Demonslayer x Male Reader Oneshots

Sanemi x Reader (Part 6)

Implied gore warning.

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She was a beautiful soul. That's what I would hear from everyone I knew. My father told me when I was younger to watch after her when he couldn't anymore. That her light was special and something precious. I hadn't known what he meant at the time, how wonderful someone had to be to make heads turn and people smile. Maybe there was a timeline out there where I realized it sooner. Where I wasn't difficult all the way to the end.

I hadn't meant to be the reason she was outside when the world ended. My younger brother glaring at me for making her cry after a frustrating discussion for what my future held. She was fed up with me and I knew it. I was failing school, lashing out at work and coming home more bitter than usual. She wanted the best for me, but it was looking dimmer every day.

My brother didn't know a damn thing. Still in high school and sheltered from the world. He didn't have to balance everything on his shoulders like I did, like our mother did. All he had to do was go to school, come home to dinner on the table ready for him and enjoy his life. Our mother cherished him beyond comprehension. Maybe she thought he'd turn out better if she showered him with more attention. It might've worked if we were given more time.

I had been standing at the window, waiting for her to wipe away the tears she never wanted us to see. She turned the corner of the fence outside, probably going for a walk around the block to cool off. She did it more often than not, claimed the fresh air did something. I would wait by the window for her to make sure she got home safe. We might've fought and yet our love for each other held strong. A planet stuck in orbit around a star.

It took her longer than usual to come back and when she did, she was running. I recalled my instant concern. My body moved before I could think, a vague concern that a man was chasing her down or a stray dog let off the leash, something that made sense.

Turns out it was a man of sorts. The broad shoulders hunched down, and a face marred horrifically. I had assumed it was a psych ward patient let loose. There weren't any asylums nearby. Maybe some scarred freak. An escaped inmate. A circus clown. A scare actor. Anything. It had to make sense.

Why did he grab her?

Why was he clawing his crooked fingers into her face?

Her eyes.

Her mouth.

Through the flesh of her cheeks.

A tooth.

Blood.

Hair yanked out in clumps.

The screaming of my brother.

Of her.

Of that thing sobbing.

She had been begging. My name choking out from her crushed throat.

"Run".

— — —

I took a moment to breathe. My palms pressed into my eyes to keep the tears away while my chest rose and fell steadily. I could feel Sanemi's gaze on me even if I still couldn't see it in the dark of the warehouse in the early hours of morning. This had been the first person I had ever told about my mother since she had been killed by the infection. I didn't regret my decision for a moment.

"She loved you," his voice whispered carefully. It was something I already knew but hearing it from him sent a sharp aching pain through my stomach. Tilting my head, I hid my face against his shoulder. He barely even adjusted without being phased by the tears that were soaking the fabric of his shirt. "As long as you remember that I think you'll be fine."

"I know...I know she did. Fuck, I just miss her so much," I cried quietly, stifling the small sounds with my hand. The infected that had been roaming around was long gone by now and yet the urge to constantly keep quiet was always there. Sanemi stayed silent nearby to let me gather myself yet again, his hand moving to rub my back in comforting circles.

The soothing gesture took me by surprise. This. This was as perfect as anything had ever been and ever could be. How was I ever expected to live if I couldn't have this again? I wondered if when I died, some sort of gory tragedy, if I would remember this moment in my final moments. Sitting in the dark, cold and afraid for my life with my face puffy from tears and finding myself leaning in closer...and closer.

His lips found mine in the dark. I clung to him like I never had before, hands grasping at his shirt, his rough palms cupping my face. A silent challenge rippled between us, daring the other to try and let go. No one could've pulled me away from this though. Another planet stuck in orbit around the light giving me life.

"Don't let me go." My voice came out broken and pleading in a way I hadn't in a long time. The blood pulsing in my ears and adding pressure to my head made me push closer to him. I held on tighter to him, his chest pressing into mine. His hands travelled down from my face once he was sure I wouldn't pull away, strong arms wrapping around my lower back to ease me up against his body.

"I'm never letting you go again."

— — —

By the time the sun came up, I had fallen back asleep and was waking up once more to the rays of sunlight trying to sneak through the windows. I took a moment to just lay there, my body warm under the blanket of my sleeping bag. Slow blinking the sleep from my eyes, I leaned back, expecting to feel Sanemi there but finding nothing.

I shot upright, looking around to an empty space that made me feel sick to my stomach. He was gone. The idea sent dread and fear bursting through my body as I stood up, sliding my shirt back on and walking around the inside perimeter of the warehouse. He couldn't be gone, not after everything.

Unless I messed everything up, scared him away or disgusted him. Maybe he hadn't meant to kiss me hours ago or anything that followed that. It had been a mistake. He was gone. I never should've been so clingy to him right after spilling my sob story to him.

There was a creak that broke through my whirlwind of thoughts, my head tilting up to stare at the ceiling where the sound had come from. Hope flickered in my chest as I made my way to the rusted ladder to haul myself up to the roof, not even caring if there was an infected there instead.

The sight of Sanemi sitting in the morning sun was an instant breath of fresh air, a laugh of relief huffing past my lips. His head tilted to stare at me before a smile slipped onto his face. His hair was still a mess, more so than usual as I sat next to him to lean against his side. I let the fear slowly ebb away once his hand found mine between us.