𝙠𝙣𝙮, 𝙙𝙞𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙩

02. Secrets

"[name]? Are you ready to go? Is everything packed?" Himejima asked as he entered the temple once more. A soft smile appeared on his lips as he listened to the sound of the tatami mat being scrubbed hard, and the sound of a rag being dipped into a bucket of water.

"[name], you don't have to clean it up already," Himejima spoke out as he knew [name] was trying her best to get rid of the bloodstains in the temple that had splattered about due to the demon-killing off the children.

"N-No! I must clean all these off if not you will get misunderstood again!" [name] spoke out and soon felt herself being picked up by her kimono and she dropped the rag onto the ground. She then looked at Himejima who had on a soft smile.

"Don't worry child, we are going to where we are accepted,"

.

.

[name] hid behind Himejima as the current Pillars of the Demon Slayer Corps looked at her. Himejima then smiled and placed a large hand on her head and ruffled it slightly, trying to get her to ease up.

[name]'s eyes then traveled and she saw a familiar-looking boy.

"K-Kaigaku!" [name] called out and Kaigaku's eyes widened when he saw Himejima and [name]. He bit his lips and proceeded to run away when [name] called out to him. The thunder pillar then chuckled, and he flashed a smile at her.

"Don't mind that lad! He has always been that way!" he explained and [name] felt irritated as she remembered Kaigaku was the one who had brought the demon into the temple and caused the huge misunderstanding for Himejima.

Himejima then sensed the hostility emitting from [name]'s small body and soon picked her up in his arms. [name]'s attention then turned to Himejima as a smile graced upon her lips cutely.

"She's adorable," Shinjuro commented and [name] giggled when he started to tickle her sides.

.

.

"A-Are you going to let them know who I am?" [name] asked as she started to help fold the covers of the futon in the room that she and Himejima was residing in. She then noticed Himejima had shook his head in response, and a gentle smile graced upon his lips.

"There isn't a need to, for you are far more human than a demon,"

.

.

"Such a gentle scent/sound..." Sakonji and Jigoro whispered to themselves as they looked at the estate which Himejima had brought [name] into.

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She walked down the pavement leading to the Stone Estate where she resided in. Many turned their heads as they looked at how elegant and beautiful she was, with her brown hair tied up high into a ponytail and dark blue ocean hues that showed determination yet kindness within them. Wearing a simple demon slayer uniform that had a halter as the top instead, along with a black haori with cherry blossoms around the rims.

She smiled behind her mask as she had just returned home from a long-term mission, and was finally able to have a day off. She soon reached her estate and sighed as she entered her humble home and sitting on the patio leading to the gardens of the Stone Estate that was filled with nothing but roses that she and Himejima always tend to.

[name] then removed her footwear and proceeded to soak her aching feet into a tub filled with warm salt water to relieve her tension. A sad smile graced upon her lips as she remembered the mission she had went on, and she had to switch her mission to help Giyuu and Shinobu.