My Brightest Flame (Rengoku X Reader)

Chapter 42 - Bamboo

A/N: It took a while to get through writing this chapter xD But I'm happy with how it turned out

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Moving on from the death of Kyokai, their beloved dog, was tough. It was still fresh in y/n's mind and she found it hard to be happy. Of course, she would tell herself that the dog was in a better place, but it didn't stop the sadness she felt from it. Even when she tried to distract herself, her heart would remind her. She sighed sadly. She could really use some good news right about now. No one had come to talk to her for a while and she was starting to playfully wonder if she was getting forgotten about. Then again, it might have not been that long, it could have just felt like it.

She was right when she noticed another corps member appear in front of her, the bars separating them. Silently she looked to him, waiting for what he was going to say next.

"Demon slayers Tanjiro and Nezuko Kamado, Genya Shinazugawa, as well as the love and mist hashira, have successfully taken down two more upper moon demons." He informed, waiting for a moment with his eyes narrowed. Did he expect y/n to act a specific way at the news? He said it as though he thought she would be mad at the news. The only demon left that she could say she somewhat cared about was Doma, as he had been nothing but nice to her. She hadn't met the other upper ranks, and she'd be perfectly happy if it were Akaza that died. He would just be one less problem to deal with, and he was a big problem for no reason other than that he wanted to be.

"That's great news! It's been so long since anyone even got close to an upper moon, never mind kill them. Has it even happened before that upper moons would get killed so quickly?" She asked, making sure she chose her words carefully.

"I guess not..." He responded, uncomfortable and irritable. Hah. He never got the reaction he wanted.

"Well then we're really close, aren't we? Demons might not even exist anymore pretty soon!" The idea excited her, y/n becoming her own hypeman and completely forgetting that if Muzan died, she would too. She hoped to become a human before that happened.

"Sooner the better." The corps member muttered, rolling his eyes. He didn't like her, but she couldn't hold it against him. No one liked demons... "Anyway, since you've shown no signs of aggression or desire to escape you're being allowed permission to walk the grounds but only with a muzzle." He held up a green log muzzle, similar to the one that Nezuko would wear.

"I'm happy that I'm being trusted enough to walk around, even if it's not far." Y/N grinned, catching the item as the human threw it through the bars. "Is it night just now? I would love to get some fresh air."

"It is." The slayer confirmed, opening the gate with an annoyed sigh. "Just don't ever take off the muzzle until you're back in here and locked up." Y/N couldn't talk anymore, having applied the green bamboo to her head. But she was quickly growing irritated, truly considering if eating this annoying human would be an acceptable exception. She closed her eyes as she walked forward and up steps. He was a demon slayer, even if he is grating on her nerves, he is helping. They were on the same team. Reminding herself of that, she turned and gave him a polite nod of gratitude before walking off. It was nice to see outside again, even if it was really dark.

The demon wandered around freely for a while, trying to get used to the muzzle that restricted most of her mouth movements. There really wasn't much happening, every now and again, a demon slayer would pass and look at her with tense surprise. It was uncomfortable for them to see a demon walking around. But soon y/n smiled, seeing a certain demon slayer that she loved. The urge to sneak up behind him was tempting as he noticed the presence of a demon, preparing himself for an attack. However, she didn't want to test his accuracy and instantly die. So instead, she approached normally.

When he finally noticed her Kyojuro's eyes widened before he smiled happily. He jogged forward to her and wrapped her in a tight hug, chuckling. "You were finally trusted huh?" Y/N nodded her head, unable to speak. The flame hashira only grinned and lifted her head by her chin with his fingers.

"I'm glad you see you out and about, I only wish I could kiss you." Y/N blushed in response, tucking her head in his chest in an attempt to hide it.

Even though he was mostly likely tired and drained from his mission, he still took the time to walk around with y/n until the morning. He would talk and she would listen, really having no other choice. Still, to y/n it was a great time. Until her jaw started to ache and the sun was beginning to rise. She didn't really know how Nezuko lived for years with a muzzle on when it felt like this.

The cell was opened by a corps member, thankfully not the same one who was critical of her from before. Kyojuro had accompanied her too, making sure that nothing happened even though it was only a short distance.

"Be strong for me. I'll visit you soon." He had been so supportive, kissing her on the top of the head before leaving. It felt as though he was trying to make up for tricking her in the first place, not knowing that she already forgave him on the basis that she couldn't stay mad at him.

Another day would pass before y/n recieved another visitor. When Tanjiro gave her a small wave, she smiled back. Nezuko was next to her, muzzle on and equally as happy. Y/N could swear that these two were always happy when she saw them. They should be, and they should also be proud, they've both lead the change that give the demon slayer corps the closest chance to getting rid of demons that they ever had in a long time. The Kamado siblings had definitely earned the respect of everyone within the demon slayer corps.

"Good job on slaying those demons, you should be proud of yourselves." Y/N supported.

"Thank you! It wasn't easy..." Tanjiro let out a small humble laugh. Nezuko made a muffled noise, sounded like agreement.

"I bet! But I don't think you came here just to talk about that, did you?" The demon could tell just by looking at Tanjiro's face that he had more information he wanted to share.

"That's right...During the fight I was forced to choose between slaying the demon or saving her, when morning came, I expected her to be dead but she was fine. The sun didn't bother her." The woman's eyes widened at the information.

"Oh?"

"When we got back I had recieved a letter from a demon who is like you and my sister, free from Muzan. She is developing a cure that will change demons back into humans." At this news, y/n moved forward from where she sat. If there was anything being in this prison taught her, is that she wanted to be human more than anything. Would she miss her blood demon art? Sure. It was so useful, but being a human meant so much more to her than being the constantly hungry torturous creature she was.

"Has she made any progress with it?" The woman spoke, watching carefully for any hint on the boy's face for good news.

"She has, I believe she is really close. I wanted to ask if you'd be able to help? She is using blood of demons to develop the cure and yours would be helpful." It was the first time Tanjiro had asked a demon to take their blood, and it felt weird.

"Of course!" Y/N gave him a toothy grin, her overly sharp teeth showing. It was unsettling to see, but the siblings would never say anything about it. They knew she wanted to be free of this curse just as much as anyone else.

"There's also another thing. It's a bit risky..." The boy admitted, looked to the bottom of the corner by his feet.

"Why do you say that? Will it be dangerous for me?" Y/N wondered, although she couldn't really understand how taking a blood sample would be dangerous for her. If anything it would be more dangerous for him.

"No, it's not that. I was wondering if you'd like to go to her and help her, you would be more useful there than wasting away in a cage." The demon was eager to help in anyway she could. "But when you come back you might not be trusted by anyone..."

"I'll help." Y/N confirmed. She would deal with the repercussions after, this was too important. And so, she arranged a time with Tanjiro to help her sneak out. All that was left to do was wait...