#where he is in the search for urokodaki | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

zasaka-studio · 2 years

Text

Exchange Disaster

Tag: ED

Info : character reels: 1 - 2

-Act: 1-

Part 1 / Part 2

─────────────────────────────

Title: Oh mAwh gawd it's showtime!

─────────────────────────────

The buss was always quiet in your other school, but this was just chaos... Two kids where literally mauling echother, and a few were recording and some trying not to get mauled themselves. Like what? How did this bullshit start you just got on the buss! You sighed and fixed the strap on your backpack, ready to just plow these guys over to get to a seat. But you didnt want to get in trouble on your first day now will you?

So you had opted to wait for the buss driver to say something. Which eventually come, loudly. "AKAZA, DOUMA FOR THE LAST TIME STOP TAKING UP THE ISLE! YOU CAN MAUL ECHOTHER LATER JUST NOT ON MY BUSS!". Mr Urokodaki aka the buss driver had yelled at the two. So that's those twos names.

You could hear distant sounds of laughter and the occasional 'ooh y'all got in trouble!... Again-' wait this was normal?-

"Im sorry for those kids behaviors, they do this like- every other week. Now go sit down kiddo, before we arrive late." Mr. Urokodaki had said, pointing to the back of the buss. And that's when you noticed that the fight had entirely cleared up. Well that was fast? But you had shook off the thought and decided to try and get to the back as fast as humanly possible. Which was pretty easy, untill a hand flew up. They seemed that they wanted you to sit with them, what a shocker! So you decided to sit with them to not be rude.

"Why hello there! My name's Kyojuro Rengoku, what's yours?" you almost died at how loud this guy was, but you finally got to see his face. Which kinda shocked you a bit. Red and orange eyes, same for the hair that looked to mimick fire, the everlasting smile and stair that was .. intimidating to you.

"Oh, hello my name's (Y/N) (L/N), also Françé?" You asked, hoping one person can share your native dialect. But he just raised one of his eyebrows which discouraged you. 'Why would anyone be french anyways?' You thought as Rengoku just smiled wider somehow. "Im sorry if I had made you think if your the only one here with that language! But I don't know who else could speak it so I'm sorry!" He said enthusiastically, wow that makes it so much better. "No no, I'm sorry for asking! I'm in Japan so why would anyone speak that?" You said as you scratched the back of your head. A bit uncomfortable at the unblinking stare he had on you.

"Its alright!" He still yelled. "And I haven't heard of you around here! So are you new here!?" He said as he continued to be in owl mode. Smile as bright as ever. "Y-yeah, soo-","Of course I'll show you around! I'm honored to help a fellow student out!" He interrupted, wait how the fUck did he know what you were gonna say? Like is this man's reading my m I n d? Welp time to delete my brains search history.

"Alright?" You said, weirded out a bit. As you usually did things by yourself most of the time. But I guess you just have to suck it up and socialize.

So the entire buss ride was summed up to Rengoku, or Kyojuro. Which he told you to call him by that, talking the whole damn way. Like this dude didn't even stop to breathe. Though he kinda just rambled on about the school- also he was student council president too, which you could see why. But you don't personally seeing yourself being best friends with this guy, but would it hurt to just be friends?

" Alright were here. Now get out!" Mr. Urokodaki had yelled, clearly done with everyone's bullshit. Then everyone started to stampede out of the buss.

'Aight, time to die-' You internally prepared yourself to jump into the mass of students. But Kyojuro had seemingly invaded your minds privacy again and pulled you closer to himself. "Hah, don't try. Trust me they don't pay attention!" He said, and on que a person groaned as they were shoved into a seat. "Alright." You said as you scooted to your original spot. It also didn't take long before it cleared up and the other students who were also sitting started to leave as well.

" Alright Kyojuro, i think I'll just go-""WAIT!" You jumped, other students looked at the two of you before going back to what they were doing. "Let me see your schedule, i want to see if we share any classes!" Kyojuro said. A bright smile widening as you begrudgingly zipped open your plain backpack and brought out the piece of paper. Not even surprised when Kyojuro snatched it from your hand and excitedly looked at the contents.

But to no surprise he sighed. "We only have one class together..." He said uncharacteristically quite. You sighed as you got up. Kyojuro fallowing suit, "hey which class was it?" You said as he handed your paper back. He then gave you yet another smile. "No spoilers!" Kyojuro said. Already taking a liking to you. He felt the two of you would be great friends!

"Thats either a good or bad thing." Walking off of the bus felt nice. As sitting down for so damn long dose give you tension am I right. "Hey!" Kyojuro yelled but you had already taken off. Finally entering the school, which seemed to be a lot different then your old one. There were lockers lining the walls, which probably ment no cubbies filled with two or three backpacks that look the same. Which was a relief. But you felt guilty leaving Kyojuro back there.

But Cha gotta do what you gotta do.

So you had decided to try and find your locker cause your backpack was like fifteen tuns. Why were there so many books? Well it's highschool sooo.

And somehow you had managed to find your locker relatively earlier then you'd think. Opening it and shoving your bookbag in it. You then checked your schedule for what you had first. " Choir, Aight. I'm pretty sure I just get a key book. Well I hope so..." You said to yourself as you shut your locker. Thinking you'd never get used to that.

But you had some trouble finding the choir club? Intermediate? Hall? You didn't know what to call it. So you had done the next best thing. What did you think I'd say ask for help? Nah, open random doors till it works. You could ask another student as the late bell hasn't rung yet. But no, you had to learn yourself.

"347-A... 347-A...-""E-Excuse me? We have the same class..." You whipped your head around to see someone outrageously taller than you. He was also t h i cc. Like my man's could snap my neck in two. Johnathan style."Oh that's sweet. Mind me fallowing you?" he shook his head no, and rubbed the back of his head. His short brown hair was ruffled and more healthy than your's. Dang- jealous, "So what's your name?" You ask the burly student. Who just fiddled with his hands as the two of you walked in awkward silence. "Its Taylor..." Taylor said. "Oh that sounds like a western name. So where are you from?" You felt so relieved that someone else was also from the western side of the world. Even if France isn't in the Americas it's still in the west!

(Haha get smacked with a secret character! That I'm definitely not gonna be obsessed with writing!)

The boy seemed shocked and relived. Wait- there were racists too?! Whoever hurt this boi is gonna get an ass whoopin'. "O-oh! I'm s-sorry! Its just that... Everyone usually laughed at me for being a "halfy"..." He air quoted. "Nah it's fine! So what's your other ethnicity?!" You said. Finally not feeling alone.

"Well- u-uhm... I'm..." The giant boi had stuttered from embarrassment. "Im sorry for being-""No, your fine Taylor. I used to be the same!" You laughed along side him. But then he looked around for any other students. But at the moment you two were walking to another building. Taylor then looked back at you and said. "well- I'm half... French...." He seemed to recoil after he said that. But you literally flipped.

Who woulda guessed that you'd meet someone with the same language as you! This is fucking awesome!

"Oh my god i thought I was alone!" Tearing up from such happy feeling's. "W-wait really!" Taylor said, clearly excited. But his black eyes widened then he put his fist to his lips. "Sorry, th-that was rude." Taylor said. "Nah it's fine buddy! But did you move to Japan or lived here?" you said. Clearly interested in the gentle giant. Which made his heart throb, no one ever really treated him like this- it was new to him. Even sharing a common language is, amazing!

Finally after what felt like hours you had finally made it to choir. The room was right next to the cafeteria, making a mental note of it. Taylor was actually really fun to conversate with! He's just a big boi with an event bigger heart. He also had a cat named momo. Isn't that neat? Wonder if it's a chonker like the hell spawn that is jimmy. That bababoi is fatter with a ph then the moon.

"were here.. uhm if it's alright can i walk you here-"

Taylor and yourself winced as the late bell finally rung. "Dose it still count if we got here before..?" You said. Taylor had a sad look on his face. Dang now you feel bad, probably the first time he's gotten here late. "Oh well... Its not like I've never been late before..." He then looked down at you, yes down, to see your somewhere between confused and shocked face. How? That just broke your entire delusion!

"D-dont look at me like that..." Taylor shyly looked away. Rubbing his forearm, which seemed to be a way to show that he was embarrassed. "No-no it's fine. I'm the reason your late anyways..." You quieted down, feeling even worse about it. "What did you say? I'm sorry I couldn't here you- oh! T-that was rude..." Taylor had somehow accomplished the feat of making himself red at his own words. It was to pure for your devilish eyes.

"Welp, time to get detention on the first day!" You excitedly said as you swung open the door.

Everyone was still talking as you sighed in relief. No one noticed you, wait why the hell did you even swing it open anyways? Taylor seemed to be kinda nervous, more so than ever. Which was more or so like 5-4 minutes ago. "Well care to explain why you two are late?" Taylor flinched at the teachers words. " Hey it's alright. Its very sweet of you to walk with him Y/N. He doesn't seem to have a lot of friends. So thank you." Mis. Uh what was her name? Whatever you'll hear it later. "No problem mam. And I'm also new here!" "Oh that's wonderful! Everyone be nice! And my name is Daki by the way!" Mis. Daki, now you remembered! Taylor was just standing there. Fiddling with his short sleeved button up. "U-uhm we have to sit down now ..." Taylor mumbled. You nodded and said to Daki that class has to start. She then ushered you two away as she was prepping for today's class.

"can you sit with me?.." Taylor said as the two of you got closer to the rows of chairs and music stand's. Taylor sat a bit farther then the other students. But one decided to go and say hi.

"Hello! I'm Kanroji Mitsuri! Nice to meet you, and can i sit with you guys?" The Melon haired girl asked. Also what's with everyone having big titty? Like stop rubbing it in my face. "Sure, Taylor you ok with that?" The shy boy just nodded. Fixing the music board so that it could meet his face. "Welcome to hell!" You joked as you gave the girl a handshake. She giggled, then sat down next to you. Not before saying- yelling sorry to who she was originally sitting with.

"So your new here? That's great, so got any friends yet?" Mitsuri asked. You looked over at Taylor then back at Mitsuri. "Yeah, i thought it was obvious?" You said. You did think of Taylor as a friend. Cause now someone can repremand you for cussing out a teacher. "Oh that's so sweet!" She gushed as she did an overdramatic hand gesture. Like was this gorl on crack? Probably. Knowing this school. But everyone was shut up by the announcements.

"Remember on December 24th all students on the football team are heading over to hati, Also remember to check your passports given by the administration! Have a good day!"

You could hear a few cheers. "Oh, i wish I could travel to there. I've heard it is a beautiful place!" Mitsuri did her thing while you just looked at her. You were about to talk to Taylor but Mis. Daki had decided she was ready for class. "Alrighty! As you know we have a new student here. So we're gonna be looking at great singers from around the world! I know we usually do that on Thursdays but I'd like for Y/N to get used to how we operate in my class" Well I'll be damned, were not just gonna be practicing some random songs!

"Taylor could you please turn off the lights? Oh and Obanai, could you sit at the monitor and skip over adds?" Taylor had gotten up and so did this Obanai guy. You could hear a faint groan of anguish come from the hetorocramia guy. You kinda feel bad."Oh! I should introduce you to him! He's a great friend!" Mitsuri said while she wrapped an arm around yours. "Heh sure." You then got your arm out of her death grip. Then decided to look around, noticing instrument cases in a hallway to your left. There was also a silencing room. Oh so band is also here? That checks another thing off of your list of 'finding the room'.

Then the lights went out except for one as Taylor returned. Fiddling with his shirt again. But as you were yet again foiled by Mitsuri pulling you close to her. "Hey, isn't Taylor cute? Just look at him! C'mon tell me!" She whispered. You gave her the infamous , the rock eyebrow raise. She just giggled. "He's, nice-""No not that! Like do you find him cute?", She persisted. "Uhm yeah? I mean he's a good person to hang around?" Mitsuri seemed satisfied as she let you go. 'Aww! Y/N so cute!' She thought to herself. The blush being concealed by the dark room.

Then Britain's got talent started to play. You almost bursted out laughing. But had successfully concealed the demons. Taylor seemed to be watching it intently. Maybe he's a music fanatic? I mean you were so-

As the contestant started singing after a very sad backstory, it was beautiful! "Omg, i can't believe that her pet bitch ass dog died to a plane crashing through their house! Now they're homeless!" You internally cried as Mitsuri yet again for the fourth time gushed on how 'cute' you were. Heavy quotation's. "Well it's common that most singers do have bad upbringings or something bad happened in their life. 1/3 singers or music artist to be exact." Taylor quipped. Damn he knew a lot. But no one can beat you in song remembering. And as the song finished Mitsuri was practically in tears. "That song was so beautiful! So full of love!" She cried. Its a song sure you've cried to them at 2:59 in the morning but that doesn't count.

Then an add started to play, well damn this is gonna take forever-

ー

And once the 45 minute long video ended the release bell had blown everyone's eardrums out.

You could just hear the groans of pain.

"Aww! We were gonna do solo's, but oh well! Everyone have a good rest of the day!" Mis. Daki said, waving at the students. "Well i just dodged a bullet there..." You whispered as you felt Taylor tap your shoulder. "Uhm can i see your schedule please? I just w-wanna see if we share anymore classes..." He shyly mumbled, but you heard him and gave him a smile. "Of course homie! Here!" You said as you passed it to him. He smiled then looked through it. "Ooh ooh! Me too I wana see!" Mitsuri asked excitedly. She kinda reminded you of that Renbozo guy. You know what your calling him that from now on.

Mitsuri then scared the shit outta Taylor by leaning over him to see as well... More like looking around cause Taylor was maybe 6'6 or something. If it turns out your right you're gonna go buy some lottery tickets then get murdered by an immediate family member if you win.

"YES! We have language arts together! Thats awesome as me and Obanai also have that!" Mitsuri then gave you a crushing hug. You just vibed with it, untill Taylor coughed into his hand. "M-mitsuri, she might be uncomfortable..." How thoughtful my giant gentleman beef wall. "Oh dear! Sorry if I made you uncomfortable!" Mitsuri immediately let go as she packed up her things. You then stood up, Taylor fallowing as the two of you started to leave after Mitsuri ran over to Obanai- you think, wait did he have a snake? That's rad. Maybe you can bring jimmy?

"Y/N wait!" Mis. Daki had said as you passed the round desk she stood at. A whiteboard behind it with familiar notes on it. "Heres your choir handbook. It has everything were gonna be practicing besides the music were gonna be doing for plays! That's one thing you all can vote on actually! Oh I'm rambling on now go!" She said as she handed you the book. You thanked her and walked out, Taylor then spoke up.

"We have cooking and gym together." He said as he gave you back you're schedule. "Thats awesome! So see you then!" You said as you waved at him as you walked away.

Taylor giving you a small smile as you walked away and to the hell that is- Math! Ba dum Tish!

─────────────────────────────

Taisho Secrets ! (Hahah get surprised >;)

Taylor is my favorite character ive made! (Except Hantei bc that man i have in my heart )

Rengoku halfway through his conversation had randomly started to cough a lot. Because he didn't stop to breath literally.

Obanai was glaring at you the entire time. (Mitsuri simp)

Yes i remember these were a thing

─────────────────────────────

Yay- time to copy and past until chapter 3 :')

#yandere demon slayer #yandere x reader #dark themes #demon slayer angst #yandere aesthetic #yandere core #yandere kny x reader #kny smut #yandere kimetsu no yaiba #yandere+demon+slayer+x+reader #yandere kny #yandere stuff #ED #yandere rengoku x reader #yandere doodoo

141 notes · View notes

weebannihilator · 3 years

Note

Hello I saw you talking about a vigilante tanjiro au in your tags? 👀

(Don't feel pressured to answer)

Hii!! I got the idea for a Vigilante Tanjiro AU while rewatching the spider forest arc! This specific line stuck with me and made me think "What if?"

So here's the general concept of the AU:

Word of Tanjiro traveling with a demon spreads through the corps until it's heard by the Hashira. Shortly after Rui was defeated, it's demanded that Tanjiro and Nezuko turn themselves in/are captured in order to be punished for their crimes against the corps by the death penalty. Giyuu is absolutely not going to let this happen, so he defends them like in canon. But instead of Tanjiro being stopped by Kanao, this time, He, Giyuu, Inosuke, and Zenitsu all escape the forest with Nezuko. (Obviously, some canon events have to be changed for Inosuke and Zenitsu to be there, since they were pretty banged up after their battles.)

After this, the four of them are stripped of their ranks and officially seen as enemies of the Corps. There are search parties after them and all Demon Slayers have been given permission to engage in battle if they ever come into contact with the fugitives.

Noww here's where the AU starts to get a bit more interesting. I thought "If they're not Demon Slayers, what are they doing?"

Well, they may not be Slayers anymore, but they still have reasons to fight.

Tanjiro is searching for a cure to turn Nezuko human. Giyuu has sworn to protect Tanjiro and his sister no matter what. Inosuke still thrives off of testing his strength against demons. Zenitsu decides that he's sick of people leaving, so this time, he's going to stay with them, no matter how bad things get.

They're all going to do this, with or without the Demon Slayer Corps.

(They don't have advantages like offical Demon Slayers do, such as crows to give them information, but perhaps, there are a few on the inside who are willing to help their cause...)

This AU mostly revolves around how the characters arcs and development would play out if they were put into a completely different situation where it's truly just them against the world.

Tanjiro faces alot of guilt, blaming himself for the others being kicked from the Corps and put into danger. While still kind, he becomes more careful after seeing how choices and decisions can amplify into serious trouble if left unchecked. He realizes that if he wants to keep those he loves safe and complete his long term goals, he'll have to be willing to fight more than just demons...

Zenitsu finally steps up and wants to fight for the things that are important to him. He's found friends who genuinely value him and he feels the same. He wants to improve himself until he isn't someone to be protected, but someone who can protect. And what better person to learn from than Giyuu, a former hashira?

(Who knows, he might even come up with his own breathing element! Thunder and Water could be an interesting combination. Perhaps "Storm" breathing?)

Inosuke realizes that his underlings aren't.....total weaklings. They've been nicer to him than anyone has been in a long time, so maybe, they're worth protecting. While he has postive development with those he's close with, the situation overall affects him negatively. Inosuke becomes even more untrusting of outsiders than he already was. There's still lots that he's never experienced before, but seeing the Corps, something supposedly good, quickly turn on him and those he cares about, gives Inosuke the idea that most things and people should never be trusted.

Nezuko is tired.

I have ideas/plot for this AU up until the movie, but since I haven't read the manga, that's about as far as it goes! I don't really want spoilers (at least not major ones!), but honestly if anyone have any extra ideas for this, I'd still like to hear them!

Some characters that I didn't really mention but are still pretty involved in this AU are: Urokodaki, Shinbou and Rengoku!

For self indulgent reasons, I'm also shoving lots InoTanZen content in there. Becuase like... Fellas is it gay to quit your job for your homie? Little bit fruity if you ask me!! 🤨🏳️‍🌈

(( @arminsdrip you asked about this AU one time so wanted to make sure you saw it if ur still interested 😌💕))

#GIVE ME ASKS.#chances are i won't have a proper answer bc i havent gona SUPER deep into this yet but i will try #demon slayer #kny #tanjiro #tanjiro kamado #kamado tanjirou #zenitsu agatsuma #zenitsu #inosuke #inosuke hashiriba #tomioka giyuu #giyuu #Nezuko #hashira #Demon Slayer AU #Vigilante Tanjiro #weebs asks

143 notes · View notes

mintugiyuu · 3 years

Note

Hey I love your headcanons and oneshots 💕

I was hoping if you could possibly do a Giyu x reader where it's been just after Sabito and Giyu's sister has died and they were all friends ?

