They slowly made their way forward. The morning sunlight gently warmed their skin, and the cool summer wind blew against their faces. Estella walked briskly, as if she wanted to avoid contact with them. It was strange, but Kimoko didn’t want to think about it - her thoughts were still circling Kigami. She glanced at him from the corner of her eye. Every step he took was careful, every movement deliberate so as not to aggravate her wound even more.
25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXJPgtmuLIg
Since that night, neither of them had spoken. Kimoko wasn’t sure if it was because of what she had learned about Kigami or because he still felt awful. And yet, even that didn’t explain Estella’s strange behavior.
25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXP4n6f0MpD
She looked at the goddess. Their gazes met - Estella’s large, pleading eyes spoke for themselves.
25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVqQGa04SdK
“Kimoko, can you come over?” Kimoko hesitated. She didn’t want to leave Kigami alone, but she felt that Estella had something important to say.
Kigami noticed her internal conflict and placed a hand on her shoulder.
25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpE1PWBc4wG
“You know you don’t have to watch over me. I’m not a child, I can handle myself.” Kimoko sighed. She didn’t feel like arguing with him, especially when she heard the certainty in his voice. Without further ado, she approached Estella.
25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvtyuN4c8TE
“What’s the matter?” she asked.
25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9GS7i0Bstu
“Quiet, or he’ll hear us,” Estella whispered.
25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjLLQVnVHRW
“Who?” The goddess glanced over her shoulder. Kimoko followed her gaze and felt her face pale.
25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFOPtVpfnTW
Something twisted in Kimoko’s stomach.
25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZrvanGbAiE
“So… it’s him after all.”
Estella turned to her again.
25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5HqU4LuMBW
“I heard your conversation yesterday. I don’t know about you, but I didn’t trust him from the start. Why are you holding on to him? Why didn’t you leave him in Amoria back then?” Kimoko’s throat tightened painfully. She couldn’t get the words out. She felt anger and… disappointment growing inside her.
25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMAzbq3fvCI
“If she treated her brother the same way, then I’m not surprised he left her.”
25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBmNLoFm6MY
“Why should I leave him? Just because he’s a demon?” she asked quietly, though her voice trembled with anger.
25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmSzqgXa2qM
Estella nodded.
25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD3NhPWIYH2
Something inside Kimoko snapped. All the pent-up anger, fear, desperation – everything exploded.
25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0rc9I0v0QE
“Let’s start with the fact that if you could handle Amoria on your own, we wouldn’t have to save you!” she hissed, tears of anger streaming down her cheeks. Her fists clenched so hard that her nails dug into her skin, but she didn’t pay attention to it.
25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3DalSmEx3r
Kigami stepped closer, his face expressing a mixture of shock and worry.
25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAUMtVE7CNZ
“Are you okay?” he asked quietly.
25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG38uElBiRg
Estella nodded, but Kimoko couldn’t pretend she was okay any longer.
25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjwG3LNleac
“Please, Estella. Tell him that to his face. Tell him that you don’t think he deserves to live…
25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyaDnWyQTt4
The wind blew harder, tearing at their clothes and hair.
25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNnMVcPa7c3
Kimoko saw how those words hit Kigami. How his face paled even more, how pain and disbelief mingled in his gaze.
25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTIHzUpcsbK
The first tear rolled down his cheek.
25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOWdzn1Kmu9
“It’s not like that…” Estella began.
25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnNEo8LodJF
But Kigami didn’t let her finish.
25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5sAgP5KzCh
“And how, you fucking rabbit?” he growled. “Is this how you repay me for helping you? For solving your fucking problems that you yourself have screwed up, that you can’t fucking deal with?! If it weren’t for me and Kimoko, you would be done for! But no, instead of a simple “thank you”, you would rather see me dead because I was born a fucking demon!” He took a step towards her and Estella cowered in front of him, but Kimoko wasn’t going to stop him. She didn’t care what he did.
Kigami stopped and looked at her. There was something in his eyes that made Kimoko’s heart stop.
25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGS1UB1Iqnc
“Do I really not deserve to live? Would the world be better without me?”
25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK7rjONCB04
She swallowed hard. Her throat was still tight.
25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8q0y66UvOy
She gently placed her hand on his cheek.
25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXZ159d3a1r
“No…” she whispered, her voice breaking.
25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe3izTVDIPR
Kigami shuddered.
25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTz2Lef4mE0
And then he burst into tears like a child.
25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYllZwzeMOS
“I’m sorry… for my existence…” he replied with a shaky voice.
25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGsuX2RAtyJ
Kimoko felt her own heart break.
25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKYnZEYEJ16
“Kigami, it’s not like that, you didn’t…” Estella began.
25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsXZHXhpGiC
But Kimoko interrupted her.
25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIzhciEZvak
“What else did you mean? Why does everyone immediately assume he’s evil?”
25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnPUaMAKmrZ
“Because I’ve dealt with many people like him!” the goddess snorted. Her voice trembled with anger.
25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgLSaAEm9MQ
Kimoko should have bitten her tongue. She should run away from this argument. But she wasn’t going to do that.
25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgqKVJOSp08
“Maybe that’s why you’re like them,” she whispered. “Maybe that’s why you’re no better than them.” Estella held her breath and Kimoko looked her straight in the eye, Silence fell.
25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWqxwhGQdZG
Only the wind whispered between the trees.
25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuFtA8H0mdr
Estella didn’t take her eyes off Kimoko. Her hands clenched into fists, and the tension between them seemed almost tangible.
25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuAuuFrgl80
“You know nothing about me…” the goddess hissed, and there was more than just anger in her voice.
25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRwr2ngbUhf
“And you know nothing about him,” Kimoko replied sharply, taking a step closer to her. “You treat him like a monster, even though he saved your life. What else does he have to do to make you stop looking at him through the prism of what he is, and not who he is?!”
