Work Text:
Your feet trudged through the thick snow, the icy air further fueling the intense burn in your lungs. The trees watched in silence as you slowly ran through the blizzard, hauling your partner, Kirishima weakly on your back.
Your heart rate ran through the roof, adrenaline pumping through your veins and pushing you to take each step forward.
Quickly, you slid down a frosty hill, snow parting in half like a hot knife through butter.
"He still has some warmth to him! If I can get him to a doctor, he could survive!" You desperately thought, hoping for the most positive outcome.
Tears stained your face as you further made your way downhill through the blistering cold.
"How did this happen? A bear? A pack of wolves?"
Clumsily, you hopped over a stray fallen log, unsteadily landing onto the ground thereafter.
Your hyperventilating had started to get through your head, your breath starting to shorten, and your head spazzing with blur.
"Ack! My lungs hurt!"
You looked up in front of you, noticing the painfully far path away from town. So many trees, so many mountains.
"No! I have to push through! Kirishima, I swear, I won't let you die!"
Now, with a slower pace, you trudged through the now thicker snow.
Lightly, Kirishima's calloused hand started to twitch. You further stomped through the snowfield, barely noticing Kirishima's head flutter upwards like a possessed ghost. Only the pure whites of his eyes were visible.
From the face of your back, you heard a growling, almost similar to a rabid dog. You paused in slight fear.
Kirishima produced a animalistic growl from his throat, razor-sharp teeth now protruding from his mouth. The male threw his head up in vain, blood pumping to his head and providing a menacing scowl to his face.
In confusion, you paused for Kirishima, where he started to mercilessly bash around up top your back. You could barely hold onto him, for he resembled a child throwing a tantrum.
To your surprise, his sharp, needle-like nails dug straight into your thinly clothed shoulders. Pain shot into your shoulders like a burning knife, making you loosen your weak grip on Kirishima. The male's violent thrashing sent you both to tumbled down a short cliff into the snow.
Thankfully, the snow was thick, so your back was saved. You stared up into the sky for a moment, thanking any possible god for your lucky save.
Urgently, you rose from the ground, quickly dusting off excess snow from your back and shoulders. Desperately, you searched around for any sign of Kirishima, since he seemed to fall further away from you.
Amidst the numerous tilts of your head, you eventually found Kirishima in the distance.
The way he was standing sent chills down your spine, reminding you of the legends and myths your grandfather would tell you about.
Infamously, you noticed his hair had shifted mysteriously to a bloody shade of red. His head was lifelessly tilted downwards, resembling a sad villager. His first yukata layer had also slid off his body, revealing his usual untied yukata he wore casually around the house.
You sadly stared at the bloodstains that laced his clothing, remembering all the memories you've had with him in town and around the house.
You noticed him slowly and steadily walking towards you, which sent you a somewhat relieved feeling to your core. At least he was walking and alive.
"Ei! You dont' have to walk, okay? I'll carry to you to town, it's okay!" You hollered, quickly standing up and jogging towards your partner.
You stopped at Kirishima, eternally relieved that he wasn't dead.
Almost like an instinct, you trailed your shaky hands up to his bloody shoulders.
"Are you cold at all? You must be-"
Suddenly, Kirishima raised his head to meet you eye to eye, revealing a menacing, monster-like glare. Much like his hair, his eyes had shifted hues to red, proving his monstrous gaze at you to be scarier.
Like an animalistic wolf, Kirishima suddenly lunged at your form, mercilessly clawing at your kimono. From the attack, you nearly tumbled backward. Nonetheless, you stood your ground, confusedly trying to hold Kirishima down without hurting him.
He tried around three times to cause bites into your shoulder before you clumsily pulled out an old dagger that your grandfather had gifted you for your birthday.
Strategically, you shoved the handle of the dagger between Kirishima's deathly jaws, preventing him from pulling more bites and scratches at you.
Kirishima fought violently against the handle, wrestling your arms as you sternly kept the handle shoved into his mouth. He screamed and growled in vain, eventually tiring you out and tossing you both onto the icy ground.
Even on the ground, you kept the handle lodged between his teeth, his hands clawing painfully into your shoulders. Your arms and hands started to shake, Kirishima's nails digging into your shoulders shooting more pain into your arms.