If not I totally understand and I hope you have a great day/night :)

hello there! awww, you’re so sweet! (/ε＼*) thank you so much! I’m so glad you enjoyed them <3 the way I jumped when I saw your request, I’d happily write that! thank you for requesting!

I’m not sure if you wanted a one-shot or a head-canon, so I’ll do both >:3c I hope this is what you imagined, and if you want an add one to when they’re older, let me know! I hope your day/night is just as great <3

꒰🌿꒱ — together, I promise.

sfw scenarios + one-shot:

➥ pairing || tomioka giyuu x reader

➥ warnings || mentions of not eating because of depression; implications of wanting to die instead of someone else; just heart breaking angst in general (pst comfort at the end)

➥ synopsis || you and giyuu survived the final selection, but at what cost? as the years go by, you two grow closer as you both struggle through grief and to live in a world of demons.

right after the final selection:

- You would have woken up after Giyuu, dazed and patched up, searching for your two friends. The last thing you remembered was being knocked into a tree by a demon and passing out.

- When you saw Giyuu - and only Giyuu - sobbing into his pillow, you didn’t have to be told to know that Sabito didn’t make it.

- You would have already started tearing up as you painfully crawled over to Giyuu’s futon, nudging his shoulder to get his attention.

- He’d choke a gasp, not expecting you to be so close or awake at all yet.

- Giyuu looked so broken, so guilty and so.. small.

- Your heart would break for both him and your fallen friend, pulling him into a tight hug as you let your own tears slip, burying your face into his neck.

- He’d only hesitate for a moment before his wails would start up again, hugging you as if you’d slip away from him too.

- Giyuu would cry out apology after apology, wanting you to forgive him for not being strong enough to protect you or Sabito; that again, he had to be protected.

- You would just gently shush him, not trusting your words as you silently sobbed with him. You’d tell him later that it wasn’t his fault.

- Both of you would have cried yourselves into a restless sleep, clinging to each other as if you were still in that awful mountain. You could’ve sworn you felt a cold, light hand on your shoulder, rubbing it as if to say goodbye. Take that as you will.

- The long walk back to Urokodaki-sensei’s house wasn’t fun, to say the least. But you both would be welcomed with a large, tearful hug from your master (practically your adoptive father).

- This would cause the both of you to start crying once more, the wounds of what happened and losing a friend still fresh.

- You’ve lost track on how many times Giyuu has apologized.

before you both go off as official demon slayers:

- It would be a miserable week before you got your swords. You would still be understandably upset about Sabtio, and Giyuu was practically a living corpse.

- You’d have to beg him to eat, and even then you’d have to feed the food to him yourself to make sure he was eating enough.

- You would be aware that he reacted similar after his sister had died, Sabtio having once told you about the experience since you arrived to Urokodaki’s place around a year after Giyuu.

- It didn’t get much better after you two had received your swords, that night ending in tears as you two mourned what could’ve been with Sabito.

- As we know, Giyuu would sew half of Sabito’s haori to Tsutako’s haori. You’d instead take a small piece of fabric from Sabito’s haori and make it into a scrunchie of sorts. It would be to wear around your wrist, a small tribute to him as well as to match with Giyuu.

note: the following one-shot takes place right before you two are sent out on to your first mission.

It’s been a week since the final selection ended and it was a quiet, cloudy morning; the only sounds in the now empty room being the shifting of clothing. In front of the lone mirror on the wall, you adjusted your uniform, making sure it fit comfortably to your body.

Behind you, Giyuu was doing the same, but noticeably more slow and lethargic. This is the most you’ve seen him move all week, so you guessed that was a plus.

You turned around once you were done, looking over sadly to the blue eyed boy. His once bright eyes were now a duller shade of blue, the light distinguished. You missed those bright eyes and even brighter smile; the thought that you may never see it again broke your heart even more.

His hair was down and clearly unbrushed. Knowing Giyuu and his habits, he was mostly likely not going to brush it - especially not in this state.

Now, you’ve never truly felt the pain of losing someone who was close to you. You couldn’t remember your past before showing up at your master’s place and meeting Giyuu and Sabito, so you couldn’t really be sad about losing people you didn’t know even existed.

So imagining going through the pain you were currently in twice made you hurt for the boy across the room, knowing old wounds have opened and new ones were forming over those.

Even worse, you had no idea what to say to comfort him. Would anything even comfort him? Probably not, but small actions may improve something, if not a little.

Making up your mind, you walked towards your side of the room, your comb gifted to you by Giyuu himself for your birthday that year still laying on the table.

“Giyuu?” You asked quietly, not wanting to scare him. That didn’t work, as you saw him flinch slightly. You sighed, grabbing the comb and making your way towards him. “Giyuu, would you do me a favor?”

His back was facing you as he stood still, slowly turning to look at your feet.

“.. what is it?” he asked, voice wobbly and scratchy from both lack of use and hours of sobbing.

You tried to give him a comforting smile, but it probably just seemed concerned as you nodded towards the mirror.

“Could you sit there for me? I’m going to brush your hair.”

Giyuu seemed to be a bit lost in how to respond, his face softening from the hard, sad look he was hosting previous. He looked as though he wanted to decline, but before he could you cut in.

“You deserve to take care of yourself, so please don’t tell me you don’t.”

You caught him, so Giyuu had no other choice but to slump a little and walk towards the mirror, sitting down on his knees in front of it.

It didn’t pass you how he refused to look at himself.

Sighing softly, you followed him, also landing on your knees but not sitting completely down. You put your hand gently on the top of his head, noticing the knots that have been forming from the past week.

“Just tell me if I hurt you, ok?” All he did was nod in return, so you took that as your green light to start.

Being as gentle as you could, your started brushing the bottom of his hair, focusing on getting all the smaller knots out from this area before moving to the next.

Giyuu’s hair was naturally very soft, having braided it more times than you could count within the two years you’ve known him. To see it in such disarray was almost as painful as it will be to brush out the larger knots near his scalp.

You held Giyuu’s head in place as your comb traveled up his hair, untangling and brushing through matted locks. At some point, you had to get a spray bottle to ease the hair when you swore you heard Giyuu wince at a harder tug.

The boy in front of you gripped onto his hakama, squeezing his eyes as he felt knot after knot be brushed. It didn’t feel the best for him at first, Giyuu finding himself regretting going so long without a brush.

But as soon as it started, the pain slowly ebbed into smooth brushes as the knots started to disappear. Especially when you started to comb the hair closest to his scalp; he couldn’t help but melt slightly into it.

You had managed to brush out all the knots, only leaving smooth, damn hair in the wake. You smiled to yourself, using your free hand to rake your hands though his scalp. His hair was long brushed by now, but you kept going. He deserved a bit of pampering, in your opinion. And by the way he slumped back into your touch, you could only guess that he was enjoying the feeling.

You only paused when you saw wetness appear under his eyes, his eyebrows furrowing slightly as he shook out of whatever trance he was in and pushed your hand away. Throughly confused, you tilted your head.

“Did I hurt you?” He shook his head, glaring down sadly at his hands.

“I don’t deserve this.”

A beat of silence passed, looking into the mirror to try to catch his eyes. He wasn’t looking up, scrunching his face up more. A single tear slipped, but he immediately rubbed his face roughly with his sleeve to try to stop it. It didn’t work as his breath shuttered.

“I-I don’t deserve any of this. I deserve to be-“

Warm arms enveloped Giyuu in an instant, catching him off guard and cutting him off completely. You wouldn’t let him finish that sentence; not now, not ever. You hugged him tightly to him, burying your face into his shoulder.

“Don’t finish that sentence. Don’t you dare say that.” You said sternly, the tremble in your voice giving away how you truly felt. You shuttered at the thought, hugging Giyuu even closer - if that was even possible. “Don’t leave me too.”

The blue-eyed boy was silent, stiffened from the unexpected reaction. Looking down at you, he could see you trembling yourself, but you held strong. You were always so strong. It’s one of the many things he admired about you.

He was never going to let you die.

Giyuu hugged you back just as tight, taking a breath as more tears slipped past his lashes. His voice was quiet but had force behind it; a strength you haven’t heard for a bit.

“I promise, I’ll be the one to protect you this time. I won’t let you die.” Shaking your head, you pulled back to look in his eyes, not daring to let go. You gripped his arms tightly.

“We’ll protect each other, and we’ll make it through together. That’s the promise I want. That’s what I can promise to you.”

When there was no response - only the avoidance of eye-contact, you cupped his cheeks. Pulling him closer, you made it so he could only look at you.

“Promise me Giyuu, we’re in this together.”

“..ok. I promise.”

#꒰👒꒱ — requests #꒰🌿꒱ — hashira.!#sfw #scenarios #one shot #requests #kny #demon slayer #kimetsu no yaiba #kny x reader #demon slayer x reader #kimetsu no yaiba x reader #kny reader insert #demon slayer reader insert #kimetsu no yaiba reader insert #tomioka giyuu #tomioka giyuu x reader #hashira #hashira x reader

205 notes · View notes

the-mu-in-muichirou · 3 years

Text

Tangled Au

BUT LISTEN ITS NOT WHAT YOU THINK…

Yes Muzan is mother gothel because his stingy ass would be trying to live forever and would want to conjure the sun out of his behind but LOOK!!!!!

It’s nezuko who is born from the flower not tanjirou so ha! Suck on that twist.

I’d like to say her hair is orange but like an orange haired nezuko wouldn’t look right ;-; so redish hair kinda like tanjirou’s

After Nezuko was kidnapped because you know WE CANT HAVE NICE THINGS in this fandom without something tragic hurting us.

And look as much as I would love a ZenNezu story about zenitsu mustering up the Courage to save her. NO! This is for family feels so F the romance plot.

Tanjirou is devastated his baby sister went missing and so where his parents the king and queen. So after many talkings Tanjirou wished to go find his sister. His parents would never allow that because that’s their only child left!!!!

After Nezuko’s disappearance the king and queen decided to have no more kids as scared they would also be stolen. (Did I nerf the other siblings Bc I don’t know how else to include them? Yes I did but so did Gotouge)

Tanjirou disliked the idea of not being able to help his sister and as the stubborn person he is, he pulled a Mulan(left without word in the middle of the night) around the age of 12 to go look for his sister.

Tanjirou didn’t know how majorly he screwed up until he realized the real word hard TM but he pulls this I am the first son mantra and continues on his way like a big boy.

And because he isn’t really a big boy he is found by Urokodaki a lone traveler who brings him home and asks Tanjirou if he’s alright.

Tanjirou says no and explains his situation ans urokodaki listens saying he should go back to his family. Tanjirou disagrees because he can’t go home empty handed.

Tanjirou says he will leave the next day but Urokodaki can’t leave a child in need alone so he asks tanjirou if he can even defend himself.

And obviously baby boy can’t do Urokodaki reveals he was a former palace guard and decides to teach Tanjirou about swordsman ship.

(If you can’t get guess, yes all the pillars are royal palace guards)

As the years pass the king and queen are looking for not only mourning their daughter but looking for their son.

Muzan is none the wiser that the prince has gone missing busy making sure to raise Nezuko under him best he can. Usual parental manipulation tactics.

After tanjirou beats Urokodaki in a spar like years later he continues on his way.

This is where he meets Inosuke a thief who’s had to steal since young. Tanjirou tries to reason with him saying it’s wrong and inosuke is still feral but they both get caught and wanted posters get out up of both them.

Later along the way they encounter Zenitsu who was found crying on the side of the road for owing money to some debt collectors.

The three join forces stopping others who steal (but getting caught returning artifacts so they’re seen like thieves)

Inosuke complains Bc they should keep it and zenitsu agrees while tanjirou doesn’t.

Life goes on and

~time skip~

It is Nezuko’s 18th birthday and she wants to go see the floating lanterns. Despite asking ofc her father (Muzan) says no and she’s upset.

Muzan sings- (pfft imagine him singing) Muzan just lectures her on it saying she’s too old for nonsense and he expects better.

Nezuko agrees and asks for some v rare bread she liked. Muzan said that it’s long away travel and Nezuko does that thing 🥺

And Muzan agrees because if it’ll shut a child up and departs .

The castle scene is the three idiots trying to place the crown back when they get caught and running after their lives being chased by sanemi and giyuu. (Why this pair specifically? I ship them leave me alone.)

They’re cornered until tanjirou falls into the hidden leaves hiding the tower and drags both of them in.

They climb tower and are promptly knocked out. Cue a crow squawking at them to wake up.

And look Tanjirou doesn’t recognize her because she was baby and you might be like (why did he go search for her then!?!) well does Tanjirou look like he plans things through? He’s jump first think along the way.

Anyways, they all try to pacify her and nezuko settles down saying she’ll give them back the crown if they take her to see the lanterns. And well they agree.

After this the plot mostly follows the same 😗

The part where they escape the tavern and are bonded by her hair shocks all of them

Oh! They are found by giyuu but when Tanjirou fights him giyuu recognizes the fighting style and asks if he knows Urokodaki. Tanjirou nods and giyuu says he’ll help.

The two goons after all five of them are Douma and Enmu. (I’d never want those two to interact actually but here we are)

Some ZenNezu plot does happen with nezuko having doubts and zenitsu comforting her as they continue.

During the boat scene Giyuu stays behind while the four of them get on and enjoy some peace. With all of them saying if nezuko has finished one dream it just means it’s time for a new one.

Nezuko smiles and confesses she’s had the crown all along. They all say they don’t care and they’re happy she’s with them.

cue boat docking Nezuko wandering off to talk to Muzan and the three getting kidnapped and shipped back to the castle.

Cue realization of who nezuko is.

And cue Tanjirou confessing he’s the prince in the cells while giyuu helps with can escape plan.

Tanjirou goes to save nezuko and overhears yelling from the bottom of the tower because please.

Tanjirou yelling for nezuko more desperate than ever now knowing he’s found his sister.

Muzan killing Tanjirou but Muzan falling down and dying.

Nezuko resurrecting Tanjirou and both going home to their family safe and sound.

~THE END~

76 notes · View notes

simplysimpingsimp · 3 years

Note

Hey! This is the person who requested the sleeping recovery scenario. It turned out perfect!!! Your writing is literally amazing!!!

I hope you don't mind another request but I can't get the idea of Zenitsu's partner becoming a demon slayer because of him out of my head. I think a drabble would fit well so how about Zenitsu's reaction to his partner (still they/them) coming back from final selection only to find out that being by his side was the main reason they joined the corps.

Thank you in advance and don't make sure to take care of yourself!

Hiya again Anon!! Ahh I’m so glad you enjoyed your previous request and I’m so happy to hear another request from you <3 your kind words mean so much to me :,D I really like this prompt ! So you definitely shall have this !! As always I’m super sorry for any mistakes, I will gladly go back and fix them!!

🌻—————————————————————🌻

🌻𝙵𝚘𝚛 𝚈𝚘𝚞

🌻𝚉𝚎𝚗𝚒𝚝𝚜𝚞 𝚡 𝙶𝚗!𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚛

🌻𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚗𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚜: 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚢/𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚖

🌻⚠︎︎⚠︎︎⚠︎︎𝚆𝙰𝚁𝙽𝙸𝙽𝙶 𝚃𝚆: 𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚕𝚎 𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚘𝚏 𝚋𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚍⚠︎︎⚠︎︎⚠︎︎

🌻—————————————————————🌻

“Zenitsu,

Can you believe that it’s been nearly 2 years since we were last together? It’s almost time for me to go through the final selection! I know you’re probably screaming right now or even pacing around wherever you may be at the thought of me facing something dangerous but I feel like I could do it! I’ve been training under a man named Urokodaki Sakonji, Tanjiro might have told you about him before. Though he had some hesitations at the start, I think I won him over hehe! Anyway, I’ll be going through the final section in about a week. I know I’ll be okay, so don’t worry too hard about me, okay? I love you Zeni and I’ll see you soon, I promise.

Yours, Y/n.”

The fated week had passed since he had gotten the parchment with their name signed in the same fancy way they always did and the signature f/c ribbon that held the folds of the paper in a neat square and a small dried and pressed branch of wisteria together.

Zenitsu felt it in his heart that they had reached the wisteria surrounded location. For the next seven nights and days, he prayed for their safety and for them to just survive, hoping that they wouldn’t die attempting to be a hero to someone who wouldn’t do the same for them. When he would lay in bed, he caught himself gripping onto the ribbon attached to the parchment and the small wooden charm they gave him before they began their search for someone who could train them, murmuring all his wishes and prayers for them onto the material gifts as if they had any say in Y/n’s safety.

He knew he didn’t have to worry so hard yet he couldn’t help it. His heart yearned for their return and their loving embrace again, to be able to hear their heartbeat again, to make up for that lost time.

Every night he would be on the brink of tears as nightmare filled dreams invaded the usual happy dreams he had of a peaceful life with Y/n where they would frolic happily in fields of clover and daises and he would make them adorable crowns and jewelry from the cream toned clovers. Picturing their smiling face and that loving pink hue that painted their cheeks when they would look at him filled the void in his heart and arms.

His nightmares distorted that image, often portraying their face beaten and bloodied as they took their final breaths with a demon hovering above them preparing to devour them. In those dreams he would feel himself running towards them yet he never moved forward seemingly stuck in place, his arms desperately reaching out for them but he could never reach them. He’d wake up in cold sweats with a chill running down his spine, longingly looking to his side where Y/n would usually be.

Morning came, with the sun rising and the gentle coo of birds alerting passerbies of the morning sun and hour of the day.

Zenitsu anxiously paced the wooden home they had been staying in near Urokodaki’s home where Y/n would arrive if they survived.

His steps resounded against the looming silence and anxious atmosphere of the building as his hands gripped the parchment a crow had delivered him two weeks ago.

What if they didn’t come back? What if they had lost a battle? What if they were injured and no one helped them? What would he even do with himself knowing that he couldn’t save them? All were questions he asked himself repeatedly, sabotaging any glimmer of hope and calmness he had.

He had been told that only 6 came back from the final selection, but no one ever described who was among them. Panicked, he gripped his hair as he almost screamed from the sheer overwhelming thoughts filling his head of news of their death and the idea of never being able to hold them much less see them again.

“Calm down Zenitsu,” Tanjiro’s voice was soft as he placed a hand on his shoulder, “You know they’re a fighter. I’m sure they’ll be back soon.” Tanjiro’s smile was reassuring yet Zenitsu couldn’t help but worry.

“You’re right, you’re right, thank you Tanjiro..” the blond’s voice was soft as he returned a worried smile to Tanjiro.

“Let’s head over to Urokodaki-San’s, I’m sure he wouldn’t mind us waiting over there,” Tanjiro spoke as Zenitsu nodded with tears in his eyes.

᪥᪥

Exhausted, they trudged along the dirt path leading to Urokodaki’s home. Their sandaled feet dragged up dirt clouds that stained their f/c hakama pants. A white satchel around them carrying their new demon slayer uniform.

“So heavy..” they frowned lightly as they weakly gripped onto the strap of the satchel. It had been so long since they felt the level of exhaustion they felt.

Everything felt sore yet they were still proud of themselves for succeeding, having slayed over 7 demons during their stay and saving at least one person. The joy of being able to see Zenitsu and their friends again had kept them going.

“I’m almost there Zeni,” they whimpered out as they almost fell over due to the pain that coursed through their legs. Weakness in their steps as their vision almost blurred from extreme exhaustion, they hadn’t had a chance to rest at any point during their return back to Urokodaki’s home.

