author’s note. suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuper short update and i know it's crumbs bc im totally breadcrumbing you rn but i will post soon. im just trying to rehash this whole story and make it make sense you feel me, anyways enjoy the little bone i threw ur way if you want to be included in my taglist for this story lmk!
chapters » one two three four five six seven eight ten eleven twelve
『♡』 chapter thirteen: nothing but crumbs
It had felt like months since you had seen Yoriichi. In reality it had been only a few days since he had departed. Nothing like a good ole cry sesh to really help you regulate your emotions. Contact between the both of you was choppy. Signal where he was at wasn't so great, so he would call you when he could but it seemed to break up quite a lot. That is until he purchased satellite phones for the both of you to communicate through. That had helped put your minds at ease knowing that one another were still alive.
The sound of Yoriichi's sigh made your stomach churn.
"What?"
"I miss you. A lot. I feel like I've broken my promise to you already."
"I miss you, too, but don't say that."
Yoriichi paces around his room. The sound of floorboard creaking beneath him is heard through the phone.
"Stop that."
"Sorry. Habit."
You laugh. "Just sit down. You're making me antsy here."
The line was quiet for a moment. You could tell he was drowning in his own thoughts. "So, how's the team coming along?"
Yoriichi cleared his throat. "It's a little harder than I thought. Ex-Hanafuda are a hana-ful."
You chuckled. "You're corny."
"I know." You could hear the smile in his voice. It made you hold onto the phone even closer as if it would provide any type of proximity to him.
"It's taking a little bit of convinving is all, but I'll be back home before next week. I promise."
You sighed. Yoriichi felt his heart twist with guilt. Partially for leaving you behind and partially for lying.
"Okay."
"You're never out of my sight, you know?" He peered down at the CCTV had installed in your room.
You glanced up at and raised a brow. He smiled as he watched you lay back against his bed and wave. "Yeah, it's kinda creepy to be honest."
"Well, this is the only way I felt comfortable leaving you." He said as he flitted through the other cameras, getting a look around the permitter of your room.
"It's still creepy."
He chuckled as he balanced his phone between his shoulder and skipped back to you. Your eyes drooping and your breathing getting slower. He could tell you were starting to drift off to sleep.
"No doubt. You should sleep. I know it's late over there."
"Wouldn't you know?" You counter rather quickly. "Sorry."
He chuckled at your swiftness. "Sleep."
"'Kay. Night. Miss you." You murmured as you half-heartedly blew a kiss to the camera with closed eyes.
"Good night. Miss you more."
And with that he watched as you hung up the phone and snuggled into his bedsheets wearing the last set of pajamas he had worn before he left. He frowned. Yoriichi's heart ached for you.
"Boss, are we heading out to meet the folks yet?" A head popped out from behind the door.
"Yeah, I'll be there, Haganezuka." His eyes never leaving the screen as he observed the way your chest rose and fell, fast asleep as cute as could be.
"Yoriichi."
He clicked his tongue. "Alright."
He put the monitor down and checked the app on his phone to make sure it was still connected to his home set up. He knew that Koshi was there along with more security guarding you at all times, but he couldn't help but feel worried. He sighed as he padded out the room and began to make his way to the front door.
"So slow. We don't have all day."
Yoriichi ignores Haganezuka as he put on his shoes and meticulously tied his shoe, taking his sweet time. This had only vexed his fellow clan member.
"Are you trying to get on my nerves?"
Yoriichi peeped up at him with a mischevious smile. "Maybe."
The man glanced down at him intently. "Brat."
"Tell me what's on the agenda today."
Haganezuka sighed as he pulled out his small notepad with a small schedule he had written out for the day. Reading out what he had set up for the day as Yoriichi had laced up his boots.
"...and obviously the most important part, meeting with [name's] parents."
Yoriichi's lips formed into a thin line at the mentioning of meeting [name's] parents behind your back. It wasn't like he didn't want to tell you but it would make things less emotional if they had kept you out out of it.
"Don't look so glum. I'm sure her dad will hate you."
"Is that suppose to cheer me up?" Yoriichi sat up to brush of his jeans.
Haganezuka beamed at him. "Nope."
Yoriichi sighed as he opened the door letting the light flood in. A new kind of resolve had coursed through him. He was the one who got you into this mess after all. It was now his turn to make it all worth your while.
Warnings: MAJOR SERIES ENDING SPOILERS!!! Smut, vaginal sex, oral sex
previous: <3
First: <3
A/N this is it! The end! There’s one sex scene in here but I’m more determined to write again and there may even be something special in the coming days. Thank you all again so much for coming with me on this journey. The ending is a little rushed, mostly because I truly did run out of things to write for these two in this era. Enjoy. Let me know what you think of the ending!!
Sanemi moved in after that, you tried to protest but he refuses to be away from you any longer than he has too. An unknown man moving into your home causes quite a stir in the town. No one outright asks you why suddenly a man who your son bears a striking resemblance to suddenly shows up, but their looks aren’t missed by you.
You and him don’t share a room, you insist that you just aren’t ready yet and he respects that wish. But that doesn’t stop the two of you from thinking of each other late into the night. Sora was confused and ornery at first, as to why this man was taking all of his mothers attention. That soon faded away as he realized that sanemi could spend time with him. It seems as though the two needed each other. Sora came out of his shell completely, taking after sanemi faster than you could comprehend. Sanemi helps around the farm and you even teach him the same carpentry skills you were taught, though your customers would still prefer you as his approach was a little…..aggressive.
It was heading towards the end of the summer that you were confronted about sanemi. The three lovely women who have been taking care of you came to your home and upon knocking on the door, were greeted by sanemi. It’s not that they’d never seen him before, they were all ready to pounce on him.
“Ara~ Who might you be?” One of them wondered aloud.
“I’m Sora's da-“ He gets cut off by you shoving him out of the way and into the wall. He gives you a shocked confused look on how you were able to do that but you ignore him and usher the women in.
When Sora and him linger around while you set up tea for them the ladies are quick to get rid of them, as you are. With a combination of snacks and reminders of unfinished chores, both boys are gone within minutes. You’re not out of the danger zone yet, they begin to fire questions at you about sanemi and you know that now you have to tell the truth. So you do, but you omit a few of the more salacious tidbits. You tell them that you didn’t know he was alive and didn’t think he’d find you and that you aren’t sure what to do now.
“It’s really quite easy y/n!” One of them joyfully remarks, when you raise an eyebrow at her she giggles, “Get married! If you love him and he loves you, it’s that easy, right?” The other women nod and agree with her while you look dumbfounded.
It was that easy.
You were an idiot this entire time!
You were distancing yourself from him emotionally because you wanted to run from the hurt before you could feel it. Now you were doing it all over again, except this time it was physically because you are scared he wouldn’t like your body after childbirth. If that was the case why did he call you beautiful? Why did he stand closer to you every chance he got until his chest was against your back?
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The rest of the evening went rather smooth, eventually the women left when the sun began to set. You, Sora, and Sanemi sat and had dinner. You were acting odd, deep in thought and trying to figure out what exactly you wanted to say to sanemi. He would just raise an eyebrow at you, Sora didn’t even notice, he was ecstatically trying to tell you about the bug he and sanemi found earlier. It was a battle to get Sora to go to bed, as it was with most kids. Eventually he passed out for the night and you were busy cleaning up from the day's work.
You were doing the dishes, humming just a little bit while you worked. Everything was peaceful and you could hear the wind chimes ringing out from the soft breeze. You could also feel sanemi staring at you. It wasn’t as if you weren’t used to it, it’s just been a long time since anyone has looked at you like that. It makes your skin prickle and rise. You heard the floor creak and you knew he was closing in on you.
Of course he’s watching you. He’s always been watching you. The way you curve and jiggle, how you bend when you garden, when your arms are holding a basket above your head and it lifts your breasts just a bit. His eyes are glued to you and making sure to burn the shape of your body into his mind. Especially when you’re doing dishes like this, unsuspecting and vulnerable. Sora was asleep and couldn’t be an excuse right now. You never turn your back on a predator.
“Join me outside?.” You dry your hands and beckon him to follow you to the back porch.
You two sit on the back porch next to each other, legs bent off the edge. The moon is bright, reminding you of the first night you two were intimate. Everything had changed so much so fast and now you had a kid, the demons were gone and now you needed to find the words to-
“It shouldn’t have been me.” He breaks the silence.
“Huh?”
“I shouldn’t have lived.” You’re familiar with his tone
“Oh...Oh....” You paused, “Don’t say that sanemi…”
“He should have been the one to live, he was the whole reason I even JOINED the corps!” His voice cracks just a bit.
“He was supposed to have a family and live happily. That's why I worked so hard….So why did it have to be me?” His shudders, trying to hold back from crying.
You weren’t sure what to say really, you never had siblings and your friends were never too close to you. Sanemi had been through so much hardship and his brother was all he had and even he too was gone. You didn’t have any advice to give, but you weren’t going to give him silence when he needed you most.
“I don’t think of it like that.” You counter.
“What do you mean?” His voice sounded so small.
“You did your best, Sanemi. So did Genya. I think the both of you just didn’t say what needed to be said at the right time.” You paused, “I think you wanted to protect him and his future and he wanted you to be part of that future….Even if it didn’t include him.” He didn’t respond for a few minutes, you could almost hear the gears grinding in his titanium hard head.
“I guess that makes sense….” He sounded thoughtful, “But what did you want to talk about?”
“Ah….well…” You trailed off, “If you want to stay here….with me and Sora….You have to marry me-“
“Okay.” He stated.
“Huh?” You weren’t really surprised that he agreed, there was just no ounce of hesitance.
“I want to stay.” He inhaled and exhaled deeply, “I love you and I want to stay with you and Sora. No matter what.” There was that word again.
You didn’t have much to say after that so you both sat quietly. You were the first to yawn, causing sanemi to shift and get up with you in tow. You didn’t protest when he took you to your bed and didn’t even argue when he got in bed with you. He fell right asleep next to you, clutching you as tightly as he could.
The next morning you three sat down for breakfast, which was very awkward considering Sora busted into your room prior and saw you and sanemi in bed together. He had a plethora of questions to which you simply told him to wait until breakfast. You hadn’t even sat down with your own food before he was firing questions in between bites and choking which prompted sanemi to pat him on the back a little too hard.
“Why was he in bed with you? Is he staying? When is he leaving?” You hold up a hand to get him to stop.
“He was in bed with me because we were sleeping. Yes he is staying.” Sora's face scrunches in confusion and annoyance.
“Why?”
“Because he’s your father. I know I said you didn’t have one he was just…lost for a little while and he couldn’t find us okay?” You explained hoping he’d buy it.
“More like you were hiding from me..” Sanemi muttered under his breath which earned him a glare from you.
Arms crossed and face set in a pout sora nodded. He hardly finished his breakfast before bounding off to tell his friends most likely, who will tell their parents, which will cause quite a stir. You simply laugh once sora is gone which causes sanemi to make the same confused face his son makes.
“You two act the same.” You remark, he just shakes his head denying it and continues eating.
_________________
People were confused, but once you explained the whole story (again omitting that you and sanemi were playing with each other’s bodies for fun before you actually loved each other), people came around and things smoothed out.
You’d never planned for a wedding nor attended one but you knew you wanted it to be small and private. The old ladies as well as their daughters helped you in place of your mother. They helped prepare a ceremonial kimono and helped you draw up invitations to be sent out. Much to Sanemi’s dismay, you invited his hashira colleagues.
Sora was having a hard time adjusting to these new arrangements. He took to acting out, arguing with sanemi and breaking things as he saw fit. No matter what you did or said he wouldn’t relax so for the first time you turned to your soon to be husband for help. You pleaded with sanemi not to hit him, saying that punishment like that only begets resentment. Sanemi simply took him out for a walk with him and when they came back Sora apologized to you with a tear stained face. After that Sora and sanemi seemed to fit together like puzzle pieces, more than you ever anticipated.
