Happiness.
A fickle thing, really.
Something that can be taken away by the stroke of a painters brush.
By the brush of fate.
If one is to lose happiness, he may lose himself.
If happiness has been around for so long, being without it may drive him insane.
Insane with what?
Loneliness? Longing?
Longing for that same happiness.
Loneliness from missing what brought upon the happiness.
Being beside something for so long, you grow accustomed.
Fate can be so cruel, yet rewarding.
Happiness.
A fickle thing many long for.
Something as frail as a butterflies wing.
However, when happiness ends, there's always the scent of...
Blood..!
《•●•●•●•●•●•●•●•●•》
《{Warning: Doma, s/h, cussing!}》
《•●•●•●•●•●•●•●•●•》
"Oh, isn't the moon lovely tonight, my lovely Apple Blossom?"
Doma called from across the clearing.
(Y/n) groaned and shook his head.
"Let's just get this over with, you're staring to bore me to sleep."
(Y/n) yawned and reached for the hilt of his blade.
Just as he made contact, Doma vanished with a sly grin on his face, curling his eyes into cheeky crecents.
(Y/n) watched with narrowed and calculating eyes as Doma moved, analyzing his every stride.
Doma, noticing how easily the flower demon kept his eyes trained on him, began to pick up in speed.
Seeing this, (y/n)s lips curled into a mischievous smile as he relived his katana of its sheathed state and sliced his free arm.
The scarlet liquid poured out of the cut and seeped into the ground below until the cut healed over.
"Blood Demon Art: Bells of the Valley!"
(Y/n) called out and the groud where the blood was began to glow white until he stomped down on it with great force, causing the ground to spliter and crack under the pressure.
In seconds, lilies of the valley sprouted from the ground, covering the clearing in a carpet of white and green.
But there was something off about these 'harmless' looking flowers.
On the ends of their stems resided white bells, unlike the normal white bell-like flowers.
The bells began to chime quietly, but quickly picked up in volume and intensity as Doma moved through them quickly.
"Oh my! An adorable attack! I hope you're just warming up, though! I'd love to see a powerful attack of yours, my lovely Apple Blossom!"
By the time Doma realized what the chimes of the bells were doing, he was already almost completely immobilized by their song.
The melody from the flowers rung and pounded through his body as he was forced to crumple to the ground.
He felt like every muscle in his body was vibrating intensely at every small ring of the bells, unable to gather himself to stand again.
(Y/n), however, was unaffected by the song the deceiving flowers sang and was rather enjoying the loud melody they produced.
The moment Doma was down, his grip on his blade's handle tightened and he charged towards the opposing demon.
Unfortunately, before (y/n) could get close enough for even a ranged attack, Doma was able to will himself to grab a week hold on one of his war fans.
"Blood Demon Art: Freezing Clouds!"
The ice demon called out one of his own attacks, causing (y/n)s eyes to widen in alarm.
Before he could bring himself to retreat, Doma managed to swing the fan.
A powerful, cold gust of wind rolled out from the fan and spread across the flower covered clearing like a violent wave crashing onto a calm beach.
Under the immense cold, the flowers froze and shattered, freeing Doma from their binding orchestra.
The wild wind knocked (y/n) back, but he stabbed his katana into the ground to regain his balance and stance once he came to a stop.
Unfortunately for (y/n), when he looked back to the the demon he was fighting, Doma was already preparing his next attack.
Without hesitation, (y/n) pulled a canterbury bell plant from his sleeve and called out his next attack just as Doma did.
"Blood Demon Art: Symphony of Canterbury Bells!"
"Blood Demon Art: Barron Hanging Garden!"
Doma swung his fans and sent out 8 slashes towards (y/n) as the opposing demon shook the plant he held.
A gorgeous melody rang from the plant and Doma was frozen in place.
Two of the 8 slashes slammed into the ground, bringing up a large cloud of dust between the two demons as (y/n) let out a shout of annoyance from within.
After (y/n)s shout, Doma was released from the melodies power and fanned the dust away.
"Oh, my lovely Apple Blossom! These attacks are quite bothersome, but I cannot understand how you've killed demons with these! I'm rather disappointed!"
In the center of the attacked area, the plant of canterbury laid shriveled and cut into three pieces, suggesting the plant had taken two of the remaining 6 slashes.
Diverting Doma's attention away from the flower trickled a trail of blood leading to an injured (y/n).
The left side of the man's body had taken the brute of the damage.
