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.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1ySgclbbno
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.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6pFcl1O5iJ
She looked at the goddess. Their gazes met - Estella’s large, pleading eyes spoke for themselves.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzG04ZT2ad2
“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.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5eUXDj7F1u
“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.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ61UKS8E9VV
“What’s the matter?” she asked.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjpfau7p3ch
“Quiet, or he’ll hear us,” Estella whispered.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtYUFbpmZ2D
“Who?” The goddess glanced over her shoulder. Kimoko followed her gaze and felt her face pale.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkIf6znoTfI
Something twisted in Kimoko’s stomach.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiQeg0bqDQL
“So… it’s him after all.”
Estella turned to her again.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDCYE1SMtTP
“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.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQAXGVCPjfE
“If she treated her brother the same way, then I’m not surprised he left her.”
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrpz8rPRRHf
“Why should I leave him? Just because he’s a demon?” she asked quietly, though her voice trembled with anger.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhUdUaoRnEs
Estella nodded.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkMDOEeNz6G
Something inside Kimoko snapped. All the pent-up anger, fear, desperation – everything exploded.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpYzm9cKyvz
“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.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡliQXN4xGHF
Kigami stepped closer, his face expressing a mixture of shock and worry.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVmDZWIhoO0
“Are you okay?” he asked quietly.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbY3W5wibeX
Estella nodded, but Kimoko couldn’t pretend she was okay any longer.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvC5CJ20vT5
“Please, Estella. Tell him that to his face. Tell him that you don’t think he deserves to live…
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJCS7z6N6EL
The wind blew harder, tearing at their clothes and hair.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP5FCGCCeKo
Kimoko saw how those words hit Kigami. How his face paled even more, how pain and disbelief mingled in his gaze.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKMVYNsHZx8
The first tear rolled down his cheek.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwT7Yvt4y4o
“It’s not like that…” Estella began.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0CM4yDzw10
But Kigami didn’t let her finish.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlrlPKnykAo
“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.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7U1YzvfA7F
“Do I really not deserve to live? Would the world be better without me?”
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCOxAHoF6u0
She swallowed hard. Her throat was still tight.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkdQYVryr4r
She gently placed her hand on his cheek.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiAW9GDqQV9
“No…” she whispered, her voice breaking.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXNIs5JUe4K
Kigami shuddered.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmLP2Wz5eaO
And then he burst into tears like a child.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ89yvDqVNF3
“I’m sorry… for my existence…” he replied with a shaky voice.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuEVHXvkjyz
Kimoko felt her own heart break.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQNAM1AXRor
“Kigami, it’s not like that, you didn’t…” Estella began.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZwD1kkflIq
But Kimoko interrupted her.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSfvd434KxL
“What else did you mean? Why does everyone immediately assume he’s evil?”
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUqstrmbvkh
“Because I’ve dealt with many people like him!” the goddess snorted. Her voice trembled with anger.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwou0PDUuUb
Kimoko should have bitten her tongue. She should run away from this argument. But she wasn’t going to do that.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK1LsnRwvvA
“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.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUGj00X4Ekq
Only the wind whispered between the trees.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7JNPioe6rx
Estella didn’t take her eyes off Kimoko. Her hands clenched into fists, and the tension between them seemed almost tangible.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwNCVZWN5EC
“You know nothing about me…” the goddess hissed, and there was more than just anger in her voice.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCAYy2Mn2Yt
“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?!”
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTsyLu1zwxR
“It’s not about what he did,” Estella clenched her jaw, fighting her emotions. “It’s about what he can do.” Kimoko she gasped.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTqai93w0bd
“Yes… because you’ve never done anything wrong, have you?” Estella opened her mouth, but couldn’t find an answer.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0Sr5ZGyVYi
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.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxLxXAubiVc
He didn’t deserve to live.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhq5nwUMmGc
The world would be better without him.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkGam7qz7x2
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.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ8YHYEFrhE
Kimoko pressed her lips together.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2ID7zDa846
“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.”
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEw0NAumG4X
She turned on her heel and walked over to Kigami.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0F1gJCb5o0
“Let’s go.” Kigami didn’t answer. He still stood there, as if he hadn’t heard her words.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ22wpYMYn1P
“Kigami?
She touched his hand, and he finally looked at her. There was emptiness in his eyes.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ44kUrxFOoU
“Let’s just… go,” she whispered.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXDw8R2BqFP
Kigami nodded slowly and followed her.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9d1plwuzLu
Estella stayed behind. She didn’t say a word.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtxThvzOcTm
The wind blew again, colder this time. As if a summer morning was giving way to an approaching storm.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgZ8XnyrSn6
They walked in silence.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3uZm9PMOyf
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.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGyIZ3DNo0A
She couldn’t stand the way he looked at herself.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGxABneDdhO
As if he really believed what Estella had said.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAlOgWNTt90
She walked closer to him, her arm almost brushing his, as if to let him know he wasn’t alone.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa1tHz8PMbw
After a moment, she heard a quiet whisper.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHaxFjhQZnj
“…What if she’s right?”
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWs3bIcgqmp
She stopped, as if someone had suddenly ripped her heart out of her chest.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf9i3G4RlYJ
Kigami stopped too, but didn’t look at her. He was looking somewhere in the distance, into the emptiness in front of him.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0fAC0c0ivY
“Kigami…”
“What if I really shouldn’t exist? If the world… if you… would be better off without me?”
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAqvQGmG8AY
Kimoko felt something squeeze inside her.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwWHdzgYIqf
“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.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJcj2tP4xKN
Kigami finally looked at her, and in his eyes she saw something that terrified her.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzzuJZJbSjE
It wasn’t anger.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0Sx41pxHzA
It was despair.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqoHVawN3Gn
Kimoko felt she had to do something, anything, before that shadow in his eyes swallowed him completely.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡurg8n7mmOh
Without thinking, she grabbed his hand and squeezed it tightly. “Kigami, I won’t let you think that way. Do you understand?”
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUWRPP5nAXK
He didn’t answer.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1FXY4Itgb0
“ 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.”
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgGCD1y2SZL
He looked at her silently, as if he was trying to believe her, but something inside him was stopping him from doing so.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqfs1EZKDj0
Kimoko clenched her teeth.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiW3HHUFuDQ
“ If you can’t believe it yourself… then I will believe it for you.”
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmnT5pIG8lR
Something stirred in his gaze.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7zDgfPMqk5
Gently, carefully, he squeezed her hand.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv5M5PPYSc6
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.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYOJC8G4olG
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.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEPkjQDVLI1
She pressed her lips together.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuTT25oGFco
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?
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeT1ODKZJBd
A doubt was rising in her heart.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPAA8vJwat7
“I… I can’t…”
But she couldn’t drown it out. Estella watched them from a distance.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJr22o07FbS
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.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLNVLtHnMp1
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.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHqYEh66iEZ
And how had it ended? for him? for her?
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj42VUeb3wx
Estella looked away and bit her lip.
55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡehuYJKiJqf
“You’re stupid, Kimoko,” she whispered to herself. “But maybe… maybe I am too.”
ns216.73.216.109da2
