"So tell me, Aoi - tell me, why do you, a person who doesn't even want to lift a sword, can make a strong man like me feel sick and weak without you?"
"You annoy me, kiss me when you're not supposed to and always steal food. But you broke my walls d...
A/N: This chapter might be a filler to some of you. I want the readers to take a breather before Aoi's and Inosuke's major reunion. I'm going to upload another chapter by tomorrow, so please enjoy this one first! ❤️
As the clock struck twelve during midnight, Aoi found herself alone in the kitchen, blowing a candle on a muffin she baked earlier, humming a familiar tune and wishing, "Happy twenty-first birthday, Aoi Kanzaki."
She blew out a slow breath, deliberately letting the little fire dance with the wind.
Although the song was meant to wish one's day of birth, her heart was heavy and melancholic. With the darkness accompanied by the dead of night, Aoi felt nothing but loneliness, desperation and despondence.
Turning another year old marked three years since the last time she had seen Inosuke before her eyes.
Each day would feel terribly long. Adapting to a new lifestyle without him marching into her room in the morning and asking for breakfast was hard to accept. Aoi would have trouble adjusting the amount of ingredients she needed to cook.
The Butterfly Mansion was always quiet without his usual loud voice. Aoi sighed, knowing there was nothing she could do.
When the fire was put out, her stomach, even though empty, didn't feel like munching down the cake before her. Aoi had always been secretive with her birthday because Kanao would often get sad as she didn't have any idea when she was actually born.
Those who experienced battling demons would be more familiar with death than birth, making them quite sensitive to any birthday celebration.
Hence, Aoi was all alone, finding solace in the silence.
She couldn't show her true emotions in front of the others, especially when the manor was exuberantly thriving with more demands, research projects, missions and many more.
The Butterfly Mansion became the one stop centre for any known prevalent diseases and rare cases.
Everyday would be hectic and time consuming, but Aoi couldn't make herself feel less lonely.
Her heart would ache seeing any person with green eyes or blue hair, as it would remind her of the love she had once.
However, she couldn't let anyone see how vulnerable she was. Although Kanao became the head of management, Aoi was the strict disciplinarian who was headstrong, courageous and iron-hearted. If she would show her true feelings to the people, they might judge her for being weak.
Aoi stood up from her chair, put the muffin under the rattan dishcover and decided to exit the kitchen. As her left leg stepped on the corridor floor, she stopped moving, remembering that she hadn't made her birthday wish.
Turning her head back to the kitchen, watching the window and recalling her sudden kiss on Inosuke's cheek, Aoi prayed, "If Inosuke has found another girl who's better than me, I wish that he'd always be happy in life."
She retreated into her room and continued to write in her diary under the candlelight, re-reading some of the earlier entries she wrote since Inosuke had left.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
