He opened his eyes, as if he was waking up from a nightmare.
Then, it hits him. He is not waking up from a nightmare, he was waking up at a nightmare.
He died, he was not sure how long it has been, but he had died in one of those wet summers.
A revenant hunt gone wrong, that was what took him away. Seems ironic, in retrospect.
They took too long to find the young man, who had wandered for weeks, depleting what remained of his life force. By the time they found him and tried to explain what had happened, he was too desperate and had been able to procure a gun.
He instinctively scratches his chest, where the bullets had hit him. The skin was unblemished, like it had never happened. Like he was a new-born.
Then, it hits him. He was wasting his time. He would not kill to remain in this world, which meant his stay in the world of living was severely limited. He knew what he had to do, and while he knew it was a risk, he was confident in his ability to resist the temptation.
He walks down the mountain path with ease, noting that his improved eyesight was serving him well. Once emerging in town, he also noted the lack of colour in the houses, which, while rather monochromatic with their traditional architecture, seemed particularly sombre with his dead eyes.
Running through the streets, knowing that, as the time passed, less of a hold he would have over his hunger, he prayed silently she still lived at their home. If she moved, he would have a difficult time tracking her down, and he might not be able to reach her.
The Fuurinkan Hotel was dark and silent, as he observed it should be very late at night. He would not use the front door either way, as he intended not alert the townspeople, in fear his orders would be followed to the letter, as they should.
"No revenant is, under any circumstance, to approach Ichiko. No exceptions!"
The sense of irony hits him once again.
He even tried to move her from there, to live in the safest house in town with his father, much to his distaste. She stubbornly refused, though, saying she liked the hotel, insisted their house was safe enough, and saying she wanted to do something of use, taking his place as the manager. He could not deny her, and ended up caving.
He sneaked through the familiar back entrance, the one Ichiko used to leave unlocked for him to go inside their home after his duties with the revenants. He was surprised, concerned and rather angry that she continued with the habit even after his passing.
As he opens the door to their home, he is hit with the sweet floral smell of his wife, the fabled one he heard from the revenants. Just a whiff and he felt like he was alive again.
Before he could get lost in it, though, a figure emerges from the kitchen. It was Ichiko.
She gasped and dropped the glass on her hand. "Yu-Yuzuki!"
The man could not talk, he was struck with the beautiful sight in front of him. The woman was always beautiful, he thought so when he first met her at the doorstep of his hotel all those summers ago, but now…
She was always the only source of colour in his world, now more than ever.
"I told you I would come back." He said.
Ichiko ran to him and hugged him tight, crying on his fine yukata, while he felt her warmth spreading through his dead body and he felt his still heart do a somersault as it completely dominates him.
"I missed you so much." She hiccupped on his chest.
The man placed his hand on her hair, stroking it lightly. "I'm sorry. I never meant to leave you."
She cried and held him tighter, as to make herself believe her husband was really there with her.
"How long was I gone?" Yuzuki asks, still holding his wife.
She took a deep breath to avoid having her voice broken while she spoke, to no avail. "A year. Today is the fifteenth of August."
He died in the twenty-ninth of July. He had been away for 382 days.
"Listen, Ichiko." He pried her away from his chest, so he could look deep into her violet eyes. "I need to tell you something."
Before Yuzuki could say anything else, another cry broke the silence of the night.
It was an infant.
Her body tensed and she ran to the bedroom to see what had happened. He followed her, but waited at the doorstep.
A child. She had a child.
A fit of rage erupted on his chest. She sure moved on quickly, to have found someone to replace him and give her a kid in less than a year.
Soon after, though, he felt resignation. He was already dead, and even while alive, he was hardly a good husband. She was still very young and naïve, she more than deserved to find someone else to take care of her, and he was well aware that there was no shortage of candidates, much to his chagrin.
"Who is their father?" He asked, without being able to contain the edge on his voice.
Her answer was short: "You."
Yuzuki did a double-take. "What?"
She turned the baby's face towards him, and there, shining in the night, there was the yellow lynx eyes of his, looking suspicious at him.
"Meet Soichiro Murakamo." The woman said. "Your son."
To him, it was like a sucker punch to his stomach. He was happy, of course, to have sired a son with his most beloved wife, but now… He was not leaving just Ichiko behind, he was leaving Soichiro as well.
"Soichiro…" He echoed. "Happiness of the family."
"It was the day after your wake when I found out I was pregnant with him" She recounted. "He helped me through my grief. I forced myself to be well, to fight for him. He is my greatest joy."
If he could, Yuzuki is sure he would be crying. A son. He had a son.
Then it hits you. "Are you being provided for? Do you need of anything?"
"Father… He had been providing for us." She said. "He recognized Soichiro as his grandson, and has been great for him. He even mellowed out. He wanted me to come and live with him at the manor, but I could not leave this house behind, the memories of us here together; and I always hoped you would come back as well."
Yuzuki nodded solemnly.
"Do you want to hold him?" Ichiko asks.
"May I?" He responded, insecure.
"Of course." The woman smiled softly. "Here, I will help you."
She teaches him how to hold him with no risk of dropping. Soichiro hiccupped in surprise, as his father's dead body was significantly colder than his mother's, but soon recognized him and slept peacefully.
"I love you so much." He whispered quietly.
Yuzuki, then, raises his eye to face his wife. "Ichiko, I am so very sorry to leave you. Please know that all I wanted was to wake up every day of eternity next to you, to kiss you, just like I promised."
"I did, too, Yuzuki." She said, distantly, eyes wet with tears.
"I love you and Soichiro with all my heart." He said, and then took a deep breath he did not need to. "Which is why I want you to remarry."
"What?!" She almost screamed in outrage.
It seemed hypocritical of him saying that, as just a few minutes ago he was angry with that very same thought, but that was what he came to say. He wanted to make sure Ichiko, and now Soichiro, would be as happy as she could after his passing.
"I said what I said." He points out, forcefully. "Soichiro needs a father. Please, Ichiko, do not feel attached to my memory. Live fully, be happy."
"Soichiro has a father, Yuzuki. It is you. Besides, I am as happy as I could be without you."
"Please, Ichiko." He begged. "I just want you well."
The woman sighed. "That is nor here nor there, Yuzuki, but I promise you that, if I feel I can and should, I will consider it."
He felt like arguing his point, but he felt too tired. Instead, he said, "May I require one more thing of you?"
She nodded.
"May I hold you tonight?" He said, suddenly feeling shy. "Before you fall asleep?"
Ichiko smiled brightly. "Of course."
Yuzuki placed Soichiro in his crib with care, so he would not wake up, and said his goodbye with a soft kiss on his forehead, before following his wife to their marital bed.
"Just close your eyes." He whispered.
"If I do, you will disappear and leave me alone again."
"I will never leave you." The man said, earnestly. "I will always be here, I will always look after you. I will wait for you on the other side, and then we will never be apart again. I love you too much to be any different."
Her eyes spill with tears as she nods and does as he said.
His smell and his presence near her soothe her pain, and she soon falls into a deep slumber. Before she lost conscience, however, she heard one last thing that he said.
"No matter how short, the time I spent with you was the best time of my life."