Mitsuki was already waiting for me by the time I arrived at the shrine. She leaned against the trunk of an old tree beside the oratory hall. Her eyes locked with mine for a second, acknowledging my presence, before she stepped over to the middle of the walkway to greet me.

She appeared unfazed by the singeing summer heat. However, her tan skin and the dry, reddish streaks of hair on her head showed that she was just used to being in the sun.

Her clothing only proved further that she was someone who embraced the sun’s rays. She wore a white sleeveless shirt with a black star right at the center, which almost begged me to look at her enormous chest. I had noticed this last night, but I felt too guilty to point out such details about my savior right after she rescued me from impending doom.

“It seems that you really have trouble controlling your eyes, boy.”

Ahem.

Another thing that I failed to mention was her musculature, though I simply didn't notice it under the poor lighting. She was toned, not quite ripped, but she had quite a bit of strength to her frame. That must’ve been part of how she turned a shinai into a demon-killing weapon, as well as the talismans of course. I certainly didn’t want to get on her bad side.

She also wore a pair of denim shorts, which flaunted her sturdy legs. I would have certainly suffered a devastating kick to the groin if I ever got on her bad side.

“Is something wrong? You’ve been staring this whole time.” Mitsuki said as she approached me.

“N-no, nothing’s wrong! Nothing at all! Just a little sleepy, is all.” I waved my hands in front of my face.

“I guess you were up all night.”

“So uhh... What did you want to talk about?” I asked.

Mitsuki walked towards the oratory hall and took a seat by its entrance. She patted the space beside her, beckoning me to sit as well.

“I’ll just cut to the chase.”

The air grew still as if the earth waited in bated breath to hear what she was about to say.

“I want to take the Yuki-onna off your hands.” She said.

“This again, Mitsuki? I am Young Kumagawa-sama’s familiar. That was the decision. A contract, a bond, has been made between us. You cannot just take me away. How do you plan on going about that? Do enlighten me, child.” Yuki-san raised her tone as she came out of the ring.

She glared into Mitsuki’s eyes. What she said seemed to be a great transgression.

“T-timeout please, both of you. What’s going on? How do you two even know each other?” I asked.

Yuki-san let out a sigh and stepped away.

Mitsuki shot a sideways glance before speaking.

“A while after you left, Sojiro-“

“S-soichiro.”

“Right. A couple of years after you left, I trained under your dad to be an exorcist. That’s how I met her. No, really I first saw her from when you were still here. That’s how your dad noticed that I might have potential.” Mitsuki crossed her arms.

“She trained under Genzaburou-sama right until his death. However, his final wish was for you to inherit me as your familiar.” Yuki-san said.

“The Yuki-onna and I agreed that I’d observe you in secret, which is why she never told you about me. However, it appears I had no reason to observe you because you’re clearly unfit to be an exorcist.”

Her words were harsh, but I totally agreed.

“Which is why I want to take her off you.” She stared directly at me, her eyes still pitch dark in the radiant sun.

“As I have said, how pray tell do you plan on doing that? You cannot even use magic, yet you seek to break the spell binding us together, Mitsuki?” Yuki-san scowled.

“Then would you rather just die like a dog, without a fight? You saw what happened yesterday. He nearly died. He is unfit.” Mitsuki stood up and stared down at Yuki-san.

“Let me ask you, child... Has Genzaburou-sama’s judgment ever been wrong?”

“I can tell you right now that choosing the child he’s never seen in a decade to inherit his familiar is a bad judgment call.”

“U-umm, guys… I mean, girls…”

The air around Yuki-san grew frigid as she stared knives into Mitsuki.

“Yuki-san.” I tapped her on her head.

“Right. That was uncouth of me. My apologies, Mitsuki.” The air around her return to normal.

Mitsuki nodded and continued to speak.

“Here’s what I have planned, Soj- Soichiro. First, like I’ve been trying to say, I’ll take… Yuki-san off your hands. I’ll find someone who can break whatever binds you two. Second, I’ll hunt spirits for you to absorb in the meantime. I’ll bring whatever spiritual energy I harvest from them and hand them over to you.”

“Huh...” I sort of just stared in a daze.

“There’s no catch. I’m sure you want to go back to your normal life, so accept my offer, Sojiro. Rather, this is no offer. I’ll do it regardless of what you say.” She leaned in closer towards me.

“Now just how will you find someone to break the spell, Mitsuki? Do you have a person in mind?” Yuki-san interjected.

“I don’t.” Mitsuki looked down.

“So you do not have a plan. You will just get your body battered and beaten for nothing, child. This matter is between me and Young Kumagawa-sama only.”

Mitsuki sighed.

“Seems like becoming a child has made you more dense. Look, here’s my LINE ID. We’ll talk more.” She held out her phone in front of me.

We added each other on LINE.

“I’m going home. Thanks for coming, Soichiro. I’ll start looking for spirits tonight.” She said as she walked past me.

“H-hey are you sure about this?” I stood up.

“What? I wouldn’t have come here if I had my doubts. Yuki-san’s right. I don’t have any plans to break the spell between you two, but at the very least I can keep her alive. You saw how I dealt with the demon last night. Don’t worry about me.” She continued on her way.

“Is there anything I can do to help?!” I shouted, as she gained quite the distance.

“Yes. Just sit still at home and don’t die. If you do, everything will be for nothing.”

Mitsuki trudged along, her silhouette disappearing as she descended the stairway.

“Such a stubborn lass, even though she is usually so quiet… It has always been a pain to deal with her when she puts her mind to something.”

“But isn’t this for the better? She’s trying to keep you alive, Yuki-san.”

“It is not about that. She is just wasting her time... A spell between familiar and master is like a fingerprint. It is not something that you can just imitate, deconstruct, and turn into yours.” she shook her head.

“Hmm...” I gazed up into the cloudless sky.

“I am nothing more than a tool. Or a surprise present you never really wanted. Neither you nor Mitsuki has any form of obligation towards me.” She wore a face of ice-cold resolve.

I placed my hands on her cheeks and stretched the sides of her mouth.

“Whahh ah hyew dhoing?”

“Tsundere.” I let go of her face.

She furrowed her brow.

“Excuse me?”

“Oh no, nothing.”

I got up from my seat and headed back home. Yuki-san went back inside my ring as I did so.

Regardless of what Yuki-san said, Mitsuki seemed resolved in her words. Whether it was out of stubbornness or her just being a tsundere as well, Mitsuki had no plans of conceding to Yuki-san’s wishes to just leave her and me be.