You had yet to let him lay hands on you, much to his annoyance. At first you told him Sora didn’t know about you two alongside your body having changed, not that he cared about that. Now you were telling him you wanted to wait until the wedding night, wanting it to actually be special. He respected this of course, but that didn’t mean his hands couldn’t wonder.
You’d be woken up in the middle of the night, sanemi seated between your legs and pulling your clothes open just a little. He’d simply rub and kiss your thighs, worshiping your body as much as you’d let him. There were a few times you’d almost give in to him, when his fingers would rub and tease you through your clothes. He’d mock you for being so wet and eager, telling you he could make the ache go away if you’d let him. You managed to stand firm.
The day of the wedding was a very, very busy day. The stress wore you down almost to a breaking point but it was all worth it when the ceremony was complete. You had heard of the hashira, yes, but having them in your home? Knowing them on a personal level? It was riveting. You even met the newly retired flame hashira. He was gushing charisma and spent damn near his whole time there playing with Sora.
Tengen was all smiles when he first arrived, you apologized profusely for not recognizing him and even more so for Sora bumping into him. His chuckle was deep and even you couldn’t deny the butterflies when such a pretty boy kissed your hand. Sanemi would snatch you away from tengen again, just like before.
The love hashira would shower you with compliments, telling you that you’re so beautiful. While you were being bombarded, sanemi had dragged tengen away from prying ears and eyes. Tengen thought that maybe it was an attempt to kill him, but it was far from that. Sanemi bowed his head to tengen.
“Thank you.” It was quiet, it was simple, and they both understood why.
“You’re welcome. I got tired of seeing you mope around all the time anyway.” He patted sanemi’s head as he walked off.
Sanemi stayed behind, letting himself wallow in the moment. If anyone saw his eyes glossy with tears, no they didn’t.
When the ceremony came to an end, Sora had run around so much all day that he was knocked out by sundown. Kyojuro handed him over to you, telling you that he reminds him so much of sanemi. Sora didn’t even stir as you laid him in his bed and tucked him in. You bid goodbye to your guests and let out the longest deepest sigh of your life.
Your bath was brief and when you got to the bedroom, there were lit candles and you remembered exactly what you said. When you turned to leave you bumped into the solid chest of your new husband. Sanemi didn’t even give you a chance to get away, he wrapped his arms around you and lifted you without issue over his shoulder. You abandoned all hope when he shut the door behind you two.
The bed was soft, but he always thought you were softer. Ever since he got here he wanted nothing more than to be wrapped around you. His hands tangled in your hair and gripping whatever jiggling part of you he desired to. You were his wife now, bound together from now until he dies if he has any say in the matter. He had laid you down and sat between your legs, making sure to keep them open. He didn’t miss the look of worry on your face and didn’t want to force you.
“Should I stop?”
“The candles….” You said from behind your hands pressed against your face, “J-just blow the candles out.”
He complied, once the room was dark you removed your hands and tried to remain calm. You nodded to give him permission and he resumed, carefully ofcourse. You didn’t wear much to bed to begin with, so before long you were exposed and even if it was dark you still felt so worried.
But god he couldn’t get enough of you.
His mouth was pressed against your hip and kissing, licking, biting, and sucking his way right between your legs. Even with hands grabbing and tangling in his hair he was un-bothered and unstoppable. His tongue felt so warm and soft against your clit, one of your hands you had to keep over your mouth. He wouldn’t give you the chance to feel any less than what he thought of you.
When you began to wiggle and jerk around too much he got frustrated. He sat up straight and with his arms locked around your thighs he yanked you up and suddenly your knees were very close to your ears.
“Stop fucking moving.” He hissed and you nodded.
His mouth was attached to your crotch shamelessly, you were seeing stars when your eyes rolled back. He waited a very, very long time to feel you around him again. Sanemi was going to take his time until you were shameless again, begging for him and him only.
When he pulled away you were flushed and panting, it was a good start really. His fingers felt much bigger than you remembered. He was slow and gentle at first, your velvety insides made his mouth water. They were curling and rubbing right against that fun little button inside that made you whine out his name just the way he liked. He abused your G spot, finding delirious joy in how you came undone. Your stomach was flooded with heat and you started to shake.
“Sa-sanemi I’m going to- I-“ You babbled as words were getting stuck in your throat when his thumb brushed your overstimulated clit.
“Cum. Do it. Come on.” His voice had a desperate edge, “Cum for me, my sweet, sweet little wife.” The way he called you his wife was more than enough and you felt a dam break inside and his only free hand was clamped around yours tightly to muffle you.
He felt nothing but infatuation and joy at watching you cum so easily, for him no less. When he removed his hand your eyes were half lidded and body going slack. The moan you made when he removed his fingers was really all that he needed. He scooted back and let your body unwind from being bent. You didn’t get much time to relax before he was rubbing the head of his cock against your entrance.
Sanemi was aching for you. To be inside of you. He was whispering all of this in your ear. How he was going to get you pregnant all over again, how you tasted so sweet and sounded even sweeter when you came. He was just as gentle as the first time. Pushing in agonizingly slow, just enough to torture both you and him. The stretch was tight and hurt just a little but you endured. Once he bottomed out you both felt sparks deep in your stomach.
It was so sweet, how slow and tender he treated you. That’s how he always started out, being cautious to test the waters. It never lasted long, Sanemi would get greedy and fuck you until you screamed. How could he hold himself back? You were so hot and wrapped so tightly around him. Even your mouth, he kissed you only to shove his tongue into your mouth. He only picked up speed the more he got lost in you.
He pulled back and slung one of your legs over his shoulder and pressed only deeper into you. Both of your hands were clasped over your mouth as he slammed into you over and over again. His head was tilted back while he rocked his hips against yours hard enough to bruise, you were struggling so very much to stay quiet.
“Did you miss me?” He leaned back down, your leg bending with and making you take him even deeper. You nodded your head, but that wasn’t enough.
“Say it, say how much you mi-missed me.” He was getting close faster than he anticipated.
“I-I missed you so much sa-sanemi, p-please don’t leave again-“ You would have said whatever he wanted to hear, but his tongue was back in your mouth so that wasn’t going to happen.
He didn’t warn you when he came, not that it would make a difference anyway. Sanemi’s endurance was no joke and it didn’t take him long to be hard again and pull you on top of him. Even when you protested about your body he threatened to buy the biggest mirror and fuck you in front of it every day.
He cherished every curve, dip, and inch of your body. Repeating over and over that he loved you and wouldn’t ever let you go. You eventually returned the sentiment, letting him shower you with affection and attention. He left marks all over you
He fucked you damn near to sleep. The sky was beginning to lighten when he was finally spent. You were both on your sides, he was laying behind you and lazily thrusting into you, your whole body felt sticky with sweat and mixed bodily fluids. You’d be very surprised if you didn’t end up with triplets by the time he was done.
You don’t remember falling asleep but the smell of smoke yanks you from said slumber. You hardly noticed the lack of sanemi as you messily wrapped a yukata around yourself and tied it. Your panic led you to the kitchen where you could hear the bickering between Sanemi and Sora.
“You didn’t make it like how mama does!” Sora argued.
“Well I don’t know how she makes it!” Sanemi remarked.
“You burned the rice porridge!” Sora stomped one of his little feet, “You shoulda’ just let me wake mama!” His little face was getting red with anger and indignance.
“She was tired! She needs her rest-” Sanemi exclaimed and turned around to scold Sora more but froze at the sight of you standing in the doorway with your hand over your mouth and stifling your giggles.
Sanemis face flushed in embarrassment and you found far too much enjoyment in his disheveled messy look. Sora bounded over and hugged your legs, “Mama! He said not to wake you and-and he could make it but he burned it!! It tastes bad!” He babbled, the sound muffled by the fabric of your yukata, though by now you were fully aware of his crocodile tears. If only the little boy could feel the daggers his own father was staring right into the back of his head.
You patted his head and shushed him so he’d calm down, “Don’t argue, I will cook and you two will clean up the mess you’ve made, okay?” He nodded and pulled away, “Now go get a bucket of water so you clean.” As soon as he was gone, sanemi huffed and crossed his arms.
Those two were so alike that they couldn’t help but argue. Not that you would have it any other way.
___________________________________
The three of you fell into a routine and time flew by. Sora started school in the fall with his peers and soon after you were expecting another child. You waited until Sora was at school to inform your husband. At first his expression was unreadable but then he broke out into a smile and held you tightly in his arms. He was talking so fast you could hardly keep up with him, you managed to catch bits of ‘It’s my turn to name it’ and ‘-It’ll be different this time I promise.’.
When Sora found out that he was expecting a sibling he expressed far much more enjoyment and joy than his father had. He will have someone to play with! He told all his friends who told their parents who would stop by every so often to offer advice or bring gifts or even ask if you were okay. It was all overwhelming at first but sanemi soon stepped in and insisted you be given space as you’re pregnant and ‘very sensitive’. You admired that he always had your best interests and health in mind.
The second birth was no easier than the first, if anything it was more stressful than anything else. Your water broke while you were doing dishes, when you tried to move and call for help you slipped and one of the bowls in your hand fell and shattered. Panic was washing over you as you steadied yourself on the counter and called out for sanemi or sora. Your voice was shaking as you tried to keep moving through the room. You made it to the doorway leading to the dining room when sanemi scooped you up. He sent Sora to go get help and did his best to make you comfortable and hold your hand through the contractions.
You gave birth to a little boy. Healthy lungs and cries as he took his first breath, you almost didn’t notice the way sanemi’s hand shook as it held yours. You could barely keep your eyes open when they cleaned and handed the bundle to you first. Sora was at your other side ogling his new little brother. He made comments about how pink he was and how he had hair like his. When the doctor inquired about a name to put on the birth certificate you let sanemi name him, knowing the name he had in mind.
___________________________________
Sora grew up to be admirable and even took his education further to learn more ways to help the farm as the world changed and advanced around you. His little brother Genya took up his long deceased grandfather's carpentry career. You and sanemi kept up with the farm through the years, working as hard as it took to put your boys through proper education.
Your years spent with your family were more than enough to last five lifetimes.
Just like that you and sanemi had the perfect little family and a perfect ending.
☆ ──── 𝙖𝙪𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙧'𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙚 : this is for one my faves @stxrryemxlys congrats on graduating, so here is a grad gift for u!! even tho it lowkey became hella self indulgent fmenferj
☆ ──── 𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜(𝙨) : long flashback?, sensual themes??
The nights that he would leave for days and sometimes even weeks at a time to tend to slaying demons would leave you irrevocably lonely. Your heart yearned for him to come back home so you would find yourself restless. In fact, so restless that you would toss and turn in your bed until you threw the covers off of your body followed by a frustrated huff. The light of the moon was cold and unforgiving. It opposed the warmth and welcome of the sun. Your sun. His smile, his voice and the way few but tenderhearted words would fall from his lips. You wanted nothing more than to see him at that moment.
Soon you found yourself getting out of bed and slipping on your shoes. You grabbed one of the wisteria incense that endlessly burned from your porch as you walked barefoot across the path that led to the edge of town. Thankfully there was no wind to blow out your incense, but even if it had it would burn long enough for you to get home safely. The sound of water trickling was getting louder and louder as you headed down the moonlit path.
You smiled as you recalled the memory of meeting him for the first time here.
You were gathering fish from the river and he had been standing at the edge watching as the scales of the colorful trout danced in the light of the sun. Your breath had caught at the sight of the handsome man in front of you. He wore his hair long in a high ponytail that lifted in the summer breeze. His maroon gaze soon on you and your heart thrummed against your chest.
“The trout here are quite vibrant. I’ve never seen anything like it.” His voice was deep and rich, though his tone was cheery and a hint of aloof.
“Oh–yes! They are also quite tasty when you cook them just right.” You stammered nearly as hard as your heart did. “Would you care to join me in catching some?”
You glanced away from a moment feeling his intense gaze on you. Your cheeks warmed as you continued on your incessant blabbering. “I cook them quite well.”
You stole a glance and a small smile had graced his attractive visage. “I would like that a lot.”
Gutting and cooking the fish wasn’t the hard part, catching them, however, was.