His arm had been gashed down from his elbow to his hand, his face had been cut from the shoulder to his forehead, and his side and leg were cut open as well.
Unfortunately for Doma, the cuts healed as quickly as they had come and (y/n) readied his blade once more.
Much to (y/n)s displeasure, his breathing began to feel a bit more labored, almost having to foce himself to take deeper breaths to attack properly.
As well as this, (y/n) felt his heart begin to race and pound in his ears, but he simply dismissed it as the beginning of an adrenaline rush.
Shrugging this off along with the odd note of not feeling any pain from the slashes he had received, (y/n) prepared his next attack.
"Blood Demon Art: Acres of Drosera!"
The ground where his blood had fallen began to heat up, creating a glowing orange trail leading back towards Doma.
The mentioned demon prepared to analyze the next attack (y/n) called out, only for the glowing to stop almost as abruptly as it began.
(Y/n)s eyes widened with false distress as the attack seemed to fade.
Noting his opponents convincing reaction, Doma gained a cocky grin across his features.
"Well, that was rather disappointing! With such a wonderful name, nothing happened! It doesn't seem like you're taking this seriously, my lovely Apple Blossom!"
Doma called out to (y/n), earning an angry huff from him.
Doma readied his fans and rushed towards (y/n), preparing his last attack once more.
(Y/n), however, stayed perfectly still, luring Doma towards him.
When Doma was within two meters of (y/n), his attack finally triggered.
In seconds, thousands of drosera plants grew from the ground and reached for Doma.
An exited grin made its way across (y/n)s face as he saw the plants and he jumped out of the way of Doma's attack last second.
Doma, not having enough time to react to the plants, landed in the center of them all.
Before he could move to get away, the plants closest to him began to wrap around his ankles.
The nectar on the end of the plants seeped into his skin and rushed through his blood, carrying an irritating burning sensation along with it.
The grip strength of the plants was too strong to allow him to break free, so with a simple flick of his fans, the plants froze and shattered under another one of Doma's 'Freezing Clouds' attacks.
(Y/n) kept his distance from Doma and began a countdown of 5 minutes in his head.
Just as Doma made a move to attack (y/n) again, his veins turned bright red and a much larger drosera plant burst from the ground.
It wrapped around Doma with unimaginable strength for a plant and squeezed him like a python with its prey.
As if it couldn't get any worse for the trapped demon, the plant erupted into a violent orange blaze, scorching Doma like the sun.
Doma's pained scream evolved into laughter as the unbearable fire roared around him.
"Oh, my! I haven't felt pain like this before from any opponent! I'm so very glad you're taking this seriously now, my lovely Apple Blossom! It is such a shame that all this power will practically go to waste when I win, though!"
Doma cackled as (y/n) watched with narrowed eyes, gripping his katana tightly as his opponent spoke in that annoying, cocky tone he started with.
(Y/n)s annoyance only grew as a minute passed and Doma still remained alive within the fire.
Then two minutes.
Then three.
Then four.
At the end of the fourth minute, (y/n)s breathing had became heavily forced.
To his annoyance, the air fealt thick and heavy.
His lungs were almost trying to refuse the oxygen he needed to take in for his attacks.
Adding to this, his heartbeat fluttered in his ears at an unhealthy rate which caused him to need to take in more oxygen that his lungs tried to reject.
Something about these things felt eerily similar to the effects of toxins he had consumed once before, but (y/n) couldn't recall ingesting what would bring on these effects.
Forcing the thought to the back of his mind, (y/n) shifted his grip on his blade and lunged towards Doma at the end of the fifth minute.
On cue, the fire and plant that wrapped around Doma abruptly vanished and set him free.
The false grin Doma had kept this whole time dropped as he turned to face his opponent, unknowingly giving (y/n) an opening to strike.
"Blood Demon Art: Blade of Flowers! Fourth form, Flaming Parrot Tulips!"
(Y/n) called out what he had hoped would be his final attack with all his might and struck down towards Doma's neck with a diagonal strike.
Unfortunately, that would lead to his last mistake.
(Y/n)s grip on his blade wasn't strong enough or proper and the expected flower pettels did not follow the blade to indicate the attacks success.
The attacks speed, along with power, had greatly decreased compared to what it was ment to be.
At the speed it was at now, the attack would be incapable of killing any of the 12 kizuki.
Doma moved out of the way of the slowed attack and appeared behind (y/n).
"I enjoyed our battle, my lovely Apple Blossom, but all good things must come to an end! Blood Demon Art: Barron Hanging Garden!"
