The moon was already shining high in the cloudless, calm sky, illuminating the dark and dense forest full of pines and spruces.
Its light was full of peace and tranquility.
The animal would have realised that it was time to go to a warm hole or nest before predators could be seen.
The human would know that it is time to return home before the demons are seen.
Although in reality, probably any of them would have been asleep by now. They would be dreaming sweet dreams in their warm homes, wrapped in leaves, their tails, or a blankets.
And Y/n kept running and running without stopping. Searching and searching.
She knew that she was one of the most powerful demons in existence. She knew that it was her destiny to do the bidding of her demon lord.
And she wanted to fulfill it— to find the Blue Spider Lily, the Blue Lycoris - the cherished wish of her demon lord. She wanted it more than anything else.
The only thing was that all her searches for hours had been in vain.
Every tree she stopped under, every bush she peered under, every flower she bent over, it was the same.
Nothing.
Nothing of what she needed.
Y/n's thoughts raced through her head as she continued on her way
"-Nakime... She's a smart woman... Very talented... And her Blood Demon Art... is amazing!... But did even she fail?... Did she give us the wrong coordinates?... Did she..."
Y/n thought as she looked into the depths of the forest.
"-But Nakime gave the other Upper Moons instructions too. What if...?" she suddenly thought.
But then she took a deep breath.
"-No, if someone from the Upper Moons had found us by now, she would have brought us back by now." She waggled her eyebrows.
"-Then no one has found it yet. But it's after midnight..." she glanced up at the sky again, and felt her heart beat even faster.
Y/n continued on her way through the thick of the mountain forest, which dawned and then thickened again on her way.
As the night wore on, Y/n had less and less faith that she would find the cherished blue flower.
The sky was becoming more and more cloudy, obscuring her path, and she was getting more and more tired.
Several times she wanted to stop, to catch her breath, but every time Y/n did, she suddenly felt a pang of almost unbearable fear.
Fear for her life if she failed to complete the task from her lord.
A terrible, corrosive feeling.
She knew that he could kill her, kill all the Upper Moons, kill even Nakime— anyone who didn't do his bidding.
No matter how difficult it appeared to be.
But there was also another feeling in her.
A feeling that no one knew about.
A feeling that Y/n had been hiding from his eyes since that very night, the very first time she looked at her lord.
She didn't know if he knew about it, if he had ever caught her mind thinking about it, but she was afraid to think about what would happen to her if he found out.
She didn't want him to be sad, she wanted to be the one to give him what he had wanted, no—craved for so many centuries.
And that was the reason why she wanted to do it.
That was the reason she wanted to be the one to bring him the Blue Spider Lily.
Not fear.
So she continued on her way, barely restraining the beating of her heart, which wanted to jump out of her chest, wanting to break free.
She kept running, running, running...
But suddenly, she realised that she had to stop.
Yes, she was incredibly tired. The sky was completely overcast, the forest was almost impassable. And Y/n really wanted to rest, to catch her breath, to drink some spring water.
She really wanted to do that.
She was on the verge of tears.
She was desperate.
But no one was there to help her.
She looked up again to the moon.
It was covered in clouds now, barely visible, but it didn't matter to her.
"-The moon... You're my only saviour...Please, please help me for the third time... You are the only one who can help me... Please..." she smiled, whispering so quietly that she wasn't even sure if it was her thoughts.
Suddenly... she felt a strange sensation.
Y/n didn't understand why, but at that moment she felt as if something made her stop.
She looked around, trying to understand what was happening.
But there was nothing.
Just a mountain forest.
The quiet rustle of leaves, needles and branches in the wind. The murmur of a stream nearby.
And this strange feeling.
Like... a squeak?
Suddenly she turned her head directly above her and gasped.
A little bird was stuck between the branches and needles.
It was as fluffy as the first snow, as white as the moonlight.
Its little black eyes sparkled like two little diamonds over an abyss.
It squeaked quietly, trying to call someone for help.
It was so beautiful, so exquisite, that Y/n involuntarily admired its beauty.
She already reached out to help it, but then froze.
"-Why do I even want to help it? Why do I care about this little creature? Wake up, Y/n. You are a demon. One of the Twelve Kizuki. You are the Upper Moon Four. And wasting precious time right now on some bird?"
Y/n turned away from the bird and started walking in the other direction, trying to distract herself from it.
To fill her mind with random thoughts, to drown out this strange feeling.
Step....another step...another step...
