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petitelepus · 1 year ago

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FOX'S WEDDING, PART 8

KITSUNE!RENGUKO KYOJURO X FEM!READER

Summary: You and Kyojuro go out on a date to a botanical garden. You meet new people and learn something new and important about your fiance.

Warnings: None

A/N: Female Reader, Kitsune Kyojuro, Kitsune Senjuro, Kitsune Rengoku, Monster Musume!AU, Slime Mitsuri, Papillion Shinobu, Alraune Kanae

PART 1 II PART 2 II PART 3 II PART 4 II PART 5 II PART 6 II PART 7 II PART 8 II PART 9 II PART 10 II PART 11 II PART 12 II PART 13 II PART 14 II PART 15 II PART 16 II PART 17 II PART 18 II PART 19

Both of you, you and Kyojuro started to really date each other after that day in the park where you shared kisses. Now the two of you were closer than ever before and Senjuro noticed it also.

The young Kitsune was so happy for the two of you because he cared for both his big brother and you, his big brother's fiance and his friend, or big sis as he liked to call you.

Now that you were really dating, the two of you were also more affectionate toward each other. You would both share a quick kiss when Kyojuro would come downstairs to eat breakfast you, Senjuro or you both have made together and another kiss after breakfast.

You would kiss each time when he left to jog and share another kiss each time when he came back and then kisses here and then through the day until it came time to go to sleep and the cycle would repeat the next day.

Oh, and speaking of jogging! You started to jog with Kyojuro! Not as often as he does, but enough to boost your stamina and strengthen your body. Also, you would get a lot of kisses as a reward when you stopped at the park to exercise.

But it had been a couple of weeks now, Summer was over and you started to get a little frustrated by the lack of excitement. So you started to plan a new date for you and Kyojuro, but you wanted to include Senjuro also because you cared about him like he was your little brother.

You were sitting on the living room couch with your laptop and you were going through different places where you could take the brothers to enjoy time with you. Bowling? Sounded fun, but you would have to take a taxi there. Fishing? Heck, you couldn't even take a hook out of a fish's mouth. Movies? Another great idea, but you could host your own movie night together in your house.

That's when you remembered a commercial about the new botanical garden that was opened a week or so ago. It was almost perfect, you could go and admire flowers, take pictures and then maybe get something to eat.

You put your computer down and headed to upstairs where the Fox brothers probably were. You knocked first on Senjuro's door and when you heard him call you in, you opened the door and stepped inside.

Senjuro was lying on his bed, reading a tetralogy manga about people hunting monsters that you had borrowed for him. As soon as you stepped inside the young Kitsune put the book down and looked at you, "What is it, big sis?"

"I was thinking that we could go out again. A botanical garden opened a little while ago and I was wondering if you and Kyojuro would like to visit the place?"

"That sounds like fun!" Senjuro smiled, "But shouldn't you and big brother go alone?"

"Don't you want to come?" You asked and he shook his head, "I would love to, but I think the two of you need to go out alone."

"But-!"

"You and big brother are supposed to get married. I'm happy that the two of you are officially a couple now, but you need to spend time together without me."

"Senjuro, you can come with us." You smiled as you leaned against the wall, "Me and Kyojuro love you and would love to have you come along with us."

"I know you do." The young fox smiled, "But I think the two of you need to spend time alone, other than going out jogging and exercising. Do something you both can call fun."

"I-" You were about to say, but Senjuro shook his head as he smiled, "I'll be fine."

You looked at him until you nodded, "Okay if you are sure. I'll ask Kyojuro just in case, but it's in the end up to you."

"Thank you." The boy nodded and you left his room. You went to knock on your partner's door, but there was no answer. You tried knocking again and calling his name, but nothing.

"My Hime!"

You yelped as you turned around and saw your fiance standing behind you.

"Kyojuro!" You held your chest, "You almost gave me a heart attack!"

"My apologies!" He smiled, "I just saw you by my door and thought you had something you wanted to talk about!"

"Where were you?"

"Toilet!"

"Ah-!" You nodded, "I'm sorry…"

"No harm no foul!" Kyojuro nodded, "What did you want to talk about?"

"I wanted to ask if you would like to go out with me? We could go to the botanical garden together?" You asked and he tilted his head in light confusion, "You mean a place filled with flowers?"

"Yes!" You smiled as you nodded, "Would you like to go?"

"Can Senjuro come?" Kyojuro asked and you nodded, "I already asked and he said we should go alone."

"Hm!" The older fox nodded, "If that is what my little brother wants then I'm fine with it!"

"Wait, just like that?" You blinked in confusion and he nodded proudly, "I trust my brother and his word! If he wants to stay, he can stay!"

"Okay, "You accepted this, if both brothers thought that then you were alright with it. "Wanna go out tomorrow then? Just, you and me?"

"I would love that!" Kyojuro exclaimed happily and quickly leaned down to peck you on the lips. You smiled, reaching up to peck him back.

"Kiss for a kiss and the world is full of love." You chuckled and your fiance raised his eyebrow in amusement, "Is that a human saying?"

"I don't know, I just came up with it." You admitted and he smiled as he pecked your forehead this time. "My bride is so cute!"

"And my fiance so kind and noble." You grinned as you grabbed his hand and gently pecked his knuckles.

The next day you and Kyojuro left to visit the botanical garden. Before you left, you made sure that Senjuro knew that he could call either one of you if anything happened. You also left him some cash if he wanted to order a pizza or anything like that. The young fox had assured you that he would be alright and you believed him.

You had checked the day before the route to the garden with your computer, so with a little aid from your phone's GPS, you and Kyojuro arrived at your destination without getting lost even once.

The building was even more impressive than it was in the photos you had seen on the internet. The huge glass ceiling provided the place with sun and warmth, something plants loved so dearly. You were honestly so excited and Kyojuro smiled as he watched you admire the building.

Once the two of you had paid for your entries to the garden, you stepped into the building and you could both see and smell all the amazing flowers that bloomed in the building.

"This place is gorgeous…!" You awed as you looked around and Kyojuro nodded, "Hm! So many beautiful flowers!"

"Shall we explore?" You asked with a grin and offered your hand to your fiance, who smiled and happily took it. The two of you walked around the garden, exploring and taking pictures with your phones about whatever you found interesting or beautiful.

You were a little confused why there weren't many visitors besides you and Kyojuro, but you thought it might have been because Summer vacation was over, schools had started and people had returned back to work.

As the two of you explored, you suddenly heard someone singing. It was a beautiful voice and so tempting. You and Kyojuro glanced at each other in mild confusion.

"Can you also hear that?" You asked and the Kitsune nodded, "Yes! Shall we go investigate?"

You nodded and the two of you ventured deeper into the garden, following the mysterious yet beautiful singing. It didn't take you long until you made it to the small flower meadow and your eyes landed on maybe one of the prettiest creatures you had ever seen before.

A slime girl. A pink slime with light green tips. She was a gorgeous sight, singing in the middle of the flowers and looking so happy. Suddenly, as if sensing the two of you, she turned around and gasped when she saw you and Kyojuro.

"Oh, hello there!" She said cheerfully as she got up and turned to look at you properly-! Holy shit, she had a huge chest that was barely covered by this dark mackintosh she was wearing. You briefly remembered what you had read about slimes and how they couldn't wear proper clothes because they would go through them or slip off.

Either way, the slime girl excitedly ran over you guys and hugged you eagerly and you blinked in shock as her soft body hugged yours. She was so soft, and she smelled so sweet, like flowers or candy. You honestly felt like you didn't want the hug to ever stop, but she finally pulled back and hugged Kyojuro also.

Once she was done hugging you guys, she stepped away and smiled, "My name is Mitsuri! I'm a slime!"

"Hello?" You greeted her and Kyojuro nodded, "Greetings!"

"Are you here to enjoy flowers also?" She asked and you and your fiance nodded, making her smile wider, "I'm so happy! I love flowers! Do you like flowers too?"

"I do," You and Kyojuro nodded, "As do I!"

"That makes me so happy!" The slime cheered happily.

"Mitsuri?" Someone called the slime girl's name, "Mitsuri, are you here?"

"Here!" The slime called and you and Kyojuro looked up and saw another demihuman join you guys. But she wasn't a slime, no, she was half human and half plant. At first, you thought she was a Dryad, but on closer inspection, you realized that she was actually a subspecies of Dryad called Alraune.

"My, hello there!" The Alraune smiled at the sight of you two and you nodded back at her, "Hello."

"You must be visitors! How nice it is to see people come here to see flowers." She smiled, "My, where are my manners? My name is Kanae. I'm a gardener here but I also teach flower arrangement in my free time."

"Greetings," You and Kyojuro introduced yourselves to the Alraune and she smiled sweetly, "It's a pleasure meeting you two. I see you already met Mitsuri here."

Hearing her name being mentioned, Mitsuri cheered and happily hugged Kanae. The woman smiled gently, "Mitsuri here is a rare slime subspecies. She enjoys sweet things such as flower nectar, sugar water, honey, and other things like that."

"I see! I've read that slime's personality is based on what they digest." You said as you glanced at the sweet pink slime who smiled happily at you. You smiled back and glanced at Kanae, "Does her personality change if she enjoys something else than sweet things?"

"You see, that is normal with regular slimes, but Mitsuri is special. I can't explain it but the best description would probably be that she is full of love." The Alraune explained and you and Kyojuro nodded. You kinda understood what she was trying to tell. You glanced at Kyojuro from the corner of your eye and blushed softly as you saw his handsome face.

"Not only does she enjoy sweet things, but she also loves sweet people." Kanae smiled, "But you're the sweetest, aren't you Mitsuri?"

"Yes!" The pink slime cheered as she hugged Kanae more and then the Alraune looked at you and Kyojuro.

"But my, I didn't expect to see a Kitsune here!" She giggled happily. "May I say, we are honored to have you visit our garden."

"The pleasure is all ours!" Kyojuro and you nodded and the other demihuman smiled, "Since you're here, would you like to visit our butterfly garden?"

"Butterfly garden?" Kyojuro tilted his head in confusion, but that smile never disappeared from his face. Kanae smiled, "Yes, it's an area where all kinds of beautiful and rare butterflies live."

"You have one here?" You asked in confusion, "There wasn't anything about it on the internet?"

"Oh yes! It's not open to the public yet, but I think I can allow you two lovebirds to visit it."

"W- wha-?" You blushed, "How could you tell?"

"I'm just observant." Kanae giggled as Mitsuri let go of her and the two of them lead you and your fiance through the garden to a brand-new entrance. Once you entered it was like you had stepped into a whole new world.

Butterflies everywhere, small and big, plain and gorgeous, and so many that you had never seen before. You were in total awe that you nearly missed a huge butterfly coming right at you-!

"Sister dear, who are these people?"

You yelped, startled by the new sound, and turned to see a petite woman with the biggest and most beautiful white and pink butterfly wings coming from her back.

Kanae giggled as the butterfly girl landed next to her, "This here is my little sister Shinobu. As you can see, she is a Papillion."

"Greetings." The Papillion smiled at you and Kyojuro, "Who are you if I may ask and what are you doing here?"

"They are my quests, Shinobu." The Alraune said as he introduced you and Kyojuro to her little sister. You were a little confused by how they were exactly sisters while being different demihumans, but you didn't want to pry and appear rude. Instead, you smiled, "It's a pleasure to meet you!"

"Likewise," Shinobu smiled, what a pretty smile she had, and her older sister giggled, "These two are together actually!"

You and Kyojuro both knew Kanae was talking about the two of you, but you didn't expect Shinobu to grin knowingly, "Oh, so you are engaged?"

"Wha-!?" You stuttered in shock, "How can you guys tell?!"

"You both have this loving air around you." The Papillion said and the Alraune smiled, "You know, Mitsuri is also in a serious relationship like you two."

You blinked, surprised and happy for the slime, "Really?"

"Yes." The sisters nodded in unison, "Her beloved works in this Zoo that employ Demihumans. He is a Lizardman, working in a reptile house."

The alarms went off in your head as you remembered seeing one back then when you and the fox brothers were visiting the Zoo and you had run into this… Not so polite Lizardman. You swallowed and nodded a little nervously, "Does he happen to wear a mask and have different colored eyes?"

"Yes!" Mitsuri suddenly exclaimed happily, "That's my Obanai!"

"My, have you met before?" Shinobu asked and you nodded while trying your hardest not to cringe when thinking about the kinda rude way he had spoken to you, "Yes, we met during Summer at the Zoo. He also had a white snake with him."

"That's Kaburamaru!" Mitsuri cheered, "Wasn't he the cutest snake ever?"

"Oh, yes, he was very cute!" You nodded and the slime girl's beautiful light green eyes absolutely beamed in joy, "And Obanai is super nice, isn't he?"

"He… Certainly is?" You weren't sure what to say, you didn't want to offend Mitsuri or make her sad, because she genuinely seemed to love that Lizardman. Mitsuri was either oblivious or a fucking saint.

"Isn't he?" She asked happily and that is when the sisters stepped into the conversation. "Mitsuri, would you be dear, and show Kyojuro the butterflies' feeding area? You can help yourself with some orange juice there also."

"Sure!" Mitsuri said happily and you and Kyojuro moved to follow, but the Alraune and Papillion caught you in their hands and held you back, "You're staying with us for a little longer."

"Wh- what-?" You blinked in confusion and shock and the sisters looked at your fiance, "Mitsuri will show you around the butterfly garden."

"We will keep company to your bride."

"I don't mind, but why?" Kyojuro asked and the sisters smiled knowingly, "We will just have a little girl-to-girl talk with each other."

Kyojuro raise his eyebrow in a questioning manner and glanced at you as to make sure you were alright with this. You smiled and waved your hand at him, "Go ahead, I'll join you soon. We will just chat a little."

The Kitsune nodded happily and followed excited Mitsuri who lead him deeper into the butterfly garden. You turned to look at the sisters and asked, "What did you want to talk about?"

"First, we apologize for the sake of Mitsuri's beloved." They said, "Please don't mind Obanai. We know how he can be. He isn't that good with people, women especially, except Mitsuri, who he loves with all his heart."

"He isn't mean to her, is he?" You asked, worried that a sweetie like Mitsuri would get bullied… But the sisters smiled.

"Oh no, he genuinely loves her." Kanae said and Shinobu nodded, "Apparently it was love at first sight."

"Aww…! That is so sweet." You were honestly happy for the pink slime girl, but then you felt a little bad, "Maybe I judged him a little too early…"

"You're alright, he probably said something upsetting without really realizing it." Kanae smiled but then she and her sister turned more serious, "But we wanted to talk to you about something important."

"Hm?" You tilted your head and the Papillion nodded, "It's about your fiance. Have you and Kyojuro done stuff?"

"Uh," You blushed and your mouth seemed to dry on the spot, "W- what kind of stuff a-are we talking about? B- because there isn't any! W- we've only kissed, n- nothing else!"

The sisters shared a look and smiled and-! Oh God, this was so embarrassing, you could feel your face burning like it was on fire. Literally!

"Alright, we believe you." They finally said and you nodded as you attempted to calm yourself down. "W- why you asked?"

"We were just curious."

"Are you waiting for marriage?"

"Well…" You coughed, trying to keep yourself from blushing anymore, "We just started kissing…"

"Ah, young love," The sisters giggled, "We understand."

"Th- thank you…" You nodded but then the sisters turned more serious again, "But if that is the case then we must warn you to please watch out for the full moon."

"Full moon?" You blinked, confused and they nodded, "Yes."

"The full moon draws out demihumans' inner animal instincts." Kanae told you and Shinobu nodded, "They can lose control over themselves and turn… Excited."

"Excited?"

"Horny."

"But…" You were genuinely confused, "Kyojuro hasn't gotten that way?"

The sisters blinked, clearly confused now also as they leaned in to whisper quietly with each other and finally, they looked at you again.

"We see…" Kanae nodded and Shinobu tilted her head at you, "And how long have you been living together?"

"We met and moved in together when the Summer started?" You replied and the sisters shared quick glances with each other before looking at you again.

"We want to tell you that your fiance has probably been eating medication to help him control his inner instincts," Shinobu said and Kanae continued, "If he loves you as much as we have seen, he would no doubt want to have sex with you if you were alright with it.

Hearing this made your blush come back and burn you hundreds of times harder than you had ever felt before. You had to cover your face before it could explode and you squealed against your palms.

Could Kyojuro want you that way? People had in the past, but they were hideous creatures and disgusting about it. Kyojuro had been nothing but gentle, kind, and gentlemanly to you.

"S- should I ask about it from him?"

"You can, but be wary." Kanae and Shinobu warned you, "We don't know him as well as you do so we can't tell what happens if you confront him during the full moon."

"I…" You nodded as you swallowed, "I understand. Thank you for your help."

"It's our pleasure." The sisters smiled at you and suddenly pulled phones out of their clothes' pockets, "Would you like to exchange numbers?"

"We would love to keep in touch with you and your fiance."

"You…?" You blinked in shock, "You want to… Be my friends?"

"Yes!" They both smiled happily and you were stunned… You didn't really have friends… Did you even know how to be one? The last time you had friends they had betrayed you and chased you away from your own home… Could you trust like that to anyone?

…But you trusted Kyojuro and Senjuro and it was one of the best, if not the best, thing you ever did. So you smiled a little shyly, pulled out your own phone and the three of you happily exchanged numbers with each other and somehow you knew you made the right decision again.

"There you are, my beloved bride!"

You glanced over your shoulder and saw Kyojuro and Mitsuri approaching you guys. You smiled as you turned and walked up to your fiance, "Hi Kyojuro! How were the butterflies?"

"That's why I came to get you! Lady Mitsuri showed me where these butterflies eat. They are very tame and let you pick them up! I wanted you to see it also!" The Kitsune explained and you smiled as you took his hand and squeezed it, "Lead the way."

The handsome fiance of yours was so happy, but you still had those questions that Kanae and Shinobu brought up to daylight… But those questions could wait a couple more hours. Now you were spending some time with your beloved Kitsune.

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forsworned · 3 years ago

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𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐆𝐄𝐓 𝐌𝐄, 𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐆𝐄𝐓 𝐌𝐄 𝐍𝐎𝐓 ۫ ִ ׂ💭 ◟♡ ˒ ⊹ ݁ ִ ۫

♡ 𝐀𝐔𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐑'𝐒 𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄. THIS IS FOR MY BESTIE @hanakages SO IF YOURE NOT HER THIS IS NOT FOR YOU JKJKJK YALL CAN READ IT TOO BUT IT'S FOR HER SO I HOPE YOU LOVE IT AND HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY I LOVE YOUUU also big thank you to @itsstrawberrymochi for helping me proofread!! ଘ(੭๑˘ᵕ˘)·੭ * ੈ✩‧₊˚ also a repost bc tumblr is a whore

♡ 𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍��𝐒. none, just fluffy fluff

For most, Valentine's day was the bane of their existence, but for you it was the day you could find an excuse to show everyone how much you loved and cared for them. You happily hummed to yourself as you put cute little customized goodie bags together that you had been working on since the end of January. Planning a party was no easy feat, as it was hard to round up all the Hashira and other demon slayers in one room. Let alone a party celebrating Valentine's Day that was suppose to be filled with love and admiration for one another.

Your rules were simple:

1. No fighting

2. Everyone gets a Valentine (and you meant everyone, you didn't want to see poor Giyuu not receive things from his fellow bitter Hashira)

3. Everyone was assigned a food item that they would bring

And lastly, but most importantly: To simply have fun.

Like you had mentioned before, a party would be no easy feat for this group as they were all wrapped up in their own shenanigans and slaying demons, but you had managed to get everyone on board, though some more begrudgingly than others. With the help of Kagaya, you had somehow made it mandatory to attend the event.

You felt butterflies in your stomach as the time got closer and closer to when you would give away your gifts. The expressions on their faces was what you craved the most and you were finally going to get to see that just as soon as you finished this last goodie bag...

"Finished!" You rolled off your stomach and began to carefully pack your things into a bigger bag.

After you had double checked that you had everyone's things, you checked your make up and hair in the mirror. You settled for a soft pink glam look and for a carmine floral yukata. You felt like cupid minus the whole shooting of unsuspecting people to make them fall in love. But the passing of copious amounts of love was what really made you feel a little like Eros. Maybe you could make a few people fall in love while you were at it.

As you counted and recounted the bags on your way to the Butterfly Estate , you managed to run into the girls who were setting up the mansion. You were amazed to see all the hard work and effort you all had accomplished over the span of two days. The girls were dressed in different attire that coordinated with the Valentine's Day theme. Patterns of hearts, flowers and cupid on their yukatas that you could tell they worked meticulously on.

"You guys look so cute!" You cooed, holding your hands up to your face.

They all became abashed by your commentary before gushing about how adorable you looked.

"Are you dressing to impress someone?" Sumi asked innocently looking down at you as you held the ladder from below while she readjusted the lights.

You blinked several times as you felt your face flush. "N-no, not necessarily."

"Is it Shinazugawa-san~" Kiyo rocked on her heels with her hands behind her back.

"No--"

"No, it has to be Rengoku-san." Naho claimed as she held her chin with both fingers in a deep thinking pose and a serious face.

You felt your heart thrum against your chest the more they talked about who you were showing up for until you simply couldn't take it anymore.

"If I tell you, will you guys keep it a secret?" You finally said as you fidgeted with your yukata.

They all nodded excitedly waiting to hear your secret crush and you beaconed them to you as you covered your mouth to whisper his name.

Their little bodies jolted in shock with cute surprised expressions before they blushed and giggled.

"And don't tell anyone!" You straightened yourself up as you inhaled sharply.

"Don't worry, [name]! Your secret is safe with us!" Kiyo piped up and the other two girls beside her nodded in acknowledgement.

You scratched the back of your neck as you felt your face warm up. You had never really confided in anyone about your crushes on men. It was a bit of an unspoken rule. You always avoided topics about your love life as if it were existent. More often times than not, you spent most of your time reading romantic novels about fantasy men who appeased to women in all the ways your heart desired. It was unfair that men were not like that. That was until you met him.

Sure, he was rough around the edges, like really rough, but he always had a certain kind of sweetness about him with you. At first it wasn't too noticeable. He wouldn't give you the same gruff and brash attitude he would others, but you thought that was just because you were a woman as Mitsuri and Shinobu were. But you had noticed that over time he would lessen his usual rash attitude and sometimes he would look at you a certain way when you talked. He was quiet and listened to you, taking all your words in as you spoke so eloquently.

"...anyone in there?" You asked waving your hands in front of his face and he would blink back to reality and 'tch' softly at you.

"Yes, I was only listening to your incessant blabbering."

You laughed at him and he would 'tch' again at you as he averted his gaze and sighed before his cheeks would slightly inflame trying to keep his usual composure. It was hard though. Keeping his cool around you. It had been awhile since he had fallen for someone, and he had kept his walls up for some time now, but with you things felt easier.

So many things that were left unsaid between the both of you. Things that you were planning to say today and hopefully maybe he would too? You sighed to yourself. It felt almost hopeless with him.

One moment , you would hype yourself up thinking, 'Of course, he likes me and is going to tell me that!' but another part of you felt quite the opposite. In fact, you felt like he almost pitied you and you hated that.

