Author : Double Chapter but you ain't getting tomorrow.
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[3rd POV]
It can't be.
How can this be?
Kanae Kocho pressed her heart which was beating wildly in the confines of her chest. It felt like it wanted to break out of its prison and run away from her.
Because it was hurting.
Why was it hurting?
"Congratulations on your engagement."
Ah, was it really because of that? Was her heart really hurting because he was engaged with another girl?
She told herself she didn't have feelings for him. Her mind convinced her heart that it was not in love.
But now, her heart was in pain and it called her mind a liar.
Liar, you love him. Liar, you want him.
Why did you lie?
It was because her sister was also in love with him. She thought it wouldn't do good if she loved the same man as Shinobu.
She also thought it was inappropriate to have feelings for someone younger than her, someone she first knew as a young boy.
But people rarely have a choice in who they love, do they? And the heart wants what the heart can't have.
She loves him, it's clear now.
She just couldn't believe that it took losing him to finally realise that. It was like realising how much you needed the sun after night came.
She realised it too late and that's why it hurts.
Everything that happened next was a blur. Her whole being was occupied with the emotions she had been ignoring all this time.
She was barely aware even when the fight between Seiji and Gyomei took place. She only snapped out of her daze when she saw him hurt with her sharp and medically trained eyes.
She immediately ran up to him and analysed his body. He was bruised in some places and his final attack had managed to cause damage to his own body.
But there were no other injuries.
'Thank God.'
"Thank you," he said and gave her a small smile.
She did not know whether she liked him stoic or expressive. When he didn't smile, it nagged at her heart but when he did, it increased her blood pressure.
She simply mirrored his smile and ran off as quickly as possible.
When did she start loving him? Was it when he hit puberty and grew into a handsome young man? Was it when he helped her save patients with his special eyes? Was it when he saved Kanao and she saw his kindness?
Or was it during the many times he saved her, when he was always there when she needed someone?
She didn't know. She had been ignoring any feelings that emerged. Only now when those feelings burst out did she even realise she had feelings for him.
Honestly, it was stupid of her. How immature.
It was her mistake.
..
..
...
....Or was it?
That was a question that appeared in her mind as she was waiting for him outside of the house while Seiji met Ubuyashiki.
Why was she acting like everything was over? She just realised that she loved him and at the very next moment, she was supposed to destroy her love?
Who decided that?
A random girl whom he met a couple of months ago? She didn't think so.
Kanae had dedicated herself to others all her life. She dedicated herself to her sister, she sacrificed all her time and effort to save others as a doctor and risked her life every day to protect the weak.
So this time, she thinks she deserves to be selfish just a little.
She made the mistake of following her mind and staying passive with her feelings. Now she was going to follow her heart and act upon her feelings.
Seiji was engaged, sure, but it couldn't be that serious yet, there was not enough time to be so. That meant she still had time to show her feelings, a simple engagement could alwasy be broken again.
She also apologised to her sister. If she did not act on it, Seiji was going to fall into another girl's hand anyway.
So she decided to no longer ignore her feelings anymore.
She loves him. She wants him.
And she sure as hell was going to try and make him feel the same way.
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(In another location)
Mitsuri suddenly stopped eating her food as her womanly instincts felt a threat.
"Hmmm? Do you not like the food?" asked a woman who wore the standard Demon Slayer uniform with a katana strapped on her waist.
"Eh?" Mitsuri snapped out of it and immediately said, "Nonono, It's nothing like that, the food is delicious."
"I know I'm not nearly as good at cooking compared to slaying demons. So by all means, don't be shy to say if you don't like it."
"I told you, it's not like that." Mitsuri said, "I just suddenly had a weird feeling."
It was logical. After all, the threat of an onee-san with maximum ara ara~ vibe going after your man was a threat, even to the likes of Mitsuri Kanroji.
She was currently under the wings of a female demon slayer at the rank of Hinoe. She had been staying with her for a day, waiting for further instructions from the master of the Demon Slayer Corps.
During this time, Mitsuri had learned much about demon slayers and the ongoing war between humans and demons.
She also got to see first-hand how incredible Demon Slayers actually were. The girl beside her, Satsuki, was one of the strongest female demon slayers who was a Water Breath user.
Mitsuri got to see her in battle first-hand and was surprised to find out that Satsuki was many times stronger than she was when she fought.
That truly opened Mitsuri's eyes. She never thought she'd see a woman stronger than her before. She thought it was impossible.
..
"Satsuki, what did you say your rank was again?" Mitsuri asked after a long stretch of silence.
The middle-aged woman thought about it for a while before saying with pride, "I am at the rank of Hinoe. The only ranks above me are Kinoto and Kinoe."
There were only a handful of people who were at the rank of Hinoe so she had every reason to be proud of her rank.
"I see, that's incredible," Mitsuri said while looking up at the sky. She was not used to camping outside as a city girl but one thing she liked about it was the perpetual incredible views.
"Do you know a Demon Slayer by the name of Seiji Shigan?" Mitsuri asked. Her fiance was always on her mind but she suddenly missed him even more with the weird premonition in her heart.
"!!!!!"
"I thought you were new to the Demon Slayer Corps, so how did you know his name?" Satsuki asked before she answered her own question, "Oh, did he save you once?"
"Eh, yes, kinda," Mitsuri answered. He indeed saved her from a demon that night in the mountains. She did not want to elaborate more because she was still a bit shy.
"So, what rank will he be compared to you?"
"People like Seiji Shigan are not comparable to me. They are called the Hashiras," she answered.
Mitsuri creased her eyebrows. She said there were only two ranks above her, Knoto and Kinoe, so does that mean Seiji was a rank below her?
"Does that mean he is ranked below you?"
Satsuki blinked before she laughed, "Hahaha, no, not like that. It's quite the opposite, Seiji Shigan is too strong to be in the Demon Slayer ranks."
"?"
"People like him are called Hashira, otherwise known as pillars. They are the pillars that support the Demon Slayer Corp as a whole, currently, there are only six active pillars," she explained.
"The person who saved you, Seiji Shigan is especially special even among the pillars. He is said to be the single most important factor in the organisation due to his sheer efficiency, often referred to as the 'pillar of pillars'."
Mitsuri was left speechless.
"Does that mean he is strong?"
"Of course. He is probably the strongest." she answered, "Each of the Hashria is different from us normal human beings. They are the people who deal with the strongest demons."
Mitsuri remembered the night when Seiji told her he was the strongest. She blushed when she realized that there was no bluff in his words.
It was not that she didn't believe him then but this was another layer of proof of his words.
But in the midst of the admiration she felt, there was also a bubbling nervousness. She would have to work extremely hard to be able to fight alongside him.
He was at the very top and to always be beside him, she would need to reach there too.
Whatever the case may be, Mitsuri was determined. And she believed that with her love, everything was possible.
"Can you tell me, how can I become a Hashria like him?"
"Aiming tall aren't we?" Satsuki chuckled but thought none of it. But she continued the conversation anyway while they ate the food.
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[I need help with this one. JONTY_ I choose you!!! Post IMAGE!! ]
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Author : I will make a habit of doing it like this. Bigger Chapters give immersion to the story than uploading in chops.