Tonight was very dark compared to the other nights. The now stagnant air was suffocating and no light was present with the exception of the Moon above her head. Standing under the moonlight, the youkai known as Koishi Komeiji was standing alone inside a circle of light that would keep the horrible monsters from grabbing her.

Koishi: ...Mister Y/N?

She called, nobody answered. Left to herself, she was standing at the middle of the world, protected by the moonlight above her forming a perfect circle of light and nothing else. It was more akin to a spotlight than anything else, keeping her inside its light.

Koishi: Mister Y/N? Are we playing hide and seek?

She giggled to herself and suddenly froze up, realizing what she did. She was heartfully laughing with amusement. It was a sensation that was forgotten a long time ago. Feeling creeped out by this, she turned around herself and found a single box beside a single swing.

She approached the strange structure and sat down on the swing, not minding the box. While on the seat, her expression turned into fear, not understanding what was going on. She was alone inside a circle of light and the feeling that she will die if she steps outside of it was not helping. She wanted to escape this place, return somewhere she knew.

Koishi: ...Satori? Anyone?

No answer, pushing the feeling of loneliness even further. Slowly, she began to swing herself back and forth on the seat, holding onto the metallic chains. The sound of her swinging was the only thing here, not even the wind was making any noise. Completely isolated, she wanted to reach the Moon above her, she wanted to jump and leave that circle.

...Suddenly, the box opened and a simple melody began to play. Looking down to it, she recognized the design of a music box, chanting its song to her. It gave the small amount of room she had a peaceful atmosphere but she instinctively feared its song, something was definitely wrong and she couldn't do anything to stop it.

Koishi's mind: It's fine, I shouldn't be scared, it's fine... It's... fine.

She stopped swinging herself around and stared in front of her, facing an inhuman shadow covered in smoke that wasn't there a moment ago. It stood still and stared back at her in silence, not moving an inch. She slowly left the seat and grabbed the music box, protecting herself with the sad melody playing by it.

Koishi: ...What do you want?

???: I don't know, I don't remember.

It answered back and dispersed the smoke around it, allowing her to witness the monster in its true colors. The revelation made her grasp onto the box thighter, almost breaking it. Standing in front of her was someone she knew too well.

...Herself.

Koishi(?): Why are you scared? You should be smiling.

Koishi: ...

Koishi(?): I don't like humans, they always forget about me, no matter how many times I try. Did you forget? They will all forget about you, no exception.

Koishi: ...I don't think so.

The song kept playing and filled the air with its sadness. Holding onto it, the real(?) Koishi faced the shadow(?) with an uncertain expression, wanting to refute the statement but without anything backing her.

Koishi(?): They all die and they all leave me, they get older, they forget and then they leave, I don't want to talk to humans.

Koishi: But...

Koishi(?): All humans die, mister Y/N is no exception, he will die and you will be alone again.

Koishi: Mister Y/N won't... He won't leave!

She yelled back at her reflection with a newly discovered anger. She glared at the one trying to mess with her and violently tossed the music box at the ground, breaking it into pieces. The song finally stopped and she felt her heart cracking.

Koishi(?): You can't accept that someone will leave you, it does not allow you to remember the cruel destiny of humans.

She slowly pointed her third eye, firmly closed. Silently staring at it, she looked at the one on her reflection and saw the opposite, an eye wide open and staring at her.

Koishi: Leave me alone, I don't want to remember!

...

...

Koishi: ...

She woke up and felt an unknown tiredness in her head, making her limited thoughts hazy. She woke up from a dream that she couldn't remember anymore, it was gone and she would never be able to see it again.

Koishi: ...Mister Y/N?

She was sitting against the mountain and staring at the rising Sun, the dawn of a new day. However, she couldn't find the librarian that accompanied her. She stood up and looked around, only finding him looking down at the rest of the hill.

Koishi: Mister-!

She recovered her usual smile of lies and rushed to his side, only to stop herself. Her expression was broken when she noticed that blood was at his feet and his blade was stained with it as well. The man turned to greet her and gave her a smile that she couldn't give back.

Y/N: I guess you're a morning person, the Sun is still down.

Koishi: What happened?

She asked him and pointed the blood around him. He followed what she was pointing realized what she was talking about. He told her to give him a moment and he pulled up his sleeves, revealing many wounds made by a blade.

Y/N: I had a hard time staying awake so I had to resort to extreme methods.

Koishi: Huh? Why did you cut yourself?!

Y/N: What are you talking about? It's because you were asleep, someone has to be awake at all time, what if we got attacked?

Koishi: You can't do that, you're going to die!

Y/N: Woah, someone's a little emotional today. I wasn't expecting you to be the one to yell at me.

He hid his self-inflicted wounds and took a deep breath, enduring the pain his body was putting him through. He had to remain awake or else he wouldn't be able to defend himself if someone tried to attack him. With her also asleep, he also had to remain awake to make sure nothing would try to pull a fast one on her.

Y/N: But still, I'll be fine, I feel dizzy but that's all, I should recover soon.

Koishi: ...Mister Y/N? When was the last time you properly slept?

