“Bye, bye.” Mirai gave a kiss on the cheek to Kanon as they hugged.

On the same day that evening, the kids had been packing up to leave with Haruma and Grandma Meisa to Grandma Meisa’s friend’s place.

Standing between her friends, Mirai waved to them as they left.

“Grandma never really told us why they had to go, right?” Kazuya asked, and Mirai and Maki nodded. “Then that means we know as much as they know why they have to leave too.”

“It’s for a good thing,” Maki said as she turned around to sit at a table.

Mirai raised a brow. “A good thing?”

Maki realized she had said something she wasn’t supposed to. “I mean, everything Grandma did always had a good reason, right?”

Kazuya and Mirai nodded.

Maki changed the subject. “Since no one’s here to watch the house, should we sleep here until they come back?”

Mirai shook her head. “You two stay here. I’ll sleep in the palace. We need to keep our eyes out on both sides.”

Maki and Kazuya perked up. “Why?”

Maki frowned. “He has his people to watch him. Besides, this is the perfect time for us to raid the kitchen without baba telling us what we can or can’t eat.”

The trio laughed.

Mirai pursed her lips. “But I feel that if… If I don’t…something might happen.”

Kazuya said to her, “We’ll stay here. You can go.”

Maki pouted. “Kazu—”

“It’s okay, Maki.” Kazuya smiled. “This is Mirai we’re talking about.”

Moments later, after thinking, Maki gave in. To Mirai, she said, “Fine. Then come visit us every morning, k?”

Mirai nodded.

“Stay safe too. If you’re having nightmares, light a lantern.”

“Nightmares?” Kazuya asked, intrigued. I’ve been having them too.

Mirai nodded. “Yeah. For some odd reason, I keep having the same nightmare over and over…but the person I see gets older as it repeats.”

“What’s it about?”

“I don’t know. But so far…it’s…like a little girl…trapped in a house that’s…”

Burning in flames, Kazuya answered to himself as she explained.

“On fire,” finished Mirai. “She’s waiting for someone trapped in the house, but she’s scared that she’ll be caught too, so she runs into this thick muddy forest and…I always wake up from there.” Mirai noticed Kazuya wasn’t paying attention to her and was instead staring off into space, something he rarely did. “Kazuya?”

Kazuya came back to reality from the shock of how similar her nightmares were the same as his. “Y…yes?”

“What’s wrong?” Maki asked.

Kazuya touched his forehead. “Ah.” He chuckled. “Speaking of sleep reminds me that I didn’t get enough last night.”

Mirai and Maki laughed.

Mirai sighed. “Well, since you two will stay here, I better start heading back.” She headed to the door. “Bye.”

Kazuya watched her leave. The girl I hate in my dream…is Mirai.

*

Mirai had already informed Jin-sama about the current situation her family was in and was alone in her bedroom. She started to feel a bit lonely, but for some reason, she felt much better to know that her friends were away from her, someone whose origins were unknown. She had already set her futon, and all she needed to do was sleep through the night. However, sleep didn’t seem to be what she wanted to do the most now. Instead, she began her train of thought as she sat on the ledge of her bedroom hallway.

Hideaki-san is a demon who works for another demon…and since he doesn’t have the power to kill, possess, or brand me, that means he’s a lower-leveled demon. If he works for another demon, that also means his master is powerful… The incubus that attacked us a month ago had said that there was a change of plans, and they were aiming for Jin-sama’s people instead of Jin-sama directly. But that was the only attack they’ve ever done.

She sighed as she started to get a migraine from thinking and having no leads. They must be aiming for Umika-sama, but we don’t know if it’s because they know she’s the princess or if it was just out of coincidences. She also won’t give me an answer as to who knows about her social status. She blew a soft raspberry. “I shouldn’t think too much until I have more information.” Before heading back to her room, she looked up at the night sky. “May they get back home safely.”

