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an-idyllic-novelist · 10 months

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Hotaru Haganezuka with Chise!reader headcanons 🎐🪴

Warnings: OOC, aged up!reader (will be in their late twenties), foul language from Hotaru, and the setting takes place five years before the main plot of Kimetsu no Yaiba/Demon Slayer, so Hotaru will be 32 years old instead of his canon age, 37.

Here it is everyone, the finale of the two part collaboration with @deathmetalunicorn1 featuring the character!reader as Chise Hatori from the anime/manga series, The Ancient Magus’ Bride.

For those who haven’t read the first part, the link will here.

Our inspiration came from the maginificent Haganezuka x reader comic created by @yuki2sksksk. Check it out guys, it is amazing!

With that being said, sit back, relax and enjoy :)

PART THREE LINK IS HERE

PART TWO : A PLACE TO RETURN TO

She was gone. Vanished without a trace in the arms of something that wasn’t human and only he knew about it. Haganezuka couldn’t breathe. He felt light-headed, the air knocked out of his lungs and the world spinning as he struggled to keep himself together. Pulling his body off of the floor, he winced when a loud crack resounded in his ear. He looked down petals, soil, and clay pieces right by his feet, a large fragment inches from slicing through the bottom of his right sandal.

Haganezuka’s chest tightened even further at the sight before…he felt something snap. He did not know how or why, but the force of whatever he was feeling made him scramble across the room, looking for something, anything to keep him grounded. Then from the corner of his eye, he saw an iron key half buried in a hydrangea plant. The key to [First Name]’s shop. Grabbing it, he briskly towards the entrance, swiveling on his heel and locking up the place before sprinting down the street.

Civilians and swordsmen alike dove to the opposite side of the road upon seeing him but he could not find himself to give a shit as he passed them all, skidding to a halt in front of the private room where he knew Tecchin would be resting until dinnertime.

He yelled, pushing the shoji door open with enough strength to knock it off of the tracks. “Old man!” Haganezuka did not even both remove his sandals as he stepped inside nor cared about the surprised and exasperated expression that Tecchin was throwing at him.

“Hotaru! What is the meaning of -” It took him three steps to be in front of the old man, and he kneeled down to Tecchin’s level as his hands clamped down on those frail shoulders that used to hold him as a child.

“She’s gone!”

“Who is gone, Hotaru?” Tecchin pressed.

“[First Name]!” Haganezuka snapped, his voice growing shaky. “She- she was taken by this brat with dark hair and green eyes. He had a horned shadow th-that grabbed her. He called [First Name] his child! A-And he said that she’d almost killed herself again.” He stared at Tecchin long and hard through his mask. “Old man, she told me you knew him as the master, and that’s what…I think that is the one who took her. I asked him questions -”

“You spoke to him?” Tecchin squeaked.

“I wasn’t going to let some stranger take her away!” Haganzeuka growled. “You, I, and everyone in this village....she’s helped us all but we know so little about her. What she told me about herself…only the one who bought her freedom would know. And that brat….he knew everything. Where he got her, How he knew what she truly was, even why he purchased her! But he took her, and said she’ll come back when she’s ready!”

Haganezuka jolted. He looked down and saw Tecchin’s trembling hands resting on top of his own. He watched the old man closely, his chest rising and falling shakily before he spoke.

“Hotaru, my dear, dear boy.” Tecchin squeezed his palms. “The medicine woman’s master…he is someone who never comes down from his mountain unless it involves two matters: purifying ayakashi, and his apprentice. If he had come to her shop and taken her as you say he did, then consider yourself fortunate that you even saw it happen, because he has the ability to stop time, if only for a few moments. He could have just done that and taken her away and you would have never realized it.” He inhaled a deep breath. “As of right now…we cannot tell anyone about what happened. Should anyone say something, [First Name] received an urgent summons to one of the cities…that there is an outbreak of an unknown disease and she will not return until it has been resolved.”

“But -”

We cannot scare the villagers about things they will not understand or accept as we have, Hotaru. You know that. We cannot waver. Not now.”

Haganezuka swallowed a sob, trying to hold back the tears prickling the corner of his eyes…but they just came out, warm and wet, slipping down his face. He didn’t even stop Tecchin from removing his mask. “She’s gone…She’s gone, and all that person told me was…to look after her home! HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO DO THAT WHEN SHE’S DYING?!”

