丨Soar丨 Kimetsu no Yaiba x OC｜

Chapter 30

Screaming, she fell through a tree. Piercing pain came from the back of her head.

A tricolour cat was the last thing she saw before blacking out.

***
"Oyakata-sama, good morning, how are you? Do you feel better?" Obanai greeted, it was uncommon for him to be summoned at the crack of dawn.

"I'm fine, Obanai, thank you," Kagaya smiled, "sorry for asking you to come so early. There are some matters I would like to discuss with you."

"Anytime, Oyakata-sama, you don't have to feel sorry," Obanai bowed deeply. What does Oyakata-sama want to talk about? Is it about Lower Moon One? He didn't want to work with Tomioka, but with Oyakata-sama's request, he had cooperated with the water hashira.

"Here are Suzuki Chizuko's records," Hinaki came with a stack of paper in her hands. "Thank you," Kagaya nodded to his daughter, "Obanai, here are Chizuko's records."

"H-Hai, Oyakata-sama," thousands of question marks appeared around Obanai as he stepped forward to receive the papers, what is the meaning of this?

"Suzuki Chizuko, fourteen years old," Oyakata-sama recited the information, "officially became a demon slayer for around a year and a half, tsuguko of Iguro Obanai, Kinoe, forty seven kills."

Forty seven? Obanai's eyes widened slightly, he was sure that he didn't tell her to go on that many missions. "Chizuko had been going on missions behind your back," Oyakata-sama answered the questions in Obanai's head.

Forty seven, Obanai's pulse sped, forty seven... already? He had promised himself that this day would come from the very first day he took her in, he had once wished it would come sooner, but now...

He doesn't want their days together to end.

He still thought she was a troublesome student, a softhearted girl who worried about anything and everything, a sneaky thing who plotted silly things to prank him every day. She wasn't the perfect student, but she was the only student he would ever have, and the closest thing to real family in his life.

More importantly, she gave some purpose to him in this worthless life.

Although a part of the reason why he didn't want a student was simply because he didn't want one, deep down he thought he wasn't worthy. Who with the right mind would want the son of a clan of thieves to be their teacher? He planned to scare her away, he didn't know why but that clearly didn't work. Although Obanai had told her she lacked of talent, the truth was the opposite, she exceeded even his unrealistic expectations.

Days turned into months, they gradually built a bond. Perhaps he started to see her as less of a student and more of a sister. She became his responsibility, another important person besides Oyakata-sama and Mitsuri. He found himself becoming protective of her, he had threatened certain members that talked ill of her hair and eyes, had checked on her whenever she was back from missions, had forced Maeda into giving her longer skirts.

And honestly, their battle with Lower Moon Two scared him. Her cold fingers and shallow breaths sometimes haunted his dreams, along with many other phantoms from his past. To add on that, he admitted that he had been intentionally avoiding to assign her any real missions ever since she was back on her feet again. He didn't want his nightmares to come true.

"Obanai? Have you ever seen a cocoon?" Kagaya's question dragged Obanai back to reality. "Yes, Oyakata-sama, several times," Obanai recalled, though he didn't really pay attention to and wasn't really a big fan of nature.

"When I was small, I used to watch the caterpillars and butterflies in the garden," Kagaya smiled, "It took hours, or even days, for a caterpillar to spread its wings to become a butterfly. The process was tedious, the caterpillar struggled and struggled but it seemed it couldn't break free."

"One day, I cut open the cocoon for a caterpillar. I thought I was helping it," Kagaya shook his head, "it was a terrible misconception. Instead of a beautiful butterfly, a swollen caterpillar with deformed wings fell out of the cocoon. It wasn't until then I realise a caterpillar can never soar in the sky as a colour butterfly if not for the challenges and suffering. The caterpillar may never know what it can become if we enforce our believes on it."

"The same goes to Chizuko, Obanai," Kagaya nodded to Obanai, "it is time to let her fly."

***
Obanai paced in his garden.

He could pretty much pretend he and Oyakata-sama's conversation didn't exist, he could continue to be Suzuki's teacher, they could live on like this until one or both of them died in a battle.

The caterpillar may never know what it can become if we enforce our believes on it.

Obanai sighed, Oyakata-sama was right.

He believed Suzuki would be happy, he believed this was what she wanted, he believed it was the best for them to not change anything.

What he believed may not be the best for her.

He read and read and reread the rules, his tsuguko can never become a hashira as long as he was still alive. (This is just a fan setting from me (⊃‿⊂) )

It was time to let go, he knew this day would come, but it felt like that day when he sent her off to the final selection all over again.

Obanai took out some paper.

He wanted to see her fly high.

***
Chizuko sat from the futon.

Where... Chizuko noticed the tricoloured cat with a letter beside her legs, "E-Eh? Hello?"

"Meow," the cat meowed, gesturing to the letter before vanishing in a wisp of smoke. Chizuko quickly unfolded the paper.

You are in a wisteria house now. Thank you for saving us. Do not worry about your wounds, I have helped disinfect them. And I have received your letter, please tell Ubuyashiki Kagaya my gratitude for his recognition of the existence of me and Yushiro.

However...

"CAW!" Hachi flew in from the window, "Two messages for Suzuki Chizuko!"

"First message! Sano Ichika had died two weeks ago! The message is delayed so it was a month ago!"

Chizuko's eyes widened, impossible. That means Ichika had been gone around that day when the letters had arrived her back in Noboribetsu. She felt as if someone smashed her chest with a huge hammer, they just started to reconnect. And that meant the other voice she heard with Hina some time ago belonged to Ichika. Idiot, why didn't she recognise her?

"Caw! Second message! Iguro Obanai has terminated Suzuki Chizuko from the position of tsuguko! Effective immediately! Caw!"

What?

Tears slid from Chizuko's right eye, does Iguro-sama not want her? Soon she was drowned in guttural cries, what was going on? Did she do something wrong? Did Obanai find out her silly crush on him? Was she not a good student? Was he disappointed in her?

Hugging her knees, Chizuko forced herself to continue with Tamayo's letter.

sorry about your eye. I stopped the effect from spreading but can do nothing to revert it. Do not expose your eye to sunlight ever again.

Tamayo

No way.

Chizuko stumbled to the small mirror in the corner. Lips trembling, she removed the eyepatch and bandages with rigid fingers.

A slitted lavender eye stared back at her.

Chizuko felt as if her heart stopped beating.