#shinobu kocho angst

[zhvakinnn]

Avenge me

Shinobu x GN reader

A/N: hey I'm running out of ideas so if some of you have request, please do

Warning: death, kinda mention of blood, angst

🍓as always I don't know much English so correct me if I'm wrong🍓

You ran fast as you could to get to shinobu desperate that she's still alive

You receive a message from shinobu's crow her crow is crying and shouting at

" casa shinobu cwaaa help"

As soon as you get what her crow meant you ran and follow her crow

Once you got there you saw kanao and inosuke

You draw your blade, looking for shinobu, kanao notice you, you saw her crying

"(name)-san"

She stuttered you name, then you got these chill's and your heartbeat became fast, you hold her shoulder and said

"shi-shinobu... where's shinobu?!"

She flinch You didn't mean to scream at her you're just panicking to where shinobu is then an unfamiliar voice is heard

"oh? You mean...this?"

The upper rank demon is holding her clip...her butterfly clip

"aw how ashame you didn't make it on time"

Kanao is still there standing terrified, you began to whisper a sorry to kanao

You were furious at this man

"and who you maybe"

The upper demon ask

"none of you business-"

"they're (full name)"

Oh great.. thanks inosuke

"ohh what a lovely name and what relationship you have with this kocho..you cant be siblings you dont look alike her let me guess a friend?"

"she's my significant other you shit"

"oh...OH ahahaha thats why your so furious oh my i didn't know someone would date this useless girl"

"after killing her you badmouthing her now you bitch?!"

"(name) please calm down he's trying to get you mad to kill you aswell"

Kanao said you nodded then look at the demon

Then the upper demon looked at inosuke douma's face turns different like he's looking at inosuke checking every detail based on his eyes the douma talk about he's mother

(you can read it on mangago chapter 160 cause I'm kinda lazy)

Then inosuke flew towards douma but then douma slash he's bare chest

---------------------------------------------------

The fight was intense the room was all bloodie mostly to those womans who died, you,inosuke and kanao have many injury you we're there staring where the upper rank demon died you were staring at it with a anger mix up in sadness

You couldn't accept it she died not in your arms, you saw in many books whenever someone dies they died in they're arms and kiss them one last time

But no...this man didn't give you a chance to say goodbye to your lover

You couldn't give this man a chance even in the after life

You look around the room you saw inosuke full of blood in he's chest

You walk close to him, once you get closer and closer you could hear him sob

Once you got there he look up to you with a teary eyes no words came and you kneel down and hug him

You saw kanao walk towards you and hug the two of you aswell

A minutes pass you three break from the hug

And you stare at kanao you saw her right eye blind and her hair...

"you know kanao you should put your hair down sometimes.. you look very pretty with it"

Kanao smiled at your compliment and then she put on the clip on your hair you touch it the smile with a teary eyethen got up kanao was on the right of inosuke while you're at the left lifting him up

while your walking in the hallway you saw shinobu's coat but on the arm part you let go of inosuke and took the cloth that was on the pond then proceed

This isn't the end yet..muzan.... I'll kill you for making these demons and I'll AVENGE those people who have died miserable

A/N: this is the best I can do for now hope you like it🫶🏼

[lyrefromthesea]

Do you think you could maybe do the Hashiras with a dying reader? Not like dying in there arms but a reader who's so ill that they can't move and bed ridden, dying?

Remember to take care of yourself!!

Hashira x Reader - how sickening

pairing: Tengen x reader, Obanai x reader, Rengoku x reader, Sanemi x reader, Giyuu x reader, Gyomei x reader, Shinobu x reader, Mitsuri x reader

content warning: angst, fluff?

Tengen:

"i'm home" he said, still both his swords in hand. he had started immediately coming home after his missions, worried over your safety.

since the doctor told you to stay in bed, he had to help you more now. he didn't mind, he would give you acts of service as long as you live.

however, when he heard sounds coming from the kitchen, he dropped both his swords, rushing towards the room.

you stood in front of the counter, trying to chop vegetables. his eyes widened, knowing that you put a toll on your body. with a swift movement, his hand was on yours as he stood right behind you.

"darling, it's enough." he told you, gently taking the knife out of your hands. he almost felt bad when you looked at him with big deer eyes. "the doctor told you to rest."

"i know, but it doesn't sit right with me. i still feel like i can do things myself. i want to be helpful." you admitted, your head lowering.

"i know, but it's important to rest at times. let's bring you to bed, I can finish this." he answered, nodding at the vegetables. he put an arm around your shoulder, leading you towards the bedroom.

listening to your words, he knew you still wanted to feel helpful - strong, but he saw how weak your body truly was.

he knew that there was a slim chance of survival. he didn't want the time you still had decreasing because you were pushing yourself too much.

Obanai:

you were asleep again. it happened more often since he came visiting you every day. his eyes were looking you over, trying to find anything out of place.

you had more bandages on your arms, probably from all the shots you were receiving. your lips have turned more pale and dark circles were slowly growing under your eyes.

he had come up with a routine when you were asleep upon his arrival, checking your body first and then placing his head on your chest.

he closed his eyes, trying to focus on the sound of your heart. the steady beat always managed to calm him down, but it has grown weaker over the past days.

he felt worry consuming the back of his mind, not noticing how your hand moved until it was placed on his head.

"Obanai.. you came to visit again." you mumbled, opening your eyes just a bit, everything else felt too exhausting.

"i promised." he answered, carefully pulling away. he knew it was stupid, but he was worried about putting too much weight on you.

"you can continue, i don't mind.." you tried to encourage him to continue, not wanting him to feel stressed. he declined your offer right away, much rather looking after you.

"i'm fine."

Rengoku:

his eyes were locked on your plate. the two of you have eaten lunch about half an hour ago. when he decided to do the dishes and found your nearly untouched plate, worry began to pool in his gut.

you hadn't eaten properly over the past few weeks, but it had been so much worse since last week. he put the plate down, not feeling like cleaning it right now.

his mind was elsewhere - with you - trying to figure out how to make you feel better.

he had already known what an untreatable disease could do to people. he had watched his mother be bedridden until the moment of her death.

and even though you've told him that you made peace with the fact you were going to die, he had at least wanted to make your days as bearable as possible.

he shook his head, trying to lock the negative thoughts out. times were hard, he needed to show you he was a reliable husband - that he still had hope.

he cleared his throat, trying to look more confident a he wandered to your room. perhaps he could convince you to eat a small treat.

Sanemi:

visiting the hospital was something Sanemi dreaded every day. he would've avoided ever seeing this place, but that meant he wouldn't be able to see you.

entering your room, he found himself swallowing down his sorrows. he did it for you, but it got harder for him with each passing day.

he stood next to your hospital bed, looking down at your face. you nearly looked like last time, but you've grown more pale.

he wondered if you could feel the change - feel anything. if he only knew that his daily visits were helping you grow healthy.

yet there was no indication of your well-being. you had been in a coma for three months now and the doctors didn't believe in your recovery anymore.

"i tried cooking your favourite, when you wake up again, i want to show you." he started, standing next to your bed. he didn't know what to do, so he decided to tell you about his day when he visited.

he knew it wasn't anything interesting, but he hoped you would hear something - anything. he hoped you would wake up and prove the doctors wrong.

Giyuu:

this wasn't fair. his sister. his friend. the people he fought to protect. and now you.

ever since you've grown sick, he has stayed by your side. he knew you couldn't move on your own so he did it for you. it was easy to carry you around, you've grown much lighter in his arms. it worried him, even the inexperienced eye could tell you weren't healthy.

"the sun will set soon." his quiet voice proclaimed, feeling your head move. he sat down on the engawa, keeping you in his arms.

"is this okay?" he asked, trying to ensure you weren't uncomfortable in his hold. he wanted you to feel at ease at all times.

"it's good, don't worry." you mumbled, placing your head against his chest. his hold on you grew tighter, he was glad you put your trust in him.

he swore to protect you, but protecting someone from a demon is different than this. he felt helpless, afraid of losing you.

he didn't know how many sunsets you would be able to see.

Gyomei:

when the first signs of your sickness started occuring and you wished to still indulge in the pleasures of life, he had supported you.

deep down he thought it would maybe make you feel better, treat what was untreatable.

however, it didn't change the number of times you were more tired than usual, passing out in the midst of a conversation or task.

"Gyomei..?" you awoke in your bed, hands slowly rubbing over your eyes. you didn't know why you were here, you had been walking through the meadow a few moments prior.

"your fever has returned." he informed you, placing a wet towel on your forehead. you shuddered at the feeling, sinking deeper into the blankets.

"i didn't notice, i'm sorry." he said, his voice having grown more quiet. he felt guilty, he should've noticed that you had grown more ill again.

"don't apologize. it's nothing we could've seen coming." you answered, a quiet chuckle leaving your lips.

he smiled, yet he couldn't unhear how weak your voice has gotten, how you had to exhaust yourself everytime you answered.

Shinobu:

"are you ready for your daily shot?" she asked you, wanting to make sure you're fine. you nodded, trying to force a smile on your face.

she glanced at your face for a short moment, then proceeded to take the syringe in her hand. you had been staying in the butterfly mansion for a while now, but you still didn't look any better.

the sting of the needle barely hurt and feeling the small amount of liquid entering your arm made a weird sensation spread throughout your body.

you wanted to tell Shinobu, but stopped when you saw her face. the smile she tried to keep up vanished every time she had to give you a shot.

you figured that he was worried about your state, not wanting it to worsen. naturally, you brought your hand on top of hers, her eyes meeting yours.

"it's going to be fine." you told her, a weak smile forming on your face. she smiled back. "i know."

she needed to leave a few moments later, telling you to rest some more. your emotional strength was admirable, but it wouldn't keep you safe this time.

how long would she be able to treat you until she gave up fighting a deadly disease?

Mitsuri:

"[name]!" Mitsuri cheered, rushing towards you after she entered your shared estate. it was the first thing she did since you had been bed-ridden.

"i brought you some sakura mochi! i thought sharing some would lift your mood!" she cheered, placing a huge plate of the sweet treat down next to you.

she smiled happily, though her face dropped when she saw your apologetic look. had she done something wrong again?

"thank you, Mitsuri, but i'm not supposed to eat sweets.." you reminded her. now she really lost her smile, looking at the plate and then back at you.

"i'm so sorry! i just wanted to cheer you up!" she whined, her hands immediately coming up to meet yours. she didn't do this will ill intentions, she had just wanted to make your day brighter.

"it's fine. i appreciate the gesture." you comforted her, gently squeezing her hands. at least that's what you tried, but your strength has drastically reduced, making the action barely noticable.

"sit down and tell me about your day. i've been worried about your mission." you said, watching her slowly sit down. she did as you asked, wanting to make you happy.

and as you two sat there, speaking for hours, she didn't notice how you had pushed the sakura mochi further to her - by the end of your conversation the plate was empty.

[everlastingleuthymia]

This doesn't belong to me .

She weights so light 😭💓

[midnightwriter21]

demon slayer hcs: the hashira men w/ a demon!SO that’s immune to sunlight pt2

characters: fem!reader x sanemi

warnings: blood, injuries, language, angst

pt. 1 w rengoku and giyuu HERE

SANEMI

this poor man can just never be happy huh

now i find it very hard to believe that sanemi would be with a regular civilian

he’s gotta know that his SO is able to take care of themself

SO

ur a slayer and you guys are paired up on a mission together

there were reports of several low ranking demons being sighted in a town

so Sanemi decides to split up and to meet back up when the sun begins to rise

when you don’t show up at the meeting place he knows something is very very wrong

tears through the town looking for you

and he finds you alright

laying in a pool of your own blood

haori torn to shreds

sword broken

he doesn’t even walk toward you

he’s frozen

his blood has literally gone cold

stands there staring at your broken body until the kakushi arrive

when they do they quickly realize that you are alive and sanemi snatches your limp body from them and SPRINTS to the butterfly mansion

he hands you off to Shinobu who gets to work immediately

he waits there for her to give him an update

and boy does she

you? a demon?

his sweet loving girlfriend is a demon?

it can’t be true. you were laying in the sun.

he tells shinobu this and she says that she’ll have to do some more testing when you wake up

it’s 3 days later when you finally do wake up

and when you do you’re greeted with 2 low ranking slayers pointing their swords at your neck

of course they had to keep you guarded in case you woke up and needed a snack

the human kind

screaming for shinobu she rushes into the room

she sends the slayers out and quickly explains what has happened to you

you ask for sanemi

and your heart breaks when she tells you that he hasn’t visited

not once since she told him what you had become

a few more days pass with shinobu running a bunch of tests

she concludes that you’re somehow immune to the sun and that you don’t have an appetite for humans

and still no sign of sanemi

he hasn’t responded to any of your letters either

when shinobu releases you from her care you head to sanemi’s estate

when you knock on his door he opens, looks at you

and then slams it right back in your face

so you leave

as the weeks pass you throw urself into training with Nezuko who you’ve become friends with

but other than to train you don’t leave your estate

you have locked yourself away from the world

believing that sanemi hates you because of what you are

a monster

it’s not until Genya visits you and sees how pitiful you look that something is done

Genya storms to his brothers home

the ground practically shaking under his steps

Genya literally slaps some sense into Sanemi

like actually slaps the shit outta him

Genya is the only person that could get away with something like that other than you lol

not 10 minutes after genya left your home you get a very hesitant knock on your door

you don’t answer

so Sanemi takes it upon himself to walk in

and he finds you sitting on the floor staring at the wall with a blank look on your face

he sets a gentle hand on your shoulder and you don’t react

you don’t move a muscle

you don’t even blink

it’s as if you’re in a trance

he takes in the dark circles under your eyes

and the frown that looks like it’s permanently stretched across your face

and the guilt hits him full force

kneeling next to you and pulling you into his lap

he buries his face into your hair

and he cries

“i’m so fucking sorry”

“if i didn’t decide to split up this wouldn’t have happened”

“it’s my fucking fault”

and then he feels you pull away from him

his eyes are still closed with tears slipping down his face

and then a small cold hand is wiping the tears from his face

“you left me” you say

and his eyes shoot open

to see you with tears in your eyes

he looks away

“i can’t look at you knowing that this is my fault” he says in between cries

“why are you here now?” you ask

he pulls you back into his chest and say

“Genya told me how you’ve been acting and I can’t stand knowing that you’re unhappy”

you push yourself closer to him and say

“if you want me to be happy, then stay”

he takes a deep breath

“i’ll stay”

[madwomansapologist]

stay soft, get eaten | tanjiro kamado x hashira!reader

tanjiro was accused of treason, and there was more than enought proof for you to cut his head and damn his existence. that was your duty as a hashira. but as a friend, you couldn't. you could never.

cw: angst. hurt/barely any comfort. childhood friends to strangers to lovers. kny level of violence. death and gore. more than one character actively trying to kill nezuko.

an: messing around with the idea of an oc. can anyone rec an artist that accepts commissions? another chapter of me finding a way to put a undertale reference on my fics.

A ghost stood before you, forcing you to face your past.

Once more you were that innocent girl unaware of how your life would change. Focused on the basket between your hands, making sure to protect the bread inside it from the snow, you had no real worries.

You didn't saw the blood. You didn't smell the putrid stench. It was right in front of you, and still you noticed nothing. How you despise that clueless girl. She knew the world was a kind place. She didn't believed that, she knew that: nothing bad has ever happened for her to think otherwise.

How dumb you were. To only notice the blood after stepping on it.

You never truly understood what it meant to be a person until that very moment. To be alive is to have a body, and to have a body is to suffer. A layer of skin, a layer of fat, a layer of muscles, a layer of bones. Nothing can change that.

And blood. So much blood. You threw up on the snow, and continued until your throat burned. With the scarlet red carved on your eyes, you saw the graves. That made you remember exactly where you were.

Kie Kamado. Takeo Kamado. Hanako Kamado. Shigeru Kamado. Rokuta Kamado. Nezuko Kamado. Tanjiro Kamado.

All dead.

You were shaking when he came. Was it because of the snow falling on your skin for hours on end, the empty on your stomach, or the violent cries taking over your body? When you left with Giyu Tomioka, you knew why: you were enraged.

From then on, you trained. You almost died, then did it all again. Until you reached perfection. Every movement, every breath, every muscle of your body. You made yourself excelent. You protected those that couldn't, killed oni after oni, slayed a kizuki without hesitation.

That innocent girl you despise died because of what you saw that night. That girl you envy, that had silly dreams and could afford not to learn it was already time to grow for a few more years died that night. So why you're looking at Tanjiro's sleeping face?

