lets-get-kraken-boys

[lets-get-kraken-boys]

Echoes of a Past Slayer — Demon Slayer Various X Reader

Chapter Two — Just A Hunch

CHPTR 1   —   Here!    //    CHPTR 2  —   You made it!    //    CHPTR 3   —   Will be here!

Masterlist   —  Here!

Directors' Cut — Heyo! Here is the second part of the series! I hope everyone enjoys the story as much as I enjoy writing it! Love you all so much.

Word Count — 7.5K Words

Reader Gender — Female (She/Her)

Warnings — Cursing (from Reader and various other characters), canon-typical violence, slight changing of the actual story of Demon Slayer line

°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

“What a dreadful start to this evening,” You let out a deep sigh as you readied up for a dicey battle fighting alongside your sworn enemy.

Nezuko jumped the gun before you, seemingly inspired by her brother’s words of encouragement. Barreling down at the two-horned demon across from her, she leaps out with her claws extended. She takes a swipe, and then another, but the demon evades her rather gracefully, for a brute. It weaves around her starting blows, but it doesn’t give her much time to rest in between. With an otherworldly aggressiveness, it begins to play offensively rather than giving her the chance to strike. Fingers drawn together in a point like that of a spear, it stabs at her. Jab, jab, slice. It aims for her head, her chest, anywhere that she may not be protecting properly. It seems to be searching for a weak point to exploit, but Nezuko is doing an incredible job at guarding herself.

It tries to bring down a hammer of a blow, clasping both of its hands high over its head and drilling them downward, but Nezuko avoids the swipe, yet again. She sidesteps to the left, winding back a ghastly punch. You could hear the blow from all the way over where you stood. Her fist connects with its stomach, forcing the demon to choke out a splatter of blood. Not letting up, she kicks. Misses. She kicks again. That time her foe is sent flying back. Nezuko stands tall, watching for the cretin’s next move, as the demon flips in a full turn to face right side up and drags its right hand through the ground to stop its movement.

Meanwhile, you stand guard in front of the man and the woman. You point your blade at both opponents as a fail-safe. Who knows? Maybe the demon lurking in the swamps it creates will persuade the demon in the pink kimono to join their ransacking? You can’t risk losing the lives of innocent civilians.

You glance over your shoulder. The man is just standing there, clutching the still-asleep woman, watching the fight with a haunted expression. His fear is evident, but there’s also a part of him that feels hollow now. You can sense it. His eyes don’t have the same luster as they did before he asked about the state of his lover. It’s sad, yes, but he now needs to prioritize his safety and the safety of the unconscious woman. If things get out of hand, it’s going to be much more difficult to manage both protecting them and fighting off multiple demons.

“Hey,” you call out to get the man’s attention. He shoots his head up as if having just been knocked out of a trance. Keeping your eyes on the hurricane of a fight before you, you speak to him.

“I need you to run. Get yourselves somewhere safe, far away from here. Get out while you still can.” You confide in him. You hear him let out a shivering exhale, catching his gaze casting down at the woman once more. He’s getting lost in thought again. That hesitation could decide their fate for them.

Gritting your teeth, you turn your head fully to face him, “Hey! Did you hear me? I need you to go. Now. It’s too dangerous for you two here!”

“No.” His head is hung low, but you hear the words clear as day. You stare at him. Unbelievable. Before you tear into him for acting to the point of stupidity where he would endanger not only his life, but the life of a victim who has no current control of where they want to be right now, you stop. You need to try a different approach. Barking orders isn’t going to work. You take a second to glance back at Nezuko and the swamp demon. Both of them are still stuck deep in their deadly tango, so you assume that no reasoning is going to be happening between the two any time soon. You’ll have to take the chance while it’s offered.

Taking in a slow breath, you throw the man a question, “What’s your name?”

It takes him a second to respond, but eventually he coughs up the information, “Kazumi.”

“Kazumi,” you let the name lilt off your tongue. You tilt your head back to look at him. He’s still just staring blankly downward.

“Kazumi, you were looking for a woman by the name of Satoko, yes?” At the mention of her name, his head shoots up to look at you. That’s when you see his gaze is anything but dead. Kazumi’s waterline is traced with a lining of tears that have yet to spill, but they threatened to at any moment. You’ve seen that look before—hell, you’ve held that look on your own face before too—but tears need to take a back seat.

“I’m sorry about what happened to her, I truly am, but please try to think about the woman you’re holding right now,” you nod down to the slack-faced victim breathing in and out in somber huffs.

“She has people she needs to get back to. A home. A family. Possibly, even a lover. If this girl was Satoko, wouldn’t you want her to be brought safely home too?” You tried to utter every sentence with the utmost sincerity you could afford. A twist panged in your heart from the way he looked at you after you were finished. Drips of sorrow cascaded from his slate grey stare. One at first, then two slipped down on either cheek, then a steady flow set in. Heartbreak filled the voids of his pupils. It made you turn back away in shame. You curse the fact that you didn’t get there sooner. Why couldn’t you have been a little faster to this town, been given the mission a little bit earlier, so you could come and save both this woman and Satoko? Though, you suppose that thought pattern aided in your desire to be a slayer. If neither you or the male slayer had shown up, then this village would continue to be ensnared in the horrible mistreatings of these demons. No hope for escape. You need to work harder.

In your distraction, the fight between the two demons had gotten messy. Both of them were huffing for air, but you could tell that Nezuko was definitely the stronger of the two. She kept pummeling, forcing her way past the barricades of the demon’s defense. Hit, jab, slice. Then, she lifts her leg, driving it into the side of the demon’s head. The swamp demon blocks her attack with its forearm. The appendage bends at the force of her mighty kick, and on a living person, their arm would be broken in several spots. However, this isn’t a normal person we’re talking about.

You contemplate your options. You could keep protecting the civilians. You could join in the hunt with Nezuko. If you got rid of one of the demons first, would it be easier then to handle the other when the time came? Take one out of the race while the other is distracted? Though, you’re a bit concerned about what exactly the girl is capable of. You’re sure you could handle her at your full strength, but you’re not at your best right now. Even now, you can feel your limbs aching from the amount of stress you’ve put them under in the last few sleepless nights. New bruises are blooming along the spot where you’ve been dinged from both this current demon and your prey from the night before. You’re tired, and you’re not sure you could handle taking her swiftness. Plus, the slayer who slipped down into the muddy pond below seems to care for the girl, Nezuko. He’s got shit technique, but the power behind his sloppy swings is nothing to scoff at. He’s strong.

Speaking of, you look down at the pond still open behind Kazumi. It laps gently back and forth, showing no signs of life below. Is he okay? Sure, he’s a traitorous bastard, but he’s still a fellow slayer. You don’t want him to die before you can rip him a new one.

It’s Kazumi’s distress you hear first. A gasp slips through his lips, his eyes locked on the duo. Your attention is sent reeling back to the two demons brawling. Nezuko’s been injured. She barely lets out a noise of distress, but you see the blood dripping off of the other demon’s nails. Its red eyes are lit up in satisfied glee. She stumbles back, her guard lowered. You can’t tell where she’s been hurt or how deep, but you don’t really care. It didn’t appear to be that much blood running down the hand of the opposing demon. You know she’ll heal herself just as all demons can.

You stand and watch the demon dash to make another slice at Nezuko. A wide smile is stretched across its villainous face. This could be your chance. With it being distracted aiming at the girl, you could swoop in and cut its head clean off.

Though, you don’t get that far, as the slayer from before bolts out of the murky depths, katana reeled far back, as he closes the distance and slices the demon’s arm clean off in one swoop. The two-horned demon hardly lets out a yelp, caught too off guard by the attack to counter it.

“Hands off my sister!” The slayer valiantly cries out.

Sister? Did he say his sister?

He curves his blade back up, continuing the flow of his attack, and carves off its other arm. The severed limb smacks to the ground, dissipating in a flurry of red and black flakes with a ghostly whisper of wind dancing by. They’re a familiar sight to you. There is nothing left of the appendage after a few seconds. With the slabs of meat crumbling off into nothing, that must mean he took care of the other demons. Good.

Why isn’t he slicing off its head yet?

“You give off a scent like rotten oil. It’s a horrible smell! How many people have you killed?!” The boy yells out at the armless demon. Stepping in front of his sister, he blocks her from the demon’s view. He has his sword pointed straight at the demon’s throat. He had the entirety of the fight to scold the demon for all of its wrongdoings and horrid nature of being, but now is when chooses to spit the words out?! He’s a fool! He must be maddened in the brain if he thinks the demon will stick around to hear his complaints.

“Listen! If women live too long, they turn ugly and start tasting like crap! So we kill them for their own good!” Both you and the other slayer raise your lips into a snarl of disgust at that notion. What a lousy attempt at redeeming your harmful deeds. Pitiful.

“You should be thankful to us demons—,” The only thing “thankful” that the boy does is promptly slit open the sides of the demon’s mouth to shut it up. Best decision he has made all night.

The demon had drops of spittle and blood mixed together leaking from its mouth. It sank its head down, seemingly huddling in on itself to stop his onslaught of torture. Personally, you believe he should do more to even begin to rectify its sins. How dare it say such horrendous things about all the poor women it killed. All the families left with no idea what happened to their precious wives, daughters, and sisters. Despicable.

“Nevermind. You’re going to tell me what you know about Muzan Kibutsuji.” That caught your ear. Is that why he is keeping the wretch alive? Why is this boy asking about the demon lord? It’s a little early for him to be aiming to be in a higher position within the Corps, so why bother worrying about such a harrowing threat so early on in his career? However, if the filth had some knowledge on the whereabouts of the King of All Demons, it would be beneficial to know. Except you doubt a puny grunt like it would give up such coveted information, even if it did know his whereabouts.

As you predicted, the demon just sits there slack-jawed, trembling in its own fear. Just the name of its lord has the thing petrified beyond words. Sweat drips down its face, mixing with the fluids flowing down from its split mouth, a vile concoction of discharge pooling on its chin. It plops down onto the dirt ground, the blood coagulating into a dark splotch, mixing with the smooth sand below.

Not satisfied with its silence, the boy presses further, lancing his blade closer to the demon, “Talk to me! C’mon, start talking!”

“I-I…can’t tell you.” The demon mutters into its chest. A thick blanket of stillness lays over the party.

“I can’t tell you.” It repeats, this time louder and with more desperation. You glance at the boy’s face, and all you can see is him giving the demon a look of pity. His own disappointment is tied in with the frustration he feels at its unhelpful answer. A confusion surrounds his aura too. You’re sure he’s wondering why it won’t talk about the master that holds its tiny life in his hands. You’re curious too, but far less dotting on the creature’s defiance.

“I can’t tell you! I can’t tell you! I can’t, I can’t, I can’t!” It kicks and thrashes its legs outwards. Hunched over, it bends its torso inwards as if to hide from the fear overtaking its heart. You can see where this is going. Nowhere. Enough of this nonsense.

You have bigger matters to confront the boy on rather than putz around with this worthless worm.

You charge up to the trio, readying an attack. You tilt your naginata towards the ground, dashing forward with precision. You feel the power flow from your fingertips into the pole of the weapon. The power rockets up towards the blade, and the ivory white of the metal begins to glow brightly. You’re running, but the attention the demon has grabbed keeps you unnoticed. A sickly feeling burbles in your chest, oozing and brackish. It always feels repulsive to use this form, but it’s effective for cowards like this demon. It handles them quickly. It’s a slithering, illusive, conniving, back-stabbing technique. Perfect for it.

“I can’t tell you, all right?!” With a horrid crunch, the demon has grown its arms back, and launches off the ground to attack the boy. You chant the words in your head just as the demon screams out its final breath.

Instinct Breathing…

Fourth Form…

Festering Loathing of the Envious Enemy.

A steady stride is all it takes. You’ve spun up with a leaping spiral to land directly above the demon body, and slash down as if cutting through softened butter. Its head comes clean off, as well as its arms. The body crumples to the ground just as you unball from your flip into the air. Instantaneously, the head rolls away into fiery dust. No trace of the demon is left behind. No blood. No body. It’s just…gone.

You stand straight, looking directly at the boy. His gaze does not meet yours yet, he's too busy staring at the last spot the demon had laid. His expression is torn between frustration and defeat. His reddish-brown eyes are swirling with questions. You wish you could care more. Suddenly, his head shoots up as if an alarm only he could perceive just rang out. He whirls around, standing to face where Nezuko had just been standing. During the debate, Nezuko had waddled away, deciding to sit down against the nearby wall. Her eyes were fully shut. Asleep? Resting? Who knows.

“Nezuko!” The slayer makes a move to run to her aid, but he doesn’t get far.

He won’t get far—not with a blade tickling across his throat, carrying with it the silent promise of death shining on its lips.

“Give me one reason to not kill you where you stand, traitor.” You stood there, naginata in one hand, body angled towards the wall, stance wide. Your eyes were ablaze with determination. Your words held black tar and were lined with only truth. The boy could tell you were more than keen to dice him open and leave his rotting corpse to lay twitching on the ground. He almost didn’t process what you said because of how silently you’d slunk your blade up in front of him. You moved so fast, he couldn’t keep up. He couldn’t deny the sling of fear grasping his heart and the tremor bouncing in his hands from your assault. Though, he should have been more prepared for this lethal silence from a fellow slayer.

“I’ll tell you, I’ll tell you. But, please, Miss, lower your weapon.” He tried to speak as calmly as he could.

“Lower my blade? Do you take me for an idiot, boy?” You pressed your naginata tip harder into his swan-like neck. He winced, feeling the impressively sharp blade almost nick his skin.

Your lip lifts up into a snarl, “In fact, I think the fool between us is you. A demon slayer protecting a demon? Our sworn enemy? Oh, that is rich. You know the rules, yes?”

“Yes.” His answer was at the ready. The finality of his words is sturdy and they only possess a slight waver in tone. Though, you suppose that is from your weapon centimeters away from lancing open his jugular.

“Ah. So, you’re intentionally breaking our laws? How foolish, indeed.” You back your naginata off of his throat only slightly as a reward for answering your question truthfully. You believed that giving him space from the blade would encourage him to cough up more information. Though, not too far away. You don’t want him to get too ballsy and think he can raise up his own blade in retaliation.

He turned his head towards you, a desperate plea written in his eyes, “You don’t understand, she’s my—!”

“Your sister, right?” You spoke over him. He clamped his lips shut in a tight vice. A nod followed shortly after.

You took a gamble and slowly walked in front of him, meeting him eye-to-eye. Blocking him from being able to rush over to the demon. Your own serpent-akin stare, unblinking and ruthless, peered into his stare, doe-like and doleful, for any sign of a lie or falsehood. His own look expressed nothing but the whole-hearted truth. Something like that is hard to come by nowadays. Hm.

“Why try so hard to save what has already been lost? She’s not going to go back to the way she was before the longer you keep her alive. The damage was already done as soon as she devoured her first human.” You thrust your naginata further towards his chest to accentuate the point you’re trying to make. You knew he was just playing a game with you. He won’t deny her punishment any longer.

“But she hasn’t consumed human flesh!” He shot back with his own aggravation. What? You look at him first in shock at the preposterous idea. Then with a look of twisted confusion. That’s not possible. Every demon has to consume human blood and flesh to survive. If they don’t…well, it’s never been heard of! At least, you haven’t heard of it before. You’ve seen how ravenous freshly turned demons get. It’s not a fate they willingly subject themselves to. He has to be lying to save his sister from her demise.

“No. That’s not possible. You’re grasping at straws. She drank human blood, didn't she? Whether it be flesh or blood, it doesn’t matter—she’s still eaten part of a human! You’re dancing around the issue!” You waved your naginata in front of him, releasing your anger in a downward strike at his chest. How dare he waste your time with trivials?! Deceiver!

“She hasn’t eaten that either! Nezuko has survived without it! I wouldn’t lie about this.” He raised his open weapon to bat off your blade. Damn, you lowered your guard in your emotional fit. Keep it together, (Y/N).

“If she hasn’t eaten anyone, then how is she so strong? I saw the way she fought that other demon, she barely used any strength to get the upper hand. You can’t deny that.” You countered. That kind of power didn’t come without a cost.

“I…I can’t explain how she became this capable in a battle. I don’t even know what happened,” he gazed over at her, “She wasn’t like this when she was human. Not this…powerful or capable in battle. She never had to be caught up in a fight.” An expression of what appeared to be regret overtook the irritation he showed. He lowered his weapon. You took the chance to raise your blade to his throat again, this time, keeping it tightly latched to its side. If he cared, he didn’t show it. He made no move to raise his own weapon against you again. He seemed to be lost in a web of his own thoughts.

“All I have is my word to defend her. Nezuko is my sister, and…and the only family I have left. I know she’s a demon, but I also know that she is not like the other demons. She has resisted the urge to consume humans. She could have killed me easily on the day she was turned by that…monster,” He briefly paused to utter that. A shuddering breath escapes. Pitted, deep-set rage filled the slayer’s eyes.

He continued on shaky footing, “I want to help her. That’s why I am here, with the Corps. That’s why I worked so hard to become a slayer. I want to save her. I have to.” He clenched his fist, and you felt like it was wrapped tight around your heart. He lowered his head in as deep of a bow as your blade allowed him to go without slicing his neck wide open.

“Please.” He nearly whimpered out his plea with grit teeth. Hell, if you asked, he’s certain he would have. Begging, groveling on his knees, a sniveling teary mess, the whole nine yards. Just to keep his sister spared from the wrath of your blade. It wouldn’t have been the first time he’s done it. You watched the slayer, and suddenly, you didn’t see a slayer in him anymore. You saw a scared little boy. A petrified baby pleading for the comfort of the only family he has left in this world.

