Higashikuze Akiho's very existence was thought to be taboo among demons and humans alike: she was a half-demon, the first of her kind. But being taken in and rasied by a former pillar with a strong sense of justice and a hatred for Kibutsuji Muzan...
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第二十七话
"Akiho-chan, you look terrible!"
Golden eyes blinked slowly, though she wasn't even trying to disguise the tired but restless look on her face. She was standing in front of the Love Pillar's estate after being led here by Yatsu. "Um..."
"O-Oh, but I didn't mean it like that! Ahhh! Forgive me!" Mitsuri immediately apologized with her cheeks reddening. "You just look so down. Senjurou-kun's worried too, that's why I asked for you to come see me!"
Akiho figured that her mood couldn't have escaped the younger boy's attention since she had been moping around at the Rengoku Estate when there was no training and missions, and he must've written to Mitsuri about it because he couldn't bear to see the girl sad.
It had been weeks since her fight with the Shinazugawa brothers and neither of them seemed to want anything to do with her. She was still angry at Sanemi so not going to train with him didn't bother her, but it was Genya that was the issue. She hadn't seen the male since he stormed away that day, and it worried her that she didn't know where he was. He would always tell her if he had to go on a mission alone or if he was training. The sudden distance between them made her anxious and she didn't know what to do.
"First, come inside," Mitsuri smiled supportively and nudged the girl to walk with her into the large estate. "I was just about finished making a Castella cake!"
"Cas...Castella?" Akiho tilted her head to the side in wonderment. The word sounded foreign to her.
"Yeah! I picked up a lot of honey from my last mission because they're kind of hard to come by. I've been researching how to make western desserts because they're just so delicious!" There was an excited glint in the older girl's eyes as she presented the pot of glistening golden liquid, "You brush the honey on top of the cake and that makes it soft and moist! Oh, you have to try honey with pancakes sometime, too... But I'll bring out some black tea! Honey makes everything good!"
Soon Akiho found herself sitting across from the excited pillar with a plate of a delicately sliced yellow cake and a cup of the black tea that was mentioned. Even the plate and tea cup looked foreign to the girl and she wondered just how much the western world had influenced Japan. She had thought Genya's shiny silver gun was interesting, too...
"Genya?"
She looked up and saw a curious look in Mitsuri's baby green eyes and realized that she had said the male's name out loud on accident. "Oh, um, he's a friend of mine..." she explained sheepishly. Mitsuri suddenly nodded in excitement and held her cheeks with a loving smile.
"I was trying to remember where I have heard that name before. His crow came with us on the rescue mission... He must've been so worried! Wah, it was so romantic!!"
