"Lady Chiba, close the window, or else you'll get sick," my handmaiden ran over to me and shut the window.
"I don't know why you're overprotective. I'm a grown woman who can handle myself. I like staring at the window because nothing has changed in this town. It's the same old routine… I want some adventure in my life. I want to seek the unknown!" I reopened the window to feel the fresh breeze touching my skin.
"My lady, you need to get ready for the morning," my handmaiden tried to usher me out of my room.
"Yes, I will get ready and help out the farmers!" I pleasantly smiled and ran off before my handmaiden could scold me and changed my attire.
This town I've been living in for eight years has gotten very dull. There was no change—everything was the same over and over again. I loved helping people out because it made my time go by faster and I forget how my life has been constant.
"Lady Chiba, how are you today?" a bystander asked, feeling in a cheery mood.
"I'm very good. I'm heading out to farm, and you?" I smiled back as I gripped my bamboo basket.
"I'm waiting for my son to get back from the city. It's been a little over two years since I last saw him," we had a little chat before I said my goodbyes and left.
Out in the blazing sun, I was ripping vegetables out of the ground and throwing it in my basket. My hands didn't start aching until I've finished five rows. I slowly stood up straight after bending forward for a long time. "Ah… my back hurts!" I used my hands to pound my lower back. It was a knotting pain.
"Chiba, you can go home now. We can handle the rest," one of the farmers said.
"No, it's okay! I'll help you guys finish," I didn't want to go back home yet. Harvesting crops made me feel at peace, or doing labor work.
"A beautiful lady like you should be finding a husband, not helping mere farmers out. Just leave your basket over there and enjoy the rest of your day," the farmer smiled and waved off, as I complied with his choice.
"Alright, I'll come back tomorrow to help out again. I hope you have a good day too," after I left, I was on the road back home. I stared down at my hands, they were rough and unpretty. I had the hands of a worker, not of a lady who had maids to do everything. I liked learning new things and understand people. My attire was pretty dirty from harvesting, but that didn't matter to me.
"Tanjirooooo…!"
I looked over my shoulder to see a group of boys walking twelve feet behind me. "I've never seen them before," I muttered to myself as I stopped walking. "Is this the change I've been waiting for?!" I suddenly got excited for this new vibe for my town, so I started to approach them. "Hey, are you guys lost?" I tilted my head while drew closer to them.
"Oh, hi," a boy with a scar on his head spoke first. "We're travelers from the far east mountain. A person told me that a resting place nearby would be town A."
"Travelers from the far east huh? That's interesting." I felt myself getting excited about their stay. "Well, you are heading to the right track. If you follow me, I can lead you since I reside there. Just keep up with me, I'm a fast walker," I politely smiled and then hurried off in the distance.
"Wait up!"
"What are your names?" I asked to break the ice.
"I'm Tanjiro Kamado. This is Zenitsu Agatsuma, Inosuke Hashibira, and Giyu Tomioka." Tanjiro pointed at his friends as he named them.
"Giyu Tomioka…" I mutter quietly. His name rang a bell, but I couldn't remember. I knew his name will be stuck in my head until I remember who he was. "You can call me Kirika. I can tell you that it's a lovely town. There's always crops to buy, magnificent items to find, and really good food to eat that's the best part of it all."
"Food?! What kind of food are we talking about? I hadn't eaten good food for a long time…" Zenitsu drooled from his mouth as he fantasized how it'll look like.
"Food that's all I can tell you," I mischievously smiled and walked ahead of them.
We were all getting close to the town, so I quickly bid them farewell. "I'll depart now. I hope you look around town and see what you like. I'll see you guys pretty soon," I waved, walking in my own direction to my house.
"My lady! You've been gone for so long. I was worried sick about you!" my handmaiden wiped the dirt off from my face. "You knew too well that you had an appointment to find your suitor, my lady. You can't always be late to it. Don't you know it's hard to set one up?" she was scolding me as she cleaned me up.
I was in the bath as she was washing my hair. "You already know that I'm not looking for marriage, and you also know that I'm able to do things by myself, like washing my own hair." I stated the obvious to her. "I understand you try to play the mother role ever since I lost my parents, but sometimes it gets overbearing because I feel like a hostage in my own house. Instead of me finding a suitor, why don't you take my place?" she poured warm water over my head to wash down the shampoo.
