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Leo and Utaha Kasumigaoka walked side by side along the long corridor. Neither of them spoke. Their fingers were laced together, and from the outside they looked like nothing more than a sweet, inseparable couple.
But inside, Utaha was anything but calm.
When that talisman had touched her forehead earlier, she'd felt something shift. Something subtle, almost like a door opening somewhere deep inside her. She couldn't explain it. She just knew it wasn't ordinary.
And more than that, it was a talisman. The kind used by legendary onmyoji.
What exactly was Leo?
"What's wrong?" Leo stopped by a window, leaning casually against it. His smile was soft, perceptive, the kind that saw straight through her.
"It's just…"
"I…"
Her voice trailed off into a murmur. Under his steady, gentle gaze, she hesitated for a long moment before finally shaking her head with a faint smile.
"It's nothing. I just didn't expect you, Mr. Leo, to be… not normal."
"Normal or not doesn't really matter," he said, drawing her into a light embrace. "You and I are in love. That's normal enough."
He didn't want her mind wandering into dark, complicated places.
Utaha was still Utaha. Her heart wasn't fragile like most people's. Feeling his warmth, she lifted her head, her eyes firm and resolute.
"I told you. I'll stay by your side and see the truth of this world. I won't run away."
"Then let's go."
His smile flickered, and he took her hand. After changing their shoes, the two of them headed out.
"Huh?" Utaha looked around, puzzled. "Why don't I see anything? You're an onmyoji. Shouldn't I be seeing spirits or monsters or something?"
She scanned the area curiously. Mature as she was, she was still just a girl. Fear and curiosity mixed together in equal measure.
"You," Leo laughed helplessly. "Utaha, spirits and monsters roam at night. Humans rule the day, the hundred demons rule the dark. That's how it's always been. Night hasn't fallen yet. Even a place like this school, which gathers its fair share of imonsters, won't just have ghosts wandering around in broad daylight."
"Is that so?"
"It is."
"Mr. Leo! Long time no see! Have you been well?"
"Mr. Leo!"
"Mr. Leo!"
Utaha had barely voiced her doubt when a chorus of tiny, adorable voices rang out.
She froze.
She could hear them clearly, but she couldn't see anyone.
Following Leo's pointing finger, she looked down.
And there they were.
More than a dozen tiny people, each no bigger than an adult's finger. Men and women dressed in old-fashioned kimono, hopping around cheerfully as they greeted Leo.
"Shinmaru, it's been a while. How have you been?" Leo crouched down and gently lifted the tiny figure at the front.
"Arigatou!" The little one clasped both hands together and bowed quickly. "It's all thanks to you, Mr. Leo! If you hadn't helped us drive off the dog yokai that were hunting us, we would've been wiped out."
Despite being the new leader of his people, Shinmaru looked flustered and nervous, nothing like a dignified chief.
Leo smiled and carefully set him back on the ground. The tiny folk gazed up at him with pure respect.
"Don't be so nervous, Shinmaru," he said warmly. "Didn't you swear you'd find the scattered members of your clan and bring them back together? You're the new leader now."
"Yes!"
"I will do my best! Mr. Leo, we'll be going now!"
Shinmaru leapt from Leo's palm, bowed again, and led the others away, all of them hopping off happily.
Utaha had prepared herself for something unusual.
But when it actually happened, she could only stare in disbelief. Her eyes were stiff, fixed on the retreating figures of the tiny people.
It wasn't until Leo snapped his fingers lightly in front of her that she came back to herself.
"Mr. Leo… Th-that… those were yokai?"
He nodded with a smile. "Very cute little yokai. Their homeland used to be a small kingdom in Kyushu. Later, they were persecuted by a clan of dog yokai. The few survivors fled to Tokyo. I happened to run into them and helped out."
He chuckled softly.
"That bold little kid who was half-dead but still shouting big dreams… he's grown into a proper leader."
To Leo, humans and yokai weren't all that different. That child who refused to give up even in despair had grown. That alone was worth smiling about.
"So this is the real world?" Utaha murmured.
"Yeah. Regretting it?"
"Of course not. I said I'd witness it with you."
She tightened her grip around his arm, hugging him close.
Utaha Kasumigaoka was proud by nature. Growing up without real friends, she'd developed a sharp tongue as a shield. She wasn't good at laying her heart bare.
But in front of Leo, her childhood friend, her first love, the man who had always been by her side, she knew she had to be honest.
If she wasn't, she'd regret it. She was certain of that.
"Let's head back," Leo said gently, wrapping an arm around her in return. "It'll be dark soon. Your parents will worry."
"Hmph." Utaha pouted, clearly annoyed. "They won't worry at all. If anything, they'd gladly hand me over to you."
Leo only smiled.
Utaha scowled harder. Every time her parents saw Leo, they treated him even better than they treated her. Sometimes she wondered if he was secretly their real child.
As they continued down the road, Utaha saw more strange and curious yokai. And every single one of them greeted Leo with sincere respect. Not fear. Not submission to power. Just genuine admiration.
When she asked him about it, he only smiled.
"I didn't do anything special. Just helped them with what I could. These kids are just… very grateful."
"That's so like you," Utaha laughed softly behind her hand. "Always gentle. Always the same."
That was the Leo she loved.
Just then, the sound of quiet sobbing drifted toward them.
They turned.
By the roadside sat a little girl in a kimono, maybe six or seven years old, crying her heart out.
Utaha instinctively took a step forward.
"Utaha," Leo said quietly, his voice suddenly serious. "If you take this step, there's no going back to an ordinary world."
"I won't regret it."
"Then let's go."
Her eyes were resolute.
Leo led her toward the crying child and knelt down gently.
"Hey there," he asked softly, "what's wrong?"
"....."