A Carnations Regret |KNY x Reader|

|Prologue|

   Okashi's heart thumped loudly in her chest, Uzui would say that he could hear it a mile away—had he not been lying dead with a gaping hole in his chest. Okashi glanced at the former sound hashira, a sense of deja vu entering her mind as she remembered how his best friend went.

She quickly yanked her head back as another body was flung towards the piece of large ruble she was hiding behind. She threw her hands over her mouth, forcing her scream back into her throat as she looked at the wide eyes of the corpse.

Okashi couldn't tell how they died, the blood from their comrades covered their body, making it impossible to tell where their own blood was coming from. But if she were to guess, based on how everyone else died, it was probably from the several cuts on their body that caused them to die of blood loss.

The thought made Okashi want to vomit, she would likely join them soon. Her arms were covered in deep cuts and a large cut was stretched across her back that was oozing the same crimson liquid. But she had to shake those thoughts away, no matter how plausible they were.

"C'mon, Tanjiro!" A deep voice yelled. A voice that would haunt Okashi's dreams for as long as she lived. She knelt down, peeking slowly out from the broken piece of a building that was shielding her.

Grinning ear-to-ear in the middle of a pile of dead bodies was Muzan Kibutsuji. He didn't look like he used to. His once short black hair had formed into a long mess of white hair that reached below his shoulders. He didn't have the normal body of a human anymore, instead, his arms and legs were covered in a deep red that resembled the blood that he spilled. Mouths full of razor sharp teeth decorated his crimson skin. Then, the most deadly part of this new Muzan, was the long whip-like limbs that had caused the cuts on almost all of the bodies in the field.

The only one, besides Okashi and Muzan, that was standing was Tanjiro Kamado. But he didn't look much better. He was obviously fighting the suffocating urge to consume all the dead flesh around him. But it was the motivation and anger from all the same dead bodies that he once knew that kept him fighting the new demonic urge inside of him.

"Muzan..." Tanjiro growled, his hold tightening on his broken sword. He raised his head to glare at the demon king in front of him. "...I'll take you to Hell with me." Muzan paused, blinking before letting out a sick cackle.

"Look at you, you're all alone, and you think you can kill me?" In the blink of an eye, Muzan was next to Tanjiro, his fist flying towards his face. Tanjiro went flying into an already broken building, causing its foundation to rumble again.

Tanjiro coughed up blood, holding his throat with his calloused hands. Okashi fought the urge to run over and help, her fear keeping her in place. She turned away as Muzan raised one of his extended limbs, the sharp end piercing Tanjiro's body.

Muzan looked at his work, a smile on his lips as he realized that finally, all who knew that cursed sun breath technique, were dead. He turned around, facing the sun that was just starting to peek over the horizon. Muzan quickly started to run away from the light, before the strum of an instrument summoned a door below his feet.

Okashi let out a scream as soon as Muzan was out of sight and so was the door that swallowed him up. She raced over to Tanjiro, her hand holding up his heavy head. "Tanjiro! Tanjiro!" She called out, giving him enough motivation to open his eyes.

"Okashi..." He croaked out, his voice strained and hoarse. "I-I'm so happy to see... to see... you're alive." He mustered a pained smile on his face and Okashi choked out a sob.

"I'm so sorry I wasn't stronger. I wish I could've helped you more! This is all my fault!" She cried, pulling him into her lap as she hugged him. Tanjiro raised his hand, cupping one of her flushed tear-stained cheeks.

"No. This... This is only the beginning. A generation will follow us, whether that be us in our next life, or completely different people, Muzan will be defeated." Tanjiro said, before his painful comforting face turned into a serious one. He held Okashi's face, pulling her close to him.

"Okashi, I want you to take our weapons. As many as you can, I don't know what Muzan will do now, but he might destroy all the sword-smiths. Give the weapons to those who're worthy. Do this, for all of us. But protect Nezuko... for... for... me..." Tanjiro's words trailed off as his dark red eyes rolled back lifelessly.

"Tanjiro," Okashi cried helplessly. "Tanjiro!" She screamed, holding his warm corpse close to her chest as she cried into his shoulder. She was praying it was a dream as she wailed, hoping beyond hope that this was all a nightmare she would wake up from.

But as the sun slowly reached its peak in the sky and Okashi cried all the tears she could, she knew it wasn't. She silently reached around Tanjiro, grabbing his broken sword. She was going to keep it more for sentimental value than as a weapon.

Slowly, her arms filled with the weapons of the hashira, and those close to Tanjiro. It was the least she could do for him, keep those whom he loved's memories alive. Okashi struggled walking with all the weapons, but after a tiring hour, she made it to where Nezuko was. Urokodaki's.

Okashi had seen Urokodaki's body, he had joined the fight in a futile attempt to stop Muzan. Okashi slid the door open with her foot, stumbling inside. As soon as Okashi sat the weapons to the side, she stumbled to the floor.

Nezuko, who laid on a futon silently with her eyes closed, turned to face Okashi. Unlike Okashi who couldn't get anymore tears from her dry eyes, Nezuko was still crying. How she already knew about her brother's death, Okashi didn't know. But it was the type of bond Nezuko and Tanjiro had.

"He's... He's dead, isn't he?" Okashi looked at Nezuko, her face scrunching up in sorrow, giving Nezuko the answer she already knew. Nezuko scooted closer to Okashi, pulling the blanket over both of them.

"I'm so sorry, I couldn't protect any of them." Okashi wept into her hands. Nezuko buried her face into her neck and they continued to mumble apologies and cry as their arms wrapped around each other.

"What now?" Nezuko asked, showing Okashi her sharp teeth. "I'm still a demon... and you're..." Nezuko didn't have to finish her sentence, Okashi already knew. Okashi would die before Nezuko ever did.

"We'll figure it out, but I have two promises to keep." Okashi glanced at the weapons on the floor. Okashi turned to Nezuko, thinking momentarily. They couldn't stay here, it'd be too dangerous. Maybe they could go to a different country in Asia, but it'd still be too close for comfort.

"Okashi." Nezuko's quivering voice brought Okashi out of her focused trance. Okashi looked up at the sniffling girl. "I'm willing to go anywhere with you." Nezuko said, taking Okashi's hands and holding them in her own.