Wild Flower (Bleach × Demon Slayer)

4 - The Flower District

(Chapter edited. There might be some minor mistakes.)

Finally coming together through the hardship and obstacles,
The Fool, The Butterfly, and The Wild Flower gathered together.
Who are these characters, you wonder? Where do they hope to go?
These three companion had each of their own responsibility,
one of each had a goal to be realized in the light of day.

interlude

...

The Flower District

...

Silence and solitude has been her preferred companion since then. Every day she had gaze on every person entering the 14th District—and by extension, the Flower District—as she sat in front of her conveniently placed ‘home’. She had observed, scrutinized, perceived almost everyone at her vicinity as if she was searching for something, longing for one thing, except she doesn’t know what she was supposed to be looking.

After three days had passed without disturbance, Kanao realized it had become peaceful, perhaps, too peaceful than it should be. While there was always a constant commotion in front of her, nothing had caught her interest at all—though, it had been always like that—as all people does was rambling nonsensical things and ignoring her presence as usual. Even though these scene in front of her was supposed to be familiar, she can’t help the tapping of her fingers on her arms when she crossed it to her chest and the repetitive bouncing of her leg.

Since when she had gotten this feeling of restlessness? For some reason, there’s a growing tension churning within her. Impatience, irritation, exasperation—Kanao tried to ignore these increasing emotions at first but unfortunately, the more she disregard her feelings, the more it gradually getting bigger and bigger.

Realizing that she shouldn’t look away from this, she had no choice but to have a long stroll in order to relieve it.

As Kanao had wandered away from her home, she decided to take the familiar surrounding around her as she walked. The 14th District had always liked to be lighten up of the colors that was eye-catching and attention-grabbing, especially right now when the sky was covered in a vast color of black night above. Here, in the 14th District’s case, the buildings was covered in neon lights.

Despite the structure being similar to the buildings from the old period of Japan, it never failed to impress Kanao how they were able to incorporate these two radically different things when she thought had no affinity together as they were able to somehow made an attracting shops and constructions from it that was erected around her.

The most impressive building here in this district was no doubt the Red Light. Structured in the center of 14th District with a towering height, no one would miss this particular building of Red Light as she can even saw it from the distance in her position. Despite her stroll was supposed to cover her walk all of the streets of Flower District, Kanao had no intention to tread closer at Red Light. Her reason for her avoidance was prevent a meeting from one of the employee working inside the Red Light.

Striking a conversation was not her purpose of her stroll but to lessen the restlessness within her, so meeting Hara would be meaningless. Besides, at this certain time, the Oiran was probably busy with her work and there’s a possibility a surge of customers at Red Light so Kanao would rather ignore the building than approach it. Being in the presence of multiple people in the same place was not something she wanted to think about.