"It's because I'm too old. I'd rather take care of you because it's my responsibility as your caretaker." She twisted the water out from my long raven hair and made ripples in the bathtub.
"I've come of age years ago. I'd love to find someone by myself than having someone else do it for me, or just be single for a while." I got out of the bath as water dropped on the ground while I wrapped a towel around my nude body. "Maybe I shouldn't go to the matchmaker. I'm not feeling it." I pouted like a child.
"Lady Chiba, you're the most beautiful girl that all men want. Long black hair, youthful face, pale skin, emerald eyes, and a slim figure." She combed my wet hair down and started to pat it dry.
"Well, I'm not a toy to pleasure horny men because of my looks, that's disgusting. I hate being the talk of the town... It's so annoying. Men are animals." I rolled my eyes in annoyance. I had too many offers of marriage to men I didn't know. They never cared about personality, it's always looks that appeal to them. "I think my life would've been better if I wasn't attractive. I want to be an average woman whom looks wasn't important."
"Come on, let's get you dress." My handmaiden replied as we moved rooms.
I was dressed in a floral emerald green kimono. "Gah…! Not too tight… I can't breathe too well," my stomach was getting squeezed by the obi. I didn't like how tight kimonos were. "Can't I just wear a loose fitting attire? I hate this..."
"How many times did I tell you that you have no choice. You're father would want you to be wed as soon as possible. You rejected so many marriages because you refuse to let your ideals go away." She was twisting my hair up and pinning many ornaments in my hair. My head was decorated and heavy.
"Well, I like my ideas of wanting to be free. It's awesome to not have anyone restricting your wants." I glared at my handmaiden. "If I ever wed, you can do whatever you want with your life since I'm married to someone's else's family. Let's hurry before I am late,"
Walking to the matchmaker place, all eyes were on me. I desired no attention because I felt discomfort by their stares. I look around, remembering that the travelers were in town. "I wonder where they are?" I mumbled, hoping that I'll bump into them.
"Don't have a serious face, my lady. Put on a smile to present yourself when you enter the building." My handmaiden scolded me when she caught my attentive facial expression.
"Do you know the name Giyu Tomioka? It sounds oddly familiar, but I can't put my finger on it. It's a hazy blur that doesn't want to be remembered." I poundered, remembering his face: stoic eyes. His eyes were the only thing I can remember when I encounter them.
"It doesn't ring a bell, and you shouldn't be talking about other men when you're going to meet your suitor!" she again scolded me, and I was so tired of hearing marriage in my ear.
"Geez! I think I might runaway, or hang myself if you don't stop yelling in my ear." I was so frustrated, I was on the brink of hurting myself. I couldn't take this bullshit of how my life should be.
When I met my suitor, I couldn't help but be real with him. I didn't have the energy to be fake to someone I don't even want to marry. "I don't like you. You're too cocky and that's a turn off; you give me migraines. I don't need a man like you to be tied to," I rudely insulted him and fled the building.
The sun was setting, and I wanted to see if the travelers were still here. My heavy clothing was making me slow to run around the place, especially my head. There was too much ornaments and it was making my head hurt.
"Lady Chiba, how was your potential suitor?" People were asking many questions about the suitor, but I could care less about it because I didn't care much about suitors in general. It was getting annoying how I was being mobbed by mothers and fathers. They only cared to hear if I chose a suitor or not, so they could offer me their sons.
"OH!" I spotted them from a distant. They were near the charm stand. It seemed like they were observing it, and potentially wanting to buy some too. I ran full speed to greet them. I was running past people as I wanted to see them in spite of not knowing them. Having them come here sparked a feeling in me, especially the familiar name who I might know.
"Which one do you want, Inosuke? You can choose any—"
"It's nice seeing you guys around the area still!" I brightly smiled like the sun. I had a feeling that they were special.
"LADY CHIBA, I didn't notice you coming! I'm so sorry!" the merchant apologized.
"I hate my life…" I stared at the merchant.
