To The Stars | Tokito Muichiro x OC

27 • Better Left Unseen

"Move out of the way!"

All the people in the Butterfly Estate—residents, patients, and visitors—were in a frenzy. Anyone would be if the Serpent Pillar was carried inside in such a critical condition, drenched in his own blood and large open wounds littered all over his body. Obanai was gurgling on his own blood, hastily coughing it out lest he choked on it.

"This is an emergency! Call for Shinobu-sama!" Aoi was quick to work, unbuttoning Obanai's uniform and transferring Kaburamaru to a nearby table. She pulled out all the medical supplies they needed, ordering Naho to disinfect them as she was busy putting pressure on the bleeding wounds.

"Shinobu-sama is on a mission right now!" Kiyo screamed, cold sweat coating her entire body. "The crow won't make it in time!"

"Inori! Call Inori!" Aoi yelled back. "She should be here! Call for her now!"

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

Contrary to what was happening with Obanai, Inori was out shopping with Mitsuri. The two girls, dressed in their casual kimonos during their rare breaks, were giggling over a cute hairpin they found in one of the stalls.

"Hm. Maybe your sister will like this one." Inori pointed her finger at a golden hairpin with pink sakura flowers on it.

"Oh, what about this one? This'll definitely suit you, Inori-chan." Mitsuri picked up a hairpin with rainbow stars and butterflies on it. "You know, my family really wants to meet you. So, Inori-chan, let's go visit them since we're free."

"I wouldn't want to intrude." Inori bought the two hairpins and gave them to Mitsuri despite the Love Pillar's protest. "Why do they want to meet me anyway?"

"Because I told them lots and lots of stories about Inori-chan!"

Mitsuri looped her arm around Inori's, half pulling the other girl towards another shop. They walked around the bustling shopping district, occasionally stopping at any shop they found interesting, and buying anything they found cute. It was quite a surprise for Inori when Mitsuri suddenly asked her out on a shopping trip for her sister's birthday, but Inori couldn't say she didn't appreciate the recreation.

The wind picked up as they sat outside a diner, blowing Inori's hair into her face. She had decided to forgo styling her hair since it was her day off, and she forgot that the wind was the biggest enemy of her hair considering how easily it got tangled. Sighing, Inori placed the Sakura mochi down and began untangling her hair.

"Hm? Is that a kasugai crow?" Mitsuri squinted her eyes at the frantically flapping crow, placing her sakura mochi back onto the plate just in time to catch the crow that crashed into her arms. "Oh, my! Yuan-kun?!"

"Caw! Caw! Emergency!" The crow—the Serpent Pillar's crow—coughed and choked on its own breath, unable to continue its announcement.

"Calm down first." Inori took Yuan from Mitsuri's arms, letting him gulp down her tea. She stroked the crow's feathers until he calmed down. "You flew here as fast as you could. What's the emergency?"

"Iguro Obanai fought Lower Moon One! Gravely injured! Critical condition! In the Butterfly Estate! Requesting Hoshizora Inori for medical aid!"

Mitsuri gasped, covering her mouth as her eyes went wide. But Inori didn't have the liberty to be shocked. She immediately placed the crow back onto Mitsuri's lap, kicking the ground and running towards the Butterfly Estate with a hasty goodbye to Mitsuri.

Inori internally thanked her light body and speed when she skidded into the Butterfly Estate in less than five minutes, though it was five minutes too late for her. She rushed past the other patients and kakushi, slamming the emergency room door open, taking one second to scan the room before diving into action.