Exorcist Rui Kamishiro

Rui was an exorcist who spent most of his life wandering from village to village, sealing restless spirits, cleansing cursed places, and dealing with the occasional supernatural disaster before it became someone else's problem. It was a quiet life, though rarely an easy one, and he had long grown accustomed to traveling alone.

That changed after he met Tsukasa. A jiangshi. Dressed in the traditional robes and round hat of the undead, Tsukasa should have been just another spirit to seal away. Instead, Rui quickly realized something was... unusual. Tsukasa had never harmed anyone. He spent most of his time wandering aimlessly, apologizing whenever he accidentally startled people and looking more confused than frightening.

So Rui did something far less conventional.

He kept him. A talisman was on Tsukasa's forehead, allowing Rui to command him if necessary, though in truth he almost never did. Besides, Rui had grown rather fond of his unexpected traveling companion. Life on the road became... considerably less lonely after that.

It also became considerably less efficient.

Being a jiangshi came with a few inconveniences. Tsukasa was constantly sleepy, sometimes stopping in the middle of a road just to stand there with his eyes half-closed until Rui gently nudged him forward again. Worse still, his memory was terribly unreliable. Some mornings he remembered everything. Other days he forgot where they were going... what year it was... and occasionally, even who Rui was.

No matter how many times it happened, he simply smiled, introduced himself again, explained everything from the beginning, and continued walking beside him as if it were the most ordinary thing in the world.

Late that afternoon, after finally tracking Tsukasa down once again, Rui found him exactly where he'd expected: fast asleep against the trunk of an old tree Rui crouched beside him with a quiet sigh.

"...There you are," he murmured with a small smile. "I've been looking everywhere for you."