As soon as they stepped outside the house, Choso took the lead. The sun was setting, casting a golden shine on the pair as they walked. Not a single word was exchanged between them. Asami seemed tense, still wary of her decision. She knew the vow bound their lives together temporarily, but it wasn't enough to calm her nerves.

She was prepared to strike at any given moment. Choso, on the other hand, had no reason to keep quiet; this only made her more hesitant.

Her decision was made irrationally, her emotions were heightened, and she had confided in him for some odd reason. Now she was following a 150-year-old curse around a part of town she didn't know nearing dusk.

She had sworn time and time again that she would stop letting her emotions influence her decisions, but it had been ingrained in her. A habit that proved hard to break because she wanted to believe in her instincts and nothing else, even if they had left her atray various times before.

She trailed closely behind him, her gaze fixed on the day-old snow. Without warning, he halted, and she crashed into his broad back, stumbling as she looked up in surprise. Maybe she wasn't as vigilant of her surroundings as she thought she'd been this entire walk.

"Why'd we stop?" She stopped and looked around, taking in all the unfamiliar details of the area.

He turned back to face her. "Take a good, thorough look around Asami." His features were desperate.

She did what he asked and looked around. It was mostly run-down buildings with dried blood splattered on them. And sketchy alleyways filled with an ominous presence. The air was oddly humid, it being the middle of winter.

There were abandoned cars and endless amounts of debris everywhere. The city was unrecognizable; nothing here rang a bell to her.

"I'm not seeing anything special. What exactly am I supposed to be looking at?"

"The day Natsuki died-"

Asami interrupted. "The day you murdered her."

He continued paying little mind to her attempt at a correction. "You were fighting Mahito-"

"Scarface?" She knew they were probably the same person, but cutting him off mid-sentence felt nice.

"Yes, you only saw him and me, but a third lurked in the shadows. She hired curses to do all the dirty work for her, all while using her curse technique to alter the memories of whoever she wished."

The cold, dry air felt like a million needles on her skin. "What exactly does this have to do with this place?" She wanted to get to the main point before she froze.

He was honestly stunned; she hadn't any recollection of the place. "You really don't remember, do you?"

"Remember what?" She asked, and a confused look on her face shone.

"Your memory of that night is different from how things actually played out. This place isn't just some ghost town." He looked intently at her. "Tell me what you remember from that day."

She did; she recounted every gruesome detail she could remember, trying to hide her emotions. She couldn't hurt him, so getting angry had no point. Even if she felt gutted every time she had to think about that day. Especially with the murderer himself.

When she finished, he had a distraught look on his face. He walked toward some steps before shooting her a glance, inviting her over. She took the offer and sat near him. "That day Mahito and I jumped out of the building in the center of Tokyo. We weren't told specifics of what the plan was, only that we would be made aware when our target was near. As luck would have it, our signal went off shortly after seeing you and your sister. Though now I know it wasn't meant for either of you." He paused, looking regretful.

"Feel sorry later; continue your story." She didn't have time to comfort him.

"Right," he sighed. "But you were in our way regardless, so we were going to take you out. But she decided you would be a better target, and she used one of her many abilities to teleport us here." He motioned toward the lonely town. "But not before you sent Natsuki away; she had already been quite far when we all got teleported here. When the change happened, she got lost; it was the only reason I was able to get to her."

"So your first instinct was to sever her leg! She was a child!" Her blood ran hot, and she was fighting back tears. She couldn't believe truly how cruel this man was.

"I didn't cut off her leg! I made sure the cut wasn't deep enough to cause any serious injury. I didn't care about anything besides having to finish this task. Regardless, I didn't want to kill a child. I only wanted to give Mahito an opening to end you."

"Wait, but how did you get to her if I vividly remember fighting you and Scarfa– er– Mahito being next to Natsuki?" She stumbled over her words, trying to align her memory with what he was telling her.

"It was her, Rei; she altered your memory to make it seem like it was me. After I saw that you two were distracted, I took off with her. I tried to get her to a healer; I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I let a child die." His voice cracked, and his emotions fell through the cracks briefly.

"But she did die, and she was hung. So how exactly did that happen if you supposedly saved her?"

"Rei sent one of her guards after me; they sealed me away temporarily, then killed and hung Natsuki. When they broke the seal, it had been too late for me to do anything. And then I was teleported back to Tokyo along with Mahito and Rei." He turned to look at her, waiting to see if she would believe him.

"How do I know that your memory isn't the one that got changed? That what you're telling me is the real truth and not some fake story you've been manipulated into believing." She inquired; she wanted to believe that story; it would explain his recent actions. But she had no reason to trust anything he said, especially if what he said was true and there was someone out there changing memories at will.

He didn't try hiding anything she asked about anymore; he only spoke real, full truths. "It won't work on me anymore. I overcame the requirements to break her technique. I figured bringing you here would do the same for you."

She turned her body toward him, ready to interrogate him like always. "So you're saying my memory of my sister's death has been a lie, and some crazy bitch changed it. For what?"

He wanted to tell her the truth, but he physically couldn't. "I can't tell you that; it's something you have to figure out on your own. You have to break her hold on you."

She pondered for a moment: how much of what he said was she going to believe? This didn't make sense, yet it would explain almost everything. Him doing all these things to keep her alive out of remorse for her sister's death. Letting everything go her way, he was trying to make up for the past.

What was she supposed to do now?

"You don't have to know what to do right now; it's a lot to take in." He tried to be comforting, or as comforting as a former falsely accused sister murderer could be.

Asami felt like she was losing her composure; she didn't realize she'd said that loud. Maybe this was all too much to process right now.

He continued. "Let's go back before you catch a cold or something. I'll get back in your little cage, and you can keep me there until you decide." He got up ready to walk her back. She followed suit.

The sun had now fallen, and the moon glimmered in the sky, illuminating alongside the million insignificant stars. The night was cooler than ever, as it nipped at their flesh.

The moon guided their path back with its light, although Choso knew better than anyone how to get back to her and anything that belonged to her.