You could see the peril life’s hand has dealt him. The hardened calluses on his palms from the countless days and nights filled with training. You shared the same markings on your own sweaty palms. You saw yourself in his shining gaze, and you felt tears well up. Why? Why did you feel like crying after looking into his innocent gaze? This is an embarrassment to your people. On your entire family lineage. Generations of warriors hardened by the war against these fiends, and you’re about to become a blubbering mess over one you just met.

You looked over your shoulder, right at his sister leaning against the stone wall. You could finally see the wound she had endured from her fight. Surprisingly, the mark hadn’t cleared up yet, three slashes from a pair of claws decorated the side of her forehead in a bloody headband. Maybe there was some amount of truth in his words? After all, if the demon girl had the choice, why would she just leave the wound open on her body when it wasn’t that large in the first place? Even the weakest of normal demons could heal that small of a scrape in a flash. The blood had dried on her face, coating her eyebrows and temples in red, cracking rivers to frame her closed eyes. Deep breaths confirmed she was asleep, catching her breath after a hard fought victory. Certainly a less threatening appearance than before. Sitting there, she looked even younger. You wondered if she was the younger of the two siblings. How awful that she had to be subjected to the fate of becoming an abomination to this world.

All three of you are just kids at heart, waving your chubby arms in the sky in search of any sort of comfort in this tragic life. These two, even more so. So youthful. So unsure. You sighed. You can’t believe you’re failing to uphold your father and mother’s honorable name by being such a degenerate daughter. Such a weakling.

His plea reached you.

Plus, you were really starting to feel the aches in your body after that battle. You want to take a second to rest after all that shit more than you want to cut off the head of a girl right now.

“Eh, I’m too tired for this.” You receded your naginata, stuck the butt of it into the ground, and turned to face away from him. Though you’ll never tell the boy in a million millennia, turning around was mostly to give you the shield you needed to take a second and collect yourself. He didn’t need the ego boost of seeing how much his words and his sister’s defenselessness actually affected you. You saw him lift his head in hope from the corner of your eye.

“Go to her. I’ll deal with you lot later.” You waved him onward. You sit on the ground, a final hint to him to take the mercy while you’re offering it. He didn’t need another confirmation, rushing over to Nezuko’s side to give her a checkup. You decided to follow his lead by unclipping your forearm and shoulder pads to see the damage. No injury was too wild under the sleeves of your kimono. Just a couple of scratches and bruises from the encounter. Scrapes were nothing. You unintentionally heard a few bits of what the boy was mumbling to his sister. Man, you really gotta ask for his name.

“She’s asleep. She stopped bleeding, too. So, she’s sleeping in order to recover?” He spoke quietly, most likely for only himself to hear. His hand was curled around the side of her face where the gash lay. Sleeping to recover from injuries? Not a horrible idea. Although, you think some of the other demons in this world may have an issue with her “No Human” diet.

May get more hate than Vegans do. Damn, a joke too early in time for anyone to appreciate it yet. Sad.

Now you were just wondering what to do with the two of them. Of course, you weren’t their babysitter. Your mission was to aid the slayer in this mission alone, and then head off to wherever you were called to next. You shouldn’t care about whatever destiny they choose to run off into. The whole idea of him keeping his demon sister hidden from the Corps is stupid. It’s gonna blow up in his face, no doubt, and she’s probably going to end up on the receiving end of some other slayer’s blade. It’s not your fault.

So, why does the idea of leaving them behind trouble you so?

You shake your head. Letting her live was enough mercy to carry over into the next century. Given your job, even Buddha should be praising you for the amount of kindness you just extended to him. Not actually though, that would be super disrespectful. You take that previous thought back when the image of your dad smacking you in the back of the head for your disrespect towards the gods comes fluttering by.

The boy mumbled a couple of other things to the sleeping girl, but you couldn’t quite pick them up. You decided to close our eyes for a little bit to give your brain a break. That feels nice. The slayer moved to put Nezuko back inside of her wooden home while you rested, naginata resting dutifully on your right shoulder.

You could tell the night was nearly over, judging by the colors starting to drift up past the mountain range that hugs the sky. The clouds from the night had nearly all fled away, leaving the sky wide open to embrace the dancing highlights of the morning sun’s rays. Only a few stars remain as they bid their goodbyes to the waking world. A silent promise is made, for they intend to come back again to provide peace and comfort to those who could not sleep for whatever reason. You’re grateful they never disappoint. All too often, them and the moon are the only company you can talk to on your arduous missions. When you miss your family, when you have little hope, when emptiness fills your heart—they’re always there to watch over you. You like the nighttime more than other normal slayers do. For them, you assume they loathe it because that means they have to put in the long hours of work and screw up their sleep schedule. For you, it’s a chance to belong somewhere free of judgement.

The slayer had finished putting Nezuko into her box, placed it on his back, and walked over to Kazumi, who was kneeling on the ground. The woman was placed similarly to how Nezuko had been perched, back against the wall in a peaceful slumber. Her rest finally seemed to be one of relaxation now that the beast was finally away. That could be you projecting your own relief onto her, but she seemed content enough.

Kazumi, however, looked as if his entire world had collapsed. He knelt there on the gravel ground, alone, in a heap of misery. Distraught and a shell of himself. You don’t blame him. His gaze held that of a man who has no love left to give to this life. His hands lay limp at his sides.

With enormous bravery, the slayer walked to the mourning man and asked, “Mr. Kazumi. Are you alright?”

“I’ve lost my fiancée. How can I be alright?” Near silent were how those words trailed out. You nearly lost them from how far you were from the two, but you cared about his well being enough to want to know if he would lose his mind entirely after the events of tonight. Fiancée. Ah. One tragedy befalls another.

It appeared like the boy wouldn’t be able to provide words of comfort to the grieving lover. He sat there for just a brief moment in silence. You knew what had to be done now, and it was not something you wanted a newbie slayer to have to provide on his first mission out. You wanted to take control of their conversation, to direct the man’s grief and agony onto yourself. The boy shouldn't have to be saddled with it. After all, it was a tremendous burden having to become the one to comfort someone who has lost so much. A man who's lost everything. It was a conversation you’ve had to struggle through many times before now. However, before you could begin, the boy surprises you yet again. These next words prove to you that the boy was actually the only one of you who knew what words to say to someone who has been left by the ones they loved most.

“Mr. Kazumi…No matter how many people you may lose, you have no choice but to go on living. No matter how devastating the blows may be.” The boy spoke as if having lived a thousand lives before this. Wise and thought out words wrapped in the gentlest tone you’ve ever heard. It reminded you of your mother. How she’d kiss your hot, tear-stricken cheeks after you’d cried up a storm. How she held you close and whispered praise of how amazing of a job you did with any task handed to you. How she snuggled up next to you when overwhelming fear swallowed you whole during stormy nights filled with tremendous claps of thunder and gales of wind. It breathed safety and security into your heart.

Kazumi grabs hold of the boy’s haori tight. He screams straight into the boy’s face in a tone that makes you nearly ready your weapon again, “What do you know about it?! A kid like you?!”

From the distance, you can see the slayer grasp Kazumi’s hand with his own. It wasn’t a quick grab or a slap to get the grown man’s hand off of him. The boy had raised it with the gentleness of someone comforting a petrified animal. Slow, steady movement. A gasp over takes Kazumi as he looks straight into the boy’s face, and you have no doubt that Kazumi is experiencing the same grief as you did not long ago. He’s seeing not just a boy, but a boy who does, in fact, know exactly what the man is suffering through. You couldn’t see it, but a sorrow-filled smile lays on the boy’s dainty lips, silver shimmering draped across his lower lash line.

Kazumi released the boy with quivering hands.

“I’ll be on my way now.” The slayer stands tall.

“Take this.” He reaches into his haori and hands Kazumi a scrap of cloth that you cannot exactly see. Although, judging from how his eyes widen at the reveal and how a broken sob streams out from his chapped lips, you can already guess what it is. You stand up, happily at peace with the knowledge that Kazumi will be okay after this. He will find the strength to go on, one day.

“I hope you find something of Miss Satoko’s in there.” The boy gives a light bow in respect as the salty water streams down Kazumi’s face. He shrugs the wooden box further up on his shoulders, and turns to head off. He takes his leave, walking down the dirt road towards you.

“I…I’m sorry! That was an awful thing to say! Please forgive me!” You watch as Kazumi collapses on himself with anguish. Hearing him apologize for being so rude to the slayer healed a deeply seeded part of you. It was nice to know that at least someone appreciated the efforts of the slayers who fought so hard to keep humanity alive and safe.

“I’m so sorry!” The boy turned back around to regard Kazumi at those strangled words, giving a joyful wave to the broken mess of a man. You couldn’t believe how bright of a smile the boy held. It made your own smile tug on your lips. You shared your happiness with Kazumi, who looked over at you too in thanks for helping him. You then caught a glimpse of the beautiful red ribbon peeking out from beyond the scrap of dark cloth the slayer had gifted to the man.

You knew, at last, he had found his Satoko.

“I’m leaving that young woman in your hands!” The boy called out.

Sobbing filled Kazumi’s last few words to you two, “I understand! I understand.” You knew you could trust him. And with that, the two of you turned around and headed off down the dirt path out of the now safe town.

The sun raced high into the sky, it was still morning when you got to the bridge on the outskirts of town; the same strong bridge that led you into the city when you first arrived. The walk you two shared had been silent for the most part, the odd shop owner just beginning to start the day or townsfolk on their way to their place of employment both greeted you as you passed. You could tell the boy was nervous. You caught him in your peripheral vision turning his head to check you every other minute. You chose to stay silent. However, it wasn’t because you were mad anymore—you honestly just kept up the act of “scary angry soldier” to get a little kick of fun. Seeing him scramble to find the correct words to say was hilarious. After all, you are a dangerous warrior who just found out that he is harboring an essential fugitive from the same place of work that you both are pledged into. A fugitive who is the exact creature you are tasked to be hunting, no less.

Eventually, you grew bored of the tense silence. Now much more interested in figuring out what exactly to do with your little Kanoe. After all, you are his superior.

“You’re trying to figure out what to say to me first so I don’t blow up at you, right?” You snicker to yourself. A shocked look graces his features as he stumbles over his words.

“Ha?! I–um…yes, I am, Miss.” It was almost cute how he was trying to remain polite. You like this one, he has nice manners. You hum with a grin, not giving him the satisfaction of if he said the right thing to you yet. You two walk on as you admire the forest. Lush, thick trees block the glaring rays of sunlight enough to keep you from getting overwhelmed. A smooth breeze drifts by, carrying with it the smell of morning dew and freshly cut greenery. You watch a little squirrel skitter through the bushes dotting the forest floor. It wasn’t quite berry season yet, so the shrubbery was still rather bare, but their flourishing beautiful leaves make up for it.

You look back at the boy and find him peering at you already. He shot his eyes down in respect, embarrassed at being caught staring while you were unawares. A blush stains his soft cheeks. Your lips lilt up into a grin.

“Hey,” you grab his attention, “I was waiting for you to remember what you promised to give me.” His eyes search yours, as if they would spill the secret as to what you were looking for from him. You roll your eyes playfully.

“Though, it seems you’re a little too dense to remember. I’ll give you some slack. Just this once. You never gave me your name.” You snort at the puzzled expression he pulled.

“Oh! I see, haha,” he gave a half-hearted laugh, “I’m Kamado Tanjiro. Pleased to meet you.” He stuck his hand out for you to shake, and you grab it with an equally firm hold.

“Likewise, Kamado. Since I gave you my name in the heat of a battle, I don’t expect you to remember it. It’s (Y/N) (L/N).” You share with him. He smiles at you, seemingly pleased with receiving the kindness of your name. Kamado Tanjiro. You suppose it was fitting. The name Tanjiro must be related to what his family’s business specialized in before he became a slayer.

You continue, “And the girl in your pack is named Nezuko, correct? Is she a Kamado too?” Tanjiro nods his head at your deduction. Another silence fell over you two at the mention of the demon girl. You wanted to gently bring up their situation once again, but you knew deep diving into their past wouldn’t be the best for either of you at the moment.

“Look,” you spoke with practiced poise, “I know you want to keep her safe. I know she’s all you have left—and believe me, it’s not fun to rip families apart from each other when you both have lost so much already. I don’t know how she became a demon, nor can I fully confirm or deny whether or not she has eaten a human. I don’t know if her not eating a human makes her not a full demon or not.” You hear Tanjiro ‘hmm’ at your words, confirming all of them. You press on.

“However, what I do know is that she has demon blood in her, since she definitely possesses superhuman strength and needs to hide from the sun or it kills her. I also know that I can’t just let you run around with some strange version of a demon sitting in your back pocket unsupervised.” You feel the nervous energy radiating from the boy already. You need to spit it out before he takes off running and you have to go track him down like a wanted criminal.

“That’s why I am going to be the one to supervise you two.” You declare with a mighty fist slammed into your chestplate.

“Eh?” He gives you a blank stare. You smile back at him.

“I am rank Hinoto within the Corps, three levels your senior. I have also been a slayer for over a year now,” you clench your fist tight, lift it up, and showcase the marking on the back of your hand to Tanjiro. Sure enough, blood red ink leeches upwards from some unknown origin and swirls into wobbling lines. The ink overlaps and churns until it finally slows to a stiff stop, spelling out in sharp text the kanji for “Hinoto”.

“I hereby state I will be watching over your sister to insure that she does not bring harm to any humans. If she attempts to harm or consume any human lifeform, I will take full initiative to slay her properly.” You stop to stand towards him fully with your chest flexed out before taking a swift kneel to the ground in front of the boy. You lower your head to secure your faithful oath, as showing your neck reveals your vulnerability and sincerity to the receiver of your pact. It deems they can trust you as you trusted them to not lop off your head at the base of your skull.

“I appreciate you wanting to look out for Nezuko—,” Tanjiro tries to reason. He’s not against having people join in the journey, friends can even be a fun addition! But he’d rather not have someone breathing down his and his sister’s neck 24/7 to see if she is going to hurt someone. Plus, you did kind of threaten his life several times earlier, even though he recognizes that you are warranted in that deed.

“The only other option is to take care of her right now. I’d rather not hurt your sister, but since she is still a demon by default, I cannot leave without resolving the issue.” Your gaze drills up at him expectantly. Tanjiro could practically feel a comically large sweat drop form on his face at your words. He considered your declaration in silence for a moment, but he knew he had no other choice. If he was the slayer on your side of the situation, he’s sure he’d try to execute her for the betterment of humanity too. Not that he likes or agrees with the notion of his sister being butchered.

“Alright. You can travel with me to watch over Nezuko.” he sighed.

“Remember, I’m not only here for her, Kamado. I’m going to be watching you too. A slayer unwilling to destroy a demon, no matter the opponent’s lineage, is still a major violation of our code.” Your promise sent a chill down his spine. He saw your expression shift into one of a darker nature. You wanted him to know that you were serious about this, as breaking this vow would in turn violate your own way of life.

“Next time, I will not hold back on fulfilling my virtue. I will not allow a demon, no matter who they are, to hurt a human in my presence.” You give him a stern look as a final warning.

The intense energy cleared up in a miraculous poof as a bright smile filled your cheeks, “Okay, now that that’s over with, I’m super glad to be meeting another slayer! You seem very naturally talented, but I’ll need to help you work on a couple of your movements when adjusting to your Breathing technique! You should use more torque in your torso when in the air—,” you continued to ramble as you caught his haori sleeve in your palm and began dragging him along the dirt path, further into the forest.

Oh, boy. He could tell that this was going to be a long journey…

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If only you’d noticed the dagger-like eyes lingering on the two of you from the shadows within the treetops.

Oh, how you laughed with the other slayer, blissfully unaware of the tragedy that would befall you and everyone you held dear with the consequences faced from this agreement. Maybe, if you knew, you’d have walked away right then and there, never looking back at the confused boy. Maybe you’d have begged the two siblings to spare you, to leave you alone and never come near you again through shaky sobs. Maybe you’d have quit the Corps all together, slunk away like a filthy rat in the night, if only to save yourself from the horrors lying in wait at the end of the road. But you couldn’t have known. You still don’t know what the “right” decision was, or what it could be. You never will.

The eyes slink back away into the looming dark. Next time, they won’t idle unnoticed. Next time, you’ll see them. They’ll make sure of it…

~ To be continued… ~

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I do not own the story of Demon Slayer (Kimetsu no Yaiba). I do not own the characters of Demon Slayer (Kimetsu no Yaiba). I am not a part of the crew who has participated in the creation of the manga or anime of Demon Slayer (Kimetsu no Yaiba). I am not making any profit off of this story.

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[lets-get-kraken-boys]

So desperate for a chubby female lead to be a love interest to multiple people

[lets-get-kraken-boys]

Echoes of a Past Slayer — Demon Slayer Various X Reader

Chapter Two — Just A Hunch

CHPTR 1   —   Here!    //    CHPTR 2  —   You made it!    //    CHPTR 3   —   Will be here!

Masterlist   —  Here!

Directors' Cut — Heyo! Here is the second part of the series! I hope everyone enjoys the story as much as I enjoy writing it! Love you all so much.

Word Count — 7.5K Words

Reader Gender — Female (She/Her)

Warnings — Cursing (from Reader and various other characters), canon-typical violence, slight changing of the actual story of Demon Slayer line

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“What a dreadful start to this evening,” You let out a deep sigh as you readied up for a dicey battle fighting alongside your sworn enemy.

Nezuko jumped the gun before you, seemingly inspired by her brother’s words of encouragement. Barreling down at the two-horned demon across from her, she leaps out with her claws extended. She takes a swipe, and then another, but the demon evades her rather gracefully, for a brute. It weaves around her starting blows, but it doesn’t give her much time to rest in between. With an otherworldly aggressiveness, it begins to play offensively rather than giving her the chance to strike. Fingers drawn together in a point like that of a spear, it stabs at her. Jab, jab, slice. It aims for her head, her chest, anywhere that she may not be protecting properly. It seems to be searching for a weak point to exploit, but Nezuko is doing an incredible job at guarding herself.

