"Kirika, let's go."
"What? Where?" Giyu dragged me out of the estate, as I was confused about what was happening.
"We're all going to Ubuyashiki resident," Shinobu added out of nowhere, as she walked behind us. "Including the trio. We're all called because we need to train the lowest ranks, so they don't die out so quickly during their missions."
"So why am I going? I'm nothing special. Shouldn't I be staying here or settle down in a new area?" I didn't know my life would change so much after meeting the trio and Giyu. "Because technically, I have no association with you guys…"
"Kirika, you do have an association with—"
"Shut up, Shinobu." I quickly responded to her statement. I knew what she was going to say before she could even say his name. "You play too much."
"Aw, you're such a tease. You're turning out to be like him too!"
Gosh, I knew why Giyu doesn't interact with Shinobu at all. She's very talkative, snarky, and kind of annoying. It's like she knows where to hit a person's feelings.
As we traveled by foot, we made a pit stop at a village to refresh ourselves. I had the trio surround me because Giyu ordered them to. "Come on, you guys don't have to stick to me like glue." Having them around me made me stand out since I had Inosuke growling at people who would come near me, Zenitsu who would cry when he saw someone scary-looking pass by us, and Tanjiro who was being stiff and alerted.
"But Giyu said—"
"Where's Shinobu?" I asked them in annoyance. Being with the alerted boys was just like being with the snarky Shinobu. If going to Shinobu would cause me less attention, I would go to her.
"She's over there," Zenitsu pointed where she stood in front of a stand.
"I'm heading over to her, and you boys find something else to do." I suggested, walking away fast from them.
When I met Shinobu, she quickly brought up the one and only Giyu to me. "Wow, do you see those flocks of women staring and gushing at him?" Giyu was occupied talking with a vendor while girls were eyeing him and blushing as they watched him. "Aren't you jealous? They might steal your— Agh!" I jabbed her side from speaking any further.
"Anyone can have him. It's his choice if he wants to marry or not. And no, I'm not jealous because either way he's gonna marry someone he loves. I'm just a childhood friend of his, nothing else." Giyu was so clueless about the girls' stares. I wasn't sure if he was acting like that on purpose or not to ignore their presence.
"Excuse me," a young man suddenly approached me and Shinobu. He had short black hair and brown eyes. He seemed like an average man in town, nothing special about him. "Are you Kirika Chiba?" the young man turned to me, and Shinobu was just as confused as I was about the situation.
"Yes, and you are?" I slowly linked arms with Shinobu, closing our gaps between us.
"I'm your fiancé!" his words took me to another level of what the hell. I knew nothing about this man, nor this engagement he's talking about. He was talking insane.
"I'm leaving!" I turned my back on him and walked away. I wasn't having his bullshit of lies because it wasn't true at all.
"Wait! You have to believe me!"
"Back off. She doesn't want to talk to you as you can tell," Shinobu stopped him from following me, or tried at least.
I was so furious. My hands were balled up white and my face was red. I couldn't believe that yesterday's event was tying me up to this dumb event.
"Kirika Chiba, believe me! I am to be your beloved husband. See I have proof!" he pulled out my family's pendent.
I was shocked that he had one in his hand, but I also didn't believe it at the same time either. "No, I don't believe you." I crossed my arms, fuming over his trick. "It is identical to the one I have, but you could have stolen it from my house, dug up my parents' grave, or pickpocketed out from my servant. Get out of my face," I demanded coldly. "I don't know who you are, but your trick was foolish." I turned my back to him again, but this time he caught my wrist and pulled me back.
"I'm not leaving without you." His grip was tightening up, as his true desire was to take me and bride me up. He was different; his aura was menacing.
"Kirika!" my name was called out from instant fear.
"Screw off!" I punched his face with a lot of force. I didn't care if my fist was hurting from my knuckles connecting to his bone. "I'm so sick and tired of you animals. Just leave me alone!" I lifted my leg up to kick his groin. "Show your face to me again," the trio was pulling me back from the fallen man. "And I swear on my life that I will kill you personally!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. I was ready to fight someone who would dare to pull a stupid move on me.
"Calm down, Kirika." Tanjiro stood in front of me to block my view of the animalistic man. "Your heart rate is beating too fast! Calm yourself before you get a heart attack." He tried to shake me into my senses, but I couldn't help and think about murdering all the men in my life who tried to wed me. I was a ball full of rage.
"What happened?" Giyu finally heard the commotion and decided to ask.
