This story contains themes of gore and violence.
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Please proceed with caution.
MONO NO AWARE
物の哀れ
The gentle, ivory pearls of snow droplets fell from the dreary clouds above with much grace as they danced beautifully against the air, the light of a setting sun refracting gorgeously upon the surface. You sat on the cypress floorboards of the porch, your legs dangling off the edge as the tips of your toes came into contact with the frozen ground, concealed in a blanket of delicate snow.
Little did you know that this night of Winter in 1276, Japan would be like no other for you, despite being like every other evening you had experienced thus far. You had grown accustomed to this lifestyle - you had grown up in the rural neighbourhood of Biei with your mother and father before they had disappeared in a dangerous blizzard when you had merely come of age. Now, you lived in the family house alone and spent most of your days reading books or practising calligraphy.
A minuscule particle of snow fell upon your nose, only to melt away from the warmth of your skin. At times like this, all you needed was a good drink. And with that thought now put in your mind, your [E/C] eyes swaddled over to the piece of pottery beside you, filled to the brim with sake. Picking up the jar, you held its neck as you took off the lid, your mouth salivating just from imagining the clear liquid of this alcohol sliding down your throat and bringing at least some excitement to your existence.
Finally taking the top off, you threw it nonchalantly over your shoulder into your house through the sliding door which had been left open despite the cold. Bringing the bottle to your lips, you savoured the taste of the sake as the pottery, cold from the temperature, came into contact with your skin and sent a shiver down your spine.
You wore a simple, emerald green kimono made from cotton that was held at your waist by a beige piece of fabric, neatly tied at the back as you had been taught to. Your hair, on the other hand, was let loose, and your feet were nearly completely bare, only your sandals, in the shape of a rectangular block with two wooden teeth sticking out underneath to keep your toes from coming into contact with the snow.
You finally put down the piece of pottery. You stared at an enchanting icicle hanging from the edge of your roof, drooping down much farther than the rest and twinkling beautifully as the scenery through its transparent body twisted and turned reality into a beautiful kaleidoscope of tranquillity for you to enjoy. It was these simple things that gave you pleasure in life and could bring a small smile to the corners of your lips. You were a simple girl, of simple pleasures, and that didn't bother you in any way, shape, nor form.
Standing up and heading back inside, you took off your sandals, and your feet met with the tatami flooring, the woven rush grass embroidered cleverly to stay in place beneath your heels for many years.
Your footsteps broke the silence, yet a mysterious sound could be heard from the blue, in the flurry of snow outside your door.
Looking over your shoulder out of curiosity, you came face to face with the air. A small sigh exited your lips before your eyes once again caught sight of the icicle. It had been there ever since the beginning of winter, from the very first snowfall. At this point, it felt as though it were an old friend, accompanying you. You didn't know whether to snicker at yourself or question your sanity if you were now calling a piece of ice a genuine friend of yours.
You advanced to the porch once again, reminding yourself to bring the sake inside so that it would not freeze. Picking it up, you expected to see the icicle, and there it was. Never moving, never changing. Returning inside, you placed the piece of pottery in a corner, the orange light from the sunset now pouring in through the door. The view outside was simply magnificent, and it gave you peace. Even if you were alone, you did not complain for this life was one that fulfilled your wishes.
Partially blocking your view from the sun was the icicle once again. You sighed at yourself once more: this icicle attained much of your attention despite only being a result of nature. Even if it was beautiful, it only made you pity yourself. You closed your eyes for a brief moment to regain your composure, and when you reopened them, the icicle seemed to have changed in a way.
The manner the light bounced off it was unfamiliar, and irregular, coming from the icicle that had come to know you during this Winter. Blinking slowly, your vision became clearer as you realised that the icicle had disappeared. You could not believe your eyes. You hadn't heard it shatter on the wooden porch, nor had you seen it despite looking at it for most of the time. Was such an occurrence truly possible? You shook your head, perhaps you had just drunk too much, given your alcohol tolerance was not very good.
