A/N: Wow ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) anygay this is Sekido in case you needed a visual for the pretty demon boi
♪───Ｏ（≧∇≦）Ｏ────♪
When you wake up, you're back in the Butterfly Estate's hospital ward.
And...
Everything was sore! Everything was painful! You wanted death!
You let out a whimper, your body having the instinct to curl up on itself from the pain in your abdomen. But there was something holding both your wrists down and your ankles.
...
You'll worry about that later.
You open your eyes but immediately shut them again, hissing slightly at the bright light.
Ugh, talk about a migraine-
"(Y/n)?!" It was Tanjiro.
You hum in response, feeling your right hand being squeezed slightly. Tanjiro was holding your hand.
You can hear the redhead sniffing.
"Y-You were out for th-for three days!" Tanjiro whimpers as he lowers his head, "Shinobu said you lost a lot of blood and that your heart had sto-"
"-Tanjiro," You groan.
"Y-Yes?"
"Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh."
"But I-"
"-Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh... Are you okay?" Your voice wasn't louder than a whisper.
"I'm okay, (Y/n)." Tanjiro smiles as he talks just as softly, "In fact, you're the reason why I came out of the battle mostly unharmed."
"Hmmm... And Kyojuro?"
"Rengoku is okay." Tanjiro answers, "He left for the bathroom just now."
"Hmmmm... Inosuke? Zenitsu? Nezuko?"
"They're okay."
Your body visibly relaxes, much to Tanjiro's comfort.
"Hmmm..... Good night." You mumble.
"(Y/n)! You've been asleep for 3 days!" Tanjiro was in distress, "And it's noon!"
"Mmm...."
You fall back asleep anyway, much to Tanjiro's dismay.
——
The next time you wake up, it's because Zenitsu was shouting at Inosuke for being too loud.
How ironic.
"Can y'all just-" Your throat was insanely dry, "-Shhhhhh?"
"(B/n)!"
"(Y/NNNNNN)!!!!"
Zenitsu stops himself from lunging to hug you. Inosuke does the same, his boar mask hiding his relieved expression.
"(Y/n)! Tanjiro said you woke up two days ago-"
Two days ago?!
"-But that you fell right back asleep after asking about us! You're so nice, (Y/n)!!!!" Zenitsu sobs.
You went to move your hand up to pet Zenitsu to comfort him, but your wrist was being held down. Both of your wrists were tied down. In fact, this bed had modified bars on the side so your hands and feet could be tied down.
Now that you're looking around, you were alone in this room, there were no other beds in here.
You feel your heart race at the familiar feeling of restraints, weakly pulling against them.
That's right. You told your brain not to worry about it the first time you noticed.
"(Y/n)! (Y/n)! (Y/n)!" Zenitsu reaches over and holds down your right hand, "I-It's-It's okay! It's okay!"
"Okay?" You furrow your eyebrows together, "This is okay? Why the hell am I being tied down?!"
Zenitsu and Inosuke share nervous glances.
"We should get Shinobu first...." Zenitsu says.
What did you do?!
"(Y/n)!" Zenitsu calls to you, hearing the panic in your sound, "We-We just have to get Shinobu."
"What the hell is Shinobu gonna do?! Huh?!" You were scared, "She can't speak English! What the hell is she gonna say?!"
"Arrrg!" Inosuke shouts, "This isn't fair! (B/n) didn't do anything! Just let her go!"
"Shinobu said to-"
"-I don't care what she said anymore! (B/n) would never do that!" Inosuke was quick to retaliate.
"Do what?!"
What did you do?!
"Is everything okay in here?!" There comes Aoi, slamming the door open.
You whip your head to look at her and Aoi flinches. You can feel your heart drop to your stomach.
What did you do?!
"I'll get Shinobu-"
"-Aoi! What's going on?!" You call after her.
"I.... should get Shinobu first. Zenitsu, Inosuke," Aoi jerks her head for them to go with her.
They look at her hesitantly before walking away from your bed.
"Wait-Don't leave me!" Your heart beat was pounding against your chest, "Don't leave me alone! What did I do?! Just tell me!"
They were really scaring you now. Did you attack someone in your sleep?! Why did Aoi look scared when you looked at her?! Why won't they tell you anything?!
Both Inosuke and Zenitsu stop in their tracks and tensed up.
After what Shinobu had told them 5 days ago, Inosuke was the first one to voice his doubts. Sure, you were snarky and were never quiet with insults, but Inosuke knew that you never had any malicious intent.
Inosuke admittedly wishes he knew you better, since you two can only bond so much without talking. But he knew you enough to know that you weren't a bad person. And he knew you enough to know you definitely didn't deserve the isolation treatment.
The only reason they were allowed to visit you was because Shinobu was convinced that you were going to be asleep for it. Thankfully, Shinobu hadn't asked Tanjiro about you, since that redhead was a horrible liar.
But now that you've woken up, they had to go.
Zenitsu was the one to look back at you. Your sound was so scared, and you were panicking. It's the first time he's ever heard that type of sound coming from you.
You always had a carefree front, your sound was always upbeat and soothing, even though there was something more sad hidden. It's never been this bad before.