"[name]...are you alright?" Sumi asked as she fidgeted with her fingers.

You noticed how tense you were from being in pensive mode for too long. You uncrossed your arms as you relaxed your posture.

"I'm sure he likes you back." Kiyo nudged at you and you felt embarrassed.

They giggled as you remained silent and urged them to get back to attending to last minute details as every second had counted. The only thing that weighed on your mind was how he was going to take your confession. You had planned to give him his goodie bag in an isolated part of the mansion and profess your love. You cringed at the thought. What if he didn't like you back?

"Uh, [name]...you're crushing the heart plush and the stuffing is spilling out." Naho spoke up and you gazed down at the pink plushie indeed oozing in your hands that you were gripping harshly.

"O-oh." You looked at Naho apologetically as she had made it and she tried her best to not let a tear fall out of her eye as she shook her head.

"I'm so sorry."

"N-no, it's okay! I can fix this." Tears began to spill out of her eyes at lightning speed and you scrambled to try and to cheer her up, but the damage was done.

"Naho, I--" You began to say but she was already rushing out of the room and at that point you wanted to cry yourself.

"What happened?" Kiyo asked.

You showed them the destroyed plush in your hand and their mouths dropped. "It was an accident."

"Do you know how to sew?" Sumi asked as she began to rummage through drawers and then handed you a needle and string.

"Kind of." You took it from her and began to put the thread through the needle and the two of them began to instruct you on how to properly sew the material back together so that it didn't look wonky.

"It's a good thing we finished an hour early." Kiyo said eying your work as Sumi told you where to sew.

"You got that right." You mumbled as you were fixated on the last few stitches you were making to close the plush. "What time is it?"

"Hmm." Kiyo gazed over at the clock on the wall. "5:15."

You sighed as you began to close up the last hole that you had created in the plush and held it in your hands. "I wonder where Naho is."

"She'll be fine. She just needs time to cool off." Sumi smiled up at you and took the plush from your hands to admire your work. "These stitches are really nice, [name]."

"Yes, Naho will be happy to see it." Kiyo agreed and you felt relieved.

"I certainly hope so." You let your shoulders drop as you leaned up against the wall and took a gander around the room.

There were hearts everywhere. Like literally everywhere. Paper heart cutouts hung all over the room in various shades of pink, purple and red. The lights twinkled around the room and the lanterns that they had hung up were pink with the kanji 'love' written on them.

The girls had hand picked bouquets of flowers per your specific instructions to give to the guests as they entered and the table that was set up was riddled with Aoi's cooking. There was enough space for the potluck that was going to ensue very soon and that excited you as you felt your stomach grumble.

"We'll eat as soon as the guests arrive." Kiyo said and you felt a little humiliated that your stomach was that loud.

You put a hand over your belly trying your best not to think about the smell of the food that was filling the room and it was becoming harder to keep yourself from taking one of the steamed buns that Aoi just set on the table.

"Wow, it looks great in here." You heard her say as she gazed around the room in awe.

"Mhmm." You began to reach at one of the steamed buns, but Aoi's head whipped in your direction.

"[name], I thought we agreed on waiting for everyone to arrive before eating." Aoi put her hands on her hips and you sighed.

The sound of your stomach grumbling was much louder this time and you clenched your hand above the fabric of your yukata and Aoi had to keep herself from giggling.

"Okay, maybe you do deserve a small treat. You too, Sumi and Kiyo." She smiled at the both of them as they happily approached the table and grabbed one each.

As you guys thanked her, she searched around the room. "Where's Naho?"

You gave her a guilty look as you chewed on your food and swallowed hard as you showed her the plush that you fixed. "I kind of destroyed the heart plush she made and she ran out of the room crying, but Sumi and Kiyo helped me stitch it together."

Aoi didn't look disappointed in you, rather she was concerned for Naho. "I'll go look for her. Don't over eat!"

And with that she left the room and you swallowed the rest of your bun and frowned, but the girls had insisted that everything would work out and the party would be a hit. As the clock winded down and got closer to six, you started to feel more apprehensive by the minute.

"Oh wow! It looks beautiful in here!" Shinobu peeked her head in and gazed around the room. You immediately perked up as the two girls greeted Shinobu with a bouquet of roses and a flower crown that they bestowed upon her. She thanked them as she held onto the accessory before speaking to you.

"You look like you're dressed to impress a certain somebody." She eyed you mischievously and you rolled your eyes.

"You are one to talk." You retorted checking out her cute purple yukata that she had gotten specifically for the event.

Her smile never left her face. "You look ravishing."

She raised her hands to pinch your cheeks and you noticed that more Hashira began to file in. Kyoujurou being the loudest as he exclaimed about how wonderful the room looked and how delicious the food smelled.

Mitsuri had rushed over to greet the both of you and compliment your outfits and began to gossip about how a certain someone was taking longer than usual.

"I wonder what he might be planning." Mitsuri whispered.

"I heard he was purchasing flowers earlier today." Shinobu added excitedly.

You really didn't want to get your hopes up, but it was hard not to when you were hearing the pair whisper tidbits here and there.

"What do you think, [name]." Shinobu nudged at you and you inhaled sharply as you averted your gaze and watched as he entered the room.

His eyes looking up at the ceiling as he slightly grimaced, but suddenly he relaxed for a moment and then his eyes met yours. It felt like everything around you had stopped and you felt your heart thrum against your chest as the heat rushed to your face and you clamped your hand over your chest.

As you got ready to step forward to hand him a bouquet of flowers, you had been cut off by Sumi handing him a handful of red peonies. You felt your heart slightly drop as his mouth went into the shape of an 'o' and took the flowers by surprise. You had purposefully given everyone a particular set of flowers to convey how you felt for them. You had various and copious amounts of snapdragon for strength, yellow roses for friendship, chrysanthemum's for joy for your friends, but him--red peonies. Honor, respect, passion--love.

Would he even notice? It was so simple, yet so obvious. To a man, maybe not.

You turned away for a moment, feeling a pang of humiliation set in. Mitsuri and Shinobu noticed your discomfort and began to engage you in eating the foods that were being set up on the table.

Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves, but you. You didn't want to seem ungrateful for the event that Kagaya had helped you even get all the demon slayers together, but it was hard when you felt like he was avoiding you the whole time.

As you watched Aoi try to fend off Inosuke from eating anymore food, Kagaya was helped into the seat right beside you.

"A little crow told me you weren't enjoying yourself." He took a sip from his tea,

You sighed and felt your shoulders slump as you picked at your cake with your fork. "Forgive me, I'm just not feeling up to be in a party mood any longer."

He smiled and found your arm and squeezed it. "Everything will fall into place. Just be patient."

You never remembered telling Kagaya about your crush, but that man did seem to have his way of knowing everything that went on.

You smiled softly as him. "Thank you, Oyakata-sama."

You felt your spirits lift as you watched him swish his drink on the other side of the room. He shifted nervously on his feet as you locked eyes again. A smile tugged at your lips as you gazed at him and then over to your overstuffed bag of gifts.

You leaned over to whisper to Kagaya and his smile grew as he clapped his hands together and immediately their attention was on him. In fact, all the demon slayers in the room immediately sat down in front of him as they would in any other meeting minus the bowing.

"We will now commence the exchanging of Valentine's gifts." Kagaya announced and everyone began to shuffle as they reached into their bags and conversed with smiles on their faces.

You rummaged through your bag as you put Kagaya's gift in his hands before anyone else got a chance to rush to him. "It's a good luck charm."

Kagaya’s smile never left his face as he began to feel around the charm that was made into a keychain. "A crow?"

"Yes. Do you like it?"

Weird question to ask a blind man, I know.

"I do. I will cherish it. Thank you, [name]."

He reached for his bag and handed it to you and your mouth went into an 'o' as you stared down at it. "You didn't have to."

"I'm not exempt from gift giving."

You carefully pushed past the tissue paper to reveal a small vial with wisteria flowers engraved into the glass and you undid the top to sniff it and it took you a moment to realize what it was.

"For a little courage."

You screwed the top back on and felt yourself flustered for a moment as you took a peek at the man who was irritated as hell with Giyuu. Poor Giyuu was only trying to receive the gift from him without any damages, but it was all in vain. He only frowned at the slightly crushed candy star that his Hashira counterpart ruined out of unnecessary vexation.

You looked back down at the vial before putting it back in it's packaging. "Thank you, Oyakata-sama."

He pretended to not hear you as he exchanged gifts with other demon slayers and you remembered that you needed to do your own exchanging.

As you happily handed out your gifts, your fellow comrades had seemed to light up as you as they opened their presents, but as happy as they may have seemed their reaction is not what you craved for the most. You had searched the room, but you couldn't find the man you were about to profess your feelings for. You finally got up from your seat, but you had bumped into something or rather someone.

"I'm so sorry!"

You knew that little voice. You gazed down to see a tear stained Naho peering up at you and you smiled down at her and fished out the fixed heart plushie.

"Tadah!" And her face instantaneously lit up with glee as she took it in her hands and hugged it.

"Thank you so much, [name]! It's perfect."

"I'm sorry about earlier."

She shook her head and smiled as she spread open her arms inviting you into a hug which you of course accepted. "It's okay."

She moved to whisper to your ear. "Now go get him!"

You felt your face fluster as you pulled away from her and you both giggled. "Thank you, Naho."

You then gathered your valor as you took one last look at the gift you had prepared for him as you stepped out into the cool spring breeze. It was crisp and beautiful out as the wisteria petals fell onto the courtyard. And that's when you saw him.

He was leaning against a pillar as he looked over at the sunsetting just above the mountains coloring them and him apricot. You looked down at your gift from Kagaya as you quickly doused yourself in the perfume before sharply inhaling and exhaling. You heard the crunching of grass and rocks under your feet as you approached his figure and his head slowly turned to you. His cheeks are tinted carmine but they are glazed over by the tangerine glow of the sunset.

"Hey." You said.

"Hey, yourself."

"Um, you're the only one I haven't given my gift to yet." You fished out the present and handed it to him and his eyes widened.

"O-oh, yeah. Here's yours." He gulped as he gave you yours.

Your eyes lit up with joy as you opened your hands greedily. He was staring down at you waiting for you to open your gift.

"Ladies first."

"Right." You shifted your gaze downwardly as you began to unwrap your gift.

It was a small red gift box that was wrapped in a gold ribbon. As you undid it and opened the box, the contents inside had immediately caught in the light. Your jaw went slack as you looked from the beautiful golden ring with your birthstone in a baguette cut to him whose face was completely inflamed as he held a bouquet of red peonies. And they were not your peonies because threaded between the beautiful red flowers were baby's breath--everlasting love.

"I never have the right words to say, so hopefully these flowers and that ring says it all." He mumbled as he looked at you with hopeful eyes.

You felt your sight becoming blurry as tears spilled down your cheeks. "I--I don't know what to say, Sanemi."

"Just...just say yes to me courting you. The ring is an extension to your acceptance."

"The flowers..." You took them from his hand as you deeply inhaled them.

"Yeah, I know how you're big on flowers and their symbolism. So when I saw that everyone else had gotten platonic symbolic flowers and I was the only one who was handed red peonies, I knew I made the right choice." He began to scratch the back of his neck nervously.

The wind swept past you as you smiled with glee and ushered the box toward him. "I accept."

His eyes broadened as he put his arm down to his side and felt a small smile etching at his lips. "Really?"

"Are you kidding? How could I say no?" You laughed. "Please, do me the honor of putting it on."

He happily took the ring from you and gently took your soft hands in his hardened calloused ones as he carefully slipped the ring into your finger. "It looks beautiful."

"I picked it out myself." He smiled looking down as it caught in the light. "Do you like it?"

"I love it." You peered up at him and his violet hues met yours .

His chest rose and fell heavily as he gazed at you, caressing the apples of your cheeks before bringing you into a soft kiss. You let out a small sigh of content as you couldn't stop smiling.

"Now, let's go show everyone that we're now officially courted." You swung his hand around and before he could say anything you were already happily skipping back to the estate as he stammered away. The gift you had given to him swung in his other hand as you had already completely forgotten about it and your confession.

You were too full with joy to even listen to him as you slid open the door with his hand in yours and everyone turned around to look at you both in shock.

"We're getting married!" You showed off your ring.

"[n-name]!"

And for a moment everyone began to gather themselves the both of you to congratulate you and your very flustered and quiet counterpart, with the exception of Tengen who looked quite disgruntled.

"Yeah, this is amazing and all, but seriously, [name]? You spelled my name wrong?" He held up the gift tag to reveal that you spelled his name as "Tenmen."

You tried to hide your laughter at your idiotic mistake as he had kept going while everyone else was also looking at their tags. "You've known me for how long? Three years now? You can't even manage to spell my name right?"

"Mine reads, 'Tyoukurou'!" Kyoujurou exclaimed with his usual boisterous laughter following it.

"According to Genya, mine appears to be, 'Meowmei" Gyomei smiled.

"Piyuu."

"Obobo."

"Dokidoki." Muichiro snickered under his covered hand.

"Henitsu"

"Gonpachiro" Tanjiro pressed his lips together in a straight line.

"Gnosuke?!"

"Well, me and Kanroji-san's are right." Shinobu piped up.

"Yeah, us, too." Makio agreed with Hinatsuru and Suma.

"Us too!" The three butterfly girls exclaimed as they had included Nezuko and Aoi.

Your new partner had hesitated to even look at his gift tag, but his jaw dropped. "Samemi?"

"Ahaha..." You nervously scratched at the back of your head as it had roused confusion and frustration.

"What can I say? I'm horrible at remembering names." You felt your face flush at the embarrassment of spelling every male's name wrong.

"How did you forget mine?!" Sanemi cried out as she showed you the incorrect name. He was pouting so hard it was adorable as hell seeing him like that, but the distress you had caused him and everyone else was...kind of hilarious actually.

And before you knew it Mitsuri couldn't hold back her laughter any longer as it had filled the room. Kagaya was giggling in the corner as he used his sleeve to cover his mirth and soon the entire room was brimming with glee at your awful mistake.

"Well, in any case," Tengen spoke up happy he wasn't the only one as he held a glass to the air and the rest of you all followed his lead. "To [name] and Sanemi! May you have a happy marriage!"

"To a happy marriage!" You all chorused as glasses clinged and you sipped at your fizzy drink as you peeped to look over at your new fiance.

"Are you still upset at me?"

He sighed as he put his glass down and cupped your cheeks with his roughened hands and leaned his forehead against yours.

"Just don't forget my name again, or I think I might go crazy."

You giggled as he kissed your forehead. "I won't"

"Promise?"

"I promise."

And with that whistles were made at your lips met again, gleeful at your new courtship.

"What did you give, [name]?" Amane whispered to Kagaya as she wept with joy for Sanemi and you.

A mischievous smile crept on his face as he answered. "Just an illusion of courage."

(he gave [name] pheromones which is what your body naturally gives off to basically induce arousal to others around you LMFAO)

287 notes · View notes

forsworned · 3 years ago

Text

+warnings. none

+word count. 9.1k

+categories. f/m

+relationships. hashira x reader, kagaya ubuyashiki x reader

+characters. hashira, kagaya ubuyashiki guest appearance(s): sumi, naho, kiyo, goto, aoi, kamado crew

+author’s note. OHHHHH FUCKING KAYYYY ITS FINALLY UP GUYS I HAVE BEEN DYING WRITING THIS CHAPTER FOR THE LONGEST FUCKING TIME SO I HOPE YOU ENJOY and yes all art is done by me unless said other wise also pls pls pls feel free to give me any feedback !!!

+summary. today is the festival of the spring equinox and reader is more anxious than ever due to the fact that she is self conscious as hell even though she is a bad bitch. she caught up in a whirlwind of emotions from a harem of men who all seem to be interested in her.

+chapter(s). one(unedited) two three four six

「chapter five: spring equinox」 [part two]

The day had winded down sluggishly as you watched people walk to and fro carrying wagons of supplies and you wondered what the outcome of how the festival would be. How it would look and smell. You imagined it would be vibrant with colors of spring and twinkling lights and flickering lanterns that were hung above your heads. The thought of food made your stomach growl. Hadn't you just eaten like an hour ago? Or was it two?

You really didn't know anymore. All that you did know was that the smell of yakitori (and sweet potatoes?) had filled your senses and you followed it all the way to a small corner of just one of the stretched out lines of vendors. A bushel of fiery hair entered your line of vision as you approached the stand that was grilling several types of meat and handfuls of sweet potatoes.

Your mouth was practically drooling at the sight of the succulent meat dripping and the sound of the sizzling following it as it hit the bottom of the grill.

“[surname]-san!”

You jumped a little as your eyes were directed towards the charismatic man in front of you.

“Oh, hello, Regoku-san.” You felt your heart thump against your chest slightly as he gazed down at you with layered hues of crimson and gold. You had never seen a human who carried such eyes.

“You look fantastic [surname]-san!”

You averted your gaze for a moment before shifting on your feet. Warmth creeping to your cheeks as the thought of food nearly escaped your mind.

“O-oh thank you.” You finally glanced up to him to see that he was wearing an orange yukata that exposed his chest a bit. His hair was tied back to avoid getting in the food he was cooking up. A light tint to his cheeks as he smiled down at you. “You look great, too.”

He gave you a hearty laugh as his blush spread to the apples of his cheeks. Thankfully, you were under the shade of the vendor roof so that you didn’t capture any extra unwanted attention.

“Well, thank you, [surname]-san! Would you like a taste test?”

You didn’t skip a beat.“Yes, please.”

The smile never left his face as he let you choose what you wanted and then handed it to you. The look of delight on your mien as you took your first bite made his eyes broaden. Sauce smeared on the inner corners of your lips as they dribbled down your cheeks.

He didn’t say anything as he lifted his hand to offer you a napkin.

You blinked up at him for a moment and felt yourself become aware that you were acting like a starved child. “Thank you.”

You embarrassingly wiped your face as you handed him back the bowl he had given you. “It was really good, Rengoku-san.”

“Please call me Kyoujurou.”

“Sorry?”

“Nothing.”

You felt slightly awkward at the tension that was setting in the air between you two as you licked the inner corners of your lips tasting the remnants of the beef.

“Rengoku-san.” You heard a monotone voice call out from behind you.

You both straighten yourselves before giving your attention to the Water Hashira.

“Yes, Tomioka-san!”

Giyuu’s cerulean blue eyes gazed over at your pretty figure and you watched as his Adam’s apple bobbed up and down. He was wearing a cobalt colored yukata that covered his chest a little more than Kyoujurou’s, but regardless he looked charming despite the lack of interest on his face.

“Hello, [surname]-san.”

“Hello, Tomioka-san. Your yukata really brings out your eyes.” You felt your eyes widen at what had fallen out of your lips. You weren’t a chronic flirt you swear!

He looked taken aback at your comment and his cerulean hues shifted adjacent to him as he cleared his throat.

“Thank you, [surname]-san. You look better than usual.” He turned his attention to Kyoujurou a little quickly to avoid any further humiliation. “Muichiro needs your help at his takoyaki stand.”

Kyoujurou perked up and then shifted his eyes over to you. “Of course! [surname]-san do you mind taking over until I get back?”

“Um, sure. I don’t need to make anything, do I?”

“Not at all! I’ll be back in a moment.”

And with that both Hashira’s both disappeared to the other side of the vendors. You were left alone with the delicious meats and sweet potatoes that were still on the grill.

“Just one more wouldn’t hurt.” You licked your lips and lifted one skewer to your lips to take a bite.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

You froze and your eyes captured the voice that made your skin crawl. Jagged dark locks of hair that brushed his shoulder and mismatched eyes with a snake wrapped around his shoulders sneered at you.

“Why are you eating Rengoku-san’s food?”

“He asked me to watch it for him.” You answered a little too quickly.

He pointed at you as he spoke. “That doesn’t answer my question. Why are you eating Rengoku-san’s food?”

You felt your eyebrow twitch as you put a hand to your hip. “Why do you care?”

He took a step forward. “Because it’s not yours–”

“Obanai-san! You look so charming!” You heard Mitsuri’s voice and soon she was in view absolutely swooning over him.

His expression completely changed as she smothered him in compliments and his eyes lit up with joy and his cheeks tinted pink. You felt your heart melt a little as you gaze over at them. Is that what love looked like? Is that what soulmates acted like?

As you felt yourself get immersed in their back and forth playful banter you heard a gruff voice enter the conversation.

“Iguro, Rengoku needs your help with something.”

Sanemi was clad in a celadon green yukata with patterns of leaves looking like they were taking flight in the breeze. His chest was exposed revealing his scars that he proudly wore, but somehow it was even more revealing than his usual uniform.

The Snake Hashira’s attention was on him now. “I thought that pest was helping Tokito-san out.”

“Pest?” You inquired tilting your head to the side as you munched on the beef.

They all turned to face you and Sanemi rose his eyebrow at you. “Yeah, that pest as in that damned Water Hashira.”

“Eh? Why don’t you guys like him. He doesn’t say much.”

This only seemed to infuriate the pair.

“He’s a good for nothing who disgraces the Hashira. He let that demon sister of that obnoxious brat live.” Obanai’s eyes were wide with irritation as he spoke.

“Is it, is it that serious?” You pressed, still not understanding.”If Kagaya let them live, shouldn’t you guys like, you know–respect his decision?”

And that’s when you should’ve kept your mouth shut, because the energy that seemed to almost physically make you feel heavier weighed on your entire body. The veins from their temples protruding as they glared down at you.

“Ahahaha…Let’s not get so angry at [name]. She’s the guest of honor , remember?” Mitsuri attempted to chasten the situation as she put her hands up in the air and separate the three of you.

“Some guest of honor.” Obanai scoffed as he walked away with Mitsuri who winked at you and gestured an “okay” at you with her fingers.

“You got that right.” Sanemi added as he shoved his hand into the opening of his yukata and began to walk away as well.

“Wait!” You blurted out and then immediately covered your mouth.

Sanemi stopped in his tracks and slowly rotated his body toward you. You dryly gulped regretting your decision. Why did you even ask him to wait?

His violet hues now glaring down at you waiting for your next words.

“Umm.” You nervously began to laugh. He didn’t get as annoyed as he did earlier with you. He merely raised his nearly nonexistent brow at you.

“Can I help you?”

“I, uh, could you stay with me for a bit? It feels kinda lonely right now and some company would be nice.” You bit your lip as you stared up at him.

“And what’s in it for me?”

His face and his tone had zero intention of being flirtatious or teasing. It was a sincere question and he expected a sincere answer. But you? Your head filled with dirty thoughts immediately. You hadn’t meant for it to, but it was instinctive.

You felt your heart thrum a little as you shuffled on your feet. “I mean, um, I heard you really like ohagi. I make a pretty mean one or two depending on how many you’d like?”

His face contorted a bit as he eyed you. “And who told you that?”

You cleared your throat. “I overheard the girls talking about it.”

Which wasn’t a lie. When you had locked yourself in your room for that short period of time, you had heard the three of them gossiping about all sorts of things as they passed by. One of them being that Sanemi was very fond of ohagi. Another had been that Giyuu slipped face flat onto the ground after carelessly treading over a wet floor. How ironic for the Water Hashira. You giggled thinking about it.

