In the world where Riku lived, Sū ěr had long since lost the joy for snow he'd had in his original world. The impressions in his mind had changed from snowball fights and snowmen to cold, hunger, and death.
In the previous world, snow was perhaps the only weather that never went away, yet it brought Sū ěr no nostalgia or comfort.
Whenever it snowed, the already scarce wild beasts became even harder to catch, and the ones he did find were more vicious than usual due to hunger. Then there was the temperature that felt like it would freeze his fingers off; just thinking about it brought back nightmare-like memories.
Perhaps he should also add the black ash that fell with the snow most of the time?
In short, when the seasons finished their transition unnoticed in this world, Sū ěr woke up one morning and looked out the window. Seeing the land covered in white, he was dazed for a moment, not realizing what had happened.
The winter sun shone on the snow, reflecting a brilliant golden light. This snowy landscape under the sun was something Think had never seen before either. In a description Sū ěr thought of but didn't tell Think, the Flügel who was now a translucent soul looked like a Husky seeing snow for the first time.
After sweeping the snow in front of the bamboo house, Sū ěr and Think built two snowmen on either side of the door, looking like two guardian deities.
By now, minor things like temperature changes no longer affected Sū ěr, but he still lit a fire inside to match the mood—snowy scenery, a hearth fire, wisps of smoke rising, and a peaceful mind...
Think poked at the glowing red wood in the hearth. Watching clusters of sparks fly up from her actions, she found it fun and poked harder, satisfied to see more sparks rising like fireworks.
Normally, Sū ěr would nag her about how that could put out the fire, but this time Think waited in vain for the man's voice. When she turned her head, she saw Sū ěr wrapped in a quilt, staring blankly at the stove.
She knew what he was thinking about.
"Still haven't thought of a name?" Think asked, slightly bored. She flicked her finger and knocked down the tiny figure that happened to run in front of her. The little guy didn't seem angry; instead, he happily climbed back up and continued running in circles around the hearth.
"...Ah, pretty much," Sū ěr answered blankly, realizing for the first time that he was terrible at naming things. He suddenly turned to Think and said, "How about we call her Ya-mèi [House-Sister]? What do you think?"
"...Are there no other options?" After a moment of silence, Think chose to attack from the flank.
"Then let's call her Zashiki-warashi!" Sū ěr said, having killed off a large number of brain cells on the naming issue. He couldn't take it anymore and slapped his palms together. "It fits this land we're in perfectly, and the name has 'house' in it. It's perfect."
"Zashiki-warashi? What does that mean?" Think asked, tilting her head.
"A hand-trap. It can be used to break the legs of anyone who comes near our house."
"Hand-trap?"
"Sorry, I was talking nonsense. Please ignore it."
Even if it couldn't understand Sū ěr meaning, the small green figure accepted "Zashiki-warashi" as its name, cheerfully raising its two thin arm-like things and swaying.
In this strange coincidence, Sū ěr and Think home gained a new life, making the atmosphere inside the bamboo house more vibrant.
Winter had come, yet Yakumo Yukari still hadn't arrived.
"Once winter passes, let's go to Yamato."
"...Okay."
Yakumo Yukari still found it hard to believe—Kazami Yūka died just like that?
In just a few breaths, that annoying flower yōkai was dead?
It was enough to shock Yukari for an entire year.
Bloodthirsty and battle-hungry yōkai were not uncommon in this world and era. On the contrary, in this golden age where everything became sentient and turned into yōkai at will, there weren't many complex relationships, nor was there a power strong enough to suppress the world and set rules. Simple-minded yōkai and spirits who thought only of killing and fighting were everywhere.
They fought on sight; the winner took all, the loser lost everything. The world was as simple as a blank sheet of paper, filled with the raw scent of nature.
Usually, these were the yōkai Yukari looked down on the most. They had nothing but brute force and couldn't achieve anything great. While they looked fierce and powerful when they rose, they generally died very quickly.
However, when the numbers reached a certain point, a few very special yōkai would emerge. They held onto the belief in war and slaughter, and after countless battles, they remained alive. These types were usually very troublesome and incredibly stubborn; even Yukari didn't want to provoke them.
And Kazami Yūka was the cream of the crop among such yōkai—a yōkai born from flowers growing on the corpse of some powerful being, possessing strength far beyond her kin and a fighting spirit uncharacteristic of flower yōkai.
Most important was that robust physique and the vibrant vitality of plant-type yōkai. That said, even Yukari didn't know if a flower yōkai could survive with a massive hole in her chest and her internal organs reduced to a mass of shredded meat. After all, regardless of what race she originated from, she was currently a yōkai with a physical form.
Besides, she wasn't actually that close to Kazami Yūka. They knew each other only through a few sudden battles. Thanks to Yukari unique abilities, after a few attempts where Yūka found she couldn't get a satisfying fight, she stopped bothering with her.
Well... from that perspective, by relying on her abilities, Yukari was a bit like a piece of stinking dog-shit—despised by other yōkai. As long as she didn't touch them, they didn't bother touching her.
Truth be told, there was no real hatred between her and the male yōkai with the strange soul body. They weren't in an adversarial state. Yukari had just happened to discover that the male yōkai used no yōki at all when using his abilities and wanted to investigate. Later, she was curious about what kind of yōkai he was—whether he was a rare specimen like her, where one being was an entire race—and what level of power he possessed, and how he would affect her ideal of leading the yōkai to unify the world.
Yes, though she always called herself a "minor gap-yōkai," anyone who truly believed her would be in trouble. Using "Gap" as a clan name, she was the only member of her race from past to present: Yakumo Yukari.
She had used words to lure Kazami Yūka, who was always looking for strong foes, to check things out. But Yukari never had a plan for Yūka to die. In her estimation, with Yūka's vitality and combat power, she should have been able to escape no matter what.
Yet she had actually died.