*

Mirai woke up to a soft knock on her door. She rubbed her eyes and winced when the sun’s rays hit her eyes, making her realize it was way past sunrise, the time she usually woke up. She slid her bedroom door open and was taken aback.

“Ohayou,” Jin-sama politely said. He, Ueda-san, the three generals, and the Royal Demon Slayers were at her doorstep.

Why are they here? “Is there something you need?”

“I want you to walk with us to your house,” answered Jin-sama.

She looked at the facial expressions of everyone, and they avoided her gaze. She looked at the King. “Now?”

“Whenever you’re ready…but,” he paused before he painfully answered, “the sooner…the better.”

“Hai....” She confusingly answered the sudden request and slid the door closed and rested her body on it. The sleepless night she just had caused a bad migraine in the early morning, and it was acting up. She remembered the painful throbs in her head, and the powerful forces encircling her as it into her body last night before falling unconscious into a deep sleep.

Why am I having a headache? She touched her forehead and massaged her temples.

As if things couldn’t get any worst, her katana spoke to her once again. The time has come.

*

When Mirai walked out of the East Wing with the people behind her, she noticed a faint line of white powder, the same powder she used to create a barrier. Is this from yesterday’s training…? She decided to let that thought go since she had a job to do—lead the big group to her house. Ever since she saw them in the morning, she had been curious as to why they would all want to be at her grandmother’s house, especially when Jin-sama already knew that her grandmother wasn’t home…and when they already knew where she lived. She decided to stay quiet and not ask anything because time would tell.

“Where’s your katana?” Jin-sama asked.

Mirai stuttered, “It’s… I don’t need it with me today.” It really spoke! I have to let Grandma know. Just then, comments from the villagers they were passing through made Mirai pay close attention to the scene.

“Did you see what happened this morning?” asked someone.

“It was so big,” said another, “I thought they’d come over here too! I went to look, and almost everything was destroyed. I heard it was a demon that attacked.”

“But what about that family? Are they human?”

“Shh!”

What are they talking about? Did something happen? Mirai realized that as she neared her district, the environment seemed to be much messier with debris on the ground, broken roofs, and even a few houses were wrecked. When she reached her house, she took a step to the side. “Here we are.” She looked at Jin-sama. “Grandma Meisa left last night, but Maki and Kazuya are here.” She went to the door and knocked on it.

Within seconds, as if expecting her, Maki opened the door, looking down.

Mirai, seeing a sad-looking Maki, asked, “What’s wrong?”

She gulped hard before speaking. “Come… Come in.”

Mirai led everyone inside the house. At the top of the staircase, she saw someone that she thought she wouldn’t see until days later. “Haruma?” She ran over in excitement. “Shouldn’t it take days?” That was quick! “Where’s Obaa-sama?”

A sniff from a whimpering Maki made Mirai sense that Haruma’s return wasn’t a happy one.

Mirai tried to throw away all the bad thoughts, but she couldn’t avoid asking Haruma the question she feared to ask. “What’s… Why are you back?”

“Mirai,” said Haruma, firmly. “Obaa-sama… She’s waiting for you…upstairs.”

Without hesitating and with a heavy heart, she ran past Haruma to find her grandmother.

“Is she…” Jin-sama asked him and got an answer from Haruma’s cast-down look. He exhaled. “Let’s leave.”

Haruma stopped them. “You can see her too.” He painfully turned away. “Let’s all see her. One last time.”

As the group landed on the top of the stairs, they saw Mirai standing a few meters from Kazuya at the door, and the group knew she had already gotten the hints of what was in front of her.

But Mirai was scared to take a step inside the room.

Seeing this, Ryosuke couldn’t let her be on the fence of hesitation. Sighing to himself, he walked to her and held her hand. “I’ll go with you.” Although he took a step in, before she did so, she stopped. He looked at her and knew that she dreaded to see the truth, so he gave her hand a squeeze to show that he was with her all the way.

She finally took a step in.

They walked through a small hallway with short steps. As they neared the center of the bedroom, Mirai gradually clung onto Ryosuke.

