Chapter 35.5 (rewritten)

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"LET ME OUT! LET ME OUT!" a little girl screamed and kicked, struggling in the grasp of two grownups.

"Lock her up," her father ordered mercilessly, "the soothsayer said she will be a curse to the family if we do not purify her."

"FATHER! MOTHER!" the girl bawled, but saw no comfort, not even a single pitiful glance, from the people who she thought loved her.

"BROTHER!" the little girl turned to her twin, her best buddy since birth.

But he too turned away, pretending that he didn't meet her eyes.

"Put these mirrors around her," the father instructed the servants, "lock her up in the basement, no one should know of her existence."

"NO! NOOOO!!!" the little girl cried, "SAVE ME! PLEASE! SOMEONE LISTEN TO ME!"

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"M-Miss? The master and mistress wants me to collect the art you made," a maid approached the mirrors carefully.

"Does my dear brother still not know how to draw or make dolls?" the girl, not so little anymore, scoffed, "Tell me, what does he do everyday besides lying to everyone about how he painted my drawings?"

"H-He..." the maid shook her head, "S-Sorry, Miss, I am not allowed talk to you about things not related to your art."

"HOW IS THIS NOT RELATED TO MY ART!!?" the girl smacked the maid hard on the face, "He is gaining reputation because of my art! MY ART! He is living the best life because of lies!"

Tearing up the drawings she finished, the girl proceeded to tear away the limbs on her dolls,

"Tell your dear master and mistress that I won't be drawing nor making dolls anymore."

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"DRAW!" her father forcefully gripped her hand, "DRAW! This is for the family!"

"THEN WHAT ABOUT ME!!?" the girl pushed her father away with unnatural strength, "HAVE YOU EVER THOUGHT OF MY FEELINGS!!?"

"You are the cursed!" her father exploded, "I see now! You are bringing bad luck to the family! You-"

Something inside the girl snapped.

She grabbed the servant standing next to her.

And chomped off his head.

She grinned with bloody teeth, she was satisfied with the powers that man had given her.

Watching the pale faces of her parents, the girl laughed in delight.

It was time for them to witness a real monster.

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"Dear, dear brother, of course I won't let you die so easily," the girl smirked, looking at her last surviving family member.

The boy was driven mad by what he had seen, "Wh-What... WHAT ARE YOU!!? Y-You are not my sister! My sister..."

"I am your dear sister, brother," the girl smiled innocently, "The dear sister you used!"

The boy fell to the floor and the girl approached.

"Become a demon to repay all the time we've spent apart, my dearest brother."

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"Iguro-sama! I-I can do this myself!" Chizuko wanted to take the boxes in Obanai's arms.

"Tch, Suzuki, I can handle this," Obanai spared a hand to flick Chizuko's forehead, "And you better start acting like a hashira, you are still as childish as ever."

It had been two weeks after Chizuko and Muichiro's victory. They had both been promoted to become hashira.

Obanai was helping Chizuko to move her belongings into her new home.

"Stop by my estate for dinner from time to time, Kaburamaru misses living with you," Obanai murmured, too embarrassed to confess that he missed having her around as well.

Chizuko smiled, "Hai, Iguro-sama. Arigatou."

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"Young Suzuki! Let's work hard together from now on!" Kyojuro ruffled Chizuko's hair.

"Chizuko-chan!" "Chizuko-san!" Aoi, Kanao, Naho, Sumi and Kiyo drowned Chizuko in a group hug, "We brought you some flowers you can plant in the garden!"

"Suzuki! Long time no see!" Uzui slapped Chizuko on the back hard, "How you stole Iguro's mission was flamboyant!"

They were all having dinner at Chizuko's place.

"Chizuko-chan!" Mitsuri hugged Chizuko tightly, spinning her around, "You did it! You are the fox hashira now! Along with Tokito-san, the mist hashira!"

Obanai and Kaburamaru were too late to stop Mitsuri from mentioning Muichiro.

Mitsuri's grin froze, she had realised her mistake.

Chizuko lowered her head.

Muichiro had completely forgotten about her.

Chizuko's hair covered her face, she sobbed in silence. He couldn't remember anything, the breakfasts they shared, the paper planes they folded, the kites they flew together, the clouds they watched, the stars they gazed at, the snowball fights they had, the senko hanabi of that unforgettable night, the short but comforting hugs they shared.

Chizuko was in anguish, she can remember everything, every small detail, like it is yesterday.

Shinobu enveloped Chizuko in her arms, she knew that wordless support was the only thing they could give Chizuko right now.

Obanai stepped forward to his former tsuguko, placing his hand on her shoulder. He wished he could ignore his pride and tell her how proud he is of her, but he knew that wasn't what Suzuki needed the most right now.

Kaburamaru hissed with tears in his eyes, wrapping around Chizuko's shoulders. If only he could provide warmth like kittens or puppies.

Mitsuri cried with Chizuko, "I-I'm sorry! Chizuko-chan! I-"

"It's okay," Chizuko forced a smile, "Mitsuri-sama, you didn't mean it."

Chizuko had chosen to live next doors to Muichiro. They even shared the dojo, which was in between their houses. She cooked for him everyday, visited him whenever she had time, went on patrol wit him, hoping maybe it may bring some of his memories back.

Nothing worked.

Though Muichiro still enjoyed Chizuko's company, Chizuko could feel the distance between them, the moments they shared were seemingly gone forever.

She had failed to protect him.

But she had promised that all she wanted was for him to be happy, right?

The front door opened and Muichiro walked in, blinking at the weird scene.

Taking a deep breath, Chizuko turned with a big smile on her face, "Muichiro-kun, you're just on time."

Shinobu's heart sank, that was the same damned smile she wore everyday.

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Things to clarify :

1. The rank of Lower Moon One consists of twins with different blood demon arts. The sister is able to morph into a monster (big, scary, powerful with many sharp teeth, hard scales, improved strength perhaps?) And the brother's blood demon art is related to the kōdō games he host.

2. The reason Chizuko could repress the process of turning into a demon is because of her blood.

3. The reason of Muichiro loosing some parts of his memories is because he got too angry and overwhelmed (as many people were killed in front of him).

I hope you all enjoyed reading, sorry for the messy chapters before, I wasn't quite sure what I wanted to express (つ﹏)

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