How are you guys doing at home? Tired? Bored? Me too, I'm bored but I'm always bored lol. To lessen your restlessness for a bit, here, have a chapter.

Enjoy.

(Chapter unedited.)

Truth within the Rain: Among the Wild Flower

Kanao remembered.

Vaguely, she can recall the first experience. Her fitful dreamless sleep had seem to end at dawn and memories had come rushing in her mind. Memories she thought had forgotten, lost astray in the depths of her mind.

Under her closed eyes, images plagued her. Familiar images, familiar faces. Ones she had already met and ones she still met. All of it flashing under her eyes, glancing back and forth.

But everything is moving too fast for her, she can't keep up. Images had become a blur, smeared and distorted as if it was painted over and over and over without stopping.

Look closely.

Everything became still as if obeying those words, frozen. Images floated where they stopped, hovering before her like a film. She reached out her hand but it went through her hand.

Look closely, it spoke around her.

Kanao doesn't know if she had eyes in this dream but she looked closely. The familiarity and foreignness. The recognized and anonymous. Those were the images she landed her sight in front of her.

Memories… perhaps this was her submerged memories when she first arrived in Soul Society?

The appearance of Seireitei, the expansive citadel with various buildings, the white tower positioned in the middle; all of these she saw in bird's eye view. And then she glanced at Rukongai, the damaged houses in the distance, well-built homes close to Seireitei and wandering residents in their worn-out yukata; all of these are a familiar sight.

She looked at the northern region in Rukongai, searching and roaming for a place that should have stand-out among the buildings. For some reason, she saw nothing. The Flower District was nonexistent. Still nonexistent if these was her memories.

But why is she remembering these now? she pondered.

When she first arrived here in Soul Society, there was nothing noteworthy. She had no home, no money, no friends and hunger was an experience she didn't encounter until later. Or at least, she thought was later since the progress of time seemed to be absent in this world, which she heard was the 'afterlife' according to some people. It might had been years she wandered here if she paid more attention.

Tsuyuri Kanao. If she racked her brain for her former life, this was all she remembered. Her name. She doesn't even know where she got it, she just… know. Like a stamped of her existence, a label for identity, a… name for herself. That was it. Nothing. She doesn't even know how she died, she was just here, reminding her that she had died.

She was miserable… despite not showing it in her face. She felt like she doesn't belong here, shouldn't have belonged here. She had no one, had nothing to do and nobody approached her. She was… lonely. Isolated. And for some reason, it was a familiar feeling. As if she had already experienced it.

Maybe I was alone when I was alive too, she thought when no tears came out from her eyes. It felt she was used to it. She must have already cried enough that her tears had already dried up. No more water works to spare now that she was dead. No one would comfort her if she was alone.

It was lonely journey and I ended up wandering without someone on my side. No one to talk to and no one to laugh with, she remembered a certain Oiran's melancholic smile, just to quell my own loneliness, I immediately threw my arms at the veiled contentment.

Ah, no wonder those words resonated with her. Both she and Hara shared the same experience. But how they handled their loneliness was different. Unlike the Oiran, she doesn't possess a beautiful appearance qualified to become a seductress. Much less, a pleasurable disposition. She had no pleasant look and no pleasant smile.

I'm back here again, Pleasant Eyes!

Yet a certain Shinigami seemed to say otherwise.

She lacked what Hara had who used it to defeat her own loneliness. While Kanao… well, Kanao just looked. And thought. Lots of thoughts whirling in her mind. Then she wondered.

Why do people still yearn what is already lost?

An observation told her it was an attachment. Because it was lost, they yearned for it. She found it confusing. Why can't they move on and start at the next? It was lost because they left it, lost because they neglected it; it was no use to reach the unreachable. It was a useless effort. They should start chasing what is possible, something they can grasp with their own hands and claim it. They should give up because it was meaningless.

But they still did. Holding out their hands at the impossible, determined that they would obtain it.

She doesn't understand. She doesn't understand but… she wanted know. Why do they still reach after it? No matter what it is, they were determined to not give up, as if they would never allow it to be lost. Reclaiming what was theirs, regaining what was supposed to be theirs.

We have a mission to carry out, not involving outsiders to prevent to find out, certain words echoed in her mind, to find the truth of our seemingly amnesiac state when we arrived here in Soul Society.

