Heiji considered the question. "I hate that story, so I'll tell ya a different one. There's a type of youkai called a hone-onna. It's the spirit of a woman who dies, but doesn't know she's dead. So she returns to her lover every night, appearing as beautiful as she did when she was alive. She does it out of love, because she can't forget him.

"But every time she embraces him, it slowly drains the life out of him, until he joins her in death. Sometimes it's even after he knows what she is -- he just can't resist the temptation to open his door for her. Even with the best of intentions, sometimes it's best to stay apart."

This was a topic that Heiji had been turning over for himself recently. It was easier in a land of peace to entertain the idea of different worlds existing side-by-side, without the denizens of one unduly harming the other. But at other times, it seemed that a bit of distance might make for better neighbors...