ANOTHER DAY IN THE LAND OF ABSURDITY

( Apartment in Kyoto, morning. Leyla and her roommate – Yuki.)

In the cramped apartment that barely fit two people, Leyla was struggling with the fact that she still didn't know how to properly use the Japanese coffee machine. Every morning was the same battle – a button that didn't work, water splashing everywhere except into the cup, and of course, Yuki, her roommate, who thoroughly enjoyed watching her frustration.

"Leyla, you know this isn't a murder trial, right?" Yuki leaned casually against the counter, watching her with a restrained smile. "It's just coffee."

Leyla scowled at her as the machine let out a high-pitched beep, slowly destroying her nerves.

"You're Japanese. How do you survive in a country where everything is computerized, while I, a supposedly highly-educated European, fight with a regular coffee machine every morning?"

Yuki shrugged. "Magic. Maybe you're cursed."

"Maybe this machine is cursed," Leyla muttered, slapping the machine with her palm.

Finally, reluctantly, she settled for an instant espresso. As she sipped the drink that didn't even come close to meeting her standards, Yuki was studying the paper Leyla had received last night – an invitation to a meeting at a Shinto shrine.

"You know," Yuki said, "this sounds like the beginning of a horror movie, right?"

"Yeah, but in my movie, I'm not the stupid protagonist who goes into a creepy basement when she hears strange noises. I'm a lawyer, and this is just another case."

Yuki raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure this isn't some trap by a crazy cult?"

Leyla sighed. "I don't know, but you know what's even more of a mystery? Why they told me to dress formally if I'm going to a shrine?"

Looking at her outfit – a dark blue, elegant suit that was more corporate than spiritual – Leyla once again thought that this whole engagement was utterly absurd.

Yuki chuckled. "Maybe you'll meet a hot priest."

"I doubt it. My life is not an anime."

( In the taxi on the way to the shrine.)

As she drove through Kyoto, Leyla admired the architecture, though she was still frustrated by the fact that she had been in Japan for four months and still felt like a tourist. It was still difficult for her to order food without risking getting something she didn't want. (That time she accidentally ordered fermented soybeans and almost died of horror was still a trauma she didn't want to talk about.)

"So," she muttered to herself, staring out the window, "I'm representing a client who doesn't want to meet me at the office but in a shrine. Totally normal. Doesn't sound like a trap at all."

The taxi driver glanced at her curiously in the rearview mirror. "Are you going to the Onmyōji shrine? Interesting place."

"Interesting as in 'they hold cultural ceremonies' or interesting as in 'there are ghosts and demons there'?"

"A little of both."

Leyla rolled her eyes. "Fantastic."

( Arriving at the shrine.)

The shrine was old but incredibly well-preserved. As she stepped out of the taxi, she was greeted by silence – not the pleasant kind, but the kind that raises the hairs on the back of your neck.

An older monk greeted her at the entrance, bowing his head slightly.

"Welcome, Miss Leyla. Prepare yourself for the unexpected."

"Of course," she muttered sarcastically, "because this hasn't been strange enough already."

She walked inside, and as soon as she crossed the threshold, she felt as if she had passed through an invisible veil.

( First meeting with the prince of the yokai world )

In a large hall, dimly lit only by lanterns, a man sat on a raised platform. Unusual, undeniably attractive – but something was… off.

His long, gray hair fell over his shoulders, and the outfit he wore was both old-fashioned and elegant, but somehow out of place in this time. His gaze was sharp, but there was a trace of something… amusement.

Leyla swallowed, steeling herself, and walked toward him.

"So," she said, trying to keep her business tone, "you're my client?"

He slowly stood, approached her, and extended his hand.

"You are Leyla," he said, his tone almost… satisfied.

Leyla hesitated before shaking his hand, but at that moment, she noticed his expression change – as if he had just realized something.

His eyes fell on her wrist.

The tattoo she had – a small, almost imperceptible symbol she had never had a reason to explain – now glowed with a soft light that only he could see.

The prince of the yokai world smiled.

"Interesting."

Leyla lowered her hand and eyed him suspiciously.

"I don't like the way you said that."

His smile widened as he elegantly pulled out a scroll and offered it to her.

"Before we begin, you should sign this contract."

Leyla took the document and glanced at it quickly.

"Alright, alright. Just let's get this over with so I can go have a decent coffee."

She signed – and in the next moment, the feeling of gravity shifted.

As if the ground beneath her disappeared for a split second. As if the air had thickened and thinned at the same time.

She blinked.

And realized that she was no longer in the shrine.

The world around her was no longer modern Kyoto.

"What... the hell...?"

The prince of the yokai world stood in front of her, now grinning widely.

"Welcome, wife."