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the next day, kazemi had gotten very specific directions from her crow, in order to reach ubuyashiki, the head of the demon slayer corps.
she didn't know how to feel as she followed her crow. honoured? fearful? shocked? happy?
her jumbled up thoughts made the time pass much faster. and, before she knew it, she saw the wisteria forest. it was truly wonderful. the trees were tall enough to filter the sunlight, giving the place an ethereal purple glow.
kazemi was truly amazed.
she stopped running, instead walking through the forestry and admiring the wisteria. she had plucked a bunch of wisteria clusters and stuffed them in her pockets, but how would they know?
at last, she saw a man who sat calmly on an engawa, with two white-haired children by his sides.
she immediately noticed his sickly appearance. from his forehead to just below his eyes, the skin was rotting and veiny. his eyes were blinded. the man wore a white haori, that was lavender at the bottom, before turning a salmon pink shade that had fire-like designs at the top. his outfit was rather simple.
"the slayer has arrived." one of the girls announced.
a smile grew on ubuyashiki's face. the man had an air of compassion around him. kazemi immediately walked closer, in order to bow in respect.
"i am blessed to be in your presence." she was never this kind. it was just something about him. even with his sickly appearance, and weak complexion, she felt at peace with him. his presence was... gentle.
kagaya just smiled wider.
"kanata, tell me how she looks, please."
"shoulder-length maroon hair, and black eyes. a navy blue haori with jellyfish and other sealife on it. she seems to be about 12." one of them voiced.
kazemi didn't bother correcting her.
"such a young, promising slayer. i called you here to thank you graciously. due to your efforts, we are now a step closer to defeating kibutsuji muzan. all the slayers in the corps are people i consider my lovely children." he gave her his utmost gratitude. "come closer, child."
kazemi obliged, sitting up from her bowing position and walking closer.
"give me your hands, please."
though confused, she put her hands in front of him. he gently grasped them, tracing the lines of her palms. his hands were warm and fatherly. she felt like a burden was lifted off her shoulders, from just the touch of the man.
even if it was small and subtle, a genuine smile appeared on her face, and her usual blank eyes lit up, just a little.
"thank you, oyakata-sama."
"from what my children told me about your appearance, you seem to like fish. i have a koi fish pond. would you like to see it?"
her eyes brightened up more, even if it was just a little.
"yes please."
kagaya felt happy when he heard the slight happiness in her voice.
"nichika, please lead her to the koi fish pond. oh, and, before that, please tell me your name."
"kazemi."
after that, without any words, nichika got up, and led her over to the back of the mansion, where a large, pretty koi fish pond was located.
she stayed there for a while, admiring the scenery, before she inevitably had to get up and leave. she said her goodbyes to ubuyashiki, then left, feeling much happier than usual.
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it had been about 2 months. she'd reached rank kinoe. ubuyashiki had told her, that if any of the hashira slots were to open, she would be the next. though, she highly doubted that would happen.
she had no missions at the moment, since she slayed all the demons in the forest she was currently in. so, she simply hopped onto a tree branch, then fell asleep.
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"you've gotta be kidding me..." tengen didn't even know what to think. was this fate or something? for the second time, he'd stumbled across this stupid kid. at this point, he wondered if he should just leave her there. this time, he literally just kicked the tree she was napping on, which made her fall off. she landed flat on her face.
she got up without much trouble, brushing the dirt off her clothes. she took a cloth out her pockets to wipe the grime off her face, before looking up at tengen.
"oh. it's you, angler fish."
"....."
'tengen it's just a kid it's just a kid don't beat her up don't choke her to death just be an adult and walk away.' he was actually at his breaking point.
he walked away, taking deep breaths. "hah! i'm the infamous sound hashira! i shouldn't waste my temper on a stupid kid like you!" he laughed in triumph, before continuing to walk away.
kazemi just watched.
"you walk funny."
that was tengen's last straw.
he slowly turned around, one of his eyelids twitching.
"...what. did you just say?"
"i said you walk f-" tengen was sprinting at her. full speed.
'shit.'
she ran for dear life.
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running from the fastest hashira was not a very good idea. she may have been fast, but she was nowhere near fast enough to even last 5 minutes in that hellish game of tag.
she had to find that out the hard way. she was currently getting held by the scruff of her haori like a damn cat. what annoyed tengen, was that her face was still expressionless, and her mind was empty. he couldn't insinuate fear into this stupid kid, no matter how hard he tried.
"apologize, or else."
her feet were dangling off the ground. she was kicking her feet around absentmindedly in boredom.
"did you not hear me or something!? hey, i'm speaking to you!"
suddenly, he heard a change in her breathing. she fell asleep. while being held mid-air.
