𝙆𝙉𝙔 𝙭 𝘿𝙚𝙢𝙤𝙣! 𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧

Chapter Seven

You looked around the abandoned house and to your surprise, it wasn't as bad as you were expecting.

Although the house was trashed and in a poor condition, some human food in the cabinets was still in a good condition and there was clean clothes in the closets.

All of this evidence lead you to believe that the most recent owners have had left this house only some months ago.

"What's this place, Nee-san?" Kotoha asked as she anxiously linked her arm to yours, observing the place as you walked in.

"Just a shelter from the sun." You shrugged as you immediately started covering the windows and any breaches in the walls and roof.

"I don't like this place... let's go back home... please." She insisted, but you rolled your eyes, ignoring her.

"Nee-san..."

"Unless you want to burn to ashes in the sunlight, you shouldn't leave this place." You said sternly. "We'll leave first thing tonight, I promise... just be patient this once."

"Okay... but don't leave me here..." She said as her eyes filled with tears.

"Eh? That was unnecessary... Of course I won't leave you here." You reassured her, then held out a pinky forcing a friendly smile. "I promise."

As she linked her pinky to yours, she seemed like she's just remembered something. "Where's Inosuke?" She asked as she slowly started panicking. "I left him-"

"Yes, you left him at the temple." You interrupted. "I'm pretty sure that the servants are taking good care of him."

Part of you was glad that Kotoha still loved and cared for her child almost as much as she did during her human years, but the other part of you was worried about the consequences since not many demons can feel those positive emotions.

As soon as you finished blocking the sunlight, you started exploring the place with Kotoha following you around. "I feel like I've seen this place before..." You thought as you placed your hand on one of the walls, staring blankly at nowhere in specific.

"Nee-san..."

You hummed in acknowledgement, turning to look at your - now - half-sister who was pointing at a photograph which was lying on the floor with a troubled look on her face, and as soon as you checked it out, your eyes widened in shock. "No way..."

"I think... that this used to be your house." You said as you picked up the photograph, showing it to Kotoha, pointing at the people in the picture. "See? This is you... and this is Inosuke."

"I know..." She stared at the photograph blankly, specifically studying her human appearance. "I don't remember this place... did I live here?"

"You don't have to remember anything. Your brain is just trying to protect you by making you forget about all of that, so don't pressure yourself to remember unwanted memories." You said, swiftly taking the picture from her. "There's a whole new life ahead of you, and you have me... and Douma-sama... and Inosuke now. None of this matters."

-

Nighttime soon came by, and first things first, you left the house with Kotoha just as promised, and if you were being honest with yourself, you were also kind of relieved after leaving the house.

The streets were so quiet and everyone was sound asleep in their homes, thankfully, as you weren't looking forward for any attention from random villagers.

On your way back, you heard some rustling coming from the bushes, making you pause in your tracks. "Stay back." You said, holding out an arm over Kotoha.

"So... there's nothing to worry about after all."

You heard a familiar voice from a distance as you spotted a figure emerging from behind the trees, and as soon as you saw who it was, you relaxed a little. "Pleased to meet you again, upper moon three." You bowed respectfully, and so did Kotoha although she had no idea who that demon was.

"Nee-san who's this?" Kotoha whispered, taking a quick look at the upper moon.

"Oh? Akaza-sama is the third upper rank demon of the twelve kizuki." You explained. "And... You can say that he's the one I complain to about Douma-sama."

"Is he acting disrespectful towards you or your half-sister?" Akaza asked with a concerned frown. "You can tell me and I'll make sure he regrets it."

"No not at all, thanks for your concern." You said with a smile. "Douma-sama is just... well... himself."

"...Yeah that's an enough reason to worry." He scoffed.

"True that." You chuckled under your breath.

Shortly afterwards, the three of you reached the temple where Douma was waiting for your return.

"Thank you Akaza-dono! I knew I could trust you to bring them back!" Douma said, forcefully crying tears of happiness as he pulled you in along with Akaza and Kotoha for a group hug.

"Let me go." Akaza said coldly, glaring daggers at Douma. "What makes you think it's okay to touch others so casually?" Saying that, he punched one of his arms away, freeing the three of you.

"Thank you, Akaza-sama... My ribs were about to break." You sighed.

Akaza nodded in response and shot Douma a glare, then turned to you and Kotoha once more."I'm sorry, but I can't stand him any longer, I'll get going." He said, and before you knew it, he disappeared into thin air.

"I understand! Please stay safe!" You yelled, waving 'goodbye', then turned to go back inside.

Looking at the judgemental look Douma was giving off as he looked in your direction, you tilted your head staring blankly back at him. "Eh? What's wrong?"

"Yuki-chan... I've never seen you so happy before." He said hiding half of his face behind one of his golden fans. "Do you- ahem..." Even from behind his fan, you saw the corners of his lips tilting up.

"Spit it out." You said, crossing your arms.

"Yuki-chan has a little crush!" He announced, running away from you as you chased him around the temple.

"What even is a crush?!" Although you had no idea what that meant, you knew for a fact that he was teasing you. "Come back you- eh... Douma-sama!"

"Awh! Yuki-chan is playing dumb!"

"I seriously don't know, and I don't care either! Keep it to yourself!"

"It means that you like someone romantically! That you want to marry them!" He explained, laughing at your confused - yet - angry facial expression.

"Eh... What?" You frowned in confusion. "I don't want to marry anyone..."

"Tell me something I don't know." He said, giving you a childish smile. "Relax, I was just kidding!"

"Good for you." You sighed, playfully punching his arm.

-

"Have you seen Inosuke anywhere?"

─── ∙ ~εïз~ ∙ ───

Word count: 1126 words

-',✎ A/n: I enjoyed writing this tbh ^^