"Get up."

Those lone words would repeat through my ears over and over and over and over throughout the entire day. I couldn't tell what hurt more, those measly small pieces of a sentence, or the dull burn than ran though my eye as crimson spilt from it's corner, a large cut, starting from my ear, scaling all the way up just to take a crude into my left eye, one that had only recently began to shift colours, the spiked pupil the exact same as that day.

"We'll go again."

I could hardly move, not now, not ever, I was always in pain here. No fun, no liveliness, no sort of any comfort. Just pure pain and suffering, which in no world could be undone.

Demons.

They surrounded us, lurking in the shadows, watching as we were constantly beaten to the ground as though we were nothing, just people in need of shaping into something we didn't even want to become in the first place.

We were split up. The minute we arrived here, one of the six went up to us, grabbed our arms, and before we knew it, everything around me had shifted into a different area, as to where no one else was seen.

I was fortunate enough to have ended up with upper moon three. At the time, he simply strolled up to my form, his beady golden eyes glued on my suffering form as I panted on the ground like a helpless beast, all before he crouched down and gripped my wrist, pulling me to my feet, and allowing us to disappear into a place I would like to call, The Infinity Fortress.

As the name suggested, it went on forever, just like the hellish situations I was constantly placed under, no full understanding, no way of knowing if my siblings were okay, no way of disobeying. Not even one.

It just went on forever, no hope of escape.

Ofcourse, I was well fed...with human corpses..and blood...but I was fed. That was all I could care about, for all I know, my siblings couldn't have eaten for weeks on end.

Ofcourse, I struggled against him at first- I mean, who would willingly eat human flesh while forcefully being kept in a place like hell by a demon, who simply refused to utter any sort of comfort to you? That is a life no one would be willing to live. But that said refusal simply leads us to this moment here, the moment I finally understood my place, and the moment I stopped struggling.

It was no use, after all.

I shook my head, all that now clothed me were some simple harem pants that held a small rope to tie around my wrist so they would stay in place, and a few bandages wrapped around my chest. There was simply nothing else, no matter how bloody the harem pants were, it was all I had. The only thing in this place k could control in this hell forsaken place would be the fact I get to tie a new roll of bandages around myself each day. That was all.

My body was hunched over, my forehead against the tatami mat as though my life depended on it. Shaking, my skin formed goosebumps all over, all the while crimson continued to split from its source, meandering effortlessly down the side of my features until it finally thudded to the warm tones floor and puddled.

"I....I c-can't.." It was from my lips, most of the blood, minus the slowly healing wound on the side of my face, but it continued to spill nonetheless. The bags under my eyes should have been enough evidence of exhaustion for that demon, but he ignored them, he simply didn't care, and worked me until my insides were begging me for sleep, until my body cried so much that it made blood leak past my lips effortlessly as I shook on the ground.

He scoffed, shaking his head as he glared down at me. "Is this really what a warrior should look like?" I tensed, unable to move my body, only able to feel the glare digging into the back of my skull. "I guess that man was right about you, after all. You're just a weakling." I could only whimper, closing my palms against my ears desperately.

I didn't want to hear about how weak I was, I already knew. From the moment I was born, I was always destined to be weak, to be worse than everyone around me at everything. That was my purpose in life, to stand to the side and watch as the heroes grew off my failures and their success.

I was meant for no more...at least, that's what the old lady back at home said, though, I would guess she would be far dead by now, especially since it was no less than destroyed a few months ago. Or so I assumed. There was no sense of time here, after all.

I wished to refuse them, but now that I'm here, that I'm in this much pain, that I haven't had sleep in literal weeks, that I haven't had social contact with another for so long. I knew she saw in me what I didn't see in myself. She saw pain, weakness, naivety, and most of all, misunderstanding.

I wish I could have seen it sooner, in fact, I begged I could have to the gods late at night, or even in times like this, when I'm crouched over my own vomit mixed with blood and tears.

I wish I hadn't deluded myself into such a stupid act no one else was a fool towards.

"No...I-I just..." I tried to reason, but at this point, I was just trying to fool myself even more intowas a deeper spiral of disbelief and pain, one I would rather face than whatever this. "I-I just..."

"Come on, prove me wrong, then."

It was always those words over and over. She used to say them all the time, my mother. She always did want me to prove them all wrong, and look where it's gotten me...I'm useless, helpless, people less. I was ever so lonely, so filled with agony, so filled with what I could only describe as rage, rage I would never be able to release.