25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7S0HqT8Sgz
“It’s not about what he did,” Estella clenched her jaw, fighting her emotions. “It’s about what he can do.” Kimoko she gasped.
25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxW1oI4EyV9
“Yes… because you’ve never done anything wrong, have you?” Estella opened her mouth, but couldn’t find an answer.
25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7r63HpROqr
Kigami stood still, as if he hadn’t heard their argument. He stared at the ground, his breath ragged, his shoulders shaking. Kimoko knew the words were still ringing in his head.
25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXpPul2mDcz
He didn’t deserve to live.
25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb78K4MmHur
The world would be better without him.
25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMy6PH7lKnd
She didn’t care whether Estella had thought it through or not. The fact was, she had said what she had thought. And now Kigami was breaking down.
25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTzEEYm0XPk
Kimoko pressed her lips together.
25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFUCVyMei8b
“I don’t want anything to do with you, Estella,” she said finally. Her voice was icy. “Not until you realize how wrong you are.”
25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0jCOwLELft
She turned on her heel and walked over to Kigami.
25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzq4mw3fniG
“Let’s go.” Kigami didn’t answer. He still stood there, as if he hadn’t heard her words.
25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzLJ8KHbV8Y
“Kigami?
She touched his hand, and he finally looked at her. There was emptiness in his eyes.
25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1ZyeHxBcXE
“Let’s just… go,” she whispered.
25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0R3lV4GcTk
Kigami nodded slowly and followed her.
25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡngUp2RQaE3
Estella stayed behind. She didn’t say a word.
25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwMWTMAXv8e
The wind blew again, colder this time. As if a summer morning was giving way to an approaching storm.
25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3pO4l0gYLu
They walked in silence.
25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnl6NPxN92r
Every step seemed heavier, and the air between them was thick with unspoken words. Kimoko felt like she should say something, anything to snap Kigami out of his stupor. But when she looked at his face, at his slumped shoulders and empty gaze, all the words caught in her throat.
25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt5sKTv0Ry5
She couldn’t stand the way he looked at herself.
25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3LBNFvL9Dr
As if he really believed what Estella had said.
25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1CEIwTNkeI
She walked closer to him, her arm almost brushing his, as if to let him know he wasn’t alone.
25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ45ZYxLqAaU
After a moment, she heard a quiet whisper.
25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTqW6Of5h6T
“…What if she’s right?”
25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkIIj1GqGzv
She stopped, as if someone had suddenly ripped her heart out of her chest.
25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0IG2vWGJWE
Kigami stopped too, but didn’t look at her. He was looking somewhere in the distance, into the emptiness in front of him.
25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn1Tw125uqH
“Kigami…”
“What if I really shouldn’t exist? If the world… if you… would be better off without me?”
25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrT0PcC1eXg
Kimoko felt something squeeze inside her.
25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj2SDTeuHS1
“Don’t say that,” she said quietly but firmly.
“But it’s true.”
“It’s not true!” Her voice came out sharper than she intended.
25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkZMfSYrJZV
Kigami finally looked at her, and in his eyes she saw something that terrified her.
25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiO4C3Wi4IA
It wasn’t anger.
25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvZxc9dUZta
It was despair.
25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq3CfD2lkmv
Kimoko felt she had to do something, anything, before that shadow in his eyes swallowed him completely.
25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT5GnjOxDTR
Without thinking, she grabbed his hand and squeezed it tightly. “Kigami, I won’t let you think that way. Do you understand?”
25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTxiYeWQZGH
He didn’t answer.
25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEmsLygxdBz
“ You’re not a monster. You’re not someone who deserves to die. And you’re definitely not someone the world should get rid of.”
25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhiYtfRzJ95
He looked at her silently, as if he was trying to believe her, but something inside him was stopping him from doing so.
25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOUb55rHunS
Kimoko clenched her teeth.
25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsqOuzc1eDt
“ If you can’t believe it yourself… then I will believe it for you.”
25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN7Y83VaoE5
Something stirred in his gaze.
25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzNhMRngRlv
Gently, carefully, he squeezed her hand.
25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFmvh7WA0Pk
And then he moved on, not letting go of her hand.
And although he didn’t say another word, Kimoko felt that this one moment meant more than any conversation.
25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwlWNDrZGgW
Estella walked a few steps behind them, silent. She felt the weight of her own words, their echoes echoing in her head like an unwanted melody.
Did she really want this?
She looked at Kimoko and Kigami, at their clasped hands, at the way the girl tried to steady him, at how his usually unyielding posture now seemed… broken.
25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAFaG9CWxTp
She pressed her lips together.
25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBUriQHN46z
She had been dealing with demons. She had seen their betrayals, their lies, the death they brought. So why couldn’t she feel the same certainty now, looking at Kigami?
25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJbkzt7jvNZ
A doubt was rising in her heart.
25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTphfiNJz9e
“I… I can’t…”
But she couldn’t drown it out. Estella watched them from a distance.
25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGewqUApA3v
She couldn’t hear their conversation, but she could see the way Kimoko looked at Kigami. She saw how gently he held her hand, how his posture, though still tired, seemed a little lighter when she was with him.
25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6ELzi2gNku
She clenched her fingers in her dress.
She didn’t understand it.
She didn’t understand her.
Kimoko was naive. Too trusting.
But was that really a bad thing?
Her brother had been the same way once.
25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBmH5UTFKOm
And how had it ended? for him? for her?
25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlbElOOzWjg
Estella looked away and bit her lip.
25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6MsbwtIGxT
“You’re stupid, Kimoko,” she whispered to herself. “But maybe… maybe I am too.”
ns216.73.216.6da2