“What’s so funny about me liking that?”

You waved him off. “Nothing. I just remembered something else about Tomioka-san.”

He softly tched at his name. “Don’t talk about that loser in front of me.”

“Why do you guys hate him so much? Besides the whole Nezuko thing. It seems like you two haven’t liked him for a while.”

Your curiosity may get you killed someday, but this had been something that had been on your mind for a while. The Water Hashira had kept to himself a lot. He seemed like a lone wolf even despite having his banter with Shinobu and even seen Kyoujurou trying to make him laugh with silly faces and props.

He leaned forward as he spoke to you leaving not much space between the both of you. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

You turned away immediately feeling yourself get agitated by his closeness in proximity and the tone in his voice whether it was intentional or not (it was not intentional at all, Sanemi has zero game).

“Well, don’t worry about it. Just know he’s a fuckin’ jerk-off and that you shouldn’t spend too much time around him otherwise he’ll rub off on you.” He crossed his arms not taking notice of your abashed state.

“Why do you care if I hang out with him or not?” You peered up at him as you crossed your arms defensively.

It was hard trying to figure him out. Sanemi had such a hard and guarded exterior, but you felt like he was just a big softie on the inside. A lot of his reactions were anticipated, but others not so much. He was a bit of a wild card to you.

You decided to try and make him tick for fun. “Are you jealous or something?”

His whole body shifted away from you as he appeared to become disgruntled and the apples of his cheeks became inflamed. “W-what?”

Now that’s something you didn’t expect and you had to bite back the smile that threatened to make its way on your face.

“[surname]-san! Thank you for holding down the fort while I assisted Tokito-san.” Kyoujurou interjected as he walked behind the counter and his eyes found Sanemi looking shocked and embarrassed.

“Oh, Shinazugawa-san! Would you like a–” Kyoujurou began to make a bowl of rice and meat.

“He’s gone.” You voiced as you turned to him and put your hands out.

Kyoujurou’s face softened as he gazed down at you and secretly handed you the bowl. “Make sure no one sees you.”

Your eyes lit up as you licked your lips and stood behind him as you instantaneously inhaled your food. It was quite the sight seeing you eat so quickly. Really, someone should give you a Guinness World Record for being the Fastest Eater because you could probably score that.

“You are quite the charming woman, [surname]-san.” Kyoujurou’s voice made your ears perk up.

You smiled up at him as he rotated his form to gaze down at you. “You think so?”

He shifted his weight from side to side as he crossed his arms and laughed. “Yes, I think so.”

Why did it suddenly feel like you were in a harem? The way every single man seemed to look at you a certain way was starting to get to your head.

“Oh, [name]-chan~”

You knew that sing-songy voice anywhere.

“Yes, Shinobu.” You said without even looking in her direction.

“I’m going to steal her for a moment if you don’t mind, Rengoku-san.” She smiled up at him as she got a hold of your wrist and soon you were being dragged away.

You waved goodbye to the fiery haired man and he waved back with his usual smile/

“What was that about?” She asked as you readjusted yourself to walk beside her.

“What do you mean?”

Her lavender hues shifted to you. “The way he was looking at you and talking to you just now.”

“You heard all of that?”

“Are you veering away from Himejima-san?”

You felt yourself become nervous at the mentioning of his name. You didn’t think anyone could compare to Gyomei, but was it a crime to keep your options open?

“Uh, no I mean–I don’t–” You sighed as you stopped under the tranquil shade of the cherry blossoms. You were probably shimmering in that moment because Shinobu’s eyes were twinkling as you peered down at her.

“I don’t know what to do.” you put your hand over your face in distress.

“What do you mean?” Shinobu asked.

“I don’t want to sound in over my head, but I feel like I’m in some sort of show right now where I’m the main character with multiple love interests.”

Shinobu chuckled as she began to walk to your destination. “And what’s wrong with that?”

You caught up to her.“It’s stressful.”

“It sounds more like you’re not making the most out of it.”

“You would say that, wouldn’t you.”

She shook her head. “The way I see it, whether you’re from this timeline or not. I think that you should enjoy your time here and not worry too much about men and their incessant feelings for you. You have a part to play like the rest of us. I think you should focus on the here and now. Understand?”

“Yes ma’am.” You partially groaned as you pouted.

She laughed as she finally stopped in front of the stand that had an array of face masks. “Choose one.”

You raised your brow to her. “Any one? There’s like over two hundred of them.”

“Yes, I have eyes, too, [name]-chan.”

You rolled your eyes and laughed. “Very funny. Hmm…”

You surveyed the hundreds of masks that were lined up in the wall and even the ones on the counter. They all seemed to be hand painted (duh, what era is this again?) and marked with beautiful designs of all colors and shades. One in particular stood out to you. It was a mask that looked almost exactly to your markings in the middle of your chest.

“Are you trying to set me up?” You joked.

Shinobu peered up at you with not a hint of mischief. “And why would you think that?”

You pointed to the mask you were observing just a moment ago as you walked towards it. “Because it’s the same exact one on my chest.”

“I know nothing about that. I haven’t even seen the markings on your chest.”

You looked at her incredulously. “Why are you lying?”

“So, you want this one, right?” She asked, ignoring you as she pulled out a stepping stool and a stick with a hook at the end to reach it.

“You’re annoying.”

She simply waited for your answer. “Yes, please.”

She hummed to herself as she retrieved it and handed it to you.

Sure enough it was a replica of your markings in crimson and gold, but with red peonies sewed onto the sides with a softer yellow and red colored ribbon tied into a bow that glided down the mask. A small tassel was attached to the sides and the bells at the end rang melodiously when you shook them a certain way. It was truly enamoring.

“Do you know who made this?”

Shinobu shrugged as she gracefully jumped off the stepping stool. “I’m not sure. It was just a vendor that Oyakata-sama had called in, but he had refused to uphold the stand so I guess I’m taking over for him.

“Huh.” You observed it for a little while and then held it up into the sun.

It had glittered the same way your skin did in the light and the mask suddenly felt warm causing you to gasp.

“Is something the matter?”

You immediately retracted your hand from the light and peered back over to the ravenette who was counting the masks on the wall.

“Not at all. Thank you for the mask. It’s beautiful.” You smiled.

She turned her body towards you and took the mask from your hands and adjusted it so that it was on the right side of your face.

“There. It reminds me of Urokodaki-sama’s students with their kitsune masks.”

You reached out to touch it for a moment and it still felt warm against your touch at least. It felt like it was made for you.

“Who’s that?”

“He was the previous Water Hashira and Tanjiro and Tomioka-san’s master.”

“I see. He must’ve been some master then.”

The ravenette laughed. “Ara, ara, [name]-chan. He’s not dead.”

You felt a little embarrassed at how you just sounded. “Oh, I didn’t mean it like that–!”

She pinched your cheek. “I was only teasing.”

You rubbed your cheek as you frowned at her. “Well, what do I do in the meantime? It looks like everyone has a handle on everything.”

She waved you off as she returned to her work as she unpacked more boxes. “Feel free to look around and enjoy!”

You let your shoulders relax as you began to make your way down the aisles. As you got further down, you saw more brightly colored lights and lanterns that twinkled and flickered. More aromas of different foods and more traditional Japanese shops that were lined with handcrafted knick-knacks. Some vendors even had games that you could win prizes with and you made note of that. One in particular had caught your eye and that was one with a masked man in front of it. He was standing with his hands behind his back and he wore a light blue haori with clouds printed on it.

His hand was unexpectedly inches away from your face holding what was a small dart. “That’s quite the mask.”

You felt for your mask again and smiled. “Thank you. You,too, have quite an intriguing one.”

“So, would you like to try?”

You looked at the dart to the masked man to the water balloons that were hanging. It seemed simple enough. You pop the balloon with a dart and then boom you score that cute little fox plushie that was practically calling your name. You closed one eye and began to adjust your aim as you stuck the tip of your tongue out in concentration. With one last adjustment, you threw the dart but the trajectory seemed off and it fell short.

In the corner of your eye you had noticed little remnants of water in the air and you looked over at the old man who had clearly tampered with your aim.

“Hey!” You laughed. “That’s not fair!”

He pretended as if nothing happened. “Huh? Oh, you missed.”

“Yeah! I missed ‘cause you fumbled my throw!”

“And how might I have done that?”

“Hmm.” You pretended to think before you rolled your eyes. “I don’t know. Why don’t you tell me, former Water Hashira?”

Although you couldn’t tell by his masked face that he was shocked to hear that you knew about his past title, his body language definitely gave it up.

He began to laugh. “So, you know about me, Child of Amaterasu.”

“Very little actually. It seems like you know more about me.” You retorted.

“On the contrary, I know about as much as you know about me.” He pointed to your mask and you put your hand over it.

You chuckled and bowed. “I see. Well, it’s an honor to meet you.”

“I would say likewise, but I still have yet to see what abilities unfold from you.”

You raised a brow and held out your hand for another dart. “Let me at it one more time.”

“You’ll miss.” He didn’t hesitate to place it in your palm and you aimed it once more. This time you felt something warm overcome your dominant hand as you raised it back to throw it again.

Water splashed all over the board as it dribbled down into the grass while you jumped for joy. You noticed for a moment that your skin had touched the sunlight and it began to illuminate, but you quickly drew back hoping that no wandering eyes caught wind of it. The sound of Urokodaki clapping caught your attention and you smiled at him triumphantly.

“Very impressive. You learned how to hone your abilities that quickly?”

You tilted your head to the side and gave him a befuddled expression. “What do you mean?”

Now it was his turn to be confused. “If it hadn’t been for your ability to cut right through my water breathing technique you would have never made that shot.”

You glanced down at your hands. They felt warm and tingly as they did when you were in the sunlight.

“Your body is ahead of your mind. You need to learn how to control your abilities before they consume you.”

There was a hint of warning in his voice that made your heart drop a little.

“

”

The voice made your body rattle, but as you turned to see who the voice belonged to you were immediately met with a kind smile.

“Oh, hey, Tanjiro.”

“Oh! Urokodaki-san! I had no idea you would be here! It’s always a pleasure to you!” He bowed and the other two hooligans beside him did as well.

“Tanjiro. It’s nice to see you. I’m assuming Nezuko is doing well.”

Tanjiro nodded with a large smile on his face. “She is! She’ll be able to properly greet you after the sun is completely down. I see that you’ve already met [surname]-san.”

“Yes, she’s a very intriguing young woman if I do say so myself.” Urokodaki replied as he tucked his hands behind his back.

“She glows!” Inosuke began to point at you in a frantic manner.

“Oh?” This captured the masked man’s attention.

You felt a little embarrassed that Inosuke had revealed information about you that you hadn’t spoken about yourself, but then again he was the type to just say whatever came to mind completely unfiltered.

“Yes, in the sunlight! She glows!”

“Idiot! Shut up!” Zenitsu attempted to silence him as he hit his head multiple times but he kept going.

“When she touches Tanjiro her tattoos and his scar glow!” Inosuke finished off as he ripped the blonde’s hand from his mouth.

You and Tanjiro gave each other an exasperated look before he apologized to you. You shook your head.

“It’s fine. It’s not something I’m hiding from.”

“But aren’t you?” Urokodaki spoke up as he stepped closer to the both of you. “You cowered from the sunlight just earlier.”

“You noticed that?” You felt your heart slip a little.

“Don’t be ashamed of your power. Embrace it. For it will bring solace to those around you in their times of need.”

You truly didn’t know how to respond to that. For the past day and a half, you really couldn’t wrap your head around your newfound abilities, and in turn it led to you shying away from yourself and others…

“Well, anyway.” Zenitsu interjected. “We actually came here because they needed you over at the shrine.”

“Oh, I guess I’ll be on my way then.” You peered over at the former Water Hashira bowed respectfully to him. “Thank you, Urokodaki-san.”

“Don’t forget about your prize.” He handed you the cute fox plushie. A smile etched itself onto your lips and took it from him.

“Thank you.” You bowed once more before excusing yourself and making your way to the shrine that Zenitsu had mentioned.

You hadn’t noticed until now that the festival already seemed to be in full swing. All the decorations were up and the vendors were already starting to have customers file up. There were colors of spring lining every stand and it was starting to fill you up with joy and anticipation for what was to come. But then it hit you, you had no idea where the shrine Zenitsu had mentioned was. There didn’t seem to be any signs that pointed in its direction either, but it was as if your

body knew where to go as you nudged through the ever-growing crowd.

For some reason, your heart beat seemed to pick up with every step as you emerged closer and closer to the shrine. It was finally in view and at this point it felt like your heart was going to implode. And that’s when you finally saw what your heart seemed to be leading you to.

His eyes widened at you as he took you in. The sunlight sparkling against your body making you now visible to even Gyomei was truly a blessing from the Sun goddess herself.

“I can only thank Amaterasu for creating such an exceptional way to display the true essence of your beauty.”

Your jaw dropped as you heard the words slip out of his mouth. You couldn’t even comprehend that he had just said that to you and he himself could not believe that he let his guard falter with such ease. He wasn’t the type to say something so intimate outwardly, but something deep within him had compelled him and even urged him to say more.

“O-oh, thank you Himejima-san. That’s very kind of you–um. You look really h-handsome yourself.” You dryly swallowed your saliva as you averted your gaze elsewhere and played with the hem of your yukata. And he very much did. It was enough to make your heart skip a beat and fluster you beyond words.

“Oh.” Was all he could muster up as he stood there with a shocked expression on his face with carmine dusted his cheeks in the apricot glow of the setting sun. “I–well, thank you, [surname]-san.”

You finally managed to gaze back up at him and realized all the beautiful decorations that were hung up around you that led up to the shrine above.

“Is there something up there meant for me to see?” You asked cautiously. You didn’t want to assume too much, but Zenitsu had mentioned that they needed you at the shrine.

“Oh–oh, yes. There actually is something I wanted to show you if that was alright.”

You nodded and smiled, getting increasingly excited for what was to come. You had no idea what he had planned for you, but you couldn’t help but feel special that Gyomei had gone out of his way to make this all happen in the first place.

“Follow me.”

And you did just that as you walked up the steps in a slightly awkward silence. You just had no idea what to even say. All you could feel was the warmth creeping up on your neck and the stupid smile on your face that was beginning to hurt your cheeks. As you finally got up to the last few steps, that’s when you could see it all in its fullest glory.

Your hand went to your mouth as you noticed all the beautifully colored lanterns that resembled your markings with cute dragon foxes painted onto them. The strings lights were twinkling as the lanterns swayed in the spring breeze. There were even some hand crafted decorations of a fox cut out strung across the lights that were attached to the poles that they hung on. Cherry blossom trees filled the entire courtyard and their petals littered the grounds. The breeze picked up again and the pink sakura blossoms seemed to sway around both you again as you felt the sunlight gleaming on you.

“This is so beautiful.”

“Everyone pitched in to make it just for you. They wanted you to remember it.”

The warmth seemed to exude more and more as you twirled around and laughed. The faint sound of music from down below filled your ears as you reached your hands out and began to dance. You no longer felt the need to hide even as Gyomei watched you. Wait—Gyomei was watching you!! Because he could actually see you!!

You stopped in your tracks as you glanced back at him. His expression was in complete awe as if he had seen the sun for the first time in his life. Well, technically he had. Your warmth, your glow, the way you sparkled and rays of light emitted from you was exactly what a sun embodied.

“I’m sorry. I got carried away.” You spoke up too quickly for your own liking before putting your hand over your mouth.

Gyomei didn’t say anything as he stepped up to you and took you in. The overwhelming urge to touch you was so immense. He wanted to bask in all your glory, but alas he felt that mental roadblock. No matter how exquisite and divine you appeared to be, he found himself slightly pulling away.

“I have something for you.” He said suddenly.

Your whole body perked up. “For me?”

He nodded as he began to search the courtyard. “Let’s see…ah! It’s right here.”

He pulled out an oblong shaped package that was in a vermillion colored furoshiki wrap and handed it to you.

You looked from him to the package. “Oh, you were serious.”

He smiled down at you. That rare, handsome smile that you were really beginning to adore. “Please, take it.”

You opened your hands to take it from him and felt the soft material between your fingers. It felt somehow too luxurious and expensive for your liking. “This feels out of my budget somehow.”

He chuckled softly. “It’s from everyone.”

You peered up at him with just a sliver of disappointment. “Everyone?”

He had to bite back the smile that was threatening to break out on his face upon hearing the tone in your voice as he felt himself getting nervous at his next words . “It was my idea.”

You sucked in your lower lip as you carefully unwrapped it to reveal a beautiful wagasa. It was a deep shade of red and the flower detailings on the oil paper were in gold creating a charming contrast.

“This is seriously gorgeous. I’ve never owned something like this before.” You lifted it above your head and somehow your aura began to trick into the wagasa because it appeared in Gyomei’s line of vision from the Transparent World.

He gawked at you in pure astonishment as you twirled around the oil paper umbrella and beamed up at it and then to him. You noticed he was staring at you again. This time with tears running down his face and you immediately became distraught. “Are you okay?”

He nodded as he slightly lifted his hand before dropping it back down to his side and made a fist. “Something about you is enamoring. And as much as I try to keep my thoughts to myself my body will not allow it. It’s as if I need to speak these words but I cannot find a reason why.”

Your heart thumped loudly against your chest as your eyes widened at his words. What was this pull that you kept feeling between the both of you? You feeling it was one thing but him acknowledging it and verbalizing it to you was another. Were you really from this timeline?

“I feel the same way.” You finally spoke. You watched as his chest rose and fell dramatically. He searched for something to say, but he was beginning to come up empty. And not because he had no idea what to say, but more so the fact that you were literally radiating with so much overwhelming divinity that he was at a simple loss for words. Gyomei didn’t know what this feeling was, as it was foreign yet warm?

“I’m glad to hear that it is to your liking.” He replied after what seemed like hours. You cleared your throat and changed the subject along with him not wanting to push too much, but you couldn’t help but feel jubilant by the fact that he seemed to return your feelings.

“Liking? More like loving. It perfectly matches my whole…my whole…” You couldn’t seem to find the word.

“Essence.”

“Yeah! Essence! That’s a more eloquent word for it.” You twirled it around between your fingers once more. “It’ll really help when I need coverage in areas that wouldn’t be so welcoming to me.”

“Just don’t hide.”

Your eyes fluttered to him once more as you fiddled with the wood. “Right…”

“Don’t. You’re meant to be seen.”

And he wasn’t wrong about that either. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to see you the way he could through the power of the Sun goddess who had blessed you with her spirit.

“You’re right.” You folded your wagasa together and put it down to your side as you allowed the sunlight to glisten upon your skin again. “Thank you, Gyomei.”

“For what?”

You beamed a brilliant smile at him and it made his heart thrum like a hummingbird.

“For giving me confidence. Your words mean a lot more to me than you think.” He felt himself relax as he gazed at you with serenity. Serenity in your voice, your persona, your ever-changing aura and the atmosphere that you brought with you.

“You’d shine even without me.”

You took a step forward to him. “But I feel like I shine brighter with you.”

You wanted to slap your hand over your mouth, but it felt like you were speaking from the heart. Like you had spoken these words a thousand times before and it just felt right.

His cheeks visibly warmed at your words as he turned his body to the sunset and closed his eyes feeling you and the sun’s warmth. This was all he needed right now no matter how hard his internal self was fighting for him to leave. The burden of another human betrayal weighing on his shoulders was the last thing he wanted. And from a person who could be a potential lover? Double homicide.

You didn’t take any offense to his actions as it was obvious that the conversation was overwhelming for the both of you. You both stood together, shoulder to shoulder as you watched the sunset. And even as the sun disappeared behind the mountains, your aura still held remnants of the sunrays with you.

“We should join the others now.” His baritone voice caught your attention and you nodded.

“We should.”

As you two made your way down to the festivities again, you noticed that there was a small girl who seemed to be by herself. She was curiously eyeing plushies that were lined up on the walls on a vendor that didn’t seem to be supervised. That is until you saw the gentle giant behind the counter with a fabric plush kitty hat on his head that was connected with two long pieces of more plush fabric that seemed to be the arms and paws.

You couldn’t seem to hold yourself together as you watched him entertain the children and the adults (mostly the children) around him with all the plush knick-knacks he had around. The dark haired girl had seemed to find herself beside you as she was now curious about you.

“Hello.” You turned to her and you were immediately awestruck by her appearance.

Her eyes were a lovely shade of fuschia and her dark locks were tinted with orange at the ends. What struck you the most odd was that she held a bamboo shoot around her mouth and it was tied to her face.

She seemed to be intrigued by you as she approached you and observed your tattoos even as far as touching them. You felt an unexpected surge of warmth the moment she made contact with you as her eyes glowed golden along with your markings just like it had with Tanjiro.

“You must be–”

“Nezuko!”

You both turned your heads to the trio that was approaching.

“NEZUKO-CHAN!!” Zenitsu pushed past the both of them as he leapt forward with what seemed to be hearts in his eyes.

“Watch it, you fucking idiot!” You heard a familiar voice pipe up and then–

And then it all seemed to happen at once. Not even a moment later Zenitsu was on the ground and you were met with a certain someone’s exposed scarred chest clad in a moss green yukata. He was only inches away from your face as he towered over your form that was still holding onto Nezuko. His violet hues shift from you to Nezuko and then to the obvious glowing areas of your body.

“What the–”

“They’re both–” Inosuke began to point again, but Zenitsu came to his senses again and slapped a hand over his mouth to which the boar headed boy obviously began to fight him off.

“What is…this?” Sanemi’s voice was soft as he looked at you incredulously. You could only blink at him several times before you stammered out a response.

“I–well, sun users!” You blurted out as you took Tanjiro’s hand in yours and your light seemed to illuminate even brighter than before. This obviously caught the attention of many bystanders as they stopped or slowed down their pace to observe you from afar.

“You’re one and the same with these freaks?” Sanemi’s face contorted in disgust and disappointment.

As much as you didn’t want to let it get to you, his words kind of stung. You thought that you and the Wind Hashira were on good-ish terms to a certain extent, but that was a bit too far for your liking.

“Excuse me?” You felt tears threatening to prick at your eyes.

Tanjiro let go of your hand before stepping up to Sanemi. “You have no business speaking to either of them like that.”

The Wind Hashira’s nerve began to protrude out of his temple and his hands began to ball up in fists as a sinister smile found its way on his face. “And what the fuck are you gonna do about it, fuckface?”

“Shinazugawa-san. Tanjiro.” Gyomei’s booming voice interjected causing everyone to halt their actions and words. “Enough.”

His figure was imposing to all around him and his mere presence was enough to make everyone scatter. Sanemi merely scoffed at the three of you before walking off, but Gyomei stopped him and murmured something low enough for only him to hear for a moment before he stomped off.

You felt a pang of sadness, but it didn’t last long because when Gyomei had approached you and almost instantaneously you felt your spirits lift.

“I apologize for his behavior. He shouldn’t ever speak to you that way.” Gyomei bowed in your direction and you waved him off.

“You shouldn’t be apologizing on behalf of him. He’s the one who should stop being such an asshole.”