“Ah! I caught one!” Yoriichi exclaimed with a stunted look on his usually stoic face. He hadn’t felt such joy in a long time. The fish wriggled within his grasp and he showcased his first catch to you.
You clasped your hands together and beamed at him as he struggled to keep the fish in his hands.
“Great catch!”
Fwwp!
The trout had completely slipped out of his hand and plopped back into the river and Yoriichi’s face was unmoving. He was completely hampered by what had just occurred that he hadn’t even known how to react.
You couldn’t help but giggle at the fleeting happiness of his first catch. His face softened at your melodious laughter and suddenly he felt embarrassed at how excited he had become over something so menial.
“How childish of me.” He laughed, peering down at himself.
His rolled up sleeves and hakama were completely soaked, but his resolve was strong.
“I will catch this trout.” The look of determination on his face was enough to make you stop laughing and get serious with him.
“I’ll teach you a trick to catching a fish and not having it slip from your grasp.” You said as you rolled your sleeves and cuffed your pants and padded across the running river right alongside his form.
While he had his eyes trained to kill demons, your eyes and hands had been trained to be an expert at catching fish.
“You ready your stance and wait for the perfect moment…Gotcha!” You exclaimed in triumph as you held the fish and quickly dropped it in the bucket.
When you peered up for a moment, you caught a glimpse of Yoriichi’s eyes that sparkled at you in curiosity and admiration. “That is truly amazing! Please teach me how to achieve this level of mastery.”
You rubbed the back of your neck as you gave him a sheepish grin. “It’s nothing special, really. Just something I was taught by the village elders.”
Yoriichi and you went back to catching fish as you continued to converse.
“Did you not have parents growing up?” He asked. It wasn't a rude question, just something you never really spoke openly about.
You shook your head as you watched Yoriichi raise his hand to attempt to catch a fish, but it was all in vain as he caught nothing but water. He shook the water off of his hand and you softly chuckled at his failed venture.
“Damn.” He mumbled to himself.
“That was close. Try again.” You said. A small pause as you recollected your thoughts before answering. “No, I was an orphan for as long as I can remember. The village elders looked after me and taught me all the skills I know today. Honest work for honest pay. I’ve never traveled farther than the next town over.”
“I see.” He observed the water rippling beneath both of your ankles. “I think they did a great job raising you. You really know how to catch fish.”
You peered up at him and his smile was warm and enchanting. So young and full of life.
“I’ll show you how I cook ‘em, too.” You beamed at him.
“I didn’t know one could make trout taste so tender and flavorful.” He hummed in content as he savored every bite.
Your chin sat on your palm as you watched him take mouthfuls of rice and pieces of food stick to the sides of his mouth. It had occurred to you that this man hadn’t known how incredibly stunning he was. Not only in physical beauty, but his boyish and nonchalant attitude was charming as hell. Well, charming as hell to you.
“Aren’t you going to eat…” His head turned to the side before blinking back several times. “I never asked for your name. How rude of me.”
“You can call me [name].” You felt warmth rush to your cheeks when he looked at you. He was so endearing without even realizing it.
“[name], that’s an interesting name.” He seemed to be pensive for a moment as he nibbled at his trout.
You chuckled as you waited for him to reveal his name to you. He glanced up at you confused as to why you were looking at him for some sort of answer.
“And your name?” You giggled at him. He blinked a couple of times as he registered your words.
“You can call me, Yoriichi.” He finally said as he placed down his bowl in front of you and bowed. “Thank you for the meal, [name].”
“Oh, no need for that. We’re practically the same age.” You waved him off.
He peered up at you in surprise. “What is your age?”
“I’m twenty years of age.”
A ghost of a smile now on his lips. “I guess we are the same age then.”
He glanced into the crackling fire between the both of you and then to the sun that was beginning to dip below the horizon. “I should get going.”
“W-wait!” You suddenly said as you grasped on the sleeve of his haori.
He looked from your hand that was grasping the still damp fabric to you whose eyes were big and glistening with a yearning for company. The company of a man that could possibly fulfill the void where your heart was supposed to be.
“You should stay.” You murmured.
He didn’t say anything for a moment as he glanced down at you. His face was unreadable as he analyzed your features and tried to read the expression on your face. Yoriichii never faced a situation like this before. You, a woman, who had taught him how to catch and cook trout in the span of a day. You, a woman, who pleaded for his company.
Should you have had any semblance of shame? Yes, maybe. But the thought of never seeing this man ever again. A stranger who had just happened to be passing through town and never to cross paths in the near or distant future suddenly filled you with the emptiness that you were always left with scared you.
“You know, since it’s dark out and demons are out and about.” You quickly said feeling hot in the face. It was more than apparent that he was a demon slayer. From the sword that he proudly wore on his waist to the kimono that hung around his form.
“Do you know how to fend for yourself against demons?” He suddenly asked.
You thought about his words for a moment before shaking your head.
“Then I will stay until I teach you how to.” And there was that smile again. That smile that you found yourself yearning for every day since that occurrence.
And he kept his promise. Yoriichi would sleep a few feet away from you and wake you at dawn with the intention of honing your skills to the fullest extent. He wore you down to your bones, but his encouraging words and sincerity had pushed you to be the quick witted and instinctual warrior that he promised he would make out of you.
He would fondly watch you as you practiced every move of his and soon he had moved on to teaching you his breaths.
Your eyes sparkled in delight as he had showcased only a single technique and yet it mesmerized you as flames ignited from his blade and then to his form. He was literally his own sun. His techniques were a form of a fatal dance to the death and that only further entranced you.
“It may look intimidating, but I know you can do it, [name]. After all, my work won’t be done until you master it.” His form towered over you as you peered up at him.
If anything, he hadn’t even planned on teaching you any breathing techniques as that had been outside of the realm of what he thought you were capable of. But after watching you these past several months, mastering technique after technique he had gained a guilty indulgence toward you.
In no time, you had conquered every breath that he had laid out for you and soon you were a shining star next to your sun. Yoriichi had found himself not able to separate himself from you. He wanted only to spend all his days being in your company, hearing the sound of your laughter and the incoherent mumblings in your sleep as he tucked you into bed. Soon he had learned to cook trout almost just as good as you if not better and you were waking up to meals made by him without even having asked.
“Yoriichi, can you head down to the market and grab some potatoes and a pound of rice? We seem to have run out already.” You called out from inside as he sharpened his blade on the porch.
He frowned. “By myself?”
You poked your head out the doorway. “What was that?”
“You want me to go alone?” He asked again, not feeling embarrassed by his question.
It delighted you to see that pout on his face. “Well, I’m busy trying to clean the floors. I just think it would be more productive if you went and got food while I was here cleaning.”
“It would be quicker if I just helped you and then we headed off together.” He was persistent as hell when it came to these sorts of things.
He was guilty of being overfond of your presence, but he welcomed it. He didn’t want to be without you and that much he knew.
"[name], it’s too cold for you to be out here with nothing but your yukata on.” His voice suddenly filled the air and you felt your body go frigid.
It had just occurred to you that your toes and fingers were going numb, but you hadn’t cared about that. He was finally here. Yoriichi had stood tall in front of your form and soon you had found yourself throwing your arms around his shoulders.
His body went rigid for a moment as he had felt shocked by your unexpected intimate gesture. Your quiet sobs were muffled by the fabric of his haori and you clung onto his tightly with no thoughts of ever letting go. His scent was just as you had remembered. Woodsy and musky from his travels and scintillas of wisteria adhered to the fabric on his figure. You missed every bit of him and you couldn’t even hold yourself back from clutching onto him.
His firm hand found the small of your back and he sighed. “Let’s get inside.”
“Carry me.” You murmured against his chest.
He quietly obliged and soon you were lifted from the ground and you couldn’t find the courage to look at him as he carried you in his arms with ease.
There was only one other time that he had carried you this way and that was when you had sprained your ankle in the river trying to catch a trout and you were unable to get up on your own. He never scolded you, only softly speaking to you as he tended to your injury. You whimpered in pain and he never hushed you. He simply bandaged it and stayed by your side and became almost annoyingly dotting.
Is that what love was?
Yoriichi never liked to think too much of it. He hadn’t exactly familiarized himself with the concept of it, but then again he would simply brush off any compliments made to him by women who flock to him. He didn’t understand why. Why did he treat you like you were a wife he was coming home to and accompanied on trips to the market, racing downhills with and down the halls to see who could finish cleaning their side of the floor first with?
“Yoriichi.” Your voice was barely above a whisper.
He peered down at you for a moment hearing the neediness in your voice. Warmth blossomed to his cheeks as he got a better look at you. Your eyes were hazy with lust and longing. Or maybe he was mistaking it for some other emotion that he couldn’t quite pinpoint in that moment.
“Yoriichi.” A small whine emitted from your lips as half covered your eyes with your forearm.
His Adam's apple bobbed up and down as he observed the way your lips glistened in the moonlight and the way your eyes fluttered up at him.
“Yes, [name].” His voice shook to his and your surprise.
You bit your lip and he was in anticipation of your next words. “I want you.”
His heart stammered at your words. “Want me to what?”
Your hand tugged at his haori. “ I want you–and me…”
You struggled to find the right words to put together for him to get it without you having to actually say it.
“Do you love me, [name]?” It was so sudden. Nothing that you would ever expect him to ever ask you. No, not ever in a million years had you imagined him asking you something like this.
“And if I said yes?”
He didn’t skip a beat. “We should get married.”
You felt your heart pound against your chest at his words. “M-married?!”
A small sigh escaped his lips as he felt a tad embarrassed at his own choice of words. “If that’s alright with you. I’ve come to realize I want to stay by your side until the day I die and if there is an afterlife I want you to be there with me then as well.”
You felt your eyes well up with tears at his sweet words. Yoriichi was hardly a romantic. He never really spoke about his feelings. He was a man of the moment and honestly this proposal suited more than anything else.
“Why are you crying?” His tone was brimming with concern as he wiped your tears away.
He gently set you down on your futon and rubbed your eyes as you sat up.
“Because–I–I don’t know. I just feel emotional right now. I never thought you would ask me to marry you.” You whimpered as you tried catch your breath.
His expression softened as he looked at you. He wanted to take care of you until he no longer could and lay with you every night and wake up with you every morning and the only way to say all of that was to ask you just that. To marry him.
“Well, do you accept?” He asked, scooting toward your form.
“How could I not?” You sniffled.
A rare toothy grin spread across his boyish features as he dabbed away at your tears. “Good. Because then we can do husband and wife things.”
You sat upright at his words and your sniffles came to a stop as you felt your cheeks warm. “Like what kind of husband and wife things?”
His voice was low and soft as he spoke. “Like the things you want me to do to you right now.”
His fingers brushed away the stray hairs that covered your face and felt yourself hold your breath as he did.
“Let’s do it tomorrow.” And he wasn’t kidding either.
“Tomorrow?!” You exclaimed. “I don’t even have a dress for the ceremony let alone someone to officiate it!”
“Mmm.” He thought for a moment as he leaned against his palms. “I guess you’re right about that.”
“How about a week from today?”
“A week?! Yoriichi! You’re insane!” But you felt joy and laughter bubble from your throat. You couldn’t help but feel elated at the fact that he wanted to spend eternity with you.
“That should be enough, right?” He inquired, cocking his head to the side.
“I mean–I guess so.” You became pensive as you searched your mind for anyone who would be willing to sew you up a dress.
“Ah, I just remembered. An older lady from the village not too far from here said that if I ever found someone I wanted to marry, she would make them a dress at no cost.” He bumped his fist to his palm.
“And why does she owe you that?” Your curiosity was piqued.
“I saved her children from getting eaten by demons.”
“Ah, of course. Always the classic I-saved-your-children-from-flesh-eating-demons-so-I-owe-you-a-wedding-dress scenario.”
“What do you mean?”
You shook your head and laughed. “Nothing. If she can get a dress done by the end of the week that would be…”
"That would be perfect.” He finished as he gave you a softer smile and put his calloused hand on top of yours.
