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glitchtricks94 · 7 months ago

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Addiction - Chapter One

Gyokko x Fem!Artist!Reader

Well. Here we are, the first chapter of my most ambitious fanfic project to date. I'm excited about this because I've poured my little heart into this for months and just barely managed to finish the first chapter today after a sudden burst of motivation. Keep in mind, I don't shy away from serious topics, so check the warnings below. Betareader: @kakushino Word count: 5.2k Summary: Gyokko couldn't explain his new fascination with her, and yet he finds himself craving her attention and longing for her validation. He cannot get enough. Content warnings: Blood, descriptions of gore, violence, vomiting, death, mourning. Reader discretion is advised. With all that out of the way, kick back, relax and enjoy~ -Glitchtricks

Nothing could ever compare to him. Nobody could ever be better than he was in his craft, his focus, his unbridled passion. If anything dared tried to outshine him, it’d be cut down in the wake of his wrath, the Upper Moon’s vanity always screaming at him to surpass such things. Yes, the Upper Moon Five was a very prideful being all around, hungry for recognition and starving for superiority, for the favor of his master. Any other being aside was dirt beneath the porcelain vase he often confided his body to. A brilliant lure in his opinion, a pretty vase of his own design, simply appearing near the pathetic humans he planned to devour, both in and out of their homes, their screams being muffled when he sucked them into its confines, into his hungry maw. The demon did take pity in a few beings, a few having asked out loud who made such a pretty piece. He granted mercies with a small chat before simply skewering them using his abilities. The ones who appreciated his work were the ones he found to be the sweetest spoils of his hunts. He had set his sights on a quiet village this time; a beautiful summer’s night, clear sky filled with the glittering jewels of stars, all encompassing a secluded location. Immaculate. Perfect. Surely, such scenery could inspire his next masterpiece! With a delighted titter, Gyokko used his speed to appear at the doorstep of a woman who was said to be the envy of the town. He had sent out a few feelers while he lurked, staking out who he should eat first as he felt like treating himself that night. The place was isolated, everything silent. He was quivering with excitement. He couldn’t hold back, even! He blew open the door to the house, a giggle bubbling inside his chest as he slunk back into his vase, an annoyed groan gracing his ears. “Knocking is fine, Mikami!” A woman angrily called from deeper within the house. “There’s the usual beef onigiri in the kitchen! I’m busy working right now, I told you this two days ago!” Oh, so this was a more feisty human? That’s fine, Gyokko would work with such a thing. He preferred them a touch more foolish, though he certainly knew how to handle those that wanted to put up a fight, having tried to dip his hands into any and all, for the sake of his art of course. Pressing forward, Gyokko decided to let himself inside, using his speed to appear deeper into the home, the home dark except for one room, candles lit in the main room, the scent of a previous meal still lingering in the air, the spices swirling into a cocktail that permeated the house.

