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"i'd be more than happy to accompany you!"
the sounds of people talking in rooms around him woke muichiro up from his restless sleep. despite it being late at night, the inn he was staying in was full of boisterous guests that seemingly didn't know how to rest.
directly below him was a bar and restaurant where guests could drink and eat to their hearts' content. that was most likely where all the sounds were coming from. someone seemed to be having a party at two in the morning. how lucky for him.
muichiro begrudgingly got out of bed and dressed himself in an unassuming blue kimono with a black obi. he didn't want to draw attention for being a hashira, so he hadn't packed any demon slayer corps uniforms, instead choosing to appear as a young traveler on a journey. it was unlikely that any normal citizen would know about the demon slayer corps or the hashira, but it was always best to be cautious.
evidently, his outfit worked. he blended in with the partygoers well, and even got compliments on how good he looked in his outfit. one female partygoer even said she wished she looked as good as him, which prompted muichiro to shyly laugh and rush away.
when he got closer to the bar, he could hear an argument going on. a drunk partygoer was trying to flirt with a young lady, and she wasn't having it. she was constantly rejecting his advances, and he kept on ignoring her rejection. he was leaning against her and practically drooling on the shoulder of her kimono, too drunk to even stand properly.
muichiro hesitated to approach the duo, not wanting to insert himself into an awkward situation, but when the lady looked at him with her gray eyes misting over with tears, he couldn't help but get involved.
"sir, you're embarrassing yourself," he said in a soft voice. "please leave this lady alone, she's already said she's not interested in you many times."
"oh, has she? and who are you to tell me what to do, kid?" the man spat, spraying alcohol scented spit all over muichiro's lovely kimono.
muichiro felt rage filling his heart at this. he rarely felt angry at anyone; in fact, he considered himself a very levelheaded individual. but there was something about this lady that just made him feel like he had to protect her...
luckily, he had brought his sword with him just in case. he hadn't anticipated using it, but it was always better to be safe than sorry.
he rested his hand on his sword hilt and spoke louder this time.
"i told you to leave her alone. go rest, you're drunk."
the man burped loudly in response and lurched forward with his fists up. he swung at muichiro, but his punch was as unsteady as his walk, and he missed entirely, without muichiro having to dodge. then he proceeded to sway and collapse to the ground hard, hitting his head and passing out.
after kneeling down by the man's side and making sure he hadn't injured himself badly, muichiro instructed two strong looking men who were nearby to carry the drunkard up to a room and make sure he was looked at by a doctor the next morning.
the girl was staring at muichiro in shock, and when be made eye contact at him, she looked away shyly, the blush on her pale cheeks barely visible in the unsure barroom light.
"thank you for helping me," she murmured in a soft and gentle voice. "i'm sorry you had to deal with him."
"it's nothing," muichiro replied, suddenly shy as well.
the girl got up off of the stool she was sitting on and moved closer to muichiro, making hesitant eye contact with him. her hands were shaking, and muichiro felt the urge to hold them.
you idiot! he chided himself. you have a girlfriend already; are you crazy?!
"my name's haku," the girl said, "nakamura haku! it's nice to meet you."
"i'm tokito muichiro," muichiro replied. "it's a pleasure to meet you, haku-chan!"
haku's eyes widened in surprise, and she took a step back. muichiro wondered what he had done wrong, and thought about whether he should apologize or ask her if she was okay.
"tokito muichiro?"
"y-yes...?"
"aren't you... the mist hashira? what are you doing here?"
muichiro was speechless after hearing haku's words. how did she know about the hashira? they weren't something your average citizen would know about!
"how do you know?" he whispered, moving the two of them out of the bar so that no one else would hear their discussion.
"my father was a demon slayer, and my brother is as well! i had no clue you were the legendary mist hashira! please forgive me for not knowing!" haku exclaimed, bowing low to show respect to the great and powerful individual before her.
"it's not a problem; i was actually trying not to be recognized, so i'm glad you didn't recognize me!" muichiro replied, smiling awkwardly.
after haku had straightened herself back up from her bow- she was bowing for a long while, and muichiro was too shy to mention that she could stop now or help her back up- she asked muichiro what he was doing 'in a sleazy town like this.'
"i'm actually looking for my girlfriend tanaka hotaru, the moonlight hashira," muichiro told her. "she disappeared without warning, and the hashira are out looking for her."
haku's brow furrowed in concern, and her lips curled into a frown.
"that's so terrible!" she cried out. "i can't believe that could happen to a hashira!"
muichiro replied that yes, it was indeed terrible, and that he hoped he could find hotaru soon. he turned to go back upstairs to his room, but when he heard haku calling out his name, he turned back around to see what she wanted.
"if you need a healer on your journey... i'd be more than happy to accompany you!"
muichiro was pleasantly surprised by that, and gladly accepted the offer. as he slept that night, he had dreams of haku, and he woke up hating himself for that.
you can't let yourself get distracted by haku! he told himself. your whole reason for traveling with her is to find hotaru! your journey is going to be useless if you abandon hotaru for the first girl you meet! you have to stay faithful!
he didn't know how hard that was going to be...
a/n- i'm pleased with myself that this muichiro chapter is longer than the one i previously wrote! i hope you like this chapter as much as the previous muichiro one!
this is kinda a filler chapter, but i still think it's a good chapter! i hope you think so too!
this chapter also introduced a new character who's going to be muichiro's companion throughout the journey, nakamura haku! she's portrayed by the young version of hinata from naruto in my head, but you can imagine her as someone else if you want to!
