Shizen no Kokyou. (Shinobu x Male Reader) [COMPLETED]

Chapter 40

We see a demon with six eyes, with the two center ones having the kanji "Upper Moon 1" written on them.

Upper moon 1: Akaza's presence is gone... Akaza...

He grits his teeth.

Upper moon 1: Weren't you going to surpass me...?!

He looks up at the ceiling.

Upper moon 1: But still... if there is actually a Slayer that was capable of killing Akaza, their presence should be easy to feel. But... I don't sense a human presence stronger than Akaza's. Could it be that the slayer died, or passed out from exhaustion?

Meanwhile with Y/N, he was in a pitch black void, until he heard a faint voice call for him.

???: *faint* Come, Y/N...

Seeing as there was nothing else to do, Y/N decided to follow the voice.

He keeps walking, until a bright light appears at a distance. The light starts to enlarge, till at one point, Y/N had to put his hand in front of his face to shield himself from the brightness.

The light soon dies down, as Y/N hears the chirping of birds. He removes his hand, as he realises he was in some sort of balcony.

???: *clear* Y/N.

Y/N turns around and sees that Yoriichi was sitting at a distance from him.

Yoriichi: Come, my boy. We can finally have a proper talk.

Y/N sits beside Yoriichi as the man starts to speak.

Yoriichi: Before anything, I wish to thank you, Y/N.

Y/N: *confused* Huh?

Yoriichi: Ever since I died, my consciousness has had me trapped in a loop. A loop of my greatest regret. My own hell.

Y/N: I'm sorry, but i dont follow you, and how exactly do I fit in here?

Yoriichi: Patience, Y/N. I'm getting there.

Y/N apologizes as Yoriichi continues.

Yoriichi: My greatest regret. Not being able to put an end to Kibitsuji Muzan. The demon that has brought nothing but despair and sadness wherever that demon has set his foot.

Y/N stays silent, as Yoriichi continues.

Yoriichi: The last i crossed paths with Muzan, i had him crawling away from me. Without wasting any time, I swung my sword, but the demon got the better of me, and split himself in 1800 pieces. I did my best, and managed to destroy 1500 of them, but the remaining 300 fled away, and Muzan lived on...

Y/N: Wait... that sounds like...

Yoriichi: Yes. The dream you had a few months ago, where you helped me effectively destroy all 1800 pieces was one of the millions of loops I was stuck in.

Y/N: I...

Yoriichi: You made me realise, that in order to take Muzan and the other demons down, we both need each other.

Y/N: Huh?

Yoriichi: As of now, among your Hashira comrades, except for the Sound Hashira, Serpent Hashira and the Water Hashira, everyone has manifested their demon slayer marks.

Y/N: Wait, that mean, even Shinobu-

Yoriichi: Yes. But there's something you need to know about these marks, Y/N.

Y/N: Huh?

Yoriichi: The manifestation of demon slayer marks is a two edged sword. If a human was to manifest their demon slayer mark, they would gain a massive boost in strength and other such abilities, yes. But there's a price in order to gain this ability.

Y/N: Price?

Yoriichi: The humans who have manifested their demon slayer marks, will face certain death by the time they reach the age of 25 years old.

Y/N: Wait, what?!

Yoriichi: It's true. The muscles of a human's body develop as the person grows older. Manifestation of the mark puts an immense pressure on those muscles. Once the muscles develop to a certain point, they will stop functioning. Resulting in death of the human.

Y/N stays silent, as he realises that he would be dead in the next 6 years. Though it seems like a long time, nothing guaranteed that Y/N L/N won't die tonight.

Nothing guaranteed that Y/N will get to see the rising sun of the next day. He remains silent, until he realises something.

Y/N: Wait...! What if... what if the human has already crossed the age of 25?

Yoriichi remains silent.

Y/N: You said... every Hashira except Tomioka, Obanai and Uzui has manifested their marks... but... Gyomei... he has already gone past the age of 25...! What... will happen to him...?

Yoriichi: *serious* Then the human will die before the rise of the next day's sun.

Y/N's lips quiver as a flash of Gyomei patting his head goes through his mind.

Y/N: *scared* That's... no... no way...!

Yoriichi: It's true. I'm sorry for your impending loss.

Y/N suddenly realises something.

Y/N: Wait a second...! You... you manifested your mark, and yet... you died of old age! So that means, even Gyomei will-

Yoriichi: I'm afraid that's not possible.

Y/N: H-Huh?!

Yoriichi: Unlike you and the other demon slayers, who manifested their marks at crucial times when they were on the brink of death...

Yoriichi puts his hand on his scar.

Yoriichi: I was born with this mark. The moment my eyes collided with Muzan's, I knew it. I knew it was my destiny to put an end to this monster. But I failed...

Y/N: You're lying! Gyomei can't die! He... he still has to recieve Suna's gratitude! He... no...! He can't die...!

He starts to look left and right, hoping to find out an "exit" from this place, as Yoriichi sighs.

Yoriichi: Y/N. Calm down. Listen to me.

Y/N looks at Yoriichi.

Yoriichi: The Stone Hashira isn't someone you can save now. But...

Y/N looks at Yoriichi, hope filled in his eyes, that there was a way to avoid any deaths tonight.

Yoriichi: You might not be able to save Himejima anymore, but WE can save everyone else, and put an end to Muzan's reign of terror. All you have to do...

He brings his hand forward.

Yoriichi: ... is to work with me. So what is your decision? Y/N Tsugikuni?

Y/N keeps staring at his hand, as a flash of all his Hashira comrades, Tanjiro and his friends, and the training slayers comes to his mind.

He looks up at Yoriichi with a determined aura as he opens his mouth to give his answer.

-Cliffhanger-

A/N: Hehe. We are now coming towards the end of the book, according to my plans, I'll be able to extend the book to a few more chapters, then, I will probably be ending it. So... yeah...

Anyways, on with the usual,

Hope you guys liked it,

Till the next time,

Sayonara.