"You could say that," said Yukari. She was trying something new, but not necessarily by choice.

"Anyway, I'm sure the nurses have been calling you something besides your real name," explained the youkai, idly wondering if it had the same double meaning as hers did. "During the day, they pretend we're someone else, someone normal and that our memories are false. At night, however, they acknowledge who we are and let us roam the corridors with any number of other dangers. It's an interesting duality."

The accented border of night and day was not an original concept, but that didn't make it any less appealing. Some concepts were ageless and had a universal resonance.