When I woke up from my slumber, Giyu was sleeping in his chair. "Giyu," I called out to him since I was strapped down. I didn't like how his body was slumped than laying flat. It was going to mess up his posture.

He didn't respond.

"Giyu," I called out again, waiting for him to hear my voice, but it seemed like he was too deep into sleep to hear me. "Aoi, can you come here?" Aoi walked into the room and stifled her laughter as she saw my situation. "Can you cut the rope? I'm not trying to lay in bed all day."

"Pff. Sure thing." Aoi used a sharp object and sliced the rope, causing it to loosen around my body. "I can't believe he went to the extreme and tied you down. I've never seen anything like that in my life," she walked out, giving me space with Giyu.

Once I threw off the ropes, I jumped over to Giyu's side and tried to move him. I hooked my arms underneath his and tried to lift him up without throwing my back out the window. "Mmm!" I grunted, incapable of lifting him. Giyu weighted a lot for my small frame. "Gosh, why'd you have to be so difficult…" I cried to myself. Giyu was softly breathing as my movements didn't disturb him at all. I was surprised that he was a heavy sleeper. I thought he'd be a light sleeper since he's in the demon slayer corps.

This time I tried a different method of taking him. Since Giyu was close to my bed, I was going to push him little by little than picking him up. Scooting the chair over to my bed, I pushed his whole body forward, then lifted up his legs onto the bed, and using most of the strength to roll him in the middle without making him fall off. "Ooo gosh…" I sat down on the chair. I was breaking a small sweat from my forehead. It was a workout to even put him into bed.

"Hello Kirika," it was Shinobu who poked her head through the doorway. "I was wondering if you were available to walk with me to a village and get some food to bring back to the estate." Her gentle smile made me feel obligated to go.

"Yeah, I'll be happy to help."

Shinobu gave me a new lavender kimono to wear as my hair was in a rope braid bun with flowers decorating it.

"Let's go," Shinobu happily smiled as she skipped in front of me.

On the way there, Shinobu broke the awkward silence. "So are you and Giyu lovers?"

"Whaaaaaat?" my face turned red. I couldn't believe that she mistaken us as lovers. "No, you've got it wrong! We're just good childhood friends and nothing more than that. I thought you and Giyu were dating because of what I witnessed." I told her the embarrassing assumption I made when it happened, and she laughed so hard at me. Shinobu stopped walking so she could catch some air and crack up again.

"I would never," Shinobu wiped her tears out of her laughing eyes. "I tease him a lot for not having friends, but I wouldn't go that far with him. That's a no-no." She was trying to control her breathing as she calmed herself from something so great to laugh at.

"Giyu doesn't have friends?" I thought back to when Giyu was with Tanjiro and them. They were friends indeed. "He does have friends! His friends are Tanjiro and them plus me."

"You're more than a friend of Giyu, you're going to be his lover soon." Shinobu winked. "I didn't think he would settle down so soon! In a few months coming I'm hoping to see a new Water Pillar heir." Now she started to tease me since she didn't have Giyu.

I looked down at my stomach and then back to her. "I don't think me and him will become lovers. That's totally impossible! Giyu for sure will marry someone intelligent, beautiful, strong, and talented." I didn't try to think about his future because that would feel weird.

"Kirika, you're describing yourself. Look around you," she pointed at people we walked past. "Men are staring at you with googling eyes. You're attractive. How can Giyu not be attracted to you?"

"I hate the attention because of beauty. I feel like a trophy to win. My life was like that before I came here. I was a desirable girl to have and keep safe…" when I thought back about it, disgust ran down my spine. "That's not what I wanted back in my hometown." I blabbered about my interest and started talking to her casually.

As soon as we arrived to the village, it was very crowded. There was barely a spot where it was not empty. Shinobu and I had to squeeze through people to get to stalls. Crowded places made me really uncomfortable due to close proximity, because like every other people, I didn't like being touched by strangers whether it was by accident or not. Yet, I wasn't lucky enough to avoid those. Hand prints were marking over my lower half, and I felt disgusted and annoyed.

"Shinobu," I linked arms with her. "Can we go quickly? I hate this place. It's too crowded and people are in my personal bubble. I'm uncomfortable," I looked around to protect myself from foreign touches.

"If they touch you, I will poison them like how I do it with demons." Shinobu's eyes had a threat to them, she was serious.

"Thanks,"

A new wave of people entered the village, as people were running into me and Shinobu's linked arms. I wasn't sure if I was paranoid or not, but I kept hearing whispering about me like I was a targeted person that's why things are trying to keep me and Shinobu apart.

"Are we done yet, Shinobu?" my heart was accelerating from the constant stares and whispering around me. I clung onto her like a leech to a human. I didn't want to let go because I fear the worse if one finger slipped.

"What's wrong?" Shinobu whispered in my ear, as she kept a calm expression buying food from vendors.

"I'm getting paranoid from eyes looking at me from every direction. I feel uncomfortable… I hate it." I kept myself alerted, feeling everything around me like a bug on my kimono.

Then a huge crowd of new people came flooding in, and forcefully pushing me and Shinobu apart. "Shinobu!" I screamed, having my hand in the air as so many people were being pushed. I was scared to get trampled by the crowd, but I was more scared of being separated from Shinobu than ever.

