The Flower and the Butterfly

Two Years Together

...two years... our relationship continued for two years. After everything that happened, Mitsuri and I officially started living together. No other hunter or Hashira knows about our secret relationship; the only one who had this knowledge was Oyakata-sama, and he even offered to help us, at least until this whole thing with the demons ends. He uses the excuse that "Mitsuri's house is not ready yet because there is a lot of demand from the Kakushi and hunters." I am very grateful for his help and that he does not oppose our feelings.

Mitsuri seems to like being with me, in the sense that she avoids leaving me alone. An example is right now, while I'm writing this; she is practicing her daily stretches right behind me.

I don't know when I wanted to start noting down the things that are happening; I continue to inject wisteria poison into myself, even though I don't plan to die. I think it's a "last resort" plan, only if I'm out of options will I sacrifice myself. In any case, the girls also seem not to know about our relationship, only Aoi, which I find strange, since we haven't told her anything. Only her smiles and embarrassing hints suggest that she has this knowledge.

Another event was that Kanao passed the final selection. I was happy for her, and Mitsuri even threw a little party, even though both Kanao and I said it wasn't necessary. However, it seemed that Kanao liked it. Now it's almost noon and nothing is going to spoil my day, with Mitsu--

-"Special mission! Special mission!!" While I was writing quietly and relaxing, my crow appeared on the balcony, disrupting my thoughts and all my reasoning. Mitsuri also stopped her stretching, placing her feet on the ground, and turning her face between the animal and me, probably noticing that I was gripping the pencil tightly and my face was slightly contorted. I took a deep breath and lifted my smile, while the previous expressions remained.

-"Hello, you arrived at the perfect moment, you know?" I stared at the crow, which had no sense of danger.

-"Special mission." After all, it only repeated what it had previously said, completely ignoring my words.

-"...what is the mission?" I took a breath for the second time.

-"A demon in a forest is killing several hunters. We suspect it might be a Moon." With these words, my comic anger drained from my body, changing my smile to something less forced and opening my eyes a little more. -A Moon...?- The elite of the Demon King, the twelve Upper and Lower Moons that have been cataloged over the ages. Their names or abilities are unknown, only their numbers, ranging from Lower Six to Upper One. For a low-rank hunter, it is recommended to avoid any kind of Moon as much as possible, but for Hashiras, from Lower Six to Upper Six, it is possible for a Pillar to handle one alone. Of course, it is not recommended, but it is better than a lower-rank hunter facing them. These types of demons are one of the things that have prevented hunters for centuries from eradicating demons.

-"I'll go with you." As I paused for five seconds to absorb the given information, Mitsuri stepped in, taking a step forward and volunteering.

-"No! Another Hashira was already sent last night, so only one more is needed!! COW!!" I put my hand on my head; those crow's screams were already getting on my nerves.

-"Okay, okay, you can go, I'm going on the mission as instructed." I waved my hand, signaling its departure, and the animal did just that, flying away while we both remained silent.

-"Day ruined." I commented, breaking the ice, with a rather embarrassed face, making Mitsuri give a slight chuckle.

-"Look, I have nothing to do, I can go with you, even with the crow saying that." She already knew that part of the day was ruined because we couldn't be together, but I quickly turned my face and stood up.