𝐓𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐫𝐞

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟒

YOU ARE A COLLATERAL DAMAGE,
LITTLE ONE.

Pain. The sensation engulfing her stomach was the unmistakable sorrow that had been her twin since she was born.

The blade snapped, clattering on the dusty ground. She panted, tears peeking at the angles of her eyes for a split second, before spilling out and mixing with the blood oozing for the large wound on her forehead and the numerous scratches on her cheeksbones.

There was nothing left to do.

She screamed at the top of her lungs, the icy ropes binding her into place as she was forced to loosen her grip on the hilt of her now broken katana. It fell on the ground with a dull thud as the person in front of her held no sympathy in his eyes. His words still resounded in her head, a constant reminder of how he had plotted this for years.

"If not with me, you're not going to be happy with anyone else" he had told her. He was sticking up to his oath, was he not?

«Why? Why did you do it?» the brunette screamed at the top of her lungs, the ice burning the exposed skin of her thighs and wrists unforgivingly. She knew that she could have died of frostbite. There was no escape.

«I could have saved him! I hate you! I will never forgive you! Do you hear me? I will never–...» she cried out, before falling on her knees and choking on her own words. Breathing was impossible. She had lost a battle for the first time ever. The mark faded away from her face, as she heard the man scoff and release her from the deadly chains he had trapped her in.

She opened her eyes back again, but he was gone and all she knew was that Kyojuro was feebly calling out her name. Tanjiro was screaming after someone, bleeding out, and she broke down at the sight of her husband, knelt on the ground, on the verge of death.

Blood was everywhere. The arm of his oppenent was no more stuck into his abdomen. This time she would have not come back with him, they would have not mended each others wounds.

«It should have been me» she sobbed, tears copiously falling from her lashes as the sun began to enlighten the desolate plain.

Clarice woke up drenched in sweat, her ears ringing and her heart running a marathon into her chest. A nightmare. She had had a nightmare. Why was Tanjiro in it, though? And Kyojuro, he was there too and he was dying before her eyes. Who was the man who had not finished her off too, but had bidden her into place?

She could not discern his face but one thing was clear: he wanted Kyojuro to die.

What puzzled her even more was how in the actual hell did she know it was an arm stuck into Kyojuro's stomach? How? It was humanly impossible.

"And I don't even use drugs... Geez, I need my coffee" she thought, pouting in contempt.

She could not discern his face but one thing was clear: he wanted Kyojuro to die.

Well, the hallucinations were truly doing numbers on her. Apparently, she could not even find peace in her sleep. She should have talked about them to someone, maybe to Douma, yet there was a weird feeling in her guts telling her to deal with her problem alone.

She had no idea of why she had even mentioned it to Kyojuro. Was she looking for reassurance?

It was six in the morning and the alarm was still beeping. She glanced over her shoulder and she noted that Douma had already left. He had told her that he would have had to leave early in the morning to visit his parents. Well, actually, their graves. It was the anniversary of their death and, although she thought he would have appreciated her company for the trip, he had told her that he would have been totally fine in dealing with his sorrow alone.