Unaware of the string muzzling your heart as if it was a beast in need of taming, the Pillars argued around you. You couldn't quite catch their words, all meaning lost in the air around you.

You pinched yourself, as if you didn't already knew it wasn't a nightmare. Life taugh you a funny trick: when you don't know what's happening, all you had to do is to imagine the worst possible scenario and accept it as reality.

And so you knew: you were late that night. More than you could ever imagine. Late so you couldn't see they alive, couldn't help Tanjiro, couldn't save Nezuko. And Giyu lied to you. If not, he at least omit the truth from you.

"Tomioka", you interrupted Tengen, just now realizing the voice you heard belong to him. You have never been so upset, and still your concentration on your breathing technique never shattered. "You knew from the start, didn't you?"

"I believe Shinobu said-", Mitsuri thought you had misunderstood Shinobu's report, but decided to remain silent when she noticed your clenched fists. She observed you, more carefully now, and saw the truth.

After all, when someone does their best not to cry the only decent thing is to pretend they're doing a good job.

Giyu didn't return your gaze. You were almost grateful for it. You don't know if you could endure his coldness now. "You found me mourning his family, and knowing he was alive you chose to say nothing."

How loud the silence that came after it was. Not a single breath was heard by your attentive ears. In the absence of an response, you found one: your trick never fails you.

Kyojuro turned to you, his smile brighter than the sun. "All slayers involved in this case shall face punishment", Kyojuro's energy had no effect on you. "We'll find a way to punish the Water Hashira."

Instead of moving forward, you looked back. "Tomioka", your calm voice made him look at you. This time, you were ready for what you would face. Even know, he was so aloof. What a nice act.

Giyu Tomioka gave you no comfort when he found you that night, only the truth. Giyu Tomioka told you a tale of demons and slayers, of blood and ashes. Giyu Tomioka gave you a reason to get up, clean the vomit on your face, and pray one last time for the family that always treated with care.

"What I do now?", the wind shoved your tired words towards ears. "How can I stop then?"

Giyu thought about your questions for a while. Just when he decided it was best to turn his back on you, something on your eyes stopped him. They burned. "There is a cultivator a few cities away."

You smiled.

Mitsuri gasped. She can still smile at him even now, her dreamy eyes gazed upon you. Sweet like sakuramochi. And as pretty too.

You thought about hiding yourself behing Gyomei when Tanjiro started to wake up. You didn't, you couldn't move. As he tried with sleepy words to protect his sister, you stood as quiet as you could. But his eyes found you, and for a second the world around you faded away.

⋆✦⋆

Tanjiro was dreaming again.

As the Pillars argued about his future execution, Tanjiro couldn't quite believe it all was really happening. Broken bones, exhausted mind, sore muscles. He must be hallucinating from the pain. That's the only possible explanation.

Because you're right in front of him, and that only happens when he dreams.

And still, even so sure it was just a fantasy from his tired mind, Tanjiro could do nothing but to stare at your sweet eyes and pretend it was reality.

How he wish to go back in time and be that boy who worried if you would look at him at during his daily walks throught the village. He could almost feel the softness of your hair against his once scarless palm, hear the poems you declamed with such a passion, see the careful way you treated your siblings.

Tanjiro isn't that boy anymore, and your perfume reminds him of apple and cinnamon. You smell like exhaustion and regret. Like hopes and dreams. Kindness and duty.

"Were you happy?" He interrupted one of the Pillars, not that he ever heard about them before, and in response to his disrespect Tanjiro was shoved on the ground. He contorced his body to look at you, ignoring everything else. "Was life good to you?"

Your smile burned your cheeks, so big it showed a bit of your gums. Usually you tried to keep it cover, but not this time. This time you could afford to smile without a care. "No, it wasn't", you answered with a voice covered in honey. "But I made it good."

Tanjiro smiled. The pain, the loneliness, the fear: it all disappeared. Smelling joy, Tanjiro was glad it wasn't a dream. But of course that meant the execution discussed was real too.

"That won't be a problem, right?" Shinobu questioned. "As a Pillar, we expect you to do what must be done."

Looking into his eyes, a stare so strong you felt hazy, you didn't hesitate. "The only mercy a demon deserves is a of a quick death." You turned to Shinobu, so she could see you meant it. "It's our duty to do so."

"And the boy?" Shinobu smiled, but it was so emotionless. It felt like a performance, but to what audience? Who Shinobu was trying to fool? You can't imagine.

You could feel his gaze burning your temples. "I won't pretend to be our Master and decide his fate", you wondered if your eyes were emotionless too. Were you trying to fool someone? "I know my place."

As Rengoku reenforced Tanjiro was to be killed by his act of treason, you looked at him again. Hoping to see disgust on his eyes, you saw something you couldn't really comprehend. Something warm and soft.

You saw your Tanjiro again. That sweet boy who would protect you from the snow, even if he would get sick because of it. You wondered if he saw that girl you once were. If he could remember your tales and desires.

You hope that girl is still alive somewhere safe. It would be enough for her to be alive on his mind.

She would've protected Tanjiro now. Don't matter the size of the threat, she would fail but would never give up. Now you're bigger than most threats out there in the world, but nothing could change the fact Tanjiro protected a demon.

You stood quiet, dreaming about a world were demons were still just tales. You smelled like defeat.

⋆✦⋆

And still, despite your desire to never speak again, you couldn't ignore it.

"Nezuko glowed, Master", you gather all your strenght to disagree. It pierced your very soul to do so, but how could you agree with that? "She was the jewelof our village. A dear friend, my Flower, so kind and generous."

You felt the weight of his gaze on you, knowing that Tanjiro would never look at you again. You love him, you really do, but if he really wanted to protect Nezuko he would let her go. You would be kind. You would do it swiftly, and endure the weight of her death for him.

"She doesn't deserve to be remembered as one of them", you said. "If her body won't be respected, then let her soul be. Allow me to free her, please."

Mitsuri would do anything Master asked for, but that made her desire he would want something else. That's a sort of strenght I didn't knew you had, Mitsuri thought to herself. Am I strong like that?

Looking into Tanjiro's eyes, you didn't noticed as Sanemi moved. You only understood when he screamed, and Iguro decided to put him down on the ground. Again and again, Sanemi pierced the box, offending Nezuko.

"Master, forgive me for this", you raised your voice. You would never do that in front of your Master, but he was the one to start this. In a instant, you were besides him with your sword on your hands. "But if Sanemi will be cruel, I will be fast."

But before you could cut off her head, Nezuko looked away.

"Flower?" You asked, sword falling down on the ground. "Are you in there?"

Nezuko hugged you, and once again a Kamado shattered your world.

if you enjoyed, please reblog! i promise it makes a difference ♡

general taglist: @lovelyy-moonlight

@ madwomansapologist.tumblr.

[mikasa-imadebiscults]

Insecurities | Hashira

(A/N- GET READY FOR THE ANGST. This is like what they’re insecure about)

(Characters Included- All the Hashira besides Uzui, Rengoku, Muichiro, and Mitsuri)

(Warning: Manga spoilers but besides that nothing)

🌪️Sanemi Shinazugawa🌪️

- His impulsive decisions, sometimes when he gets angry he makes sudden impulsive decisions and ends up regretting it. So he’s afraid if you two get in a fight or a argument he’ll do something that he will regret.

🪨Gyomei Himejima🪨

- His strength, he’s extremely grateful that he’s able to protect you and make you feel protected whenever he’s around but at the same time when you both are holding hands or cuddling he’s afraid that he’ll end up hurting you on accident.

🐍Obanai Iguro🐍

- The scar on his cheeks, it just brings back memories of his childhood every time he looks at it. Also he’s worried that if you see the scars you’ll be disgusted or scared and/or look at him differently. It will take a lot to convince him to take off his mask.

🦋Shinobu Kocho🦋

- Her body, specifically the fact that it’s small and physically weak. She’s afraid that something will happen to you and she can’t protect you, just like how she couldn’t protect her dear older sister. She’s also afraid that you want someone with a more taller and muscular build.

🌊Giyuu Tomioka🌊

- How quiet he is and how majority of the time he’s expressionless. He fears that he’s not enough and that you need someone that talks more or you’ll get bored. He really does his best to change and talk to you more.

Masterlist

[chocochozi]

Second Chance.

Pairing : Sanemi Shinazugawa x Hashira!Reader

Warning : Slight angst, Sanemi maybe a little bit out of character, angst with a happy ending.

Part 2 of The Other Woman.

A/N : AHHHH i didn't expect people to like the first part😭😭 for the people who are asking for part 2, here it isss

Taglist : @yomama2089 @elibelly @delusional-mushroom @bright-sunshines

@senecarosemary-blog

Its been two weeks since the argument with Sanemi. It hasn't been clear to me if the relationship has really ended. Though, its more likely that it has. I've been doing a great job avoiding him those past 2 weeks. Over the course of those days i've been spending my time with everyone but him basically.

But then again, it didn't go unnoticed for the others. Not seeing us together hip to hip did made them suspicious. Cause even if we were in a room together, i avoided him even if it means staying quiet.

If i was to choose between talking to him or Tomioka i'd rather choose the second option and distract myself with having the most boring conversation in the world with Tomioka than talk to him. (no hate to him sorry, Giyuu.)

But as one would expect, the avoiding will eventually came to a stop or be forced to stop.

And here i am, in the Ubuyashiki Estate where both me and Sanemi were requested the presence of by Master himself. Being summoned like this can only mean one thing, to be situated to being partners for a mission. Of couse both of us couldn't say no.

The mission was a simple one, kill the demons that has been lurking in the village that we had been sent to. Only that it needed two pillars since the demons are reportedly strong.

We set out under the dim light of the moon. You can feel the tension that had been building for the past few days in the air, plus the uncomfortable silence that each of us didn't even dare break.

Sanemi's steps were heavy and his brow was furrowed as he led the way. I followed behind, my breath coming in short gasps as we made our way towards the village.

As we walked, we encountered a few demons along the way. But, Sanemi was quick and efficient as he struck them down, while i did the same.

Once in the village, the plan was to split up and so we did split up to search for the reported demons. Sanemi's search was quick, and i could hear the sound of his sword striking against a demon's flesh. On the other hand, my hunt was slower, i found myself wandering through the winding empty streets, trying to find the elusive demon.

Wandering around more, i finally found the demon, but it wasn't alone. There were multiple demons in the area, and they were clearly ready for a fight. I drew my sword and prepared to face them off, my heart pounding in my chest.

[ 3rd person view. ]

As the fight began, both Hashiras found themselves separated, each fighting off multiple demons alone.

[ (name)'s POV. ]

I've been fighting these demons for what felt like a few hours now, after i slayed one of them another appears and i struggled against the demon's fiery attacks.

The reports were right, these demons are strong, almost as strong as a Lower Moon, my breath coming in gasps as my strength and stamina started to weaken.

Wiping the blood off of the side of my forehead, My appearance was disheveled, my hair messed up, blood streaming down my face, my uniform has rips on it including one of the claw attack on my legs creating a masive slash on my pants. a hiss escapes my lips as i touch my bleeding forehead. 'Hurry, Sanemi. My stamina's not gonna last longer..' i bit my bottom lip. I didn't wanna die with out making up with him.

As i stumbled, i was caught off guard with a stabbed on the lower back by one of the demons i was fighting. I let out a blood curdling scream. Its a good thing that it wasn't a vital point, now, i hadn't been attacking, only defending. My moves are a bit sluggish now that the tiredness was getting to me.

An hour into the fight, It was no use, my stamina was long gone and i couldn't even gather up the strength to get up. 'Ah..im passing out..i think?' I layed there on the ground, vision starting to spin and blur, everything around sounded so muffled like i was underwater.

Through my blurry and spinning vision, i saw his familiar figure. I took one last breath and finally closed my eyes, it was enough for me to know he was alive, but there we're two demons left. I heard them whispering to each other before I saw Sanemi arrive, it was along the lines of hiding and wanting to ambush him while his defenses were down.

[ 3rd person POV. ]

Sanemi was in the middle of battle when he heard a scream– their scream.

"[Name].." Sanemi breathe out, turning his head to the direction where he heard you scream. He turned his head again to focus on what's infront of him, Sanemi stood against three demons, his sword gleaming in the moonlight. as three demons approached him. The creatures were covered in scales and had razor-sharp claws, their eyes glowing with demonic energy. The Hashira didn't hesitate, charging forward to engage them.

The first demon was the largest, and Sanemi knew that it was the most dangerous. It raised its claws, ready to strike, but Sanemi was faster. His sword flashed in the moonlight as he struck, cutting through the demon's scales severing its arm. The demon let out a roar of pain, but Sanemi didn't let up and went of the demons neck.

Sanemi was known for his speed and precision, but even he struggled against the demons' raw power. He lunged at the first demon, his sword slashing through the air, but the demon blocked the attack easily with its massive arm. The second demon lunged at Sanemi from the side, its claws striking at his chest, but he dodged out of the way, his sword striking at the demon's neck.

The third demon was the most formidable of the group. It stood tall and powerful, towering over Sanemi. The demon let out a chilling roar, clearly preparing to attack. Sanemi stood his ground, his sword raised in a defensive position.

The demon charged at him, its huge claws bared and ready for battle. Sanemi waited for the right moment and dove out of the way, just in time to avoid the attack. The demon crashed into the ground, leaving itself vulnerable.

Sanemi was quick to seize the opportunity. He leaped onto the demon's back, his sword held high. With a single, decisive blow, he severed the demon's head from its body, effectively killing it.

Sanemi stood there, breathing heavily, his sword still clutched in his hand. surrounded by the lifeless bodies of three powerful demons. He was exhausted, both physically and mentally, but he knew that his work was not yet complete. He had heard the blood-curdling scream of his partner, who had been his only ally in this fight, and knew that he had to find them. As the adrenaline started to wear off, he started to feel the strain on his body, the toll of the intense battle suddenly catching up with him.

He quickly searched the area, his heart racing with anxiety and dread. Finally, he found them, lying on their own blood, passed out. Sanemi's heart sank as he looked down at their helpless form. He knew that the demons had done this to them, and he felt a burning anger rising within him.

But he knew that he couldn't dwell on anger now. He had to focus, to channel his emotions into the fight ahead. He had to save them, no matter what the cost. He stood infront of them to protect their unconscious body. ready to face the next challenge.

As he waited, he could hear the distant sounds of two demons growling and snarling. They were coming, and they were hungry. Sanemi was ready. He drew his sword, his eyes set on the enemy. He knew that he couldn't let his emotions get the best of him, that he had to be calm and collected. But he also knew that he had to fight with all his might, to protect the them and to avenge their wounds.

As the demons finally appeared before him, Sanemi let out a primal roar and charged at them with all his strength and speed. He was a blur of motion, and his swrod flashed in the air as he sliced through the demons like butter.

In moments, the two demons lay defeated at his feet, their heads severed from their bodies. But Sanemi's fight was not yet over. He quickly ran to their side, checking their pulse and breathing.

They were alive, but barely. Sanemi knew that he had to get them help as soon as possible.

A few minutes later, Multiple Kakushi arrived at the village taking them from Sanemi's arms. "I tried to stop the bleeding by putting pressure on it," he gently passed you to the Kakushi, "you better take good care of them." His voice was demanding but quiet. The Kakushi nodded.

After receiving news from Aoi that they had woken up from being unconscious for three days, Sanemi quickly made his way to the Butterfly Mansion, his heart racing with anxiety. He couldn't shake the feeling of dread that had been hanging over him since the battle, and he desperately needed to see the them.

Finally, he arrived at the Butterfly Mansion, his breath coming in harsh gasps as he ran up to the doorstep. He burst through the door panting.

Shinobu's eyes widen as she heard the door burst open revealing a panting Sanemi on the door way, he clearly rushed here as soon as he received the news.

"Their awake," Shinobu said, her voice soft and filled with emotion. "I was just filling them in about everything that's happened, and they were asking about you."

Sanemi's heart leapt in his chest, his eyes widening as the weight that had been pressing on him lifted. "Where are they?"

"I'll take you to them," Shinobu led the way to their room gently knocking then opening the door softly. " [name], Sanemi's here." They were spacing out looking at the window to their left, until they heard his name, they turned to look at the opened door, their eyes landing on the face on the man they love.

Sanemi couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief. They were sitting there, looking just as beautiful as ever, albeit a bit pale and tired.

