A Long Forgotten Heart <kny oc>

CHAPTER 22: Pretty village

Word count: 1019

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𝕊𝕨𝕠𝕣𝕕𝕤𝕞𝕚𝕥𝕙 𝕧𝕚𝕝𝕝𝕒𝕘𝕖 𝕒𝕣𝕔

Kirumi had woken up a couple of days after the fight

And for the next two months, she dedicated to gain back her abilities and, of course, recover completely

She had changed of pair, since the Sound Hashira had resigned after the battle

With who? With the Love Hashira. Kirumi actually was fine with that

Because, even though, she was quite talkative

When they fought demons, she immediately became serious and completely focused on fighting them

"Kirumi-san, the kakushi has arrived"

Kirumi looked up and saw a kakushi on her door

"Okay... Thanks"

She stood up and walked out of the estate to be met with a kakushi, who immediately bowed down once she saw her

"Good morning Kirumi-san. I'll be the one taking you to the swordsmith village"

Kirumi nodded in response before thanking the kakushi

"I'll have to carry you all the way there, and you'll need to useda blinfold, earplugs and nose plugs too"

Kirumi nodded once again, and so, she started with her long, long trip

~

Why was Kirumi going to the swordsmith village?

Well, because she needed her sword to be forged

She wasn't exactly planning on going, her swordsmith was supposed to go to her estate and take her sword

But, her swordsmith never went to her estate, and he never answered her letter

So, here she was... Going to the village

~

"We've arrived, Kirumi-san"

Kirumi took off the blindfold and looked up at the village

"... Pretty..."

She took off the earplugs and the nose plug, before thanking the kakushi and walking further into the village

She was starting to not regret that she came here

It was calm, and oddly quiet. Sure, there were swordsmith s everywhere

But, they were all focused on their own tasks

"Kirumi-chaaaaan!"

Kirumi felt herself being spun around before being tightly embraced

And she knew exactly who it was

~

"I'm so glad you came Kirumi, It's been so long I don't see you"

'It's only been five months'

"I... I'll just leave my sword" Kirumi said while unsheathing it and handing it to her swordsmith

"Oh, you're leaving so soon?" The man asked with slight dissapointment

"Utsubuya-san..."

"No, no, no, don't call me by my last name, Hiroshi is completely fine!" Her swordsmith said with big, warm smile on his face

"... Right, sorry... Hiroshi-san... I can't stay much, I have to go back soon" Kirumi vaguely explained

"Oh?... Well, I'll hurry up the process as much as I can!"

Kirumi nodded in response before walking towards the exit of the cabin

"Don't forget to visit again! And take care!" Her swordsmith said while getting the tools ready to forge Kirumi's sword

~

Kirumi had arrived to the room they had given her to stay

It had a mat in the floor, and a small desk on one corner

The walls were nicely painted, and gave a warm touch to the vaguely decorated room

Kirumi sat down on the mat while staring at the small woodblock print that hanged on the wall

It was a simple image of a snowy, big mountain

Kirumi found it interesting for some reason

Such a simple image, but was probably done with lots of effort and dedication

Someone must've taken hours to carve all those details that didn't seem like much at first glance

Yet, it had no further meaning... Other than the hard work someone must've put in it

~

Kirumi walked through the woods. She was going back to the village, to a restaurant that, in her swordsmith's opinion, had the best udon he had ever tried in his life

And, Kirumi had nothing else to do more than eat dinner and go to sleep

~

"Good evening, what can I serve to you?" A man in his 40s asked once Kirumi sat down on a chair

"One udon, please" Kirumi answered while looking through the place

"Coming right up" The man said before walking away

This restaurant was the total opposite of the room Kirumi was staying in

It had decorations all over, woodblock prints hung on the wall, there was a book shelf with lots of books displayed

Yellow and orange flowers were all over the floor, and there were murals of trees painted on two walls

Though, it was a little overwhelming, it actually was a warm place to be in

"One bowl of udon" The same man said while placing the udon bowl on the table

Kirumi thanked the man before he walked away

The dish smelled great, well, at least for Kirumi it did

It was simplest way to serve udon. It was a soup with soy sauce, mirin and a mild broth named kakejiru

She started eating a few seconds after staring at the dish

And her swordsmith was actually right. The udon had an outstanding flavor and texture

It was really noticeable how much effort was put onto making the dish

And she loved that. She loved that she could feel the effort soemone put onto something

Not only that, but, very deep inside of her... It made her feel cared for and special

Thought, even if she noticed, she would never admit if she liked that feeling or not

~

Kirumi was back in the room. She would go visit her swordsmith the next morning to check on her sword and to thank him for the recommendation

She would've gone tonight, but she was extremely sleepy

So, after sliding the door closed, she walked over to the mat that was placed in the middle of the room

And, not long after, she fell into a deep sleep

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Taisho era secret

▪︎ When Kirumi met her swordsmith for the first time when she was nine years old, he stayed a couple of extra hours just to play with her

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So, we've started a new arc!

I'll try to make a drawing of her sword and if it comes out good, then I'll show it once she gets her sword

Though, it's not much different than a normal one, but still, I'll try

Anyway, byee! 👋