Weakly, you stared into the eyes of your lover, seeing only the slightest trace of his once kind and loving face. A wave of sadness had washed over you, wanting nothing but good old Kirishima back into your arms. What would happen to him? Would you have to kill him?
"A demon." You thought, remembering back to what Mr. Saburo had told you about flesh-eating monsters that lurk in the night.
"This isn't Kirishima's doing. It can't be! The real Kirishima would never do this!"
Your thoughts were caught off guard when you noticed veins popping out of your lover's hands.
You noticed the handle getting harder and harder to push.
Confusedly, you watched as Kirishima literally grew up a size right in front of you. The bulk of his arms rapidly expanded, his back growing broader, and his mere height doubling what it used to be. Veins pumped through his arms and legs, which pumped dread through your stomach.
You on the other hand, were getting weaker, and you no match for someone this huge and strong.
Hanging onto your last shreds of hope, you stared sorrowfully into Kirishima's blood-red eyes.
"While I was resting in Mr. Saburo's house, you and grandpa we're getting killed!"
Nothing.
"It must've hurt, didn't it? You must be so tired, Ei."
Your doom was near, and you were awfully close to accepting your fate as food for your partner.
"I'm so sorry I couldn't save you, Eijirou."
Tears pricked at your eyes, threatening to fall within any minute.
Within a final moment of desperation, you did anything you could to possibly bring Kirishima back to a calmed state.
"Eijirou! Please, Eijirou! Hang in there!" You pleadingly yelled.
You shook your head as warm tears flowed down your face.
"Don't give in! Don't become a demon, please!"
You notice that his strength had suddenly weakened to what it was before.
A single tear dripped down onto your cheek, lulling you into a sense of sorrowful shock. Your lover's hands were no longer clawing into your shoulders, and instead only dug into the snowy ground below you both.
Kirishima's face had softened to a more calmed state, the veins being dissapeared, and his eyes slowly reverting back to the black, and gentle way they once were.
Warm tears had gathered under Kirishima's eyes, some of them falling down onto the smoothness of your face.
You were utterly surprised to hear the quiet whimpers of your partner, since he usually doesn't cry unless in dire situations.
You stared hopefully into Kirishima's face, noticing how he slowly began to resemble the boyfriend you knew and love.
In the harsh snowfall, a figured sprinted through the snow with great speed.
Agile and sharp, the figure held a stoic face. One representing no sign of emotion or care.
With a katana in hand, they maneuvered swiftly through the forest in eerie silence.
Within your field of vision, you noticed the figure with a menacing sword in grip, both their blade and eyes shining with a sleek blue. You eyes had widened, while Kirishima noticed as well, thanks to his heightened senses.
The figure stared in shock as you seized your lover's neck, strongly throwing him onto the ground and strategically shielding him from the cut of the figure's blade.
Thankfully, the figure had missed, nearly missing your head by instead slicing the locks of your once lengthly hair.
With the impact of the sword, miles and miles of snow blew in a makeshift blizzard, shooting snowflakes and shattered ice into both of your faces.
Like an automatic instinct, Kirishima clutched your form within his, shielding you from the harsh wave of snow and the potential blade that might've struck your head.
The male grunted as the impact from the wave slammed him into a tree, the temporary snow blizzard vanishing as soon as it started.
With a few final breaths, you weakly notice Kirishima's body reverting back to it's normal state. Nonetheless, he kept his steady grip around your shoulders.
Squinting, the figure finally came into your view, revealing a young man with ink black hair, and an emotionless gaze. Slowly, he rose from his position of nearly chopping your head off, eventually staring at you both with a slight interest.
His stare sent shivers down your spine. He appeared to have no sign of emotion at all.
You quickly and urgently rose from the clutches of your now unconscious Kirishima, pulling him into the crook of your neck and hugging him tight from your pursuer.
The man stared into your eyes.
"Why are you protecting it?" He asked you.
"He's my lover!" You replied, clutching his body tighter in your arms.
The male gave you a slight scowl as Kirishima suddenly awoke from his fainted state, weakly and tiredly attempting to escape from your clutches by scratching at you and clawing at the ground.
