[This chapter is the longest I've written for this title so far and let me just say that we're almost done with Kyojuro's route. GOOOOOSSSSHH So, I already have a plan about whose route to write next... but uh, maybe you guys would like to request? Or should I just go ahead with who I was planning on? Anyways, I'm very thankful for the kudos and to everyone that gives this little story their time. Truly, thank you so much!]
"I guess I can't really stop you." Yori said as he crossed his arms looking very serious. "Why are you staring at me like that?" He released a deep sigh at that, which reminded me so much of our father. "You're awfully close to Shinjuro's boy. Maybe you two should take Nobu with you." I almost could not believe my ears. "Are you really acting like… like you're my father?"
Yori sighed again and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Yukiko-nee. Goodness, it feels so weird to still call you one-san!" I have never been more offended in my life at that moment. "But I am your one-san." "I know that, but look at me. I'm more than fifty years older than you; you look younger than my grandchildren and soon enough my great-grandchildren will be older than you, too. They'll see and experience things you never have and – "
I couldn't stop the tears. This is what my brother was thinking? "You think I don't know anything?" He was right, though. If I wasn't summoned by Oyakata-sama, I wouldn't have left our village. I wouldn't have seen how much the world has changed. And I still don't know what it's like to have a family of my own; a husband and children. I don't know anything. "No, I – that's not what I mean."
"But that's why I'm leaving, Yori. To be human again. So, I could see and experience things. So, that I get to grow older, too." Yori moved, taking both of my hands in his. His hands that were much bigger and looked awfully brittle – like if I squeezed a little his bones would break. The skin loose and wrinkly. Time is such a cruel thing, but I found myself yearning to be this old too someday.
"How long will that take? I'm old. I don't want to die while you are away." The sight of tears flowing from my brother's eyes took me back to when we were children. Yori rarely cries, but when he does… I wrapped my arms around him. After our parents' death, I was so scared that one night I'd wake up and my brothers won't be around anymore. But I have to do this now.
"My blood is needed to find this cure. And I know you're strong, Yori." I leaned back to look at him before continuing. "Yusuke still hasn't forgiven me. I want to talk to him again, and meet his children and their children. I'm sorry but I don't want to wait. I can't wait anymore." A small smile of understanding appeared on my brother's face. "Well, you did spend a very long time just here at home. I'm still not sure about you and that Rengoku boy spending so much time alone."
I hated how small my voice sounded when I replied to him, "there's nothing to worry about." And my brother smirked at that. "Mhm! It's true." He shook his head, "I don't really know him." "You can get to know him! He's with Nobu right now. I'm sure you'll like him. Kyo-kun can be a little loud but he's very kind. He really took his job as a hashira seriously. You know, the mission that we went on didn't have any deaths because of him. He said he'd protect everyone on the train and he did. He said he'd find a way to turn me back into a human and I believe him."
"You like him." It wasn't even a question. "Of course, I like him." I answered without missing a beat and all I got from him was this look. The look he gave his children when they asked for his blessing when they chose their spouses. "I don't like him like that!" I mean, that was a lie, but I felt like I needed to say this to my brother anyway.
"Is that right? I have this feeling that you're lying to me, one-san." I gulped. At that moment, Yori reminded me a lot of father. That stern face of his that would make you confess to everything. "I do like him." I was more surprised by my answer than he was. Is it the experience that he had that made him so sure he was right?
The cries of a baby took both of our attention. I was sure Kagura-san was putting Sutan to sleep. Yori stood up, saying something about how Nobu and his wife really need help with their first child. I followed suit and was met with a bright, white light. Another vision?
I saw Kyojuro and Akaza-san fighting. Why am I seeing the past? It is the past, right? I don't see the train though, and the wooded area near us looked different. Before I could try and observe more, the vision changed. It was of the white-haired demon with tube-like appendages – Kibutsuji Muzan. A lot of demon slayers were present. This time though, everyone was in the Infinity Castle. I thought this fight takes place outside, where the sun could reach Kibutsuji?
The vision was gone as soon as it appeared. I should really try to make sense of it, but the cries of Su-chan seemed more important. I caught up to Yori and asked him why can't Nobu's mother help with the baby. "Ryoma and her went to Kiyomi's three days ago. All her kids are down with the flu." That's unfortunate.
Yori and I found Nobu trying to beg his daughter to go to sleep. "Su-chan, it's sleepy time! Come on, sleep. You like to sleep… please go to sleep baby…" It was adorable, really. Kyojuro was also in the room. Kagura-san turned to us, and I was able to see just how tired she was. "I don't know what to do anymore."
