Intrigued, that was what he felt.
Different, that was what she is.
He looked around the town while he remained on the rooftop. How the sun had set a good hour ago as he tilts his head up. His eyes looked at the moon that was hidden slightly behind the passing clouds.
And somehow, there was a lingering warmth on his hand as he tilts his head down to take a look at the hand that held the mere blind human the previous night. His lips parted as he could feel something rising within his demon heart.
But he remained silent about it.
He stood up, wondering where he would go. Where his feet would bring him to, and he started to walk. There were some who noticed him walking on the top of the shophouses, but they didn't pay any attention to him as they thought he was just a samurai.
How his hair covered the side view of his face, preventing one from looking at his three pairs of eyes. How he had lowered his gaze as he continued his journey down the route that he somehow wanted to take.
"Hm..." he hummed to himself as he noticed how the very same human was walking up the hill, heading home which he assumed. He watched as she struggled with the bunch of flowers she had gathered in her arms, watching as she staggered from left to right.
Letting out a huff in the end, did she end up stopping to take a breather. He soon appeared next to her, where he noticed how her body tensed up upon feeling someone next to her. Yet, it relaxed soon enough as she turned to look in his direction.
How he noticed the way her lips curled up into a smile as she looked in his direction, although not at his face as she stared straight ahead. He watched as she struggled to hold the flowers together in a proper bunch.
He reached out, in one swift motion gathered the flowers in his arms, holding them delicately. He watched as she blinked her blind eyes a few times, but the smile remained on her face as she reached out, detecting his arm did she rest her hand against it.
"Thank you, Kokushibo-san," she spoke out.
"How did you know it was me?" he asked, and he watched as she pointed to where her nose was, which he frowned at. Somehow, there was a slight burning question he wanted to ask her but decided not to as they started to walk up the hillside by side.
"Do you like flowers, Kokushibo-san?" she asked in a soft voice and Kokushibo reached out to hold her by the arm gently once they reached the slightly rundown estate that was situated on the top of the hill, guiding her up the short steps so that she wouldn't trip and fall.
"No comments?" [name] whispered out when she realized how Kokushibo didn't answer her question, but she could hear the sound of the flowers being placed onto the patio. She reached out to the floor as she tried to steady herself so she wouldn't fall flat onto the wooden floor.
And soon her fingers traced through the flowers that were laid before her, where she allowed her finger to run through them, eventually picking up one and she turned, hearing the sound of Kokushibo's breathing.
"Here," she spoke out, and Kokushibo blinked his eyes a few times.
"I'm here," he spoke out and [name]'s eyes widened slightly as she turned to where his voice was heard, and she couldn't help but an embarrassed smile on her face as she handed him the flower.
"For you!" she spoke out and Kokushibo stared at the yellow lily she was holding out. He tilts his head slightly, wondering why she had given it to him in the first place.
"Ah. It's the yellow lily, right? The smell is a little different from all the other lilies. A yellow lily symbolises gratitude!" she spoke out, her hand getting a little sore from holding out too long and Kokushibo noticed it, where he held her gently by the wrist and picked the flower out from her hand.
"Hmm..." he hummed in response and [name] smiled widely as she started to rearrange the flowers, which Kokushibo stood at the side and watched. Wondering how she was able to tell which flowers is which with just its scent.
"Where is it..." she whispered out, somehow trying to find something and Kokushibo wondered what she was looking for. He watched as she reached out, patting the wooden floor of the patio, and she let out a sigh.
"It's gone," she mumbled out and Kokushibo stood next to her, squatting down did he look at the sad expression that was visible on her face.
"What's gone?" he asked, and [name] shook her head in response as she clutched the front of her kimono as she let out a soft sigh.
"Nothing..." she whispered out as her shoulders sunken due to a slight sadness and Kokushibo didn't know what to do. Yet, his hands reached out as he gently ruffled her on her locks, where she laughed softly.
"Sorry, you shouldn't have to deal with me acting like this. Would you like some tea?" she asked, not waiting for his reply as she stood up, stretching her back. She turned to walk into the estate with ease, and Kokushibo turned to look at her.
Noticing how she had her hands out as she tried to find her way through the house with ease, avoiding the need to bump into anything and injure herself in the process.
He stood up, following her closely as he wanted to have a look at what she was doing. His eyes widened slightly as he noticed how she was picking out some chopped up woods that were from the sad pile at the side, placing them beneath the stove.
He watched as she reached out, her hand patting onto the pile of chopped up woods, only to have a slight frown on her face as she let out a soft sigh.