Silence hung all around Gyokko, mutterings of the woman that barked at him earlier soon filling the space. His curiosity piqued, he proceeded deeper, a light streaming into the hallway of the home, beckoning him forward. He fell for such a lure so quickly, eager to see just what little surprise he stumbled upon. Rising from his vase, Gyokko peered into the room, being welcomed by the sight of a glorious sculpture depicting a man in utter agony still being created under the delicate hands of a woman kneeled at the base. His eyes widened in disbelief at the level of detail being produced before him. He had stumbled across an artist crafting her magnum opus, there was simply no other way to explain the marble sculpture before him. He couldn’t stop the utter delight that flooded his senses, finally one that could truly appreciate and comprehend his work! And what luck, he happened to just have a new piece tucked away in one of his vases! He caught a lovely family of five, all grown up no less, a set of siblings that lived a little ways away from the village. This strange woman would understand him at heart, surely she would! The thought of having an intellectually stimulating conversation before his meal sounded so delightful, Gyokko could hardly contain himself as he soon came back out of his own excited thoughts, taking notice that the human he had come across was now on her feet, looking up at her work with an intense expression, the woman standing beside him in the light. He was lightly irked at her concentration, though, he cannot say he didn’t admire such a thing, especially as he got to gaze at her soft features for a spell. Her eyes were harsh, scrutinizing and a very lovely hue, skin pale with a thin layer of dust from the rock she had dug her work out of, lips pursed into a thin line, a slight rosy shade being revealed when he looked closer. Her hair was pulled back into an incredibly messy bun, stray hairs sticking out all over, a plain white yukata and obi decorating a small frame, hiding any possible muscle she could have built given her chosen medium. Rather drab looking overall, but she herself could be a lovely work of art if given the proper treatment. Perhaps Gyokko could make something out of her, something aside from a meal. Perhaps he could shape her limbs into some intriguing poses, like that of a dancer, or- “Can I help you?” Oh! It seems he was too focused again! She was looking at him. Such a vibrant expression, the upper moon couldn’t help but to laugh slightly and retreat back into his pot, moving with lightning fast speed to appear before her in her work room. Popping out of his vase again, he gazed at the human with an excited grin, the woman before him looking at him with a scrunched up expression. It looked alright on her, but he thought something more pain induced would be better, something that reminisced the throes of death wrapping around her figure. Yes, that would be very fitting for a woman like this. “Hello, miss! Delightful to come across you this evening!” Gyokko chirped, smiling at the woman, who crossed her arms at him, glare sharp and cold. “Just spit out whatever you’re going to say and get out.” She hissed. Oh. Goodness, she seemed to be such a vulgar thing. No matter, Gyokko could handle such things! He could certainly feel the passion of your work matching his own, so she would let her walls down eventually.

“I was merely hoping for a minute of your time!” Gyokko hummed, a set of grins sitting on his porcelain white skin, small arms sprouting at his sides, a brown vase appearing in one of his many hands. Gyokko took his cue to keep talking as the woman raised a brow at him. “I wanted to speak to you, my dear, for you and I share something in common; our passion for art! I can see you are rather talented in sculpting, not as brilliant as I am, but still worthy of-” “Stop yapping and get to the point. I’m a very busy woman.” You snapped, Gyokko gawking at you for a moment, three sets of frowns forming on his features. “My, my, impatient, aren’t we?” The demon huffed, feeling himself prickle at how harsh this woman was, how snappy. It made him want to tear out your tongue and devour it, just so you wouldn’t be able to speak. Maybe taking your vocal cords as well. “Well, since you’re so insistent, my dear, I shall concede to your wish.” The Upper Moon Five placed the brown vase on the ground, the human before him looking on with shock as a, quote unquote, “sculpture” burst forth, the dead eyes of the siblings he ruthlessly collected and twisted into a long braided pillar, a face of each sibling jutting out, mouths hanging open in a silent scream of agony. Gyokko looked up at his work, a prideful grin written on his face as he began to detail his choices for the piece. “That’s disgusting!” The demon froze, fury suddenly filling his bloodstream as veins appeared all across his face and body. Snapping his gaze to the woman before him, his art that he so graciously put on display was sucked back into a new pot that appeared at its base. “What did you just say, you hideous wench?!” “Your so-called artwork is hideous! What were you thinking?!” You screamed. “Were those people? Are you so heinous that you cannot be bothered to work with stone?!” “You insult my work when I so kindly showed you an exclusive piece, one that I, the grand and marvelous Gyokko, had created just recently?! You are blind! Foolish!” Gyokko yelled, raging so much that blood popped from the veins on his face, painting him in droplets of red. “No, you barged into my home, interrupted me in my work, stole first looks at my latest piece and then expected me to praise a disgusting beast with equally disgusting work?! You’re insane and asinine! Get out!” “You are a farce! Anyone with eyes and mind can see the brilliance of my works, they’re beautiful, as magnificent as I! You-”

