✾ ❃ ✾
Naminé Yamada wishes to kill demons.
Followed by the nightmares of her past, Naminé dedicated her life to strengthening herself mentally and physically ever since the death of her mother, hellbent on avenging her somehow. Though it seems that...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"Naminé!"
The blade stilled just inches from the smooth skin of Tanjiro's delicate neck.
The horror that spilled through her almost overpowered the beating of her pulse in her ears, muffling his heavy breathing as he stared wide-eyed between the steel and her features glinting under the moonlight.
Her blade clattered against the earth.
"I--" But just as she attempted to speak, she realized that she couldn't catch her breath, the imagery of her nightmare still too fresh in her mind to cast away her fear. Her fingers traveled to her neck as she tried to breathe, unable to stop her eyes from still glancing around the grounds.
Nothing rustled. Nothing moved in the shadows.
Maybe she was just paranoid. Or something else that she wouldn't ever dare to admit.
Scared.
Gentle fingers cupping her cheeks helped her lungs to cease their burning just as Tanjiro's face came dangerously close to her own, his eyes filled with concern as they scanned over every inch of her features.
"Naminé, what's wrong? Why are you out here with your blade?" When she didn't respond, something in his gut twisted at the lost look in her eyes. "Tell me what happened!"
"I-I," she inhaled deeply, closing her eyes and focusing instead on the warmth of his palms. The distraction helped her breathing to even out. "--I just thought I saw something outside my window. I didn't though. There's nothing here . . ."
Tanjiro glanced around, searching for any sign of what it is she might be talking about. But with the towering wisteria surrounding the home, there wouldn't be any chance of a demon slipping within these walls. But the fact that she seemed so shaken with this fact in mind did nothing to ease his worry.
When her eyes opened again, the intensity of her gaze was enough to halt his beating heart. After traveling together all this time, he thought eventually that sensation would grow tired and fade away.
If anything, it only grew more severe as time passed.
It was all he could do to hope she wouldn't notice the shift of color on his face under the moonlight.
Naminé smiled, all trace of her distress gone. Or that's what anyone other than the slayer before her might assume. But he could smell that faint aroma that lingered on her ever since their battle at Tamayo's home.
Despair.
Until now, he'd respected her silence on whatever it was ailing her, valuing her too much to push the girl to speak up on the matter. But it would take much too long for him to forget the expression on her face when she turned and nearly drove her blade into his neck. Something terrified her, and though he knew she was too stubborn to ever ask for help, he couldn't just stand to the side in hopes that she might one day.
