Chapter 1
"Where is she?" Obanai hissed while his tempered gaze turned back toward the door.
"I hope she's okay," Mitsuri's eyes began to well up with tears.
A dark form quietly slipped into the back of the room, gaining stares from the other Hashira.
"My apologies for being tardy. I escorted a swordsman to the butterfly village who accompanied me on my latest mission." A shroud of blue-black hair surrounded a petite figure that was now bowed at the waist, facing the front of the room.
"Thank you for making sure they got back safe. Kiko Kurotsuki, are you injured?" The Master inquired with a forgiving smile on his face.
"Nothing that can't wait until after the meeting," Kiko said while holding her abdomen.
The bowed Hashira rose to meet everyone's eyes, but her eyes were only focused on the Master. The room stilled, the only sound was a disapproving grunt that came from the Wind Hashira that sat at the front of the room. Kiko's eyes flicked over momentarily to his brooding form. Her eyes traced over his snatched waist and broad shoulders, finally landing on his amethyst eyes that were boring into her. She raised a manicured eyebrow at him while she clenched her jaw.
Both of them directed their attention back to the Master, who was now asking Kiko to speak about her latest mission, where she gained intel about the next attack that the demons were orchestrating.
"Yes, Master. The demon that we killed, he was saying Muzan--" She started.
"Can she not speak up? Nobody can hear a word she says. Ridiculous!" Sanemi boomed.
Kiko closed her eyes, her fingers clenching her knee in a vice grip.
"Perhaps if you weren't so preoccupied with the sound of your own voice, then you would be able to hear me. It seems no one else is having difficulty." Shinobu snickered at Kiko's quick wit underneath her sleeve, while everyone else's face contorted into shock at her rebuttal. Sanemi's head snapped back toward her as his purple eyes narrowed.
"Please continue, Kurotsuki-san." The Stone Hashira politely encouraged. Moments later, after Kiko finished debriefing the rest of the Hashira and the Master, they all dissipated.
She stepped outside into the blazing sun, and under the brightness of the rays, you could see the extent of her injuries. Her bloodied uniform clung to her abdominal muscles, where there was a large gash.
"Oh, that looks bad. You need to come back with me right away." Shinobu's eyes hovered over Kiko's injury. There was a slight sheen of beaded sweat that Kiko had that wasn't there before.
"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea." She said and began walking alongside the Insect Hashira to the butterfly mansion.
Across the way, the rest of the Hashira were gathered. "Who does she think she is, talking to me like that? Look at her, she's just as weak as she speaks." Sanemi spat, his arms crossed against his wide chest.
"Kurotsuki-san's a formidable opponent and very protective of the slayers that accompany her. The younger swordsmen respect her greatly!" Rengoku's voice boomed throughout the courtyard.
Sanemi shrugged his shoulders, "Yeah, whatever." He turned on his heels and headed back to his estate.
Sanemi and Kiko's relationship could only be described as tenuous, more so than his relationships with the other Hashira. There was something about her that got under his skin. From the first moment, she was introduced to him as Tengen's tsuguko; he couldn't hide the look of disapproval that was written all over his face. Kiko had risen through the ranks slowly and diligently before becoming a Hashira. But in the last five years, as Tengen's tsuguko, things really took off for her. But Sanemi thought she looked too weak to be a Hashira. Her stature was no taller than Shinobu, with a quiet and demure nature that accompanied her. Perhaps it was because she reminded him of Tomioka. He seethed at the thought of the water Hashira. But even with his objection to her existence as a Hashira, there was curiosity about Kiko that Sanemi couldn't shake.
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Kiko knocked hollowly on Mitsuri's door, tugging at her new obi that was tightly wound around her yukata, which was suffocating her stitches. As Kiko continued to fidget with her clothing, Mitsuri swung open the door, nearly knocking Kiko backward down her steps.
"Kiko-sama! Are you alright? I was so worried!" Mitsuri cried while embracing her friend and comrade.
Kiko winced at the too-tight embrace and unwound Mitsuri's arms from around her neck. Mitsuri's face fell, but was quickly replaced with a wide smile when Kiko held up the bouquet that she brought for her friend.
