Finally, Sara was able to leave Kibutsuji's dumb ass and continue on with her plans:red meat.
Unbeknownst to her, a small spider that had an eye as its body, followed right after her, silently skittering along the shadows.
Oh, boy, I can't believe he actually got me red meat. She thought to herself while walking to the designated meeting spot they had agreed on. Despite her excruciating physical pain, her energy felt light that day since she had slept long and steady.
There, Kokushibo awaited, seated at a low table together with another woman Sara had been told was called Nakime. The demon slayer could not see her eye, since it was fully covered by her fringe. As the demon woman spoke with Kokushibo softly, she held a biwa tightly, without ever letting it go in the slightest.
Sara could swear there seemed to be a slightly warm aura around them. Kokushibo's gaze was lightly softened, or so the human girl thought to perceive. The woman, Nakime, spoke at a rather low volume, complementing Kokushibo's silence.
Both seemed to be immersed in each other's quiet company. That was until the biwa woman spoke.
"We were expecting you" she spoke softly, the volume of her voice barely audible.
"Huh? You were?" Sara scratched her head. "Oh, right. Was gonna meet up with my good ol' pal Koku. My bestie apparently, according toyour Lordor whatever."
Kokushibo tilted his head ever so slightly, remaining stoic. His danger aura was ever unchanging. Nakime looked at the human woman with an unreadable expression, not showing her eye at any moment. Both of the demons just stared at her, blankly.
Mr. 6-EyesandMs. No-Eyes apparently are looking at me. What a pair... This is way too funny to be true. Sara thought to herself, unable to hold her playful smile back at all.
Seeing that they didn't say anything, Sara sat along with them on the low table and kept going with her monologue. "Bro literally thought I'd be hanging out with youjust forfunsiesand, no offense, Mr. 6-Eyes, but I don't see you as a girl bestie to hang out with for tea just 'cause."
There was no response from either of them, just blank stares. Could it be that they just wanted her to keep talking? Sara didn't know, and neither did she care. She was not about to awkwardly sit in silence, not in her one and only day off.
"Anyway, completely unrelated," she continued, "but I am honestly questioning all of my life choices" she sighed dramatically and lied down on her back on the tatami. "Why? Why did I even become a Demon Slayer? I was thriving, and I mean,thrivingin my hometown" she sat back up and served herself a cup of tea before any of the demons could react. "Y'know, I had this whole hair styling small business thing goin' on. And there was a cutie whom I could have married."
Nakime lightly tilted her head, playing some notes on her biwa. "Husbands can be dangerous, you should be careful with what you wish for."
Kokushibo held his breath, refusing to add any input. Though he was slightly surprised at the human's nonchalance. She was seated between two demons, two powerful ones at that. And yet, she spoke to them as if they were her all-time human friends.
Sara waved her hand dismissively. "Right, right. But I'm telling you, this guy was a total hottie. Last time I saw him a couple months ago, bro was lookin'foine!" She sighed, fanning herself with her own hand. "Honestly, I should have stayed home and married him when I had the chance!"
She was met with the silent gaze of Kokushibo and, what she assumed was the silent gaze of Nakime as well. It was hard to tell considering she couldn't see any eyes on her.Does she even have eyes?
"Aaah, Kamado Tenjuro.He. Is. That. Man. He would have made thebest. husband. ever." She exclaimed, still fanning herself. "ButNO, I had to become a Demon Slayer!" she threw her hands in the air and shook her head in disapproval of her own decision. "I just wanted to get married and have a family in the countryside. He sure would have been the best father as well." She lied down on the tatami floor, shaking her head as she looked at the ceiling. "I would have had a quintillion kids with thatman, for real."
Kokushibo finally blinked, still staring at her with an unreadable expression. Was that his way of acknowledging her presence? We shall never know. Nakime played some notes on the biwa, seemingly unamused. Not that Sara could tell from her covered eye.
"He is also a great dancer, too! He's got the moves. His gramps taught him a really cool dance" She sighed softly, imagining the sight of her life-long crush. "I loved seeing his performances. It was like looking at a literal Fire God."
"A Fire God?" Nakime repeated her last words to her, as if trying to understand what Sara was on about.
"Oh,fuck yes, he wasthefire god. He moved so elegantly and precisely..." The human woman hopelessly sighed just by thinking of hin. "Every year, I could have seen my husband dance theHinokami Kagura" she rubbed her own cheeks, pulling herself out of the daydream. "But now I'm here, talking to Mr. 6-Eyes, Ms. No-Eyes and dealing the grandiose Demon Prick himself." She sat back up, taking a sip of her green tea in feigned resignation.
"Are you by any chance refering to the Demon King?" Nakime asked, as if in a shy attempt to correct her.
"Exactly what I said" Sara shook her head. "His dumb ass won't leave me alone"
"Ah... I see..." The demon woman didn't really know what else to reply. After all, she had observed the last interaction between the human and her Master with one of her remote eyes. Shockingly enough, he didn't even seem to be angry. At all. It almost seemed as if he wasphysicallyincapableof even being mad at her.
Kokushibo just blinked again, not saying a single word.
"I miss Tenjuro. Not only was he a hottie, but he was also such a good guy. His kindness and his smile were beautiful." She smiled to herself, thinking about her times with him. "They way he cared for his family and friends... I still gotta find any other man that compares to him. No luck so far though."
Kokushibo held her gaze intently, Sara felt as if he was scanning her. Nakime kept on playing her biwa.
The human looked at her tea, her smile nostalgic. "I would always do his hair for free... He worked so hard... He deserved it..." She slightly furrowed her brow. "Though somehow, he always got it matted as fuck."
"He got his hair matted, huh?" Nakime commented, playing some more notes. Sara couldn't tell if she was interested or just pretending.
"Yeah, for real. It was even worse than the Demon Prick's hair. And that is a lot, considering his short-ass hair gets as tangled as a bunch of knots" She casually commented, thinking of all the times she had to carefully finger-detangle his wavy locks.
Nakime drank some tea carefully.
Kokushibo took the sudden silence as his clue to talk. "Youngling" he said, finally addressing her. "As I promised, I brought you red meat" Kokushibo handed her a small box, which contained carefully wrapped pieces of already cooked and spiced beef tenderloin. It was still very hot from what Sara could feel.
"Ain't no way... You got me a cooked one? I love you so fucking much" Sara was ecstatic, wiping away her happy tears. "You're a real one, Master 6-Eyes, did I ever tell you that? What a fucking legend" She kept on praising him as she ate, ecstatically.
Kokushibo just blinked, not responding, secretly amazed at her exaggerated gratitude. Also,Master6-Eyes? He was at a loss for words.
"You know, despite you guys being demons and stuff... I kinda like you. Y'all are sick as fuck... in a good way, of course" Sara casually commented. "Maybe in another life we could be besties."
None of them replied, the sound of the biwa being the only one left to echo through the hall.
After a while, Sara decided to leave to proceed with her resting period. She decided it was time to take a walk around the Infinity Castle. The lack of sunlight was really starting to wear her down and this was the only way in which she could have her 'mental health' walks, albeit still locked up.
As she strolled through the castle, she couldn't help but observe that she was actually being followed and observed by a shadowy presence. She supposed it was Shadow. It was a demon that always lurked through the corners, never fully showing himself, never truly saying a single word to her. Even Kibutsuji had told her in some occasions that he was a'strange man,'as he himself worded it. So even his master didn't really like or understand him.
A stupid idea crossed her mind. What ifshefollowedhiminstead?
What could possibly go wrong?
Sara, you little madwoman...
Thank you for reading!
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I've more saved for next week! Things are getting crazy now