Slayer of the Night (Demon Slayer x Hashira Reader)

Ch7- Uncovering the Dark Truth

Third Person POV
    (Y/n) couldn't help but feel a sense of deja vu as she looked up at the monstrous form of Muzan the Demon King.
     She had encountered him once before, but then he had been a peaceful figure preying upon her village when she had been only a teenager.

     All these years later, she had become a Hashira, and here was Muzan again. Except now he looked larger, more powerful, and even more menacing.
     She readied her sword, filled with a sense of determination to perform what she must.

     What she hadn't expected was the flare of recognition that crossed Muzan's face when he saw her.
     For a split second, there was a mingled look of surprise and shock before Muzan set his bloodied face in a snarl and charged towards her.

         "I remember everything that had happened that night... The day I met Muzan."

     (Y/n) remembered her home village, the warm faces and familiar smells that filled her memory, and she remembered the fear and anger she had felt at witnessing Muzan's cruel tactics.
     (Y/n) was a teenager living in a small mountain village. She was the middle child from a family of five.

     She had never interacted with anyone from the outside world and was quite content with the peacefulness of her life.
     "I'm home!" Tetsuo called out, walking in the front door of the (L/n) cottage, covered in dirt soot from working at his shop.

     "Welcome home, Tetsuo-nii," young (Y/n) called out from the kitchen. She smiled as she wiped her hands on her apron and walked to where Tetsuo was standing.

     "My older brother, Tetsuo was a blacksmith. Him and our father owned a shop, they would come home covered in soot and bruises from working so hard."

     "Ugh! What did Mom say about coming home covered in filth? You are tracking mud into the house!" (Y/n) groaned, wiping Tetsuo's face with her apron, shaking her head at the sight of her older brother.

     "It's not a big deal, (Y/n)," Tetsuo mumbled, smacking his sister's hand away, looking away embarrassed.
     "Yes it is a big deal! You're still young, why would you want to do something so dangerous like welding swords?" (Y/n) said, rolling her eyes and walked back to the kitchen to finish cooking supper for her family.

     Tetsuo followed and sat at the dining table and watched as his sister cooked. He smiled, his eyes lightened up as if he had witnessed something exciting, which he has...
     "Oh, by the way, I met someone at the shop earlier this morning. He said he had just moved here from the city."

     "One day Tetsuo mentioned he had met someone that had moved from the city. I thought it was suspicious, but I didn't think much of it."

     "The city?" (Y/n) asked, sounding a little shocked. "He certainly came a long way," (Y/n) hummed. She thought that the news of a new resident coming from the city sounded a little odd, everyone she knew basically grew up here.
     "Yeah, and I—uh I kinda invited him over for dinner tomorrow night..." Tetsuo nervously chuckled.

     "Way to go, Tetsu... Did you ask Mom and Dad at least?" (Y/n) asked, raising an eyebrow.
     "Don't worry! I took care of everything. But," Tetsuo smiled, pressing his hands together as he stared at (Y/n).
I knew there was a catch, of course he wants something... (Y/n) sighed.

     "What do you want?" She asked with an irritated expression. "Could you maybe whip up some matcha Swiss roll for dessert?" Tetsuo asked, pleading on his knees.
     "Ugh! Tetsuo, you know how difficult that it is to make—"

     "I know! But I really want to make a good impression on the new guy. Please?" Tetsuo was whining at this point.
     "What the hell does baking matcha have to do with it?" (Y/n) asked, grinning sarcastically.

      "The next day I met Muzan, but he went by Taka at the time. He seemed a little strange when I saw him for the first time."

"You must be (Y/n), Tetsuo told me so much about you. My name is Taka, it is a pleasure." Taka smiled as he shook (Y/n)'s hand. He was a kind and gentle man.
     He enjoyed talking to the villagers and even shared some of his knowledge with them, regaling them stories of the culture of his homeland.

     (Y/n) found Taka's stories fascinating and soon the two of them found themselves talking for hours about everything from food to music.
     (Y/n) and Taka soon became the best of friends. She was grateful for his friendship as it allowed her to learn and grow in her understanding of the world.

     She smiled to herself, certain that this man who she had met for the first time had become her closest companion.
     One night, (Y/n) was woken from her sleep by loud, ear-piercing screams. She quickly jumped out of her bed and ran to her parents' bedroom.

     When she got there, she was horrified by what she saw. Her family lay before her, throats slit and their blood spilling over the floor.
     Standing over them was Taka, his face twisted in a deranged grin, his hands covered in blood and holding the knife that had been the cause of the carnage.

     (Y/n) realized in a split second, that Taka was not friendly and peaceful at all, but in fact a ruthless demon intent on destruction.
     He had lured her in for the sole purpose of using her trust and innocence to get close to her family and his rampage didn't end there.

     He slaughtered the entire village, leaving no survivors aside from (Y/n), who was barely conscious after watching her family be brutally murdered. Her family's deaths and her village's destruction were the last thing she remembered before waking up in a hospital room.
     What had happened since that night in the mountain village (Y/n) still did not know. All she knew was that Taka was a monster and she had narrowly escaped death. Until now...

"You and me, Muzan! Right here! Right now!" (Y/n) shouted, dodging the demon king's attack. "Sixth Form: Witching Comet!"