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.
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡluvnLXWwDk
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.
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlH9jOtHVu7
She looked at the goddess. Their gazes met - Estella’s large, pleading eyes spoke for themselves.
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBNx46EwH0G
“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.
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlh8wsV06B5
“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.
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYW4aPw37K7
“What’s the matter?” she asked.
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1Ipn9WMSsN
“Quiet, or he’ll hear us,” Estella whispered.
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaGs7maJgyP
“Who?” The goddess glanced over her shoulder. Kimoko followed her gaze and felt her face pale.
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT8cdu8sMGp
Something twisted in Kimoko’s stomach.
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSceoiBbSaO
“So… it’s him after all.”
Estella turned to her again.
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJIvRgQ1xuW
“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.
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDW1BQLGNZY
“If she treated her brother the same way, then I’m not surprised he left her.”
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0p7xnAQ4Vk
“Why should I leave him? Just because he’s a demon?” she asked quietly, though her voice trembled with anger.
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF9DTBOhHjW
Estella nodded.
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRWvcm5zvmm
Something inside Kimoko snapped. All the pent-up anger, fear, desperation – everything exploded.
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOCh3TnlQnm
“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.
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZeCbzuacIh
Kigami stepped closer, his face expressing a mixture of shock and worry.
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd7yRcWknND
“Are you okay?” he asked quietly.
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmg2H36llqq
Estella nodded, but Kimoko couldn’t pretend she was okay any longer.
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5jJsghXQ26
“Please, Estella. Tell him that to his face. Tell him that you don’t think he deserves to live…
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb5zgKtoMHn
The wind blew harder, tearing at their clothes and hair.
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQEUitz0a6F
Kimoko saw how those words hit Kigami. How his face paled even more, how pain and disbelief mingled in his gaze.
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡznEQ9WGIeQ
The first tear rolled down his cheek.
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyvSNeFVIjN
“It’s not like that…” Estella began.
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡduZ74HKXXs
But Kigami didn’t let her finish.
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgiJnCFfda1
“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.
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv9DVJykSul
“Do I really not deserve to live? Would the world be better without me?”
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuAOoStxhEu
She swallowed hard. Her throat was still tight.
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOIRWzEFUEN
She gently placed her hand on his cheek.
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrdOYmSaM52
“No…” she whispered, her voice breaking.
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiX6jRVLILo
Kigami shuddered.
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvZaYGm4eVS
And then he burst into tears like a child.
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK4s27bCCZ1
“I’m sorry… for my existence…” he replied with a shaky voice.
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqKTR9XbDYy
Kimoko felt her own heart break.
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHizHtvEfHI
“Kigami, it’s not like that, you didn’t…” Estella began.
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpDwerAIOBp
But Kimoko interrupted her.
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNuQx4lybq9
“What else did you mean? Why does everyone immediately assume he’s evil?”
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB3bcHoTHeo
“Because I’ve dealt with many people like him!” the goddess snorted. Her voice trembled with anger.
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuudQ4g3mOx
Kimoko should have bitten her tongue. She should run away from this argument. But she wasn’t going to do that.
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNnrjUZsWi4
“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.
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvTp49b27kt
Only the wind whispered between the trees.
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhUaeSLOFs4
Estella didn’t take her eyes off Kimoko. Her hands clenched into fists, and the tension between them seemed almost tangible.
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl3Sx9Q3Myo
“You know nothing about me…” the goddess hissed, and there was more than just anger in her voice.
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg5jaOCIxwX
“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?!”
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxnkwtiIFlk
“It’s not about what he did,” Estella clenched her jaw, fighting her emotions. “It’s about what he can do.” Kimoko she gasped.
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡncjBhiXBu3
“Yes… because you’ve never done anything wrong, have you?” Estella opened her mouth, but couldn’t find an answer.
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡegBJwg4miD
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.
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEA1BtU6qnf
He didn’t deserve to live.
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIjRxEi3Gcs
The world would be better without him.
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdASwDPhHyb
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.
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAYKcgBM62B
Kimoko pressed her lips together.
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCTaMgQWyON
“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.”
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtwkvJnYzJ0
She turned on her heel and walked over to Kigami.
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAKe6xTVpL6
“Let’s go.” Kigami didn’t answer. He still stood there, as if he hadn’t heard her words.
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd7YkWvj4Iv
“Kigami?
She touched his hand, and he finally looked at her. There was emptiness in his eyes.
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKzCfkwXm4k
“Let’s just… go,” she whispered.
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFkeiJVjg2D
Kigami nodded slowly and followed her.
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBdsYDPzqAL
Estella stayed behind. She didn’t say a word.
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ60L3emeqkL
The wind blew again, colder this time. As if a summer morning was giving way to an approaching storm.
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOG86oEbP6N
They walked in silence.
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKWHxDsUPr9
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.
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY3N1GKBzI7
She couldn’t stand the way he looked at herself.
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfw8P0vSxap
As if he really believed what Estella had said.
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqdy2QHl2Vn
She walked closer to him, her arm almost brushing his, as if to let him know he wasn’t alone.
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz9YH6vSADo
After a moment, she heard a quiet whisper.
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqEzw4XKHi2
“…What if she’s right?”
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfyUAP4avzU
She stopped, as if someone had suddenly ripped her heart out of her chest.
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC186gz3Fcj
Kigami stopped too, but didn’t look at her. He was looking somewhere in the distance, into the emptiness in front of him.
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn3fa6fhFYQ
“Kigami…”
“What if I really shouldn’t exist? If the world… if you… would be better off without me?”
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSHCrPHNgUq
Kimoko felt something squeeze inside her.
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwHizJ3VahP
“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.
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF6wrWa1rM5
Kigami finally looked at her, and in his eyes she saw something that terrified her.
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEP0U1AZbdu
It wasn’t anger.
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXH43KieD6a
It was despair.
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYgrq6TVIZ1
Kimoko felt she had to do something, anything, before that shadow in his eyes swallowed him completely.
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo4zSPbmjZq
Without thinking, she grabbed his hand and squeezed it tightly. “Kigami, I won’t let you think that way. Do you understand?”
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYgYifBzKPx
He didn’t answer.
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwWLhkvAHT2
“ 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.”
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDLKYYuOZuU
He looked at her silently, as if he was trying to believe her, but something inside him was stopping him from doing so.
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfBmqGYBtGj
Kimoko clenched her teeth.
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3VwP52aSzs
“ If you can’t believe it yourself… then I will believe it for you.”
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLCd78ULZj2
Something stirred in his gaze.
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFMlOVDvUOj
Gently, carefully, he squeezed her hand.
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ06SMZfKxV
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.
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw7tIls3Ld1
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.
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5mLkDYpLwU
She pressed her lips together.
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2S8znvULje
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?
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbxOcYNgZHF
A doubt was rising in her heart.
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL4HUql48B6
“I… I can’t…”
But she couldn’t drown it out. Estella watched them from a distance.
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmoELstOiT4
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.
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUq3C6FO8kc
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.
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAvCkknH00E
And how had it ended? for him? for her?
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡepYPbOaYsh
Estella looked away and bit her lip.
323Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmd4gyitqyS
“You’re stupid, Kimoko,” she whispered to herself. “But maybe… maybe I am too.”
ns216.73.216.66da2
and then Add to home screen.