Priceless Smile 3

Chapter 1: The Years that Passed

     Years have passed ever since their last battle against the demons, and against a certain someone. They all died of old age and not because of the demon slayer marks they carry due to the medicine that was given to them during that very battle which eliminated the after-effects of their marks. But before they died, lots of things happened to them still.

Though Ringo and Mei knew about the truth of Kazumi's death, they hid it from the children to avoid conflict between the children and the Pillars and the Ubuyashiki family.

For her grave that they made under the huge cherry blossom tree, since her body turned to ashes, they buried her clothes instead and her favorite doll. The doll was made by her mother, Miyuki, back then that she managed to retrieve after going back to their home when she trained for the Frost Breathing. It is a small cat made out of black cloth stitched and stuffed with another cloth inside, it also has white buttons for eyes. Kazumi always had it beside her when she sleeps in her room.

As for the Midorime family, Ringo didn't inform them right away about Kazumi's passing. They only found it out four months later when they visited her estate. It was due to Ringo and Mei holding a grudge against Tetsuya for what he had done years back to Kazumi, them not informing him right away of Kazumi's death was their way of revenge. The very next day, the family went back grief stricken.

Touya got depressed hearing his sister's death and locked his self in his room for days only eating little bits of food, but most times nothing. He even developed eyebags for being unable to sleep properly for some nights while crying his self to sleep at most. This caused him to become thinner and paler, he looked so sickly as if one strong wind could just snap him like a twig.

Tomoe informed his wife about Kazumi's death and she ended up fainting from shock. She only woke up the next day speechless and staring into space. The couple comforted each other after, they both cried while hugging each other. And seeming to feel her parents' grief, their daughter cried too despite being in a separate room with her nanny.

Shu and Suzuki, together with their parents, made a memorial tablet for Kazumi that they added in their small shrine where their family tablets were placed, and where theirs will soon be placed on the later years. They put it beside Miyuki's tablet which Tetsuya and Toshino made long ago. They didn't replace Kazumi's surname with theirs as a form of respect with the surname she had chosen to use and live by.

(👤: Don't worry, they still received letters from Kazumi handed to them by Ringo. She only holds a grudge against Tetsuya, not his whole family.)
(🐷: He should be grateful that Ringo and Mei even let him in despite Kazumi no longer alive!)

Four years after her death, Kagaya and Amane were blessed yet again with another son, they named him Kazu. As to honor Kazumi for saving them and letting them live longer, especially Kagaya whom she cured from his cursed illness. Kazu has the appearance of his mother and the eyes of his father. And oddly enough, he has three lines on the right side of his forehead as a birthmark, it almost resembled Kazumi's three-lined claw scars on the same side of her forehead.

Another year passed, Obanai and Mitsuri finally got married. Before the day of their wedding, they visited Kazumi's grave and thanked her even though they always do that whenever they visit the Frost Estate. They were blessed with five children that Mitsuri all delivered at the Frost Estate with Mei as her midwife. Their eldest child and second child were girls that looks like their father, while the remaining three younger children were sons that looks like their mother. They would always bring their children with them whenever they would visit the Frost Estate. Both of them lived at Obanai's estate after marriage and raised their children there.

During the celebration night of Mitsuri and Obanai's wedding, drunk Kyojuro accidentally blurted out how he was misunderstood of "asking for Kazumi's hand in marriage" when in fact, it was because he was trying to help his brother Senjuro to be closer to Kazumi through the use of her children back then. Since he thought that if Senjuro becomes close to the children, enough for them to think of him as a father figure like how they think of Kazumi as their mother figure, he'll have a huge chance of marrying her. Senjuro was touched of his brother's support as he comforted the crying drunk Kyojuro who had been misunderstood not only by the children but also Kazumi herself. And the scariest for him, Ringo misunderstood it also which put his life at stake.