His maroon gaze was intense yet playful as he gazed down at you and it made your heart nearly jump out of your chest.
“Then I can fulfill my duties as a husband to you.”
hiiii, can i request yoriichi hcs of him falling in love again but with a demon slayer this time, please? since he died of old age it makes me sad to think he spent all that time alone 😭💔
+author's note. if i'm being honest i don't really see yoriichi falling in love again, i imagine he's far too immersed in killing muzan and eradicating every demon off the planet so uhhhh there's that mfkwmfkwefwkfmwk, also im probably gonna make a part two cuz its pretty long so THIS ISNT AS ROMANTIC AS U MAY THINK SORRY I JUST CANT SEE IT HAPPENING SO QUICKLY THIS MAN NEEDS SOMEONE PATIENT DON'T B MAD AT ME ANON also its barely even hc's anymore bye jaodvjskv
+warning(s). mentionings of violence, nudity oh and it's super angsty oh yeahhh
yoriichi would definitely not be looking for anything even remotely romantic you know, uh since his first love and first child was slaughtered? poor guy can't imagine him ever getting over that
the first meeting most likely would occur while he was scouting the region he was assigned to
and it would be somewhere at a crossroads leading into the woods and he would immediately pick up on the shift in the atmosphere
he knew there was a demon around, but as always he kept his cool and didn't stop walking in the direction he was heading towards as if to lure them out
but the demon had other plans as he would pick on an oblivious woman who was enjoying her time in the natural hot springs
little did the demon know she was always prepared so as soon as the demon tried to prey on her, yoriichi rushed towards it but she already sliced it's neck off at an inhuman speed
if yoriichi hadn't had such a practiced eye he would've missed how you pulled out the hidden blade from the water and aim and swung flawlessly at the beast
"b-but how?!" the beast would be paralyzed slowly disintegrating as he watched you emerge out of the water completely naked
"because you're just a beast who's blinded by bloodlust, and i am a human who slays the beast to end this vicious cycle." she replied fixing her hair pin on the top her head that held her hair back as she stood over them. their eyes shaking as their dismembered body quaked even as they disappeared into the winter gust.
yoriichi's eyes were wide. not by the sight of her unveiled body, but at how clean her cut was. she must've been a finely tuned demon slayer.
"do you always wait on beasts as an oblivious damsel?" his voice smooth as ice cutting into the frigid air. he showed no signs of any shock that he may have had earlier.
yoriichi never got cold either as he had the sun running through his veins day and night.
he looked away from her bare form to the snow covered trees. their frosted breaths mingling with the air.
"it's a favorite past time of mine." she replied as she sunk back into the warm water. "you're free to join me."
yoriichi had no interest in joining her in the hot springs, but he did have an interest in being in the hot springs.
he actually had gone this way to get to there because he wanted to be able to relax and it had been his secret for a small time coming now, but alas it is no longer a secret since another mysterious woman has claimed it for her own. at least she was making use of herself with it.
"i only came here for the hot springs." he replied in an even tone as he peeled off his haori and kimono. she turned her head away as he unclothed himself as if she were any modest herself.
she only turned to face him again when she saw in her perpherial that his lower half was sunken into the steaming water.
his hair was unraveled laying against his broad back, shoulders and chest and he closed his eyes as he completely submerged himself. the only thing above the water was his head and his hair was floating above the surface.
she watched in awe as she's never seen a man of his stature before. demon slayers were usually so young and fragile and falling into preemptive deaths.
intrusive thoughts began to linger as she watched him but he paid her no mind.
not that he thought she was a woman of the night and demon slayer by day, but it had only been some years since his wife and unborn had been slaughtered by a demon so romance wasn't at the top of his list
still, though. even being bare with another woman in the same body of water made him feel somewhat guilty
he pushed down the feeling. "are you going to keep gawking at me?"
she felt taken back by his sudden brashness, though it wasn't brash to yoriichi. that's just how he spoke. blunt and straight forward.
her face feeling warmer as she struggled to speak. was it the hot spring getting to her? "that-that wasn't my intention."
he stayed silent for a moment letting the warmth of the water reaching his aching joints. "don't waste your time on me. i am simply a man of no worth, just a vessel put on this earth who's objective is to make up for mistake of not eradicating muzan."
her interest piqued at the name. "muzan you say?"
"yes, he is the father of demons."
"i'm aware. you've met him before?"
yoriichi remained silent. anger bubbling within him remembering the last meeting he had with that vile creature. he should've cut him down where he stood forever, but alas Kami had something different in mind.
"long ago. i almost landed a fatal blow, but it was not enough." yoriichi wanted nothing more than to submerge his head under the water, but he had his duty as a demon slayer.
"y-you're yoriichi tsugikuni?!" she stammered. she felt starstruck just now. it's not like they had posters of him to know who he was, but she could tell from the moment she felt his energy materialize that he was of a high caliber. dare she say even higher than her.
she didn't realize that he form swayed towards him in excitement and envy, until he inched back. "oh, forgive me."
she suddenly felt naked and crestfallen.
"no need to apologize." he murmured as he closed his eyes.
she felt almost mortified and revolted by her shameless behavior. she had heard the news about his wife and unborn being massacred some few years ago and now being in front of the man himself and letting him see her in all her naked glory.
"i should leave." she suddenly said trying her best to cover herself as she got out of the water and reached for her hakama and kimono.
"so, you're aware." definitely not even a question. he knew that she knew by her abrupt chagrin expression.
she froze in her tracks and let out a shaky breath as she fixed her kimono. "you may say that you are a man of no worth, but to me you are a man of honor. i feel, dare i say, ashamed of my actions towards a man of your caliber and hardships. i cannot in good conscious stay here with a widowed man in grief over his dead unborn child and wife."
maybe, he misjudged her.
"there's no need for that. it was a long time ago."
it infuriated her how emotionless he was being. "and so was muzan and yet the fire in your eyes burns with an intensity when you speak about him. i suggest you do your part in mourning your family a little longer."
yoriichi was a patient man. much more patient than the average man, the average human.
"i mourned the death of my wife and child for ten days. i never moved for any sustenance. do i think that's enough? no. nothing could ever measure the amount of mourning i could do for them. i have a duty to protect the helpless as do you, demon slayer."
she clamped her mouth shut. God, she was truly making a fool out of herself. "i--"
"there's nothing more you can say. what's done is done. life is ever moving."
everything stood motionless as the snow began to fall. yoriichi's prestigious figure and [name's] form stood there unmoving.
if he hadn't honed his skills beyond human limits, he wouldn't have heard the ever so slight change in the atmosphere which was her leaving. and another thing. it was a feeling of sorrow.
"she felt sorry for me... forgive me, uta." he whispered to himself. a tear emanated from the corner of his eye and slipped under his chin and into the water. he watched as it rippled and then it was gone.
just as uta was a ripple in his life and now she was no longer. shame, he only felt shame as he closed his eyes and then brought himself to face the sky.
he convinced himself that it was nothing.
MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA YOU DIDN'T EXPECT THAT ANON i feel almost bad that i didn't give u the love dovey mushy thing u wanted I JUST WANTED TO B REALISTIC ITLL GET BETTER ILL MAKE AN APOLOGY PART TWO OKAY PLS DONT B MAD AT ME KOVKDSCFMS
Warnings: MAJOR MANGA SPOILERS!! IF YOU DON’T WANNA KNOW DONT LOOK!!! (no smut though!)
Start: Here
Next: Here
A/N: We gots to see it through,,,,,,I’m gonna write the last fic and hopefully have it out this weekend or next week sometime. Please forgive any mistakes you see in here. I didn’t have a beta reader this time around!
Taglist: @trishiepo0
The world around you was numb.
After one of the nurses forced you to take a pregnancy test and the results were confirmed to be positive, you had been in a state of complete denial. You worked twice as hard to keep yourself from sitting still too long. If you found yourself with nothing to do you were drowning in your own thoughts. You begged the nurse to keep your secret, fearing that the house owner would kick you out. You relied on herbs to keep the morning sickness at bay and managed to hide your pregnancy well so far.
But you were so scared.
You hadn’t seen sanemi since the incident with the ‘tea’ and you were more scared of telling him the truth than anything else. Sure, he would say dirty things along the lines of getting you pregnant while you both were in the middle of fucking, but that’s all it was. Just words. He was a demon slayer and demon slayers are to expect to die any day. There were whispers and rumors of the ‘training’ and preparations regarding them going on the offensive against Muzan. It was slow around the house because of this, more slayers focusing on the training rather than hunting demons.
Winter was beginning to fall and your chores dwindled down by the day. Nights were the worst, you tossed and turned restlessly, any sleeping position more uncomfortable than the last. In the stillness of the night your thoughts consumed you. The idea of telling him crosses your mind so many times, but you know that you can’t. Your arrangement with him was never ‘permanent’, it was an unspoken agreement that you both had. An agreement that involved your bodies and nothing more, much less these useless feelings that you had.
You don’t remember falling asleep but you were awoken by someone knocking on your door. Upon opening it stood the current source of your problems. He looked a little….rough for wear. His eyes were casted on the ground and for once he didn’t have something to say. He couldn’t look at you. How could he? He was working tireless training slayer and trying to get them at their mediocre best for the final battle. You were his source of problems as he was yours. You occupied every space in his brain, every thought, every time he closed his eyes, it was you. It frustrated him to no end and everyone around him took note of his sloppy moves. Even kagaya. When he begrudgingly told kagaya about this little ‘crush’ he had on you, he was elated! He encouraged sanemi to come see you before the final battle, which takes us to now.
You let him in and you both spend the morning holed up in your room, but this time it was different. This time he was not here to lay hands on you, this time he was here to talk, which he hardly did in the first place. Your morning sickness came and went, you excusing yourself to hide it, just a little longer. You could tell he wanted to say something, you didn’t want to force him so you didn’t. Instead you observed how focused he looked, eyebrows knitted together as he focused and stared at an item in the room, anything to keep his eyes off of you. Anything to keep down the urge to tell you how much he loved you and didn’t want to die because of you. He didn’t know how you truly felt about him and didn’t want to give himself hope.
“Would you….Like to talk?” Your voice was quiet and sweet. He didn’t respond or look at you, “My apologies Sanemi, I didn’t mean to-“
“I was the oldest out of seven siblings.” He starts, his tone is rough but there’s an edge to it, “My father was a bastard and an alcoholic, he was killed for being a fucking idiot.” He laughs bitterly. It was as if a dam broke inside of sanemi. He began pouring himself out to you. He told you about his mother eating five of his siblings and how he had to kill her to protect the only brother he had left. His voice waivers when he describes the feeling he had when he had to abandon his brother and join the corps. When he pauses to collect himself you tell him he doesn’t have to do this if he doesn’t want to, but he keeps going as if he didn’t hear you.
You find out so much about him in this moment. How his blood is special and makes demons go crazy, ‘Marechi’ blood he called it. He goes on about his special training that he’s conducting. He calls it ‘pound training’ and sounds quite proud of himself for picking the name. Sanemi ran into his brother Genya and his voice cracks again when he tells you how Genya is eating demons to compensate for his inability to use breathing techniques.
It feels like hours before he finally stops, his breathing having picked up as with his emotions. You look at him and he’s looking right at you for the first time since he arrived. He looks…..scared. He looks worried, as if he’s looking for you for something, anything. You wrap your arms around him tightly, burying your face in his neck and whisper, just low enough for him to hear.
“You must have been so scared, right ‘Nemi?”
He’s hugging you so tight you almost feel like he’s squeezing the air out of you, he’s shaking and you know that he’s crying. You let him hold you as long as he wants. He’d never been given a moment in his life to feel vulnerable. You were the safest place he could think of, here in your arms in your room. This is why he loved you, you weren’t perfect, your body was bigger, but you were smart, you were beautiful, you never looked at him with fear or malice. He had to earn your respect as you had to earn his. You were his equal.
You both moved from the tea table and took to your futon, you laying on his chest. He had divulged his entire past to you, it was only fair that you do the same.