Y/N: Why the sudden question?

He asked her while cleaning his weapon from his own blood. He placed it back in its sheath and returned its focus to the youkai, waiting for her answer.

Koishi: Because... your book said that you're tired, yea!

Y/N: ...You just made that excuse on the spot.

Koishi: How did you know?

Y/N: Experience... and it was also very obvious.

The air turned around them and gave life to the plants on the mountain. The girl with the sealed eye blankly watched the man that did not hesitate to harm himself just to not fall asleep.

Y/N: However, if I had to take a guess, I would say around 3 months but the library doesn't have a notion of time so I couldn't tell.

Koishi: 3 months?! How are you still standing?

Y/N: Pain and other instruments, I couldn't afford to rest in the library anyway since an endless amount of monsters tried to break in.

She glanced into his eyes and finally noticed the scars of deprivation. A pair of eyes that before seemed perfectly normal were now showing their actual form after being exposed to the light. They were blank and many bags that would make one think that the skin under them was undergoing necrosis.

Y/N: I suppose I should give it to you, I wasn't expecting you to remember that small detail. I would congratulate you but this world is more tiring than the library.

Koishi: ...

Y/N: ...You look like you want to say something.

Koishi: ...Nothing.

She looked down, hiding herself with the hat on top of her head. Refusing to say what she had on her mind, Y/N didn't insist and began to go down the path that he took to get to the top. If they were lucky, they would be down in a hour. Koishi followed his movements, staying silent the whole descent.

Y/N: Finally free, I'm not going back up that thing again.

He dropped the sentence on his mind when he took his first step on the grass, done with the walk that seemed endless. Meanwhile, Koishi watched him, a question tormenting her ever since she woke up. She doesn't know why it suddenly formed in her head but now that it did, it wouldn't leave her alone.

Koishi: ...Mister Y/N?

Y/N: ?

He faced her with a 'go-ahead' movement, waiting for her to ask him the question that she did not ask him when she woke up.

Koishi: Will you abandon me?

Y/N: ...

The librarian took a moment to think about it and his eyes ravaged by the cruel hands of time grew even gloomier than before, his tiredness made him look like a dying patient connected to a machine.

Y/N: We will have to part ways one day miss Koishi. We both are from different origins, this is unavoidable.

He confirmed her fear with the gaze of a dead man. Unlike her, he was already placed on the guillotine and waiting for the blade to take his life while she was witnessing his execution. Maybe one day, her turn would come but not now, he was the one that will die and she couldn't do anything to change it.

Koishi: What about the library?

Y/N: I grow weaker, it will not be a permanent solution. One day, someone as strong as that girl named Mokou will take my life for a selfish desire of knowledge.

Koishi: ...

Y/N: I accepted you to help me because you seemed to want to help me in this search... it would be better for the both of us if this is the only interaction we have with each other. Otherwise, it would only hurt the both of us.

Koishi: ...

Y/N: *Sigh* I know it sounds stupid but we aren't immortal, we knew that from the beginning. We only exist to protect the library, our lives have no meaning.

Koishi: But you don't have to go back, the library is closed-

Y/N: I can't leave... my friends are waiting for me. They may be corpses hidden inside books but they are still there.

Koishi: ...

She couldn't find the words she wanted to tell him, she lost the argument and she knew it, making the defeat even more painful. Seeing her downcast expression, he placed his left hand on top of her hat.

Y/N: No need to look so gloomy, I think a smile fits your face better.

Koishi: ..?

She glanced to his face and could see a warmth in his eyes that wasn't there before. Kindly smiling at her, Y/N removed her hat and moved her hair around before placing it back on top of her head. She ignored his action and kept staring at his eyes, the gaze of a grieving man that was comforting someone else.

Y/N: You shouldn't be sad, your sister wouldn't like to see you like this. Once you go back, give her the biggest smile that you can make, it will surely make her day.

"Unlike me, you have someone alive who cares about you" was what he wanted to say but he kept it to himself, knowing that bringing up the ones he cowardly let die was not a good idea.

Koishi: Right, I will!

Like nothing happened, she smiled and readjusted her hair, ready to continue their adventure. He nodded in relief and looked around, trying to find a good place to begin their search. Of course, with the exception of trees, there wasn't much.

Koishi: What should we look for?

Y/N: It did say to look for some medecine for the first step.

Koishi: Then we should go see Eirin.

Y/N: Eirin? I think I've heard the shrine maiden talk about her.

Koishi: She makes a lot of medecines, everyone calls her doctor... I think?

Y/N: Then let's start there. Do you know where to go?

Koishi: It's in this direction, it usually takes a while when I fly so it will be longer if we walk.

Y/N: How long?

Koishi: Walking would take a hour.

Y/N: Not like you can carry me with that body anyway. It should also keep me awake on the way.

Koishi: Once we get here, you should rest.

Y/N: Refused, this world yearns for my death, I can't sleep knowing that I could never open my eyes again.

Koishi: Eientei is quite safe, compared to the mountain at least.

