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"Are you tormented by memories?"
A voice spoke up suddenly, her voice. She twisted and turned, eyes snapping everywhere around her until she felt a hot breath in her ear. She stumbled back, bumping into a wall to stare up at her demon form, just like in the entertainment district.
"Burdened by guilt.." the demon's tongue was sharp, the words dripping off a blade like blood.
"Now, the question; do you really want more..?" another voice spoke up, watching as her human form suddenly appeared front behind the wall, not facing the halfling, and instead joyfully walking along. "If you don't then..." her human eyes suddenly snapped to her own, a smirk on her lips. "We ought to talk."
"What do you want?" The halfling insisted, stumbling to her feet and slowly making away from the duo to continue her trek around the fortress. "Get out of my head. You're not real."
The human tilted its head, brows furrowed. "No, but to you we are." It smiled, following beside her down the hall, its hands behind her back as she smiled.
The demon appeared on the halflings' other side, the real being now having a demonic left eye and her usual human right eye. "Why the cold attitude?" The demon hummed, smirking sarcastically.
The halfling scowled, swatting her hand at the demon, only for her hand to phase through the demon who sweatdropped at this. It really wasn't real. "I'm not dealing with this..."
The human on her right hummed, tilting its head to the side to watch the halfling, their feet moving in sync. "Oh, now you're getting nervous, hmm?" The human taunted, seemingly innocent, but that was far from the truth.
"Why would I be nervous?" The halfling spat out harshly, fists clenching at her sides, even as her eyes remained forward, every now and then scanning the fortress for any movement.
She had begun to count the minutes the moment she had intaken the men's blood, and from what she could calculate, she had been here for a total of three days. She had taken minimal breaks, not sleeping from the haunting memories and the dangers of the fortress, she's had no food since the last dinner she had back at the Ubuyashiki Estate, and she was fed up.
She knew what Muzan had planned.
He wanted her weak.
He wanted her to be completely alone, isolated, without basic human needs, all to weaken her, and either imprison her, or kill her.
He had been tempting her too.
All around the fortress there had been bodies of slayers and humans all around the different floors, there for her to find.
He knew there was only so much hunger she could deny, and eventually, she would snap, being forced to eat human remains just for her own survival.
For now, she hadn't given them a second glance, though. Every time she took in the new scent or the horrid stench of blood, she would travel the opposite way, staying as far back from the corpses as she could so she could resist the temptation.
If she did eat one, that would be going against the vow she made with Kagaya; she would never kill or devour another human being as long as she was with the corps. Not to mention, eating that corpse would make her no better than the demons inhabiting this area. Finally, it was honestly disgusting to even think of eating another human after all this...
She couldn't do it....
But she was so hungry.
She fell to her knees, her hand clenched around her arching stomach, her teeth grit in pain. The demon and the human paused, looking down at her as she gave out a pained grunt.
The demon smirked. It crouched beside her, eyes narrow. "Go on..you're hungry. Eat. I'm sure he wouldn't mind." The demon leaned close, its hand laying on her back.
The halfling only glared up at it weakly, eyes narrowed harshly as the human crouched beside her. "But...think about all the things that could happen.." the human hummed, looking down and holding a clenched fist to its chest.
The halfling's head hit the floor, her eyes shut and her teeth clenched at the pain on her stomach. "S-shut up..!" She gritted out, a bead of sweat running down the side of her face.
"Don't mind the specs of blood...don't let them put you off.." The demon sadistically whispered into her ear, all before the human moved around and gently pulled it away, its hand gripping the demon's shoulders.
"You know there's more to it than that!" The human cried, leaving the demon to scoff and sharply pull away from the human's grip, pushing it back so it fell to the ground.
The halfling, in a last ditch effort to clench her hunger, slowly lifted her hand to her lips, her teeth suddenly sharpening as her pupils shook. The human caught onto this, its lips parting as the demon laughed. "Oh, I see what you're trying to do..."
The halfling gave out one last grunt before harshly biting down on her own hand. The human gasped slightly as she sunk her teeth in, releasing a pained grunt before she forcefully tore away a chunk of flesh from her skin. Blood was spilled, a muffled pained grunt following after the sound of torn flesh, before a few moments later, the sound or chewing..