“I said get out!” You spat, the darkness of an incoming storm hanging in your eyes, tears even welling up in the corners. Gyokko sneered at you, a look of disgust drawn on his features. “You are no artist, you can barely pass as a work of art with that grotesque form you call a body! I’ll always be superior to you if that is what you present, what you represent! Begone!” “A filthy worm like you isn’t even worth my time.” The demon hissed, a new pot appearing in his hand, this one orange with blue swirls of varying shades decorating it. A tendril of water shot out and charged at you at breakneck speed, slashing the side of your abdomen, ripping a scream of pain from you as you collapsed to the floor, the water splitting off into two tendrils and slashing at your arms before they dissipated, a scoff following. “Even your screams have killed my appetite. How disgusting, you absolute ape.” He spat before all went quiet in your humble home, a new voice calling out to you, calling your name. “Are you here? Please tell me if you’re okay, your front door is busted open!” Mikami. “Get the medical supplies! Help me!” You screamed, a small pool of blood forming around you, the copper scented liquid smelling acrid against your nose, the pain agonizing. Your friend shrieked as she came across you, following the sound of your voice. Mikami didn’t waste time in following your instructions. You couldn’t be more annoyed and agonized after getting bandaged up. Who was that freak? Why on earth was he connected to a vase? What was his weird enthrallment? And what the actual hell was that thing he showed you?! The faces on the pillar were horrifyingly familiar to you, the scent of iron now hanging in the air in your home, the smell being at its peak in your beloved studio. It would take ages to scrub the hideous crimson stains that soiled your floor, time you could sink into other things, things far more important than having to wipe away gross iron liquid. Mikami was shooting questions at you, her warm amber eyes filling with worry as she spoke, you looking at her with a stern glare before you shoved the onigiri towards her. Your patience was frayed, and you honestly wanted your friend to be quiet so you could think. “What-” Mikami sputtered, looking at you in confusion, your name twisting in confusion on her tongue. “Shut up. Eat. You do that when you’re stressed, so shut up, eat and let me think.” You huffed, narrowing your eyes at her. Mikami gaped, but reluctantly picked up a rice ball and began munching away. Your mind honed in on that pillar that the peculiar being, that disgusting monster had showed you, the faces being present sharpening. Your eyes shoot open, your complexion paling. Those were the Gishiwara siblings.

He used the siblings you practically treated as your own in that monstrosity he dared call art. He used the people you considered closest to you and twisted their limbs, braiding them together like some sort of grotesque tapestry. Tears filled your eyes as the gravity, the tremendous agony of what happened to you finally began to take hold. “You did really well on these,” Mikami complimented before her eyes moved to you again, your trembling form greeting her, fat tears rolling down your cheeks.”Hey, what’s wrong?” “H-He killed them…” You breathed, voice cracking as sorrow gripped you in its iron fists. Mikami abandoned the meal you had set out for her just on the off chance she’d swing by to see you, rushing to your side again. “He killed them…Yuri, Joto, Kaiyo, Hinari, Tetsuki, all of them…” You repeated, hands coming up to clasp at your head as you let out a wail, a scream leaving your throat and echoing into the night. Gyokko was fuming as he wove his way through the forest floor. How dare you insult his work! Such uncivilized swine! He could have perhaps waved it off if you had merely shown ignorance, but outright disdain? Calling him a beast, calling him asinine when he was trying to bless you with such imagery? He felt sick to his stomach. Part of him wonders if he should’ve just killed you, molded you into a work worthy of the gods above, you certainly had the beauty of some of the most ornate and divine oirans at your fingertips. Yet, you were not worthy of such a fate, of such mercy even, your blood not worth much even as paint on a brush to decorate a new vase, barely worthy of being spilled by his hand. No matter, you’d be decommissioned for your indiscretion. At least that much was fitting for you. Your words still stuck like sap to his skull though, such things normally being trivial to the artist. Gyokko paused before a small lake surrounded with foliage, the clear night sky reflected in the glass like water, fireflies dancing and glittering in the air all around. Peace, beauty. Gyokko decided here is where he will draw inspiration from within himself tonight, this lake did always feel sentimental to him, even if the reason had faded away after so long. It was somewhat of a creative haven, even with the dull ebb that always seemed to spark in his chest. A serene expression crossed his features for a moment, before your words echoed within him again.

