Beyond, With a Yokai

Chapter 9: Little Time Left

"I knew. Okay?" he snapped, his voice sharper now. "I figured it out after your first encounter with the cat."

"And what, I'm connected to whatever it is you're looking for?"

"No. You're not."

"Then why are you keeping me here?"

He didn't answer—just gave her a look, like he was weighing something in his mind.

"You want me to leave?"

"I do," she whispered, staring straight at him.

Tomoya stepped closer, nearly touching her with his presence.

"Do you hate me?"

"No," she replied without looking away, her chin slightly lifted.

He froze. Then smiled—a crooked, predatory grin.

"You're kind of... broken," he said slowly, savoring the word. "You should be afraid of me. You should hate me. But instead, you throw yourself in front of blades... lick my wounds."

"So what, you think there's some script I'm supposed to follow?"

"Then why aren't you afraid of me?"

She shook her head.

"How could I be afraid of someone who protected me, who stayed with me in this place I don't understand?"

Tomoya sighed and gave a dry chuckle.

"You're cherry-picking the few 'good' things I did—all of which served my own goals."

He narrowed his eyes, watching her closely.

"How old... are you, anyway? Why do you romanticize me?"

"What does my age have to do with it?"

"I'm trying to find at least one reason to explain your behavior."

She gave a bitter smile.

"Oh, I see... Well, if it helps you sleep at night, sure. I'm seventeen. That magical age where everything we feel is chalked up to teenage hormones. Everyone thinks we're just impulsive dreamers, forgetting that they were once like us too."

Esenya clenched her fists. I'm so sick of these age-based clichés—as if turning eighteen will magically turn me into a different person.

She turned away sharply, hiding the tears welling in her eyes.

"Sorry for trying to see the best in you, since I was stuck here and had no choice but to... engage with you. But you're right about one thing." Her voice shook, but she pushed on. "I... I stupidly hoped you might feel the same."

She didn't want him to see her like this—weak, exposed.

She tried to step back, to turn away, but he didn't let her.

Tomoya slowly reached out and, cupping her face, gently—almost tenderly—brushed the tears from her cheeks with his fingertips.

"No... that's not true," he whispered.

He looked at her like he was seeing her for the first time. His gaze lingered briefly on her lips... before returning to her eyes.

"I... I do—"

But the moment was shattered by a familiar voice behind them.

"Finally found you two."

The bakeneko appeared silently, but his voice sliced through the tense air. He immediately sensed the delicate timing of his arrival—but chose not to comment.

"I managed to patch myself up a bit and went straight after you," he continued. "Yokai and spirits started gathering there, saying someone powerful was about to show up. And that the Ripper has completely lost control. A lot of them are worried... afraid that soon foxes won't be enough, and he'll move on to other yokai."

The cat watched Tomoya intently, not interrupting.

"You don't have to talk in the third person," the fox snapped. "Just say it to my face."

The bakeneko didn't react.

"I think we've got at least a couple of days while they deal with... the myōbu's body."

"You mean his remains," Tomoya corrected him, a smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth. "Trying to humiliate me in front of Yesenia?"

"No need to try. You're doing a great job all on your own."

Tomoya opened his mouth to fire back, but before he could, Yesenia cut in.

"That's enough!" Her voice came out firmer than she expected. "What matters now is figuring out what to do next."

No one argued with her.

"I've absorbed enough energy," Tomoya finally said, "so I can create a barrier—but it'll be unstable. The wound hasn't fully closed yet. In a couple of days, once the cat recovers, we'll send you back."

"No!" Yesenia cried out. "I know he has to die to send me home. I'm not going to let that happen!"

"Then you'll be the one who dies," the bakeneko spat venomously.

It was the first time she'd seen him like that. His fur stood on end, and his pupils had narrowed into slits.

"I know another way. We just need to prepare everything," Tomoya said calmly.

There wasn't a trace of doubt in his voice. His words brought her an odd, but gentle sense of peace.

Tomoya said he would channel all his remaining energy into the barrier, and that they'd have to sleep under the open sky. No one objected.

They laid out thin mattresses in a circle and settled in for the night. The moment Yesenia's head touched the pillow, her eyelids grew heavy.

The day had been overwhelming.

Sleep took her instantly.

| Bakeneko |

Thoughts swirled in my mind, refusing to let me rest.
Quietly, I rose and walked a short distance away from the sleeping Yesenia and fox. Everything that had happened still felt unreal. Could there really be an alternative? I couldn't believe it. The thought rattled around in my head, keeping my eyes wide open.

No, it wasn't the idea of dying for her that frightened me. What scared me was something else—
that there might not be enough time with her.
We'd been apart for far too long.

My train of thought was broken by Tomoya silently sitting down beside me.

"Can't sleep either?" he asked.

"Mm," I murmured without looking at him.

My gaze shifted to Yesenia, peacefully asleep.

"I still can't believe I get to be near her again—if only in this life," I whispered. "Thank you."

He was silent for a while before speaking.
"There actually isn't another way. I just said that so she wouldn't resist."

A bitter laugh slipped out of me.
How could I have been so foolish? How could I let myself believe him—
without even a trace of doubt?

"So we're lying to her?"

"This lie is mine to carry," he said evenly.

"Well, lying's nothing new for you," I snorted. "But... share the weight. I'll take half the blame too."

Because if she finds out the truth...

She'll never let me be the one to die for her.