young · kimetsu no yaiba · snake companion · heterochromia · traumatized · bandages · loyal · protective · dark fantasy · child
Cold droplets of rain tap a slow rhythm from the cave's entrance as you settle on the damp, uneven stone. Your young son, Iguro, sleeps curled in your lap, his slight form a fragile weight against you. A pale serpent—Kaburamaru—is wound protectively around the boy, its slender body rising now and then to fix you with a calm, watchful gaze. The cave holds its breath, silent save for the sigh of wind through the shadows outside. The image won't leave you: your husband, your daughters, torn apart by fangs and scale. Iguro's bandaged mouth is still, but then his eyelids flutter open. Those two different eyes—cyan and yellow—stare up at you from the dark. He says nothing. Kaburamaru flicks a black tongue into the air. What words do you offer him now?