"Bu-"

"Do it. I saw your fighting spirit that day." The demon began, his fists clenching as I whimpered below him. "Are you trying to tell me it was some sort of roose? A one time thing?" He scoffed, shaking his head in disapproval. Akaza turned the other way, only turning his head so I could hear his words. "Perhaps you really are useless." That was all he said before his feet began to walk forward. "..Perhaps...that's why your mother got killed."

I was there in an instant, behind him with my fist raised to strike any moment. My eyes were so empty but so full at the same time, filled with torment, pain, horror, regret, all the negative emotions one could ever think of.

The way I rushed at him, I held no responsibility for my actions as my body seemed to move all by itself. It was like it was trying to tell me not to give up, no matter what, even though I mostly have, it was like it was trying to tell me something I couldn't fully understand until now.

Get revenge for her. That would be the only way I could survive this. Just that mindset alone would be enough, no matter how tired I was, no matter how much pain had been inflicted on me in one day, I needed to keep going, because that sense of pure revenge and hatred would be the only thing keeping me alive from now on.

It would be my motivation, my goal, one of the only things I could ever keep control of in this place.

I refused to let it go, otherwise, I was certain I would lose my mind.

I would get them back for her death, even if it meant my own.

Akaza only smirked, turning to catch my punch, only to pause and blink once he realised I was nowhere in sight. His eyes widened, his lips parting in shock, all before I appeared right behind him, high in the air, my arm pulled back for a brutal punch in the back of the head.

I was so tired, my body was in so much pain, and my entire being wanted to give up and die. But...I simply couldn't. Not when he mentioned her so casually as though he even knew her. It was something about the way he said her name as though she were still alive, no hesitation, no remorse for me, it made my blood boil, and just like before, it felt as though a switch had been clicked in my head and autopilot had engaged.

He wouldn't get away with this.

Hell- I knew he was just baiting me, I knew he was just trying to get me to work harder, and yet...I couldn't help but fall for his trap. I couldn't stop as soon as I began, so I may as well go through with it until the end.

All I had to do was hit him. It didn't even need to be a hard punch or a measly kick. I just wanted to cause him some sort of pain.

He turned, gripping my wrist, so instead, I raised my foot, and with all my might, I kicked upward, right into his jaw. He let go of my arm, allowing me to land on the ground, my legs shaking, but I still stood tall enough to show I was ready.

He stood there for a moment, just staring at the ground with wide eyes and a parted mouth while I stood only metres away, fear bubbling inside me as to what would happen next. He didn't want me to hit him, the damned task was to just reach him, and yet, I, somehow, managed to inflict pain on the demon. It was only a little, and it was barely there, but he did feel some sort of pain.

It was enough for him to release a chuckle.

At first, I flinched, looking to the ground as I collapsed to my knees. I couldn't care when he hit me, not when I actually got a hit on him. Oh no no no no no-

"You actually managed to land a hit on me." He shook his head, chuckling as me made his way over to my form, crouching in front of me with an amused but bored expression. "I didn't expect that."

It was as though the entire room had frozen when he lifted his hand, I flinched, expecting some sort of pain to come in mere moments...but....nothing came.

Instead, I felt his cold hand land on top of my head, ruffling my hair gently as I sat completely still, still too shocked to move. "Keep doing that, and you might just become the best out of your family." He removed his hand, but before he fully lowered it to his side, he lightly chopped my head. "That's for hitting me without permission."

With a small grunt, he lowered his hand to his side and stood to his feet, looking down at me expectedly. All I could do was sit there, utterly confused as if this was the same demon from two weeks ago, and yes, yes, he was.

"Come on, you need some rest."

༶•┈┈⛧┈♛ ♛┈⛧┈┈•༶

"I mean, what kind of demon wouldn't want the blood from Kibutsuji himself?"

It didn't take long for the Cheshire grin to spread across his features, just like before. He laughed, letting go of the blade for me to catch. "Knock yourself out." He kept his foot pressed onto the box, kicking it every now and then as I gently lay the spear beside my feet.

"Hey, demon. It's time for your meal. Come out and eat 'em. Don't force yourself. Just show your true nature. I'll give you a quick death with my sword here." I sighed, standing to my full height and lifting the blade to plunge deep into my hand until its point pierced all the way through.

Never once did I flinch.

