Shion and I reached the library as the sun was rising over Shin'yume's crumbling rooftops.

I couldn't count how many grey and moldy shingles I saw amongst the old and rusty infrastructure.

The faded paint, plants growing out of gutters, and spider-web cracks the two of us passed reminded me that my adopted home had been created from leftover parts.

All of it was exactly like Lana had said: leftovers and forgotten scraps.

We sat down on a wooden bench, damp with dew, just outside the library's outside stairs and waited for Inego, Azuki, and Yuki to show up.

"I can see why this place attracts yokai," I said.

Shion drew a breath, and I wrapped my fingers around hers.

"You think this place attracts yokai?" she asked.

I thought about it.

Yeah."

With the rundown school nestled above the dying seaside town? There's a rotting onsen plastered on the side of the mountain, and this entire island is surrounded by a dead forest.

So… how could it not?"

She tilted her head to the side, thinking about it.

"Maybe… but how do you know this place didn't start to fall apart after the yokai came? That scans, right?"

I scratched the peach fuzz that had started to grow under my chin.

"So… you're saying that this town was awesome once. Like Yuki said it was back in the sixties. Then, Crescent Moon Academy shows up. It's a school for yokai, and once the yokai are here, then everything starts going south?"

She shrugged.

"Going south? Oh my gods, you're such an… American. But… your theory makes just as much sense as mine. You're suggesting that what happened is the whole onsen scene, the economy the town, Shin'yume, was built on, dies down. The town, in turn, goes to hell. Dying city with few prospects? Miserable citizenship? That's exactly the kind of place that would attract me."

She showed off her fangs with a teasing grin.

Then she leaned into my shoulder.

"So… how's it feel, Blondie?"

I snickered.

It felt awesome seeing Shion acting playful and flirty.

"How's what feel?" I asked, making sure I knew what she was asking.

She rolled her eyes, like her question was obvious.

"Duh. You're dating a dead girl, dummy. I know you said it was okay earlier, but that was before… you know."

She looked away, but her grip around my hand tightened.

"First of all, I'll never mind, okay? And, secondly, stop saying you're dead. You're undead. And that counts for a lot."

She raised one of her eyebrows skeptically and lifted her hand, the one that was holding mine, up where I could see it.

"Have you taken a close look though, sweetie?" she asked, sounding faux-sweet.

I sighed, but I looked.

I already knew what she meant though.

I'd noticed the first time I'd seen her when I first arrived here.

Blood. Old. Black.

Long ago, it had pooled in the tips of Shion's fingers and simply stayed there once her heart stopped pumping.

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The skin along her fingernail beds looked sickly green and blue, a permanent reminder that she was a corpse.

"There's that. And it's not like I'm going to stop drinking your blood. Ever."

I didn't say anything straight away, and her question hung in the air like a foul smell.

Instead, I listened to the sound of traffic in the distance. I could smell the acidic exhaust fumes being coughed into the morning air, and I felt the cool spring wind brushing against my face.

Shion's hand felt strange in mine, thin and bony.

I tried not to think about how it was skeletal.

"No one's perfect," I said quietly.

She threw her head back dramatically.

"Ugh! You're impossible," she mumbled.

But she didn't let go.

The sun was higher now, staining the cracked stone stairs of the library pale gold.

The windows were dark, though, their blinds pulled down, and it gave the whole building the look of something watching us without blinking.

I looked up a moment later and saw our three friends approaching us.

Then I froze.

There, across the lawn, I saw them.

Feet.

Hitting the ground.

Solid.

Bare foot with white toes padding against the concrete path.

Only then did I realize it was Yuki, grinning, with both her arms above her head, waving as she ran toward me and Shion.

"Ryu! Look!" she yelled.

She broke into a run, laughing as she sprinted across the Shin'yume Public Library's front yard, coming to a stop in front of our bench.

She stuck one of her bare feet in front of her like she was modeling and wiggled her toes.

"See? See! I walk now!"

I leapt to my feet, not even thinking, and hugged her.

"That's amazing!" I said.

Yuki broke into nervous giggles and hugged me back.

