"If you kill anyone here, I'll never forgive you!" I yelled desperately at Akaza-san. His eyes landed on me, prompting a condescending smirk to appear on his face. "Do you honestly think I'd just nod and do what you asked? That you're more important than Muz – Him? That I'd turn tail and just go away?"

I rushed to think of something – maybe talking to Akaza-san and distracting him like this would let him just linger until dawn and no one gets hurt. "No. But I at least hoped that our friendship meant something to you." It was a low blow, trying to hold our friendship against him like that.

"You brought a Hashira to me!" He answered, looking more hurt than he was angry. He was talking about Kuwajima-san. "He followed me!" Akaza-san shook his head, "it doesn't matter. You're standing with another Hashira now. Standing in front of other Demon Slayers."

A hand on my shoulder, Kyojuro took my attention from Akaza-san. "It's alright, Y/N-chan. I won't let anyone die here." He walked in front of me, getting into a fighting stance. My heart would not stop pounding. I trust in Kyojuro's skills, of course. But I also knew Akaza-san. Among the Demon Moons, he is the third strongest – that's fourth after Kibutsuji! And there was also my vision.

I saw Akaza-san killing Kyojuro. And I was watching that happen. It doesn't matter how many times his flesh was sliced – it all grew faster than it gets for his flesh to fall to the ground! My abilities as a demon were nothing compared to his.

They were both fast, my sight could follow their movements but my brain seemed to be lagging behind. Then I heard a disturbing crunch, "his ribs!" If I don't do anything, my vision would come true. Akaza-san was saying it himself by then – that Kyojuro would die unless he lets himself become a demon.

A horrible feeling settled in my chest as Kyojuro prepared for an attack – this… this would determine who lives and who dies!

"No!" I shouted, tackling Akaza-san down and the swish of Kyojuro's sword right by my ear."

"Y/N-chan!"

"Y/N! You fool! That could have killed you! What were you thinking?" Akaza-san asked as I hovered over him. He moved my head side to side, looking if the sword got me. I could hear Kyojuro behind us, asking the same things Akaza-san was. But my mind was set on getting Akaza-san and Kyojuro-san as far away from each other as possible.

"Let's leave. I'll come with you… take me back to Kibutsuji I don't care. Let's just leave." His eyes widened, a knot forming in between his brows. "Are you sure?" I wasn't and I don't think I ever will, but I nodded anyway. I finally got off of him, stood up, and dusted myself. Without a word, he did the same and took my hand.

"Hey! Where are you taking her?" Kyojuro tried to follow, wincing and yelping in the process, so I turned only to find Tanjirou doing the same. "I'll be fine. I'm with a friend." Akaza-san tugged at my hand, "let's go." Deep in my heart, I bid farewell to Kyojuro and the others, because I knew I couldn't trust my voice to be steady. Because I knew the chances of me ever seeing them again was very low.

Akaza-san was quiet as we walked away and only spoke up once we had to take shelter as the sun rises. An abandoned cottage was where we settled for the day.

"Akaza-san, thank you." He shook his head, "You really came with me, just to save them?" He sighed. "They're Demon Slayers – they kill demons. It's in their name. They won't hesitate to kill you yet you'd do this for them?"

"But they didn't. Besides, they're my friends." At least I'd like to think they're my friends even though I've only met Zenitsu and Inosuke, and got back in touch with Kyojuro, Tanjirou, and Nezuko. Akaza-san looked like he was disgusted, and I don't know what possessed me to think that he was jealous, so I added, "I'd do the same for you."

He scoffed, unconvinced. "I mean, I did just jump in front of a sword for you." And it was the only sword in the world that could kill me, too. He kneeled close to me, a finger up at my face almost poking, "and you are never to do that again!" I had no desire to do that again.

Silence settled over us – awkward but charged. There was a lot to talk about, but I wasn't sure how to talk to him anymore. He probably was experiencing the same thing, as he kept quiet beside me. The sun was already out, a pleasant morning view could be seen from the window. I should be asleep, especially since I'd be facing Kibutsuji soon.

"What have you been up to?" I asked suddenly, sounding stupid. A weak laugh escaped Akaza-san, "fighting, killing, and eating Demon Slayers. What else did you expect? Oh! Looking for the flower. Nothing's changed."