Zenitsu should at least explain what's going on to ease your mind. He understands the most what it's like to fret over everything and place the blame on himself.
"(Y/n)-"
"-Zenitsu, Inosuke. You know the rules," Aoi frowns, "We'll come back, but we need to get-"
"-Rules?! Why are there rules to see me?! What did I do?" Your voice crack due to not being used for almost a week, "Please, just tell me. Please."
Zenitsu opens his mouth to speak, but Inosuke starts to drags him to the door.
Inosuke decided then and there that he and Zenitsu were going to give Shinobu a stern talking to.
Aoi gives you one last glance before closing the door, leaving you alone with your thoughts.
You blink a few times to will away the tears that were wanting to spill. You look down at your situation. Both of your wrists were tied down and your ankles were tied down too.
There was nothing in the room; there were two empty stools where Inosuke and Zenitsu were, and two IV poles, but that was literally it.
Your only light source was a small window on the other side of the wall with bars in front of it. It was dark in here.
You're getting bad PTSD from this.
You look down at your left arm and feel dread in your stomach.
The mark was still big like before, and it looked like Sekido's, but it wasn't glowing like Sekido's. Maybe it was because you two weren't side by side. But either way, the mark was big, so maybe Sekido was close by.
Did they tie you down because of the mark? Did they tie you down because they thought you were secretly a demon that could miraculously walk in the sun? Were they that distrustful in you, that they had to tie you down even though you're in too much pain to even move?
Did they ever trust you to begin with? Is that why you were tied down?
You wonder how much you changed because of what you did on that train.
Kyojuro was supposed to die on that train, then Tanjiro was supposed to visit Kyojuro's younger brother, Senjuro. Senjuro was supposed to give Tanjiro Kyojuro's guard from his nichirin blade.
Kyojuro was so influential to Tanjiro and everyone around him, even after he died.
And it was because he died, that Tanjiro was able to accomplish great things that no doubt wouldn't have happened, if it weren't for the death of Kyojuro .
How much of that has changed, because you saved Kyojuro Rengoku?
Was it even a good idea so save him to begin with?
Did you fuck up by saving someone's life?
Kyojuro was a target; Muzan wanted a Pillar dead, and that's why Akaza killed him.
Was a different Pillar going to meet-what was supposed to be-Kyojuro's fate instead?
And you totally fucked up because you mentioned Koyuki, so if you weren't targeted then, Akaza definitely had his eyes on you now.
Or, what if in anger, Muzan kills Akaza because he failed to carry out his orders? How would that affect the Upper Moons? If it did, how would it affect the fight at the end of the manga?
You weren't thinking about the consequences, you just wanted Kyojuro to live.
But was that really a good idea?
You sigh in defeat and stare up at the ceiling.
You weren't tired anymore...
And your wound is starting to hurt again.
——
"Is (Y/n) okay? Did she wake up yet?" Sekido asks the Insect Pillar the moment she walks into his isolated room.
"You almost sound worried about her," Shinobu teases as she walks over to his bed side with a syringe and four vials.
Sekido reflectively moves his arms to cross them against his chest, a way to comfort himself, but remembers that he was being tied down.
"I think my feelings are perfectly reasonable considering she got stabbed then temporarily died on the table during her surgery." Sekido retaliates.
He doesn't feel responsible for you per say. However, he can't help but feel guilty knowing you were in this mess because of him.
After you collapsed, Tanjiro was quick to take off his haori and wrapped him in it along with your slightly bloody one. Muttering about how Sekido's smell was familiar. Inosuke was cautious of him, Zenitsu was freaking out about another 'good' demon, and Kyojuro was giving him the stick eye, but did nothing else.
Fun times.
The Kakushi came and everyone was taken to the Butterfly Estate. Shinobu was ready to poison Sekido, before Kyojuro mentioned the marks to her.
Before anything else, you had to get emergency surgery performed.
In the middle of it, your heart had stopped, it couldn't handle the stress your body was being put through.
You were revived after a minute, and the only reason Sekido knew this was because the mark on his hand disappeared.
Sekido was man enough to admit that those were the most terrifying 60 seconds of his demon life so far.
Shinobu had isolated Sekido and yourself from the others. Sekido was tied down to a bed while Shinobu interrogated him everyday and drew blood samples for something, today marks day six.
Sekido answered all of her questions honestly. He had nothing to hide. But it was all for naught since Shinobu refused to believe him since he was a demon.
And despite being 100% cooperative, Shinobu refused to answer his one consistent question.
"Is (Y/n) okay?"
"Can you flex your arm for me?" Shinobu avoids the question.
Sekido's not worried about you. He's not.
Sekido makes a fist with his left hand and flexes his arm. Shinobu was able to find a vein right away then inserted a butterfly needle and started to draw blood.
He could just use forced telepathy, but it's really obvious when he uses his Blood Art. And he didn't need to gain anymore distrust than he already has. The same goes for breaking free from the restraints.
"You know," Sekido starts, "If you tell me how (Y/n)'s doing, I'll tell you about my Demon Blood Art."