Squinting, your [E/C] hues paused on a distant figure, standing once in the place of the icicle, yet much farther away amongst the trees at the outskirts of the thin forest that hid your home and gave you privacy from the rest of the village. Had somebody got lost in the woods? Pursing your lips as you blinked, you saw that the figure had disappeared. You had only managed to see it for a brief moment, and not quite clearly at that. It was so distant, and the falling snow hindered your vision.
Considerably perplexed, you felt slight fear due to not knowing how to explain such events to yourself. You swiftly closed the door and made your way to your bedroom, deciding it best to turn in for the night. You saw things, and surely were unwell, so sleep was the best medicine you could administer to yourself at the moment. Not bothering to change, you hastily lay down on your mattress in another room set upon an identical tatami flooring to the main room. You pulled the cotton bedsheets over yourself. Even if the orange light from the sunset disturbed you from sleeping, you were determined to.
The unusual made you worry and uncomfortable, as you were used to things being a certain way for the entirety of your life. You were not accustomed to change. Closing your eyes, your mind grew blank and eventually your vision drowned into a void of blackness, as you cast yourself away to the grips of slumber.
As quickly as you had melted away into this deep sleep, you had awoken by a soft breeze. Confused by such a touch when you were in a closed room, goosebumps formed on your [S/C] skin as you raised your head and groggily opened your eyes, only to be met with a void of blurry white.
Rapidly blinking, your vision cleared and your [E/C] eyes met with a pair of chalky, milk-white orbs, nearly as precious and beautiful as a string of pearls on a wealthy woman's collarbone, extracted deep from the depth of the ocean. Your eyes widened larger than bowls as you immediately shuffled yourself backwards, leaning as far away from this person as possible.
Inspecting them further now, they had the palest skin you had ever seen, a snowy white that was only to be seen in the freshest of cold droplets. Their skin rivalled with his skin in paleness, and in fact, he nearly looked unwell. His hair was like strands of ivory thread, parted perfectly as some of medium length cupped the sides of his countenance, and some shorter parts of his hair dangled across his face messily.
Above all, the man was completely nude, your blanket being the only thing covering the lower part of his body. You felt inclined to scream for help, yet when your lips parted — no sound came out. You felt a sense of familiarity in his presence, as though he were somebody you knew. And so instead, you decided to interrogate the man.
"Explain yourself! How dare you come into a woman's private room in such an indecent state?" You quizzed him with a sharp tone, similar to a bitter lemon striking the tongue at leaving a memorable aftertaste.
The young man stared at you, his well-structured body unmoving as his face remained aloof and listless, seemingly unaware of what was happening.
"Answer me or else I will... I will not hesitate to use force!" You threatened him, hoping to at least spark some type of response.
"Name," He asked you, excitement and life sparking into his eyes as they now opened up more and he inched closer to you. His voice was low yet smooth like the ocean when you walked past it during the night, and the waves were tender as the rides rolled gently onto your ankles.
"Name?" You echoed, taken aback by his response, and unsure why he would respond that.
"Name," he repeated once again, not getting onto all fours as he advanced forwards, his face just mere inches away from your own. You felt as though you were being enchanted by his eyes in some weird trick of his and immediately attempted to look away, however, found that you could not. You could not tell whether or not the blanket was still concealing his lower body considering his position, and you were thankful that at least his face was too close for you to peek even if you ever wished to.
"You shouldn't be in a woman's bed unless you are wed! Get away!" You yelled, regaining your confidence as you pushed him away, causing him to fall aback with the blanket, fortunately covering himself again.
"And so it is okay for you to stare at my naked body? If anything, your innocence will be lost to me. When you look at me," He placed his slender hand over his heart, "My heart flurries with the force of a blizzard."
"What nonsense are you spouting? Are you drunk?" You questioned him further.
"Just enamoured by your presence," He admitted, his tone unchanging and truthful, not letting a hint of any sort of lie in his words. Yet you didn't know this man and simply couldn't help but feel afraid now.
"How did you get in here? What do you want?"
He became silent and instead pointed his finger towards you quite boldly, causing the hair on your skin to stand up. You uttered out: "Excuse you?"