It tries to bring down a hammer of a blow, clasping both of its hands high over its head and drilling them downward, but Nezuko avoids the swipe, yet again. She sidesteps to the left, winding back a ghastly punch. You could hear the blow from all the way over where you stood. Her fist connects with its stomach, forcing the demon to choke out a splatter of blood. Not letting up, she kicks. Misses. She kicks again. That time her foe is sent flying back. Nezuko stands tall, watching for the cretin’s next move, as the demon flips in a full turn to face right side up and drags its right hand through the ground to stop its movement.

Meanwhile, you stand guard in front of the man and the woman. You point your blade at both opponents as a fail-safe. Who knows? Maybe the demon lurking in the swamps it creates will persuade the demon in the pink kimono to join their ransacking? You can’t risk losing the lives of innocent civilians.

You glance over your shoulder. The man is just standing there, clutching the still-asleep woman, watching the fight with a haunted expression. His fear is evident, but there’s also a part of him that feels hollow now. You can sense it. His eyes don’t have the same luster as they did before he asked about the state of his lover. It’s sad, yes, but he now needs to prioritize his safety and the safety of the unconscious woman. If things get out of hand, it’s going to be much more difficult to manage both protecting them and fighting off multiple demons.

“Hey,” you call out to get the man’s attention. He shoots his head up as if having just been knocked out of a trance. Keeping your eyes on the hurricane of a fight before you, you speak to him.

“I need you to run. Get yourselves somewhere safe, far away from here. Get out while you still can.” You confide in him. You hear him let out a shivering exhale, catching his gaze casting down at the woman once more. He’s getting lost in thought again. That hesitation could decide their fate for them.

Gritting your teeth, you turn your head fully to face him, “Hey! Did you hear me? I need you to go. Now. It’s too dangerous for you two here!”

“No.” His head is hung low, but you hear the words clear as day. You stare at him. Unbelievable. Before you tear into him for acting to the point of stupidity where he would endanger not only his life, but the life of a victim who has no current control of where they want to be right now, you stop. You need to try a different approach. Barking orders isn’t going to work. You take a second to glance back at Nezuko and the swamp demon. Both of them are still stuck deep in their deadly tango, so you assume that no reasoning is going to be happening between the two any time soon. You’ll have to take the chance while it’s offered.

Taking in a slow breath, you throw the man a question, “What’s your name?”

It takes him a second to respond, but eventually he coughs up the information, “Kazumi.”

“Kazumi,” you let the name lilt off your tongue. You tilt your head back to look at him. He’s still just staring blankly downward.

“Kazumi, you were looking for a woman by the name of Satoko, yes?” At the mention of her name, his head shoots up to look at you. That’s when you see his gaze is anything but dead. Kazumi’s waterline is traced with a lining of tears that have yet to spill, but they threatened to at any moment. You’ve seen that look before—hell, you’ve held that look on your own face before too—but tears need to take a back seat.

“I’m sorry about what happened to her, I truly am, but please try to think about the woman you’re holding right now,” you nod down to the slack-faced victim breathing in and out in somber huffs.

“She has people she needs to get back to. A home. A family. Possibly, even a lover. If this girl was Satoko, wouldn’t you want her to be brought safely home too?” You tried to utter every sentence with the utmost sincerity you could afford. A twist panged in your heart from the way he looked at you after you were finished. Drips of sorrow cascaded from his slate grey stare. One at first, then two slipped down on either cheek, then a steady flow set in. Heartbreak filled the voids of his pupils. It made you turn back away in shame. You curse the fact that you didn’t get there sooner. Why couldn’t you have been a little faster to this town, been given the mission a little bit earlier, so you could come and save both this woman and Satoko? Though, you suppose that thought pattern aided in your desire to be a slayer. If neither you or the male slayer had shown up, then this village would continue to be ensnared in the horrible mistreatings of these demons. No hope for escape. You need to work harder.

In your distraction, the fight between the two demons had gotten messy. Both of them were huffing for air, but you could tell that Nezuko was definitely the stronger of the two. She kept pummeling, forcing her way past the barricades of the demon’s defense. Hit, jab, slice. Then, she lifts her leg, driving it into the side of the demon’s head. The swamp demon blocks her attack with its forearm. The appendage bends at the force of her mighty kick, and on a living person, their arm would be broken in several spots. However, this isn’t a normal person we’re talking about.

You contemplate your options. You could keep protecting the civilians. You could join in the hunt with Nezuko. If you got rid of one of the demons first, would it be easier then to handle the other when the time came? Take one out of the race while the other is distracted? Though, you’re a bit concerned about what exactly the girl is capable of. You’re sure you could handle her at your full strength, but you’re not at your best right now. Even now, you can feel your limbs aching from the amount of stress you’ve put them under in the last few sleepless nights. New bruises are blooming along the spot where you’ve been dinged from both this current demon and your prey from the night before. You’re tired, and you’re not sure you could handle taking her swiftness. Plus, the slayer who slipped down into the muddy pond below seems to care for the girl, Nezuko. He’s got shit technique, but the power behind his sloppy swings is nothing to scoff at. He’s strong.

Speaking of, you look down at the pond still open behind Kazumi. It laps gently back and forth, showing no signs of life below. Is he okay? Sure, he’s a traitorous bastard, but he’s still a fellow slayer. You don’t want him to die before you can rip him a new one.

It’s Kazumi’s distress you hear first. A gasp slips through his lips, his eyes locked on the duo. Your attention is sent reeling back to the two demons brawling. Nezuko’s been injured. She barely lets out a noise of distress, but you see the blood dripping off of the other demon’s nails. Its red eyes are lit up in satisfied glee. She stumbles back, her guard lowered. You can’t tell where she’s been hurt or how deep, but you don’t really care. It didn’t appear to be that much blood running down the hand of the opposing demon. You know she’ll heal herself just as all demons can.

You stand and watch the demon dash to make another slice at Nezuko. A wide smile is stretched across its villainous face. This could be your chance. With it being distracted aiming at the girl, you could swoop in and cut its head clean off.

Though, you don’t get that far, as the slayer from before bolts out of the murky depths, katana reeled far back, as he closes the distance and slices the demon’s arm clean off in one swoop. The two-horned demon hardly lets out a yelp, caught too off guard by the attack to counter it.

“Hands off my sister!” The slayer valiantly cries out.

Sister? Did he say his sister?

He curves his blade back up, continuing the flow of his attack, and carves off its other arm. The severed limb smacks to the ground, dissipating in a flurry of red and black flakes with a ghostly whisper of wind dancing by. They’re a familiar sight to you. There is nothing left of the appendage after a few seconds. With the slabs of meat crumbling off into nothing, that must mean he took care of the other demons. Good.

Why isn’t he slicing off its head yet?

“You give off a scent like rotten oil. It’s a horrible smell! How many people have you killed?!” The boy yells out at the armless demon. Stepping in front of his sister, he blocks her from the demon’s view. He has his sword pointed straight at the demon’s throat. He had the entirety of the fight to scold the demon for all of its wrongdoings and horrid nature of being, but now is when chooses to spit the words out?! He’s a fool! He must be maddened in the brain if he thinks the demon will stick around to hear his complaints.

“Listen! If women live too long, they turn ugly and start tasting like crap! So we kill them for their own good!” Both you and the other slayer raise your lips into a snarl of disgust at that notion. What a lousy attempt at redeeming your harmful deeds. Pitiful.

“You should be thankful to us demons—,” The only thing “thankful” that the boy does is promptly slit open the sides of the demon’s mouth to shut it up. Best decision he has made all night.

The demon had drops of spittle and blood mixed together leaking from its mouth. It sank its head down, seemingly huddling in on itself to stop his onslaught of torture. Personally, you believe he should do more to even begin to rectify its sins. How dare it say such horrendous things about all the poor women it killed. All the families left with no idea what happened to their precious wives, daughters, and sisters. Despicable.

“Nevermind. You’re going to tell me what you know about Muzan Kibutsuji.” That caught your ear. Is that why he is keeping the wretch alive? Why is this boy asking about the demon lord? It’s a little early for him to be aiming to be in a higher position within the Corps, so why bother worrying about such a harrowing threat so early on in his career? However, if the filth had some knowledge on the whereabouts of the King of All Demons, it would be beneficial to know. Except you doubt a puny grunt like it would give up such coveted information, even if it did know his whereabouts.

As you predicted, the demon just sits there slack-jawed, trembling in its own fear. Just the name of its lord has the thing petrified beyond words. Sweat drips down its face, mixing with the fluids flowing down from its split mouth, a vile concoction of discharge pooling on its chin. It plops down onto the dirt ground, the blood coagulating into a dark splotch, mixing with the smooth sand below.

Not satisfied with its silence, the boy presses further, lancing his blade closer to the demon, “Talk to me! C’mon, start talking!”

“I-I…can’t tell you.” The demon mutters into its chest. A thick blanket of stillness lays over the party.

“I can’t tell you.” It repeats, this time louder and with more desperation. You glance at the boy’s face, and all you can see is him giving the demon a look of pity. His own disappointment is tied in with the frustration he feels at its unhelpful answer. A confusion surrounds his aura too. You’re sure he’s wondering why it won’t talk about the master that holds its tiny life in his hands. You’re curious too, but far less dotting on the creature’s defiance.

“I can’t tell you! I can’t tell you! I can’t, I can’t, I can’t!” It kicks and thrashes its legs outwards. Hunched over, it bends its torso inwards as if to hide from the fear overtaking its heart. You can see where this is going. Nowhere. Enough of this nonsense.

You have bigger matters to confront the boy on rather than putz around with this worthless worm.

You charge up to the trio, readying an attack. You tilt your naginata towards the ground, dashing forward with precision. You feel the power flow from your fingertips into the pole of the weapon. The power rockets up towards the blade, and the ivory white of the metal begins to glow brightly. You’re running, but the attention the demon has grabbed keeps you unnoticed. A sickly feeling burbles in your chest, oozing and brackish. It always feels repulsive to use this form, but it’s effective for cowards like this demon. It handles them quickly. It’s a slithering, illusive, conniving, back-stabbing technique. Perfect for it.

“I can’t tell you, all right?!” With a horrid crunch, the demon has grown its arms back, and launches off the ground to attack the boy. You chant the words in your head just as the demon screams out its final breath.

Instinct Breathing…

Fourth Form…

Festering Loathing of the Envious Enemy.

A steady stride is all it takes. You’ve spun up with a leaping spiral to land directly above the demon body, and slash down as if cutting through softened butter. Its head comes clean off, as well as its arms. The body crumples to the ground just as you unball from your flip into the air. Instantaneously, the head rolls away into fiery dust. No trace of the demon is left behind. No blood. No body. It’s just…gone.

You stand straight, looking directly at the boy. His gaze does not meet yours yet, he's too busy staring at the last spot the demon had laid. His expression is torn between frustration and defeat. His reddish-brown eyes are swirling with questions. You wish you could care more. Suddenly, his head shoots up as if an alarm only he could perceive just rang out. He whirls around, standing to face where Nezuko had just been standing. During the debate, Nezuko had waddled away, deciding to sit down against the nearby wall. Her eyes were fully shut. Asleep? Resting? Who knows.

“Nezuko!” The slayer makes a move to run to her aid, but he doesn’t get far.

He won’t get far—not with a blade tickling across his throat, carrying with it the silent promise of death shining on its lips.

“Give me one reason to not kill you where you stand, traitor.” You stood there, naginata in one hand, body angled towards the wall, stance wide. Your eyes were ablaze with determination. Your words held black tar and were lined with only truth. The boy could tell you were more than keen to dice him open and leave his rotting corpse to lay twitching on the ground. He almost didn’t process what you said because of how silently you’d slunk your blade up in front of him. You moved so fast, he couldn’t keep up. He couldn’t deny the sling of fear grasping his heart and the tremor bouncing in his hands from your assault. Though, he should have been more prepared for this lethal silence from a fellow slayer.

“I’ll tell you, I’ll tell you. But, please, Miss, lower your weapon.” He tried to speak as calmly as he could.

“Lower my blade? Do you take me for an idiot, boy?” You pressed your naginata tip harder into his swan-like neck. He winced, feeling the impressively sharp blade almost nick his skin.

Your lip lifts up into a snarl, “In fact, I think the fool between us is you. A demon slayer protecting a demon? Our sworn enemy? Oh, that is rich. You know the rules, yes?”

“Yes.” His answer was at the ready. The finality of his words is sturdy and they only possess a slight waver in tone. Though, you suppose that is from your weapon centimeters away from lancing open his jugular.

“Ah. So, you’re intentionally breaking our laws? How foolish, indeed.” You back your naginata off of his throat only slightly as a reward for answering your question truthfully. You believed that giving him space from the blade would encourage him to cough up more information. Though, not too far away. You don’t want him to get too ballsy and think he can raise up his own blade in retaliation.

He turned his head towards you, a desperate plea written in his eyes, “You don’t understand, she’s my—!”

“Your sister, right?” You spoke over him. He clamped his lips shut in a tight vice. A nod followed shortly after.

You took a gamble and slowly walked in front of him, meeting him eye-to-eye. Blocking him from being able to rush over to the demon. Your own serpent-akin stare, unblinking and ruthless, peered into his stare, doe-like and doleful, for any sign of a lie or falsehood. His own look expressed nothing but the whole-hearted truth. Something like that is hard to come by nowadays. Hm.

“Why try so hard to save what has already been lost? She’s not going to go back to the way she was before the longer you keep her alive. The damage was already done as soon as she devoured her first human.” You thrust your naginata further towards his chest to accentuate the point you’re trying to make. You knew he was just playing a game with you. He won’t deny her punishment any longer.

“But she hasn’t consumed human flesh!” He shot back with his own aggravation. What? You look at him first in shock at the preposterous idea. Then with a look of twisted confusion. That’s not possible. Every demon has to consume human blood and flesh to survive. If they don’t…well, it’s never been heard of! At least, you haven’t heard of it before. You’ve seen how ravenous freshly turned demons get. It’s not a fate they willingly subject themselves to. He has to be lying to save his sister from her demise.

“No. That’s not possible. You’re grasping at straws. She drank human blood, didn't she? Whether it be flesh or blood, it doesn’t matter—she’s still eaten part of a human! You’re dancing around the issue!” You waved your naginata in front of him, releasing your anger in a downward strike at his chest. How dare he waste your time with trivials?! Deceiver!

“She hasn’t eaten that either! Nezuko has survived without it! I wouldn’t lie about this.” He raised his open weapon to bat off your blade. Damn, you lowered your guard in your emotional fit. Keep it together, (Y/N).

“If she hasn’t eaten anyone, then how is she so strong? I saw the way she fought that other demon, she barely used any strength to get the upper hand. You can’t deny that.” You countered. That kind of power didn’t come without a cost.

“I…I can’t explain how she became this capable in a battle. I don’t even know what happened,” he gazed over at her, “She wasn’t like this when she was human. Not this…powerful or capable in battle. She never had to be caught up in a fight.” An expression of what appeared to be regret overtook the irritation he showed. He lowered his weapon. You took the chance to raise your blade to his throat again, this time, keeping it tightly latched to its side. If he cared, he didn’t show it. He made no move to raise his own weapon against you again. He seemed to be lost in a web of his own thoughts.

“All I have is my word to defend her. Nezuko is my sister, and…and the only family I have left. I know she’s a demon, but I also know that she is not like the other demons. She has resisted the urge to consume humans. She could have killed me easily on the day she was turned by that…monster,” He briefly paused to utter that. A shuddering breath escapes. Pitted, deep-set rage filled the slayer’s eyes.

He continued on shaky footing, “I want to help her. That’s why I am here, with the Corps. That’s why I worked so hard to become a slayer. I want to save her. I have to.” He clenched his fist, and you felt like it was wrapped tight around your heart. He lowered his head in as deep of a bow as your blade allowed him to go without slicing his neck wide open.

“Please.” He nearly whimpered out his plea with grit teeth. Hell, if you asked, he’s certain he would have. Begging, groveling on his knees, a sniveling teary mess, the whole nine yards. Just to keep his sister spared from the wrath of your blade. It wouldn’t have been the first time he’s done it. You watched the slayer, and suddenly, you didn’t see a slayer in him anymore. You saw a scared little boy. A petrified baby pleading for the comfort of the only family he has left in this world.

You could see the peril life’s hand has dealt him. The hardened calluses on his palms from the countless days and nights filled with training. You shared the same markings on your own sweaty palms. You saw yourself in his shining gaze, and you felt tears well up. Why? Why did you feel like crying after looking into his innocent gaze? This is an embarrassment to your people. On your entire family lineage. Generations of warriors hardened by the war against these fiends, and you’re about to become a blubbering mess over one you just met.

You looked over your shoulder, right at his sister leaning against the stone wall. You could finally see the wound she had endured from her fight. Surprisingly, the mark hadn’t cleared up yet, three slashes from a pair of claws decorated the side of her forehead in a bloody headband. Maybe there was some amount of truth in his words? After all, if the demon girl had the choice, why would she just leave the wound open on her body when it wasn’t that large in the first place? Even the weakest of normal demons could heal that small of a scrape in a flash. The blood had dried on her face, coating her eyebrows and temples in red, cracking rivers to frame her closed eyes. Deep breaths confirmed she was asleep, catching her breath after a hard fought victory. Certainly a less threatening appearance than before. Sitting there, she looked even younger. You wondered if she was the younger of the two siblings. How awful that she had to be subjected to the fate of becoming an abomination to this world.

