Slayed Hearts (Demon Slayer AU - Bakugou Katsuki x Reader)

Ch.6 - Dismay

Ch.6 - Dismay

You were growing tired. Your feet ached. Even your back was hurting.

It had been a few days since you started off on this journey. Mostly sleeping for a few hours in the morning under cool trees, and then waking up at night and letting Bakugou out to stretch his legs.

And while you both seemed to be making a good distance each day, Bakugou had still yet to eat. It had been over a week now and you worried that time would not be your friend much longer.

You hadn't even seen him last night. When you had unwrapped the bag to let him out and allow him to stretch, your eyes caught onto something you were not expecting. He was still small, much like a young child, and was deep in sleep.

He didn't stir and so, you decided to continue on and let him rest more. He had been asleep for over a day now, making you worry what this might mean and what he might be like when he woke up.

You needed to find a demon to give him and soon.

Lucky you, it seemed all your walking paid off today. The sun rose and you could see that a path was outlined in the dirt. Civilization was near!

You followed the path quickly and soon reached a large village. Some people were out on the street, each turning to gaze at you as you made your way down the street. You wanted to find somewhere to get a meal and directions.

A woman watched you from her window above the street. She quickly called to her husband inside and within a moment, he was peeking out the door at you. Many other people were looking at you and muttering to each other. You eventually reached a small food stall, where an older man looked at you in shock.

"Could I buy some food?" You asked him.

"What are you doing here, child?" He asked you. "It's not safe for children in these parts."

You gave him a confused look. "What do you mean?"

The man looked around to the people of his village staring at you. With a sigh, he moved aside and waved you into his home. You entered and took a seat on a cushion by a table. The man paced around elsewhere for a moment before coming back and placing down three riceballs.

You happily dug in, glad to eat something aside from tree nuts and berries. The man sat down on the other side of the table and cleared his throat. You looked at him and for the first time noticed the aged lines on his face.

"Eat and then leave." He told you sternly. "Children go missing from here at night. They don't return."

You gulped down your food and looked at him. "Children? At night?"

He nodded but didn't elaborate further. You didn't push it either, noticing an untouched stuffed rabbit in the corner of the room. You finished your meal soon after and left his home and headed out of the village.

But, you didn't plan to leave this place just yet. If children were going missing so mysteriously at night, then it could only mean one cause. Demons.

This could possibly mean that you could help save this village from the plague the demons had inflicted upon them, as well as find a source of nourishment for the sleeping demon on your back.

You awaited under a tree at the edge of the forest until nightfall. It was only then that you got up and started to make your way into the thick shrubbery. As you paced, you didn't feel any movement from your bag. You wondered if he was still sleeping, and how long he had been.

That wasn't important at this moment though, as you needed to focus on the issue this village was facing. Twenty children over the span of two weeks. That was too many too soon and you feared what may have become of them.