Caught By Flames (Kyojuro Rengoku x Reader)

43 : Your Hell (5)

A/N: HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!! HOPE YOU ALL HAVE/HAD A WONDERFUL TIME~

After what (Y/N) could describe as a few days, Douma finally visited again. It seemed like he was tense, afriad of killing her and ending up dead himself. It was a new found fear, so she figured Muzan had threatened him or something along those lines. She didn't understand what was so frightening about the demon king, but maybe that's because he restrained himself when around her just so she might change her mind.

It was plausible, and believable.

Douma was tense, but clearly angry. He was taking it out on her without being overly aggressive.

"Isn't this fun, (Y/N)-chan~?" He chanted as he repeatedly hit her, but (Y/N) refused to answer.

After awhile longer, she laid on the ground, motionlessly. Douma stood there for a moment, huffing from the over exertion before realizing what could happen if he went to far. He noticed her eyes were closed, a visibly pained expression spread across her beautiful and bloodied features.

A cough left her throat, blood accompanying it. Douma sighed and left with a less tense posture than before. 'I don't have to be careful, she's already said she's going to fight death. Yeah, she won't die that easily.' He grinned sadistically to himself, passing Kokushibo who was going to check up on (Y/N).

Click. The door slid open, Kokushobo stopped in his tracks observing the horribly gruesome scene. His stoic face remained, but his mind raced hoping Douma didn't end up killing the young girl who laid on the floor.

He walked slowly towards her, hoping she would hear it and say something... but he heard nothing but small breaths. This was the first time she had been completely quiet, the first time she had been tortured to such an extent. Blood scattered on the floor and the walls, her wrists burned from the rope and her constant fighting. Her neck had a dark bruise from restraints, her clothes in tatters.

Her hair was soaked in the red liquid, her body drowning in it.

Was this real? How on earth could a human live like this? How was she even alive?

Those questions raced through his mind as he pulled her towards him, wiping some of the blood off of her face, revealing cuts that still bled. "(Y/N), are you awake?" He asked, still cleaning some of the mess away.

A small groan escaped her numb body, moving as she tried to sit up. She hummed sheepishly when she couldn't and sunk into his grasp, despite them being natural enemies.

Kokushibo gave a confused lift of his brow, placing her back against the wall, fetching her bloodied, but still golden, necklace she loved oh so dearly. He figured she loved it more than her own life with the way she protected it. "Here, I know it comforts you." He spoke blankly, hoping to sound unaffected by the sight of her so beaten and abused, not that he hadn't seen it before. Had Muzan known they were family, he would most definitely be the one doing the torturing, simply because the demon king would have loved the irony of the situation. "Rest while I go speak with Douma about his... persuasion techniques."

(Y/N) tried to reply, but couldn't from the pain, so she gave a slight nod instead and heard the demon leave the room. 'Persuasion, huh? So they still think I'll change my mind... how utterly ridiculous.' She thought before drifting off to sleep.

She was poked on the nose, waking her from the rest she was in the middle of, Kaigaku holding food in front of her. As her eyes adjusted, still blurry from the beating Douma gave her, she saw the meal and turned her head. She had been refusing their meals since Kaigaku made his appearance, not taking a single bite even if Kokushibo himself had brought it. Why? Well, why would you indulge in the behavior of a traitor. Giving in would have made him feel like he would be successful in everything he tried... but in reality, it was only going to get more challenging.

"Why?" The boy asked, genuinely confused as to why she suddenly started starving herself.

With strained vocal cords, she mustered a single sentence, "Why would I eat the food the enemy gives me?" Kaigaku 'tsk'ed in response and stomped off, probably getting Kokushibo who (Y/N) seemed most fond of. (I'm biased towards Kokushibo, sorry 🤣🤣).

She closed her eyes once more, only to be interrupted by Muzan himself. He pulled her hand towards his face, inspecting what she assumed was her nails, although he could have been inspecting something else on her hand. Who knew?

"Why do you refuse to eat? Surely you're hungry by now."

(Y/N) gave a soft but displeased grunt, "I hate the smell of blood, and this room reeks of it." Her reply caused the demon to erupt in a distasteful laughter, soon pulling his face awfully close to hers.

"You wouldn't hate it so much if you became a demon, (Y/N)!" He declared with a proud, sinister smile etched into his pale and sickly features.

She turned her head with closed eyes and crossed arms, "No thanks, I'd rather starve and die."

She heard Mizan let out a soft hum before taking hold of her hand once more, specifically pulling on one of her long finger nails. "Then I'll be taking this, if you don't mind, (L/N)."

"Go ahead, I don't need them. In fact, Douma would be ecstatic about not being scratched anymore." She sassily replied, completely and honestly not giving a damn about her nails. What use were they to her? Muzan wouldn't be able to crack the code of her family genetics in just a few days. In fact, it would probably take centuries for a normal human, so she estimated a few years for Muzan at least. But she wasn't going to give him that information.

"He does seem to complain about it quite frequently. Shocks me, honestly. He's a demon whining about being scratched, while you're human and have been beaten, probably half to death literally,... and yet, you've managed to not let put a single scream of pain, nor a statement complaining about it." He paused for a moment, "other than when Kaigaku tied the rope around your wrist."

"I can assure you, I've had far greater pain than this." In a sense, she wasn't lying. It wasn't very fun having her sense dull out in the snow all those years ago.

Muzan took her sentence into consideration, coming to the conclusion that they had a long way to go before they ever get past her mental fortitude, breaking her entire world. With that realization, Muzan figured a bit more pain than normal wouldn't hurt much. A smile that (Y/N) didn't like a single bit made it's way onto his face, making him to look like some kind of devil creep or some shit.

"Just take it already, I'm not in the mood of staring at your sick demonic smile, tha k you very much." She hissed.

It pulled him from his thoughts, his gaze returning to her hand as he took his time ripping each nail off to keep them in one piece. Small whimpers making their way into his ears only pleasuring him more.

Once he was done, he put the ripped off nails in his experimentation room, calling for Upper Moon One and assign him a new task that he would come to hate.

2 weeks had passed by this time...

Would she survive another, knowing what was to come?

...Or would she be rescued by Kyojuro before she could have the chance of greeting death once more?

A/N: tbh, I'm excited for the upcoming chapters, although the next is one I'm dreading lmao. Anyways~ hope you enjoyed, and once again, Happy Father's Day!!