Fleeting Shadows (KNY x OC)

-3

The news of Kyojuro's death has been delivered promptly to the Corps and each of the Hashira roughly a few hours after the battle. They couldn't believe that someone like Kyojuro could lose to a short-lived fight but then again, he had fallen to an Upper Moon and knew that everyday would be his last, the earlier hours having been so. Tanjiro, being the last person Kyojuro had talked to right before he passed, has left the Butterfly Estate for the Rengoku house to offer his condolences and seek for answers while his two companions stay behind to recover. The entire Corps express their heartfelt dismay over the loss of a talented and driven swordsman, who had fulfilled his duties with a smile as bright as a cluster of stars.

As the day continues to move forward, Kagaya calls in the Hashira for an emergency meeting regarding their next course of action as hearing that an Upper Moon had decided to show himself in what seems like ages is deemed pivotal to their progress towards defeating the demon lord, Muzan. With Kyojuro's burial present on the day's schedule, Sayomi's presence is also requested— and as Kyojuro's successor, Kagaya has something else important to tell her.

However, no one has seen her all day nor return from the mission. Shinobu reminds the master of Sayomi's brief disappearance and he immediately sends two, Kasugai crows and three Kakushi members to go and search for her.

The sky starts changing its colors and bleak, thunderclouds begin forming over the region, a strong gust of wind rushing from the east. Sayomi slowly blinks her eyes open from the howl of the wind and heaves out a heavy exhale, carefully sitting up as to not provoke her wounds into opening up. But as she is fully upright, the momentary yet sharp sting she had expected from her wounds doesn't happen.

She doesn't feel an uncomfortable pain in her abdomen and runs her hand over the afflicted area, finding that part of her uniform mauled but her skin miraculously healed in just a short amount of time. Her breathing technique should have stopped the bleeding but not to an extent where not even a scar is left as an aftermath.

She has healed completely.

But that seems impossible unless...something had occured while she was out cold. She slowly bites her lower lip as she begins mulling over the situation and gasps in pain as she grazes the sides of her lip with her canines, blood pricking out from the two spots.

That shouldn't have happened easily.

"What on Earth-" is all that leaves her mouth upon brushing her fingers over the spots where she had sworn she felt blood trickling down from, feeling it to be completely unharmed. Easily wounding her lip with her teeth with the slightest bite seems next to improbable yet with her heart thumping erratically at a possibility so dire in her mind, she grabs her sword next to her and nervously looks at her reflection in the ash grey blade; freezing at the sight of a pasty complexion carrying what used to be warm, red orange eyes and now cold, lemon eyes with feline-like pupils looking back at her.

Sayomi shakes her head incredulously, still in doubt of what she's seeing on her blade. She can sense everything around her, from the distant noises of woodland creatures to the the slightest pump of blood in her still beating heart, her senses and instincts have heightened inhumanly. Not only that, her body feels incredibly lighter and durable compared to how her muscles have turned out, denser and packing more power than they ever have.

"N-No. I'm just hallucinating. I c-can't be-," she stops mid-sentence as she beholds the sight of two fangs in her reflection and reality tears her apart once more, in a manner twice as harsh with losing Kyojuro so suddenly. With a heavy heart, she screams in anguish and pounds her fists on the ground, a hollow impression produced as a result of her newfound strength as a demon.

Raindrops fall at the same time as Sayomi's tears and she's fortunate enough to have woken up as a demon under an overcast otherwise she would've have burned in the sunlight immediately. But just as much as the sky is clouded and packed with darkness in the morning, the thoughts that are crossing her mind are no different than what she's under.

The Corps would definitely have to eliminate her if they were to find out about what happened, regardless of whether her transformation was intentional or accidental. Sayomi is now a demon and there is no guarantee that she will be able to supress her bloodlust once she roams. The younger Kamado was an exception since she had demonstrated her willpower before the master but with Sayomi, the chances are next to uncertain especially with her position as Kyojuro's successor.

She failed him and might just consider disposing of herself instead to save everyone else the trouble.

Sayomi wipes her eyes with the sleeve of her haori and reaches for her sword with a frigid hand, positioning the blade against her throat unsteadily. Maybe she really is following him to the afterlife after all though it is indefinite that she'll be going to the same place as him.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry...for failing you on the spot." She swallows and shuts her eyes, slowly closing the distance between the blade and her throat, ready to finish herself off before any of the Corps members find her.

"I hope you'll forgive me, Kyojuro. This just can't be. I'm so sorry. I..."

Honestly, no matter what becomes of us...as long as we fight for what is right, then what we are wouldn't matter.

I made that promise not just because I wanted to honor him, but because I would really risk my life for you.

As a flash of lightning decorates the sky with a thunderclap following, Sayomi opens her eyes wide to her reflection on the blade and finds her irises shifting in color; the cold, lemon shade flicking back to the warm, red orange color she had longed to gain back just earlier.

"How..." She breathes out heavily at the sight, completely glossing over the presence of her fangs for a moment with the false hope that she has somehow turned back. Eventually, she notices her teeth and clenches her jaw in utter dismay.

However, that discouragement doesn't last long as she realizes that she might've turned her eyes back to their normal shade voluntarily and that she can use the ability to conceal her demon appearance. She looks at her reflection on the blade once more and attempts to change her eye color willingly, succeeding as her eyes revert back to their demon state. The hope for a second chance rises as she succeeds once more in reverting her eye color back to their human shade.

She can do this.

She may violate Corps rules but she very well knows that she means no harm and her transformation was accidental. She's living for Kyojuro.

Taking in a shuddering breath, she stands up and sheathes her blade, slipping her haori off and pulling it over her head. Just as she begins walking out of the woods, she hears the overhead squawks of the Kasugai crows Kagaya had sent and encounters the Kakushi halfway.

"Takashi-san!" One of them exclaims and jogs over to her to examine whether she has sustained any injuries. She flinches a bit from their gaze and assures them that she's fine and that she had merely fainted from fatigue...even though that's not the case.

She quietly hopes that they overlook her now permanent, pasty complexion.

"Thank heavens, you're alright. The master requests for you immediately." They begin their journey out of the woods and her struggle officially begins.