After giving Kyojuro his bracelet and hair ties, you had gone back to the butterfly estate and found Tanjiro and Mitsuko still fighting, although it was quite clear they had taken a break right before you got there. Immediately, both of them could tell you were in a great mood, and decided it would be as good a time as any to ask for help without devastating repercussions. Happily, you went over what they wanted to know, and helped the correct the mistakes or bad habits they were making. Your mood certainly made you a better teacher...
Inosuke also joined in, attacking you and figuring out knew ways of attack should they counter his moves. All in all, it was a productive night for everyone, including you.
"Your wounds seemed to be healed! Although, you do have a few scars..." Aoi said somberly, but you only shook your head.
"That's okay! Scars are better than coming back dead! I woulda been a goner had dawn not shown up when it did!" You chuckled and placed the bandages on the side of your bed, pulling Aoi into a close and tight hug. "You're always so caring, Aoi-san! I can always count on you to be my savior!" You cooed into her shoulder.
"Are you okay? Did you take something...?" She asked, not willing to believe you would say something so random at such a strange moment.
You pulled away and raised a brow, "I'm fine, and I didn't take anything. I'm just happy, that's all." You chuckled and heard a soft knock at the door. When you looked over Aoi's shoulder, you immediately shot up and embraced the ray of sunshine that stepped into your life years ago. "I thought you were staying with your father and brother." You said into his chest.
"Senjuro convinced me to come here instead." You chuckled at the slyness of the timid boy and backed away slightly with your hands behind your back. Your gaze was full of love as it pierced him to his soul.
Aoi cleared her throat and watched you turn to face her with a wide smile, "As I was saying, I'm glad you're here to help with my recovery each time I get injured." You praised the girl happily.
After you flopped onto the bed, Aoi inched up to Kyojuro, "I think she's drunk on love." Kyojuro could see her shiver at the thought of you being truly drunk... what a sight that would be...
Once Aoi was gone, Kyojuro walked over to the bed and watched you turn to your side to look st him with a curios expression. "I remember when I used to bombard people with questions... man I sure have changed." You chuckled to yourself and felt a soft but callused hand touch your cheek tenderly. He caressed it softly and leaned forward, placing a small kiss on your lips before placing one on your forehead.
"Questions or not, you're still my Snowball. It doesn't matter how much you change or what you do, you'll be the same curious girl I met all those years ago." He chuckled and tackled you, pinning your hands to the bed while he laid on top of you. "I must say, I am quite ashamed I kept my feelings from you for so long." You glanced st your hands then to his soft expressions and giggled.
"This is a change of events." A wide grin spread across your features as you invited his gentle touch. "You needn't worry. If I'm being honest, Shinjuro-san knew of my feelings before you..." you chuckled nervously and saw his jealous expression. "I told him right after I got that fever a few months back and visited hum"
"Oh, when you said you felt vulnerable?" You gave a small nod as he removed his hands from your wrists, placing his elbows beside your head, holding himself above you. "Just how vulnerable did you feel? Do you still that vulnerability?" He asked with kindness etched into every fiber of his being.
"It was the most vulnerable I've ever felt, and occasionally I still feel it, but I think it's human nature. That's what Shinjuro-san told me, anyways. Told me he was glad I was human." You laughed with closed eyes.
Your body immediately tensed when you felt soft kisses on your neck, realizing Kyojuro had bent down. You let out soft moans, placing your hands on either side of his cheeks, pulling his face to meet yours. Meeting you gaze, he relented and laid on his side, pulling you close to him and refusing to let go. "Sleep well, dear." He whispered into your hair, tightening the grip he had around your waist.
"Goodnight..." you kissed his collarbone and closed your eyes to sleep, falling into an unconscious state.
Waking up in an unfamiliar bed, you look around wondering where you are. With no one in sight, you stood up and walked around the place to scout the area and know your surroundings better. It was dark and quiet, not even the bugs outside were making noise. It gave off an eerie feeling as you tried to move past it and find out more about what was going on. You walked outside and still didn't recognize anything. It was a heavily wooded area with a small wooden house.
'The hell?' You thought and started walking away from the home, rubbing your arms up and down to keep warm. 'Where did Kyojuro go? Surely he wouldn't leave me.'
You felt your foot slip and fell off a small cliff, the snow cushioning your fall. 'Snow? But it isn't even winter...' your gaze danced around the trees as you stood back up and began walking once again. 'I'm not even that cold... what the hell is going on here?!' You felt a creepy presence and looked around at the dark trees that covered the moon. It was sinister and chilled you to the bone. Whatever it was, it didn't want to just talk and hang out as friends.
Your feet began carrying you faster, even though you had no clue where you were going or why. You just somehow had a feeling something was watching, waiting for you to lower your guard. You reached another cliff, but this one had no trees blocking your view so you easily saw the lights of a village down below, as well as the full moon above you.
*Crack*
'A branch?!' You thought and moved slightly, dodging the hands of a creepy looking demon. 'Did it just try to skewer my head?!' You thought remembering the night on the mountain. 'What's going on?!' You touched the area your sword was supposed to be, but the sheath was empty.
Your eyes glanced around, looking for the weapon, but you just couldn't see in the darkness.
Suddenly, your feet stumbled on something sharp, cutting the pad of your foot just slightly. You felt the ground and found your sword just lying there in the bed of snow. Picking it up, you cut the creepy demon into three different pieces, cutting his neck and abdomen.
