To The Stars | Tokito Muichiro x OC

42 • Hunting Bait

"Uzui-san, did you perhaps damage your brain?" Inori hopped and slapped Tengen's forehead because screw his tallness, earning a shout of indignation from the Sound Pillar. "I mean, I know your brain's not the brightest, but it's not like you don't have one, so I can't really understand why you're—"

"I'll shove my goddamn bombs into your stupid mouth, don't try me, you little brat."

"That might actually be the smartest thing you have ever said."

"You shitty sassy brat!"

Three laps around the Star Estate and four broken wooden swords later, the two pillars were seated on the grassy area of the garden, a star-patterned blanket underneath them and a plate of snacks between them.

"So..."

"So."

"So what?" Inori asked, redoing her hair that had been unraveled when she was 'sparring' against Tengen. "You can't possibly believe a dinosaur still exists in this era. Not even my dead friends have seen a living dinosaur before."

"I'm telling you it's a demon!" Whacking her head with every word, which was garbled because Inori had reached out and pulled his cheek as if that would stop him—serves her right for being a midget—he ended up with a kick to his jaw, sending him lying on his back.

"There can't be a demon that can resurrect fossils!"

"Kid, why are you so dumb?! It's blood demon art! Blood demon art!"

Perched on the roof, Kanamaru cawed loudly, cheering for his master as she and the Sound Pillar engaged in a very heated and very comical fistfight. Unfortunately, Tengen fell onto one of her flower bushes, which prompted Inori to scream in horror, which ended up with the two of them working together to fix the crumpled bush, which ended up with Tengen getting a rather unplanned bouquet.

"Uzui-san, you are a pillar despite everything—"

"What do you mean 'despite everything'?!"

"Shush!" Inori slapped a hand over Tengen's mouth, which was a comical feat in its own because she needed to jump to be able to do that, earning a snort from the older pillar which she easily ignored. "I'm saying that you can deal with this dinosaur demon on your own. It sounds like a very flamboyant demon to me, so you can surely flamboyantly kill it."

Tengen gasped. "How dare you assume I can't flamboyantly kill a demon, you brat!" He pointed his finger at her, getting so close that it almost poked her eyes. "Listen up! I need you to lure the demon out! Because surprise-surprise! The demon only likes to eat little girls! Again! Man, you girls sure are a delicacy—guah!"

"Kanamaru." Inori dusted her hands, turning away from the Sound Pillar who she had pushed into a puddle of mud. She may have always kept her garden clean, but mud was inevitable when it had rained recently. "Kindly give Uzui-san a list of our women members before I make an official request to Oyakata-sama for permission to end the Uzui family name."

Kagaya would never give her permission for that, of course, and it wasn't like her kicks could really end an entire bloodline. Plus, she knew that if she even tried to ask Kagaya for permission to do something like that, he would scold her.

Tengen grumbled because it wasn't even his fault. He had tried to do this mission, but neither the village nor the demon would cooperate with him. When he snuck into the cave the demon was rumored to be hiding in, the demon refused to appear. But as if sensing he was being hunted, Tengen returned to the village to see a dozen corpses hung on display.

The demon was clearly warning him, and if Tengen tried to hunt it so directly, more lives would slip past his fingers. He didn't want Inori to do this mission, especially because he knew she was still recovering from her injuries during her recent mission, and was on a slight break. But if he let things continue, more lives would be lost.