I keep a demon

Chapter 35.1

A pitch dark water finally illuminated by the light of the full moon above.

The light penetrates the depth where a body floats in the mid-water.

Y/n's eyes opened the whole time as her body starts to drown farther and the bubbles escape from her slightly ajar lips, reaching the surface.

Just a moment ago, she was entering the temple garden. Eyes closed by linen that smells like sandalwood. Giyuu and Sakonji are behind her. They maintain their gap as per the head priest's request. She comes to the temple where Amane came from after Kiriya sends her the letter through kasugaigarasu.

Too eager to seal her ability, Y/n along with Giyuu and Sakonji depart the next morning.

The method is similar to the blessing ceremony, that's what the head priest said. If he mentions that he would drown her, she sure that Giyuu will not stay still. He would call off the sealing ceremony and drag her home. And Sakonji, the elder man doesn't mind having another disabled child but if her life threatens like that, who knows what the previous Water hashira capable of.

Back to her current state, she thought that all of this was just her subliminal phase, but the pain in her chest when she's running off of air is too disturbing. She looks at the moon's reflection in a melancholy way, her sight start to blurred and when surrender is her option and her eyes start to lose the light. A hand grabbed the collar of her yukata, dragging her to the shallow water.

Y/n thought that it was Giyuu but when she's turn around, no one there. Not even any trace left by him if he decided to run from her. It just her in the middle of an unknown wet place.

The air slowly filled up her lungs but she's not ready to leave. She's exhausted and she should remain still for a while.

"Let's hope it just the part of the sealing ceremony." She said, catching her breath and holds her knees to her chest.

A starry sky becomes clear once the wind blows the cloud. It so fascinating that the night sky has never been this pretty with the constellation connecting like a silverish spider web wrapped up its prey, twinkling like an S.O.S sign.

So many things happened back then and she should be proud for not killing herself. In the middle of her grief and denying Douma's death, all the bad things she did is shutting down herself from people around her and constantly refusing medication offers from The Butterfly Estate. She doesn't need any of them, especially from The Butterfly Estate who comes up with the therapy solution to deal with her post-traumatic event.

She just needs time to recollect herself and let it heal her broken heart even if it's only a little. That is exactly what Giyuu and Sakonji give to her. They know their place when she constantly refuse to met any of them.

A glimpse of a movement pull her attention. Something appeared from her right side where the water makes a small wave reach her. From afar it looks like there are two people gathered there. One is currently bent down holding an umbrella and the other one is sharing the same traits as her, holding its knees to its chest.

Y/n runs in that direction, divide the water into two while running as fast as she can. The wind starts to make her feel cold and she could see her breath dancing in the air. They aren't a living human, instead it just the replica of her and someone she knows very well.

Y/n's heart filled with mixed feeling, somehow it looks like a wax statue, it's very identical to them and highly detailed. This is how Y/n and Douma met from the first. The young Y/n who refused to show her face and Douma who's being kind enough to share the umbrella.

Another figure appeared, and one by one the shallow water filled with Y/n and Douma's figures. She takes a look at each one of them, she recalls everything. The one in which Douma pulled her to his chest is when she was stalked by a demon, the other one when he exposed himself as an Upper Moon Two Demon.

There is Douma's Blood Demon Art who brings a lotus for her and not far from it, it's Douma himself who keeps an eye on his creation. The drenched Douma who stares at her in the dining room is so fascinating, she remembers that time he almost kills her where she stands.

She walks past the statue when they were going to the post box, that time is when Douma called her with that pretty boy's mom's name. It still hurt her somehow, even though he said that nothing happened between them.

She smiles sheepishly when the next figure is where Akaza shows up in the most ridiculous time and now she kinda miss that grumpy demon. The Upper Moon Three always has his typical way of silently enjoyed her company.

It is surely like a recap of her journey with him, and the last figure is the horrible one. The one who erases her smile, the decapitated head of him lying on the wooden floor.

From those figures, she notices the way Douma stared at her from their early meeting until their last. In the first figure, she could tell a mischievous feeling radiate from his rainbow eyes and it gradually changes to where she could feel his genuine love for her.

And from the last figure, his eyes full of worries for leaving her behind.

Y/n's finger starts to wipe the tears streaming down her cheek. She tried to muffle her sobs but she hardly succeeds. With these figures, she knows that her love life is not the luckiest one, but it remains beautifully to keeps as a secret.

Too busy getting rid of the tears, a small wave push her lower yukata when something coming from behind. Soon a cold hand wrapped her eyes, prevent her to look back. The man leans to her ear, a familiar voice she longed to hear saying something exactly like the words written on the note and he chuckled.

"I'll be back, but if I can't, I want you to reflect from the lotus

They can live even in muddy water and blooms beautifully

So do you

I wish you to be my lotus

With or without me"

She abruptly let go of his hand to look behind and there he is.

Douma is there with his head intact to his body. Y/n only catch a glimpse of his face before his hand blocking her vision with one quick movement. Both of them stay still, Y/n didn't say a word, neither did he. When she finally manage to call his name, her surroundings rotate 180 degrees as he gently push her to the water. She manages to peek at his smiling lips and it cause him to halt his movement.

"Go home." he chuckled, then push her deeper until she fully goes into the water.