"You call that thing your lover?" The man muttered in slight surprise.
Your gaze shifted from Kirishima to the man, your mind racing to come up with some way to escape or persuade yourself out of this situation.
Suddenly, the man lunged toward you both with blinding speed. On queue, you duck down towards the ground once more, attempting to shield Kirishima from another blade.
That however, was proved useless when you heard the growls of Kirishima coming from not you, but somewhere in the distance.
Confusedly, you looked around for Kirishima, seeing no trace of him being in your arms.
You gasped as you saw the man gripping both of Kirishima's hands in the distance, leaving him to flail around and growl furiously. Tiredly, you rose up from your spot on the snowy ground, wanting to retrieve your partner back from the male's grip.
"Don't move!" The man shouted, leaving you to freeze in your spot.
"My job is to slay demons." The man calmly explains. "Needless to say, I'm going to decapitate your love."
"Wait! Please! Kirishima hasn't killed anyone!" You state.
The male keeps a firm grip on Kirishima as he continues to lash around and scream.
"Kirishima would never kill my grandfather!" You screamed. "At my house, I felt another presence along with him! It has to have been them instead!"
"Its quite simple." The man started. "Because her woulds were exposed to demon blood, she turned into a demon. That's how man-eating demons multiply."
"Kirishima would never eat humans!" You firmly state.
The man almost seemed to sigh at your claim. "You have got to be joking. Just now, you were about to be devoured."
"No! I'm sure he knows who I am! I'll prevent him from killing anyone, I promise! I'll heal him back to the way he was!" You plead.
The man frowns. "You can't cure him. Once you become a demon, you can't go back to being a human."
Your blood started to run cold in your veins. You clutch your fists in desperation. "I'll find a cure for him no matter what, so please! Please don't kill him, I beg of you!"
The man prepares his katana, pulling it out from it's sheath and aiming it slowly at Kirishima's bare neck.
"No! Please! Don't do it! " You beg.
You think back to your grandfather, who you saw merely dead within a pool of his own blood.
Hopefully and pleadingly, you bow down onto your knees, planting your forehead onto the cold ground. You place both of your trembling hands onto the snow below you, your voice finally breaking and tears spilling across your face.
"Please... don't kill him. I'm begging you..." You muster out through a broken voice, pain and anguish staining your words.
With the death of Kirishima, you would be left all alone. No more peaceful strolls through town, nor staring at the starry night sky together.
No more bliss with the one you held dear to your heart.
The man clenches his teeth in conflict, anger bubbling through his face.
"Don't ever give others a chance to murder you!" He screamed.
You gasp in shock, surprised at the amount of emotion and power streaming through his voice.
"Stop that pathetic groveling! If it was the least bit effective, your grandfather wouldn't be dead!" He shouts.
You slowly raise your tear-stained face from the ground, gazing at his angered face.
"Can a weakling who can't take the initiative in such situation even heal her lover? Hunt down the enemy? Don't make me laugh!" The man claimed.
"The weak have no rights or choices! Their only fate is to be crushed by the strong. The demons might know how to kill your sister, but don't think a demon would respect your will or wishes!" He screams, hauling Kirishima to face you.
"Why did your throw yourself over your partner earlier?! Was that your way of protecting him? Why didn't you swing your hatchet? Why did you show your back to me!" He asked even more menacing than before.
"All of these blunders, lead to your lovers capture!" The man yelled, pointing his katana directly at your head.
You stared into the mans eyes with awe, feeling as though he had experienced something similar to you. You felt the slightest bit bad for him, for you could see pain in his shallow eyes.
The man continued back what he had started, aiming his bright sword towards Kirishima's bashing head.
Your eyes widened in shocking, his pursue throwing you completely off guard.
With one single strike, the man stabbed Kirishima in the chest, earning a painful scream from his throat.
Adrenaline shot through your veins, anger suddenly bubbling in your stomach.
Seeing a nearby rock, you quickly clutch it and throw it straight towards the man, leading him to block it easily with the handle of his sword. With little time to spare, you sprint straight towards the dagger you had used earlier to block Kirishima's numerous bites.
