I returned home on the first day of snow.
Thin flakes drifted through the village like falling ash, vanishing as soon as they touched the ground.
The air carried the weight of winter—quiet, heavy, expectant.
The shop looked the same.
But it felt different.
The door creaked as I slid it open. The faint ticking of repaired clocks filled the space like always, but there was a new stillness beneath it. Not emptiness. Just… waiting.
Shuji sat at the workbench, polishing a timepiece with a delicate hand.
He didn't look up when I entered.
"You're late," he said.
I smiled faintly, "You didn't give me a time."
"That never stopped you before."
I stepped inside and closed the door behind me.
He finally looked up.
His gaze lingered on the blade at my side. Then at the corded talisman hanging from my sash.
***
He poured tea, didn't ask questions. We sat in silence, listening to the second hands carry the room forward.
After a while, he said, "You've changed."
"So have you."
"Only in the ways I had to."
His eyes darkened, just briefly.
"You're not the only one who's been seeing things," he added. "Time's been slipping again. Clocks freezing. Reflections blinking out. And…"
He stopped himself."And what?"
He looked toward the door.
"Ask her yourself."
The paper screen slid open behind me.
Rin stepped inside, her hoari tight across her shoulders, her hair a little longer, her eyes a little older.
She didn't say anything at first.
She just looked at me.
Then, "You're back."
"I am."
"You took your time."
"You knew I would."
She smiled—but it didn't reach her eyes.
Then she sat beside me and poured her own tea, movements careful. Distant.
Shuji spoke again. "She hasn't seen Tatsuya in over a month."
I looked up. "What?"
"He vanished," Rin said. "No letter. No trace. He's not in the village. Not at the Kanzaki estate. Just… gone."
My chest tightened.
"We think the shikigami found him first," Shuji said. "Or worse—the he followed them."
Rin's voice was quieter. "I've been dreaming of him. Alone. Unraveling."
I met her gaze.
Then I said, "Let's go find him."