I laughed a little, remembering every baby I had to deal with. "Nobu was a much louder baby, you know." That took Kagura-san by surprise. She didn't know what I was. "Everyone in the family knows that." Nobu commented before handing Sutan to me. I started swaying her back and forth, slowly. "Shh… it's okay."
Sutan's cries became softer, and soon enough she was just whimpering. "How do you do that, Y/N-san?" Kagura-san sounded so relieved. "Oh, you haven't seen how cute my daughter is, Kyojuro-kun! Come, come." Nobu then shoved a smiling Kyojuro towards me. It was cute, seeing Sutan's small hands in Kyojuro's. We really should be putting her to sleep but found ourselves playing with her.
"Go on, try and hold her." Nobu said, and I passed Sutan on to Kyojuro. "Whoa, she's heavier than I thought." Kyojuro copied what I was doing, and soon enough Sutan was yawning and she honestly looked adorably precious. She ended up falling asleep in Kyojuro's arms, and he's probably the loudest person I know. We cooed at the sleeping baby, and Kyojuro gently laying her down. "Oh, thank you so much! Both of you."
Kyojuro excused himself, saying he'd go and patrol around for a bit and maybe even meet up with Tokito-san. I found myself walking Yori to his room before I start with the chores Nobu kindly assigned to me. "You know…" Yori said suddenly, "you two looked like a family back there." He turned, "Maybe it is about time you get to experience that kind of happiness. And that Rengoku boy doesn't seem too bad. You two could leave as early as tomorrow. Just make sure to regularly write to us."
I think me jumping in to hug him was enough to convey how happy I felt. Still, words of thanks kept falling from my lips. "Just be back as soon as possible. We'll be waiting."
With Oyakata-sama's help, we found Tamayo-san easily. "These are surely strange times. You two are the second pair of demon and demon slayer that we came across." I can't help but agree with her. "That's two consecutive unsightly demons that we've come across Tamayo-sama." All my life, I've valued humility. I tried to not let praise get into my head, especially when father was confident that I was the prettiest girl in our village. But being called unsightly? It actually hurts.
Tamayo-san's companion, Yushiro, wasn't very nice and I could tell right away that Kyojuro doesn't like him. "Ah, unsightly? That's definitely not a word to use to describe Y/N-chan!" Yushiro was more than ready to talk back, but Tamayo-san was quick to scold him. "Yushiro!" He mumbled something, but I decided that it'd be wise to just ignore him.
"Ubuyashiki-san's letter said that you were looking for a way to become human again?" I nodded. "Yes. Tanjirou told me about you before; about how you needed to study the blood of as many demons as you could. I know it might be insignificant, but I was hoping my blood could help." Tamayo-san stood and gathered the tools she needed to extract my blood. As she busied herself, I turned to look at Yushiro whose eyes were trailing her.
He smelled different. They both smelled different than any other demons I've encountered. Tamayo-san returned to her spot in front of me, setting down some vials and syringes. "Y/N-san, what you're doing isn't insignificant. It is a huge help. Also, your case is almost as rare as Tanjirou's sister." "What do you mean?" Kyojuro asked, sparing glances at me.
"You've never eaten humans before, have you Y/N-san?" I shook my head no. Then I thought about the times I had human blood, so I told her about the time I ingested some from the demon slayer, and that time I licked Keiko-san's blood off my hand. I looked at Kyojuro, nervous that he might look at me differently but he showed me a smile of confidence. As if saying that he'll always be by my side. "I see. The blood you ingested was barely a spoonful. Y/N-san, I have to ask… Ubuyashiki-san mentioned that you were special to Kibutsuji?"
For some reason, what she said made me nervous and snap my head towards Kyojuro. It was suddenly important to me that he knows I'm not important to Kibutsuji. Kyojuro's eye was closed by then, arms crossed over his chest. "I'm not special to him!" I said in a panic, surprising Tamayo-san. "I mean… when he took me from my home, he was my fiancé. And he made me one of his demon moons."
"You're a demon moon? An actual demon moon?" Yushiro asked a finger pointed at me. In lieu of an answer, I just showed them my real eyes? "Seventh moon? There's no seventh moon. There's only twelve, being seventh makes you the thirteenth." I've only been around them for a short while and I can tell that Yushiro hates everyone aside from Tamayo-san. The way he talked to me made me feel like we were fighting.
"Interesting." Tamayo-san asked more about my time with Kibutsuji, so I told her how he only asked me to look for things and have my visions. She drew a few vials of my blood and talked about her life. She was able to be around Kibutsuji before – a close companion. Apparently, she was the one who turned Yushiro into a demon. "What? You did?! How?" I asked, amazed, and surprised. "I thought Kibutsuji Muzan was the only one who could do that." Added Kyojuro.
