Seventh Moon

Shinazugawa Sanemi: Copper

          "You didn't heal." Shinazugawa-san said as I let my sleeves fall and cover my burns. I shrugged, "my face looks better now, though." One look at my face made him grimace. Ok, so my face wasn't any better than this morning. "You look like cooked shrimp. Come on, eat first before we hunt the other demons."

I decided to just ignore him and follow him out. The night was still young, so the innkeeper was fussing about in the lobby. It's just our luck she dropped everything she was doing to come and greet us. "Out for another late-night walk? You two be careful, there's been news of a wild animal attacking people." Shinazugawa-san made a show of wrapping his bandaged arm around my shoulders and telling the innkeeper proudly, "We heard, but I'm not letting any beast touch my Y/N."

"Oh my! What a dutiful husband you have. Ah, I have some glorious news for you two. We ordered some eels and oysters for tomorrow's meals. Not like you two need those very much – what with your youth and energy – but a little help won't hurt!"

"I'm sorry, what?" I was absolutely lost on what she was talking about. Eels and oysters are food items said to increase one's sexual appetite so... oh... ohhh! I guess Shinazugawa-san came to the same conclusion as I did since he made a horrible choking sound.

The older woman laughed at us, looking like she was having the time of her life! "Oh, you two. No need to be coy. You only left your room for your late-night walk; we all know what happens behind closed doors even if it was morning! My husband and I were young and in love too. Of course, we went home from our honeymoon to find out I was pregnant! Maybe you two would have that same luck!"

I could not find the strength within me to look at Shinazugawa-san after that awkward chat. In fact, the moment we left the inn we stood so far apart no one would think we even know each other!

With my thoughts revolving around that, we reached the edge of the town where I could hunt for food. It was easy to find a couple of wild boars. Once I was finished, I made sure I was clean before returning to Shinazugawa-san.

Once I was within reach, he grabbed my arm and raised it to the moonlight. "Tsk, you're still not healing." As he continued examining my burns, I observed his face. There was a large, and dark bag under his eyes. It was a stark contrast to how pale he looked. It made me wonder if he sleeps during the day as I do, and that he may have bled more than usual last night. "What?"

"You look tired." He scoffed. "I don't get tired." I highly doubt that but decided against letting him know what I thought and just walked back to the village with him.

We've been walking around almost the whole night and dawn was not far when Shinazugawa-san let out a frustrated sigh. "Are you sure there are more demons here?" I asked, thinking that he already killed the one plaguing this village. "The crow said there are more." "Demons rarely move in groups, though."

"Yeah. That whole problem in Natagumo was unusual." He explained when I only looked at him in confusion. "The Lower moon five gathered a bunch of other demons and built a community there." Hmm. That was certainly unusual. "Did you know him?" He asked then, nudging me a bit. "Who?"With an exasperated sigh and a roll of his eye, "Lower moon five." He explained. "No. I only ever met two demon moons." At least, that's what I remember. "Upper moon two... and three." At the mention of Akaza-san's rank, he tensed. "The one that killed Rengoku?" It's something I can't deny, nor would I even attempt to so I told him the truth. "Yes. He... I... he was my friend. When I almost lost control and was about to eat a human, he stopped me. Not so he could eat him instead, but because he saw how important it was for me to avoid that step. But after what he did to Kyo-kun, I don't think I could ever forgive him."