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"this can't be true... i can't believe it!"
trigger warning: mentions of blood and violence. i will mark off where triggering content is so you can skip it if it triggers you.
the song above is a good choice to listen to while reading this chapter, but you don't have to if you don't want to! it's just an option!
‼️ triggering content begins here (blood) ‼️
muichiro fell down to one knee, breathing hard. blood was dripping down his hands as he pressed on his stomach, trying to keep everything that was in there from falling out.
he had managed to behead rui just before the dawn broke, but it was a hard fought battle. rui had managed to slice muichiro's stomach open with a sharp strand of webbing just before dying, and it was a bad injury.
muichiro tried to focus on his breathing to quell the endless waves of blood pouring from his wound, but he couldn't let go of a feeling of dread and danger that was haunting him. somehow, he felt like the battle wasn't over, as if he still had an enemy to fight.
‼️ triggering content ends here! (blood) ‼️
he laid down on the leaf-covered ground and closed his eyes, shedding tears of pain as he breathed in and out and concentrated deeply on his injury, trying to stop his nerves from crying out in pain and make the platelets clot faster. usually, he was extremely talented at this, but due to his emotions being at an all time high, it was harder to focus.
after a short while, he heard footsteps rushing towards him. through his blurred vision, he could only see the silhouette of a young woman approaching him, and for a moment, he thought it was hotaru. when she approached him, he saw that she wasn't hotaru, but rather haku.
"what happened, tokito-sama?" she cried out, falling down to her knees by his side and taking his bloody hands in hers.
"lower fifth, rui," muichiro groaned, pain from his wound flashing through his body. "he said he wanted to take you... and... i stopped him."
he noticed tears in haku's eyes, and reached up with his thumb to brush them away, but she would shy away from his hand every time he tried to touch her.
"what is it, haku?" he asked, more concerned for her than for himself.
haku silently got up and walked back into the tent. muichiro wanted to follow her, but he couldn't move a muscle without being overcome with pain, so he was forced to lay still and wait.
before long, haku came back out, but she had transformed completely. her gentle gray eyes were now a bright golden color, and her dark hair had became a stark gray. her neatly trimmed fingernails had became beautifully painted claws, and she had two curved horns and a thick, snake-like tail.
"haku, what... what are you?" muichiro asked.
"what do you think?" haku asked in a sorrowful voice. "i'm what you swore to destroy. i'm a demon."
muichiro was speechless. there was no way he had been traveling with a demon this whole time and he had no clue until now! he was a demon slayer, for goodness sake! he was supposed to have heightened senses to detect demons, how could he have missed one sleeping right next to him?
"how long ago-" he choked out, unable to summon more words than that.
haku smiled sadly at him, revealing two sharp fangs instead of front teeth, and said, "a year. i was picking berries when it happened. my family still doesn't know what happened to me;i haven't appeared to them since."
"but... you're tame," muichiro murmured, then hissed as another wave of pain assailed him.
haku simply nodded, and then knelt down by his side again, opening a backpack she had brought with her on the journey. she took out a neatly wrapped linen bandage and two glass jars filled with herbs, and laid them at muichiro's side. he opened his mouth to talk, but she put a finger to his mouth to hush him.
"don't talk," she said gently. "this may hurt."
she opened the glass jars and took out a handful of herbs from each, effortlessly crushing them with a mortar and pestle and applying the paste to muichiro's wound.
the herbs had a feeling similar to menthol, minty and refreshing, but with a cool burn. the burning feeling hurt at first, but after a short while, it subsided, leaving only a refreshing aroma behind.
haku then unrolled the bandage and wrapped it around muichiro's stomach. he had to sit up so that she could do this, and it hurt a great deal, but she smiled at him the whole time and told him it would be okay, although the smile never reached her beautiful golden eyes, which appeared to be permanently filled with a deep sadness.
after all of that was done, she sighed deeply and put everything back in her backpack, then stood up and began to walk away from muichiro.
"where are you going?" he asked, worried for her.
she didn't seem to be in the right state of mind to travel alone anywhere, especially not through a forest! there could be all manner of dangerous creatures lurking there, waiting to make a meal out of a defenseless young woman like her!
she's not defenseless, the rational part of his mind snapped at him, and she's not a young woman, she's a demon! if you were even half the demon slayer the other hashiras are, you would kill her where she stands!
she may not be a human, the emotional part of his mind replied, but she's a young woman nonetheless, and no young woman should be wandering the woods alone in a state like that!
"if i stay here, more demons will come here, and they'll kill you. i'm leaving to keep you safe, don't you see that?" haku said, her tone harsh.
muichiro saw through that harsh facade, right to her heart. she was dying inside at leaving him. she loved him more than anything, and she wanted to stay, but something in her was insisting that she go.
maybe she thought he wouldn't like her now that she was a demon?
"haku, please stay with me," he pleaded. "it doesn't matter if you're a demon or a human, i love you the same, and i always will love you!"
she smiled sadly and whispered, "i'm sorry," before disappearing into the forest.
a moment later, muichiro heard her screaming his name, and the sound of something snapping loudly.
"haku! what happened?" he screamed.
there was no response but the echo of his own voice.
there was a thump, and a body came flying out of the forest and landed next to muichiro.
when he saw who it was, his heart broke, and he burst into tears.
"haku..."
upon her death, haku had reverted to her human form, and she laid there motionless on the ground, a beautiful young woman whose life had been ended far too soon. her neck had been snapped, so at least her death hadn't been too painful, but still, it was undeserved.
‼️ triggering content ends here!! (violence) ‼️
a scarily, unnaturally calm voice emanated from the woods around muichiro, making the hair on the back of his neck stand up.
"you're next, mist hashira."
a/n: so i actually nearly cried writing this chapter but it's okay, because it's over now!
i hope you all liked this chapter, despite how sad it was, and that you're looking forward to the next chapter! i'm only planning for this book to have ten chapters, so i'm almost done writing it!
see you all in the next chapter, and i hope you all aren't too sad because of this one.
