Little Demon Slayer [DISCONTINUED]

Feelings

Mirai begrudgingly opened her eyes, her body felt sore and her throat felt hoarse. She looked around and realized she was in the nurse's office, it was dark and quiet, her body was covered in bandages. When she tried to get up, she heard the voice of one of her best friends, "Don't get up, you might open your wound."

The girl looked to the side and saw her, the girl who she looks up to the most, her team leader. But something was off, instead of seeing eyes full of pride and determination, she saw hollow ones, red and puffy as if she had been crying. Mirai tried to speak but no noise came out, her throat was too dry and soar.

Seeing her friend struggle, Akko grabbed a glass of water and helped her drink it, "That demon did quite the number on you, you know. You had a couple of broken ribs and had internal bleeding. You need to be more careful, who knows what could have happened if I didn't hear the screaming."

"Stop your worrying, I've been through worse." Mirai chuckled, she looked up at the ceiling and a wistful smile appeared on her face, "You remember the first mission we went together? We all split up to look for the demon and Chihiro was acting all cocky but when the time came, she was screeching like a damn banshee." Not noticing her friend's frown, Mirai laughed, "Speaking of Chihiro, where is that scaredy-cat? The last time I saw her was when we all heard the screaming."

Akko sighed, she took the sword from the ground and placed it on her lap, running her hand over the handle, "S-she... she didn't make it. I-I didn't make it in time to save her." she cursed herself from stuttering and took a deep breath, preparing herself for any yelling and swearing.

"W-what?... y-you're joking, right?" She didn't get a response, Akko looked away, frowning, "T-there's no way... there's no way she's gone, right? RIGHT?!" she let out an empty laugh, as fresh tears ran down her cheeks, her shoulder was shaking and her breathing, frantic, she started to sob, "If only I stopped Amanda, if only we didn't split up, if only I didn't leave her... If I was stronger she wouldn't have to die... this is all my fault. I'm too weak, too stupid... damn it, damn it! DAMN IT! ONLY IF I DIDN'T LEAVE HER! SHE WOULD-"

"Mir, stop, it wasn't your fault." Akko placed a hand on the crying girl's shoulder.

"But it is! I left her! I could have stayed and-"

"And what? I know you're hurting but remember why the corp is made for! If you hadn't left, the reporter girls would have died. It is our job to protect humanity, we all should know that we can't save everyone, so we make sure to have the least amount of casualties as possible." Akko cupped her face between her hands, sternly staring at her in the eyes, "I know it hurts, I really do but... you'll need to get over it, I know it sounds cruel but we're at war, get stronger, faster, better. We need to end this as soon as possible, we've already lost many of our own, so... I want you to go back to Japan and train." her voice was soft and pleading. "I can't live with myself if I lose another friend.. so please, please, please go back.."

"You're being selfish..." Mirai frowned, she removed her hands from her face and looked down, tears falling on the white nursing sheets, "How do you think I'd feel knowing that my best friend is fighting for her life on the other side of the world, while I'm in the safety behind the Corps walls?" she looked up and met her eyes, "I know you're a hashira and all, but, you yourself need someone to lean on! I know I'm not good enough to be that person but I want to be by your side till the very end... that's what Chihiro and I both wanted more than anything, so please don't push me away!"

Finally letting her tears run free, Akko cried, "You know... I really hate it when you make sense..."

Mirai smiled and hugged Akko tightly, "Can we stay like this for a little while?"

"Sure." The two lie down on the bed and cuddle. Despite being hurt by the loss of one of their childhood friends, being this close to each other brought warmth, but most importantly, comfort.

The news of Chihiro's death traveled fast, by lunchtime, every staff and student knew of last night's event. Apparently, the red, blue, and green teams weren't the only ones out and about. The screams they all heard were from the reporter girls from the yellow team, Wangari, Joanna, and Kimberly.

At dinner time, the yellow team went up to the other three and sat together. "S-so, has anyone talked to the demon slayers, Atsuko and Mirai, yet?" Wangari asked. She got collected groans and sighs from the others as the atmosphere became gloomy.

Since last night, none of the girls has seen the two girls. They felt incredibly guilty and blamed themselves for the sweet girl's death. Especially Amanda, she felt most responsible, she was the one who suggested going out in the first place after all.

"What do you think they're doing now?" Lotte fumbled with her hands, not meeting anyone's gaze.

Sucy let out a sigh, "Who knows... probably mourning, they did lose their friend after all."

No one knew what to say, the memory of last night was still too fresh in their head. The smell of blood, the fear, the adrenalin, and the feeling of weakness. They wanted to help out but they were too scared to do anything, they were frozen solid to the ground. Watching someone fight for them made them feel like the world's worst scum. They were helpless and pathetic, just standing by while a girl their own age was being beaten to death.