3rd POV

.

.

"You've got to be kidding me..."

Once more, Colith found herself unceremoniously dumped in a forest. "What is it with you people and forests?" she grumbled, massaging her sore behind. "And it's freaking snowing!" Swiftly, she jumped from the snow-covered ground, landing on a tree branch and encased herself in her aura to keep warm after realizing she only wore pajamas.

"Oh! It's been a while hasn't it?"

She groaned as soon as she recognized that annoying voice. It was the dipshit messenger from before—

"HEY! Don't call me dipshit! That's rude! You're hurting my feelings!" The oh-so familiar voice pouted childishly.

"What on earth is happening?!" she thought angrily. "I thought I was supposed to be in AOT! What is the meaning of this?!" She crossed her arms and grumbled curses at the messenger.

"Aw! Don't shoot the messenger, it's not my fault they dumped you in demon slayer," the voice quipped.

Colith choked on her spit, quickly yelling, "WHAT?! DEMON SLAYER??"

"Yep, you heard right. The Higher-ups thought it'd be interesting to put you there," the voice replied with sass.

"Wait? But I haven't finished what I was doing in AOT! What the hell??! What about my beans!?—"

"JEEZ! LOWER YOUR VOICE! Damn! Relax! You're still in the AOT Realm," the voice snaps, interrupting Colith's panic. "You're like a clone of yourself, except you retain all your powers and yadda yadda yadda," it huffed."This version of you exists only for this realm, so you can do whatever you want, just like last time. So, please stop whining. They ain't paying me enough for this crap..."

The woman blinked a few times, processing the information. "So... if I understand correctly, I'm like some kind of clone with the same op powers, but this time in Demon Slayer?"

"That's pretty much it, yeah," the voice confirms.

"Huh... okay. What the hell am I supposed to do now?" Colith still had some difficulty grasping her predicament, but she decided to set it aside for later contemplation.

"Like before, you just need to entertain the higher-ups. Since it's one of their favorite franchises, and you're one of their favorite souls, they decided to place you in both franchises, so they can watch your two versions wreak havoc on the plots or something," it lazily explains.

"...Okay?" she replied, still a bit unsure. "I suppose I understand... huh.."

"GREAT! SAVES ME A LOT OF TIME!" it happily chirps. "And before you ask, yes, you will automatically understand and speak Japanese, you can create your own breath if you want, and you'll probably gain a harem."

Colith stared blankly into space. "I don't want to a harem." she frowned.

"it's up to you honestly." the voice said easily.

"Oookay...? Where am I in the timeline?" Colith asked, her shoulders slumped. She was aware that she wouldn't be able to return to her beans, so she decided to make the most of her time here, even though she already missed them—Mikasa, Armin, Eren, AND LEVI—

The voice sighed and reassured her, "Don't worry, at the end of the main story, you'll have a choice to stay or go back to the AOT realm, so don't give me that depressed look." It sympathetically added, catching the woman's attention

"Really?!" Colith's features relaxed, a relieved look crossing her face, and her lips formed a smile.

"Yes, yes," the voice chuckles. "Now, about the timeline, you're the day after Muzan attacks the Kamado family. Since it's a crucial moment for the beginning of the story, you cannot mess with it, unfortunately."

Colith clicked her tongue, disappointed she couldn't interfere. 'Guess that's gonna happen next time I see him,' she nodded, determined to give Muzan a scare when the opportunity arises.

"Alright! I wish you good luck on your journey, Lith. It's fun to watch your adventures up there," the voice chuckled and hastily departed before Colith could insult their mom.

She scowled, feeling frustrated. "Great, another stunt from the higher-ups, and I still have no clue who they are."

She looked at her appearance. 'Huh, being in pijis in this weather ain't a good idea, even though I don't feel cold right now. It'd be stupid if someone stumbled upon me wearing revealing clothes like these and asked if I was a hooker. I'd punch their throat.'

With a snap of her fingers, a mustard-colored kimono top, paired with a black hakama and a stunning red haori adorned with golden flower patterns appeared. Completing her look was the Akatsuki straw hat.

'Gotta look good while weebing,' she chuckled.

As she glanced down at her feet, she paused, pondering what to wear. "Hm... Ah yeah, boots!" And just like that, Japanese winter straw boots materialized, completing her ensemble. Voilà!

"Alrighty then, gotta find the Kamados... Or what's left of them... Hum?" Colith notices a figure in the distance, hanafuda earrings jiggling, an empty basket, and a black and green checkered Haori. She deadpans at the sky.

