Y/N POV:

"Eh!? How did you know her name!?" A clueless Touko exclaimed, backing up several steps away from the 'child'. Meanwhile, I was staring at the male in suspicion at what could be happening. That was when I remembered that he had a female 'version', if you will. Meaning that he could change his shape to look different. 

"Oh shit." I mumbled under my breath before I glanced at Touko, forcing my face into a much more joyful expression than I originally had. I waved off Touko's concern, yet my stomach had already started to hurt from the fear.

"Don't worry, he most likely heard us talking to each other beforehand." I let out a light laugh, and luckily it didn't even sound nervous. At this point, I was just trying to stall to see what was would be the best course of action to take next.

If I made an attempt to run away and use someone for protection, or even shelter, he could easily kill anyone who I tried to call for help. Plus, why would someone even try to help hide me? The villagers here are clearly uninterested in any contact with outsiders, which was obvious from the number of wary stares I had received since I arrived.

If I just attempted to take Touko's hand and run without a plan in mind, he would either catch me before I could even take the first step, use Touko as leverage against me, or use his demons to track me down. 

The best plan I could think of right then was to stop Touko from being involved in any direct danger, hoping to convince Muzan that she was clueless enough for her to be left alone without being killed, and follow what the demon was asking of me.

"Touko-chan, by the way, I plan to help this boy find his parents. You can go and check out the different stalls; I'll meet up with you soon." I lied, trying to sound convincing enough for her to leave the alleyway and return to what little safety the crowded streets of the town could offer her.

She didn't seem as though she believed me, however, and I could tell that Muzan was extremely close to murdering her on the spot. I shot Touko a reassuring look, falsely reminding the silver haired girl that nothing bad could happen. As a last effort, I extremely cautiously walked over to Muzan and stood beside him, impatiently waving goodbye to her.

She reluctantly gave me one last glance and a wave before momentarily disappearing into the mass of people. I sighed in relief, waiting for a couple of seconds that she was really gone before turning around to look at the black haired demon who I assumed was standing next to me. However, who I saw beside me was no longer a child, instead a man who was glaring at me, a menacing aura surrounding him as he looked down on me. 

In reaction, I physically jolted at the sight, not expecting a grown man to be standing where a child had just been. I was internally guessing that he had switched to his adult form when I was watching Touko's silvery head of hair fade into the crowd. 

"I remember you, human. You're that pathetic apathetic kid that Upper Two found so interesting." Muzan paused for a moment, realizing his unintentional rhyme, which I internally found quite funny.

"But you're not the same." The demon's deep red eyes narrowed, "There's something different about you this time." I froze, terror written on my face as I slightly shivered in fear. Seconds later, a burning feeling washed over my entire body, realizing that I had 'revealed' myself and possibly sealed my fate by doing so.

I returned my attention towards Muzan who was standing before me, a heavy heartbeat pounding in burning hot eardrums. The demonic man stared at me with a type of psychotic curiosity as he watched what I had been doing, an interested expression on his pale face. 

"Why are you here in this village? You are supposed to be with Upper Two." Muzan raised his eyebrow in a suspicious manner, recognizing what my intentions had really been. 

"Oh." A wordless conversation passed between us in a second, and I knew that I wouldn't get away from this; it was inevitable.

A small clicking sound was made as Muzan snapped his fingers, causing a strange looking child to appear before the two of us. He had spindly white hair and was clothed in a white spiderweb patterned kimono, but he was kneeling down so I couldn't see his face.

"Rui. This is (Y/N), you are to look after her for two weeks. Make sure that this human does not die; return her to Nakime in the Infinity Castle after the time has passed. Understood?" Rui nodded, tilting his head up slightly to take a glance at me before returning his gaze to the ground. He wore the deceivingly innocent face of a small child, yet still adorned the intimidating aura of any powerful demon. From the red markings on his face to the unusual crimson sclera, there wasn't a shadow of a doubt that Rui was not human.

Though, he was pretty.

"Yes Master, I understand." Muzan waved his hand as he vanished into the busy street, promptly pushing his way into the current of the crowd, which had thinned significantly. Rui stood up and turned towards me, silently scanning me. The boy then stepped forwards and reached for my arm. Moments later, Rui was clinging to my side, happy that I allowed him to intertwine his hand with my own.

"Nakime, transport us to my home." The white haired demon announced into the air, waiting for a response from the biwa demon. Rui tightened his grip on my hand in annoyance, grumbling unintelligible words under his breath. The boy waited several seconds before groaning in defeat.

"Please?" Immediately, the iconic strum of a biwa sounded, and I silently chuckled at Nakime's pettiness before taking a look at the surroundings that I had materialized into. We were now in a thick wooded forest, caged in by humongous trees as far as my eyes could see. 

Not only that, but I could also hear a plethora of noises unknown to me, so many different sounds that it was discombobulating to my senses. However, I decided not to push it...for now, of course. Rui tugged on my arm and led me forwards, towards a house that I had not seen when I had been looking around.

The boy reached out his free arm with his fingers spread open; I wondered what he was trying to do, peering at him with a look of curiosity. Rui glanced up at me to ensure that I was watching him, the noticeable aura of a childish energy radiating off of him.

Seconds later, he flicked his wrist inwards, clenching his fingers tightly. This motion was somehow connected to the set of double doors at the front of the house, because when he balled his hand into a fist, the doors flung open.

"Eh?" My face morphed into a combination of shock and awe, showing that I didn't have a clue what had happened. My reaction to what he had done must've been satisfactory, because the sides  of his mouth curved up ever so slightly.

Cleary, he was not just an ordinarily weak demon.

'Could he be a Kizuki? No, he couldn't. Muzan referred to him as 'Rui', not a ranking; he doesn't even have a number the eye that I can see. What about the door? That must've been his Blood Demon Art, Douma told me about those.' I was confused. This time, instead of brushing it away, I decided to ask the demon about it. We stopped walking when we were slightly inside the doorway, and I faced Rui with a curious expression.

"Rui, was that your Blood Demon Art?" I asked, moving my hands in an attempt to demonstrate. "Yes...what about it." The boy replied, suspicion leaking out of his voice. My face brightened, ignoring his (painfully obvious) concerns.

"That's really cool! How do you do it? You have spiderwebs on your kimono, were those threads?" Rui stiffened, absolutely unprepared for that type of response.

"Well, uhm, yes, those were threads. I have control over them, and can manipulate them into different shapes or use them for techniques." Rui then held out his hands to show a perfect replica of my face made out of thin strings. I opened my mouth to compliment the extravagant creation, but suddenly the sounds of another demon - an extremely heavy one - became noticeable to my ears. 

I snapped my head in the direction it came from, hoping to alert Rui. The boy stayed calm, instead strolling outside of the house and turning towards me. I saw the humongous frame of the new demon as it came into view. It had rows of sharp teeth; it had one, two, three, three and a half? It had too many eyes to count. It also had purple skin, and was definitely at least seven feet tall.

"(Y/N), meet my father."

Word Count: 1562