Doma called out his final attack with glee and swung his fans, sending 8 more slashes into (y/n)s back.
At such close range, the attack hit (y/n) with unintended force and pummeled him into the ground, causing another large cloud of dust to form.
Doma laughed and landed beside (y/n) as he fanned the dust away once more, revealing the 8 large gashes that tore through his clothes and into his back.
(Y/n)s breathing was now shaky more than forced and he weakly fumbled to grab his blade and continue the fight, finding it ridiculously difficult to even bend his fingers.
"Fu fu fu, the effects of the honey are starting to take their tole on you! I'm surprised you hadn't noticed anything until last second, my lovely Apple Blossom! I got this knowledge from you, after all!"
Doma chirped and pulled a thick book out of his pocket, dropping it in front of (y/n) with a thud.
(Y/n)s eyes widened at the (f/c) cover of the book and the gold writing across it.
'The Wonders of Botany and Toxins by (l/n) (y/n)'
"I hope you don't mind that I borrowed your book! I've returned it back to you without a scratch, so surely you shouldn't be upset! It was so interesting to read about all the different effects each flower could have! I was particularly fond of the effects henbane and poppy seeds have and how they can be concealed in drinks!"
Doma smiled fondly as (y/n)s eyelids began to grow heavy and his breathing grew deeper.
Doma began to compliment (y/n)s swordsmanship and blood demon art, not without sneaking in a few insults of his own in, though.
(Y/n)s heartbeat started to drown out Doma's words as it grew louder in his ears, feeling himself grow more and more tired as he accepted his defeat.
"You're a... apathetic bastard..."
(Y/n) hissed with venom lacing his tone as he gave into the exhaustion, making Doma frown.
"As mean to me as ever, my lovely Apple Blossom... or, should I say 'ex upper moon two'? Oh, I can't wait to see everyone's reaction to my new rank! Now, I should probably take you somewhere you won't burn before you wake up, hm?"
Doma talked to himself as he sheathed (y/n)s blade for him and picked him up, looking at his beaten and sleeping form with soft eyes.
"Oh, I wish I didn't have to fight you, but it was the only way I could get the rank! You were too weak to be upper two for any longer, though... oh, I wish I could just keep you! My own little florist! You could brighten up my cult grounds with your flowers and I could- Alas, that wasn't the deal! Where should I take you, my lovely Apple Blossom? Where would no one find you..."
Doma trailed off and picked up (y/n)s book before sprinting away.
Within a few minutes, the two arrived in the bustling streets of Tokyo.
Doma walked around and peered into a few alleyways until walking into one he deemed 'dark enough'.
Unannounced to Doma however, this odd behavior had caught the eye of a particular individual.
Said individual decided to follow Doma to keep an eye on him and the intriguing (y/n) in his arms.
Once Doma decided they were far enough into the alley, he set (y/n) against a wall and set his book in his lap.
"Oh, I don't want to leave you here.. but a deal is a deal! I doubt you'd want to stay stuck under my supervision for all eternity, after all! And if I were to keep you, the others would be able to talk to you like nothing happened. Maybe one day you'll be strong enough to beat me in battle, but this is where I must part with you for now, my lovely Apple Blossom! However, I need to make sure nobody can find you for a while.."
Doma chuckled to himself before leaning down and cupping (y/n)s face in his hands.
Upon studying his sleeping figure, Doma's eyes softened and his smile wavered into a frown.
"But what if something happened to you? What if one of those annoying slayers gets to you before you can wake up? Who am I kidding, you'll be fine!"
Doma shook his head and his carefree demeanor returned.
After a few moments of silence, Doma rested one of his hands atop (y/n)s head and closed his eyes.
"Look after him for a bit, okay? I know I shouldn't ask you this, and in all fairness I have no right to, but maybe you'll form an alliance with him that can help you later, strange lady! Your presence hasn't gone completely unnoticed, but I can't tell who you are.."
Doma spoke to the wind and stood up straight once more, the carefree smile still plastered on his face.
Something changed about (y/n), however.
His... aura?
Whatever it was, the lady watching from the shadows couldn't exactly pinpoint it.
And whatever it was caused something to happen that Doma couldn't have foreseen.
Mere seconds after the change happened, Doma was gone in a flash, leaving the lady with the unaware (y/n).
"Oh, dear. What have I gotten myself into, now? I suppose I should keep an eye on him till I can free him too..."
The lady sighed to herself and approached the resting man.
