cielo1827 : Thank you for reading! And here is the next chapter. Hope it keeps your interest!

Wanderstar : Thank you so much! Yes, definitely more chapters coming. I hope I can turn them out a bit faster. :)

Notes: In this chapter, Master Kuwajima may seem a little… stern in his training policy. But then again, considering the death rate in the Final Selection, no training is too strict for an apprentice Demon Slayer.

Of course the stupid girl would drop unconscious on their way down.

And of course she'd be burning up with fever because she was just crazy enough to look for a demon during a nightly storm. Of course.

He'd initially just hauled her up like a sack of rice over his shoulder. But she kept slipping off. And it belatedly occurred to him that it might not be in his best interests if she got the brunt of the rain and got sick even more.

Eventually, he ended up carrying her in his arms. Then he noticed the dark stain spreading over her lower garment. The bite-wound on her leg. The idiot hadn't even managed to treat it properly. Upon cursory inspection, the wound didn't look infected but the flesh around it was hot. Kaigaku wondered if this was the real reason she was like this. She likely hid it from the master too because he'd never let any injury get this bad. The girl was just a mass of problems. Kaigaku felt a pang of sympathy for his master.

He was startled to realize how close his face was to the bare, bleeding thigh. He didn't even any memory of tearing the lower garment.

He'd drank from muddy waters. Eaten garbage that others threw away. Fighting his corner against stray dogs. Even then, he told himself: there's no shame in trying to survive.

But he felt it now as he lapped blood off the unconscious girl's thigh. The first time had been no different than a meal or a hunt. But this felt like… something lower than stealing. The fact that her blood was even more sweet and headier than last time made it worse. His whole body seemed to give a contented sigh, clamoring for more. It took all his willpower to not bite deeply into the rain-chilled flesh.

In retrospect, there were some things he should've considered. One: his demonic strength had carried him further down the mountain than he'd assumed. Two: their master would already be out and about looking for his student, whose escape attempts were habitual offenses. Three: it was a given that he'd be intoxicated by a few drops of Zenitsu's blood after so many days without nutrition, thereby depriving him of any sense to notice another presence approaching.

So of course Kuwajima Jigoro came upon the sight of his pupil with his face buried between his other pupil's legs. Of course he did.

It could be assumed that a lot of thoughts went through the older master's head in that short moment. Some of which probably consisted of: 'They're young bloods, after all,' and: 'A snake bite. It must be a snake bite.'

All the while, his old hunter's instinct was kicking at the back of his mind, trying to get his attention. Although the old man was dismissing it out of hand because what it told him was impossible.

Then Kaigaku lifted his head.

There was another moment where all previous thoughts in Kuwajima's head was replaced with one, terrible fact.

Demon.

His pupil was a demon.

And Kaigaku could see all that, reflected in his – if he could still claim that - master's eyes.

He doubted that he could've avoided the blow if he hadn't been a demon. Raindrops got sliced in the space that he'd occupied a millisecond ago. Kaigaku had not expected the old master to move like that. With a wooden leg, no less. Although, he needn't have moved. The retired Pillar's cane was probably a hundred times deadlier than a regular Mizunoto's sword but it was no Nichirin steel.

"Master, listen –"

"What have you done to Zenitsu!"

"Nothing!"

Bit off a chunk of her leg. Flung her over the ravine. But she cut my head off. That should wipe the slate somewhat clean.

"You have her blood on your – !"

Oh, fuck. Without thinking, Kaigaku licked the smear off his lips. Probably not a good move considering the circumstances. He dodged another blow. Damn reflex. Beat into him during his training days. Kaigaku seriously considered hurling the girl at the old man just to buy some time.

"Why did you let yourself become a demon!"

Hell with this.

Another strike over the head. This time, Kaigaku raised one arm.

The cane broke.

A chip of wood whipped past the girl's – still held in the demon's arm – brow, drawing a thin trickle of red. That made the old man stop. Never had Kaigaku seen a more dreaded, nor so anguished, an expression on his master. Which compelled him to speak something in his defense.

"I didn't harm her."

Well, not now.

"Do you expect me to believe – "

All the pent-up frustration chose that moment to burst out of Kaigaku. The growl that preceded his words definitely didn't sound human.

