𝐃𝐄𝐌𝐎𝐍'𝐒 𝐏𝐎𝐒𝐒𝐄𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐎𝐍

PART EIGHT; THE DUTY

"You're strong," Kokushibo spoke up, continuing to stand behind her like a lurking shadow.

"You believe this?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

Kokushibo parted his lips as if he were going to speak, but then he closed them again. He knew exactly why he thought her strong in both spirit and mentality, and knew why he felt so drawn to her. It was an obvious reason, one he came to naturally, but one he also couldn't reveal. It would mean revealing sides to him that he wasn't ready to show.

Wasn't ready to affront.

And if he were being honest, he didn't want to see the look on (Y/N)'s face when he did.

"Are you finally going to kill me now?" She then asked when Kokushibo wouldn't give her an answer to her previous question, her (E/C) gaze sliding to the shadow of his sword that still hung loosely from his hand. "As you did my family?"

"I was ordered to, so I have to fulfill my duties to my master," Kokushibo rigidly announced, he however making no moves to lift his weapon.

"Your master ordered my death?"

"Yes."

    "I've never even met him, and yet he wishes for my demise," (Y/N) chuckled softly, finding the rather dreadful situation almost comical in a sense, throwing Kokushibo off as he never considered that she would laugh when her life was at stake—but then again, he knew her as someone who was easily able to brush off death like it were a normal occurrence. "Isn't that strange, Kokushibo? What have I done that incurs his wrath against me?"

    "I cannot say."

    "You won't say because you won't betray your master? Or because you do not know?"

    "I do not know."

"No... you do know," she lifted her head, drawing in a deep breath. "You know that you must kill me because I bear the (L/N) name, isn't that right?"

His silence was all she needed.

She was accepting of death.

She was when she first met Kokushibo, and that had not changed since. While she would miss her newfound freedom and existence, she was always prepared for her life to suddenly be cut short at any moment. She would not fight when it was her time, instead all she felt was peace. Closing her eyes, she nodded her head to show to Kokushibo that she was ready, expecting to feel the cold blade of his sword.

It never came.

Instead, Kokushibo kneeled down behind her whilst setting his sword on the ground, his arms then twining around her whilst he set his chin on her shoulder, his eyes closing. His touch was soft, gentle—it was the complete opposite of what he was ordered to do.

But he couldn't help it.

The thought of (Y/N)'s blood ever staining his hands made him feel hollow.

Incomplete.

"I'm sorry..." he murmured softly, everything around them seeming to fade away until it was just them two in that moment. "Even though I was ordered to kill you... I cannot."

(Y/N) lowered her gaze.

She had never met another demon besides Kokushibo, so she wasn't sure of how they acted or what morals they attained. One thing she was certain of however, was how none would act like Kokushibo. Demons were creatures who were no longer human, meaning they no longer had their humanity—and it was that humanity which gave them empathy, which made them benevolent, which stopped them from descending into complete darkness.

But they gave that up.

So (Y/N) couldn't help but wonder just what it was that allowed Kokushibo to hang on to that last thin and fragmented thread of his humanity.

"(Y/N)..." Kokushibo pulled away from her so he could turn her around, wanting to meet those (E/C) eyes of her when asking the burning question that had stumbled it's way into his mind. "You will never be safe as a human from my master. If I know of your existence, he will know as his blood runs through my veins. Become a demon. Prove your usefulness to him. Serve him... and you will live."

"And if I don't... I will die?"

"Yes."

Kokushibo flinched when (Y/N) placed the palms of her hands against his cheeks, having to sit up straighter to do so since even when sitting, he towered over her. Her expression was calm, yet at the same time, stoic—nothing of what she was feeling could be determined from such a look.

Finally, she spoke, "Kokushibo... I can never become a demon."

"Why?" He murmured.

"Because if I do, I will have abandoned everything," her lips turned into a soft smile as she took her hands away from his face—along with her warmth. "And then, I will truly have nothing left."

つづく | to be continued