ᴄʜɪʟᴅ ᴏꜰ ᴡɪꜱᴛᴇʀɪᴀ •》ꜱᴀɴᴇᴍɪ x ᴏᴄ《•

☆~• An Idiot •~☆

It was near midnight. At the rooftop of a house in the mountains, two figures could be seen.

Ruri was lying on her back, staring at the stars above. Her purple eyes were serene while her body was relaxed.

Beside her was the Wind Pillar, Shinazugawa Sanemi, who was also lying on his back, his expression revealed none of what he was feeling.

Suddenly, "Nemi, I hate you," Ruri blurted.

Sanemi only grunted, not saying anything.

'What an insensitive block of wood.'

Ruri rolled her eyes and continued, "It's unfair. I also want to tie you up like a dog so we can call it quits."

He turned to his side, his back to her.

"Noisy."

Ruri leaned over to him, turning serious. "Shinazugawa Sanemi, turn around and face me like a man. I want to have a proper talk with you. Stop hiding."

He waved his hand. "I don't have to face you, just to talk to you. I'm not deaf."

He was obviously being difficult. This man who was never good at expressing himself was undeniably guilty.

Ruri smiled sadly. Still, she went to provoke him, just enough to incite a reaction.

"I don't blame you. Being in close proximity with a demon must feel very disgusting."

He immediately sat up and turned around, his eyes glaring at her and veins protruding on his hand.

Ruri spoke up before he could speak. "Am I right? Are you disgusted? You can't even look at me in the eye anymore."

"Shut up." He said, anger laced in his voice.

Ruri shook her head and turned her back on him.

"Go talk to Genya. I don't want you to regret anything and I don't want to continue seeing him chasing after you. My little brother deserves better treatment."

"I don't have a brother!" Sanemi shouted in denial but if one were to look at him, you would notice that underneath all of that anger was a deep sense of protectiveness towards his only brother. However, it was fear that kept driving him to be unreasonable.

Ruri bit her lip and glared back angrily. "I don't want you to regret anything, Nemi. You and Genya are my family. Are you going to remain stubborn and wait until he becomes like me? Don't be a fool. Anything could happen anytime!"

Sanemi stood up, his scarred face staring down at her.

Ruri lifted her chin up, bravely facing his anger.

"Shinazugawa Sanemi, you aren't weak so what are you afraid of? Similarly, you aren't a coward but when it comes to Genya, you can't even admit that you care for your brother!"

"I said I don't have brother!" Sanemi yelled back fiercely for the second time.

He was annoyed with her and jumped down, entering the house. Ruri decided to follow him, determined to convince him to make amends with Genya.

"Sanemi! Sanemi!" Ruri called out to his retreating back. It was like they were little children again. She had always chased after this back, wanting to seize them and to offer her support.

However, this man never needed her help. He could stand on his own, carry his burdens alone and fight as a one man army with blood, sweat and tears.

Sometimes, she would fight and provoke him just so he would turn her way. She was scared that he would leave and would drown himself in revenge while sitting atop a mountain of corpses.

And she would wonder.

'Will I be there beside you?'

'Would you still remember me amidst the killing?'

'Will you still care?'

'When will it end?'

Ruri lunged and hugged his waist from behind. He froze for a second before trying to shake her off.

"Get your hands off me!"

"No. I don't want to let go. I want to hug, Nemi."

He tried to remove her arms but this time, she was as stubborn as an ox.

"Nemi, I'm sorry. I was weak and selfish. But I don't regret the decisions I've made. I don't regret chasing after my brother nor do I regret chasing after Muzan. I have freed my brother and killed him with the same hands that are holding you. These hands will continue killing demons." She said softly.

"In the future, someone will also come to free me. At the very least, I want Nemi to be different. I know that you've lost your mother and the rest of your siblings but the way you treat Genya is unfair. He's so close to you but you keep treating him like a stranger. It's no different than treating him dead." His body started to tremble. Whether it was from anger or not, she couldn't tell. She couldn't see his face.

"Nemi, Nemi. I've become a demon but Genya isn't. He's still human. I'm already like this but you're still talking to me. What makes Genya different? He isn't weak anymore! Why won't you talk to him? Why do you treat him differently?"

Sanemi turned around swiftly, roughly shoving her away. He looked dead serious this time.

"Nemi.."

Sanemi stared at her watery eyes that revealed a certain type of vulnerability. He grabbed her chin and spat, "I couldn't protect you."

Ruri's eyes widened.

Although he looked angry, she could hear how deeply affected he was and how it took all of his courage to say this.

"If I couldn't protect you, how can I face him? I killed my mother and he saw me holding the machete. Weren't you there? Riri, don't you you remember how scared he was and how much he despised me?"

"Nemi, that's all in the past. Genya no longers.."

He shook his head.

"Until Kibutsuji Muzan is killed, Genya is better off living a normal life, away from the demon slayers. I will fight in his place. And you, don't fight anymore."

Ruri's lips trembled. She outstretched her hands and cupped his cheeks.

"Why are you such an idiot?"