You and Satoru broke up for a reason, you keep reminding yourself.
But even months later and, ehm⊠other people later, you find yourself staring at his contact picture, typing and deleting the same message over and over again.
How are you even supposed to break no contact? Is there a good way of reaching out to your ex without coming across as desperate or delusional?
"I miss you" your fingers type.
Delete.
No way you're starting with that â even if it is the truth.
"Hope you're well" âŠyou groan before you even finish typing that one, the little sound of each letter disappearing managing to piss you off even more.
You had heard it enough times already. A monotone soundtrack to every little memory of Satoru, both good and bad, that jumped to your mind without warning the longer you stared at his handsome picture.
It felt ridiculous to miss him that much. You had tried so hard to move on â maybe just to prove a point too. Because otherwise youâd have to admit what he knew all along.
You shouldnât embarrass yourself like that, you decide with a long sigh, ready to lock the device.
But suddenly â three little dots appear on the screen.
satoru: just send it already i can't take it anymore
Your mouth falls open in a silent gasp, and it takes everything in you to not throw the phone across the room and hide from sheer embarrassment.
Then it pings again.
satoru: hellooo?
Fuck.
Was it too late to change your number and move to a different country?
You sigh, finally typing a message you actually send.
y/n: how long have you been watching the screen
Three dots.
satoru: like 10 minutes
You let out a silent scream, heart hammering in your chest.
This is the worst possible scenario â time to deflect.
y/n: why the hell did you have my chat open anyway
Three dots againâŠ
satoru: princess I've been waiting for this moment for months
Your cheeks heat up with something other than embarrassment this time.
y/n: you're an idiot
You know heâd practically be able to hear your pout through that text. But thenâ
satoru: that guy you were dating finally fuck up?
You let out a small chuckle at his honesty. And yeah, fuck up was putting it lightly, but you didn't exactly want to get into how every man since Satoru had been a complete disappointment.
You sigh, biting the inside of your cheek to try and force back the smile that tried to form on your lips.
y/n: guess you could say that
Satoru was typing again, three dots appearing and disappearing. Maybe he was the one deleting the messages on the other side now.
You could almost picture him â that wide cheese eating grin, celebrating his prophecy coming true. You hated how right he was about the fact you wouldn't find anyone better than him.
The overly confident bastard he was.
But the message you received wasn't smug at all. If anything, it made your heart ache with that familiar comfort no one but him seemed able to give you.
satoru: did he hurt you?
You felt a tightness in your throat as you typed out a yes. It's not like you were ever in love with the guy â you hadn't really been in love with anyone since, well⊠since the man you were texting right now.
White haired, blue eyed, handsome Satoru Gojo, shining so bright he overshadowed everyone in his wake, including you.
But how could anyone else even compare?
satoru: are you ok?
You bite your lower lip, reading and rereading his text. Yes that guy proved to be an asshole, but what was really making your chest hurt wasn't that short lived situationship â it was how much you missed Satoru.
Missed his stupid jokes. Missed the way he'd easily pick you up and place kisses all over your face. Missed cuddling on cold nights, laughing at the dumb movie he chose, baking cookies for lunch when his adorable pout convinced you it was healthy.
What was the use of lying, anyway?
y/n: i just really miss you
There. You finally admitted the truth you had been trying to conceal for months now.
And his response came so fast you wondered how his thumbs could type so quickly.
satoru: ill be there in 10
You laugh â Satoru easily lives a half an hour away, but you fully believe him.
How did you ever think youâd get over Satoru Gojo?
(important) DO NOT MESSAGE YOUR EX â unless he is satoru gojo, of course
It's totally fine! But I would prefer it if it's not really NSFW, my fault for not specifying đ basically the reader just daydreams a lot about being with hoshina to the point where they imagine being more than just co-workers and it eats them up knowing well that they should uphold professionalism. If you can make it, I'll gladly wait! You can take your time, but if you find it difficult to accomplish, then that's fine as well! Thank you for the accommodation!đ«¶đ«¶
attaching your original req too because ive just taken SOOOO RIDICULOUSLY LONG TO FINISH THIS I TRULY TRULY APOLOGIZE.... it's been almost 2 whole years i really have no words (or excuses). its not even that long of a fic but here it is.... thank you sm for your request and i do hope you enjoy!!
request: can you do a Hoshina Soshiro x Reader fic whose main context revolves around Taylor Swift's Guilty As Sin song? Basically, the reader's feelings towards Hoshina is exactly as the song depicts, and he found out later on.
notes: not nsfw! just the concept is there, based off of guilty as sin by taylor swift (obviously)
You couldn't be doing this. You knew well in your head that these thoughts should goâ but so what if you knew. Having full control of your thoughts is not something most can do, and you knew for sure these thoughts would stay with you. Because you've tried to distract yourself from themâ think about anything elseâ and nothing would work.
Your head was filled with thoughts of your Vice-Captain all the time.
You imagined what his hands would feel like around yours. Perhaps a little bony, but larger than you'd initially expect. You thought about returning to a shared place after a mission. Patching up his wounds while he dried your hair. You daydreamed about how your first kiss would go. Would it be romantic or would it be in the spur of the moment?
These fantasies would fill your head, constantly. Without a doubt, you were his entirelyâ he lived in your mind day and night. Yet, this stayed in your mind forever. And that made you wonder if these thoughts really were so harmful. If thinking of him in this way was so horrible, if he was forever out of your reach.
However, there was a shift. You couldn't quite point out an exact event, but something was different now. If your eyes met, his gaze would linger for a second too long. If his fingers brushed your skin, you'd sense it'd be for a moment extra. Oh, he knew you felt this way about him.
