The morning sunlight filtered through the mottled shadows of the trees, illuminating several emerald-green fallen leaves. The continuous chirping of cicadas sounded like a grand concert.
Snap.
A foot stepped on a dry branch on the ground and then into a pool of water.
Falling cherry blossoms drifted from afar, landing on a shoulder. Deep within the dense forest, the Sakura Shrine—like a hidden paradise—appeared before him.
A youth in a hood with a dull gaze stared at the shrine wrapped in cherry blossom trees not far ahead. He checked his hooded long-sleeved shirt, long pants, and mask—outfits contrary to the midsummer heat. He hesitated slightly but slowly approached the shrine at the edge of the forest.
A little girl with short pink hair was collecting cherry blossoms that had fallen in the shrine courtyard, planning to take them back for her sister to make sakura mochi. She looked up and saw a strangely dressed weirdo approaching.
"Excuse me, are you here to offer a prayer?" the little girl asked curiously, holding a basket of scarlet sakura.
"Heh... if praying to gods and Buddhas actually worked, that would be great..." The youth twitched the corner of his mouth, unable to even manage a bitter smile.
He felt that his emotions had completely vanished from his body. How long had it been since he had shown a normal expression?
"That voice... Brother Lin?"
The youth pulled down his hood in panic. He now felt a certain dread at being recognized.
He blinked his sore eyes and spoke tiredly to the surprised little girl: "Long time no see, Rin..."
...
"Please, have some tea. My sister will be here shortly."
Rin knelt on the tatami beside Lin, handing him a cup of clear tea. Lin stared silently at the tea stalks, lost in thought.
Rin observed him carefully. She remembered the last time she saw Lin was when he had just started school; it had been a full two years since then. His transformation was so great she almost didn't recognize him as that confident, cheerful youth.
A thin frame, a silent demeanor, a dazed look, sunken eye sockets—if she didn't know better, she would have thought he was a "996" office worker who had been struggling in the workplace for years.
Furthermore, he was wearing such a thick coat and used a mask to cover half his face.
He really didn't look like a young man.
"Lin?"
The voice of the elder sister, Sakura, came from outside the door. Her voice arrived before she did. Upon seeing the panicked expression on Sakura face, Rin sensibly and quietly slipped away.
When Lin saw Sakura, he managed a faint, relieved smile, but it was blocked by the mask, causing the skin on his face to pull up like a terrifying zombie.
"Sakura... my good friend... my dear sister..." His voice was nearly as thin as a thread, leaving the confused Sakura at a loss. "Sorry you have to see me in such a pathetic state."
"What happened to you?"
Sakura sat in front of him, reaching out to take off Lin hat, but he flinched away reactively, her hand freezing in mid-air.
"I'm sorry, right now I'm a bit..." Lin shook his head in pain, gritted his teeth, and took off the hood and mask himself. The "scenery" underneath made Sakura eyes widen.
To be precise, Lin appearance hadn't changed much compared to before, he was just thinner. But that lifeless face made Sakura feel as though she were looking at a corpse. Moreover...
His neck and the area of the nape near his earlobes were covered in bite marks of varying depths.
Judging by the size and shape, these bite marks all came from the same person. Judging by the direction, they were all bitten from the side of Lin face. Some were merely shallow double rows of indentations, while others were deep enough to break the skin; there were even a few that looked like they had just healed.
Sakura mind went blank. Countless conjectures flashed through her mind in an instant, and after seeing Lin nearly dead eyes, the answer was already obvious: "Th-this is..."
"You are the only one I can trust now. You are a serving Miko; you wouldn't do anything to desecrate the divine." Lin lay back on the tatami with hollow eyes. "Do you want to know what happened?"
"Yes."
Of course she wanted to know who had turned Lin into this state.
And so, Lin began to recount the most terrifying, hellish... no, even scarier than hell, two months of his life.
As the principal of Chiba Academy, Mobius would occasionally go to the school to finish her work, but the interval between each time she left and returned home never exceeded three hours. Her work efficiency allowed her to stay indoors for a week and then finish everything in three hours.
So, how did Lin spend his time?
The basement, the bedroom, the kitchen, the bathroom, the pool, the second-floor entertainment room, the small car in the garage, the rooftop, the basement... this route was deeply engraved in his mind. He didn't even need to remember it; his fixed daily schedule had become muscle memory. He could walk the route even with his eyes closed.
Just as Mobius had said, she had suppressed her desire for Lin for nearly ten years. The result of that desire exploding all at once was that now, if Mobius even touched his face, he would subconsciously open his mouth.
Combined with Mobius mastery of pharmacology, he didn't have to worry about his body not being able to hold out.
Fortunately, Mobius didn't enjoy certain... bizarre games. Otherwise, Lin doubted he could have maintained his sanity long enough to pretend until Mobius let her guard down so he could escape.
Even thinking back on it now made him shudder with disgust.
"In short, that's how it was."
Having vented the fear and resentment accumulated over two whole months, Lin mood finally improved a bit. Sakura, however, was completely silenced by this bizarre story.
After escaping, Lin had thought about where to run. First, he definitely couldn't go back to his own home; both Prometheus and Mobius knew his address. By the same logic, the school was a trap. Going to a male friend's house was also very easy to guess; he estimated that during his time as a fugitive, Kevin house had already been turned upside down by Mobius.
After much thought, he remembered Sakura, the Miko he had met by chance.
The Yae Shrine where Sakura resided was passed down through her family for generations. It still maintained the rule that a Miko in service must devote herself entirely to the gods and must not be involved in romantic matters.
If even Mobius, with nearly ten years of sibling-like affection, could betray him, then his only hope lay in the faith of the gods.
"So... what are you thinking?" After hearing Lin description, a light of contemplation and pity flashed in Sakura eyes. She sighed and asked.
Lin stood up indignantly, clenching his fists: "Of course I'm going to cut off all seven emotions and six desires and just become a monk!"
"...But this isn't a monastery for monks?"
"Tch, I know that. I don't really want to be an ascetic who can't enjoy anything." Lin pressed his palms together, pleading humbly, "Sakura, I beg of you, let me hide here for a while. I'll leave once I think of a way."
Sakura watched his expression and his actions. After a moment, she let out a faint smile.
"Alright."