Suggested by: douma_official1
Ship: AkaDou
AU: Swap
Genre: Angst
Character roles: Hashira
Douma: 20yrs old, Ice Pillar
Akaza: 20yrs old, Destruction Pillar
Douma's POV:
I sat on my bed with one of my Nichirin fans in my hands. I aligned the edge of the fan to my neck, letting it cut my skin a little. But before I fully went through with committing seppuku, I hesitated, and thought back a little on how I even ended up in this situation.....
A few days ago...
Still Douma's POV:
Kaza's taking quite awhile to get back from his mission tonight, I wonder if he's alright. I would have gone to help him, but Muzan-sama said that he should be able handle the demon himself, and I hope he's right. I was pacing back and forth my room. Just then, I saw the break of dawn, and started to panic a little. It was already morning and he hasn't returned to his estate..... What if he's injured, or wors- No! Don't think such negative thoughts Douma, he can handle himself. After all, he is the third strongest Hashira in the Corps. He'll be back, safe and unharmed.
20 minutes later...
The sun was fully up, letting it's warm rays shine through my window. But there was still no sign of Kaza returning. I sighed, only realizing now that I had been up all night waiting for him to come back. I looked out the window that overlooked Kaza's estate, wondering what was taking him so long. Suddenly, i heard a knock on my door and opened it quickly, thinking it was Kaza. "Kaza! You're finally- oh. It's just you Daki..."
"Uh duh! I don't look anything like that basketball." Daki shouted, pissed off. "Anyways, the meeting is starting in 2 minutes, hurry up and get ready."
I apologized for making her angry and thanked her for informing me about the meeting. After she left, I sighed and stared tearing up a little. Kaza, where in the world are you....
Time skip to the meeting...
"Master has arrived."
All of us immediately got on our knees. Master looked especially grim this morning, could it be.... No, please don't tell me- "Ow!"
Kokushibo elbowed me in the ribs, telling me to pay attention. "As I was saying, one of our strongest Pillars has yet to return, and his crow too. So, the only thing we can do is proclaim him dead, as there is no evidence of his survival. We found his uniform and haori soaked in blood and torn to pieces, my tests have proved that the blood was from a human being(In this Swap!Au, Muzan is only half blind). This is an example of what happens when you slack- Hey! Why are you exiting the meeting before it finished, Douma?"
I didn't want to listen to Muzan-sama anymore. He has to be lying!!! I ran as fast as I could to my estate, ignoring the shouts of my co-workers telling me to get back to the meeting. I just kept running till I was in my room and locked the door, flinging myself onto my bed and sobbed loudly. Why, just WHY did god have to be so cruel! Why did they have to take his life........
Few hours later...
"Ouma...ouma.....DOUMA!!!! Open up, please!"
I woke up to the sound of someone banging on my door. I could hear Kokushibo outside yelling at me telling me to let him in. I groaned. How long was I out for? Kokushibo continued to yell so I gave up and unlocked the door. "Finally, I was worried you weren't feeling well or something. Let's go in shall we?"
I reluctantly moved aside to let him in and locked the door again. I then walked towards my bed and sat on the opposite side of where he was seated.
(Pls note that whenever it's a AkaDou story, 9/10 of the time Kokushibo will be an older brother figure to Douma, Yoriichi is fine with that since Douma makes Kokushibo more calm, which means that Kokushibo won't push Yoriichi away when he shows affection, so kinda win-win.)
"Do you need a hug?" Kokushibo asked.
I leapt into his arms and cried. I started spill out all my sorrows and worries to him, and he just patiently listened and comforted me. In the end, i got a little drowsy and felt my eyelids getting heavier. "Thank you, Ani......." I whispered before I fell asleep again.
The next day...
"Mmmmmmmm...." I groaned, rubbing my eyes and getting up. "Huh?! It's morning already?!"
I was still in my uniform so I quickly rushed to the meeting. Muzan-sama had just finished giving out the missions to the other Pillars when I ran in. Kokushibo was missing from the group. "Ah, Douma, there you are. Come here and sit at your position. The rest of you may go on with your day!" Muzan-sama said in a dangerously soft voice.
I shuddered. Crap, I'm doomed aren't I. "Well, Douma, do you know what inconveniences you have caused?"
I shook my head, confused. Didn't I only miss my missions yesterday? Why did he say 'inconveniences'? "You have not only missed your missions yesterday, but also had to have Kokushibo finish them for you. Not only that, Kokushibo is now in the infirmary because of over working and staining himself too hard completing both yours and his missions in one night. So you will be getting a punishment. For the next two nights, you will be completing Kokushibo's missions and your own, which will also be doubled. That should teach you for slacking off while letting someone else do your job for you. Now unless you want to end up like Akaza, you better finish everything before the deadline. Be glad I'm going easy on you this time."
