“Huh?”

“This is payment for your blood.”

Tears started coming out of her eyes in droves when she finally realised all the pain in her chest had suddenly vanished.

“T-thank you. Thank you so much!”

Uehara licked the blood on her neck, savouring the favour before replying, his eyes shining red once more.

“This was simply a transaction.”

He turned around and started floating away, only for a hand to grab onto his robe.

“Hmm?”

The woman’s hand was shaking nervously.

“W-why me? Why did you not kill me when you clearly could?”

Uehara gazed into her eyes, a royal blue colour framed by her pretty long black hair. He noticed the ‘fire’ in her eyes. He could clearly see those eyes were longing for something. They were the eyes of a person who had found hope.

[Interesting how she’s not afraid at this moment. Did my chakra calm her down that much?]

“Let me ask you a question myself.”

A sharpened bone rod sprouted from his palm.

“Why are you not using this chance to run?”

The woman looked down, tears streaming down her face. She showed no sign of running.

“If I don’t die now, I’ll just die later. But because you healed me, you own my life now. I was tossed out by my clan because it was declared by the physician that I had no more than a few weeks to live before my lung collapsed. Even if I did run, I would’ve died later anyway but you…y-you healed me.”

Her sobs were uncontrollable now, her hands covering her face. Uehara couldn’t bring himself to pity her at all. He simply stared at her blankly, his cold black eyes drilling into her blue ones.

“You’re starting to annoy me.”

The woman quickly bowed down when she noticed Uehara aim the bone rod at her.

“P-please allow me to follow you!”

“Not interested.”

“I beg you-?!”

She suddenly felt her own organs fail as the veins covering her body became more and more pronounced like they’d break through the skin. Her screams quickly died down when her vocabulary organs were boiled out of commission.

“You fanatics are the most annoying. I told you this was a simple transaction.”

Her skin was red hot, tears streaming down her face as she contorted on the ground in pain.

[Why am I so irritable when I’m around humans? Is it their chaotic aura that highlights their abominable existence? It’s ironic how I hold an instinctual dislike for humans when I was once also one.]

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The next thing she saw though terrified her the most, to the point that she didn’t feel any pain for that moment. But that moment was enough for her to understand. Those soul-less eyes that were now filled with disdain terrified her.

[In his eyes, I’m nothing more than a bug. I-I’ll die, won’t I?]

She forgot the pain in her own boy due to the nerves having been completely destroyed at this point. Her skin had already melted away. She was now also finding it hard to breathe, her lungs being cooked by her own blood.

Uehara simply watched her, though surprised by how she had still maintained consciousness. A faint smile fell on his face.

“She’s still conscious? How commendable.”

The woman wasn’t able to hear anything due to her ears having ruptured and clotted in blood. All she could see was a boy smiling.

[Such a beautiful smile. If only I could see it more.]

She then suddenly felt the sensations of her body returning to her. Her hair that had fallen off now grew back more vibrant than before.

“I’ll allow you to live for now.”

The woman suddenly felt a mild stinging sensation on her chest. A triskele symbol appeared on it.

“This is my mark. This means, regardless of where you are, I will always find you. You’re more resilient than most and your will to survive intrigues me greatly.”

He backed away from her while flying higher and higher.

“If I feel like it in the future, I may consider letting you follow me. But know one thing. I don’t need weaklings.”

He vanished in a swirl of darkness while the woman tried to stop him.

“WA-it. I never told him my name.”

She then shook her head.

“He has no reason to learn the name of a weakling. I won’t waste the opportunity he has given me. I’ll make sure he doesn’t view the chance he has gave me as a waste of time.”

She grabbed the dagger hidden underneath the shrubs next to her coat, the only surviving piece of clothing she had left.

“I won’t let this one chance to change my fate get away. I’ll show him I have strength.”

Meanwhile, Uehara was flying at high speeds above the clouds. He was getting closer and closer to the capital city of Heiankyō, the place where Mangetsu’s little sister Sakura is.

Along the way, he kept thinking about his actions.

[It’s official. My view of humans is even lower than that of animals. Even pigs will receive better treatment from me. Is it because I’m a demon that I view humans as abominations?]

He shook his head.

[I don’t need to think about it so much. I just need to fulfil my side of the deal to Mangetsu. Hopefully, that little sister of his won’t be an annoyance.]

He lowered his altitude while making himself appear insignificant as a fly to any observing eye. He hovered just a few metres above the streets of Heiankyō and began calmly flying while following the route Mangetsu frequently used in his memories.

It was night and the streets were still bustling. A multitude of mercenaries were walking on the streets either in teams or alone. A few nobles were travelling around in palanquins while soldier escorts cleared the streets for them.

“The stench here is unbearable, especially the one coming from those nobles.”

He flew higher and also blocked the functions of his nose. Ignoring the humans below, he sped up. He soon landed outside the doors of a modest 2 storey house surrounded by 2 metre walls and had a descent sized yard with a chicken coup just a dozen metres from the house as well as an outhouse (toilet) that was located right against the walls. There was rich vegetation with stone paths leading to and surrounding the house.

“The air here…feels strangely nice.”

Black aura surrounded him completely, acting like a curtain. It then began to slowly shrink down until it dissipated, revealing Uehara to have turned into a small black kitten. He walked over to a tree and curled up under the shade, resolved to fully sleep in such a calm atmosphere while leaving only a minor percentage of his consciousness active to maintain awareness of his surroundings.

[Let me sleep for a while before I talk to this girl.]

Sakura’s POV

It was now morning. Inside the house, within the kitchen was a cute little girl of about 7-years old with black eyes and red waist-length hair. She had just finished wiping the pots on the stove and washed her bowl. Right next to the stove, there was a lunchbox packed with food that was clearly put aside for someone.

[It’s been close to 4 days now since nii-chan left. I don’t like this feeling at all. Nii-chan told me it was supposed to be a scouting mission so he should’ve been back at most 2 days ago.]

She walked out the door to a bright morning sun.

[It’s already the 10th month now…mother’s anniversary.]

Tears streamed down from her eyes.

“D-did you leave me to brother?”

Out of nowhere, black mist formed and a boy appeared out of it.

“Yes. He died little Sakura.”