koi no yokan | inosuke hashibira

𝟏.𝟗

"Aito..." I sighed as he stared down at his father's grave. I placed my hand onto his shoulder.

Aito simply nodded and turned to face me. With his father's sword in his hand he stabbed it right onto the mound of dirt.

It was a beautiful day. The sky was a bright blue. The breeze was calming and cool. The birds were chirping their morning songs. Clouds were streaked in the sky like small lines of straw.

I injured myself while killing all those demons. I twisted my arm back, so I created a makeshift arm cast that hung over my neck and held my arm up. Inosuke made it out with a few cuts on his shoulder.

"Where am I supposed to go now?" He whimpered as he buried his head into my haori.

I pat his back, rubbing small circles on him in a rythmic pattern.

That's when a lightbulb went off in my head.

Bending down and grabbing my cousin's shoulders, his beady eyes stared right into mine.

"I can take you somewhere. There's plenty of food, warmth, and you can learn about being a demon slayer. You can play with the other children, and you can always see me..." I nodded my head in slow formations as I whispered out those words.

Aito nodded his head as he whiped his tears. "W-Where?" He sniffled.

I raised up my free hand to wipe the pouring tears on his cheek. "It's called the Butterfly Estate. I can take you there, okay? There's plenty of flowers, fields, butterflies, and many other kind people you can meet."

Aito nodded his head as he wrapped his small arms around my neck. Giving him a small hug, I looked down at my uncle's grave.

He could've told us that Aito had Marechi* blood. No wonder he was growing a wisteria tree. No wonder this mission was a joint mission.

But he didn't need to die...

"Alright, Aito, we have to go now." I tugged on his haori, he was wearing his father's as it dragged onto the dirt.

Aito nodded his head as his hand clutched onto mine. Inosuke saw us. He lifted his head up and crossed his arms as we made our slow way towards him.

"Thanks for waiting, Ino," I sighed as I stared down at the dirt ground.

At once, Aito's hand left mine all of a sudden. Looking up, hearing Inosuke gasp, Aito was giving him a hug. Inosuke, simply confused, just stared at the kid as he backed up.

"Thank you..." Aito sniffled as he held my hand again.

----

On the way back to the estate, we stayed at a wisteria house. Just to get our injuries properly checked. The sun was preparing to set, dying the sky a bright orange and yellow color as the streaks of clouds showered a blue and purple hue.

"Alright, Aito, I'm going to send a message to my mentors. You're going to meet them at the estate too. I'll be right back, okay?" I pat his head as he bit into the rice ball. Looking up, Inosuke was eyeing me as I walked out of the room.

Hence, my crow was there sitting on the railing of the wrap-around balcony.

"Rita... send a message to Tomioka and Shinobu." I sighed as I leaned over the wooden frame.

Rita nodded her head. "I already sent one. Don't worry, Master (Y/N)."

A small smile tugged at my lips. "Thank you, Rita." I raised my hand to stroke her small head. "You've been such a good crow."