"Take your miserable successor and see for yourself! Let her tell you since you obviously don't believe me!"

Like you never believed in me for anything.

The old man actually leaned back a little. The hand holding the broken cane wavering. Which goaded Kaigaku even more.

"If you can spare me a few moments until this useless luggage –" He thrust the girl forward so that she teetered dangerously – "manages to rouse herself, which, was her fault to begin with –"

"Be quiet."

Both the young demon and the old master looked down at the source of the sudden voice.

Zenitsu's eyes were only marginally open. Kaigaku was sure she wasn't seeing anything because even those thin slits were filled with tears about to overflow.

Sluggishly, as if she were moving underwater, she lifted an arm and grabbed the hem of his clothes.

Then she raised her other arm to connect a weak, trembling fist to his chest.

"You… you say hurtful things even in a happy dream,"

The pounding increased, her body quivering with the effort. But it was like a child's tantrum. Kaigaku wouldn't even have noticed if he weren't watching those cotton-ball blows land on himself.

"Can you not… be that way just until I wake up…? Then I'll tell…"

The last blow listlessly slid down the demon's chest.

"…tell... Gramps… so… can you…"

Zenitsu's head dropped to the side, resting on the very target she'd been pounding on. Her harsh breathing settling down.

Both men wordlessly looked at the sleeping girl for a full minute. Then they simultaneously looked at each other.

Kuwajima sighed and lowered his hand.

"All right, Kaigaku. Let's hear it."

Hell with ALL this.

Kaigaku kicked the iron door. Which thrummed but didn't budge.

The shed he was locked up in served as a surprisingly sturdy makeshift prison. He wasn't even aware that his master had something like this. But then, his master had been one of the Pillars who'd captured demons for the Final Selection. So perhaps this 'shed' had once been used for that. The fact that it was windowless with no light getting in strengthened the theory.

And he was now one of the caught demons. Until the leader of the Corps decided his fate.

After depositing the sleeping girl in her room, Kaigaku had told his story. Mostly truths. He was too tired to do otherwise. He faltered, however, when his master asked just how he'd become a demon in the first place.

At that moment, Zenitsu had burst into the room. Stumbling on all fours and flopping on her belly between them. Barely woken up and still feverish. Then she started babbling incoherently with sobs mixed in between. The gist of it ran thus: 'Gramps! Kaigaku is a demon! But don't cut his head off! It was – it was an accident! And he didn't kill or eat anyone! He can't! Just cannot! Anyway, I was just with him – and – then I was… in my room… what happened?'

At that point Kaigaku smacked the back of her head so that she tumbled over the tatami floor.

"Wha – Kaigaku?"

"You idiot -. Will you stop your crazy yammering?!"

"Um – what –"

The girl slowly sat up, arranging herself into a sort of messy heap. She dazedly looked back and forth between her senior and her master. Quite unaware of her disheveled clothes falling open as she did so. Kaigaku grit his teeth. It wasn't so much that the exposed skin threatened the air of propriety. It was that it looked, smelled, irresistibly delicious.

"I know you don't have any sense but do you not even have any shame - cover yourself up, at least!"

"Wahhh! Don't do it yourself! Let go! You – you - per -"

At that point their master had risen and with his broken cane, whacked both of them across their heads.

Kuwajima Jigoro had to admit that his 'demon pupil' noticeably lacked the blood-lust that had hold of all young demons. Yet even Kaigaku didn't expect the old man to casually cut his own hand and shove it right up his pupil's mouth. Kaigaku had to swallow humiliation while he again regurgitated what meager amount of blood he'd had. At least he'd passed the test.

A letter was sent to the Ubuyashiki House via crow, detailing the unusual circumstance.

For all he knew, a group of seasoned hunters might be swarming the place in lieu of a reply the next day, ready to slit Kaigaku's throat. Well, next day in a manner of speaking, for Kaigaku had no idea how much time had passed since his imprisonment.

And so here he was, awaiting judgment.

Alone with his hunger.

His master hadn't asked him about it when he put him in here. And Kaigaku had been too proud to beg. Perhaps the old man thought it a fitting punishment for his demon-turned pupil.

