ᴅᴇᴍᴏɴ sʟᴀʏᴇʀ: ᴡʜᴇʀᴇ ᴛʜᴇ ғʟᴏᴡᴇʀs ʙʟᴏᴏᴍᴇᴅ "ᴋʏᴏᴊᴜʀᴏ ᴀɴᴅ ᴀᴋᴀʀɪ"

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Sixteen

"Kyori and Hiro"

Kyori and Hiro have met each other when they were kids. Akari had taken them out to celebrate her birthday with just the three of them. They went to the park and treated themselves with different kinds of foods, you would normally see in parks. They played together – even Kajuro seemed to be having fun – and they made that day memorable. They even took a picture for them to keep.

When Akari had gone to buy more food for her kids, Kyori was playing under a tree as Kajuro sat, waiting for his mother to come back. Kyori had noticed someone crying in the bushes that was near the tree she was playing on. She went there to investigate. "Hello?", she said, proceeding with caution and making sure that she was not walking farther from her brother who was sitting there, just waiting and doing nothing, gazing in the clouds. "Are you okay?", she saw a boy, crying. The boy was covering his face as he continued to cry. "Wh-who are you?", the boy said to her. "Oh, you're hurt. Do you need help? I can help you", she grinned at the boy, her eyes were soft and sincere. She offered a hand and the boy gladly took it. She pulled him up and then, she shouted for her brother. "Oniichan, I need your help. Someone's hurt", she called out for Kajuro. "Hmm?", Kajuro turns around to see Kyori holding hands with a boy. "You scraped your knee. Does it hurt? I'll call mom", Kajuro examined the wound on the boy's knee and ran to his mother, leaving Kyori with Hiro. He said to wait and stay still. "Let's wait here for my mom to come. I'm sure she knows what to do. Don't worry, I'll stay by your side, so you won't cry anymore", Kyori was soft on him, making sure he wouldn't cry. To kill time, she told stories about her mother and father. How they were great demon slayers and was in an organization, not known to the government. She told him that one day, she will be someone like her parents. Someone who will help those in need. "Kyori!", her mother called out for her name. She looked up and saw her mom with food on her hand and the other one holding Kajuro. "Hello there", Akari greeted the boy and smiled. She sat down on her knees and gave Kajuro the food she was holding. "Sweetie, would you mind if you hold his hand?", Akari said to Kyori who was standing in front of her. The boy was still sitting down. "I'll cover your wound and it will hurt a little, so hold on to Kyori", she explained as she rips a piece of cloth from the kimono she was wearing and put some water in it. Akari wiped the wound first, before covering it with the cloth she ripped from her kimono. "There, there. You'll be fine", she said. The boy smiled at her and thanked them for helping him. "Shall we look for your parents?", Akari asked the little boy. "N-no need. I live nearby", he said and thanked them again before saying goodbye. "We shall meet again, someday!", Kyori waved her hand up high as the boy ran and went home. They wouldn't see each other for years to come, after that day. But fate had plans for them. Even Akari had a feeling.

Kyori was walking home from work. She ended up being a doctor and was helping people – though what she really wanted was, to become a demon slayer...Sadly, the demon slayer corps was disbanded by her Uncle Kiriya, after the battle. "Ugh, I'm so tired", she mumbled as she was walking a little fast. All she could think about was food and bed. "I hope my brother cooked something for me", she said. The sun was beginning to set and the blue sky turned into orange. "Dad, I'm so tired", she mumbled under her breath.

Growing up, whenever the sun would set, Kyori would talk to her father. Sunset was her parents' favorite thing.