Yes, and she was one of them. She had lost her memories, and just like them, she wanted know. Perhaps it was the attachment, perhaps it was to regain a part of herself but still, she wanted know. She had to why.

Not everything is meaningless. There's always a purpose. Whether it was small, whether it was big. But to see everything as meaningless, simplicity would have been prominent these days.

Kanao remembered. She recalled a certain man before she never saw him again. Someone who told her to look.

If you wanted to know that badly then observe. Observe with your heart's content. No one would stop you.

Those were his last words as Ubuyashiki Kagaya told her, advising her with his distant, unfocused eyes.

Hara doesn't remember.

She had no idea what Kagaya was talking about.

Yet somehow, it make sense. It was like something within her clicked, like a jigsaw puzzle had found its missing piece. A blurred missing piece to complete a picture, a picture she can't still see.

"Kagaya… are all of those… true?" she tried to confirm, apprehensive.

"It is." He verified. "I know it is strange to hear your previous life as Ubuyashiki Amane who was my wife. I won't ask you to come back to me and revert yourself to your former identity. If you choose to be as Hara, I won't stop you. I can't. You chose that decision yourself."

That's… reassuring, she guessed but there's still something weird. "But I can't remember that life, Kagaya. I didn't dream about it, not even flashes nor triggers to remember that kind of life."

She thought she had grew up in Rukongai in all of her life. She assumed her parents had died and ended up wandering the place for so long to the point she had forgotten her name. Assumed. That was the keyword. There wasn't a single hint of her former life as living human named Ubuyashiki Amane. That's why she assumed.

"You're strange case… Hara," he faltered at her name as he continued, "you were not supposed to forget. You're not one of them."

"I'm not? And who is… them?"

"Yes. You were not a slayer of the past who kills creatures of the night. You are not supposed to be included."

"Slayers? Like a Shinigami?" But kills creatures of the night… doesn't sound like a Shinigami though…

"Something similar." He answered vaguely.

"Why am I not supposed to be included…"

Wait, she pondered, not supposed to forget and not one of them; the way Kagaya talked about these slayers, he seems to be implying that they were the one who were supposed to forget, not her.

Why?

There was a brief pause on Kagaya's side which she noticed just now. "Never mind. Perhaps it is better this way, 'unleashed' unlike us."

She had no idea what he talked about but… "You said I was a strange case… is it related to my memories?"

Now that she thought about it, it is strange. Kagaya had told her about her former life as Ubuyashiki Amane but nothing about how or when she arrived here in Rukongai. He informed about her life, how she lived—alive but nothing how she died. He obscured it from her. Maybe he purposely hid it from her, or he was just waiting for her to ask about it. You chose that decision yourself, he said earlier and those words showed he respected her for it.

"Yes." He said simply.

"…am I allowed to hear it?" She asked hesitantly. If he deliberately concealed it, there must be a reason.

"Would you?"

She was right. "If I did, would it put me in danger?"

"Not really. But you would be bounded again."

Again, she did not miss that single word he uttered. Kagaya knew, he knew but he respected her more than blurt it out carelessly. She supposed it make sense. They were husband and wife in the past and they must have respected each other's decision. They were together in their former life and yet he didn't begged her to come back on his side. He saw she was already content the way she was, as Hara, as Oiran of Red Light, working on his own establishment which he runs as The Manager.

On top of that, he was Oyakata, the Founder of Flower District. His reputation was wholly justified in her eyes. And with that thought, she felt her heart soared.

So she wasn't truly alone. In some ways, he helped her.

No wonder she was given an 'escort'. And how she was immediately accepted in Red Light.

"Then I won't ask you about it anymore. They say ignorance is a bliss." Hara resolutely told him of her decision.

"I see." She can see a smile growing on his face. "I'm glad."

"Now that conversation is up and go…" she looked down at the object at the table. "Why did you pull out this book out of nowhere?"

A Journey of Three Companions. In a fancy writing, it was the title of the book resting in front of her.

"A… distilled version, you could say, about the history before Flower District was created."

"Huh?!" Hara covered her mouth when she raised her voice louder than she intended. "In…in this book, you wrote it…?"