But something in you told you he felt the same way. Perhaps these thoughts werenât so bad, if the feeling was mutual. Perhaps theyâd be forgiven, if he too, had the same thoughts about you. You werenât sure for the longest time, but today, youâd finally find out.
The sun had just set as the two of you worked through files, researching away in this messy office. You got up to stretch a little, and took a sip of your coffee before sitting back down. Giving yourself a little break, you looked over at him, and perhaps your eyes lingered for a moment too long.
âHey,â he said, his eyes meeting yours, instinctively making you look away. âDonât look away.â
You brought your gaze back to meet his, and his eyes were serious, but also a little hopeful.
âDo you give everyone that look?â he asked, and you slowly shook your head. You werenât certain where this was going, but your heart thumped so loudly you could hardly hear him. âI think about you all the time. I see you in books I read and the songs I hear. Iâd been assuming you did the same, but had I been wrong?â
âNo,â you said, shaking your head. âYou know how I feel about you.â
He smiled. âI could never be certain.â
âDo you really feel the same?â you asked, your voice a whisper, and he laughed. He got right out of his seat and threw his arms around you.
A kiss to your lips and a whisper only you could hear, âI love you a million times more.â
I have a post sitting in my drafts and I was going to post on a better like day bc I just posted on my other blog but I have free will so I'm posting rn. first post in a million years user hoshiina nation
super random post but ive been mulling over my writing style for the past little bit... something about others' works that are so inspiring to me and i really wanted to attempt something new but ive just really been struggling. but i randomly started scrolling through my asks on here and the number of asks i had gotten telling me you guys like my writing style. truly i am on the floor thank you so so so much... it's always meant the world to me but it hit me so hard like it was almost a surprise. maybe some of you DO follow because i write this way. i just wanted to say thank you it truly truly means the world to me.
still going to try and experiment i'm having quite some fun dissecting writing styles... (primarily my own but) i'll see where i get... i suppose this is a good time to introduce that i made a blog to write for ikemen series (specifically ikevil harrison atm) if any of you are familiar. the blog is @clemences! i'll be back on this blog over the summer i promise
something about spending valentineâs day with sae. waking to cool sheets and the smell of coffee; a soft mouth on yours, and a softer breath between your lips: âmorning, lover.â
he handles you marginally sweeter on the day. smiles less wry, words more warm. you take the opportunity to push your games, coiling a little coyer around him, as he knows you would. but he doesnât discourage you.
only catches you around your middle, carrying you out of the bedroom and into the bathroom, undoing your robe. your protests and laughters are hushed when he dips you into the bath of scented oils and flower petals.
you blow a bubble up at him, eyes bright and skin flushed from the hot water. âhow romantic of you.â
âisnât it?â his tone is droll, sitting on the rim of the tub as he palms the water over you.
âwhen did you set all of this up?â
âwhy do you want to know?â he raises an eyebrow. âplanning to reimburse my time?â
âin one way or another.â you grin, cupping the foamy water and blowing another stream of bubbles at him.
his heart beats lushly at the sight.
the bathroom is warm; humid. an intimate blue since the sun hasnât fully risen. it smells like roses and shampoo and cinnamon, courtesy of the morning coffee heâd brewed and youâd kissed him thank-you for.
bubbles pop between you both as he kisses your forehead. your wet hair. you blink up at him from under dewy lashes and he thinks of fawns and cupid.
âagain,â you demand, lips curving into a traitorous smile.
âtoo many, and youâll get spoiled,â he says dryly, returning to bathing you.
âitâs valentineâs day. itâs the one day I have to be spoiled.â
âas if you arenât spoiled every other day, too.â
you flick water at him, though your move at retaliation becomes lasciviousness as you watch it soak through his shirt, turning the white fabric translucent. you admire his body shamelessly, and he huffs a soft laugh.
âspoiled,â he says again, catching your jaw between his fingers.
you only gaze up at him, coy and silky. âyou spoil me.â
he canât deny it. not while knowing he has the bouquets waiting in the living room vases for you; the outings booked into his phone; the sweets stocked for when you both return home in the evening.
but he wonât admit it, either.
instead, he squeezes your jaw lightly, enough to purse your lips and flush your cheeks. he imagines a soapy little bubble between them and imagines popping it in a warm kiss.
âAnd I plan to continue,â he murmurs, brushing ever so softly against you, âlover.â
so the poll going around is LITERALLY how i find out they're trying to change notes to attribute to reblogs. genuinely WHO is thinking these things up im actually so lost. and to what extent does that even follow ? all reblogs? reblogs with tags? reblogs with comments? if it's all reblogs we've officially lost the plot. the pure concept of making new notes on rbs attribute to the reblog and not the original post on a platform that HEAVILY RELIES ON RBS TO GET CONTENT AROUND is quite frankly the silliest thing ive ever heard. for an insane number of years tumblr had no algorithm it was literally just your following dash. and for this reason so many people still use tumblr solely on their following dash. you cannot take away a feature that the platform is literally BUILT ON and expect everything else to stay the same
UPDATE: I REALIZE THEY'RE NOT DOING THIS ANYMORE! however it still scares me that they want to attempt to change reblogs. why are we reinventing the wheel. why are we fixing something that isnt broken.
there are many ways jujutsu society perceives satoru gojo. you have your own ways, too. the strongest, of course. a hurricane of force, an eccentric genius. a mentor.
that last one sticks the most. itâs most unique to your relationship with him, after all.
you arenât quite a student. but youâre trained, nonetheless. itâs nothing like an ordinary internship. thereâs less orientation and what he does offer is a car ride to the outskirts of shinjuku, a dark abandoned estate, and an ominous feeling down your spine.
