[Rengoku x Reader]
Poor girl.
[Name] opened her eyes. She found herself standing in the middle of an endless lake. A mere few trees circled around her as they were sprouted from the surface of the water. Its roots were circled around her bare feet and the cherry blossoms were outstretched and cast over her head as if they all looked down on her.
Her gaze moved to a woman who stood not too far in front of her. She had a sharp, yet gentle expression; almost like a serious, loving mother. She wore a simple green kimono and her black hair was tied into a low ponytail. Her aura felt so familiar but she couldn’t put her finger on it. However, what really bothered [Name] was that she looked very sad.
As if the woman looked at her in pity.
Who was she?
[name] stepped back instinctively as the woman neared her.
She...
She was crying.
A soft sob bubbled from the mysterious woman’s lips,”Kyojurou has already suffered too much. I wish I could do something to stop it.”
This is his late mom.
[Name] thought, shocked.
[Name] flinched as the woman reached up and touched her face,”You’ve suffered too much. Now you have to suffer more...
When you wake up,
Please remember him.”
She disappeared as the entire sky just turned red. The trees and the flowers had began to rot and multiple hands reached up from the now blackened surface and wrapped themselves around her body. [Name] saw as the hands latched themselves tightly onto her with its mouths. She felt agony when teeth pierced her.
She barely managed a scream as she was yanked into down into the water. Her lungs burned and she panicked. She felt desperation. She felt pain as teeth and nails sunk into her skin. She saw the bubbles rapidly spew from her mouth as she desperately tried to crawl back up towards the surface.
The last thing she saw was that woman watching from the surface with the same saddened look.
“Wake up.”
She opened her eyes.
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Muzan Kibutsuji glared in utter disgust as one of his demons brought to him a dead woman.
“Akaza,” His lips curled into a snarl as he eyed the body wrapped in white cloth,” What is this? Why did you bring me this useless corpse.”
The third Upper Moon merely got onto one knee, kneeling in front of the raven-haired demon.
He didn’t dare meet eye contact with his master.
“It is the body of one of the Hashira.”
Akaza felt more uneasy as he felt Muzan Kibutsuji’s glare burn onto him more.
“And what of it? Not only did you kill the wrong Hashira, the demon slayers I asked you to get rid of are still running about. Now,” He took a stride towards the kneeling demon,” Why did you bring me this thing.”
Akaza gulped,” M.. Master, she is not dead.”
This caught Kibutsuji’s interest,” What do you mean she’s not dead?”
Silently, Akaza pulled the white, dirtied sheets off of the Flower Hashira. Kibutsuji couldn’t help admit that he was surprised, nearly amused. This woman had been announced dead, yet here she was.
[Name] was deathly pale. Her gaze was towards the ceiling, nearly hazy. Dried tears were streamed down her cheeks. A few veins around her eyes pulsated. Her wrists and ankles were tightly bound. She had a gag shoved into her mouth. She didn’t move, however, Kibutsuji could tell that she was breathing.
Barely.
Akaza didn’t budge from his spot as he spoke once more,”Some of my blood managed to seep into her wounds when I killed her. I discovered that she was still alive when I unburied her. I was planning to use her against the Flame Hashira—“
“And you will.” Kibutsuji knelt next to [Name]. She looked slowly towards the red-hued demon. She didn’t move nor react as he reached down and pulled the gag from her mouth.
“Aren’t you quite the lucky one. You get one last shot to living your pathetic life.” He pierced her shoulder with his nail. Immediately, her eyes widened and she started to thrash and scream.
She felt as if she was burning inside out. She clawed at her throat as she felt herself suffocate. The last thing she saw was Akaza’s face before blacking out once more.
•••••••••
Kyojurou was absolutely stressed. He constantly paced back and forth, running his fingers through his hair. He didn’t know how to react or how to feel.
His love is dead but went missing.
Ever since [Name]’s body was taken, he didn’t get any sleep and rarely ate. He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned whipped his head around quick, nearly jumping.
It was his master, Ubuyashiki looked at him in discern. He noticed how tired he looked. Kyojirou wasn’t wearing his haori nor was his hair tied in the usual look he wore. Black bags were present under his eyes and they were more bloodshot than ever.