Finally, they were at the bedside where Grandma Meisa was laid, asleep.

Mirai sighed. So, it wasn’t anything… She walked to her grandmother. “Obaa-sama…” She sat at the bedside. The moment she clasped her hands in her grandmother’s hand, she knew.

Her pause made Maki cry onto Kazuya’s chest, and Kazuya patted her head in return. Haruma looked away in heartache. Jin-sama closed his eyes. Umika and Yuto looked down. The only ones who could look at the depressing scene were the generals, Yuri, and Ryosuke.

Mirai inhaled. “Good night.” She stood up and looked at the audience still standing at the door of the room. “Jin-sama, it is time we make our leave back to the palace.” She walked toward the group. “It’s not safe for you to leave your place for a long time.” At the doorstep, she finally said something related to her Grandmother. “Haruma… What are you going to do?”

“Crush them,” he immediately answered with a threatening tone.

After hearing his answer, she headed out.

“Don’t follow her. Let her be alone…”

Ryosuke glanced out at the window and saw a slowly walking Mirai.

*

“Jin-sama,” said Ueda-san. “Why did you personally want to take her to see her grandmother?”

Everyone was returning to the palace without Mirai this time while Kazuya and Maki were allowed to stay with Haruma.

Jin-sama looked up at the clear blue sky. “The kids would be in more pain if they had to personally tell her what happened to their grandmother, the person who raised them.” He looked at the villagers moving in and about. “I did that to ease one less painful thing they would have had to do.”

“Jin-sama,” began Yuri, “the fight this morning with those mons—demons should’ve been loud enough for her to wake up to. But why didn’t she?”

This was the question everyone but Jin-sama had been wondering about, and the fight Yuri mentioned was a fight that had happened in the morning before sunrise, the same fight that led to Grandma Meisa’s demise.

Jin-sama sighed with his head lowered. “It’s not that she didn’t hear or didn’t know… She wasn’t allowed to.”

Ryosuke raised a brow. “What do you mean?”

Jin-sama looked at them. “They first attacked Kazuya and Maki because they knew Mirai, Meisa, and Haruma-san weren’t with them. What they didn’t know was that Meisa and Haruma were waiting for them to plan their attack.” He stopped and said, “We’ll continue this privately in my room.”

Privately? Even though Ryosuke wanted to ask this, he went along. Everyone has seen what had happened already.

Umika went to him and whispered, “Ne… Why did you…”

He waited for her to continue.

“Never mind. I forgot.” Why did you take her hand?

*

“I would like to take this time to declare that it’ll be the last time we speak of what had happened this morning to lessen the spread of a demon invasion to cease fear,” explained Jin-sama to the palace workers and imperial guards in the Royal Throne Hall. “I want everyone to head outside, be more alert, and calm our people.”

The palace workers and imperial guards saluted Jin-sama and left.

Once the hall was clear, Jin-sama continued his explanation to his generals, the Royal Demon Slayers, and Ueda-san, “Treat Mirai-san the same way you’ve been treating her all along.”

“Why?!” Ryosuke asked. He believed this was a perfect chance to show his Momoka side to her even though he knew the incident was an incident he shouldn’t be thankful for. He composed himself when all eyes were on him.

“She’s not someone who needs your pity, nor will you need to pity her. She’s a strong girl with a strong resolve. She won’t and doesn’t give in to things like this.”

“Things like this?” questioned Umika. “But, Father, this is her grandmother’s death we’re talking about. How can she not show any sign of sorrow?” She thought back to when she was still in the bedroom looking at the scene of Mirai and her grandmother. She had thought she’d get to see Mirai cry and hoped that it would help make her confirm that Mirai was humane enough to have emotions, and thus, couldn’t be a demon.

“Of course, this is a sorrowful event, but, Umika…some people aren’t like you—holding onto the moment and living in the past. She’s the kind who can accept the truth, move on, and continue to look forward to the future with the past.”