All three of you are just kids at heart, waving your chubby arms in the sky in search of any sort of comfort in this tragic life. These two, even more so. So youthful. So unsure. You sighed. You can’t believe you’re failing to uphold your father and mother’s honorable name by being such a degenerate daughter. Such a weakling.

His plea reached you.

Plus, you were really starting to feel the aches in your body after that battle. You want to take a second to rest after all that shit more than you want to cut off the head of a girl right now.

“Eh, I’m too tired for this.” You receded your naginata, stuck the butt of it into the ground, and turned to face away from him. Though you’ll never tell the boy in a million millennia, turning around was mostly to give you the shield you needed to take a second and collect yourself. He didn’t need the ego boost of seeing how much his words and his sister’s defenselessness actually affected you. You saw him lift his head in hope from the corner of your eye.

“Go to her. I’ll deal with you lot later.” You waved him onward. You sit on the ground, a final hint to him to take the mercy while you’re offering it. He didn’t need another confirmation, rushing over to Nezuko’s side to give her a checkup. You decided to follow his lead by unclipping your forearm and shoulder pads to see the damage. No injury was too wild under the sleeves of your kimono. Just a couple of scratches and bruises from the encounter. Scrapes were nothing. You unintentionally heard a few bits of what the boy was mumbling to his sister. Man, you really gotta ask for his name.

“She’s asleep. She stopped bleeding, too. So, she’s sleeping in order to recover?” He spoke quietly, most likely for only himself to hear. His hand was curled around the side of her face where the gash lay. Sleeping to recover from injuries? Not a horrible idea. Although, you think some of the other demons in this world may have an issue with her “No Human” diet.

May get more hate than Vegans do. Damn, a joke too early in time for anyone to appreciate it yet. Sad.

Now you were just wondering what to do with the two of them. Of course, you weren’t their babysitter. Your mission was to aid the slayer in this mission alone, and then head off to wherever you were called to next. You shouldn’t care about whatever destiny they choose to run off into. The whole idea of him keeping his demon sister hidden from the Corps is stupid. It’s gonna blow up in his face, no doubt, and she’s probably going to end up on the receiving end of some other slayer’s blade. It’s not your fault.

So, why does the idea of leaving them behind trouble you so?

You shake your head. Letting her live was enough mercy to carry over into the next century. Given your job, even Buddha should be praising you for the amount of kindness you just extended to him. Not actually though, that would be super disrespectful. You take that previous thought back when the image of your dad smacking you in the back of the head for your disrespect towards the gods comes fluttering by.

The boy mumbled a couple of other things to the sleeping girl, but you couldn’t quite pick them up. You decided to close our eyes for a little bit to give your brain a break. That feels nice. The slayer moved to put Nezuko back inside of her wooden home while you rested, naginata resting dutifully on your right shoulder.

You could tell the night was nearly over, judging by the colors starting to drift up past the mountain range that hugs the sky. The clouds from the night had nearly all fled away, leaving the sky wide open to embrace the dancing highlights of the morning sun’s rays. Only a few stars remain as they bid their goodbyes to the waking world. A silent promise is made, for they intend to come back again to provide peace and comfort to those who could not sleep for whatever reason. You’re grateful they never disappoint. All too often, them and the moon are the only company you can talk to on your arduous missions. When you miss your family, when you have little hope, when emptiness fills your heart—they’re always there to watch over you. You like the nighttime more than other normal slayers do. For them, you assume they loathe it because that means they have to put in the long hours of work and screw up their sleep schedule. For you, it’s a chance to belong somewhere free of judgement.

The slayer had finished putting Nezuko into her box, placed it on his back, and walked over to Kazumi, who was kneeling on the ground. The woman was placed similarly to how Nezuko had been perched, back against the wall in a peaceful slumber. Her rest finally seemed to be one of relaxation now that the beast was finally away. That could be you projecting your own relief onto her, but she seemed content enough.

Kazumi, however, looked as if his entire world had collapsed. He knelt there on the gravel ground, alone, in a heap of misery. Distraught and a shell of himself. You don’t blame him. His gaze held that of a man who has no love left to give to this life. His hands lay limp at his sides.

With enormous bravery, the slayer walked to the mourning man and asked, “Mr. Kazumi. Are you alright?”

“I’ve lost my fiancée. How can I be alright?” Near silent were how those words trailed out. You nearly lost them from how far you were from the two, but you cared about his well being enough to want to know if he would lose his mind entirely after the events of tonight. Fiancée. Ah. One tragedy befalls another.

It appeared like the boy wouldn’t be able to provide words of comfort to the grieving lover. He sat there for just a brief moment in silence. You knew what had to be done now, and it was not something you wanted a newbie slayer to have to provide on his first mission out. You wanted to take control of their conversation, to direct the man’s grief and agony onto yourself. The boy shouldn't have to be saddled with it. After all, it was a tremendous burden having to become the one to comfort someone who has lost so much. A man who's lost everything. It was a conversation you’ve had to struggle through many times before now. However, before you could begin, the boy surprises you yet again. These next words prove to you that the boy was actually the only one of you who knew what words to say to someone who has been left by the ones they loved most.

“Mr. Kazumi…No matter how many people you may lose, you have no choice but to go on living. No matter how devastating the blows may be.” The boy spoke as if having lived a thousand lives before this. Wise and thought out words wrapped in the gentlest tone you’ve ever heard. It reminded you of your mother. How she’d kiss your hot, tear-stricken cheeks after you’d cried up a storm. How she held you close and whispered praise of how amazing of a job you did with any task handed to you. How she snuggled up next to you when overwhelming fear swallowed you whole during stormy nights filled with tremendous claps of thunder and gales of wind. It breathed safety and security into your heart.

Kazumi grabs hold of the boy’s haori tight. He screams straight into the boy’s face in a tone that makes you nearly ready your weapon again, “What do you know about it?! A kid like you?!”

From the distance, you can see the slayer grasp Kazumi’s hand with his own. It wasn’t a quick grab or a slap to get the grown man’s hand off of him. The boy had raised it with the gentleness of someone comforting a petrified animal. Slow, steady movement. A gasp over takes Kazumi as he looks straight into the boy’s face, and you have no doubt that Kazumi is experiencing the same grief as you did not long ago. He’s seeing not just a boy, but a boy who does, in fact, know exactly what the man is suffering through. You couldn’t see it, but a sorrow-filled smile lays on the boy’s dainty lips, silver shimmering draped across his lower lash line.

Kazumi released the boy with quivering hands.

“I’ll be on my way now.” The slayer stands tall.

“Take this.” He reaches into his haori and hands Kazumi a scrap of cloth that you cannot exactly see. Although, judging from how his eyes widen at the reveal and how a broken sob streams out from his chapped lips, you can already guess what it is. You stand up, happily at peace with the knowledge that Kazumi will be okay after this. He will find the strength to go on, one day.

“I hope you find something of Miss Satoko’s in there.” The boy gives a light bow in respect as the salty water streams down Kazumi’s face. He shrugs the wooden box further up on his shoulders, and turns to head off. He takes his leave, walking down the dirt road towards you.

“I…I’m sorry! That was an awful thing to say! Please forgive me!” You watch as Kazumi collapses on himself with anguish. Hearing him apologize for being so rude to the slayer healed a deeply seeded part of you. It was nice to know that at least someone appreciated the efforts of the slayers who fought so hard to keep humanity alive and safe.

“I’m so sorry!” The boy turned back around to regard Kazumi at those strangled words, giving a joyful wave to the broken mess of a man. You couldn’t believe how bright of a smile the boy held. It made your own smile tug on your lips. You shared your happiness with Kazumi, who looked over at you too in thanks for helping him. You then caught a glimpse of the beautiful red ribbon peeking out from beyond the scrap of dark cloth the slayer had gifted to the man.

You knew, at last, he had found his Satoko.

“I’m leaving that young woman in your hands!” The boy called out.

Sobbing filled Kazumi’s last few words to you two, “I understand! I understand.” You knew you could trust him. And with that, the two of you turned around and headed off down the dirt path out of the now safe town.

The sun raced high into the sky, it was still morning when you got to the bridge on the outskirts of town; the same strong bridge that led you into the city when you first arrived. The walk you two shared had been silent for the most part, the odd shop owner just beginning to start the day or townsfolk on their way to their place of employment both greeted you as you passed. You could tell the boy was nervous. You caught him in your peripheral vision turning his head to check you every other minute. You chose to stay silent. However, it wasn’t because you were mad anymore—you honestly just kept up the act of “scary angry soldier” to get a little kick of fun. Seeing him scramble to find the correct words to say was hilarious. After all, you are a dangerous warrior who just found out that he is harboring an essential fugitive from the same place of work that you both are pledged into. A fugitive who is the exact creature you are tasked to be hunting, no less.

Eventually, you grew bored of the tense silence. Now much more interested in figuring out what exactly to do with your little Kanoe. After all, you are his superior.

“You’re trying to figure out what to say to me first so I don’t blow up at you, right?” You snicker to yourself. A shocked look graces his features as he stumbles over his words.

“Ha?! I–um…yes, I am, Miss.” It was almost cute how he was trying to remain polite. You like this one, he has nice manners. You hum with a grin, not giving him the satisfaction of if he said the right thing to you yet. You two walk on as you admire the forest. Lush, thick trees block the glaring rays of sunlight enough to keep you from getting overwhelmed. A smooth breeze drifts by, carrying with it the smell of morning dew and freshly cut greenery. You watch a little squirrel skitter through the bushes dotting the forest floor. It wasn’t quite berry season yet, so the shrubbery was still rather bare, but their flourishing beautiful leaves make up for it.

You look back at the boy and find him peering at you already. He shot his eyes down in respect, embarrassed at being caught staring while you were unawares. A blush stains his soft cheeks. Your lips lilt up into a grin.

“Hey,” you grab his attention, “I was waiting for you to remember what you promised to give me.” His eyes search yours, as if they would spill the secret as to what you were looking for from him. You roll your eyes playfully.

“Though, it seems you’re a little too dense to remember. I’ll give you some slack. Just this once. You never gave me your name.” You snort at the puzzled expression he pulled.

“Oh! I see, haha,” he gave a half-hearted laugh, “I’m Kamado Tanjiro. Pleased to meet you.” He stuck his hand out for you to shake, and you grab it with an equally firm hold.

“Likewise, Kamado. Since I gave you my name in the heat of a battle, I don’t expect you to remember it. It’s (Y/N) (L/N).” You share with him. He smiles at you, seemingly pleased with receiving the kindness of your name. Kamado Tanjiro. You suppose it was fitting. The name Tanjiro must be related to what his family’s business specialized in before he became a slayer.

You continue, “And the girl in your pack is named Nezuko, correct? Is she a Kamado too?” Tanjiro nods his head at your deduction. Another silence fell over you two at the mention of the demon girl. You wanted to gently bring up their situation once again, but you knew deep diving into their past wouldn’t be the best for either of you at the moment.

“Look,” you spoke with practiced poise, “I know you want to keep her safe. I know she’s all you have left—and believe me, it’s not fun to rip families apart from each other when you both have lost so much already. I don’t know how she became a demon, nor can I fully confirm or deny whether or not she has eaten a human. I don’t know if her not eating a human makes her not a full demon or not.” You hear Tanjiro ‘hmm’ at your words, confirming all of them. You press on.

“However, what I do know is that she has demon blood in her, since she definitely possesses superhuman strength and needs to hide from the sun or it kills her. I also know that I can’t just let you run around with some strange version of a demon sitting in your back pocket unsupervised.” You feel the nervous energy radiating from the boy already. You need to spit it out before he takes off running and you have to go track him down like a wanted criminal.

“That’s why I am going to be the one to supervise you two.” You declare with a mighty fist slammed into your chestplate.

“Eh?” He gives you a blank stare. You smile back at him.

“I am rank Hinoto within the Corps, three levels your senior. I have also been a slayer for over a year now,” you clench your fist tight, lift it up, and showcase the marking on the back of your hand to Tanjiro. Sure enough, blood red ink leeches upwards from some unknown origin and swirls into wobbling lines. The ink overlaps and churns until it finally slows to a stiff stop, spelling out in sharp text the kanji for “Hinoto”.

“I hereby state I will be watching over your sister to insure that she does not bring harm to any humans. If she attempts to harm or consume any human lifeform, I will take full initiative to slay her properly.” You stop to stand towards him fully with your chest flexed out before taking a swift kneel to the ground in front of the boy. You lower your head to secure your faithful oath, as showing your neck reveals your vulnerability and sincerity to the receiver of your pact. It deems they can trust you as you trusted them to not lop off your head at the base of your skull.

“I appreciate you wanting to look out for Nezuko—,” Tanjiro tries to reason. He’s not against having people join in the journey, friends can even be a fun addition! But he’d rather not have someone breathing down his and his sister’s neck 24/7 to see if she is going to hurt someone. Plus, you did kind of threaten his life several times earlier, even though he recognizes that you are warranted in that deed.

“The only other option is to take care of her right now. I’d rather not hurt your sister, but since she is still a demon by default, I cannot leave without resolving the issue.” Your gaze drills up at him expectantly. Tanjiro could practically feel a comically large sweat drop form on his face at your words. He considered your declaration in silence for a moment, but he knew he had no other choice. If he was the slayer on your side of the situation, he’s sure he’d try to execute her for the betterment of humanity too. Not that he likes or agrees with the notion of his sister being butchered.

“Alright. You can travel with me to watch over Nezuko.” he sighed.

“Remember, I’m not only here for her, Kamado. I’m going to be watching you too. A slayer unwilling to destroy a demon, no matter the opponent’s lineage, is still a major violation of our code.” Your promise sent a chill down his spine. He saw your expression shift into one of a darker nature. You wanted him to know that you were serious about this, as breaking this vow would in turn violate your own way of life.

“Next time, I will not hold back on fulfilling my virtue. I will not allow a demon, no matter who they are, to hurt a human in my presence.” You give him a stern look as a final warning.

The intense energy cleared up in a miraculous poof as a bright smile filled your cheeks, “Okay, now that that’s over with, I’m super glad to be meeting another slayer! You seem very naturally talented, but I’ll need to help you work on a couple of your movements when adjusting to your Breathing technique! You should use more torque in your torso when in the air—,” you continued to ramble as you caught his haori sleeve in your palm and began dragging him along the dirt path, further into the forest.

Oh, boy. He could tell that this was going to be a long journey…

°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

If only you’d noticed the dagger-like eyes lingering on the two of you from the shadows within the treetops.

Oh, how you laughed with the other slayer, blissfully unaware of the tragedy that would befall you and everyone you held dear with the consequences faced from this agreement. Maybe, if you knew, you’d have walked away right then and there, never looking back at the confused boy. Maybe you’d have begged the two siblings to spare you, to leave you alone and never come near you again through shaky sobs. Maybe you’d have quit the Corps all together, slunk away like a filthy rat in the night, if only to save yourself from the horrors lying in wait at the end of the road. But you couldn’t have known. You still don’t know what the “right” decision was, or what it could be. You never will.

The eyes slink back away into the looming dark. Next time, they won’t idle unnoticed. Next time, you’ll see them. They’ll make sure of it…

~ To be continued… ~

°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝♡

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I do not own the story of Demon Slayer (Kimetsu no Yaiba). I do not own the characters of Demon Slayer (Kimetsu no Yaiba). I am not a part of the crew who has participated in the creation of the manga or anime of Demon Slayer (Kimetsu no Yaiba). I am not making any profit off of this story.

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[lets-get-kraken-boys]

Echoes of a Past Slayer — Demon Slayer Various X Reader

Chapter One — Was It Fate? Or Your Own Stupidity?

Previous   —   X   //   CHPTR 1   —   You made it!   //   CHPTR 2  —   Here!

Masterlist   —   Here!

Directors' Cut — Heyyyyy! Welcome to the first chapter of my Demon Slayer Canon insert! I have read a couple in the past, and they are just so much fun, I finally got the courage to write one myself! Mainly, @ islandsofviolence on AO3 was a big factor of me wanting to create my own tale. Please check out their Demon Slayer Isekai called, "Kimetsu no...Isekai? [Demon Slayer Various X Reader]" on AO3, it is a super fun read. I hope you stick around to read more as I intend to write many more chapters to this because this was very fun to do~! Thank you for taking the time to read my work.

Word Count — 6.9K Words

Reader Gender — Female (She/Her)

Warnings — Cursing (from Reader and various other characters), Canon-typical violence, slight changing of the actual story of Demon Slayer

What is Fate?

The order in which one’s life will progress is the base understanding of our existence. We appear through the lens of existence for a brief moment in time, this exact moment, and we get to experience life. Thriving and full, or empty and tragic—such is the balance we must endure. Our entire world dangles on a thread barely standing on the precipice of succeeding to breathe another time or fall into the icy cold grip of demise. Though only two things in life are a guarantee, something that everyone and everything shares together. You are born, and you die. We never know when either event is going to be, where it is going to be, but it’s there.

Can you control it? Can you avoid a predetermined path? Invisible to your eyes, but straight in front of you at every moment? Should you avoid it? Will life become even more of a hellhole if you defy nature?

Can you even begin to declare making the choice of defying Fate if that is exactly what Fate had in mind for you? The “choice” to deviate and be “different from the rest”; is it even a “choice” at all?

Fickle and fleeting is the life of the fool who labors over such mundane concerns.

Well, a fool you certainly are, if that’s what you’re thinking about when a pair of sharpened talons and vicious eyes honed in on your throat is in front of you at the moment.

You’d be lying if you said you had “no idea” how you got caught up in this whole ordeal. Earlier that day, your crow had given you the task of hunting another demon in the next town over. You’d kicked up a fuss at the time, having only just finished a mission an hour prior, begging the warden keeping your downtime locked away from you for one extra night to recuperate.

