To The Stars | Tokito Muichiro x OC

90 • Kanamaru's Memories

The day Kanamaru first met Inori was the seventh day of the Final Selection three years ago. He has always been a large crow, way larger than the average, and he was proud of it. His size was a symbol of his strength, his speed, and his grace. He was proud of himself even if many pointed their fingers at him and thought he was just a bit too big to be friendly.

But his pride in himself was why he originally wanted someone like Gyomei to be his master, someone befitting a crow of his size and skills. So, when Kagaya told him he was being assigned to an eleven-year-old girl, Kanamaru admitted he was just the tiniest bit disappointed. After all, he really didn't want to lose his master so quickly as many crows had.

"Hello. It's very nice to meet you. I hope we can be good friends from now on." The girl who became his new master was named Hoshizora Inori. She let Kanamaru perch himself on her arm, and she smiled at him. Kanamaru admitted that her smile was so bright that he thought he was seeing the sun. "Do you have a name?"

He shook his head. Kasugai crows were given their birth name by Kagaya, but their masters got to choose their new names for them. It wasn't like he hated the name Taka, he just respected the tradition and bond between a crow and their master, and he wanted to know what his new master would name him.

"Kanamaru." It was a few days later when Inori finally gave him his new name. "Your name is Kanamaru. Here, I'll show you how to write it." She proceeded to help Kanamaru write his own name with his talons. He admitted he was prideful when Inori applauded the horrible scratches he called writing. His pride only escalated when Inori framed the horrible calligraphy and hung it in her room.

Kanamaru, made up of gold and circle. He decided that he liked the name, even more so when he knew that Ginko the nuisance was named after silver.

It wasn't like Kanamaru hated Ginko. They were just so similar that they ended up bantering a lot. He knew how much the female crow adored her master, Muichiro. He daresay the attachment rivaled his for Inori. That was why the crows couldn't just be still when the other insulted their master. He sometimes wondered why Inori and Muichiro still put up with their antics. He never disliked Muichiro either, his dislike for Ginko just stretched to the unfortunate boy.

When Inori told him that she wanted to hunt down one of the Twelve Demon Moons for her first mission, Kanamaru felt fear, even more so when Inori told him she was using herself as bait. He knew many crows who lost their master to the demon moons, and he didn't want himself to be one of them. But he was just a crow, he didn't have any right to stop his master from hunting demons, so he helped in any way he could, whether it be leading the demon into a deserted area devoid of humans or gathering information, he did them all.

"Kanamaru, this is for you, my golden crow." Kanamaru never knew getting a crown and a necklace would make him so happy, and he remembered how he tried to hug Inori after receiving those gifts. He admitted that he got attached a bit too easily. But in his defense, Inori was just so precious and lovable.

He watched as Inori and Muichiro battled Lower Moon One. He admitted that he was trembling with fear when Inori was nearly killed, screaming out uselessly for her to look out. He was so glad that the both of them managed to survive that he ended up sleeping with Inori's arm wrapped around him that night.

When Inori became a pillar, his pride for her went through the skies. The Star Pillar, they called her, she was someone who had mastered more techniques than anybody else. His pride escalated out of space when he realized that not only was Inori the youngest pillar, but also the only pillar who could use more than two breathing styles. His master was strong and kind, and Kanamaru would fight anyone who said otherwise.

Kanamaru went through an adventure of a lifetime together with Inori, staying by her side and helping her in any way possible as she lived her life as a demon slayer pillar. He never really had to worry too much because he knew just how strong Inori was, though that never stopped him from fretting over her.