XII
T r i g g e r O f T r a u m a s
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Third p. o. v
"Well there's no other way to practice all day full focus breathing than to keep continuing to do your breaths as long as you can."
"... Is that all?" Tanjiro furrowed his brow, "No other additional advice to add to that?"
"I don't see another way, but I wouldn't focus on doing that. You would have to train as usual and try to do it unconsciously then, to keep it permanent in the unconscious part of the mind..." Mashiro tilted her head up in wonder, "But try your best anyway. If it's you, then you'll be able to do it just fine. I'm sorry if this is all I can do for you but I have to get back to my trainees back home."
Tanjiro smiled reassuringly, though felt a little saddened by her sudden departure, "It's alright, Mashiro. Right now, your students need you the most, I have Shinobu-san and the others to help it if I need it."
"Even if you say that, I still feel bad. But I can probably visit you three at least once a week." By this, Tanjiro waved his hands frantically shaking his head.
"I- We don't want to be a burden! Really!" Tanjiro tried to reject kindly but he wondered.
Why are my feelings contrasting with what I said?
"No. Take this as an order." Mashiro demanded strictly. Tanjiro straightened up, saluting her.
"Yes Ma'am!" He gulped, but then saw Mashiro's smile peeking below her cloth mask.
"Then it's settled." She grinned as Tanjiro sighed at her stubbornness, "I'll see you in a week or so!"
"Alright..." The younger of the two sighed defeatedly, "I'm sorry again on behalf of Zenitsu and Inosuke for not coming to see you off." He apologised once more, bowing his head.
"It's alright. I prefer a quiet departure..." She sweatdropped and Tanjiro laughed nervously.
"I might have to agree..." Then Koru made a noise as Tanjiro turned his attention towards him, petting his head, "I didn't realise you had a pet bunny..."
"Well he mostly likes to take a nap on my head so he's not awake most of the time..." Mashiro blinked with a bored face although Tanjiro couldn't see it, "...But whatever you do, you can't feed it anything else but mochi."
"Why? Why not carrots?"
Mashiro looked away, "Just a piece of advice to make your life easier..."
~ • ~
When Mashiro arrived home, she saw the young boy she saved awake and frightened though giving off a lifeless vibe. He sat at the corner of his room, knees tucked to his chest, arms crossed over the knees as his head was buried amongst the folded limbs.
Very silently, Mashiro jumped elegantly towards the boy, landing right behind his figure lightly, not making a creak on the floorboards. She laid her hand atop his head and ruffled his black hair lightly, not making much of a mess. The boy flinched as he looked up in fear towards her. Seeing a stranger, especially with a strange mask, he back away close to the wall. Shrinking away as much as possible as grief converted to fear.
"Wh-Who... Who are you? Wh-Where is this place?... Where... is my family?" He shivered more as he asked the last question. His memory was blurry and a haze but he didn't want to accept it. To accept the possibility that his family was no longer by his side.
Mashiro stayed quiet as she crouched in front of him, her mask raising just slightly to show her warm smile, "They're dead."
At this, the boy's eyes widened slightly. How could she say this without a care? Especially to a boy who just lost his family? Of course, the boy didn't know. Was she just trying to comfort him whilst breaking the news at the same time? Her words almost made the boy think it was her that killed them, not that distorted human-eating monster with horns on his forehead that did.
"A... Uh.. M-My... I-I..." He stuttered all around as he didn't know how he should exactly react to that. Of course he felt a variety of negative feelings flowing through him but his body didn't know how to act accordingly to those feelings. Should he cry? Scream? Get angry? Just what exactly?
"Your family is dead. I myself have confirmed that fact. This is reality wherever you like it or not. What matters right now isn't them. It's you. They're not there for you anymore. What can you do? Nothing now that they're dead." The boy's fists tightened as he tried to punch Mashiro for making him feel so weak and pathetic at this whole ordeal. Mashiro dodged and pinned him to the floor, making him unable to move to attack her once more.
"Let me go! I'll kill you! Do not talk as if you know me!" The boy struggled underneath Mashiro's weight and strength.
"I don't." The boy fought back less as he heard her words, "I don't know you. But I have witnessed many who have gone through the same nightmare as you. So did I. But it's true no matter what way you look at it, they are dead and you can't do anything about it anymore. You'll just have to accept that fact." He completely stopped struggling as he looked at her though he couldn't see through her mask, he heard her voice growing angrier at him. He didn't know why, he should be the one who's angry, not her!
"... What.. What do you think I should do then?" He timidly asked. She let go of him and walked out of the door, only letting him hear a few words.
"Ask yourself."
~ • ~
For the next week, the boy whose name was Hiroto tried to gain attention from Mashiro but to no avail. He wanted to apologise, he wanted to confront her and ask what he should be doing, he wanted to get closer to her since he finally remembered that it was her who saved him. And right now, Hiroto knew no other relatives of his and pegged Mashiro as somehow the closest to him.
Mashiro on the other hand, dodged the boy whenever he tried to make contact. When talked to, she would turn and walk away. When stopped, she would jump over him and continue walking as if he never existed. When confronted and trapped, she vanished letting Hiroto wonder where she disappeared to when really, she relaxed at the rooftop to avoid him.
