KNY Fanfic: Priceless Smile

Chapter 20: Peaceful Place

     Satoshi was woken up by the sunlight coming inside his room through the holes of his torn windows. As he walk out of his room, he was surprised to see a platter of food on the table. And the familiar girl sitting down.

"Good morning! You just woke up on time Satoshi-san, breakfast is ready." Kazumi greeted.

Satoshi let out a sigh of relief as he sat down with Kazumi. He smiled looking at her.

"I'm relieved you came back alive." Satoshi replied.

The two enjoyed their food before they started to clean the house.

"So.... how did it go?" Satoshi asked while wiping a dusty vase.

"It went well, I managed to kill the demon responsible for all the killing.... and buried some of the remains that floated from underwater." Kazumi answered while sweeping the floor.

"I feel sorry for all of them, people lost a lot of their loved ones just because of those creatures." Satoshi put down the vase after cleaning it.

"How about you Satoshi-san...." Kazumi stopped sweeping.
".... your family?" She turned her head to Satoshi.

Satoshi's eyes widened at her question. He slowly turned his head to Kazumi then looked down.

"Well my family...." He walked towards a cabinet to wipe it.
"My family and I lived a peaceful life once. My daughter, my pregnant wife, and me. Or so we thought."

Kazumi continued to sweep the floor while listening to Satoshi's words.

"I went to town to sell some vegetables alone since my wife was pregnant. It took me some time to go back home since some of my friends invited me for a short chat."

Kazumi can see how clearly Satoshi is a bit hesitant to even continue. She gave him some time until she finished sweeping.

"What happened after that?"

".... By the time I came back home, I was expecting them to welcome me with their usual smile and hugs.... but...."

Flashback》》》》

     Satoshi stood a feet away outside his home, he saw that the doors were broken. He dropped the basket he's holding and ran to see something he couldn't believe at. Blood everywhere, the floor, the table, the cabinets, and the walls. He slowly walked inside to see his wife all bloody and her insides showing out while missing an arm. He went to the kitchen and saw his daughter on the ground, the lower part of her body detached from her upper part spilling her insides.

"W-What the...." He said shivering.

He stood there in horror as he fell on his knees and crawled to his daughter crying while holding her. He cried and cried before carrying her to her mother. He held both of them crying a waterfall of tears screaming in agony. He ran to town with his bloody hands and clothes asking the people there for help. A lot of them ran away from him frightened at how he looked like, some of them went with him to his home.

"I c-came b-back home.... t-then I saw them.... m-my family." He explained.

A lot of people sympathized for him. They all said that it might be because of a bear attack in which he didn't believe. By that time, he already heard about the so called man eating creatures referred to as demons. He told the people about it but they ignored him. They left him alone and even said he has gone mad due to his loss as he kept telling them about the creatures called demons that he heard about.

Flashback Ends《《《《

"None of them believed me and just thought that I've lost my mind. They ignored me as if I have a mental illness." Satoshi said as he stopped sweeping the dried leaves.
"That's just how it is, they won't believe to those kind of things not until they saw it their selves or go through it their selves. My world shattered into pieces seeing them in that kind of state. The only happiness I have in my life was taken away from me in just a blink of an eye."

The two went inside the kitchen, Satoshi sat down while Kazumi served him some tea. He thanked her and took a sip.

"That's why by the time I've heard of the missing people not being found any longer, I already have the answer in my mind. But I chose to shut up since I know none of them would even believe me. They'll only see me as a nuisance and a good-for-nothing crazy old man."

"I'm sorry for your loss, I didn't expect those things you've told me just now. No.... I didn't expect it to be that worst." Kazumi put a hand on Satoshi's shoulder comforting him.
"You're very brave Satoshi-san, to be able to last to this day after what happened."

Satoshi slowly looked at her, his tears starting to fall down. He could see her smiling but he could feel she's trying her best to comfort him. Out of all the slayers he met, she was the only one who made him feel like he have company. She made him feel warm inside as if his family's there. Kazumi slowly pulled him into a hug.

"I'm sure they were always right there for you." Kazumi said while caressing Satoshi's back gently as he cry hugging her tight.

They managed to finish cleaning before the sun sets. They swept the whole house and wiped the floors and furniture. Watered the plants and swept the dried leaves scattered outside. And even repaired his roof full of holes.

"Hey, careful there." Satoshi warned looking at Kazumi above his roof.

"Yes, don't worry." Kazumi reassured giving him a thumbs up.

Finally, everything's finished and they're currently sitting outside watching the sunset while holding their tea. Kazumi could see the satisfied and sincere smile of Satoshi looking at the scenery.

"My wife loved to see sunset like this, she would sit here outside holding a cup of tea watching the sun slowly go down." Satoshi took a sip from his tea.
"She even planned on naming our incoming child Akatsuki." He chuckled.

"You've got a very wonderful family Satoshi-san. That's a very beautiful name I should say."

As the sun completely sets down, the sky has slowly become darker. The orange hues slowly fading away being replaced by a black one. The stars slowly started to show up. Kazumi assisted Satoshi inside. He went to his room and laid down there.

"Thank you child for helping and accompanying me, thank you for making my day beautiful and satisfying." Satoshi thanked her putting his hand on hers.

"There's no need to thank me Satoshi-san. You're in need of company and comfort and that's what I did. Having a friend means accompanying and comforting them like your own family." Kazumi replied putting her other hand on top of his.
"You are my friend Satoshi-san."

Satoshi just smiled at her answer and looked up. He sighed closing his eyes. Kazumi could hear the relieved sound Satoshi makes.

"Can you sing me a song please?" Satoshi asked.

"What song?"

"Any song that you know."

"Alright then."

Kazumi started singing as Satoshi listen to it with a smile on his face. Kazumi managed to finish it as she soon felt Satoshi's grip on her hand loosened and a tear roll down his right eye. Taro and Take are sitting down on the frame of Satoshi's window looking at him. Kazumi looked at him as he's in peace now with a smile on his face. She put his hand to his side before going out.

     After a few minutes of digging, she gently carried Satoshi with his futon wrapped around him. She carefully put him down the ground before using his blanket to cover his whole body. She finished the mound and prayed.

'May you meet your family at a peaceful place Satoshi-san.'
Kazumi thought before turning her back from the mound and walked away.
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Finally I managed to reach chapter 20. Thank you everyone for reading this story (even though my story is quite boring, sorry😅). There are still a lot of chapters to come and I hope everyone's still there to wait and read it😃😃😃