"Long ago, the Editor-in-Chief from Seireitei Communications had an interview with me. But I was informed Central 46 had censored most of it. I was fine with it but the Editor-in-Chief approached me that I must absolutely write the truth and don't let those 'bastards' from Central 46 intimidate me he said. Quite a determined man. Seeing that, I had no choice and wrote this… as a collaboration between me and the Editor-in-Chief, Tōsen Kaname. It seems to be popular for single volume story, along with the serialized novel, Sōgyo no Kotowari authored by the Captain of Thirteenth Division."

"Huh…" she dragged the book to her side, opening it as she skimmed through the pages. It had nine chapters with prologue and epilogue. "Did someone realized about it?"

"Who knows? Most readers see this as a simple book. Some may have a suspicion that this was written and created by me and the Editor-in-Chief. As a short novel, the imagination of the readers and how they perceive this story is up to them."

Trailing her eyes down, she can see the book was credited to them. Oyakata and Tōsen Kaname, it wrote below the cover. She never thought the name Oyakata even managed to reach at Seireitei, thinking it only applied in Rukongai.

"Would you like to read it?"

"Eh?" Hara raised her eyes to Kagaya, dumbfounded when he asked that question. "Is it okay… for me to read this?"

A fond smile stretched his lips. "Take your time."

Is she going to read it here or take this book to the room with Kanao without him…? Well, since she was already positioned comfortably here… "Well then. Please excuse me for reading this in front of you. I'll try my best to read silently."

Kagaya chuckled. "Go ahead."

As she opened the book and briefly skimmed the acknowledgements, she read the opening quote of the prologue.

They were following a trail of the road gone astray.
Lost was their destination, lost was their purpose and long they had lost adrift of their journey's end.
In the abyss of path, lost and awry, they had become wandering travelers.
And soon, they eventually followed into the road of apathy.

Ubuyashiki Kagaya was a sickly-looking man. That was Kanao's first impression. Even from the distance, he looked like he was about to crumple from exhaustion, breathing under pressure despite his unsuccessful attempts to hide it.

He was a man easily targetable by others. From men with violent intentions, from women with their gossiping untrusting words. It was a very pitiable sight; even she could not take it. Blind, frail, and defenseless, he looked like a man who needed assistance more than independence. Someone had to look after him, or else, he will literally crumple under pressure.

And so, in that day, she made an acquaintance for the first time since she arrived in Soul Society.

They were both an outcast, usually being ignored by others. Mostly because she would glare whenever she 'felt' evil intention within the vicinity, his vicinity if they wanted to approach him. She was fine being his guardian; for some reason, it was actually a familiar feeling. The strange sense of protection. And most of all, she was inclined to defend because, within her, it felt like she should protect. As if it was her whole purpose of her entire life.

"Kanao, you don't have to do that all for me," she remembered being told by him, "you should do something you wanted to do."

He was a humble man, thinking about the well-being of others than himself.

"Here. Let me help you, Kanao. That's the least I can do for you."

He was a generous man, always thinking to repay debts who had helped him.

"Kanao, are you hungry? Even though I'm not, but let's eat together."

He was a kind man who always remember, memorize and willing to learn of his surroundings despite his sight disability. While looking and observing him to take care of him, these was the qualities she noticed from him. It was strangely admiring of him and she deeply respected him for it.

Their relationship with each other was platonic, yet at the same time, intimate. The thought of romance never crossed her mind and Ubuyashiki Kagaya was an older man than her—at least what his appearance suggests—while she was a woman approaching adulthood. Both of them never seemed to chase after it, too caught up to survive in Rukongai, and they never brought it up as they talk.

There was a conversation between them that stood out in her mind. It was a normal conversation and yet she frequently revisiting it for a strange reason. There was nothing weird nor out-of-place but… it became stuck in her mind, like sealing it in a box.

It was something about wild flowers and stars.

"It was truly a strange to meet you in this place, Kanao-chan," Kanao recalled his smile when he said it to her, "to be honest, I never expected it would be you I would first meet here."

She furrowed her eyebrows. "First? You were expecting someone else?"

"Not really. I was just thinking out loud that you were the first among others, with the exception of my wife."

"You have a wife?" This was the first time she heard this.

"Yes, but she's… gone. I never heard of her since then."

Silence followed after that. She never attempted to continue talking about his wife. They must have a fall-out or something. But it was not her place to assume other people's relationship.

