Before long, I felt the air around me shift. The suffocating darkness thinned, and though faintly, I could see something ahead.
“…A shrine?”
It was a small shrine. A shimenawa rope was wrapped around it, and a strip of white paper hung down with the word “Seal” written in red ink.
I approached cautiously, peering at it. Since it bore the character for “seal,” something must have been sealed within. Could this be the source of the darkness? If I destroyed it, perhaps I could escape from this place.
As I reached out carefully to touch the paper, someone suddenly grabbed my arm from behind.
“Gyaaaah!”
“There’s no need to scream so loudly. Even I would take offense at that.”
I yanked my hand away and stumbled backward. Standing there was a tall man dressed in a lavish kimono. His crimson eyes gleamed with an unsettling amusement as he stared straight at me.
“How many centuries has it been since someone last made it this far? It’s been ages since I’ve had a proper conversation.”
“And you are…?”
"Still, attempting to break the seal! How interesting! It seems you know no fear."
“Excuse me! Who are you?”
He continued speaking cheerfully to himself, so I raised my voice to cut in. At that, the man tilted his head, stroked his chin, and examined my face intently.
“How intriguing. You mean you don’t know who I am?”
“Unfortunately no. My name is Ozenji Miharu. And yours?”
“Ozenji? Never heard of such a house bearing that name. A new one, perhaps?”
“Well… I suppose you could say that.”
I’d never heard of our family having any particular lineage. My parents had eloped, or something close to it, so I’d never even met my grandparents or any relatives.
The man studied me for a moment longer, then smiled and introduced himself.
“I am the one who slumbers in this place. I have no name. Call me whatever you like.”
“…I see.”
What an uninformative introduction. What did he mean by “slumbers in this place”? Was he the one who had been sealed?
“What is sealed inside this shrine?”
“What do you want my name to be?”
Could you please not answer my question with another question? And definitely not something like asking me what your own name is.
I groaned and rubbed my forehead.
“Am I really the one who’s supposed to decide that?”
“Indeed. Names hold great significance. Hurry and choose one.”
For someone claiming that names carried great meaning, he was certainly impatient. I held my head in my hands. I’d never named anything in my life. Should I just call him Kuro because his hair was black? That would sound like naming a dog or a cat. I was genuinely at a loss.
As I stared downward in thought, my eyes caught the pattern on his kimono. It was black, decorated with elegant floral motifs, and one design, in particular, drew my attention.
“...Tsubaki.”
“Hm?”
“I’ll name you Tsubaki, from the camellia pattern on your kimono. How does that sound?”
The man blinked, then burst into laughter, his shoulders shaking as he clutched his stomach. Tears even welled up in his eyes.
"I can’t believe you’d call someone like me by such a common name!"
"Sorry, sorry, I know my naming sense is not that good..."”
“No, no, it’s fine. I forgive you. Tsubaki, hmm? Heh… Tsubaki, is it…”
He seemed to find something about it hilarious, but I’d already made up my mind. From now on, this man would be Tsubaki.
“So, what exactly is sealed inside this shrine?”
“Hm? Me.”
“…Me?”
I reflexively repeated his words. So, it was Tsubaki himself who had been sealed here.
"But you're clearly outside, not sealed in there."
“Well, yes. Something like this could never truly contain me. I simply grew tired of living for so long, so I decided to sleep here for a while.”
“How long is ‘a while,’ exactly?”
“Let’s see… perhaps three hundred years? By the way, what became of the national isolation policy?”
I was speechless. What was this man? He was most likely an oni, but to grow bored of living and sleep for three centuries? His sense of normalcy was completely broken.
“The country’s been open for ages now, and trade with foreign nations is thriving. Anyway, could you tell me how to get out of here?”
“Hmm. So you wish to leave this place, Miharu?”
“I was thrown into this so-called ‘Prison of No Return’ against my will. I refuse to stay here. I’ll get out no matter what and make those people regret it.”
My voice burned with anger, but Tsubaki only tilted his head slightly.
“Sleeping here wasn’t so bad, but very well. Shall we leave?”
“No, no, I’m the only one who needs to leave. You can keep sleeping, Tsubaki. Just tell me how, and I’ll do it myself.”
“How cold of you. Besides, it was you who woke me up, Miharu.”
“What!?”
Before I could even ask what he meant, Tsubaki suddenly pulled me into his arms. I froze, startled, as a powerful gust of wind whirled around us. I instinctively shut my eyes and faint light seeped through my eyelids.
“…Huh?”
“There. We’re out.”
When I opened my eyes, I was standing before a crimson gate. A staircase leading upward stretched before me. Around Tsubaki floated bluish flames—will-o’-the-wisps, perhaps—casting light over the area.
“If you climb those steps, you should return to the surface. That’s how it worked before I went to sleep, at least.”
“Ah… thank you.”
Still unable to fully grasp what had happened, I stumbled up the stairs, Tsubaki steadying me whenever I tripped. The way back was completely different from the way I’d come down.
I pushed open the trapdoor and dragged myself out, collapsing into the room above. Naturally, Tsubaki followed right behind me, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. I could only stare at him blankly.
“What are you going to do now?”
“Let’s see… having the Domeki clan find out about me would be bothersome. I suppose I’ll stay with you for a while, Miharu.”
“Please don’t. Besides, I’m in no position to take care of anyone else right now.”
“What do you mean by that?”
I briefly explained the situation to him and how my little sister had been chosen as the bride of an oni, how the wedding was in two weeks, and how I was currently serving as her attendant to help prepare.
Tsubaki listened quietly, then furrowed his brow and crouched down to meet my gaze. His eyes seemed to pierce straight through me, as if he were seeing into my very soul.
“Still, Miharu, you… I see.”
A sly smile curved his lips. He nodded thoughtfully to himself.
“I understand now. This could turn out to be quite entertaining.”
“Tsubaki?”
“All right, all right. I’ll handle things on my end. You can do as you please.”
With that, he slid open the paper door, took my arm, and began walking down the corridor. When we reached the area closer to the mansion’s center, where I could sense others nearby, he suddenly released me.
“Well then, see you later.”
“Huh?”
He gave me a light push on the back, and before I could regain my balance, his figure vanished.
I blinked, dazed, as though I had just awakened from a dream, but it hadn’t been a dream at all. The proof stood before me. Three onis passing by had caught sight of me and collapsed to the floor in shock.
