Rui x reader - Promises

Chapter Five

"Where's Rui?" You grabbed a sister's shoulders and looked panicked into her eyes.

"He told me he was out on a walk. He still hasn't come home," she responded.
You let go of her and ran out of the house. You'd learned your way around the forest a bit better, and where Rui liked to walk. On top of that, it was easy to follow the yells and screams erupting from the trees.

You arrived in seconds at full sprint. You skidded to a stop, seemingly materializing into the clearing. Blood was sprayed everywhere, dripping down trees and staining the grass.

Rui was standing at the front of the clearing. There were at least seven Demonslayers there... and Giyuu!? No. No no no! Giyuu could kill Rui!

A web of threads stretched between Rui's fingers, and he whipped them out towards the lesser demonslayers. He manipulated the strings like a puppet master, taking out four of the humans in one blow.

It pained you to see your fellow humans being cut down like livestock... but they attacked first, didn't they? You began silently creeping your way towards Rui, trying not to get the attention of the other demonslayers.

Suddenly, Giyuu leapt towards Rui, his sword prepared to cut off his head.
"Rui!" You screamed.

Mist breathing, Fourth form, shifting flow slash! You dashed forward impossibly fast and unsheathed your blade. You missed on purpose, your attack hitting the air right in front of Giyuu.

Giyuu's eyes widened and he froze. "You just protected that demon?" When you didn't answer, he continued. "Your mission was to kill it. What are you doing?"

"Leave Rui alone!" You growled, standing between him and Giyuu.

"Traitor!" Giyuu shouted. He swung his sword at you, and you parried it.

Rui watched with wide eyes as the two Hashira fought each other. You knew Giyuu had the upper hand. He was much more experienced, and even more talented than you. You also couldn't bring yourself to use Mist Breathing against him. You didn't want to hurt him too badly. Before this, you'd been friends.

You let out a cry of pain when his sword slashed your cheek. A deep cut opened and began bleeding fiercely. Giyuu froze. He didn't mean to actually hurt you, just capture you and take you to the Master.

You lifted a hand to your cheek and it came back slick with blood. You wiped it on your kimono.

"Just go, Giyuu. Leave us alone," you said bitterly.

Giyuu thought for a few moments and then turned away and walked back. He waved his hand, and the remaining four demonslayers followed him into the fog. You let out a sigh of relief and relaxed when they were gone.

Rui grinned. "You saved me. You're perfect." He walked over to you.

He looked appraisingly down at you, and concern filtered through his gaze as well. He walked right up close to you and tipped your chin up with his left hand.

Your memories flashed back to the vision you had the first day here. You ignored it. Or tried to anyway, when Rui caressed your cheek with his right hand. The blood that dripped onto his fingers didn't bother him at all. In fact, he seemed intrigued.

Goosebumps raced along all your limbs and a shiver down your spine when Rui leaned down towards your cheek. You felt the rough texture of his tongue against your face. A small hic of pain escaped your lips as he ran it along the cut.

He pulled away from you, a glint in his eye as a bit of your blood dripped from the side of his mouth. He gave you a triumphant smirk, and his dark red hands retracted to his sides.