What a windy night it was that day. The breeze sent shivers down their spines even from under the covers.
Tsubaki's teeth clattered endlessly as she checked to see if everyone had gone to sleep yet. The silence was all the confirmation she had, but she took it anyway.
She got out of her bedding and tiptoed her way to the door. Before she could get out, she heard a bell chime and froze.
She turned to see that the sound had only come from one of the girl's hairpins that had bells on them.
They chimed again as the girl shuffled in place, presumably from the cold. She took a soft sigh of relief before stepping out.
After she did, the orange-haired girl beside the girl with the bells lay on her back, eyes open.
Tsubaki navigated through the dark halls, every creak of the floorboards beneath her feet raising her heartbeat even higher. It wasn't long before she was walking on the paved paths outside the sleeping quarters.
She couldn't hear her steps anymore. All that raced through her mind were the words the Mistress had whispered to her the day before.
"Tomorrow night, when all the other girls have gone to sleep, sneak out of the sleeping quarters and walk toward the south gate," she said. "It will be open."
Though it was coming from the Priestess herself, she couldn't help but feel unsure. Was it a setup to properly accuse her? Or was it something else?
She couldn't read her. That soft tone, that smile, what could she want from her? The thought of it made her shiver.
She was about to take the last turn that led to the back gate. If her hunch about the setup was right, then this turn could change her life completely.
But not taking the turn would lead to the same suffering. She squared down and buried her head in her arms, sniffling.
She sat there until her legs hurt, not wanting to look up. But then she felt a chill up her spine from the fear that she was running out of time.
So she stood and wiped her tears. Though whatever lay ahead might be her undoing, it might also have been her salvation, and she couldn't afford to waste it.
She took the turn slowly, only to find the path to the gate empty. Seeing this, she almost smiled, but the instructions to be followed from there immediately washed it away.
"Walk out from the gate and into the forest," the Priestess had told her. "Go to the clearing by the stream and wait."
All she could do now was keep moving. If anyone saw her coming back from that direction, the rumours might as well have been truth.
She pushed the gate slightly and slipped out. The shrine was located at the upper end of the town, with very few buildings close to it.
The area around the back gate had no buildings at all. It was only an open field that led into the forest.
Thanks to this, at least she didn't have to worry about anybody seeing her sneak out. The moonlight lit the open field but barely pierced into the forest.
She had to shuffle around in the darkness, hoping that she was going in the right direction. She pricked her hands and feet on sharp branches and thorns several times because of this, but she kept going.
The moonlight that shone on her face as she stepped into the clearing felt blinding but calm at the same time.
Now that she had made it there, all she could do was wait. What for, even she didn't know.
She found a large boulder in the middle of the clearing and moved to sit on it, but before she could, she heard some sounds coming from the forest.
By the time she turned to see what it was, two figures in hooded cloaks were already in the clearing. They approached her slowly, and though she felt afraid, she couldn't bring herself to run.
Once they were close enough, the smaller of the two took off their hood. A strange sense of relief flooded Tsubaki when she saw that it was just the Mistress and not some predator.
Turning to the man beside her, she could only assume that he was her guard, Keitaro Kobayashi.
"I see you made it here safely, Tsubaki," she said, approaching her.
"It was no trouble, Mistress," she said, bowing down to her.
"Oh, no encounters with any wild animals or the sort?" Kiyohara said as Tsubaki rose back up.
"None at all, Mistress," she replied. "It is all because I'm graced with the protection of the shrine."
"It's nice to see you so devout," she said.
Tsubaki tensed up as she tried to face her, so she turned away and blurted it out without thinking.
"Not to be rude, Mistress, but you asked me out here to do something for you."
"Are you having second thoughts?" she asked.
"No, I'm not," Tsubaki replied. "I'll do anything you want if it means you'll forgive me."
"Then look at me," she said in that eerily soft tone of hers.
Tsubaki turned her head to her slowly, hesitating. She walked up to her and placed her hand over her cheek.
"You're shivering," she said with a worried look.
"It's just the cold," Tsubaki said, trying to calm herself down.
"Don't you worry, dear," she said with a smile. "You're okay."
A tear streamed down Tsubaki's cheek and onto her fingers.
"I'm not asking for much," she said, rubbing her thumb to wipe away the tears. "All I want is for you to do one thing."
"What c-can I do for you?" she mumbled.
"All I want you to do," Kiyohara said softly, "is smile for me."
"S-smile?" Tsubaki asked with a confused look.
"Yes, that is all I want from you," she replied.
Without warning, she found herself smiling. She couldn't tell whether it was from relief or fear.
She met Tsubaki's smile with her own as she embraced her. For a moment, she felt free like she never had before.
She raised her hands to meet the embrace, but then she felt a sudden pain.
Her hands fell limp, and with a weak cough, she whispered, "Why?"
No answer came.
Kiyohara had attacked her without warning, and just as quickly as it happened, she pulled away.
Tsubaki stumbled and fell to the ground on her back. The last image she saw was Sayo Kiyohara standing before her, her eyes a sharp green and the sleeve of her robe stained.
Kiyohara turned away and faced her guard.
"Would you say that I was heartless, treating her that way before I killed her?" she asked him.
"I'm in no place to judge, Mistress," he replied.
"Humans prefer a death like that, don't they?" she asked while looking ahead.
"But don't we all?"
"What do we do now?" he asked her.
"Dig a hole here and bury her like the rest of them," she said. "Then we'll leave."
"Of course, Mistress," he replied.
Then, with his right leg, he struck the ground, making a large hole. He carried her body and placed it inside before covering it with soil. Even as it poured in, her lifeless eyes were still open.
Soon, the entire hole was covered, and the two of them started walking away. But she suddenly stopped and turned back toward the side of the forest behind her.
"Is something wrong, Mistress?" Kobayashi asked.
She stared at the patch of trees a bit longer before turning away again.
"I thought I sensed something," she said, "but it seems it was nothing."