"Flowers! Oh, they are so beautiful! Come in, I just made pancakes, I know they are your favorite!"
Kiko's eyes lit up for the first time since she had returned from her mission. She hurried past the threshold and into Mitsuri's estate.
Kiko and Mitsuri had a history together that she didn't have with any of the other Hashira. They bonded over their love of Western food and cats. Mitsuri saw through her observant and stoic personality to a person who was fiercely loyal and compassionate. But Kiko relished their relationship because she was the only person, besides Master and Tengen, to know about her complicated past. They spent their time laughing together while walking through local village markets, shopping, and eating.
Kiko sat at the head of the table, eagerly awaiting her friend to serve her. Mitsuri turned the corner with enough food made for a small army for the two women to share.
"Mr. Shinazugawa loves the sound of his own voice more than Lord Tengen." Kiko blurted out with a mouth full of pancake. Kanroji's face turned just as pink as her hair before she giggled behind her fork.
"Kiko-sama, you are so funny!" She stared at Kanroji for a few seconds before she began to laugh with her. Hours passed as the women continued to eat and talk, catching up for all the lost time that there was between them.
"I should start heading back. I have to water my plants." Kiko said, sprouting up from the table.
"Oh, Kiko-sama, I wish I weren't leaving for a mission tomorrow and we could go to the local market."
Kiko cocked her head to the side and smiled at her friend. "We will next time, I prom--". But Kiko stopped herself from saying the word that a Hashira should never speak. Promises sat like curses on their tongues. The next day was never promised.
Mitsuri opened the door, and a crisp wind swept Kiko's hair behind her. The humid summer air was gone, and it was now a brisk summer night. Kiko closed her eyes, letting the dewy wind kiss her face. The sun set low on the horizon, casting wide shadows. Just as Kiko was about to say goodbye and hug her friend, a figure at her gate caught her attention. Kiko's hand instinctively went to the wisteria laced dagger that was placed on her thigh. But as the forms crept from out of the twilight shadows, she could make out snowy hair. She released the breath that she was holding and walked with Mitsuri to the gate.
"Oh, looks like you have a brooding visitor. I hope he doesn't get too jealous since I had you all to myself today. " Kiko watched out of the corner of her eye as Mitsuri began to fidget with her hair and uniform.
"You two were in there all day," Obanai said, his snake companion hissed toward Kiko. But Kiko's crow, Kage, swooped down and landed on a nearby tree, screeching a warning toward Obanai's companion.
"Mr. Iguro, I have a treat to share with you, won't you come in?" Mitsuri asked.
"Of course. See you later, Shinazugawa."
Mitsuri grabbed Obanai's forearm to guide him into her estate as she gave him the rundown of her day.
The silence was sharp and deafening as both the Wind Hashira and Kiko continued to stand there facing each other. Sanemi refused to look at Kiko, his eyes wandering to the forest that surrounded them.
"You're a fool to sacrifice yourself for lower swordsmen. They only slow us down and get in the way." He said, his lip curling upward.
She knew that a few of the Hashira had that mentality around lower-ranked swordsmen, but she never could understand it.
"They're not expendable, Mr. Shinazugawa. They are human beings." Kiko's voice was strong and unwavering. His shoulders rolled backward, broadening his chest.
"Thinking that way is exactly why you came back from the mission injured!" He bit out.
Sanemi expected his words to cut through Kiko, but they never did. In fact, they always seemed to roll right off of her, which irritated him even more.
Before Sanemi could respond, Kiko pulled a manju from the sleeve. "Have you had these before?" She asked, holding it up toward him.
He shook his head in disbelief. "What the fuck are you talking about, Kuro--?" Before he could finish his sentence, Kiko had shoved the delicious treat into his mouth.
"See how rude it is to be interrupted, Mr. Shinazugawa? I hope you learned a lesson in patience in the sweetest way." She smiled politely before striding past him on the trail to her own estate. He swallowed the rest of the dessert whole, trying his best not to choke on it so he could yell after her. But when he turned around, Kiko was nowhere in sight; it was as if she simply vanished. He screamed into the night sky, scaring a tree full of birds into the sky.
