The Demon Queen

Buried Memories

Daki gasped. "Oh no! Onii-chan, you saw that scary six-eyed guy?"

"How's he scary?" I asked her.

"He lectured me a long time ago when I used to bully Akaza to bring me food and other stuff," Daki explained. "He's scary when he lectures. He's really serious about not disturbing the ranks. It's like it's his life passion."

I laughed a little. "Well, kind of. He thinks it's his duty to keep everything in line for Muzan."

Daki got up from where she was sitting. "If it's for Muzan-sama, I'd normally say it's a good thing."

Gyutaro rolled his eyes.

Daki came over to me. She reached into her kimono sleeve to take out some money. "But I really think that six-eyed guy needs a spa day to relax and take time to smile. I wish he would. He'd be kind of handsome if he lightened up."

"Handsome with all those bug eyes!?" Gyutaro blurted out.

Daki looked at him. "Why not? I'm used to looking at you with those birthmarks of yours. Why would extra eyes bother me?" She turned back to me and gave me the money. "I don't think Akaza's handsome, though. He's too weird."

"You're still giving her money?" Gyutaro asked and stepped over to us.

"Do you think I should give it to you, Onii-chan?" Daki asked with sarcasm in her voice.

"Sure. Why not?" Gyutaro folded his arms across his chest.

Daki cocked her head to one side. "And what do you do to deserve the money, Onii-chan?"

Gyutaro's face turned a little red. "I take care of you, dumbass!"

"That's a rude thing to call me," Daki said and put her hands on her hips. "You'll never get a girl to like you with that attitude."

"I'm not looking for no fucking date!"

I slapped my palm to my forehead and walked away.

"Maybe you should so you can stop clinging to me all the time when you're away from --"

"Sakura!" Gyutaro exclaimed in a squeaky voice the moment he noticed me leaving. He went after me, leaving Daki behind. He ran out of the room and grabbed my arm as I started to go down the hall.

"She makes me mad sometimes, to be honest," I said after Gyutaro grabbed my arm.

We continued down the hall.

"Why?" Gyutaro asked, though it was evident that he knew the answer. He just wanted to hear it out loud.

"The things she says to you," I replied. "She's ungrateful."

"Nah. She's just stupid."

"Stupid?"

"Yeah. She hasn't got much of any brains," Gyutaro said. "She doesn't remember anything, y'know. She blocked out most of our lives as humans and everything from the start of our lives as demons. But ti's fine. It's best she stays stupid. I don't want her to remember that."

"But you remember," I said.

"I remember everything. All of it. Every last piece of shit that got pushed in my face and shoved down my throat."

I looked at him. "If you want, I can try to do something to erase your memory."

"No," he said without hesitation. "Someone's got to remember. It may as well be me."

"I see."

We turned a corner that led to a back door. I opened the door and stepped outside. The grass was coated with a shining silver light from the full moon.

Gyutaro looked up at the moon. "Oh. Pretty," he remarked. He then snickered. "That's the most light we get to see, isn't ti." He smiled. "It's nice."

I said nothing as I stood there with him. A bit of time passed as we stayed there in silence.

"Sakura, do you remember what the sun was like?" Gyutaro then asked.

"No."

"No?"

"No."

"I remember it," he said.

"You're young. Of course you do."

"But it isn't exactly connected with fond memories."

I was quiet for a second. "Oh."

"When they threw rocks at me, or called me names, or when my mother beat me, it was all during the day."

I looked at him out of the corner of my eye.

"The night could be harsh, too. It was cold, it would be scary, but eventually it was the night that kept me alive. When you saved me in every way I could be saved."

I was quiet for a second. "Let's not talk about this."

Gyutaro nodded. He held onto my arm tightly.

We stayed there for a while, silently enjoying the scenery, until the night's black sky started to turn navy blue. We then returned to the Castle to seek refuge from the sunrise, until I was sure to be alone again and could slip back outside to feel the daylight's warmth on my skin.