"I want you. Is it not obvious enough? I have decided that you will be my bride," He said in a serious tone, his grave voice showing no symbols of humour within them, making you slightly worried.
"What? Your bride?"
"You ask too many questions."
"And you're a random man in my house! Why are you here?" You sternly interrogated him, not wishing to back down anytime soon.
"To claim my bride. I was brought here by my insatiable thirst for love which you will quench for the rest of eternity. I have spent many a winter searching for a bride, and I have now chosen you. You will be my bride," He explained concisely, only leaving you even more confused and concerned than you were before.
"I think you're quite unwell, sir. I must ask you to leave."
"Only if my bride comes with me," He insisted gingerly, now getting up on his feet whilst ensuring to bring the blanket with him as he had caught the gist of the situation. He rose to his full height with wobbly legs, mimicking those of a newborn fawn. "We go now."
"I don't even know your name," You complained, now standing up as well, not wanting to feel oppressed by the height difference between the two of you. Your legs were fairly wobbly as well, only due to anxiety, much different to the young man who stood before you.
"Are names truly important? All that matters is your opinion on a person. Just because something does not have a name, doesn't mean it is any different," He claimed, a gentle smile on his lips as he slowly walked closer to you.
"I still want to know your name. And don't lie," You commanded him, taking a step back with every step he took forward. The distance between the two of you still narrowed as his strides were far larger and more confident than yours.
"I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours," He countered you valiantly before you found your back pressed up against the wall of your bedroom, with this man only several inches away from you.
"Fine, my name is [Surname] [Name]. And yours?" Palms pressing against the wood, you pushed yourself as far into the wall as humanely possible to create as much space between you two as you could.
"Tsurara. I am your Tsurara," He replied, taking both of your hands into his own and you promptly felt chills bizarrely run across your skin, and goosebumps rampantly form. His pale skin was cold to the touch and yet as comforting and gentle as a morning covering of snow upon the mountain's luscious, sage green blades of grass.
When both of you touched one another, an indescribable sensation could be felt that spread throughout your whole body. You managed to muster up a reply, taken aback by such a feeling: "I will call you Tsurara then. I must ask you to give me some space."
"You are to be my bride. We will become much closer to each other than this," He declared, sending a flurry of warmth to your cheeks.
"I will not be your bride. You don't even dress decently. Actually, you don't even dress at all-"
"Give me clothes," He ordered, tugging at the cleavage of your kimono and beginning to pull it away to the point more of your chest was being exposed with each tug.
You quickly grabbed his hand again to refrain him from continuing anymore, causing him to pause. "I will get you your own set of clothes," You reply, "Just wait a moment." You quickly swung yourself to the sliding door only a meter away and left the room. You took in a collection of deep breaths, your mind in a complete flurry from what was happening.
You walked sluggishly out of fear to a small drawer in the corner of the main room, where you kept the majority of your parents' old clothes, given that you had changed the house quite a bit since they had disappeared. You gulped, only imagining the worse. The young man was like nobody you had ever seen before. He had the appearance of snow itself, and his actions, not to mention his words, were so peculiar. You wanted answers desperately, as you could not even muster up an excuse for any of tonight's occurrences.
Bringing out a simple and light grey yukata, you admired its simplicity as you hugged it to your chest, smelling the scent of your father still lingering upon the threads, yet just barely. The gentle smell was overpowered by the perfume of soap that had been used to clean the yukata. Taking it, you stood up and looked to the door that led directly out to the porch. You had no clue what his intentions were, so perhaps it was just best to run away and ask for help from the locals.
Before you could explore this thought any further, however, you were interrupted by the bedroom door being sliced carelessly to the side, revealing the young man you now knew as Tsurara. "Clothes," He said simply, putting out a hand, motioning you to put the yukata in them whilst he used his other hand to cover his lower body.
You walked to him without hurrying, and gave him your father's dear yukata, hoping it would fit him. The door then closed in front of you, and you stood there, unsure what to do once again, and feeling as though you were frozen in place. Several moments later, the door opened again and the young man, standing confidently at about 190 centimetres tall, was now fully clothed. A wave of relief overtook you and your muscles somewhat relaxed. At least the situation was slowly progressing to a fortunate and positive outcome.
