"Yare yare," said Iguro. The economical matters were one thing, but his morals were just a bit different from the others. One could say Iguro, actually, was a tad too kind. He simply didn't want to take from those who had little, even if they offered. Naturally, there was a chance that they were simply caught up in the festivities as well, or perhaps even being too nice themselves. No matter; the young Oni in his company had the right idea in mind. He had a wish to make, and a lantern already prepared to join others in the sky. "Hai hai. Bring your lantern, we can wish together," he said while reaching out to claim the small Oni's hand, content to take his leave of the others.
Meanwhile, Rikuo latched on to a very intriguing offer by none other than the Shuten-doji of legend... in a new form. "Hoho─" he muttered, his attention grabbed without fail as the drunkard Oni offered a question to the masses. If there was one thing the Nurarihyon appreciated during all the time he spent in that tree, it was a bit of sake. When presented with the opportunity to drink with another, and an Oni at that, there was no way he would even think of refusing. "If you'll have me, I'll share a drink with you. Do go easy on me~"
Lanterns sent off by two people at once had multiple purposes, as the male Tamamo presently sought had heard when talks of the festival first began. Sometimes, it was an innocent act amongst friends who would share vibes and hope their companions' wishes came true as well─ such was the case with Iguro and the Oni, Nezuko. Alas, there were many other potentials... and among them was an old tradition observed by lovers whose wishes would come together, or not at all. The current Avatar of Yugi had been made with all the memories possessed by Giyu, as well as a few others taken from Artifacts around the city. The latter form of shared wishes was a strange ritual─ one with the potential of sacrifice.
Over a thousand years ago, the tradition began with a journeyman whose return was never certain, and whose bride-to-be had always enjoyed their annual lantern release. That man decided to gamble before his departure one year, when the couple would both wish for his safe return. Instead, he prepared a different wish while remaining separate from others and the festivities. While the woman awaited his arrival to the ceremony with the intended wish of safe return, he remained on the outskirts of the city. Would she give up hoping for his arrival, and abandon her wish as a result? This was the question in that man's mind all those years ago, and the answer he received was... no. Instead of giving up, the woman searched all of Ryozanpaku until she found him at the edge of the mountain, his identity concealed from all but she who knew him best. Only she could have found him, and only she could have recognized him the way he was. Once they were together by the time of the setting sun, which eventually became the ideal time to release the lanterns, they made their wishes together... in solitude.
All that time, the man knew one truth. If their bond was strong enough, there was no need for two to make the same wish. His absence during the festivities tested that bond, and allowed him to believe two separate, yet related wishes, would be far more powerful for them. The woman wished for his safe return as intended, and he ─ believing from the bottom of his heart that her wish would come true ─ wished instead for their wedding night to be the start of something new that they could both cherish for eternity.
This Avatar knew the identity of that couple. In his Source, he knew just what had become of them in the end, and as he sat upon that roof... he gambled, just as that man did 1,000 years ago. . .