stolen time

Ch92 rr

Still in a dazed phase, ayame hesitantly held Kyojuro's hand as he led her the way up. She couldn't believe the current moment, and questioned if she was still within the demons dream.

"How... is it still here? How did you find this place?"

She quietly mumbled just loud enough for kyojuro to hear.

"Young kamado was actually the one to tell me about this place, he was around here during one of his missions and remembered a conversation you had with him, because of it he guessed this was the place when he came across it, and it looks like young kamado was right!"

By the time they arrived at the top everything became clear it was indeed a reality when the scene she remembered stood before her once more, strangely compared to the tori gates outside the shrine itself seemed almost as good as new, with only a few places run down and covered with weeds.

In a state of shock ayame slowly walked over towards the shrine with a hand layed flat upon her chest, unbelieving that the place she had thought was long destroyed was still standing before her.

Patting a hand on the two lion statues that guarded the front of the shrine she felt the cold chill of its material, like a waking call it shot a sense of reality back into her as tears began to form.

"Aya?"

Kyojuro gently called while walking up to her from behind, he wrapped his arms around her kissing the tear tracing down her cheek away giving her a silent comfort.

"I'm alright, I just can't believe that it's still here, I thought it would've disappeared some time after my family's disappearance since we were the only ones able to watch over it, but seeing the shrine is still alive and in a somewhat good shape it seems someone may have taken over"

Just as she said that she was reminded of the place a short way behind the shrine, her home the place where her life started and ended. With a small gasp she skipped out of Kyojuro's embrace and started running towards her home, her geta sandals clacked upon the concrete steps like a rhythm, slowly coming to a stop as she stood before the front door.

She feared once she entered she would be met with the scene of a thousand years ago, hesitant to open the door she could only stand there with a shiver and a scrunched up face.

Her hand grasped upon Kyojuro's sleeve catching his attention, with a pained expression he held her hand right in his before speaking.

"Is this..."

Kyojuro said, looking at her behaviour he was able to piece together the fact this may be the place that tanjiro told him of. During the time tanjiro was telling him about this place, he made sure to mention to be careful of her house as it was the place her parents were killed in.

Taking a deep breath in, kyojuro plastered his hand on the old wooden frame of the shoji door and began to slowly crack in open, with a creak light seeped through the crack big enough for him to peak an eye through to check the inside, and thankfully the scene ayame was afraid of wasn't present.

Sighing he dropped his tense shoulders down and fully opened the shoji.

"It's alright Aya there's nothing here"

Turning to the side he made way for ayame to peak over him, a nostalgic interior revealed itself washing away all the tension in ayame. Tears sat in her eyes as she covered them with the palm of her hands, she was happy yet sad, grateful yet guilty, the contradicting waves of emotion was what kept her from completely breaking down like a child.

Kyojuro raised his arms out wide, offering her a place in his arms.

"Who are you intruders!!"

The sound of a Tom girlish voice cried from behind, ayame turned around with a bewildered expression to see a girl with short brown hair in priestess garments pointing a broom towards them.

The girl squinted her eyes eyeing ayame up and down, with a loud gasp she dropped the broom and ran towards ayame holding onto her shoulders tight.

"You, who are you, you look exactly like the miko in the picture our ancestors handed down to us! Say lady are you perhaps of the Akami family?!?"

"Y-yes?!?"

Ayame confusingly answered, the girl gasped once more with a sparkle in her eyes.

"I knew it, you must be the descendant of the last akami miko, no...a reincarnation you look exactly like her! Except for a few details here and there but we'll forget about that, say what's your name"

Kyojuro's eyes were as big as an owls as he began to slightly shiver, trying to hold in a laugh knowing exactly who this miko she talked about was. Annoyed ayame showed the girl a closed eye smile while driving her elbow into Kyojuro's side.

"Ahh this was unexpected, I can't tell her my real name, I don't even know who this girl is" she thought, ayame awkwardly laughed.

"Ahaha... I'm akami...Aya akami Aya yes"

The girls face brightened up, leaning her head backwards she shouted into the distance.

"Ojiisaannn! Someone of the akami family is here!"

"You fool, I told you not to believe what strangers say! They're tricking you!'

An older man came walking over, and to ayame's surprise he looked very similar to one of the young boys she knew in the past, one that was close to her family. In that moment everything clicked together, realizing that the reason why the shrine had survived was because of that boy's family.

"Are you... perhaps from the ukita lineage?"

Ayame asked, the mans eyes narrowed and similar to the girl he gasped and charged straight for ayame.

"Oh my, are you really from the Akami family ?!? Yes we are from the ukita family, I thought my great grandfather was just delusional, I never thought the Akami family to still be alive and actually come back!!"

Kyojuro leaned down towards ayame with arms crossed over his chest, the two watched as the man and girl made a scene while kyojuro whispered.

"Aya do you know them?"

"Well... the man looked familiar to someone I knew in the past, so I just assumed he was his descendant, I didn't think I was actually right"

Ayame whispered as kyojuro hummed in response finding out something new about her past.