𝐀𝐅𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐃𝐀𝐑𝐊. demon slayer

xi. EMBERS

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK. A series loud bang rings though the small room, and you jump to your feet, already ready for any trouble that might come your way. you were on full-on attack mode, prepared to pounce at any sign of trouble.

that was, until a weak voice pleaded to come in.

you rushed the the door, still alert. opening it, you saw a mangled rengoku kneeling in front of your door, dripping with blood and covered in bruises and blemishes. cuts darted his pale grey-ish skin, and unnatural red stains darted his hair, contrasting the usual red at the tips.

what really concerned you, was the wound on his stomach. you grabbed him, and making sure you weren't accidentally opening wounds any more than they needed to be, you heaved him into the room, and laid him down on the futon.he groaned in pain, and sweat pooled on his forehead.

"just hang on, i need to go get mitsuri-" you began, but stopped shartly after the man reached for your wrist.

"no, please" he strained. "stay."

you gave him a look of pity, but nodded, and reached for your bag of stuff mitsuri had left outside your door that morning. (or, night) you had looked through it earlier to see it had emergency food rations, and medical supplies. you quickly grabbed bandages, gauze, ointment, and other essentials and started working.

his already exposed chest was the most urgent. from the looks of it, he had been stabbed through the chest.

(a/n: for this au any wound caused by a nichirin sword affects demons like how normal swords would affect humans, and they can't heal as well.)

after around 25 minutes and a lot of painkillers (for you both), rengoku was finally stable. he would live. why you had saved his life? you didn't know. you told yourself that it was to help gain trust, since that is pretty trustworthy and assuring, but deep down you pitied the demons. so, you saved him.

master muzan would definitely kick your ass for thinking like this. but maybe when you finish your mission, you can give them a happy ending. well, you hoped.

rengoku laid on the futon, already passed out from the painkillers. you wondered what happened to him, and then you realized; no other demon slayer leaves physical bruises with their total concentration breathing, as most use swords.

this was akaza's doing. you grimaced. if the hashira had found out your best friend did this... that would be, well, rough. you sighed.

can that idiot not interfere with my work for two seconds??? you thought. after a second, you laughed. akaza was like a brother to you, you loved him, and nevertheless, you were proud of the damage he did. if you didn't save rengoku, he probably would have bled to death, and akaza would have successfully killed him.

too bad you stopped that by also doing your job as well.

after waiting a while for rengoku's awakening, you pulled out a book to read. you read for about an hour, before the yellow and red haired demon began coughing. you quickly grabbed a prepared glass of water and handed it to him when he woke up.

he chugged the whole thing, and handed it back to you. in a moment of realization, his hands and eyes raced down to his chest wound. "i didn't die???" he questioned in a raspy voice.

"yeah, no thanks to you, and all thanks to me. you're welcome." his eyes flutter to yours. he narrows them in confusion.

"how did i even get here?" he laid back down.

"you appeared on my doorstep bleeding out. i have no idea how you got to my room." you began reading again.

"and..... and you saved me...?"