Tecchin did not say anything. He just sat in the room with him, squeezing his hands until Haganezuka felt he couldn’t cry anymore. Now…now he just felt…numb. He stood up from the floor, bowing to the old man and murmuring an apology before he trudged towards the sliding door. Tecchin then called out to him. He glanced over his shoulder. “What?”

“[First Name]’s house…it is on the outskirts of the village, in the east. My servant will fetch the spare key that she’d entrusted with me so that you may use it. Tend to her shop as needed, since he is the one who had told you to take care of her home. Please wait by the stairs.”

Haganezuka blinked, then nodded before he left the room, closing the door behind him. By the time he’d made it to the entryway of the old man’s residence, there was a servant already there. He just took the key and left without saying another word. When he looked up at the sky, it was still early in the afternoon. He had time to at least look around the place before heading back to his own home before nightfall settled in.

Her home was about a quarter mile, the forest nestled right behind it. It was small with large sliding panel doors. The perfect size for an unmarried woman living on her own. Using the key Tecchin had given him, it slid into the front door and allowed him to push it to the right. Sliding his shoes off, he stepped inside, and he was immediately greeted by the pungent scent of herbs and soil. It was similar to how he’d entered her shop for the first time….but there was something else here. It felt…warm. Cozy even.

When he rounded the corner, however, he did not expect to see an enclosed courtyard in the center of the room, sunshine leaking from a square-shaped hole in the ceiling and shining down on rocks, plants, and flowers or how the hallway extended even further, leading to a corridor. Haganezuka blinked. He then exited the house, stepping outside to glance at the exterior before walking back inside. It wasn’t possible for a place like this to be tripled in size when it looked so small from the outside! Unless…

He pushed up his mask, scowling at the throbbing sensation pulsing on the side of his head. “It has to be the magic that [First Name] talked about. There’s just no other possible explanation for this…to even happen.” He sighed, and then continued to walk around the empty house. The wooden floors stretched towards the living room, where an irori stood in the middle, a kettle suspended over rotted wood and sand. There were four seating cushions around the outer area, most likely set up for any guests she might have had.

Walking past it and through the double sliding doors, Haganezuka found the kitchen with dry goods kept in wooden baskets. No doubt the water jug is outside, and probably needed to be changed out sooner than later. The ladle to scoop the water out might also require a good scrubbing too. Probably the bathroom too, unless it was an outside one. He began to make a mental list of what needed to be done and what could wait as he went from room to room. The sitting area was covered in a light layer of dust, the futons in the bedroom would need to be washed…and there was a second room connected to it? And it was an office?!

Books and journals laid on tatami mats as twin towers leaning precariously against each other, with a small desk covered in scrolls and an ink stone set on the right side with a ink brush and a zaisu. Haganezuka turned to leave and explore what other secrets were to be discovered when something flashed from the corner of his eye. He paused, and glanced over his shoulder. His eyes widened at the sight of a piece of jade, round in shape with a perfect circle in the center and tied with a leather cord. Excluding the color, it was an exact replica of the one [First Name] wore.

He stepped forward and carefully lifted it from the desk, cradling it in the center of his palm. He felt grief swelling up inside of him again, and he bit his bottom lip until he could taste his blood. Swallowing the lump in his throat, he held it up and yelped, instantly dropping the necklace and watching it fall onto the floor with a low ‘thud’. His heart raced against his chest. Something…something was in the center of the stone. He saw something.

Exhaling a shaky breath, he kneeled down and picked up the stone, looking right through it. What he saw is…well, there’s really no way he can explain it. There were tiny, female human-shaped creatures with multi-colored feathered wings and big, black eyes staring at him with smiles that had pointy teeth sticking out.

“Such a funny man wearing a funny mask!” One of them giggled, performing a small circle in the air, flapping her verdant wings. “I wonder if our sweetie knows him?” Another scoffed, one with violet tresses and wings, as she crossed her arms.

“Obviously he knows him, sister. We all know our dear child never allows no one to come into her home unless it involves an emergency with a patient. He hasn’t screamed or run from us yet, so she must have told him about us. He has earned her trust.” She narrowed her eyes at him. “Are you someone we can trust, human?”

Haganezuka gulped, knowing at this very moment, he needed to be careful with his words or he had a feeling that these….things will do anything in their power to prevent from carrying out the job he’d been given by the one who hid in the mountains.

“[First Name]...she is someone who is important to me. This morning, she was taken away by someone like you…except he has a horned shadow and green eyes. He told me to take care of this place until she returned. Have you heard of him?” He asked.

