As soon as Kyojuro was aware of what happened, he made a B line for the butterfly estate. She had kept her promise and came out alive, but she also kept everyone else safe. He knew something like that would happen. The door slammed open and revealed Kanae with Shinobu beside the sleeping girl.
"You dumbass, you're going to wake her! We just got her to sleep!" Shinobu shouted, but softened her face when Kanae touched her shoulder with a gentle smile.
"Is she going to be alright?"
Shinobu looked back towards the girl, and smiled, "She's going to be just fine. There was a demon who was set on killing and devouring all of Mr. Urokodaki's students. She and another boy fought side by side. She told us it had mutated and had lots of 'disturbing' hands. It was about to kill the boy, but instead she took his place and got several head wounds. At the start as well, a boy stabbed her for this hand demon." She explained with a calm voice. It soothed Kyojuro in the anxious state.
"Where is this boy she fought beside? Was he injured as well?" Shinobu gave a nod and stood up to walk to where the boy was staying. It had been a few days, and both Sabito and Giyu were awake and doing better. He still had a few broken ribs, but it wasn't anything that wouldn't heal. Sabito was sitting up in his bed while Giyu sat beside it. They were talking casually, but Sabito was mostly enthusiastically speaking of the moves (Y/N) had pulled off. When he heard heavy footsteps, he could only guess it was someone coming to question him again, but when a loud bang revealed a wide smiled man, he knew he was wrong. Kyojuro walked up to the boy with crossed arms. "Ah, so you must be the boys (Y/N) trained beside! You must be pretty strong if she wanted to fight beside you!" He didn't mean to sound offensive, but that's how Giyu took it. He shrunk away with an awkward cross of his arms. He watched the tall man bow, "I'm Kyojuro Rengoku! Thank you for taking care of her while she trained alongside you!"
"Sabito, it's nice to finally meet you. There's no need for the thanks, she's like a sister... but if I had not shown up... she wouldn't be that hurt and quite frankly, neither would I. She purposely didn't finish the demon off so she could fight by me..." he had guilt stored away, enough for Kyojuro to hear it as clear as the sky.
"Now, now, she has been through much worse. The only thing that matters now is that she was happy while doing it!"
Shinobu sighed, "I can guarantee that she was ecstatic about it." Her tone sounded dead and annoyed.
"See? No need to feel guilty or have regret!"
Sabito gave a sad smile and turned his attention back to Giyu who had sat straight up once again. They gave a knowing glance and both looked up to the erratic man. "Can you tell us about what she was like with you? We saw a side to her at the final selection... that we hadn't seen before..." Giyu said with no self confidence. The questioned seemed to take Kyojuro off guard, but he quickly recovered and looked towards Shinobu with a questioning look. It was as if he was asking permission to tell them something.
Shinobu just shrugged and walked out the room, "Snowball... has many demons haunting her every step..." he started as he pulled a chair to sit next to the boys. "Everything she does, it's either for answers to questions she has, or to protect those around her. Her resilience is commendable, and the training she's put herself through is unbelievable. I had been training for a year longer than her... and within just a few months she was at my skill level simply because she pushed herself harder than anyone I've known! However..." he trailed off, seemingly lost in thought as he pulled his hand to his chin and started to stroke it slowly. "There was one time she was attacked by a demon when she stayed out to late. Thankfully, she had knives, but... my father found her in a bloody mess. It was as if she tore the demon limb from limb from dusk until dawn the next morning. We still don't know what happened exactly that night, but if you figure it out, I can almost guarantee you'll find that unexpected side of her." He explained with a bright smile. "Snowball is a sweet girl, so don't bring up her past to much though, okay? It haunts her enough as it is!" The man stood up and walked out without much else to say, their concerns became his own. It had been months since they had last seen one another, but had she changed? Was she holding in everything she felt?
(Sorry about POV change in middle of chapter 🙊)
You jolted up with sweat rolling down your forehead. Your eyes darted around the room and saw a familiar figure by the window. When his head turned, his eyes were filled with worry, and immediately was at your side. You recognized him but didn't know from where. You knew him, but didn't know from where. Why couldn't you remember anything? Kyojuro recognized the look in your eyes, and in return his eyes portrayed disappointment. His hand which had covered yours on instinct slipped away as he left the room silently. He hadn't said a word, but you heard him leave the hallway in a rushed manner. "Where am I?" You questioned yourself getting out of the bed and exiting the room. You saw a door that led outside and walked towards it slowly. Once you got closer, your hand hovered over the handle for a moment before tugging the door open to reveal a large garden. "Beautiful-..." you whispered as your feet carried you towards a specific flower. It was a deep red, and there were only a few of them. It was as if it called to you as your feet walked quietly towards them. Your knees touched the ground as your hands touched the flowers gently.