In the corner of her eyes, Kagaya shivered. "Shall I make a fire?" she offered.

He smiled in her general direction, his eyes pointed at the space beside her. "No, thank you. I will fine."

"If you say so."

Both of them were outside since they do not have a roof over their heads and opted out to sleep outside. It was fortunate for them the weather was clear since it was currently spring and they would have less worries about the rain. They slept outside with a blanket spread out under them. It was like they were having picnic under the night sky above them.

"Are the stars out tonight, Kanao?" She saw Kagaya tilting his head up to the skies. She followed his example.

"Yes. Since there's no clouds, it is very clear. The full moon is out too."

"I see."

They locked their eyes at the millions stars spread out above them, with a comfortable silence as their companion. Kagaya decided to break it. "Have you heard about the stars being the symbols of souls?"

"No."

"They say the blinking light of stars represents the remnant of souls, always looking over the living." He softly chuckled. "Since we are looking under this sea of stars above us, it doesn't seem to be true."

Stars as the souls of dead, she echoed his words before she responded. "Perhaps it is true. Many people had died in the living. Every time a person dies, a star gets added to the sky."

"Maybe. But I don't think that is the explanation why there are stars in the sky."

"Right." She agreed. She was just going with the flow of his words being the stars as souls of the dead.

"If the sea of stars above us is a garden of stars, then we are the wild flowers."

She turned her head at him in confusion. "Wild flowers?"

"A field of wild flowers among the garden of stars." He smiled at her as if sensing her gaze. "You and I, we are among the wild flowers."

"Why are we the wild flowers?"

"Wild flowers is a seed that wasn't planted in the garden. A flower where it wasn't supposed to grow naturally. You can say Rukongai is a meadow of wild flowers and Seireitei is a garden."

"Does that mean… we're like an outcast?"

"An existence that was unwillingly accepted. That is what we are, but not without a price. In order to be accepted, the wild flowers had to be pull out from their roots and planted to a proper garden."

"Oh." She had no idea what he just talked about.

As if knowing her confusion, Kagaya told her, "Don't worry about it, the wild flowers and all that. I was just reminiscing something about my past. Being with you makes me want to think about it, no matter how unpleasant it was."

"Okay…" Now she was lost at his words.

"Good night, Kanao."

"Good night, Kagaya-san."

And that conversation was lost in the depths in her mind, which has now resurfaced in her memories.

Wild flowers and garden of stars. Kanao had wondered what it meant.

Hara closed the book when she was done. It was short read, in an entertaining yet gloomy way.

The story was… sad. Or the ending made her sad, at least. The conclusion of the story had ended in an open manner that it makes her want to write a happier ending to it.

"Is there a sequel?" she asked, silently hoping there was one.

"No. I intently ended the story like that, leaving it to the imagination of the readers for a true conclusion." He gave her an amused smile. "History has no conclusion. If there is, it would be the end of the world."

That is… a foreboding thought. "But A Journey of Three Companion was just a story, I'm sure the Editor-in-Chief would convince you to write a continuation." She pondered.

"We already agreed that this story-disguised history can only happen once, or else, Central 46 would start having suspicion to us if Tōsen-san frequently visits here. With the best of my ability, I wrote the story and he did the editing, revising and publishing before putting it in Seireitei Communications magazine."

"That's a shame." She pouted, disappointed.

"What do you think?"

"Think…? About this?" she raised the book in question, "well, it wasn't really a bad story or a great one but… kinda sad—but in a good way though!" she added quickly the last part.

"I didn't mean that." He gently refuted but he had an amused smile as if he found her response funny. "Did you see it as a history or just a simple story?"

"Oh," She felt her face getting warmer in embarrassment, "To be honest, I was too engrossed in the story that I didn't realize it was supposed to be a history."

"No shame to that, Amane," she took notice of his mistake but did not correct him, "It was my intention in the first place."

If that is what he says… perhaps he was right. A Journey of Three Companions was a simple story of three characters, as the title say, there were companions. Unlikely companions. Oroka, Cho and Hana met through coincidences. They had their own adventures, always getting out together and laughing together. There was no villain; it was just pure simple fun story. At least, on the first half.

