𝐂𝐑𝐔𝐄𝐋 𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒 ー 残酷な意図
𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐅𝐢𝐯𝐞
⎡ 𝑺𝒂𝒗𝒊𝒐𝒓 ⎦
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This isn't good...
This isn't good at all...
Having removed herself from Kenji's grip since she didn't want to be too much of a burden to carry all the way up the mountain, (Y/N) could feel her worry skyrocketing when realizing just how close Sanemi was to catching up to them.
He'll kill us the second we're in his sight.
He won't make the same mistake twice.
"Kenji," she whispered, pointing towards a cave that was well hidden amongst the green and black of the foliage. "We should take cover. That Hashira won't be backing down anytime soon, and not to mention, the sun is almost up."
"You're right..." he muttered, his red eyes flicking around. "Let's go with your suggestion. I would never forgive myself if something happened to you."
Heat spread through (Y/N)'s body as the words left Kenji's lips, the love she felt for him practically overflowing at that point. Although she didn't remember some aspects of her life as a demon, and most aspects of her life as a human, she always knew that Kenji was there, and the constance of his presence never left her longing for family because he already made her feel like she had one.
Kenji-san...
If it weren't for him, I would've long been dead by now. I should remember to thank him after all the times he's saved me.
Smiling softly to herself, (Y/N) followed Kenji into the cave, already the cool air turning damp the further they walked inside whilst the ground became firmer and more stone-like. Huddling beside each other, their cold bodies giving off no form of heat, they waited.
It wasn't long before footsteps were heard.
(Y/N) shrank in on herself.
He's here...
Swallowing thickly, she tried to still everything—from the breaths she inhaled to the way she blinked only out of fear. Her silence seemed to work since Sanemi could feel his anger rising by the second as he searched for her who had allowed to escape under his watch, veins then scrawling across his forehead. Grounding his teeth and ready to rip trees and boulders from their rooted positions just to find (Y/N) and Kenji, something that caught in the light of the moon made him freeze in his footsteps.
Drawing his sword, he approached, merely letting out a breath when realizing it was just a hair pin.
Hm...
Wait a minute...
Bending down, he grabbed the hair pin before holding it up to gain a better look at it, immediate recognition flashing over his features.
Ah!
This was worn by that demon woman!
Flicking his dark eyes upward, Sanemi's gaze then landed on the cave that (Y/N) and Kenji had entered not too long ago, an eery grin splitting his face as his aura too decanted into one that immediately chilled the air around him.
"I know you're there, demons!" He called out in spite, his stance firm as he stood on guard. "Give up this futile fight!"
(Y/N) and Kenji flinched.
"We need to go, (Y/N)-chan!" Kenji whispered, feeling around for any sort of exit that he could find, cursing when it was nothing but a dead end.
Before she could say anything, both felt themselves shiver as a cold rush of air shot past them, the shrill screech of iron against metal making them cover their ears with their hands, glancing up to see Sanemi standing there with that same psychotic grin on his face. His hand was held out in front of him, his sword that he thrown pierced perfectly through the rock wall.
"Ah, shit... I missed," he laughed, not at all fazed that he was now unarmed.
"Leave us alone!" (Y/N) hissed, anger boiling over from blatant threatening of their lives.
"Oh... so you can speak," Sanemi instead hummed, having not heard her speak to Kenji earlier, however uninterested in her vehement retaliations. "And here I was thinking it was so odd a more powerful demon would protect such a weak one like yourself. Oh, well, it's not like knowing will matter since you'll both die by my blade."
"I'll never let that happen," Kenji scowled.
"A man-eating demon trying to escape the repentance that you so desperately need," Sanemi scoffed. "You disgust me."
"We've never fucking ate a human!" (Y/N) shouted, her lips twitching into a snarl at the mere suggestion. "You don't know anything, Hashira! How could you when all you do is run around slaughtering anything in sight!? If anything, you should be disgusted at yourself!"
Whirling around—not once registering the strange expression that flit across Sanemi's face—she swung her leg out and knocked down the cave's wall, successfully gaining a way out. The Hashira quickly recovered from his shock though, and no sooner than she and Kenji were outside again, he attacked, swinging down his blade with much more force than he had shown previously.
However, his anger then wasn't stoked.
Wind Breathing, Second Form: Claws, Purifying Wind.
Even though his attack was aimed for Kenji—the one he deemed the stronger demon and who he should pick off first—(Y/N) saw through this. In an instant, she was in between them and knocking him out of the way, crying out when four vertical slashes appeared along her body, slicing herself into separate pieces.
Luckily, they all missed her head.
Unluckily, she was now rendered incapable of moving since so much of her energy was snapped just regenerating her leg.
"(Y-Y/N)- chan!" Kenji cried out, collapsing by her broken body and hating that he was unable to protect her. "I promised I'd keep you safe... I promised I would never let anyone hurt you... and now... now, I have failed you."
Sanemi scoffed at the sight before him.
Demons caring for one another... impossible. This makes me sick, the way they're acting like humans with feelings.
It's best just to end this now.
As he raised his sword, another voice stopped him, "You. Demon."
As Kenji looked up from where he was trying to piece (Y/N)'s body back together again, Sanemi was already gazing in the same general direction with every muscle in his body tensed ready to attack. The demon before them seemed to be walking on nothing, and he took the form of a young boy with pale skin, red sclera surrounding blue eyes, and hair that curled around his face like a spider.
Everything about him was terrifying, including the words that slipped from his lips, "If I save you, will you do anything I say?"
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【 大正の秘密 | 𝐓𝐀𝐈𝐒𝐇Ō 𝐄𝐑𝐀 𝐒𝐄𝐂𝐑𝐄𝐓𝐒 】
► Sanemi memorized every detail about what (Y/N) looked like so she wouldn't be able to escape
► Kenji hates when (Y/N) gets hurt even though she can regenerate herself, albeit slowly, and constantly blames himself for her conditions
► The spider demon saw everything
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