What had he been thinking? Perhaps kidnapping the damn girl had been a right idea. It might be difficult in his current state, but if he gave it all, perhaps he could break down the walls before the hunters came for his head and -

He rubbed his neck and only then realized the absence of the jade he always wore. Of course, when she cut his head off...

As if he needed another reason to despise her.

Well, speak of the devil.

He took a deep breath. Waited a beat, and spoke.

"What are you doing here, you piece of dirt?"

He heard her give a little squeal.

"How did you -"

I could practically feel you flinch. Kaigaku only replied with a snort.

His neck felt strangely light and exposed without the jade. He couldn't remember a time when he'd been without it. He found himself keep picking at the skin there.

There was a light bump. Zenitsu had slumped down against the iron door. He could tell she was exhausted.

"... I feel like I'm gonna die,"

I didn't ask, you laggard.

"Gramps put me on a harsher training routine ... which I didn't know was possible. And no meals for a week, to boot. As a punishment for not telling Gramps about you. Well, Gramps is going to do the no meal part himself..."

"You don't seriously expect me to pity you for that, do you?"

Especially the no meal part.

"Well, no..."

There was a noise that no doubt came from an empty stomach. Followed by a series of embarrassed coughs.

"Um, so how are you holding up?"

"How do you think? Never mind, you don't think."

A silence that had a very Zenitsu-ish sagging quality. Then, a near whisper:

"I... er, think it's going to be okay, about the letter..."

Kaigaku didn't bother replying. No more words were forthcoming from the other side of the door either. Just as Kaigaku wondered if she was about to go away, the other's voice came back.

"Gramps doesn't sound worried. So... that means he thinks it's going to turn out fine."

The only instance the word 'close' would be used in relevance to the two Thunder Breathing disciples would've been strictly with regards to describing the physical distance between them. But since they had lived together, they couldn't help picking up on certain aspects of each other. So Kaigaku knew what Zenitsu meant by 'sound' right now.

"Or, the fate of the demon-turned pupil isn't all that much to worry about."

It occurred to him a second too late that his life wasn't the only one on the line. For he knew that Kuwajima Jigoro wouldn't hesitate to slice his own stomach to take responsibility if Kaigaku was to be beheaded. But he shoved what little guilt that threatened to rise with boiling resentment. Perhaps the old man's loyalty to Ubuyashiki was too deeply rooted that he probably believed cutting out his own innards was of no consequence.

Zenitsu spoke again.

"No, I've only heard him really worried twice. Once when I got hit by lightning ..."

A great amount of fondness, tinted with a bit of smugness, carried over. Which only fanned Kaigaku's irritation.

"... and the other time was when you went to your Final Selection."

Kaigaku made as to retort, and just clenched his teeth. Something stirred in the deep recess of his mind. Something he wasn't used to. He quenched it. Forced sneer into the next words.

"No wonder he wanted a backup successor if he thought me that weak."

He expected a sob – tinged defense of his master. But what came was a question, floating on an eerily calm tone.

"... Why did you become a demon, Kaigaku?"

What right did she -

"I know it wasn't an accident."

Kaigaku let out a derisive huff.

"Funny, you're the one who insisted that it was one."

Which was true. After the chaos that was Zenitsu had been somewhat doused, their master had again pressed just how this had come about. To Kaigaku's surprise, Zenitsu was the one who repeated that 'it had been an accident'. Insistently so. Giving half-glances at Kaigaku. So Kaigaku had given a 'modified' version of the story - of having crossed an Upper Moon. He didn't so much lie as to omit certain details. And if such led the listener to interpret the event as the demon having 'forced' Muzan's blood into the young hunter for some vicious enjoyment of his own, well, Kaigaku could hardly be faulted, could he?

But now, she was...

"I said that, but I know... it wasn't true. Unlike when you were talking about... um, that you could only... drink, er, my blood. You sounded different. I can tell."

"That's rich coming from someone who got swindled by some lowlife and had a stranger pay off her debt."

That shut her off.

Silence reigned for a while. Which wasn't to his advantage. Kaigaku rubbed his face and snarled as her smell - her blood's smell - wafted over to him.

"So why did you lie to the master?"

His words came out muffled with his head buried in his arms. He didn't really expect a reply. It was just to break the ringing silence filled with her presence. But a feeble sound seeped through.

