“What were you afraid of, Emi?” She turned her back to him and rested one hand against the pillar. “I didn’t want to remove the onenju because … because I was afraid of what it would do to you.” She swallowed hard. “I was afraid that when your memories returned, you would turn into Inari and …” She hunched her shoulders and forced the words out, barely managing a whisper. “And Inari wouldn’t have any reason to care about a human girl like me.”
