Aoi Kazama instinctively tried to hide, but having crouched for too long, her legs had gone completely numb. She stumbled, her weight slamming into the dilapidated door.
CRASH!
The door hit the ground in a heap, kicking up a thick cloud of dust.
Aoi lay sprawled on the floor in a pathetic heap, blinking through the grit as she found herself face-to-face with the two siblings.
"You again?" Gyutaro recognized her immediately. His voice was thick with impatience and a flicker of irritation at being followed. "What the hell are you doing following me?"
Aoi scrambled to her feet awkwardly, brushing the dust off her clothes. Her mind raced at a mile a minute, frantically trying to concoct a plausible explanation.
Just as she was about to open her mouth, her stomach betrayed her with another ill-timed growl.
Gurgle~
This time, it was even louder than before.
Both Gyutaro and Ume's gazes dropped simultaneously to her stomach.
Aoi: "..."
She seriously wanted to crawl into a hole and die.
After several seconds of heavy silence, Ume gently tugged on Gyutaro's sleeve and whispered, "Onii-chan, I think this big sister is hungry."
Gyutaro scowled. He looked at Aoi, then back at Ume. Ultimately, not wanting to appear too cold-hearted in front of his sister, he thrust the second rice ball toward her.
"Take it and get lost."
Aoi caught the rice ball. Instead of eating it immediately, she looked up at Gyutaro. "Um... my name is Aoi Kazama. I'm lost, and I don't have anywhere to go right now. Could you... would you consider letting me stay with you for a few days?"
"No!" Gyutaro's refusal was sharp and final.
"Onii-chan..." Ume whispered, her heart softening. She tugged at his sleeve again.
"Ume, don't get involved." Gyutaro's voice didn't waver. He knew the cruelty of the Entertainment District better than anyone; an unidentified young "lady" staying with them was a magnet for nothing but trouble.
Aoi's heart sank at his uncompromising tone.
Staying seemed impossible, but where else could she go? She was a stranger in a strange time. She had tested it moments ago—her breathing techniques and all her System items were locked. Right now, she was nothing more than a defenseless child.
She looked down at the rice ball. She couldn't give up; she had to find another way.
Touching the hairpin tucked into her hair, her eyes lit up. She looked back at Gyutaro. "I won't stay for free. I can pay you."
"Money? You actually have money on you?" Gyutaro's voice was dripping with sarcasm.
Aoi ignored the bite in his words. She carefully slid the hairpin from her hair and held it out to him. "This should be worth a fair amount. I'll give it to you... if I can stay for just a few days. Please?"
Gyutaro looked at the hairpin, and a faint, almost imperceptible flicker of hesitation crossed his eyes.
The pin was a deep, polished ebony, topped with a pearl the size of a pigeon's egg that gave off a soft, warm luster even in the dim light. It was obviously expensive. The money from that single pin could ensure that he and Ume lived well for a long time.
"Onii-chan?" Ume looked up at him, her face full of hope.
Gyutaro finally snatched the hairpin and tucked it into his clothes. His tone remained frosty. "One month. After that, you leave, whether you have a place to go or not."
"Thank you! I promise I won't be a burden."
"You'd better not be." Gyutaro turned toward a corner, ignoring her further.
Ume, however, began to study Aoi with curiosity, her little face brimming with innocence. She stepped closer to Aoi and whispered, "Big Sister Aoi, are you really lost? Where is your home?"
"I... I don't really know." Aoi lowered her head, her voice trembling slightly. "I just woke up and I was here. I don't remember anything."
Sigh. Life is just one curveball after another, Aoi thought. I'm getting way too good at this acting thing. Who would've guessed I'm actually an introvert?
Ume nodded, only half-understanding, but she naturally reached out to catch the hem of Aoi's sleeve. "Don't be sad, Big Sister Aoi," she comforted her earnestly. "Ume will look after you."
Aoi looked down at the girl's upturned face. Those clear eyes held no suspicion, only pure kindness.
Aoi's heart twinged with a sudden, heavy wave of guilt.
"Thank you, Ume."
The two girls sat by the door, eating their rice balls bite by bite. Ume ate slowly, nibbling like a little squirrel, while Aoi practically inhaled hers. After all, this was her first real meal since transmuting to this time.
"Slow down, Big Sister. No one's going to take it from you," Ume said, her eyes curving into crescent moons.
Aoi smiled sheepishly and slowed her pace. "Ume, have you and your brother always lived here?"
Ume nodded. "Mhm. Always."
"What does your brother do for work?" Aoi asked.
Ume shook her head. "I don't know. Onii-chan doesn't let me ask."
Aoi didn't push further.
With a full stomach, Aoi finally felt like she was among the living again. She walked over to Gyutaro in his corner and spoke tentatively. "Um, I realized I don't know your name yet."
Gyutaro flicked his eyes up at her but said nothing, returning his attention to a rusted sickle he was meticulously wiping down.
"He's Gyutaro," Ume answered softly from the side.
"Ume!" Gyutaro looked at his sister with a mix of helplessness and annoyance.
Ume just giggled and stuck her tongue out playfully.
"Gyutaro," Aoi said softly. "Thank you for letting me stay. And thank you both for the food."
Gyutaro didn't turn around, only letting out a sharp grunt through his nose as an acknowledgment.
That night, Ume curled up on the bed alone, her small frame shivering slightly under a thin, threadbare blanket. Aoi gently draped her own relatively clean outer robe over the girl. Watching Ume's peaceful sleeping face, Aoi felt a swirl of complicated emotions.
So this is the life they lived before they became demons.
Aoi didn't take a spot on the bed. Instead, she found a cleanish corner, curled up, and stared at the thatched roof. The moonlight filtered through holes in the ceiling, casting mottled shadows across the floor.
She pulled her clothes tight, but the chill still seeped in. She closed her eyes, replaying the day's events over and over. From waking up in a strange era of the Entertainment District to the System vanishing and her Breathing Styles failing—it all felt like a surreal, absurd dream.
As her thoughts drifted, her eyelids grew heavy, and she eventually fell into a deep sleep.
In the silence, Gyutaro suddenly snapped his eyes open. His gaze landed on Aoi, sleeping in the corner. Under the moonlight, her brow was slightly furrowed, as if she were caught in a restless dream.
Gyutaro's fingers absentmindedly traced the pearl on the hairpin.
Whatever. Ume seems to like her...