The door to Urokodaki’s home burst open, revealing Zenitsu’s crying face. Tears flowing down from his honey filled eyes, cheeks tainted a deep red as if he had been crying for hours.

“N/n!” He yelled out as he sprinted to their nearly collapsed form, his arms wide open and ready to embrace them.

A tired smile on their face as they used their last burst of energy to run into his arms, closing the gap between them. Y/n collapsed in his embrace, soft sobs coming from their lips and tears flowing down their cheeks, as Zenitsu cried with them.

Urokodaki and Tanjiro joining in on the hug after being called over by them. Zenitsu’s lips kissed all over their face after nuzzling his cheek on theirs.

His gentle honey gaze looking at the bandage wrapped across their forehead and their hand bandaged as well, a light pout on his lips.

Zenitsu carried them back to the house where he had been staying.

“Thank you for carrying me,” their voice soft and groggy from exhaustion as their arms lazily laced around his neck.

He soon reached the home, settling them down on an already prepared bed. Zenitsu quickly left to bring over the meal he worked so hard to prepare for them.

They giggled weakly at the sight of him preparing everything, “You’re so sweet. Thank you, Zeni,” they gently caressed the top of his head before he began to feed them and pamper them all around as Zenitsu would gush over how cool and amazing and adorable Y/n was.

Night slowly reached as the sky became a smokey purple and looming stringy clouds of dusty purple lingered. The stars twinkling overhead and glimmering in joy for their return with the moon watching over the home they rested in.

Zenitsu laid down beside them, his arm carefully wrapped around them for fear of injuring them further.

“Zeni?” Their voice soft and meek as they looked at his peaceful silent form.

His own gaze was on them, lovingly admiring every sight of their gentle expression and the bandages that were on them. Carefully he stroked their cheek as he hummed.

“Remember when two years ago when I told you that I wanted to join the demon slayer corp?”

He nodded, “Mhm,” he brought their body close to his, cuddling and embracing into their warmth.

“I told you that I wanted to join because I wanted to prove that I was strong. But..that’s not the truth. I wanted to join because I wanted to be by your side. I don’t want to be a burden following you guys around without providing anything other than cooking and stuff...and I don’t want you getting distracted from your missions to protect me,” their eyes began to tear up, “Those two years we spent apart felt like an eternity..but you were my motivation to keep pushing forward and bettering myself,” their hand laced with his, “I love you Zenitsu. I always want to be by your side, and I want to be able to protect you the same way you’ve protected me.”

Zenitsu watched them speak, hearing all their words and pulling the depth and meaning in their words. His eyes watered and he began to cry. His heart softened and pounded against his chest with love and admiration for them, trembling in the slightest from the overwhelming happiness he felt. Never had he felt so loved by anyone, the feeling of fortune and gratitude coursing through his veins in a euphoric manner — someone loved him enough to risk their life just to be by his side and to follow him on a life threatening journey for the sake of true love.

He felt so lucky that that someone was the love of his life, Y/n.

Carefully he pulled their body on top of his to hold them closer to his own. His hands gently caressing their sore back.

Gently they wiped away his tears, “I love you,” their smile was gentle and sweet as they pecked his lips delicately.

“I love you too Y/n. Thank you for wanting to be by my side, I always want to be with you too,” he kissed the top of her head, “I love you so very much. One day we’ll be married and we won’t have to slay demons anymore,” he laughed quietly before carefully placing a kiss on their forehead and a quick kiss on their lips. An embarrassed blush on both their faces.

Gentleness in the air filled their hearts with joy of being reunited after not being able to hold each other. His hands delicately ran through their hair as they softly giggled.

“I would like that. I love you Zeni,” they yawned before falling asleep.

A soft smile was on his face before his own eyes began to flutter.

“I love you too, N/n.”

ᴇɴᴅ

🌻—————————————————————🌻

ᴛʜᴀɴᴋ ʏᴏᴜ sᴏ ᴍᴜᴄʜ ғᴏʀ ʀᴇǫᴜᴇsᴛɪɴɢ <3 ᴀɴᴅ ᴛʜᴀɴᴋ

ʏᴏᴜ ғᴏʀ ʀᴇᴀᴅɪɴɢ ! ᴘʟᴇᴀsᴇ ғᴇᴇʟ ғʀᴇᴇ ᴛᴏ ʟᴇᴀᴠᴇ

ʀᴇǫᴜᴇsᴛs/ɪᴅᴇᴀs/ᴀsᴋs/ᴀɴʏᴛʜɪɴɢ, ɪᴛ's ᴍᴜᴄʜ

ᴀᴘᴘʀᴇᴄɪᴀᴛᴇᴅ :ᴅ sᴇᴇ ʏᴀʟʟ sᴏᴏɴ <3

ᴘᴇɴᴅɪɴɢ ʀᴇǫᴜᴇsᴛs: 5

#demon slayer #demon slayer x reader #reader insert #anime x reader #kimetsu no yaiba #kimetsu no yaiba x reader #Zenitsu #Zenitsu agatsuma #zenitsu x gender neutral reader #kny Zenitsu #demon slayer zenitsu #anime writing blog #kny x gn!reader #gender neutral insert #demon slayer x gender neutral reader #kimetsu no yaiba x gender neutral reader

51 notes · View notes

tothemeadow · 3 years

Note

THE REQUEST ARE OPEN AGAINN!! AHHHH CONTINUATION OF PILLAR BODY SWAP THANKYOUUUU

‘switch ‘em up pt. 4′ / Pillars x Reader (now with the Kamaboko Squad!)

warnings: none

words: 2,243

(a/n): I just wanna thank the lovely anon that gave me the idea to this plotline; it helped a lot!

for reference: Giyuu/Shinobu | Gyomei/Mitsuri | Obanai/Tengen | Sanemi/Muichiro | Kyojuro/you

“I’m not sure I understand entirely,” Tanjiro confesses, his eyebrows furrowing. “So you’re looking for some special type of herb?”

“Precisely,” Shinobu says.

Overhead, birds chirp and flood the skies, hopping from branch to branch and competing each other with their harmonies. A delicate breeze sweeps through the area, carrying loose leaves and the crisp smell of nature. On any other day, you’d love to come back; however, considering the circumstances, you’d rather not be here.

After much discussion on what should be done to return everyone to their normal bodies, Shinobu voiced an idea that may work – finding a special herb and using its medicinal properties. It’s a bit of a longshot, but it’s not like anyone else has any other better idea. And whether the others voiced it or not, everyone is secretly wishing that this magical plant will bring a miracle.

As such, you and the rest of the Pillars take the trip to Mount Sagiri; Tanjiro insisted he tag along since he knows the area well, plus he wanted to help. Of course, this meant traveling with his two friends, Zenitsu and Inosuke. Truthfully, it’s quite a crowd you’re traveling with, but it should prove to be useful to have extra eyes searching for the herb.

“Giyuu knows this area as well, so it shouldn’t be too hard to find it!” Tanjiro chirps, looking to his friend. Although Giyuu is still stuck inside Shinobu’s body, he looks away, a light blush dusting his face. “Plus, Urokodaki-san should be able to help us!”

“Wait, that old man who used to be the Water Pillar?” Tengen questions.

“Don’t disrespect him,” Giyuu abruptly snaps. The muscle in his jaw ticks. “That is all I ask.”

At that, Tengen lets out a drawn-out whistle. “Damn, alright. Don’t tear my head off, waterworks.”

“Waterworks? What kind of name is that?” Sanemi speaks up. “I think you’ve been inside of Obanai for too long, Tengen. Your insults are starting to turn lame.”

“Fuck you,” Obanai mutters.

“It’s not my fault Obanai doesn’t possess a flamboyant sense of humor!”

With a sigh, you watch on as Tengen, Sanemi, and Obanai start bickering. Frankly, you don’t know why they’re even putting in the effort. Everyone is stuck in a situation that they don’t like, so what’s the point?

Beside you, Zenitsu wrings his hands, an uneasy expression crossing his features. “Uh… Kyojuro? Wait, wait, sorry – (y/n)?” You hum in response. “Are all the Pillars this… tense? Like, normally?”

“Heh. Well, not really. Sanemi’s always got a stick up his ass, and Obanai’s just naturally edgy like that,” you tell him. As you look to him, it strikes you as odd to have to look down at him. You’ve otherwise grown used to the height difference, but it still takes you aback sometimes.

Zenitsu snickers. His unease melts away, his shoulders visibly relaxing. “When you put it that way, it sounds just like that moron Inosuke.”

“Oi! Who the fuck are you calling a moron?!” Inosuke barks.

Quirking an eyebrow, Zenitsu shoots you a bored look. “See what I mean?”

“We’re here!” Tanjiro exclaims.

Having been distracted from the short conversation with Zenitsu, you’ve completely ignored your surroundings. Cursing yourself internally for being so careless, you look ahead, taking in the sight of a small home with an even smaller garden next to it. So this must be Urokodaki’s home, huh? How quaint.

“This doesn’t really look like much,” Muichiro voices. Shifting his attention to Giyuu, he cocks his head. “So this is where you were trained?”

Giyuu nods stiffly. The look on his face – Shinobu’s face – is, well, vulnerable. You haven’t seen him show so much emotion before, and it’s a bit startling. If you’re being entirely honest, it looks as though he’s ready to throw up everything that’s inside his gut.

“It’s just as I remember!” Tanjiro chirps. “It’s nice up here, don’t you think? The air gets thinner from here on up, so please be careful when scaling the mountain.”

As if on cue, the door to the house slides open, revealing an elderly man with a tengu mask adorning his face. The air about him demands respect; it’s more than obvious that this very man was a Pillar, and a strong one at that. You watch on as Tanjiro and Giyuu step up towards the house before dropping into respectful bows. Tanjiro’s movements are much more fluid, more comfortable. Giyuu’s are more… wooden.

“Tanjiro, my boy!” Urokodaki greets. Ushering Tanjiro closer, he greets the young man with a hug. “…Who’s this fine lady with you?”

Tengen laughs.

“Urokodaki-san, it’s me,” Giyuu grumbles. “Giyuu…”

Although you can’t see Urokodaki’s face, you have a pretty good idea of what it’s like. The man falls silent, glances from him to Tanjiro, then he scans over the group behind him. Sure, you can’t blame him for being skeptical; a random swarm of people showing up to your house unexpectedly is bound to raise some questions. However, these are all Pillars he’s dealing with. This isn’t something to take lightly.

“Urokodaki-san,” Tanjiro begins, “we need your help. We’re not entirely sure how, but all the Pillars switched bodies with each other. It’s been like this for a number of days now, and we don’t know how long it’s supposed to last.”

After another moment or so of silence, Urokodaki sighs and crosses his arms. “Listen, kid, that seems a bit… much, don’t you think?”

“It might be some sort of Blood Art!” Tanjiro rushes. “Please, Urokodaki-san!”

Again, another sigh. “So everyone is in another body than their own? Haven’t heard of an ability like that before, but that doesn’t mean it’s not possible.” Nodding in Shinobu’s direction, he says, “So, that’s Giyuu’s body, but it isn’t him?”

“Unfortunately, yes,” Shinobu tells him. “Believe me when I say I don’t want to be in Giyuu-san’s body more than I have to.”

“Ehhh?! What’s with all the talking!” Inosuke bursts. “You guys said you wanted to find a plant, not talk to some old coot!”

“Inosuke!” Tanjiro scolds, but he’s too late. In a blink of an eye, Giyuu practically materializes right before Inosuke, his fist colliding with Inosuke’s gut. There’s a loud groan of pain as Inosuke drops to the ground, his hands clutching onto his stomach. To the side, both Zenitsu and Tengen break out into fits of laughter.

“I told you not to disrespect him,” Giyuu grunts.

“Ohoho!” Kyojuro booms, just as loud as always. At this rate, he’s going to blow out your vocal cords before you can get them back. “How loyal, Giyuu! I’m impressed!”

Rolling your eyes, you break away from the group, opting to join Tanjiro. “Urokodaki-san,” you greet, giving a polite bow, “it’s a pleasure to meet you. Listen, I know this is a complicated situation, but we really need to find this plant. It’s crucial that we do.”

Urokodaki hums. “I know you – you’re Rengoku Shinjuro’s boy, aren’t you?”

“Huh? Well, technically – but I’m not Kyojuro. I’m (l/n) (y/n), the Wild Pillar.”

“You’re not? Figures. This whole “switched body” conundrum is making my brain work in ways it hasn’t worked in years.” Urokodaki waves a dismissive hand at you. “Whatever. If all of you are willing to look for such a plant, feel free to scale the mountain to your heart’s content. I’ll get dinner started.”

“Thank you so much!” Tanjiro chirps. After Urokodaki slides the door shut behind him, the two of you turn back to the others, smiles plastered on both of your faces. “Everyone – it’s time! Let’s turn you all back to normal!”

After hours of searching, no one has come up with anything. Granted, a vast variety of edible plants line the mountain – all of them useful in one way or another – but it’s not the dreaded silva you’re looking for. Shinobu said it was vine-like, with delicate leaves shaped like bells. The only you found worth of any interest was watching Inosuke eat almost every mushroom he could find and crack open acorns like they were nothing.

Soon, the sun began to dip below the horizon, painting the sky with hues of peach and berry. The view was simply breathtaking, and you had to stop to take it in for a few moments.

“It’s always been like that,” Giyuu says quietly. Stopping next to you, he gazes at the setting sun, a wistful gleam in his eyes. “Most of the time, we were too busy training to watch it, though.”

Now that you think about it, Giyuu has been acting weird ever since arriving. Call it intuition, but you’re almost positive that he was feeling guilty about something. And he said we instead of I, so that only confirms your suspicion. Glancing around, you imagine a younger Giyuu descending the mountain, panting like crazy in the thin air, narrowly avoiding the numerous traps Urokodaki set up. If he experienced anything like the pain roaring in your back and sides right now, you’re amazed he dared to set foot back on this very mountain.

“Thinking back to simpler times, huh?” you ask, voice soft.

Giyuu scoffs. “The training was far from simple, but yeah. Things were a lot more different then.”

As if acting on its own, your arm slings itself around Giyuu, tugging him closer and holding him against your body. With him in Shinobu’s body, he’s so small, his head nestled against your chest. At first, he tenses up, but then slowly relaxes in your hold. Ever since switching bodies, you’ve noticed Kyojuro’s personality starting to bleed into yours. Hell, even his body is trying to one up you.

“I miss him,” Giyuu whispers.

Your heart drops to your stomach at his tone. “…Who?”

“Oi! Are you two just gonna stand there or are you coming back down?” Sanemi snaps.

Muttering a curse under your breath, you pull away, but you keep a hand on Giyuu’s forearm. “You’re helping me down, got it? This mountain gives me the creeps and I don’t want to get rammed by another damned log. Seriously – how did Urokodaki-san even set them up?”

Despite the saddened glint in his eyes, Giyuu manages to crack a smile.

The inside of Urokodaki’s house is cramped, but it’s also very homely. Scattered around the living area, each person more or less sticks to themselves, too much in pain to engage in lively conversation. Shinobu treats to the wounds, making sure bones are intact and intestines didn’t take too much of a beating. The only ones completely unaffected are Tanjiro and Giyuu, but that much is obvious.

“So what now?” Mitsuri asks. Still in Gyomei’s colossal body, she’s probably one of the Pillars that’s had the most trouble adjusting to her new form. “We’re not going to give up looking, are we?”

“I didn’t think it was this rare,” Shinobu admits. “Perhaps we were looking at the wrong spots on the mountain? It’s possible.”

“Take a breather before springing back into motion,” Urokodaki says. Sitting before the hearth, he absentmindedly prepares some tea. “Think, plan, then go about your business. A mindless game of hide and seek isn’t going to produce any results.

“Mmph! Mmph!” Nezuko agrees (or you think so, anyway). You’ve only met her a handful of times outside of her box, but you enjoy her company very much.

“Wait,” Shinobu suddenly says, snapping upright. “Urokodaki-san, what’s that you’re grinding up right now?”

Setting down his mortar and pestle, Urokodaki busies his hands with plucking apart wildflowers. “It’s silva. It grows right out here in my garden.”

At that, Shinobu’s draw drops. “By the gods-“ She facepalms, then, and groans. “That’s the herb we were looking for! You’re telling me that it’s been down here the entire time?!”

“Why didn’t you say what you were looking for?” Urokodaki says. “Could’ve saved a lot of time.”

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” Sanemi curses.

“That wasn’t very flamboyant of you,” Tengen chimes in. “I agree with Sanemi – this is bullshit.”

Urokodaki shrugs. “And how is that my fault? You’re all Pillars, are you not? Shame on you for being unobservant.”

“Urokodaki-san, please,” Tanjiro says.

“Alright, alright, fine.” In a couple of minutes, he prepares the tea as planned and pours it into a number of ceramic cups. “Since you’re all on my ass about it, drink up.”

“Uh, should we really be drinking this…?” Zenitsu squeaks, staring down at his own cup.

“Stop being a pussy!” Inosuke cackles. Tipping his head back, he downs his tea in one go.

Everyone more or less follows suit, taking sips of their own tea. As you set your own cup down, you feel the beginning of a warm, pleasant sensation in your lower tummy.

“Hey, Shinobu?” Tanjiro asks. “Is the herb supposed to make you feel sleepy?” At his words, Nezuko slumps to the floor. One by one, all the others drop like flies, yourself included.

Some time passes before your eyes crack back open. The inside of Urokodaki’s house is dark; from the crickets chirping and an owl hooting nearby, you quickly realize that it’s nighttime, and it’s probably late. With a groan, you sit up, dragging a hand across your face in the process. Wait… that’s not your hand, and it’s not Kyojuro’s either. Squinting through the darkness, you’re able to make out slight details, but it’s enough to make your heart sink. The herb didn’t work.

You’re in Giyuu’s body instead.

#kny #kimetsu no yaiba #demon slayer #kny x reader #kimetsu no yaiba x reader #demon slayer x reader #kny pillars x reader #kny hashira x reader #kny pillars #kny hashira #request

283 notes · View notes

mochis-interlude · 3 years

Text

wristbound || giyuu

this is just a little thank you for 100 followers. i hope you’ll enjoy + feeback is always appreciated! <3

↠ pairing. giyuu x fem! reader

↠ genre. fluff, angst

↠ warnings. memory loss/amnesia, minor character death, murder, graphic scenes, blood, language, implied sex work (nothing explicit)

↠ words. 11.2k

↠ summary. the little red bracelet you made when the two of you were nothing but kids, it reminded giyuu that he was always tied to your wrist.

not even your sudden disappearance could snap the wristband in two.

"[Name] didn't cause any trouble, did she?" Your brother, Haruto, was out of breath as he took a seat next to two raven-haired women who were your best friend's mother and his sister. The mother laughed, shaking her head as she already knew what happened; Haruto had once again lost sight of you and you ran away to them. Ran away to Giyuu, more specifically.

"Not at all. By now, you should know that we love having [Name] over," she said, her blue eyes setting on the two children playing in the garden amongst flowers and butterflies. The mother's gaze softened with each passing second, heart feeling full and hopeful for her son's future.

Tsutako's eyes followed her mom's line of sight curiously and found her younger brother proudly showing you the butterfly he caught by sheer luck. However, your eyes were glued to Giyuu's face instead of the butterfly. The corners of her mouth tugged upwards as she imagined a future for her younger brother where you were by his side through it all. "They'd make a great couple when they're older, no?"

