𝐂𝐑𝐔𝐄𝐋 𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒 ー 残酷な意図
𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐓𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐲 𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐫
⎡ 𝑱𝒖𝒅𝒈𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 ⎦
꧁꧂
"He's amazing..." Tanjiro whispered in awe of Kyojuro, his red eyes full of wonder. "He sliced off the demon's head with one blow."
"There's one more demon left," (Y/N) assessed as she stepped in front of him—almost in a protective stance that he instantly noticed and smile at—whilst sniffing the air and straining her ears to feel out her surroundings. "I can sense it..."
"Mm!" Kyojuro nodded, rushing the opposite direction. "Come with me! (L/N)-san too!"
Jumping across the seats to avoid the boys standing in the aisle, (Y/N) ran after Kyojuro, the scent of the demon getting stronger and stronger until both of them stopped at almost the exact same time. People streamed past them in terror from the almost spider-like demon that crawled over the seats, its four yellow eyes rolling in its head as its bones creaked to look over its shoulder at them.
"What the hell is it!?" Zenitsu squeaked from behind one of the seats, quivering in pure fear. "Those long arms it has are terrifying!"
"It doesn't matter!" Inosuke rushed forward with both his swords drawn. "First come, first serve!"
(Y/N) ran with him towards the demon, however instead of attacking it, moved right past it towards a cowering man just a few feet behind it. Grabbing him into her arms and leaping away, Kyojuro rushed past her without even blinking at her actions, instead working with Inosuke and Tanjiro to deflect the sharpened edges of the demon's arms. Soon, its head was off and disintegrating to dust.
(Y/N) stopped at the edge of the junction of the carts, setting down the man and giving him a comforting smile as she said, "You'll be safe in the back. Please hurry."
After watching and making sure the man got away safely, she turned back upon hearing the commotion that she heard from the Demon Slayers, her smile softening at the lighthearted scene in front of her: Tanjiro, Zenitsu, and Inosuke practically begging to be taken on as Kyojuro's Tsuguko after witnessing his amazing swordsmanship. Kyojuro's gaze then met her own, and she sucked in a sharp breath when he flashed her a smile that shone at full force
"(L/N)-san!" He called out to her with cheer. "I must praise you for responding immediately and saving that passenger like you did."
"Oh, it was only natural," she shyly and humbly waved away his compliments. "Instead... I much thank you for protecting all of us with your swordsmanship. Your skills are more than commendable, and... your flames are quite pretty."
"Thank you," Kyojuro blinked, as if surprised that she would even compliment him back.
(Y/N)'s gaze then shifted downwards towards Tanjiro who by then had approached her, his red eyes staring into her own as he said, "I'm... sorry for misjudging you, (L/N)-san."
"It's okay," she chuckled softly. "I'm a demon. It's only natural you be wary."
"Yes, but..." he lowered his head. "My own sister is a demon now too... how can I judge?"
"Most demons are bad," she murmured, glancing back to Kyojuro. "Even I... am not any better than those that devour humans."
"You saved that human."
"Yes, but I have drunken the blood of many others before him," she shook her head.
"Hah!?" Inosuke snorted from behind Kyojuro, clearly baffled from her statement, both Tanjiro and Zenitsu looking equally as shocked. "Are you a vampire!? I say we kill her right now!"
"Inosuke!" Tanjiro held him back.
"I am sorry, Inosuke-san, but I will not die until I find my brother," (Y/N) exhaled softly as she stared into Inosuke's boar hat's eyes, the boy feeling as if she were looking right through him when he did so—a jarring realization, of anything. "If you do try to kill me, I will defend myself as is necessary."
"You will not need to do so, (L/N)-san!" Kyojuro laughed as he approached her to lay a hand on her shoulder. "Because we have already seen how good you are. There is no mistaking that."
(Y/N)'s smile softened at that as she glanced back to look at him, the pure gratitude in her eyes leaving Kyojuro breathless. All five of them then walked back to their seats when there was no longer any other demonic presence sensed, a type of grogginess passing through the entire group once they allowed themselves to relax. The next thing (Y/N) knew, she was in an entirely different space. Glancing around the small space of darkness she was in, she fumbled around before finally opening what she perceived to be a flap before stepping outside into a bustling town, people calling out prices and showcasing their goods for the onlookers that milled around.
Dropping her gaze to her hands, she saw that the flap that she had opened was that of a lid to a cardboard box, the light shining in to showcase a small pillow and ratty blanket. She lived there. Furrowing her brows at this, knowing that this was a true fact, (Y/N) couldn't help but find it odd. Whenever she looked at the box, memories upon memories flooded back to her to in a flurry that she barely had any time to comprehend.
"(Y/N)-chan!" A foreign yet familiar voice called out, her heart squeezing at the sound.
"Ken—" she cut herself off when she found herself staring at a human boy, he looking nothing at all like the current Kenji that she knew. "W-Who are you?"
"What?" The boy looked shocked at her words. "I'm your Onii-chan, Kenji!"
"Onii... chan?"
"Of course!"
Blinking in confusion at his statement, (Y/N) watched as he took her hand to run away from the box-house, finally seeing that she was wearing a rather dirty kimono, her feet were bare, and her skin was covered in bruises and scratches.
Are these my...
What?
What are they?
No... I know what this is...
These are my memories.
꧁꧂
【 大正の秘密 | 𝐓𝐀𝐈𝐒𝐇Ō 𝐄𝐑𝐀 𝐒𝐄𝐂𝐑𝐄𝐓𝐒 】
► (Y/N) has a sort of self-loathing for herself
► Kyojuro likes how selfless and humble (Y/N) is, finding her to be a breath of fresh air compared to the demons he's had to fight before
► Tanjiro truly felt bad about misjudging (Y/N), and wishes to make it up to her
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