Third Person POV

Uehara had just awoken from his nap after he had sensed Sakura open the door.

[I hope this won’t be too troublesome.]

He listened to her monologue. After seeing her look up into the sky, he got up and shook the dew off his body.

[Let’s get this over with.]

He transformed back into his humanoid form, surprising the little girl.

“Yes. He died little Sakura.”

Sakura stumbled backwards, falling on the floor and before she could scream in fright, Uehara showed the necklace he had gotten from Mangetsu. This caused Sakura to stop moving for a while silence brewed between the two of them as a gentle breeze ruffled the trees.

[Nii-chan’s necklace. He…he never took it off. If…if it’s here then…then…]

Then, silent sobs broke the silence. She immediately understood that her brother was truly gone. The proof of the necklace being there. Forgetting all about the strangeness of the boy in front of her, she fell to her knees.

Uehara seeing this, decided to wrap the distraught girl in a one-armed hug, nestling her head on his chest. He kept his blank stoic expression, merely considering this as nothing. Sakura didn’t hesitate in wrapping her arms around him, bawling out her sadness like the child she is.

[Consider this a one time favour.]

Uehara gently channelled some of his chakra into her body, slowly calming her down and inducing sleep. A few minutes later, Sakura fell into a dreamless sleep. Uehara, sensing that she’d finally shut down, gently used his chakra to pick her up.

He calmly walked into the house, a floating Sakura in tow. Focusing on where her scent is strongest, he went up the stairs and walked into her room. He peeled open the blankets and gently landed Sakura on the sheet and covered her in the blanket again. He was about to leave but he then changed his mind. He opted to turn into his cat form and jumped on the bed, curling up next to the girl.

[She smells nice, not repulsive like the other humans. It’s not quite the same as the other woman where her blood attracted me to her. This little one just smells nice. Interesting.]

Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

With that, he allowed himself to fall asleep.

Morning came and Sakura woke up. She was about to rub her eyes when she noticed in her hand was her brother’s necklace. She gripped it tightly, tears threatening to come out until she felt something furry smack her head. She was dazed for a while until she looked to the side and saw the object that that hit her. It was a tail that belonged to a black cat that was curled up next to her, its tail slowly swooshing around. A cat she had never seen before…was next to her. Before she could freak out, she heard a voice in her head.

{Scream and I promise you in the name of whatever god you worship, you will sorely regret it.}

She was about to speak again when that very same tail covered her mouth.

{I’m very much not in the mood girl so before you ask, yes, I am the boy you saw yesterday. My name is not important as I have not deemed you worthy of knowing it yet. As for the reason why I am here, I made a deal with your brother after he had died. In exchange, I would protect you until I deem you fit enough to live in this world alone. This means you will be seeing more of me from now on. Now don’t interrupt my sleep. I very much value it.}

Sakura was…confused, for lack of better words. What confused her the most was not the voice in her head. She was still a child, an imaginative one and because of her brother’s frequent absences, no one was there to instil the common sense that talking animals and voices in hear head were major anomalies. What confused her was that the cat next to her had not moved at all. It showed no signs that it was responsible for the voice in her head, aside from its tail moving. Instead, it looked like it was in a deep sleep.

“Um, Black-san?”

Uehara was mildly surprised by how she addressed him but he ignored it.

{Ask me everything you wish to know.}

She breathed in.

“H-how did my brother die?”

{Betrayal. Next question.}

She was quiet. As she tried to process Uehara’s answer, she felt his tail tap her forehead.

{Think later. Ask your next question.}

“Um, o-okay. What are you?”

{A demon. Next question.}

She was silent for a while, causing Uehara to open one of his eyes. He saw that she was clenching her fists and holding back tears.

[How annoying.]

Just as he was about to slap her with his tail again, she spoke.

“C-can you hold me? Nii-chan would always hold me in the mornings.”

She looked at him hopefully but all she saw was a glare from the overpowered cat.

{That is not a question.}

“Please…I beg you.”

{You humans are repulsive to my kind because of the filthy smell you emanate.}

The girl looked distraught and was about to silently sob when she suddenly felt a weight on her head. She opened her eyes to see him curled up on her head, his tail hanging loosely by her side. He had shrunk in size. Uehara had surrounded her with his chakra, making her feel warm all over.

{Be glad you smell nice and that I have a somewhat good impression of you.}

In excitement and wonder, she stretched out her hand and began to ruffle his fur. Uehara, although surprised by the gesture, didn’t make any moves to remove the hand that was now scratching his sides.