"Y'all motherfuckers did this on purpose, didn't you?"

She heard faint laughter in her head, but brushed it off.

She wondered if she should take her 14-year-old form again, despite being 25 years old; she decided to go for it. Changing shapes wasn't weird, especially with demons shifting's abilities. With a sigh, she reverted back to her 14-year-old self, ready to face the challenges ahead.

"Yippie... fuck, puberty," she quickly shoved the thought away before approaching the figure who was scaling, probably heading home. Her face cringed. 'They choose the worst timing, I swear...'

Before she could say 'oop,' however, the boy's head quickly whipped while sniffing in her direction, surprising them both.

'Aah yes, his sense of smell, of course,' she mentally face-palmed.

The boy's eyes widened at the sight of the weird stranger who seemingly appeared out of nowhere.

'A foreigner?'

The boy's mind raced as he observed her. He had never seen anyone quite like her in his short life. Her dark skin was adorned with freckles, and a long scar ran from her forehead to her left cheek, partially covering her eye. Her eyes held a captivating shade of gold, their odd gleam fascinating him for reasons unknown. Her hair was a new sight to him, resembling cotton; he wondered how they would feel if he touched them. And her lips... He immediately blushed as he realized he was lingering a little too long on her lips.

'Wh-wh-what...' he stammered, quickly shaking his head as his attention was captured by a gentle voice.

"Ano, excuse me, young man, but where am I..." she chuckled awkwardly, "could you help me, please?" Her voice was delightful, with a cute accent that added to her charm.

'What's going on?' he wondered, feeling perplexed. It was the first time something like this had happened to him. 'Is this her doing...?'

Stuttering, he hastily replied, his cheeks slightly warm, "Wa-what happened?" The whole situation left him flustered and curious about the intriguing stranger before him.

She looked down, her voice filled with apology, "Sorry... I, my situation is pretty complicated..." she scratched her cheek, feeling uneasy. "I'm not from here, as you may have guessed, and I have nowhere to go..." She heard the boy sniff slightly.

'She's... telling the truth,' he thought, his eyes snapping open as he looked at the stranger.

Feeling empathetic and being a sweetheart, the boy blurted the first thing that came to his mind. "Y-You could come with me! My family and I live close by-" he flushed, stumbling over his words, "I hum... I mean if that is okay with you..." He suggested, trying to be helpful. Unaware of the grief that flashed through her eyes, he hoped his offer would provide some comfort to her uncertain situation.

Stammering, the burgundy-haired boy, Kamado Tanjiro, finally replied, "M-my name is Kamado Tanjiro, nice to meet you." He politely bowed, his Hanafuda earrings jiggling from the movement.

"Tobe Colith! Nice to meet you!" a grin formed on her features as she extended a hand to the confused boy. "Oh yeah, this is how we greet each other where I come from, sorry, it's just a habit I got." She quickly corrected herself by performing a bow, adapting to the local customs.

Tanjiro watched her in awe, truly impressed by how well she wore Japanese clothes and her proficiency in the language. 'Maybe she was born here...?' he wondered. He started leading the way to his house, with Colith following closely behind. "So, um... Tobe-san—"

"You can call me Colith, I don't mind," she lazily waved a hand, to which he quickly flushed.

"Wh- what?! Are you sure it's appropriate...? We just met..." his face turned shades darker, and his heart started thumping faster, flustered by the thought of addressing her casually.

"Huh?" she blinked, momentarily puzzled before realizing what he meant. "OOOH, of course, I think I know where you're getting at, but don't worry, it doesn't bother me," she reassured him, softly chuckling. "Plus, you seem like a nice kid, so yeah, go ahead!" Her warm smile eased his nervousness, and he felt a bit more at ease conversing with her.

Tanjiro stared with a blush, feeling his heart race as he nervously stated, "Uh... Then you can call me T-tanjiro too!" He anxiously waited for the girl's reaction.

"Sweet! Tanjiro!" She happily exclaimed, and poor Tanjiro almost fainted when he heard his name being said so cheerfully by her. He couldn't help but feel a strange mix of embarrassment and excitement.

The moment was quickly interrupted when Tanjiro began sniffing something odd. "It smells like blood...!" His eyes widened, and a sense of urgency overcame him as he started following the smell. It was coming from his house!

The woman turned girl watched as his figure disappeared, and not a moment later, a distraught cry echoed in the distance. Colith's expression turned grim, and she massaged her temples.

'oh, Boi..' she sighed before quickly following after him.

EDITED