“My father….was a carpenter.” It had been so long since you talked about your family, “My grandparents ran a farm on the outskirts of our village and my mom worked there and helped sell vegetables and rice.” You recalled the memories of following your grandmother around the field, her showing you different stages of plant life. Your father Was well known in the village and as you grew you desired to take after his carpentry skills. He never doubted you and trained you just as he would any other man who studied under him. You wished that every man could have been as kind as your father. When you attempted to work with your father for the first time, the client denied you and your father access, telling you both that a ‘woman has no place doing that kind of work.’. Your father was outraged but you were merely defeated, you didn’t have your hopes up much in the first place. So you returned home and didn’t ask again about it.
While looking into other mean of work your grandfather fell ill. Your mother insisted you move to their farm as she couldn’t be there every day to take care of him and your grandmother wasn’t any younger than he. Your gardening skills proved to be more than enough to pick up where things slowed down. You lived on your grandparents farm peacefully for a few years, a fling and moonlit romance here and there. Your parents eventually moved in as well, everything fit so well and peacefully. However, in a world of demons, peace is only temporary.
A particularly harsh storm destroyed the farm shed and while your father had no problem rebuilding the shed, some important valuable tools had been destroyed in the process. While everyone else cleaned up the wreckage from the farm, you were sent two towns over to purchase tools and replacement plants. You had a bad feeling before you left, your stomach flipping as you hugged your parents goodbye. In all honesty, you had fun on your small journey, you got to see new things and meet new people in the brief time you were out.
When you returned home it was….quiet.
No one came to greet you, which wasn’t too odd, they might be working in the back. That gut feeling was back again, like something was deeply wrong. You abandoned your cart full of things at the door and upon coming inside you slipped and fell back. Your head was throbbing from the way you hit the wall, when you looked at what you slipped in you screamed.
Blood. A trail of blood.
You got to your feet and followed it, your heart beat was starting to rise to your ears and you couldn’t hear anything else around you. In the sitting room, lay your family, slaughtered. You collapsed at the sight, throwing up on the floor. The room started to spin as you broke, screaming and sobbing. They were so cold when you touched them to close their eyes, hoping they’d rest somewhat easy.
The next few days were a blur and you did everything in your power to distance yourself emotionally from all of it. Others in the town helped out generously, helping you prepare the funerals and bury them. You were inconsolable. You barely ate, slept, or worked on the farm. You did anything else to distract yourself from the emptiness of your home as well as your heart. You were growing hopeless as the garden over grew. The nights were harder than the days, every night you feared the demon would return for you.
But….Would you really fight back?
One night you awoke, the floor creaking in the home. You knew you weren’t alone. You left your room, you aren’t sure why, maybe part of you knew what was awaiting you. You don’t remember much after you walked into your kitchen, you just Remember unimaginable pain alongside darkness. The next day you woke up here. In this house. The nurses informed you that a traveling slayer was investigating your families deaths and arrived at just the right time, which you were thankful for of course….However going home seemed just as haunting as facing the demon again. So you stayed, you proved your worth, you earned a new home. Then you met sanemi.
After opening yourselves bare to each other the conversation shifted to life after the ‘final battle’ and what kind of plans you two had. He had none. Sanemi didn’t want them. He didn’t want to have some reason to come back. He was afraid that if he did, he wouldn’t fight as hard. You told him you’d simply return home. You both ended up taking a brief nap, interrupted by someone knocking on your door. Sanemi got up to answer it, leaving you to roll over into the warm spot he left. You weren’t privy to the conversation, eventually the door shut and he returned to your side.
“I have to go now.” He whispered, brushing some of your hair out of your face.
“I’ll see you out.” You smiled and leaned up to give him a brief kiss. Sanemi not being one for chaste moments simply looked away, though you could see the tips of his ears turning pink.
You and him walked towards the gate, the tension in the air was choking you both. Once at the gate he gave you a hug so tight he lifted you off the ground a bit and set you back down. One of his hands came up to cup your cheek, his thumb running over your lips. Your chest was beating so fast, this could be the last chance you see him, you have to tell him! Even if it would ruin what you both had.
“Sanemi I-‘ He put his hand around your mouth, a calm smile on his face.
“I love you, y/n.” His voice was filled with the very same love that you’d been harboring for him and your stomach sunk into the earths core, “I don’t know when I started to love you, but I don’t think I can stop.” Your eyes were blurring and he wouldn’t remove his hand, you just wanted to return his feelings damnit!!
“Even if you don’t feel the same, I don’t want to leave anything undone.” You were starting to struggle now, trying to pry his hand off of your mouth, “Don’t tell me how you feel. It’ll make it harder.” He was clenching his jaw and trying not to cry himself. You both were overflowing with delayed waves of emotion. When he did let go, it was only to kiss him, which you returned tenfold, clinging to him as if you’d die if you let go.
At least you felt you’d die.
When you both parted you wiped at your face with you sleeve, trying to compose yourself. He turned and started to leave and you watched his receding form. Your whole body was on fire, your hands clenched at your side. You hadn’t felt this much in so long, it was because of him! He made you feel the emotions you wanted to lock away for so long. You were breathing deeply, not even fighting the tears, when you turned around you were met with the building owner. She stood, hands on her waist, giving you a look that you’re sure your mother would have given you had she still been alive.
“You’re giving up?” Her tone was challenging.
“H-He doesn’t want to know how I feel! Yo-you don’t get it!” You hiccuped and rubbed your hand on your face in exasperation.
“And what do you want?” Her voice was softening.
“I-What?”
“What. Do. You. Want?”
“I…I want him to know.” Your voice was wavering, as if you were lying to yourself.
She merely pointed behind you, beyond the gate, where he had gone. You looked back at her and you shook your head but she just gestured again. You turned and could still see him, as if he was dragging his feet (He was.). You wanted to tell him everything. Your chest was hurting. You could hardy even breathe anymore but you did your best to take a deep breath and call out his name as loud as you could. That seemed to do it’s job as he stopped and turned. The building owner gave you a small shove, gesturing for you to go.
Now it was your turn to drag your feet, the whole moment felt overwhelming. When you stood in front of him you couldn’t look at him, you would’ve thrown up. Sanemi was staring at you, taking in the way you wrapped your arms around yourself in an attempt to look smaller. If you did look up, you’d see that he merely looked…..Tired. Sanemi was tired. He spent so long fighting that he wasn’t even sure if he could lead a normal life after the battle, especially with….You. His thoughts and feelings were consumed with you and how you’d laugh. He would let himself wonder into thoughts of living with you, starting a family. He would often try to resist these thoughts, it was easier for him to fight without worrying about making it back home to you.
God how he wanted to just touch you one last time.
So he did.
He wrapped his arms around you and it felt so damn good. You always fit so perfectly against him and he could always give you just the littles of squeezes to really enjoy how plush you are.
“I love you too.” You said it so fast he almost didn’t catch it.
“Y/n-“ He started but you reached up, shoving both of your hands over his mouth.
“No! It’s your turn to listen to me!” You weren’t going to let him just die without knowing the truth.
“I-I love you and….” Why was it so hard? “I loved you first. You were the first person who didn’t pity me or treat me li-like some kind of dirty secret.” You took a deep breath, “You helped me feel like a person again, like I was worth something again.” Every single word of adoration that you had for him was suddenly gone, as if you’d forgotten.
“Y-You’re an animal. You’re foul, rude, you lack common human decency-“ He quirked an eyebrow at you, “-but I love all of that. I love that you won’t just sit and take abuse, you’ll fight back! I love the way you tell stories about your missions and I love-“ He put his hand back over your mouth and pried your hands off his mouth fairly easy.
“I get it already! Shut the fuck up for a minute!” You almost didn’t notice his voice cracking at the end. He scratched at his head in agitation. He released your mouth, instead holding both of your hands in his.
“I can’t promise I’ll always love you”
“I know.”
“I can’t promise I’ll be a good husband or father.”
“I-I know…” Your stomach churns.
“I can’t….promise…that I’ll come back.”
You didn’t respond, just sniffling and nodding.
“If…If I do come back…will you wait?”
“A-Absolutely!” You sound more energetic than you intended. He laughs and his tone is warm, wrapping around you and comforting you. You never want to let him go, but the sun is steadily getting lower and lower and you have to return to the house. So you both pull away from each other. He turns to leave, his hand lingering in yours.
“Have a safe trip, Shinazugawa-San.” You bow, letting things end formally just as they had began.
“Say my name the right way next time.” He comments.
You laugh and turn around, making the solemn walk back to the house. As you pass through the gate you find yourself alone. Your stomach flips again, but this time you’re sure its not your anxiety. Of course you couldn’t tell him you were pregnant. You couldn’t risk him abandoning the final battle altogether. If his teammates died because of his absence there was know way he’d be able to move on life with that regret.
You lay down in bed, having changed into something more comfortable. The sleep you find yourself in is the deepest its been in months, even if your heart is aching for sanemi. No matter what fear you felt before. Now you felt more secure.
What do you think? Headcanons of what it would be like to be in a relationship with Michikatsu, how he would treat you, how his way of showing affection would be and things like that. Although it was just a random idea ^^ it is your decision to do it, if not, it's fine (sorry for the bad English) and I also wanted to ask you how you are
+author's note. i just wanna preface with I WILL NOT ACCEPT NSFW. REQUESTS i will write it at my own accord so do not ask me or i will air you out GOT IT (; ･`д･´) and yes coloring done by me (๑•̀ㅁ•́๑)✧ but anyways enjoy this nsfw. under da cut so minors dni i guess lol
because he is a intj, he will find it hard, more so impossible in his head, to find someone in the dating scene.
intj's are actually known to be the most emotionless personality types so uh go figure lol
that being said, being in a relationship can be tough for him because he finds it hard to connect and communicate his feelings
as tough as it may get dealing with him and his many moods and stoicism, you push through his walls and help him get in touch with his feelings which he thanks you endlessly for
when he loves, he loves very hard and will expect you to return it and usually you will oblige
he will get irked with you when you no longer want to kiss him or hug him because it'll make him feel like you are no longer attracted to him which is obviously incorrect??
if you're with him, you most likely share the same values and ethics
he respects you deeply and he feels the most happiest when you two just sit together with a cup of tea and talk about your innermost thoughts like the intellectuals you are
if a problem ever arises he will want to solve it immediately, like seriously this man is on it
it will frustrate him endlessly if you don't want to though
like if you're being hella stubborn or you don't feel like he deserves forgiveness immediately he will go crazy
until he's just sitting in the living room staring at the wall wondering when you're going to stop being in your mood and forgive him
and when you do he is estatic, but he tries to hide it at first ignoring you but when you snuggle up against him he can't fight it any longer
you're in his arms with many apology kisses and cuddles because he can never get enough of you
michikatsu shows his affection through helping you achieve your goals whether it's something as simply as cooking dinner to bigger projects that you have in mind like creating that koi fish pond in your front yard for the longest time
he simply just enjoys being next to you and basking in your presence no matter what you're doing
usually it is in silence with little questions or comments like "i'm going to make some tea would you like some, love?" or "i'm going to start dinner, do you want anything in particular?"
even when you're having your moody bad days, he is patient and kind with you allowing you your space and to come to him whenever you feel ready which you are extremely thankful for
michikatsu likes to do a lot of the same things you do
so when he finds you painting in your studio, he is also ready with an easel, brushes and canvas
you think he looks so cute with his paint stained apron that was too tight for him because it was yours and this man is like 6'3 LIKE DAMN BOI WHO MADE U THAT TALL
like i said man's is an intellectual, so the same way he does the same mundane shit with you he expects you to be there with him
which will usually just include him reading books + making incredibly detailed footnotes, soapcarving and tending to his millions of plants (he loves venus fly traps and cacti)
loves dancing with you to classic music and if you have two left feet he makes fun of you for it endlessly
makes you listen to him playing instruments like he's giving you your own private concerts which you enjoy because he plays beautifully
nsfw. minors dni. :
what type of contraceptive does michikatsu prefer? his personality (JK LMFAOOOOOOOOO DKSNFSNCC)
michikatsu values all of your time and effort in and outside of the bedroom, because luckily for you he isn't the type to see sex as a means to an end
before he used to look at it as something purely logical. what are the health benefits? when's the next time imma nut off?
