───

     NO ONE WAS EVEN SURPRISED AT this point, as himari's soul was now trapped in a jar at the edge of the frosty mountain — personally dug up by itadori and rumi.

     "so do we just release it, or....?"

     "yeah. worst case scenario, we just try to catch the soul before it flies away I guess", gojō shrugged, twisting open the lid, as a pinkish-whitish soul had flew out, catching sukuna by surprise.

usually humans had white souls, maybe tinted with some darker shades — depending on how much they've sinned throughout their lives — meanwhile demons had entirely black ones.

     so to witness a baby pink soul, was indeed a rare sight.

     "huh? I didn't know souls were pink", itadori commented, to which rumi had hummed in agreement.

     the pink orb quickly flew back into himari's chest, allowing the woman to regain a more healthy complexion, as she suddenly yawned, as if she just woke up from a nap.

     "damn...it's already afternoon?? or is it the next day?", himari asked, scratching the back of her head, as she suddenly felt neutral.

it was odd.

"himari, what are you looking for?", rumi asked, causing the auburn-haired woman to stand up immediately.

"why's the snow melting?"

"h-huh? maybe because it's warmer now?", rumi suggested, not exactly understanding why the woman was so worried.

"mmm...I need to go say bye to someone. I'll be right back!!", himari promised, hastily rushing off, as rumi was about to follow, before tōji had stopped her.

"we'll go", sukuna sighed, trudging behind the woman, as getō gave the two teens a reassuring nod.

without another moment, the four men had followed the wobbling woman, who was desperately searching for a small abode.

     with the petite wooden house finally in sight, himari had let out a small smile, as she bursted through the door without even knocking.

though the woman's smile had instantly faltered, with her lips pressing into a thin line, as she could visibly see and smell the grotesque image right in front of her.

guts and pieces of skin were exploded onto the counters and walls, with blood painting a mural of the once beautiful yuki-onna.

the demon's beating heart ceased, as it seemed like it had been stepped on; smeared across the wooden floorboards.

a sudden urge to cough and puke had overwhelmed the woman, as himari's hearing went haywire; hearing nothing but everything at the same time.

a pair of strong arms had instantly embraced the woman, picking her up, as his calloused hand had forced himari to close her eyes and lay her face on his free shoulder.

leaning his scarred lip against himari's ear, he quickly started leaving the near vicinity, as sukuna burnt the entire building, erasing all traces of the yuki-onna's gruesome death.

     "himari, listen to my voice. we're all here. everything's going to be alright", tōji lowly comforted, his breath sending puffs of sultry air down the woman's cheek.

     himari's grip on tōji's collar tightened, as the man was glad that he had left his worm with itadori momentarily.

     carrying the auburn-haired woman down the landslide, the others quietly followed, as they didn't blame himari for her reaction.

     after all, they've all killed before, so they were used to such freakish sights.

rumi and itadori perked up at the downcast woman, to which getō had explained what she had seen in a hushed tone, meanwhile tōji continued embracing himari.

though her emerald eyes were shut, she could perfectly hear the noise all around her.

     no matter how hard she tried to move past it, the image continuously flashed back into her mind.

     with no doubt, she was certain of who could've done this.

     mahito.

     the rest of the afternoon was a blur to himari, as she woke up like she usually did during the night, traveling a bit further away from the campsite.

     perched on top of a fallen log, the red-haired woman stared at the moon; though it was as if it were mocking her, reminding her of the deceased yuki-onna.

     "still upset about that female demon?"

without needing to turn around, himari could tell that it was sukuna's condescending voice.

"mhm".

"tch. what's there to be upset about? you two just met today", sukuna stated, taking a seat beside himari.

"but that doesn't mean a life wasn't lost...and plus, she wasn't harming anybody. she decided to help me...", himari mumbled, pulling her legs closer to herself, as she leaned her cheek on top of her knees.

sukuna didn't understand what the woman was so depressed about, as he's killed hundreds upon thousands, yet has never felt a single thread of remorse.

     "and also...I'm scared...", himari solemnly admitted, clenching tightly onto the sleeves of her nighttime kimono, as she unconsciously bit the bottom of her lip.

"scared? you're not even scared of me, and you're scared of what happened to her?", sukuna scoffed, crossing his arms.

     himari simply hummed.

     "I'm scared...because it's starting to hit me that you guys aren't just characters on a page or a screen anymore...you are all real...as real as me...if that even makes any sense...", the woman murmured, causing sukuna to raise a brow.

     "what are you talking abou—"

     "nothing!! sorry about all that weird talk. I'm gonna go sleep no—"

before himari could leave, she was pulled down by sukuna's harsh grip, causing her to fall onto sukuna's lap.

     "speak clearly", he demanded.

     "I...."

     himari hesitated. she wondered if she'd be classified as mental if she were to tell him the truth. or even worse, she'd be cast away by her friends for her deception.

     as if sensing her unease, sukuna only encouraged her more.

"go on, I won't judge", the demon king promised, to which himari just sighed, sagging into sukuna's arms.

"I...umm...I'm not exactly from this world?"

"hm. okay, continue".

himari made a confused expression.

"y-you're not even going to question whether I'm lying or not?"

     "your soul's the only one I've seen that's pink. it make sense as to why you speak so weirdly all the time too", sukuna reasoned.

     "so, what else?"

     "I-I...you guys are just characters on a page in my world...but...I'm starting to get scared, because I know who did that...and I don't want that to happen to you...or anyone else", himari stated, daringly glancing up and meeting sukuna's curious gaze.

himari's once shining eyes ever so slightly teared up, as she just watched sukuna let out a low chuckle, meanwhile cupping the side of her face.

     "makes sense about why you know so much about us I guess, but don't forget, I'm the strongest.

     and you have the strongest protecting you".