Flowerbound [Kimetsu no Yaiba]

🌺 Prologue 🌺

Ajisaika peeked out of the window, noticing the sight of her one and only elder brother out by the charcoal storage, loading quite a bit of it into the basket on his back, given that he could not carry it with the cart after the heavy snowfall the previous night. She swept around to her cabinet, opening the drawer and pulling out all the crafts that she had been working on over the past few weeks.

Kamado Ajisaika was her parents' second child and first daughter, brought into the world with the perfect partner, her younger twin sister Nezuko. They were not identical in appearance but both of them had one thing in common: the pride and concern for their larger-than-life family.

Nezuko had long black hair and dark pink eyes, and was rather petite, while Ajisaika was taller than her, with long hair that were black on the upper layer and pink in the bottom layer. Her pink eyes were much brighter, with a beauty mark beneath her left eye.

It was a bit hard for Ajisaika to be the eldest daughter, having duties that her friends in the town did not – and it was also something that helped her relate with her elder brother, Tanjiro, who had to take the mantel as the family's provider following their father's passing.

Their father, Kamado Tanjuro, had been a quiet but loving man. Ajisaika had always gotten the front to his love. She had always been considered his unspoken favourite amongst them all, and when he passed away, Ajisaika had been the most affected, having grown rather quiet.

Gone were the days that Ajisaika could be reckless and daring, that boyish nature of hers that set her apart from her sisters. Now, she needed to work hard to be a help to her mother and brother so that her younger siblings could live well.

And it was this change that brought out a more responsible side of Ajisaika to work on perfecting her craftsmanship to help aid her family.

There was nothing that Ajisaika could not make, whether it be textile work like Kasuri, Furoshiki, Kichaku, Meisen to other Mingei crafts including embroidery, pottery and woodwork.

It was the last of what she remembered of her father's love as Tanjuro had always encouraged Ajisaika to use her keen eyes and talented hands to create beautiful things rather than covering them with soot.

Ajisaika had perceptive eyes, a gaze that was unrivalled to any other. There was nothing that she could see and forget, and nothing escaped her notice. She had the ability to imprint on actions.

"Nii-Chan," called out Ajisaika as she came out of the house, hurrying over to him with her own basket on her back. "Allow me to accompany you on your trip to the town,"

"Ajisaika," said Tanjiro, taken aback by her sudden appearance with how quiet her footsteps were. He noticed her basket. "Are you sure you want to go...? I could take both, the path is snowed in,"

"I have been cooped up at home working on all of these," Ajisaika replied, smiling. "I want to go out, sell them at a good rate and buy some more stuff... and toys for everyone, given that New Year is..."

"You always have something convincing to say, don't you?" Tanjiro asked, rather amused. "Well, I suppose I can do some with the company as well, the snowy landscape can be very barren,"

"Tanjiro? Ajisaika?" came the soft voice of their mother, Kie, and her two eldest children turned to look at her. "Oh, Tanjiro, your face is covered in soot, come over here,"

Kie knelt down near her son, using her apron to wipe the soot that was covering Tanjiro's face, noticing the baskets that he and Ajisaika were wearing on their back, making her privy of the plans the two of them had been up to before her arrival.

"It's dangerous with all this snow," Kie said, speaking to both of them. Ajisaika looked at her quietly. "You two don't have to go, you know,"

"Well, I want everyone to eat their fill on New Year's," Tanjiro replied. "So, I'm gonna sell as much charcoal as I can,"