A Murder of One - Kimetsu no Yaiba / Demon Slayer

23

Hiratsuka is known to be superstitious.

Don't yell at night or the snakes come out.

8 is a good number, but 4 and 9 are bad.

If she layers the right side of her kimono over her left, it means she's dead, resulting in a bad omen.

The first dream after the New Years will come true.

She can't talk when eating her ehou-maki.

When Ray came into her life, she had a whole slew of Western superstition to look out for.

It was an innocent remark, the usual "Step on a crack, break your mother's back," that Ray chuckled about when they walked through the Tokyo city life at night.

But Hiratsuka held that close to her heart, as well as everything else that Ray commented on. Upon noticing this, Ray decided to keep his mouth shut; but, the last thing he mentioned was the most important thing that Hiratsuka remembered.

"Akiko, what are you looking at?"

Moonlit eyes trace back to her mother, who crouches at her small level. Akiko looks back at the single crow, preening its wings before giving and lone croak before fluttering off. She likes how the light bounces off the black feathers, catching sunlight and offering colors deeper than ink.

But Hiratsuka is reminded of Ray's superstition, and it's awful how terrifying this one is.

"Listen to me, alright?" Hiratsuka grasps the chubby hands of her precious daughter, leaning their foreheads together. "Never, and I mean never, look at single crows. Do you know why?"

A single shake of her head.

"Crows are almost always in groups, called a murder. And a murder of one means death. Do you understand?"

A single shake of her head.

But what a funny lie.

Akiko remembers the words of her mother every time she sees a single crow, and while she never understood it at the tender age of 6, she learned by experience what the fatal curse meant.

---

Most days, Miruna spends her time resting in a tree. She knows that most pillars and swordsmen have treats for their crows, and they get the luxury of scratches in hard to reach places, but her own master isn't all too nice.

So sometimes, out of boredom, she'll fly off and survey the neighboring town. People don't give you any attention when you aren't in their sight.

Miruna is used to that.

And she actually quite likes the quiet days.

Other crows get the luxury of changing swordsmen from time to time, and if you're a lucky crow you get the lavish lifestyle of being assigned to a pillar and not having the need to change swordsmen.

Unfortunately, despite all the bloodshed that Miruna experiences, she never gets to change masters.

Absolute bullshit, she'll crow to some nearby teammates. Muichirou's crow will crow about her friendly master, and no one knows who Kyoujurou's crow was reassigned to.

From above, Miruna watches over her stupid and cowardly master, on the back of a kakushi with the hard working Tanjirou on the back of another kakushi right next to her. She knows where the two are going, and she knows that meeting Muichirou will be inevitable.

Kanroji's crow becomes visible as well, and Miruna rolls her eyes.

The lovely and sweet smelling Kanroji does not deserve such a bitch of a crow.