The demon slayers mouth’s around you dropped. They had never heard you curse let alone curse at Sanemi who was the King of Swearing.

“Yes, well, you’re not wrong.”

“Not at all. He’s definitely the real fuckface around here.” You continued on spewing out more profanities and frustrations towards him. How he had been such a cunt since the moment you had gotten here to the fact that he couldn’t show any amount of emotion even if it killed him.

“And don’t even get me fucking started on how he just addressed us just now.”

If their jaws had dropped before, they were definitely on the floor now.

“My, my, [name], you have quite the colorful vocabulary.”

You closed your eyes knowing exactly who’s voice that belonged to as you turned to meet none other than Kagaya and Amane helping to his immediate right.

“Good evening, Oyakata-sama.” You bowed with the rest of the demon slayers.

“I see that you met Nezuko.” He smiled as he spoke to you.

You gazed down at her smaller form and patted her head. “Yes, I’ve learned that she shares the title of being a sun user.”

“I see. That’s quite the finding. Has anyone given you any trouble besides Sanemi? I know he can be quite troublesome.”

You scoffed. “Yeah, troublesome indeed. But thankfully, everyone else has made up for his lack of manners.”

“I’m glad to hear that. Please, enjoy yourselves. We will speak soon.”

You all bowed to him as he began to enjoy his time with Amane leaving you with the rest of the slayers. You raked your fingers through your hair as you exhaled heavily.

“I wonder what the girls are doing…”

“[Name]-chan!!”

You chuckled to yourself as you saw double trouble waving over at you as they approached. “The fireworks are about to start!”

“There’s fireworks?” You inquired as they both took you in their arms on either side of you.

“Yes, the kakushi and Rengoku-san helped set them up! He told me that they were going to ‘set the crowds heart’s ablaze’!” Mitsuri exclaimed as they began to drag you along.

The rest seemed to follow you all as they discussed how excited they were to see the show that was soon going to happen. You peeped behind you to check if Gyomei was there, but he seemed to have disappeared. You felt a little sad that he wasn’t with you all, but you needed to remember that you shouldn’t depend on a man for your happiness. And never go in with expectations otherwise you will be greatly disappointed.

“This is a good spot.” Shinobu laid out several blankets for you all to sit on.

As you began to kneel down, Shinobu and Mitsuri laughed and shook their heads at you as they escorted you to another blanket.

“Wait, why am I sitting by myself?” You frowned as you looked at the four tweens who were enjoying mochi together and quite literally everyone else who was sharing a blanket.

“Because you are sharing one with Gyomei.” Shinobu folded her arms and gave you a mischievous grin.

You felt your face heat up at the mention of being alone with him again. The first time at the top of the shrine was already nerve-wracking enough, and now you had to share another intimate scene with him?

“B-but, he’s not even here. He left to go back to his stand…” You analyzed the area around you to see if he were coming back, but you saw no signs of him.

“Don’t worry he’ll be back.” Mitsuri winked and put a finger to her lips.

“We’ll be right over here if you need us!” Shinobu pointed her thumb to a blanket not too far from where you were seated.

“Okay, but…”

“We’ll see you later!” They giggled and hurried off to their spot.

“Is it alright if I sit here?”

You peered up to see your newfound crush standing over you with two treats in either of his large hands. It made the dango look tiny as hell.

“Of course. I thought you were still over at the stands.” You replied softly.

He sat down next to you and offered you one of the dango’s and you happily accepted and thanked him. You took a large chomp out of the skewer and hummed in satisfaction.

“I just closed up shop to see the fireworks. Do you like it?”

“Very much yes.”

“I have more.” He stated as he pulled out more snacks from a sack that you had just come to realize he had been carrying. “I didn’t know what you liked so I retrieved a bit of everything.”

If only he could see how your eyes were glimmering with excitement in that moment. “You are heaven sent.”

Gyomei didn’t know how to reply to the sudden compliment, albeit absentminded on your part, you had meant it. He was a hunky guy with a big heart and you didn’t mind settling.

You immediately went for the senbei as you munched on it. “I love festival food so much.”

“When was the last time you went to one?”

“Hmm…” You thought to yourself for a moment. “Probably before my parents passed away. It was the one in August I can’t remember the name of it…”

“ “Ojima Neputa.”

“Right! Where they spread all those huge Neputa and they play the drums. I always pretended I was them and my mother even bought me my own drum to practice. I thought someday I would be up there doing that…”

A sad yet nostalgic smile on your face as you nibbled on the rest of the senbei.

“I’m sorry about your parents. Mine passed at a young age, too.”

“I guess we have a lot more in common than we may think.”

He gave you a soft smile, but before you could continue on the first few fireworks began to explode and fizzle out.

“Eh, they’re nothing special.” You said as you hugged your knees to your chest and rested your head on them while you faced him.

“I appreciate the sentiment.” He took a bite out of his own senbei before continuing. “I wasn’t always blind.”

“Oh?”

“When I was a child, I had a terrible fever that caused me to become blind. So I know how things look to a certain extent, of course.”

“Well, of course.” You urged on playfully and laughed. He smiled easing into the conversation slightly raising his voice so that it could be heard over the fireworks.

He talked about how he had looked after stray kittens and named them after flowers that he adored the most.

“Lily was not too keen on affection, but she had her moments. She was quite talkative.” A grin played on his lips at the memory of the cat who birthed kittens, but not all had survived. A moment of mourning passed as the fireworks gave their last hurrah and handfuls of cheers and clapping were heard.

“You don’t ever think about owning your own cat?”

He paused for a moment as he rubbed his fingers together. “Ah, I’m not too certain about that. I can be gone for long periods of time and I want to give my fullest attention to things I care for deeply.”

“But, I’m sure they would understand. For the moments that you are back, they would appreciate it the most and hang on to every second you were there.”

You weren’t sure if you were talking about having a pet cat anymore.

“That is also true. But, I think for now, I should play it safe.”

That seemed to conclude the conversation as everyone around you was getting and stretching. You had overheard that the time was now 1:03AM. Not that that was completely past your bedtime, but you definitely should immerse yourself in some shut eye and possibly some journaling if you felt up to it.

“I’ll walk you back to your room.”

You nodded in agreement as you began to get ready to make your way back to the estate. You bid your goodnights to your friends before heading off with the Stone Hashira. Mitsuri and Shinobu made sure to tease you before you shooed them away and then you were off. The walk back was silent yet comfortable. The sound of crickets chirping and frogs croaking filled the night air as you padded side by side.

The estate was finally in full view as you both approached it and your actions seized.

“Well, this is me.” You extended your arm out awkwardly.

“You should get some rest. I’m sure tomorrow will be an even more adventurous day for you.”

“What do you mean?”

“Training.”

You groaned at the thought of anything that involved strenuous exercise and/or manual labor. “Just when I thought I could catch a break. Didn’t you say that you wanted to keep me from ever laying eyes on a demon?”

His body became tense at the memory of that conversation. “Yes, but such things are unpredictable in this atmosphere. At the snap of your fingers, this whole estate could come crashing down. We must stay alert and be steadfast.”

“I guess, you’re not wrong. Nezuko seemed nice, though.”

He remained quiet for a moment before speaking again. “Yes, well, she is still a demon.”

You tilted your head intrigued by his thoughts about the girl. “But still, she didn’t give off any murderous intentions. I’m usually very good at reading people.”

“Unfortunately, she hasn’t given me good enough reason to trust her. Not even a feeling is sufficient for me to come to a conclusion. The fact of the matter is, demons are inherently evil.”

“Doesn’t that go for humans,too? Or, er, I guess it could go for some humans. Not all humans are bad, but some of them can be. And there can be good humans too. Why can’t it be the same for demons? I’m sure there are demons who are fighting the urge to feed off of humans.”

Another silence.

“I’m sorry if I overstepped.” You spoke up again feeling embarrassed by speaking so much on something you had little knowledge of.

He shook his head. “I can appreciate the good heart you have, [surname]-san. You seem to be someone who exhibits a lot of kindness, despite your guarded exterior.”

“Likewise.” You smiled at him as you leaned against one of the pillars of the engawa.

“But, sometimes having too kind of a heart can get you killed.”

Your smile dropped as you felt your blood pressure raise slightly.

“Humans are naturally distrusting and disloyal. They will inevitably betray one another.”

“Well…” You struggled to get the words out as you fiddled with the loose strings of your yukata. “I trust you.”

Your voice was soft and shaded as you peeked up from your hands to his face. A moment of surprise written on his face before he let his eyebrows relax again.

“Can I not count on you?” You asked. There was such high hope in your voice it was endearing as hell to him.

His expression softened as he shifted on his feet. “Yes–yes you can.”

“But, you don’t trust me?”

“Not, fully, no.”

You chuckled as you kicked at a pebble that littered the pathway. “Well, I guess I can’t blame you. You don’t really know anything about me.”

“Yes, well, forgive me. It is a little hard to trust a woman that fell from the sky after a burst of lighting who is now blessed by a Sun goddess.”

“So he has a sense of humor.”

He couldn’t help the soft chuckle that escaped his chest as his chest rose and fell. “I’m more than meets the eye.”

“I can see that.”

It was quiet again. You shifted on your heels once more before taking another step back.

“It’s late. I should get inside.” You pointed your thumb behind you to the doorway.

The wisteria trees began to sway as the spring night breeze picked up and sifted through your clothes.

“I agree. Good night, [surname]-san.”

“Just call me, [name].”

He raised his brows and another handsome smile graced his features. “Okay…[name].”

“Can I call you…Gyomei?” You began to scramble your hands everywhere. “I mean if that’s okay with you.”

He nodded. “That’s alright with me.”

You halted your arms mid air before relaxing them back to your sides. “Really?”

“Yes, just don’t make me regret it.”

You felt a ghost of a smile on your lips as you pressed them together. “Okay, well, good night, Gyomei. Sleep well.”

“Good night, [name]. I hope you sleep soundly tonight.”

You took one last glance at him as you etched his features into your mind. His eloquent stature and the way his hair was slowly no longer defying gravity as strands brushed at his thick brows. The way he looked so damned good in that yukata that showed just a teasing amount of drool worthy toned pectorals that he effortlessly showcased. Dammit, [name], you were drooling.

You silently made your way into the estate and Gyomei watched as you entered and disappeared. He waited several moments, counting down the seconds it took you to make your way into your room and then the butterfly estate girls to help you into a bath that they had prepared moments ago. And then another moment. One to himself as he had recalled the events and the moments he had shared with you. The way you radiated in the sun and the way it captured all your features through your aura. The way you danced in the breeze as everything around you began to come to life. With you, he could see again. See in ways he never knew was possible.

Trust. Could he trust you? Trust you with his heart, soul and mind? He wasn’t sure yet. He felt as if his spirit was urging him to, but he wanted some sort of proof that he could rely on you entirely. And until that time comes, he would continue to observe you from afar and up close.

And with that, Gyomei made his way back home as he eagerly recalled more and more of you…

“What a fool.”

The Upper Moon Demon’s art detached eye blinked from the shadows as it analyzed Gyomei’s oblivious form. Gyomei felt an eerie suspicion that he had been watched for some time now, but as soon as he turned around the demon retreated.

“Phew! That was close…”

“Did you find anything of substance, Gyokko?”

“No, master. Just a fool in love.”

“Gyokko…”

The Upper Moon Five swallowed as he awaited a scolding from his Master. “I will find out more information, I promise!”

The dark haired demon eyed his subordinate for a moment, before returning back to the pages of his book. “You better. I want to know more about this Child of Amaterasu.”

taglist: @kashasenpai @scoven @yunho-leeknow @donpixter @salamiwrites

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forsworned · 3 years ago

Text

+warnings. none

+word count. 9.3k

+categories. f/m

+relationships. hashira x reader

+characters. hashira, guest appearance(s): sumi, naho, kiyo, inosuke hashibira, tanjiro kamado, zenitsu agatsuma

+author’s note. GIRRLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL THIS MF CHAPTER OBLITERATED ME AND MY SOUL LIKE CRUSHED IT INTO A MILLION PIECES BECAUSE IT TOOK ME SO MF LONG TO DO AND HONESTLY GUYS IDK WHAT TO EVEN MAKE OF THIS SHIT BUT YKNOW WHAT IM TAKING A HUGE RISK POSTING THIS SO PLEASEEEE i know you all don't owe me shit but i would love to hear your feedback pls :') and please lmk if you want to be included in a taglist also for anon who asked for the demon appearance i gotchu next chapter :)

+summary. reader awakens from a dream that little to her knowledge holds the key to her future. a pair of certain hashira's are sent out to the divine springs with reader to summon a deity. what will come of this revelation?

+chapter(s). one one(rework) two four five

「chapter three: the dragon fox」

Water dripped at your forehead causing you to scrunch your face at the sudden coldness. Bright light filtered into your sight as you blinked several times to readjust your visions and the feeling of cold clammy skin on your hands made your heart thump against your chest. Panic set in your body as you felt around more and discovered what seemed like a hand and you blindly grasped it and it dropped into your hand. Suddenly everything became clear. Dozens of bodies were around you and you were laying down at the top of the heap, but the more you looked at them, the more you began to realize they were you. Hundreds of dead corpses that looked exactly like you as started to get up and tried to find an exit, but there didn't seem to be one. You felt as if you were spiraling as you tripped and fell over knees, elbows, necks and you began to sob. It felt impractical at this point to keep running around, so you simply sat there weeping until you felt someone call out softly to you.

You looked up to see that the voice was coming from the pile of bodies underneathe you.

"[name]...]" It whispered over and over again, but it was beginning to get louder and louder until your ears were ringing.

You felt wetness trickling down your forearms and it began to drip onto the corpses. Blood. It was blood and a lot of it. You uncovered your ears to see that your hands were covered in it.

[name]! Awaken!" The voice screeched and a pale glowing hand reached out and grabbed you with such a force that your whole body flung into the pile of bodies.

And then--

---You were awake.

Your eyes fluttered open as you had awoken to your form being slouched over the desk in your new room and a blanket cascading across your shoulders and down your back. Soreness was the first thing you felt in your neck and shoulders as you stretched and yawned. Sunlight was sieving through the window and you slid it open welcoming the crisp air. You had never experienced such fresh and unpolluted air that was usually riddled with acid rain and smog.

A black crow flitted into your view and rested on a wysteria branch and squawked at you.

"Caw! Caw! [name] has been summoned to the Ubuyashiki Estate! [name] has been summoned to the Ubuyashiki Estate!"

You winced at the crow's voice, but before you could curse at it flew away. You sighed as you ran a hand through your hair and returned to looking back at the desk. Piles of paper were scattered across the table remembering that you were trying to document your time here. You didn't want to forget anything that had happened here, so starting a journal may have been the best thing you have thought of since coming here. You wrote about the people since coming here and how odd they looked and how they claimed to have been from a different time period and that you were mysteriously struck down with lightning? But how? It was sunny as hell when you had gotten here? For all you know they could've knocked you out in that storm and kidnapped you trying to sell you or worse become apart of their freakish demon slaying cult.

You shook the thought away. You had yet to even see a demon, so you were going to stop trying to wonder about that until the time came . In the meantime, you would take your wysteria tablets and have your wysteria incense on hand. Such a ridiculous notion. A flower? Keeping demons away? The only thing you knew wysteria for was how invasive it was and how poisonous it was to cats and dogs. You ran a hand through your hair, until you had remembered your kermit umbrella was currently in the streets, probably fucked up from all the cars that must've ran over it.

A sudden gust blew through the window, sending a violent shiver up your spine. It was as if you felt someone's hand lay on your shoulder and the air near your ear was warm like someone's breath was fanning against you.

"Awaken." It whispered.

Goosebumps rose to the surface of your skin and you felt a warmth in your chest that was taking the breath out of you. You suddenly felt yourself on all fours choking, gasping for air and your shoulder burned with an intensity that made you want to scream out in agony. Your heart beating fast against your chest as you grasped at the place that you felt the apparition? Spirit? Ghost? Whatever the fuck it was, touch you and you pulled back the fabric of your yukata back to see that your skin was literally smoking.

You panicked not knowing what the hell to do, so you only gawked in horror as you were being branded in thin air. Your teeth gritted as your breaths became shallower until finally the pain dispersed and you laid down on your back against the tatami mat.

"Should I even fucking look?" You grumbled to yourself as you wiped away the sweat from your forehead."Fucking hell."

You closed your eyes as you tugged at the fabric once more and then peeped at the area that was literally scorching to find that your skin was etched into. Intricate markings that resembled a tattoo of a beautiful looking fox was debossed across your collarbones and shoulder. You searched the room for a mirror and you found one tucked into one of the bookshelves and moved into the light as you caught a reflection of it getting a better look at it. The more you analyzed it, the more it looked familiar to you.

A sudden rapping at your door made your body rattle.

"Good morning, [surname]-san! We have a change of clothing for you and a bath ready whenever you feel comfortable!" You heard one of the girls say. You couldn't make out who was who.

You had remembered before you were literally branded, that a talking crow had announced that Oyakata-sama had summoned you to his estate.

"Oh! And Oyakata-sama is waiting for you by the engawa! So please do hurry!" Another voice piped up.

You hurriedly hid your shoulder and tightened the belt of your yukata as you rushed to the shoji and slid it open. "Oh! Let's get you to that bath! Follow us!"

"Do all the crows around here talk?" You rose an eyebrow at them as you followed them to the bath they had prepared.

"Yes! They are used to relay information between demon slayers. I imagine one of them had alarmed you this morning." Sumi smiled up at you and you felt yourself relax a little looking at her cute smiling face.

"I think Himejima-san mentioned something about that last night." You murmured to yourself as you were led into a room with a steaming tub.

A new set of clothes, towels among other toiletries were already gathered for you on the counter across. You don't think you could ever get used to something as luxurious as this.

"If you need anything just call for us!" Naho spoke up.

"Thanks, guys. I will definitely do that." You bowed to them and they bowed back making their exited, shutting the shoji behind them and they began to whisper to themselves again.

You raked a hand through your hair as you began to peel off your yukata to reveal your naked body and placed it on the chair by the bathtub. You touched at the branded spot and it was still warm to the touch as if it were exerting heat it itself.

You traced your fingers over it feeling every detail under the pads of your fingers. It really was beautiful. You reminded yourself to be aware of the time you had spent making Kagaya wait on you so you dipped your fingers into the steaming water and then immersed your whole body slowly. A content sigh emitted from your lips as you began to clean yourself with the hot water. You were a little annoyed that there weren't any cleansing products to clean your body or hair with, but if you were truly in the Taisho Period than it would make sense to only wash yourself with hot water.

After you had finished up in the bath you searched around for anything, something to clean your teeth with but you had only found a tassel with what looked like branches. You had heard of things like this that had antibacterial properties to them, but you always felt like they were a bunch of bs. Nevertheless, you began to use it and it made your once gritty and plaque covered teeth feel cleaner and cleaner.

You spit it out and began to dry yourself off and unfolded the new yukata that was set out for you. This time, it was red. Not an obnoxious and loud red, but it was slightly darker. You slipped it on without another thought making sure it was securely wrapped around your waist and covered your new tattoo. You hair was still slightly damp as you tried to comb through it. Not having any detangling products was really starting to get on your nerves.

After five minutes of fighting your comb, you finally dressed your hair neatly and began to make your way to the estate. You stopped mid way down the hall and blinked for a moment.

Wait a minute. Where was the estate, again?

"Caw! Caw! This way, you idiot!" You heard the crow from earlier squawk at you.

"How the hell was I suppose to know that?" You shook your fist at it.

"Only simpletons who don't belong here, don't know their way around here! Caw!"

"Why I oughta..." You grumbled to yourself, but before you could make any other remarks or possible actions that you may or may not regret, you heard a deep voice from beside you speak.

"Now, Seijun. You know, you aren't suppose to talk to our guest that way."

"Caw! I can't help that she has a pea sized brain!" Seijun called out taunting you.

"Yeah, says the bird brain!" You picked up a pebble attempting to throw it at the bird, but a strong hand had stopped you.

"I know he can be a pain sometimes, but patience is a virtue. Right, [surname]-san?"

You peered up to see that Gyomei was towering over you. A sweet smile on his face as the sun handsomely beat down on him. You felt you cheeks warm at the sight of him and his gentle touch.

He set your arm down slowly as he plucked the pebble out of your hand and tossed it across the lake and it skipped a few times before settling to the bottom of the water.

"It's nice to see you again, Himejima-san." You shly smiled at him and bowed slightly.

"And you. I'm glad to see you making your way so early to Oyakata-sama's estate."

"I'm early?" You tilted your head to the side.

"Yes, you're over an hour early."

"Caw! Caw! Idiot, [surname]-san! Caw!"

You looked above at the crow that was circling around the both of you, chaffing at you from above. You felt a nerve at your temple pop out slightly and Gyomei grinned down at your irascible self. It was cute how you got worked up so quickly.

"I'm gonna get that bird for brains if its the last thing I do." You grumbled as you approached the mansion.

All the Hashira seemed to be gathered around speaking to one another until Tengen jutted his your direction. Shinobu and Mitsuri waved you over and you bowed your head at them.

"Good morning, [name]-kun. Himejima-san. It's nice to see you so early." Shinobu smiled her usual smile at you.

"You look cute as usual, [name]-san!" Mitsuri cheered beside you.

You felt your cheeks warm again at their sweet words.

"That's a pretty boring yukata you have on." Tengen looked down at you distastefully.

You peered down at yourself. "Oh, the girls picked them out for me. Does it really look that bad?"

Tengen scoffed at you. "Yeah, it's drab. I could've totally picked something flashy for you!"

You raised your eyebrows at him.

"Next time, you can be in charge of my wardrobe." You replied sarcastically.

"I, for one think the color suits you!" Kyoujurou spoke up suddenly as he crossed his arms peering down at you.

"O-oh, thank you." You felt yourself fidget with your fingers as you brush the hair out of face.

Sanemi scoffed beside him and turned around to face the other way. He was beginning to get really irked by your presence. It was unnecessary for Oyakata-sama to even give you the time of day.

You ignored him trying to find the other Hashira. Muichiro seemed to be preoccupied with the clouds, while Obanai was staring down at you with an intense gaze that made the hair on your neck raise. He was one scary guy.

There was another person that seemed to be missing, but you couldn't place it.

"Oh, Tomioka-san, will you stop being such a drag and come over here with the rest of us." Shinobu teased in her gentle voice.

He gave her his usual stoic look before he sighed and approached the rest of the group. He stood by Shinobu quietly and then his piercing cerulean blue eyes found you.

"Are you not going to say something?" Shinobu asked, giving him a small nudge.

He looked down at her before shifting his gaze back over to you.

"Your hair is wet."

Everybody's mood seemed to shift at his awkwardness, but Mitsuri seemed to have a hard time trying to control her laughter which in turn made you giggle.

"Yeah, I don't know how to dry my hair in this era without a hair dryer." You touched your hair as it dripped down on your yukata.

"You can find those in the city or in more populated areas with hair salons." Shinobu spoke up.

"Oh shit, you guys have cities? Here I thought there wasn't anything technologically advanced in a twenty mile radius." You twisted your hair between your fingers and more droplets slid down.

