Love Far Beyond the Ashes

Slight Remembrance

Suisei pov: Toko-chan took us to a little hut, and as I looked at it, my head began to hurt. This place was so familiar to me.

"Are you okay?" Toko-chan asked me I nodded, but I fell over, and everything faded to black.

Flashback....

I never understood people; they always disappointed me. They are truely pathetic creatures, to be honest. Anemachi taught me not to be so trusting because anyone could be out to kill us. Plus my father taught me that the world is filled with evil people.

"Azki-chan pick up..." I said as I tried to call her but she didn't pick up at all.

I saw someone getting mugged by a robber and exhaled while clutching my axe, swiftly slicing the top of the person's head off.

"Eeeeeek!" The victim screamed in horror. They took their purse and bashed me upside the head.

This wouldn't do... I clutched my axe harder and slashed them across the stomach, not enough to kill them but enough that they'd have to run away.

"Damn it..." I growled as it began to downpour. The only good thing is that it washed the blood off my axe.

I probably should go home, but I don't want to bother Anemachi today since she is studying for a test. I need to just stay and prowl around tonight for as long as it takes. I decided to go into the forest to shelter myself from the rain.

"Huh?" I said this in confusion as I saw a bunch of men prodding a woman trapped inside a metal cage with taser sticks. She looked like she was in immense pain. I also noticed a makeshift portal to the underworld, so I knew immediately that she was an exotic creature.

I couldn't look the other way, so I ran in, immediately cutting off the head of the man closest to me and then the arms of the man next to him. Two other men ran at me, but I cut off their legs, leaving their blonde leader, who was too stunned to move. I found the release mechanism and released the cage, letting the girl out. I grabbed her and sprinted into the portal, destroying it as we went inside. We made it a considerable distance away, so we stopped panting.

"Thank you for saving me from the slave traders," the girl panted.

"No problem, but how long were you in that net for you to look this exhausted?" I said.

"For three hours, they planned on torturing me until I was too tired to resist the branding," she explained.

"Those bastards..." I growled

"Oh, I don't know if this is a good time, but my name is Inui Toko. What is your name? I want to thank you!" Toko happily said

"I'm Hoshimachi Suisei; nice to meet you," I replied. She nodded

"I'll remember that name forever!" She said cheerfully

"Why were you hunted?" I questioned

"I'm a cerberus, so I'm pretty expensive on the market," Toko explained.

"The fact that they can even think of selling such a cute girl like you upsets me." I said

"You are like a knight in shining armor!" Toko giggled

"A knight, huh?" I sighed

I didn't know how much I liked that moniker; being a hero is something I never thought about, and the fact that I saved her was honestly a whim.

"What if I told you I didn't want to save you?" I asked

"Well, you did it, so it doesn't matter," Toko said.

"Yeah..." I sighed.

She was being too optimistic. I am just a girl who happened to stumble upon her. I'm trying to do the right thing, but then again, what is the right thing? Are my actions just as bad as the people I kill?