Quickly you run around and through the forest of trees surrounding you, aiming to be in closer range of the man and Kirishima.
You throw another rock at the man's head, this time pursuing him full on within the moment. With your only family dead, and the love of your life in jeopardy, you have nothing left to lose.
You scream out a final war cry, clutching the dagger in your hands and aiming straight for the man's stomach. You hoped to follow the man's own advice clearly. Both fear and rage had overtaken you from within.
"You fool!" The man shouted, speedily slamming the butt of his blade down onto your back. You heard a few bones crack as a bright flash of pain spread throughout your body. Nausea bubbled in your stomach as you collapsed down onto the ground, both the male and Kirishima watching your near defeat.
Kirishima, despite his feral state, watched in shock at your collapse, a silent string tugging at his heart to do something. The sight of your unconsciousness sent a gross feeling down his spine, motivation soon sparking in the pit of his heart.
Before the male even knew it, the dagger you held earlier plummeted straight for his head, only missing his head by a single hair.
The man clicked puzzle pieces together, realizing you had thrown the dagger into the air to make it fall towards his head. Needless to say, he was amazed, considering that women of his time were never taught combat skills or any education at all.
Within his moment of thinking, the man left his guard down, allowing Kirishima to seize the moment by squirming from his grip and letting out a ruthless kick towards the man.
The demon slayer tumbled 8 feet away and into the snow, Kirishima soon sprinting towards your unconscious form on the ground.
Urgently, the demon slayer burst from his spot on the ground, fearing that it had been too late for him to slay Kirishima before he got to murder you.
The man widens his eyes, noticing that Kirishima had never meant to hurt or eat you at all. Kirishima's body slowly formed a protective stance, blocking the view of your form on the floor from the man's gaze. Your lover's face had transformed to one of anger, threatening to kill anyone that had tried to touch you.
Kirishima lunged at the demon slayer, pursuing him entirely through combat. Skillfully, the male dodged all of them, masterfully avoiding all of Kirishima's attacks.
The redhead jumped from tree to tree, planning a strike to snap the man's head clean off. He laid a few punches here and there, unleashing all his strength on the demon slayer.
Blinded by rage, Kirishima leapt to the very top of a tree, jumping straight for the male's head.
The man stoicly watched Kirishima with great precision, waiting until the perfect moment until he was in range of his attacker.
With one swift swipe, the man hit a nerve in Kirishima's neck with the side of his hand, successfully knocking the demon unconscious.
"I'm so sorry for leaving you behind, y/n."
Your grandfather stared down at your limp form. "Stay safe for me."
You woke up with a gasp, the cloudy sky staring back at you with a somewhat welcoming glance. You notice a warmth within the crook of your neck, steadily peering downwards to see Kirishima, tucked back into his winter yukata and cradling your body against his.
This time though, a simple bamboo muzzle was strapped to his mouth with ribbon.
Tears threatened your eyes for another time, this time your body being overcome with joy. Kirishima was alive, and calm at that.
"You awake?"
You violently flinch at the sound of the demon slayer's voice, surprised to hear that he was still present.
With worry, you gather Kirishima in your arms, patting his head into the crook of your neck.
"Go see an old man named Sakonji Urokodaki who lives at the foot of Mt. Sagiri. Tell him that Tomiyoka Giyuu sent you."
"So that's his name." You thought.
"He seems to be alright since it's cloudy now, but never let her be exposed to sunlight, okay?"
Within a flash, Giyuu magically disappears, leaving you and Kirishima alone in the snow.
Painfully, you stared at the grave of your grandfather outside your house. Kirishima, now dressed in a red and white kimono to match his hair and eyes.
You prayed one last homage to the grave of your grandfather, before peering back up at your now demon boyfriend.
"Let's go, Ei." You glumly state, holding out your hand for him to grab.
Just like before his demon transformation, he gladly took your hand, entangling your fingers together with love.
Hand in hand, you both started to depart with your childhood house, snow tickling your cheeks and sprinkling like confetti up top your head.
You took one last look at your house, staring back at the grave of your grandfather with melancholy sadness.
With one final step, you tightened your grip around Kirishima's hand,
and set off to find what Giyuu had told you to.