âyou want me to go in there?â
âyep.â
âalone?â
âyep.â
âis this â attempted murder?â you try to find the right words. coercion, maybe. he took it upon himself, really, to take you under his wing. volunteered himself as a guiding light for your mentorship in jujutsu. but while that all seemed generous at first, now, youâre wondering if this was all a ploy to have you snuffed discreetly.
but gojo only smiles at your concern. the blindfold doesnât offer much to his true feelings, but the way he tilts his head tells you he may not be as apathetic as he first seemed.
âyouâll be fine,â he says. âIâll be right here.â
âright here. how will that help me, when Iâm deep in there?â
he pinches the tip of your nose. you didnât know how cold you were until you feel his still-warm fingers on your frostbitten skin. that mightâve been the intention, though.
he murmurs, âI will help. if I really think you need it, Iâll be in there within fractions of a minute.â
you believe him. you donât know yet everything about him, but this much you know intuitively, strengthened by the whispers youâve caught at a distance: you can trust him.
nothing to post and will have nothing to post until exams are over (or at least I genuinely should not bc I need to be STUDYING not WRITING) but updating that shinazugawa sanemi is back to being the love of my life after a full cycle
not over ppl mischaracterizing sanemi bc no way in hell would he ever dream of laying a finger on the woman he loves, esp with the way he had to grow up seeing his own mother abused like no. With that said he is nowhere near a romantic LOL I imagine him falling for someone and having no idea what to do w himself, like before confessing or getting together heâd probably be so like passive aggressive or awkward at first, I Imagine him going to obanai after he gave mitsuri the green socks like ââŠ..howâd you do thatâŠ.â Like sanemi would know everything ever abt the girl heâs in love with but would hardly be able to look her in the eye. But after training with her one day he works up the balls to pat her on the shoulder and mumble good job and the smile she gives him replays In his head for the next week. Sanemis lowkey got no game at first bc he absolutely needs to figure out what affection and love even are to him, definitely trial and error once you guys are together and he learns how to be soft but gawd damn is the wind hashira a quick learner and oh my does he care enough to put in the effort. You only need to tell him ONCE âI donât like when you yell at meâ and he will NEVER raise his voice again itâs almost militant the way he tries to learn affection and love like youâll have to teach him to ease up a littleâŠ. But he will undoubtedly learn. And when he is finally comfortable in your arms and opening up his own for you, he will be the type to let the little things speak for themselves. A hand on your side, his gaze always on you, turning to face you as soon as he senses you walk into a room, knowing what you feel and want before you even voice it⊠his love is the one thing heâs quiet about, itâs the one thing he holds too close to share with others
Pairings: Obanai x reader; Akaza x reader; Sanemi x reader; Tengen x reader; Inosuke x reader
Word Count: 5k
Warnings: No spoilers for anything y'all, pure fluff for our wounded hearts to enjoy I will never recover from infinity castle arc
I'm in the middle of writing a part 2 of this so stay tuned!
Iguro Obanai
âThat was way too close,â you mumble, allowing your body to finally rest against a nearby wisteria tree.
What a hell of a night. Countless killed humans, even more beheaded demons. It wasnât until the sun finally rose that you finally made it out of here. Or rather the arrival of a certain someone who happens to be a hashira.
âI told you over and over to never leave me side. And you? You sneak out while I sleep to go on a mission like that without a backup.â
âMy crow ordered me to do so,â you insist half-heartedly.
 Because deep down, you know that the story didnât exactly lay out like this. To be exact, you were the one begging on your knees for a challenging mission without Iguro Obanai involved in it. And maybe it was in fact his crow that wanted to entrust this mission to him alone.
Why all this madness? Because your precious boyfriend canât accept the fact that youâre capable on your own as well. Not as a hashira, not even remotely close to being as good as him, but still skilled enough to fight on your own.
At least thatâs what you thought until today.
âYou could have died, (y/n)!â he blurts out so suddenly that you flinch.
Your heart drops to the floor. After all those years of loving appreciating the man in front of you, youâve never seen him like this. Handy shaky, forehead covered in sweat, eyes wildly furrowed. YetâŠThere is no man living on this planet who is allowed to raise his voice at you like that. Not for doing your job, not for giving it your all.
You squeeze your fists, frustration bubbling despite how drained you are.
âI know I couldâve died, Obanai. Iâm not stupid. But you never trust me to handle anything alone. Youâre always breathing down my neck like Iâm some helpless trainee. I know Iâm not a hashira like you and I think Iâll never be one, but stop treating me like a beginner. Why this urge to follow each and every damn step I take?â
His mismatched eyes snap to yours, sharp as blades.
âBecause I canât lose you!â
His voice cracks at the end, louder than youâve ever heard it. Kaburamaru stirs nervously around his shoulders, leaving your heart pounding roughly against your ribcage.
You open your mouth, but nothing comes out. What is all of this about? This isnât the first time he pulls you out of danger, not even the first mission you head in on your own. No, this has to be about something elseâŠbut what? He looks away first, teeth grinding under his bandages. The silence between you feels like glass ready to shatter.
Then, in the quietest, roughest whisper, Obanai mutters, â...Damn it. You ruined everything.â
Your brows knit, mind unable to follow a single word.
âRuined what?â
He drags a shaky hand through his hair, muttering curses under his breath.
âI was supposed to propose to you tonight. After a calm mission, when you werenât covered in blood and I wasnât screaming at you. I had it all planned and-â he cuts himself off, shoulders trembling.
âBut instead, I spent the night asking myself where the hell you are, imagining what Iâd do if you never came back.â
Your lips part, eyes stinging. The way he looks at you with nothing but agony filling his eyes, how his hands tremble more and more with each word that leaves his mouth. You hate that you made him feel this way, but what caught you even more off guardâŠ
DidâŠDid Obanai just say that he wanted to propose to you? Propose in the sense of asking you to marry him?