I hummed, decades upon decades and he's been doing the same thing. "Aren't you tired of it?" I inquired because it all sounded exhausting. Hmm, I am sure it was exhausting because I was living that same life -with less violence and killing of humans, of course.

I can't help the laugh bubbling in my throat, leading Akaza-san to raise a brow at me. "It's sad, isn't it? Our existence as demons. The only thing we could really eat are humans, and doing so only causes sadness and misery. We only bring sadness and misery to the world, why are we even alive?"

Akaza-san sighed moving a tad closer to me that our shoulders and legs were brushing against each other. "Don't you ever get the urge to do something?" I turned, seeing him already looking at me. "What do you mean?" The only urge I've ever felt as a demon was to eat people and I don't think that's what he meant.

He turned away from me, eyes on his hands that were closing into a fist and then opening over, and over. "I like to fight." I nodded, "I know." He shook his head, "no. It's ah –" he brushed a hand over his face, then combed it through his hair. I don't know why, but the sight of him doing something simple like that stirred something in my chest.

There was an air of frustration around him but I could feel that it wasn't directed at me. "I feel more alive the stronger my opponent is. Like with Kyojuro – my flesh, my whole being was shaking in excitement when we fought!" He was probably reliving the fight in his head, as I could feel the excitement radiating off of him.

"The thought of fighting him every day makes my blood pump faster." I know I shouldn't feel even remotely joyful at the thought of him and Kyojuro fighting, but seeing this much emotion from him – and this is the happiest I've ever seen him – made me smile. Seeing him lively like this warmed my heart.

"But, that's not all. There's also this," a hand closed tightly into a fist flew to his chest above his heart, "deep need to protect something." "Protect what?" He turned to me, opening his mouth but nothing came out. And then the lively glint in his eyes dulled, and he was much quieter when he answered "I don't know."

"Y/N." I felt a gentle shake on my shoulder, a familiar voice reaching out to me. "Wake up." It whispered, but I didn't want to wake up. The voice – the presence made me feel safe. "Y/N, wake up. We need to talk." The gentle shaking didn't cease, so I opened my eyes only to see a breathtaking sight. Akaza-san was looking down at me, gentle eyes framed by unbelievably long lashes; skin glowing thanks to the moonlight streaming in through the now-open window. It's unfair how beautiful someone as deadly as he is.

Then what he said sank in. We needed to talk. Hmm, going on a journey to see Kibutsuji certainly requires a fair amount of talking and planning. Maybe before the sun rises again, I'd be his prisoner once more. Maybe I'd be –

"I'm not taking you to him."

"What?" I looked at him intensely, trying to see if the answer was somehow written on his face.

"You sound unhappy." His face looked neutral – I couldn't read him at all! "I'm not unhappy, I'm surprised! What are you thinking? By now he must know I'm with you." Why was the thought of Akaza-san not bringing me to Kibutsuji somehow more terrifying than if he just brought me to him? Oh. Because it'd kill him. "You can't do that, Akaza-san!" I hissed, grabbing his hand and squeezing it as if it would convey my feelings better. "He'd kill you." He nodded like it was nothing. Like him dying was perfectly normal.

"That's right. He'd kill me, and he can kill me without so much as lifting a hand. As much as I want to fight him, I don't stand a chance against him. I can't protect you from him." The more he explained, the more confused I got. "I can't let him hurt you again, not after you got away and saw your family," he smiled – a small, bitter kind of smile – "made friends."

I was stunned into silence, my mind working overtime to process everything. The fact that I just woke up as he sprung it all on me was not helping. "Tonight, I'll be taking you back to the slayers - your friends… and I promise not to fight anyone. For you."

"Why?" The only word I managed to say. He looked surprised, "I just told you, I don't want him to hurt you again. And your friends – even if they're just humans… they could do a better job than I ever could." That's what was off. Kibutsuji hurting me. Don't get me wrong, I won't forget how he took my life as a human; how he killed my brother but was that what Akaza-san meant?

"But he can't hurt me… he already took my humanity away, and my family's under the Demon Slayers' protection." He looked confused then, our positions suddenly reversed. "You don't remember?" I shook my head no. He stayed quiet, so I took that as a chance to convince him to not get himself killed.

