"You better get your daughter under control!"
"She's your granddaughter!"
"Hiratsuka... Let's retire for the night, plea..."
Akiko hears no more as she slams the front entrance shut, tears streaming down her face like a broken dam. Her eyes shine under the house's entrance lamp and she can hear the mention of topaz.
Villagers stop for a moment to whisper about Akiko before she shoots them a glare. They jump slightly before rushing off, continuing their gossip over why Akiko has returned from Tokyo wearing such mournful garb.
It's hard for Akiko to breath, and she's freezing on this New Year's night.
"God this sucks," She grumbles out, trudging down the streets of the village, drenching her poor choice of footwear with snow.
Every time she looks up, she sees traces of herself with Tanjirou, and she blames her cursed eyes.
The two giggling and laughing as they try to convince villagers to buy some coal.
The two giggling and laughing as they share a bowl of udon they worked so hard to earn.
The two giggling and laughing as they play with some stray cat.
Akiko shuts her eyes from the world for a moment, hugging herself close to retain some heat as her tears freeze the minute she produces them. They hurt her face, but, as cliche as it sounds, Akiko finds that the pain in her chest is more unbearable.
"Oh! S'that you Akiko?" A voice calls out. Akiko looks to her side to find that it's one of the kinder villagers, older with a face more worn with worry over the constant need for money.
"Baa-chan," Akiko greets, but the villager frowns at her tone of voice.
"C'mon in hun. I'll make you some toshi-koshi soba, hm?"
Akiko is ushered in despite her feeble protests, but what's she gonna do?
Freeze?
She can only hope.
Baa-chan quickly fans the flames of the fire before scooping some broth into another bowl, dropping some mochi and buckwheat noodles. She forces Akiko to take off her wet socks before leaving them close to the fire place, then slides the bowl of toshi-koshi soba over to the girl.
Akiko's face warms as she places it over her steaming bowl, attempting to smile for baa-chan.
"Do y'need 'nother blanket? Your socks'll take a while to dry by the fire, but I have spare ones if y'like. Your toes 'r so blue!"
Akiko winces, reminded of the blue scarf she knitted Tanjirou for Christmas once.
Though not a Japanese holiday, Akiko wanted to get him a present anyway.
She stuffs her face with the soba, shaking the memory from her mind in respect for baa-chan.
Akiko is wordlessly given seconds, and she really doesn't want to eat, but the look baa-chan gives her is enough for Akiko to give up. Her stomach crawls at the thought of actually putting food into her mouth, but Akiko can't tell if it's out of joy or disgust.
She hasn't been able to stomach anything as of late, but that might be because she hates the Tamura manor. Traces and memories of Tanjirou linger within the manor, and the thought of him reminds Akiko of the rotting house and the puddles of blood.
Nevertheless, she's hasn't eaten all week, and her grandma isn't around. Baa-chan is far nicer, and it's New Years after all.
"Care to explain why you's walkin through this snow at night?" Baa-chan interrupts Akiko, who hesitates a few seconds before slurping the rest of her soba.
"Was it your grandma?"
The face Akiko makes is enough of an answer, but she provides a verbal one anyway.
"I told her to shut up after she kept bad mouthing Tanjirou and I," Is Akiko's simple reply, but saying his name is enough for her to choke up. She swallows the ball in her throat, but baa-chan offers Akiko a handkerchief to cry into for the third time.
Baa-chan collects Akiko's bowl before sighing, "You may not want t'hear this right now, but the villagers've been talking, so this one's got information." Akiko blows her nose in a highly unladylike fashion, to which baa-chan smirks at.
City life, huh.
"Villagers say the Kamado family was killed by a man with a blue katana, scruffy black hair tied back into a low ponytail, y'know? His eyes are blue, but the most distinct part about him's the two patterned haori. One side red 'n the other orange 'n green. He was spotted round the house some time near the murder, but those'r just rumors dear."
Baa-chan looks over at Akiko, who has been eerily quiet the whole time. Not a muscle moving, but her face shadowing over with a look that baa-chan has never seen on Akiko's usual joyous face.
"...Dear?"
"Thank you for the meal, baa-chan. I have to go home now."
"O-Okay. Warm your toes up at home, alright?"
"Happy new year."
"Happy new year dear. Any plans for the new year?"
Akiko slips her getas on, her socks left by the fire side. She pauses for a minute before carelessly smiling back at baa-chan.
