Ryosuke woke up with stabbing pains over his body. He looked around his environment and saw that he was in a room but not in his usual room—or any room he was familiar with. He touched where his pain was throbbing from and felt a thick bandage over it. Touching the bandage made him gasp as he remembered that he was fighting a bakeneko to save his and Mirai’s life. He sat up straight in the futon he was in and desperately searched for her. If he was saved, she should be too.

Right?

“Kazuya,” said a female voice, making Ryosuke pause at where he was, and he realized the voice came from behind the door of the room. “You go check. If you go in, Grandma won’t get mad.”

“Baka,” said another voice from the same place. This time, it was a boy. “Grandma told us to not go in at all.”

Ryosuke got up, slowly, and carefully headed to the door. Pressing his ear to the door, he continued to listen.

“I want to know what’s going to happen to Mi-chan,” the girl said, almost whining.

Mi-chan…? Ryosuke patiently waited as he hesitated to open the door.

“Let’s go back downstairs,” said the boy. “We need to take care of the customers since Haruma and obaa-sama are up here.”

All Ryosuke heard next was some shuffling noises, and seconds later, the noises stopped. He looked around the room once more. Eyeing the small window, he went to it and checked outside and confirmed he was still in Heisan. He then looked for the palace, the place where he needed to be before sunset. There, he could try to find Mirai with the help of his friends.

“On him first?” someone at the door said. It was a male, a more grown-up kind of male.

Ryosuke jumped and froze. Instinct told him that a sound he made could cost him his life.

Another response, from a lady this time, said, “No, we’ll do Mirai first.”

Sensing that Mirai would be in danger, Ryosuke limped to the door, putting a hand over his wound. He gasped silently. “Mirai?! They have Mirai?” As he silently waited for the noise outside the door to settle down, he opened the door cautiously. Peeking, he glanced to his right. It led downstairs, and he could hear the loud chatter. Deciding that downstairs was the wrong place, he glanced to the left and saw a hallway with more rooms.

There was no one in sight.

He walked out, not making a sound, and knew he had to go through each room to find her, but when his eyes caught a room with a cracked door, he targeted it. Leisurely waiting outside the door for signs that she was in the room, the same voices from before conversed again.

“Baba,” said the man. “You know it won’t be gone forever. The locket’s already full. It can’t hold any more memories.”

“I know,” the lady said. There was a long pause. “But I can be one.”

“Baba! If a mere human uses its powers and isn’t a brand or a possessed, it shortens the life span of the user!”

Ryosuke’s eyes widened as he trembled in fear. Was he captured by demons pretending to be humans? He had to inform his father quickly so that the village would be safe. But he wouldn’t leave without his friend first.

“Haruma…” the lady said, “I’m already old, and I promised Yukie I would protect her child from him.” The lady sighed. “You also know that she mustn’t befriend anyone else anymore or else it’ll affect how she would respond to when she knows the truth.”

Mirai…can’t befriend anyone? thought Ryosuke. Is that why she didn’t tell me her name in the beginning? He slightly pushed open the door more, hoping to get a better listen or else his confusion would drive him crazy.

“You’re the only one who knows about her situation,” continued the lady, “and you also know that if I don’t take away her memories with that child Demon Slayer in training, who knows what kind of harm would come to them, and then, to the entire village, if her existence was to be found. It’s for the best for both sides.”

“I understand.” The man finally consented after many paused.

Ryosuke barged in. “No! Don’t take away her memories!” He immediately fell to his knees due to pain. “I don’t want her to forget about me!” Glaring up at the adults, he exclaimed, “Why are you doing this to her?!”

“Yamada, Ryosuke,” the elderly lady said. “Arigatou for helping Mirai-chan. And for being a wonderful friend.” She stood up. “But gomen ne sai. This would be the last.”

Ryosuke felt his body unable to move as if paralyzed and saw her make her way to him. He whimpered as her hand came near his forehead, and he looked at the heavily breathing Mirai on the bed. “No, onegai!” He continuously begged. “Don’t—don’t—!”

