Unexpected Demon Encounters

Chapter 2

He looks at me, smiling. "Sweetie." He says in a condescending tone.

He walks towards me, and I step back, my back hitting the desk. I gasp. I'm trapped.

"W-what do you want?" I ask, fear creeping into my voice as I continue walking to the side, trying to put distance between us. He chuckles. My back hits the wall. When I look up, the man is suddenly standing in front of me. His body pushed up against mine. I can feel one of his legs resting between mine. He smiles, tilting his head to the side. His knee is rising, pushing against my core. I raise my hands and push against his chest.

"That's not going to stop a demon, Sweetie." He says calmly like he's talking about the weather.

He grabs both of my wrists with one of his hands, pushing my hands above my head and holding them against the wall. He places his other hand on my chin, tilting my head upwards. I look him in the eyes. I try to struggle against him, but I can't move my hands. He releases my chin, smiling. "You're so soft." He places his hand on my thigh, his fingers slowly pushing my kimono upwards, revealing more of my fair skin.

"Where is my father?" I ask quickly. Hoping to get a real answer and distract him. He finally releases me, taking a step back. He looks down at me, one hand on his hip, the other hand tapping his chin. I rub my wrist.

"He should be back tonight once it gets dark." After that, he opens the door and steps out. He gives me one last look. "My name is Doma." He smiles and shuts the door, leaving me alone with my thoughts. I slide down to the floor. Doma. He said demon. He was so strong.

I decide to go to town, not feeling very safe at home anymore. I walk to town and decide to eat while I'm out. I wonder why my father won't be home until tonight. I walk towards a ramen shop and see a familiar face. He suddenly faces me before I say a word.

"Demon." Tanjiro says as he looks me in the eye. He walks over to me and sniffs the air. I forgot. Tanjiro can smell demons really well. Wait. Then that means...Doma was a demon.

"Tanjiro? What are you saying suddenly?" I ask, trying to feign ignorance. I don't want him to worry about me. He has a little sister Nezuko to worry about.

"You smell like a demon. You're in broad daylight so that means you've been near a demon recently." He says very sure of himself.

"If I were near a demon, wouldn't I have known? Maybe I bumped into someone recently." I don't know how good a liar I am at this point. His eyebrows knit together. He crosses his arms, clearly deep in thought. He looks at me then looks at the sky.

"Maybe or maybe not." He walks towards me and I suddenly feel nervous. What should I do? Should I tell him? Should I hide it? I keep asking myself questions with no answers as he nears me. A hand suddenly appears on my shoulder and i freeze, slowly looking up to see who it is. It's Giyu. I sigh in relief.

"What's going on, Tanjiro?" Giyu asks, oblivious to the situation. Tanjiro stops walking. He looks between Giyu and me again. He sighs.

"Lyla smells like a demon." Tanjiro finally admits, clearly angry. I've never seen Tanjiro mad before. This is a first.

I feel Giyu's hand clench on my shoulder. I wince and take a step away from him. I turn to face Giyu. "I'm not a demon. I'm in broad daylight." I say reassuringly.

"Lyla. If you smell like a demon, you might be in danger. Where are your parents?" Giyu stares at me, waiting for an answer.

"My Father is working and my Mother came to town this morning to run errands." I cross my arms. I should've just stayed home.

Giyu's gaze travels to my wrist. "Where did that come from? You don't usually wear jewelry." My eyes widen. He noticed that small detail about me? I mean, they are demon hunters. They have to be observant. It's in the job description.

"It's a gift from a suitor. I'm of age now. I don't know his name yet, though."

Tanjiro comes over to stand beside Giyu.

Tanjiro looks at me worriedly. "If you're in danger...you can tell us. You can trust us. You know we care about you." I nod. "Yeah, I know, Tanjiro."

Giyu nods. "We know how your parents hate demon slayers. But...we know you don't hate us...right, Lyla?"

My eyes widen. They know. No. I'm overthinking it. "I don't hate you. I promise I'm fine. Nothing to worry about. I'm going to get my errands done. I have to go."

I wave bye, rushing off down the street, leaving them behind, hoping they don't decide to follow me. I sigh. I hope they forget about it.

I walk into a clothing shop to look at fabric designs for a new outfit. My birthday is next week. I need a new outfit.

As soon as the door closes, a hand lands on my shoulder. I look up beside me...and my heart almost stops beating. This man is gorgeous.