Forward Author's Note: I had initially planned this as an X reader, but I wanted to take this story and bring it to the reader on a deeper level than you can by writing in second person. I had started one piece of fanfiction this way, and it became a bit difficult to continue on and thus lies dormant in 'WIP' status. There is an original character in this story I created just so I can draw out visceral emotions and desperation one might feel if they were the protagonist. I hope that doesn't immediately change your mind to read my story and give it a try.
I'm going to be taking quite a few writing liberties here, because even after watching the anime and reading the manga I do not see that much of a difference between an oni and a vampire. The word 'demon' won't be mentioned in this except in the tags. While this will be written as an alternate universe with only Enmu from Kimetsu no Yaiba, I will write this in such a way as to not reveal or spoil any of the manga. Muzan may be mentioned, but will not exert control over the oni.
There will be pretty dark themes in my story. Don't worry though; there will be fluff and plenty of lemons in this story. If you are under 18 and ignore my warning, please know that my story is not based on what any healthy relationship should or would look like. Finally, please forgive the Japanese I use in my story if it is not correct or written in the right context. This is my first time posting on A03, so please forgive me as I smooth out any rough edges. Crossposted on Wattpad.
The sound of his heels connecting with the pavement echoed between the machiya as Enmu stalked the silent, dark streets of Kyoto, Japan. Well, not entirely silent or dark for that matter. Things had certainly changed in the past century. Even though his oni sight was keen, the introduction to LED street signs and lamps certainly brightened his night life considerably. It had recently rained, and the pavement glistened under the streetlights as he walked, his hands tucked into his tailcoat pockets.
He remembered seeing his first sunrise in decades when movies became more of a mainstream form of entertainment in Japan. He had still winced and braced for the burn on his skin as he watched his first full colored sunrise in a theater. Awe and a dream-like countenance quickly replaced his uncertainty as he stared at the sun while his skin remained warm but untouched. He had even reached up to check and feel his face for burns. It truly was like a dream!
He did have a couple close calls over the years though while he built and contracted his subterranean home. One in fact was when he was right back here in Kyoto a decade ago visiting a tea house. He had stayed out too late and nearly didn't make it in time to his home. He ended up having to hunker down in a disgusting sewer till the sun passed. His cautious nature, however, usually kept him safe and sound but he still enjoyed venturing out to some of the bigger cities for a change of pace.
One of the most unfortunate issues that arrived with the modern era was needing higher discernment and discretion when seeking out prey. You couldn't just feast on any particular human you pleased like in the good old days, because missing people tend to create a stir. Too many missing people caused a stir. Eating the wrong human, especially an important human, caused too much suspicion especially if you ate out too close to home. No matter. He still was able to have his cake on occasion and eat it, too. In fact, it was the very reason he was still walking about the streets of Kyoto instead of heading back home before sunrise.
He had just been at a local hospital under the guise of a priest which was one of his current favorite games to play to ensure a sadistic end to a pathetic human life. He had to hide his true self, however. That had taken many years to practice, but eventually he had his glamor down. He erased his facial markings and turned his hair to a solid black. He could talk without revealing his sharp canines and other than his pale skin, he looked rather ordinary. Ordinary enough to fool moronic humans. It had been a woman this time on her deathbed, alone. She was an easy target because of the fact she was alone. A pity though that he couldn't feast on fresher and younger women, but food was food.
"Is there anything you'd like to pray about, Tanaka-sama? Speaking with the doctors, I know the cancer has spread beyond treatment." He gave the woman a warm smile.
"No. I've made my peace, and I'm ready to greet my late husband in the land of the dead."
"Sooner than you think," whispered Enmu.
"Pardon?" She turned her head, looking at the young man in a long black tailcoat with a long button down dress shirt underneath and grey pinstripe tweed pants.
"I did not say anything," he smiled again and patted the hand that was on top of his.
"There is something you can do for me though, if you don't mind."
"Y-yes, Tanaka-sama?" The only favor he was going to give her was a vision of her husband dying before her eyes again. He widened his smile a smidge more unable to help himself at the thought of the nightmare he'd give her.
