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Naminé Yamada wishes to kill demons.
Followed by the nightmares of her past, Naminé dedicated her life to strengthening herself mentally and physically ever since the death of her mother, hellbent on avenging her somehow. Though it seems that...
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"Zenitsu, for the fifty-third time now, just call me Naminé."
"I am calling you that though! GODDESS NAMINÉ!!"
Once Zenitsu had gotten over his initial shock of the crows speaking to them, they raced for their destination. Though she wouldn't admit it aloud, Zenitsu's boisterous personality was actually a welcome distraction from the evergrowing pit in her stomach. Something about whatever was ahead felt . . . off.
Reaching towards her neck, she grasped her mother's locket, silently praying for her to watch over each of them.
Stopping beneath a canopy of trees, Tanjiro stilled as he closed his eyes, focusing on whatever it was he was smelling.
"There's the scent of . . blood . . ."
Naminé would have started running faster had it not been for the mansion they stumbled across just past the next line of trees. Its structure was massive and aged, Naminé unable to stop herself from wondering what a home like this was doing in the middle of nowhere.
"I can't smell anything," Zenitsu said, his hands raised to cover his ears. "But can you hear that sound?"
Sound?
There was nothing but the rustling of leaves to her ears. That, and the sound of . . .
Walking away from the two boys, she moved towards a rustling that she heard near a bush, her fingers hovering over the hilt of her sword in anticipation. But her hand swiftly fell when she noticed all that it was were two children, a boy and a younger girl, clinging to one another with terror on their faces.
"It's just kids," she muttered when Tanjiro and Zenitsu followed her. Moving aside her sheath to avoid them seeing it, Naminé bent down in front of them, the two children covering back a few feet from her.
"You don't need to be afraid anymore. We're here now."
Tanjiro knelt beside her as well, reaching out a hand only to have them react the same. Fiddling with something in his palms, he reached out again. Only this time, Zenitsu's small sparrow sat perched on his hand.
"Tada!" He cried with a bright smile. "A sparrow in my palm!"
The sparrow chirped, the two children entranced by the little thing.
"Cute, right?" Tanjiro asked, patting the bird's head.
Instantly, both children began to cry--though, instead of fear, it was clear that it was from relief. Relief that the people before them were not here to torture them any more than they had already experienced.
Naminé took the opportunity to move closer, the children staying in place now. "You don't need to worry. It's our job to protect kids just like you."