âObanai...â
He finally faces you again, eyes fierce but wet around the edges. He rips the small box from his uniform pocket - scuffed now from the battle and him saving your ass, but still intact. He opens it with shaky fingers, revealing the ring inside.
âI donât care if this is the wrong time or the wrong place. Marry me, (y/n). Please. I need you with me. Always.â
The world around you blurs, every ache and wound forgotten in that instant. Your hand flies to your mouth, a broken laugh slipping past your lips.
âYou idiot,â you whisper, tears spilling freely now.
âYou couldâve just said that instead of scaring me half to death.â
When you nod, his whole body sags in relief. You donât even give him a chance to slide the ring on. Instead, you throw yourself into his chest, arms tight around him, feeling Kaburamaru nuzzle your cheek in approval.
âYes,â you breathe against his neck.
âYes, Obanai. A thousand times, yes.â
For the first time in what feels like forever, his arms wrap around you without hesitation, holding you as though letting go would mean losing you all over again.
âAnd donât you dare to ever scare me like this again,â he mumbles into your hair.
âWe both know I can promise you something like thatâŠâ
Akaza
The night air is cool against your skin as you haul the last bucket of water from the well. Your shoulders ache from a dayâs work - market stalls in the morning, scrubbing clothes in the afternoon, cooking for your siblings in the evening. There is no room in your life for rest, no space for softness. Still, you force a small smile, knowing that at least your family is safe and warm inside.
The rope creaks as you set the bucket down. And thatâs when you feel it, the shift in the air. Heavy, suffocating. Your skin prickles, eyes widen, every nerve screaming danger.
You donât see him right away. He doesnât make a sound. Heâs simply there when you turn, standing just beyond the lantern light. His hair is bright against the darkness, his eyes glowing like twin suns trapped in a curse.
Your breath catches. A demon. Just like the ones your mother told you about in all those countless myths.
The bucket slips from your hands, water spilling into the dirt. He doesnât move, but you can feel the violence twisted inside him like a storm about to break. His fists tighten, jaw clenching, and you know he means to end you, that this might be your last seconds alive on this planet.
Your knees almost buckle while your familyâs faces flash in your mind. You think of your siblings crying when you donât come back, the distorted face of your mother when she finds out. Who will take care of them, earn money for the next loaf of bread, who will take care of your younger siblings when youâre gone? Your mind races back and forth, tears now taking your sight almost completely. Is this is, the last few moments before you die?
 But then, nothing happens. The demon doesnât lunge, doesnât strike. He just stares at you, expression unreadable, chest rising and falling with slow, deliberate breaths.
The silence stretches. Then, as suddenly as he appears, heâs gone, a blur swallowed by the night. Your legs give out, and you fall beside the well, gasping for air. Who was that creature? Why did he hesitate? You never once heard a story of a demon who didnât kill his prey, let alone didnât even harm it.
And you see him again. Heâs at the edge of the forest this time, half-hidden behind the trees, golden eyes fixed on you as you carry wood back to the house. Your heart races, but he doesnât move closer. Doesnât speak. Just⊠watches.
It becomes a pattern. Night after night, heâs there. Sometimes in the shadows of the road, sometimes crouched on a rooftop as if guarding something. Always silent. Always staring.
At first, fear coils in your stomach, but as the nights stretch on, something stranger takes its place: curiosity. Why hasnât he killed you? Why keep returning?
One night, when your exhaustion strips away your caution.
âWhy do you keep coming back?â you breathe into the silence of the night.
The demonâs lips twitch, as though he isnât used to speaking. His voice is low, rough.
âI donât know.â
Itâs not an answer, but itâs the first thing he gives you before you start to notice more. The way he tilts his head when you laugh softly at your own clumsiness. The way his fists clench when you wince from lifting something too heavy. He looks at you not like prey, but like something fragile, something heâs afraid to touch.
You should be terrified. You should scream. You shouldnât come here at night to begin with. Instead, you find yourself leaving the door unlatched, stepping outside when the rest of the house is asleep, just to see if heâs waiting. He always is.
You donât even realize when you start to think of him less as a demon and more as him.
Akaza.
Tonight, though, he isnât there. The space where he usually waits is empty and an unease settles in your chest. You shake it off, telling yourself not to be foolish and walk toward the well. The moon is high, silver light spilling across the clearing.
Thatâs when you hear it - the growl.
Your eyes widen in the humbling way. This doesnât sound like Akaza, doesnât feel like Akaza. No, this has to be something else. Or rather someoneâŠ
Before you can react, another demon drops from the treeline, its claws slicing across your arm. Pain explodes through you, hot and sharp, and you stumble back with a cry. The bucket clatters to the ground as the creature lunges again, teeth bared.
Terror seizes you. This is it. This is how it ends. This is what you get for walking around at night carelessly. Even though Akaza turned out to be the most charming and charismatic man you ever met, this certainly doesnât apply to every demon. AkazaâŠWhat will he say when he finds out? Will he be sad, will he cry? You didnât have the chance to tell him how you feel, though. Your life really ends without this one person you adore most knowing that you love him.
A roar splits the night, forces you out of your melancholy.
Akaza slams into the other demon with a force that shakes the earth. His fists move in blurs of violence, each strike shattering bone, splitting flesh. He is merciless, terrifying in his wrath, until the other demon lies broken and silent, nothing more than a stain on the dirt.
You sit against a nearby tree, trembling, blood dripping down your sleeve. When Akaza turns, his chest heaving, his eyes widen at the sight of you. For the first time since youâve known him, he looks shaken.
âI was supposed to kill you,â he mutters hoarsely, kneeling in front of you.
