Drinking from the Fountain (Demon Slayer x Male Reader)

Ch.2 - Churning Flames

She follows me as I check every house in the village. Not a single survivor aside from her.

I can still save her, I have to. She has her whole life ahead of her, and I will keep it that way. She holds my hand tightly as we walk, shaking a bit less now, but still very evidently. The poor girl is frightened out of her mind. Sadly, this is the hard part. It's well past dusk, and I'm sure the imminent battle will be upon us very soon. I should try to ask her about the demon. What happened to her.

I bring us both to a halt and crouch in front of her, holding her hands in mine in an attempt to comfort her. I clear my throat, "Hayashi-san, I know this will be tough for you, but I wanna know if you saw or heard anything important when..." I trail off, unsure of how to word it.

She looks down at our hands and tears up, whimpering, "I-I dunno. This big... m-man came into the kitchen. H-He came t-through the wall, and my parents told me... they told me t-to run. To g-go to our... our secret spot-" her voice breaks, tears flowing from her eyes down her cheeks. She releases my hands and brings hers to her face, wiping away tears repeatedly as she sobs.

I hesitate. How do I handle this? The mission comes first right? So I should pry, even if she isn't ready, right? No, I should give her time. What if we don't have time though? What if she can't say anything?

Screw it.

I bring her in for a soft hug, letting her cry into the shoulder of my uniform. "Take your time. I am here now, you can breathe easy."

This causes a small but relieved sob to escape her, gripping onto my haori tightly. We sit like that for a few moments longer before I break away from the hug. Putting us in the familiar position again, "Did you hear anything after you made it to your spot? Anything weird or important?"

She wipes her eyes and nods, "The s-scary man said that if he doesn't kill everyone then he'll be angry with him."

My intrest is piqued, "Who'll be angry?" I ask, tilting my head.

She shrugs and sniffles, "I'm not sure. After that I heard them yell at each other a lot. He seemed to be having fun though. He laughed, and laughed, and laughed all night long. H-He had a whistle. It really hurt my ears when he blew it."

I nod. So that's his blood demon art? Seems bare to me. I stand up, "Alright, that's all you have to tell me. Thank you Hayashi-san. We'll only be here a little longer, I promise."

She looks up at me and nods, tears welling up in the corners of her eyes at the thought of staying longer. I know it sucks, but I have a job to do. Please stay strong for me.

We continue walking through the town, she makes extra sure to stay close to me, practically hugging my arm. I stay vigilant, trying to spot any signs of abnormality. The silence is almost deafening. Is he gonna sit in hiding forever?

"Hmmm such a pitiful sight. Poor children!" Speak of the devil. The voice came from above, on a roof. Hayashi starts shaking immediately at the sound, "That poor poor child! She must be scared after my show!"

I spin to face the roof the demon is on, putting Hayashi behind me. He's large, twice my size easily. Insanely muscular, and very intimidating. The whistle she mentioned is hanging on a string around his neck. My body feels chills when I look at him, he's just FEELS strong. His very essence is strength. This won't be easy.

"Too stunned to speak, poor swordsman?"

I smile, "Of course. You seem more powerful than anyone I've ever met."

I make a point to back up half a step, keeping my arm in front of Hayashi, "Oh? How inspiring! In fact, I may spare you for that comment. If you give me the poor girl." A sickening smile paints his face as he finishes that thought.