𝐌𝐮𝐢𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐨 𝐓𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐭𝐨 𝐱 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐈𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬 (𝐓𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐫)

✦𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐅𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲✦

ᴄʀᴇᴅɪᴛs ᴛᴏ: livelaughlovekny

  Your sword grazed the demon’s chest as it managed to jump away in the nick of time. “Can you please stop moving? I have a very important person to meet.” The demon sneered at you. “Oh, is that right? Allow me to help you.” And that was when you realised you were in trouble. A hole suddenly appeared beneath you. Unable to escape in time, you fell through it. You managed to land somewhat gracefully on your feet. You look around.

  You’re in another forest. Your crow wasn’t with you so you had no choice but to try and figure out where you were and how to get back. There was a faint dirt path leading up and you decided to follow it. You heard chopping sounds in the distance. Walking towards the sound, you noticed a man and decided to approach him. Upon noticing your presence, the man was shocked and immediately looked worried. “What are you doing out here in the woods all alone and hurt? It’s really dangerous to be out here right now especially for girls like you!” Trying to use your sleeve and hand to shield your sheathed sword from his view, you smiled and tried playing dumb. “Ah I’m sorry! I actually travelled from another village and got lost and hurt on the way…”

  The man looked at you pitifully and gestured for you to follow him. “Come, I’m sure my wife and kids would love it if you had dinner and stayed the night with us.” Deciding that you had no other choice, you bowed as a sign of respect. “Thank you so much and I sincerely apologise for the trouble.” He smiles at you and guides you to his home.

  A hut entered your line of view. It looked small yet so cosy and welcoming. Suddenly, you felt nervous and extremely guilty about intruding on this kind stranger’s family’s night. Taking small tentative steps into his home, he introduced you cheerily. His words faded into the background the moment your eyes zeroed in onto a familiar view. It was Muichirou. Well, not really. This Muichirou looked like a child and had a clone. Realising everyone was now staring at you, you hastily pushed your thoughts away and bowed. “I apologise for intruding! Thank you for having me!” The man’s wife smiled kindly at you, “Don’t worry about it dear.” Younger Muichirou looked at you curiously while his clone looked at you somewhat suspiciously; both of them remained silent. You tilted your head to the side and smiled at them. Subconsciously, they mimicked your movement. You hummed thoughtfully, considering what your next move should be.

  Squatting down so that you were almost at the children’s eye level, you smiled, introduced yourself very briefly and asked, “What are your names?” Mini Muichirou was quick to reply and was a mixture of excitement, bashfulness and curiosity. “I’m Tokito Muichirou and this is my brother Yuichirou! We’re twins!” Ah, that confirmed your absurd theory. Not only have you teleported, you have also time travelled. Not revealing your shock and fear, you smiled and nodded. “Is that so? You have such lovely names and eyes!” Yuichirou didn’t seem impressed by your compliment while Muichirou looked absolutely delighted.

  Muichirou studied you really closely. He found you extremely pretty. It was strange however. The moment he saw you, he felt as if something within him had been fulfilled and relieved. It was really weird. Had he met you before? That wouldn’t have been possible since most villagers don’t really travel this far up the mountain. Tilting his head to the side like you, he wondered why you seemed and felt so special to him. He wanted to know more about you.

  Noticing his curious stares, you smiled at him. Muichirou blushed and tried to hide behind his brother who rolled his eyes at him but smirked slightly. You laughed slightly.

  It was so peaceful and lovely to have a meal with the Tokito family. Really nice except you were extremely aware that the darker the sky got, the more cautious you should be. Which was why when the Tokito family was preparing to sleep, you had rejected their invitation and explained that you would rather look at the night sky. “I appreciate it, truly but I…er… I have a routine of looking at the night sky for a while before sleeping. I stargaze with my…um…lover.” You did not have a lover. They didn’t need to know that though. You tried your best to smile innocently as the family of four stared at you before slowly accepting your flimsy excuse.

  As they settled down and got to sleep, you allowed yourself to actually admire the night sky a little. It was lovely and you wished you could do it more often. Seconds after it striked midnight, the reason why you couldn’t arrived. The demon who had brought you here finally found you. It smirked, showing off its claws and chuckling. “Well? Did you like my gift? Sadly for all of you, your time is up.”

  Fear and tension rose within the little house. Tensing up your muscles, you took a stance, making sure you shielded the Tokitos. You could hear them shouting at you to hide but you knew if you did everyone would die and it would be your fault. The demon striked first. It nearly got past you as it tried to dash by you. Reacting quickly, you managed to slash its outstretched hand off. It screamed in pain. Forgetting the Tokito family for the time being, it directs its attention to you. After sparring with it for a minute, you finally managed to figure out its pattern.

  Unlike before, you managed to slash its head off. Its head dropped and rolled. It started screaming profanities and cursing you and the Tokitos. You stuck your head through its fading head. “Hey, shut up and just die already.” Smiling cruelly at it, you watched as its final ash faded away. The moment it completely disappeared a portal appeared right above where it was. Through the portal you could see that it leads you back to where you came from. A grin broke across your face. Finally, you have a way back now.

  “H-hey! Wait!” A voice called out, stopping you from entering the portal. Turning around, you see young Muichirou running towards you and looking at you anxiously while the rest of his family are staring at you in awe and curiosity. Smiling, you bent down so you were at his eye level. Muichirou checked quickly to see if you had any visible injuries. He was awed by how skilled your swordsmanship was when you sparred with that demon and was sure he didn’t see you get hurt but one can never be too sure. “You’re not hurt right? You have to go through that glowy circle right?” Ruffling his hair, you smiled. “Thanks, don’t worry, I’m not hurt. I have to go through that ‘glowy circle’ as that’s where I came from.”

  Nodding his head, Muichirou fumbled with his fingers before finally blurting out, “We will meet again right?” The both of you just had to. He could feel it. He just had to be with you in the future. His heart just kept telling him that there was something special about you. Laughing, you nodded. “Of course. Meet me in the future!” With that, you got up, you waved goodbye to the family and walked into the other side of the portal.

As the portal closed, Muichirou’s mother gasped and pointed frantically at the scene on the other side of the portal. A boy who strongly resembles Muichirou had ran up to you and engulfed you in a hug, anxiously checking you for injuries and demanding to know where you went while trying to ensure that you were safe. Muichirou’s father chuckled, “I’m not quite sure how to feel about that but I don’t think you have to worry about not meeting in the future. The both of you seem quite close!” Muichirou’s mother smiled, “I agree. You looked quite relieved and so happy when you saw her!” The tips of Muichirou’s ears turned bright red as his family proceeded to tease him continuously and express their blessings.