A boy like him isn't worth it. She thought as she was thinking that he should be grateful that he was still staying within her premises. She's never had taken anyone in for that long. Before she would treat their wounds and send them back to their relatives or anyone who was interested in taking them in. But she was busy enough with the task to train the Mizunotos to properly look for another place for him to stay.
Then one day, Mashiro left to go and visit Tanjiro like she promised. When she was far enough from home, Hiroto followed behind. With Hiroto's keen eyes, he could tell Mashiro's white and blue haori although it was blurry for him to clearly see. She had set out early morning to avoid him entirely once more but the sun hadn't risen up. Hiroto was in a lot more danger than he thought.
On his way following Mashiro, he encountered a demon dressed in blood. From their fingers to their mouth, fresh blood dripped. Hiroto collapsed on his knees as a traumatic nightmare came back as this demon represented as a reminder for him.
"Hey there, kid... Are you lost?" The demon asked in a sweet sickly way, tilting his head and smiling creepily, "I'll take you back to your family..." Right after, the demon lunged to Hiroto as he covered his face with his arms.
Afterwards, he heard a thud on the ground. He dragged his arms down as he saw his saviour in front of him, looking away as she sheathed her sword.
The demon beside him vanished into ashes as he cursed to the snow haired woman, "Curse you, demon slayer! This is my territory! Who gave you the right to-!" The demon couldn't finish as ashes were only left of him. Hiroto screamed as he witnessed the death of his biggest nightmare, then turned to Mashiro. A white sword with the words 'Destroy all evil demons' engraved on it.
"Go back home." Mashiro told him, walking away. He didn't even get a scolding from her, is this all he's going to have from her? Doing something like this that wasn't even worth her scolding?
Hiroto's arm stretched out, "Wait!" He pleaded with a desperate tone, Mashiro didn't stop walking away. He ran to her so quickly that when he was about to tackle her, he tripped and tackled the ground instead.
"Go home." Mashiro repeated to him. Hiroto looked up to see her kneeling down on a tree branch, "The outside world isn't for anyone like you. Go home." She told him. Even though it wasn't what he wanted, Hiroto couldn't help but smile.
"You finally spoke to me...!" Hiroto gave her a soft grin, feeling victorious. Mashiro stayed still and sighed.
"... What a bothersome brat." Mashiro murmured.
"You see, I've been following you since the day I woke up!"
Mashiro's brow twitched, Strange boy...
"I... I wanted to apologise to you! I wanted to make it up to you! I wanted to know you better!" Hiroto screamed his lungs out, "Yet..." His voice begin to soften, "I haven't done enough for you to acknowledge me! Please forgive me!" He bowed, his forehead pressed up against the soil of the earth. Mashiro was slightly surprised at his words and his smell of sincerity and honesty.
She surely thought he was going to blame her for that but to blame himself instead... She hummed as she descended down the tree and approached his figure that was grovelling on the dirt.
She lightly ruffled his head, just like the very first day they interacted. Hiroto's eyes widened as he glanced up from the soil.
"... Get off the ground. You're clothes are as dirty as it is." Mashiro let go of him as she let him stand up next to her. In a quiet voice, she told him, "Follow me if you want to be clean..." Then she took off slowly, making sure Hiroto was right behind her at all times as she matched her pace to his.
Another annoying brat.
For Hiroto, he never felt happier than to be acknowledged by her. He finally felt closer to her than a week before and he felt ecstatic to have his existence impacting her life. Hiroto tried to keep a smile showing too much as he didn't want anything to go wrong this time. It was up to him now, whether his next steps would take him back to being a bug to Mashiro's life or to move forward where he would see a great future with his saviour by his side, guiding him.
I can't stop smiling...!
~ • ~
As soon as Mashiro took Hiroto to a medical room, she left him with all the supplies he needed to treat the cuts he received from running through the woods and confronting a demon. Mashiro left him without a word and walked towards Shinobu's office as she was certain that she was there since she followed her scent.
"Ah! Mashiro-chan! Good morning!" Shinobu greeted with a blissful smile, "Are you here to visit me again?"
"... And Tanjiro." Mashiro mentioned. Shinobu nodded.
"Yes, yes, of course Tanjiro would mostly be the reason as you are guiding him after all!" Then Shinobu's eyes glinted in mischief, "Or maybe that's not all?" Mashiro blinked twice.
"That's it." She stated bluntly as Shinobu sighed and smiled.
"I guess it is. Let's not forget Tomioka-san though!"
"... Did something happen?" Mashiro's brows creased, worried for her childhood friend.
"Oh nothing~!" Shinobu stuck a tongue out as she laughed.
"Ok..." Mashiro stared at Shinobu suspiciously.
"Any who! How are the Mizunotos you're training? Are they making fine progress?" Shinobu asked, leaning against a desk.
"... Only steadily but not much for half of them." Mashiro answered, grabbing a book about insects off the shelf, "Oh, and another child has stepped at my home..."
"Oh really. You've never taken in anyone before... At least not long enough for you to say that. What brought you to commit that act?" Shinobu tilted her head.
"... Let's say that he's got some skills." Mashiro smirked as she knew that she was being tailed by him from a fairly long distance away from her. From then, she knew his keen eyes were a talent to be reckoned, though it needed to be polished into a greater gem.
"... A Tsuguko, right?"
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Thank you all again. I'm not worthy of all this. I still feel some dislike towards my own stories but I hope you all come to like Hiroto. I just created him along the way and he became permanent in my story in the end. Thank you again.