*

Ryosuke found himself walking toward the palace, though, his body wasn’t in his control. As he walked, he realized that he was limping and had a bandage wrapped around his body, and his stomach throbbed with pain. But he didn’t know how he had gotten those wounds. Seconds later, just right before his legs took a step on the palace stairs, Jin-sama called out his name.

“Ryosuke!” Jin-sama exclaimed. Behind him was Ueda-san, General Yamada, Jin-sama’s daughter Umika, Yuri, and Yuto.

As if Jin-sama calling Ryosuke’s name unbound his body from something that had seemed to control his body, Ryosuke fell in exhaustion, and his father rushed down to receive him, picking him up.

Umika grabbed tight of her father’s robe, hiding behind it. “O-tou-san, is he okay? What happened to him?”

“Umika,” Jin-sama began, in his Shogun tone. “Go stay with Lady Hana for a while.” He faced Ueda-san. “Ueda-san, gather the generals and the Royal Demon Slayers to my room. I have something to discuss.”

“Hai,” Ueda-san said, making his move.

Jin-sama looked at the heavily wounded Ryosuke being carried off by General Yamada. Meisa…thank you, for saving Ryosuke.

*

“Are you awake?” A little girl’s voice was heard nearby Ryosuke as he winced. “Are they too loud? Or are you cold?”

Ryosuke managed to open his eyes and saw Umika, the princess and daughter of Jin-sama. “Umika-sama…?”

“And Yuto!” Yuto shouted.

Ryosuke looked in the direction where Yuto was heard and saw that beside him is Yuri, who waved to him. With Ryosuke’s bedroom door slid all the way opened, Yuto and Yuri were outside playing with firecrackers.

“We didn’t want to leave you alone,” said Umika.

“Alone?” Ryosuke sat up and noticed that he’d been bandaged, so he questioned it. “Umika-sama, what’s wrong with me?”

“You were hurt when you came back.”

“Hurt?” He blinked. “When?”

“This evening.” She clasped her hands in his. “Where did you go? Why didn’t you come to us when you promised to?”

“I did. I was walking to where Yuto-san told me—”

A huge firecracker burst in the air from a distance away.

“Firecrackers?”

“That’s right,” said Yuto. “Today’s Hanami day. We stayed behind so that if you wake up, you won’t feel left out.”

Hanami…day… “I… We…”

“We were supposed to meet up to see the Hanami event together, remember?” asked Umika.

Seeing Umika’s face up close somehow made him feel as if he was missing something. No… Hanami day…I was supposed to see it with…He looked into the eyes of Umika’s. Who was it…?

“What’s… What’s wrong?”

Ryosuke shook his head. “…Nothing.” He stared at the sky blossoming with various firecrackers. As one bloomed into a petal-like shaped form, guilt overwhelmed him.

*

“Mi-chan, you’re awake?” Grandma Meisa asked near the bedside. “Don’t stand up. You’re still recovering.”

“Recovering?” Mirai questioned. She touched her body and felt the binding around her. “What’s wrong—Momoka!!!”

“Momoka?”

She struggled to sit up. “Obaa-chan, Momoka—my friend Momoka! She’s—”

“Your friend?”

“Momoka…died.” She grabbed her grandmother. “Did she?”

“…Hai. Gomenasai.”

*

Ryosuke winced from something shining against his closed eyes and felt something cold against his neck. He woke up and saw Mirai standing in front of him with a serious expression across her face.

She was holding a katana at his neck. “What are you doing here?”

He sat up and pat his clothes free. I thought I would wake up first. “I-I was just here...to check.”

“If you’re here to check for something, why were you asleep?”

“I’m—I was tired. Look, I didn’t mean any harm.” He looked around. “This place is beautiful, isn’t it?” He purposely changed the subject to a more welcoming one for them. “I haven’t seen this place for a while.”

She placed the katana back into its cover, and he realized it was his katana and not hers.

He pointed to his katana. “Why did you use mine? Why didn’t you use yours?”

“I don’t have mine.” She turned around, ready to head back.

“Wait.” He didn’t know what to say to get her to stay with him for a while.

