Chapter Twenty-Three: Lengths a Mother Will Go:

Airi stepped out into the snow. A look of contempt crossed her face. No one hurts her baby and gets away with it.

Airi chanted under her breath and vanished into thin air.

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Fires burned everywhere. Airi narrowed her eyes. She shielded her eyes as she walked forward.

“Hey! Come out here!” she shouted. “We need to talk!” The heat rose around her. The winds ripped through her hair and clothes. Airi would not back down.

A pair of cold blue eyes opened in front of her. The kitsune frowned.

“Oh there you are!” she said. “About time you showed your face!”

“You again? What is it now?”

“I need your help,” Airi said.

“Why?”

The kitsune clinched her fists at her sides. “It’s to save a little girl from dying.”

Laughter ripped through the hot air. “You save a child? After all of the ones your offspring murdered? Why should I?”

“She’s my daughter.”

“And? What about the other daughters who died because of you?”

“Look! I’m paying my debts for all my children have done! My daughter is innocent in all of this! I… I just…” Airi clenched her teeth.

“I care about the kid, okay?”

“What do you need me to do?”

Airi took a breath. “She had curse placed on her. I need to know placed in and why.”

“Alright.” A low hum filled the air. Airi folded her arms across her chest. The static made her hair frizzy. She shivered for a bit. The flames swirled of her head.

“Here.”

Airi walked up for a look. “Ah. So that’s it.” She turned to the eyes. “What do I owe?”

“You will pay me when the time comes!”

Airi frowned. “That’s it?”

“Yes.”

The kitsune made a face. She didn’t like the sound of that.

“Don’t worry. I won’t harm the little baby. I’m not a monster. It will be from you.”

“Right…” Airi stuck up her hand in the air and vanished into thin air.

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Hisoka walked over to the window. The eyes never left his gaze. The shinigami slowly waved. A pale hand pointed down to the window latch. Hisoka backed away.

“Everyone!” he shouted. “It’s getting worse! They’re already here!” The young shinigami ran out of the room. The eyes moved their focus to Kirika-chan. The girl’s chest rose and fell. Her face was flushed red and covered in sweat. The hand pressed against the glass.

The numbers above Kirika-chan’s head burned faster.