Sekido's not worried about you. He's not.
Shinobu's grip on his arm tightened, but it's not like it hurt him, Sekido was quick to realize she was weak regarding physical strength.
"You tell me about your Blood Art fi-"
"-No. I've been kept in the dark about her ever since her surgery. I've been cooperating with you every step of the way. And you refuse to update me on the one thing I'm asking for. You answer my question first. Demons get anxious, too, you know."
Sekido's not worried about you. He's not.
Shinobu sighs in defeat, "(L/n) is-"
"-Shinobu!"
"Don't just barge in like that! Knock fir...st..."
Inosuke and Zenitsu had slammed open the door for two reasons:
1. They felt/heard the presence of a demon in that room.
2. They felt/heard Shinobu's presence in that room.
However, they were confused to see the demon being tied down, too. The exact way you were.
"You shouldn't be in here-"
"-Hey! You three!" Sekido calls out frantically, interrupting Shinobu, "Is (Y/n) okay? Where is she?"
"Shinobu, she's awake," Aoi speaks up timidly at the sight of the demon, "But we really need to hurry. We left her in a panic, so-"
"-She's awake? Can I see her?"
Sekido's not worried about you. He's not.
"Right, let's go." Shinobu was quick to remove the needle from Sekido's arm and collect the vials.
"Wait-wait-wait! You can't just-" But Shinobu was ignoring him and ushering the others to get out, "-Wait-Don't leave me! Don't leave me alone! At least tell me if she's okay!"
Sekido's not worried about you. He's not.
Zenitsu look back at the demon, but Shinobu closez the door before he could do anything else. Leaving Sekido alone in the dark room, the only comfort was the stool Shinobu used to sit on.
Sekido's not worried about you.
But being kept in the dark about everything makes him worry about you.
——
"I think it's best for you three to stay out here." Shinobu smiles at Inosuke, Zenitsu, and Aoi.
"Shinobu," Zenitsu speaks up timidly, twiddling his thumbs, "Why is (Y/n) being tied down and isolated?"
"I've told you all why. We don't know what her relation is to that demon. We don't know if she's a danger to us." Shinobu replies.
"We would've known that from the beginning then. I've would've known if she was lying," Zenitsu defends, "She was scared when she woke up, I don't think-"
"And that's exactly why you three will be waiting outside-"
"-You can't speak English!" Inosuke shouts, repeating your words, "How are you going to explain all this to her?!"
Shinobu frowns but says nothing about that.
It's not that she didn't trust you, but she didn't trust that demon. Not one bit. That demon could be manipulating you, and no one would know it. She's trying to protect you and everyone else.
"Stay out here." Shinobu walks away from the three of them to go to your isolated room.
——
"And so I punched him and called (F/n) a Lip-Licking Suck Fuck." You nod as you recite your dream to the four men in the room.
Sanemi's lip twitches up in amusement, but he didn't emote anymore than that. He was standing behind Kyojuro.
"Ah... is that so?" Tanjiro chuckles weakly from your left at your casual use of profanities.
"What did she say?" Kyojuro ask, sitting on your right.
"Sh-She called (F/n) a... lip-licking... I'm not saying the last part."
"Don't be scared to use your damn words," Sanemi snaps in annoyance, "She called him a Lip-Licking Suck Fuck."
Uzui laughs from beside Tanjiro, "How flamboyant! I'll definitely be using that in max flamboyance!"
"Ha!" Kyojuro laughs, "He deserves it after what he did in Act 10 Scene 3!"
Tanjiro sighs in defeat.
After Inosuke, Zenitsu, and Aoi had left, you restored to contemplate your life in an orderly fashion.
As in, overthink every sinful action you ever partaken in.
As in, literally everything you've ever done.
After about 2-3 minutes of brooding, Tanjiro, Kyojuro, Uzui, and Sanemi showed up.
You understood Tanjiro and Kyojuro, and after enough contemplation, Uzui's presence made sense too. But Sanemi?!
You wanted to ask what the fuck, but then, with a light accent, Sanemi speaks.
"Don't say anything. I fucking hate this too."
In English.
Which personally offended you. Because why the hell didn't he say anything? And you thought he couldn't understand you at the Pillar meeting!
He explained that he did know English, but you were speaking way too fast and used words he couldn't understand.
Which you began to doubt him immediately, because if he did know English, why hasn't he come and spoken with you?
Sanemi told you he didn't want you to annoy him.
Understandable.
The reason he was visiting you, was because Uzui was planning to visit you with Kyojuro and Tanjiro (You learned Kyojuro and Tanjiro were your daily visitors), and Uzui briefly mentioned that Sanemi spoke English.
Which resulted in Kyojuro to beg the Wind Pillar to join them so Kyojuro could speak with you.
They were late to visit you because it took almost an hour to convince the other Hashira.
So, to get your mind off of your self-made anxiety, you started to tell them your adventures with (F/n) and your other friends as if you were reciting a play script.
They were liking this (F/n) guy, but then you told them about his betrayals and asshole moments.
(F/n) quickly became the antagonist in the play.
"What are you all doing in here?" Shinobu asks with a small smile.