“Quit pouting,” your crow, Hoshiko, squawked as it dived to deliver a peck right to the top of your head, barely missing when you hastily ducked its ambush, “You must head off! Slayers just beginning their journeys with the Slayer Corps have been dying in much too numerous amounts as of late, so you must provide aid to the slayer in need!”

“You realize I've also only recently passed the trials too, right?” you sassed to the bird. A yelp escaped you as the bird persisted you to move on with threats of more pecks. You decided to stop complaining, if only for the sake of being able to help the new recruit. You remembered how grueling your first set of missions were after you’d completed the horror show known as the Final Selection. It’s only been a year since you passed, but the visions of those seven nights have yet to leave your mind. You’re not sure they ever will. Thinking back, you would have been eternally grateful to the Corp for sending a more experienced slayer to provide aid if things got out of hand. A particularly nasty injury you got on your back, that has since healed, began to ache at the reminder of the battles you faced. Fixing your breastplate to sit comfortably again on your torso after it had moved during your fight, you decided to shove the memory back into the vault, and focus on packing up.

You took off not too long after, waving to the family you’d rescued during the wee hours of the morning. The two children, a young boy and a girl slightly older than him,  were sobbing into your shoulders, gripping your uniform with their tiny, shaking hands. Their overwhelming relief made perfect sense, you had just saved their lives from the clutches of the snarling demon only a few minutes prior. The parents were no better off, throwing their arms around the three of you in a frenzy of tears and wails of gratitude. “Thank you for saving our babies!”, they profusely sobbed over and over to you. You took their sopping thanks with as much grace as you could provide after feeling exhausted and sweaty from the battle. Though, seeing the parents fuss over their children and plant wet kisses all over their red faces made it worth it.

Miraculously, as thanks, they sent you away with a huge helping of the dinner they were so rudely interrupted during. That act gave you all the strength you needed to take off and tackle the next horde of beasts you would face. You walked for hours, observing the rolling hills of grass and the forests you passed through bursting with life. The trees stretched tall and expanded wide, showing the thriving health of the woods. Life thriving never fails to make you smile.

You passed by farm after farm, most harvesting their latest crop of rice, some growing sweet potatoes. Children playfully chased each other through the fields, laughing together. Young adults—their parents, no doubt—hollered at them to be careful to not hurt the budding crops. An older couple passed you as you moved onward. You gave them a formal bow, wanting to show respect by bidding them a good day. The woman giggled at your action, expressing her delight in how nice of manners you possessed, and placed two hard candies into your palm with only the gentleness a beautiful woman could. She gave your head a gentle pat and she and her husband bid you a nice day. You watched them walk off, arm in arm, conversing about this and that, just sharing their time and love with each other. It made you smile how they shared the little pleasures that they knew would make their other half happy. You stopped only a handful of times after that to munch on the helping of dinner you received and poke fun at Hoshiko, eventually reaching the town you were assigned to investigate. Crossing a large wooden bridge arching over the lapping river below, you see the town.

It was dusk, the sun slipping slowly behind the mountainous landscape. Pinks, oranges, yellows, and blues bled into each other in the darkening sky. Clouds began to blot the skyline, not dark enough to suspect rain, but thick enough to blanket the world in darkness. The perfect time to begin the hunting of a demon.

From the little light that was left for the day, your eyes scanned about. Well built, sturdy buildings filed together in singular lines in uniform fashion. Dozens of homes and shops with blue roofs stand firmly. Shops had big painted signs displayed outside with their names brushed in bold colors. Wares were dotted along the busier roads in front of shop doors to entice curious onlookers inside. Power lines draped along the streets like curling vines dangling from their place in the high treetops above. A looming peak stood proud on the border of the city, its jagged crown stabbing the cloudy sky.

The faint waft of freshly cut pine wood filled your senses. Earthy and heady, it grounded you. Various insect chirps buzzed through the air and electricity surging through the lines gave the night a familiar comfort. The shuffling of people’s feet as they make their way home for the night, the creaking of branches with the budding life of spring, a wind chime singing far off in the distance—all of this spelled out the signs of a peaceful village. But, you knew better, as a monster lurked in the shadows somewhere, threatening to desecrate the happiness of these townsfolk.

Rather immediately rushing in to behead the demon, you bide your time. As much as you want to slay the demon on your own to get this mission over quicker, this wasn’t your task. The task you were assigned to, you made sure to clarify with your crow, was to interfere as little as possible with the fight that will ensue, and simply provide aid to the new recruit. This was meant to be their fight, but if the battle began to prove fruitless, then you had permission to take the helm.

To make use of yourself, you decided to walk through the desolate alleyways of the village in search of clues of the demon’s whereabouts that may have been left behind. A torn scrap of attire of a poor victim of the demon’s slaughter, a lost shoe, a splatter of blood, dried or fresh—anything. You had the awareness to keep an eye and ear out for the slayer that was supposed to already be around somewhere. You saw and heard nothing for a while. Lights that had been flickering in windows of the townsfolk’s homes were now beginning to be snuffed out for the evening. Chattering died into meager whispers.

The hour drew much later into the night, and the lack of sleep was starting to get to you. Two nights and a full day of walking in the hot sun drained the life out of you, not to mention the fight with a whole different demon the day before was nothing to lift your nose at. The only thing keeping you awake at this point is your game of gently humming a familiar tune and quizzing yourself on if you could remember where it was from. You were starting to wonder if there really even was a slayer being sent to this location. Hell, maybe there wasn’t even a demon in the first place! Who knows. Funny thought, but you knew that the higher ups wouldn’t waste your time with a fake mission.

“Hmm…,” you rounded another corner. Nothing. Nothing but pitch black emptiness and a couple pieces of litter. Random glass bottles tipped over and broken, a half-eaten fried fish on a stick from one of the local vendors no doubt, and a few crumpled up sheets of, now drenched and grossly stained, paper. Your eyebrows pinched down, a dirty look forming on your features. You moved on, a complaint ready to dig at nobody on your tongue.

“Ugh,” you sighed, “Demon sure is takin’ its time. Is it not hungry? Is that why it hasn’t begun hunting? Hm, not likely. Demons are always gluttons,” you glowered as you carefully lifted your foot high and forward enough to avoid stepping in a sticky clump of some garbage plopped on the ground.

You continued to rant to yourself, “Hoshiko better give me a smoother mission next time, or I swear on that bird’s life, I’ll add a new fashion statement to my uniform. A feather boa! I mean, is it so hard to say, ‘Hey, (Y/N)! Since you’re such a great slayer, the big boss decided to send you to a bustling, bright town! You can relax, and eat all the delicious food you desire—aw heck, you know what? You don’t even have to hunt the demon here! Just take the day off, you’ve earned it!’. Would be much nicer than sifting through…whatever this stuff is,” your face pulled into another disgusted twist as you saw two rats fighting over what looked to be an old, moldy pastry.

“Okay. Quit complaining, (Y/N). Now, which way haven’t I gone yet? I think I’ve checked the whole West and North ends. Maybe move more towards the East—,” a shrill grating sound pierced the deafening silence that had swallowed the land. That shut your mouth tight. Your head shot over in its direction. East. Damnit. You left no time for hesitation, already darting out of the alley and rushing off into the darkness enveloping the roads towards that terrible noise that was rattling off.

You raced along, jumping up high to sprint atop the thin walls lining streets, sharp eyes scanning for any sign of a fight breaking out. Hopefully the new slayer isn’t inept enough to get themselves killed before you arrive. You didn’t want to arrive and see a gory massacre. You ran faster at the harrowing thought, closing in on the beacon. The sound was more aggravating than scary, if you were being honest. It made the back of your tongue unconsciously curl up like a viper ready to strike, the muscle trying to block the vicious resonance from bouncing around in your skull. You pull a face at how ugly it rang, your highly trained ears wincing at the intrusion of such an awful shriek as you neared. Finally, you arrived at the epicenter.

You hopped down from the ledge of the fence into the mouth of a street hidden behind a few residential housing structures. The road was rather lack-luster from an architectural standpoint. Only the wooden fencing surrounding the backyards of the houses and a few entrances to more homes that were latched shut for the night. Though, the scene that lay before you was anything but ordinary.

There were two people, a man and a woman, cowering off to the side. The woman appeared to be passed out in his arms, judging from the limpness of her posture. The man was trembling but not looking at the woman in his arms. Instead, he gazed out further into the road as if just having seen something horrific. Telltale signs that you're exactly where you need to be. Demons spark that primal fear in humans, and only a demon can drag that expression out of someone.

A few paces ahead of the couple, a boy with a large wooden box on his back and a green and black checked haori draped on his back was pointing a blade at something hidden in shadow. The color of the metal was as black as the night sky. That told you he was most likely the beginner slayer you needed to aid. From what you’ve heard from your personal swordsmith, only indecisive and inexperienced slayers get that color of blade gifted to them from the Gods. At last, your final obstacle. A creature halfway poking out of the ground was the recipient of the end of the slayer’s blade. A portal of some kind shields the rest of its body from your view, murky black water lapping at the edges of the foe’s torso. Its hideous face was constrained in a deep frown, its brow bone framing blood red eyes that practically glowed with intensity. Blue hair draped long down its back in a repulsive waterfall. Its stare was beaming straight at the boy with mahogany-colored hair, hardly acknowledging the man and the woman nearby.

Your heart said to jump in and protect the boy and those caught in the crossfire of the fight, but you held back. Remember. You were tasked with aiding the slayer in case they could not handle the mission, not to rush in and risk yet another life. You’d just get in the way. You had to stay put. No matter the ache you felt, no matter the fear or worry about another person’s life. Your loyalty was to your master, not some random boy.

Though…why does it feel like you know him, even though you know you have never met?

You stalked closer into the fray just as the demon began hollering in anger. Not at you, but at the boy pinning him to his spot with his sword.

“You bastard!” The demon shouted at the slayer staring him down. As you neared, you noticed that with the hellish eyes and furrowed non-existent brows, two horns sat crudely across from each other on its forehead, jabbing outward with the same likeness as the mountain at the edge of this town. You locked your dominant hand steadily along the shaft of your weapon, your beloved naginata, lifting it from its resting spot on your shoulder and lifting up your other hand to firmly grasp the pole. You’d long since removed the scabbard from the blade, so there was no hesitation from not being prepared. The red gloss of your naginata’s pole glinted in the moonlight. You continued to examine the scene. You wanted to test the idea of an ambush approach as the demon hasn’t shown that it's noticed you yet.

The creature clenched its fists and pointed at the girl helplessly asleep in the arms of the civilian, “Back off for crying out loud! That girl’s gonna go stale on me, dammit! That girl’s already 16, okay? If I don’t devour her soon, she’s gonna lose flavor by the second!” You wanted to rush in already at the vulgar words spat out by the wretched beast. Absolutely disgusting, all of them. Vile cretins being shit out by the dozens by the demon lord’s work. None of them were salvageable. You wanted to roll your eyes, but another mucky puddle appearing from seemingly out of nowhere swept the thought of showing the demon a thing or two away.

“Calm down, my other self. So what? There are going to be nights like this.” You couldn’t see its face—no doubt it was just as hideous as the other one before you, but you could tell that it was nearly a mirror image of the other demon not too much further ahead. You could faintly see a singular horn sticking straight up from its skull rather than mirroring the dual horns of its “other self”. It was wearing slightly different clothes than the same demon a few yards ahead, it wore a greyish blue nagagi with mesh forearm sleeves, while the other wore a shinobi-style fighting uniform with a mesh undershirt. The same long blue hair hung down its back, the same sickly grey skin tone, the same tones in its vocal inflection. This demon must have spent quite a long time working with its own mutation blood art. Some were better at manipulating their skills than others, but all demons were capable of using it.

You moved your naginata further outward to have a clear shot at the new guest’s neck. If this added threat decided to get cocky, rush backwards, and go for you instead, you’d be ready.

It raised its hand to cup its chin, “I’ve already fed on plenty of 16-year-old girls in this town. They were all quite meaty and delicious~. I’m satisfied.” You could practically hear the smirk in its voice. You bit down a curse, so many innocents lost. Too many good young women lost to these disgusting things. Unclean, unfaithful, unworthy. You hoped it suffered wherever it ended up once it was slain. It wants a reaction. You know this. You inhale and exhale slowly. The slayer and the demon had yet to say anything about your appearance on the outskirts of their fight, nor did they give any indication that they knew you were standing there. You would like to keep it that way for the latter party.

With a pathetic whine, the demon with two horns on the opposite end groaned, “Well, I’M not satisfied, my other self! I wanna consume more!” It panted and shivered with its lust for the flesh of the living.

“You monster…,” the man who had been shaking like a poor leaf near the wall grit out. You didn’t blame him for his fear. Monsters were supposed to be fictional. And yet, here you are, stuck in a beautiful nightmare.

He took a defiant step towards the monster ahead, though his voice cracked under the pressure of confronting the beast, “Return Satoko to me. The one you abducted the night before last!” The man demanded, but it came off as more of a plea rather than any threat.

Shooting from the darkness, the terrible grinding began again. You cringed and saw a third demon nastily crushing and gnashing its own teeth together in a frenzy on the roof to the left of you. Its lower jaw ran at an unbelievable rate, rubbing and scraping to send out an ear-splitting rattle. It did not speak actual words, but it sure took the attention of the room. Soon after, the demon with two horns on its head joined in the decrepit language of poor dental hygiene.

Speaking through its co-partners' chittering, the seemingly most level-headed of the three demons—the one with the singular horn—took the helm, “Satoko? Which one are you babbling on about?” The leader lifted the left side attire, revealing something you couldn’t see because of your position. It was then that the demon slayer and the man turned around to face both you and the demon. Both of them shared a surprised look in their eyes at your arrival, but you raised a hand to silence any comments they could make to blow your cover. You slowly lowered your hand into position again, and winding back your stance. You naginata glistened with an opalescent sheen along the blade of your Nichirin ore. When you received your naginata from the swordsmiths that day so long ago, you surprised everyone around with the color the blade took on. From the nature of the Breathing style blooming throughout your body, it influenced the metal to turn an opaque white. A white so pure it rivaled that of the stars. The quality of the blade was evident in the power it stored slowly ramping up. You felt the wind around you churn into a spiraling wall surrounding you on all sides as you thought these words in your head.

Instinct Breathing…

“If her hairpin is among these collectibles of mine, then I’ve devoured her~,” A cruel snicker followed these harrowing words.

Third Form…

The silence that followed the monster’s haunting reveal gave you your answer. You couldn’t sit by and leave these people in the threat of danger. Demon slayer, or not. You’re better than that. A breath sent straight to the depths of your core was the finish of your long wind up.

Honed Vigilance of the Sturdy Soldier.

You launched forward, having built up so much force behind your swing that the singular step alone carried to the monster’s weak point. In a flash, you brought down the blade of your naginata, lining up perfectly to land the first and final blow. Without warning, all three demons slink back into the swampy muck. However, you anticipated this. Though your blade couldn’t fully connect with its intended target, you stuck it further forward than the demon thought you could. With the added length of the shaft of your weapon, you were able to at least slice open part of the soft flesh of the demon’s neck. It was a warning—no, a promise. A promise that your perfect blade wouldn’t miss next time.

Your gaze darts around, searching for any sign of the triplets, but nothing appears yet. You lifted your eyes to acknowledge your fellow slayer, but were greeted with the eyes of pure hatred. It stunned you for a second. How strange. After a lifetime of seeing the eyes of malicious people with ill intent, human and demon alike, you wouldn’t have expected such passionate eyes and rosy cheeks to be torn apart with such a ghastly rage. Given the situation, you can’t say you’re entirely surprised that the boy is expressing such powerful emotions, but did he know this poor girl? Does he share the same grief of the man who looks beyond shattered after the reveal of its master plan? Why is he so devastated? You’re intrigued, but the questions can come later.

“Unforgivable. Vermin like these cowards don’t deserve to be graced with the honor of a quick death my blade brings,” you say, mostly to yourself, but the slayer catches your words. You care not to give him an explanation, especially when a dripping puddle forms just to the right of you. One of the demons clambers out with a swift leap. It aims for your face, its claws lashing out to strike. You move quicker, propelling your torso backward and smacking the roach with the pole of your naginata. The hit forces the demon to miss your body and instead lodge its outstretched arm into the stone wall beside you. The slayer thankfully catches on to your evasion and helps by slicing the demon’s arm clean off. A rather refreshing splash of cool water dripped onto your arms after his attack. Making sure it was not the blood of the demon, you can guess what his Breathing style is now. Always helpful to have a Water Breathing user around.

While he did manage to hit the target, it wasn’t exactly the right spot. You saw the flaws in his form. It was obvious he did have formal swordsman training, but he was still rather clunky in his preparation for the finishing blow. You saw him attempting to move his body into the correct position to match up with the timing of his Breathing technique, wiggling a squirming as his legs and arms fought against the natural power his body held. It left too many openings for his enemy to evade the slice that matters the most—the one to the neck. Demons weren’t like humans, cutting off a limb or slitting their throat wouldn’t prove fatal. You have to sever the spine from the skull with a true Nichirin blade to ensure a definite kill. That, or the sun—but only idiotic or regretful demons allow themselves to be burnt alive by its warmth.

With not a single peep of distress, the demon slunk back into its home in the mud. No time is given to either of you to process the retreat as another well of water forms next to the slayer. You watch as the slayer reacts with stunning efficiency, flipping his body up and over the attacking demon. As the vermin tries to launch back into the ground, it gives you just enough time to swipe at its throat again. Though, the demon tucks down its head, and your blade only meets its back. You decorate its left shoulder blade all the way to its right hip with a deep slash. You bit back a curse again, damn. They’re quick.