"Pardon me?!" Voice high-pitched, Haruto choked on his spit and ended up coughing into the sleeves of his haori. You with that boy? Impossible. Just after you were born, he promised father to take care of you, to protect you! What could a boy like Giyuu do besides catching pretty butterflies?

Haruto was about to protest, his overprotective side over you kicking in, but he was left with an open mouth and every word dying on his tongue when your laughter bounced throughout the garden. It was a rare sound he usually didn't hear. The most Haruto would get out of you was a chuckle and a half-hearted smile which you put on like a carefully molded mask.

You were so small and so, so young when your eyes witnessed a monster eating your parents, blood covering the place that used to be such a loving and warm home. Crimson stained the walls and the floor, organs lying about like furniture. Haruto was able to chase the monster into the early sunrise and brought its end.

Haruto never thought you'd remember that event.

Yet there you were, vibrantly laughing with the Tomioka boy until tears would brim your eyes, until you used up all of your energy and fell asleep in Haruto's strong arms. Maybe being with Giyuu was the equivalent of salve for your soul.

Maybe, Tsutako was right. When the two of you grew up, you'd make a fine couple.

"Yeah..they would," he finally agreed.

"Here! I made these for us!" Your small hands revealed two crimson bracelets made of simple thread that you had gotten in town with your big brother. A toothy grin stretched your lips apart, revealing that one of your front teeth was missing; pride and joy was written all over your face.

With wide eyes, Giyuu reached for one of the bracelets, looked at the gift and then back at you. "Why? It's no one's birthday today," the raven-haired kid said with an innocent tilt of his head. It wasn't that Giyuu didn't appreciate your gift, it was quite the opposite! But he also knew that your brother made just enough money to bring food to the table, so he couldn't help but feel guilty that you spent money on a gift.

"So you never forget me, silly!" Your laugh filled the garden rich with various flowers and vegetables growing from the earth. Taking the bracelet from Giyuu's grasp, you carefully tied the simple thread around his wrist until it casually sat against his skin and wouldn't slip off.

Forgetting you sounded ridiculous to Giyuu ㅡ why would he ever forget about his clumsy best friend? He didn't quite understand, and yet, maybe his heart did, because without realizing it, Giyuu tied your own bracelet around your wrist. The knot was far from perfect, but it was enough.

"Besides, you must always remember that I'm never far and always with you, okay?" A blush sat upon your cheeks as you intertwined your pinky finger with Giyuu and brought them up to eye-level, tying him into a promise of a lifetime. Your heart desired nothing more than to spend a life filled with your best friend and your big brother.

"P-promised.." Giyuu's heart fluttered, his face heated up.

But happiness was a sandcastle.

It only took 3 months for the waves to come crashing down and take the lives of not only your brother, but Giyuu's family, as well, leaving the two of you orphaned.

However, just because you were a girl, didn't mean that Urokodaki went any easier on you. How often had you found yourself getting knocked on your back, although all you could do was blink? Incredible, you thought to yourself each and every day, even challenging Giyuu and Sabito to practice your falls and build up strength during the night until your body was bruised, possibly even ached at the mere thought to move any more.

It was a fortunate stroke of luck that Urokodaki found Giyuu and you wandering through a small village in search of shelter, taking the two of you in along with a boy named Sabito. He raised the three of you into fine swordsmen while also making sure that you had enough to eat, a place to sleep and everything that came along with a place called home.

Despite the harsh training, you always had fun and treasured each day you got to spend with the two boys who were like brothers to you. It was the small moments making you laugh and suffer alike; like Urokodaki throwing Giyuu into the river to "become water" or how the old man smacked Sabito's stomach whenever the tension in his stomach wasn't enough for the breathing techniques.

One night before the final selection, the warmth of flames and the smell of soup filled the space just outside of Urokodaki's small home with the three kids gathered around the small fire. It was a starry night filled with an exceptionally rich moon, the view accompanied by the sound of laughter.

"They say you are what you eat but [Name] still isn't soup," Sabito chuckled as you slurped your tenth bowl of soup empty until no drop remained in the pristine bowl. The peach-haired boy was convinced that you had a bottomless pit as a stomach, he was always astonished at the amount you managed to eat in one sitting.

"You say that like I ate a lot," you pouted at Sabito's small poke, but never took it seriously. Shoulders casually shrugged it off while you were basking in the warmth the small fire provided. Although it was far from being cold, the breeze in the mountains was still chilly and liked to nip at your cheeks.

Next to you, Giyuu laughed and the glow of the flames dipped his face in an orange hue, making your heart jump within your ribcage. Painfully, you had come to realize that as you grew up with Giyuu, the boy made your heart flutter in a way which certainly wasn't fair. Perhaps..you did have a crush on your best friend, but you'd never say it out loud.

"[Name], you ate more than Sabito and I combined." Giyuu's laughter died down as he brought his own bowl to his lips and sipped the steaming broth Urokodaki had cooked just for the three of you.

Whenever everyone gathered to have dinner and Sabito would be amazed at your appetite, it reminded Giyuu of all the times you'd come over to his family's place and eat with them. Haruto would scold you for eating too much, Mother would laugh and gladly make you another plate while Giyuu would always give you the veggies he didn't like.

"It's called having a healthy appetite, Giyuu. Your points are invalid," you declared with a dismissive wave of your hand and snickered as you saw your best friend's shoulders slump at your words.

Peaceful moments like these were rare with the training you went through daily and the upcoming final selection made every day a little bit more tense. Of course, you were aware of Sabito's and Giyuu's polished skills and had confidence in your own swordsmanship, but it was a fact that no one knew what would happen in those seven days.

"[Name] isn't wrong about this." Urokodaki put some extra wood into the fire, flames licking at the bork and effectively melting the layer away. The Tengu mask made it impossible to look at Urokodaki's face, but judging by his tone, the former Hashira had to wear a serious expression on his face.

"Let me tell you one thing. Just like humans, demons gain their strength from the humans they consume. The more a demon has eaten, the stronger it is." Everyone listened to Urokodaki's words with perked ears and curious eyes as if they could study the information like a book. "Some demons devoured so many that their bodies are deformed. It ranges from mere horns to multiple body parts and extreme growth spurts."

"If they're stronger, their neck also gets tougher to cut, right?" Sabito still cupped his empty bowl to warm up his hands. He didn't sound nervous at all, if anything, he was nothing but confident in himself which was something you admired. Sabito was like a strong boulder that one could always rely on.

Urokodaki nodded his head. "Yes."

Giyuu saw the way you unconsciously bit your bottom lip, how your nails dug themselves into the ground and fingers occasionally fumbled with a bit of grass. Whenever you started feeling insecure, you'd always bite your lip or the inside of your cheek, a habit of yours which Giyuu had caught on to years ago.

As Giyuu got older, he grew more hesitant at holding your hand in a reassuring way. Although Sabito would never tease him about it, there was something special tickling in his belly whenever he reached for your hand. It made red rush to his cheeks, but the smile you gave him afterwards was worth the embarrassment he felt.

"Thank you," you mouthed, Giyuu exhaled shakily.

You made his heart feel too funny with the tiniest of things.

Footwear left deep prints in the muddy earth, high trees and thick bushes made it hard to see what was next, but you had to push through whatever lurked around the next corner.

After all, this was the second day of the final selection.

It was all about surviving 7 days in a forest filled to the brim with demons who were close to starvation. Kill or be killed, it was.

You were lucky not to have encountered any nasty demon and only had to worry about what you should eat next, but you thought of it as a bad omen. There was no way in hell the three of you could have so much luck and even if that was the case, it felt like those two days, devoid of any fight, took up all the luck you were supposed to have in one lifetime.

"Watch out, it's slippery!" Sabito ran down a small hill and nearly fell, but caught his balance just in time. He swore he saw a squirrel which he could cook later, but the animal sure was quick to run away from being eaten.

You were right behind Sabito, but much more careful than he was and slid down the hill on instinct. It had rained the entire day, so of course, the ground would be slippery, muddy and filled with puddles.

"Ah!"

Looking back, you saw Giyuu sitting on the wet ground and pressing a hand to his forehead. You went back, wanting to see what had gone wrong, but as you got closer, you saw blood severely dripping from his forehead, over his eyelids and down his cheeks. Not even his sword was to be seen anywhere; he possibly lost it just now.

"Giyuu, can you walk?" You offered him your hand which the boy gratefully took, but he couldn't seem to properly pull himself to his feet, his gaze seemed fuzzy, unfocused.

Scanning the area, you saw a small rock with fresh splatters of blood on it. So that was why..

A heavy trauma to the head. No wonder Giyuu was somewhere between unconsciousness and reality.

"Don't worry, we got this." Calmly, you examined the bleeding wound and pushed the uneven fringe out of the way to get a better look at it. Giyuu hissed when your finger brushed over the injury. "Sabito, can you watch out for demons? Just in case."

Sabito pulled his sword out of its sheath and protectively stood in front of Giyuu and you, one arm stretched out to his side to block the view of you patching up his friend. "Got it."

What were you supposed to do without any bandages? You scanned the area in hopes of finding something, anything that could slow down the bleeding, but all you saw was earth, leaves and some bushes. Stupid, to think that you'd magically see a pharmacy in the woods.

Then, your eyes settled on the sleeve of your haori. It took you no longer than a moment to unsheath your sword, cut through the fabric and tightly tie it around Giyuu's forehead who groaned in pain. "I'm sorry," you mumbled and finished the improvised banades up with a tight knot.

You were about to help Giyuu back on his feet, but at once, the ground shook beneath you in rhythmical periods.

"There's something!" Sabito breathed more to himself, but you were able to catch it with your senses suddenly heightened by the incoming rush of adrenaline. Giyuu still applied pressure to his injury, his sight switching from complete nothingness to what was happening around him.

Instantaneously, your eyes widened in horror at the demon that was trudging towards the three of you and giggled as it swallowed another kid that he managed to eat.

He was deformed to the bone, several hands hugged its tall, green body. Eyes, disgustingly big, stared at Sabito, then you and Giyuu before his hands began scratching at his skin in an anxious, excited manner.

"Ohh! Urokodaki is feeding me even more kids than usual this time! I bet the three of you are delicious! I can only imagine the face he'll make when three students won't make it back to him!"

Sabito planted both of his feed into the ground, the tip of his sword pointed at the demon's neck. "[Name], you protect Giyuu. I'll lop off the head." As soon as the words left Sabito's mouth, Giyuu was about to protest but stumbled back into your body, your arms catching him before he could trip, again.

"Be careful." You nodded at Sabito and took a defensive stance right in front of Giyuu, holding the blade right next to your head while your hands were grasping the handle tightly. As blue eyes watched your back, watched his two best friends fight, Giyuu felt as helpless as the night his family got massacred.

All he could do was watch.

Perversely large hands dashed at Sabito who leapt through those which didn't radiate murderous intent and cut off the hands aiming for his body. He jumped on one of the demon's arms, dodging a fist coming his way by ducking low and sliding along the green skin.

You blocked a fist with the help of your sword and got pushed back a few meters before you twisted the handle in your grasp, abruptly slicing through the fist from below. "Are you okay, Giyuu?!"

As much as you wanted to take a look back and check up on him, you absolutely couldn't take your eyes off the battle or else, the demon could get Giyuu or even the both of you.

While you were stepping in puddles of blood, cutting those disgusting hands off and had to focus on not taking a lethal hit, you still worried about Giyuu. It made his heart clench painfully in his chest. If only he knew where his sword was, then he'd force himself to fight alongside Sabito and you!

"Don't worry about me, [Name]!"

You were so busy concentrating on what was happening in front of you that you failed to notice the one hand underneath your feet. Before you could even think about using a breathing technique or leaping up into the air, the hand wrapped itself around your ankle and threw you away like you were nothing but a fly.

"[Name]!" Saito and Giyuu shouted your name in unison, watching in horror as you flew farther away with each second.

You desperately stretched one of your arms out in the desperate hope of being able to grab on to a branch and get back to the fight, but it was wishful thinking.

"I'll come back!" You cried out until your vocal chords protested and nearly gave in. The air in your lungs became needles. "Until then, survive, got it?! You must survive!"

"Whatever you do, you've got to survive!" Hands clinging to the katana you carried with you, you screamed at the top of your lungs one last time. Bit by bit, your friends seemed to become dots. "Survive! Sabito! Giyuu!"

Sabito clenched his jaw, teeth grinding against one another as anger bubbled deep within his heart and threatened to spill like an overflowing sink.

He charged at the demon with a yell and got so very close to the neck, ready to chop it off when his blade suddenly snapped into two.

Giyuu watched in horror as the demon used Sabito's surprised state to his advantage and smashed his friend's head in.

All he could do was watch.

All he could do was run.

Agonizingly, your body collided with the hard ground and filled your mouth with blood, several cracking sounds travelled throughout your body like electricity. As you gasped for air, you nearly choked on your own blood and coughed it out, a crimson puddle lingering underneath you.

You didn't know where exactly you were nor did you know how long it'd take you to get back to your friends, but you had to find a way. No matter how much your body ached, no matter how loudly every fiber of your body screamed at you to stop, you couldn't.

It was through pure will that you managed to bury the tips of your fingers into the dirt and drag yourself to your blade lying a few meters in front of you. Your view was blurry, but you still managed to make out that the Nichirin blade Urokodaki had given you had snapped in half and it had you mentally laughing.

He was going to break your bones, wasn't he?

"Just a little bit.." You croaked out with your hand desperately reaching for the handle of the katana. Just a little bit more, just a few more centimeters and the handle would be back in your broken hand, but just before you could even touch it, your arm limply fell to the ground. As much as you wanted to move, forced yourself to go that one extra step, your body didn't listen.

Gradually, black hugged the corners of your view and the ability to hear slowly faded into nothing. No longer could you feel the ground below you or smell the scent of the trees surrounding you; opaque came to envelope you and drag you to the depths of unconsciousness.

Tears rolled down your cheeks, dampening the earth below you and eventually soaking the collar of the haori you wore. You had promised Urokodaki to come back, you had promised to live a long life, you had promised to stay by Sabito's and Giyuu's side and now, you couldn't even promise to move your finger.

"Giyuu.. Sabito.. Forgive me, but I won't make it back.."

The last thing you saw was the moon reflected in the broken blade and the red bracelet firmly wrapped around your wrist.

Three days had been spent looking for you in hopes of finding you only injured, but still alive. Three days without a clue of where you could be, but Giyuu clung to the slim hope of you lying somewhere in these cursed woods, unconscious but well.

It was that thread of hope that kept his hand glued to the blade, kept his head up and forced his gaze to look ahead.

Feet had run through countless rough patches until blisters hurt Giyuu, but he simply ran through them until his feet got sore and he would be damned if he stopped running at that very moment. After all, persistence and determination would pay off, right? The strong-willed would always be rewarded after going through hell and back.

Nearing a river, Giyuu spotted a broken katana as well as smudges of blood on the ground and immediately slid down the small hill he was on. In his rush, he stumbled over his feet and fell to his knees right next to the blade which he knew was yours.

The thread of hope finally snapped.

Frantically, he scanned the area for any sign of you being alive, but all he found was the dried puddle of blood and the snapped Nichirin blade Urokodaki had given you just before heading off for this damned final selection.

With shaking fingers, Giyuu picked up the handle of the sword, hot tears streaming down his face. "[Name]..?" His voice was fragile, on the verge of breaking with every second spent in deafening silence. Giyuu couldn't find it in him to get up, his knees felt like broken mirrors which would stab into his flesh and force him to kneel, regardless of what he desperately wanted to do.

"Please, this isn't funny!" The raven-haired boy called out and tears began blurring his vision, sniffles and choked back sobs rocked his body. "[Name]!" Giyuu hugged the handle of your katana to his chest as he curled up into himself and sobbed into the new day that had just begun.

Why did the universe take away every person he loved so dearly?

First, it was his family, then Sabito and you that got ripped from his grasp, lives he treasured more than anything else, people who he would've died for.

"[Name].. You promised to come back.." The boy murmured to no one and let his eyes travel to the wristband you had made so many years ago. It was physical proof that you were always with him and never far, that he would never forget you and that your lives were intertwined like the sun and the moon.

"Give me [Name] back.."

It was at this moment that a Demon Hunter of higher rank called out to a whimpering Giyuu and brought him back to where the final selection started, a place filled with beautifully blooming wisteria.

Everyone came back.

Everyone except for you and Sabito.

How was Giyuu supposed to face Urokodaki after this?

Lead flowed through every single vein as Giyuu dragged himself back to Urokodaki's home, body heavy with the strain of surviving for 7 days straight, but compared to the gilt gnawing away at his heart, it was bearable.

If only he hadn't gotten injured, then maybe Sabito would still be alive, standing right next to him with an equally aching body but still smiling through the pain because they would've made it.

If only Giyuu had gotten to the river a bit earlier, you'd be swooning over Urokodaki's food and excitedly tell the elder man about all the achievements and experiences you gained. You, too, would be alive and smiling.

The young boy stopped dead in his tracks as his blue eyes spotted Urokodaki chopping up some wood with an axe which the former Hashira dropped when his gaze fell upon Giyuu.

Sadness lingered in Urokodaki's nose and was quick to mix with relief of still being alive, yet Giyuu reeked of regret, grief and sorrow. He couldn't blame the young boy. Urokodaki knew how attached Giyuu was to Sabito and you. The three of you would always train together, share food among one another like you were siblings and cut worries in half simply by being present.

Giyuu was desperately trying to bite back new sobs and tears, since Sabito would be the one to say that a man should suffer in silence. On the other hand, there was you who looked so upset when he once tried to hide an injury from you.

"Stop acting tough." You had once said.

The entire sky came crashing down on Giyuu as he felt his teacher's arms wrapping around him to welcome him home, to express gratefulness that he made it back.

"Sabito and [Name]!" Giyuu could no longer hold his tears at bay, they freely rolled down his cheek like waves crashed into the shore. It was too much and yet not enough. "Urokodaki-san! They.. They..!" His voice broke a little more with each word that Giyuu tried to force out of his throat, but the lump of sorrow cut through his vocal chords.

"I'm glad you're back," was all Urokodaki managed to say and he hoped it'd take a bit of weight off the young boy's shoulders. He feared that if he tried to speak any more, he would cry more than he already was, as well. During the time as a teacher, Urokodaki had lost so many of his students who grew on him ㅡ Sabito, Giyuu and you were no exception.

Sadness poked around deeply in his heart, but it was Urokodaki's duty to make sure that his student wouldn't be overcome by his current despair. He knew Giyuu would be able to overcome his sorrow and grow into a good person.

But first, time needed to heal the wound which was still bleeding so heavily.

Giyuu rubbed his eyes dry with the sleeve of his haori, took off the small bag he carried on his back and showed Urokodaki the broken blade which had belonged to you. "Do you.. Do you think it can be fixed?"

Urokodaki took the two parts into his hands and was surprised at how jaded the blade was. It didn't even cut his finger like it was supposed to and the color had disappeared from the sword like it had never been wielded by anyone in the first place. "That can be arranged. I'll ask Haganezuka."

Two weeks passed when Haganezuka arrived with two swords in his hands and nearly lost his mind when Giyuu said that he wasn't a dual wielder and only needed one blade.

"You little..! What do you mean you can't wield both?! It'd be disgraceful not to wield both Nichirin blades!" Haganezuka screeched loud enough for his voice to echo through every corner of Mount Sagiri. It took so long to make the broken sword look like it had never been broken and this brat didn't even think about testing it out!

