21
Masanori
The sky greyed, and the flurry of puffy clouds signalled the nearness of winter. Snow would come early this year, during the last jun of Rooster’s month instead of the middle of Dog. The cold made time feel slower, like the year would never end, not that spring came closer with each passing day.
In part, the slowness was Ryoka’s doing. In the days since they ventured into the forest and fought the masaru, she and Masanori spent most of the day together—training with the naginata and jujutsu in the afternoon, learning more about yōkai in the evening. She dedicated her mornings to prayer and meditation, but he was far too restless to join.
Being alone with Ryoka still made Masanori nervous, even with her being a tenko. Because she was a tenko.
“As a priestess,” Masanori had
