Breath Of The Flower

The 10 year old boy did not know what to do at first, he looked at the body for a while and wild thoughts filled his mind. 'Is he dead''who is he''what happened' The he realised and checked Enmei's breath. It was weak but was there, good. He is still alive. He carried the older boy on his back, his many years of carrying his siblings trained him, and placed him onto his cart. Deciding to wheel him back home, home was closer and the boy needed help.

—-

"WHAT HAPPENED?!", his mother asked when she saw him, bloody and tired. She ran up to him and checked his body then immediately noticed a body, still and even bloodier than her son on the cart. She rushed to it, checked the pulse and carried him in. The boy watched his mother leave then turned around to go find a doctor.

"Wha-", his father immediately noticed his mother bringing the bloody boy in. She carried him next to the man's bed and placed him onto the closest futon. She then rushed to the cabinets slamming open each door, her hands hurriedly rushed through the odd bottles and jars, her head shot up after her search ended and she rushed back to the boy.

Her fingers were nimble, quickly assessing the situation, washing the wounds with cloth then applying medicine. The boy wheezed and m.o.a.n.e.d in bed. The oldest daughter helped bring water and occasionally shooed off her nosy siblings. Both parents were fixated on their dying patient, doing what they can, calm and steady. Half way through their treatment the clatter of the door caught their attention. The couple glanced at each other, nodded then the father turned to the oldest son.

He shook his head helplessly, "I can't- people are in the mountain, trying to find someone, and I, I think it's him... should we-"

"No, you did well", his father stopped him.

What seemed like eternity ended and the wife rested at the side, her hands still covered in blood. The boy helped his sister bring cloth and water, cleaning the area.

It was quiet again in the house. Their guest still hasn't woken up, they didn't expect so, given that his wounds were very severe, but just as they were about to go to bed a groan came from Enmei. His eyes snapped open as his body shot up. His hands searching for his sword while he attentively listened, smelled and felt the surroundings. He's alive, he's not tied up and he doesn't know where he is. He closed his eyes and placed his fingers on the ground, 4 people.

The 4 people happened to watch his every action, warily. The father, sick from a disease happened to be laying in a bed next to him and the mother along with the two eldest children were ready to leave. They immediately noticed their guest's strange behaviour, along with his cold face and inattentive eyes.

Enmei heard the soft voice, a kind steady voice, similar to his brother's, he unconsciously relaxed and the same soft smile escaped his lips,

"Yes, thank you for saving me", he turned to the direction of the voice.

"Ah- it wasn't me.. it was my parents.. they bandaged you up.." Enmei touched his stomach, a rough texture wrapped around it, slightly damp from the blood.

"Thank you", he said again , this time he bowed.

"Ah please don't, you will hurt yourself", the boy hurriedly stopped him. Enmei chuckled at the panicked voice.

"Enmei, that's my name, may I have the p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e to who my saviours are?"

"My name is Kamado Tanjirou, this is my sister Nezuko, my father Tanjurou and my mother Kie", he spoke, this time with a wide smile.

"Thank you Kamado-san"

"We are all Kamado here, please call us by our names", Kie said gently.

—-

Enmei sat near the door, next to Tanjurou and listened to the children play. His face displayed a gentle, relaxed smile, they both chatted for a while until a child bopped his head up from the platform. He stared at Enmei, specifically his eyes.

"Hey~", he called out.

"Yes, Shigeru-kin?"

"Why are your eyes all weird?"

"That's rude!", Tanjurou scolded the boy.

"It's ok", he patted the boy on the head, " it's because I'm blind, meaning I can't see anything".

"Whaaa, then how'd you know who I am?"

"Secret"

Enmei then suddenly grabbed Shigeru's palm and replied, "4"

"That's cheating!"

"You never told me the rules"

"Do It againnn"

"Stop it", Tanjirou appeared, lightly hitting his brother on the head, then proceeded to walk towards Enmei and sitting down next to him. The trio chatted some more,

"So what happened?", Tanjirou finally decided to ask, referring to his wounds.

"I fought a wild boar", Enmei immediately replied, already prepared with his coverup story. Tanjirou eyed Enmei suspiciously but stopped when he saw his father's disapproving look. A commotion from the kids caught their attention. A black crow suddenly swooped in and landed on Enmei's shoulder. The children look at Enmei in admiration but said person just frowned.

Two figures appeared from the small pathway, they both wore matching uniform with their face masked in cloth. They went up towards Enmei, their faces sweating and fidgety, then they suddenly did a perfect 45 degree bow.

"We are here to pick you up Ubu- Enmei-sama!"

"I must leave now, thank you for saving me and your hospitality", he handed them a sack of money. But a calloused hand pushed it back. Tanjirou look determinedly at Enmei,

"We saved you because it was the right thing to do, we do not need our money!"

Enmei smiled and didn't force them, he bowed again and turned around to leave. A girl stopped him along with her siblings.

"Will we see you again?" Nezuko asked shyly.

"Yes, I am sure we will", he smiled and handed her a small sack, this time it wasn't full of coins but a purple flower, "this will protect your family and... please be careful at night".

He finally followed the two nervous ninjas and left.