“That’s disgusting!” “Your so-called artwork is hideous!” “You are no artist!” “I’ll always be superior to you if that is what you present!” A new wave of anger flooded Gyokko’s system as he clenched his fists. How could such a lovely looking being, a being that even shared a passion for the arts with him, one of the same medium no less, spew such vulgarity, such vitriol to him, the great and divine Gyokko? And you even managed to escape his wrath with your life, no less! Such filth, such disregard to all that could be considered beautiful! The anger was chased with a new feeling, one Gyokko always despised ever experiencing; humiliation. Humiliation flew through his veins as the realization that a pathetic human woman managed to shake him, a being of divinity, of glamor and beauty, someone so far below him managed to shake him from his pedestal, fill him with this mess of anger and strife. Inexcusable. There was only one to properly atone for such things; Gyokko would simply need to create his very own magnum opus, his own work of art that would trample, stifle your own. You already finished yours, but his, his will dwarf your work to where it’ll be seen as so minute, it could be mistaken for a simple anthill. Yes, that’s perfect, simply excellent. Brilliant. The next morning, with your wounds all bandaged and inspected by Mikami, you made your trek to the Gishiwara’s household, dreading just what you could possibly find within the depths that lay behind the shoji door. The trip was shorter than you would have liked. The hairs on the back of your neck stood on end, the unnerving stillness of the fields and hills that surrounded the home adding to your ever growing discomfort. Steeling your nerves, you took a deep breath, the heavy taste of copper dancing across your tongue as it wafted through the air through a crack in the door. You knew what you would find, you just had to confirm it, at least to try and perform a proper burial of sorts for your dear friends. Blood was everywhere. As expected, the crimson substance was caked on everything, pools on the floor not even dry as you stepped inside, the acrid scent invading your nose and making you dry heave. There were stains littering the walls, handprints littered about amongst deep gouges in the wood. Wandering deeper into the house you see everything in disarray; furniture upturned, floorboards ripped up, debris everywhere, all followed by a trail of sickly red. The struggles of all the siblings couldn’t be more evident. A new wave of tears began their cascade down your face as you explored the house. The stench of old, rotting meat blasted your senses as you slid open the door to the sibling’s bedroom, a scream being ripped from you.

Limbs were scattered about the room, pools of dried scarlet surrounding and staining them in a sickening tapestry of gore. Fingers were broken and bent in all sorts of directions, the joints on elbows exposed to open air, flesh peeled and bitten away from legs, feet bent backwards- You couldn’t look at it all anymore, you turned and began scrambling to get back outside, practically hurling your body out onto the dirt road, getting on your hands and knees while coughing heavily. You felt bile rising to your throat, the horrendous scene you subjected yourself to playing back over and over in your mind. This is what that monster did to them? Not only mutilating their bodies but ripping their limbs off? How you managed to keep yourself from vomiting only the gods and spirits of these hillsides will know. You gulped back all your feelings of anguish and disgust, shakily getting back on your feet and gazing back at the house of the Gishiwaras. You could practically hear the screams of Yuri and Tetsuki, the youngest of the siblings as they were terrorized and slaughtered, you could only imagine the pain poor Joto was in, watching all his younger siblings die if he wasn’t killed first. You retched, unable to hold back your disgust and pain anymore, the bile that you previously swallowed back forcing its way out your mouth as you coughed. You couldn't despise that bastard you met last night any more if you tried. He had ripped your friends away from you, friends that treated you as if they were your family. Now, your final memories of them are tainted with their agonized faces of death and bloodied walls of their home.

All because of him.

You shot a snarl at the house as you wiped the drool from your mouth, imagining that you were actually looking at the one responsible for all of this, all that happened to them. You felt hatred bubbling deep within your stomach as you tore your gaze away and got to your feet again, wiping your mouth with the back of your hand. Anger was fading fast as you continued to stare down the home of your deceased friends, family really, and a hollow sadness was taking root. You shook your head, starting to walk away. You can’t dwell here too much, not now, not when the wound is so terribly fresh. Glancing back one last time, you grit your teeth before storming back to your village, a renewed fire in your eye and anger ebbing away inside your chest.