"Mourn, I guess?"
---
"Mama! Papa! I wanna go shop!"
Hiratsuka and Ray look down at their little daughter, who pouts and stomps all over the new manor in Tokyo.
"Ah, Akiko please stop. You're ruining the new house already!" Hiratsuka frets over her little girl, and Ray swoops her up into his arms with a laugh.
"Now why does my princess want to shop, hm?"
"I wanna go with the maids! Food!"
"Sentences, dear."
Akiko screams in her father's arms, struggling to roll out, but Ray has a tight grip on her to prevent her from cracking her head open on the floor. Or, that's what he's trying his best to prevent (worst case scenario for a parent-wise).
"I've been here all week! I wanna see Tanjirou! I don't wanna go to some stupid school with other stupid boys! Let me go outside! I'm a big girl now, right?! Eight is big!!!" Akiko screams and kicks again and the exhausted couple sighs in defeat.
"Mika, take Akiko shopping with you please." Ray calls out, and Mika steps forward with a calm smile.
Akiko is gently put down and Mika brushes the imaginary dust off of Akiko's western styled dress, all frilly and poofy like.
Ray crouches down next to Akiko, a hand on her shoulder.
"Now don't get lost, okay? Stay by Mika and listen to her-"
---
"I'M LOST!!!!"
Akiko cries by the side of the road, suddenly caught within a sea of strangers that brush by her without a second glance.
There's snot running down her nose and she's gripping the hem of her dress, crocodile tears bubbling down her cheeks.
She keeps hiccuping, wiping whatever fluids run down her face with her cotton sleeves and quickly ruining her dress. But she stays where she is, knowing that it's her best chance at getting home quickly.
"Are you okay?" A sweet voice brings Akiko's attention up from the floor.
The stranger's hair is pink, reminding Akiko of the cotton candy she had at a circus in England a while ago.
Akiko slowly shakes her head no, fumbling with the ends of her dress and pouting at the floor, trying her hardest to contain her tears. She wants Tanjirou to be here, holding her hand and reassuring her that things will turn out alright.
The girl crouches down to Akiko's level, a bright smile on her face as she offers Akiko a rice ball with a plum in it.
"Will this cheer you up?"
Akiko blankly stares at the riceball, sniffling a few times before snatching the riceball and stuffing it in her dress pocket.
"What the-"
"It's for my fiance," Akiko says.
"...Wouldn't you rather eat it now?"
"No."
"...Come with onee-chan, yeah?"
So Akiko takes the girl's hand, waddling through the crowded streets of Tokyo with her new 'big sister.'
Akiko doesn't say much during the walk, her mind blank as she tightly grips the girl's fingers.
She sees that they're cut up and calloused, a bit dirty but that doesn't bother Akiko considering her own hands are covered in snot and tears.
"My name's Kanon! How about you?"
"Akiko."
Kanon smiles wryly at the girl, a bit thrown off by her sudden emotionless nature, but decides that Akiko is probably trying to reset her emotions after getting lost.
They walk a bit more before arriving in front of a big building, other people going in and out. There are a lot of foreigners, and Akiko notices a business partner or two of her father's.
"Welcome to my family's inn! Don't let go of onee-chan's hand, okay?"
Akiko nods, sniffling once more before allowing herself to be tugged into the inn.
It's lively, to say the least.
Japanese and foreigners alike are milling around the lobby, talking and joking with each other and discussing other things. Some are eating japanese food while others are eating western food, and one has a plate of Indian curry in front of them!
It's not extravagant and Akiko doesn't see a crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling like the hotel she stayed at in France, but it's warm and Akiko likes how the atmosphere makes her feel.
There are a few people by reception and well dressed men with women on their sleeves; what Akiko can identify as a busboy rushing down the stairs who takes notice of Kanon.
"Ah! Kanon! You're back!" He cries out, and Kanon ruffles his hair with her spare hand.
The boy peeks from behind Kanon to look at Akiko, "Who's this?"
"She got lost, so I was gonna bring her into the kitchen and make her something. Bring me a map of Tokyo, wouldja?"
Akiko is quiet as she follows Kanon into what seems to be the kitchen, where an older version of Kanon is working furiously. The little boy returns soon with a map, and Kanon thanks him before he's off to work again.
