Within the Aura [Discontinued]

Chapter 2 Adjustments

Kumiko fluttered her unbandaged right eye open meeting the ceiling above her. She could see her bandaged arm and shoulder out the corner of her eye. She then turned to look left at the door and slowly sat up to the sound of the door opening to reveal a brunette woman with gentle purple eyes void of any pupils in a flowery kimono. Kumiko recognized her aura as one of the two she saw that night.

"How are you feeling?" Her soothing voice cut off the silence.

"I-" Kumiko was cut off by a coughing fit. The woman frowned holding out a cup of water for her. Kumiko breathe a sigh of relief as the liquid washed away her dry throat. "I'm fine now thank you." Her assistant, the male aura, came in not long after. His lavender eyes had silted pupils and his eyebrows were furrowed into a scowl.

"I have not introduced myself. I'm Tamayo. That's Yushiro." Tamayo motioned to the teal-haired boy.

"I'm Minori Kumiko." She noticed Tamayo's eyes widen at her last name. "Thank you for saving me. How long was I out?"

"A month."

Kumiko choked a bit upon hearing that. "I'm sorry for any trouble I caused."

Yushiro finally spoke. "You kept Tamayo-sama up for nights. I suggest you refer to her as 'Tamayo-sama' for helping you out eyesore." A glare from Tamayo was all it took for him to go silent. Kumiko caught a pink hue in his aura that deepened each time Tamayo glanced his way.

"Don't mind him. He's rough around the edges but very kind."

Sama? It rolls off the tongue nicely. "Tamayo-sama...are you demons?"

Tamayo was taken aback by the question while Yushiro gave a deer in the highlights look. "Yes, we are. But we don't eat humans. We can survive on blood which I purchase from people in poverty. Secondly, we are committed to putting an end to Muzan Kibutsuji the ruler of all demons." Kumiko nodded in acknowledgement. Tamayo shifted the discussion to her injuries. Her left arm was a mess of distorted skin from the ridged scar running down the shoulder. Her eye was no different. A large, jagged scar enveloped her left eye from the forehead down to the chin with the eyebrow splitting it. She was also partially blind on it now. Kumiko was left alone to rest. She stared at the ceiling for a couple of hours mulling over something she did not tell Tamayo. The left eye's color had changed to a solid amber.

---

It had been a week since Kumiko had woken up. Tamayo agreed to let her to live them seeing as the girl had no other family. Kumiko was currently at her house cleaning and gathering her things. Mainly just clothes, some herbs that Tamayo had requested and lastly five notebooks containing the family writings. Once all that was gathered, she paid one last visit to the garden memorial. The personal belongings of her slaughtered family were placed around the engravement since there were no remains for her to bury.

"I'm sorry I couldn't do anything back then," she muttered in prayer, "but I may be of some use in the future if I gain the skill." She reached for the katana. "Dad. Ichiro. I will be taking this." She wriggled the sword out of the soil and hid it under her kimono to avoid putting Yushiro on the defense. Kumiko stop to look at the fully bloomed wisteria tree cursing under her breath. If the tree had bloomed a month prior none of this would have happened but there was nothing that could be done now expect move on.

---

"Oi, eyesore," Yushiro called out to Kumiko who was cleaning the windows. Muffled screams could be heard coming from a room down the hall. "Tamayo-sama needs your help." There was bitterness in his voice due to Tamayo requesting Kumiko rather than him.

In fact, Tamayo requested Kumiko's help with uncooperative patients more so than Yushiro. Patients immediately trust her since she is human but that only resulted in Yushiro growing jealous of the girl. All he ever referred to her as was 'eyesore' and 'you'.

"You might want to cover up that scar. The kid might think he's in hell." His suggestion came out harsher than intended. He was met with a wet rag smacking his face.

"He probably thought that when he saw you, eyesore!" Kumiko exclaimed walking down the hall.

"EYESORE? YOU'RE THE SCARFACED BRAT!" He chucked the rag at lightning speed. It missed Kumiko instead hitting Tamayo when she rushed out to investigate. I HAVE COMMITTED THE GRAVEST SIN! She still looks beautiful though.

Tamayo motioned for Kumiko to follow her to the patient's room. As Yushiro predicted, the boy only resisted more upon seeing Kumiko's scar implying that Tamayo did it. A bs story about Kumiko getting it from a bear was enough to convince the boy to cooperate. Tamayo and Yushiro were the only ones present at dinner later that night.

"Do you have nothing to say?" Tamayo apprehended the guiltless boy. Yushiro hummed in response. "You owe Kumiko an apology. She has been nothing but patient with you. She was even kind enough to donate her marechi blood that you just happen to be drinking." Tamayo stopped to calm herself. "When you're done, go take Kumiko's dinner to her and apologize."

"That won't be necessary." Kumiko joined them. A white cloth was wrapped diagonally across her face covering her left eye.

"Kumiko, Yushiro has something to say."

"There is no need. I've learned my lesson. Yushiro saw to that." She slurped up the udon as quick as she could then excusing herself. Neither of the demons stopped her though Tamayo informed her that she wanted to have a private conversation later.

---

Kumiko was dreading this talk. The odds of it being about Yushiro were high but she could not say no to Tamayo. She deserved nothing but respect for her hospitality. So Kumiko laid on her bed trying to make out shapes from the cracks on the ceiling. She straightened herself up when Tamayo walked in and sat on Kumiko's blindside as if tempting her to remove the cloth.

"I'm sorry about Yushiro." She started.

"It's not your fault. I know it will take time for him to warm up. There is kindness in his aura."

"I actually wanted to talk to you about that aura ability of yours. You said your last name was Minori. Did your family happen to be demon slayers?"

Kumiko quickly answered, "Yes. At least one child in each generation was a demon slayer specializing in the Breath of Aura. My dad and twin brother were the latest in the lineage but they both died, so the tradition died along with them. Why'd you ask?"

"Four hundred years ago when I was still serving Kibutsuji, I encountered two demon slayers who nearly defeated him. One was a woman whose breathing style had to do with aura. Somehow, she was able to help me regain my memories that Kibutsuji took. Do you anything about that?"

"My knowledge on aura is limited to basic stuff but," Kumiko walked to her closet and pulled out the notebooks, "there may be something about it in here. Everything about Breath of Aura is recorded in here. One thing I do know is that the family has become a major target for Kibutsuji over the years."

Tamayo narrowed her eyes in thought. "For Kibutsuji to have targeted your family means he sees them as a threat. If that's so, then your aid will be invaluable in the fight against him. I think becoming a demon slayer would be the best option. That is if you choose."

Kumiko grinned widely. She reached under the bed for the sword. "That's the idea. I even took my dad's Nichirin sword." She searched the pile for the first volume. "Odds are that the training will take longer for me since I'm self-taught, but I'll do it." Kumiko opened the notebook examining the contents of the first couple of pages. "Even a training schedule was writ- wait what!"

"What is it?" Kumiko pointed to the training regimen for Tamayo to read. "Oh my."