Giyuu never pulled the blade out of the sheath as you were the one who should do it and witness the change of colors with your own eyes. "I'm sorry." It wasn't necessary to let the swords smith in on the details when he was a stranger. A weird stranger, at that.

"Sorry doesn't cut it!"

Despite the strange encounter with Haganezuka who was oddly dedicated to his craft, as Giyuu would put it, the sword was always held close to his heart. It was a reminder of the life Sabito and you gifted him, that he should work harder to be able to protect those around him.

When Giyuu climbed through the ranks and was able to afford his own estate, the first thing he had hung up was the sword you fought with.

It was 8 years later when bare feet danced on the wooden floor like water flowed through the river. No unnecessary steps, elegance connected every single move like stars made up beautiful constellations which left people in awe each and every time.

Several women watched with parted lips and sparkling eyes as this person was a constellation herself, someone they could learn and profit from if they watched closely enough. But they knew that this level of accurate and controlled movements required not only effort, but talent as well.

When feet ceased to float and the music humming in the background died down, one woman in particular ran up to the young dancer, manicured nails squishing the full cheeks together. "Isn't she amazing?" Mizu nearly squeaked with pride and reddened cheeks while receiving agreeing nods from the other women.

Mizu was an oiran living in Yoshiwara, a red light district. She was rather beautiful with her opaque hair kept into a bun and held together by golden hairpins, her lips painted crimson and fair skin, although most of her pale skin was thanks to the help of make-up.

"[Name] really is amazing," one of the women said smiling, her palms on her lap as she agreed with Mizu.

Such praise was often thrown your way only because Mizu was in the room. No one dared to openly point out your mistakes and actively help you improve your skills, so you had no choice but to ask the women yourself when Mizu was out of hearing-range.

This issue wasn't the only thing keeping everyone on the edge of their seat.

Whenever a severe mistake happened, that woman was sure to disappear within the next night. Stomping could clearly be heard, you swore the mere sound gave off a murderous intent so intense that it left you shaking underneath the security of your blankets.

When asking if one of your fellow workers could also sense the blood lust every once in a while, they said no. Apparently, they couldn't feel the immense anger creeping throughout the house like you could which left you confused. However, the fact that your senses were so sharp and sensitive to blood lust made you wonder if you had lived a different life before you woke up in Yoshiwara.

Actually, you were sure that you had lived differently before finding yourself in Yoshiwara, but your memories were erased. Proof of your previous lifestyle were your calloused palms, the small scars on them which the other women always pitied you for as it apparently wasn't fit for a lady to have rough palms.

Then there was this wristband which you wore for a reason long forgotten.

All you could remember was your name when you one day woke up on a tatami mat underneath a safe roof with several women in the room. You couldn't answer a single question regarding your past, the years of your life suddenly drowned in black as you tried your best to remember what happened, what caused the pain in your body, but it was no good.

"Thank you for your kind words. If you'd excuse me." As you turned around to leave for the bathrooms, you felt Mizu's eyes on your back and you knew that she had nothing but love swimming in her dark eyes, and yet, you sensed something much deeper, so much darker lurking within them that a shiver rolled down your spine.

One woman responsible for today's cleaning stood next to the highly-respected oiran. "Wherever you picked [Name] up from, it's a gift you found her. She might as well take your place someday, Mizu-san."

A gift you were indeed, but the way you danced bugged Mizu. It reminded her of the fighting techniques of Demon Slayers. Filthy. "Yeah. Who knows what might've happened to her if it was someone else that found her.." Mizu brought the sleeve of her kimono up to her lips, hiding the lower part of her face and tilted her head to the side as she watched you disappear behind shoji doors, briefly remembering where she had found you nearly a decade ago.

"Oh my, what a poor thing." Mizu knelt down to where you laid on the ground, your breathing was shallow and your hand outstretched as if reaching out to the sword in front of you. Manicured nails pushed your bangs out of your face and traced the bruises along your cheek and neck, feeling that your jaw was, indeed, broken.

"You'd look beautiful without all these ugly stains," she mused while twisting a strand of your dirtied hair around her index finger, crimson red lips frowned at the miserable state you were in. So far gone, you couldn't even hear her voice, feel her touch.

Reaching behind her head, Mizu took two hairpins out of her hair and styled your hair into a bun, the hairpins keeping the look somewhat together. You reminded her of the daughter she once had before the small child suddenly died. Mizu desired nothing more than to have her daughter back and you were the perfect fit.

"You'd make a beautiful oiran, one day. Maybe I should make you my daughter." Mizu smiled into the night at the thought of having a daughter, such a stunning one, too. With her, you'd be better off than with those filthy slayers if the sword in front of you was anything to go by. She could give you all the riches you desired, all the kimonos, money, men and women you could ever want.

Those Demon Hunters could only offer you death.

"From today on, you'll be my lovely daughter," Mizu cheered and poked at your cheek to maybe gain a reaction, but all she heard was an incoherent mumble of names she had never heard of. Unimportant, these people no longer mattered.

Carefully, Mizu picked you up with a smile and disappeared into the night.

The water was pleasantly warm against your skin as you washed the heavy make-up off your face, several colors went down the drain and no longer stuck in place like a mask. Luckily, you didn't have to show your face to any outsider that night, or else the amount of make-up would suffocate you.

A sigh escaped through your lips when your eyes landed on that red wristband, the threads wet and soaked with water, but still perfectly intact. You didn't know why, but your heart always ached a little whenever you thought about its origin and the possible memories connected to this little item.

Maybe someone important gave it to you?

Maybe that someone was looking for you and could help you regain your memories!

Ah, what were you thinking? Stuff like this only existed in romantic novels. 8 years had passed and no one had ever looked for you, you were certain of that. No had ever asked around for you, no one had ever put up a picture of your face, no one had cared enough.

Whenever you'd ask Mizu about where she found you and what you did before joining the house she lived in, she brushed you off, saying that it was time for your Japanese class, time to practice calligraphy or dancing, when in reality she only wanted you to be distracted and busy.

"Maybe I should give up and just live with it..," you mumbled into the towel as you dried your face. At least, you would no longer anger Mizu or make the other women nervous when asking anything regarding your past.

Having made up your mind, you trudged back into your empty room. No matter how many paintings you had hung up, no matter how many clothes filled your wardrobe and no matter how much jewelry Mizu made you wear on your hands and neck, it was empty.

You were lucky to live, but were you really alive or simply a shell of who you used to be?

After countlessly tossing and turning, your body finally found some rest and dragged you into a deep slumber.

Streets filled with people were never one of Giyuu's favorites. He preferred executing his job in the mountains where he wouldn't have to hide his sword from the police and didn't have the stress of potentially having to protect a large number of people if a demon was to show up.

One good thing about cities was the food. The steaming bowl of ramen warmed Giyuu up from within as the chilly evening breeze nipped at his cheeks, tinting the flesh a faint shade of red.

"It's almost unbelievable that a demon is supposed to be here. Right, Tomioka-san?" Shinobu sat next to Giyuu and enjoyed her own portion of food. Just behind her back, people chattered away and children played tag with each other, from somewhere further away, she could even make out the faint strumming of an instrument.

Apparently, a demon was hiding somewhere in Yoshiwara. Every few months, women, prostitutes, to be more specific, suddenly disappeared and had never been seen again. Of course, the rumor of those women losing her footing had spread, but this was as waterproof as paper.

Those women had never shown signs of wanting to run away with a man. Love letters were never found nor did they suddenly receive a good amount of money or saw someone especially frequently.

"Demons can hide anywhere." Giyuu's ears picked up how some men asked for some lady's services and briefly, the thought of a demon hiding in a brothel crossed his mind. However, he had never heard of a demon seeking refuge in such business since those places were too crowded to commit a proper murder.

"You're not wrong about this." Shinobu sat back in her seat and put her chopsticks on her empty plate before something caught her attention. What was this red bracelet around Giyuu's wrist? Had it always been there or did he get it recently?

A teasing smile tugged the corners of her lips upwards as she rested her chin on her palm, an index finger pointing at Giyuu's wrist. "Tomioka-san, did you get that wristband from someone special? I didn't know you were the type to be so romantic!" She chirped.

Blue irises gazed at the red threads laced into one thick wristband which was usually hidden underneath the sleeve of his uniform or haori, so no one really ever saw it. "It's nothing like that." Despite his nonchalant words, Giyuu couldn't help the small smile tugging at his lips.

"Eh?! Are you smiling?!" Shinobu could hardly believe her eyes and felt a shiver run down her spine. This was..scary.

"..We're here to look for a demon, aren't we?"

Attentively, you sat close to a river, eyes wide and scanning the area for a familiar mop of black hair tied into a low ponytail. From afar, you could hear an old man giving someone the instruction to become one with the water in order to master the breathing techniques.

Just a moment later, a yell echoed through the mountains followed by a noisy splash and the yell got cut off.

"___-san really threw him into the river, huh," you chuckled as you remembered how you nearly drowned the first time the elderly man tossed you into the river like a rubber duck. Now it was the boy's turn.

Minutes of silence filled the space around you, only the water flowing in front of you filled the tranquil space and then, several gasps shattered the peaceful atmosphere.

The boy you had to look out for coughed up water as he dragged himself out of the river, his body soaked to the bone and what was that on his hand? Blood? He possibly cut himself on a stone underwater.

Leaping up from your seated position and jogging over to your friend, you gave his back a few firm smacks until he breathed normally again. "I feel like ____-san really wants to kill us," the boy looked up at you, but..you couldn't see his face. It was black.

"Speaking of dying. What was that on your hand?" you spoke and tried to get a look at the boy's hand, but he quickly hid his hands behind his back, pressing the back of his hands against his lower back. "___, show me!" You insisted and eventually, your friend showed you the cut on the back of his hand.

The cut wasn't deep, but it still bled profusely down his wrist. Clicking your tongue, you reached into your pocket and revealed simple bandages which you always kept with you in case you got injured. "Why didn't you tell me you were hurt?" The boy saw the upset look on your face, brows furrowed and your eyes scolding him.

Wasn't it his friend that said that a man should bear his pain in silence?

"I'm sorry, [Name]," he avoided your gaze, focusing on the bracelet you had once made for him, instead. It was better than having to bear the disappointment in your eyes.

"Stop acting tough." You tied the bandage around the boy's hand a bit too tight, making him flinch at the pain shooting through his hand. It was unusual for you to be so rough. "I'll always find out if you're hurt."

In a cold sweat, gasping for air, you suddenly sat straight in bed. Your heart pounded against your ribcage, your sleepwear was drenched in sweat at your neck and back, the fabric clung to you like a second skin. Putting a hand on your chest, you tried your best to control your breathing, but the more you tried, the more you could feel a headache stinging in the back of your head.

Whatever you just saw, it was a mere dream, right? Yet, one could usually hear names and see the faces of the people appearing in a dream, but whenever names fell, they were muted. Whenever you saw a face, it was covered in black.

They were nameless, faceless people.

Perhaps, this was a memory?

"Crap," you hissed as the stinging got to your eyes like a migraine and roughly pushed the blanket off your body as you got up to maybe talk about it with Mizu or someone else. Yes, you promised not to bother anyone with your dreams or past, but this left your hands and mind shaking.

Carefully, as to not make any noise, your bare feet padded along the wooden hallways, every shoji door was shut and no light was on, indicating that all of the women were busy with men downstairs. What a pain, you thought. Keeping married and single men pleased at night was something which never appealed to you, even though Mizu had raised you to possess the needed skills.

Lost in thought, you nearly missed how the light of several candles lit up a single room, the shoji door wasn't even fully closed. You finally found someone!

"I'm sorry for bothering you this late at night, but I was wondering ifㅡ"

You were greeted by the sight of blood being smeared across the wall and pooling right at your feet, bones sticking out from the corpse of the woman who had praised you earlier. Your head screamed at you to run, but your body didn't listen. It was itching to reach for something that wasn't strapped to your hip.

"It's a shame you had to see me like this, [Name]." Opaque hair was loose, red lipstick got replaced by the dead woman's blood which was also dripping down claws.

Mizu tossed the corpse away from her and faced you, slowly approaching you with cold steps. Her pupils were no longer round but resembled that of a cat. Smirking, she watched as your legs trembled in fear when she delicately cupped your face in her hand. "I promised myself to never eat you unless you saw me killing someone. But maybe it's exactly because you are my daughter that you'll be extra nutritious."

Horns made of bones stuck out from Mizu's head, resembling the ears of a bunny. At that very moment, you heard a voice inside your head.

"Some demons devoured so many that their bodies are deformed. It ranges from mere horns to multiple body parts and extreme growth spurts."

"Demon!" You gasped, pushed Mizu away from you with all the strength you had in your arms and made a run for it. Splinters dug into the soles of your feet, but you didn't care. What mattered was your survival, your life, the life Haruto and Tsutako left behind for you!

Wait, Haruto and Tsutako..? Who..?

You stopped dead in your tracks, the sound of Mizu's traditional heels rhythmically clicking against the floor haunted you.

Fleeing downstairs was no option. Innocent lives could easily be taken by Mizu and there was no way you could protect all of them when you couldn't even properly protect yourself. Panic-stricken, your eyes found nothing but paintings decorating the walls, a mere fan and a..

A katana!

Grabbing the katana from the wall, you held it with both hands as tightly as you could, the tip pointing at Mizu's neck.

"You're hilarious, [Name]! Don't tell me you're remembering now when it's too late." Mizu pushed some of her hair behind her shoulder as she laughed at your poor attempt to take her down. However, it seemed like your body was beginning to remember whatever a fragile human once taught you and it wasn't like you had completely forgotten how to move, either.

A laugh shook the demon's shoulders as she stretched her palm out and let a bone grow from her skin. Mizu pointed the sharp bone towards you, shooting it in your direction with the expectation to heavily injure you and kill you in the end.

What she didn't expect was the way you vertically cut through the bone, letting drop to the ground uselessly. Your jaw was clenched, eyes wide open with sweat trickling down your forehead and the katana in your hand like it had always belonged there.

"I don't know what you're saying, but I know that I can't let you live!" Zooming right in Mizu's face, you aimed for her stomach to weaken her, but she was faster. Grabbing your head, she effectively put you off-balance and rammed another bone into your side as if she saw no daughter in you.

"You've always had a funny side to you, but right now, you're looking like a jester. You, killing me? Not even you are that dumb." Mizu wore an unimpressed expression as you fell to your knees and coughed up blood. Hastily, you ripped a good amount of fabric from your yukata and tightly wrapped it around your waist to slow down the bleeding.

The demon never stopped you. Sooner or later, you'd faint and die from blood loss. This was nothing but a fool's attempt to desperately prolong their end.

"That katana can't kill me. As a former Demon Slayer, you should know that only a Slayer's blade and sunlight can kill a demon." A swift kick to your face had blood dripping down your nose, but your palm wrapped itself around Mizu's ankle tight enough to make your arm's veins pop, tight enough to prevent her, a demon, from moving.

"Breathing Techniques make it possible for a human to gain demonic strength themselves. But unlike demons, a human's stamina is limited."

Within a moment, Mizu's ankle was in your hand, her blood flowing down your forearm as you tossed the cut off limb away. Immediately, you pulled her into a close-range fight, but the several bones beginning to stick out from her body pushed you further away with each step you took. The sharp bones left cuts on not only your face, but your arms and legs as well.

"I don't care if it can't kill you! I refuse to go down without a fight! I'll simply keep you busy until the sun rises!"

Searching for that demon in Yoshiwara was a lost cause.

No one had any suspicions or those people were just too scared to talk, fearing that they might mysteriously disappear, as well. The tension in Yoshiwara spread far and wide, yet there wasn't even the trace of a demon to be found.

"We can't talk. Otherwise, we'll disappear, as well."

"Those women are said to have lost their footing, but.. No, it doesn't matter."

"..Whatever are you talking about?"

Excuses upon excuses. But Giyuu could hardly interrogate simple passengers and ask them about the existence of a being which they were unaware of or didn't believe in.

Frustrated, he shut the shoji door of his home and sighed.

Suddenly, a shrill clink bounced off the plain walls of Giyuu's home and as he raised his gaze, he saw the Nichirin sword ㅡ which was supposed to be yours if you had survived ㅡ on the floor, the steel shone in the moonlight peeking through the windows of his home.

His heart felt heavy as he wondered what color your katana would have become, how you would've wielded it, how bright your smile would've been if you had had the chance to receive it.

Giyuu picked the colorless weapon up, wanted to put it back on its place at the wall when suddenly his kasugai crow landed on the window sill, cawing so loudly that it made his ears ring.

"[Name] who was assumed to have died in the final selection 8 years ago, needs backup fighting a demon!" The old crow impatiently bounced around, wings already spread and ready to take off. "Hurry to Yoshiwara! Hurry, hurry! "

"[Name]..?" Gradually, Giyuu's usually calm gaze widened and filled with infinite questions while he was wordlessly staring at your sword. Why were you alive and how in the world did you survive? Why did you never come back? What held you back?

With a flick of his wrist, he hid the plain Nichirin blade in the sleeve of his mismatched haori and was out of his home faster than the crow could perceive.

The Hashira couldn't be late. He couldn't be late, again.

This time, he'd be the one to protect you.

"Get out of here!" You cried to the people who had been very obviously enjoying themselves with alcohol, food and women until Mizu had kicked you through the floor which was also the ceiling of the floor below.

No one seemed to fully realize what happened, reality only kicked in slowly when they took note of your battered form and Mizu coming down the stairs as elegantly as ever, but the blood on her and the aura she radiated created nothing but fear.

All of a sudden, they screamed and ran, talking about a monster possessing their beloved lady who was attempting to kill one of their own.

Making sure that everyone got out safely was a mistake. You didn't even realize Mizu leaving her spot on the stairs as she was suddenly right in front of you, way too close to be considered a safe distance. Crap, there was no way you'd get out of this unscathed.

The bone sticking out from Mizu's palm aimed for your right eye, ready to pierce through your skull and put an end to the prosperous life you could lead thanks to the demonic woman. In an act of despair, you swung your katana vertically in an attempt to cut off her arm, but Mizu just smirked as the blade got stuck, not even budging a centimeter, anymore.

This was it. This attack would be your downfall, you thought.

"Water Breathing. Second form: Water Wheel."

You stumbled backwards, falling on your knees and all your eyes could catch was Mizu's arm suddenly dropping to the ground along with the katana stuck in her flesh. Blood stained the carpet an ugly red, a loud hiss came from Mizu's direction, her pupils shaking and mouth unusually quiet.

"A..H-Hashira..?" Claws digged into the flesh of her palm bit by bit, her fist shook and goosebumps were scattered across her skin. Just the mere aura of that Demon Slayer terrified her; he was way too calm and yet she could feel racing anger bubbling underneath the surface. No, she couldn't let a mere human intimidate her. What ridiculous excuse of a demon would get intimidated by a man wielding a sword?

Hashira..?

Looking up, you saw the broad back of a man wearing a mismatched haori but what stood out to you was the red wristband he wore. It looked like the one around your wrist but could it be the same? What were the odds of two strangers wearing the same red bracelet? Impossible.

A sudden sting in your head interrupted your running mind.

Fingers tangled themselves into your hair, pulling at the roots.

"Stop acting tough." You tied the bandage around Giyuu's hand a bit too tight, making the boy flinch at the pain shooting through his hand. It was unusual for you to be so rough. "I'll always find out if you're hurt."

Panting, you closed your eyes shut until it hurt. Why did you feel like you knew the man in front of you?