“Rengoku...” All he could do was offer the Flame Hashira a small smile,” I will do what I can to find out what happened to her.”
Immediately, Kyojurou broke. He fell to his knees and cried. He gripped his hair, sobbing and shaking. He moaned [Name]’s name.
Not only did he lose her to death, but her body was also literally stolen. He couldn’t even mourn for her properly. He felt his master kneel down next to him and bring him into a hug.
He only cried even more.
•••••••••
Weeks have passed since [Name] was taken. Missions were carried out as normal, however, the word was given out to keep an eye for any sign of [Name].
To find her whereabouts seemed nearly impossible to the demon slayers since they assumed a demon had dug up her corpse and feasted.
Kyojorou was currently home in his estate. He sat silently across from his father as they ate their dinner. Shinjuro observed his eldest son from the corner of his eye. Kyojurou’s posture seemed slightly sluggish and he wasn’t spouting anything obnoxiously or delightedly as he use too. The badge over his right eye was pretty prominent since it was filled with a few jewels, thanks to the Sound Hashira.
Shinjuro was relieved that his son was still alive, however, he did miss the girl who was always on his arm.
Shinjuro sighed. This was going on for too long. He set his bowl of rice down and looked at his son.
“Just how long are you going to act like this?”
Immediately, Kyojurou straightened his back,” What do you mean, father? I’m perfectly fine!”
“We all miss her, too. But it happened and you need to move on.” Shinjuro stood and made his way next to his son, placing a hand on Kyojurou’s shoulders,”If she’s watching, she wouldn’t want you to be like this any much longer. Take your brother to get some things in the nearby town in the morning to-“
They both jumped when the door to the kitchen slid open loudly. Senjuro, the younger brother, stood at the entrance. He was panting and sweating. A note was clenched his left hand as he used the other to support himself against the door.
“B-Brother! There’s a report!” A crow zoomed passed his head, yelling and frantically flapping his wings.
Shinjuro growled,” You fucking shit with wings, get out of my house!”
The crow squawked as it riled itself into Kyojuro’s hair,” North, north! Nearby! A female demon is seen!”
The men tensed. Without further word, Kyojurou was out the door.
•••••••
It was night as Kyojurou ran after the crow that was leading him towards the demon that was about to terrorize the town he lived nearby. His heart pounded and he was on edge. He hasn’t been in such a serious mission since the death of his love. To make things worst, it was the beginning of the night and he didn’t know what sort of demon he was going against. The crow leads him into a more secluded, forest-like area.
As the bird flew upwards, he stopped.
Crunch.
Munch.
There was a demon feasting close by. On instinct, feeling an old flame spark within him, he ran straight for the sounds. He spotted the demon squatted over a dead man. He unsheathes his sword to quickly chop off the demon’s head.
However, the demon ducked and quickly dove to the side, rolling away from Kyojurou. The demon was fairly small and frail-looking. It had long [hair-color] hair and curled black horns that sat on top of her head. As it looked up, Kyojurou could see gleaming pink hues stand out in the dark. It’s figure barely was illuminated by the moon. Blood trailed down its pale-skinned face, as their lips turned into a nasty sneer. A low growl rumbled from her throat as she stood up, dragging her bloodied claws across the bark of the tree.
Kyojurou narrowed his eyes, holding his sword in the air. He took a stance, waiting to see the demon’s next move.
The demon began to trudge forward, walking towards him.
The Flame Hashira’s gaze started at her feet which stepped into the moonlight, slowly traveling up to see her face.
He froze. He slowly let his arms fall to the side.
“[N-Name]? Is that you?”
No, no.
This can’t be.
Like a wave, many memories rushed through him of her. He remembered all the times they laughed together or when she would always call his name, lovingly. Now, she was right in front of him, growling. He gripped his blade tightly in his hands.
Would he do it?
Can he even do it?
Tears streamed down his face as he silently cried once more.
“[Name], my love... I’m so sorry.” He rushes towards her, holding the blade in the air once more. He rushed towards her with the intent to kill.