"I don't want to talk about it!" I refused to answer because the more I thought about it, the more I got mad and red.
When we arrived to our destination, I met the other powerful pillars. They all wondered who I was since I wasn't involved with the demon slayer corps at all. "Who is she?" one of them asked.
Then Shinobu chimed, "It's Giyu's soon-to-be…" she winked, hinting the wrongful message to them.
"I will punch you, Shinobu. I have so much rage right now." I stared at her with my dead panned eyes.
"Oh my gosh," this pink-green haired hashira appeared in front of my eyes. "You're so beautiful! You're the one that every man wants." Right there, she insulted me. It struck my heart so bad that I wished my heart would crawl out of my mouth and run away.
"I'm...insulted!" I placed a hand over my enraged heart and soul. "I've dealt with so many marriages, that I hate my life so much! I have one encountered yesterday and today. I'm going to bust someone's face because of it." I felt my anger rising.
"Oh, I didn't mean to make you mad…!" she looked worried and regretful at the same time, but now I felt bad for letting my anger get to me.
"Don't be sad!" I quickly changed my attitude and facial expression. "I'm just saying that this beauty is killing me. I had enough of it already."
"Maybe if we swapped hair colors then it wouldn't happen to you." She chuckled. "My hair color is a turn off and I'm unnaturally strong too for men to marry me." I stared up and down at her, and noticed how her uniform showed her breast area. I didn't know that was even allowed to show, but I can't say much since I'm not in the corps. Overall, she was gorgeous. She has the ideal body and looks. I didn't know why she couldn't be wed off.
"Let's switch lives. My life would be so much easier if I didn't gain much attention." I sighed, while for her, she wept.
After the introduction, I was put into a room where I would reside for a few days. I lied on my side, thinking about nothing. My mind was in complete boredom until I heard the door slide open, to which I hastily got up and turned my head to see who it was. "Giyu?!" he casually walked inside, and looked at me weirdly.
"What are you doing in here?"
"I can ask you the same question!"
Giyu shut the door and stood in front of me, "I'm supposed to be sleeping in this room," he plainly told me.
"So am I…" then I paused, wrapping my head around this situation. "Are they setting us up?!" I went on my feet so fast and I was about to storm to the other pillars and fight them, until Giyu stopped me from rushing out.
"Hey, forget about them. It doesn't matter if you're sleeping here, I don't care." He pulled me back from walking out the door. "You can't fight me against your strength…"
"Okay, okay," I knew I couldn't out match him, so I stopped resisting.
"Tell me what happened at the village. I've never seen you so red...besides yesterday." I stared into Giyu's eyes before telling him what happened.
"I wished I wasn't beautiful! I wished I didn't attract dirty men! I wished I was dead! I hate carrying on life if it's meaningless! My life has no meaning—" I was rudely interrupted by Giyu yelling at me in full disappointment when I was only ranting.
"Don't say that you'd rather die! You have so much more to live for! Saying you rather die because of men wanting to marry you?! That is stupid." I've never felt so mad towards him, not even once as children, but this time it hit home.
"Shut your ass up, Giyu!" I retorted in anger. "You don't know how it's like when you're a woman. Who do bad people kidnap the most? Women. Who can't go out alone without being harassed? Women. Who gets scolded for not being perfect? Women. Women this, women that! Don't tell me that I shouldn't feel this way towards closed minded men like you! You men don't understand anything that us women go through on a daily! I know my life isn't bad, but I don't want it at all. I don't seek any attention, I never asked to look so 'beautiful', nor I wanted to be born! I was pure luck to be alive than to be miscarried like my other siblings I could've had." I didn't want to see his face. I was overpowered by my emotions that I stormed out of the room.
My feelings were so bothered that I left the residency. I didn't want to sleep in the same room as him after what happened. It didn't matter how short we've known each other after our years apart, but it should've been obvious that I hated marriage coming to my hand. "What an airhead!" I threw out any ornaments in my hair to the ground as I walked the trail back to wherever it may lead me. "I'm never going back! I don't ever want to see any familiar faces again because they'll drag me back in order of Giyu's words." I kept walking until I couldn't see the residency at sight.
It was hours until I was completely lost of where I was at. "Damn, look where I am now." I hit my head lightly from my stupidity in letting my annoyance control me. "Forget it, I didn't need Giyu anyways. I was doing just fine without him." I kept walking straight, unknowingly from what to come.
"Kirika Chiba! I finally found you," I turned around to see the average man from earlier, but this time, I had a bad feeling in my stomach.