Before anyone could reply everyone was bowing toward the estate and you took that as Kagaya making his entrance.

"Hello, my children." He spoke. His voice sent a pleasant feeling down your body.

"[name], would you please come here." You looked up to see that he was beaconing towards you and you pushed yourself up to meet with him face-to-face.

His wife smiled gently at you as you sat down in front of him and he placed his hands ontop of yours and you dryly gulped reminding yourself to stay cool, calm and collected.

"Is something the matter?" His smile dropped as he squeezed your hand urging for you to answer.

Even though he could not see you, you felt your gaze falter. Somehow, he knew something was wrong.

"I don't know if it's safe to tell you." You murmured, feeling everyone's eyes on you.

"You can tell me anything, my child."

And you really did feel like you could tell him anything. He had to have some sort of power in his voice because you found yourself showing your shoulder off and the eyes of every individual seemed to widen at the sight of you doing so.

"Hey, you--!" Tengen began to say, but Kagaya held a finger up to his mouth with a small smile.

"She is trying to show you a...a brand of some sort on her shoulder." Amane spoke softly as she gazed down at it in awe and then up at you. "May I?"

You nodded at her, already feeling comfortable with her presence as well. Her fingers brushed across your skin and a small gasp left her lips.

"What is it, Amane?" Kagaya asked beside her.

"She has the brand of Amaterasu."

Silence filled the air as the spring breeze whisked past and it felt like forever before anyone spoke. The smile on Kagaya's face seemed to grow as he gave your hands another squeeze causing you to look at him.

"Well, I guess it's time for a visit, then."

* * *

The trip to the Divine Springs was exhausting. There was no car nor horse or whatever the case may be to aid with travel to the lake that you for whatever reason needed to visit. Well, according to Amane and Kagaya, you had to visit Amaterasu and bring her an offering. As if her scorching your shoulder wasn't enough?

You scoffed as you folded your arms and felt the cold stone hit your collarbones. Amane had given you an amber stone that she had attached to a golden chain and clasped it around your neck and instructed you how to offer the goddess it.

"First, you need to offer yen." She handed you a large lump sum of coins in a satchel and you lips parted at the weight of it. That must've been a lot of fuckin money. "When maximum offering is met, the pond will glow signaling that Amaterasu is healing. Usually,Tachigami who is the Celestial Brush god of Power Slash will take form of a rat with the same symbolic markings as Amaterasu will appear. She may just make an appearance herself without the need of another deity." She touched at the markings on your shoulder that almost seemed like they were glowing red. "Then you will make your offering and he will decide whether to upgrade to Amaterasu."

"Then," She place lifted her warm hand to yours to touch the stone that nestled between your collarbones. "You give her your offering. Only then will she speak with you."

"Are you going to ever stop making those annoying noises?" Sanemi spoke. Annoyance filled his voice and it made you jump slightly.

You felt a little embarrassed that he was listening to all the times you let out a huff, but you weren't going to apologize for it either. Who the hell makes someone travel by foot for miles on end? It was ridiculous.

"Your fault for not having an Uber." You grumbled, fingering at your chain.

"Uber this! Uber that! Can you shut the fuck up about that, already?"

You grimaced at him. "Excuse me?"

"Shinazugawa-san." Gyomei's voice interrupted your conversation and you both clamped your mouths shut.

The power this man held.

"If it makes the journey quicker, would you be comfortable with climbing onto my shoulder so that it would be easier for us to sprint there." Gyomei stopped in front of you and you blinked up at him several times.

"U-um." You began getting nervous.

Sanemi groaned and rolled his eyes. "We don't have all fuckin' day!"

You felt the same vein pop out from earlier as you glared at him.

"Only if you feel comfortable, [surname]-san. It would be convenient for all parties involved."

You swallowed your saliva and nodded. "Okay."

He bent his knees and so that he was to your level, or so he thought.

"Uh, Himejima-san...?"

"You're still too tall for her to climb on." Sanemi spoke up for you.

Gyomei's eyebrows raised for a moment and offered his arm. "My apologies. Would you like me to help you?"

Your fingernails embedded moons into your skin and you let out a small huff. "Please."

He smiled and you walked forward to meet your smaller form with his arm and he lifted you with ease as he placed you on one shoulder. You were shocked to say the least.

"Holy shit, no one has ever picked me up like I was nothing." You spoke in awe as you peered down at the ground and then to Sanemi who was rolling his eyes at you.

You poked your tongue out at him and now it was his turn to have his vein pop out of his temple and you giggled at him. You returned your attention to the view.

"The weather up here is different." You joked and you heard something incoherent from Sanemi as Gyomei chuckled.

"Not that much different." Gyomei replied, readjusting your figure on his shoulder getting ready to start.

It was hard to control how nervous you felt. You were sure that he could feel how hard your heart was pounding against your chest as your ribcage slightly rested against the side of his head. Nonetheless, you felt warm and safe in his arms. You subconsciously moved your arm to the other side of his shoulder and he immediately noticed your shift in position.

"Himejima-san before you guys start running like a pair of track stars. Can I ask you something." You said suddenly. He hummed in response ignoring Sanemi's crude remarks. "how do you see?"

He didn't say anything for a moment, not because your question was rude. No, that was not the reason at all. He was trying to figure out how to describe it in a way that you would understand, but you were an adult so he would speak to you like one.

You on the other hand, had feared that you offended him. You bit your lip as you waited for him to response as Sanemi walked beside him silently. Almost as if he weren't there.

"I have gained the ability to see the Transparent World. In other words, even though I can naturally sense the world around me, I can also create images of anyone around me in my mind. It's quite a concept to grasp."

You thought for a moment. "So, you can see my aura or whatever?"

He smiled. "Basically."

"Are you done, yet? Let's get going already." Sanemi interrupted once again and you gave him a look which he ignored.

"Yes, we should get going. [surname]-san, I'd be happy to answer your questions after we're finished."

"Fine." You frowned slightly.

"Are you ready?" He asked as he wrapped his large bicep around your swinging legs. You felt a strange feeling blossom within your chest.

"Yes." It was barely audible, but he heard you loud and clear.

"Let's go." His voice was firm as held you in his sturdy arms.

And with that he was traveling at the speed of light along side of Sanemi and your hair unraveled as it flew behind you and you had never felt so exhilirated in your life. Trees turned into a hodgepodge of greens and browns as sunlight penetrated through the leaves. You felt yourself grinning as you held on tight to Gyomei. You wondered if he could sense how fast your heart was beating.

"It should be just up ahead." Sanemi called out and Gyomei only nodded as they began to slow down.

Your eyelids fluttered for a moment, redjusting your vision as you rubbed your eyes and then opened them again.

A lake that looked rather mundane and a little swampy if you said so yourself had appeared in your line of vision.

“This is it?” You were disappointed to say the least.

“According to the directions, Amane-sama gave to us this should be the correct place.” Gyomei said looking around.

”This place is a dump.” Sanemi said what you were both thinking as he picked at his ear.

Gyomei set you down carefully and you felt a little saddened at the loss of of his warmth.

“So what now? I just claim I have an offering and dump the coins in there?” You asked taking the hefty velvet bag out of your pouch.

“I think as any other shrine we follow the same steps of making an offering.” Gyomei stated as he took his prayer beads within his larger hands and pressed his hands together.

You stared at him until your realized Sanemi was doing the same and you quickly pressed your hands together. One eye open (when your sleeping one eyeEeEee) peering up at Gyomei and the other shut in concentration.

They bowed and you followed.

"Can we skip the purification ritual?" Sanemi looked at the algae filled water in disgust, watching as his image rippled in the water.

"No." Gyomei replied as he bent down and you repeated after him. You weren't used too making offerings and prayers to the "gods and goddesses".

Sanemi grumbled to himself as he did the same and once you were finished you took out the coin satchel and began to ceremoniously drop them into the pond. At first nothing happened and you turned your head to look up at Gyomei who was facing the water and staring intently at it.

"Keep going." He ordered and you followed.

"Do you see something?" You asked as you dropped more coins in.

"It's very faint, but there is energy emerging with every coin you drop in."

"Interesting." You murmured and took a huge handful of coins and dropped them in.

"It's definitely growing."

Sanemi stood over you silently as he watched you drop the coin in. "What would happen if you just dumped the whole thing in."

You peered up at him and then shrugged. "Let's see."

You thought that Gyomei would have stopped you, but he only observed the lake as you proceeded to dispose of the entire bag into the lake.

"Anything?" You asked and nodded.

"It's larger, but I think we need to complete prayer before she appears." Gyomei suggested and you pushed yourself off of the ground as he pulled out the incense and handed one to you and Sanemi.

He lit them both with a box of matches and instructed you how to extinguish them. As the fire without leaving a trail of smoke in the air, his ears perked up and he turned around to see that there was a small ancient looking ashtray with a small rope and bell that you could only assume is where you tossed the rest of the incense in.

"Was that there before?" You inquired as he stepped up to it.

"The offering must've made these appear. The next step is to ring the bell and clap your hands twice before summoning her."

You sighed as you scratched at the back of your head. "This is a lot for an offering, no?"

"Would you hurry up?" Sanemi sneered, as he brushed past you knocking you a little off of your feet.

"Are you always this annoying?" You grumbled following behind him and he ignored you as he watched Gyomei ring the bell and clap his hands together.

After Sanemi had finished it was your turn.

"Okay, so ring the bell and clap twice." You reinstructed yourself out loud.

"Do you always talk before you do something?" Sanemi piped up.

You ignored him and began the ritual and closed your eyes.

Amaterasu...if you can hear me, please speak to me.

You opened one of your eyes to peer around, but nothing was happening.

"Uh, so how long are we suppose to wait?" You asked to no one in particular.

"Be patient." Gyomei replied as he sat down and concentrated.

You felt a comforting warmth on your chest where the amber stone of your necklace lay and your eyes fluttered open to look down at it now glowing in the sunlight. Just then the lake began to sparkle and began to transform right in front of your eyes as the sunlight shone down on it. The swampy green algae filled lake turned golden as small waterfalls seemes to appear and dribbled down into the lake. Plants began to blossom growing taller as an etheral woman emerged from the water. He black hair cascaded around her shoulders as the golden and amber jewelry on his body glistened. The head piece on the top of her hair was in the shape of a sun and it glimmered the brightest as she seemed to levitate in front of you. The kimono she wore was white with a red sash and golden embellishments and she gathered herself towards you. Notable red and black swirled patterns were embroidered into the hem and sleeves of her kimono. Golden flames had surrounded her as you involuntarily stepped forward.

She smiled at you as she raised her hand towards you and you felt drawn to her. It was glowing the same way in your dream.

"You were in my dream." You spoke finally.

"You recognize my hand, my child?" Her voice echoed beautifully through out the forest and you nodded.

You felt compelled to show her your brand and a smile graced her red lips. "Your marking has healed beautifully."

Her hand was warm as she placed it in on your tattoo as she traced it with her fingers. Her molten golden hues shifted to the glistening stone on your neck and she lifted it to her fingertips.

"Is the offering good enough?"

She hummed in response as she looked over at your two companions who seemed to be frozen in place. Sanemi with a bored expression on his face while Gyomei was still concentrating.

"Why are they not moving?" You tried to turn towards them, but you felt frozen in place. "Why can't I move?"

"Because I have not permitted it yet." She spoke to you as she made her way in front of you again.

"I have given you these markings because I have bestowed a power inside of you. This stone will serve as an amulet to protect you and store most of your powers in." She pressed her hand to your chest and it glowed.

You wrist where you were grabbed at in your dream began to faintly lit up and they felt warm. Warm like a mother's touch.

"What do you mean most of my powers?"

"I have given you the Breath of the Sun that causes your skin to burn with every new marking. This is only part of where your power lies and you can activate it through the training of another Sun user. The other part, lies in the stone."

"How do I unlock it?"

"You must wait on the day of the Summer Solstice and stand in front of the sun's highest point in the sky when you arrive at my shrine, Ise Jingu."

"And then?"

Her smile grew showing her pearly white teeth. "And then you will find the answers to all your questions."

You face dropped at her words. How awfully poetic of her. "I don't get why you can't just tell me."

She laughed melodiously. "Mortals, are awfully amusing. It would be too easy for me to just simply give you the answer."

How annoying. But before you could open your mouth to speak.

Her hands began to glow and you recalled it from your dream as they grabbed at your wrist. She pressed her left hand against your chest and the other at your left wrist and they began to burn with an intensity that should've melted your skin right off, but they did not.

She placed her fingers to her lips and increased the pressure against your chest. "This is all I can leave you with."

"But you didn't answer--" And it was in that moment that you felt the same unbearable burning feeling in the middle of your chest and left wrist.

You collapsed to the ground as the goddess began to sink back into the lake and the forest around you began to return to its original state.

"[surname]-san!...[surname]-san...!" Was the last thing you heard before your vision faded to black and it was still again.

* * *

"Why is she not stable, yet?" Kagaya asked, worry etched into his features as Amane clasped onto his hands.

"She has a fever that is breaking my thermostat, and no fever reducers are working on her. It seems to be something out of my hands." Shinobu spoke up.

There was a faint anger and frustration that was bubbling in her chest as she spoke. It was not very evident to most, but it was, however evident to the red haired boy behind her.

"Very well." He spoke. Neither a smile, nor a frown on his face.

"Did anything else happen after she collasped?"

"Her markings advanced across her chest and left wrist. It must be an after effect, until the brand heals." Gyomei spoke as he held onto his prayer beads tightly.

He was worried for you and as much as Sanemi didn't want to admit it, he was as well. It wasn't everyday he got to see someone collaspe to the ground as their body went up in smoke from brandings of a goddess.

"I want round the clock care, for [name]. She is not to be left alone under any circumstances." Kagaya ordered the seating Hashira and demon slayers around them.

"Carry on, my children." He returned to his normal state. A smile on his features as he spoke calmly to the slayers again and they all began to file out.

"Shinobu-san"

She stood in her place as the redhaired boy approached her with his two other unusual friends. "Hello, Tanjiro-kun. I must get going to [name]."

The smile seemed to be etched on her face was only a facade. He could smell the frustration on her.

"Don't be upset, Shinobu-san. Like Gyomei said. It's nothing that can be helped. We just need to wait."

She shut her eyes and smiled at him as she began to walk away from them. "I'll keep that in mind, Tanjiro-kun."

It was selfish. The feeling that was brimming in her spirit. Nothing can be helped? That was ridiculous.

It pained her to say that it chipped away at her ego to not have anything work on a patient. She had had many times before where "things could not be helped", but that was long ago when she was young and foolish. With you though, it felt a little different. Even setting aside most of her pride, she was sad. The type of strain that your brandings were pushing your body was beyond the limit of an average human being. Humans were fragile.

Scratch that. Normal human beings were fragile.

Normally, this would just be another death she would have to come face-to-face with as she has seen it happen over and over again from victims of demons, but this felt personal. The idea of you not making it, was simply driving her insane.

* * *

You awaken to the sound of birds chirping and the gentle spring breeze caressing at your skin and hair. Your eyes fluttered open and you were laying on your back. Sudden warmth emanated on the surface of your left wrist and chest. You touch the bare skin of your chest and your skin feels like its protruding with more markings. A small inhale and exhale leaves your lips as you touch your wrist not wanting to look at it but knowing there are more there.

"They're quite beautiful markings, you know."

His voice was deep and tranquil as it entered your ears. Your [e/c] hues shifted to meet his gaze. He was sitting in a chair to your left with his large hands in his lap as he faced you.

"You can see them?"

"They're etched into your spirit." He scooted closer to your relaxed form as he took your left wrist in his hand.

His hands were cool in comparison to your overly heated ones. He traced over the markings with his fingers and you felt a trail of goosebumps raise under his touch.

"They burn a benevolent golden fire. Much like Rengoku-san, but it's different. Nothing like I have ever seen before, but that's the Sun goddess for you." He spoke softly as he felt over the red markings that stopped just above your wrist.

You didn't know what to even say in response. You suddenly felt warm, and not because the Sun goddess had touched you.

"Did you see her?"

He stopped for a moment. His eyebrows slightly furrowed. "No, Sanemi and I did not see her the way you must have."

"How do you know I saw her?"

Dumb question.

"I felt her presence all around you. She had no ill intention as far as I could tell." His hand covered yours entirely. "Don't be afraid."

His other hand pushed the loose strands of hair that were encased in stale sweat stuck to your skin away from your face. "That's what she told Sanemi and me."

Your eyes widened. "She spoke to you both?"

He held up on finger. "Only that one time. After that it fell silent, but only for a moment and then we saw you writhing on the ground in pain. You mumbled something about the Ise Jingu, but you fell unconscious."

"For how long?"

"Three days now."

Your body jolted forward as you looked at him incredulously. "Three days?!"

"I knew I heard something annoying." Sanemi's head popped in and you rolled your eyes.

"Nice to see you, too." You mumbled as you watched him waltz into the room. "Can I help you?"

This prompted a vein to protrude from his forehead making you chuckle. "I only wanted to see if you were dead or not."

"Sureee." You raised your eyebrows and looked away as if to tease him.

"I wouldn't really care if you did."

"Mhm."

"I'm serious."

"Whatever."

But before Sanemi could make yet, another excuse you sensed the Insect Hashira's presence. "It's nice to finally see you're awake."

You smiled at her feeling elated that she had come to see you. "It's nice to be awake."

Right after she had entered the room, Sumi, Naho and Kiyo had filed in carrying trays of food. "[surname]-san! It's so nice to see you awake!"

Your grin growing wider at the girls blushing cheeks. "We brought you food!"

You blinked at them several times. "All of this is for me?"

Each tray had at least one serving on it, but by that time you heard your stomach grumble.

"You will need all the energy you can get." Gyomei said as he began to stand up from his seat.

"I made sure that Aoi added extra nutrients and beneficial ingredients to keep your strength up. Amaterasu's markings have taken a huge toll on your body and you need to replenish it until your body says its had enough." Shinobu pipes up as she held a finger in the air and the girls set your food on on a tray beside you and on your lap.

"Well, I'll make sure to thank Aoi when I can." You smiled at them. "Thank you, again. This all looks very delicious."

"Well, we'll leave you to it!" Sumi said and the three girls bowed out and left.

"I'm sure you want a little peace and quiet before things get hectic again." Shinobu smiled as she approached the edge of your bed fixing you sheets.

"How do you mean?" You asked taking a spoon full of rice and shoving it into your mouth.

"I'm sure Kocho-san can fill you in after you revitalize your spirit." Gyomei spoke before she could.

She clamped her mouth shut and smiled as she peered up at him. "Of course, Himejima-san. I'll be sure to tell Oyakata-sama you're awake. He'll be happy to hear it."

You gave me her a content smile and a thumbs up since your mouth was chalk full of food. She left the room leaving you with Sanemi and Gyomei.

"I have better things to do then stand around here and watch you eat." Sanemi spoke up as he started to leave the room.

You snorted. "Thanks for checking up on me."

He felt his body stiffen at your words and that apples of cheeks tight as he pressed his lips into a thin line. "Just don't die."

And with that he left.

"What a guy. Are you going to stay here with me, Himejima-san?" You asked him as he faced the window and then to you.

"Yes, I have a duty to watch over you."

"Oyakata-sama's orders?"

"You could say that."

You raised an eyebrow at him. "What do you mean?"

"I'd be here with or without orders."

You stared up at him as he stood there hands behind his back as he closed his eyes and let the spring air fill the room and gently kiss at his skin and rake their blossoming fingers through his onyx hair. What was the sudden fixation for? You had no idea, but you admired him a lot.

"Himejima-san, I--"

He turned to you for a moment, but an unfamiliar voice called your attention.

"[surname]-san! It's a pleasure to meet you and see you awake!" The redhaired boy bowed down to you. He carried a wooden box on his back and a dark scar covered the corner of his forehead.

"KYAAAAA!! YOU DIDN'T WARN ME THAT SHE WAS THAT PRETTY!!" The blonde boy screamed next to him as he struggled to keep himself from collasping

You blinked back in surprise as you watched the two boys bicker. Well, actually it was the yellow haired boy shaking the red head while a boarheaded human stepped up and pointed to himself with his thumb.

"I'm Inosuke Hashibira! God of the Mountains!"

Both of the boys beside him stopped what they were doing and their faces fell flat at him.

"What an imbecile." The yellow haired boy deadpanned as he still had the redhead's collar in his grasp, he shortly let go.

"I'm Agatsuma Zenitsu!" The yellow haired boy bowed at you.

"Oh, my apologies! I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Kamado Tanjiro!" He bowed after him and pointed to the wooden box on his back. "And this is my sister, Nezuko!"

You covered your mouth and giggled. "Your sister is a wooden box?"

"No, she can't come out just yet because it's daylight." He smiled at you as he straightened up.

Your heart dropped to your stomach and your lips parted for a moment as panic surged through your body. Gyomei had sensed your apprehensiveness and placed a comforting hand on your shoulder.

"Nezuko is a demon." Gyomei informed beside you and your eyes widened confirming your beliefs to be true.

"But she won't hurt you! Or any humans for that matter!" Tanjiro immediately piped up.

"Yes, while she is a demon, Nezuko has proven that she isn't a danger to humans." You relaxed a bit hearing that. "Still, most of the Hashira do not wish to accept her as a demon slayer. It was only at Oyakata-sama's request that we did not kill her."

You were shocked to hear that many of the Hashira technically went against Kagaya's wishes and struggled against their natural instincts to not annilihate her.

"But Nezuko and I will work hard together to make sure that we are recognized by all the demon slayer corps!" He said with a fist in the air. "And soon she will be human, again."

"Demons can turn human, again?" You tilted your head to the side feeling your hands sweat under the sheets.

"There has been no cases of this ever taking place, but there is a legend of blue spider lily that is supposedly the cure." Gyomei spoke beside you.

"It's not impossible." Tanjiro said with full resolve as he stared intently at Gyomei.

His eyes were now on your wrist that was riddled with Amaterasu's markings. "Are those the markings of the Sun goddess?"

You finally glanced down at your left wrist for the first time. The markings were red and in the same swirling patterns that were on Amaterasu's kimono. You felt same warmth coming from the markings from before. As they caught in the light, they began to glimmer a golden color and you stared at it in awe.

"Whoa." Zenitsu spoke up first as he glanced down at your wrist reflecting in the sunlight.

"That is... incredible. [surname]-san, may I?" He asked and you nodded as you felt an immense amount of energy and warmth flow from his finger tips the moment he touched you.

The markings seemed to glow at his touch.

"Tanjiro, your scar!" Zenitsu exclaimed.

The boy touched at his forehead and he noticed it felt the same temperature as your etchings.

"It's glowing, too." You pointed at his scar that was glistening golden.

"Kinda like Edward Cullen..." You said more so to yourself.

"Who's that?" He asked absentmindedly as he rubbed over his forehead.

"No one." You said quickly and then pulled away for a moment to see if it would disappear.

The glow and the warmth died down slow and the room went silent as they gawked at the both of you. You kept placed your hand on top of his and letting go several times just to make sure. He had to have had the mark of a Sun User.

You smiled at him. "I guess you and me are cut from the same cloth, huh?"