His hands hover near your shoulders, shaking, but he doesnât touch â not with his hands.
âThat night I found you⊠I was going to tear you apart.â
Your breath shudders, the sting of your wound sharp with every movement.
âThen why didnât you?â
His gaze drops, fists digging into the dirt.
âBecause you looked at me like I wasnât a monster. And I⊠I couldnât take that away.â
Something inside you breaks at the rawness in his voice. You should push him away, you should fear him, but instead, your heart aches with every fiber for this man.
He swallows hard, lowering himself fully to his knees, as though in surrender.
âI canât give you sunlight. I canât give you a peaceful life. All I have is me, my fists, my strength, my cursed existence. But if youâll let me, I will use all of it to protect you. To keep you breathing, no matter what stands in our way.â
His voice cracks, desperation bleeding through. His eyes meet yours, burning with something that terrifies and moves you all at once.
âBe mine. Even if itâs only in the dark. Even if the world tears us apart. Choose me.â
Your vision blurs - from tears, from blood loss, you canât tell. Every instinct says you should refuse. That nothing good can come from binding yourself to a demon. But when you look at him, kneeling with his forehead nearly to the ground, trembling like heâs afraid youâll vanish, you canât say no. You donât want to say no.
Your hand rises before you realize it, trembling as it brushes against his cheek. His skin is cool, but he leans into your touch as if itâs the first warmth heâs felt in centuries.
âYes,â you whisper.
âIâll be yours.â
Akaza freezes. Then, slowly, his expression softens; fragile, disbelieving. A smile ghosts across his lips, faint and trembling. He bows his head against your forehead, his body shaking.
âI wonât let anything touch you,â he breathes.
âNot the night. No demon. Nothing.â
You close your eyes, letting yourself believe it, even if the world never will.
Because somehow, against all reason, youâve chosen him. And in the shadows, he has chosen you as well.
Shinazugawa Sanemi
The ground drops from under your feet. One moment youâre shoulder to shoulder with the others, charging into Muzanâs domain, and the next, the floor twists, walls shift, and the infinity castle swallows you whole.
You land hard, rolling across polished wood, breath tearing from your chest. The lanterns hanging in the endless halls burn with a sickly glow, and the silence presses in like a weight. Youâre alone.
âShit,â you mutter, pushing to your feet.
Your blade is steady in your grip, though your pulse races in your throat. Alone or not, you wonât sit here like prey. You pick a direction and start moving, wary but determined.
The walls creak, sliding apart - and a demon lunges. You donât think. You never do. You dash forward instead of back, reckless as hell, ducking under its claws to slash across its chest. It shrieks, staggering, but another swing catches your sleeve, ripping fabric and grazing your skin. Fuck, that definitely didnât go as planned.
âDumbass!â a familiar voice roars.
Sanemi crashes in from the side, his blade slicing through the demon before it can reach you again. Blood sprays, burning against the wood. He doesnât even watch it crumble, heâs already whirling on you, eyes blazing, making you forget that you were worried about him a few seconds ago.
âWhat the fuck do you think youâre doing?â he snarls, grabbing your wrist and yanking you out of the collapsing wall.
âCharging straight into its gut? Are you trying to die?â
You wrench your arm free, glaring right back.
âWhat the fuck do you think I was supposed to do? Sit there and let it eat me?â
âUse your damn head for once! You couldâve dodged!â
 His voice is sharp enough to cut glass, his chest heaving with fury.
âOh, forgive me for not performing like the great wind hashira!â you snap.
âYou know, I was a little busy keeping my throat intact.â
His nostrils flare. For a second you think he might actually explode, but instead he drags a hand over his face, muttering a curse.
âUnbelievable. I get dumped in this hellhole, and instead of finding Muzan, the first thing I see is you, throwing yourself into deathâs mouth.â
âAnd yet, here I am,â you shoot back, crossing your arms even as your heart still pounds from the fight.
âStill alive. Thanks for the vote of confidence, though.â
He steps closer, eyes narrowing, and you refuse to back away. The castle groans around you, walls shifting again, but you and Sanemi are locked in your own battlefield.
âYou drive me insane,â he bites out, voice rough.
âAlways so damn reckless. Always running your mouth.â
âFunny, I was about to say the same thing about you.â
The silence that follows is electric. His jaw works, his fists clenched at his sides. Then, suddenly, his expression twists - fury, frustration, something rawer bleeding through.
âMarry me, damn it.â
The words slam into the air between you, catch you off guard so roughly that you almost trip over your own feet.
You blink. Once. Twice. Still not a single hint that this is a joke.
âWhat?â
His face is flushed, veins in his neck straining.
âYou heard me. Marry me. Iâm sick of watching you nearly get yourself killed, sick of worrying if youâre gonna make it back. If Iâm gonna go crazy every damn time you pull some stunt, Iâd rather do it knowing youâre mine.â
His voice cracks slightly on the last word, but his eyes burn, unflinching.
Your mouth opens, but nothing comes out at first. The infinity castle hums around you, walls shifting, and still, his words hang heavier than the building itself. HeâŠWants to marry you? None other than Sanemi Shinazugawa, the man you fell for a long time ago but never dared to say out loud? The man who insisted on hating you until one fateful night, he couldnât hold himself together anymore and kissed you out of no where? Marriage never seemed to be an option for the both of you, was never something you allowed to get into your head. Especially not like this.
Finally, you find your voice.
âThatâs⊠thatâs your proposal? In the middle of this fucking mess?â
He scowls.
âYou got a problem with that?â
âA big one!â
You gesture wildly with your sword.
âYou canât just bark âmarry me, damn itâ after chewing me out like some deranged guard dog!â
His scowl deepens, but his ears are red now, his boldness fraying at the edges.
