ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ sɪxᴛᴇᴇɴ ᴘᴏsᴛᴇᴅ: 13/12/21
1734 ᴡᴏʀᴅs.
ᴡᴀʀɴɪɴɢ! ᴇᴍᴇᴛᴏᴘʜᴏʙɪᴀ !

akaza was at a crossroad.

well not literally of course, but figuratively. the demon was busy killing humans just like Muzan wanted him too, but Akaza just couldn't bring himself to eat anyone. but his stomach was yearning for food - Akaza had become weaker ever since he stopped eating humans and only feasting on Kyojuro.

Both his regeneration and senses had dulled and slowed down dramatically, which is exactly what the demon was out to change.

'come on just eat it!' Akaza yelled to himself, staring down on a young male whom he just killed while he was chopping trees. the demon looked down on the blood seeping into the dark grass, tall trees shadowing his body from the moon's iridescent glow.

the demon scrunched his eyes and pinched his nose together with two fingers, ripping off the young man's arm and taking a bite out of his forearm rather quickly. Akaza's mouth almost instantly filled with bile, his stomach completely rejecting what he just ate. Not even a second later Akaza hunched uncomfortably behind a tree stump and threw everything up.

"Fuck!" he roared in annoyance, punching the tree nearest to him while wiping his mouth with a groan. But he had to eat. 'I won't be strong enough to protect Kyojuro otherwise...' he thought while sliding down to sit on the floor, head hung in between his knees in desperation.

Akaza scrunched his eyes shut, gritting his sharp canines against one another as he grabbed the lifeless body once more and took another bite... and another... and another. After every bite the contents rose from his stomach, however the upper moon swallowed the vomit before it could spew out of his mouth.

He repeated this procedure for hours till there was nothing left off the young man, swallowing his own vomit on repeat till it finally stayed in his stomach.

It was a gruelling procedure which made the upper moon incredibly fatigued for some reason, even more then before he ate that poor human.

'I wish I could just be with Kyojuro...' he thought while making a little gravestone for the man whom he had just killed, putting the date in the small stone with his finger nail. Akaza liked to do this after he had killed someone. It was a way of giving them a sort of burial and apology for the life he just took.

While the demon was doing so, Akaza felt himself picturing the flame pillar in his subconscious. It felt as if something was warning him – telling him to go back just to make sure Rengoku was ok and safe from harm.

The demon admired Kyojuro in his mind.

The way his smile never faded no matter what predicament he found himself in, his stunning eyes that shon like no bright star could compare...

'f-fuck Akaza stop fawning over him like a girl... he doesn't want to get involved with me at all' he told himself, pushing the image of Kyojuro out of his mind in frustration.

Akaza couldn't lie that he had dark thoughts.

Dark thoughts but with good intentions – Akaza fantasised about stealing Kyojuro away. To hide him away from any dangerous and others who may glue their lustful eyes too him.

Akaza wanted Rengoku himself. He didn't want that water pillar fawning over his Kyojuro. He didn't want Mitsuri clinging to him like her life depended on it. He didn't want Tengen laughing and hugging him with bright eyes and a flirtatious manner.

and he defiantly didn't want Douma targeting Kyojuro as his next plaything like the second moon promised to do.

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"The cowards way out.. I can't do it, I can't" kyojuro whispered to himself, the sword in his hand shaking. Rengoku took a deep breath and cleared his mind, letting the cold midnight air enter his lungs and put his mind at ease.

'Just do it... forget about Akaza Kyojuro. He's a demon - it's an impossible and forbidden love' he told himself with great difficulty.

Kyojuro pulled the sword back, stretching his arm out wide so the cut would be deeper and quicker without pain.

The male took a deep breath - his eyes becoming cloudy with acceptance.

In a second Kyojuro sliced the blade against his stomach, however a sudden pressure against the Kantana caused only a shallow cut to stretch across his skin - the wound nowhere near fatal now.

"Kyojuro what are you doing?!" Giyuu Tomioka stumbled across the garden, holding Rengoku's sword in his hand.

The flame pillar panicked "Tomioka! You should be sleeping!" He tried to play it off, the small cut on his stomach seeping slowly through his top.

"Who cares?! Why are you trying to commit Sepukku!" Tomioka screamed, the whites of his eyes tinted with red. This was possibly the most emotion Kyojuro had ever seen from Giyuu.

The flame pillar stood up suddenly, his face contorted into a scowl "why can't you leave me alone Tomioka, let me do this!" Kyojuro suddenly ran to snatch his sword from the other, however Giyuu just reacted fast enough in order to avoid his lunge.

"Talk to me! I can help you!" Giyuu yelled in a frantic outburst, making the other male grit his teeth in annoyance.

