𝙆𝙉𝙔 𝙭 𝘿𝙚𝙢𝙤𝙣! 𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧

Chapter Two

You stayed by the stranger's side till she woke up the next day, seeming uneasy as the first thing she did once she woke up was to check on her infant.

"Good morning, Kotoha-san." You said calmly. "I hope that you're feeling better today."

"Yuki-san... Right? Thank you very much." She said softly as tears welled up in her green eyes.

You hummed in response giving her a warm smile. "Allow me to check your temperature..." You muttered, placing a hand on her forehead then flinched at the radiating warmth.

"Is it that bad?" Kotoha asked anxiously, but you just shook your head 'no' reassuringly, and proceeded to check on her wounds.

"You're doing a lot better." You said, smiling a comforting smile as you rose up from your seat. "Let me know if there's anything you need, and please make yourself home."

"One more thing..." You added before leaving. "The leader came to check on you yesterday, and–"

"The leader?!" She gasped, her face flushing red with embarrassment.

"Don't worry! It's not like he's a typical arrogant leader or any of that!" You giggled, amused by her pure reaction. "He was completely understanding of your situation, and agreed to help you in a heartbeat!"

"Yeah... I've heard good things about him..." She sighed in relief, looking up at the ceiling.

"His followers will arrive in no time, I want you to be ready to meet the leader by then, alright?" You explained. "He would like to meet you and listen to your story."

"O- Okay!" She jolted up from her seat, almost losing her balance.

"Careful!" You said, placing a supportive hand on her shoulder. "If you need more time, I can ask the leader to postpone the meeting."

"No!" She said immediately then went silent for a while. "I mean... I'll manage! Thank you for everything!"

"I'll be arranging everything for the meeting then, I'll see you around." You said before leaving, feeling somewhat sorry for her and wondering how someone as good and innocent as her ended up hurt, all alone with a child to take care of.

You've encountered several cases of helpless humans coming by the temple to ask for help, but out of all, she stood out for you. Unlike others, she seemed down-to-earth and so pure for a human.

"Or perhaps it's just a facade." You collected yourself, keeping your guard up.

You weren't going to be fooled by some human.

-

Shortly afterwards, Kotoha got ready for the day, and just as she was about to join the rest of the followers, she froze in her place as soon as she saw her husband and mother-in-law standing among the followers.

"My wife ran away and took my child with her!" Her husband - whom you've recognized - raged, and it didn't take you and Douma much time or effort to connect the dots.

"She wasn't a good wife for my son! I've always known she was trouble!" The old lady said. "She has no siblings or parents, so she must have ended up on the streets, surely if someone as stupid as her managed to survive the night."

"As you must be aware, we don't tolerate this type of language here." You spoke with a frown enough to tell that you were displeased by what she just said. "Please be more mindful of your words when speaking with someone of a higher rank."

The lady glared at you and you returned her anger with a smug grin.

"She must be here!" Kotoha's husband said angrily as soon as he heard the cries of little Inosuke echoing in the halls.

"I'll leave this to you, Douma-sama." You said coldly before leaving to check on Kotoha who seemed to be overhearing this conversation.

Just as you left to search for Kotoha, you saw her hugging her knees as she cried, feeling hurt by the words said about her. "I'm a bad mother..." She sobbed between her words. "I'm sorry Ino–"

"You're trying... it must be difficult being a new mother." You interrupted, holding a hand out for her. "I haven't listened to your story, but I believe that you have a good reason to run away."

"I believe you... something isn't adding up to your husband's and mother-in-law's stories." You added as she looked at you with hope in her eyes.

"Don't worry, the leader will send them away, and you'll never see them ever again." You smiled in reassurance at the speechless woman as you walked her far away. "You're safe here."

You couldn't help but smile with satisfaction as soon as you heard the agonizing screams of the humans from a distance upon parting from life. "Well deserved..." You thought, chuckling under your breath.

"Did you hear that?" Kotoha asked as she looked behind towards where the voices came from.

"Hear what?" You said, acting clueless. "You must be really tired... Why don't you go rest?"

"I'll talk to Douma-sama about arranging a meeting later on if you wish." You added, giving her a worried look, and she nodded in agreement and thanked you.

-

Later that night, you left to dispose of the unwanted dead bodies far away, upon Douma's request, and on your way back, you decided pick up some plants needed for your potions from the forest, and once you were done, you came back only to stop in your tracks as soon as you heard the unclear voices of Douma and Kotoha talking.

"I'm back." You said lazily as you walked in, putting the basket aside.

"Welcome back!" Douma greeted you with his usual cheerful smile, motioning you to join the conversation. "Kotoha-chan was just explaining her story! I'm glad we decided to send her husband and mother-in-law away earlier."

"Hmm? Elaborate." You said, sitting between the two. "Did I miss a lot?"

"No no nothing much! It's just that..." Kotoha trailed off, looking away as she fidgeted in discomfort.

"To sum it up, they're bad people who treated Kotoha-chan and Inosuke terribly." Douma explained, covering half of his face with one of his fans as he cried.

"I- I'm so sorry!" Kotoha hurriedly apologised. "I didn't mean to– this wasn't a good topic to discuss!"

"You just made this situation awkward, congrats." You scoffed, knowing fully well that he wasn't moved by the story at all.

"And Kotoha-san, I need you to know that there's nothing to worry about now..." You said, turning to Kotoha. "As I said, they've been both sent away and hopefully, they'll never return."

"They aren't welcome here anymore." Douma reassured her. "You can stop worrying about them now."

She looked grateful for the both of you and thanked you for your kindness, but you both knew that it was just an act.

Or at least for you.

As for Douma, he seemed to be genuinely enjoying her company.

"Maybe she's not that bad after all."

─── ∙ ~εïз~ ∙ ───

Word count: 1164 words

-',✎ A/n: I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I know I changed a few things but it's fanfiction after all ^^