He shared your smile. A light blush dashing his cheeks and this for some reason sent Zenitsu into a frenzy grasping at Tanjiro's collar again.

"HOW DARE YOU TOUCH A CUTE GIRL IN FRONT OF ME LIKE THAT!!"

You honestly had no idea how to react to this situation. Being that they were kids and you were an adult that had zero interest in anything remotely romantic with a child. Still, it was humorous to watch as Zenitsu's eyes popped out of his skull and Tanjiro merely stood there taking it. Inosuke on the other hand, was from what you gathered with his boar head on, stared at your tattoos.

"Do you ever take that thing off?" You inquired and he faced you for a moment.

"Yeah, aren't you getting tired of how that thing smells?" Zenitsu paused his actions for a moment as he spoke to Inosuke.

"No! This stays on--"

"Inosuke!" You heard a female voice call out and you turned your attention to the doorway.

There stood a girl about the same age with her dark hair pulled into pigtails and deep blue eyes. "I told you to leave your mask in your room so I can clean it!"

She marched over to him and he began to run away from her.

"Does this always happen?" You asked Gyomei.

"A lot more than it should." He replied as they continued their chaotic actions until Aoi successfully pulled off Inosuke's mask.

It was probably the most shocking part of your morning. Inosuke blinked for a moment as Aoi triumphantly smiled. You hadn't realized you had a hand over your mouth until Tanjiro spoke to you in a lower voice.

"Yeah, that was our reaction, too."

"He looks..." You paused for a moment as you took Inosuke's startling appearance. "like a pretty girl."

"I'm not a girl!!" Inosuke suddenly burst out and jabbed his thumb as his chest. "I'm god of the Mountains!!"

His emerald green eyes shined in the sunlight and his long eyelashes fluttered, looking as if they tickled his slight eyebags.

"He's nothing special." Aoi crossed her arms as she watched Zenitsu and Tanjiro hold him back from trying to get his boar head back.

"Aoi-kun." You smiled at her and she turned toward you. "Thank you very much for the meals. They're absolutely delicious. You have a real knack for cooking."

Her cheeks blossomed a sakura pink as she shifted her eyes to the ground. "Well, I'm glad I can be of use."

You slurped up a huge portion of your soba before speaking to her again. "I bet Inosuke-kun tries to sneak your cooking all the time."

"Not true!" He exclaimed getting out of their grip and rushing toward Aoi and grabbed his mask while he made a run for it.

She sighed and hit her palm to her forehead. You gave her a sheepish smile. "Sorry."

She shook her head. "It's not your fault. He's always a pain about it."

"I think you should all let [surname]-san rest, don't you think so?" Gyomei's voice interjected causing everyone to look at him and go stiff.

"Of course, Himejima-san" Aoi bowed and began to make her exit.

"Aoi-kun!" You called out and she poked her head through the doorway. "Feel free to come visit me when you have the time."

A small smile etched onto her face and nodded in acknowledgement. "Mmm!"

"We're sorry!" Tanjiro and Zenitsu bowed toward the both of you and you laughed.

"It's alright." You waved them off. "I'm not actually bothered by any of your presences, but maybe Himejima-san is right. I think I may need to rest for a little longer."

"Do you feel alright?" Gyomei placed a comforting hand on your back and you felt flustered under his touch.

"Yes, I'm fine." You said softly back.

Tanjiro and Zenitsu's eyes widened as they watched how gently you two spoke to one another. Unbeknownst to you there was a different kind of smell that Tanjiro could sense. A new feeling that budding between the both of you.

"[surname]-san, if it's okay with you, Nezuko would like to visit you more often. I think there is something that we have in common." He bowed to you.

"Of course." You felt your voice tremble a little thinking of the demon sister he was just casually slinging on his back. "You know, from what I can recall of meeting with the Sun goddess, she had mentioned something about me being a Sun user." You looked down at your new tattoos and then back up at him. "Do you know anything about that?"

"You have a breath now?" Gyomei questioned.

"Eh?" Tanjiro and Zenitsu looked puzzled.

"Just like that?" Tanjiro asked.

"Um," You looked away as fiddled with the bed sheets. "I mean I guess. I didn't really know what she meant by that."

"Every breath originates from the Sun breathing technique. There aren't any known books on Sun Breathing. It's a lost art." Gyomei stated.

"Right, I wanted to ask Rengoku-san about my father's flame breathing. Maybe it's connected to that." Tanjiro pondered for a moment.

"Maybe..." You trailed off thinking about Amaterasu and how she spoke about your necklace.

You involuntarily clasped at it and Gyomei noticed this. "Your necklace."

You peered up at him. "Did she bless it?"

You looked back down at the amber stone and watched as it sparkled in the sun. "She told me that on the day of the Summer Solstice I need to stand in front of the sun when it is at the highest point in the at the Ise Jingu to unlock the rest of my powers."

"That has to be at noon." Zenitsu suddenly spoke up.

"Did she say anything else?" Gyomei asked.

You shook your head. "No, she wouldn't answer anything else which was really annoying actually. And then she touched my hand and my chest and I felt this insurmountable amount of pain."

"That must've been when you collasped." Gyomei remembered your blood curdling screams vividly.

"Yeah, and then I woke up here. That's really about it."

"The Ise Jingu is located near the city of Ise in Mie ken." Gyomei said clasping his prayer beads. "The only problem is, no one can enter unless they are priests, priestesses or apart of the Japanese Imperial family. Unfortunately, The Demon Slayer Corps is not recognized by the government."

It went quiet for a moment.

"So, what you're saying is we have to sneak in." You rubbed your hands together thinking about how cool a covert operation sounds right now.

"It's not as easy as you think it is." Gyomei spoke.

"Yeah, I mean you kinda stick out like a sore thumb." You joked, but he did not laugh. You clamped your lips shut.

"This is serious [surname]-san."

"I know, I'm sorry. I'm not good with these particular situations. Sarcasm and making light of serious situations is my go too coping mechanisms." You rubbed the back of your neck and Gyomei features softened noting that you had become embarrassed.

"We'll figure out a plan. Until then, we will work on getting you back into health and start training."

"We'll get you into tip top shape, [surname]-san!" Tanjiro exclaimed with a fist in the air.

Zenitsu seemed to be exhausted by the mere conversation you all we're having. "Yet another thing I'm getting dragged into."

"What's the date?" You asked seearching for a calendar in the room.

"The eighteenth of March. The Summer Solstice is on the twenty first of June. So we have some time until then. For now, eat and take your rest."

The Stone Hashira looked out the window. "The Spring Solstice is in two days. Oyakata-sama will be sure to have some sort of festivities. He's keen on those things."

"Aw, man. I hope we don't miss it." Zenitsu started to look depressed at the thought of being on a mission the day of Spring Solstice."

"I don't think I've ever celebrated the Solstice before. What's it like?" You asked thinking about how handsome Gyomei would look in a yukata.

"What's that smile on your face for?" Zenitsu eyed your smiling face.

Tanjiro held a finger up and began to explain."Well, on the day of the Solstice it's tradition to visit family graves and have reunions. You spent a lot of time appreciating nature and living things."

"Oyakata-sama doesn't make it mandatory to come to any of the festivities, but all the Hashira congregate. It's not closed off to other demon slayers." Gyomei added.

"Oh, so there isn't like any dressing up or vendors?" You felt your shoulders slump.

Gyomei felt your sudden sadness. "Maybe, Oyakata-sama can arrange something special for you. He's taken quite a liking to you since you've arrived."

You instantly brightened. "Really? You think so?"

Tanjiro and Zenitsu watched as you two interacted with another and they began to feel as if they were interrupting something.

"Well, we'll see ourselves out." Tanjiro began as his and Zenitsu's cheeks tinged pink. "May you have a quick recovery!"

The pair bowed to you both and said their goodbye's and sighed as you raked your hand through you hair.

"I didn't mention this before, but you're healing remarkably quick and your aura it seems to grow stronger by the second." Gyomei spoke up.

"Really?"

He nodded and sat back down in his seat as he let his body rest against the back of the chair cushion. You observed how he let the muscles in his body relax as the silhouette of the trees branches danced over his skin.

Fuck, I'm doing it again.

"Do you have something on your mind?"

"Huh?" You felt your body jump slightly at his voice and your cheeks warmed as your eyes casted downward. "Oh, nothing I just--"

You heart began to speed up and you had no idea what to say.

"[surname]-san."

"Yes?" You looked up at him and his head was faced toward the window as he leaned his elbow on the chairs arm rest and rest his hand on his palm.

"I find comfort in your company."

You blinked at him in surprise as your felt your fingers fidgeting with the white sheets again.

"Was that awkward to say?"

You nervously giggled to yourself as you pulled at the strings in the comforter and shook your head. "Not at all. I feel the same way actually."

Pink sprinkled at his cheeks as he fiddled with his prayer beads and smiled in your direction. You felt your heart flutter at the sight of him as you clasped onto the cloth covering your chest. You couldn't remember the last time you felt so drawn to another person.

"I'm glad."

taglist: @kashasenpai @scoven @yunho-leeknow @moni-sama @donpixter

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forsworned · 3 years ago

Text

+warnings. none

+word count. 6.3k

+categories. f/m

+relationships. hashira x reader, kagaya ubuyashiki x reader

+characters. hashira, kagaya ubuyashiki guest appearance(s): sumi, naho, kiyo, goto, aoi

+author’s note. okay okay OKAY I AM SORRY FOR NOT INCLUDING DEMON APPEARANCE YET OKAY ITLL HAPPEN SOONER THAN YOU THINK I JUST NEED A BETTER BUILD UP ALRIGHT BUT ENJOY THIS UPDATE AND THE ILLUSTRATIONS DONE BY ME IN HERE {and as always if u wanna b included in the taglist just let me know!!}

+summary. reader is in a slum because she is having trouble embracing her new abilities and well, because she feels like a certain someone will not be making the festivities that were happening at sundown. mitsuri and shinobu help drag her out of her misery.

+chapter(s). one(unedited) two three five

「chapter four: spring equinox」 [part one]

It had been two days since the incident at the Divine Springs happened and you were already feeling back to being a hundred percent yourself. In fact, it felt more like a hundred and ten percent. If Amaterasu had given you powers than maybe it had to do with the fact that you felt like your vitality was through the roof. Especially during the day when the sun was at the highest point in the sky. Your markings would glow and glisten in the sun rays and you would take in as you laid in the plush grass. Who needed a 9-5 job when you were blessed by a Sun goddess. Edward Cullen had nothing on you.

"Enjoying your time?"

You opened your eyes to see Gyomei towering over you with a small smile.

"I'm enjoying it a lot more now." You replied with a playful grin.

His eyes softened at your words as you turned over to your stomach and pushed yourself up into a sitting position and patted the spot next to you. He accepted your gesture and sat beside you. It was quiet for a moment as the breeze flitted past your forms and the sakura blossoms whisked around in the air. You laughed as they made their way around the both of you and you reached your hand out involuntarily leaned forward into him. Your excitement raising as you became entranced by the pink petals swirling around and you didn't notice how close you had gotten to him. He could only continue smiling at you as he watched your ever-changing energy vibrate and sparkle in harmony and vim.

"It's so pretty." You murmured.

"Nothing in comparison to what's in front of me right now."

You felt your eyes widened at his words and the apples of your cheeks squeezed tightly against your visage. Slowly the blossoms that once danced around you fluttered to the lush grass beneath you and you were sitting there a hair breadth's apart.

"[name]-kun!"

Your eyes suddenly fluttered open and you were in your new room again. The stale sweet clung to your baby hairs as you raked your fingers through your hair. The summer heatwave was blazing today hence why you woke up drenched in your own sweat.

"What a dream..." You murmured as you stared at the ceiling wiping away the wetness that saturated your forehead.

It felt so real. You wondered if your body would take well to the sun today. For some reason you felt a little apprehensive and you hadn't stepped into the sunlight since seeing how it reacted the other day. Countless hashira, demon slayers and staff had tried to get you out of your room, but to no avail. Especially since Gyomei was not there. He had gone off on a mission and he was expected to be back before noon.

While you didn't doubt that he would return then, you still felt this sadness that clung to your spirit. When he was there, you didn't feel like doing as much then when he was and that was a problem.

You couldn't even remember the last time you had been this lovestruck by someone. It was actually pretty embarrassing.

"[name]-kun!" The shoji slid wide open and there Mitsuri and Shinobu stood as their heads looked down at your depressed and sweaty form.

"Oh my Heavens," Shinobu and Mitsuri quickly covered their noses. "It smells like something died in here."

You quickly turned away and buried your head under the covers. Great it was double trouble, again.

"Leave me alone!" You grumbled.

"Why haven't you left your room, [name]? Everyone has wanted to come see you, but you requested that they don't enter and leave things by the door." Mitsuri frowned at you.

You didn't answer her. The sound of the windows opening caught your attention and you scooted away from the light that came in.

"[name]-kun..." Shinobu began as she watched you finally emerge from the covers, but only in the darkest part of the room. "Are you hiding from the sunlight?"

"No." You replied too quickly and the pair gave each other a look before sighing.

"You can't hide from your own power! It's special and beautiful, just like you!" Mitsuri exclaimed passionately , but you only groaned.

"I don't wanna hear it."

"Don't be childish." Shinobu smiled down at you. "You're going to get yourself cleaned up and Aoi is going to serve you your favorite meal. Then we will prep you for coming outside."

You leaned your head against the shoji. "Why should I?"

"Because Oyakata-sama wants to see you at the festival tonight. He has refused to see you unless you allowed it. He fears that it will cause damaging reprecussions on your relationship with him." Shinobu answered.

You sighed feeling bad that you had been preventing Kagaya from seeing you. It was quite pathetic of you honestly. Not even the mentioning of the festival being on really excited you.

"Is it because Himejima-san isn't here?" Mitsuri questioned with a finger to her lips.

Shinobu emitted a small shocked sound that made a light bulb in her head flicker on. Her usual smile retured to her face, although it had a hint of mischief behind it. "[name]-kun?"

You heart thumped loudly against your chest not wanting to answer and them to make their leave already.

"Do you happen to have a crush on Himejima-san?"

You stayed silent for a moment as you glanced outside. It was beautiful. You let out a small sigh.

"I don't know."

They raised their eyesbrows in interest.

"And even if I did. It doesn't matter. I'm not even from this timeline, so it's pointless to try to get with the guy."

"But what if you were from this timeline?" Mitsuri questioned.

Shinobu blinked back in surprise as she looked at Mitsuri to you and thought for a moment.

"Eh?" You looked totally lost.

"Me?" You pointed to yourself.

"Well, it wouldn't be the most impossible thing." Shinobu mused.

"You're not seriously considering that are you?"

"Oh! Oh! What if your family sent you to the future to see how it was like, so that you could gather intel and then they shot you right back to our timeline. Your original timeline!" Mitsuri piped up getting excited.

"Like something that they saw that wasn't quite right..." Shinobu leaned his form against the wall.

It was quiet again. You didn't know what to think. Your parents? You didn't even know them. Your aunt and uncle had taken you in when you were a child and your parents were said to have been in some freak car accident where they were struck by lightning. But if they did come back to their original timeline why did you see their bodies in their caskets before they buried them. Even more, how did they know when to have sent you back. Were they spying on you?

*lots of unknown death tolls in the city

*promotion in the city

"No, that doesn't make sense. Or..." You were becoming increasingly frustrated with the situation at hand.

If they did do that, that would be incredibly shitty on their part. Did they not know that a child having their parents in their early years was a crucial part of their development. Sure your aunt and uncle were sweethearts and they would support you in all your endeavors and activities and even showed up to your softball games and parent days. Hell, you even celebrated Mother's and Father's Day with them. They had been your parents your entire life. Even supporting the decision you made to move to the city since getting a promotion.

"Do you know something?" Shinobu asked suddenly.

"I don't know. I don't anymore. This is all too much." You breathed out. You could use a shower or a bath in this case.

Your scalp felt awfully oily from the heat and you were sticky all over. You huffed as you began to get up from your bed and headed toward the shoji.

"Where are you going, [name]-kun?" Mitsuri inquired.

"To take a bath. I feel disgusting."

"I'll have the girls draw you a bath." Shinobu smiled triumphantly at you as you gave her a blank look.

You only nodded in response.

"Don't worry, [name]-kun. We'll make sure you and Himejima-san work out!" She whisper shouted as Shinobu made her way out to call to the girls.

You blinked back at her and began to fidget with the sleeves of your yukata. "Um, okay. I wonder if I'm his type..."

"You'd totally be anyone's type." Mitsuri gave you a thumbs up and sparkling wink.

You felt yourself relaxing a little. She gave you a reassuring smile.

"Thanks, Kanroji-san."

"Please, call me Mitsuri. We're friends after all."

You felt elated at her words. For a long time you were alone. Sure you had friends here and there through out your public school and college years, but none of them really stuck with you. It was unfortunate, but life was ever moving and you only walked forward. And soon as you knew it, you were working at a big shot job in the city with an more than adqueate salary that left you with a lot of disposable income. Life wasn't all that bad, just very lonely.

You gave her a soft smile back.

"Okay, Mitsuri."

* * *

Getting out of bed was one thing, but actually doing things that required the effort of beautifying yourself for whatever was going to happen tonight. You thought of him as you brushed out your hair. As sweet and as caring as Gyomei was to you, you noticed that he had a bit of a skeptical personality. More often than not, he would be facing in your direction simply staring at you and while most of your interactions felt wholesome, you could tell he had lingering thoughts about you. And not the kind of thoughts that you would usually think a man would have about another woman.

Like all the Hashira and the rest of the demon slayers, you had learned that they all had their fair share of emotional baggage. There were levels to this kind of thing that even you had a hard time peeling away at. However, you didn't want to rush getting to know anyone's painful past so you laid low for the most part. Even that was hard considering you were being watched at all times, so hanging out in your room was the smallest form of privacy you could find.

As you finished added the final touches to your make up, you stepped away looking at yourself in the mirror. Your yukata was golden with embroidered red peonies harmoniously scattered through out the fabric. The waist tie was a dark red and was neatly tied to the back. You looked at your hair wondering what could be done with it as you continued to brush through it.

"[surname]-san!" You heard a small voice peep up through the other side of the shoji.

"Yes, Sumi."

The shoji slid only opened up a little and you could make out her face through the crack. "Do you need help with anything?"

"Actually, could you help me with my hair? I have no idea what to do with it."

The shoji slid open revealing all three girls. "Count on us, [surname]-san!"

You sighed and smiled at them sheepishly. "How many times do I have to tell you to call me by my first name?"

* * *

"Okay, almost done." Kiyo stuck her tongue out in concentration as she added the finishing touches to your hair. "We didn't make it too dramatic. I'm sure you'll want that for the Summer Solstice."

"Or your wedding." Naho added while they giggled.

You felt your cheeks warm at the word. Wedding.

You never imagined yourself getting married. It was an odd concept to you. Wife and husband. A baby a few years later. The mere thought of getting pregnant made you queasy. You wondered what the mortality rate for that was in this era. You held a hand over your belly.

The girls seemed to sense your uneasiness and quickly changed the subject.

"I'm just going to add this hairpin to your hair as a last touch." Sumi peeped up.

You nodded as they finished in silence and then they all stood in front of you and smiled up at you.

"All done!" Kiyo held a mirror in front of you and your lips parted as you looked at yourself.

Your hair was pulled into a low bun with multiple braids lining either side of your hair that looked like it was held together by a beautiful red peony hair pin. It perfectly matched your yukata.

"Oh, Sumi. You matched her hairpin to her yukata, how cute!" Naho exclaimed as she blushed at how adorable you looked.

You touched the hairpin that was on the back of your head as you tilted your head to get a better view. The red peonies were gathered together as a small bouquet that had a golden tassel that caught in the sunlight.

"Do you like it?" Sumi asked nervously.

"I love it." You gave her a bright smile and she became elated with the rest of the girls.

"You look so beautiful, [name]-kun." Naho grazed her hand over the braids she had done.

The two other girls agreed with her and you giggled.

"Thank you girls. I appreciate you taking the time out to help me. Are you guys not going to get dressed?" You asked looking at their usually attire.

"We were about to, but we wanted to check on you first."Kiyo replied.

"Oh, do you need help?"

They all shook their heads.

"We won't be too long! Aoi said for you to meet her in the kitchen." Sumi said fixing your lipstick up a bit and you rubbed your lips together.

"Oh, I should get going then." You raised yourself from the seat you were in and looked at yourself once more.

"We'll see you later [name]-kun!" They all chorused bowing and you smiled as you waved and made your way out of the bathroom.

You sighed to yourself as you began to get nervous. The more that time went on, the more you felt yourself become paranoid and anxious. You hated feeling this way and it was hard to shake off as you made your way to the kitchen area. The smell of comfort food filled your senses as you saw Aoi working hard at the stovetop. After exchanging pleasantries, Aoi urged you to go see Oyakata-sama as soon as you could to which you rolled your eyes at.

"I'm serious." She handed you your food on a large tray.

"Yeah, yeah."

She yanked away the tray and you pouted. "[name]..."

"Okay, okay. I'll go see him after I'm done."

Aoi smiled as she set the tray down. "Good."

As soon as she turned away she began to complain about Inosuke and while you were listening, you were more engaged in inhaling your food.

"...he is just so frustrating and--"

Her eyes widened as turned back to look at you. "Oh my...They weren't kidding when they said you had a big appetite."

Your eyebrows raised at her as you swallowed your rice and licked your fingers. "Yeah, and you totally have a crush."

Her expression turning into vexation as your grin grew, but before you could answer you heard someone call out your name.

"[surname]-san?" You heard an unfamiliar voice suddenly speak and after a moment a kakushi's head popped in.

Their eyes widened at the sight of you as a blush spread across their cheeks. "O-oyakata-sama would like to see you."

"Oh, I should go see him then." You rubbed at your eyes and smiled at Aoi who was clearly still annoyed with you. "I guess I should get going now."

Aoi waved you off and you tried not to laugh as you followed closely behind the kakushi. They seemed nervous for some reason as they lead you to the Ubuyashiki's estate.

"Are you alright?" You asked as you caught up to them and started to walk right beside them.

Their body went stiff as they continued to walk and hid what little of their face was showing."Y-yes."

You didn't push it. Instead you walked beside them until they began to walk outside and then you stopped subconsciously.

"[surname]-san?" They turned around nonplussed by your sudden halt.

"I can't go outside."

They tilted their head at you. "Are you a demon, too?"

"No," You scoffed. "quite the opposite."

"We really must get going, you know. I don't have time to play these games." They put their hands on their hips at you.

You only shook your head and they huffed at you. They really didn't want to put their hands on you, mostly because they would probably implode internally.

"What's your name?" You suddenly asked.

They sighed. "Goto."

"Goto. Listen Goto, if I go outside then I'm going to shine brighter than Edward Cullen and that is just not the kind of vibe I'm going for right now." You crossed your arms. "You feel me?"

He simply stood there and looked at you like you were crazy. "Who is Edward Cullen?"

You sighed and held a hand to your head. Being in this era could be so difficult for you sometimes. No one knew who Edward Cullen was and that was obviously to be expected as you were hundred years too early, but still, they could at least pretend they knew.