"So what's your favorite food? Your onee-chan will cook you something good, yeah?" Kanon smiles, leaning across the steel counter. Akiko look up at the ceiling before replying.
"Carrots."
"Huh?"
"Carrots."
"...Onee-chan will try her best."
Akiko spends her time waiting by swinging her legs back and forth, staring at Kanon work with unblinking eyes. Kanon is bothered, but she won't say so in fear that Akiko will burst into tears.
A few minutes later, a plate of stew with a bunch of carrots is placed in front of Akiko to enjoy.
Kanon waits for Akiko to start eating, hoping that it will be something that Akiko enjoys.
"...I'm not allowed to eat something a stranger gives me."
"THAT'S WHERE YOU DRAW THE LINE?!" Kanon gives up, throwing her hands into the air in defeat. She collapses to the floor and Akiko finally cracks a smile.
"But onee-chan's stew is really really good!"
Kanon brushes her pink hair from her face, processing Akiko's happy expression as she quickly finishes her food, even going so far as to lick her plate clean.
A soft smile makes its way onto her face before she stands, taking the map nearby and folding it out for Akiko to see.
"Let's get you home, okay Akiko?"
---
"Akiko!" Kanon, now 16, cries out before hugging the seemingly lifeless girl.
Kanon hasn't seen Akiko since the day Akiko left for the countryside in a hurry, forgetting the New Year plans the two had made.
But with all the rumors going in and out of the inn (which houses a few of Ray's business partners) Kanon knows that Akiko isn't in the right state of mind after the death of her fiance.
Her black kimono is proof of that fact.
"It's been months! Where have you been?" Kanon pulls away from the smaller girl, holding both her hands in her own.
Akiko smiles weakly, "Sorry. I've been busy."
"But it's March now! Have you been with your grandma the whole time?"
The guilty look is enough for Kanon to know, but Akiko musters enough courage to shake her head and tell her that she returned from the countryside a week after New Years.
"I need time," Is Akiko's only other answer, and Kanon accepts it.
Kanon leads the ginko eyed girl back into the kitchen, a bright smile on her face as she talks to Akiko about what's been going on at the inn. Anything to get Akiko's mind off of the incident, really.
She's cooking and Akiko's listening, and for the time that Akiko is at the inn, it feels like everything is normal and nothing could go wrong.
Like nothing is wrong.
After some time, Akiko grows restless with her false sense of security and smiles weakly at Kanon, telling her that she should be on her way.
Akiko has a cloth wrapped box of leftovers with her, the sky dark and the sea of lights illuminating the streets. Akiko stands out of the way of the other guests, waving Kanao good bye.
"Get home safely, okay?" Kanon frowns with worry, reaching out to hold Akiko's hand like usual.
Her eyes widen with shock when Akiko quickly snatches her hand back, but the smile on Akiko's face show as if there's nothing wrong.
"Mhm! Don't worry, onee-chan. I'll get home safe. Thanks for the food!"
Kanon frowns before shaking her head, "You don't get it Akiko. I've been hearing rumors of disappearances lately! I don't want you to disappear, okay? Come back soon so we can talk some more!"
Akiko smiles again before she's off, and Kanon stares at the back of her best friend with worry.
There's a slight wobble in Akiko's step, and her figure looks a lot frailer than before. Akiko's lavish life doesn't allow her to be as thin as all the other girls in Tokyo.
But now?
She's nearly skin and bone, and there isn't much Kanon can do to fix that.
Akiko is doing this to herself.
The grip on the box tightens as Akiko begins to think again, something she shouldn't really be doing these days.
Her mind wanders now and everything around her becomes an absolute blur, faces passing by and voices intermixing with other voices.
And the cycle repeats like the new broken record Akiko threw to the ground in an untamable rage the other day.
Maybe if she had begged her parents a little harder to go back to the countryside for the New Year, she could have prevented all of the deaths.
Maybe if she had been there, she could have saved their lives with what small medical knowledge she has.
Maybe if she studied harder.
Maybe if she begged harder.
Maybe if-
"Tomioka-san? Is the demon near?"
A butterfly pin floats past Akiko's vision before her heart stops.
"It should be right up ahead."
Dead navy eyes.
Black hair tied back into a ponytail.
Blue katana.
A two patterned haori.
Akiko's liquid gold eyes stare right into the uncaring gaze of the man that killed her fiance.