ʟᴇꜰᴛ ʙᴇʜɪɴᴅ//ᴋɴʏ (ᴀᴜ)

F i f t e e n

Kota's POV

I hold my breath as I grip onto Tomioka-san's haori tighter. One of the women with a butterfly hairpin turns towards us. I quickly hide behind Tomioka-san. 

"Ara ara~! Tomiok-san! The usual lonely entrance... but I see you brought someone! Who might that be?" She says in a bright tone. Tomioka-san grabs my wrist and pulls me to his side. I shrug him off and stand there with my hands together. 

"Oh! What a beauty!" Another girl with pink and green hair exclaims. She seems nice. Oh wait, I'm not supposed to be thinking that.

I bow quickly, grabbing onto Tomioka-san's haori again. 

The butterfly hair pin girl smiles. "She seems to be fond of you, Tomioka-san! Have you finally made a friend?"

Tomioka-san stays silent. His silence kills. 

The butterfly girl looks annoyed. "Well then. My name is Kocho Shinobu."

Then they go around introducing themselves.

"Rengoku Kyojuro!"

"Uzui Tengen."

"Kanroji Mitsuri."

"Iguro Obanai"

"Shinazugawa Sanemi."

"Himejima Gyomei"

"Tokito Muichiro."

That's too much to remember. I just bow politely. 

"What's your name? You look flashy!" A guy... I think his name was Uzui-san?

"My name is Kota." I answer quietly.

"She is a lot like you, Tomioka-san!" Kocho-san laughs.

I think I've heard her voice before... but where?

"Come join us! And feel free to call me Mitsuri!" Mitsuri laughs. Tomioka-san sighs and walks over. I follow quietly. He takes a seat beside Rengoku-san, who is... eating.

"We are just here to talk about the weird 'person' we saw the day we slayed the lowermoon, Tomioka-san!" Kocho-san says. 

I hold my breath. They're talking about Akaza.

"Oh." Tomioka-san replies. "Right."

"And that was a demon, Tomioka?" Rengoku-san says brightly. How is he so bright?

I glance around and spot a particular red-haired boy. I stand up quickly. Everyone glances at me, and then at the boy.

"Oh, that's Tanjiro. He's staying with us to rest!" Mitsuri smiles. "Why don't you say hello?"

I quickly walk over to Tanjiro. I wave. He looks up and waves back. "Hey! Kota, isn't it?" I nod. "It's nice to see you again! I see you're with Tomioka-san. Are you training to become a demon slayer?"

I nod again. "He brought me here to let me choose my own breathing style."

"That's nice! Have you chosen one yet?" He asks. 

"I actually don't know any of the breathing styles yet."

"Oh! I'll tell you. There is water breathing, flame breathing, wind breathing, thunder breathing, love breathing, mist breath-" He is cut off by me shaking my hands.

"Too much! Too much!" I panic.

He zips his mouth. "S-sorry. You can also make your own style, if you want. But you'll have to know how to... hmm... breathe properly first."

"Breathe properly?" I ask. I'm so confused.

He scratches his head. "That came out weird. I meant how to like, actually use one of the breathing styles. It's complicated."

I slowly nod, trying to understand, which I don't.

"Come on! Let's hang out with my friends. We'll let them talk." He says, dragging me away. Okay.

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Tanjiro drags me into a room. "Here we are!"

He lets go of my wrist and I glance around. Zenitsu? Boar guy?

Zenitsu stares at me. "WAHH! THE ANGEL CAME BACK FOR ME!"

Here we go.

"GONPACHIRO! WHO IS THIS GIRL?" The boar guy shouts. Did he really forget me? I sure didn't forget his weird boar mask, and his weird attitude. 

"You don't remember Kota? We met her the night of the festival." Tanjiro says, trying to get Zentisu off me.

The boar guy turns his head to me. Seriously, what's with the mask? "NOPE! I ONLY REMEMBER THE DISGUSTING DEMON!"

I cover my ears. "Shut up, please."

"HAHHH??? FIGHT ME!"

Tanjiro frowns. "Inosuke! Calm down! Zenitsu, give Kota some space!"

I glare at him, ignoring Tanjiro. "You want to fight? We'll fight!" I yell, charging at him. 

In the corner of my eye, I can see Tanjiro's soul leaving his body.

--------------------

I successfully knocked the boar guy out completely. I feel so proud right now. I can now really look at the room more closely. It looks really comforting. 

I see a box in the corner. It's pretty big. "Hey Tanjiro," I call and he hums in reply. "What's that box thing over there?"

"Oh, that box?" He points. I nod. "Just my sister's little place."

Okay, what?

"Nezuko," He calls. After a few seconds of silence, the box slowly opens. I gasp. Two tiny hands poke out. They're so tiny!

Soon a girl comes out of the box, looking tired. She also has a bamboo in her mouth? She comes crawling to Tanjiro, and lays her head on his lap. 

She's so adorable!

She spots me, and comes over. I'm sitting there admiring her cuteness, when she gives me a big hug.

My heart is about to explode!

Wait, calm down. I'm not really supposed to get attached to people here. 

"Wah!" I hear Zenitsu yell. I look over. "Nezuko-chan! You're awake! Come hereeee!!"

"Zenitsu!" Tanjiro goes between Nezuko and Zenitsu, protecting Nezuko from Zenitsu.

"Tanjiroooo!! Please let me pass!! Nezuko-chan needs me!!" The poor simp begs, clinging onto Tanjiro.

Tanjiro shakes his head. "No, Zenitsu! Behave yourself!"

"UAHHH!" I hear the boar guy yell. Oh gosh, this moment could not get any worse! "I'M AWAKE!"

The room turns into absolute chaos. My eyes feel like they're spinning trying to see what's going on.

"Ugh," I hear the door slide open. "What's happening now?"

I know that voice. I whip my head around to see her.

Yasu.