Slayed Hearts (Demon Slayer AU - Bakugou Katsuki x Reader)

Ch.38 - Mindful

Ch.38 - Mindful

(Early Update for Bakugou's Birthday!! (April 20!) Enjoy!!)

Traveling with demons often meant that you'd have to stay awake when they could be out and then sleep when they themselves were sleeping in their covered boxes. Night had become day and day had become night. It was a hard shift to get used to, but after a few months, the shift was easy.

"Did you sleep okay?" Eri asked gently as Midoriya gathered up his things.

"I did." Midoriya smiled at her. "Are the others up yet?"

Eri gave him a frown. "I'm not sure."

Midoriya nodded at her and motioned towards where he knew the others had set up camp for the night- erm... day. They might be traveling together, but when it was time to rest, they broke off into three groups. Bakugou and Kurokori would often have a space to themselves because of Bakugou's insistence that she not go near the other two boys. Kurokori always looked a bit peeved when he played jealously but was always too tired to argue with him.

Midoriya would stay with Eri, as the little girl wasn't comfortable sleeping around anyone else. Leaving Todoroki on his own. Something that didn't seem to bother him at all. In fact, Midoriya had a feeling that after long nights of travel and slight bickering, Todoroki was happy to have some space for himself.

It's not like they were far enough away that they wouldn't hear the screams of an attack, but still enough distance between them all for them to have privacy and no lingering eyes on them. It had been their system and it looked to be working fine.

Maybe a little too fine in fact.

Midoriya blinked when he saw Todoroki. The boy had his back to him and was looking out at an area that had once had people there. Midoriya approached and Todoroki turned to see Midoriya's shocked face.

"They're gone," Todoroki stated, holding out something to Midoriya.

The green-haired boy grabbed the piece of paper and spotted familiar handwriting. His eyes scanned and page and when he finished he sighed gently.

"It's okay." Midoriya told Todoroki. "Kurokori and Kacchan are together, so they'll be safe."

"It's not their safety I'm worried about," Todoroki admitted. "It's that we're supposed to be heading toward where an apparent demon is, but instead- we're down two slayers and one of them is a demon that I'm apparently supposed to be watching."

Midoriya's brows knit together. "Is that why you're with us, Todoroki-kun?"

The bi-colored boy took a moment to think before he replied. He glanced up at the sky, seeing the pretty hues start to fade out into a black starry canvas. With a glance back at Midoriya, Todoorki motioned to the path they had been following.

"That's the reason I was given... but it's not my reason." He admitted to Midoriya with a calm tone. "They'll meet us at the location the next day apparently. So, let's head there and see what kind of information we can gather. When they arrive back, we'll complete the missions together."

Midoriya nodded and motioned for Eri to quickly grab her things. The camp was quickly packed up and Midoriya once more looked back at the place he had last seen his pair of childhood friends. The space was empty and it made his gut sink. He felt alone again, even if he was still traveling with other people.

He could only hope that whatever reason made Kurokori suddenly need to take a detour would be a quick one. He didn't want them all to be separated for long after all. They were his family and he didn't want to lose any more of them.