"I can't think of anything more he could do to hurt me… except you dying. Kibutsuji killing you would hurt me deeply, Akaza-san." A small smirk appeared on his face as if we weren't talking about him possibly dying. "You were just saying last night how you won't forgive me, and now you're saying this?" I started to relax a bit at the change of subject, noticing I was still holding his hand… no, it was more like he was holding mine and it comforted me greatly.

"I said that I won't forgive you if you killed anyone. You didn't." I thought back to an earlier memory of him – of him stopping me from eating a human before. "You care about my feelings; you always have and I've… I haven't properly thanked you." He was the constant that I remembered in the years that were all blurry. He made me feel safe; my refuge from Kibutsuji. "In my new life, you were my first friend. So, of course, you're important and I don't want you to die."

A beautiful rosy tint appeared on his cheeks, his paleness helping the color to seemingly glow in the moonlight. I felt his thumb lazily circle around and around where it rests on my hand. "Then what do you propose we do? There's no way I'd give you back to him."

What should we do? In the silence, the noise made by the creatures of the night seemed to have gotten louder. The flapping of wings giving me an idea. "I need to find a crow."

If Nobu could see me now, he'd probably be rolling around the ground laughing. "Are you a Kasugai Crow?" I asked what was probably the tenth crow I caught that night. It just cawed and looked stupidly at me, so I let it fly away. I ran a bit and caught a different crow, "Can you deliver messages?" I asked, and it started pecking me. "I guess not."

"You look like you're out of your mind." Akaza-san said as he stood watching me chase and catch crows before asking them questions like I was crazy. I just glared at him, catching an amused look on his face but I was too into my self-imposed task to pay him any attention. "Anyhow, do you think this is a good idea? Won't they kill me seeing as I'm an Upper-Ranked Demon Moon?"

"I don't think so. You walked away. That counts for something." It has to. I heard Akaza-san chuckle, "still stubborn, I see." That gave me pause, and I tilted my head as I thought of moments where I've been stubborn. Sounding more defensive than I meant to, I whined that "I'm not stubborn. I never was." Alright, that was stubbornness right there. That was when I spotted a crow that somehow looked old. A lot older than the ones I've been catching all night.

It looked tired and it perched at a high branch. I jumped up, about to ask the same question I've been asking the previous crows when this one screamed. "Acckkk! Demon! A demon!" I've never been happier getting called a demon. "Yes! I am a demon!" I gently grabbed it, walking towards Akaza-san. "Huh, you really found one." He said, curiously peering over the crow.

"Acck! Let me go!" It protested for a bit but got tired soon after. It really was old, so I started to wonder if it was a good idea after all. But what else is there to do? I've met with Ubuyashiki-sama, and know he is reasonable and kind. I just hope he could extend that to Akaza-san.

"It's okay! We're not going to eat you." I cooed, trying to comfort the bird. Somehow, the crow looked like it didn't believe me – like there was an actual emotion to its small eyes and beak. Ugh.

It cawed, a little calmer, "Giyuu will avenge me once you eat me. Acck!" Giyuu? I didn't know who it was, so I chose to ignore what it said and just get to the point. "I need to send a message to Oyakata-sama." It tilted its tiny head, looking as if it was listening intently –

"What?" It asked, louder. I could see Akaza-san smack his forehead beside me before turning away doing something I couldn't see. "I said I need a message delivered to Oyakata-sama!"

"That was exhausting to watch." Akaza-san said as we watched the crow – whose name apparently was Kanzaburo – fly away. It took a while to get my message across, I ended up looking for a leaf big enough to write on with a stick. At first, Kanzaburo didn't want to do it, saying he was tired and old. That was until Akaza-san whipped out five worms and bribed the crow.

"Now we wait?" He asked, "now we wait." We both sat down, nothing to do but wait for the crow. "What do you remember, from before?" Akaza-san asked out of nowhere. "Oh…mostly just you." It was true. Memories of my first years as a demon were mostly of Akaza-san. "Looking for the flower with you, and just… I don't really remember clearly, but ah, also walking around towns with you. Honestly, it didn't feel like eight years." I turned to him, seeing a curious pink tint to his cheeks that looked similar to his hair.

