✻|| 𝓡𝓮𝓿𝓮𝓻𝓲𝓮 ||✶ - 鬼滅の刃

【𝓢𝓪𝓷𝓮𝓶𝓲】

↠Spoilers for the end of the manga!
↠Angst
↠Fluff
↠Fem Reader

Word Count - 3837
Retrouvaille - Published 12/13/20

Retrouvaille: The joy of meeting or finding someone again after a long separation; rediscovery
»»———————————————————««

"Have you heard the news?"

"The news?"

"Yeah, that Ikeda-san finally returned home today. My gosh, I saw him earlier... He's so handsome now I think I'm gonna faint."

Peeking up from a silken piece of fabric that lay draped over your lap, narrowed eyes glanced over towards the two chattering girls in the front of the shop, your skilled hands never once stopping in their intricate sewing. Despite the hushed whispers that they conversed in, you could hear their ungodly gossip crystal clear from your own secluded workspace.

Usually such mindless chatter would flit easily through your ears without paying mind to it, but the fact that they had stopped so obviously in their own simple tasks was what bothered you. Harshly tugging yet another stich through the jade fabric at your lap, you forced your sharp gaze down to the subject at hand once more.

Why were those useless brats even hired in the first place?

"Oh, is he the one who ran off to join that demon organization or whatever? You know Kaneko-san did the same thing and he ended up dead."

A harsh scoff sounded from the front, yet you didn't dare lift your head. The silk held tightly between your smooth fingertips began to slip at the slightest shift of each thread, so sifting through your desk drawer you retrieved two pins to hold it in place. Carefully laying your work sprawled atop the desk's surface, did you lean back to release a heavy sigh.

From what you had already accomplished today, this new kimono would soon be finished—and that would mark yet another of yours completed. Fortunately, all that was left was to sew the remaining seams of the tomoeri and the fuki, because the only troublesome task was joining the large pleats of the fabric. Such miniscule details was child's play, as it had become such a regular task over the long years of practice.

Yet somehow, when you began to stich the final pieces together, the needle stabbed straight through the tip of your finger, pricking an ugly bead of red from the new wound. Staining the bright jade fabric, the golden peonies embroidered into the dressing turned a dark crimson to further seep into the weaves. Such pure innocent colors were now tossed aside and your precious masterpiece was ruined.

"My, you actually believe in such a thing! Demons aren't real, you shouldn't listen to those stupid tales. It's so obvious that Kaneko-kun ran away, he didn't actually die."

Clenching your jaw tightly, slender fingers tapped irritably into the wooden tabletop as you stared down at the growing bead of red. It was such a miniscule scrape, yet you could feel each dragging pulse of your heart, making the simple opening throb the longer you gazed at it.

The arrogant sounds flitting from the storefront fed the growing temper welling in your chest, and so badly did you want to interject—to end this silly little conversation of theirs and go back to your mindless sewing. The blotchy little stain in the fabric settled to a dark spot, and concluding that it would be a pain to wash, you gave up.

"Demons are real, you know! They've been in town before..."

"I've never seen a demon here. You must be lying."