They looked at him with expressions ranging from shock to worry to fear before they gathered together, huddling and whispering to each other in low, soft voices for a few moments until the green-haired one spoke to him again. “If what you’re saying is true, then our sweetie must have been much weaker than we had thought after she had dealt with relocating the salamander. The Horned Hermit likes to isolate himself up in those cold cliffs, so for him to come and get her….she must be very, very sick.”

“The Horned Hermit?” Haganezuka repeated.

“That’s what we call him,” One of them chirped, pulling away from the group and landing right on his shoulder. “He’s had many names over the centuries, and they are all so dull.” He looked down at her.

“And…you’re neighbors, right?”

“My, my, you are an intelligent one!” She said, beaming up at him. “Now that I think about it, you must be the human she had rescued from the salamander! That explains why you know so much about us! Our sweetie doesn’t tell us much about the humans she’s treated…but she does smile when she speaks about the one who had given her a few sticks of mitarashi dango when he didn’t have to. You must be very special if the Horned King wants you to look after her home. I hope you’ll keep us entertained until she comes back, young one~!”

All right, now he knew they were teasing him.

“So…if you’ve been visiting or staying here, then you must know where everything or anything I need to know about this house, right?”

The violet-haired one stared at him long and hard before she sighed, drifting towards one of his hands. He immediately expanded his fingers, and she sat on the edge of it with a huff. “The first rule about the neighbors is that nothing is free. We will tell you what we know…we just expect fair payment in exchange.”

Haganezuka remembered [First Name] mentioning that something cannot be made from nothing; in simpler terms, the foundation of magic revolved around give and take. To need something, a payment of equal value must be exchanged. For example, if someone asked one of these….little ones to do something for them, then they require an offering for their services. In this case, they wanted sweets. The best that the village had.

Fair enough. He thought, turning away from them. “All right, I’ll bring some back. Give me about an hour or so.” He said. They cheered loudly, the echo of their jubilation bouncing off the halls and even to the front door as Haganezuka slipped on his shoes and locked up the house.

Within the time he had promised, the swordsmith bought a lot of the best sweets in bulk and snarled at the owner when he asked why in the world he needed so many at once, stomping back to the house. He was not going to get conned by these neighbors, damn it! Too many sweets is better than bringing back too little and then he’d be broke and have no idea how to take care of [First Name]’s house!

They quickly scarfed the plates of sweets as soon as he set them down in the kitchen on plates he found near the stove, not leaving a single crumb behind. Once they had their fill, the green-haired one introduced herself and her sisters as Ariels; they are neighbors, fairies with control over the winds though they hate being addressed by the latter term because it’s such a ' dull name’. They stay here from summer to fall and travel back home when winter comes. Since they had found a child of magic in this part of the world, there was harm in being friendly with [First Name]; Like what he’d just done now, he respected and paid them with sweets.

Now they will return the favor.

Since Haganezuka had already seen the house already, they showed him where everything is; cleaning supplies, the location of the water jug, garden tools to use for the inner courtyard, etc, etc. They also showed him two rooms in the very back, locked and covered in paper seals. These were not to be opened while [First Name] was away under any circumstances, they stressed. One of them had disobeyed this rule and snuck in to see what secrets [First Name] could possibly be hiding. It ended with a cursed ink painting of a bakeneko nearly been released into the world, no doubt to seek revenge on the monk who had sealed it away, and entrusted this dangerous artifact to [First Name] due to her experience in handling such things.

That was the first and only time that they had ever seen their sweetie so incredibly angry. The culprit was punished, and no one has gone near these rooms since. The doors, however, need to be blessed once a month with a special solution to preserve the wards. They will teach him it, of course, for an extra serving of mitarashi dango.

Haganezuka felt a shudder of dread crawl down his spine. Shit. They were not teasing him. They were serious. He stiffly walked out of the corridor, swearing to never set foot in either room unless it was to perform another blessing ritual from the inside.

Although he would have been content with being a glorified housekeeper and gardener, making sure everything is nice and neat when [First Name] returned home, the Ariels regretfully (or not) informed him that those won’t be his only tasks around here. He had to spread salt outside and around the house’s perimeter, at dawn and at dusk. He’d also have to buy or make them, the Ariels, more offerings and for any other neighbor who might stop by, plus wipe down the wind chimes in the courtyard with salt water.

