To The Stars | Tokito Muichiro x OC

34 • Reading Fate

Muichiro didn't know whether he preferred the child version of Inori or her twelve-year-old version. While he did like her chubbier cheeks and cute looks, he realized that the child version of Inori did not hug him or hold his hand with the same fuzziness she normally did. He decided that he liked it better when Inori was his age.

Walking through the familiar halls of the Star Estate, Muichiro had his head up in the clouds. Huh? What am I doing here again? He glanced around the dark hallway. Well, whatever.

Muichiro poked his head into Inori's room, finding the girl rolling all around her futon. He stepped silently into the room, moving to sit beside her futon. He moved his hand to grab her shoulder with the intention to stop her from moving so much, jumping back with wide eyes as Inori jolted with a gasp, her mismatched eyes darting all over the room until they landed on him.

"Mu...Mui?" Inori raked her hand through her hair, damp with her own sweat. She palmed the fabric around her chest, taking deep breaths to slow down her racing heart. "What are you doing here?"

"What's wrong with you?" Muichiro reached out to place his palm on her forehead, checking for a fever. "You don't have a fever. Are you okay?"

"I'm fi—" Inori choked back a sob, slapping her hand over her mouth to muffle out her gasps and cries. "I'm sorry...I'm usually fine even after...that...but...but stars, I don't know what's wrong with me now."

Muichiro circled his arms around her, pulling the currently small girl into his chest. He combed his fingers through her hair, repeating the motion over and over again until he felt her relax in his embrace. "Is it another side effect of the deagement?"

"No." Inori chuckled, resting her ear against his chest to hear his heartbeat. She breathed to the rhythm of his heart, easing herself from her panic. "It's just...another nightmare, I guess...of my time with Muzan."

Muichiro blinked, pulling Inori out of his chest but still keeping his arms around her. "I thought they were gone?" He may not remember word by word what Inori told him a while ago, but that didn't mean he forgot just how much pain she had been put through.

"They're getting milder and less frequent, but they're still there." Inori's words were muffled by his clothes, but Muichiro heard her loud and clear. "Sorry about that, but, um, what are you doing here?"

"Making sure you were asleep." Muichiro lifted her up, making his way outside. "Anyways, let's go see the stars."

"I'll end up sleeping on the grass again."

"Then, I'll carry you back inside again."

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

"Ah, Mui! It's burning!" Inori hastily climbed onto a stool, nearly falling in the process because her legs were shorter than her mind remembered them to be. Taking the pan out of his hands. she was quick to get rid of the burnt crisp of something unknown, washing the pan along with the crisp. "What were you cooking? Stars, what a waste."

Muichiro blinked dumbly as he realized he had been spacing out while attempting to cook breakfast. "Sorry."

"It's fine." Inori waved the apology off. "How about heading out to eat? You don't have a mission yet, right?"

Muichiro nodded, reaching out to carry Inori. The Star Pillar puffed her cheeks, but didn't complain, simply wrapping her tiny arms around his neck. "When are you getting back to normal? You can't hold a sword like this, right?"

"It's only been a few days, so maybe in two or three weeks?" Inori slumped herself in his hold, burying her face into his shoulder with a childish groan. "This sucks. This absolutely sucks. I can't even hold a training sword with this arm strength."