Unforgiving World (Tanjiro x OC)

Chapter 22

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The wind carried Amaya's long hair in its current, the shine of the moon slightly illuminating the barely visible purple colour of it. The night sky was peaceful, the stars friendly as they watched carefully from above. Her blue eyes scanned the swarm of lights that made the district below seem like it were just a bunch of fireflies buzzing through without a worry. It was calming, very much so. But it wasn't enough to drown out the intense feeling of resentment, anger and obvious disgust.

It came from all around the place, hostility pushing out the calmness that had been there just moments ago. It was disturbing, thought Amaya. It made her want to obey to those emotions and just leave this district without any remorse or without looking back. But she knew she couldn't. The mission was still going, it had been for a few days, and it wasn't getting any better for Amaya's nerves.

Knowing her companions were inside with those dangerous plagues, it worried her to the point where she couldn't stop herself from showing it. She tapped her fingers against the hard roof of a high building, high enough so she could watch basically everything. Feel everything. Vibrations, heartbeats, blood-flow, all of it. She didn't always feel those, but when she tried, she could feel everything. And it was both a curse and a blessing.

From a basic pattern of any sort of shift in the air, a feeling could be identified. She felt joy, hatred, sadness, playfulness, disappointment, pleasure, and even safety. It was clear from just a single glance. Amaya had always thought of it to be a strange thing, how easily she could feel what others were feeling yet never feel something for herself. She never used to anyways, but nowadays, she did. Though that only made those concerns for her companions grow bigger.

"It's quiet today as well, isn't it?" hummed a deep voice from her right side, to which Amaya nodded in agreement. "Yes, it seems so", responded the girl, never once taking her analysing eyes off the streets below. Uzui's diamond accessories tapped against one another as his head moved to face her, not even hiding how observing he was. "Do you feel anything?" asked the hashira, but Amaya simply scoffed and shook her head, finally moving her gaze over to his own.

"I do. But I can't pinpoint an exact location. The feeling's so strong, it's swarming all around the place." Uzui frowned at this information, but kept his head high nonetheless, a thing Amaya secretly admired him for. No matter how little hope there was, he kept holding onto his pride, never once losing faith. "What kind of feelings are they?" asked the man, the question having been the same as the previous few days, where they'd come up empty-handed as well.

"Well, it's certainly angry, that's for sure. I can tell it's from a demon, but a feeling this strong can only mean it's a dangerous one", informed Amaya, letting her eyes trail back to the buzzing streets below. Uzui nodded along, copying her moves and looking down instead of at her. "I'm getting a bad feeling as well. It's like being enveloped in smoke. So adept at becoming invisible... So you think the demon residing here could be an Upper Rank? Well, if that's the case... we could be in for an ultra-flashy fight to the death", shared Uzui, his explanation making sense to the female demon slayer.

She chose to keep her mouth shut for the time being, moving her legs so she sat in a criss-cross position instead. "Well, since nothing's happening, mind telling me something?" asked Uzui out of the blue, to which Amaya rose a curious yet hesitant brow. "...Why?" asked the girl sceptically, but the hashira simply shrugged with a look of boredom, leaning his head in the palm of his hand. "It's not like anything interesting is happening down there, so at least cheer me up up here." Fair point. Amaya sighed before shifting so she could face him, raising her head high in some sort of a challenge.

"Alright. But you answer one of my questions too", bargained the demon slayer, a teasing smirk building on Uzui's face, obvious excitement for the question he'd be able to respond to. "I guess that's only fair then", muttered the hashira in amusement, turning to face the girl as well. "I have to know, how you ended up becoming Ichiro-kun's Tsuguko. I've known him for quite some time and he never struck me as the type who'd just randomly do such a thing." Right. The question was easy. Amaya had been hoping for some sort of blockbuster, but this'd have to do for now.