"Talk about having some big balls.." the demon smirked, leaning back and watching as the wound slowly healed, even as her own blood slipped past the halflings lips.
It took a moment, her eyes conflicted and her whole body feeling like throwing up, before she forcefully swallowed. She let out a gasp, her hands scrambling to wipe away the blood from her lips as her hand healed.
She wanted to throw up and get out, but she had to keep going...she needed to survive.
She couldn't follow what Muzan wanted.
Lips moving up her arm, the halfling clenched her eyes shut before she bit deep into her skin once again, blood seeping to the grounds and being soaked by the mats. "(Y/N)..." The human mumbled, a hand over its mouth and its eyes watching with disgust.
With another grunt of pain, the sound of tearing flesh echoed through the fortress, followed by another pained grunt, all before she began to slowly chew again. The demon leaned closer to her arm, eyes scanning the wound and smirking at the sight of the bone as flesh slowly began to mend back together.
The halfing let out a gasp when she swallowed, panting to herself. "You really hate that man, huh.." the demon laughed out, only stopping when the human hit its arm and the demon grumbled.
The hafling tilted her head away from her arm, eyes clenching shut as she swallowed, the horrid taste of metal staining her mouth. "Damn right I do.." She retorted breathlessly, teeth gritting.
She licked her lips, wiping away the blood flat slipped down her chin. The halfling then reopened her eyes once the wound had closed and she moved to bite into it again-
Without warning, her arm was gripped away from her mouth, and she was forced to the side like a ragdoll. She grunted, her hair falling in front of her face as she looked up, glarin at whoever had grabbed her arm.
The human and the demon immediately disappeared at his arrival.
She suddenly met eyes with yellow ones and her eyes widened, lips parting as he gripped her arm. The duo were face to face, inches away from their noses touching, and all the halfling could do was stare in shock.
"What are you doing?" Akaza gritted out, eyes wide and his grip tightening on her arm, holding it up so she was face to face with him.
He looked mad, but not at her. In fact, he didn't hold any sort of anger towards the halfling at all, it was rather her situation.
He knew she was stubborn when it came to obeying Muzan, and he knew better than anyone, the pure anguish she held towards Kibutsiji. A day wouldn't go by that she wouldn't express her hate when they were in training. And seeing her trying to eat herself right now...it showed nothing had changed.
She didn't respond at first, her eyes cast over by a shadow, all before she grit her teeth. "Trying to get out of this hellhole alive." The shadow dissipated from her eye as she looked up, meeting his gaze with hate. "And if you've come to stop me, I'll have to kill you..or at least try to."
Akaza scoffed, his grip on her arm loosening before he dropped his grip completely. She fell to her knees, teeth grit, glaring up at him. "Good joke."
"Kill yourself."
The demon scoffed out a chuckle, shaking his head at the girl. "I see nothing has changed with you." Akaza sighed, crouching beside her, his forearms on his knees. He tilted his head.
The woman continued to glare up at him, brows furrowed. "And I see you're still an arrogant prick." She scoffed at him, moving to sit on her knees, her guard up, even though they both knew she was too weak to do much to anyone right now.
"Nevermind- your language has gotten worse.." Akaza scratched the back of his head, almost nonchalant about the whole situation. "And I, sure as hell, didn't teach you that."
"Why are you here?" The woman announced, her voice harsh and her mind demanding an answer. She moved her hand to poke his chest, leaning forward and narrowing her eyes. "When are you going to start trying to kill me?"
She hated him. Yes, he was the only one who was remotely nice to her when training here, but that doesn't mean she forgot all those times he beat her to the ground half dead, nor the times he insulted her to the point she couldn't stand herself.
And she certainly hadn't forgotten what he did to Kyojuro.
Akaza simply huffed, shaking his head at her. "Don't look at me like that." He gritted his teeth, his hand moving to her forehead to give it a little flick. She gritted her teeth, cradling her head. She was about to retort to him, but that same hand clenched around her mouth.
Her eyes widened when he silenced her. She gripped his wrist as he pulled her closer, their faces inches away. "I'm not the only one here. Upper moon two and one as well. You're lucky I was the one to find you instead of them."
