𝐅𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐨𝐫 𝐇𝐚𝐭𝐞? [KNY] [Giyushino]

𝓒𝓱𝓪𝓹𝓽𝓮𝓻 19: 𝓝𝓪𝓸𝓶𝓲'𝓼 𝓛𝓸𝓻𝓮

Naomi POV:

I hid in a small, cramped,  but thankfully dark cave. I had used a lot of energy with the battle with the three stupid Hashiras, and needed to devour some humans soon. But it was daytime, so I just had to hold out until sunset.

Master Muzan would be pleased with me. I had managed to kill off one of the stronger Hashiras and almost kill another. Hopefully I would receive some more of his blood. Even a drop was so powerful.

I huddled at the very end of the cave, as far into the shadows as I could. So hungry...

I blinked, and suddenly I was teleported into a dimension unlike earth..

Realising it was the Infinity Castle, worry overtook me. This meant Master Muzan wanted to see me. Was he angry because I didn't kill the butterfly pillar too? Or maybe this was good.. he wanted to give me more blood for killing the water pillar?

Master Muzan stepped out from the shadows and I immediantly dropped to my knees, bowing.

"Ikana Naomi, Upper Four," Master Muzan sneered, "You have failed me."

"What? I-" I looked up immediantly, panicking.

"No-one gave you permission to speak." Master Muzan said. I felt the sharp pain of my hand being sliced off. I blinked furiously and tried to stop generating. He often got mad when demons rengerated his little punishments too quickly.

"You had three Hashiras approach you," he contuined, "And you only killed one. You've also grown weak. I can see you haven't devoured any humans in a while."

I bit my tongue, trying not to argue my point that I was just in a battle and it was daytime so I couldn't eat.

I forgot Master Muzan could read minds.

"Nonsense!" Muzan snarled, "Any demon can eat during daytime. You should have found prey immediantly after battle. In fact, you shouldn't have let a battle you could easily win drag into daytime. You should have consumed the Hashiras. You have failed in more ways than one.

I strip you of your title."

The cruel X scar on my eye. I thought that was it. But then I felt my heartbeat stop, and realised he had killed me as well.

In that moment, I realised he was the real cruel one.

Flashback

Suddenly, my memories of being a human returned to me in my last moments.

Someone had held my hand lovingly. Someone had cared.

Who was it?

I was an orphan when I was only seven. Wandering the streets alone, with nothing but a stolen piece of bread. Rich ladies shot me looks. Wealthy men steered clear of me and the flies surrounding me.

If you had no money, you didn't matter.

That was what I was told ever since I joined a small orphanage at the outskirts of the city. The Lady made us do housework and steal food and money if we wanted a shelter.

I was a child, never taught better, and didn't know stealing was bad. All I knew was that I had to steal to survive. If you didn't come home with a bag full of goods, you were lashed and sent to spend the night outside.

One day, at ten years old, I was snagging a pretty gold necklace from a rich lady when her husband caught me.

I was sent to court, tried as an adult. Nothing was fair those days. They took me as an adult and sent me to jail.

At that age, I didn't understand what I had done. The necklace was worth the same as an apple to me. It was actually worth millions of yen.

I stayed at the jail for a few months before they decided to make me a convict and send me away since the jail was overfilled.

Even I knew that being convicted was not a good thing. I would be sent away to labor and never be in Japan again. Japan was my home, even though it was my suffering.

As I waited in line to board the ship, dreading the moment, Master Muzan appeared and saved me. He offered me to become a demon. I didn't know better. At that moment, anything to stay where I belonged was fine.

I accepted his offer.

I wish I never did.

Now I remembered Hina. Hina was my only friend at the orphanage. She was a few years older than me and always cared for me like my older sister I never had. If she could spare anything, she did, and often stole an apple or an orange for me if she could.

I didn't get to see Hina before I was jailed.

She would be so sad, so disappointed. Now I felt like a failure. She wasted so many apples and so much food on me, only to see me be deported. Or worse, become this demonic creature who ate her own kind. What would she think of me now?

Now I remembered. In my early years of being a demon, I was inexperienced and not yet one of the Twelve Kizuki. I was always hungry and after a particular, tough battle with a Slayer, I was burning with hunger.

As soon as the sky darkened, I bounded into a wooden building and consumed everyone. Mostly small, dirty children, but there was also one adult.

Now I realise that was my orphanage.

And I had killed Hina.

The only person who ever cared for me. The only person who I would live for. And I had been her downfall. I always had been.

Hina was a beautiful girl, the Lady always said that. She declared that she would sell Hina to a house in the city as soon as she turned fifteen. I never wanted that to happen.

Hina was just going to turn fifteen and step into her glorious future when I devoured her.

Hina, I'm sorry.

I'm sorry for everything.