Life After Death: The Strength Of Suffering

"Sasaki-kun, do you think you could help Eri chop the carrots?"

I nodded and stood from the couch, making my way into the kitchen where Retsu and Eri were cooking together. I grabbed a knife and positioned myself behind Eri, starting to help her chop the vegetables.

"Papa?"

I hummed in response as we continued chopping.

"I'm going to kill you~"

Suddenly, I felt a sharp pain in my throat as if a knife had been lodged in it. I froze, and just as quickly, I felt arms wrap around my waist. Eri's presence faded away, and an eerie voice whispered in my ear.

"Don't worry, my dear human~"

I shivered, the breath hot against my ear.

"No matter how hard you try, I won't leave you... My-̶̡̜̣͋̍͊-̶̢̨̨̪̩̝̝̪́̐̒-̸̫͔̤̤̗̟̖̅̈́̒͑̿̈́ͅ~"

I blinked, shaking myself from the haunting sensation and turned to see Kaede walking toward me as I sat on a log overlooking a pond.

I stood up as she approached, taking in her appearance for the evening. She wore a red kimono adorned with beautiful floral designs, cinched at the waist with a yellow and green Obi. A red flower pin in her hair added the finishing touch.

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She studied me with mild surprise before meeting my gaze.

"I'll have your other kimonos burned." she said nonchalantly.

I blinked at her statement, caught off guard but before I could respond, she smiled and stepped closer.

"You look better in a purple kimono than the black ones." she added, now standing less than an arm's length away. Her eyes skimmed over my attire, clothing I hadn't stolen from anyone.

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"Did you tie the Obi?" she asked, her gaze shifting to the black Obi I had someone else tie for me.

I glanced down at it, then back up at her. "I only know two ways to tie it. This one, and the one I normally use."

I only partially lied.

She raised an eyebrow then sighed, shaking her head.

"Uh huh. I totally believe that a man who I've seen struggle with chopsticks is able to tie an Obi." she teased with a light laugh.

Before I could respond, she grabbed my hand and began pulling me gently.

"Come on, the festival must've already started by now!"

I stopped resist in, and we started walking together. As she spoke, I couldn't help but notice how much smaller her hand was compared to mine.

'Soft.'

~Scene Change~

"I thought you would ask me about what happened during my fight against—"

I was cut off by Kaede as we walked among the crowds of people.

"Hush! No talk of fighting, killing or anything negative! This is a night of joy, not depression."

I rubbed my neck with my free hand and nodded, eyeing the stalls that had been set up. 'When did they get all this ready?' I could've sworn these streets were empty just hours ago. 'Yet here they are, full of life and joy.'

Sighing, I was tugged along to another stall selling sweet bean pastes in the shape of some kind of flower.

"We'll take two each, please." Kaede said. I raised an eyebrow as the vendor looked toward us, his face paling when he realized who was standing in front of him.

"S-Sasaki-s-sama, please t-take as many as y-you want!"

I looked down and felt something on my foot, Kaede's Geta had just been slammed onto it. Looking up, she gestured with her eyes from the vendor to me.

"I'm not paying." I simply stated.

I then snorted at the thought. 'Pay money when I don't need to? Fuck no.'

I saw her eye twitch before she sighed, stepping off my foot to talk to the vendor while still holding onto my hand. I wasn't really listening as I was distracted by how the fires from the lanterns and torches flickered in Kaede's eyes.

"-san."

'Her eyes are kind.'

"Sasaki-san!"

I shook the thoughts away and focused on Kaede's outstretched arm, holding the sweet bean paste.

"This one's for you."

I nodded at her words, took the food and took a bite.

"How is it?"

I swallowed before replying. "Free food is the best food."

She laughed lightly and raised an eyebrow at me.

"Is that so? I hope you'll pay next time, so I can see if that's true."

I shrugged, not bothering to tell her that it was highly unlikely I would actually pay.

"In any case, Sasaki-san what would you like to do?"

I hummed, scanning the different stalls around us as we started walking again. My gaze landed on one and I pointed to it as I finished the last bit of food. I saw Kaede look over to it before returning her gaze to me, her eyebrow raised.

"I didn't think you would want to play a child's game."

I looked back at the stall, my voice carrying more emotion than I had intended when I spoke.

"I... I want to win a prize for someone."

I watched her walk toward the stall, and I was pulled along with her.

"Then let's play, Sasaki-san."

~Kaede POV~

'Souta, what have you experienced to make you like this?' I wondered to myself as we reached the stall that had a game where you were given a paper net and had to catch the small fish in a big bucket. Sasaki and I crouched down to be level with the bucket, watching the fish swim around as he held the paper net which looked comically small in his hands.

'Makes sense, since it's supposed to be for children.'

I blinked at the thought and watched as the man tried to catch a fish but failed. He paid the stall owner for another net and made another attempt.

'Is that what he's doing it for?'

My eyes widened at the potential realization and I watched as Souta failed again, his net breaking in the process. Once more, he paid for another net and tried again.

'Does he have a hidden child with whoever was with him before?!'

"Fucking finally!"

I was shaken from my thoughts as Souta managed to catch a fish and turned to the owner.