âI donât⊠I donât know how else to say it, alright? I love you, you pain in the ass. And if we make it out of this alive, I want-â He swallows hard, the words sticking to his tongue.
âI want you with me. For good.â
Your sass falters, something hot and tight blooming in your chest. His confession is as graceless as it is raw, but thatâs Sanemi, all rough edges, no polish, heart bleeding through the cracks whether he likes it or not.
You stare at him, then snort.
âYouâre a nutcase, you know that? Scolding me one second, proposing the next.â
He bristles.
âSo whatâs your answer?â
You let him stew for a beat, just to watch the way his eye twitch oh so annoyed. Then you smirk, sliding your blade back into its sheath.
âFine. Yes. Iâll marry you, you stubborn, hot-headed bastard.â
Relief floods his face so quickly you almost laugh. He tries to mask it with another scowl, but his shoulders sag, tension bleeding out of him.
âGood,â he mutters, voice low but firm.
âAbout time.â
The castle groans again, a door sliding open to reveal another endless hallway. You sigh, drawing your blade once more.
âGuess this means we better survive long enough to make it official.â
Sanemi steps ahead of you, sword gleaming in the eerie light and glances back with a smirk thatâs half feral, half something softer.
âDamn right we will. Youâre stuck with me now.â
You roll your eyes, but your heart races for an entirely different reason as you fall into step beside him. The infinity castle can shift and scream all it wants; nothing could drown out the fire in his voice when he said marry me.
And nothing will keep you from saying yes again once this nightmare is over.
Uzui Tengen
The first thing you notice is the quiet. No clash of blades, no shrieks of demons, no groaning of broken bones. Just the hush of summer air rolling over the grass. You sit with your knees pulled to your chest, head tilted to the sky.
There was a time when you couldnât bear to look up, too many nights replaying fire and blood behind your eyelids, too many shadows that reminded you of the war you barely survived. The scars are still there, inside and out. They may never leave.
But youâre alive. Somehow, so is he. Despite all odds, the two of you made it out of the entertainment district arc back then.
âOi.â Tengenâs voice cuts through the silence, brash as ever.
âYou trying to ignore me, huh? Thatâs unflamboyant behavior.â
You turn and there he is. He still stands tall, broad shoulders casting a long shadow over the grass. But the empty sleeve where his hand used to be and the patch over his eye are impossible to ignore. His smile is wide, loud, everything he wants the world to see. But youâve learned how much effort it takes him to keep it there.
âYouâre late,â you tease, though your voice softens at the edges.
He grins, crouching down until heâs at your level.
âLate? Perish the thought. A man of my caliber is never late. I arrive precisely when itâs time to make the world gasp in awe.â
You raise a brow.
âAnd what exactly am I supposed to gasp at tonight?â
His grin sharpens.
âGlad you asked.â
He snaps his fingers, and as if on command, the night sky cracks open with light.
The first firework bursts into a bloom of color, red and gold spilling across the darkness. Another follows, then another - glittering trails, starbursts, showers of sparks raining down like meteors. The entire field shimmers in their glow.
Your breath catches, eyes sparkling in every imaginable color.
âTengenâŠâ
He leans back on one knee, watching your face rather than the spectacle.
âYou told me once you wanted to see fireworks. Said youâd never gotten the chance.â
His voice is still loud, flamboyant, but thereâs a rawness underneath it you donât get to hear quite often.
âSo I figured, why not make your first time unforgettable?â
You blink rapidly, torn between laughing and crying as the sky blooms again and again.
âYou really⊠you did all this for me?â
âOf course I did.â
His grin wavers, just for a second.
âAfter all the hell we went through⊠after how close I came to not walking away at allâŠâ
He exhales sharply, rubbing the back of his neck with his remaining hand.
âTruth is, Iâve been terrified. Not of dying, I made my peace with that a long time ago. But of leaving you behind. Of not saying what I shouldâve said.â
The fireworks thunder overhead, bathing him in crimson light. His voice drops, barely audible over the bursts.
âYouâve seen me at my weakest. I lost an eye. I lost a hand. And you⊠You carried more than your share of pain too. Youâve fought, youâve suffered, and yet here you are. Still shining. Still here. And every damn day, I thank whatever gods are listening that you are.â
Your throat tightens.
âTengenâŠâ
He takes a breath and moves closer, until the heat of his presence pushes away the night chill. His hand trembles as it cups your face, not from weakness but from something far rarer in him.
Fear.
âIâm not the perfect man,â he admits, voice breaking.
âHell, Iâm not even half the man I used to be. But if youâll let me⊠if youâll have me⊠Iâll spend every flamboyant second of the life Iâve got left making sure you feel brighter than these fireworks.â
And then he drops to one knee fully, bowing his head before you in a gesture youâve never seen him make. His shoulders shake as he lifts his gaze and you realize heâs fighting tears.
âMarry me. Not because I can dazzle the world. Not because I can still fight or brag or stand tall. Marry me because when Iâm with you, I donât feel broken. I feel whole.â
The fireworks roar above, a brilliant cascade of light, but you hardly see them anymore. All you see is him - this ridiculous, flamboyant, larger-than-life man, stripped bare in the only way he knows how.
Tears spill down your cheeks before you can stop them. You laugh shakily, pressing your hands to his face.
âYouâre such an idiot,â you whisper, voice cracking.
âYou think I care about an eye? A hand? You could lose everything and Iâd still say yes.â
For once, Tengen is speechless. His breath hitches, his wide smile faltering into something softer, rawer.
âYes. Iâll marry you.â
The grin comes back then, blinding and messy, streaked with the tears he canât quite hold back. He rises up, pulling you into his chest, spinning you once with reckless joy. The world blurs - sparks above, warmth around, his laughter loud and cracked in your ear.
