Candles || Kokushibo

🖤14: ᴅʀᴇᴀᴍʟᴀɴᴅ🖤

      Is it normal for dreams to feel so real? It's as though Mabel's entire body is here, rather than on the train, using her father's leg as a pillow. The air feels pleasant and inviting, as if it had never snowed those days before. The thick, towering trees that surround her block off most of the sun with their branches. She is standing in the center of a dirt path and gazing up at the slightly denser forest in front of her. She recognizes this passageway: it leads to her house. the residence she was given after Kokushibo had saved her. She hesitates to proceed down the trail. She knows that she was on that train! Why then does it seem as though she never left to go to the HQ? She is mindful that this is impossible due to the snow. She recalled that it had been snowing very heavily during the event before she departed. What else might she do? This had to be a dream; no questions need to be answered.

      She moves forward cautiously, her feet crunching among the fallen leaves. She understands it's autumn. As she takes a further step, she enjoys the vibrant colors that flutter in the breeze, some of which even fly above her head. Even so, is this a good idea? She feels more fear now than she did when her vision was lost. When she first discovered Kokushibo was a demon, she wasn't even afraid of him, as she realizes now. His six eyes had no effect on her, not even after she regained her sight. She was never interested in his appearance; instead, she adored him for who he was as a person and how hard he worked to put her at ease and protect her. He believed she deserved the entire world. 

      When a house eventually enters her field of vision, she immediately recognizes it as her own home. The house appears to be in better shape than it did earlier, which is the primary difference. In addition, there are two well-known men speaking calmly while sipping tea and seated on the front porch. It's her dad and uncle. She is aware that this cannot be true for various reasons. One of them is that her dad and her uncle are genuinely speaking. She knows he can't see, hear, or even feel his presence. Furthermore, they are alone, so why is he concealing his eyes? They are, after all, family. Even if they weren't family, Mabel has known Kokushibo long enough to know that he wouldn't care who saw his eyes except the civilians. There's no reason to. Additionally, didn't it snow before she left? In the shade, the grass and leaves are not even remotely damp. Though just five years old, she is already aware that everything is a lie. It must be.

      She wants to return to where she originally came from, but the young girl has already attracted their attention. She fixes her gaze on them, and they return her stare. Although she wants to move, her body isn't cooperating. If she did move, would she flee or approach them? They inspect her as if they have no idea who she is, which hurts her far more than a child should. Isn't Michikatsu her father's real name? She doesn't place herself too far away from them, but she doesn't want to hear what they have to say. "I did not detect that child at all." Michikatsu acknowledges, maintaining eye contact with her while putting down his miniature cup. Yoriichi takes note of her eyes. They are similar to his, almost identical. He is little bothered by the look she gives them. "Brother, do you know her?" The elder twin gives Yoriichi a perplexed expression. "How could I know her?" He turns to face the girl with black hair. The younger twin gradually lowers his arms. "She appears to be confused and afraid while still looking at us as though she knows who we are."

      After he said that, Yoriichi could readily see her heart rate rise. Have they ever met, but he can't remember? Now, he would undoubtedly remember, and the same was true for his brother. With the exception of her maroon eyes, she doesn't even resemble anyone he knows. Michikatsu hums. "I don't recall ever encountering that child." Yoriichi notices the shift in her emotion from his words on her face. "I'm afraid I can't say I have either."

      "Stop; don't say that. It hurts." She whimpers as her eyes begin to water. Yoriichi can't help but grow more interested in the kid as Michikatsu furrows his brow at her. "Daddy. Uncle Yoriichi" Their eyes enlarge in unison. The older twin casts a perplexed look at his younger sibling. "I thought you claimed you haven't met her." Yoriichi stays silent. Instead, he discards his tea and stands up. He moves toward the young girl, ignoring his brothers' puzzled gaze. As calmly as he can, he kneels down in front of her. "What is your name?" Her abnormally tiny form trembles beneath his focused gaze as he sits on his legs and observes her. Michikatsu sighs, a little irritated that the girl addressed him as her father. He moves behind his brother, approaching her from behind. "Mabel Tsugikuni." She finally responds, her voice trembling with dread. The older sibling glares at the younger one. "Brother, exactly who is this girl?"

      This is the thing she despises the most out of all of her experiences. Even though she already knows that this cannot be true, the fact that her father and uncle are in the dark about who she is simply breaks her already fragile heart. She already understands, so why does she detest his words so fiercely? "What happened?!" When Mabel eventually lets the tears out of her maroon eyes, she surprises the two. "What happened to Daddy's eyes? And why did you leave, uncle? You always let me and Nee-chan know before leaving!" She tries to brush the tears away, but all that happens is that they smear on her face, making her dark hair stick to her freckled face. Yoriichi doesn't comprehend what she's trying to say, but he can trust her because she already knows who they are, yet he can't really understand how. "I was on the train with daddy and the others when a huge, nasty demon appeared! Mr. Kyojuro used his flame breathing to cut off its head, and then he said that he would take nii-chan and his two friends as pupils, and then we felt sleepy and went to sleep!! When I opened my eyes, I was there!" She gestures toward the woodland from which she came. Michikatsu's eyes soften as Yoriichi lovingly pats Mabel's head. Her sniffing slows as she looks up at her younger brother.

      "Brother, I think I believe her." Michikatsu huffs and frowns at the girl while he crosses his arms. "You believe her? Children have vivid imaginations." He returns to the front porch and takes another sip of tea without even offering the two a passing glance. Yoriichi returns his attention. "You knew my name; what about his?" Before the elder man removes her hair from her face, Mabel brushes her face with her sleeve. "Daddy said his human name was Michikatsu." The said male spits his tea out and permits the cup to drop from his fingers. He doesn't bother picking it up as soon as his sight catches the kid. Yoriichi adjusts his head in the direction of his elder brother. "You have to believe her; she knows our names."

      When Mabel senses a sizable presence behind her, she begins to shiver. She freezes when she detects a faint coconut aroma coming from their black hair. Yoriichi and Michikatsu take a step back as they are unwilling to let the words leave their mouths. Mabel twists her body to face the man she loves more than anybody else. He has a soothing expression on his face as he stares down at her-

In each of his six eyes.

🖤Secret's/Extra's🖤

~Ghost Yoriichi panicked when Kokushibo and Mabel weren't home. He went to HQ just to figure out where they were. 

~Dream (past) Yoriichi wanted to adopt Mabel for himself

~Enmu is wondering why he can't control Mabel's dreams. In fact, he's wondering why she isn't under his Demon Art at all. 

~Ghost Yoriichi collided Kokushibo's subconscious with Mabel's. 

~In chapter 8, Tanjiro noticed that Mabel's hair smelled like coconuts. Both Mabel and Kokushibo use the same shampoo, but he's thinking of honey rather than coconuts. 

~We currently have 15 people in the 'Anti-Muzan Club.' Comment if you want to join us!

~~Someone commented that we needed merch and Author-chan agreed. She doesn't mean to hurt Yoriichi's feelings, but his art is terrible. 

~If Author-chan had a mascot for her profile, what animal would it be?

~~She honestly likes fennec foxes