Love & Blood

Chapter Two - - Something New

I sat in Yoriichi Tsugikuni's home, alone in a room with only the soft sound of his movements as he worked. He had a fire lit in the hearth, the warmth from it filling the space. He was drinking tea, something I couldn't partake in, not without the risk of sickness. As a demon, food and drink no longer sat well with me. I folded my hands in my lap and looked down at the floor, lost in my thoughts.

"Thank you for your hospitality," I said, finally breaking the silence.

Yoriichi, sitting across from me, took a quiet sip from his cup, his eyes thoughtful as he looked at me.

"You're nothing like him," he murmured, his voice quiet, yet filled with curiosity. "Can demons truly be as you are?"

I blinked, unsure of how to answer. The question was different, different from anything I had been asked before. It wasn't a simple accusation, a judgment. He was truly seeking understanding.

"What do you mean?" I asked, my voice soft but steady. "We are just like him, aren't we? We need human blood to survive... or sometimes, human flesh. We can't eat normal food anymore. It makes us sick."

But Yoriichi wasn't asking about that. He looked at me for a moment longer, his gaze intense yet filled with something close to kindness.

"I mean," he began slowly, "the lack of bloodlust. The absence of hostility. You don't seem to carry that hunger in your soul, like your husband does."

My heart tightened at his words, but I answered truthfully, my voice low and quiet.

"My husband... He's different. He doesn't care about being human anymore. He gave up that part of himself long ago. All he wants now is power. To be immortal, perfect. The sun is his only enemy, and he'll stop at nothing to find a way around it. He... he's not the same man anymore."

Yoriichi's eyes darkened slightly at my words, but he didn't interrupt.

"He has completely abandoned his humanity," I continued, "and I... I have sinned as well. I've taken lives. I've killed. You should kill me too, for what I've done."

Yoriichi shook his head, his expression hardening slightly, but not in anger.

"You can repent," he said quietly, his voice filled with a quiet determination. "You can help me stop your husband. Would you be willing to do that?"

I didn't answer immediately, my mind a whirlwind of emotions. I had lost my daughter, I had lost my husband, and now, I was speaking with a man who seemed so completely different from the monster I once knew. Yet, deep within me, something stirred. A desire to do something, to right the wrongs I had been a part of.

I finally nodded, the decision settling heavy in my chest.

"I will stop every demon," I promised, my voice resolute, "and then I will stop him... I will die by his side after it's done."

Yoriichi gave a single, solemn nod, as if he understood the weight of what I had just vowed.

"If that is your wish," he said softly.

And so, we went on. Days passed, turning into weeks, then months. I stayed at Yoriichi's home, playing the role of a wife in all but name. I cooked, cleaned, and took care of him as best I could. We formed a quiet companionship—no longer strangers, but something more. He would return from his battles, wounded sometimes, and I would tend to him, cleaning his wounds and offering him solace. We shared quiet nights, sitting by the fire, speaking little but understanding each other more with every passing day.

Through it all, I learned more about Yoriichi. His late wife, Uta, was a descendant of my brother's. That made her my very great niece, an odd connection that made our shared grief even more complex. But it was something we never really discussed, instead finding comfort in each other's presence without the need for explanations.