Nobody's coming to save you. Get up. 

I wasn't told that, not by Muzan, not my Akaza, not even by any of my siblings, who I haven't seen in years...no.

I told myself that.

I didn't have any choice. That was the only way I could ever continue on, that one painful, awful phrase that had to keep repeating through my mind, day in, day out. 

I knew it to be true, even as the years passed and I began to grow up, it only became more prominent in my head, constantly repeating as though it was the only thing that mattered, and it was.

There was no one else to raise me, just me and Akaza, day in, day out. No one else was ever around, I hadn't seen any of my family in what- five years? By now, I was around fourteen, not even old enough to be considered a proper teenager or even an adult. To them, I was just still a kid. A kid no one, except Akaza, should concern themselves with. 

A helpless little kid with no hope of freedom.

It was the same routine constantly. Sleep. Eat. Fight. 

Never once did it differ, nor even with some small visits from a demon who popped in once in a while, whose name I had no idea, only remembering his pale skin with his bright blue eyes, along with the spiders that always seemed to follow him around and eventually make it into my bed before I went to sleep. 

Well- I say 'bed', what I really meant was a blanket on the floor with a small, torn, pillow. Akaza never had to sleep since he was a demon, only having to feast on human flesh and blood, but that was still a part of who I was. 

A human. 

I needed food, I needed rest, I needed water. I needed all the things any human would need to survive, and yet Muzan wanted to treat us like we were full demons. Like we were like any sort of other demon that ever existed. 

But we weren't. 

We just weren't. 

I hit the jackpot, getting Akaza as a teacher. He understood I was still part human. He understood what I needed to survive as a normal person, and he gave them to me in any way he could, constantly trying to help instead of trying to make things worse. He was the only demon I could ever learn to trust in this godforsaken place. 

I didn't even want to imagine what the others were going through. Upper three looked perfectly fine, and according to Akaza, they were the only ones treating their students as though they were still alive, and not demons, but below that... I'd bet it was awful. They didn't understand what it was like being human, what needed to be satisfied, they just wanted Muzan's approval above anything else, and so, they mistreated my siblings, treating them as though they were full fledged demons who needed nothing but blood to thrive. 

At least I was lucky. 

But even now, as blood slipped from my side and pain-filled tears slipped down my cheeks as I was beaten to the ground, a deep slash in the centre of my chest and even one from my right rib, allowing my insides to pour onto the ground without mercy, I had to repeat that phrase. 

Over and over and over and over and over-

"Heal. You have to heal." 

Ah, right. That was my task. I'd lost so much blood at this point, I didn't even know what we were doing. I was supposed to be healing as he continued to slash at me, making sure I bled until all my organs fell to the ground. He wanted me to heal. He wanted me to be the best, and to do that- I needed to heal.

I grunted, my fists clenched and my breaths radged with pain as I clenched my teeth shut. I wanted to scream until my lungs gave out, until everything inside me was dead and I had to start again. I wanted nothing more than this pain to go away, but that was easier said than done.

Akaza had been so busy teaching me combat and defence, he forgot all about this little thing he likes to call healing as a demon. It was only the other day he came to this conclusion, even after I finally managed to land a solid hit on him for the first time since I started this training thing. 

He realised he had to snap me into place, and fast. I didn't know this at the time, but after this many years, it would be about the time Muzan came to check up on us, to make sure we had been disciplined and put into place to serve under him as powerful warriors none of us agreed to be in the first place, but that was just how it went. 

Just like five years back, the only thing I could ever control here were the bandages I wrapped around my chest every morning, ones that, by now, were soaked with blood, and would need changing soon.

I gasped, crimson slipping past my lips as Akaza pressed his foot against my back, his teeth grit, my blood covering him from head to toe. "You know I don't like this, (Y/N), but you have to heal." He gave no more words, reeling his arm back before throwing his clenched fist down onto my back.

