A Pretty Face (KNY x Reader Fanfic)

Chapter 26

"You're...disgusting."

"I hear that a lot."

Yanking your hand away from his own, you feared he may have done something to it. There was no pain, but yet it felt off. It was like your fingers were uncontrollably stiff.

You were still wearing the kimono that Daki dressed you in. Weaves of gold surrounded by a main pattern of red was the color scheme. Someone must have taken off your hairpiece since your entire head felt lighter.

"I hate that you're a completely different person...you used to be sweet." Gyutaro murmured, staring off into space. "Was it because of what happened at the village?"

That was a terrible memory and time you dreaded thinking of.

"I thought I could live a normal life for a few years and settle down," bright blue was the sky that day. The river underneath the bridge had been teeming with sick fish. "I exposed my ability to strangers. They wanted more than what I could handle."

When you had paused, Gyutaro tapped your arm. He wanted you to continue.

"There was a little girl; Maya. At least that's what I think her name was. It's been so long." She was a little smaller than the others from what you remembered. Every day she'd carry around a small hairpin.

"For a few months, it was peace and quiet. The villagers hadn't told outsiders of what I could do. Rarely was anyone ever in pain or sick because of me."

Gyutaro leaned forward, immersed.

Your throat felt strange. Pushing the sensation down, you frowned at the next memory.

"A demon, like you," pointing a finger at him, you hated the thought even more. He feigned offense. "Got ahold of her during the night. Only her lower jaw was left, the rest smashed and eaten."

That description was enough to make Gyutaro wince. It was a little gruesome for him.

"They brought her to me. She was dead, but still warm. I screamed that I couldn't help her anymore, but they didn't listen."

At the subtle mention of being forced into spilling blood, the demon ground his teeth. You rolled your eyes at the noise. Although, you didn't quite understand just how furious he became at the thought.

"Before I blacked out," you rubbed at the scars on your stomach, feeling the raised skin. "I saw her entire head reform from thin air. Everything."

From her upper jaw, everything had been renewed. Maya's entire brain had even been reformed. You only heard whispers about it after being locked away like some animal for the next few decades.

He quietly listened as you described your imprisonment. The village had realized there was no way in hell they could let you go after doing something so remarkable. They called you a god. Flowers and jewelry were brought down into the cellar daily as offerings.

Meanwhile, even when shedding praises, hopes and dreams, they kept you chained to the stone wall and would rarely feed you. After twenty years of the same cycle, which was being fed dirt and grime once a week, you snapped.

An old woman, too weak to barely stand, was asked to feed you that day. Surprisingly, the food was edible and decent. Miso soup. Over and over she brought the spoon to your lips, knocking the metal against your teeth as she forced it down your throat. You welcomed it willingly, anyway.

It only took a second. She turned her back, preparing to grab a bowl and knife to take more blood. Her mistake was not taking a step back.

That day, you learned you didn't need to survive on just human food. Like a demon, human flesh sufficed in the same way. You didn't care for the taste, yet it wasn't revolting like you'd think.

You suffered greatly when they found the pile of bones.

Snapping out of the hazy memory, you became angry when Gyutaro began chuckling. What did that fucker find so funny?

"I can't believe you ate some poor old loony like that!" he paused due to a fit of laughter. When he calmed, there was still a mischievous glint in his eyes. "Ah, what about your mother being a Hashira? That still doesn't make sense to me."

The only reason why he laughed was to force the anger to subside. Barring his teeth wouldn't appease you so well.

"I don't know. That's just what her old crow told me. I was never cut out for that line of work anyway...I'm better with a small pocketknife rather than a sword."

Truth be told, Gyutaro couldn't see you wielding a long blade either. You were capable of being light on your feet like a thief. Those kind of people preferred smaller blades that were easy to conceal. Gyutaro was the one to gift you your first knife.

While he favored sickles, even after being turned into a demon, he realized you had different tastes. Shortly before going through hell to obtain that ring, he had spent a few afternoons crafting an ivory handle to be conjoined with a strong iron blade.

In the handle, he had inscribed both his and your initials. You smiled at the gesture and said nothing more.

He doubt that you kept it after that incident with the ring.

"Are you gonna tell me about that one night I found you half eaten?" He asked.

You sighed and clenched your fists.

"Douma sent that demon after me, but it wasn't to hurt me. He just wanted to track me. After taking a few bites he realized it wasn't a good idea."

Gyutaro chuckled while raising the hand where you bit him. Your blood had permanently etched your teeth marks into his palm.

"I shouldn't laugh, but yet I did." Wiggling his fingers towards you, it was as if he was asking for an apology while showing off the burn mark.

"I'm not apologizing if that's what you're wondering."

"Oh, I wasn't asking. There's other ways you can make it up to me."