âYou hear that, universe?â he shouts to the sky.
âShe said yes! Yes!â
You bury your face against him, laughing and crying at once.
âYouâre going to wake the whole world!â
âLet them wake! Let them all see how damn lucky I am!â
He sets you down only to cup your face again, kissing you with the force of a man who refuses to do anything halfway. The fireworks thunder one last time, a grand finale exploding into the night.
When he finally pulls back, his forehead rests against yours, his voice dropping into a whisper.
âYouâre my light. Always have been. Always will be.â
The sky goes dark, smoke drifting from the last firework, but it doesnât matter. Your world is already burning bright - flamboyant, fiery, and forever his.
Hashibira Inosuke
The forest is alive with sound. Cicadas buzz around you in a mess of cries, leaves rustling, the snap of branches under your feet. Youâre panting, heart pounding, but you donât dare stop. Not when Inosuke is somewhere behind you, crashing through the undergrowth like a wild boar.
âStop running, you coward!â he thunders, voice echoing through the trees.
You duck behind a boulder, pressing a hand to your mouth to smother your laugh. Only Inosuke would call you a coward after heâs the one who challenged you to a chase through the mountains at midnight.
âFirst one caught has to marry the other!â heâd declared, standing bare-chested under the moon with all the seriousness of a war general.
Youâd raised a brow, even though your heart almost flew out of your chest.
âThatâs⊠thatâs not how marriage proposals work.â
âShut up! Thatâs how it works now!â he barked.
Then he lunged, and youâd barely had time to sprint before he was hot on your heels.
Now, crouched behind the rock, you grin despite yourself. Only Inosuke would think to propose by turning it into a hunt. Only Inosuke would make it feel⊠oddly fitting. The two of you share each otherâs companies for quite some time now. After the horrors youâve witnessed inside the infinity castle, you werenât able to spend a single night without him anymore. For some reason, this boy makes you feel safer than anything else. Just the thought of spending the rest of your life with himâŠ
A sudden crash to your right. Heâs close. You bolt again, weaving between trees, your laughter spilling free this time.
âYou think you can escape me? Iâm the king of the mountain!â Inosuke hollers, and then heâs vaulting over a log, landing beside you in a spray of dirt.
You squeal, deviating left, but his hand shoots out and catches your wrist. He yanks you around, momentum pulling you both down onto the mossy ground. You land in a heap, him half sprawled over you, his boar mask twisted from the fall.
âGot you!â he crows triumphantly, chest heaving.
âYouâre mine now!â
You glare up at him, breathless and flushed.
âThatâs not-! You canât justâŠInosuke!â
He rips the boar mask off, eyes blazing with wild joy.
âI can! I caught you fair and square! That means you have to marry me!â
âYouâre unbelievable,â you huff, shoving at his shoulder.
âWhat if I donât want to marry a maniac who tackles people in the dirt?â
His grin falters, confusion flashing in his eyes.
âYou donât want to?â
The question is so raw, so startlingly vulnerable, that your heart stutters. For all his bluster, for all his wild declarations, Inosuke still doesnât really understand how fragile human connections can be. To him, everything is straightforward: win a fight, claim a victory, hold onto it forever.
You soften, brushing a leaf from his hair.
âIdiot. Of course I do. But maybe you couldâve asked me instead of chasing me through the woods like prey.â
He blinks, processing. Then his grin bursts back, brighter than the moon overhead.
âSo thatâs a yes?â
You laugh, unable to help yourself.
âYes. Itâs a yes.â
Inosuke throws his head back and whoops, the sound loud enough to scare birds from the trees.
âHa! I knew it! I knew you couldnât resist the strongest, most amazing, most fearless-â
ââŠmost insane,â you interrupt, smirking.
â- most flamboyant fighter!â he finishes, ignoring you.
He leaps to his feet, dragging you up with him in one strong pull.
âWeâll be the strongest pair ever! No one will beat us! Not demons, not humans, not anything!â
You shake your head, still laughing as he puffs out his chest like heâs announcing to the world. But then his hand slips into yours, clumsy, uncalculated. You blink, looking down at your joined hands, then back up at him.
His grin softens just slightly, enough for you to glimpse the boy beneath the wild mask.
âI mean it,â he mutters, quieter now, though his voice still vibrates with conviction.
âYouâre mine. And Iâm yours. Forever.â
Something hot twists in your chest. You squeeze his hand, smiling back.
 âForever.â
He beams, then immediately yanks you against him in a crushing hug that nearly knocks the wind from your lungs.
âGood! Then itâs settled!â
The forest rings with his triumphant laughter, your softer giggles tangled in it.
Synopsis: You promised to stay behind. He promised heâd come back to you alive. But when youâre suddenly pulled into the heart of the Infinity Castle, everyhting's turned upside down.
Warnings: ohhh I LOVED that teaser y'all, did you see how Obanai literally sprinted to be on Mitsuri's side? That's exactly what I imagined here hehehehe, go have a lil fluff with your soon-to-be husband <3
His instructions were too clear to ignore.
âStay right where you are, got it? If I catch you out there, Iâll beat the shit out of you. Promise it, jerk.â
âFine, I promise. Even though I know youâd never beat me.â
âDonât count on it.â
And even though you couldnât help but pout at his rough tone, you did exactly what he told you and waited for him at your estate. After all, he told you it will be over after this night, that he wonât be a demon slayer when he returns.
âDonât worry, (y/n). Iâll kill enough of them fucking creatures for both of us.â
And you believed him. God, you believed every single word that white-haired maniac said. But somehow, you ended up breaking your own promise.
