Emerald Lotus [Kimetsu no Yaiba]

|6|

It should be just around here. Kasuramaru said to Kitai as she walked through the quiet village. It seemed completely void of life save for the few shops that were open and a child or two sitting outside trying to get some sun. It was a small village so she could scope the area quite easily. "Let's do this," she whispered to herself.

"Excuse me?" she stopped a young man as he was walking. He froze and stared at her in awe. She was the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen in his life! Surely she couldn't be from the village. Maybe she was a traveller? Maybe he could get to know her, even. Maybe he had a chance!

"How can I help you?" he beamed at her. Kitai thought of how to phrase her words. 

"I'm a..... traveller. And I heard that there'd been some strange occurrences taking place here. Such things excite me and so I thought maybe I could check it out. Do you maybe have anything to tell me about them?"

The man's smile dropped instantly. She was talking about the monster! She had to be mad to want to find it! "You mean the beast?" he asked. She nodded. "No, you can't be serious. You'll be murdered the second you step foot there. I can't take you! I won't!"

Kitai frowned. Were the people really that scared? She wasn't sure she'd be able to find anyone else who'd willingly tell her where to go. So she'd have to make do with him. Suddenly, she had an idea!

She walked towards him with a sway in her step, pouted, clasped her hands together and batted her eyes. "Oh, please? Won't you help me?" she asked sweetly. "You're the only one capable of helping me. Surely, you won't just leave me here all on my own, will you?"

It was a tactic she learnt growing up. She'd seen her mother do it to her father and Mitsuri do it to Obanai every time they wanted something. They would walk differently, bat their eyes, flatter them and beg. It always worked so she thought maybe it would work for her. And she was right. 

"W-well, when you put it like that," the man mumbled. "I can't let such a pretty girl like you get eaten. It would be a waste of your beauty..... Alright then! I'll lead you and protect you!"

"Yay!" the greenette beamed and clapped. "Let's become great friends along the way!!"

*****

"Here."

They stood at the edge of a lake. The sun was just about to set. "This is where we get most of our water and fish as a village. But ever since the beast arrived, we've been scared to even come near this place. Please be careful."

Kitai smiled and placed her hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry. I'll make sure none of you ever have to be scared again."

He blushed and looked away. "You... You really mean that? It would mean a great deal to all of us if you actually...."

The voice trailed off as he was thrown out of her grasp. The girl frowned and wondered where he went. She looked around only to find him on the ground with an eerie figure looming over him.... Eating him!

The demon!

It was only then that Kitai realised the sun had gone down and the stars were just starting to appear in the sky. She panicked as her hand instinctively went to the hilt of her blade. She should do something before the poor man died! She immediately calmed down just enough to fire an attack "Serpent Breathing, First Form:

⁘•--------✳----🖤Winding Serpent Slash!!🖤----✳--------•⁘

She only just managed to chop off the limbs of the creature and draw its attention to her. "Leave him alone!" she yelled and took a stance. The demon growled at her and charged, aiming straight for her face. She dodged and parried by cutting off its hand. Some blood splattered on her face from the impact and she froze. 

No! Not now. Kasuramaru hissed and tried her best to snap her friend out of her dazed state. 

"Blood..... It's red. Blood is bad.....Bad."

Kitai! You have to snap out of it! Kasuramaru used her tail to Kitai in the face. Hard. For a moment she did snap out of it. So before she could lose it again, Kasu covered her eyes. Deal with it now! Now! 

Kitai could sense where the target was. Having her eyes covered wasn't that much of a problem. So before the demon could move, she took a stance. "Serpent Breathing, Third Form

⁘•--------✳----🖤Coil Choke!!🖤----✳--------•⁘

She unleashed a hail of sword strikes from all sides, and the demon felt as though a snake had wrapped itself around him. Squeezing him. Suffocating him. He tried his best to break free of it, only to be showered with a blinding pain that drowned him from head to toe. He was completely overwhelmed and finally succumbed to the nature of the savage attack. 

With one final slash, his head flew off and landed at Kitai's feet. Only after it had fully disintegrated and all the blood and debris was gone, did Kasuramaru finally uncoil herself from Kitai's face, letting her see again. "Is it over?" she asked and opened her eyes with caution. She looked around and was relieved to find that the creature of night was nowhere in sight.

"I did it," she whispered to herself. "I actually did it! I slayed a demon! I completed my first official mission as a Demon Slayer! We did it Kasu-chan!" she rejoiced and twirled in jubilation. The man who helped you, Kitai. Kasu hissed. Please don't forget he was attacked. 

"Right!" Kitai rushed to him. Luckily he wasn't gravely injured, just a small head injury from when he fell  after the demon threw him. Luckily, he was still concious. "Are you okay? You're not too badly hurt, are you?" she asked and helped him sit up.

"I'm alright," he winced then looked at her in disbelief. "Did you actually do it? You defeated the beast!?"

Kitai beamed and nodded. "That's right, me and my best friend Kasuramaru!"

"Not only do you look like an angel, you really are an angel!!" he exclaimed and hugged her. "Thank you! Thanks to you we can continue to live freely as a village and our main water source is back again! Thank you so much!" 

"You're welcome. Please think nothing of it," Kitai said and helped him up. "Come on, let's get your injury cleaned up properly."

*****

"Suri! Otou-san! I did it! I did it!" Kitai went dashing back home to be met by her mentor and close friend. "Suri-chan! Otou-san!!"

Obanai and Mitsuri met her at the door and she tackled the woman in a hug. "Welcome back, Kitai!" she beamed.

"I did it! I slayed a demon! Officially! I saved an entire village!"

"Well, what did you expect would happen?" Obanai asked, though he was secretly proud of her. It was then he noticed the blood splatter on her cheek. Had she not noticed it? Obviously not because she'd be crying or on the verge of a panic attack  if she knew. Misturi noticed it too and was about to say something when Obanai shut her mouth and shook his head.

Instead, she took her hoari and wiped the blood off her face with a smile. "You're so dirty, Kitai," she chuckled. "Let's go inside and get you...."

"MANSION!! MANSION!! THE NEXT DEMON YOU HAVE TO FACE IS HIDING WITHIN A MANSION!!" Tonkatsu came flying overhead. "GO NOW TO THE MANSION WEST OF HERE!! GO NOW BEFORE MORE PEOPLE GET HURT!! NOW! NOW!!!"

Kitai's face brightened. "Another mission! I have another mission!!" she beamed and dashed inside, shoved a bean paste bun in her mouth, drank a glass of water, hugged Mitsuri and Obanai goodbye once more and ran off. "I'm off again! I'll be back soon!! Bye bye!!"

And with that she was off again. Where? she wasn't sure herself, she was just following Tonkatsu. Off to her next official mission as a member of the Demon Slayer Corps.

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~✨Blu<3✨