— — — — — —
"What the hell is going on?!"
A little while later, inside a traditional Japanese-style room, Yakumo Yukari had one hand firmly planted on Yuyuko's shoulder—well, one version of her—keeping her from moving, and shot a sharp glare at Veyron.
"As you can see," Veyron replied calmly, "because of the deep connection between her and that tree named 'Saigyou Ayakashi'... Actually, it's way beyond a simple connection. They're practically one and the same now."
He went on, "To meet her conflicting desires—wanting to avoid becoming a full-blown yokai, but also not wanting the Saigyou Ayakashi to completely die out—I had to improvise."
"The result? She's now one-third human, one-third spirit, and one-third yokai. That was the best I could manage on the spot."
•One-third human: her physical body.
•One-third spirit: her soul, essentially the ghostly version of Yuyuko that once wandered the world.
•And one-third yokai: the Saigyou Ayakashi itself, which at its core is also a part of Yuyuko.
In practical terms, her human body is now like an empty vessel—ready to be possessed as needed.
When her ghost—bearing her past memories—took control, she became a fully human Yuyuko again.
When the Saigyou Ayakashi's newborn consciousness took over, she turned into a powerful yokai.
Only when both the ghostly Yuyuko and the Saigyou Ayakashi simultaneously occupied her body could one say that the true, complete Yuyuko Saigyouji had returned.
"...What the hell kind of explanation is that?!" Yukari's eyebrow twitched hard. "Who even asked you to go into that much detail?!"
She finally loosened her grip on the shoulder of the vessel currently possessed by the Saigyou Ayakashi. The moment Saigyou Ayakashi had even a sliver of freedom, the eyes immediately found Veyron.
Yukari still held her back just enough to keep her from jumping into his arms but Saigyou Ayakashi managed to grab one of his hands, pressing it gently to her cheek with a look of absolute bliss.
"You knew exactly what I was doing," Veyron muttered with a sigh.
Yukari said nothing. Her silence was heavy with restrained fury.
The reason the Saigyou Ayakashi was so attached to Veyron was simple: after purging the death essence it had accumulated from all the suicides beneath its branches over the years, it had become something completely dependent on Veyron to sustain itself.
And Yukari knew all of that.
But just because she understood the reason didn't mean she could watch this scene unfold without her blood pressure skyrocketing.
"Take it easy, Yukari," ghost-Yuyuko said, temporarily yielding her body to the tree yokai. "I think Mister Veyron's actually kinda sweet. Maybe the little yokai just feels the same way?"
"Mmm~!" the yokai version of Yuyuko murmured dreamily, still clinging to Veyron like a lovesick puppy.
Yukari: Are you freaking kidding me?!
If it were just the Saigyou Ayakashi acting this clingy, even though it had Yuyuko's face—and body—Yukari might've been able to grit her teeth and endure it.
Maybe.
But now that things had split into this awkward "three-in-one" state where each version of Yuyuko had their own mind but shared the same body? Even in such a short time, Yukari could clearly sense it.
The ghostly Yuyuko—the one she actually cared about, the one with the familiar soul—was starting to get affected. Influenced. Her feelings toward Veyron were shifting, clearly under the influence of the Saigyou Ayakashi's attachment.
And not in a healthy way.
"I had my doubts before," Veyron said privately through a telepathic channel to Yukari. "But seeing this now... Don't tell me you're actually catching feelings for her?"
"Are you serious?" Yukari rolled her eyes so hard it looked like it hurt. "I just think she's interesting. That's all. Thought she might make a decent friend—not like I have many of those in this world."
"Really? You two haven't even known each other that long, have you?"
"Oh please. You and Yuuka met what—twice? And that still ended with you staying in her sunflower field for over two weeks."
"...Point taken."
Sure, they were long-lived—hundreds, maybe thousands of years—but that didn't mean relationships between immortals needed to take centuries to form.
If two people just didn't click, no amount of time would fix it.
But if they did—
Then even a single moment could be enough.
Well, like how he'd met Kaguya Houraisan back in that bamboo forest and somehow just hit it off. Then later with Eirin Yagokoro, and even Yuuka Kazami.
Looking back, it always seemed to start the same way: he saw something in them, they saw something in him, and before long, they weren't just friends—sometimes, it went even further than that.
...Okay, Eirin was a special case.
If not for Kaguya paving the way, he figured that even with his unusual body, in Eirin's eyes he might've been nothing more than an endlessly valuable test subject to poke and prod.
"Then if there's nothing romantic going on, why've you been keeping such a close eye on me?" Veyron asked, genuinely confused.
"My gut says you're trouble," Yukari replied bluntly.
Veyron: "...…"
Hey, did you have to say it that straight?
. . .
Cutting off the private mental link between them, Veyron cleared his throat and changed the subject. "Anything happening in the Underworld?"
"Not yet. I'm guessing the Saigyou Ayakashi's transformation hasn't triggered their alarms."
Yukari opened up a gap and peeked through it before shaking her head. "Far as I know, the Higan side's been severely understaffed for ages."
"Back when the Underworld people started outsourcing their rulings and gave their authority to the local Jizō, the workload didn't really get any lighter. The regional Enmas have been drowning in work nonstop, and that's assuming their territories didn't get hit with some massive natural disaster."
"And let's be honest—where the Saigyou Ayakashi took root in the Underworld? Pretty much a ghost town. Literally. So it's no wonder this whole yokai-tree mess slipped under their radar."
If that area weren't so desolate, the Underworld's sakura tree wouldn't have been able to grow wild and evolve into a yokai in the first place.
"In that case, just reach out if anything happens that you can't handle on your own," Veyron said casually. "You already know the two places I usually hang around."
He gestured for Yukari to open up a return gap.
"You're heading out already, Veyron-san?" Yuyuko asked, a little reluctant.
"He's got his own business to take care of," Yukari replied with a smile, patting Yuyuko gently on the head. "You know how convenient my gaps are. If you ever miss him, and he's not too busy, I can just open a shortcut and poof—you're together again."
"…That's true," Yuyuko nodded, seemingly satisfied with the answer.
"Since the yokai is under control now, I'll be taking my leave too," said Midoriko as she stood up along with Veyron.
Once Veyron left, the only ones remaining were Yukari—the yokai sage—and a certain ghost girl who had been reshaped by a process even someone like her, experienced as she was, found hard to categorize.
Technically, neither of the two remaining here counted as threats by her standards, but Midoriko didn't really have much connection to them personally, so sticking around longer would've just felt awkward.
"..."
"As a little thank-you for your help, let me give you a tip," Yukari said, not trying to stop Midoriko from leaving. "You've been a little too active lately."
"There are some... individuals who are wary of your ability to purify souls. Seems like they're planning to gang up and take you out."
"Now, personally, after seeing your spiritual power firsthand, I don't think those clowns pose any real threat to you. But… I did notice a few big names mixed in with them."
"So just… keep an eye out, yeah?"
.
.
.