"Better now?" Tsurara questioned you, wrapping his arm swiftly around your waist so quick that you had barely even a second's notice to react. He pulled you closer to him, and your bodies pressed up against each other.
"Stop touching me-"
"I will touch you whenever and however I want. You are now, my bride. I am merciful, so will bestow upon you my kiss at the end of Winter. Then, you will truly be bound to me for eternity," He stated, his words sounding like an explanation but you felt as though nothing had been properly explained. Now, you only had more questions. Was this man insane?
"I'm afraid I'll have to reject your proposal."
"I was not asking, I was telling. You are mine now," He whispered to you, somehow managing to pull you even closer to him.
"Please leave, I don't know who you are."
"And yet our eyes have crossed from the dreary days of December all the way to today's mid-March, where Winter has already been coming near to its end. I think you should be thanking me for waiting so long. I'm afraid I can not wait any longer, and we should end by dawn at the latest. I know you very well [Name]. And now it is time that you get to know me," He spoke softly in your ear, his breath hitting your earlobes like a winter breeze as he used his remaining hand to hold your wrist, unknowingly restraining you from fighting back in any physical way.
"What- What do you mean? Please, I don't understand!" You cried out, struggling against him and endeavouring to push yourself away.
"Oh dearest, have you heard the tale of the Tsurara-onna?" His words sent a sinking feeling to your heart for a reason unknown to you.
"No, I have not," You replied cautiously, speaking with concern in your tone and at a leisurely pace.
"When a lonely man looks at an icicle, that icicle will turn into a Tsurara-onna. And yet, you say you don't want me here? Your eyes spoke a thousand words, my dear. I could see the loneliness within them, and I could see how you were isolated within the confines of this house, with the memories that you wish not to remember. Your lonesome heart is what called out to me, and it is your lonesome heart that I will fix," He elucidated, at last making some sense. Just as he finished speaking, you gasped as he suddenly grabbed both of your wrists and slammed you against the wall, now leaving you pressed up against the wood.
"You are mistaken! That is just a tale; such a thing is simply not possible!"
"I believe that I am not mistaken. Your love gave my life. If anything, you are now my everything. And now, I will repay you with my company," He insisted, pecking the side of your neck tenderly with his chilling lips before he held your hands in his own, clasping them desperately. He got on his knees and looked up at you, practically begging by now and expressing his gratitude. "My life is yours, and I shall now make it my duty to brighten your life. Please allow me to dedicate my existence to your happiness. Nothing else would fulfil me in such a way," He spoke delicately, his words peppering you and melting your heart. You had never heard such sweet words, and yet you still couldn't help but feel fright in your heart.
"I'm sorry, but please, I am not interested in being wed. You will have to find somebody else."
"I don't want to find somebody else. You are the only one that I will ever be able to love. One who chases after two hares won't even catch one¹," He kept insisting, his crystal-like eyes meeting with own [E/C] hues.
"But..."
"What else will you spend your life doing? Fear of the unknown is greater than the danger. You have been wasting your life away, my dear," He argued against you, trying his best to persuade you. It seemed as though he genuinely didn't want to hurt you, but it was still too soon to tell.
"I will not marry a man I only met today and one that acts in such an improper way at that! You broke into my home!"
"Let flow in the water², for after the rain, the earth hardens³," He sang out in his longing tone for you, finally getting off his knees. "I was born in this house, so it is my home just as much as yours. When I awoke, I was alive."
"I need... time to think. This is too much for me to handle at the moment," You declared, swiftly escaping his grasp and moving past him. You went out the back door, putting on a spare pair of sandals made from straw out of haste while grabbing a wooden box neatly placed by the door. Sliding the door open, you walked outside into the snow, too deep in your own thoughts to worry about the cold.
"Where do you go, my darling?" He called out, tailing you as he did so. He followed you bare-foot onto the snow, not seeming to mind the cold just as much as you did.