I was so distracted by my surroundings that I didn't feel a bad presence pulling me to the side. "I finally got you alone," a pair of heavy hands were on my shoulders. I froze up from my biggest fear this whole time. "You'd be a great prize," the grotesque voice whispered into my ear causing chills to run down my spine.

"You're freaking gross!" I mustered up the courage to elbow the man in the ribs and ran off. "Shinobu!" I screamed in sheer fear and panic. I kept looking back to see if I was being chased down or not. "Shinobu! Where are you?!" I was so afraid. My heart was beating rapidly as I pushed people away from me.

"Go find her!" the man was loud enough to be heard in the noisy crowd.

My frame wasn't strong like Shinobu or Giyu, I was a weak person towards combat. My thoughts were interrupted, "Kirika, behind me!" the voice wasn't Shinobu but Giyu.

"Giyu?!" I was surprised to see him. The last time I saw him was when he was sleeping. Then my eyes shifted to see Tanjiro, "Tanjiro, you're here too?" I didn't expect Giyu to bring Tanjiro with him.

"Yes," Tanjiro moved behind me. "Giyu couldn't find you in the estate so he asked me to track your scent, to which it led us here." Tanjiro said, readily holding the handle of his sword because we were immediately surrounded by a large group of men.

"Shinobu was with me, but unfortunately, we were separated...either on purpose or accidental." I informed the two who were protecting me. "I'm sorry," I gripped onto Giyu's haori and apologized. I felt like a hassle for everyone. "I wished I didn't look like this either…" I felt ashamed of how beauty can hurt people around me.

"Move aside and give me the lady, that's all I ask of you. My men won't fight you if you comply," the leader emerged out from his group and stood in front of Giyu, smirking at him. It was two against more than ten.

But me on the other hand felt so sick to my stomach. I hated this. I hated the attention. I wanted to make my face so unrecognizable to where I won't be stared at for what I wear or do to myself. "Being beautiful is a curse…" I whispered under my breath, hating myself for looking like this.

"From above!" it was Shinobu's voice as it came from the sky. Everyone looked up to see her dropping, as she landed right next to Tanjiro. "I'm sorry to drag you along with me. If I knew this would've happened, I wouldn't have brought you here." Shinobu sincerely apologized to me, causing so much ruckus for everyone.

"Give me the lady, or—" I couldn't stand it. Nasty men like him boiled my blood so much that I wanted to beat the shit out of him. It also didn't help that I'm not really capable to fight people off too.

"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up about it!" I didn't coward behind Giyu anymore, I stood right in front of the vile man.

"Kirika, get back." Giyu sternly said, tugging my arm back but I wouldn't budge. I didn't want to hide behind Giyu. I was sick and tired of being the cause.

"I will not stand by a so-called 'man' like you as you view women as objects." I ripped my arm from Giyu's grip. "You are no emperor, you are no man, you are nothing. You are a joke to think that you will get your ways; only kids are able to get what they want." I was fuming in so much anger that I would explode from where I stood. I felt like strangling the leader in front of me.

"Very funny. I'm being scolded by a woman," He looked at his group and started laughing.

"I wasn't done talking," I took a few steps in front of him and grabbed his hand. "If," my hands were crawling up to his bicep. "You didn't notice," I lightly put some pressure onto it. "You're an eyesore," I pressed into his pressure point of his bicep, to where he would temporarily be paralysed at the arm. "I was scared of you," I dug my finger into his skin as his face quickly contorted. "But look at you crumble...just because you didn't know I was smart enough to hurt you."

The leader was easily succumbing to the pain. It looked like he was trying to fight back.

"Boss!" Giyu and the others held back his group by their weapons.

"This will be the first time that your ass was beaten by a woman. Remember my face if you will. I don't respect vile dogs like you," I pulled my left arm back with my hand facing up, and lunged it forward, connecting my hand to his jaw. I could feel every movement in the blow: the jaw connecting to his skull and his teeth scraping against his lips. "So many things can happen when you suffer from a blow to the jaw, did you know that?"

"Boss!" his group dropped their stance with Giyu and the others, and ran towards their leader. In that quick moment of the occupied men, Giyu tugged me back to him, gripping my waist firmly.

"Let's go before they notice Kirika," Shinobu said quietly, as we all ran back to the estate.

As we ran out of the village, Giyu didn't let go of my hand. He held it tight so I wouldn't be lost again. "Giyu," I panted from keeping up with his speed. "You're running too fast!" I felt my legs burning. I've never ran this fast in my life. "We're already out of their sight!" my legs died down from running, which caused him to stop with me. "Gosh…! My lungs are burning!" I dropped to my knees and fell on my side. I could hear my heart racing as I tasted blood in my mouth.

"Let's go," Giyu stared down at me. It was like the running didn't affect him at all, unlike me.

"You're not human at all if you don't feel the pain I'm feeling…" I didn't want to move a limb. "Carry me then," he nodded and gladly picked me up, and carried me on his back.

My head rested on his shoulder as he walked behind Shinobu and Tanjiro. "I tried to help myself than letting you guys protect me…" I muttered in disappointment. "I wish I was stronger like you guys,"

"Kirika, you were strong today. You clearly showed us that you were capable to disable a person for a short time. I was amazed. You're not that little crying girl anymore, you're a big girl now." Giyu laughed, and I hit his shoulder as I laughed.

"Shut up! I'm not a big girl, I'm more than that." I pinched his cheek.