DAMSEL IN DISTRESS • 𝐲𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐤𝐧𝐲 𝐱 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

fifteen

CHAPTER FIFTEEN, hide and seek (2)

He was a coward.

That was it. That was the one singular word that had defined him for the entirety of his life, his childhood - coward. and that would be branded unto him as if marked with hot iron for the rest of his days. He remembers - birch between his fingers, leaves under his nails - he remembers his grandfather calling for him, and he remembers tears hot and wet against his teeth.
He looked up from the tree, like a rodent under a ray of light, and he saw an angel, wings outstretched and feathers glistening like oil unto water. He saw you.

"Zenitsu," you sang, to him, you voice drawing you closer, ever closer to him - something so clear and soft it seemed unreal. You couldn't  be real, something so perfect and heavenly calling to him. He heard his name cross your lips again, like a hushed whisper, and his eyes travelled to your eyes.

Your eyes...like a secret untold, just between both of you. That was okay. He didn't mind.

"Y/N," he mumbles, eyes wide, the amber shine to his pupils dilating unnaturally, abnormally, twisting to see you and you only. "Y/N, Y/N, Y/N!"

He was insane, surely, a mad man frothing at the mouth for something ethereal and unreachable. He didn't care. For the first time in his life, the mark scorched into his flesh was met by your cool, perfect hands - and he'd do anything to have your touch again. You were his angel, his secret - and he'd keep you like an oath.

"Hm-hm-hmm~" you hum, skipping through the debris. You were so excited to finally meet the Insect Hashira. Did she look like Kanao? Kanao was really pretty..had she eaten by now, you wondered? She had a bad habit of skipping meals to sit outside in the garden, and it worried you sometimes.

No, you mustn't get distracted! You needed to see the Insect Hashira to see if she had any information regarding Muichiro-Hashira-Sir!

You glance to the side, watching the tall grass ripple. Was it your imagination? Or was someone watching you?

You felt eyes resting on your back, observing you, analysing each move you made. Your neck snaps left, but as if mocking your paranoia, nothing is there. Nobody.

"Weird," you mutter, crushing a rock beneath your feet as you walk. Zenitsu smiled.

"You're not the best at hide and seek, my darling." he grinned, eyes half lidded, smile crooked as if forced. But it wasn't forced, never could have been. He had never felt more alive. "I've already found you."

And as you walked, you could've sworn that someone was walking with you.

This place certainly had a lot of butterflies, fitting to the name.

One flitters over to you, landing on your nose and twitching its antenna. You try not to freak out, watching the intricate patterns in its wings. It's yellow - that has to be rare, right?

"Oh, I've never seen a yellow one!" you coo, attracting more butterflies to your fingers and body. Soon you're covered in insects.

"Oh my, what a sight!"

Soft footsteps sank down into the dirt beside you, waving off the attracted bugs with a pale hand. With your eyes free, they land on an unfamiliar woman donning a small smile on her face, stating right at you. You jerk back, much to her amusement.

"No need to be frightened, dear! I'm Shinobu Kocho, the Insect Hashira. I couldn't see it under my butterflies, but you really are stunning." She laughs, handing you her hand and leading you inside the separate estate. Your eyes light up, and you match her enthusiasm.

"As..as are you, Kocho-san!" You greet, bowing your head down in respect. "It's an honour to finally meet you!"

"Oh, no need to be so formal! Here, sit." She pats a spot on a nearby mat, and you quickly obey and kneel cross legged as she opens a cabinet. "This is where I concoct all of my poisons and..fuels."

You don't want to think more about that.

"Why don't you just do it near the central area of the Butterfly Mansion? Isn't it inconvenient to come here every time you wanna make something?" you ask, giving up on the professional look and laying down instead.

    "Hmm, that's a good question!" she says a little too fast, hand shaking as she grips a vial. "Haha..the fumes make you get a little sleepy. It's bad for anyone there that's trying to get to full health, and especially bad for training."

You marvel at how quickly her hands move as she manages the bottles, how carefully she handles them. "Oh, okay! Sorry for questioning you." She was a Hashira, after all, part of the organisation Urokodaki-sama devoted himself to. How could she do anything wrong?

"It's quite alright. Oh! How rude of me, I didn't even ask for your name," she gasps, turning to you and kneeling so that you're face to face. It's slightly unnecessary - this makes you aware of the fact that even though she looks a bit older than you, she's quite small.

"I'm Y/N," you say hesitantly, unnerved by the close contact. The hand gripping the bottle  is next to your face, the close contact making you feel dizzy. "L/N..Y/N..please put the bottle away.."

"Ah, my mistake! I'm so sorry, L/N-chan," she sighs, putting it away. Something in it feels insincere. "But if you don't mind, I'd like for you to answer a few questions for me."

|| TAISHO ERA SECRET !

|| Shinobu dislikes lying.She associates being dishonest with demons, and immediately felt familiar with you because you looked like the kind of person to her that 'wouldn't lie.'

If it wasn't already obvious, Shinobu deliberately placed the bottle near to your face for direct inhalation.