To The Stars | Tokito Muichiro x OC

52 • Protector

"I heard you had an interesting encounter, Inori."

"Haha..." Inori grimaced, somewhat expecting this to happen. The master was smiling softly at her, and Inori found it harder by the second to look at him. "I apologize for abusing my strength and attacking a civilian, as well as getting Muichiro involved."

"While I do understand how you must've felt, we are not to use unnecessary violence on the humans we are meant to be protecting," Kagaya reproved just as Kiriya came in with some tea, and Inori felt heat crawling to her cheeks. "But I have to applaud you for remaining calm and not going too far, even if you did tiptoe the code of conduct."

"I apologize, Oyakata-sama."

"What you did isn't entirely wrong, Inori," he said, urging her to drink her tea. "You may think your strength exists only to protect those weaker than you, but it also exists to protect yourself, and your peace is also something that needs to be protected."

"Oyakata-sama..." Inori placed the teacup on her lap, staring at her reflection. "I...I want to forget about the past, but that's proving to be very difficult."

"That is because the past is part of the present you," answered the master, his voice and smile soothing as ever. "You wish to forget only the bad memories and keep the good ones, but even those bad memories are part of the current you. Therefore, I believe it is okay to embrace the past."

"I don't think it's okay for me to stay in the past though."

"You can embrace without staying," the master replied, and Inori felt her eyes widening at what was supposed to be so obvious. "You can look back and use the past to push yourself forward. The past may not be a good place to stay, but it is a good place to learn."

Inori clenched her fingers around the teacup. The murky water rippled, distorting her reflection. She found herself smiling ever so slightly as she finally sipped the tea. "I will keep that in mind, Oyakata-sama."

"Of course, you must prioritize peaceful approaches before resorting to violence."

"I will...also keep that in mind."

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

"Caw! Hurry! Support needed! Hurry!"

Inori ran through the dark streets as fast as she could. Her swords were already drawn, glinting dangerously in the moonless night. It was a dark night, even for her, and she knew just how much demons loved the dark.

Silhouette figures of swordsmen fighting could be seen from a distance. Inori cursed. it would take her approximately four seconds to reach them. A million lives could be lost in those four seconds. I need to use my fastest form.

Star Breathing: First Constellation: Dash of the Ram

"Give me a report now!" Inori blocked the incoming demon from the lower-ranked slayers, swinging her other sword, only for the demon to leap backward. "Casualties, deaths, injuries, everything. Stop the bleeding with your breaths. Tend to the injured."

"Uh, um, sixteen are dead, one of us is taking care of his own injuries!" One of them rushed his words out, gesturing to the slayer slumped against the wall. "There are twenty of us! We're the remaining two fighting the demon! Kurohara is evacuating the civilians! The demon can summon beasts!"

"The civilians?"

"They should be safe! Kurohara is injured, but he's still able to swing his sword and we're stalling the demon."

"Alright, I'll take care of the demon, so you should focus on your own wounds. If you can, go find Kurohara-san and make sure the civilians are okay." Inori didn't wait for a reply, immediately leaping toward the demon.