Kanzaki Aoi never thought of herself to be good with children.
Introducing herself to the new child at the estate was beyond the scope of awkward.
"My names Kanzaki Aoi. Pleasure to meet you."
"Iwasaki Koharu. I'll be in your care."
Polite bows were exchanged, and Shinobu had sent them both off to do chores around the house, giving Koharu the opportunity to get adjusted to the building as well as the responsibilities within the estate.
The two only exchanged a simple instruction and response, and the child only responded with a nod of understanding or with short responses when asked about herself.
"You need to separate the clothes to prevent them from mixing colors. The basket for this pile is over there and the other basket is inside the closet with the soap. You got that?"
A nod.
"So, how old are you?"
"I'm nine."
Only a year younger, huh?
"Ah, really? I'm ten. I guess I'm older than you."
A nod.
To say that she was frustrated way beyond an understatement. Had she done something wrong to the kid? Was she being too pushy? Scary? Is she really that bad with children that the only response she ever gets in a nod and silence!?
Aoi buried her face into her pillow, letting out a groan at the amount of overthinking she was doing.
Shinobu-san's probably going to make me teach her chores again tomorrow...Flipping onto her back, Aoi looked up to stare at the ceiling, holding out her arms into the air as she inspected her nails. What if the same thing happens tomorrow...?
Shaking her head furiously, Aoi clutched her hand together in sudden determination. Tomorrow, I'll make a longer conversation!
Definitely-!
---------------
"So, what's your favorite food Iwasaki-san?"
The two girls had headed their way over to the kitchen early in the morning, Aoi teaching the younger girl how to prepare food for the residents of the Butterfly estate.
Looking down next to her, the latter seemed to be deep in thought. "Like...dessert food?"
Seeing how she further initiation the conversation, Aoi's eyes lit up in accomplishment, eagerly nodding as she chopped the carrots. "Yes, of course! What's your favorite dessert?"
"Mm...I like mochi the best."
Smiling at her answer, the black-haired female responded happily. "Is that so? I'd say my favorite is hanami dango!"
Koharu gave a silent nod at her answer, sliding in another pile of vegetables into the boiling water next to them. "Hanami dango...are good."
Aoi's smile grew bigger than before, nodding excitedly at Koharu's continuous talking.
"Indeed, indeed!"
---------------
Ugh...
If she knew getting laundry water poured on her would get her this sick, Aoi would have been more careful.
She had been too giddy after preparing lunch with Koharu, skipping to the laundry room with nothing but flowers and smiles in her mind.
Unfortunately, she had been too absentminded about her surroundings and ended up tripping over a bucket of water, spilling the substance all over the floor as well as on herself. In embarrassment, she had refused to change and continued to work, the worried face of Koharu watching her every move after the incident.
Ah...I'm so useless...
This morning she had woken up to a horrible fever. Her face was burning up whilst her entire body felt as if she'd visited the Antarctic. Shinobu had forced her into bed against her own wishes, Aoi complaining to the pillar that she was most definitely okay-
Ugh...everything's spinning...
A blur of a familiar figure formed in front of her, swirls of colors approaching her side with something in their arms.
Eh? Am I hallucinating now? Iwasaki-san's in front of me...
"Are you...feeling alright Kanzaki-san?"
Aoi's eyes widened, springing up from her futon before another headache hit her like a truck, forcing her to lay back down to subdue the pain. "Eh? Iwasaki-san? What're you doing here...?"
Suddenly, she felt something cold on top of her head, looking to the side to see a bucket of cold water next to Koharu, and a cool towel on top of her head.
"I was worried when you didn't come to meet me in the morning." Koharu explained, floating question marks above Aoi's head at the unusual number of words that came out of Koharu's mouth. "Shinobu-san told me you got sick today, so I wanted to see if you were alright..."
"Ah..."
I made her worry...
"Sorry I made you worry, Iwasaki-san..." Aoi buried herself under the blanket, hiding her face as the feeling of shame took her over. "The only thing I can do after the Final Selection was to help around the estate, and I failed to do even that..."
Aoi's eyes widened upon what she had said, covering her mouth in panic.
"Final...Selection?"
Well, the cat's out the bag now.
"It's a trial that people take to become demon slayers. I managed to pass, but it was out of pure luck."
"I was...scared to go back out there and fight against demons. That's why I ended up staying here and helping out in the estate."
"I'm...such a coward, aren't I?"
Silence filled the room.
Ah...I've said too much haven't I.
"S-Sorry, what am I even babbling about-"
"I think your amazing, Kanzaki-san."
This time, it was Aoi's turn to be stunned to silence.
Koharu continued, seeing the form under the blanket freeze upon her words. "You do so much to help around the estate, and I've personally seen your hard work when you were teaching me."
"I know I haven't been as...social. But you keep trying to talk to me, and I can't tell you how grateful I am."
"..."
"Demons...are scary. Aren't they, Kanzaki-san?"
With those final words, Aoi burst out from her blanket bubble, tears wetting her cheeks as she reached out her hand.
"Iwa...saki-san-!"
However, in place of Koharu's figure, a neatly placed plate of hanami dango was beside her bed.
Iwasaki-san...
Thank you.
_______________________________
Word count: 988
Chapter status: renewed [7/15/2022]
Thank you for reading ^^
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New Moon |KNY| [Discontinued}
Fanfiction"I thought I was saved, but I was only deceiving myself." If everything was left to fate, A fate where all you could do was meet death at your door, Would you then fight? ------------------------- DISCLAIMER: Kimetsu No Yaiba (Demon Slayer) does not...