All I could see in the corner of my eye was the boy struggling in his bindings, now being held down by Iguro, who had left his perch not long ago. "NEZUKO!!" He screamed as the blood dripped to the floor and I pulled the blade out of my hand, moving it over for Sanemi to grip and carry.

I swallowed, looking down at the box, a look on my face not even my own mother had been able to ever see. It was filled with rage, and yet it was so soft, you could hardly tell it was from a demon slayer or a warrior. It was a mix of pure and raw emotions built up for so many years that not even Kagaya could explain it fully.

I needed to know if she was good.

I needed to know if she was even remotely like me.

I didn't want to feel lonely anymore.

With the kick of his boot, the man pushed the small door open to the box. "Come out, demon. I have your favorite blood here!" The girl, Nezuko, emerged from the box, rubbing her eyes as she looked up.

She looked so innocent, so pure. There was no way you would be able to tell she was a demon if it weren't for her slitted pupils or her presence, and even then, it felt pure. It felt kind, just like Tanjiro's.

"NEZUKO! NO!"

I crouched next to her, outstretching my hand to her as if I were trying to shake her hand. I tiled my head, staring at her as her eyes wandered to my palm, which still bled a river. "So you're Nezuko, huh..?"

Her sight seemed so absorbed in my hand. It was as though she was in a daze, a trance filled with nothing but deception in those pure eyes.

It was as though my dripping blood was a diamond to the greedy. They would inspect it, get lost in it's hues and get consumed into its endless beauty, just like this demon here. She looked at my hand as though it were the gates of heaven, so utterly beautiful, so utterly wonderous you couldn't tear your sight away from it as you are drawn closer and closer to temptation.

"What's stopping you? Come closer. You want it, right?" Sanemi taunted, crouching beside me and staring into the girl's eyes as she leaned closer.

"NO! DON'T DO IT!"

I didn't say a word, only staring into her eyes as she stared at my blood. I didn't mean to act rash, I really didn't. I just needed to know if she was different.

I needed to know if I could place my hope in her.

She leaned in, the world freezing around the two of us, her forehead touching my fingertips, the locks of her ebony hair tickling my bleeding palm.

It was as though my prayers were answered once she leaned into my palm, almost as if I were stroking a cat. She looked up at me, staring at me instead of the blood, looking deep into my soul like her brother did only moments ago.

And all in one go, she leapt forward and wrapped her arms around my torso, digging her head into my chest as though I were someone she knew, as though I were someone she loved and held dear.

I fell back, only catching myself on my palms. I looked up, catching the gobsmacked gaze of Sanemi as he watched the two of us.

For once, I was showing emotion on my usually stoic face, and for once my eyes were wide open while my mouth hung open in pure surprise and shock.

With a swallow, the wound in my hand immediately closed on command and the blood ceased, its remnants soon disappearing into small pieces of ash in the shade, as if it were never there.

She only clutched onto me tighter, nuzzling her face into my chest as she happily hummed. I had never met this girl in my life, and yet here we are. Her arms wrapped around me, my eyes wide and my wound closed up in mere milliseconds.

Tanjiro could only sigh in relief as he was released from Iguro's impossible grip, coughing a little as he sat up to his knees. "What happened?" Kagaya questioned almost silently to his children, all the while, me and Sanemi never once stopped staring at one another in pure shock.

The one on the left responded. "The demon girl resisted (Y/N)'s blood and is now hugging her. Although she was stabbed thrice by Shinazugawa-sama, and even though there was a bloodied palm in front of her, the demon girl still refuses to bite (Y/N)-sama, or Shinazugawa-sama."

Kagaya gave us all one last smile as Sanemi gritted his teeth "So we have sufficient evidence that Nezuko won't attack humans" He spoke calmly. "Tanjiro. Even so, there will be people who remain suspicious of Nezuko. You have to back it up with evidence. From now on, Tanjiro, Nezuko,

As a part of the demon slayer corps."

༶•┈┈⛧┈♛ ♛┈⛧┈┈•༶

Taisho Secrets!

. (Y/N) once took up flower arranging when she first arrived at the Ubuyashiki estate, and before Kagaya went blind, he commented on how they were the most delicate arrangements he had seen!

. When (Y/N) started her training in the Ubuyashiki estate, she originally trained with a katana, however, she quickly changed her weapon since in her opinion, a katana was inefficient!

. (Y/N)'s art skills are some of the best in the corps after Amane taught her!