"There is a young woman who lost all her family in the next machyia to mine. She's foreign, and she is all alone. She had just moved here from the United States after losing her relatives to live with her aunt, and her aunt had a heart attack last week and passed away. The poor thing doesn't even know much Japanese, and she sleepwalks at night. Two weeks ago, I caught her wandering the street with her eyes wide open as if she was looking for something or someone. I heard footsteps outside my bedroom window and she was standing in the street crying with her arms outstretched like she was reaching for a hand. Will you please go to her and offer to help her in some way?" The look of desperation on the older woman's face caused Enmu to pause for a moment, forgetting the fact that he was about to kill her. He felt-almost sorry for this girl as if his humanity returned to him. The sympathy, however, departed as quickly as it had arrived. It dawned on Enmu what this obā-san was really asking: a young woman alone ripe for the picking.
"Why, yes, of course I will," he said in his soft, dreamy voice. "I'll see to it that she sees a doctor and help her in any way I can. Oh, I cannot imagine how she must feel, especially after losing all of her family! Such a nightmare!"
The older woman sank back down in her hospital bed a little in relief at his promise. She took a deep breath and sighed deeply. Her lungs rattled as she did. "Thank you, shisai-san. She really seems like a charming girl. I can't imagine how scared she must be especially considering the loss she just suffered with her only living relative."
"The poor girl indeed, " Enmu soothed, really laying it on thick, "but how will I know or recognize her?" His cold, turquoise eyes burned into the woman's own, and she shivered though she was covered with a heavy blanket. Her mouth started to curve down slightly from feeling his once friendly gaze now a little too intense, a little too needy and rabid. She hesitated as she wasn't suddenly so sure that this young priest had any good intentions, but Enmu squeezed her hand in encouragement. Enmu could be very convincing and charming when it was required.
"She's young, but she has silver hair, and as I said she is American. Her name is Mandi. She is a little taller than you and on the stout side."
"Thank you, Tanaka-sama! And now, I think it's time for you to dream a little, yes? Something sweet and magical. Your husband is longing to see you again!" He let go of her hand abruptly and turned his back to her.
The dying woman instantly knew that she had just damned the young girl. She doubted this young man was even a priest. Whatever charm he had put upon her while speaking had worn off, and she could feel it in her bones that he wasn't even human. The hair on the back of her neck stood up and knowing full well that her demise was upon her just like the young girl she blabbed about. She sent a quick prayer to her ancestors asking them to protect the girl for her foolish mistake. "It's just like in the old stories my obaachan told me as a child to curb my foolishness. Oni! That's what they are called! "Don't misbehave, or an oni will come and eat you!" she'd threaten me. It's almost as if this man is..." Her thought was immediately cut off when she heard him whisper. Her blood froze in her veins at the overly soft and soothing tone in the oni's voice.
"Kekkijutsu," he turned around to face her and brought his left hand over his face. There was a mouth on his hand that looked like an upside down scream. The mouth glittered with needle-like teeth. Before the older woman could cry out for help, the oni soothed, "Nemure."
She went limp immediately. He smiled down at her as a dream about her dead husband racing to meet her in a sweet embrace flooded her sleeping mind. A tear slipped down her cheek, and she smiled in her sleep. Normally, he'd wait for a few minutes for his illusion to 'salt the meat' so to speak, but the promise of a young and beautiful girl turned his normal patient reserve lax. He touched her forehead and made her husband's face rot before her eyes. Her husband growled at her, his hands becoming like claws digging into her flesh holding her firmly in place. She struggled and screamed trying to tear herself away, but all she could feel was her arms getting torn to shreds. The woman then felt her husband's teeth nuzzle her neck as if he were about to nibble and kiss her. She tried one last time to pull away, but her husband's corpse had far too much power over her frail body. "His teeth were never this sharp before," she thought and then she knew no more.
夢 夢 夢
Enmu was starting to believe that this 'young woman' the late Mrs. Tanaka was nothing more than a figment of her imagination as she drew nearer to death's door. He'd been walking around for nearly an hour, and he would need to take off soon if he was to make it to his home in time. He knew he could always find shelter closer if the need arose, but that along with finding humans that wouldn't be missed was growing arduous with the rapidly changing times. What could he say? Even though Kyoto was a little over 4 hours from his home, you couldn't beat the entertainment or the atmosphere. "And country life can be so dull," he mused to himself as he walked. He sighed, closing his eyes for a moment and turned to head home when he heard a soft whimper emit from the machiya's window to his left.
"Found you!" he purred as he turned and glanced through the open window. The woman he saw, however, stopped him in his tracks.
