At Nightfall, An Akaza x Reader

30. Bleed Out

"I knew you were demons. The disappearances and the fact you couldn't go out unless it was night. It was just like they said," Sadao huffed as he staggered on his feet. The fact he was even still talking was because you hadn't gotten the book yet.

"Where is the book?" Kokushibo said flatly. "Where is your family's journals?"

"You'll never get them," he huffed, striking a match.

You were fighting the poison as they spoke, crawling on the floor like an ant towards the book shelf. He planned to burn them alive along with this family's life's work.

You needed to find that book before he set things ablaze or Kokushibo leveled the place.

You reached for the shelf, your body was fighting between regenerating and breaking down as you hoisted up on the lower part of it. You could barely see, and the books were blurring together, how were you going to grab it?

You heard the sound of the match hit the ground and start to ignite what it could. You weren't going to get the book. You were going to fail-

"This one."

You saw the bottom of a boy's kimono beside you. It was eerily familiar, but you didn't know why.

You looked up to see where he was pointing, and what his face looked like. He looked somewhat like you if you weren't a demon. He was even sporting your favorite koi embroidered haori. Yet you didn't recognize him.

You pulled the book he directed you to off the shelf and as soon as you looked at him again, he was gone.

You can't recall what occured after that.

"Y/N." You felt your face being tapped repeatedly as your name was called.

You opened your eyes to the infinity castle in a bed of sickly flowers. Your hands clutched the book you had grabbed.

You weren't dead.

You locked eyes with Kokushibo as he loomed over you. "The mission's over. We've gotten what we could from that human," he said plainly before lifting you up from your flowers.

"The journals-" you started before you looked at the book you had. It was one documenting rare medicinal flowers.

A relieved breath left you when you registered the book wasn't useless.

"Master will meet with you shortly," he started off towards the nearest door. "You don't need to worry."

You slowly lifted yourself up from the ground and shook the petals that stuck to your back. "Kokushibo-" you started, freezing when he turned to face you with a unmoving gaze.

"...Thank you for protecting me," you murmured. Even though he probably kept you out of harms way to prevent himself from getting reprimanded for letting you die, you couldn't help but thank him.

He nodded slightly before he slipped through the door, a quiet DOK  following the closing of it.

Now you were alone.

You stood there in silence, you fingers tracing the cover of the book you held until that man appeared.

"Y/N. You're still with us," Muzan said steadily as the castle moved the area he stood in. He was standing by a desk with vials and bottles, books neatly stacked around him.

"Yes, sir!" You bowed quickly.

"I've already received report from Upper one." His red eyes slid to you. Silence was allowed to loom over you for a few minutes before he broke it. "Come here."

You did not waste time in leaping from where you were to him, falling to your knee in a deep bow.

Muzan put his hand out and you placed the journal there.

He looked over it quietly before he placed and down on the table and crouched to your height.

"Fortunate you're not as incompetent as you seem," he gently and briefly patted your head. "Up, on your feet."

You stood almost immediately, and followed him where he beckoned you.

He drew your attention to the table, which had several different pots on the table, some held flowers, some were just soil.  Very swiftly, your hand was sliced off and bled over one of the pots. "I want you to focus of growing the oldest plant that was once in this soil. If it's a flower I recognize having been there, you'll do it again and again."

You  stiffened at the request, but you couldn't refuse or even think to. So you suffered his testing, let him bleed you dry over and over until you grew something he knew he hadn't seen.

"Well look at that. You managed to do it," Muzan hummed as he inspected all the pots. "You sure are diligent, Y/N," he complimented.  "Now then, I expect you to memorize the properties of every plant you see as well as how to use them.  If I summon you, you are to be here at a drop of a hat, no matter what intimacies you may be engaging in," he completely ignored the bewildered look that graced your face. "You will clean up my tracks as well, understand?"

You took in a breath before you nodded, "...Yes."

He started towards one of the sets of stairs. "Good. You're dismissed-" as soon as he said that, the sound of the Biwa sent you flying through a door.

Luckily, you've managed to land where she sent you with grace. You slammed your fist into the and took in the fact you met soft earth. Where exactly were you?

There was a babbling brook, and the land was not shy of birds.  The moon was high, so there was no need to worry about the sun quite yet.

As you walked around, you realized why you were even kept by Muzan after your blunder. He wanted you to use your blood demon arts to find the blue spider lily. It made the most sense, why else would he be interested in how old of a flower you could bring up? He was pushing you into the role of attendant to keep a close eye on you, to make sure as soon as you did manage to find it, he'd know.

Your thoughts were broken with the crisp snap of a twig, drawing your attention towards it just as quickly.

"Y/N?"