Lydia literally saw her life flash before her as she squeezed her eyes shut.
"Wait a minute Sekido!" Karaku suddenly had his uchiwa clink against his staff. It canceled the shockwave from hitting her in the face.
"What now!" Sekido was upset that he was denied killing her.
"Didn't you say earlier that she was permitted to be here thanks to his lordship himself. If you kill her won't we get in trouble?"
Aizetsu murmured and shook his head "Letting your anger get the better of you (sigh) making you not think straight, "
"I am thinking straight!"
"Stop yelling at me..." the mopey demon remarked depressingly.
Lydia blinked slowly realizing that Karaku just saved her as he winked at her. She couldn't voice her thanks because her throat was extremely sore and dry. It seemed that she screamed way too much tonight, starting from Akaza kidnapping her, to Hantengu scaring her shitless and ending with her nearly drowning in a pond. She was surprised that she was able to breathe at all because everything was hurting her.
Karaku still had his arm sling over her shoulders ogling her body shamelessly. When he noticed something.
"This seems very intimate, "
His long dark nails traced the faint fang marks on her collarbone. She sorely wished that she could cover up again instead of being soaking wet in her lingerie.
"Is Upper Six your mate?" The green eyed demon suddenly put two and two together. Remembering how she kept mentioning them and trying to find them.
Lydia nodded hoping Karaku would get the hint and get his damn hands off of her. She weakly tried to nudge, but there was no budging him. He really wasn't trying to let her go anytime soon.
"How pathetic a demon having a relationship with a human never works, it always results in death," Aizetsu said, actually feeling sadness for this girl.
"Yeah if Upper Six wanted to keep you alive? Then just turn you into a demon it would be so easy!"
"Stop thinking with your dick Karaku!" the aggravated one said not liking what he was implying.
"Aww come on Sekido your just mad cause she kneed you in the balls earlier,"
"Did you already forget that she hurt Urogi too!" Sekido was seething because now Karaku was the one not thinking straight.
There was no way in hell they were having Upper Six's sloppy seconds plus they didn't need a mate especially since he greatly disliked her. And she probably wouldn't survive long anyways, most likely because of lord Hantengu. He tends to kill his brides whenever he is pushed too far by letting Zohakuten or Urami out.
The winged demon laughed saying he could forgive her as long as she didn't put on any clothes. Lydia was desperate to get away from them because there was far too many of them and she did not like where this conversation was going. Suddenly all four demons froze because they received a message from lord Muzan to bring her to a certain location within their minds.
Hantengu suddenly appeared in his full form making all his clones disappear.
"Oh no! Oh no! I can't take you to the master looking like this!" he bemoaned uncontrollably at what would happen to him if he did.
Lydia began scooting backward near the water again the closer he got to her. When he took off his robe was when she picked up a fist-full of gravel and peddled it at him.
"Ow (sobs) stop that!" as she didn't stop that and continued to throw stones at him.
"G-Get away-y fr-om me!" it took everything in her power to wheeze that.
"Put this on and we mustn't keep the master!" the small horned demon shoved the robe in her arms.
Lydia coughed and nonverbal expressed her thanks with a shaky thumbs up. Taking his clothing hoping the chills would go away while wrapping it tight against her body. She was glad that he wasn't about to do the worst to her, but she was still very much scared of him. She will never judge a demon by looks alone, Hantengu was no fragile old man not with all those powers in him.
"Hurry it up! Hurry it up!"
Lydia felt so sick that at this point she wished that the illness would just take her as she slumped over.
"Nooo! Wait don't die I'll get in trouble!" Hantengu having a full blown anxious attack picking up her unconscious body.
Gyutaro was annoyed because his sister had to go back to Yoshiwara to get Lydia's baggages, while Muzan and Kokushibo were somewhere else in the castle having a private meeting. Meaning he was alone with some of these Kizuki and thankful Akaza was being a good little lapdog by getting the broken stun gun, but he was stuck with Douma and Gyokko. Both were chatterboxes in their own regards and he was trying to tune them out. He watched the two Lower Kizuki have their own conversation a distance away from them.
"What are your thought on the arts?" Gyokko asked him.
"Hmm you mean blood demon arts?" Gyutaro questioned back.
"No art in general were you even listening at all?"
"Art is blah if you want a better opinion ask my sister because I couldn't careless," he was being completely honest wondering why Upper Five was even trying to talk to him. He saw none of these demons as his friends.
"Art is not blah your just an uncultured swine probably because of your upbring,"
"What!" Gyutaro spat because what did the hell did this had to with his upbringing. This why the punishment should have never been revealing everyone's past to each other because everyone would just use any weakness they had against each other.
"Don't be so hard on him, his mind is preoccupied with his mate...he is in love you know," Douma said all knowingly.
"Tch stop making up shit," Gyutaro grumbled under his breath. Though he was starting to wonder where Hantengu was with Lydia as he try not to worry about it.
"You have a mate?" he seemed shocked.
"Yea what it to ya? I bet you think I'm too ugly to have one or something like that right?"
"No, I'm just surprise you found anyone that can withstand your poor hygiene," Gyokko watched him in distaste as he racking his nails into his own neck until it was bloody.
Gyutaro snorted and rolled his eyes thinking what a judgemental dumbass he was. Just because he itched and scratched doesn't mean he was dirty, he did this out of pure habit. He was about to curse him out too because he grew tired of speaking with Upper Five in general. When Daki's belt came darting into the foyer like a crazed bat.
Immediately it attached itself onto Gyutaro frantically explain everything that happened to them. After hearing all of this, he stomped his foot hard against the floor creating cracks on it while making Gyokko's vase bounce slightly. He was about to take off in the direction where the belt came from, when a door nearby slowly slid open.