Her silver hair glowed delicately in the moonlight that combed through the open window upon her. She was clearly having a nightmare of some sorts from the sighs and groans coming from her. It was a balmy summer night, and the heat of the day hadn't dissipated when chased away by the moon. The white sheet clung to her voluptuous curves as she shifted restlessly on the futon, sweat glistening on her brow. He sniffed the air cautiously, staring in rapt attention at the dreaming girl. Marechi indeed! Type AB- if he wasn't mistaken, and Enmu had sampled much blood in his time.
He was beginning to get aroused from the grime expression on the young lady's face and the way her body gyrated under the sheets. "Oh, how fortunate am I? What are the odds of finding such a woman with rare marechi blood to boot with no family to miss her!" He grinned in the moonlight, his turquoise eyes beaming with delight. He could still taste the obaachan's blood in his mouth, but the thought of sinking his teeth into this girl's neck made his mouth water. The fact that she was even already having a thrilling nightmare made him chuckle softly to himself. He ran a hand through his black and red hair now unaided by the glamor. Her head turned to face him in her continued restless slumber, and he noticed her nipples had hardened and were making stiff peaks through the white sheet that clung to her like a second skin.
Enmu looked for the door to make quick work of this delicious meal, but a loud moan drew his gaze back to the girl's face. Her eyes were wide open, and she was looking straight at him. Enmu froze on the spot and his skin had gone clammy as if his body was prepared for a fight or flight response. Something was not right here, not right at all. He should already be inside the traditional townhouse tearing Sleeping Beauty's neck wide open, but her icy blue eyes literally took his breath away. In all his immortal years, he never once felt anything like this-whatever 'this' was. She was still dreaming and watching him with unseeing eyes, and then he heard the infectious melody of her voice as she called out to him.
"Come back to me, my beloved."
Her right hand was palm up and close to the side of her face. A single tear trailed down her cheek making a glistening path in the moonlight. Only when it disappeared into her pillow did she close her eyes, thus freeing Enmu from his 'deer in the headlights' stupor. "What in the ever loving hell is going on? Go in there and finish her, now!" But he couldn't. Though he yearned for her blood, he felt it would be a huge waste somehow. "Feeling sentimental, are you? Well, isn't this just the perfect time to suddenly grow a moral compass!" He couldn't kill her, absolutely not, but he simply couldn't let her go. He wouldn't just let her go! There simply was too much mystery here to be had. Those icy blue eyes of her held secrets, secrets he desired to obtain. Though he wouldn't admit it to himself he wanted her in a way he wasn't capable of understanding. He never wanted to possess a pathetic human life so badly and not just as food. His tight pinstripe pants told him that much anyways.
He turned and using his oni stealth slipped inside her machiya and stood before her in the blink of an eye. He knelt beside her, studying the delicate features of her face. His eyes lingered down the length of her body as if he were undressing her. His mouth was suddenly dry as if it was stuffed with cotton. Enmu shifted his gaze back up to her face and tucked his bangs behind his right ear. He then gingerly touched his left index finger to her forehead and got a vision of her nightmare.
She appeared to be 10, perhaps younger, and she was witnessing her parents being murdered. She winced and Enmu quickly retracted his hand as if he was about to wake her. He didn't dare touch her again at the moment; she could wake too easily right now. A glimpse was all he needed anyways. What the older woman had said was all true. She did indeed lose all of her family and was alone. He wondered briefly what she was planning to do about money let alone trying to adapt to a completely different culture and way of life. He grinned in delight, cupping his cheek with his palm. "What thought provoking delights this girl is bringing to my immortal mind! When was the last time I'd been this entranced to study a human in depth, and here she's provided the perfect opportunity!"
He wouldn't head home. He'd seek shelter elsewhere in the meantime. His plan was rapidly gaining momentum in his mind, and he couldn't wipe the grin off of his face even if his creator, Muzan, slapped it off. Though he wasn't entirely sure what his endgame would be, he knew that this young woman would likely go mad from the mind fuck he had planned for her. He could anticipate the sheer look of shocked horror on her beautiful face as she slowly lost her sanity. He fought off a bubble of rising laughter in his throat and glanced down at his Sleeping Beauty.
She had fallen back into a deeper sleep, and he could touch her again as long as he was careful. He reached down with his left hand and traced the side of her face mindful of the pressure his fingers were making on her skin. He let his fingers trace down to her throat pausing to feel the beat of her heart and then lowered them further to trace down the valley of her breasts, encircling a nipple seductively. A groan escaped his mouth, his groin throbbing almost painfully now. He closed his eyes to calm his thoughts and waited a minute before he looked back down at her once more. He let out a soft sigh.
