Heart Of Fire; Veins Of Ice | Kimetsu No Yaiba Fanfic (Kyojurou's POV)

Chapter 11

He turns to look at Masahiko, who was somewhat drenched in demon blood on his azure blue cloak, holding a black staff with a design of ringed silver which snaked around its grip, separating the staff into three distinct parts, of which the longest was in the middle. It was coated in blood at its weighted ends, which were made of deep bronze.

Again, he was still blindfolded, and the cloth held traces of demon blood, which told him how he had been wearing it when he had fought them. In his free hand, was a small bag which he set down in the corner of the room. He did so softly as he places his staff behind his back in a loop at the back of his cloak, before he turns to look at him, raising a hand to ring the bells around his wrists.

"Are you alright?" He asks, voice gentle and soft.

"I am, so don't worry about me," Kyojuro replied, as he pulls the blanket over his legs and closer to himself. Masahiko is silent, as he walks over to the study table and opens one of its drawers, neatly moving the bowls and cups from his eaten meals and setting them aside, as he rummages around and finds a what seems to be a steel blue coil attached to a small stand base.

He places it on the table, as he sets it alight with a match, and Kyojuro recognises it as a Wisteria incense burner.

"Please wait for a while," Masahiko states.

"The heavy snowstorm outside has put out the wisteria incense lit around the cabin. Would you mind if I lit them inside instead?" Masahiko asks, voice hesitantly gentle, as he turns to Kyojuro. 

That explained a lot. 

He shakes his head.

It was good that the incense was being lit indoors. It would keep any possible demons away, especially what happened just now. His heart was still racing from that encounter. 

The scent of the smoke is sickly sweet, alluring and yet of veiled bitterness and repulsion. It is over powering, as Masahiko brings the tray out, leaving the room as he did so.

Kyojuro is left alone.

The incense is heavy, and it clings to his lungs and his senses, hazing his mind with its suffocating sweet scent. When he breathes it in, it seems to sink and settle over his mind and senses like mist over water, trapping him within as leaving him lost in its scent. It overpowers him, as it seemingly lures him deeper into its embrace. He coughs, as he feels its scent dispersing and engulfing the entire room like steam in a sauna.

He leans against the wall, hands moving to his mouth and nose as his eye begins to water, bringing up his blanket as a mask. There's something wrong. Wisteria essence did not behave as such to humans. To them, it was sweet, soft and a protection against demons. He feels his limbs sinking, as his eyelids hover on the edge of closing. It is a thick, heavy fog, leading him towards the edge of a cliff. 

He picks up the glass by his bedside, and with weak hands, he pours a glass of water. Water spilling over the ground and he feels the chill creeping into his bones. Not now. Just not now. he needed to put it out. Whatever it was, that Masahiko had burnt for him. 

He knows it's going to kill him.

With stiff joints as he tosses water at the incense, putting the burner out.

The smoke still remains in the air.

His hand drops to the ground, as the glass thumps softly onto the wooded floor of the cabin.