Rengoku began to break down. His knees feeling wobbly with nerves. "Giyuu please, you don't understand. Just give me the Kantana!" This time Kyojuro was fast enough to grab the hilt of his sword, making Giyuu loose his grip in the process.

"Don't be rash Kyojuro..." Giyuu tried to cautiously approach him, his eyes shaking with worry as Kyojuro pressed the blade against his neck now with less hesitance.

"I have to Tomioka...! I've betrayed the corps, I have to it's the rules!"

Giyuu shook his head in denial "no, that's impossible you could never do something to break the rules"

However Rengoku didn't seem to like this "I did! I protected a demon... even feeling something for him. It's shameful"

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"He thinks I'm shameful?..."

Akaza could feel a pit form in his lower stomach, the sudden feeling of his limbs becoming numb only contributed to the devastation.

"Don't you get it Tomioka? I'm filthy" Akaza watched  utterly dread filled - his glowing eyes shining vividly amongst the underbrush.

The demon stared frozen as Giyuu crept closer to the male, it was as if he was treading on thin untampered glass that could break if he made one wrong move.

"Kyojuro I- love... you. You aren't filthy at all"

Akaza's eyes widened at the faint sentence which left the water pillar's parched lips, the statement broken and fragmented as if something was caught in his throat.

'The bastard.'

Kyojuro took his gaze away from the sword momentarily, putting less pressure on the soft skin of his neck now to look Giyuu in the eyes.

"Just put the sword down and we can figure something out... no one has to get hurt trust me." Giyuu knelt down next to his friend, placing his hand on Rengoku's arm to slowly push the sword away from his throat.

Kyojuro could feel tears in his eyes, Giyuu's gentle hand moving to softly thread their fingers together - deep blue eyes showing both sorrow and relief.

'He's touching my.. Kyojuro?'

The demon watched the two with Jealousy festering inside him the longer they interacted - Akaza felt as if his chest were to explode in the next second.

He hated it.

"You don't have to say anything, we can talk about it tomorrow so let's just get some rest ok?" Giyuu swiped his thumb across Rengoku's cheek, brushing off a delicate tear in the process.

The pillar opened his mouth to speak but someone beat him to it..

"No. He doesn't have to say anything to you ever"

A sudden cold chill travelled Tomioka's spine.

Standing right behind Rengoku was none other than Akaza himself - looking Giyuu directly in the eyes with such malice the water pillar could feel it in his core.

'Upper moon three.. this- is this the demon Kyojuro-san was talking about?'

A gasp escaped Rengoku's lips as he felt strong hands lift him off the floor with ease while being slung over someone's shoulder.

Almost instantly he recognised the familiar voice.

"You really think you're good enough for Kyojuro? A weak pillar like you? Pathetic" Akaza was on his last nerve.

Rengoku started to struggle on his shoulder, slamming his fists on the demon's back "Akaza let me go!" However the demon simply ignored him and kept his grip strong.

Giyuu wordlessly pointed Rengoku's Kantana in a defensive stance since that was the only sword he had at the moment - this was his last resort.

"Release him"

Akaza laughed in the face of the water pillar "you know Muzan-sama requested me to turn any hashira into a demon, but lucky for you I'm in a bit of a rush. So I'll just take my things and leave"

'Thing? Does he mean me?' Rengoku thought with a sweat drop, looking at the sky. Ah he's in a rush because of the sun. Realisation struck Rengoku like a brick wall.

Tomioka swung his blade in a rotation angle, just skimming Akaza's chest before the demon leapt back in a hurry - already attempting to flee from the scene.

The upper moon ran into the forest as fast as he could while carrying Rengoku - Giyuu still hot on his tail in pursuit. However Tomioka seemed to slow down when he made eye contact with Kyojuro hanging over the demon's back.

His eyes looked desperate but at the same time at peace - almost like he was willing Giyuu not to come any further. So he complied; slowing his run to a complete stop.

Tomioka Giyuu watched as the two slowly disappeared into the depths of shadowy wood, the heavy feeling of failure nagging at his subconscious

But he knew it was for the best... sometimes it was best to forget about unrequited feelings. Just to forget about that person who would only ever return a platonic love.

After all you cannot sway someone's feelings who is as true to their heart as Kyojuro was. In a way Giyuu admired it, so he decided to keep Rengoku's secret. For he knew what it was like experiencing painful love all to well.

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ sɪxᴛᴇᴇɴ ᴇɴᴅ.
ᴘʟᴇᴀsᴇ ᴋᴇᴇᴘ ᴏɴ ʀᴇᴀᴅɪɴɢ