Then, an idea came into mind. It was the dumbest idea ever. When he got close, he threw the blade to the side and shoved [Name] down. Immediately, she began to struggle in his grasp and claw at his arms. He hissed in pain, before trying to attempt to pin her arms down. He used his body weight to hold her down.
“[Name]! [Name]!” Kyojurou yelled,”It’s me! Kyojurou!”
She continued to screech and claw at him, loudly growing and hissing. Once more, the Flame Hashira began to cry. He tried and he hoped, but nothing was working. Now, he was stuck holding her down until the sun rose. He didn’t know what to do. He didn’t want to watch her die in his arms once more nor wanted to watch her burn in the sunlight.
He gasped in surprise when [Name] managed to flip him over, with her being on top. She barred her fangs as she tried to dig them into him, however, he struggled back, putting his hands against her shoulders, holding her away from him. He winced when he felt her sharp nails dig into his arms.
“PLEASE REMEMBER ME!”
He felt the demon froze.
[Name] saw the face of the woman in the cherry blossoms like some sort of flashback. Then there was Kyōjurō; she remembered their missions together and the meals they shared.
She remembered everything.
Tears dripped onto his face, but this time, they weren’t his own. He slowly looked up to see [Name] crying. He stared in shock.
The demon immediately got off of him. She sat on the ground, taking a moment to look at her own bloody hands. She brushed her lips with her claws and took a moment to sit in silence. For a moment, her pink eyes seem to flicker and swirl to the similar [eye-color] hues she once use to have.
“What... what am I?” She gasped and looked over to the dead man,”No... No! I’m so sorry!” She cried once more, burying her face in her hands and sobbing.
She slowly looked up towards the Flame Hashira.
“K-Kyojurou, please... Please help me.”
Immediately, he scrambled towards her, gathering up her frame in his arms. He couldn’t believe it. He has her back in his arms. She’s back. He buried his face into her long [hair color] hair, holding her tightly. He stared into a distance as he gently raked his fingers through her hair.
“I’m here, [Name], I’m here.”
He pulled back to see [Name]’s face as reassurance that she was there in front of him. Aside from the blood that was splattered all over her cheeks, she was alive.
But not human.
Kyojurou cupped her cheeks,”My love, what happened? Why are you a demon?”
She immediately leaned into his touch. His hands were so warm as she felt so cold. “The Upper Demon... The third one, Akaza. He dug me up and took me to... Him.” She felt him tense. She continued,”When I died, he gave me some of his blood so I was just barely alive for a few days. Then, he gave me more of his blood and turned me into a demon.” Her expressions twisted into disgust,”And then I...I—“ She looked back at the dead man and began to shake.
She felt Kyojurou’s lips press against her forehead as he squeezed her hand,”It’s okay, it’s not your fault,” He pressed his forehead against her own,”Remember Tanjirou Kamada’s little sister? You may have already done some consuming but if I can convince our Master and our fellow Hashira, we can all try and kill Muzan and make you human once more.”
[Name] glanced over at the dead man’s corpse,”But I... I did that.”
Kyojurou quickly turned her head to face towards him,”That’s not your fault! Muzan Kibutsuji did this to you!” He rested his hands on her shoulders and gave her a stern gaze,”For now, you are going to hide. Hide from the other Hashira or demon slayers. It would be better if you reveal yourself when I’m with you.”
Obviously, Kyojurou felt nervous. He remembered the Hashiras first reaction to a demon that claimed to not hurt humans. He was pretty sure Nezuko Kamado hasn’t harmed anyone yet.
He inwardly cringed. He also remembered that he wanted to decapitate both of them at the first interactions. He was really eating his words now.
[Name] was no special case like Nezuko. She actually did what Demon Slayers despised. He felt his morals scream at him. She killed someone, he had to kill her. But his heart told him to hold her close and never let her go.
“[Name], meet me outside the gates of my village. If you come to close, my father will know you are close, okay?”
She nodded,”But... I’m a demon, what if I eat someone again! What if I run into one of the Upper Moons or the Hashiras—“
“[Name], please! Just trust me, okay? I lost you,” She noticed there was a certain glint in his eye,”I don’t plan on losing you ever again.”