..Giyuu!" You finally yelled the man's name out like he was the answer to everything you had been looking for, like he was the missing piece to the puzzle of your life. Unknowingly, tears freely flowed from your eyes, making the cuts on your face sting and burn.

A quick move of his wrist was enough to flick Mizu's blood off his sword. "Don't you dare touch her!" Giyuu wasn't one to lose his calm demeanor often, but what he absolutely couldn't stand was the ones he cared for getting hurt, bruised, made to suffer.

You wiped the blood trickling from your mouth away with the back of your hand, lips tugging themselves upwards as you pushed yourself up to your feet once more and stood next to Giyuu. "I'll fight with you. This is a personal matter."

Giyuu was about to protest, tell you to leave this place, but the sharp shimmer cutting through your eyes immediately took down every word that was on his tongue. Never had you backed down from a fight, never had you let anything break you, never had you ever given up.

Wordlessly, he let the katana he hid in the sleeve of the haori, slide into his palm and handed it to you. As soon as your fingers were wrapped around the handle, the blade turned into a clear baby blue, several shades lighter than Giyuu's Nichirin blade.

"I'll handle the bones. You go for the head."

Giyuu dashed ahead while you cut your way through the maze of bones sticking out from wherever Mizu desired, her attacks got rougher as if she was suddenly frightened. Good. "You brat! Do you really think one more person would be enough to claim my head?!" Mizu stomped her foot once.

That stomping.. You were familiar with it.

It'd occur once every few months before a woman would go missing without a trace. This action always frightened you as the murderous intent in it was so overwhelming that unconsciously, tears would brim your eyes.

Quickly, you grabbed the back of Giyuu's haori and slid to the side with him before several rib-shaped bones dashed up from the ground, their sharp tips shining underneath the chandelier. If you hadn't been so familiar with Mizu's blood lust, you were sure you would've been pierced pork by now.

Thanks to the sliding, you had gotten close enough to Mizu, giving you the perfect opportunity to chop off her head before she could cause any more pain and damage. "Go!" You cried out loud enough for your voice to crack and swung your blade at Mizu's face to slice her horizontally, the demon stopping your blade with her bare hands.

"Water Breathing. First form: Water Surface Slash."

Giyuu had gotten behind Mizu and let his katana cut through the flesh of her neck, the head of the oiran sliding off her shoulders and her body collapsing to the ground. "Impossible!" She screeched in nothing but anger and disappointment at you.

"You ungrateful bitch! I saved and raised you and this is how you repay the favor?! How dare youㅡ!" Tears streamed down her cheeks while you were looking at her with a drained expression. Bruises and cuts stained your skin, not to mention the stab wound in your waist which was still bleeding. Bangs hid your eyes from her view, the smell of ash was strong in your nose.

"I'm very thankful that you raised me, gave me food and a roof above my head. I will never forget that. But making humans suffer by letting them die a painful death, eating them without a shred of guilt in your guts.." The grip on the katana's handle tightened in anger, sadness and grief as you remembered your brother, mother, Tsutako. All those people who were so brave and kind and dead. "Savior, Mother, whatever you are. I absolutely won't forgive you for this!"

"Do you think that matters?! You're nothing but a whore I raised! You, too, won't go to heaven and I'll wait for you in hell!" Before Mizu could spit any more words, her head and body dissolved into nothing, not even the ashes remained.

Slowly, you turned around to face Giyuu, a peaceful smile lingered on your lips as you stumbled towards the one your heart had been missing for longer than you could think. Strength left your hand and the katana Giyuu had tossed you earlier fell to the ground. "Giyuu.. I'm so happy you survived.." You tripped over your own two feet, about to fall, but it was okay.

Giyuu caught you.

"[Name], I.." He spoke, but soon noticed that you had fallen unconscious with your cheek pressed up against his chest, eyes closed and breathing so calmly in his strong arms. Serenity was written all over your face, despite the dirt, cuts, blood and pain you went through. You were at peace with Giyuu around just like when you two were children.

His stoic mask shattered as he pressed your unconscious body flush to his and buried a hand in your hair, his knees giving in and meeting the floor with a dull thud. "I'm so sorry I didn't find you earlier." Giyuu buried his face in your neck as he softly cried against your skin, a wave of immense relief hitting him at once.

At least, you weren't dead like the Hashira believed for nearly 10 years.

"I swear I'll make sure to protect you."

The sun was warm on your skin, gentle eyes focused on a blue butterfly which had entered through the open window and rested on your index finger. Its small legs tickled you ever so slightly and you struggled to hold in a giggle at the feeling.

After having fallen unconscious for a day or two, you woke up at the Butterfly Estate where three very sweet girls awaited you coming back to reality; you learned that their names were Sumi, Kiyo and Naho. They brought you everything you needed and frequently kept you company.

With your eyes opening once more, you also regained your memories. You remembered everything from the day you lost your parents, to the training with Urokodaki, Sabito and Giyuu, to the point you had desperately tried to reach your katana and passed out. Although a little bit of regret lingered at your soul, you couldn't find it in you to be upset with yourself.

Life continuously knitted several paths for one to take, but it was up to several strings of fortunate and unfortunate events alike which path they'd lead one on.

Anyone could say you were unlucky to have lost your memories and had to part ways with the ones you loved the most. But if you thought about it, you were very lucky. So very lucky that Mizu had taken you in, that she fought you and that a string of fate decided to intertwine Giyuu's and your path once more.

The butterfly on your finger flew away as the shoji door slid open and revealed no one else but Shinobu who had watched over your physical and mental state after the confrontation with Mizu. The Insect Hashira was incredibly kind and you felt like you developed some kind of friendship with her.

As she sat down on your bed to give you the last bit of medicine you had to swallow, you couldn't help but notice her eyes lingering on your wristband.

"How come you like Tomioka-san?"

You nearly choked on the pills, heat warmed up your cheeks and the tips of your ears while you stumbled over your words like a child tripped over rocks. "I-I what?! It's nothing like t-that, Shinobu!" Comically, you shook your head and threw your arms around as if that would convince the dark-haired woman.

"Oh? But Tomioka-san has the exact same wristband and when I asked him about it, he smiled. Do you know how scary that was?"

You couldn't bite back the laugh that ripped through you at Shinobu's words. The fact that Giyuu seemed to smile so rarely that it was considered creepy when he did it, was both ridiculous and funny to you.

On the other side of the shoji door, Giyuu wondered what could possibly make you laugh so much. He didn't ponder too much on it since this was a sound he hadn't heard in so long and was actually quite fond of. Not that the Water Hashira would ever say that out loud.

As Giyuu stepped inside, he was immediately greeted by your warm smile and despite the bandaids on your face and bandages around your arms, he was taken aback at how pretty you were. Even after 8 years, you still made his heart feel a certain, funny way with little to no effort at all.

"I guess I should leave the two of you alone. Although I can't deny that I'm surprised you like Tomioka-san enough to willingly be alone with him."

"I..am not disliked by people."

"That's all you have to say?" Shinobu wondered out loud and left the room, the shoji door closing behind her with a dull thud bouncing off the warmly-colored walls.

As Giyuu sat with you on the bed, you couldn't help but notice that his facial features got much sharper over the years, his demeanor became stoic, but you were quick to figure out that Giyuu hadn't grown jaded. Those he cared about, he would show his emotions to.

"Giyuu, Iㅡ"

Whatever you wanted to say got blown away as you suddenly found yourself in Giyuu's arms, your chin resting in his broad shoulder while his hands grasped at your clothes as if you were to disappear if he held you any lighter. "All this time, I thought you were dead."

Wrapping your arms around the tall Hashira, you easily melted into the heartfelt hug and felt relief as well as happiness prick at your eyes. You couldn't cry now. "I'm right here, Giyuu. I told you I'd never be far, remember?" Each syllable was a bit shakier than the previous one, but it made the feelings in your heart only grow firmer and deeper.

Affectionately, you wrapped your pinky around Giyuu's and brought the two intertwined fingers up to eye level while resting your forehead on his own. You basked in the closeness with the one you'd been aching to meet, swam in his calm aura and felt your heart skip several beats as if it had fallen.

A lump found home in Giyuu's throat and effectively cut off any word he could dream of saying. He wasn't used to anyone getting this close to him, wasn't used to someone being affectionate and gentle with him. And he certainly wasn't used to seeing your serene face after so, so long.

But he liked it.

"I'd never forget," Giyuu quietly confessed and felt your breath fan over his cheeks, a delicate smile tugging at his lips as the promise from your childhood was renewed. It was the first time you had seen Giyuu smile and contrary to Shinobu's words, it was the most beautiful thing you had ever laid your eyes on.

Step by step, the sun began disappearing behind mountains and dipped the sky in a beautiful mix of orange, blue and pink. Soon, the stars would light up the sky and the moon would shine brightly.

But with the sun setting, it also meant that demons were about to crawl out from whatever hole they hid themselves in.

"Grab your sword, [Name]."

"Huh?"

Giyuu knew he was about to weave you into a life which could never be described as safe or domestic, but he never forgot that you had already decided to become a Demon Slayer when you two were children. He had seen the way you fought, backed him up and sensed a demon's blood lust.

After all this time, you never truly forgot who you were.

"It won't take long until the demons come out. Let's go."

You nearly fell from your bed as you hastily reached for your sword and a bit of confusion lingered in your mind. Just what was Giyuu thinking? It was hard to tell with his face barely moving like it used to.

"I never officially passed the final selection," you sighed and looked at the sword in your grasp which was once broken, lying right in front of you. "I can't just go with you..can I?"

Giyuu could feel doubt and insecurity seeping from you which definitely wasn't characteristic for you. When you fought Mizu, you were hell-bent on defeating her, despite the injuries you took. Was it guilt from back then making you doubt..?

"What happened 8 years ago is unfortunate, [Name]." Pitch black bangs threw a subtle shadow over Giyuu's eyes, but his voice was, dare you say, soothing. "But if you still want to fight, then I'll train you until the next final selection. Going on patrol with me is considered training."

It was okay for you to become a swordsman once again, right? Urokodaki didn't put you through hellish training and taught you everything he knew just for you to quit. With Giyuu's help, you could surely put an end to the existence of demons. Yes, you could do it!

Confidently, you strapped your Nichirin blade to your waist, grabbed Giyuu's hand and pulled him through the hallways of the Butterfly Estate until you were finally outside. "Then what are we waiting for? Training is about to begin!"

Faintly, Giyuu could hear Shinobu, Aoi and the three girls bid their goodbyes. His eyes fell down to your hand holding his tightly with the wristbands nearly touching one another.

Perhaps, you were really bound by the wrist and though the red threads got heavily tangled along the way, it never got severed.

#tomioka giyuu #tomioka giyuu x reader #giyuu x reader #kimetsu no yaiba #kny #kny x reader #demon slayer #demon slayer x reader #kimetsu no yaiba x reader

258 notes · View notes

kimetsu-no-yaiba-writings · 3 years

Note

Why do you think Gotouge decided out of the Hashira to only have Sanemi and Giyu survive the fight against Muzan.

I feel like its something to do with how sad their backstories are and how much they’ve both gone though!

I think that Gotouge-san (or should we call them Gotouge-sensei?) wanted to give these two characters a rest from things and give them a happy or at least semi-happy ending

Ok so as usual I feel like I should go into more depth with this and give my thoughts on this so,

Author Ramble below with manga spoilers about Sanemi and Giyuu’s pasts! If you haven’t caught up yet, don’t worry, I’ll see you in a different post!

Ok! So to start things off I guess I really want to give a bit of a reminder about each characters pasts and then I’ll go into why I think they were the last two pillars/Hashira to survive!

Giyuu Tomioka:

I will go about this in a chronological way or I’ll certainly try to at least! We start with when Giyuu was about 12 -13 years old.

Giyuu grew up alongside his older sister, Tsutako Tomioka and her fiance! When he was still a child, his sister sacrificed herself to protect him from the Demons and after the death of Tsutako, Giyuu tried to tell others that she was killed by a Demon, however, he was labeled as mentally ill and was sent away to one of his relatives, a doctor. Giyuu ran away during the journey there and almost died on the mountain, but he was rescued and became apprenticed under Sakonji Urokodaki

Giyuu was 13 years old when he met Sabito - little author edit! I forgot the Makamo had died in the final selection before Sabito and Giyuu’s selection, I don’t really know why I forget this but I do! XD Thank you to the person who commented and reminded me! -while training under Sakonji, and they became good friends due to their similar pasts and age. Together, they entered the Final Selection on Fujikasane Mountain where Giyu was injured after a Demon's attack and was saved by Sabito, who defeated nearly every Demon on the mountain. However, after the week went by, it was revealed to Giyu that Sabito was the only one’who died during their selection. As a result of this, Giyu started developing a doubt for the authenticity of his position after becoming the Water Pillar/Hashira.

So! After that little reminder of Giyuu’s past we’ll move on ^--^

Thank you for reading so far!

Sanemi Shinazugawa:

Just a quick note to say that Sanemi had alot more detail and depth to his past than to Giyuu - who’s past is pretty straight forward with trauma, training, more trauma and then Pillar/Hashira status with trauma

So to start off Sanemi was the eldest son of seven children and lived with both of his parents.

Their father was abusive, constantly lashing out at the children and their mother until he was stabbed and killed by someone with a grudge against him. Afterward this occurred Sanemi resolved to support their mother and family.

One day, Sanemi's mother failed to return home, so Sanemi left to search for her. At some point, he found her and realized she became a demon, but couldn't stop her from returning home and killing five of his siblings. Just before she could kill Genya, Sanemi tackled her through the window to the street below with a knife in hand. In the fight, she gave him the two large scars across his face, and his marechi blood — quick reminder! Marechi blood disorients demons and makes them act intoxicated — gave him an opening to cut her down.

When Genya runs into the street to find a doctor for his grievously-injured siblings, he finds Sanemi with their mother lying dead at his feet. Panicking, and not knowing that the "wolf" that attacked them was their demonified mother, Genya screams and accuses Sanemi of murdering her.

After that, Sanemi abandoned Genya and began to hunt demons on his own with an almost suicidal devotion. Without knowledge of Demon Slayers or Nichirin Blades, Sanemi instead armed himself with a multitude of weapons and fought demons at night, incapacitating and capturing them until daybreak, then stringing them up to let the morning sun killed them. Despite this crude and reckless battle style, he managed to survive thanks to sheer luck and the unique aroma of his blood.

While wandering the land hunting demons, he eventually met a legitimate Demon Slayer, Masachika Kumeno, who helped him and introduced him to a proper trainer. Upon completing his training, the two of them teamed up to defeat the then-Lower Rank 1 of the Twelve Kizuki. However, Kumeno lost his life in the battle, and only Sanemi was promoted to the rank of Wind Pillar/Hashira.

At the time of his promotion, Gyomei Himejima, Kanae Kocho, Tengen Uzui, and Giyuu Tomioka were already Pillars/Hashiras.

In conclusion, I think that because the amount of bad luck and unfortunate circumstances that they both endured in their pasts + the fact that both of them were still dealing with it since it still was raw trauma to them was also probably taken into consideration when it came to them helping with the Muzan fight and surviving

They were both people who had still healing pain about things that happened in their past

But!

I also have a feeling that it may be because of any of the following reasons that may be weird but could work:

Author favorites

Fan Favorites

Easy to draw

#kny #kimetsu no yaiba #demon slayer #kny giyuu #kny sanemi #giyuu tomioka #sanemi shinazugawa #kimetsu no yaiba giyuu #kimetsu no yaiba sanemi #kny manga #kny anime #kimetsu no yaiba manga #kimetsu no yaiba anime #demon slayer anime #demon slayer manga

56 notes · View notes

wisteriashouse · 3 years

Text

winter’s warmth.

pairing: kamado tanjirou x sumiyuri hayami (oc)

genre: fluff

word count: 6046

remarks: i’m sorry this took so long but this fic was so!! cute i was melting every second :(( i hope hayami was in character as usual, and thank you for trusting me with your commission @hinokami-s 💖

Hayami wakes up to the feeling of cold air biting at her bare toes.

“Hnng…” Eyelids too heavy to open yet unwilling to submit her extremities to any more of the freezing temperatures of late autumn, she feels about the futon she’s lying in with a fumbling hand, searching blindly for a corner of the blanket to pull at. Instead of the cotton of her blankets, however, her hand finds warm skin - and for a moment, Hayami frowns, confused.

Rolling over in her bed, she opens her eyes fully this time - and comes face to face with her sleeping husband.

For a while, Hayami doesn’t move an inch, content with simply watching the person lying before her. Mahogany hair falling over his forehead and a gentle curve to his lips, the rise and fall of his chest a steady rhythm, Tanjirou is a lovely sight to behold in the early rays of this morning’s light. It’s the only sight Hayami wants to wake up to for the rest of her life.

Reaching out, her fingers wrap around a wizened, skeletal hand and bring it to her, her lips brushing gently over the wrinkled skin. “Good morning,” she whispers against it, feeling a secret, tender smile tugging at her own mouth.

“Good morning to you, too.”

Taken by surprise, Hayami glances up to see Tanjirou’s eyes open, a sweet smile on his face as their gazes meet. Although his eyes are still clouded with sleep, the sweetness in them is unmistakable. “You got up early today,” he says, sleep roughened voice like music to her ears. When he gestures for her to come closer, she does so, hand still gripping his tightly as he leans forward to press a kiss on both her eyelids - as gentle as the flutter of butterfly wings. “Did something wake you?”

“Just the cold,” Hayami giggles quietly at the ticklish feeling of Tanjirou’s lips ghosting over her skin. Tanjirou smiles at the sound of her laughter, the expression on his face so tender Hayami can’t help but feel gentle heat burning at her cheeks. Glancing away for a moment to collect herself, she squeezes Tanjirou’s hand lightly. “Do you have anything to remedy that?”

Tanjirou’s smile alone warms her heart, but the slow embrace he takes her in chases the cold out from her very bones. With a sigh of happiness, she settles in her husband’s arms, her back against his chest and his chin resting on her shoulder. They should probably get out of bed, Hayami has the sense to wonder, but forgets it as soon as Tanjirou begins rubbing at her hands gently. After fighting so much, so hard, for so long - isn’t this idleness the least that they deserve?

Sometimes, Hayami wakes up with the urge to pick up her sword again, to train until her hands are numb and her legs are weak. Her mind chants Muzan’s name over and over again, the desire to kill the progenitor demon so overwhelming that it renders her breathless. But now, there is no trace of Muzan left except the weakened state of Tanjirou’s arm that will never heal, and the scar tissue over her left eye from the injury that had rendered her partially blind.

Still, she can admire Tanjirou enough with a single eye, and Tanjirou’s one armed embraces are just as warm as the time he still had both.

The demon slayers have disbanded officially as an organisation - with triumph and grace, after having completed their destiny to defeat the evil that has plagued the world for years. The swords that they had carried with them for so long rest on a stand in the main room of the house, but Hayami hasn’t had need to pick it up since that fateful battle so long ago. Life has been good to them so far-

A gentle kiss to her shoulder blade pulls her back. She’s reminiscing again, Hayami realises with slight horror, in a manner all too similar to that of an old lady. “Thinking about something?” Tanjirou says with a light laugh, and Hayami quickly shakes her head to dispel her thoughts. Why, she and Tanjirou are barely into their twenties - they have their entire lives ahead of them!

And Hayami intends on spending every second of it with Tanjirou by her side.

