23. In Front of Death

The moon was high in the sky. With no clouds and a full moon, the night was brighter than usual. The streetlights were there—not as bright as modern ones, but they still did the job well. However, the lights mounted on electric poles were not close to one another, creating dark blind spots in between.

On this dark road, two figures walked, talking with each other.

"And then, he blushed and shouted at me, 'I didn't do it! Don't look at me!' His actions were too funny when he was a child."

"To think Kotaro-sama was like that during his childhood…"

Mitsuri listened as Aiko talked about the past, recalling the time when Kotaro was a child adopted by her. Listening to Aiko's words about his childhood days, Mitsuri just couldn't believe it.

Kotaro is so mature, even more so than others his age. She just couldn't imagine him peeing on the futon and crying about it.

But it was the truth. After all, the one telling her this was the "mother" of Kotaro-sama.

"It's unbelievable, right?"

"Yes. O-Oh, I mean n-no…"

Aiko guessed Mitsuri's thoughts and asked her suddenly, making her flustered as she tried to decide whether she should agree or not as his wife.

"Hahaha! Mitsuri-chan, you're really cute, trying to be considerate of Kotaro?"

Her actions made Aiko smile, and she could see why Kotaro willingly married this girl. Mitsuri, hearing her remark, blushed but then agreed with her words.

"Well… I don't know whether I should laugh at him as his wife."

The trauma and rejection from being different from socially defined womanly values still made Mitsuri reserved.

"Huh? You're worried about this?!"

"Y-Yes."

While Mitsuri was worried, Aiko was shocked by the girl's indecisiveness and lack of confidence. Seeing her like this, Aiko decided to help her.

She was no longer just the mother of one, but of two—a son and a daughter. And she helped Mitsuri the way she helped everyone.

"You idiot! You can laugh as much as you want—heck, you can even beat him, and Kotaro won't do a thing. I know him very well. I've seen him since childhood. He isn't like typical men. After all, if he were, he wouldn't have married you, right?"

Aiko said with a smirk, and her words echoed in Mitsuri's head. Mitsuri realized that she was right. Kotaro-sama accepted her knowing all of her sides, unlike others.

If he didn't love her wholeheartedly, he wouldn't have done it. And since she now has someone who loves her for who she is, there's no reason to hide her genuine self.

"Hmm. You're right, Aiko-san."

"That's right. That's the way. I like you, my daughter-in-law!"

Slap!

Aiko playfully slapped Mitsuri's back, causing her to release a cute moan, and then both of them laughed as they walked home.

But—

Whoosh!

"Huh?"

Mitsuri suddenly turned back, feeling someone behind her. Aiko, who was walking ahead, stopped when she noticed Mitsuri had paused, so she turned and asked her,

"What happened, Mitsuri-chan?"

"O-Oh! I felt like someone was behind me."

"Behind you? There's no one there."

Aiko looked behind Mitsuri and saw nothing but an empty road. But then she turned ahead, and—

"Wah!!"

"Aiko-san!"

Mitsuri rushed to catch the surprised Aiko, and looked ahead.

"Hehehe~ Humans… Haven't you heard that nights are dangerous?"

With a weird, wicked laugh, the figure, no longer human but human-like, looked at them with predator eyes.

The being's body was dark—very dark—with strange marks on it, and its teeth were sharp as it opened its mouth and licked them with its tongue.

"W-Who are you?"

Mitsuri, afraid but still covering Aiko, stood in front. She was shivering but still courageously asked the figure in front of her.

"Me… I am someone who eats humans, a demon!"

"A D-Demon?!"

Mitsuri heard the term for the first time and didn't know what it was, but Aiko, who saw it, understood it was the being she had heard about from the tales of her friends.

A being that comes out at night, looks inhuman, and hunts humans—a demon. And in those tales, demons are beings who eat humans.

She always assumed those tales were imaginary, after all, wandering many nights, she had never met any demons. But just because she hadn't encountered one didn't mean they didn't exist.

"Oh! Two women. I've encountered a feast today~"

The demon stepped slowly forward, and both of them retreated backwards. Mitsuri was afraid, while Aiko grabbed her hand to calm her and pulled her to stand behind her.

She raised her hand towards the demon to warn him.

"Don't come any closer! Mitsuri, stand behind me!"

"Oh, courageous! Seeing you unafraid makes me want to watch you suffer before consuming you."

The look in the demon's eyes… The eyes that regarded her as nothing but prey made Aiko shiver.

'What should I do?'

Seeing how quickly it appeared in front of them showed how abnormally fast it was. In the tales she'd heard, demons were super strong, super fast, and couldn't die by any means except the sun.

If that's true, then…

'Will I die today?'

Her body trembled. Aiko knew she would die someday, but never thought it would be this way. Facing death so closely, fear enveloped her.

She wanted to run away, hoping she might be able to get away from the demon. But…

[Aunt Aiko, take care of her.]

For some reason, she remembered the words Kotaro had said to her when she left with Mitsuri. Aiko turned to see Mitsuri shivering in fear, relying on her support.

'Damn, that kid! If I don't live up to his words, that boy will give me a new nickname. Sigh! Such a hard life!'

She took a deep breath to prepare herself for the upcoming outcome.

And with that, she released Mitsuri's hand, making Mitsuri stunned. But then she heard Aunt Aiko uttering the words—

"Mitsuri-chan, run."

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A/N:

I had assignments to complete, and being a student pursuing dual degrees isn't easy. But still, these are just excuses, and I am at fault.

I'm sorry for the delay, but I hope you enjoy it now.

And my condolences to Aunt Aiko. It hurts me but for the sake of character development... Sigh! I am a scum.