"... Gramps would be sa – he'd have… not have taken it well. And, well, you're my - an aniki. "

Kaigaku hated that he could perfectly picture her right now. Her whole body drooping like a mouse caught in a downpour.

"Was it really because of… me?"

He was honestly surprised she remembered, had even heard what he'd said, considering the circumstances.

"... Forget it."

He sighed out the words. The reply from the other side felt decidedly sulky.

"Well, all you had to was wait for two months. Then I'd been out of your hair for good."

Yeah. I could've waited. While being digested inside an Upper Moon's stomach.

"I'm sorry."

This was so out of the blue that Kaigaku actually turned to face the door.

"What?"

"I mean, the Final Selection. I - I - now we're both screwed."

Kaigaku rolled his eyes.

"None of this would've happened if you'd just left, like I told you so."

If you hadn't clung so.

"Nothing's stopping you from running away from the Selection. It's not like the master's going to hold your hand and take you there. So why don't you?"

There was a shuddering sniff.

"... Because I'd rather fail Gramps than betray him."

It shouldn't have stung as much as it did. After all, the only one he had loyalties to was himself. So it didn't count as betrayal...

It still stung.

The girl was a curse.

"... I suppose you can't convince Gramps to change his mind about the Final..."

"SHUT. UP."

The steely chill in his voice did the job. She obeyed. For once. Even her presence changed. In a manner that reminded him of when they'd come across a wild –possibly rabid - dog once. Not long after their master had taken the young girl under his wing. Zenitsu didn't even scream or break into a panicked run as he'd expected. She'd just shut down. As if she'd morphed into something inanimate. Very much like that time, she just stayed still on the other side. Like a stone that'd happened to roll up against the door. Kaigaku could have enjoyed a malicious glee at that. But the problem with her becoming a rock was that she was unlikely to roll away by herself.

The thing was, these quiet intervals were becoming more and more unbearable. With nothing to distract him, her proximity was a torture. His muscles ached as if his flesh itself stretched towards her. He desperately tried to focus on something else.

All he had to was wait it out, until her Final Selection -

Granted, he'd shared Zenitsu's opinion on that until -

He'd might as well sate that curiosity.

"All right, are you really pulling my leg or what?"

"Huh?"

"After what you've pulled, the Final Selection's a concern?"

The silence this time was filled with confusion and exasperation of equal measure. Until Kaigaku ground out: "You - cut me -"

"But you did it yourself -"

"What."

"That's what must've happened. I sort of… drop off to sleep every once in a while. While training."

There was a sigh so deep that it could have left a hole in the ground.

"I... tried to hide it from you and Gramps. But I guess that's what happened last night. I must've unconsciously had my sword out while I fell and... you jumped... maybe you weren't used to your, er, demonic speed or something? So..."

Kaigaku banged the back of his head on the door. Hard enough that the resulting clang made Zenitsu gulp loudly.

"Do you... dream during those... unconscious intervals?"

"Uh? Um, yes?"

"About what?"

"... I'd rather not say,"

"Why?"

"Because you'll only make fun of me."

Kaigaku wanted to let out a scream that'd outdo his colleague's best. Instead, he started to breathe, per his training routine. Funny how one falls back on the familiar.

He gave up on the topic.

"So this is why you came? To unload your woes onto me?"

A pause that could be described as awkward. Then: "You, um, must be, er, hungry - er, starving?"

Kaigaku angrily swiveled towards the door a second time -

- And was startled to see the heavy door creak open. A yellow head peeked through.

"How did you -"

"I can pick locks," murmured the girl as she cautiously squeezed in- as if afraid to open the door any wider - and closed it even more carefully. "Well, this lock, at least." She gestured back at the door. "Gramps used to lock me up here when I tried to run away once too often."

'Since I had a lot of time in here ...' She sheepishly scratched her cheek as Kaigaku stared. When he'd said that their master had bestowed undeserved attention on his hopeless colleague, he wasn't exactly thinking about something like this. At the same time, he had to wonder just how bad was the girl's escaping habit that their master was forced to use a prison that'd hold a demon.

Zenitsu tentatively approached him. She looked pretty much like Kaigaku had envisioned her: Head lowered, face shadowed under the bright locks. Like when he'd thrown a peach at her while yelling.