“Nothing, just thinking about what needs to be done around the house.” To be honest, there was nothing that needed to be done with the house even as winter drew nearer - the current head of the Ubuyashiki, Kiriya, had ensured that every slayer would have the means to live comfortably after the disbandment. This house had been constructed upon the Ubuyashiki head’s command after hearing of Tanjirou’s intention to propose to Hayami as a wedding gift. Hence, it is still relatively new with no maintenance needing to be done, and Aoi has sent them enough hand pickled cabbage to last an entire winter and the rest of the year. Nudging Tanjirou in the side lightly, she asks, “What do you usually do for winter, Tanjirou?”

Tanjirou rests his chin on her shoulder for a moment to contemplate this question. “Well, when I was with the demon slayers, I would make snow bunnies with Nezuko. But before that, when I was still living with my family,” the word family makes Hayami’s heart give a little squeeze, “I would chop lots of wood to make charcoal. People in town would usually buy more around winter, but our house was located in the mountains where it’s colder, so we needed plenty of wood to stay warm as well.”

“Chopping wood?” Hayami repeats, curious. This is the first winter she will spend with Tanjirou, and back when she stayed at the Sumiyuri Estate, the family servants would take care of such household affairs. It’s a little embarrassing to think that she could have forgotten something as important as firewood. Sure, they could always buy from the merchants in town like she’d done while living alone in the mountains (with their inexhaustible supply of money from Kiriya), but where is the fun in that? “That sounds nice. How about we do that today?”

“That sounds nice,” Tanjirou mumbles into her shoulder, and Hayami glances at him to see him wearing a peaceful smile on his face, eyes shut in contentment. “But can we stay like this for a while longer?”

Hayami smiles, and rests her hand on his, lacing her fingers with his. They fit together perfectly, as if this had been their very purpose since the beginning, instead of gripping the handle of a sword. Those days are behind us, Hayami reminds herself.

“Of course you can,” she says. “We have all the time in the world.”

>>>

It’s much colder than Hayami expected.

“You didn’t have to come with me,” Tanjirou frets over her as both of them make their way up a mountain path. After bundling her in an excessive number of layers and asking three times if she needed gloves, Hayami had finally been able to reassure him that she would be fine, and that she would definitely be accompanying him up to the thicket a short walk from their house. “What if you catch a cold? The mountains are cold around this time of the year, and-”

“You’re forgetting that I stayed at Mount Saigiri for a while with Urokodaki-san,” Hayami reminds him with a light squeeze to his hand. The wood axe that they’d found in the shed earlier is hoisted over Tanjirou’s shoulder, and although Hayami had initially worried that he would struggle to accomplish this task with only one functioning arm, Tanjirou had reassured her that he would be fine. “Besides, I could help you.”

“But-” Tanjirou begins to say, before he cuts himself short with a small, slightly embarrassed smile. “Right, I… I’m just new to this idea of marriage. I know your strength, but I can’t help but want to spoil you… is that strange?”

It seems that Tanjirou will never understand how easily he can fluster Hayami, with his simple yet genuinely sweet words that have Hayami melting on the inside. How could she possibly catch a cold in the winter when he insists on making her cheeks heat like this? And perhaps, she too, will never get used to this - the gentle warmth as Tanjirou lays a swift kiss on the eyepatch over her left eye.

“As if I would ever complain about my husband wanting to spoil me,” she says, in an attempt to exact some revenge for her blushing cheeks. The moments those words leave her lips, Tanjirou’s own face colours, bright red against tan skin. Both of them stand there awkwardly for a moment, both too embarrassed to look the other in the eye.

“Well, it’s only natural to want to spoil my wife...:” Tanjirou answers shyly. When he holds out his arm once more for her to take, Hayami takes a moment to look at him in the sunlight and thinks - yes, this is the man she would be with for the rest of her life.

“Mm, of course.” Leaning over, she kisses him on the cheek before taking his arm, and both of them continue through the woods hand in hand. Not too long after, they come across a small thicket that Tanjirou declares suitable for firewood.

As Tanjirou lines up the axe with the tree, Hayami decides to take a seat on the ground to watch him. Overhead, only a few birds remain in the trees, peeking down curiously with bright eyes as they watch Tanjirou at work together with Hayami.

“I haven’t done this for a while,” Tanjirou says over his shoulder, shifting the axe blade as if deciding where would be best to cut the tree. “Don’t laugh at me if I miss it, would you?”

As if he would, Hayami thinks to herself with a quiet laugh and shakes her head. “Don’t worry about that, honey.”

Only with one hand, Tanjirou takes a deep breath and lets loose a powerful swing against the trunk of the small birch. For a moment, nothing happens. Confused, Hayami frowns, squinting at the tree with her good eye. She’s sure she saw Tanjirou cut the tree, and Tanjirou looks just as perplexed as she feels-

There’s a creak, a groan, and when Hayami looks upwards, the tree slants over dangerously - and goes falling to the ground with a deafening crash.

After the leaves settle and the birds have taken off into the sky, startled by the noise, Tanjirou and Hayami look at each other with wide eyes.

Tanjirou begins to speak. “I didn’t mean to-” he tries, when Hayami suddenly dissolves into a fit of giggles.

“So much for not being able to cut it down,” Hayami shakes her head, mirth dancing in her eyes. “Seems like you’ve still got it.”

“I guess some things can never really be forgotten.” Looking down at the axe in hand, he gives a slight smile before turning to another tree, carefully lining up the blade of the axe with its trunk once more. “This brings back memories.”

Hayami hums lightly, placing her chin on her arms so that she can watch Tanjirou more comfortably. “Oh? What of?”

“I used to bring my younger brother Takeo with me when I went into the forest to cut wood for the charcoal,” Tanjirou explains. Drawing the axe back, he swings it again, strength more controlled this time. The blade sinks into the tree and leaves a deep notch in the wood. “But he wasn’t strong enough to swing the axe yet, so he would just sit there and watch me, just like what you’re doing now.”

“From the way you talk, he sounds adorable,” Hayami says. Tanjirou smiles, a gentle warmth in his eyes. “Mm, he was. I miss my family a lot.”

Family. Thoughtfully, Hayami picks up a leaf on the ground in front of her and holds it up. She’s aware of her own desires in life - and having a family is one of them, has been ever since she was still trapped by the name of the Sumiyuri clan. But now, she wonders if Tanjirou would still truly want to start a family, considering the circumstances behind his own family’s death. If Hayami told him that she wanted children, she was sure Tanjirou would agree - but

“Hayami, do you want to help me with loading the logs?”

Tanjirou’s question pulls Hayami’s head out of her thoughts, and she scrambles to her feet. “Of course!”

She’ll have to ask him about this later.

>>>

The kotatsu is delightfully warm.

Sighing happily, Hayami tucks both her legs under the thick quilt, enjoying the warmth of the charcoal brazier as it chases away the cold from their little outing earlier. Not too long later, there’s a creak of the dividing screens that separate the rooms in the house, and Hayami looks up to see Tanjirou stepping in with two steaming cups, one in each hand.

“Here, I made us some sencha. Careful with it, it’s hot.” He places one cup in front of Hayami before taking a seat next to her, their bare feet brushing together underneath the table. With thanks and a smile, Hayami picks it up gingerly with her fingers, blowing lightly over the surface of the tea to cool it. “How’s the kotatsu? It’s been a while since I’ve set one up, so…”

“It’s fine. Lovely, actually,” Hayami tells Tanjirou as she takes a sip of her tea. The hot liquid scalds her tongue in a strangely pleasant way, warming her down to the tips of her toes. Tanjirou smiles from next to her, raising his own cup to his lips, and the two of them enjoy their tea in comfortable silence and the warmth of the kotatsu table.

It is this warmth and the familiar grassy flavour of the sencha that lulls her into a drowsy haze, the atmosphere blanketing her in cozy comfort.

“Don’t you think it’d be nice to have a family?”

Hayami almost spits out her sencha.

“Excuse me, what did you just say?” She barely manages not to spill the contents of her cup all over herself despite the shock, testament to her bygone days as one of the Pillars of the demon slayers. Hayami would have pat herself on the back if it weren’t for the words that had just escaped Tanjirou’s mouth. “I… I…”

Tanjirou’s cheeks are blazing red, which Hayami would have normally fawned and cooed over if it weren’t for the scrambled state of her mind at present, but her husband only coughs to clear his throat before he continues. “I said,” he repeats, more slowly and clearly this time, “it’d be nice to have a big family.” His voice cracks a little at the end, but Hayami is all too willing to overlook it in favour of his words.

So much for asking Tanjirou about his thoughts on having a family, because he’s beat her to it… he can’t possibly have read her mind or something along those lines, could he?

Tanjirou’s good eye is fixed intently on her face, although his good hand is fidgeting with the sleeve of his checkered haori, betraying just how much her answer will mean to him. For a moment, she dreams - of a little girl with Tanjirou’s eyes, the colour of the heart of an ancient mahogany, a young boy with Tanjirou’s smile and laugh.

Hayami imagines waking up in the morning to the sound of pattering feet on the wooden floorboards, the voices of children calling them to awaken and make them breakfast, the warmth of a humble home filled with laughter and love - one that she’s been craving for her entire life.

She can’t help the smile that forms on her face. How could she?

“A big family would be nice,” Hayami muses out loud, more to herself than to anybody else. But Tanjirou, of course, hears every word that she’s said.

The red hue on his cheeks don’t fade. From the way his hand reaches out to rest lightly on hers, however, Hayami knows he’s more than content with her answer.

>>>

A family.

Chop.

A family. Hayami wants a family. With him.

Chop.

The tree groans as it keels over to the side, the sound of branches snapping filling the winter air. Huffing out a breath, Tanjirou watches it fog in the chilly temperature and dissipate before he steps towards the fallen tree, his axe hoisted over his shoulder. Kneel down, check the condition of the trunk, before splitting it into smaller, more manageable logs. Repetitive. Familiar.

He remembers the way Takeo would sit behind him, grumbling that he wanted to have his turn at swinging the axe instead of just trimming the branches off the trunks. He remembers his first time trekking up the snowy mountains, close on his father’s heels as he explained the path to him. He remembers returning home to a hut in the woods, the fire roaring in the hearth, Nezuko and Hanako making fresh rice crackers over the brazier for them all to share.

It feels as if he has only blinked, those strong feelings of affection now laced with nostalgia, those days a tender, yet bittersweet memory.

Tanjirou had been thinking about it for a while. After getting married to Hayami with the Oyakata’s blessings, it had only seemed natural to move on to the next stage - that was, having children together and starting a family. That was until he’d remembered Hayami’s own relationship with her now estranged family. The thought had led to some hesitation on his part - on one hand, he dearly desired a family of his own, but on the other hand, if it was against Hayami’s wishes…

Hoisting his basket of neatly trimmed logs over his shoulder, he turns back to the path leading home, boots crunching in the fresh snow. Hayami had still been asleep when he’d left the house, and knowing her, she’s probably still fast asleep even now.

He hadn’t planned on asking on that day, so abruptly and out of the blue. For a moment, Tanjirou had almost regretted speaking when he’d seen the expression of shock on Hayami’s face, but when she’d smiled and told him that she would like a big family, he had almost felt his heart overflow with emotion - too much for him to convey with words, so all he could manage at the time was a light squeeze of the hand.

The walk from the thicket back to their house isn’t very long, and by the time the sun has just begun to rise over the snow capped mountaintops, Tanjirou is at the door to their house, shaking the snow from his boots.

The house is silent, just as he expects it to be, but what he doesn’t expect is for the futon in which they both sleep in to be completely empty.

Tanjirou’s out of the door before he knows it, heart racing in his chest with worry. Part of the instincts hammered into him after years of battling scream demon, but the more logical, rational side of his mind shuts that down immediately - no, Muzan has been defeated, and no demons would be returning to harm his family. Hayami is strong, strong enough to face demons and survive, surely she is fine.

Still, still…

Reaching for his boots, Tanjirou makes up his mind to go and look for her. She can’t have gone very far, and he’s worried. It’s not like Hayami to leave the house in the middle of winter, and something could have happened to her-

Scent! He smacks himself on the head. His nose, how could he have forgotten? The very thing that allowed him to hunt demons when he first started out as part of the demon slayer corps! Tanjirou has been with Hayami so long that her very own scent is mingled with his. If he can’t see her, he can definitely smell her out!

Raising his head, he takes slow deep breaths to calm himself and clear his mind, before sniffing the air carefully. Almost instantly, he catches a whiff of familiar scent on the wind, the faint floral fragrance of lavender comforting to his senses. The scent is strong, nearby. Tanjirou moves as fast as his feet will take him, circling their small wooden house and following the scent until he sees…

“Hayami!” Tanjirou cries out in shock the second he sees Hayami, slumped over on her knees. He rushes over to her side instantly, his hand reaching out to rub soothing circles on her back. Under his palm, he feels Hayami cough and retch, and panic shoots through him like Akaza’s fist through his chest.

“What’s the matter?” He asks, trying to keep his voice level so as to calm her down. Hayami shakes her head, sucking in uneven, unsteady breaths - and Tanjirou’s heart thumps in his chest with fear.

“I-I’m fine,” she reassures him, even as Tanjirou wipes the side of her mouth with his sleeve as gently as he can. To his concern, her skin feels clammy to the touch, colder than normer. It’s worrying. “I just woke up feeling a little sick, so I went out to get some fresh air. I didn’t think that this would happen… sorry for making you worry about me.”

“You have nothing to apologise for,” Tanjirou tells her before she can continue apologising. “Do you think you can walk?”

Hayami nods, looking pale. “Yes, I think I can. Just give me a moment.” The second she tries to stand, however, her knees buckle under her and Tanjirou lunges to support her before she can fall.

“Hayami!’

“Sorry, sorry,” Hayami manages weakly as Tanjirou dabs the sweat from her brow. “Maybe it was the sudden change in weather… or did I eat something wrong at dinner yesterday? I really didn’t mean to fall ill like this… I’m being such an inconvenience-”

“There’s nothing to apologise for,” Tanjirou repeats, more firmly this time. Reaching out, he scoops Hayami into his arm, struggling slightly to hoist her into a comfortable position. “Hang on tight to me, I’ll get you inside.”

Hayami’s hands curl into the fabric of his shirt, and Tanjirou carefully makes his way into the house, careful not to jostle Hayami too much. He makes a beeline straight for their bedroom, settling Hayami on the bedding. Should he call for a doctor? Someone from the Butterfly Estate, Aoi, or Kanao, perhaps? He could send a crow, but in this weather the message would take too long to deliver. He could fetch Kanao or Aoi from the Butterfly Estate himself, but he couldn’t possibly leave Hayami all alone in this state-

A gentle hand touches his cheek.

Tanjirou snaps out of his thoughts, realising that Hayami is smiling at him from the futon fondly. “You’re such a worrywart,” Hayami says, her hand moving up to poke at his forehead. “Go away, go away, frown lines…”

A small smile manages to break through the worry gnawing away at Tanjirou, and he raises a hand to clasp Hayami’s to his cheek, pressing a gentle kiss against her palm. “How can I not?” He says, with a shake of the head. Hayami only laughs, as if she wasn’t just sick and retching into the bushes earlier. Even her scent seems to have changed a little, for reasons that he’s not completely sure of. It worries him.

“I know my body, Tanjirou.” Hayami assures him, her fingers running through his hair in a rhythmic manner. Slowly, Tanjirou feels his taut muscles begin to ease. “I don’t think it’s anything serious, but it wouldn’t hurt to send a crow to the Butterfly Estate. You can stay here to keep an eye on me in case anything happens. Does that sound alright to you?”

“Sounds like a plan.” An obvious one, in fact. Was he really so worried he couldn’t even keep his head on straight for a few seconds? Embarrassing… Making to get up, Tanjirou glances over his shoulder. “I’ll send the crow off with a message right now-”

Hayami’s hand wraps around his wrist, stopping him from leaving. Tanjirou looks at his wife in surprise, but Hayami only smiles.

“Stay with me for a while longer first.”

At her behest, Tanjirou manages a slight smile through the anxious beating of his heart and seats himself next to her bedside, running his hand through the long platinum strands of her hair. In response, Hayami only closes her eyes and hums pleasedly.

When she asks him like that, how could he possibly refuse?

>>>

Tanjirou’s footsteps crunch in the snow as he makes his way back to his home.

In the distance, he can hear the sound of songbirds chirping, the steady dripping of water, the running of a trickling stream as the ice finally begins to melt, winter giving way to spring at last. This afternoon, Tanjirou had been kicked out of the house earlier - by Kanao, who got the message that Tanjirou had sent via crow and decided to make the journey all the way here to give Hayami a medical (and very private, Kanao had informed him as she steered him out of his own house) check up.

Hayami has been getting better, much to Tanjirou’s relief. She’s still sick some mornings, but the number of that happening has been decreasing steadily after Tanjirou picked out the foods that Hayami seems to have developed a sudden distaste for. Perhaps it’s the change in environment, or the change in diet due to the food available in the mountains, Tanjirou reasons with himself, as he continues up the slippery path. All he needs to do is figure out the rest of the things Hayami can’t stomach, and she should be fine once more. Besides, Kanao is here to give Hayami a look over, and she’d trained under Shinobu in the medical department while the latter was still alive. Hayami is strong. Hayami will be fine.

Tanjirou had decided to pass the time by gathering mountain herbs that his mother had used to brew tea with. Now, his basket is laden with an assortment of flowers and grasses, and he sniffs each of them carefully to make sure that he has the right ones - plants can be tricky to the eye, so it’s much safer to use his sense of smell. Satisfied with his haul, Tanjirou walks towards his house, hoping to catch Kanao before she leaves so that the two of them can catch up a little.

“I’m back!”

When he enters the house, the first thing he notices is the scent of something baking in the oven. Mildly surprised, Tanjirou glances at the clay oven in the kitchen as he sets his basket of herbs on the table. He wasn’t aware that Hayami was intending on baking anything today. Perhaps it’s for Kanao to have?

“You’re home, honey?” Hayami’s voice comes from the next room. Tanjirou sniffs the air lightly. It seems that Kanao has already left, her scent no longer as prominent in their house. “Kanao said she had other matters to attend to, so she had to leave first.”

“That’s a pity, I managed to get a few herbs for tea,” Tanjirou lets out a rueful sigh, reaching for the kettle. “Never mind, it’s alright. I’ll brew some tea for both of us, then. How was the checkup?”

“It was completely fine. Nothing’s wrong with me in the least.” Hayami’s answer is a little softer, and Tanjirou has to strain his ears slightly to catch her words. He doesn’t detect any hint of untruth in her words or in her scent, so he doesn’t question the slight change in her tone of voice. Filling the kettle with water from a wooden bucket, Tanjirou moves to put it on the fire when Hayami suddenly pipes up again.

“Oh yes, Tanjirou, could you get the things out of the oven for me? They should be done anytime soon...”

“Don’t worry, I’ve got it.” Turning to the clay oven that Aoi had made for their home, Tanjirou pulls the cover aside, reaching for the tray baking inside. When he pulls it out and sets it on the table to cool, he takes a moment to look at what Hayami was baking earlier.

Two simple, round buns sit on the tray. Tanjirou peers at them curiously, mildly confused. Only two buns? Hayami usually bakes in bigger batches than this, since their clay oven is rather large in size.

He turns to call over his shoulder. “They’re out! Do you want me to set them aside to cool?”

“There’s no need for that. Actually put them back in the oven.” The door to the kitchen slides open slowly, and Tanjirou looks up to see Hayami standing in the doorway, a hand pressed to her abdomen and a gentle, tender smile on her face. Her good eye falls on the two buns sitting innocently on the tray, and her smile widens before she looks at Tanjirou once more. “They’re not done yet… maybe, they’ll take another nine months.”

