Candles || Kokushibo

🖤11: ᴛʀᴀᴜᴍᴀ🖤

      The snow falls lightly, and the sun already has set, enabling Kokushibo to roam as much as he wishes. He listens to the crunching of the snow beneath his feet as he makes his way down the crowded trail where people are either waiting for the festival to begin or are setting up. As he moves by all the various stands, the wind starts to blow through his hair. Tanjiro's fingers casually interlock with Kokushibo's sleeve, unaware of his adopted father's side gaze. He carries Mabel with his other arm while occasionally turning back to see an enthusiastic Mitsuri and a little agitated Muichiro. Tanjiro peers around in a clearing with a large tree still standing in the middle. Snow has covered it, and the lights that are encircling it are still off. He turns to face the taller demon next to him. "When will the lights turn on?" When Kokushibo looks down at Tanjiro, he notices that he is fixated on a large tree that easily outranks any nearby structures. The ornaments that adorned the branches are dispersed throughout the tree and are styled in various hues. The disguised demon looks ahead of him once again before hastily scanning the stands around him. "Before midnight." He responds, speaking softly but clearly enough for the others to hear.

      Mabel, who is unaccustomed to seeing so many people about her, can't help but cling tightly to her father. She searches her surroundings for her deceased uncle but is unpleasantly surprised to discover no one. The pillars didn't spend much time with her at home before he abruptly left without informing her where he was going. He always lets her know when he's leaving and when he should return, so that never happens. He has since disappeared. Nezuko also appears to be unable to locate him. Along with the child, she scans the area, but her pink eyes are unable to spot the well-known man. What if they are no longer able to see him? What if they never see him again? 

      While anxiety flooded her body, hunger never seemed to catch up to her. His company is already missed as her head rests on his shoulder. She ignores the miniature dish of lemon cake that Tanjiro offers her, drawing the attention of both men. Mabel, as a child, never rejected anything sweet that was handed to her, so seeing her all dreary while her brother presenting something so sweet in front of her face just troubled him. "Mabel?" Tanjiro brushes her hair away from her face and ignores the cake he gave Muichiro. Mabel looks at the snow behind her father and notices various-sized, somewhat soiled footprints left by people's shoes. "I miss Uncle Yoriichi." Her voice cracks as she mumbles, and tears well up in her maroon eyes. Kokushibo gently presses his face against hers while giving her a questioning expression. "What do you mean?" Tanjiro starts to rub her back in circles but stops when he finds that Nezuko appeared heartbroken as well. Nezuko remains in the same posture as Mabel, but is hugged by Mitsuri instead. With anxiety written across her face as she glances at the diminutive demon, the aforesaid woman uses her free hand to move Nezuko's hair on her back. Mabel's gaze remains fixed on the snow. "He left without telling me or Nee-chan where he was going."

      Mabel remains motionless in the midst of the flying snow as the wind picks up and the temperature decreases. The lights around her abruptly go out as the stars twinkle in the night sky in odd formations. Despite the inquisitive noises made by the civilians, as well as the interested and anxious looks from her new companions, her body refused to move. It's not that she doesn't want to; it's just that she can't. She feels her dad stop, and shock swiftly takes over her body but her face doesn't change. "What's happening?" As sweat accumulates on her skin, Mitsuri struggles to control herself. Kokushibo hums when he thinks. They can infer from his muted response that even he is clueless. 

      While his gaze slithers around the village, the five-year-old feels her fingers unconsciously tighten against his purple clothing. Mabel attempts to speak and move, but a picture of a familiar woman that flashes in her thoughts only discourages her. 'Who is she?' She hears mumbles emanating from Tanjiro and Muichiro, but their response to her question is still ambiguous. She adjusts her gaze in their direction, noticing that they are rather close to her, so why do they sound so far away? 'That girl kind of looked like me, but her eyes and hair were different.' Her brows begin to droop. 'She also looked older, like nee-chan's age.'

      Her slender frame slowly begins to feel again, enabling her to lift her head and scan the now-dark surroundings. Her gaze catches sight of a tiny tabletop display holding neatly arranged hairpins. Her heartbeat quickens as she focuses on a delicate pink cherry blossom hair pin.

"Kaida, you're a moron! If you really adore that hairpin, then calm down."

"Asuka, leave me alone! You're a cruel sister!"

      who are they? Why won't they just let Mabel be? The pin that the girl was holding in her arms is exactly like the one that is on exhibit in front of her. Normally, individuals would want to purchase it out of curiosity or perhaps because they feel a connection to it, but Mabel wants to keep that pin as far away from her as possible. She doesn't want to squander her valuable family time. Who are Asuka and Kaida? She doesn't want to figure it out.

With a soft smile on his lips, Tanjiro moves closer to Kokushibo's side and tenderly tousles her hair. She quickly regains herself and rests her head once more on her father's shoulder. When Mitsuri notices that Nezuko is extending her arms to the child, she lifts her up and sees the girl grab Mabel's hand. Muichiro hurriedly passes the group, but his eyes are still penetrating.

"The festival has obviously been cancelled. Let's get to HQ already."

🖤Secret's/Extra's🖤

~Since Kokushibo stopped eating humans, he got out of Muzan's control completely

~~Muzan blames it on Mabel and has plans that involve her

~Mitsuri and Muichiro stayed at Kokushibo's house until the sun came down

~The woman that Mabel was seeing was her mom as a child in someone else's point of view

~~That alone should give you a hint😉

~It sounded pretty dramatic, but Mabel was having an anxiety attack

~The festival was sabotaged by someone who was there during Mabel's birth

~The festival wasn't cancelled, it was just delayed

~~How dare you Mui