I keep a demon

Chapter 14

“There’s a fracture in two of your metacarpals. I called this a shaft fractures. Normally we don’t need any surgical action and I can give you my special medicine to treat broken bones. Once my ointment reduces your swollen hand I’m going to put a cast on it.” Shinobu explained. “Now, how are you feeling?”

Kochou Shinobu, the owner of The Butterfly Estate immediately treat Y/n’s injury when the girl escorted by one Kakushi Brigade. That time her eyes visibly puffed and she cant stop wince over the pain.
Shinobu gives her some analgesic drug earlier and once she feel numb, she’s stop fidgeting. “I cant move my fingers.” She answered.

Shinobu smile warmly at her. Its not like everyday she could talk with her. Outside Ubuyashiki Estate, Y/n looks exactly like a normal girl, the vulnerable one. She completely erase her miko persona. Now what’s in front of Shinobu now is just a normal Y/n, who she think Giyuu obsessed with.

“Thank you, Kochou san. I think I’ll be fine by now.”

“I suggest you to sleep here. Its late afterall. And I told Oyakata sama about this, he asked you to fully recover your hand before coming to The Estate.” Shinobu escort her to one of the room, away from noisy kid who has his hands shrink.

“I still can use my left hand for write or doing any stuff.” She complained.

“Please restrain yourself to disobey Oyakata sama. He just worried about you, so is Kiriya sama.”

Y/n nodded halfheartedly, she do understand if she come to The Estate tomorrow then Oyakata sama will send her home immediately, and give her a kasugaikarasu to monitor her. That’s the worst part. “Okay...”

Shinobu turn the light off and closed the door. Y/n not immediately fall asleep, despite how tired is she, she refuse to sleep right now. Douma occupied her mind. She’s pity the demon, he might be confused as well. She deduces that he might go for killing spree right now.
But Douma is not the only one she should worry about. Giyuu wouldn’t be that happy once he get the news. Its less than 6 hours when he asked her to stay out from any trouble but then she’s end up sleeping at The Butterfly Estate.

---

“Don’t give me that look.”

“What? I just wandering how a girl around your age have a sleepwalking habit. How old are you again? Six?”

“I thought you are a man with a few words...”

“Well, screw with that.”

Giyuu is right. Screw with that tittle that labeled him through out his service as a hashira. Y/n is the only one that he allow to see the other side of him. Seeing her sitting in the room with a cast wrapped her hand and unfinished food is not the way he want her to welcome him.

She lie to him so many times and now she run out of idea. But she refuse to tell him about Douma, Douma is deserve to be kept as a secret considering how consistence he is fooling around his comrade about her.
Giyuu inhaled the air in attempt to calm himself. “Now tell me, what really happened to you? ” He asked with calmer demeanor. Sitting comfortably beside her futon. Though she doesn’t have any inspiration to fool him.

“I don’t know...” She whined. She know what will happen if she tell a tale about her demon friend, Giyuu probably will out for hunt him down and severed his head from his pale neck. “It just happened. I cant remember.”

“Why you lie to me?”

“Because I’m afraid that you will be mad at me once I tell you the truth.” She said.
Unexpectedly, The Breath of Water user seems to accept her words. “Its okay if you don’t want to talk about it. It just... don’t ever lie to me. Or even if you lied, you always can find a way to talk to me honestly.” Giyuu then patted her head affectionately. “Don’t do something stupid again.”

“I don’t know about that, Giyuu kun. I always bound to end up doing something stupid. But I try to not worry you.”

“Suit yourself, just don’t torture me that much.”

Y/n bid farewell as the older man decide to visit Oyakata sama. She still standing in the gate watching him walk away from her home, now she’s realize how time fly so fast that her childhood friend getting mature like that. He rarely visit her, but when she’s not feeling well, he try to make his time for her.

“Or maybe... you’re the one to blame, for letting him crossed the line..”

Douma’s words jab inside her mind. She suddenly remember her conversation with Douma when he surprisingly turn into a possessive demon. Goosebumps, she quickly turn her head to search for him but soon realize that in a day light like this, he wouldn’t out from his place. Giyuu just patted her head numerous times. If Douma saw them with his own eyes, he probably battered her head.

As she predicted. Douma was confused as hell. And nothing beat doing a killing spree to ease his jumbled mind. Douma is such an intelligence demon. Very calculating and having extraordinary combat skill.
Now he look at the ceiling with his empty eyes like a hopeless demon, lying on the pool of blood where he absentmindedly massacred all his followers. Man and woman. Without intending to eat any of them.

He keep broken his hand like the way he did to Y/n. On and on. Wishing he could share the same pain with her but it wont do like what he desired. He’s too endurance and his demon blood prevent his metacarpals to stay broken.
He finally give up.

“She hates me, she hates me not.. She hates me, she hates me not...” He muttered while picking the lotus petals off from it flower. He finally drag his body to the nearby lotus pond inside his temple.
His body reeks of blood. His face and clothes also smeared with it, he looks obviously disturbed and mentally ill. If the last petal end with the bad result, he plan to doing the second round of his killing spree in the nearby village but lucky for him, it end much to his liking.

“She hates me not.” His eyes beamed with happiness as he finally back to his actual self. A bubbly yet manipulative demon.“Y/n definitely not hates me. She definitely not. My darling friend will never hates me.” He giggled. “Better clean up this mess before I visit her... Oh, my darling friend... I cant wait until the sun is set.”