Chapter 12 - A Smile Too Sharp

School courtyard, lunchtime. Clouds drift low in the sky, and the grass is still wet from yesterday’s rain. Anastasya sits with Tanya, Darya, and Sasha half-listening as they gossip. Her gaze drifts. The new boy, Lev, is sitting beneath the sakura tree alone, sketching symbols in a journal.

Sasha: “I swear, he gives horror movie energy. Cute horror movie energy, but still.”

Tanya: “I saw him whispering to a spider on the window. Like, actually whispering.”

Darya: “He says he’s sensitive to ‘cursed bonds.’ Whatever that means.”

Anastasya watches Lev carefully. His eyes flick up and land on her. He smiles. Slow. Intentional.

Lev: “Anastasya. Want to see something beautiful?”

She hesitates, but something tugs at her, curiosity or unease, she can’t tell. She walks over.

Lev: “There’s something strange about you. Like you’re already tied to something... old. Deep. I saw it the moment I looked at you.”

Anastasya: “You talk like you know me.”

Lev: “Not yet. But I will.”

He pulls something from his pocket, a charm made of bone and thread. The moment it touches the air, her ribbon flashes faint gold. The charm burns black, curling to ash. Lev’s eyes narrow as if calculating.

Lev: “Thought so. You’re bound. I wonder to what.”

...

That evening. The shrine. Anastasya storms through the torii gate, wet shoes squishing on the wood floor.

Anastasya: “You knew.”

Haruki: “I felt him. The moment he saw you.”

Anastasya: “You played it off like you were just being possessive!”

Haruki: “Would you have listened if I’d said he was dangerous?”

She hesitates.

Haruki: “He’s not like you, or me. He’s not drawn to you because of curiosity or fate. He’s drawn because he sees your bond, our bond, as a crack he can exploit. He’s testing you. Trying to see what the ribbon hides.”

Anastasya: “But why?”

Haruki: “Because whatever’s inside him isn’t just superstition. It’s hunting. Maybe not just you but the deity I carry.”

Silence hangs heavy.

Anastasya: “So what do we do?”

Haruki: “We let him keep thinking I’m jealous. Let him get close. And when he reaches too far—” He steps forward, his eyes glowing faintly. “—we pull him into the trap he thinks he’s setting.”

Anastasya looks down at her ribbon. It pulses gently, warm. She looks back up, and for once, she isn’t sure if Haruki is the most dangerous thing near her anymore.

...

Shrine hallway, morning light filtering through the paper screens. Anastasya walks barefoot, rubbing sleep from her eyes. Her pale hair is tousled, the marriage ribbon loosely tied around her wrist.

Haruki: Appears behind her. “Good morning, my divine little sleepwalker.”

Anastasya: “Haruki?! Why are you breathing on my neck!?”

Haruki: “I missed you. You left your room without me. That’s basically abandonment.”

Anastasya: “It’s literally five steps away from yours.”

He gently takes her hand, raising it to his lips in a dramatically slow gesture. His crimson-gold eyes never leave hers.

Haruki: “Do you realize how pretty you are when you’re confused and glaring at me?”

Anastasya: “W-What…?!”

Haruki: “Your glare makes my soul shiver. I think I might be in love with your violence.”

He leans in like he’s about to whisper something ridiculous directly into her ear.

Haruki: “You know, if you keep wearing my ribbon like that, people might start thinking we’re m-”

WHAM!

Anastasya slams her fist against his chest so hard that Haruki chokes on his own words and stumbles back like a crumpled paper doll.