╰⋯➤ 𝐕𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐎𝐔𝐒 𝐊𝐍𝐘 𝐗 𝐅𝐄𝐌𝐀𝐋𝐄 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐄𝐑
―
A human with the intent of killing other humans: that was something the Demon Slayer Corps never had to deal with.
A human with no morals, empathy, or emotions: a human perfect as a demon.
―
...
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Chapter Twenty-Seven 「Betrayal」
꧁꧂
"Please don't blame yourself, (Y/N)."
Her eyes were sore and her body was infinitely close to shutting down; her own brain was barely even functioning. Her head was pointed downwards, along with her eyes, as she refused to meet the gaze of the head Ubuyashiki.
"It wasn't your fault; I know you tried to protect him."
The Master's normally calm, gentle voice was now quietly breaking on its own, and the girl cursed herself for being the cause of it. If only she didn't listen to that crow, if only she stayed at Tamayo and Yushirou's home for the night, if only she didn't take Kiriya outside, if only she never let herself love him like a little brother in the first place—
"I'm sure he was happy at his last moments," the Master continued sadly, as if he was forcing himself to.
The girl continued to stay silent and kept her bow low, even though he had already asked her to rise a while ago. It didn't matter if he was blind or not, she couldn't look him in the eyes; she didn't want to face the shame and guilt of what had happened.
"(Y/N)," he called to her again. Every second he spoke felt like a passing hour to her as she just wanted her entire world to end. "Please," he began at her silence, pleading, "join the Hashira."
Her head finally perked up.
"Why?" Her voice was rasped and barely even audible, but in deafening silence of the garden, he heard her.
"I think," he started slowly, trying his best with his partial blindness to focus on her figure, which was slowly becoming more watery with his own tears once again. "I think it's what my son would've wanted," he forced a smile.
The girl's mind immediately clouded at the mentioning of his son. She couldn't get the image out of her head: Kokushibou, her friend, proudly holding the head of someone she saw as her own little brother. After everything, she still couldn't comprehend what had happened, nor could she accept it.
"I"—her voice was so emotionally distraught—"can't."
How could she ever become a Hashira with the knowledge that the young heir to the Ubuyashiki family was killed under her watch? If the Master didn't hate her for it, then surely, she hated herself for what had happened. But how in the world could she take on Upper Moon One herself?
"We can't lose you to the other side, (Y/N)," he pushed.
The girl just shook her head at him, not able to speak anymore. She knew her voice would tremble terribly if she even tried.
"After all," Ubuyashiki continued. "A powerful breath user like yourself makes a strong demon."