"[surname]-san, I don't think you understand--"

"But I do understand!" You threw your arms up in the air. "I do, Goto. I just, I'm not ready for all of this, right now."

You slid down the wall and hugged your knees to your chest and hung your head.

"Hey." He spoke up and you looked up to see that he was crouched at your level.

He held his hand out with crimson spreading across his cheeks. "Even if you sparkle like Edard Knucklen I won't judge you."

Now that made you laugh and to him it was melodious and pretty. You bit your lip and looked outside as you slowly took his hand in yours and he helped you up. He couldn't take his eyes off of you as you rose from the ground and smiled at him.

"It's Edward Cullen, but thank you, Goto."

And when you stepped into the light your markings illuminated as the wind brushed past you, Goto was awestruck. You turned to him and put your hand on your hip. "How do I look?"

Unfortunately, Goto could no longer escort you to the estate because he had passed out on the spot.

* * *

"How do you feel, my child?"

Kagaya brought the cup of steaming green tea to his lips and sipped slowly at it. You inhaled sharply as you watched workers come to and fro, but you did your best to block them out.

"I feel pretty good actually despite having to walk outside and sparkle under the sun." You figdeted with the hem of your yukata as you spoke. Being in front of Kagaya for the first time in a day in a half felt very odd. Comforting, but odd. His wife, Amane, sat beside him at she did a mental assessment of you. Your markings, the way you spoke, sat, moved, even the way you breathed.

As little as she spoke, she did a lot of time thinking, assessing, and the reassessing. She was a woman of few words, but she catered to every detail and worked herself meticulously to the bone.

He gave you an apologetic look."I understand that you're having trouble embracing your new abilities, but I assure you we're all here for you, [name]. And please forgive the noise and all the workers. Gyomei told me that you never celebrated the Spring Equinox, and while we never do make such extravagant festivities on the Equinox we wanted to make an exception for you."

"Oh." You felt abashed by his words forgetting about why you were upset in the first place. No one had ever took you into so much consideration like that and the mentioning of Gyomei made your heart flutter. Especially since he had really directly told Kagaya himself that you hadn't participate in such activities like he said he would have. You had small hope that he would do so, but now that you were sitting in front of Kagaya whilst he tried to engage you in conversation about the many vendors from the local shops that he had step up and the decor that lined up with the season of Spring, you could only smile and nod.

"That sounds lovely." You murmured as you glanced down at the staff member who was pouring you a cup of tea.

"Please be cautious. The tea--"

But you had already lifted it from the coaster and brought it to your lips as you sipped at it. It was hot. No, it was scorching, but you enjoyed it nonetheless. You didn't flinch nor did you grimace at the heat. Honestly, you were making such the spectacle out of yourself as you finished your pour and set it back down.

"That is some nice tea." You said looking up at the horrified staff member.

"[s-surname]-s-san...Your tongue! Let me see it! It must've melted right off."

"Ahhh." You playfully stuck your tongue out and letting it hang as your tongue steamed, but was in perfect condition. "Cah I haff anotha poah pleeth."

She continued to stare at you with a terrified expression and you rescinded your tongue back in your mouth. "Can I have a another pour, please."

Kagaya's laughter could be heard all the way down the hallways of his estate as they echoed bouncing off the the walls. All the workers had stopped for a moment to see him trying to cover his mouth and then clapped his hands together.

"Oh, that's delightful [name]! I can only imagine the look on Yuki's face."

Amane only looked at her husband with amusement as the Yuki, staff member hurriedly poured you another cup of tea and set the kettle down. She bowed and left immediately.

You hummed in response as you began drinking your tea again. "I'm glad you find me comical."

"Comical is one thing, but you are so much more than I expected. In a good way, of course. You, my child, will serve great purpose in what's to come."

"Oh, you mean the Great Demon War." You replied sarcastically as you set your cup down. And while you shouldn't be such an ass, it was becoming increasingly difficult to maintain your cool.

"Yes, my child. There will be many of my own children that will fall victim to it."

You stiffened at his words. He was being completely serious.

"For many, this is my way of honoring the dead and who will not see the light of tomorrow."

You swallowed at your tea harshly. "T-tomorrow."

"Not literally." He smiled as he sipped at his tea.

You could only stare at the steam emanating from your cup as the liquid continously rippled. Your nerves were getting to you again. You weren't as head strong as everyone had made you out to be in times where the pressure was on, and your resolve was not any better.

"Do you have visions of the future?"

"Call it intuition."

"Must be one hell of an intuition." You mumbled to yourself as you swallowed the rest down.

Kagaya's smile only grew at you.

"I know it may not feel like it, but you are very special [name]. The others are still a bit suspicious and wary of you, but that's to be expected of them. Have you met Nezuko?"

You felt your body go a little frigid at the name. "Not yet."

"You know, she's not very different from us. She refuses to eat human flesh and she has such strong resolve. Her and Tanjiro are undoubtedly the most striking siblings I have ever met."

You raised an eyebrow at him. "And that's suppose to make me feel better?"

He softly chuckled. "I'm saying you could learn a few things from them."

"Will they be attending the Spring Equinox festival?"

He hummed in response as he set his tea cup down and a staff member came and refilled his cup. "I made sure that every one who is able to arrive, arrives. I do hope that you do decide to attend."

You looked down at your attire. "Yes, it seems that I am going either way."

He smiled as he set his cup down. "Do you have any pressing matters at the moment?"

You gazed down at your reflection in the liquid. "Not that I can think of right now. I'm assuming you know everything?"

"Only what Sanemi and Gyomei provided. If you would be so kind to share the details I would be happy to listen."

You had to hold yourself back from rolling your eyes. You knew that Kagaya was more to what meets the eye and he was edging you on from the start without you even noticing at first.

"You are quite crafty, Oyakata-sama." You pressed your lips together and he set his hands in his lap.

"Not as crafty as I might think."

You nearly scoffed. "Well, I mean I'm sure Himejima-san told you about my markings and conversation with Amaterasu. She refused to answer what happens after I unlock my abilities. It was actually really annoying."

Kagaya had to muffle his mirth with the sleeves of his haori and you raised your brows at him.

"Oh, please, do keep going. Don't mind me." He waved you off.

"And yeah, she then told me:" You perfected your posture as you mimicked her tone. "'Mortals, are awfully amusing. It would be too easy for me to just simply give you the answer.' Like what kind of..."

You held yourself back from what you wanted to really say. Talking bad about a Sun goddess was not the way you wanted to go out. She was already incinerating tattoos into your body and those hurt like hell.

"Ah, they are truly one of a kind, aren't they? Gods and goddesses alike. I'm sure a lot of your past and your family's past must be in that temple."

You tilted your head to the side remembering your conversation with Mitsuri and Shinobu. "And how do you presume that?"

"Just a hunch."

Oh, Kagaya. Always with the riddles and intuition. You truly were at loss for words with this man.

"In any case, I would hope that we all see you there at sundown today, yes?"

"Mhm, yes." You rubbed at your temples.

"Good. I look forward to it."

And with that you bid him adieu and made your way out of the estate avoiding the sunlight at all costs. It still made you weary being under the sun. Goto did faint out of just merely seeing you and you wanted to avoid being the center of attention. Hopefully, no one saw you...

"Ouch!" You rubbed your head as you fell back a little and caught onto the wooden fence of the engawa.

"Watch where you're goin'."

You knew that voice.

"Sanemi?" You rubbed your nose as you opened your eyes and sure enough he was standing there right in front of you.

He didn't say anything for a moment as he looked down at you. Carmine sprinkled at his cheeks as he tsked at you before looking away.

"Who else?"

"Okay, sheesh. Are you going to get dressed for later today?" You tried to meet his gaze but he kept looking away. "What's your problem?"

"Get out of my way. I have things to do unlike you." He shoved past you and scratched the back of your head in confusion.

"What's his deal?"

"[name]!!"

You heard a voice suddenly pipe up and as you rotated your head and you almost faced a head on collision with a certain rosette. "Oh, Mitsuri!"

She straightened the both of you out before you completely fell on your ass. "I just saw Himejima-san arrive."

A smile crept on your face. "Did you really?"

(SCREAMING SO HARD AT THIS SHIT BECAUSE ITS SO FUCKING HILARIOUS PLSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS)

She nodded with a large grin on her face and took you by your hand as she tugged you along to Kami knows where. "C'mon!"

Unbeknownst to you, Sanemi had overheard your little conversation.

* * *

"Can you explain to me why we're spying on them?" You asked Mitsuri who was right above you peeking from behind the engawa.

You were currently looking--I mean spying--on Shinobu and Gyomei as they spoke to one another, but you couldn't make out what they were saying since you were out of earshot.

"We're waiting for the right moment to enter the conversation." Mitsuri beamed.

You looked up at her in confusion. "What are you--"

You suddenly felt your whole body move and before you knew it you were in front of the pair you were observing. "Hey, Himejima-san! How was your mission?"

He gave her a smile as he gazed down at your forms. "It was standard. Thank you for asking, Kanroji-san. It's nice to see you finally out of your room, [surname]-san."

You felt yourself getting nervous around him as you rubbed your forearm. "Yeah, I made Goto faint."

"Oh, right. Sorry about that! Kanroji-san and I were suppose to escort you, but we got caught up in other endeavors." She laughed rubbing the back of her neck.

"Is he alright?" Gyomei asked feeling concern for the kakushi.

"He's fine." Shinobu waved him off. "Not even a concussion."

Gyomei looked relieved for a moment before looking over at you. "Do you feel alright now coming out into the sun?"

"Well..." You looked up at the cherry blossom trees that were shading you all in the garden and sighed as they began to sway in wind. The cherry blossom's petals began to part from their buds as they danced in the gust around the both of you. The light filtering through the trees as they kissed at your skin and you began to sparkle. It felt like your dream all over again as oscillated gracefully around your forms and you reached your hand out feeling the petals glide against your skin.

Were asleep again? Were you going to wake up right before you and Gyomei's lips met or?

"Wow, [name]..." Shinobu's violet hues were wide as she stared at you.

"...you're stunning!" Mitsuri finished as she beamed at you.

Stole the words right out of my mouth. Was what Gyomei wanted to say, but he kept them to himself.

"I can see why Goto-san fainted." Gyomei finally spoke.

Was that somehow worse? Yes. Very much yes.

"Oh, yeah. I guess so." You nervously laughed.

"Himejima-san how do you see [name]? Is she sparkly? What color is she to you?" Mitsuri asked question after question, but Gyomei took in every one of them.

"Kanroji-san..." Shinobu urged looking between Gyomei and you.

"What?" The rosette gazed at her befuddled.

"She does glisten, but she is also radiant like the sun. There are flames, but they are gentle and golden with flicks of crimson. Like red peonies."

Red peonies.

"Oh, like your yukata and hairpin that you're wearing!" Mitsuri pointed out.

"Right." You peered over at your attire giving her a contrite smile.

"That must be really beautiful to look at then, huh Himejima-san." Shinobu grinned up at him as she tucked her hands behind her back and gazed up at him.

Gyomei was aware of her tone. Subtle, yet not so subtle.

He cleared his throat. "Yes, well..."

"Well, Mitsuri and I should get going now. We need to prepare our stand for the festival." Shinobu began as she grabbed her hand and began to tug at her form.

"Bye, Himejima-san! Bye [name]-kun!" Mitsuri giggled as they both made their way out of the garden.

"They sure are a handful, huh." You looked over at them laughing and whispering to one another.

"Agreed."

"So..." You rocked back on your heels. "When am I gonna see one of these so called demons."

He tilted his chin up as he closed his eyes. "Hopefully, never."

"Eh? Why not?" You countered too quickly.

"[name]..." He began.

For some reason, you felt vexed. You knew whatever was going to come out of his mouth was going to be along the lines of "you need to be protected."

"Save it."

Was it rude to act this way towards someone who kept you out of harm's way and brought you back to safety when you were vulnerable? Mmmm, yes. You could say that you were definitely acting out.

Shaking off your brashness, a smile tugged at his lips. "[name], I want to preserve you for as long as I can before you even see a demon. Do you understand that?"

You could only gaze at him as the gust rippled through his onyx hair as he tucked his hands behind his back. Why did he make you feel this way? It was so damned annoying! As if you had the mental capacity to even have a crush on another man right now!

"I..." You began but you got flustered and clenched at your yukata, making fists at the fabric.

His hands suddenly on yours and you felt them relax. You felt warmth suddenly rush through your body as your heart thrummed against your chest. "Don't ruin your yukata."

The energy within you felt like it was swelling as you couldn't keep your eyes off of him and Gyomei felt it too. In fact, he could see how much of your aura was shifting and illuminated brighter and brighter. It was glimmering a ravishing cerise at his mere touch. Like a spark, but bigger. It was like a flame that would never go out.

Gyomei couldn't find himself to say anything as he was standing there with lips parting as he couldn't bring himself to look away. And then something that he wasn't able to completely process started to occur. A faint semblance you began to form in front you. Like quite literally you. Your aura was starting to mold into your features. Faint traces of your eyes, lips, nose were starting to embody itself from whatever touching you was doing. He literally could not believe it.

"I can--I can see you. Barely, but I can see you."

"What do you mean you can see me?"

He gestured his hands to your face. "May I?"

You merely nodded as you couldn't find any words to speak.

He gently felt for your face as you stood there as he went over your features with his finger in complete shock. He hadn't meant to invade your space, but he could not help the overwhelming feeling that came over him. He felt tears spilled down his visage as he smiled at you and suddenly you felt like crying yourself.

"You can see my face?"

For the first time in a long time Gyomei was at a loss for words. It was so strange being able to see someone from their aura recreating their features. Had Amaterasu made a way for everyone to be able to see you?

"Only a bit. But this...I've never seen aura manifest itself like this. It's literally molding into your facial features...Truly amazing...Nothing like I have ever seen before..." He mumbled speaking absentmindedly to himself. He was truly bewitched by your beauty. But he suddenly caught himself in a whirlwind of emotions. He was becoming to captivated by you and it was becoming an issue.

"Apologies. I'm overstepping." He slowly let go, but you felt yourself aching for his touch as you held his hand and placed it back to your face.

"What color am I to you?" You asked gazing up at him.

He felt his cheeks flare. You were a phenomena from the moment you had shot right through the heavens to now. "Red. A sparkling red, but it's deeper than before."

"Oh." Was all you could say as you felt your heart fluttering and you felt like this could be your moment with him, but it felt like there was still many roadblocks that stood in your way as Gyomei had gently let go of your hands and stepped back.

"I should get going now."

You stepped forward closing the space between you again. "Where are you going?"

"Preaching to Oyakata-sama about how we should have a festival for the Spring Equinox has consequences." He smiled shyly.

You felt yourself fluster from Kagaya speaking about how Gyomei insisted on your behalf. "Oh, right. That."

You clasped your hands together as you lgazed up at him. "So what is he torturing you with?"

He softly chuckled. "You'll see. I'm sure you'll be pleasantly surprised."

"How do you mean?"

"I don't want to give it away. But find me at sundown. I need to get ready for whatever other crafty methods Kanroji-san may or may not ensue."

You laughed and tilted your head to this side. "What's that suppose to mean?"

He shook his head. "As I said before. You'll see. If you'll excuse me, [surname]-san."

You frowned at him as he began to walked away from you, but he suddenly stopped as he began to walk under the engawa. "[surname]-san."

You felt your body jump a little. "Yes?"

"Thank you for coming out despite your apprehensiveness."

You smiled as he continued his path. His voice, his tone and the way he carried himself around you made your energy burst like fireworks. Although he was clearly guarded, it was somewhat clear about how felt about you and you were beginning to feel something slowly shift in the air. Mellowness overcame you as you put your arms around yourself as you watched his tall figure disappear and you danced around in circles. The cherry blossom petals floating in the air around you as you felt yourself shimmering under the sunlight and you welcomed it.

taglist: @kashasenpai @scoven @yunho-leeknow @moni-sama @donpixter @salamiwrites

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forsworned · 3 years ago

Note

Heya, Isekai Anon here, nice to see you again! I hope everything is going well for you! If it’s not too much trouble, can you make a part 2 for the Isekai please? Take your time and thank you if you end up doing it!

+warnings. none, ur just shot into another era for zero reason jk there is mentionings of violence

+word count. 2.6k

+categories. f/m, yes reader is no longer gender neutral srry

+relationships. hashira x reader

+characters. hashira, guest appearance(s): sumi, naho, kiyo

+author’s note. apparently this is a series now :') im not crying ur crying also i am going to be redoing chapter one as it had just started off as headcanons and then led down a path to hell that i have created myself so there is no one to blame unfortunately for the turn of events that has made this monster of an isekai series

+summary. reader is having a clusterfuck of emotions after discovering the existence of demons and gets overstimulated at the piqueing interest of the hashira. they are quite curious as to why oyakata-sama is letting her stay and maybe even a little more than that...

+chapter(s). one one(rework) three four five

「chapter two: commotion & confusion」

The more you tried to force yourself to relax the more you anxious you became. The thought of demons was running rampant through your head and you couldn't stop yourself from the intrusive thoughts clouding your mind. Maybe they were nice demons?

Very wishful thinking, [name]. Very wishful thinking.

"I need to get out of here." You grumbled to yourself as you got out of the water and felt the water trickling down your body.

"Oh, [surname]-san you're already leaving? Kocho-san and I were just going to join you!" Mitsuri popped into the bathhouse with the ravenette beside her.

They didn't seem to mind you standing there completely bare, but you definitely did, though you were slow to react.

"Oh, [name]-kun, you don't have to cover yourself we're all girls here!" Shinobu giggled as she slipped off her towel and headed into the water.

You turned around immediately clinging to the towel that was the only thing keeping you from flashing them again, but they didn't seem to mind doing that to you.

You only stood there watching as their naked forms entered the steaming body. The cool fall air was starting to nip at your body so you only sighed as you dropped your towel and joined them begrudgingly.

"How nice of you to finally join us, [name]-kun." Shinobu teased with her body fully submerged now.

You ignored her snide comment as you slid into the water, still keeping your distance mostly out of embarrassment. You weren't used to bathing with other people...

"It's such a nice bath, isn't?" Mitsuri cheered as she began to wade in the water.

"...I guess so." You muttered as you looked down at your hands get distorted under the the steaming water.

"So, you've never seen a demon before?" Shinobu finally asked you. You felt yourself stiffen at her question.

"N-no, they're not from my era. At least I'm not aware of any."

"Interesting...If my theory is correct than, maybe Muzan is dead in the future so with that every demon is eradicated." Shinobu mused as she put her finger to her bottom lip in deep thought. The water that lapped at her collarbones damped the loose ends of hair that she fell out of her bun that was messily placed at the top of her head with a hair pin.

"Muzan?" The name piqued your interest.

"Yes, Muzan is the very first demon who created all the demons we have today. You can become a demon if he gives you his blood. It is apparently a very painful process."

"S-so, how old is this guy exactly." Somehow you knew the answer to this question.

"Muzan is about a thousand years old for all we know! Also demons are immortal except for in sunlight and they regrow their limbs if they're cut off. For the most part, demons usually die if we cut their heads off." Mitsuri piped in trying not to splash water on the both of you but failed.

"Kanroji-san! You got water all over my hair!" Shinobu giggled as you had a complete meltdown thinking about an immortal demons who can regenerate their missing limbs and their only weakness was the sunlight.

"W-what do you mean usually?"

The both paused to look at you. They could sense that you were overwhelmed and terrified.

"Hey," You felt both of their hands on either sides of your shoulders.

"We're here to protect you." Mitsuri said with a reassuring smile.

"The Hashira are the most powerful demon slayers and no harm will come to you." Shinobu added. "I'll also make sure to give you a wysteria tablet and incense in case you find yourself alone. It wards off demons."

You sighed. It was a sigh of relief. It was slight, but still relieving knowing that you were in good hands, probably.

After you three had finished up your baths, you had dressed into your sleeping yukata that was laid out probably while you were bathing. It was a simple teal color that fit you perfectly as you slid into it.

"Do you like your yukata, [surname]-san?" Mitsuri's head peeped through the doorway that escaped into for a moment of privacy.

You turned around and you were in awe at how cute Mitsuri and Shinobu were in their own yukatas. They were simple yet elegant. You never wore anything like this before. Usually, it was just sweats and an old tee, but this felt different...in a good way, of course. It felt almost luxurious.

"You look so cute!!" Mitsuri gushed while Shinobu giggled.

"You do look adorable." She agreed, eyeing you up and down. Her hair was now down and just grazed over her delicate shoulders. If you hadn't known any better you'd think she looked like a nymph.

You felt yourself getting a little warm around the face as you fidgeted with the tie. "Oh, t-thank you. You guys look really pretty, too."

"Oh, this old thing." Mitsuri gestured to you in a "it's nothing" kind of way. "I've had it for years. It's nothing special. But this! It's absolutely so cute and fitting to you."

"I agree. The girls got your measurements pretty well for just simply eyeing them." Shinobu took her thumb and held it up in front of her with one eye shut as she scaled out your form.

"Your bed is ready!" You heard a small voice call out.

You saw three girls peer out from the corner all smiling.

"Thank you, girls." Shinobu smiled at them and then turned to you. "You must be exhausted after the day you've had. We'll be happy to answer any of your questions tomorrow morning."

"Oh, right. We have a bit of a break so we can all do something together if you'd like." The rosette was beaming at you now. You didn't think there was ever a time she wasn't smiling.

"Alright, then. Thank you for everything. Good night." You bowed to them.

The three small girls lead you to your room as they giggled whispering to one another.

Mentionings of your name along with the other Hashira caught your attention. But their hushed voices were too low for you to understand and at this point you were too tired to even try to listen.

"This will be your room." The girl in the braids spoke as she slid the door open to your new room.

It was a beautifully decorated tatami room with a futon laid out and in front of it was a low desk with a lamp and ink and paper. Did they think you wanted to document your time here? Well, they were damn right.

"Thank you." You bowed to them. "I never got your names. Or wait," You put your hand to your chin. "Naho."

You pointed to the girl with the green waist tie on and she nodded.

"Sumi." You pointed to the one with pink one and then to the one in blue. "Kiyo?"

"Very close!" The girl in the pink waist tie spoke up. "I'm Kiyo and this is Sumi." She pointed to her counterpart with the blue waist tie.

"Ahh, I see." You smiled at them. "Well, thank you Sumi, Kiyo and Naho. I'll be sure to get it correct next time."

"Well get some rest, [surname]-san!" They all chorused as they bowed and made their way down the hallway gossiping once again. You shook your head as you made your way to the futon and laid down on it. It felt extremely comfortable and soft. So comfortable and soft that you literally could've slept right then and there but you heard voices from outside of your door that caught your attention.

"I'm not going in there." You heard a gruff voice say.

"We're just checking on her!" A loud voice basically announcing their presences. That voice you could very much tell who they were.

"Rengoku-san, you're very loud." A monotone voice spoke.

"She literally already knows we're here thanks to you." A might I say flamboyant voice interjected. "We're coming in!"