"I need to get more..." she mumbled out as she turned, reaching out to touch the stove as she needed to lit the wood on the fire. She placed some leaves and twigs as well that was close to her, stashing them into the fireplace.
Her eyes widened slightly as she was held by the arm and was pulled up, where she felt large hands around her waist, lifting her and setting her on what seems to be the table she uses to prepare her meals.
She could hear the sound of the leaves ruffling, and soon the sound of the leaves crackling due to fire was heard. She blinked her blind eyes a few times as she heard the sound of the pot being taken off the stove, and then she felt someone tapping her on the thigh.
"Where to get water?" Kokushibo asked and [name] pointed out of the kitchen through the small window, where he noticed that there was a small well available there. He eventually managed to gather a bucket of water, refilling the pot and setting it on the stove once again.
"Sorry for troubling you, Kokushibo-san," she spoke out and Kokushibo hummed in response as he stood next to her, where she reached out, trying to find him and he grabbed hold of her hand and placed it onto his arm.
"Hmm..." she whispered out as she tightened her hold on him. Her lips curled up into a soft smile as she felt at ease that she had someone next to her.
"Kokushibo-san? Why are you here again, though?" she asked.
"No reason," he answered.
"Do you have a place to stay?" she asked and Kokushibo thought about it. He didn't have an exact spot to stay in like Doma, nor did he stay in the Infinity Fortress like Nakime too.
"Not really," he answered, and [name] turned to look in his direction, where she stared directly at his chest instead since she doesn't know where his face was at.
"Then, you can stay here," she spoke out, and Kokushibo's eyes widened at what she had said, rather surprised that someone like her wasn't wary of him being a demon.
"You are a good person, I can tell from your scent," she spoke out with a smile, although at the back of her mind she remained silent about another scent that had lingered amongst him.
"Ah, the water is boiling already!" [name] called out, about to jump off from the table, only to have a large hand placed onto her thigh, holding her in place as Kokushibo reached out and picked up the boiling pot with ease.
"Kokushibo-san, don't burn yourself please," she spoke out as she held his arm tightly and he hummed in response as he brought the hot pot away from the fire and started to look through her kitchen.
"If you are looking for the teapot and teacups, its close to the sink. The tea leaves are here," [name] pointed out as she patted the table she was on, trying to locate the bag of tea leaves which she eventually found it.
"Here!" she spoke out with a smile as she raised it out, only for her to wince slightly in pain as she realized she had touched the pot by accident as Kokushibo arrived with it.
"Ow," she hissed slightly, and Kokushibo's eyes widened at what had happened. He placed the pot onto the table, far from where she is and took a look at her hand. Noticing how red it was, he wondered what he could do.
And then he realized how he was acting. Yet, that didn't stop him as he licked her wound a little, where her eyes widened at the way the pain started to subside. She wasn't sure what was going on, but the pain eventually disappeared.
And Kokushibo looked at her now healed hand, where he used his kimono and wiped away the remains of his saliva. He looked at her rather confused expression, but he didn't speak a word as he continued to prepare the tea.
"It's done. The tea," he spoke out and [name] felt around, trying to find the cup of tea only to have Kokushibo reaching out and picking her up from the table, setting her down on the floor.
He picked up the try and [name] tilts her head, wondering where he was going as she followed closely. And soon the scent of the flowers she was selling earlier on in the day greeted her nose as she realized he had gone out to the patio.
He placed the tray down carefully and guided her to sit down. Where he sat down as well. He watched as she reached out for the flowers, and noticing how her lips were curled up into a wide smile.
"You seem to like flowers a lot," he spoke out and [name] hummed in response.
"When I was much younger, my nii-san would always plant flowers with me in our backyard," [name] spoke out with a smile, but Kokushibo noticed how her lips were trembling slightly.
"Your nii-san?" he asked.
"Yes. My nii-san," she answered.
"Where is he?" Kokushibo asked, wondering why did her older brother leave her alone to stay in this rundown estate, and he noticed how her lips were no longer curled up into a soft smile.
"Nii-san... I don't know where is he... Nor does he know where am I. We were separated ever since a demon attacked our family," [name] spoke out in a soft voice and she turned to look towards where Kokushibo was.
"If you are wondering, his name is Haizaki. Akane Haizaki," she spoke out with a smile and Kokushibo hummed in response, starting to remember the name of her older brother.
.
.
He had on a slight frown as he looked at his crow who fluttered around him. How he stood outside a rather lively town, but he had to turn and head over for another mission all too quickly.
"Oi, Akane, start moving already," Sanemi muttered out and Haizaki let out a sigh as he turned to walk away from the town. His lips pressed into a fine thin line as his dark blue ocean eyes held nothing but a solemn glance.
