Chapter 21: Pain
"Urgh...?"
Opening his drowsy eyes, Inei's body twitched from a sharp pain assaulting his lungs. Groaning, he held his chest. Scanning the room he was in, the young man's eyes fell on the figure of a teenage girl.
His attention was caught by her hair, the highlighted tips of her black and silky smooth hair were a sight. However, he shook his head.
'Ou!'
Performing such a simple task made him soon regret it, even his neck felt sour.
'This redemption mission is going to be my death'
"You're awake!"
He flinched, glancing back at the young lady, he noticed that she was staring at him with a hint of surprise. Unease rose in his heart as he made eye contact with her, he was clearly not comfortable with others of his own species.
What surprised him the most was that the girl appeared like a human should, not like a skeleton, or just flesh and blood.
Drowning a towel in cold steaming water, she dripped the towel dry by squeezing and moving her hands close to his forehead.
Inei's arms moved instinctively to defend himself, however, even lifting it filled his chest, shoulders, and joints with jolting pain.
Sora flinched before she willed herself to place the towel above the now agonizing Inei, the latter forced himself to calm down and relax.
She turned away from him and went to get a blanket, she hesitated before covering him to the shoulders with the thick cloth.
"You have a high fever"
Sora said sitting beside him, Inei's eyes wandered across the ceiling before drifting toward his 'caretaker'.
He felt reluctant, however, shallowing his pride with a bitter taste in his mouth, he opened his lips.
"Thank you"
Taken aback by the sudden words, Sora momentarily trailed off before smiling. Seeing her lips curl up, Inei felt his chest stir.
"No need to thank me... If you really want to thank someone, you should thank my grandfather, afterall he's the one who carried you all the way from the other side of the village"
Captivated by her voice, Inei unconsciously nodded. Seeing his approval, Sora stood up and left the room. The wooden door shut with a grinding creak that woke him up from his stupor, he glanced down at his chest and frowned.
'What in the world is this feeling?'
He blinked as droplets of water fell in eyes, the towel fell on the side as he shook his head from discomfort.
'Sigh... Why am I so clumsy?'
Inei closed his eyes and recalled the events took prior before he fainted, remembering the feeling of the chilling cold wind and the snow made his body shiver.
'Demon Slayer Corpse's 97th leader, I will make you pay for this!'
He felt angry, furious, he wanted tear the man apart limb by limb for what he did.
'Him and his damn sense of justice... I had to endure all that for his... selfish desires...'
Amidst the trail of thoughts, he recalled his own vow. Realization dawned upon him as he remembered his goals... he was more selfish than the man he felt angry towards.
Recognizing that fact made him a bit uncomfortable, the reality of his situation was a very sour fruit to eat.
His anger slowly faded away, he felt a headache approach as his mind got heavier from all the stress. Sighing, Inei shut his eyes and fell asleep shortly.
***
The door slid open to reveal an old man, his gaze fell on the young bot he had rescued. He shook his head, closed the door, and walked toward the verandah of his home. Stroking his greyish-white beard, the old man sat near the edge beside his granddaughter.
"He's asleep... Sora"
The young girl turned her head to meet his. The old man lifted his arm and patted her shoulders proudly.
"You did the right thing... I'm really blessed to have such a kind granddaughter"
Smiling gently, the grandpa lingered for a moment before heading inside. Sora stared at his back silently.
'I did the right thing, huh?'
The image of the black-sheathed Katana emerged in her mind, suppressing a frown, Sora decided to stay by the young kid's side before he woke up... She had some serious questions for him.
So she stood up and went toward the guest room again.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone