To The Stars | Tokito Muichiro x OC

30 • Home Not Sweet Home

"Caw! A letter from Oyakata-sama! Joint Mission! Head west to meet up! West!" Kanamaru circled above her, landing on her head. He nuzzled against her head, cawing softly.

Inori petted the crow, stroking his feathers with her fingers as she placed him on her shoulders. Kanamaru dutifully stretched his leg to reveal the letter. Inori read the letter detailing Kagaya's request.

"I see." Inori folded the letter, tucking it into her pocket. She gestured for Kanamaru to get off her shoulder, letting the crow perched on her arm instead. "So, who are my teammates this time?"

·̩̩̥͙＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚☆.｡.☆.｡.:*☆ ˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊·̩̩̥͙

Inori smiled softly at the slayers who were bowing in front of her, feeling rather awkward at the respect they were giving. "You don't have to bow, you know," she assured, wondering why Kagaya asked them to work together with her for this mission. "And please, introduce yourselves."

"Yes, Hoshizora-sama." The one in front stood up with his back straight and arms pinned to the sides. "I am Murata, please take care of me!" He bowed again. The rest introduced themselves as Yoshioka, Nagakura, Shimamoto, and Noguchi.

"Please take care of us, Hoshizora-sama!"

Inori sweatdropped at the massive amount of respect the five slayers were giving her, feeling very awkward. Leading and guiding people was something Kyojuro specialized in, after all. Inori preferred working solo or with someone she absolutely trusted, like her fellow pillars. But if Kagaya requested her to lead, then she would do it, even if she couldn't understand why he was asking her to do so.

"Kanamaru, come here." Kanamaru perched himself on her head, handing over the paper in his beak. "I have summarized our mission," she told the slayers. "In short, a village that's isolated in the deep mountains is being terrorized by demons. They didn't receive much help because their location is geographically hard to walk into. You'll have to walk through narrow cliffs and dark caves to even reach the gates. Fortunately, I'm familiar with the path, so I will help lead you all there." Actually, she wasn't that familiar, but she knew her way around. "We were assigned to not only kill the demons, but also provide them with wisteria incense so no more demons will attack them in the future. Am I clear?"

"Yes, Hoshizora-sama!"

Inori nodded in satisfaction. "Oh, I forgot to mention, but the villagers there hate outsiders, so please don't mind their harsh words, they're just very close-minded." Reopening the letter Kagaya sent her, Inori reread them just to be sure of what she should do in the upcoming mission.

Inori, my child. How are you? The letter read. I am writing this because I have a request. Since your mission is located in your village, I hope you can try searching for any lingering clues that can be of help to us in the future. My deepest gratitude, Ubuyashiki Kagaya.

·̩̩̥͙＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚☆.｡.☆.｡.:*☆ ˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊·̩̩̥͙

"Um, Hoshizora-sama?" Inori hummed, looking up to see the nervous expressions of her squad. "Are we, um, are we still far away?"

Inori looked up to the darkening sky, then to the exhausted soldiers. They have been walking since they got off the train at dawn, so it was reasonable that the slayers were tired, but a pillar like Inori couldn't help but be confused at how low their stamina was.

"Well." She hummed again. "I guess we can set up camp for the night. You five will take turns doing shifts in case we're attacked. We're still a few days' worth of walking from the village, so I advise you to rest and wake up early tomorrow."