"Is that normal for us? Having bad memory?" He shrugged, "I think so. No…" he ruffled his hair as he turned away from me to look at the sky. "I mean, yes. I don't remember anything from when I was a human, but I remember pretty much everything as a demon. Though living for hundreds of years… it gets tiring keeping track of things."

"So, I should remember everything since I've become a demon?" He was quick to shake his head. It reminded me of what he said earlier, "You said he hurt me. You said you won't let him hurt me again… I assumed you meant him killing my brother and turning me into a demon. That's not it, isn't it?"

A heavy sigh escaped him, shoulders slumped and he looked like he carried the weight of the world. "Maybe it's better that you don't remember." He was quiet; whispering his words softly. It only felt natural to whisper back. "Hmm, if you say so. I trust you." I can't deny, I'm curious about this gap in my memory. But I trust Akaza-san. And if it was about Kibutsuji hurting me… maybe I didn't forget by accident.

"Now, I don't know if trusting me is the correct decision but I ugh…" He turned to me, looking a little shy for some reason. "I appreciate it, Y/N." His words warmed me up from within, and I was suddenly hit with how much time we spent apart and how I missed him. I didn't know where I got the confidence, but I didn't regret it when I told him just that. "I missed you, Akaza-san."

A gentle smile graced his face, and he raised a hand to pat me on the head. "I missed you, too. And Y/N, by now I think you should be comfortable enough to just address me by my name."

"Okay." It was almost strange how the time apart from Akaza-san, no, Akaza felt like it was nothing but also extremely long. Nothing because it felt right talking to him; natural. But also, extremely long because I missed him. Strange.

It was like a spell was cast over both of us as we both look into each other's eyes. A spell that was broken by flapping wings and caws.

"Accckk! Message for Y/N!" I heard Akaza clear his throat as we turned towards the crow. It was a different one. "What happened to Kanzaburo?" For a moment I felt scared that the crow would tell me he just dropped dead – he's that old. "Kanzaburo went to send a message to Tomioka Giyuu!"

Oh, so Giyuu was Tomioka-san's name. "I have a message from Kagaya – sama. He said to seek out the demon Tamayo." It went on to give us directions before flying off.

"Let's go." Akaza said right away that all I could do was follow behind.

"There are too many people still out and about." The demon called Tamayo apparently lived in a well-populated city. It was the middle of the night yet the city was still very much awake. It was unlike anything I've ever seen. And to actually walk around these people beside Akaza? Of course, he manipulated his demon body a bit – changed his eyes and the markings on his skin.

"I don't like it here. Let's hurry." He was walking ahead of me, people just moved out of his way while they seemingly did their best to block where I was going to walk. "Wait! Akaza – excuse me…" I felt hopeless trying to wade through the crowd on my own that all I could do was pathetically call out to him.

It shouldn't surprise me that when I'm in any sort of trouble, Akaza would come and save me. "Y/N, come on." He grabbed my hand, pulling me beside him as the crowd part for both of us. And for a moment I pretended that we were just normal like every other person around us. Pretended that we were both humans who were out on a stroll after eating dinner – not raw, wild animal nor human flesh. Pretended we weren't deadly creatures of the night looking for a way to not die.

Minutes of walking and we finally came upon residential streets where there were barely any people. And for some reason, we were still hand in hand, and I didn't say anything to break that moment.

"Do you feel that?" I asked. There was this heavy pressure I couldn't quite explain. Akaza nodded, "yes. Someone's using their Blood Demon Art. Probably concealing something big." He said as we walked closer to where the feeling seemed strongest. "Do you think that's Tamayo-san's?" He hummed as his hold on my hand tightened. "Maybe. Stay close."

Without any warning, Akaza suddenly punched a spot on the wall in front of us, scattering something I couldn't see. "What kind of power could hide a house like this?" I wondered as we both stepped closer to the house.

"Mine." A voice answered. "Huh?" Replied both Akaza and me at the same time. It was a boy – man? A boy my age with pale-green hair that fades into black. "I meant it's my power. My Blood Demon Art." Ah. Behind us, the hole Akaza made repaired itself. We were then sealed inside the space around the house, and Akaza finally let his disguise fall.