I kept my mouth shut through out, knowing that talking back will only put me in an even worse situation. Muzan-sama dismissed me and the first place I went was the infirmary to visit Kokushibo. Why did he even complete my missions for me! He knows very well he should have woken me up instead...
"Sorry, Kokushibo is resting right now and must not be disturbed as he had a rough night yesterday."
So not only have I lost my lover, I also got one of my closest friends hurt badly because of me. I should have died instead of him...
~End of Flashback~
Present day...
So, this is it huh... The day I finally die and stop cursing my loved ones... I smiled, and was about to fully push the blade in when my room door was suddenly burst open and in came... Kaza?! "K-Kaza? Is that really you?" I stuttered out, shocked but also relieved that he was alive.
He turned to me and looked like he was about to tackle hug me but he suddenly stopped short. "Douma... What were you about to do." He questioned, eyes fixed on something beside me.
Then I realized. My fan was still cutting my neck! I quickly got it out and hid it behind me as if it would change the fact that Akaza just witnessed me trying to commit suicide. He walked towards me, fists clenched and a furious expression on his face. "K-Kaza? I can explain, I swear!"
He then unexpectedly pulled me into a bone crushing hug. I hugged back, tears already rolling down my face as I buried it in his shoulder. "Shhhhhhhhhh, stop blaming yourself for everything, Hon. It's all in the past, alright? I'm here now, safe and sound just like you wanted me to be! So don't do this to yourself ever again, alright?" I nodded my head a little, burying my face deeper into his shoulder. "Now let's get that wound cleaned up before it gets infected, come on." Still the same Akaza i know and love...
After I got my wound bandaged, I remembered something"So.....where were you all this time? If you were fine, how come you didn't come back immediately after your mission?" I asked.
He looked away for a while, then turned back, scratched his neck and spilled the truth out. Turns out, he had gotten hurt because he encountered Upper Moon 4 on his way back, and got badly burnt and wounded. He couldn't call for back up because the demon had burnt his crow to death. Eventually he defeated the Upper Moon by punching a hole in the demon's stomach and letting the wisteria poison bombs do the rest. He knew he would lose his conscious before he could get close enough to the Demon Slayer Corps headquarters, so his only option was to get to the nearest residence or village and ask for help. Thankfully he managed to stumble upon a little inn that an old woman lived in and she let him stay and had taken care of him for the past few days till he recovered. And because she was so nice, he had planted some wisteria seeds he had on him around her house before he left, hoping they would help her one day. "You could have told me that earlier instead of lying!" I huffed, annoyed that my boyfriend would keep secrets like this from me.
"Well, what could I do? You were already feeling terrible enough, i didn't want you feeling worse knowing that I could have died." He told, nuzzling into my hair. "And you should shower, Dear. You smell like shit."
"Hey!"
✨ BONUSES✨
All the other Hashiras' + Kaigaku's reactions after Akaza told them what Douma had tried to do.
Kokushibo:
"Ani, please let go. You've hugged me for and hour now." -Douma
"Not until you promise that you won't do that again" -Kokushibo
"I won't do it again..." -Douma
"...Say it again." -Kokushibo
"I've done it 40 times already tho! 41 if you count the one I just said." -Douma
"......59 more and I'll be convinced." -Kokushibo
Akaza was pouting in the corner the whole time because he can't get Douma back and is jealous.
Hantengu brothers:
"Not surprised, after all, you were depressed as fuck." -Hantengu and Zohakuten
"Don't believe you, there's no way you had the balls to do that." -Sekido and Urami
"You tried to suicide?!" -Karaku and Urogi
"I've tried, they always stop me..." -Aizetsu
Nakime:
She had nothing to comment, but she was a little worried for Douma's mental health though she didn't show it.
Gyokko:
"What?! You could have stained the fans! Do you know how hard it was to make one that perfect?!" -Gyokko, doesn't want to admit he cares for his friend and was worried.
(Fun fact: In my version of the Swap AU, Gyokko is the very first swordsmith that became a demon slayer too, a Hashira at that. Since he still values his past occupation as a swordsmith, he volunteered to be in charge of making the Nichirin weapons for the other Hashiras. I thought this would make sense since Gyokko loves art and makes pots a lot, so he might have the skills to be a swordsmith?)
Daki and Gyutaro:
"*Screams while crying* ONI-CHAN!! DAD TRIED TO KILL HIMSELF!" -Daki
Gyutaro was too shocked to speak.
"Kaza, I think you broke my children-" -Douma
Kaigaku:
"Damn, dad must have been mad at you." -Kaigaku
Douma told him what Kokushibo did.
"Why am I not surprised." -Kaigaku