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記憶
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EPILOGUE

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A bitter end to a bitter start.

Akaza sat still for a moment, "Koyuki's" lifeless body lying limp on his arms.

He was confused, for he wasn't quite sure how he had gotten to this point.

The demon was left slightly panting as the rush of exhilaration slowly died in his lungs. He released a heavy breath, his mind trying its absolute hardest to formulate some sort of sense into the sight before his own eyes.

He just couldn't believe it.

Was Koyuki...

Was she dead?

Actually, who was Koyuki again?

He would be crying his heart out at this moment, if it wasn't for his genuine bafflement.

The woman in his arms was not Koyuki. That is, if he even knew who this "Koyuki" person was. In an instant of immense shock, he suddenly couldn't remember the person who owned that name. Had he even known her at all?

His head was pounding in pain, and his memories felt downright messy and scrambled beyond repair. Akaza struggled to even pinpoint a single one that was reality.

But there was one name that he could recall—it was one that somehow tied to this entire mess of confusion.

"(Y/N)."

A name once so foreign to him now felt easy and recognizable on his tongue. It was almost as if he hadn't forgotten it at all. He was finally able to distinguish that woman lying dead in his arms was (Y/N).

She was not Koyuki, nor any other person. She was a lone woman he met in the snow one ill-fated night.

But now she was here, no longer living has he held her corpse inside her own household. The sight of her evident struggle and his blood mixed with her own made it clear to the demon. He himself was the cause of her death, though he could not even remember why he tried to turn her into a demon at all.

The insane delusions of his human past were suddenly forgotten once again, almost as if (Y/N)'s shocking death had finally driven them away. Akaza could no longer recall Koyuki, or Hakuji, or anything. All he knew now was that he was an Upper Moon demon, and his only wish was to get stronger.

If he was being honest, underlying sorrow plagued his confusion, but it was more than easy to dispel and ignore. Why should he care about the death of this human woman, if she did not matter to him in the first place? The omittance of Koyuki cost the omittance of his initial attachment to (Y/N). If Koyuki did not exist, then neither did his ties to (Y/N), either.

Akaza gently lowered the woman's body to the tatami mat, laying her down as he stood up. He then made his way to the front screen of her shelter, and quietly stepped out into the night.

Unknowingly, he left behind love, loss, and most importantly, memories.

The soft, fresh grass of the Earth and the bright light of the full moon made contact with his skin, indicating a long-awaited new start. He was independent; he was ignorant of the past.

But now, Akaza was finally free from the memories that held him captive.

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MEMORY
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AFTERWORD

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Thank you  yamyamsyam again
for commissioning this story! ♡
The prompt was super fun/easy
to work with—I really hope you
enjoyed it! Thank you so much!

And to other readers: thank you
for reading and  supporting this
story! I'm glad to know that you
have made it here to the end. ♡

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TRIVIA

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༄ Koyuki was watching them from the dead the entire time. She honestly felt bad for the both of them, as they were both living a lie. If she was being honest, she even blamed herself a little bit, especially for (Y/N)'s death.

༄ This was my second commissioned book! :3

༄ The prompt (or message, I guess) yamyamsyam had given me was basically: "PLEASE GIVE ME AN AKAZA ANGST WHERE HE SEES READER AS HIS REPLACEMENT FOR KOYUKI AND CANT TELL THEM APART"

༄ And I said "yo wait a min 👁"

༄ NGL I kind of struggled with the epilogue in this one LOL.

༄ Did Akaza end up falling in love with (Y/N)? No. He was just in love with her representation as Koyuki.

༄ The footer of I made for this book (shown below)

is actually the colors of Koyuki's kimono + her snowflake designs!

༄ After the hairclip and kimono, Akaza continued to steal more things from cities that reminded him of Koyuki. He didn't actively search for them, but when he saw them, he made sure to take them.

༄ And with that notion in mind, Akaza had continued to force (Y/N) into dressing and acting a certain way. Akaza himself was probably not even sure how Koyuki precisely acted due to his jumbled memories, but he still forced (Y/N)  to abide, either way.

༄ Kibutsuji Muzan was a bit confused when Akaza came back acting normal, but it didn't really matter to him as long as his loyal Upper Moon was acting upon his command again.

༄ Akaza was already delusional from the start. So even if (Y/N) was nothing like Koyuki, he already associated her with his forgotten lover amidst the snowstorm.

༄ The story starts in winter, and ends in spring.

༄ It a bit of a grey ending to be honest. (Y/N) is dead, but at least Akaza is finally free from his memory delusions.

༄ Thank you all again for reading! ♡

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