───

     "H-HOW DID YOU—"

     "you thought some cheap transfiguration shit would be able to fool me? think again", sukuna spat, harshly pushing the woman off the futon, as he stood up, rummaging through the room.

     opening the wardrobe, a lifeless body fell out, to which sukuna had promptly caught it.

     "oi, woman! wake up", sukuna demanded, pinching himari's deadly cold cheek, as her complexion was just as white as the yuki-onna's.

     "don't bother. her soul's hidden", the yuki-onna stated, transforming back into her original appearance, as she rubbed her sore neck.

     sukuna snapped his head back around, glaring at the pale woman.

     "where did you hide it?", the demon king inquired, to which the female had sighed.

     "over this mountain; in a jar, buried under the snow", the dark-haired woman answered.

sukuna narrowed his eyes, carefully picking up himari's freezing body, as he was nearly out the door, before the woman had stopped him with a question.

     it was quite peculiar actually, as the yuki-onna — who was given the name yuki, by himari — had conversed with the red-haired woman before she had hidden her soul.

     "are you the legendary yuki-onna?!", himari excitedly asked, wowing at the woman's silky black hair and perfect face sculpture.

     "indeed...and are you not afraid, human? I could easily freeze you to death", the demon replied, causing himari to chuckle and shrug.

     "nahhh! ryō's scarier", himari said.

     "ryō? are you referring to sukuna-sama?"

     "mhm! oh, and also gojō and suguru...and tōji! they're all pretty scary when together", himari mumbled, imaging the four going on a killing rampage.

     the yuki-onna simply hummed, as she was supposed to kill the woman. however, she was actually quite intrigued by her relaxed attitude.

     "anyways, do you live up here all alone? isn't it lonely?", himari asked, glancing around the small home, as she thought that it was pretty cozy.

     "there are some lost travelers from time to time...who wish to take a shortcut to lake biwa like you do. however, they all left...", the yuki-onna pitifully smiled.

     "oh...so do you have a name or...?"

     the pale woman slightly furrowed her brows.

     'is she dumb, or does she just not have a sense of danger?', she wondered.

     "no. I'm not given a name", she finally replied.

     "how about I call you yuki? I know it's kind of basic, but it's pretty cute!", himari smiled, to which the yuki-onna had just nodded, not giving it much thought.

     "so do you have friends up here? like maybe other yuki-onnas?", himari curiously asked, just glad that she wasn't out in the cold anymore.

     "it's just me", yuki shortly replied.

"why don't you go down the mountain and live with the humans? there's some pretty nice ones", himari smiled.

"they'll attempt to murder me because amongst them, I am an outcast".

himari shook her head.

"then how about I introduce you to these nice ladies? they were originally from a brothel, but I changed it into a school for women instead. I think you'll have a lot of fun with them, since you've lived a long time and you're probably very good at history", himari suggested.

the yuki-onna hesitated.

"you'd...do that for me?", the woman quietly asked.

"of course!! I can't image being up here all alone just by myself for centuries. so I think you'd feel better once you go down the avalanche, ya know?"

yuki just nodded, now listening to the red-haired woman's rambling.

"and maybe you'll be able to meet some hot guys and hehe..."

yuki raised a brow.

"speaking of which, I've been meaning to ask: why do you travel with such brutal men, when you know full well that they can end you in less than a second?"

"hm? brutal? well...maybe tōji and ryō, but the other two are pretty good about it. though to answer your question...I suppose it's because I feel that something made them the way they are.

     like tōji for example, he was casted away by the zen'in household just because he wasn't born with powers or some shit.

     but he's still mad skilled!! and he left his son to gojō because he knew that megumi would prosper under his care.

     so to me, I feel that everyone has their own unspoken story. and so maybe that's why I don't really fear them", himari truthfully answered.

     yuki simply smiled.

     "are you sure it's not because you love them?", yuki asked, causing the auburn-haired woman to become flustered.

     "h-huh?! nahhhhh!! it's not that...plus, they're all so attractive...I'm sure they'll find someone better", himari bashfully mumbled, weakly smiling at the ground.

     "how about we test that theory then?", yuki suggested.

     "huh? how?"

     yuki proceeded to whisper a plan to the woman, to which himari had hesitantly agreed.

     "I mean...I guess?? I don't know what that'll prove...but sure!!"

     yuki smiled.

     "well then, let's—"

     "wait!! before you take my soul out or whatever. what'll happen to you after my soul gets back in my body?", himari asked, to which yuki hadn't actually thought that far.

     "well...I..."

     "you're working under someone aren't you? are they forcing you to do this? we can help you", himari persisted.

     yuki shook her head with a small smile.

     "your kindness is much appreciated, but I'll be fine. I'm more interested in whether they will come save you or not", yuki replied.

     "sukuna-sama, do you love her?", the yuki-onna questioned.

     the demon king scoffed, only turning his head around, as he grinned before leaving.

     "love? she's merely my dinner. I'm just prepping my meal; don't get the wrong idea", sukuna replied, to which the yuki-onna had let a soft chuckle escape her harsh lips.

     'liar'.

     itadori was absolutely stunned with how talented gojō was, as the man had instantly sliced of jōgo's head with one quick hand movement after his domain was activated.

     the volcanic demon's body stayed limp, as it combusted into flames and slowly disintegrated into ashes.

     "gojō-sensei, that was...awesome!!", itadori praised, inflating gojō's ego even more.

     "mah~ you'll get there someday", the man honestly said, to which itadori had nodded with determination.

     meanwhile the duo were heading towards the other side of the mountain, getō and tōji had also finished up with hanami, who was stabbed mercilessly by the green-eyed male.

     getō also ended up transforming hanami into a round black orb, swallowing it, as he grimaced at the rag-like taste.

     "getō-san, are you okay?", rumi asked, to which the male had just nodded.

     "it's just a little bitter, that's all. we should start heading towards the end of this avalanche before there's another snowstorm", getō suggested.

     tōji simply hummed, as rumi nodded, following getō, as the three were on the path of reuniting with himari and the rest.