HALCYON [Minamoto Teru]

29

Throughout the journey, Akane and Aoi's clasp on one another's hands had never loosened, despite the many things they encountered, ranging from carnivorous plants and pretty flowers, to serpent snakes, cliff climbing and near drowning experiences with piranha fish. Akane looked up as he heaved heavily, Aoi placing a hand on his chest to steady him.

"Don't tell me .. Natsuki-senpai is sleeping.." Akane deadpanned as he stared at the stilled black ball of fur that Teru had been holding one handedly the entire journey for the past almost hour or so as he turned around with a smile. "She's been working quite a bit to keep you all safe. Letting her take a little nap is fine." Teru waved his hand dismissively.

Although Akane saw his senpai as a lazy, glutton for sweets who had an insatiable hunger for red bean paste, he'll admit. She showed responsibility and professionalism when it came to things that mattered.

When he first met her, she was .. violent toward him. Hissing at everything, picky, obnoxious and condescending. He hated staring at her medallion orbs that stared down at him as though he were garbage. She spoke of her own kind, 'humans', with disgust and discontempt, for reasons still unknown to him.

But at the end of the day, the two of them cared in the end. They were the ones who helped him live his life as a normal human, and even saving his life, despite how much disrespect she showed toward them and how much abuse they did to him.

Finally, at the end of their long journey, they reached a large cave where a massive boulder sat. A shimenawa draped over it as Akane blinked. "Is this .. a dead end?"

Choosing to rise from her slumber, the witch finally twitched as Teru stared down into his arms, allowing the girl to leap onto solid ground and morph into a human lazily staring back at her kouhai. "This is a secret passageway, all it needs is some exorcist blood to activate it and open it up for us."

The blonde bit his index finger, smearing the blood on the boulder as a rumble quaked the cave, revealing a long dark passageway. "Beyond this lies the human world. From here on, until we reach the other side, make sure you don't look back no matter what. Or you won't be able to go back."

Akane and Aoi tightened their grip on one another as Teru trudged ahead, Nora staying at the very back behind Aoi as they walked. "Whoa, it's dark .. I can't see anything .." Aoi mumbled. "You're right. I can see a light up ahead but .."

Aoi flinched as she pursed her lips and looked down at the ground. "A light .. Hey Akane." She called out to her child hood friend. "Hm?" The boy hummed in curiosity. ".. I'm sorry for injuring you. Nene-chan too .. I did terrible things to her." Aoi said softly, slightly drooping as Akane smiled in the slightest.