《{Within the Infiniti Fortress, 3rd person pov.}》
Doma was summoned to the fortress after he had hidden (y/n) away, although he wasn't sure why.
He also wasn't sure why the air of the fortress felt thick and heavy with dread.
Wails and frantic whispers filled the silence brought upon by the depressing atmosphere.
Hidden behind delicate curtains high above the other demons, Kokushibo sat quietly on his platform.
In front of the demon sat (y/n)s pot he had kept safe.
Inside the pot no longer sat a beautiful bouquet of hibiscus, but the ashes of the flowers.
They had shriveled and died after the change Doma had inflicted upon (y/n).
Tears pricked at the corner of the upper moon's eyes and threatened to pour out, but his steady breathing kept them in place and kept his cool demeanor.
D̶e̶p̶r̶e̶s̶s̶i̶o̶n̶ A̶c̶c̶e̶p̶t̶a̶n̶c̶e̶ H̶o̶p̶e̶
Unfortunately, Gyokko had fallen into the trap of tears the moment his flowers shriveled.
On his much shorter platform, Gyokko wailed and desperately clutched onto the pot in his hands.
The pot was delicately handcrafted and covered in a (f/c) glaze, golden details of intricate flowers danced along the base of the pot.
Inside the pot sat the ashes of the gorgeous checkered lilies that were carefully grown with love.
The pot demon was understandably upset, cursing out 'whatever' had taken (y/n) from them.
"The universe is dull and heartless! It has no eye for true beauty! No devine power would take away such precious art! Those who shine the most are taken away too soon! Always too soon! Bring him back, damn it! I'll give anything!"
Gyokko sobbed, seething with anger and sadness.
A̶n̶g̶e̶r̶ B̶a̶r̶g̶a̶i̶n̶i̶n̶g̶
"No... no... no... no..."
Frantic and desperate whispers came from behind Gyokko's platform.
Hidden away from everyone, tears flowed from Hantengu's eyes like waterfalls.
In the man's hands rested the ashes of the single monkshood flower.
He desperately held onto it as he trembled, unable to keep himself still.
D̶e̶n̶i̶a̶l̶
In the center of the main platform resided Akaza.
He sat on his knees in uncharacteristic silence as he looked at the floor in front of him, wide-eyed.
The gazania bouquet's ashes laid on the ground.
His hands sat in his lap, clenched into fists.
Although he tried to keep his breathing steady, it still wavered from time to time in anger.
His mind raced with unsteady thoughts, desperately trying to think of an answer to his internal quarrels.
S̶h̶o̶c̶k̶ P̶r̶o̶c̶e̶s̶s̶i̶n̶g̶ g̶r̶i̶e̶f̶
Doma however, unable to read the room to save his life, seemed unaffected by the heavy atmosphere.
The still cheery demon waltzed up to Akaza and placed his hands playfully on his peer's shoulders.
"Oh, Akaza-dono! What's happened? Everyone seems so down, but I can't think about anything that could have happened? Did a lower moon die or something? They're all replaceable, so there's no need to worry!"
Dome spoke in a gleeful tone to try to cheer Akaza up, yet it only seemed to upset him more.
Full of anger, Akaza spun around and gave Doma a bone shattering punch to the ribs, sending the apathetic demon flying through the fortress.
Two twangs of a biwas strings rang through the fortress.
With the first twang, Doma was brought back to the main platform like nothing had happened.
With the second, Muzan appeared on his main platform and the room fell into nervous silence.
Anger radiated off the man in powerful waves and casted a thick blanket over the grieving atmosphere.
Muzan's judgmental gaze fell upon Doma and he spoke.
"Doma, I'd like for you to explain yourself. Inform your peers of your new position."
The demon lord demanded, now pointing out the new kanji that inscribed themselves into Doma's eyes.
All the other demons in the room turned to look at him with wide, angry eyes.
"Oh, of course! I asked (y/n) if I could challenge him for his rank! He agreed and I won just as I predicted!"
Doma began to happily recite most of the events that took place during the battle up to the end, leaving out the tea detail and that he left (y/n) alive.
Doma was aware that Muzan already knew every little detail that aspired before he entered Tokyo, so he saw no harm in leaving out a few things.
Throughout his description of the fight, Doma also commented on how sloppy (y/n)s fighting was like he had nothing to do with it.
"Enough. I've heard all I need to."
Muzan ordered and Doma immediately clamped his mouth shut with a big smile.
Muzan rolled his eyes and continued the discussion.