Cho left and never came back, leaving only Oroka and Hana. These two had their own adventures, except it wasn't as fun as before and both of them grew closer. Hara thought there was going to be a romance between them but they wasn't. It was never addressed nor mentioned what kind of relationship they had but there was implications it was only platonic. Oroka had lingering feelings for Cho and Hana treated Oroka the same way how a friend treats you. Hara found it a bit of bittersweet since Oroka and Hana seems to have better chemistry than Oroka and Cho—most likely the effect when Cho left halfway through the story.

And then Hana was gone, which made Hara baffled when she read it. The only character left was Oroka, where the story took a turn. It was no longer an adventure story and focused more on Oroka how he was coping his loneliness, wandering the world without his companion beside him. Not once, even twice he complained about his situation. He just keep moving forward, hoping and longing that his companions will come back to him, and never once he gave up. Halfway through it, he found himself creating something he called as Garden of Stars, which was mentioned earlier in the story during the conversation between him and Hana.

Oroka waited. And waited, and waited, and waited. Being surrounded by his Garden of Stars, in the middle of his creation, he waited. And that was it. The end. That was how A Journey of Three Companions concluded.

"Amane, where is Tsuyuri Kanao currently resting?" Kagaya suddenly asked, startling her.

"Downstairs at the guest room, why?" Hara wondered.

"Can you take me there?"

"Huh? Uh, sure…?" her sentence ended up being a question because of her confusion.

It was a bit weird yet strangely familiar to guide Kagaya out of the room. As if she had escorted him more than once. It make sense. Just like he said, they were husband and wife before. Accompanying him as he walked outside must be one of her responsibility.

When they arrived at the door, Kagaya broke the silence between them, "Amane… no, Hara."

She looked up to him when she was about to open the door, "Yes?"

Her eyes widened when his eyes landed on hers as if he saw her despite his blindness.

"I'm… glad you were doing okay."

Those were his last words before he opened the door himself and entered the guest room.

And once again, Hara felt her heart soared.

Author's Musing:

[manga spoilers; be warned!]

Alright, since Muzan is kinda dead in the manga, here's my thoughts about him.

He had the same problems as Father from FMA. While Muzan had connections to the Kamado family, turning Nezuko into a demon, the breath of the sun ancestor (sorry forgot his name!) being his feared enemy which also had connections to the Kamado family, Muzan only got his arrogance and cowardice/fear (according to Tamayo) driving him to acquire immortality/conquer the sun. Perhaps it may have something to do with innate desire to become human except he doesn't want to take away the strength as a demon he received, liking to trample and manipulate others into following him. He's a psycho and sociopath through and through, who thinks himself as a living calamity. He got a shallow goal with a lack of interesting qualities and being overshadowed by his lackeys (especially the Upper Moons).

He's a classic villain with a classic purpose on mind and yeah, I thought he failed as character and a villain overall.

Speaking of Father being similar to Muzan, Tamayo had the same role as Hohenheim, being one of the biggest helper against the big bad. I wonder if Gotouge was inspired by it since the main characters of both series was siblings.

Terminology used in the chapter
(taken from r/bleach, wikia and google)

Seireitei (Court of Pure Souls): The citadel at the center of Soul Society where nobles and Shinigami live.

Rukongai (City of Wandering Souls): The slums outside of Seireitei where souls from the World of the Living/Human Realm are sent.

Oiran (First Flower[?]): A high-ranking courtesan. Also considered as a prostitute but they were distinguished from them since they were highly trained entertainers and had a greater degree of choice who would be their customers. ([?]According to the Wikipedia, the first kanji of Oiran means 'flower' and 'leader' or 'first' in the second).

Chūō Shijūroku (Central 46): The highest authority of Soul Society below Soul King. Comprised of 40 Wise Men and 6 Judges.

Sōgyo no Kotowari (Warning of the Twin Fish): An action-adventure serialized novel where Sōgyo, the main character fights evil and saves innocent villages.

Since impatience won me over as usual, I'll tell you the plan I talked about chapters ago. I am planning to write a spinoff of Wild Flower titled Garden of Stars. But that is all I can tell you and further details will be revealed after the Flower District Arc is done.

And also, next chapter might take long since I am currently writing something VERY long. It's unrelated to both fandoms (Bleach and Demon Slayer) and I got too much ideas on my head. I just needed to get it out of my mind.

If you want to reach me out, look me up on Twitter jessicapadz. It's where I'm only active.