𝐄𝐲𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐞𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐫 | Gyūtarō x Human Reader

Another Visit

Word Count: 2,150

It rained today. Throughout the day and all through the night it has been pouring rain. Thus there weren't as many visitors. I don't just mean in the Tokito house. The entire entertainment district was fairly quiet. Rainy days are my favorite for that reason. But I also do love the sound and the smell it leaves behind.

I opened up a window and rested my arms and head over the window sill. The city wasn't noisy, but there were still people around with umbrellas. Most people were buying something hot to eat, like Udon.

"You should consider keeping your windows closed at night, Yūko."

The demon, Gyūtarō's words echoed in my head. Suddenly, I felt very uncomfortable having my window open.

"Nope," I told myself, as I stood up from my position. I closed my window and turned up the flame on the oil lantern nearby.

It was time to start removing the layers of my kimono and removing my geisha paint. Once I was done I wrapped a bath towel around my nude body and took off to take a hot bath.
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I lay in the hot bath in silence. The steam was opening up my pores. The scent of cypress filled the air.

Gyūtarō...

The demon came to mind again and again. He was someone who I thought about often. There wasn't a day that went by since we met that I didn't think about him. And every time I thought about him, there were more questions I'd ask myself.

How did Gyūtarō become a demon? Was he born a demon? Was there even a shred of goodness in him at all? Was he capable of it?

It was wrong, but I wanted to see him again. I wanted to know more about this demon. Maybe it's because he is the first interesting encounter I've had since Kyōjurō.

Of course, these are two completely different feelings that I feel.

Kyōjurō made me feel warm and happy. He excited me. Just being in his presence made me feel the sensation of butterflies in my belly—an expression I had always heard about, but never experienced myself. Kyōjurō made me feel safe and made my heart burn with desire.

Gyūtarō is a mystery. He has shown me only one side of him. I feel there is more to him than what I've seen. I wouldn't call this feeling excitement. Oh no, quite the contrary. It's a strange curiosity he sparks in me. And yet... I'm afraid of him.

I finished washing myself up before drying up and leaving back to my room.

Clinging onto the towel around my body I opened the shoji to my room and entered.

The window had been open.

"But I could have sworn I closed it," I said.

"You did."

I turned to my left utterly startled only to find him once again hiding in the shadows.

"G-Gyūtaro." I stuttered. "Y-you're here again."

The demon emerged from the shadows just as he did the last time. He had that same sinister grin on his face.

The familiar trembling in my body immediately started again, but I tried to keep myself composed. This was getting harder and harder to do.

His heavy footsteps caused the floor to creak. Every creak made me more anxious. The closer he got, the more I could see the many raindrops on his shirtless body. His hair appeared to be very wet.

"What brings you here tonight?" I asked him.

He stopped right in front of me. I never noticed how much taller Gyūtarō was than me. I knew I was short, but he completely towered over me.