As the Moon illuminates the dark sky, demons lurked in the lands. They are heartless and void of mercy creatures that feasts only on humans. Humankind, however, stands ignorant against the rising threat of the demon population, but not all of Humank...
THE SCENT OF mint and leaves. The breeze of the summer wind. The rays of afternoon sun.
"Say, Mitsuko." A comforting voice and a soft hand on her waist-length hair. The soft voice of Tsutako rings clear and soothing, a whisper that brings solace and peace, as well as content in her heart.
Tsutako gently fumbles with a crown of well-woven flowers, from the ivys that grow along the walls of the garden. "You have very beautiful eyes."
Tsutako, her deep cerulean eyes are ever-kind, smiles, placing the flower crown on her head. "Like a princess," she adds.
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Mitsuko's lips quiver. "Nee-san." All the robbed years, all the fleeting moments, and childhood times that she can never go back to. The presence of a departed person that ever supported her.
"Nee-san!" Mitsuko throws herself into Tsutako's arms - one that is always waiting no matter what.
Mitsuko cries.
"I'm sorry!" she first apologizes, fists clutching on her dear sister's kimono. Her favorite kimono.
I'm sorry. Mitsuko thinks. I'm sorry I was weak. I'm sorry you had to leave.
"What's there to apologize for?" Tsutako assures, stroking her hair.
"For everything. For being useless. For not being strong enough. I should've known better."
"It's okay, Mitsuko," Tsutako pulls away and cups Mitsuko's tear-stained cheeks, "It's all okay. So, don't cry anymore."
Amidst the tears, a figure disappears into the forest.
It didn't escape from Mitsuko's sight.
* * *
The train bound to its destination reverberates in a melancholic rumble. A cloak of sleeping atmosphere blankets the two hundred passengers.
One of the conscious is a female named Akumu. She holds a manila rope, tying ever so cautiously around the wrist of the sleeping Artemis Pillar. The sight of a girl younger than her as someone who carries a sword has her thinking: She's still so young and yet she kills.
Akumu is a woman of twenty with her days numbered in fingers and toes. A heart condition that would bring her to the other life and Akumu wanted peace in death through dreams promised by the demon Enmu.
There's no need to sympathize. Akumu tells herself. You're sparing the girl of a life filled with bloodshed and granting mine with a peaceful death.
The last tug of the rope being sealed is the resolution Akumu has decided to. She settles on the seat behind Mitsuko, relaxing. Breathe. Even out one's own breathing, close one's own eyes, count one to drowsiness, and -
