Anime Imagines (FxF)

You/Shinobu Kocho - Early Part 1

(Demon Slayer)

You bit your bottom lip hard to stop yourself from crying out in pain as you sat up in your bed. Despite most of your wounds still not being fully healed, you were able to walk around and that was enough for you to leave the Butterfly Estate. Aoi and the rest of the butterfly girls would get mad at you for leaving before you were fully healed but you never listened to their warnings. There was much to do and you couldn't waste your time by laying in bed and letting demons kill the innocent.

X

Aoi waits until she hears a quiet 'come in' before entering Shinobu's chambers.

"What is it Aoi?"

"(y/n) left last night. I'm not sure at what time. I'm worried that she's pushing herself too far. Her injuries are getting worse because she refuses to let her old ones heal."

Shinobu stops writing and then turns to face Aoi with a smile.

"You've done all you can to help (y/n). If she wishes to be a fool and go out with those injuries then that is on her."

"But Shinobu, she could get herself killed. I was tending to her wounds last night and it looked like one of them had gotten infected."

There was a flash of irritation in Shinobu's face before it returned to her calm expression.

"Then lets hope she doesn't get herself killed then. There's nothing we can do for her but wait until she returns."

Aoi nods and heads out. She had a feeling that Shinobu was going to head out at night to search for you. She never told anybody but she often heard Shinobu take off at night a day after you left and often returned early in the morning. She was curious to find out why Shinobu seemed to care for you but never bothered to stop you from leaving.

X

As the demon curses at you while he slowly fades away, you let yourself slide down against the wall to take a seat. You were exhausted and it didn't help that you were running a fever. Aoi had told you about one of your wounds being infected but you paid her no attention like aways. She gave you something for it but warned you that it would take some time before it fully healed.

When the demon is finally gone and you're sure he has no friend, you slowly stand back up and head out of the village. With your fever rising and blood spilling, it was difficult for you to walk. You had to support yourself against the trees while you slowly made your way back to the butterfly estate.

X

Shinobu had taken her eyes off you for a second to quickly take care of the second demon and it was all you needed to disappear once again. Just as she's about to head to higher ground to see if she could spot you, she sees a trail of blood leading to the forest. Knowing that it was yours, she jumps up on the trees and follows the trail to catch up to you.

X

You're not even a 1/3 of the way when your legs give out. On the floor, you take a deep breath as you look up at the sky. It honestly felt like you were dying and it made you wish you had for once listened to Aoi.

Unable to do anything but wait in hopes some sleep could help you regain some strength, you closed your eyes and tried to sleep.

Just as you're about to drift off, you hear a branch snap. You try to stand up and get ready to fight but your body is just too exhausted to move. All you can do is drag yourself behind one of the trees while you tried to search for whoever had followed you.

"Oh my, (y/n). You're quite a mess." Shinobu found it amusing as you pulled out your blade and attempted to attack her, only for her to quickly disarm you. "If I was a demon, I could've easily killed you."

You glare at Shinobu as she stares down at you.

"Yeah, well you're not a demon so I think I'm fine."

"You don't look fine to me. In fact, you look quite terrible. Aoi warned you about your wounds and yet you did not listen."

You felt your cheeks heat up, embarrassed about the fact that you had let things get this badly.

"I can't help anyone if I'm laying in bed. I'm wasting my time when I could be out here saving the lives of people."

It took a lot to get a rise out of Shinobu but hearing how you considered recovery as a waste of time, she couldn't help but get angry.

"and you can't help anybody if you're dead! If you had only rested and waited for your injuries to heal then you wouldn't be in this condition. You could've died! If I hadn't followed....." Shinobu quickly realizes her mistakes and immediately attempts to cover it up. "....If the demon had been even a little stronger then you wouldn't even be alive."

You couldn't help but be surprised at her outburst. Shinobu was always so calm. You felt guilty for being the reason that made her snap.

"You followed me?"

"That's not important. Just forget I said anything."

She dumps a bag by your feet and sits beside you as she starts working on your injuries. While she works quietly, you can't help but admire her features. She looked beautiful from afar and even more up close.

"Stop staring at me. You're making it hard for me to concentrate."

"I'll stop if you answer a question for me."

"Ask your question."

"Why were you following me? I can't imagine how busy you must be as a Hashira and a healer."

"Aoi told me about your injuries. She was worried about your infected wound. Knowing how much she cares about you, I followed to make sure you didn't end up killing yourself."

You knew she was telling half of the truth but you didn't push for more. Shinobu was still pissed off at you,

"I'm sorry for scaring her. I promise to take it easy from now on. I don't want to worry her."

You were talking about Aoi but your words were also for Shinobu. She might never admit it but you knew she cared about you. The few times that you stayed for the night, you often woke up to catch Shinobu checking up on you.

"You can tell her yourself." The two of you stay quiet as Shinobu finishes treating what she can. When she's done, she cleans up her supplies and rests her back against the tree. "Now go to sleep. The Kakushi should be here within a few hours and you need to rest as much as you can." You're surprised when she moves so you were sitting between her legs. What surprises you even further is when she wraps her arms around your waist and has you rest your head on her chest. "Don't get any ideas. This is only so I make sure you don't leave again. I don't trust you."

You held back a smile when you heard how fast her heart was beating. It was nice to know that you made her feel the same way she did.

"If you say so."

X

When she was sure that you had fallen asleep, Shinobu finally let her mask fall. She couldn't let you see how worried she had been when she saw you nearly passed out against the tree with blood all over you. Tears threaten to spill but she quickly wiped them away. The Kakushi would arrive sometime soon and she couldn't let them see her crying. To distract herself, she let her fingers run through your hair while humming a quiet tune she had often used whenever one of the girls couldn't sleep.

Shinobu had to admit that it felt nice to hold you in her arms. She only wished that it had been under better circumstances. Maybe one day she would eventually tell you how she felt