𝐃𝐄𝐌𝐎𝐍'𝐒 𝐏𝐎𝐒𝐒𝐄𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐎𝐍

PART SEVENTEEN; THE DEBT

    Forcing open the shoji sliding doors, Muzan grabbed (Y/N) by the shoulders and slammed her against the wall, effectively making her breath leave her lungs whilst the strainer of rice she held in her hands dropped and scattered across the floor. His red eyes were dark and raging, his cat-like pupils practically shaking as he stared her down.

    "What is this!?" He hissed.

    She grabbed at his hands, her lips twitching, her expression confused as she glanced at the book.

    It was a Spider Lily.

    A blue one.

    It was the flower Muzan had been chasing for a thousand years—and a book detailing its properties was found within the confines of her house.

    "To think that this wretched house would have exactly what I wanted..." Muzan's scowl deepened as he stared down at the book before his eyes snapped back up to meet hers, forcing her head to the side so he could whisper harshly into her ear. "Did you know about this? When I spoke to you about this... were you silently mocking me? Were you thinking that I would never find this?"

    "I told you..." she grunted out, her teeth clenched. "This house belonged to someone else—to charcoal makers and sellers. I'm just borrowing it now."

    She sucked in a deep breath.

    Or at least, she tried to considering the difficulty of  breathing when his hand was around her throat.

    She then stopped struggling.

    A word he used.

    That one word.

    Wretched.

    "You know this house, don't you?" She accused, the sheer intensity in her glare making his own waver. "And yet, you blame me for overlooking what it contains."

    "I was only here to turn that family," Muzan growled lowly, as if trying to convince himself that he was right in thinking that (Y/N) had been hiding this book from him. "They were keepers of a technique that I believed would grant them immunity from the sun, but they all perished. It was truly disappointing. And the one that did survive is still a human, a Demon Slayer—those fiends are the most vile beings when it comes to not accepting the natural order."

"You have what you want now, don't you?" (Y/N) forced out. "Take it. Leave. You have no more business here, do you?"

Muzan stared at her.

He did have what he wanted.

    That didn't mean he wanted to leave, though.

    "There are many things I despise, and one would be unfulfilling my debts when they are owed," Muzan declared with a narrow of his eyes, slowly his fingers drawing away from her neck to instead catch a lock of her hair, seeming to observe the strands when he did so. "And apparently, it seems a debt is owed considering by visiting you, I've found a lead to what I've been searching for for a thousand years."

    He snapped his fingers.

    At the twang of a biwa, a shoji screen door appeared beneath both Muzan and (Y/N), the two falling through the winding rooms and halls of the Infinity Fortress before another door slid open to expel them into a dark alleyway. (Y/N), unused to the Fortress and its properties, almost fell after exiting the space, Muzan however being there to catch her before she did.

    "Let's get going, then," he sighed after helping her, fixing the cuffs of his sleeves before walking forward, not even bothering to look back.

    "Where?"

    "Wherever you may want to go."

     "What did...?" She trailed off as she followed after him, glancing at the now hard ground. "How did you do that? Where did you take us?"

    "I've told you before, haven't I?" He mused as he slid his gaze to the side of his eyes, his lips pressing into a thin line. "Demons are far more superior than humans in many ways. We can do a multitude of deeds that the human mind cannot comprehend. As for where we are, we are in Shinjuku."

    "Shinjuku?" (Y/N) blinked in shock. "That's more than fifty miles away from Kumotori. Why have we come so far?"

    "Are you always this slow?" He scowled.

    "Considering you haven't told me what we're doing here, I would have no way of knowing."

    "Haven't I?"

    Her brows furrowed.

    A debt owed... huh?

    Following after him as they left the dark alleyway into the more brightly lit paths of the city, the streets crowded and awash with electric lights in both the buildings and in the market, (Y/N) glanced around in a more reserved manor. The clothing worn by the passerby's were practically dripping with glamor, from silks imported at the highest qualities, to jewelry that sparkled and shone. Cars roamed the streets as well when those didn't wish to walk, along with horse-drawn carriages.

    It was truly a sight to behold.

    (Y/N), having lived in wealth and finery all her life even though she was unwanted, was used to it.

    "What are you doing?" Muzan snapped, forcing her from her thoughts, especially when his fingers threaded through hers to then pull her through the crowd in an easier manner. "Do you want to get lost? Try not to get separated from me again."

    (Y/N) didn't answer.

    All she could do was stare at their interwoven hands, surprised by the action.

    But at the same time, she felt warmth.

    It was a nice feeling.

つづく | to be continued