𝗕𝗥𝗢𝗡𝗧𝗜𝗗𝗘

15

ıllıllı 𝙘𝙝𝙤𝙥𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙠𝙨 ıllıllı

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷

"Why do you wear the mask?" The question broke the once comfortable silence. She had it covering only half of her face, the other half propped up over her eyes so she could breathe without anything in the way.

"Say, Kyojuro, do you have anything of value to you that makes you feel stronger?" She asked, looking down at the ground as they walked.

The scenery was hilly and beautiful. They were walking on a dirt path used by merchants, the trees surrounding them casting a rather menacing shadow. It seemed to loom over them, getting thicker as they went on. This area was indeed heavily forested.

"Hm, stronger? I have heirlooms that make me feel more capable. Is that what you mean?" He looked at her, cracking a smile in the process.

"I guess so, yes. But my mask is like those things to you. It makes me feel stronger. It's special to me, not only because it's pretty or expensive, but because it's been a constant. It's stayed with me through troubles time and time again. It makes me feel more capable, as you said. It makes me feel like even if I have a crack in my soul, this can cover it. I hide behind it because it makes me stronger. Hiding doesn't always make you weak." She blew out a shaky breath. A lot of her emotions had been put into that. But she had to sound nonchalant to make it sound insignificant. Even though, in truth, it really mattered to her.

"Hiding may not make you weak, but it limits you and your strength." Kyojuro stated flatly. He was looking directly at her. No smile or happy-go-lucky charm graced his features anymore. He was serious.

"Huh...?" Y/N couldn't form any words from his outright boldness. Sure, he was always bold, but this was different.

"Hiding limits you and your strength." He reiterated. This time, it came like a slap to Y/N.

Is he right? Is he really, truly right?

"It makes you look weak, even if you're the strongest person known to all of mankind. It gives someone something to chip away at— something someone can target to take you down. It makes you vulnerable and susceptible to enemies and people trying to get in your way. You can't let people see that." It was like she had been shaken out of her body to see a new perspective other than her own.

"Not everyone in this world is kind enough to let something like that slip through their fingers. They'll exploit it. You'll have to be careful." Y/N could feel the tears begin to well up in her eyes. Is this what she had been needing to hear? She felt embarrassed. She had cried so much in the past couple of weeks. It was like society was changing everything she held dear to herself.

Her morals. Her views. Her beliefs. Her motives. It was all evolving, changing with the words said and actions done by the people around her. And this just uprooted everything she thought and tossed it aside. She had lived in a limited shell by herself for all of those years. Alone, in content solace. She had known there were people outside, but she never made a move to go find them or leave her estate. She stayed. Protecting and guarding. She never left. The place had everything she ever needed.

But now that she was finally interacting with others, she realized that her protective, inclosed lifestyle wasn't suitable for the course she was trying to follow. She wanted to stay on the sidelines, not getting too involved. So she guarded herself unintentionally without knowing she had skills to protect a multitude of people.