"I'll leave you two alone." Shinobu says, earning a hum from the both of you.

Sanemi walked over to their bed, they were leaning on a pillow while they were sitting.

"I'm glad you're okay, i shouldn't have made the plan to split up, im sorry." he murmured,

"The plan worked out fine, and if it wasn't for you i would've been devoured by those demons so, thank you."

Sanemi took a deep breath, knowing that this was a conversation that he couldn't delay any longer. He had to apologize to them about the argument both of them had a few weeks ago, to let them know that he understood ther concerns and that he was sorry for hurting them.

"I want to apologize again about the argument we had," he began, looking down at his hands. "When we first started dating, and even now, I compared you to Kanae, and I realize now that that was wrong. I didn't realize how much it hurt you, and for that, I'm sorry."

[Name] looked up at him, surprise written all over their face. He had rarely spoken to them like this before, had rarely been this vulnerable and open with them.

"Thank you," they said, taking his hand. "Thank you for understanding. And I'm sorry too, for not being completely honest with you about my worries. It's just that, i wanted for you and your brother to be okay."

Sanemi smiled, feeling a weight lift off his shoulders. He knew that their relationship wasn't perfect, that they still had much to learn about each other. But this moment, this honest conversation, made him certain that they were headed in the right direction. And he was willing to do whatever it took to keep them happy, to be the best partner that he could be.

"I promise you that I'll be more thoughtful in the future," he said, looking into their eyes. "And I'll do my best to see things from your perspective. Because in the end, I don't want to lose you, and I want to make this work. So, I hope you'll give me a second chance."

They smiled, feeling a warm tingle in their chest. They never expected him to open up to them like this, to really listen to their concerns and apologize for his actions. And they knew that this was a turning point for their relationship, something that they could build on moving forward.

"Of course," they said, leaning in to kiss him. "I love you, Sanemi."

The two of them pulled away from the kiss, "I love you more."

"So, i guess we're okay?" He looked at them in the eyes. He was suprise to see them burst to laughter.

When your laughter dies down, there was a comforting silence that lingered in the air. "Yes," You smiled at him and lean into his face again to peck him on the tip of his nose.

[xxlady-lunaxx]

it seemed like the worst things happened on days that were supposed to be the best.

tanjiro had sold out completely that day, his basket light and happy on his back. the very same night, his family had been slaughtered.

nezuko was finally human, finally able to be with tanjiro again, able to live with him, truly. but only if he came back too, only if he stopped letting the blood flow freely from the people he loved.

all was well for zenitsu, though the training was hard, but everyone was so kind to him and he was proud of himself for how far he’d come. the letter he had intended to send to his gramps was cut short, unfinished as the news of the death for the first person to care about him came in a rolled note delivered by a small bird.

kanao was improving, both in training and with her emotions. but as her strength increased, so did the amount of poison in the blood of the woman who had once been a girl, taking her in without a moment’s hesitation.

senjuro was proud to be kyojuro’s brother and he would make sure that was evident, outdoing himself as he prepared for his brother’s birthday. but the food was left out, cold and uneaten, rotting like kyojuro’s heart—something meant to be beautiful; gone.

giyuu had been full of anticipation and giddiness because tsutako was going to get married! and yet, only hours before her marriage, her blood was the only thing decorating the house.

sanemi and genya were awaiting their mother, excited to see her as they were always in her presence. in the span of less than half an hour, genya had found sanemi standing over the woman they had loved—the one who had killed the rest of their family, the one who was killed unintentionally by the one who had possibly loved her most.

kanae had been happy, still high off the laughter her family had shared over dinner. but the night was full of tears and all she could do was hold onto shinobu and promise to never let this happen to anyone else.

gyomei was glad that kaigaku wasn’t causing trouble today, allowing the other children to go to bed peacefully without the usual disruption. but then none of them would ever awaken again, and kaigaku had caused much, much more than a little childish argument.

shinobu loved being held by kanae, even if she immediately scolded her for treating her like a child. she hated holding kanae in her own arms, feeling like the weight of her life was in her hands when she knew she could do absolutely nothing.

tengen had met the people whom he’d marry, and he was quite satisfied—after all the three of them seemed very lovely and he was surprisingly happy with them. but they had to run away, leave, and tengen could barely catch his breath with his own family’s blood staining his hands.

kotoha love inosuke, she loved douma, she loved this new life she was making. even so, fear was always stronger, fear was running away, fear was inosuke falling, fear was her own death by the hands of someone she had mistakenly trusted once again.

hakuji was finally someone, finally able to make someone happy. but that someone was dead, and his hands were now bloodied, and he wished he were dead.

yoriichi had made a life for himself, he was happy with uta and he was, for once in his life, full of excitement at the prospect of their soon-to-be child. except everything was wrong and he was holding uta like he should’ve held his child but he now they were both gone and all he could think was that they had done nothing wrong.

[lelee-tdn]

Childhood friends

I thought about their similarities of taking care of their beloved ones and how Hakuii released all that anger but Shinobu holds it for so many years, so I decided to make a comic about them being childhood friends going through grief and trauma

FINAL PAGE HERE since I can’t post more than 10 pictures 🤧

[waltzing-rats]

Ok so for the past months my brain has been screaming nothing but Demon Slayer so i scrounged up this poster of basically an ‘Everybody lives and theyre all happy’ au. Redesigning them was honestly such a pain but still fun 😭

[godjustkys]

hashira headcanons, pt. 1

★ INCLUDES: tomioka giyuu, rengoku kyojuro, shinobu kocho, uzui tengen, muichiro tokito, mitsuri kanroji, iguro obanai, sanemi shinazugawa, gyomei himejima.

★ TW: major character death, fatal injury, mentions of suicide, mentions of blood and pain, heavy angst, reader was close to character (romantic or platonic somewhat specified or implied, every relationship is different. If you want something that isn't here, requests are open.)

HASHIRA react to your DEATH.

TOMIOKA GIYUU;

- A demon's strength can always be underestimated. You were strong, strong enough to beat an upper moon. This demon was different, why was it having such an effect on you? Why did Tomioka, after beheading the demon, after such a drawn out fight, have to find you in a forest nearby, on the ground, your katana right next to you?

- Matter of fact, why weren't you moving at all? Why couldn't Tomioka hear you breathing? 'why, why why why?' were the only thoughts running through his head. He sauntered over to you, kneeling down and gently turning you over. Why did he, after successfully beheading a complicated demon, have to be met with the sight of your throat slit? Did you do it? Did the demon leave you like this? What happened.

- He sat there on his legs, staying as still as humanly possible, eyes not once leaving your bloody neck. “..[Name].” he managed to mutter out, his blinking getting excessive, shaking your body ever so slightly. Tomioka's breathing got erratic. He shut his eyes tightly, pressing his forehead to the chest of your lifeless body. His hand reached out, his fingers intertwining with yours. Tomioka stayed like that for a good minute, his breathing panicked and shaky, slowly getting heavier. He shook his head against your body, his eyes fluttering close. “No.. no no no, [Name].” he breathed out, tears pricking at his eyes. “What happened? Why-” he couldn't even finish his sentence as he started sobbing to the point of no return.

- His body slumped against yours, crying helplessly into your already cold chest. He stayed like that until Kocho found the two of you. He wouldn't let go of you, you were his after all. It took so much convincing from both Kocho and Tanjiro for him to let you go. Tanjiro stood there with Tomioka, his hands on the taller man's shoulders, comforting him. Kocho walked up to the calmer, yet still crying, hashira. “Tomioka,” she said gently, getting his attention. “Do you want his ring?” she asked cautiously, her voice soft. Tomioka looked at her, his eyes red, tears soaking his cheeks. He seemed to break more at her question. Right. Your ring. His and yours. Plans to get married were short-lived, weren't they? Tomioka shook his head slightly, leaning more into Tanjiro's touch. “Bury him with it.” He said quietly, lip quivering. “He's- my fiancé. He'll never be anything less than that.” Tomioka said. “I'll stay his forever, to the very end.” He muttered out, his head lowered.

RENGOKU KYOJURO;

- “[Name]! Let's go!” His loud voice called out. He was standing at the doors of your estate, waiting for you to come out. You had a mission together, your kasugai crow had informed you of that prior. “[Name]!” he called out for you once again. Still no answer, which was unusual.

- Having little to no patience, Rengoku opened the door swiftly, immediately stepping inside. The smile on his face faded and oh so quickly. A dead slayer, one of your comrades, in the middle of the room, bloody and- dead. His body sprawled out and torn apart. Rengoku furrowed his eyebrows, taking this as a warning. That slayer was a friend of yours, someone you trusted with your life, someone you confided in. Rengoku placed his hand on his katana's handle, getting into a fighting position. 'A demon had slipped through,' he thought. Then, he noticed you, all beaten and bloody with your back against the wall, hand pressing hard to the place where your heart was supposed to be.

- “[Name].” The way he said this was different. He seemed so much more serious and concerned as he walked over to you and kneeled, placing a hand on your uninjured shoulder. You seemed to be in shock - eyes wide, bloody face. Jesus, you looked like a mess. You took quick and shallow breaths, your katana in your other hand on the ground. “What happened? You need to get medical attention, now.” He said firmly, eyes scanning you over for any other visible injuries. “He grazed my heart, I- won't get there quick enough..” you said breathlessly, still staring at nothing in particular.

- “Did you kill the demon?” Rengoku questioned, shifting in his position as if he was ready to pick you up and get you to Kocho. “There was no demon.” you answered quietly, your breathing getting quicker. “What? Did—” He didn't get to finish as you cut him off. “He was working for- for.. Kibutsuji. Human, my friend, working for the.. the damned enemy.” You breathed out, your voice getting significantly more strained and hoarse. Rengoku didn't respond to you. He moved his hands underneath you, picking you up.

- You immediately winced, letting go of your katana. He slowly and carefully stood up with you in his arms. “Kyojuro- I won't.. I won't make it. Let me rest- I want to.. stay- here.” You mumbled, shutting your eyes tightly. “Nonsense.” He responded to you strictly, the panicked expression on his face betraying his façade. You hissed out in pain, your body slumping in his hold. It didn't take very long for him to get you to Kocho.

- It still wasn't enough time. You died in his arms right after he got you into the medical estate. He was so close. He heard you babble and mumble words, but they weren't even coherent. Maybe they would've been if he hadn't been carrying you at such high speeds. The moment he placed you on the bed, your blood even staining his uniform, Kocho announced your death. Rengoku swallowed hard and he lowered his head, giving a small nod to Kocho in recognition to her words.

- “You were always right.” He said to you, or rather your headstone as he kneeled in front of your grave. “You said you wouldn't make it and you didn't.” he said quietly, a rather solemn expression on his face. He didn't even cry during your funeral, neither did he cry after hearing Kocho say that you're dead, neither did he cry seeing your lifeless body there, laying in the medical bed. “Couldn't you— hold out for.. a minute more?” he questioned, knowing he wouldn't get any answer. Tears started brimming in his eyes. “I had so much to say to you.” Rengoku said, his shoulders slumping. “The respect I have for the dead is unimaginable, but damn you.” His voice trembled. “Is this what I get for being a coward? I wanted to be with you, [Name], I wanted to be with you.” He spoke, looking at your name, engraved in stone. “I promise not to act cowardly anymore, I promise you. I just wanted to hold you without any fear, any shame. I'll do better, I'll be with you. I accept your confession, please. Don't- leave me here.”

SHINOBU KOCHO;

- You were simply sitting in the medical bed, at the estate. Kocho walked in, her facial expression a gentle smile, as always. It was always the exact fucking same. “Spare me the lecture, will you?” you said, your arms crossed over your chest as you stared at the end of your bed. Kocho pulled up a chair and sat right next to your bedside. “Lecture? You need a good beating.” She said in a threatening tone with that warm smile, something that didn't mix at all. “Spare me that as well, yeah?” You made eye contact with her, your eyebrows slightly furrowed.

- “Aoi told me your vitals were.. decent.” Kocho started, her hands resting on her knees. “I can't find a cure so you opt for suicide?” She questions, tilting her head to the side, almost in an innocent manner. “I have a few days left anyway, I didn't want to bother waiting.” You pointed out, huffing out a breath. “I have spent day and night studying you, [Name]. I don't know what's wrong with you or how to fix it. I told you that fighting demons makes your condition worse. I told you, multiple times, to retire. To live a longer life. And what do you do? Not only do you manage to go on more missions than anyone else, but you try to hang yourself? After I warned you of the consequences?”

- “It is my job. I have dedicated my whole life to slaying demons, it is what I do best. You think I'm throwing that away because I'm dying? I can't even sleep at night because the only thoughts I have are about how rough people somewhere are having it, how they're doing their best to fight off demons while sobbing and screaming, begging for their life. I'd rather get rid of more demons and die early than live a longer life in a world that is becoming dangerously close to being dominated by those creatures.” You argued, making eye contact with Kocho. As she was looking at you, her eyes drifted down to your neck, to the huge bruises littering it.

- “I lied. You have an hour, at most.” She blurted out, her eyes locked onto your face, her smile gone. You paused momentarily. “I figured. Your left eyebrow raises up a little when you lie, and I know damn well my vitals couldn't have been good.” You responded calmly, uncrossing your arms as you started playing with your fingers a little. Kocho's eyes widened slightly. Goddamn it.

- “I don't blame you for this, Kocho. I never did, I never would. You did your best, you saved me multiple times on different occasions and I'm thankful for that.” You said sincerely, your tone taking a more serious edge to it now. For a person who was about to die, you seemed undeniably calm. “May I have some time alone? Preferably an hour.” You added with a nod. Kocho hated you for that. She hated that you were dying and that you wanted to be alone. But she didn't question it. She stood up, putting the chair back. “You did good, [Name]. And I'm sorry for not being able to prolong your life just a little more.” That made you smile weakly. She was acting tough, but you knew she would miss you sooner or later.

- “If the others ask..” You started, making Kocho stop in her tracks as she was ready to leave the room. “Tell them that I have never been more proud of myself for being able to stand shoulder to shoulder with them.” You spoke, your voice getting significantly quieter. “Especially you, Kocho.” She nodded her head with that same smile, though it seemed more genuine. “Goodbye, [Name].” As soon as she walked out of that room, her facial expression was angry. Was she angry because she couldn't save you? Or was she angry that she was losing you? She wouldn't dare to cry, how could she? You always used to tell her that your death is inevitable. How can you cry over something you knew was going to happen?

- Kocho sat behind that door and waited, for a long time. Waited until she had to walk into your room and find your lifeless body. She dreaded it. She didn't want you to go. You were her best friend. Was losing someone always this hard? She didn't even notice as the tears started rolling down her cheeks. She was hugging her knees, her back to the door. “Damn it, [Name].” Kocho muttered to herself. She had so much time to come to terms with your death, though she never did. She might've even believed that she could heal you, how stupid was that? “Don't go.” Her voice was lower than a whisper, strained and choked with emotion. As you were a hashira yourself, you would've heard what Kocho said. You didn't, your breathing stopped moments ago.

UZUI TENGEN;

- Uzui was a tough man. Strong, confident, trustworthy, brave, all the good stuff. He was rough around the edges but he was kind. Kind enough to acknowledge your grumpy self. You were strong as well, he could see that. Running up the ranks so quickly, racking up kills. When he had met you for the first time in Kocho's estate, he thought you were a bitch, honestly. Uzui himself was already healed up enough, walking out of the estate when you were brought in. You kept yelling and refusing the kakushi's help. “Let. Me. Go!” You said in a threatening tone. “Calm down. You're safe, they're gonna help you, idiot.” Uzui said with a teasing chuckle, stretching out his arms a little. “Oh shut up, you big head having asshol— hggghh—” you cut yourself off with a drawn out hiss. Yep. You insulted a hashira so quickly, without a single care in the world.

- Despite the extent of your injuries, a kakushi hit you. “Watch your mouth! He's a hashira, be nice!” She scolded you. Uzui thought that would elicit an apology of some sorts from you, after all hashira are what keep the whole corporation together. “A fuckin' bastard, that's what he is. Now get off of me!” What a loudmouth you were, huh.

- “You look like shit.” You muttered out, slapping Uzui awake. He had passed out momentarily after being sent through a couple of buildings, his head having hit a large bark of tree on the way. He blinked his dizziness away, looking up at you. “Demon's dead.” you calmed him down immediately, closing your eyes. “You killed it?” Uzui asked with a scoff, relaxing the moment you reassured him that the danger was gone. “Such a badass.” he teased, a big grin on his face. You sat down next to him, leaning your back against the wall. Uzui thought you were tired from the fight. “Damn right I am.” you answered, your voice slightly strained. Then, he heard a small groan coming from you.

