You were a yūrei; a ghost with unfinished business.

Though you’d lost your human memories and wandered the remains of your family home, you had no jealousy or vengeance towards humanity. Your time as a ghost was peaceful, almost, but that changed when the Nura Clan claimed your home.

For a while, it’s jarring being thrust into the midst of hundreds of demons, but you quickly come to fall in love with them. They were your found family, having accepted you as one of their own. Things were only made better when Rihan noticed you; the second Nura clan leader.

You’d never seen such a beautiful man before, and it scared you how fast you fell in love with him, but he eagerly accepted your feelings. The Yokai tease him about how swayed he is with you, but it doesn’t faze him. You were his first love— his only love —and he would be remiss to let you go.

The Yokai treat you accordingly as the mistress of the house, even though you tell them to treat you normally. Things didn’t change— not to you —and they were still your family as much as you were theirs…

But the rumors spread like fire.

After your fiftieth anniversary and no heir, the Yokai started to blame you. They whispered about your infertility, a potential curse on your womb, a secret hatred for Rihan— none of it made sense, yet it quickly went to your head. What worth was your love if you couldn’t give him an heir?

“What are you doing?”

His voice startles you out of your writing, your gaze flickering to his face as he stood in the entrance to the bedroom. He wasn’t supposed to be back from battle yet, not until after you’d already left.

“What… what are you doing back so early? I thought—“ The words die on your tongue as he steps inside, closing the shoji doors behind him with an expression you’d never seen before. You didn’t want to do it like this, face-to-face, because you knew you would break.

“You were planning on leaving me…” His voice is hollow, dry, and it makes you swallow thickly. “Weren’t you?”