To The Stars | Tokito Muichiro x OC

44 • Sympathy For the Damned

"Shinobu-san, I'd like to believe that Kanao-san will come back." Kanao was strong, it was a hunch Inori prayed would come true. "That's why, when she returns, please don't be too harsh on her."

·̩̩̥͙＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚☆.｡.☆.｡.:*☆ ˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊·̩̩̥͙

"It's a wonderful afternoon, Oyakata-sama. I pray you have been blessed with immense health and happiness." Inori knelt on one knee, expressing her respect toward her leader.

Kagaya smiled, soft and serene. "Thank you, Inori. I'm grateful you can come even though you just came back from a long mission. You really are such a hardworking child."

"It's no problem at all, Oyakata-sama. I'm just fulfilling my duties."

"Shall we go for a walk?" Inori blinked, cocking her head to the side as Kagaya beckoned her to walk with him, but stood up, nonetheless. She moved to stand in front of him as Kuina helped him down the porch. "I'd like to visit my children who couldn't go to the stars." He held his hand out, smiling. "Would you mind accompanying me, Inori?"

"It's my honor, Oyakata-sama." Inori held his hand, and Kuina bowed as they made their way outside. Usually, the ones who accompanied Kagaya to the graveyard, or anywhere outside of his estate, were his wife and children. Thus, Inori knew that something must've, or would, happen.

Kagaya stumbled, grunting as pain shot up all over his body. He could feel Inori stopping, squeezing his hand, emitting so much concern that he smiled. "I am fine," he assured, taking another step forward. "I feel sorry to be wasting your time like this."

"Being able to spend time with you is a blessing, Oyakata-sama."

"You hold me in a place I do not deserve." All his children did. He had done nothing worthy of their immense respect and love, but he was thankful to have been blessed with them. Truly, the one blessed should be him. "But as you may have expected, I asked you to walk with me because I wanted to ask you something."

"Please do not hesitate," replied the girl. "I shall listen to anything you ask of me."

"Thank you, my child." Still, despite her words, Kagaya wondered just how far she would go. Because he knew what he would be asking her could shake her entire belief. They took yet another step, and Kagaya could hear the calming sound of flowing water.

"Inori, have you found the value of a demon's life?"

He could feel the way she stiffened, though the hand holding his was still gentle. The birds above them chirped, and the leaves on the trees rustled. Kagaya felt a mild gust of wind, and they took another step forward, and another, and another.

"I still can't understand," she finally admitted. "It has been a long time since that day...since I felt like I lost everything. And I have gained a lot of things since that day, enough that I no longer find myself living only because I couldn't die. But even with all the time that has passed, I still wonder whether the lives of demons are worth the pity."

Smiling came a bit easier. She no longer has to slap her cheeks in front of the mirror and wonder whose smile she should put on her face for the day. Every time she left the safety of her new home, she no longer only thought about the number of demons she could kill before going back. She wondered what kind of souvenirs she could buy for the girls in the Butterfly Estate and Senjuro. She wondered what plant she should add to her garden. She wondered if she should buy more varieties of fish for her pond. Inori felt like she had been living and not just surviving for quite some time now.

"Some are forced, some have no choice, some chose that life. But even if their background varies, they don't hesitate to kill humans, and I...I don't hesitate to kill them either." In the end, both humans and demons were similar. "We have different views regarding the value of life."