Your attention was pulled away from them when you heard the door slide open quietly. The soft gaze that was laid on you made you uncomfortable. It was from the same man as previously. Something about him was familiar, but you couldn't place him in your memories. Why? You watched his haori flutter in the wind as his feet softly carried him to your side. He pulled it off and put it over your shoulders with a bright smile, "it's chilly outside, we don't need you catching a cold on top of all your injuries." His tone wasn't that of a stranger's. Just who was he? Why couldn't you remember? "I brought some of your friends along with me. Tell me if you recognize any of them, okay?" He turned his face and waved towards the door, and you watched 2 boys exit the building. The boy with the scar on his face had a kind, yet sad, smile stretched onto his face as the other boy helped him walk. You just shook your head and looked at the ground.
"They're familiar... like you... but I don't remember any of you... everything is just- it's all fuzzy..." you didn't make eye contact with anyone of them, just kept your gaze at the ground with a pouting expression enveloping your features. It was clear you felt guilty for not remembering them, but you couldn't help it. Shinobu had warned them you might lose your memories, but whether or not it would be permanent was still unknown. You heard a sigh before feeling a hand under your chin. It forced you to look into the eyes of the man with blonde hair with red pieces spread randomly through it. They were beautiful in your opinion, and just by looking at your innocent, almost sad, expression he knew you probably didn't remember what happened with your family. He wondered if you remembered all the training you put yourself through.
He didn't realize he had been staring at you until one of your hands touched and pulled his out from under your face softly. It was a gentle touch, nothing like what you would have done had you not lost your memories, "I'm sorry, I feel like this only happened because I did something stupid." You closed you eyes and gave a small smile. After a moment, your legs straightened as you walked past the kneeling man. Your head was down, and your arms crossed in front of your chest as I'd you were giving yourself a hug.
"What you did wasn't stupid, it was honorable. Truthfully, had it been your friend here, he would be dead, but you only lost your memories. I suppose that's better than watching your friend dying after the life you've had." His voice was calm, and you could tell he hadn't moved at all. Not to face you, not to stand, not at all. It forced your head to whip around as you glared at the back of his head. The smile plastered on his face, as he turned to face you slowly, looked sad, yet bright at the same time.
With a heavy sigh, you relented and started to walk off. Your body hurt, it was sore, but you could tell it would only get more suffocating around them. You knew them, but didn't remember. You didn't even know how or why you forgot! It frustrated you, so much so that you subconscious was clawing at your arm with your finger nails. Of course you couldn't remember. Whatever happened caused you to forget. But what the hell did happen? None of them explained anything, only that if you hadn't helped, your friend would be dead. Could you trust them? You didn't know, and it scared you. You felt like a lost puppy trying to remember the way they came. But it was useless. No matter how hard you tried you drew a blank.
You were stopped suddenly by two firm hands on your shoulders. One was freezing cold with the other was warm and inviting. "Tch, what do you want me to say? I don't even remember who I used to be... what I was like, dammit..." you growled under your breath hoping to frighten whoever the two hands belonged to.
"You don't have to say anything."
"Because we're all in this together!" The familiar loud voice rang from the side of the warm hand, it was the man from before. The one with the blonde and red flared hair.
Your eyebrows morph into a guilty pose as you looked down at the ground and crouch, "I fell horrible for forgetting you all... you're all so nice and... I... I was rash and impulsive..." you tone matched your expression perfectly. "Whatever happened, happened because of me. I was either to weak, or I was impulsive. Maybe even both. And the worst thing is, people got hurt because of it and I don't even remmeber." It was obvious to the trio you were mad at yourself. Kyojuro looked at Giyu who looked at Sabito who was standing from afar. You pulled their attention back by standing up abruptly. Your hands were on your waist as your chin was lifted. "That's why I'm leaving. You won't see me for awhile, but don't worry. I'll get stronger, I'll be worthy of your friendship. But until I deem myself worthy, I don't want to see nor speak to you. So I'm afraid this is goodbye. To all of you." You glowed with determination. No doubt was in your mind, and nothing would sway it. You decided it for yourself, and although it made your friends feel even worse, they couldn't deny what you wanted for yourself. It would hurt like hell, but they'd go through anything for you. They were you best friends after all.