𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐆𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐎𝐍, kny

「二」

第二章

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THAT NIGHT, [NAME] WAS FOUND FIGHTING THE COLD IN THE BUSH BY KAMADO TANJURO. He took her to his house and his family cared for her. They tried to ask her about her family, but she would just end up crying.

"Child, what is your name?" Tanjuro asked her passionately.

[Name] went quiet for awhile, but decided to speak up.

"Saito [Name]." she sniffed, wiping her wet cheeks, "My name is Saito [Name]."

Tanjuro was shocked. A Saito. What is a Saito doing here? And how did a Saito end up here?

"How did you end up here?" Kamado Kie, the wife of Kamado Tanjuro asked [Name]. She could sense the motherly scent from this woman, which made [Name] trust her.

While fighting the urge to cry again, she told how a stranger had murdered her family in cold blood and how she managed to live. Both of the Kamados felt pity for her and decided to take her in. It took some time for [Name] to settle in. But as time passed, she grew a connection with them. Although, she still refer to Tanjuro and Kie as Mr and Mrs Kamado. [Name] even grieved for Tanjuro's departure from the world.

「二年後」
TWO YEARS LATER

[Name] sat on the porch of the Kamado's house and swung her feet. Her [color] hair and black haori with red ocean waves as its pattern swayed, carried away by the soft breeze. She looked down at her necklace's pendant. It was a silver crescent moon with the kanji 斎藤 (Saito) engraved on it. It glimmered under the soft sunlight of the winter.

Echoes of screams and the sound of cries rang in [Name]'s eardrums as she remembered the incident. She grasped her necklace tightly and closed her eyes for a moment.

'I lived,' she thought, 'Nii-san could finally rest in peace now, right?'

[Name] was brought back to reality as she heard Tanjiro call her name.

"[Name]?" Tanjiro asked softly, "Are you ready to go?"

Kamado Tanjiro. The oldest of the family, is now forced to work for the sake of his family eversince Tanjuro, his father, passed away. [Name] would always accompany him to the village at the bottom of the mountains and help him sell his charcoal. At times, she would even help carry an extra basket, even if Tanjiro told her that such action is not necessary. He is no older than [Name]. They're the same age, which explains their extremely tight bond.

"Hai. Sorry, I got caught up by my own thoughts." [Name] apologized.

"Ah, there's no need to apologize," Tanjiro smiled, "I can understand how hard it is for you."

"Thanks, Tanjiro." [Name] smiled back, "Ah- I'm sorry! I almost forgot."

"Eh? There's no need for you to-"

Before Tanjiro could finish, [Name] had already came back with an identical basket. She took some of the overflowing charcoals from Tanjiro's basket and put it into her basket. [Name] then managed to find the remaining charcoal that Tanjiro couldn't fit in his basket and put it into her's instead.

"You really don't have to, you know?" Tanjiro muttered.

"Nah, it's fun doing this as well." [Name] smiled at him.

Kie came out of the kitchen and saw the two children while wiping her arms in a clean towel.

"Tanjiro, [Name], your faces and arms are covered in soot. Come over here."