Winded - KNYxOC

12 • 12 Lies of a Cat

She was startled awake when the train compartment door slammed shut in time with a large lurch from the train itself. Hayashi had never been one to startle awake, unless she wasn't supposed to be sleeping, which usually was the case. Okay stratch that, Hayashi startled awake often and this wasn't any different from times before where she woke up in a cold sweat. However, most times when she woke in a panicked state everyone else around her wasn't asleep. So it was incredibly odd when the girl looked around and had to pinch herself to realise that what was happening was real. 

Hayashi was the first one awake. Had hell frozen over? What was happening? More anxiety built up in her stomach and all rest from the sleep was erased. She could feel something queasy churning in her stomach which was also unusual as she was not the type to get worried over trivial things. Even when her life had been threatened on the spider family's mountain, she was just plain tried and maybe a tiny bit scared Sanemi would find and kill her. 

This feeling that she was experiencing though, she had never felt it before. The hair on the back of her neck stood up and she found herself unconsciously holding her breath. All of her sense were heightened, and she brought her hand to her sword. Suddenly there was a large gasp beside her and she drew her katana in one swift motion to face the source of the sound. She was met with the alarmed face of Tanjiro, who had just woken up from his "nap". 

"Whoa, you scared me there" Hayashi admitted as she put a hand over her racing heart and re-sheathed her sword. Relief washed over her like the warm rays of the golden sun and her tense body relaxed, "Finally, someone competent. I can go back to being useless now." 

"Umm..." Tanjiro didn't really know how to respond to her comment, and it seemed more like she was talking to herself so he decided not to comment on it. Instead he moved on to more pressing matters. "Do you know what happened?"

He looked at Hayashi expectantly, and fell into an awkward silence when she didn't respond. She seemed to have zoned out and was fixated on a point in the wall. This girl was something else, he concluded, zoning out in even the most crucial times. How had she even made it as a demon slayer, even with her demon-like master to train her? What was her motive for taking on such a dangerous career? He didn't know the slightest thing about her backstory, although he assumed it was tragic like the rest of the demon slayers. Was Hayashi "Forest" even her real name? His train of thought was interrupted when she suddenly shoved him out of the way. 

"Huh, wha-" Tanjiro didn't even finish what he was saying when a monstrous tentacle protruded from his wall and skimmed the side of his face as it pierced right where he had been standing not even moments before. He went to draw his sword but before he had the opportunity to the tentacle was sliced in half from the other side. The two sides of the demon flesh parted to reveal Hayashi, she looked different, somehow. The ever so present dark circles on her face now looked insignificant to the sudden fire in her eyes. But as soon as he noticed it, the flame burnt out, and she looked as unbothered as ever. 

"Man I wish I was still asleep. Now it looks like we'll have to fight a demon until more people wake up." Tanjiro's eyes now resembled saucepans, surprised at the fleeting encounter with Hayashi's true power. This girl had killer instincts, but didn't seem to realise it herself. He silently nodded, still recovering from Hayashi's sudden actions. 

"Ugh..." Hayashi groaned and leaned on the chair she had been sitting on, "I have to actually save people now... I wish Rengoku-san woke up before me." She begrudgingly turned and went to exit the compartment. "You could work on getting the other competent s up, or go to the other side of the train. It doesn't really matter to me... as long as I don't get chewed out by Sanemi..." She mumbled the last part to herself and sauntered out to the left side of the train.  

"I... I guess I'll go the other way then." Poor Tanjiro was utterly confused at the girl's bipolar personality. Nevertheless, he knew she meant well. Even though she took on the appearance of nonchalant and relieved, he could, again, smell the overwhelming worry coming off of her. He would be lying if he didn't say he was a little scared of her after what had happened though. Although it appeared as if she was just spacing out like always, she had shoved him out of harms way before he even registered the demon attack. 

There was also the fact that the girl had woken up before him and nearly chopped his head off right when he had escaped the demon's dreams. She was intimidating whether she knew it or not, even if she was sleep driven and lazy at first glance. Tanjiro shivered as he recalled the memory of Hayashi's eyes again, he had never seen her look so scary before, even when Inosuke was yapping in her ear. He reminded himself to not get on her bad side, and continued to his side of the train with his sword drawn, ready to defend civilians. 

Moments after the train compartments door closed, a boy awoke, gasping as he did. He hurriedly checked his surroundings, and found one of his wrists were bound with a bracelet of rope. 

"HAH?!?!" He yelled at his wrists, which would appear moronic to the average civilian witnessing this situation, but all this civilians in this particular situation were very unconscious and unresponsive, even in the presence of a boy yelling "HAH" very loudly at this wrist. 

It's not that Inosuke didn't notice the rope connecting him to a child on the ground was burned, it was that he just didn't care. And it's not that he didn't notice Nezuko working on burning Kyojiro's rope, he didn't care about that either. Instead of questioning the bizarre situation he was in, Inosuke just laughed and then moved to antagonise the, now conscious and trembling, child on the ground. 

"You thought you could defeat the king of the mountain? Well you were wrong, here I am, and I have defeated you!" He let out another manic peel of laughter as the poor kid stumbled away in fear. "Hey wait! I'm not done gloating my victory!" Inosuke promptly ran off after the poor boy in order to bully him further, exiting out the left side of the compartment.