A loud scream made it into your ears, then several other screams. 'What's going on here?!' You thought as you prepared to jump off the cliff, despite the height. Hearing yet another plea for help, courage flows through your veins as your feet fly off the edge. 'This is the fastest way, maybe I can get there before everyone is dead-' you grab onto the branch of a tree and hit the snow, surprisingly unharmed. Immediately, you got up and ran towards the endless screams.
When you got to the village, blood was splattered over all the buildings, and seeped into the snow as some people were seemingly drug out from their houses, bleeding.
Another scream, you stopped looking into the houses. 'You can't save the dead, (Y/N), focus on the living!' You convinced yourself, leaving the house with a woman and two kids, one of them sliced completely in half while the other had blood leaking from their eyes and mouth, as well as several broken bones poking out of the skin. It was brutal.
You finally reached the place you heard the screams and saw Muzan standing there. Your breath hitched your throat as anger began to well inside of you. 'What is he doing here?' He turned to face you slightly and scoffed.
"They sent a little girl? How pitiful, they must have been desperate to let you join their ranks. How revolting." You heard him say. He spoke in a disgusted tone, angering you even further.
"Revolting, huh? Out of all the things I've been called, revolting is not one of them." Your replied seemed to stop him in his tracks.
"You're a pillar, no?"
"What does it matter to you?"
He hummed and walked towards you and noticed the intimidating expression displayed on your features distinctly. "If you're a pillar, that means you're strong. Akaza told me they had a, as strange as it sounds, really strong female pillar. Would that happen to be you?"
You narrowed your eyes and shifted your gave to the frightened family huddled behind Muzan. When you looked back at the demon, he was right in front of you, hovering and studying you. "No need to be so tense, so what if I am the one Akaza speaks of? It isn't really relevant to you." Your smile deepens as hatred began boiling inside of you. Muzan angered you more than anything had ever done before. Seeing your smile, he mimics it and dashes towards you, striking to kill you only to be dodged gracefully as you jumped up and over him. You landed behind him and in front of the scared family. "It'll be okay. Leave while you can, Ruyaki will lead the way to safety." You smiled and turned to face the demon lord in front of you.
"I'm surprised you're that fast. Maybe you aren't as weak as your mother and brother. I should have killed you all when I had the chance, (Y/N)." He was hoping to mess with you emotionally, but somehow, you felt nothing.
A small smile formed on your features, startling the demon. "My mother and brother didn't go through what I did. How can I expect them to be as strong as I am?" You moved faster than sound and sliced him in half, only for him to regenerate instantly. He pierced your skin using his hand, only for your to slice his arm cleanly off. "You see, I've gone through some ridiculous training. Not to kill you, but to ask you why? However, seeing you here only makes my blood boil."
"I'm glad we're on the same page here. Maybe you should just die now."
"The sun's about to rise. Do you really want to stick around just to kill me?" You whispered, making his eyes widen, glancing out to see the sun in fact about to rise. "Goodbye, for now. I'll make sure you die next time."
Muzan ran away, practically with his tail between his legs. You walked around the village, noticing many people were still alive. But also, many were dead. You listened carefully to the screams of children who lost their parents to that horrible creature. You helped bury bodies of children whose lives were lost, leaving their parents all alone.
Many had blood scattered all over them, while others were completely chopped up or missing limbs, both dead and alive. You felt an overwhelming amount of guilt for not arriving any sooner. Tears fell from your eyes as you stood in the middle of the burning village, "Why?" You asked yourself, staring at the ground. "Why couldn't I have arrived sooner? Or defended those we lost? Why am I so useless despite my skill? Am I really meant to die as someone who was known for letting innocent people slip right through their fingers?" You inhaled, "Why?! Why must it always be innocent people?! Why does he have to exist?!" You began screaming, body trembling as your nails dug into the palm of your hand. "What did they do to deserve this hell ?!"
Suddenly, you heard someone call your name from what seemed far away. Your eyes wandered, trying to find the source, but utterly failing. It only reminded you of the blood stained snow and buildings.
Again, you heard your name, just more clearer this time. "Who's calling me?" You looked around but didn't see anyone, not even grieving villagers.
"(Y/N)! Wake up!" You heard it clear as day now, and you jolted up from your bed, Kyojuro pulling you into a tight hug. "Shh, it was only a dream." He soothingly stroked your back, trying to calm your hyperventilating like breathing. "I'm here."
Hearing those words, you breakdown into tears, burying your face into his arm that was wrapped around you protectively. You sat there for a few minutes, crying over what happened in the nightmare. It was a gruesome night, and nightmare. You heard the door crack open and lifted your puffy eyes to see Shinobu and Aoi standing there worriedly.
"Everything okay in here? What happened?" Aoi asked delicately, watching you sniffle and wipe your tears off your face.
Kyojuro glanced down at your before replying, "Everything's fine, just a nightmare." His simple words sent images of what you dreamt back into your mind, making you flinch while trying to forget the bloody scenes. "Hey, it's okay, I'm here for you always." You whispered into your hair, hugging you tighter.
"What kind of nightmare causing a reaction like that out of (Y/N)-san?" Shinobu put her hand on her hip, wanting an explanation.
You sighed, finally accepting it was a dream, and nothing more than that. Your gaze shifted to the girls guiltily. "It was quite gruesome." You stated plainly and moved in Kyojuro's grip so your back was against his chest. Avoiding their gaze, you continued, "Muzan massacred an entire village... and I was... I arrived too late to save the majority... I watched as children buried their parents and as parents buried their children..."
"That still doesn't make sense, something like that hasn't caused you to act like that before, why would it now?"
"Shinobu. Stop. Leave her be." Kyojuro's voice rang in the room startling Aoi.
And thus ended the nightmare and morning...
A/N: welp, here it is- and not proof read...