with you, he views sex as a spiritually engaging experience and he is quite the giver
so in other words, it's all about you in that moment as if it already isn't
he is at your beacon and call, finding what drives you crazy and doing it until you're out of breath begging for him to let you catch it
he truly feels connected to you because otherwise sex will just feel like a chore to him but with you he's all in
paying attention to every moan and the way your muscles tense knowing that he's doing a good job
for him psychological seduction does him wonders, so when you're verbalizing your inner most darkest fantasies in explicit detail he is very turned on and more than willing to oblige to your needs
much to your surprise, he is very into experimenting because he harbors some kinks that he doesn't know how to vocalize
as you two become more comfortable with exploring each other's bodies, his kinks become more prominent from bondage to paddles this mAn KinDa KinKy
he may or may not be into asphxiation
of course you have a safe word in place every time (can you take a wild guess?)
in his words, "the kinkier the couple, the happier they are"
in contrast, he can be very vanilla missionary position and all BUT HIS EYE CONTACT IS IMPECCABLE
it makes you super squirmy under his intense gaze, but other times its mesmerizing and makes you feel even more passionate
you completely melt under him with every slow and linguid thrust as you moan in pleasure and what usually drives you over the edge is when he simply says "i know."
he will always hold off until you're done, so whether it'd be one or five orgasms his stamina is so insane that he can wait
enjoys nipple play mostly because of the way you exhale when he's rubbing and sucking on them til their sore and you have to push him off but it's too late because he knows he already left a little bruise
loves marking you up because to him you're the canvas and he's the painter who's making a masterpiece with his lips and fingers
eats you out til no tomorrow
like seriously he will edge you til you're so close to orgasm only for him to stop which turns you into a begging panting mess
will watch you writhe under him with a mischevious grin and then continue until you can't take it anymore
warnings: MAJOR SERIES END SPOILERS!! DO NOT READ IF NOT CAUGHT UP ON THE MANGA. Mostly angst!
Thank you to the lovely beta reading by @thosestarry-nights
Taglist: @trishiepo0
Previous: <3
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First: <3
A/N this is going to be split in two parts! Uploaded back to back! Thank you everyone for keeping up with me on this journey. I’ve never finished a fanfiction series ever in my life and this means so much to me. Thank you!!! (The timeline of things may be a little weird but don’t worry about that!)
In the end you are only a product of your fears.
Two months after Sanemi’s final departure you were showing enough that the building manager confronted you. You told her the truth, instead of her kicking you out for your transgressions, she was understanding. You were reminded of your mother. Warm hugs accompanied by the smell of your mothers perfume, feelings overwhelmed you as you cried in her arms. Shortly after that others in the house learned of your pregnancy, no one was really surprised or treated you differently regarding it.
Everyone was on edge until a messenger bird arrived.
We won.
You dropped to your knees with your face in your hands, your body shaking with sobs. The demons were wiped out and you were saved. Sanemi didn’t have to fight anymore, you didn’t have to fear going home anymore. The casualty list had yet to arrive, though you had heard enough from the first announcement. We won, but the casualties were unimaginable.
Your chest couldn’t take the news.
You were found in your bedroom, packing away the last few years of your life as if none of it had ever even happened. A few of the nurses found you, they had been drinking and celebrating. They invited you to join in their festivities even if you couldn’t drink. You waved them off and they went on their merry way, shouting and singing praises to the slayers. You merely laughed, rubbing your stomach as the baby kicked.
“You feel it too huh? I’m happy we won.” You whispered to yourself.
You heard your door open and when you turned the building manager was standing in the doorway holding a box. She presented you with children's clothes, taking out every article of clothing at a time and unfolding and showing them to you before refolding them.
“I had children once,” She started, “I had an older son, and two younger twin girls. You couldn’t get the twins to sit still even for a moment and you couldn’t get my son to leave his room, he was so absorbed in his studies.” Her smile was sincere. She didn’t say anymore beyond that and you didn’t ask.
“I no longer have a need for babies and children's clothes, so I’d like you to take them.”
“Thank you very much ma’am” You bowed your head a little, taking the box from her.
“Since there is no longer a need for these ‘safe houses’ I am dismissing the staff and giving them severance pay.” She set an envelope in front of you.
“I’d like it if you stayed.” Her voice was low.
“I can’t.” Your chest tightened, the last thing you ever wanted was to hurt her, “It’s…It’s time for me to go home.”
“Ah, I understand y/n, but don’t forget that you’re always welcome here and this place can be your home any time.” She smiled but you could see the way her eyes glistened with held back tears. She left shortly thereafter, telling you that should you need any food or supplies before you left that you were more than happy to take what you needed.
Your sleep was brief that night, your baby kicking every so often and waking you up. As soon as the sun rose you took a small cart and loaded it up with your things. The building owner saw you out and urged you to visit her because ‘An old woman like me gets lonely you know?’. A few of the remaining nurses and one of the cooks saw you off as well.
Your whole body felt electric as you left. Home seemed unreachable to you, the world seemed dangerous, but now you felt more…..at ease and safe. A few days prior you got your hands on a map and figured out a route home that wouldn’t be too taxing on your body. You weren’t worried about bandits seeing as every town you came across everyone was too busy celebrating. You used as little of the severance pay as you could along the journey, only buying necessities for the baby that you knew you might need later on.
When you returned back to your town everyone looked at you with big eyes. No one asked of course, about your slightly protruding stomach, but you could tell they all wanted to know where you’d been. Your family home was untouched, though nature was slowly overtaking the home. Tall grass and weeds winding their way onto the porch and ivy growing along the side of the house. The air seemed to still once you crossed the threshold. You felt as if you shouldn’t be there, like your presence was disturbing the peace that had settled. You left the cart at the gate, struggling a bit to open the stiff door.
“I’m home…” You softly said before making your way through the house.
Things were mostly untouched. A few wet spots from the roof leaking, some of the windows were broken but nothing appeared stolen, and there was of course, the lightly faded blood stains on the ground. Your bedroom was untouched, as was your parents and grandparents, a layer of dust coated things. You let nostalgia wash over you as you cleaned. Opening the windows and dusting things, your fathers tools were in wonderful condition. They were wrapped in cloth so they were untouched by dust and had no visible rust.
The sun began to set by the time you were done cleaning. You brought your things inside and put away what you could before your hunger got the best of you. Dinner was simple, rice and steamed vegetables. Sleep came before you realized it. Your dreams were filled with comforting memories of your family, it was as if you were still there with them instead of alone in this hollow shrine of a home.
You awoke with the sun and after a quick bath you set out to the grounds. It took you all afternoon and morning to pull all of the weeds. It was chilly outside as winter was fast approaching, you figured if you did a good amount of work now you’d have to do less come spring. Every so often you’d see someone out of the corner of your eye having stopped and watched you work, but no one came to actually talk to you. You took brief breaks when the kicking in your stomach became too much.
The backyard where all of the produce was grown was another story altogether. Violently overgrown and invasive weeds grew everywhere. The nearly rebuilt shed mocked you from the corner of the grounds, an unfortunate reminder that you were still alone. But you pressed on.
——————-
It took days for anyone to approach you.
It was a friend of your grandmothers. A lovely old woman, a smile on her face, and a basket in her hands. You were on your knees in the garden when she found you. She urged you too take a break from working so hard and that you two should relax and catch up. You had tea with her on the porch, the basket was all kinds of goodies and vegetables for which you thanked her profusely as you were beginning to run out. She told you that everyone assumed that you succumbed to your injuries. The worst you’d gotten was a scar on your shoulder, but so far no lifelong side affects.
You told her about your job at the safety house, about the kind owner, and the colorful people you worked with. You omitted the part about you and Sanemi’s ‘relationship’ seeing as anyone had yet to accuse or ask if you were pregnant. She said it was wonderful to have you back and that she knows your family would be proud for all the good you’ve done in the world. You cried, she patted your back and left shortly after.
Soon you were constantly flooded with guests.
Old friends and flames trying to reconnect, you kept your distance from everyone, not knowing what their intentions were. Some of the villagers caved, asking you to do minor carpentry tasks for them. You barely made it through winter, but you couldn’t hide your secret forever. Three of the elder women that were very close with your grandmother would visit often, almost every day, just to check on you and bring you anything that you needed. Tonight was such a night as all three women joined you for dinner, making all kinds of dishes. You didn’t hold back on your cravings, not noticing how they all smiled at you fondly while you ate.
“How far along are you?” One said
You choked on the food you were eating.
“Yes! I’ve been saying it was a girl but no one believes me!” Someone chimed in from your left.
“That’s because no one would believe an old senile witch like you.” All three cackled while you coughed and wiped your mouth while looking at the three old women with wide eyes.
“How did you-“
“Oh come on Y/N! Did you really think you could just hide that you were pregnant that easily? I mean sure, you’re more filled out, but you can’t hide anything from us.” They all giggled, agreeing with her.
I mean, of course you couldn’t hide it forever, you were just so focused on rebuilding your family home that you neglected to face this. They all comforted you that night, giving you advice and assuring that they would be there to assist in the birth. One of them dared to ask where the father was, you couldn’t tell them that you didn’t know, so you told them a lie that eased your conscience.
“H-He was a slayer that passed away in battle….” It wasn’t a lie, but it wasn’t the truth.
They cooed and comforted you through most of the night after that, all of them telling different stories about how they managed just fine after their husbands either passed away or left them. They assured you that you wouldn’t go through this alone. They would be there every step of the way and even after, as the first few months after birth are often the hardest.
____________
As winter raged and began to melt away, everyone else found out relatively fast. Your stomach was much more rounder and protruding, your hips ached as you walked, and your back throbbed and ached no matter what sleeping position you took. One of the elder women decided to stay at the house with you to help and prepare. She forced her son to help, who tried to resist at first but his grandmother's guilt weighed down on him. Mostly in the form of words ‘She’s a single mother! She can do twice the work you can! You can’t even help this much?’ Though he whined he gave in easily.
You grew frustrated day by day, whoever was over to help only remained in your way as you tried to rebuild the garden bed. Taking tools from you and ushering you out of the sun. When you voiced your concern the women wouldn’t back down, insisting that you must cherish your body if you hope to make it through the birth. They taught you breathing exercises and massaged your ankles no matter how embarrassed you felt. You gave in eventually, directing the helpers and teaching them the same skills your grandparents taught you.
It was a comfortable day when everything changed.
You had managed to convince them to let you work on the garden, just a little bit. The sun was out but it wasn’t beating down on your back, the breeze was cool, and the harvest was beginning to look wonderful. You were pulling on a weed, the root was so far down that once it finally came out of the ground you fell back onto your butt. One of the women on the porch called out to you asking if you were okay, however when you went to confirm you noticed that the ground was wet beneath you. And things hadn’t been watered yet.
Face burning with embarrassment, you yelled out that you peed yourself and didn’t feel it. The three elderly women rose and made a beeline for you, yelling for someone to help you get up. Once on your feet they were drilling you with questions. Even when you tried to answer, the first contraction started and you only doubled over and tried not to scream. You were helped inside while they organized a place for you to lay. Warm water and towels at the ready, they undressed you and made sure you were clean before trying to get you to practice pushing while laying down. Your whole body was beginning to fight and you wanted to pass out from it all. Your hair clung to your face with sweat as you screamed and tried your best. You lost track of time between pushing and becoming disoriented. You could barely make out their arguing.
“I told you it’s not going to work! She has to stand!”
What? Stand?
With the help of one of their daughters you were made to stand and grip a rope that was hung from the ceiling beam. They assisted you with squatting , one of them holding your back to keep you steady. They urged you to push, they encouraged you and praised you. The room began to spin, but you had to try, you had to keep trying. You couldn’t even feel yourself pushing, but you did feel when it stopped. The pain was gone. Relief overtook you and your body began to give out. As your conscience was faded out you swore, just for a moment, that you saw her.