- Uzui took that time of calmness to steady his breathing. He felt uneasy the moment you laid your head on his shoulder. “What's this? Did you fall asleep, you moron?” no answer from you. He pushed your head away in a slightly rough yet playful manner. Uzui's senses were overwhelmed by panic when your body just slumped forward, completely limp. “[Name]? Get up, you loser. We still gotta go back.” Even with his enhanced hearing he couldn't hear a single noise from you, you were dead quiet. “Hey.” He called out, putting his hand on your back and shaking your body slightly, urging you to wake up. Now he was really in a panic. He got onto his knees, his blinking getting frequent. Was he just overthinking this? You were always so quiet about everything, it would be no surprise if your breathing could barely be heard as you slept. He turned you over quickly, taking in the sight of your emotionless face for a moment. Nothing but dread filled his heart as he noticed the continuously pouring blood out of your injuries. The fucking gash in your stomach, where a vital point was supposed to be, bleeding the most of course.

- “Hey, woah woah woah, wait. [Name]?” He said, eyes flickering all over your figure. “What the hell?” Uzui mumbled to himself, immediately pressing his hand to the wound, trying to slow the bleeding. His other hand went up to your neck, checking for a pulse. “No.” His eyes widened. Did you seriously, after sustaining a fatal injury, go searching for Uzui just to make sure he's okay? You could've gotten fixed up first. But no, now you were laying here, without a pulse, all bloody and beaten. You must've been in so much pain to walk to him. Did you bleed out already? Is there really no way to help you regain consciousness until the kakushi arrive? What did he have to do? Did he have to let go of the pressure to your wound and try to do CPR on you? But if he did, you would only lose more blood. Even if he let go of you to make a tourniquet, he would take too long. The risk o—

- “He's dead, Uzui-san.” Kocho's soft voice broke the train of Uzui's thoughts. He took in a small breath, looking at the woman in front of him. “What?” He asked as if he didn't hear what Kocho said. “[Last name] is dead. The injuries he sustained were too severe, he lost a significant amount of blood. There's a trail leading to you.” She elaborated, kneeling down next to you. “He's been poisoned as well,” Kocho turned your head to the other side, a small mark on your neck and purplish veins surrounded it. Uzui took both of his hands away from your body, his shoulders slumping down. “You mean to tell me that not only did he get rid of the demon that I, even a hashira, failed to and his life got taken for it?” He questioned, his tone turning sour. He was mad. If only he hadn't blacked out from a simple hit to the head, you wouldn't have lost your life. “You are not to blame, Uzui-san. It seems that a lot of his bleeding is caused by his previous, still unhealed wounds.”

- 'You bastard.' Uzui cursed you out in his mind, staring at you. You didn't like receiving help, let alone medical. You always told them you could do it yourself just as well and even when you were forced to, you managed to get away from them quickly. You never stayed past a day in the butterfly estate. Now you suffered the consequences. Uzui stood up with a groan, his hands clenching into fists as he looked up at the sky. “I hate his guts.” He said harshly. Though in reality, he loved you like a brother. It wasn't the first time the two of you went on a mission together. Despite your rough and outlandish attitude that pissed a lot of people off, you were always helping those in need. Uzui would say that you turned into mush the moment you saw a helpless little kid, which you denied every time. It was all lies, you loved people to the core and you would lay your life on the line for them every day without a second thought. That's what your job was after all. Uzui let out a shaky sigh of pure despair, shutting his eyes tight. You had managed to get close to him, somehow, even with neither of you really wanting or needing it. He just wished that you would've put yourself first in a life or death moment. You didn't. And now he had to deal with the loss of you, a friend, that understood him better than anyone else.

MUICHIRO TOKITO;

- Although it was pretty unlikely, you and Tokito were friends. Actually, the kakushi introduced the two of you as Tokito asked about you. Even though you would not see each other often, you, the couple kakushi and Tokito would hang out for a little after hashira meetings. The kakushi only stuck around per your request.

- Today was different though. The moment the hashira meeting ended, Tokito's eyes shot to the side, searching for the presence of his friends, you and the kakushi. He took a step forward, a bit thrown off. The three of you would always wait for him. Always. “What are you doing, Tokito-kun?” Kocho asked gently, taking a small step forward. Muichiro turned to look at her, his facial expression blank. “Nothing. I was just looking for [Last name].” He said simply, relaxing his posture. “Hm. Tokito-kun, you are aware of [Last name]'s passing, right?” She inquired softly. Every other hashira seemed to focus on their conversation, quieting down. Tokito blinked a couple times, processing the information. “No. He died?” He asked, turning his body to face Kocho fully.

- “He was found dead with a child in his arms. He sustained severe injuries and he bled out while protecting the kid. The amount of demons he encountered is unknown, yet at least. Unfortunately, despite his attempts, the kid passed away as well.” Kocho explained with a huff of breath. Tokito furrowed his eyebrows, looking at the ground. He didn't even know why he was so affected by it. You were a demon slayer, it was bound to happen sooner or later. But with a child in your arms? You gave your life for someone and it was all in vain because the kid passed away as well. He felt like your sacrifice was useless. He knew he couldn't blame you for trying, but he would rather have had you alive, right here, waiting for him. “Oh. That's unfortunate.” He answered to Kocho, walking away in the opposite direction of where you were supposed to be standing. He would've saved himself over that kid. Of course, it seemed selfish, but is wanting to live really that bad? Something to be ashamed of? Tokito, for some unknown reason, started cursing you out in his head. You were his friend, you had managed to break through his walls and get more out of him than just a short and sassy answer. He was mad at your sacrifice. Mad beyond belief. Tokito wanted to see you, to talk to you, to look in your eyes. But what could he do now? All he could do was wait for you, just like you had waited for him. Even though it seems like he would wait for nothing in particular. You were gone and there wasn't anything he could do to bring you, his friend, back.

MITSURI KANROJI;

- “[Name]!!” Kanroji squealed, her eyes widening in shock as she put her hands to her mouth. Oh my god. The disrespect was unbearable. That demon had the audacity to carve words into your skin, on your face, and hang you up like a canvas for a show?! “[Name], oh no! Hold on dear, I'll get you down! I'm so sorry!” She yelled, running to you immediately. Her eyes were already brimming with tears.

- She got you down pretty quick. You were alive, just barely. For now, at least. Kanroji gently settled you down, calling out for the kakushi. She held you in her arms, her hands craddling your head in a sweet manner. “Oh, [Name], what has it done to you?” She said in a quiet voice, her eyes flickering all over your face. It was contorted in pain, eyes shut tightly. “Mitsuri..” You mumbled, relaxing a little. You were safe now, safe in her arms. “They're coming to help you, it's okay, I'm so sorry, I should've gotten here sooner, I'm so so sorry [Name],” she sobbed quietly, softly rocking back and forth out of instinct. You wanted to open your eyes, you wanted to see her. She was the sweetest thing alive, you considered her your sister, you loved her like one.

- Everything hurt. Even though you tried looking at the most important person in your life, you couldn't. The pain was overwhelming your every sense and it was hard to take a simple breath. You were strong, but apparently you weren't strong enough. But you had the compassion and kindness to truly be an admirable demon slayer, that's all that mattered. You didn't even realize when you blacked out, the last thing you heard were sobs from Kanroji, who was desperately holding onto you as if the moment she loosened her hold, you would die. Such a pure soul, stained by the loss of a brother. A lot of the kakushi, who didn't even know you, cried for you, only because of how hard Mitsuri was crying for her brother.

- During the hashira meeting, Ubuyashiki mentioned you and sent Kanroji his condolences for the loss of you. She couldn't hold back, the tears spilling again. She muttered out a quiet apology for the emotions and thanked Ubuyashiki. It has barely been a day and you're consuming her every thought. All the different possibilities or outcomes that could've happened if only she had gotten there sooner. She blamed herself, truly. Kanroji knew you would've scolded the shit out of her for such thoughts, but what could she do, really? Your last words were her name. Her's. Kanroji never recovered. Never. You were the one who adored her for everything and she lost you due to her failure to arrive on time.

OBANAI IGURO;

- He doesn't know how he ended up here. To be quite honest, he wasn't really expecting to stand at your grave. Right, of course, you were a demon slayer, death is only bound to happen sooner with such a job. But by demons. Not suicide.

- Iguro swallowed hard, staring at your headstone. Why was he visiting your grave? You were only an annoying nuisance. An annoying nuisance he found when he was sent out as help on a complicated mission. The first thing he saw when he arrived was you, trembling a little, albeit all bloody and beaten to a pulp, standing tall with a katana in your hands. The demon was injured as well. It seems like the two of you were going at it for a while as the demon was regenerating oh so slowly. Iguro shook his head a little in disappointment and slayed the creature in a matter of seconds. When he was done, he thought about walking away immediately, but he spared you a glance. His eyes widened in realization right then and there. You weren't wearing the demon slayer corps uniform. You were a civilian who happened to pick up a katana. “What the hell?” He mumbled, clearly taken aback. A civilian, without a.. breathing style.. managed to hold out against a demon and injure it so much to the point where it'd lose its regeneration abilities? “Put that down. It ain't yours. You slice a demon's neck to kill it.” Iguro spoke harshly, crossing his arms over his chest loosely. His snake, Kaburamaru, hissed as if it was agreeing with its owner.

- “Oh!!” You dropped the katana immediately, listening to the other. “I didn't know!” You explained, putting your hands up in a surrender type of manner. Somehow, after that, you stuck to him. Like two peas in a pod except no matter what one did to get rid of the other, nothing worked. You were so persistent and eventually, he had you as his tsuguko. Serpent breathing was possibly the coolest thing you've ever encountered.

- You weren't a kid, but you weren't old either. You seemed excited about everything, you seemed to enjoy life despite everything you've been through, and god did Iguro admire that trait of yours. Not that he would ever admit that to you. Turns out he never will. The sight of your gravestone in your stead was making his heartbeat pick up. It wasn't right, that wasn't supposed to happen. What didn't help was that he was holding your letter, your suicide letter, dedicated to him, in his hands. Should he spare himself the discomfort and throw the letter out? Or would he have to entertain your stupidity even after your death? Jesus, no matter what he thought, he would never throw your letter away even if he didn't read it. You had become someone of significance in his life, although it wasn't for a long while.

- Against his better judgment, he had to know what you wanted to tell him, so he opened the letter quickly, as if he was running out of patience.

'I apologise, Obanai. I'm not even sure you're going to read this, but I hope you do.'

Everything was getting embarrassingly painful at the moment. Why would he continue reading? Fuck.

'I really do feel bad if you're upset with my passing, but I don't regret it. The happiness you saw was real though, especially with you. I thank you for your time training me. I was excited to have someone be patient with me, you made everything more bearable, you made the pain worth it. Even though you were a dick. I'm kidding, I was just as bad, wasn't I? A clingy little shit, that's what you called me, right? I appreciate it, it was funny. If you want to know why I did it, I'm sorry as I can't give you an answer. I don't know it myself, I don't know what's causing these feelings and thoughts. I know, stupid. I wasted your time, couldn't even be your successor. Please don't be mad at me, I did my best to hold out, to stay with you a little longer. Don't cry over me, I know how emotional you get. Thank you, Obanai.'

'What? You jerk.' Obanai thought as he furrowed his eyebrows. "Emotional"? Really? The cheekiness of you was shining through in this letter so well. Couldn't take anything seriously.

- He folded the letter back up, gently this time, and looked at your grave. He felt a little choked up, his blinking getting frequent as to not spill any tears. Why would he cry over you? Okay, no, he did miss you already. But he wouldn't cry. Iguro was a little pissed at you for not seeking help, but he couldn't blame you. He never reached out to you and asked you about your feelings. “Leaving us to fight as you enjoy yourself in the afterlife? Okay, you hypocrite. Have fun being by yourself.” He said, turning around and walking to the exit of the graveyard. “Little shit. Wasted my time. And energy. Stupid.” He continued, his hand that wasn't holding the letter clenching into a fist. “Dumbass. You didn't even master the first form, could've at least done that. And first name basis? You're bold.” He muttered to himself, shaking his head slightly in disapproval. He believed in you a little too much.

SANEMI SHINAZUGAWA;

- Sanemi was a hater through and through. Nothing ever satisfied him, he was constantly on edge, anger getting the better of him. And oh god did he loathe you. “What in the fuck's name are you doing?! Get outta here!” He yelled, glaring at you. He was in the forest, alone, training by cutting down bamboo. You had interrupted him as he noticed your presence. You were a stranger to him, so he hated that even more. “You're making a lot of noise.” You said firmly, putting your hands on your hips. “Oh god, leave me the fuck alone, pipsqueak. I'm training, I don't care. Walk away now, get on with your merry day.” He said harshly and dismissively, shaking his head as he adjusted his grip on the katana. “Stop being a bitch.” you answered, furrowing your eyebrows. He froze, before he slowly turned his head to look at you. Sanemi was a hashira, who the hell were you to tell him that? A legitimate tick mark appeared on his forehead as he shifted on his feet. “The hell did you say? You lookin' for a fight? You wanna fight, is that what this is?”

- The first meeting was rough. The others didn't go very well either. The rivalry between the two of you had grown quite a lot. He hated your lousy attitude, how you were so nonchalant about insulting someone of a higher rank, how much you talked, too. It was oftentimes that he would meet you after the hashira meetings. You were a friend of Uzui's, so you'd go there whenever you were free to talk to him. Sanemi couldn't help but make comments about you, striking up conversations that would eventually lead to verbal fights, sometimes even physical ones. What he noticed whenever the two of you argued was no matter how heated the argument itself would get, you never made a comment about his scars. When he first realised that, he might've felt his heart flutter. No way in hell would he admit that.

- Overtime Sanemi learned more about you through Uzui. Not that he'd ever ask directly. He would talk about something that would make Uzui bring you up. Smart move, to be honest. He started tolerating you when you cursed someone out purely because they were getting on your nerves. Actually, Sanemi started getting fond of you, you slowly started consuming his thoughts, your relationship seemed to improve. All of that, ruined. Ruined because you brought up Genya being Sanemi's brother, ruined because you lectured him on how to properly treat his sibling. Every ounce of tolerance he had gathered for you - gone. He hated everything about you now. There was nothing to like.

- After some time, Sanemi was called as back up. Apparently some demon slayers had encountered an upper moon or something. He got there quick, he didn't want any lives to go to waste. His rage was piling up, ready to channel it to fight the demon. Sanemi was beyond disappointed that when he arrived, the demon had left. No signs of it anywhere. He was walking calmly through the forest, still pissed off that he didn't get a fight. When he heard sobs and relentless crying, he got tense again. Maybe the demon didn't leave after all.

- There was no demon. Only a slayer, a friend of yours, holding your lifeless body in his arms, sobbing out apologies. The moment Sanemi realized it was your body that the lower rank was holding, he stiffened up, trying not to show his surprise. “Hey, let him go. The kakushi will arrive soon, they'll take care of it.” He said coldly, slowly making his way towards the poor guy. “No.. no I can't, I can't do it.” He cried, shaking his head urgently. His voice was high pitched and wobbly. 'Shit, it messed you up bad. Dumbass.' Sanemi thought, glancing down at your severe injuries. You were missing a leg, it was cut off right above the knee. “C'mon. He's dead, leave him already. He's not gonna wake up.” Sanemi tried convincing the other. Maybe himself as well. He wanted you to get up, as much as he.. hated you. “Don't be a fucking wimp. [Name] gave his life and you're sitting here, crying? Go do something to honour his memory.” He said with a scowl on his face. He should go do something to honour you as well. Why was he thinking like this? “Shut up already!” He yelled, making the other quiet down his sobs as his body trembled. Was he really telling the slayer to shut up, or was he yelling at himself for having such thoughts? He wasn't expecting you to go out so soon, especially not like this. He didn't want to look at you, at your calm and blank expression. He wanted to see that stupid grin of yours or that scowl. Anything was better than the skin of your face that had a slight purplish hue to it already. 'Cherish life, my ass. Doubt you cherished life as you were dying.' He thought, putting his hands on his hips. You had told him to cherish life during that last argument. Oh god, just the thought of you being in agony while dying made his heart ache. Sanemi was in complete and utter denial as he stared down at you, trying to remember what you looked like normally, not like this, not a corpse. He couldn't recall anything, nothing made this situation better. Was this sight really going to be his clearest memory of you?

