Encounters (Muzan Kibutsuji x Fem. Reader)

Tenth Encounter

Your eyes shot open as you fell to the ground, the immediate change in scenery causing you to lose your balance. You and Muzan had been transported back to the infinity castle after having almost been discovered in the dark alleyway. Looking to your left where Muzan stood solid, you couldn't bring yourself to look up towards the man's face, opting to continue staring at his shoes until requested to do otherwise. Peering down towards your crouched form, Muzan took it upon himself to fix your hair since it had been disarranged after the recent events. Letting his nails carefully comb through your hair, you couldn't help but lean into his touch. After Muzan neatened your hair, he let himself admire his handiwork, enjoying the scene of you at his feet. 

Muzan stroked your hair as he began to talk, saying, "I have business to attend to, doll. You may wander around the infinity castle until I am finished, just know escaping is impossible." You nodded acknowledging his words, then as the biwa again rang out, he was gone. You made it to your feet and turned to observe your surroundings. You found yourself on a floating platform, the only way towards supported ground was through a bridge. You quickly crossed the wooden bridge to find an entrance to a hallway. You hoped to find a room where you could rest in, feeling exhausted from the past days. You roamed through the hallway, not yet coming across rooms, only finding shoji separating the long hallway into segments. Occasionally the hallway would fork into two to three different walkways. You continued on your search, finally coming to a row of rooms after stumbling through the hallways for what felt like hours. It seemed that your road ended here as there wasn't a shoji that sectioned off the hallways at the far end.

There was a total of twelve rooms, six shoji lined up on each side of the walkway. You slid open the first shoji on your right, surprisedly finding that the dark room was not empty. There were fans that decorated the walls and fabrics that hung from the ceiling, piling up into comfortable-looking cushions. Finally, across from you stood a long mirror, its reflection revealed a large shadow looming behind you. Snapping your head to peer behind you, you found that there wasn't a person in sight. Looking back towards the mirror, convinced the image was due to a trick of the light, the shoji behind you slammed shut causing you to flinch. You tried prying the door open but it wouldn't budge, seemingly cemented in place. Turning to look for the perpetrator, you took a step into the darkness, letting your hands reach out to find anything to guide you. As your eyes slowly started adjusting to the sudden darkness, the shadows around the room only added to your inability to navigate. 

As you moved around, you ignored the sounds of floorboards groaning and the slow and light footsteps sounding from above you. Only when you felt your hair being lightly pulled from above and the almost imperceptible tug at the back of your collar did you gain the courage to quietly call out, "...who's there?" You heard the light chuckle of someone above you, turning to meet the person you came face to face with kaleidoscopic eyes. You silently screamed in horror as a man seemed to defy gravity as he stood from the ceiling. You ran to the shoji, not looking behind you as the footfalls of the man trailed scarily close behind you. You heard his giggles as you tugged at the door in fear. The man crept from the ceiling, almost spider-like, and cornered you between himself and the door. Staring with your mouth agape as his face neared yours, you noticed the number two and "upper-rank" engraved on his eyes. 

You edged away from his face, yet his hands on either side of your body held you in place as you didn't dare try to escape under them. He smirked as you gawked up at him in fear, he said, "You smell as delicious as you look. You must be His, but that just makes me want to devour you even more." As the creature in front of you continued to giggle at you, his sharp canines made an appearance, only causing you to creep away from him more. The man abruptly stopped his giggling and seemed to grow upset, a small frown settling on his face. In an instant, he disappeared as the strings of the biwa played again. You felt the shoji slide open, causing you to fall backward and out of the room. As you sat on the floor of the lit hallway, you watched the shoji snap closed, concealing the room once again. 

You sprung to your feet, not wanting to stay in the hallway any longer for fear of what lay behind the other doors. You ran, making your way back towards where you started, only taking different turns to hopefully stumble upon a safer space. You let your legs come to a stop as you entered a large room, its only contents were a large quartz bathtub big enough to be a pool and a simple wooden dresser that lined the entirety of the back wall. Peering into the large tub, the steam from a freshly run tap floated from the surface. You made your way to the back wall, pulling open the small boxes that covered the dresser, you found different herbs and salts along with white linens to change into after bathing. 

You gathered the light clothes to change into and your favorite herbs to scent your soak. Undressing, you entered the water, immediately comforted by the warmth. You must have fallen asleep as you cracked your eyes open as you felt someone gently moving your hair away from your neck. Feeling that whoever had done so meant no harm, you let them continue. They began to message your shoulders, getting rid of any tension in your upper back. As Muzan's hands slowed to a stop after a while of kneading, he asked, "Are you tired doll?" leaving a light kiss on your shoulder after he asked. You tilted your head back onto the shelf of granite behind you, letting your groggy eyes answer his question. Muzan said, "I'll let you dress yourself, then I can show you to a room where you can rest." He left a towel beside you and kissed your forehead before exiting the room. 

A/N: Thanks for reading