"I wish you would have at least brought him back alive, he was my closest hope to finding the blue spider lily. A demon that can grow any flower that he's seen was pretty useful. He recently found out how to change the genes in the flowers to his liking, too. Gyokko's bouquet was his discovery. Did no one notice that he had made purple ones with white spots on it this time around? Unfortunately, there's nothing I can do against this power shift. Both parties agreed and I cannot sense (y/n) anywhere, leaving me to believe Doma simply absorbed him as custom. Doma, you better prove useful in the near future or I'll simply replace you. Dismissed."
Muzan spoke in a cold, harsh tone and with another twang of a biwa, he was gone.
The moment Muzan's presence was gone, Akaza lunged at Doma, throwing strong kicks and punches towards the demon.
The striped demon didn't say a single word, for the anger in his eyes spoke in place of words.
Gyokko began to call Doma horrible things through fresh tears.
Doma simply laughed and easily dodged Akaza's attacks, deciding to play along.
He was also completely unfazed by Gyokko's insults, as the confused thoughts in his head drowned out the pot demon's futile words.
In his mind, he did nothing wrong, and technically he's right.
Challenges for ranks between upper moons isn't prohibited and Doma has already referred his replacements to Muzan to fill the upper six ranking.
《•●•●•●•●•●•●•●•●•》
Grief, a dreaded thing.
With loss comes grief, something that can last painfully longer than expected.
This mere emotion can cripple even the greatest of kings and the strongest of knights.
Grief is inevitable, along with loss.
The two go hand in hand, like the sun to moon.
However, for immortal beings, grief is not expected to fall upon them.
Neither is loss.
What are those beings to do when they loose one another?
Do they cry, do they break, do they grieve?
Are they right to grieve someone who's still alive?
All face grief differently.
Grief, a detrimental thing.
Something so harmful, easily founded by loss.
Such a miniscule seeming thing can cripple the strongest knights and the greatest of kings.
What is one to do come unforseen grief?
Cry..?
《•●•●•●•●•●•●•●•●•》
《~Fin.~》
3,870 words not including these!
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Welcome back, dear reader! I apologize for my long absence, but I'm back now! I do really hope you've enjoyed this chapter! I'm not all too sure if I'm happy with how the descriptions for things came out, but I didn't want to put this off any longer as my mid term exams have concluded! I got pretty stumped at the drosera part and how to put my idea into words, but I think I managed! Again, I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter! Until next time, dear reader! I hope you have a terrific day/night!
《•●•●•●•●•●•●•●•●•》
《{Secrets unlocked x8! Botany book updated x6!}》
《{Henbane flowers: Often associated with witchcraft! I couldn't find an exact symbolism for them other than 'the witches flower'! The consumption of this plant can lead to a multitude of (negative) symptoms! The ones our (y/n) experienced are loss of muscular control and heart palpitations!}》
《{Poppy flowers: commonly used to symbolize 'consultation, remembrance, death, and eternal sleep'! The consumption of the plants seeds can lead to a multitude of (negative) symptoms! The ones our (y/n) experienced are analgesia, respiratory depression, and forced sleep!}》
《{Lily of the Valley flowers: commonly used to symbolize 'purity of heart and soul'!}》
《{Canterbury (medium) flowers: commonly used to symbolize 'gratitude'!}》
《{Flaming Parrot Tulip flowers: a mutated variation of tulips! Commonly used to symbolize 'perfect and deep love'!}》
《{Drosera (filiformis) sundew plants: commonly used to symbolize 'surprise'!}》
《{This story is based on a few different songs! Think you can guess them?}》
《{When (y/n)s aura was changed, Muzan lost the ability to see through his eyes or sense him for hours and eventually gave up although he didn't sense (y/n) dying!}》
《{Nakime left the flower dust in her hair until Doma fanned it away, much to her displeasure!}》
《{Kokushibo still keeps (y/n)s pot safe in hopes he'll come back for it some day...!}》
《{Gyokko no longer sells pots that have (y/n)s favorite color on them, even if it's requested!}》
《{Akaza has a newfound hate for Doma on top of his previous dislike for the woman eater!}》
《{Hantengu keeps the monkshood's ashes in a small flask on his main form at all times!}》
《{Doma was unaware of the respiratory depression effect of the poppy seeds and simply thinks (y/n) is week! The lack of proper oxygen stopped (y/n) from fighting at his fullest, otherwise Acers of Drosera would have burt him to a crisp! Tasty!}》