"I... I mean, you've gone without anything for - nearly a week, right?"

Except for a couple of sips. Which probably got expelled thanks to the stunt the master pulled.

"So - if, if it's really only my -" She bit her lips, fidgeted with a stray lock of her hair near her neck.

I don't need your pity nor charity. If you want to be helpful, then get the hell out of here – was what he'd been about to say, but his body wasn't interested in his thoughts. In fact, it chose to straight up trample on his dignity by taking hold of the figure in front and yank her down.

Zenitsu gave a high-pitched yelp as she was roughly pulled flush against the demon. She made as to struggle out of his grip by reflex but went rigid as soon as Kaigaku put his mouth against the side of her neck. Wet locks of hair stuck to his cheek and Kaigaku minutely wondered what the girl had been doing again out in the rain but then he inhaled a faint whiff of soap on her skin. He almost laughed at the fact that she bothered to wash before coming here. When he knew that she used to just pass the day into next with all the sweat and dirt from the training intact, too tired and uncaring. As if this time, she was consciously readying herself for-

A sharp little cry as the demon's fangs dug into the flesh. Which quietened to little sobs as he sucked at the blood that welled up. Kaigaku groaned at the pleasurable burn that flowed through his mouth, throat, down to every stretch of his veins. It wasn't just the blood, but everything that accompanied the act - the smell and the heat and the feel of the flesh that yielded under his teeth. His body hummed to the beat of the other, everything that was - her life. He couldn't remember being so - filled. Satisfied.

Kaigaku licked down the line of the collarbone. Loathe to miss even a single drop. He absently took in a scattering of freckles that lightly dusted the juncture of her neck and shoulder. Funny how he'd never noticed it before. It made that particular place look strangely fragile.

"Mmph -"

The small sound made him detach himself a little to look at the girl. Zenitsu was biting down on her two fingers, hard enough to draw blood herself, trembling with the effort to keep those little whimpers in but Kaigaku could still hear and see her heavy breath congeal in the moist air. Her whole body felt tense and tight. Skin flushed all the way up to the tips of her ears. Eyelashes glistening with teardrops. He wondered if that was from pain. But she looked more - as if she were being -

"Stop looking like that,"

"Eh? Ah?"

Kaigaku held her away from him. He felt his own face heat up. Not solely from the blood that infused him.

"Like you're - as if this were -"

Kaigaku trailed off, not really sure where his thoughts were taking him, only certain that he didn't like it. It seemed Zenitsu shared his sentiment.

"I, well, I can't help it! It's just - a, a natural reaction! It's because you're making all that weird noise - "

"I did not!"

" - And, and, you really don't need to do that with your - your - tongue -"

"I am not -"

"And all that, heavy breathing -"

"Leave me out of your - your - perverted fantasies!"

Zenitsu wiped her eyes and glared at him. Then she pulled her clothes up to her neck and stood abruptly. Although the effect was dampened by her feet wobbling.

"You know what? Fine! I was wrong to come at all! Wrong to think -"

Kaigaku's body pulsed greedily at the hint of its feast departing so early.

"Wait -"

Except he launched himself a bit too strongly. And Zenitsu's already precarious legs completely gave.

"Kaigaku, about you needing Zenitsu's -"

And of course, Kuwajima Jigoro came just in time to witness his two pupils all tangled up on the floor. Of course he did.

Kuwajima had dragged Zenitsu away by the ear. And Kaigaku's incarceration was now lengthened at least a week after they'd gotten a reply from Master Ubuyashiki. Until he could, per his master's words, 'control his animal urges.'

Kaigaku growled and sank down against the door again. Then he sighted a small bundle of cloth on the floor.

Frowning, he picked it up and unwrapped it.

Nestled inside was the jade he recognized. Tied with a different string.

Kaigaku looked down at it for a moment.

He slowly picked it up and let it dangle under his fingers, clicking his tongue as the jade spun unsteadily.

"... Can't even do a decent knot, that idiot."

Yet when he'd tied it around his neck, the familiar cold weight lent him some comfort.

End Notes: Like many others, I am still surprised to find myself a fan of this boy who is a mass of issues. (That is putting it extremely kindly.)