The slayer dodges a swift jab from below from one of demons hiding in a pond, but it proves to be a distraction as the opponent with two horns takes a stab at him from behind. Oh no. You can’t get there fast enough. You can’t bring your blade up quick enough to slash off its arm. The boy is going to be attacked and you can’t reach him. No. You can’t stop the attack without potentially harming the other slayer, you don’t stop. You can’t explain why you did this because no thought drove you to. Your body just moved on its own. It was just instinct.

You put yourself between the slayer and the oncoming attack.

However, the attack that connects doesn’t quite come from the angle you expected.

Nothing prepares you for the moment the slayer’s box he’s been lunging around on his back swings open with a ferocity you haven’t seen in awhile. You also couldn’t have been prepared for a strong leg to come out lightning fast directly after and CRACK across the demon’s face dead on. That hit quite literally sent it spinning, its head swiveling in circles on its spine and its body launched back a couple yards. You saw it lay there motionless on the ground. No way it's dead, right? As you picked up your jaw up off the ground and turned your gaze to whatever the hell could be hiding in the box, all you saw were claws.

This is where we found you when we first started. A pair of sharpened talons and vicious eyes honed in on your throat as you prepare to be torn apart by a demon draped in a pink kimono with black and orange hair.

You don’t have time to prepare your weapon for any attack. The demon is too close to get a good hit either way. It’s too fast, faster than any opponent you’ve faced before. All you can do is stare as she guns to swipe her knife-like nails across your delicate throat and end your days. Though, that blow is never completed. You blink, and suddenly, the demon doesn’t look so monstrous anymore. Suddenly, she’s just a girl. Gentle pink eyes with round irises gaze at you, blown out from their previously cinched slits. The deep veins previously thrumming on her forehead that carry her potent demon blood now smooth down into soft, flawless skin. Her expression doesn’t look nearly as petrifying anymore. In fact, you’d go so far as to say that her eyebrows are no longer furrowed downward in anger, rather, they’re pinched up in…worry? Concern?

…What the hell?

You stand scared stiff as the girl fully exits her home in the box. She stands on sturdy legs and shuffles slowly closer to you. You can only watch as the girl directs a kindhearted ‘hmm?’ through a muzzle made of bamboo at you. Yeah, you think you’re seeing things too. Is that the new fashion trend of this era for demons? Safe to say, you’re not gonna jump on the bandwagon for that one anytime soon.

Sassy thoughts aside, you continue to stare perplexed at the girl. Why is a demon standing in front of you and not attacking? Matter of fact, why has the only thing she, a DEMON, attacked so far been another demon? Weren’t there wars or some shit between demons that outlawed them hurting each other? Hey, don’t judge, mystical mind reader! You’re not a demonologist or anything, you don’t know all the thousand-year wars between demons and their blood feuds…WAIT A SECOND, THAT SLAYER WAS—!

“Why would a mere human be accompanying a demon?” The leader demon with one horn muttered to itself in boiling fury. The demon girl took a battle stance, facing the demon still laying on the ground. You glanced over at the demon barely poking its body out of the puddle and barely caught its look of disdain before it slunk back into the void. With a quiver and a shake from the motionless foe still on the ground, the two-horned demon’s head began to whirl wildly in the opposite direction that it had originally been sent spinning in. She must have pummeled the wretch good because its head took a few seconds to finally slow to a stop once it reached its natural position. The body was then consumed in a sludgy mess of ick, disappearing from sight. Back into the darkness the demons fled.

With the fleeting moment of rest, you took a second to gather yourself. A cold sweat had broken out all over your body at the appearance of the girl and from nearly escaping death by her hands. You steadied your grip on your naginata. She’s a demon. There’s no way she’s not. A kick that powerful cannot be human. It also explains why she can curl up inside a box for who knows how long. The box. The slayer. He had to have known she was in there, the weight alone would have given it away. If he knew she was in there…he must know. He has to know she’s a demon. He’s harboring a demon instead of killing it. He’s hiding the enemy. He’s an enemy.

The demon girl had taken the chance while you were in shock to wander over to the man and the woman. She had raised up her hands to their faces, almost like a mother trying to sweetly cup the cheeks of her babies. Oh my God, she’s going to rip their faces off. She’s toying with them.

She’s going to hurt them.

They only hurt people.

Help them.

Protect the innocent.

Yet again, you don’t think, you just move.

With no warning, you rocket forward. Your naginata is outstretched to reach the creature quicker as you aim straight for the demon’s vertebrae. This time, you won’t miss.

Too bad the “hapless little” slayer you were tasked to babysit stops your onslaught with a hefty block of his own katana. A mighty CLASH of steel on steel echoes throughout the walls of the back alley road. Your breath is steady and calm as you draw it in to fuel your Breathing technique. Years of training has led you to breath this deeply unconsciously, it has been like this for you for since you were young. The boy’s is shaky and uneven. He tries to catch your eyes with his own, trying to reason with you through a wordless plea for mercy, but you don’t give him the chance. You stare through his head with a thousand yard stare. You’re honed in on her neck peeking through her unbelievably long black locks. He’s not a threat, he’s just an obstacle. A hiss resonates from your blades dragging against one another. Though his stance is weaker than your own, the fire you can sense blazing within his soul confirms your suspicions from before. His passion extends to everything, not whether or not he personally knows the woman who died. He’s just that kind of soul. It would be honorable, if he wasn’t being such a deplorable little nuisance.

“Let me explain—,” he tries to reason, but you hold your own. Only when he speaks up do you finally greet his nervous irises with your own infuriated ones.

“Explain what? That you’re as dishonorable as they come? Harboring a demon? Not only refusing to slay the enemy, but also preventing another slayer from cleaning up the mess you left behind?!” You step back. The movement forces the boy to nearly trip over from how hard he was pushing back against you. You bring down a harsh swing of the wooden pole of your weapon straight into his side. He coughs and hacks, the air shoots out of his lungs. He noticeably struggles from the force of your blow. Yet, he continues to stand tall. He blocks the incoming swipe of your blade with a counter slash of his own and delivers a hard shove with his weapon. You stumble back, witnessing him form a defensive wall in front of the girl, stance wide and body ready to retaliate your advances with more strength than ever before.

“I refuse to hurt you, but I won’t let you kill Nezuko!” The boy yells at you with incredible volume. After gasping for air from when you slammed your staff into him, you’re surprised he can even speak. You continue to observe him, processing his words. Nezuko. That’s the girl’s name. Hm. How the hell did you learn the name of the girl who's not supposed to even BE here and haven’t caught the slayer’s? The Corps needs to get better at disclosing what nutcases you’re going to be saddled with in the future.

Before you could shout your own overflowing anger back out at him, your little spat is interrupted by the swamp demons. Two of them slither back up to the surface like writhing worms both holding frustrated expressions upon their faces. You sigh, eyeing who you now know as “Nezuko”. It pisses you off. You don’t want to stop trying to slay the demon, but there are more pressing matters at hand. Namely, the three demons who are actively trying to kill you all right now. The only thing good about Nezuko so far is that she hasn’t actually tried to eat you yet, so, small blessings, you suppose.

The slayer seems to have noticed them too. With a smack of your lips, you cut away from the duo. You ready up your naginata, aiming at the demons lingering in the background and charging up another form, when the girl demon does another thing that surprises you. 

You distantly hear the slayer calling Nezuko’s name, but you don’t acknowledge it as you see her face toughen up the same way it did when she first attacked the demon gunning for the boy, rush forward with miraculous speed, lift her right leg up almost perpendicular to the ground, and slam it back to the spot where the closer demon had been. You hear the ground splinter, and it physically caved underneath the incredible force of her stomp. Sadly, the coward fled away from her attack into the swampy marsh below, leaving behind no trace of its existence.

Okay. Maybe there’s more than just one good thing about Nezuko. Point taken, universe.

You shake your head to clear your mind, dash over to the slayer and barricade in the man and the woman he is still clutching onto. The second demon, the one with one horn, chuckles with a sinister grin and slinks back into the darkness as well. Nezuko goes to chase after her foe, but the boy calls for her to cease her hunt.

“Nezuko! Don’t chase after him! Get back here!” You hear the boy call out to her. She halts, looking back with a deceiving aloof stare, and begins her brisk jog back to the four of you like a dog following their owner’s commands. On her way back, the swamp demon tries to take a cheap shot at her by popping out of a puddle and swiping at Nezuko’s legs.

“Nezuko!” The boy cried, and even you got a bit nervous at how close the ingrate got. However, Nezuko somersaulted high into the air, practically floated back down into a safe landing on her knee, and carried on her merry way. Like nothing even happened! She reached you guys, having completed her journey back to the slayer’s side. Even the swamp demon shared the same shocked expression as you had at her amazing feat. The boy had a troubled look on his face as he stared at Nezuko, some plan obviously swirling in his mind. He took a second to look around. Apparently, the demon decided he was taking too long to admire the scenery. Another puddle appeared directly below him. It tried to latch onto his foot, no doubt attempting to drag him under, but he jumped back as quickly as it appeared.

“Watch out!” The slayer’s shout doesn’t reach either of you in time. Out of nowhere, another pool appears next to you and Nezuko, and the demon with two horns catapulted out. He swipes his claws at you both, Nezuko fending off the brunt of the attack as you stepped in front of the bystanders. You forced them further back from the confrontation.

“Careful!” you yelled back at the civilian. You felt his shaking through the woman he carried as you pressed them away. Your legs are bent and your hands are grabbing your weapon with a tight grip. You train your eye on the demon, watching him lift his upper body up from the ground and squat deeper into a fighting stance.

“Nezuko,” the boy catches both of your attentions with her name, “I’m going underground! I want you to protect these two! You can do that, right?” Nezuko stopped to give him a knowing look, nodding her head in agreement with his plan. Though, you didn’t share the same kindness with him. From the vicious look you branded him with, he decided in that moment he would much rather face a hungry demon than endure the wrath of a pissed off woman.

“Leaving a demon in charge of protecting the humans? Man, what numbskull trained you?!” You snarled at the slayer with even more animosity than an angry bear possessed.

“Well—um…I’d have asked you to take care of them too, if I knew who you were, miss!” The boy shook his hands back and forth, sweating up a storm and stuttering over his flaws. A fleet of “I’m sorry”’s spilled out of his lips, upset at how bold he was being to a woman he had just met. He appeared to be trying to reconcile all the broken bridges you had between you two thus far, but that plan didn’t seem to be going super well at the moment. You’d have laughed at the nervous expression he now donned if you weren’t currently in a life or death situation.

You deadpanned at him. You looked over at Nezuko, who only gave you a slight tilt of her head as if asking ‘What do you want me to do about it?’.

“Oh, don’t agree with him!” You muttered while shooting a much less intimidating glare at the cutesy girl. You’re sure if Nezuko could laugh through that freak muzzle holding back the maw of razor-sharp teeth she probably hid away, she would have. With a now hardened expression, the slayer lifted his foot and stepped forward into the swirling puddle of sludgy black goop sitting right in front of him. As he sunk further and further down, and bit your lip in worry. Hey, he might be a dumbass and a fugitive by the Corps laws, but if he was going to die down there, you might as well give him your name.

“Hey!” The boy glanced back up at you.

“I’m (Y/N) (L/N)! Don’t die down there before I get yours in return, okay?!” You yelled over at him. He didn’t have time to give you his name back, so all he could do was give you a wide smile. Those damn bright eyes and rosy cheeks. There was that passion again. The same drive that sent your brain floundering for an explanation. He is so odd.

“What a dreadful start to this evening,” You let out a deep sigh as you readied up for a dicey battle fighting alongside your sworn enemy.

~ To be continued… ~

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I do not own the story of Demon Slayer (Kimetsu no Yaiba). I do not own the characters of Demon Slayer (Kimetsu no Yaiba). I am not a part of the crew who has participated in the creation of the manga or anime of Demon Slayer (Kimetsu no Yaiba). I am not making any profit off of this story.

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[lets-get-kraken-boys]

I LOVE BRITTANY SO MUCH, SHE IS SO REAL FOR THIS 😭💖 Because this is me and all of you when we come across any vaguely attractive anime men. GET OVER HERE, LOVER BOY 😈👹

[lets-get-kraken-boys]

Yandere Demon Slayer Hashira Headcanons!

I wanted to be creative, and I couldn't shake the thought of the pillars being obsessed with you. There is a SEVERE lack of yandere Demon Slayer on this market, so I decided to take the initiative and bring forth my own ideas! Hope you guys like it~! I had fun!

WARNINGS! → Angst in your background with the Kamado siblings (it’s Demon Slayer, duh), Yandere activity (obsessive thoughts, violence, thoughts of kidnapping, isolation, possessive tendencies, etc.), some naughtier thoughts near the end from Giyuu, canon-typical violence, cursing, anime-only canon information (I only watch the anime), waaaay too much background information lol sorry I was having fun

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PART ONE

Tomioka Giyuu

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Imagine...

You're a childhood friend of Tanjiro and Nezuko, having grown up alongside the Kamado family your whole life. You were there with Tanjiro the day his family was stolen from him and his beloved sister, your best friend, was turned into a blood-thirsty demon. You had tried to help the boy carry her to a healer, as she was the only member left in the destroyed home that was still breathing. One of her arms was slung over your shoulder, while the other was over Tanjiro's. You both were terrified, shaking, still not believing in the horrors your eyes had just witnessed. Blood. Lots of it. Splattered on every square inch of their home. What happened? When did this occur? The blood was still fresh, its gloopy essence still seeping into the freshly fallen snow below—did that mean whoever committed this heinous act was still lurking somewhere in the vicinity? Though countless emotions and thoughts ran through your worrying mind, you didn't get far before Nezuko awoke.

A couple of low growls and chuffs emitted from the girl's mouth, and before you could stop to ask if she was okay or too much pain to walk, she made her move. She tackled Tanjiro to the ground, and forced the two of them to roll down the nearby hill. You screamed, at first worried that she had slipped somehow and accidentally sent the two of them to fall to their deaths. You looked below, saw that it wasn't far of a drop, and were relieved. However, as you scrambled down the steep slope, your relief didn't last long as you saw Nezuko hunched over Tanjiro and him...shoving the hilt of his axe into her mouth?!

You had no clue what was going on, but as you watched the scene on frozen legs, Tanjiro appeared to be fighting Nezuko off from attacking him? Her hands grip his shoulders, which you could now clearly see her nails were as sharp as honed steel, as she tries to get the stick out of her mouth by biting and shaking her head back and forth like a ravenous dog. When your legs decided to work again, you dashed to Tanjiro's side and wrapped your arms around Nezuko's waist. You yanked and pulled as hard as your tired arms could, tears dripping down your face as you begged your friend to not hurt her brother. You didn't know what else you could do. You didn't want to hurt Nezuko. She didn't seem to be in the right state of mind to care about your well-being though as she lifted her arm and struck your side. You were sent flying back into the hillside with every bit of wind knocked out of you. Luckily, the snow took most of the force out of the damage you would have taken, but the lash you got did leave you blurry-eyed and heaving for air. Was Nezuko always that strong?

As you tried to crawl back up onto your knees to run back over to the two siblings, a figure appeared from the snowy shield of the forest...

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‎‧₊˚✧ First Meeting ✧˚₊‧

When Giyuu first met you in the woods that day, he expected you to be predictable.

He expected your story to be the same as thousands of others he'd seen before. A family member or a friend turned demon, and is now seeking to savagely kill the both of you and lap up any essence they can to survive. A story he's heard, and is frankly tired of.

He expected you to be nothing more than an unfortunate soul stuck in the middle of the quarrel between a demon and a human. Though he'd give you credit for your bravery of stepping in the middle of a demon's rampage and taking the full blunt of one of their attacks, he couldn't help but place judgment on you as well. He believed you, at the time, to be more than a little naive. Perhaps even stupid for butting your way into such a dangerous affair. No matter, he would handle it, and get the two of you sent on your way to collect whatever shattered pieces you had left inside.

What he didn't expect from you though was to be caught off guard.

As he descended from his leap into the sky, his katana aimed square for the demon's head currently pinning the boy down beneath her, he didn't expected you to yank the two of them out of the way of his blow. The boy's hair was sliced clean off at the base of his ponytail, and it would have been his neck if you had pulled them away any slower.

Frustration filled his mind as he looked at the three of you, you more specifically. Why would you deflect his attack when all he is trying to do is protect you? He couldn't understand, what he believed to be, the ignorance flooding your heart and clouding your decision making. Surely you understand that him slaying her is a much more merciful fate than whatever she should face down the line.

He learned that the girl is sister to the boy in the green and black checkered haori, and you are simply a friend of the two. He couldn't ignore the twinge in his heart at the realization of you simply being a dear friend of the two siblings. It instantly brought back the horrible memories of the last time he let someone get close to him like that. He wanted to run away the next moment he caught your eyes, but he stood firm.

As the fight waned on, Giyuu now had the demon in his hold, and was prepared to make the final blow when you and Tanjiro had decided to make a double attack. You two split off, curving around to attack him from two angles. You had taken a stone from the ground and aimed it right at Giyuu's face. He deflected the object, and saw the boy running at him with his arms behind his back, preparing an attack with a weapon Giyuu couldn't see. He chose to use the blunt end of his sword to smack the boy down, knocking him out in the process. You actually got close enough to touch Giyuu, so you chose to wrap your hands around the man's arm that held Nezuko captive, and try to pull her free. With no hesitation, Giyuu unleashed a kick into your stomach that sent you flying backwards. This time, you weren't as lucky, as your body slammed straight into the trunk of a tree, and were out cold.

Giyuu, having taken care of the two of you, had little time to react. Tanjiro's hatchet careened high from the air, aimed straight at his head. Skillfully, he dodged the attack and the axe lodged itself deep into the wood of the birch behind him, but stood in awe at the feat you both achieved. Had he been any slower to react, his skull could have been the stopping point for the axe. In his choked state, he did little to prevent the demon girl from escaping his loosened grip.

