Disclaimer: Demon Slayer is not mine. This fanfic is a translation.
Enjoy Reading!
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Whooo—
The wind was blowing hard aggressively and turned the rain into pebbles of rocks.
"Found it!" The man raised his head in delight and looked to the other side of the cliff.
The man quickly scanned the surroundings and judged the shortest route to pluck the flowers.
He resolutely raised his foot and stepped on a narrow stone seam protruding from the cliff on the side of the mountain.
Crack!
The rocks broke under pressure into pieces and rolled down the cliff.
The sound of the stone hitting the bottom was heard after a while.
The man didn't look down, he couldn't afford to. It took all of his strength to walk the steep cliff and hugged the side of the mountain as he moved slowly toward the flowers.
He reached out his hand and tried to grabbed some, but he realized that his hand wasn't long enough.
"...can't reach it!" The man exert everything in his hand as if trying to will it to extend. The gravel under his feet was already showing cracks under the man's weight.
Knowing that he couldn't linger for longer, he hardened his heart.
He pushed his feet as he jumped a little and reached out.
Snap!
A cluster of yellow flowers was successfully grabbed by the man. A happy expressions lit up his face at his achievement.
But the nest moment...
Crack!
The stone under his feet could not bear his weight and completely collapsed and the man loses his balance.
His body shifted as gravity took over. The moment seems to slow down as the man realized he had glanced down in his fall.
His thoughts move rapidly.
'You're gonna die. You'll definitely die from falling this height.'
In his heart, the man only have one regret.
He gritted his teeth as he glanced at the flowers in his hands.
He gripped them tightly and held it close to his chest.
'Yuichiro! Muichiro! Please, go look for me.'
'Find me and bring the flowers back!'
The man sincerely hoped that the flowers he had picked from the cliff would be the key to curing his wife.
Damp!
Whoosh!
Before the man could process it, he was yanked by his collar. His bamboo hat fell off and floated in the rain.
Kokushibo had seen the man falling. His calf tensed up as he pushed himself off the ground and catch the falling man.
The rain seems to suspend for a moment by the power of Kokushibo's jump, leaving a foot size crater on the mud.
"WAAaahhh!?"
The man screamed as he was pulled by Kokushibo but his hands never let go of the flowers.
Kokushibo landed safely on the muddy ground and he released the man from his hold, callously dropping him on his ass.
"...it hurts!"
The man struggled to sit up, grimacing in pain as he touched his lower back.
He checked the flowers in his hands then look at the man who saved him.
He was a tall figure wearing a purple-black snake-patterned haori looking down on him from above.
The heavy rain and the dim moonlight make it difficult for the man to see Kokushibo's appearance.
"Wha—"
"What happened?"
The man looked around him and realized that he was back on the road of the mountain. The muddy footprints were still there, already become a puddle by the rain.
'I'm... saved? I felt getting yanked and then being dropped to the ground!'
'I-I don't know how he saved me, but...'
Soichiro came to his senses, but he had more important things on his mind at the moment.
"Um...! Sir!" He raised his head and supported his body with his hand from behind.
Seeing that Kokushibo remained silent, Soichiro continues.
"Thank you for your help, I am very grateful!"
He stood up and bowed his head, clutching the beaten flowers close to his chest. His voice stuttered due to the cold for being in the rain to long.
"I-I have to hurry home now."
"My wife is waiting for me to bring this medicine back!"
He finished speaking and waited for Kokushibo to reply.
But there was no answer.
Soichiro looked up at where he presumed the man's face were, confusion could be seen on his face.
He swallowed a mouthful of saliva mixed with rainwater.
"If you don't mind!" He shouted his words to be heard.
"Plea-please follow me!"
"My humble abode can provide shelter from the rain!"
Kokushibo seemed to sense something from the man.
"You..."
In an instant, Soichiro felt as if he was sitting on pins and needles, a chill climbed up his spine caused not by the cold, and his hair stood on end.
Kokushibo's voice had a special quality to it that... scared him.
"What's your name?"
Name?
Soichiro was frightened by this... person in front of him. He pushed his strange feeling down as he looked around and answered.
"Tokito... Soichiro."
Rumble—!!
Thunder clapped very loud from the dark sky, instantly illuminating the dim forest.
Soichiro took a step back involuntarily as he finally saw the man appearance.
It was only a second of lightning.
But he saw it!
'Those six eyes! Their almost filled his face!'
"Ah!" Soichiro shouted his surprise and fear as he hides his hands holding the flowers behind him.
However, he quickly realized his actions can be misunderstood. He bowed his head again.
"I'm—I'm sorry!"
Soichiro adjust his raincoat tighter in a useless attempt to keep him away from the cold and thunder.
"...I wasn't scared by you."
"Actually, I'm afraid of the thunder..." he scratched his face and his eyes darted around as he searched his surroundings for a reason.
"Yes! I've been afraid of the thunder since I was a child. I'm sorry to have made you laugh..." Soichiro snapped his fingers as if he had found the perfect excuse.
As he spoke, Soichiro took the opportunity to observe Kokushibo''s appearance up close.
After confirming that the man had, indeed, six eyes on his face, Soichiro still felt a little horrified.
At the same time, a feeling of sympathy rose in his heart.
'Was it a birth defect?'
He had seen deformed children before and it was common for them to be disliked because of their appearance.
To Soichiro, who had never seen a demon before, this was probably what ailed Kokushibo's face.
Kokushibo was still pondering the name and the genetics of the man in front of him when felt a wave of "sympathy" from Soichiro.
"?"
Kokushibo was puzzled.
If it were in the past, he might have killed the person in front of him with one stroke of his sword at the disgusting feeling.
But now...
"Sorry, please come with me quickly, you'll get sick if you stay out in the rain for too long!"
Soichiro turned around and mentioned for Kokushibo to follow him. He started running in the direction of his home.
Kokushibo watched Soichiro's retreating back.
'Tokito...'
'So, The surname of Tsugikuni has disappeared.'
'Well, it's been 400 years.'
He thought in his heart and brushed away the feeling of sympathy that he taste from the man.
He walked leisurely behind the man.