Your mother.
_________
You felt like you slept for days and days. Your dream was brief and your body felt so heavy. In your dream you were sitting on the porch with your mother, watching your grandparents work. Your mother had cut up some watermelon and you were drinking long cooled green tea.
“You’ve done such a good job Y/N” Her voice is just as you remembered.
“But I ran away…from you…home….and even him.” The watermelon was so sweet.
“You lived.” The breeze feels so cool on your face as she speaks, “You’ve spread my mothers knowledge as well as your fathers and you never gave up.” She sounds so sincere. Your grandmother waves at you and you wave back as everything around you begins to blur.
“Never for a moment did we doubt you,” She takes you in her arms, you haven’t felt this safe in years, “Carry the love we gave you and never let it go.” She wipes your tears and her hands are so soft and warm, you can smell her perfume and all its earthy tones.
As the world dissolves away around you, you see your family wave goodbye from behind her.
And then you woke up.
___________
You’re back in your bed, or rather, your parents bed, you moved in there to turn your old bedroom into a nursery. Two of the older women are nearby sitting against the wall, one having fallen asleep with her head on the other's shoulder. You notice the room is eerily silent for a baby having just been born. When you struggle to sit up you can feel every part of your being ache, even when you blink. But you don’t feel tired, not one bit.
The door opens and enters the missing woman and she holds a bundle in her arms. You feel so scared, and you know your face shows it. The other two wake up and rush to your side, asking how you feel and trying to get you to eat and drink, but you don’t answer them. You merely hold your arms out for your baby. She approaches and kneels, showing you what your body worked so hard to create.
“It’s a boy.” She whispered.
He feels so heavy in your arms. His hair is white and you can’t hold back the tears anymore. They all surround and hug you, reminding you that you’re not alone.
You’re not alone.
“What are you going to name him?”
You think about that, it takes a bit, but you have the perfect name for him.
_____________
The final battle destroyed everyone’s very being. They won, of course, after the fiercest battle they ever attempted. Many of the slayers died in the throes of battle, tengen wasn’t even included in the battle considering he was missing one of his arms. Sanemi watched his own brother be bisected and fade away from his very palms. Genya told sanemi that he was the nicest brother in the world.
Sanemi still sees his face in his dreams.
The few permanent ‘scars’ he had from the final battle blended in with his past scars. Save for the windmill on his cheek that other slayers got after interacting with Tanjiro, though everyone’s was different.
He slept for a month.
The nurses called it a coma but he said he was just tired and he needed to leave NOW. All of his physical wounds were healed, but he still needed to be cleared by a different kind of doctor. It took him another month to finally be discharged. Tengen offered him a place to stay but he said he had other things to do. Tengen wasn’t stupid and knew what sanemi was after.
You.
When sanemi came to the safe house he was met by overgrown grounds and a missing staff. Your room was empty and when the building owner came to him to see what the ruckus was, she merely raised an eyebrow.
“Where is she?!” He was panicking. You said you would wait for him.
“She went home.”
“Well where the fuck is that?!” His hands were tingling.
She shakes her head, informing him that she didn’t know. She wanted to ask if he knew about the baby but if he didn’t know where she went, he couldn’t have known about that. After throwing more curse words at her he leaves. He doesn’t even know where to begin.
No matter who he asked, where he went, he couldn’t find you. It was almost as if you weren’t real and it was wearing down on him greatly. He’d take breaks for a few weeks, seeing some of his former Hashirama. He never stayed in one place for long never wanting to let go of the determination to find you.
He spent so long looking for you, time didn’t matter to him. Before long, five years had passed right by the both of you.
_____________
The recovery from the birth was much harder than actually giving birth. They showed you how to breast feed and change diapers. They explained the changes your body will endure and guided you through the dark tunnel of post partum depression. The moments when you felt you couldn’t call yourself a mother, they would deny you this right. Telling you that you birthed him all the same. You were the sun and he was the sky. That's right.
You’re precious little Sora.
He grew faster than you expected, through summer and by the time winter came he was holding onto the wall and guiding himself around your home. When he learned to speak he tried to speak like the elderly ladies who helped you raise him. His hair was wild and as white as the clouds in the sky.
Once they decided you were fit enough to work the farm mostly alone they began to limit their visits, not that you were bothered by this.
By the time his second birthday came around, he was beside you in the garden trying to pull weeds. As much as you wanted to urge him to go play with other children, you knew he only wanted to help. So you let him. You even dug him his own special garden. He would kneel with you while you prayed at the family shrine. You would mostly apologize when you first got home, but now you were telling them every single update with sora.
He was shy and reserved, he dreaded when the old women would visit, anticipating cheek pinches. He didn’t mind when they gave him lots of snacks and brought him toys here and there. You would tell him endless stories of your parents and grandparents. You didn’t shy away from telling him about death and told him they were always watching. Being a mother wasn’t easy of course, sora broke things and would act out and throw tantrums every once in a while.
You wouldn’t hit nor yell.
You’d make him clean his messes up. You’d make sure he apologized if he said something that would hurt your feelings and explain why those things hurt your feelings. You’d be there to guide and teach, not embarrass and beat.
When he turned four some of the kids from the village would begin to visit your farm, kindly asking if Sora could play. Your heart would swell at the sight of him bounding off with his friends. Sometimes they would stay there and play in his room or even ask you about aspects of the farm. He was still reserved and sweet, but you could see him begin to come out of his shell.
You too began to change along with your son.
You sold your produce in town and did carpentry jobs. People would comment on how your work was just as wonderful as your fathers and you would bow and thank them. Your produce always sold well and sora would only become more and more eager to help you at your stall.
__________
The village was bustling, more people having moved in and newer houses being built. Just the other day someone had come to your door and informed you that a school was being built. Sora stood behind you, clinging to your dress and only sneaking glances at the man speaking to you. The man gave you a flier, telling you that you were more than welcome to enroll your son once the fall season comes.
The following day your stall had more customers than usual, so you told Sora he could take some money and go buy himself some treats. You were so busy taking care of customers that it took you a moment to notice someone staring at you, eyes boring into you. When you caught his gaze you made a confused face. You’d never seen this man before. He was beautiful, yes, but something about him seemed….familiar. Upon looking at him some more, you noticed that he was missing an arm. He smiled at you and you smiled back.
“Hello, what could your name be?” His voice was lilting and mischievous, as if he’d found something he shouldn’t have. So you tell him and his smile only grows wider.
“What a lovely name!” He doesnt hide his amusement.
Before you could ask him his name he proceeds to buy quite a bit of your inventory. Once you helped him load it up into the small cart he paid you more for your help, you couldn’t thank him enough. When he went to leave you saw a white blur of hair run and smack into his leg. You inwardly groan because you know exactly what happened.
“Sora, are you okay?” You help your son to his feet, “Sir I am so sorry for my son, he’s-“
Tengen immediately tunes you out, his eyes locked on sora instead. The shape of Sora’s eyes and that striking hair are not easily missed. Not to mention you’re the prized treasure his colleague has been looking for. Once you’re done talking he holds his hand up and smiles.
“No problem at all ma’am.” His smile is sly and not missed by you, “Kids will be kids.” He laughs and you follow along.
After he departs you scold sora lightly, reminding him to watch his surroundings before he gets seriously hurt. He apologizes and you let him go back off with his friends.
The rest of the day is a blur as you’re lost in your thoughts trying to place where you’ve seen that man before.
_____________
Upon returning home, tengen tells his wives he has an important mission for them all.
To find Sanemi.
They all look at him like he’s lost his mind but when he informs them that the very thing he’s been looking for has been found and has a bonus with her, they’re invested. They treat it as any other mission, following different leads and determined, if anything, to cause a ruckus as their husband does.
Makio finds sanemi first.
He’s resting at an inn on some mountainside she didn’t bother remembering the name of. She sneaks into his room, finding it empty and huffs, musing to herself that she couldn’t believe she missed him. Unfortunately, the knife pressed against her back says she came at the right time.
“Why the fuck are you here?” He’s tired and agitated.
“Tengen says he wants to see you!” She can barely hold back the excitement in her tone.
“No.” He pulls the knife down.
“He said it’s about ‘some woman’ you’ve been obsessing over.”
He feels like he can’t breathe and he wastes no time packing up and leaving with her. The journey is short, as sanemi doesn’t stop to rest at all. Even when Makio complained and insisted they take a break, he threatened to leave her there.
He marches through tengen’s home, not taking his shoes off, not greeting anyone, stomping his way through until he finds him. Meanwhile Makio gets reacquainted with her bath and bed. Tengen is relaxing with suma and Hinatsuru. Sanemi looks a little worse for wear and the sight of the lovesick dog makes tengen chuckle.
“Sanemi~ You’ll never guess what i found~” He teases sanemi, who has no patience and hasn’t had any since he woke up in the hospital.
“I will rip your other fucking arm off if you don’t tell me where she is!” His voice echos and tengen and his wives are unaffected by the aggression. He holds out a little slip of paper that sanemi snatches and turns to leave.
“You’re gonna like the surprise that you find!” He calls after him but sanemi pays no mind.
_______________
Sanemi really tries to get there without stopping, but eventually exhaustion gets the better of him and he stays at an inn on the way. When he does arrive at your village, well, now a ‘town’ with all the new advancements that are being made. He sees things that you’d described to him. He doesn’t know where you are and doesn’t hesitate asking. He sees three older women sitting together nearby, having tea and chatting. They’re the first ones he asks about you and they ask who he is before giving any information.
He tells them he’s a good friend.
They hesitate but tell him and he could almost kiss them he’s so thankful.
The gateway to your farm is just as he imagined when you described little details, he runs his hand over the carvings your father created when he repaired it. The grounds were well taken care of, expected of you and the skills you had. He was frozen at the doorway. Every feeling he had for you was hitting the roof and going to spill out. He was so angry because you didn’t stay, so confused as to why you wouldn’t even leave him a letter telling him where you went, and so scared of what he would find. Have you moved on? All of the thoughts were overwhelming him. He couldn’t believe what he was doing.
He snuck around and into the back.
He saw how beautifully you’d tended to the land, he saw the shed that you had repaired and took notice of all the small things he’d been told.
He even noticed you, with sora.
Your back was facing him, not that you’d be able to see him of course. You were crouched and showing sora something Sanemi couldn’t see. The white hair wasn’t a detail that was missed on him. You stood up and said something before walking off into the house. Once you were out of sight Sanemi watched as sora began to pull things out of the ground, carrots. He was pulling them carelessly and leaving them on the ground. One was too big and harder to pull out. One it came out sora fell back and the carrot was out of his hands.
On the ground a few feet in front of sanemi.
He’s frozen as sora runs over to pick it up. Sora stares at sanemi, sanemi feels like he’s staring at a picture of himself as a child. Save for his eyes, sora's eyes were the same as yours. Sanemi took a step back and wanted to run before you came back and saw him but he couldn’t.
Sora grabbed his wrist and the almighty Sanemi Shinazugawa, a famed hashira, the last wind pillar before the corps were disbanded, was powerless as he was pulled along by a five year old. Sora was firing off questions at him ‘who are you? Where are you from? We have the same hair! Are you here to see mama?’ Sanemi couldn’t answer a single one.
You come out the back door holding a basket that you planned to give to Sora to collect the carrots in but you dropped the basket as soon as you stepped out. Sanemi had the same look of bewilderment on his face as Sora kept talking and pulling him. You looked more beautiful than when he last saw you. Your hair was longer and your body got a little more fuller, but he could still see the same stars in your eyes that he’d been chasing this entire time.
“Y/N I-“ Sanemi didn’t know what to say, not that he had a chance.
Because you ran.
Back into the house and into your bedroom, shutting the door and locking it. You lean back against the door, your heart thundering in your chest and your legs feeling weak. Just like that, every memory of sanemi hits you like a train. Every moment you two whispered secrets, the way he’d run his hands all over you, and even the first and only time he’s said he loved you. You slide down and clench at your chest, trying to calm down and take deep breaths. There was a banging on your door, one that you recognized.
