Pᴀʀᴀʟʟᴇʟ | Dᴏʀᴏʀᴏ 2019 Fᴀɴғɪᴄᴛɪᴏɴ |

8: Of memories and feelings

Kou's blue eyes watched as the droplets of water fell into her palm, flowing down her arm. She and Dororo are taking shelter under the roof of a small shrine as they watch Hyakkimaru standing under the rain alone.

They didn't know what was going on his mind and they also have no way of knowing. Instead, they just let him do what he wanted. Their group of three kinda feels lonely now that Biwamaru has left.

Kou frowned, feeling her wet uniform get uncomfortable for her body.

The three of them were walking, when suddenly, the rain poured. Seeing that Hyakkimaru have no intention of finding shelter, Dororo and Kou took it upon themselves to drag him away. But seeing that Hyakkimaru didn't relent easily, Kou gave her backpack to Dororo and told him to go find a shelter and stay there first.

She was afraid that her gadgets will be wet and so she saved them first.

Kou took off her red blazer first, squeezing the water out of it and laying it beside her. Her next target is her cream colored sweater. Just as she was taking off her sweater, she heard Dororo talking to someone.

Stopping on her tracks, Kou turned her head, meeting the bright eyes of an unfamiliar woman. The woman smiled at her before resuming her talk with Dororo.

"Her clothes look so strange". The woman commented, blinking with curiosity as she stared at Kou who continued to squeeze the water out of her sweater.

"Oh, you noticed?" The child chuckled. "Neechan wasn't from here".

"Oh, I see".

The woman nodded as she stared at Kou for a few more seconds before looking away. It was rude if she just stared at her and so she stopped.

Kou silently listened to their conversation. Now that she thought about it, Dororo didn't know that she came from some other world. The child was only informed that she's not someone from there. And Kou knew that it would be for the best.

Just then, a chill ran down her spine.

A very familiar feeling that she knew too well yet will never get used to it.

The feeling of sensing a demon nearby.

She looked at a certain direction in the forest, jumping on to the wet ground. Dororo and the woman were confused by her sudden action as they make eye contact. A man suddenly came and collapsed on the ground with a low groan.

They approached the man and saw that he have a long sword wound on his body. Kou roamed her eyes around, trying to find any demons nearby but found none. Hyakkimaru sprinted on a certain direction, with Dororo and Kou immediately following along.

"Hey, bro! Where are you going?!" Dororo asked as he sped up, trying to catch up to the two teens running ahead of him.

Hyakkimaru suddenly stopped and Kou who was running behind him, ran straight into his back. The girl stepped back while rubbing her nose. A single, audible gasp escaped Dororo's lips.

A sight of horror presented itself in front of them.

On the ground were numerous dead people swimming in their own pool of blood.

Kou could feel her stomach churning at the sight. Who could've done something like this? The smell of blood lingers in the air, making her cover her mouth and nose, taking a few steps back. At the sight of blood, her mind unconsciously drifted off to some distant memory that she have buried deep within.

Kou have no need for those memories so she locked them up away. She didn't need any extra drama or sufferings to overcome in her life like a protagonist. She just wanted to live normally, like some extra person in a story. But she couldn't stop the flashes of memories that have appeared in her mind.