ᴄʜᴏᴏꜱᴇ ᴀ ꜰɪʟᴇ:
➤- ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ 8 "What came after"
- ᴇᴍᴘᴛʏ ꜱʟᴏᴛ 2
- ᴇᴍᴘᴛʏ ꜱʟᴏᴛ 3
ʟᴏᴀᴅɪɴɢ...
"Rui, is everything alright?"
The closest place you could think of bringing Rui was the village. By the time you had reached its entrance, the sun was threatening to shine its light on you. In panic, you had hurriedly gotten inside the nearest house and tried to cover all the openings that could've let the sunlight in, leaving forgotten the cracks on the old wooden door that stood at the entrance of the abandoned house.
The fight had left you both so exhausted that you expected to just pass the day looking after your unconscious brother, and instead here you were, interrogating him after he woke up with a jolt claiming he had felt a sudden burn in his eye.
"I can't see very well from my left eye...it's all blurry" You hear him hiss as he covers his eye with his hand, and you swear he would claw his eye out at any moment with the way he twiched in pain. At first, you had thought there was something in the house that made him react like this, but after thorough searching, you could certainly say it had to be something else.
"Did they do something to your eyes while you were fighting?" you grab his hand and gently move it aside to have a better look at his face while he still keeps his eyes closed.
'I don't see any external damage, he should've healed by now' You continue to examine his face as you tilt it upward. "Did you get in direct contact with Wisteria by any chance? The people I've met carry some with them..."
He slowly opens his eyes as he answers "No. I didn't smell any."
You hum as you continue your inspection of his now-open eyes. A small gasp left your lips as your eyes widened at the sight.
"Rui, your eye..."
The words remained stuck in your throat, finding it difficult how to express in words what you were seeing.
Were once was supposed to be a kanji that stated his rank in the twelve moons, now was nothing but a blank spot. His dotted pupil was completely absent as his white iris seemed to have taken a light blue color. He had heterochromatic eyes now.
You blink, trying to formulate the best way to explain the cause of your silence.
"...Rui, did you notice that your lower moon mark is...well...gone?"
His mouth slightly opens, but no words come out as he stares at you wide-eyed.
"So you're telling me that you didn't notice any difference until now?" You question your brother as you feel the sudden urge to sit down.
"Not really..." A guilty frown made its way to his face and he shifted his gaze to his lap, trying to avoid your eyes. Noticing this you hold his hands in yours using your thumb to caress his skin.
"Hey, It's alright. Does it still hurt?"
He takes a moment to think before he shakes his head.
"Then that's all that matters. I'm...I'm just glad that you're okay." You lift his hands to your lips, placing a loving kiss on his knuckles. None of you decide to talk opting to just stay in silence, silence that seemed to be oh-so comforting after what happened yesterday. No screams. No clashing of swords against swords. No fight...
And despite the relief you couldn't help but feel anxious about that feeling that situated itself in the pit of your stomach. How could something so powerful such as a mark left by the demon lord himself disappear so easily? In your thirty years of life as a demon, you had never heard of something like this...what could this mean? You had so many questions and so little information to answer them, and yet one thought in particular lingered in your mind: 'Does lord Muzan know about this?'
A loud tapping noise made your head snap towards the direction of the door, your shoulders tensing up. You slowly turn your gaze towards your brother, his eyes narrowing at the sudden sound and his mouth turning into a frown.
"Something's outside."
You straighten your back and stay silent, carefully listening to any more sounds. It's broad daylight outside and no one has come to this side of the village in years.
You feel shuffling beside you and with the corner of your eyes you see Rui slowly backing away to the darkest corner of the room. As you slowly follow him you feel your throat erupt in flames as the sudden distinct smell of wisteria hits your nose, and you can't help bringing a hand up to your mouth, suddenly feeling sick. You freeze when the wood under your feet makes a creaking sound alerting not only the both of you but also whoever stands outside your door.
You're fast enough to jump back when a small ray of light makes its way through the opening door. You stand in front of Rui, keeping him away from the light. And just as it opened, it closed with a loud slam, a faint voice on the other side.
"Lady kocho! We are ready to go! Your presence was immediately requested by the headquarters along with Giyuu-sama!"
Footsteps seem to get closer as a second presence approaches the door.
"Oh- is there something wrong Kocho-Sama...?"
There is a moment of silent anticipation that brings you to reach for your brother's hand, squeezing it in reassurance.
"...no, no not at all! Let's get going! I wouldn't want to keep the Master waiting~!"
The shadow that once covered your source of light was now gone. You relaxed your shoulders and let your hand fall to your side, silence filling the empty room.
'that was a close one...'
-🕷 -
It's been a couple of days since the fight and the news of the missing mark, and you both decided it would be best to stay here until you could be sure that Muzan wasn't searching for Rui. By far nothing seemed to be on your tail. And despite the lack of the mark in his eye, his abilities seemed to work just fine. You had tried to make sense of this strange occurrence, but Rui seemed to be as clueless as you about the whole thing. You had thought of the number in the twelve moon's eyes not just as something that could identify their rank, but as the pact that tied their fates to the one of the demon lord. However, after witnessing it just disappearing into thin air you were starting to doubt the effectiveness of this pact.
Was it nothing else but a trophy that defined their power among other demons?