“Mama! You said to be polite when guests visit!” Sora scolded you from the other side of the door. You knew that he wasn’t the only one waiting on the other side.
“Go finish pulling the carrots!” You call and after him trying to debate with you he huffs and stomps off.
Sanemi taps on the door gently, carefully, just to be fragile with you like he always has. It’s as if all the anger and resentment melted away the moment he saw you. He turns and leans against the door, sliding down to sit against it. Without it there you two would be sitting back to back. Neither of you know what to say, so you start.
“Shinazugawa-San I-“
“That’s not my name. I thought we agreed you’d call me by my name the last time we talked.” His voice is soft and he even laughs a bit at the end.
“I’m sorry….”
“Is he mine?” He sounded hesitant and you scoffed.
“Are you really asking that? Do you see his hair? Do you think I’d want to be with anyone else?” You aren’t thinking as you speak.
“Yes.” His voice is small. Of course he thought that! As much as the thought made his skin prick, he had to entertain the idea that maybe when he found you, you had moved on, “Why didn’t you wait for me?”
“I was scared.” He scoffed at your response.
“Of what?”
“Having to face if you had died.”
“Well I didn’t”
“Yeah I know that now!” You snap out of irritation.
He's silent and so are you. Both of you trying to figure out how to pick everything back up, considering you two skipped a few steps and now had a son.
“Sora’s a weird name.” He remarked.
“Yeah well you weren’t here to name him” You grumbled, and it must have struck a nerve.
“Well I didn’t know you were pregnant!” You flinch and bring your knees to your chest.
“I didn’t tell you because I knew you’d stay and if you stayed and didn’t help in the final battle, you’d never forgive yourself. I couldn’t be that selfish.”
He said nothing. Because you were right. If you’d told him he’d stayed and what would the outcome have been without him? What would’ve become of the world then?
You hear the wind blow and you know that you can’t keep yourself locked in this room forever, but you’re so scared of your own emotions.
“How did you find me?”
“Tengen.” He didn’t sound too happy to say that.
“Eh? I don’t remember seeing him.” You try to pinpoint in your memory if you’ve seen a flashy pretty boy recently.
“He has one arm now so it’s kind of hard to miss.” One moment sanemi is upright and talking and the next you slide the door open and the back of his head hurts from where it hit the ground.
“The man that Sora bumped into weeks ago?!” You finally start to realize why that man was so amused at the sight of sora, Sanemi laughs at your reaction.
“You’re still beautiful.” His voice wraps around you just like it used to. Low and grating, making your face flush.
Nah I get ya, that's understandable, so uhhh, I guess you can make the judgement based off of this?
So the idea I had in mind was
Kyojuro's S/O being turned into a demon, but they don't want to eat people, maybe even surviving something else instead (like idk, bamboo, tree bark, just anything besides humans tbh)
Is that teetering on the edge of too self-indulgent or am I cool?
[. . . Whatever it takes I will make you human again, I promise it . . .]
+warnings. angsty af, mentioning of violence and blood
+author’s note. personally i think kyoujurou wouldn't put up with this and he would ask to kill his s/o out of mercy, like he wouldn't want them to go to hell or whatever the place that demons end up going to. like he would want to have them meet in the afterlife? so i can see him trying to find a cure for them as tanjiro does for nezuko currently, here it goes !! as context, this will be set as post mugen train arc and kyoujurou somehow survives. if you can recall just before his death he accepts nezuko so in this he will be a retired demon slayer. so his will to kill his s/o is not as much as it would be if he were still an active demon slayer. also this shit took my fucking whole being to post this bc it was being a bitch and PLS FOR THE LOVE OF GOD DO NOT ASK ME FOR A PART TWO THERE IS ONLY SO MUCH I CAN MENTALLY HANDLE
Kyoujurou was not one to have mercy or sympathy for demons. That was until one faithful day.
Kyoujurou had come home from the city as he was visiting the rest of the Hashira. He was retired after he had miraculously survived his fatal wounds. His missing eye was now covered with an eyepatch, so he had no choice but to retire. Kyoujurou was expecting you to greet him with your using beautiful beaming face, but instead he had found you writhing on ground.
"D-don't come near me!!" You shrieked in fetal position convulsing.
Kyoujurou's worse nightmare had come true as he clutched onto the sheathe of his sword not knowing what to do. Oh, how cruel life could be. Tears pricked at his eyes as he struggled to search for the words he wanted to say, but nothing was coming out.
"[name], please don't tell me..." His voice trailed off as his eyes widened in shock and horror. You finally met his gaze.
Your once beautiful [e/c] human hues were now a perverse version of them. Pupils slitted like a cat and they were a luminescent purple and orange. Your claws were practically ripped from your skin and your teeth were now elongated into fangs that were now meant for shredding human skin.
Your breathing was raged as tears stream down your face. "K-kill me."
Kyoujurou's shaking hand gripped onto his sword, but he could not find himself to raise it from its place and slice your head clean. You were the love of his life after all.
I can fix this.
He shut his eyes tightly as he grit his teeth. "I can't."
He stepped forward and opened his eyes to meet yours once again and you backed away against the tatami floor. "Who did this to you?"
You watched as he crouched down to you level and reached out to cup your cheek but you turned away. "It was...It was..."
You tried to recall your memory, but it was in fragments. It appeared in small flashbacks as you recollected the man in your head. He was an uppermoon. His long hair in a high ponytail and two scars on his forehead and neck and how could you forget the six eyes he possessed.
But that's all you could remember before you blacked out and then woke up in agonizing pain, and then falling back into unconsciousness over and over and over again.
"It was an upper moon...Koku-kokushibo...?" You said breathlessly recalling a short lived flashback of him speaking but the only words you could make out was his name. It was like it was a warning...
You gasped. "We need to leave. Now."
He searched your face for an answer. "Why? What's happened? Did you remember something?"
"This was...this was suppose to be a warning to the demon slayer corps...Just kill me, Kyoujurou. I cannot bear this any longer." You twisted in agony.
"No, I cannot allow that." He shook his head as he wept. He took another step forward to your body. He noticed that you were not healing and that made him gulped dryly. "Tamayo. Let us go see her. I recall Tanjiro talking about her whereabouts. She can, she can fix you."
"Kyoujurou..." You cried out holding on to his arm in pain as the tears trickling down your face. "I cannot live like this. This vile creature that's threathening to come out of me."
Kyoujurou wanted to scream. "I cannot let you die, [name]!"
And with that he quickly sent out a crow to Tamayo warning her of what the situation was. He wrapped you up in a blanket and cloth and attached you to his back and then he was off. He never looked back at the home you used to share. Life was ever moving.
By the time he had arrived to Tamayo's secret estate, she was already prepared for his arrival and rushed him inside to begin the procedure.
"Why isn't she healing?" Tamayo gasped looking down at you as he laid you down on the operating table.
"I don't know! Can you fix her?" Kyoujurou panted as he looked down at you and then her.
Tamayo nodded with full resolve. "I will do my best."
Time past by agnozingly slow as Kyoujurou sat there with clammy palms begging to anything and everything that you would come out okay. Yushiro sat there only staring at him in silence as Tamayo liked to work alone.
"Do you know
who did this to her?" Yushiro asked as he watched Kyoujurou praying to what ever was up there.
"I'm, I'm not sure. She said he was an upper moon, he went by the name...Koku...Kokushibo." Kyoujurou's voice was unusually quiet as he spoke.
Yushiro froze for a moment at the name. He didn't want to let Kyoujurou be aware so he changed the subject quickly.
"She's going to be okay." Yushiro licked his finger and flipped the next page of novel.
Kyoujurou's fiery eyes were now on him. "How can you be so sure."
That irritated Yushiro as Tamayo-san was the best at what she did, so how dare he insult her?!
But this was a dire situation in which the former demon slayer's significant other was involved, so he calmed down. "Because Tamayo-san is the best. She would never let your precious [name] die on her table. She couldn't live with herself knowing she did that to her. She is precious to her as well. Just like that other demon child."
"Nezuko." Kyoujurou recalled her name. "Tanjiro's sister, yes she's quite the child."
"Yes, well, while I think she's nothing special, Tamayo-san adores her. She's working on a cure."
"A cure?" Kyoujurou was on the edge of his seat hearing about this. He had never heard of a cure for demons.
"Yes, Tanjiro is gathering blood samples of the upper moons to bring back to Tamayo-san so she can find a cure for Nezuko. I'm sure she's going to put [name] on the same roster, so please try not to worry." He replied nonchalantly.
Kyoujurou almost felt relieved hearing this news, but before he could reply Tamayo had come out of her operating room. "She's awake and I stopped the bleeding. She's regenerating, but it's slow. I was able to reverse her curse, and I gave her something for the pain. Just try to speak quietly to her."
She stopped Kyoujurou midway with a gentle hand to his chest. He winced a little at her cold touch. Although, he was accepting of Nezuko, he wasn't used to being around demons that wouldn't rip your head off and feast upon it the moment they had an opportunity.
She noticed this and slowly put her hand to her side. "She's in critical condition, so please do not try to make her remember anything that occured earlier today when she turned. Turning is...pure anguish mentally, physically and emotionally. Be gentle."
Although, Tamayo's words were painfully obvious it did help reinforce anything that Kyoujurou may want tp say when he wanted to be by your side. Millions of thoughts were racing through his head and he wanted nothing more than tear of this Kokushibo's head right off.
Unbeknownest to Kyoujurou, Yushiro had whispered that name to Tamayo and she froze in place. Froze in complete disbelief that he had gone that far as to send a message to the demon slayers.
"My love." Kyoujurou whispered as he approached your crumpled body. Your eyes that he was not used to shifted to him and he gulped at the sight of you. He smiled at you regardless as he touched your face.
You sighed at his warm hand meeting your skin. "I'm sorry..."
"Don't apologize. It's not your fault." Kyoujurou soothed as he took a seat beside you. "I cannot lie, my love, it is killing me to see you like this."
"I know." You took his hand in your own and he had to force himself not to flinch at your touch. Your fingernails were razor sharp and yet they only grazed at your skin. "I remember what happened now."
"Please, do not talk of this just yet. You must rest."
She squeezed his hand gently and Kyoujurou could not believe how you were not hurting him one bit. Tamayo and Yushiro noticed this immediately and a smile was now upon her gentle face.
"But--" You began, but Kyoujurou only shook his head.
"But, nothing. Rest and we will speak of this tomorrow." Kyoujurou wasn't one to tell you what to do, but this time--this time he really needed you to listen to him.
"Okay." You croaked out and nodded.
He smiled tenderly at you.
"You can carry her to her room. We will need her to stay here a few days to monitor her progress and see how she heals. You are free to stay with her." Tamayo spoke in a gentle tone to
him. "It's down this hallway on the second door to the left."
And with one swift movement, Kyoujurou was carrying you off to your temporary room and slid the door open with his foot and entered. It was a relatively nice tatami room with a large and comfortable looking futon. He laid you ever so gently onto it.
"Thank you, Kyo." You murmured still feeling like you were in a daze. "Whatever pain medication Tamayo-san gave to me is really making me feel woozy." You held your hand to your head. Kyoujurou softly chuckled at you.
Your same mannerisms, your same soft voice and gentle touch. It was as if nothing changed.
"[name]." He held your hand suddenly ans squeezed it. "Whatever it takes I will make you human again, I promise it."
He had tears running down his smooth visage and it was enough for you to bring out the waterworks. You only nodded not trusting your voice. He immediately enveloped you into his arms. His scent overwhelming delicious and sweet, but for some reason no matter how good he smelled to you you held no urge to devour him. You only felt sleep overcome you.
"I love you, Kyo." You whispered into the darkness as you felt yourself go limp. Subconsciousness was beginning to take over as you felt your eyes droop. You felt wetness against ythe nape of your neck and you sighed.
"I love you too, [name]. Just wait a little longer..."
Was the last thing you heard before you drifted to sleep.