It’s a lot to do, they know, but these rituals were necessary. They prevented the ayakashi or any other unwanted guests from entering the house and possibly causing harm to their sweetie…and now, him. The tasks at night-time were shorter, if it made Haganezuka feel better. But it didn’t, though he grudgingly understood the importance of this daily routine.

[First Name] had to do this every day, including running her shop and traveling up the mountains? No wonder she always looked tired. He felt his face heat up from behind his mask when they all stared at him as if he were the village idiot.

“What?” He hissed.

The green-haired one shook her head. “We’re not making fun of you, dearie. Our sweetie must seem exhausted when you see her, but when we see her, she doesn’t tire out from performing these rituals….she simply uses too much magic that the human body cannot handle all at once, even if she is a Sleigh Beggy. But if you’re really curious about them, you can find everything in her office, she always keeps her books there. Now, let’s get started while there’s still daylight~!”

And that’s what happened in the coming days. Every morning and night, he went to the house to perform the rituals and make offerings to the neighbors. Yes, you heard him. He fucking made the sweets because buying them in bulk had burned through most of his extra income from two last-minute jobs. He had to lie to Kanamori's wife and say he wanted to make mitarashi dango because he was tired of buying it all of the time.

The Ariels seemed to like his offerings…and his company.

They helped with some of the chores, pointing out where stuff went and so on. After he cleaned the house, tending to the garden in the courtyard is his next job; weeding, plucking herbs carefully from the soil, preserving them in jars or carefully bundling them together with string and placing them in the storehouse. The Ariel who’d be with him always reminded him to make sure he labeled the jars so it would be easier on him and their sweetie to find whatever needed in a pinch. After the wind chimes were wiped down and the salt was spread around the house, it would be time for him to go home.

The Ariels would thank him for his hard work, and one of them would go with him as an escort just in case there was an unpleasant neighbor lurking around at night. Fortunately, nothing has happened yet.

In between handling his client’s swords, eating, and sleeping, he would read. Every time he went to the house, he would take journals from there - two of them. One about the neighbors, the ‘research pile’ and one of [First Name]’s personal diaries. He read about her earlier years with the master and the difference of legends regarding the origins on the nue and tengen, all at once. It fascinated and terrified and angered him, reading those meticulous ink strokes. She was strong and reckless, intelligent and kind, but never once had she been truly selfish when her body is so weak.

A Sleigh Beggy can absorb magic at an incredible rate, but it’s really no different from a weak heart and there’s too much blood in the body. It was no wonder, thinking back on it, why the Horned Hermit was upset when he took his apprentice away from the village. And that comment on how Sleigh Beggys aren't as strong as they used to be.

Then he found the last entry she had written, dated three days before she vanished. He felt fury boiling in his veins as he tightly gripped the diary in his hands on the eve of the last day of summer. She…she had used her magic to accelerate his healing?! Idiot! He screamed in his head. You didn’t have to do that, I was fine so why did you still-?!

But he already knew the answer. She did it because she knew she could, even if it would backfire on her one day. Haganezuka bit his lip, feeling the tears well up behind his eyes again. Shit, shit, shit! He furiously wiped them away with the back of his hand and closed the diary, succumbing to a fitful sleep that made him cranky the very next day.

As the weeks grew longer, the night-time air began to cool and the leaves fell from their branches. He kept himself as busy as he could with his work and looking after [First Name]’s home, but there is yet to be any sign of her returning home. Then one cold morning when he opened up his window to let in some fresh air, Haganezuka saw…fluffy clouds with tiny black legs and pale blue wings floating around? Huh? Glancing around his room, he quickly found one of the journals and flipped through the pages until he found an illustration of the neighbor he can see right now.

Wooly bug, not a neighbor. Closer to animals. Migrating from the West as the Ariels and other ‘neighbors’, they are not too picky about the offerings. They seem to prefer rice balls. Their bodies absorb the cold air, which allows fleece to grow. Normally populates in high numbers during the summer. Fleece can be sold as a magical item or put under a pillow to ensure good dreams. Note - they are very rarely seen by humans, so even most people with magical talent do not know they even exist and mistake the wooly bug’s fleece for the fur of a baku, which is in fact a rare and HIGHLY dangerous neighbor.

For more information on baku, refer to page 45.

That was when he heard a squeak. Looking up from the page he’d been reading, he yelped in surprise when one of the wooly bugs suddenly appeared in front of him, causing him to drop the journal. He swore, kneeling down to pick it up from the floor when the wooly bug grabbed it first, holding the notebook in its snout.

