"Come on, [Name], it'll be fun!"
"N-no, I don't want to do this!" You exclaimed loudly as you felt one of the girls grab onto your shoulders before shoving you in the direction of a steep hill.
"Don't be such a baby! We're only trying to "help" you." Another girl said.
Her reassuring words were nothing but filthy lies because, without giving any sort of warning, she pushed you, and you went tumbling down the snowy mound, screaming.
You landed face first in the fluffy snow, feeling sore everywhere on your body as you slowly sat up, feeling tears running down your face freely.
"There, now you're right where you belong, snow witch!" They laughed as you staggered to get up and looked up at the three girls standing at the top of the hill.
"I'm not a snow witch!" You cried.
At first, it started out with the usual name-calling, hurtful comments, and the actual physical violence that had just occurred.
"Snow Witch, Snow Witch, laying in a ditch." They began to chant in song.
"NO, I'M NOT!" You exclaimed angrily, only to be met with a snowball to the face as you flinched.
"Yes, you are! You don't belong here. No one loves you!" One girl said this as they all started throwing snowballs at you.
You whimpered and tried to shield yourself with your little arms.
It got a lot colder, almost to the point of freezing, as ice began forming around your feet. Rapidly, the ice started to form into a wall as it slowly wrapped around you, shielding you from their attacks and insults.
The three girls gasped and backed up quickly as you encased yourself in an ice cocoon.
"See, you are a snow witch! You deserve to be here. So, do us all a favor and get lost, witch!" One girl says:.
"Nobody loves you! Why don't you just disappear?" And with that, they let you be, leaving you in the ditch.
Within the ice, you crouched and buried your face in your hands, crying.
They were right-no one will ever love you. You will always be alone. Everyone hated you, and words like "lonely" cannot express how much this hurt.
For now, Father Winter seems to be your only friend since you only have the cold to keep you company.
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"Do you really want me, Kyojuro?"
The flame, Hashira, tilted his head slightly in question. "Of course I want you, my love!"
Irritatingly, you'd bite your lip before quickly getting up and storming out of the room.
Kyojuro's heart sank as he watched you leave. Did he say something wrong?
Surely, he only said what he'd meant.
He soon heard Otsune release a heavy sigh, "such a stubborn girl. Quick Rengoku, you must go to her!" She says.
Kyojuro really didn't wait to be told twice, as he quickly stood and went to look for you. Clearly, something was troubling you, and he was destined to find out what it was.
He'd eventually found you sitting by yourself outside on the engawa and slowly approached.
"Is everything alright, my snow flower?" Kyojuro asked, a frown grazing his lips at the sight of you looking so blue.
"I told you to stop calling me that," you say lowly, not in the mood to argue with him.
"And no, everything's not alright!" You growled, feeling all kinds of mixed emotions coursing through you.
"Then would you care to talk about it?" He gives a small smile, stepping closer to you until you can vaguely feel him behind you.
You'd sighed before standing up and turning to glare into his gold and red eyes.
"Why are you here, Kyō?"
Kyojuro cocks his head in confusion at your question.
"Hm? Haven't I already made it perfectly clear? I won't stop at nothing until I have you as my wife." He replies like it's the most obvious answer.
"And haven't I already made it perfectly clear that I don't want to be your wife? Why can't you understand that?" You narrowed your (e/c) gaze at him.
"Do you have trouble hearing or something?"
"Well, I did rupture my own eardrums a while back." Kyojuro says causally with a shrug.
"W-what?" You stared at him in disbelief but quickly shook your head. "Ugh, forget it!" You said, dropping the matter as you turned your back to him and crossed your arms over your chest.
"Please, my love, tell me what's eating away at you." He asks softly.
"It's hopeless... I knew I shouldn't have followed you."
"What'd you mean?"
"That day, when you first arrived in Kazahana, I should've never followed you up the mountain, or else you wouldn't be here." You said, glancing over your shoulder at him.
"The only reason you're here is because you saw me! And you always say dumb things like how you want to marry me and call me beautiful."
"I know you said you want me, but I know you really don't mean it." You tell him, with a hint of sadness in your voice.
"So, you can cut the crap and stop acting like you really love me." You can feel the tension in the air, the unspoken words hanging between you like a heavy cloud. And despite his protestations, you can't help but wonder if he's just saying what he thinks you want to hear.
"Then explain to me why you think that I am acting?" Kyojuro's expression became serious.
Unbeknownst to you, your words had irked him slightly. You, the woman he wants to make his wife, dare think he's lying about his feelings for you?
Kyojuro is a man of honor, and lying is certainly not in his blood. His love for you is no act or joke, and it tugged at his heartstrings to see you so sad and angry, refusing to acknowledge or see just how much he loves you. He wanted you to know that his feelings for you are genuine and deep, that he would never do anything to hurt you intentionally. Every time he sees you in distress, it pains him deeply, and he wishes he could take away all your sadness and replace it with joy and happiness. His commitment to you is unwavering, and he will always be there to support and care for you through thick and thin. You mean the world to him, and he wants nothing more than to see you happy and feel loved.
He prefers to see you smile instead, accept his love, and reciprocate his feelings. However, he wanted─no, he needed to hear your opinion. He needed to find out what was wrong with you so that he could comfort you. As he gazed into your eyes, he could sense a hint of sadness lingering within them. He longed to wipe away your tears and replace them with a sense of joy and contentment. His heart ached at the thought of you being in distress, and he vowed to do everything in his power to make things right for you.
You turned away, holding yourself at the surge of emotions that flowed through you. You thought you had managed to redirect his feelings from you already, along with what you felt for him. But it seemed your desperation has prevented you from giving him the "cold shoulder" completely.
"Because, people always say that they love me, when in reality... they really don't!" You said grudgingly.
"What you're feeling towards me isn't love, Kyojuro. T-there is no love, just something that tricks the mind and fools the heart into thinking there is!" You averted your gaze towards the snow covered ground.
"Y-you're just infatuated with me! You're only in love with my beauty. This, I know because every men is. All foolish thinking I'm just some pretty dame who's in need of husband. But as soon as they feel the cold, they long for a wife who is warm."
Kyojuro says nothing nor does his flinched upon feeling the cold chill coming from you as you continued your rant.
"I...I am the Yuki-onna. I'm too cold to be loved. No man wants an icicle for a wife!" You say, holding back the urge to cry. The bitter truth of your existence weighs heavily on your heart as you struggle to come to terms with the loneliness that accompanies being cursed. Despite your ethereal beauty, you find yourself shunned by those around you, unable to form any meaningful connections with others.
Seeing your pained expression, Kyojuro immediately felt the need to wrap his arms around you and pull you against his frame, but held back from doing so.
"I'd often thought that I could be loved, even with this winter's curse. However, those that say they love, always leave me instead. Thus, I wanted live my life without love."
"..I eventually learned to live with it and I was fine. The snow, ice, and cold were my only friends until I met Obachan. But still, even it wasn't enough to melt away the emptiness I felt in my heart." You slowly glanced back at Kyojuro, who just stood there listening.
"But you know what? I prefer the cold!"
"And why's that, my snow flower?" He asked, his voice not carrying that usual energetic and enthusiastic tone.
The smile on his lips replaced with a frown. With a pensive expression on your face, your shoulders dropped and you lower your gaze from him once more. The furrow in your brow then softens as you give a soft dry laugh.
"Because, it never bothered me."
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A/n: welp, we finally got a little glimpse into Reader-chan's childhood.