"Mandi," he hummed inaudibly and waved his left hand over her face. "No more nightmares tonight, precious thing. Sweet dreams to you for now, and when the time comes I shall be the last nightmare you'll ever have."
He pulled his hand away and watched a peaceful expression wash over her face. Her breathing was steady and calm now. Enmu had given her a dream of her family alive, bathed with childhood innocence. He frowned at her peaceful countenance, a stab of bitter jealousy overtaking him from the humanity that was stolen from him so long ago. He knew he had good dreams once upon a time ago, but he couldn't remember anything specific. His human memories had long grown fuzzy in the waves of time. He instead learned how to make his own dreams come true at the expense of others. But what did he care? He didn't. Humans were nothing to him except food. This girl, however, was something special. He stood and quietly left the machiya the way he entered. Enmu Tamio had some work to do.
夢 夢 夢
A ray of sunlight kissed her closed eyes, waking her from the most restful sleep she'd had in months. She wanted nothing more than to turn over and go back to sleep, but she was kidding herself if she thought sleep would solve her problems. Fear of her current situation encroached on her enough to chase the desire for sleep away, and she sat up burying her face in her hands. She sobbed softly, but stopped herself from having a full on crying party. She'd cried enough tears the past 9 years to fill an ocean, perhaps enough to fill the ocean she crossed to even arrive in Japan for the second time in her life.
"Am I cursed?" she questioned the darkness in her hands and massaged her temples. A migraine was coming on. She needed to get the tears under control immediately.
How do you really control your tears though after losing your entire family? She certainly felt like she was cursed! At the age of nineteen she suddenly found herself all alone in the world. She had some faint memories living in her home state of California, her dad pushing her on an old tire swing. He was in the Air Force, and when an opportunity came for him to transfer to Toyko the wanderlust in his heart couldn't say no. It has been a great 2 years from what she could remember before her parents had been murdered in their bed. Other than staying with her aunt on her mom's side in Kyoto for a couple of weeks, she didn't remember anything until she was ultimately flown back out to the states to live with her grandparents on her dad's side in Michigan. The stability and routine had helped ground her, but the nightmares never left.
She was angry at herself for not being able to remember her parents better, but tragedy tends to dull one's memory. Her grandparents helped to soothe the devastating loss even while they too were in mourning. They never did catch the bastard or bastards that had done it, either. She maintained a good relationship with her aunt who would fly out on occasion and stay with her grandparents. Aunt Vicki adored her grandparents, Hank and Ron, and they loved to hear about her tales while living in Japan. Mandi missed her parents more than she could say, but the devastating loss of her young at heart grandparents hit her the hardest.
Her grandpa had been the first to go, a heart attack it was and shortly after that her grandmother had suffered a severe stroke. A couple months of therapy set her back on feet, and Mandi had balanced high school and medical care for her grandma the best she could. That just had made Mandi's graduation from high school all the more special, because her grandma and aunt Vicki had both been able to witness her get her diploma. She refused to believe that her grandmother Hank (never Henrietta!) would leave her, but death comes for everyone in the end. She had passed away peacefully in her sleep, and Mandi was happy her grandmother had that at least. She could take comfort in the fact that her grandparents were united again.
While Mandi could have found a job and attend a college, her aunt Vicki in Japan insisted that she come out and at least stay with her a year to recover a bit emotionally so to speak. Knowing her parents were murdered in Japan, Mandi was hesitant at the idea to stay with her aunt even though she lived in Kyoto. In the end she decided there were simply too many memories where she was living and took her aunt up on her offer. She simply would just avoid Toyko at all costs. "It's a fresh start," she assured herself on the plane ride over. It certainly was a fresh start up until a week ago. Another heart attack. Another loss. More misfortune to strike her.
Her hands trembled as she placed them in her lap. She honestly had no idea what to do now that her aunt was gone. Her only hope remained in the kind older neighbor woman named Tanaka-san. "It's san as the ending, not sama, right?" Mandi grimaced in frustration. She knew very little Japanese and was stuck in one of the worst situations she could think of. She hoped that her neighbor could help her or at least point her in the general direction on whether she should stay and adapt to a life here or try to get back to the States. Although she was legally an adult in the United States, she had a little less than a year to go in Japan. A wave of fear washed over her when she realized that she'd probably have more resources if she went to a major city like Toyko where she could get by on her very limited Japanese. "No, I can't go there. I feel like I would have a nervous breakdown if I had to go back there!"