You couldn't seem to wrap your head around the whole concept, the strangeness of the event only tormenting you further. And the gentle breeze that caressed your skin didn't seem to put you at ease either. It hadn't been long since the sun disappeared over the mountains, leaving behind only a purple trail of where it once shined. You were seated on the branch of a dead tree, alone, hoping that maybe you could relax and embrace solitude by listening to the flow of the water and the smell of moss.
Nothing however seemed to help. Not even the usually comforting melody that your dear mom had used to sing to you as a child. Her arms wrapping you in a caring embrace, providing you with the warmth that only she could give you.
Your eyes closed as yet another sigh of exasperation left your mouth. It was exactly in vulnerable moments like this that your mind wandered off. Leaving you to explore the darkest and harshest memories that you so violently tried to get rid of.
"You will never be able to land a hit if you continue like this darling!"
His sickening sweet voice, that false facade that had fooled you into believing you had found someone to trust. Someone to rely on after everything that you were going through. How naive it was of you.
You get on your knees with the help of your arms, the white kimono you wore now stained with mud and blood. Gasping for air you cough while holding your stomach, the cut on it slowly re-marginating.
"Oh? Was I too rough on you?"
Cold metal touches your skin and with almost no effort lifts your chin. You avoid his gaze and grunt in annoyance as he giggles.
"I could use a break..." It takes you a bit of effort but you eventually get up.
"Ehhh? Did I really hit that hard?"
He pouts at your frowning face, your hands trying to clean as much dirt as possible from your kimono with no success.
"How am I going to get this clean?" You groan, annoyed for having ruined another perfectly good kimono because of your reckless 'teacher'.
"Is it really that dirty? Let me see." Without waiting any further he snatches the sleeves of your kimono, startling you in the process. You pull your arm away glaring at him as the familiar kanji "Upper 2" glows in the dark of the night. You knew he could clearly see the damage without needing to have a closer look.
"I don't need your help, thank you very much" You hiss, refusing any kind of help from the older demon that managed to stain probably the last kimono you had. Especially since blood took a shit-ton of effort to get rid of.
"Aww c'mon (Y/n)-chan, are you mad at me?" The Upper Moon asks, trying to ease your nerves by gently massaging your shoulders. However, despite his attempts at gaining your attention, you remain unwavering. Your arms crossed and your eyes closed in irritation.
"Daaarling, don't ignore meee!" Douma whines in an almost childish way, this time shifting to cup your face in his hands, his eyes clouded over with fake tears. "You know I would never hurt you purposely!"
You are forced to open your eyes, his hands squishing your cheeks as if they were toys made for his entertainment.
"It was all part of our training! Wasn't it you who had asked me to train you after all?" He inquires, nearing your face to the point of your noses almost touching.
It was true you had asked him to help you polish your newly acquired demon skills, especially since you were planning on protecting your brother with them. But you weren't expecting him to beat the shit out of you every time the two of you fought. Especially since he knew the limited experience you had...
You refuse to say anything, turning your head to the side in an attempt to avoid his eyes. "Don't be so difficult my dear, is it clothes that you want? I can always let you wear one of those pretty kimonos my concubines wear-"
"There's absolutely no way I'm wearing one of those!" You yell, pushing him away in an attempt to hide your red cheeks. The kimonos the girls in his temple wore were...a bit more revealing than you would've liked them to be. Other than that, they were actually quite beautiful. Sewn with complicated and elegant patterns that put your own sewing skills to shame.
"But you'd look ravishing in them! Are you sure you don't want to try one?" He teases, a smirk on his face as he circles you. You laugh, shaking your head in disbelief "I'm sure, Lord Douma. Though I do appreciate your kindness."
At the praise, Douma lets out a content sigh bringing a hand up to your head and ruffling your hair. "Well, I guess it can't be helped then."
You had met him a few months after the tragic events that brought the death of your parents. You were naive, asking for an Upper Moon to help you become stronger without a second thought. But most importantly, you were lonely. With his charming charisma Douma had you wrapped around his finger in no time. He had everything you were searching for to fill that empty void that came with the loss of your family. You had looked up to him not only as a mentor. But as a friend. Maybe even something more.
You should've known that nothing good could've come out of that situation. Especially since before being your teacher, he was a Demon. A nasty one at that.
*crack*
"Who's there?" You turn your head towards the sound. The events of the other day had been keeping you on edge, especially knowing that there must've been someone who knew your whereabouts. You hesitantly jump off the tree as the area had suddenly become very quiet. Even the usual nightly crickets had stopped singing.
You glance around, but despite your highly effective vision you couldn't seem to pick up anything unusual. So with a deep breath, you close your eyes and concentrate on feeling your surroundings. As you close your fist strings suddenly wrap around the objects in the area, and a whine coming from a nearby bush makes you tighten your hold.
"W-wait! I can explain just give me a second!-"
Glancing at the owner of the voice you raise your brows in surprise.
"Wait...aren't you the boy from the other night?"
ᴇɴᴅ ᴏꜰ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ᴇɪɢʜᴛ...
...ᴡᴏᴜʟᴅ ʏᴏᴜ ʟɪᴋᴇ ᴛᴏ ꜱᴀᴠᴇ ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴘʀᴏɢʀᴇꜱꜱ?
➤-ʏᴇꜱ
-ɴᴏ
ʟᴏᴀᴅɪɴɢ...ꜱᴀᴠɪɴɢ ᴄᴏᴍᴘʟᴇᴛᴇ
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