Suddenly, she felt this strange sensation in her throat.
She froze in place, trying to steady her breathing.
The sensation became so strong that she could feel it piercing through her.
She felt as if for some reason she could not leave this little bird.
But why?
She could not say.
It was just something inside that seemed to be telling Y/n to do it.
And she could not disobey.
So she turned around, and in a flash, she quietly walked back to that tree.
Y/n looked up into the branches and found the beautiful bird there again.
"-Oh...how can I get you out of there?"
Y/n moved closer to the branches, and stuck her hand out a little, trying to reach the bird
"-Come on, try to get closer!..." whispered to it Y/n
...and then the bird suddenly became very quiet, and closed its little shiny eyes.
Y/n took a deep breath and pulled her hand out of the prickly branches.
"-It must have sensed the demon aura."
She crossed her arms over her chest, looking at the little thing through the branches.
The bird shrank back, eyes still tightly closed, and turned its head to the side.
"-And how am I going to get you out?" Y/n groaned.
"-I don't have much time at all tonight, and then there's you!"
But she took a deep breath.
"-Take it easier, Y/n. What did you do the last time you wanted to call a bird? What...."
Then suddenly the thought came to Y/n by itself. She smiled.
"-...I'll try it."
She took another deep breath and moved closer to the bird.
"-Blood Demon Art: Song of the Moon." she whispered.
The little white creature flapped its wings again, and hid its little head, and then...
It heard a melodious song.
The bird opened its little eyes in disbelief, peering out from behind the branches.
Y/n smiled slightly as she continued to sing.
The little creature seemed interested and began to move cautiously along the branch, wanting to hear the song closer.
The song reminded it of the singing of its best friends.
So tender, so beautiful.
Little did it know that it was facing a demon, one of the Twelve Kinzuki.
But it didn't matter to it, even if this girl had the aura of a demon.
All it wanted was to hear the song closer. Closer, closer, closer...
And then Y/n saw the bird finally fly out of the branches.
It chirped joyfully, finally able to fly freely. So joyfully, so sincerely joyful...
That Y/n accidentally found herself smiling at it.
But she immediately wiped the smile off her face.
"-Why am I even smiling at this?..." she exhaled.
"-I have to get back to mission, to mission ..."
And then her eyes widened.
The clouds that had been covering the entire sky were now moving away quickly. With each passing moment, the sky became lighter and lighter. And in a few minutes it was completely clear.
It seemed as if there were no clouds in the sky at all.
Y/n looked around. The whole forest was now playing with new colors— the pines and fir trees that had seemed gloomy before were now simply calm.
The bushes that seemed impassable now gave way.
The grass, which seemed muddy colored, was now beautifully green.
And the bird, which had previously seemed simply white, now seemed to be shining as it flew happily around Y/n.
Y/n caught herself smiling again at the sight.
It felt...peaceful.
Like all of these burdens of long demon life were now took off of her shoulders.
Feeling that she was longing to feel at this moment.
And then for some reason the bird flew down to Y/n's feet.
Right to where the moon was shining brightly now.
For a moment, Y/n thought that the bird wanted to show her something.
She immediately looked down after it.
And then... Y/n froze in place, unable to say a word.
A flower was growing right under her feet.
A flower with a long, fragile stem.
With thin fresh leaves.
With long, beautiful petals that curled at the ends.
And bright blue in color.
Y/n kept looking at the flower under her feet, trying to realise everything that was happening.
Had she... found a Blue Spider Lily?
Around her, a bird was flying happily, circling, flying up and down, and chirping happily, now sparkling in the bright light of the moon.
But suddenly for her, Y/n realised.
She raised her head up, looking up at the bright moon above, shining down on her.
She smiled, looking at it.
Admiring its beauty.
Thanking it.
She knew that it was the one that helped her.
The third time.
Just as she had asked for it.
Then suddenly she snapped out of her thoughts, and her lips parted.
The bird had already flown away.
It can no longer be heard singing.
Y/n smiled again.
"-It is in a hurry to tell its sisters about its new adventure today..." Y/n giggled, under her breath.
She took a deep inhale, and sat down again.
She carefully pulled it out of the ground with the root and took it in her hands.
Again she looked at this beautiful flower.
It seemed to her now that there was nothing more valuable in the world.
Y/n stood up, exhaling deeply, and looked up at the moon again, when suddenly... she heard a familiar sound.
The sound of strumming biwa.
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