“Jin-sama,” intervened General Chinen, “what did you mean when you said that Mirai-san wasn’t allowed?” Like his son, he was always sharp and attentive in any vital information that was unanswered.

“Ah, yes.” He stood up from his throne. “This was something I’ve been wanting to inform you all and no one else. I’m sure you’ve heard of this, but…there is a rumor that someone in the palace is working closely with the other side.”

“Is that true?” Yuri asked. It was the first time he had heard of it.

“O-tou-san.” Umika had heard of it and had always hoped that it wouldn’t ever come true. “Are you saying…”

“The fight this morning was a countermeasure to bring out the human working with the demons,” added the King. “But what wasn’t planned was her…demise.”

Ueda-san gasped.

“This had been our talk ever since Haruma was severely wounded after getting caught spying, and from his spying, he found out that someone from the palace had ratted him out to the Demon King, Jun Matsumoto, so Matsumoto-san personally fought with Haruma, and Haruma thinly escaped death.”

“Haruma was a spy for you?” Yuto asked.

“He isn’t a spy for anyone. He was trying to get information on something Meisa had been researching for years.”

“Does it have something to do with ‘The One’?” General Chinen asked.

“The One?” everyone asked.

“Father,” said Yuri, “you know about it too?”

“You’ve heard of it, Yuri?” his father asked in return.

“I’ve told them about it,” Jin-sama commented. “I think it’s time this legend was told. It is the generation.”

“The generation?” Umika asked. She felt the beat of her heart palpitate against her chest in fright.

The adults stayed quiet and couldn’t lock eyes with anyone until Jin-sama nodded.

“Unfortunately,” said the King, “you are that generation of the legends. But about Meisa’s research, it was not related to ‘The One’. She never expanded on it.”

“So, is their target, Haruma?” asked Ryosuke. “Because he had escaped?” He wanted to know if Mirai would be safe. Just having it confirmed was all that he needed.

Jin-sama paused again. For the first time, he looked uncomfortable with answering the questions. “Their target was the entire family.”

“And Meisa-san didn’t know that?” Ueda-san asked, slightly in disbelief.

“She did know… That was why she used the idea of taking the small children out of the village as a tactic to persuade the demons in hiding to show up. She already knew there were some in town, and they had eyes on her and her family. That was why she had Maki and Kazuya run back to the East Wing and put a barrier to not let Mirai out to hide everything that was happening. It was to keep her safe.”

“Your highness,” an imperial guard interrupted their deep conversation. Behind him was Haruma, who stood with an unchanged expression. “This man would like to speak with you privately.”

Jin-sama walked down, and as Ueda-san followed, he said, “I like to speak alone with Haruma.”

Ueda-san obeyed and let the two walk away. “I guess I’ll go finish my job.” He turned around to the audience and said, “I’ll take my leave now.”

General Yamada eyed his son. “Ryosuke, you have practice tonight. Make it on time.” He left, and his fellow generals followed.

“I’ll be back before dinner.” Ryosuke immediately took his leave.

“Where are you going?” Umika asked.

“To look at something.” I want to make sure she’s okay.

“To look at something?” Yuto repeated. “That’s the strangest reason he’s ever given us.” He exhaled. “Well, I have to go too.” It’s getting late soon. He laughed. “I also have to look at something.”

Yuri stood beside Umika. “Are you afraid?”

She didn’t look at him because she knew what he was referring to. “About?”

“The reincarnation.”

She let out a laugh. “Of course.”

“I know you’re scared,” he said and gave her a back hug. “But don’t worry. I’m here.” Please, rely on me. Don’t look at someone who won’t look back at you.

*

Where could she be? Ryosuke looked around in haste as he hoped to get a glimpse of a walking Mirai somewhere on the streets. He stopped powerwalking when he passed by something he didn’t expect to see—the Sakura Garden. I couldn’t find this place after the Hanami event... How come I can find it now? He decided to enter, but an elderly la