Her body felt real, warm even, though her presence still gave off that faint, wintery chill of ghosthood.

Then, Shion coughed, and the two of us let go.

Azuki and Inego joined the rest of us, with Azuki shoving her way from behind. She still had crumbs of melon bread on her tank top.

"Ryu-sama! Shion-kun! Ohayō gozaimasu!" she said. "You two already noticed Yuki, huh? I bet you saw that she's got a body now!"

Yuki blushed, but Shion crossed her arms.

"Yeah, well, join the club," she said flatly.

Yuki pouted and leaned a little closer to me.

"It's okay. The people who matter think it's pretty swell."

Shion laced her arm through mine.

Azuki, oblivious to Shion and Yuki's argument, giggled.

"You guys outta see Yuki darting around Crescent Moon Academy's hallways on her feet! She needs a hazard sign hanging around her or something."

Inego looked around, as though seeing if they'd been followed.

"Er, yes, we might've broken someone's science fair exhibit," he muttered quietly.

Azuki's shoulders slumped and her mouth dropped open.

"Excuse me, British-love-boy! 'We?' You're the one who bumped into it."

Inego blushed like a tomato.

"British-love-boy?" he asked.

Then it was Azuki's turn to blush.

"Oh-my-gosh! Did I say that out loud?"

Everyone turned and watched her burst into glitchy television static for a second before she reformed into her familiar self.

She covered her face with her hands.

"No! Don't look at me! Ryu-sama! Save me! I'm sooooo embarrassed!"

Shion narrowed her gaze at Azuki.

"I don't think so, tanuki. The black dragon's spoken for," she said.

Azuki stopped in her tracks.

Then, seeing the look on Shion's face, she took a comedic step backwards, bumping straight into Inego.

"Oh no!" Azuki gasped, immediately causing bother her and Inego to nearly topple over.

Until he reached out and caught her.

Then, he held her for an awkward three seconds before she leapt up, back onto her feet.

"Hey!" I said, breaking the tension that was building between Inego and Azuki. "Can we just talk for one second about how there's a ghost over here casually breaking the laws of physics?"

Inego nodded in agreement.

"Oi, mate! Yes. Thank you! Otherwise, I fear, there'd be no end to these tanuki antics."

Azuki looked scandalized.

"Hey! Are you… talking about… my… rear-end?"

She looked behind her, frowning.

Inego's color left his face.

"I'm talking about Yuki and how she suddenly has a body," I said quickly.

Azuki spun back around, paying attention again.

"Oh! Yes, of course. Well… that's on me! I did it!"

I looked at Azuki, amazed.

"What? Seriously? You did? Okay but… how?"

Yuki folded her hands in front of her, giggling again.

"It's simple tanuki magic," Azuki began. "I can't believe I didn't think of it before, but once I had the idea… er, okay, so I just shape-shifted my body into a double of Yuki. Then, I let her inhabit that body! It's easy, as long as I keep her basic shape in the back of my mind."

Azuki grinned, like a kid on their birthday morning.

"Yeah," Inego said, scratching the back of his neck. "Like Yuki piloting an Azuki skin-suit isn't disturbing or anything."

Azuki playfully shoved his shoulder.

"Oh, pish-posh. Like you've never played 'Tanuki or Tea-kettle' when you were growing up!"

Inego blinked a few times.

"What the bloody hell does that even mean?"

I shrugged.

"I can't tell you how good it is to have a body again!" Yuki said. "I can breathe and… I even sneezed when I was in Azuki's room."

Yuki blushed a little.

"Eh, it might be a bit dusty in there," Azuki said.

Yuki's joy was infectious, and I laughed along with her.

But even as the two of us laughed with our friends, I caught Shion's expression.

Cold, wary, like she smelled rot wafting from inside the library doors.

And I remembered her warning earlier about Skuzz, the zombie.

Even with Yuki's new body bouncing on bare feet, even with Azuki's laughter filling the air, I couldn't forget what we'd come here to do.

The doors loomed behind us, heavy glass streaked with grime, and for a second I swore I saw one of them shift, just a fraction, but it was enough to belch out a draft that smelled like mildew and iron.

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