𝗘𝘂𝗽𝗵𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗮

1̵̡̧̧̠̹̰̫̺͓͉̪̘̻͖̈́͒́͜6̷̧̺͓̟̼̩̞̟̳͈̱͓̾̈́͗̽̌̈̑̚͜ͅ.̷̱͙͕̩͎͖̟̥͔̬̈́͌͒̊͗͛̈͘͜͝ͅ5̷̀́̋̿͊͐̓̒̄́̚



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I sigh as I lean forward on the red bridge that spans the beautiful garden, above a tranquil pond alive with colorful koi fish. My hair flutters in the breeze as I gaze down at the tranquil lake, which reflects my shape above it. My elbows supported me as I leaned over the rails with my hands overhanging the rail.

It had now been a single week since Kanae's death. No funeral has been held, and Shinobu hasn't spoken a word to me since. She has isolated herself from the world, only ever coming out of her room when Kanae's tsuguko, Kanao needs her assistance in a task. I have been left alone by everyone but Sanemi as the rest of the hashira along with Kagaya know her death would have hit me hard, knowing she was my best friend. Every now and then, they would stop by, but Sanemi always held me back from speaking to them and making sure I didn't have to socialize if I didn't wish to.

Speaking of Sanemi, things have been different with him. We never messed around as much as we used to and he's been a lot softer towards me since my confession. He has been a lot more sociable to me and tried to give me as much physical contact as possible in an attempt to help the both of us recover from Kanae's death.

I took a deep breath and looked up at the cherry blossom trees that hung above the bridge, as well as the magnificent willows that softly draped over the pond. The pool's surface was littered with fallen petals and leaves from the trees, as well as a little amount of green moss and multiple lilypads.

I close my eyes while running my hand through my hair, and the image of Kanae's bright smile fills the darkness of my closed eyelids. My hair was draped over my face as I focused on the calm water below me, where fish moved leisurely.

My scarred elbows rested on the bridge's railings as I cradled my head in my palms, my eyes shut. I couldn't bring myself to open my eyes and let go of her beautiful smile, which I'd always tried so hard to imitate.

A butterfly landed on the lilypad below me, seemingly unconcerned by my presence. I opened my eyes to see a delicate pink and green butterfly extracting pollen from a white and pink lilypad. With a steady glance, I separate my lips and smile warmly on reminiscence. I exhale again as I continue to stare at the butterfly with gentle eyes, terrified of slicing the tiny creature in half if I sharpen my gaze. The lime green that was held on the majority of the wing shimmered in the sun with the white specks on the pink outline of the wings, the butterfly was identical to Kanae's hair clip, making me frown slightly.

The butterfly glided elegantly away from the blossom and into the air. My attention followed it as it floated above me. It began to rise gracefully until it stopped rising and began to slowly glide away in the clear cloudless sky, away from my view, causing me to sigh.

Sanemi's presence behind me made me smile lightly but kept my gaze to the pond. "Hi" I said, my voice just above a whisper.

He got closer to me and moved to stand beside me on the bridge, his hand moving to rest beside my own "Hi...."

Sanemi knows it hit us both hard. He knows it's just the two of us now, and so do I.

I watched as the koi fish below me danced in the serene water. "I see your back from your mission." I spoke , not moving my gaze away from thr garden as I slowly shuffled a little closer to him.

He nodded, his fingers grazing over mine, cautiously, carefully. "The demon was annoying a fuck so it took way longer than it needed to." He grunted out, scoffing under his breath.

I nodded and looked up at the brilliant sky, hoping to spot the butterfly once more. As a response, I hummed while keeping my attention fixed on the sky. Doves soared up in the air, their feathers gliding down to the quiet pond. When the feathers came into contact with the pond's surface, they rapidly absorbed water and proceeded to sink into the pond's depths.

I closed my eyes and kept my face plain as I kept my face towards the sky. "Is there any ohagi left?" Sanemi questioned.

I smiled while my eyes remained closed. "You and your ohagi..." I mumbled with a chuckle. I could practically feel his glare beside me. "Yeah, there should be some. That is, if you haven't eaten any since yesterday, "

He was about to move his hand over mine, I could tell, but something flashed in his eyes before he scoffed under his breath and moved his hand away. He stood back and turned to walk away.

"I'm going to the kitchen. You can stay here and act like you were having an inner monologue, just like you were before I showed up." I could hear the smirk in his voice as he called out behind him. I chuckled while shaking my head at his antics while he went back inside the estate we shared as his hands were in his pockets.

After he went back inside, I exhaled and turned back to the garden. 'I wasn't having an inner monologue....' I thought as I huffed and pouted while shutting my eyes annoyedly.

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