It was sunset by the time you arrived back home, your fury now having boiled down into a deep sadness as everything fully sunk in, a conclusion having been drawn; your dearest friends, your family, were now gone, and you couldn’t even say that it was painless. It was never to be painless for them with that monster at the root of it all. You trudged forward through the shoji doors of your home, vision blurring as tears brimmed around your eyes. Your feet instinctively carried you to your studio room, the hefty scent of powdered marble and wet clay filling your senses and comforting your poor heart. You had trusted Mikami to look after your home while you were away, as you weren’t sure if you would even come back or if you would come back. She was horrified either way and tried to stop you, yet you simply shrugged off her pleas in favor of sating your curiosity. Amber eyes landed on you as you stepped further into the studio, Mikami dropping the broom in her hands and scrambling to your side. “You’re back! Are you okay, do you-” “I’m fine, Mikami, just…Very sad, if I’m honest.” “You need tea, you’re never like this.” “They’re gone, Mikami. I’ll never see them again.” You spoke, voice tightening as Mikami hugged you tightly. “I’ll never be able to go and see them ever again! Oh, why did I have to spend the night here working instead of visiting them like I had planned, it could’ve been me instead of them! They were tormented, Mikami! Tormented!” Mikami looked at you with a saddened expression, watching your tears flow freely down your face as you began openly sobbing in front of her. She wrapped her arms around you, allowing you to cry into her shoulder, staining her purple kimono. She didn’t care, never did, she could never hold anything against you, as abrasive as you were, truly. “There, there…It’ll all be okay…” “How can it be okay when they’re gone, Miki? They’re dead, I can’t even give them a proper burial! That- That monster mutilated them into something hideous! I saw their faces in what that thing showed me!” You wailed, every barrier you had put up now crumbling before Mikami. “I don’t know…” “No one will ever know…” It seemed like the rest of the evening lasted for years to Mikami when she got you to calm down, able to step away and cook up some rice and tea for you to eat. There was no taste really in the food, more or less just acting as plain sustenance for your weary body. She wanted to get you to have something more, as she wasn’t a slouch in the kitchen, but nothing was appealing to you, in fact, you seemed to shut down and yourself close off, the shock coiling around your poor heart. It hurt her to see you like this.

As the moon was beginning to peak out over the mountains, you insisted Mikami head home quickly, panic in your eyes at the aspect of that monster returning and deciding to torment you further by targeting her next. Mikami argued back, but eventually conceded to you when she saw a fresh wave of tears ready to begin falling. You felt as if a weight had lifted as you watched Mikami make her way back into the village, there still being light out enough to allow for your dear friend’s safety. When she disappeared from your sight, you let out a soft sigh, trudging back to your studio. Slipping inside, your body instinctively went for your sculpting tools, the chisel and hammer feeling good in your palms, the weight of them bringing you down from whatever strange high you found yourself in. “Ground yourself.” You repeat to yourself, saying it over and over as you begin to chip away at the large marble sculpture you had been dedicating the past two months of your life crafting, your tragic vision being what you’ve always longed to see in the flesh. You were compelled for years to create this, near obsessed with it last spring to where Mikami had to physically drag you away from your meticulous planning every three days to get you to take care of yourself. She often enlisted Joto to help drag you away, as his bulkier form could overpower your own stubbornness and strength. You paused, heart clenching in pain. Joto. “He was so young…barely my age…” You uttered softly, eyes falling to the ground. You tightened your grip on your tools, trying to push down your sadness, you had work to do, you need to get this piece done, it’s been the only thing you could think about for months. You can’t lose yourself now! You clenched your jaw and raised your tools to the marble. Chisel positioned, you struck the back with your hammer, beginning another long night of digging out your masterpiece, the familiar motions quieting any buzzing that was blaring in your mind. You had your focus back at last. “Hyo, hyo! Not as alert as you were last night, were you?” No. No, he couldn’t be back already. Your breath stilled as you froze, hand halting right as you were about to strike your chisel again. Slowly turning your gaze, your eyes landed on the porcelain pot that held the monster who killed your beloved friends. “Get out.” You breathed, hands now trembling, eyes unfocused. A black ooze shot out of the pot, tightening and shifting in color until he was there again, the eyes in his forehead and mouth locked on your figure, two pairs of emerald lips curling up into sinister smiles, his mouth eye mimicking the gesture.