“Do you think I’m human?” she asked with a low voice without turning around. She wanted to avoid looking at him. “Or do you think I’m—”

“It doesn’t matter which you are.” He smiled even though he knew she couldn’t see him. “As long as you are yourself...I’m sure the people around you would still love you no matter what.”

She silently inhaled and left.

*

“Haruma?” Mirai had slid their door open and saw him sitting with Maki.

Kazuya was nowhere in sight.

Haruma saw Mirai and looked at Maki. “Maki, can you check the Sakura Garden for me? I might’ve left something.”

“What?” questioned Maki, almost frowning.

“You’ll know when you see it.”

“Do you need me to do anything?” Mirai asked.

“I’d like to speak with you,” said Haruma to Mirai. Then he turned to Maki. “Hurry, Kazuya’s waiting for you at the entrance already.”

Maki left them alone.

Once Maki disappeared, he looked at Mirai. “Do you have anything you want to ask or say?”

Mirai shook her head. It was too painful to speak of her Grandmother. As she looked down, she caught one of his hands holding onto a clip, a clip she usually wore when she visited the grave of her deceased grandmother’s deceased friend, the same friend Haruma would have their grandmother buried right next to. “The clip...”

He handed it to her. “I want you to keep it. I’m cleaning out Baba’s stuff and since this is yours, I’m giving it to you.” He walked to her, opened her palm, and gently placed it on her hand. “But don’t wear it anymore.”

“Why?”

“Because Baba isn’t here,” he said the cold reality. “Wear it only when you’re visiting her grave...and alone in the Sakura Garden.”

She knew that even if she were to ask, he wouldn’t give her an answer. She accepted it and held it tightly. She had always thought that she’d get an answer from her grandmother about the importance of the clip. She knew it wasn’t her Grandmother’s, but it belonged to her Grandmother’s deceased friend, and she wanted to know why she would be given the friend’s clip to keep when they had no relationship together.

“This one too.” Haruma took another piece of jewelry out—a locket.

“It’s not mine though.”

“It’s yours now.”

She hesitated to accept it. Just looking at it brought fear, and she didn’t know why.

He held onto the frantic Mirai. “You don’t have to wear it. But you do have to keep good care of it.” Like what he did to the clip, he placed it gently onto her palm. “But never open it.”

Don’t open it...? Why did I know that...? She curiously looked at it. It looked familiar to her, strangely and fearfully familiar to her.

“Haruma,” said Maki with Kazuya “There’s nothing for us to get. Why’d you make us—” She stopped when she saw items in her friend’s hand.

“I forgot,” lied Haruma. “I have it with me.”

“Have what?” asked Mirai, looking around him quickly as her friends came over.

“Listen.” Haruma looked up with a serious complexion. “From now on, be prepared.”

*

Weeks later, almost everything was back to its pace.

Except for one thing.

Grandma Meisa.

The kids had lost their only guardian and were now alone. It had been silently and unanimously accepted that Haruma was going to be the next one in charge.

Today was the last day of the funeral ritual. Just like how Haruma had planned and how Grandma Meisa had asked for, the funeral didn’t follow tradition and was only open to the people Haruma invited. It was a very closed and private funeral for reasons only Haruma and Grandma Meisa knew and wanted to keep, and the people invited were Jin-sama, Ueda-san, the generals, and the Royal Demon Slayers.

Haruma had made a grave for Grandma Meisa in the Sakura Garden, right alongside another grave the family knew was a friend of their grandmother. They had never met her personally but when they were kids, their grandmother had talked a lot about her to them, especially to Mirai.

Despite it being a funeral and everyone having a task, Mirai had nothing to do. She didn’t need to work, and Haruma had explained that it was best if she stayed alone to keep her rough personality intact since they’d be having an audience during the wake.

On the last day, it was Mirai’s turn to do her praying for the farewell, and she smelled something that hinted to her that humans weren’t the only ones present.

A demonic being was there too.

Just then, Haruma jumped over and pushed Mirai to the ground, and panic was set free.

The Royal Demon Slayers surrounded Jin-sama, and the generals became on guard.

Haruma looked up and glared at a feminine figure at top of the tallest Sakura tree. “I told you that I would deal with her.”

Mirai stood up and also glared at the intruder.