note: i am sooooo sorry this took so long and that its short, ive been really busy lately since im moving home and ontop of that i ended up losing everything like twice. so its been really hectic but to make it up to you next week i'll release two 2000 word chapters. promise. Once again im so sorry....well enjoy, i guess?
Kuro's eyes widened at the sight of her large, innocent smile. He couldn't deny that for a human she was beautiful, one could even mistake her for a celestial being if only she had a completely pure heart, but of course that's impossible for humans.
"Kuro,"
"What?
"How did you heal me?"
"That pond over there was blessed with healing powers by a celestial spirit, but as a demon i can't touch it or my skin will burn, so i held you by the hair and dangled you in the lake for a bit"
"YOU DID WHAT?!?"
"Oi oi don't shout at me you Annoying woman"
"THE ONLY ANNOYING ONE IS YOU!" Akari screamed at him, wanting to punch, but too tired to do so.
the two stared at each other with hate for a minute or so before Akari took a deep breath, flung her arms into the air and fell on her back.
"Ah~ ah," She moaned. "Lets go into town Kuro"
"Why?"
"I can't just stay in this ripped up yukata!" She exclaimed, shooting up off her back so that she sat normally once again. "And besides i want to take a look, i've never been outside the estate before so i'm kind of curious and excited to see what's my country's towns look like" She said smiling and clutching the fine silk of her yukata that lay on her lap.
Kuro after hearing this laughed a very sarcastic and mocking laugh.
"A princess who has never seen her country or even walked it's streets? What kind of princess is that!?" he laughed, mocking her as a way to get back at her previous insolence. Akari's face turned pink with humiliation. He was right, what kind of princess has never even walked her own country's streets... She felt pathetic and cursed the fact that she had shown this vulnerability to that wretched demon boy. Kuro saw her bright pink face and took it as a incentive to humiliate her even more, much to her displeasure. After a while of humiliating, shouting, fighting and just conversing in very aggressive ways in general, the pair left the forest to buy a new yukata.
"Hey Akari,"
"what?" she replied sharply; the humiliation had put her in a foul mood.
Ignoring her obvious hostility he carried on.
"do you even have the money to buy a
yukata?"
"Ah!"
She stopped in her tracks. She had no money!
For the first time in her life she did not even have a single penny to her name.
Tears welled up in her eyes as she stood behind Kuro, who Had turned the upper half of his body to look at her pifitful state. On the verge of tears and about to break, she rubbed her moist eyes over and over with her delicate hand while sniffling,snuffling and mumbling, holding back the tears with all her might; After all, she didn't want to be made fun of by Kuro again. Kuro stared at her for a while, waiting for her to realise the obvious, but to no avail. For a split second he side smiled at her Snuffling figure softly and kindly, before dropping his head in a sigh. This sigh, however, was not filled with malice or spite like his other ones.
"Hey does your country use a bank system?" kuro asked in response to her obvious fret
"uh huh" she mumbled with tears in her eyes, wiping them away before they could fall down her soft, fair face.
"Then what are you worrying about? just go collect money from your bank account!"
"Oh"
"Oh yeah, I forgot you could do that." She said as a smile spread across her face. The end of the forest was near now as they walked further and further down the dirt path.
"Bank account, bank account, bank account~" she sang cheerfully as she skipped to the light ahead.
"W..Wait!! Don't go ahead!!!" Kuro suddenly shouted with concern at the skipping Akari who was already quite a way in front of him now. But it was too late. Akari once again suddenly stopped in her tracks right infront of the exit. Her singing stopping along with all other movement. Kuro chased after her at a moderately fast pace; but what was the point now, she had already seen it, whether she was mentally prepared or not didn't matter anymore. Kuro slowed down as he neared her, and eventually stood by her side.
"K...K..Kuro.....Why?" She asked, her voice shaky and horse from shock.
"If you hadn't ran off like that then you would of had time to prepare yourself after i explained it to you but noooo you just had to run off, didn't you?"
"W...why is the town...ruined!?!??"
What stood before Akari and kuro was what could only be described from a first glance as a ghost town. The ground hand no pavement, just a dirt path like the forest, only wider. The houses were dark, wooden, old and broken. The windows shattered. Not to mention there was litter everywhere. There were few people walking the street, but the few that did looked depressed and horrible. They walked like mindless zombies that had had the life sucked out of them.
"You don't even know that much?! Wow you really are a spoilt ignorant little princess. These kind of places are pretty common in your poverty stricken country you know."
"Liar!!
I may have never went out the castle but i could at least still the capital from the roof!"
"Wha-..How'd you get on the roof..? Anyway thats the capital, course it's gonna be nice. Plus only rich people live there."
"No way...."
Akari sunk into herself as she followed Kuro down the street. As Kuro and Akari walked down the street the "mindless zombies" would slowly turn their head slightly to glance at Akari and Kuro, perhaps because they were dressed better than them, before returning to their original state. As they walked further down Akari noticed a young girl sitting passed out against one of the walls of the ugly, old, wrecked houses. She looked around 5 or 6 and next to her lay a basket full of flowers. Akari ran towards the young girl as soon as she noticed her. Kuro reached ever so slightly for Akari but his gesture was only slight and by the time his hand was in the air she was already metres away from him. Akari quickly knelt down and gently shook the little girl, but the girl didn't respond, So she shook harder, and harder, untill eventually she was rapidly swaying her back and fourth. Finally the little girl responded with the slight opening of her her eyes and a small meek moan leaving her smal, tender throat. Her eyes opened more and more, slowly, slowly, untill her eyes were half open.
"Ah.... im sorry..do you own...this patch of dirt... im sitting on? however i can't pay you now... im really sorry."
"Of course i don't!
(Although technically being the only child of the late king she was now suppose to be the queen therefore she would have owned all land in the country)
What happened to you!? where is your home?!?"
"Ah..lady..you're so pretty..your hair is so nice...like a princess..i bet you're rich...right?"
the little girl than reached for her basket of flowers, and shakily took one flower out of with minimal movement and shakily held it in the air towards Akari.
"Please...please..buy..one of my...flowers.." she whispered quietly and hoarsely to Akari. Akari grasped the small hand that held the flower with both of hers. They was dirty and rough, yet Akari could feel nothing but Love, sorrow and guilt as she looked and held the tiny hand gently. Akari's voice now also hoarse from her swelling emotions of sadness and guilt, she changed her gaze from the childs hands to her face. She felt horrible and horrifed all at once and wanted to snatch the child right here and now and take the child to her home, but her home was hers no more, and the child was already so frail, what if she ended up only hurting her instead?! Akari stared intensely into the childs eyes for just a moment, before she bravely put on a soft smile for the child and as gently as she could said
"Of course i will."