You went from changing into your sleepwear to finding yourself free-falling without ground in sight within the blink of an eye.
Out of instinct, you hold onto the little knife you always keep on your body for dear life, eyes scanning around the area with no real aim. Youâve never seen a place like this, never felt a more overwhelming aura. After years of slaying demons, the stinging smell in the air alone is enough to send a shiver down your spine. Â
âWhat on earth is that place?â
Like you have to ask that question. Your stomach drops below your knees, you canât help but swallow hard against that tension that builds up deep in your throat. Thatâs exactly what Sanemi was talking about earlier on, the final battle. And youâre falling straight in the middle of it.
Itâs been years since the last time youâve held a sword, years since youâve actually found peace with leaving this part of your life in your past, years since that overwhelming sickness haunted after you. And yet, you have no other choice.
The air is thick with screams, smoke and the stench of blood. Just before you have time to realize it, your body slams into the ground harder than expected, your ankle twisting beneath the impact with a merciless snap. You cry out, barely having time to gather your bearings before a monstrous shriek rips through the darkness.
A demon charges at you with teeth like pointy blades and eyes burning with starvation.
Your fingers fly to your waist, ready to meet the handle of your tiny knife thatâs still better than nothing.
Gone.
Your knife, your only defense, is missing.
Panic swells in your chest as you scramble backward, dirt caking your hands, adrenaline drowning your thoughts. The demon lunges. You squeeze your eyes shut. No, this canât be happening. You canât just die out here, not like this. Did you really lose your knife like a lousy beginner? What would Sanemi think if he saw you here like this? Would he be sad, disappointed even? Both of you met during your times within the corps, he learned to love that wild and reckless side of yours. What would he say, seeing you standing here with your glossy eyes squeezed shut, desperately grabbing onto the air where your knife would have been?
âIâm sorry, SanemiâŠâ
You wait for it. The stinging pain of teeth digging deep into your flesh, the lights in your head slowly but surely getting dimmer.
But it never reaches you.
THWACK.
Instead, a gust of wind explodes past you, slicing the demonâs head clean off. Its body crashes beside you with a wet thud. Did you justâŠdream that? But you didnât do anything, you didnât see anyone earlier. Thereâs no way someone was able to reach you that fast.
And then you hear it - his voice.
âAre you out of your goddamn mind?!â
You crack your eyes open. Sanemiâs standing over you, blade in hand, face redder than the blood soaking the ground while he stares down at you. His white hair is wild, his veins bulging, his lavender eyes glow with a fury that chills you more than the demon ever could. Suddenly, your near-death experience fading into the background.
âI told you to stay put! I told you!â he roars, grabbing your arm and yanking you to your feet, almost lifting you off the ground.
âI didnât-!â you start, but he doesnât let you finish.
âYou promised, (y/n)! What the hell were you thinking?! This isnât some damn training exercise. This is war!â
His voice cracks slightly and with it, so does your heart.
âYou couldâve been killed!â
Youâre about to snap back, because yes, heâs right, but his tone still stings and itâs absolutely not your fault you ended up here - until you see the way his hand trembles on your arm. Heâs not just angry. Heâs terrified. What does all of this look like from his view? Like you decided to go against your promise, like you donât give a damn about his worries?
âI donât even know how I got here,â you reply quietly, hand clutching his wrist in order to stop yourself from shooting back at him.
âI changed into my sleepwear, and the next thing I knew, I was falling. I think someone sent me here.â
Sanemiâs eyes narrow, his eyes dart around the area. The fallen slayers, the chaos as far as the eye can see. Those arenât the demon slayers who agreed on accompanying the hashira on their mission. No, some of them arenât even able to lift up their sword correctly, get whipped from this earth without even putting up a real fight. You can see the moment it clicks, the moment he slowly but surely starts to realize whatâs going on.
"...No," he whispers.
"What?"
âItâs not just you.â
His voice is lower now. Dead serious.
âEveryoneâs here. Even slayers who already quit, the rookies who fight like trash... Some of them shouldnât even be able to fight anymore.â
You swallow thickly.
âYou meanâŠ?â
âThey dropped every last one of us into this hellhole. They want a final purge.â
No. He canât let that happen. Thereâs no way in hell that heâll let a demon even touch you.
âIâm gonna say this once, and you're gonna listen for real this time.â
He steps closer, resting both hands on your shoulders, firm but shaking. You canât help but rest your hands against his chest. Usually, his steady heartbeat is what lures you to sleep at night. But his heart is racing, your nerves are tingling and you know thereâs only one way to make it out alive.
âYou donât leave my side. Not for a second. Got it?â
You nod, but his eyes blaze harder.
âNo. Say it.â
âI wonât leave your side.â
âAgain.â
âI wonât leave your side, Sanemi.â
He pulls you into his chest so suddenly you gasp. His arms wrap around you like armor, almost too tight and yet not tight enough. Out of instinct, you wrap your arms around him, crawl your fingers into his back in a desperate attempt to steady yourself. When he cups your chin and presses his lips against yours, you fail to exist for a moment. He brushes over you like he tries to memorize you like a map, like you might vanish into thin air if he doesnât keep you close. Over and over, his mouth clashes against yours despite the ringing of destruction somewhere far away in your ears, holds you so close to him that you can feel his heartbeat vibrate right through you.
âYou donât get to die here,â he growls into your parted lips. âI gave up everything so you could live, damn it. Iâll carve a thousand demons apart if I have to, but youâre getting out of this with me. You understand me?â
Your fingers curl into the back of his haori. You can feel his heart slamming against your cheek while you press yourself even harder against him.
âThen you donât get to die either,â you mutter into the fabric.
Sanemiâs silence is heavy until a low chuckle escapes his lips.
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