'crack'

I cried, feeling the bones practically shatter on impact, his foot now pressing harder into the wound. My body was shaking, more than it had ever shaken before, even after all of that hellish training, and yet my body still found new extreme ways to express this little thing we call pain, even after all this time. 

Squeezing my eyes shut, I shook my head, unable to form proper words. My mouth could only release small, barely audible, stutters, even as my lips trembled and my palms dug into the ground beneath me shattering the wood of the infinity Fortress beneath my very fingernails.  

I could feel the wound in my side closing up, but it was slow. So agonisingly slow it hurt even as it tried to free me from this pain. I wanted it all to be gone, for all of this pain to finally go away, for me to escape this place and live in solitude, to live freely and in the purest of peace only the gods could imagine.

Surely I deserved it?

"Come on, (Y/N)!" Another reel back of his arm, his foot digging deeper into my back as I clutched at the ground, unable to do anything else.

'crack'

Another punch, but this time it was to my other side, the one that wasn't bleeding. But I was bleeding internally by now, especially after that hit that sent my bones to hell, as if they were never there to begin with. 

Choking out a gasp, the floor cracked beneath my fingers, which held on for dear life as my body stung with the purest of agony not even the gods could fully comprehend. It was horrible. Beaten to the ground, held down like a dog on a leash, stuck by an upper moon over and over until your wounds healed over, even though you were too tired to even comprehend what was going on to begin with. I just wanted it to all be over. 

The demon above me gritted his teeth, his pupils wide and his hands shaking. "Come on! If that man was here, he'd kill you!" He was almost begging me to regenerate, almost as if he was about to get on his knees and cry out for me to just heal already. But it wasn't that simple. I hadn't even been able to comprehend that I needed to understand helping up until only a few moments ago, when he forced me to the ground and began beating me like I was just vermin. 

I didn't even know what he meant until I felt my body slowly sewing itself bec together, at an almost agonising rate. I didn't even know I had tears left to cry until this moment. Now look at them, cascading down my cheeks before thudding to the cracked floor beneath me and mixing with my blood. Almost as if they never stopped to begin with.

I just wanted to cry out to him, to beg him to stop this beating, which almost felt like a punishment, even though I did nothing wrong, and he was the one who messed up, but I couldn't. My voice couldn't form any words, even as I gasped, and I cried, and I grunted. My mouth refused to let a knowledgeable word fall. 

I had learnt something about my body a few months after I got here. When in the sunlight, it seems as though I'm just a normal human being, body as normal as any person around me, but once the light is no longer touching my form and I have spilt enough blood,while also maintaining the constant state of rage I held here, my eye becomes slit, it changes colour into the exact shade as Akaza's. My teeth sharpen, my nails grow and become as tough and as piercing as a blade. It's like something inside me switches and my whole body itself morphs into a demon against my will, all because there's no light that could ever touch me.

If I was right, I hadn't been a human in five years.

Everything in me wanted to die. It wanted to cry out and allow my freedom from such burns inside my body as it healed ever so slowly.

I just wanted freedom, was that too much to ask?

His arm reeled back and once again-

'crack'

"AAAAAGGGGGGHHHHHHH!"

༶•┈┈⛧┈♛ ♛┈⛧┈┈•༶

It wasn't long until Tanjiro was taken away from the rest of the hashira and towards the butterfly estate to treat his injuries and take him to his friends, who were also in the midst of recovery, according to Shinobu. Unfortunately for me, Kagaya seemed to have sensed the tense atmosphere around the boy when we interacted, and so, instead of continuing on with the rest of the hashira and him, he sent me off to the butterfly estate to "set things right" with the boy, as silly as it sounds.

Ofcourse, I had no say in this.

So here I was, a deadpan over my features while my idle form stood in front of the gates, hesitation in every one of my actions.