"Show me the prizes."

The man hurriedly nodded, visibly nervous and showcased the prizes. I saw Souta's eyes lock onto a wooden tanto, decorated with wisteria flowers painted on it.

"The tanto."

Souta stood up, helping me up before grabbing the wooden toy. He turned to me with a look I hadn't seen from him before.

"I'll show you something later. What do you want to do now?"

I blinked and tilted my head, shaking off the thoughts of prying into his reasons.

"Let's—"

~Souta POV~

"Then Onii-san pushed me into the lake!"

'What is she even talking about?' I thought, blankly nodding along to Kaede's words. At some point, we had started walking hand in hand toward a spot Kaede said would give us a view of the whole festival.

"Hey, Sasaki-san?"

I blinked at her and nodded in acknowledgment.

"Can I call you by your first name?"

I tilted my head, looking back at the path ahead and spoke.

"Thought you would, after you had me call you by yours."

I slowed my pace as I felt her squeeze my hand.

"I know I said I didn't want to talk about negative things tonight, but I've been wondering something about Sorcerers—"

I raised my free hand to stop her.

"Before you ask your question, keep in mind something."

I turned and looked down at her.

"I'm not a Sorcerer."

She gave me a confused frown, so I explained.

"A Sorcerer gets paid to get rid of Curses. I on the other hand get paid to kill humans."

Satisfied with my explanation, I looked back to the path. Kaede lightly snorted less than a minute later.

"Is that so? Well, I guess you can't answer my question. But maybe the wind will answer it."

I rolled my eyes, and she responded by lightly bumping into me.

"I had two older brothers. One of them was recognized by my father as the next head, and the other went on to become a Sorcerer because of the Elders."

I listened to her, noticing the path beginning to go uphill slightly.

"My brother though, was not born with Cursed Energy."

I frowned a little but shrugged that bit of information off as she continued.

"Mother and I thought the Elders were insane, but no one including my brother, listened to our protests. One day, my brother left to start his journey to become a Sorcerer. Sometimes through the years he would return to the clan, and I noticed a change in him. That's when I began to wonder something."

We slowed to a stop as we arrived at a wooden outlook and made our way up. When we reached the top, she continued.

"Why do Sorcerers or those who fight Curses or humans, look down on those who don't? We aren't any different, yet they look at us as though we should grovel before them."

We sat down on a wooden bench, and I stared into her honey eyes.

"Why do they and you, do that?"

I thought over my answer for a moment before deciding to answer her question with a question.

I thought over her question for a moment before deciding to answer with one of my own.

"Have you ever had your heart ripped out?"

Kaede opened her mouth, likely to respond but I didn't give her the chance.

"Have you ever had your leg torn off and been forced to jam a piece of wood into the wound to act as a replacement?"

The memory of an old wound surfaced but I shook it off, though its weight lingered as I looked out over the festival. The lights danced merrily against the night, starkly contrasting the images that kept flashed in my mind.

"Experiences shape a person." I continued, my voice quieter now. "Whether it's a foot soldier who once believed in justice, only to turn into a mindless monster after taking someone's life..."

The sound of fire crackling below caught my attention and I glanced down to see a massive bonfire roaring to life. Its glow illuminated the crowd, their joyous faces.

"Or if it's someone who thought they could never care for another after losing everything, only to have an incessant annoying pest of a woman intrude on their life and force them to rethink who they are."

Kaede lightly punched my shoulde, and a snort escaped me despite myself. I turned to look at her and offered a small, fleeting smile.

"At the end of it all." I added, my voice soft but steady, "I can only give you an unsatisfactory answer."

She tilted her head, curiosity lighting her features.

"It's a complicated life." I finished, the words settling into the cool night air.

Kaede hummed thoughtfully as her gaze shifted to the bonfire at the heart of the festival. Its flames danced and flickered, casting a warm glow over her face.

"I guess since I'm not a Sorcerer or an arrogant person, I'll never truly understand." she said softly.

I tilted my head, the corner of my mouth twitching at the irony. 'Isn't that an arrogant thing to say, though?'

Before I could respond she stood and walked over to a nearby box I had only just noticed. To my surprise and mild irritation, she pulled out two cups and a bottle of sake.

'Isn't that my sake?'

"I found this while exploring your place." she explained, utterly unapologetic as she returned to her seat.

I rolled my eyes, watching her sit back down on the bench and hand me the cups. With practiced ease, she poured the liquid into each one.

"I don't really drink, Souta-san." she admitted, her tone apologetic. "So I'm sorry in advance if this doesn't go well."

I raised an eyebrow at that, curious despite myself.

"The last time I drank was with Takahiro-san." she continued, swirling the sake in her cup absentmindedly. "I asked if he had any of his clan's alcohol. I don't remember much after that, except waking up and greeting a blushing Takahiro-san."

I blinked at her matter of fact delivery, unsure of what to make of that. With a shrug, I handed her one of the cups.

'Wouldn't matter if she's a bad drunk, I'll just knock her out if it gets out of hand'

We raised our cups to each other, the moment marked by the crackle of the bonfire roaring loudly in the background.

""Kampai! May this night bring joy and fortune!""