She dashed forward, and he was certain that his failure would lead to the death of the two individuals in front of him, but he is even more floored as the girl whips around to stare him down, arms outstretched to block both of your bodies from further harm.

He almost believed he was seeing things, a demon protecting not just one human, but two? And one that wasn't even blood related to her, at that? Even as the girl strikes out at him, slashing her claws and baring her fangs at his evasion, he can tell that she is not aiming to kill him. She is not as ravenous as when he first arrived at the scene, her attacks not as monstrous.

With a sheathed sword and a purposeful strike to her neck, he ended the spat rather quickly. Though the three of you are now fighting in the fits of slumber, he is the one who feels truly loopy and sick. Had he seen that correctly? Did that demon—no, did that girl just protect you two from him?

He was only just beginning to understand the severity of the situation before him. However, he couldn't shake himself from looking over at your collapsed body. Which of you had devised the plan to use the stone you had thrown to distract him from the hatchet the boy sent flying up into the air? Does it matter? You two knew you couldn't beat him, so you tried to win the fight even if it meant losing yours in the process? He understands the boy better, after all, the demon girl is his sister. But he just cannot figure you out, more specifically.

Why stay here and risk your life for a losing cause? You aren't even a part of their family, this affair shouldn't be yours to be caught up in. He felt a blackened knife of anger stab his heart as he looked at the boy passed out not too far away. How could he allow you to be caught up in this situation? He couldn't tell the ages between the two of you, but by default the brother should take care of you no matter what, so how could he allow you to be thrown in harm's way willingly? He should punish the boy for his arrogance.

Wait, what? Punish? Where did that come from? A confused expression pulled his stoic face out of its normal frown.

Where did this anger come from? He felt like he was holding his breath looking between the two of you, but for vastly different reasons.

Giyuu couldn't explain why, he thinks maybe it has to do with the expression you carried on your face in the sleep that was forced upon you. How your soft cheeks begin to redden from resting upon the frost below. He remembers the warmth of your eyes upon him, shining flecks of color dancing in the whites of your sockets. Your eyebrows, which had been pinched together in hate, were now gently framing the beauty that overcame your being.

He felt an urge to run to your side and cradle you close for some reason. To haul you up from the snowy earth and bring you somewhere safe and warm. Somewhere away from the hardship of real life. Perhaps he struck you a little too hard before, wincing at the memory of the gasp you let out from being flung into the tree. He was getting too sentimental. He hardly knew you. Though, what he did know about you already he liked. Brave, kind, humble, caring.

He knew what he would do as he carried you over to the siblings, gently laid you down on the ground (mind you, taking the time to gently move the hair out of your face, like you weren't deep in sleep and it would bother you), shielded you from the harsh elements with a blanket he kept in his pack, and looked down at you with a more than understanding gaze.

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‎‧₊˚✧ Obsessions Grow ✧˚₊‧

He sent the three of you off to Urokodaki when you all awoke. He knew you three would be safe there. He sent his master a letter stating what the situation was and why Tanjiro and his sister needed his help. He asked that Urokodaki please train Tanjiro to become a slayer to join the Corps and fight against the plight that is the demon scum plaguing these lands. Giyuu also asked that Urokodaki look after Nezuko, monitor her condition to see if this was a one time fluke that Giyuu had made the mistake to trust or if she truly was an anomaly in the demon world.

As for you? He actually tried to send you away at first.

He deemed you too out of line for this situation. He ordered you to go back home to your family and to never look back. You pleaded with him that you couldn't just leave Tanjiro and Nezuko on their own like this. After everything they had just gone through, you couldn't turn you back on them now. Not when they needed you most. Even Tanjiro had tried to turn you away with tears in his eyes. He knew it was too much to ask of you, he wouldn't let you get dragged down into this world if he had any say in it.

Though, all you continued to do was fight against the Hashira's wishes. You were strong-headed, he'd give you that. He hated it. Why couldn't you just listen?

After begging and demanding that you wouldn't leave your friends behind in this way, Giyuu very reluctantly gave you the permission to travel with the siblings too to Urokodaki. However, what Giyuu didn't tell you is that he demanded that Urokodaki not train you alongside Tanjiro in the letter he sent. He said that you were too fragile to be a slayer, too vulnerable. You let your heart show too easily. Demons would take advantage of that and rip you limb from limb.

He wouldn't let someone like you get hurt. Not when he's there to help.

During the years you were with Tanjiro and Nezuko at Urokodaki's (who, by the way, allowed you to train with Tanjiro because he deemed you worthy and also couldn't understand why Giyuu was trying so hard to coddle you. Who was that boy to tell his trainer what he can and can't do? Plus you practically pleaded to train alongside Tanjiro as to not be a burden to the boy, which Urokodaki respected), Giyuu couldn't stop thinking about you.

He wasn't sure why his brain so often circled back to you, but his ideals began to slowly morph over time. He became a demon slayer mostly to protect his friends and family, but now that he had practically none of that left, he decided to just fight for humanity's sake. He was content with that. However, now his mind would cross paths with you during battles.

His brain would wonder how you were doing, if you were safe, if you were still risking your life to protect those siblings. If your kindness could extend to other people, not just your close friends.

He knows the last time you met each other, it wasn't the most ideal circumstance, but he hopes to change that in the future. To properly introduce himself. That's what mentors and students do, yes? Hold on, since when did he want to be your mentor?

He shakes his head. He doesn't want another person in his life to worry about. Not like last time. He doesn't think he would recover from getting attached to someone again.

But his heart can't stop thinking of your face, slack in sleep, resting peacefully on the pure white snow with no care in the world. You looked like an angel, if he was being honest. You reminded him of a chilled spring morning just before the sun rises over the stiff peaks adorning the land in a bountiful wreath. Morning dew resting on blades of grass, providing a dazzling sparkle across the field when the sunlight hits the bulbs of water. Glittering and incredible. A sight to behold.

He began to fight in the hopes of becoming strong enough to protect you, one day. His mind starts to rationalize that even though he wasn't strong enough to protect the people he loved back then, he will try his damn best to achieve it now.

Like he would let one of those filthy mutts hurt you again in his presence.

Every day he trained harder, took on more missions, all for the sake of being a stronger person for you. The rest of the Hashira were more than a little perplexed at his sudden energy, Giyuu was not known as one of the Corps that purposefully ASKED for missions to be given to him, but none of them were going to oppose his desires.

He often caught himself wondering if he should go to Urokodaki's home again and see if you're doing okay. Of course, he'd go to check up on Tanjiro's training and how Nezuko is fairing in the meantime. He knows how brutal the training and completing the Final Selection can be. He just wants to remind himself that you are still real and are not going to be hurt in any way shape or form.

Alas, his duties as a Hashira call him to be needed elsewhere. It isn't until two years after you first met that you see each other again

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‎‧₊˚✧ Seeing You Again ✧˚₊‧

It's unfortunate that the next time Giyuu sees you is at the Hashira Meeting where a trial is taking place deciding what to do with the two of you.

It's true that the trail is more so for Tanjiro, as Nezuko is his blood relative, therefore, he should have the most responsibility for the situation. However, Master Ubuyashiki declared that since you were with the two since the start of Nezuko's turning, you were just as much of a guilty party in this issue as you were a slayer the same as Tanjiro.

Giyuu had been appalled at this information, though he adores the Master the same as the rest of the Hashira, he was prepared to challenge the man to state that he specifically asked Urokodaki to not let you participate in the Final Selection. Giyuu was then directly informed that you had participated in the event, survived the week in that hellhole, received your Nichirin sword, and had gone as far as slaying a few demons in your time as a slayer.

Giyuu was infuriated as he departed from the Master. He knew that Tanjiro would be held on trial, as he had advocated for the boy as much as his own master had by promising to take their own lives in case of Nezuko going rogue and hurting a human. But for you to be directly caught in the crossfire was almost too much to bear.

If not for his fellow Hashira being present for the conversation, he would have happily gotten on his knees to beg you to be spared from the harshness of their blades.

Seeing you lying passed out on the floor was not the image he had in his mind when getting to see you again.

Once the trail began, it was abundantly clear that most of the rest of the Hashira wanted to follow the code and slay the both of you for your infractions. It seemed like only Mitsuri and Muichiro were willing to spare you from the blade, though, the boy mostly due to not understanding the situation probably.

When the trail ended and you, Tanjiro, and Nezuko were set free as Nezuko had proven herself against Sanemi's attempt to make her crack, he allowed Tanjiro to be taken off to the Butterfly Mansion for healing, but stopped the Kakushi from taking you.

When the Kakushi tried to explain that it was assigned to them to take you to Shinobu, he gave them such a hardened glare that you'd have thought the Kakushi threatened to take your life. They skittered off without another complaint, which gave Giyuu the opportunity to be with you again.

In your perspective, you assumed he was furious with you, and you were about ready to pass out again from his glare alone. He was all but silent as he hoisted you onto his back, gently lifting your arms to hug around his neck and looping his arms around the backs of your knees. He walked with a gentle pace so as to not disturb any injuries you'd gotten on the mountain where you faced the spider demons.

You shoved your face into his back, nestling into his shoulder blades. You decided that it's better to wallow in silence if he isn't going to start berating you for being careless and not taking his advice.

Truthfully, he was more focused on the way your body felt against his. You fit against his back like you belonged there. He knew you did. How did he wait this long to see you again? He couldn't allow you to stray this far again. He could feel a childish blush rising on his cheeks, fuck, how long had it been since that happened? If you looked hard enough, the tiniest smile formed on his peachy smooth lips the longer you spent together.

He was content to spend the rest of his life like this. You by his side. No worries. No more regrets. He did what he was supposed to do, he completed the requirements for the sin he holds on his shoulders. He could allow himself to finally be free of the guilt weighing on his soul.

He knew he had to deliver you to Shinobu soon, and that thought was slowly carving up his innards. He discovered he didn't want to let you go. Not again. What if something happened to you while he was away from you? What if he couldn't be there to save you like he wasn't there for Sabito or Tsutako? What if you left him too? Then the guilt would come back, a type of guilt that he's not sure he could shake off again. No, you can't leave. You just can't. You need to stay with him. Please. You're all he had left in this fucked up world...you must see that right? He's spent so long thinking about you, about this day, about what he would say and how you would be enthralled by him. He's gotten so much stronger all for you! You must see that. Please look—

"Mr. Tomioka?" your hesitant voice breaks him from the downward spiral his brain was sending him into. You decided that you just couldn't help yourself, the guilt of letting him down was killing you. You needed him to say something rather than just leading the two of you on in deafening silence.

He heard your voice years ago when you were angry at him, and he heard you speak during the trial as well, but this? You calling him by his name? Oh, it was otherworldly. Just like that, all the ear-shattering disturbing thoughts that were flooding his mind just moments ago evaporated into nothingness. As if every bad memory that haunts him in the wee hours of the morning had let his mind go so he could rest. He relished in the relief you gifted him.

Realizing he hadn't responded yet, he chose to give a gentle, "Yes, (L/N)?"

"Are you mad at me?" Your meek voice reminded him of a child trying to evade punishment. He could imagine you staring at the floor, kicking your feet, pouting. The whole nine yards. It was adorable, however, your question brought back the conversation he had with Master Ubuyashiki right before the trial. The betrayal he felt. However, that anger wasn't directed at you at all. Never you. You just didn't know any better. You didn't know what was good for yourself. That's why he's here.

He sighed through his nose, his lips sealing to ponder what to say, before confirming, "I am upset that you found your way into this line of work. I still hold firm to the belief that you are not a good fit for this lifestyle. I tried to keep you away from it."

You kept quiet at that, casting your eyes downward. You suppose he's right, but you just wanted to help your friends. You couldn't have just abandoned them. He looked at you from the corner of his eye, his ocean blue irises glinting with dark intentions.

"You know you shouldn't have gone against what I asked of you, don't you?" He coaxed with his ever precise wording.

"No, I wanted to be there for them—," you rambled out, a clammy feeling shedding all over your skin. Suddenly it didn't feel too safe to be in his arms.

"And look where that got you," you felt him squeeze his right hand down on your leg, right over a deep gash on your thigh that made you cry out at the pain.

"Battered and bruised. Shown no mercy by the very things that I knew would hurt you. That I told you would hurt you." He kept his gaze forward, continuing his path to wherever he was taking you, but you could hear the anger bubbling up.

"Mr. Tomioka, you're hurting—," you tried to tell him of the pain he was causing you, but he wouldn't listen.

"How do you think I feel, hm? Seeing you come back to me in such an awful state? What if I hadn't shown up to take care of that Upper Rank Demon? What then? Would you have fled? Or would you have tried to fight and infuriate me even further?" He finally turned his head to look at you. Giyuu had grit his teeth and looked more like a snarling wild animal than a prominent leader in the Demon Corps. He scared you, tears welling up in your eyes as blood began to drip from the reopened wound on your leg.

"Let me go!" You banged your fists against his back, trying to escape the pain he was inflicting on you.

"No," his gravelly growl echoed an air of finality as he stepped up a few wooden stairs. It seems you have finally reached your destination. Though, there appeared to be a severe lack of life around, as if it was just you and Giyuu for miles. Where was Shinobu and the attendees who would take you away from this freak?

"This time, I don't think I'll let you run away from me again." He slid open the door, and you were greeted with blank walls and a dark room.

"Where..?" you mumbled out with a slight shake in your voice.

"I decided it would be safer if you were to be on bed rest with me. The mansion will already have their hands full with the other friends in your party. You'll receive better care on your own since I can give you my undivided attention in aiding your recovery." Giyuu reasoned with you as if anything he just said was logical. He sat you down on a plush futon laid out on the ground as he stood back up and closed your only escape option.

In the dark, he became so much more menacing. You can tell why he became a Hashira. His enchanting watery eyes shifted into twilight masks that held no sprigs of light within them. Though his expression remained as neutral as ever, his hands twitched at his sides, as if itching to stake their claim on your body. A claim he deemed the only one worthy of. He knelt to the ground, his eyes locked straight onto your panicking features.

He must say. As much as he dreamed about the expression you held in your sleep that day, your frightful expression was just as enthralling. Your eyes darted across the room all around, looking for any route of escape available. He made sure there wasn't one, but it was fun to see you squirm under the pressure. You breath caught in your throat, and he watched you swallow a lump of spit down to calm your nerves. Sad. He wanted to be the one stealing your spit from you and replacing it with his own, but he supposes that will come with time. Your chest heaved with hyperventilation, and he couldn't seem to shake the naughty thoughts of wanting to make your breath stutter in other ways. His eyes drifted to your hands. Your soft, delicate, currently bunched up hands. He couldn't wait to hold them and drag you closer into his chest. Cuddle you close. It's been so long.

"What?! This is insane, Giyuu! You need to take me to the Butterfly Mansion. Shinobu—,"

"Doesn't know what she's doing. She'll only hurt you. She'll keep me away from you. She'll get in the way." He began to mutter to himself, raising a hand to his face. He gripped his hair with a tight fist as he prattled on and on with various murmurs of "I won't let her have you" and "You don't know better". You wished you had the strength to crawl away, but the second he gripped your shoulder and stared you in the eye, you knew it was over.

Giyuu cupped his other hand around the back of your head and pushed you slowly forward so your forehead rested against his. His expression was full of such overflowing intimate and strange love, but you aren't sure if it's the kind you want.

"This time, you're going to stay right here. With me. Where you belong."

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₊˚ ✧ ‿︵‿୨୧‿︵‿ ✧ ₊˚

Hope everyone enjoyed this! Honestly, it's not my favorite thing I've ever written, but I hope I captured Giyuu well enough. I want to make more for the other Hashira's, so they'll be in the same vein as this story. Same background and all, but there will be a switch right before (Y/N) is taken after the trial so that Giyuu doesn't hog them all to himself haha.

I want all the Hashira to pine after me, is that too much to ask, homies?

[lets-get-kraken-boys]

Shedding tears, rocking in a corner, so deeply in love with this man. You wrote him so beautifully, THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE AAAAAHHHHHHHHHH 🥹💖💖💖

Bokuto x plus size reader

ignore me not having any consistency and just writing whatever I want from multiple fandoms BD

okay okay it's literally canon that he likes bigger girls and I just refuse to take any other opinion

right so since he is literally the most accepting man ever,, he's your own personal hype man smh,, and because he's SO strong,,, he'd always be giving you piggy back rides and not be afraid to literally just carry you around places, just to make you feel better (and to show off his strength whoops)

PLEASE he'd just be like "nah bb please you weightless tf" because its my nIGHTMARE TO BE TOO HEAVY AND TO HURT SOMEONE WHO TRIES TO PICK ME UP so I'll just assume its the same for other people :) but pLEASE JUST LET IT HAPPEN HE'S BIG BEEFY BOY HE'S FINE

right also so it's a big thing that bo has stretch marks (not sure if it's canon but oh well) and just iMAGINE you both giving confidence about them to the other -if you have them- being like "well if it looks good on you then maybe it might look okay on me???"