She wondered and prayed that her neighbor Tanaka-san was alright. She didn't speak much English, but she had been talking with her aunt a couple weeks ago about needing some testing done that would require her to stay at the hospital for a while. "Cancer, I think it was." Perhaps that should be her first step of the day: go and see how her neighbor was doing. She nodded to herself and climbed off her futon, rolling it up the way her aunt had showed her and put it away. "What's going to happen to my aunt's home?"she wondered with sickening horror. "No, focus!"One step at a time was all Mandi could do right now.
She quickly dressed and headed outside. The hospital was only a short walk away and that she learned by taking walks around the city with her aunt Vicki. She turned to shut and lock the door and noticed a flyer taped to the front door. Mandi furrowed her brow. "That's odd. I didn't think that sort of thing was common in Japan." She pulled the flyer free of the tape. It was in Japanese but thankfully included an English translation. There was a picture of a very handsome but pale young man looking back at her with a friendly enough smile.
"Losing sleep? Having bad dreams? Contact Dr. Tamio to be a part of his sleep study today!" There was an email address and a phone number at the bottom of the flyer. Mandi glanced back at the handsome doctor's face with the turquoise colored eyes and shoulder length black hair.
"Boy, you ain't kidding about bad dreams and losing sleep. I bet this guy would love me with all the nightmares and sleepwalking I do," she said to herself out loud and then blushed. She looked back and forth to make sure no one had heard her.
Folding the advertisement in half, she stuck it in her bag and headed towards the hospital. "A backup plan," she thought, "is never a bad thing to have, and I could use all the help I can get. Hopefully, I won't need to call this crackpot. No, that's not nice. I shouldn't assume that about him. Still, something feels off about this, but maybe because I feel a glimmer of hope. It's like someone is about to burst my bubble all over again."
As she made her way to the hospital, Mandi didn't notice that none of the other doors were adorned with the colorful advertisement.
夢 夢 夢
She couldn't hide the grief or tears that ran down her cheeks in rivers when she unlocked her aunt's door and stepped inside. She leaned against the cool wooden door and cried loudly, not concerned if anyone heard her. "Good! Let someone hear my cries. Maybe someone would fucking help me then! I truly am cursed, and I am surrounded by nothing but death!" Her head was really starting to pound now. It's too late now.
"Damn it!" she screamed and beat her fist on the back of the door. With how hot it was now outside and losing her battle to control her tears, her head was throbbing with pain. She needed to calm down and cool off. "Poor Tanaka-san! It's my fault you're dead. It's my fault my entire family is dead! I'm nothing but a curse!" She slumped to the floor, her sobs hitching in her chest.
However long she sat like that, she didn't know. She must have had one of her fainting spells or perhaps it was narcolepsy, because when she opened her eyes and looked around dusky twilight had already begun to fill the room. While the nightmares started when her parents were killed, her health and sleep habits really took a nosedive when she came to stay with her aunt. She was on a waitlist to be seen by a doctor, but it'd be awhile before she could be seen. She needed a bunch of expensive tests done which neither she or her aunt had had the funds for. The migraines were a weekly occurrence now, and she had no idea how many fainting spells she had or how often she walked in her sleep. Her aunt had made the comment that it was a few times a month but in the past month, it was weekly. Her aunt was forced to lock the door and hide the key after she had a midnight excursion over to Tanaka-san's house. That had spooked all three of them.
"What am I supposed to do?!" she whispered to the room. Suddenly, she remembered the flyer in her handbag. It looked as if she would have to use her backup plan and hope it wasn't a scam of some sorts.
She grabbed her cellphone out of her bag and dialed the number on the advertisement with shaky fingers. She hoped it wasn't too impolite to call this late, but she felt like her situation was pressing. Oddly enough, her call was picked up on the first ring. Butterflies erupted in her stomach, and she prayed her voice held steady enough.
"Konbanwa, may I help you?" a soothing and soft voice answered.
"Um, hello. Forgive me, but are you fluent in English?" she asked, feeling her cheeks blush with embarrassment at the rudeness of her question.
"Yes, I am. Dr. Tamio at your service. How can I help you?"
"My name's Mandi, and I'm calling in regards to your ad about participating in a sleep study. I hope I am a good candidate, because I truly am desperate for some help right now."
She wasn't sure if she was on the verge of having another one of her spells, but she could have sworn she almost heard a gleeful laugh followed by a very soft, "I'm sure you do."