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━━━ ⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅ ━━━
As the two of us travelled throughout the next few days, I found myself falling into the steady rhythm of determination. It was like a storm-filled wave that had swept me under, keeping there even once it had calmed.
I was stuck in that mindset as Akaza and I made our way to my family estate.
Kumiko.
It had been so utterly selfish of me to have kept my mind off of her. To have forgotten my true purpose. I had gotten carried away, and...
Maybe this would make up for it.
Currently walking alongside the tattooed demon, I eyed him carefully. Akaza, surprisingly, hadn't objected much when I'd sprung the idea onto him. In fact, he deemed it important for me to visit my eldest sister. He'd said he understood, despite that it was completely sidetracking our mission.
It was as though he felt it, too.
The threat that seemed to echo around us. The way the wind seemed to whisper our names, urging us onwards. It was the right thing to do—to go home.
"Your family," Akaza spoke, snapping me back to the present. He gave me a sidelong glance, rotating his shoulder in a careless manner. "What am I to expect of them?"
I raised my brows. "Well, you are aware of my history—my family and our line of... occupation."
A huff of breath. "So are they all to be as... wild as you?"
My lips twitched. "You have no idea."
He lifted a pink brow at me, as if silently cursing me for ever bringing him along. My grin only grew.
"If you're worried about them—"
"I'm not worried about them."
I turned to face him, watching as his gold eyes scanned the forest around us. The damned forest we could never seem to escape. "I'm only taking precautions. No mortal assassin could ever make a move against me and survive." His tone wasn't cocky—simply pure and undiluted truth.
Even so, I said, "I've managed to maim you a few times."