"Not speaking is the flower⁴, Tsurara. I advise you remain quiet and let me think things through," You said, stopping at a small structure of rock in the ground. Taking off the wooden lid, you revealed firewood hidden inside the barrier of rocks, partially burnt from previous use along with charcoal pieces. Opening the box, you took out a piece of flint and began to strike against it with a blade, allowing the sparks to form a small fire, which grew eventually.
Tsurara bent over, watching from behind your shoulder in much awe. He spoke wise words of such elegance and looked like a well-educated, good-looking man, yet was a child's definition. His face was clear and emotionless, yet somehow his feelings were always clear nevertheless. The strands of his white hair tickled your cheek as he gazed at the growing fire, watching carefully whilst you took out a small pot with a spout, placing snow inside of it before putting it on top of the fire.
"What are you doing if I may ask?" He dared ask, disobeying your recent wishes and breaking the short-lived silence.
"I have made a fire to heat some water. I will be making some herbal and fragrant tea to hopefully clear my mind," You told him, now pulling out a smaller box full of dried herbs. You took out a meagre amount and put it in the pot along with the snow, which was now melted into water.
"This orange blossom is beautiful. Its dance entrances me nearly as much as your beauty," He said, his breath only making it more difficult for you to bear the cold, as everything about him seemed to be linked to winter. He was devoid of any warmth whatsoever.
"Stop speaking like that. Just be on your way now. Have I not made myself clear enough?" You stood up, having had quite enough at this point. You could now barely see his face from the darkness of the outside, the only light coming from the moon, which was reflected in his eyes as though they were a body of the most tranquil waters.
"How can I leave when you keep looking into my eyes this way?" He sighed, taking his left hand and cupping your cheek gently, a smile easing his lips for the first time since you had both met. It was strange to you. In fact, this entire night was proving itself to be like nothing you had ever experienced before.
"What ever do you mean?" You quizzed him sternly, not swayed by his physical touch.
"Your [E/C] eyes. They hold much sorrow, and yet still light up when they look into mine. They look at me with longing, and yet your mouth says otherwise. But perhaps I should believe that the gods blessed humans with two eyes and one mouth rather than the other way around because such eyes are meant to sway my heart. It is that very love I see in your eyes now that has made me come to life," He spoke softly. "I am young, yet I have lived for many years, much longer than you have. Water flows in all that lives, so how was it that I was destined to meet you? When I fell from the sky and became frozen in place like an ant trapped in amber, I had never anticipated feeling so complete. Every single time that you looked at me, I could feel it. I could feel the warmth."
Before you could reply, you were interrupted by a rustle from the bushes in the forest, and both your heads snapped to the sound in sync. Taking advantage of this and perhaps your only chance, you yelled: "Help! Help me, please!"
Tsurara's charming eyes widened as his hand clasped over your mouth, his long fingernails digging into the skin of your cheek. "Quiet, my dear. Why are you so alarmed?" He asked with a slight growl in his tone. At this point, it felt as though you had finally realised the amount of danger you were in.
The bush rustled once more, before stopping. After waiting for several moments, your body struggling against him having nearly no effect compared to his strength, Tsurara dragged you back to the house, where he threw you onto the floor before slamming the door shut. You could only hope that it was a person who had been eavesdropping on the two of you and that they would send for help in the village. But given the loving actions that Tsurara displayed, you greatly doubted it.
You needed to get away as soon as possible. Tugging the door, you expected it to slide open, only to find that it wouldn't budge. You gasped with horror, panicking in a frenzy for a second before running to the door at the main part of the house which was at the very front. Pulling on this door, it also didn't budge, much to your dismay. You felt tears well up in your eyes, as you began to fear the worst. You should have run away whilst you had a chance, and now, you had no clue what this man was to do.
In the meantime, Tsurara advanced to the bush, hidden behind several forest trees, leafless and unchanging. Peering over the bush, there was an empty space, in a part of the snow which had only recently been disrupted. Given that snowfall had resumed, he looked to find a track of what appeared to be a pair of sandals. He followed this trail indifferently, with not much thought. He believed that if the gods had been kind enough to bless him with [Name], then there was no possible way for him to lose her now. And he was proven right when he pushed aside more branches to see a man, hunched over with his palms on his knees, out of breath from running.
