A Carnations Regret |KNY x Reader|

|Chapter Eight, A Blooming Gladiolus|

When I was ten, I was living with a family in Tokyo, and they had a hamster. Her name was Peach, and it was the fattest hamster I'd ever seen, and it still holds that title to this day. There was a girl two years younger than me in the home as well.

I liked Peach, she was cute, but that girl loved Peach more than anything. She'd show her off to teachers, friends, and even complete strangers. She never wanted to go anywhere without it.

But one day, I was walking home, and the girl wasn't there. They told me that she got adopted. It wasn't until a few months later I heard that someone had stomped on Peach. That someone's skull was almost crushed by being repeatedly hit with a brick.

I hadn't understood why she went so far for a little hamster, not until I saw that mouse, and I wanted nothing, but to kill this demon.

"Fix him," I ordered Yushiro pushing him towards the screeching mouse, who flared around as it missed its lower portion. I drew my sword, jumping through the cloud of dust and rubble. A high pitch cackle burst through the fog, along with the bouncing of a ball on the ground.

"You missed," a male voice scoffed. I squinted, spotting two silhouettes through the fog. I readied my blade, lunging at one of the figures. My blade connected with the very edge of a close-eyed demon, before I felt something wrap around my weak leg, and sent me flying. I was thrown into a wall of the home, and something cracked. I pressed my hands against my chest, taking a deep breath. A broken rib, no doubt.

I looked inside the broken wall next to me, where Yushiro held the mouse in his hands, and the woman was gone. Tanjiro probably took her to the basement. "Aw...I was hoping to see those cool techniques again..." the female demon said, tossing a ball between her hands. "Those flames looked so pretty, and the one with thunder," she sighed.

I twirled my sword around in my hand, glancing down at my silver blade. I didn't have a technique, I was sure I didn't need one with my explosive strength. And I wasn't about to change my thinking mid-fight.

I lifted up my bad leg for a moment, easing the burning muscles. Then, I slammed it down and jumped towards the ball-wielding demon. "You'll have to deal with me in the meantime."

Just before she threw her ball, I ducked, slicing through her legs. Another invisible force pressed against my chest, I reached out, grabbing the female demon's face, and was thrown into the stone wall surrounding the house.

The demon came with me, throwing her ball at me. I jumped out of the way, but the ball swerved, aiming for my head. I ducked, but it just went down after me.

Crap, I can't dodge.

Tanjiro's pitch black sword was held over my hand, and the ball bounced up. "Are you alright?" Tanjiro asked, standing in front of me.

"Fine, but be careful, every time I try to get close to those demons, something tosses me away," I said with a scowl. I held my sword tightly, standing beside Tanjiro.

The ball, which had bounced up into the air, came crashing back down. I sliced it in half, expecting it to fade away to ash like all destroyed demon arts. But one half slammed into my shoulder, and the other half into my temple.

I stumbled back as the balls evaporated into dust. "I'm alright," I said, before Tanjiro could ask if I was okay. It just felt like one of Aki's punches--I could handle them.

But Tanjiro wasn't there, and when I looked around, no one was there. I turned, my brows furrowed. I couldn't hear anything besides crickets and the wind rustling the bushes that lined the home.

"Tanjiro? Where are you?" I called out, holding my sword out in front of me. So there was another demon, or at least one of the demons has a more complex demon art than I assumed.