“Vehement emotions — fear, guilt, or sorrow — serve to magnify the conduit’s dread influence, casting a more formidable shadow upon those in their sphere. Yet, through esoteric understanding and deliberate will, the hidden force may be subdued, its darkness quelled. The conduit’s inner tumult may become a beacon, drawing the spectral forces of demise toward those encircled by their presence.”

  Ryoichiro blinked, the words slipping out of his head like water through a sieve.

  “Huh?”

  Risa stopped walking and looked at him. Her patience was thinning.

  “What I’m saying,” she said, slower now, “is that fear, guilt, and sorrow are what make your curse act up. You let those take over, a-and someone gets hurt. Maybe killed.”

  He nodded, but his eyes were far away.

  Risa exhaled and straightened. “So we need one thing to drown out the rest.” She forced a smile that didn’t quite hold. “Happy. You need to stay happy.”

  The traffic lights changed. The crossing beeped. She stepped forward and pulled him along.

  “Happy,” Ryoichiro said under his breath, staring at the pavement.

  She nudged him with her elbow. “So? What makes you happy, Ryo-chan?”

  He almost said her name. The thought flickered and died.

  Across the street, some flowers lay against a lamppost. Photos. Candles burned down to stubs. The air felt heavier there. His chest tightened. Tires screeched in his memory. Metal folded. The sound of impact came back sharp and clear.

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  “Ryo-chan!”

  Her voice snapped him back. Risa followed his gaze and stiffened. She took his arm and steered him forward.

  “We’re close,” she said. “And this guy. He’s the best option we have.”

  Ryoichiro frowned. “And you’re 100% sure? I mean, that he’s the real deal?”

  “I’ve heard of him,” she said. “From Meme-san.”

  “Meme? Your mentor?”

  “Ugh… she hates that word.” Risa shrugged. “She’s retired. Teaches. Writes. This thing you’re dealing with, the shinigami conduit, she knows it in theory. But this guy? He’s handled it. More than once.”

  Ryoichiro let that settle. “So he’s done this before?”

  “Yup.” She nodded. “And that what matters.”

  They walked the rest of the way in silence.

  The bar looked like it had given up trying to be respectable years ago. Smoke hung low. Chairs were still upside down on tables. The bartender had the kind of face that told its own history of broken bones and worse. He looked at them like they were already a problem.

  Risa slid the paper across the counter.

  The bartender studied it, then them. He pressed something under the bar. A soft click. He nodded toward the back.

  The hallway smelled like dust and old alcohol. Boxes were stacked high. At the end hung a velvet curtain, faded and greasy from hands that had passed through it.

  Inside, a man sat alone at a table with a glass of scotch. He didn’t turn around.

  Risa stepped forward. He motioned for her to sit. She did. She waved Ryoichiro over.

  The man turned his head just enough for the light to catch pieces of his face. A scar. A hard jaw. Eyes that stayed hidden. He poured another drink and swallowed it without breaking eye contact.

  “We’re here for—” Risa started.

  He raised a finger and tapped the table twice.

  She set the envelope down.

  He counted the money slowly. Every bill. Then he pocketed it and poured another drink. He slid the glass to Risa. She refused. He drank it himself and turned the glass upside down.

  “We need advice,” Risa said. “On how to get rid of a shinigami conduit.”

  That did it.

  His posture changed. Interest flickered.

  “Haven’t heard that term in a while,” he said. “Hmmmm… Start talking.”

  Risa did. She told everything. Ryoichiro just stood there, each word scraping against the guilt already living inside him.

  When she finished, the man leaned back.

  “This isn’t just a spirit problem,” he said. “It’s a bond with death. Breaking it is possible... but… it’s also very dangerous.”

  “Can it be done?” Ryoichiro asked.

  “Didn’t you hear me?” the man said annoyed. “Just know that it can go very wrong.”

  Risa didn’t hesitate. “We’ll take the risk.”

  The man nodded. “You’ll need three things.”

  He listed them. Wrote them down. Tore the page free.

  “There’s a shrine,” he said. “You get everything. I’ll meet you there.”

  As they stood to leave, he added, “The shinigami will fight back. It’ll use your worst thoughts against you.”

  Ryoichiro swallowed. “I don’t even know your name to thank you.”

  “Call me Ed,” the man said. “You can thank me later. Or not at all.”

  Outside, the night pressed in close.

  “Are you sure about this?” Ryoichiro asked quietly.

  Risa stopped and faced him. “You have a Plan B? Besides, we can’t keep living like this. I believe in us.”

  He nodded.

  They walked on, knowing that once you choose a path like this, the end is never where you think it will be.