"Where do you go?" Tsurara interrogated, slowly advancing towards the man, who looked up in fear as soon as he heard his cold voice.
"To the village. I shall tell them of your actions. How dare you reside with a woman who is not your wife?" He retorted in a disgusted tone as beads of sweat rolled down his forehead.
"She is my bride," Tsurara insisted, stopping just a meter away from the man, with his arms neatly folded upon one another. The man looked up at him and stood up straight with a smug smirk.
"Nonsense. [Surname] does not even talk to us, and you certainly are not a local. Everybody in this village knows each other. I will have her banished for such behaviour. And she dares play it off as though you are attacking her? I saw the way you looked at each other nonetheless, and so I will report this to the head of my village," The man announced pridefully, thinking that he had outwitted the man of snow.
"What do you get from her being banished and ostracised? She already pays you no mind and you the same to her. Unless of course, you have something to gain. Humans... how greedy they can be," Tsurara chimed before raising his right hand to the man's neck and grabbing it.
The man began to panic, realising that his body was frozen in place for some reason and would not listen to him no matter how much he struggled to move. He panicked more as the seemingly younger man's grip on his neck strengthened, tightening to a dangerous degree.
"The pain will be over soon. I'm afraid I can not let you do such a thing to my dear. Don't worry, your life is short and worthless, and I shall put you out of thy misery. So pray, tell any last confessions you wish to make," Tsurara teased, only to crush the man's throat in his hands.
A crimson liquid splattered out, and the sound of bones crushing resonated in the surrounding area. He stayed still, savouring the moment of silence as the man's head soon slipped off the top of his grip and onto the floor. His strength had been so great that the man had been decapitated. Letting go, Tsurara watched with his twinkling ocean eyes of innocence as the blood slid from his right hand and onto the floor.
"Perhaps [Name] will not be very fond of me killing somebody of her kind. She shall be none the wiser," He declared, rubbing his palm on the side of his grey yukata, which had already been ruined by the man's blood, along with his snowy white skin, much like the snow that the dead man now laid upon. "How messy."
Making his way back to your house, he felt a grin form on his lips as he realised that there was nothing that could stand in his way. The gods truly had blessed him with a fresh woman much to his liking, and he was to treasure her for all of eternity. The poignancy that he felt for your impending doom led him to only one solution.
Opening the back door of the house, he found you at the front, struggling to open the door. You heard his mellow footsteps and whipped around, screaming at the sight of blood splattered upon him. Yet still, his eyes were the same. They were just as trustworthy and endearing as they had ever been.
"What- Why- Why is there blood on you?" You yelled out desperately, shook to your core.
"Do not be so loud, my dear. Allow me to explain myself," He said whilst getting on one knee and using his right hand to softly wipe your tears away, only resulting in some of the man's blood to smudge onto your cheek. "I went to see what the source of the sound was, and it was a black bear. It was skinny and had a ravenous hunger. The bear attacked me, and I had to fight for my life," Fear tinging his voice as he sobbed, he looked as though he had pictured what death would have been like.
"I... It was a bear?" You repeated with disbelief, not knowing whether or not to trust those eyes. Either way, your safest move was to play along for now until the time was right to escape.
You had to be clever.
"Yes, quite terrible. I wish to clean myself up if I may," He suggested, now cupping your cheek with he very hand soaked in a man's blood, his touch still cold yet mixed with the warmth of the blood.
"I don't have a bath in this house. The baths are at the temple in the village," You remarked, hoping that if you both went to the village, you could somehow get help.
"You can just use the water you boiled with a piece of cloth to clean my skin," He insisted, about two steps ahead of you.
"I will go get it then-"
"Stay here," He cut you off, sensing your distrust begin to sprout within the roots of doubt. It was now embedded deep into you, and he had to extinguish this.
