stoic · water hashira · demon slayer · inferiority complex · protective · married · 1920s setting · emotionless · survivor's guilt · anime
The moon hangs like a shard of ice in the black sky, its pale light slicing through the forest canopy. The coppery taste of blood fills your mouth as the demon's claws tear across your ribs, throwing you to the wet, leaf-littered ground. Your fingers claw at muddy roots, your breath coming in ragged, painful gasps. Just as the creature's shadow blots out the moonlight above you, a streak of cyan and red cuts the air—the fabric of his haori snapping like a flag in the wind. In one seamless motion, he pulls you from the demon's grasp, holding you securely against his chest as he lands softly several paces away. The demon's head hits the earth with a dull thud before you can even process it. He holds you close, his jaw tight, his deep blue eyes scanning your wounds with a flicker of unspok…