“How rude! I see that your lack of hospitality carried over from last night.” The demon hummed, his gaze sliding down your figure. “Here I thought a dame such as yourself would behave less like an ape than before upon realizing just who I am.” “I know what you are…” You croaked out, throat tightening. “I know exactly what you fucking are! I know what you did too!” “Oho? Then, my dear, would you care to voice your thoughts, finally praise my greatness as it deserves?” Gyokko crooned, puffing his chest out in pride. So perhaps this woman truly wasn’t utterly brainless! “I would never praise a monster like you! A murderer with no heart!” You cried, a new wave of tears now cascading down your face. The demon before you turning from prideful to furious. “What you did to me, what you did to them, it’s nothing short of horrendous! No one but a heartless monster like you could have done that to them!” “Those filthy siblings were worthless, they were merely only good under my hands, under my expertise! You must be too ignorant to know just what brilliance-” “Brilliance?! You dare say your heinous crimes are a form of brilliance?!” You barked, your breathing turning heavy as you suddenly took a step forward, your knees threatening to buckle beneath you as you hissed out your next words. “You’re delusional! Disgusting! Horrible! They were never worthless, they were kind, sweet, loving! Things you would never deserve a taste of, to know the feeling of!” Gyokko felt his blood boil hearing such things, the demon already feeling the urge to rip you to shreds, yet, his gaze trailed to the tears rolling down your pale cheeks, watching them wash away the marble powder. Elegant in a way, like blood oozing from the skin under his claws. A mild distraction as he gazed upon you, a strange beauty being pulled forth before him. It made him pause for a moment, temporarily forgetting the fact you were berating him for killing those pathetic farmers you called our friends. Gyokko’s stupor was soon forgotten as he suddenly felt a dull pain on his cheek and the taste of iron on his tongue. Snapping back to reality, he realized that you, a mere human woman, had just slapped him and were now holding your now bleeding palm to your chest. He shifted to where he sat straight, rising further from his pot to look down at you like a djinn rising from its prison to look down at the foolish mortal that released them. His expression turned harsh once more, his lips forming into three distinct frowns as veins appeared all across the edges of his face. You merely held your teary eyed glare as you stared up at him, standing your ground in all your stubborn glory. The demon before you let out a low growl.

“You dare lay your hands upon me, you disgusting worm?!” Gyokko shrieked, snarling as you bared your teeth at him. “Me, the disgusting worm? The filth and tarnish of everything you create will never compare to my works, to my heart! You are hideous, abhorrent, sickening! And the works you create are no more than a mirror to you, you-” Your rant was cut short, the same watery tendril flinging you back against the wall of your studio, destroying a few of your smaller sculptures from the force of how hard he threw you. “Silence, you insolent ape!” Gyokko bellowed, appearing in front of you in the blink of an eye and leaning down until you’re both nose to nose. “You should count yourself lucky that I have not found you worthy enough to be turned into my next work of art, my glorious hands could work wonders beyond your imagination, and clearly you are but an ignorant stain on this earth, just like the rest of your ilk.” He hissed, earning a sneer. “I’m flattered you don’t want to make me into another one of your grotesque monstrosities.” You spat, earning another growl and another strike from him at the hands of his strange orange and blue pot. You hissed in pain as there was now a burning sensation slicing through your abdomen, your yukata staining from a soft blue and green to a deep crimson red. A spectacular sight in Gyokko’s vision. “You aren’t worth killing, either.” Gyokko hissed as he vanished once more, your window being flung open like two night’s prior. You staggered to your feet with a groan as you pressed your arm to your new wounds, going off to treat them on your own, praying to the gods above that you’ll never have to encounter that foul creature ever again for the rest of your days. Your bandage work was shoddy at best and bound to let you bleed out at worst. You decided that optimism would be your better half at this point in time. You sighed as you tidied up the mess that monster had left behind again, sweeping up the fractured pieces of your beloved sculptures and disposing of them before returning to your abandoned masterpiece in the making, the chisel and hammer returning to your hands effortlessly. Pouring your pain into your work once more, the strike of your tools rang out, as if singing the very essence of your soul into the night until you collapsed from exhaustion, falling asleep on the floor of your studio, like many nights previous.

Taglist: @vampcubus

Just tell me if you wanna be added and I'll add you at the end of the fic to make sure you get a tag so you don't miss anything. Check out the prequal: Ache Ao3 Link

#glitchwrites.notepad #demon slayer x reader #gyokko x reader #gyokko #upper moon 5 #cw blood #cw: gore #angst fanfic #slow burn #enemies to lovers #This was beautiful to write #I'm genuinely very proud of this

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