Chapter 69: There is a Demon Who, for Her, Learned How to Love
The cork shot out like an arrow released from a string, tracing a perfect parabola in the air, and struck the tiny wooden tenon supporting the wisteria wind chime with pinpoint accuracy.
With a soft "click," the wooden tenon snapped, and that exquisite wisteria wind chime fell straight down.
Tatsu's figure flashed, and before the wind chime could hit the ground, he steadily caught it in his hand.
The entire movement was fluid, without a hint of hesitation.
"Bravo!"
A burst of enthusiastic cheers erupted from the crowd.
Tatsu turned around, parted the crowd, and walked toward Kanae.
He held the wind chime out to Kanae with both hands, just like a knight returning from victory, presenting the most precious trophy to his beloved princess.
"Kanae, this is for you."
A hint of unconcealable anticipation permeated Tatsu's voice.
Looking at this "demon" before her, who was so pleased with himself over such a small victory, Kanae's eyes suddenly grew warm.
She knew that with Tatsu's strength, getting this wind chime would be child's play.
Yet, he was willing to stand before this humble stall for her, acting like an ordinary human boy, earnestly completing a game, and experiencing that nervousness of fearing loss and the joy of final victory.
Everything he did was to integrate into her world, to express his feelings in a way she could accept and love.
"Thank you, Tatsu. This is the best gift I have ever received."
Kanae took the wind chime, her fingers gently brushing against the transparent glass.
"Tatsu, could you help me tie it to the strap of my Haori?"
Kanae suddenly looked up, making a request that caused Tatsu's breath to hitch.
Tatsu swallowed hard and nodded.
Kanae turned slightly, leaving her back to Tatsu.
Tatsu took the wind chime and moved closer to her slender waist.
He carefully tied the wind chime onto her sash.
"It's done."
Tatsu stepped back half a pace.
Kanae turned around, the wind chime at her waist emitting a pleasant sound with her movements.
"Does it look good?"
She asked with a smile, her eyes reflecting Tatsu's figure.
"It looks good. In the whole world... the best."
Tatsu answered without hesitation, his gaze infatuated and affectionate.
As the night deepened, the noise on the main street gradually subsided, many shops began to close, and the crowd slowly dispersed.
Tatsu and Kanae walked side by side into a relatively quiet stone-paved alley.
On both sides of the alley were old townhouses, their high eaves blocking most of the starlight, with only a few dim wall lamps emitting a faint glow.
At the end of the alley was an old stone bridge, and beneath the bridge flowed a quiet little river.
The river surface reflected a crescent moon, shimmering with ripples.
The two walked onto the stone bridge, and Kanae stopped, her hands resting on the stone railing as she gazed at the river in the distance.
Tatsu stood by her side, watching her silently.
Just then, Kanae suddenly turned around to face Tatsu.
Her gaze was no longer the relaxed and joyful smile from before, but carried an extra layer of depth and seriousness.
"Tatsu, are you happy today?"
She asked softly, her voice sounding exceptionally clear on the empty stone bridge.
Tatsu was stunned for a moment, then nodded heavily: "Happy. As long as I can be with Kanae, I am very happy."
This sentence had not gone through any thought; it was completely his heart's most truthful, most instinctive reaction.
Hearing this, Kanae lowered her head slightly, her long eyelashes casting a shadow on her eyelids.
"I am also very happy, Tatsu."
Her voice became somewhat ethereal, as if she had fallen into some distant memory.
"As the Flower Hashira, what I face every day is death, blood, and parting. I must maintain a smile, because only in this way can I bring a glimmer of hope to those struggling in despair. I cannot cry, cannot be weak, and cannot reveal my exhaustion in front of anyone."
She raised her head, and in those purple eyes flickered a complex light—there was pain, there was compassion, but more than anything, there was strength.
"But in front of Tatsu, I feel like I don't have to work so hard to maintain that perfect 'Flower Hashira' image. I can be happy because of a willow-leaf butterfly, I can be willful to eat a dumpling, and I can cheer in the crowd for a wind chime."
Kanae took a step forward, closing the distance with Tatsu.
"Tatsu, although you are a demon, you have given me the simplest, purest happiness of being human."
These words hit Tatsu's heart like a heavy hammer.
He had never imagined that his own dirty, sin-burdened shell could actually become a harbor for her exhausted soul.
"Kanae..."
Tatsu's voice trembled uncontrollably; he had a thousand words stuck in his throat, yet he could not say a single one.
Just then, Tatsu noticed a few faint points of fluorescent light flickering in the river grass beneath the stone bridge.
They were early summer fireflies.
A thought suddenly welled up in Tatsu's heart.
He wanted to create a miracle for her, a miracle that belonged only to the two of them.
He slowly closed his eyes, activated the Transparent World, and silently released the power within his body.
He transformed his power into countless tiny, imperceptible currents of air, reaching into the grass under the bridge.
The next second, a breathtaking scene occurred.
Hundreds upon hundreds of fireflies were gently lifted by those tiny air currents, rising from beneath the bridge like golden star rain.
They danced around the stone bridge, around Tatsu and Kanae.
The originally dim stone bridge was instantly lit up, and those dots of fluorescent light reflected on the river surface, shimmering in harmony with the stars in the sky, as if the entire galaxy had been brought to the human world.
This was an extremely energy-consuming act with absolutely no practical combat value, which for a demon was simply foolish in the extreme.
Yet, Tatsu did it without hesitation.
Because he saw that Kanae's eyes reflected those golden points of light, and a brilliant smile bloomed on her face.
He used his power, which belonged to the darkness, to create a sea of bright stars for Kanae.
"So beautiful..."
Kanae reached out her hand, and a firefly gently landed on her fingertip.
She looked at that faint yet tenacious light, her gaze becoming incomparably gentle.
"Tatsu, did you do this?"
Tatsu did not speak, just watched her quietly.
At this moment, silence was better than sound.
The deep affection in his eyes was brighter and more ardent than the fireflies filling the sky.
Kanae turned her head, meeting Tatsu's gaze.
At this moment, the surrounding air seemed to freeze, and the passage of time lost its meaning.
That invisible barrier that had always stood between them, named 'the different paths of human and demon,' quietly melted away in this dreamlike dance of fireflies.
Kanae slowly and firmly reached out her hands to cup Tatsu's pale and cold face.
Tatsu shuddered all over.
Her hands were so warm, so warm that they made him want to shed tears.
He instinctively wanted to pull away, fearing that his coldness would make her uncomfortable, but Kanae stubbornly did not let go.
"Tatsu,"
Kanae's voice was soft yet firm, "although your body is cold, your heart is warmer than any human I have ever met."
Her fingertips gently caressed Tatsu's cheek.
"No matter what happens in the future, no matter how difficult the path between us may be,"
Kanae slightly stood on tiptoe, closing the distance between them, so close that Tatsu could clearly feel her breath hitting the tip of his nose, "I will remember tonight, and I will remember everything you have done for me."
She knew that under tonight's starry sky, there was a demon who, for her, had learned how to love.
Tatsu's eyes finally reddened.
He slowly raised his hands, carefully, as if touching a fragile treasure, and covered the hands Kanae was using to cup his face.
"I swear,"
"As long as I exist in this world for one more day, I will use everything I have to protect your smile. Even if... the price is my life."
Fireflies danced around them, and the wisteria wind chime at her waist emitted a crisp "tinkle" sound.
The night breeze brushed past, and Kanae's Haori gently lifted, becoming entangled with the black corner of Tatsu's clothes, inseparable.
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