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homulillyo · 2 months

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I Won’t Say: Chapter 1

Pairing: Rengoku Kyojuro x reader

Word Count: 1.8k

A/N: Thank you to everyone who read the prologue! I’d love to hear your thoughts so far, so don’t hesitate to leave a comment or reblog and tell me what you think. Enjoy!

Previous Chapter

Now.

The sun is three hours past its highest point of the day. Still, it beats down mercilessly on you through the branches of the trees as you kneel in the dirt. Sweat collects around the white band of your head covering as your fingers work steadily to harvest the medicinal herbs that grow in this area of the mountain, per the Insect Hashira’s request.

Two other female Kakushi are here with you, clipping flower stems in the shaded meadow several yards away. They chat casually as they work. There’s no attempt to include you. Upon your joining, your fellow Kakushi quickly learned that you prefer to focus on your tasks and keep your interactions to an absolute minimum.

Your competency and efficiency got you noticed by the higher officials, and as a result you’ve added a bit of credibility to you name. Not only does the Insect Hashira depend on you more for sensitive tasks, but your fellow Kakushi have come to admire you. The feeling, however, is not mutual.

It’s disturbing to you how they all fawn over the demon slayers. Especially the Hashira, the worst of them all. These villains are openly idolized. But you hid your disdain well and rose through the ranks of the brigade in recent years, much to your Master’s satisfaction.

You swipe the back of your hand where a drop of perspiration trails down your forehead before moving on to a different section. The canvas bag beside you is nearly full. After you stuff another few handfuls in you decide you’ve completed your task. You rise from your crouched position, wiping dirt off the knees of your hakama.

“I’m finished,” you announce to the others. “I’m heading back now.”

The canvas bag is slung over your shoulder and your back is already turned as they call out to you in farewell. You raise a hand in acknowledgement.

Your trek down the mountain is swift. As a Kakushi, you’ve traversed through fields both flat and hilly, steep mountains, and swamps. You’ve worked in the blistering heat, downpours of rain, and through blankets of snow. Your body has become accustomed to the elements and ever changing conditions of your station. Coupled with the exercise regimen you crafted for yourself, you’ve gained an agility nearly on par with some of the lower ranked demon slayers.

The long mask concealing your identity flaps wildly as you advance your pace to a brisk jog. Each of your steps is precise. You dodge tree branches, avoid exposed roots, and push off protruding rocks with the exact amount of force to keep your momentum steady. Soon, you’re at the base of the mountain. You slide down the last few feet of the slope and jump onto the flat dirt road that leads to the Butterfly Mansion.

Your jog slows to a walk once you see the gate and the three small bodies sweeping in front of it. When one notices you, she alerts the others and they all turn to welcome you. They say your name, bowing their heads in unison.

“Welcome back,” Kiyo greets.

“Are those the herbs?” Sumi asks.

“We can carry them from here,” Naho says.

Raising the satchel over your head, you hold it in front of you with both hands.

“It’s heavy,” you warn them.

“We can do it,” Kiyo insists.

You hold the satchel, round and densely packed, further away from your body to hand it over to them. Kiyo and Sumi grab hold of the single strap from either side. Their expressions are relaxed and unassuming, but they morph into shock when you release your hold on the satchel and it immediately falls to the ground with a thud.

The two girls shakily hoist the satchel between them, using both hands to achieve the effort, and only when Naho comes up from behind to place her hands underneath to carry her share of the load do they begin to move toward the gate.

You follow after them as they slowly but steadily transport the herbs along the dirt path to the storage room. Once inside, they drop the satchel with relieved sighs. The three girls get to work separating the herbs into piles while you find the inventory log on the desk by the back window.

“We’ll handle the rest,” Kiyo says with a sweet smile. “Thank you for gathering the herbs.”

You hum in acknowledgement as you record your totals into the corresponding columns then return the log to its place on the desk. You turn and exit the room, leaving the girls to their work.

As you walk toward the main building, your mind sifts through the short list of tasks remaining for the day. Your first stop is the infirmary to check on the demon slayers currently undergoing treatment. Then, you’ll be in the sewing room mending uniforms. It’s your turn to help with dinner tonight, so that will be your final job of the day.

You approach the doors and reach your hand out to the shoji screen, but as you’re about to open it someone on the other side beats you to it. Upon seeing who it is, you take a step back and to the side.

