To The Stars | Tokito Muichiro x OC

07 • Choices

"The year has changed." Seated on the porch, Inori stared at the tree planted in Kagaya's backyard. "I'm...eleven now, I guess." Now that she thought about it, didn't she have plans for her eleventh birthday since she was finally free from the duties of the Crimson Dancer? Inori couldn't really recall the plans she shared in hushed whispers with her brothers.

"Yoriichi-sama, are you there?" The night wind howled, blowing leaves in her direction, and Inori frowned at the tree. "Yoriichi-sama, you're always like this." Standing up, she took slow steps toward the tree. Using the wall as a support, she gritted her teeth to stop herself from hissing as every step sent dull aches all over her body.

"You always...always and always...you always disappear when I need you." Placing her palm on the trunk, Inori leaned her entire weight against it. "You didn't even come to watch me dance." She laughed bitterly. "How could you? I...even though I've told you so many times to come watch me."

Pressing her forehead against the trunk, Inori let her tears fall. "You disappear before I could master the dance. Then, you appear to tell me I have to live. Now, you disappear again...without telling me anything, you're just going to leave me to figure things out alone again."

She didn't like this. She didn't like this at all.

"You're unfair, Yoriichi-sama." Her nails scratched against the bark. Inori let herself fall to her knees, her legs unable to support her any longer. "You come and teach me about life, but when I need your advice most, you're gone. You're unfair, Yoriichi-sama. Unfair."

Pressing her knuckles against her forehead, Inori gritted her teeth as she continued to cry. "Living just for the sake of revenge...for such a...a...an ugly emotion...living just for that, are you fine with this? Is this acceptable? I don't know, Yoriichi-sama. I don't know, so please...please just...just tell me I'm doing something right."

Yoriichi was her teacher, her father figure because there was just nobody else who could fill that spot. Disappointing him was the last thing she wanted to do, but Inori felt like her mere existence was an offense to him, and she hated it.

"Tell me what I'm doing wrong, and I'll fix it!" She yelled to the tree, not knowing why she even thought Yoriichi would be standing there. "I'm a good copycat! You know that! I copy everyone and everything! I can obey orders! I...if you just tell me what I'm doing wrong, I can change! I can fix it! I can fix it, so...so...so"—her breath hitched—"so please...please don't leave me alone."

Everything was so foreign that Inori wanted to disappear. Yes, she wanted to go outside of that cursed village, but now that she was outside, she found she'd rather deal with the sneers and glares than whatever this was. Because, at the very least, she could pretend her little family was still alive. She could pretend that the ache in her body was the aftermath of the dance. She could pretend that this was all a nightmare and wake up to see her family again.

She could pretend everything was okay.

But the grass under her bare feet was real, and so was the ache spreading all over her body. The rough bandages were real, and they weren't wrapped by Hizashi. The leaves from the tree fell on top of her, but Inori remained hunched on the ground because even the saltiness on her tongue was real.

The grass crunched, and Inori immediately moved to wipe her tears. But whoever it was had stood beside her, not saying a word—Kagaya, she realized it was Kagaya. Only the head of the Ubuyashiki family got to wear that haori. She would know because that was the haori Kanato wore in his death. That was the haori she always saw him wear.

"Are the stars shining brightly tonight, Inori?" Kagaya asked, tilting his head upwards. "Usually, the moon's brightness overpowers the stars, right?"

"The stars are...always bright." Still keeping her eyes on the trunk of the tree, Inori moved to sit on the ground. "I, uh...one of the dead—he's an astronomist—he told me that the stars produce their own light, like the sun. In fact, the sun is also a star, it's just close to Earth, so it's big and warm and, uh...I...I find that...fascinating."