Hantengu came crawling in on his belly with Lydia draped on his shirtless back. Gyutaro jumped in front of him unable to describe the feeling he felt at the moment because his mate was wet, wearing another man's clothes and passed out. Even her beautiful mahogany skin tone looked a lot duller than usually, she just looked so lifeless.
"Is she dead?" he didn't realized he said that outloud. He immediately plucked her from Upper Four to feel for a heartbeat.
"S-She's alive!" Hantengu squeaked nervously finally meeting the other Upper Six, but thought he was really intimidating to look at.
She was indeed alive, but just barely and the first thing he did now that he had her was remove these awful clothing from her body. Then tossed it up in the air having both his scythe torn into the fabric until it was nothing, but confetti fallen from the sky.
"Noooo! My kimono (sobs) oh why did you (sobs) do that?!" Hantengu tried to catch all the pieces, but ended up falling back on the floor crying.
Gyutaro was actually repulsed by him which usually it took a lot for him to feel that way for anyone. He usually thoroughly enjoyed pathetic things and watching them break beyond recognition. But Hantengu was truly beyond pathetic, that he cared more about Lydia's health in the moment, then to squish him like the bug he was.
"Good heavens man! At least have some decent to cover her up!" Gyokko compliant loudly because that outfit his mate was wearing was exposing her well everything.
"If her body bothers you sooo damn much! You should just permanently rip out your own eyes!" he suggested with a growl. Then he raced out of the room before he listening to Upper Five's anger retort.
He hopped from one floating platform to the next until, he was far enough from all those other demons. He had to get away, before they any of them made any other stupid ass remarks about his mate's appearances. Ducking in a darkened room and sat in the corner of the room holding her ever so close to him. She was so weak in his arms and he also didn't like the way her lungs were sounding right now.
Gyutaro glanced over the damage on her body, there was cuts up and down her forearms. In both of her shoulder blades she had puncture wounds that were blood trickling from them. She had pebbles embedded in her calves along with her hands, he made sure to flick and dusted it off of her. He knew this was that bird's brain doing, but he wanted her awake to tell him what the hell happened to her after the belt left.
"What a mess for someone who hates messes," he spoke to her unconscious self, while picking some type of vegetation out of her hair.
"I'm sorry master I shouldn't have listened to her especially since she wasn't in the right state of mind," the belt murmured around his neck.
"Don't be, Lydia gotten a silver tongue on her that she can convince anybody to do what she says,"
Gyutaro knew better than to blame the belt it was apart of his sister after all, but a more dumber version that it could easily be tricked. He had her hand on his cheek and held it there. He made his bit of blood that was still in her body take control of her fingers to stroke his cheek like did when she was awake. He mostly did this for his sense of peace after having such a screwed up night.
"I won't let the grim embrace of death get you," he began to licking her wounds not knowing what would give her comfort right now. But he knew she will not survive for much longer as he kissed her chapped unmoving lips. He began to chewing on his inner cheek as blood filled his mouth ready to spill it into her mouth, knowing turning her was the only way.
Gyutaro paused thinking about Daki because she want to turn Lydia into a demon together, but he'll just explained that he had too.
"I see you need a helping hand!" Douma commented startling the hell out of him.
"Where the fuck did you come from?!"
"I followed you of course!" the cult leader smiled because it was quite easy since he was so preoccupied with Lydia.
Gyutaro was completely on the defense because that meant he watched and stalked him like prey. The last thing he ever wanted was to feel like was prey especially now, quick to stand up and noticed his arms were feeling light. He was empty handed when he looked down then up to see Lydia comically in his arms instead and immediately gotten closer to him because he wasn't going to let her get taken again.
"Oh my, is this what women in the future wear? Such a beautiful color like wisteria!" he blushed while gushing at the fancy lace all over her nude body.
"Douma!" Gyutaro shouted, pulling out both his scythes.
"Don't fret my boy, I'm only here to help. I sensed something off about her when I first saw her,"
Gyutaro watched as the cult leader laid his hand in the middle of her ribcage. He was really tempted to chop that hand off being underneath her breasts, thinking Douma was just trying to cop a feel.
"There all done!"
Instantly he snatched her back and putting away his weapons. He eyeball every inch of her to make sure she was alright.
"What did you do to her?" he questioned all accusatory because she was cured and finally breathing normal again.
"I took away my blood demon art that was inside of her. I assume this was due to my carelessly back when I was in Yoshiwara, but there might still be irreversible damage in her lungs,"
Gyutaro mostly nodded though some of the blame could go on him because he never should have let her eat that food. But he was jealous because he should have been the one to heal her. Time and time again it showed how him and his sister just needed to start moving up in the ranks.
"I suppose I owe you now for what you did for my mate?" he replied grumpily.
"Of course not, tonight in itself was illuminating, I would even say that it brought enlightenment to the rest of the Kizuki," Douma stated as if it was a fact.
"Hmm I wouldn't say all that..." Gyutaro disagreed because he never saw the punishment as enlightenment.
"Well I say all this to say thank you mostly to Lydia because without her...our future will be quite bleak,"
"You right, but next time don't just take her from me, I already went through that same bullshit with Akaza," he had to admit.
"Ah Akaza-dono! Truly you two are alike and I hope two can get along soon,"
He couldn't get on board with that and didn't believe they were anything alike at all. He hated Upper Three and this will never change especially since he tried to steal Lydia from him. If Gyutaro had to be honest, most of these lonely bastards just needed to get their own mate instead of trying to grope and take his.