"It's simply because no other demon ever tried. Kibutsuji's curse most likely prevents it." That curse – how every demon who dared talk about him would instantly die. "I've seen that curse in action before, and I've been wondering since then why it didn't happen to me."
"You've severed your connection to Kibutsuji. See, he has control over every demon he created through his cells. But some of us are able to severe it. Me, you, and Nezuko. And since he has no control over me, he also has no control over Yushiro. I was able to turn him by feeding him my blood." It always comes down to blood. She told me more about the process, which was very simple. She just had to make Yushiro ingest her blood and then wait for his body to accept her blood – it's really odd to hear.
We also got to talking about food. "Does it satisfy you?" I asked after finding out that they survive by drinking human blood. "It's better than living on animals." Still, that wasn't a yes. Tamayo-san offered to tweak my body the same way she did, which would let me live on human blood alone. That sounded so tempting! But my fear was holding me back. Probably sensing that, Kyojuro's hand wrapped over mine.
A simple gesture to remind me that he's beside me. "I'll think about it."
After bidding Tamayo-san and Yushiro goodbye, Kyojuro and I went out to explore the city that they were staying at. It wasn't as big as the city we've been to when we boarded the train, but it was still something very different from any villages I've ever been to.
We walked for a while, taking in the sights of the colorful city before we went inside one of the many restaurants. "I feel bad eating by myself." Kyojuro confessed, after ordering practically the whole menu. "It's alright Kyo-kun! We can come back here after Tamayo-san finishes the elixir. And I enjoy watching you eat." I really do hope she'd be able to do it. "We sure will! I hope we get a mission soon. That way we can send Tamayo-san more samples." Kyojuro's generous use of the word we was making my heart pound harder and louder.
We. The two of us. Soon enough, Kyojuro's food arrived and he dug in, eating every dish with enthusiastic praises to its deliciousness. I miss eating human food. I miss the taste and texture of freshly cooked rice; the crunchy sweetness of fruits and vegetables; and cooked meat. I think I've had enough sashimi for more than a lifetime.
After eating, Kyojuro and I went outside the city so I could hunt and feed. We had to walk for a while to find some wild deer that Kyojuro kindly caught for me. "Uhm, it might get messy so you don't really need to watch…" Kyojuro nodded in understanding before moving away. I tried my best to prevent the blood from getting anywhere, and I'm so glad that it paid off and I was relatively clean after eating. I'd like maybe two more deer, but one should be enough.
"Thank you for waiting, Kyo-kun." We continued walking, looking for somewhere I could spend the day in. It was a quiet night – a beautiful night. "You know," Kojuro started, breaking the silence we were in. "I don't think you're a monster. If you take up Tamayo-san's offer, I'll support you." My face broke into a smile at that. It was really good to hear that coming from Kyojuro. I grabbed his hand, hoping that gesture could convey what I was feeling inside. His grip was firm, and I felt safe.
"I don't think I'd go for it. I'm doing fine living on animals." I think feeding on animals – despite them being bloody and raw – was my way to pretend like I'm still human. Pathetic. But I'm afraid consuming human blood would tempt me into devouring humans. I know Tamayo-san and Yushiro were able to just live on blood, but I don't trust myself.
Kyojuro's grip on my hand tightened some and it pulled me out of my thoughts. "You look very beautiful tonight, Y/N-chan." "Huh?" That came out of nowhere and made me freeze on my spot. He looked at me, a big smile on his face. "You're not unsightly. You'll never be unsightly." Oh. I laughed at that, and I'm sure my face was red as it felt so warm. "No need to say that. I'm not taking Yushiro's words to heart."
His other hand went to my shoulder, making me turn to face him. With the same intensity he wears when fighting, he looked at me and told me, "I'm not saying you're beautiful just because of what Yushiro said. I truly think that, Y/N. Inside and out, you're amazing. I should have been telling you that all the time." His hand moved from my shoulder to my face, holding it gently that I can't help but lean into his touch. "You're considerate, and just so selfless. I think you're the strongest person I know."
"I highly doubt that last one… but thank you. I think you're amazing, too. My breath hitched when he closed his eye and started leaning in. Was he…? My eyes fluttered shut, and I could feel his breath on my lips when he suddenly yanked me behind him, his hand grabbing onto the hilt of his sword.
"So, you're still alive Rengoku Kyojuro? I didn't think you were this close, Y/N." The happiness that I was feeling was snuffed out like candle fire in the wind. "Akaza-san?" How can I be so stupid! It's the vision – it wasn't of the past. "Please leave us alone!" I held onto Kyojuro; my grip so tight that my knuckles were turning white. The last time they fought, Kyojuro almost died. I can't let that happen again!
