𝕋𝕖𝕒𝕔𝕙𝕖𝕣'𝕤 𝕡𝕖𝕥 // Tengen Uzui x reader (+18)

Chapter 47 | Farewell

The moon is at its zenith as you finally set foot on grass again. The blood from the cut Makio gave you dried. The winter breezes turn your fingertips blue. Despite the cold and your wrecked body you managed to climb the stone wall. You were hoping to find painkillers in Shin's kimono but everything he had with him burned or broke. Tori joined you at some point, croaking everytime you wanted to give up and fall back down into the chasm. Apart from this she stayed quiet and didn't dare touching you.

Your hands are sore from the raw stone you had to grib. On top of that your nose began to bleed a few seconds ago and your limping got worse.
It's astonishing that your blades stayed unharmed. You expected them to break like glass.

***

Thanks to your concentration breathing you were able to make it all the way up the hill. The bleeding from your nose ceased and began again. Your lungs lay heavy in your body, exhausted. Your hands are wrapped around your katanas to use them as crutches whenever the pain in your leg gets too much. Tori started flying to Aoki-san with a simple message to deliver. Fortunately she can talk to every human. Writing a message would have been impossible thus you have to count on Tori's memory.

The trees cover you from human eyes but don't hide the shimmering light in the distance.
You clench your teeth to make this last few meters. The golden light in the windows of Oyakata-sama's house seems welcoming yet so humiliating. Shadows rush behind the windows and even from here you can feel the panic.
You feel the weight of the antidote in your pockets. It's a miracle how it didn't break and it will be even more of a miracle if Tokito-san is still alive.
Oyakata-sama himself knows a lot about poisonous substances and their antidotes. It's possible that he had something to slow down the spreading of it. He won't find anything to heal Tokito-san tho.
That's why you are here. Although it's against everything you want to do now.

You don't need to announce your arrival.
As soon as you set foot onto the front yard - where a joyful party with lots of friends was just a night ago - the shadows stop moving.
The nights up here are usually as calm as a lake. Not even the branches of the trees move. If you're lucky you can hear a toad during spring.
Your footsteps, your panting and the scraping of your katanas on the ground are like a thunderstorm in comparison.

The front door opens.
Your heart races.
Oyakata-sama steps out of his house but neither leaves the veranda nor the doorframe.
You limp closer and fix on his expression with your swollen eyes. You know you look awful.
Oyakata-sama doesn't close the door - everyone shall hear of your shame - which is his way of telling that he is more than disappointed.

His gaze softens the closer you get. You don't step onto the veranda tho. A clear boarder.
With steady hands you grab the vessel in your pocket and gently put it onto the veranda.
"In case he's still alive", you mumble and suppress the fury.

You never realized what kind of pressure Oyakata-sama has. It makes the pain in your leg feel like nothing compared to his emotions.
It's also possible that he shows it to you for the first time: his ire, his disappointment, his revenge.
It doesn't scare you away.
You're guilty but he is too.

"He is", the head of the demon slayer corps answers with a mild voice.
However he doesn't pick up the vessel.

Maybe his way of punishing people is by being all nice and friendly to give them a bad conscience. So bad it will drive you crazy and you will beg that he should shout at you.

For a long minute you just stare at each other. It's creepy how his milky, blind eyes seem to still see everything. See through everything.

Even though it's not even been a day Oyakata-sama looks like he aged five years. Eyebags begin to crawl over his scar and the tips of his mouth look drained.