He left for a curt moment before returning with the kettle, able to hold the pottery since the harsh wind had most likely blown out the fire, giving the kettle time to cool. He placed it down in front of you and sits across from you, legs crossed.
You looked inside at the tea, which was now much too strong for you to savour properly. Sighing, you got up to go to the dark dresser in the corner of the room, taking out a small and neatly folded piece of cloth. Getting back your place, you sat cross-legged and gently dipped the cloth into the tea, noticing that the water was only warm rather than boiling.
You hand the cloth to him, yet he didn't take it, instead speaking: "Clean me."
"I'm not your servant," You retorted.
"But you are my wife. We must listen to each other," He replied drearily, his tone low and yet gentle like sea foam. He undid his yukata and allowed the top half to fall off his shoulders, completely exposing the top part of his body once again. It was well-sculpted, and you had never taken such a close look at a man's body.
You took in a deep breath and held it in, arguing back one last time: "Then listen to me when I say do it yourself."
He grabbed your wrist faster at a speed faster than lightning before slowly leading your hands to his face. He used both his hands to hold your wrists, guiding the cloth to the bloodstains on his face that were now slowly fading away.
When the blood on his face was cleaned away, he then guided your hands to his neck, and down his chest. Becoming nervous, your left hand lost its grip, and your right only held the cloth. You attempted to grip onto the cloth once again before your hands were guided to opposite sides of his chest, one hand gliding on his skin aimlessly whilst the other cleaned the blood.
"You seem to be enjoying yourself," he stated, taking note of your flustered expression. You could feel his cold skin against your warm left palm, and you looked up at him at last, gulping while wide-eyed.
"Not at all, please let this be done with," you responded, just as all the blood was now cleaned from his body, all apart from his hand, which now, with its grip firmly on your wrist, had stained your left with blood as well.
He proceeded to glide your hand over his chest even more despite your task being done, allowing you to feel his upper body.
You gasped from shock, incredibly flustered before pulling your hands away with great force.
"Perhaps that is more than you can take," he replied quietly, letting go of your hands. He took the cloth away, cleaned his hand on his own, and then took yours into his to clean it. "Your reactions are adorable."
He later washed away the blood from your upper cheekbone, his face becoming awfully close to yours. You felt your breath clashing with his and being overpowered by its cold feeling, hitting your cheeks once again and sending shivers throughout your body.
"What must I do for you to leave me?" You asked out of the blue, wondering if there was any possible way at all.
"You must come with me to a certain temple, about an hour or two walks away. It is the most ancient temple in the area and the place where the gods will hear your pleas loud and clear. If you pray to the gods there and they answer you, I will be done with. If anything, I am hurt that my darling wishes to be rid of me so soon," He said quietly.
"How about... we make a bet?"
This caused him to perk up, capturing his attention as he raised his head to meet eyes with you. "A bet?" Tsurara repeated with curiosity.
"Yes. We shall go to this temple, and I shall pray to the gods to be rid of you. If the gods accept my prayers, then you must leave me be."
"And what if they do not?"
"Then I will be your bride."
"How exciting," He said through a dreamy sigh, a smile coming to his face, a grin so large it spread from ear to ear.
"So is it a deal?" You asked, sticking out your pinky.
He raised his hand and his pinky curls around your own with a reassuring amount of strength whilst he replied: "Very well. You have yourself a deal. But do not go back on your word if it is a sutra in a horse's ear⁵."
"I shall never go back on my word. We have crossed fifth fingers, so let it be true," You returned, holding back a smile. At last, a beaming chance. You were bound to have many occasions and chances to slip away from him during your trip. Yet at the same time, your heart raced from the thought of impending doom coming for you if your plan was not to be a success.
¹; "One who chases after two hares won't even catch one." : Trying to do two things at a time will make you fail.
²; "Let flow in the water." : Forgive and forget.
³; "For after the rain, the earth hardens." : After a storm, things will stand on the ground more firmly. ( After going through a tough time, one becomes stronger. )
⁴; "Not speaking is the flower." : Silence is precious/golden.
⁵; "A sutra in a horse's ear." : A wasted effort.