"Lady Chiba?!" Tanjiro and Zenitsu yelled in pure shock.
"Don't call me that…" I frowned, feeling disappointed that everyone always has to find out what the town called me. "I'm not even that important. It's Kirika"
"So you're the talk of town huh?" Inosuke grumbled, staring at me through his boar mask.
"Always," I huffed out. "I wish I wasn't because it'd make my life much easier."
"You're… You're so beautiful!" Zenitsu cried, crumbling on his knees. "No wonder why she's the talk of the town. Her beauty outmatches any girls in this town!"
"Is he okay? Does he need to see a medic?" I watched Zenitsu rolling on the ground, crying as everyone watched him.
While his two friends were busy trying to calm him down, I turned to face Giyu Tomioka. "Giyu Tomioka," when I called his name we made eye contact. "Have we met before? Your name sounds oddly familiar to a person I once lost eight years ago." I tried staring deep into his eyes, trying to find any hints of who Giyu Tomioka was to me.
"No, I don't know you." Giyu said in a monotone voice. His facial expression never changed, there wasn't any hesitation in his voice at all.
"I guess I was wrong. I didn't think someone would have the same name as a person I knew years ago. I'll take my leave, and tell them goodbye from me since they're busy handling their friend." I felt like I didn't get any clear answer to my question from Giyu. He seemed like a mystery.
After I returned home, I got ready for bed. I took off all the ornaments in my hair and placed them away in a safe box, and I changed out of my fancy kimono to a light fabric. "Giyu Tomioka… Giyu Tomioka…" I was repeating his name over and over again because there was something missing in that puzzle piece. I knew the name but I couldn't remember the face from eight years ago. "Maybe the Giyu Tomioka I knew is dead, but it's rare to have the exact same name as someone else. Maybe he doesn't remember? Ugh, I should sleep than keep thinking." I tucked myself to bed and fell asleep.
I opened my eyes to see I was at a wedding, someone's wedding. It was decorated in white. I looked around to see family and close friends watching the bride and groom. There was a boy and a girl who were playing with each other outside the ceremony. I walked closer to them, and quickly recognized that the girl was me and the boy must've been Giyu Tomioka. He was small. He was playing happily with the younger version of me. His eyes were very soft when he played with the young me. That Baby Giyu I knew resembled the one who's with the travelers.
"Come on, my sister's about to get married!" Baby Giyu grabbed young me by the hand and ran off to the ceremony. I followed the kids to the ceremony where his sister was going to get married.
His sister looked so beautiful. Her beauty was over the moon and she had such a gentle yet loving face when she stared at her husband-to-be. The way she looked at her husband, is the way I want to feel when I marry the love of my life than blind marriage.
Baby Giyu looked so happy for his sister, but that happiness soon turned into terror. My heart dropped when demons came out of nowhere and started killing everyone they saw. People were frantic as they tried to escape. Young me was being pushed away from Baby Giyu as young me was crying. Young me didn't know what was going on, but all young me knew was that people were getting attacked as their flesh were being ripped off.
It hurts my heart to see this in my dream.
Young me was able to escape with the help of random people, and I never knew what happened to Baby Giyu.
I gasped sharply, waking up in cold sweats. My body was trembling from the terrible dream. My dreams were never intense like the one I had now. I opened the window to cool myself down. I felt the icy breeze touch my moist skin. "It is him. He wouldn't have the same eyes of his sister and same hairstyle from his younger days either. Maybe he doesn't remember, but I do." I mumbled, staring out at the full moon.
The next morning, I didn't go farming, I wanted to find Giyu Tomioka. I ran around the area to find him or his friends. "Where are they?" I whispered, hoping luck will make them appear in front of me.
"It's Lady Chiba— Kirika!" I swiftly turned my head when I heard my name being called.
My eyes widened when I spotted the group. I ran over to them and briefly said hi to the rest before standing in front of Giyu Tomioka. I gulped when his stoic eyes stared down at me. "So you were alive after all these years." He looked so confused what I was talking about. "Your eyes are just like your sister," I could sense Giyu's body tensing up. "Do you really not remember me?" I didn't rip my eyes from his face. I knew deep down he was going to remember me…