"The fuck you are doing, spacing out there like some dipshit?" Sanemi muttered out and Haizaki shrugged his shoulders in response as he looked at Obanai and Giyuu who were waiting at the front for him and Sanemi.
"Caw! Caw! Present! Present!" his crow called out and Haizaki had a slight frown on his face as he looked at what his crow was holding from its claw. His dark blue ocean eyes widened as he picked it out and look at it.
"What's that old looking thing?" Obanai asked and Haizaki held it up against the night sky, where the moon was visible in the view. His lips parted as his heart started to pound hard against his chest.
"A symbol that she is still alive," he whispered out as he held the necklace tightly in his hand and stuffed it into his pocket. Walking with the 21-year-old gang, did he slung his arm over Giyuu's shoulder.
"Tomiokaaaaaaa, you need to smile!"
"I'm not interested in it,"
"So cold!"
.
.
He sat on the patio as he watched her move about in the front yard before him. How she was busy ploughing the land with the small shovel she had just so she could plant more seeds. But the way she smiled and continued to work hard despite being blind, made him realized how different she was compared to the other humans he had encountered before.
How she was willing to work hard to survive. Not like those who gave up their lives and let themselves go astray. Yet, he had no rights to speak of it when he wanted immortality.
He watched as she hummed a tune to herself as she started to spread the soil with her hands. How he noticed the way she moved as if she was nothing but a free bird, spreading her arms out as if she had wings.
The way she tilts her head to look at the night sky, and he noticed how she would twirl around despite being blind and how it was dangerous as she could injure herself. He got up, walking to where she was.
She twirled once more and eventually, she ended up bumping against him. Her cheeks flushed red a little at the fact she had embarrassed herself and she felt a hand grabbing hold of one of her dirtied ones.
"Ah, Kokushibo-san, it's dirty!" she called out, but Kokushibo ignored it as he twirled her around, where she laughed at what was happening. How she could now tell he was quite tall as her arms were lifted well above her head.
He watched at the way she laughed as he lets go of her hand as she looked in his direction, staggering slightly as she started to feel her body sway from side to side due to spinning too much. He reached out, holding her by the shoulders, and noticed how she was looking straight at his body once again.
"Where is your face though?" she asked as she reached out, touching his body as she trailed up, looking up as her fingertips touched his shoulders and she smiled, roughly gauging where his head was.
"Am I looking at you?" she asked.
"Yes," he answered and he watched as she continued to look in his direction. He blinked his eyes a few times before he averted his gaze, a slight blush across his face as he felt his demon heart skipped a beat slightly.
"Kokushibo-san, what do you like to eat?" she asked and Kokushibo wondered what he should answer her.
"Humans," he answered and [name] tilts her head a little, before she started to laugh softly as she shook her head in response.
"Human food, Kokushibo-san. I'm not capable of being a cannibal," she pointed out as she turned to look at her garden once more, wondering if she had completed most of the work.
Kokushibo watched as she squats down and started to place her hands onto the ground, feeling whether it was uneven. And he wondered what he could to help her out, only for him to tense up when he felt an intimidating presence.
He swallowed the lump in his throat as he took a step back from where [name] was, where he soon disappeared into the night. [name] blinked her eyes a few times when she felt a gust of cold wind and she turned to look.
Sniffing the air slightly did she had a slight frown.
"That's... Such a bad omen..." she whispered out as she dusted her hands together, wondering where Kokushibo had disappeared to as she walked into the estate, picking up the flowers as she needed to keep them and hydrate them before she heads to bed.
"Kokushibo-san?" [name] called out, but she tensed up the moment she heard the sound of a metallic fan being flicked open. She turned to look, feeling a cold breeze and the scent of blood was strong.
Not realizing she was staring directly into a pair of rainbow-coloured eyes, but soon he was shoved to the side and [name]'s eyes widened slightly as she felt the familiar feeling of Kokushibo's hand holding onto hers, placing it onto his arm.
"Mou! Kokushibo-dono! You are being mean and selfish by having a hu-," and [name] lifted her hands as she covered her ears, hearing the sound of blood splattering.
Her body shook, but Kokushibo remained by her side still. He watched as Akaza dragged the Upper Moon Two out of the estate, and then there stood the demon lord.
Kokushibo swallowed the lump in his throat as his other arm was still regenerating from what had happened earlier on. And how lucky of him to be able to convince Kibutsuji Muzan.
That [name] was different.
How her body trembled in his hold.
Made him realised something else.
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To be continued...