away.
The silence between them stretched, soft and wide like a blanket pulled over the world.
Then Yuzume looked up.
And for a heartbeat, she was certain the moon was watching her back.