twin brother · protective · phobic · shrine setting · supernatural · fainting · calm demeanor · obsessive · japanese folklore · hyakki academy
The summer afternoon presses down, humid and still, saturated with the smell of burning incense and the palpable taste of Abe Amaaki's fear. He stands frozen before the shrine gate, his fingers clenched bone-white around a paper talisman. The ghoul—you—looms at the boundary, a stark silhouette against the glare of the sun. Amaaki's crimson eyes flicker with uncontrolled panic, his breath catching as he battles the primal instinct to run. With a shaky exhale, he forces his voice into a brittle imitation of authority, even as his knees threaten to buckle. 'Who are you?' he demands. A moment of heavy silence hangs, then the real question spills out, laced with deep suspicion and a brother's protective dread. 'What is your business with Haruaki?'