The Sun Always Come Back

Chapter 7 : Flashbacks

Tempus fugit
Time flies

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[Kyo (juro)  's POV]

"Stop moving Umi! How am I supposed to braid your hair if you keep running your hands through it ?"

"I'm not moving that much!"

"Yes you are."

She shot me a mischievous grin. "Well, maybe if you were better at this, I wouldn't have to move to fix it myself."

We were holed up in a cave after the forest incident. The flames had attracted too much attention, and we needed a place to lay low for a while. The cave was dark, damp, and thankfully, non-flammable.

I don't know what went through my mind (and this statement can apply to a lot of things) when I decided that braiding her hair was a good idea. Maybe it was because the act seemed familiar, I don't know.

But here I am anyway.

She is sitting cross-legged on a large rock, her notebook on her knees while she is drawing in it. She is drawing a blue flower, I don't think I've ever seen this kind before. Her face is covered in dust making her ressemble a little girl scrambling to get on the swing at a playground rather than a demon slayer in the making.

I sighed, trying to focus on the task at hand. "Just sit still for a moment, Umi. It's not like your hair is easy to manage."

She chuckled, the sound echoing in the cave. "Are you saying my hair is difficult ? It's not even long !"

I smirked, reaching for a strand of her unruly hair. "Let's just say it has a mind of its own."

"You know, Kyo, you should consider taking care of your own hair. Maybe cut it. You're starting to look like Rapunzel in here."

Rapunzel ? Like that nineteenth century tale ?

Seriously Umi ?

Bold of her to assume I haven't tried before, every time I attempted to cut my hair, it turned into a disaster. Scissors, makeshift blades, even her katana once – nothing seemed to work. It grew back faster than I could cut it, mocking my futile attempts at maintaining a shorter length.

"I think I will just stay with long hair" I simply responded

"Uh, okay if you say so, Rapunzel !" she laughed

As I continued attempting ( attempting because I'm really bad at it) to braid her hair, I couldn't help but think about the recent events. The forest incident had shaken me to the core. I hated this feeling of losing control, I hated this feeling of being a danger to others, to the only friend I have at the moment. I hated that my own instincts could turn me into a creature that even I couldn't recognize.

No matter how much I wanted to protect people, I could also become the very thing they needed protection from.

I also hated that I enjoyed the destruction, the pain, the chaos I caused, even if it was just momentary. I hated how delicious the demon's flesh had tasted, the satisfaction of tearing it apart, the thrill of the hunt, the adrenaline rushing through my veins.