Y/N: Yea and the next thing I know, that doctor will test drugs on me before plucking my heart out of my body.

Koishi: Is it that hard for you to trust someone?

Y/N: No or else I wouldn't be next to you.

Koishi: Why did you trust me?

Y/N: ...

He didn't respond and proceed forward, aiming for the place they were walking to. Left behind, she watched him distance himself from her until she finally understood that he was going to leave her there.

Koishi: Hey, at least tell me before leaving!

She flew across the gap between the both of them and landed perfectly by his side, walking like nothing happened. He shot her a glance and quickly pointed a certain direction after they made a good walk of 15 minutes.

Y/N: Why is there a sunflower field in the middle of nowhere?

Koishi: Huh? It's pretty far, how did you see it?

Y/N: I mean, it looks like it would take us 10 minutes to get there, it's not really THAT far.

Koishi: Well, I don't know why it's there but someone's taking care of it.

Y/N: Must be a tough job.

Koishi: She doesn't seem to mind.

Y/N: ...Sure, if you say so but I don't understand the point of having a sunflower field.

Koishi: Why not?

Y/N: Because everyone wants to kill everyone else. From what I saw, they all seem to get a lock-on on weaker people, why bother taking care of something like that?

Koishi: Not everyone wants to kill each other.

Y/N: ...

He dropped the subject and pressed her to continue walking, still keeping that flower field in his mind. It brought him sadness unlike the others, reminding him of the graveyard that the library has turned into after many deaths occured inside.

Koishi: Say, why do you need some medecine?

Y/N: No idea.

Koishi: Huh?

Y/N: The book told me to go find a specific medecine, I can only follow the instructions.

Koishi: How do you know that it will work? What will you do when you get it?

Y/N: ...Pray to find the answer I search for.

Their conversation ended until their arrival to the bamboo forest that would lead the both of them inside a maze of confusion, only one used to it can truly navigate inside its walls, meaning that many attempts will happen and many will fail.

Koishi: We're here.

Y/N: Let's go in, we have no time to waste-

Koishi: We will only get lost, this place is known for being a maze.

Y/N: Then what should we do?

???: What are you doing here?

A voice called the duo, who remained shocked, knowing the intotation of the one who called them. Turning around, they found to their surprise the woman who tried to turn the man into a pile of ashes, Fujiwara no Mokou. She was exiting the maze and staring back at them with a slight surprise as well.

Y/N: You..!

He took out his sword and prepared himself to fight, stronger than before. Not only free from his curse but also blessed by the ones on the mountain, the fight was more fair than before. She noticed his combat posture and raised her left hand in the air.

Mokou: I'm not here for a fight, I just got done with another one.

Koishi: Kaguya right?

Mokou: Yep, I'm not in the mood to fight for a while.

Y/N: ...I see.

He dropped his postion but still kept his sword, not believing her words entirely. Silence filled the tension between the both of them until Koishi slashed it in half with a question asked to the phoenix of many flames.

Koishi: We're trying to reach Eientei, could you bring us there?

Mokou: Huh? Don't you know the way there?

Koishi: I do?

It was her time to be left with questions, not remembering at all the path she needed to take to reach the place hidden. Maybe she did before but the past is the past to her, many holes can be formed.

Mokou: First you're going to the Youkai mountain and now Eientei, what's your goal?

Y/N: Scavenging.

Koishi: He means exploration. Yea, exploration!

She tried to hide their goal by suppressing his voice with hers. The one facing them gave the duo a look of suspicion and heaved a sigh, not bothering to question it at this point. She accepted that the outsider in front of her eyes was an oddball.

Mokou: Follow me.

Y/N: ...

She turned around and took the lead of the small group. With no other choice, they followed her silently through the trees that didn't look like trees for a single moment. It was a collection of many natural pillars formed after many years, pillars that could easily break with enough strength.

Y/N's mind: ...It feels familiar.

Seeing the many pillars, a new scene appeared instead of the forest. He was standing in the middle of a clean floor of pure, white marble with many pillars of the same color around to support the roof of a great temple. He was standing alone and on the other side, the figure of someone could be seen, carrying a sword.

Y/N: ...

The palace crumbled and his hallucination vanished, back to reality. It was an image of a possible past. Now standing in front of an extravagant manor, their destination was right there, confirmed by the woman who accompanied them.

Mokou: Just ask someone to get you out of here once you're done, I'm leaving.

Koishi: Thank you.

Mokou: No need... that's the least I can to atone my stupid decision.

She left the both of them in front of the gate, where a silhouette of a girl with bunny ears greeted them. Koishi did the talking part, requesting to see the doctor for a special demand. Reisen, the girl who received them, nodded and opened the door for them.

Koishi: Is something wrong mister Y/N?

Y/N: ...

He couldn't forget the temple that belonged to someone else, once shining with a good cause until it broke into many pieces. Thinking back about it, that place that was once someone's heart also reflected his right now.

...It once shone brightly until his methods faltered, a wall that broke after many horrible deeds. Both owners of that palace of doom wished for revenge, avenge their fallen friends until they both lost under the guilt.