(Discontinued) Kimetsu No Yaiba: Nyctophobia | Reader Insert

Chapter 4 - Hospitality

You sighed, exhausted from the many tests Chieko had given to you. First, was the archery test. Then she had you do origami. After that, she tested your obedience and bravery by having you climb one of the tallest trees in the forest and then jump down. She caught you when you finally jumped after hours of convincing, telling you that she would teach you how to land on your own one day. It was not a lesson you looked forward to considering even the smallest of the adult trees were taller than your house, so this tree was absolutely huge. Then she had you stand in an ice cold river for a while, which put your body into shock for a moment. Next was memorizing a long poem and painting a landscape after one glimpse, both of which you deemed as impossible and failed every time.

The following tests ranged between picking the perfecting peaches from her tree, catching a koi fish from the pond without harming it and then releasing it, writing a poem, sitting in a hot sauna for as long as possible, and trying to punch through a piece of wood.

'I don't see the point of all these tests,' you thought with a slight pout. 'And why did we have to run around the estate and the forest? I don't understand... But if Machi-sama truly is a skilled swordswoman who can teach me how to kill demons, I guess I have to trust her judgment.'

"Here," You looked up, blinking slightly at the neatly folded blue-gray yukata being handed to you with an equally neat white towel being held out to you. You looked up at Chieko, who was holding them out to you. "Wash up while I prepare dinner. I will also roll out a futon for you."

"Are you sure you don't need help?" you asked. "I'm not always the greatest in the kitchen, but I can help. And setting up a futon isn't hard."

Chieko shook her head. "I can handle it. Teaching you to cook will wait. You need to take time to take care of your body. You don't need it giving out on you during training. There should be a spring with hot water hidden by the trees on the east side of the estate. Nagaki can lead you if there's any problems finding it."

Following her instructions with some hesitance, you took the clean and surprisingly soft yukata as well as the towel and made your way to the large section of trees within the walls of the estate. You were quick to undress and slide into the warm water as soon as you found the hotspring.

You sighed in relief as your aching muscles relaxed, sitting in the water for a moment to relax before you began washing your hair and skin from any grime, dirt, sweat, or excess oils. Once you were done, you dried off with the soft towel before putting on the yukata and your zori sandals, as well as the clean tabi socks you had found tucked into the yukata.

It was fairly dark outside when you finished, and it took you a short while to get back to the house. When you did return, Nagaki kindly instructed you to put your laundry into a basket to be washed before telling you to sit on one of the two futons that were laid out on the floor.

Chieko stepped out of the kitchen, a wooden tray in her hands. She set it down on the floor between you and her after she sat on the other futon. You scrunched up your nose in distaste upon seeing your least favorite food in the bowls- yakisoba.

"You need to eat," Chieko said before taking one of the bowls and a pair of chopsticks.

Nagaki nodded in agreement, swallowing some rice from the salmon nigiri he had been given. "Machi-sama is right! Today was merely a test! Machi-sama's training is much harder than what you experienced today!"

Letting out a small whine of reluctance, you picked up the warm bowl of steaming fried noodles. You squeezed your eyes shut and you took the first bite. Eyes going wide, you looked at the yakisoba with surprise. "That's... actually really good..."