•|• Avatar •||• Hashibira Inosuke x Reader •|•

Chapter 16

Kazumi let go, and Tanjiro got up again.
"We'll be on our way now. Here. Hopefully you'll be able to find something of Miss Satoko's in there."

The fabric with the pins.
More tears came from Kazumi, one of the pins really was hers.

All I can do is stand still and watch this unfold. There's such a difference in their feelings, and yet at the end of the day it's still pain, regret and sorrow.

I'm in over my head with this. Each day  at least someone dies to a demon, I can't save everyone, no matter how much I want to.

"Mr Kazumi?"
My own voice cracks when I speak, the tears pooled in my eyes slipping down.

"Give me your hands for a moment."
Maybe I could just give him some peace of mind.
The Avatar's the bridge between the human and spirit world, so maybe... I can let him see her one last time.

"Tanjiro, promise me that you won't look, alright?"
He hums a yes, and I trust that he respects his word, taking in a deep breath as he turns around.

Holding Kazumi's hands, I can just begin to feel the shaking sorrow. His mind is full of regrets and guilt.

"You poor soul."
I take a deep breath, feeling myself fade for a while, trying to enter the spirit world.
I've tried before and failed, but now it had to work.

My eyes re-open, the tears that now fell from my eyes puddled onto the ground. I was crying waterfalls, unable to stop even after I wiped them away.

Kazumi seems shocked as he looks at me, but just seeing that small shine of hope in his eyes, no matter how small it was, I felt relieved.

"Y-You..."
He gripped my hands, and I sigh, smiling as I pull away.

"We have to go now, Mr Kazumi. Take this girl back home to her family for us, okay?"

He nodded, and I got up to walk with Tanjiro. The first few rays of sunlight shyly revealing themselves.

I still cried, almost unable to stop myself as the tears just kept flowing.
Tanjiro gave me a warm smile, holding my hand.

"Are you okay?"

I sigh and turn to face him, smiling.
"I'll be okay, Tanjiro. Don't worry about it."

I hate lying to you.
I'm sure you know when I lie, yet you never call me out.
I'll tell you soon. I'm not ready to get you involved.

《•|•-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-•|•》

Before we decided to rest, Tanjiro kept insisting on checking my wound, no matter how minor it may have been.

"Why are you so angry?"
I can't help but ask, already knowing the answer.

"Kibutsuji. How many people has he tormented? How many innocent lives has he taken?"

I pat his shoulder, a small smirk on my face.
"He won't kill any more innocents after we find him, trust me."

He seems to relax a bit, nodding before our birds came to us, perching on our shoulders.