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41: Never This Far

'And I thought you were with the Mukami's?' 

Smiling, she goes to him and puts her arms around him. 'Hi, dad.' 

Burai laughs. 'We need to talk.' 

'Yes, we do. I have weird dreams, and I don't know why I have them. I do have a theory that those dreams are fragments from a previous life,' explains Miyu while grabbing casual clothes. 'Give me a moment, will you?' 

He waves at the bathroom. 'Of course.' He sees the school uniform on her. 'This will take a couple of hours. You'll be back in time.' 

'That would be great, thank you.' Miyu changes fast and goes back to him. 'And are we staying here or are you taking me home?' 

'Back home, you need to see your family tree,' says Burai. He holds out her hand. 

She stops him. 'Just a minute. Kanato!' 

'What is it?' Kanato appears in her room and bows briefly his head to her father. 

Miyu turns to Kanato. 'There are some developments, and he's taking me home. I know it's last-minute but he was waiting for me.' 

'No, it's alright. I'll make sure Reiji hears about it.' Kanato's eyes wander to the man. 'How long will it take?' 

'A few hours. I'll make sure she's back on time,' promises Burai. 'Thank you, Kanato.' He puts his arm around Miyu and teleports back home with her. 

Miyu checks the room when her mother comes out. 'Hi, mom...' 

'Good to see you too, but you're here because your two cousins escaped the demon world,' starts Menae. 'They're in the human world and god knows where. They might be in Japan looking for you.' 

Fantastic. 'Thanks for the heads up, but I'd like to know if I was raised with two boys? I only know their first names. Carla and Shin. I saw them in a few dreams.' Miyu's eyes go back and forth between her parents. 'Additionally, my dreams are getting more... what's the word? Weird and confusing. I had five dreams while staying with the Mukami's. One seems to be when they escaped the orphanage. The other four are about their past before ending up at the orphanage.' 

'And through whose eyes are you looking? Do you have a name?' Menae leads her to a different area in the castle. 

'I do. It seems that the girl's name was Haruna,' answers Miyu. 

'Miyu, you came never this far as a demon. You might be right because it sounds like your previous lives are catching up with you. You have had a long life and various ones too.' Burai follows them. 'All the other times, you were killed by someone, or you never truly woke up as a demon. Even we never experienced this with you in the past. So all we can do is speculate. However, it's safe to say that you had a life during the time the Mukami's were in the orphanage. There is a possibility that you might have been around with the Sakamaki brothers but in hiding to stay away from Cordelia. We do know that there was a time, you wanted to stay closer to her where she wouldn't expect it.' 

That could explain my dream about Shu. I was there but on the sideline. Not able to be involved with them. Miyu knows her family tree is close. 

*** 

In front of her family tree, Miyu reads the names. 

'I found her.' Burai reads the name Haruna. 

Menae sees it too. 'If I remember correctly, Haruna was the daughter of the orphanage owner. However, her father died during the war and things changed there. It's possible that you tried to escape the orphanage.' 

Miyu lets her finger go over the name. 'That doesn't explain how I was there for Ruki as a servant woman and then to take the others to the orphanage. Didn't you tell me that if I die, I'll be reborn in a baby that would be born nine months later?' 

'Not necessarily. It happened once before that you woke up in another girl. Haruna would've been five years old to gain your soul and power. It was a time of war, and not many babies were born,' reveals Burai and points at a different name. 'It happened a few times. As our daughter, your name was Hatsuko and...' He stops for a moment to facepalm. 'This also answers your earlier question about Carla and Shin. Those two are the Tsukinami's, and they are your cousins. So yes, you did grow up with them around from time to time. By the time, we did have you back here, you had the name Mitsuki and it was your fifth life. When she died, you were reborn in Hizuki, and she was a five-year-old. Again, it was a time of war.' 

Menae nods. 'After that, you came back in a baby, and your father and I had to search the entire planet for you.' 

'You see for yourself that you had multiple lives, different names, and only some times that your death was natural. Most of the time, your sister was somehow behind it. Or it was a case of being at the wrong place at a wrong time,' tells Burai. 

Miyu heard them out and stares at her family tree. 'And if I would be there for the Sakamaki brothers, what name would I have?' I remember Shu saying that his real age is just above three hundred years old.

'Let's see. How old are they?' Burai searches the tree. 

'Approximately three hundred years old. Give or take a year.' Miyu hopes that the dreams to come, would not be too dark or sinister. She looks for the name. 

'I think I found it.' Burai hopes he's right. 'You might want to take a picture. There are a few names in that time. It could be one of five.' 

Miyu nods and takes a picture with her phone. 'But you think that Carla and Shin might be looking for me in the human world?' 

'Yes, please be careful.' Menae doesn't want to lose her so quickly. 

'I will. But chances are, they want me alive. They are demons too, and I doubt it's my power they want...' 

'What else can it be?' Burai kills the light the torches were giving before walking out of the room. 

'Maybe they want the demon race to come back. They are the founders, and they are the last few alive.' Miyu noticed both her parents turn to her. 'I took a few books with me the last time I was here. I'm catching up on our history.' 

Menae looks at her husband. 'We have some magic abilities. She might too, and it's time she learned how to use it.' 

'If that would ever happen, I want you to message someone and teleport to a safe place.' Burai wants her promise first. 'And I'll take you back home.' 

'I promise to be careful.' Miyu knows how protective her parents are. 'And please, I have homework to do.' Magic can wait for now.

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