Her eyes narrowed, teeth grit under his hand as she glared up at him. "You know I don't harm women, and I don't fancy hunting you, of all people, down." He huffed, leaning closer and moving his hand from around her mouth to squish her cheeks together with his index finger and thumb. "I've kept you alive this long. I don't fancy the thought of stopping now."
She tugged on his wrist, but unable to break his grip, her eyes hard. "What the hell do you mean by that-"
"Listen, (Y/N)..." He interrupted, not letting go of her face, his brows furrowing. "I'm not here to argue. You aren't in charge anymore- not here. You will do as I say, listen to everything I command, and follow my orders- understood?" He tilted his head, teeth gritting. "Maybe then, you'll have a chance."
"What does Muzan want from me?" The halfling demanded, her eyes cold and her teeth grit in his hold. "You were sent here- otherwise you would've found me earlier than this..." She deduced, her hand tightening around his wrist.
Akaza sighed, lowering his head before he spoke, his tone much softer than before. "He wanted you at your weakest before he sent me. He knew I'd have the most chance of getting this through your thick skull." The halfling narrowed her eyes, scowling slightly. "He doesn't want to kill you- not yet. I'm not sure what he wants, but he sent me to get you. If I take too long, he'll send Doma, and things will get way worse."
She gritted her teeth, scoffing as she tried to escape his grip, but it was unsuccessful. "And how the hell am I supposed to trust you." She demanded an answer, her voice cold and her eyes harsh like a thunderstorm.
"You can't." He simply stated with a shrug, lips pursed before he went on. "But it's either me, or the other Upper Moons. Make your choice."
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"You bastard-!" She cried, struggling against Akazas grip, her hands bound behind her back with chains even he couldn't break away from, and a piece of cloth wrapping around her mouth to muffle her cries.
"Do you ever stop whining?" Akaza huffed as he gripped one of her arms and forced her to follow him. She struggled, obviously, but the force of the demon, mixed with her lack of strength- she was practically useless.
All of a sudden, she was pushed to her knees, her hair falling over her face and Akazas hand on her shoulder, forcing her down, the woman letting out a muffled grunt. Akazas eyes softened slightly, his grip becoming much more gentle.
Doma blinked at the sudden arrival, his eyes widening before he let out a hum and a nasty smirk. "Oh, my~ that was rather fast, Akaza-dono.." The demon hummed, lifting his fan to cover half his face.
Akaza felt a tick mark forming on his forehead at the demon, his teeth grit as he looked up at him. "She was already weak to begin with. Didn't take much to restrain her."
"Do you...know if she ate...any corpses..?" Kokushibo inquired, looking down at the scene, each of his eyes blinking at different times, his body stood on a high podium.
Akaza scoffed, glaring up at the demon with gritted teeth. "Do you think she did?" He sarcastically spat, his free hand clenching, the other holding the halfling down as she struggled against him, muffled grunts falling from her lips.
"You've grown to be such a beautiful woman, (Y/N)-chan~" Doma hummed, suddenly appearing before the duo and crouching in front of the woman, their faces close. The woman scowled at him as he gripped her chin, his thumb tracing her skin delicately. "It's a shame I couldn't eat you~"
Akaza scowled in disgust, glaring down at the upper moon two. "Oi." His voice called, Doma looking up with an innocent glint in his eye, releasing a hum. "Get away from her, shitbag."
Doma paused, his hand slowly moving to cup the struggling woman's cheek, his eyes narrowing. "Oh~ is something wrong, Akaza-dono? Why can't I be this close?" It was almost a taunt to the upper moon, silently questioning his loyalty without saying it directly. The halfling only grumbled under the cloth.
Akaza was about to respond, but without warning, Kokushivo appeared behind him.
The demon felt the hairs at the back of his neck stand on end, his eyes widening slightly as the six eyed demon spoke. "We wait...for Muzan-Sama...do not begin...conflict."
"Sorry Kokushibo-dono!" Doma cried out with a smile before he turned back to the woman in his hold, leaning forward so her eyes widened, he smirked. "You hear that? Muzan-sama wants to speak to you. Isn't that an honour?"
