Aspiration For Tranquility (kny x M!reader)

Ch. 22 - Pride

Once he neared the mountain, (y/n) slowed to a walking pace.
Standing just a few meters from the base of the mountain, he let out a heavy sigh and drew his katana.

"I'll just try to avoid that lower moon as long as I can. That shouldn't be so hard since he never tries to conceal himself, right?"

(Y/n) asked himself before walking up the mountain, reaching for his face and securing the fabric covering it.
As he walked around, he found a river and decided to follow it.
The sound of rushing water soothed his nerves as he walked, focusing his hearing on the river to drown out the distant shouts of demons being slain.
His mind began to wander and he found himself thinking about the demons he's met in the past.
Well, more like the demons he cared to remember.

A sad smile tugged at the corners of his mouth as he remembered how he met everyone.
From the more violent first meetings to the instant connections, all of them brought him joy to remember.
Then he began to reminisce on his memories with each demon individually, positive and not.

Oh, to go back in time...

Lost in his thoughts while he walked, a deep breath brought (y/n) back to the present as he caught a whiff of blood.
He immediately rushed towards the source since the scent was still fresh and leaped into the trees to avoid being seen on foot.
As he neared whoever was bleeding, his grip on his blade grew firm and his eyes sharpened.
He stopped suddenly and peered down at a scene below him that made his lips draw back into a snarl.

In the clutches of a monster covered in spiked dangled a... boy with a boar head?
Despite the moment of confusion, (y/n) prepared to slash the demon's head clean off.
Seeing the boy's chest heave in a feeble attempt to take even a single breath made anger flood his mind.

How could anyone want to kill humans?

Every demon was human, good or bad.

How could any demon want to kill a child?

At that moment, (y/n) imagined Sabito slaying the monstrous demon that stood below him.
However, when the boar boy started to address who he had imagined to be Sabito as if he was real, (y/n) blinked his eyes a few times to "fix" his vision.
In Sabito's place stood a man with raven hair and ocean-blue eyes looking at the boar boy with a stoic expression.

While the boar boy marveled over the man, and while he tied the boy to a tree, (y/n) looked at the man with wide eyes.
Pride bubbled up in his chest as he came to realize the man that stood just below him was none other than Tomioka Giyu.
Seeing him handle the boar child with no issues and ignore his taunting made (y/n) glad he took the time to grow his patience.

Shaking his head and silently putting his blade away, (y/n) decided to follow Giyu from the trees.

It couldn't hurt to just keep an eye on him, right?

《•●•●•●•●•●•●•●•●•》

《~Fin.~》

533 words not including these!

《•●•●•●•●•●•●•●•●•》

Ahhh I'm so sorry this chapter is so short, but I had nothing to go off of in my notes for it! I'll try my best to get at least another chapter out this month but you'll have to bear with me, my dear readers! Also, thank you all for all the votes once again and I can't believe at over 1k reads! I'm glad you've all enjoyed this story so far! I'm so thankful for all of you and I hope you have a magnificent day/night!