A Carnations Regret |KNY x Reader|

| Chapter Fourteen, Final Sweet Pea |

"Fight me!" Inosuke yelled again, running at me for what felt like the hundredth time that day. Hoshi and Cammie quickly jumped off my shoulders as I turned to meet Inosuke head on. I grabbed the sides of his flawless, plush face, and yanked it close to my own.

"Last time," I said, before pulling back my hand and punching him in the gut. He was sent flying across the courtyard, finishing our last fight. I dusted off my hands and turned on my heels. Tanjiro was braiding flowers with Zenitsu, who cheered out loudly as I won yet again.

"Whatcha makin'?" I asked, leaning against the edge of the engawa that they sat on. I looked down at the flowers they were using, smiling at the selection of freesias, sweat peas, and gentle asters.

"Flower crowns," Tanjiro said, holding up his tightly woven circle. "Zenitsu's making one for Nezuko, and, uh, well, this one's for you." Tanjiro's face turned bright pink at the admission. He held out the seemingly finished crown to me. I felt my face grow warm as a smile split across my face. I sat on the edge of the flooring next to Tanjiro, looking over the flower crown.

I took the crown in my hands, and leaned against Tanjiro. The flowers, even though they were tightly woven, were messily pulled together and some petals were barely hanging on; but it was beautiful. I placed the crown on my head and smiled at him. "It's perfect," I said. Tanjiro smiled, before Zenitsu cut in.

"It's ugly," Zenitsu said. My head snapped towards him and I grabbed Tanjiro's sword that was lying across the tatami mats. He broke out into screams as I jumped after him. Tanjiro wrapped his hands around my waist, pulling me back as I tried to disembowl Zenitsu.

Later that night, we were sitting at the table, like we had done for over a week. Cammie and Hoshi shared a plate of cat food beside the table. Bouko sat beside me, her head on my lap for whenever I handed her some pieces of food. Then there was the possum, who was eating a basket of edible flowers I found for him, and he was out on the engawa because of how loud his chewing was.

"How's the breathing training going?" Tanjiro asked as he poured me a cup of water.

Through large mouthfulls of food, I managed to say, "I mean, I know what breathing techniques is, but I don't know where to go from there. Sometimes it's powerful enough to have those colors, but other times, I feel like I'm just swinging my sword around pointlessly."

"I'm sure you'll get it, don't worry," Tanjiro said, a warm smile across his face. I even smiled back, before looking to Bouko, who started to stir.

"Mi..." Bouko started, before dosing off. I furrowed my brows, gently shaking the bird. Bouko slowly rose her head to me, blinking lazily.

"You good?" I asked.

"Mis...sion....Mission," she managed. I sat up straight--along with everyone else at the table. "Mission, tomorrow, at...at Arakawa..."

There was a moment of silence, before Zenitsu leapt at me and screamed, "don't go!" I was knocked back to the floor and Bouko flapped out of range. Hoshi and Cammie scurried off as I was flung near their plate. Zenitsu wrapped his arms around my abdomen, burying his face into my body. "Please, don't die!"

"I'm not gonna die," I said, pulling him off easily. I rose to my feet, before Innosuke tackled me in the back.

"Fight!" he cackled, trying to bring me to the ground. He leaned to to the left, pressing his weight against my bad leg. I winced, stumbling for a moment. Tanjiro jumped up and grabbed Inosuke, yanking him off. Inosuke didn't care, though, he just went after Zenitsu next.

"You okay?" Tanjiro asked, looping his arm under my shoulder to steady me. I leaned against him briefly while I massaged my calf, tyring to free up the tense muscles.