The halfling deadpanned at the demon, her brow furrowing at his words before she shook his hand off her face, her eyes cold. "Oh- it seems like nothing's changed since the last time I saw you!" Doma grinned, his hand moving under her chin this time to force her to look at him. "That makes me feel wonderful! When you're a demon, everything around you changes so fast..." He sighed, smiling as the woman glared, and so did Akaza.
"Kokushibo-dono! You remember her from when she was younger, right?" Doma inquired, looking up at the six eyed demon who was now standing just behind him. The woman released another silent glare at the man, who only narrowed his eyes.
"..yes." He simply responded, not bringing up the fact he stabbed her in the shoulder the first time they met, and the fact she was the one who killed his pupil. Granted, he didn't have a connection to the boy on a personal level, however, he was strong, and Kokushibo spent a lot of time on him...only to see it all go to waste.
Doma then clapped his hands together like a young excited child, his smile wide- even though it was easily fake. "Isn't that wonderful! We all remember you! The happiness I feel makes me almost want to gouge my eyes out!"
Akza grit her teeth, his eyes cold and his tone harsh. "Let me do it for you. I'm sure it'd be fun." He huffed, unintentionally gripping the woman's shoulder tighter. She blinked at this, brows creasing as the demon scowled.
Doma simply laughed, waving his hand and leaning away from the woman, but still on his knees in front of her. "You always make the best jokes, Akaza-dono!" He grinned again, flashing his sharp teeth-
"Muzan-sama has arrived."
A voice called out, the group turning to the Biwa demon as she plucked her string and the fortress went silent.
*buzz*
(Y/N) narrowed her eyes at the biwa demon, brows knitting together into a deep glare as the buzz of the instrument echoed off the walls, and suddenly, a voice spoke up..
A voice which she hated to her core.
"The only reason you are here is because I allow you to be."
Red, crimson, eyes that glowed through the dark, spreading fear Into every crevice he crawled into.
Ebony hair that matched the night sky itself, minus the stars. He told us the reason people slept through the night was to avoid his very glance, otherwise, you were as good as dead.
The smooth voice that slithered through your ears, tempting you just like the snake with Adam and Eve, who cursed humanity from the minute they grew from this very earth.
The whole group turned their head to the ceiling, their eyes watching as Muzan hung upside down, in his hand, a notebook, and in-between his fingers, a pen.
(Y/N) felt her heart speed up slightly.
It seemed as though he was uncaring as he continued, the others remaining silent as the black haired demon kept his eyes trained on the notebook.
"I prefer the unchanging, the remaining, and the constant...but you, (Y/N) (L/N)...the only thing unchanging about you is your intolerable remarks and your stubborn behaviour. "
The notebook suddenly snapped shut, the sound echoing through the fortress before the demon looked down, staring directly into the halflings eyes with his own narrowed pupils. "It's a miracle I allow you to live."
The woman gritted her teeth under the cloth, her hands clenching behind her back as she looked up into his eyes, unblinking.
"Ah! Muzan-sama! I hope you are doing well!" Doma cried, grinning up at the man, but his eyes never wandered from the halflings, almost like a silent competition between who would give on first.
Akaza only clenched his fists, his mind forcefully going blank as he let out a breath, even as Kokushibo eyed the others with his usual stoic features.
Doma was ignored by the black haired man.
The biwa sounded.
*buzz*
The halfling blinked in surprise when she was no longer looking into Muzans eyes, but looking up at the three upper moons, Muzan now standing in front of her crouched form. Her eyes widened.
He towered over her like a master to their servant, staring like she were a pest of no value, but she still managed to grip onto her worth. "I want you to be unchanging." He spoke before continuing. "From as far as our knowledge goes, a halfling is the only being that can walk in the sunlight as a demon, even though they are not in that form at that moment unless they wish to die."
He crouched next to her form, his hand landing on the back of her head before he gripped onto her skull. She grunted, her head being pulled back to face him as though she were some sort of a ragdoll. He only hummed, his slit pupils thinning as they latched onto her features.
"You are the key to my victory, (L/N) (Y/N). And you led yourself right to me."
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