GYOMEI HIMEJIMA;

- Gyomei didn't mind your company at all, honestly. Despite.. you being an ecstatic fanboy over him and his abilities, you were a pleasant presence for him to feel. You met him by accident, in the butterfly estate. The second you saw him, you recognized him. How couldn't you? A blind hashira, the strongest in the corps. There was no mistake about it, it was him alright. “OH!! OH MY GOD?!” You yelled, making Gyomei turn in your direction. It was obvious he was confused. He opened his mouth to speak, to ask if anything was wrong. You cut him off immediately. “HOLY SHIT!—”

- From that moment on, whenever you had free time you would find Gyomei and talk to him. About anything you possibly could. You admired him to no end and Gyomei was flattered. Hearing your voice, your excitement about you being able to speak with him made him feel warm inside. But because he wasn't used to that, he ignored it completely. A year or so after your first meeting, Gyomei was using his free time training. If he was being completely honest, he wanted you with him there, he wanted to hear your voice and feel your presence. His kasugai crow flew by, gawking out information. It knew how close the two of you had gotten. “KAW! [Last name] [Name] is dead! He didn't make it after slaying a demon! KAW!”

- Gyomei froze up slightly, pausing his training as he stood straight, his fists clenching subconsciously. “[Name]..” He mumbled lowly. “Oh [Name], I'll pray for you.” He said begrudgingly. It was unfortunate, truly. His feelings didn't even matter right now, a dull ache settling over his heart. That information hurt him, and it cut deep. He didn't let it show, thinking to himself that he'll deal with it later. When he hit the dummy again, he used such extensive force that he immediately broke it and shattered it to pieces. Gyomei clicked his tongue slightly, taking a small step back. He was used to listening to you speak for hours on end, so now, this suffocating silence, one that you would never be able to fill again, started to overwhelm him. He was used to being a rather stoic guy, taking losses properly and calmly, doing his best to maintain a stronger shell. But for some reason, the thought of never ever hearing your voice again, threw him off the rails. 'Anyone but you, damn it. I said anyone but you.' He thought, his face contorting to a clearly mad expression. Once, when his thoughts got out of hand and came up with unimaginable possibilities, he thought of your death. That's when he prayed that it would be anyone but you. Right, that could've been greedy and selfish, but that didn't bother him when it came to you. Your loss left his heart in pieces and he couldn't do anything but to fix it himself.

★ A/N: I'm so sorry for the unequal length of these!! I was running out of ideas fr. Also, I am aware that there aren't any rings to signify marriage in the taishou era, but you made yourself and giyuu one.

★ WORD COUNT: 6,3k (6,380)

[aritsukemo]

Paradise | Chapter One - Cruelty | KNY

Summary: All is well in the Kamado Home until tragedy strikes..

Warnings: Descriptions of blood ahead. One of the main characters ( Y/n ) has a panic attack. First scene involves needles and scalpels and the character gets their skin ripped open! With all that said, read with caution!

A/N: Thanks to all the love and support I've been getting recently, I've gotten the courage to post this! This story is a very special piece to me as it's been stuck in my head for around..four, maybe five years now? ( I started the thought process of it sometime around the time the demon slayer anime came out ) This story is actually the reason I started writing, but I haven't posted it until now because of..perfectionism reason.. It's not much right now, but if you like it, please support it over on Wattpad! ..Or not and simply support it over here! ( Or don't! You simply taking the time to read this means a lot to me! )

Tagging: @overluvsick, @nursedflowers, @jspidey5 + anyone who wants to be tagged! <3

Next Chapter

First Person, ???'s Pov

 "Father, please! Stop! It hurts!" A needle invades my flesh as my protests contort into a sharp scream. It booms off the dank walls after leaving my mouth and bounces back to echo into my ears as if to mock me. The man that towers over me, my father, his breath is ragged and hot as his grip on my arm tightens.

 "Stop resisting!" He shouts. Although, I'm more focused on my arm that's slowly numbing over from the lack of circulation. I yell at him, pleading for him to let me go but he doesn't listen and instead grabs his scalpel. The steel gleams ominously in the light but I barely have the time to process the sight before it digs into the flesh of my arm and tears my skin open.

White, searing pain radiates through my arm as crimson drips onto the floor. Tears blur my vision and flows down my cheeks like a waterfall, snot drips from my nose and mixes with the blood on the floor. A brief, high-pitched scream leaves my lips followed by a choked sob. My father doesn't take much mind to my reaction.

 "Still not the right color.." I hear him mumble. There's some commotion from him as he uses his free hand to search for something on the shelf closest to him. After a few moments, I feel smooth glass touch my lip and before I even realize it, I violently flinch away.

 "Drink it!" He yanks me forward and in the process, accidentally spills a small chunk of the substance on my lips. I gag at the smell but in the process I subconsciously dart my tongue out and run the wet muscle over my lips. I nearly vomit at the taste. My father doesn't seem to care.

"Open your mouth!" He shouts, "Just drink it and get it over with!"

"No!" I yell back, "It tastes digusting!"

 "The taste doesn't matter! Just swallow this as fast as you can and--!"

 "No!" I swing my arms and twist my body, trying my hardest to escape his grasp, "No, I won't! You can't make me no matter what-!" My words get cut off by my own gags as my father wraps his calloused hands around my throat and gives it a threatening squeeze.

 "Drink it damnit!" He brings his thumb up to force my mouth open, "If you'd just get it over with you wouldn't be suffering so much right now!"

My hand comes up to grab his wrist as my head moves away as best it can while it's still in his almost suffocating grip, "Why are you doing this to us? We didn't do anything wrong!"

 "I never said you did!" He clenches his teeth, "Just drink it already!"

 "No! I told you already, I'm not drinking that!"

Suddenly a tired, almost sorrowful sigh leaves his lips as he pulls away from me completely. I look at him with wide eyes but he looks back with one that's indescribable to me.

 "You leave me with no choice then.." He reaches for something just out of my eyesight as my trembling figure backs away from him, "Remember that you brought this upon yourself."

 "Dad.. What are you.. No. No! Get away from me with that-! Stop! Please!"

"Stop!" My body jolts up and my hands shoot outwards, pushing the person in front of me with an unnecessary amount of force. There's a tumble that I just barely hear over my erractic breathing.

A few moments pass. The tightness in my chest becomes less constricting, allowing me to breathe a little better and amidst this, the warmth of someone's touch envelopes my shoulder.

 "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you.." A gentle voices reaches my ears and as if a drug was injected in my veins, my muscles instantly relaxes. That suffocating feeling in my chest ceases to exist and I'm able to breathe comfortably again.

 "You were thrashing around so much it made me worry," The warmth moves along my clothed skin and up to my naked cheeks where soft fingrtips brush away stray tears that had escaped from me without my knowing.

Kie's asks, "Are you alright, Y/n?"

As my vision clears and I can finally see her clearly, sitting on her knees and brows knitted from worry, I mumble out, "Yeah.. Yeah. I'm fine, Kie. Don't worry."

 "Are you sure?" Her question comes out almost immediately and each word that left her lips were filled with nothing but worry, "If there's anything I can do.." As she trails off, I bring my hand up, softly peeling her hands off my face before wiping away the excess tears clumped along the waterline of my eyes.

 "I promise, I'm okay. You just startled me.. No need to fret over it."

Kie's lips thin into a line. It's clear that she doesn't believe me but to my luck she silently decides to drop the conversation and gets up.

 "If you say so," She says, her eyes keenly watching my every little move, "Tanjiro is waiting for you outside."

 "Alright," I run my hand through my hair, letting out a sharp wince when it gets caught in one of many tangles, "..I'll be out in a few minutes."

Third Person Pov

 "Morning," Y/n says as she walks out of the hut, successfully catching the attention of a certain black and burgundy-haired boy. He looks back at her, his ponytail swaying a little as his red eyes meet hers.

 "Good morning, Y/n!" Tanjiro greets with a smile, causing the girl in question to mirror his expression, "You ready to go?"

"Yeah, Let's.." Y/n's smile drops as she nears him and notices the smaller girl that stands behind him, her expression blank, "What is she doing out here."

Tanjiro's smile falters for a moment as his brows knit together to form a nervous expression, "Well—"

 "Tanjiro," Both Y/n and Tanjiro look back at the call of his name. Kie walks out of the hut, a dirty cloth in hand as she walks past Y/n and up to her son, "Your face is covered in soot. Let me help you with that."

She gets down on her knees and puts the cloth to Tanjiro's cheek, "Are you sure you want to go down the mountain today? It'll be dangerous with all of this snow."

Tanjiro nods, his left eye closing as his mother rubs his cheek with the cloth, "I want us to have a good New Year's where everyone can eat as much as they want without worry."

Kie smiles, her eyes softening, "How thoughtful of you.."

 "I'm still waiting on your explanation on why she's not inside," Y/n says, interrupting the moment that was shared between Tanjiro and his mother. She crosses her arms and rest them against her chest, looking at him with expectant, irritated eyes.

 "Well.." Tanjiro begins, scratching the back of his head as he flashes her a closed-eyed smile, "Sumiko will be going down the mountain with us."

 "Like hell she will," Y/n retorts almost immediately. Tanjiro half expected the answer but even so, her instant rejection to the idea still makes him frown.

 "No need to be so angry with him, Y/n," His mother steps in, standing up and turning to face her with a carefree smile, "After all, it wasn't his idea. It was mine," She confesses.

Y/n's eyes snap over to Kie, her vexation faltering, "..Why?"

 "Sumiko needs some fresh air," She replies simply, "She hasn't struck a fever in a few weeks so now is the best time for her to go out and experience the world."

 "She doesn't need to 'experience the world', what she needs is to get back in bed and rest. I mean, look at her!" She points at her sister who's droopy, absent eyes stare at a nearby tree, "Does she look the least bit better?"

 "Yes," Kie replies. Not sparing the girl a glance nor seeing a reason to, "To me, she looks miles better than she did before. She's practically glowing."

 "You didn't even look at her," Y/n deadpans. Pinching the bridge of her nose as she shakes her head and groans. Kie doesn't seem fazed, still smiling sweetly at her.

 "I know you're worried about your little sister, but it's not fair to keep her cooped up in the house when she's clearly getting better."

 "She has a tendency of being inconsistent with her health," Y/n reminds, "Plus it's freezing. Her condition could worsen if she tags along."

 "That's a likely possibility, but I think it's for the best if she went with you," Kie's eyes trail over to stare at the blue-eyed child with a loving gaze, "It'll help her both physically..and mentally. I can feel it."

Y/n's eyes trail back and forth, staring at Sumiko, then at Kie, then back at Sumiko, her eyes flashing with confusion before she finally gives in and lets out an exasperated sigh.

 "I guess I can humor this for a bit," She grumbles something incoherent under her breath before muttering, "If her health gets worse because of this, just know I told you so.." Kie's smile widens.

 "Thank you," She says, and just as that breath of thanks leaves her lips, the sound of children's laughter grows louder as it nears the hut. The noise catches everyone's attention immediately and as they turn their heads to look back at the hut, they manage to catch Shigeru and Hanako running out of it.

 "Tanjiro!" Shigeru yells as he runs up to his elder brother with his sister in tow, "Are you and Y/n going down the mountain together today?"

Hanako runs up to Sumiko and scans her up and down with curious, perplexed eyes and after a moment, the realization hits and Hanako lets out a loud gasp.

 "Is Sumiko going too?" She asks in which Tanjiro nods his head. Hanako frowns at this.

 "Hey, no fair!" She whines, "I wanna come too!"

 "I'm sorry sweetie, but you can't." Kie butts in, "You know you won't be able to keep up."

 "Awh, come on mom!" Shigeru pleads. Backing up his sister as his bottom lip juts out in a small pout. Eyes drooping and creating a look akin to a sad, pleading puppy dog. Alas, it does little to sway his mother and she shakes her head.

 "Tanjiro won't be able to use the cart today so he won't be able to give you a ride when you're tired. And, it would be too much on them to have to watch you two, Sumiko, sell charcoal, and do whatever else they may have to do," She explains. Shigeru groans. His face scrunching up in disdain as his sister appears crestfallen beside him.

 "Hey!" Tanjiro softly exclaims, catching both of their attention, "Don't be sad guys," He smiles, "We'll bring back some yummy snacks for you."

At the mere mention of delicious treats, both Hanako and Shigeru's expressions brighten. Their previous looks of disappointment erased from their faces as if they were never there to begin with.

 "Do you really mean it?" Hanako asks, grinning from ear to ear, "Don't eat them all on the way back, alright?" Shigeru adds, his face mimicking his sister's.

Still smiling, Tanjiro straightens his posture. His hand coming up to rest over his heart as he closes his eyes and says, "I promise to eat not one snack, no matter how hungry I get on the way back home."

Shigeru laughs, both amused by his brother's sudden serious stance and happy about the promise of treats in a few hours. Hanako lets out a giggle as well but her laughter quickly dies down as she looks over at Y/n and Sumiko.

 "You two gotta promise as well!" She says, "Those snacks are for us only!"

 "Eh, Sumiko's not one for sweets anyway," Y/n mumbles under her breath before saying in a slightly louder voice, "We both swear not to touch your snacks no matter how good they smell or how hungry we are."

Satisfied, Hanako lets out a gleeful 'Yay!', her hands clapping as she bounces up and down, "Don't break your promises, okay?"

 "Wouldn't dream of it," Y/n replies. Kie doesn't say it aloud but she notices the girl's eyes softening as she said that. It makes her smile. Yes, Y/n can be a stickler about certain things but when it came to her family, she was a big softie. Whether she was aware of that fact or not remains partially unknown.

 "Hey, Takeo!" Tanjiro exclaims after spotting his spiky-haired sibling walk out from the side of the hut, "Do me a favor and chop as much wood as you can for me, okay?"

His younger sibling huffs, pulling his hatchet back to rest on his shoulder, "Yeah, I was already plannin' on doing that. But.." He pauses, his eyes darting away from Tanjiro and looking off at nothing in particular, "I was kinda hoping we'd chop wood together this time.."

Sensing Takeo's disappointment, Tanjiro walks over to him with a gentle smile displayed on his face. He pats his head, "There, there," He says, ruffling his hair. Takeo's frown deepens and he groans loudly.

 "Hands off," He grumbles, swatting his hand away. Tanjiro retaliates by attempting to ruffle his hair again but Takeo quickly stops him by grabbing his wrist. Takeo asks, "Seriously, what's with you all of a sudden?"

 "You're blushing, Take'!" Shigeru blurts out, pointing his finger at him. Takeo snaps his head in his direction, looking at him with wide eyes filled with embarrassment.

 "Huh..?!" He drawls loudily, "Shut up, you brat! You're seeing things!" Tanjiro plants his hands in Takeo's hair once more, his smile even more lax as he messes with his hair again, "There, there," He repeats.

 "Cut it out!" Takeo shouts only to be followed up by everyone else's laughter which makes him groan again. Y/n watches the sight with an unreadable expression on her face. Sumiko stares, but the absent look in her eyes give her away; she wasn't there and was most likely trapped in her own tangle of thoughts.

 "We should get going now if we want to be back before nightfall," Y/n reminds. Tanjiro looks over, finally retracting his hands from his brother's head, "Yeah, you're right." He looks over at his family, "We should go."

As Hanako and Shigeru nods their heads and Takeo responds with a small 'Yeah,' Tanjiro walks past Y/n and up to her little sister. He looks down at her and grabs her hand but she doesn't react at all to it, allowing him to trudge her along as he walks up to Y/n, "Let's go,"

 "Wait," Kie says and, of course, both Tanjiro and Y/n halt. As she walks up to them, she shoots them a brief, apologetic glance before focusing her attention on little Sumiko. She crouches down, her covered knees sinking into the thick snow beneath her as she adjusts the large scarf around the girl's neck so that it covers the bottom half of her face better.

 "I'm sorry for doing this to you," She cups her face, her skin serving as a pale contrast to Sumiko's cold, pink cheeks, "And in such weather as well. To make you tred down this mountain even though you've only been better for a few weeks.. It's selfish of me." She pulls her forward, encasing her in a warm embrace as she leans in close to her ear, whispering as she continues, "But for some reason.. All of my thoughts are screaming at me to go against my better judgement. So please..stay safe."

