Dancing in the Mist (Demon Slayer / Kimetsu no Yaiba: Tokito Muichiro x OC)

Chapter 5

"One little demon went to the marketplace... one little demon went to the theater... one little demon went to the marketplace... one little demon went wee-wee-wee all the way home..." Kasumi hummed as she darted about the mountain summit, cutting down any demon that dared to come near. Muichiro, whom she was taking turns clearing the area of demons with, was napping in a peach tree, the dappled sunlight dusting against his fair skin. The two had rather bonded in the week since the Final Selection started, their mutual inability to focus on one single thing a common trait that they struggled with. Thus, they began to rely on each other to overcome that handicap. Whatever Muichiro couldn't remember, Kasumi wrote down for him. Whenever Kasumi got lost in thought and ceased all movement, Muichiro would be there to bring her back to reality. They were easily the two most deadly forces in the forest, almost completely decimating the demon population within the immediate vicinity.

"Ooh, a mushroom!" Kasumi marveled, crouching down to admire the fine specimen. At the same time, a scythe-armed demon swiped right over her head, missing by centimeters.

"Damn brat... how dare you look away while in the middle of battle?!" the scythe demon growled, veins popping up all over his forehead.

"This doesn't even count as a battle, though?" Kasumi replied, tilting her head backwards to look at him. "The word 'battle' insinuates that we are fighting on equal terms. No matter how you look at it..." she trailed off, touching her lower lip with her index finger and looking him over. "...you aren't even worth taking seriously," she concluded with a small smile.

"---!" the demon's anger was immeasurable, bloodlust radiating from him in thick waves. "I'll teach you-!" he screeched before choking. His hands flew to his throat, a surprised look on his facr before his head fell to the side - decapitated. "H-how... I didn't even sense you!"

"Of course you didn't. You're just a run-of-the-mill pest," Muichiro casually commented as he stepped away from the demon's disintegrating body.

"Muichiro... I had him, you know?" Kasumi said as she stood back up, dusting the hem of her kimono a bit.

"I wanted the exercise, as useless as it was," Muichiro simply replied, looking a bit to the side. Honestly, he didn't know why he moved either. When he came to start his shift of demon extermination, he saw the demon standing over the crouching Kasumi. He knew in his head that she was perfectly capable of helping herself. However, the sight of her smaller body engulfed by the shadow of the demon awoke... unpleasant emotions. Emotions he wanted gone.

"Huh. That was pretty useless," Kasumi shrugged before digging out her notebook. "Oh. It looks like the exam ends today. I guess we can... head back down now?" she noted after a slight cause, her eyebrows furrowing slightly in displeasure. I don't want to... she thought to herself, her hand unconsciously finding its way into Muichiro's. This was a little habit of hers that she had developed in their week in solitude together. Her touch-starved little heart, separated from her mother figures, craved the warmth of another person's hand. Muichiro, as brash as he was, surprisingly didn't mind all that much. He didn't squeeze back, but he made sure to keep pace with Kasumi so she wouldn't accidentally let go and find it too awkward to hold hands again.

"I suppose so," Muichiro replied, following Kasumi as she began to jog down the mountain.

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"Not many survived," Kasumi noted as the two emerged into the starter clearing. The wisteria blossoms were back into full bloom, pale lavender blossoms twirling through the air like miniature ballerinas. Kasumi caught one with two fingers and brought it close to her eyes, gazing at it curiously before letting it go with a light puff of air.