PLEASE JUST BE EACH OTHERS HYPE MEN

I imagine you'd both literally just share emotions,, whenever he gets sad,, so do you and vice versa

IF YOU PLAY ANY KIND OF GAMES LIKE MARIO KART,, ANIMAL CROSSING OR JUST DANCE PLEASE PLEASE TEACH HIM

him always being so salty and low-key raging when he always comes twelfth in Mario kart

and your animal crossing islands I mean his would be kind of messy but he's tried so hard and it ends up actually kind of cute because it matches his loud energy if that makes any sense,, I feel like he's the type of person to just buy everything from the nook shop and just place it randomly around the island,, so you offer to help fix it up a bit

and please,, playing just dance together,, literally always at 3am when you wait for your cookies to finish baking in the oven or something like that pLEASE

and the midnight drives to McDonalds,, like him just buying so much food to just be like "gotta keep that beautiful body fed!!" pleASE TELL ME WHERE TF CAN I BUY A BOKUTO LIKE HOW MUCH

ugh and trying to work out with him!!!! I-!!!!!! he'd be so supportive!!! always being right by your side and being your hype man,, saying how well you're doing!!!!!

okay okay so whenever you can't see each other in the mornings and evenings because he's at games or whatever,, he'd always send you little reminder good morning and good night texts!!! just little 'I love you's and little reminders to eat and drink and- nirbiyebci

PLEASE JUST SING HIM TO SLEEP,, FOR ME DO IT FOR ME PLEASE EVEN IF YOU CANNOT SING JUST DO IT

if not at least read a book to him in the softest voice you can muster until he falls asleep with his face buried in your chest :(((

him struggling so much to sleep when you're not there to sing to him when he's pressed up against your soft,, warm body <////3

please mans will so sheepishly call you at like 1am to just be like "... I couldn't sleep.."

him making you those little friendship bracelets!!! he'd do it just so that no matter how far apart from each other you are, you'll always be connected because he's a cheesy simp like that

I can't even tell you how much it means to him,, how much effort he put into it because lets be real here,, I don't really see bo as a master diy man,, and because he's not the most patient person,, he had to literally like go against his programming to make you it bcubicdw

so please just never take it off, because it will literally break him

always watching Disney films and him belting the songs around the house for the next few days to come-- he's trying he really is

having baths together!!!! not in a sPiCy way or anything but just so he can hold you close to him :((

just your back against his broad ass chest in a scented bubble bath with candles lit everywhere and soft ass classical instrumental pieces playing in the background and him just drawing little shapes on your stomach and- HXBDUBEW

I see him to be the type of person to impulsively get tattoos,, he will really try to persuade you on like a night out to get matching ones with him, and if you're comfortable enough to agree, I see him getting something really feminine on like his ankle or wrist

the next morning being like "..do you regret it??" "...no." EIBXIW

please adopt a dog with him :((((( he's such a dog person I can't

he's definitely the type of person to get really dressed up like gown and suit kind of thing just to then go around town and to like a supermarket or something EUNXEU

ALSO ALSO please do the euphoria makeup trend on him :(( I feel like he'd do it back too and actually be like surprisingly alright at it,, his tongue poking out the side of his mouth in concentration hbciyrncd

you guys getting all dressed up and sexyyy to go out to clubs and stuff just to flaunt one another off to others

learning dances with him and whenever one of you mess it up,, just breaking up into fits of laughter

the hugs would be superior!!!!

all in all, Bokuto is best man and I shall simp till the day I die <333

[lets-get-kraken-boys]

WAAAAAHHH OMG SO CUTE 😭🥹💖💖💖

‧₊˚⊹ ⟡₊˚💍 ‧₊˚⊹ ⟡₊˚💍 ‧₊˚⊹ ⟡₊˚💍 ‧₊˚⊹ ⟡₊˚💍 ‧₊˚⊹ ⟡₊˚💍

When Satoru gets down on one knee, your knee-jerk reaction is to grab him by the elbows and drag him back up to his feet. You think it’s another one of his stupid pranks, the one he likes to pull when you’re out in a crowded place, where he drops to the ground and pulls out a Ring Pop, lets the passersby remain none the wiser and cheer for the two of you like your pretend engagement is anything more than another one of Satoru’s attempts to embarrass you, or to see you smile.

But then he’s pulling out a little velvet box, and you swear your heart stops. Swear your eyes bulge out of your head when he’s pulling it open, when you hear him through the blood rushing in your ears, “I love you more than anything, I wanna be with you forever…” and there’s a ring inside. A real one. A grape-sized diamond flanked with sparkly little gems— aquamarine, the color of his eyes. All lit up by the tiny LED lights shining from the corners of the boxs’ silk insides.

Tears are running down your face before you even realize it. You’ve forgotten that you’re on a crowded street— you and Satoru might as well be the only people left alive, as far as your mind and your heart are concerned. You barely register the overexcited “yes’s” slipping out of your mouth, the watery laughs. All you can see is Satoru below you, beaming up at you, eyes bright and beautiful. You see your left hand in front of you, see him slip the ring onto your shaky finger. Then the next thing you know, you’re in his arms. Crashing into each other in a bruising embrace, he’s laughing into the crook of your neck— you’re crying into his— then he’s crying too. And you’re both teary, giggly messes, wrapped around each other in the middle of a street bustling with people, some who just walk right by, and some who stop to look on and cheer.

But you can’t feel their eyes, can barely hear the way they clap and holler. All you know— all you care about— is Satoru. Forever.

‧₊˚⊹ ⟡₊˚💍 ‧₊˚⊹ ⟡₊˚💍 ‧₊˚⊹ ⟡₊˚💍 ‧₊˚⊹ ⟡₊˚💍 ‧₊˚⊹ ⟡₊˚💍

[lets-get-kraken-boys]

I’M GONNA SOB HE’S SO CUTE GRAAAAHHHH 😭💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖

no because satoru would 100% rest his chin on your shoulder and sway you side to side when you’re brushing your teeth together.

you’re both standing in front of the sink like a couple in a toothpaste commercial—except it’s nothing like that. because satoru won’t stay on his side. won’t stay still. he’s brushing his teeth and somehow also wrapped around you like an oversized koala.

he’s got his stupid long arms slung around your waist, chin on your shoulder, toothbrush dangling from his mouth while he sways you gently from left to right. you’re trying to focus on your brushing form. he is not.

he starts humming around the toothbrush like it's a kazoo. the vibrations tickle your neck. you elbow him. he takes it as encouragement. now he's full-on doing choreographed sways like you're ballroom dancing to the theme song of your shared toothpaste tube. the worst part? he’s smiling through it. foamy toothpaste grin and everything.

“mmnff luff you,” he mumbles into your shoulder.

“what?”

he lifts his head, leans in dramatically with paste still in his mouth: "i said: i love you, toothbrush edition."

you try to rinse your mouth. he tries to spit in the sink at the same time. it’s chaos. it’s routine. you think you might actually kill him someday and he’ll die grinning with mint breath and a heart full of stupid domestic joy. he’s such a clingy housecat of a boyfriend. affectionate and annoying in equal measure.

“why do you always do this?”

“‘cause you're cuter in the mirror next to me.”

[lets-get-kraken-boys]

STOP, THIS IS SO CUTE 🥹💖😭 I’m in love!!!

satoru gojo—the strongest sorcerer—is an absolute softie when it comes to his wife.

the man could kill everyone in japan if he wanted to, yet when you're around, he's as dangerous as a kitten.

and that confused everyone around him.

how was it that even a murmur of your name would make the famous gojo gush and drop everything to talk about you? he could be in the midst of fighting a curse, but if his phone buzzes and your name is on the screen? that curse might as well accept its fate or be prepared for him to be on call with you for the remainder of the fight.

"toru, are you busy?" "not at all, baby—" his words would be cut off as the curse he was fighting attempted to land a hit on him, and the call would only fill with the sound of crashes before you realized what was happening. "are you seriously in the middle of a mission!?" your question remained unanswered for a second before you heard satoru laugh, "i mean, i was, but did you need something? money? sweets? a photo of your handsome husband?" "SATORU!"

it's clear to everyone that gojo is in love with you. he wouldn't just take a bullet for you, but rather a whole nuclear bomb if needed. he's willing to risk everything for you—even his job.

if he's in a meeting and you call him, he's picking up the phone no matter how many dirty looks he gets. what are they going to do about it? he's the strongest, but with the way he acts around you, you'd think otherwise.

his students have noted that every time you come into his classroom, he'd grin like a high schooler in love. he practically has heart eyes that you can see through his blindfold.

"gojo-sensei?" yuji's voice rang out in the classroom, "yes, yuji?" gojo's tone was filled with boredom as the man was leaning back in his chair—feet on top of his desk while he lifted a finger to pull back his blindfold. yuji was seen with megumi and nobara, and all three of them were pointing at the door. where you, his lovely wife, stood with a bento box. "you forgot your lunch—" "MY WIFE!" the sound of gojo's chair hitting the floor echoed as you took a step back from the doorframe, yet your attempt to move out of the way was pointless as gojo barreled toward you with open arms. his arms wrapped around you in a tight hug, and you let out a quiet sigh as you held the bento box up. "is my beautiful wife here to visit her husband?" "i'm here to give you your lunch, toru." "MY BEAUTIFUL WIFE LOVES ME ENOUGH TO COME VISIT ME!" while gojo continued to ramble with you still in his arms, the three students watched the scene with narrowed eyes. "do you think she ever gets tired of him?" nobara asked bluntly, and yuji only shrugged. they continued to watch as gojo only hugged you tighter, and a soft smile appeared on your face as he continued to talk. "i don't think so..." yuji mumbled before turning his attention back to his phone, and the others did the same thing. except for gojo. because his attention was on you and you only.

comments & reblogs are always appreciated !!

[lets-get-kraken-boys]

IM CRYING THIS IS SO FLIPPING CUTE 🥹💖

can't stop thinking about messenger boy!nishinoya who takes quoting his coach's words to his other teammates so very serious, focused, the tip of his tongue sticking out as he repeats the words silently on the trek from off-court to on-court.

who steals glances of you whenever he passes the bench on which you sit on with yachi, so enarmoured that sometimes he has to suck his lip into his mouth and force his stare away from you lest he'll forget what information to relay.

who tries extra hard to look really cool out there, and who wants your reactions; head whipping around in an arc that would've rendered the neck of the usual man broken. but nishinoya was no usual man, and when he sees you distracted, he only seeks to impress you more, muscles protesting the onslaught of acrobatics he's about to unleash.

who is the first one to put up his hand, excited, thrumming with energy at the prospect of collecting you from outside duties when coach ukai calls for it, bringing news and his crazy beating heart along.

who wrestles with any teammates if they wanted to tell you something, stealing their words and hurrying over to relay them to you, just so he has any excuse to talk to you and admire you from close up.

messenger boy!nishinoya who proudly points at his chest if asked by the teacher who's going to take homework sheets to your house when you fall sick, parroting his teacher's words to you amidst sprinkles of school tales you missed during the day and practice. he stay for hours cheering you up, a perpetual grin wide on his face.

who stands in front of your desk after every lesson and gives you the proverb of the hour, four characters long — a nishinoya collection.

who beams like the sun has decided to bless him personally with her radiance when he sees you wave him over during the end of practice, and you ask him to relay a message for you to a certain someone.

"i will absolutely not disappoint. you can lay your life in my hands," he nods — serious, solemn; eyes concentrated on your mouth to catch the words as soon as they spill from your chapstick-coated lips, so he almost misses the twinkle in your eyes.

"my message is this: nishinoya yuu, would you like to go to the arcade with me this saturday?"

messenger boy!nishinoya who, for once, does not remember a single word of the japanese language to respond with. whose face flushes so hard, he freezes because he's probably never had that much blood pumped to his head before. usually, it takes detours. (coughs)

who also does not unfreeze when you laugh, a blush creeping up your neck as well, telling him to relay to you the answer of that specific someone at the next practice.

(tanaka ryunosuke later claps nishinoya's shoulder in solidarity, "didja get rejected, bruh?"

nishinoya who looks up at tanaka, eyes a bit dazed, and the movement spurs him on to catch your form from afar as you gather the bottles to wash.

he really got asked out? by you? by the one and only? not a dream? this is reality? actual reality?

"dude," he says a long pause and his hand slowly closes into a victorious fist, "i think i just won the ruffle of ruffles. the biggest prize, ryu.")

TAGLIST | @takes1

[lets-get-kraken-boys]

NOTICE: As more and more fanfic writers are using generative AI for their works (you uncreative dweebs), I hereby swear on everything I hold dear that I have not and will NEVER use generative AI in ANY of my written work. Everything I post will be organically and creatively my own.

[lets-get-kraken-boys]

btw the katy perry/bezos' girlfriend/other four irrelevant billionaires 10 minute space stunt was not the first all female expedition no matter how much they try to market it as such. the first all female mission was in 1963 with soviet cosmonauts Valentina Tereshkova, Irina Solovyova and Valentina Ponomaryova - all three of which were working class and had to pass incredibly hard exams to be chosen from 400 potential candidates. just in case we started falling for the propaganda machine again

[lets-get-kraken-boys]

I want to be loved like a Studio Ghibli movie.

I want a talented wizard to fall so deeply and honestly in love with me, that his adoration spans across DECADES of time. Unwavering, sturdy, steadfast. He’ll yearn and plead and beg for me, but we haven’t even met each other in this life yet. I want him to try to fall in love with others, but the end result is never enough to fill the longing in his heart. I want the love I can give to him, but cannot yet because we are fated to meet far away in future, to burn so fiercely in his body that he has to physically cast it out of himself so that he can even begin to function properly without me.

I want him to offer the last sacred place he has left in this world, his last piece of true freedom and joyous memories and salvation, to me as a gift. I want him to sacrifice his life and soul just to be able to stand next to me. I want him to look at me like I’m the greatest masterpiece a famous painter has ever created, even though I might not see or agree with it at times. I want him to look at me like I’m hung on a dark oak wall under a bright spotlight in some fancy museum filled with art in a million different mediums with a million different examples from a million different prestige artists in the museum, but I’m the only one he looks at. He’ll look at me for hours, unaware of the time passing, but not upset at the realization that he’s just spent his whole day fascinated by my being. I want him to love finding every detail on my face, on my body, on my clothing—the rush of wonder and happiness he receives is a treat for him so diligently discovering every minuscule mark and combing through every brush stroke. The fact that he even chose to spare his brilliant gaze at me for even a millisecond is an honor in and of itself, but he doesn’t see it like that. It’s not a choice for him. He just…does. And it makes him happy. And I’m happy too.

I want to be loved like that.

[lets-get-kraken-boys]

I’ll be posting another chapter of my Demon Slayer Various X Reader in the next couple days, so please be on the look out for that!! Thank you guys.

With Love,

Kraken 🐙

[lets-get-kraken-boys]

Echoes of a Past Slayer — Demon Slayer Various X Reader

Demon Slayer X Reader Masterlist

Status: Ongoing

˚⋅˖* ⊱❀⊰ *˖⋅˚ Summary ˚⋅˖* ⊱❀⊰ *˖⋅˚

An unrelenting sense of duty in the pursuit of honor is what brought you to where you are. Caught in the crossfire of a cruel, unforgiving line of work, and the hefty weight of protecting the peace and saving lives. A fate where your end is set in stone to save others, but not yourself. You vowed to take charge of your destiny, to never be caught unawares or unprepared for the worst ever again.

Though, you hadn't expected to stumble across a boy harboring his demonic sister like a fugitive on the run. Accompanying these siblings would no doubt bring about a perilous journey, but the curiosity of discovering what lies beyond their sorrow-filled gazes wound tightly around you and wouldn't let go.

It was too late to even comprehend the idea of "choosing one's destiny" as that is something that is not possible. Fate had chosen you the moment you locked eyes with the siblings.

A glimpse from a long forgotten plane of existence has your mind set. You weren't strong enough to save the ones you loved last time, but you'll make sure you are this time.

▬▬ι═══════ﺤ°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･ᰔᩚ°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

Chapters

𓂃 ࣪˖ ִֶָ𐀔 Chapter One — Was It Fate? Or Your Own Stupidity?

𓂃 ࣪˖ ִֶָ𐀔 Chapter Two — Just A Hunch

𓂃 ࣪˖ ִֶָ𐀔 Chapter Three — ???

[lets-get-kraken-boys]

I NEED A MAN IN CUTE LACY GIRLY CLOTHES AND I WANT HIM TO BE OBSESSED WITH MEEEE

Just some 18+ thoughts teehee 🔞

I need to put a man in PINK. ALL BUBBLEGUM PINK. I need to put him in a cute lacy bralette, a frilly poofy skirt, lacy pink panties that hug his cute butt just right, thigh high stockings, and cute pump heels.

I need him laying cute on his back at first, and I DO NOT want him to touch me. Tonight is all about him. I want to take care of him because he has just been so cute and good for me.

I need to make him see stars. I want him teary-eyed, blushing, and looking up at me BEGGING for more. Edge him a little to tease him to get more sweet whimpers out, and then I would give it to him because I am just that nice. However, the real treat of this is that I wouldn't stop at one.

He cums and just when he thinks we're done, I flip him to lay face down ass up. AND I START UP FAST AGAIN. He's moan, crying, begging for a break, and I echo that moaning whiny tone back at him. There are cute tears dripping from his gorgeous eyes, but even when my heart twists at seeing him cry and sob from the overstimulation, I do not stop. Where's the fun of life if I don't leave him a little in shambles? Stroking, teasing, playing a little with his hole, everything. And he LOVES IT. I know it.

We continue like this for hours, until he's shaking and curled up in my lap like a sad puppy. He's blubbering, pleading for me to not leave his side as he comes down from the crazy high of emotions he just went through. Even brushing my fingers through his hair sends jolts and shudders down his back. He's keening through gasps for air, and I kiss his forehead. He whimpers, looking up at me with redden, but still crystal-like, eyes in a silent plea for more kisses. I provide that and then some. Smooching, nuzzling, petting, and just praising him all around for how good of a boy he is.

Yes...that would be the life.

RAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH RELEASE ME

જ⁀➴ ♡ Wrote with these characters in mind જ⁀➴ ♡

AONEEEE PLEASE BE MY BEAUTIFUL BRIDE, Hinata, Gojo, Sukuna (OOOOOOO I would LOVE to bring him down a peg LITERALLY), Sanji and he would KILL to be underneath me, REIGEN ARATAKA BC YOU KNOW HE'S MALE WIFE, and, of course, your favsssss!

⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝♡

With Love,

Kraken 🐙