“Lady Kocho,” you greet her formally, bowing your head.

She says your name and steps out. Her voice is soft and delicate, a complete contrast to her true physical capabilities. You raise your head and meet her eyes. Two steadfast purple irises pin you in place, a subtle curve of her lips accompanies them.

“Done gathering the herbs already?” she asks.

“Yes, ma’am.”

“My, my.” The Hashira’s smile grows wider, still closed lipped. Her eyes wrinkle slightly at the corners. “I shouldn’t have expected anything less from you. Thank you for your hard work.”

The long mask required of all Kakushi hides your facial expressions. While most rely on relaying their intentions through their tone of voice or emphasizing their eye movement, you rarely ever deviate from your flat intonation. You prefer to communicate through action.

“My lady.”

You bow your head once more, keeping it in that position until she excuses herself. Only after she’s a few feet away do you raise your head. You don’t look back at her before going to step inside the building. But you only have one foot in when she calls your name.

“I almost forgot. We received word from the Flame Hashira,” she starts. “He plans on ending his mission tomorrow night. You’ve been assigned to help oversee the clean up. Can you be ready by tomorrow afternoon?”

Your skin prickles at the mere mention of him. Deep ridges form in the space between your brows as they pull together tightly. A scowl drags down the corners of your mouth. Shutting your eyes, you give yourself exactly two seconds to smooth out your features before turning around and addressing the Insect Hashira.

“Of course, Lady Kocho.”

She responds with a pleased hum. You offer her a final bow as she leaves. Straightening yourself, you do your best to temper the rage in your heart before heading to the infirmary.

The next day you depart from the Butterfly Mansion. You set off to the east, and along the way you meet with the other Kakushi also selected for this assignment.

Your large group reaches the target of the latest demon attack, a small farming village, when night has already fallen and the moon hangs high in the dark sky. The village is nestled beside a large flowing river, which becomes helpful in putting out the fires that overcome several buildings. After putting them out, villagers and Kakushi now search the charred remains of equipment and food supply sheds for anything to salvage.

You’re directing pairs of Kakushi to clusters of wounded villagers when you see him. Fabric flames rest in the dirt behind him as he kneels down to be at the height of the child he’s talking to. His expression is vibrant, a stark contrast to the dreary destruction around him. His smile is big, his gold and red eyes even bigger, but they set the boy at ease.

A frantic voice calls out a name. It must be the boy’s because he turns and runs toward a mother and father and two other children. They welcome him with outstretched arms and eyes flooded with tears of relief.

The Flame Hashira stands. He observes the family for a long minute before turning away. His gaze sweeps across the bodies bustling around this part of the village. You notice his eyes turn smaller by a fraction as he observes the outcome of his battle.

His roaming eyes land on you and you’re caught staring, but you don’t look away. Your stomach warms with the kindlings of irritation. He tilts his head in curiosity.

A Kakushi approaches you, taking away your attention, and tells you they need you at one of the building remains. You walk with them to the area, leaving the Hashira behind.

The group needs help figuring out how to safely remove some of the large debris. It takes you a minute to find the solution before you instruct each of them to their places and lift one of the larger beams together.

As you’re explaining how to handle the rest of the debris, another Kakushi handling smaller pieces of soot covered debris passes by. As he approaches, he sneezes, sending black particles flying into the side of your face.

He starts to apologize profusely. The others look on with baited breath, waiting to see how you’ll react. You think it’s because of your distant nature that they’re expecting you to spit some harsh words. You don’t miss the collective relief when, instead, you excuse yourself and set off in the direction of the river.

Hidden behind a line of trees, the river is only a short walk from the edge of the village. You kneel at the water’s edge. Believing it’s safe to remove your face covering, you reach behind your head and undo the knots.

You place the face cover to the side, then lean forward to scoop water into your cupped hands. You splash water on your face and scrub away the soot as well as you can. A look at your reflection in the water leaves you satisfied with your effort. You pat your hands dry on your hakama before picking up your face covering and cleaning it off as much as you can.

Suddenly, a noise comes from behind you. Leaves rustle as branches are pushed aside. Turning your head, you see the Flame Hashira’s head sticking out from behind the trees.

Your eyebrows rise in panic. His eyes widen in shock. Both of you are frozen in this moment as the Flame Hashira’s gaze is fixed on your face, bare and exposed.

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