To The Stars | Tokito Muichiro x OC

59 • Sisters

Inori cocked her head to the side, not understanding why Shinobu looked so angry. Sure, the Insect Pillar was smiling as usual, but Inori was someone who also smiled through her anger and sadness. She had already mastered the skill of identifying the different types of emotions hidden behind a smile.

"Is something wrong, Shinobu-san?"

"No, nothing's wrong." But Shinobu's smile twitched almost disappointedly. "I just heard Naho, Sumi, and Kiyo have been calling you 'nee-san' for a few months now. Did you really let them call you that?"

"Oh yeah, I did. They don't mean anything bad by that, so please don't scold them."

"No, I didn't scold them." Shinobu sighed, gathering her courage to say what needed to be said. "It's just, um, the girls...that is, Aoi and Kanao, though mostly Aoi, got a bit...jealous."

"Jealous? Why?"

"Because you never called them 'Nee-san' but allowed the little girls to call you that," answered the Insect Pillar. "I know that Aoi wanted a sister for the longest time. She even tried to convince Kanao to choose 'Kanzaki' as her last name because of that."

"Ah, is that so?" Inori blinked dumbly, letting the information sink in. She suddenly flushed red at the mere thought of addressing someone as her sister out loud. While she did consider the girls as her sisters and they were indeed older than her, she couldn't help but be flustered at the prospect of calling them so familiarly. "What about...what about you?"

"Well, if Inori-chan wants to call me 'nee-san', then that will certainly make me very happy."

How can I say no if you're smiling so hopefully like that? Swallowing the lump in her throat, Inori opened her mouth. But no voice came out. "Shi, um, uh, Shino...Shi...uh, uh...Shino..." Inori felt like her eyes were spinning. Gulping down the saliva and nervousness, she finally blurted out, "Shinobu-nee?"

"Yes, Inori-chan?" Shinobu's smile was so genuine and bright that Inori was put at ease.

"Right, um, I have some free time today, so how about I take the girls on an outing to town? I'm sure it's been a while since they've visited town." Inori smiled at the thought of finally enjoying some time off.

"That's good. I don't think there are any patients right now, so the girls should all be free." Shinobu offered her an apologetic smile. "I apologize, but my schedule is quite packed today, so I can't go out with you but please enjoy your outing."

Inori looked at Shinobu's smiling face blankly. "Shinobu-nee, there's still time, and we have the materials we need. Please don't be too hasty."

Shinobu's smile faltered, and she sighed. As expected, I can't hide anything from Inori-chan. "I'm sure you know this, but there's really not much of a choice for me." Shinobu held Inori's hands. "I have a motto, you know." She smiled bitterly.

"If we can defeat one demon, we can save dozens of people. If we can defeat a lower moon demon, we can save hundreds. If we can defeat an upper moon demon, we can save thousands." Inori felt her eyes going wide at Shinobu's words because they were the same. Those were the same words Kanae once told her.

"It isn't about whether we can or cannot do it, we just have to do it," Shinobu stated, squeezing her hands. "I'm sure you, out of everyone else, understand." Because we're both girls who lack raw strength. Because we're the only hunters who resort to poison, even if you don't rely on it as much as I do...even if you're stronger than me.

"I do understand."

"Which is why I'll keep trying. I'll keep what you said in mind, but I'll keep trying." Shinobu smiled again, a bit more genuinely this time. "Please do enjoy yourselves today."