To The Stars | Tokito Muichiro x OC

75 • Strategy

Muichiro held Inori's hand as they snuck out of the Butterfly Estate. Shinobu would probably strap them to their beds once she realized they were missing, but he really wanted to take Inori out on a date as soon as possible. A real date he would never forget.

"You know we can just wait until we're both discharged, right?" Despite her words, Inori giggled and dragged her sprained foot to keep up with him. "The stars aren't going away. They'll still be there tomorrow and forever on."

Muichiro turned around with a soft smile on his face. He easily placed his arms around her back and behind her knees, lifting Inori up to snuggle against his chest. He pressed his lips against her left eye, smiling as he felt her face grow warm. "The sooner the better."

Inori didn't know how Muichiro always managed to find the best spots for stargazing, but he always did. Just like their previous stargazing adventures, they laid down side by side on whatever ground there was, it was the roof this time. Their hands were laced together while their eyes were in the sky.

"It's nice that you finally got your memories back." Inori closed her eye with a smile. "Mui, can you tell me about your family?"

Muichiro hummed in thought, but eventually gave her an answer. "My dad was a woodcutter. His eyes are red like Tanjiro's and he's a very nice person. He's always smiling and never scolded me even though I cried so much." His own lips tilted into a smile. "Now that I think about it, I don't think my parents ever scolded us...or they did, but it wasn't particularly harsh or anything."

In his memories, his parents were always smiling. His father's hands were rough from all the woodcutting he did, but they always felt gentle whenever they wiped his tears or patted his head. His mother's hands were rough from menial labor, but they were also as gentle as her smile.

"My mom was hardworking...I don't think I've ever seen her rest." In his memories, his mother was always doing something. Whether it be cooking, cleaning, sewing, or washing, she was always doing something. "She's very nice too...she always gives me her portion of furofuki daikon whenever we have them. Nii-san scolded me for that, but my parents just laughed at our arguments."

Muichiro felt tears trickle down his cheeks at all the memories he had just regained. "Hey, Inori." He squeezed their interlaced hands, seeking comfort and reassurance. "I really love my brother, you know. He's blunt and frank and harsh with his words, but I love him. I only realized this when he was dying, but Nii-san loves me too. He just didn't know how to express it."

His brother had begged the Gods to spare Muichiro's life. He had begged the Gods and Buddha he always cursed to only punish him and not Muichiro. Becoming cold and harsh probably wasn't the best way to express how much he cared for him, but Yuichiro loved him, and he had protected him.

Inori had also told him that Yuichiro was the one who woke her up when she passed out in the middle of her fight against Upper Moon One. That news brought a new batch of tears out of his eyes because Yuichiro had protected Inori. His brother knew how much Muichiro loved her, and he had protected her.

"Inori, if there's a constellation for three siblings, do you think there's one for twins too?"

"There is. Its name is Gemini," Inori answered, drawing the constellation in the air. "It's called twins because there's the Castor and Pollux star there. According to the legend, Castor and Pollux were brothers born from different fathers. Despite that, they loved each other very deeply and were known as the Great Twins," she recited the story someone once told her. "However, Castor was a mortal while Pollux was immortal. Thus, Castor ended up dying. Pollux then begged his father to grant Castor immortality, which his father did, by uniting them together in the stars."