«This is not Ryu», was the only thing on Ayaka's head.
Ryu Takahashi had been nonchalant, impassive and stoic like no one was, like how a woodsman that lived in a cabin in the middle of the forest was supposed to be. But this Ryu wasn't like that.
Because that wasn't Ryu at all.
"So that's how he's gotten to hide in the village for so long," she whispered to herself, eyes brimming with suspicion.
The son of the local woodsman welcomed her with a confused smile. He looked at her for a few moments, just enough to recognize Aya-san under the demon slayer uniform and the braid that took the place of the short hair she used to have as a child.
"Hey, it's been a while, Aya-san!" Ryu exclaimed behind the counter, as if they were tender childhood friends that reunited after a long time, as if Ayaka didn't have to physically repress the urge to tremble. "How are you? Your parents said you moved with some distant relatives from your mother's family, that was sudden, wasn't it?"
The deep impulse to puke made Ayaka stop listening, whatever it was that demon recovered from the memories of the real Ryu to impersonate him and make everyone believe it was him as he ate humans without remorse. It was, really, a terrible performance.
"So you've opened this small stall, leaving the family profession... for whatever reason," Ayaka started, squinting at him as her hand slowly slid down the shiny wood of the counter. Ryu nodded nearly in enthusiasm. "Isn't your father disappointed?"
Her brown eyes settled on him, lions hidden in between the grass waiting for the zebra to get close enough. Kanao continued looking somewhere in the distance behind them. Ayaka guessed she was just distracted, maybe something caught her attention, or Kanao was such a disappointment she usually acted like that.
The zebra, then, got too close.
Any kind of toughness on Ayaka's face melted when she saw Ryu's eyes shine with a thin veil of water.
«Is he crying!? How can a demon cry!?», Ayaka thought in alarm. The tears started to run down Ryu's cheeks, whose expression filled with grief. «Oh fuck, oh fuck! Oh fuck! Tanjirou is the one that deals with this! What should I do!? Last time I yelled at Zenitsu!»
Kanao's coin shined in the air when flipping it, and it rattled when falling against the counter, showing the copper side where tails was carved. Without uttering a word, Kanao took a tissue from her pocket and offered it to Ryu, still with eyes somewhere Ayaka couldn't see.
"It doesn't matter." And those were the first words Kanao said that morning on her own will..
Both, Ayaka and Ryu, stared in astonishment at the white tissue embroidered in pink, one more astonished than the other.
"Ah, thank you very much, miss..?" Ryu started, brushing away his few tears.
"Kanao," Ayaka answered strained on her stead, still with her gaze on his recently wet cheeks. "Kanao Tsuyuri."
"Tsuyuri Kanao," Ryu nodded in gratefulness. "Thank you then, Tsuyu-san."
Kanao didn't even turn to give an answer, purple eyes settled somewhere unknown.
«Where the hell is she looking at?», Ayaka questioned.
"She's very quiet, forgive her," Ayaka tried to excuse her somehow, as Kanao made no attempt to acknowledge Ryu was there except for when he gave her the tissue back.
«Why am I the one apologizing!? It should be him who kissed the floor!», Ayaka thought bitterly, jaw tightening. «This isn't even the real one! It's a bad copy! A very bad copy!»
YOU ARE READING
Stone Cold | Tanjirou Kamado (old version)
Fanfiction❝The first thing that came to mind when thinking about Ayaka Iwamoto was freezing fingers and harsh winds, on the path up a snowy mountain you would only die on. And that was probably the most accurate depiction one could have of her, because there...
