Growth and Malady

10 - Kokushibo

Once again, sorry for taking a bit to update. Still bogged down in schoolwork, but I can get some writing on on the weekends 😁

Takes place shortly after chapter 9

I looked out the window from where I sat on the edge of Kibutsuji's mattress, watching the clouds roll by on the breeze. The sky had darkened into a deep blue, with lights from neighboring houses beginning to flicker out.

Beside me, Muzan shuddered in his sleep, and I gently ran my hand up and down his back to help him relax. This was becoming more and more necessary as the days went by, all thanks to his worsening condition. I knew about his illness, he'd confessed it to me when I expressed my concern for him whenever he had trouble breathing. Aside from that, he barely got any sleep, so I always tried to make his few hours of rest as peaceful as possible. If that meant sitting by him and actively keeping him comfortable, then so be it.

Despite the illness, he still insisted on going to and from the library, checking out all kinds of books on flowers and plants. It was almost funny, the only other time I had seen him so obsessed with something was his search for the blue spider lily.

I felt the man shift, and I looked down to find him curled up slightly, a small smile on his face.

When I was a demon, I'd only ever seen him smile when one of his minions did something well. Even those weren't always genuine. So to see him happy now was... nice.

I shook my head slowly. I didn't know when my heart had begin to associate soft, warm feelings with Kibutsuji, and I wasn't sure how I felt about it.

Stop it, now.

Not only were the emotions extremely distracting, they were making me more susceptible to him. At this point, he could ask me to go get him a bouquet of flowers for no particular reason, and I would.

Flowers? Why did I think of flowers out of all the things in Japan?

Out of all the former uppermoons, Douma and I were the best at hiding our emotion. But this one had been unfamiliar to me for so long, I forgot how to conceal it.

No way in hell am I admitting to anyone that I'm feeling these things.

An hour passed by slowly, the time ticking along at the pace of a snail. The stars emerged from the infinite blackness, reminding me of my previously nocturnal lifestyle.

One more night up won't hurt, I thought, tucking a clump of Muzan's hair behind his ear to keep it out of his face.

An obnoxious knock on the door made me jolt to my feet, hands instinctively moving to where my katana would have been, if I hadn't put it in the living area earlier that day. Another knock, slightly quieter, sounded from outside.

"I don't think they're awake," I heard a muffled voice say.

"I told you we should have waited til morning, it's rude to knock in the middle of the night!" Someone else spoke in a hushed scornful tone.

As the three voices argued at the door, I got up and made my was silently to open it. As the door slid open, the three young slayers turned their heads up in surprise.

Oh.

Tanjiro bowed slightly in apology. "I'm so sorry if we woke you, Kokushibo-san. We were going to wait until morning, but-"

"Say what you need to say," I interrupted.

Zenitsu shrunk back, nudging his friend forward. "He's going to get mad at us," he whisper/panicked.

"Unless it's a death sentence, I'm sure you have nothing to worry about."

All things considered, I should have expected what they said next. I'd even thought of it when the issue first came up.

"The corp, the hashira, more specifically, don't like that you're letting Kibutsuji out of the house." The water user explained. "So the master sent us to, uh..."

"Babysit us," I finished.

"That's not what I was going to say, but yes." His eyes softened. "I don't think it's a huge problem, as long as you're with him, but we need to stick around anyways. You won't even know we're here, I promise."

I sighed. "I don't have a say in this, so do as you will." Turning, I stepped back inside the house, leaving the door open for them to walk in. I wasn't thrilled to have three children in my house, and Muzan would be less than amused about being supervised by the trio.

Even so, like the good host I was, I asked them if they needed anything and supplied them with food as needed, sitting in the same room until a now-familiar pained cough called my attention.

Zenitsu nearly jumped out of his skin from the surprise, and both Tanjiro and Inosuke were left looking down the hallway with looks of confusion. At least, I assumed Douma's other charge was confused, as I couldn't see under the boar head that covered his face.

I got up quickly, brusquely walking over to Muzan's room and slipping inside. He was sat up, one hand to his throat as he struggled to breathe. A weak cough left his lungs.

At least he can inhale enough to cough.

I knelt next to him and placed a hand on his shoulder, sliding it down to rest in the center of his back.

"In and out, Muzan, breathe."

'I can't- shit shit shit I'm going to die!'

"You're not, it's okay." I kept my voice as calm as possible. "Just focus on trying to breathe."

I was vaguely aware of Tanjiro and the others peering in through the doorway, but I didn't care much in the moment.

One shaky breath after another, I was able to bring Muzan back from his panicked state. Ignoring every part of me that shouted that it was a bad idea, I pulled his shivering form closer to me in a loose hug. He stiffened, but just as I thought he was about to shove me away, Kibutsuji relaxed, letting himself rest all his weight in my arms.

I stayed as still as I could, only turning my head slightly and gesturing for the three teenagers to go sit back down where they were before.

This is unexpected, I thought, referring to Muzan and I's current position.

'Not all that bad though?' He asked.

I mulled over my choices for a moment.

I suppose it isn't awful.

More softly, my heart fluttered with a silent prayer for more moments like these.

And for once in my life, I didn't disagree with it.

...

This is what you guys get for being such patient demons. A chapter with FLUFF (if this counts as fluff- I wouldn't know)