Tale of the Flower Hashira

3. A Boy with Rainbow Eyes

Your eyes fluttered open to see a child, perhaps a few years older than you, poking his head through the gap in the sliding door. He shuffled inside and stood at the corner of the futon, inspecting you like you were an interesting moth he had found. His clothes were rather unusual to you, a large hat sat upon his head, he wore robes and a string of beads. Blond hair framed a round, pale face. The thing that captured your attention the most was his eyes. Rainbow hues swirled in his irises.

"Your eyes," your throat felt rough when you spoke.

"Hmm? What about them?" He cocked his head to the side.

"So pretty..." you mumbled.

He strolled over and sat down on the futon next to you. You sat up slowly, feeling every ache and pain in your body as you did so. While the pair of you stared at each other with wide eyes, you could hear the gentle patter of rain from outside.  

"You think I'm pretty?" The boy teased. "Well I suppose you're right."

You didn't know what to say. Something about him felt off. When you didn't speak, the boy's thick eyebrows knit in what might have been a concerned expression.

"Are you feeling alright?" He asked, lifting a small hand to feel your head.

All you could do was whimper in reply.

"Don't worry, I'll have someone fetch something for the pain." He made no move to leave and instead slid closer to you on the futon, seemingly inspecting your face. He brushed back your long white hair so he could see your face better. "You'll probably be quite the beauty when you're older. How old are you?"

"Eight." You mumbled.

"So young, you have a lot of growing up to do, little one. I'm only eleven right now, but that means I'm certainly older than you!"

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"It means you have to do what I say, I'm the older one you know." He smiled but it did not entirely reach his eyes.

You shrank back against the wall and buried your face in your arms. "I need my older brother! Where is he!"

"You were the only one that was rescued from that demon. If your family was attacked too then your brother is probably..."

"NO!" You sobbed into your hands. "Sanemi is strong, he'd never get hurt like me. I was all alone when that... that... what did you call it?"

"It was a demon," the boy said calmly. "It would have eaten you whole if help hadn't come."

A few tears leaked out of your ruined eye, causing a shooting pain to erupt. You clutched at the bandage where blood was seeping through the soft binding. To your surprise you felt the soft blanket of the futon being wrapped around you. With a gentle tug, you found yourself with your head in his lap, leaning against one of his knees. His fingers brushed through your hair. You felt yourself slowly calm down, only sniffing quietly.

"No more tears." The boy chidded, lifting his clean sleeve to dab at your good eye. "I don't think I've properly introduced myself. You can call me Douma."

His rainbow eyes were mesmerizing and you found that you couldn't look away.

"Aren't you gonna tell me your name?" He cocked his head to the side.

"Y/n Shinazugawa."

"Well then, little y/n. Shall I go see about a warm meal for you? Also a herbal remedy for the pain should do the trick."

You nodded. "Yes, thank you... Douma."

He noticed how wet and red the bandage had become. The smell of blood was heavy in the air. He swiped his finger over the bandage, leaving a small trail of blood on his thumb.

"Your bandage needs to be changed." He said in a distracted tone. "Lay back down for a little while, I'll be back soon."

You did as you were told and the boy got to his feet and walked out of the room, shutting the door closed behind him.

Douma walked down the hall and into his private rooms. It took barely a second for him to return to his normal size. Now back to his usual adult form, he fixated upon the streak of blood on his finger. He shoved it in his mouth and sucked every drop, nearly biting his own finger off in the process.

"Well now, I have found something truly unique. I've already eaten my fill today and the little one is making me this ravenous? Even after the many marechi's I've tasted, this one seems different somehow. Too bad she's barely a snack at this point." He licked at his finger again, wishing for more. "Well, I always did like playing with my food. A few years will be nothing to me. But it wouldn't do for another, lesser demon to gobble this delicacy up. I'll just have to keep her close till she matures. Then..."

He smiled sadistically at the thought.

___

"Are my eyebrows really that big?" Kyojiro asked from behind you, immediately breaking your concentration.

Instantly you jumped and dropped the sketch pad. The flame hashira knelt down and picked it up. Studying the picture you had sketched of him.

"Give that back, please." Your hand trembled as you reached out to take it back.

Kyojiro simply grinned and leafed through the other pages. There wasn't much to be seen, just a few sketches of scenery, a portrait of Ubuyashiki, and several studies of his children.

"These are marvelous." The flame hashira said in a soft and sincere voice.

"...Thank you..." You twisted a bit of your long hair in your fingers, too embarrassed to meet the man's eyes.

He stopped at an older portrait you had done. Kyojiro studied the multicolored eyes of the teenage boy in the painting.

Douma, perhaps around sixteen, sitting by a koi pond in his gardens, glancing at you from the painting with a soft smile on his lips. The inky night sky and lotus flowers surrounding him.

"Who's this?" Asked the flame haired man.

You tugged the book away then, hiding the detailed painting from view. "Just someone I grew up with."

"Is that so!" It was hard to read Rengoku's expressions, they always seemed to have the same smile. He seemed to begin to say something but a crow squawked and drew the attention of both of you.

"Y/n Shinazugawa! You are to accompany Giyu Tomioka and Kocho Shinobu to Mount Natagumo! Report to the master immediately!"

Your first mission as a hashira had already begun.