丨Soar丨 Kimetsu no Yaiba x OC｜

Chapter 57

Grabbing a staff from the rack at the corner, Chizuko got into battle stance. A wooden pole wasn't exactly a katana, but it was better than nothing.

"This great iron... This great blade... I have never seen such skill! Truly astounding!" Haganezuka murmured to himself, too preoccupied with the katana he was perfecting, "Who forged this blade? He left this one character instead of his name... I see... I get it now..."

"Haganezuka-san! Please listen to me and Suzuki-dono!! We need to hide this instant! We cannot be here now!! Come on!" Kanamori tried dragging Haganezuka along, but he was failing miserably due to the recent muscles Haganezuka had gained.

"Hyo Hyo! You think that toothpick can block my goldfish?" floating, spike-spitting goldfish and goldfish monsters walked out of the pots around Gyokko, "You are no match to the marvellous Gyokko!"

Chizuko leapt, wielding the staff to the best of her abilities, "Haganezuka-sama! Kanamori-sama!!! Be careful!!!!"

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Cough cough cough...

Kneeling on the floor, Muichiro coughed and choked for air desperately, water was coming out from deep down his lungs.

My father... He was a wood cutter, I... I used to help him cut trees and carry the wood...

Muichiro proceeded to pull away the spikes all around his cheeks and limbs. Numbness spread from his wounds, if he had gotten out of that water pot a second later... he would have been...

"Don't force yourself to think about things too strictly, Muichiro," Kagaya's tranquil and gentle voice rang in his ears, "Once you regain yourself, you will be stronger than ever."

Oyakata-sama... watching his face... how the sickness eats up his life... is painful. Muichiro crawled to Kotetsu, "K-Ko... Kotetsu...!"

"F-Forget about me...!" Kotetsu groaned, "G-Go rescue Haganezuka-san... He is working on an important blade... Please go and protect him...!"

Slashing the monstrous fish approaching them, Muichiro coughed up more water. His chest hurt, he could feel water clogging his trachea.

More long lost memories flashed before his eyes.

Mum... She caught a cold.... She died because it worsened into bronchitis... And dad... he wanted to collect medicine for mum to save her... but he fell off a cliff when he was looking for herbs in the storm...

Tears filled Muichiro's eyes. He remembered now. He remembered how he used to follow his father around, his warm, callused palms and the faint scent of firewood that lingers on his kimono. He remembered his mother, the kindest and most hardworking person he knew, contributing every second she had for their family.

I... I was alone since I was ten... Muichiro recalled burying his parents. Standing in front of their graves was suffocating, it pained him so much that he couldn't breathe. He squinted his eyes as another figure appeared in his mind.

No... I wasn't alone... I lived with... I had a twin brother! He's name... He's name was Yuichiro!

Muichiro's chest rose and fell rapidly, his eyes were wide as tears slid down his cheeks.

Yuichiro... he was cold... and mean... Honestly... It was living hell while staying with him... I felt like he loathed me from the bottom of his heart. Memories of Yuichiro's harsh words and negative view of reality kept rushing back to Muichiro.

"Compassion is useless, no matter what good you do, it won't do you any good."

"If he didn't go out, only mum would have died, I'm just telling you the truth."