44 • Sympathy For the Damned

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Inori skipped in her steps, pushing the front door of the Butterfly Estate open with a bag of souvenirs in hand. Her long mission had finally ended, so she had the whole day to spend taking care of her garden. But first, she wanted to visit the girls of the Butterfly Estate.

"Kanao-san, did—is that Inori-san? Inori-san!" Kiyo wailed. She, along with the other two girls, crashed into her, all wailing and talking gibberish. Inori stood still, shocked at the sudden burst of emotions. Did something happen? She half-carried the girls inside, searching for Shinobu, Aoi, or Kanao.

"Eh?" Inori couldn't believe her ears. Aoi had explained what was happening in the Butterfly Estate upon seeing the girls clinging onto Inori with snotty faces. "Kanao-san entered the Final Selection without permission? So, she just took a sword and left? Just like that?"

"Shinobu-sama was really mad," Sumi wailed louder, burying her face into Inori's lap. "I'm scared. What if Kanao-san doesn't return like...like..." She couldn't even utter Sayuri's name, scared that it'll become a reality.

Inori patted Sumi's back, staying silent. She has no word of reassurance since she herself couldn't predict what would happen to Kanao. But she did know that she has something to tell Shinobu.

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

"I heard that Kanao-san joined the Final Selection without your permission." Inori kept her focus on grinding the medicine. She heard Shinobu hum and took it as a gesture to continue. "Shinobu-san, I know you're worried, but I don't think Kanao-san is someone who'll do something so dangerous without being sure she could do it."

Shinobu dropped the tools she was holding, clawing her face as she sighed loudly. "Nee-san didn't want any of the girls to join the corps," she told the younger girl. "Aoi joined because she was determined, so I had someone teach her Water Breathing. But you can see just how traumatized that child is right now."

Yes, Inori could. Aoi may wear the uniform of a demon slayer, but after the Final Selection, she had never once picked up her sword. She didn't go on missions, only ever staying in the estate to take care of the patients. There was nothing wrong with that, and Kagaya had allowed it, but Inori knew Aoi hated herself for being so scared.

"Kanao never said anything, she never told me anything. I never taught her any breathing style." Shinobu felt her breath hitch. "I don't know whether she can survive or not. I..." Shinobu swallowed harshly, the words crawled up her throat like shards of glass. "I'm scared, Inori-chan. What if my incompetence as that child's guardian led her to her death? I'm scared. I'm worried. I don't know what to do."

"Shinobu-san, please don't think of yourself like that." Inori placed her hand on the Insect Pillar's shoulder. "You may not know this, but Kanao-san has been watching me perform Flower Breathing. Sometimes, she would even ask me to perform it just so she could watch."

Shinobu widened her eyes at that. Kanao had never once asked Kanae to do that, yet she asked Inori? That meant that child had always wanted to become a demon slayer, or at least, she had always been learning how to become one.

"I don't know if you've seen it, but I saw how Kanao-san would swing a sword in the middle of the night when she thought no one was looking." It was pure coincidence, truthfully. Inori didn't want to sleep, so she snuck out to train, only to see Kanao swinging a wooden sword under the moonlight. "What I wanted to say was that this is the first time Kanao-san made her own decision. I don't know whether she flipped her coin or not, but she made this decision without anyone ordering her to. She even broke Kanae-san's order to do this."

Shinobu's eyes widened in realization. Kanao, for the first time, went against her and Kanae's orders to do something she chose to do. That girl who wouldn't even eat or talk without flipping her coin just made a decision for herself. It was a very reckless decision, but it was still her own decision.

To The Stars | Tokito Muichiro x OCWhere stories live. Discover now