"You – you're a Demon Moon!" In an instant, the boy flew into a rage and was ready to fight us. "Y/N, step back." Akaza said. "Should I go to the house?" I asked him to which he answered, "no. We're not sure if that Tamayo even is here." Right.

"I won't let you get to Tamayo-sama!" Akaza and I shared a look. That confirmed we were in the right place, so I ran to the house as Akaza held the boy back. The moment I opened the door, I was hit by a powerful Blood Demon Art.

"Who sent you here?" A woman's voice asked and I was unexplainably compelled to answer. "Ubuyashiki Kagaya told me to find you." She seemed to know who Ubuyashiki-san was… and well, she wasn't happy about it.

"Why would the Leader of the Demon Slayers send demons to me? A Demon Moon?" Like before, I was again compelled to answer honestly as a certain scent only grew stronger and the woman in front of me clawed her arm bloody.

"Because we need help. Akaza is betraying Kibutsuji, and I don't want him to die. Ubuyashiki-sama told us to find you." What I said took her by surprise, "a Demon Moon betray Kibutsuji Muzan?" My head nodded of its own accord.

She stared at me, probably trying to see any tell-tale signs of me possibly lying. She saw none, so she pulled back her Demon Art and called out to the boy fighting Akaza. "Yushiro, it's alright." Finally free from her power, I turned to look at the fight behind us. It was hardly a fight. Akaza was obviously much more powerful, still, demons can't kill other demons.

"He knows everything. Kibutsuji Muzan sees what you see; knows what you know." At the absolute look of confusion on my face, Tamayo-san went on to explain and confirm something I've long suspected. "The closer you are to him, the stronger your connection is. The more of his blood – his cells – you have, the stronger his control over you is. That's why he regularly supplies his Demon Moons with his blood. It's also how he enforces his curse."

The mention of the curse chilled me to the bone. I turned to look at Akaza, afraid that this curse would suddenly inflict him as we talked about it "That's why you and Y/N are not affected by his curse? Time away from him?" Akaza asked, shoulders tensing. The implication made the situation direr – Akaza doesn't have time. Kibutsuji could kill him any second now.

"I also tweaked my body considerably." Tamayo-san nodded, gesturing to herself. "What about him?" Akaza asked, gesturing towards Yushiro who sat quietly at the side as we talked. "He's my demon. He isn't one of Muzan's." I didn't know that was possible.

A heavy sigh came from Akaza before he nodded as if he decided something. And what a stupid decision it was. "Y/N… can she stay here with you?" He then turned to me, "if not, go back to the Slayers. They'll protect you from him."

"What are you saying? Why does she need protection when she looks like a pig next to Tamayo-sama."

"Yushiro!"

"What?"

"Say that again, you little fuck."

I pulled Akaza before he could stand and fight Yushiro again. Tamayo-san scolded Yushiro and apologized to us. But my mind was still stuck on what Akaza said before that. "You can't just leave… If there's nothing we can do I'd come with you! I told you, you can't just die."

"I think there's something." Tamayo-san offered, catching our attention. "We can remove Kibutsuji Muzan's cells from your body." It was a ray of hope that I believed in an instant. "But, how?" I still questioned, because my mind just couldn't imagine doing something like that.

At that, Tamayo-san signaled something to Yushiro who stood and disappeared somewhere before coming back carrying several empty buckets. "As demons, we could all control and command our cells to an extent. It's how we can manipulate our appearances; use our Blood Demon Art; and how Muzan makes demons. We will remove every last cell of him from Akaza's body and replace it. I can do it, but you two might prefer to use Y/N's cells to chase away Muzan's."

"But I don't know how…" I've said it before, I'm a useless demon. And with something this important.

"I trust you." Akaza said, grabbing my hand. "I'll guide you through it. It's –" I could hear Tamayo-san talk, but I was looking onto Akaza. Looking closely into his eyes, I saw when the first slash happened before Akaza screamed.

Akaza's rank was crossed out – his eyes were slashed just to cross out the words. Before he started convulsing.

"It's the curse! Yushiro, hand me the scalpel! Y/N, we need to start the procedure now."

"Akaza!" I turned to Tamayo-san, determined to do everything I can. "Tell me what to do. Anything – I can do it!"