Tanjirou frowns, opening his mouth to comment on how he has no knowledge of any bun that takes a whole nine months to back before something hits him. Nine months… that duration of time sounds familiar, but why…

Nine months… a new dislike for foods Hayami had previously loved… the short bouts of nausea… a change in her scent…

The breath in his lungs seems to be trapped there, unwilling to leave, his heart pounding in his throat. Hayami smiles at him, watching the emotions play out over his face, his eyes fixed on the hand that’s resting on her belly.

“Are you…” Tanjirou’s voice breaks from sheer emotion alone. “Are you… pregnant?”

Hayami’s radiant smile is answer enough for him.

He doesn’t really remember what he does next, all he knows is the next second his arms were wrapped around Hayami, his lips pressing gentle kisses to every inch of her face he could reach. Faintly, he tastes salt on his tongue, Hayami’s tears of joy streaming down her cheeks as the two of them share this precious moment together, just the two of them.

“I…” Tanjirou can’t seem to form words. “I’m not dreaming, am I?”

“Not a dream at all,” Hayami tells him firmly, and that’s when tears finally escape the corners of Tanjirou’s eyes, overflowing with emotion.

“I can’t believe it… I can’t… we’re going to have a family, Hayami,” Tanjirou whispers, his voice rough with emotion. His own throat feels thick, and Hayami looks back at him with wet eyes, shining like the stars with the happiness contained in them. “I… I can’t thank you enough for the gift you’ve given me.”

“No need to thank me, silly, it’s going to be our family,” Hayami teases lightly through her tears, reaching up to kiss Tanjirou’s forehead. Subconsciously, Tanjirou’s own hand reaches down between them to touch Hayami’s stomach reverently, closing his eyes as if that will be able to connect him with the life growing within his wife’s belly.

“A child of our own,” Tanjirou says aloud, as if trying to test out the words on his tongue. To his surprise, Hayami only shakes her head with a little giggle, pointing back to the tray on the table. The two buns sit there innocently, the only witnesses to the joyous occasion happening in the kitchen right now.

“Two buns,” Hayami repeats, emphasizing on the number with a little poke to her husband’s nose. Tanjirou’s eyes widen, before he stares down at her belly once more.

“Twins?” He says, so hushed with shock that Hayami barely manages to catch it. Still, she laughs, nodding indulgently at her husband. Seriously, Tanjirou can really be dense sometimes.

“Yes, dear.”

Hayami squeals in surprise when Tanjirou suddenly scoops her up with his arm and spins her around once, laughing so brightly that Hayami’s heart feels like it’s singing. For all she knows, it probably is.

“I can’t wait,” Tanjirou says when he finally sets her down, his cheeks flushed from exertion and breathless. His arms remain tightly wound around her waist, loathe to let her go for even a second. “I can’t wait to have a family with you, Hayami. I want to be a good father and a good husband, I really do. I swear that I’ll do everything to take care of our family together with you. So,” he presses a kiss to her lips. “Thank you so much for blessing me with your presence in my life, Hayami.”

“You will, Tanjirou.” Hayami whispers against his lips tenderly. “I know you will.”

The two of them remain like this for a while, arms wrapped around each other as they bask in their shared happiness together, until Hayami suddenly takes a step back and twirls a strand of hair around her finger shyly. When Tanjirou looks at her with concern, she only smiles a little embarrassedly, a sight that has Tanjirou’s heart fluttering in his chest.

“So, about children’s names,” Hayami begins, “do you have any ideas?”

>>>

The mountains that the Kamado household reside in are always cold.

“Daddy, give me a hug! It’s freezing!” A little boy with chestnut hair and lilac eyes skips along the path to tug at the hem of his father’s shirt, dragging out the last word to make it as dramatic as possible. The father pauses chopping at a tree to smile at his son, before he sets the axe down and extends his arm to his child. The boy squeals in delight and throws himself into his father’s chest, laughing happily all the while.

“Oh dear, your fingers are all cold, Akihiro.” The father says, concerned as he looks over his son’s hands. The little boy nods excitedly. “Whatever will your mother say? She’d probably scold me if she sees your hands like this… let’s head back home, then.”

Akihiro barely manages to contain his energy long enough for his father to pack away all his woodcutting items before he’s jumping around his father. “Piggyback! Piggyback!” He chants, and his father smiles indulgently at him.

“Come on, Akihiro. Let’s go.”

The little boy clambers up his father’s back, before his father straightens up and the two of them make their way back, down a little mountain path marked with colourful ribbons that his wife had used to wear in her hair, tied there by their daughter so that her father and brother would never lose their way home. In the distance, not too far away, a warm glow lights up the stark mountain air.

The closer they draw to the light, it reveals itself to be a small mountain house. Small as it may be, the light pouring from the windows radiates warmth. As the two of them step onto the porch, the charcoal markings on the wooden pillars show the increase in height of two children every year, taken precisely during the first day of every new year.

At the door, father and son repeat a familiar ritual - take off boots, shake off snow, the father blowing lightly on his son’s fingers to warm them before he opens the door to his house.

“Daddy!”

A small weight throws itself into his arms and the father nearly stumbles backwards from the force. When he looks down, bright lilac eyes flicker up at him with excitement, the exact same shade as that of her twin brother’s. “Daddy, I missed you!”

“Mm, I missed you too, Ayaka.” The father leans down to press a light kiss to his daughter’s forehead, and the little girl giggles brightly. Behind him, his son pouts, waving his fist at his twin sister.

“Daddy missed me more!”

“You were with Daddy the entire time!”

“Both of you, stop bothering Daddy.” At the voice of the master of the house, both children immediately cease their squabbling, both running over to their mother, clamouring excitedly for the freshly baked sweet buns that she’s holding. With a sigh and a contented smile, Hayami steps over to her husband and kisses him on the cheek. “Welcome home, sweetheart.”

Tanjirou smiles.

“I’m home, Hayami.”

#demon slayer #demon slayer fanfic #kny fanfic #kny #kny tanjiro kamado #tanjirou #kamado tanjirou #kamado tanjirō #kimetsu no yaiba #kimetsu no yaiba fanfic #demon slayer fanfiction #kamado #kamado tanjiro x reader #kamado tanjiro

24 notes · View notes

margeybutterfly · 2 years

Text

and then I found you…

Chapter 3

The day of final selection, Murata and Serenity were greeted with a “Good luck and stay safe!” from master Urokodaki. On our walk to our destination, Murata and Serenity created a plan on how they would stick together and what they would do if they were to split up. They decided that if they were to be by themselves, they would fight to the finish line and wait for the other. It would be pointless to roam around and search for the other while there’s demons lurking around. By the time Serenity and Murata got there, there were several fellow demon slayers standing, waiting for the inevitable to begin. Murata and Serenity looked at each other nervously. This was something that would either kill them or make them stronger and they chose to go with the latter. Once it was time to begin, Murata and Serenity chose a path they felt would get them to the finish line the quickest. The two of them encountered some demons, but between the two of them, they finished them off quickly. Things were going great with the two slayers and they felt invincible. That was until an enormous, fat, two headed demon came out from the trees and lashed it’s long arms out at Murata, whipping him into the dark forest behind us. Serenity screamed out “MURATA!!!” in hopes that he would still be okay after being flung such a far distance so forcefully. The big ugly demon began laughing and said, “Aww the pretty girl doesn’t have her knight in shining armor anymore?? I guess it’s time to kill you so you won’t have to suffer being all alone.” As the demon stalked towards Serenity, she unsheathed her sword and put herself in the beginning stance for her moon technique. Since Serenity’s technique was so strong, as Urokodaki said, she wasn’t too nervous about attacking this demon. However, she then realized that the sun hadn’t set all the way and her technique wouldn’t be as powerful as it could be. She began running because she knew she wouldn’t be able to fight this demon without the help of the moon for her attacks. Running as fast as she could to get away from this demon, Serenity suddenly tripped on a branch and twisted her ankle. The pain from twisting her ankle didn’t set in before the demon grabbed Serenity by her hair and started to vigorously shake her. The demon threw her to the ground as hard as he could, which led Serenity to pass out. Thinking she was surely dead, the demon walked off laughing stating that it, “killed another one of Urokodaki’s students” and that she would be a “good snack for later” after he was done weeding the rest of us out.

It had been two weeks since Giyuu’s last mission where his sword turned silver. When he came back to headquarters, he met up with Okayata-sama and discussed what had happened. The leader suggested that he may have used a form he didn’t know he had. He even suggested that this was probably the reflection from the moon on his sword, but Giyuu swears it’s not that. After his meeting, he headed back to the water estate to get some well needed rest. Right as he was about to lay down in his bed, he felt a sharp pain at the top of his head as if someone was pulling his hair. The sensation got worse and Giyuu started to grab at his hair to make it stop. His whole body started feeling achy and he felt as if he was thrown across the room. And why did his ankle hurt all of a sudden. He doesn’t remember doing anything to it so why does he feel this pain, like he twisted it. Once the sensation from his hair and his body was gone, he began to get tired. Was he this tired before? He doesn’t remember but right when his head hit the pillow, he was out.

#giyu tomioka x reader #sailor moon fanfiction #sailor senshi #giyuu x original character #demon slayer giyuu #giyuu tomioka #princess serenity #demon slayer fanfic #demon slayer x sailor moon

5 notes · View notes

milkttea · 4 years

Text

Journey of a Divine Slayer

Chapter 3: Rolling a 1 on Dexterity

<- Previous • Next ->

Note: Things spoken in dialogue that aren’t Japanese will be in italics and thoughts will always be in italics.

Warnings: self doubt.

Word Count: 2.2k

Demon Slayer x Reader; Female Reader.

With that Sabito rushed towards you as your eyes darted around to follow his body. Just in time you blocked his wooden blade and twisted your body to avoid another hit to your neck.

“Only avoiding my hits and not making any of your own! You’ve learned nothing!”

Now that is what we call shit talking and we don’t take that, especially from a guy. With that you jumped up to the trees and darted around as Sabito looked around searching for you. Taking this opportunity you jumped down, out of his sight, and swung your blade to his neck just as he barely blocked your blow. Unfortunately you miscalculated where he was and fell flat on your face.

Both Tanjiro and Sabito winced.

You quickly got up though and darted around again, doing the same move and this time landing a hit on Sabito with your blade pressing dangerously close to his neck.

You applied more pressure causing Sabito to falter slightly. Under his mask you couldn’t see it, but he had the faintest tinge to his face as he realized you were quite strong, it made him excited. The thing is, in your time you did weight lifting so you were much stronger than you looked. Pair that with the training you've been doing for more than a year and you are quite the force to be reckoned with.

Still it was no match for Sabito who overpowered you and threw you to the ground. Quickly gaining your footing you ran around him as he followed you with his eyes, losing sight of you as you equalized your breathing and ran faster than his eyes could see.

During your training you also trained your body to do Total Concentration Breathing. Not constant, but enough to be most of the day. It greatly helped with your speed and agility even though you still felt like a crippled bitch after you stopped using it.

Using his slight dazed look to your advantage, you quickly swiped your feet under his, causing him to fall and you pointed your blade at his neck.

“How’s that for learning Urokodaki’s teachings?”

You sheath your blade and offer a hand to help him up. He was still shocked that you could hold your own against him even slightly, but still took your hand to get up. Tanjiro who’d been watching the whole thing had been shocked. You were so fast! He could barely see your movement around Sabito and felt a slight twinge in his heart when Sabito just stared at you. He could see his ears get red.

“Wow! (Y/n)-chan that was incredible!”

Tanjiro proceeded to compliment you as you bashfully messed with your tattered clothes, worn down from a year of training.

Sabito meanwhile, had turned to another newcomer, a girl and told her, “I leave the rest to you.”

Then disappeared into thin air.

You finished speaking with Tanjiro and turned as you noticed her, she spoke first.

“Are you all right?”

Her voice was very soft and judging by the fact that you weren’t as roughed up as Tanjiro, she was speaking to him.

“Ah Tanjiro-kun I suppose I should be getting back to my training! Good luck!” You then turned to the girl and smiled at her, startling her slightly, “I really like your mask! Take good care of Tanjiro-kun!”

With those parting words you left to your boulder to resume your training. You didn’t need to be with Tanjiro during this time and you needed to get stronger and practice Total Concentration Breathing more. Now instead of training with Tanjiro you would be practicing with Eden, who during this time had also been watching you during the year and would be aiding you. Eden helped you with agility and racing through the trees almost flying.

You still hadn’t opened the package that Eden gifted to you a year ago, but you did read the note that had been on it. The note stated that inside the package were your haori that had been custom made for you and a uniform made specially for you. How Eden got this you had no idea, then again you had been taken to another world so you supposed it wasn’t that outlandish.

You also learned that the two feathers you had been gifted were from Edens’ wings. The one with a ribbon was used to tie your hair. Both feathers however, could be sharpened, thrown and recalled back through your will. It worked greatly for hunting. Unfortunately you cut yourself many times from forgetting to grab them by the root. Along with Eden giving you those first two feathers, they also would give you more feathers which you would neatly pack into a box on your side of the shared room with Tanjiro and Nezuko.

During the time you’d been sharing a room with the siblings, sometimes you would just sit by Nezuko as she slept to watch over her. If her hair was messy you’d smooth it out and pat her head before you left for food or training. Tanjiro found this very sweet as you’d almost treat her like a little sister.

Most of the time while she was asleep though, you would just stare at her as you let your mind wander thinking back to the manga and the show.

"You're going to get so strong, Nezuko. It's incredible and it will be a painful, painful road and you'll want to give in, but you won't because you're so strong."

Meanwhile during your time without Urokodaki or Tanjiro, you also took the time to try to break the boulder in half with no luck. While doing this you got the chance to spar with both Sabito and Makomo. You learned both of their names when they had come to you seeking an answer to how you held up well against Sabito. Said boy had been impressed with your determination and strength. As well as a little frightened by Eden when he saw him for the first time in his human form and when he learned of what he was but would never openly admit it.

Makomo found your agility and speed fascinating and would frequently race you to see who was faster. They both reminded you to practice Total Concentration Breathing. If you didn’t they would hit you with their wooden swords.

You would train with one of them while the other was busy with Tanjiro. Tanjiro had been getting slightly frustrated with how close Sabito was with you though, he didn’t like him being so close and touching you to fix your form. He’d never felt this before since he never had time to interact with other girls his age and he figured it was just because you were his first friend that happened to be the opposite gender.

Sooner than you thought, it came to be around the time that Tanjiro would finally go against Sabito and break his boulder in half. You didn’t know exactly when it would happen, but you knew it would be soon.

Standing quite a distance away from your boulder, you unsheathed your blade and held it in front of you with both hands.

"Alright, come on (y/n) you can do this you can break the boulder, you can save people and you can survive."

But can you?

You faltered and your blade fell slightly.

While you didn't want to say out loud your concerns, it plagued your thoughts and haunted you in your dreams. The thought of all the people that you would come to know and the people that would die. It was vicious on your mind and you would cry every time you thought of it.

All of these people's lives depended on you. If you fail, they die. Not just as characters in a series in your world, but as real people in this world. Living breathing people.

If you were to try to split the boulder in half in this moment, your blade would have shattered. Not to mention the thought of dying, you didn't know if Eden would be able to resurrect you like the world's most attached Mercy and dying a painful death due to a demon didn't seem too fun.

Closing your eyes and taking a deep breath you cleared your mind.

'I can't think like that, a weak resolve won't save them. It will do nothing but cement their fates, I need to be stronger to save them.'

You opened your eyes with a glint in them.

'I will be strong and I will save people. It's why I'm doing all of this. I won't just stand there and let these people be taken from this world.'

You rushed forward and jumped high into the air and swiped your blade down the center of the boulder.

'I will succeed because they need me to, because I need me to.'

A nearly blinding line of light followed your blade and formed into a perfect cut down the center of the boulder.

Urokodaki and Tanjiro ran over to see you hunched over, blade still in the center, catching your breath. Urokodaki was the first to move and pat your head before pulling you into a hug.

"While I may not have wanted you to split the boulder, you have proven yourself to be incredible. When you go to the Final Selection make it back to us."

Tanjiro joined in with Urokodaki and held you tightly. It was a touching moment for you and for Sabito and Makomo to watch from the sidelines.

Some time later during the night, you were still up since you couldn't sleep, Urokodaki asked you if you wanted to go to the Final Selection first, but you declined.

“Thank you, Urokodaki-san, but I wish to go with Tanjiro-kun.”

He blankly stared at you at first.

"I know that this probably isn't what you wanted to hear, but I want to be there with Tanjiro when he goes through this."

He stared for a bit longer, but pat your head in understanding. You both had become very close and he could understand why you’d want to stay with Tanjiro. He only hoped you both would come back alive.

After that night you resumed your training. You would lift rocks and use them as weights, and continued learning more about medicine and first aid.

This became your everyday routine. It was now your lifestyle, but every now and then you would be hit with a sting of regret. You were living in another world while in your world you were in a coma and your family were worried sick and wondering if you would die.

It kept you up at night (along with the other thoughts of those that were supposed to die) and you had frequent anxiety attacks. You’d stifle them as best you could, but both Urokodaki and Tanjiro knew you weren’t as fine as you appeared. They would do tasks for you and offer you food and other things to help you de-stress. It was incredibly sweet and they helped you find habits that would benefit you to get your mind off of those thoughts.

One of those habits was going to the market every week to get supplies and other necessary items. This week you needed to get bandages and ointments, while heading out you realized now would most likely be the time that Tanjiro finally breaks the boulder.

“Urokodaki-san! I’m going into town to get some things!”

He said goodbye and went back to his carvings. It looked like he was carving masks.

While walking to the small town you looked to the sky and saw a gold dusted osprey flying and held out your arm for it to land. It lands on your arm silently as you brush its feathery head with a finger.

“It’s good to see you healthy Eden, even though I know you can't be sick, it still makes me happy to see you in a good state,” you smiled as Eden pecked your finger, “rat child, be ready to be imprisoned for your crimes.”

With Eden now perched on your shoulder, you walk into town ready to buy some medical and sewing supplies. During the year you’d been here you were gaining more experience in sewing and providing medical aid and you’ve been getting good at it. It benefited not only you, but Tanjiro and Urokodaki if they were in need of any help in those fields.

The clothes that you and Tanjiro wore to train would get damaged frequently so you would see them and fix them up, taking very, very special care of Tanjiro's haori.

With your supplies bought and you making the trip back up the mountain you spot Urokodaki and Tanjiro near where Tanjiro’s boulder should be. Walking faster to get to them and to unpack your things you see Tanjiro’s boulder cut in half perfectly. You started sprinting, causing Eden to fly off your shoulder as you ran straight into Tanjiro in a hug.

“Tanjiro you did it I’m so proud of you!”

Tanjiro was shocked at your sudden arrival and slowly put his arms around you and squeezed you tightly. Urokodaki joined the hug, embracing both of you.

“Go to Final Selection, but be sure to return alive. Nezuko and I are here waiting. I will see you both once you get back."

You and Tanjiro hugged Urokodaki even tighter as tears were shed from both of your eyes. This is where it starts, this is where the journey of Tanjiro and you finally starts.

#demon slayer #kny #kny tanjiro kamado #demon slayer x reader #kny x reader #kny zenitsu #demon slayer fanfic #kny fanfic #Journey of a Divine Slayer

59 notes · View notes