Just then the door slid open and your body jolted up and for some reason went to covering yourself up even though you were fully covered. This, unfortunately, made you look rather...suspicious if you catch my drift.

Sanemi and Giyuu immediately turning around in embarrassment, Kyoujurou was completely oblivious and well, Tengen was even more intrigued.

"We just wanted to check up on you before you left, but you look a little busy." Tengen spoke up raising his eyebrows at you.

You immediately scrambled throwing your arms up. "T-that's not what was happening! I just thought I was indecent and--"

Kyoujurou's expression had shown that the light bulb in his head had finally flickered on. If you hadn't been looking at him before he turned around in embarrassment you wouldn't have caught the healthy blush on his cheeks. Tengen, God Bless his heart, did not give a fuck and this only fueled his curiousity.

"What do you mean by indecent?"

"Your curiousity is what is going to get you slapped across the face." Giyuu's voice was even as he spoke. He was unmoving beside the quiet Sanemi. Poor, poor Sanemi. If only you saw how red his face was. If you looked close enough you could see how red his neck was getting.

"[surname]-san," Kyoujurou interrupted Tengen's intrusive interrogation which you thanked God for.

"Y-yes." You slowly let go of the collar to your yukata and readjusted your body.

"As we mentioned before, we just wanted to check on your health before you went to bed tonight." He said in a clear and serious tone.How, seemingly uncharacteristic of him. Hmmm.

"I'm fine, thank you for checking up on me."

You felt, how do I say this, very walked in on?"Apologies, for walking in on you like this. Sometimes, Uzui doesn't think before he does things."

Tengen rubbed the back of his neck apologetically. "Yeah, that was my bad. We definitely should've given you more time before coming in."

"Don't lump us into together, idiot." Sanemi's gruff voice was soft as he spoke.

"Well, to be fair. You're all pretty loud so I kind of prepared for the worst..." You took a deep breath and sighed outwardly.

"Sorry, about that. It won't happen again. We--" Tengen began to say, but Gyomei's large and looming figure stood at the doorway.

"It's very late to be in a lady's room, don't you think?" His voice was powerful.

"We were just leaving." Sanemi replied immediately as he swiftly exited the room and Giyuu followed closely behind. You could faintly hear Sanemi call him a "fucking weirdo" for following him out while Giyuu stayed silent.

"Right, we just wanted to check on her before bed time." Tengen spoke up.

"But, we realized that it was late and we were on our way out. Right, Uzui?" Kyoujurou turned around to face him and Tengen nodded with a smile.

"Yeah, we've gotta go now. It was nice seeing you again, [surname]-san." Tengen waved to you.

"Sleep well, [surname]-san. We'll be sure to see you bright and early!" Kyoujurou cheered in his more typical heartiness.

"G-good night." You murmured bowing to them as they left.

Gyomei stood there tall and glorious as every one left and was out of ear shot. "I hope they didn't disturb you too much. It's not every day someone falls out of the sky with a large bolt of lighting following it."

"Huh, is that how I came down?" You pondered for a moment.

You heard him chuckle. "You don't remember?"

"Well, it happened all so quickly and the next thing I knew I was bound up face down. So no, I don't really remember falling out of the sky with a bolt of lightning." You replied sarcastically in a playful tone.

The smile on his face was even more apparent now as he stepped into the soft light from your desk lamp. "Well, I hope you know that you're safe now. We won't let any harm come to you. Oyakata-sama trusts that you're not of the enemy, so I trust the judgement he has passed upon you."

You scoffed and rolled your eyes. "Well, thank Oyakata-sama for denouncing me as a threat."

"He's an amazing man."

"I bet. Is he blind by the way?" You asked thinking about his face being covered in what looked like a disease taking over his features.

Gyomei frowned remembering Kagaya's face. "Almost."

"I see." Was all you said sensing that it was a sensitive subject. You didn't want to pry too much. Maybe you could just ask the man himself.

"If you need anything, I'm just a crow away." A soft smile was on his usual stone like face.

"Crow?" You tilted your head in confusion.

"Yes, we communicate through crows. I'm sure when the time comes Oyakata-sama will allow you to send us messages when we're out in the field."

"Slaying demons..." You murmured quietly in a pensive tone.

"Yes, I'm sure Kanroji-san and Kocho-san informed you a little more about their existence. I can only imagine what's going through your mind considering that you are from another era where they are supposedly eradicated." He stood there waiting for your response.

"Did Kocho-san relay that information to you that quickly?" God, she was fast.

"Yes, it's important that all of us are up to date with any information. That's a rather significant bit of information, don't you think?"

"Yeah, sorry. This is all just very new to me." You scratched at your forehead feeling slightly uncomfortable.

You hadn't realized until now that Gyomei's eyes were completely white. Was he a blind demon slayer and a Hashira at that?

"There's no need to apologize. Oyakata-sama will summon you tomorrow and will ask you a series of questions pertaining to you and your era. There we can try and find some answers."

For some reason, even though Gyomei was almost stoic as he spoke, you could sense that he was trying his best to be soft with you. All you could see when you looked at him was just a gentle giant.

"Hopefully." You smiled at him.

Unbeknownst to you, your smile had probably just made his whole day as it had been a rough one for him. While you were bathing, Gyomei had made a quick mission in which a lot of lives were lost. He still hadn't even washed up yet and there was bits of dried blood strung along the back of his haori.

Most of them were not apparent to you at all and he wanted to keep it that way for now.His first thought upon coming back was to check on you, but stumbling upon those goons that were supposedly Hashira were already bombarding you and that was the last thing he needed. He didn't know why he felt the need to check on you but it was probably for the same reason as the others.

"Well, get some rest. Good night, [surname]-san." The corners of his lips curved up as he spoke and made his way out the door and slid it shut.

"What a fucking day. Maybe if I shut my eyes I'll wake up in my room again. I'll forget about this all ever happening like a distance dream or memory." You muttered to yourself as you felt sleep take you away into a subconscious universe.

Gyomei sighed closing his eyes as he leaned up against the otherside of the door overhearing your quiet words that you thought were only heard by yourself.

"Oh, [surname]-san...If only it was a dream."

He opened them after a moment and then readjusted his posture and made his way to get himsefl cleaned off from the tragic day he had to prepare for the next. Perhaps, tomorrow would be better...

234 notes · View notes

forsworned · 3 years ago

Text

𝐀𝐔𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐑'𝐒 𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄 another attempt at trying to reorganize my blog but also bc i don't feel like trying to organize my previous masterlist bc im over ittt (´∀｀)♡

𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐆𝐎𝐊𝐔 𝐊𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐉𝐔𝐑𝐎𝐔

✧ ...do you happen to be a kitsune...?

✧...whatever it takes i will make you human again. i promise it...

✧ ...your hair looks beautiful...

✧ kama sutra (nsfw)

𝐒𝐀𝐍𝐄𝐌𝐈 𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐙𝐔𝐆𝐀𝐖𝐀

✧ ...hey is this seat taken...?

✧ ...you are the only exception...

✧ ...the things i do for love...

✧ ...because i want to know if you desire me...

✧ irl

✧ sanemi as a teacher

✧ forget me, forget me not

𝐆𝐈𝐘𝐔𝐔 𝐓𝐎𝐌𝐈𝐎𝐊𝐀

✧ ...how could you be so stubborn...?

✧ indirect kiss

✧ little distractions

𝐓𝐄𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐍 𝐔𝐙𝐔𝐈

✧ how he would react to walking in you singing

✧ ...because i love you...

✧ when you two share a blanket

✧ how he is w/someone shy + touch starved

𝐆𝐘𝐎𝐌𝐄𝐈 𝐇𝐈𝐌𝐄𝐉𝐈𝐌𝐀

✧ ...where are you going...?

✧ ...are you that easily impressed...?

✧ ...care to explain where you've been...?

✧ ...my flower, you don't look so good

𝐘𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐈𝐂𝐇𝐈 𝐓𝐒𝐔𝐆𝐈𝐊𝐔𝐍𝐈

him as a parent/lover/husband

𝐌𝐈𝐂𝐇𝐈𝐊𝐀𝐓𝐒𝐔 𝐓𝐒𝐔𝐆𝐈𝐊𝐔𝐍𝐈/𝐊𝐎𝐊𝐎𝐔𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐁𝐎𝐔

✧ established relationship w/him (nsfw)

✧ switch it up (nsfw)

𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐎𝐁𝐔 𝐊𝐎𝐂𝐇𝐎

𝐌𝐈𝐓𝐒𝐔𝐑𝐈 𝐊𝐀𝐍𝐑𝐎𝐉𝐈

𝐎𝐁𝐀𝐍𝐀𝐈 𝐈𝐆𝐔𝐑𝐎

𝐎𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐒/𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐄𝐌

✧ too much desire [kagaya] (nsfw)

𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐈 𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐒

✧ renewed love (tengen uzui x reader) [completed]

one two three

✧ another era, another universe ( hashira x reader)

one(unedited) one (edited) two three four

✧ a second chance at love (yoriichi tsugikuni x reader)

one

𝐅𝐔𝐋𝐋 𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐒

✧ a mutually arranged attachment. (yoriichi tsugikuni x reader)

summary. when socially anxious [name] finally gets partnered up with the most mysterious heart throb in class she begins to learn that he is more than what the eye meets. she is pulled into his world and captivated by his beauty and boyish charm, but she soon learns that he is hiding secrets she is not yet ready to hear…

one two three four five six seven eight nine ten

𝐌𝐘 𝐀𝐑𝐓

✧ yoriichi chapter 9

✧ lazy sanemi sketch

𝐒𝐈𝐃𝐄𝐁𝐋𝐎𝐆𝐒

gyomeisocialheartsclub ikimonoeren

340 notes · View notes

forsworned · 3 years ago

Text

+warnings. none really, slight violence? slight peeping tom from shinobu lol

+word count. 2.8k

+categories. f/m

+relationships. hashira x reader, kagaya ubuyashiki x reader

+characters. hashira, kagaya ubuyashiki

+author’s note. this is a substantive edit of my chapter one, so basically just a better and clearer context since it is not a headcanon and is a real series so it's in a story mode not a bullet point mode does that make sense? i'll include links for part two and the unedited part one, and part three iis coming up since i got a few requests asking for it. enjoy!

+summary. reader is on her way to work on a stormy day and is hit by lightning! she wakes up finding herself in an unknown world with strange people who talk about demons?! can she survive in this crazy world?

+chapter(s). one(unedited) two three four five

「chapter one: when lightning strikes」

It was like any other day. You woke up, had your breakfast, and headed to work. This time though, it was storming. Storming so much in fact, that you even called in to ask if your workplace was even open to which your boss replied, "Of course it is. We're a business! This storm is nothing." in an annoyingly cheery tone.

Yes, yes. Of course, how could you be so silly as to ask if your workplace was open in the worst possible weather to drive in. It's not like your life mattered anyway.

You sighed as you looked at your keys. It's not like you worked far from your job. You moved here recently because you had been promoted so walking wouldn't be much of a thing. Rummaging through your shoe closet, you found your old kermit umbrella that was in perfect condition. You laughed looking at it. It was silly to be embarrassed of such a thing, but it was a gift to you from your secret santa at work and you had yet to use it. You grabbed it anyway and made sure you had everything on you and went on your way.

As you locked your door and opened your umbrella, you saw a strike of lightning nearby. The sound was so deafening that it made your ears ring and your whole body jolt.

"Holy fuck that was close." You murmured to yourself. "And my boss still wants me to go to work. "

You let out another sigh as you began to walk towards your place and until you felt an odd feeling in the pit of your stomach. You tried to push it away, but it was driving you insane. Like someone pounding at your door, but you sank further under your sheets hoping they would go away.

For some reason your brain was telling you to look at your hair, but you didn't understand why. Rotating your head to look over your shoulder, you noticed that your hair was lifting like it was rubbed up against a balloon and someone was holding it just above you.

Your heart dropped. And along with that your umbrella and you broke into a sprint.

Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!

Any moment lighting would strike right on you and you did not want to get in that crossfire. Something in your mind was telling you it was too late because all you saw a bright white light before everything went dark and silent.

* * *

"Oi! Oi! You wake up! Who the hell are you?!"

"Can you shut the fuck up?" You groaned and attempted to turn over and run a hand through your hair, but you felt immobile.

Your eyes fluttered open. It was bright. Very bright.

"Do you really think you're in a position to fucking ask me who I am? Now, who are you?" An angry voice sounded closer to you, but it felt halted for some reason.

You blinked your eyes a few times, trying to adjust your eyesight. Nine heads were poking into your view. All of them curious except for one very infuriated one.

"Sanemi-san. Calm down. This poor child has been lead astray from a far away country.” Another voice spoke. His stature was insane and by insane you mean like 8 feet tall and jacked as hell. He was holding prayer beads and seemed to be blind as tears streamed down his cheeks? How odd.

"Where am I? And why am I bound up?" You asked, but it was like you were talking to yourself because everyone was talking amongst themselves. All of them looked odd and out of place. Like they were from a completely different era, more so a different universe. Maybe this was all just a strange dream...

This Sanemi guy seemed to calm down almost immediately as he spoke. “No, it’s more like they’re from another universe.” Sanemi examined you and turned you over.

You struggled for a bit realizing that all your struggling was in vain.

"You know, I really don't appreciate being bound up without my consent."

It was a petty joke. A funny one at that. If this was a dream there was no harm in a little fun.

The pink haired girl and tall white haired male tried to cover up their mirth, but failed. Most of them either looked embarrassed, confused or amused.

The angry one looked caught off guard by your choice of words. Nonetheless continued on as if he were unfazed. “Oh well, who cares let’s get rid of this threat.”

As Sanemi raised his sword, you closed your eyes ready to meet your fate but a fiery haired male seized his actions.

"We do not kill humans. Even if they were seemingly shot down from the heavens."

You let out a breath of relief. Thank you, oddly handsome looking man. Wait...did he say shot out the heavens?

“We should wait for Oyakata-sama.” The pink haired girl peeped up looking quite nervous. Everyone looked from her to you begrudingly agreed.

"She's right. We all know what happened last time." The small ravenette spoke up. Her voice was light and airy. You liked her.

"This is annoying." The tall white haired men huffed. You felt a little betrayed for some reason. Did he not think you were amusing enough to stay alive? Rude.

"Wait what do you mean I was shot down from the heavens?" You asked, but again, every one seemed too preoccupied with themselves.

Sanemi's attention was back on you, but not to answer your question.

"Where did you come from? You're not even wearing normal clothes." He probed.

Instead of answering his question, you remained silent and gave up on struggling. This whole thing was pointless. If they weren't going to answer your question why should you answer theirs?

"Oi, do you not know how to speak?” Sanemi would poke at you with his sheathed sword.

You closed your eyes and sighed. "It's like you said. I'm not from around here. It doesn’t seem like this is the most modern era."

“What’s that suppose to mean?” The taller white haired male looked down at you puzzled.

You ignored him too. That was until he poked you with his foot. "Oi, answer me."

“What year is this?”

“1912, why?”

What the fuck? Now you were really confused. There was no other reason to not think this was a dream at this point.

“Shit, I’m from 2021.” You mumbled.

A unanimous “huh?” emitted out of them as they look at you dumbfounded. Understandable. If you were to find some rando who time traveled and said they were from 1912 you would be equally befuddled.

“Stop, messing around.” A shorter male with mismatched eyes hissed at you.

Damn, for a bitter sounding person he sure was pretty. You thought for a second before remembering your phone in your back pocket

“Reach into my pocket.”

“Why, so you can blast us all the way to hell? No way.” Sanemi grimaced down at you. Meanwhile, the ravenette to his left seemed amused at the situation unfolding before her.

“Why not? We’re Hashira. We’re prepared to handle all threats. Let them show us whatever proof they need to.” She shrugged at them with a smile that seemed to be plastered on her face.

“Fine, Muichiro. Reach into their pocket.” Sanemi looked over to his right to a smaller male with dark long hair and mint green at his tips. Unusually enough, his hair matched his eyes.

“Why me?” He pouted.

“Because I said so.”

Muichiro begrudgingly listened to his elder and approached you to pull out what looked like a slim brick. He sized it up on his palm and then suddenly the screen lit up and everyone gasped. It slipped from his hand and onto the grassy ground. You didn't really notice up until now how green and lush the grass was.

"What the hell is this?" Muichiro asked holding up the phone between his index finger and thumb away from his body.

You rolled your eyes. "It's not going to explode. It's called a mobile phone. Can I get up now?"

“Mobile phone?” The fiery haired male inquired, ignoring your request as he peered over Muichiro’s shoulder. Muichiro began to press at the screen until he locked it.

"There's a code?"

You sighed knowing you weren't going to get up for a very long time. “Yes, you press the buttons on the screen to unlock it.”

“Unlock?” The taller white haired male looked at the phone questioningly.

“I think they mean we need to press the buttons on this so called "screen” like how you would with an actual phone from our era.“ Muichiro spoke up.

"Oh like a safe!” The rosette cheered.

“It would appear so. So what’s the passcode?” The fiery male looked at you for answer.

“It’s 390876.”

Muichiro slowly tapped the numbers on the screen and it unlocked leading them to the mainscreen and they all “ahh” in awe as Muichiro slid the phone side to side.

“Now that’s flamboyant!” The taller white haired male exclaimed.

Muichiro then tapped on the miniature camera that revealed the image that was right in front of him which was a dark haired male you completely forgot about standing there extremely uninterested at the situation unraveling. Everyone would gasp at the mirrored image in front of them.

“It’s like a camera, but in real time.” The ravenette examined. A devious smile now playing on her lips. “Wow, who would’ve thought. He looks just as incompetent through a camera as clear as this.”

The uninterested male turned to look at her with his signature annoyed expression and everyone laughed at how done he appeared to be with her. Hell, even you’re laughing at him. You thought for a moment that the crying man was missing out on the spectacle but he laughed anyway seemingly knowing the expression on the male's face.

“How do we capture this moment?” Kyoujurou asked peering down at you again.

“I think you press this button.” Muichiro pressed the white button to snap a picture and the screen blinked for a moment.

“Whoa! I think you just took one! How do we look at it?” The tall white haired male looked at you nearly face down on the ground.

“Can I at least get up?” You questioned and they all gave each other a look.

“Well, they don’t seem to be a threat. If anything happens we’ll handle it.” The raventte shrugged.

To your surprise Sanemi, trudged up to you and begins to unbind you.

"Having fun?" You teased, but he ignored you as he undid the last knot.

You finally sat up and rubbed your sore wrists. "Next time if you're going to tie me up like that be sure to use cotton."

Sanemi blinked back at you several times astounded by your brash statement and some of the Hashira turned away trying their best not to laugh.

You brushed off your clothes leaving him shocked and held out your hand to get your phone back.

Muichiro handed it back to you and began to show them all the functions of your little device. They were especially impressed with your Minecraft app.

“So, you just create your own world?” The taller white haired male eyes were sparkling with interest and you nodded and smiled at him. You began to show him how you could build your own house and herd your own cattle.

Yeah, big deal.“ Sanemi crossed his arms in defiance.

What a sourpuss.

"You don’t have to be so uptight.” The ravenette spoke up as she watched you beat a sheep to death and collected the meat. “Hmm, mutton sounds kind of good…”

“You guys are ridiculous. It’s not even that cool.”

“Oh that’s a cute puppy!” The rosette exclaimed at the photo that someone had posted on Instagram.

Sanemi’s ears perked up at the word “puppy”. “Let me see that.”

He grabbed the phone out of your hand and seemed to be holding himself back from cooing at the cute baby pitbull that you all were admiring seconds ago.

“Someone’s whipped about dogs.” The taller white haired male scoffed. Everyone seemed to giggle. Sanemi, however, did not find this very amusing as he had shot everyone an icy glare and they instantly hushed.

“Well,” You gently took the phone out of Sanemi’s hand. “I’m not sure what good this will do you guys. I need to get back to my universe.”

“What is your universe like?” The crying man was sitting down now with his prayer beads clasped in his hands.

You feel inclined to sit with him and you begin to explain how it wasn’t much different from this. That there were cities and rural areas much like their own, but your universe was just more modern and had advanced technology. You began to talk about how there were apps to connect people from vast countries and delivery services at the touch of a button.

“Wow! They just show up at your door when you want?” The rosetter was practically drooling at the mentioning of food and you showed her the vast options.

Everyone gushed at what they would want to eat right now and how convenient it would be to have someone deliver food right to their door.

“Aren’t we having fun with the "threat” you asked me to take care of?“ A voice smooth as velvet softly spoke.

It sent a pleasant feeling down your body but it seemed to have frightened the bejeezus out of them. They all turned around to bow down towards him yourself included.

"This is your leader?” You whispered, but everyone seemed to ignore you.

“I’m merely just someone who gives out orders to get rid of demon threats. What is your name child?” He asked and you looked up to see what looked like a blind man with a soft and gentle smile peering down at you.

“[first name]…[first name] [last name].” You murmured in awe at the man.

I mean this guy. He was pretty, like really pretty. And the woman clinging to his arm was just as pretty if not gorgeous. Upon peering a little longer at him, you noticed a darkened scar over his eyes. Was he blind?

“Well, [first name]. You don’t seem to be a threat to me, so I’ll have the kakushi see you to a nice bath and meal and help you get this sorted out in the meanwhile.”

“But Oyakata-sama–” Sanemi spoke up, but , Oyakata-sama just shook his head.

“No need for any more interrogation. We will decide what to do later.” He turned over at you and smiled. “We will speak soon, [name].”

You only nodded as the kakushi began to sweep you off your feet. They didn't say much to you as they led you to your destination. Not that you had much to say in the first place. Well you did, but you didn't quite know how to ask. What the hell was a kakushi? A Hashira? And who was the mysterious Oyakata-sama and his probably gorgeous wife?

Question after question, you were filled up with too many thoughts but soon enough you were in an empty traditional Japanese bathhouse.

“Here, get yourself washed up. Dinner will be ready soon.” A kakushi handed you towels and bathrobe.

“Thank you.” You murmur taking the the towels from them and then begin to undress yourself. Folding your work clothes neatly on the bench and then padded over to steaming water.

You dipped your toe into the water to test the temperature. You hummed in approval at the warmth and then sank into the water wondering how the hell you got yourself into this situation.

“Maybe… maybe if I just close my eyes this will all go away…” You shut your eyes for a moment and began to count.

“Why are you counting, [name]-kun?”

You opened your eyes to see the ravenette staring down at you with curious violet hues. Your bones rattled at her sudden appearance. It seemed as if she appeared out of thin air. You hadn’t even heard her footsteps…

You quickly covered your naked body, but she wasn’t even fazed. “W-what are you doing in here?”

“I wanted to check on you. I know this all probably super overwhelming.” She said as she sat down next to you. "By the way I'm Kocho Shinobu."

“Well, could you maybe do that when I’m dressed, Kocho-san?”

“Bodies are just flesh, but if you feel so strongly then find me when you’re done.” She smiled at you before disappearing again.

“Wow, she inhumanly quick.” You muttered to yourself as you submerged yourself into the hot spring once more.

Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad? Wait didn’t he mention something about demons?! Your eyes flew open for a second but you shook your head. Nah, you just imagined that, but maybe he did?

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