Why did I have to do this? I'm a guard for god's sake, I shouldn't be here, apologising and explaining a concept to a young boy I met not even half an hour ago. I should be in the room with the pillars, where they discuss what should happen next, not having to be told over by Amane, who will only tell me when she has been told to by Kagaya. For all I know, everyone could be speaking of me at this very moment behind my back-...maybe that's why I'm here..

All I could do was grumble to myself in a fit of annoyance before slowly raising my fist and leaving a loud knocking on the door

The worst part is that it was an order....I can't go against those..

It was only a moment before I watched the door slowly creak open, three small girls poking their heads inside, each of their hair holding a different colour ribbon, as well as their hair being in different styles.

One of them had green butterfly pins in her hair, which was done up in two ebony pigtails that rested on each side of her face, rather cutely, I may add. Another had short black hair with two pink butterfly clips either side of her head holding up two mini space buns, her eyes were the first to latch onto me. And the final one had two blue butterfly hair clips holding two small ponytails on either side of her head.

The slayer couldn't tell if they were sisters or not, they had enough similarities that they could be considered triplets, but at the same time, they all held some sort of individuality separating each of them from even the thought of being sisters. Maybe they were all just really good friends, or they just work together and have that sort of bond, like me and Shinazugawa? Maybe that's the most likely one of the bunch?

All while (Y/N) was having their little thought process on if these girls were sisters or not, they were unintentionally holding a severe glare at the young girls. The glare was awful, to say the least, it was worse than either of the Shinazugawa brothers times ten, and even then, it felt so much worse to stare into, if you had the guts.

They were quivering beneath her, unable to find the strength to move at all under the glare. They had never met this person in their lives, and the first interaction was already sending Naho in tears of pure fear while the other two were clutching to each other close, beads of sweat forming down their faces, and suddenly, they were finding it incredibly difficult to stand, their legs growing too weak.

Back in (Y/N)'s mind, they were beginning to wonder if the girls were human at all. They couldn't look into their eyes, yes, they were perfectly normal to the regular eye, and yet every time they stared into the girls' pupils, they only saw the same thing in each of them, an emptiness of black, filled with empathy and kindness that even they couldn't describe.

How were their eyes all like that? They had to be siblings....there was no way they weren't..

The girls fell to the ground in eachothers arms, all quaking under the soldiers intense stare they weren't even meaning to give. That was just how they looked when they thought about..well...anything. It was a look to show they were deep in thought, but somehow, that they were also perfectly aware of their surroundings.

So, when they saw the girls fumble to the ground in front of them, they blinked, snapping out of their daze to watch as the girls stared up at her, terror replacing any kindness the slayer previously found.

"P-PLEASE DON'T HURT US!"

"WE AREN'T TASTY, WE PROMISE!"

"WE DIDN'T MEAN TO OPEN THE DOOR THAT WAY! DON'T HURT US, PLEASE!"

"...Huh?"

I only blinked at their attitudes, tilting my head to the side in wonder as the girls continued to stare up at me like I was some sort of beast. "Why would I do that?" My stoic facade remained, even as I crouched next to the girls, who could only flinch.

Sumi blinked, her lips parting as if she had come to a realisation. "Y-your aren't going to hurt us?" She furrowed her brows, her lips pouting as Naho continued to cry in her arms, all while Kiyu hugged her side.

"No...?"

"WHY DID YOU MAKE IT SOUND HESITANT?"

"I SWEAR THAT WAS MORE OF A QUESTION THAN AN ANSWER!"

"I-"

"EH?? BUT WHAT IF THEY DON'T WANT TO HURT US?!"

"I don't-"

"EEEEEHHHHHHH???? THERE'S NO WAY!"

"YOU SAW THE WAY THEY LOOKED AT US JUST NOW, KIYO!"

"But I promise I-"

"What is going on here?!"

A new voice spoke out through the scene. A young blue eyed girl popped her head out from the other side of the half opened door, a look of irritation and confusion cast upon her young and pretty features. She too had butterfly hair pins holding up her hair, but this time they ere of a much darker shade of blue.