Haganezuka blinked. Then, very, very slowly, he took the journal from it. “....Thank you.” He murmured, wondering already how many rice balls should he give to it when it just pressed its soft body against his right shoulder. When he tried to push it away, the wooly bug began to squeak incessantly until he hugged it back with his spare arm.

Well…it’s definitely warm. They were going to be nice to have around with the winter approaching very quickly.

Before he realized it, the Ariels bade him good-bye after he had served them their final offerings of sweets for the day. It was time for them to return home and celebrate the coming of winter in their kingdom. They were surprised to see a wooly bug attached to him, but they knew it would be in good hands. They did advise him to shear them before they migrated home in spring, should he wish, so that healthy new fleece could grow back.

Throughout the winter, Haganezuka alternated time in his workshed and [First Name]’s home. Now he knew where everything was located and what to do, including the blessings in that damned corridor, the tasks seemed less laborious now that he’s comfortable with doing the rituals on his own without any help. He also had two fluffy companions that curled up with him as he read more of [First Name]’s research journals. He learned about all the herbs and plants that grew around the mountains and the village. In all honesty, he had no idea there were so many of them with practical uses.

When a fever broke out in the village, Haganezuka had been the only one who didn’t get sick. He offered to go out and get what the village doctor needed to treat his patients. Tecchin and the doctor were shocked that he’d not only did the task, but also acquired herbs that were extremely hard to find in winter just in case they were needed.

Haganezuka tried to brush the praise as not a big deal, but the damned old man would let it go that his precious son was growing up into a fine, young man.

Once the house and his work was finished for the day, he made time whenever he could to tend to the shop. It wasn’t easy to do so, though Kanamori and his wife were more than happy to do most of the upkeep whenever he got saddled with too much work. At the very least, when Haganezuka couldn’t tend to the potted plants and trim away their leaves or throw out any moldy herbs, he wiped down the wind chimes with salt water.

The shop still remained closed, but he and Kanamori made sure it was also clean when [First Name] returned.

There wasn’t a day when Haganezuka’s thoughts drifted towards the medicine woman. He wondered if she woke up, if she’s eating well and taking medicine, if she’s resting when she’s supposed to be doing under the Horned Hermit’s instructions and getting stronger in the mountains. He tried to be optimistic…but it was starting to get harder and harder to cling to that hope in the darkest time of the year.

Days blurred together, bleeding into weeks until the first breeze of spring arrived. The wooly bugs migrated back to the west, but two of them decided to remain by his side. He didn’t mind their company since they were…adorable, and kept out of his way when he worked. One of them loved sitting on top of his head or on his shoulder.

Haganezuka remained diligent in his work and looked after the house and the shop.

Then, one week after the New Year had been rung in…she returned.

He had been tending to the garden, trying to preserve the herbs that had barely survive the frostbite that blew through the village with the wooly bugs curled up close to him when he heard the pitter-patter of bare feet pressing against the floor….except that no one should be in the house because the wards were still active. No ayakashi should be able to get in, and he had performed the monthly blessings.

Could it have been Kanamori or Tecchin showing up unannounced to check on him again? Haganezuka growled, feeling his temper about to boil over when he looked up from his work, ready to shout at whoever was here when the words got stuck in his throat. His grip on the spade in his right hand fell onto the snow-covered dirt with a low thud.

[First Name] was standing right in front of him, smiling softly…and dressed in the worst kimono he’d ever seen on a person, feeling his right eye beginning to twitch.

It was black with golden eyes on the sleeves and a dark red obi wrapped around her waist with more golden swirls etched on the fabric. She wore billowing dark blue pants underneath it, and wooden geta sandals. Her lower legs were covered in leg bandages.

He opened his mouth to argue at her attire…then stopped himself and decided not to give a damn. He stood up and swept her into his arms, hugging her tightly. “You’re home.” He whispered shakily, carding a hand through her hair, which had gotten longer in the past year since she’s been gone, just to make sure that it isn’t a crazy dream and this is all real. Haganezuka felt his heart begin to hammer wildly against his rib cage upon feeling her quivering arms coil around his waist and whisper softly in his ear, her voice low and tired…and relieved.

“I am.”

#an idyllic novelist #chise!reader #hotaru haganezuka x reader #hotaru haganezuka demon slayer #hotaru haganezuka #fem reader #kny x reader #kny x female reader #kny headcanons #demon slayer headcanons #collab work #collaboration #kny haganezuka #kny au #demon slayer #ancient magus bride #mahoutsukai no yome

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