Conqueress of Demons - KnY x fem! Xiao Reader

Chapter 22 - Deep Sleep

„I know you as well. You were the boy who was at the meeting. You're her brother, right?"

He pointed at Y/N. Tanjiro smiled upon seeing her enjoy herself so much and nodded.

„Yes. Yes that's me. I'm Tanjiro Kamado. This right there is Y/N, my older sister. And the two next to me are Zenitsu Agatsuma and Inosuke Hashibira."

Kyojuro crossed his arms, his eyes now on the box on Tanjiro's back.

„I take it she's still in there?"

Tanjiro nodded while Y/N was studying Kyojuro's face as he spoke with Tanjiro. His voice was a bit too loud for her liking but he surely had a good reason for speaking you loudly. Was his hair colour natural? It looked like flames, quite pretty. The woman finished her portion of almond tofu, gently wiping the corners of her mouth with her thumb. Rengoku smiled.

„Your sister. The demon. Our master wants us to accept her, so I'll comply."

He smiled at the boy.

„Come and sit with me."

Tanjiro sat down across the two older demon slayers while Zenitsu and Inosuke sat near them. Kyojuro tilted his head in interest as he saw Inosuke bang his hands against the wall of the train in excitement. Just what was up with this boy? Shaking the thought off, his red irises focused on Tanjiro.

„So. What brings you four here? A mission?"

Y/N, who was looking out of the window and enjoying the beautiful scenery, answered.

„A message from Tanjiro's crow. We were told to meet up with you here."

Kyojuro nodded. He hadn't heard much of her voice when she was calm. It was nice. Melodious but still slightly raspy.

„Actually.. there's one more thing."

Tanjiro mumbled.

„Go ahead."

The maroon haired boy let out a sigh.

„It's about my father. He was very sickly.. but he still managed to do the dance of the fire deity, Hinokami Kagura, in the middle of biting cold and snow. It's.. about this dance."

Y/N was lost in thought as the two of them talked. She never met any of Tanjiro's family members, she had only seen their corpses. Her thoughts wandered back to her old life, to those she had considered family there. Her father. Or the man she saw as her father. Morax. The god of contracts. She missed him. Missed his soothing voice and the advice he'd give her when times where hard. She now had a life of her own, new people to protect, new decisions to make. But ultimately, those decisions where hers and hers alone. No one would be able to make them for her. And that was what scared Y/N. What if she made a wrong decision? She was strong, no doubt. Stronger than most people she had met here. Yet, a feeling of fear was gnawing at her, one that she couldn't simply shake off. Then, an image flashed up in her head. It was weird. It felt like she was slowly falling asleep. Snapping out of her thoughts, the young woman shook her head to clear her mind a bit.

„Y/N? Is everything alright?"

Tanjiro eyed her with worry, Kyojuro's gaze also on her. She shook her head.

„It's just.. no. It's nothing important."

The flame pillar tilted his head and whispered.

„Are you sure?"

The adeptus nodded. Just then, the door to the wagon opened and the conductor walked in.

„Your tickets.. please.."

He reached out, his hand shaking. He was pale, shadows under his eyes. Something was off about him. Hesistantly, Y/N reached out and handed him her ticket. The man's aura was similar to a demonic one.. or was there are demon in the wagon? Standing up, she unsheathed her spear, holding it at her side.

„Tanjiro. Rengoku. There is a demon in here."

Kyojuro stood up, nodding.

„I noticed. Please stay behind us, Sir!"

He pushed the conductor back, unsheathing his katana. The light flickered and there it was. A demon. It was tall and muscular, with a deformed body and multiple eyes on the sides of its head. Y/N frowned as she dashed forward, immediately beheading the demon before it could even react. Its head tumbled to the ground, making the people that where left in the wagon. scream and run. Rengoku looked at her with wide eyes. She was fast. She reacted even before he could. How strong.. Rengoku smiled at her.

„You're great. You should really think about the masters offer.. we could fight side by side more often."

He couldn't deny that the idea of being her companion while they fought was quite appealing to him. Maybe they could train together. Y/N shook her head.

„Not interested."

Kyojuro's smile didn't vanish, instead he simply put his katana back into its sheath.

„Alright! But there's another demon around here.."

The pillar turned and ran through the wagon into the next. As soon as they passed the wooden door, another demon came into sight. It looked similar to a grasshopper, with multiple arms and thin limbs. Zenitsu shivered.

„It's looks so.. horrible! So thin and slimy!"

He gagged. Y/N tilted her head. A man was laying under the demon, ready to be devoured by its huge, gaping mouth.

„Wait a moment! Leave the man alone! I'm your opponent here."

Kyojuro's voice was quite calm as he pulled the demons attention away from the man.

„Okay! This time I'll be the one to behead it!"

Inosuke. Of course, his temper and will to fight had gotten the better of him. Y/N rolled her eyes and watched as Rengoku dashed forward, expertly saving Inosuke, who was about to pierced by one of the demons many appendages. The pillar pulled the civilian away and cut off the demons head in an upward slash, making it collapse. Tanjiro jumped in excitement.

„This.. was amazing, Master Rengoku! You use your sword like no other! Please accept me as your student!"

Master.. Rengoku? Just where did that come from? Had she missed something? The adeptus put her hands on her hips as she watched Zenitsu and Inosuke follow Tanjiro's example. A supple hint of betrayal crept up inside her. Wasn't she supposed to take care of them?

„Master? How did he earn that title?"

Tanjiro smiled at Y/N.

„He asked me to be his Tsugoku! You know, his student! What Kanao is to Shinobu!"

The woman walked up to the four, looking at them. She leaned him, her eyes inspecting Rengoku's face.

„Are you good enough to teach them, Rengoku?"

Her voice was quiet enough for only Kyojuro to hear it. The mans expression turned into one of surprise before shifting into a heartfelt smile.

„I shall do my best, Miss Y/N."

Y/N pulled back, feeling bashful all of a sudden.

„Well then.."

It's not like the three boys where taken away from her, it was just some training. Some time had passed and it was already late. The others had fallen asleep. Inosuke was slumbering on Zenitsu's lap, laying on there like a sleeping cat. Tanjiro was leaning against the wooden box that contained Nezuko and Y/N could slowly feel herself get sleepier.

„Would you like to rest on my shoulder?"

The voice was tired, a bit raspy yet soft. It belonged to Rengoku, who was looking at her with a tired smile. The woman only nodded, her head slowly falling onto his shoulder. It was pretty comfortable since he was rather muscular and quite warm. He also smelled pretty good. Like cinnamon with a hint of smoky vanilla. The adeptus eyes slowly started to close as she drifted off into the dreamland.

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A/N: Rengoku Eau de Parfum when?? I'm really motivated to write right now 🙏🙏