To Kie's surprise, when she pulls away, Sumiko's staring at her. Her eyes are surprisingly attentive which catches her off guard, "What's wrong?" Y/n asks after seeing Kie's shock on her face, but Kie quickly stands to her feet and replies with, "Oh, it's nothing. Have a safe trip, you three."

Y/n raises an eyebrow at this but decides not to question the interaction between the two and turns on her heel. Tanjiro walks up to Sumiko and grabs her hand again, quickly following after Y/n as his family shouts their goodbyes and waves until they're no longer in sight.

 "Tanjiro!" Not too long after beginning their journey down the mountain, the trio runs into Nezuko. Tanjiro smiles upon noticing his sister and Y/n's face bears a small grin. Sumiko remains unfazed.

 "Hey, Nezuko," Tanjiro greets as he walks up to his sister, tugging Sumiko along with him which she quickly notices. Her smile drops and her face now holds one of perplexment.

 "Are you going down the mountain to sell charcoal with Sumiko today?" She questions. Tanjiro nods, "Yeah, and I even convinced Y/n to come with me today." He says as Y/n finally walks up to them.

Nezuko looks over at Y/n, her smile returning, "I see. Well, I'm definitely surprised. Usually you prefer to go down the mountain super early in the morning before anyone else wakes up. Did you agree to tag along when you found out Sumiko was going?"

 "No," Y/n shakes her head, "Actually, I agreed to go with Tanjiro because he wouldn't stop asking me yesterday. I only found out Sumiko was coming this morning and the only reason she's coming with us is because Tanjiro and Kie managed to talk me out of making her stay."

 "Really?" Nezuko tilts her head a little to the side, "Why is that, Tanjiro?"

Tanjiro uses his free hand to scratch the back of his head, his brows knitted together and a crinkled smile displayed on his face as he responds, "Well, mom thought she could use a break from home and since her health has been improving lately, I agreed to take her with us."

 "Hm.." A look of worry appears on Nezuko's face for a brief moment, "I guess that's fair.. Make sure to look after her well," Tanjiro nods his head, "Don't worry, we will."

 "Rokuta's fast asleep. Did he manage to wear himself out on your walk?" Y/n points out, cutting away from the previous topic as she stares at the little boy laying on Nezuko's back. His small body covered in the thick, white cloth ( Onbuhimo ) that's wrapped around the both of them.

 "Not exactly, but I had to put him down for a nap regardless," Nezuko says, "After dad passed, he's been glued to Tanjiro's side. If he realizes he left, he'd throw a fit," She explains, Tanjiro's eyes noticeably soften.

Y/n comes closer to Nezuko, her hand reaching behind her to pet Rokuta's head. He fidgets ever so slightly and nuzzles into Nezuko's back some more, still asleep. Y/n's small smile returns, disappearing soon after she retracts her hand.

 "We should get going. Make sure to be careful on your way back up the mountain," She says, "It was nice seeing you, Nezuko," Tanjiro adds. Nezuko's smile widens.

 "It was nice seeing you guys too," She says as the three of them began to walk away, "Be safe and make sure not to overdo it, especially you, Sumiko!"

 "Ah, Y/n! Good morning!" An elderly woman who was sweeping snow from her porch greets the girl after noticing her arrival to the village, "For a second, I started to think you were finally going to take a day off since the weather has gotten so bad."

 "Not a chance," Y/n replies, "A little snow would never stop me," The woman chuckles, "I see that now.. Oh!" Finally noticing Tanjiro, the woman's expression changes to one of surprise, "Tanjiro's here too? I can't believe you came down the mountain on a day like this. You and Y/n are such hard workers!"

The woman's brows furrow, "Why is Sumiko here? Shouldn't she be resting in bed?" Y/n shoots Tanjiro a dirty look, crossing her arms as she waits for him to explain the situation. Tanjiro doesn't seem to mind.

 "Sumiko's health has been taking a turn for the better recently so we thought it would be good for her if she got out for a little," He explains, but the woman doesn't seem pleased with his answer. If the frown on her face wasn't obvious of that fact.

 "Isn't it a bit too soon? And letting her out of the house today of all days, what was Kie thinking?" She says, mumbling the last part more to herself than to them.

 "I know you're worried, but it's going to be alright. Me and Y/n are going to keep a good eye on her," Tanjiro says. And, although the woman's expression doesn't change much at all, she says, "Well as long as you two are watching her, I suppose I don't have much to worry about.. Make sure she doesn't get hurt while she's here."

 "We won't, I promise," Tanjiro says.

 "Hey, Y/n!" A man calls, catching her attention, "Are you selling charcoal today? I'll have some!" Another man pokes his head out of his window, "Ah, Tanjiro! Good to see ya'! Thanks for fixing my sliding door the other day!"

 "Y/n! I'm glad you came down today!" A dark-haired women says, a smile on her face as she asks, "Can you look after my children while I run an errand?"

 "Can you sweep my porch?" A younger, short-haired lady asks, smiling sweetly.

 "I'll take some charcoal!" A young man shouts.

 "I'll pass, but could you two help me move this furniture into my house?" An old man asks and just then, a boy comes bursting out of a nearby home. He runs but doesn't make it far before he's roughly snatched up by the shopkeeper who comes chasing after him.

 "Tanjiro!" The boy yells upon spotting him, "Thank goodness you're here!" Despite the resistance from the shopkeeper, the boy manages to wiggle his way out of her grasp, fumbling up to Tanjiro with blood dripping from his nose.

 "What's wrong?" Tanjiro asks, turning his attention to the boy on his knees before him, "I've been accused of breaking this plate! Can you help me out and sniff it?" The boy replies desperately.

Complying to his wishes, Tanjiro bends over and gives the plate a good sniff. He then straightens his posture, both brows raised as he says in a simple tone, "I smell a cat."

The laugh the village boy lets out after Tanjiro says that is one filled with joy and relief and as he turns to look back at the shopkeeper, his grin is wide and toothy, "See? I told you!"

The shopkeeper in question brings her hand up to her chin, muttering, "So it really was a cat.."

 "I told you I didn't do it!"

 "Now that that's done.." Tanjiro mumbled, his eyes panning over to Sumiko. Y/n had long left them to help out some of the villagers, leaving him alone with the eleven year old.

 "Hm, what should I do.." He thinks, "I know I used the excuse that she could help me out with selling charcoal, but will she really be able to..?"

 "Tanjiro!" Someone calls, snapping the boy from his thoughts, he looks over to see an older male calling out to him, "Can I get some charcoal?"

 "Sure," Tanjiro says. But just as he begins walking over, he stops, glancing back at Sumiko before looking down at the charcoal and then walking back up to her. He puts the charcoal in her smaller hands which, although her reaction was delayed, catches her attention.

 "Come on," He urges softly, being as gentle as ever as he nudges her in the direction of the man's home, "Let's sell our charcoal together."

 "It's already so late.. How did the day fly by so fast?" Tanjiro asks as the three walked the snowy trail back up the mountain.

 "I told you we should've left sooner," Y/n says in which Tanjiro looks at her and smiles, nodding his head in agreement.

 "Well next time, we'll definitely listen to you."

 "You say 'we' as if this is going to be a common occurrence."

 "Is that bad? I was able to sell a lot more charcoal thanks to you and Sumiko's help," Tanjiro says. Y/n rolls her eyes.

 "Sumiko didn't sell anything. All she did was follow you around and stare at nothing."

 "That's not true. She sold a few pieces," Tanjiro defended, but Y/n didn't seem impressed. In fact, she didn't look like she believed him and although her reaction was understandable, it was still disheartening to Tanjiro how little Y/n seemed to believe in her little sister..

 "Hey Tanjiro, Y/n, Sumiko!" They all stop. Turning his head, Tanjiro is met with the sight of Saburo, one of the villagers that lived on the outskirts of the village.

 "Oh hey, Mister. Saburo," Tanjiro greets, "What're you—"

 "It's too late for you three to be traveling up the mountain. Come inside, you can sleep here for the night," He offers. Tanjiro opens his mouth to politely refuse the offer but Saburo quickly cuts him off, shouting, "Don't argue! Just get in here..before the demons show up.."

Despite everything, Tanjiro still wants to refuse him. Although he really appreciates the offer there was really no point in staying the night here when they were almost home..

 "Tanjiro," Tanjiro turns to look at Y/n as she rests a hand on his shoulder, eyes widening at both the serious expression on her face and the heavy scent of fear that surrounds her being.

 "I'm..pretty tired from everything I did in the village, let's rest here for the night," She begins walking down the small hill, along the pebbled stone pathway that led to his front door. Murmuring something about explaining the situation to his mom when they get home in the morning.

As he watches her disappear into the small home, Tanjiro looks over at snowy path that led up to his home. It was quite the venture, but if they were really determined, he's sure they could make it home within the same hour..

But at the same time, it's not often that Y/n admits to being at her limit so maybe he should—

 "Hey!" Tanjiro jumps a little, sharply and quickly turning his head to look back at the hut where Saburo is once again peeking his head out the window, scowling, "You two get in here already!"

Guess he has no choice..

 "Alright, we're coming," Gently tugging her along, Tanjiro and Sumiko walk down the pebbled path that leads to Saburo's home.

Hopefully his family won't be too concerned about them arriving home later than intended..

 "Thank you for the meal!" Tanjiro says as he sets his chopsticks down on top of his bowl. He then takes a sip of his tea, holding it in his hands afterwards and harboring a distant look in his eyes as he stares down at the green liquid inside.

After barely touching her food, Y/n had quickly made herself a makeshift bed out of pillows and blankets and had long went to sleep. Sumiko, who finished her food before everyone else, had ended up falling asleep against the wall near her sister, leaving Tanjiro alone to pester Old Man Saburo.

 "Hey, Mister Saburo, what are demons like?" In all honesty, Tanjiro didn't really believe this talk of demons. It was far-fetched, fantastical, and just hard to believe. Even so, the mere mention of it managed to completely capture his interest.

Without much to any hesitation, Saburo begins, "Demons are man-eating creatures that prowl around at night. That's why you shouldn't walk around when it gets late," He pulls out a futon, walking over to Y/n's sleeping form and laying it out besides her. After setting a pillow out he walks over to Sumiko, bringing the small girl into his arms and carrying her over to the futon where he tucks her in.

 "If you're done eating, go to bed. You can set off as soon as day breaks," Saburo says taking one last glance over at Sumiko before getting up. Tanjiro gets up and slides into the futon on the opposite side of Y/n, eyes wide open and showing no sign of sleepiness.

 "These demons.. They can't come inside, can they?" He asks, staring up at the ceiling as he awaits for an answer to his question. Saburo grabs his smoking pipe ( Kiseru ) and holds it in his hand, replying in a simple tone, "Yes, they could come in."

 "Then what's stopping them from coming in and eating everyone?" Tanjiro asks. Saburo doesn't respond immediately. Deciding to bring his pipe to his lips, inhaling the fumes before letting it slip from him in one, long exhale.

 "Demon hunters protect us at night by slaying as many demons as they can. Always have, even way back when," Saburo finally answers only to then tap his smoking pipe against the edge of a large, stony bowl, emptying it's contents into it.

 "Go to sleep," He suddenly repeats, but this time he follows it up by cutting the lights off. Tanjiro complies to his wishes and closes his eyes, thinking to himself, "Mister Saburo is all alone after losing his whole family. He must be so lonely.. I'll bring my brothers and sisters next time and say, 'You don't have to be scared. There are no demons. You're safe.'"

"..But come to think of it, my grandma used to say the same thing when she was still alive.."

The wind seems to have picked up a little since last night. As they walk, the chilly breeze sticks to their skin, stinging their faces like a slap in the face and leaving redness in their wake. Despite this, none of them seemed fazed by it. With Y/n leading the charge, the three hiked the treacherous mountain in tranquil silence. The icy wind blowing being the only sound heard between them.

 "Hey, Y/n," Tanjiro suddenly speaks up, "Can I ask you something?"

Y/n hums, a little surprised albeit she didn't show it, "Sure, what is it?"

The wind seems to blow just a tad bit stronger, as if trying to warn Tanjiro of the mistake he's about to make. Alas, the warning falls upon deaf ears and without much hesitation, Tanjiro asks, "What was your life like before my father found you and Sumiko?"

The silence that Tanjiro is met with intially is a bit disheartening, but it doesn't last long before Y/n answers, "Nothing interesting. We lived with our parents and when they passed suddenly, I fled home with Sumiko in my arms and.." She trails off as if the wheels were still turning in her head, as if she was struggling to remember the events that happened to her, "..Well you know how the rest goes.."

But is that really the truth, he wonders. He's not very certain of anything, but this smell that clings to her. The unusual amount of anger, sadness, and guilt that has mixed and meshed together into this heavy, uncomfortable scent that makes Tanjiro's heart sink.. A smell like this wouldn't- shouldn't exist if one lived a simple life like Y/n claims..

But for some reason, she feels the need to hide what really happened to her from him. Does she think he wouldn't be able to handle it? Is it something that she fears he would judge her for? If that's the case then he needs to change that view she has of him because it's just not true! No matter what it is, no matter what has happened in the past, nothing she says could ever make him think differently of her!

 "Y/n—!" Tanjiro halts. A grotesque scent hitting him like a truck, rust overwhelming him to the point it burns his nose and throat. The sickening scent that's like no other. The smell of..

 "Blood!" Y/n stops in her tracks, looking back at Tanjiro with knitted brows.

 "What are you talking about?" Y/n asks only for her eyes to widen at the fear-stricken face she's met with. Tanjiro lets go of Sumiko's hand, which catches her attention, and without another word begins running up the snowy mountain trail.

 "Tanjiro, wait!" Y/n calls after him, but it's too late. He was already too far away to hear her voice. Or maybe, he purposely ignored her. Maybe the scent was so strong that he panicked and tuned her out, primarily focused on finding out its source.

Either way, she knows she needs to catch up with him. Fast.

With sharp movements, she turns her head and runs up to her sister, "Why are you still standing there?" She yells, roughly grabbing her thin wrist before yanking her along, "Move your ass!"

There's this familiar feeling swelling in her chest. Was it fear of the unknown? Sadness for what she knows is to come? Maybe the dread of uncertainty? Whatever it is it's strong. So strong that as she sprints up the mountain, her stomach twists and curls, giving off this strong sense of nausea. Thank the heavens she barely ate last night, otherwise she would've puked by now..

She hopes- no, prays that everything's alright. That everything was the same as they left it and that Tanjiro was just overreacting. It has to be. There's no way one of her worst fears have manifested into reality. There's just no way..

They have to be fine. No way something happened to them.

How could this have happened?

As if a nightmare had forced itself into reality, the first sight Y/n got when she finally made it up the mountain was a pool of blood staining the snow in front of the hut the Kamado's called home with the familiar bodies of Rokuta and Nezuko lying in the middle..

Tanjiro was on his knees, shouting their names and throwing out questions while frantically nudging the corpses of his siblings. Y/n stood there, motionless and in shock even when her sister slowly moved forward, looking as if she was watching the scariest movie of her life.

Still shaking his sister's shoulder and yelling her name, Tanjiro turns his head and freezes. As the sight slowly burned itself into his memory, it felt as if the world, that had already began crumbling, came crashing down onto him. It felt as if someone squeezed his heart and made it stop beating for a moment or two..

There inside the hut, which was painted from the roof to the floor in crimson and smelled like battered flesh and rusted, decaying iron, was the rest of his family. His mother Kie, his younger brothers Takeo and Shigeru, and his younger sister Hanako all laid lifeless on the ground, their faces and body splattered in their own blood and their blank, pupil-less eyes burning holes into him.

At some point, Y/n and Sumiko had walked over. Tanjiro didn't care enough to look up and gaze at the expression on their faces. Most likely it was similar to his own distressed one.

And just then, he felt something. A slow, weak drum, thrumming against the skin of his sister's neck. A pulse. A faint one but a beating pulse nonetheless.

Wasting not another second, he hauled Nezuko's limp, bleeding body onto his back and got up, "What are you doing," It was meant to be a question, but Y/n's words came out more as an angry demand. Tanjiro didn't care, answering her in a hurried breath as he began running.

 "Nezuko has a pulse..! I- I can still save her!" Y/n's eyes grow wider. She was still alive? Soon after Tanjiro began his descent down the mountain, Y/n followed after him and then Sumiko followed her.

 "Tanjiro, wait!" Y/n called after the boy when she finally caught sight of him. She sped up as best she could with the slippery snow beneath her feet, "There's no point in doing this! She's lost too much blood!"