Maybe that's how they tell who the doctors are in this place? Was all I thought as I looked up at the girl, a new sense of intrigue rising inside me.

She rounded the door fully, placing her hands on her hips sternly, her whole frame demanding-

"AOI-CHAN!"

"AOI-CHAN, HELP US! PLEASE!"

I never was good with kids, not even my own younger siblings....

The older girl turned her attention to me, her brows furrowed and her arms now crossed. "Oi. You. Why are you here?"

I just sat there, staring up at the girl with a deadpan, my eyes buttoned and my lips parted. "Huh." That's all I could release before I stood to my feet and made my way in front of the new girl. "You don't know who I am?" I thought everyone here knew who I was....

Aoi shook her head, her brows furrowed and her lips curving into a stern frown. "No, it appears that I don't. And these girls don't, either." Everything about this girl screamed bossy and the word stern. Even as I looked into her eyes, all I could see were layers upon layers of kindness and consideration, which was covered over by a fog of bossiness and the overall activities of being a stern individual.

She doesn't like to show she cares...

"I see." That was all I needed to say before I nodded to myself and bowed my head to the girl. "My name is (L/N) (Y/N). I am the head guard of the Ubuyashiki house and I have come here to visit Kamado Tanjiro." I finished, standing back to my full height before closing my eyes and sighing, finally savouring the peace.

Aoi flinched. Stumbling to find a response of her own before she shook her head and released a breath, shaking her mind free from any worry before she finally spoke. "I-I see..Well, my name is Aoi, and I am currently taking care of him. May I ask what business you have with the boy?" She inquired, tilting her head to the side as a bead of sweat made its way down the side of her face.

I nodded, my eyes reopening to meet that of her own, the girls still huddled below us on the floor. "Ofcourse." I began, placing a hand to my chest as my hair blew with the breeze, the spear attached to my back reflecting the sun's rays on its ebony metal. "During the hashira meeting, we had a silent conversation we were unable to finish. Master Ubuyashiki sent me off to continue where we left off."

She furrowed her brows, looking down to the ground with a hum. "That should be fine. But please don't get him too worked up. He is still injured, after all." She met my eyes, smiling slightly before nodding and snapping her fingers.

The younger girls wasted no time in standing to their feet in a line beside Aoi. "But before that.." she began, the girls tensed, sweat running down the side of their teary faces. "I think someone should apologise for the outroar that just occured." She gave the girls a stern side eye, that I was convinced was secretly a glare, because it was only a moment later that the girls all bowed at a 90 degrees angle.

"WE'RE SORRY!"

"WE'RE SORRY!"

"WE'RE SORRY!"

The girls all chorused together as though it were practised, and with girls like that as well as a girl like Aoi, I have no doubt it was.

I blinked, shaking my head kindly, though my stoic face remained. "No, it's alright. You were just confused." I raised my hand, waving off the incident as smoothly as possible. I didn't want them to dwell on it, and I feel, just by the way Aoi is staring at them, she wont go easy on them later...

Aoi sighed, nodding to me in order for me to follow her into the estate while the girls remained in the same position. I nodded back to her, moving towards her, and as I went past each of the girls, I raised my hand for each of them and gave their head a gentle rub before moving on and slipping last the doors to follow Aoi.

The girl only sighed, shaking her head in, what I could only assume to be, disapproval. "As much as I love having them help around here, they usually get too excited before they can do any real work..." she heaved out a sigh, wiping her hands down on her apron as we walked side by side.

I nodded to her, turning to watch all the nature surrounding the area. It looked...wonderful. The way the gentle blades of grass were gently stoked by the wind, and the way the hued plants that roamed the area looked ever so delicate in the sunny rays of the day. The way the pond over in the distance released a small drip every few seconds, sending a ripple across the whole pond and distorting the original image placed there, but somehow, that did nothing to halt it's beauty.

And the air, too, was incredibly fresh and open. It felt,