Am I Home? (Demon Slayer x Fem!Reader)

Chapter 9: Another Form of Hell

You felt like you were dying.

Your hair was stuck to your forehead and neck from the sweat that accumulated through the sprint that you just did.

Uzui was standing there with his hands on his hips and that (annoying) grin on his face unwavering. "Good, you made it! That means you should be able to handle more!" He was unflinching as you looked up at him with an expression that said it all.

Just after finishing the training with Tsuyuri and the girls of the Butterfly estate, Uzui just decides to come by and scoop you up out of nowhere, only to stop at the side of a road telling you to follow him as he sprinted off. He should be happy that you didn't lose him before the sun had set.  You gave yourself a once over as you were hunched over, it as if someone landed a heavy punch to your gut and your clothes were disarrayed.

Your lungs and legs were burning from pushing yourself. They felt like lead as refused to move when you tried to take even the smallest step forward. There was no way that if you had only been jogging would you have been able to keep him in your line of sight. It had left you no choice but to run, and then your running turned into a flat out sprint when you saw the trees' shadows getting larger.

It was by some miracle that you were able to catch up with Uzui just as he was beginning to slow down.

"You..." You practically croaked the words out with how try your throat was feeling. "You think I can handle more?" Was that a good thing? It had to be, there would be no other way that you can see yourself getting stronger unless you trained under him.

Wheezing could be heard, as you turned, you see the Kakushi that worked under Kocho finally in sight and reaching where the two of you were. You eyebrows shot up at the sight of them, you thought they'd be... well in better shape than you were seeing as you had a lot of serious bodily injuries just a few weeks ago.

A grin replaced your smile as the Kakushi approached you with a bag in their hands. "For you, from Kocho-sama." Gratefully bowing and taking the bag in your hand, you thanked them before watching them slump over in exhaustion.

Uzui laughed at their state making sure to point them out to you "See what I mean? You're not on the ground like they are after following me. Such flamboyant determination shows that you'll be able to handle what I throw at you!" It wasn't his laughter, but the words he said that sent a cold sweat down the side of your face.

What he throws at me?! 

There was no way that you're going to survive this. Would it have been better if you had stayed back at the Butterfly Estate?

You were thankful that Uzui didn't immediately go into training mode. As the sun had set, you followed him into his residence. "Right now you need some rest! And then we start your training first thing in the morning!" 

Following him through the doorway, you weren't surprised to see the size of the estate. He was the same ranking as Kocho. However, since it was just Uzui, it seemed to be a bit too big for just one person. Your thoughts trailed off as Uzui called you over to what seemed to be his kitchen.

His kitchen was surprisingly neat (not that you thought it was going to be messy,) and the amount of food he was pulling out of the pantry had your eyes going wide. "You're going to cook?"

More rambunctious laughter escaped Uzui as he glanced at you from his peripherals. "Of course! To train and gain the proper muscles, you must learn to have a proper diet. That being said, it would be best for you to have something to eat now to reenergize for tomorrow's training." Hearing the word training furrowed your brows as it served as a reminder to your aching muscles. You had been dragging your feet while following Uzui around. Your legs felt almost numb from all the running you had done. You were surprised that your right leg hadn't acted up at all.