 "Don't say that! I can still help her!" He shouts back, but his mind was elsewhere. How could this have happened? Did a bear attack them? They should be hibernating at this time of the year, but anything is possible at this point!

As he stumbled over a fallen tree, it gives Y/n the perfect opportunity to catch up to him. She hops over the wood, planting her sandals deeply into the snow so that she doesn't slip, taking large steps so that she now runs beside him. As if she was simply going through the motions, Sumiko hopped onto the log and took a huge leap forward, only stumbling a little when she landed a little ways behind the both of them.

Tanjiro was heaving at this point. The air was icy and when he inhaled, it felt as if the air transformed into little needles. The pain in his lungs only added onto the tears that were already bubbling in his eyes.

 "Tanjiro! Listen to me!" As Tanjiro's pace begun to slow, so did Y/n's, "She's beyond saving! I know this is hard to accept, but you need to snap out of it and face reality!"

  "No!" I won't let her die, he thinks, "I'm not giving up on her!" I refuse to sit and do nothing and let Nezuko die! I'm going to save her no matter what! "How can you give up on her so easily?"

 "I'm not!" She snaps, neither of them noticing Nezuko's hand twitch and tense with life, "You're trying to run away from the inevitable! It's going to take you forever to get to the village in this weather! Hell, you'll probably pass out before you even make it halfway there!"

Slowly, Nezuko's head lifts which goes completely unnoticed, "There's still a chance! Even if it's a small one, it's better than nothing! Why are you trying so hard to—" And in that moment, Tanjiro's words are cut short as Nezuko throws her head back and starts letting out throaty growls. She grips Tanjiro by the shoulders and began rocking wildly which is all it takes for Tanjiro to slip on the snow and right off the edge of the side of the mountain.

Oh no, Tanjiro thinks before a series of screams come tumbling out of his mouth. Y/n's eyes grow wide and her hand flies out to grab at Tanjiro. She slips on the snow at the same time Sumiko jumps to Tanjiro's rescue which causes their bodies to collide roughly..

As Sumiko's body was forced in another direction, Y/n throws her arms up and over her face. Her eyes clamp shut as she fell at high speeds, and when she finally hit the snowy ground, a rush of pain shoots through her. The breath she sucks in is sharp, almost painfully so.

She lifts herself with one arm slowly, the snow that had latched itself on her clothes silently sliding off and back onto the ground which is barely noticed by Y/n as she's more focused on her other arm, specifically her throbbing wrist.

 "Nezuko!" She blinks and quickly looks up, her eyes darting around until she finally spots Tanjiro and Nezuko standing a handful of steps away from her. Both seemed to have recovered from the fall quicker than she did.

 "Nezuko! Are you alright?" Tanjiro calls to his sister once more. Y/n watches, but her eyes stayed trained on Nezuko. As her tattered haori slipped off her shoulders, revealing the dried blood sticking to her kimono, the girl remained motionless. Tanjiro didn't seem to care, but it bothered Y/n, especially after what just happened.

 "You don't have to walk!" Tanjiro take one small step forward as he continued, "Let me carry you.." He trails off as a firm grip on his shoulder catches his attention. He look back and Y/n's standing there, looking at him with scrunched brows.

 "Don't get any closer," As her eyes trail over to Nezuko, Tanjiro notices a new scent surfacing that leaves him puzzled; a scent of fear dressed in sadness, "Let's..go find Sumiko. I lost sight of her when I fell."

What? What is she saying? "But what about—"

 "Forget about her!" Her voice raises with urgency and force that has Tanjiro jumping as a result. Y/n notices and takes a breath to calm down, but in doing so, it makes her trembling more apparent, both in her limbs and tone..

 "Now's not the time to fight, we need to get out of here," Is all she tells him. But all it does is makes Tanjiro more and more confused. Nezuko was standing right there! She was still breathing and even standing! They have the chance to save her! Why is she acting so cold towards the situation? And..why does she seem so scared of Nezuko?

Furrowing his brows, Tanjiro's face bares a look of pained disbelief, "How can you act like Nezuko's nothing to you? To me? I.. How can you act like she isn't your sister too!" As those words echoed in her ears, Y/n loosens her grip and Tanjiro shoves it off his shoulders. He turns, running towards his sister before Y/n can grab him again.

As he naively approaches her, Y/n calls out for him once again. The last warning he got. Before he could even call her name again, Nezuko looked up, angry veins protruding from her skin, eyes gleaming with hunger, and sharp fangs baring for all to see. He could barely process the sight and before he knew it, Tanjiro was laid against the snowy ground and his hatchet was in between his sister's teeth as she forced all her strength onto him.

Y/n hadn't moved a muscle. She simply stared, wide eyed as her breathing labored. As Tanjiro and Nezuko struggled in the snow, Y/n remained unmoving. Memories flashed. Imaginary blood filled her vision until they were replaced by her very real tears. Her chest tightens and her nails dig into the skin of her other arm. The lifeless faces that were burned into her memory stared into her soul before they were replaced by the image of blood painting the snow and Tanjiro laying in the crimson art; lifeless, decaying, and staring into her with those dark, cold eyes. Her lungs begun to feel heavy in her chest and her mouth falls open. Small, quiet wheezes are sucked in along with the freezing air around her. It does little to fill the sudden emptiness in her lungs..

Meanwhile, Tanjiro stares up at his younger sister, sweating bullets despite the below-zero temperature and his eyes wide, fully showing off the fear in horrid surprised that covered his deep red pupils. 

"Hey, Mister Saburo, what are demons like?"

"Demons are man-eating creatures that prowl around at night," He pulls out a futon, walking over to Y/n's sleeping form and laying it out besides her. After setting a pillow out he walks over to Sumiko, bringing the small girl into his arms and carrying her over to the futon where he tucks her in, "That's why you shouldn't walk around when it gets late."

Tanjiro's heart stills in his chest, "Nezuko's a man-eating demon? Impossible! She's been a human ever since she was born! But..she no longer has Nezuko's scent."

 "But Nezuko couldn't have done this! When we found her, she was laying as if she was protecting Rokuta, and there was no blood on her mouth or hands," Nezuko's newly sharpened nails dig into Tanjiro's shoulders, feeling like knives against his skin. He grits his teeth, "There was another one.. There was one more scent!"

A small gasp slips unsuspected from Tanjiro as he watched in horror as Nezuko slowly tensed and grew in size. As she became double his size, Tanjiro's arms buckled under the newfound weight and strength. Nezuko's fangs grew an inch closer to him.

Y/n's body trembled and her tears began to build and crumble and fall in clumps down her tingling cheeks where they inevitably drop from her chin and splash on her clothes. The only thing she felt in the moment was her swallowing anxiety and the the slight stinging in the wrist she landed on earlier; one being much more intense than the other. The breath she hastily inhales grow thinner, quicker, and dries in her throat as soon as it enters..  

 "While I was sleeping peacefully.. You were being brutally murdered with the rest of our family. It must've hurt really badly.. You suffered greatly, didn't you?" Tanjiro's guilt knits his brows together as it strangled his chest with an iron chain. Little tears began to form along the waterline of his eyes, "I'm so sorry I couldn't save you.. I'm sorry I couldn't save any of you.."

 "At the very least, I wish I could save you, but you're too strong for me to push back..!" As his arms started to numb over, his now thick tears slid down his cheeks and Tanjiro screamed as loud as he could muster with his burning lungs..

 "Nezuko! Hang in there, Nezuko!" His voice cracked. He shakes his head as he keeps eye contact as best he can through his blurred vision, "Don't give in! You gotta hang in there!"

Soft, quick feet plant their steps into the snow, crunching it in a fast succession and nearing the dire situation completely unsuspected.

 "Don't turn into a demon! Please, stay strong! Hang in there!" An aching pain seeps into his poor bones. His arms'll give out soon, "Please! You gotta hang in there, Nezuko!"

A big tear drops onto Tanjiro's cheek. He gasps once again and more tears drop onto him and slide down his cheek. Nezuko, with humane confliction soften her once slitted gaze, stared down at her older brother with big, gleaming wet tears dropping from her pretty pink eyes like a leaking faucet.

A figure slowly appears in the distance. Despite his fast approach towards them, no one seems to notice him. In a blink of eye, a gust of wind blows through Y/n's hair as he passes by her and leaps into the air. 

Nezuko looks back, finally noticing the new presence from above, but she's not able to react before her older brother grabs her by the throat and pushes her over. He rolls over and seconds before he rolls again, gleaming blue metal slices away a portion of his hair in an instant.

The blade collides with the ground with an intense force despite the snow cushioning it. It blows a gust of wind and snow towards the siblings and the two go tumbling together until Tanjiro's back hits a tree with a harsh thud. Y/n's heart stills in her chest as her hair blows in the wind behind her, every part of her body tingling intensely from both the cold and the overwhelming feeling that clouded every inch of her being until a few moments ago.

Tanjiro can feel Nezuko's body shrinking back to it's normal size, but he's more focused on other things. As he opens his eyes, his attacker is revealed. There, standing tall with piercing blue eyes darkened like the deepest depths of the ocean, was a man with raven black hair.

 "..Who's that?"   

As the man locks eyes with Tanjiro, Tanjiro immediately breaks it. His eyes drifting down to the katana in the man's hands; the words 'DESTROY DEMONS' engraved on the side of the shining blade. Is he some kind of swordsman?

 "Why are you protecting it?" The blue eyed swordsman asked in a blank tone of voice. Tanjiro sits up as he asks this, holding his sister close to his chest.

 "She's my sister!" He yells, "My younger sister!" As those words leave his lips, Nezuko seems to awaken from her temporary unconsciousness. And as soon as she does, she immediately attempts to flee, growling up a storm as her brother held onto to her shoulders for dear life and called her name. The swordsman's eyes narrow at the sight.

 "You call that thing your sister?" He asks simply with not a hint of emotion on his face to give away how he's feeling. Tanjiro looks at him pitifully before looking away to focus on his sister once again. A mistake on his part. 

The swordsman suddenly lunges forward. Tanjiro gasps, closes his eyes, and immediately drops down to cover his sister with his body. Alas, as his eyes opens, she's gone from his grasp. He looks around in a panic. His eyes finally settle on the sight of the swordsman standing a couple feet away from him, holding his growling sister's wrist behind her back with one hand.

 "Nezuko!" Tanjiro calls as he stands to his feet, "Don't move!" The swordsman orders, his voice loud but even. Tanjiro has no choice but to comply.

 "My job is to slay demons. Needless to say, I'm going to decapitate your sister," He speaks plainly. Tanjiro's heart feels as if it'll beat right out of his chest at this point.

 "Hold on!" Tanjiro hurriedly shouts, "Nezuko hasn't killed anyone!" As he speaks, Nezuko thrashes around, her hair swaying wildly, "Back at my house, there was another scent that I've never smelled before! Whoever that smell belonged to is probably the one who killed my family! It wasn't Nezuko!"

His voice dips, "..I don't know why she's turned into something like this, but.." He takes a step forward, his voice raising again, "..But still!"

 "It's quite simple. Her wounds were exposed to a demon's blood. That's why she turned into one. That's how man-eating demons multiply." The swordsman states.

 "Nezuko would never eat humans!" Tanjiro blurts out, "You've gotta be joking. Just now, she was about to devour you."

 "You're wrong! I'm sure she knows who I am!" 

 "I won't let her hurt anyone!"

 "I'm going to turn Nezuko back into a human! I swear, I'll heal her!"

Word after word spews from Tanjiro's mouth in succession. Promise after promise slipping from his lips only to be shot down by the swordsman's finishing voice as he says, "She can't be healed. Once you become a demon, you can never go back to being human."

 "I'll find a way no matter what! So please, don't kill her!"

 "I'll hunt down the one who slaughtered my family!" As Tanjiro shouts and the wind picks up, the swordsman raises his sword, "I'll make everything right! Please!" The swordsman tilts it downwards, the tip of his blade nearing Nezuko's neck with a threatening glow to it's tip, "Don't do it!"

Y/n's eyes keep trailing from the swordsman to Nezuko to Tanjiro then back to the swordsman. At last, she can feel the air entering her lungs. She breathes in and out slowly. That insufferable suffocating feeling has just about disappeared. She bites down on her tongue and her face scrunches, her eyes narrowing with frustration. She wants to run, just like she did last time, she wants to flee from the situation.

No, at the very least, she should get Tanjiro out of here. Yeah, that's the least she could.. Huh?

As her eyes drift over to Tanjiro once again, she watches as he drops to his knees, hands planted in the snow as he bowed his head to the ground and speaks in a loud, choked up voice, "I'm begging you! Please..! Don't kill my little sister!" He practically sobs out, "Please, don't do it! I'm begging you.."

A moment of silence passes. Y/n's eyes look over at the swordsman. He hasn't moved, completely frozen in place with his blade pointed at Nezuko. Another moment passes. Y/n notices the swordsman drop his head, his unruly bangs falling over his eyes like a sliced up curtain. His jaw locks and forces his teeth together as they grind and create a low, uncomfortable cracking sound. His body begins to tremble and for just a moment, Y/n mistook it for sorrow until he suddenly looked back up, the dark coloring of his irises lighting up with fury as he starts shouting at the top of his lungs.

 "Never leave yourself so defenseless in front of an enemy!" Both Tanjiro and Y/n's bodies jump a little from the sheer power of his voice, the pure rage that coated it, "Stop that pathetic groveling! If it were even the least bit effective, your family wouldn't be dead!"

 "How can a weakling like you, who bows down when it's time to fight, who can't take initiative.. How can somebody like yourself cure his little sister or even find the enemy?"

 "The demons might know a way to cure your sister!" He swings Nezuko forward with force, still holding onto her with one hand tightly, "But don't you think for even a second that a demon will respect your whining or begging or your will or wishes! Naturally, I have no respect for you, either! That's reality! "

 "Why did you throw yourself over your sister earlier? Was that supposed to protect her? Why didn't you swing that hatchet? Why did you show your back to me?" At this point, Tanjiro's sitting up on his knees, staring with surprise reflected in his teary eyes. The swordsman redirects his blade at last only to aggressively point it at Tanjiro.

 "All those blunders led to your sister's capture!" Nezuko's growls become all the more hostile and persistent as she begins kicking her feet around which causes the snow under her feet to fly every which way, "I could've skewered her and you along with that girl over there and been done with all three of you!" 

 "Don't cry. Don't despair. Those things will do you no good. Your family is dead and your sister has become a demon. Your heart is crushed. I know your pain, how you must want to cry out.. If I'd come half a day sooner, your family might have survived. ..But there's no way to turn back time.."

 "Fill your heart with anger. Strong, pure anger that cannot be quelled. Anger that becomes the unwavering force that will drive your limbs," The swordsman's sword raises into position again, "With such fragile resolve like yours, you can't protect your sister or heal her.." He slowly pulls his arm back, "..And weakness and empty promises certainly cannot avenge your family!"

 "No!" With one final yell from Tanjiro, the swordsman forces Nezuko back and stabs the chilling steel of his blade into the soft flesh of her shoulder. She lets out a painful cry and that seems to be the last straw for her older brother.

 "Stop!" He yells before throwing a pebble. The swordsman retracts his sword and deflects it with a simple flick of his wrist. Immediately, Tanjiro gets up and as the wind picks up and blocks his view of the swordsman with the thick, scattering snow, he makes a run for his hatchet. Y/n stays sat, rooted in place.

Running around, bypassing the countless trees around him, Tanjiro chucks another pebble before disappearing by a tree. The swordsman sidesteps and the pebble hits the tree behind him. With a loud battle cry, Tanjiro charges at the swordsman, his hands at his side, ready to swing. Y/n simply watches, dumbfounded, frozen in place in the snow.

 "A simple, head-on attack driven solely by emotion.. What a fool!" Clenching his teeth, the swordsman raises his sword and swings down. His hilt hits Tanjiro's back with excruciating force. Tanjiro bites his tongue to hold back a scream as his vision blurs. Y/n merely watches as he hits the ground, his body limp, unconscious. Nezuko stares at her brother laid out in the snow, mouth agape.

The swordsman straightens his posture, his arm falling to his side, "Where's his hatchet?" He thought to himself and as if to answer his question, a whirring sound makes him look up. His heart skips a beat and he moves his head just in time for the hatchet to hurl into the tree behind him with a thud. A moment of silence passes. Both Y/n and the swordsman share a similar expression of surprise as their eyes both lock onto the hatchet that's stuck into the tree, a literal inch away from the swordsman's head..

