Demon Slayer; Kyameron Kamado

Chapter 57

'How far do we have to run?' Kyameron asked, still trailing a fair ways behind Shinobu after more than an hour of running at top speed non-stop.

'Tell you wouldn't be any fun, now would it?' She chirped from the trees several yards ahead of him, 'Why tell you where when I can make you keep running?'

'I have a torn pec, you know!' He groaned, 'Making me exercise it doesn't seem very doctor-like,' he replied, smirking.

'Oh, I'm only a doctor inside my house. Outside, I'm a warrior and a trainer. No get out of jail free card for you!' She taunted, continuing to dash forward at speeds Kyameron simply couldn't attain. Though frustrated at the unfairness of the situation, he had no choice but to continue chasing her around like a child chasing their parent. The running continued for another hour, all the way till exactly noon, where Shinobu randomly stopped.

'Are we... here?' Kyameron desperately asked, clutching his chest.

Shinobu's blank smile gazed back at him, 'Perhaps.'

'Oh, come on...,' he moaned, 'Don't do this to me..., are we here or not?'

'We might be.'

'Quit it, would you?!'

She chuckled, 'Alright, alright, I yield. Yes, we are here. This is the beginning of my territory,' she said, climbing a nearby tree and motioning Kyameron to follow her. Though his pec prevented a great amount of range of motion, he managed to climb it. Reaching the top, Shinobu pointed behind him.

He turned, 'Oh my...,' he whispered, falling slack-jawed.

A massive valley lay in front of him, populated by every kind of tree you can think of. Mighty oaks, thin and tall birches, colourful cherry-blossoms, evergreens, even Acacia and Redwood. His eyesight allowed him to see the flowers; bright red roses, blossoming daisies, purple tulips, gorgeous yellow orchids. Even some poppies grew in the fields, row upon row. Wildlife ran wild through the expanse of untouched wildlife; everything from miniscule butterflies to giant bears. In the very center of the unfathomably large crater of earth sat a village, populated by no more than five hundred people. Another, much larger town sat on the edge of the valley opposite them, where a festival was being held. Later tonight, countless fireworks and streamers would be launched into the sky, creating a man-made spectacle to rival the moon itself. Kyameron's eyes absorbed all the colour and majesty, hypnotizing him with it's sheer beauty.

'Quite something, isn't it?' A calm Shinobu asked, lowering her tone of voice.

'I...,' he mumbled, 'I don't know what to say...'

She laughed, 'That's alright, most people are speechless when they see it for the first time. I know I was.'

'How long ago was that?'

'Oh, years ago now. I was only 16 then. Kanae took me to this very tree for an afternoon, just to spend some time together. We brought sandwiches, pitched a little shelter, made a fire, and stayed the night in the wild sharing stories. Not like we had many the other hadn't been there for. We did everything together, me and her.' She said, rocking back and forth on the branch, 'I always keep this place near and dear to my heart. Even if it's for all the wrong reasons nowadays.'

'Wrong reasons?' He asked, 'What does that mean?'

'This used to be a place of escape. Somewhere I could go to get away from it all every now and then. Drop the smile. Just... let everything be the way it was, not forcing it to be the way I wanted it to be. But now...,' she paused. 'Now, it's the place I HAVE to go to get INTO it. The place I HAVE to smile. The place where I had to risk my life for a slim chance of saving someone else's, or even just making theirs better at the detriment of mine. Don't get me wrong, I love doing it. But sometimes..., I wish it would somewhere else.'