She continued walking, even after hearing footsteps behind her. She became cautious and walked a little faster. Then, a hand had touched her in the shoulder. "Um, miss. Is this-", without a second thought and as the very moment when that someone touched her shoulder, she used all her strength to flip the man off his feet, ending up on the ground. "Argh, that hurt", he said. "I was just asking, if this handkerchief is yours", the man hissed at the pain. "Oh, oh. I- I am so sorry. I didn't mean to go all-ninja on you. I'm so so sorry", Kyori helped the man up on his feet. "I'm really sorry", she said. "It's fine. I don't blame you. I could have been a person with bad intentions", the man said as he handed her the handkerchief that had fallen on the road. She looked at him, embarrassed by what she did. She smiled, so nervous. When she opened her eyes, she met the eyes of a man that seemed familiar to her, but she shrugged the thought. The man looked at her and his body became frozen. "Well, thank you for this. I'm gonna go now", she said and turned around, basically running away from the situation. The man was mesmerized by her beauty. That lady. I've met her before, I'm sure of it. She... She was the girl who helped me, all those years ago. The same eyes that looked at me and those soft hands. That's her, I'm sure of it.

"Uh, wait", he tried to call out, but Kyori was fast. Too fast for him. I never even knew your name back then. But I would never forget you. And now that I've found you. I want to know your name. For days, Hiro memorized the road and route that Kyori would take. He was literally stalking her, but he was not going to give up now.

After that day, the day when they first met, he kept waiting on the park. Every single day, he went to the tree that Kyori played at, but she was nowhere to be seen. He waited, because he wanted to play, but he never saw her again. Then fate decided that they should meet again someday, just like Kyori said. And when they did, Hiro will stop at nothing to know her. One day, when she was on her way home. She noticed a man following her. It's been a week since you've been following me. Who are you? Kyori thought to herself. She intercepted the man and basically kicked him on the stomach. The man ended up on the wall of an alleyway. "Who are you and why are you following me?", she said so fiercely. "Hey, its me. Its just me", he said and pulled the cover that was on his mouth. "You? Why are you following me?", she asked, furiously. "Um, that's a little hard to explain. But I just wanted to... um. I just wanted to know if... I just thought that if you'd like, have lunch with me sometimes?", he closed his eyes as he asked her that embarrassing question. "Okay", she smiled, grinned. She looked pleased and happy. "Really?", he wasn't sure if she was messing with him or that she was truthful. "If you wanted lunch, you should have just asked and approached me. I won't bite. Although, I would have kicked you again. And plus, you're offering me food, so there's no problem for me. And I think I owe you for ninja-kicking you the first time", she walked back and forth, her index finger on her lips. "Tomorrow then, bye", she walked away and disappeared. "Wow, she really is fast", he muttered under his breath, a whisper.

Tomorrow came and days would turn into weeks, weeks to months and months to years. They formed a friendship and eventually, they would fall in love with each other. By that time, Kyori would have known that he was the boy she helped all those years ago. She really didn't notice at first, but after a few weeks of having lunch, Kyori invited him for dinner and when he came to their house, Akari recognized him in an instant. Kyori was stunned, Kajuro was shocked and Akari laughed at the faces they were making. "You were the boy I helped? What?", Hiro was feeling uncomfortable. They had dinner and it was a silent one. Unusual for all of them, because, as everyone would know, with every bite and every food that comes in contact with Kyori's mouth, her favorite word would come running out. After that dinner, Kyori walked Hiro home. "You could've just told me that you were the boy that I helped. Wow, how did I not recognize you and my mother did?", she was a few inches away from Hiro. "Your mom has a good memory", Hiro said and that made Kyori smile a bit. That night would have been the night that they had first kissed. Their first kiss that Hiro had initiated. And that night would have been the night that Hiro confessed towards his feelings for Kyori. "You might not believe me, but I... I've been looking for you", he said and Kyori chuckled. "Sounds just like you", she said.

Kyori ended up marrying Hiro at the age of 26, after four years of dating. They ended up with three children; Hiyojuro Rengoku, the eldest; Hikari Rengoku, the middle and; their youngest was named after Kyori's father, Kyojuro Rengoku. Hiro took his wife's surname – Hiro Rengoku – as an honor of being in the Rengoku family – to be honest, he was skeptical with Kyori's story when they met as kids, but turns out that demons were real and that Kyori's parents were indeed demon slayers. And that's the end of their love story.