 "Just before he hid behind the tree, he hurled the rock towards me and, at the same time, tossed the hatchet into the air," The swordsman's eyes pan over to the boy laid out before him, "He hid his hands as he pretended to attack so I wouldn't realize he was unarmed."

 "He knew he couldn't beat him, so his plan was to bring him down after he struck him. But.." Y/n's uninjured hand balls into a fist, paying no mind to the freezing chunk of snow in her hand, "He failed.." 

At that moment, Nezuko lets out a particularly violent growl. Having completely thrown off his guard, the swordsman lets go and Nezuko immediately kicks him away. The swordsman quickly recovers. Nezuko lunges for her brother.

 "Damn it.." The swordsman thinks, "No, Tanjiro!" Y/n cries out, "She'll devour him!" They both think.

 "Nezuko.."

Sliding on the snow, Nezuko moves in front of her brother, crouching down. Flashing her fangs and growling threateningly. Arms up and protecting him from the swordsman.

 "It wasn't Nezuko! She'd never eat humans!"

Nezuko launches herself off the snow and sprints towards the blank-faced swordsman, He jumps back, "Long ago, someone once said the same thing, only to be devoured soon after.."

 "When a demon is starving, it will even eat its parents and siblings because they need the energy. I've seen it countless times," The swordsman's eyes train on Nezuko's kimono, which is stained by her own drying blood, while he dodges her sharp nails that claw at him, "She's wounded. It costs her energy to heal those wounds. Not to mention the strength it took to transform into a demon.." Nezuko swipes at the swordsman's face only to miss as he spins and elbows her in the stomach. He then forcibly palms her in the chest causing her to stumble back, "She must be severely starved at this moment and wants to eat human flesh as soon as possible.."

 "Yet, she protected him, turned her anger to me, and even intimidated me."

Jumping high into the air and flipping into the tree behind the swordsman, Nezuko pushes herself off the wood using her feet. She hurls downwards, nails ready to claw open whatever part of the swordsman she can get her hands on. The swordsman steps back and slides his sword into the sheath on his hips, "These siblings might be different from others.."

And with that, the swordsman lands a firm chop on the side of Nezuko's neck. Her body twitches before falling limp and right into the snow. Y/n's heart drops at the sight of both siblings laid out on the ground. A second or two passes and the swordsman's gaze falls on her. She sucks in an icy breath and blinks; the swordsman has disappeared from her sight.

In a panic, she whips her head in every direction. Before she can look back though, a pain shoots through her neck and her entire body goes numb. As her vision blurs, her eyes look up to gaze at her perpetrator. The last sight she sees before everything goes black is the strange mismatched design of the swordsman's haori..

A loud gasp slips from Y/n's lips as her body jolts up. The sound of her uneven, quickened breathing is the only noise that she can hear. Slowly, she opens her eyes. It's blurry at first, but it fades in no time and the familiar sight before her leaves her puzzled.

She looks around. There are futons of varying colors laid out on the floor, specifically six aside from the one she's in. They're striking patterns catch her attention. They remind her of Tanjiro and his siblings. Speaking of which..

There's no sign of anyone anywhere. Not the swordsman or Tanjiro or Nezuko. She seems to be in the hut of the Kamado Residence but..everything seems fine. There's no blood, nothing's destroyed, no bodies to be found..     

She finally notices. Her wrist feels..fine. She looks down. It doesn't seem to be swelling or irritated anymore. She's sure she sprained it or worse when she fell on it earlier. Earlier.. Did earlier even happen? Was it all a nightmare?

She breathes in slowly and closes her eyes once again. Images flash one by one. Everyone falling from the cliff, Tanjiro being attacked by the newly transformed Nezuko, the swordsman, the corpses— Y/n sucks in a particularly sharp breath. Best not think about that..

 "Even here, you still run away."

Y/n's eyes shoot open. She sees herself staring her down, scrutinizing her, judging her.

 "When will you realize that you can't escape fate? That simply running away does nothing for you?" The person speaks in her voice, but the strong tone they're using breaks away the illusion. This isn't her. That much was obvious, but it feels..odd. It was as if this wasn't just some weird hallucination of herself..

 "Tell me, are you content with how everything has turned out? The innocent having been tortured and slaughtered and the lone survivor being forced into a world he was never supposed to be apart of in the first place? Surely it eats away at you."

 "Who are you?"

 "Earlier, when that boy was attacked by his sister, why did you sit there and watch? Why didn't you jump to his rescue? Were you hoping that his sister would kill and eat him?"

 "No, I—"

 "When that swordsman attacked the siblings and threatened to kill them both, why didn't you intervene? Why didn't you immediately jump to the boy's aid? Why did you allow him, a mere civilian, to risk his life to protect a demon? Why did you let your guard down? Why did you let that swordsman knock you out?" 

 "That's not my fault! Tanjiro was the one—!"

 "When will you stop blaming your own shortcomings on everyone else? When will you realize that being a coward will only present you with the same, devastating result? How can you feel okay going on with your life when you have the potential to save thousands from this cruel fate?"

 "I can feel your anger. Thatpure, boiling resentment that stems from your own sorrow and hatred of being so helpless in your current situation. You've felt this way in the past but decided to do nothing with it. Now that the chance has risen again, embrace it. Never let this feeling fade. Let it grow into this insatiable fury and let it drive you from this point forward. Use it to fight."

 "Because in the end, when you're fighting for the sake of everything you have left to hold dear, this growing rage is going to be the only thing you will be able to rely on."

 "And that's what he told me," Tanjiro said, his hand intertwined with Nezuko, who now seemed much calmer and has a bamboo muzzle wrapped around her mouth. 

Y/n's skeptical gaze and scrunched brows gives away her thoughts before she's able to speak them, "So a random guy with a sword tells you to go to some random mountain and meet this stranger you know nothing about and you're just going to do as he says?" Her tone of voice speaks every insult she doesn't say. Nevertheless, Tanjiro's mind doesn't waver for a second.

 "I know how it sounds, but I want to trust him," He says, "Even if we got off on the wrong foot, he seems like a nice guy."

 "He almost killed you."

 "And I'm sure he had his reason behind why he did what he did," Tanjiro raises his free arm and puts his soft, cool hand on Y/n's equally freezing shoulder. He decides to ignore how she slightly tenses under his touch, "I understand that you're worried about us, but I need to do this.. For Nezuko's sake..I need to take this risk."

 "I promise I'll stay as safe as I can and as soon as I get there, I'll find a way to send you letters—"

 "I'm going with you."

 "Huh?" Tanjiro pauses. Y/n places her hand atop of Tanjiro's and removes it from her shoulder, giving it a squeeze of affirmation as her eyes drift away. Her sights landing on the graves of their late family lined up in a neat row.

 "I said, I'm going with you," She repeats, "After everything that happened, it would bother me to let you go on alone. Especially with that reckless intuition guiding you.." She mutters. Tanjiro seems shocked at first, but it's soon replaced by a wide smile.

 "If that's what you truly want, then I won't stop you," He says, his hand squeezing hers back. His eyes sliding to look behind her, where their eleven year old sister lays against the hut, unconscious.

 "What are we going to do with Sumiko? It'd be wrong to make her go with us.." As Tanjiro says this, Y/n walks over to her, "She'll travel with us for now until I can find a place to drop her off," She responds. Her hand grabbing Sumiko's arm and throws it over her shoulder before doing the same to her other arm, pulling the girl onto her back and getting up with ease. Tanjiro waits for Y/n to walk back up to him before turning towards the slope of the snowy mountain..

 "Hey, Y/n.." Tanjiro calls.

 "What is it now?"

 "I'm sorry for what I said before, about you not caring about Nezuko. You noticed before I did, right? You were trying to protect me and I.." As he trails off, his expression grow somber. Y/n takes the expression in before looking back towards the slope.

 "I already forgot about it. You should focus on the journey ahead," She says, but Tanjiro doesn't seem satisfied. Noticing this, Y/n takes the first steps down the mountain, cutting the conversation short and leaving him no choice but to follow after her with Nezuko in silence..

Dividers were made by me, pictures used are from Pinterest, post formatting is inspired by @xxsabitoxx

[lyrefromthesea]

Masterlist

Last Updated: 04/08/2024

Giyuu

I love you.

love and lust

Giyuu with a s/o that can't sleep

entering the life of intimacy

touch-starved Giyuu

touch-starved Giyuu, part 2

nsfw alphabet

Obanai

out of the shadows

Rengoku

out of the shadows

Gyomei

out of the shadows

Shinobu

summer festival

Mitsuri

summer festival

Kokushibo

how they treat a blind s/o

behind poisonous trees, blind s/o

Male pillars

sitting on their lap

comfort - you deserve the pillar title

bringing them their favourite food

pillars with an energetic s/o

sparing with benefits

pillars with a sick s/o

morning hours

blood isn't a problem

taking care of their family

celebrating your birthday

summer festival

masturbating when you're away

denying their feelings for you

how they act when they're drunk

how they treat a blind s/o

their favourite place to kiss you

hashira rivals competing for your love

hashira rivals after your death

pushing them out of the bed

cow pillars, farm au

with a s/o that's obsessed with their hands

opinion on an omega!reader, wolf hybrid au

how they punish you

hashira experiencing anasthesia

uppermoons (Akaza, Douma, Kokushibo)

period sex

[luvsymai]

Misunderstanding ; Tanjiro Kamado

Pairing: Tanjiro Kamado x GN!Reader

Genre: Light angst to fluff

Warnings: none

<- Masterlist

The sun dipped below the horizon, casting a warm, golden hue over the Butterfly Estate. As you made your way through the tranquil garden, the vibrant colors of the flowers seemed to blur together. Your heart ached as you recalled the sight that had sent you running back to your room—Tanjiro and Kanao standing together, their conversation looking so intimate. You couldn’t help but feel a pang of jealousy and confusion.

“Why did it have to be Kanao?” you murmured to yourself, trying to push away the image of their smiling faces.

What did she have that you didn’t? The looks? The strength? The gentle personality?

You hurried through the corridors, tears welling up in your eyes. You were too focused on reaching the sanctuary of your room to notice the concerned looks from the other residents. Just as you turned the corner, a familiar voice called out to you.

“(Name)!” Tanjiro’s voice was filled with concern.

You quickened your pace, but he was faster. His hand caught your wrist gently but firmly, stopping you in your tracks. You tried to pull away, but his grip held steady, his eyes searching yours with desperation.

“Please, (Name), just listen to me,” he pleaded, his voice soft and earnest.

You reluctantly stopped, looking down at your feet to avoid his gaze. “What is it, Tanjiro? Just go back to Kanao,” you muttered, gritting your teeth as you felt so vulnerable under his gentle gaze.

Tanjiro’s eyes widened in realization. “Oh no, (Name)… you’ve got it all wrong. Kanao and I are just friends, I promise. We were talking because... because I needed advice.”

“Advice?” you echoed, looking up at him with a mix of confusion.

He nodded, his grip on your wrist loosening but not letting go. “Yes, advice. About... about you.”

“Me?” you whispered, your heart skipping a beat.

Tanjiro’s face flushed a deep shade of red. “I’ve been wanting to tell you something, but I didn’t know how. Kanao was just helping me figure out the right words. I... I really like you, (Name). More than like you. I’ve liked you for a long time.”

Your eyes widened in surprise. “You... you do?”

He nodded vigorously, looking down, his cheeks still burning. “Yes. I’m sorry if it seemed like I was interested in Kanao. It’s you that I care about. But if you don’t feel the same way, I understand. I just needed you to know.”

He started to ramble, apologizing over and over, but you couldn’t bear to let him continue. Your heart was racing, your emotions a whirlwind. Without thinking, you stepped closer and placed a soft, gentle kiss on his lips.

Tanjiro froze for a moment, his eyes wide in surprise. But then he melted into the kiss, his hands gently cupping your face as he kissed you back, tender and sweet. When you finally pulled away, he looked at you with a mixture of awe and happiness.

“(Name),” he breathed, his voice barely above a whisper.

You smiled softly, your heart finally at peace. “I like you too, Tanjiro. I’ve liked you for a long time.”

Relief and joy washed over his face as he pulled you into a warm embrace. “I’m so glad,” he murmured into your hair. “I’m so, so glad.”

The two of you stood there, wrapped in each other’s arms, the world around you fading away. In that moment, nothing else mattered. You had found your place, and it was right here, with Tanjiro.

Until you two heard a loud thud behind you two, turning around and being met with Inosuke, Zenitsu, Nezuko on the ground, and— Is that Kanao!?

“Monitsu, your fat ass is too heavy!” You heard Inosuke yell in annoyance.

“Oh, shut up Inosuke! They probably heard your loud footsteps from a mile away—“ Zenitsu got cought off with a hard bonk! on his head, and Inosuke started stomping on him.

“WHY YOU—“

Zenitsu’s loud cries were heard throughout the whole estate.

Meanwhile, Nezuko was just staring at you and Tanjiro with sparkles in her big eyes, while Kanao was laying on the ground with a defeated look on her face.

“Oh my, what’s happening here?” Suddenly Shinobu appeared, an irk mark on her forehead because of the loud noises Inosuke and Zenitsu were making.

[drluvsick]

𝐈𝐓’𝐒 𝐇𝐄𝐑 — 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐨𝐛𝐮 𝐤𝐨𝐜𝐡𝐨

you miss shinobu. 📝 gn! reader. no actual spoilers said, but it’s implied. so, under the cut just in case! anime watchers beware.

word count : 400+

𝙉𝙊𝙒 𝙋𝙇𝘼𝙔𝙄𝙉𝙂 . . . 𝘚𝘖𝘜𝘙𝘊𝘌 𝘋’𝘌𝘚𝘗𝘖𝘐𝘙 — 𝘔𝘐𝘏𝘈𝘙𝘜 𝘒𝘖𝘚𝘏𝘐

you sit in the graveyard, waiting. waiting for a sign, hoping she’ll come back in a miracle although you know she’s gone forever as living flesh.

you’ll miss everything. the way she smiled, the way she laughed. the way she wanted nothing more but for you to be happy— ironic that she ultimately sent you down a depressing reel all because of her.

you missed all the games and small banter you shared with her, you missed her cunning comments and watchful eye on your behavior for any signs that you may be feeling down.

you missed her.

you’ve been in the graveyard for awhile. maybe around three days straight; no food, no water, no sleep. a dying body who’s primal instincts have vanished, emotions overtaking as you sit and stare at the chunk of stone for your lover.

but suddenly in the haze, a small bright light flutters down near the gravestone.

it’s a butterfly. a purple one, to be exact. its movements are graceful, its wings slowly landing itself. it reminds you of her.

you direct your full attention to it. it’s different staring at something else than the dull grave, and apart of you is grateful for the extra colors besides the dying flowers and trodden grass around you.

the butterfly sways to you, landing on your hand which is resting on your knee. your skin looks sick. you feel sick.

it then flies behind you, almost as if it wants you to follow it— no, to chase it.

just like the games you and shinobu used to do.

your body, weak and covered in old bandages, slowly manages to get up. you follow the butterfly out of the haze, out of the dullness, out of the graveyard.

it’s never too far out of reach, close enough to reassure that it’s always in sight and manageable to catch up to. everything screams her name, everything reminds you of her, her, her.

and when you go past the sullen grass, past the last gravestones and into the world yet again, it’s like a reformation of something you’ve always seen before.

the sun seems extra harsh on your face, the grass more fresh than you’ve ever seen it before. though, it’s probably been just the same as when you entered the gloomy place behind you. you’re suddenly hit with how starved you are, how bad you feel from neglecting your body as you stumble.

you cried a lot in the graveyard, so much that at the end it left a buzz in your head, your heart, your core. your throat was dry, you felt as if you had no more tears left to give.

but you found yourself crying, sobbing as she appeared like an angel, she wrapped her arms around you, and she told you that everything was going to be okay, one way or another.

it was her, it’s always been her.

overluvsick | please do not repost, translate, and/or claim my works as yours !!

[yoonkles]

thinking about kocho and muichiro and how they’re bodies were never found, and therefore were unable to be buried among the rest of the hashira.

do you think they rest easy? knowing their remains are scattered in the place where death greeted them? do you think they have made peace with it?

do you think the survivors have made peace with it?

or do you think tomioka still sets flowers at two empty gravestones? do you think sanemi still prays for forgiveness from genya and kanae, for his failure? do you think tengen still watches the butterflies, the clouds?

do you think tanjiro still searches for what is left of them? despite knowing it’s hopeless, a mission he’ll die with?