"I can't do that. Muzan-sama wants you back, Y/N. I might let Rengoku live, but I doubt he'd just hand you over to me." Kyojuro moved into a battle stance while still covering me with his body. "You got that right! I'm never letting you take her away." That only made Akaza-san laugh. "You look so pathetic right now. Do you really think you can stop me? You were no match for me back when you had two eyes. What could you possibly do with a single eye?"
I moved beside Kyojuro, feeling courage burn in me. "I'll be his eyes." I turned to Kyojuro, "I'll watch your back." He looked at me, unsure. "I trust you, Kyo-kun. Please trust me, too." A small smile was on his face and he nodded. And just like that, the battle started.
"Ha!" Akaza-san knew where we'd be before we even get there. His blood demon art was making dodging and attacking difficult. However, there are two of us. I managed to stop some of Akaza-san's hits, Kyojuro dodged more. However, every slice his sword makes disappears almost instantly. Akaza-san's regeneration was much too fast!
The two of them were moving faster than I was, but I can see Akaza-san going for Kyojuro's chest, neck, and head more than the other parts of his body. I did my best to catch the blows, then Akaza-san changed his strategy. "Ahh!" "Y/N-chan!"
"I thought you didn't fight women?" I managed to ask him. "I'm not fighting you. I'm grabbing you." And he was. Like a sack of rice, he threw me over his shoulder. It took me a few seconds, but I tried to get his hold off me. "No!" Kyojuro jumped after us, managing to slice Akaza-san's side. "Is that all you got?" The world stopped. I don't know how Akaza-san managed it, but he was able to fight Kyojuro while I was perched on his shoulder… no. Me being on his shoulder was the very reason he could attack.
With me right beside his neck, Kyojuro pulled his attacks. He suddenly had to be careful or else he'd get me, too. I wasn't able to see much of the fight where I was, so the sickening crunch of Kyojuro's bones breaking took me by surprise and was enough to break my heart. "No!" I started hitting Akaza-san's back harder, scratching his skin within my reach and even biting a chunk of his flesh from his back. He hissed and threw me to the ground when I did that.
"Kyojuro!" I saw red. And it wasn't just because a pool of blood was surrounding Kyojuro's body. "You hurt him again! You -! I hate you!" It was a fury I didn't know I could feel; pain that could physically break my heart. I went for Akaza-san's head and he dodged. "Arggghhh!" I was frustrated. I need to hit him! "Stop this, Y/N. He's just a human." I jumped on Akaza-san, his arms wrapping around me instinctively. "Ahh!" I bit his neck, taking a huge, bloody chunk off before he threw me again. I landed right beside Kyojuro.
He's still breathing! I need to take him to a doctor. Tamayo-san is a doctor! The city isn't too far but isn't too close either. Could I outrun Akaza-san while carrying Kyojuro? I was running out of time. I grabbed Kyojuro's nichirin blade before standing up to face Akaza-san. "Y/N! Dawn is almost here. Stop that – put the sword down and come with me. He's as good as dead – ah!" I didn't let him finish. I jumped and went for his neck, but he was able to move so the nichirin blade hacked the flesh from his shoulder to his stomach. It was a very sharp sword.
"I'll kill you!" The smug confidence that was on his face a while ago was nowhere to be found now. He kept moving away from me. Despite me wanting to kill him, I won't step further from Kyojuro. Akaza-san might grab me and leave. Instead, I took that chance – while Akaza-san was leaps away from us – and took off with Kyojuro. It was difficult, bones were poking out of his body and blood was gushing out. With the early signs of sunrise, I couldn't possibly take him to Tamayo-san. The city isn't as close as I'd like it to be in this situation. The sun was our salvation from Akaza-san and it seems like it'd be our doom.
I took a chance, jumping off the road and into the woods. Maybe a tree could cover me. But what would I do with Kyojuro?! Cave? I found a cave… I laid Kyojuro down gently, looking over his injuries. "No, no… mmm…" My whimpers were echoing and it was making it harder to think. I have no idea what to do. He was bleeding too much and too fast! I can't let him die. He's not supposed to die! Both of my hands went to cover the wounds on his torso… not enough! He's going to die…
.
.
.
With both my hands putting pressure on his wounds, I bit my tongue hard until it started bleeding. Kyojuro's breathing was growing weaker, time was running out. I leaned down brushing my lips against his. Using my tongue, I pried his mouth open and let my blood seep into his mouth until I heard him swallow.
I didn't know how long I did that, but I kept my mouth on his until I felt his bleeding stop. His bones that were poking went back into his flesh and the wound over it started closing. His chest started moving regularly, his breathing strong. I removed his eyepatch and the sunken skin went back to normal – the shape of an eye obvious behind the lid.
I held my breath as his eyes started to flutter open. The eyes of a demon.